CRAZE FOR SHORTHORN CROSSES. 61 



merit, excited great astonishment and admiration. In 

 1827, at a public sale of Shorthorns held at Phantassie, 

 Captain Barclay of Ury, Kincardineshire, and Mr Alex- 

 ander Hay, Shethin, attended, and both made purchases. 

 Within the next few years their example was followed by 

 Mr Cruickshank, Sittyton ; Mr Grant Duff of Eden ; Mr 

 Longmore of Eettie, and others, — and from the herds of 

 these gentlemen drafts of young Shorthorn bulls were dis- 

 persed either publicly or privately every year. The im- 

 proved Shorthorn was found a very different stamp of an 

 animal from the big, coarse, ungainly Holderness or Tees- 

 water that, as we have seen, had been tried at an earlier 

 period. The improved bulls, mated with native polled 

 cows, produced better butcher cattle than had yet been 

 known — animals remarkable alike for aptitude to fatten, 

 wealth of flesh, constitution, and quality of beef. Cross- 

 ing in this fashion therefore became almost a craze. Hand- 

 some profits were realised from it, and for a time it seemed 

 as if farmers had been rendered oblivious to the risk of 

 running out their reserve of pure polled cows, which were 

 as necessary as the Shorthorn bulls for the raising of the 

 class of cattle which had aroused this excitement, and 

 which soon reached the highest prices in Smithfield mar- 

 ket. And it was not only in Aberdeen that the craze for 

 crossing had displayed itself. It also invaded Angus, and 

 there induced many farmers, much to their own chagrin 

 afterwards, to allow their excellent herds of pure-bred 

 polled cattle to degenerate into stocks of ever-varying 

 crosses. 



It is fortunate, however, that in both the great strong- 

 holds of the polled Aberdeen or Angus breed there were a 

 number of shrewd, far-seeing agriculturists who grasped 

 the full significance of the new fashion in cattle-breeding. 

 They recognised the danger which threatened the native 

 polled cattle, and with commendable courage they deter- 

 mined to disregard the popular taste, and to maintain 



