m ^ MASSACHUSETTS STATE COLLEGE GOODELL LIBRARY Ser.3 V-40 'e,T xmL THE FARMER^S MAGAZINE. VOLUME THE FORTIETH. Tni;!D SEiaES. JULY TO DECEMBER MDCCCLXXI. LONDON: PUBLISHED BY ROGERSON AND TUXFORD, 265, STRAND. MAY BE HAD BY ORDER THROUGH ALL BOOKSELLERS. LONDON: PRINTED BY HOGERSON ANU TUXFORD C6o STRAND. v. ^H> INDEX. A. A Bad Business — Description of Plate, 1 Aberdeenshire Game Conference, 543 A Day on the Dart— Description of Plate, 1 A Family Party — Description of Plate, 187 After-dinner Discussions, 4 Agricultural Reports, 86, 87, 275, 464 Agricultural Societies' Discussions : — Bath and West of England, 41, 222, 311,503 Bedfordshire, 370 Boroughbridge, 499 Cheshire, 421 Denbigh and Flint, 423 Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland, 63, 82, 504 Lincolnshire, 559 Manchester and Liverpool, 295 New York State, 125 Royal Agricultural Society of England, 6, 137, 228, 501 Royal Agricultural Society of Ireland, 61, 295, 435 An Agricultural Association for Devonshire, 435 An American View of Castle Acre, 401 Another Model Lease, 376 A Prize Man, 431 A Royal Leicester Ram — Description of Plate, 281 A Royal Shropshire Ram — Description of Plate. 460 Artificial Fertilizers; by Cuthbert W. Johnson, Esq., F.R.S., 1 A Show in America, 508 B. Beet Sugar at Sandwich, 547 Belgian Farming, 18 Bird Boys, 84 Bradburn v. the R.A.S.E., 15 Breeding of Stock, 59 Bull's Head— Description of Plate, 187 C. Canon Girdlestone on the Labourer, 64 Cattle Breeding and Feeding, 3J7 Cattle Disease Statistics, 370 Cattle Trade Chronicle, 86, 371, 559 Cavalry Mounting, 200 Chambers of Agriculture Discussions: — Central, 53, 536 Cheshire, 85 East Riding, 275, 543 Essex, 124, 205 Goole, 127 Herefordshire, 559 Leicestershire, 543 Morpeth, 257 Notts, 347 Scottish, 481 Staffordshire, 543 Warwickshire, 543, 559 West Suffolk, 560 Whitby, 123 Cheese Currencies, 87, 280, 374, 562 Cheese Factories, 85 Chemistry of Feeding StuflFs, 495 Chicago and the Great Fire, 458 Choristers — Description of Plate, 376 Corn Trade Reviews, 88, 278, 372 466, 560 " Count Out" on Agricultural Topics, 19 Country Fairs, 276, 465 D. Dairy Management; by the Northern Farmer, 9 2 Dairy Produce, 382 Damages for Sheep killed on a Railway, 457 Deep or Shallow Ploughing, 123 Doings of the Central Chamber, 52 Double-Furrow Plough Match, 465 Dressing the Earth— Mr. Ruskin's Arcadia, 251 Duty of Farmers, 257 E. Echoes from the Autumn Meetings, 341, 437, 512 Economy in Farmyard Manure, 127 Egyptian Agriculture, 250 English Corn Exchanges, 415 English Land Laws, 194 Experiences of an Amateur Farmer, 192 Export of Pedigree Stock, 98, 485 F. Farmers' Club Papers : — Ayrshire, 250, 382 Ballymahon, 128 Blandford, 495 Botley and South Hants, 514 Carmarthenshire, 244 Central, 470 Dalrymple, 422 East Lothian, 99 Garioch, 243 Haddington, 388 Lxworth, 407 Midland, 59 Stowmarket, 395 Wigton, 257 Farmers' Homes, 125 Farmers in Scarlet, 457 Flax Prices, 90 Floating Curds, 207 Foot-and-mouth Disease, 355, 356, 557 Four-course System, 87 Freedom of Cultivation, 505 French Agriculture, 357 French Peasant Farmers' Relief Fund, 31, 364,419 G. Galloway v. Somerset Cheese, 272 Game Evils and Lame Remedies, 380 Game in Norfolk, 389 Game Laws of Europe, 204 Geology in its Relation to Field Soils, 26 Gordon Hospital, Aberdeen, 459 Grain Currencies, 89, 279, 373, 468, 562 Grass Lands, 499 Grub in Sheep, 36 H. Harvest "Wages, 3&S Heads; by Henry Corbet, Esq., 282 Herefords at Guildford, 81 Herefords at "WolverhatDpton, 229 Home Cattle Defence Association, 390 Home-made Cheese, 5 " Homestead"' — Description of Plate, 1 Hop Markets, 90, 280,374, 46S, 562 Horse-dealing without a Licence, 465 How to breed Hampshire Downs, 129 I. Imperial Averages, 89, 280, 374, 468, 5G2 Implement Trials at Guildford, 81 Improved Shorthorns, 417 Injury to Grain in Thrashing, 99 Intellect in Agriculture, 202 Ipswich Corn Exchange, 415 J. Jersey Heifers — Description of Plate, 91 K. Kingsley (Canon) on Geology, 26 Labourers— Their Employment, Wages, and Edu- cation, 470 Lamb Disease, 51 1 Land Legislation in Australia, 262 Landlords' Improvements, 136 Land Question in England, 3l3 Laws relating to Land, 489 Leigh Agricultural Association, 370 Licensing Question, 124 Local Taxation, 491 M. Manifesto of Labourers, 65 Manure Currencies, 90, 280 Meetings of the Half-year: — Abergavenny, 424 Airdale Agricultural Society at Bingley, 301 Altrincham Agricultural Society, 432 Badminton Farmers' Club, 237 Bakewell Farmers' Club, 427 Barnard Castle Agricultural Society, 424 Bedfordshire Agricultural Society, 105 Bentham Agricultural Society, 349 Bmgham Horse Show, 334 Birmingham and Midland Counties Cattle Show, 551 BirmiughamHorse Show, 258 Blofield Agricultural Association, 531 Brecon Agricultural Society, 412 Bridlington Agricultural Society, 230 Burnley Agricultural Society, 321 Cambridgeshiie and Isle of Ely Agricultural Society, 1 16 Cannock Agricultural Association, 531 Che&hire Agricultural Society, 338 Cleveland Agricultural Society, 320 Cleveland (Ohio), 508 Craven Agricultural Society, 311 Cumberland Agricultural Society, 406 Derbyshire Agricultural Society, 291 Dorchester Agricultural Society, 231 Durham, 236 Easingwold, 210 East Cheshire Agricultural Society, 420 East Derbyshire Farmers' Club, 431 Frome Cheese and Butter Show, 402 Gloucestershire Agricultural Society, 302 Gloucester Root Show, 559 Gothenburg, 201 Greasley Agricultural Societ}', 507 Great Driffield, 213 Halifax Agricultural Association, 307 Herefor'e. The names of the dealers have not been furnished. II. Another very inferior manure was received from Mr. Edward Wadham, Millwood, Dalton-in-Fiumess. This manure had the following composition : — Moisture ... *Organic matter ... Phosphate of Ume Oxide of iron and alumina Carbonate and sulphate of Ume fAlkalies and magnesia ... Sand *Containing nitrogen Equal to ammonia . f Containing nitrate of soda 26.74 39.90 5.30 4.86 4.63 11.53 17.05 100.00 1.37 1.66 .73 I estimated its value at abont £2 5s. per ton. In reply to my inquiries, Mr. E. Wadham writes as follows : Millwood, Dalton-in-Furness, May 15, 1871. Sir, — Absence from home must be my apology for not having sooner attended to your favour of the 6th inst. Your analysis entirely confirms my suspicions. The article was purchased from one William Gradwell, of Barrow-in-Eurness, and he charged £8 10s. per ton for it. I shall, of course, only pay him according to your valuation, and if he makes any diffi- culty about it, he must stand the consequences. Yours obliged. Dr. Augustus Voelcker. Edw. Wadham. 12. Composition of a Sample of Patent Blood Manure, sent hy Mr. F. Minett. Moisture Water of combination and \ *Organic raattter ... ) Biphosphate of lime (monobasic phosphate lime Equal to bone-phosphate (tribasic phosphate of lime) rendered soluble by acid Insoluble phosphates Sulphate of lime Alkaline salts and magnesia Insoluble siliceous matter *Containing nitrogen ... Equal to ammonia ... 19.24 15.60 11.10 (17.40) 8.14 40.64 2.01 3.27 100.00 "1.83 3.21 Slowley Hall, Arley, near Coventry, April 11, 1871. Dear Sir, — I have sent you a sample of Patent Blood Ma- nure by rail, to analyse as No. 5, and enclose you a Post-office Order for £1. The price of the manure at my station is £10 per ton ; it is bought from a very respectable firm, and I should like to know whether I have value for my money. Waiting your analysis, I remain, yours truly, A. Voelcker, Esq. Junius Minett. Slowley Hall, Arley, Coventry, May 26, 1871. Dear Sir, — On receipt of your analysis, I forwarded a copy of it and your letter to the firm the manure was purchased from, and enclose a copy of their reply, which 1 do not consider at all satisfactory. They enclose a receipt for £3, the difference of their No. 2 and No. 3 manure. If 1 had not had an analy- sis, 1 should not have known their mistake (as they put it). I have not given the name of the firm, but will do so if you re- quire it. — I am, dear sir, yours truly, Junius Minett. Dr. Voelcker. P.S. On looking at the bags I find they are marked No. 3. They have three prices for their Patent Blood Manure ; No. 1, £6 ; No. 2, £8 ; No. 3, £10. No. 3 I ordered. J. M. Copy of Reply. May 17, 1871. Dear Sir, — Immediately upon receipt of your sample we tested) it, and find that it is No. 2 blood manure, and not 3. We exceedingly regret such a mistake should be made, and for the future we shall brand the bags with red instead of black, so that no such mistake can occur. With forwarding towards 200 tons daily, a mistake such as this cannot be wondered at with workmen, as the only distinction on the bag is the letter 2 and 3. The price Dr. Voelcker put upon it is simply absurd. The ammonia is 20s. per cwt., the soluble phosphate 6s. per cwt., which shows at once — 10 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 17.40 soluble, at 6s £5 4 0 2.21 ammonia, at 20s 2 4 0 Insoluble, all from Pern guano, 8.14 at 2s. 6d. 10 0 Organic matter and sulphate of lime ... 1 10 0 £9 18 0 The standard for price is Nesbit's, and the price of ammonia is the market price. We guarantee No. 3, 20 per cent, soluble phosphate, 4 per cent, ammonia — that is, 2 per cent, more than the No. 2. — We are, dear sir, yours truly. The committee have requested Professor Voeleker to write at once for the name of the firm who supplied this manure. 13. Adulterated Bice Meal. — la the next place I have to report a case of adulterated rice meal, sent to me for examination by Mr. W. Stubbs, Bickerscote, near Stafford. This meal had the following composition : . Composition of Adulterated Bice Meal. Moisture 8.36 Oil 4.72 *Protein compounds 7.87 Starch, sugar, &c 43.75 Woody Fibre 11.14 ^Mineral matter 24.16 'Containing nitrogen Analysis of Ash. Phosphate of lime Magnesia and alkalies Sulphate of lime ... ... .. Silica and sand 100.00 1.26 3.44 2.89 11.73 6.10 24.16 It will be noticed that this meal was mixed with gypsum; and as it contained 24 per cent, of mineral matter and 11 per cent, of indigestible woody fibre, it is no wonder that it did not agree with Mr. Stubbs's stock. In answer to my inquiries respecting the name of the vendor of the meal, price, &c, I received the following note : Dunston Farm, Penkridge, March 25, 1871. Sir, — Mr. W. Stubbs, of Bickerscote, has laid before me your analysis of a sample of rice-meal from a lot purchased by him, also your letter requesting him to give the name and ad- dress of the vendor, and as he had some doubts as to how far this would render him liable in case it was published, I have prevailed on liim to place in my hands the invoice and corre- spondence relating to it, to forward to you if 1 thought fit. I do so, because I believe it is the only way to check the shame- ful impostures to which we are every day made victims. Mr. Stubbs wishes you to send the paper back to him at once, as he consumed 7 sacks of it before he had any suspicion of its contents, and which he has not yet paid for. — I am, yours truly, Frederick Byrh. Dr, Augustus Voeleker. Copy of Invoice. Corn Exchange, Oldwinsford, Stourbridge. Charles Harrison. 1870. Terms cash. Dec. 31—25 sacks No. 1 rice-meal, 14s £18 2 G 25 bags not returned, Is. each , 15 0 Mr. W. Subbs. £19 7 6 14. Linseed-cake, containing castor-oil beans. — The following letter was received from Professor Yarnell : — Beech House, Belton, Suffolk, April 23, 1871. My dear Doctor, — I send you two pieces of cake taken from a parcel 1 am feeding some bullocks with. It has made tliem iU, and 1 will thank you to examine it, and inform me what it contains ihat is injurious to health. Some part of the lot has been damaged, I suppose, from having been heated in bulk ; and I observe that a fine crop of Fungi has sprung up on the surface of some of them, which I have thought may have something to do with the illness of the beasts, but of tliis I am not certain. It may contain in its composition seeds aud other matter which has done the mischief, but of this you will, I have no doubt, be able to inform me. It is possible that you may have had samples to analyse from the same lot of cake, as other farmers besides myself have had rea- son to complain. A reply as early as convenient will oblige yours truly, George Var>ell. Member of the Royal Agricultural Society. Dr. A. Voeleker. Beech House, Belton, Yarmouth, April 29, 1871. Dear Dr. Voelcker, — I beg to thank you very much for your kind letter respecting the cake. With regard to the con- ditions under which it was bought and sold, I am quite ignorant. All I know about it is, that a merchant in Yar- mouth imported a cargo of the cake, and sold it to some far- mers, who very soon, 1 believe, complained that it made their bullocks iU. The merchant requested me to try some of this cake with some of my cattle. I therefore had a sack of it taken to my farm, and on the following day I gave three bullocks about 4 lb. each of it, wliich they readily ate, and on the folio .ving day they were all decidedly iU. Ihe symptoms were indicative of considerable irritation of the mucus mem- brane of the stomach and intestines. They refused aU kinds of food for nearly two days afterwards. As the symptoms in each animal were precisely the same, I did not think it neces- sary to test the cake any further, being satisfied in my own mind that it was unfit for food for cattle. I daresay I shall be able to find out whether it was sold as pure linseed, and also at what price. Beech House, Belton, near Great Yarmouth, May 25, 1871. Mt Dear Sir, — About the end of this week a gentleman will send to you, by my advice, three samples of cake for you to analyse. They are from the bulk of some cake I sent you small portions of a short time since, but he (Mr. WatUog), an extensive merchant — fancies the said cake, i.e., the bulk, is composed of two or more kinds, wliich he would be glad to ascertain. He has lately been feeding two or three lots of sheep upon this cake, aud has not detected that it injures them in any way. I remember that, in your very kind letter to me, you asked " Who was the seller of the above mentioned cake, and the price it was sold at ?" I have learned that the price was £10 per ton, but, finding it produced disease in many cattle that were fed with it, he sold the rest of it by auction. Believe me yours truly, Dr. A. Voelcker. George Varnell. A careful microscopic examination showed not merely the presence of Fungi, but also that of the husks of castor-oil beans. The cake, I need hardly say, is totally unfit for feeding purposes. I have reason to believe that the same cake has done much mischief in Suffolk and Norfolk, inasmuch as I had samples of cake very similar to that sent by Prof. Varnell, sent to me for examination by non-members of the Society, who complained of the mischief done by the cake to their stock. 