HISTORY OF HEEEFOBD CATTLE 



195 



and the "Bates ring" promised to do much for 

 him. 



Luther Tucker, Jr., was then but a stripling, 

 but being the son of a very worthy father, whose 

 character for integrity and truth was well 

 known, was an advantage to him. He managed 

 through Mr. Bates and others, to whom he had 

 introductory letters, to obtain a good showing 

 off. He became acquainted with the "Druid," 

 a gentleman who wrote much for the "Mark 

 Lane Express." At that time Luther wrote some 

 communication for the paper, copying as near 

 as his ability would admit, the Druid style ; tried 

 to imitate his style, and in his deep study im- 

 paired his constitution for a while, which com- 

 pelled him to give it up. Ultimately the young 

 man began to think himself out of his "leading 

 strings;" he could adopt a style and language 

 of his own. He praised Bates highly for favors 

 received, gave him a puff in the "Cultivator," 

 and returned to America to take the position as 

 junior. A short time had elapsed before he 

 paid Mr. Rotch a visit, who at that time had a 

 pure Bates bull, which he contemplated sending 

 to England to catch the enthusiastic followers 

 of Bates, whose mania was nearly at full height. 

 The junior editor in his youthful state was in 

 ecstasy when nattered by such a man as Fran- 

 cis Rotch, Esq., of Butternuts, whom he sup- 

 posed stood so high in the Bates ring and was 

 very wealthy. "But what went he out for to 

 see ? A reed shaken with the wind," or a Bates 

 bull he had so partially extolled in England. 

 The truth was evident. They went to the stable 

 and the bull was ordered out. About this time 

 the strongest objection to the Dukes were their 

 coarseness and sluggishness, even by the most 

 imaginative of Bates men. "Now," says Mr. 

 Rotch, "I want to show you the activity of this 

 bull so you can explain to the public that the 

 sluggishness of Shorthorns is unfounded." 



The bull was brought out. . He described him 

 as follows : "He came out of his stall with his 

 head and his tail up." As he was led to and 

 fro Mr. Rotch said, "Did you ever see such ac- 

 tivity in a bull of his great size ?" "No, never," 

 said the junior editor. "He can move like a race 

 horse, his action is extremely good ; he has such 

 a beautiful high crest he cannot help but move 

 actively, more especially with his large size, 

 large bon-;-, and large, long legs; he is ex- 

 tremely active." 



"See what a loin he has," said Mr. Rotch. 



"And look at his high hips," said the other ; 

 "that in horses is an indication of speed." 



"Look what a cupboard he carries; that is 

 what we want to make beef," said Mr. Rotch. 



"Then look what a slender waist he has ; more 



like a Duchess than a Duke," said the editor. 



Although this may not be exactly the same 

 language as was published in the "Cultivator," 

 it is so near that it would be folly for anyone 

 to dispute it, and I can refer to the original. 

 After it appeared I wrote a criticism of this ri- 

 diculous, supposed-puff for Rotch, but it was 

 refused publication. I sent it to the "Mark 

 Lane Express," where it was published. Wm. 

 Carr, who wrote that interesting book on the 

 Booth Shorthorns, embraced the opportunity 

 and commented upon it, part in poetry and part 

 in prose, in which Mr. Rotch'' s bull was eulo- 

 gized as coming to England (fl 97), and the 

 junior .editor of the "Cultivator" was coining 

 with him to ride him to fox-hounds to show his 

 activity as a Bates Duke. The poem was a 

 laughable one, which I am sorry to say was 

 burned up with my furniture in the Chicago fire. 



This bull that Mr. Rotch anticipated send in ir 

 to England was one of the coarsest Dukes of 

 those exciting Bates times. Here let me say, 

 that there was no man in this country I more 

 highly esteemed than Luther Tucker, Sr. He 

 was a purely honest man, and I believe a sin- 

 cere Christian ; but the Bates mania overpow- 

 ered him. He had his family to support and it 

 was his duty to do 

 it. I never could 

 properly blame 

 the senior editor. 

 The Bates mania 

 afforded him a 

 profit, and he en- 

 couraged it. He 

 was not to blame. 

 The Shorthorns 

 were very valuable 

 cattle, but the 

 Bates mania was 

 a curse to them, 

 which all who 

 read must have 

 learned, and those 

 who adopted it 

 found it a curse to the community. After 

 the New York State show at Poughkeepsie 

 the following editorial appeared from the 

 pen of that worthy gentleman, Luther Tucker, 

 Sr., editor of the "Albany Cultivator and 

 Country Gentleman." I copy verbatim from 

 the "Cultivator and Country Gentleman/' 

 page 312, October number, 1844: "Herefords. 

 The only specimens in this class were eleven 

 head from the capital herd of Messrs. Corning 

 & Sotham, Albany. These were splendid ani- 

 mals. The two-year-old bulls and bull calf, 

 which were all of the masculine gender exhib- 



H. C. BURLEIGH, 

 VASSALBORO, ME. 



