Book Review

[Patrick]

I recently received “Cattle Breeds, an Encyclopedia” by Marleen Felius. It’s a monster of a book, just short of 800 pages, and it contains information on about 700 breeds from around the world, most depicted in full watercolor. Both sexes are often shown.

This book has it’s faults. Many typos were evident even during my first casual perusal. The breeds are grouped into categories which seem obscure at best, and are sometimes completely confusing or redundant. There is a section on North European Polled and Celtic Breeds. Simple enough, but no corresponding group for South, West or Eastern European Polled Breeds, or for polled breeds which originated in any other part of the world. What about horned breeds from those areas? They’re spread out within other supposedly appropriate groups and subgroups. Shortheaded and Broadheaded Highland Breeds of West and Central Europe is nice, but no corresponding groupings for those same breed types which originated elsewhere. What Simmental enthusiast is going to think to look for information on their favorite breed in the West and Central European Broadheaded Red Spotted Mountain Breeds subgroup? Common breeds are listed both in the groups from the countries in which they were derived, and in other chapters, under countries where they are also popular. Many of the breeds which are found in the US, have great information on their status here, which is different from the information given in the breed’s other listing under it’s country of origin. This led me to wonder if I was missing yet more information on a particular breed, if it were also popular in other countries of which I was unaware, and had some information in those sections too. I was somewhat dissapointed to find little mention of the current status of some of our common breeds here in the US, while reading about them under their country of origin, only to find more details on them in the section on American breeds. Alphabetical listing would have been much simpler, dividing them into such broad categories as beef, dairy or multipurpose, or even striclty by country of origin, keeping all of the information in one place in each breed profile.

There is probably not a breed out there that is not listed in this book, including such recent creations, developing breeds and even common hybrids, such as minature Herefords, Brangus, Beefalo and so many more. The number of asian zubu breeds, African breeds and others is just mind boggling. The book touches on all uses of cattle in great detail, dairy, beef, draft, fighting, religious significance and more. It covers such related species as gaur, yak, bison and others, including both their wild and domestic forms when applicable, and the most common hybrids between all of these and domestic cattle. Very interesting to me was a fairly good sized section on American feral-derived breeds such as Texas Longhorns, Pineywoods, Florida Cracker and others. It lists the details of the efforts in Europe to recreate the extinct Auroch, in appearance at least, by combining several of the primitive looking domestic breeds. The giant-horned breeds of Africa, including the Watusi and many other related breeds, are well represented.

The book does touch on the plight of rare and minor breeds occasionally, but the author does think for herself, and does not make the mistake that so many others have, in falling for the sometimes overly alarmist propaganda that some of the breed conservancies spout. There is a lot of information on the origin and domestication of cattle, and the suspected routes that were used to spread the various breeds throughout the world.

This is an expensive book, listing at exactly $100. edwardrhamilton.com has it for $69.95. It’s monumental piece, and it’s hard to imagine how much time and work went in to it, by one person who accumulated the information and also illustrated each breed. It will provide plenty of midwinter reading for anyone interested in cattle, and is detailed enough to provide lots of food for thought for the consummate student of agriculture or even the advanced academic. Despite it’s faults, it is a wonderful book, and will have a prominent spot in my library, to be referred to for many years.

[Author]

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