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+Project Gutenberg's Cattle and Cattle-breeders, by William M'Combie
+
+This eBook is for the use of anyone anywhere at no cost and with
+almost no restrictions whatsoever.  You may copy it, give it away or
+re-use it under the terms of the Project Gutenberg License included
+with this eBook or online at www.gutenberg.org
+
+
+Title: Cattle and Cattle-breeders
+
+Author: William M'Combie
+
+Release Date: September 5, 2007 [EBook #22520]
+
+Language: English
+
+Character set encoding: ASCII
+
+*** START OF THIS PROJECT GUTENBERG EBOOK CATTLE AND CATTLE-BREEDERS ***
+
+
+
+
+Produced by Steven Giacomelli and the Online Distributed
+Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This file was
+produced from images produced by Core Historical Literature
+in Agriculture (CHLA), Cornell University)
+
+
+
+
+
+
+CATTLE AND CATTLE-BREEDERS
+
+
+
+BY
+
+WILLIAM M'COMBIE, M.P.
+
+TILLYFOUR
+
+
+
+SECOND EDITION, REVISED
+
+
+
+WILLIAM BLACKWOOD AND SONS
+EDINBURGH AND LONDON
+MDCCCLXIX
+
+
+
+
+Transcriber's Note: The advertisements and reviews that preceded the
+title page have been moved to the end of this text.
+
+
+
+
+CONTENTS.
+
+
+CHAP.                                                            PAGE
+
+  I. THE FEEDING OF CATTLE, ETC.                                    1
+
+ II. REMINISCENCES,                                                34
+
+III. THE CATTLE TRADE, THEN AND NOW,                               67
+
+ IV. BLACK POLLED ABERDEEN AND ANGUS CATTLE AND SHORTHORNS,        86
+
+  V. HINTS ON THE BREEDING AND CARE OF CATTLE,                     99
+
+
+
+
+CATTLE AND CATTLE-BREEDERS.
+
+
+
+
+I. THE FEEDING OF CATTLE, ETC.
+
+(_Read before the Chamber of Agriculture._)
+
+
+As my friend Mr Stevenson and some other members of the Chamber of
+Agriculture have expressed a desire that I should read a paper on my
+experience as a feeder of cattle, I have, with some hesitation, put
+together a few notes of my experience. I trust the Chamber will
+overlook the somewhat egotistical form into which I have been led in
+referring to the subject of dealing in cattle.
+
+My father and my grandfather were dealers in cattle. The former carried
+on a very extensive business: he had dealings with several of the most
+eminent feeders in East Lothian; among others, with the late Adam
+Bogue, Linplum, John Rennie of Phantassie, Mr Walker, Ferrygate, &c. I
+cannot express how much I reverence the memory of the late Adam Bogue,
+as one of the finest specimens of a kind-hearted gentleman I have ever
+met. Other friends of my father and of myself in East Lothian I also
+recall with the greatest respect; among these let me mention William
+Brodie, John Brodie, William Kerr, John Slate, Archibald Skirving, and
+Mr Broadwood, farmers, all eminent as feeders of stock. My father's
+chief business-connection was with East Lothian; but he had also a
+connection with Mid-Lothian and the county of Fife, and a large trade
+with England. At one of the Michaelmas Trysts of Falkirk he sold 1500
+cattle. He wished to give all the members of his family a good
+education. I was kept at school, and was afterwards two years at
+college; but to this day I regret my inattention when at school.
+
+My father was very unwilling that I should follow his business, knowing
+that it was a very precarious one; but what could he do with me? I
+would do nothing else, and he was obliged to yield. I worked on the
+farm for years, when not away at the fairs, with the servants, and
+shared their diet. I cut two harvests, and during the season took
+charge of the cattle. My first speculation was a L12 grass-field. In
+this I had a partner, an excellent man, who had been a servant to my
+father for twenty years. It was a good year, and we divided L15 of
+profit. This gave me encouragement. I yearly increased my speculations,
+and gradually got into my father's business at the Falkirk markets and
+Hallow Fair. My father was very indulgent, and sent me away to a fair
+when a very young man, giving me authority to buy, and money to pay
+for, half-a-dozen beasts. I exceeded my commission and bought three
+little lots--about fifteen in all. The owners trusted me the money I
+was short. I drove them home myself--about sixteen miles--feeling very
+proud of my drove. My father examined them next morning, and remarked,
+"They have not the countenance of beasts." Of course, this chagrined me
+very much. This was about my first appearance as a buyer of cattle, and
+some of the beasts I remember to this day. I believe there is no better
+way to train a young man than to put him to market without assistance.
+If a man cannot back himself, he is unfit for the trade of a butcher, a
+jobber, or grazier.
+
+My father retired with a good name, and I retained his old customers.
+On one occasion only did Adam Bogue buy a beast from any dealer except
+from my father or myself, and he declared he was no gainer by the
+transaction. He purchased 120 cattle yearly. The late Mr Broadwood
+always bought about eighty beasts at the Michaelmas Fair. I put up the
+number and the size he wanted, and he bought them from me and my father
+for many years, always choosing middle-sized three and four year olds,
+and never going beyond L11 per head. The highest figure at that time
+for feeding-cattle at Falkirk Tryst was about L13. On Tuesday morning
+he came to my cattle, and inspected them first of any he looked at, and
+asked their price. With such a customer as Mr Broadwood I asked close.
+To some parties it is necessary to give halter. He then went away and
+examined the cattle of other dealers, but always came back in about an
+hour; and I think he never once failed to deal with me. He was a good
+judge, and did not require any assistance in selecting his stock; he
+came alone.
+
+I had also several dealings with Mr Broadwood's son, but only
+occasionally, and he did not hold so close to me as his father had
+done. I also retained the friendship of Robert Walker, the Messrs
+Brodie, and Archibald Skirving, and secured for myself that of Mr
+Buist, the late William Kerr, the late John Slate, and John Dudgeon,
+Almondhill. My father and I always had about the best cattle at Falkirk
+Tryst.
+
+There was then a great trade with Cumberland at the Michaelmas Tryst
+for horned Aberdeen cattle. The animals were sent from Cumberland to
+Barnet in spring, and sold off the marshes fat in July and August. My
+best sixty generally commanded the highest price.
+
+The late Mr William Thom was my great opponent in the horned-cattle
+trade, and sometimes beat me despite all my efforts. When we saw it for
+our interest we went in company, and attended all the great fairs in
+the north; and in conjunction with each other we secured a good
+proportion of the best cattle. Our grazing cattle were always sold
+separately. Mr Thom must still be remembered by many. He was a giant in
+strength: an honester man never lived; perhaps a little decided in his
+manner, but of great ability and perseverance. As copartners we were
+not very regular book-keepers, and our accounts got confused. At the
+wind-up at Hallow Fair, as we had the accounts of the Falkirk Trysts
+likewise to settle, we worked at them for days, and the longer we
+worked the more confused they became. To this day I do not know in
+whose favour the balance was. For the future we resolved to act
+separately. It was a bad Hallow Fair for large cattle. I have doubled
+stirks at Hallow Fair, buying them at from L2 to L4, and, to use an
+Aberdeen expression, turning them heels over heads. But I never could
+make a shilling of profit out of large cattle. At Hallow Fair Mr Thom
+and I had unfortunately sixty very large cattle left over unsold from
+the Michaelmas, many of which had cost L13 and L14 in Aberdeenshire. Mr
+Thom had the selling of them. He had just one offer in the shape of
+three gentlemen--one from East Lothian, one from Fife, and one from
+Perth, who likewise joined. They were sold the next day at L12, 5s.
+a-head. After the bargain was struck, the gentlemen requested Mr Thom
+to divide them. His answer was, with a sarcastic look to his customers,
+"Well, gentlemen, you have been good and great friends for two days, it
+would be a great pity for me to make you quarrel now." Mr Thom, who was
+thoroughly "awake," turned upon his heel and went away. I divided the
+beasts for the gentlemen; and to divide a lot of beasts equally is not
+such an easy matter as some might suppose.
+
+I have often been puzzled in dividing, say, forty beasts into four tens
+(I had often to divide lots of cattle for my customers when I was in
+the lean-cattle trade). The cattle are first cut through as equally as
+possible; the two divisions are then cut through again, and you have
+thus four tens. They are then examined, and a good beast is exchanged
+for a bad from the best to the worst side, and so on alternately until
+you bring them as equal as it is possible to make them. But with all my
+experience, I have often been unable to satisfy myself of the equality
+of the four tens; and when this was the case, I had to decide what was
+the difference and tell the buyers. If you draw, say, No. 1, being the
+most valuable lot, you must pay to the gentleman drawing No. 2, an
+inferior lot, the sum of L2, L3, or L5, as the case may be, &c. This
+may seem strange to a good judge of cattle, but let him be called on
+himself to decide in such a case. He may naturally think a change of a
+beast will make all right, but he will find that in some cases no
+exchange will rectify the matter to his satisfaction. In connection
+with this let me offer my friends a piece of advice:--if they buy a cut
+of cattle from a dealer, say twenty out of sixty, a neutral party and a
+good judge ought to divide the cattle: it should not be the buyer, and
+much less ought it to be the dealer, because the seller knows the
+beasts individually; and however well you drive sixty cattle round the
+circle, there will always be a better and a worse side. The dealer sees
+this at a glance, and, if so inclined, can make the cut much as he
+likes. The buyer, again, if he is as good a judge as the jobber (which
+is seldom the case), if allowed to cut them, would be likely to make a
+good cut for himself, and not a fair one for the seller; but the
+difference will not be so glaring, as he cannot know the beasts as the
+dealer does. I am speaking always of a fair cut as sold from the sixty.
+It is not easy to explain in writing how this division is made; but as
+there is no doubt many a one has been bitten, I shall do my best to
+describe the process. Suppose the sixty beasts are well driven through
+one another, which is always done before a cut is attempted, and
+suppose the dealer is to cut the cattle, he merely gives the lot a
+glance; he can see in a moment the strong and the weak side, for there
+will be a difference. He will run off the twenty from the worst side of
+the sixty, and he will run the number off to a beast or two. It is very
+quickly done; the stick is used sharply, and in running off the twenty
+he can easily put six or eight of the best in the line to any side he
+may think fit. I do not mean to say this is often done, but I wish to
+show that it can be managed.
+
+In selling lean cattle there is a great deal to be gained by choosing a
+favourable stance and showing them off properly to the buyers. Cattle
+look best on the face of a moderate sloping bank, and worst of all at a
+dead wall. The larger the number shown in a lot, especially of polled
+cattle, as they stand close together, they look the better. I never
+liked to show less than forty in a lot, but sixty will look better than
+forty, and eighty better still. I never would break a lot of beasts
+except for a consideration in price, as the cattle left behind never
+have the same appearance. The dealer likewise knows that cattle look
+largest on the off-side. Many buyers like to see every beast in a lot
+go past them; and if the dealer can get the buyer to inspect them on
+the off-side, it is to his own advantage. Cattle and sheep are the
+better of a good rouse-up when the buyer is inspecting them. I have
+often seen quarrelling between the buyers and the drovers, the buyers
+insisting on the drovers letting them alone, while the drovers will not
+let them stand. I have seen a clever man keep some of the best beasts
+always in view of the buyers, a stick with a whipcord being used for
+the purpose.
+
+Many were the long rides, the late nights, and early mornings that Thom
+and I had together in the North buying drove cattle. In the end of
+October and beginning of November the nights get very dark. At Skippy
+Fair of New Deer we nearly came to grief two or three years in
+succession; it is held in the end of October. There was a decent man,
+Abel, and his wife, who lived in Inverurie, and attended all the fairs.
+ Their conveyance was a cart. They were honest hard-working people, and
+good judges of cows. They knew very well what they were about; and they
+required to do so, for Mrs Abel brought up, I believe, nineteen of a
+family: she was a very stout, "motherly" woman. They drove home
+likewise in the cart, always buying two cows, which they led with ropes
+behind the cart. A cart with a cow attached by a rope at each side will
+take up the greater part of a narrow road. It was very dark, and near
+the old Castle of Barra. Thom rode a very fast horse he had hired from
+Richard Cruickshank, a celebrated judge of horses, who was at that time
+a horse-hirer in Aberdeen. I rode an old steady pony of my own which
+had been sixteen years in our family. Thom was going before at a
+dashing pace, I considerably in the rear, when bang he came against the
+ropes attaching the cows to the cart. His horse was thrown into the
+ditch; he recovered himself, but fell again, coming down heavily upon
+Thom, who was very much hurt, and had to go home instead of going to
+Potarch Market next day. I escaped, Thom's mishap warning me of the
+danger. At the same fair next year we had bought, as we found on
+comparing our books, ninety-nine cattle, mostly stirks. It was dark
+before we got the animals settled for, and we had to watch them on the
+market-stance. While crossing the lonely moor between New Deer and
+Methlick, Thom was as usual a little in advance, I following on the
+same old pony the best way I could close at his heels, when all at once
+a man took hold of his horse by the reins and asked him the road to New
+Deer. I observed another man and a box or two lying on the road, such
+as are used by travelling hawkers. Thom struck at the man's head with
+his stick with all his might, saying at the same time, "_Cattle of
+your description cannot be far out of your road anywhere_." The man
+let go his hold, and Thom galloped off, calling to me to follow, which
+I was nothing loath to do. Thom's horse was white, and mine was a bay.
+The vagabonds might have seen a white horse coming on in the dark,
+while they did not observe the bay, and may thus have been led to
+suppose there was only one man. As the boxes were laid aside, I have no
+doubt they intended a robbery, though this did not strike me at the
+time. But our troubles were not yet at an end; at the same old Castle
+of Barra, Thom, still in advance, called out, "_The wife, the cows,
+and the ropes again!_" He had just time to save his distance, and
+save me too.
+
+The ninety-nine beasts turned out to be only ninety-five (they were no
+great spec after all, leaving only L45 of profit). Thom had booked four
+he had never bought; and when the lot was counted to be joined to the
+drove, they would not number more than ninety-five. I advertised for
+them, and had a man in Buchan a week searching for them; and when I
+told Thom in Edinburgh that they could not be found, he confessed he
+had never bought them.
+
+I am not sure if it was the same year we had come up to Edinburgh the
+Saturday night before Hallow Fair. We were rather late in getting ready
+to go to church. I had heard a great deal about Dr Muir as a preacher,
+and we went to hear him; but not being very certain of the church, we
+inquired at a gentleman's servant, dressed in splendid livery, very
+civilly, the way to Dr Muir's church. Instead of giving a civil reply,
+"Oh," he said, "Aberdeen awa'!" Thom, who was very impulsive, came
+across the side of the fellow's head with his umbrella, and laid him
+flat on his back in the middle of the street, with his heels in the
+air. I made no remark, Thom said as little, but walked on as if nothing
+had happened. We heard our friend calling after us he would have his
+revenge; I hope it was a lesson to him to be civil in future.
+
+I sent for many years sixty horned cattle in spring to Mr Buist,
+Tynninghame. They were grazed in Tynninghame Park, and he also required
+other forty or sixty during the season for house-feeding. I only gave
+up the commission business when I could carry it out no longer to my
+satisfaction and to the advantage of my employers. For years after I
+went to the Falkirk markets there was not a white beast to be seen; but
+by-and-by Irish-bred cattle appeared, and then the Shorthorns. The
+business of dealing in north-country cattle came to be worthless. I
+bade Falkirk adieu, and turned my attention entirely to the rearing and
+fattening of cattle at home. I gave up the fascinating business of a
+lean-cattle jobber, seeing it was done for, and I have never regretted
+my resolution. The lean-cattle trade was difficult to manage, and in
+fact was most dangerous. Many a day, when attending Hallow Fair, I have
+got up by four or five o'clock in the morning, breakfasted, and not
+tasted food till six o'clock at night. The weather was so bad on one
+occasion that man and beast were up to the knees in mud. I had my
+beasts standing near one of the gates. Mr Archibald Skirving never got
+further than them; he bought forty, sent them away, and returned home.
+As he bade me good morning, he remarked, "I would not like to be in
+your place to-day."
+
+I have stood many a bad Hallow Fair, but the worst was about twenty
+years ago. I never was so much in want of assistance from my friends.
+The price of cattle had fallen very much after the Michaelmas Tryst.
+Turnips were bad in East Lothian. I had been on a visit to Mr Buist,
+and met Mr Kerr, Mr Slate, Mr Walker, &c. Both buyers and sellers
+anticipated a bad fair, and it turned out the worst I ever saw; it is
+generally either a very good or very bad market. Tuesday came, and with
+it a perfect storm of wind and rain--the worst market-day I ever
+encountered. You could hardly know the colour of the cattle, which were
+standing up to their bellies in a stubble-field. My friends got to the
+market; there were Mr Buist, Mr Walker, Ferrygate, Mr Kerr, Mr Slate,
+and one or two more. They gave my cattle what examination it was
+possible to give animals in such a stormy day. Out of about two hundred
+which I had, they wanted about one hundred and seventy. Mr Walker said
+to me, "I think you might give us a glass of brandy;" and accordingly
+we retired to a tent, from which we did not move for an hour, as one
+wanted forty, another thirty, another twenty, &c.; and of course it
+took a good deal of time to talk over the different lots. At last we
+rose. I had, while seated, drawn them as to the price as far as they
+would come. The weather was dreadful. I was very unwilling, and they
+were not very anxious, to face the storm. I was in the middle of my
+customers. I did what I could to get an advance on their offers, but I
+could not extract another farthing; and when all was settled, I gave
+the accustomed clap of the dealer on the hand all round, and I did not
+see them again till night, except Mr William Kerr, who, with a
+struggle, got the length of my remaining thirty beasts, and bought ten.
+I think I hear the triumphant howls of the men to this day, as they
+started the nine score of cattle for their destinations, one lot after
+another, through the astonished dealers, whose cattle at that hour, I
+believe, were never priced. There were few sold on the first day. I
+could not sell my twenty remaining cattle, and could not even get a bid
+for them. Of all the good turns my friends did for me, this was the
+best. I came out with a small profit, while the losses sustained by
+other parties at the market were heavy. A great many cattle were sent
+farther south, and returned back to the north. One respectable dealer
+told me that no one had ever asked the price of his cattle, and coolly
+added, "I have taken turnips from ----, and sent the cattle home." I
+never lost a shilling in East Lothian, or by a bad debt, as a
+lean-cattle dealer.
+
+To be a good judge of store cattle is exceedingly difficult. We have
+many judges of fat cattle among our farmers and butchers, and a few
+good judges of breeding stock; but our really good judges of store
+cattle are exceedingly few. A judge of store cattle ought to be able to
+say at a glance how much the animal will improve, how much additional
+value you can put upon him on good, bad, or indifferent land, and on
+turnips, in three, six, or twelve months. Unless a grazier is able to
+do this, he is working in the dark, and can never obtain eminence in
+his profession. Since my first speculation, already referred to--the
+half of the L12 field--I have bought and grazed store cattle for nearly
+fifty years. No one has been able to put upon paper a clear definition,
+such as can be understood by the reader, of the characteristics of a
+good store beast. It is only practice and a natural gift that can
+enable any one to master the subject. There are a few rules, however,
+that the buyer of store cattle should be acquainted with. He ought to
+know how they have been kept for the previous six months, otherwise
+their keep may be entirely thrown away. I make it an almost universal
+rule (and I have never departed from the rule except with a loss), that
+I will graze no cattle except those that have been kept in the open
+strawyard, and have been fed exclusively on turnips and straw. If you
+can get them off yellow turnips it will be decidedly to your advantage.
+I have seen this proved by dividing twenty beasts, and keeping one half
+on yellow turnips, and one half on swedes, both lots getting full
+turnips. Those on the swedes shot far ahead in the strawyard of those
+upon the yellows. When taken up from grass, however, the cattle fed
+upon the yellows were equal to those fed on the swedes. They were
+grazed together. The difference of improvement in different lots of
+cattle must have often struck every observer.
+
+I am well acquainted with the different strawyards in Morayshire, and
+know how the cattle are kept, and how they thrive. There are some farms
+on which they thrive better than others, even when their keep is in
+other respects the same. There are farms in Morayshire which are not
+breeding farms, and where the young stock does not thrive, and the
+calves have to be sold, and even old cattle only thrive for a certain
+length of time. Some farms are apt to produce cancer on the throat and
+side of the head. I pay little attention to this, as change of air
+cures the complaint. For the first two or three weeks after a beast is
+attacked with this disease, it will go back in condition; but I have
+seldom seen much loss by it. If in warm weather, the beast may have to
+be taken up to avoid the flies; if the disease is inside the throat, it
+may interfere with the breathing, and the animal may have to be killed.
+I bought from the late Mr David Sheriffs, Barnyards of Beauly, in
+spring, ten Highlanders, every one of which had cancer in different
+stages. I grazed them until October, when the cancers had all
+disappeared, and the beasts did well (for Highlanders) at grass.
+
+If you put upon grass cattle which have been fed through the winter
+upon cake, corn, brewers' wash, grains, or potatoes, and kept in hot
+byres or close strawyards, and look to them to pay a rent, you will
+find that they will soon make a poor man of you. This mode of feeding
+is unnatural. Before the animals begin to improve, three months will
+have passed. If half-fat cattle are bought, which have been kept close
+in byres or strawyards, and put to grass in April or the first two
+weeks of May, and cold stormy weather sets in, with no covering to
+defend them, they will fall off so much that the purchaser will
+scarcely believe they are the beasts he bought. Thus he not only loses
+all his grass, but the beasts will be lighter at the end of three
+months than when they were put into the field. Let me not, however, be
+misunderstood. I do not mean to say that a few weeks of a little cake
+or corn will ruin a beast for grazing; but you may depend upon it, that
+the less artificial food given during winter the better. When kept upon
+the food I have specified for months and months, they are perfectly
+unfit for grazing. I regard cake as the safest substitute for turnips;
+and corn, potatoes, brewers' wash, and grain, as the worst. But my
+ambition is to graze a bullock that has never been forced, and has
+never tasted cake, corn, or potatoes. The store cattle I winter for
+grazing are all kept in open strawyards, with a sufficient covering for
+bad weather, and as dry a bed as the quantity of straw will permit.
+This is indispensable for the thriving of the cattle. They receive as
+many turnips as they can eat. Beasts must always be kept progressing;
+if they are not, they will never pay. My store cattle never see cake,
+corn, or potatoes. I would rather throw potatoes to the dunghill than
+give them to a store bullock, though I would give them to my fatting
+bullocks.[1] If I can get the bullocks for grazing that I want, I will
+not lose one mouthful of grass upon them. They will not go on, however,
+without proper care and superintendence. It requires a practised eye.
+If a grazier has a number of fields and many cattle, to carry out the
+treatment of his cattle properly, shifting and fresh grass once in ten
+or fourteen days should, if possible, be adopted. This has always been
+my practice. In one day I have observed a marked difference in the
+improvement of animals after the shift.
+
+      [1] As to giving potatoes to store cattle, since writing the
+      above, I wish to modify the opinion I have expressed to a certain
+      extent. I had a conversation with Mr Hope on the subject, and he
+      states that his belief is, that potatoes are not prejudicial to
+      the growth of store cattle when put to grass, and that his
+      practice is to give them potatoes. I will admit that a few
+      potatoes may not do a store beast much harm; but in my experience
+      in Aberdeenshire I have found that in cattle which have been fed
+      with potatoes the black colour changes to a dusty brown; they are
+      also bad thrivers. A beast that sports that colour is never doing
+      well. I shall, however, prosecute the inquiry.
+
+The grazier must always consider the quality of his grass-land, and buy
+cattle adapted for it. It would be very bad policy to buy fine cattle
+for poor or middling lands. You must always keep in view how the cattle
+have been kept. If they have been kept improperly for your purpose,
+their size, whether large or small, will not save you from loss. If the
+cattle are kept on cake, corn, potatoes, or brewers' wash or grain,
+during the previous winter, it will be ruin to the grazier. Let it not
+be supposed, however, that I recommend buying lean, half-starved
+beasts. What I wish to impress on you is, that you must keep the cattle
+always full of flesh; and, as a breeder, you must be careful not to
+lose the calf flesh. If you do so by starving the animal at any time of
+his growth, you lose the cream--the covering of flesh so much prized by
+all our best retail butchers. Where do all the scraggy, bad-fleshed
+beasts come from that we see daily in our fat markets, and what is the
+cause of their scragginess? It is because they have been stinted and
+starved at some period of their growth. If the calf flesh is once lost,
+it can never be regained. A great deal of tallow may be got internally
+by high feeding, but the animal can never again be made one that will
+be prized by the great retail butcher. Our Aberdeen working bullocks
+carry little good meat. Draught as well as starvation takes off the
+flesh. They are generally only fit for ship beef.
+
+Let me now offer a few observations as to the breeds of cattle best
+adapted for paying a rent--the great object of our cattle rearing and
+feeding. I have grazed the pure Aberdeen and Angus, the Aberdeen and
+North-country crosses, the Highland, the Galloways, and what is termed
+in Angus the South-country cattle, the Dutch, and the Jutland. Except
+the two latter, all the others have got a fair trial. I am aware that
+the merits of the pure Aberdeen and Angus form a difficult and delicate
+subject to deal with. I know that the breeders of Shorthorns will
+scrutinise my statements carefully. But my only object is to lay down
+my own experience, and I trust that I have divested myself of prejudice
+as much as possible. If store cattle of the Aberdeen and Angus breed
+out of our best herds can be secured, I believe _no other_ breed
+of cattle will pay the grazier more money in the north for the same
+value of keep. But there is a race of starved vermin which is known by
+some in the north by the name of "Highland hummlies," which I consider
+the worst of all breeds. No keep will move them much. At the top of
+these I must place those with the brown ridge along the back. They can
+be made older, but it takes more ability than I ever had to make them
+much bigger. Keep is entirely thrown away upon such animals. As regards
+good Aberdeen or North-country crosses, they are rent-payers. He would
+be very prejudiced indeed who would not acknowledge their merits. I
+graze more cross-bred cattle than pure-bred polled. The Highlanders on
+our land are not profitable; they are of such a restless disposition
+that they are unsuitable for stall-feeding, however well they are
+adapted for grazing purposes in certain localities and under certain
+conditions. But, I repeat, for stall-feeding they are unsuitable;
+confinement is unnatural to their disposition. The last Highlanders I
+attempted to feed were bought at a cheap time. In the month of June
+they were most beautiful animals, and they grazed fairly. I tied them
+up; but they broke loose again and again, and ran three miles off to
+the glen where they had been grazed. There was one of them that his
+keeper never dared to approach, and the stall had to be cleaned out
+with a long crook. They consumed few turnips, and did not pay sixpence
+for what turnips they did consume. No other description of cattle,
+however, is so beautiful for noblemen's and gentlemen's parks.
+
+As to the Galloway cattle, they also have had a fair trial with me. I
+was in the habit of buying for years from one of the most eminent
+judges of store Galloways in Britain--Captain Kennedy of Bennane--a lot
+of that breed. He selected them generally when stirks from all the
+eminent breeders of Galloway cattle, and bought nearly all the prize
+stirks at the different shows. In fact, he would not see a bad Galloway
+on his manors. The Galloway has undoubtedly many and great
+qualifications. On poor land they are unrivalled, except perhaps by the
+small Highlanders. Captain Kennedy's cattle always paid me; they were
+grazed on a 100-acre park of poor land--so poor, indeed, that our
+Aberdeens could not subsist upon it. I had ultimately to break it up
+for cropping. If I had not been obliged to do this, I should not have
+liked to have missed Captain Kennedy's Galloways. Although the
+Galloways are such good cattle to graze--and this goes to prove the
+truth of my remarks as to the forcing system, the Galloways at Glenapp
+being wintered out--they are not so easily finished as our Aberdeen and
+Angus or cross-bred cattle. They have too much thickness of skin and
+hair, too much timber in their legs; they are too thick in their tails,
+too deep in their necks, too sunken in the eye, for being very fast
+feeders. It is difficult to make them ripe. You can bring them to be
+three-quarters fat, and there they stick; it is difficult to give them
+the last dip. If, however, you succeed in doing so, there is no other
+breed worth more by the pound weight than a first-class Galloway.
+
+As to what we term the South-country cattle, I have also given them a
+trial. My experience is that they are great beasts to grow; that they
+consume an immense deal of food, but that they are difficult to finish;
+and when finished they are very indifferent sellers in the London
+market. They generally carry a deal of offal along with them; but those
+who have patience, and keep them for many months, they may pay for
+keep. I have had a few German and Jutland cattle through my hands, but
+not in sufficient numbers to enable me to say anything about them
+worthy of your notice. After trying all the breeds of cattle I have
+specified, I have come to the conclusion that the Aberdeen and Angus
+polled, and the Aberdeen and North-country crosses, are the cattle best
+adapted, under ordinary circumstances, in the north of Scotland, for
+paying the feeder. Our cross-bred cattle, and especially the
+South-country cattle, are greater consumers of food than the pure
+Aberdeens. This is a part of the subject which has never got the
+consideration it deserves. When the cross and South-country cattle are
+two or three years old, and when the day lengthens out, they consume a
+fearful quantity of food. The age of cattle ought also to be taken into
+consideration. No doubt a young two-year-old will grow more than a
+three-year-old, and for a long keep may pay as well. But I have been
+always partial to aged cattle; and if you want a quick clearance, age
+is of great consequence. The great retail London butchers are not
+partial to "the two teeths," as they call them; and I have seen them on
+the great Christmas-day examining the mouths of cattle before they
+would buy them. They die badly as to internal fat, and are generally
+light on the fore-rib. I have always given a preference to aged cattle,
+as they get sooner fat, are deep on the fore-rib, and require less cake
+to finish them. Aged cattle, however, are now difficult to be had, and
+every year they will be scarcer with the present demand for beef. A
+perfect breeding or feeding animal should have a fine expression of
+countenance--I could point it out, but it is difficult to describe upon
+paper. It should be mild, serene, and expressive. The animal should be
+fine in the bone, with clean muzzle, a tail like a rat's, and not
+ewe-necked; short on the legs. He should have a small well-put-on head,
+prominent eye, a skin not too thick nor too thin; should be covered
+with fine silky hair--to the touch like a lady's glove; should have a
+good belly to hold his meat; should be straight-backed, well ribbed up,
+and well ribbed home; his hook-bones should not be too wide apart. A
+wide-hooked animal, especially a cow after calving, always has a
+vacancy between the hook-bone and the tail, and a want of the most
+valuable part of the carcass. I detest to see hooks too wide apart;
+they should correspond with the other proportions of the body. A level
+line should run from the hook to the tail. He should be well set in at
+the tail, free of patchiness there and all over, with deep thighs, that
+the butcher may get his second round and prominent brisket deep in the
+fore-rib, with a good purse below him, which is always worth L1 to him
+in the London market; well fleshed in the fore-breast, with equal
+covering of fine flesh all over his carcass, so valuable to the
+butcher. His outline ought to be such that if a tape is stretched from
+the fore-shoulder to the thigh, and from the shoulder along the back to
+the extremity there, the line should lie close, with no vacancies; and
+without a void, the line should fill from the hook to the tail. From
+the shoulder-blade to the head should be well filled up--as we say,
+good in the neck vein. I am aware that the preceding remarks as to the
+quality and proportions a beast should possess must be very
+unsatisfactory to you, as they are to myself; scarcely any one animal
+has possessed them all, and to look for the half of them in a good
+commercial beast would be vain. I have consulted no writer upon the
+subject; they are set down, and not in good order, just as they struck
+me at the time. Thick legs, thick tails, sunken eyes, and deep necks,
+with thick skin and bristly hair, always point to sluggish feeders.
+
+In cold weather in the month of May, the old silky coat of the
+strawyard bullock is of great advantage. If we could get the qualities
+and proportions I have specified in animals, it would not be difficult
+to make them fat. It would be difficult only to make them lean, when
+once in condition. A high standing, want of ribbing-up and ribbing
+home, with the tucked-up flank, always denote a worthless feeder. You
+must all have observed how difficult it is to bring such cattle into a
+state for killing. It will take a deal of cake and corn to make them
+ripe. A great many can never be made more than fresh; it is only a
+waste of time and money to keep them on.
+
+I have adverted to the way cattle should be treated in winter as
+stores. The earlier you can put cattle upon grass so much the better.
+Cattle never forget an early bite of new grass. A week's new grass in
+Aberdeenshire at the first of the season is worth at least two and a
+half upon old grass; and it is wonderful what improvement a good
+strawyard bullock will make in four or five weeks at the first of the
+season. If kept on straw and turnips alone in winter, he may add a
+third or at least a fourth to his live weight. But much depends on the
+weather. I have never known cattle make much improvement in April, or
+even up to the 12th of May, because the weather is so unsteady, and the
+cold nights when they are exposed in the fields take off the condition
+the grass puts on. The grazier will find it of great advantage to house
+his cattle at night during this season. In Aberdeenshire the 10th of
+May is about the earliest period cattle should be put to grass. Where
+there is new grass, first year, it is a most difficult matter to get
+the full advantage of it. There is no other grass to be compared with
+it for putting on beef in Aberdeenshire. You must be careful at the
+first of the season, if much rain falls, not to allow the cattle to
+remain on the young grass. They must be shifted immediately; and no one
+can get the proper advantage of such grass who is deprived of the power
+of shifting the cattle into a park of older grass till the land again
+becomes firm for the cattle. I have seen a small field of new grass in
+the month of May or the beginning of June utterly ruined in one night,
+when heavily stocked with cattle. When wet and cold the cattle wander
+about the whole night, and in the morning the fields are little better
+than ploughed land. In fact, the field so injured will never recover
+until broken up again.
+
+In regard to my own farms, I cut scarcely any hay. I pasture almost all
+my new grass, and the moment the cattle's feet begin to injure the
+grass, they are removed. If cattle are changed to an old grass field,
+so much the better; but they will be safe on second or third year's
+grass, provided the land is naturally dry. By the 1st July, the new
+grass land gets consolidated, and you are safe. New grass fields are
+bad to manage in another respect. The grass comes very rapidly about
+the 10th June, and if you are not a very good judge of what you are
+about, it will get away in a few days, become too rank, and will lose
+its feeding qualities during the remainder of the season. By the middle
+of July it will be nothing but withered herbage. Young grass ought to
+be well eaten down, and then relieved for two or three weeks; then
+return the cattle, and the grass will be as sweet as before. It
+requires practice to know the number of cattle, and the proper time to
+put on these cattle, to secure the full benefits of new grass. Three
+days' miscalculation may cause a heavy loss. I have been bit so often,
+and found the difficulty so great, that I fear to extend my
+observations on this part of the subject, when I am addressing
+gentlemen many of whom make their young grass into hay, or sell the
+grass to the cowfeeders. The pasturing of new grass, in which the
+farmers of Aberdeenshire and the north of Scotland have a deep
+interest, may not apply to many other parts of Scotland.
