DURHAM OX. 51 



breeders around them, other than in their fixed and undeviating 

 characteristics, and their thus acquired power of transmitting those 

 characteristics into their progeny, when put upon cows of blood not 

 related to them. This the deeply in-and-in bred Colling bulls did, 

 beyond a question, and hence their rapidly acquired popularity. 



Still, the Short-horns were a local breed of cattle, confined chiefly 

 to the counties of ancient Northumbria, and the best of them were 

 to be found in and about the valley of the Tees. The Collings, in 

 the exercise of their usual foresight and sagacity, determined to give 

 their cattle a wide reputation through the kingdom, and for that pur- 

 pose Charles prepared the 



DURHAM Ox 



for public exhibition. As -this ox achieved a wide reputation and 

 successfully drew the merits of the Short-horns to the attention of 

 the cattle breeding public, although it has been frequently published, 

 a full account of him will be repeated. He was among the earliest 

 calves got by Favorite (252), "bred in the year 1796, and out of a 

 common black and white cow, bought for Charles Colling by John 

 Simpson, at Durham Fair, for ^14 ($70)."* Although the dam of 

 the Durham Ox was said to have been " a common cow," from the price 

 which Colling paid for her, and the marvellous excellence and beauty 

 of the ox descended from her, it is altogether probable she possessed 

 much of the "common " Short-horn blood of the vicinity. f Yet, from 

 the " black " in her she may not have been highly bred, but of remark- 

 ably good quality. This calf, made a steer, Colling fed up to his 

 greatest flesh-taking capacity until nearly five years old, when he had 

 attained a weight of 3024 pounds. He was then purchased to be 

 exhibited, by Mr. Bulmer of Harmby, in February, 1801, for ^140 

 ($700). Bulmer had a traveling carriage made to carry him through 

 the country, and after traveling and exhibiting him five weeks, sold 

 the carriage and ox at Rotherham to John Day, for ^250 ($1,250). 

 On the i4th of May ensuing, Mr. Day could have sold him for ^525 

 ($2,625) J on tne J 3 tn f June, for ^1,000 ($5,000), and on the 8th of 

 July, for ^2,000 ($10,000), but he refused all these offers, which were 

 strong proofs of the excellence of the ox, as well as his exhibiting 



* Thornton's Circular. 



t The ox, like his sire, Favorite, was light roan in color. Did not that color, like the wonder- 

 ful excellence he otherwise possessed, demonstrate the certainty with which the highly concen- 

 trated blood of Favorite was capable of being thrown into his produce? 



