The San Francisco call., 1905-04-20
VERIFY
OLD LEGEND
Special Dispatch to The call.

LONDON, April s. 19.-Until they
were offered for sale while ago few
persons were aware that there still
existed in England a herd of wild
white cattle have been the most cher
descendants of the aboriginal bulls
and cows that were kept by the an
cient Britons. For centuries the
white cattle have been the most cher
ished possession of the family of Earl
Ferrers at their famous Charley eS-
tate in Staffordshire. 1t was first es
tablished there in the reign of Henry
III.
All that remains of the once mighty
herd that used to roam through the
forests and over the moors surround
ing Chartley-less than a dozen shag-
gy beasts-have just been bought by
the Duke of Bedford Their disposal
in this fashion puts the finishing
touches to the singular >verification of
an ancient legend that the birth of
black calves in the herd portended
death or dire disaster to the family
or is possessions.
The legend began to be respected in
1922, after the battle of Burton
bridge between Edward IL and his
revolted Barons, with a Ferrers
among them. A black calf being born
that year at Charley and the second
downfall of the house ensuing-the
first had been preceded by a similar
occurrence-this was imputed to the
black quadruped rather than to the
impolitic patriotism of the Earl, and
it was ruthlessly slaughtered.
FORTUNES OF ESTATES.
BY marriage Charley passed to the
Shirleys, who were oppressed by
Cromwell as royalists and later re-
warded by Charles II with the revival
of the Ferrers barony. The Earl Fer
rers of Queen Anne's time had fifteen
sons and twelve daughters, which
greatly impoverished the patrimony.
His grandson, the notorious Lawrence,
Earl Ferrers, was executed at Tyburn
in 1860 for the murder of his stew
ard According to superstitious chron-
iclers every vicissitude in the affairs
of the family has been heralded by
the birth Of a black calf.
The present Earl Ferrers showed
his contempt for the legend by intro
ducing a black bull into the herd. His
object was to combat the decadence
resulting from continuous inbreeding
by introducing a new strain. In 1903
several black calves. were born in the
herd. This intentional sullying of the
whiteness of the breed was followed
by what folk who take pride in noble
heritages regard as the crowning dis
aster in the annals of the family
the sale Of the entire estate, feudal
fortress. historic associations, park,
broad acres and all the rest at auc-
ton.
And thus was lost to the family
property which though it had many
times changed hands through death,
through marriage, or at the swords
point had never been subjected to the
ignominious fate of being bartered for
current coin. Now that the herd it
self has been sold none of the Earl's
former tenants at Charley believe that
his descendants will ever regain pos
session of the estate.
HERD IN GOOD HANDS. .
However, the herd has fallen into
good hands. Both the Duke and
Duchess of Bedford are devoted to
dumb animals of all sorts and have
the largest private collection in the
country. They can be trusted to apply
the restorative remedies necessary to
perpetuate these interesting relics-the
introduction of fresh blood and the
rearing of new born calves by foster
mothers.
Professor Robert Wallace suggests
that the -colored calves of these
white cattle, instead Of being slaught-
cred as has heretofore been the GUS
tom, should be collected in one park
and allowed to breed unfortunately.
The possibilities are great" he
says, '.of obtaining profoundly inter-
esting scientific as we'll as useful prac-
tical results from efforts made in that
direction. Had a proposition of SINH
lar scientific interest to America arisen
in that country. the calves in question.
would no doubt have been bought by
the Department of Animal Industry,
or such an institution as the State
Agricultural College at Ames, Iowa,