160 ON THE AGRICULTURE OF 



Captain Barclay's herd was founded in 1829 by the pur- 

 chase of " Lady Sarah," the best cow at Mason's famous sale 

 at Chilton. Subsequently, selections of well-bred cattle were 

 made, and a very choice herd established. In 1836 or 1837 

 these were sold off; but soon after, Wetherell, the great 

 auctioneer, was commissioned to select in England and send to- 

 Urie a foundation for a fresh herd. Ten heifers were sent, and 

 it is stated that they were not of very high merit. A stock 

 bull, however, "Mahomed " (6170), a son of the old cow "Lady 

 Sarah," was brought back, and his influence produced a wonder- 

 ful effect. From these ten heifers a great number of the 

 shorthorns now in the North of Scotland are descended, and' 

 there is no doubt that their good qualities are largely due to the- 

 " Mahomed " cross. 



Horses. 



The following figures show the number of horses in the two- 

 counties at various times since 1854: — 



There is an apparent slight decrease in the number of horses- 

 in Forfarshire this year as compared to twenty-five years ago, 

 but in reality this is not so. The Board of Trade returns prior 

 to 1869 included horses belonging to all classes of the com- 

 munity, and now they include none but those owned by occupiers- 

 of land. About twenty-five years ago, the number owned by 

 occupiers of land did not exceed 9500, or nearly 1000 fewer 

 than were returned last spring. In Kincardineshire, as will be 

 seen, there has been a pretty large increase. Of the horses 

 returned in Forfar this year, 8451 are used solely for agricul- 

 tural purposes, the other 1992 being unbroken horses and mares 

 kept for breeding purposes. The corresponding figures for 

 Kincardine are 3863 and 1040. On. most farms, as many 

 horses are bred as maintain the force required ; but breeding for 

 sale is carried on only to a very limited extent. The exorbitant 

 prices reached for horses a few years ago gave a great spurt to 

 breeding for a time ; but, with the recent fall in prices, matters 

 have in this respect resumed their normal condition. It is 

 seldom that horse breeding is found to be profitable on farms 

 where the ordinary mixed system of husbandry is pursued. 