15. Another cake was scut to me by a gentleman re- siding in Esses, not a member of the Society, sold at £11 10s., as of best English Linseed, which was composed chiefly of the screenings from pure seed, and which had caused considerable loss amongst sheep. This gentleman not being a member of the Society, the names of the pai'ties concerned cannot be given. 16, The next case on which I have to report is that of a sample of linseed cake, which was sold at £13 5s. to Mr. E. H. Davies, Palton, Wenlock, Shropshire, as best cake. Its composition was as follows : Moisture 11.34 Oil 11.60 ""Protein compounds 29.25 Gum, mucilage, starch, &c. ... ... ... 30.33 Woody fibre 0-53 fMineral matters ... ... ... ... 7.96 ^Containing nitrogen... fContaining saud 100.00 4.68 1.40 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 11 Although this cake was not a bad feeding cake, it was nevertheless adulterated with pollard, or similar starchy mill refuse materials, and certainly not best linseed cake, nor worth £12 5s. ton. Mr. Davies writes to me as follows : Palton, Wenlock, April 18, 1871. Dear Sir, — The linseed cake which I sent to you for analy- sis, and which I have received, was bought from Mr. Burnet, 01 Broseley (agent). It is a cake made at Hull, but the maker's name I do not know. It was sold as a genuine lin- seei cake, and is stamped (Best). I have had three different 'ots from the same maker — one lot stamped (Pure), the other (Genuine), and this which I sent you (Best). It cost me £13 5s. per ton. I have fancied it was a good cake, my cattle eating it well ; but a neighbour of mine having bought some from the same person, with which he was not satisfied, I thought I would liave it analysed, to satisfy myself if there was anything in it except linseed. Although you state that the cake in question is adulterated with bran, &c., stiU the com- position is very similar, at all events compares favourably with, that of a cake sold by Mr. Firmstone, Stourbridge, and which you state is a pure linseed cake, of first-rate quality. To explain what I mean, I enclose you analyses of the two cakes, which, if it is not giving you too much trouble, I shall be glad to have returned. — Yours faithfully, Evam H. Davies. 17. Another sample, sold as best English linseed cake, was found adulterated with nut cake, and made from dirty Linseed. In contained in 100 parts : Moisture 11.93 Oil 10.60 *Protein compounds ,., 27.06 Gum, mucilage, &c 29.20 Fibre (woody) 15.66 fMineral matters 5.56 100.00 *Containing nitrogen 't.SS ■{•Containing sand 98 Mr. Leggatt, of Bromwich, Titchfield, Hants, says in his letter to me : "I have reason to believe the cake con- tains some ingredient highly injurious to stock, as I have within the last five weeks lost 30 lambs which have been fed on it." (Signed) Augustus Voelcker, F.R.S. These reports were adopted. Joint Journal aj^d Chemical. — Mr. J. Dent Dent, M.P. reported that the joint committee recommended that they be authorised to engage a consulting botanist to the Society at a salary of £100 per annum, the engage- ment to be an annual one. It would be the duty of the botanist to esamine plants, seeds, &c., for members of the Society, and to report the principal work performed from time to time for its members, and to undertake the work at fixed rates, to be arranged before his appoint- ment, and to fiu'nish papers to the Journal on special subjects of botanical interest. They also recommended that the question of the appointment of an entomologist be postponed for the present. — This report was adopted. General Wolverhampton. — Lord Kesteven re- ported the following recommendations of the committee. (1.) That it is desirable that a charge of Is. each person be made for admission to the trial fields at Barnhurst, near Wolverhampton, except to members of the Society. (2.) That the local committee be bound to provide suffi- cient police to prevent any impediments to such trials. (3.) That a sufiicient staff of police be provided at the cost of the Society, to keep the trial ground at Stafford clear of trespass by the public during the progress of such trials. (4.) That the police at the trial fields be obtained from the Staffordshire county police, that they consist of four mounted and six dismounted men, and that more be granted if required by the stewards. (5.) That applica- tion be made to the Secretary of State for the services of some members of the A Division of the Metropolitan Police. (6.) That the advertising of the show be on the same scale as last year, (7.) That the arrangements for Divine service in the showyard be left to the Vicar of the parish. (8.) That the arrangements for the issue of com- bination tickets by the Great Western and London and North-Western Railways and the Society, as proposed by the companies, be adopted. On the motion " That this report be adopted," the following amendment was moved by Mr. Randell, seconded by Mr. Milward, and carried by 19 votes against 7 : " That while appreciating the assistance which Mr. Bantock has given to the secretary in endeavouring to effect arrangements with the railway companies for the issue of combined tickets, it does not appear to the Council that the terms on which alone the railway companies propose to issue such tickets would make the acceptance of them desirable." Subject to this amendment the report of the committee was then received and adopted. Implement. — Mv. Milward reported that Mr. Randell and Mr. Masfen had engaged additional land, required for the trial of implements, in the occupation of Mr. John Darlington, near Stafford, viz., 53 acres, at a cost to the Society of £150, with not more thau £10 additional for men to keep the ground. The committee therefore recom= mended that the prizes offered in Classes 1, 2, and 3, and the silver cup given by the President, shall not be awarded without submitting the competing implements to trial upon this land after they have been tested upon the compara- tively lighter land at Wolverhampton. — This report was adopted. Veterinary. — Mr. Thompson stated that a deputation of the members of this committee had had a conference with a deputation of the governors of the Royal Veterinary College, in accordance with the resolution passed at the last monthly Council. At that interview it was main- tained by the governors that the College authorities could not undertake to send a veterinary inspector into the country at the request of the Society or of any of its members, as such an engagement would interfere seriously with the delivery of lectures at the College, and would also bring the professors into competition with their own pupils at the reduced fees claimed in the statement of ve- terinary privileges of members of the Society ; they also could not undertake that professors at the College should collect for publication in the Society's Journal information on the treatment of diseases of stock ; but they considered that the grant made by the Society was given as an aid to the education of veterinary surgeons in the pathology of cattle, sheep, and pigs. Mr. Thompson, however, expressed his belief that the deputation with whom the Veterinary Com- mittee had conferred, probably did not represent the opinions of the governors as a body, and he therefore moved the following resolution : " That the Veterinary Com- mittee be requested further to consider the existing rela- tions between the Society and the Royal Veterinary Col- lege, and to report to the Council, whether, in their opinion, any improvements could be effected therein." This resolution, having been seconded by Mr. Milward, was carried unanimously. Showyard Contracts. — Msr. Randell (chairman) re- ported that the showyard at Wolverhampton was nearly completed, and that the contractor was entitled to the sum of £1,500. The committee recommended that the seal of the Society be affixed to the agreement with Mr. Penny. For the purpose of preparing the agreement with the local committee of Cardift', the surveyor had been di- rected to make a preliminary plan, which had been approved by the committee, subject to such modifications as the honorary director may find desirable, and the Secretary 12 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. had been instructed to embody iu the agreemeut the re- quirements pointed out. — This report was adopted. Mr. Torr, in moving the resolution of which he had given notice, viz., "That when the trials of implements at the country meetings of the Society are not held in the showyard, one-half of the expense of providing trial- fields shall in future be borne by the Society," pointed out that the magnitude of the Society's requirements made their visit a heavy tax on the selected locality, and that the town itself did not in any way benefit by the trial-fields. — Mr. Jacob Wilson, in seconding the resolu- tion, expressed his belief that the Society could not spend money in a better way thau that proposed by Mr. Torr. — Mr. Amos considered that the Council oughtto know in each case what the Society has to pay, and Mr. Thompson suggested the insertion of the word " years" into the resolution after " in future." — Mr. Torr having adopted this suggestion, and the resolution having been further supported by Mr. Randell and Mr. Masfen, it was, as amended, put from the chair, and carried unanimously. The death of Mr. Samuel Jonas, of Chrishall Grange, a trustee of the Society, was reported. Mr. Thompson gave notice that at the next monthly Council he would move " That in future the list of ques- tions to be answei-ed by towns competing for the country meetings shall include one calling for a statement of the maximum cost of the land required for the trial of implements, the acreage wanted being furnished by the Society." Letters were read from Mr. James Easton, Sen., re- signing the oflBce of consulting engineer, and from Messrs. Eastons, Amos and Anderson, accepting the office of con- sulting engineers to the Society, and were ordered to be entered on the minutes. On the motion of Mr. Jacob Wilson, seconded by ]\Ir. Torr, the judges of stock and implements, who had been selected by the judges' selection committee, and had ac- cepted the office, were duly elected by the Council. Permission was given to the committee of the South Staffordshire General Hospital to attach two boxes for the receipt of donations to the Society's buildings in the showyard at Wolverhampton. A letter from the Secretary of the Austro -Hungarian Embassy, communicating the rules of the Agricultural Trial Station at Ungarasch-Altenburg (Hungary) was re- ferred to the Journal Committee. A letter was read from Mr. Joseph Meadows, the breeder of " Bolivar," and the Secretary was instructed to inform him that the Council could not depart from their usual practice in reference to prizes for stock. THE STEAM PLOUGH TRIALS AT WOLVERHAMPTON. THE OPENING DAY. According to some of our highest authorities, the more money a man has been employing of late years in the practice of agriculture, the more money has he in all probability been losing. It is maintained that capital cannot contend against the seasons ; and however start- ling such a theory may sound, it may have some especial point just at this moment. On this very morning a select company of gentlemen enter upon a fortnight's very arduous duties under the auspices of the Royal Agricultural Society. They do so with sundry tabulated conditions or instructions before them, although, as it seems to ns, these directions are at best of a merely formal character. They are to be allowed so much time ; they are to carefully award the prize money at their dis- posal to a particular description of implement ; they are to notice nothing which does not come within "the quin- quennial rotation ;" they