188 THE PORTRAIT GALLERY 



A MASTER OF THE ART OF ARTS 



74. On the 21st of June, 1775, there was born at Aydon Castle, 

 Northumberland, the genius who was to dominate Shorthorn 

 breeding for the century to follow. Thomas Bates made the 

 most distinct contribution to the art of animal breeding that oc- 

 curred during the nineteenth century, since he demonstrated with 

 unfaltering step the value and method of pedigree matings. In 

 1800 he leased the extensive acreage of Halton Castle for a period 

 of twenty-one years, and there founded the family that swept on- 

 ward to the first climax in Shorthorn breeding, the New Yotk 

 Mills Sale of 1873. His early acquaintance with the breed was 

 gained at Darlington Fair on market Mondays. Here he dwelt 

 with keen hand and shrewd eye on the products of the "divinities 

 of old Durham," and seasoned that keenness of judgment and 

 irrevocableness of decision that blazoned his way through the 

 difficulties of the coming five decades. 



On May 1, 1800 he entered into control of the Halton Castle 

 acreage but although he had acquired his first Shorthorns two 

 months previously the foundation stock on which he had set his 

 heart was as yet unpurchased. A step in the desired direction 

 came through his acquirement of Charles Colling's Daisy Bull 

 in the following autumn, but he was used only for steer breeding 

 operations. A legacy in 1804 from a deceased aunt enabled him 

 to embark in his coveted occupation. From it he purchased for 

 100 guineas, the four-year-old Duchess by Daisy Bull. She de- 

 scended purely from Colling's two famous bulls. Favorite and 

 Hubback, and had ancestry only of the animals that Bates ad- 

 mired. He had numerous vicissitudes, however, and was unable 

 to found the family he desired until at the Ketton dispersion in 

 1810 he secured her granddaughter by the 1000 guinea bull 

 Comet. The cow herself was pronounced "shabby" by the ring- 

 side, and loud were the taunts that Mr. Bates received, but he had 

 achieved his desire and with characteristic courage announced 



