AGRICULTURE IN SCOTLAND. 
19 
Agriculture in Scotland.—No. 3. 
Ayrshire Cattle.— During the last two weeks I 
have been in a part of Scotland famed for its spirit 
of agricultural improvement, and have been there 
under circumstances most favorable for the acquire¬ 
ment of information. I allude to the counties of Ayr 
and Renfrew, the former of which is especially cele¬ 
brated. Among the many objects of interest, were 
the Ayrshire cattle. My observation of these was 
of necessity hasty, and my information picked up in 
fragments from different individuals; yet there may 
be something new and calculated to be of benefit 
where this stock is not generally known. 
I found the Ayrshires generally the only breed in 
that part of Scotland; of course there are mixtures 
and crosses, but they very greatly prevail. The 
largest number of cows upon any of the farms 
which I saw, were at Mr. John Tennant’s, 6 miles 
from Ayr. He had about 90; some 30 of them, 
however, were fattening. Mr. Alexander, of South- 
barr, has a fine dairy of about 40, at Wellwood, 
near Muirbirk, Mr. Fleming’s, of Barrochan, is 
also worthy of notice. I was particularly pleased 
with that of Mr. Burnett, of Gadgirth, where every 
particular as to each churning is entered in a book 
kept for the purpose, so that a glance tells the quan¬ 
tity of cream or milk used, the weight of butter ob¬ 
tained, the time occupied in churning, and the tem¬ 
perature. 
Weight of the Ayrshires. —On this point I could 
only obtain an approximation to a general rule. The 
average weight of Mr. Tennant’s cows, as he inform¬ 
ed me, is from 36 to 43 stone (about 500 to 600 
lbs.), dead weight. 1 found that the animals raised 
expressly for fattening, are almost invariably a cross 
with the Short-Horns. Every large farm that I vis¬ 
ited, had a full blood Short-Horn bull. The improve¬ 
ment in shape and size from this cross is very great. 
They also mature much earlier. Mr. Tennant turns 
his off at two years old past, and says that they then 
weigh from 50 to 60 stone, or from 700 to 850 lbs. 
Two very important points are thus attained—increase 
of size with a gain of from 6 to 12 months in the time 
of maturing for market. On some farms the Angus, 
or Polled breed seemed to be favorites for fattening; 
and on others, the small West Highlanders are bought 
in the autumn, and sold in the succeeding autumn, 
after a year’s keeping on the rich lowland pastures. 
Milking qualities. —The Ayrshires, as you are 
probably aware, stand very high in this respect. 
Though they are small in size, their milk is abundant 
in quantity and remarkable for richness. Mr. Ten¬ 
nant stated that in the height of the season, his cows 
yielded about 10 Scotch pints, or 30 English, per 
day, and that they averaged not far from 170 lbs. of 
butter per annum. Mr. Fleming, however, told me 
that on the best lowland pasture, a good cow yields 
2,000 Scotch pints, 8 of which are considered equal 
to a pound of butter. This would be 240 lbs. per 
annum ; on poorer or high land he would not expect 
more than 1,500 pints, or 180 lbs. butter, which would 
nearly agree with Mr. Tennant’s statement. The Scotch 
pint is 3 English pints—350 to 400 lbs. of whole 
milk cheese is mentioned as a fair average. I 
inquired particularly as to the milking properties ol 
the cross with the Short-Horns. Mr. Tennant, Mr. 
Burnett, and many others said that the milking qual¬ 
ities were deteriorated; that now and then a good 
milker might be found, but it was an exception. Mr. 
Burnett said that milk formed no part of their calcula¬ 
tion in making the cross; it was simply for the purpose 
of improvement in size and aptness to fatten. On 
the other hand, 1 learned from Mr. Fleming, of Bar¬ 
rochan, and his overseer, both excellent authorities, 
that the cross with the Short-Horn made capital milk¬ 
ers. These conflicting opinions throw a shade ol 
doubt upon the subject, which I am as yet unable to 
dispel.(a) If the milking qualities of the Ayrshire 
can be united with the form and fattening qualities of 
the Short-Horn, it becomes a matter of much impor¬ 
tance. I should think it at least worthy of a fair and 
impartial trial. In Mr. Fleming’s dairy were two or 
three Alderneys; these, the overseer informed me, 
were to give additional richness to the product of the 
whole. 
Sheep .—I saw but one flock of Southdown sheep, 
which was upon the farm of Mr. Campbell, of Crai- 
gie. He said, and all whom I questioned seemed to 
agree with him, that in many points they are supe¬ 
rior to the Cheviots, yet their introduction seems to 
be by no means extensive. They are generally con¬ 
sidered as hardy as the Cheviots, and the mutton is 
unequalled. Upon the farm of Mr. Alexander, of 
Southbarr, I saw a very fine cross between a South- 
down buck and Cheviot ewes. He is much pleased 
with it, and will have a large number of lambs next 
season. Small flocks of the Leicesters are kept upon 
many farms, but the Black-faced Highlanders are 
most abundant; they are bought for fatting like the 
West Highland cattle. 
The Clydesdale Horse I found the universal favor¬ 
ite for farm purposes. Some noble specimens were 
exhibited at Glasgow, at the show of the Highland 
Society. Some of the farmers, however, think that 
they are beginning to degenerate; that they are, as 
they say, becoming too leggy. Mr. Tennant last 
year imported a celebrated Flemish stallion, with a 
view of correcting this defect. This is certainly a 
noble animal, and combines, in a degree that I think 
can hardly be surpassed, compactness with great 
muscular power. It is a prevalent idea that the ori¬ 
ginal Clydesdale horse sprang from a Flemish stal¬ 
lion, and this, therefore, is going back to the parent 
stock. For our farming operations, as at present 
conducted, lighter and more active horses, on ail save 
the stiffest soils, would be equally efficient and more 
economical; but when we come to use the clod- 
crusher, the grubber, the subsoil plough, &c., stirring 
the soil as it is done in some parts of this country, to 
the depth of 22 inches, we too shall want animals of 
great size and power, unless we, can contrive imple¬ 
ments to effect the same end without requiring such 
an expenditure of strength. John P. Norton. 
Edinburgh, Oct. 25th, 1844. 
(x) Our correspondent, though a young gentleman 
of fine attainments, has not yet had much opportu¬ 
nity of studying the science of breeding; we will, 
therefore, reconcile what seem to him “ conflicting 
opinions.” There are different tribes of Short-Horns 
or Durbams; some excel as milkers, others do not. 
Mr. Burnett states ‘‘that milk formed no part of their 
calculation in crossing with the Short-Horn ;” he, 
undoubtedly, chose a bull without reference to the 
milking qualities of its tribe, and probably cross- 
