512 A HISTORY OF SHORT-HORN CATTLE. 



with a commanding physique, rendered him 

 one of the most conspicuous figures of his day. 

 Inflexible, as a rule, in his dealings with others, 

 and. a dictator in his editorial office, he failed 

 to control the political elements with which 

 he came in contact, but animated by an ambi- 

 tion to promote the material interests of his 

 adopted country, and having a natural taste 

 for agricultural pursuits he took up first at 

 Bothwell, a small town west of London, Ont., 

 and latterly at Bow Park, Brantford, Ont., the 

 business of farming. Naturally a man of broad 

 ideas he developed at Bow Park the breeding 

 of Short-horn cattle upon a most extensive 

 basis. In June, 1874, an invoice showed that 

 he had then upon the farm 330 Short-horns, of 

 which 274 were females and fifty-six bulls. At 

 that time his plan was to rear the cattle on 

 what is known as the " soiling" system. The 

 Short-horns were never turned out to graze, 

 but had green food during the summer months 

 and dry fodder, along with beets and turnips, 

 during the winter.* In addition to being ex- 

 ceedingly expensive this system was, of course, 



* While in attendance at some of the Kentucky sales Mr. Brown com- 

 mented in the most complimentary terms upon the excellence of the Ben 

 ick Hose of Sharons, his expression ordinarily being: " A grand lot of cat- 

 tle; but they wight to bel " A Kentuckian finally asked the Canadian visi- 

 tor what he meant by the latter part of his remark. He replied in 

 Yankee fashion by asking the question: " How many acres in Mr. Renick's 

 farm?" He was informed: "Mr. Renick's estate consists, sir, of about 

 2,500 acres of the best blue-grass land in Central Kentucky, sir." To which 

 Mr. Brown rejoined: " I believe that great body of land carries only a herd 

 of 100 cattle. We have had at Bow Park 350 head upon 900 acres." 



