THE "STATELY WILLIAMSONS." 35 



to all domestic varieties of the ox), nor does he say whether 

 any or all were horned or hornless. He submitted his 

 " general view " of the breeds for correction to Mr George 

 Williamson, farmer, St John's Wells, Fyvie, Aberdeen- 

 shire, who was then " the principal cattle-dealer in the 

 north of Scotland," and who, with his two brothers, James 

 and Eobert, generally sold " about 8000 cattle yearly in 

 the markets of England and of the south of Scotland, of 

 which two-thirds are raised in this county." The Messrs 

 Williamson approved of the table, and supplied Dr Keith 

 with a great deal of information regarding the cattle trade. 

 They stated that " they decidedly prefer the true native 

 breed, unmixed, and raised by good keeping, to the mix- 

 ture of the Falkland or Tifeshire breed with that of this 

 county, and consider both these to be much superior to 

 the English or to any foreign breeds. . . . They consider 

 the small Highland cattle, which are generally bought by 

 inferior dealers, as too restless and impatient for feeding 

 well. They prefer the native low -country breed to the 

 larger ones, as they are most easily maintained, more hardy 

 in work, have flesh of the finest ^rain, and pay better in 

 proportion to the goodness of their keep." 



It should be noted that the testimony of the " Stately 

 Williamsons" (as they were familiarly called) carries 

 with it the very highest authority. Besides being largely 

 engaged in cattle-dealing, they also farmed extensively. 

 Dr Keith says : " They rent about 2000 Scotch acres of 

 land, besides £500 of grass rent, within the county. They 

 have at present [1810] about 200 acres of turnips em- 

 ployed in feeding as many black cattle and in rearing 400 

 cattle or winterers." Mr George Williamson in particular 

 was a man of great worth and enterprise. Over his grave 

 in the churchyard of Fyvie, Aberdeenshire, there is a 

 monument bearing the following inscription : " George 

 Williamson, late in St John's Wells, died 17th April 1823, 

 aged 75, on whose remains this monument was erected by 



