hey 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-neck