89 



Head short, forehead wide, nose fine between the muzzle and 

 eyes ; muzzle moderately large, eyes full and lively, horns widely 

 set on, inclining upwards and curving slightly inwards. 



j^cck long and straight from the head to the top of the shoul- 

 der, free from loose skin on the under side, fine at its junction 

 Avith the head, and the muscles symmetrically enlarging towards 

 the shoulders. 



Shoulders thin at the top, brisket light, the whole fore-quarters 

 thin in front, and gradually increasing in depth and width backwards. 



Back short and straight, spine well defined, especially at the 

 shoulders, short ribs arched, the body deep at the flanks, and the 

 milk-veins well developed. 



Pelvis long, broad and straight, hook [or hip] bones wide 

 apart, and not much overlaid with fat, thighs deep and broad, tail 

 long and slender, and set on level with the back. 



Milk-vessel [udder] capacious and extending well forward, 

 hinder-part broad and firmly attached to the body, the sole or 

 under surface nearly level. The teats from two to two and a half 

 inches in length, equal in thickness, and hanging perpendicularly ; 

 their distance apart at the sides should be equal to about one-third 

 of the length of the vessel, and across to about one-half of the 

 breadth. 



Le(/s short, the bones fine, and the joints firm. 



Skin soft and elastic, and covered with soft, close, and woolly 

 hair. 



The colors preferred are brown, or brown and white, the colors 

 being distinctly defined. 



Weight of the animal Avhen fattened, about forty imperial 

 stones, sinking the offal [that is 560 pounds, the quarters, or 

 meat only]. 



As to the produce of the Ayrshire breed. Professor Low says : 

 " Healthy cows, on good pastures, give from 800 to 900 gallons 

 of milk a year." Alton says : " GOO gallons a year may be 

 deemed about the average of this breed ;" and the author of 

 British Hmhandry says in reference to this yield : " If equalled, 

 we beheve it will not be found exceeded by any other breed in 

 the kingdom." Martin says : " The milk of the Ayrshire cow 

 will afford 250 lbs. of butter, or 500 lbs. of cheese, annually." 

 Milburn's estimate is, that cows of this breed will give GOO to 800 

 gallons of milk in the course of the year, and as much as 2G0 lbs. 

 of butter. Haxton cites many statistics, from which it appears that 

 in one dairy of thirty cows, the average annual yield of milk was 

 (J32 gallons ; that 9;^ quarts afforded a pound of butter, amount- 

 ing to an aggregate of nearly 274 lbs. in a year. 



This breed has not, as yet, had a fair trial in this country. A 

 few have been imported from time to time within the last twenty 



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