416 CATTLE 



breeders, is not the most common color. Red and white flecked, though it 

 should incline a litde to yellowish or brown, is more a prevailing color of the 

 breed .... White, if there be not roan mixed with it, I do not consider a 

 proof of the presence of Shorthorn blood. Our favorite colors are white flecked 

 or red bodies and white legs. Dark reds and black muzzles are favorites also. 



In 187s Sturtevant published statistics of a color classification 

 of 2852 Ayrshires in the United States, of which 2014, or 

 70.61 per cent, were red and white; 222, or 7.78 per cent, red 

 or mostly red; 241, or 8.45 per cent, brown and white; and 

 194, or 6.80 per. cent, white and red, the balance being split 

 into various colors. The Ayrshire Breeders' Association scale of 

 points has specified red of any shade ; brown ; or these with white ; 

 mahogany and white ; or white, — each color distinctly defined. 

 Brindle is allowed, but is regarded as undesirable. Professor 

 A. C. McCandlish has recently written ^ regarding black-and- 

 white Ayrshires, of which he says there are several herds in 

 Scotland, the origin of which may be considered obscure and 

 derived from many sources rather than one. The most popular 

 Ayrshire color shows a greater percentage of white than of red 

 or brown, these colors being in solid blotches. The old-fashioned 

 flecked marking is not looked on with favor by color faddists. 

 Many Ayrshires of to-day are very largely wWte, as, for example, 

 the ^6000 bull Penshurst Mischief Maker, all white excepting a 

 small bit of dark color by the tail head and upper thigh and on 

 neck and face. Addington Queen 3d 29558, one of the great 

 cows of the breed, has even less dark color than Penshurst 

 Mischief Maker. This matter of color is purely a fad and should 

 not be allowed to interfere with breed improvement. 



The size of the Ayrshire is fairly uniform. The American 

 standard calls for the mature bull to weigh not less than 1500 

 and the cow 1000 pounds. The Scotch standard favors a cow 

 weighing about 1050 pounds. Sturtevant gives the weights of 

 nine pure-bred aged cows in his herd which varied from 985 to 

 1200 pounds. The cows in Mr. Winslow's herd from 1881 to 

 1887 showed an average yearly weight of from 1020 to 1102 

 pounds per head. Referring to the subject of size an official 

 circular from the Ayrshire Breeders' Association states that at 



1 The Ayrshire Quarterly (January, 1918), Vol. Ill, No. 4, p. 24. 

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