Mr. Bates. 1 5 1 



in the churchyard just over the wall, without a stone 

 to mark his resting-place.* 



early maturity, symmetry, fineness of bone, and, above all, the cover- 

 ing of the frame evenly with flesh of a delicate fibre and well intermixed 

 with fat, and to his steady perseverance towards this end his breed 

 undoubtedly owe their fame. In those days he had very few pure 

 Duchesses and Kettons, but a number of beautiful cows by Ketton 

 and Ketton 2nd from choice Argyleshire heifers, which he had selected 

 with the view of rearing an original herd like Charles Colling's, 

 whose success he attributed to the judicious blending of that blood obtained 

 through Grandson of Bolingbroke with the best shorthorns of the day. 



" From some cause or other he lost the Argyleshire tribes after leav- 

 ing Northumberland, and steadily cultivated the Duchesses, and one or 

 two other tribes, among the best of which were Red Rose and Fairy, 

 two splendid cows from Mr. Hustler. From the former he bred Second 

 Ffubback by The Earl, which he considered the best bull he ever had, 

 and destined to become quite a regenerator of shorthorns. He was 

 a light red bull, with a lemon muzzle, and as perfect in his points as 

 could be desired, at the same time evenly and smoothly covered with 

 flesh of the best possible quality. Mr. Bates considered Mr. Charles 

 Colling to have been the most thorough judge of cattle of his day, and, 

 in fact, the originator of the improved shorthorn, having imbibed his 

 knowledge from Mr. Bakewell of Dishley, with whom he lived some 

 time in statu pupillari. He thought that his brother Robert's fame as 

 a breeder was entirely due to the superior judgment of Charles, whose 

 bull Favourite was the undoubted fountain-head of pedigrees and the 

 source of their distinction, being the sire of Comet, Ketton, &c, &c, 

 as well as of the famous old cow Princess and of her daughter, the 

 Favourite cow, the dam of the first Duchess. Princess and her daughter 

 were purchased by Mr. Bates from Mr. Charles Colling, and were the 

 foundation of his herd. 



"Mr. Bates used to describe Favourite as a very rich roan, robust, 

 and massive animal, with a very fine, long, and downy coat and superb 

 handling, but by no means so pointy a bull as his son Comet, although 

 a much better sire. He thought him so much better than the other 

 that he did not scruple to breed in-and-in with him several times, and 

 with success. He was an advocate for that mode of breeding, and at 

 last preferred it to having recourse to impure blood, as there was appa- 

 rently (in that day at least) no bad result from it in his cattle, which 

 were distinguished by their vigour and healthy appearance. To dairy 

 properties, a thing too often overlooked, he paid great attention, and 

 very few of his cows were deficient in this respect. He was a man of 

 warm feelings, and either a strong friend or a bitter enemy. Though 

 most acute and observing, he was liable to prejudice, and a splendid 

 dogmatizer, but none have left a more decided mark on our shorthorn 

 history." 



* Thanks to the exertions of Mr. Housman and a few other lovers of 

 shorthorns, a tombstone has been erected since then. 



