1899 
THE RURAL NEW-YORKER. 
365 
Live Stock and Dair 
m 
THE LITTLE JERSEY. 
NOT SIZE, BUT QUALITY. 
A Dairy Leader. — Among distinct¬ 
ively dairy breeds, the little Jersey has, 
for many years, taken the lead. The 
Channel Islands cattle were originally 
considered as one breed, and one old 
authority called them all Alderneys. 
But the Alderney has been little known 
in this country, the Jersey monopolizing 
most of the attention, even the Guernsey 
having to make a fight for recognition 
as a distinct dairy breed. 
The Jerseys, as well as the cattle of 
the other Channel Islands, were, prob¬ 
ably, originally from Normandy, but 
they have been so long bred under the 
peculiar environments of these Islands, 
that they are entirely distinct. In their 
original home, they received most pai- 
tieular care and attention. They were 
the main source of revenue to their 
owners, and were correspondingly well 
treated. This careful handling and 
feeding, supplemented by judicious selec¬ 
tion and breeding, developed them to a 
high state of perfection. In the United 
States the same care and rivalry between 
different strains have brought about 
great improvements, and it is asserted 
that just as good Jerseys are now bred 
in America as can be found in their 
native islands. 
The Color —In Horses, Cattle, Sheep 
and Swine, Prof. Curtis says that four 
different markings or styles of color are 
to be found among registered Jerseys : 
1, fawn and white, evenly variegated; 
2, solid fawn; 3, brown and white; 4, 
solid brown. All tastes ought to be 
suited so far as color is concerned. In 
all of these styles of color, there is in¬ 
variably a peculiar light mealy-colored 
ring of hair just at the edge of and en¬ 
circling the nostrils, generally considered 
the distinctive mark by which even low- 
grade Jerseys may be recognized. 
The Description. —Prof. Curtis gives 
the following description : “ The head 
is small, close-fleshed, broad at the fore¬ 
head and narrow between horns, with 
strongly-dished face; large expressive 
eyes, set wide apart; thin delicate ears, 
and small, crumpled, amber-colored 
horns. The neck is thin, long, fine at 
the head, and set into the shoulders, 
‘ ewe-necked ’; shoulders thin and light; 
forward ribs flat, 1 fish-backed but in¬ 
creasing in curvature to the loin ; hips 
fairly wide, but rump narrow and but¬ 
tocks lean; body deepest at the flank, 
presenting the V-shaped outline of all 
milk breeds; front legs short, fine-boned, 
straight and small; hind legs somewhat 
coarser, and in the less improved animals, 
rather crooked. * * * The Jersey udder, 
as a rule, is not large, but its capacity 
is good, and the escutcheon, in all its 
forms, is built upon a rich orange yellow 
skin, which clearly marks the dominant 
characteristic of the animal—butter. 
The general appearance of the Jersey is 
that of all highly-sensitive, nervous 
temperaments, and taken in connection 
with its peculiar color, furnishes a 
striking resemblance to the well-known 
southern deer.” 
Some Butter Records. — The all- 
absorbing trait of the Jersey cow is the 
uniform richness of her milk in butter 
content. The butter produced from it 
is usually more highly colored than that 
of any other breed excepting, perhaps, 
the Guernsey. In size, the Jersey is 
small, mature bulls weighing from 1,OCO 
to 1,300 pounds, and cows from 650 to 
950 pounds. 
The Jersey is preeminently a cow for 
butter or cream. Some of the records 
given are, Landseer’s Fancy, 936 pounds, 
14% ounces of butter in one year ; Mas- 
sena, 902 pounds, 3 ounces ; Matilda 4th, 
927 pounds, 8% ounces; Bison’s Belle 
31144, 1,028 pounds, 15% ounces from a 
yield of 8,412 pounds, 7 ounces of milk. 
