|
Many dairy antiques will mention a breed of dairy cow. This was very important to consumers in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. A paper published in 1907 by C. C. Johnson concerning the nation's milk supply estimated that there were 262 milk cows for every 1000 people in this country. Obviously one did not have to travel far to find a dairy cow and most people encountered them on a regular basis.
Now days all milk is standardized to a set fat and protein content whether it is skim, low fat or regular milk so the breed of cow that the milk came from is not that important to consumers. However early on dairies sold milk just as it came from the cow. If the herd gave milk high in fat then that is what the consumer got. So you can see why a milk buyer would choose one dairy over another based on the breed of cows that were milked. Remember milk was not homogenized then so the amount of fat was very obvious by the cream line in the milk bottle. People developed strong preferences for what breed’s milk was the best. Dairymen took advantage of this breed loyalty and prominently advertised the breed of cows they milked.
On this page we’ll cover the dairy breeds as people viewed them in the late 1800’s and early 1900’s. A lot of these points are no longer that important in today’s market of commingled, homogenized and standardized milk. We’re not promoting one breed over another. We have milked almost all of them and every breed has great cows and some that don’t impress.
The following table gives one an idea of the numbers of each breed and their milk and butter fat production. These were taken from a United States Department of Agriculture publication. The cow numbers are from 1920 and the production data is from 1929. Notice by this time Holsteins have become the most common breed and Milking Shorthorns were not even reported.
| Breed | Numbers of Cows | Milk Production lbs/year | Butter Fat Percent | | Holstein | 11,069,000 | 16,070 | 3.38% | | Jersey | 9,554,000 | 8,466 | 5.35% | | Guernsey | 1,993,000 | 9,775 | 4.99% | | Ayrshire | 412,000 | 10,393 | 3.99% | | Brown Swiss | 170,000 | 12,813 | 4.00% | | Dutch Belted | 157,000 | 10,035 | 3.83% |
 One of the breeds mentioned most often on old dairy antiques is the Guernsey. These cows originated on the islands of Guernsey and Alderney in the English Channel between France and Great Britain. Alderney is a name often found on dairy items and is related to the Guernsey breed. They arrived in this country in the early 1800’s. The color of these cows are various shades of fawn often with areas of white. They are medium sized cows that produce milk with a good amount of deep yellow cream. This yellow color is due to the way the Guernsey stores carotene, which has a yellow color and is a precursor to vitamin A. Unfortunately the fat in the meat is also yellow so these cows were not a favorite at the meat market. The fat globules in the milk are very large and the cream churns very easily. Guernsey breeders marketed their milk under the Golden Guernsey name to emphasis the deep golden color of the cream, the deepest colored cream of any breed. Now days they are a minor breed. Click here for a picture of some California Guernsey milk bottles.
Off page milk bottles left to right:
Tuttle's Jersey Guernsey Farms, quart, Oakland, California, Hazel-Atlas, date unkown
Guernsey Gold Dairy, quart, Santa Ana, California, Liberty Glass Company, 1937
Brown's Guernsey Dairy, quart, Capitola, California, Universal Glass Products Company, date unkown
Golden Guernsey Dairy - E. C. Kelsey, quart, Quincy, California, Owens-Illinois, 1932
The Jersey breed was also commonly found mentioned on old dairy items. On California milk bottles the Jersey is the breed most often mentioned. These cows also originated in the English Channel, on the island of Jersey. They were imported to this country in the mid-1800’s. They are the smallest of the dairy breeds and the color varies from a light brown to a very dark brown, almost black. Some animals can even be a gray color and white patches will be found on some animals. There milk has the greatest fat and protein content of all the dairy breeds. The cream has a desirable yellow color and the fat globules were large which made for easy churning. Of all the breeds competing in the 1893 Chicago World's Fair dairy breeds contest the Jersey had the best showing. Jersey cattle breeders marketed their milk under the All-Jersey brand. The cows also were not a favorite at the meat counter due to the yellow fat and poor muscling. Currently Jerseys are the second most common breed in the United States and their numbers are increasing due to the increased demand for cheese. Click here for a picture of some California Jersey milk bottles.
Off page milk bottles left to right:
Jersey Dairy, quart, Roseville, California, Pacific Coast Glass Company, 1931
Eden Jersey Creamery, quart, Hayward, California, Illinois Pacific Glass Corporation, 1931
Jersey Milk Cream & Butter Co., quart, Oakland, California, Illinois Pacific Glass Company, pre-1916
Wycoff Jersey Dairy, quart, San Jose, California, Illinois Pacific Glass Company, 1919 
The Ayrshire breed is also found mentioned on early dairy items although with not near the frequency of the Guernsey and Jersey. This breed originated in Scotland in the county of Ayr and arrived in this country in the early part of the 1800’s. They are a medium sized breed and their color varies from red to a deep mahogany, and white. It is common for Ayrshire’s to have more white color than red and some animals can be almost all white. The most distinctive feature of the breed in the early 1900’s was their long, upswept horns (picture). These cattle had the longest horns of any dairy breed. The cream has very little color and the fat globules are the smallest of all the dairy breeds. Sometimes it was difficult for consumers to see the cream line in Ayrshire milk. It also was not an easy cream to churn. However the Ayrshire breeders advertised that their milk was very easy to digest, especially for infants and invalids (picture). At present, Ayrshire cattle would be considered a minor dairy breed. Click here for a picture of an older, embossed Ayrshire milk bottle from California.
