The Towneley Herd. 329 



think of being born. The land is on a cold blue clay 

 subsoil, and the Government draining has done but 

 little for it. Harvests do not " laugh and sing" there, 

 as corn cannot be got to ripen on it one year in six ; 

 mangold wurzels will have nothing to do with it ; and 

 hence nearly all the roots and straw have to be pur- 

 chased from the Ormskirk neighbourhood. The herd 

 has had a fearful battle to fight, in order to compete 

 with the rich grazing counties, and but for the 

 undaunted energy and science of the farm bailiff, 

 Mr. Culshaw, backed up by the most liberal and 

 spirited of masters, it could never have stood its 

 ground, and brought so many great rivals low in their 

 turn. 



Mr. Culshaw was bred and born at Broughton, 

 and used to run about and help his. stepfather, who 

 was herdsman at Mr., then Sir Charles, Tempest's, 

 before he could even milk or fasten up a cow. His 

 peeps at the different herds on the banks of the 

 Wharfe had gradually inoculated him with a burning 

 taste for the thing. He was never weary of telling 

 Bob Gill, the farmer, that they ought to have some- 

 thing beyond mere dairy cows at Broughton Hall ; 

 and when Sir Charles bought Verbena and her 

 daughter Vestris, and he was sent with the latter 

 to the best bull Mr. Whitaker had at Greenholme, 

 his future destiny was clear. No ambassador to a 

 European Congress had a higher sense of his responsi- 

 bility than "Little Joe" that day. The cow lay 

 down about twenty times in the last three miles, 

 but those toils and woes were forgotten when Mr. 

 Whitaker, admiring the lad's enthusiasm, showed him 

 all over his herd. He returned home repeating 

 "April Daisy" " Whiteface" " Pretty face" "Non- 

 pareil" and so on to himself, to beguile the road, 

 and at last ventured to speak up to Sir Charles, 

 who promised that he would go over and see them, 

 and take him again. The visit never came off; and 