Signal’s Lily Flagg 31035 in 365 days, 
made a record of 1,047 pounds, % ounce 
of butter from a yield of 11,339 pounds 
of milk. In the case of Bison’s Belle, 
about a gallon of milk was required on 
an average throughout the year, to pro¬ 
duce a pound of “ well-worked, market¬ 
able butter, salted not heavier than one 
ounce to the pound.” The Jersey is of 
an extremely nervous temperament, and 
requires careful handling to secure best 
results. 
At Fig. 149, are shown the Jersey cow, 
Elsie’s Lady 81493, owned by Everett G. 
Campbell, Keister’s, l*a., and her bull 
calf. This cow has a record of 14 pounds, 
9 ounces of butter in seven days, from 
204% pounds of milk. 
At Fig. 150, is a bunch of young Jer- 
siys, owned by Peter Raab, of Bright- 
wood,'Ind. The overhanging barn is a 
conspicuous feature, and suggests a very 
useful form for a general-purpose barn 
on the farm. 
Vermont Dairy Law.—I notice on page 307, of 
The R. N.-Y , a clipping from the Farm Students’ 
Review touching incorrect testing at creameries 
in Minnesota. A law was passed by the last 
legislature of this State which, it is thought, in 
some degree relieves the situation. The law re¬ 
quires every person who handles the Babcock 
test for dividend-making to prove his ability to 
handle it properly before he is allowed to test, 
and likewise requires all glassware apparatus 
to be certified as to its correctness. Of course, 
this measure simply keeps incompetent persons 
from testing, and provides for accurate glass¬ 
ware, but does not meet the serlouB difficulty of 
errors of intention. Legislation cannot- legis¬ 
late men either intelligent or honest. We think, 
however, that this measure serves to keep unin- 
fo-med men out of responsible places. 
Vermont Exp. Station. Joseph l. hills. 
HICKORY HILL FARM NOTES. 
THE story of a dairy farm. 
For Beginners and Small Capitalists. 
A Start on Shares.—T he year 1892 
found me on a farm cf 250 acres, which 
I tried to work on shares with the aid of 
my wife (a lately-retired schoolma’am) 
and a baby boy. Of course, I could hire 
plenty of help; but, being young in 
years and small of stature, I failed to 
command the respect that amounts to 
obedience, and the result was that I 
often found myself without help when I 
insisted on things going my way. For 
instance, one man thought that super¬ 
phosphate was no good ; so it went down 
a woodchuck’s hole instead of under the 
potato hills. The result was that I found 
myself milking 23 cows alone that night. 
This being inconvenient, led us to think 
about a change of business. 
Our resources amounted to $1,000, a 
pair of horses, and six cows, besides our 
household goods and farming tools. Not 
much to buy a farm with ; but this was 
what we decided to do. We found a 
place of 61 acres situated about 1% mile 
from the post office, and two from the 
railroad. The buildings were fair, the 
land lay sloping to the south and east, 
and was surmounted at the top by a pe¬ 
culiar round knoll with a flat top, since 
called Hickory Hill. Through the lower 
part of this farm ran a clear stream fed 
by springs above. 
A Skinned Farm.— The owner of this 
place was one of those men with whom 
“farming don’t pay.” So we bought 
the place for $2,000 spot cash, and found 
an old neighbor, who had made farming 
pay, who lent us the needed $1,000 at 
four per cent interest. We found our 
new farm in very poor shape. It had 
not been skinned , that is, the produce 
sold off until it would produce nothing; 
but it had gone to seed. By this I mean 
YOUNG STOCK AND BARN OF PETER RAAB, BRIGHTWOOD, IND. Fig 150. 
that the meadows had been mowed 
year after year, until the sod was gone 
(if there ever was any), and the ground 
produced a few White daisies and some 
June grass. Then a small patch was 
plowed and planted, with little or no 
manure used ; the next year it was sown 
to oats, and seedel down with about 
two quarts of clover and six quarts of 
Timothy, which generally died in the 
first struggle for existence, and again the 
daisies and June grass reigned supreme. 
