108 EXTINCT HERDS. 



cattle. His operations are described in Chapter IV., and 

 therefore a short sketch will suffice here. 



Perhaps the most notable animal bred by Mr Watson 

 was Old Grannie, or the Prima Cow, No. 1 of the ' Herd 

 Book.' She was calved in 1824, and died on 1st July 

 1859, at the age of thirty-five years and six months. Mr 

 Watson's object in keeping her till she died of old age 

 was to ascertain how long an animal of the breed with a 

 fine constitution could be profitably kept, and to what age 

 it would live in its natural state. Old Grannie was the 

 dam of 25 calves, 11 of which were registered in the 

 ' Herd Book.' She gave up breeding in her twenty-ninth 

 year, and yielded no milk after nursing the calf of the 

 previous year. She was exhibited at the Highland So- 

 ciety's show at Aberdeen in 1858, when her owner was 

 awarded the Society's medal as the exhibitor of so remark- 

 able an animal. The cattleman (James Thomson), who 

 had attended her all her lifetime, and had been in the 

 service of Mr Watson for forty-two years, was presented 

 with a medal and premium of 100 francs by the " Societe" 

 Protection des Animaux Justice et Compassion Hygiene 

 de Paris," through their secretary, M. Dutrone. A photo- 

 graph of the old cow, taken two days before she died, was, 

 at the request of His Royal Highness the Prince Consort, 

 placed in the collection of cattle photographs at Balmoral 

 in October 1859. Of this photograph an engraving ap- 

 pears in vol. i. of the ' Herd Book,' from which these facts 

 are extracted. The following are the names of the calves 

 of Old Grannie, whose pedigrees are recorded in the ' Herd 

 Book': Bulls, Strath more 5, calved 1851; Old Windsor 

 115, sire Black Jock 3 ; First Memus 129, sire Black Jock 

 3 ; Hugh 130, calved 1852, sire Old Jock 1 ; The Baron 

 134, sire Black Jock 3. Cows : Hope 3, sire Grey-breasted 

 Jock 2 ; Lady Clara 4, sire Grey-breasted Jock 2 ; Beauty 

 of Buchan 5, sire Grey-breasted Jock 2 ; Young Favourite 

 61, sire Grey-breasted Jock 2 ; Edinburgh 64, sire Grey- 



