CHAPTER IV. 



IMPROVEMENT OF THE BREED. 



Little inducement to improve cattle a hundred years ago Beef at one 

 penny per pound Rearing cattle for farm-work Introduction of 

 Holderness and Fife breeds Demand for beef Working cattle 

 abandoned Improvement of native races Choice of polled variety as 

 beef cattle Improvement of polled cattle in Angus Operations of 

 Mr Hugh "Watson, Lord Panmure, Earl of Southesk, Mr William 

 Fullerton, Messrs Mustard, Mr Bowie, and others Improvement of 

 the breed in Kincardineshire Operations of Mr Walker, Portlethen, 

 and others Improvement in Aberdeenshire The efforts of Mr 

 William M'Combie of Tillyfour, and others: Introduction of Short- 

 horns The crossing craze Improvement in Banff and Moray The 

 Ballindalloch and other herds Encouragement by Agricultural So- 

 cieties to improvers of polled cattle The ' Polled Herd Book ' The 

 Polled Cattle Society. 



IT would seem that in the north of Scotland little atten- 

 tion had been given to the improvement of cattle till after 

 the middle of the eighteenth century. Prior to that there 

 had been scarcely any inducement to bestow trouble or 

 expense in developing either the beef or the milk pro- 

 ducing properties of cattle. During the Queen Anne 

 wars, subsequent to the union of England and Scotland 

 in 1707, the farmers of the south of Scotland began to 

 export their surplus cattle to England. That trade con- 

 tinued and increased considerably, but did not until long 

 after extend its benefits in any substantial form to the 

 counties in the north and north-east. It is stated that in 



