XI 



SIR DAVID (349) 68 



Just about a quarter of a century 

 after the birth of Sovereign another 

 epoch-making Hereford sire appeared on 

 the scene. Sir David (349) 68 was calved 

 Feb. 13, 1845, and was bred by David 

 Williams of Brecon, Wales. Brecon is 

 a town of nearly 6,000 inhabitants, lying 

 about thirty-eight miles westerly from 

 the city of Hereford. 



Sir David is entitled to a place in the 

 Hereford list of old worthies for two 

 distinct and different reason first, he 

 was a great show bull in his time, and, 

 second, he proved himself to be one of 

 those breeders which only rarely occur 

 in the history of a breed. His show 

 yard career really began in 1846, when 

 as a yearling at the show of the Royal 

 Agricultural society he won the first 

 prize in class of twenty sovereigns at 

 Newcastle-on-Tyne. He was then shown 

 by J. N. Carpenter of Bardisland near 

 Leominster. At the Royal show in 1849 

 at Norwich he was shown by Edward 

 Price, Court House, Pembridge, when he 

 won first pjace in the aged bull class. 

 He also won the challenge sweepstakes 

 at the Royal shows of both 1848 and 1849. 

 At the Hereford Agricultural show in 

 1848 he was first prize in class, and 

 the following year at the same show 

 was first with cow and offspring. Both 

 in 1848 and 1849 he won first prize and 

 sweepstakes at Hereford in competition 

 open to all England. Again, in 1848, he 

 was first at both Lmdlow and Leominster 

 with four of his offspring. 



Such a record as this in the show ring, 

 in the very heart of the Hereford coun- 

 try, must clearly pojnt to a bull and 

 sire of extraordinary merit. 



The ancestry of Sir David is a matter 

 of uncertainty. His sire was Chance 

 (348), and his dam, Duchess, was mated 

 to her own sire, which was also Chance, 

 from which came Sir David. Back of 

 Chance lies the uncertainty; his dam 

 was a cow named Victoria, which got 

 loose and into a field with several young 

 bulls, on which occasion she got in calf. 

 As some of these young bulls were by 

 her own sire it will be noted that Sir 

 David is strongly in-and-in bred. The 

 dam of the cow, Victoria, was sired by 



39 



