160 PRINCIPLES OF STOCK-BREEDING. 



The Canley stock, which was the foundation of 

 Mr. Fowler's herd, as well as Mr. Bakewell's, was 

 obtained of Mr. "Webster, of Canley, "the leading 

 breeder of the midland counties." 



Of this stock Mr. Marshall says : " I have, indeed, 

 heard it said, by a man who has himself been a breeder 

 of some eminence, that Mr. "Webster had the best 

 stock, especially of beance (cattle), that ever were, or 

 (he believed) ever will be bred in the kingdom ; " and 

 he adds in a note, " Another eminent breeder, on whose 

 judgment I can better rely, is of opinion that, in beauty 

 or utility of form, they have received little, if any, 

 improvement since Mr. Webster's day." * 



Old Comely (the dam of Twopenny) was killed 

 at the age of twenty-six years, and " the fat on her 

 sirloin was four inches in thickness." a 



The bull Twopenny was a celebrated animal, and 

 the bull D, Mr. Marshall says, was "a fine animal, 

 and a striking proof of the vulgar error that breeding 

 in-and-in weakens the breed. ... At the age of twelve 

 or thirteen years (he) is more active and higher-met- 

 tled than bulls in general are at three or four years 

 old." s 



From what is known of the ancestors of the bull 

 Shakespeare, his superior qualities could not have 

 been accidental ; and, as the progeny that he left 

 were unmistakably Long-Horns of the most approved 

 type, he must have transmitted the characters he in- 

 herited from his ancestors. 



1 Loc. cit., p. 319. 



a Farmer's Magazine, vol. xvii., p. 84. 



3 Loc. tit., p. 321. 



