CATTLE, AYRSIIIRE3. 
£3 
'-a 1nr"e quantity, and when she- becomes dry, will rapidly come into con- 
dition In truth, the handling of the Ayrshire cow must be good ; it 
cannot be too good ; but it must not bo of exactly that quality sought for 
in the grazing breeds. _ 
“There, as everywhere, the dairyman must keep to his line ; milk, rot 
.fat, is his profit ; and in seeking excess of both, he will be liable to fall 
below the average of either.” 
Relating Especially to Milk. 
It is an axiom of breeders to diminish the useless parts of an animal as 
much as possible, or, in other words, to reduce the proportion of those parts 
not conductive to profit to as great extent as possible. Applying this 
rule to a dairy breed, we should desire a small neck, sharp shoulders, 
small brisket and small bone. Moreover, small bone usually accompanies 
thrift, and is universally found in improved breeds. We thus have a 
reason for these other Ayrshire points, which I now quote : 
“ Shoulders lying snugly to the body, thin at their tops, small at their 
points, not long in the blade, nor loaded with muscle T brisket light ; 
neck of medium length, clean in the throat, very light throughout, and 
tapering to the head 5 tail long and slender ; legs short, bones fine, joints 
firm. 
If the dairyman’s policy were otherwise, he would have to supply 
extra food for the support of parts useless to him, and whoso larger 
development is of no especial value. 
Tho Head. 
“The head should be small, in shape either long and narrow, or broad 
in the forehead and short, according to the type of animal preferred by 
the breeder, generally preferred somewhat dishing ; the nose tapering to 
an expanded muzzle, with good clean nostrils. Opinions differ as to tho 
general shape of the head. A broad forehead and short face occurs 
more frequently in bulls, and is generally esteemed a masculine charac- 
teristic ; a more elongated face is called feminine. Yet some families of 
well-bred and good milking Ayrshire cows have the broad and short head, 
and such were, at one time, if not now, the favorite in the show-yard in 
Scotland. 
“The eye should bo moderately full, lively yet placid looking. The 
eye is a mirror of the disposition, and interprets the character of the 
cow; a fretful, irritable animal is seldom a quick fattener, and usually 
. disappoints at the pail. It also gives expression to the features, and 
physiognomy aids cur judgment. 
