116 SHORTHORNS 



of kindly alertness, thoughtfulness, and individuality. 

 Here was a man of personal charm and of inward 

 strength. His herd was gradually dispersed between 

 1870 and 1875, and he died in 1889. The more 

 notable of Mr Geekie's early-life successes were at 

 the Inverness Highland of 1839, where he won with 

 " Best two Heifers of the Improved Shorthorned 

 Breed/' and at the Dundee Highland of 1843, where 

 he took the award for " Best Bull of the Pure Short- 

 horned Breed." His family are naturally proud of 

 pieces of plate recording those old-time victories. 



Mr Robert Geekie, brother of Mr Alexander Geekie, 

 owned and farmed Eosemount, near Blairgowrie. 

 The Rosemount man was what one might term a 

 good commercial farmer. He took an interest in the 

 Baldowrie cattle, and followed their prize-winning 

 course with some zest, but his main inclinations were 

 towards the feeding of stock and the growing of 

 ordinary crops. He died in 1871, and his heir was 

 his namesake, Mr Robert Geekie, son of Mr Alexander 

 Geekie. The junior was farming in the Carse of 

 Gowrie when his childless Kosemount uncle died. 

 The young man shifted to Rosemount in 1872, and 

 shortly afterwards he acquired specimens of his 

 father's favourite Snows, Lilys, Carolines, and Lady 

 Sarahs. To these he had held ever since. Rosemount 

 is consequently the only existing link with old Ury. 

 Mr Robert Geekie's cattle form a class by themselves. 

 He had beautiful cows in his lot of about twelve, and 

 all were good milkers, as hand-milking and rearing of 

 calves by the pail were adopted by him over thirty 



