Polled Aberdeen and Angus Cattle. 
369 
intermixed. And besides, we have it on record that, towards the 
end of the last century and earl j in the present, the Buchan " hum- 
lies " were crossed with Ayrshires, and the horned breed of Fife 
and other races ; and the Angus " doddies " with Ayrshires and 
other breeds. Youatt tells us, no doubt on Hugh Watson's own 
authority, that the latter gentleman's famous Smithfield heifer, 
already referred to, " had a remote dash of Guernsey blood in 
her." In these circumstances, and in view of the known ten- 
dency of peculiarities in remote ancestors to display themselves 
from time to time, it is only natural that now and again an 
animal of the breed should appear with " scurs." They are 
scarcely ever seen on females. Some strains are more liable 
to them than others. In no family are they of frequent occur- 
rence, and in some they have never once been observed. No 
effort should be spared to eradicate them from the breed. No 
animal showing the least sign of " scurs " should on any account 
be used for breeding purposes. If I had to choose between the 
two evils, I am not sure but I would rather breed from a red 
animal than from one with " scurs." The one feature is foreign 
to the breed ; the other simply not in accordance with modern 
fancy. 
From the earliest accounts of the breed it would seem that 
they were even then noted for symmetry of form, and that they 
were small in size. They were so small, in fact, that oxen of 
the breed were not considered suitable for the ordinary light 
farm-work of a hundred years ago. It would seem also that 
they have always been thick, low-set, round, very compact, fine 
in the bone, with soft hair, mellow skin, rich cover of flesh, fine 
head, hardy constitution, and great aptitude to fatten, their beef 
being of the finest quality, and beautifully mixed. The Polled 
Aberdeen and Angus cattle of to-day are just magnified animals 
of the same type. Most of the good points they formerly pos- 
sessed have been still further developed, and brought to a 
higher condition of usefulness ; while some defects that cha- 
racterised the breed a hundred years ago have been wholly or 
partially removed. In the breed, as a whole, there has been a 
very great improvement in size during the present century. 
They are now large cattle ; little inferior, indeed, in weight to 
any other breed in the country. At a casual glance they seem 
decidedly smaller than average Shorthorns ; but on closer exa- 
mination, or on the " scales," the difference is generally found 
to be much less than had at first sight been supposed, and often 
disappears altogether. As a rule, animals of the Polled breed 
are lower-set, or thicker and more compact than average Short- 
horns ; the latter being more " pointy," and longer in the legs. 
The ancient symmetry of the breed has been more than main- 