+
+I come now to the way cattle should be treated after being taken from
+their pastures and put on turnips. The earlier you put them up, the
+sooner they will be ready for the butcher. The practice of tying the
+cattle early up in Aberdeenshire is now almost universal; the success
+of the feeder depends upon it, for a few weeks may make a difference of
+several pounds. I recollect tying up a lot of cattle at Ardmundo,
+thirty in number--a fair cut of ten being left in the field at home on
+fine land and beautiful grass. The thirty were tied up by the 1st of
+September, the ten on the 1st of October. The weather was cold, wet,
+and stormy; and between the improvement the thirty had made and the
+deterioration upon the ten, there was by my computation, however
+incredible it may appear, L5 a-head of difference. Mr Knowles of
+Aberdeen happened to see the cattle, and when he came upon the ten he
+asked what was the matter with them. He could scarcely credit the
+facts; their hair was so bad that they actually looked like diseased
+animals, and it was long before they took a start. I shall state the
+method I adopt. I sow annually from twelve to sixteen acres of tares,
+and about the middle of June save a portion of the new grass full of
+red clover, and from the 1st to the 20th of August both tares and
+clover are fit for the cattle. I have for many years fed from three
+hundred to four hundred cattle; and if I was not to take them up in
+time, I could pay no rent at all. A week's house-feeding in August,
+September, and October, is as good as three weeks' in the dead of
+winter. I begin to put the cattle into the yards from the 1st to the
+middle of August, drafting first the largest cattle intended for the
+great Christmas market. This drafting gives a great relief to the grass
+parks, and leaves abundance to the cattle in the fields. During the
+months of August, September, and October, cattle do best in the yards,
+the byres being too hot; but when the cold weather sets in there is no
+way, where many cattle are kept, in which they will do so well as at
+the stall. You cannot get loose-boxes for eighty or a hundred cattle on
+one farm. I generally buy my store cattle in Morayshire. They have all
+been kept in the strawyard, never being tied. When the cattle are tied
+up on my farms, a rope is thrown over the neck of the bullock; the
+other end of the rope is taken round the stake; two men are put upon
+it, and overhaul the bullock to his place. When tightened up to the
+stall the chain is attached to the neck, and the beast is fast. We can
+tie up fifty beasts in five hours in this way. When tied, you must keep
+a man with a switch to keep up the bullocks. If you did not do this you
+would soon have every one of them loose again. They require to be
+carefully watched the first night, and in three days they get quite
+accustomed to their confinement, except in the case of some very wild
+beast. I never lost a bullock by this method of tying up. This system
+is like other systems--it requires trained hands to practise it.
+
+I never give feeding cattle unripe tares; they must be three parts ripe
+before being cut. I mix the tares when they are sown with a third of
+white pease and a third of oats. When three parts ripe, especially the
+white pease, they are very good feeding. Fresh clover, given along with
+tares, pease, &c., forms a capital mixture. I sow a proportion of
+yellow Aberdeen turnips early to succeed the tares and clover. I find
+the soft varieties are more apt to run to seed when sown early than
+yellow turnips.
+
+It is indispensable for the improvement of the cattle that they receive
+their turnips clean, dry, and fresh. When obliged to be taken off the
+land in wet weather, the hand should be used to fill the turnips from
+the land to the carts. The turnips should be pulled and laid in rows of
+four or six drills together on the top of one drill, with the tops all
+one way and the roots another; but it is better that parties should
+follow the carts and pull the turnips from the drills, and throw them
+into the carts at once. It is an invariable rule with me that the
+turnips are filled by hand in wet weather. Advantage should be taken of
+fine weather to secure a good stock of turnips, and a good manager will
+always provide for a rainy day. A very considerable proportion of
+turnips should be stored, to wait the severe winters very often
+experienced on the north-east coast. If I had sufficient command of
+labour, I would store the greater part of my Swedish turnips (if ripe).
+I would, however, store only a proportion of the Aberdeen yellow, as
+they lose the relish, and cattle prefer them from the field; but I
+require a proportion of them for calving cows in frost. Frosted turnips
+make cows with calf abort, and rather than give calving cows such
+turnips I would order them straw and water. Fresh Swedish turnips are
+indispensable to feeding cattle during the winter. It is a sorrowful
+sight to see a gang of men with picks taking up turnips in a frosty
+day, leaving a third of the produce on the land, and the turnips going
+before your bullocks as hard as iron. We have almost every year a week
+or ten days' fine weather about Christmas, and this should be taken
+advantage of to store turnips, if not stored previously. I have tried
+all the different modes of storing recommended. I shall not enter on
+the minutiae of the subject, as it is now generally so well understood;
+and I need only urge here that the roots should not be bled in any way,
+that the tops should not be taken off too near to the bulbs, that the
+tails be only switched, and that they be pitted and secured
+_every_ night to keep them free from frost and rain. I have
+adopted my friend Mr Porter of Monymusk's plan (in a late climate and
+where Swedish turnips in some years never come to full maturity) of
+pitting them upon the land where they grow, from one to two loads
+together; and, although not quite ripe, I have never seen a turnip go
+wrong when stored in this manner. The land also escapes being poached,
+as the turnips are carted in frost, and at a time when the other
+operations of the farm are not pressing. A foot of earth will keep them
+safe, and they are easily covered by taking a couple of furrows with a
+pair of horses on each side of the line of pits.
+
+In a week or ten days after the first lot of cattle is taken up from
+grass, a second lot is taken up. This is a further relief to the
+pastures, and the cattle left in the fields thrive better. This taking
+up continues every week or ten days to the end of September. At this
+period all feeding cattle ought to be under cover that are intended to
+be fattened during the succeeding winter. The stronger cattle are
+drafted first, and the lesser ones left until the last _cull_ is
+put under cover.
+
+It would be of no use to attempt to feed cattle, unless you can command
+a staff of experienced men to take charge of them. However faithful in
+other respects, these men must have a taste and a strong liking to
+cattle--they must be their hobby. Even with men of the greatest
+experience, the difference in the thriving of the different lots upon
+the same keep is great. They must not be oppressed with having too many
+in charge, or the owner will suffer by his ill-judged parsimony. From
+August till November a man may take care of, and pull turnips for,
+thirty cattle very well, or a few more, if the cattle are loose; but
+when the day gets short, twenty to twenty-five is as many as one man
+can feed, to do them justice, if tied up. Good cattlemen are
+invaluable. They must not only know what to give the cattle; but the
+great secret, especially when cattle are forced up for show purposes,
+is to know _what not to give them_. An inexperienced man amongst a
+lot of feeding cattle must be a great loss to his employer. Like
+everything else, the proper management of the animals cannot be learned
+in a day--the cattleman must be always learning. For myself, I can only
+say that, long as I have traded in cattle, have studied their
+treatment, have considered their symmetry, I am learning something new
+every other day. As regards the treatment of cattle when put upon tares
+or cut clover, there is no danger; but with turnips an ignorant man may
+injure the cattle in one week so much that they may not recover it
+during the season. The cattle must be gradually brought on, giving them
+a few turnips at first, and increasing the quantity daily, till in from
+ten to fourteen days they may get a full supply. When improperly
+treated the cattle scour and hove, the stomach getting deranged. It is
+a long time before they recover, and some never do well. We generally
+cure hove by repeated doses of salts, sulphur, and ginger. Occasionally
+a beast will hove under the best treatment; but if you find a lot of
+them blown up every day, it is time to change their keeper. In cattle
+which are being forced for exhibition, hove is generally the first
+warning that the constitution can do no more. I have seen cases so
+obstinate that they would swell upon hay or straw without turnips.
+Putting the animal out to grass for a couple of months will generally
+renovate the constitution and remove the tendency to hove; and after
+being taken up from grass, with a man in charge who knows what to give
+and _what not to give_, the animal may go on for a few months
+longer, and with great attention may at last prove a winner.
+Occasionally an animal may be found whose digestion no amount of
+forcing will derange, but such cases are very rare. Cattle feeding in
+the stall should be kept as clean as the hunter or valuable race-horse,
+and their beds should be carefully shaken up.
+
+I change the feeding cattle from tares and clover on to Aberdeen yellow
+turnips, and afterwards to swedes, if possible by the middle of
+October. I do not like soft turnips for feeding cattle. The cattle that
+I intend for the great Christmas market have at first from 2 lb. to 4
+lb. of cake a-day by the 1st of November. In a week or two I increase
+the cake to at least 4 lb. a-day, and give a feed of bruised oats or
+barley, which I continue up to the 12th or 14th of December, when they
+leave for the Christmas market. The cake is apportioned to the
+condition of the different animals, and some of the leanest cattle get
+the double of others which are riper. The cattle being tied to the
+stall places this quite in your power, while in the strawyard it could
+not be done. When ten or twenty beasts in the strawyard stand together,
+the strongest take the greatest share, and these are very often the
+animals that least require it. I consider the stall a great advantage
+over the strawyard in this respect, as you can give each beast what you
+wish him to have. My men are told the quantity of cake and corn which I
+wish every beast to receive. You must all have observed the inequality
+in the improvement of cattle in the strawyard when ten, fifteen, or
+twenty beasts are fed together. I have seen the best beast in a lot
+when put up, the worst when taken out. The first three weeks after the
+cattle are put upon cake along with their turnips, they will put on as
+much meat as they will do with an equal quantity of cake for the next
+five. It is absolutely necessary to increase the quantity of cake and
+corn weekly to insure a steady improvement; and if cattle are forced
+upon cake and corn over two or three months, it will, in my opinion,
+pay no one. To give unlimited quantities for years, and to say it will
+pay, is preposterous. To give fat cattle the finishing dip, cake and
+corn, given in moderation and with skill for six weeks before the
+cattle are sent to the fat market, will pay the feeder; but to continue
+this for more than two months will never pay in Aberdeenshire. This is
+no doubt a bold assertion, but I believe it to be correct. The cake and
+corn given to cattle day by day loses its effect, till at last you
+bring the beast almost to a standstill, and week after week you can
+perceive little improvement. Cake, and still more corn, appear to
+injure their constitution; grass, turnips, and straw or hay are their
+only healthy food. For commercial cattle, and for commercial purposes,
+two months is the utmost limit that cake and corn will pay the
+Aberdeenshire feeder. There can be no substitute for grass, straw, and
+turnips, except for a very limited period; though in times of scarcity,
+and to give the last dip to fat cattle, the other feeding materials are
+valuable auxiliaries.
+
+I have kept on a favourite show bullock for a year, thinking I would
+improve him, and given him everything he would take; and when that day
+twelvemonth came round, he was worse than a twelvemonth before. You can
+only torture nature so far; and if you force a yearling bullock, he
+will never come to the size that he will attain if kept on common fare.
+If you wish to bring a bullock to size for exhibition, give him as much
+grass and turnips as he can eat. Begin to force only when he is two and
+a half to three years old, and by the time he is four years he will not
+only be a neater but a larger animal than if he had been forced
+earlier: forcing in youth deteriorates the symmetry of the animal as
+well as diminishes his size. I am speaking only of Aberdeen and Angus
+cattle, but I believe the breeders of Highlanders are also well aware
+of this fact. I am not speaking of pounds, shillings, and pence, or of
+the profit to the farmer; for who would think of keeping beasts bred to
+himself older than rising three years old? Calves dropped early should
+go to the fat market at the age of two years.
+
+A word as to show bullocks. I believe they are the most unprofitable
+speculation an agriculturist can interfere with. To keep a show bullock
+as he ought to be kept will cost from 12s. to 15s. a-week, which
+amounts to about L40 a-year.
+
+The method I adopt as to using cake and corn is the following:--On the
+different farms where I feed the cattle, I put a fourth part of their
+number only upon cake and corn at one time, and six weeks (which is
+about my limit of time for cake and corn, &c., paying the feeder)
+before they are to be sent to the fat market. When the six weeks are
+expired they are sent away; another fourth part of the original number
+take their place, and get their six weeks' cake. When they leave, the
+other cattle in succession get the same treatment. When turnips are
+plentiful the system works very well. The cattle draw beautifully, week
+by week, from the different farms, and come out very ripe. I may
+mention that almost all the cattle I graze are generally kept during
+the previous winter upon as many turnips as they can eat, and are in
+high condition when put to grass. I believe, however, that in the south
+of Scotland, where there is more corn and less grass land, this method
+would not be suitable. Large bills for cake are not easily paid, and
+when paid swallow up our profits. When cattle are fed almost
+exclusively upon the produce of the farm, the feeders know what they
+are about; but this method of feeding requires time and patience, and
+there is a long outlay of capital. Still, if the system is adopted and
+judiciously managed, upon medium or high-lying and low-rented land, the
+cattle treated as above ought to pay the rent and leave a fair profit
+to the feeder. There is no doubt that in the north, and especially in
+Aberdeenshire, there is a rage for fine cattle; and on my part it has
+almost amounted to a "craze." I would have been a richer man to-day if
+I had not been so fastidious in my selections; but I cannot endure to
+look at, and never will tolerate, a bad beast on my land. The gentlemen
+I buy from know my weakness, and they say, if they are anxious to sell,
+We must let M'Combie have a "pull." Many are the lots of beasts I have
+bought and culled, and I had to pay for it. Sellers have served me
+right. Still there is a fatality follows me that I fear it is hopeless
+now to endeavour to get over. A good bullock will always be a good one,
+and will easily be made ripe--requiring little cake or corn--and come
+right out at last.
+
+The following is the system I have adopted in the selection of the
+cattle I have wintered. I buy the best lots I can find during the
+summer, fit for wintering and keeping on to the following Christmas. I
+then cull the worst of the different lots, feeding the culls and
+wintering the tops. By this method I secure a lot of wintering cattle
+for the great Christmas market of the ensuing year, without one bad or
+indifferent beast among them. The price I have obtained for several
+years, with the exception of the culls of my winterers, has been L35
+a-head.
+
+In Aberdeenshire I consider that a large bullock ought to pay 25s. to
+30s. a-month for keep, if he is properly treated. We often get less,
+and sometimes a little more, owing in some measure to the way in which
+the cattle are bought, the price of beef at the time, the season of the
+year the cattle are bought, and the time they are sold. Before we were
+threatened with the cattle plague I always made a point of buying my
+beasts early in the season, beginning in January and buying monthly up
+to May. I had thus a chance of the best lots, whereas, if I deferred
+making my selections, these went into other hands.
+
+
+
+
+II. REMINISCENCES.
+
+
+Fifty years ago, and for many a long year thereafter, there were no
+shorthorns in the north. There were few turnips grown, and few cattle
+fed. The great firm of the Williamsons, who rented St John's Wells,
+Bethelnie, and Easter Crichie; James Allardyce of Boyndsmill; the
+Harveys of Beidlestone and Danestone, and a few others, were almost the
+only parties who attempted the feeding of cattle. Mr Harvey of Ardo,
+who was then tenant of Danestone, died only the other day, aged ninety.
+Messrs Williamson and Reid were the great Aberdeen butchers at that
+period, and the feeders had either to sell to them or send their cattle
+on to Barnet Fair on their own account, or in the hands of the jobber.
+The journey occupied a month, and hay was their food. The cattle stood
+the road best upon hay, and it was surprising how fresh and sound the
+drovers took them up. Disease was unknown; the lung disease, the
+foot-and-mouth disease, are comparatively recent importations.
+
+I was in the lean-cattle trade when foot-and-mouth disease first broke
+out, and got a sad fright when I came up to Falkirk and found my drove
+affected. When it got into a drove on their transit, the loss was
+heavy. At that time the cattle were not made more than half fat, else
+they could never have performed their journeys.
+
+I was well acquainted with the Messrs Williamson, and, when a boy, was
+the guest of the late George Williamson, St John's Wells; of the late
+James Williamson, Bethelnie; and of William Williamson, Easter Crichie.
+George Williamson was a great wit, and many are the anecdotes I have
+heard him tell. One of these I recollect. He was passing through Perth
+with a large drove of cattle, the bells were ringing a merry peal for
+the peace--St John's Wells said it was a sorrowful peal to him, for it
+cost him L4000. He told that the Messrs Williamson and Reid came to buy
+a lot of cattle at Bethelnie, and they were not like to agree, when
+Bethelnie's grieve volunteered the statement--much to the chagrin of
+James Williamson, but to the delight of Messrs Williamson and
+Reid--that there were turnips to put over to-morrow and no longer.
+Messrs Williamson and Reid did not advance their offer under these
+circumstances.
+
+James Williamson was a smarter man in some respects than George; he had
+great taste as a farmer, but lacked the wit of his brother; while
+William of Easter Crichie, St John's Wells' eldest son, and a member of
+the great firm, took matters more coolly than either, but was a capital
+judge, and a good buyer of drove and store cattle. They have all gone
+to their rest, but have left a name behind them which will not soon be
+forgotten in Aberdeenshire. As a firm they were the largest
+cattle-dealers in Scotland of their day. William Williamson was most
+hospitable, and many were the happy evenings I have spent at Easter
+Crichie. It was a great treat to hear him when he became eloquent upon
+the Haycocks, the great Leicestershire graziers, and the bullock he
+bought from Mr Harvey and sold to Mr Haycock that gained the prize
+against all comers at Smithfield. The Williamsons were the largest
+buyers in spring, not only in Aberdeenshire and the north, but in
+Forfar and Fife, shires. At one time they had little opposition in the
+spring trade, and old St John's Wells' advice to the members of the
+firm, when they went to Forfar and Fife, was to "bid little and lie far
+back." The Williamsons generally brought down from Fifeshire on their
+spring visits a lot of the best Fife cows, and no doubt their blood are
+in many of the Aberdeen cattle to this day. The Williamsons also bought
+largely at the Falkirk Trysts. Although they had the spring trade
+mostly to themselves, it must not be supposed that the summer trade was
+equally in their hands. For a time, however, it was doubtful if they
+would not concentrate the whole business in their own firm; as when
+they had heavy stocks on hand, and prices showed a downward tendency,
+they adopted the daring expedient of buying up almost all the cattle
+for sale, that they might become the exclusive owners. This might have
+succeeded so far, but it was a dangerous expedient, and could not
+continue; and other energetic men, both in the north and south, began
+to oppose them. My own father became their greatest opponent, and,
+though single-handed, for years conducted as large a business in summer
+as themselves.
+
+Mr James Anderson, Pitcarry, who is still alive and tenant of Pitcarry,
+was also an extensive dealer, and sent large droves to England--a man
+who through life has enjoyed the respect of all classes, of great
+coolness, and proverbial for his rectitude. The writer was sleeping
+with him at Huntly the night of an Old Keith market; and in the morning
+Mr Anderson was in the middle of a deep discussion, when his topsman
+knocked at the door. On being asked what he wanted, he said he had lost
+four cattle. "Go and find them," was Mr Anderson's answer, and he
+immediately resumed the discussion. My father often told how Mr
+Anderson and he were at a dinner at Haddington, given by the East
+Lothian Farmers' Club, on the day of the cattle market, when Mr Rennie
+of Phantassie was chairman, and where, after dinner, a discussion arose
+about an Act of Parliament. Mr Anderson told them they were all wrong,
+and that the contents of the Act were so and so. The books were brought
+from the Council Chambers, when Mr Anderson was found right, and all
+the East Lothian gentlemen wrong. He is a very well-informed man, and
+has all the Acts of Parliament at his finger-ends. I was present at a
+Hallow Fair when a cross toll-bar was erected, and many paid the toll
+demanded. At last Mr Anderson came up with his drove, and having the
+Act of Parliament in his pocket at the time, he broke down the toll-bar
+and sent the keeper home to his honest calling.
+
+But James Milner, Tillyriach, was perhaps the most remarkable among all
+the cattle-dealers of the time. He was a very large tall man, with
+tremendously big feet--a great man for dress--wore top-boots, white
+neckcloth, long blue coat, with all the et-ceteras, and used
+hair-powder. He was, withal, very clever, and had an immensity of
+mother-wit. He rode the best horse in the country, kept greyhounds, and
+galloped a horse he called the "Rattler." The rides he took with this
+animal are the talk of the country to this day. The Rattler was very
+fast, and would jump over anything. There was no end to the hares
+Milner killed. He was tenant not only of Tillyriach, which was at that
+time the property of Sir William Forbes of Craigievar, but he rented
+Carnaveron and other farms in the Vale of Alford. His position was
+good: he dined with the gentlemen of the neighbourhood. On one occasion
+he had Sir William Forbes to dine with him at Tillyriach, and collected
+all the horses, cattle, and servants from his other farms, and had them
+all coming as if from the yoke when Sir William arrived. Milner wanted
+allowances for several improvements from his landlord, and, among the
+rest, allowance to build, and payment for, a large dwelling-house; but
+he outwitted himself for once, as Sir William was afraid of the man,
+and refused to give any allowance whatsoever, remarking that his wealth
+in cattle and horses was so enormous that he might build himself in so
+that he would never get him out. However, Milner built an additional
+large dining-room at his own expense, and it being finished all but the
+chimney-top, he got up one summer morning very early, ordered his men
+and horses along with a mason to follow him, and went to William Laing,
+one of his sub-tenants, of whom he had a host, quietly removed a new
+dressed granite chimney-top which Laing had lately erected, without
+being detected by the inmates, and had it placed upon his room ere ever
+it was missed. There it remained for fifty years, until the houses at
+Tillyriach were taken down. Milner was very fond of a lark; he was the
+best possible neighbour; but if he took offence or considered himself
+slighted or overlooked, he would have his revenge. There was a rather
+troublesome neighbour who had offended Mr Milner, and of whom he could
+not get the better, except in the following way:--He put a large drove
+of cattle among his corn during the night, and was there in the morning
+with his appraiser to pay the damage. The damage is never in such cases
+estimated at the loss sustained by the owner, and a man may easily be
+ruined in that way. Mr Milner was the Captain Barclay of the Vale of
+Alford. He must have the best of everything--the best horses, the best
+cattle; and at the first cattle-show in the country, at Kincardine
+O'Neil, he gained the first prize for the best bull. He had the finest
+horses in the country, and it was worth something to get a "lift" of
+Milner's horses; and the most grievous fault his servants could commit,
+was allowing any other horses in the country to take as heavy loads as
+his.
+
+Tillyfour and Tillyriach adjoin, and are now one farm.[2] My father was
+in Tillyfour, and Milner in Tillyriach. The crop was all cut by the
+sickle, and wonderful were the prodigies performed by some of the
+shearers. When the harvest came near a conclusion, there was generally
+a severe "kemp" between neighbours who would have "cliach" first. One
+season Milner had fallen much behind his Tillyfour neighbours, and it
+became clear that Tillyfour was to gain the victory. Milner ordered
+Rattler to be saddled, and he was not long in galloping with such a
+horse, and on such an emergency, over the length and breadth of the
+Vale of Alford. He collected the whole country, and cut the last
+standing sheaf on Tillyriach in one night. The first thing heard at
+Tillyfour next morning was one volley of firearms after another, which
+was continued through the day, with a relay of shooters, and in the
+very teeth of my father's people. It cost Milner a great deal of
+Athole-brose[3] and powder, but he did not mind trifles to gain his
+point. It was the custom at that time that the party who finished
+harvest first communicated the intelligence to his neighbours by the
+firing of guns.
+
+      [2] For description of a day at Tillyfour, see Dixon's 'Field and
+      Fern,' Part North, p. 158-181.
+
+      [3] Whisky and oatmeal mixed.
+
+Another anecdote or two of Milner, and I have done with him. As he was
+dressing at the glass one morning, at an inn in the south, and in the
+act of powdering his hair, and tying his white neckerchief, which he
+always wore on high days and holidays, James Williamson of Bethelnie
+said to him, "Ah! what a pretty man you are, James!" "Yes," said
+Milner, with an oath, "if it were not for these ugly skulks of feet of
+mine." He always carried large saddlebags on his horse on his journeys,
+well replenished with all necessary auxiliaries for a change of dress,
+as when he went north he had often to dine with the Highland
+proprietors, and Milner was not the man to go otherwise than in full
+dress. He took a good deal of liberty with his fellow-cattle-dealers,
+who were not so exact as to their wardrobes, and carried generally in
+their pocket only a spare shirt and a pair of stockings. Milner's traps
+were a great additional burden on his horse. While going north he
+thought proper, one morning, to fasten them on my father's horse. My
+father took no notice of this at the time; but falling a little behind
+before coming to the top of a high hill, he contrived to unloose the
+mouths of the bags. The cattle-dealers always dismounted at the top of
+a hill, and walked down, either leading or driving their horses before
+them to the foot. My father dismounted, put the whip to his horse, a
+very spirited animal, and down the hill he galloped. First one article
+of clothing, then another, went helter-skelter along the road for a
+mile, one here and one there--ruffled shirts, white neckcloths, long
+coats, cashmere vests, boot-tops, pomatum boxes, cotton stockings, &c.
+&c.--not two of them together. It took Milner a long time to collect
+the contents of his bags; he was very sulky during the day, and his own
+horse carried the saddlebags in future. On a journey in the north, his
+comrades proposed that he should dress himself (and he did so to some
+purpose), and call on a gentleman, a large owner of fine stock, but
+whose land-steward and the cattle were some forty miles distant from
+the manor-house. Mr Milner did so; was well received and hospitably
+entertained; and at parting the gentleman gave him a letter to his
+land-steward, with instructions as to the sale of his stock. Milner was
+very quick, and he had his doubts as to these instructions; and as from
+forty to fifty miles was a long journey out and returning, he became
+anxious to know the contents. He returned to his friends, and
+communicated his suspicions to them. One more daring than the others
+proposed that the letter should be opened; a tea-kettle was got, the
+water brought to the boil, the wafer put to the steam, and the letter
+opened. The contents read thus:--"Be sure and sell the _old cows_,
+but do not sell the bullocks upon any account." I need not say what a
+rage Milner was in; calling the gentleman out was the least punishment
+he might expect.
+
+On one occasion he was in the south, where he bought cattle as well as
+in the north, and had an appointment to purchase a rare lot of cattle.
+James Williamson, Bethelnie, was also anxious to secure the same lot.
+The two were at the same inn; and after Milner went to bed, his shoes
+were turned out of his bedroom to be brushed. Williamson got hold of
+them, and had them put into a pot of water and boiled for hours. He
+contrived to do away with his stockings in a way I shall not mention.
+When Milner rose to continue his journey, he might have got the better
+of the loss of his stockings, but his shoes were a hopeless case, and
+he was obliged to defer his journey. New shoes had to be made; and as
+Milner's feet were so large, lasts had first to be made; and thus it
+took several days to get him fitted out for the road. James Williamson,
+meanwhile, bought the cattle and had his laugh at Milner, who reaped a
+share of the profits. It is now about half a century since Milner died,
+at a comparatively early age; but there still remains a lively
+impression of his person and exploits among the older residenters of
+the Vale of Alford.
+
+James Allardyce of Boyndsmill, tenant of Cobairdy, was also a great
+farmer, but of a different stamp. He was a friend of the late Duke of
+Gordon, who introduced him at Court; he also always wore powder. Many
+were the stories he told of his journey to London, and the great
+personages he was introduced to there. He was the best chairman at a
+public meeting I ever saw; and at a public sale it was a perfect treat
+to hear him. He was a master of the art of pleasing, and no man could
+put a company into equal good-humour. He had something to say in every
+one's praise, and no one else could say it so well. He spoke the
+dialect of his own county (the kingdom of Forgue) and never affected
+the English language. He fed--such feeding as they got!--sixty bullocks
+annually, which were always sold to one or other of the dealers, and
+went to Barnet Fair. Cobairdy's winterers and their prices were an
+interesting topic of conversation every spring, as the season came
+round.
+
+The great English dealers were the Armstrongs, James and Thomas, the
+Millers, Murphy, Robert M'Turk, Billie Brown, John Elliot, the
+Carmichaels, &c. &c. The Armstrongs were from Yorkshire; they bought
+largely of our good beasts at Falkirk, Falkland, and Kinross. Their
+credit was unlimited. They paid the cattle, not with Bank of England
+notes, but with their own private bills; and whereas they left home
+without more money than was necessary to pay the expenses of their
+journey, they would return with hundreds of pounds. For example: they
+would buy a lot of cattle for L860, give their acceptance for L1000,
+and get the balance (L140) from the seller. At last, however, they
+became bankrupt, and paid 3s. per pound. My father lost L3300 by them;
+and a great many of the returned bills are still in my possession.
+Messrs John and William Thom lost about the same sum. The Bannermans of
+Perth lost L4000--in fact, were ruined by their loss. My father and the
+Thoms stood out. The Thoms lost very heavily by the Millers also. My
+father's losses by bad debts were fully L10,000 in all. John Thom of
+Uras, Stonehaven, was also one of the firm that lost heavily, and has
+always, to his credit, paid 20s. in the pound. It was a saying of an
+old friend of mine that no great breeder or great cattle-dealer ever
+died rich; and this has held good in the great majority of cases. John
+Elliot and William Brown bought largely of our Aberdeen cattle, and
+attended Aikey Fair as well as Falkirk. Brown, who was very clever, had
+raised himself from being an Irish drover. He rented a farm in the
+neighbourhood of Carlisle, and died a few years ago much respected.
+Elliot was a Carlisle man, and so were the Millers. Elliot latterly
+became a Smithfield salesman, but died many years ago. But Robert
+M'Turk stood, in my estimation, at the top of the tree. I have known
+him buy seventy score of Highlanders at the October Falkirk Tryst
+without dismounting from his pony. I have seen seventy-five score of
+Galloways belonging to him in one drove passing through Carlisle to
+Norfolk. I have known him buy from a thousand to two thousand of our
+large county cattle at Falkirk, sweeping the fair of the best lots
+before other buyers could make up their minds to begin. He rented large
+grazings in Dumfriesshire, where he wintered and grazed the
+Highlanders, and which, I believe, his relatives still retain. He was a
+warm friend, and very kind to me when I was almost a boy, and on a busy
+day he trusted me to cull the beasts he had bought from myself. I shall
+never see his like again at Falkirk or any other place. I have a vivid
+recollection of the stout-built man upon his pony, buying his cattle by
+the thousand; his calm and composed demeanour was a striking contrast
+to the noise made by some jobbers at our fairs in even the buying of an
+old cow. Although plain in manner, he was a thorough gentleman, devoid
+of slang and equivocation. He was the Captain Barclay of Dumfriesshire,
+and furnished an exception to my friend's remark, for he died in
+independent circumstances. He paid for all his cattle ready money.
+
+The Carmichaels were another extensive firm of English dealers; they
+bought largely at Falkirk, Aikey Fair, and in the north. Robert
+Carmichael, of Ratcliffe Farm, near Stirling, was many years appointed
+a judge of Highlanders at the Highland Society's shows. But we had also
+the Hawick Club, a set of giants--Halliburton, Scott, and Harper--a
+very wealthy firm; and James Scott died the other year worth seventy or
+eighty thousand pounds. As a company they seldom bought runts--a term
+by which our Aberdeen cattle were known to the English jobbers; they
+bought large lots of Highlanders, especially Highland heifers, in
+October and November; but they were open at all times, when they saw a
+good prospect of profit, to buy any number, or any sort. I once came
+through Mr Harper's hands at a bad Hallow Fair with seven score of
+Aberdeen runts in a way I should not like often to do.
+
+The business of the "Club" was principally confined to the months of
+October and November, but individually they had large stakes in the
+country. James Scott was one of the largest sheep-farmers in Scotland,
+and one of the greatest buyers of sheep at Inverness. I could tell many
+anecdotes of the firm of Halliburton & Co., but I fear tiring my
+readers. I will, however, venture on one or two. As I have already
+mentioned, they were very powerful men. On one occasion Halliburton had
+arrived at Braemar very tired to attend the fair. He had fallen asleep
+on the sofa, and a thief was busy rifling his pockets, when he awoke,
+took hold of the thief, held him with one hand as if he had been in a
+vice, and handed him over to justice. It was told of James Scott, who
+was a very quiet reserved man, that once when he was in the Highlands
+he was insulted by a party of Highland gentlemen; from better it came
+to worse, and ended in Scott nearly killing every man of them.
+Halliburton was much respected, but he was a great declaimer as to
+prices of cattle falling when he was a purchaser. At an Amulree market
+he was very early on the market-ground. A soft-looking country man,
+well dressed, came up with thirteen very fine polled cattle, which
+Halliburton bought at a price that _satisfied even him_ as to
+their cheapness. He took James Ritchie, an Aberdeen dealer, to see
+them. On hearing the price Ritchie was astonished. "Oh," said
+Halliburton, "I have often told you, James, what country men would do,
+but you would not believe me." The seller was very anxious to get the
+money, as he said he had horses to buy; but Halliburton told him horses
+were dangerous, and he must wait his time. He began to be suspicious
+that all was not right, and in a short time the seller was apprehended
+for stealing the cattle from Wemyss Castle. He was tried at Perth, and
+transported for fourteen years, and Halliburton and Ritchie had to give
+evidence. The judge said to Halliburton at the trial at Perth, "You
+surely must have known the cattle were too cheap." Halliburton
+answered, "My lord, the next market would have proved if they were too
+cheap or too dear."
+
+The payments at Falkirk were all made through the bankers; there were
+always from four to six bank-tents on the muir. When I took payment for
+my cattle I went generally with the buyer to the bank-tent. This was
+merely a common tent, with a bank-office attached. The banker
+calculated the amount, and received the money, which he put to my
+credit, and after I concluded my business I got an order for the amount
+on Aberdeen. This avoided all risk of forged notes, &c. Strange
+payments were sometimes offered. On one occasion an Irishman, who
+appeared to have been "holding his Christmas," bought sixty horned
+cattle from me, the best in the fair, at L14, 14s. a-head--a long price
+at that time. The beasts were good, and the price was good. He
+presented first L70 in gold; he then took out a handkerchief, the
+contents of which were L100, L20, L10, L5, and L1 notes. Such a
+miscellaneous payment I had never seen offered, and I believe no one
+else had, at Falkirk or any other place. It would have been hopeless
+for us to attempt counting it, and Mr Salmon, agent for the Commercial
+Bank, took the business in hand. Looking first at the confused mass of
+notes, all "head and tail," and then scanning the appearance of my
+customer, he began his task; but with all his practice it took him a
+quarter of an hour to assort the payment. He threw back two L1-notes to
+the buyer, who got into a towering passion, and, with words that I
+cannot put upon paper, asked him if he thought _he_ would offer
+forged notes. Mr Salmon meekly replied that M'Combie might take them if
+he pleased, he had got nothing to do with that, but he would not. Our
+Irish friend then exchanged the notes, for he had no want of money. I
+did not even know the gentleman's name; I never saw him before, and I
+never, to my knowledge, saw him afterwards.
