RAISING NEAT STOCK. 179 



Among the Ayrshires is a race partaking strongly of the nature 

 of Shorthorns, round, compact, thick-meated, close-shouldered, 

 which are to be avoided. Some are found also with a peculiar 

 shelliness of skin, a hard unyielding inelastic feel, which is very 

 objectionable. Some of the bulls, especially, are broad on the top 

 of the shoulders, rough in the chine, short-quartered, with 

 uneven rump, and thick, round, heavy thighs, presenting the 

 appearance behind of a draught-horse. These should be avoided. 

 The oxen of this breed, are remarkable for activity and vigor, 

 grow well after they are two years old, reach easily the weight of 

 thirty-three or four hundred to the yoke in working condition, and 

 and have great thrift when fed for the shambles. They are re- 

 markable for their strong, straight limbs, and their true and steady 

 gait. 



One of the most important matters, after having obtained a herd 

 for dairy purposes, is the best mode of feeding the young, so as to 

 preserve and develop the qualities most desirable. In rearing dairy 

 stock, the quality of the food and the mode of feeding, with 

 reference to the animal structure, are so important that I beg your 

 indulgence while I dwell upon the subject at some length. It is 

 comparatively an easy matter to breed and feed animals, which by 

 their aptitude to fatten will remunerate the feeder. The qualities 

 belonging to an animal structure designed for this purpose are 

 very perceptible, are easily transmitted, and are easily preserved 

 and improved by feeding. Mr. Bakewell learned almost the pre- 

 cise mechanism adapted to his wants as a producer of size and fat, 

 — the form and quality of bone, the shape of the parts containing 

 the vital organs, and the organs of nutrition, that "feel" which an 

 expert understands, so that he may almost be said to carry eyes in 

 his fingers' ends, capable of exploring the internal organization of 

 every animal. And this bone, and shape of body, and texture of 

 the skin, are easily prese»ved and transmitted. Breeding does 

 much, and feeding does more, towards this preservation and trans- 

 mission. When Mr. Colling saw Hubback he knew that his stomach 

 and glandular system, and nervous organization, all tended toward 

 the development of fat, and he believed it would be easy to trans- 

 plant such lethargic faculties as these. He did this on good soil, 

 and with proper care succeeded in making a creation of fat. 



Mr. Alton and his predecessors, had a very different and a much 

 more difficult task to perform. That delicate organization, which 

 is called into operation when the food taken into the body is to be 



