SHOBTHORN HEEDS OF ENGLAND. 329 



CHAPTER XI IT. 



The Somersetshire Herds. Dodhill House. Coombe Lodge. Elm 

 Farm.Stanton Prior. Chew Court. The Rookery. Gloucester* 

 shire Herds. Toghill. Badminton. Didmarton. Oldbury-on-the* 

 II III. Kingscote Park. Horton. TortWorth Court. Heather* 

 mead. -^-Berkeley Castle. Royston. Little Haresfield. Maisemore 



Court. 



Herds of shorthorn cattle are not numerous even in Somerset- 

 shire, until the important west country town of Bristol is reached, 

 our journey is however broken at Taunton, to see Mr. J. S. Bult's 

 old established herd at Dodhill House, in the village of Kingston. 

 Although one of the oldest breeders he having used the Rev. H. 

 Berry's Mynheer 1255, calved in 1825 and in 1856 attending Sir 

 Charles Knightley's sale he purchased Anemone, in calf to Duke of 

 Cambridge 12742, from her daughters by this bull, and Earl Spencer's 

 Upstart 9760 fall brother to Usurer 9763, who was sold for 200gs., 

 to Sir P. Cartwright at the Wiseton sale, and came into Mr. Bult's 

 possession a couple of years previous to the dispersion of the Fawsley 

 Park herd descend the thirty-three females which comprise the 

 Dodhill House herd. The males used have never followed any direct 

 line of breeding, a dash of Bates being observed in many of those of 

 more recent date, but no one animal of any fashionable tribe has 

 been used, and yet the result has been that the cattle have won prizes 

 at Smithfield since 1850 when steers belonging to Mr. Bult were 

 awarded second prizes in each class and have continued to do so 

 until 1884, the most successful years being in 1873-4, when in 

 addition to the first in his class, a gold medal was won by Mr. Bult 

 for being the breeder, and in the former year a <40 cup for the 

 best shorthorn steer, while in the latter a <50 cup as the best steer 

 in the Hall. At the Eoyal, Bath and West, county and local 

 exhibitions, many honours however have been won, but during the 