+
+There were in such large markets as Falkirk and Hallow Fair great
+chances of good prices to be had at times. When cattle were selling
+dear, buyers from England, Wales, Ireland, and all parts of Scotland,
+congregated at Falkirk: they were not all judges alike, and some
+sellers at such a time were always sure of a good price. For the
+amusement of my readers, I will give a few examples. On the second day
+of an October Falkirk Tryst (I had sold out, as I generally did, the
+first day), I was standing with a dealer from the north who had forty
+or sixty--I think sixty--two-year-old polled stots to sell. He had just
+parted with a customer for 2s. 6d. a-head, having offered them at L8,
+15s., and refused L8, 12s. 6d. A gentleman's land-steward came through
+the lot of cattle with a milk-white horse, and his eyes looked first to
+the right and then to the left with wonderful quickness. He asked the
+price of the cattle. I thought the seller's conscience a trifle lax
+when he asked L13, 13s. a-head. Being very young I turned my back, as I
+could not keep my gravity. The owner then asked what he would give.
+L11, 11s. was the answer. No sooner were the words out of the man's
+mouth than down came the clap, "They are yours." I could stand it no
+longer, and drew back aghast. The buyer became suspicious that all was
+not right; and my father, who was held in great esteem both by buyers
+and sellers, acted as umpire, to whom both parties referred the
+transaction. Being the only witness, I was closely interrogated by the
+umpire, the buyer, and the seller. I told the price asked and the price
+offered. The matter had now assumed a serious aspect. My father, after
+hearing the evidence, which was not denied, and the price having been
+fairly offered and accepted, could only decide one way. I recollect his
+words when he gave his decision: "Well, sir, the beasts are dear
+according to this market, but they are good growers, and you will soon
+make them worth it; my decision is, you must take them." They were paid
+for, and went across the ferry to Fife again. In a rising market I have
+seen cattle raised L1 a-head; and if the jobber does not take a price
+when there is a rise, and fairly in his power, he is a fool, for he
+will soon find out that the buyers will have no mercy upon the sellers
+when in their power. In all my experience, the above, in a dull day, or
+any other day, was the most glaring start I remember.
+
+I never attended the fairs in Angusshire, but on one occasion Mr Thom
+hauled me off to Forfar market in the beginning of November, before
+Hallow Fair of Edinburgh. We were in partnership at the time, and
+bought seventy small polled stots to take to Hallow Fair, to which we
+had sent off two or three droves the week before. We could get but one
+drover, a townsman, to assist in lifting them, and had to turn drovers
+ourselves. We had not gone above a mile on our way to Dundee with the
+cattle when it came on a fearful night of rain, and got very dark. Mr
+Thom quarrelled with the drover--a useless creature--and sent him about
+his business, so that we were left alone with our seventy beasts in the
+dark, on a road with which we were entirely unacquainted. We went on
+for hours, not knowing where we were going, till at last we came to a
+bothy, where we asked the servants what we were to do with our charge,
+and if we were on the road to the ferry at Dundee. We were told, first,
+that we had taken the wrong road, and were miles out of our way; and
+second, that we might put the cattle into a field close at hand. We put
+the cattle up accordingly, and went to a public-house near by, which
+was kept by a very decent man, Edward, a cattle-dealer. We got supper,
+and took an hour or two in bed; and between one and two o'clock in the
+morning, the rain having abated and the moon risen, we started the
+drove and had the beasts at Dundee and across the ferry by the first
+boat at eight o'clock in the morning, with no assistance whatever. We
+now started fairly on our destination for Edinburgh, and having got
+food for the cattle and bread and cheese for ourselves, about three
+miles up the south side of the Tay we hired a sort of drover, and bent
+our way by Rathillet. About dark we arrived at ---- (Mr Walker's),
+where we not only got as much turnips and straw to our beasts as they
+could eat, but were ourselves treated like princes by Mr Walker. He
+gave us the best bed in the house, would not let us go without a good
+breakfast in the morning, and would accept of scarcely any
+remuneration. We started for Lochgelly after breakfast, but Mr Thom
+persuaded me to turn off and take Falkland market, which was held that
+day, while he and the drover proceeded straight to Lochgelly with the
+cattle. Falkland was far out of the way, but he assured me there were
+plenty of horses to hire there, and that I could easily join him at
+Lochgelly at night. When I got to Falkland I found there were only four
+beasts in the market that suited our trade, which was not encouraging,
+as I did not want plenty of money if I could have got anything to lay
+it out on. I found also that Mr Thom had been mistaken about the
+hiring. Not a horse was to be got at any price, and I had no help but
+to set off on foot for Lochgelly, on a road I had never travelled. I
+had scarcely left Falkland when I was overtaken by a heavy rain which
+continued throughout my journey. I had first to climb a long steep hill
+for about three or four miles, and when at last I got to the public
+road, I found it one mass of mud, in consequence of the large coal
+traffic, and the heavy fall of rain. I had a deal of money with me, and
+as it was quite dark, I was rather uneasy about it, meeting so many
+miners and coal-carters under such circumstances, and in a part of the
+country with which I was utterly unacquainted. The road is a very long
+one, and with such a protracted soaking in the mud, my feet began to
+fail me. I at last reached my destination, however; and with
+considerable difficulty--for I had never been in Lochgelly before--I
+hunted up Mr Thom, whom I found comfortably quartered beside a good
+fire, with supper before him. But my troubles were not yet over. One of
+the servants at the place was leaving, and what was termed a "foy" was
+being held that night. She had collected a great number of her friends,
+who kept the house in an uproar the whole night. We went to bed, but
+could get no sleep, the row these revellers made was so great, and our
+bedroom door was all but broken open two or three times. Our
+remonstrances had no effect, and sleep being out of the question, we
+got up about one o'clock, hunted up our drover, and started our drove
+once more, although the night was as bad as could be. By about nine
+o'clock A.M. we arrived at Queensferry; but by this time I had strained
+my leg, and was unable to proceed. I was therefore left on the north
+side in charge of the cattle, while Mr Thom crossed to the south side
+to procure the necessary food for the other droves during the market.
+It will thus be seen that we droved the seventy cattle from Forfar
+market all the way to Queensferry in two days and three nights during
+the short day of November, going out of our way once as much as six
+miles. I cannot say what the distance was exactly, but it must have
+been at least seventy miles--a feat in cattle-droving unparalleled in
+my experience. After a day's rest I crossed the ferry with the cattle,
+assisted by the drover. The beasts were dreadfully jaded, and with
+difficulty reached their destination, within a mile of the
+market-stance. The journey had told severely upon them, and two went
+down immediately on reaching the field. We tried every means to stir
+them, but failed. They were hand-fed, and with great difficulty got to
+the market, where they were quickly sold, though how they were got to
+their destination I never learned.
+
+At a very good Hallow Fair, I had forty small-horned Cabrach beasts and
+forty small polled stirks standing alongside of each other. I had been
+within 7s. 6d. a-head of selling them once or twice, when a stranger
+priced them, a very well-to-do and apparently young man. My price was
+L7, 7s. a-head for the eighty. He just took one look through them, and
+said, "Well, I shall have them, and you meet me at the Black Bull at
+eight o'clock, and I will pay you for them." It not being the _custom
+of the trade_ to get all our askings, I was a little nervous about
+my customer, but found he was all right. I met him at the Black Bull at
+the hour mentioned. He was in great spirits, and paid me in Bank of
+England notes.
+
+Arthur Ritchie, Bithnie, a cattle-dealer from Aberdeen, used to tell
+the following story: In a bad Hallow Fair, towards sunsetting, a
+gentleman came round and asked the price of a lot of cattle. Arthur had
+given him a large halter, and he got an offer which he accepted. It was
+a great price for the market. The buyer refused afterwards to take
+them, and my father was made umpire. The buyer said that a glimmer came
+over his eyes, and he thought them better when he offered the price.
+However, he got ashamed, and took the cattle. An old respected servant
+of my own, who assisted me for years in the buying and selling of
+cattle--James Elmslie, very well known here and in the south--had sold
+twenty beasts very well at Hallow Fair for me. There was a "buffalo"
+among them of the worst type--a great big "buffalo dog." The buyer,
+when he paid them, said, "Well, James, if they had all been like the
+big one, I would not have grudged you the price." "Ah, sir," said
+James, "you would have difficulty in getting a lot like him!" I could
+scarcely keep my gravity. A very grave and solemn conclusion to a sale
+occurred to me at Hallow Fair. I had sold twenty beasts to a very rich
+farmer near North Berwick, who had bought many lots from me. He had
+employed a marker, who had just marked nineteen out of the twenty. The
+buyer was joking with me about the dearness of the cattle, when, in a
+moment, he dropped down dead, falling on his back, and never moving or
+speaking more. The event created such a sensation, that no more sales
+were made that day.
+
+The English dealers seldom came north except to Aikey Fair. Then we had
+the Armstrongs, the Millers, Murphy, and other English dealers, and it
+was quite a sight to witness the droves going south; but Aikey Fair has
+now lost its ancient glory, and is only the shadow of what it was. It
+was a sight I shall never witness more to see the whole hillside
+covered with innumerable herds of "Buchan hummlies." Mr Bruce of
+Millhill showed the largest lots, and stood at the top as an exhibitor.
+Talking of Buchan, the names of Bruce, Millhill, and Smart, Sandhole,
+were household words at my father's board. My father and myself have
+bought thousands of cattle from them; no agriculturists have ever been
+more respected in Buchan. Mr Bruce, perhaps, was as solid, but Smart
+was the more dashing man. I have never met any one who would do the
+same amount of business with as few words as Smart, and do it as well.
+As one example: He brought sixty beasts to Mintlaw market--cattle were
+low-priced at the time. I had the first offer of them: he asked L12,
+12s. a-head. I offered L12, and we split the 12s. The whole transaction
+did not take up half of the time I require to write it. Mr Bruce and Mr
+Smart were the best judges in Buchan. We had other great exhibitors, Mr
+Bruce, Inverwhomrey; Mr Scott, Yokieshill; Mr Milne, Mill of Boyndie;
+Mr Paton, Towie; Mr Milne, Watermill, &c. Mr Mitchell, Fiddesbeg, the
+Browns, the Rattrays, Hay of Little Ythsie, and Wm. M'Donald, were all
+extensive dealers in cattle in those days. The following anecdote of
+William M'Donald was told by my father: It had been a very good
+September Falkirk market, and Mr John Geddes, Haddoch, who was an
+extensive home grazier and dealer, had a large stock of cattle on hand.
+M'Donald and my father were both anxious for the chance to buy them,
+and pushed through their business at Falkirk as fast as possible to get
+to Haddoch. At that time the dealers accomplished all their journeys on
+horseback, and prided themselves on the fleetness of their
+saddle-horses. My father thought no one his match in the saddle. He
+reached Haddoch on Wednesday at midnight--the first cattle-market day
+at Falkirk being on Tuesday--but the first thing he observed on drawing
+near to the house, which remains on the farm to this day, although a
+new one has been built, was the main room lighted up. On coming nearer,
+he heard voices fast and loud, and one was that of M'Donald! It was all
+over! M'Donald had fairly beat M'Combie in the chase. My father got
+hold of Mrs Geddes, worn-out and disappointed, and got quietly to bed;
+and I have often heard him tell how M'Donald's peals of laughter rang
+in his ears as the punch-bowl went round, even to the dawning of the
+day. Neither M'Donald nor Haddoch knew my father was in the house. He
+left in the morning for Clashbrae, where he bought some smaller lots
+from the farmer there, who was a local dealer.
+
+A word as to M'Donald: He was a stout-made middle-sized man, and spoke
+so fast over the "bowl" that no one could follow him. He had a good
+deal of mother-wit; and his great ambition was to be the owner of large
+droves of cattle. I have seen a drove belonging to him a mile and more
+long. Mr John Geddes was a man of high standing and great firmness of
+character. He wore the broad blue bonnet, with a long blue coat and
+clear buttons, and boot-hose, and rode a very fine cob pony with a long
+tail. He was of great strength of constitution, and could have sat
+twenty-four hours with the punch-bowl before him (it was always the
+bowl at Haddoch), and risen as sober as when he sat down. Such were the
+habits of those days. I never pass on the railway from Huntly to
+Rothiemay, but on casting my eye over the old house I recall the night
+described so graphically by my father. He and Haddoch had large
+transactions. After a bad October Tryst, where my father had sixteen
+score of Aberdeenshire cattle, and when he lost L4 a-head upon every
+beast, Mr Geddes returned him L70 as a luck-penny upon a large lot he
+had bought from him. There have few men appeared in the north of
+greater influence or of higher moral worth than the late Mr John Geddes
+of Haddoch. His landlord, the late Duke of Gordon, was proud of him, as
+well he might be.
+
+It was the general custom that the dealers came to the market-ground
+with their cattle, and immediately before them, to the part of the
+market-stance where they wished them to stand. It was quite a sight to
+see Mr Geddes on an Old Keith market-day (Old Keith Market, like Aikey
+Fair, is now only a shadow of its ancient greatness), with his broad
+bonnet, the long blue coat, the overall stockings, and mounted on a
+strong bay pony with its tail to the ground, at the head of a large lot
+of heavy cattle. Every one made room for his cattle, as he rode before
+them to the upper wall; it would have been of no use to resist, as the
+weight of his animals would have soon cleared the road for themselves;
+and as soon as the large black mass of horned cattle appeared in the
+valley below, the cry was, "There comes Haddoch! We must clear the way,
+or else his cattle will soon clear it at our expense." After the first
+lot was stationed, another and another followed in succession, which
+were placed beside the others, till perhaps there were 200 altogether;
+the different lots being all kept completely separate for the
+inspection of purchasers. Mr Geddes never went south with cattle, but
+sold them all at home. In a bad year he once got as far south as
+Tillyfour with 120 cattle in November. They were at Tillyfour a night,
+and my father bought them in the morning, but they were about a mile on
+the road before the bargain was struck. No one could have seen Mr
+Geddes without pronouncing him a man of mark.
+
+But the greatest dealer the county could claim, and one at the same
+time deeply engaged in agriculture and its interests, was Mr James
+Innes of Durris. Mr Innes was born at Leuchars in Morayshire; his
+father was Sheriff of Kincardineshire, and proprietor of Leuchars; his
+brother, Cosmo Innes, Esq., was Sheriff of Morayshire. The father of Mr
+James Innes bought the lease of the estate of Durris for ninety-nine
+years from the trustees of the Earl of Peterborough for L30,000 and an
+annual feu-duty of a few hundred pounds. Owing to some new views of the
+law of entail, the Duke of Gordon, the legal heir of the Earl of
+Peterborough, turned Mr Innes out of the estate after he had expended
+L95,000 in improvements, and after the case had been in court for
+fifteen years. Mr Innes farmed extensively, having had seven or eight
+farms in his own occupancy at the same time. He rode on horseback
+yearly to Falkirk, and bought a large lot of Highland cattle. He
+generally had 200 cattle, 1500 sheep, and from ten to twelve pairs of
+horses on his farms. Mr Innes's horses went at the top of their speed
+in cart and plough; they had all breeding. No standing was allowed when
+the horses were in harness. In a busy day in harvest, and when the
+horses were yoked double, you would have seen Mr Innes's horses driving
+in the corn at a smart gallop. The harvest-carts were wide, railed and
+framed on both sides, with one or two cross bearers. In a "leading" day
+Mr Innes was a sure hand at the fork in the stackyard, and the man on
+the stack and the man on the cart had to look out. Mr Innes was no
+trifler, and would not be trifled with; but if an accident happened he
+made no remarks. He did not transact business by commission, but
+purchased both the cattle and sheep himself. The aged West Highlanders
+were sent to the wood during winter; the year-old Highlanders were put
+into the strawyards; and the four-year-old Aberdeens were bought for
+stall-feeding. Black-faced wethers were sent to the low pasture and for
+turnip-feeding. An annual sale of cattle and letting of grass took
+place about the 20th May. Mr Innes was famed for growing turnips. He
+gained the prize of L50, given by the Highland Society for the best
+field of turnips in the north of Scotland, twenty acres of yellow and
+ten of globe turnips. Deacon Williamson's six and eight year old
+Aberdeen work oxen--these were not the days of quick returns in
+cattle--consumed them, and they went to the Greenland whale-ships at
+last. Mr Innes was the poor man's friend, and a kind master to his
+servants, but a cool determined man. Although standing almost six feet
+three inches in height, he was a splendid horseman; when crossing the
+Dee he made his horse jump into the boat with himself upon his back. He
+galloped as the crow flies from one farm to another, and was at the
+head of everything himself. He was an intimate friend of the late Lord
+Kennedy, Captain Barclay of Ury, Farquharson of Finzean, Davidson of
+Balnagask, and Cruickshank of Langley Park. He sometimes took a holiday
+with them; and even entered for a time into some of their frolics, when
+his seedtime and harvest were finished: he was quite fit to keep his
+own with them. He was well educated, wrote out his leases, collected
+his rents, could floor any one in court, and was very popular as a
+justice.
+
+Mr Cruickshank of Langley Park and Mr Innes afterwards quarrelled: the
+quarrel originating at Blackhall. There had been a good deal of
+chaffing between them, which ended in a row. Cruickshank went home and
+wrote a challenge to Innes, and Innes went home and wrote one to
+Cruickshank. They met and fought at Laurencekirk: Major C. Robertson,
+Kindface, Invergordon, was Cruickshank's second, and Dr Hoyle,
+Montrose, was in attendance as surgeon. ---- ---- was Innes's second,
+and Dr Skene, Aberdeen, his surgeon. After the first fire the seconds
+stopped proceedings; but Mr Innes's mother had intercepted a letter,
+which she gave to her son after the first duel, and Mr Innes forthwith
+sent another challenge to Cruickshank. They fought again at
+Bourtreebush, half-way between Aberdeen and Stonehaven. Mr John
+Stewart, late in Anguston (who was a great friend of the laird of
+Durris) was standing with Mr Innes at the Plainstones, in Aberdeen. Mr
+Innes looked at the town clock, and said, "My time is up; but you will
+meet me at breakfast to-morrow at Durris at eight." He did not say what
+he was to be about. Mr William Walker, who was afterwards three years
+overseer to Mr Innes at Durris, tells that he thinks it was in June or
+July 1819 that his father's servant and himself were carting home fuel
+from near Bourtreebush, when they observed two carriages on the
+turnpike from Aberdeen driving at a furious pace. The carriages stopped
+in an instant within 300 yards of the inn; several gentlemen alighted
+and walked into the nearest field, and in a few minutes shots were
+twice exchanged, one party and carriage leaving twenty minutes before
+the other, in the direction of Stonehaven. At the second shot Mr Innes
+was wounded in the thigh; and it was a close shave on the other side,
+for Mr Innes's ball went through Mr Cruickshank's whiskers. Mr Innes,
+however, kept his appointment with Mr Stewart next morning. Mr Stewart
+said that he met him at Durris House at breakfast. He came down stairs
+with his wonted agility, in the best of spirits, and shook hands with
+him; but he seemed to tremble a little, and his hands fell downwards,
+and although he never mentioned the duel, Mr Stewart afterwards heard
+he was wounded in the groin. For the above account of the second famous
+duel fought between Mr Innes and Mr Cruickshank of Langley Park, I am
+indebted to Mr William Walker and Mr John Stewart, late of Anguston.
+The two were, however, great friends ever after.
+
+I was well acquainted with Alexander Davidson, the notorious poacher
+and smuggler. He was a very powerful man, and his whole body was
+covered with hair like that of an ox. He was a favourite with many of
+the gentlemen, and was often sent for by them to show his feats of
+strength and agility. He could shoot in a direct line from Braemar to
+Aberdeen with very little interruption. From many of the proprietors he
+had permission to take a run through their property; others winked at
+him: from myself, then acting for my father, he had permission to go on
+his course. He was very polite in his askings, and put it thus: "Will
+you have the goodness to allow me to go through your property when I am
+on my annual tour? I will not poach it; I will keep the straight line,
+and only kill what may be on my way." I believe Davidson was true to
+his promise; but if he was refused permission, and if any attempt was
+made to entrap him, he had his revenge: he would shoot and poach on
+that property for days, and no one could take him. In the year 1820 Mr
+Innes and Mr Davidson of Balnagask gave their support to Davidson
+against Lord Kennedy and Mr Farquharson of Finzean, who laid a bet of
+L50 that Davidson would not run without clothing from Barkley Street,
+Stonehaven, to the gate of Inchmarlo in a given time. It was thought
+that Davidson's feet must fail him. At the Bridge of Banchory there was
+a posse of wives, with Mrs Duncan the toll-mistress at their head,
+ready to make an onslaught on poor Davidson. They had been hired, some
+at five shillings, some at ten, and the leader, Mrs Duncan, at twenty
+shillings, and came prepared with their aprons full of stones and other
+missiles, and Mrs Duncan had in addition a large knotty stick. When
+Davidson came in sight he saw the trap that was laid for him, and drew
+up for breath before he came within the enemy's reach. The fearful rush
+and the unearthly appearance of Davidson took his enemies by surprise;
+their missiles fell wide of the mark, and with a few tremendous bounds
+he passed the wives and the bridge. Mrs Duncan was in a towering
+passion because Davidson had escaped, after all her generalship, and
+declared, not in the most becoming language, "that it was not a man,
+but a beast." Davidson was safe, and reached the gate of Inchmarlo up
+to time, and pocketed the L50. Davidson was at last found dead on the
+hills, with his faithful pointer standing over him.
+
+Captain Barclay of Ury and Mr Innes laid a heavy bet with Finzean that
+they would produce six better men in Durris than Finzean could do in
+all his estates. The men were selected, and the day was fixed; a long
+and strong rope was procured, which crossed the Dee, and twelve yards
+to each side extra, to allow the men to be tied in at regular distances
+from each other. At the place chosen to decide the wager the river had
+sloping banks on each side. Those who got the first start were sure to
+pull the others probably nearly through the river; the tide would then
+be turned, and the other party be as successful with their opponents.
+So matters went on several times, until it was found necessary to stop,
+and no decision could be given. The poor men got a proper ducking, and
+some of them were even in great danger of being drowned or hanged, as
+they were all tied into the ropes.
+
+I was very well acquainted with the late Captain Barclay, who was the
+lineal descendant of the author of the 'Apology for the Quakers,' and
+claimant of the earldom of Monteith, and was familiarly designated "the
+father of the shorthorns." Though Captain Barclay remains without a
+national acknowledgment of his merits, no man deserved better of the
+farmers of Scotland; for he was their firm supporter through life in
+good and bad report. Captain Barclay was in many respects a remarkable
+man--one not to be forgotten by any one who had once met him. I have
+been many a day in company with him, and have the most vivid
+recollection of him as he examined the stock in a show-yard. Pacing
+along from class to class, I think I see him drawing his open hand
+leisurely down over his chin, and, as he met an acquaintance, saying in
+his deep sonorous voice, "How do you do?" laying the emphasis on the
+"how," and passing on. No one would have made any mistake as to Captain
+Barclay being a gentleman, although his dress was plain--a long green
+coat with velvet collar and big yellow buttons, a coloured
+handkerchief, long yellow cashmere vest, knee-breeches, very wide
+top-boots with long brown dirty tops, and plain black hat, generally
+pretty well worn. When at home he wore knee-breeches with patches on
+the knees, coarse stockings, and large shoes. Captain Barclay carried
+through with energy whatever he took in hand. The "Defiance" must go
+its twelve miles an hour including stoppages. He took a great delight
+in driving the "Defiance," wearing the red coat with the "Defiance"
+buttons; and on one occasion he drove the mail from London to
+Stonehaven out and out. His horses were the strongest and his fields
+the largest in the country. He said "he did not like a field in which
+the cattle could see one another every day." He put four horses in his
+waggons, and never sent less than 20 bolls (16 quarters) of grain to
+Aberdeen upon a waggon. It was a great sight to see four or five of
+Captain Barclay's waggons going down Marischal Street. The houses
+shook, the inhabitants were alarmed, and nervous people thought the
+houses would tumble down. Captain Barclay could not tolerate a boaster
+or puppy in any shape. A few years before his death he happened to be
+in the coffee-room, Market Street, Aberdeen, one evening along with
+some of his friends. A fast young man took out L20 and boasted he would
+run a mile in a certain time: he was not aware that Captain B. was
+present. The Captain covered the money, and the L40 was lodged with the
+stakeholder. "Now, my man," said the Captain (turning the quid of
+tobacco once or twice in his mouth, and taking his hand down from his
+nose to his chin), in his prolonged solemn tone, "we will put you to
+time." The race was run and lost. The Captain was walking one day in
+his park when he came on an intruder in the shape of an ass. He seized
+the donkey and threw it over the wall of the park. To his astonishment
+the animal was returned. The Captain pitched him over again, and again
+he came back. This was repeated several times, till at last the Captain
+went outside the wall and found that it was a gypsy that was his match.
+He was so much pleased with the prowess of the man, that he took him to
+the mansion-house of Ury, treated him to all he could eat and drink,
+and gave him permission to graze his donkey as often as he liked on the
+policies of Ury. One morning, when the Captain was driving the
+"Defiance," there was a plain country woman sitting behind him. A
+gentleman wished to deprive the woman of her seat. The Captain
+remonstrated with him and bade him let the poor woman alone. The
+stranger did not know that it was Captain Barclay, and went on from
+better to worse, till he told the Captain if he would stop the coach
+and come down he would settle the matter with him. The Captain
+immediately stopped the coach, saying, "I suppose I must gratify you,"
+gave the reins to Davie Troup, and jumped down with his top-coat on.
+The stranger advised him to strip. "Oh no," said the Captain, "that
+would be troublesome." His opponent, a very strong man, rushed at him
+like a bull-dog. The Captain put on his guard, looked at his antagonist
+for a moment or two, turned the quid of tobacco once or twice in his
+mouth, and then gave him a blow that felled him to the ground like a
+log of wood. He got to his feet again, when the Captain doubled the
+dose. The stranger was satisfied, and said, "You must either be the
+devil or Captain Barclay of Ury." "I am not the former," said the
+Captain, "but I am the latter." A stranger would hardly at first sight
+have got an adequate impression of Captain Barclay's power, but his
+appearance grew upon you when you came close to him; you then saw his
+great strength. He was a very round-made man, shaped for great
+endurance, which was put to a severe test when, in 1809, he walked a
+thousand miles in a thousand hours. His man Cross, who attended him,
+described to me the difficulty of his task in keeping him awake. At
+first he had to apply the stick and the lash, and the Captain growled
+most hideously at him; but latterly, when he saw he was to win, he
+improved in strength and spirits every hour till the end. After two
+days' rest he went on the Walcheren expedition. When past sixty he
+would walk twenty or thirty miles to dinner. I could relate many
+interesting reminiscences of Captain Barclay, but as most of them have
+been published already, I have only given a few well-authenticated
+anecdotes, which, so far as I know, have never before appeared. He was
+found dead in his bed in 1854: and in him the tenant-farmers of
+Scotland and the poor of his own neighbourhood lost one of their best
+friends.
+
+While speaking of Milner I referred to the great feats performed in
+those days with the sickle. I remember a Highland woman, "black Bell,"
+who made sixteen to eighteen threaves (384 to 432 sheaves) daily in
+harvest of good-sized sheaves; but George Bruce, Ardgows, in the parish
+of Tough, could shear thirty-six threaves in a day, and bind and stook
+it. However incredible this may appear, it is a fact. I have seen him
+shearing after he was an old man; he drove the "rig" of say eighteen
+feet from side to side, and never lifted his hand till he had a sheaf.
+He used a long sickle, and drew the corn to him. I cannot describe his
+method properly. He was a tall, thin, wiry man, with very long arms. My
+father used to tell how my grandfather sent two men and two women to
+give George Bruce a day's shearing, and how George came with a little
+girl (who did little or nothing but make bands for her master), and how
+my grandfather asked him "if that was the way he intended to pay his
+debt." George replied that "he could put his four shearers on one
+'rig'"--they were fully an average of the shearers in the country--"and
+he and the lassie would take the other." They started accordingly, and
+Bruce kept ahead of them throughout the day.
+
+
+
+
+III. THE CATTLE TRADE, THEN AND NOW.
+
+
+The lean-cattle trade is a most dangerous one, and I would not advise
+any young friend of mine to engage in it. I believe for one who has
+succeeded twenty have gone down. This is true, at least, as far as
+droving from the north to the south of Scotland and England is
+concerned. Home jobbers have been more fortunate, though I am not
+acquainted with many who have done much good. There are many
+temptations connected with it, and it requires a strong mind to resist
+them. I have only given the bright side of the picture; but let us look
+for a moment at the other. I have told that great chances are got by
+some at times; these, however, are exceptional to the general rule.
+Lean cattle are sold by value as well as fat, and if well bought will
+be easily sold. I found it the safe plan to buy a small drove well. It
+was only a little trade that I carried on--I never had fewer than from
+seven to ten score, and my largest droves never exceeded eighteen
+score; as a consequence, my losses were not heavy nor my profits very
+great. When I was in the trade the price of cattle was very low, which
+lessened my risk, but I have known L2 a-head lost over a large drove.
+During the French war the price of cattle became very high; and L4
+a-head, and even much more, would sometimes be lost or gained on
+droving cattle.
+
+My father when a young man went to the far north--to Caithness,
+Sutherland, Skye, and the islands--and bought large droves of Highland
+cattle and brought them home. They were disposed of often by public
+roup in this county, or driven to the southern markets. At that time
+there were few regular markets in these counties, but the dealers when
+they went to the country cried a market, announcing that they would
+meet the sellers on a certain day and at a convenient place, and in
+this way the trade was carried out. Large profits were obtained; but
+the dealers were liable to heavy losses, especially in spring, the
+cattle being then but skin and bone, and many dying in the transit. My
+father lost in one night, after swimming the Spey, seventeen old
+Caithness runts. There were no bridges in those days. It came on a
+severe frost after the cattle had swam the river. The value of
+bone-manure was unknown, and their bones bleached in the sun on the
+braes of Auchindown for more than thirty years, and remains of them
+were visible within the last few years. My father not only carried on a
+very large trade to the Falkirk markets, but also a very extensive
+business to England, and had a salesman who attended all the great
+English fairs, particularly in Leicestershire, who sold drove after
+drove that were bought by my father here. Referring to documents in my
+possession, I find he had in one year 1500 head of cattle at the
+October Tryst of Falkirk, 800 of which were Highlanders, and the
+remainder Aberdeen cattle. The Highlanders were grazed in Braemar, on
+the Geldie, Boynach, and Corryvrone, the property of the Earl of Fife.
+His books show a clear profit at that fair of L2000, and the year
+following of L1500. Prices of cattle were very high during the war. I
+observe the prices of three heavy lots of horned Aberdeen cattle sold
+in Cumberland--viz., L22, L23, 10s., and L25 a-head. A Carlisle
+carrier, I have often heard my father say, was the purchaser. He
+declared he bought them for eating up his horse-litter.
+
+Steam navigation and the use of bone-dust being both introduced about
+the same time, shortly produced a complete revolution in the cattle
+trade; feeding soon became general, from the larger breadth and heavier
+crops of turnips grown; droving annually diminished, till now it has
+all but ceased, almost all the herds in Aberdeenshire being fattened,
+besides many brought in from north and south.
+
+The late Mr Hay, Shethin; Mr Lumsden, Aquhorthies; and his brother, Mr
+Lumsden, Eggie; Mr Milne, Fornet; Mr Mitchell, Fiddesbeg; Mr Stoddart,
+Cultercullen; Deacon Milne, and Deacon Spark, took the lead; and to
+these gentlemen the credit is due for being the first to introduce a
+proper and profitable system of feeding cattle in Aberdeenshire. More
+attention was also paid to the breeding department. James Anderson,
+Pitcarry, was the first man who shipped a beast from Aberdeen to
+London; his venture was two Angus polled oxen. The late Mr Hay,
+Shethin, was the first who sent cattle by rail from Aberdeen; his
+venture was a truck of Highlanders.
+
+The shipping of cattle gradually and rapidly increased, and soon became
+a great trade from our ports, many sailing-vessels, as well as
+steamers, being brought into requisition. Lean cattle were sent by sea
+instead of road. We had at that time no railway, and the expense was
+heavy. On a fat bullock it was from L2, 10s. a-head to L3 by steamer;
+by the sailing-vessels, however, it was only about L1, 10s. a-head.
+Sometimes they made quick passages, but this was uncertain; and I have
+known them a month at sea. I have seen the same cargo of cattle driven
+back to Aberdeen two or three times. I have been in the hold of the
+vessel when they were driven back, and shall never forget the scene
+when the buckets and water were brought forward; you would have thought
+the ship would have rent asunder by the struggles of the cattle to get
+at the water. I have sent cargoes of lean cattle by sailing-vessels to
+Barnett, Woolpit, &c. I have had them driven back after being days at
+sea. It was while inspecting one of these cargoes that I witnessed the
+scene of watering I have described. I lost money by that branch of my
+business, and I gave it up. Although the loss by deterioration of
+condition must have been great, it was astonishing how few deaths
+occurred in the sailing-vessels; the proportion was greater in the
+steamers. A year seldom passed without the shippers having heavy
+losses. I was owner of part of the cattle when every beast on board the
+Duke of Wellington, except three (one belonging to me, and he had to be
+carted from the boat, and two belonging to Mr Farquharson of Asloun),
+was either thrown overboard or smothered in the hold. The sailors told
+that a blackhorned Bogieside ox, belonging to Mr Hay, swam for several
+miles after the ship. I have made inquiry of the cattle-man as to the
+scene in the hold of a steamer in a storm amongst the cattle. He said,
+"I went once down to the hold amongst them, but I was glad to get back
+with my life; and although you had given me the ship and all upon her,
+I would not have gone back." He declared that, though you had set a
+hundred men with heavy flails in operation at one time beating upon the
+side of the ship, it would not have been worse than the legs of the
+cattle beating upon each other and all within their reach.
+
+The owners of the Aberdeen steamers have always been anxious to
+accommodate their customers; and about twelve years ago they raised an
+insurance fund for the protection of the shippers. They laid past one
+shilling for every beast they shipped to meet deaths and accidents, and
+they have most honourably paid the losses incurred by the shippers of
+cattle. It is a good arrangement for both parties; it gives confidence
+to the shippers, and no doubt has a tendency to make the owners more
+careful in not sending their ships to sea if danger is apprehended. The
+cattle go well by sea when the weather is moderate, but in rough
+weather they are safer by rail. The above description will give some
+idea of the hardships the poor beasts endure in the hold when overtaken
+by a storm. I have seen my own cattle, after they were taken from the
+hold of the steamboat at London, so changed in appearance that I could
+not identify them, and could not tell whether they were black or grey.
