92 The Bulletin. 



THE MERITS OF THE GUERNSEY COW. 

 E. A. Bishop, American Guernsey Cattle Club. 



In attempting to enumerate some of the merits of Guernsey cattle, I trust 

 no one will consider for a moment that other breeds do not possess merit, 

 and to such a degree as to attract conservative and thoughtful men. 



I have had the pleasure of breetling Jerseys, Guernseys, Holsteins, and 

 some Ayrshires. and am not insensible to the strong points of other breeds of 

 dairy cattle. In fact, all pure-bred stock has an attraction hard to define, 

 like the feeling toward royalty. The party who intends to take up a new 

 breefl should consider the merits of each from a business standpoint, so far 

 as market for stock and i^roduce is concerned. The only outlet for milk may 

 be to a shipping point for city trade, to a condcnsary, or perhaps a creamery 

 is near, or one may desire to make butter on the farm, or sell milk and cream 

 to a select trade; all these would have their bearing upon the selection of a 

 breed. 



But preeminent and above all should come the personal liking of the indi- 

 vidual breeder, for upon his own fancy being gratified will depend to a large 

 extent his success or failure with any breed. Does his admiration lead 

 him to the large Black and AVhites with their big flow of just milk, and the 

 little fawn-colored Jersey with her rich milk look to him like a pet, or an 

 ornament for his lawn? Does the Ayrshire with the straight top line and 

 fine form appeal to his fancy for type? Or perhaps the medium-sized Guern- 

 sey, with her rich, yellow and white skin, her gentle, homelike ways, the 

 quantity and quality of her milk, with its .vellow color, and flavor efjualed by 

 no other breed, mai/ attract him. Then, the fact that she has the power to 

 assimilate her feed, and yield from it a greater amount of the most valuable 

 product of a dairy cow, viz., butter-fat, may touch his business sense. He 

 may have a certain pride in producing a butter that needs no foreign coloring 

 material added to make it salable. These, and others, may influence his 

 selection, and he will succeed liest with the one that appeals to his fancy most, 

 and should select that breed and stick to it. 



It is within comparatively few years (twenty, perhaps) that the Guernsey 

 has come into prominenc<^ in the T'nited States. The first cow that I really 

 remember bought by my father when we moved onto a farm, when I was 

 eleven years old. was a Guernsey. This cow was yellow and white, of the 

 true Guernsey type, and produced milk (over 20 quarts a day. a large quan- 

 tity, we thought at that time) of a richness and yellow color that was my 

 father's special pride. He found that 5% quarts would make I14 pounds of 

 butter. I did not know then that she was a Guernsey ; in fact, do not remem- 

 ber to have ever heard the name. 



All cattle at that time whose ancestry traced to the Channel Isles were 

 called Alderneys. The name Alderney applied to a cow carried with it the 

 thought of rich milk, and included all cattle with an infusion of Jersey or 

 Guernsey blood. Just why these cattle were indiscriminately all classed as 

 Alderneys may be a matter of some interest. At the time of their introduction 

 into the' United States the trade between this and other countries was carried 

 on mostly by sailing vessels, which are in this faster age superseded by steam. 

 The Channel Islands, situated between England and France, were points at 

 which vessels to and from England touched in their voyages across. In leav- 

 ing the English ports of London and Portsmouth they would stop first at St. 

 Heliero on^Jersey. then St. Peter Port on Guernsey, and last at St. Anne on 

 Alderney, much the smaller of the three principal islands. 



It has been an old custom when a vessel comes into port to say that she 

 sailed from the last port which she touched, which in this case happened to be 

 the smallest and least important on her voyage. The ship's papers would show 

 that she came from Alderney; consequently, any cattle that may have been 

 brought over were said to have come from Alderney. That name meant as 

 much to the average buyer on this side as Guernsey and Jersey, and hence 

 came into common use. though as a matter of fact most of the cattle came 

 from Jersey, a few from Guernsey, and occasionally one or two from Alderney. 



