CHAPTER IV. 

 THE AYRSHIRE. 



Speaking of the Ayrshire, " Sturtevant" says : " The Ayrshire head 

 is not like the head of any other dairy animal. Indeed, in all the 

 descriptions given of the heads of other breeds, the most perfect 

 animals have been figured, and not the animal typical of the breed. 

 If many of the Ayrshires hint of the Highland, of which they may 

 inherit something, it is a hint only. Though doubtless something of 

 their unrest and assurance is only half concealed in her face, there 

 is a cowy, or milky, look that comes o-f the use for which she is re- 

 served ; there is a look of domestication that has not been carried 

 to the highest pitch. It has not, as in the Prince Albert Suffolk swine, 

 quite subjected her to its behests. Of course, the degree to which 

 this is carried varies in different families. 



; 'The countenance should be serene, mild, and expressive the litter 

 to be born of motherly instincts. The perfect animal is being brought 

 to this ; but the majority of the Ayrshires have an earnest liveliness 

 of expression which is all their own, and which the portrait artist 

 must recognise. In form the head may be long and of no great com- 

 parative breadth, or it may be short, with considerable breadth." 



William Aiton, in the survey of Ayrshire, printed at Glasgow in 

 1811, says the shapes most approved of are :" Head small, but rather 

 long, and inclined to narrow at the muzzle. The eyes small, but 

 smart and lively. The horns small, clear, crooked, and their roots at 

 considerable distance from each other." 



These aspects, with the exception that the eye is larger and fuller, 

 the muzzle Jarger, and nostrils wider, the horns not so wide apart at 

 the base, a're found in the Ayrshire to-day. Her carriage is what may 

 be inferred from a study of the head of the animal. Her walk is 

 easy, at times hurried into a trot,which spoils her gracefulness. 



In describing the Ayrshire, a prominent breeder says that " the most 

 important point of an Ayrshire cow in fact, any dairy cow is a good 

 constitution ; and a good constitution is indicated by large lungs, 

 which are formed in a deep, broad, prominent chest, broad and well- 

 spread ribs, a respiration somewhat slow and regular, a good appe- 

 tite, and, if in milk, a strong inclination to drink, which a large secre- 

 tion of milk almost invariably stimulates. In such cows the digestive 

 organs are active and energetic, and they make an abundance of good 

 blood, which in turn stimulates the activity of the nervous system 

 and furnishes the milk glands with the means of abundant secretion. 

 Such cows when dry really take on fat. When activity of the milk 

 glands is found united with close ribs, small -feeble lungs, and a slow 

 appetite, often attended by great thirst, the cow will generally possess 

 only a weak and feeble constitution ; and if the milk is plentiful it 

 will generally be of bad quality, while the animal, if she does not die 

 of diseased lungs, will not take on fat readily when dry and fed." 



In order tp have no superfluous flesh, the cow should have a small, 

 clean, and rathe'r long head, tapering towards the muzzle. A cow 

 with a large, coarse head will seldom datten readily or give a large 

 quantity of milk. A coarse head increases the proportion of weight of 

 the least valuable parts, while it is a sure indication that the whole 

 bony structure is too heavy. The mouth should be large and broad ; 

 the eyes bright and sparkling, but of a peculiar placidness of expres- 

 sion, with no indication of wildness, but rather a mild and feminine 

 look. These points will indicate gentleness of disposition. 



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