DIFFERENT BREEDS OP OXEN. 99 



The Ayshire cows are noted not only for the great quantity, but 

 also for the excellent quality of the milk they yield. On the 

 other hand, they are not capable of being readily fattened, and 

 their flesh is of an inferior description. Great care has been 

 taken with the management of this breed in Ayrshire and the 

 adjacent counties, in which dairy-farming is carried on to a 

 marked extent. The horns of these oxen are smaller than those 

 of the animals belonging to the West Highland breed ; the hair 

 also is much smoother, and the colour, for the most part, is 

 brownish-red with large patches of white. Sometimes, however, 

 they may be nearly entirely red. The patches may be almost 

 fawn-coloured, and occasionally it may happen that prize Ayr- 

 shire bulls are greyish. The horns are short, they spread out 

 a little near the head, and then turn upwards. Their heads are 

 fine and tapering, the neck is thin, and the countenance has a 

 pleasing look. The chines, backs, and hocks, are narrow, the 

 ribs are flat, the belly is large, the buttocks are thin, the hair is 

 thin, the hide is soft, and the bones are finely made. 



The climate of Ayrshire is moist but mild, and the soil, with 

 its produce, is such as to render it the best dairy country in 

 Scotland, and equal to any in Great Britain. The pasture- 

 ground is occupied by the beautiful dairy-stock, a very small 

 portion of it being kept for cows too old to be milked. Accord- 

 ing to Mr. Aiton, the most approved shape of the dairy 

 animals is as follows: — 



Head small but rather long and narrow at the muzzle ; eye 

 small but smart and lively ; horns small, clear, crooked, and 

 having their roots at a considerable distance apart from each 

 other; neck long and slender, tapering towards the head and 

 with no loose skin below ; shoulders thin ; fore-quarters light ; 

 hind-quarters large; back straight and broad behind; the joints 

 rather loose and open ; carcase deep, pelvis capacious, and wide 

 over the hips, with round fleshy buttocks; tail long and small ; 

 legs small and short, with firm joints ; udder capacious, broad, 

 and square, stretching forward, and neither fleshy, low hung, 

 nor loose ; the milk veins large and prominent ; teats short, all 

 pointing outwards, and at considerable distance from each other; 

 skin thin and loose ; hair soft and woolly ; the head, bones, 

 horns, and all parts of least value small ; and the general figure 

 is compact and nicely proportioned. 



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