4-50 
[December, 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
examining physician reported 320 cases of 
typhoid fever among the persons using it. 
In another case where members of a dairy¬ 
man’s family had typhoid fever the disease 
spread through that portion of the town sup¬ 
plied by him to such a degree that in one phy¬ 
sician’s practice, out of 18 recent cases of the 
disease, 15 occurred in persons who had used 
milk from this dairy. 
Tnere is certainly sufficient ground in the 
circumstances of many American milk dairies 
for supposing that typhoid fever (which is 
peculiarly a disease of farm-houses) may he 
conveyed to persons in even distant towns 
where the milk is used; and a 113 ' farmer in 
whose household a case of fever exists should 
be exceedingly careful as to the character of 
the water used in washing the utensils of the 
dairy and of the thorough cleansing of the 
hands of all who, having come in contact with 
the sick, afterward have to do with the milk. 
My travels led me for some weeks to the 
Channel Islands, and I had a better opportunity 
now than last nun ter to examine the cows and 
the dairies of Jersey. One main effect of the 
more careful investigation was a grave doubt 
as to the correctness of our notion that the 
Jersey cow improves on being transplanted to 
America. The fields that line the embow’ered 
lanes of this beautiful island were filled to their 
fullest capacity with cattle of all ages and of all 
qualities. They have all the characteristics of 
the breed as we know it, hut many of them 
were very poor trash, and many gave evidence, 
in the defective form and small development of 
the udder, of the ill effect of careless breeding, 
and of breeding with reference to the fashion¬ 
able color standard or to mere points of beauty. 
Others again, while good milkers, showed a less 
reprehensible disregard of form. But, not¬ 
withstanding all this, there w-ere hundreds of 
cases in which both beaut}' and quality were 
combined in a way to eclipse our best efforts. 
Single animals may be found in America as 
fine in all respects as any in Jersey, but our 
very best herds do not show so high an average 
of both characteristics as do several herds in 
Jersey. All that wc need is to base our future 
importations on a more careful selection than 
has hitherto prevailed—and than now prevails. 
The principal importers cater only to the taste 
for color and good looks, and they find their 
profit in buying animals which bring a low 
price on the island because of their inferior 
value for the dairy. In the Saturday markets 
at St. Ileliers there were only very ordinary 
(but generally very pretty) animals; and on the 
boat coming to Southampton, where there were 
about thirty cows of almost universally great 
beauty, there was not one that seemed to be 
above a very low average in dairy quality. If 
we are to improve our stock by importation— 
and • we may so improve it—we must select 
much better animals than those sent out by the 
regular dealers. 
A visit to the/ island of Guernsey modified 
my long-entertained opinion of the cattle of 
that island—which are as distinct from those of 
Jersey as aro the Ayrshires from the Devons. 
Pre?ty they are not, as a class, cither in form or 
about the head, but they are unmistakably 
good farmer*!*-cows. If I were starting a herd 
to-day with sole reference to butter-making I 
should use only well-selected Guernseys. They 
are larger than the Jerseys (which is not neces¬ 
sarily an advantage), they are deep jnilkers, and 
they are a very high-colored race, which is a 
matter of importance. The prevailing color is 
a rich fawn with much white. The muzzles 
are bufi', and the eyelids are almost yellow. 
The horns are usually amber-colored, and under 
the white hair, wherever it appears, the skin is 
of a bright orange that is onlj r exceeded by the 
golden yellow of the inside of the ear. This 
universally rich color extends to the milk and 
especially to the butter, which is the yellowest 
I ever saw. It is not only of a good color, but 
is also firm in its texture and of fine flavor. 
Being larger, the cows when they dry off fatten 
to heavier beef than do those of the sister island, 
and the steers have the same superiority. The 
importance of this latter peculiarity map, how¬ 
ever, be easily overrated, and one of the last 
things a farmer should regard in selecting a 
cow for her value while living is the amount of 
meat he can make of her when she is dead. 
A very slight difference in the daily average of 
produce during eight or ten years would make 
up for a large difference of profit in fattening 
for the shambles. Form is a better indication 
of the tendency to profitable fattening than is 
size, and the best form for fattening is not the 
best for milking. 
