440 THE AYRSHIRES. 



shires hold a leading place. They derive the name from the county 

 of Ayr in Scotland, where they are principally kept. Their superior 

 qualities as milkers and for hardiness of constitution have induced 

 various writers to attribute part of their origin to their favorite breeds. 

 Nearly equal testimony is offered in favor of the Holsteins, the 

 Shorthorn and the Jersey, though the weight of the testimony is in 

 favor of the Jersey. They have always borne the character of being 

 prolific milkers, with butyraceous quality particularly in proportion 

 to their size, which is small. The Ayrshire farmers, finding more 

 profit in their dairies, have paid great attention to improving this 

 breed, so well suited to them ; and perhaps no breed affords a better 

 illustration of what care and design will do to develop peculiar 

 properties in an animal at the expense of other qualities. The result 

 is dairy animals of high quality, and they have been introduced 

 largely into England, the north of Ireland and this country. 



Instances are cited of large yields, but we beheve the usual aver- 

 age to be six hundred gallons per year, or one hundred and seven- 

 ty-five pounds of butter, or four hundred and thirty pounds of 

 cheese, where they are well fed and cared for. The oxen work 

 kindly, and steers can be turned off at three years old weighing 

 seven or eight hundred pounds. The beef is excellent, the fat 

 being much mixed with the flesh, though not a favorite with the 

 butcher, as he cannot sell so much tallow as from other breeds. 



The following are the principal points : The head must be small, 

 high and bony ; the eye bright ; the horn white, with a dark tip, 

 widely set on, inchning upward, and curving slightly 'inward ; neck 

 very thin and light, as the whole fore end must be ; shoulder thin 

 at the top ; the posterior ribs must spring well from the backbone ; 

 the loin must be broad and form well with the wide hips and the 

 capacious pelvis ; the whole frame thus forms a true wedge, with the 

 point at the shoulder. The rumps are wide and tolerably high, the 

 tail long and slender, the legs straight, the thigh rather thin, and 

 the udder must be large and broad, extending well forward, with 

 thin, flexible skin, and teats wide apart, hanging perpendicularly, 

 and from two to two and a half inches long. The colors must be 

 red and white, splashed and Hotched, and becoming roan, as in 

 the Shorthorn, but with cloudy-defined edges ; the white portion is 

 often flecked with the darker color. Black and white, brown and 

 white, are not uncommon now ; the darker the red, even becoming 

 deep brown, the more fashionable. 



Popular as this breed has become in New England, we believe it 

 will never become very much so in rich sections. Rich pastures 

 will support larger breeds, which when turned off and fattened will 