Off page milk bottle 1:
Miller's Dairy, quart, Santa Rosa & Sebastopol, California, Owens-Illinois, 1957
Off page milk bottle 2:
Elkhorn Farm Ayrshire Products, quart, Watsonville, California, Illinois Pacific Glass Corporation, 1926 
The Holstein breed, in the early part of the last century, was referred to as Holstein-Friesian cattle. They originated in the northern part of Holland. One of the provinces in Holland was Friesland from which the name Friesian comes. Holstein was a province in Germany, not too far from Holland, that was also a source of Dutch cattle. In the United States both names were used for similar cattle until the breeders agreed to the name Holstein-Friesian. Dutch cattle may have arrived in this country in the early 1600’s. The Holstein breed is a large breed of cattle. They are black and white with some animals mostly black and others with more white. There are also red and white Holsteins (picture), the red color being controlled by a single recessive gene. They are the breed with the greatest milk production of all the breeds but also the lowest fat and protein concentration. This is an important point. In terms of percent fat and protein in the milk the Holstein is the lowest breed but in terms of pounds of fat and protein produced in a day the breed is right up there. This explains why 100 years ago the Holstein was not the dominant breed that it is today. Back when milk was not standardized, consumers did not favor the breed’s milk as it had the lowest solids of any breed. However today, where the milk is separated and then standardized to 3.5% fat, the Holstein is the most popular breed in the United States by far. It is just a mater of the milk fitting the market. For this reason the Holstein breed is not that common on dairy antiques. The cream of Holstein milk has little color and the fat globules are very small. The cream does not rises as fast nor churn as well as breeds with larger fat globules. One advantage of milk with small fat globules was that it would not churn during shipping due to the milk or cream sloshing in the cans. Holsteins make excellent beef animals as they gain well, the fat is white and the meat tends to be lean. Click here for a picture of a California Holstein milk bottle.
Off page milk bottle:
Baywood Holstein Farm, quart, Hollister, California, Pacific Coast Glass Company, 1925 
We know of only four dairies in the entire United States that had milk bottles that mentioned the Milking Shorthorn breed, however they were fairly common cattle in the late 1800’s. In fact they were one of the breeds entered in the Chicago World’s Fair dairy breeds contest in 1893. I have a soft spot for them as my family milked them in South Dakota in the 1930’s and 40’s and I still milk a few today. Shorthorns originated in northeastern part England. One of the counties in this area was Durham and in fact that was the name that the first Shorthorns in this country went by. They arrived here in the late 1700’s. Over time Shorthorns were selected into beef and milking lines. On the beef side there are horned and a polled (hornless) breeds. The Milking Shorthorn is predominantly horned but some polled individuals do exist. All other dairy breeds are horned. Horns are a management problem as the cows can injury each other as well as workers on the dairy. Dehorning is an extra job and animal welfare is always a concern even when dehorning is done at a very young age. Lack of horns is controlled by a single, dominant gene so introducing a polled gene into the dairy breeds would be a great benefit. Milking Shorthorns can be red, white, a mixture of these two colors or roan. Roan is a mixture of red and white hairs that is only found in cattle of the Shorthorn breed. They are a medium to large dairy breed. Milk production is on the low end of the scale as is the fat percent of the milk. However the breed has the best meat value of all the dairy breeds and was well suited to small family farms that utilized grazing. Today it would be considered a minor dairy breed. 
The Brown Swiss is another breed that is difficult to find on dairy antiques although there are a few milk bottles from around the country that mention the breed (picture). We have only seen the breed mentioned on one, newer California milk bottle (picture). This breed originated in Switzerland and was first imported into the United States in the last half of the 1800’s. In Switzerland this breed could be considered triple purpose. They were used for milk, meat and draft. In this country the emphasis was on milk production. They are one of the larger dairy breeds and their milk production and fat content is in the middle of the range. As their name implies, they are brown in color varying from light to dark with some gray. Today they would be considered a minor breed.
Off page milk bottle 1:
Geo. G. Warner Brown Swiss Dairy Farm, quart, Wheaton, Illinois, Thatcher Manufacturing Co., 1935
Off page milk bottle 2:
Rosalinda Dairy, half gallon, Marysville, California, Owens-Illinois, 1959
The Dutch Belted breed of dairy cattle was probably of very minor importance however it does appear on a DeLaval advertising poster along with the Jersey, Guernsey, Holstein and Ayrshire (picture). The Dutch Belted breed originated in Holland just like the Holstein. Reportedly they were bred by noblemen specifically for their unique coloration. Dutch Belted cattle arrived in the United States in the early 1800’s. They are black with a white belt circling their midsection just as their name implies. Children always call them the “Oreo cookie” cows. They were a medium sized cow that was on the lower end for milk production however the butterfat content of their milk was greater than the Holstein. The fat globules were very small and some breeders advertised their milk as naturally homogenized and easily digested. Today they would be the least commonly found of all the breeds mentioned here. |
|
