THE -UNITED KINGDOM. 117 



stronger, that it may receive and sustain the horn, and this latter may 

 be excused if a little heavy at the base, provided its upward form, its 

 quality and color, be right. Neither is the looseness of the skin attached 

 to and depending from the under jaw to be deemed other than a feature 

 of the sex, provided it is not extended beyond the bone, but leaves the 

 gullet and throat clean and free from dewlap. The upper portion of 

 the neck should be full and muscular, for it is an indication of strength, 

 power, and constitution. The spine should be strong, the bones of the 

 loin long and broad, and the whole muscular system wide and thoroughly 

 developed over the entire frame. 



Origin and improvement of the Jcrseys.M.r. Jonathan Smith, Jersey, 

 says : 



Our breed of cattle was originally the same as that of Normandy, of which. Jersey 

 forms a part, and with which it was once physically connected. Tradition says it 

 was severed from the mainland about the same time (possibly by the very same tre- 

 mendous irruption) when the sea swept over the pleasant fields of Eastern Kent and 

 buried them forever under " the Downs," leaving no trace of what once had been, 

 save the shifting Goodwin Sands. The effects of this disruption, so far as Jersey is 

 concerned, are in every way most interesting. The mainland of Normandy has lost 

 everything but the name ; her too-powerful neighbor, France, has robbed her of her 

 independence, her laws, and even her language ; and the ancient home of our kings 

 has for centuries been a province of France. But for the strip of silver sea, such must 

 have been the fate of Jersey. As it is, she has successfully repelled all attempts to 

 conquer her, and has remained faithful to her ancient rulers. She is still governed by 

 the very laws which her Duke William introduced into England at the Conquest, and 

 her mother tongue is that which the Conqueror spake himself. 



The "Romance de Ron," written by our Jersey poet Wace, for Henry II, in the 

 twelfth century, is still the language of our farmers, though unintelligible to the Pa- 

 risian of to-day. Jersey has the same forms of self-government, the same land tenure, 

 the same laws and language, the same manners, customs, and habits that she had 

 800 years ago. And so with her cattle. The silver streak separating Jersey from the 

 continent converted it into one great farm, with the sea for its ring fence ; and the 

 same conservative spirit has been effectual in keeping the breed pure from any foreign 

 taint. Jersey has thus enjoyed for centuries the very happiest conditions for produc- 

 ing a distinct and excellent breed of cattle, to which must be added the advantages 

 of her climate, equally free from arctic cold and burning heat, which permits her cat- 

 tle to be outpastured almost every day in the year and keeps her fields perennially 

 green. These favorable conditions have been put to advantage. The original stock, 

 the Normandy breed, has long been (and still is) famous for its butter qualities. 

 These have been steadily and perseveriugly developed by our farmers, who have per- 

 sistently bred for that single object; and the Jersey has been brought to its present 

 perfection by simply following out this one idea butter ! Hence it has been the in- 

 variable custom for ages never to uso a bull before seeing his dam and being satisfied 

 as to her yield of butter. Unless this j>roved satisfactory, no other point in the bull 

 himself or his dam availed anything ; nobody would use him. This idea still governs 

 the vast majority of our island breeders and those of America, and doubtless still 

 greater triumphs await them in the udders of the future. 



It is much to be regretted that of late years some English breeders have taken upon 

 themselves to setup a new standard solid color; that is, the absence of white mark- 

 ings in the coat which has absolutely no foundation at all but the oddest caprice. 

 It is neither a peculiarity of the breed nor a sign of purity of race, nor of any other 

 quality whatever, bad or good ; it is simply a blind alley leading nowhere. The sin- 

 gle aim and end of our efforts has hitherto been butter, and it is this concentration 

 of the energies of all our breeders in one direction for so long a period which has 

 doubtless been the chief agent in improving the breed and making it whatit now is 

 the best of butter cows. Let us hand down the breed to our children at the least 

 not worse than we found it. 



Besides the steady pursuit of one object for so many generations, and the careful 

 selection of sires to that end, there are two other peculiarities of management in Jer- 

 sey tethering the cows and feeding the calves by hand. 



Tethering cattle in Jersey. This doubtless originated as a matter of necessity, and 

 has since been continued for its economy. Owing to the small size of Jersey farms, 

 which are constantly divided at the death of the owner among his children, and the 

 necessity each farmer felt, in the olden time, to raise as far as possible all the necessaries 

 of life for himself, each farm had its patches of wheat, turnips, grass, cabbages, &c., 

 growing side by side, often all in tJae same field. Hence the necessity of confining 



