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Killhow Sale of Shorthorns. 8 1 



and there for a while shakes off the moil and dust of 

 the great city. The bulk of his estate is at Killhow, 

 which is separated from Quarry Hill by the village of 

 Bolton Gate, whose glorious limestone spring " flows 

 on for ever." Hard by The Bow is that little cottage- 

 ruin where " Blackbird Wilson" held his village-school 

 seven-and-forty years ago, and employed his leisure 

 hours in whistling and suction, but not at the spring! 

 Bolton Church was " built in a night," and the ghostly 

 masons in their hurry put the steeple at the wrong 

 end. But we have to do here with the building up of 

 Mr. Foster's pure-bred herd, which is always kept at 

 Killhow, while Quarry Hill carries the feeding stock. 

 When he took the six hundred acres into his own 

 hands in '6 1, his ideas did not rise beyond Irish cattle. 

 Mr. Drewry, who was born near him, was the tempter, 

 and they went together to the Babraham second sale 

 in June '63, and bought Young Celia (42 guineas). 

 She won at Wigton and Ireby ; but did him no good. 

 White Lily (36 guineas) of the same tribe came with 

 her, and helped her to win the first victory (in a pair) 

 against Sir Wilfrid Lawson's, and had three heifer 

 calves to boot. In process of time Mr. Foster treated 

 himself to two Fantails at the Yardley sale, Polly 

 Gwynne and Duchess Gwynne, at Middle Farm, near 

 Brampton ; Moss Rose (230 guineas) on that memo- 

 rable May morning at Mr. Betts's ; and Princess 2nd 

 and 3rd at Mr. Macintosh's next day. Thus the " Bit 

 of Bates" expanded, and in little more than five years 

 his labours were publicly endorsed by an average of 

 67 /. ^s. gd. for sixty-six head. 



The sale-ring had Art and Nature in aid, with the 

 massive white stone turrets of Killhow in the back- 

 ground, and Skiddaw looking down upon many a deep 

 valley and silent tarn in the distance. The quiet 

 dalesmen, who don't care much about pedigree, but 

 like a roan bull and a " sken at the dam as well," if 

 they can get one, trudged merrily to the scene of 



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