The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1928-09-20
COUNTY AGENTS COLUMN.
J. L. M'GLONE,
Resident County Agent,
Office, Court House.

| of Jersey cattle. He writes:
In general conformation the Jersey
is lean and muscular, conforming to
the dairy type. The head should be
lean and fairly short, broad between
the eyes and muzzle, and dish-faced,
both with male and female, to a
greater degree than with other COM
mon breeds. The eyes are naturally
of good size and prominent, in some
instances being so bullying, or pop
eyed, as it is termed, as to appear
abnormal. The horns vary in form,
but those of the bull should be short
and strong, curving around forward
and upward and slightly inward,
while those of the COW should be small
Ter and perhaps longer, with more
| curve.
A white or amber colored horn with
blackish tip is the approved sort, and
when yellow tinted is assumed by
many to indicate richness in butter
| fat. The shoulders tend to be a bit
prominent, the withers narrow and re-
| fined and the chest deep and of mod
crate thickness. Too many Jerseys
are narrow chested and lack spring of
front rib, a common criticism. The
back should be strong and we'll sup
ported, with little if any droop, the
ribs we'll sprung and long, the entire
| body showing comparatively large
size and strong reproductive and di-
gestive capacity. The hips should be
fairly broad in the COW, but not in the
male; the rump long, wide and level;
the thighs thin and muscular and set
wide apart; the hooks and feet car
ried straight with ample room to al
low large udder between. Jerseys
tend to be narrow at the rump, as
viewed from behind, and cOw-hocked.
! The udder is usually mellow and
milks well, but it has been subjected
to considerable criticism for its small
size as we'll as small teats. The form
of the udder has been much improved
in recent years, especially in the eX-
tension of the fore quarters, although
these are still frequently elevated and
abbreviated. The milk veins no doubt
attain as great relative size and
prominence with the Jersey as any
breed, often being very tortuous long
and comparatively large.
The color of the Jersey is usually
referred to as fawn, but it is variable
in shade, being yellowish, reddish,
grapish, brownish or silvery fawn.
Some are described as orange or lem
on fawn, and others as squirrel gray
or mulberry black White as a whole
does not occur, but white marks are
quite common, although body of
solid fawn is preferred. Brindle, a
rare color, is objected to and should
cause disqualification The hair about
the muzzle and eyes is usually of a
creamy or grayish shade, and light
tone frequently occurs along over the
spine.
In registering Jerseys it is neces-
sary to specify whether the tongue is
white or black, or the switch white or
black, these being marks of identifi-
cation. Where color is made point
of importance in the breeding OF a
herd, a dark fawn, shading to light
along the backbone and the lower
limbs, meets with much favor, though
solid colors of light fawn are also
very popular. The most experienced
and able breeders do not place pri-
mary emphasis on color, always MAX
ing it secondary to the more impor
tant features, color being a fancy
point and of no real value. The skin
secretions are usually quite yellow,
and as seen in the ear, at tip of tail,
and about the udder, indicate some
thing of the richness of the milk. The
skin itself should be thin, very elactic
and mellow, and with a fine thick
coat of hair. The size of the Jersey
may be classed as small to medium,
with tendency in breeders to secure
medium sort.
Early maturity of the Jersey is
more marked than with any other
common breed of cattle. Repeated
cases are on record of Jersey females,
through accident, having the first calf
before three hundred and siXty-five
days old. Both males and females
develop rapidly and are often in SER
vice too early for the good Of the herd
or breed. Occasionally one will find
a herd of Jerseys, where the owner
has bred heifers to come fresh at Is
to 20 months old. In these herds one
is impressed by the small size and
runty appearance of the cows. The
wiser and more thoughtful breeders
Of today plan to have their heifers
come fresh about thirty months old
depeding somewhat upon the vigor
and size of the animals to be bred. A
greater vitality and producing capac-
ity is thus secured
The adaptability Of the Jersey to a
wide range of conditions is well estab-