+I should most seriously advise the Railway Company to adopt some method
+of insurance, to avoid the unseemly squabbles that are daily occurring
+with the senders of live cattle and dead meat. It is not my province to
+make any remarks on the late rise of the freight on cattle by the
+Steamboat Company and the Railway. The matter is in their own hands;
+but I think conciliation, owing to the present state of feeling, might
+have been their wisest policy; however, we will allow them to be the
+best judges. It will now be our study, for our own protection, to exert
+our influence in the proper quarter to have our grievances removed. The
+method of transit is an important subject to the owners of the cattle,
+to the landowners, and to the consumers. I have no doubt whatsoever
+that a legislative enactment will make all right by-and-by. I cannot
+leave this subject without noticing Scott, the cattle-traffic manager
+of the Caledonian Company at Aberdeen, and John Henry, the
+cattle-traffic manager of the Aberdeen and London Steam Navigation
+Company--men who deserve to wear a better coat, and who have done
+everything in their power for the interest of the senders of cattle. I
+believe there is difficulty in avoiding causes of complaint at all
+times where there are so many servants, and the senders of cattle are
+sometimes themselves to blame. I have never myself lost a beast by
+rail; I prepare my cattle for their journey before they start from
+home. My heavy cattle are turned out three different times at least
+before they are sent to rail. I walk them in a lea field: the first day
+they are put out four hours; I then give them a day to rest; turn them
+out again on the second day and increase the distance, and they come
+quite fresh out of the trucks at London. What can an owner of cattle
+expect but that some will go down if he take his cattle six, eight, or
+ten miles without their ever having left the stall for five or eight
+months before, and put them on to rail? Many hundreds of good oxen have
+been lost in this way, or crushed and bruised. Cattle when tied up are
+kept in an unnatural state; they often take founder when at the stall
+as a consequence, and sometimes paralysis; but such moderate exercise
+as I have described tends to bring them back to their natural state. I
+have often been asked the question by those who had seen my Christmas
+market cattle--"How is it that your beasts are so good upon their legs
+compared with others?" The first day after the cattle are put out for
+four hours they will not look so well, and will return to the stalls
+very much fatigued; but on the second and third days of their exercise
+they will recover their wonted appearance. They will walk eight or ten
+miles in a morning and go fresh into the truck, and on reaching their
+destination will come out and stand well up in the market.
+
+Founder generally yields to bleeding and two or three doses of salts
+with sulphur and ginger: I never saw this treatment fail. Paralysis is
+a more serious matter: in that case the firing-iron must be applied,
+and after the most skilful treatment the results are often very
+unsatisfactory. Cattle of all ages that are confined are liable to
+paralysis of the hind quarters; the complaint, however, is most
+prevalent among young bulls, and although removed, they generally lose
+from six to twelve months' growth. Cattle that have been confined to
+the stall, and even straw-yard cattle, are utterly unfit for the road,
+on account of the softness of their hoofs, and when put to it at once,
+are very apt to take paralysis if not carefully prepared by previous
+exercise. A certain season of the year is more especially to be guarded
+against--viz., from the middle of March to the middle of May. Cattle
+that have been two weeks at grass may, however, be safely droved.
+
+Every one who has been in the cattle trade will recollect the losses he
+has sustained in spring, in the transit of cattle, by the animals
+throwing their hoofs; and we can all remember how often we have seen
+our beasts, especially in dry warm weather in spring, lying on the
+roads, and how we had to cart them home or to the nearest slaughtering
+shop. If there be a separation of the hoof at the top from the skin,
+and if a white frothy substance oozes out at this break, it is a sure
+sign that irreparable injury has been done. The beast will pine on for
+six months, and at last throw the old hoof when a new one has grown up.
+This is a more teasing case to the owner than when the hoof is thrown
+at once. The animal should be slaughtered immediately, if at all in
+condition, as it will not only lose condition every day till the hoof
+comes off, but be a bad thriver ever after. Five or six miles of bad
+driving at this season is enough to do the whole business. If cattle
+should cast their hoofs, or even one hoof, suddenly, if at all in
+condition, they should also be slaughtered without delay, as they will
+pine for six months and be a daily grievance to the owner. If it be a
+young or valuable breeding animal, however, it should be bled, and get
+two or three doses of cooling medicine to remove the inflammation; then
+soiled in a loose-box, and his feet well bound up with tow and tar. If
+animals are not slaughtered, I would recommend soiling in all cases, if
+possible. But "prevention is better than cure;" and all this can be
+avoided if we will only take proper precautions. I shall state the
+method I adopt in my practice, and I have paid dearly for my
+experience. I generally buy a good many beasts in spring in Morayshire,
+and sometimes winter a lot or two there. Until within a few years we
+had no railway conveyance, and the cattle all came by road. Before the
+time appointed for lifting the cattle, I sent across three or four
+able-bodied men who were acquainted with the dressing of the feet.
+Beginning their operations at the most northern point of the county,
+and going from one farm to another where the cattle were wintered, they
+dressed every hoof of every bullock that required it. By dressing, and
+by the proper training of the cattle before starting, I have brought
+home thousands of them safe and sound. Proper attention was no doubt
+paid to the droving, the men who had charge of them being trained to
+the occupation. Short stages and plenty of food are indispensable to
+their safe arrival. It is of great importance, in order to cattle
+thriving upon grass, to have their feet properly dressed; and many of
+our careful farmers have their cattle's feet dressed every year before
+they are put out to grass, even although they are not sent from the
+farm. The general method adopted in dressing is to take up the leg with
+a rope run from the couple; this, however, must be a severe strain on
+the beasts. The method I adopted when I was in the lean-cattle trade
+was different: the bullock was driven to a wall; a man, or two men,
+secured him by the nose and the back of the neck. The fore feet were
+easy to hold up--one man could generally manage them; but the hind feet
+were not so easy a matter, and it always required two, and sometimes
+three, strong men to hold them up. It is done entirely by method: not
+allowing the beast to stretch out his legs is the whole secret. The
+bullock has no power if his legs are kept close to his hind quarters;
+but if he is allowed to stretch them out, he will throw off any number
+of men. Two men, one on each side, put their backs close to the hind
+quarters of the bullock, and keep in his leg, not allowing him to
+strike it out. There he is fixed; and the topsman, who is generally an
+adept at the business, dresses the foot.
+
+Before the introduction of railways shoeing was sometimes required, but
+more frequently in autumn than in spring. In bad weather many of the
+cattle had to be shod, else they never could have performed their
+journeys. In wet weather their hoofs wore through to the sensitive
+parts, and they got lame; but when properly shod, they immediately
+recovered and took the front of the drove. The following may appear
+incredible, but it will show the proficiency some men attained in the
+art. Robert Gall of Kennethmont on one occasion shod seventy cattle to
+me in one day, near Perth, and no rope ever touched them in the field.
+It should, however, be remembered that cattle, after being driven a
+distance, get more easily handled. Robert Smith, one of the few of the
+old race of drovers now alive, and who is still in my service, assisted
+in this great performance. I should explain, for the sake of the
+general reader, that the inside hoof of the fore foot is generally the
+first to wear through. Many of the cattle had only one or two hoofs
+shod, others perhaps three or four, and an exceptional beast would have
+every one of the eight done. The shoes were made at the Crossgates of
+Fife; they were sent by coach to different cattle stations, and the
+men, by rotation, had to carry a supply upon their backs. It may seem a
+strange fact that no other blacksmith could make nails equal to those
+made at the Crossgates. The men would not hear of any others; they said
+they would not drive. The Crossgates blacksmith not only supplied the
+Scotch drovers, but also the English lean-cattle jobbers.
+
+As to fat cattle for market, after they are trained, they should not go
+a yard except by rail or steamboat. As to trucking store cattle, this
+must be regulated entirely by the season of the year and the weight of
+the cattle, &c. I have always had a reluctance to truck store cattle if
+I could possibly avoid it, not only for the expense, but for the risk
+incurred from dirty and infected trucks. I would recommend, if the
+cattle have a distance to travel in March, April, and May, and until
+they have been fourteen days at grass, that they should be trucked. But
+I have often been astonished at the recklessness of farmers buying
+cattle in a fair, going straight to the nearest station, and turning
+them into any dirty truck they can get--(when are trucks other than
+dirty?) The danger is great; despite the utmost circumspection, even
+the most careful may sometimes be caught. If those who act so escape,
+it is not owing to their good management. I would recommend my friends,
+when they go to a fair for the purpose of purchasing cattle, to take a
+confidential servant of their own along with them, or else make it a
+part of the bargain that the owner keeps the cattle for a certain time,
+till the buyer can get the trucks properly cleaned--which I find no
+difficulty in getting done--so that before they allow their cattle to
+be trucked they may be satisfied the trucks are thoroughly cleaned.
+They should be washed over with chloride of lime, or, what is still
+better, given a fresh coat of paint. Three to four shillings will paint
+a truck; that is a small matter--say sixpence a-head; but care must be
+taken that the paint is dry before the cattle are put into the truck,
+else the beasts will be poisoned. If this is neglected, there is great
+risk of bringing home foot-and-mouth disease, or even the lung disease.
+Some say that it was impossible to attend to such an operation--that
+business called them home, and that people would not take home their
+cattle. I have never found any difficulty in my own experience; but I
+must allow that some sellers are too distant to send the cattle home.
+In such an emergency the beasts should be laid past upon a little hay
+or straw for a day in the neighbourhood; there is always a field to be
+had, or the market green. What is a day, or a man or two, and a night's
+hay, if your beasts come safe? Disease has been carried in this way to
+hundreds of steadings, and the results have been most disastrous. The
+day's rest will be a great advantage to the cattle after the fatigue of
+standing in the market. The main object with store cattle should be to
+keep them sound on their feet and free from disease. If their transit
+is to be by rail, the quality of their food for a day or two is of
+minor importance; they will soon recover.
+
+It would be foolish to truck store cattle after they have been at grass
+for a few weeks. Their feet get hardened, and in the end of May, and in
+June, July, and August, there is no risk of injuring the beasts by
+driving in easy stages from ten to fourteen miles a-day. At that season
+cattle can hedge it; they will live almost on what they pick up on the
+roadsides as they go along. Your cattle arrive safe and sound, and free
+from all trouble and risk as respects trucks.
+
+In the dead-meat trade there has now sprung up a new trade and almost a
+new race of men. The quantity of dead meat sent from Aberdeen regulates
+the Newgate market. Mr Bonser, the great dead-meat salesman, states in
+his evidence before a committee of the House of Commons, "that there
+are no others that know the beasts for the London market equal to the
+Aberdeen butchers, and from no other place does it arrive in the same
+condition; and this may be owing to the cold climate." Mr Wilson of
+Edinburgh put the question to the Chamber of Agriculture, "What is the
+reason that the Aberdeenshire cattle proved better and carried more
+good flesh than any other cattle?" Mr Wilson's question is perhaps not
+very easily answered, but I should give as some of the reasons the
+following:--The Aberdeenshire farmers have turned their attention
+almost exclusively to the breeding and feeding of cattle. They have
+continued for a long period, without regard to price, in many cases, to
+introduce the best blood into their herds. By a long-continued infusion
+of first-class animals, and weeding out inferior animals, they have
+established a breed unequalled for meat-producing qualities in Britain.
+The Aberdeenshire turnips have been proved by analysis to be of a very
+superior quality, and it is likewise a good grazing county. Another
+point is the great attention paid to calves after weaning, and not
+allowing them to lose the calf-flesh, which, if lost, can never be
+regained. But the indomitable perseverance of the farmers in selecting
+good and weeding out inferior animals is, I think, the main cause.
+
+It will be seen by the following table that the dead-meat trade has
+become one of the great institutions of the country. There are
+hundreds engaged in the business, and it is yearly increasing. Amongst
+the greatest senders are Messrs Butler, Skinner, Wishart, and Wisely,
+and White of Aberdeen; but a great deal of dead meat is also sent from
+the rural districts. When the supply is short, some of our most
+enterprising butchers attend the Glasgow market, bring down cattle, and
+slaughter them in Aberdeen, and send their carcasses to London. I have
+known Mr Butler bring down fifty in one week. The following table shows
+the number of cattle and tons of dead meat sent to the London and other
+markets during 1865 and the six previous years; it also shows what was
+sent by rail and sea respectively:--
+
+                   CATTLE.                    DEAD MEAT.
+
+    Year.      Rail.    Sea.              Rail.        Sea.
+    1859      13,130    7,282          6,905 tons.   48 tons.
+    1860      13,993    3,782          5,769 tons.   53 tons.
+    1861       8,852    8,324          8,041 tons.  127 tons.
+    1862       6,281    4,518          9,392 tons.   76 tons.
+    1863       9,623    4,163          9,395 tons.   58 tons.
+    1864       7,624    3,551          9,840 tons.    2 tons.
+    1865       9,031    4,558         10,074 tons.   61 tons.
+
+Taking the year 1865, there were 10,074 tons of dead meat sent by rail,
+and 61 tons by sea. Calculating that 6 cwt. was the average weight of
+the cattle, this will show that 33,783 cattle were sent away from
+Aberdeen as dead meat, against 9031 live cattle by rail and 4558 by
+sea, so that 20,194 more were sent away dead than alive. The live
+cattle would weigh 7 cwt., or 1 cwt. more than the dead.[4]
+
+      [4] Since the amalgamation between the Caledonian
+      Railway and the Scottish North-Eastern took place, the returns of
+      cattle and dead meat sent to London and elsewhere have not been
+      given to the public. The Caledonian Company refused repeatedly to
+      give them, and when pressed by myself, offered to let me have
+      access to the accumulated pile of forwarding-notes for the last
+      four years! The following valuable statistics, compiled by Mr
+      James Valentine, Aberdeen, show that the proportion of dead meat
+      sent to London is on the increase:--
+
+        1. The _cattle and dead meat sent by sea_ during the past
+        three years stood:--
+
+                         CATTLE.      DEAD MEAT.
+              Year.      Number.        Tons.
+              1866,       5483           499
+              1867,       2770           487
+              1868,       6313           380
+
+        2. _Of dead meat booked "through" per Great North of Scotland
+        Railway_, the amount for five years was:--
+
+              Year.      Tons.
+              1864       1848
+              1865       2874
+              1866       3346
+              1867       3414
+              1868       3544
+
+        3. The number of _cattle-hides_ passing through the hands
+        of the dealers in Aberdeen during 1867 was, in whole, 49,181.
+        In 1868 the number was 42,115, besides 13,167 from the county,
+        and 3125 from Kincardineshire. If we set down each animal
+        slaughtered at 6 cwt., this would give a total of 17,500 tons;
+        or, deducting the town's consumption (say 2500 tons), 15,000
+        tons sent south for the year. Probably, however, though hides
+        to this amount dealt with in Aberdeen, represent meat as
+        stated, part of the meat may be included in the category
+        "booked through per Great North." Supposing, therefore, that
+        the whole amount of dead meat despatched from Aberdeen from
+        every quarter, in 1868, was 15,000 tons, we may assume that, in
+        addition, 7500 cattle were sent south. The tendency of late
+        years has undoubtedly been to send fewer live stock and more
+        dead meat to the London market, and also to send more cattle by
+        sea and dead meat by rail.
+
+I have stated that almost a new race of men has sprung up within the
+last forty years. Very few are now alive that were prominent in the
+cattle trade at that time; there are, however, some alive that I may
+name: Mr Anderson, Pitcarry; Mr Lumsden, Aquhorthies; and Mr Stoddart,
+Cultercullen. These must always hold a prominent position in the cattle
+trade of Aberdeenshire, as Mr Anderson was the first man that shipped
+cattle from Aberdeen, and Messrs Lumsden and Stoddart distinguished
+themselves in Aberdeenshire as two of our best judges, and were amongst
+the first to see and take advantage of steam communication. They are
+now the oldest of the Aberdeen shippers of cattle. They were some of
+the first to develop and mature that system of feeding which has made
+Aberdeenshire celebrated through Britain. The Aberdeen butchers have a
+higher standing than can be claimed by their brethren in any other part
+of the kingdom. The butchers in other cities are generally only
+purveyors, and never dispute the honours of the show-yard with the
+grazier or breeder. They buy their weekly supply at their weekly
+markets; but many of the chief Aberdeen butchers do not depend upon the
+market for their supplies, but feed large lots of fine cattle and sheep
+themselves to meet emergencies, upon which they can fall back. They do
+more than this; they are the largest and most successful exhibitors at
+our great annual fat shows. They are not only great purveyors
+themselves, but they supply a good proportion of the Christmas prize
+animals to the chief butchers of London, Birmingham, Liverpool,
+Newcastle, York, Darlington, Edinburgh, Glasgow, &c. The names of
+Martin, Stewart, Knowles, &c., are celebrated not only in Great
+Britain, but in France. Such men are public benefactors, and entitled
+to the gratitude of their country. Messrs James and William Martin
+(butchers to the Queen) kill and retail 40 beasts and 100 sheep weekly.
+ Messrs Knowles, Stewart, and Milne, have grand retail trades, but Mr
+White perhaps retails as much as, if not more than, any of them. It is
+a great sight to see the display of meat and the immense crowd of
+purchasers in his shop on a Friday forenoon. Mr White is a man who has
+raised himself to the highest position by his steadiness and
+persevering energy. He is one of those men who cannot be kept down.
+
+These butchers are also great senders of live cattle to London. At the
+great market they stand pre-eminent. The Messrs Martin, who stand at
+the top, send as many as 100 or 150 cattle, worth from L35 to L50
+a-head. Messrs Stewart, Knowles, Wishart, and Wisely, &c., send yearly
+splendid lots. Messrs Wishart and Wisely, as feeders and dealers, are
+gradually drawing to the top. They feed a great many superior cattle,
+and put an immense number through their hands. Many of them they send
+alive to London, but they also send an enormous quantity of dead meat.
+No men in the trade know their business better. Mr Martin, however,
+must still stand at the top. As an example, I may mention that he
+exhibited a four-year-old Highlander at Birmingham, London, and
+Liverpool in 1868, which gained the first prize at each of these
+places. His head now adorns Mr Martin's shop in New Market, alongside
+of the royal arms, the firm being butchers to her Majesty. It is a
+perfect model of what the head of a Highlander should be. Deacon Milne,
+however, surpassed them all for several years, if not in numbers, in
+the quality and value of the animals he forwarded to the great
+Christmas market. For several years Mr Skinner, Woodside, has sent
+about 100 valuable animals to the Christmas market. He is one of the
+greatest senders of dead meat, and he also feeds a large lot of
+bullocks. To speak of all the senders of dead meat, butchers, and
+jobbers, in the city and the provinces, would be a hopeless and an
+endless task. I believe there cannot be fewer than 500 in Aberdeenshire
+alone; and, long as I have been connected with the cattle trade, I
+could not name one in ten.
+
+I have briefly noticed the cattle trade in connection with the Aberdeen
+butchers: let me now glance at the shippers and jobbers of the
+provinces, as it is from them that the raw material is furnished. The
+following remarks apply to Aberdeen, Banff, and Moray shires: our
+provincial jobbers are a host in themselves, and are a very
+heterogeneous multitude: from the man who can pay thousands, through
+all the intermediate stages, down to the man that buys a beast and
+cannot lift it unless he can sell it there and then for a profit. We
+have a large class of the first, who can not only pay their hundreds
+but their thousands. We have an intermediate class that job, generally
+occupiers of two and four horse farms. There is no end to their
+peregrinations, toil, and industry; in summer, in winter, in fair and
+foul, by night and by day, by moonlight and by starlight, they scour
+the country, and collect cattle from all points of the compass, and
+sell them at the fairs to farmers, butchers, and dealers. We have also
+the dealer of smaller pretensions, who can only afford to buy a beast
+or two, which he drives to market himself; such a beginning, however, I
+have known end in becoming the proprietor of L25,000 worth of landed
+property. We have the cow-jobber, and it is sometimes a very lucrative
+business; many have been very successful in the trade. Mr Forrest was a
+cow-jobber: he rented all the grass land round Hamilton Palace for many
+years from the Duke of Hamilton. He bought nothing but cows, and it was
+said he would ride 100 miles to buy a farrow cow. He died worth a
+fortune, and proprietor of a good estate. We have the jobber who buys
+only lean store cattle, and the jobber of fat cattle alone. Banffshire
+can claim a Stoddart, and Morayshire the two M'Kessocks, the Laird of
+Ardgay, and the tenant of Balnaferry; and I do not know which to admire
+most, the daring and skill of the laird, or the caution and skill of
+the tenant, Macdonald of Blervie, through whose hands three-fourths of
+the store cattle in Morayshire pass. We have in Aberdeenshire Mr Reid,
+Greystone, in the Vale of Alford; Mr Stoddart, Cultercullen; the Messrs
+Bruce in Alford, Clova, and Strathbogie; and Mr Mennie of Huntly. Mr
+Reid, Greystone, has attained the highest position as a feeder and
+grazier amongst British agriculturists. His stock have for many years
+taken a most prominent place at our national shows at London,
+Birmingham, Liverpool, York, Newcastle, Leeds, Edinburgh, &c. &c.
+
+
+
+
+IV. BLACK POLLED ABERDEEN AND ANGUS CATTLE & SHORTHORNS.
+
+
+It is not my purpose to treat of shorthorns: I may, however, glance at
+some of the principal breeders of that kind of stock in the north. Mr
+Alexander Hay, Shethin, was the first who introduced shorthorns into
+Aberdeenshire. He bought the celebrated bull "Jerry" from the late Mr
+John Rennie of Phantassie; and he was the first shorthorn that crossed
+the Dee. I should have mentioned his brother, the late William Hay,
+Shethin, the celebrated breeder of shorthorns, and one of the greatest
+feeders in the north. He was the first man in Aberdeenshire who gained
+a prize at the Smithfield Club Show, the animal being a Hereford ox;
+and he was also the first that sent cattle by railway to London. He and
+the Messrs Cruickshank, Sittyton, had everything their own way in the
+show-yard for years. The late Mr Grant Duff of Eden was one of the
+greatest and most systematic breeders of shorthorns in the north. He
+paid 170 guineas for "Brawith Bud," and she made his "herd's fortunes."
+He astonished the country by his crosses between the shorthorns and
+West-Highlanders. He was dead against the system of forcing for the
+show-yard.
+
+Foremost among eminent breeders of shorthorns in the north at the
+present time are the Messrs Cruickshank, Sittyton. Their fame is
+European; they own the largest herds of shorthorns in the world. It is
+only necessary to name "Fairfax Royal," "Prince Edward Fairfax,"
+"Velvet Jacket," "Matadore," "Lord Sackville," the "Baron" by "Baron
+Warlaby," "Master Butterfly," the "2d John Bull," "Lancaster Comet,"
+"Lord Raglan," "Ivanhoe," "Lord Garlies," "Malachite," "Windsor
+Augustus," "Sir James the Rose," and last, though not least,
+"Forth"--to show the distinguished position their herd has taken.
+Suffice it to say that no other breeder of shorthorns can claim having
+owned such an array of first-class bulls. Amongst the eminent breeders
+of shorthorns, Mr Campbell, Kinellar, occupies a distinguished place. I
+believe no one is a better judge of shorthorns, and no other has been
+more successful as a breeder. Mr C. began to breed this class of stock
+about twenty years ago, and "Lord Scarboro'," "Mosstrooper,"
+"Beeswing," "Garioch Boy," "Scarlet Velvet," and "Diphthong," are some
+of the celebrated bulls that have been introduced into the herd.
+"Scarlet Velvet" and "Diphthong" gained the Aberdeenshire challenge-cup
+in 1862-63. At his annual sales his bull calves bring high prices; for
+some as much as sixty, eighty, and a hundred guineas each have been
+paid. His stock has for years taken a high position in our show-yards.
+Mr George Shepherd, Shethin, who succeeded his father-in-law, Mr Wm.
+Hay, had one of the largest herds of shorthorns, which were mostly sold
+off some years ago. Mr Shepherd's herd was of the highest blood, and
+won many prizes. The bull "Cherry Duke the Second," bred by Mr Bolden
+and bought by Mr Shepherd, jun., from Mr Atherston, was invincible.
+After gaining every prize in the north and the challenge-cup at
+Aberdeen, he finished his honourable career as a prize-winner at
+Edinburgh, when, in 1859, he took the first prize in the aged bull
+class. Mr Milne of Kinaldie is an eminent breeder of shorthorns; he has
+distanced all other competitors with his cows. Mr Marr, Uppermill, has
+got some of the very best shorthorns in the country; and his brother Mr
+Marr, Cairnbrogie; Mr Scott, Glendronach; Mr Bruce, Broadland; and Mr
+Mitchell, Haddo--are all eminent breeders of shorthorns. Their bull
+calves command high prices at their annual sales. In Banffshire we have
+that veteran and successful breeder, Mr Longmore, Rettie, whose stock
+has long borne a high character. In Morayshire we have two eminent
+breeders--Mr Geddes of Orbliston and Mr M'Kessock, Balnaferry, who have
+everything their own way in the show-yard north of the Spey. Mr Geddes
+stood at the top of the Highland Society's prize-list at the Inverness
+show as the owner of the best aged shorthorned bull, and was a winner
+along with Mr John M'Kessock in the class of shorthorned heifers. Mr
+Stronach of Ardmellie was a successful breeder of shorthorns. He sold
+off his stock some years ago. His farm was only 100 acres, but his
+stock fetched high prices. One yearling quey brought L54, and a cow
+L53. The proceeds of the sale amounted to about L1000--a large sum,
+considering the smallness of the farm. Mr Stronach was for many years a
+successful competitor at the local shows, and sold a cow to Mr
+Cruickshank that carried the first prize at one of the Highland
+Society's shows at Aberdeen. Mr Stronach crossed the yellow Highland
+cows and heifers with shorthorn bulls, and the result was very
+successful. Mr Stronach was also an exhibitor at the Paris show.
+
+I have only glanced at the breeders of shorthorns in the north; in
+conclusion, I may notice some of those noblemen and gentlemen who have
+distinguished themselves as breeders of Aberdeen and Angus polled
+cattle. Among these the late Hugh Watson, Keillor, deserves to be put
+in the front rank. No breeder of polled Aberdeen and Angus will grudge
+that well-merited honour to his memory. We all look up to him as the
+first great improver, and no one will question his title to this
+distinction. There is no herd in the country which is not indebted to
+the Keillor blood. For many a long year Mr Watson carried everything
+before him. He began to exhibit in 1810, and won during his lifetime
+some 200 prizes for cattle, sheep, and cart and thoroughbred horses.
+The heifers which he exhibited at Perth in 1829 were greatly admired;
+and the Smithfield heifer of '29 was so good that she was modelled, and
+her portrait is in the volume 'Cattle' of the publications of the
+Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge. He gained the Pureell
+challenge-cup at Belfast for an Angus ox, which was kept by the Prince
+Consort at the Royal Farm, Windsor, till his death, when his age was
+seventeen. As an example of the longevity of the race, Mr Watson's
+celebrated cow, "Old Grannie," the first cow in the Polled Herd Book,
+died at thirty-five years of age. Mr Watson bred many celebrated bulls,
+but "Old Jock" was _facile princeps_. He carried everything before
+him, and in 1844 was sold for a hundred guineas--a large price at that
+time. To "Angus," who fell into my hands, I am indebted for some of the
+best blood in the male line. Mr Watson also bred "Strathmore,"
+"Windsor," "Pat," and "Second Jock," which last beat all the bulls in a
+sweepstake at Perth in 1852, after he was thirteen years old.
+
+Mr Bowie, of Mains of Kelly, has been a most successful and energetic
+breeder of polled cattle. To him I am indebted for "Hanton," who, with
+"Angus" and "Panmure" in the male line, were my "herds' fortunes." He
+also bred "Cup-Bearer," who did so much good for Lord Southesk's herd.
+"Second Earl Spencer" and "Cup-Bearer" were 1st and 2d prize bulls at
+Berwick. At our national shows Mr Bowie has been the most successful
+prize-taker in the Bull classes. Where he has exhibited he has
+generally carried the first honours. At Aberdeen, at Berwick, at
+Dumfries, and at the Royal Agricultural Society of England, his bulls
+were invincible. It is most deeply to be regretted that the plague got
+into his stock, and he has sustained a heavy loss. Still he came out
+better than any of his neighbours. He saved twenty-three cattle; and
+his herd will, I trust, in a few years attain its wonted position. I
+have drawn, at one time or another, largely from Mr Bowie's stock, and
+have paid him high prices--as high as a hundred guineas for bulls, and
+forty, fifty, and sixty guineas for females. Mr Bowie is one of the
+best judges of Aberdeen and Angus cattle in Scotland.
+
+Lord Southesk was one of our most enterprising breeders of polled
+stock; and before the plague decimated his fine herd last year, it was
+almost the best in the land. There has been a herd of pure Angus cattle
+at Kinnaird for fifty years; but when his lordship succeeded to the
+property it got a fresh start. He introduced "Cup-Bearer" by "Pat" from
+Mr Bowie's herd, and he did good service. The well-known "Druid," of
+show-yard celebrity, was descended from "Cup-Bearer" and from "Dora,"
+bred to Mr Ruxton of Farnell. "Windsor" was afterwards introduced. He
+was bought from George Brown, Westerton of Fochabers, for two hundred
+guineas, and took the first prize at Edinburgh in the aged bull class;
+the silver medal to the breeder came to Tillyfour. He was carried off
+by the plague, at nine years of age, last winter at Kinnaird. "Druid"
+was a great prize-winner, and gained more than L100 in his different
+journeys, and a host of medals. The Kelso heifers were very superior,
+and "Quadrona" gained the first prize at Smithfield in the female
+polled class. It is deeply to be regretted that Lord Southesk's fine
+herd suffered so heavily by the rinderpest. This has been indeed a
+national loss. Lord Southesk spared no expense in purchasing the finest
+animals, and had an able assistant in his brother, the Hon. Charles
+Carnegie, M.P., who is not only a good judge, but knows the pedigrees
+of the different polled herds better than any other man.
+
+William Fullerton, late of Mains of Ardovie, now of Mains of Ardestie,
+was a celebrated breeder of Angus cattle; but pleuro-pneumonia got into
+his herd, and he lost no fewer than eighty cattle by the disease. One
+bull that recovered was good enough to go to Glasgow and take the first
+prize in the aged bull class. His bull "Panmure" gained the first prize
+at the Highland Society's Show at Dundee in the aged bull class, and Mr
+Fullerton also carried off the prize for the three best cows. "Panmure"
+was sold to the late Mr Taylor, Wellhouse, Alford, and some of my best
+stock trace their descent from "Panmure." The late Lord Panmure sent
+the late Mr Phillip, the great painter, to Wellhouse, to take the
+bull's portrait. Not satisfied with Mr Phillip's first sketch, he sent
+him back; and Mr Phillip lived at Wellhouse for weeks, and painted
+"Panmure" a second time. Mr Fullerton is one of our best judges, and to
+him I am indebted for my best stock in the female line. It was at his
+sale I purchased the "Queen," whose descendants in the female line
+have, except in two or three solitary cases, driven competition before
+them in Scotland, England, and France. Many of my best stock trace
+their pedigree from the "Queen."
+
+The Ballwyllo herd have long been celebrated, and were a tower of
+strength at the Angus Agricultural Society's shows. The late Mr Robert
+Scott was a most enthusiastic and successful breeder. The prizes gained
+by the Ballwyllo herd were very numerous. At Aberdeen, in 1847, Mr
+Robert Scott gained the first prize for a cow from the Highland
+Society; and at Windsor, in 1851, he gained the first prize in the cow
+class for the same animal, which was bred at Tillyfour. He also gained
+the first prize in the aged bull class at Perth, and the first prize in
+the yearling heifer class. Both animals were bred at Ballwyllo. The
+Ballwyllo stock have taken a prominent place at Dumfries, and at the
+Royal Northern Agricultural Society's shows. Since Mr Robert Scott's
+death, Mrs Scott, his mother, has most enthusiastically stuck to the
+Angus Doddies; but it is a matter of deep regret that she also was a
+severe sufferer by the rinderpest.
+
+Mr Mustard, Leuchland, is a very old breeder, and I believe no purer
+stock exist in Forfarshire. Mr Mustard never forces his stock for the
+show-yard, and seldom sends any except to the county show, where they
+are always winners. I have often admired the purity, style, and
+condition--as it ought to be in a breeding stock--of the Leuchland
+herd. Mr Lyell, of Shielhill, brother of Sir Charles Lyell, has a very
+good herd of polled Angus cattle. His bull "Prospero" gained the first
+prize at Perth in the two-year-old class, and at Battersea Park he won
+the first prize in the aged bull class. Mr Leslie of the Thorn is also
+a most successful breeder. He came out so strong at Stirling that he
+beat all and sundry for yearling bulls, and followed up his conquests
+by selling "President the Fourth" at an almost fabulous price.
+
+From Angus we come north to Kincardine, and we there find the
+celebrated breeder since 1826, Mr Robert Walker, Portlethen. It would
+be endless to attempt to sum up his victories, local, national, and
+international, they are spread over such a large surface. Mr Walker was
+a most successful competitor at the International Show at Paris, and
+refused L230 for his prize bull. His bull "Porty" was sent to Inverury,
+and took the first prize. There was no Aberdeen show at that time. "The
+Banks of Dee" carried everything before him, and his descendants gained
+seven firsts and a second in one year in the show-yard; but although Mr
+Walker had never bred another animal save "Fox Maule," his celebrity as
+a breeder would have been established. "Fox Maule" was one of the best
+polled bulls ever exhibited. Mr Hector, late in Fernyflat, was a very
+celebrated breeder of polled cattle, and his stock was of the very
+highest order, and gained many prizes at our national shows. The
+Crathes stock is of long standing. The late Sir Thomas Burnett was a
+most successful breeder, and stood in the front rank for many a long
+year. The Crathes herd was a tower of strength, and under the able
+management of Mr John Davidson they were dangerous antagonists. I have
+had many encounters with them in the Aberdeen show-yard, and have got
+soundly beaten. "The Banks of Dee," mentioned above, was the most
+celebrated bull of his day, and took the first prize wherever he was
+exhibited, local and national. Sir Thomas had his portrait taken and
+engraved. The prizes gained by the Crathes stock count by the hundred.
+On the lamented death of Sir Thomas Burnett he was succeeded by his
+brother, Sir Alexander Burnett, who kept up the stock; and at his death
+he was succeeded by the present proprietor, Sir James Burnett, who has
+added drafts from the best stocks in the country. There is no doubt the
+Crathes herd will remain true to its ancient fame.
+
+In Aberdeenshire the breeders of polled cattle are very numerous, but
+we shall only mention a few. William M'Combie, of Easter Skene, has
+always stuck to the polled breed, and his stock have been conspicuous
+as prize-takers. His cow, "Queen of Scots," beat Lord Southesk's "Dora"
+and ten other fine cows in 1853, and "Roderick Dhu" gained the first
+prize the same year, while "Alastor the Second" beat "Fox Maule" at
+Aberdeen--the only time that animal ever was beaten. One ox I purchased
+from Mr M'Combie gained the first prize at Glasgow at the last fat show
+held by the Highland Society.[5]
+
+      [5] Mr M'Combie has taken a very prominent position since the
+      above was written. At the Highland Society's show at Aberdeen he
+      gained the first prize for the best yearling bull, the first
+      prize for the best two-year-old bullock, and other prizes.
