t to the hand that fondles
her, and all her looks and movements toward her friends are quiet and
mild.

The Ayrshires in their native country are generally bred for the dairy,
and for no other object; and the cows have justly obtained a world-wide
reputation for this quality. The oxen are, however, very fair as working
cattle, though they cannot be said to excel other breeds in this
respect. The Ayrshire steer maybe fed and turned at three years old; but
for feeding purposes the Ayrshires are greatly improved by a cross with
the short horns, provided regard is had to the size of the animal. It is
the opinion of good breeders that a high-bred short horn bull and a
large-sized Ayrshire cow will produce a calf which will come to maturity
earlier, and attain greater weight, and sell for more money than a
pure-bred Ayrshire. This cross, with feeding from the start, may be sold
fat at two or three years old, the improvement being most noticeable in
the earlier maturity and size.

In the Cross with the short horn, the form ordinarily becomes more
symmetrical, while there is, perhaps, little risk of lessening the
milking qualities of the offspring, if sufficient regard is paid to the
selection of the individual animals to breed from. It is thought by some
that in the breeding of animals it is the male which gives the external
form, or the bony and muscular system of the young, while the female
imparts the respiratory organs, the circulation of the blood, the organs
of secretion, and the like.

If this principle be true, it follows that the milking qualities come
chiefly from the mother, and that the bull cannot materially alter the
conditions which determine the transmission of these qualities,
especially when they are as strongly marked as they are in this breed.

Until, however, certain mooted questions connected with breeding are
definitively settled, it is the safest plan, in breeding for the dairy,
to adhere to the rule of selecting only animals whose progenitors on
both sides have been distinguished for their milking qualities.

It may be stated, in conclusion, that for purely dairy purposes the
Ayrshire cow deserves the first place. In consequence of her small,
symmetrical, and compact body, combined with a well-formed chest and a
capacious stomach, there is little waste, comparatively speaking,
through the respiratory system; while at the same time there is very
complete assimilation of the food, and thus she conve