172 BOARD OF AGRICULTURE. 



Durham which was in vogue in the days of Governor Lincohi, 

 and were bred from the large dairy cow, imported by him 

 into that section of the State ; the same cow that Mr. Derby 

 imported here in 1801, and which broke down here ; the same 

 cow that was taken into the Connecticut River valley by Mr. 

 Williams, and Avhich laid the foundation for the great dairy 

 herds in the rich pastures of that valley, — a coarse', rough- 

 hipped cow, but an admirable one, and a great feeder. 



Mr. Wetheeell. Were they thoroughbreds ? 



Dr. LoEiNG. There is no such thing as a thoroughbred, I 

 am happy to say, in any animal, except a horse, unless it is 

 that the Shorthorn breeders, having kept their herdbook per- 

 fect for so many years, will insist upon calling their animals 

 thoroughbred Shorthorns. I am willing that they should 

 have that privilege. We call our Ayrshires pure-bred Ayr- 

 shires ; and that is a good name enough. They are animals 

 that have bred a great many years in the same family and 

 have fixed their type. I am happy to say that pure-bred 

 Ayrshires are as good as grades. Grades are cheaper and 

 easier to get, but you can find just as good pure-bred Ayr- 

 shires as grade Ayrshires. There is no doubt about it. The 

 capacity for milk is preserved in the family. If you have a 

 herd of grade cows, the advantage you have is, that you can 

 use an Ayrshire bull in such a way that the investment is a 

 small one, and you can raise grades by a smaller investment 

 than you can raise pure-bred animals. 



If you ask me, "What is this animal called an Ayrshire?" 

 I say, it is a good cow ; but the law will apply to any other 

 class of cows as it will to Ayrshire cows. I mean a cow of 

 such moderate size that she will not interfere with anybody, 

 to begin with ; a cow that manages herself handil}^ easily ; 

 a cow that possesses that vigorous, elastic, powerful constitu- 

 tion which never belongs to a coarse-boned, overgrown frame. 



An Ayrshire cow, then, is a cow made up, anatomically, 

 physiologically upon the best model for a cow ; that is, a 

 good cow, generally. She has that structure of the head 

 which indicates a contented, placid disposition and a powerful 

 constitution ; a calm and steady eye ; a face that is as expres- 

 sive as a cow's face can be ; as much of an intelligent look as an 

 animal of that description can have. A horn not too large at 



