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Vol. LXXII., No. 4 
NEW YORK. NOVEMBER 22. 1013 
WEEKLY SI.00 PER YEAR 
THE GUERNSEY COW. 
Good Points of the “ Yellow and Whites.” 
At first thought it often seems strange that there 
should be so many breeds of cattle, of poultry, and 
of all kinds, of live stock. When the uninitiated 
hears the champions of each breed enthusiastically 
setting forth the advantages of his favorites and pro¬ 
claiming their supremacy, lie is apt to be confused. 
IIow is it. that Jones, a man of excellent judgment, 
thinks that the White Leghorn is the only fowl worth 
keeping, while Brown, whose judgment is equally 
good, will have nothing but Rhode Island Reds? An 
analysis of their arguments tapers down to the 
fact that men are temperamentally different, and 
ing up a registered herd must he a slow process. 
What we must have is something to keep the pot 
boiling right now. It is easy to see the advantage 
of purebred animals, but where every dollar must 
take the place of two, our salvation seems to be in 
the grade. 
In order that we may better understand the char¬ 
acteristics and temperament of the Guernsey let us 
take a very brief glance at her history and environ¬ 
ment. She comes, as we all know, from File Island 
o e Guernsey, one of the Channel or Alderney Isles, 
between England and France. This island is about 
nine by 13 miles, and contains approximately 13.000 
acres. Its inhabitants are a sturdy, intelligent race. 
1 he cattle on this island, as also on the neighboring 
that the Guernsey’s predominant trait should be 
dceility? Only a few days ago I heard my two lit¬ 
tle boys, aged three and four, chattering in the barn¬ 
yard. Looking over the fence I saw them, hands 
full of apples, running among the cows, trying to 
give each one “her share.’’ These cows are no: 
pets, except that they receive ordinarily kind treat¬ 
ment, but the children run among them fearlessly 
and without harm, often trying to “get a stream’’ 
after I have finished milking. The bulls are unusual¬ 
ly tractable, though of course I would not recom¬ 
mend a grown hull as a playmate for children. 
But the characteristic which recommends the 
Guernsey most highly is her ability to turn fodder 
and grain into high-colored milk, cream and butter. 
G1 ERNSEY HEIFER FLORRIE OF TIIE RUE FRAIRE ON THE ISLAND OF GUERNSEY. F 
the conditions under under which they work are 
also different. To go back still further, these same 
facts explain the very existence of all the different 
bleeds of animals. The various forms of the animal 
kingdom are, to a great extent, the result of en- 
' iron men t, and in the case of domestic animals both 
environment and selection have been guided or con¬ 
trolled by man. 
It is my purpose to set forth some of the char¬ 
acteristics of Guernsey cattle; without doubt there 
are many better qualified than myself to talk about 
Guernseys, as a breed. But I shall speak of them 
'roin the standpoint of the average farmer, or dairy- 
•nan. My own small herd is composed of grades, 
beaded by a registered bull, though I have dreams 
some day owning a purebred herd. But with 
'be great mass of farmers with small capital, build- 
islands of Jersey and Alderney, were undoubtedly 
imported originally from Normandy. There was a 
divergence in the breeding, however, and while the 
Jerseyman sought to breed a cow of great beauty 
to grace the lawns of English estates, the Guernsev- 
man stuck to his yellow and white cow. firm in his 
faith in her ability to bring profits as a “farmer’s 
cow. A ery early, measures were taken to prevent 
the importation of foreign cattle, except for imme¬ 
diate slaughter, and for nearly a century the laws 
in this respect have been very stringent. 
The climate is mild, and most of the year the cattle 
are on pasture, though “pasturing” consists of teth¬ 
ering. for land is scarce and very high in price, 
and must be made to feed as many cows as possible. 
W omen and children milk and care for the cattle. 
1 rnler these conditions is it not perfectly natural 
In the matter of color of milk she excels all other 
breeds. In richness, too. she has few equals. Where 
one can sell milk on the basis of butter fat. or where 
one has a select trade in milk and its products, 
these traits are of great value. Where the object is 
solely quarts or pounds of milk, the Holstein or 
course has a great advantage. In the matter of 
records the Guernsey need not be ashamed. Take 
for exatuple, the wonderful record of Dolly Dimple. 
As a two-year-old she gave 14009.13 pounds of milk, 
yielding 703.3(5 pounds of butter fat; ns n 314 -year 
old. 1X45N.N pounds of milk, and 906.S9 pounds of 
butter fat; as a 5-year-old 1SS08.5 pounds of milk 
and SG7.33 pounds butter fat. Other big records 
could be quoted, but what the ordinary farmer 
wants is not records, hut everyday profits, and right 
here the Guernsey is able to “deliver the goods.” 
