ROBERT COLLING'S CATTLE. 91 



as well as Mr. Robertson, Mr. Champion, and others, bought privately 

 from Mr. R. Colling. The Princess tribe may possibly be noticed in 

 a future paper, when Sir H. Vane Tempest's catalogue is reprinted, 

 but the name of the Sylphs (Sweethearts and Charmers) and the 

 Mantalinis, the former tracing from 'Russell,' the latter from 

 'Alpine,' both cows by Robert Ceiling's Son of Favorite (252) [the 

 Son being out of a Punch cow] and from Col. Trotter's herd, are 

 high evidence, even in the present day, of the excellence of the 

 original Barmpton stock. 



" It has been said that Robert Ceiling's stock were delicate ; there 

 is little foundation for this, and it may have arisen from the delicacy 

 of Mr. Champion's cattle ; Mr. Paley said that the rottenness of the 

 Warrior (673) family came from Diana, lot 3, and Mr. Champion's 

 son attributed it to Mason's Charles (127); Mr. Bates also attributed 

 delicacy to Mason's St. John (572). Land and atmosphere may have 

 had something to do with this. Those who saw the herd in its best 

 days, before and at the sales, say that the cattle were always seen in 

 good condition and shewed vigorous constitutions ; it is, however, a 

 singular fact that we have now scarcely any stock remaining from 

 those animals that went into the Retford (Notts) district, whilst there 

 are numbers tracing from that blood which went into Yorkshire, Lin- 

 colnshire, and the Lake district, where the yellow roan and red were 

 looked upon as the pure breed, the dark red being held in no favor.* 



"Although the average of the Barmpton sale, 1818, was under that 

 of Ketton, i8io,f there is every reason to believe that it was a better 

 sale. In 1810 things were at war price and everything high, whilst 

 in 1818 there was peace, and a general depression upon agriculture. 

 The Alloy blood, too, in the Ketton stock tended to promote compe- 

 tition for the purer strains at Barmpton. The bulls are said by Mr. 

 Wetherell to have been the finest lot he ever saw at one sale. They 

 doubled the average of the cows, and, taking the highest priced 

 family at Ketton against the highest priced one at Barmpton, we have 

 the following result in favor of the Barmpton stock : At Ketton, the 

 Phcenix tribe, sixteen (including Comet 1000 guineas) averaged 

 221 35.; at Barmpton, the Red Rose tribe, eleven (including Lan- 

 caster 621 guineas) averaged ^269 35. 6d. ; and the thirteen favorite 

 Wildairs averaged 142 175. 6d. 



* The strong partiality to a deep red color in Short-horns, which now prevails among a large 

 majority of the American breeders, and which we think a mistaken partiality, had then no exist- 

 ence among the English breeders. L. F. A. 



t Charles Ceiling's sale. L. F. A. 



