-2SSS!W;S%S«5f5f^^ 
 
 u vv 
 
From the Personal 
 
 Reference Library of 
 
 PAUL IVES 
 
 ALBERT R. MANN 
 LIBRAR X 
 
 New York State Colleges 
 
 OF 
 
 Agriculture and Home Economics 
 
 AT 
 
 Cornell University 
 
 ;rHE GIFT OF 
 
 Paul p<Meroy lires 2D 
 
 in Memory of 
 Paul B»eroy Iires 
 
TUT? 
 
 JERSEY, 
 
 ALDERNEY, AND GUERNSEY 
 
 COW: 
 
 THEIR HISTORY, NATURE AND MANAGEMENT. 
 
 r 
 
 SHOWING HOW TO CHOOSE A GOOD COW, HOW TO FEED, TO 
 MANAGE, 10 MILK, AND TO BREED TO THE MOST PROFIT. 
 
 EDITED, FROM THE WRITINGS OB 
 
 EDWARD P P FOWLER, GEO E WARING, Jr , CHARLES L SHARFLESS, 
 
 PROF JOHN GAMGEE, C P LE CORNU, COL LE COUTEUR, PROF 
 
 MAGNE, FR GUENON, DR TWADDELL, and Others, 
 
 By WILLIS P. HAZARD. 
 
 ILLUSTRATED. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA: 
 
 PORTER AND COATES, 
 
 fk 
 
Enteied according to Act of Congiess, m the year 1872, by 
 
 PORTER & COATES. 
 In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington 
 
X xV XL/ X JrX. X V/ xV X 
 
 It has been wittily and wisely said, " It is a good thing 
 to live in the country," to which may more safely be 
 added, " It is a good thing to have a first-rate cow." 
 Though it is rapidly being proved that cows of the 
 Jersey and Guernsey breeds rank as first-rate for rich- 
 ness of milk and cream, for quantity and high quality 
 of butter, for easy keeping qualities and for delicacy 
 of meat, there yet seemed a want of a work which 
 proves all these excelFent qualities to be possessed by 
 these breeds, and, by bringing them more prominently 
 into notice, to advance the interests of the agricultural 
 community, particularly that portion of it residing in 
 the vicinity of large cities and towns ; though by the 
 constantly increasing advantages offered by most of 
 the railways distant portions of the country are brought 
 more nearly and advantageously together. 
 ^ In the accompanying pages the editor — for he claims 
 nothing more than bringing together important facts 
 about these breeds — has endeavored to present the 
 
4 PREFATORY. 
 
 history and management of the Jersey and Guernsey 
 
 cow In their native lands, together with such short rules 
 
 for their management in their new home as will tend to 
 
 make these superior breeds better known and more 
 
 profitable wherever introduced. With this view he has 
 
 unhesitatingly made use of material by some of the 
 
 best of our agricultural writers, but has endeavored in 
 
 most instances to give credit to the source from whence 
 
 it was derived. He believes he has thus brought 
 
 together in a condensed form a mass of valuable 
 
 material which will be useful to the professed breeder, 
 
 the amateur farmer or the practical dairyman ; and 
 
 fairly presented the merits of the best breed of cows 
 
 for the butter- and cheese-maker, for the lover of rich 
 
 cream and milk, and for the admirer of the beautiful in 
 
 nature. 
 
 WILLIS P. HAZARD. 
 
 Maple Knoll, near Westchester, 
 May, 1872. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 ll\ 1. SWJLJKJK^ x\JS\X K^Sntxr X JlLiSS.* 
 
 PAGE 
 
 The History and Home of the Jersey Cow — Remarks on its 
 Characteristics and Management 7 
 
 CHAPTER 11. 
 
 How TO Choose a Good Cow — The Mirror or Escutcheon — 
 The Scale of Points 58 
 
 CHAPTER HI. 
 How to Feed a Cow 104 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 The Management of the Cow no 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 The Art of Milking 119 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 The Dairy and its Management — ^Butter-making 125 
 
 CHAPTER VIL 
 
 The Bull ; and on Calving — Diseases of Cows 139 
 
 5 
 
THE 
 
 I F R S F V 
 
 Alderney and Guernsey Cow. 
 
 INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER. 
 
 The general preference which has been shown of late 
 years for the cows of Alderney and Guernsey, as pro^ 
 ducing a higher quality of milk for dairy purposes than 
 other species, has induced the author, as well from 
 his own conviction of its necessity as from the sugfees- 
 tions of friends and customers who have felt the want 
 of such a treatise, to place the following epitome of his 
 knowledge and experience before the public. 
 
 Until very recently an impression has much prevailed 
 that the cow of the Channel Islands was unfitted, by its 
 apparently delicate appearance and blood-like breeding, 
 for the use of such persons as were unable to bestow 
 on it the most assiduous attention and care ; but 
 experience and a more intimate acquaintance with the 
 animal have shown that this impression is entirely with- 
 out foundation, and we now constantly see the Alderney 
 
8 THE JERSEY, ALDERNEY AND GUERNSEY COW, 
 
 Cow thriving under circumstances that would be fitting 
 for any other cow kept for the same purpose — viz., 
 milkins: and breeding*. 
 
 The Channel Islands Cow will be found invaluable 
 for private family use, from its docility, easy pasturage 
 and small consumption, in comparison with the peculiar 
 richness of its milk, the average in a dairy of forty 
 cows, under such management as Is hereafter set forth, 
 having been ten pounds of butter from each cow per 
 week ; whereas in other dairies not more than from six 
 to seven pounds is producible from the ordinary milch 
 cow — where alone quantity of milk has been desired — 
 which is not the main object In a private family. 
 
 We have, therefore, In the animal under consideration 
 the triple advantage, as before stated, of a symmetry 
 of form which renders it an ornament to the gentleman's 
 lawn and paddock ; a docility which makes it quiet un- 
 der the tether and in the hands of the milker, whether 
 male or female ; and a richness of production which not 
 only fills the dairy with butter, but that of a firmness 
 which it retains in the heat of the summer and a rich- 
 ness through the cold of winter, when the butter of the 
 ordinary cow is barely marketable. 
 
 The prejudice against the Alderney which has existed 
 amongst dairy farmers, whose object is only profit, by 
 whatever legitimate means obtainable, is also now fast 
 wearing away, there being scarcely one such in England 
 who does not have a certain proportion of these cattle 
 among his stock; experience having proved that the 
 
THE JERSEY, ALDERNEY AND GUERNSEY COW, g 
 
 introduction of the Alderney or Guernsey (especially 
 the latter), in the proportion of one to six other cows, 
 has so improved the character of the dairy, that from 
 one penny to twopence per pound in advance is ob- 
 tained in any market, besides the prestige which the best 
 commodity will always command. 
 
 The pre-eminent utility of the Alderney Cow as a 
 cross in breeding with the long-horn is universally 
 allowed where the dairy is the object. For this purpose 
 the Alderney is superior to the Guernsey, although the 
 milk of the Guernsey is preferable to the Alderney for 
 mixing in the dairy. The reasons which indicate the 
 cross above mentioned are, on the part of the long- 
 horn, its large quantity of milk, strength of constitution, 
 longevity and indisposition to fatten in a breeding state; 
 and on the part of the Alderney, its rich quality of milk, 
 fine breeding and kind and quiet disposition. 
 
 The cow needed for the dairy cannot, under any 
 circumstances, be selected for those qualities which will 
 produce fat: the two natures are incompatible; to have 
 the best meat, we must get rid of every tendency to 
 milk; and to have the best butter, we must obviate 
 every disposition to fatten. We cannot have both 
 qualities In the same animal, and the attempt will only 
 end in disappointment 
 
 The results, then, of the above remarks are these : 
 that in the first place the Alderney Cow is, above all 
 others, especially the cow for the gentleman's lawn and 
 paddock, and the only means by which the dairy farmer 
 
lO THE JEKSEY, ALDEMNEY AND GUERNSEY COW, 
 
 may revert to the peculiar and important principle, so 
 long lost sight of, which places breed beyond bulk, and 
 was contemplated In the old adage that says — 
 
 « The cow to breed, 
 The ox to feed." 
 
 We shall now give, from the best authorities, sketches 
 of 
 
 THE HISTORY AND HOME OF THE JERSEY COW. 
 
 In "Appleton's journaF' for January i, 1870, is the 
 following interesting description of 
 
 The Channel Islands. — " In a deep bay of the north- 
 west coast of France, opposite to ^ the centre of the 
 south coast of England, lies a cluster of rocky islets, 
 but little visited by the outlying world, and but lately 
 brought to the cognizance of the great brotherhood of 
 literature by becoming the retreat whence the indignant 
 soul of Victor Hugo has poured forth Its warnings and 
 its thunders. 
 
 "They are interesting from their peculiar position, 
 geographically, historically and artistically; and, from 
 the fact of the principal one of them having given a 
 name to the city and State which bids fair to rival the 
 maritime metropolis of the United States, they deserve 
 more than a passing notice. 
 
 " Only four of them are inhabited : Sark, by one family 
 and their dependents; Alderney, by the Government 
 officers of the Harbor of Refuge and a few fishermen ; 
 Guernsey, by a thriving seafaring population ; and 
 Jersey, by one of the most complete colonies of small 
 
TEE JERSEY, ALDERNEY AND GUERNSEY COW, II 
 
 gentility possible to conceive. All these have preserved 
 to this day their ancient forms through all the political 
 disturbances of eight centuries. When the Norman 
 mail-clad warriors debated at Rouen the question of 
 their invasion of Saxon England, many of the lords of 
 feudal territories in the Channel Islands were in the 
 conclave, just as some of their grandsons took part in 
 the other great march eastward of those fearless buc- 
 caneers under Godfrey of Bouillon, whose castle still 
 looks over the narrow strait of seven miles of stormy 
 sea dividing Coutances and Jersey. Channel-Islanders 
 fought with Roger in the conquest of Sicily, and routed 
 Alexis, the Emperor of Constantinople, on the shore of 
 Butrinto. This story is ludicrously particularized by 
 the Emperor's daughter, Anna Comnena, the historian 
 of her times. The expedition, which sailed from Sicily 
 for the conquest of the Eastern world, met with misfor- 
 tune from its outset Storms and tempests, hunger and 
 finally disease had thinned their ranks and broken their 
 pride, so that the Byzantine army found their tents ten- 
 anted by only five hundred knights, attenuated by short 
 commons and prostrated by fever— 
 
 'Their gesture sad, 
 Investing lank, lean cheeks and war-worn coats, 
 Presenteth them unto the gazing moon 
 So many horrid ghosts' — 
 
 as the genius of Shakspeare portrayed the famished 
 host of Plantagenet Henry's ragged array at Agincourt 
 No wonder that the rich and overfed Orientals treated 
 
12 THE JERSEY, ALDERNEY AND GUERNSEY COW 
 
 them as the Constable of France did the famished 
 Englishmen — offered them ransom, *that their souls 
 might make a peaceful retire from off the fields where, 
 wretches, their poor bodies must lie and fester/ But 
 such terms did not suit the Norman mind. They 
 donned their rusty armor, and gave the Emperor so 
 hearty a lesson that his daughter chronicles that he 
 never stopped in his headlong retreat till he reached 
 the gates of the Hellespont. He never tried them 
 
 agam. 
 
 ** Of course, during the reign of the first five kings, 
 Normandy was part of the English realm ; but when 
 King John was defeated by Philip Augustus, and the 
 French wrested it from his sceptre, the Channel Islands 
 had to make their choice of nationality, and they fol- 
 lowed their crown. Since that day there has never 
 been war between the two nations but a descent has 
 been made and successfully resisted, but not one sun's 
 setting has witnessed the French flag on their shores, 
 though many a bloody day has been fought out between 
 the stout islanders and their near neighbors. The 
 inventory of the families and their lands of King John's 
 day is still extant. The heraldic records, and many of 
 the deeds of knights' service and other feudal tenures 
 of possession, still remain in the Herald's College of 
 Rouen, the caf)ital of the ancient duchy to which they 
 then belonged. The law-courts, the petty jurisdictions, 
 even the terms, are all Norman French, as is all the 
 language of agricultural labor, to this day. Hence, 
 
THE JERSEY, ALDERNEY AND GUERNSEY COW. 1 3 
 
 during the long troubles of the Huguenot persecution, 
 the Channel Islands became the retreat of the routed 
 Protestants, who found a ready asylum, identical in lan- 
 guage as in faith; and in later times, Royalists and 
 Republicans, Orleanists and Reds, have hailed the snug 
 haven of St. Helier's of Jersey as the paradise of exile, 
 from which their longing eyes can see the fair shores 
 of France — * for ever distant, yet for ever near.' 
 
 " No taxes or imposts have ever been laid upon these 
 fortunate lands. No custom-house officials here prey 
 upon the friendless stranger. Their southern climate 
 and sea-girt situation ensure them a mild and genial 
 atmosphere even in the depth of winter; and, where 
 the formation of the ground affords a shelter, the vege- 
 tation, watered by a thousand rills, attains an almost 
 tropical verdure. Their neighboring coasts and shoals 
 afford a boundless supply of fish; the celebrated 
 Rochers de Cancale yield the most noted and delicious 
 oysters of the European gourmand, ignorant* of the 
 superior dainty of the Shrewsbury and Saddlerock; 
 while their unrivaled breed of cattle gives them an 
 opportunity of a market in every agricultural country 
 on the face of the globe. The islanders have not been 
 slow to avail themselves of these advantages. Their 
 soil is so fertile that the cows only require the circuit 
 of their tether for food in the rich pasture, and the sea- 
 sons are never severe enough to require their house- 
 shelter. Their apples and pears are renowned in the 
 fruit-culture, and their wonderful crops of potatoes find 
 
14 THE JERSEY, ALDERNEY AND GUERNSEY COW 
 
 a ready market, without any dues, in England ; while 
 they draw all their daily supplies from France, the 
 markets being crowded from Coutances or Granville, 
 ports on the other side of the narrow strait, or from 
 St. Malo, only four hours' daily steam-transport from 
 St. Helier's. Colleges and schools being plentiful, ex- 
 cellent and far cheaper than in England, have attracted 
 families, to whom the inexpensiveness as well as abun- 
 dance of household supplies has been a temptation, to 
 this almost suburban retreat from England. Their quar- 
 ries pave the streets of London ; their pilots navigate 
 the royal and mercantile fleets Timber being Imported 
 free of all duty, shipbuilders' yards line St. Heller's 
 Bay. There is almost daily steam communication both 
 with London and Paris, and crowds of excursionists 
 come gladly to be fleeced by the inn and lodging-house 
 keepefs. L wonder the islands flourish and Aeir val- 
 leys laugh and sing ' Not even religious controversy — 
 that direst bane of civilized communities — has as yet 
 disturbed ' the even tenor of their way.' The popula- 
 tion, having been uniformly Puritan or Huguenot, has 
 resisted all contact with Romanism effectually, and the 
 Pope only reckons subjects among the foreign and alien 
 residents of the Channel Islands. One of the two ser- 
 vices in the churches is invariably conducted in the 
 French language, which is spoken with remarkable 
 purity by the higher circles. Hence a Jersey pastor, the 
 son of a poor miller, who rose by his talents to be vice- 
 chancellor of the University of Oxford, and died, two 
 
THE JERSEY, ALDERNBY AXD GUERNSEY CO IF IS 
 
 years ago, bishop of Peterborough, was selected, in 
 1861, to preach in the Abbey of Westminster to the 
 guests of England at the Great Exhibition of all na- 
 tions, and astonished the educated foreigners by the 
 grace and purity of his French idiom. The whole 
 expenses of government are defrayed by the English 
 crown, which maintains military governors, garrisons 
 the forts and pays the militia, recruited on the Prussian 
 model — every male adult being compelled to serve a 
 definite period in drill, and being liable to service in the 
 narrow circle of his home in case of wan Under these 
 circumstances, military life is made a pleasure ; and, the 
 rifles and ammunition being always at hand, the hardy 
 fishermen and oyster-dredgers, rocking on a calm sea, 
 amuse themselves in their leisure by friendly emulation 
 in shooting-matches at birds and rocks, and the frequent 
 encounters between parishes and regiments on shore 
 for small prizes at the fairs and revels, which still keep 
 up the memory of the old Norman festivals, give ample 
 opportunities of testing their skill It is not an uncom- 
 mon thing for one out of the four regiments of Jersey 
 militia to boast of one hundred men of their rank and 
 file who can be backed to hit the bulFs-eye at five hun- 
 dred yards. 
 
 "Upon all considerations, therefore, the Channel 
 Islands have a fair claim to be thought to have suc- 
 ceeded to those fortunate islands of the West whose 
 existence had puzzled the brains of the learned before 
 the hopes they gave rise to culminated in the discovery 
 
l6 THE JERSEY, ALDERNEY AND GUERNSEY COW. 
 
 of the Western Hemisphere by Columbus. Though 
 lying out of the great track of travel, they are yet in 
 the very centre of trade and civilization. Untrammelled 
 by legislation or custom-houses, they have free scope 
 for the development of their rich natural resources. 
 Too small to invite political demagogism, and too insig- 
 nificant for priestly domination, they flourish in even, 
 happy contentment, in the enjoyment of a climate, a 
 soil and a society completely free from the disturbances 
 which afflict and often destroy larger and more cele- 
 brated but not so free and favored communities." 
 
 In the "Journal" of the Royal Agricultural Society 
 of England for 1859, vol. xx., is an essay by C. P. Le 
 Cornu, from which we make extracts on 
 
 The Agriculture of the Islands of Jersey, Guern- 
 sey, Alderney and Sark. — "Jersey, the largest and 
 most easterly of the group, lies in latitude 49° N., 
 longitude 2^ 22' W., being at a distance of eighteen to 
 twenty miles from the nearest coast of France. In form 
 it is that of an irregular parallelogram, eleven miles 
 long: and five and a half miles wide. The surface of 
 the island is intersected by a continuation of valleys, 
 which, in general, run from north to south, gradually 
 increasing in depth and width as they approach the 
 south, until they in many places unite and form small 
 but fertile plains. On the northern side, the coast rises 
 abruptly above the level of the sea to a height ranging 
 from two hundred and fifty to four hundred feet, 
 whereas on its southern side it is in most places on a 
 
HIE JERSEY, ALDERXEY AXD ulERXSEY COJK 17 
 
 level with the water's edge. . . . With regard to cli- 
 mate, it is mild and temperate, the heat never excessive, 
 nor yet the cold intense. The winters are such that it 
 is not a rare occurrence for one to pass by without a 
 flake of snow falling, or even the thermometer to 
 remain above freezing point. During the winter 
 months rain is most prevalent. 
 
 .J: :i: :i* 4: '•• 
 
 " When we consider the large population living on so 
 small a surface — that there are two inhabitants to every 
 acre — we almost wonder whence they derive their re- 
 sources ; but we must bear in mind that, although situ- 
 ated on a rocky bed, the soil of Jersey is particularly 
 rich, and highly productive. The rock is of the primary 
 formation, void of any organic remains, chiefly granite, 
 syenite, gneiss, porphyry and schist, with other varieties 
 belonging to this series. It might be supposed that the 
 fact of the soil reposing on so rocky a bottom might 
 produce meagreness, but it is not the case. The soil is 
 a rich loam, varying in lightness in accordance with the 
 stratum beneath it ; if granite or syenite, it is lighter 
 than where the other varieties of rock are found. The 
 cause to which this difference is attributable is, that 
 immediately between the granite and cultivated soil is 
 a layer of coarse gravel, which acts as constant drain- 
 age, whereas where the granite and syenite disappear 
 no gravel is found, but a light clay forms the layer 
 between the soil and rock. As a general rule, the east- 
 ern district of the island may be said to belong to the 
 
1 8 THE JERSEY, ALDERxXEY AND GUERNSEY COW. 
 
 latter formation, and the western to be more closely 
 allied to the former ; but in both cases there are excep- 
 tions. For certain kinds of produce the one is more 
 esteemed than the other, but the universal ppinion 
 throughout the island is, that the eastern district is the 
 richest and most productive. To bear this out, it will 
 only be necessary to state that the rent of land is con- 
 siderably higher in this than in the other ; and by com- 
 paring the two closely, it will be found that the clayey 
 bottom is the most advantageous. Being retentive of 
 moisture, it protects plants against drought; it also 
 retains the properties of manure, which, in thinner and 
 more open soils, are washed down by rain and lost. 
 From this last remark it is not to be inferred that the 
 soil of the island in any one part Is altogether deficient 
 of certain retaining properties. What is wished to be 
 impressed is, that the varieties of soil are numerous, 
 and differ, as has been said, in accordance with the 
 strata immediately beneath. Here it will also be well 
 to observe that certain localities in the vicinity of bays 
 have, through the violence of the wind from olden times, 
 become extremely light and sandy ; but they, neverthe- 
 less, are tilled, and have in many places become highly 
 fertile, especially in the parish of St. Clement, which 
 may be termed the garden of Jersey, from its great and 
 early productiveness. Jersey is well studded with trees, 
 much more so than either of the other islands. The 
 oak, elm, chestnut and ash are seen growing luxuri- 
 antly, but particularly the apple tree may be noticed. 
 
THE JERSEY, ALDERNEY AND GUERXSEV COW. ^9 
 
 Formerly a large portion of land was devoted to the 
 culture of this fruit tree, but of late many have been 
 destroyed, and replaced by the -ordinary crops of grain, 
 grass, roots, etc, 
 
 »% •!> iij* m.t* •!# 
 
 ^» "I* ^ ^- »»!• 
 
 " The great subdivision of property has caused farms 
 to be of very small extent The law of the island does 
 not permit land or rents inherited to be devised by will^ 
 but they must follow the law of succession. On the 
 demise of a proprietor, the eldest son takes as his birth^ 
 right the house, etc., with rather more than two acres 
 of land adjoining, also one-tenth of the entire landed 
 property and rents. The remainder Is then shared, 
 two-thirds among sons and one-third among daughters, 
 but in no case can a daughter take a larger share than 
 a son. Thus, large estates become very much divided, 
 but in most cases the eldest branch purchases some of 
 the portions allotted to the junior members, who have 
 commonly turned their minds to professional or mer- 
 cantile occupations. Very many houses ' will be found 
 to which only two or three acres are attached, whilst 
 others have twenty or thirty ; but an estate which con- 
 tains fifteen acres is by no means considered a small 
 one, and rarely do any exceed fifty or sixty acres. 
 There may, perhaps, be six or eight su^h in .the whole 
 island. However limited may appear the size of these 
 farms, still their value is considerable. The following 
 are the \ rices at which land has been letting of late 
 years, viz,: In the immediate vicinity of St. Helier's, 
 
20 THE yEJ^SEY, ALDERNEY AND GUERNSEY COW, 
 
 £g per acre; at a distance of two or three miles, 
 £6 I OS. to £j I OS. ; beyond that, £4 los. to £6. 
 
 " Bearing these prices in mind, it will be observed that 
 farming must be carried on with great care and atten- 
 tion, and that the farmer must be ever watching how to 
 turn his occupation to the greatest advantage, other- 
 wise his business would prove a failure. In Jersey, 
 almost every family residing in the country cultivate 
 some portion of land adjoining their house; if but a 
 garden, they grow fruit and vegetables for the markets ; 
 and if they have one and a half to two acres of land, 
 they keep a cow, two or three pigs and some poultry, 
 increasing their stock in proportion to the extent of 
 their occupation. 
 
