Shorthorns  in  Scotland  and  Ireland. 
83 
in.  this  county  is  well  illustrated  by  the  fact  that  at  the  Kelso  Show  in  1832 
no  fewer  than  thirty  Shorthorn  bulls  were  exhibited. 
As  early  as  1818,  the  late  Mr.  Currie,  of  Halkerston,  Gorebridge,  father  of 
Mr.  Janies  Currie,  of  Eastwood,  Gorebridge,  brought  the  first  Improved  Short- 
horn into  Mid  Lothian.  This  was  a bull  bought  from  Mr.  Abraham  Wilson, 
of  Edington  Mains,  Berwickshire.  His  breeding  is  unknown,  but  he  proved 
himself  an  excellent  sire,  he  and  his  produce  having  effected  great  improve- 
ment in  the  cattle  of  the  district.  Soon  after  this,  Shorthorn  cows  were  intro- 
duced into  the  dailies  around  Edinburgh  ; while  at  a later  date,  before  1830, 
the  Roxburgh  cow — a cross  between  the  Shorthorn  and  West  Highland  breeds 
— was  also  tried  largely  and  successfully  in  these  dairies.  About  1830, 
Mr.  Allan,  late  of  Middleton,  now  of  Kinning,  near  Perth,  purchased  a well- 
bred  Shorthorn  bull  from  Mr.  Grey,  of  Millfield,  Northumberland.  He  turned 
out  well,  and  from  a rather  rough  stock  of  cows  he  raised  remarkably  fine 
animals.  A few  years  later,  Mr.  Watson,  of  Esperston,  also  went  to  Mr.  Grey 
for  a pure-bred  bull,  which,  among  a similar  class  of  cows,  proved  equally 
useful  and  impressive.  In  West  Lothian,  Shorthorn  bulls  were  tried  even 
before  this  date ; and  having  been  found  to  produce  better  results  than  any 
other  race,  they  were  used  very  freely  throughout  the  county. 
In  Ayrshire,  Renfrew,  and  other  parts  of  the  south-west,  Shorthorns  were 
obtained,  and  bred  and  used  successfully  by  many  leading  agriculturists.  In 
these  districts,  however,  the  smaller  Ayrshire  breed,  with  its  superb  milking 
properties,  kept  all  rival  races  in  abeyance.  The  county  of  Selkirk  was  early 
in  the  field  for  Shorthorns;  and  here,  for  crossing  purposes  in  particular,  the 
breed  soon  came  to  be  very  highly  esteemed.  Youatt  mentions  that  Mr. 
Milne  imported  “a  fine  Shorthorn  bull  from  Northumberland,”  through 
whose  stock  a change — a vast  improvement  of  course — was  effected  in  the 
breed  of  the  whole  district.  In  Fifeshire,  as  elsewhere  in  Scotland,  the  spread 
of  the  Improved  Shorthorn  was  for  a time  retarded  by  an  impression  that 
these  finely-bred  southern  cattle  would  not  stand  the  rigorous  climate  of  the 
north.  The  great  excellence,  however,  of  the  stock  reared  by  General 
Simpson  and  by  other  early  breeders  gradually  dispelled  this  ill-founded  idea, 
and  the  more  enterprising  Fifeshire  farmers  became  enthusiastic  admirers  of 
Shorthorns.  Among  those  who  in  early  times  took  up  the  good  work  so 
pluckily  begun  by  General  Simpson,  Lady  Mary  Lindsay  Crawfurd,  of 
Crawford  Priory,  was  one  of  the  most  energetic  and  successful. 
In  more  recent  times  the  southern  division  of  Scotland  has  been  more 
largely  devoted  to  the  growing  of  wheat  and  potatoes  than  the  raising  of  live- 
stock. In  the  history  of  Shorthorn  breeding  within  the  last  forty  years  it 
has  nevertheless  played  an  important  and  creditable  part.  The  noble  and 
fascinating  work,  begun  in  the  Valley  of  the  Tees  by  the  Collings,  and  carried 
to  Tweedside  by  Mr.  Robertson,  has  since  1840  been  prosecuted  with  much 
enterprise  and  conspicuous  success  at  various  centres  in  the  south  of 
: Scotland.  The  existing  herds  are  few  in  number,  but  many  that  have  been 
‘dispersed  did  good  service  in  their  day  and  generation. 
The  principal  modern  herds  in  the  south  of  Scotland,  now  extinct,  were 
those  owned  by  the  late  Mr.  James  Douglas,  of  Athelstaneford,  East  Lothian  ; 
the  late  Mr.  Barclay,  of  Keavil,  Fifeshire  ; the  late  Sir  William  Stirling 
Maxwell,  Bart.,  of  Keir;  Mr.  James  Currie,  of  Halkerston,  Mid  Lothian ; the 
Earl  of  Dunmore ; the  late  Duke  of  Montrose ; Viscount  Strathallan ; Mr. 
Tweedie,  Deuchrie  ; the  late  Mr.  Mark  Stewart,  of  Southwick,  Dumfries  ; the 
late  Lord  Kinnaird  ; Mr.  Milne,  of  Faldonside  ; Mr.  Ainslie,  of  Costerton,  &c. 
The  Athelstaneford  herd  would  demand  lengthened  notice  were  it  not  that 
n ‘ Field  and  Fern  ’ (South)  Mr.  Dixon  has,  in  his  wonted  happy  strain,  given 
in  interesting  account  of  Mr.  Douglas's  achievements  as  a breeder  of  Short- 
lorns.  Beginning  about  1842,  Mr.  Douglas  devoted  close  attention  to  the 
G 2 
