Farming of East Lothian. 



297 



was found that they were more liable to attacks of murrain, 

 pleuro-pneumonia, than Scottish or English bred cattle ; also 

 that when fattened they did not bring the same price per stone 

 as cattle reared in Great Britain. For the last few years the 

 great proportion of the cattle fed are half-bred short-horns. 

 These are generally obtained from English dealers, who pur- 

 chase them from the breeders, in the counties of York, Durham, 

 &c. Occasionally they are purchased by farmers of the county 

 at markets in the South. 



The ages at which cattle are purchased for fattening are one, 

 two, and three years old. The number of two-year olds greatly 

 exceeds that of the other two ages. They are usually purchased 

 in the months of September, October, and November. Within 

 the last two or three years, calves four to six months old have also 

 been brought from the South. The best descriptions of the 

 English-bred cattle do not come to Scotland, partly because the 

 best are retained at home, and partly because our farmers in 

 general are not sufficiently impressed with the importance of 

 quality in these cross-bred animals, quality being, for the pur- 

 poses of the feeder, even a more important element in crosses than 

 in pure-bred stock. The weight to which the animal will fatten, 

 and the time required to fatten, are too exclusively the elements 

 of consideration, and not quality. The latter, when at all taken 

 into account, is placed last, and not where it ought to be, first. 

 Scottish farmers, while generally alive to the importance of quality 

 in the pure native breeds, do not sufficiently appreciate it in 

 crosses generally. 



Three-fourths of the cattle now fattened in this county are 

 English bred ; and after being fattened are purchased for the 

 South, and return nearly to the same localities in ivhich they had 

 been reared. The finest qualities generally go to London ; the 

 second qualities into the manufacturing and mining districts of 

 England. It is generally only the inferior cattle, at least the 

 smaller sized, which are sold in the Edinburgh market. The 

 railways, while assisting in changing the kinds of cattle fattened 

 in East Lothian, have also changed the markets for them after 

 they are fattened. 



The rates for the conveyance of lean stock from, say, Yorkshire 

 to East Lothian, is from 65. to Is. per head ; from Newcastle, 85. 

 They are taken back fat at nearly the same rates. To London 

 the charge for a truck of cattle is 6/. 13^. ^d., and as each truck 

 contains seven or eight cattle, the rate is under 1/. per head. 

 Sheep per truck, 3/. 15^. Dead meat to London, 6O5. per ton. 



The cattle, while being fattened, are usually kept in open 

 courts. When these are comfortable, and the animals of a quiet 

 disposition, they are found to make nearly as great progress as 



