THIRD ANNUM. YEAR BOOK — PART XI. 633 



Names now as familiar almost as sacred as to the Short-horn man as the 

 name of Washington to the American patriot. The breed originating in 

 narrow limits soon spread over the whole island and still claims Ireland 

 as its own and the utmost ends of the earth seem to be its limit, its mis- 

 sion the elevation of the human race, the cow being the barometer indi- 

 cating the altitude of the civilization. Nations can be estimated by the 

 number and quality of their domestic animals, also communities and indi- 

 viduals. A farmer with thin scrub cattle is a thin scrub man with soul 

 in proportion. The cow and her owner must have a relative level. Give 

 a scrub man a good cow, one of three things must happen. The cow will 

 elevate the man or the man will starve and degrade the cow, or it may be 

 a compromise. 



But I must take the train and go north, the land of hill and heather. 

 Aberdeen and the Angus country lying on the northeast part of the island, 

 draining to the Northern ocean and receiving its wind and gales. It has 

 been said by a close observer that "the Lord made England and England 

 made the Englishman," but "that the Lord made a Scotchman and a Scotch- 

 man made Scotland," certainly if He did not make it the Scotchman has ex- 

 hausted every possibility in its improvement, impelled by necessity, a clear 

 case of "root hog or die," and he rooted. Every effort seemed to bring 

 fresh energy. With a will and judgment a way was found, resulting in 

 these people originating a brand of beef called the "Prime Scot" that tops 

 the London market every week, year in and year out. A hundred or even 

 fifty years ago these people could not put beef on the London market at 

 all. The distance was too great to drive on foot, had they started fat it 

 would have been driven off before they got there. Their surplus cattle 

 were then sold to the southern grazer and feeder and by them put on the 

 market, but when steam navigation began a boat was run weekly between 

 Aberdeen and London. Later followed the railroad and regular trains. 

 This marks the beginning of real improvement in agriculture and stock 

 raising in that country. Draining, making fences with the stone that lay 

 on the surface, erecting buildings for shelter and introducing the Swedish 

 turnip (where it is now grown in its greatest perfection), extending the 

 cultivation of oats that for straw has no feeding equal. It was also found 

 that the cultivated grasses known to the island would grow there and 

 thrive and although the winter day was short and almost sunless, the 

 summer day was long with moisture and warmth sufficient to mature these 

 crops to a degree of excellence. As commercial fertilizers were consid- 

 erably used and all farm manures scrupulously saved and applied to the 

 land, fertility increased. McDonald and Angus historian claims great 

 antiquity for his breed, saying that Caesar stood, I think it was on one of 

 the Grampian hills and I suppose with a field glass, saw to the northward 

 some cattle or animals that from his description is taken to be the an- 

 cestors of the Aberdeen Angus cattle of today, but I think it is unneces- 

 sary for us to go farther back than the generation of Hugh Watson of 

 Heillor and Wm. McCombie of Tillyfour, who from among the cattle of 

 this country by selection and care made such wonderful improvement to 

 meet changed conditions. No doubt good cattle well adapted to require- 

 ments existed long before this time. But as there was no regular market 

 41 