+
+Colonel Fraser, of Castle Fraser, has also stuck to the Aberdeen and
+Angus polled cattle. His stock take a prominent place at the Royal
+Northern Agricultural Society's shows.[6] They are not pampered for
+show-yard purposes, but he has bred from the best blood, and his stock
+always take a good place where exhibited. In the Garioch, as a breeder
+of polled cattle, Mr Stephen, Conglass, stands pre-eminent. The
+Conglass stock have been handed down from father to son, and the son
+has not allowed them to lose their position. Mr Stephen gained the Fat
+challenge-cup by a three-year-old ox, bred to himself at Aberdeen in
+1864. At Poissy he carried off the first prize for the best heifer,
+beating all and sundry.
+
+      [6] Since the first edition of this book was published, Colonel
+      Fraser's stock has taken a leading position. At the Royal
+      Northern Agricultural Society's show in 1867, he gained the
+      Polled challenge-cup. The cup has to be gained for three
+      successive years by the same party, and with different animals,
+      before it becomes his property. I had gained it the two preceding
+      years, and it was now fairly within my grasp. It was my last
+      asking, but it was dashed from my lips, and went for the time to
+      Castle Fraser, instead of going to Tillyfour for ever. Colonel
+      Fraser likewise gained the first prize for the same cow at the
+      Highland Society's show at Glasgow in 1867; and again carried
+      first honours with a younger cow at the Highland Society's show
+      at Aberdeen last summer.
+
+      Mr M'Combie of Easter Skene's farm-manager has great merit by his
+      indefatigable exertions in bringing up the Easter Skene stock to
+      its high position. He is an old and respected servant of my own,
+      and nothing gives him so much satisfaction as to beat his old
+      master. Mr Hampton, manager for Castle Fraser, deserves equal
+      credit for his unwearied exertions in improving the Castle Fraser
+      stock.
+
+In Banffshire, Mr Walker of Montbletton is the most celebrated breeder.
+ He has twenty breeding cows, and has carried almost every medal and
+prize at the Banff and Turriff shows for polled cattle, as well as many
+of the highest prizes at the Royal Northern and Highland Society's
+shows.
+
+In Morayshire we have Mr Brown, Westerton, who is well known as one of
+our best judges of polled cattle. Mr Brown's herd came first
+prominently into notice at the Highland Society's show at Inverness in
+1856, when he carried off the highest honours for heifers, and was
+second to "Hanton"--who never was beaten but once--in the aged bull
+class. At the Highland Society's show at Aberdeen, he was first with
+"Windsor" in the two-year-old class. Mr Brown's skill was tested as to
+the purchase and sale of "Windsor;" he bought him from me as a calf in
+low condition, under L40, and sold him to Lord Southesk for 200
+guineas. At Elgin, at Aberdeen, and at the Highland Society's shows, Mr
+Brown was a most successful competitor. But at the Dumfries show, Mr
+Brown, Mr Collie, and myself got pleuro-pneumonia into our stock, and
+it decimated Mr Brown's valuable herd. Mr Brown's character as a judge
+stands in the front rank with the breeders of Aberdeen and Angus stock,
+and he has often been put on to act in that capacity by the Directors
+of the Highland and Royal Northern Agricultural Societies.
+
+Mr Paterson, Mulben, is a great and fortunate breeder of polled stock.
+Mr Paterson commenced to breed in 1846. His celebrated "Mayflower" was
+the first-prize cow at the Highland Society's show at Perth in 1861;
+"Malcolm" was first at Elgin and Aberdeen, and second at Perth; and
+"Prince of Wales," bred to Mr Brown, Westerton, was first at Aberdeen
+in 1862, and first at the Highland Society's show at Stirling. It would
+be a hopeless as well as an endless task to record Mr Paterson's
+victories at the Highland and Royal Northern Societies' shows at Elgin,
+Aberdeen, Banff, Huntly, and Dufftown, where he has often got
+everything his own way.
+
+Mr John Collie, Ardgay, was a celebrated breeder, and was one of the
+most dangerous men to face in the show-yard I have ever encountered. He
+gave me a sound drubbing at Edinburgh in the Cow class, and beat me for
+a first place out of my own kennel with "Fair Maid of Perth," which he
+bought from me at 81 guineas; but not satisfied with that, he took a
+second place with "Mayflower," bred to Mr Paterson, and left me with
+the bronze medal for my cow prize. I am indebted to Mr Collie for some
+of my best animals--viz., "Zara," the second-prize heifer at Battersea,
+and "Kate of Aberdeen," out of "Zara," and many others. He has been a
+very successful exhibitor of stock, and has distinguished himself at
+Elgin, Aberdeen, the Highland Society's shows, and the great
+International Exhibition at Paris. The ox I gained the Smithfield prize
+with in 1864 was bred to Mr Collie.
+
+Perhaps the Ballindalloch herd of polled cattle are the oldest in the
+north; they have been the talk of the country since my earliest
+recollection, and were then superior to all other stock. The herd has
+been kept up to its wonted standard, and even raised higher, by the
+present proprietor, Sir George Macpherson Grant, of Ballindalloch and
+Invereshie, by selections from the best herds in the kingdom. Coming
+fast into notice is the Drumin herd; it consists of about twenty cows
+and their followers. Mr Skinner has improved his stock by drafts from
+the best herds in the country. He never forces for the show-yard, but
+his stock have been very successful at the Spey and Avonside
+Agricultural Society's shows. He has won the first prize for cows for
+the last two years--no small victory, when he had Sir George Macpherson
+Grant and Mr Paterson to contend against. He has also had his fair
+share of prizes for bulls, heifers, and bullocks. A bullock bred at
+Drumin took the first prize at Liverpool, in the Polled class, in
+December last. Mr Skinner has not exhibited his stock at the Highland
+Society's shows, but there is no doubt we shall see them there
+by-and-by.[7]
+
+      [7] Mr Skinner was an exhibitor at the Highland Society's show at
+      Aberdeen last summer, and gained the first prize for his
+      two-year-old heifer.
+
+
+
+
+V. HINTS ON THE BREEDING AND CARE OF CATTLE.
+
+
+It has been suggested to me that I should add my experience as a
+breeder of Aberdeen and Angus stock to my observations on the feeding
+of cattle. It is with considerable hesitation that I have ventured to
+put upon paper my views upon a subject on which there is such diversity
+of opinion. It will, however, lessen the field of controversy, that my
+practice and observations apply only to the Aberdeen and Angus breed;
+although I presume what applies to one breed may apply in a great
+degree to all. My observations may be of some use to those readers who
+have not devoted much attention to the subject; they may prove of
+interest even to more experienced breeders, should I be able to adduce
+facts that may have escaped their notice, or in confirmation of their
+own observations. I can hardly speak with the same authority as a
+breeder, generally, that I can as a feeder; yet I have been a close
+observer now for many years, and devoted my earnest attention to the
+improvement of the Aberdeen and Angus polled breed of cattle, with
+respect to size, symmetry, fineness of bone, strength of constitution,
+and disposition to accumulate fat, sparing no expense in obtaining the
+finest animals from the purest stock.
+
+Laying the foundation of a breeding stock will be the first matter
+under consideration. We are met here at the very outset by the
+advocates of blood and those of selection. Much may be said and volumes
+have been written in favour of both. My experience leads me to take a
+middle course between the two, and to keep in view both the one and the
+other. With respect to the qualifications of a successful breeder,
+Darwin writes: "Not one man in a thousand has accuracy of eye and
+judgment sufficient to become an eminent breeder. If gifted with these
+qualities, and he studies the subject for years, and devotes his
+lifetime to it with indomitable perseverance, he will succeed and make
+great improvements; and if he wants any of these qualities he will
+assuredly fail." Darwin's view will be found pretty correct. Many breed
+with a certain success, and even rush to the top for a time in the
+show-yard, but it is only those described by Darwin who will finally
+succeed. In laying the foundation of a breeding stock there is
+generally one of two objects in view: either, first, to raise up a herd
+the best of its race, with a view to competition in the show-yard and
+to improve it to the utmost; or, second, to breed commercial cattle for
+commercial purposes with the greatest possible profit. The first
+requires independent means; and, to secure success, skill,
+perseverance, and patience under heavy disappointments. The second can
+be attained by ordinary prudence. If the first object be the one aimed
+at, the selection should be made from the most established herds, and
+of animals of pedigree, and possessing the characteristics of the race
+you intend to propagate. But my attention will be more particularly
+directed to the second. There are few that have hatfuls of money to
+expend upon the purchase of high-bred animals; nor is this necessary in
+order to secure a profitable return from a breeding stock.
+
+I would recommend the following method: I shall suppose a farmer wishes
+to buy twenty cows to stock his farm (Aberdeen and Angus cattle). His
+entry is, say, at Whitsunday. He must have a bull to serve his cows. He
+should be selected from an established herd and from a race of good
+milkers. The farmer must be a good judge, or employ one in whom he has
+implicit confidence to act in his behalf. In his selection he must have
+a certain model in his eye, such as he wishes to propagate. I assume
+that he considered that his farm is adapted for the rearing of the
+Aberdeen and Angus breed of cattle, and is convinced of their hardihood
+of constitution being adapted to his soil and the climate. He ought to
+keep to certain ground in his selection; that, namely, where the polled
+breed are still in a state of purity, as in Angus, Aberdeen,
+Kincardine, Banff, and Moray shires. He ought to visit the Alford
+district, and all to the west of Alford. On the Spey he will find
+cattle well worth his attention. They are not of large size generally,
+but many of fine quality. In the neighbourhood of Dufftown, and west
+from Dufftown, there are many useful beasts. The Mearns and Angus he
+should carefully examine, visiting the farms where polled cattle are
+bred. The wealthy breeder, No. 1, may look to the honours of the
+show-yard; but No. 2, with his limited means, must have regard only to
+his ultimate profit.
+
+As it is a Whitsunday entry, he ought to have the lot made up, and the
+bull put to them in season, that he may not lose a year. The cows he
+buys will give milk to the house, and the two-year-old heifers will be
+easily kept on. I speak on the supposition that cows and heifers are
+bought, but the majority should be heifers. He ought to attend all the
+fairs in his power through spring, and be on the instant ready to pick
+up a suitable beast wherever it appears, which he can always do at
+market value. He ought to select the best heifers or cows (duly
+informing himself as to their breeding) from the different districts I
+have named. The produce, after a first-class bull, will be astonishing.
+The cows that throw the best calves should be retained, while those
+that "cry back" should be dismissed, and their places filled up with a
+new selection. By careful breeding for two years there will be a most
+useful profitable breeding stock established, and there is no doubt
+that even some good races may be secured. We have ample experience and
+proof of this in the good calves thrown by our worthless little black
+polled country cows, and it is on my experience of this fact that my
+recommendation is founded. For two-year-olds rising three, out of small
+cows, I have at Christmas got L40 from the butcher. Purity of blood in
+the male will be found highly to improve inferior races. A herd of
+breeding stock without the risk of haphazard will be secured at a
+moderate cost--one that will be profitable to the owner.
+
+The following remarks apply partly to a show-yard herd, and partly to
+one for commercial purposes. In the original selection, as I have
+already observed, the breeder must have in his eye the model he wishes
+to propagate. The animals selected should approach the desired type as
+nearly as can be obtained; and by careful and repeated selections the
+ideal may be reached. The selector must be well satisfied as to
+soundness of constitution, especially in laying the foundation of a
+show-yard herd. If male or female have hereditary defects of
+constitution, their progeny will inherit them. Show-yard stock, being
+pampered for exhibition, are more liable than the common stock of the
+country to be affected with hereditary diseases. Pedigree is of the
+most vital importance. We ought always to prefer a bull of high
+pedigree, with fair symmetry and quality, to another bull, though much
+superior in appearance, but of questionable pedigree. If the latter be
+turned to a herd superior in blood to himself, incalculable mischief
+may be done. Breeders have not given the subject the attention it
+deserves. I have paid dearly for my experience in the matter. But
+bulls, even from the purest herds, will not all produce stock alike.
+Some will give a majority of bull calves, others a majority of heifer
+calves; some will be famous for getting fine bulls, and others for
+getting fine heifers, while others produce little to boast of in the
+one or the other. No one can affirm that he has a first-class sire till
+he has been tested. If the result be satisfactory, money should be no
+temptation; he must not be sold. It must not be forgotten that the male
+has most influence in breeding; but without first-class females the
+descendants will not shine generally in the show-yard. Breeding for the
+show-yard must not be left to haphazard; nor is the breeder likely to
+be successful if pride and conceit be his besetting sins. Take the
+following by way of illustration: At perhaps a distant sale a fine cow
+is bought, or it may be at market. Attention to pedigree is ignored;
+the age is perhaps considered of no consequence. On her arrival she is
+examined and applauded by friends and neighbours. The inspection may
+cost the owner gallons of whisky; but she is to prove a mine of wealth.
+Great hopes are entertained of her progeny. The calf is expected to be
+first-class. After days of care and nights of dreams and anxious
+watchings, with unnecessary aid in calving, the calf at last sees the
+light of day. The owner is disgusted at the result. The cow yields
+little milk, either for the calf or the family. She is sent where she
+should have gone years before--to the butcher. The disappointed owner
+in future buys the cheapest animals that come to hand. If pedigree be
+ignored, and the sire be of doubtful antecedents, except in an
+accidental case, the progeny will be at the best of medium quality; but
+by ordinary precaution such loss may be avoided.
+
+Breeding in-and-in has some advantages and many advocates. It is a
+knotty point to touch upon. At the commencement I stated that my own
+experience led me to adopt a middle course; that experience has not
+been in favour of the system. By adhering to it I found that quality
+was maintained, and even improved; but size was reduced, and symptoms
+of delicacy of constitution were manifested. It may be pursued for a
+time, until the type is developed, but to continue for any length of
+time to breed _in_ and in, is not only against my experience, but,
+I believe, against nature.
+
+In looking over a herd of breeding cattle, I have often seen the owner
+or the cattle-keeper pointing out a cow that throws a good calf, and
+never threw a bad one, and at the same time telling you how great a
+milker she is. It would be difficult to buy such a cow too dear. Most
+of the above remarks may apply alike to the home farm of the
+proprietor, to the large and small farmer, and to the crofter with one
+cow. It is well known to breeders of cattle, and I believe of sheep,
+that there are particular races that are celebrated, and upon which you
+can calculate that they will never propagate an inferior animal.
+Specimens not so desirable will now and again appear, but the blood is
+there, and the divergence will not be great from the desired type.
+Again, there will be one race noted for producing celebrated males, and
+another for producing celebrated females. A bull may be introduced that
+is a great getter of bull calves, yet the change may not be to the
+advantage of the owner, as the female calves will not be bred of so
+high an order. Professor Thury, of Geneva, has written a very
+interesting paper on the law of the production of sexes. In a letter to
+me, dated 14th February 1864, he says: "There are, if the owner
+pleases, two periods of heating: the one the general period, which
+shows itself in the course of the year, following the seasons; the
+other, a particular period, which lasts in cows from twenty-four to
+forty-eight hours, and which reveals itself a certain number of times.
+It is this particular period, lasting from twenty-four to forty-eight
+hours, the commencement of which gives females, while its termination
+gives males. In order that we may obtain a certain result, we must not
+cause the same cow to be covered twice in succession at an interval too
+short, for the (generative) substance of the bull preserves itself for
+a time sufficiently long in the organs of the cow. In the experiments
+made in Switzerland we have taken the cow at the first certain signs of
+heating, for the purpose of obtaining heifers, and at the termination
+of the heating for the purpose of obtaining males. The result of these
+experiments is, that we do not yet know what is the relative length of
+time which gives females, and the time which gives males; this would
+form an interesting subject of examination. I am of opinion that
+various circumstances must be regarded as influencing the relative
+period, so as to alter the moment of (conception), and that the season
+must exercise considerable influence. I am of opinion that in such
+questions as that which forms the subject of my little work, we
+physiologists should learn much from men of practice and experience,
+such as you, who have afforded proofs of their knowledge. The best
+results will follow when the raisers and experimentalists direct their
+attention to the same object." I would here acknowledge the courtesy
+and kindness of Professor Thury in so readily responding to my
+inquiries. The experiments conducted in Switzerland were decisive in
+support of Professor Thury's theory. In a trial of twenty-eight cows,
+it proved correct in the whole number.
+
+In the selection of the male, you will have to consider the faulty or
+defective points in your cows with a view to correct them. As far as
+possible--pedigree being right--you ought to purchase the bull that is
+strong upon the points where your females are faulty. If this is not
+duly attended to, the defect or malformation may be aggravated. But
+although the bull selected possesses the excellence wanting in the
+cows, he ought, of course, not to be very deficient in other points,
+else the cure may be worse than the disease. If possible, he should be
+taken from a pasture not superior to your own. Docility of temper in
+male and female is indispensable. Inexpressible mischief may be done by
+the introduction of wild blood into the herd, for it is sure to be
+inherited. I have suffered seriously by this error.
+
+To be good behind the shoulder, good in the girth, and well down in the
+fore-rib, are the qualifications most difficult to attain. Lightness of
+the fore-rib shows a tendency to delicacy of constitution, and strength
+and soundness are most important to the success of the breeder. Depth
+of rib is more important in the male than in the female. Lightness of
+the fore-rib may be tolerated when milk is the object (and many great
+milkers are so characterised), but not where the production of beef is
+the object. Then you must study to combine quality with weight. Quality
+ought to be the first consideration, but we must never forget that all
+must come to lbs. at last.
+
+I have already given my opinion as to the shape and quality of a
+perfect breeding and feeding animal. I shall only here remark that it
+is indispensable in our cold climate that the animals should have a
+good coat of soft silky hair to defend them from the cold blasts of
+autumn, winter, and spring.
+
+The Rev. H. Berry, in his Essay on Breeding, remarks: "A person
+selecting a stock from which to breed, notwithstanding he has set up
+for himself a standard of perfection, will obtain them with
+qualifications of different descriptions, and in different degrees. In
+breeding from such he will exercise his judgment, and decide what are
+indispensable or desirable qualities, and will cross with animals with
+a view to establish them. This proceeding will be of the
+'give-and-take' kind. He will submit to the introduction of a trifling
+defect, in order that he may profit by a great excellence; and between
+excellences perhaps somewhat incompatible he will decide on which is
+the greatest, and give it the preference. To a person commencing
+improvement, the best advice is to get as good a bull as he can; and if
+he be a good one of his kind, to use him indiscriminately with all his
+cows; and when by this proceeding, which ought to be persisted in, his
+stock has, with an occasional change of bull, become sufficiently
+stamped with desirable excellences, his selection of males should then
+be made, to eradicate defects which he thinks it desirable to get rid
+of. He will not fail to keep in view the necessity of _good blood_
+in the bulls resorted to, for that will give the only assurance that
+they will transmit their own valuable properties to their offspring;
+but he must not depend on this alone, or he will soon run the risk of
+degeneracy."
+
+I agree generally with the above extract from Mr Berry's most valuable
+prize essay; but I must take exception to at once using even the best
+bull indiscriminately for a large and valuable herd of breeding cows. I
+hold that every bull must be tested, and when the result is found
+satisfactory, _then, and not till then_, use him indiscriminately
+for all your cows. My experience coincides with Mr Berry's where he
+says the wise breeder "will not fail to keep in view the necessity of
+good blood in the bulls resorted to, for that will give the only
+assurance that they will transmit their own valuable properties to
+their offspring; but he must not depend upon this alone, or he will
+soon run the risk of degeneracy." To keep up a breeding stock to a high
+point of excellence is very difficult. The breeder ought to be always
+buying and selling and incorporating different _strains_ together.
+There will be many blanks, but there will be a prize; and when you hit,
+and the incorporation proves a lasting benefit and is stamped on the
+original herd, it is a great prize you have won. I therefore agree
+with Mr Berry that we must not depend alone upon the good blood of the
+bull.
+
+Having done my best to explain how I think the foundation of a breeding
+stock should be laid, I shall now give my opinion and experience how
+the herd should be treated, and how it should be kept up. The cows,
+heifers, and bulls should be kept fresh, not fat, nor too lean. The
+calves should have a different treatment. All breeding cattle tied to
+the stall should be let out every day for two or three hours, or at
+least every second day, unless the weather be very wet or stormy. The
+finer the quality of the stock the less rich will be the food they
+require. It is only throwing away your means to give high-bred cows
+with calf, or heifers rising two years old, a full supply of turnips. A
+few to keep them fresh and healthy, and plenty of straw, is all they
+should be allowed. Bulls that are apt to accumulate fat should also be
+stinted, else they will soon be useless as stock-getters. After
+calving, the cows, to secure a flow of milk, should receive a full
+allowance of turnips, but the increase must be gradual, as the cow has
+been stinted, or ought to have been, before calving. Before calving,
+milk-fever, or dropping after calving, is to be guarded against. I have
+three or four cases with only one recovery. I now bleed and physic
+every cow two or three days before calving. I stint them in their food
+two or three weeks, and have never lost one where this practice was
+fully carried out.
+
+The lean cow is as apt to go down as the fat one. Some think warm
+weather is the cause. I believe it has nothing to do with it. The grass
+being generally luxuriant in warm weather, and many cows going off in
+milk-fever at that season, has led to this error. Milk-fever may,
+however, be produced by giving cold water immediately after calving,
+&c. Cows may be attacked immediately or in a few hours after calving;
+when four or five days have passed, the animal may be considered safe.
+There are different causes, no doubt; but bringing a cow from poor
+pasture and putting her on a rich and luxuriant one without stint, or
+from straw and giving her a full allowance of turnips up to the time of
+calving, are two of the greatest predisposing causes. As an example, I
+bought a cow in July off a poor pasture and put her on a rich one; as
+she was low-priced I did not use the necessary precautions: she went
+down in milk-fever. A respected old servant bought a fine polled cow. I
+was walking across the field with him, and we came upon his cow. It was
+in July, and the grass was very luxuriant. I asked if he had bled the
+cow, as she would calve immediately. He said, "No, I have not; and I
+never saw them bled except at Tillyfour." To my sorrow and to the man's
+heavy loss the cow died of milk-fever.
+
+Milk-fever is thought by many to be incurable. Mr Sorely, veterinary
+surgeon, late of Alford, has been most successful in its treatment; and
+if the cows are not very far gone before he is called, he generally
+effects a cure. I would recommend those not acquainted with the
+treatment of this dreadful calamity to communicate with him. The
+symptoms are known by the cow getting restless, lifting her legs and
+setting them down again, a wild appearance, and attempting to poke her
+keeper: then succeeds a quick motion in the flank; she begins to
+stagger, falls, but recovers herself again. This is repeated several
+times, till she is at length no longer able to rise. Her head will be
+turned to one side; she loses the sense of feeling, and although
+pricked with a sharp instrument gives no sign of pain; and if not
+relieved, death closes the scene. If the sense of feeling returns, it
+is the first sign of recovery. The moment that milk-fever is observed
+the veterinary surgeon should be called in. There is little risk with a
+heifer with her first calf, and I never bleed or physic a heifer in
+calf, because she has not attained her growth. In her case "the
+additional nutriment goes to increase of size, instead of becoming the
+foundation of disease."
+
+Red-water is also a very fatal complaint among cows. They generally
+take it about the thirteenth or fourteenth day after calving. Many
+farms are almost exempt from this disease. It is very fatal, but if
+taken in time it can generally be cured; heavy losses are, however,
+experienced every year by it. I have only had two or three cases of
+red-water, and I do not therefore enlarge upon it. My observation has
+led me to believe that the theory of the late Mr Peter Smith,
+veterinary surgeon, Alford (who gained the Highland Society's prize for
+the best essay on red-water in cows), is correct, that the disease is
+generally most prevalent on farms where the land is black and of a
+moorish tendency. The veterinary surgeon should be called in
+_instanter_. Garget in the udder, or weed, is also to be guarded
+against. After calving, some cracks and sores appear in the udder; they
+get very troublesome. The teats must be drawn and clean milked out;
+blood will sometimes appear with the milk; the cow must be secured, if
+necessary, to effect this. The udder should be bathed with warm water,
+and well rubbed over with hog's lard, and to this treatment the
+complaint will generally yield. The too hastily drying the cow, and
+frequent carelessness in not milking clean out, are the general causes
+of this complaint. It may, however, assume a more serious aspect; the
+milk gets coagulated in the udder, and the result will be the loss for
+yielding milk of one, two, or more of the quarters of the udder, if the
+proper remedies are not instantly adopted. Mortification sometimes
+ensues; diseased portions will break off from the udder, and it may end
+in the death of the animal. Putting the calf to suckle the cow will be
+useful in effecting a cure; but often the teats become so painful that
+the cow will not allow the calf to approach her. I cannot impress too
+strongly on the breeder that, as soon as symptoms of garget are
+observed, the cow must be firmly secured and the teats properly drawn
+three or four times a-day. If this is neglected or inefficiently
+performed, the result is scarcely doubtful. Very often there will be
+only matter to draw, but it must be withdrawn from time to time as it
+collects. The teaching of experience is costly in such a case; and here
+the care of honest, intelligent servants is invaluable.
+
+When the calves are taken from their dams there is the greatest danger
+of garget, and this is always an anxious time with the breeder. The
+cows must be allowed to go gradually off their milk, the greatest care
+being taken to draw the teats once a-day when necessary. The food must
+be restricted till the milk disappear; and as some cows that have been
+suckled will not allow their teats to be drawn by the hand, the calves
+must be put to them once a-day till the milk cease.
+
+_The proper age for breeding._--The proper age for breeding may
+depend upon circumstances, breed, &c.; but, dealing as we are with the
+Aberdeen and Angus, I would say that heifers should never be put to the
+bull before they are two years old. There is, no doubt, some force in
+the argument that by breeding earlier keep is saved; but the answer to
+this is that growth is diminished, while calving is attended with
+danger. I had six heifers bulled when they were one year old. They had
+all difficulty in calving; three of them required assistance, and were
+very much torn and lacerated before the calves could be extracted, and
+the mothers have never attained the size of the other cows in the herd.
+Nor has the argument much force with me that the one-year-old is surer
+to stand to the bull than the two-year-old. I maintain that we have
+this very much in our own power, and that the two-year-old, with proper
+treatment, and at little cost, is as sure to stand to the bull as the
+one-year-old, while she will attain to a larger size. The treatment I
+adopt with yearling heifers intended for breeding purposes is the
+following--and I have seldom or never failed in getting them in calf:
+They are not starved to interfere with their growth, but through the
+summer, when rising two years old, they are kept on the very worst
+grass on the farm, and on the refuse of the grass rejected by the other
+cattle, which are removed to fresh pastures. In winter and spring, up
+to the time of serving with the bull, they get an average barrowful of
+turnips amongst every three, and no more. By this treatment the heifers
+will just be fresh, and will stand to the bull as readily as yearlings.
+I grant that if you were to put them on luxuriant pasture, and give
+them full allowance of turnips through the winter and spring, they
+would be fit for the butcher, and not for the bull. The advantages
+more than counterbalance the disadvantages. Their parts will be strong
+and open, and they will calve with safety; while, on the other hand,
+the calving of those served at a year old will always be attended with
+difficulty; the parts will often be injured and lacerated, and
+mortification of the womb and the death of the animal may follow.
+
+I need not tell my readers that the bull should not be allowed to go
+with the breeding cows or heifers, as the almost universal practice now
+is to keep them separate. The advantages of this must be manifest to
+every one. The symptoms of coition are so well known, that I shall not
+enlarge upon them; but if cows are confined to the house, there are
+some shy animals that require the greatest attention to detect them,
+while the majority are easily observed by their lowing and agitated
+appearance. In the former case the animal will not blare, neither will
+there be much difference in her general appearance; but her external
+parts will be red, and a transparent liquor will be discharged from the
+vagina. Let her be put out with another, which will prove her at once.
+In some seasons, although the cows and heifers are in a breeding state,
+it is, even with the best management, difficult to get them in calf.
+This becomes a source of great annoyance and loss to the breeder. A cow
+should never be allowed the bull sooner than five or six weeks after
+calving; to do otherwise will prove a failure, and will be detrimental
+to the animal. If a cow or heifer should miss to stand to the bull
+before the end of May, and the weather get warm, it is difficult to get
+them in calf; they may run on for months every two or three weeks. Many
+a good breeding animal has been lost in this way, and gone to the
+butcher, their owner having despaired of getting them in calf; whereas,
+if he had had patience until September or October, when the cold
+weather sets in, in all likelihood they would have been got in calf. I
+had three cows out of four, that had run on the whole summer, got in
+calf in one day. An early spring calf is preferable to a late one, and
+most desirable; but my doctrine is, that a good calf never can come
+wrong. It is trying to the breeder to see his fine cows running on, but
+we must not despair; we must not lose a chance, for we will generally
+catch them, and sometimes when we least expect it. When a cow assumes
+the appearance of what we term a regular buller--when she is running
+every day, or every second or third day, or when one or more retire
+from the herd and assume the habits of the male--then, and not till
+then, does the case become utterly hopeless. I had two fine cows I was
+obliged to quit; they assumed the habits of the male, absented
+themselves from the rest of the herd, went through the field lowing,
+roaring, and pawing the ground with their feet, their lowing being that
+of the male and not of the female, and their shapes and looks were
+completely changed. Some friends, in whose opinion I have confidence,
+think this disease hereditary.
+
+I would recommend, when cows and heifers are not standing to the bull,
+to give a dose or two of medicine. A change of the bull may succeed;
+and leading the cow or heifer six miles out and six miles in, when
+coming in heat, will sometimes be effectual. I was led to this practice
+by observing that cows or heifers that had run on the whole season up
+to the time of exhibition, when put to the bull on their arrival from
+the show, were got in calf at once. I naturally concluded that the
+exercise which they had undergone was the cure. I adopted the
+principle, and have succeeded in several cases, though not in all; and
+I know of some other breeders who have also been successful.
+
+A cow goes nine months with young, generally ten or fourteen days
+longer. I have known one go twenty-seven days past her time. They
+generally go longer with a bull calf than a heifer. It is almost a sure
+sign that all will be right if the cow go past her time; when matters
+are wrong the birth is generally premature. Slinking is one of the
+greatest pests to which a breeder is subjected. The symptoms are as
+follows: a yellow mixed with red, glairy, offensive fluid will be
+observed running from the vagina, a flow of milk to the udder, and a
+loosening of the couplings behind; in a day or two premature labour
+follows. No time is to be lost on these symptoms being observed. The
+cow should be immediately removed to a separate apartment, and kept by
+herself for two or three weeks. If the premature birth should take
+place before the cow is removed, the foetus and after-birth must be
+instantly buried, and not only the stall where the cow was standing,
+but the whole of the byre should be thoroughly washed over with hot
+lime, or chloride of lime. It is well known that if one cow abort,
+others are apt to follow. I recollect that almost every cow out of
+forty, belonging to the late James Walker, Wester Fintray, aborted. One
+half were polled, the other shorthorns.
+
+When a cow is with calf she has strong sympathetic feelings. The
+foetus and after-birth from a cow that has slinked are very
+offensive, and if left within reach, the other cows will sniff at it,
+and bellow around it; and in a short time more of the cows will abort.
+Many reasons have been given as the cause of abortion; from my own
+observations, frosty turnips are one great cause, and I never allow my
+cows to get these. If I happen to run short of fresh turnips from the
+store, and frosty weather continue, I order the cows straw and water,
+and perhaps a little cake or corn at the same time. I have paid dearly
+for this experience also. I believe hove to be another cause of
+abortion; and that particular atmospheric conditions have a good deal
+to do with it. The skilful veterinary surgeon should be consulted; he
+will probably recommend physic to cool the system, the foetus and
+placenta to be buried, the animal separated, and the cow-house
+disinfected. The cow should be fattened and sold, unless she be a very
+valuable breeding animal, as the chances are that she will slink again.
+I have indeed seen a cow, after slinking, breed regularly for many
+years; but the sure way is to get quit of her to the butcher, if she is
+not a valuable breeding animal.
+
+I have explained, under the head of Milk-Fever, the treatment previous
+to calving; I shall add that a cow ought to be let dry six weeks at
+least before calving. It is well known that a cow that is milked up to
+the time of calving proves very deficient as a milker for the season,
+even although she had formerly been a good one. It prevents improvement
+of condition; and from a very lean cow there is not much to be
+expected.
+
+As to natural labour a very few remarks will suffice. The cow should be
+disturbed as little as possible, and no assistance rendered where it is
+not necessary. When the water-bag comes away, the hand should be
+introduced to ascertain whether the calf is coming the right way; its
+fore-legs protruding to the passage, and its head lying upon them or a
+little between them, is the natural position when all is right. We must
+have patience, and, if possible, allow nature to effect its object; but
+if six or eight hours shall have passed, assistance must be given. In
+my practice I have observed that when the water-bag comes away in the
+early stages the labour is protracted. I have seen many
+tail-presentations, but I have found them easily dealt with by pushing
+back the hind-quarters and getting hold of the feet; pushing backwards,
+forwards, and upwards the hind-legs, and bringing them to the level of
+the passage, the calf will be easily extracted. In unnatural labour the
+veterinary surgeon should be immediately called in. Skellet 'On the
+Parturition of the Cow' is the most valuable authority I am acquainted
+with on unnatural labour, but I fear it is out of print.
+
+A word here as to free-martins. When a cow produces two calves, the one
+a male and the other a female, the female is called a free-martin. The
+almost universal belief is, that the free-martin will not breed; and
+generally this holds good. I have had, however, in my practice two
+free-martins that have bred. One of them proved one of the most useful
+animals and best breeders in the herd, and produced some of my finest
+females; but her own appearance lacked that female style which shows
+itself in a high-bred herd.
+
+And here I may remark that those who act as judges at our cattle-shows,
+if they are judging males, ought to judge them as males and not as
+females; and if they are judging females, they ought to judge them as
+females and not as males. Some may understand what I mean. As I
+consider it one of the most important qualifications in a judge to have
+the discernment I refer to, and as many are appointed judges, even at
+our national shows, _who never should have been appointed, and many
+act who never should act_, it ought to be put out of all doubt. As
+an example, when a bull shows the head of a female and a want of
+masculine character, he should be rejected. Masculine character in the
+bull is of the greatest importance to the success of the
+breeder--effeminacy in the male must be shunned as the most deadly
+poison. On the other hand, let that female be rejected by the judge in
+the show-yard, and by the breeder in his selection, that looks as much
+like a male as a female. However long she may have been kept up for
+show-yard purposes, or whatever enormous quantity of beef she may have
+put on, if she have the head of the ox (I do not say of the bull,
+because I have never seen a female so characterised) she must be put
+aside, unless very superior in other respects. Such animals will seldom
+pass muster with the first-class judge, but _even he must be upon his
+guard_. I have often seen great blunders committed, especially with
+heifers, the owner of which may, for the sake of winning the prize,
+have fed them for years without hope of propagation. I have seen them
+carry the prize to the exclusion of the really useful breeding animal,
+and when the show was over they were sold to the butcher. I would not
+propose any rule to be laid down to exclude animals from our
+exhibitions on account of their condition, because the proper amount of
+flesh can never be satisfactorily settled; nor can it be definitely
+fixed when an animal should be excluded as being too fat for breeding.
