34 THE JERSEY, ALDERNEY AND GUERNSEY ^;F. 



modified by the circumstances under which it has so 

 long been cultivated ; and it seems to me that we need 

 not look beyond these circumstances for the causes of 

 its peculiarities. It is apparent from Col. Le Couteur's 

 letter that there are two distinct classes of Jersey cattle 

 within a region hardly larger than Staten Island, New 

 York. As the inhabitants of these islands are within 

 easy reach of the principal market-place, it is natural to 

 suppose that interchanges of the stock frequently take 

 place ; and such interchanges have undoubtedly not 

 been uncommon for a long time. Yet the distinction 

 between the small, hardy animals of the high-coast 

 region and the more fully developed ones of the shel- 

 tered lowlands appears to have been maintained. This 

 indicates that the influence of local circumstances has 

 been sufficient to counteract the effect of cross-breed- 

 ing. Naturally, therefore, it is fair to think that causes 

 which can so far modify ancestral peculiarities are amply 

 sufficient to account for the most highly prized charac- 

 teristics of our favorite race. 



" Climate has much to do with the matter, through 

 both its direct effect on the animal and its indirect 

 effect through the quality of its food. Much, undoubt- 

 edly, is due to the admixture, by interbreeding, between 

 the animals of the different localities. What modifica- 

 tions of the race are to be traced to these influences it 

 would be impossible to determine. 



" Hardly less, probably, than the effect of the fore- 

 going causes is that of the system of agriculture neces- 



