Livestock

‘All the breeds of domestic animal found in mainland Portugal’, said the agronomist Eduardo Dias Grande in 1865, ‘are present in Madeiran agriculture, with cattle forming the most important capital of the district’s livestock farming.’ According to the same agronomist, there were then 25,338 head of cattle in the whole archipelago, each weighing on average 238 kilograms live weight.

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There are good reasons to believe’, we read in the report Eduardo Grande presented to the Funchal Agricultural Society, ‘that the first cattle came from the Minho (Zarco’s homeland), and it may also be supposed that others came from the Algarve, from where a great number of settlers arrived in the earliest times. If so, the island breed would have arisen from the union of these two branches, and the bulk of the northern oxen, tempered by the lighter build of those from the Algarve, must have continued to shrink in size from generation to generation, coming to resemble the small breeds of hot countries with fine pastures and such capriciously mountainous terrain. Strength in work, moderate milk yield and abundant butter production are the characteristics of these breeds.

In 1802 Miguel Fitzgerald brought the first cattle of English breeds to Madeira, and shortly afterwards he asked the Portuguese government for help in establishing a model farm on this island. The help was granted, and a contract was even concluded between Fitzgerald and the governor and captain-general Dom José Manuel da Câmara for establishing the farm, but the enterprise came to nothing, for reasons entirely unknown to us.

After Fitzgerald, others introduced cattle from England and elsewhere to Madeira. Crossed with the island’s animals, these gave rise to a breed of medium build, but larger than the local breed. The crossbreds predominate today among Madeiran cattle and are generally known as ‘English cattle’, whereas on Porto Santo (‘holy harbour’) the local breed predominates, having become smaller there than on Madeira.

On Porto Santo, oxen, like rabbits and certain plants, are typical examples of dwarfism. This phenomenon may well be attributed to the difficulty that species confined to a limited space have in strengthening their stock through crossing among varied and numerous individuals.

It is recorded that some Ayrshire Dairy cows were introduced to Madeira between 1830 and 1840, and later an English breeder brought over the first Durhams. Then came Dutch cattle, Jerseys, Schwyz, Alderneys and Taurinas. All these, mixing with the local breed in repeated crosses, gave rise to the new type that, as we have said, now predominates in Madeira.

Within the local breed two sub-breeds may be distinguished: the red and the alvaçã (whitish). The first, the more common, is found in every parish of Madeira and is recognised by its red or dark yellow coat. The second is confined to the municipalities of Porto Moniz (‘Moniz’s harbour’) and Calheta (‘small cove’) and is characterised mainly by its white or whitish coat. Cattle of the red sub-breed are also known as profetas or ‘Porto Santo cattle’, while those of the alvaçã sub-breed are often called gado maneiro or ‘Ponta do Pargo (‘sea bream point’) cattle’.

The working oxen used in Funchal are almost all from Porto Santo. Although small, these animals are excellently suited to the hard work demanded of them and show a vigour rarely seen in cattle from elsewhere. In the rest of the island work is often done by cows of the local breed, which are not, for that reason, any less used for breeding.

Cattle born on Porto Santo grow somewhat taller when fed in the stalls of Funchal and its surroundings, but their offspring lose some of the hardness of hoof that makes the cattle of the neighbouring island so prized for work on steep or stony ground.

Also valued as working animals are the oxen sometimes imported from the Azores, which are larger than those of the local breed. The Corvina cows imported from that archipelago seem to have lost a good part of their milking ability in Madeira.

Crossbreeding increased the milk yield of the native breed, but weakened its spirit for work and its ability to haul heavy loads over the rugged terrain of our island. Crossbred cows are said to give between 900 and 1500 litres of milk a year, but the agronomist Eduardo Grande allows that the yield may reach 1770 litres in the parishes from Ribeira da Janela (‘window stream’) to Canhas, owing to the atmospheric humidity, the quality of the grazing and other conditions found there. Daily yield at the peak of lactation does not generally exceed 6 to 8 litres, although cases of 14 and 15 litres are cited.

