CHAP. I. AYRSHIRE CATTLE. 61 



annum ; and she will sell when fat at 12 to 15. Her hardiness will 

 enable her to live and to thrive in exppsed situations and on scanty 

 fare ; while, when taken south, if she gets plenty of good water to 

 drink, and is not pampered with too much good food, she will do 

 better and will repay the outlay and trouble." 



In his book " The Farm and the Dairy," Professor Sheldon remarks 

 that as milk-producers the Ayrshires are very superior, though their 

 milk is not specially rich like that of the Jerseys and Guernseys. 

 " Some Ayrshire cows," he adds, " have yielded as much as a thousand 

 to twelve hundred gallons of milk in a year, and this yield, considered 

 in relation to the size of the animal, is quite wonderful. Their milk 

 appears to be specially adapted for cheese-making purposes, being 

 rich in casein ; but I once had an Ayrshire cow who yielded for a time 

 two pounds of butter per day, besides milk and cream used in the 

 house. Amongst the hardiest, most active, and most pugnacious 

 of cows, they will thrive where many other breeds would almost 

 starve, and yet they are found to respond as well as any to generous 

 treatment, though as beef-makers they rank but little higher than the 

 Jerseys." 



All that is certainly known about the early history of the Ayrshire, 

 says the Very Rev. Dr. Gillespie, is that it became, recognised as a dis- 

 tinct breed in the first half of last century in that county of Scotland 

 from which it takes its name. Its extension, especially in later years, 

 has been more rapid than that of any other kind of cattle in the king- 

 dom. It prevails almost universally in the counties of Ayr, Lanark, 

 Renfrew, and Dumbarton, and it has in a large measure supplanted the 

 native Galloway breed in Dumfriesshire and Galloway. Of late the 

 Ayrshires have been making a steady inroad into England, where they 

 are gradually becoming great favourites. Elegant, symmetrically 

 formed animals, the Ayrshires look well, whether seen in large herds 

 or in small numbers. They are, moreover, remarkably quiet and docile. 

 There is no more peaceful spectacle than that of a large dairy of 

 Ayrshire cows industriously grazing or quietly lying at rest. But they 

 are most highly 'prized for their milk-yielding capacity, which is really 

 extraordinary considering their size, and the quantity and quality of 

 food they consume. On the other hand, it does not pay to rear pure- 

 bred Ayrshires for grazing purposes. The male calves are fed for veal, 

 with the exception of the few animals, kept as bulls, and the quey calves 

 are reared to keep up the stock of cows, and a few surplus ones for 

 sale. In recent years a large-sized type of Ayrshire has been developed, 

 possessing all the hardiness of constitution and milking properties of the 

 smaller specimens of the breed, and being at the same timelarge and strong 

 enough to be used for crossing purposes with a Shorthorn bull. Thus, 

 a system of mixed husbandry can be practised, the combining of dairy- 

 farming with the rearing and feeding of half-bred cattle. These large- 

 si/ed Ayrshire cows are commonly preferred by English purchasers, the 

 cross with the Shorthorn bull being a valuable animal of good size, 

 combining the fattening properties of the sire with the hardy constitu- 

 tion of the dam. 



