EASTER SKENE HERD. 223 



from the herd have gone to England. Stock from East 

 Town are not exhibited except at the local show at 

 Tarland, where they always occupy a good position. 



Easter Skene. 



Mr M'Combie of Easter Skene has, like his cousin of 

 Tillyfour, devoted much attention to the improvement of 

 the polled breed. The foundation of his herd may be 

 said to have been laid in 1840 at Lynturk, where Mr 

 M'Combie kept a number of polled cows of the native 

 breed. Close attention to breeding was given some years 

 later. The circumstance which caused this greater care 

 to be bestowed was the superiority of the stock produced 

 in the herd by the noted bull Panmure 51. As previously 

 stated, Panmure was bought, after his victory at Dundee in 

 1843, by Mr Farquharson Taylor, Wellhouse, and he was 

 used by Mr M'Combie at Lynturk, as well as by several 

 other breeders in the Vale of Alford. In vol. i. of 

 the ' Herd Book,' Mr M'Combie registered two calves 

 by Panmure — Queen of Scots 72 and Eppy 73. These 

 have been erroneously entered in the 'Herd Book' as 

 having been after Panmure of Wellhouse 119. They 

 were really got by Panmure 51. For several years the 

 herd at Easter Skene was almost exclusively composed 

 of the descendants of these cows by Panmure 51, and 

 there was no lack of testimonies to their excellence. At 

 the Aberdeen show in 1853, Queen of Scots headed a 

 strong class of twelve, beating Lord Southesk's famous 

 Dora ; while at the same show, Mr M'Combie was first 

 for bulls with Poderick Dhu 89, also bred by himself. 

 Mr M'Combie obtained some blood in the female line 

 from Mr Farquharson Taylor, notably the dam of Alaster 

 256, whose sire was Hanton 228. Alaster 2nd 462, 

 a son of Alaster 256, on one occasion at Aberdeen 

 defeated the celebrated Portlethen bull Fox Maule 305 ; 



