The first real development of the Shorthorn breed took place in the
valley of the Rees River. This river, the valley of which is so well
known in the development of the breed, lies between Durham and York
counties, and the large cattle that inhabited this fertile valley
early became known as Teeswater cattle.
In addition to having acquired a reputation
for producing excellent cattle, the Tees River Valley excelled in
crops, pastures, and generally high plane of agriculture.
Origin
Foundation Stock. North England is said
to have been the home of cattle for centuries. Sinclair 1
suggests the small Celtic short-horned ox was found in England at
the time of the Roman invasion and that later, cattle were introduced
from northern Europe by the English, Danes, and others.
By the 17th century well-known types
of cattle existed in England, one of which was the "pied"
stock of Lincolnshire, which was said to have been more white than
colored, and the other the red stock of Somerset and Gloucestershire.
There existed in Holderness, a district of
Yorkshire, cattle that resembled in size, shape, and color many of
the cattle that were found in northern Europe at that time.
At what time cattle had been introduced into
England or by whom they were brought in is not definitely known. The
cattle were said to have taken on flesh readily and would fatten into
heavy carcasses although their flesh was coarsely grained and dark
in color.
Allen 2 states, "The cows were
described as large milkers, and the bullocks as attaining a great
weight of carcass and extraordinary production of tallow."
The Early Breeders.
As early as 1580 there existed a race of superior short-horned cattle
on the Yorkshire estates of the earls and dukes of Northumberland.
The coat color of these cattle varied, but among the colors found
were light dun, yellow, yellowish red, deep red, red and white patched,
white, and roans.
It was not until after 1750 that accurate
records of consequence were kept of the cattle of the area or of the
breeding practices that were followed. Between 1730 and 1780 many
eminent breeders had distinguished themselves in their home localities
for cattle of improved type and quality.
Among those who might be mentioned are Sharter,
Pickering, Stephenson, Wetherell, Maynard, Dobinson, Charge, Wright,
Hutchinson, Robson, Snowden, Waistell, Richard, Masterman, and Robertson.
These men and others recorded pedigrees in
the first volume of the English Herd Book, which was not published
until 1822, or after most of them were no longer active breeders.
The early breeders of Shorthorn
or Teeswater cattle left a heritage with which later breeders could
work. The cattle that they developed were usually of considerable
size and scale, with wide back and deep, wide forequarters.
Their hair and hide were soft and mellow. In
addition, they were cattle that had ability at the pail and laid on
fat readily under conditions of liberal feeding. It is not to be inferred
that these were perfect or ideal cattle as compared to modern standards.
They lacked uniformity and symmetry and were
often quite prominent at their hooks and shoulder points; other faults,
such as narrowness of chest, lack of spring of rib, short rumps, long
legs, and unevenness of fleshing, left much to be desired.
The ability of these cows to produce a good
flow of milk has always been an asset to the breed, and size and scale
have never been without merit. Breeders, of course, have striven through
the centuries to correct some of the deficiencies that were prevalent
in this Tees River stock, and at the same time to retain the most
valued characteristics that the breed possessed.
Foundation
of the Breed
The Contribution of Robert Bakewell.
Robert Bakewell, who was born in Leicestershire in 1726, was a farmer
of means who had a great influence on the Shorthorn breed although
he never bred Shorthorn cattle.
Prior to the time of Bakewell, farmers practiced
the breeding of unrelated animals and prevented the mating of animals
that were of close relationship. It remained for this animal-breeding
enthusiast to demonstrate to the English farmer a revolutionary way
to improve livestock.
He demonstrated with his Leicester sheep and
his long-horned cattle that animals of close relationship could be
mated, and if rigid culling was practiced, desirable characteristics
could thereby be fixed much more rapidly than by mating unrelated
animals.
Following the development of this breeding
system by Bakewell, we find not only Shorthorn breeders but also breeders
of many classes of livestock adopting his methods.
