MB. CHANDOS-POLE-GELL'S VISIT. 355 



(such as the milking of the cows), the management and 

 treatment which the ancient Short-horns received a 

 hundred years since from our Teeswater predecessors ; 

 and because I am not without hope that these cattle, if 

 kept up and disseminated, may tend to preserve to us 

 still the type of our ancient wild cattle, which, I cannot 

 but fear, is in some danger of being lost. 



The following is an account of a visit to the 

 Kilmory Herd made for me by Mr. Chandos-Pole- 

 Gell, in his own words : — 



" October 1st, 1874. — Left Greenock at 9 a.m. in the 

 Iona, and reached Ardrishaig at one o'clock. Captain 

 and Miss Orde came to meet the steamer, and drove me 

 to Kilmory House. After luncheon, I went with James 

 Aitchison, the grieve, a most intelligent man, to inspect 

 the white cattle, which had been collected together in a 

 large piece of heathery moorland, in order that I might 

 have a better chance of observing them accurately 

 than on the large range, where they are usually 

 pastured. 



"I saw seventy-seven cows, heifers, and calves, of 

 various ages, but could not obtain an accurate account 

 of each kind. Amongst the calves were about six stots, 

 and, I think, two small bull-calves, still sucking their 

 dams, one being a very good one. They are exactly 

 like the ordinary West Highland cattle, only white in 

 colour. There are black hairs inside the. ear, and the 

 muzzle, which is broad and well-shaped, is black, and 

 they are very lively-looking. I could not see any ap- 

 pearance of red hair above the muzzle. One of the 

 heifers had a black ear — the ' black -luggit ane,' as 

 Aitchison called her. No black or coloured calf ever 

 appears. No steers have ever been kept to maturity, 

 x 2 



