130 EVOLUTION OF BRITISH CATTLE 



but is of supreme interest otherwise, indicates that 

 the crosses between the small breed and the large 

 were intermediate hybrids. It is a communica- 

 tion to the authors of the " History of Polled 

 Aberdeen or Angus Cattle," 1 from Mr. William 

 Forbes, an Aberdeenshire farmer, whose grand- 

 father was a farmer in Buchan (East Aberdeen- 

 shire), and bred polled cattle : 



" The cattle in Buchan about half a century 



ago and earlier might be said to have consisted 



of horned and polled black cattle in about equal 



proportions. The polled cattle were of two 



classes, one large and another small. I knew 



the small kind well. They were rather puny 



creatures, always thin in flesh, and very badly 



used. They were pre-eminently the crofter's 



cow, as they were able to live through the winter 



on the straw of oats and bere, and water, if 



necessary. Of the larger portion of the cattle, 



about one-half were jet black, and often the 



whole underline was white. They could not 



stand starvation so well as the small polls, but 



with better treatment they gave a heavier yield 



of milk. A few were of a dull-red colour, but 



they were not so high in favour as the brindled 



cattle. The polled cattle were the dairy stock. 



The butter they produced was very fine in 



summer and autumn, but hard and white in 



winter. The establishing of a beef trade with 



1 Macdonald and Sinclair, published 1883, p. 72. 



