244, THE PORTRAIT GALLERY 
THE SEERS OF KETTON AND BARMPTON 
94. The first parents of modern Shorthorn breeding, if first 
parents there be, were CHARLES and RoBERT COLLING, farmers of 
Ketton and Barmpton. Their primal venture in cattle improve- 
ment dates to the visit of CHARLES CoLLInc to RoBerT BAKEWELL 
(78) in 1783. Here considerable time was spent in the study both 
of the methods and the results of this master artisan. Mr. Cot- 
LING’s efforts convinced him beyond all doubt as to the funda- 
mental soundness of the DIsHLEY principles, but with equal 
soundness he postponed his attempts at application until he be- 
came possessed of the cattle to suit his purposes. His founda- 
tion animal was discovered in 1789, when he obtained from Mr. 
Maynarp of Eryholme, that mother of the modern Shorthorn, the 
“beautiful Lady Maynard.” 
Both the farms of Ketton and Barmpton were located in the 
Tees valley, approximately three miles from the city of Darling- 
ton and the historic Darlington Market. This was the center of 
the old Shorthorn country, the home of the Holderness and 
Teeswater stocks. It was on these foundations that the CoLLInc 
brothers labored and their most popular subject of discussion 
was the methods and means of eliminating some of the most 
obvious faults of both strains. One of Lady Maynard’s daughters 
was mated to her grandson through another daughter, and pro- 
duced the bull calf called Favorite, the cornerstone of the blood 
concentrations that builded so firmly Ketton’s success. Favorite 
was mated back to his own dam Phoenix producing Young 
Phoenix. He was then bred to Young Phoenix and produced 
the bull Comet 155, the bovine hero of his time and the first 
cattle beast to sell for $5,000. The incestuous methods that 
produced Comet, the notable price received for him, and the 
fame of such wondrous exhibition cattle as the Durham Ox 
(133) and the White Heifer that Traveled (128) gave CHARLES 
CoLLinG a notoriety that no breeder in the north of England 
