SECRETARY'S REPORT. I33 



from what I have seen of them. They are generally large-bodied in propor- 

 tion to their height, their lef;8 being short and the shank-bones very smalL 

 Their heads are generally handsome, and the countenance lively, but with a 

 mild expression. The best of them are decidedly attractive in their appear- 

 ance. When taken to the low country and supplied with plenty of nutritious 

 food, they become more bulky, but I had no opportunity to see what would 

 be the eflFect of breeding them for several generations in a milder climate and 

 on a better soil. 



I could not generally obtain reliable statements in regard to the yield of 

 milk or butter of these cows. In several instances where they were kept, in 

 the low country, it was stated that they would give, per day, ten imperial 

 quarts of milk, which would aJTorda pound of butter — certainly a large product, 

 considering the size of the animal. It is stated that Mr. Crosby of Ardfert 

 Abbey, near Tralee, obtained in his herd, ranging for seven years in succession 

 from twenty-eight to eighty cows, mostly Kerries, an average of 1,952 quarts 

 of milk in a year, which yielded a pound of butter to eight quarts — or 244 

 pounds per cow annually, and that one pure Kerry cow in the herd, gave 2 725 

 quarts of milk in ten months." 



The Ayrshires originated in Scotland ; in a section of only moder- 

 ate natural fertility, and similar also to our own in some other re- 

 gai'ds. They have been brought to be what they are, mainly by 

 means of continued selection, for many years, especially with refer- 

 ence to dairy qualities. Easily and cheaply kept and very hardy, 

 they yield abundantly milk of good quality ; more in proportion to 

 the food consumed than any other. The Ayrshire breed presents us 

 to-day with a cow made to our hand, which, in most essential re- 

 spects, is very similar to what might be reasonably expected as 

 the result of fifty years judicious, systematic, persevering attempts 

 to improve our so called "native" cows, by a continuous selection 

 of the best formed and deepest milkers among them to breed from, 

 in order that dairy properties might become fixed so surely as to 

 be transmitted with regularity and certainty. A late writer, Dr. 

 Reynolds, in his survey of Middlesex county, Massachusetts, very 

 justly says of them : 



" Within a few years past, the Ayrshires have attracted much attention. 

 They ])re8ent, perhaps, more of the points of a good milch cow than any other 

 breed. They are hardy, sprightly, good feeders, and present in their whole 

 figure, as well as in their separate organs, those qualities that are sought in a 

 milch cow. They transmit their peculiar traits to their progeny, with as much 

 certainty as any other breed. The first cross with the old stock produces 

 animals oftentimes equal to the pure bloods for milking. The practice of 

 crossing them will doubtless be continued, especially by those who do not wish 

 to breed from the mixed race. Breeders who would be sure of the good milk- 

 ing properties of the Ayrshires, must rely upon pure blood, or they will be 

 subject to frequent disappointment ; for it is a well known law of breeding 

 that we cannot rely, with any degree of certainty, upon obtaining the peculiar 

 characteristics of any animal, until they have been fixed by being transmitted 

 through several generations. The only serious objection to the Ayrshire cows 

 is the small size of their teats. Their udders are well formed, round, compact, 

 reaching well forward, never pendulous or fleshy, and the milk veins are well 



