CHAPTER XXX 



THE GALLOWAY 



The native home of Galloway cattle is in southwestern Scot- 

 land adjacent to the sea. Here exists a district, comprising the 

 counties of Wigton and Kirkcudbright and parts of Ayr and 

 Dumfries, that formed the ancient province or kingdom of 

 Galloway, and from this the breed takes its name. This region is 

 generally rough, excepting near the seashore, and the soil is thin 

 and gravelly. In the southern part the land is better suited 

 for cultivation ; in the north, in Dumfries and parts of Ayr, it is 

 mountainous. Here the climate is frequently damp and cloudy 

 and often cold and inclement. 



The origin of the Galloway, like that of the Aberdeen Angus, 

 is quite obscure. Youatt states that about 1750 the greater 

 part of the cattle of Galloway were horned, but some of them 

 were polled, a feature of this breed. In 1789 George Culley 

 wrote of "polled or humbled " cattle, and stated that "for the 

 original of these we must look in Galloway." Culley also notes 

 that graziers and drovers took them in prodigious numbers to 

 the fairs in Norfolk and Suffolk, England. Possibly the breed is 

 descended from polled wild cattle. Various British authorities in- 

 dicate that the Galloway is essentially a Kyloe or West Highland 

 breed devoid of horns, and may be a sport from this. Some author- 

 ities insist that Galloways have always been a true polled breed. 



The improvement of the Galloway dates back into the eighteenth 

 century. Culley states that the breeders of Galloway complain 

 that the old breed has become much worn out. He then says that 

 there is little doubt of its not only "being recovered, but still 

 more improved, when such a leading nobleman as Lord Selkirk 

 is among the breeders. Mr. Murray of Broughton and Mr. Her- 

 ring of Corrough-tree have been long very eminent in the breed- 

 ing of Galloway cattle. Mr. Craik, Mr. Dalyell, and several others 



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