Formerly numerous cattle of the archipelago’s breed were raised in the uplands, but at present almost all these animals are kept in stalls or under a mixed regime of grazing and stall-feeding. On the Paul da Serra (‘upland marsh’), at Achadas da Cruz (‘plateaus of the cross’) and in a few other places, some free-ranging cattle are still found, generally destined for slaughter.

Horse breeding is of far less importance in Madeira than cattle breeding. A distinction must be drawn between animals born on the island and those imported from Portugal, England and other countries, almost always by the livery-stable keepers. The native breed is strong, active, frugal and remarkably spirited, but there is little demand for it today because of its small stature.

Around 1891 a stallion of good breed was brought to Madeira to improve the quality of the local animals. No benefit came of this introduction, however, perhaps because of the great difference in size between the breeding stallion and the island’s mares. After spending some time in Fajã da Ovelha (‘the ewe’s flat’), the horse came to Funchal, where it was kept for a while by the Municipal Council (Câmara Municipal), and it finally went on to Lisbon, to return to the stud or establishment that had lent it.

Horse breeding, which is of no importance on the island at present, is confined to the Paul da Serra and Santo da Serra (‘the saint of the uplands’). The animals are generally raised in the open, but when they are two or three years old the breeder brings them in to sell them if they have reached a certain size; those of inferior quality are sent back to the uplands if they can be put to no use. Very small colts are usually castrated to prevent them from breeding.

Mules and donkeys are also found in Madeira, the former imported from Portugal, Andalusia and Morocco, the latter from Porto Santo. Mule breeding once existed on Porto Santo, but today it has died out there completely.

As for sheep, goats and pigs, they are raised everywhere in Madeira, and many goats and pigs are still found in the uplands, although this is prohibited by law. These animals have done great damage to our forests, and it would be an act of great public benefit to enforce everywhere the so-called ‘law on the grazing of livestock in the uplands of the island of Madeira’, published on 23 July 1913.

Madeiran sheep are almost all of the native breed, which is quite hardy and is generally raised in the mountains. Besides these animals, however, there are some merino sheep and sheep of English breeds, kept under a system of full or partial stall-feeding.

According to Eduardo Grande, in 1802 the regent sent a dispatch to the captain-general (capitão-general, military governor of Madeira) Dom José Manuel da Câmara, congratulating him ‘on the good result of the introduction of long-woolled sheep’. This stock degenerated on the island, however, as did other well-bred animals introduced later. Eduardo Grande found documents in the archive of the civil government building (Governo Civil) showing that in that same year of 1802 the Irishman Fitzgerald offered the Government a pair of wool-bearing sheep of the finest breed in England.

White wool predominates in the district. It is used to stuff mattresses and to make certain coarse fabrics worn by the country people.

Goats, which until quite recently lived in great numbers in the uplands, are now beginning to be brought down to the farms. Yet it will be hard to end the bad habit of letting them graze freely in the high parts of the island, even though everyone recognises that they are the worst scourge of trees and of every kind of crop. The fires that destroyed many of Madeira’s valuable forests between 21 and 28 August 1919 were caused by livestock breeders, who were deeply angered at having been forced to obey the provisions of the law on grazing in the uplands of the island of Madeira, published on 23 July 1913.

The milk of the goats that graze in the mountains goes unused, but these animals are useful nonetheless, for they supply the skins from which the so-called borrachos (see that entry) are made, as well as botas chãs (traditional flat-soled leather boots), or peasant boots. Goat meat is little prized, but that of young kids is tasty and appears on many tables, especially at Easter.

It is customary for goat breeders to gather in the uplands on a day in August to round up the animals intended for sale or slaughter. With the help of dogs, the breeders drive the goats into a piece of ground they call a falso, which they enclose with interwoven staves and heather, on which they lay their waistcoats; it is there that the selection is made. The animals brought down to the villages are most often destined for milk production, and milk is consumed in large quantities throughout the district.

The females of the native breed produce 200 to 250 litres of milk a year, not counting what their young consume, but there are goats of other origins with greater milking capacity.

