1868.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST 
135 
Channel Island Cattle. 
JERSEYS AND GUERNSEYS. 
In an article on tlie Channel Island cattle in 
the January number, page 53, there was a brief 
account of these Islands, their location, products, 
etc., and of the rich milk of the cows, which 
gives' the islands an enviable fame for fine 
butter, and creates the 
great demand for cows 
for exportation. The 
Jersey (incorrectly call¬ 
ed Alderney) and the 
Guernsey are as distinct 
breeds as the Short¬ 
horn and the Ayrshire. 
The Jersey Cow.— 
Dr.Twaddell, of Phila¬ 
delphia, in his account 
before the Philadelphia 
Agricultural Society, 
says of the Jersey cows: 
“ They are of all shades 
of color from a pale 
yellow fafvn, running 
through all the interme¬ 
diate hues, even occa¬ 
sionally to a red. There 
is often an intermixture 
of black and gray 
known as French gray, 
and that merging into 
black with an amber 
colored band along the 
back, the muzzle being invariably shaded with 
a lighter color. Individuals are often seen black 
and white or pure black unrelieved by any 
other color. A yellow brindle is sometimes 
seen, but this is by no means a favorite.” 
The Jersey cow, if good for anything, shows 
usually bad points to a Short-horn breeder’s eye ; 
but if the hand of a beef feeder or Short-horn 
breeder were laid upon the soft, velvety,unctuous, 
elastic hide, yielding with plasticity to his 
gentle grasp, he would not hesitate to assert his 
belief in the ability of 
the cow to take on flesh, 
if dry and well fed, and 
so indeed she would, 
very rapidly. The skin 
of the cow figured is 
very fine; added to all 
that is called good 
“handling,” its beauti¬ 
ful orange color gleams 
out through the black 
hairs, and is especially 
obvious in the ears, 
about the eyes, on the 
udder and teats, and at 
the base of the tail. 
When photographed 
the cow was in full milk, 
and, of course, low in 
■ flesh, as she liad no feed 
but good pasturage. She 
was, however, in exact¬ 
ly the best condition to 
show ier fine points, as 
well as her defects,— 
the small head,large bright eye, thin neck, slen¬ 
der, deer-like legs, large body, full milk-veins, 
etc. She is owned by Mr. James P. Swain, of 
Bronxville, Westchester Co., and is twelve years 
old. Her black color is universal, except a slight 
russet or amber band down the back, and one 
of a similar color surrounding the muzzle, 
and also a light spot or two upon the udder. 
We present the engraving as an extreme case, 
representing well the peculiarities of one favor¬ 
ite class of Jerseys, namely, those having no 
white marks and being of prevailingly very 
dark colors, with black mouths and tongues. 
The Guernsey Cow, says the Doctor 
whom we quote above, “is a larger animal (than 
the Jersey) coarser in the head, heavier in bone. 
JERSEY COW “-EBONY,” 12 YEARS OLD. 
The horns are longer and thicker at the base, 
not usually crumpled. The rump is more apt 
to assume that peculiar droop which seems a 
characteristic of the breed, and there is a want 
of the symmetry and neatness of form that mark 
the high-bred Jersey; but as a dairy cow she is 
fully her equal; for quality of milk and butter 
she cannot be excelled. The skin is of a splen¬ 
did rich yellow hue and the udder and teats 
tinted with chrome.” The Guernseys are more 
seldom seen in this country than the Jerseys, yet 
GUERNSEY cow 
14 YEARS OLD. 
where they are kept they are held in high 
esteem. Their lack of the high-bred look and 
style of the popular breed, and the fact that there 
are so few of them that they have been bred 
with the Jerseys, accounts for the general 
ignorance which prevails in regard.to the breed. 
We give herewith a letter from Mr. Swain in 
regard to both these cows, only adding here in 
regard to the Guernsey that the drawing repre¬ 
sents the cow most faithfully, and is, perhaps, the 
best cow portrait rve have ever seen. Her color 
is yellowish dun, or coffee-and-milk color, 
shading into French gray, darkest at the edges of 
the spots bordering upon white. She has an 
extraordinary depth of body, and her horns are 
less coarse than is characteristic of the breed. 
Mr. Swain writes: 
“ You ask me for 
facts in regard to the 
Guernsey cow “Cottie’ 
and the Jersey cow 
“Ebony.” I will tell 
you the story of Chan¬ 
nel cattle as far as they 
have come under my 
own observation.—In 
the summer of 1845 I 
employed Wrn. Leroy, 
an intelligent Guernsey 
man, to build a factory 
for me, and he interest¬ 
ed me in the cattle of 
his own and the other 
islands so much that I 
imported one from the 
little island of Alder¬ 
ney, two from Guern¬ 
sey, one from Sark, and 
two from Jersey. I 
found but one of them 
to be a superior cow in 
every respect. She 
came from Guernsey; gave 32 pounds of milk a 
day when in full milk, averaging 24 pounds a 
day for eight months ; was never dry during the 
six years I owned her. She was accidentally 
killed. “ Cottie,” now the property of Geo. P. 
Nelson, Esq., of Scarsdale, is her first calf. She 
is now 14 years old, has a calf one month old, 
and I think will do rvell for 5 or 6 years to 
come. She has been in milk over twelve years, 
except two or three months. She averaged 
during the summer 24 pounds of milk for eight 
months, and about 8 
pounds for the balance 
of the year. Of the 
quality of her milk I 
cannot give j r ou facts, 
but can in regard to that 
of her sister. She was 
so much like her that 
we could never -tall 
which was the best for 
quantity or quality. 
Tins sister,“Katie,” now 
owned by James Hall, 
Esq., of East Chester, 
gave at her height 43 
pounds of milk per day 
and made 14 pounds 5 
ounces of butter per 
week, and averaged 
24 1 | 2 pounds of milk for 
eight months, and a lit¬ 
tle less than 8 pounds 
for the balance of the 
year. In all the descend¬ 
ants of “ Cottie” and 
“ Katie,” and they are very many, I do not think 
there is a variation of one per cent in the 
quantity and quality of milk they give with the 
same care. This family are all that have been 
of especial value out of seven imported cows, 
“I have rvatched with interest nearly all the 
principal importations both of Guernseys and 
Jerseys, and I do not think that there has been 
