136 CATTLE THE WEST HIGHLAND 



light colours now in fashion were introduced into Harris 

 by Donald Stewart of Luskentyre from Perthshire, through 

 picked specimens of the "Highlanders" common to the 

 Northern Mainland and Argyllshire. Improvement in Skye 

 was effected by Mackinnon of Corry, John Stewart, Duntulm, 

 and afterwards of Eusay, and on the Mainland by the Duke 

 of Sutherland in the North, the Earl of Seafield in Inverness 

 Malcolm of Poltalloch in Argyllshire, and the Duke of Atholl 

 in Perth. " One of the oldest and best known breeds in 

 Perthshire was that of Glenlyon, and from it all the principal 

 folds in the country got their best blood." There was 

 no Bakewell or Colling of the West Highland Breed, and 

 the system of in-and-in breeding was eschewed for selection 

 of the best or " natural breeding," and the natural selection 

 of the survival of the fittest. Youatt says that at one time 

 through the whole of the Hebrides " one-fifth of the cattle, 

 on an average, used to perish every winter of starvation," 

 and also that " it was the uniform experience that attempts 

 at crossing only destroyed the symmetry of the Kiloes, and 

 rendered them more delicate and less suitable to the climate 

 and the pasture." 



At one time, before the stocking of the land with mountain 

 sheep, which began in Argyllshire in 1760, "black cattle" 

 occupied the wild pastures of the true Scottish Highlands. 

 The mild or "open" character of the climate of the extreme 

 west, along with the careful selection in breeding practised 

 from time immemorial by the Macneils of Barra, the Mac- 

 donalds of Balranald on the Long Island, and others, 

 tended to foster that superiority of quality which has enabled 

 it successfully to supplant the inferior sorts inhabiting the 

 inland uplands. Superior cattle were produced in " Islay, 

 the southernmost of the range of the inner Hebrides," the 

 Isle of Skye, and Argyllshire. The West Highlander is the 

 hardiest of all British breeds, and from an artistic point of 

 view the most picturesque. 



The bullocks, when three or four years old, are highly 

 and justly appreciated as park cattle in all parts of the 

 kingdom, where their long and elegant horns, variously 

 coloured hair, and long, silky, shaggy, and uncommon-looking 

 coats render them objects of universal interest and admiration. 

 When gently handled, they are quiet and tractable, and even 



