63 



Appearance. The colour now in favour is a dark brindle with 

 a bluish tint, showing, when the animal is at its best in full coat, 

 " a bloom like that of a ripe grape." There is a white line along' 

 the back, and along with this a white patch on the thigh is appre- 

 ciated. Apart from the length, set and shape of the horns, the 

 presence of black hair in the Longhorn coat is a striking difference 

 between the Longhorn and Shorthorn breeds. 



THE AYRSHIRE.* 



Griffin of the Breed. The Ayrshire breed as such originated in 

 the northern division of the county from which it takes its name. 

 There is clear evidence of very similar cattle being there in fair 

 numbers about the middle of the 18th century, but it is unlikely 

 that the breed was really native to the district, and it is highly 

 probable that the breed is more or less directly descended from 

 imported cattle, probably of the Dutch and " Teeswater " and 

 though to a much less extent Channel Islands breeds. Apart 

 from historical evidence, which makes it certain that no cattle 

 at all similar to Ayrshires were kno\\n in the South West of Scot- 

 land 300 years ago, the great dissimilarity between this and 

 the other Scotch breeds is difficult to account for on any other 

 hypothesis. From its original district the breed spread, until it 

 has, except in a few districts, replaced the Galloway in the South 

 West of Scotland, and it is now one of the best known dairying 

 breeds in all parts of the world. 



TJie Ayrshire Cattle Herd Book was founded in 1877, but so far 

 back as 1814 premiums for Ayrshires were awarded by the Highland 

 and Agricultural Society of Scotland. 



In 1884, a Scale of Points for Ayrshire Cows was drawn up 

 by the Herd Book Society ; in some ways this appears to 

 have done harm as it led to too much attention being paid to 

 appearance and fancy points and too little to milking qualities. 

 One of the most serious defects of the breed, thus encouraged, was 

 the small size of the teats. This, however, has been much improved 

 in recent years and in 1906 another scale of points fixed the length 

 of teat at from 2 to 3^ inches as against 2 to 2^ inches in the 

 previous scale. 



Distinctive Characteristics of the Breed. The scale of points 

 referred to above, describes the colour as " red of any shade, brown 

 or white, or a mixture of these, each colour being distinctly defined. 

 Brindle, and black and white are not in favour " ; black and white 

 is, however, quite common. Perhaps of all colours the most 

 popular is a white, or almost wholly white, body with brown or red 

 patches in the neighbourhood of the head. Roan of any kind is 

 not an Ayrshire colour. In the 1906 scale of points, the average 

 weight of mature cows in full milk is given as from 800 to 1000 Ibs. 

 Pure Ayrshire bullocks are seldom reared and fattened, but they 

 ;are said to make fair butchers' beasts if fed off young. 



The Ayrshire crosses well with the Shorthorn or the Galloway 

 giving fairly useful beef cattle ; the Galloway cross is naturally the 



* See The Origin and Early History of the Ayrshire Breed of Cattle by 

 John Speir. Kilmarnock Standard Printing Works, 1909. 



