The Guernsey Breed 45 



responding buff band around the eye; the horns are usually short, 

 small at the base, tapering, and tipped with black. 



"The Jerseys are of all shades of color, from a pale yellow fawn, 

 running through all the intermediate hues, even occasionally to a 

 red, an intermixture of black or gray, known as French gray, and 

 that merging into black with an amber-colored band along the back, 

 the muzzle invariably shaded with a lighter color; and individuals 

 are often seen black and white, or pure black, unrelieved by any 

 other color. 



"A yellow brindle is sometimes seen, but this is by no means a 

 favorite. 



"The bulls are slaughtered at three years old; the opinion pre- 

 vails there that the offspring of young bulls have most vigor and 

 stamina. 



"The Guernsey is a larger animal, coarser in the head and heavier 

 in bone; the horns are longer and thicker at the base, not usually 

 crumpled; the rump is more apt to assume that peculiar droop which 

 seems a characteristic of the breed, and there is a want of that 

 symmetry and neatness of form that mark the highly bred Jersey, 

 but as a dairy cow she is fully her equal; for quality of milk and 

 butter she cannot be excelled; the skin is of a splendid, rich, yellow 

 hue, and the udder and teats are tinted with chrome. 



"The head of the Guernsey is larger, the muzzle broader, and 

 the eye not so prominent as the Jersey; the nose is usually of a rich 

 yellow or bufif; the eye banded with the same color. 



"The colors of the Guernsey are fawn, running through the 

 various shades to a deep red, an amber brown and a peculiar yellow 

 brindle, which is a favorite here. 



"Although larger than the Jersey, I do not think they fatten 

 quite as kindly as the latter, which has the advantage of a smoother 

 and more rotund form. 



"This thinness and want of condition may be owing in a great 

 degree to the fact that the pasturage is less luxuriant in Guernsey, 

 and also that the Guernseymen are less solicitous about the figure 

 and style of their animals, being satisfied if the animal is a per- 

 former at the pail — where she seldom disappoints. 



"The cattle of the Island of Alderney (which is the third in size 

 of the Channel group) have a want of uniformity, attributable to the 

 fact that they are the offspring of stock brought from Jersey and 

 Guernsey, crossed and re-crossed until all individuality as a breed is 

 lost. 



"Some are neat and deer-like; others are larger and heavier, ap- 

 proaching the Guernsey type. 



"The island being small and rocky, the pasturage scanty, very 

 few cattle are bred, and, as a consequence, the breed does not re- 

 ceive the care and attention that is given on the other islands. 



"It is as a dairy animal that the Channel Islands cow puts forth 

 her claim for consideration." 



The following quotation, is from the same source: 



"The early importations of Jersey cattle into this country are 

 most difficult to trace. The animals were then called Alderneys, and 

 the same name was given to Guernsey cattle of which a goodly 

 number were brought over, and they seem to have been inter-bred 



somewhat indiscriminately. 



Digitized by Microsoft® 



