SITTYTON TO ABERDEEN. 179 



to such a glorious specimen as the Buccleuch heifer- 

 " Poissy," with his fine large eye and his ears laid 

 back like a blood horse (no proof of ill-temper, but o 

 the contrary in an Angus) is over the sideboard, 

 looking like life, and faced by those " bloody jades" 

 Pride of Aberdeen and Charlotte, both of which have 

 that white on the ndder which has always been 

 popular milk mark of the sort. 



Both in point of quality and number of prize 

 " commercial beasts/' it was not one of Mr. 

 M'Combie's greatest years. He can tie up 300 on 

 the farm at a pinch, and, in fact, he has had as many 

 as 400 (at home and out on turnips) in hand for 

 market at one time ; but last year he did not ven- 

 ture on above fifteen score, and a herd of about fifty 

 half of them cows and in-calf made up his home 

 ranks. Twenty years ago he only fed twenty. The 

 heifers are generally put to at two years old, and the 

 calves are dropped as early as possible in the year, to 

 suit the Highland Society, which dates from January 

 1st. It has generally been the Tillyfour practice to 

 have a sale every other year, and the average in 3 62 

 was 32 10s. The calves not kept for the bull trade 

 are never cut before they are a month t or six weeks 

 old, and suckled, like the heifer calves, for fully five 

 months. 



Hanton and some others of the Tillyfour blood 

 went into Morayshire at beef price, and it is from this 

 county that Mr. M'Combie, who buys every beast 

 himself, draws his principal, and, in fact, eight- 



.N 2 



