ON THE AYRSHIRE BREED OF CATTLE. 139 



that the matemal parent of the sire has a most unmistakable in- 

 fluence over the progeny for many generations. Indeed, the aim 

 of the dairyman is to cultivate a race of cattle noted alike for 

 their harmonyof colour, beauty of contour, and fill-pail proclivities. 

 Whatever is due to the introduction of and crossing with 

 foreign animals, and also to the superior food which the cattle of 

 the present day receive compared with the meagre fare of last 

 •century, there can be no doubt that the world-wide repute which 

 the Ayrshire has at length gained as a milker is mostly owing to 

 the selection of animals for breeding purposes. In the female 

 the better milker is always retained, while the poorer is rejected, 

 the dairyman having great faith in the adage that " like produces 

 like." Those exterior outlines which experience shows exist in 

 the better cow^s are sought for in the younger cattle, and aimed 

 at in the coupling. Thus, the modern Ayrshire has, as it were, 

 by degrees been built up, until she is a milker of unsurpassed 

 excellence, her form according with that which indicates this 

 faculty. Her udder has become developed in si/e, perfected in 

 shape, and extended to a wonderful degree of capacity ; her soft 

 woolly coat protects her body from the rough storms which now 

 and then sweep across the Atlantic ; while her body is light 

 before and heavy behind, for the breeder knows that such 

 •characteristics are a sure guarantee of milking capabilities. The 

 advance has been gradual for almost a century, each step having 

 been fixed as it was gained. Her type is the type sought for by 

 dairy farmers, not only in Ayrshire, but in the adjoining counties 

 ■of Western Scotland as well — from the Grampian Mountains to 

 the Solway Firth and the Cheviot Hills. Neither is the neat, 

 little, milk-giving Ayrshire confined to its native country. It is 

 sought after to crop the verdant pastures of different parts of 

 England; it graces many dairy farms in Holland; it has crossed 

 the wide Atlantic, and feeds along the northern as well as the 

 southern shores of the river St Lawrence, or rests beneath the 

 shadows of the Kocky Mountains. A reference to the prevailing 

 points of six noted dairy breeds will suffice to show that the 

 ■characteristics of the Ayrshire stamp her as a dairy cow of a 

 high order, viz., the Fifeshire, as described l)y ]\Iagne ; the York- 

 shire, which is the unimproved shorthorn, by Haxton ; the Jersey, 

 by Allen; the Suffolk, by Kirby; the Brittany, by Gamgee ; and 

 the Ayrshire, by Alton. The points which predominate are the 

 folio wintr : — 



Head, long. 

 Muzzle, fnie. 

 Throat, clear. 

 Neck, slender. 

 Shoulders, thin 

 Chest, deep. 



Back, straight. 

 Thighs, flat and thin. 

 Ribs, arched. 

 Pelvis, roomy. 

 Belly, large. 

 Legs, small and short. 



Brisket, small. I Udder,large,si|uare, and well- formed. 



