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The Brown Swiss, as we know it in the United States today, originated
in the cantons of Schwyz, Zug, St. Gallen, Glarus, Lucerne, and
Zurich of Switzerland. The canton of Schwyz was the scene of most
of the early improvement, and in Switzerland the breed is often
referred to as Schwyer or Brown Schwyzer. All the cantons in which
the breeds originated are inhabited by German speaking people,
and apparently large cattle were brought in from Germany to improve
the cattle of Switzerland, which until about 1860 were often quite
lacking in size. There has been extremely little promotion of
the Brown Swiss breed in its native country although it has been
exported to Russia, Italy, Germany, the United States, and many
other countries where it has gained a very favorable reputation.
The first Brown Swiss cattle were brought to the United States
in 1869 by Henry M. Clark of Belmont, Massachusetts, who visited
the canton of Schwyz and secured a bull and seven females from
Col. G. Burgi of Arth, Switzerland. When the Brown Swiss Cattle
Breeders Association was organized, the bull was registered as
William Tell 1, and the females were registered as Zurich 1, Lucerne
2, Gretchen 3, Brinlie 4, Lissa 5, Christine 6, and Geneva 7.
The Brown Swiss breed in the United States was declared a dairy
breed in 1906, and in 1907 a classification for Brown Swiss was
provided at the National Dairy Show.
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