THE KEILLOR HEED. 49 



son's grandfather "had the breed for upwards of forty 

 years, which leads us back to 1735." We understand 

 that the Watson family is in possession of a letter from 

 the late Mr Henry Stephens, author of ' The Book of the 

 Farm,' from which it would seem that at a still earlier 

 date the great-grandfather of Mr Hugh Watson had for a 

 long period reared doddies on his farm of Cattie, in the 

 parish of Bendochy, near Cupar-Angus. Mr Hugh Wat- 

 son was born on his father's farm of Bannantyne, of New- 

 tyle, in 1789, and became tenant of the neighbouring farm 

 of Keillor in 1808. It is stated that from his boyhood he 

 loved the Angus doddies, and he certainly lost no time in 

 devoting his energies to their improvement. When he 

 entered Keillor he received from his father six of his 

 " best and blackest cows, along with a bull, as a nucleus 

 for an Angus doddie herd." It is recorded, however, by 

 his son, Mr William Watson, now in the United States 

 of America, that he was not satisfied with the merits 

 of these, and that "he started in the same summer for 

 Trinity Muir Market, Brechin, and purchased the ten best 

 heifers and the best bull he could procure showing the 

 greatest characteristics of the breed." Mr William Wat- 

 son says : " The heifers were black, brindled, and black 

 with brown muzzles and brown streak along their back. 

 The bull was black, and all black my father stuck to, thus 

 working the other colours out of fashion." Mr Fullerton 

 states that Mr Watson, in selecting these animals, had the 

 assistance of Mr Mustard — "likely Mr William Mustard, 

 Fithie, his brother, Mr James Mustard, not having been 

 tenant of Leuchland till 1811," — and adds that the heifers 

 came from " near Farnell, which points to either the late 

 Mr Euxton, tenant of Farnell, or to the late Mr David 

 Aymer, tenant of East Carcary, as their breeders. Both 

 these gentlemen were long keepers of this breed, and Mr 

 Aymer's stock had a peculiar style of their own. I pur- 

 chased his two-year-old heifers in 1834. They were par- 



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