330 CATTLE 



records of weights in the register of merit, many of which are 

 estimated, 25 yearling heifers averaged 698 pounds, the range 

 being from 600 to 850; 50 two-year-olds averaged 779 pounds, 

 the range being from 600 to 1000 ; 50 three-year-olds averaged 

 827 pounds, the range being from 650 to 1000; while the aged 

 cows averaged 908 pounds, the range .being from 750 to 1080. 

 Eleven of the aged cows weighed 1000 pounds or more and 

 22 weighed from 900 to 1000 pounds. The average weight of 

 24 cows at the World's Columbian Exposition in 1893 was 922^ 

 pounds. One may regard 700 pounds as a fair weight for a heifer 

 approaching two years of age, while fully matured cows should 

 weigh from 850 to 900 pounds. One finds considerable range in 

 weight of Jersey bulls. Eighteen bulls, heads of herds from which 

 the author secured records, weighed from 1 040 to 1 790 pounds, 

 the average being 1415 pounds. In general a weight of from 1300 

 to 1400 pounds is preferable in the mature Jersey male. 



Early maturity of the Jersey is more marked than with any 

 other common breed of cattle. Repeated cases are on record of 

 Jersey females, through accident, having the first calf before three 

 hundred and sixty-five days old. Both males and females develop 

 rapidly and are often in service too early for the good of the herd 

 or breed. Occasionally one will find a herd of Jerseys, where the 

 owner has bred the heifers to come fresh at eighteen to twenty 

 months old. In these herds one is impressed by the small size 

 and runty appearance of the cows. The wiser and more thought- 

 ful breeders of to-day plan to have their heifers come fresh 

 about thirty months old, depending somewhat upon the vigor and 

 size of the animals to be bred. A greater vitality and producing 

 capacity is thus secured. 



The adaptability of the Jersey to a wide range of conditions 

 is well established. While the breed has its native home on an 

 island with a very mild climate, one finds important herds of 

 Jerseys under a great variety of conditions. In America there are 

 herds at wide extremes of latitude and altitude, for in the cold 

 Northland and the sunny South and on the low prairies of Texas 

 and the high altitudes of the western Rocky Mountains do we 

 find Jerseys successfully established. Without question this breed 

 readily adjusts itself to its environment, not only in America but 

 also in various other countries. 



