MR WILLIAM M'COMBIE. 63 



father, who of course had exceptional opportunities of 

 knowing the value of the breed as compared with others, 

 had held the native polled cattle in high favour. Mr 

 William M'Combie, in replying to the toast of his health 

 at a banquet to which he was entertained in Aberdeen in 

 1862, said : " I was led by a father whose memory I revere, 

 to believe that our polled cattle were peculiarly suited to 

 our soil and climate, and that, if their properties were 

 rightly brought out, they would equal, if not surpass, any 

 other breed as to weight, symmetry, and quality of flesh. 

 I resolved that I would endeavour to improve our native 

 breed." The Tillyfour herd dates from 1830, and was 

 finally dispersed in 1880, a few months after the death of 

 its worthy owner. The material used and produced by 

 Mr M'Combie, as well as the system of breeding which he 

 pursued, will be so fully described afterwards, that a 

 few sentences will suffice here. He started his herd with 

 cattle bred in the county, some on Tillyfour itself, and 

 some by the Messrs Williamson, St John's Wells, Fyvie ; 

 Mr Walker, Wester Fintray, and others. With these old 

 local strains he worked for some years, producing many 

 excellent animals, and gaining numerous prizes. At Mr 

 William FuUerton's sale at Ardovie in 1844 he purchased 

 Queen Mother 348 as a yearling heifer for £12, 10s., and 

 from her he built up his celebrated Queen tribe, which 

 has probably done more than any other to spread and 

 enhance the good name of the breed. It will be shown 

 in our account of the Tillyfour herd that Mr M'Combie 

 pursued close breeding to a considerable extent, and that 

 with much ingenuity he blended the material which ulti- 

 mately produced such excellent results as the progress of 

 his herd displayed. 



Mr M'Combie's success in the show-yard has few paral- 

 lels in the history of farm-stock. In the third edition of 

 his volume entitled ' Cattle and Cattle-Breeders,' no fewer 

 than seventeen pages are occupied by a mere record of 