are to select such implements as they please for trial ; they will decide on the merits of the work ; they will deliver their awards to the stewards, and so forth. In fact, an old hand would hardly ever trouble himself to read over his " instructions," that is, if they reach to nothing more than that we have quoted. But in awarding the £100 for " the best combina- tion of machinery for the cultivation of the soil by steam-power," or another £100 for a combination where " the weight of the steam-engine does not exceed ten tons," or £50 for the combination most applicable to " an ordinary agricultural engine," it does look as if some especial feature in the performance might have been at least referred to by the Council. By this time, of course, any man may plough by steam if he so choose, as this is no longer a question of actual possibility, but simply of expense. And it is on this consideration mainly that " the problem," as it is called, must be solved, or, at any rate, any particular progress recorded at Wolver- hampton. When, some four or five years since, travel- ling committees were appointed by this same Society to inquire into the results of steam cultivation, they received marching orders, which it might have been as well per- haps to have registered as standing instructions whenever the subject came up again. Thus the attention of these Royal commissioners was speclaUtj directed, amongst other matters, to — The depth and nature of the tillage, and its cost per acre, including the various items of expenditure for each kind of work. The amoimt paid annually for repairs, and the nature of breakages, and their causes. The most economical mode of supplying water for steam cultivation. The best method of arranging and forming roads and headlands for steam cultivation. And so on. Indeed, it would certainly sound as if the attention of the judges at Wolverhampton might have been with equal advantage specially directed to these points. The general regulations, however, include a wholesome condition, which should not be without its influence on the awards, and which runs thus : " The specification must state the selling price of each article complete and in good working order ; and each exhibitor will be bound to execute all orders given to him in the Show-yard, at the price stated in this specification, and to deliver the implements within six months of the close of the show, on pain, in case of failure in such en- gagement, of not being again allowed to exhibit at the meetings of the Society." It might be a business of some difliculty to very strictly enforce any such rule as this ; but the advantage or absolute necessity for economy in the general application of steam-power to farm purposes is still more emphatically put, by the oft'er of the President's Cup. Three years since at Leicester, His Highness the Viceroy of Egypt, in commemoration of his visit to Bury St. Edmund's, gave a gold cup, for the best implement forthe cultivation of the soil by steampower " for use iu foreign countries where skilled labour for repairs is difficult to be procured." And here, at Wolverhampton, Lord A'ernon, equally, with an eye to our own people, offers a cup for some system ; " the cost of which shall not exceed £700," to be worked by a locomotive engine, " adapted for thrashing and other farm purposes." This, as we take it, must be the prize of honour of the meeting, as it undoubtedly promises to lead to the most useful results. In drawing his report to a close, Mr. Howard Reed, the secretary to the opening commission, THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. IS said "the maili objects of the inquiry were two- fold ; first, to ascertain the actual resists of the application of steam-power to tillage operations ; second, to discover the hindrances that check its further progress." The first of these considerations will be rather beyond the scope of the judges at Wolverhampton, whereas the second should come well within the range of their duties. The main hindrances to the use of the steam-plough are palpably still its cost and conduct. The Viceroy of Egypt insisted on " simplicity of con- struction" as one of the main features in his prize plough, and of course the more cumbrous the implement and the more elaborate the arrangement proportionately the dearer will it be in the end to the purchaser. Mr. Coleman, the secretary to another of these commissions, reports as " our general conclusion, that success depends more upon management than the nature of the apparatus — good management will command success under adverse conditions, whereas advantageous circumstances cannot compensate for want of intelligent supervision on the part of the proprietor, which should be based upon a thorough practical knowledge of steam machinery." This naturally opens up a very wide field ; nor is the argument very clearly or very closely put. Management must surely in a degree depend upon the natm'e of the apparatus. The thing is something of a truism, just as a good horseman will ride a nice easy-going nag with a deal more comfort than he will one which is hard to hold or sit. So it is with the steam-plough. Everybody is not, as a matter of course, a fine horseman or a practical machinist ; and hence the more easily managed, the more generally will the animal or the implement be employed. At the general meeting of the Highland Society, two companion reports, as given in another column, were presented on certain steam-plough trials which took place during the spring. In both of these papers it will be noticed that special stress is laid upon original outlay, wear-and-tear, and current expenses. In fact, it would seem as if almost any system would now work well enough if it would only work profitably. The Highland Society's deputation clearly kept this point prominently before them, as when reporting that " the main advantages claimed for the system, simplicity and economy of working arrangements and of first outlay, and general adaptability to fields of varying size and shape, appear to be substantially borne out by the practi- cal success achieved on Mr. M'Laren's farm. Until, however, it has been ascertained by direct and careful testing what amount of power is consumed by friction, &c., and what amount of time is consumed by the arrangement of the tackle, it is impossible to give any judgment as to the practical efficiency of the system, or its comparative economical application." This is very guardedly put ; while on a longer or more thorough trial, any such practical efficiency and economical application might no doubt have been ascertained. The judges at Wolverhampton will, weather permitting, have this ex- tended opportunity, when their main design should be to keep the tenant-farmer free from the costly visits of a white elephant. " At one time there was a doubt as to whether, consi- dering the excessive hardness of the soil, and other difficulties that had arisen, it would not be well to defer the trials until the autumn. But the judges felt that they could make their awards ; the exhibitors were con- sulted, and expressed their willingness to submit to the trials without delay ; and a special meeting of the Council concurred in the opinion, to which the stewards cordially assented, that the trials should be held then and there. I venture to think that this decision was right, and that the result of the trials could not have been dif- ferent nor more satisfactory. The one prominent moral of the show may be said to be this — that in a few years every operation of field tillage will be performed by steam." So said the senior steward of implements in his official report on the " Royal" steam plough trials at Leicester in 1868 ; while until within the past two or three days it looked as if the senior steward at Wolver- hampton might write in a very different strain, and the excessive softness rather than any excessive hardness of the soil be the chief cause of complaint. However, the weather promises to have taken up just in time, and with some weeks' work before them, the judges will conse- quently be enabled to examine and cross-examine, delibe- rate and adjourn, from Barnhurst to Stafford, nobly sacrificing their own time and home duties with all the heroic resignation of a Tichborne jury. " The progress of steam cultivation since the trials at Newcastle, in 186-1, has been eminently satisfactory, not so much on account of novelties introduced or striking improvements adopted — for, with the exception of a strengthening and perfecting of details, there is in reality little that is new — but because the merits of steam culti- vation have become largely understood and appreciated ; because tenant-farmers occupying areas sufficient for the employment of steam have adopted it, and have not only not been disappointed, but, on the contrary, have found great benefit from its use ; because those occupying smaller farms have gladly availed themselves of the opportunities of making use of steam power by hire ; and because the cereal produce on strong land has manifestly increased under the influence of steam cultivation. For all and each of these reasons we may safely assert that a great work has been done. The elaborate reports of the Inspection Committees appointed by the Society, in which are recorded the results of steam cultivation on 135 se- lected farms, have undoubtedly gone far to open the eyes of the less sanguine and adventurous to the advantages to be reaped from steam culture. It is a gratifying fact suggestive of the influence of the reports, that our prin- cipal makers of steam cultivating machinery have been unusually busy during the last ten months, and that the home trade has never hitherto been so active. We may fairly assume that steam cultivation is now a well- established fact, and may reasonably conclude that in process of time the steam engine for cultivating purposes will be commonly used upon every farm, and be as thoroughly appreciated as the thrashing machine." So said the judges of steam cultivation at Leicester in 1868, and to say more here, or thus early, would go far to anticipate the report of the judges of steam cultivation at Wolverhampton in 1871. No doubt the agricultural world is becoming more and more alive to the profitable use of steam-power on the farm ; while only the other evening, in the Upper House, Lord Dunmore told his brother peers that " traction engines had been much im- proved since the existing Acts were passed, and great benefit would accrue to traders and the public froui their becoming a substitute for horse-labour, which was very expensive;" as Earl Grey "looked forward to ploughs, as well as carts and waggons, being drawn by these locomotive steamers, and if the Bill, after reference to a select committee, did not pass this session, he hoped the House would refuse to renew the existing Act." A very apt prologue is this little debate of the Lords to the business of the national Agricultural Society at Wolver- hampton, where, rather than anticipating the awards, let us repeat the chief decisions arrived at when steam culti- vation was last put upon public trial in 1868 : John Fowler and Co., Leeds, the gold cup, offered by the Viceroy of Egypt ; John Fowler and Co., the first prize of £100, for their 10-horse power double set of hauling apparatus ; James and Frederick Howard, Bed- 14 THE FAEMBR'S MAGAZINE. ford, the first prize of £50, for their set of patent steam cultivating apparatus. The judges of steam cultivators at Leicester were : ^lessrs. F. J. Bramwell, C.E., E.A. Cow- per, C.E., John Coleman, John Rooke, and John Hemsley. At Newcastle-upon-Tyne in 1864, at which meeting the periodical trials may be said to have been first organised, John Fowler also took all the chief honours ; the judges here being Messrs. D. K. Clark, C.E., H. B. Caldwell, Clare Sewell Read, Francis Sherborn, and John Coleman, who came to the conclusion that : '"' the great feature of the Xewcastle steam trials, as indicating progi'ess since the "Worcester meeting, consists in the use of two engines work- ing simultaneouslv. The double-enarine system appears now to be fairly started, and likely for many purposes to supersede the anchor arrangements. Nor must we forget that the clip drum is the parent of this system, for with no other windlass used for steam-cultivation could it have been possible." The following is a complete list of the officials engaged in the conduct of the Implement trials at Wolverhampton. JUDGES. STEAM CULTIVATING MACHINERY, ScC. F. J. Brarawell, C.E., 37. Great George-street, I;ondon, S."\Y. W. Menelaus, C.E., Dowlais, Merthvr Tvdvil. 