Dairy Breeds of Cattle 1779 



They reacli maturity probably earlier than any other breed 

 and yet some of the oldest cows known have been Jerseys. The 

 milk is at least as rich as that of any other breed. The Jersey 

 has not been a satisfactory butchers' animal — largely on account 

 of her small size, and undue proportion of ofFal. The Jersey 

 Register of Merit accepts lists for seven, fourteen, thirty days 

 and one year. Mature cows must make at least twelve pounds 

 of butter fat in seven days or 300 pounds of fat in one year. 

 The highest price ever paid at public sale for Jerseys was $12,500 

 for a bull and $7,500 for a cow, both at T. S. CoojDer's sales. 

 These prices have been greatly exceeded at public Shorthorn sales. 

 Up to June 1, 1913, there had been registered in the American 

 Jersey Cattle Club, 113,300 bulls and 290,725 cows. 



THE GUERNSEY 



The motherland of the Guernsey cow is the little islands Guern- 

 sey and Alderney in the English channel between France and Brit- 

 ain. Most importations have been made from Guernsey which 

 contains about 13,000 acres of land and maintains about 5,000 

 cattle — a very narrow home to be the nursery of a world-wide 

 breed. The soil is fertile and the climate very mild and uni- 

 form. They have been bred in essential purity for many years 

 and for a long time — centuries it is said — have been protected 

 against infusion of other blood by a law prohibiting the im- 

 portation of foreigTi eattle except for slaughter. 



It is believed that Richard Harrison of Germantown near 

 Philadelphia imported a pair of cattle from Alderney as early 

 as 1818 and other occasional importations were made, especially 

 after 1865. The date of the establishment of the American Pedi- 

 gree Registry Record is 1879, and up to June 25, 1913, there 

 had been registered in America 45,339 cows and 25,422 bulls, 

 but popular interest in the breed was of slow growth until after 

 the very favorable record made in the breed test at the Pan- 

 American Exposition in 1901. 



In characteristics the Guernsey is most naturally compared 

 with the Jersey although the diiferences between the two breeds 

 are marked. The Guernseys are coarser and heavier in build, 

 weights of 1,500 pounds for mature bulls and 1,050 for aged 



