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which united in an eminent degree the character of gi-eat .milkers, 

 quick feeders, and of attaining to great size. Attention being called 

 to these quahties by the Messrs. CoUing and others, the Short Horns 

 have since commanded very high prices; and have, to a great extent, 

 been kept by comparatively inexperienced parties, as mere fancy 

 stock, and have been bred for sale, and without any care to develop 

 or even to retain then' useful properties. 



At the same time, many gentlemen, and some ladies, of good judg- 

 ment and ripe experience, have successfully exerted themselves to 

 retain and improve the noble quahties for which the breed has 

 been so highly esteemed. The results of these widely different 

 courses is, that while some famihes of Short Horns continue to give 

 a large flow of rich milk till far advanced in pregnancy, and display 

 a remarkable tendency to lay on flesh; others cannot even suckle 

 theii' own calves, and are only kept in show condition by extravagant 

 and unprofitable feeding. 



The Ayrshires are a breed of dairy cattle which appear to have 

 originated from a cross of the Short Horns, at the time when this race 

 was more generally distinguished for milking properties, on the orig- 

 inal stock of the county of Ayr. They have also been cred- 

 ited with an infusion of Jersey blood, and this supposition appears 

 to be borne out by the Hght stripe round the nose often noticeable 

 in Ayrshire calves. 



"Whatever their origin, the natural result of judicious breeding, 

 and selection for purposes of j^ractical utility, for nearly a century, 

 has been to estabhsh a race of cattle, which for yield of milk, in 

 proportion to theu' size, are absolutely unequalled. 



As might be expected from their mixed origin, and the somewhat 

 unsystematic way in which they have been bred, we find a gi-eat 

 diversity in the form and general appearance of the Ayrshires. 

 There is however a striking uniformity in those quahties for which 

 they are chiefly valued. Most good milch cows have big bellies to 

 hold the materials for fiUing big udders, and to obtain these mate- 

 rials in most oi our New England pastures, requires a high order of 

 energy, muscular activity, and endurance. In these quahties the 

 Ayrshires are pre-eminent. They are essentially a working class, 

 and ten of them will keep in fair condition and yield a good mess of 

 rm'lk in pastures where five larger and lazier animals would almost 

 starve to death. The same hearty appetite and vigorous digestion 

 which enable them to secrete large quantities of milk, are readily 

 diverted to the formation of flesh. 



