298 THE BREEDS OF LIVE-STOCK 
yield of milk and butter, on rough, hilly pastures, or with- 
out heavy grain-feeding in the winter, the Ayrshire is in a 
class by herself. It is difficult to give figures of produc- 
tion that are at all representative, since as much, if not 
more, depends on the system of care and management as 
on the cow herself. From reports of a number of herds 
which may be considered reliable, as indicating the dairy 
qualities of the Ayrshire breed, it may be stated that 
herds numbering twenty animals, of all ages, will yield, as 
an average, 6500 pounds of milk and 300 pounds of 
butter-fat. This estimate presupposes that the herd is fed 
for profit, but not forced in any sense of the word. A 
number of herds fed a liberal allowance of grain the year 
round, and managed with the view of yielding the maxi- 
mum amount of milk and butter, have averaged over 8000 
pounds of milk and 350 pounds of butter-fat. Because 
the Ayrshire cow is perhaps not capable of making forced 
weekly, or even yearly, milk and butter records equal to 
those of some of the other breeds, and furthermore, be- 
‘ause she has been so completely in the hands of practical 
dairymen, she has never been forced in her production in 
the generally accepted sense of the term. As a conse- 
quence, the cows of this breed are in a more normal con- 
dition than those of almost any other. 
Because the butter-fat globules are small, the cream does 
not rise so quickly as in the case of some of the other dairy 
breeds, and as a consequence Ayrshire milk is well adapted 
for shipping to city markets, and for use as a beverage. 
328. Other uses of Ayrshires.—It was formerly 
thought that Ayrshire milk was peculiarly adapted to 
cheese-making. With our present-day information on 
this subject, however, this view is no longer generally held, 
although the milk is used for this purpose. 
