146 How THE FARM PAYS. 



CHAPTER VIII. 



LIVE STOCK OF THE FARM. 

 Cattle. 



I suppose that the question I am about to ask you, Mr. Crozier, 

 has been propounded to you in the past twenty years hundreds of 

 times what, in your opinion, is the most profitable breed of cattle, at 

 the present day, for the farmer engaged in dairying ? 



JERSEY CATTLE. 



A. I think the Jersey (or as it is sometimes improperly called, 

 " Alderney," a name commonly applied to both Jerseys and Guern- 

 seys), is the most profitable for butter making, though for milk a cross- 

 bred between the Short Horn and the Jersey is the best, or a cross-bred 

 between the Ayrshire and Jersey, will produce rich milk and more of 

 it than the thoroughbred Jersey. Some twenty years ago I kept a 

 small herd of Short Horns, and another of Ayrshires, together with 

 Jerseys. The demand for Jersey butter since then has increased so 

 much that I sold out the Short Horns and Ayrshires, and confined 

 myself exclusively to Jerseys. In my opinion, for the dairy farmer 

 who has a large city for a market, such as New York, Philadelphia, 

 Boston, Chicago, Cincinnati or St. Louis, within three or four hun- 

 dred miles, Jerseys are more profitable to raise at the present time 

 than any other breed. For selling milk in the villages or cities I 

 should say the Ayrshires were the most profitable. They are easy 

 keepers, hardy, and will produce from 4,000 to 6,000 pounds of milk 

 in one season, the milk generally bringing from four to five cents per 

 pound at retail. The Ayrshire milk is considered to be the most 

 healthful for children. But when the object is a large quantity of 

 milk, without regard to fineness of quality, then the Dutch, or as 

 they are commonly called, Holstein, would be preferable. It is 

 claimed for this breed that they are large producers of milk; but my 

 objection to them is that they are hard keepers, and will consume 

 nearly double the amount of food that an Ayrshire cow can be kept 

 on. Or, at least, I would rather keep two Ayrshire cows than one 

 Holstein. I have had Ayrshire cows to give sixty pounds of milk 



