The Alderney cow
From Supplement to the Penny Magazine, September 1837, p. 383, republished from Volume V of the Guernsey and Jersey Magazine of 1831, with other descriptions of the Alderney cow from various sources.
Alderney has given its name to the beautiful little cattle of the Channel Islands, and of which their natives are so proud. Special laws both in Jersey and Guernsey protect the purity of the breed. The importation of foreign cattle is strictly prohibited, under heavy penalties; and there is considerable rivalry between Jersey and Guernsey as to which produces the best and purest specimen of the Alderney cow. The greater number of Alderney cows known in England are exported from Jersey; but a Guernsey farmer would not admit a Jersey cow upon his grounds. The prevailing opinion seems to be that the Guernsey breed is really better than the Jersey; and the Guernsey butter than that of Jersey (both are excellent), is appealed to, in support of the opinion. Yet, as is very natural, the people of Alderney affirm that their cow can only be produced, in all its handsomeness of figure and excellence of quality, on its own native island, and that the Jersey and Guernsey breed are deteriorations. Some judges are of this opinion; and it is stated that the Alderney cow can easily be distinguished from those of the neighbouring islands, by being remarkably small and straight in the back, with prominent sparkling eyes.
Tabitha Bramble to Mrs Gwillym at Brambleton Hall: I am astonished that Mr Lewis should take it upon him to give away Alderney without my privity and concurrants [sic]. Alderney gave four gallons a day ever since the calf was sent to the market. [Smollett, Humphrey Clinker, 1771]
The Alderney cow, so famed all over the United Kingdom, I had been told in the other islands, that in this island alone I should find the true breed, black and white; but I did not find the Alderney people adopt this criterion of purity of breed, red and white, and brown and white, I found equally common; and the best specimens I saw were of a white and reddish chocolate colour. I found it however generally admitted that there is but very little distinction between the Alderney cow, and the best specimens of the Jersey and Guernsey. The cow of the latter runs larger, but not more comely to the eye. Scarcely any observation is required respecting the other domestic animals. The horses appear to be indifferent generally, but of this species of cattle some good animals are to be found. The islanders are famous for rearing of the pork tribe, many of their fat hogs will weigh as much as their well fed cows. [Sarnia, or the Holy Land &c, p. 104.]
From Duncan's Guernsey and Jersey Magazine, 1836:
In London, and most parts of England, the horned cattle of the Channel Islands are called Alderney cows. This is a gross mistake; for Alderney is too small a spot to rear many cattle for exportation. During the bubble year, 1825, a joint stock company was established under the style of the 'Alderney Dairy Company' who pretended to supply the London market with the milk of animals which it would have been impossible to procure. The pure breed of these cows can only be obtained in Guernsey, for even those of Jersey are much inferior.
Colonel Le Couteur, the Queen's Aide-de-Camp in Jersey, in 1844:
The breed of cattle familiarly known throughout Great Britain as the Alderney, correctly termed 'the crumpled horned', was originally Norman, it is conceived, as cows very similar to them in form and colour are to be seen in various parts of Normandy, and Brittany also; but the difference in their milking and creaming qualities is really astonishing, the Jersey cow producing nearly double the quantities of butter. The race is miscalled 'Alderney' as far as Jersey is in question: for, about 70 years since, Mr Dumaresq, of St Peter's, afterwards the chief magistrate, sent some of the best Jersey cows to his father-in-law, the then proprietor of Alderney; so that the Jersey was, already at that period, an improved, and superior to the Alderney, race.
Dr L H Twadell, writing in 1865:
The cattle of the island of Alderney have a want of uniformity, attributable to the fact that they are the offspring of stock brought from Jersey and Guernsey, crossed and re-crossed until all individuality as a breed is lost. Some are neat and deer-like; others are larger and heavier, approaching the Guernsey type. The island being small and rocky, the pasturage scanty, very few cattle are bred, and, as a consequence, the breed does not receive the care and attention that is given on the other islands.
In this, no less than in the aforementioned island, black cattle are in such abundance as not only to supply the inhabitants, but to furnish a considerable exportation. [Guernsey cattle, from The New Universal Traveller, 1779.]
From The Saturday Magazine, Vols 7-8, August, 1835.
