320 ON THE POLLED ANGUS OR ABERDEEN 



or otherwise; which have been bestowed upon the cultivation of 

 this important faculty. Those who are anxious to secure females 

 of this kind for the dairy should be careful not to be led away by 

 the too-heavily fleshed animals. Where milk alone is a desider- 

 atum, we could not recommend the polled breed as being the most 

 suitable, but, as we have said, if judicious selection be made, a 

 race of cattle may be founded which will milk fairly well and 

 make good carcases of beef at the finish, — an important considera- 

 tion, for, as Mr M'Combie truly says, " All cattle come to the 

 pole-axe at last," so that this is one end which should be kept in 

 view from the commencement. The quantity of milk, as might 

 be expected, given by different herds varies very materially, per- 

 haps more than in any other breed. Nice milkers will, however, 

 give 16 to 20 quarts per day during the best of the summer 

 season; others, a great deal more; some much less. 



Gi'owing Demand for Foils. 



It is a notable fact, that since the establishment of a Herd-Book, 

 there has been an increasing demand for nice polled stock. This 

 has been particularly the case during the past three years, when 

 every sale has been relatively better than its predecessor. The 

 enhanced competition speaks well for the popularity of a breed 

 which has long been somewhat extensively reared in the north- 

 eastern counties of Scotland, but considering its hardihood and 

 meat-producing capabilities, deserves to be scattered over a much 

 wider tract of country. It is claimed for the polls that no other 

 distinctive breed will bring such a large retui'n for the quantity 

 of food consumed, for, as l\Ir ]\rCombie truly says, pound for 

 pound the meat is worth more than that of any other breed. As 

 for hardiness, the cattle are second to none but the picturesque 

 West Highlander, and in the matter of healthiness they stand in 

 the foremost rank. The sales of last year (1875) eclipsed any in 

 former years, both as regards prices realized and numbers sold. 

 [No less a sum than L.5922 was paid for animals sold in the 

 season. The year previous, twenty-seven young polled bulls 

 were recorded as having been sold ; in 1875, the number ran up 

 to fifty. These brought, in the aggregate, L.1398, Is. 6d., or an 

 average of L.27, 19s. 2d. for each bull. Owing to the dispersion 

 of the Westertown and Indego herds, and the disposal of large 

 drafts from Tillyfour and Easter Skene, a considerable number 

 •of polled females was offered for sale, being sixty against twenty- 

 rsix in the year previous. The total amount brought in was 

 1^.2401, 9s. 6d., or an average for each cow of L.40, Os. 5d. In 

 1874, thirty-nine heifers were disposed of ; in 1875, seventy-four, 

 of which twenty two-year-olds realized the high average of L.40, 

 16s. each, or a sum total of L.816, 15s. 6d. Forty-two one-year- 

 old heifers made L.1096, lis. lOd., or an average of L.26, Is. 3d. 



