THE AYRSHIRES. 



113 



"We give a cut of the most fashionable modern style of the 

 Ayrshire cow, of late importation, drawn from life. 



Plate 15. Ayrshire Cow. 



" The origin of the Ayrshire cow, is even at the present day 

 a matter of dispute ; all that is certainly known about her, is, 

 that a century ago, (1733,) there was no such breed in Cunning- 

 ham, or Ayrshire, or Scotland. Did the Ayrshire cattle arise 

 entirely from a careful selection of the best of the native breed ? 

 — if they did, it is a circumstance unparalleled in the history of 

 agriculture. The native breed may be ameliorated by careful 

 selection, its value may be incalculably increased ; some good 

 qualities — some of its best qualities — may be for the first time 

 developed ; but yet there will be some resemblance to the origi- 

 nal stock, and the more we examine the animal, the more clearly 

 we can trace out the characteristic points of the ancestor, 

 although every one of them improved. 



" Mr. Alton gives the following description of the Ayrshire 

 cattle, (1783,) fifty years ago: 'The cows kept in the districts 



