CHAP. 11.] Lor^d AltJiorp ; a Breeder. -y^Z 



another cow for 73 guineas, which, may turn oufc as 

 valuable as either of the others ; but she sold cheap 

 because she is a very great milker, and looked un- 

 commonly thin. A bull calf, not six months old, sold 

 for 278 guineas/' Such were some of the early plunges 

 of Lord Althorp, which if they did not prove a mine of 

 wealth, raised him into the first rank of shorthorns. 

 The annual loss upon the Wiseton farm, where the high- 

 bred shorthorns were kept, was about 3000Z. The best 

 year he ever experienced was one in which the balance 

 on the wrong side was 400Z. only. His farm in North- 

 amptonshire was almost always profitable, the grazing 

 being managed with a view to makiug it pay. Although 

 a farmer, and dependent on land for his income, he threw 

 himself heart and soul into the " Free Trade '' movement, 

 believing that the measure would be beneficial to the 

 country at large. Not foreseeing the gigantic growth 

 of the railway-system in the corn-growing countries, he 

 did not apprehend any material fall in the price of 

 cereals, and would have laughed had he been told that 

 within forty years after he had passed away, wheat 

 would be selling at 285. per quarter. Always fond of 

 shooting, as he was of all outdoor sports, in spite of 

 great practice he never became a good shot ; he amused 

 himself by keeping an account of every shot he fired in 

 the course of the year, whether he missed or killed, 

 makiug up his book periodically. 



Long after he had given up hunting, and was leader 

 of the Opposition in the House of Commons, he went 

 with a party to Deville, the craniologist, or '^skull- 

 reader,'' to test his skill in telling character by the 

 bumps of the head. ^' The man knows nothing about it,'^ 



D 



