40 GUIDE TO DAIRYING IN SOUTH AFRICA 



The animals are small and useless for beef ; they 

 are entirely a dairy breed and compare more than 

 favourably with any other breed for dairy purposes, 

 They vary in colour, khaki, fawn, and silver-grey 

 being allowed, while many of the bulls are nearly 

 black. They have sleek short hair, deer-like heads, 

 and slender frames, but they have the big " barrel " 

 and true wedge shape so desirable in a dairy cow. 

 They show a strong yellow tint all over, on horns, 

 inside of ears, and on hindquarters and at the roots 

 of hair. 



Although natives of the Channel Islands they 

 are also common in the South of England ; the 

 Jersey as bred in England and America is, how- 

 ever, somewhat larger and coarser in frame. The 

 cows weigh below 1000 Ibs., are usually rather 

 angular in outline, nervous, good feeders, and 

 produce liberal yields of very rich milk. For over 

 four hundred years they have been bred exclusively 

 for the production of butter fat. They are the 

 most common breed in the United States where 

 dollars count. They are bred extensively in 

 Canada, and have made good reputations in 

 Australia and New Zealand. They are not very 

 well known in South Africa, where they are some- 

 what despised on account of their small size. They 

 are found principally at the Cape and in the 

 Western Province, and many of the native cattle in 

 that region show a very strong mixture of Jersey 