3Iajor H. V. Grantham, West Keal "Hall, Spilsby. John Hemsley, Shelton, Newark. John Hieken, Dunchurch, Ruprby. Richard Kay, Forcett Valley, Darlinsfton. J. ^Y. Kimher, Tubney Warren, Abingdon, F. Sherborn, Bedfont, Middlesex. HOP MACHINERY AND MISCELLANEOUS. H. B. Caldwell, Monkton Farlei^h, Bradford-on-Avon. C. Whitehead, Barming Honse, Maidstone. STIVAEDS, Colonel F. M. Wilson, Suffolk. Chandos Wren Hoskyns, M.P., Hereford. W. J. Edmunds, Lechlade. T. C. Booth, Warlaby. Fortunately for the exhibitors the rain, which had come down daily during the previous week, ceased on the Friday night, and with the assistance of a brisk north-east wind on Saturday the ground was in very fair condition for most operations, a few slight showers only having fallen on Sunday. The land selected for the preliminary trials consists of about 130 acres, known as " Barnhurst," in the occnpation of ^h\ Taylor, sitnateabout three miles from Wolverhampton, adjoining the road from Tettcnhall to Codsall, and forming part of the farm upon which the sew- age of Wolverhampton is being utilised. The best means of approach is by the Great Western Railway, which passes through the trial-fields, where the Company have constructed temporary platforms, to which special trains are announced to run at intervals of about an hour to and from Wolverhampton, for the convenience of visitors. The inclement weather had somewhat retarded the delivery of a portion of the implements to the show-yard, and consequently it was considerably after the appointed time (five on Saturday evening) before those for trial were arranged in complete order. The land for the most part is a light gravelly loam on a sandy subsoil, the crops being old seeds grazed, first seeds just mown and carted off green, and vetches also cleared off. A course has been staked out for the trials of the traction entrines. If mile in length, traversing nearly all the trial fields, and formina; also the portion from which the public will view the other trials. Various undula- tions, in the shape of old pitholes and sharp turns, are to be met with in the course, which is thereby rendered capable of thoroughly testing the powers of fhe engines for ordinary farm purposes. Mr. T. C. Booth, the Steward elect of implements, with Mr. Brandreth Gibbs, and Mr. Easton the engineer. were engaged the Saturday in allotting the ground for the various classes, in which the entries are as follow : PRIZES. STEAM CULTIVATION. Class 1. — Ei^/if entries, of which three only are double sets, two being made by Messrs. Fowler and Co., and one by Messrs. Howard, for the best combination of machinery for the cultivation of the soil by steam- power, first prize £100, second £50. Class 2. — Five entries, for the best combination of ma- chinery for the cultivation of the soil by steam-power, the weight of the steam-engine not to exceed _ 10 tons, first prize £50, second £25. Class 3. — A7«^ entries, for the best combination of ma- chinery for the cultivation of the soil by an ordinary agricultural engine, whether self-propelling or portable, first prize £50, second £25. Sixteen sets of tackle only for the three above classes. Class 4. — Seven entries, for the best windlass, detached, prize £20. Class 5. — Six entries, for the best snatch-block, or sub- stitute thereof, prize £10. Class 6. — Seventeen entries, for the best plough, suitable for steam cultivation, prize £25. Class 7. — Three entries, for the best subsoiler, suitable for steam cultivation, prize £20. Classes 8 and 9. — Nineteen entries, for the best digger, suitable for steam cultivation, prize £25 ; for the best cultivator, ditto, prize £25. Class 10. — Two entries, for the best skim-plough or scarifier, suitable for steam cultivation, prize £20. Class 11. — Seven entries, for the best roller, suitable for steam cultivation, prize £10. Class 12. — Eight entries, for the best harrow, suitable for steam cultivation, prize £10. Class 13. — Ten entries, for the best di-ill, suitable for steam cultivation, prize £20. Class 14. — One entry, for the best root or stone extractor, suitable for steam cultivation, prize £10. Class 15. — Three entries, for the best combination of any of the above implements not qualified to compete in classes 1, 2, or 8, prize £20. Class 16. — Thirteen entries, for the best implement, or part of tackle, suitable for steam cultivation, of any other description, not qualified to compete in the pre- ceding classes, prize £20. Class 17- — Thirteen entries, for the best agricultural locomotive engine applicable to the ordinary require- ments of farming, prize £50. Class 18. — Tour entries, for the best waggon for agricul- tural purposes to be drawn by an agricultural locomo- tive engine, prize £20. Twn entries for a silver cup, value £100, offered by the Right Hon. Lord Vernon, President, for the best com- bination of machinery for the cultivation of the soil by steam-power, the cost of which shall not exceed £700. The engine to be locomotive, and adapted for thrashing and other farm purposes. ]\Iessrs. Fowler and Howard the only competitors. HOP MACHINERY. 25 Entries. Class 1. — For the best machine for the cultivation of hop gardens, to supersede manual labour, prize £20. Class 2. — For the best machine for washing the hop plant to remove the aphis blight, prize £10. Class 3. — For the best hop-presser, prize £10. Class 4. — For any other improved implement or imple- ments used in the cultivation or management of hops, prize £10. IMiscellaneous awards to agricultural articles and essential improvements therein, 10 silver medals. In the classes for which one prize only is offered, tlie THE FAEMER'S MAGAZINE. 1$ judges will be empowered to divide it equally between two competing implements, if they consider them equal in merit. Messrs Fowler and Howard are by far the largest ex- hibitors throughout ; while the following is a general list of exhibitors of steam cultivators, &c. : Amies, Barford, and Co., Peterborough ; Ashby, Jeffery, and Luke, Lincoln ; W. Ashton, Lincoln ; The Atmos- pheric Churn Co., London ; Aveling and Porter, Kochester, Kent; Barrows and Stewart, Banbury. H. Bare, Newton Abbot, Devonshire ; C. Burrell, Nor- folk ; Cambridge and Parhau, Prestley ; (Coleman and Morton, Chelmsford ; .1. Coultas, Grantham ; Jas. Davy, Eynsham, Oxfordshire ; W. C. Eyton, Warrington, Lan- cashire ; J. Fowler and Co., Leeds ; J. Freer and Co., Loughborough ; E. Hayes, Stony-Stratford, Berkshire ; Hayes and Son, Stamford, Lincolnshire ; Haynes and Son, London ; Heywood, Tyler, and Co., London ; J. Hensman, Ampthill, Bedfordshire ; J. and F. Howard, Bedford; "W. Huddofurlh, Altwhistle, Northumberland; James and Son, Cheltenham ; J. Le Butt, Bury St. Edmunds ; Mander and Walker, Shrewsbury ; Mellard, Trent Foundry, Rugeley ; Milburn and Co., London ; J. R. McKenzie, Birmingham ; H. Pooley and Son, the Albion Foundry, Lincoln ; Priest, Woolnough, and Mitchell, Kingston-on-Thames ; J. Sainty and Co., Peterborough ; Ransomes, Sims, and Head, Ipswich ; The Ravensthorp Co., Mirfield, Yorkshire ; Robey and Co., Lincoln ; Reed, Regent's-circus, London ; Tangye Brothers and Holman, London ; J. Fenwick, Grantham ; Tuxford and Sons, Boston ; W. Walker and Son, Bing- ham ; J. Warner and Son, London ; W. Weeks and Son, Maidstone ; J. A. Williams, Baydon, Hungerford. The heavy storms of Sunday night caused the water to lie about the entrance to the trial fields ; but on Monday it was fine again, and if no more rain comes the land will mostly be, in moderately fair workino- condition. Little more than preliminary arrange ments were undertaken, owing to the non-arrival of many implements from the Show-yard until late in the morning. Messrs. Menelaus, Hemsley, and F. Sherborn will judge classes one, two, three, and Lord Vernon's prize ; Major Grantham with Messrs. Hitcheu and Kimder take classes four to sixteen, and Mr. Bramwell, engineer, judges classes seventeen and eighteen, as well as having the general superintendence of the trials. Fowlers compete in all the classes for cultivators, as, also, do the Howards and the Ravensthorpe Engineering Company with Fisken's patent. Amies and Barford compete in class three ; and, it is said, for Lord Vernon's prize. Barrows and Stewart have entered the same set in the three first classes, and Hayes, of Stony Stratford, is the only other exhibitor whose steam tackle is on the ground for the three first classes. Ran- somes, Sims, and Head have only entered a traction engine for competition. The " deciding courses" in classes one, two, and three, as well as for the President's Cup, will take place on Mr. Darlington's farm, near Stafford, after the preliminary business has here been got through. BEADBURN v. THE EOYAL AGRICULTUEAL SOCIETY OF ENGLAND. This case came on for hearing in the Court of Exchequer, Westminster, on Tuesday, June 13, before Mr. Baron Bram- well and a special jury ; and subjoined is a verbative report of what occurred. Mr. H. James, Q.C, and Mr. Morgan Lloyd, were counsel for the plaintiff, and Sir John Karslake, Q.C, and Sir George Honeyman, Q.C, for the defendants. Mr. Morgan Lloyd having opened the proceedings, Mr. H. James said : May it please your Lordship and gentlemen of the jury. This, as you have heard from my friend, is an action for libel ; but I am happy to say that in con- sequence of the course which has been taken, and I venture to say most properly taken on the part ofthe defendants, you will only be troubled tor a very few minutes by hearing a short statement from ray friend Sir John Karslake and myself. The defendants on the record are the Royal Agricultural Society of England, and the plaintiff, Mr. Bradburn, is a gentleman who for some years has carried on a very extensive business as a manufac- turer of artificial manure at Wolverhampton. At the com- mencement of the year 1870 the plaintiff had an application from a Mr. Whittingliara — a person who had been an agent of his, but who had ceased to be his agent — to supply a certain quantity of manure called ground bones at a somewhat low price, which he named. Mr. Bradburn replied, in a letter which has been published, that he could not supply that manure at that price without mixing with it an article called bone waste, which is produced by a mixture of phosphorus with bone ash. The manure, so prepared, was sold upon the order of Mr. AVhittiughani, by whom it was resold to his land- lord, Mr. Broughtou — a gentleman residing near Nant- wich in Cheshire. That gentleman thought it right to have it analysed, and when it was submitted to Dr. Voelcker, the eminent analytical chemist, it was found not to be that which Mr. Whittingham had represented it to be, namely, the highest class of manure. Under these circumstances a statement was made to the Chemical Gom- mitte of tiie Royal Agricultural Society. An explanation took place, and Mr. Bradburn, the plaintiff, by means of a printed document, set forth most clearly and distinctly the circumstances under which he had sold the manure — that he had invoiced it as bone and bone-waste, and had placed marks upon the bags showing that it was bone and bone-waste, and therefore that it was not the highest class of manure. He placed the correspondence which had passed between himself and Mr. Broughtou, who had purchased the manure from Mr. Whittingham, before the Council of the Royal Agricultural Society. I will say no more than that, probably through some inadvertence, or possibly from a little oversight on the part of some gentlemen connected with the Chemical Committee of the Society, after that full and detailed information had been given by Mr. Bradburn, in the month of August last year the statement was substantially repeated in the Joimial of the Society, that a sale had taken place of an inferior article which had been represented as a superior one. Mr. Bradburn having to live upon the good opinion of those who purchase from him, it became, of course, a serious matter to him that such a statement should be in the hands of his opponents in trade. It has injured him considerably in his business up to this time ; and if the thing had been allowed by him to pass un- noticed it would probably have injured him still more. Under these circumstances it was absolutely necessary for him to bring this action. When the action was brought a plea of justification was put upon the record, alleging that the state- ment in the article was true. It must be obvious to every one who has had an opportunity of reading the correspondence, and who is aware of the circumstances that were brought to the notice of the Council before the article was published, that the statement contained in it could not be justified, and that if it were taken to be true it must result in the almost ruin of Mr. Bradburn. After consideration, my friends, who have had an opportunity of consulting ray colleagues, have taken a course which Mr. Bradburn feels he ought at once to acknowledge to be the right and proper course towards him. He has no wish or desire in dealing with such a Society as the Royal Agricultural Society of England, to which he subscribes largely himself, and which can have no object but that of doing good to the agricultural interest of this country, to press litigation unduly against it ; and the result is that my learned friend. Sir John Karslake, will state the circumstances uuder which the Royal Agricultural Society have taken this course, and when you have heard his statement the only thing that will remain for you to do will be to return such a verdict as wiU give Mr. Bradburn his costs. Sir John Karslake ; May it please your Lordship and 16 THE FABMEE'S MAGAZINE. gentlemen of the jury— My friend, Mr. James, has truly stated to you that so far as the Royal Agnricultural Society were con- ceried in making this publication there was not the slightest mahce on their part. The circumstances have been shortly and accurately