CHAPTER V. 



The First Private and Official Tests 



What is believed to be the first record of a Channel 

 Islands cow made and published in the United States is found 

 in Vol. IV., page 115, of the "Memoirs of the Philadelphia 

 Society for the Promotion of Agriculture." It is quoted here 

 from Vol. I. of the Herd Registry of the American Jersey 

 Cattle Club, page 21. 



"I have upon my farm on the Delaware a cow of the Alderney 

 breed, imported a short time since by Mr. Wurts. She has been fed 

 in the usual way with potatoes, and during the last week the milk 

 from her was kept separate and yielded 8 pounds of butter. The 

 cow is a small animal, and is supported with less food than our 

 ordinary stock. 



"By communicating this fact to the society, it will oblige, etc. 

 "January 11, 1817. RICHARD MORRIS. 



"P. S. The cow is three years old. 



"To Roberts-Vaux, Secretary of the Philadelphia Society for 

 Promoting Agriculture." 



In a note on- the same page it is stated "that the cow 

 above referred to is now in the possession of another member 

 of the Agricultural Society ; and after a fair trial made with 

 her during last summer (1817) the superior richness of her 

 milk, when compared with that of other cows, has been fully 

 tested. She gave 9 l / 2 pounds of extremely rich, highly-colored 

 butter per week." 



Another mention of the same cow will be found in the 

 fifth volume of the same work, page 47, viz : 



"Germantown, Oct. 20, 1818. 



"With this you will receive a pound of butter made from the 

 Alderney cow imported in 1815 by Maurice and William Wurts, i-nd 

 now in my possession. She calved on the 13th of last month, and is 

 now in fine condition, running on excellent pasture of orchard grass 

 and white clover, and gives on an average about 14 quarts of milk 

 per day. From this quantity, during the week end'ing the 7th instant, 

 we obtained 10 quarts of cream, which produced 8 pounds 2 ounces 

 of butter, and the week succeeding 10^ quarts, which gave 8^4 pounds 

 of the quality of the sample sent. You will perceive it is of so rich 

 a yellow that it might be suspected that some foreign coloring mat- 

 ter had* been added to it; but you may rely on it this is not the case. 

 I add that one of the good properties of this valuable breed of cattle 

 is the ease with which the cream is churned, requiring but a few 

 minutes to convert it into butter. When a proper opportunity occurs, 

 I shall endeavor to ascertain the quantity and quality of butter to be 

 obtained per week from the Derry cow, imported this summer from 



