State Agricultural Society. 545 



docile, easily handled; is hardy, hearty, and easily kept; the long habit 

 of the race has made her more patient of confinement than our other 

 breeds ; and a short tether on a well-grassed paddock is all that is 

 required to maintain her in perfect health. 



The quantity of milk yielded is, of course, much less than that of 

 cows whose milk is not so rich, yet it is sufficient for the uses of an 

 ordinary family, and its large quantity of rich and well-flavored cream 

 gives, at little cost, a highly-prized luxury. 



For use under these circumstances the small size of the cow is of 

 decided advantage. If only one animal is kept, the economy of food, 

 when compared with that consumed by other breeds, is important; and 

 owing to the persistence with which the production of milk is continued 

 with an ordinarily good Jersey cow, the family will rarely be more than 

 from six weeks to two months without a sufficient supply of good milk. 



If a larger quantity of milk is required, two little Jerseys, coming in 

 one in the Fall, and the other in the Spring, will keep up a constant 

 supply the whole year round, and will consume not materially more 

 than would one hulking native, producing a uselessly large quantity of 

 thin milk during one season, and going entirely dry for months at 

 another. 



THE ORNAMENTAL USES OP THE JERSEY. 



It would be ungracious not to regard what may be called the purely 

 "fancy" use of this breed, since it is to this that we owe so large an 

 influence in securing its early introduction; and however desirable the 

 Jersey may become for the farm or for the household, she is not likely 

 to lose her preeminence as a decoration for lawn pastures. Her deer- 

 like beauty, and aristocratic, thoroughbred air, will insure the continu- 

 ance of her position as the lawn cow par excellence. 



We were at one time in danger of some disturbance of the even course 

 of our judicious breeding by the threatened prominence of the demand 

 for solid-colored animals; but this is happily passing away, and it is fast 

 becoming understood that the typical beauty of this race includes as a 

 prominent feature its constant tendency to vary in its marking. A herd 

 of differently colored Jersey cows, of good breeding and in good con- 

 dition, may well be thought to furnish the pei'fection of bovine beauty 

 with which to set off the attractions of ornamental grounds; and, indeed, 

 the marvelous charm of the scenery of the Island of Jersey, where the 

 vegetation of every clime grows in luxuriance, and where the ivy clothes 

 every neglected stump and stone and every mound of earth with its 

 abundant foliage, is emphasized and greatly increased b} , 'the beauty and 

 varied coloring of the animals tethered in every field and orchard. 



BREEDING JERSEYS IN AMERICA. 



The foregoing observations cover the fundamental principles which 

 should regulate the objects and the manner of breeding Jersey cattle in 

 this country. 



No one entering systematically into this business can afford to disre- 

 gard the demand that will always exist for cattle of an ornamental char- 

 acter; and it is probable that for some time to come the highest prices 

 will be obtained for individuals of excellent milking qualities, possessing 

 the highest beauty and the most tractable and docile disposition. It is, 



69 — (agrTj 



