286 
THE CULTIVATOR. 
Sept. 
True economy consists in keeping cattle in good con¬ 
dition with the least quantity of food, and in making 
and saving all the manure possible. Proper attention 
is not given to composting manure, for I still regard it 
as at the basis of remunerative farming. It is the great 
thing to make our farms fertile; for drouth or excessive 
rains do not injure a rich soil as they do starved land. 
A single suggestion from your excellent paper has of¬ 
ten been worth more than a year’s subscription to me, 
and I have ventured to send these with the hope of con¬ 
tributing to the improvement of my brother farmers. 
An attentive reader, D. 
Points of Excellence in Oattle. 
Adopted by the N. Y. S. Ag. Society , for the guidance of the 
Judges at their Annual Fairs. 
Ayrshires. 
Purity op Blood, as traced back to importations of 
both dam and sire, under such evidence as will satisfy 
committees. 
The Head, as in other breeds, small; the face 
long and narrow; the muzzle and nose variable, 4 
The Eye placid and not strikingly large,. 2 
The Ear of full size, and of an orange color within, 4 
The Horns small, tapering, with an outward and 
upward turn, and set on wide apart; the face 
somewhat dishing,... 2 
The Neck, of medium length, clean in the throat, 
very light throughout, and tapering to the head, 4 
The Shoulders lying snugly to the body, thin at 
their top, small at their points, not long in the 
blade, nor loaded with muscle,. 6 
The Chest must retain sufficient width and round¬ 
ness to insure constitution. The lightness of the 
fore quarter, and the “wedge-shape” of the ani¬ 
mal, from the hind quarter forward, arising more 
from a small, flat and thin shoulder, than from 
any undue narrowness of the chest,. 12 
The Crops easily blend in with so thin a shoulder 
and prevent all hollowness behind,. 4 
The Brisket not over-loading the fore end, but 
light,.... 4 
The Back should be straight, and the loin wide, the 
hips rather high and well spread,.. 8 
The Pelvis roomy, causing a good breadth at what 
is termed the “ thurl,” or “ round-bone,” and 
between the points of the rumps,. 4 
The Quarters long, tolerably muscular, and full 
in their upper portion, but moulding into the 
thighs below, which should have a degree of 
flatness, affording thus more space for a full ud¬ 
der. The flank well let down, but not heavy, • • 6 
The Ribs, behind, springing out very round and 
full, affording space for a large udder, which by 
Ayrshire breeders is considered very essential 
to secure the milking property; the whole car¬ 
cass thus acquiring increased volume towards its 
posterior portion,... 8 
The Rumps nearly level with the back, projecting 
but little, • ... 4 
The Tail thin in its cord, of full length, light in its 
hair, and set somewhat farther into the back 
than would be admissible with some other breeds, 1 
The Legs delicate and fine in the bone, inclining 
to be short, and well knit together in the joints, 3 
The Udder in this breed is of more especial im¬ 
portance, as the Ayrshires have been bred al¬ 
most exclusively with reference to their milking 
properties. The great feature of the udder should 
be capacity, without being fleshy. It should be 
carried squarely and broadly forward, and show 
itself largely behind. As it rises upward it 
should not mingle too immediately with the mus¬ 
cle of the thighs, but continue to preserve its 
own peculiar texture of skin — thin, delicate, 
and ample in its folds. The teats should stand 
wide apart, and be lengthy, but not large and 
coarse,... 12 
The Handling will show the skin to be of medi¬ 
um thickness only, moving freely under the hand 
and evincing a readiness in the animal to take on 
flesh, when a drain on the constitution is no lon¬ 
ger made by the milkpail,. 6 
The Hair soft and thick, in the phraseology of 
the country, woolly, .. 4 
Color, varies—a dark red, a rich brown, a liver 
color, or mahogany, running into almost a black; 
those very much broken and spotty at the edges 
on a white ground are the favorite colors at the 
present time. The light yellow is, however, a 
color • sometimes found on very good cows, but 
these pale colors are objected to from an impres¬ 
sion that such belong to animals of less constitu¬ 
tion, • • • • .... 1 
Carriage should be light, active, and even gay; 
this latter appearance is much promoted by the 
upward turn of the horn, .. 1 
100 
Points of the Ayrshire Bull. 
As regards the male animal, it is only necessary to re¬ 
mark, that the points desirable in the female are ge¬ 
nerally so in the male, but must, of course, be atten¬ 
ded by that masculine character which is inseparable 
from a strong and vigorous constitution. Even a cer¬ 
tain degree of coarseness is admissible, but then it 
must be so exclusively of a masculine description, as 
never to be discovered in the females of his get. 
In contra-distinction to the cow, the head of the bull, 
may be shorter, the frontal-bone broader, and the oc¬ 
cipital flat and stronger, that it may receive and sus¬ 
tain the horn—and this latter may be excused if a 
little heavy at the base, so its upward form, its qua¬ 
lity and color be right. Neither is the looseness of 
the skin, attached to, and depending from the under 
jaw, to be deemed other than a feature of the sex, 
provided it is not extended beyond the bone, but 
leaves the gullet and throat clean and free from dew¬ 
lap. 
The upper portion of the neck should be full and 
muscular , for it is an indication of strength, power, 
and constitution. The spine should be strong, the 
bones of the loin long and broad, and the whole 
museular system wide and thoroughly developed over 
the entire frame. 
Fattening Sheep. 
It is sometimes an object to fatten sheep rapidly in 
summer, and also to fatten off old sheep which cannot 
^be readily fattened on pasture alone. In either case, 
good pasture and the feeding of a moderate quantity of 
grain daily, will generally effect it very advantageously. 
One bushel of grain fed to sheep in summer, will make 
as much fat as three or four fed in winter; hence they 
may be fattened off most rapidly, and with least ex¬ 
pense, in summer and fall.— Canjicld. 
Kentucky Sheep. 
The Frankfort Yeoman says, that a few days since 
Robert W. Scott, of that county, sold fifteen of his fine 
fat wethers at fifteen dollars each, after shearing from 
eight to ten pounds of superior wool from each of them. 
They are of Mr. Scott’s new and now quite celebrated 
breed, which he calls “ Kentucky Sheep,” and which 
he has produced, during the last eighteen years, by 
judicious crossing with all the best imported breeds ; 
having commenced originally with the common sheep 
of the country. They have large and symmetrical 
carcasses, are very thrifty and prolific, and yield 
heavy fleeces of medium wool, an exceedingly beauti¬ 
ful article that well deserves the premium of from 3 to 
5 per cent, per lb., which it usually commands over 
the common wool of the country .—Ohio Cult. 