 ^ JjJ ^ ;^ :i: 
 
 " A farm of twenty acres, as before mentioned, will, 
 with few exceptions (where meadow-land or orchards 
 predominate), be distributed as follows : 
 
 Acres 
 Hay and pasture .10 
 
 Turnips.,.. 2 
 
 Mangolds....,., I 
 
 Parsnips..... I 
 
 Carrots q^ 
 
 Potatoes , 2 
 
 Wheat , ^t^ 
 
 20 
 
 " The stock usually kept will consist of— 
 
 Horses. ,. , 2 
 
 Cows. g 
 
 Heifers ^ ^ ^^ g 
 
 I'lgs. ^ 3 
 
THE JERSEY, ALDERNEY AND GUERNSEY COW, 21 
 
 '*To manage the above, and keep the whole in proper 
 order, will require the constant attention of four per- 
 sons, two men and two w^omen. In most cases the 
 farmer has not recourse to assistance beyond that of his 
 own immediate household ; it is, indeed, a rare occur- 
 rence for a tenant-farmer to hold a farm of this extent 
 unless he can rely upon his own family for assistance* 
 
 •I- ••• !;' ^: :J: 
 
 '* In Jersey, horned cattle constitute the mainstay of 
 agriculture; it is that upon which the farmer chiefly 
 depends for money to pay his rents. Although the 
 Jersey cow has been the subject of much notice in dif- 
 ferent publications, and is known to all who turn their 
 attention to agriculture, still, within these pages, some 
 remarks on the originality, value, and peculiarities of 
 the breed are indispensable. The animal known in 
 England and elsewhere under the name of Alderney 
 cow is the same which is now under our consideration. 
 The reason for the breed going under the name of 
 Alderney is, that from that island the first were ex- 
 ported to England, At present but few are obtained 
 from Alderney, In form the Jersey cow is deer-like, 
 and small in size ; the colors mostly prized are the light 
 red and white, the brown, and the fawn ; brindled speci- 
 mens are rarely seen ; they are not at all valyed, and may 
 be purchased extremely cheap. The cow is naturally 
 quiet, so much so that a mere child can manage her/' 
 
 sac * ^ :^ * 
 
 In 1844, CoL Le Couteur, Queen's Aide-de-Camp in 
 
22 TEE JERSEY, ALDERNEY AND GUERNSEY COW, 
 
 Jersey, contributed to the Royal Agricultural Society of 
 England an essay on " The Jersey, misnamed Alderney, 
 Cow,'' which is here copied, nearly entire, from the 
 Society's Jotmid, vol. v., p. 43 : 
 
 "The breed of cattle familiarly known throughout 
 Great Britain as the Alderney, and correctly termed, in 
 the article * Cattle,' of the 'Library of Useful Know- 
 ledge,' ' the crumpled horned,' was originally Norman, 
 it is conceived, as cow^s very similar to them in form 
 and color are to be seen in various parts of Normandy 
 and Brittany also ; but the difference in their milking 
 and creaming qualities is really astonishing, the Jersey 
 cow producing nearly double the quantity of butter. 
 
 "The race is miscalled 'Alderney' as far as Jersey is 
 in question; for, about seventy years since, Mr. Du- 
 maresq, of St. Peter's, afterwards the chief magistrate, 
 sent some of the best Jersey cows to his father-in-law, 
 the then proprietor of Alderney; so that the Jersey 
 was, already at that period, an improved and superior 
 to the Alderney race. It has since been vastly 
 amended in form, and gfenerally so in various qualities^ 
 though the best of those recorded at that period gave 
 as much milk and butter as the best may do now. 
 
 "Ten years have elapsed since th^ attempt was first 
 made by fix^d rules to improve the farm and quality of 
 the Jersey cow. A few gentlemen, presided over by 
 the then Lieutenant-Governor, Major-General Thorn- 
 ton, selected two beautiful cows, with the best qualities, 
 as models. One of these was held to be perfect in her 
 
THE JERSEY, ALDERNEY AND GUERNSEY COW, 23 
 
 barrel and fore-quarters, the other equally so In her 
 hind-quarters. From these two the following points 
 were laid down to be the rule for Pfovernine the iudees 
 In all the catde-shows of the Jersey Agricultural 
 Society. (See pp. loo to 102 for scales of points.) 
 
 " The accuracy of this arrangement is proved by the 
 fact that no deviation from it has been made, the expe- 
 rience of ten years having only added to the scale the 
 points for general appearance and condition. 
 
 ^ :*: :i: :$: :J: 
 
 "The evil was, and still exists, that most Jersey farm- 
 ers, like many others, never thought of crossing with 
 a view to improvement, conscious of possessing a breed 
 excellent for the production of rich milk and cream — 
 milk so rich in some cows that it seems like what is 
 sometimes called cream in cities — and cream so much 
 richer, that, from a verdant pasture in spring, it appears 
 like clouted cream. But the Jersey farm-er sought no 
 further. He was content to possess an ugly, ill-formed 
 animal, with flat sides, wide between the ribs and hips, 
 cat-hammed, narrow and high hips, with a hollow back. 
 
 " She had always possessed the head of a fawn, a soft 
 eye, an elegant crumpled horn, small ears, yellow within, 
 a clean neck and throat, fine bones, a fine tail ; above 
 all, a well-formed, capacious udder, with large, swelling 
 milk-veins. 
 
 "Content with these qualities, the only question in 
 the selection of a bull among the most judicious farmers 
 was, ' Is the breed a good one ?' meaning, solely, Had 
 
24 THE JERSEY, ALDERNEY AND GUERNSEY COW 
 
 its progenitors been renowned for their milking and 
 creaming qualities? But the mere attention to this 
 was one of primary importance in a circumscribed spot 
 like Jersey ; it may have been quite sufficient to estab- 
 lish a hereditary superiority in the most needful qual- 
 ity. It may also have established it with a rapidity that 
 could not have been obtained in a wide-extended coun- 
 try like France. Hence, perhaps, the present supe- 
 riority of the Jersey over the French breed. 
 
 ^ :i; ^ -J: ^ 
 
 "The Jersey cow is a singularly docile and gentle 
 animal; the male, on the contrary, is apt to become 
 fierce after two years of age. In those bred on the 
 heights of St Ouen, St, Brelade, and St Mary, there is 
 a hardness and sound constitution that enables them to 
 meet even a Scotch winter without injury ; those bred 
 in the low grounds and rich pastures are of larger car- 
 cass, but are more delicate in constitution. 
 
 "Of the ancient race, it was stated, perhaps with 
 truth, that it had no tendency to fatten ; indeed, some 
 cows of the old breed were so ungainly, high-boned, 
 and ragged in form, Meg Merrilies of cows, that no 
 attempt to fatten them might succeed — the great quan- 
 tities of milk and cream which they produced probably 
 absorbing all their fattening properties. 
 
 " Yet careful attention to crossing has greatly reme- 
 died this defect By having studied the habits of a good 
 cow with a little more tendency to fatten than others, 
 and crossing her with a fleshy, well-conditioned bull of 
 
THE JERSEY, ALDERNEY AND GUERNSEY COIV. 2$ 
 
 a race that was also known to produce quality and 
 quantity of butter, the next generation has proved of a 
 rounder form, with a tendency to make fat, without 
 having lost the butyraceous nature. 
 
 ** Some of these improved animals have fattened so 
 rapidly while being stall-fed, from the month of Decem- 
 ber to March, as to suffer in parturition, when both cow 
 and calf have been lost; to prevent which, it is indis- 
 pensable to lower the condition of the cow, or to bleed 
 in good time. Such animals will fatten rapidly. Their 
 beef is excellent, the only defect being in the color of 
 the fat, which is sometimes too yellow. It is now a fair 
 question whether the improved breed may not fatten as 
 rapidly as any breed known. 
 
 " Quayle, who wrote the * Agricultural Survey of Jer- 
 sey,' states ' that the Ayrshire was a cross between the 
 short horned breed and the Alderney.' 
 
 " There is a considerable affinity between these two 
 breeds. The writer has noticed Ayrshire cows that 
 seemed to be of Jersey origin, but none of them were 
 said to have produced so large a quantity of cream or 
 butter, nor was the butter in Scotland of nearly so deep 
 a tinge of yellow as the most rich in Jersey. One Jer- 
 sey cow that produces very yellow cream will give a 
 good color to butter produced from two cows affording 
 a pale-colored cream. 
 
 " It is not doubted that crosses from the Jersey breed 
 have taken place. Field-Marshal Conway, the governor 
 of this ' sequestered isle,' as Horace Walpole termed it, 
 
26 THE JERSEY, ALDERNEY AND GUERNSEY COW. 
 
 and Lieu tenant-General Andrew Gordon, who succeeded 
 him, nearly half a century back, both sent some of the 
 best cattle to England and Scotland. If pains were 
 taken, the race and its consequents might be distinctly 
 traced, which might lead t9 important results in breed- 
 
 mg. 
 
 ** The grand desideratum is to discover .a breed that 
 will be useful to the grazier, the dairyman, and the small 
 farmer. In so small a spot as Jersey, it is difficult to 
 cross the breed essentially — a great step towards it is 
 gained by crossing cattle bred in the low rich pastures with 
 those of the exposed hills on the western or northern 
 coast ; these being smaller, finer boned, of a more hardy 
 constitution, and feeding on a short, rich bite, impart 
 strength of constitution and hardihood to. the larger and 
 "more delicate animals of the sheltered low grounds. 
 
 '* It is believed that cattle are generally more healthy 
 and free from epidemics here than in most countries. 
 This may be attributable in some measure to the saline 
 particles which, being so frequenriy in suspension over 
 the island, are afterwards xleposited on the herbage, and 
 tend to its salubrity. After heavy gales, it is frequently 
 found that the grass all across the island has a strong 
 saline flavor. So partial are cattle to this flavor, that 
 they will greedily devour grass which has been watered 
 with sea-water which they previously rejected. Two 
 pipes per acre, spread from an ordinary watering-cart, 
 or from a pipe which may be made to pour into a long 
 deal box, perforated with holes, will be found of great 
 
THE JERSEY, ALDERNEY AND GUERNSEY COW, 2/ 
 
 Utility where sea-^water or salt can be obtained at small 
 cost. 
 
 " The Jersey farmer treats his cow with o-entleness 
 and care ; it might be more correct to say that his wife 
 does so. On good farms sh^ is usually housed at night, 
 after the end of October to the end of February, if 
 heavy rainy, hail'or snow prevails. It is deemed to be 
 healthful to give a cow a short run daily through the 
 winter, excepting in stormy weather. At this season, 
 which is usually several degrees warmer than in the 
 mildest part of Devonshire, she is fed with a certain 
 portion of straw, from lo lbs. to 20 lbs. of hay, with 
 about 10 lbs. to 20 lbs. of parsnips, white carrots, tur- 
 nips or mangold- wurz el 
 
 '' The small portion of grass which she may pick up 
 in the winter, with the above quantity of food, enables 
 her to produce a rich and well- colored sample of butter 
 till within six weeks of parturition. 
 
 "At this period, which Is usually regulated to take 
 place about the month of March or April, just when the 
 cow, being in full milk, may soon be placed on the fresh 
 spring pasture in April or May, she is an object of ex- 
 treme care. On calving, she is given a warm potation 
 of cider, with a litde powdered ginger. Quayle hints 
 that pet cows are further indulged with a toast in their 
 caudle. 
 
 " The calf is taken from the cow at once, and fed by 
 hand. It may be well to advise that, on the first occa- 
 sion of calving, the calf should be allowed to draw the 
 
28 THE JERSEY, ALDERNEY AND GUERNSEY COW, 
 
 COW fully; for no milking by hand will so completely 
 empty the udder, nor cause the milk-veins to swell to 
 their full development, as will the suction of the calf 
 
 " Some of the early meadows produce rich grass in 
 March ; but the general flush of grass, which comes on 
 generally late in April, is the period when the Jersey 
 faimer looks forward with anxiety. The cow is then 
 tethered to the ground by means of a halter 5 or 6 feet 
 long ; this is appended by a ring and swivel to a chain 
 which encircles her horns, closed by a ring and bar ; the 
 other end of the halter is fastened to a chain 6 or 8 feet 
 long, which is connected by a swivel and ring to a stout 
 iron stake a foot long: this is driven into the ground by 
 means of a wooden mallet. The cow, having this circu- 
 lar range of 12 feet or more, is compelled to eat it clean. 
 She is usually moved thrice a day, and milked morning 
 and eveninof, on many farms at midday also. Under 
 this sy.e.:.h=wriJhas owned four Lws that pro- 
 duced 48 lbs. Jersey, or above 51 lbs. imperial, weight 
 of rich yellow butter per week in the month of May and 
 part of June. 
 
 "In very hot weather, in July or August, it is advisa- 
 ble to shelter the cow from the heat and flies ; other- 
 wise, these tease cows to such a degree, by forcing 
 them to run about incessant!)^, that they have no time 
 for repose, or for chewing the cud ; they, in consequence, 
 afford much less milk or cream. 
 
 " It was anciently thought that cream from the Jersey 
 cow was too rich for making cheese. Mr. Le Feuvre, 
 
THE JERSEY, ALDERNEV AND GUERNSEY COPK 29 
 
 of La Hogue, who has a fine breed of cows, tried the 
 experiment two years since, and succeeded to admira- 
 tion. It was made from the pure milk, cream and all, 
 as it comes from the cow. It was found that the quan- 
 tity of milk that would have produced a pound of butter 
 afforded i i lb. of cheese, 
 
 ** From the quantity of milk which produced a cheese 
 of 20 lbs. weight, the dramm^s of the curds and whey, 
 on being churned, yielded 4 lbs. of butter. This butter 
 was of an inferior quality when eaten with bread, but 
 was superior to any other for the making of pastry ; it 
 was peculiarly hard, and of excellent texture for such 
 use in hot weather. The writer has tasted cheeses from 
 Mr. Le Feuvre's farm quite equal in quality to the 
 richest double-Glo'ster. 
 
 ** On one or two farms besides General Fouzel's, 
 butter is made from clouted cream in the Devonshire 
 mode; but as this is not peculiar to Jersey, it is not 
 noticed further than that 10 lbs. of butter are usually 
 made in five minutes by this process. The usual way 
 of procuring the cream is by placing the milk in pans 
 about 6 inches deep — the glazed shallow earthenware 
 having taken place of the unglazed deep vessels. 
 
 "It is admitted that the richest milk and cream are 
 produced by cows whose ears have a yellow or orange 
 color within. Some of the best cows give 26 quarts of 
 milk in 24 hours, and 14 lbs. of butter from such milk 
 in one week. Such are rare. Good cows afford 20 
 quarts of milk daily, and 10 lbs. of butter weekly, in the 
 
30 THE JERSEY, ALDERXEY AND GUERNSEY COW, 
 
 Spring and summer months. Butter is made every 
 second or third day." 
 
 The following letter from Col. Le Couteur to Col. 
 Geo. E. Waring, Jr., Secretary of the American Jersey 
 Cattle Club, in response to inquiries made in behalf of 
 the Club, will give interesting particulars down to a late 
 date from the Island of Jersey : 
 
 "Belle Vue, September 14, 1869. 
 
 "I have only experience to add to anything I maj/* 
 have written in my essay on the Jersey cow in the Jour- 
 nal of the Royal Agricultural Society of England, in 
 1 844, which has reappeared in the Transactions of the 
 New York State Agricultural Society of 1850. 
 
 " Our farmers have not the singular variety of ideas 
 as to the appearance and character of our breed which 
 you describe to prevail among the members of your 
 Club. Our breed is believed to be a local pure breed, 
 its original milking and butyraceous qualities having 
 been improved, more than three-quarters of a century 
 back, by carefully crossing in the line : in that view, 
 then, without much regard to beauty of form. Later, 
 since the formation of our present Society, of which I 
 was the first honorary secretary in 1834, great attention 
 has been constantly paid to combine beauty of form 
 with butter-producing habits. 
 
 " The outline history of our breed is this : In the year 
 1789, the Jersey cow was already considered so good, 
 so superior to any then known, I imagine, that an act 
 
THE JERSEY, ALDERNEY AND GUERNSEY COW, 3 1 
 
 of our local legislature (which for such ends is quite 
 independent of the British Parliament) was passed, by 
 which the importation into Jersey of cow, heifer, calf, or 
 bull was prohibited, under the penalty of two hundred 
 livres, wdth the forfeiture of boat and tackle, besides a 
 fine of fifty livres to be imposed on every sailor on 
 board who did not inform of the attempt at importation. 
 Moreover, the animal was decreed to be immediately 
 slaughtered, and its flesh given to the poor. Later laws 
 are equally stringent: no foreign horned cattle are 
 ever allowed to come to Jersey but as butcher's meat. 
 
 " Guernsey cattle are not deemed foreign, but there 
 are scarcely over a dozen of that breed in our island. 
 They are of larger bone and carcass, considered to be 
 coarse, though famous milkers, requiring much more 
 food than the Jersey. Our judges at our cattle-shows 
 have discarded both them and their progeny. 
 
 " Those enterprising American farmers who have vis- 
 ited Jersey, and have found a marked difference to exist 
 between the cattle of the Eastern district and those of 
 the Western district, being cursory visitors, may not 
 have been made aware of what I am to state. I believe 
 the type to be the same.^ The difference in appearance 
 is thus accounted for: The north and north-west coast 
 of Jersey is high and precipitous, a bold syenite rock, 
 rising two hundred and more feet from the level of the 
 sea. Its nearest shelter in a westerly or south-w^esterly 
 direction is the island of Newfoundland, or the British- 
 American shore. South-west gales prevail here nine 
 
S2 THE JERSEY, ALDERNEY AND GUERNSEY COW. 
 
 months out of the twelve. While I am writing, a hurri- 
 cane from the south-west has burst over us, and burned 
 all the exposed trees like a flame ; it has ruined scores 
 of orchards and gardens, levelled many trees, leaving 
 the pastures like damaged hay. Hence this elevated 
 coast has usually a short, scant, rich, nutritious herbage, 
 from being so frequently saturated with saline moisture. 
 Thus the cattle on this side are small, fine-limbed, and 
 hardy. 
 
 "The southward half of Jersey may be called an in- 
 clined plane, gradually and beautifully slanting to the 
 sea-shore, watered by innumerable streams. A part of 
 it Is a rich alluvial soil and meadow-land — so sheltered 
 and warmed as to produce fruit and vegetables a fort- 
 night or three weeks sooner than in my neighborhood. 
 The cattle of this district are, consequently, fed on a 
 richer pasture. They are larger in carcass, some think 
 handsomer, than those of the upland. I consider them 
 to be more delicate. 
 
 " The late Earl Spencer, and former President of the 
 Royal Agricultural Society, England, the able and 
 worthy contemporary of Bates, Booth, and other noted 
 Short-horn breeders, had a fine little herd of Jersey 
 cows. When on a visit to him at Althorp, in 1839, he 
 strongly advised me to recommend our farmers never 
 to venture on a foreign cross, nor with Short-horns or 
 Devons : merely to cross the cows of the low, rich pas- 
 tures with the hardy bulls of the ^exposed northern 
 coasts, aad vice versa; we had established a character 
 
THE JERSEY, ALDERNEY AND GUERNSEY COW 33 
 
 in our cows for creaming and milking habits peculiar to 
 our crumpled-horn race, to hold to that alone, by which 
 means our breed might continue as renowned in the 
 next century as it has been so in the present one. 
 Many have held to that sound advice. 
 
 ** I shall be much honored by receiving a copy of your 
 Jersey Herd-Book, and shall, moreover, feel much grati- 
 fied if what I have written shall prove interesting or 
 useful to you. 
 
 " Believe me to be, dear sir, 
 
 " Yours, very truly, 
 
 « 
 
 (Signed) "J. Le Couteur. 
 
 ** To Col. Geo. E. Waring, Jr., Secretary, etc. 
 
 "N.B — ^We have never had rinderpest or cattle- 
 plague in Jersey." 
 
 We will close this interesting chapter on the Jersey 
 cow by adding the following very thorough and highly 
 sensible and practical essay, by Col Geo. E. Waring, 
 Jr., Secretary of the American Jersey Cattle Club, and 
 published in the Herd-Register of the Club, Vol. L, 
 1871 ; a work which every breeder of Jerseys should 
 have, and of which Club they should become members : 
 
 " There have been many theories advanced concern- 
 ing the origin of the Jersey breed of cattle, but the 
 writer has been unable to find satisfactory evidence of 
 the truth of any of them. It is quite certain that, how- 
 ever this breed may have originated, it has been vastly 
 
34 THE JERSEY, ALDERMEY AND GUERNSEY CO IV 
 
 modified by the circumstances under which it has so 
 lone been cultivated ; and it seems to me that we need 
 not look beyond these circumstances for the causes of 
 its peculiarities. It is apparent from CoL Le Couteur's 
 letter that there are two distinct classes of Jersey cattle 
 within a region hardly larger than Staten Island, New 
 York. As the inhabitants of these islands are within 
 easy reach of the principal market-place, it is natural to 
 suppose that interchanges of the stock frequently take 
 place ; and such interchanges have undoubtedly not 
 been uncommon for a lonpf time. Yet the distinction 
 between the small, hardy animals of the high-coast 
 region and the more fully developed ones of the shel- 
 tered lowlands appears to have been maintained. This 
 indicates that the influence of local circumstances has 
 been sufficient to counteract the effect of cross-breed- 
 ing. Naturally, therefore, it is fair to think that causes 
 which can so far modify ancestral peculiarities are amply 
 sufficient to account for the most highly prized charac- 
 teristics of our favorite race. 
 
 "Climate has much to do with the matter, through 
 both its direct effect on the animal and its indirect 
 effect through the quality of its food. Much, undoubt- 
 edly, is due to the admixture, by interbreeding, between 
 the animals of the different localities. What modifica- 
 tions of the race are to be traced to these influences it 
 would be impossible to determine, 
 
 " Hardly less, probably, than the effect of the fore- 
 going causes is that of the system of agriculture neces- 
 
Tim JERSEY, ALBLRNEY AXD CUER.VSEY COW 35 
 
 sarlly practised by so dense a population. The extreme 
 delicacy of limb, the slight development of muscle, and 
 the unusually small lungs of these animals may be 
 taken as a natural result of the almost entire absence 
 of exercise that we know to have long been one of the 
 leading conditions of their lives. The perfect docility 
 of disposition, the evident fondness of even the youngest 
 calves for the presence of man, and the slight disix)" 
 sition to roam (especially observable in imported ani- 
 mals), have unquestionably grown from the door-yard 
 and household-pet character of their treatment through 
 lone g-eneratlons. The unusual secretion of fat in the 
 milk may be reasonably attributed to the slight waste 
 of the fat-forming portions of the food that moderate 
 respiration and limited exercise make possible, and to 
 the fact that fat in this form, rather than In flesh, has 
 long been the prime object of the farmer^s attention. 
 The beauty of appearance, the delicate coloring, the 
 mellow, kindly eyes, the fine horns, and the softness of 
 the skin, may be In part due to original characteristics 
 of the breed, or of its several ancestors, and in great 
 part to the demand that taste and fashion have caused, 
 
 " It would be interesting to know, were it possible to 
 discover, how far purely natural causes (climatic and 
 geological) and how far the influence of man's needs 
 have operated in determining the peculiarities of the 
 breed as now known. 
 
 "Reasoning from analogy, and remembering the 
 achievements of the breeders of Short-horned cattle. 
 
36 THE JERSEY, ALDERNEY AND GUERNSEY COW. 
 
 and of the improved races of sheep and swine, it is 
 hardly extravagant to ascribe the greater importance to 
 human intervention. 
 
 ** Of course it should be our object to improve on the 
 best results that have yet been attained by breeders in 
 Jersey, but we should be extremely careful how we set 
 about it The papers quoted at the commencement of 
 this essay convey, probably, as good an idea as can be 
 obtained, without a personal visit, of the social, geologi- 
 cal, agricultural and climatic circumstances under which 
 the development of the breed has taken place. Within 
 certain wide limits we should be careful how we deviate 
 from the lines of influence that these circumstances have 
 marked. 
 
 " It is very commonly asserted that, under the warmer 
 sun, on the broader pastures, and with the more lavish 
 feeding that are incident to our own operations, the breed 
 has improved since Its introduction into this country; 
 also that the progeny of imported animals are usually 
 superior to their progenitors. It seems to me that this 
 criticism is not unquestionably a sound one. There is 
 no doubt that, under ordinary American treatment, the 
 animals do increase in size, in richness of appearance, 
 and in the quantity of their yield of milk ; it is, how- 
 ever, very doubtful whether this general enlargement is 
 a real advantage. The most desirable qualities of the 
 Jersey are quite the opposite of the most desirable 
 qualities of the Short-horn or the Ayrshire ; and there 
 seems no reason to suppose that we shall reallv im- 
 
THE JERSEY, ALDERNEY AND GUERNSEY COW. 37 
 
 prove the breed by giving it the characteristics of larger 
 races, else we had better breed Short-horns or Ayrshires 
 at once. 
 
