1 ~ - r~ '—ri’iiw 
NEW YORK, AND ROCHESTER, N. Y„ AU< 
( PRICE SIX CENTS 
'! $2.30 IMS It YEAR. 
[Entered according to Act of ‘Congress, in the year 1872. by D. I). T. MootlE, in the office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.! 
great difficulty in procuring the male to car¬ 
ry ou the breed, for the cow is too small to 
be safely crossed with any English bull, and 
consequently elthor bot h sexes must bo kept 
by each gentleman who wishes to try the 
breed, or the milk must soon be lost. Hence 
it is not surprising that this lit t Ie cow should 
now be rarely met with in England. 
They are various In color, but all show 
their distinctive characteristics. They are 
ext remely hardy, and can ho well kept on 
hay and water in any small shod at a cost of 
fid. a day. One gentleman who has candid¬ 
ly carried out the experiment llnds that the 
keep of one Alderney is equal to four Brit¬ 
tany cows. They appear to have no vice, 
but are gentle and tame. They give from 
four to twelve quarts of milk per day, name¬ 
ly, from four to six quarts with their first 
calf, and six to eight, quarts with their sec¬ 
ond, &c., and are at their beRt with the third 
calf; but in ono case a cow two years old, 
with her first calf, only gave eight quarts of 
milk per day. The milk is rich in quality; 
the result of a teat-glass gave 17 per cent, of 
cream, which is about one-sixth, or say six 
quarts of milk will give one quart of cream. 
Their qualities have now been well tested, 
and their purchasers express satisfaction, 
and admiration. They do not vary in the 
quant ity of milk they give, but hold on for 
some months with a good average quality. 
They are very docile, easily managed, and 
invaluable to any one that has a little grass. 
They are universally admired for their di¬ 
minutive size, being from fifiin. toSSIn. high: 
and for all small farms from I* acres they are 
specially adapted. They are doubtless the 
original stock of the Channel Islands breed, 
generally known as Alderneys. The latter 
have had the advantage of richer pasture, 
pampering with various kinds of food, and 
a more genial climate ; and are proportion¬ 
ately more valuable, although little increas¬ 
ed in size. Their yield of milk exceeds in 
quantity and quality, I believe, that of any 
other breed, certainly in proportion to their 
size. Extreme cases show Unit from sixtoen 
to seventeen pounds per week of butter 
have been made from the milk of one cow. 
They are milked three times a day. Each 
cow requires about one and three-quarters 
English acres of grass land, and is fed dur¬ 
ing winter from the beginning of November 
on mangold wurzel, turnips, parsnips, and 
hay. 
The average bight of the pure-bred ani¬ 
mal from the sterile upland districts of this 
country may be stated at about 80 inches 
—sometimes as low as ,‘12 inches—and occa¬ 
sionally, on superior pasture, up to 39 or 10 
inches. As to their price, that of course 
depends on quality, state of markets, &c., 
and expenses of transport, whether in lar¬ 
ger or smaller lots, and ot her circumstan¬ 
ces. < hi an average, however, a useful, 
well-bred cow, carrying her second calf, 
could be delivered in England for £14 to £1,">. 
As to the probable result of crossing with 
other breeds of cattle, nothing but actual 
experiment could afford satisfactory reply. 
Crossing of breeds is nine times out of ten 
a mere lottery, and better avoided, unless 
in such a case as that of a given animal, 
possessing along with certain good qualities 
sundry defects, which it may bo desirable 
to obliterate or diminish by admixture with 
some ot her breed possessing analogous good 
qualit ies, and a nearer approach to perfec¬ 
tion In those other points in which the oth¬ 
er is faulty. Such judicious crossing has 
THE BRETON BREED OF CATTLE 
A hoot ten years ago Breton cows were 
largely introduced into England by Mr. Ba¬ 
ker of Chelsea, with the guarantee that they' 
would suit small families better thiui tlio 
Alderney, from their superior hardiness of 
constitution and their requiring less food in 
proportion to tho milk given by them, 'i’ho 
number imported was quite sufficient to 
test the qualities of these cattle, and at llrat 
sight t heir almost total neglect in the pres¬ 
ent day would lead to the impression that 
t heir assorted superiority for the purpose of 
the small dairy was not founded on fact. 
We believe, however, thatthese two contra- 
die Lory positions are reconcilable, and that 
the good qualities of the Breton cow have 
been little, if at all, overrated. In the first, 
place, t In* cat tie disease regulations have to 
some extent interfered with their importa¬ 
tion; but v>e are inclined to believe that the 
true explanation is that there is always a 
ail 
i 
if 