stated to you by my friend. Mr. Bradburn being a manufacturer of manure, Mr. Whittingham, a person who represented himself to be an agent of his, procured from him some manure, which he bought of him as hone and bone-waste, and which he, Mr. Whittingham, resold to Mr. Broughton as pure bone-dust, Mr. Broughton, as a member of the Eoyal Agricultural Society, of which Mr. Bradbum is a member, knew that one of the great objects of the Society is to have manure analysed, so that the agricultural interest may not suffer by having from tinie to time spurious instead of genuine manure delivered to them ; and may not be disappointed by having crops come up which are of an inferior character. Mr. Broughton sent a specimen of this manure to Dr. Voelcker, the analytical che- mist of the Society, and it was represented to him that, instead of being pure bone-dust, it was bone-dust with an admixture of waste, and that, under those circumstances, a great deal of its value was lost. The report of Dr. Voelcker was laid before the Council of the Society ; and at the time when it was origi- nally laid before them and published, and before any explana- tion was given by Mr. Bradburn, there was no doubt in the minds of the Koyal Agricultural Society a belief that Mr. Bradburn 1iad, through an agent, or as it was supposed by himself, sold as bone-dust that which was really bone-dust and waste. After considerable correspondence between Mr. Broughton and Mr. Bradburn, and after an explanation by Mr. Bradburn as to the part which he had taken in the sale, it turned out that Mr. Whittingham, who had been Mr. Bradburn's agent, and who might for some purposes be still daemed to be an agent for Mr. Bradburn, had been told with reference to this transaction that he was not to sell this article as pure bone-dust, but as bone-dust and waste. The correspondence was afterwards laid before the Committee of the " Royal Agricultural Society, and they, taking the view that what was done by an agent was in fact done by the principal, in the month of August, when this work (holding up a copy of the /o //;•;;«;) was sent round to the different members of the Society, published on the part of Dr. Voelcker, a report in which it was stated that in analysing a sample of bone-dust wh'ch had been sold to Mr. Broughton, who had bought it from Messrs. Bradburn & Co. through Mr. Whittingham, their agent, Dr. Voelcker found that it was not bone-dust but bone-dust and waste. But, gentlemen, this matter has now been sifted. I have had the honour of seeing some of the members of the Council of the Royal Agricultural Society, and I may say that they are satisfied that the statement of which the plaintiff complains, and which was made without any qualifi- cation in the JoKrnal of the Society, is a statement which when read might be deemed by many persons to impute to Mr. Bradburn that he had been active in the sale of that which, though represented to be bone-dust, was not pure bone- dust but an inferior article. Feeling as the Council do, after Mr. Bradburn's explanation, that he only intended to have this manure sold as bone-dust and bone-waste, they think that they ought not still to adhere to the statement which has been made, and which if interpreted in that way would be an unfair statement as against ]\Ir. Bradburn. Under these circumstances I am quite willing, on behalf of the Council, to say that the Council feel that they have gone too far in making the statement that they have made. Tliey feel that tliey ought to have tliis stated publicly, and to allow a verdict for nominal damages to pass against them, it being understood that his Lordship will give a certificate for costs, and so the matter will be ended. The Royal Agricultural Society have, of course, no interest in this matter, except that of doing good to the agricultural interest of this country. It is perfectly well known that it does sometimes happen that when people are led to beUeve that they are getting valuable artificial manure an article of very inferior quality is palmed off upon them. This statement was publislied under the cir- cumstances I have mentioned, and inasmuch as it imputes to Mr. Bradburn that which could not be justly imputed to him, he personally having had nothing to do with the sale, the Council feel that in justice to Mr. Bradburn the statement ought not to go uncontradicted by them in open court; and on their behalf I now admit that they were not justified in stating what they did in the Society's Journal in August last. Mr. Baron BramweU : Gentlemen of the jury : Of course there can be no notion here that there has been any ill- written or improper motive on the part of the defendants, who are far too respectable and too distinguished a body to be in- fluenced by any such feelings. I think the public ought to feel very much obliged to them, and to others who do as they do. We have no public prosecutor whose business it is to protect us against frauds and adulterations ; and therefore we ought to feel very grateful to this Society for what they do. But as Sir John Karslake has admitted, however distinguished and useful they may be, as soon as they find that they have done a man a wrong they ought to come forward and say so, and that is what they have done. You will, therefore, give a nominal verdict to the plaintiif in this case ; and I will give the necessary certificate for costs. Mr.H. James: It is aspecial jury. Mr.BaronBramwell:40s. Mr. H. James: Five guineas, my lord ; it is a special jury. Mr. Baron Bramwell : Then it wUl be a verdict for five gs. The jury returned a verdict accordingly. OLD OATS.— In a case before the Surrey County Court, the judge after hearing the evidence, left to the jury two questions — 1st, whether the word " old" had been used in the conversation ; and 2nd, whether the plaintiff believed that the defendant believed and supposed that he was contract- ing for old oats, in either of which case he directed the jury to find for the defendant. The jury without answering these questions, found generally for the defendant. On an appeal to the superior court whether this verdict could be maintained, the arguments were heard before the Lord Chief Justice, Mr. Justice Blackburn, and Mr. Justice Hannen, during the pre- sent term. The Lord Chief Justice said : " It was to be re- gretted that the jury had not given specific answers to the questions put before them by the judge, because, if their verdict had been given on the first question, it must as a matter of course be sustained. As, however, it was possible that tlie verdict was on tiie second, it was necessary to consider it on that ground ; and for that purpose it must be assumed that nothing had been said as to the age of the oats. The question then was whether, under such circumstances, the passive acquiescence of the seller in the self-deception of the buyer would entitle the latter to defeat the contract. He was of opinion that it would not. The rule of law was that when a specific article was offered for sale without ex- press warranty, or circumstances from which it was to be im- plied (as where there is a sale for a specific purpose), if the buyer has opportunity of inspecting and forming his own judgment, and he chooses to do so, tlie maxim caveat emptor applies, for he gets what he contracted for, and cannot com- plain. Here the defendant agreed to buy a specific parcel of oats, and the oats were what they were sold for — that is, good oats, according to the sample. The buyer persuaded himself, indeed, tliat they were old oats, hut the seller (a farmer) neither said nor did anything to contribute to the deception. The buyer had only himself to blame. Suppose a person to buy a horse without a w^arranty, beheving him to be sound, and the horse turned out to he unsound, could it be contended that it would to be open to the buyer to say that, as he had in- tended to buy a sound horse and the seller to sell an unsound one, therefore the sale was void ? The case thus put was exactly parallel to the present, and, therefore the County Court judge was wrong in leaving the question as he had done to the jury, and the verdict could not be supported." Mr. Justice Blackburn agreed on the main point, and on that part of the case had nothing to add to what the Lord Chief Justice had stated ; but he had more difficulty about the second points vi'hether the parties were ad idem ; but he doubted whether ou that point the direction of tlie judge would bring to the minds of the jury the distinction between agreeing to take the oats under the belief that the plaintiff contracted that they were old ; and he did not see evidence to justify a finding for tlie de- fendant on this ground ; so he considered the verdict unsatis- factory, and, therefore, concurred in the judgment. Mr. Justice Hannen also agreed in the judgment, but rather on the ground tliat it did not appear tliat the jury were satisfied the defendant believed the plaintiff was selling old oats. The decision in the County Court was therefore reversed, and judgment given for the plaintiff, who had brought his action for the amount. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 17 ON THE UTILIZATION OF FURZE. BY THE NORTHERN FARMER. Public attention having been so much drawn to the great utility of this plant as a forage crop, in the columns of this Journal, in consequence of the recent scarcity and high price of fodder, I am induced at the request of the editor of the Far?ner's Magazine to follow up this subject ; giving somewhat more fully my experi- ence of its cultivation and mode of preparation for the cattle than was done in the previous article. On all light, and more particularly those lands that are high, dry and undulating, Tin-ze, or Wli'ms, or Gorse, as it is variously termed, grows with considerable luxuriance ; and that soil must be very poor and miserable indeed on which it will not grow and thrive, ilost farms having a bit of waste land attached, it is evident that such a plant becomes a great boon to the farmer, and there is no crop he can put in a piece of worthless craggy land that will give him such a rich return in the shape of food as the whin ; and that too without the slightest expenditure further than what is required to soften and otherwise prepare the land. Clear it of large stones, and cleanse from weeds. The cultiva- tion and use of furze, therefore, has manifest and invaluable advantages — supplying the animals of the farm with a very large amount of food during the months of winter and spring, enabling the farmer to do with much less breadth of the more expensively-grown root-crops, or, if it suits him to grow them, he can keep a larger and more valuable stock when the store animals are principally sus- tained by furze. It must not be overlooked that there are difficulties and extra expenses attendant on the ex- tensive use of furze, these being greater or less according to the local facility afiorded by the situation of the farm for cutting and bruising the plant when grown. Both sides of the question will be plainly stated in this short article, as I will state nothing but my own every-day experience in sowing, cutting, crushing and placing before the cattle ; so that those readers who are interested in the question, and who intend to grow a portion of furze, may be as nearly as possible able to judge and act for themselves, as if at much trouble they paid me a visit and personally inspected the meadow from which the crop was cut, the machinery which prepared it, and the cattle and horses which were fed on it from 1st November to loth April. It is of no use to sow furze on wet or moory land ; whatever care or trouble may be taken ^with it on such soils it will not suc- ceed. On dry slopes, however poor, it does well, and on rich dry land it grows with extraordinary luxuriance. The preparation required for it is exactly the same as for clover, and it suits equally well to sow down with a com crop. Like the clover and grasses, the hit will be more certain if sown at the same time as the corn, the soil being so much more friable and mellow when recently stirred than it is after having become caked by exposure to sun and rain. The last fortnight of March and the whole of April becomes therefore the most convenient seed-time, and when thus early sown the young plants have acquired strength before the close of the growing season, and are able to stand the fi'osts of winter. May, however, is not too late, as with excellent prospect of success it can be sown amongst the growing corn in the same manner as clover, freshening the surface as much as possible with a sharp-biting harrow, and covering in exactly the mode usually pursued with grass-seeds. The quantity of seed required for the statute acre is 35 lbs. Less of course would do, as it would branch out auJ cover the ground eventually ; but it is of immense advan- tage to have it thick, every shoot growing straight up without a single branch or offset. In the first place such furze is much more tender and easier to masticate, how- ever well the stronger-grown branches may be bruised ; and, secondly, it is much handier to cut and collect, and being softer is easier prepared, the strain on the machine being not nearly so great. It is utterly impossible