The Desertas (‘deserted islands’) goat, descended from animals released on those islands from time to time, is smaller than the Madeiran goat, and differs from it also in its sturdier limbs and straighter horns. The billy goats’ horns are stout and twisted at the tip. Among the goats brought into Funchal every day to supply milk, many belong to the breed of the neighbouring archipelago of the Canary Islands; they differ from the local goats in their thicker muzzle, much longer hair, large drooping ears and some other features.

As regards pigs, the only livestock that remains for us to discuss, a distinction is made between the local breed, descended from animals brought from Portugal in the days of settlement, and the breeds imported in modern times, chief among them the English and Alentejo breeds. The Alentejo pigs have degenerated somewhat in the district, but the Berkshire, Yorkshire and other breeds from England produce excellent specimens, whether of medium or large build. The Poland-China breed, of American origin and also introduced into Madeira, is less highly regarded than the Berkshire and Yorkshire, because it puts on too much fat.

The local pigs that roam free in the mountains sometimes show features that distinguish them from sty-kept pigs, and the finest specimens of the Madeiran variety are found above all at Fanal. The boars of this variety have strong tusks, equal in size to those of Sus scrofa.

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The pig,’ says Eduardo Grande in his report, already cited, ‘is the animal of poor countries and of small holdings. Voracious and omnivorous, its ease of breeding and its low price make it precious and almost indispensable to the poor inhabitants of our countryside, and the only animal compatible with the narrowness of their means.

Indeed, few peasants do not raise one or more pigs on the plots they cultivate. These animals supply a good part of the manure with which they fertilise the land, and the meat they eat at Christmas and through the rest of the year.

Raising pigs at complete liberty in the mountains is prohibited, as we have already said, by the grazing law, but it will be hard to stamp out, although something has been done recently to put an end to an abuse that has contributed considerably to the destruction of our forests.

The main pig-producing centres are Sant'Ana and Ponta do Sol, but pigs, of immense use to the peasant, are raised all over the island. Males and females intended for fattening are castrated from two months of age onwards, and three or four months before slaughter their feed is improved: they receive a daily ration of maize or wheat bran so that they fatten quickly. The following table shows the number of head of livestock of the various species in the district of Funchal in 1851, 1873 and 1893:

Species 1851 1873 1893

Species	1851	1873	1893
Cattle	20,917	21,720	28,417
Horses	390	259	309
Mules	95	83	77
Donkeys	251	201	51
Sheep	90,403	16,150	28,417
Goats	86,686	18,210	18,604
Pigs	19,667	23,510	34,230

Before concluding this brief account of the different species making up the archipelago’s livestock, we should say that although the number of cattle and pigs has not risen since 1893 as considerably as certain circumstances might suggest, their value today is vastly greater than it was then. A yoke of working oxen, which shortly after the outbreak of the European war could be bought for 200 and 250 escudos (Portuguese currency from 1911, = 1,000 réis), today costs from 800 to 1200 escudos. A milk cow that 20 years ago was bought for 50 and 60 escudos, and not long ago for 100 and 120 escudos, now fetches prices ranging between 200 and 300 escudos. A piglet now costs 30 and 40 escudos, whereas only a few years ago its price was around 5 and 6 escudos.

The enormous demand for milk at present, owing to the growth of the butter-making industry, is one of the main causes of the prices reached by cattle. It should be noted that in some localities the rearing of calves has been almost entirely abandoned: they are killed a few days after birth so that the cows’ milk yield can be devoted exclusively to industrial purposes.

In our view, the livestock population cannot be significantly increased until the district’s fodder resources are improved. According to the best estimates, there are today only 3,480 more head of cattle in the archipelago than in 1893. This truly insignificant increase, for a country that has in livestock rearing and butter-making extremely important sources of revenue, shows that these industries have already reached all the development compatible with local resources.

The livestock farmer who sets fire to the forests of our mountains is generally aiming to enlarge the district’s grazing land. To achieve this desideratum, however, what he ought to do is make proper use of the existing meadows and pastures and introduce and spread new fodder species suited to the soils and climate of the island. No serious effort has ever been made to improve the country’s fodder resources, and our land now feels the effects of this neglect more than ever, for its rural economy would gain a great deal from an increase in the cattle population and the rational use of dairy breeds.