 " There are physiological reasons why it is impossible 
 to combine the rich creaming quality of the Jersey with 
 the fattening quality of the Short-horns. In the one 
 case or in the other the most perfect result is to be 
 obtained by directing the deposition of fat either to the 
 adipose tissues or to the lacteal organs. Previous 
 experience in breeding leaves us no ground to suppose 
 that the highest perfection of both can be obtained in 
 the case of an individual animal, and it is doubtless an 
 axiom that the more we enrich the milk the more do 
 we impoverish the body, and vice versa. Within certain 
 limits there is, of course, an advantage in increasing the 
 flow of milk, but this should not be carried to such a 
 degree that, in the vital labor of secreting a large 
 amount of the fluid, fat-forming matter, which would 
 otherwise be deposited as cream, shall be consumed in 
 the production of the animal heat whose elimination 
 is incident to all vital processes. We can conceive a 
 case In which the chief energies of the animal organiza- 
 tion are devoted to the secretion of a copious flow of 
 milk, thereby consuming a large proportion of the fat- 
 forming matter which, under more normal circum- 
 stances, would have taken the form of cream. As a 
 rule, though it is a rule with many exceptions, cows that 
 yield extraordinary amounts of milk yield thin milk. 
 This is a recognized fact among farmers, but there are 
 
38 THE JERSEY, ALBERNEY AND GUERNSEY COW, 
 
 no Statistics on which to base positive assertions con- 
 
 cerning It, 
 
 " Neither is it possible to fix an absolute standard as 
 to the most profitable daily quantity of milk. All that 
 we can do is to watch vigilantly every circumstance that 
 may tend to augment or decrease the performance of 
 any desirable function. As a broad proposition, the 
 sole office of the Jersey cow is to produce the largest pos- 
 sible amount of rich and highly colored cream from a 
 given amou7it of food. Everything else in connection 
 with the breeding of the race isy or should be, incidental. 
 Beauty of form and beauty of color are, of course, de- 
 sirable, but no wise breeder will give these features 
 more than a secondary position. If they can be secured 
 without detracting from economic value, they are most 
 desirable ; but if In seeking them we lose sight of the 
 chief aim, we not only do injury to our own interests, 
 but permanently detract from the average value of the 
 whole race. 
 
 " The question of size is, doubtless, of great import- 
 ance, but there is no positive knowledge to guide our 
 decision concerning it ; at least I am aware of no experi- 
 ments that do more than to Indicate which is the wisest 
 course to pursue. So far as uncertain indications are 
 to be relied on at all, they seem to point to medium size 
 as the most desirable. Further experiments as to the 
 advantage or disadvantage of large size are needed. 
 Certain arguments in favor of the smaller size are 
 worthy of consideration. In the case of pure breeding, 
 
THE JERSEY, ALDERJSfEY AXD GUERNSEY COW. 39 
 
 where calves have a high value, more calves will be 
 produced with the consumption of a given amount of 
 food in the case of small cows than of large ones ; that 
 is, a larger number of cows can be kept In a large herd 
 of small animals, it is easier to keep up, throughout the 
 year, a uniform supply of milk and its products than 
 where there are fewer animals of a larsfer size consum- 
 ing the same amount of food. One great source of the 
 demand for Jersey cattle is the necessity for a few 
 quarts Cf milk regularly supplied for family use. A 
 large Ayrshire or Dutch cow, giving 4000 quarts of milk 
 during the year, will produce an oversupply during one 
 season, and go entirely dry at another. She will con- 
 sume as much food as would support two little Jerseys 
 giving each 2000 quarts of milk, one coming in in the 
 spring and one In the autumn. In perhaps a majority 
 of instances, accommodation can be furnished for only 
 one cow, and food for only a small one. For such cases 
 the smaller Jerseys are especially adapted, such as will 
 give ten quarts of milk at their flush, and not fall below 
 three quarts within six weeks of the next calving ; the 
 cream Increasing in proportion and becoming richer as 
 the quantity of milk decreases, thus maintaining a satis- 
 factory quantity for at least ten months of the year, and 
 yielding enough for necessary use during the eleventh. 
 "Until we are able to establish a standard better 
 suited to our wants than that adopted in Jersey, we 
 shall, if we are wise, adhere as closely as possible to 
 that. Just now, when so many new fanciers are becom- 
 
40 THE JERSEY, ALDERNEY AND GUERNSEY COW, 
 
 ing interested in the breed, and are creating a factitious 
 enthusiasm for certain points of only fancy value, there 
 is great danger that those characteristics on which the 
 permanent worth and popularity of the race depend will 
 be lost sight of. The idea that it is desired to convey 
 cannot be more clearly illustrated than by referring to 
 the matter of black points. A few years ago, black 
 points were unheard of as an important feature. Now 
 a very large majority of those who have recently be- 
 come interested in the subject regard a black switch 
 and a black tongue as almost indispensable qualifica- 
 tions. The Herd Book published on the Island of Jer- 
 sey contains the entries of 124 bulls and 474 cows ; 41 
 of the bulls and 106 cows are *H. Q! (highly com- 
 mended). Of these 147 animals, 24 are said to have 
 black switches, and only one to have a black tongue. 
 So, too, with regard to color. * Solid' color is with 
 many regarded as indispensable to perfection.' Of the 
 147 * H. C* bulls and cows, only 45 are of solid color or 
 nearly so. These indications, like the much larger 
 number of white switches and white patches, are given, 
 not at all as being of special advantage, but merely as 
 distinguishing marks to serve for the identification of 
 the animals. 
 
 " That a decided injury has been done by those who 
 attach more importance to black switches than to good 
 udders, to solid color than to large milk mirrors, must 
 be evident to all who have had an opportunity of com- 
 paring the older with the newer herds— animals that 
 
THE JERSEY, ALDERNLY AND GUERNSEY COW, 41 
 
 have been bred here for several generations with those 
 that have been recently imported. It sometimes seems 
 that the best stock must have already been cleared out 
 from the Island of Jersey. Some herds, said to have 
 been selected with great care and at high cost, have 
 appeared to be deficient in milking quality, and in the- 
 indispen sable yellowness of skin; while their solid gray 
 and fawn coloring and the preponderance of black 
 switches indicate plainly enough the standard according 
 to which they were selected. In the case of these herds 
 and of a number of the sales importations, there is an 
 almost universal defectiveness of the forward quarters 
 of the udder, the front teats being carried high up on 
 the forward slope of the bag, and being not more than 
 one-fourth as large as the hind teats. 
 
 " Now and then, however, an experienced judge, 
 It 
 selecting cattle on the island, brings over as good ani- 
 mals as we have ever received — animals on which there 
 are generally broad patches of white, but whose udders 
 are broad, well carried forward, evenly teated, and of 
 the good old texture and size, while the milk mirror 
 and the milk-vein have evidently been an especial ob- 
 ject in the selection. So far as the writer's personal 
 observation has extended, he has never seen a really 
 first-class cow without decided white marks ; and of the 
 six best butter-makers he knows, not one has a black 
 switch or a black tongue. This, of course, proves 
 nothing, for there may be better cows than he has ever 
 seen whose color is uniform, and whose tongues and 
 
42 THE JERSEY, ALDERNEY AND GUERNSEY COW. 
 
 switches are black as night. The statement is made 
 only as an indication that for the valuable characteris- 
 tics, the real usefulness of a cow, these new-fangled 
 points may have no value. As a matter of taste, or 
 beauty, or fashion, they may have great value, but I 
 conceive that those who are seriously undertaking to 
 maintain the breed in its purity and perfection will give 
 these distinctions their merited go-by, and strive to 
 maintain the wonderful butter-developing qualities of 
 the Jersey. Manage as we may in this regard, we can- 
 not fail to secure a deal of beauty. The fine, waxy 
 horn, the light fillet around the muzzle, the mellow eyes, 
 and the clean-cut, blood-like look never appear in 
 greater perfection and beauty than in the case of the 
 very best butter-making animals. On the other hand, 
 the most uniform of grays should never be allowed to 
 redeem a thick neck and shoulder and a beeTy jowl. 
 
 " It is desired to maintain, as the most essential prin- 
 ciple of all In breeding Jersey cattle, that improvement 
 should march with an eye single to an increase of the 
 butter-producing quality, very little regard being paid 
 to the question of color, which, in the case of a cow that 
 would give 300 pounds of butter per annum, might be 
 either white or black, or anything between. Those who 
 make beauty of appearance the chief aim of their oper- 
 ations had better make it the sole aim, and give up the 
 cows and breed the more beautiful deer at once. 
 
 " Beauty and utility are, of course, very often com- 
 bined. Variations from the fixed type are the rule 
 
THE JERSEY, ALDERNEY AND GUERNSEY COW. 43 
 
 rather than the exception in the breeding of a compo- 
 site race like the Jerseys. Their excellences seem to 
 have been derived from several sources, and viewed by 
 itself, this race might almost be regarded as a mixed 
 one. It is only when compared with other races that 
 its typical individuality becomes manifest. However 
 much a herd of Jerseys may vary among themselves, 
 not one of them ever looks like a Short-horn, an Ayr- 
 shire, or a * native/ Within the varying range of color 
 and form that the breed presents, there are many 
 points, such as the black switches and the uniform hues, 
 which may be singled out for the especial attention of 
 the breeder, and may be made in a few generations 
 much more permanent and conspicuous than they natu- 
 rally are. While it would not be impossible, it would 
 be extremely difficult, to give prominence to two distinct 
 features — to the large milking qualities and to the black 
 points — at the same time. The difficulty of selection 
 would be increased many fold. It would be possible, no 
 doubt, to establish a herd of 1 5 lb. cows with the lead- 
 ing fancy color points, but it would require a long time, 
 great care, and probably an important sacrifice of form 
 and fineness. Then again, by the time perfection had 
 been attained, the question of color might have come 
 to be little regarded, or the fashion might have changed 
 entirely to fawn and white color, with white switches 
 and light-colored tongues. If we are to be fanciers in 
 the sense in which those are who breed pigeons, then we 
 may very properly set up a fancy standard, and breed 
 
44 THE JERSEY, ALDERNEY AND GUERNSEY COW, 
 
 to a hair. But if we are to take a farmer s view of the 
 subject, and breed for whatever will produce the most 
 money, then we should by all means seek for such a 
 large yield of yellow cream as will maintain the unques- 
 tioned superiority of the Jersey for the economical con- 
 version of food into butter, and such striking typical 
 beauty as shall keep her always the favorite cow for 
 ornamental purposes — a beauty that does not depend 
 on an adherence to arbitrary points, but on fineness of 
 breeding, symmetry of form, variety and harmony of 
 color, and the deer- like characteristics of head and eyes 
 for which the race is noted. Such a standard of beauty 
 as this, admitting great variety of color, allows us to 
 seek our great milkers through a much wider range of 
 animals. 
 
 " The indications of great milking are the same with 
 these animals as with all others, and it would be inap- 
 propriate to give, in an essay on a single breed, a 
 treatise on the milch-cow at large. We all know by 
 actual test, and most of us by observation, which are 
 our best and richest milkers ; we can form a prett}?" 
 good opinion of the quality of the animals in our neigh- 
 bors* herds. From among such of these best cows as 
 are up to our standard of beauty we might select the 
 dams of our future herds ; and by always keeping the 
 best and selling off all below the best, as well as occa- 
 sionally some very good cow that has fallen away too 
 much in point of beauty, we might be able, in time, to 
 establish a stock of much greater excellence than any 
 
THE JERSEY, ALDERNEY AND GUERNSEY COW, 4$ 
 
 now existing. Success in such an undertaking requires 
 not only a good deal of knowledge at the outset, and 
 careful attention and study for years, but it demands 
 that a standard be established at the commencement 
 from which no influence shall induce us to deviate. 
 The points of excellence that are to be considered as 
 absolutely essential should be as few as possible, but in 
 such as we do adopt we should stop at nothing short of 
 absolute perfection. 
 
 "It is out of the question, of course, for a single 
 writer or for any committee to fix the standard toward 
 which all should breed. It is suggested, however, as a 
 very good standard, in the absence of a better, to seek 
 to raise 'cows of moderate size that will produce 300 
 pounds of butter in a year, and that, while being of 
 various colors, with a goodly proportion of white, should 
 all be striking examples of the characteristic beauty of 
 the race. For value and satisfaction to their owner, a 
 herd of such cows might compete most favorably with a 
 herd of solid French grays with black points, which, 
 even with larger size, would yield only ^two-thirds the 
 amount of butter. 
 
 '' While, so far as personal indications are concerned, 
 more reliance is to be placed on the appearance of the 
 cow than of the bull, in establishing a herd the bull is, 
 of course, of infinitely more importance than any single 
 cow, and he should be selected with even greater care, 
 the decision resting less with his own appearance arid 
 points (though these, of course, should be unobjection- 
 
46 THE yLRSEY, ALDBRNEY AND GUERNSEY COW, 
 
 able) than with the character of his dam and both his 
 granddams. The great cardinal principle of judicious 
 breeding is expressed in the theory that *like begets 
 like or the likeness of some ancestor! The more remote 
 any ancestral imperfection may be, the less likely is it 
 to reappear. But, in the case of a bull, on which so 
 much depends, there should be no glaring defect in the 
 dams for at least two generations back, and, of course, 
 the longer the pedigree in which we can trace only first- 
 rate cows, the better by far will be our chances of 
 
 »I) \Ji VhH Vwf v^ ^ o « 
 
 "This suggests incidentally another point on which 
 an erroneous opinion seems to prevail. It is consid- 
 ered of great advantage to a Jersey cow in 'America 
 that she has a short pedigree. This is very well simply 
 as an evidence of pure Jersey blood, but it has no other 
 signification. If a reliable pedigree can be given and 
 the purity of every ancestor proven for ten generations, 
 the animal has, so far as purity is concerned, every 
 advantage of an imported one ; while the assumption is, 
 and it will hold good in case of all our breeders who 
 have kept accurate records for a long time, that the 
 animal has been bred with more care, and consequently 
 is intrinsically better, than one that has been bought in 
 the market-place of St Heher, without a pedigree or a 
 history, and sold on arrival here for $300 or $400. 
 
 "One great advantage that it is hoped will result 
 from the establishment of this Herd Book is, the intro- 
 
THE JERSEY, ALDER KEY AND GUERNSEY COW 47 
 
 duction of the elements of judgment and skill in the 
 work of improving our butter-dairy cows We shall 
 henceforth be able to trace out the ancestors of animals 
 offered for sale, and to learn something of their charac- 
 ter ; and we may have some better and more satisfac- 
 tory guide in making our selections than the simple fact 
 that the animal was bred on the Island of Jersey, and 
 that it has a solid color and black points. 
 
 " Whether we have or have not now in this country 
 better animals than are to be found in Jersey is a dis- 
 puted question , but that we have here ample material 
 for the development of such herds as Jersey never saw 
 cannot be doubted. In fact, a recent visitor to the 
 island has stated that such a thing as a herd does not 
 exist there, even the most celebrated breeders keeping 
 but from two or three to a dozen animals all told. The 
 care given to the race in so limited a region, where 
 careful inspection is not out of the question, has resulted 
 in its great improvement ; and there are doubtless indi- 
 vidual animals that it would be diflficult, if not impos- 
 sible, to equal here. These are by no means the ani- 
 mals that are sold for exportation. That the Jersey 
 breeders do not claim for themselves great superiority 
 for the development of the race may be inferred from 
 the following quotation from the Report of the Commit- 
 tee of the Agricultural Department submitted to the 
 Royal Jersey Society in 1868: *The Committee beg 
 leave to call public attention tp the results of careful 
 breeding as practised by Mr. P. Dauncey, Horwood 
 
48 THE JERSEY, ALDERNEY AND GUERNSEY COW. 
 
 Rectory, Bucks, with his herd of Jersey cattle. These 
 were sold, some time since, by auction, when sixty-nine 
 head of stock realized a sum of 3136 guineas. For 
 instance, a cow three years old was sold for 100 guineas ; 
 a two-year-old heifer, 60 guineas ; a bull, one year old, 
 60 guineas.' In the same report it is stated 'that during 
 the year one agent alone, Mr. Le Bas, had shipped from 
 Jersey 2041 head, representing a value of £29,000;* 
 also, ' Tiiat the first-prize two-year-old heifer at the last 
 May show was sold in Jersey for £38 ; and the first 
 prize in yearlings fetched at a sale £42.' While the 
 sales from Jersey for exportation averaged about £14 
 per head, Mr. Dauncey's sale averaged over 45 guineas 
 per head, and his best animals far exceeded the prices 
 fetched for first-prize animals in Jersey, though there is 
 no doubt, other things being equal, that the purchasers 
 of the Dauncey stock (there being no Jersey Herd Book 
 in England) would have preferred imported animals. 
 The conclusion, therefore, is most natural, that Mr, 
 Dauncey, working with material derived only from Jer- 
 sey, far exceeded the Jerseymen themselves in the value 
 of his -results. With a Herd Book to help us, with the 
 encouragement of high prices for good animals and 
 good butter, and with ample material to start with, there 
 is no reason why we may not in time produce a stock 
 better than has yet been known. 
 
 " The early importations of Jersey cattle into this 
 country are most difficult to trace. The animals were 
 then called Alderneys, and the same name was given 
 
THE JERSEY, ALDEMNEY AKD GUERXSEY COIF, 49 
 
 to Guernsey cattle, of which a goodly number were 
 brought over, and they seem to have been interbred 
 somewhat indiscriminately. 
 
 " The following is a copy of a paper kindly furnished 
 by Col. Craig Biddle, of Philadelphia : 
 
 " ' The earliest record of an Alderney cow in Penn- 
 sylvania, that I am aware of, will be found in Vol IV., 
 page 155' of the *' Memoirs of the Philadelphia Society 
 for Promotion of Agriculture.'' It is as follows : 
 
 " * " I have upon my farm on the Delaware a cow of 
 the Alderney breed, imported a short time since by 
 Mr. Wurts. She has been fed in the usual way with 
 potatoes, and during the last week the milk from her 
 was kept separate, and yielded eight pounds of butter. 
 The cow is a small animal, and is supported with less 
 food than our ordinary stock. 
 
 " ' '' By communicating this fact to the Society, it will 
 oblige, etc.» 
 
 " ' " Jan. II, 1 8 1 7. Richard Morris. 
 
 '* ' " P. S. — The cow is three years old. 
 " ' " To Roberts Vaux, Sec. of the Phila. Society for 
 Promoting Agriculture.'' 
 
 " ' In a note on the same page, it is stated " that the 
 cow above referred to is now in the possession of 
 another member of the Agricultural Society ; and after 
 
 a fair trial made with her during last summer (1817)^ 
 
 7 
 
50 THE JERSEY, ALDERNEY AND GUERNSEY COW, 
 
 the superior richness of her milk, when compared with 
 that of other cows, has been fully tested. She gave gi 
 pounds of extremely rich, highly-colored butter per 
 
 week." 
 
 " ' Another mention of the same cow will be found in 
 the fifth volume of the same work, page 47, viz. : 
 
 « ' « Germantown, Oct 20, 1 8 18 
 
 " ' '' With this you will receive a pound of butter made 
 from the Alderney cow imported in 181 5 by Maurice 
 and William Wurts, and now in my possession. She 
 calved on the 13th of last month, and is now in fine 
 condition, running on excellent pasture of orchard grass 
 and white clover, and gives on an average about 14 
 quarts of milk per day. From this quantity, during the 
 week ending the 7th instant, we obtained 10 quarts of 
 cream which produced 8 lbs. 2 oz. of butter, and the 
 week succeeding io\ quarts, which gave 8i lbs. of the 
 quality of the sample sent You will perceive it is of 
 so rich a yellow that it might be suspected that some 
 foreign coloring matter had been added to it ; but you 
 may rely on it this is not the case* I may add that one 
 of the good properties of this valuable breed of cattle is 
 the ease with which the cream is churned, requiring but 
 a few minutes to convert it into butter. When a proper 
 opportunity occurs, I shall endeavor to ascertain the 
 quantity and quality of butter to be obtained per week 
 from the Kerry cow, imported this summer from Ire- 
 
THE JERSEY, ALDERNEY 4ND GUERNSEY COW $1 
 
 land, and the Brittany cow from France, both of which 
 breeds I have pure. 
 
 " * " I remain, respectfully, 
 
 "'"Reuben Haines. 
 " * " Richard Peters, Esq." 
 
 ***In September, 1840, three Alderney cows were 
 purchased by the late Nicholas Biddle. They were im- 
 ported from the Island of Guernsey, and brought to the 
 port of New York in the schooner Pilot, Captain Beleir. 
 They turned out to be remarkably fine animals. This 
 stock, crossed by later importations, is maintained in its 
 purity at Andalusia, Bucks County, Pa., the country-seat 
 of Mr. Biddle, and still in possession of his family/ 
 
 "The earlier importations made by Mr. R. L. Colt, 
 of Paterson, N. J., were of Guernsey animals, or at least 
 there were Guernsey animals among them. About fif- 
 teen years ago, he became satisfied of the superiority 
 of the Jersey stock, and disposed of his Guernseys and 
 made fresh importations. It has been alleged that the 
 importations made by Mr. Gushing, of Watertown, 
 Mass., were in part Guernseys; but this has been 
 authoritatively denied, and the Gushing herd has been 
 proven to be of pure Jersey stock. The Guernsey ani- 
 mals in these earlier importations have been a source 
 of great annoyance to the Committee in passing upon 
 animals offered for entry. In many instances, fine ani- 
 mals, carefully bred, and believed by their owners to be 
 pure Jersey, have had to be rejected because remotely 
 
52 THE JERSEY, ALDERNEY AND GUERNSEY COW. 
 
 tracing to the Biddle or the earlier Colt importations. 
 Their rejection was, of course, no criticism on their 
 quality. 
 
 **The call for contributions for this essay was re- 
 sponded to by only two or three members, and it has 
 seemed best to allow what they have written to influence 
 the character of the essay rather than to be quoted into 
 it with unavoidable repetition. 
 
 " The request has been made that particular points 
 in breeding and management might receive especial 
 attention ; the idea being advanced that white color 
 indicates a deterioration of health, but there seems no 
 sufficient foundation for the belief to warrant its incor- 
 poration here. On the contrary, from the polar bear 
 to the white bantam, all races that are wholly or in part 
 white seem to afford ample evidence of the entire com- 
 patibility of vigorous health with th^ absence of color. 
 That color has a physiological significance is not im- 
 probable ; but what that significance is we are far from 
 being able to say, and the practical relation of all such 
 intricate physiological questions must be referred to a 
 more advanced state of knowledge than our own. In 
 like manner it has been stated that a bull whose tongue 
 is black is more likely than another to impress his own 
 characteristics on his offspring. A careful investigation 
 of the evidence, which is within the reach of all, will 
 surely prove that this theory is entirely without founda- 
 tion. So long as black-tongued bulls beget white- 
 
THE JERSEY, ALDLRXEY AXD GUERXSEY COW, 53 
 
 tongued calves, and white- tongued bulls beget black- 
 tongued calves (the dams being of the same color in 
 both cases), the evidence essential to uphold the theory- 
 seems to be wanting. 
 
 '' It has been also suggested that this essay should 
 include a treatise on the management of Jersey cows. 
 Except with reference to their breeding, there seems to 
 be no necessity for treatment different from that which 
 all cows require, and to introduce a comprehensive 
 article on dairy farming would be unnecessary, and 
 would add too much to the size of the Register. 
 
 "If this breed has any peculiarity that requires 
 special care, it is the persistence with which its better 
 specimens hold out with their milk while pregnant. 
 This tendency is surely to be encouraged within reason- 
 able limits. If a cow can be made to yield a fair flow 
 of milk up to within four weeks of her calving-time, 
 and need go absolutely dry but two weeks, there is no 
 question of the advantage of her doing so. That she 
 should milk up to the very day of calving indicates cer- 
 tainly a good milk-making tendency ; but it is at least 
 not proven that such constant milking is not injurious. 
 Persistent milkinof is a characteristic merit of the better 
 class of Jersey cows, and it is of immense advantage, 
 not only in the case of a single family cow, but in those 
 used for the butter dairy. It is in all respects better 
 that a cow should commence her flow at ro quarts and 
 not fall below 5 quarts a month before calving, than 
 that she should give 20 quarts the first month, 10 quarts 
 
54 THE JERSEY, ALDERNEY AND GUERNSEY COW. 
 
 the third, and fall to 5 or 6 quarts when three months 
 gone with calf, and to nothing two months later. 
 
 " But few contributions have been made by members 
 as to the butter-making quality of Jersey cattle. About 
 two years ago, Mr. Charles M. Beach made a careful 
 experiment with three pure Jersey cows, three grade 
 cows, and three native cows, an experiment which was 
 carefully conducted for a week. The animals were in 
 essentially the same condition, and were kept on the 
 same food. Each lot averaged about the same time 
 from calving. It was found that to make one pound of 
 butter the following quantity of milk from each sort 
 of cow was required : 
 
 3 Pure Jerseys 6j^ quarts. 
 
 3 Grades %% " 
 
 3 Natives ii " 
 
 "According to this, a Jersey cow giving about I2§ 
 quarts of milk per day, or a grade giving i6i quarts, 
 would make as much butter as a native cow giving 22 
 quarts per day. 
 
