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The BueLingo, Where does the belt come from? PART 1 of 3 The earliest reference to belted cattle that I have found was in Bohemia. A Mr. Casmos Pregensis, who lived from 1045 to 1125 stated that these cattle existed in Bohemia in the 9th century. His description is that the Duke plows with two Oxen. One Ox is belted with a white face and the white feet. The other is white along the back and has white feet. This description of cattle omits to say what their color was, merely mentioning the white markings. But whether the basic color was black or red, both colors are in existence today. In this same book that I have read there is also a picture of a painting which is named "The Adoration of the Child" that was painted by the Masters of the Albrecht Altars about 1430. The painting depicts a belted Ox kneeling before the altar. Among domesticated animals, belting also occurs in the goat, the pig and the horse. It also occurs in the mouse, the rat, the guinea pig, and the rabbit. There are eight breeds of belted pigs in Europe, of which they believe five are related. However, the belting pattern in pigs is no new development, as the writer of this book a Mr. H. R. Davidson says that he has seen paintings of belted pigs that date as far back as 1339. Belting has also occurred in wild animals, as it occurs in the Malayan Tapir and in the giant panda as well as in some birds. Lord David Stewart, a British writer, who had traveled widely all over the world, wrote about various breeds that carried the belting gene. In one of his books there is a chapter on Mongolian cattle, which sometimes turn up with a belt. In Mongolia, where presumably descendants of the Imperial Park cattle most likely are found, belted cattle do appear. Belted cattle have been found in both inner and outer Mongolia, leading clear into Tibet. These cattle are red or a drab sort of a brown and often have white markings on the head, belly, and feet. In Siberia, there are many Holstein breeds and among them occur belted animals. Thus belted cattle do exist, but their origin is unknown. Since they appear in Siberia in Holstein breeds, one might suppose that they are derived from Holland and are representative of the Dutch Lakenvelders. Yet, Dr. Ivan Dauva, the agricultural attaché, at the Russian embassy in London, said that Holsteins have only been in Siberia for some fifty years, which does not account for the vast number of sheeted cattle which have been in Siberia since 1793. The Dutch say that they can tell a tot of Holstein blood as the Dutch Belted cow will always have a black tongue and the Holstein has a pink tongue. In Switzerland, the two main breeds of cattle are the Simmental and the Braunvieh. Nearly thirty percent of all Simmental cattle carry some form of a belt. The Braunvieh, which is known to us as the Brown Swiss. Braun meaning brown and veh meaning cow, or cattle. There is also a deviation of these cattle known as the Gurtenveh. Gurtenveh is a German word which means Girdled or Belted. At one time quite a few of the Brown Swiss carried a belt. However, after the Brown Swiss Breederís Association was formed, it was decided not to recognize any animals that had white markings. Since all the bulls had to be registered with the government, no one was permitted to use a belted bull. Still, by 1964 there were belted cattle in parts of Switzerland, Austria and Southern Germany, especially in the districts of St. Gallen, Attenzell and Lichtenstein as the belting characteristics were STILL throwing belted calves, though the herd book authorities were doing their best to stamp it out. However, since belted cows can only be mated with brown bulls, the eventual extinction of the Gurtenveh is inevitable. David Low, who was a professor of Agriculture at Edinburgh University in Scotland, wrote a book on various belted cattle in Great Britain, which was published in 1842. In this book he described the sheeted breed of cattle in England called Sommerset. He says that it has existed in the same parts of England from time immemorial. They are mostly red and white, and he says that the hair has a yellowish tint, and the white passes over the back like a sheet or a blanket. He also states that the cattle appear hardy, and were usually polled, but sometimes were horned. He also states that the cattle are hardy, docile and well suited to dairy. Different writers speak of the Sommerset cows of the West of England, but say that because of the cattle plague that struck England in the latter part of the 1800ís these cattle became extinct by the end of the century. [Where does the belt come from? Part 2] |
