CATTLE. 161 



ftad affected the udder when they saw it enlarging ; 

 but, ill endeavouring to rub and strip the teats with 

 a view to reUeve them, pure milk came, and contin- 

 ued to come all summer, as abundantly as if the 

 heifer had borne a calf." 



It is too clearly the case, that the breeders or par- 

 tisans of different breeds of cattle are prone to over- 

 look the defects of their own, and to underrate the 

 good points of others. Thus Mr. Alton, in his Dairy 

 Husbandry, gives the preference altogether to the 

 Ayrshire cow, while Mr. Berry and other writers 

 consider them as decidedly inferior to the Short 

 Horns or the Devons. The truth probably lies be- 

 tween the extremes ; and while, for the combined 

 properties of milking and feeding, the Short Horn, 

 in all rich and fertile districts, must bear away the 

 palm, in those less favoured by nature, or whei'e 

 pastures are less luxuriant and abundant, and quan- 

 tity and quality of milk (without particular reference 

 to feeding properties) are aimed at, the hardy nature 

 of the Ayrshire cow, and the acknowledged richness 

 of her milk, render her, we doubt not, a great acqui- 

 sition. The Ayrshire breed itself is probably a cross, 

 as it is comparatively but a few years since it came 

 into notice in Scotland, where it was first known as 

 the Dunlop cow, from the gentleman who first rear- 

 ed them as a distinct breed. This fact, while it ac- 

 counts (there being no permanent type to give sta- 

 bility to the race) for the facility with which this 

 breed of cattle is mixed with other varieties, gives 

 ground also to the supposition that in some of the 

 crosses to which cattle are subjected by breeders, 

 the peculiar quahty of the Ayrshires may be united 

 with and rendered permanent in some of the more 

 fixed and stable breeds. 



I'he Galloways are a Scottish breed of cattle, and 

 are named from the district comprehending the coun- 

 ties of Wighton and Kircudbright. This breed of 

 cattle is now usually polled or hornless ; but this 



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