Today Robert Bakewell is affectionately referred
to, as the "Father of Animal Breeding" although in his time
he was considered very eccentric and lacking in mental stability.
This was a case of a genius in livestock breeding not being appreciated
in his day.
The Colling Brothers.
The Colling brothers, Charles and Robert, are often referred to as
the founders of the Shorthorn breed of cattle. Other men had previously
contributed to the native cattle of the area, but it remained for
these two enterprising breeders to develop the first systematic breeding
program.
Charles Colling resided at Ketton, about four
miles northeast of Darlington, in the country of Durham. Darlington
had obtained considerable publicity as a market place or "fair"
for cattle. Robert Colling settled at Barmpton, which was about a
mile closer to the town of Darlington.
It was on these two farms that the foundation
of the breed was largely laid. About 1783 the Collings visited the
home of Bakewell and made a study of his breeding methods.
The system of inbreeding followed in
the Colling herd is illustrated in the diagrammed pedigree of Comet
(155) in Chart 2-1. This bull was calved in 1804 and created quite
a sensation when he sold for $5,000 at public auction.
The second calf sired by Favorite (252) was
steered and became known as the "Durham Ox." This beast
was fitted for public exhibition and it was shown at the reputed weight
of 3,400 pounds. In those days the cattle were exhibited but were
not shown, as are our cattle at the present time.
They were toured over the country in somewhat
of a sideshow exhibition. Mr. Robert Colling reared a free-martin
heifer that became famous by the name "The White Heifer that
Traveled." This nonbreeder was sired by Favorite (252) and attained
a live weight of 2,300 pounds.
The publicity that was accorded the "Durham
Ox" and "The White Heifer that Traveled" did much to
advertise the new breed of Shorthorn cattle that was just being formally
founded.
There is no question but that the herds of
the Colling Brothers left their mark on the Shorthorn breed because
nearly all Shorthorns in the United States or in Great Britain today
trace to their herds in one or more lines. In their herds the bulls
Foljambe (263), Favorite (252), and Comet (155) were bred and used,
and they also used the great bull Hubback.
The Booth Family. The Booth family was
the next to add considerable merit to the Shorthorn Breed. It is not
definitely known when Thomas Booth of Killerby, in Yorkshire, began
breeding purebred Shorthorn cattle, but it is known that in about
1790 he purchased what might be considered the foundation of his herd.
Mr. Booth operated from the estates of Killerby
and Warlaby, which were not far apart and only about 15 miles south
of Darlington. Consequently he was near the Colling Brothers and drew
heavily upon them for foundation bulls.
Unlike Mr. Bates, his contemporary as a breeder,
Mr. Booth did not go to the Colling herd for females but instead used
Colling-bred bulls on rather large females that he purchased from
other sources. It is said that he used bulls that were somewhat more
refined than the cows to which they were bred.
Apparently Mr. Booth was the first breeder
to place great stress on fleshing qualities, and, in contrast to Mr.
Bates, valued beef almost to the exclusion of milk.
He developed an aptitude in his cattle to
take on flesh, particularly during the dry period. Because of his
stress on thickness of flesh and strength of back and loin, the booth
family produced a line of Shorthorns of strictly beef type that had
strong constitutions.
Mr. Booth seemingly appreciated the Hubback
and Favorite breeding more than that of other cattle in the Colling
herd, and after securing the type of cattle he wanted, he inbred with
much success.
In 1814 Richard Booth, Thomas Booth s
son, after studying his father s method of breeding, began breeding
Shorthorns. He leased a farm near Studley and later lived at Warlaby.
He is said to have improved upon his father
s cattle, and he particularly improved the cattle in the forequarters
of bred for straighter underlines. In 1819, John Booth, the brother
of Richard Booth, began breeding cattle at Killerby. After the establishment
of the Royal and Yorkshire Shows in 1839, John Booth exhibited at
these shows.
Bates Shorthorns.
Thomas Bates was born in Northumberland in 1775 and was of a good
family. In boyhood he was sent to grammar school, spent some time
taking more advanced studies, and later was given professional agricultural
training.
