DAIRY BREEDS OF CATTLE 



667 



JERSEY CATTLE 

 Origin and Development— Jersey cattle were originally developed 

 on the Island of Jersey, the largest of the Channel Islands group, where 

 a delightful climate, a rich soil and a people united in their effort to excel 

 in the production of a single breed of dairy cattle combined to make con- 

 ditions most favorable for perfecting and preserving the breed. In 1793 

 enactments began restricting the importation and maintenance of cattle 

 other than Jerseys, which finally resulted in its being a crime to keep 

 cattle of other kinds on the island for a longer period than twenty-four 

 hours when they had to be slaughtered for beef. 





A Jersey Cow. 1 



Jerseys, as nearly as history reveals, share with Guernseys the blood 

 of the old Brittany and Normandy cattle of France, in which they undoubt- 

 edly have their principal origin. 



The Jersey breed early attracted the attention of England's aristoc- 

 racy, who introduced them into England to beautify parks and furnish 

 the rich milk that it was characteristic of them to produce. Beauty of 

 form has been as much a part of the standard of excellence that guided 

 the breeders in the development of their cattle as has production of milk, 

 and has resulted in cattle of marked refinement and beauty. 



i Courtesy of The Field, New York. 



