THE UNITED KINGDOM. 147 



4 



soil, partly lying on whin-stone (trap-rock, ) and the Western Islands on granite. The 

 mean temperature in summer is CO , and 45 in winter. The animals are never use* 

 for the purposes of draft. The in-calf cows have generally the best sheltered ground, 

 with an open shed, but in some cases are tied up in houses. Through the winter 

 the calves have the same housing. The food consists of bog or meadow hay, twice 

 a day after the 1st of January. The young store cattle are not housed after they 

 reach one year old, and in many cases only get hay or straw when the rough grasses 

 iu the woods and valleys are covered with snow. On some farms whore straw and 

 turnips are grown the cows and calves are partly fed on these. In a great many in- 

 stances all the three-year old cattle leave their native grounds for gentlemen's parks, 

 when thoy are given hay and cake once a day through winter. The cows are usually 

 disposed of from eight to ten years of age to the butcher. In the best herds the heifers 

 are not served by the bull until three years of age. 



Mr. Robert Stewart, of Stirling, says he never breeds the West 

 Highlander for dairy purposes, 'and that although they give no great 

 quantity of milk, yet it is rich in quality. His calves suck the cows, 

 and follow them at foot in summer. The breed at about five years is 

 at maturity, and 7 cwt. is, he considers, a fair average live weight for 

 a well-bred cow, 10 cwt. for a well-conditional bull, while a well-bred 

 and well-fed ox at that age should average 10 cwt. The proportion of 

 meat at maturity of a fattened steer is about 10 cwt. Here, where the 

 cattle are mostly bred and not fed, their food consists only of rough 

 natural grass in summer and meadow hay in winter. None of the 

 animals are used for draft purposes of which Mr. Stewart is aware, 

 and as to housing, he states that the cows are in winter housed, and 

 also that the calves are put in in winter till a year old ; but the bulls 

 and two-year olds winter quite as well outside. The feeding is generally 

 meadow hay. The animals, except those for breeding are generally 

 sold when two years old. 



(14) GALLOWAY CATTLE. 



The secretary of the Galloway Cattle Society (the Kev. Mr. Gillespie, 

 ef Mouswald), says the Polled Angus is a magnificent breed for particu- 

 lar circumstances ; but there is not a breed possessing so many recom- 

 mendations to American breeders as the Galloways. There is no breed 

 of Polled cattle in Britain so impressive and influential as the Gallo- 

 ways in crossing with horned cattle, with the view of getting quit of the 

 horns. He affirms that where a pure well-bred Galloway bull is put to 

 cows of any horned breed the produce in ninety-nine cases out of every 

 one hundred will be polled, and he leaves those in a position to judge to 

 say whether there is any other Polled breed of which the same can be 

 said. Then there is their hardy character, which is a great point in their 

 favor. There is no breed he states, except perhaps the West Highlands, 

 so peculiarly fitted for exposure to extremes of heat and cold experienced 

 in many parts of the Western States, where a large number of cattle have 

 to lay out at all seasons. The breed is also a capital beef-producing one, 

 and he is sorry to observe that in recent years breeders have been doing 

 so little towards bringing this quality before the notice of the public. 



As an instance of what may be done he refers to the way in which 

 Mr. McCombie has taken the Polled Angus breed into the world and 

 made a name for it. That gentleman has shown the public the merits 

 of the breed, and the result is well known. The Aberdeen farmers have 

 great reason to bless the name of the late Mr. McCombie in all time 

 coming, says Mr. Gillespie, and he thinks the breeders of Galloways 

 have been too backward in showing the world the superiority of their 

 animals for beef -producing purposes. Outsiders, however, are begin- 



