RETORT OF THE AGRICULTURE OF AYRSHIRE. 101 



such as hot-plates, stoves, &c. It is only in dairies of about 3Q 

 cows and upwards, able to turn out, at least, one large cheese 

 daily, in which there is much chance of producing first-class 

 Cheddar cheeses ; and that is where the Galloway farmers with 

 their large stocks of from 60 to< 70- cows have the advantage. 

 The present apportioning of the money prizes at the Great 

 Cheese Show in Kilmarnock, tends to foster cheese-making 

 much more in Galloway than in Ayrshire. Give the Dunlops, 

 at least, equal encouragement with the Cheddars. Indepen- 

 dently of " paling " or not " paling " the cheeses to be shown, 

 however, the richer and sweeter herbage — both of " sown young- 

 grasses," and of oldish pasture — grown on the warm kindly soils 

 bordering the southern coasts of Galloway, is greatly in favour 

 of the Gallovidean makers. Throughout very many of our Ayr- 

 shire pasture fields, those nasty and bitter tasted plants the 

 crowfoots (Ranunculi — "buttercups ") so much abound, that we 

 should think it impossible to make either well-flavoured cheese 

 or butter, by any mode or management whatever, from the milk of 

 cows grazing thereon. The writer has had many opportunities 

 for seeing, that, milch cows in Galloway are much higher house- 

 fed than in Ayrshire, particularly in respect to meal and man- 

 golds. As to the latter food, indeed, the Statistics prove that ; 

 for, Wigtownshire and Kirkcudbrightshire together, with only 

 one-half the number of milch-cows, grow about 900 acres of 

 Mangold as against the 1,100 acres in Ayrshire. Turnips and 

 Vetches will throw a greater quantity of milk than Mangolds, 

 but the milk from the latter is much richer in cream. Now, 

 suppose a Gallow-man and an Ayrshire-man competing with 

 each other, but that the former has the richest milk (more cream 

 in it) by much to Work upon, which of them is likely to win the 

 day ? They may talk of their " Cheddar flavour" or of any 

 other flavour, but it is the fat chiefly (if not wholly) which gives 

 the flavour. The main secret after all in the making of good 

 and rich quality of cheese, whatever name you may call it by, is 

 to put all the cream in ! 



This report has stretched out to such a length, that small 

 room is left for any concluding remarks. But as almost every 

 thing of any importance connected with the agriculture of Ayr- 

 shire, has been more or less incidentally touched upon in 

 some one or other of the foregoing pages, little in truth remains 

 to be said. Tar more horses are kept in Ayrshire, and required, 

 proportionally with the acreage of land under tillage, than in 

 either Berwickshire or Haddingtonshire for instance. Monkton- 

 hill farm, on the coast, of 380 imp. acres in all, and about 230 

 acres under tillage annually, requires 5 pairs of regular work 



