212 DAIRYING. 



short and straight below the hocks, with bones rather fine, 

 squarely placed, and not too close together; hoofs small; 

 udder full in size, in line with the belly, extending well up 

 behind; teats of medium size, squarely placed and wide 

 apart, milk veins very prominent; color is generally 

 cream, dun, or yellow, with more or less white. 



The Jerseys are generally considered a butter-producing 

 breed, and justly so. The milk produced is as a rule richer 

 in fat and solids than that of any other breed, but the 

 quantity yielded, on the other hand, is apt to be lower. 

 Milk from good Jersey cows often contains over six per 

 cent of fat, the average being about five per cent. Produc- 

 tion of rich milk has been the primary aim of Jersey 

 breeders; in i8Si the secretary of the American Jersey 

 Cattle Club wrote: " The sole office of the Jersey cow is 

 to produce the largest possible amount of rich, highly 

 colored cream from a given amount of food. Everything 

 else in connection with the breeding of the race is, or 

 should be, incidental." 



The highest yields of butter-fat or butter, in case of 

 Jersey cows as well as other dairy breeds, are not, how- 

 ever, apt to come from cows producing exceptionally rich 

 milk, but rather from such producing an exceptionally 

 large quantity of good milk; generally speaking, an ex- 

 traordinarily high fat-content is accompanied by a small 

 milk yield. 



Typical Jerseys generally have a high-strung, nervous 

 temperament, and in order to do their best must receive 

 good care; they cannot be abused as to feed or treatment 

 without injury; for this reason they will only prove a suc- 

 cess in the hands of intelligent feeders who care for and 

 take an interest in their stock. The dairy type predomi- 

 nates, viz.: a wedge-shaped, deep-chested body, with 

 good digestive organs, large full udders, well-developed 

 milk-veins, and a soft, mellow skin. The cows are gentle 

 and docile, while the bulls have the reputation of being 

 hard to handle, and often ugly and dangerous after a couple 

 of years' service. 



The maximum yields of milk and butter produced by 

 Jersey cows are given on page 240, the table giving the 



