FALKIRK TO EDINBURGH. 47 



^^as old as a roan/^ and with strong marks of 

 the collar ; and many of the Merinoes are most vener- 

 able wool producers. They are generally four and 

 five years old wedders, and suit the second-class 

 Glasgow butchers_, at all figures from 22s. to 30s., 

 while the Holsteiners will fetch from £18 to £23. 

 These sheep are the incarnation of ugliness, with 

 long tails and Avhite noses, and most of them with a 

 strong dash of Merino blood. When they do not 

 come over clipped, as a large proportion do, their 

 skins make 7s. Plenty kill at only 71bs. to 81bs. per 

 quarter, but the better class scale twice as much. 



The Dalkeith fair is on the Tuesday after the last 

 Ealkirk tryst. No Highland cattle attend it, and from 

 5,000 to 7,000 shorthorn crosses, Irish, and Gallo- 

 ways, several of which have been grazed in the dis- 

 trict, are the staple of its supplies. Mr. Dudgeon, of 

 Almond Hill, gave £600 for a prime lot of thirty 

 Galloways, but the general run of prices for the three 

 kinds is for threes, from £17 to £13, for twos from 

 £13 to £10, and for stirks from £8 to £6 ; and these 

 quotations apply to all markets at that time of the 

 year. Cumberland (more especially its Penrith dis- 

 trict) and the country round Yarm send shorthorns, 

 with a good sprinkling of calves; and the supply is 

 strengthened by home-grazed beasts, some of which 

 are bought here or at Hallow fair the previous year, 

 and are now replaced. 



The first Doune market, which begins on the first 

 Tuesday in November, is principally devoted to 



