178 FIRST PRINCIPLES OF AGRICULTURE. 



Milk Breeds. — The chief milk breeds are the Ayr- 

 shire, Holstein-Friesian, and Shorthorn ; though the Dutch 

 Belted, Brown Swiss, Devon, and a few others have at- 

 tained considerable prominence in certain localities. 



Ayrshire. — This breed is traceable to the county of 

 Ayr in Scotland. Their chief characteristic is their ex- 

 cellent milk, good in quality and large in quantity. The 

 prevailing color is brown and white ; it is extremely 

 hardy, active, and well adapted for mountain districts. 



Holstein-Friesian. — The exact origin of this breed 

 is not well established. It is only known that for an 

 indefinite period, anterior to the records of history, there 

 existed a superior breed of cattle in the Duchy of Hol- 

 stein in North Holland and Priesland. They have been 

 used by the English for two hundred years to improve 

 their stock. In color they are almost universally black 

 and white. Their strong points are large size, deep 

 milkers, and hardy constitutions. 



Shorthorn. — The Shorthorn breed was once spoken 

 of as the Teeswater, or Durham. The date since which 

 the breed has had a distinct existence has been dis- 

 puted, though it was certainly known to have been es- 

 tablished in the early years of the last century. The 

 Shorthorns are strong, deep milkers, possess hardy and 

 vigorous constitutions, and a great power of adaptation 

 to changes of soil, of climate, and of pasturage. In 

 many sections, and especially in America, its breeding 

 has been conducted with the sole view of the production 

 of beef; it has also achieved wonderful results through 

 crossing with other breeds. The ranch cattle of the 

 prairies of the West and in Texas have been largely 



