THE COW TEIBES 79 



the English Channel should have given to the 

 world two of its most widely known races of cattle. 

 It is said that for centuries no foreign cattle have 

 been imported to these islands and this natural 

 isolation for a great period of time has resulted in 

 two breeds, the Jersey and the Guernsey, which 

 are of a very distinct type. They are alike in that 

 both give milk containing an unusually high per- 

 centage of butter-fat and, especially in the case of 

 the Guernsey, with an abundance of yellow coloring 

 matter (lactochrome),but in conformation and gen- 

 eral appearance the two breeds are not closely akin. 



The Ayrshires from southwest Scotland, Eobert 

 Bums' country, are in character, size and quality of 

 milk intermediate between the Holstein and the 

 Channel Island breeds. They have been distrib- 

 uted over almost the whole dairy world and have 

 never lacked for warm admirers. The breed has 

 some individuals that are excellent examples of 

 dairy conformation, and they are renowned for 

 their perfectly shaped udders ; yet they seem never 

 to have attained as wide popularity as the other 

 breeds. Possibly this may be because they are 

 a little on the order of general-purpose dairy 

 cattle. It is sometimes stated that no other cow 

 will give as good returns from the grazing of steep 

 and rocky pastures. The Ayrshire has been es- 

 pecially popular in the cheese districts of Jeffer- 

 son and St. Lawrence counties in New York. 



A true breeder of beef cattle will not be in- 



