CHAPTER XII 



POLLED BREEDS 



The Aberdeen Angus. 



As the name indicates, these cattle originated in the herds 

 on the farms of the north-east of Scotland. They are normally 

 polled, though very occasionally horned animals appear among 

 them; small, immature weapons of defence, called scurs are, 

 however, fairly common. The prevailing colour is a jet black; 

 occasionally white markings appear and whole reds are by no 

 means unknown, but the vast majority of breeders aim at pro- 

 ducing stock of the first-named colour only. When thoroughly 

 finished the breed is, as a butcher's beast, very near perfection. 

 As it is all to the good for domesticated cattle to be without 

 horns, it is surprising that the breed does not spread itself over 

 the whole of the world's surface where cattle are required to 

 range and grow fat. 



The general appearance of the high-bred bullock is blocky, 

 square, and very deep; the whole animal exemplifies quality, 

 and is especially good at all the first-quality joints. Along his 

 back the ribs and loin are very wide and carry a large amount 

 of well-marbled meat ; I have even heard butchers complain of 

 their being too good at the "roastings," as these parts are 

 called by the trade ; the reason given for this strange complaint 

 was that customers, being usually obliged to rely on cuts from 

 other stock, were spoilt when "Aberdeen Angus joints" were 

 supplied for a short time! 



Furthermore, the beast is very level-fleshed; that is to say, 

 there is an absence of all that patchiness about the body which 

 denotes excess of soft fat ; he is also a wonderful handler, being 

 firm and springy all over. "A mass of firm meat" is a frequent 

 comment after a manual examination, and well describes the 

 quality of the animal. 



The fleshers contend that not only are the "roastings" and 

 other first-quality joints excellent, but also that the flavour 



