CREATORS OF PASTORAL WEALTH 129 



guineas at Ketton in 1810, and at ROBERT GOLLING'S 

 sale eight years later he made his maiden purchases. 

 He was active, vigorous, aggressive, persistent and 

 a walking cyclopedia of facts dealing with Short- 

 horn development. Recognized also as one of the 

 best judges of his time, fond of his friends and 

 ever ready to join in debate, he was a welcome 

 and frequent visitor throughout all the valley and 

 beyond. He combated the old craze for mere size, 

 and preached constitution first, last and all the time 

 as the basis of all success in animal breeding. 



WETHERELL was an auctioneer besides being him- 

 self a frequent and liberal buyer of top cattle, and 

 no amount of bad luck ever seemed to swerve him 

 from his devotion to the Shorthorn cause. Pleuro- 

 pneumonia once carried off 24 of his cows in a 

 single season, and the best bull he ever owned de- 

 veloped such a temper that he had to be shot for 

 fear of possible fatalities to the attendants. His 

 faithful herdsman, JOHN WARD, was one of the mas- 

 ters of his profession in a day when showyard and 

 salering generals of the first-class were much in 

 evidence. The final dispersion sale was a memora- 

 ble occasion. The crowd had been liberally enter- 

 tained at the "King's Head" the night before, and 

 the proprietor "in a white waistcoat on a pony" 