THE ALDERNEY COW
It is the opinion of those best informed upon agricultural matters, that the Jersey and the Alderney Cow are precisely alike—both distinguished by the fine-curved taper horn, the slender nose, the fine skin, and the deer-like form; and both preserved in their purity, by breeding in and in. Quail, in his report, truly says, that 'next to the possession of vraic (sea-weed for manure and firing), the treasure highest in a Jerseyman's estimation, is his cow.' It is now as it was in Quail's time. The cow is the object of his chief attention; and his care and affection for it may be compared with those of a German for his horse. 'It is true,' says Quail, 'that in summer she must submit to be staked to the ground, but five or six times in the day her station is shifted. In winter she is warmly housed by night, and fed with the precious parsnep; when she calves, she is regaled with toast, and with the nectar of the island, cider—to which powdered ginger is added.' The high estimation in which the Jersey cow is held by its possessor, is shared by the island legislature, which has preserved the purity of the breed by special enactments. An act was passed in the year 1789, by which the importation into Jersey, of cow, heifer, calf, or bull, is prohibited, under the penalty of 200 livres, with the forfeiture of boat and tackle; and a fine of fifty livres is also imposed on every sailor on board who does not inform of the attempt. The animal, too, is decreed to be immediately slaughtered, and its flesh given to the poor. The number of cows everywhere dotting the pastures of Jersey, add greatly to the beauty of the landscape; though when one passes near to them, the discovery that they are tethered, somewhat decreases the pleasure we have in seeing them. In apple-orchards, however, in which the under-grass crop is always used as cow-pasture, it is necessary to tether the animal; and not only so, but to attach also the head to the feet, that the cow may be prevented from eating the apples, which she would be quite welcome to do, were it not that they might injure her. All over England, the Alderney Cow, as it is generally called, is celebrated not only for its beauty, but for the richness of its milk, and the excellence of the butter made from it. Extraordinary milkers, even among Jersey cows, are sometimes found. I have heard of three cows on one property yielding each from sixteen to eighteen quarts per day, during the months of May and June; and of thirty-six pounds of butter being made weekly from their milk. I have heard, indeed, of one cow yielding twenty-two quarts—but these are, of course, extreme cases. The general average produce from Jersey cows may be stated at ten quarts of milk per day, and seven pounds of butter per week. It is stated that in summer from nine to ten quarts produce one pound of butter; and that in winter, when a cow is parsnepfed, the same quantity of butter may be obtained from seven quarts—an extraordinary produce certainly. The profit on the best cows, the calf included, is estimated at about £12; £30 being the money received, and the keep reaching £18: but this certainly applies only to the best cows. Two vergees and a half, or somewhat better than an acre of good land, is considered sufficient for a cow's pasture. The price of Jersey cows has considerably fallen during the last fifteen years. A good cow may now be purchased for £12; a prime milker will fetch £15; and the average may be stated from £8 to £10.
GUERNSEY
In this island, the cows are universally tethered, as in Jersey, and are moved, watered, and milked, three times a day. From about the beginning of November, during the winter, parsneps and mangel-wurzel are given to the cows at night. There are few points of island jealousy carried further, than that which regards the breed of cows of Jersey and Guernsey. It is certain, however, that of late years greater attention has been bestowed upon the breed of cattle in Guernsey than in Jersey; and the law forbidding the importation of any foreign breed, has been scrupulously acted upon. A Guernsey farmer would not, upon any account, admit a Jersey cow on his grounds. In England no difference between Guernsey and Jersey cows is understood; but the number of the latter exported being by far the greater, they are generally better known to the jobbers. The Guernsey cattle are considerably larger than those of Jersey; and it appears from the evidence of the clerk of the market, that an ox has attained the weight of 1500 lbs. Quail, in his report, says, those of 1200 lbs., or sixty score, appear not unfrequently. I am told that a Guernsey cow, when its birth is distinctly known, and when offered among those best able to judge, fetches a higher price than the Jersey cow. This may possibly be owing to the larger size; for there can be no doubt, that greater size, supposing all the other points equal, gives the animal an advantage. The following is the description and standard of excellence of a Guernsey cow, transmitted to me by one well versed in those matters. The points of excellence are, 1. Pedigree of the parents; yellow ears, tail, and good udder. 2. General appearance; colour, cream, light red, or both, mixed with white. 3. Handsome head, well horned, and bright and prominent eyes. 4. Deep barrel-shaped body. 5. Good hind-quarters and straight back. 6. Handsome legs and small bone. I believe, however, that this classification of points of excellence is not rigidly adhered to. I have seen it stated of the Guernsey cows, young and old, that the general average is rather more than 365 lbs. of butter in the year, being equal to one pound of butter, or eight quarts of milk in twenty-four hours.
See Felicity Crump, 'What is the Alderney cow? &c.,' Alderney Society, 1995; Dr Jean Bonnard, 'The Alderney Cow,' Review of the Guernsey Society, LIII (1) Spring 1997, pp. 22 ff.; John Coleman, The Cattle of Great Britain, Field Office, 1875, Chapter XIX, 'The Alderney breed of cattle,' and Chapter XXI, 'The Guernsey breed of cattle.'