ARKLAY, SWAN, GRANGER 35 



hit off by quaint, lovable Mr David Smith, Murroes, 

 arable farmer, feeder, and dealer. " Robert Arklay 

 has just a maggot [fad] for braw bulls, an' muckle, 

 fat, half-idle coos, but gin he was like me he wid be 

 lookin' for something to pey the rent." Mr Arklay 

 died in November 1893. All his cattle had been 

 disposed of gradually before 1887. A number had 

 been sent to the fat-stock market. 



A little farther east, on the coast side, Mr James 

 Swan, Inverpeffer, took an early liking to the breed, 

 and had several transactions with Mr Arklay, but by 

 1884 Mr Swan sold nearly all his pure-bred cattle to 

 Mr David Hume, Barrelwell, who was then settling 

 down to a home life, after being a number of years in 

 the American export business. 



For nearly thirty years the Pitcur herd, which was 

 dispersed on 17th October 1903, was well known. 

 Mr John Granger, the founder, had been a highly 

 capable and enterprising contractor for railway cut- 

 tings and other operations. Shortly after he took a 

 lease of the pleasantly set farm of Pitcur, at the foot 

 of the Sidlaws, near Coupar- Angus, he secured a few 

 fine females of the Groat, Matadore, and other families 

 from Cambushinnie. His son, Mr John Granger, who 

 succeeded the founder, added members of the Mina, 

 Diamond, Lady Dorothy, and Beauty families, but 

 the Groats were the best cattle right along. At the 

 sale cows ranged from 36 gs. to 75 gs., and three of the 

 yearling heifers went at 55 gs. to 70 gs., but for the 

 calves prices were poor, and the general average for 

 65 animals was 24, 9s. 2d. The heifer, Bella Groat, 



