212 THE PORTRAIT GALLERY 
it was in the Shorthorn that Mr. ALEXANDER displayed his clear- 
est genius as a constructive shaper of bovine destiny. In the 
winter of 1852-53, the two ALEXANDERS visited Great Britain 
with the determination to lay foundations for a great Shorthorn 
herd. Sixty-eight cows and heifers and fifteen bulls, evidenced 
the thoroughness and the permanence of their intentions. From 
two of these animals Mr. ALEXANDER produced Duchess of Air- 
drie, the first of the great line that played such a noteworthy 
role in American Shorthorn industry. Further importations 
only strengthened the foundation stock, and Woodburn became 
the nursery for much that was historic in the adolescent days 
of American breeding. Few pedigree matings were planned to 
concentrate the bloods of the individual strains, but the spec- 
ulations which became rife in Airdrie bloodlines found their 
sources in other herds. Throughout the Civil War the herd 
prospered in the custody of J. M. Wooprurr in Indiana, and 
the period of expansion of post-bellum days found Woodburn 
in a position to dominate the bloodlines of the new herds of 
Illinois, Iowa and the Central West. In the 60’s, Mr. ALEx- 
ANDER’S herd had become so firmly established that more than 
one return importation was made to England, particularly of 
the Dukes of Airdrie. R. A. ALEXANDER died December 1, 1867, 
but his brother continued the operations at Woodburn until well 
toward the close of the century. While no such constructive 
achievements were attained in all breeds as in the Shorthorn, 
it is noteworthy that the Woodburn contributions to Jersey 
breeding were large factors in the extension of this breed 
throughout the South, and that their importation and distribu- 
tion of Cotswolds did much to further long wool interests at a 
time when strong moral and financial backing was needed. As 
a nursery of improved livestock, Woodburn stands supreme in 
American agricultural history, and its peer has not yet been 
developed. 