 " Mr. Thomas Motley makes the following statement 
 of the product of butter of the Jersey cow Flora, im- 
 ported by him May 25, 1851 (then two years old). Her 
 first calf was dropped June 18, 1851 ; the second, June 
 3, 1852 ; and the third, April 28, 1853. Her butter was 
 made by itself, and carefully weighed for nearly a whole 
 year (fifty weeks). The total was 51 1 lbs. 2 oz., or an 
 average of \o\ lbs. per week. 
 
 " Mr. Motley states that this cow was not forced in 
 
THE JERSEY, ALDERNEY AXD GUERNSEY CO IK S5 
 
 any way. She had only ordinary feed, winter and sum- 
 mer^ — good feed, of course, and systematically adminis- 
 tered, but nothing to so stimulate her secretion of cream 
 as to impair her subsequent usefulness. Surely a breed 
 to which such immense results are possible is wortliy of 
 our most fostering care, and we should jealously guard 
 against sacrificing this possibility for the sake of fancy- 
 color points. A herd of cows that would average five 
 hundred pounds each of Jersey butter a year might be 
 of all the hues of the rainbow without losing popu- 
 larity. 
 
 " Mr. Motley also reports the following trial with the 
 same cow during the latter part of her previous milk- 
 ing: *I tried her milk, placed by itself for one week, 
 measuring the milk, and weighing the cream and butter. 
 February 3, 1853, 40 quarts milk gave 10 quarts cream, 
 weighing 25! lbs., and 7 lbs. butter. February 9, 38 i 
 quarts of milk gave 9^ quarts cream, weighing 23 lbs., 
 and ji lbs. butter — 5 quarts and i pint of buttermilk, 
 weighing 15 lbs. She calved on the 28th April follow- 
 ing, two months and nineteen days after the trial' 
 
 "Mr. J. Milton Mackie writes, under date January 
 30, 1870: 'Having lately obtained a set of glass tubes 
 for testing the quality of milk, I have got results as fol- 
 lows: A two-year old heifer (dropped April 2, 1867), 
 which dropped her first calf June 11, 1869, showed 3 J 
 inches of cream on a column in a tube of 11 inches 
 (milk and cream together). This is 31*80 per cent, of 
 cream. The milk was poured from the pail as soon as 
 
S6 THE JERSLY, ALDERNEY AND GUERNSEY COW 
 
 drawn from the cow, not allowed to stand for a single 
 minute. The amount of cream was measured in the 
 morning after the milk had stood in the tube between 
 fourteen and fifteen hours. The tube stood in the milk- 
 room at the usual temperature for setting milk in win- 
 ten The cow had been fed as usual that day, and for 
 days before — say about two quarts of mixed bran and 
 feed per day, on cut hay, with a little oat-straw. I may 
 add that this heifer had been milked on the morning of 
 the day of trial as usual I know of no reason why this 
 experiment is not in all respects a fair one. 
 
 '' ' The mother of this heifer was tested in the first 
 days of November, 1866, immediately after having been 
 purchased, and yielded i quart of cream from 3^ quarts 
 of milk, fed only on grass, and short at that. The 
 average yield of my Jerseys, tested by the tube yester- 
 day (January 29), was 20*45 P^^ cent, of cream, after 
 standing less than fifteen hours.' '^ 
 
 " The age at which Jersey cows should calve seems by 
 common consent to be fixed at two years. If allowed to 
 go much longer, they seem to lose something of their 
 natural tendency to lactation. The precocity of the 
 breed, however, is so great that, unless care is taken, 
 they sometimes come in much earlier. Mr. Mackie 
 writes, under date June 3, 1870, 'My yearling '' Hebe 
 4th,'' out of " Hebe ist," by " Cliff," dropped a calf last 
 
 ■5^ The heifer m question gave 3j^ quarts per day at the time h®r milk wa«; tested. 
 The herd gave four quarts on an average. Of course, the proportion of cream was 
 very laige, as the heid was drying oJOf 
 
THE JERSEY, ALDLRNEY AND GUERNSEY COW 57 
 
 month, when she was only 14 months and 2 days old. 
 She calved without trouble, behaved well in every re- 
 spect; has given since about 6 quarts of milk per day. 
 . . . She is thrifty, and I don't think the labors and duties 
 of maternity so early imposed upon her will injure her 
 growth in the least The taking the bull was acci-'- 
 dental ; but I am not sorry for the accident. The calf 
 is of fair size, thrifty and handsome.' 
 
 "It seems a valuable suggestion that heifers be made 
 to come in with their first calves during the very flush 
 of spring grass, when their newly used lacteal organs 
 will be stimulated to the largest possible development 
 
 "In closing this brief collocation of facts and opinions 
 concerning the influences under which the Jersey breed 
 of cattle has been produced and developed, and the 
 manner in which, by adhering to or deviating from the 
 conditions thus indicated, the race may be still modified 
 or improved, it is regretted that the material was not at 
 hand to make it more complete. Further contributions 
 are requested for the next volume of the Register." 
 
CHAPTER II. 
 
 MOW TO CHOOSE A GOOD COW. 
 
 Having, in the first chapter, expatiated on the pecu- 
 liar fitness of the Guernsey and Alderney Cow for the 
 purposes of milking and breeding, it follows that I 
 should now give such instructions to purchasers as may 
 enable them to choose a good, serviceable animal. 
 
 Commencing with the general configuration, it is 
 necessary to observe that, as the cow under considera- 
 tion is a high-bred animal, very nearly the same general 
 characteristics should be observed as exist in a well-bred 
 horse. 
 
 The head should be small, slender, and lengthy from 
 
 the eye to the nose ; the horns thin and open, not 
 
 cramped, or, as it is frequently expressed, too curly; 
 
 the eye full, but not too prominent, the latter quality 
 
 indicating an excitability and consequent restlessness 
 
 of disposition that is not favorable to the production of 
 
 milk ; the ear lengthy and broad, and well fringed with 
 
 hair, which protects it from the annoyance of flies and 
 
 indicates a strong constitution. A broad muzzle should 
 
 be avoided, as showing a tendency to fat. The neck 
 
 should be long, flat and narrow, with a tendency to rise 
 
 at the withers, and breadth behind the arm to allow of 
 58 
 
THE JERSEY, ALDERNEY AND GUERNSEY COIK 59 
 
 a full expansion of the lungs, the chest being rather 
 deep than broad ; the flat-sided cow is more especially 
 to be chosen as a milker. The hips should be wide, 
 rugged and high, and the pelvis (or haunches) wide and 
 large, drooping toward the tail ; the thigh long and lean 
 from hip to hock, the veins being prominent and easily 
 felt ; the legs slender, with flat bone and small, flat feet, 
 the hinder ones having good width between, to afford 
 room for the udder. A long and thin tail is a great 
 point in breeding. 
 
 I now come to the udder, to which all former remarks 
 are secondary. This part, the reservoir of the milk, 
 should be free from hair, flexible and soft, with no tend- 
 ency to flesh ; the bag extending well forward, as level 
 as possible with the belly, and high up betv/een the 
 thighs. The feeding veins should be particularly ob- 
 served. In the heifer with the first calf they must be 
 felt for with the hand ; in this case two holes will be 
 discovered by feeling under the belly nearly in a line 
 with the navel, on each side, in good milking heifers, of 
 about the size of a sixpence. As age increases the 
 holes extend, and the veins become large and easily 
 perceived by the eye ; the larger these feeding veins 
 appear, the greater is the quantity of milk. The teats 
 should be well separated, not fat or fleshy, and not too 
 long, but sufficiently tight to retain the milk, having a 
 tendency downward — that is, to use the technical term, 
 not struttingy or pointing away from the quarters, as this 
 causes waste of milk and difficulty in milking. These 
 
60 THE JERSEY, ALDLRNEY AND GUERNSEY COW 
 
 particulars combine all that in ordinary use require to 
 be attended to In the selection of a serviceable cow. 
 There are, however, some few remarks to be made on 
 the hide, which will be found useful In determining the 
 fitness of particular cows for particular localities, but 
 ha\ ing little to do with the milking properties. If pos- 
 sible, It Is better to accustom a cow to cold and expo- 
 sure by degrees, In which case the hide will adapt Itself 
 to the altered condition by thickening and producing 
 more hair; but when this gradual adaptation of the 
 animal to a new and more severe climate is Impractica- 
 ble, choice should not be made of one possessing that 
 great dehcacy of skin and covering which Is so much 
 coveted, but of one having coarser and more curly hair 
 and thicker hide, which features are indicative of a cus- 
 tomary exposure, when the other points show good 
 
 milking properties. 
 
 A good cow not only yields much good milk, but 
 almost In proportion to the quantity given dally is there 
 a long continuance of the secretion between the periods 
 of calving. 
 
 How much milk will a cow yield? In general terms 
 it may be sgiid that a cow yields far more than she 
 needs to rear her offspring, and In some -counties two 
 calves are made to suckle one cow, or the milk of one 
 cow is given even to more than two calves when these 
 are reared exclusively by the hand. It Is extraordi- 
 nary how much a young animal will drink, and no 
 doubt the function of the udder is most active when 
 
THE JERSEY, ALDERAEY AND GLLRXSEY COl! 6l 
 
 the natural stimulus — the act of sucking — is in full 
 operation. 
 
 Some cows yield enormous quantities, and I am 
 really inchned to regard the very extraordinary drain 
 occasionally occurring by the udder of a poor lean cow 
 as unnatural and unhealthy. It is not unfrequent to 
 see m large dairies an emaciated animal, with every 
 indication of great constitutional weakness, and even 
 the unmistakable signs of phthisis, yet )/ieldIng gallons 
 of blue watery milk. We frequently observe secreting 
 organs, from some cause or other, unusually active, 
 much to the injury of the animal's health, and some- 
 times fatal effects result This is the case In different 
 forms of diabetes, and the persistence of a poor milk 
 secretion to the last moments of an animal's life, months 
 and months after it should naturally have ceased, may 
 really be regarded as an abnormal state. At all events, 
 this view of the subject is worthy of consideration. 
 
 Long continuance of mammary secretion may depend 
 on the system adapting itself with difficulty to a great 
 constitutional change. When a cow is in calf, the 
 development of the foetus calls for blood which is drawn 
 from the udder, and the function of the latter ceases. 
 If, on the other hand, a cow that Is not pregnant lays 
 on flesh, the deposition of fat necessarily restrains the 
 production of milk. But the transudation of principles 
 from the blood in the mammal becomes in the course 
 of time little more than a mechanical process ; and pro- 
 vided the materials entering the blood are not stored 
 
^2 THE JERSEW ALDERNEY AND GUERNSEY COW 
 
 Up in some other form, they are very readily trans- 
 formed into the elements of milk, from the system hav- 
 ing become long habituated to the peculiar changes 
 essential in this process. Accordingly, some good 
 milkers, and particularly old cows in which vital activity 
 is constantly decreasing and systemic reaction becom- 
 ing progressively more and more difficult, acquire a 
 sickly appearance, the defective lymph is deposited in 
 the form of the masses of tubercular matter so con- 
 stantly found in the chest of old cows, the animals be- 
 come phthisical, the organs of procreation become 
 unhealthy, and with more or less constant irritation of 
 the ovaries the cow becomes barren. With this irrita- 
 tion there is a periodic check to the secretion of milk ; 
 nevertheless a very considerable flow continues, not- 
 withstanding the obvious waste of every tissue in the 
 animal's body. 
 
 The fact that the system is more capable of under- 
 going natural, though very marked, changes in early 
 life without danger, renders a young animal indispen- 
 sable for the dairy, either to breed from or to prove 
 profitable to the town cow keeper. 
 
 To DETERMINE THE AGE OF A COW is therefore a matter 
 of importance, and this can be done with great precision 
 by examining the teeth and horns. 
 
 The horns do not furnish us with such certain indi- 
 cations as the teeth, and great facilities are offered in 
 some animals to destroy the marks of growth and age. 
 
 According to the breed does the length, thickness, 
 
THE JERSEY, ALDER\EY A\D GUERXSEY COIF 63 
 
 and shape of the horn vary, but in all there is an annual 
 mark left of continual development In castrated ani- 
 mals the horns sometimes attain extraordinary propor- 
 tions, but this in no way affects the appearances I have 
 to describe. 
 
 'Shortly after birth the development of the frontal pro- 
 cesses on each side of the head indicate the position of 
 the future horn, which appears through the skin within 
 the first month. At the age of four or five months the 
 little horn is firm, and protected by a scaly cuticular 
 covering, which exfoliates when an animal is about a 
 year old. At this period the base of the horn becomes 
 knotty, and a circular depression between the skin and 
 the bulging horn is the sign that the animal has fully 
 attained its first year. A seqond bulge forms, and a 
 depression below it, by the second year, a third by the 
 third, and so on as long as the animal lives. 
 
 But, in calculating the age of a cow at five or six, an 
 error may be incurred by supposing that the first marks 
 formed can be readily perceived. It is only the third 
 yearns circle which is very distinct 
 
 The teeth of animals develop with great regularity, 
 and indicate, by periodical changes, how long they have 
 been growing. So universal are these marks of age 
 amongst the lower animals, that an attempt has been 
 made to determine by the teeth the age of human 
 beings. But an artificial existence, with circumstances 
 occasionally favoring a tardy development, and at others 
 a very rapid growth, completely set at naught any tables 
 
64 THE JERSEY, ALDERNEY AND GUERNSEY COW. 
 
 which may be framed, and the exceptions are too 
 numerous to admit of accuracy in calculations. 
 
 The age of the ox cannot be determined with so much 
 precision as that of the horse, from the diversity in the 
 precocity of different breeds, as well as the very various 
 methods of management they are subjected to. 
 
 The obvious changes of the teeth have been divided 
 into two epochs. The first consists in the eruption and 
 wear of the temporary teeth, and the second the erup- 
 tion and wear of the permanent teeth. 
 
 First Epoch. — There are two periods in this epoch — 
 the one from birth to thirty days, and the second up to 
 eighteen months. A calf is usually born with four 
 incisor teeth through the gums. In tardy animals the 
 four appear within the first four days, the next two about 
 the fifteenth day, and the fourth pair from the fifteenth 
 to the twenty-fifth day. The second period of the first 
 epoch consists in the wearing down of the temporary 
 teeth, which occurs successively from the centre to the 
 corner teeth, so that all are much worn by eighteen 
 months. 
 
 Professor Simonds says, " The putting up of the tern- 
 porary incisors and molars at about a month completes 
 'first dentition;' and as there is now a given number 
 of teeth, so any addition to them will make an import- 
 ant stage in the further process of teething. When 
 this addition takes place, the temporary teeth, merely 
 by their number, cannot avail in our inquiries, nor can 
 they be said materially to do so up to that period by the 
 
THE JERSEY, ALDERNEY AND GUERNSEY COW 65 
 
 slight wear they may have undergone. The general 
 appearance of the young animal for the first few months 
 suffices to form a fair estimate of its age/' 
 
 The second epoch, or "second dentition/' includes 
 three periods. The first consists in the successive erup- 
 tion of the permanent teeth. 
 
 In referring to the ox's mouth at eighteen months, 
 Mr. Simonds says it has been shown that at a year old 
 the four middle placed incisors, in particular, give indi- 
 cations of wear by the loss of their sharp edges, and in- 
 creasing flatness of their crowns. ** By eighteen months 
 this flatness has considerably increased ; it is not now, 
 however, confined to the teeth placed in the centre of 
 the mouth, but has extended to all. The jaw of the 
 animal has also grown wider, thus increasing the spaces 
 between the teeth, so as to leave not merely their fangs 
 apart but likewise their crowns. To compensate in 
 part for their diminished length, the teeth have likewise 
 risen in their sockets ; and as some of them are soon to 
 be renewed by the permanent incisors, the powers of 
 absorption have commenced in their fangs. These 
 various causes, more or less modified in different ani- 
 mals, give to the mouth an appearance which Is quickly 
 recognized." 
 
 I may remark that the indications of age here given 
 
 for eigfhteen months I have seen in backward breeds at 
 
 twenty or twenty-two months, and, as Girard says, the 
 
 middle permanent incisors are then out at two years ; 
 
 the next two, between two and three; the next two,. 
 9 
 
66 THE JERSEY, ALDERNEY AND GUERNSEY COW. 
 
 between three and four; and the next, between four 
 and five, when the full complement of permanent teeth 
 is observed in the mouth. But undoubtedly this erup- 
 tion often occurs far more rapidly. 
 
 The second period of the second dentition is that in 
 which the incisor teeth undergo a manifest change in 
 their wearing aspect, whereby the age of a cow can be 
 told. This period extends from five to nine years of 
 age, and annually each succeeding pair is observed 
 worn down. 
 
 In the third period of the second dentition the form 
 of the teeth completely alters ; the upper surface be- 
 comes progressively narrower and flatter. The teeth 
 become very short and detached from each other, until 
 in extreme old age they fall out. 
 
 In the upper jaw, the ox tribes possess no teeth, but 
 a pad to apply against the incisors. In early life the 
 rudiments of teeth are observed springing from the 
 intermaxillary bone, but a tough fibro-elastic cushion, 
 covered by the firm mucous membrane, becomes con- 
 solidated as the animal acquires age, 
 
 I have not referred to many accidents which affect the 
 regularity of growth and eruption of the worn teeth of 
 cows, but they are very common. Thus a temporary 
 tooth may be prematurely removed when an animal is 
 biting some tough root, or a tooth may be knocked out. 
 The early removal of a temporary tooth does not always 
 ensure the early appearance of a permanent one, and 
 this is seen in some Yorkshire colts which have disap- 
 
THE JERSEY, ALDERNEY AK^D GUERNSEY COW 6/ 
 
 pointed the hopes of their tricky masters, who, in 
 attempting to make a horse look old by drawing some 
 of his teeth, in order that they may be believed to have 
 been shed, retards the growth of the teeth that are to 
 replace them. The pressure on the permanent tooth 
 as it advances to displace the temporary produces a 
 certain degree of irritation, and a determination of 
 blood to the parts favorable to the development of the 
 former. 
 
 Mr, Simonds says, " Among the anomalies which are 
 met with in the teething of oxen, the cutting of one 
 tooth of a given pair four or five weeks before the other 
 is the most frequent. The tooth thus put up out of 
 regular order is likely to lead to an error with reference 
 to the animal's age. My own observations go to show 
 that in most instances it is a premature cutting of the 
 one, and not a delay in the coming up of the other tooth, 
 which produces the anomaly; and consequently that 
 the animal is younger than he appears to be at first 
 sight I have noticed that this irregularity applies far 
 more frequently to the third and fourth pairs than to 
 either the first or second/' 
 
 To Determine the Milking Qualities of a Cow, 
 many important points have to be considered. We 
 shall classify them under two heads : Constitutional or 
 rather Systemic Characters, and Local Peculiarities of 
 the Mammary Glands. 
 
 Whether destined for the production of flesh or milk, 
 the cows of any breed may possess the distinguishing 
 
68 THE JERSEY, ALDERNEY AND GUERNSEY COW, 
 
 features of milkers — the comparison as to superiority or 
 inferiority being instituted between animals of the same 
 breed. Nevertheless, the good dairy cattle possess 
 such a development of good milking points, that, regard- 
 less of other tests, we can from these determine to a 
 great extent if belonging to a milking breed. 
 
 The head should be clearly distinguished from that of 
 a bull by lightness, sharpness of outline, clean bone, well 
 developed skull, with broad forehead and well mounted 
 horn. I do not like a Ion of- faced cow with narrow era- 
 nium, heavy brow and thick prominent muzzle. 
 
 The neck varies very considerably in different breeds. 
 It should be light, of moderate length, with a nice curve, 
 so that the head when raised appears prettily held. 
 
 From the withers to the root of the tail, the spine 
 should be straight and broad. The withers round and 
 broad, the loins wide, and, according to some, the spi- 
 nous processes of the lumbar vertebrse should bend well 
 forwards, so as to leave space between them and the 
 spinous process of the sacrum. 
 
 A good back is usually seen with a good body, deep 
 and prominent ribs well back towards the ileum, and 
 not only allowing free play for the heart and lungs, but 
 room for the digestive and reproductive organs. 
 
 The belly in young animals should be neat and round. 
 It droops with age, especially when a cow has borne 
 several calves. 
 
 The limbs should be well proportioned, the fore ones 
 light, especially towards their upper part, and the hind 
 
THE JERSEY, ALDERNEY AND GUERNSEY COW. 69 
 
 ones broad, with full flat thighs, broad clean hocks, 
 straight and short legs. 
 
 The skin should be free, thin, and may be covered 
 with hair of any color, according to the breed. In 
 some, as in the Jersey cattle, a light color is preferred. 
 Amongst Brittany cows the light-colored cows are usu- 
 ally coarse, wild, and unproductive. The black and 
 white cows are preferred Amongst Ayrshires a good 
 reddish brown and white cow is considered the best. 
 Color is of little value to determine quality, especially 
 in comparison with the nature of the skin. I have never 
 seen a cow with a really good skin a good milker. It 
 is as certain a sign as most of the more generally re- 
 puted ones. In some instances the hide is fine, and feels 
 thicker than it really is, from the unhealthy condition of 
 a cow. I know of no fault I dislike more than really 
 thick skin. 
 
 The tail is by some much looked to, and it is be- 
 lieved that when fine, and reaching down to the hocks, 
 with a fine tuft of hair, it is associated with other good 
 milking points. 
 
 It is an essential quality in a cow that she should be 
 good tempered, lively, and in such constitutional vigor 
 as to feed well, ruminate much, and thrive well The 
 perfect state of the digestive system is a very im- 
 portant matter. And we have before said that a good 
 conformation of chest, indicating great power of the 
 respiratory organs, is much to be desired. All these 
 qualities render an animal constitutionally strong, and 
 
70 THE JERSEY, ALDERNEY AND GUERNSEY COW, 
 
 enable it to yield milk to the full extent of its milking 
 qualities. 
 
 The udder of the cow is constituted by four or six 
 mamm^, two or three on each side. Rarely do we find 
 more than four secreting, and they are therefore called 
 the quarters of the udder. The whole of the quarters 
 are in the cow enveloped by a common fibrous tunic, 
 tough and elastic, connected with the abdominal fascia 
 by similar fibro-elastic textures. This outer envelope 
 is closely adherent to the skin, and on its glandular 
 aspect is connected with numerous prolongations or 
 septa intersecting the gland and supporting its different 
 lobes and lobules. The tube passing through the teat 
 or nipple may be regarded as the stem connected with 
 a considerable cavity, and from which spread many 
 branches ; these traverse the substance of the organ in 
 every direction, and are conn'ected with clusters of gland 
 vesicles. Like all compound racemose glands, they 
 may be compared to bunches of grapes, the acini or 
 grapes being connected by areolar or connective tissue, 
 which constitutes the framework or skeleton of the 
 organ, and is transformed into or continuous with the 
 outer fibro-elastic envelope. 
 
 The teat itself, composed of the outer skin, of a fibro- 
 vascular and partly erectile tissue, possessed also of 
 considerable muscular contractility, is traversed through 
 its centre by the milk duct, communicating, as I have 
 before said, with a milk reservoir, and through it with 
 every other tube in the gland. The tubes which con- 
 
THE JERSEY, ALDERNEY AND GUERNSEY CO IV, 7 1 
 
 verge towards the milk reservoir have received the 
 name of Galactophorus ducts. 
 
 The different quarters of a cow's udder are supplied 
 by separate arteries with blood. In company with these 
 arteries are numerous veins, the development of which 
 is very marked in some cows. The udder veins dis- 
 charge their blood in great part into the thigh vein, but 
 also in the abdominal vein, which sometimes attains such 
 a considerable size. 
 
 The udder of a cow may be very large, from an abun- 
 dance of the areolar or connective tissue above men- 
 tioned. This constitutes a '* fleshy" udder, and is not 
 a desirable quality. If the gland be firm and rich in 
 gland vesicles, with a nice fine skin, it is much to be 
 preferred. 
 
 The fore-quarters of the udder should advance well 
 under the belly, and the teats pointing obliquely out- 
 wards. The back-quarters well up behind and broad. 
 
