CHAPTER XXXVI 



THE GUERNSEY 



The native home of Guernsey cattle is on the islands of Guern- 

 sey and Alderney, in the Channel Islands group, off the coast of 

 France in the English Channel. The island of Guernsey, on which 

 they are mainly bred, is triangular in form and is about nine and 

 one half miles long from southeast to northwest, and six across 

 in the widest part. The south coast is a long cliff, reaching a 

 height of 270 feet, the land roughly sloping northward to a low 

 beach. There is a population of about 35,000 on the island, St. 

 Peter Port is the main town, and the people beside producing 

 cattle, make a specialty of crops under glass, such as grapes, 

 tomatoes, melons, flowers, etc., for the London market. Guernsey 

 is second in size to Jersey, contains, with one or two little 

 islands, 12,600 acres, and maintains some 5000 head of cattle. 

 The climate is most balmy the year round, the island being a 

 famous health resort. The cattle are kept in small herds, each 

 animal being tethered when in pasture, grazing systematically 

 and making careful use of all food. 



The origin of the Guernsey, like that of the Jersey, is quite 

 obscure, but is supposed by many to have been derived from the 

 same French ancestry of Brittany and Normandy cattle. It is 

 assumed that the red color and size of the breed are derived from 

 the use of bulls from Normandy taken to the island in very early 

 times. Like the Jersey, the Guernsey for many years has been 

 protected at home by the exclusion of all other breeds. Any live 

 cattle brought to the island, excepting from Alderney, must be 

 slaughtered within twenty-four hours. By a long-continued 

 process of selection a larger type of cattle than Jerseys has 

 been produced, yet these have much in common with that breed. 



The systematic improvement of the Guernsey was materially 

 promoted by the organization of the Royal Guernsey Agricultural 



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