346 WISCONSIN STATE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 
or Ireland, not only for large quantities, but also for richness and 
quality.” This, though extravagant praise perhaps, shows that 
the stock was deemed to possess great merit at that early day. 
Professor Low says in his illustration in reference to the history 
of the Ayrshire, that authentic records are wanting to show by 
what progressive steps the breed has been moulded into its pres¬ 
ent form. He adds, however, that at the time he wrote, 1841, 
“they had spread over a large tract of country, and by continued 
mixtures with one another, they had acquired such a community 
of character as to form a distinct and well defined breed. The 
most reasonable conclusion from all that has been written in re¬ 
gard to the modern Ayrshire, taken in connection with the points 
and character of the animals themselves, is, that they were pro¬ 
duced by a union of the bloods of the Taswater Short-Horn, Dun¬ 
lop and the Alderney, with the ancient stock of Ayr. 
As to the leading points and characteristics of the Ayrshire, no 
description probably is more correct than that of Professor Low. 
The Professor says, “The modern Ayrshire may stand in the 
fifth or sixth class of British breeds as respects size. The horns 
are small and curving inward at the extremities, after the manner 
of the Alderney. The shoulders are light and the loins very 
broad and deep, which is a conformation almost always accompa¬ 
nying the property of yielding abundant milk. The skin is mod¬ 
erately soft to the touch, and of an orange yellow tinge about the 
eyes and udder. The prevailing, color is reddish brown, mixed 
more or less with white—at this date, red and white prevail. The 
muzzle is usually dark, though it is often flesh color. 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 
0 
twist) are thin, and the haunches frequently droop to the rump, a 
character which exists likewise in the Alderney breed, and which,, 
though 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, gentle and hardy,, to the degree of 
being able to subsist on ordinary food. They give a larger quan¬ 
tity of milk, in proportion to their size and the food they consume, 
than any other breed, and the milk is of excellent quality. 
