86 REPORT OF THE AGRICULTURE OF AYRSHIRE. 



years back from all parts of our own kingdom and colonies. 

 Many of the upland (or, hill-country, rather) farmers, who have 

 all good extents of old grass, bring up all their calves, besides 

 buying in from their neighbours lower down ; and those breedeis 

 who have acquired a name for prize cattle act in a like manner, 

 purchasing wherever and whenever they come across a fancy 

 young animal to their minds. The county has almost been 

 clear of pleuro-pneumonia or other cattle diseases for several 

 years bypast. 



In all dairies of from 15 cows and upwards a bull is kept for 

 service. The bulls are generally fattened, and sold when from 

 4 to 5 years old. If very good, or prize takers, they may be 

 and are kept for several years longer, seldom becoming vicious 

 when ageing as in most other breeds. '' Geordie," by the more 

 attentive farmers is usually confined to the house during the 

 " rutting-season," and literally kept on clover so as to be in good 

 fettle for "officiating," and the farmers (and haply their wives 

 even more) thus know to a day almost when each cow should 

 calve. The heifers usually take or get the bull when rising 

 3 years old, and properly ought not to breed at an earlier age as 

 it stints their growth. An Ayrshire milch cow is in her prime 

 about 6 years old, and continues in good milking condition till 

 12 years or upwards; but that depends greatly upon constitu- 

 tion, as some cows, like ourselves, age sooner than others. 



Swine are fed more or less at every farm-house where cheese 

 is made. Ayrshire heads the list in Scotland for number of 

 swine kept and fattened — viz., about 12,000 annually. Accord- 

 ing to the " statistics," Dumfriesshire contains more swine than 

 Ayrshire, but a large proportion of those in Dumfriesshire are 

 sucking pigs. In Dumfriesshire they breed extensively, whilst 

 in Ayrshire they do not. Our farmers, indeed, import great 

 part of the young pigs from Dumfries and Carlisle. It is not 

 easily accounted for why Ayrshire farmers do not breed more, 

 as breeding of pigs in time past has certainly been paying better 

 than fattening. Two litters a year off a breeding sow (deduct- 

 ing fee for boar), at 4 to 5 weeks old, being worth on an average 

 about £10, and more of late years; and much less feeding will 

 keep a breeding sow well than it takes to fatten a pig to 10 or 

 11 stones of 24 lbs. Generally the swine are fed simply on the 

 whey, with any offal and vegetable refuse gathered up, till 

 within 8 or 10 weeks of being killed, when they receive daily 

 feeds of some sort of mash to fatten them off. They seldom or 

 never get grass or green food, or get out their styes to have the 

 run of a grass field as in some parts of England. Where so many 

 swine are fattened, the reporter wonders that none of the farmers 

 try a few rows of field lettuce. The " green-coss" and some of 

 the " cabbage " sorts grow to large size if well dunged, and there 



