42 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
Feb. 
from the island of Alderney with their own cows.” 
It appears also, from various accounts, that the 
Short-Horned or Tees-water cattle were introduced 
into Ayrshire at an early day. The Short Horns were 
frequently called the Dutch breed in former times, but 
it is mentioned that Holstien or Dutch cattle from the 
continent were also imported to Ayrshire.* Prof. Low 
concludes, therefore, that—“from all the evidence 
which, in the absence of authentic documents the case 
admits of, the dairy breed of Ayrshire owes the cha¬ 
racteristics which distinguish it from the older race, to 
a mixture with the blood of the races of the continent, 
and of the dairy breed of Alderney.” 
Lawrence, who wrote in 1809, says“ I appre¬ 
hend this milky race [the improved Ayrshire] to be the 
result of crossing the cows of the country with Al¬ 
derney bulls, the cows, perhaps, having previously a 
portion of Dutch blood.” 
Most authorities agree with the above in regard to 
the origin of the present Ayrshires. It is for dairy 
purposes that they are considered especially valuable, 
and in this respect are reckoned second to none in 
Great Britain. Their distinguishing characteristics are 
given by Low as follows: 
“ The modern Ayrshire may stand in the fifth or 
sixth class of British breeds with respect to size. The 
horns are small, and curving inward at the extremity, 
after the manner of the Alderney. The shoulders are 
light, and the loins very broad and deep, which is a 
conformation almost always accompanying the property 
of yielding abundant milk. The skin is moderately 
soft to the touch, and of an orange-yellow tinge about 
the eyes and udder. The prevailing color is a reddish 
brown, mixed more or less with white. The muzzle 
is usually dark, though it is often flesh-colored. The 
limbs are slender, the neck small, and the head free 
from coarseness. The muscles of the inner side of the 
thigh, technically called the twist, are thin, and the 
haunch frequently droops to the rump—a character 
which exists likewise in the Alderney breed, and which, 
although it impairs the symmetry of the animal, is not 
regarded as inconsistent with the faculty of secreting 
milk. The udder is moderately large without being 
flaccid. The cows are very docile and gentle, and 
hardy to the degree, of being able to subsist on ordinary 
food. They give a large quantity of milk in propor¬ 
tion to their size and the food they consume, and the 
milk is of excellent quality. Healthy cows, on good 
pastures, give 800 to 900 gallons in the year, although 
taking into account the younger and less productive 
stock, 600 gallons may be regarded as a fair average 
for the low country, and somewhat less for a dairy- 
stock in the higher.” 
The Ayrshires which have been brought to this coun¬ 
try have varied, somewhat, in character and qualities; 
but not more so, we think, than the Durhams or Short 
Horns. As with other breeds, all Ayrshires are not 
equally valuable, and some importers may have been 
unfortunate in their selections. We are not in posses¬ 
sion of many experiments which have been made here 
with this breed. It has been said that in Mr. Cush¬ 
ing’s trial of the Ayrshires at Watertown, Mass., they 
proved no better than the best “ native” cows. Mr. 
C., however, purchased the very best cows which could 
be obtained to put on trial with the Ayrshires. We have 
never seen any account of the amount of milk yielded 
by the “ natives;” but in Mr. Colman’s Fourth Report 
on the Agriculture of Massachusetts, a statement is 
^iven in regard to the quantity given by the four Ayr¬ 
shires for several months. The account for one of 
them is carried through a year, (the year 1837,) and 
it appears that she yielded 7,728 lbs., or 772 galls.— 
an average of eight quarts and a third per day through 
the year. Is there any evidence that any of his “ na¬ 
tives” equalled this? 
We are not aware that any account was kept of the 
amount of food consumed by Mr. Cushing’s cows ; but 
as the native cows were in general considerably largest, 
and not calculated from their form to live on less in 
proportion to their size than the Ayrshires, is it not 
fair to infer that the expense of keeping was in favor 
of the latter? And this circumstance might have ren¬ 
dered the profit of the Ayrshires greater than that of 
the natives, though they might not have afforded a 
larger quantity of milk. 
But we know of one instance, where a bull from Mr. 
Cushing’s herd, which was taken into one of our best 
grazing and dairy districts, las been the means of 
greatly improving the stock for dairy purposes. We 
allude to the Ayrshire bull owned by Mr. Chapman, of 
Middlebury, Yt. 
The Massachusetts Society for promoting Agricul¬ 
ture have made several importations of Ayrshires. 
The first consisting of three cows and a bull in 1837. 
The last of four cows and a bull in 1845. The bull 
first imported was kept in different seasons in Berk¬ 
shire, Hampshire, and Hampden counties, and the tes¬ 
timony of many persons with whom we have conversed 
in regard to the subject is, that the infusion of-the Ayr¬ 
shire blood from this bull, decidedly improved the dairy 
qualities of the stock in the various districts were he 
was kept. 
Mr. Phinney found that an Ayrshire cow, (one of 
the three first imported by the Mass. Society in 1837,) 
put on trial with “ the best native cow selected from 
a lot of twenty,” made a pound and a half more but¬ 
ter in a week, than the “ native”—both being fed alike. 
Besides the importations of Ayrshires into Massa¬ 
chusetts, they have been introduced at various times 
into Connecticut, New-Yorlc, New Jersey, Maryland, 
and Virginia, and the accounts we hear are generally 
favorable to them as milch cows. 
Our own conclusion is, from what we have Seen of 
the various breeds of cattle, that if we wished to ob¬ 
tain a stock for the production of the greatest quantity 
of butter in proportion to the cost of keep or the food 
consumed, we should make one trial, at least, with a 
selection from the Ayrshires. 
Are Showers increased by Forests? —The edi¬ 
tor of the Southern Cultivator states that the size of 
streams and rivers is considerably diminished by the 
destruction of forests in clearing up new countries. 
He states as the reason, that it “is known greatly to 
lessen the fall of rain in the region thus treated!” 
What effect a growth of trees can have upon the rain 
clouds 2 or 3 miles above, as they are swept over the 
country by the winds, that would not be equally pro¬ 
duced by a field of clover, or of corn, may be difficult 
to decide ; would it not be more reasonable to attribute 
the diminution in streams to the evaporation of rains 
after they have fallen, in the open sunshine, or to their 
absorption by the cultivated mellow soil; which the 
hard earth and dense shade of forests would not so 
readily favor? 
Waste of Manure. —The Farmers’ Magazine states 
that it is a well ascertained fact, that in the single por¬ 
tion of Regent street, between the Quadrant and Ox¬ 
ford street, three loads of manure are dropt every day, 
or more than a thousand loads per annum; and the 
amount washed through the different sewers from the 
city of London into the Thames is 725 tons a year. 
Other cities, on the continent, by providing means for 
securing such waste, make the sale of manure from the 
cesspools a source of revenue. 
» YouaU’s Treatise on British Cattle—page 130. 
