THE FIRST KINNAIRD HERD. 135 



animals. They all won prizes, but the victory was dearly 

 bought. The cattle caught pleuro-pneumonia at Dumfries, 

 and communicated it to the rest of the herd, which, 

 before the plague was stayed, was reduced to seven 

 animals. Mr Brown courageously, and with renewed 

 energy and determination, resumed breeding with this 

 remnant of a previously splendid herd. Showing was 

 abstained from until 1868, when the bull March retrieved 

 the laurels of the herd ; and until Mr Brown's death in 

 1874, show-yard honours again fell thick and fast. The 

 new herd had thus been actually in existence for only 

 about fourteen years, a period too brief for the maturing 

 of Mr Brown's plans. Had his life been spared a few 

 years longer, it was confidently expected that Mr Brown 

 would have made Westertown the scene of as wonderful 

 achievements in cattle-breeding as Warlaby or Kirklev- 

 ington. But this was not to be. Mr Brown's death in 

 1874 abruptly terminated a career that was full of promise. 

 At the dispersion of his herd in 1874 the animals fell 

 into good hands. They enriched many already valuable 

 stocks, and specimens of the Westertown families still 

 exist in considerable numbers. It is to be regretted, 

 however, that no one has attempted to complete the half- 

 finished work commenced so systematically and success- 

 fully by Mr Brown. 



Kinnaird. 



The Honourable Charles Carnegie has kindly favoured 

 us with a long and most interesting communication re- 

 garding the first herd of polled cattle at Kinnaird Castle. 

 This herd occupied such a prominent position, and animals 

 bred in it have so largely contributed to the improvement 

 of herds into which they were introduced, that informa- 

 tion regarding it is of much importance. The extinction 

 of the herd by rinderpest in 1865 was a calamity to the 

 polled breed. 



