The times. (Owosso, Mich.) 1882-1897, 1882-07-07

Jersey for his own use, unless the OBJ
ject is to raise choice heifers to sell
in the city as family COWS, and then
he will have to wait for the second or
third cross before realizing any great
advance in price ove ordinary COWS.
The first importation of Jerseys
was made about 80 years ago and
were not very extensive for 10 or IS
years, but since the war have increased
very fast, and at present all the pur-
chasable COWS and heifers on the
Island are taken for expectation as
fast as they can be bought.
The question of prices affects the
breeder principally. If he pays high
prices he must also sell at high prices,
or he will make it a losing business.
The rage for solid colors and black
points and certain strains will be no
help to the Improvement ofthe breed.
The Jersey is good for little else than
a butter COW, and when her pedigree
does not represent butter qualities, it
is of little value of the dairyman, al
though her fine color and finished
points may make her valuable in the
eyes of the fancy breeder. In SO far
the craze for fancy points with the
accompanying prices is a great injury
to the breed and to its adoption for
general use as a buttermaker. What
is called the choicest blood is mostly
in the hands of men who do not de-
pend on the income from their cattle
for their profits or for the money to
buy high-priced animals, and conse.
quently the real value is not always
taken into consideration, as much as
some mere fancy or within, or the
strife between men of means to pos
sess a particular strain of blood, as
in the case Of Mr.. Simpson securing
all females of the noted Alphea fam
lily. One ~redeeming feature is the
fact that a large number of the best
breeders are making butter product
the test for quality and price, but a
great many animals are being sold at
high prices on the strength of very
distant relationship to a productive
COW. The more generally the pro-
duction of butter is made the test of
value the better for the interests of
the breed. AS with any breed of cat
tie, popularity and high prices work
an injury in another direction. In
such times of prosperity every animal
bred is preserved for breeding, for its
purity of blood simply, when many
should 60 to the shambles for lack Of
useful qualities to be perpetuated.
The American Jersey cattle club
are very strict in their rules and rigid
in their enforcement in regard to en-
try in their herd register, but they
could improve their register as we'll
as their breed of cattle by adopting a
plan similar to that of the Dutch
Friesan association, requiring a milk
record for Holsteins to entitle them
to entry by requiring a butter record
for Jerseys.
To a beginner we would say, avoid
the fancy points but demand those
characteristic of the breed and such
as are indicative of great butter pro-
duction. A parti-colored or mixed
colored COW that is frst.class in all
the useful qualities may be bought
for perhaps hundreds of dollars less
than if the same COW had solid color
and black points. Buy such an one
and breed from her.
Those who would breed grade
heifers should be particular to secure
a bull to breed from that is descended
from the best butter stock, as it is
now admitted by breeders, and the
principle is acted on, that a produc-
tive cow will transmit her qualities
through her son quite as surely as
through a daughter.
Jerseys are becoming quite numer-
Gus in the United States, their regis
try being second in number of the
various breeds, and increasing faster
| than anv other exceDt the ehOrt-hOrns.