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CATTLE 



more acceptable to the butcher than the other dairy breeds, lack- 

 ing the high fat color of the Jersey and Guernsey and the offal 

 of the Holstein-Friesian. One Ayrshire steer 1095 days old is 

 reported by Henry to have weighed 1320 pounds, gained 1.2 

 pounds daily, and dressed out 63.3 per cent, the poorest daily 

 gain made by any of eleven breeds, but dressing out better than 

 Sussex, Holstein-Friesian, Jersey, or native. Other evidence also 

 indicates that Ayrshires mature and feed slowly. 



The cross-bred or grade Ayrshire is better suited to milk pro- 

 duction than anything else. Consequently Ayrshire bulls on 

 grade cows will improve the herd to greater milk-producing 

 power, and may add to their selling value to the butcher, if used 

 on Jersey grades. 



The distribution of the Ayrshire is almost world-wide. Con- 

 siderable numbers have been exported from Scotland to Sweden, 

 Norway, Finland, Russia, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, 

 China, Japan, Canada, and the United States. Quite a trade has 

 sprung up between Scotland and Sweden and Norway. In 

 America the breed is best represented in Canada, notably in 

 Ontario and Quebec, while in the United States it is chiefly 

 found in the New England and eastern states. In the Mississippi 

 Valley west of New York the Ayrshire has never succeeded in 

 securing but a frail foothold, in spite of its evident merit. The 

 breed seems to have adapted itself unusually well to the cooler 

 and more hilly sections, being a good grazer and thriving under 

 not the best of conditions. In fact the Ayrshire in Britain has 

 been termed the poor man's cow, being better able to thrive on 

 inferior land and feed than any other breed excepting the Kerry. 

 This, however, should not affect its prospering in the great dairy- 

 producing states of America west of New York. 



Organizations to promote Ayrshire interests exist in Scotland, 

 Canada, and the United States. In 1 863 a few men organized in 

 Massachusetts and that year published Volume I of the Herd 

 Record of the Association of Breeders of Thoroughbred Stock, 

 Ayrshire. In 1868 a second volume was published, and in 1871 

 Volume III appeared with the title The American and Canadian 

 Ayrshire Herd Record. In January, 1875, the American Ayrshire 

 Breeders' Association was formed, which continued this record, 