While the Guernseys are perhaps the most 
promising for the butter dairy, the Jerseys are 
so much prettier and more taking to the eye, 
JERSEY MILK-CAN. 
that even a butter-maker, pure and simple, 
would have a better chance for good prices for 
his surplus animals for sale among his farmer 
neighbors if he bred Jerseys than he would 
with the butcher if he bred Guernseys. My 
commendation of the latter is to be taken rather 
as an act of fair play on the part of one who is 
a firm believer in the Jerseys than as an expres¬ 
sion of the opinion that they are as good, all 
things considered, as a breed for adoption in 
America. Certainly the best of either breed 
are better than the ordinary animals of the 
other, and the lest cows to be found in Jersey 
(as a class) are those which have the coloring, 
and which approach the size of the Guernseys. 
The size is an indication of good keep for 
generations, which has also had a tendency to 
stimulate the milking capacity. To this extent 
size is an advantage. Beyond this, as a large 
animal eats more than a small one, it is doubt¬ 
ful whether it is so in a butter-producing herd. 
The dairies of Jersey are usually small, and 
are not especially well managed. We often 
found in the best butter for sale in the open 
market a tendency to “ turning,” and we were 
sure of a good article only when we received it 
directly from some of the larger makers. 
One custom prevails which might with ad¬ 
vantage be adopted generally. It is, however,’ 
unknown even in Guernsey. The milk (in both 
islands) is drawn not into pails as with us, but 
into jug shaped cans, the opening being about 
four inches in diameter. In Jersey this is cov¬ 
ered with a cloth strainer tied on so loosely 
that it sags down several inches into the neck 
of the can. In the bottom of this bag there is 
laid a shell to receive the force of the stream as 
it is drawn from the teat. The milk flows 
over the shell and soaks through the cloth. 
This is certainly the most cleanly manner of 
milking that could be devised. The wet cloth 
prevents any foul odor of the stable from reach¬ 
ing the mass of the milk, and an}’ hair or dirt 
from the udder is at once held back, instead of 
remaining in the milk until it is carried to the 
dairy to be strained. The cloths are easily kept 
clean and aired, and the system is in all respects 
a simple and commendable one. 
The. can, of which an illustration is here 
given, is very strong by reason of its rounded 
form, and is heavily wired. There is no ap¬ 
parent reason why it is not an improvement 
on our broad-mouthed pails. If the milking- 
cloth is to be used some such modification 
would be necessary. 
In Guernsey the milk is never skimmed. It 
stands in large crocks or stone jars similar to 
the oil jars of Mi Baba, until the cream has all 
risen and until the milk has become thick. It 
is then poured into an enormous churn, and 
churned by hand,with a common up-and-down 
dasher,until the butter comes, often four hours. 
The churning is usually done twice a week; 
but the cream is far from maintaining a good 
appearance to the end of the time. In some 
of the older settings in the only dairy which I 
had an opportunity of examining, the cream 
was wrinkled like a raisin and covered with 
mold. The dairy-maid said they did not like 
to see it quite so far gone as that; but that it 
would sometimes get moldy, and that it made 
no difference with the butter. Probably the 
volume of milk is sufficient to wash it of any 
impurities; certainly the butter of this dairy 
gave no evidence of any fault in the process. 
There was no opportunity to compare the 
butter made by this process with that made 
from cream alone, as it is universal in this island 
to churn the whole milk. All the butter that 
I saw was exceptionally good, but this was 
probably due in great measure to the character 
of the cows and the excellence of their feed. 
We had less occasion to examine it here than 
in Jersey, or we should very likely have found 
the same variety as there. However good the 
whole milk process may be, I am satisfied that 
it might with advantage be supplanted by the 
deep-can system in use at Ogden Farm. 
In Guernsey, as in Jersey, a very “high” 
system of farming prevails; great use is made 
of sea-weed as manure, both in the direct appli¬ 
cation as it is taken from the shore, and in the 
use of the ashes of that which has been dried 
and used for fuel; deep plowing—for the par¬ 
snip crop—puts the land in an excellent, state 
of tilth; and the considerable population of the 
towns afford an abundant supply of stable- 
manure. The result of all this is a degree of 
fertility that is equaled in America only in the 
market gardens; and the farmers of these 
islands find, as we should under similar circum¬ 
stances, that the garden system of farming is 
the most profitable. 
The lesson which they teach is that “ a small 
farm well tilled” is worth muGh more than a 
large one half tilled. 
