THE MASSACHUSETTS SOCIETY. 187 



sisting of 150 cows, they were principally of the Ayrshire breed, 

 to which he gave a decided preference over any other breed. The 

 average quantity of milk given by the cows in his establish- 

 ment for the year, was eleven quarts per day from each. 



In the famous dairy establishment kept by Mr. Rhodes, near 

 London, of 400 to 600 cows, "he had tried the Ayrshires,. to the 

 number of 150 at a time, and by him they were highly approved, 

 affording a large quantity of rich milk, fattening in a very short 

 time, when they left off giving milk, and producing beef which 

 was more highly valued, and sold for a higher price in the 

 market than that of the Short Horns." 



Aiton asserts that many of the Ayrshire cows, in their best 

 condition, and well fed, will yield at the rate of 1000 gallons of 

 milk in a year, or over ten quarts per day. Rankin, however, 

 states his opinion that Aiton had given the daily average prod- 

 uce too high, and thinks that few herds of twenty cows or over 

 will average more than eight hundred and fifty gallons, or about 

 nine quarts per day. He also states that he had seen thirty-six 

 quarts of milk drawn from a cow in one day, and that he had a 

 three year old quay, that once for six weeks after calving, gave 

 twenty-eight quarts per day. The dairymaid predicted that 

 " there had been o'er-muckle talk about her for ony luck to come 

 of her," and he states that she soon afterward received an in- 

 jury which caused one of her quarters to become dry of milk. 



The characteristic points of the Ayrshire cow, when Aiton 

 wrote, were, — " Head small, but rather long and tapering at 

 the muzzle ; the eye small, but smart and lively ; horns small, 

 clear and crooked, and the roots at considerable distance from 

 each other ; neck long and slender, tapering toward the head, 

 and no loose skin below; shoulders thin; fore-quarters light ; 

 hind-quarters large ; back straight ; broad behind ; joints rather 

 loose and open ; carcass deep, and pelvis capacious and wide 

 over the hips, with round fleshy buttocks ; tail long and small ; 

 udder capacious, broad and square, stretching forward, and 

 neither fleshy, low hung, nor coarse; the milk- veins large and 

 prominent, teats short, and all pointing outward ; skin thin and 

 loose ; hair soft and woolly." 



This is an accurate description of the Ayrshire stock imported 