+The experiment was tried at some of our national shows, but utterly
+failed, as the jury could not agree. The rules of the Highland Society
+are good so far as they go--viz., that unless the owner of cows that
+have not had a calf in the year of the exhibition, and of the
+two-year-old heifers that have been awarded prizes, can certify that
+the animals have had a calf--the cows in four months and the heifers in
+nine after the exhibition--the money prize will be withheld. But this
+does not cover the difficulty, as the prize-money is of secondary
+importance to the majority of exhibitors--being first on the prize-list
+is their main ambition; but, I believe, it is all that rules can reach.
+The only safeguard lies with the council and the directors--and the
+strong moral force of the exhibitors ought to be brought to bear upon
+them--of our national and local cattle-shows. They ought to appoint no
+one, however highly connected, unless he is _acknowledged a judge by
+the exhibitors of the class of stock to which he is appointed_. If
+the right man be put in the right place, there will seldom be cause to
+complain of overfed useless breeding animals gaining the prizes; but if
+ignorant forward men are appointed, you are certain to see the fattest
+animals at the top of the prize-list. At one of our great shows the
+same judges were appointed for cattle and sheep;--they were
+unexceptional judges of cattle, but knew very little about
+breeding-sheep. There were two pens of breeding-ewes in competition:
+one of the pens was from a first-class stock of sheep, but from hill
+pasture; the other was from a jobber, who had selected them from the
+common sheep in the country, but had grazed them with the cows on the
+farm, and they were in high condition--they wanted style and breeding.
+The judges were hesitating as to which of the pens the prize should be
+awarded to, when one of them exclaimed, "Stop, stop; let me in o'er
+till I handle them!"--an Aberdeen man likes something that will handle,
+whether ox or sheep. He went, and after he had performed the handling
+proof, which required little time and less skill, "Ah!" he exclaimed,
+pointing to the fat ewes, "that's the sheep!" and the ticket was fixed
+accordingly. This anecdote was related to me by the owner of the fat
+ewes, who was present.
+
+No butcher, except he be well acquainted with the treatment of a
+breeding stock, ought to be a judge of breeding animals. With fat stock
+one of the judges ought always to be a first-class butcher.
+
+In natural labour the after-birth generally comes away soon after
+calving. Many remove it immediately; this, however, should never be
+allowed, as the cow will chew it greedily, and it acts as physic to
+her. If the after-birth should be retained, as it generally is in cases
+of premature labour, this need cause little alarm to the owner. I have
+never seen any danger from allowing it to remain, and I prefer letting
+it alone, as it will rot away of itself, to the danger of tearing it
+away; but the cow should be removed from the others. I believe the
+opinion to be erroneous that there is danger from the after-birth being
+retained for any moderate length of time; but the womb itself will
+sometimes follow the calf, and this requires prompt treatment. I have
+known of its being successfully returned without the aid of the
+veterinary surgeon, but this should never be attempted by an
+unpractised hand if you can command the surgeon's attendance. It is a
+very common occurrence that two or three months before calving the
+vagina protrudes when the cow is lying: when this occurs she should be
+kept well up behind, else it may bring on premature calving. When the
+cow calves the danger is over.
+
+If the calf is to be milked from the hand it should be taken from the
+cow as soon as it is dropt, and before the mother sees it; if allowed
+to remain with the cow for some time and then removed, it will be a
+cause of great irritation to the mother and very prejudicial to her
+milking. When it is to be suckled, the calf should be left quietly with
+the cow: and by licking the calf and eating the placenta the cow will
+be settled, the calf will get to its legs, and all may be expected to
+be right. A warm drink should be given--cold water must be avoided--and
+the cow made comfortable. She should be milked out after first
+suckling, and this will require to be repeated two or three times a-day
+for a few weeks, until the calf is able, and can with safety be
+allowed, to take all the milk. In a day or two after the calf is dropt
+it ought to be muzzled, and allowed a limited time to suckle the mother
+three times a-day. It must not be allowed a full allowance for the
+first fourteen days after birth. A confidential servant must remove the
+muzzle, stand beside the calf until it has taken a safe allowance, and
+then return the muzzle. When the calf has got the cud, which will be
+observed about fourteen days after its birth, it will then be safe to
+remove the muzzle. I muzzle all my calves, to prevent them from eating
+straw, hair, &c, which they cannot digest, and which accumulate in the
+stomach and prove the death of the animal. Many thousand calves are
+lost in this way, the owner never suspecting the cause. If the calf is
+opened up after death, there will be found in the stomach a large,
+firm, round ball composed of straw, hair, and other substances, with
+knots of curdled milk conjoined. After the calf has got the cud, and is
+fourteen days old, it may be allowed to suck at pleasure. It must be
+seen, however, that the calf has ability to clean out the udder of the
+cow; if part of the milk is retained, the cow must be milked by the
+hand.
+
+Plenty of good milk is the proper foundation to make a good animal; if
+stinted when a calf, a year's growth is lost. Selling a great deal of
+butter and rearing a good bullock are incompatible. Many good calves
+are milked from the pail, and they thrive better after they are weaned;
+but it will generally be found that the sure way to make first-class
+calves is to allow them to suckle. There will be many drawbacks at the
+expense of the calf if it is brought up from the pail; drafts will be
+required by the housekeeper for milk, butter, and cheese for the
+family, which cannot be made if the calf is suckled by the mother in
+the field. The plan adopted by some of giving skimmed milk to the calf
+cannot be too much reprobated; and to give old milk to a new-dropt calf
+is perfectly preposterous: it is unnatural, and will probably prove the
+death of the calf.
+
+The calf should be allowed to suckle or be fed from the pail for six or
+eight months. It has then strength to stand weaning, and, if properly
+cared for, will not be checked in its growth, and it will retain the
+good calf-flesh it has put on. The loss of the calf-flesh cannot be
+remedied, and great care should be taken to avoid this. If the
+calf-flesh is lost the animal will be reduced in value, and can never
+be made to yield first-class meat. Great care, therefore, must be taken
+by the breeder when his calves are weaned.
+
+To guard against Black-leg, the calves should be immediately corded in
+the dewlap,[8] and receive, along with other nourishing food, each
+1-1/2 lb. of oilcake a-day. This treatment is absolutely necessary
+during their first winter. The open strawyard for calves is of great
+importance. If they are kept regularly growing on, black-leg will be
+prevented. While proper treatment is adopted, there will be little to
+fear from that dreadful scourge.
+
+      [8] I have been accused of cruelty for cording the dewlaps of my
+      calves. The pain must be of short duration, as it is done by a
+      sharp instrument in a moment.
+
+I have never lost more than two of my breeding stock from Quarter-ill.
+There is no question that the cause of this dreadful malady is sudden
+transition from a restricted diet to a full and nutritious one, from a
+poor pasture to a rich and luxuriant one, or from a poor pasture in
+autumn to a full allowance of turnips; the increase of blood on the
+system is so great that the constitution cannot stand it. I have seen
+almost every calf on several large farms carried off by black-leg.
+There is no secret as to its prevention. Keep the young calf gradually
+growing, never let him want; give 1 to 2 lb. of oilcake a-day; and keep
+up the irritation by cords with a good hold of the dewlap. After the
+first winter, black-leg is little to be feared. I have had a case or
+two in two or three year olds, but it is very uncommon. Prevention is
+the only safeguard, for I have never seen black-leg cured. To some 1 to
+2 lb. of oilcake a-day may look an expense that the calves cannot
+repay; but if any of my friends will divide a lot of their calves, and
+give the one lot turnips and straw, and the other turnips, straw, and 1
+to 2 lb. of oilcake daily to each calf, if they are dissatisfied with
+the result on the 1st of May I shall pay the balance. I shall not enter
+upon the point of the great additional value of the manure, but leave
+that to the chemist.
+
+I allow my calves to suckle till October, and the late ones two or
+three months longer. Butter and even corn are but secondary to our
+cattle, and in these days of progression we must advance with the times
+or go down.
+
+As to Navel-ill, much has been written on the deadliness of the
+complaint. I have never had any loss from it. Diarrhoea is a very
+common complaint with calves, and I have lost one or two by it, but, I
+believe, owing to carelessness. It will generally yield to a dose or
+two of castor-oil. The Knee-ill is more to be dreaded. The complaint is
+worse some seasons than others, and some, under the best treatment,
+will die. The calf gets down and is unable to rise; on examination it
+will be found that one or both, generally of the fore-legs, are very
+much swollen at the joints; the calf is very much pained, especially if
+moved, and the disease acts very much like rheumatic fever on the human
+body. I cannot assign any cause for this disease, as I have seen calves
+seized with it that were kept warm and comfortable. In some cases it
+may be attributed to some particular atmospheric influence. It is very
+difficult to remove. The calf will be down for weeks, and in some cases
+they never get up. Very little can be done for them, and any treatment
+I have seen adopted is of small value. Rubbing turpentine daily into
+the swollen joints is useful, but attention to the general health is of
+the greatest consequence--such as counteracting costiveness in the
+bowels, &c. I have seen splints of wood introduced, and also tying out
+the leg with bandages; but I have no great faith in any such treatment.
+Rubbing daily with turpentine, and attention to the general health, is
+all I can recommend. Costiveness of the bowels, if not counteracted,
+may end in serious consequences. I had a case of a calf that got very
+costive--so bad that it moaned dreadfully from pain. I lost all hope of
+saving it. I thought of injections, and had them administered
+repeatedly for hours; to my astonishment the calf recovered and did
+well. Castor-oil is the safest medicine for calves. Let me here record
+an observation for which I am indebted to Mr Sorely, late veterinary
+surgeon, Alford. (While I have seen some with as good hands as Mr
+Sorely, I have never had the fortune to meet another with as clear a
+head.) The first question he asks when told that a calf is ailing, is,
+"How old is it?" If the calf is very young, and violently ill of any
+complaint, the great chance is, that it will not recover; whereas, if
+it be three weeks, and, still more, two or three months old, the
+probability is that it will.
+
+As to the castration of calves, it is such a simple process that it is
+unnecessary to say much on the subject. The only thing I would
+recommend is, that the breeder, if he does not castrate his calves
+himself, should not allow the operator to cut away any part of the
+purse, as it should be recollected a good purse in the London market
+will be the next criterion to the butcher after the flank, and a good
+purse is always worth L1 to a bullock in London. If the purse should
+get much swelled after castration, warm fomentations should be applied
+two or three times a-day, or even a poultice if the case be very bad.
+If there is an accumulation of pus, it may be necessary to puncture the
+purse, and the animal will soon be relieved.
+
+Rheumatism, I have no doubt, is hereditary. I have seen it in the
+fourth generation; little, if anything, can be done for it. At certain
+seasons of the year it will appear, and wear off again. Howk is perhaps
+the complaint to which my cattle are most liable. I have repeated cases
+of it every year. The animal is observed to be stiff and staring in his
+coat, eats little, and, as the disease advances, retires from the rest
+of herd. When taken up, his skin along the back will be found adhering
+to the flesh, and if pressed on the spine he will nearly crouch to the
+ground. If a hold is taken of the skin--which is very difficult to
+accomplish--and it is lifted from the flesh, when let go it will give a
+crack similar to the sound that follows when you give a knock to the
+common corn-basket. This is a never-failing symptom. I treat the
+complaint very successfully with doses of salts and sulphur. If the
+animal is taken up in the early stages of the disease, the skin may
+only be adhering to a part behind the shoulder-blade; but in a day or
+two the adhesion will be found to extend along the whole of the spine;
+or, _vice versa_, it may begin across the kidneys and go forward
+to the shoulder-blade. I regard indigestion as the cause, and some
+cattle take it in particular fields worse than others. Diseases of the
+tongue are rare: I have had some half-dozen cases. A cure is utterly
+hopeless, and the animal should be sent to the butcher without delay.
+When examined, the root of the tongue, or one side of it, will be found
+very much inflamed, and warts will also generally be observed. The
+animal will be found frothing at the mouth in the field; and if in the
+stall, a great deal of frothy matter will be seen before him. I never
+knew one recover, and I have attempted all sorts of treatment.
+
+Foul in the foot is very serious when it gets into a lot of heavy
+feeding cattle in winter; the loss it entails is sometimes very heavy.
+It assumes several phases. If there be but a crack between the claws
+without swelling, it is easily managed. The old plan of taking a
+hair-rope and drawing it several times through is very good practice,
+and with a little caustic applied, a cure is soon effected. There is
+another form of the disease more difficult to treat: there is the great
+swelling between the claws; it becomes a hard substance and very
+painful; the animal gets feverish and is scarcely able to rise, and if
+got up holds out the afflicted leg. He is off his food, and sinks
+rapidly in condition; and the pain is excruciating. I apply a
+succession of poultices, and when the lump breaks the danger is over:
+tow and tar are then applied to the sore, a cotton bandage put on
+between the claws of sufficient length to secure the application, and
+the ends made fast by a woollen garter cut from an old stocking. If the
+disease is neglected the consequences may be fatal; it is worst in
+winter when cattle are at the feeding-stall. I regard it as infectious.
+If it get into a byre of weighty fat cattle the loss will be heavy. I
+have seen a bullock drop in value L3, L4, or even L5; and several
+animals lost by carelessness. I had a bullock out upon turnips, which
+had been neglected, and was pronounced by my veterinary surgeon
+incurable.
+
+As to Foot-and-mouth disease, it is a light matter among stirks and
+lean cattle--they will be little if any the worse of it; but it is very
+serious amongst heavy feeding cattle and milch cows. If fat cattle are
+attacked, they should have their turnips sliced, with crushed oilcake
+and meal. There is no treatment of any avail in the fever stages. When
+the fever is gone, there will be a beast or two out of a lot whose feet
+will require attention. The horn of the hoof gets loosened from the
+flesh. The animal may require to be thrown and the dead horn cut away.
+It must be remembered that it will never attach itself again. The
+veterinary surgeon should generally perform the operation, unless the
+owner is skilful himself. Cows require great attention. The disease
+seats itself in their udders, and unless they are most carefully milked
+out they may be rendered useless as milkers--losing one, two, or even
+all the quarters of the udder. The foot-and-mouth disease is very
+infectious. I recollect having carried it home from a neighbouring
+farm, by merely handling a bull which was down with the disease. I came
+straight home and handled the first beast opposite the door in one of
+my own byres; in three days he was seized with the complaint; and in
+two or three days thereafter nearly every beast through the steading
+was down with it. Out of forty fat cattle thirty-eight had it, only two
+escaping. Upon inquiry I found that one of them had had it before. I
+lost from L4 to L5 of condition on an average off every one of the
+thirty-eight. From the same farm and at the same time a veterinary
+surgeon had been called in. He went straight to another farm six miles
+distant, and in a few days every animal there was seized with the same
+complaint. It is the general belief that an animal will not take the
+foot-and-mouth disease twice. This is a mistake. I have a cow that took
+it twice, but there were seven years between the attacks.
+
+I have had the Lung disease on two farms; all known treatment is
+unsatisfactory. I believe, if the attack be violent, no treatment will
+save the animal. It is sometimes difficult to know it at first. There
+will generally be a cough, but it is not the clear cough of the animal
+in health. It is compressed, and the animal coughs unwillingly and with
+evident pain. The particular cough cannot be mistaken, and the grunt is
+a never-failing symptom. There is generally one lung more affected than
+the other. The ear being applied to the chest will discover the impeded
+circulation. Many cattle take the disease so slightly that it is never
+discovered. Some have little if any cough, and the pile continues soft
+and healthy. I recollect a milking cow which I was suspicious had the
+disease. I made her be run out; there was no acceleration of breathing;
+her coat was fine, and there was no diminution of the milk; but she
+gave a grunt which confirmed me in my opinion that she had had a slight
+touch of the complaint. The grieve, a most intelligent man, was
+satisfied that the cow was healthy. I fattened her, and for my own
+information had her slaughtered at home. It was three months after, and
+the _post-mortem_ examination showed one of the lungs, to the
+extent of about the size of a crown-piece, adhering to the ribs--a
+sufficient proof that my conjecture was correct. Many take the disease
+that are never suspected. I had a bullock showing some symptoms of the
+disease in a byre amongst ten. The others were, to all appearance, in
+perfect health. I sent them immediately to London. My salesman was
+instructed to inspect the carcasses after they were slaughtered, and to
+report. He did so carefully, and there was not one of the number but
+had their lungs more or less affected. Mr Collie, Ardgay, Morayshire,
+had a byre of cattle slaughtered under the same circumstances, and with
+the very same result. Pleuro-pneumonia is not so infectious as
+foot-and-mouth disease, but if it get into a farm-steading it is most
+difficult to get clear of. I have known cattle infected in three days.
+I had bought a lot of cattle from a farm in Morayshire where the
+disease has never been up to this hour. It was in the month of April.
+There were two or three of the lot that I did not think profitable to
+graze. I tied them in a byre where infected cattle had stood. They were
+only to be kept a week or two, and I had no idea of danger. One of them
+took the disease very badly in three days after he was tied up. I have
+known it lie dormant in the system (as to any visible appearance) for
+three months and a half. I found the general period of incubation from
+five to six weeks. I have taken the greatest pains with the byres where
+the infected cattle stood, having the wood-work taken out, the roofs
+and greeps carefully scraped and washed with soap and warm water,
+lime-water, and afterwards with chloride of lime; and yet, after all
+this labour, I have seen the disease break out again and again. After
+repeated outbreaks, I not only removed the wood-work, but the whole of
+the stones in the stalls and greeps, and buried them. I had the roofs
+and stone mangers, &c., carefully scraped, and washed with soap and
+warm water, and afterwards with chloride of lime. They were then
+closely painted, and lastly coal-tarred; but it was only after five or
+six months' perseverance that I got clear of it. Having heard a report
+that a cow belonging to my cousin, Mr M'Combie, editor of the 'Free
+Press,' was labouring under pleuro-pneumonia, I went to see her. Mr
+Sorely, veterinary surgeon, was in attendance. As there had been no
+disease in the neighbourhood for five years, I was unwilling to credit
+the report. But a more marked case I have never witnessed; and the
+_post-mortem_ examination showed all the symptoms of the fell
+disease. Mr Sorely, Mr M'Combie's overseer, and I, all agreed that as a
+wood dividing-partition had been allowed to remain since the time of
+the previous infection, and the cow was seen chewing pieces of the wood
+that had got rotted at the base, the wood had retained the poison, and
+the cow had been infected from the chewing of it. The breath is the
+cause of the infection when cattle are housed together and the disease
+introduced. It generally attacks the animals standing at the walls
+first. The breath is driven by different currents through the building
+to the walls, where it is stopped; it rebounds, and hence the beasts at
+the walls generally fall the first victims--so, at least, I have found
+it in my experience. I had forty beasts divided by a stone-and-lime
+mid-wall to the level of the side-walls; up to the roof there was a
+strong and close division of wood. Unfortunately there had been a small
+aperture about two feet square left open. I made an observation to the
+cattleman that I should not be at all surprised if the disease came
+from the infected byre through the opening to the byre where the cattle
+were sound. The first or second day thereafter the animal standing
+below the aperture was seized, and got down in the disease.
+
+In treatment I have no confidence, having tried everything that could
+be tried and completely failed. I would, however, recommend that
+neither hay nor straw be given to animals labouring under the disease.
+I lost a valuable bull, after he was recovering, from this cause. He
+was allowed to eat too freely of hay, which he could not masticate; and
+when opened after death, an ordinary bucketful of hay was found in his
+stomach, as dry as when it was eaten. I have come to the conclusion
+that no animal should be allowed hay or straw while unable properly to
+masticate its food. It is well ascertained that when the poison is
+lying dormant in an animal, it will infect the other cattle before it
+is visible in itself. As a confirmation of this fact, I had a sale of
+breeding stock after the Dumfries show, on Thursday, 30th August 1860.
+The cattle seemed to be in perfect health on the day of the sale; about
+three-fourths of them were removed on Friday. The day following--viz.,
+Saturday--a cow was taken ill. I entertained fears that it might turn
+out pleuro-pneumonia; and circulars were sent to the parties who had
+removed their cattle. The buyers isolated the cattle bought at the sale
+from their own stock. Two of the beasts that had been removed died,
+other two took the complaint and recovered; but fortunately it did not
+spread amongst the buyers other stock. The cow first taken ill
+recovered, and another that was left over took the disease and
+recovered. But, further, a bull was withdrawn from the sale and sent
+home to Tillyfour from Dorsell the night of the sale, to all appearance
+in perfect health, though he afterwards died of the disease. He was
+watered at a watering-place on the roadside, where a crofter's cattle
+watered daily. The crofter's cattle went down in the disease, and one
+of them died. Many were the weary days and restless nights I endured
+when the disease got fairly developed through two of my largest
+steadings. It is in such cases that the value of a clear-headed
+veterinary surgeon is appreciated. I would not be well away from one
+steading, when a messenger would meet me with intelligence of some
+disaster at the other. I had many beasts being fed on other farms as
+well as those on my own--not fewer than 400 one way or other. I have
+said how much I am indebted in such emergencies to the advice and
+counsel of a clear-headed veterinary surgeon. The disease was in the
+midst of my breeding stock, and two or three had succumbed to it. Mr
+Sorely and I were brooding over this state of matters, when I asked him
+whether he could do anything to save the herd. He said, "I will think
+over it till to-morrow." He came on the morrow, and seven successive
+evenings, and administered to each animal a drench, and he would trust
+no one but himself to do it. I believe there were three changes of
+medicine; not one animal which got the medicine took the disease,
+although they had been standing in the midst of it. There was one
+worthless old milk cow amongst the others, that I did not think worth
+the trouble of giving the medicine to; she took the disease, and was
+fed with gruel for fourteen days, and recovered, while the others
+continued in perfect health.
+
+I have related the diseases that are of a local character, as they have
+come under my own notice, without any desire to set myself up as an
+authority. My experience has led me to differ in many respects from
+eminent authorities. I have merely stated my own experiences during a
+lifetime that has been devoted to the management of cattle; they are
+written with no view of superseding the valuable assistance of the
+veterinary surgeon; but every farmer ought to know and be able to treat
+the local diseases incident in his neighbourhood which are not of a
+dangerous character. When they are dangerous, the owner ought to be
+able to distinguish them at once; and in that case not a moment should
+be lost in calling in the aid of a veterinary surgeon.
+
+
+THE END.
+
+PRINTED BY WILLIAM BLACKWOOD AND SONS, EDINBURGH.
+
+
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+WORKS ON RURAL AFFAIRS.
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+Price One Guinea.
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+THE BOOK OF THE LANDED ESTATE;
+
+CONTAINING DIRECTIONS FOR THE MANAGEMENT AND DEVELOPMENT OF THE
+RESOURCES OF LANDED PROPERTY; DETAILING THE DUTIES OF THE LANDLORD,
+FACTOR, TENANT, FORESTER, AND LABOURER.
+
+By ROBERT E. BROWN,
+
+Factor and Estate Agent, Wass, Yorkshire.
+
+In One Volume, royal 8vo, uniform with Mr STEPHENS'S 'BOOK OF THE
+FARM,' with numerous Engravings.
+
+                    *      *      *      *      *
+
+Pall Mall Gazette.
+
+"Apart from its own substantial merits, Mr Brown's tall and stout
+volume is emphatically a sign of the times. It is a product of a
+period of revolution in the ideas and habits of English landowners....
+Mr Brown's book offers minute and ample answers to every possible
+inquiry which the landowner's ingenuity can suggest."
+
+
+Saturday Review.
+
+"Mr Brown is always ready with an intelligent reason for whatever,
+from the vantage-ground of experience, he takes upon him to recommend.
+Indeed there is not a chapter from which any reader may not gain
+something.... It is impossible even to glance at a tithe of the useful
+information and advice contained in this volume, which will be certain
+to be the landlord and the agent's _vade-mecum_."
+
+
+North British Agriculturist.
+
+"Mr Brown is plain and practical in his remarks; he is evidently a
+cautious and sensible land agent, and his valuable work testifies to
+his having made good use of his opportunities, his observation, and
+his experience."
+
+
+Economist.
+
+"We can heartily commend this book for the instruction of both
+landowners and estate agents. It is full of solid practical knowledge,
+clearly arranged and expressed--a repertory of all that is essential
+to be known theoretically by the managers of properties."
+
+
+Bell's Weekly Messenger.
+
+"A work admirably calculated to produce a better state of things, not
+only by pointing out to landowners the advantages that must inevitably
+accrue to them from their estates being properly cultivated, but by
+showing how that object may be attained."
+
+                    *      *      *      *      *
+
+WILLIAM BLACKWOOD & SONS, Edinburgh and London.
+
+
+
+
+MESSRS BLACKWOOD AND SONS'
+
+_NEW PUBLICATIONS._
+
+
+Works of George Eliot.
+
+
+A New Edition, complete in One Volume, Crown Octavo,
+
+FELIX HOLT, THE RADICAL.
+
+By GEORGE ELIOT.
+
+With Seven Engravings, price 3s. 6d.
+
+
+_Uniform with the above_,
+
+ADAM BEDE. With 7 Engravings, 3s. 6d.
+THE MILL ON THE FLOSS. With 7 Engravings, 3s. 6d.
+SILAS MARNER. With 3 Engravings, 2s. 6d.
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+
+
+NEW AND CHEAP EDITION.
+
+THE SPANISH GYPSY.
+
+By GEORGE ELIOT.
+
+A New Edition, being the Third, in Crown Octavo, price 7s. 6d.
+
+
+A TRANSLATION OF THE ODES AND EPODES OF HORACE.
+
+BY THE RIGHT HONOURABLE LORD LYTTON.
+
+                                                [_In the Press._
+
+
+
+
+_New Volume of Poems by the Author of 'Roba di Roma.'_
+
+
+GRAFFITI D'ITALIA.
+  By W. W. STORY. In foolscap 8vo, price 7s. 6d.
+
+
+ON SEATS AND SADDLES, BITS AND BITTING, AND THE PREVENTION AND CURE OF
+RESTIVENESS IN HORSES.
+  By FRANCIS DWYER, Major of Hussars in the Imperial Austrian Service.
+  Crown 8vo, with Eight Engravings and numerous Diagrams, price 7s. 6d.
+
+    "The Major is no theoretical dogmatist, but a scientific writer
+    practically acquainted with the nature, capacities, and
+    requirements of the creature."--_Athenaeum._
+
+    "A book of signal value. In this work we have some of the soundest
+    and most valuable suggestions we have read. No man who owns or
+    rides a horse should leave this work unstudied."--_Sunday
+    Times._
+
+
+THE HANDY HORSE-BOOK;
+  OR, PRACTICAL INSTRUCTIONS IN RIDING, DRIVING, AND THE GENERAL
+  CARE AND MANAGEMENT OF HORSES. By A CAVALRY OFFICER. A New
+  Edition, with 6 Engravings, 4s. 6d.
+
+    "As cavalry officer, hunting horseman, coach proprietor, whip, and
+    steeplechase-rider, the author has had long and various experience
+    in the management of horses, and he now gives us the cream of his
+    information."--_Athenaeum._
+
+    "He propounds no theories, but embodies in simple untechnical
+    language what he has learned practically."--_Sporting Gazette._
+
+
+THE TREATMENT OF OUR DOMESTICATED DOGS.
+  By "MAGENTA," Author of 'The Handy Horse-Book.' Foolscap 8vo, price
+  2s. 6d.
+
+
+HANDY BOOK OF METEOROLOGY.
+  By ALEXANDER BUCHAN, M.A., Secretary of the Scottish Meteorological
+  Society. A New and Enlarged Edition. Crown 8vo, with 8 coloured
+  Charts and other Engravings, price 8s. 6d.
+
+    "A very handy book this, for in its small compass Mr Buchan has
+    stored more and later information than exists in any volume with
+    which we are acquainted."--_Symons's Meteorological Magazine._
+
+    "Clear, concise, and easy of reference."--_The Field._
+
+    "We do not know a better work on Meteorology."--_Gardeners' Chronicle._
+
+
+HANDY BOOK OF THE FLOWER-GARDEN:
+  BEING PLAIN, PRACTICAL DIRECTIONS FOR THE PROPAGATION, CULTURE, AND
+  ARRANGEMENT OF PLANTS IN FLOWER-GARDENS ALL THE YEAR ROUND; embracing
+  all classes of Gardens, from the largest to the smallest; with
+  Engraved Plans, illustrative of the various systems of Grouping in
+  Beds and Borders. By DAVID THOMSON, Archerfield Gardens. Author of a
+  'Practical Treatise on the Culture of the Pine-Apple.' In crown 8vo,
+  price 7s. 6d.
+
+    "This is essentially a book for amateurs, and every amateur who is
+    fortunate enough to be its possessor, or who may merely skim over
+    its pages, will, we are assured, agree with us in regarding its
+    author as being entitled to great praise for the simple and clear
+    manner in which he has explained the cultural directions, which,
+    if carefully complied with, will enable the non-professional
+    floriculturist to grow plants as well as any
+    gardener."--_Gardeners' Chronicle, March 14, 1868._
+
+
+
+
+_Second Edition of Mr Kinglake's New Volumes._
+
+
+THE INVASION OF THE CRIMEA.
+  With some additional Notes and Observations in reply to Sir John
+  Burgoyne. By A. W. Kinglake, M.P. Volumes III. & IV. With numerous
+  Maps and Plans, price 34s.
+
+
+GEOLOGY FOR GENERAL READERS.
+  A SERIES OF POPULAR SKETCHES IN GEOLOGY AND PALAEONTOLOGY. By DAVID
+  PAGE, LL.D. F.R.S.E. F.G.S. Second Edition, containing several New
+  Chapters. Price 6s.
+
+    "Few of our handbooks of popular science can be said to have
+    greater or more decisive merit than those of Mr Page on Geology and
+    Palaeontology. They are clear and vigorous in style, they never
+    oppress the reader with a pedantic display of learning, nor
+    overwhelm him with a pompous and superfluous terminology; and they
+    have the happy art of taking him straightway to the face of nature
+    herself, instead of leading him by the tortuous and bewildering
+    paths of technical system and artificial classification."--_Saturday
+    Review._
+
+    "This is one of the best of Mr Page's many good books. It is
+    written in a flowing popular style. Without illustration or any
+    extraneous aid, the narrative must prove attractive to any
+    intelligent reader."--_Geological Magazine._
+
+
+THE LIFE OF ST COLUMBA,
+  APOSTLE OF CALEDONIA. Reprinted from the 'Monks of the West.' By the
+  COUNT DE MONTALEMBERT. Crown 8vo, 3s. 6d.
+
+
+THE PUBLIC SCHOOLS:
+  WINCHESTER--WESTMINSTER--SHREWSBURY--HARROW--RUGBY. Notes of their
+  History and Traditions. By the Author of 'Etoniana.' Crown 8vo, 8s.
+  6d.
+
+
+CAPTAIN SHERARD OSBORN'S WORKS.
+  Uniform Edition. In 3 vols. Sold separately.
+
+  Vol. I. STRAY LEAVES FROM AN ARCTIC JOURNAL; OR, EIGHTEEN MONTHS
+  IN THE POLAR REGIONS IN SEARCH OF SIR JOHN FRANKLIN, IN THE
+  YEARS 1850-51. THE CAREER, LAST VOYAGE, AND FATE OF SIR JOHN
+  FRANKLIN. 5s.
+
+  Vol. II. THE DISCOVERY OF A NORTH-WEST PASSAGE BY H.M.S.
+  INVESTIGATOR, CAPTAIN R. M'CLURE, DURING THE YEARS 1850-54. 5s.
+
+  Vol. III. QUEDAH; OR, STRAY LEAVES FROM A JOURNAL IN MALAYAN WATERS.
+  A CRUISE IN JAPANESE WATERS. THE FIGHT OF THE PEIHO IN 1859. 7s. 6d.
+
+
+THE "EVER-VICTORIOUS ARMY."
+  A HISTORY OF THE CHINESE CAMPAIGN UNDER LIEUT.-COL. C. G. GORDON, AND
+  OF THE SUPPRESSION OF THE TAI-PING REBELLION. By ANDREW WILSON,
+  F.A.S.L., Author of 'England's Policy in China,' and formerly Editor
+  of the 'China Mail.' In 8vo, with Maps. Price 15s.
+
+    "That his work contains much food for reflection on our relations
+    with the East, besides vividly relating a tale second to none in
+    dramatic interest, no one who peruses it can doubt. Carefully
+    compiled from authentic sources and forcibly and graphically
+    written, it is a work of far more than ordinary merit."--_Athenaeum._
+
+    "This able and interesting volume, by a writer who has given close
+    attention to Chinese affairs and has had the advantage of residing
+    for some time in the country, appears at an opportune moment."--_Pall
+    Mall Gazette._
+
+
+LECTURES ON THE EARLY GREEK PHILOSOPHY,
+  AND OTHER PHILOSOPHIC REMAINS OF PROFESSOR FERRIER OF ST ANDREWS.
+  Edited by SIR ALEX. GRANT and PROFESSOR LUSHINGTON. 2 vols. post 8vo,
+  24s.
+
+    "These Lectures, in so far as they treat of Greek philosophy down
+    to Plato, have been carefully elaborated, and are of much value--of
+    higher value, indeed, than any writings on the same subject in the
+    English language; and in point of clearness, depth, and resolute
+    search after truth, and tenacious hold of it when found, we doubt
+    if they are surpassed in any language.... For our part, we do not
+    know any philosophical writings so fascinating to a young student
+    of philosophy as these early pages."--_Scotsman._
+
+
+THE WORKS OF SIR WILLIAM HAMILTON, BART.,
+  Professor of Logic and Metaphysics in the University of Edinburgh.
+
+  LECTURES ON METAPHYSICS. Edited by the REV. H. L. MANSEL, B.D. LL.D.,
+  Waynflete Professor of Moral and Metaphysical Philosophy, Oxford; and
+  JOHN VEITCH, M.A., Professor of Logic and Rhetoric in the University
+  of Glasgow. Third Edition. 2 vols. 8vo, 24s.
+
+  LECTURES ON LOGIC. Edited by the Same. Second Edition. 2 vols. 8vo,
+  24s.
+
+  DISCUSSIONS ON PHILOSOPHY AND LITERATURE, EDUCATION AND UNIVERSITY
+  REFORM. Third Edition. 8vo, price 21s.
+
+
+Completion of Mr Worsley's Translation of the Iliad.
+
+THE ILIAD OF HOMER.
+  Books XIII. to XXIV. Translated into English Verse in the Spenserian
+  Stanza. By JOHN CONINGTON, M.A., Corpus Professor of Latin in the
+  University of Oxford. Price 10s. 6d.
+
+  The work is now complete, viz.--
+
+  THE ODYSSEY. By MR WORSLEY. 2 vols., 18s.
+
+  THE ILIAD. By MR WORSLEY and Professor CONINGTON. 2 vols., 21s.
