MANY CROSSES AVAILABLE. 213 



within easy reach of Chillingham : this is certainly true 

 of the herds kept at Hamilton, Drumlanrig, Na worth, 

 Bishop Auckland, Barnard Castle, and possibly of a dozen 

 others of which all memory is lost, not to mention those 

 further distant. How easy it must have been in those 

 days to obtain an appropriate cross is obvious. Again 

 some of these herds were in existence till a comparatively 

 recent period, so that a good deal later there could not 

 have been much difficulty. At the beginning of the last 

 century the Tankerville family were intimate and indeed 

 connected with the family of Aislabie of Studley Royal, 

 near Ripon, whose celebrated white herd was destined, 

 later in the century, to become the great source of reno- 

 vation and improvement in the old Teeswaters. It was 

 derived from unknown sources, but almost certainly not 

 from the general cattle of the adjoining country ; it is 

 much more likely that it originated from the cattle of 

 the monks of Fountains Abbey, close by. 



Had these sources altogether failed — which till a late 

 period they did not — there were other facile means of 

 obtaining a cross. The system formerly adopted was far 

 less exclusive than at present, and the cows of the 

 neighbours were freely admitted to breed to the wild 

 bulls. This we know from history was the case in other 

 parks besides that at Chillingham ; and that it was so 

 there we have the sufficient evidence of Bewick. On 

 his authority, and on that of others also, we know that 

 the prepotency of the wild sire stamped indelibly his 

 own lineaments, colour, and points upon his offspring 

 from these less high-bred mothers. I am aware that 

 some of the guardians of the present Chillingham herd 

 consider its wildness so great, that to bring about such 

 a connexion nowadays would be impossible ; but the 



