WANT OF UNIFORMITY "[N AYRSHIRES. 127 



entirely inconsistent with that part of his argument in which he 

 dechired that we had a pure breed, and that we should adhere 

 to this, and nothing else. He seems to be unfortunate in his 

 argument. You say that an animal that comes here from Ayr- 

 shire is an Ayrshire cow, the Ayrshire breed, and that it is 

 better, as 1 have no doubt it is, to keep it entirely pure. I also 

 agree that it is better, if you want to establish a breed in this 

 countrj^, to begin with one partly or wholly bred, just as it is, 

 if you want to get up a pair of stairs, to begin half way up, if 

 you can get there. That is the reason we use a pure-blooded 

 bull with any stock. But we assume, all of us, — those who are 

 the greatest sticklers for what is called pure blood, and breeding 

 over and overj — that everything that comes from pure stock is 

 pure blood. Now, sir, you know, and Professor Law knows, 

 that in Ayrshires there is more diversity in color, in shape, and 

 in almost every quality, except perhaps in the general milking 

 quality of the animal, than there is in any other animal. You 

 hardly see two animals alike. You find them of all colors under 

 the sun ; and at the exhibition of the Scottish Agricultural So- 

 ciety, which I attended, at Dumfries, — almost within sight of the 

 tomb of Burns, and the thistles growing about his grave, — there 

 were yellow and white animals, understood to be recognized by 

 the judges as pure Ayrshire cows. There were other animals, 

 that were nearly or entirely pure Devons, almost wholly a dark 

 mahogany red. There were some animals-^-a very few — that 

 had the famous " strawberry mark," which we talked so much 

 about in this country a few years ago, and which Mr. Howard 

 told us was the best animal ; but there was no sort of regard paid 

 to color, and there was no uniformity of shape. Any animal 

 that is brought here from Ayrshire is recognized as an Ayrshire 

 pure blood, without any question ; but I have no doubt that 

 many of those animals have had a mixture, within the last six 

 or eight generations, of something that would not be called pure 

 blood in Ayrshire. Nevertheless, we take it here and recognize 

 it as Ayrshire. The question I ask is, whether we should do, 

 in regard to Jersey stock, as Mr. Brown suggests. 



Mr. Goodman. With regard to Shorthorns there is but one 

 rule — we trace them to the herd-book. We go back a hundred 

 years in the English and American herd-books, and any man 

 who cannot trace his animal to either of these books has to be 



