286 CATTI,B. 



As a Working' Ox. "For his inches" there is no other homed 

 beast that can draw so heavy a load. He is not so large as the Here- 

 fords and many other cattle, but his great strength, moderate size and 

 activity makes him of special value on light, sandy soils, and on hilly 

 roads. On the road and at the plow they are equal to the ordinary 

 duties, and they will cover a mile or turn a long furrow quicker than the 

 slow walking, heavier breeds. 



The Ayrshires. Ayrshire is the finest dairy county in Scotland, 

 and extends along the Firth of Clyde and the North Channel. This is 

 the former home of the Ayrshire cattle, but how they originated is a 

 matter of dispute; all that is certainly known about this now valuable 

 breed is that in 1730 there was no such breed in Ayrshire, or in that 

 vicinity. But we leave its origin to be fought over by historians, know- 

 ing that even if able to trace out its ancestry it would not add any qual- 

 ities nor enhance its value as a milk cow. 



As a Dairy Cow. Mr. Alton, who is considered the best of au- 

 thority on the Ayrshires, has the following to say regarding their quali- 

 ties as a dairy animal : 



' 'The excellency of a dairy cow is estimated by the quantity and the 

 quality of her milk. The quantity yielded by the Ayrshire cow is, con- 

 sidering her size, very great. Five gallons daily, for two or three 

 months after calving, may be cou.sidered as not more than an average 

 quantity. Three gallons daily will be given for the next three months, 

 and one gallon and a half during the succeeding four months. This 

 would amount to more than eight hundred fifty gallons; but, allowing 

 for some unproductive cows, six hundred gallons per j-ear may be con- 

 sidered as the average quantity obtained annually from each cow. 



The quality of the milk is estimated by the quantity of butter or 

 cheese that it will yield. Three gallons and a half of this milk will yield 

 about a pound and a half avoirdupois, of butter. An Ayrshire cow may 

 be reckoned to yield two hundred fifty-seven English pounds per annum, 

 or about five pounds per week all the year round, beside the value of the 

 butter-milk and her calf. 



When the calculation is formed, according to the quantity of cheese 

 that is usually produced, the following will be the result: twenty-eigh, 

 gallons of milk, with the cream, will yield twenty-four pounds of sweet 

 milk cheese, or five hundred fourteen pounds avoirdupois per annum, h% 

 side the whey and the calf. 



This is certainly an extraordinary quantity of butter and cheese, ana 