to form an idea of the value of this plant for feeding pur- poses until actually seen in its cultivated state. In its wild state it is hard and sapless ; when cultivated it is I'ich, soft, and juicy, and is eaten with unmistakeable relish by horses and cattle. It is my firm and decided opinion that thtre is no food that can be put before a horse which he will take to so heartily and eat with more evident enjoyment than whins when properly prepared. It is very important that the land when seeded should be thoroughly clean, so that the embryo plants may not be choked, or at best have to maintain a struggle for existence. Couch and other rank weeds that have strong roots and luxuriant foliage are highly detrimental to young furze plants, as however tenacious of life they may be, they are rather delicate in the early stages of their growth, and easily stunted. Premising that proper care has been taken in preparing the seed-bed, the plants will show thick on the ground when the corn is removed in autumn, each being a little tiny object possessed of three small glistening leaves. AVhen exposed to the air and light they grow rapidly in a very short time, covering the ground so much as to clothe it with verdure of the deepest green. No attention of any kind is necessary during the follow- ing summer, further than to draw out any weeds that may show themselves. About the beginning of Novem- ber in the year following that on which it was sown the furze is fit for use, and will afford an immense amount of valuable food, rich and succulent, and if properly pre- pared will be greedily eaten by both horses and cattle, even when placed before them for the first time. When prepared by the chaft'-cutter only, two bushels will be re- quired for a feed to each horse ; if crushed, half a bushel less will do, as the bulk is considerably reduced by crush- ing. For cattle the quantities are much the same ; in- died, it may be laid down as a very safe rule that every animal will eat much more than it has any likelihood of getting, few people having the requisite supply for the long period of five months. To extend the time and to afford somewhat of a variety, I prefer chopping up a portion of straw or hay along with the furze, this mix- ture being quite capable of sustaining store cattle all through the winter in fair condition. Cows in-milk will require a portion of roots along with this mixture, and horses the usual supply of oats when performing the ordi- nary work of the farm. I have never given it to fatten- iug stock, although knowing that they would eat it greedily, considering that roots, hay, and oilcake is the best food that could be presented to them for laying ou flesh quickly, and time saved in reaching maturity is money gained. Having now stated the advantages ac- cruing to the farmer by the use of this plant as food for stock during winter, I proceed to notice the difficulties inseparable from its extended use. The advantages. 18 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE, as I have endeavoured to show, ai-e a lai-ge amount of good food economically grown, costing nothing for its culture after being established, but the rent and other charges on the land. The difficulties pre- sented consist mainly in the large amount of labour, both manual and power, required to prepare it for use. This is work from which there can be no evasion ; it must be done, and done well, otherwise all the trouble and expense previously gone to becomes a dead loss. "When steam or water-power can be made available, the labour is not nearly so severely felt, nor is it so expensive ; but when a furze meadow of from five to ten acres in extent has to be cut and crushed with horse-powei", it becomes an almost overpowering labour. No matter how busy the horses may be at other work, it must be given up to go into the mill, and this not occasionally, but every day. A man must go to the meadow to cut it ; a horse, cart, and man must be sent to bring it in. A man is required to feed the cutter, another to lift the shreds material with a shovel, and place it in the hopper of the bruising ma- chine ; a man or boy must keep the cutter supplied, and throw it back as it accumulates under the crusher, and the horses must have a driver. All these hands must necessarily be withdrawn from other occupations for the time being. There is a certain amount of time lost in going and coming, and expenses are unavoidably increased. As the season advances, and spring work becomes urgent, the withdrawal of the horses and men from field work is felt more severely, and is more or less grudged, the probabililty being that if hay, roots, and straw, are moderately plentiful, a por- tion of the furze is left uncut, rather than lose the opportunity of fine weather for getting in the spring crops. For working the furze machine with horse-power, the ordinary gearing of the thrashing mill will be suf&. cient, any ordinarily intelligent mechanic always finding a niode of attaching a working axle to which the belts can be attached without disturbing the more permanent fixtures of the thrashing.machine, further than throwing the one out of gear while the other is at work, and vice versa. With such work as preparing furze, which requires to be attended to daily for such a lengthened period, there is no power so suitable as water, if it can possibly be had. "With it there is no danger ; the power is so continuously equal that there is no straining of the machinery, and when the works are once erected the expenses are reduced to the lowest point possible. Admitting the possibility of the furze-cutter being so constructed as to be able to cut the spray into infinitesimal portions, I yet hold to merely cutting into half- inch lengths with the ordinary chaffing machine, then passing through the crusher. It appears to me that the bruising so effectually given by the latter process permits exudation of the sap to a certaia extent, which, adhering to the crushed fibre, imparts a flavour to the whole mass in no other way obtainable, the animals showing their appreciation of this mode of pre- paration by the ravenous way in which they devour it when placed before them. The deductions I myself draw as to the utility of furze as a forage crop are simply that it afi'ords in combination with other dry foods excellent assistance in wintering stock, and in this way is exceed- ingly valuable. If, however, too much importance is attached to it, and an attempt is made to bring through the animals on furze solely, or but with little other help, they will become bound in their bowels, lose con- dition, and rapidly depreciate in value. THE FARMING OF BELGIUM. The kingdom of Belgium is more densely populated, and the soil is more subdivided than any other country upon the continent of Europe. Siuce the French revolu- tion all feudal rights have been extinguished, and the Civil Code has jealously provided against the accumula- tion of landed property. The principle of equality has been carried to such au extent that an heir is compelled to restore to the estate anything he may have received by deed or gift, so that no one can be advantaged beyond the portion allotted by law. When real property cannot be conveniently divided, it is sold and the proceeds dis- tributed, but only in case that a division is almost im- possible; neither is any person allowed to dispose of his property to the prejudice of his heirs or descendants. There are, however, still a certain number of large estates, owing either to some wealthy proprietors succeeding in keeping properties together, orby baying many properties, or owing to farmers leasing lands from different owners and uniting them into large farms. There is a great desire for the acquisition of land and small savings are often expended in extensions rather than improvements. Division is not obligatory, provided those interested can come to an agreement to make up the various equal shares of the property ; and such agreement may extend over a period of five years, and may be again renewed at its ex- piration. Out of every 100 farmers 43 per cent, cultivate less than 50 acres ; 12 per cent, less than 1 hectare ; 29 per cent, land not exceeding 5 hectares ; and the number cultivating more than 10 hectares is only 8 per cent. This extreme sub-division compels both young and old to continuous toil and is naturally a serious impediment to educational progress in the ritral districts. According, however, to the best authorities the results up to the present time have proved advantageous, at least as far as production and rent are concerned. The attractions of the great centres of manufacturing in- dustry have operated upon the labov.r market so that the numbers engaged in agriculture have retrograded. The Bel- gians have supplied the deficiency by a vastly extended em- ployment of agricultural machineiT, and the peasantry have themselves gladly adopted the thrashing machine and the steam engine. In Hainattlt and Brabant there are few farms to be met with of any extent without the variety of implements known to our most enterprising agriculturists. The use of guano and other kinds of manure is in opera- tion everywhere, more especially in the provinces of Antwerp, Brabant, and the two Flanders ; whilst much of the progress made has been attributed to the beneficial action of the Societies through their meetiitgs and exhibi- tions. The agricultural libraries and journals have like- wise assisted in arousing a spirit of emulation amongst the growers. A great experiment, the consequences of which may have some teachings for ourselves, was undertaken in a portion of the country, comprising nearly the whole of the two provinces of Antwerp and Lirabourg. This region is called the Campine, and consisted of an immense tract of heath and bog, with here and there a few stunted trees. The soil is chiefly sandy, and represents now what the two provinces of Flanders were before they were brought under cultivation. Owing to the exertions of the Go- vernment, who have constrncted a canal, connecting the Meuse with the Scheldt, and running through the heart of the district, many parts have been converted into well- THE FARMEE'S MAGAZINE. 19 irrigated meadows ; portions have been made to produce cereals and root crops, wliilst soil which is too poor for such productions is being gradually planted with Scotch fir. Tor this purpose a law was passed in the year 1847, conferring on the Government the power to order the sale of uncultivated communal lands, whenever such mea- sure should be considered likely to prove beneficial to the public. This met with considerable opposition in the Ardennes, but is now favourably looked upon, both there and in the Campine, the result having been to increase agricultural products, to ameliorate the condition of the people as well as that of many of the communes, which till then had been without resoiu*ces. The last agrarian census was taken in the year 1866, but the information not having been made public, we are obliged to take the figures obtained in 1856 . Accord- ingly we find the soil distributed much as follows, the whole area under all crops, grass, &c., being 4,521,826 acres : Under corn crops 2,484,493 acres, divided chiefly thus — wheat 804,758, barley 110,130, oats 541,347, rye 721,492. The fallows were 159,112, grasses and pastures 1,168,657, potatoes 369,850, and turnips, &c., 81,947. Although the production of grain is probably very large for the surface, yet so great is the density of the population, being 424 persons to the square mile — nearly double our own — it is inadequate to the wants of the coimtry. In other produce, Belgium is a considerable exporter, and the two chief outlets are to France and the United Kingdom. Our purchases of all descriptions of goods now amount annually to nearly ten millions sterling, and of this two and a-half millions may be considered as belonging to agricultural produce. These results are not to be wondered at when we take into consideration the industrious character of the people, the extraordinary facilities possessed in the railways, and the possession of ocean- steam transit fi'om the two ports of Ostend and Antwerp. In 1869 the number of animals that we received from thence was 169,971 ; the value of buLter, eggs, and poultry, £610,391 ; fruit and vegetables, £207,94.3 ; flax, £573,042 ; hops, £209,313. Compared with ten years ago this shows a great increase in all except wool, which has fallen to com- paratively nil. The growth of beetroot has developed greatly, and that of hops has proved very lucrative. On a space of three square leagues in the vicinity of Lenze and Blicquy, in the province of Hainault, there are as many as eighteen sugar refineries. From the beetroot a coarse spirit is dis- tilled, which is said to be much used for the manufacture of wines, sold as sherries and madeira ; whilst the pulp is preserved in dry tanks, or buried in pits covered with earth, and given to the cattle to fatten them during the winter. In the preparation of flax, the people have always excelled, although of late years the extent of land cultivated has sensibly diminished. The crop in many parts is sold standing to the merchant, who cuts it, and carts it off the land. The favourable results