 With regard to the veins as indications of milking 
 quality, we can rely less on the so-called '' milk vein '' 
 than is often supposed. If large and tortuous, with a 
 considerable opening through the muscles of the belly 
 to admit of its passage outwards, it is frequently con- 
 nected with a rich udder ; but far greater reliance can 
 be placed on the network of veins seen beneath the skin 
 over the fore-quarters of the udder. This characteristic 
 is little noticed by authors, and I have rarely heard 
 dairymen or dealers in cattle speak of it But both the 
 veins and the udder itself, and those which pass up- 
 
72 THE JERSEY, ALDERNEY AND GUERNSEY COW, 
 
 wards behind towards the tail, in fact over the peri- 
 Hceum, when large, are sure tests of a competent milker. 
 Magne has noticed this mark more than other persons, 
 though our own numerous observations, which agree 
 with Professor Magne's, date several years back. I can- 
 not refrain from quoting his remarks : 
 
 " Veins of the Udder and of the Perinmum. — The veins 
 of the udder and the perinaeum, to which hitherto suf- 
 ficient importance has not been given, are able to fur- 
 nish valuable indications. They should, in both cases, 
 be highly developed, large and varicose ; that is, exhibit 
 inflations and nodosities. 
 
 " The veins of the udder have no definite direction. 
 They present themselves very irregularly, under the 
 form of zigzag lines, knotted, and more or less oblique. 
 They are never of very large size, except in cows which 
 give great quantities of milk. 
 
 "The veins of the perinaeum directed from above 
 downwards, forming a winding line, interspersed with 
 knots, resemble those of the udder in not being visible 
 either in heifers or in beasts of middling quality. We 
 cannot ascertain their presence in any but very good 
 cows. 
 
 " In the cow on which we saw the vein of the peri- 
 neum for the first time, in the vicinity of Lille, in 1847, 
 in company with MM. Delplanque and Pommeret, this 
 vein formed a very large knotted and winding hne. 
 The Dutch cow which had it, though not of large size, 
 gave seventy pints daily, and did not become dry while 
 
THE JERSEY, ALDERNEY AND GUERNSEY COW, 73 
 
 in calf. All the surface of the udder was varicose, 
 Interspersed with transverse veins. 
 
 " Since that particular case drew our attention to this 
 mark, we have had opportunities of observing it on a 
 very great number of cows. M. CoUot also gives this 
 vein as one of the marks of excellent milkers. 
 
 " The veins of the perinaeum, in the best milkers, form 
 a network beneath .the skin, which it raises up in a 
 greater or less degree. In some of the best cows, these 
 veins mark their position by a large knotted line, but 
 most frequently, in order to make them visible, it Is 
 necessary to use pressure across the skin at the base of 
 the perinaeum. The pressure causes them to swell, and 
 makes them discernible both by sight and touch. It is 
 even easy, by making the blood flow back towards the 
 vulva, to produce very apparent undulations. 
 
 " We should always pay attention to these movement^ 
 of the blood, in order not to mistake the folds, some- 
 times exhibited by the skin of the perinaeum, for veins. 
 Error is especially to be feared in the case of fat cows, 
 on account of the fatty inflations which appear in the 
 perinseum. The veins buried In fat cannot be distin- 
 guished by the motions of the blood, which often are by 
 no means apparent. 
 
 " In some cows, the vein Is found between two folds 
 
 on each side of the perinaeum ; It Is there much less 
 
 prominent than the folds, and becomes perceptible only 
 
 by the fluctuation of the blood. 
 
 "At other times (this Is when the perinaeum is united, 
 10 
 
74 THE JERSEY, ALDERKEY AND GUERNSEY COW. 
 
 when the skin is thin, and the cow old), the veins, though 
 little developed, are apparent, or easily become so, with- 
 out being very bulky. It is necessary to have regard 
 to their size ; though they may be very easily detected, 
 still, if they are small, the cows are not very good. 
 
 " It is not always on the upper part of the perinaeum, 
 near the vulva, that the vein is most visible ; sometimes 
 it is discernible only in the lower part of this region, 
 near the udder; "it there appears under the form of 
 knots, which are, at times, very large, and are observed 
 on the perinaeum and the udder, and the space between 
 them. 
 
 *'0f all the marks of abundant milk secretion, the 
 best, and indeed the only infallible marks, are furnished 
 by the veins of the perinaeum and of the udder. But, 
 although the surest, they are not absolutely decisive. 
 
 "To estimate them, it is necessary to take into ac- 
 count the state of the cows in respect of flesh, the thick- 
 ness of the skin, food, general activity, fatigue, journeys, 
 heat ; all the circumstances, in short, which cause varia- 
 tions in the general state of the circulation, and in the 
 dilatation of the veins. It is necessary, moreover, to 
 recollect that in both sexes all the veins are larpfer in 
 the old than in the young; that the veins which encircle 
 the udder are those which, if the cows are in milk, vary 
 most according to the different periods of life ; though 
 scarcely apparent in youth, they are of considerable size 
 when, after several calvings, the operation of milking 
 has given the gland its full development. 
 
THE JERSEY, ALDERNEY AND GUERNSEY COW. 75 
 
 '' This proportion between the size of the veins and 
 the milk secreted is observed in all females, without 
 exception. The largeness of the veins and their vari- 
 cose state, being a consequence of the quantity of blood 
 attracted by the activity of the milk glands, is not only 
 the sign but also the measure of this activity; the con- 
 nection between the two phenomena is such that, if the 
 glands do not give an equal quantity of milk, the larger 
 veins are on the side of the gland which gives the larger 
 quantity/* 
 
 There remains for me to notice the most valuable of 
 all methods to determine the milking qualities of the 
 cow. It is Guenon's system. Francois Guenon, risen 
 from the humbler classes, and from his boyhood being 
 amongst milch cows in his native country in the vicinity 
 of Bordeaux, narrowly observed the relation between 
 the amount of milk secreted and the development of 
 the patch of skin, covered with upturned hair, extending 
 from the udder upwards, and laterally over the thighs. 
 He determined from this that it is possible with great 
 accuracy to determine the value of a dairy cow. 
 
 For long was Guenon's system a secret. His career 
 has, however, been most fortunate, and the substantial 
 manner in which he established his claims as a discov- 
 erer in this very important matter has insured him much 
 distinction. 
 
 '' The Agricultural Society of Bordeaux appointed a 
 committee, in 1837, to test Guenon's capabilities, and 
 they reported that, although the mode by which he 
 
76 THE JERSEY, ALDERNEY AND GUERNSEY COW, 
 
 ascertained these qualities was a secret, he had suc- 
 ceeded in satisfying them of the reality of the system 
 he pursued. They subjected his process to an experi- 
 mental test which was very effectual. Separate cows 
 were brought from strange dairies, and he wrote down 
 the characteristics and qualities of each. These were 
 compared with the separate statements given by the 
 owners of the animals ; and, in cases of more than sixty 
 head, he succeeded in stating all their peculiarities ex- 
 actly, excepting a very slight difference in appraising the 
 quantity of milk — a difference the committee attributed 
 solely to the quality of food given to the animal 
 
 "The Central Society of Agriculture of Cantal also 
 reported upon his system with equal favor. They thus 
 describe the process of investigation pursued: 'He ac- 
 companied the members of your committee to the farm 
 of Verac, belonging to the president of the society. He 
 examined with scrupulous attention the fine dairy cows 
 of this domain, which is composed of one hundred milch 
 cows of the best kind in the country. . . . M. Guenon 
 gave upon each of them separately precise indications 
 as to the quantity of milk each of them gave per diem, 
 and the length of time they would hold their milk after 
 being again in calf. We must avow to you, gentlemen, 
 that they have almost in every instance agreed with the 
 declarations of the owners of the cows.' " * 
 
 M. Magne tells us, that from time immemorial the 
 inhabitants of .Mont d'Or, in the Lyonnais, of the com- 
 
 * The Cow. By M M Milbura London, 1S59. 
 
THE JERSEY, ALDERNEY AND GUERNSEY COW, 77 
 
 mimes of St Cyr, St. Didier, Conzon, etc., have consid- 
 ered the tufts or fringes on the lateral parts of the belly 
 and at the base of the flank as indicating the milking 
 qualities of goats. Guenon has founded a system on a 
 similar basis, applicable to the cow; and all animals 
 bear similar indications of aptitude for the secretion of 
 milk. 
 
 It is not very easy to denote intelligibly the whole 
 system, in order to adopt it without further guide; this, 
 however, applies to all matters of observation, in which 
 a single practical demonstration proves more instructive 
 than the perusal of a considerable volume. It has been 
 stated, in disparagement of Guenon's system, that no 
 one has attained his proficiency in selecting cows accord- 
 ing to his method. We very much doubt this, as we 
 have seen it applied with the happiest success by several 
 of Guenon's countrymen. All seem to think his classi- 
 fication too complicated; but it may be so for those 
 who will not take the trouble to study it thoroughly. I 
 confess, however, that I am inclined to give weight to 
 this objection to Guenon's treatise. 
 
 In introducing his subject, Guenon says, "I affirm 
 without fear of erring that, with an accurate knowledge 
 of the new characteristic signs of my method, the ani- 
 mals which will give most milk, and continue longest 
 yielding it when in calf, can be chosen even a few days 
 after their birth ; the quality of the milk, whether it will 
 be rich or poor in cream or butter, can also be deter- 
 mined." 
 
78 THE JERSEY, ALDERNEY AND GUERNSEY COW 
 
 The distinctive signs which Guenon makes use of are, 
 the ttifts or epis^ and scutcheons or ecussons; they are 
 visible in all animals of the bovine race, without excep- 
 tion ; are situate over the perinaeum and inner surface 
 of the thighs, and can only be examined thoroughly 
 during the animal's movements. These signs charac- 
 terize the class and families, which only differ from each 
 other in the variable form of the scutcheon ; Guenon, 
 moreover, says that the names he has used are purely 
 conventional, having relation to the form of parts em- 
 ployed as signs, and he has especially avoided Greek 
 and Latin compounds. 
 
 Ten forms of scutcheons have been described, and 
 constitute the basis of Guenon's classification. 
 
 The surface of the scutcheon is distinguished by the 
 hair turned upwards, and opposite in direction to that 
 
 Fig I. Fig. 2. Fig 3 
 
 covering other parts of the animal's skin. This hair 
 differs from all the rest in color, and is fine, soft and 
 close. 
 
 The scutcheon springs from the middle of the four 
 teats, whence a portion of its hair springs, and extends 
 
THE JERSEY, ALDER^VEY AND GUERNSEY COW 79 
 
 towards the navel, whereas the other part rises towards 
 the inner and upper part of the hocks to the middle of 
 
 Fig 4. Fig. 5. Fig 6 
 
 the posterior surface of the thighs ; then rising over the 
 udder on the perinaeum, it extends in some classes to 
 the upper angle of the vulva, as seen at figs, i or 3. 
 
 Fig 7. fig 8. Fig. 9. 
 
 The surface or extent of the scutcheon denotes the 
 milking capacity, its form and outline indicate the class, 
 the fineness of the hair and the color of the epidermis 
 the quantity and quality of the milk. 
 
 In examining scutcheons, Magne says : 
 
 " For the most part, it is very easy to distinguish the 
 scutcheons by the upward direction of the hair which 
 forms them. They are even sometimes surrounded by 
 
8o 7 HE JERSEY, ALDERNEY AND GUERNSEY COW. 
 
 a line of bristly hair, turned backwards, and formed by 
 the meeting of the upward and the downward hair. 
 
 '* Still, when the hair is very fine and very short and 
 mixed with long hairs, when the skin is much folded, 
 and when the udder is of large size and pressed by 
 the thighs, it is necessary, in order to be able to dis- 
 tinguish the part enclosed between the udder and the 
 legs, and perceive the full size of the scutcheons, to 
 examine them attentively, to place the limbs of the cow 
 apart, and even stretch the skin in order to efface its 
 folds. 
 
 " The scutcheons may also be perceived by leaning 
 the back of the hand against the perineum, and then 
 drawing the hand from above downwards. The nails 
 rub against the ascending hair, and give sensible indica- 
 tion of the parts covered by it. 
 
 " As the hair of the scutcheon has not the same direc- 
 tion as the surrounding hair, it may sometimes be dis- 
 tinguished by a difference in the shade reflected by it ; 
 but for the most part it is thin and fine, and allows the 
 color of the skin to be seen. Were we to trust only to 
 the eye, we should often be deceived. 
 
 "In some countries dealers shave the buttocks of 
 cows. Immediately after this operation, it becomes im- 
 possible to discern the tufts, either by sight or touch ; 
 but the inconvenience ceases after some days. We 
 ought to add that this shaving, intended, as the dealers 
 say, to beautify the cow, is resorted to most frequentHj^ 
 for the single purpose of destroying the scutcheon^ 'and 
 
THE JERSEY, ALDERNEY AND GUERNSEY CO IK Si 
 
 depriving buyers of one method of determining the 
 milking qualities. 
 
 " It is superfluous to add, that the cows most care- 
 fully shaven are those which were ill marked by the tuft, 
 and that it is therefore prudent to assume that cows 
 with the perinaeum shaved are bad." 
 
 Guenon says that the importance of the scutcheon is 
 sometimes diminished, and at others Increased, by the 
 different tufts which are usually met with, according to 
 their form, nature, position and extent. With the ex- 
 ception of the oval ones, seen at fig. i, all tufts encroach- 
 ing on the scutcheon diminish its value, or in other 
 words indicate a diminished aptitude for yielding milk. 
 Another tuft serves to distinguish the good from the 
 bastard * cows. It exists on either side of the vulva, as 
 
 seen in fig. 2. 
 
 Fig. 10. Fig. u 
 
 When the scutcheon is well formed and fine, the indi- 
 vidual bearing it belongs to the first or second order of 
 Its class ; but when the scutcheon is occupied over a 
 portion of its surface by certain e^zs or tufts, the animals 
 descend one or more orders in the classification. 
 
 * By bastard, Guenon means cows which differ from a certain class only in a 
 deviation in the natural form of the scutcheon or position of tafts, 
 11 
 
82 THE yMRSEY, ALDERNEY AND GUERNSEY COW, 
 
 If the scutcheon be wider about the vulva than below, 
 the medium width through its whole extent is estimated, 
 and Misrepresents the value of 4. scutcheon and .he 
 order of the cow. 
 
 All variations in the hair of the scutcheons are tufts 
 which constitute irregularity or indicate a fault in the 
 Interior which affects the secretions of milk. The fault 
 is in relation to the superficial extent of the tufts. As 
 Magne says^ " the tufts being valuable in proportion to 
 the space which they occupy, it is of much importance 
 to attend to all the rows of descending hairs which 
 lessen its si:2es whether these occur in the middle of the 
 scutcheon or form indentations on its edges. These 
 indentations, partly concealed by the folds of the skin, 
 are sometimes perceived with difficulty. It is of much 
 importance^ however, to take them into account, for in 
 a great number of cows they greatly lessen the size of 
 the scutcheon. We often find cows which at first sight 
 appear to have a very large scutcheon, and yet are only 
 middling, because lateral indentations greatly lessen the 
 part of the skin covered with ascending hairs. Many 
 blunders are committed in estimating the worth of 
 cows because sufficient attention is not paid to the real 
 size of the scutcheon." 
 
 Guenon, moreover, says, "in general, when a tuft is 
 seen on the scutcheon, either on the right or left of the 
 thigh, we kaow that the veins situated beneath, on either 
 side of the belly, have a peculiarity; the one on the side 
 of the tuft wher-e the scutcheon is contracted is small, 
 
THE JERSEY, ALDLRXEY AX.D GUERXSEY COW, 83 
 
 and there is also a small opening for it where it pier«es 
 the abdominal muscles. 
 
 Fig, 13. 
 
 The tufts and scutcheon are best seen and appear to 
 open out at the time of calving, and become contracted 
 again shortly after the cow has been delivered. They 
 are best seen also on fat cows. 
 
 Sometimes there is an intermingling of two forms of 
 scutcheons. This depends on the crossing between a 
 cow of one class and a bull of another. There are diffi- 
 culties to encounter, then, in precisely estimating the 
 value of the animal. 
 
 Before stating the varieties of scutcheons described 
 by Guenon, I must mention that the tufts, or encroach- 
 ing patches of hair, which modify the scutcheon, have 
 
 ist nj"* 
 
 
E4 THE JERSEY, ALDEMNEY AND GUERmEY COW. 
 
 been classified. There are two species — those on which 
 the hair ascends, and those on which it descends. Those 
 with ascending hair are simply traces which encroach 
 on the descending hair outside the scutcheon, either on 
 one side or beneath the vulva. Those with the de- 
 scending hair are on the scutcheons, and are five in 
 number. 
 
 The seven tufts or patches of hair which Guenon thus 
 mentions are placed I represented below. 
 
 Fig. 1 6, 
 
 The names given to them are very peculiar, and for 
 some we must substitute another in English, taken from 
 the position or form of the tuft 
 
 Thus, I. Epi ovaky oval tuft; 2. epi fessard, ischiatic 
 tuft; 3. epi babin, lip-shaped tufts; 4. epivulve, vulvan 
 tuft ; 5. epi batard, perin2eal tuft ; 6. epi cuissard^ thigh 
 tufts ; and 7. epi jondif^ mesian tuft. 
 
 The oval tufts ^re good signs if small, regular, and 
 covered with fine hair. They are seen in all the best 
 cows, but they are also met with in some of the lower 
 orders. 
 
 The thigh tufts of ascending hair are never seen in 
 
THE JERSEY, ALDERNEY AND GUERNSEY COW, 8$ 
 
 the first-class cows, but in all others to a limited 
 
 The 3d, or lip-shaped tuft, is only seen as a sign of 
 deterioration in the two first classes ; it is constituted 
 by descending hairs, and is an indication of defect, in its 
 special class, so far as milking qualities are concerned. 
 
 The 4th is likewise a deteriorating sign. 
 
 The perlnseal tuft may exist In cows otherwise well 
 marked, but it indicates that the animal will have a great 
 diminution in the amount of milk it yields so soon as it 
 becomes pregnant 
 
 The thigh tufts Indicate a diminution in the yield of 
 milk proportionate to their extent 
 
 The mesian, or dart-like tuft, with soft, silky, ascending 
 hair, is rarely seen, and only in those classes in which 
 the scutcheon does not ascend to the vulva, 
 
 Reo^ardinp- the varieties of scutcheons as characterizing: 
 different classes of cows, it is almost impossible, and I 
 think not necessary, to translate Guenon's inappropriate 
 names- The ten classes are represented each by Its 
 most perfect specimen in the foregoing wood-cuts. The 
 first class has a scutcheon, the outline of which is shown 
 at figs. I, 2, 3. Cows thus marked have been termed, 
 by Guenon, Flandrines, simply because the breed of 
 cows in Flanders excels all others for its milking quali- 
 ties, and many of that breed bear a similar mark, I 
 shall confine myself to mentioning the other names of 
 classes, stating the numbers of the figures representing 
 them, Flandrines a gauche, figs. 4, 5, 6- Lisieres, fig. 
 
86 THE yLRSEY, ALDBRNBT AND GUERNSEY COW 
 
 7, Courbes Lignes, fig. 8. Blcornes, fig. 9. Double 
 Lisleres, fig. 10. Poitevines, fig. 11. Equerrines, fig. 
 12. Limousines, fig. 13. Carresines, figs. 14, 15. 
 
 In conclusion, I have to repeat that I am inclined to 
 regard the above names and subdivisions into classes as 
 to a great extent superfluous ; but in giving a complete 
 series of cuts indicating the outlines of the principal 
 scutcheons, it has been my object to do full justice to 
 Guenon and his valuable method of determining the 
 milking qualities of cows. 
 
 Dr. L. H. Twaddell, a member of the Club, and 
 one of the earliest breeders of Jersey cattle, visited the 
 Channel Islands in 1865, and soon after his return 
 made a report to the Philadelphia Society for Promoting 
 Agriculture, of which the following is an abstract : 
 
 " Three thousand jersey cows and heifers, and about 
 1 200 Guernseys, are exported from the islands every 
 year. 
 
 " The Jersey cow is of a medium size. Her peculiar 
 deer-like aspect distinguishes her from the Guernsey* 
 Her head is long and slender, the muzzle fine, and 
 usually encircled with a lighter color ; the nose is black, 
 and the large, dreamy eyes encircled with a black band ; 
 occasionally the nose is of a buff color, when there is a 
 corresponding buff band around the eye ; the horns are 
 usually short, small at the base, tapering, and tipped 
 with black, 
 
 "This latter is one of the requirements of the * Jersey 
 
THE JERSEY, ALDERNEY AND GUERNSEY COW 87 
 
 scale of points/ and when, as occasionally happens, an 
 animal deviates from the standard, being what is termed 
 ' wild-horned,' the Jerseyman has an appliance consist- 
 ing of a strong wire clamp, with an arrangement of 
 screws, which he affixes to the horns of the growing 
 beast, and, by dint of filing and screwing up, eventually 
 gives them the orthodox bend. 
 
 " The limbs of the Jersey are very slender and fine, 
 her hips broad and developed, her neck is slender and 
 rather long, and the body in the best specimens rotund, 
 and approximating to the short-horn model somewhat, 
 yet with sufficient angularity to ensure milking propen- 
 sities. 
 
 " The abdomen is well developed, giving evidence of 
 sound nutrition ; the external abdominal or milk veins 
 convoluted and prominent; the udder broad, running 
 well forward and well up behind; teats squarely 
 placed, rather short than otherwise, and of a fine ydlow 
 tint. 
 
 " The Jerseys are of all shades of color, from a pale 
 yellow fawn, running through all the intermediate hues, 
 even occasionally to a red, an intermixture of black or 
 gray, known as French gray, and that merging into 
 black with an amber-colored band along the back, the 
 nmzzle invariably shaded with a lighter color ; and indi- 
 viduals are often seen black and white, or pure black, 
 unrelieved by any other color. 
 
 " A yellow brindle is sometimes seen, but this is by no 
 means a favorite. 
 
88 THE JERSEY, ALDERNEY AND GUERNSEY COW, 
 
 " The darker colors are the most popular in England, 
 from the belief that they are hardier in constitution and 
 bear the climate better, but this opinion does not accord 
 with our experience in America, where the alternations 
 from heat to cold are much more decided and severe. 
 Here I think I may say with safety that no difference 
 has been observed in constitution or ability to endure 
 our burning summer heats or the cold of our Northern 
 winters. 
 
 " The care of cows and dairy devolves entirely on the 
 female members of the family, whilst the farmer attends 
 to his growing crops, or busies himself in the other 
 duties of his little farm. 
 
 " The cows are tethered with a rope passing around 
 the base of the horns, with a chain and swivel attached, 
 and are fastened to pegs driven in the ground; they 
 are moved to fresh grass two or three times daily. 
 Should they be pastured in the orchards, an additional 
 rope passes from the halter to each foreleg, and, thus 
 tied down, they are prevented from regaling themselves 
 with the tempting apples which load the low-hanging 
 boughs under which they graze. 
 
 " The method of milking cows is somewhat peculiar, 
 the milking and straining the milk being done at one 
 operation ; the milkmaid, with her tin pail, linen strainer, 
 and sea-shell, proceeds to the pasture ; seating herself 
 beside her cow, she soon completes her arrangements ; 
 the linen strainer is securely tied over the narrow- 
 mouthed tin bucket, and, placing the large shallow sea- 
 
Oh 
 
 
THE JERSEY, ALDERNEY AND GUERNSEY COW 89 
 
 shell on the strainer, with vigorous hands she directs 
 the milky streams into the shell , quickly overflowing 
 the shallow brim, the milk passes through the strainer 
 into the receptacle beneath. This primitive method has 
 been in vogue for more than a century ; they claim for 
 it the merit of perfect cleanliness. 
 
 *' Whilst overlooking the operation, I could under- 
 stand the use of the strainer clearly enough, but the 
 employment of the shell rather puzzled me, until the 
 milkmaid informed me that it was to prevent the 
 attrition of the streams ot milk from wearing a hole in 
 the strainer , this solved the mystery. 
 
 "The calves are kept stabled during the first year, 
 and fed on green food during the summer , in the second 
 year they are tethered out. 
 
 "The heifers are allowed to have calves at about 
 two years old, and come in profit m April or May, 
 when there is more demand for them in the English 
 xnarxSkC^i.. 
 
 " The bulls are kept stabled all the year ; in a large 
 number that I saw not one was ringed, and I understood 
 that it was never done in the islands , not one of those 
 I examined was in any way vicious. M Le Gallais (the 
 owner of the prize bull, of Jersey, for 1865), an excellent 
 judge, told me that in his opinion it was due to their 
 being constantly tied up and daily handled. 
 
 " Th-e bulls are slaughtered at three years old , the 
 opinion prevails there that the offspring of young bulls 
 have most vigor and stamina. 
 
