THE DAIRY BREEDS OF CATTLE 269 



Society of England, Vol. 20 (1859) ; Ernest Mathews, The Jersey 

 Cow, Little Shardeloes, Amersham, Bucks ; John S. Linsley, Jersey 

 Cattle in America, New York (1885) ; W. P. Hazard, The Jersey, 

 Alderney and Guernsey Cow, Philadelphia (1872). 



GUERNSEY CATTLE. Plate IX. Figs. 45, 46. 

 By William H. Caldwell 



304. The Guernsey is one of the four leading breeds 

 of dairy cattle. They constitute, with the Jerseys, the 

 Channel Island cattle and are noted for butter-produc- 

 tion. 



305. History in Guernsey. The Guernsey breed of 

 cattle originated and was developed on the island of 

 Guernsey, which is one of the Channel islands. The 

 foundation of the breed lay in the admixture of the large, 

 red Normandy, and the little black Brittany breeds, 

 which were brought from the neighboring coast of France 

 to the Island. It has been generally accepted that the 

 large red Normandy males predominated in crossing on 

 the little black Brittany cows on Guernsey, and that the 

 Guernsey takes many of its characteristics from the Nor- 

 mandy breed. The fact that for nearly one hundred years 

 no live cattle have been permitted to come on the Island, 

 is enough to say that the breed has remained pure, and 

 been bred by itself without admixture of foreign blood. 

 The Royal Guernsey Agricultural and Horticultural 

 Society is largely responsible for the improvement of the 

 breed. 



Little more can be said of the history of the breed on 

 the Island. The shrewd, careful, sturdy islander, while 

 zealously guarding the purity of the breed, paid little 



