OTHEE BREEDERS IN ABERDEENSHIRE. 65 



the Queen's desire, forwarded to Windsor for her Majesty's 

 inspection; and her Majesty was afterwards graciously 

 pleased to accept from Mr M'Combie her Christmas baron 

 of beef from the carcass of this fine animal, of which her 

 Majesty had expressed great admiration. A year or two 

 afterwards her Majesty visited Tillyfour, mainly for the 

 purpose of inspecting Mr M'Combie's herd of celebrated 

 polled cattle, and she was interested in finding, in Mr 

 M'Combie's dining-room, the head of the beautiful animal 

 she had seen at Windsor. Black Prince was sold by Mr 

 Giblett to Messrs Lidstone & Scarlet, Bond Street, London, 

 for £120, the head having been retained by Mr M'Combie, 

 who had it stuffed and placed in a prominent position in 

 his dining-room at Tillyfour. 



The important work to which Mr M'Combie devoted 

 himself so assiduously for nearly half a century has been 

 helped forward in a very substantial manner by many 

 other enterprising agriculturists in the county of Aber- 

 deen, both landlords and tenant-farmers, who have also 

 devoted much money, time, and attention to the improve- 

 ment of the native polled cattle. The operations of most 

 of these will be referred to when we come to notice extinct 

 and existing herds. The following (in addition to those 

 already named) deserve to be mentioned here, as having 

 specially distinguished themselves as improvers of polled 

 Aberdeen or Angus cattle — namely, Mr WiUiam M'Com- 

 bie of Easter Skene ; Colonel Fraser of Castle Fraser ; Mr 

 Harry Shaw, Bogfern; Mr James Eeid, Greystone; Mr 

 William Anderson, Wellhouse; the late Colonel Gordon 

 of Fyvie ; the late Mr Dingwall Fordyce of Brucklay, M.P. ; 

 Colonel Ferguson of Pitfour ; the late Sir Alexander Ban- 

 nerman, Bart, of Crimonmogate ; the late Dr Eobertson 

 of Indego; the late Mrs M'Combie, East -Town; Mr 

 Farquharson, East -Town; Mr Walker, Ardhuncart; Mr 

 Walker, Westside of Brux; Mr Lumsden of Clova; Mr 

 Farquharson of Haughton; the Marquis of Huntly; the 



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