The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1874-07-14
jersey Cattle and Their Crosses.
AYRsuIREs AS MIXERS.

athGhlhLS no hiLhEhcs
All must admit that the best cow in
the family or dairy, is the one that on
given quantity of feed will produce the
largest amount Of good milk, cream and
butter. have tried for nearly thirty
years, at no small cost to myself, to as.
certain what mixture of blood would pro-
ducc such COW, and think | have been
successful | have crossed the Jerseys
with nearly all other breeds in this coun.
try; | have crossed them with Ayr.
sbres, natives, Short. Horns, Dutch, Dew.
ons, and Madagascars, and think the
best COW ever bred is produced by cross
ing a thoroughbred Jersey bull to a thor.
oughbred Ayrshire COW. 1t is well
known by every breeder OF observation,
that the Jerseys are not as hardy and
easily kept in condition as the Ayrshires,
Devons or natives, and that the teats of
both thoroughbred Jerseys and Ayrshires
are. as a rule, small and defective. When
The blood of these two breeds are mixed,
the offspring has uniformly large sized
teats and fine, capacious udders, and will
yield, if not as large a quantity of milk
as the Ayrshires, more value in its rich.
ness in cream and butter. The next best
breed to cross the Jerseys with is the ma.
tive; these are splendid cows The next
in order are the Short. Horns, and so on
down to the Devons. This l consider
the least desirable cross Of all my trials.
The cross with the Madagascar, or what
is called the sacred COW, was an entire
success as to the quality Of milk. Five
quarts of this milk produced II ounces Of
splendid butter, fully equal to any thor.
oughbred Jersey butter and the richest
Jersey milk l ever tested required 5 Ia
quarts to make one pound of butter. l
have never yet raised, or heard of, a
ha'f.blood Jersey COW, crossed with any
breed that did not yield richer and bet.
ter quality Of milk than ordinary; and
so well satisfied of this fac. are the farm.
ers in this vicinity. that most of them,
who originally had no faith in Jerseys as
farmers stock, raise or purchase grade
Jerseys, as four or five half or three.
quarter bloods will color the butter of q
dairy Of fifteen or twenty common cows.
The great value Of Jersey stock in this
country with the exception of the thor.
oughbreds purchased by gentleman for
single cows, who care less for quantity
than quality, and are willing to pay for
beauty in the lawn is to cross the thor.
oughbred Jersey bull with all the mixed
breeds of the dairy herds, now owned and
kept by the farmers where dairying is the
farmers principal business. The half
half and three. quarter bloods raised from
the use of the Jersey bull on the same
pastures aud feed will produce more
quantity and better quality Of milk, with
no additional expense except the cost Of
thoroughbred Jersey bull, which at
present prices, is not a great outlay for
any farmer. l have no Jersey bulls for
sale at present; so do not put me down
as blowing horn for the sale Of Jersey
bulls.
The cross Of the Jerseys with any oil
the breeds tried by me, increase not only
the size of teats and udders, but bodies
also Except the Dutch and Shsrt. Horns)
adding to the pounds of flesh, and make
fine working oxen. Several pairs raised
in this vicinity, crossed with Ayrshires
have weighed withou; grain more thar
5000 pounds at six years of age, and
proved splendid workers in some of our
quarries. Hoping that shall not be
tedious in stating my experience to yor
or your readers, and that some good may
come to the dairymen and stock. grower
Of the country from my experience il
breeding, which, like all other things tina
are really raluaJie, has cost me mucl
time and large amount of money.
will say to the farmers what would be m,
plan to pursue were l to take up the dair,
business for livelihood in the State o
New York or any other State.
If | kept butter dairy, | would i'm
mediately, if l had not one, buy a thor
oughbred Jersey bull from the best mill
strain Of blood to be had, and raise m
heiier calves for future use. If | kept
cheese or milk dairy, for factory manu-
facture or sale of milk by wagon in cit
or village, or transportation by rail,
would, if had not one. Immediately pun
chase thoroughbred Ayrshire bull fror
the best milk strain of blood, and rais
the heifer calves for future use. l COL
slider the Ayrshire, as family, the lare
est mixers in quantity of any breed tha
has come under my observation. on th
same feed, and the grades the most prof
able for the sale Of milk or cheese, br
not for butter'-[THoMAs FITCH. Ne
London, Conn.,, in Countru Genflema,