THE ALDERNEY BREED. 333 



crossing, in the case of certain breeds which have acquired a 

 fixed class of characters suited to the condition of a particu- 

 lar country, as the Ayrshire and the Galloway, might be in- 

 judicious, it would never be found to be so with a class of 

 cattle so mixed and various as that of Fifeshire. Doubtless 

 the Durham Breed is not so well fitted for the ordinary pur- 

 poses of the dairy as the home-breds of Fifeshire ; but then, 

 in that locality, the dairy, though extensively pursued, is little 

 more than an affair of the household. The main purposes of 

 the grazier are grazing and fattening ; and it seems proper 

 that a breed of the first class should be established in a dis- 

 trict so w r ell fitted to pursue this branch of industry. 



Extending from Fifeshire westward to the Ochil Hills, the 

 cattle are generally hornless, and of a size intermediate be- 

 tween the breeds of the Highland mountains and those of 

 the plains. Some of these cattle, especially those of the 

 Ochil Hills, are really good, and suited to the country in 

 which they are reared, and merely demand that attention to 

 the selection of the breeding parents, which shall call forth 

 their more useful properties. 



XII. THE ALDERNEY BREED. 



The Breed termed Alderney is derived from the group of 

 beautiful islands, pertaining to the British Crown, which lie 

 near the shores of France, in the bay formed by the coasts of 

 Normandy and Britany. Although termed Alderney, the 

 breed, with some difference of characters, is common to all 

 the islands. The Cows are imported into England in consi- 

 derable numbers, and are esteemed beyond those of any 

 other race for the richness of the milk, and the deep yellow 

 tinge of the butter. Hence they are in demand by the more 

 opulent classes for the domestic dairy, and regarded as a 

 kind of appendage of the park and rural villa. They are in- 

 troduced likewise into the regular butter dairies, chiefly of 



