at Aberdeen in 1858, with his head out to the alley, and the people remarking that I was making the most of him. Among other bulls I particularly remember when I was at Tilly four, were Don Fernando 514, Lord Clyde 249, President 4th 368, Bright 454, Champion 459, Rob Roy Macgregor 267, and Black Prince of Tillyfour 366. As to the last two, I think they were kept on for stock—not so much for the merits they had, but because they were good useful bulls, with good pedigrees. During the time they were stock bulls at Tillyfour, I think the number of cows was heavy, and they were never fed for show-yard purposes, consequently they were very useful in serving, and had good crops of calves. Turning to the cows at Tilly four, I may first mention Charlotte 203. Like her fellow-traveller Hanton 228, she possessed an excellent constitution, as was proved by her coming through all the diseases that the bovine race is heir to-foot-and-mouth, pleuro, &c. &c. She was all over a sweet-looking, level, nice-touching cow, with fine temper; and when in her summer dress, the letters E. U. I.-burnt into her neck when she gained the first prize at Paris in 1856, and which came in in white hair-looked like a medal round her neck. I consider Charlotte the best cow of the breed I ever saw. It made no difference lean or fat, she was always level-looking, without patchiness of any kind. about her. She was an excellent breeder to the last, and generally had better heifers than bulls. Bloomer 201 was larger than Charlotte, but not so level and sweet, nor so fine in the bone. She was an excellent worker in any kind of harness, worked her ten hours the time of the turnip laying down, and brought up twin calves. This was to get her to keep to her service, and keep her down in condition.

Writing about that brings it to my mind that Daisy 1165 and Fancy 1195, who both came to be Highland Society first-prize cows, when two years old were not

like to keep to their service, and were fed on barley straw and water the most of a summer season, and yet maintained condition rarely met with. I mention this to show the good constitution of the race. Crinoline

204, out of Charlotte, was a sweet cow, and had white legs, but was not quite so robust as some of the others. Lola Montes 208 was an old cow before I saw her, and was losing her shapes with a rheumatic leg. The cow Windsor 202, like Bloomer, was a worker, and threw some excellent stock. Pride of Aberdeen 581 was a very small calf, and was not thought much of when a calf, until she was weaned, as her mother, Charlotte, was not a great milker. I had always a favour for the calf. One day when Mr M'Combie and I were looking over her, he made some not very favourable observation about her, and I said I should not wonder although she were the Pride of Aberdeen, which she was, at the summer show. Hence the name and origin of this distinguished tribe. As she grew, she turned the nearest to perfection in animal I ever saw, but, like her mother, never was a great milker. She was a good breeder of heifers, and a fine feeder, which was one of the principal things I had to look to at that time. Many of the rougher cows in the herd were far better milkers, and some of these rough cows produced grand bullocks. One cow, Lady Agnes, a big, rough, largequartered beast, was the mother of the celebrated ox, Black Prince. Fair Maid of Perth 313, Kate of Aberdeen, two Mayflowers, Nightingale 262, Beauty of Tillyfour 2nd 1180, and Jenny Lind, all run in my mind as first-class Cows. The Belle 205 was an instance of a free-martin breeding, as she was a twin with a bull. She was a sweet cow, and came out of the pleuro."

It has sometimes been remarked that Mr M'Combie's fame as a breeder rests chiefly on the fact that he was able to send out a wonderful lot of females, and that he had but little success as a breeder of bulls. This observation

is not well-founded. It is quite true that the bulls bred by Mr M'Combie did not figure so prominently in the show-yard as the females reared at Tillyfour. That was perhaps due mainly to the fact that the male animals were too valuable to force for showing purposes. Any one who wishes to estimate accurately the merit of the Tilly four bulls, should look at the accounts of the Westertown, Kinnaird, Ballindalloch, Mains of Kelly, Easter Skene, Drumin, Rothiemay, Castle Fraser, Montbletton, Kinnochtry, Tullochallum, and numerous other herds. A few of the bulls bred at Tillyfour may be noted. First there were the three Victors; then Windsor 221; Alford 231; Young Panmure 232; Napoleon 257; Rob Roy Macgregor 267; Black Jock of Tilly four 365; Black Prince of Tilly four 366; Sir James 369; Derby 377; Defiance 397; Marshal 399; Garibaldi of Haughton 707; Hero 400; Disraeli 401; Trojan 402; Reform 408; Squire 436; Bright 454; Champion 459; Scotsman 474; Remarkable 482; Major of Tillyfour 509; Clova 517; Black Prince of Clova 518; Tam o' Shanter 491; Shah 680, &c.

We shall not attempt to enumerate the prizes won by Mr M'Combie in the show-yard, which, from the first premium won at Alford in 1832 to the crowning victory at Paris in 1878, furnishes a record of success without precedent in the annals of stock-breeding. A remarkable feature connected with Mr M'Combie's show cattle was that nearly all his prize animals were of the Queen tribe. If there were few of this tribe in the champion group at Paris, the reason is not far to seek. Mr M'Combie, as we already mentioned, was unable so carefully to supervise the management of his herd when he was in Parliament as when he could devote his whole attention to it. But for this, we feel satisfied he would not have allowed so many of his best animals to be sold in 1874. Had not this sale taken place, it might not have been necessary for him to

have included representatives of other families than his own in the group which won the highest honours that have yet been bestowed on the polled breed.

Mr M'Combie held numerous sales of breeding cattle. The first of these took place in 1850, and the dispersion sale was in 1880. Altogether about 350 breeding animals were sold publicly from the Tillyfour herd for upwards of £14,000. The influence of the herd has been widespread. There is not a breeder who has not profited by the lifelong exertions of Mr M'Combie towards the improvement of the breed.

132

CHAPTER VIII.

EXTINCT HERDS-CONTINUED.

(1) The Westertown herd: Families reared by Mr Brown-Sires used full of Panmure 51 and Queen blood-Mr Brown's method of breedingLoss by pleuro-pneumonia-Revival of the herd-Its success in the show-yard.—(2) The Kinnaird herd: Its antiquity-Description of the early polled cattle at Kinnaird-Cows in the herd in 1840-Remarks on tribes cultivated at Kinnaird-Old Lady Anne 743-The Floras, Formosas, and Fannys-The Sarah and Beauty tribes extinct in female line—The Earl of Southesk and his herd-His important purchases— Dora 333, Kate 12, and Kathleen 339-Cup-Bearer 59, and his showyard victories-Pride of Angus 176-Octavia 331-Emily 332, and her daughter Erica-The bull Windsor 221-Notes on the cattle bred at Kinnaird-The fatal rinderpest, and extinction of the herd.-(3) The Ardgay herd: The Zara tribe-Fair Maid of Perth 313, and Mayflower 314-The Honourable Charles Carnegie's recollections of the Ardgay stock.

Westertown.

Ar Westertown, Fochabers, a herd of polled cattle was owned by the late Mr George Brown's father about half a century ago, and animals exhibited from it gained prizes at the early shows of the Morayshire Farmers' Club. In 1853 Mr John Brown gave up to his son, Mr George Brown, the entire management of the farm. The Westertown herd may thus, for all practical purposes, be said to date from that year. When the herd was dispersed in 1874, it consisted of five families. These were the Roses, tracing from Marion 308 (calved in 1855, by the Tillyfour