The Spring of 1893 found us in our 
new home, with another son added to 
the family ($1,000 richer, but not in ne¬ 
gotiable shape). As I had been brought 
up a dairyman, of course dairying was 
ray natural bent; but the product of six 
cows at the cheese factory or shipping 
station would never make both financial 
ends meet. Cheesemaking was out of 
the question, because I didn’t know how. 
But I did know how to make butter, and 
here was our way out. We would make 
first-class butter, and furnish it every 
week to people who were willing to pay 
a good price when they could always de¬ 
pend upon getting just what they 
wanted, just when they wanted it. 
A Jersey Dairy —Our dai y consisted 
of three Jersey heifers and three cows 
of any breed. Before this, I had dee’ded 
that the Jersey was the b st butter cow, 
but I will admit that the beauty of tlie 
animal exerted a strong influence in her 
favor. In buying my first Jersey, I 
made a mistake that, I suppose, others 
have made, too. A Jersey breeder 
offered me a very beautiful young regis¬ 
tered cow for a price at about which the 
best natives were going. I was suspi¬ 
cious as to her milking qualities, but he 
explained that she had been milked for 
over a year, and was a very excellent 
cow when fresh. I bought her, and in a 
short time, she aborted ; but with no in¬ 
crease of milk. My faith was strong, 
so I kept her nearly another year, and 
she aborted again, after which she went 
to the block. 
Next I bought three young heifers; 
these I took to my new farm, and one of 
these proved to be a free-martin, and 
never had a calf. These two experi¬ 
ences came near killing my faith in Jer¬ 
seys, and had it not been for another of 
these heifers, which proved to be one of 
the best cows I ever saw, I think I 
should have given up the Jerseys alto¬ 
gether. I have detailed this experience, 
because it shows two things : First, the 
harm an unscrupulous breeder may do 
by palming off worthless stock on the 
uninitiated ; and second, that it does not 
pay to give up at the first misfortune. 
The heifer that so strengthened my 
waning trust is still in my herd, and as 
she is of a very nearly perfect dairy 
form, and her early cara was peculiar. I 
will give her history with her photo¬ 
graph at a future time. 
(Concluded next xveek.) 
Breeders’ Directory. 
This ooluinn is reservod for small cards of live 
stock, including poultry. breeders. No outs. Rates 
on application. 
r'JHKNANGO VALLEY STOCK FARMS, Greone, N 
^ Y.—Dutoh Belted and Jersey Cattlo; Dorset and 
Ramboulllet Sheep; Poland-China, Jersey Red and 
Suffolk Pigs; White and Bronze Turkeys, Peafowls, 
and Blooded Chickens. J. D. VAN V ALKENBURUH. 
Four Five Guernsey Bulls for Sale. 
Fit to head tlie flnest herd. 
_D. L. STEVENS, Klkdale, Pa. 
Poland-China Pigs for SHe—Bred 
from prize-winners, tine stock. Prices reasonable. 
H. WALKATU, Minavllle, Mont. Co., N. Y. 
Pigs— Eligible to Registry, and First- 
class stock at Reduced Prices. Chester White, 
Berkshire, Polanij-China and Jersey Red. 
Also, Poultry. WM. B. HARVEY, West Grove, Pa. 
im Ufll QTEIMQ FOK 8ALE —Two Pauline 
IUU nULOl Li Ho Paul-De Kol Bulls ready for 
service. Butter-bred Bulls as low as iaO Calves sired 
by our famous Royal Paul, and rich-milking cows and 
heifers bred to him. Dellhurst Farms, Mentor, Ohio 
Woodland Short-horns heifers (bred) for sale 
W. I. WOOD, Williamsport, Pickaway Co., Ohio. 
FULL PIGS 
both sexes, for sale at 
rock bottom prices. Large 
strain Poland-Chlnas. 
F. H. GATES & SONS, Chlttenargo, N. Y. 
IMPROVED CHESTER WHITES 
of the best breeding and all agei for sale at reason 
able prices. Pamphlets and prices free. 
OH AS. K. uaCORD, Peterboro, N. Y 
