CHAPTER XXXIV 



THE AYRSHIRE 



The native home of the Ayrshire is in southwestern Scotland 

 in the county of Ayr, from which the breed derives its name. 

 Ayr is triangularly crescent in shape, its southern tip just touch- 

 ing latitude 55 N., its western boundary somewhat indented and 

 bordering the Irish Sea and river Clyde, its other sides skirted 

 by the counties of Renfrew, Lanark, Dumfries, Kirkcudbright, 

 and Wigtown. There is an extreme length of about 80 miles, 

 with an area of about 1150 square miles. Rather poor and sandy 

 land occurs in the southern part toward the sea, while much beau- 

 tiful rolling pasture land of fair soil is found more inland, with 

 rougher land on the eastern borders rising to a height of 2000 

 feet. On the better lands, which are clayey, roots, grass, oats, and 

 wheat are largely grown and there is abundance of summer graz- 

 ing. The climate is very moist, and the bitterness of a northern 

 winter is somewhat tempered by the sea. 



The origin of the Ayrshire has been in the main a complex 

 one. Aiton, the first and almost only early authority on the 

 breed, wrote " A Survey of Ayrshire " about 181 1. He regarded 

 it as the native breed of Ayr improved by certain other stock. 

 Some time about 1770 Teeswater cattle, Shorthorn, or similar 

 stock were introduced into Ayrshire. John Dunlop of Dunlop 

 is credited with importing cows of large size, of either Teeswater, 

 Dutch, or Lincoln breeds, and in 1805 Dunlop stock is referred 

 to by Forsythe as having been established in the parish of that 

 name for over a century. Other writers claim that the cattle 

 of the Channel Islands crossed with Shorthorns were early used 

 in Ayrshire. About 1818 West Highland cattle were used by 

 Mr. Parton near Dairy, Ayr, on a superior herd of Ayrshires. 

 Devon and Hereford blood are also said to have been used by 

 other breeders. The earliest accounts of the cattle of Ayrshire 

 show them to have been black and white. About 1780 red and 



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