The Guernsey Breed 35 



that island and Guernsey, will, in some measure, preclude the neces- 

 sity of entering so largely here upon this head. Both oxen and cows 

 are much superior in size to those of either Jersey, Alderney, or 

 Sark. The ox, of the largest kind, fattened chiefly upon parsnips and 

 hay, with grass in the summer, has been known to have attained the 

 weight of 1,500 pounds, or 75 score, Guernsey weight, as appears 

 from the evidence of the clerk of the market of St. Peter Port, where 

 the animals have been slaughtered and weighed. Quayle says, page 

 280, 'those of 1,200 pounds, or 60 score, appeared not unfrequently; 

 in general, they are fine animals, and commonly worked in the shafts, 

 sometimes singly, sometimes double, with one or more horses before 

 them. They were broken in early, well attended to, very powerful, 

 very docile draft cattle, and used both for carting and ploughing.' 



"The Guernsey cows are infinitely larger, taller, and generally 

 of rather a darker color, than those which usually sell in England 

 under that name: These, says Jeremie (page 190) come from* Jersey, 

 and may be had much cheaper; the Jersey ox seldom or never weigh- 

 ing above 1,100 pounds, or 55 score. Quayle observes that the ques- 

 tion of preference is stoutly contested by both islands. Jeremie, who 

 is a Guernsey man, contends: 'If price be considered here, as on 

 other occasions, the criterion of value, we have decidedly the ad- 

 vantage; the general average being in favor of the Guernsey farmer 

 by two or three pounds sterling the head.' This argument, prima 

 facie, may appear to be conclusive; but it does not follow that a 

 large cow will be more profitable to the dairyman than a smaller 

 sort, and which may not be so handsome, but which costs less, re- 

 quires less food, and perhaps may produce as much butter or cheese 

 as the larger one. Billingsley's Agricultural Survey of Somersetshire 

 will explain this: 'The cows of this district being intended chiefly for 

 cheesemaking, the profit arising is in proportion to the quantity and 

 the quality of the milk: size, therefore, is not attended to; but prin- 

 cipal regard is paid to the breed whence she sprung.' I may here 

 add that upon my estate in Wales, I had, among many others, an 

 Irish cow, which did not cost above one-third as much as a large 

 Herefordshire or true Glamorganshire; yet this small and ugly cow 

 gave at least a third more milk than any t)ne of the others. Sir 

 John Sinclair, in his Code of Agriculture, page 84, says: 'Small cows, 

 of the true dairy breeds, give proportionably more milk than larger 

 ones.' It is, therefore, most probably the difference in the size of 

 the animal which may cause it to bring a higher price than either 

 the Jersey or Alderney cow, and not the intrinsic merit of the animal 

 itself, for the purpose of the dairy only. Mr. Jeremie himself says 

 (page 191) 'that a Jersey cow will probably produce the same quan- 

 tity of milk, but it will be much inferior in richness; and, therefore, 

 Guernsey butter has invariably borne the palm.' By offering the 

 above sentiments I by no means wish to disparage the Guernsey 

 cows, for they are most excellent; neither do I desire to enter into 

 the contest, or to give an opinion which animal is best for exporta- 

 tion to England. This must depend on the taste of the English. If 

 a gentleman or a dairyman prefer a fine, handsome, and large cow 

 to a smaller one, he will come to Guernsey for it; if he should choose 

 a smaller sort he will go to Jersey or Alderney. Good Guernsey 

 cows sell now from £14 to £15 each; 'but the beauty and quality of 

 the animal often make a difference of some pounds in the price. A 



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