THOMAS BATES AND THE DUCHESSES. 81 



Duke (226), the Duchess bull by Favorite. This 

 was getting back direct to the highly-prized 

 blood, and Bates spoke to Lord Althorpe of this 

 mating as "the only hope of the Short-horns."* 

 When we recall the fact that the fruits of a 

 long period of careful breeding were at that 

 time in the hands of contemporary breeders we 

 have in this remark a characteristic illustration 

 of the arrogant position Mr. Bates was wont 

 to assume in reference to his own cattle. 

 So persistently did he assert their superiority 

 that his claims, together with the admitted 

 merit of his stock, at length began to make 

 an impression.! Lord Althorpe became one of 

 his patrons, hiring the young Duchess bull His 

 Grace (311) for service at Wiseton. Mr. Whit- 



* " I will give you fifty guineas for the chance, calf or no calf," said Lord 

 Althorpe. " I would not take 200 guineas for the chance," was Bates' reply. 

 In response to Lord Althorpe's invitation Bates stayed at Wiseton for the 

 Doncaster meeting of 1820. As the party were leaving the dining-room after 

 dessert Lord Althorpe, turning to one of his friends, said of Bates: " Won- 

 derful man! Wonderful man! He might become anything, even Prime Min- 

 ister, if he would not talk so much." 



t James Fawcett of Scaleby Castle gave this description of the Duchesses 

 about this date: "The character of the Duchesses at this time was that of 

 good and handsome wide-spread cows, with broad backs, projecting loins 

 and ribs, short legs and prominent bosoms. The head was generally, in- 

 clined rather to be short and wide than long and narrow, with full clear 

 eyes and muzzle, the ears rather long and hairy, the horns of considerable 

 length but of froe, waxy quality. They were good milkers, and had for the 

 most part a robust, healthy appearance. Their color was almost uniformly 

 red, with, in many of them, a tendency to white about the flank. They had 

 also generally what Mr. Bates called the Duchess spot of white above the 

 nostril. A strange anomaly occurred in the case of Duchess 6th. I recol- 

 lect her being calved. She was very handsome and of the most orthodox 

 color, but with a round spot of several inches on the flank, of the deepest 

 black. Whether this indicated a harking back to some ancestral Highland 

 alloy or a freak of the cow's imagination is a curious question." 



