1853. 



NEW ENGLAND FARMER. 



417 



THOROUGH BRED AYRSHIRE BULL, 

 PRINCE ALBERT. 



This engraving is a fine portrait of an Ayrshire 

 Bull, the property of Mr. John Raynolds, one of 

 the proprietors of the Farmer. He is three years 

 old, of a dark brown color, becoming almost black 

 on some parts, and beautifully dappled. The white 

 parts are studded with small spots of mingled 

 black and l)rown of varied shades. His disposition 

 is gentle, so that he is handled and controlled 

 with ease, while he is almost as agile as a cat. 



In a "Treatise on the Dairy Breed of Cows," 

 by Mr. Aiton, one of the best writers on cattle, 

 he describes the Ayrshire breed as follows : — 



"The shapes most approved of, are, head small, 

 but rather long and narrow at the muzzle; the eye 

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

 crooked, and their roots at considerable distance 

 from each other ; neck long and slender, tapering 

 toward the head, with no loose skin below ; shoul- 

 ders thin; fore-quarters light; hind-quarters large; 

 back straight, broad behind, the joints rather 

 loose and open; carcass deep, and 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 fjrward, and neither fleshy, low hung, 

 nor loose ; the milk veins^ large and prominent ; 

 teats short, all pointing outward, and at consider- 

 able 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 compact and well proportioned." Mr. Ran- 

 kine very properly remarks, that, "compared with 

 other improved breeds, the thighs, or what is 

 called the twist of the Ayrshire cow, are thin. 

 She is, characteristically, not a fleshy animal." 



In the edition of Youatt and M.\rtin on Cattle, 

 published by Saxton, N. Y., they state that the 



breed has much improved since Mr. Aiton described 

 it, and is short in the leg, the neck a little short- 

 er at the shoulder, but finely shaped toward the 

 head; the horns smaller than those of the High- 

 lander, but clear and smooth, pointing forward, 

 turning upward, and tapering to a point. They 

 are deep in the carcass, but not round and ample, 

 and especially not so in the loins and haunches. 

 Some, however, have suspected, and not without 

 reason, that an attention to the shape and beauty, 

 and an attempt to 'produce fat and sleeky cattle, 

 which may be admired at the show, has a tenden- 

 cy to improve what is only their quality as graz- 

 ing cattle— and that at the certainty of diminish- 

 ing their value as milkers. 



The excellency of a dairy cow is estimated by 

 the quantity and quality of her milk. The quan- 

 tity yielded by the Ayrshire cow, is, considering 

 her size, very great. Five gallons daily, for two 

 or three months after calving, may be considered 

 as not more than an average quantity. Three gal- 

 lons daily will be given for the next three months, 

 and one gallon and a half during the succeeding 

 four months. This would amount to more than 

 850 gallons ; but allowing for some unproductive 

 cows, 600 gallons per year may be the average 

 quantity annually from each cow. 



Several importations of Ayrshire cattle have 

 been made, and enough of them, we hope, are now 

 among our people to afford a fair trial of their qual- 

 ities, both for milk and beef. There will be^ ten- 

 dency to over-feed, at first, which must be gaurd- 

 ed against, or their true qualities when k-^pt on 

 the common feed of the farms will not be fairly 

 tested. Prince Albert is one of the finest bulls 



