THE OX AND THE DAIKY. 109 



The bulls mostly preferred by the dairy farmers are com- 

 paratively light in the head and neck, broad in the hips, and 

 full in the flanks ; the neck is arched above, the horns are 

 short and wide apart, and the limbs short, but muscular. 



It has been calculated that there are in Ayrshire upwards 

 of 60,000 head of cattle, of which more than half are dairy- 

 cows. 



In Lanarkshire, celebrated for the rearing of calves, the 

 Ayrshire cattle, which are chiefly in request, acquire more 

 weight and size, and are heavier in the fore-quarters than 

 those reared in the latter county ; they are superior in graz- 

 ing qualities, and not much deteriorated as milkers. Much 

 butter and cheese are manufactured along the banks of the 

 Clyde, chiefly for the supply of Glasgow, Edinburgh, and 

 other large towns, which receive, also, great quantities of the 

 delicate veal which is reared and fed in the district of Strath- 

 aven, along the borders of Ayrshire. The fattening of 

 calves for the market is an important business in Lanark- 

 shire, or Clydesdale ; and numbers of newly-dropped calves 

 are regularly bought up from the farmers of the adjacent 

 districts, in order to be prepared for the butcher. The mode 

 of feeding them is very simple : milk is the chief article of 

 their diet; and of this the calves require a sufficient supply 

 from first to last ; added to this, they must be kept in a well- 

 aired place, neither too hot nor too cold, and freely supplied 

 with dry litter. It is usual to exclude the light, at all events 

 to a great degree, and to put a lump of chalk within their 

 reach, which they are fond of licking. Thus fed, calves, in 

 the course of eight or nine weeks, often attain to a very large 

 size, viz., eighteen to twenty-six stones, exclusive of the 

 offal ; far heavier weights have occurred, and that without 

 any deterioration in the delicacy and richness of the flesh. 

 This mode of feeding upon milk alone, at first appears to be 

 expensive ; but it is not so, when all things are taken into 

 consideration ; for, at the age of nine or ten weeks, a calf, 

 originally purchased for eight shillings, will realize seven or 

 eight pounds. For four, or even six weeks, the milk of one 

 cow is sufficient, indeed, half the quantity for the first fort- 

 night ; but afterwards it will consume the greater portion of 

 the milk of two moderate cows ; but then, it requires neither 

 oilcake nor linseed, nor any other food. Usually, however, 

 the calves are not kept beyond the age of six weeks, and will 

 then sell for five or six pounds each : the milk of the cow is 