of the steep- ing operations conducted in Belgium, must be attributed in a very great measure to the watchfulness and unremitting care of those employed, and to their discernment in seiz- ing the proper moment for commencing or leaving off the process. From the choice of the seed to the time when the fibre reaches the spinning mill, the inhabitants throughout these operations exhibit great superiority. The exports of the article, however, show a gradual de- cline dui'ing the past ten years. There exists some difference of opinion with regard to the cattle. Although the breed of horses has undoubtedly improved, the returns show a diminution in the flocks of sheep, which seems to be general throughout the king- dom except in the province of Antwerp. The causes as- signed for this decrease are the excessive subdivisions of property, combined with the sale and clearance of uncul- tivated lands that formerly served for pasturage. There appears to be a species of contract recognized by the Bel- gian law, the object of which is to regulate the loan or hire of cattle, or of any animals employed in agriculture or commerce. This contract, called the bail a cheptel, may be apparently turned to advantage whenever farmers are insufficiently stocked for the want of capital, as must be the case in many of the small holdings. Under this ar- rangement one person lends to another a certain number of cattle to tend, feed, and keep, on condition that all the profits arising therefrom out of the natural increase of the stock and the wool are to be equally divided between the lessor and the lessee, the latter being entitled to the milk, labour, and manure of the animals while under his care, any loss to be shared equally by both parties. It might be possible to introduce such a system into other countries if landlords were generally so disposed, under which cattle leased in this manner should in course of time, by gradual payments become the property of the tenant. In Belgium the relations between the landlords and the farmers are said to be of the most friendly cha- racter. The proprietors do aU in their power to protect and support their farmers, and they in turn are very obliging towards their landlords. THE "COUNT OUT." An honouralle memler moved fhat the House be counted, but exactly forty members, including the Speaker, were found to be present. And, again, Mr. Bentinck said that " the thin attendance showed what little interest members took in a matter which so nearly concerned their constituents" — and an honourable mem- ber noticed that there were not forty members present, when the Speaker counted, and finding there were only twenty-one declared the House adjourned. And what is this matter in which members of Parlia- ment take so little interest but treat with such sublime indifference ? Well, merely the Contagious Diseases of Animals Act, and the working of the Veterinary depart- ment of the Privy Council. Surely, however, it could not have been known to the Country Party, to the new school of staunch Farmers' Friends that Mr. Sewell Read was about to bring on such question, or identity of interests, the close sympathy between landlord and tenant, and so forth, would have insured a good House and a bold front ! On the contrary, nothing would seem to have been more sedulously put about. If we are only to believe all we hear, the English breeder and grazier is in more imminent danger than ever he has been for the last two or three years, and that is a bold word, too. The secretary of the Central Chamber of Agriculture has actually seen some Russian beasts, and has thereon indited a most alarming letter to The Times. Through another channel he " trusts that the Chambers of Agriculture and the Home Cattle Defence Association will take care that Mr. C. S. Read shall be well supported in his endeavour to expose the hoUowness and the injury of the system we 20 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. are now under. And whatever the issue of the House of Commons debate on the subject on the 2nd of June, he hopes," and so on ; while the secretary of the Home Cattle Defence Association not to be outdone also " earnestly hopes t'nat my committee will, one and all, assist in the agitation which is essential to undo the Privy Council mischief; above all, that they will write to their members urging them to support Mr. Read. Let hon. members be reminded that the statistics of imported animals are apt to mislead ; that many of the foreign sheep, especially compared to our own, are as a sprat to a herring," and so forth. Then, the secretary of the Cen- tral Chamber writes to the Lincolnshire Chamber to say the cattle of North Lincolnshire are " in most imminent danger," although the chairman of the meeting and Mr. 'William Torr hold to a directly different opinion, and do not consider there is much danger to be apprehended. Again, the Herefordshire Chamber resolves " to write to the members of Parliament for the county and city, asking them to support Mr. C. S. Read on the 2nd of June, when he calls the attention of the House of Com- mons to the working of the Contagious Diseases (Animals) Act" ; the Leicestershire Chamber, with a member of Parliament in the chair, records its " alarm at animals being admitted freely from Holland, where pleuro- pneumonia now exists to an alarming extent" ; and the York Chamber " views with consternation and alarm the re-introduction of Dutch and foreign cattle into the market." And as the result we find a House of twenty- one members. "Was there ever so pitiful a conclusion ! AVas there ever such a burlesque on the vigorous agitation of a grievance ! And further, before Chambers of Agri- culture and Cattle Defence Associations had been in- stituted, was the English farmer ever so utterly powerless, as this lame and impotent and abrupt demonstration has proved him to be ? If we are to credit the officials of these two said societies Agriculture was seldom suffering greater wrong from the Government than at this moment, and in answer to their urgent exhortations forty members are gathered together, half of whom turn their backs on it in the very height of the debate ! The secretary trusts that at its meeting to-morrow, the Central Chamber " will resolve to take vigorous steps towards placing the foreign cattle trade upon the only sound and reasonable basis ;" and we see that about the first item of the general business is " to receive communications respecting the importation of foreign cattle." The most important of these communications must of course be the count-out of the Ho\ise of Commons; to be followed by the reading of the list of all members of the House of Commons who are also members of Chambers of Agriculture ; as to be further supplemented or pointed by the names of such honourable gentlemen as were in their places to support Mr. Sewell Read on Friday. Handled in this way, some " vigorous steps," as the secretary says, may be taken, otherwise the receipt of any such communications will be a mere mockery and a sham. Evidently, however, the interests of the landlords and tenants who meet here are identical — that is to say, some hundreds of M.P.s will unite with their constituents over the adjustment of local taxation, and some dozen or two over the importation of cattle diseases. The plain fact, we fear, is that people are getting sick of the way in which the foreign cattle trade has been worked. The attempted panics and cock-and-bull stories which have been tried on so often of late years have conduced to a state of things that is anything but satisfactory. But, passing over such petty con- siderations, as we hope to do for ever, nothing could be better timed than Mr. Sewell Read's motion. There can be no question whatever but that Teterinary Science, so far as the farmer is concerned, is in a most unsatisfactory condition, either within or without the department of the Privy Council. It was only the other day that at the general meeting of the Royal Agricultural Society of England the Report from the Council stated that : " The original purposes of the grant made by this Society to the Royal Veterinary College were two-fold : — First : to advance Veterinary Science by means of the instruction afforded to students at the College. Second : to enable members of this Society to obtain the best assistance and advice in case of the outbreak of disease amongst their stock. In addition to these primary objects the Society hoped to present to its members in general, information on Veterinaiy Science, by means of lectures, reports on cases treated, and on measures to be adopted to prevent disease. The first of these objects has scai-cely been so satisfactorily performed as could be wished ; the number of Veterinary Surgeons who have gone out from the College, and become established in the country, have not so full a knowledge of the treatment of the diseases of cattle, sheep, and pigs as to give confidence to their employers." And, again, " the second object has not been satis- factorily attained. ^lembers of the Society do not apply to the Veterinary Inspector in cases of disease so much as they might do, and complain that it is not easy in these cases to obtain the professional advice which they require. Further than this, the Society does not receive from the College, or its Professors, the current information on diseases, or the suggestions for their cure and prevention which the Council think ought to be at their service." In fact, the inquiry which Mr. Sewell Read asked for is in every way warranted, and the Chamber of Agriculture, \inder whose countenance the honourable member may be supposed to have moved, and whose especial business it is " to look to matters before Parliament," insured him a House of twenty-one members — that is going so far as to assume that every one counted was with the mover of the resolution. This is naturally not very probable, as the miserable end attained only goes the more to confirm our impression that Mr. Read might have been of far more service to his fellows had he not worked with such a body tied to the tail of his coat. THE SUPPIES OF WOOL, The second great textile industry of the kingdom, and that now represented in the annual Exhibition at South Kensington, is that of wool. Although of late years outstripped by cotton, it was in earlier days our most important manufacturing industry. There are more than a quarter of a million operatives en- gaged in the factories, while the total number of per- sons directly dependent upon the trade may be set down at fully one million (including the workers), there being a larger number of dependent workers in auxiliary trades than in connection with any other British manu- facture. If we look merely at the export trade of British wool and woollens, we fiud it now constitutes one-sixth of the THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. ^A total value of our exports ; [cotton forming one-third, and iron one-tenth. Value of woollen manufactures British and yarns, exported. wool. 1855 ... £9,744,469 ... £986,523 1860 ... 16,000,448 ... 877,082 1865 ... 25,534,234 ... 901,660 1870 ... 31,831,217 ... 575,583 The value of the foreign and colonial wool imported, averages more than £15,000,000 sterling, and of foreign woollen manufactures wc import to the value of £2,500,000 annually. The statistics of the woollen industry of the United Kingdom were thus given in the census returns of 1861 :— Division and Counties. Woollen Factories. Spindles. Power Looms. England and Wales. Yorkshire 924 16 49 101 43 26 32 265 1,296,190 12,585 59,986 277,655 20,920 31,401 44,825 103,288 11,405 255 Devonshire Gloucestershire 618 Lancashire 6,377 Montgomeryshire Somersetshire 262 401 Wiltshire Other Counties 549 477 Total 1,456 1,846,850 20,344 Scotland. Aberdeen 25 15 7 16 21 16 23 61 17,510 38,311 51,142 16,353 60,747 46,368 32,950 53,804 93 Clackmannan 214 Peebles 101 Perth Roxburgh 300 Selkirk 158 Stirling 64 Other Counties 373 Total 184 317,185 1,303 Ireland 39 18,574 123 Total United Kingdom. 