Polled Aberdeen and Angus Cattle. 381 
and with this view I give a little oilcake before and after 
weaning. The calves here are all suckled ; and after they are 
ten days old they are never tied up, but are allowed to run about 
the byre as they choose, clean straw being spread out behind the 
cows for them to lie upon. I have never had a calf injured by 
this freedom being accorded to them. Heifers here are never 
put to the bull till two years old. I disapprove of the practice 
of having them served when only yearlings, as this, as a rule, 
dwarfs their growth and weakens the constitution, probably both 
of themselves and their descendants. It is the practice here to 
put, at even a very early stage, the bull-calves and their mothers 
in fields separate from the heifer-calves and their mothers. I 
am also opposed to the use of yearling bulls beyond three or 
four times during the season, as tending to lessen their size and 
destroy their symmetry, with a risk also of unsatisfactory pro- 
duce. The stock bulls here are kept each in a loose-box, 
opening on an open court, concreted, and boarded around to a 
height of 7 feet. In addition to their access all day to these 
open courts facing the sun, they are from time to time walked 
out for exercise. They are plentifully but plainly fed. We store 
the turnips in December, and as they are always at hand and in 
good condition, there is the less need for supplementing the 
natural foods. Care should always be taken to keep cattle free 
from draughts and to maintain their houses in a clean airy con- 
dition. I think a breeding-stock should be kept habitually from 
getting into what may be called poor condition, while over- 
feeding ought to be equally guarded against. Much caution is 
necessary, so as not to over-fatten two-year-old heifers for showing 
purposes. Indeed, it is questionable whether they should receive 
any extra feeding until they are safely settled in-calf. Prices vary 
according to quality and pedigree. I have sold a few very 
good animals at as low as 20/., while on the other hand I have 
been offered 100 guineas for a yearling heifer, and 200 guineas 
for a yearling bull." 
Mr. Tayler, of Glenbarry, pursues a similar system. Calves 
are weaned when from 6 to 10 months old, and then get a full 
allowance of turnips and straw with 1 lb. of best linseed-cake 
daily during their first winter. The young bulls are sold when 
Irom 10 to 14 months old, the average price for the past two 
years being 35/. In addition to turnips and straw, heifers get 
about 1 lb. each of linseed-cake every day during their first 
winter ; and cows get 2 lbs. of cake daily for two weeks before 
calving, and a good feed of bran daily, with a little nitre three 
times a week, for three weeks after calving. 
In Sir George Macpherson Grant's herd at Ballindalloch, 
