32 THE PORTRAIT GALLERY 
AN AMERICAN WHO INVADED SHROPSHIRE 
8. Probably the pioneer Shropshire breeder of the United 
States from a constructive standpoint was Dr. G. Howarp Davison. 
His foundations for the Altamont flock at Millbrook, N. Y., were 
laid in the best blood to be secured in Britain during the 90’s, 
his purchases being from the TANNER, BowEN-JoNEs and MINTON 
flocks. American breeders of those days leaned very strongly 
toward a big-framed, slower maturing, open fleeced kind, but 
Dr. Davison from the start advocated a compact, thickly meated, 
early finishing type that would fit more strongly into the niceties 
of consumer demand. His first sheep were brought over in 1893 
under the care of his first shepherd, HERBERT Fox. Ambitious 
to equal the productions of the Shrewsbury district, he sent to 
England the second year thereafter a flock of his own breeding 
for exhibition and competition at the English Royal. So suc- 
cessful did this mission prove that Dr. Davison was paid high 
tribute by the British agricultural journals of the day and was 
elected a member of the Royal Agricultural Society. In the same 
year, 1895, he secured Dan TayLor as shepherd, thereby bringing 
to America one of the master Shropshire fitters of the last quarter 
century. Two years later he secured FRED Fox and in 1898, 
Tom BRADBURNE, who remained with him for over twelve years. 
Tom possessed the genius for developing through his ovine arti- 
sanship what Dr. Davison sought in his capacity as breeder. The 
Altamont or Davison type became a distinct stamp in the show- 
yard, arousing violent arguments on more than one occasion. In 
season and out, Dr. Davison fought and fought for the short- 
legged, well-sprung type with thickness of back and plumpness 
of quarters. In his campaign he sent rams to nearly all of the 
agricultural colleges and experiment stations, to spread the 
knowledge of, and demand for, his sheep. If the college was 
unable to pay for them, as frequently happened, he gave them 
to the institution, thereby starting an acquaintance with his kind 
