Ayrshire Cattle.

King Country Chronicle, Volume III, Issue 142, 25 March 1909, Page 4

Ayrshire Cattle.

In the library of the Winconain Col- !• rs of Agriculture arc two large volumes descriptive of the domestic animal of Great Britain, prepared by Prof. Daniel Low, of th \ University of Edinburgh, in 1840, at the direction and expense of the British Government. The same is finely illustrated by large cuts of the various breeds These illustrations are valuable for the reason that they enable us to see what was the shape and prevailing type of that day, sixty-six years ago. Pro. Low devotes considerable space to the Ayr. shire cow. He says that in 1790 the breed was not recognised or regarded as worthy of special mention. In 1525 they were described by Mr Ayton as a "puny, unshapely race," They were then mostly of a black colour with white on face, back, flanks, and few of the cows yielded in the flush of the season more than one and a half to two gallons fo milk. Prof. Low thinks the Alderney breed was mixed with these black Ayrshire * at an early period. These facts show us to what a wonderful extent modern breeders and skilful mating have done in changing the Ayrshire breed to its present great excellence as a milk producer, and in the almost total change of colour and external characteristics.

A well known Angora breeder, writing to the leading sheep paper in America, gives the following method in use for a number of years on his farm for castrating Angoras. He says: 'l' trim my Angora goat kids at the age of three to six weeks, or early enough to get ahead of the flics. Place the kid on its back, securely held by an attendant, cut off the entire end of the pouch, then make a downward pressure over the wound with the thumb and forefinger, which will sqeeze the testicles above the opening, when you grasp them and with a pull bring them out. To prevent fly blow, I bathe the wound with some carbolic sheep dip, dropping some in the cavity of the wound. This method has proven veiy satisfactory with mc."