Anyone wishing for a more detailed account of the livestock of this archipelago must consult the important and extensive study devoted to it by the distinguished veterinary surgeon João Tierno. It forms part of the report which, some forty years ago, he addressed to the higher authorities in his capacity as livestock intendant (intendente de pecuária) of the district of Funchal. Although it does not refer to a very recent period, its statistics and its interesting information remain highly relevant today and can be consulted with the greatest benefit. It deals with the livestock census, the areas the animals occupy, the numbers of each species in relation to land area and population, their breeds and sub-breeds, their anatomical characteristics, their importance in the district’s economy, the causes of their limited expansion, etc., etc., all of which undoubtedly makes up a broad and expert study.

Among the interesting sections on bovines, equines, ovines, caprines and swine, the first deserves particular mention: its author gave it an extensive exposition, making it, as far as possible, entirely complete of its kind.

On this subject, it is also very rewarding to read the interesting book Mamíferos do Arquipélago Madeirense by Lieutenant-Colonel Alberto Artur Sarmento.

As the observations on livestock development that the Diário de Notícias of Funchal published in one of its editorials in January of the present year, 1941, seem to us very sound and useful, we shall, with due acknowledgement, reproduce them in these pages, convinced that they may serve as guidance and encouragement for those in this archipelago who devote themselves in particular to cattle breeding.

‘In Madeira, an essentially agricultural land, the livestock question is of special interest from the point of view of farming, of dairy products and of the public food supply itself.

Unfortunately, livestock is bred on this island without any rational criterion, and the result is that stock farming does not yield all the income it is capable of.

In every country where an intelligent approach to this matter exists, efforts are made to determine the purpose of stock farming, and the breeds or animals for breeding are chosen according to whether it aims at producing milk or meat.

In the areas close to the city, preference is given to the breeds that yield large quantities of milk, as these are the most profitable. In the more distant areas, where the milk produced goes to the dairy products industry, the breeds chosen are those which, although they produce less milk, give a product better suited to making cheese or butter.

In Madeira, unfortunately, our farmers have no sound guidance on this matter. Not only are there no defined types or varieties, but what remains of imports made years ago tends to degenerate more and more, through mixing and crossbreeding governed by no rational criterion whatsoever.

Cattle breeding here does not follow principles that are elementary in animal husbandry. The health of the animals is neglected, and they often live without enough air and light. When the slaughterhouse condemns an animal as diseased or unfit for consumption, there is a great outcry, as if the public were obliged to buy everything intended for it.

In truth, cattle are rarely raised here for slaughter. Most of the beasts that come to the slaughterhouse are cows that have spent years as dairy animals and are killed because keeping them no longer pays.

We believe that our farmers should be encouraged to select their cattle on the basis set out above. In the suburban parishes – São Roque, São Martinho, Monte, etc. – the cattle raised should be chiefly high-yielding dairy stock. In the more distant parishes – Santa Cruz, Sant'Ana, Fajã da Ovelha – there should be cows whose milk, being rich in cream, is best suited to making cheese or butter.

Among the local varieties, adapted to the environment, to its climate and to the system of stall-feeding, usable types could be found, capable of improvement through rational selection and through new blood, which is always advisable and beneficial.

Beef cattle are not raised in Madeira. Yet this too is an aspect worth considering and a goal worth pursuing, provided that meat were paid for according to the quality of the animals presented. Admittedly, this criterion is already partly followed today, with the slaughtered cattle graded into categories. But it should go further still, making it quite clear that the breeder who selects and treats his animals rationally deserves greater reward.

The instability seen in the post of livestock intendant (intendente de pecuária) has hindered the adoption of a plan of action in a matter of such great importance to Madeiran rural life. But now that this office depends on the District General Council (Junta Geral), this administrative body will certainly set a policy of its own that is stable, all the more so as its interest in farming matters and problems fully guarantees the soundness and judgement of that policy.