90 THE JERSEY, ALDERNEY AND GUERNSEY COW, 
 
 "In the year 1849, ^^^ Royal Jersey Agricultural 
 Society established a scale of points for Jersey cattle as 
 a guide to the judges in awarding the premiums. 
 Thirty-six points established perfection. No prize can 
 be awarded to a cow having less than 29 points, nor can 
 one be awarded to a heifer having kss than 26 points. 
 A cow having 27 points, and a heifer 24 points, without 
 a pedigree, are allowed to 'be branded, but cannot win 
 a prize. 
 
 " The term ' pedigree ' is employed to signify the off- 
 spring of a prize, or decorated male or female. The 
 'brand' is burned on the horn, and are the letters J. A. 
 S. (Jersey Agricultural Society). 
 
 " Besides the Royal Jersey Society, each parish has a 
 stock-breeders' club ; the clubs hold their parish shows 
 the month preceding the Royal Jersey ; they decorate 
 their prize winners in the same manner by branding 
 with the initial letters of the parish and club, as, for 
 instance, St Saviour's Club, * St. S. C* 
 
 *' A choice cow is sometimes seen whose horns are 
 literally covered with brands, perhaps winning parish 
 and Royal Jersey prizes two or three years in succes- 
 
 " Many breeders will not allow their animals branded 
 on account of the disfigurement it produces. 
 
 "The Guernsey is a larger animal, coarser In the 
 head and heavier in bone; the horns are longer and 
 thicker at the base, not usually crumpled ; the rump Is 
 more apt to assume that peculiar droop which seems a 
 
THE JERSEY, ALDERNEY AND GUERNSEY COW. 9 1 
 
 characteristic of the breed, and there Is a want of that 
 symmetry and neatness of form that mark the highly 
 bred Jersey, but as a dairy cow she is fully her equal ; 
 for quality of milk and butter she cannot be excelled ; 
 the skin is of a splendid rich, yellow hue, and the udder 
 and teats are tinted with chrome. 
 
 " The head of the Guernsey is larger, and the muzzle 
 broader, and the eye not so prominent as the Jersey; 
 the nose is usually of a rich yellow or buflF; the eye 
 banded with the same color. 
 
 "The colors of the Guernsey are fawn, running 
 through the various shades to a deep red, an umber 
 brown, and a peculiar yellow brindle, which is a favorite 
 here. 
 
 " Although larger than the Jersey, I do not think they 
 fatten quite as kindly as the latter, which has the 
 advantage of a smoother and more rotund form. 
 
 " This thinness and want of condition may be owing 
 in a great degree to the fact that the pasturage is less 
 luxuriant In Guernsey, and also that the Guernseymen 
 are less solicitous about the figure and style of their 
 animals, being satisfied If the animal is a performer at 
 the pail, where she seldom disappoints. 
 
 " The cattle of the Island of Alderney (which is the 
 third in size of the Channel group) have a want of uni- 
 formity, attributable to the fact that they are the off- 
 spring of stock brought from Jersey and Guernsey, 
 crossed and recrossed until all individuality as a breed 
 is lost. 
 
92 TffE yERSEV, ALDERKEY AND GUERNSEY COW. 
 
 " Some are neat and deer-like ; oriiers are larger and 
 heavier, approaching the Guernsey type. 
 
 "The island being small and rocky, the pasturage 
 scanty, very few cattle are bred, and, as a consequence, 
 the breed does not receive the care and attention that 
 is given on the other islands. 
 
 ** It is as a dairy animal that the Channel Islands cow- 
 puts forth her claim for consideration. 
 
 "Coming into notice after several of the leading 
 British breeds had acquired a world-wide celebrity, her 
 advocates had to contend with the prejudice of English 
 stock-growers and dai^.e„, .ho couM „o. be .ade to 
 believe that anything not English bred could have 
 merit. And forsooth, this stock, French bred, with true 
 John Bull antipathy, they at once decided must be 
 worthless. But latterly this feeling towards their 
 French neighbors has been wonderfully modified, and 
 as the entente cordiale is now firmly established, Anglo- 
 Norman cattle, among many other products from across 
 the Channel, have found favor in England. The Eng- 
 lish dairymen have been induced to try them, and find- 
 ing they produced more and better butter than the 
 much- vaunted English breeds, have looked at the pound 
 sterling side of the account, and, per consequence, have 
 substituted the despised little Channel Islander for the 
 queenly Short-Horn.'' 
 
 We will close thir chapter by giving the views of one 
 of our best American breeders of the Jerseys, Mr. 
 Charles L. Sharpless, of Philadelphia, on the Mirrors of 
 
THE JERSEY, ALDERiXEY AND GUERNSEY COW, 93 
 
 Cows. It is a clear, condensed, practical resume of 
 Guenon's rules, with valuable additions. 
 
 MIRRORS OF cows. 
 
 There is no point in judging a cow so little understood 
 as the mirror or escutcheon. The conclusion of almost 
 every one is, that her mirror is good if there be a broad 
 band of uprunning hair from the udder to the vulva and 
 around it — see fig. 17. These cows with the broad 
 vertical mirror are nearly always parallel cows ; that is, 
 with bodies long but not large, and with the under line 
 parallel with the back. Their thighs are thin, and the 
 thigh mirror shows on the inside of the thigh rather 
 than on its rear. 
 
 Next comes the wedg-e-shaped cow, with the body 
 shorter, but very W. deepen the flank, and ver^ 
 capacious. This form does not usually exhibit the 
 broad vertical mirror, running up to the vulva, but with 
 a broader thigh may exhibit a thigh mirror, which is 
 preferable to the other, thus — see fig. 1 8. 
 
 To those not familiar with the meaning of mirror or 
 escutcheon, it may be well to say, that the uprunning 
 hair in the rear of a cow, on and between the thighs, 
 represents the mirror. This uprunning can be easily 
 seen or felt, being in marked contrast with the down- 
 running or body hair ; the mirror terminates at the out- 
 side of the thigh in a curl or cowlick. In some cases 
 there is another curl, about three inches below the 
 upper one. 
 
94 TBM yEIiSEZ ALDERNEY AND GUERNSEY COW. 
 
 In both vertical and thigh mirrors, where the hair 
 runs down, intruding on the udder, as in figs. 19 and 20, 
 it damages the mirror If you find a cow with the hair 
 
 Fig. 19 
 
 all running down and between the thighs — that is, with 
 no uprunning hair — stamp her as a cipher for milk- 
 yielding! The udders to figs. 17, 18, 19 and 20 are 
 made by the artist the same size, while in reality they 
 
THE JERSEY, ALDERNEY AND GUERIsTSEY COW. 95 
 
 will vary according to the mirror. There are times 
 when the udder of a cow mirrored like fig. 20 will be 
 enlarged by non-milking, for the purpose of deception. 
 It is always safer to judge by the mirror rather than by 
 the large size of the udder. 
 
 The mirrors of the best cows — those yielding the 
 most and continuing the longest — ^will be found to be 
 those which conform to fie. 18. 
 
 The vertical mirror of fig. 1 7 would not injure it ; but 
 if that ornamental feature has to be at the expense of 
 the thigh mirror, fig. 18 is better as it is. 
 
 Whenever a good mirror is accompanied by a curl 
 on each hind quarter of the udder, it indicates a yield 
 of the highest order. 
 
 These remarks apply with equal force to heifers and 
 bulls, except that the vertical mirror with bulls never 
 extends so high. In heifers and young bulls the mirror 
 is distinctly seen at any time after one month old, and 
 is precisely the same that it will be when the animal is 
 mature. 
 
 So far we have noticed only the rear mirror, or that 
 which represents the two hind-quarters of the udder. 
 The two front-quarters are just as important, and should 
 be capacious, and run well forward under the body 
 (see A). If the udder in front be concave, or cut up, as 
 in B, indicating small capacity, it represents reduced 
 yield. ^ This front or level mirror is distinctly marked 
 in the young heifer or bull, and can be seen by laying 
 the animal on its back. The udder hair under the body 
 
96 THE JERSEY, ALDERNEY AND GUERNSEY COW, 
 
 all runs backward, commencing at the forward line of 
 the mirror (see dotted lines in figs. 21, 22 and 23). 
 
 This dividing line is very perceptible, from the fact that 
 the hair in front of it all runs forward towards the head 
 of the animal, while the mirror or udder hair all runs 
 backward over the forward quarters of the udder, 
 
 12 m. 
 
 \ Fig. 21. / 
 
 LOTTIE STARR, 
 10 mos, old. 
 
 V li*. 
 
 %v 
 
 &' 
 
 O 
 
 4 m. 
 
 o 
 
 2 m, 
 
 around and beyond the teats, and ceases at the mark- 
 ings of the rear mirror, on and between the thighs. 
 
THE JERSEY, ALDERNEY AND GUERNSEY COW, gj 
 
 The breadth and extent forward of this front mirror 
 indicates the capacity, in the mature animal, of the front 
 quarters of her udder. In some cases this front mirror 
 will be found of twice the extent that it is in others, and 
 
 .'—-•-,. Fig- 22. ^^. .^ 
 
 )» 
 « 
 
 % 
 
 
 
 o 
 
 
 4 in. O 
 
 SYLVA, 
 
 
 2 m. 
 
 lo mos. old. 
 
 
 
 2;im. 
 
 is evidence of that much more yield. The dimensions 
 on figs. 21, 22 and 23 are actual measurements — the 
 first two of heifers and the last of a bull If fig. 22 rep- 
 resents four quarts as the yield per day of the front 
 
 /" -\ 
 
 rig. z: 
 
 >- — X 
 
 
 
 5 in. 
 
 
 
 2 in. 
 
 COLUMBUSr 
 
 3 in. 
 
 
 
 10 mos. old. y 
 
 y^ 
 
 — . 
 
 ( 
 
 Scrotum ) 
 
 quarters, fig. 21 will represent eight Thus, if the rear 
 yield Is the same, .ay four quarts in each cow, the total 
 
 yield of fig. 21 will be twelve quarts, while that of fig. 22 
 
 13 
 
98 THE JERSEY, ALDERNEY AND GUERNSEY COW. 
 
 IS but eight. This examination enables one to see the 
 size of the teats and their distance apart, and to test 
 the looseness and softness of the udder skin. It is 
 marked precisely the same in bulls (see fig. 23), and 
 can be easily examined at any age between one and ten 
 months. 
 
 Udders of all shapes hold milk, and some homely, 
 ones hold a large quantity. B, C, D and E, at a glance, 
 explain their deficiencies, both of shape, lack of capacity 
 and bad style of teats. In udder A we have the perfect 
 shape. 
 
 Besides the front extension of the udder in the cow, 
 the vein called milk-vein, running forward on the under- 
 side of the body, should be large and irregular, and if 
 forked at the forward end, with' two holes of exit from 
 the body, so much the more evidence of the large 
 milker. If there be three holes of exit, it means the 
 largest yield. 
 
 Many think that the mirror of the bull is of but little 
 t^ioment, so that he is a good-looker. So far is this 
 rrom being the c^-se, that a bull with a mirror like fig. 20 
 or worse will stamp his mirrors on and to that extent 
 damage his daughters, out of cows with mirrors as 
 choice as fig. 18. In this way, the daughters of some 
 of the best cows come very ordinary, while, if you use a 
 bull marked like fig. 18, he will make poor mirrors bet- 
 ter, and will improve the best. His injury or benefit 
 will be doubled according to the mirror markings under 
 his body ici front of Jiis scrotum. Hence the import- 
 
THE JEKSEY, ALDERKEY AND GUERNSEY COW. 99 
 
 ance of the dam of a bull being unexceptionable in her 
 udder and mirror. Her qualities inherited by her son 
 will be transmitted to her daughters. 
 
 While careful as to mirrors we must not neglect the 
 other essential features of a good cow, the buckskin 
 hide, the rich-colored skin, and the fine bone. Let the 
 hair be soft and thickly set, and let the skin be mellow. 
 This latter quality is easily determined by grasping be- 
 tween the thumb and forefinger the skin at the rear of 
 the ribs, or the double thickness at the base of the flank 
 that joins the stifle joint to the body, or that on the 
 inside of the rump bone at the setting-on of the tail. 
 Let the teats be well apart ; let them yield a full and 
 free stream, and be large enough to fill the hand with- 
 out the necessity in milking of pulling them between the 
 thumb and forefingers. And let us ever keep in mind 
 that the large yielder must be well fed. In this connec- 
 tion, though foreign to our subject, it seems a fit time to 
 speak of field arrangements for milking. In our own 
 fields we have sheds for shelter, and in one of them, 
 which is in a central position, cheap stanchions are 
 arranged so that each cow at milking time is fed a quart 
 or more, according to yield, of good bran. Some object 
 to this, on the score of economy, and others are loth to 
 acknowledge their cows having anything but grass. 
 This is the first season we have ever fed while the cows 
 are on grass, and their condition and yield has con- 
 vinced us of the wisdom of the practice. It helps to 
 sustain the system of a large yielder, drained by the 
 
lOO THE JERSEY, ALDERNEY AND GUERNSEY COW. 
 
 flow of milk, and needing extra sustenance for the 
 growth of the unborn calf. It saves all necessity for 
 driving the cows ; it keeps them quiet while being 
 milked ; it saves the time and temper of the milkers. 
 So well do they know it, that a call will bring them at 
 feeding time from any distance. In the stanchions they 
 quietly remain until milked, thus saving the trouble and 
 annoyance of milking in flytime an unfastened cow. 
 
 SCALE OF POINTS. 
 
 {As adopted by the Royal Jersey Agricultural and Horticultural Society.) 
 
 BUJLLS, 
 Article. Points. 
 
 1. Head, fine and tapering I 
 
 2. Forehead, broad I 
 
 3. CheekjSmall i 
 
 4. Throat, clean I 
 
 5. Muzzle, fine and encircled by a light color...* i 
 
 6. Nostrils, high and open i 
 
 7. Hams, smooth^ crumpled, not too thick at the base, and tapering, tipped 
 
 with black I 
 
 8. Ears, small and thin i 
 
 9. Ears, of a deep orange color within I 
 
 10. Eyes, full and lively I 
 
 11. Neck, arched, powerful, but not too coarse and heavy i 
 
 12. Chest, broad and deep....... I 
 
 13. Barrel-hooped, broad and deep I 
 
 14. Well-ribbed home, having but little space between the last rib and the hip i 
 
 15. Back, straight from the withers to the top of the hip I 
 
 16. Back, straight from the top of the hip to the setting-on of the tail; and 
 
 the tail at right angles with the back i 
 
 17. Tail, fine I 
 
 iS, Tail, hanging down to the hocks I 
 
 19. Hide, mellow and movable, but not too loose I 
 
 20, Hide, covered with fine, soft hair i 
 
 21* Hide, of good color i 
 
 22. Fore-legSy short and straight...,..,. ,.,....,. i 
 
THE JERSEY, ALDERNEY AND GUERNSEY COW. 101 
 
 Article. Points 
 
 23. Fore-arm, large and powerful, swelling, and full above the knee, and 
 
 below it « *.... X 
 
 24. Hind-quarters, fiom the hock to the point of the rump, long and well 
 
 filled up I 
 
 25. Hind-legs, short and straight (below the hocks), and bones rather fine.... i 
 
 26. Hmd-legs, squarely placed, and not too near together when viewed from 
 
 behind , , I 
 
 27. Hind-legs, not to cross in walking * I 
 
 28. Hoofs, small i 
 
 29. Growth I 
 
 30. General appearance % I 
 
 31. Condition,.., I 
 
 Perfection ...., 31 
 
 No prize shall be awarded to bulls having less than 25 points. 
 Bulls having obtained 23 points shall be allowed to be branded, but cannot 
 take a prize. 
 
 COWS AND HEIFERS. 
 Article. Points. 
 
 1. Head, small, fine and tapering , i 
 
 2. Cheek, small ,. I 
 
 3. Throat, clean... „....,. , I 
 
 4. Muzzle, fine and encircled by a light color i 
 
 5. Nostrils, high and open i 
 
 6. Horns, smooth, crumpled, not too thick at the base, and tapering.. i 
 
 7. Ears, small and thin s 
 
 S. Ears, of a deep orange color within.... 1 
 
 9. Eye, full and pladd, i 
 
 10. Neck, straight, fine, and placed lightly on the shoulders i 
 
 11. Chest, broad and deep , I 
 
 12. Barrel-hooped, broad and deep I 
 
 13. Well-ribbed home, having but little space between the last rib and the hip i 
 
 14. Back, straight from the withers to the top of the hip. 1 
 
 15. Back, straight from the top of the hip to the setting-on of the tail; and 
 
 the tail at right angles with the back ,. I 
 
 «6 Tailjfine .,- , i 
 
 17. Tail, hanging down to the hocks i 
 
 18. Hide, thin and movable, but not too loose., - I 
 
 19. Hide, covered with fine, soft hair , .,.. i 
 
 20. Hide, of good color..,., ,., - „. „....- I 
 
 21. Fore-legs, short, straight and fine , « I 
 
 22. Fore-arm, swelling and full above the knee - - I 
 
 23. Hind-quarters, from the hock to the point of the rump, long and well 
 
 filleaup I 
 
 24. Hind-legs, short and straight (below the hocks), and bones rather fine... i 
 
I02 THE JERSEY, ALDERKEY AND GUERNSEY COW. 
 
 Article. Points 
 
 25. Hmd-legs, squaiely placed, not too close together when viewed from 
 
 behind I 
 
 26. Hind-legs, not too close in walking I 
 
 27. Hoofs, small I 
 
 28. Udder, iiill in foim, i. e., well in line with the belly i 
 
 29. Udder, well up behind I 
 
 30. Teats, large and squarely placed, behind wide apart i 
 
 31. Milk-veins, very prominent , I 
 
 32. Growth I 
 
 33. General appearance i 
 
 34. Condition I 
 
 Perfection 34 
 
 No prize shall be awarded to cows having less than 29 points. 
 
 No prize shall be awarded to heifers having less than 26 points. 
 
 Cows having obtained 27 points, and heifeis 24 points, shall be allowed to 
 be bianded, but cannot take a prize. 
 
 Three points, viz., Nos. 28, 29 and 31, shall be deducted from the number 
 requh-ed for perfection in heifers, as their udder and milk-veins cannot be 
 fully developed ; a heifer will therefore be considered perfect at yi points. 
 
 The scale of the Jersey Society is constructed on the 
 basis of giving one mark to each of 31 points on bulls 
 and heifers, and 34 points on cows, so that each point, 
 if sufficiently perfect, receives its mark, and if not is 
 dropped altogether. In the scale of points adopted by 
 the New York State Agricultural Society, the Jersey 
 scale is taken almost verbatim, but ten is the mark of 
 perfection on each point, and lower numbers are used 
 as each is thought to approach the proper standard. 
 Then there is added ten for pedigree on sire's side, and 
 ten for pedigree on dam's side, in order that the charac- 
 ter of the animal's descent may count toward the final 
 result This makes the aggregate of perfection 330 on 
 bulls and 360 on cows, instead of 31 and 34, as in the 
 Jersey scale. 
 
THE JERSEY, ALDERNEY AND GUERNSEY COW, I03 
 
 The intelligent and impartial use of this scale cannot 
 fail to raise the standard of our exhibition cattle, by 
 requiring them to be well formed in every essential part 
 in order to obtain the highest prizes. Defects of form 
 are often covered up by superfluous flesh, whereby the 
 unskilled eye is imposed upon, and the estimate of the 
 crowd is rendered incorrect It is the duty of judges to 
 probe this excess of fat, and find the true points of the 
 animal, and breeders will be obliged to conform. Amer- 
 ican Jerseys will be kept pure in their characteristics, 
 and not be perverted into poor imitations of Durhams. 
 
 The Jersey scale was formed before the promulga- 
 tion of the remarkable theory of Guenon respecting the 
 milk-mirror or escutcheon as a visible sign of dairy 
 qualities. But this method of judging of dairy stock is 
 now so favorably received by intelligent breeders, that 
 it should be taken into consideration by the judges 
 awarding premiums at our agricultural fairs. If a 
 breeder, in purchasing an animal for the dairy, looks for 
 this sign of quality, why should he not recognize it in 
 making up his judgment of animals exhibited for pre- 
 miums ? Experience proves that a perfect escutcheon 
 can be perpetuated from generation to generation as 
 certainly as can any other outward marks of milking 
 capacity. If a cow or bull has a defective escutcheon, 
 according to the rules of Guenon and as developed by 
 Mr. Sharpless, how can the first prize for breeding or 
 dairying qualities be consistently awarded, even if all 
 the other points are good ? 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE ART OF FEEDING, 
 
 It must be apparent to every thinking person that all 
 the before-mentioned qualities, even in the highest per- 
 fection, will not ensure an abundant and rich supply of 
 milk unless proper care is taken to furnish the cow 
 with the kind of food best calculated to the required 
 purpose. How often is it found that complaint is made 
 by one person that such a cow is a bad milker, when 
 the same animal, transferred to other hands, has given 
 every satisfaction ! This is easily explained by the fact 
 that in the first case the cow has been kept on foul 
 pasture or on improper food. It becomes, therefore, 
 peculiarly necessary to set forth the manner of feeding 
 which experience has proved to be the most advantage- 
 ous for the production of rich and sweet milk. 
 
 The first requisite in feeding is, that the animal should 
 have abundance of food, so as to be able to consume 
 all that she requires in as short a time as possible, as 
 then she will lie down and have the more time to secrete 
 her milk, and that milk to acquire richness. The pas- 
 ture should be often changed, and if not in pasture the 
 food should be succulent, otherwise fat instead of milk 
 
 will be produced ; but cows fed with food of too watery 
 104. 
 
THE JERSEY, ALDER.YEY AND GUERNSEY COW, IO5 
 
 a nature, which is the case with roots early in the sea- 
 son, require an addition of more solid food, such as 
 meal or good clover chaff, otherwise the milk, although 
 considerable in quantity, will be poor and wheyey, yield- 
 ing no cream. Such roots should be carefully selected 
 as have no symptoms of decay or rottenness, and should 
 be mild in flavor or the butter will be tainted. In very 
 cold weather, and as a change of food, use crtcshed lin- 
 seed and bruised oats, steamed or boiled. 
 
 Mangel-wurzel, which has become, from its luscious 
 qualities, so favorite a food for the dairy cow, requires 
 much care and judgment in its use, and should never 
 be given before the month of January, as the longer it 
 is kept the less acidity is produced by it ; and even then, 
 in my opinion, should always be accompanied by from 
 four to six pounds of barley meal or corn meal to every 
 bushel, to correct the irritation occasioned by its sole 
 use, many dairies of good cows having, within my own 
 knowledge, been weakened so as to cause disease and 
 barrenness for want of the adoption of this principle. 
 The best — and, in fact, the only roots that should be 
 given — are carrots, the yellow bullock turnip and man- 
 gel, succeeding each other from the time they are re- 
 quired till the cow returns to pasture. Grains and 
 mangel-wurzel are only to be used when a large quan- 
 tity of milk, in which quality is not sought, is desired. 
 Many cowkeepers in London feed with these for that 
 purpose, and are, in consequence, though selling a 
 genuine article, wrongly accused of diluting the milk. 
 
 14 
 
I06 THE JERSEY, ALDERNEY AND GUERNSEY COW. 
 
 It must be obvious, therefore, that such food is useless 
 for the purpose of producing cream and butter. I con- 
 sider grains utterly inadmissible for the dairy cow, and 
 mangel only to be used in the manner before stated as 
 a change of diet. 
 
 The cow and the horse can well pasture together, 
 but no other animal should be allowed to run in the 
 same field, pigs and poultry spoiling and tainting the 
 feed. All rank weeds must be carefully eradicated, and 
 garden refuse kept out of the cow's reach, especially 
 shrubs, yew-hedge cuttings, etc., these things being 
 often poisonous, and occasioning the cow to slip her 
 calf. The same remark will apply to dead and putrid 
 matter. 
 
 Let the pasture be free from ponds or other dirty 
 drinking-places, where the water is fouled and rendered 
 unwholesome by decayed matter or the drainage from 
 dung-heaps, and by the habit which cattle have of stand- 
 ing and manuring in it for hours together. A clean tub 
 or tank should be used for watering the cattle, and kept 
 supplied with pure, sweet water, which, if pumped from 
 a well, should be exposed to the air a considerable time 
 before use. 
 
 Cows should be taken in about sunset, or before* they 
 are preparing to rest for the night, and on no account 
 allow them to be hurried to or from pasture, especially 
 when full of milk. 
 
