294 THE BREEDS OF LIVE-STOCK 



tions continued to be made into the eastern states with 

 more or less regularity up to about the beginning of the 

 Civil War. Importations are thought to have been made 

 in 1822 by H. W. Hills, of Windsor, Connecticut ; about 

 1837 by John P. Cushing, of Massachusetts, and in 1848 

 by E. A. Brown, of Ohio. While the imported cattle 

 gave their owners entire satisfaction as far as hardiness, 

 ease of keeping and milk-production were concerned, they 

 failed to find much favor where the milking is done by 

 men, because of the shortness of their teats. In Canada 

 and in Scotland, where women milk by stripping with the 

 thumb and forefinger, this fault was not the serious objec- 

 tion that it was in eastern United States. It is possible, 

 too, that another reason why the Ayrshire did not grow in 

 favor more rapidly was that the center of the breed, in 

 its early history in the United States, was in New England, 

 and in the hands of dairy-farmers. The cattle were kept 

 for practical purposes, and but little attention was paid 

 to breed characteristics, to exhibiting at the fairs, or to 

 advertising the merits of the breed in any other way. 



325. Description. The individual Ayrshire (Plate 

 XI) is an animal of medium size, the standard weight 

 for mature cows being one thousand pounds, while bulls 

 should weigh fifteen hundred pounds or more (Figs. 

 49, 50). In general conformation it is, perhaps, a little 

 smoother than the Jersey and Holstein, yet it is not so 

 smooth as to conceal the wedge shape of the body when 

 viewed from behind. A little peculiarity frequently seen 

 in the Ayrshire is that the tips of the ears are frequently 

 notched. The horns are white, with black tips, and 

 curve outward and upward. They may attain large size. 

 The body is large and deep and the ribs well sprung ; the 

 rump is broad and long, and is usually set high. The 



