32 
ALDERNEY COWS.-HAVRE BLUE POTATOES.-ETC. 
snowy white, without a colored feather of any 
kind. They were the most beautiful geese I ever 
saw, and I shall be glad if any of your readers can 
inform me now where they are to be had, as I wish 
to procure some. A Traveller. 
ALDERNEY COWS. 
In reading the various articles in the Agricul¬ 
turist, on the different breeds of cattle, I have 
thought that the little that has been said about 
Alderney cows was not so complimentary to that 
breed as they deserve. I send you, therefore, a few 
short notes taken when I was in the island of 
Jersey, on the coast of Normandy* where the dairy 
is principally attended to, as well as in Alderney 
and Guernsey. 
Some gentlemen have not thought the Alderney 
cow handsome ; but in truth, she is the handsomest 
of cows for the dairy, although she may not fill the 
eye like a thorough-bred Durham, in good condi¬ 
tion, so much esteemed by every experienced dairy¬ 
man ; yet there are thousands of families who want 
one or two cows, rich in milk and butter, mild, 
gentle, and intelligent, on excellent terms with the 
milk-maid, and the Alderney, of all others, is the 
cow. She is well adapted for the lady of a snug 
rural mansion, and all dairymen would find it to 
their interest to keep two pure Alderneys to every 
twelve cows, the advantages of which are well un¬ 
derstood in some parts of Scotland, and perhaps a 
dairy of twenty well-chosen animals of this breed 
would compete with any twenty cows in the United 
States, when butter of superior quality fetches a 
good price. In short, the finest specimen of an 
Alderney is a true emblem of a milch cow, and any 
person keeping this breed merely for the dairy, 
who once gets one, feeds and treats her properly, 
will never be without one. 
A good Alderney cow in Jersey, is expected to 
yield 7 lbs. of butter a week, and many have been 
known to produce double that quantity for a short 
period. Some give from 16 to 18 quarts of milk 
er day, during the months of May and June ; and 
was told of numerous instances of cows which 
S ielded from 10 to 14 lbs. of butter each, in a week. 
[ajor Bams, the Governor, informed me that he 
had a cow which gave 25 quarts of milk a day ; 
but ordinary cows did not average more than 10 
quarts a day, yielding 7 lbs. of butter, each, in a 
week. It was stated, that, in summer, 9 or 10 
quarts of milk would produce a pound of butter, 
and, in winter, when the cows are parsnip-fed, the 
same quantity of butter may be obtained from 7 
quarts. The general average yield of each cow, 
old and young, is rather more than 365 lbs. of 
butter in a year, or about 8 quarts of milk per 
day. (a) 
The cows there, are universally tethered, and. 
are moved, watered, and milked, three times a day. 
They are fed principally on lucern, or clover, but 
the quality of their butter is never considered so 
good, when thus fed, as when they range on a na¬ 
tural pasture. 
The milk, when strained, stands at about 101 
inches deep in the vessel, till the cream has all 
risen, which usually occupies three days in sum¬ 
mer; and in winter, in order to hasten its rising,! 
the vessels are covered, and placed on the hearth at 
bed-time. Consequently, skimming is never per¬ 
formed but once, and then not before the milk has 
become coagulated or turned sour. In the operation 
of skimming, the cream is first detached from the 
edge of the vessel all round, and then is raised up 
.together, as much as possible, and'by inclining the 
whole mass over the vessel intended to receive the 
cream, the latter will sometimes slip off at once from 
the coagulated milk. At the bottom of the vessel 
there is a small hole stopped with a peg, which is 
occasionally Withdrawn, in order to drain off the 
serous or watery portion of the milk, and thereby 
separate it from the cream. Cato. 
Missouri, Oct. 19iA, 1846. 
(a) In the last Guernsey Agricultural Report, is 
an account of a cow of Sir W. Collings, which 
gave from her first calving, in July, 1843, to July, 
1845, 804 lbs. of butter; while others have been 
ascertained to give, for a few months, 16 and 17 lbs. 
a week. A fraudulent trade, it is said, has lately 
been practised in England, in importing the Brit¬ 
tany breed, and passing them off for Guernsey 
cattle, which they somewhat resemble in shape, but 
I are totally different in dairy qualities. Their milk 
is thin and blue, while that of the Alderney or 
Guernsey breed is rich and yellow. 
HAVRE BLUE POTATOES. 
As there appears to be a prejudice against a 
variety of black potatoe, that I have cultivated suc¬ 
cessfully for several years, in consequence of the 
appearance of the purple streaks in the interior, 
when cut, I beg leave to make the following 
statements:— 
Last spring I procured some superior eastern 
mercer and shaker potatoes of the best quality, for 
planting, in the same field with the black ones. The 
culture of each was similar, as respects manure and 
tillage. The white varieties suffered so much by 
the prevailing disease, as not to defray the expehse 
of digging, while the black potatoes (the latest), 
with very slight exception, were free from any ap¬ 
pearance of blight, the yield being good, and quality 
excellent. I had some of each sort cooked, pre¬ 
cisely in the same manner, for the table. The 
black ones had a decided preference for their supe¬ 
rior quality and flavor. They keep well until the 
appearance of a new crop. 
As my potatoes with the blue streaks were im¬ 
ported from Havre in the year 1841,1 think “ Havre 
Blues” a more appropriate name for them than black 
potatoes. J. H. Beale. 
New York, 10 mo., 3d, 1846. 
TO MAKE THE BeST STICKING PLASTER.- To 
one pound of resin, melted, and while on the fire, 
add one wine-glassful of bole Armeniac, rubbed 
fine, one ditto Venice turpentine, and a lump of 
sheep’s suet, the size of a walnut (without the 
hull); stir well, when thoroughly heated and 
mixed, pour into an open-mouthed jar, and stir 
I till cold. 
Rotten stone and turpentine, or gin, rubbed on 
I with a clean cloth, gives a fine polish to brass. 