+
+
+FAUST: A DRAMATIC POEM.
+  By GOETHE. Translated into English Verse by THEODORE MARTIN. Second
+  Edition, post 8vo, price 6s.
+
+    "The best translation of 'Faust' in verse we have yet had in
+    England."--_Spectator._
+
+    "Mr Theodore Martin's translation is unquestionably the best in the
+    language, and will give to English readers a fair idea of the
+    greatest of modern poems."--_Press._
+
+
+ESSAYS ON SOCIAL SUBJECTS.
+  Originally published in the 'Saturday Review.' First and Second
+  Series. A New Edition. Post 8vo, 12s.
+
+    "Two remarkable volumes of occasional papers, 'Essays on Social
+    Subjects, contributed to the Saturday Review' (Blackwood), are
+    far above the average of such miscellanies. They are the production
+    of a keen and kindly observer of men and manners, and they display
+    a subtle analysis of character, as well as a breadth of
+    observation, which are remarkable. With much of occasional force,
+    these Essays have sufficient solidity to make a book; and while
+    they recall the wit of Montaigne and the playfulness of Addison,
+    they are animated by a better moral tone, and cover a large range
+    of experience."--_Christian Remembrancer._
+
+
+
+
+CATALOGUE OF MESSRS BLACKWOOD AND SONS' PUBLICATIONS.
+
+
+_HISTORY OF EUROPE_,
+  From the Commencement of the French Revolution in 1789 to the Battle
+  of Waterloo. By Sir ARCHIBALD ALISON, Bart., D.C.L.
+
+  A New Library Edition (being the Tenth), in 14 vols. demy 8vo, with
+  Portraits, and a copious Index, L10, 10s.
+
+  Another Edition, in crown 8vo, 20 vols., L6.
+
+  A People's Edition, 12 vols., closely printed in double columns, L2,
+  8s., and Index Volume, 3s.
+
+    "An extraordinary work, which has earned for itself a lasting place
+    in the literature of the country, and within a few years found
+    innumerable readers in every part of the globe. There is no book
+    extant that treats so well of the period to the illustration of
+    which Mr Alison's labours have been devoted. It exhibits great
+    knowledge, patient research, indefatigable industry, and vast
+    power."--_Times, Sept. 7, 1850._
+
+
+_CONTINUATION OF ALISON'S HISTORY OF EUROPE_,
+  From the Fall of Napoleon to the Accession of Louis Napoleon. By Sir
+  ARCHIBALD ALISON, Bart., D.C.L. In 9 vols., L6, 7s. 6d. Uniform with
+  the Library Edition of the previous work.
+
+  A People's Edition, in 8 vols., closely printed in double columns,
+  L1, 14s.
+
+
+_EPITOME OF ALISON'S HISTORY OF EUROPE._
+  For the Use of Schools and Young Persons. Fifteenth Edition, 7s. 6d.,
+  bound.
+
+
+_ATLAS TO ALISON'S HISTORY OF EUROPE_;
+  Containing 109 Maps and Plans of Countries, Battles, Sieges, and
+  Sea-Fights. Constructed by A. Keith Johnston, F.R.S.E. With
+  Vocabulary of Military and Marine Terms. Demy 4to. Library Edition,
+  L3, 3s.; People's Edition, crown 4to, L1, 11s. 6d.
+
+
+_LIVES OF LORD CASTLEREAGH AND SIR CHARLES STEWART_,
+  Second and Third Marquesses of Londonderry. From the Original Papers
+  of the Family, and other sources. By SIR ARCHIBALD ALISON, Bart.,
+  D.C.L. In 3 vols. 8vo, L2, 5s.
+
+
+_ANNALS OF THE PENINSULAR CAMPAIGNS._
+  By CAPT. THOMAS HAMILTON. A New Edition. Edited by F. HARDMAN, Esq.
+  8vo, 16s.; and Atlas of Maps to illustrate the Campaigns, 12s.
+
+
+_A VISIT TO FLANDERS AND THE FIELD OF WATERLOO._
+  By JAMES SIMPSON, Advocate. A Revised Edition. With Two Coloured
+  Plans of the Battle. Crown 8vo, 5s.
+
+
+_WELLINGTON'S CAREER_:
+  A Military and Political Summary. By LIEUT.-COL. E. BRUCE HAMLEY,
+  Professor of Military History and Art at the Staff College. Crown
+  8vo, 2s.
+
+
+_THE STORY OF THE CAMPAIGN OF SEBASTOPOL._
+  Written in the Camp. By LIEUT.-COL. E. BRUCE HAMLEY. With
+  Illustrations drawn in Camp by the Author. 8vo, 21s.
+
+    "We strongly recommend this 'Story of the Campaign' to all who
+    would gain a just comprehension of this tremendous struggle. Of
+    this we are perfectly sure, it is a book unlikely to be ever
+    superseded. Its truth is of that simple and startling character
+    which is sure of an immortal existence; nor is it paying the
+    gallant author too high a complement to class this masterpiece of
+    military history with the most precious of those classic records
+    which have been bequeathed to us by the great writers of antiquity
+    who took part in the wars they have described."--_The Press._
+
+
+_THE INVASION OF THE CRIMEA_:
+  Its Origin, and Account of its Progress down to the Death of Lord
+  Raglan. By ALEXANDER WILLIAM KINGLAKE, M.P. Vols. I. and II.,
+  bringing the Events down to the Close of the Battle of the Alma.
+  Fourth Edition. Price 32s.
+
+
+_TEN YEARS OF IMPERIALISM IN FRANCE._
+  Impressions of a "Flaneur." Second Edition. In 8vo, price 9s.
+
+    "There has not been published for many a day a more remarkable book
+    on France than this, which professes to be the impressions of a
+    Flaneur.... It has all the liveliness and sparkle of a work written
+    only for amusement; it has all the solidity and weight of a State
+    paper; and we expect for it not a little political influence as a
+    fair, full, and masterly statement of the Imperial policy--the
+    first and only good account that has been given to Europe of the
+    Napoleonic system now in force."--_Times._
+
+
+_FLEETS AND NAVIES._
+  By CAPTAIN CHARLES HAMLEY, R.M. Originally published in 'Blackwood's
+  Magazine.' Crown 8vo, 6s.
+
+
+_HISTORY OF GREECE UNDER FOREIGN DOMINATION._
+  By GEORGE FINLAY, LL.D., Athens--viz.:
+
+  Greece under the Romans, B.C. 146 to A.D. 717. A Historical View of
+  the Condition of the Greek Nation from its Conquest by the Romans
+  until the Extinction of the Roman Power in the East. Second Edition,
+  16s.
+
+  History of the Byzantine Empire, A.D. 716 to 1204; and of the Greek
+  Empire of Nicaea and Constantinople, A.D. 1204 to 1453. 2 vols., L1,
+  7s. 6d.
+
+  Medieval Greece and Trebizond. The History of Greece, from its
+  Conquest by the Crusaders to its Conquest by the Turks, A.D. 1204 to
+  1566; and the History of the Empire of Trebizond, A.D. 1204 to 1461.
+  12s.
+
+  Greece under Othoman and Venetian Domination. A.D. 1453 to 1821. 10s.
+  6d.
+
+  History of the Greek Revolution.  2 vols. 8vo, L1, 4s.
+
+    "His book is worthy to take its place among the remarkable works on
+    Greek history, which form one of the chief glories of English
+    scholarship. The history of Greece is but half told without
+    it."--_London Guardian._
+
+
+_THE NATIONAL CHARACTER OF THE ATHENIANS._
+  By JOHN BROWN PATTERSON. Edited from the Author's revision, by
+  Professor PILLANS, of the University of Edinburgh. With a Sketch of
+  his Life. Crown 8vo, 4s. 6d.
+
+
+_STUDIES IN ROMAN LAW._
+  With Comparative Views of the Laws of France, England, and Scotland.
+  By LORD MACKENZIE, one of the Judges of the Court of Session in
+  Scotland. 8vo, 12s. Second Edition.
+
+    "We know not in the English language where else to look for a
+    history of the Roman law so clear, and, at the same time, so
+    short.... More improving reading, both for the general student and
+    for the lawyer, we cannot well imagine; and there are few, even
+    among learned professional men, who will not gather some novel
+    information from Lord Mackenzie's simple pages."--_London Review._
+
+
+_THE EIGHTEEN CHRISTIAN CENTURIES._
+  By the REV. JAMES WHITE. Fourth Edition, with an Analytical Table of
+  Contents, and a Copious Index. Post 8vo, 6s.
+
+
+_THE MONKS OF THE WEST_,
+  From St Benedict to St Bernard. By the COUNT DE MONTALEMBERT.
+  Authorised Translation. 5 vols. 8vo, L2 12s. 6d.
+
+
+_HISTORY OF FRANCE_,
+  From the Earliest Period to the Year 1848. By the REV. JAMES WHITE,
+  Author of 'The Eighteen Christian Centuries.' School Edition. Post
+  8vo, 6s.
+
+    "An excellent and comprehensive compendium of French history, quite
+    above the standard of a school-book, and particularly well adapted
+    for the libraries of literary institutions."--_National Review._
+
+
+_LEADERS OF THE REFORMATION_:
+  Luther, Calvin, Latimer, and Knox. By the REV. JOHN TULLOCH, D.D.,
+  Principal, and Primarius Professor of Theology, St Mary's College, St
+  Andrews. Second Edition, crown 8vo, 6s. 6d.
+
+
+_ENGLISH PURITANISM AND ITS LEADERS_:
+  Cromwell, Milton, Baxter, and Bunyan. By the REV. JOHN TULLOCH, D.D.
+  Uniform with the 'Leaders of the Reformation.' 7s. 6d.
+
+
+_HISTORY OF THE FRENCH PROTESTANT REFUGEES._
+  By CHARLES WEISS, Professor of History at the Lycee Buonaparte.
+  Translated by F. HARDMAN, Esq. 8vo, 14s.
+
+
+_HISTORY OF THE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND_,
+  From the Reformation to the Revolution Settlement. By the Very REV.
+  JOHN LEE, D.D., LL.D., Principal of the University of Edinburgh.
+  Edited by the Rev. WILLIAM LEE. 2 vols. 8vo, 21s.
+
+
+_HISTORY OF SCOTLAND FROM THE REVOLUTION_,
+  To the Extinction of the last Jacobite Insurrection, 1689-1748. By
+  JOHN HILL BURTON, Esq., Advocate. 2 vols. 8vo, reduced to 15s.
+
+
+_LIVES OF THE QUEENS OF SCOTLAND_,
+  And English Princesses connected with the Regal Succession of Great
+  Britain. By AGNES STRICKLAND. With Portraits and Historical
+  Vignettes. Post 8vo, L4, 4s.
+
+    "Every step in Scotland is historical; the shades of the dead arise
+    on every side; the very rocks breathe. Miss Strickland's talents as
+    a writer, and turn of mind as an individual, in a peculiar manner
+    fit her for painting a historical gallery of the most illustrious
+    or dignified female characters in that land of chivalry and
+    song."--_Blackwood's Magazine._
+
+
+_MEMORIALS OF THE CASTLE OF EDINBURGH._
+  By JAMES GRANT, Esq. A New Edition. In crown 8vo, with 12 Engravings,
+  3s. 6d.
+
+
+_MEMOIRS OF SIR WILLIAM KIRKALDY OF GRANGE_,
+  Governor of the Castle of Edinburgh for Mary Queen of Scots. By JAMES
+  GRANT, Esq. Post 8vo, 10s. 6d.
+
+
+_MEMOIRS OF SIR JOHN HEPBURN_,
+  Marshal of France under Louis XIII., &c. By JAMES GRANT, Esq. Post
+  8vo, 8s.
+
+
+_WORKS OF THE REV. THOMAS M'CRIE, D.D._
+  A New and Uniform Edition. Edited by Professor M'CRIE. 4 vols, crown
+  8vo, 24s. Sold separately--viz.:
+
+  Life of John Knox. Containing Illustrations of the History of the
+  Reformation in Scotland. Crown 8vo, 6s.
+
+  Life of Andrew Melville. Containing Illustrations of the
+  Ecclesiastical and Literary History of Scotland in the Sixteenth and
+  Seventeenth Centuries. Crown 8vo, 6s.
+
+  History of the Progress and Suppression of the Reformation in Italy
+  in the Sixteenth Century. Crown 8vo, 4s.
+
+  History of the Progress and Suppression of the Reformation in Spain
+  in the Sixteenth Century. Crown 8vo, 3s. 6d.
+
+
+_THE BOSCOBEL TRACTS_;
+  Relating to the Escape of Charles the Second after the Battle of
+  Worcester, and his subsequent Adventures. Edited by J. HUGHES, Esq.,
+  A.M. A New Edition, with additional Notes and Illustrations,
+  including Communications from the Rev. R. H. BARHAM, Author of the
+  'Ingoldsby Legends.' In 8vo, with Engravings, 16s.
+
+    "'The Boscobel Tracts' is a very curious book, and about as good an
+    example of single subject historical collections as may be found.
+    Originally undertaken, or at least completed, at the suggestion of
+    the late Bishop Copplestone, in 1827, it was carried out with a
+    degree of judgment and taste not always found in works of a similar
+    character."--_Spectator._
+
+
+_LIFE OF JOHN DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH._
+  With some Account of his Contemporaries, and of the War of the
+  Succession. By SIR ARCHIBALD ALISON, Bart., D.C.L. Third Edition. 2
+  vols. 8vo, Portraits and Maps, 30s.
+
+
+_THE NEW 'EXAMEN'_;
+  Or, An Inquiry into the Evidence of certain Passages in 'Macaulay's
+  History of England' concerning--THE DUKE OF MARLBOROUGH--THE MASSACRE
+  OF GLENCOE--THE HIGHLANDS OF SCOTLAND--VISCOUNT DUNDEE--WILLIAM PENN.
+  By JOHN PAGET, Esq., Barrister-at-Law. In crown 8vo, 6s.
+
+    "We certainly never saw a more damaging exposure, and it is
+    something worth notice that much of it appeared in 'Blackwood's
+    Magazine' during the lifetime of Lord Macaulay, but he never
+    attempted to make any reply. The charges are so direct, and urged
+    in such unmistakable language, that no writer who valued his
+    character for either accuracy of fact or fairness in comment would
+    let them remain unanswered if he had any reason to
+    give."--_Gentleman's Magazine._
+
+
+_AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF THE REV. DR CARLYLE_,
+  Minister of Inveresk. Containing Memorials of the Men and Events of
+  his Time. Edited by JOHN HILL BURTON. In 8vo. Third Edition, with
+  Portrait, 14s.
+
+    "This book contains by far the most vivid picture of Scottish life
+    and manners that has been given to the public since the days of Sir
+    Walter Scott. In bestowing upon it this high praise, we make no
+    exception, not even in favour of Lord Cockburn's 'Memorials'--the
+    book which resembles it most, and which ranks next to it in
+    interest."--_Edinburgh Review._
+
+
+_MEMOIR OF THE POLITICAL LIFE OF EDMUND BURKE._
+  With Extracts from his Writings. By the REV. GEORGE CROLY, D.D. 2
+  vols. post 8vo, 18s.
+
+
+_CURRAN AND HIS CONTEMPORARIES._
+  By CHARLES PHILLIPS, Esq., A.B. A New Edition. Crown 8vo, 7s. 6d.
+
+    "Certainly one of the most extraordinary pieces of biography ever
+    produced.... No library should be without it."--_Lord Brougham._
+
+    "Never, perhaps, was there a more curious collection of portraits
+    crowded before into the same canvass."--_Times._
+
+
+_MEMOIR OF MRS HEMANS._
+  By her SISTER. With a Portrait. Fcap. 8vo, 5s.
+
+
+_LIFE OF THE LATE REV. JAMES ROBERTSON, D.D., F.R.S.E._,
+  Professor of Divinity and Ecclesiastical History in the University of
+  Edinburgh. By the REV. A. H. CHARTERIS, M.A., Minister of Newabbey.
+  With a Portrait. 8vo, price 10s. 6d.
+
+
+_ESSAYS; HISTORICAL, POLITICAL, AND MISCELLANEOUS._
+  By SIR ARCHIBALD ALISON, Bart. 3 vols. demy 8vo, 45s.
+
+
+_ESSAYS IN HISTORY AND ART._
+  By R. H. PATTERSON. Viz.:
+
+  COLOUR IN NATURE AND ART--REAL AND IDEAL BEAUTY--SCULPTURE--ETHNOLOGY
+  OF EUROPE--UTOPIAS--OUR INDIAN EMPIRE--THE NATIONAL LIFE OF CHINA--AN
+  IDEAL ART-CONGRESS--BATTLE OF THE STYLES--GENIUS AND LIBERTY--YOUTH
+  AND SUMMER--RECORDS OF THE PAST: NINEVEH AND BABYLON--INDIA: ITS
+  CASTES AND CREEDS--"CHRISTOPHER NORTH:" IN MEMORIAM. In 1 vol. 8vo,
+  12s.
+
+
+_NORMAN SINCLAIR._
+  By W. E. AYTOUN, D.C.L., Author of 'Lays of the Scottish Cavaliers,'
+  &c. &c. In 3 vols. post 8vo, 31s. 6d.
+
+
+_THE OLD BACHELOR IN THE OLD SCOTTISH VILLAGE._
+  By THOMAS AIRD. Fcap. 8vo, 4s.
+
+
+_SIR EDWARD BULWER LYTTON'S NOVELS._
+  Library Edition. Printed from a large and readable type. In Volumes
+  of a convenient and handsome form. 8vo, 5s. each--viz.:
+
+  THE CAXTON NOVELS, 10 Volumes:
+
+  The Caxton Family. 2 vols.
+  My Novel. 4 vols.
+  What will he do with it? 4 vols.
+
+  HISTORICAL ROMANCES, 11 Volumes:
+
+  Devereux. 2 vols.
+  The Last Days of Pompeii. 2 vols.
+  Rienzi. 2 vols.
+  The Siege of Grenada. 1 vol.
+  The Last of the Barons. 2 vols.
+  Harold. 2 vols.
+
+  ROMANCES, 5 Volumes:
+
+  The Pilgrims of the Rhine. 1 vol.
+  Eugene Aram. 2 vols.
+  Zanoni. 2 vols.
+
+  NOVELS OF LIFE AND MANNERS, 15 Volumes:
+
+  Pelham. 2 vols.
+  The Disowned. 2 vols.
+  Paul Clifford. 2 vols.
+  Godolphin. 1 vol.
+  Ernest Maltravers--First Part. 2 vols.
+  Ernest Maltravers--Second Part (_i.e._ Alice.) 2 vols.
+  Night and Morning. 2 vols.
+Lucretia. 2 vols.
+
+    "It is of the handiest of sizes; the paper is good; and the type,
+    which seems to be new, is very clear and beautiful. There are no
+    pictures. The whole charm of the presentment of the volume consists
+    in its handiness, and the tempting clearness and beauty of the
+    type, which almost converts into a pleasure the mere act of
+    following the printer's lines, and leaves the author's mind free to
+    exert its unobstructed force upon the reader."--_Examiner._
+
+    "Nothing could be better as to size, type, paper, and general
+    get-up."--_Athenaeum._
+
+
+_JESSIE CAMERON: A HIGHLAND STORY._
+  By the LADY RACHEL BUTLER. Second Edition. Small 8vo, with a
+  Frontispiece, 2s. 6d.
+
+
+_SOME PASSAGES IN THE LIFE OF ADAM BLAIR_,
+  And History of Matthew Wald. By the Author of 'Valerius.' Fcap. 8vo,
+  4s. cloth.
+
+
+_CAPTAIN CLUTTERBUCK'S CHAMPAGNE_:
+  A West Indian Reminiscence. Post 8vo, 12s.
+
+
+_SCENES OF CLERICAL LIFE._
+  The Sad Fortunes of Amos Barton--Mr Gilfil's Love-Story--Janet's
+  Repentance. By GEORGE ELIOT. 2 vols. fcap. 8vo, 12s.
+
+
+_ADAM BEDE._
+  By GEORGE ELIOT. 2 vols. fcap. 8vo, 12s.
+
+
+_THE MILL ON THE FLOSS._
+  By GEORGE ELIOT. 2 vols. fcap. 8vo, 12s.
+
+
+_SILAS MARNER: THE WEAVER OF RAVELOE._
+  By GEORGE ELIOT. Fcap. 8vo, 6s.
+
+
+_THE NOVELS OF GEORGE ELIOT._
+  Cheap Edition, complete in 3 vols., price 6s. each--viz.:
+
+  Adam Bede.
+  The Mill on the Floss.
+  Scenes of Clerical Life, and Silas Marner.
+
+
+_VALERIUS: A ROMAN STORY._
+  Fcap. 8vo, 3s. cloth.
+
+
+_THE DIARY OF A LATE PHYSICIAN._
+  By SAMUEL WARREN, D.C.L. 1 vol. crown 8vo, 5s. 6d.
+
+
+_TEN THOUSAND A-YEAR._
+  By SAMUEL WARREN, D.C.L. 2 vols. crown 8vo, 9s.
+
+
+_NOW AND THEN._
+  By SAMUEL WARREN, D.C.L. Crown 8vo, 2s. 6d.
+
+
+_THE LILY AND THE BEE._
+  By SAMUEL WARREN, D.C.L. Crown 8vo, 2s.
+
+
+_MISCELLANIES._
+  By SAMUEL WARREN, D.C.L. Crown 8vo, 5s.
+
+
+_WORKS OF SAMUEL WARREN, D.C.L._
+  Uniform Edition. 5 vols. crown 8vo, 24s.
+
+
+_WORKS OF PROFESSOR WILSON._
+  Edited by his Son-in-law, Professor FERRIER. In 12 vols.
+  Crown 8vo, L2, 8s. Illustrated with Portraits on Steel.
+
+
+_RECREATIONS OF CHRISTOPHER NORTH._
+  By Professor WILSON. In 2 vols. crown 8vo, 8s.
+
+
+_THE NOCTES AMBROSIANAE._
+  By Professor WILSON. With Notes and a Glossary. In 4 vols. crown 8vo,
+  16s.
+
+
+_LIGHTS AND SHADOWS OF SCOTTISH LIFE._
+  By Professor WILSON. Fcap. 8vo, 3s. cloth.
+
+
+_THE TRIALS OF MARGARET LYNDSAY._
+  By Professor WILSON. Fcap. 8vo, 3s. cloth.
+
+
+_THE FORESTERS._
+  By Professor WILSON. Fcap. 8vo, 3s. cloth.
+
+
+_TALES._
+  By Professor WILSON. Comprising 'The Lights and Shadows of Scottish
+  Life;' 'The Trials of Margaret Lyndsay;' and 'The Foresters.' In 1
+  vol. crown 8vo, 4s. cloth.
+
+
+_ESSAYS, CRITICAL AND IMAGINATIVE._
+  By Professor WILSON. 4 vols. crown 8vo, 16s.
+
+
+_TONY BUTLER._
+5482
+
+_THE BOOK-HUNTER, ETC._
+  By JOHN HILL BURTON. New Edition. In crown 8vo, 7s. 6d.
+
+    "A book pleasant to look at and pleasant to read--pleasant from its
+    rich store of anecdote, its geniality, and its humour, even to
+    persons who care little for the subjects of which it treats, but
+    beyond measure delightful to those who are in any degree members of
+    the above-mentioned fraternity."--_Saturday Review._
+
+    "We have not been more amused for a long time: and every reader who
+    takes interest in typography and its consequences will say the
+    same, if he will begin to read; beginning, he will finish, and be
+    sorry when it is over."--_Athenaeum._
+
+    "Mr Burton has now given us a pleasant book, full of quaint
+    anecdote, and of a lively bookish talk. There is a quiet humour in
+    it which is very taking, and there is a curious knowledge of books
+    which is really very sound."--_Examiner._
+
+
+_HOMER AND HIS TRANSLATORS_,
+  And the Greek Drama. By Professor WILSON. Crown 8vo, 6s.
+
+    "But of all the criticisms on Homer which I have ever had the good
+    fortune to read, in our own or any language, the most vivid and
+    entirely genial are those found in the 'Essays, Critical and
+    Imaginative,' of the late Professor Wilson."--_Mr Gladstone's
+    Studies on Homer._
+
+
+_THE SKETCHER._
+  By the REV. JOHN EAGLES. Originally published in 'Blackwood's
+  Magazine.' 8vo, 10s. 6d.
+
+    "This volume, called by the appropriate name of 'The Sketcher,' is
+    one that ought to be found in the studio of every English
+    landscape-painter.... More instructive and suggestive readings for
+    young artists, especially landscape-painters, can scarcely be
+    found."--_The Globe._
+
+
+_ESSAYS._
+  By the REV. JOHN EAGLES, A.M. Oxon. Originally published in
+  'Blackwood's Magazine.' Post 8vo, 10s. 6d.
+
+  CONTENTS:--Church Music, and other Parochials.--Medical Attendance,
+  and other Parochials.--A few Hours at Hampton Court.--Grandfathers
+  and Grandchildren.--Sitting for a Portrait.--Are there not Great
+  Boasters among us?--Temperance and Teetotal Societies.--Thackeray's
+  Lectures: Swift.--The Crystal Palace.--Civilisation: The Census.--The
+  Beggar's Legacy.
+
+
+_ESSAYS; HISTORICAL, POLITICAL, AND MISCELLANEOUS._
+  By SIR ARCHIBALD ALISON, Bart., D.C.L. Three vols., demy 8vo, 45s.
+
+
+_LECTURES ON THE POETICAL LITERATURE OF THE PAST HALF-CENTURY._
+  By D. M. MOIR. Third Edition. Fcap. 8vo, 5s.
+
+    "Exquisite in its taste and generous in its criticisms."--_Hugh
+    Miller._
+
+
+_LECTURES ON THE HISTORY OF LITERATURE_,
+  Ancient and Modern. From the German of F. SCHLEGEL. Fcap., 5s.
+
+    "A wonderful performance--better than anything we as yet have in
+    our own language."--_Quarterly Review._
+
+
+_THE GENIUS OF HANDEL_,
+  And the distinctive Character of his Sacred Compositions. Two
+  Lectures. Delivered to the Members of the Edinburgh Philosophical
+  Institution. By the VERY REV. DEAN RAMSAY, Author of 'Reminiscences
+  of Scottish Life and Character.' In crown 8vo, 3s. 6d.
+
+
+_BLACKWOOD'S MAGAZINE_,
+  From Commencement in 1817 to December 1861. Numbers 1 to 554, forming
+  90 Volumes. L31, 10s.
+
+
+_INDEX TO THE FIRST FIFTY VOLUMES OF BLACKWOOD'S MAGAZINE._
+  8vo, 15s.
+
+
+_LAYS OF THE SCOTTISH CAVALIERS_,
+  And other Poems. By W. EDMONDSTOUNE AYTOUN, D.C.L., Professor of
+  Rhetoric and English Literature in the University of Edinburgh.
+  Twentieth Edition. Fcap. 8vo, 7s. 6d.
+
+    "Professor Aytoun's 'Lays of the Scottish Cavaliers'--a volume of
+    verse which shows that Scotland has yet a poet. Full of the true
+    fire, it now stirs and swells like a trumpet-note--now sinks in
+    cadences sad and wild as the wail of a Highland
+    dirge."--_Quarterly Review._
+
+
+_BOTHWELL: A POEM._
+  By W. EDMONDSTOUNE AYTOUN, D.C.L. Third Edition. Fcap. 8vo, 7s. 6d.
+
+    "Professor Aytoun has produced a fine poem and an able argument,
+    and 'Bothwell' will assuredly take its stand among the classics of
+    Scottish literature."--_The Press._
+
+
+_THE BALLADS OF SCOTLAND._
+  Edited by Professor AYTOUN. Third Edition. 2 vols. fcap. 8vo, 12s.
+
+    "No country can boast of a richer collection of Ballads than
+    Scotland, and no Editor for these Ballads could be found more
+    accomplished than Professor Aytoun. He has sent forth two beautiful
+    volumes which range with 'Percy's Reliques'--which, for
+    completeness and accuracy, leave little to be desired--which must
+    henceforth be considered as the standard edition of the Scottish
+    Ballads, and which we commend as a model to any among ourselves who
+    may think of doing like service to the English
+    Ballads."--_Times._
+
+
+_POEMS AND BALLADS OF GOETHE._
+  Translated by Professor AYTOUN and THEODORE MARTIN. Second Edition.
+  Fcap. 8vo, 6s.
+
+    "There is no doubt that these are the best translations of Goethe's
+    marvellously-cut gems which have yet been published."--_Times._
+
+
+_THE BOOK OF BALLADS._
+  Edited by BON GAULTIER. Tenth Edition, with numerous Illustrations by
+  DOYLE, LEECH, and CROWQUILL. Gilt edges, post 8vo, 8s. 6d.
+
+
+_FIRMILIAN; OR, THE STUDENT OF BADAJOS._
+  A Spasmodic Tragedy. By T. PERCY JONES. In small 8vo, 5s.
+
+    "Humour of a kind most rare at all times, and especially in the
+    present day, runs through every page, and passages of true poetry
+    and delicious versification prevent the continual play of sarcasm
+    from becoming tedious."--_Literary Gazette._
+
+
+_POETICAL WORKS OF THOMAS AIRD._
+  Fourth Edition. In 1 vol. fcap. 8vo, 6s.
+
+
+_POEMS._
+  By the LADY FLORA HASTINGS. Edited by her SISTER. Second Edition,
+  with a Portrait. Fcap., 7s. 6d.
+
+
+_THE POEMS OF FELICIA HEMANS._
+  Complete in 1 vol. royal 8vo, with Portrait by FINDEN. Cheap Edition,
+  12s. 6d. _Another Edition_, with MEMOIR by her SISTER. Seven vols.
+  fcap., 35s. _Another Edition_, Six vols. bound in Three, cloth, 12s.
+  6d.
+
+  The following Works of Mrs. HEMANS are sold separately, bound in
+  cloth, gilt edges, 4s. each:--
+
+  RECORDS OF WOMAN. FOREST SANCTUARY. SONGS OF THE AFFECTIONS. DRAMATIC
+  WORKS. TALES AND HISTORIC SCENES. MORAL AND RELIGIOUS POEMS.
+
+
+_THE ODYSSEY AND ILIAD OF HOMER._
+  Translated into English Verse in the Spenserian Stanza. By PHILIP
+  STANHOPE WORSLEY, M.A., and Professor CONINGTON. 4 vols., crown 8vo,
+  L1, 19s.
+
+    "Mr Worsley,--applying the Spenserian stanza, that beautiful
+    romantic measure, to the most romantic poem of the ancient
+    world--making the stanza yield him, too (what it never yielded to
+    Byron), its treasures of fluidity and sweet ease--above all,
+    bringing to his task a truly poetical sense and skill,--has
+    produced a version of the 'Odyssey' much the most pleasing of those
+    hitherto produced, and which is delightful to read."--_Professor
+    Arnold on Translating Homer._
+
+
+_POEMS AND TRANSLATIONS._
+  By PHILIP STANHOPE WORSLEY, M.A., Scholar of Corpus Christi College,
+  Oxford. Fcap. 8vo, 5s.
+
+
+_POEMS._
+  By ISA. In small 8vo, 4s. 6d.
+
+
+_POETICAL WORKS OF D. M. MOIR._
+  With Portrait, and Memoir by THOMAS AIRD. Second Edition. 2 vols.
+  fcap. 8vo, 12s.
+
+
+_LECTURES ON THE POETICAL LITERATURE OF THE PAST HALF-CENTURY._
+  By D. M. MOIR ([Greek: D]). Second Edition. Fcap. 8vo, 5s.
+
+    "A delightful volume."--_Morning Chronicle._
+
+    "Exquisite in its taste and generous in its criticisms."--_Hugh
+    Miller._
+
+
+_THE COURSE OF TIME: A POEM._
+  By ROBERT POLLOK, A.M. Twenty-fifth Edition. Fcap. 8vo, 3s. 6d.
+
+    "Of deep and hallowed impress, full of noble thoughts and graphic
+    conceptions--the production of a mind alive to the great relations
+    of being, and the sublime simplicity of our
+    religion."--_Blackwood's Magazine._
+
+
+_AN ILLUSTRATED EDITION OF THE COURSE OF TIME._
+  In large 8vo, bound in cloth, richly gilt, 21s.
+
+    "There has been no modern poem in the English language, of the
+    class to which the 'Course of Time' belongs, since Milton wrote,
+    that can be compared to it. In the present instance the artistic
+    talents of Messrs FOSTER, CLAYTON, TENNIEL, EVANS, DALZIEL, GREEN,
+    and WOODS, have been employed in giving expression to the sublimity
+    of the language, by equally exquisite illustrations, all of which
+    are of the highest class."--_Bell's Messenger._
+
+
+_POEMS AND BALLADS OF SCHILLER._
+  Translated by Sir EDWARD BULWER LYTTON, Bart. Second Edition. 8vo,
+  10s. 6d.
+
+
+_ST STEPHEN'S_;
+  Or, Illustrations of Parliamentary Oratory. A Poem. _Comprising_.
+  Pym. Vane. Strafford. Halifax. Shaftesbury. St John. Sir R. Walpole.
+  Chesterfield. Carteret. Chatham. Pitt. Fox. Burke. Sheridan.
+  Wilberforce. Wyndham. Conway. Castlereagh. William Lamb (Lord
+  Melbourne). Tierney. Lord Grey. O'Connell. Plunkett. Shiel. Follett.
+  Macaulay. Peel. Second Edition. Crown 8vo, 5s.
+
+
+_LEGENDS, LYRICS, AND OTHER POEMS._
+  By B. SIMMONS. Fcap., 7s. 6d.
+
+
+_SIR WILLIAM CRICHTON--ATHELWOLD--GUIDONE_:
+  Dramas by WILLIAM SMITH, Author of 'Thorndale,' &c. 32mo, 2s. 6d.
+
+
+_THE BIRTHDAY, AND OTHER POEMS._
+  By MRS SOUTHEY. Second Edition, 5s.
+
+
+_ILLUSTRATIONS OF THE LYRIC POETRY AND MUSIC OF SCOTLAND._
+  By WILLIAM STENHOUSE. Originally compiled to accompany the 'Scots
+  Musical Museum,' and now published separately, with Additional Notes
+  and Illustrations. 8vo, 7s. 6d.
+
+
+_PROFESSOR WILSON'S POEMS._
+  Containing the 'Isle of Palms,' the 'City of the Plague,' 'Unimore,'
+  and other Poems. Complete Edition. Crown 8vo, 4s.
+
+
+_POEMS AND SONGS._
+  By DAVID WINGATE. Second Edition. Fcap. 8vo, 5s.
