Notes on Rural Topics.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 16 September 1910, Page 4

Notes on Rural Topics.

TFIB ORIGIN OF THE STIOKT-

HORX BREED

An interesting address was recently given at a mooting of the Darlington Chamber of Agriculture on "How the Shorthorn Breed was Kui.mod: a Lesson k> Cattle-breed-ers." There was some difficulty, said tlio speaker, in discovering what class of cattle existed iiv the latter part of the eighteenth century, 'but from iJltiistrahiions iirom Berwick and others it was evident that there were at that time, big, massive, coarse animals lacking in quality. One of the largest wa.s the Hlnckwoll nx. about six years old, killed in Darlington in 17!)}), which weighed 21:Mlb. Charles and Robert Colling wore the founders of the shorthorn, the former living at Kotton. and his brother at Bannpton, near Darlington, at which place they developed their famous breed. Charles Coiling, said the speaker, saw a bull which'he.bought for a guinea, which was a.ftenvnrd-s known as Hubbaek. and was the father of the shorthorn breed ol cattle. He next .set to work to sot good rows, and one of those he obtained was from the Duke of Northumberland's Park at Stan wick. I'll is he named Duchess, and si i<? was the ancestress of perhaps the most famous family of shorthorns that ever existed. Vic also bought other cows, making four, which were put to Hiili'V'i-k, and the result was four !)eautii:il heifer calves, and thus the :rst sh' rthorn breed came into e:<;sU>!!.:-e. Me now had a :'i?s of rn111? different IV'.. u .>nv' ' else, an:l rosorte:l t> in-brecT i<-. The Durham o\- was the p:-Hu--t of this breed. ]j was sold for t'UO and *-ns travelled about the nintry, C2OOO being afterwards rpfiKo:'. for it. The closing scene of Charles Calling's career as a 'breeder was the Retton sale in 1810. The bull Comet was the chief attraction of the sale, and was sold for 1000 guineas to a syndicate. There were iV' e '?V S n! (1 ' { J v , e . ra K' n ff £151 Bs. Kohert Colling followed the same source α-s his brothw. Tl.e whole o! this breeding took place in the district just round Darlington, but a I forwards the Ilierdw were separated, and found a homo at "Warlaby and in the neighbourhood of Yarm Ihe Collings were the people who first got the idea of a better breed, and carried it through, and one result of their work was that the time in which animals muld be fattened was shortened! -by at least •two yea re. The roughness was toned down, and a much .better quality of beef secured. The .work of these early breeders had spread a over England and Scotland, and nil temperate parts o,f tho globe Ao others in the Darlington ' district wero more deservino- of a ponnanent memorial than" Oharles and Robert Coiling, and, as 1910 Yγ the centenary of tho Ketton sale, rt would he an appropriate time to cany it out.