58 EVOLUTION OF BRITISH CATTLE 



there were polled cattle in Sutherland : only this 

 time our authority is none less than Dr. Samuel 

 Johnson himself, who made his famous tour to 

 the Highlands in 1773: " The cattle of Sky 

 are not so small as is commonly believed. . . . 

 Of their black cattle some are without horns, 

 called by the Scots humble cows, as we call a bee 

 an humble bee, that wants a sting. Whether 

 the difference be specifick, or accidental, though 

 we inquired with great diligence, we could not 

 be informed. We are not very sure that the 

 bull is ever without horns, 1 though we have been 

 told that such bulls there are. What is produced 

 by putting a horned and an unhorned male and 

 female together, no man has ever tried that 

 thought the result worthy of observation." 2 The 

 colour of the cattle in Skye in Johnson's time 

 is not recorded, but dun and yellow, the colours 

 produced by crossing black and red with light 

 dun are common among Highland cattle ; and 

 light dun itself is not unusual. At the present 

 day, light dun and dun occur more frequently 

 among the Highlanders of Skye and the neigh- 

 bouring islands than among those of the main- 

 land ; and an inspection of the foundation entries 

 in the " Highland Herd Book " indicates that at 

 one time these colours were of more frequent 



1 Just as the Aberdeenshire men, who desired hornless calves, 

 used hornless bulls, the Skye men, who desired horned calves, used 

 horned bulls. 



2 Johnson's "Collected Works," Dublin, 1793, vol. iv. p. 479- 



