24 BRITISH DAIRYING. 



It is said that the milk of Ayrshire cows is peculiarly well 

 adapted for cheese-making purposes, owing to the butter-fat 

 being more minutely diffuse than, for instance, in the milk 

 of Jersey cattle. Be this as it may, finer Cheddar cheese cannot 

 be made, even in Somersetshire good judges admit than that 

 which comes from the best dairies in Galloway ; and I am able 

 to speak to the admirable butter-yielding capacity of an Ayr- 

 shire cow I once possessed. This cow produced, during a 

 good many weeks in summer, an average of 2 Ibs. of butter per 

 day, although a portion of both milk and cream was consumed 

 and not credited to the churn. The Ayrshire cows do well in 

 milk on land which would almost starve the Shorthorns, but at 

 the same time they quickly respond to more generous feeding 

 and to better land. The breed is comparatively modern, having 

 been evolved by crosses between other breeds, to wit the Short- 

 horns, the West Highlanders, and possibly others that is, the 

 cattle of Cumberland, Westmoreland, and Northumberland; 

 so, at least, it is now believed. Be this as it may, and be the 

 breed as composite as that of Englishmen themselves, it is now 

 a definite breed, with characteristics faithfully transmitted from 

 generation to generation. 



The Ayrshire Agricultural Association has adopted the 

 following scale of points for Ayrshire cattle: 



r. Head short, forehead wide, nose fine between the muzzle and eyes, 

 munzle large, eyes full and lively, horns \vide set on, inclining upwards 

 (10 points). 



2. Neck moderately long and stiaight from the head to the top ot the 

 shoulder, free from loose skin on the under side, fine at its junction with 

 the head, and enlarging symmetrically towards the shoulders (5 points). 



3. Fore-quaiters : shoulders sloping, withers fine, chest sufficiently broad 

 and deep to ensure constitution, brisket and whole fore-quarters light, the 

 bow gradually increasing in depth and width backward (5 points). 



4. Back short and straight, spine well defined, especially at the shoulders ; 

 short libs, arched ; the body deep at the flanks (10 points). 



5. Hind-quarters long, broad, and straight, hook bones wide apart, and 

 not overlaid with fat, thighs deep and broad, tail long, slender, and set on 

 level with the back (8 points). 



6. Udder capacious and not fleshy, hinder part broad and firmly attached 

 to the body, the sole nearly level and extending well forward ; milk veins 



