418 THE BREED IN THE SHOW- YARD. 



tion the name of any individual exhibitor so intimately 

 associated with a breed of cattle as that of the late lamented 

 Mr M'Combie on this memorable occasion." 



An exhibition of fat stock was held at Paris in 1862, 

 when the polled breed achieved a great victory. At that 

 gathering a polled ox exhibited by Mr M'Combie of 

 Tillyfour gained, besides the class prizes, the two great 

 prizes of honour: viz. the great gold medal of France 

 for the best ox in any of the classes of foreign stock, and 

 the Prince Albert 100 guinea cup competed for between 

 the two winners of prizes of honour for foreign and French 

 oxen. 



That great " crowning victory " of the polled Aberdeen 

 or Angus breed at the Paris International Exhibition in 

 1878 has been more than once referred to in preceding 

 portions of the work. There were only fifteen polled 

 Aberdeen or Angus cattle shown on that occasion, and yet 

 in this small collection the race was, in regard to general 

 merit, remarkably well represented. The late Mr William 

 M'Combie of Tillyfour exhibited eight ; Sir George Mac- 

 pherson Grant, Bart, of Ballindalloch, M.P., six ; and Mr 

 George Bruce, late of Keig, one. As evidence of the high 

 and uniform character of the muster of polls, it may be 

 stated that every one of the fifteen animals was awarded 

 either a prize ticket or an " honourable mention " dis- 

 tinction not attained by any of the other sixty-four 

 varieties of cattle represented. 



Then for the two 100 champion prizes the one for the 

 best group of cattle in the division foreign to France, and 

 the other for the best group of beef producing animals in 

 the exhibition. Mr M'Combie and Sir George Mac- 

 pherson Grant practically had the contest to themselves. 

 Each group had to consist of at least four females and 

 one bull all bred by the exhibitor. The Tillyfour group 

 was made up of a four-year-old cow, four heifers, and a 

 yearling bull. The cow was Gaily 1793, that obtained 



