The Bulletin. 93 



The island of Alderuey is only 2x4 miles in extent, not as large as some of 

 oni- Western ranches, nor containing as many cattle, a recent census giving 700 

 head. The population is about 1..^00 only. Alderney is a bailiwick of Guern- 

 sey, only 21 miles distant, and 9 miles from the coast of France. Guernsey is 

 9 X 13 miles, comprising about 16,000 acres, two-thirds of which, or 10,000 acres, 

 being under cultivation. Her population is some 36,000, practically all de- 

 pendent upon agriculture for a living. There are some 5,000 head of cattle on 

 the island, or one to every two acres. Jersey, much the largest and most 

 important of the group, with a circumference of 30 miles, and a population 

 of from 42,000 to 44,000, will be referred to here only for comparison of size, 

 as conditions on the two are similar. For more than a century the people of 

 these islands, from their nearness to France, are mostly of French origin, and 

 have guarded most jealously the purity of their cattle, and stringent laws 

 have been' passed forbidding the importing of any cattle to the Islands except 

 for immediate slaughter, under penalty of confiscation of the cattle, the vessel 

 bringing them over, and the imposition of a heavy fine. This jealousy of the 

 purity of breeding of their cattle caused the extension of the law so that it 

 applied to any exchange of cattle between Jersey and Guernsey. Alderney, 

 Sark, and Herm, being bailiwicks of Guernsey, the cattle are the same in 

 breeding and general characteristics. 



Both Guernseys and Jerseys were probably of similar origin, descended from 

 the Normandy and Brittany stock, though there still exists a difference of 

 opinion in regard to this. The Guernseymen using the large red bulls and 

 the Jersey men the small fawn ones, two. types have been established and 

 developed along definite lines. The Jerseyman seeing a profitable market for 

 his cattle in England if he could combine with richness in milk and butter an 

 animal that would have the gracefulness of the deer and be an ornament on 

 the big lawns of the English estates, used his skill in breeding, to perfect an 

 animal of this type. How well he has succeeded we are all glad to bear testi- 

 mony, for the beauty of the Jersey is quite generally conceded. The Guernsey- 

 man was a more conservative fellow, and had implicit faith in the superiority 

 of his yellow and white cow. He believed that no other gave so large a 

 quantity of such yellow, fine-flavored milk, or to his eyes looked so good, with 

 her gold and white skin and gentle disposition. She was a member of the 

 family, being raised, milked, and tethered out dally by his wife and children. 



The average farm on Guernsey is from two to twenty acres, and a man who 

 has twenty is not apt to have it all in one tract. With land worth around 

 $1,000 an acre, and rents ranging from $50 to $75 and $100 an acre, laud 

 cannot be turned out for grazing and pa.sture, as we do in this country. Most 

 of the cattle are tethered out and moved about during the day, as the grass is 

 eaten close. The climate permits of pasture most of the year, and roots, hay, 

 oil cake and oats are fed instead of heavy grains. This has given the breed a 

 strong constitution, and enabled her to withstand the pressure of dairy condi- 

 tions in this country. I have been frequently asketl if they are free from 

 tuberculosis. In reply I can only say that I know of no breed that is; but 

 that their hardiness and strong constitution is a most valuable asset in Avith- 

 standing this scourge of our dairy cattle. 



While the cattle of Jersey and Guei-nsey have added greatly to the wealth 

 of the islands of late, they have been kept mainly for the manure, as the 

 island is famous for and derives its chief income from its garden products and 

 flowers, every farmer, or gardener as we should call them in this country, 

 having his glass houses for raising products for the London market. 



The first importation to this country of which we have an authentic record 

 was the bringing over of a bull and two cows by a sailing master for his brother 

 who lived on Cow Island in Lake Winnipesaukee, N. II. This was in 1833. 

 Several \Aere brought to Philadelphia in 1S40 and 1865, and in 1872 the former 

 president of the club brought some to Boston. These attracted so much atten- 

 tion that the Massachusetts Society for the Promotion of Agriculture sent one 

 of their members to the island for an importation. Connecticut soon did 

 likewise. These imported Guernseys were kept closely on a few estates in 

 the East, and the demand for any surplus was such that no attempt was made 

 to extend their reputation among the general public. 



