348 WILD WHITE CATTLE OF GREAT BRITAIN. 



afterwards obtained from Lord Breadalbane's portion of 

 the Athole herd. The mane is lost with age." 



James Aitchison further says " that the cows which 

 came to the Duke of Buccleuch's were watched by him 

 at their calving ; that they always calved by daylight ; 

 that he took their calves from them, and they were 

 brought up by hand, as the Short-horn calves were ; 

 but that, in carrying them away at first they stiffened 

 themselves out, so that he almost thought they were 

 dead. They were very difficult to teach to drink, and, 

 if another calf had touched the milk in the pail offered 

 to them, they uniformly refused it. When the cows 

 and calves went out, they were obliged to give up 

 milking the cows any more." I presume the wildness 

 of both calves and dams compelled them to allow the 

 calves then to suck. The whole is an excellent account 

 of a semi-reclaimed wild herd, such as formerly existed 

 in many parts of Great Britain. 



In the year 1836 James Aitchison went to live as 

 grieve with Sir John Orde at Kilmory; in 1838 the 

 Duke of Buccleuch went abroad, and the home demesne 

 at Dalkeith was let. The new tenant did not wish to 

 retain the wild Athole cattle, and they were therefore 

 slaughtered — unfortunately before Sir John Orde was 

 informed. The moment he heard of it, James Aitchison 

 was sent over. One pure-bred young bull, who was 

 neither beef nor veal, alone survived : he was purchased, 

 and brought back to Argyllshire ; and with him, as its 

 basis, commenced the Kilmory Herd — a semi-wild 

 herd, which has been carried on for thirty-six years, 

 and has the characteristics of the ancient wild cattle 

 to as great an extent probably as any herd now exist- 



