AMOS CRUICKSHANK OF SITTYTON. 587 



visited in quest of sires of the desired type. 

 In this search no attempt was made at confin- 

 ing selections to any particular line of blood. 

 It was a question not of descent but of type. 

 It was not until after 1860 that the policy 

 of purchasing bulls for service was modified. 

 Up to that time, notwithstanding the fact that 

 a remarkable succession of noted bulls had 

 seen service in the herd,* that uniformity in 

 essential characteristics which Mr. Cruickshank 

 so earnestly desired had not been attained. 

 When, therefore, the get of the home-bred 

 bull Champion of England (17526) made their 

 appearance the whole policy was changed and 

 a system of inbreeding begun. His stock ap- 

 proached closely the Sittyton idea of what 

 a North of Scotland Short-horn ought to be, 

 and for generations afterward the best of his 

 sons, grandsons and great-grandsons were kept 

 in service. From that time forward im- 

 provement in the matter of uniformity was 

 rapid. Latterly the stock bulls were all bred 

 upon the farm; the size of the herd and the 



* McCombie in his interesting little volume on " Cattle and Cattle-Breed- 

 ers" says: "Foremost among eminent breeders of Short-horns in the 

 North at the present time are the Messrs. Cruickshank, Sittyton. Their 

 fame is European; they own the largest herds of Short-horns in the world. 

 It is only necessary to name Fairfax Royal, Prince Edward Fairfax, Velvet 

 Jacket, Matadore, Lord Sackville, The Baron by Baron Warlaby, Master 

 Butterfly 2d, John Bull, Lancaster Comet, Lord Raglan, Ivanhoe, Lord 

 Garlies, Malachite, Windsor Augustus, Sir James the Rose and last, though 

 not least, Forth, to show the distinguished position their herd has taken. 

 Suffice it to say that no other breeder of Short-horns can claim having 

 owned such an array of first-class bulls." 



