INACCURACIES IN VOL. I. OF ' HERD BOOK.' 91 



production of the first volume. The collection of materials 

 for vol. i. was commenced in 1842. The whole of the 

 documents were deposited for safety in the Museum of the 

 Highland and Agricultural Society in Edinburgh, and when 

 the fire took place in the buildings there in 1851, they were 

 unfortunately all destroyed. The loss was irreparable. 

 Mainly through the instrumentality of the Earl of South- 

 esk the work was again begun in 1857, but it was 

 not until 1862 that the first volume of the 'Herd Book' was 

 actually published. In the interval, several of the finest 

 polled herds in the country were attacked with rinderpest 

 or pleuro- pneumonia. In some cases only a wreck of 

 formerly magnificent herds remained after the devasta- 

 tion wrought by these fell diseases, and more than one 

 of the fragments had been finally dispersed ere the first 

 volume made its appearance. It must also be said that 

 private notes of pedigrees were not systematically re- 

 tained by many breeders ; and Mr Kavenscroft has stated 

 that " in some cases where assistance was naturally looked 

 for, obstacles were thrown in the way of procuring infor- 

 mation." 



If in 1862 it was not easy to obtain reliable details 

 regarding the breeding of several of the early registered 

 polled cattle, we need scarcely remark that the task is 

 now much more difficult of accomplishment. We are 

 pleased to say, however, that after the most careful investi- 

 gations, we have succeeded in procuring information which 

 we think clears away several of the more glaring inaccura- 

 cies in vol. i. It is to be hoped that breeders may not 

 long be without a revised edition of the first volume of the 

 ( Herd Book,' with corrections made under the authority 

 of the Polled Cattle Society. The interests of the breed 

 demand that this should be undertaken without undue 

 delay, and it is rendered more necessary by the fact that 

 the first volume is out of print. We shall refer in the 

 first place to 



