DOMINION OF CANADA. 549 



report from the agricultural college of Ontario concerning the Short- 

 Lorns ou tlie college farm : 



Wo can si)eak liigbly of the milking properties, in quantity and quality, of tbo 

 mobt of our cows of this breed — making good calves or reliable milkers, as the case 

 may have been. We have nothing to say against the sure breeding of the cows, but 

 our ]'oi;r bulls in thete years have not given satisfaction in this respect. Without ex- 

 ception thfy have caused delay, loss, trouble, and extra expense, why, I am not pre- 

 pared to f-ay ; two were imported and two Canadian bred ; none were ever in such high 

 tlesh as those of some other breeds. If 'tis said the cboico of individual bulls was bud, 

 then the reply is that (hvco independent judges did so ; if management by want of 

 practical knowledge is charged, thou the same management had to do -with'tho other 

 bulls that liavo stood so well. If the Bhorlhoru icquires on an average more draw- 

 ing-room attention thau other beehng breeds, then it had better he acknowledged at 

 once, and I don't think their admirers need be ashamed of the fact. We have fattened 

 Shorthorn grades, Hereford grades, Devon grades, Ayrshire grades, and Galloway 

 grades for beef both iu the stall and on pasture, and nothing equals the Shorthorn in 

 giving that stamp to produce weight in the shortest time on Ontario conditions— growth 

 of youth on good pasture and finishing in the stall. 



THE CANADIAN AYESHIEE. 



In the report of the Agricultural and Arts Association of Ontario for 

 the year 1882 the number of Ayrshire cows in the province is estimated 

 at tiiree hundred and bulls at one hundred, scattered through the 

 counties of York, Ontario, Simcoe, Peel, Ualton, Wentworth, Fronte- 

 nac, Lanark, Carlton, Eussell, and Prescott, with a few in Oxtprd and 

 Northumberland. The Ayrshire cow has long been famous tlie world 

 over ior an enormous yield of milk, rich in cheese-making properties, 

 and in Canada she seems to have fully maintained her ijre-eminence in 

 this part-icular. Speaking from nothing but my own observations, I 

 should say that the Canadian Ayrshire would average somewhat large 

 tlian the same breed in -the United States. This I think may probably 

 be the result of the natural beef-breeding tendencies of Canadian farm- 

 ers and the unconscious influence of Shorthorn neighbors. The rejjort 

 from the agricultural college concerning this race of cattle is as fol- 

 lows: 



We have had a pretty thorough test of the Ayrshire cattle. In sure breeding we 

 have no cause to complain nor can anything be said against their adaptability iu 

 raising a calf. Every cow v,-e have has to' be milked three and tour weeks previous to 

 calving — an imperative necessity to avoid milk fever ; after calving, two of our best 

 have regularly suckled two calves and, in addition, have had to be milked with the 

 hand twice daily for two or three weeks, depending upon the 1 ime of year, whether oii 

 grass or in stall. We have not, however, been tieated to that continuance of milk 

 that I was intimate with in the Lothian of Scotland— the great How lessening more 

 rapidly and dribbling too long.' I do not attribute this to actual poorer pasture or 

 keep otherwise, but to the great difference in climatic condition and the want of that 

 important variety of grasses secured only in permanent pasture. It is not true iu our 

 experience that the Ayishire cow gives a lack of milk on comparatively bare pasture, 

 in which regard she is on an average decidedly inferior to the Canadian, but it is true 

 that her milk is of that blue tyi)e— not so rich iu cream— as characterizes Ihcm in 

 their own country. » * * Practically, then, as regards the pure Ayrshire, they 

 require good treatment in order to maintain their famous milking properties, and I 

 am of opinion that an inlusicn of now blood is as often needed as iu any other breed 

 —not so much a change of bull from other herds in this country as that of a directly 

 imported one. 



As to prices I am quite sure that Ayrshires of pure blood of average 

 excellence can be bought for much less money in Canada than in the 

 United States. 



THE CANADIAN HBEEFOEDS. 



This breed is comparatively a newcomer in Canada, although Mr. F. 

 W. Stone began importing them into this province in 1860, much to the 

 amusement of the Shorthorn breeders, who had a curiously satisfied faith 



