126 FIELD AND FERN. 



at Perth ; and his Topsy, which combines The Earl 

 and Tarn O'Shanter blood, after beating everything 

 at the local shows,, carried first honours in a large 

 class of two-year-old heifers at Stirling, and brought 

 her first herd offering, a bull-calf by Sambo, last 

 New Year's Day. 



The history of the late Mr. Grant Duff's mind on 

 shorthorn breeding may be read through the notes of 

 his annual catalogue, which was published every 

 October. Some breeders keep them bound up, and 

 take to them at intervals for light reading on a 

 winter's evening. In point of candour, he was a per- 

 fect Mechi, and showed all the ardour of a missal 

 hunter in routing among old breeds. For instance, 

 in one of his sale catalogues, which is headed by 

 " Forlorn Hope, a Shetland cow, 8 yrs. 8 ms.," we 

 have lot 2, " a brindled horn cow or Aberdeenshire 

 shorthorn." Upon her he observes : ' ' The breed is 

 now rare ; tradition ascribes their origin to a cross 

 between the Dutch and Falkland breeds introduced 

 by the laird of Udny ; they have great properties as 

 milkers and feeders." However, she only made 

 12-, and "the brindled polled cow of the old For- 

 glen breed, which gave milk while unbulled," beat 

 her. Then we have lot 4, "a grey and black 

 mixture horned breed from ' the auld town of Car- 

 nousie breed' " His grieve, Mr. William Jamieson, 

 considers that the For glen were generally yellow 

 polled, superior as dairy cows to the polls, and very 

 kindly feeders. In fact, the district claimed to put 



