THE STURDY AYRSHIRE

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXXII, Issue 19437, 24 October 1925, Page 23 (Supplement)

THE STURDY AYRSHIRE

“lam speaking not so much for the benefit of Ayrshire breeders, as for those dairymen who believe that Ayrshire cattle are the worst in the world,’' remarked that prominent Hawera Ayrshire breeder, Mr. F. Mills, official demonstrator to the New Zealand Ayrshire Breeders’ Association, when addressing a gathering at the Kuakura State Farm recently. The Ayrshire was rapidly becoming the foremost dairy cow in the Dominion, said Mr. Mills, and indeed was likely to displace even the popular Jersey. Although so far as type went the breed was very similar to others, the cattle were much more sturdy and able to withstand a much wider range of climatic conditions than other breeds. The homo of the Ayrshire was western Scotland, where the conditions were such as to make the breed hardy Taking as a comparison the Friesian breed, Mr. Mills said these were a vary fine tvpe of stock. They came, however, from the fertile plains of Holland and Denmark, where the land was the rich-

est in the world. They thrived well on rich lands in this country, but did not do so well on .poor country. With regard to the Jersey, when the ideal conditions of the Channel Islands, its home, was considered, it was not to be wondered at that this breed was not able to withstand conditions such as were experienced in the “Winterless North.” There were people who thought the New Zealand climate in all respects ideal for cattle, said Mr. Mills, but there were districts throughtout the country, where the conditions wer<> far from suitable for all breeds. If, however, any breed would do better than another throaght the whole of the Dominion, it would be the Ayrshire with its hardy constitution. He did not claim that under perfect conditions the Ayrshire would excel all other breeds, but under hard conditions it was likely to do much better than the average animal of other breeds.

Mr. Mills made it plain that he had ; nothing against the Jersey. He recognised the breed as a »ery fine one, but, in his opinion it was not suited to New • Zealand requirements. One point Im which the Ayrshire was superior was in 1 the quality of its milk. He did not mean in test of butter-fat content, but in the fineness of the butter-fat particles. New Zealand was going to become a cheese-making and not a butterproducing country, he said, and as the various countries unsettled by the war began to get into«their stride and reorganise their dairy industries, there was bound to be a tremendous competition. The animal that would give the best cheese-making milk was required, and : that was not the Jersey, but the Ayrshire. In cheese-making it was not the butter-fat content that counted, but thej size of the fat globules. Another point in which the Ayrshire . excelled other breeds for utility pur- : poses was in Larger milk yield, he said. In view of the fact it seemed surprisin'! that suppliers of towns did not go in more for a breed that would give a large quantity of a good grade milk, instead of a smaller quantity of hightesting milk. The reason Ayrshires were not more generally used throughout New Zealand was mainly that popular prejudice was against them. They had a reputation for short teats and bad temper, and wore consequently left alone by the majority of dairy farmers. The former of these two objections was rapidly being eliminated by careful breeding. Bad temper was nothing but a fallacy. There were certain individual animals which displaved bad temper, but so did animals of all other breeds. Taking them on the average, the Ayrshires were as quiet as any other breed. Another important reason for the few Ayrshires in the country was tha4 they had not become “fashionable.” If the Ayrshire were to become “fashionable” as a show-ring and dairy animal it would quickly oust all other breeds. American scientists had recently drawn up the specifications of what might bo considered the ideal dairy cow, said Mr. Mills. The best points of animals of all breeds had been combined to make up this “perfect” beast. The Ayrshire was the only approach to this ideal in any one breed. The head should show a good -width between the eyes and above them. Below the eyes the head should narrow sharply to a fairly wide nozzle and broad mouth, while the nostril should be open and the jaw strong. Notice should be taken of whether the jaw was under or overshot, the perfect type having firmly meeting jaws. The eyes should be bright, large and clear and the horns neatly curving up from the head, lhe neck should be fine and of a good length, with little loose skin on the under side and a thin brisket. The shoulders should taper outward from the spine, the blades starting a little below the vertebra and blending into the body as was looked for in a hack. The sloping shoulder gave the animal a firmer stand on its feet. There should be a good spring in the

ribs, giving room for the lungs, heart, etc., and blended into the shoulder line. The ribs should not be hoopshaped, as that was merely a sign of beef, but should widen outwards from the spine in the same way as the shoulders. The vertebral column shoulu be prominent all along the back. The loin should be level over the hips, whicn should be of good width, with prominent hip bones. The hip bones should be well apart, and the tail fine in construction. The thighs should be thin from the back and slope outwards as did the ribs and shoulders and from the side should be wide. The main part of the animal’s weight was on the back legs, and therefore there was need of a wide thigh to carry the necessary muscle. It also gave protection to the udder, which should be attached high between the thighs and should hang so as to be almost rectangular in shape. The udder formation should be firm with plenty of veins. The skin of the animal should be moderately thin, not thick, but not as thin as brown paper. It should be loose ana have fine hair. The ideal animal was really a series of wedges. The body from the side should taper from the hindquarters to the neck. The shoulders should be wedge-shaped from the spine, and the thighs have the same appearance.