imes 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 th