1912 Ayrshire cow

[librarian]

Dairying: A Book for All who are Engaged in the Production & Management of Milk
By John Prince
https://books.google.com/books?id=X_fhAAAAMAAJ&dq=orkney%20polled%20cattle&pg=PA134-IA1#v=onepage&q=orkney%20polled%20cattle&f=false
I would not mind having this pretty little Ayrshire cow. The book speaks of many Ayrshire cattle being shipped to Ireland... And there is a look about her.

This is quite a good book, I think, and there are really informative histories given for the principle breeds of the day, including beef breeds.
The history of the Galloway breed gives a good account of driving herds to Norfolk and Suffolk in the 1700's to consume the excess turnips of that region.
Page 124
https://books.google.com/books?id=X_fhAAAAMAAJ&dq=orkney%20polled%20cattle&pg=PA124#v=onepage&q=orkney%20polled%20cattle&f=false

In the Highland history he talked about Bakewell musing that the best cow might be bred up from a Highland heifer. Also he talks about how Booth started by crossing Highland cows with Collings Shorthorn bulls as an experiment. Bottom of page 130
https://books.google.com/books?id=X_fhAAAAMAAJ&dq=orkney%20polled%20cattle&pg=PA130#v=onepage&q=orkney%20polled%20cattle&f=false
I have read elsewhere that Booth kept a herd of 100 of these crosses for many years, but eventually gave up on the experiment. He must have sold a lot of beef before he gave up.

 

[Lucky_P]

Beautiful.  I've had a love affair with red & white dairy cattle for decades.

Have a friend in NY whose family has milked & bred Ayrshires for generations, alongside Holsteins, Guernseys(and Dexters!).  She is perhaps the most accomplished herdsman(person) I've ever known - acutely atuned to the health of her animals. 
Edit:  I went back and re-read some of her stuff - I'd misremembered... the Ayrshires were tough as nails, with better leg structure and stayability than the Holsteins...but the Guernseys...something 'weak' about their immune system and constitution...would lie down and die at the least hiccup that the Ayrshires would roll right on through.

 

[librarian]

That's good information. A Galloway cross would straighten that out, I bet.
I GOT THAT PART ABOUT BOOTH ALL BACKWARDS. IT WAS BATES WHO HAD THE HIGHLAND/SHORTHORN CROSSES. I always confuse it because it is counter intuitive to what Bates cattle are remembered for.
Earlier today I was thinking about "Bates for the Pail" and how that fits in with his herd of Highland crosses. (pondering this while digging out the septic clean out- got tired of dreaming of finding a cask of bog butter)
Occurred to me that maybe Bates was seeking to boost the butterfat content in Shorthorn milk.
And improve a dairy type into a true dual purpose type. I read on SP that he kept careful milk production records, so he was scientific in his approach.
I have tried Highland /Angus crosses and the F1 is a beautiful, wide backed, barrel shaped, short legged, wavy haired animal. But they are slow to grow. Maybe that was the factor that held him back. Also, some Highlands have a reproductive strategy of calving every other year... inconvenient in a dual purpose system?
The text before and after the cow photo talks about Ayrshire/Highland crosses.
Well, back to work. The project is starting to feel more like an excavation for remains of the Franklin Expedition.

 

[Telos]

The very first steer I sold when selling show calves back in the mid 70's was a Cunia out of an Ayrshire cow. He won the regional show and was a very complete calf with near perfect structure. He also fed extremely well. Thought that mating had the potential of make oustanding cows.

Here's pic of an Ayrshire bull:
http://www.pictureimage.photo/img17769.htm

 

[librarian]

This is a pretty neat look at the past, Ayrshire Digest, 1922
https://books.google.com/books?id=njRCAQAAMAAJ&dq=Ayrshire%20cows&pg=RA10-PA5#v=onepage&q=Ayrshire%20cows&f=false