 Cows should always in winter be well fed, regularly 
 fed, and sufficient food of the right kind. Twice a day 
 
THE JERSEY, ALDERNEY AND GUERNSEY COW. lO/ 
 
 as much as they will eat of good timothy and clover hay 
 mixed, with two quarts of Indian meal unbolted, four 
 quarts of wheat bran, and half a peck or a peck of car- 
 rots or sugar-beets to each. Turnips may be fed to dry 
 cows, but to milking cows they give a taste to the milk 
 and butter. Corn-fodder is excellent food as an ad- 
 dition, but if fed by itself will give an unpleasant taste 
 to both milk and butter. Steamed or cooked food is now 
 much used and to great advantage ; cows will eagerly 
 drink the hay-tea that Is left after steaming the hay. 
 Potatoes, raw or cooked, are excellent food, and thus 
 the small ones come into play. In summer-time, or 
 early fall, if the pasture is short, fresh corn-fodder 
 helps the milking qualities wonderfully. This should 
 always be grown, as large quantities can be raised In a 
 small space, though rather difficult to cure for winter 
 use. 
 
 Eight tons of green fodder, or four tons of dry fod- 
 der, is about a fair medium crop to an acre of sweet 
 corn, planted close, and sufficient to last one cow a 
 year, feeding about forty-five pounds green or twenty 
 to twenty-five of dried fodder per day. A larger amount 
 will be raised from Chester county corn, and planted in 
 drills, the seed dropped in every third furrow. Corn- 
 fodder is the great standard crop for soiling, and should 
 be sown and fed as early as possible in the season, as 
 the earlier in the season it is fed the more it will help 
 the milking qualities. _ 
 
 For curing and storing the fodder, the best way is to 
 
I08 THE JERSEY, ALDERNEY AND GUERNSEY COW, 
 
 allow it to wilt a few days after cutting, then place it in 
 the barn, with alternate layers of dry straw, each layer 
 about eight inches thick. The straw absorbs the juice 
 from the stalks and prevents heating and moulding, 
 success depending upon the previous amount of drying. 
 Being sown at the rate of some three bushels per acre, 
 it forms no ears, and consequently there is but little ex- 
 haustion of the richness of the stalks or of the fertility 
 of the land, more being left in the soil by the roots than 
 is carried off in the stalk and leaf; besides, the shading 
 of the ground prevents the growth of weeds. Another 
 advantage is the readiness with which the crop may be 
 sown on any waste piece of ground that may be plowed 
 later than it would do to plant a common crop. 
 
 The following is the management of an intelligent 
 young farmer whose herd of cows, fed for milk, pro- 
 duced an average of over 2300 quarts. The winter 
 feed was principally an allowance of three bushels of 
 cut feed and ten quarts of corn-meal and wheat bran 
 mixed in the ratio of one to three. This was fed in 
 three rations, and immediately after one feeding was 
 done another was mixed up, thoroughly scalded, and 
 let stand, closely covered, until next feeding time. 
 These feeds were occasionally interspersed with one of 
 roots. In summer the cows run at pasture in the day; 
 are stabled at night in an open, airy shed and fed a 
 heavy ration of either green rye, oats in milk, Hunga- 
 rian grass, or cornstalks just coming into tassel, accord- 
 ing as one or the other was fit Before they were 
 
THE JERSEY, ALDERNEY AND GUERySEY COW, IO9 
 
 turned out in the morning they had a similar feed. He 
 purposes to vary this feed more by giving one week 
 cotton-seed meal instead of corn-meal, another week 
 linseed-meal, etc., also a larger supply of roots, the 
 cows needing variety as well as quantity. 
 
 We also can recommend the following for winter 
 feeding : In the morning, after the cows are curried and 
 cared for, cut up one peck of carrots for each cow; 
 after eating, the cows are milked, and while milking is 
 going on, the water is put on to boil in the boiler. In 
 a large trough is put three-quarters of a bushel of cut 
 hay for each cow, and the boiling water poured on. 
 Five quarts of shorts and two quarts of Indian meal are 
 added. This is well stirred, and fed warm, not hot, with 
 another feed of cut carrots at night and plenty of good 
 hay during the day. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE MANAGEMENT OF THE COW, 
 
 The proper management of milking cows is no less 
 necessary than proper food. 
 
 It should be always borne in mind that the animal 
 whose capabilities are for milking becomes lean on the 
 same quantity of food as will make the feeding cattle 
 fat. The consequence of this is that the milking and 
 therefore lean cow is more affected by changes of tem- 
 perature than the feeding or fat one. 
 
 It follows that in the successful management of the 
 milch cow great care should be taken to avoid rapid 
 and considerable changes of temperature, as well as 
 damp or strong clay land. There should always be a 
 clean, dry shed in which the cattle may take shelter 
 whenever they feel uncomfortable either from heat and 
 flies or from cold and damp. This shed should be so 
 constructed that it may to a certain extent clean itself 
 by drainage, to avoid the accumulation of foul waten 
 the floor being constructed of materials of a dry nature. 
 The aspect should be such as to avoid north and north- 
 easterly winds. 
 
 An animal always cold Is always uncomfortable, and 
 a large proportion of the food she takes is consumed in 
 
 no 
 
THE JERSEY, ALDERNEY AND GUERNSEY COW, III 
 
 keeping up the heat of the body, instead of making 
 milk ; warmth is therefore, in effect, food to the cow, 
 and may be obtained at httle cost and with little trouble 
 by means of a shed as recommended : and where this 
 is dry and clean, the cow will resort to it spontaneously 
 whenever she knows it to be conducive to her warmth 
 which, as above said, is her food to a great extent. 
 Cold and sudden chills, on the other hand, are a great 
 detriment to the appearance of the cow, and are fre- 
 quently the cause of her falling off in her milk so early 
 in the season. 
 
 So important is it to provide against great alteration 
 of temperature that the impossibility of doing this in 
 large pastures has within the last few years engendered 
 the lung disease which has been so destructive among 
 cattle. Formerly, pastures were small in extent and 
 defended by large and thick hedge-rows as well as trees, 
 but the practice latterly having been to open the fields 
 and to divest them of everything which could form a 
 shelter for the cattle, what has been gained in increasing 
 the quantity of feed has been lost by the disease which 
 the inclemency of an unsheltered field has engendered. 
 It is much to be questioned whether Nature was not the 
 best judge, after all. 
 
 Much injury is likewise done by turning cattle out 
 too early in the season, exchanging them from a warm 
 yard or shed (especially just after calving) to pass the 
 night in the open air before the season is sufficiently 
 advanced to make such exposure bearable. 
 
112 THE JERSEY, ALDERNEY AND GUERNSEY COW, 
 
 In proportion as the breed of cattle has improved, so 
 has the necessity of care become apparent, delicacy of 
 constitution and physical sensitiveness always increasing 
 with high blood. As a principle of economy I strongly 
 advocate the practice (which is lately gaining ground) 
 of bringing milch cows in at night all through the year, 
 for they spoil much grass, especially in full, strong pas- 
 ture, during the night, and are not benefited by being 
 in the dewy grass too early in the morning ; the manure 
 also would be in the yard, where it is valuable, instead 
 of under the hedge, where it is lost, and where the 
 cattle would naturally lie for protection. 
 
 During the winter, when tied up in stalls, great ad- 
 vantage is derived from thoroughly cleaning the cattle 
 occasionally with a brush, as they cannot then turn 
 round and lick themselves or rub as they would in the 
 field. A currying is as good as a feed. 
 
 The feet should also be examined, lest they should 
 get too long and thereby weaken the pasterns, which is 
 easily remedied by the removal of a portion of the toe 
 with a small saw. 
 
 M. Le Cornu gives the following as the management 
 pursued in Jersey : 
 
 " In order to derive the greatest possible advantage 
 from his cows, the Jersey farmer endeavors to arrange 
 or them to calve durinpf the first three months of the 
 year; that is, when vegetation speedily advances. In 
 the winter, cattle are always housed at night: when 
 they come in (about four o'clock in the afternoon), they 
 
Tim JERSEY, ALDERNEY AND GUERNSEY COIF. II3 
 
 are milked, after which each receives about three-fourths 
 of a bushel of roots and a little hay ; they are then left 
 until eight o'clock, when a bundle of straw is given to 
 each one. The following morning they are attended to 
 at six o'clock, or even before that hour; having been 
 milked, they again receive the same allowance of roots 
 and hay as before mentioned, and at nine o'clock are 
 turned out, if j&ne, in some sheltered field or orchard ; 
 then the stables are cleaned out, and the bedding re- 
 newed if required. Cows are dried one month or six 
 weeks before calving ; bran mashes are given to them 
 about the time of parturition, and continued for a fort- 
 night after the calf is born : at no other time do they 
 receive this food. Bull calves intended for the' butcher 
 receive the cow's milk for about a month or six weeks, 
 then they are considered fit for sale. A good calf will 
 sell for about fifty shillings, some for more, but many 
 for less. If the calf be a heifer, she is alwkys reared 
 and kept in the island until she is two years old ; when, 
 if not required, she is sold for exportation. 'Returning 
 to the cow: two weeks or so after calving, if the 
 weather be very fine, she is turned out to grass in the 
 day-time ; it is the custom in all the Channel Islands to 
 tether cattle; the tethers are made of small chain; a 
 spike about one foot long is attached at one end and 
 driven into the ground; the other end is tied to the 
 cow's halter, the latter being made fast at the base of 
 her horns; the length of these tethers is altogether 
 about four yards. During the day, cattle are frequently 
 
 15 
 
114 THE JERSEY, ALDERNEY AND GUERNSEY COW 
 
 moved, generally every three hours, and sometimes 
 oftener ; drink is given to them in the morning on leav- 
 ing the stable, and at noon ; if it be summer-time, they 
 receive it also in the evening. About the month of 
 May they are allowed to remain out at night, and con- 
 tinue so until the end of October, when the system of 
 housing above described recommences. During sum- 
 mer, cows are frequently milked three times a day ; and 
 when the weather becomes very warm, they are brought 
 into the stable for a few hours, else they would be tor- 
 mented by flies. At this period (height of summer) a 
 great diminution takes place in their milk ; but as the 
 heat ceases toward the fall, it rapidly springs up again 
 to what it was in the spring : this is the time when but- 
 ter is crocked for winter supply. A cow is in her 
 prime at six years of age, and continues good until ten 
 years old ; many are kept that are much older, but then 
 they begin to fall off. In general, cows have their first 
 calf when much too young; at two years old is their 
 usual time, but then their produce is small, and con- 
 tinues so for at least a twelvemonth, when it gradually 
 increases until it arrives at maturity. A good cow on 
 the average gives fourteen quarts of milk per day, or 
 eight or nine pounds of butter per week : instances are 
 common of cows giving twelve or even fourteen pounds 
 of butter in one week, but that is above the average 
 figure.*' 
 
 Perfect cleanliness in every part of the cow-house is 
 of essential importance — to judge from the filthy con- 
 
THE JERSEY, ALDERNEY AND GUERNSEY COW, II5 
 
 dition in which many — too many — are kept, we would 
 think that this was not essential The stalls should be 
 kept clean, and not only so, but the walls free from cob- 
 webs and dust; and not less essential is it that the 
 mangers should be kept clean also. If we would only 
 pay a little attention to the habits of our farm animals, 
 it would be seen that they are scrupulously clean, 
 almost fastidiously so. Much of the benefit of good 
 food is lost by giving it badly prepared and in dirty 
 mangers or boxes. The importance of ventilation will 
 be to a large extent lost if the interior of the house Is 
 not kept clean. It is of little use to admit fresh air to 
 the interior if it is only there to be mixed with nox- 
 ious emanations arising from the presence of dirt. 
 Another point to be attended to is the bedding or lit- 
 tering for the cows ; in many cases this is grossly neg- 
 lected, the animals being kept in a very uncomfortable 
 condition. As a rule, the long straw which is gener- 
 ally used is used in a way anything but economical ; by 
 far the most efficient and most economical way to use 
 straw is to cut it with the straw-cutten This may 
 appear to be a costly mode of using it, but It Is quite 
 the reverse. Less straw Is required in this form than 
 if used long, and it not only admits of the '' droppings " 
 of the cow being lifted easily away without disturbing 
 the rest of the bedding, but it Is, when done well, in the 
 best condition for the manure or dung heap. Sawdust 
 also forms an excellent bedding, as do chaff, leaves, and 
 fine tanner's bark. The ammonia which, in even or- 
 
Il6 THE ^JERSEY, ALDEMIfEY AND GUERNSEY COW. 
 
 dinary circumstances, rises from the droppings and bed- 
 ding saturated with urine, and is lost, may be fixed by 
 sprinkling the bedding and the gutters with sulphuric 
 acid, the oil of vitriol of commerce ; i ft), weight of this 
 will fix the ammonia of 60 or 70 gallons of urine. The 
 liquid should be led at once from the house to the 
 liquid manure tank, which will soon pay for itself; the 
 using of sulphuric acid will raise the value of the liquid 
 manure, that being estimated at ten dollars a year per 
 cow. The cost of the acid thus used will be very 
 trifling : an authority puts it at two cents per cow per 
 week. 
 
 The best material for making floors of cow-houses 
 is ''Portland Cement Concrete;" it is easily made, 
 easily laid, economical and gives a surface as fine and 
 as hard as stone. Grooves for giving a foot-hold, if 
 thought necessary, and gutters can be formed in it with 
 the greatest ease. A level floor is decidedly objection- 
 able ; no amount of litter will keep cows clean on such 
 a floor, A plank floor should be laid in the following 
 form : A space 5 feet wide should be left for the cow to 
 stand on from the manure drop to the manger. The 
 manure drop should be 12 inches wide, 7 inches deep 
 and water-tight. If planks are used for the floor, hewed 
 or sawed timber may be laid down to form the sides of 
 the drop ; the bottom should be pounded stone grouted 
 in cement The five foot stand for the cows should 
 have an inclination of 3 inches toward the drop. 
 
 A plank floor is very objectionable because — ist It 
 
TBE JERSEY, ALDERNEY AND GUERNSEY COW, 11/ 
 
 is not durable; 2d. It absorbs the urine and corrupts 
 the atmosphere of the stable; and 3d Because It is 
 always slippery when wet, frequently causing serious 
 accidents to stock. 
 
 The best floor in cow stables is hard brick set on 
 their edges ; after the brick are properly laid mix one 
 part of cement with two parts of sand, adding a suffi- 
 cient quantity of water to make the material so it could 
 be readily poured out of a pail ; this mixture should be 
 poured on the brick and brushed over with an old 
 broom ; the brick will thoroughly join together by the 
 cement, making a water-tight floor on which cattle never 
 slip, and one which will last a long time. The manure 
 drop is made by excavating tjie earth and laying the 
 brick in cement The drop is 12 inches wide by 7 
 inches deep, and is perfectly water-tight. A discharge- 
 pipe may be connected with the drop, leading: to a com- 
 post-heap, or a IMe dry ea«h .nay be daily thrown in 
 the drop, w^hich will readily absorb all the liquid man- 
 ure. But not only should the house be kept clean, but 
 it is essential that the animals themselves be so also. 
 It is unnecessary here to describe in detail the influence 
 which the skin has upon the health of an animal ; suffice 
 it to say that it performs most important functions 
 which cannot be performed if the coat of the cow is 
 kept in a filthy condition, filled with dust or coated over 
 with patches of hardened manure ; this condition of body 
 induces the attacks and aggravates the evil effects of 
 lice, etc. All sorts of cures are advocated for this 
 
n8 THE JERSEY, ALDERNEY AND GUERNSEY COW. 
 
 plague of parasites with which cows are afflicted, but if 
 they were kept perfectly clean, there would be fewer 
 occasions when such cures would be necessary. Pre- 
 vention is better than cure, and by attending to the 
 cleanliness of the cow much would be prevented. 
 Cows should be curry-combed, or at all events rubbed 
 down carefully several times a day with a wisp of 
 straw, and all manure removed from their coats. All 
 this may be considered troublesome, as no doubt it is ; 
 but then anything worth doing is not done without 
 trouble, and to make cows pay cannot surely be called 
 an unnecessary trouble. 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE ART OF MILKING. 
 
 As a general principle, cows should be milked twice 
 a day, and the times of milking should be invariable 
 all the year round — viz., at six in the morning and six 
 in the evening. If after calving, in the early state of 
 milk, it should be found that the bag becomes too full 
 from extreme heat or other cause, It will be advisable 
 to reduce the bag in the middle of the day, in which 
 case eight o'clock In the evening will be early enough 
 for the last milking ; but some judgment Is requisite ia 
 putting this into practice, as too great eagerness to re- 
 lieve the bag may have an Injurious effect, by weaken- 
 ing Its power of retention. Before and during the time 
 of milking the cow should have some good hay, chaff 
 or meal. This is beneficial in two ways — first, it is a 
 wholesome stay to the stomach, and secondly, it en- 
 grosses the attention of the animal and quiets it during 
 the operation. 
 
 The hands should be dry and clean ; wet hands chap 
 the teats In cold weather, and want of cleanliness pro- 
 duces warts. Take great care that the last of the milk 
 is withdrawn, as one pint of this is richer for the pro- 
 duction of butter than two quarts of milk first drawn 
 
 119 
 
I20 THE JERSEY, ALDERI^EY AND GUERNSEY COW. 
 
 off. This point is of paramount importance, as, inde- 
 pendently of the quality thus produced, imperfect milk- 
 ing will dry the cow much earlier than if properly 
 milked, and tend to decrease the quantity. Milk as 
 quickly as possible, and never leave the cow during the 
 operation: an active milker may milk five cows an 
 hour; therefore, with a dairy of ten or twelve cows, 
 two persons should be employed, and so in proportion, 
 or regularity will be interfered with. .Six weeks prior 
 to the time of calving commence to dry the cow by 
 milking once a day for three or four days, which will 
 decrease the quality ; then cease milking for three days, 
 taking care that the bag does not get over-filled by the 
 cessation (which must be very carefully observed in hot 
 weather) ; after this the judgment must be exercised 
 as to any future milkings, which, if possible, should 
 cease altogether one month before calving. In all cases 
 thoroughly cleanse the bag, as, should any milk be left, 
 disease may be originated by the remaining secretion, 
 which will be very injurious at the next time of calving. 
 A few days prior to calving, should the bag be found 
 much distended, it should be thoroughly relieved. 
 This system I have pursued for many years, having a 
 hundred calves annually without the loss of a single 
 cow. 
 
 Whatever may be the cause of restlessness or irrita- 
 bility of the cow during milking, gentleness is the only 
 treatment that should be allowed — violence or even 
 harshness, never. There are many causes after recent 
 
THE JERSEY, ALDERNEY AND GUERNSEY COW. 121 
 
 calving that may produce inquietude, but no other 
 remedy will be effectual A young animal never for- 
 gets ill-treatment, and a recurrence of similar circum- 
 stances will remind the cow of former punishment. 
 
 All owners of cows should thoroughly understand 
 the principles of, and be able to perform the operation . 
 of milking as it should be done. Very many persons, 
 children and grown persons, set about and are trusted 
 with the business of milking who never perform their 
 part properly, although they may have practiced for 
 years. 
 
 Almost all cows in milk are nervous animals, if not 
 often wilful, and in order that you may obtain all the 
 milk they are capable of giving, they must be treated 
 with the utmost gentleness, and that at all times. If a 
 cow stands in fear, perhaps trembling, of your blows, 
 kicks or threats, she will very likely withhold her milk ; 
 at all events, it will affect either the quality or quantity 
 to a greater or less extent. There are seldom cases 
 requiring chastisement ; more frequendy kindness, with 
 firmness, will answer a much better purpose. In most 
 cases where chastisement is administered, an expecta- 
 tion of a full quantity of milk will be disappointed. 
 
 The cow should be first brought to a proper position 
 by .approaching her on the right side, stool and pail 
 ready ; place the stool, sit down on it, and with the right 
 hand brush the bag and teats clean before commencing 
 to draw the milk. During this operation the milk flows 
 in rapidly, and all the ducts leading to the teats are 
 
 16 
 
122 THE JERSEY, ALDERNEY AND GUERNSEY COW. 
 
 filled completely. The faster and sooner it is completely 
 drawn out, with gentleness, the more likely you will be 
 to ofet the whole. The milker who sits and talks, or in 
 any way delays his business, will never obtain all the 
 milk the cow is capable of yielding. 
 
 The stripping, to obtain the last drop, should be done 
 with great gentleness by working the udder somewhat 
 in imitation of a calf sucking. A person who under- 
 stands and faithfully performs the operation of milking 
 will cause the cow to yield milk that will make one- 
 quarter more butter than one-half the common grown 
 persons who do the milking will. This is a strong as- 
 sertion, but no stronger than we believe the facts will 
 
 warrant 
 
 All beginners should be properly taught at first how 
 to take hold of the teats ; and when once learned, they 
 will remember. This is seldom explained or taught to 
 beginners, and hence each chooses his own mode of 
 milking. They should be instructed that if they would 
 milk with ease, the hand should be kept very near the 
 extremity of the teats — not so near, however, as that the 
 milk will strike any part of the hand or fingers. They 
 should sit down close to the cow, not at arm's length 
 away ; the left arm should always press against or be 
 in close proximity to the leg of the cow, and then if she 
 kicks or steps, you can ward off the force and protect 
 yourself and pail of milk. 
 
 With proper handling of heifers while young and 
 previous to calving, there is very little liability to have 
 
THE JERSEY, ALDERNEY AND GUERNSEY VOW. 12% 
 
 kicking cows. Sometimes a heifer with her first calf, 
 and even older cows, get their teats sore, cracked or 
 otherwise, and this will cause uneasiness, and often pain 
 them so as to cause them to kick or step. In all such 
 cases they should be humored, coaxed and dealt gendy 
 by, and even caressed and fed some choice bite after 
 milking. It would be well to have a pot of soft grease 
 from the top of the pot where pork and greens have 
 been boiled to apply to soften the cracks, etc., previous 
 to milking, and again afterward. The above-mentioned 
 grease is the best application the writer ever used to 
 soften and heal cracked and sore teats on cows. 
 
 For milking cows that kick we give a few receipts. 
 Though this ugly habit may, and sometimes does, arise 
 from viciousness, we believe in most cases it arises from 
 some tenderness in the udder from soreness, or swelling, 
 or cracked teats, or other cause. 
 
 Take a simple holdback strap from a set of harness— 
 or to have a new one made purposely would be better — 
 slip the noose over the cow*s off foot and buckle the 
 near one to it, and thus the worst kicker can be milked. 
 If there are two or three cows that kick, the same strap 
 will answer for all The cows can occupy whichever 
 stalls are most convenient in the barn ; or if milked in 
 the cow lot in summer, fasten a cow chain to one of the 
 fence posts, chain and strap and milk your kickers in 
 succession without any fear of a broken nose. 
 
 Halter the cow, then have a small rope long enough 
 to reach around her body, on one end of which have 
 
124 THE JERSEYy ALDERNEY AND GUERNSEY COW. 
 
 a hook which is put over the cow in front of the hip- 
 joints and in front of the udder, and hooked over the 
 rope, which is then drawn moderately tight and tied 
 with a tuck knot The cow soon finds she is powerless 
 for mischief, and wirii a few times' milking thus secured, 
 she yields to kindness and gende, soothing treatment. 
 
 Prepare a strap the right length ; take the leg next 
 to you when milking, bend it, pass the strap around the 
 leg, let the cow stand on three legs, and one can milk 
 with perfect safety. 
 
 Tie up the heifer, her head as high as possible, and 
 tie her legs with a common rope. 
 
 When cows withhold their milk, they are commonly 
 in a dissatisfied state of mind, and therefore anything 
 to draw their attention from this condition answers a 
 good purpose. We have always succeeded by giving 
 them a mess of food to amuse them while the milking 
 is going on, generally dry meal, so as to keep theni 
 long occupied. If they have suckling calves, let them 
 suck at the time of milking. Driving them In a posi- 
 tion so that their fore legs will stand on much higher 
 ground than the hind legs, or on lower ground, counter- 
 acts the animaFs attention, and generally succeeds. It 
 is said that a weight on the small of the animal's back, 
 as a bag of grain, will answer, but we know nothing of 
 its efficacy. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE DAIRY, AND ITS MANAGEMENT 
 
 The dairy-house should be built on slightly-elevated 
 ground and on a dry spot, sheltered as much as possible 
 from the south, north and east; it should be sunk at 
 least a foot in the earth, for the sake of coolness. 
 
 The floor should be of bricks or tiles, on a descent 
 toward the drain, which should have a plug, so that 
 spring water may be retained on the floor for three or 
 four hours during the day in the heat of summer. The 
 plugging the drain when its use is not required will also 
 have the eflfect of preventing any effluvium rising 
 through it, which might originate at its outlet from de- 
 cayed vegetable or other matter. 
 
