308 THE BREED IX THE SHOW-YARD. 



price, and he was, to the astonishment of many, turned 

 ticketless to his stall, and the first prize bestowed on the 

 Mulben bred bull Madeira, from Dunmore, who was second 

 to March the week before at Manchester, as also at Aber- 

 deen in 1868. Madeira had a stylish head and neck, 

 and stood higher than March, but he was not so well put 

 together nor quite so fine in the bone. 



" It was a day of surprises. In the cow class the 

 heavy, handsome, level-fleshed Sybil 974, from Castle 

 Eraser, bred at Bogfern, was looked upon as a safe winner. 

 The Angus men, however, seemed to think her rather less 

 feminine-looking than Duchess 1st 930, from Westertown, 

 who, being in a comparatively unfed state, was preferred, 

 most unexpectedly by the lookers-on, for the coveted 

 ticket. When examined after the judging, her thoroughly 

 ' cow character ' and good milking properties, with nice 

 shoulders and neck, went far to satisfy the critics. Next 

 year she gained the challenge cup as the best polled 

 animal at Aberdeen, though beaten in her class by Sybil, 

 who, however, had gained that trophy in 1869, and was 

 not again eligible. A massive, thickly-fleshed, heavily- 

 coated heifer from Tilly four topped the two -year -old 

 class at Edinburgh, but she also failed as a breeder, and 

 ' finished ' at the English fat shows. 



"Sybil 974 lived to fight another day, and won in a 

 good class of cows at Dumfries in 1870, where she 

 looked her best, and was followed by the three-year-old 

 Erica cow Eisa 977, from Ballindalloch. Sir George 

 Macpherson Grant shortly afterwards brought Sybil to 

 Ballindalloch, paying 63 guineas for her at the Castle 

 Eraser dispersion in the autumn of 1870. In the two- 

 year-old heifer class Colonel Eraser's Lively 1164, out 

 of the prize cow Lily 1114, made a hard tussle to 

 repeat her first Edinburgh honours. She was rather 

 small in size, but exceedingly neat and feminine-looking, 

 and afterwards went at 67 guineas to found the valuable 



