Dairy Breeds of Cattle 1781 



cows being score card standards. In heifers before freshening 

 there is often u suggestion of beefiness especially in the thick 

 withers. A tendency toward a sway back and sloping rump is 

 too common. The color may vary through a wide range of yellow 

 or reddish or brownish fawn either solid or more usually with 

 white markings, sometimes very abundant especially on the under 

 part of the body and legs. Occasionally animals are nearly 

 white. 



The color of the muzzle is a fancy point much emphasized by 

 some breeders. It is preferably a yellow buif or flesh color but 

 dark flecks or even black does not indicate impurity of blood or 

 lack of dairy character. The most marked characteristic of the 

 Guernseys is the rich yellow hue of her milk and of the secre- 

 tions as seen around the eyes, inside the ears and in the very 

 yellow color of the dandruff on the udder and scrotum and at 

 the end of the tail. 



The horns are typically yellow at the base and rather short 

 and incurved, and the hoofs amber colored, although many in- 

 dividuals of undoubted pure breeding fail to show these charac- 

 teristics w^ell developed. 



The hide is usually particularly mellow and elastic — on the 

 average excelling all other breeds in this regard. 



The temperament of bulls and cows alike is exceptionally mild 

 and gentle — the heritage of centuries of family care and confine- 

 ment by tethering to very narrow limits. 



The strong point of the Guernsey is the production of milk 

 and cream for discriminating markets where the natural high 

 color will enable it to sell at prices in advances of milk lacking 

 this character. Guernsey milk is to be classed as high in fat 

 percentage, being about the same as the Jersey in this regard. 



At the beginning of 1912 there were about 257 Guernsey cows 

 with official records exceeding 10,000 pounds of milk and 21.S 

 making 500 or more pounds — say 585 pounds of butter fat in 

 a year. There is one official milk record exceeding 18,000 

 pounds. The requirements for Advanced Registry among Guern- 

 seys is that a heifer must produce not less than 250 pounds of 

 fat in a year if calving at two years old or 3,600 pounds of fat 

 in twelve months if a mature cow. 



