48 



BEGINNINGS IN ANIMAL HUSBANDRY 



the city of Darlington, by the river Tees in Durham, became 

 in time a great cattle market. 



The improvement of the Shorthorn began over a century 

 ago. Two brothers, Charles and Robert Colling, who lived 

 on separate farms north of Darlington, did much to improve 

 the native stock between 1775 and 1820. Some have called 

 them the founders of the Shorthorn breed, though this is 

 probably not correct. They developed their cattle so that 



Fig. 23. Ringmaster, champion Shorthorn bull at the International Live 

 Stock Exposition, 1911. Owned by White and Smith of Minnesota. Photo- 

 graph from The Farmer, 



they matured earlier, fed better, and had less waste at 

 slaughter than the cattle with which they began. 



Thomas Bates lived in this same region, east of Darling- 

 ton, and he bred a type of large, handsome cattle, noted for 

 both beef and milk production. His cattle have been criti- 

 cised for lack of vigor. He produced the Duchess, Waterloo, 

 Wild Eyes, Oxford, and other families. Bates died in 1849. 



