CHAPTER X 



THE JERSEY 



The Jersey is the most refined present representative of the 

 race of cattle which developed in southern Europe. She is 

 probably related very distantly to the ancient stock of Switzer- 

 land. As agricultural development moved northward it is 

 highly probable that the animals common in the south were taken 

 northward to form the stock of ancient Normandy and Brittany, 

 and that these in turn were the source of the stock for Jersey 

 Island, which place became the home of the breed that bears its 

 name. Little exact information is obtainable regarding the 

 manner of handling or the characteristics of the early ancestors 

 of the Jersey breed. 



Home Conditions. — Off the north coast of France, in the 

 English Channel, there is a little group of islands known as 

 the Channel Islands. In order of size, they are Jersey, Guern- 

 sey, Alderney, and Sark. These belonged to Normandy before 

 the Conquest of England when William the Conqueror, in 1065, 

 made his famous invasion. The sovereignty over the islands fell 

 to the people who later developed the British Empire. Thus 

 we find that the islands, which lie so close to the French coast 

 and are peopled largely by folk of French characteristics and 

 with the French language, still owe allegiance to England. Their 

 affiliation, however, is unique and permits of certain liberties 

 in respect to self-government which are enjoyed by few of the 

 provinces. 



In 1763 and again in 1789 laws were passed in Jersey Island 

 prohibiting the importation of cattle except for slaughter. The 

 law has been modified slightly a few times since, but has been in 

 force, and been enforced for more than a century and a half 

 since, and is still looked upon as an exceedingly valuable law. It 

 was done to safeguard the health of the cattle on the island, 

 but has been of even greater value in preserving the purity of 

 blood and permitting the development of one of the most valuable 

 breeds of cattle in the world. 

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