260 MASSACHUSETTS AGRICULTURE. 



very freely in the family. In the winter the butter comes of a 

 good color, and seldom with any trouble in churning. Occa- 

 sionally the milk will seem to be composed chiefly of caseine, 

 and for one or two weeks no butter can be made of it, and this, 

 without any change of food or treatment of the cows. I am 

 disposed to attribute it to some internal change, occasioned by 

 the state of pregnancy of the cow, but must experiment farther. 

 The qualities I claim for my herd are, that they are a sensible 

 mixture of several strains of the imported Jersey stock, chiefly 

 of the Reed and Motley importations. They are strong, healthy, 

 hardy animals. In six years I have lost but one cow and one 

 calf, and have raised nearly twenty. Of the bulls, the first one 

 I raised took the first premium at this exhibition in 1866 ; and 

 the one now owned by S. H. Pierce, Esq., of Lincoln, is a good 

 specimen. The cows give good messes of rich milk, hold out 

 well, and are gentle and kind. If they are not as " fancy " as 

 some Jerseys, nor as " high bred," they are not as delicate, do 

 not become barren, and will do well on common keeping ; they 

 are adapted well to our soil and climate, and to the wants of 

 that class who desire a family cow, to use the milk, not sell it, 

 and make their own butter. As to the profit, I have never kept 

 an account with them. I raise all they consume, and consume 

 all they produce, except selling enough of the yearlings to pay 

 a good interest on the investment. I think " they earn their 

 keep." 



Statement of Hammon Reed. 



Gentlemen : — I offer for your inspection, in competition for 

 the society's premiums offered for herds of cattle, six pure-bred 

 Ayrshire cattle, named as follows : bull " Lexington," four years 

 old ; cow, " Miss McGregor," nine years old ; cow, " Bessie," 

 eight years old ; cow, " Rose Standish," six years old ; cow, 

 " Daisy," six years old, and the cow, " Gentle, 2d," four years 

 old. 



The average quantity of milk given by " McGregor " for one 

 week in June was 24 quarts per day ; " Bessie," 23 quarts ; 

 " Rose Standish," 21 quarts ; " Daisy," 20 quarts ; and '• Gentle, 

 2d," having been milked more than a year, 10 quarts. She 

 gave for seven days in June, 1870, an average of 17^- quarts per 

 day. The last week in August, " McGregor " gave an average 



