14 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. [Oct.. 



"THE AYRSHIRE." 



'The home of the Ayrshire is Scotland. The County of "Ayr" 

 in the southwest of Scotland is hilly and in some parts even 

 mountainous, abounding in bleak, elevated moors and exposed 

 hillsides. These elevations are swept by bleak and chilly winds 

 from the Atlantic. Under these conditions the Ayrshire has 

 shown her ability to forage for herself, to withstand the disagree- 

 able weather and to produce the milk which is so necessary from 

 her owner's viewpoint. The County of Ayr is essentially a dairy 

 county. Its inhabitants used the greatest care in selecting and 

 breeding their dairy herds. For a long term of years, everything 

 was made secondary to the rearing of cows that would make 

 large quantities of milk and of a good quality. The udder was 

 the point toward which the careful Scotchman directed all his 

 efforts for a long period of years. The Ayrshire has a highly 

 nervous temperament, a superabundance of nerves, and is ever 

 willing to employ itself, either in self defense or self support. 

 Charles L. Flint, in his admirable work on "Dairy Farming" says, 

 "All dairy farmers who have had any experience on the point, 

 agree in stating that the Ayrshire cow generally gives a larger 

 return of milk for the food consumed than a cow of any other 

 breed." 



History tells us that the Duke of Athol owned a cow which 

 made a record of twelve quarts a day for 365 days, or more than 

 8,000 pounds, and this in the year 1861. 



The first Ayrshires in America were imported into New York 

 in 1837, and the first into Connecticut in 1837. The Ayrshire 

 Breeders' Association is the outgrowth of a convention held in 

 Hartford, April 5, 1859, to organize "The Association of Breeders 

 of Thoroughbred Neat Stock." This name was continued until 

 1875. Then the Association was re-organized and in 1886 was 

 incorporated under the laws of Vermont, with S. M. Wells of 

 Wethersfield as one of the original signers, and who served as a 

 member of the Executive Committee. 



The first importation of Ayshires direct from Scotland to 

 Connecticut was made by the late C. M. Pond of Hartford, in 

 1858. The foundation stock for other prominent herds was made 

 by the selections from Massachusetts and New York herds. The 

 prices paid for such animals ranged from $200 to $750 each. 



