60 Improvements in Farming 



size and beauty of form made them famous over the whole country. 

 He continued his work on the same lines until 1810, when he sold 

 his herd. One bull, Comet, fetched 1,000 guineas, and the herd 

 of 47 averaged .151 a head. Charles Colling was followed by his 

 brother Robert, and by Thomas Booth of Killerby, near North- 

 allerton. It must not be thought that the Shorthorns had not 

 been well bred before this, or that they were kept in one small 

 part of the country. In the last quarter of the eighteenth century 

 they were by far the most common breed in Northumberland, 

 Durham, Yorkshire, and Lincolnshire. 



v -. . '"' ': " --"' ' 



Shorthorn Bull (Comet), 1810. 



In their report on the agriculture of Northumberland published 

 in 1795, Messrs. Bailey & Culley say that the Shorthorns * have 

 been long established over the whole county, the other kinds are 

 found only in the hands of a few individuals who have introduced 

 them with the laudable view of comparing their merits with the 

 established breed '. They give the weights of some very heavy 

 bullocks, but add that large size is not now considered a good 

 point. ' Quick feeders that lay their fat upon the most valuable 

 parts, and have the least offal in the coarse parts, are the kind 

 which every enlightened breeder wishes to be possessed of.' 



The success of the Collings induced others to take up the work 



