38 The Guernsey Breed 



by the owner of the heifer so brought, or, in default, thereof, by- 

 person in possession of the same. And all masters of vessels, or 

 boats, bringing cattle from France shall be bound to render an ac- 

 count thereof, within 24 hours after their arrival, to the constable 

 where the cattle are so landed, as well as to furnish a list of those 

 who are the proprietors, as well as of those to whom the respective 

 cattle are consigned, under a .penalty of a fine, at the discretion of 

 justice, not exceeding £5 sterling. And the constables are hereby 

 ordered to keep a register of the cattle so landed in their respective 

 parishes; and all the fines shall be applied, one-fourth to his Majesty, 

 one-fourth to the poor, and half to the informer. 



" '(Signed) CHARLES LE FBBVRE, 



" 'Depute Grefifier du Roi.' " 



In Youatt's book, "Cattle, Their Breed, Management, 

 and Diseases," published in 1834, on page 266, under the head- 

 ing "Foreign Breeds of Cattle," we read as follows : 



"First among them — and a regular importation of which is kept 

 up— we have the Normandy, or Alderney cattle. The Normandy cattle 

 are imported from the French continent, and are larger and have a 

 superior tendency to fatten; and others are from the islands on the 

 French coast; but all of them, whether from the continent or the 

 islands, pass under the common name of Alderneys. 



"Except in Hampshire, they are found only in gentlemen's parks 

 and pleasure-grounds, and they maintain their occupancy there partly 

 on account of the richness of their milk, and the great quantity of 

 butter which it yields, but more from the diminutive size of the 

 animals. -Their real ugliness is passed over on these accounts; and 

 it is thought fashionable that the view from the breakfast or drawing 

 room of the house should present an Alderney cow or two grazing 

 at a little distance. 



"John Lawrence describes them as 'light red, yellow, dun or 

 fawn-coloured; short, wild-horned, deer-necked, thin and small-boned, 

 irregularly but often very awkwardly shaped.' 



"Mr. Parkinson, who seems to have a determined prejudice 

 against them, says that 'their size is small, and they are of as bad a 

 form as can possibly be described; the bellies of many of them are four- 

 fifths of their weight; the neck is very thin and hollow; the shoulder 

 stands up, and is the highest part; they are hollow and narrow be- 

 hind the shoulders; the chine is nearly without flesh; the bucks are 

 narrow and sharp at the ends; the rump is short, and they are narrow 

 and light in the brisket.' This is about as bad a form as can pos- 

 sibly be described, and the picture is very little exaggerated, when 

 the animal is analyzed point by point; yet all these defects are so 

 put together as to make a not unpleasing whole. 



"The Alderney, considering its voracious appetite — for it devours 

 almost as much as a Shorthorn — yields very little milk. That milk, 

 however, is of an extraordinarily excellent quality and gives mor? 

 butter than can be obtained from the milk of any other cow. Of 

 this no one can doubt who has possessed any Alderney cows. Some 

 writers on agricultural subjects have, however, denied it. The milk 

 of the Alderney cow fits her for the situation in which she is usually 

 placed, and where the excellence of the article is regarded, and not 

 the expense: but it is not rich enough, yielding the small' quantity 

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