Rocky Mountain husbandman. [volume] (Diamond City, Mont.) 1875-1943, 1876-10-05
LIV { STOCK.
GRADE JERSEYS FOR FARMERS.

FiiLSot a. AcAiO
tuaist
My experience for many years in breed
ing Jersey stock and crossing ~thorougbreds
with other breeds, may interest some OF
your readers, particularly the dairymen with
whom butter-making is the principal bust
ness. My first purchase of Jerseys was
made from the importation and breeding of
the late John A. Tamtor, OF Hartford Conn,
who was, [ think, the first to visit the is
lands in the British Channel, and to select
in person and import into this State a herd
of Jerseys. He was remarkably fortunate
in his selections, for few, it any, of the later
importations, down to the present time,
have eqnaled or even approached the quail
ity of his stock for form, beauty, or the pro-
duction of milk, cream and butter. Solid
colors and black points, squirrel grays or
silver grays, light fawns, or other fashiona-
BILE marks or colors, had then as little to do
with the real value of Jersey COW as they
have to-day, or as the dark or light COM
plexion has to do with an Anglo-Saxon's
and well bred at that, one that gave twelve
quarts of milk per day on common food
fnot steamed) and made twelve pounds of
butter per week, sold then for about one
hundred dollars.
1 have bred many thoroughbred Jerseys,
and hundreds of grades, but comparatively
few of my thoroughbreds have given more
than twelve quarts of milk per day, and I
have credit of breeding some of the most
celebrated mixers and b~utter-makers now
in this country, among them the following
Well-knoWn names; Palestine third, Mag
gle Mitchell, Fleetfoot, Flora, Buff, and
more than | can name, all are the direct des-
pendants of Mr.. Jno. A. Tamtor's stock,
some of them having given as high as TWEEN
ty-tWo quarts of milk, and made more than
two pounds of butter per day, measured and
weighed. [ have crossed the Jersey bull
with nearly all the known breeds of COWS,
Ayrshires, natives, Shorthorns, Dutch, the
sacred cow" and the Devons, and it is an
excellent cross with any and all breeds for
the dairy. L have never yet found a half
blood Jersey cow that did not yield a richer
quality of milk than her dam. One pecul-
iarity of the cross is this: Wherever the
Jersey bull serves, he transmits the rich
quality of the milk to the grade he gets.
The thoroughbred Jersey cows, as a rule,
have small teats and udders, small bodies,
and tender, delicate constitutions; they are
not SO hardy or SO easily kept as Ayrshires
or natives, but the grades have good-sized
teatss and capaciots udders ; are hardy, east
~ kept, and the quantity Of the milk is in
creased. The grade is, in fact, worth more
money to the farmer than the pure jersey.
Tor actual production and all purposes ex-
cept breeding thoroughbreds. The great
value OF Jersey stock to the country is for
dairymen, especially butter-makers, who, by
crossing thoroughbred bulls upon their COM
mon COWS of all the mixed bloods, can Sc
lect the heifer calves from their best milk
ers, and raise them to take the place of the
present cows, and then again cross the pure
bull with the halt-bloods. When these herds
are t~hree-quarter Jersey, their yield of but
ter viii doubtless be one-third more in GUAM
dty, OF a much better quality in color, firm
ness and flavor, and worth fifty per cent.
more than at present. Who can estimate in
dollars and cents what may be gained in the
next few years by the farmer following this
course, with a slight outlay of money in
thoroughbred Jersey bulls?
WANTS TO BUY A MERINo RAM.
A gentleman above the average of intelli-
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