110 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



case, I trust that at this winter meeting of the Massachusetts 

 State Board of Agriculture an honest investigation into the 

 claims and merits of the breed of Jersey cattle may not be 

 out of place. 



It may be said with truth that the Jerseys are most highly 

 prized by those who know them best. During the past forty 

 years many cattle of this race have been owned simply as pets 

 by wealthy men ; but not a few have always been owned by in- 

 telligent and thrifty farmers. Yet it has been no easier to buy 

 one of their good Jerseys from the hard-working farmer than 

 from the rich man. This would seem to be practical proof 

 that the Jersey has sterling merits, as well as what we may 

 call artistic attractions. Paradoxical as it may seem, though 

 these cattle have steadily increased in numbers, and in their 

 general distribution, prices have increased even faster. Al- 

 most the youngest of my hearers can remember when a first- 

 rate Jersey cow could be bought for $150 ; the lowest price 

 for such an animal to-day is $350. Heifer calves could be 

 bought a dozen years ago for $25 each ; to-day they are legal 

 tender in the States and Territories and in Canada, Upper 

 and Lower, for a hundred dollars. 



To compare the newer ' * butter breeds : " There are ten 

 times as many Jerseys in this country as Guernseys, and 

 there are four or five times as many Jerseys as there are 

 Holsteins, yet the average price of the Jerseys is three times 

 that of either of the other breeds. Out of twenty thou- 

 sand Jerseys there are three hundred tests of fourteen 

 pounds a week and over. At this rate we should have 

 at least thirty tests for the Guernseys, and seventy-five 

 for the Holsteins. I believe there are but three or four 

 of the former, and of the latter not over twenty ; and 

 of the butter powers of Guernsey or Holstein grades we 

 have heard little or nothing, while excellent tests for a week 

 or more of Jersey grades appear in almost every issue of 

 our agricultural press. And it is to the " grades " of a breed 

 that we are to look for the proof of the real benefit or injury 

 which a particular class of stock brings with its introduction 

 to a country like this. For however numerous the " Herd- 

 Book" animals of any race may be, they must nevertheless 



