20 ORIGIN OF POLLED EACES OF CATTLE. 



mony of the existence of polled cattle in the Western High- 

 lands of Scotland more than a hundred years ago. Dr 

 Samuel Johnson, in liis published account of the journey 

 which he and Bos well, his faithful follower, made through 

 the Western Islands of Scotland in 1773, says: "The cattle 

 of Skye are not so small as is commonly believed. Since 

 they have sent their beeves in great numbers to southern 

 markets, they have probably taken more care of their 

 breed. Of their black cattle, some are without horns, 

 called by the Scots humble cows, as we call a bee humble 

 that wants a sting. Whether this difference be specific or 

 accidental, though we inquired with great diligence, we 

 could not be informed. We are not very sure that the 

 bull is ever without horns, though we have been told that 

 such bulls there are. What is produced by putting a 

 horned and unhorued male and female together no man 

 has ever tried that thought the result worthy of observa- 

 tion." When or how the polled cattle of Skye became 

 extinct, we unfortunately know nothing, for the earlier 

 writers on agricultural matters in the north of Scotland, 

 as elsewhere, describe cattle so generally, that any refer- 

 ence to such points as horns is very rare. 



Pennant has left us interesting notes on his tours in 

 Scotland during the years 1769, 1772, and 1773, but only 

 in a few isolated cases does he give a minute description of 

 the cattle he had seen. He travelled through Sutherland- 

 shire in 1769, and he tells us that it is " a country abound- 

 ing in cattle, and sends out annually 2500 head, which 

 sold at this time [August 1769] (lean) at from £2, 10s. to 

 £3 per head. They are very frequently without horns, 

 and both they and the horses are very small." Of the 

 Sutherlandshire polled cattle we have also lost all trace. 

 In other parts of Scotland, polled strains which are now 

 extinct would seem to have existed in former times, but 

 we have mentioned the more important varieties known 

 to us. 