At 25 years of age he leased the extensive
estates of Halton Castle but later lived at Ridley Hall and Kirklevington.
He made a thorough study of the Colling herd and the cattle they produced
and inspected the herds of many other breeders of the time before
he decided to lay the foundation for a Shorthorn herd.
In establishing his herd Mr. Bates drew very
heavily upon the blood of the Collings herd and purchased his first
cattle from them in 1800 at what was then regarded as very high prices.
In 1804, he purchased the cow Duchess, by Daisy Bull (186), from Charles
Colling at a reported price of $500.
At that time she was four years of age and
in calf to Favorite (252). As will be seen from Chart 2-2, Duchess
is a direct descendant of both Favorite and Hubback. This breeding
was said to have greatly impressed Mr. Bates, as he claimed she was
the only living direct descendant of these famous bulls.
When Charles Colling effected his Ketton dispersion,
Mr. Bates was on hand and purchased and granddaughter of his original
duchess cow and named her Duchess 3d.
She was sired by the $5,000 but Comet (155),
who was in turn sired by Favorite (252), and Favorite was also the
sire of the dam of Comet, and of the cow Young Phoenix; Duchess and
duchess 3d became the foundation of the very famous Duchess family,
which is often thought of as synonymous with Bates breeding.
Thomas Bates stressed heavy
milking qualities in his cattle, and our present Milking Shorthorns
largely stem from his breeding. Thomas Bates might be regarded as
the founder of the dual-purpose type of Shorthorn. James Fawcett of
Scaleby Castle gave the following description of the Duchess as they
were found in the herd of Thomas Bates:
The character
of the Duchess at this time is that of good and handsome wide spread
cows, with broad backs, projecting loins and ribs, short legs and
prominent bosoms.
The head was
generally inclined rather to be short and wide than long and narrow,
with clear eyes and muzzle, the ears rather long and hairy, the
horns of considerable length and waxy.
They were
good milkers and had for the most part a robust healthy appearance.
The color was mostly uniformly red, with in many of them, a tendency
to white about the flank.
There was low fertility among
the duchess females, and in 1831 the Duchess family had produced only
32 cows in 22 years. Thirty-one of these were recorded in the Herd
Book. During this period of time all of the Bates herd bulls with
the exception of one had been of Duchess blood.
In Speaking of the Duchess
cattle, Allen 3 states:
The simple
fact was that Duchess cows as a whole, had not been prolific or
constant breeders, through abortions and other causes, and whenever
they passed a year or two without breeding, he fed off and slaughtered
them.
The bulls
that descended from them showed no lack of virility, and Bates still
contended that the tribe had increased in their fineness of quality,
were admirable feeders, and good milkers when breeding.
In 1831 Mr. Bates was
searching for some females of Colling breeding and spied the bull
Belvedere (1706) looking through a barn door at the farm of a Mr.
Stephenson, and purchased the bull for $250.
Belvedere was a yellow-roan
bull of large scale with heavy shoulders and a mean disposition, but
he was a bull of mellow hide. He was used freely on the Duchess females
of the Bates herd, and was the sire of Duchess 34th, who
was bred back to her sire to produce Duke of Northumberland (1940),
the greatest breeding bull but was also shown to the Championship
of England.
1 James
Sinclair, History of Shorthorn Cattle, Vinton & company,
Ltd., London, 1907.
2 Lewis F. Allen, Shorthorn Cattle, United Sates
Department of Agriculture Report, 1878.
3 Lewis F. Allen, Shorthorn Cattle, United States
Department of Agriculture Report, 1878.
Reference:
Briggs, H.M. & D.M. Briggs. Modern Breeds
of Livestock. Fourth Edition. Macmillan Publishing Co. 1980 (reprinted
with permission from Dr. Briggs).
Photographs:
American
Shorthorn Association, 8288 Hascall Street, Omaha, Nebraska 68124,
Phone: (402) 393-7200
