218 



A STUDY OF FARM ANIMALS 



form and our domesticated cattle of the present time. 

 Shorthorn Cattle. This noted breed, formerly called Dur- 

 ham cattle, originated in northeast England, in the counties 

 of Durham and York. The river Tees flows through a pretty 

 valley, and for some distance is the boundary line between 

 these two counties. This region, many years ago, was called 

 the Teeswater country, and the large cattle found here in 

 northern Yorkshire were known as "Teeswater Cattle." In 

 southern Yorkshire, in what is called Holderness, was another 

 kind of cattle having some things in common with the Tees- 

 water. Many of these were black. There were also red or 

 red-and-white cattle in other sections not far from here. 



WPm-W^-'^^f^W 



Figure 77. 



-A herd of Wild White Cattle at Vaynol Park, Wales, 

 by the author. 



Photograph 



Some cattle of superior milking qualities were brought over 

 from Holland, also, in the middle of the 18th century. From 

 these various sources came the Shorthorn. In this section 

 of England the grazing was fine; and the city of Darlington, 

 by the river Tees in Durham, became in time a great cattle 

 market and gathering place for stockmen. 



The improvement of the Shorthorn began over a century 

 ago. Two brothers, Charles and Robert Colling, who lived 

 on separate farms north of Darlington, did much to improve 



