FIRST CENTURY OF DAIRYING IN NEW SOUTH WALES. 



long-headed Durham -farmer as well as the brothers Colling ; but 

 private herdbooks were hardly in vogue, and the pitieiu pi'grimage 

 of Coates, through sunshine and shower, has not had the effect of 

 tracing the breed further back than four crosses beyond Hubback 

 (319) who was calved in 1777. 



If the red .and white Studley bull (626), bred by Sharter, of Chilton, 

 and the founder of the " Gwynne" or " Princess" tribe, may cliim to be 

 the " Abraham o-f Shorthorns," James Brown's red bull (97) and 

 Jolly's bull (337) are very early names on the roll. Seventeen or 

 eighteen crosses separate the Duchesses from the one, and the Maynard 

 and Mason tribes are the direct descent from the other. Only 710 

 bulls were registered in the first volume of Coates' herdbook, which 

 was published in 1822 but the fifteenth showed, under Mr. Stafford s 

 care, an accession of 1959 in two years, and the seventeenth brcught 

 up the number to zemi (25,481). 



Other Durham breeders stood proudly on their family 

 tribes. The " Lizzies" were with Charge, of Xewtown. and 

 Rose's and Fisher's stock can be traced to Cornforth, of 

 Barforth. Robert Colling had set his seal to Hill of Black- 

 Well's herd, and nearly all the best men were dipping into the 

 blood of Millbank, of Barningham. It was from his sort th^it there 

 sprang the old yellow cow by " Punch" which was the granddam of 

 the " white heifer that travelled." The Maynards were also in the 

 front rank. Maynards' Favourite tribe was very early in repute, and 

 Charles Colling (who had previously picked up his " Cherry" or 

 " Peeress" tribe in Yarm market) never rested till he had bought the 

 cow and her calf, " Young Strawberry," by Charge's " Dalton Duke'* 

 (188). He then changed the cow's name to " Lady Maynard," and it 

 was upon her tribe that he is said to have used the " Alloy blood, 

 through " Grandson of Bolingbroke" (280), which made the highest 

 average in its hour of trial at Ketton. Her descendants .were also 

 crossed most successfully with " Foljambe" (263), the sire of 

 " Phoenix," the dam of the bull " Favourite" (252), who was in turn 

 the sire of the looo-guinea "Comet" (i55). "Hubback" (319) has 

 always been considered the great regenerator of Shorthorns; but he 

 did not do Charles Colling so much good as " Foljambe/' who was 

 from a " Hubbuck" cow, and he was parted with at the end of two 

 seasons, which is alluded to by several writers. 



The aim of the brothers Colling was to reduce the size and improve 

 the general symmetry and flesh points o-f their beasts. :< Beauty," 

 sister to " Punch" (531), had spread their fame beyond the country, 

 and in 1799 the Durham ox, by " Favourite" (252), came out first at 

 Darlington with his half-sister of the " Duchess" tribe. The latter 

 was quite as great a wonder in her way, and confirmed Mr. Bates' 

 fancy for the sort which was hereafter to be linked with his name. 

 Even at the Ketton sale in 1800 the taste for Shorthorns was confined 

 within a narrow compass, as Durham, Yorkshire, Lincolnshire, Nor- 

 thumberland, and Westmoreland were the only counties which pur- 

 chased. Some of the few survivors of the assembly still speak of 

 "Comet" as the most symmetrical bull they have ever seen. He was 

 not very large, but with that infallible sign of constitution, n good 

 wide scrop or frontlet, a fine placid eye. a well-filled twist, and an 

 undeniable back. His price caused breeders everywhere to prick up 

 their ears. They had already heard of Fowler refusincr 1000 guineas 

 for a long-horned bull and three cows, as well as for a cow and 

 her produce -for eight seasons, but never of one bull achieving that 

 sum. The produce of the Comets were imt prolific in New South 

 Wales. 



For many years previous to this .^ale Mr. Bates had been breeding 

 Shorthorns by the Tyne side, and bringing his beasts, as Sir Hugh 



112. 



