Highlands of Scotland; the Galloway, which has been called the Kyloe
without horns; and the Ayrshire, are the breeds most celebrated. The
first has kept his place, and on account of the compactness of his form,
and the excellent quality of his flesh, he is a great favourite with
butchers who have a select family trade. It is alike unsuitable for the
dairy and the arable farm; but in its native Highlands it attains to
great perfection, thriving upon the scanty and coarse herbage which it
gathers on the sides of the mountains. The Galloway has a larger frame,
and when fattened makes excellent beef. But it has given place to the
short-horns in its native district, where turnip-husbandry is pursued
with advantage. The Ayrshire is peculiarly adapted for the dairy, and
for the abundance of its milk cannot be surpassed in its native
district. In this it stands unrivalled, and there is no other breed
capable of converting the produce of a poor soil into such fine butter
and cheese. It is difficult to fatten, however, and its beef is of a
coarse quality. We have chosen these as among the principal
representative breeds of the ox species; but there are other breeds
which, at all events, have a local if not a general celebrity.
[Illustration: SIDE OF BEEF, SHOWING THE SEVERAL JOINTS.]