 The benches, which should be kept a few inches from 
 the wall to allow of free ventilation and to prevent 
 insects from falling into the pans, may be of stone or 
 slate, the latter material being preferable'. 
 
 The windows, which should be so placed as to allow 
 of a free current of air passing through the building, 
 should be of perforated zinc, with shutters to close in 
 the winter ; and exteriorly to every window where the 
 sun can fall at any time of the day there should be 
 placed a kind of Venetian blind, to keep the rays from 
 falling through the zinc. 
 
 12$ 
 
126 THE JERSEY, ALDERNEY AND GUERNSEY COW 
 
 Never allow the dairy to be used for any other pur- 
 pose than that for which it was originally intended: 
 nothing but milk, cream and butter should at any time 
 be permitted to be placed there. To use it as a pantry 
 or to keep beer in is to ensure tainted butter. The 
 rays of the sun should be carefully kept from falling on 
 any part of the cream, either in process of formation or 
 when skimmed off ready for churning. 
 
 The dairy utensils consist of the churn, sized accord- 
 ing to the number of cattle and frequency of churning; 
 pans for holding the milk, containing from eight to 
 ten quarts, and as shallow as possible , a deep pan to 
 hold the cream during accumulation ; neat butter-prints, 
 of white wood ; ivory butter-slice ; fine linen cloths, to 
 cover the butter; a marble slab, to deposit the butter 
 on ; a small ladder, to lie across the milking-pans to 
 support the strainer; the strainer itself, consisting of a 
 sieve-hoop, about seven inches deep, with a band to fit 
 over it to keep the straining-cloth closely on ; milking- 
 cans, of strong block tin, as being more easily kept 
 sweet than wooden buckets; and good flat wicker 
 baskets to carry the butter. 
 
 The milk-pans I recommend to be made of glass, 
 which is a non-conductor of lightning, and can be kept 
 sweet and clean by merely wiping with wash-leather, 
 while scalding will scarcely be sufficient for a porous 
 material The cream-pan should also be of glass. 
 
 The most scrupulous cleanliness, in every partic- 
 ular, IS ABSOLUTELY INDISPENSABLE. 
 
THE JERSEY, ALDERxYEY AND GUERNSEY COW 127 
 
 As soon as ever the milk is taken from the cow have 
 it in, and strain it carefully through the sieve into the 
 pans before it gets cool ; after which it should not be 
 disturbed till skimmed, and care should be taken not to 
 agitate the milk before it is deposited in the pans to 
 set ; all milk required for use must therefore be taken 
 before putting in the pans. 
 
 As an equable temperature is advantageous to the 
 speedy production of the cream, in hot weather the 
 floor of the dairy should be kept moist, to produce cool- 
 ness by evaporation ; and in winter a small stove will 
 be of benefit, if smoke and smell be avoided in its use. 
 
 To produce the most delicate butter, where economy 
 is not an object, the first rising of the cream (about 
 twelve hours after the milk has been panned) should 
 be taken , but for ordinary purposes the milk should 
 stand twenty-four hours in summer and forty-eight in 
 winter. The cream while accumulating should be stirred 
 night and morning, which will air it and keep it sweet 
 to churn once or twice a week — that is, once a week in 
 the cold and cool months, and twice during the warm 
 months, June, July, August and September 
 
 Be careful to keep all tin vessels well-tinned, so that 
 no rust of iron shall^come in contact with the milk , and 
 look well to the earrings of the pail-handles, that grease 
 and dirt may not accumulate there. Be sure also that 
 your strainer and all other cloths are kept well scalded 
 and cleansed : in fact, too much stress cannot be laid 
 on the word cleanliness. 
 
128 THE JERSEY, ALDERNEY AND GUERNSEY COW. 
 
 The process of churning will be much promoted In 
 winter by warming the churn with hot water previously 
 to putting the cream in ; and in summer, cold spring 
 water put In the churn with the cream will make your 
 butter firmer. The churn should not be above two- 
 thirds filled for churning. 
 
 The production of milk for butter-making is essen- 
 tially the same as that for cheese-making. There is 
 this difference to be observed, however: For cheese we 
 must look principally to the quantity of caselne in the 
 milk, for butter we must consider the yield of cream 
 entirely. Cows must be selected accordingly. For 
 both purposes the same care as to cleanliness, quality 
 of feed, purity of water and gentle treatment of the cows 
 should be observed. The milk in both cases needs to 
 be aired and cooled soon after milking. 
 
 From this point quite different handling is required. 
 For cheese we constantly agitate the milk to keep the 
 cream from rising ; for butter we must set the milk to 
 rest as soon as possible, and not only avoid all stirring, 
 but not allow it to be even jarred. The more perfect 
 the rest the more completely the cream will rise. 
 
 It is still a subject of debate as to whether the cream 
 rises better in shallow or* deep dishes. But it is cer- 
 tain that it will rise in either kind of vessel if all the 
 other conditions are right. The tendency is toward 
 setting milk in deep pails and in large masses. Recent 
 experiments, however, favor shallow pans. 
 
 There is no dispute as to the propriety of cooling the 
 
THE JERSEY, ALDERNEY AND GUERNSEY COW. 1 29 
 
 milk, or of keeping it in a moist atmosphere and in a 
 light room. Moisture prevents the cream from drying 
 on the surface and making flacky butter, while light is 
 essential to develop the color so much desired. 
 
 The temperature, it is asserted, may be allowed to go 
 lower for butter than for cheese. We would not allow 
 it to go below 55° for butter, and believe it would be 
 better to keep it at 60"^. The best temperature for 
 churning is admitted to be between 60° and 65^ — the 
 latter for cold and the former for hot weather, making 
 a mean temperature of 62° to ti"" as the proper point. 
 Possibly different dairies may require a slightly differ- 
 ent temperature. The cream should be allowed to 
 become slightly sour if a good keeping article is re- 
 quired, but care should be taken that the cream does 
 not get too old and seriously injure the flavor. Sweet 
 cream makes the best-flavored butter, but the yield is 
 smaller and it does not keep as well. 
 
 The best method of churning has not yet been de- 
 termined. Many patent churns have been presented 
 to the public, but none of them have been any real im- 
 provement on the old-fashioned dash-churn» There is 
 some dispute as to what causes the separation of the 
 butter from the milk. Some say it is the concussion ,• 
 some that it is the incorporation of the air with the 
 cream. Cert3.in it is that agitation is necessary. Forc- 
 ing air through the cream while agitating it makes the 
 butter separate quicker, but it injures the quality. 
 What is wanted is some method that will agitate every 
 
 17 
 
130 TEE yERSEZ ALDERNEY AMD GUERNSEY COW, 
 
 particle of cream alike, making the butter all come at 
 once and of the same texture. By every method yet 
 devised there is some cream at the sides, corners or 
 ends, that does not get so much churning as the rest. 
 This lessens the yield and makes the quality uneven. 
 At least a half hour should be consumed in churning. 
 Where the milk is churned it is allowed to change- 
 somewhat The yield of butter is larger, but it con- 
 tains more caseine, and is therefore inferior. More 
 power is required to churn with. 
 
 If the butter comes firm and solid and separates 
 freely from the milk, but little working will be required 
 to expel the buttermilk. The less it is worked the 
 better, if the buttermilk is got out and the salt is evenly 
 incorporated. It is better to wash the butter than to 
 work it too much without, but whether worked or not, 
 the buttermilk must be expelled or it will injure the 
 flavor and the keeping quality. Indeed, it is asserted 
 that pure butter will keep almost indefinitely without 
 salt But ^ such butter cannot be produced by the 
 ordinary process. So salt must be added to make it 
 keep. The quantity used by our best butter-makers 
 varies from one-half to one ounce of salt to one pound 
 of butter. Some salt considerably higher and go en- 
 tirely by the taste. Enough salt should be used to con- 
 vert the remaining buttermilk and water into brine, or 
 the butter will soon lose its flavor and become rancid. 
 
 Butter factories, as well as cheese factories, are be- 
 coming popular. Some skim all the cream they can, 
 
THE JERSEY, ALDEMNEY AND GUERNSEY COW 13I 
 
 and then feed the milk to hogs or calves. Some skim 
 only the night's milk, and make the milk into cheese. 
 A very few make skim-milk cheese, for which, however, 
 there is but a very limited demand, 
 
 Productimi of Butter. — The number of pounds of 
 butter made in the United States in 1850 was 313,- 
 345,306; in i860 it was 460,509,854; in 1870 it was 
 470,536,468. 
 
 The following extract is from a paper by C. Peter- 
 sen, of Windhausen, translated from the Milch Zeitmig, 
 
 "The churning of w^hole milk is, as a rule, little 
 known. It is, however, often resorted to in Holstein, 
 where cheese is not made. The general mode of pro- 
 cedure is self-evident; instead of being skimmed, when 
 it is ripe enough the whole of the milk is worked in the 
 churn. 
 
 "All the experiments I have made to determine 
 which method yields the most butter have been in favor 
 of churninsf the whole milk when other circumstances 
 have been equal. 
 
 " To obtain the greatest amount of butter, in churning 
 cream, it is necessary : 
 
 " I. To be in a position to control the temperature at 
 all times of the year. 
 
 " 2. To be able always to perform the skimming at 
 the right time. 
 
 " 3. Such a daily supply of milk as will yield enough 
 cream to allow it to be churned before its yield of 
 butter is damaged by standing too long. 
 
132 Tim JERSEY, ALDERNEY AND GUERNSEY COW, 
 
 "These conditions cannot be complied with in all 
 dairies, and the less so the smaller the establishment 
 The greater number of dairies depend on three or four 
 cows, and the yield of butter is often considerably les- 
 sened by the cream standing too long, owing to the 
 quantity not being sufficient to churn, 
 
 "In churning whole milk I always proceed as follows: 
 
 " The evening milk of one day and the morning milk 
 of the next are churned together. The former is 
 placed in a tub directly after milking, and the latter 
 added to it the next morning. In summer the milk is 
 allowed to stand, at most, two feet high in the tub ; in 
 the winter about two and a half feet. In very hot 
 weather the morning milk is cooled down to 1 6° to 20° 
 R. before it is added to the evening milk. Under these 
 circumstances the milk is nearly always ripe for churn- 
 ing when the evening milk has stood thirty-six and the 
 morning twenty-four hours. The temperature of the 
 milk when being churned should be from 1^ to 1° R. 
 warmer than when cream is churned. The churning 
 itself should be hurried as little as possible, since the 
 butter globules being more widely separated in milk 
 than in cream, rather more time is needed for them to 
 collect. 
 
 " In churning whole milk there is an increase in labor, 
 owing to the necessity for more frequent churnings, 
 but this is far outweighed by the other advantages re- 
 sulting from it." 
 
 The smart wife of a large farmer has informed us 
 
TffE JERSEY, ALDERNEY AND GUERNSEY COW, 1 33 
 
 hqw she manages in winter. She keeps her milk in a 
 room which is kept rather warmer than common milk 
 cellars. In the morning, on churning days, she places 
 the large stone pot which contains the cream in a kettle 
 of hot water on the stove, occasionally stirring it with a 
 large spoon, until the thermometer shows 64*^. This Is 
 eight degrees higher than the summer temperature, 
 but in winter the tendency is to get cooler, while in 
 summer the temperature commonly rises. It is then 
 placed in the churn, and a fine mass of butter never 
 fails to make its appearance in from one-half to three- 
 fourths of an hour. This entirely obviates the bad 
 practice of pouring hot water from the tea-kettle spout 
 into the cream to warm it. 
 
 It sometimes happens that in winter churning, the 
 small granules of butter will make their appearance a 
 long time before they gather into a solid mass. The 
 gathering may be much hastened by dropping into the 
 churn a small lump of butter at this time, as a nucleus, 
 around which the particles will soon adhere. 
 
 There is no doubt that cows fed on good, green, well- 
 cured clover hay, or on green corn-stalks, will give bet- 
 ter milk and better butter than such as • eat black, 
 watered clover or chocolate-colored stalks. We have 
 found nothing equal to carrots for giving us fine yellow 
 butter and plenty of^ it in winter, while a portion of 
 corn-meal with good wholesome fodder, with good, 
 comfortable, clean quarters, will do very well 
 
 So many farmers' wives, who find no difficulty in 
 
134 THE JERSEY, ALDERNEY AND GUERNSEY COW. 
 
 making the best of butter from their cows during the 
 grass season, entirely fail of success in the same line 
 when they attempt to make butter in winter, that it may 
 be well to say a few words on the subject. As a gen- 
 eral rule the failure to make good butter in winter does 
 not lie at the door of the dairywoman, but at that of 
 the farmer who keeps and feeds the cows. Those that 
 understand the proper method of managing the milk and 
 cream so as to make sure of obtaining a good article 
 of butter, if such a thing can possibly be made from the 
 milk of their cows, are often grievously disappointed at 
 the results of their labors, without having the least idea- 
 of the cause. 
 
 A good many experiments have been tried in Britian 
 to demonstrate in what way the feeding of cows during 
 winter affects the quality and value of their milk. 
 From these it was found that the quality of the milk 
 given varied according as the food consumed contained 
 more or less nitrogenous elements. 
 
 With abundance of roots and hay, but without grain 
 of any kind, the milk given, though abundant, was defi- 
 cient in butter. With the addition of a small quantity 
 of bean-meal the milk became richer and gave nearly 
 fifty per cent more butter and of a better quality than 
 that from hay and roots alone. To make the produc- 
 tion of butter in winter any advantage to the farmer, he 
 needs to have good cows in the first place, and in the 
 second to feed them with the object in view of produc- 
 ing milk that is rich in butyraceous particles. The great 
 
THE JERSEY, ALDERNEY AND GUERNSEY COW. 1 35 
 
 point is to keep them in as high condition as is consist- 
 ent with their health and breeding, and rather to feed 
 meal of some kind, peas, corn or barley, in addition to 
 hay, than to give them bran or roots only. Cows in 
 full milk should get about three pounds of pea or bar- 
 ley meal per day, in addition to their usual allowance 
 of hay, and if the hay can be cut and steamed, and the 
 meal stirred in just when the hay is set by to cool after 
 steaming, so much the better. The addition of a little 
 bran is of advantasfe in rfvinp* the cows a better relish 
 for their food and keeping their bowels in a healthy 
 state. 
 
 "Those who condemn the Jersey cows as small 
 yielders of milk and butter, must listen to the story 
 of *Rosa,' as told by her owner, Charles L. Sharp- 
 less, of Philadelphia. She is now five years old, is solid 
 creamy fawn, and, combined with great volume and 
 bone, she is neat in the head and neck, with fine legs. 
 Her dam was a small mouse-colored cow, and her sire's 
 dam a small fawn-colored, neither of which would give 
 over twelve quarts. 
 
 " We found we were making a good deal of butter, 
 and as * Rosa ' looked superbly, we determined to test 
 her butter quality. We fed her per day twenty pounds 
 of hay, eight quarts of meal and four quarts of carrots. 
 The meal was a mixture of good wheat bran and corn- 
 meal, in the proportion of four bushels of the former to 
 one bushel of the latter. Her yield the first day was 
 sixteen quarts, the second day fifteen and a half quarts, 
 
136 THE JERSEY, ALDERNEY AND GUERNSEY COW. 
 
 the third day sixteen quarts, and the next morning 
 eight quarts, being in all seven milkings, or half the 
 week. Her milk was kept separate, was skimmed 
 after standing thirty-six hours, and made six and three- 
 quarter pounds of butter, or thirteen and a half pounds 
 for the week. 
 
 '' As you place Rosa and Duchess side by side there 
 are some points of agreement and of difference that are 
 of interest to notice. They are both wedge-shaped, 
 with large body — Duchess the more bony, but Rosa 
 with the greater rear volume (broader hips, etc.). They 
 both have neat heads and necks and fine bone. Duch- 
 ess is, in winter, smoke-color with brilliant white, but 
 not with black points , she has yellow hoofs and skin, 
 and her udder is rich yellow. Rosa has yellow hoofs, 
 but a pale skin and udder, and would be called a butter 
 cow inferior to Duchess, and yet she has just proved 
 herself one-half pound greater. The color of it is the 
 deepest — no coloring matter being used. This upsets 
 the theory that a yellow skin is necessary for deep- 
 colored butter ; and loth as one Is to believe it, the yel- 
 low skin must be looked upon as ornamental rather 
 than essential. Perhaps a safer way to put it is, that 
 though a rich yellow skin is evidence of butter quality, 
 yet equally good quality may come from a pale skin. 
 
 "Again, as to vertical or rear mirrors, both these 
 cows exhibit the broad part diminish as it rises, until, 
 when within six to nine inches of the vulva, it is re- 
 duced to the breadth of not over an inch wide. Thus 
 
THE JERSEY, ALDERNEY AND GUERNSEY COW. 1 3/ 
 
 they agree in their rear mirrors, and they agree also in 
 udders of great capacity, these being deep and broad, 
 and running well forward under the body. 
 
 " There is a point on which they differ : the hair on 
 Duchess is soft and furry as a mole, that of Rosa is 
 fairly fine, but still hair. 
 
 " So that in a word one can say, soft hair, a large mir- 
 ror and a yellow skin are desirable, but there may be 
 choice cows not conspicuous for either. 
 
 "To show how we sometimes let our best animals 
 slip, I will add that when Rosa was a heifer I was 
 tempted to part with her for what seemed a great price 
 — ^500. In about two weeks she had a heifer calf, for 
 which her owner was offered $150. When three years 
 old she had a second heifer which he sold for |i8d, and 
 when four years old she had a third heifer calf, which 
 he sold for |ioo. He then sold his place and all his 
 stock, and I bought her at public sale for $375 for her 
 beauty. Her pale skin deceived me as to her butter 
 quality, and her, as I thought, deficient mirror misled 
 me as to her large yield. She now, as a five-year old, 
 has her fourth calf, which is a bull and some two months 
 
 old. 
 
 "In giving above her yield, I gave also her feed. 
 Such is her constitution and appetite that I think she 
 would have eaten half as much more, and in that way 
 her yield might have been very much increased. It 
 was good enough as it was, particularly as there have 
 been choice cows so forced that, though the premium 
 
 18 
 
138 THE JERSEY, ALDERNEY AND GUERNSEY COW. 
 
 was won, the cow was lost. The winter yield, on dry- 
 feed, of sixteen quarts, is considered equivalent to 
 eighteen on grass." 
 
 It would seem a convenient method for a purchaser 
 of a cow, who wished to approximate at least to the 
 amount of butter she would yield in a week, to arrive 
 at it by knowing the number of quarts of milk given in a 
 day ; and we have been hoping for some acknowledged 
 standard of estimating* this. The amount of milk requi- 
 site to make a pound of butter varies from five to six- 
 teen quarts in different animals and breeds. The 
 amount of cream also seems to vary as much, though 
 this depends greatly on care in skimming, Jersey cows 
 usually giving one pound of butter for every six to 
 eight" quarts of milk, very good grade cows ten to 
 twelve quarts, and ordinary cows twelve to sixteen 
 quarts. 
 
 It is universally conceded, we believe, that Jersey 
 and Guernsey cows' milk requires less for a pound of 
 butter than any other breed, circumstances being equal. 
 Their milk has been passed off and sold as cream. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 THE BULL; AND ON CALVING, 
 
 Previously to entering upon the subject of pregnant 
 cows, a few observations on the bull may prove of great 
 advantage. 
 
 There is a notion very prevalent that frequent bulling 
 of the cow will ensure a calf; experience has proved 
 this to be erroneous. Once is quite sufficient; but 
 where the bull is of a larger kind than the cow, the 
 latter should have the advantage of rising ground. On 
 returning home the cow should be milked and tied up 
 till quiet. Cattle taken to the bull are less subject to 
 barrenness than those running with the bulL 
 
 For milking cows it is always advisable to have a bull 
 with two or three years' advantage of age, as the stock 
 is not then produced too large, which would probably 
 injure the womb and produce barrenness. The heifer 
 should not be taken to the bull younger than from 
 eighteen to twenty-one months ; and after calving, six 
 weeks should elapse before the cow is bulled. 
 
 When the cow is heavy in calf — that is, when within 
 about three months of the time of calving — consider- 
 able judgment is required as to her condition. At this 
 
 time she should have plenty of exercise, should walk a 
 
 139 
 
I40 TBE JERSEY, ALDERNEY ARD GUERNSEY COW. 
 
 considerable distance to and from pasture, and when 
 there should have to get her own living, or rather to 
 work for her own living, if it may be so expressed, by 
 the feed not being over-abundant Where exercise 
 cannot be obtained, or where the cow is kept housed or 
 in a very small pasture, she must be prevented from 
 getting too fresh by a diminution of the feeding quali- 
 ties of her food. 
 
 If the cow continues to give her full quantity of milk 
 up to a late period, there will be no danger at the time 
 of calving; but if she dries up too soon, she will get 
 too fresh to be healthy, and means must be taken to 
 diminish her condition, either by increasing her exercise 
 or diminishing her food. A lean cow can never come 
 to harm by calving, but a fat one labors much more^ 
 and is liable to break the blood-vessels or to induce 
 prolapsus, frequently resulting in death. 
 
 With heifers with their second calf care should be 
 taken that the system be not overtaxed, and they should 
 therefore be allowed to go dry sooner than older cows. 
 
 At no period of a cow being in calf should any putrid 
 or offensive matter (such as pig-tubs containing all 
 manner of decayed refuse, or horse-flesh hanging up 
 for dogs, or dead animals in ditches or ponds) be within 
 her scent, for so delicate is the constitution of a cow in 
 this state that the mere smell of offensive effluvia is 
 sufficient to make her slip her calf: the same result 
 may be produced by her running in the same pasture 
 with a cow who has recently slipped her calf. As the 
 
THE JERSEY, ALDERNEY AND GUERNSEY COW. I4I 
 
 COW advances in calf she should not be allowed to pas- 
 ture with strange cattle, as they would be likely to fight 
 or push each other about, and injury to herself and the 
 calf might ensue : perfect quietness in this state cannot 
 be too much recommended. 
 
 When the period of calving arrives, the cow should 
 be taken in and well bedded forward, giving an easy 
 declivity to the hinder parts ; she should be disturbed 
 as little as possible, but carefully watched. Every op- 
 portunity should be given to Nature to act spontane- 
 ously, but if much difficulty appears, the assistance of a 
 veterinary surgeon should be obtained at once. 
 
 When this is rendered unnecessary by an easy labor, 
 care should be taken to remove the caul or bladder 
 covering the calfs head as soon as possible, to enable 
 it to breathe ; and immediately after the birth compel 
 the cow to rise, as this action restores the overstrained 
 parts to their proper position. 
 
 Then subdue the tendency to inflammation by imme- 
 diately withdrawing the milk. 
 
 In some counties an erroneous custom prevails of 
 givinsf the cow her own milk to drink iust after calvinsf, 
 but tL is an exploded and almost superstitious custoS 
 which should never be followed. 
 
 If the cow appears strong after calving, avoid giving 
 her drenches, which produce disgust and do no good. 
 
 If medicine appears necessary, let it be given under 
 the direction of the veterinary surgeon. 
 
 In all the numerous cases that have fallen under my 
 
142 THE JERSEY, ALDERNEY AND GUERNSEY COW. 
 
 management, I have never had one occasion to give a 
 single drench My system is to give the cow a warm 
 bran-mash with plenty of chilled water, not too warm, 
 which treatment has always proved successful. 
 
 If the cow, after calving, should not milk down well, 
 the udder should be fomented with warm water. 
 
 In a small practical work of this nature it would be 
 useless to enter at length upon the diseases of cows , a 
 few hints will be much better than a dry dissertation. 
 No information that could be here imparted would be 
 of any use in the absence of experience. It will be only 
 necessary, therefore, to give some account of the symp- 
 toms that usually indicate disease either in existence or 
 in embryo. 
 
 The first symptom usually is the shrinking of the 
 milk ; the second symptom is a rough and staring ap- 
 pearance of the coat, hollowness of the eyes and a want 
 of moisture at the nose. What is called a chill is easily 
 discovered by pressing with the hand on the back, any- 
 where behind the shoulders, which act will cause the 
 cow to shrink if she is not in good health. 
 
 Nothing but knowledge and experience will justify 
 the attempt to physic the cow without the advice of the 
 veterinary surgeon ; and it must be borne in mind that 
 the object of this little book is to instruct in the man- 
 agement of milch cows alone, and not to enter upon 
 the management and treatment of the various other 
 classes of cows which are kept for a very different pur- 
 pose than the production of milk and butter.