+
+    "We are delighted to welcome into the brotherhood of real
+    poets a countryman of Burns, and whose verse will go far to
+    render the rougher Border Scottish a classic dialect in our
+    literature."--_John Bull._
+
+
+_THE PHYSICAL ATLAS OF NATURAL PHENOMENA._
+  By ALEXANDER KEITH JOHNSTON, F.R.S.E., &c., Geographer to the Queen
+  for Scotland. A New and Enlarged Edition, consisting of 35 Folio
+  Plates, and 27 smaller ones, printed in Colours, with 135 pages of
+  Letterpress, and Index. Imperial folio, half-bound morocco, L8, 8s.
+
+    "A perfect treasure of compressed information."--_Sir John
+    Herschel._
+
+
+_THE PHYSICAL ATLAS._
+  By ALEXANDER KEITH JOHNSTON, F.R.S.E., &c. Reduced from the Imperial
+  Folio. This Edition contains Twenty-five Maps, including a
+  Palaeontological and Geological Map of the British Islands, with
+  Descriptive Letterpress, and a very copious Index. In imperial 4to,
+  half-hound morocco, L2, 12s. 6d.
+
+    "Executed with remarkable care, and is as accurate, and, for all
+    educational purposes, as valuable, as the splendid large work (by
+    the same author) which has now a European reputation."--_Eclectic
+    Review._
+
+
+_A GEOLOGICAL MAP OF EUROPE._
+  By SIR R. I. MURCHISON, D.C.L., F.R.S., &c., Director-General of the
+  Geological Survey of Great Britain and Ireland; and JAMES NICOL,
+  F.R.S.E., F.G.S., Professor of Natural History in the University of
+  Aberdeen. Constructed by ALEXANDER KEITH JOHNSTON, F.R.S.E., &c. Four
+  Sheets imperial, beautifully printed in Colours. In Sheets, L3, 3s.;
+  in a Cloth Case, 4to, L3, 10s.
+
+
+_GEOLOGICAL AND PALAEONTOLOGICAL MAP OF THE BRITISH ISLANDS_,
+  including Tables of the Fossils of the different Epochs, &c. &c.,
+  from the Sketches and Notes of Professor EDWARD FORBES. With
+  Illustrative and Explanatory Letterpress. 21s.
+
+
+_GEOLOGICAL MAP OF SCOTLAND._
+  By JAMES NICOL, F.R.S.E., &c., Professor of Natural History in the
+  University of Aberdeen. With Explanatory Notes. The Topography by
+  ALEXANDER KEITH JOHNSTON, F.R.S.E., &c. Scale, 10 miles to an inch.
+  In Cloth Case, 21s.
+
+
+_INTRODUCTORY TEXT-BOOK OF PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY._
+  By DAVID PAGE, F.R.S.E., &c. With Illustrations and a Glossarial
+  Index. Crown 8vo, 2s.
+
+
+_INTRODUCTORY TEXT-BOOK OF GEOLOGY._
+  By DAVID PAGE, F.R.S.E., F.G.S. With Engravings on Wood and
+  Glossarial Index. Seventh Edition, 2s.
+
+    "It has not often been our good fortune to examine a text-book on
+    science of which we could express an opinion so entirely favourable
+    as we are enabled to do of Mr Page's little work."--_Athenaeum._
+
+
+_ADVANCED TEXT-BOOK OF GEOLOGY_,
+  Descriptive and Industrial. By DAVID PAGE, F.R.S E., F.G.S. With
+  Engravings and Glossary of Scientific Terms. Fourth Edition, revised
+  and enlarged, 7s. 6d.
+
+    "It is therefore with unfeigned pleasure that we record our
+    appreciation of his 'Advanced Text-Book of Geology.' We have
+    carefully read this truly satisfactory book, and do not hesitate to
+    say that it is an excellent compendium of the great facts of
+    Geology, and written in a truthful and philosophic
+    spirit."--_Edinburgh Philosophical Journal._
+
+
+_HANDBOOK OF GEOLOGICAL TERMS, GEOLOGY, AND PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY._
+  By DAVID PAGE, F.R.S.E., F.G.S. Second Edition, crown 8vo, 7s. 6d.
+
+
+_THE PAST AND PRESENT LIFE OF THE GLOBE_:
+  Being a Sketch in Outline of the World's Life-System. By DAVID PAGE,
+  F.R.S.E., F.G.S. Crown 8vo, 6s. With Fifty Illustrations, drawn and
+  engraved expressly for this Work.
+
+    "Mr Page, whose admirable text-books of geology have already
+    secured him a position of importance in the scientific world, will
+    add considerably to his reputation by the present sketch, as he
+    modestly terms it, of the Life-System, or gradual evolution of the
+    vitality of our globe. In no manual that we are aware of have the
+    facts and phenomena of biology been presented in at once so
+    systematic and succinct a form, the successive manifestations of
+    life on the earth set forth in so clear an order, or traced so
+    vividly from the earliest organisms deep-buried in its stratified
+    crust, to the familiar forms that now adorn and people its
+    surface."--_Literary Gazette._
+
+
+_THE GEOLOGICAL EXAMINATOR_:
+  A Progressive Series of Questions adapted to the Introductory and
+  Advanced Text-Books of Geology. Prepared to assist Teachers in
+  framing their Examinations, and Students in testing their own
+  Progress and Proficiency. By DAVID PAGE, F.R.S.E., F.G.S. Third
+  Edition, 1s.
+
+
+_THE GEOLOGY OF PENNSYLVANIA_:
+  A Government Survey; with a General View of the Geology of the United
+  States, Essays on the Coal-Formation and its Fossils, and a
+  Description of the Coal-Fields of North America and Great Britain. By
+  Professor HENRY DARWIN ROGERS, F.R.S., F.G.S., Professor of Natural
+  History in the University of Glasgow. With Seven large Maps, and
+  numerous Illustrations engraved on Copper and on Wood. In 3 vols.
+  royal 4to, L8, 8s.
+
+
+_SEA-SIDE STUDIES AT ILFRACOMBE, TENBY, THE SCILLY ISLES, AND JERSEY._
+  By GEORGE HENRY LEWES. Second Edition. Crown 8vo, with Illustrations,
+  and a Glossary of Technical Terms, 6s. 6d.
+
+
+_PHYSIOLOGY OF COMMON LIFE._
+  By GEORGE HENRY LEWES, Author of 'Sea-side Studies,' &c. Illustrated
+  with numerous Engravings. 2 vols., 12s.
+
+
+_CHEMISTRY OF COMMON LIFE._
+  By Professor J. F. W. JOHNSTON. A New Edition. Edited by G. H. LEWES.
+  With 113 Illustrations on Wood, and a Copious Index. 2 vols. crown
+  8vo, 11s. 6d.
+
+
+_NOMENCLATURE OF COLOURS_,
+  Applicable to the Arts and Natural Sciences, to Manufactures, and
+  other Purposes of General Utility. By D. R. HAY, F.R.S.E. 228
+  Examples of Colours, Hues, Tints, and Shades. 8vo, L3, 3s.
+
+                    *      *      *      *      *
+
+_NARRATIVE OF THE EARL OF ELGIN'S MISSION TO CHINA AND JAPAN._
+  By LAURENCE OLIPHANT, Private Secretary to Lord Elgin. Illustrated
+  with numerous Engravings in Chromo-Lithography, Maps, and Engravings
+  on Wood, from Original Drawings and Photographs. Second Edition. In 2
+  vols. 8vo, 21s.
+
+    "The volumes in which Mr Oliphant has related these transactions
+    will be read with the strongest interest now, and deserve to retain
+    a permanent place in the literary and historical annals of our
+    time."--_Edinburgh Review._
+
+
+_RUSSIAN SHORES OF THE BLACK SEA_
+  In the Autumn of 1852. With a Voyage down the Volga and a Tour
+  through the Country of the Don Cossacks. By LAURENCE OLIPHANT,
+  Esq. 8vo, with Map and other Illustrations. Fourth Edition, 14s.
+
+
+_EGYPT, THE SOUDAN, AND CENTRAL AFRICA_:
+  With Explorations from Khartoum on the White Nile to the Regions of
+  the Equator. By JOHN PETHERICK, F.R.G.S., Her Britannic Majesty's
+  Consul for the Soudan. In 8vo, with a Map, 16s.
+
+
+_NOTES ON NORTH AMERICA_:
+  Agricultural, Economical, and Social. By Professor J. F. W. JOHNSTON.
+  2 vols. post 8vo, 21s.
+
+    "Professor Johnston's admirable Notes.... The very best manual for
+    intelligent emigrants, whilst to the British agriculturist and
+    general reader it conveys a more complete conception of the
+    condition of these prosperous regions than all that has hitherto
+    been written."--_Economist._
+
+
+_A FAMILY TOUR ROUND THE COASTS OF SPAIN AND PORTUGAL_
+  during the Winter of 1860-1861. By LADY DUNBAR, of Northfield. In
+  post 8vo, 5s.
+
+
+_THE ROYAL ATLAS OF MODERN GEOGRAPHY._
+  In a Series of entirely Original and Authentic Maps. By A. KEITH
+  JOHNSTON, F.R.S.E., F.R.G.S., Author of the 'Physical Atlas,' &c.
+  With a complete Index of easy reference to each Map, comprising
+  nearly 150,000 Places contained in this Atlas. Imperial folio,
+  half-bound in russia or morocco, L5, 15s. 6d. (Dedicated by
+  permission to Her Majesty.)
+
+    "No one can look through Mr Keith Johnston's new Atlas without
+    seeing that it is the best which has ever been published in this
+    country."--_The Times._
+
+    "Of the many noble atlases prepared by Mr Johnston and published by
+    Messrs Blackwood & Sons, this Royal Atlas will be the most useful
+    to the public, and will deserve to be the most
+    popular."--_Athenaeum._
+
+    "We know no series of maps which we can more warmly recommend. The
+    accuracy, wherever we have attempted to put it to the test, is
+    really astonishing."--_Saturday Review._
+
+    "The culmination of all attempts to depict the face of the world
+    appears in the Royal Atlas, than which it is impossible to conceive
+    anything more perfect."--_Morning Herald._
+
+    "This is, beyond question, the most splendid and luxurious, as well
+    as the most useful and complete, of all existing
+    atlases."--_Guardian._
+
+    "There has not, we believe, been produced for general public use a
+    body of maps equal in beauty and completeness to the Royal Atlas
+    just issued by Mr A. K. Johnston."--_Examiner._
+
+    "An almost daily reference to, and comparison of it with others,
+    since the publication of the first part some two years ago until
+    now, enables us to say, without the slightest hesitation, that this
+    is by far the most complete and authentic atlas that has yet been
+    issued."--_Scotsman._
+
+    "Beyond doubt the greatest geographical work of our
+    time."--_Museum._
+
+
+_INDEX GEOGRAPHICUS_:
+  Being an Index to nearly ONE HUNDRED AND FIFTY THOUSAND NAMES OF
+  PLACES, &c.; with their LATITUDES and LONGITUDES as given in KEITH
+  JOHNSTON'S 'ROYAL ATLAS;' together with the COUNTRIES and
+  SUBDIVISIONS OF THE COUNTRIES in which they are situated. In 1 vol.
+  large 8vo., 21s.
+
+
+_A NEW MAP OF EUROPE._
+  By A. KEITH JOHNSTON, F.R.S.E. Size, 4 feet 2 inches by 3 feet 5
+  inches. Cloth Case, 21s.
+
+
+_ATLAS OF SCOTLAND._
+  31 Maps of the Counties of Scotland, coloured. Bound in roan, price
+  10s. 6d. Each County may be had separately, in Cloth Case, 1s.
+
+
+_KEITH JOHNSTON'S SCHOOL ATLASES_:
+  GENERAL AND DESCRIPTIVE GEOGRAPHY, exhibiting the Actual and
+  Comparative Extent of all the Countries in the World, with their
+  present Political Divisions. A New and Enlarged Edition. With a
+  complete Index. 26 Maps. Half-bound, 12s. 6d.
+
+  PHYSICAL GEOGRAPHY, illustrating, in a Series of Original Designs,
+  the Elementary Facts of Geology, Hydrology, Meteorology, and Natural
+  History. A New and Enlarged Edition. 19 Maps, including coloured
+  Geological Maps of Europe and of the British Isles. Half-bound, 12s.
+  6d.
+
+  CLASSICAL GEOGRAPHY, comprising, in Twenty-three Plates, Maps and
+  Plans of all the important Countries and Localities referred to by
+  Classical Authors; accompanied by a pronouncing Index of Places, by
+  T. HARVEY, M.A. Oxon. A New and Revised Edition. Half-bound, 12s. 6d.
+
+  ASTRONOMY. Edited by J. R. HIND, Esq., F.R.A.S., &c. Notes and
+  Descriptive Letterpress to each Plate, embodying all recent
+  Discoveries in Astronomy. 18 Maps. Half-bound, 12s. 6d.
+
+  ELEMENTARY SCHOOL ATLAS OF GENERAL AND DESCRIPTIVE GEOGRAPHY for the
+  Use of Junior Classes. A New and Cheaper Edition. 20 Maps, including
+  a Map of Canaan and Palestine. Half-bound, 5s.
+
+    "They are as superior to all School Atlases within our knowledge,
+    as were the larger works of the same Author in advance of those
+    that preceded them."--_Educational Times._
+
+    "Decidedly the best School Atlases we have ever seen."--_English
+    Journal of Education._
+
+    "The best, the fullest, the most accurate and recent, as well as
+    artistically the most beautiful atlas that can be put into the
+    schoolboy's hands."--_Museum, April 1863._
+
+
+_A MANUAL OF MODERN GEOGRAPHY_:
+  Mathematical, Physical, and Political. Embracing a complete
+  Development of the River-Systems of the Globe. By the REV. ALEX.
+  MACKAY, F.R.G.S. With Index. 7s. 6d., bound in leather.
+
+
+_THE BOOK OF THE FARM._
+  Detailing the Labours of the Farmer, Farm-Steward, Ploughman,
+  Shepherd, Hedger, Cattle-man, Field-worker, and Dairymaid, and
+  forming a safe Monitor for Students in Practical Agriculture. By
+  HENRY STEPHENS, F.R.S.E. 2 vols. royal 8vo, L3, handsomely bound in
+  cloth, with upwards of 600 Illustrations.
+
+    "The best book I have ever met with."--_Professor Johnston._
+
+    "We have thoroughly examined these volumes; but to give a full
+    notice of their varied and valuable contents would occupy a
+    larger space than we can conveniently devote to their discussion;
+    we therefore, in general terms, commend them to the careful study
+    of every young man who wishes to become a good practical
+    farmer."--_Times._
+
+    "One of the completest works on agriculture of which our literature
+    can boast."--_Agricultural Gazette._
+
+
+_THE BOOK OF FARM IMPLEMENTS AND MACHINES._
+  By JAMES SLIGHT and R. SCOTT BURN. Edited by HENRY STEPHENS, F.R.S.E.
+  Illustrated with 876 Engravings. Royal 8vo, uniform with the 'Book of
+  the Farm,' half-bound, L2, 2s.
+
+
+_THE BOOK OF FARM BUILDINGS_:
+  Their Arrangement and Construction. By HENRY STEPHENS, F.R.S.E., and
+  R. SCOTT BURN. Royal 8vo, with 1045 Illustrations. Uniform with the
+  'Book of the Farm.' Half-bound, L1, 11s. 6d.
+
+
+_THE BOOK OF THE GARDEN._
+  By CHARLES M'INTOSH. In 2 large vols. royal 8vo, embellished with
+  1353 Engravings.
+
+  _Each Volume may be had separately--viz._:
+
+  I. ARCHITECTURAL AND ORNAMENTAL.--On the Formation of
+  Gardens--Construction, Heating, and Ventilation of Fruit and Plant
+  Houses, Pits, Frames, and other Garden Structures, with Practical
+  Details. Illustrated by 1073 Engravings, pp. 766. L2, 10s.
+
+  II. PRACTICAL GARDENING.--Directions for the Culture of the Kitchen
+  Garden, the Hardy-fruit Garden, the Forcing Garden, and Flower
+  Garden, including Fruit and Plant Houses, with Select Lists of
+  Vegetables, Fruits, and Plants. Pp. 868, with 279 Engravings. L1,
+  17s. 6d.
+
+    "We feel justified in recommending Mr M'Intosh's two excellent
+    volumes to the notice of the public."--_Gardeners' Chronicle._
+
+
+_PRACTICAL SYSTEM OF FARM BOOK-KEEPING_:
+  Being that recommended in the 'Book of the Farm' by H. STEPHENS.
+  Royal 8vo, 2s. 6d. Also, SEVEN FOLIO ACCOUNT-BOOKS, printed and ruled
+  in accordance with the System, the whole being specially adapted for
+  keeping, by an easy and accurate method, an account of all the
+  transactions of the Farm. A detailed Prospectus may be had from the
+  Publishers. Price of the complete set of Eight Books, L1, 4s. 6d.
+  Also, A LABOUR ACCOUNT OF THE ESTATE, 2s. 6d.
+
+    "We have no hesitation in saying that, of the many systems of
+    keeping farm accounts which are now in vogue, there is not one
+    which will bear comparison with this."--_Bell's Messenger._
+
+
+_AINSLIE'S TREATISE ON LAND-SURVEYING._
+  A New and Enlarged Edition. Edited by  WILLIAM GALBRAITH, M.A.,
+  F.R.A.S. 1 vol. 8vo, with a Volume of Plates in Quarto, 21s.
+
+    "The best book on surveying with which I am acquainted."--W.
+    RUTHERFORD, LL.D., F.R.A.S., _Royal Military Academy, Woolwich_.
+
+
+_THE FORESTER_:
+  A Practical Treatise on the Planting, Rearing, and Management of
+  Forest Trees. By JAMES BROWN, Wood Manager to the Earl of Seafield.
+  Third Edition, greatly enlarged, with numerous Engravings on Wood.
+  Royal 8vo, 30s.
+
+    "Beyond all doubt this is the best work on the subject of Forestry
+    extant."--_Gardeners' Journal._
+
+    "The most useful guide to good arboriculture in the English
+    language."--_Gardeners' Chronicle._
+
+
+_HANDBOOK OF THE MECHANICAL ARTS_,
+  Concerned in the Construction and Arrangement of Dwellings and other
+  Buildings; Including Carpentry, Smith-work, Iron-framing,
+  Brick-making, Columns, Cements, Well-sinking, Enclosing of Land,
+  Road-making, &c. By R. SCOTT BURN. Crown 8vo, with 504 Engravings on
+  Wood, 6s. 6d.
+
+
+_PROFESSOR JOHNSTON'S WORKS_:
+  Experimental Agriculture. Being the Results of Past, and Suggestions
+  for Future, Experiments in Scientific and Practical Agriculture. 8s.
+
+  Elements of Agricultural Chemistry and Geology. Eighth Edition, 6s.
+  6d.
+
+  A Catechism of Agricultural Chemistry and Geology. Fifty-seventh
+  Edition. Edited by Dr VOELCKER. 1s.
+
+  On the Use of Lime in Agriculture. 6s.
+
+  Instructions for the Analysis of Soils. Fourth Edition, 2s.
+
+
+_THE RELATIVE VALUE OF ROUND AND SAWN TIMBER_,
+  Shown by means of Tables and Diagrams. By JAMES RAIT, Land-Steward at
+  Castle-Forbes. Royal 8vo, 8s. half-bound.
+
+
+_THE YEAR-BOOK OF AGRICULTURAL FACTS._
+  1859 and 1860. Edited by R. SCOTT BURN. Fcap. 8vo, 5s. each. 1861 and
+  1863, 4s. each.
+
+
+_ELKINGTON'S SYSTEM OF DRAINING_:
+  A Systematic Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Draining Land,
+  adapted to the various Situations and Soils of England and Scotland,
+  drawn up from the Communications of Joseph Elkington, by J.
+  Johnstone. 4to, 10s. 6d.
+
+
+_JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURE, AND TRANSACTIONS OF THE HIGHLAND AND
+AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY OF SCOTLAND._
+  OLD SERIES, 1828 to 1843, 21 vols.      L3  3  0
+
+  NEW SERIES, 1843 to 1851,  8 vols.       2  2  0
+
+
+_THE RURAL ECONOMY OF ENGLAND, SCOTLAND, AND IRELAND._
+  By LEONCE DE LAVERGNE. Translated from the French. With Notes by a
+  Scottish Farmer. In 8vo, 12s.
+
+    "One of the best works on the philosophy of agriculture and of
+    agricultural political economy that has
+    appeared."--_Spectator._
+
+
+_DAIRY MANAGEMENT AND FEEDING OF MILCH COWS_:
+  Being the recorded Experience of MRS AGNES SCOTT, Winkston,
+  Peebles. Second Edition. Fcap., 1s.
+
+
+_ITALIAN IRRIGATION_:
+  A Report addressed to the Hon. the Court of Directors of the East
+  India Company, on the Agricultural Canals of Piedmont and Lombardy;
+  with a Sketch of the Irrigation System of Northern and Central India.
+  By LIEUT.-COL. BAIRD SMITH, C.B. Second Edition. 2 vols. 8vo. with
+  Atlas in folio, 30s.
+
+
+_THE ARCHITECTURE OF THE FARM_:
+  A Series of Designs for Farm Houses, Farm Steadings, Factors' Houses,
+  and Cottages. By JOHN STARFORTH, Architect. Sixty-two Engravings. In
+  medium 4to, L2, 2s.
+
+    "One of the most useful and beautiful additions to Messrs
+    Blackwood's extensive and valuable library of agricultural and
+    rural economy."--_Morning Post._
+
+
+_THE YESTER DEEP LAND-CULTURE_:
+  Being a Detailed Account of the Method of Cultivation which has been
+  successfully practised for several years by the Marquess of Tweeddale
+  at Yester. By HENRY STEPHENS, Esq., F.R.S.E., Author of the 'Book of
+  the Farm.' In small 8vo, with Engravings on Wood, 4s. 6d.
+
+
+_A MANUAL OF PRACTICAL DRAINING._
+  By HENRY STEPHENS, F.R.S.E., Author of the 'Book of the Farm.' Third
+  Edition, 8vo, 5s.
+
+
+_A CATECHISM OF PRACTICAL AGRICULTURE._
+  By HENRY STEPHENS, F.R.S.E., Author of the 'Book of the Farm,' &c. In
+  crown 8vo, with Illustrations, 1s.
+
+
+_HANDY BOOK ON PROPERTY LAW._
+  By LORD ST LEONARDS. The Seventh Edition. To which is now added a
+  Letter on the New Laws for obtaining an Indefeasible Title. With a
+  Portrait of the Author, engraved by HOLL. 3s. 6d.
+
+    "Less than 200 pages serve to arm us with the ordinary precautions
+    to which we should attend in selling, buying, mortgaging, leasing,
+    settling, and devising estates. We are informed of our relations to
+    our property, to our wives and children, and of our liability as
+    trustees or executors, in a little book for the million,--a book
+    which the author tenders to the _profanum vulgus_ as even
+    capable of 'beguiling a few hours in a railway
+    carriage.'"--_Times._
+
+
+_THE PLANTER'S GUIDE._
+  By SIR HENRY STEUART. A New Edition, with the Author's last Additions
+  and Corrections. 8vo, with Engravings, 21s.
+
+
+_STABLE ECONOMY_:
+  A Treatise on the Management of Horses. By JOHN STEWART, V.S. Seventh
+  Edition, 6s. 6d.
+
+    "Will always maintain its position as a standard work upon the
+    management of horses."--_Mark Lane Express._
+
+
+_ADVICE TO PURCHASERS OF HORSES._
+  By JOHN STEWART, V.S. 18mo, plates, 2s. 6d.
+
+
+_A PRACTICAL TREATISE ON THE CULTIVATION OF THE GRAPE VINE._
+  By WILLIAM THOMSON, Gardener to His Grace the Duke of Buccleuch,
+  Dalkeith Park. Fifth Edition. 8vo, 5s.
+
+    "When books on gardening are written thus conscientiously, they are
+    alike honourable to their author and valuable to the
+    public."--_Lindley's Gardeners' Chronicle._
+
+    "Want of space prevents us giving extracts, and we must therefore
+    conclude by saying, that as the author is one of the very best
+    grape-growers of the day, this book may be stated as being the key
+    to his successful practice, and as such, we can with confidence
+    recommend it as indispensable to all who wish to excel in the
+    cultivation of the vine."--_The Florist and Pomologist._
+
+
+_THE CHEMISTRY OF VEGETABLE AND ANIMAL PHYSIOLOGY._
+  By Dr J. G. MULDER, Professor of Chemistry in the University of
+  Utrecht. With an Introduction and Notes by Professor JOHNSTON. 22
+  Plates. 8vo, 30s.
+
+
+_THE MOOR AND THE LOCH._
+  Containing Minute Instructions in all Highland Sports, with
+  Wanderings over Crag and Correi, Flood and Fell. By JOHN COLQUHOUN,
+  Esq. Third Edition. 8vo, with Illustrations, 12s. 6d.
+
+
+_SALMON-CASTS AND STRAY SHOTS_:
+  Being Fly-Leaves from the Note-Book of JOHN COLQUHOUN, Esq., Author
+  of 'The Moor and the Loch,' &c. Second Edition. Fcap. 8vo, 5s.
+
+
+_COQUET-DALE FISHING SONGS._
+  Now first collected by a North-Country Angler, with the Music of the
+  Airs. 8vo, 5s.
+
+
+_THE ANGLER'S COMPANION TO THE RIVERS AND LOCHS OF SCOTLAND._
+  By T. T. STODDART. With Map of the Fishing Streams and Lakes of
+  Scotland. Second Edition. Crown 8vo, 3s. 6d.
+
+    "Indispensable in all time to come, as the very strength and grace
+    of an angler's tackle and equipment in Scotland, must and will be
+    STODDART'S ANGLER'S COMPANION."--_Blackwood's Magazine._
+
+
+_RELIGION IN COMMON LIFE_:
+  A Sermon preached in Crathie Church, October 14, 1855, before Her
+  Majesty the Queen and Prince Albert. By the REV. JOHN CAIRD, D.D.
+  Published by Her Majesty's Command. Bound in cloth, 8d. Cheap
+  Edition, 3d.
+
+
+_SERMONS._
+  By the REV. JOHN CAIRD, D.D., Professor of Divinity in the University
+  of Glasgow, and one of Her Majesty's Chaplains for Scotland. In crown
+  8vo, 5s. This Edition includes the Sermon on 'Religion in Common
+  Life,' preached in Crathie Church, Oct. 1855, before Her Majesty the
+  Queen and the late Prince Consort.
+
+    "They are noble sermons; and we are not sure but that, with the
+    cultivated reader, they will gain rather than lose by being read,
+    not heard. There is a thoughtfulness and depth about them which can
+    hardly be appreciated, unless when they are studied at leisure; and
+    there are so many sentences so felicitously expressed that we
+    should grudge being hurried away from them by a rapid speaker,
+    without being allowed to enjoy them a second time."--_Fraser's
+    Magazine._
+
+
+_THE BOOK OF JOB._
+  By the late REV. GEORGE CROLY, LL.D., Rector of St Stephen's,
+  Walbrook. With a Memoir of the Author by his SON. Fcap. 8vo,
+  4s.
+
+
+_LECTURES IN DIVINITY._
+  By the late REV. GEORGE HILL, D.D., Principal of St Mary's College,
+  St Andrews. Stereotyped Edition. 8vo, 14s.
+
+    "I am not sure if I can recommend a more complete manual of
+    Divinity."--_Dr Chalmers._
+
+
+_THE MOTHER'S LEGACIE TO HER UNBORNE CHILDE._
+  By MRS ELIZABETH JOCELINE. Edited by the Very Rev. Principal LEE.
+  32mo, 4s. 6d.
+
+    "This beautiful and touching legacie."--_Athenaeum._
+
+    "A delightful monument of the piety and high feeling of a truly
+    noble mother."--_Morning Advertiser._
+
+
+_ANALYSIS AND CRITICAL INTERPRETATION OF THE HEBREW TEXT OF THE BOOK
+OF GENESIS._
+    Preceded by a Hebrew Grammar, and Dissertations on the Genuineness
+    of the Pentateuch, and on the Structure of the Hebrew Language. By
+    the REV. WILLIAM PAUL, A.M. 8vo, 18s.
+
+
+_PRAYERS FOR SOCIAL AND FAMILY WORSHIP._
+  Prepared by a COMMITTEE OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE CHURCH OF
+  SCOTLAND, and specially designed for the use of Soldiers, Sailors,
+  Colonists, Sojourners in India, and other Persons, at Home or Abroad,
+  who are deprived of the Ordinary Services of a Christian Ministry.
+  _Published by Authority of the Committee._ Third Edition. In crown
+  8vo, bound in cloth, 4s.
+
+
+_PRAYERS FOR SOCIAL AND FAMILY WORSHIP._
+  Being a Cheap Edition of the above. Fcap. 8vo, 1s. 6d.
+
+
+_THE CHRISTIAN LIFE_,
+  In its Origin, Progress, and Perfection. By the VERY REV. E. B.
+  RAMSAY, LL.D., F.R.S.E., Dean of the Diocese of Edinburgh. Crown 8vo,
+  9s.
+
+
+_THEISM: THE WITNESS OF REASON AND NATURE TO AN ALL-WISE AND
+BENEFICENT CREATOR._
+  By the REV. JOHN TULLOCH, D.D., Principal and Professor of Theology,
+  St Mary's College, St Andrews; and one of Her Majesty's Chaplains in
+  Ordinary in Scotland. In 1 vol. 8vo, 10s. 6d.
+
+
+_ON THE ORIGIN AND CONNECTION OF THE GOSPELS OF MATTHEW, MARK, AND
+LUKE_;
+  With Synopsis of Parallel Passages, and Critical Notes. By JAMES
+  SMITH, Esq. of Jordanhill, F.R.S., Author of the 'Voyage and
+  Shipwreck of St Paul.' Medium 8vo, 16s.
+
+
+_INSTITUTES OF METAPHYSIC: THE THEORY OF KNOWING AND BEING._
+  By JAMES F. FERRIER, A.B. Oxon., Professor of Moral Philosophy and
+  Political Economy, St Andrews. Second Edition. Crown 8vo, 10s. 6d.
+
+    "We have no doubt, however, that the subtlety and depth of
+    metaphysical genius which his work betrays, its rare display of
+    rigorous and consistent reasonings, and the inimitable precision
+    and beauty of its style on almost every page, must secure for
+    it a distinguished place in the history of philosophical
+    discussion."--_Tulloch's Burnett Prize Treatise._
+
+
+_LECTURES ON METAPHYSICS._
+  By SIR WILLIAM HAMILTON, Bart., Professor of Logic and Metaphysics in
+  the University of Edinburgh. Edited by the REV. H. L. MANSEL, B.D.,
+  LL.D., Waynflete Professor of Moral and Metaphysical Philosophy,
+  Oxford; and JOHN VEITCH, M.A., Professor of Logic, Rhetoric, and
+  Metaphysics, St Andrews. Third Edition. 2 vols. 8vo, 24s.
+
+
+_LECTURES ON LOGIC._
+  By SIR WILLIAM HAMILTON, Bart. Edited by Professors MANSEL and
+  VEITCH. In 2 vols., 24s.
+
+
+_THORNDALE; OR, THE CONFLICT OF OPINIONS._
+  By WILLIAM SMITH, Author of 'A Discourse on Ethics,' &c. Second
+  Edition. Crown 8vo, 10s. 6d.
+
+    "The subjects treated of, and the style--always chaste and
+    beautiful, often attractively grand--in which they are clothed,
+    will not fail to secure the attention of the class for whom the
+    work is avowedly written.... It deals with many of those higher
+    forms of speculation characteristic of the cultivated minds of the
+    age."--_North British Review._
+
+
+_GRAVENHURST; OR, THOUGHTS ON GOOD AND EVIL._
+  By WILLIAM SMITH, Author of 'Thorndale,' &c. In crown 8vo, 7s. 6d.
+
+    "One of those rare books which, being filled with noble and
+    beautiful thoughts, deserves an attentive and thoughtful
+    perusal."--_Westminster Review._
+
+
+_A DISCOURSE ON ETHICS OF THE SCHOOL OF PALEY._
+  By WILLIAM SMITH, Author of 'Thorndale.' 8vo, 4s.
+
+
+_ON THE INFLUENCE EXERTED BY THE MIND OVER THE BODY_,
+  in the Production and Removal of Morbid and Anomalous Conditions of
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+    illustrates the worship of the Church of Scotland from the
+    Reformation till the present time."
+
+
+THE INCREASE OF FAITH.
+  _Contents._--1. Of the Nature of Faith. 2. Of the Aspirations of
+  the Believer for Increase of Faith. 3. That Faith is capable of
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+  Being Forms of Worship issued by the Church Service Society. Price
+  6s. 6d.
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+  Considered in its General and Special Aspects, and particularly
+  in Relation to the Atonement; with a Review of Recent Speculations on
+  the Subject. By THOMAS J. CRAWFORD, D.D., Professor of Divinity
+  in the University of Edinburgh. Third Edition, revised and enlarged,
+  with a Reply to the Strictures of Dr Candlish. Price 9s.
+
+
+FAMILY PRAYERS,
+  As authorised by the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland; to
+  which is prefixed a Pastoral Letter from the General Assembly on
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+
+
+
+BLACKWOOD'S
+
+_STANDARD NOVELS._
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+Uniform in size and legibly printed.
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+_EACH NOVEL COMPLETE IN ONE VOLUME._
+
+
+                                            Illustrated|  Brown
+                                              Cover,   |Cloth, cut
+                                              boards.  |  edges.
+TOM CRINGLE'S LOG. By Michael Scott,            2/0    |   2/6
+CRUISE OF THE MIDGE. By the Author of 'Tom             |
+  Cringle's Log,'                               2/0    |   2/6
+CYRIL THORNTON. By Captain Hamilton,            2/0    |   2/6
+ANNALS OF THE PARISH. By John Galt,             2/0    |   2/6
+THE PROVOST, & OTHER TALES. By John Galt,       2/0    |   2/6
+SIR ANDREW WYLIE. By John Galt,                 2/0    |   2/6
+THE ENTAIL. By John Galt,                       2/0    |   2/6
+REGINALD DALTON. By J. G. Lockhart,             2/0    |   2/6
+PEN OWEN. By Hook,                              2/0    |   2/6
+ADAM BLAIR. By J. G. Lockhart,                  2/0    |   2/6
+THE LIFE OF MANSIE WAUCH. By D. M. Moir,        1/0    |   1/6
+PENINSULAR SCENES AND SKETCHES. By F. Hardman,  1/0    |   1/6
+SIR FRIZZLE PUMPKIN, NIGHTS AT MESS, &c.,       1/0    |   1/6
+THE SUBALTERN,                                  1/0    |   1/6
+LIFE IN THE FAR WEST. By G. F. Ruxton,          1/0    |   1/6
+VALERIUS, A ROMAN STORY. By J. G. Lockhart,     1/0    |   1/6
+LADY LEE'S WIDOWHOOD. _In the Press._
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