30 
milk. The thighs should curve well outward, to accommo- 
date such an udder. 
Of course, the family cow should be a healthy animal. 
All breeds are equally susceptible to bovine tuberculosis, and 
while the degree of the communicability of this disease to 
man is the subject of debate, no one would knowingly risk 
using the milk of an infected animal. ‘The tuberculin test 
should be insisted on before purchase, and even then pur- 
chase should be made only from a reputable breeder or 
dealer, as animals may be “‘plugged’”’—1i. e., the tuberculin 
may be injected a short time before the test so that the ani- 
mal may not react to it. A healthy animal, kept for family 
use in sanitary surroundings, is not apt to contract the dis- 
ease. Some of the dairy breeds are of more delicacy of 
build than others, but it should be remembered that delicacy 
of conformation is not by any means the same as delicacy 
of constitution, nor does coarseness indicate strength. 
Beauty is a very desirable characteristic of any domestic 
animal, even the cow, and therefore is worthy of considera- 
tion, for beauty combined with utility should be the keynote 
of all our domestic economies. 
Enumerating what the family cow should be and what 
requirements she should fulfill raises the question, What 
breed possesses them in the highest degree? For it is to be 
presumed that the family cow is to be a thoroughbred, not a 
nondescript or mongrel. ‘The various breeds of dairy cattle 
have been developed under different circumstances, and with 
somewhat different purposes in view, and each of them, 
therefore, although possessing much in common, has distinct 
characteristics. Some breeds of cattle have been bred for 
generations for the production of beef; on the other hand, 
the various dairy breeds have been bred as producers of 
milk, or butter, or cheese, and one or all of these it is the 
function of the family cow to provide. The four prominent 
breeds of dairy cattle are the Holstein, Ayrshire, Guernsey 
and Jersey, the last two being known as the Channel 
Island breeds. In size and weight these breeds run in the 
order in which they are mentioned, the Holstein being larg- 
est and the Jersey smallest. 
The big Holstein is a showy animal in the pasture, from 
her clear black and white map-like markings. <A native 
of the lush, damp, bottom-lands of Holland, she likes a 
cool climate and level pastures, and has not been found well 
suited to warm climates and hillside grazings. She is a very 
heavy milker when fresh, is very popular with raisers of 
market milk, the low percentage of solids natural to Hol- 
stein milk not being a detriment when milk is sold with re- 
gard to quantity only. 
The Ayrshire has long been the favorite dairy cow of 
Scotland, where she has had to find her living on wide ranges 
of hilly pasture. This has made her a good rustler where 
there is plenty of scope for her activity, and she fits in where 
the Holstein is not so suitable. Her advocates claim for her 
st breed 
This shows a typical Guernsey cow of fine 
AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 
January, 1912 
cheapness in the production of milk solids, “toughness” and 
“ruggedness.’’ Ayrshires have usually much white on them, 
with straight backs and prominent horns. 
The Channel Island breeds, the Jersey and the Guernsey, 
have much in common, and their qualities are such as to par- 
ticularly recommend these breeds for the family cow. Both 
give rich milk and have been developed in close intimacy 
with the family on small farms, attended to mainly by the 
women on the small islands whose names distinguish these 
breeds. The Guernsey is red and white in color, and some- 
what larger and more heavily built than the Jersey. Her 
advocates claim her to be a cheap, or economical, producer 
of butter-fat. Her milk is of a rich yellowish color, caused 
by a natural pigment, which is harmless, but adds nothing 
to the nutritive value of the milk. 
A dairy authority of national reputation has said that the 
Jersey is one of the most beautiful animals ever developed 
by man. She is of various shades of fawn color, with more 
or less white markings; but many are entirely solid colored. 
The young animals are deer-like in their grace and beauty. 
Their friends claim much more than beauty for the Jersey, 
however, and in great public competitive tests they have 
been declared the most economical producers of milk for all 
purposes, and also of butter-fat. Many consider the Jersey 
the ideal family cow, as well as being the best all-round dairy 
animal. She is well fitted by size and disposition for the 
circumscribed area of the home pasture and the home sur- 
roundings, and is a very persistent milker. 
The advocates of all the breeds claim special points for 
them as dairy animals, and doubtless each breed has its place 
and profitable herds of all may easily be found. A dairy 
paper has tabulated the qualities of the dairy breeds, as 
demonstrated in public trials, which is condensed below. 
Flavor of dairy products depends on the feed of the cow, 
cleanliness in handling her products, and her health, and not 
on breed. 
COMPARISON OF DAIRY BREEDS. 
Size Ability Early Quantity Color Richness 
to Rustle Maturity of Milk of Milk of Milk 
Holstein Ayrshire | Jersey Holstein Guernsey | Jersey 
Ayrshire | Jersey Guernsey | Ayrshire | Jersey Guernsey 
Guernsey | Guernsey | Ayrshire Guernsey | Ayrshire | Ayrshire 
Jersey Holstein Holstein Jersey Holstein | Holstein 
Size is not an important consideration in the dairy cow, 
and great size is rather a detriment than otherwise in the 
family cow. Allowing four counts for first place in the other 
columns, three counts for second place, two counts for third, 
and one count for fourth, they sum up as follows: Jersey, 
15; Guernsey, 14; Ayrshire, 13; Holstein, 8. 
Although people usually like best the breed they have been 
most used to, the acknowledged beauty of the Jersey in con- 
formation and coloring is an important addition to her other 
qualities, and warrants a column in any comparison table. 
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A typical Jersey cow of pedigree, bred in America 
