THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



109 



all rivalry and oppositiou, at[any'stage of enquiry in the 

 whole period of his existence. 



It will thus be seen that while we endeavour to sail 

 clear of Charybdis on the one side, we must avoid 

 foundering upon Scylla on the other. The rock is just 

 as dangerous as the whirlpool, and as much to be 

 shunned. Indeed, to taint the pure blood of the Kyloe by 

 sowing the polysarcian seeds of that most loathsome 

 of all diseases obesity in his constitution, by im- 

 proper food and management, reducing the quality of 

 his carcase to a level with Ihat of a Shorthorn, is, 

 perhaps more objectionable than the present stinting 

 system, with all the maladies to which it gives rise. At 

 all events, if both objections can be avoided by a differ- 

 ent system of feeding, one that produces early maturity, 

 with heavy weight, and fine quality preserved, it is 

 certainly worth enquiring after. 



Following up the subject practically from the com- 

 mencement, the first thing is to prevent the Kyloe calf 

 getting "a set" immediately on its being weaned, or 

 rather perhaps when it has to begin and shift for itself, 

 and this can only be done by giving both it and its dam 

 better keep than they now generally have, immediately 

 before they are removed from the hills to their winter 

 quarters. This part of our proposition— improved pas- 

 turage and shelter — was disposed of in a previous article. 

 What we have to notice here is the fact that if the Kyloe 

 calf gets " a set" before it goes into winter quarters the 

 first season, the consequence must inevitably be not 

 only a serious sacrifice of winter keep, bnt also of early 

 maturity and weight. When, on the contrary, it gets 

 plenty of milk and keep, to preserve it in all its pristine 

 integrity in a manner parallel to that of its rivals — im- 

 proved Shorthorns, Herefords, andDevons — at the same 

 age ; then, and then only, it is gathered from its native 

 hills to wintering under circumstances of comparative 

 fair-play — one of the most interesting examples of ro- 

 tundity of the whole bovine race. 



We now come to the bone of our subject — the return- 

 ing of the Kyloe to the next year's grazing in his native 

 pastures, with all his functions and physical faculties un- 

 impaired. If we took him from the hills sleek and round 



as "a lady's muff"— a comparison not unfrequently 

 made — and so agile as to be capable of crossing grounds 

 with ease, where his rivals would break both their legs 

 and necks, we must return him equally qualified for the 

 ups and downs of Highland grazing. To blunt his in- 

 stinct and relax his muscular energies would unqualify 

 him for grazing successfully in his native pastures. We 

 must therefore preserve his sensorial functions in all 

 their pristine keenness and activity, which can only be 

 done by food of a quality compatible with that of his 

 native grazing grounds ; and we must, next, preserve 

 his muscular development and agility by suitable exer- 

 cise, with pure air and the stimulating influence of light. 

 It is when we begin to examine the quality of his 

 winter food, or rather what it should be, from this 

 practical point of view, that the assistance of the medical 

 botanists appears to be so essentially necessary to 

 success. Those who have any experience in the manage- 

 ment of our first-prize improved breeds must be familiar 

 with the caution that requires to be exercised in turning 

 out a Shorthorn from winter keep to grass — the abso- 

 lute necessity of a gradual change to avoid harm, and 

 the advantage gained by as uniform a system of dieting 

 and general management as possible. Why should the 

 practice be otherwise in the case of the Kyloe ? In 

 both cases certain principles of feeding and management 

 are necessary to be attended to, in order to realize 

 successful results ; and as Highland grazing fixes those 

 principles difring the summer season, it follows as a na- 

 tural consequence that to obtain success in the improve- 

 ment of the Kyloe, the unalterable principles which his 

 native hills have thus established must be carefully ob- 

 served during the winter. So far as general manage- 

 ment and heath are concerned, we see no difficulty in 

 the Highland ox being thus supplied when at winter 

 quarters, agreeably to the demands of his native moun- 

 tain pasturage. And if we cannot supply identically 

 the rest of the herbage consumed during the summer 

 season as we can heath, it is nevertheless possible to 

 supply other raw materials of food similar in principle 

 and under circumstances calculated to improve one of 

 our best breeds of cattle. 



THE HERDS OF GREAT BRITAIN. 



Chapter XXIII. 



MESSRS. SAUNDERS' AND UNTHANK'S. 



The stalwart Cumbrian form and the eternal cigar 

 of Mr. John Unthank, of Netherscales, have become 

 familiar to the frequenters of our cattle shows, from the 

 Tweed to the Medway. It would be strange indeed if 

 they were not, as none of the barons of the Shorthorn 

 bench are in greater requisition, and none love the task 

 more dearly. The circuit journeys of his learned West- 

 minster brethren sink into nothing in comparison, as, 

 last year alone, he judged at fourteen shows, including 

 the Royal Canterbury, and travelled upwards of 3,000 

 miles, both by land and sea. Since he first gave 



up his Galloway herd, some five-and-twenty years 

 ago, in favour of Venus by Crofton's Cripple (1887), 

 he has been by no means exclusively devoted to " the 

 Durhams." Blood, coach, and cart stallions have had 

 their turn, and worn the prize ribbons for him ; and his 

 greyhound Van Tromp won a match and two cups in 

 succession at Bendrigg. JMessrs. Brown and Watson, the 

 celebrated Cumberland pig breeders, also derived most 

 of their best winning blood from a cross between his 

 Wiley sow and Mr. Sober Watkin's " Thormanby," 

 which won in the large as well as the small classes at 



