SHORTHORN CATTLE 107 



by Thomas Booth, who developed large cattle that were 

 wide over the back and hips, but lacked in quaUty. The 

 next man of note was Thomas Bates, who aimed, by care- 

 ful selection and mating, to establish a strain of cattle that 

 was large and of good quality. The Bates cattle, as they 

 are called, had very short horns, fine heads, smooth, sym- 

 metrical bodies, and were useful for milking purposes. Mr. 

 Bates succeeded in establishing several famiHes of this 

 type, which were eagerly sought after both in England and 

 America. He was a good showman and believed in exten- 

 sive advertising. The most famous family he ever pro- 

 duced was the Duchess family. One of this family, a cow 

 named " Eighth Duchess of .Geneva," in 1873 sold for 

 $40,600 at public auction in New York State, a record- 

 breaking price for a cow. 



While the Bates cattle were strong evidence of what 

 can be accomplished in the breeding Kne, they were lack- 

 ing in hardiness under unfavorable conditions. In develop- 

 ing the strain, Mr. Bates had done considerable inbreed- 

 ing and the constitutions of the cattle were thus impaired. 

 Amos Cruickshank was a farsighted Scotchman who 

 looked forward to the time when there would be a large 

 demand for beef cattle on the vast ranges of the western 

 part of the United States, and in the Argentine of South 

 America. So he set to work to develop from the Short- 

 horns a purely beef strain of cattle. He selected only 

 those of most nearly perfect conformation, and in time 

 developed a beefier strain than were the Bates cattle. 

 The cold climate of Scotland made the cattle hardier than 

 the English cattle were ; they matured earUer ; and it was 

 not long until the Scotch cattle, as they were called, be- 

 came popular in the show ring. Sometimes they are called 



