148 ORIGIN. 



The Ayrshire breed is undoubtedly the descend 

 ants of the original wild breed, modified by civiliza- 

 tion, and more particularly by selection ; and the 

 selection has certainly been aided by the variations 

 produced by crossing with other and distinct breeds. 

 Improvement, as thus begun, was probably at first 

 local, then gradually extended, until the enclosure of 

 the fields, and the demand for certain produce, in- 

 creased the number of the areas of local betterment. 

 These agencies, acting for a long time, but more par- 

 ticularly within the period comprised in the last of 

 the eighteenth and first of the nineteenth centuries, 

 resulted in an animal of varied markings, but distinct 

 quality; and in 1810 we can claim the existence of 

 an improved race, of remarkable dairy capacities, so 

 well bred in as to be permanent for the breed. 



The origin of the Ayrshire breed is, in a word, 

 adaptation. The united efforts of the spirit of im- 

 provement, and the influence of locality, acting on 

 such materials as were at hand, and guided by an 

 unconscious selection, acted on by a general intelli- 

 gence, produced an animal which is a determinate 

 product, of an age characterized by a special activity 

 in promoting progress. The same agencies which 

 evolved the steam-engine into usefulness had a part 

 in evolving the improved Ayrshire cow. 