1,679 2,182,609 21,770 The great progress made in the manufacture of late years is shown by the following official figures, the latest available, which, however, do not bring the date down to last year. Still the great increase of factories and machinery indicate the present activity of the trade. The last census returns just taken will show even greater progress. Woollen, Worsted, and Shoddy — 1868. Division. Factories. Spindles. Power Looms. England and Wales . Scotland Ireland 2,211 207 47 6,512,590 436,134 28,104 118,755 3,529 215 2,465 6,976,828 122,499 Operatives Employed. England and Wales 233,535 Scotland 18,174 Ireland 1,378 253,087 The cotton factories (2,549) in the United Kingdom employed in the same year 401,064 operatives. The total number of persons employed in these factories in England and Wales in 1868 was in Spinning Weaving Spinning and weaving Finishing ... Other descriptions of work . . . Shoddy factories Worsted factories — in spinning Weaving Spinning and weaving Other descriptions ... Total 16,510 2,284 75,659 5,160 2,325 101,938 3,187 42,983 17,601 66,689 1,137 128,410 233,535 An estimate of the woollen and worsted trade of the United Kingdom was furnished to the Rivers Commission in the course of their inspections of the West Riding of Yorkshire in 1865. From these returns the wool pro- duced in the kingdom was estimated at 152,000,000 lbs., of which upwards of 7,000,000 lbs. were exported, leaving nearly 145,000,000 lbs. for home consumption. The estimates for 1854 of the wool produced and im- ported was 447,445,889 lbs., and 63,254,102 lbs. being re-exported, there remained 384,191,787 lbs. of wool of the value of £31,698,120. This vast amount of raw material was worked up thus — 35,500,000 lbs. of English wool, exported as yarn, valued at £5,000,000 ; and the following in manufactured goods : 110,000,000 lbs. of English wool in fabrics, valued at £22,000,000 ; 150,500,000 lbs. of foreign and colonial wools in tissues, valued at £22,600,000 ; 4,900,000 lbs. of mohair into fabrics valued at £1,200,000 ; 4,500,000 lbs. of foreign yarn into goods worth £1,800,000 ; and 79,500,000 lbs. of shoddy and extracts contributed to the extent of £4,000,000 to the value of woollen goods ; the whole producing manufactures, &c., valued at £57,100,000. To this must be added cotton yarn and other mate- rial worth £7,300,000, bringing the total value of the manufactures up to £64,400,000. A further analysis gave the following estimate : 140,500,000 lbs. wool worked up into woollen and worsted goods and yarn exported of the value of £23,948,800, andthe remaining 243,700,0001bs. into goods for home consumption of the value of £40,451,200. Ac- cording to the latest published official return (186 i) the woollen and worsted trades of the kingdom give employ- ment to the following: Factories. Operatives. 1,658 118,004 104 3,187 703 131,896 Woollen. Shoddy . Worsted. 1,465 253,087 In a paper read by Mr. Archibald Hamilton before the Statistical Society in December, 1870, on " Our Wool Supply," he stated that : " The importations of wool during the last fifty years have increased with such marvellous rapidity, that this material now ranks second in import- ance as regards our textile industry ; and has this peculi- arity, that whereas cotton and silk are produced only in certain latitudes, and in comparatively few countries, wool is produced, more or less, in all countries. Another characteristic is the great variety of qualities, comparing the produce of one coun- 22 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. Uy with. auolLiei', or even ot dilt'erent districts in the same country — each fleece indeed contains several ' sorts' adapted for various purjjoses — so that there is perhaps no single article of commerce that gives rise to so many dealings as wool. Interchange of their produce takes place even between manufacturing countries ; for example, we import from Germany seven millions of pounds annually, and the German manufacturers take two and a- half million pounds of English wool, in addition to yam spun from the same material. Again, wrool is so much preferred to any other material for nearly all clothing purposes, that the use of woollen and worsted goods has hitherto been restricted only by the cost — the consump- tion extending readily as the price of wool becomes less — and notwithstanding the extraordinary increase in the imports, there has been as yet no accumulation of wool in stock, if we except the present year, when the natural course of things has been interrupted by war." TVe are mainly dependent on our southern colonies in Australia and Africa for our supplies of wool. Germany furnishes small quantities of the finer kinds, and the River Plate districts are increasing their supplies, although the quality is not so good as the Australian. The rapid pro- gress in the woollen trade is best illustrated by the in- creasing supplies of foreign and colonial wool of all kinds used up, as shown in the following quinquennial figures : COUNTEIES. British Colonies Australasia . . . India South Africa . . . Foreign coun- tries. Spain Germany Other Euro- pean States . South America Other countries Total imports . Re-exported ... Left for con- sumption. 1860. 59,166,000 20,214,000 16,574,000 1865. 1870. 109,734,000 17,105,000 29,220,000 1,000,000 9,292,000 115,000 6,858,000 28,570,000| 27,693,000 8,950,000 17,867,000 4,630,000 3,614,000 148,396,000 30,761,000 117,635,000 212,206,000 82,445,000 129,761,000 175,081,427 11,143,148 32,785,271 J. 23,686,039 I 20,654,614 263,250,499 92,542,884 160,708,115 The computed real value of the wool and woollen rags (torn up to be used as wool) imported last year was ^16,101, 221, and of foreign woollen manufactures and yarn £4,891,477, making a total of nearly £21,000,000 paid for foreign and colonial raw materials and manu- factures. Our home supply of British grown wool Lbs. has been carefully estimated at 160,000,000 Our imports, foreign and colonial, last year, were 263,251,000 The skin wool from imported sheep is estimated at 2,400,000 Making a total of ... , Foreign and colonial Lbs. re-exported 92,542,000 Domestic wool ex- ported 12,400,000 Total... Lbs. 104,942,000 Lbs. 425,651,000 104,942,000 Leaving for home consumption Lbs. 320,709,000 besides some 40,000,000 lbs. of shoddy or rag-wool. The gross value of worsted and woollen yarn and British made goods exported last year (1870), was made tip of the following items : Worsted stuffs £13,797,738 Hosiery, &c 352,177 Shawls, &c 267,772 Carpets and rugs 1,398,576 Flannels and blankets 1,098,828 Woollen cloth, &c 4,740.369 WooUen and worsted yams ... 5,175,757 British raw wool £26,831,217 575,583 £27,406,800 These details will serve in some degree to point at the real magnitude and value of the woollen manufactures which have hitherto been most imperfectly know'u We know the quantity and value of the manufactiu'ed goods exported, but we have no guide to the precise amount con- sumed by our own large and well-conditioned population in these islands. This, some of our most experienced merchants estimate to be tliree-fom-ths of the whole manufacture. If but £1 a head for woollen goods were allowed for every soul of the population, this would give us fully half the manufacture, which cannot certainly be set down in value of annual production at less than £70,000,000. TEXTLESS NOTES. BY A CROTCHETY FARMER. " I've been a-thinking a-thinking" of not a few things lately, connected with the science and practice of farming, of which I am — being crotchety — an unworthy member ; and some of my " thoughts," if not worth the traditional " penny," have nevertheless given me some concern, and have not presented to me an altogether satisfactory view of some of the points connected with that science and practice, of which we are in the habit of speaking rather glibly, as if it was altogether the thing of life and pro- gress which we pretend to think it is, but which in many respects it is not. They say "the schoolmaster is abroad," and people are doing their very best to believe it iu the sense that he is abroad to some practical pur- pose— abroad working not talking. I take leave to think, being crotchety, that the phrase may be viewed in a another sense, and that the schoolmaster is abroad as not being " at home" either in the subject w^hich he purposes to teach, or in the sphere, or amongst the people he is supposed to be teaching. It is a good thing to be at home in the opposite sense to all this, but when I look around me, and think of aU I have seen of late, as to the science, or rather the " no science" of the practice of farming in some — shall I say a goodly number? — of the dis- tricts of the kingdom, I ranch fear that either the school- master or his pupils are abroad in the least satisfactory meaning of the term, and that much yet has to be done THE PARMER'S MAGAZINE. before the lights of science dispel the Egyptian darkness which reigns there. The train of thought has been with me for some time, having been set-a-going by some few things I have witnessed ; but a fresh stimulus has stiU more recently been given to it during the late severe wea- ther, during which I have seen something not altogether satisfactory in the practice of farming, and in districts, moreover, where the lights of science are said to shine very brightly, and which, indeed, do so shine in some parts of said districts, but which somehow or other do the rather show the density of the darkness which surrouuds them, than have a tendency to lighten up that darkness. I am not quite so crotchety as to say that it is the fault of science, by no means, but I think rather that it is the fault of the media which are not prepared to receive it, or perhaps a determined obsti- nacy, which wiU not receive its lessons. There may be something in this, and I rather think there is ; but how often do we meet with farmers who will listen to nothing about science, meeting all statements as to the good it can do them with a shrug of the shoulders, and a repe- tition of that grand old — how very, very old ! — saying of theirs, which shuts up the speaker as one shuts up a bag with a clasp, which goes off like a pistol, " There's now't like practice" — a saying which, so far as it goes, is good and sound enough, but does not go quite far enough, nor is it complete, for it is forgetful or disdainful of the truth which is conveyed in the saying, that " good practice is dependent upon sound science." It is hard to know how to get at such men, who are crotchety with a ven- geance ; and it is not satisfactoiy to think of the miserably small progress which has been made during so many years in getting them to believe that practice — with which they profess to be so enamoured — is nothing in a paying reality unless based upon science. It has been said that " self-interest is always intelligent." I do not think this is by any means true ; now and then it is, but assuredly not always. Take, for example, the lointer treatment of farm stock, which is one of the subjects about which of late I have been " a-thinking." Is self- interest here intelligent when we find that a large num- ber of farmers who glory in the name of " practical men" go on, year after year, with a practice which re- sults and cannot possibly result in anything else but a loss, and a heavy loss ? and this done, moreover, in the face of opinions which they have heard about, and which opinions are dead against the economy of their practice. If self- interest was in such cases intelligent, it would prompt them to inquire into those opinions which are so counter to their own practice, to see " whether these things be so, or not ;" for, to an intelligent man, the mere hint of a plan said to be better than his own is enough to make him inquire as to what that plan is. It is difficult for any farmer to be so isolated uow-a-days as not to have heard of what science has done for his calling, if he has not heard much of its details. And yet in view of the information which has been spread broad-cast throughout the land through the media of our Agricultural Societies, our Farmers' Clubs, and their reports and papers, and last, not by any means least, the agricultural newspapers and journals, it is not pleasant to think of many who are really in ignorance of what science dictates to farming practice ; and, nevertheless, we see in too many districts a practice which is based upon anything but science. To take the subject I have already named, I have almost before my very eyes as I write, in the midst of a purely agricultural district, abundant evidence that science is nowhere — that its teachings have never been heard of, or if heard of, thoroughly despised — so that I feel I did not put the matter too strongly in the beginning of my paper when I said that the schoolmaster was abroad in anything but a satisfactory sense, or if at home that he could not get pupils to attend his teaching. It is assuredly so in the district in which I write, and iu others of which I know ; for here and there, the winter treat- ment of stock — to take only one of the many points lying open to my notice — is carried on in open defiance of all the dicta of science. With some of my neighbours here, the winter treatment simply means ill-treatment — with some, indeed, ill-treatment carried so far as to include starvation — starvation in such weather as we had so long during the past winter — starvation from cold — starvation from want of food. For this last named horrible treat- ment of stock there can be, and is, no excuse ; it is one which should be punished, and that severely. In view of the suft'ering which innocent life has to go through in con- sequence of such treatment, I would have a law, Draconian in its severity, to punish those who were guilty of causing it. I am quite aware that those who do practise such abominable cruelties, call them by another name, and giving sundry wise shakes of the head and sundry " saws " in proof that this practice is sound, and dictated by prudence, think aU is right. In one district I know of, this process of winter starvation is called by the name of " hardening" — a process which is well named indeed, so far as those are concerned who condemn their poor sufl'ering animals to undergo it ; I should say that the man who carries out this practice is "hardened" to a certainty. But then the " practice" is much approved of, because it is said to be so useful to the animals sub- jected to it. It is hard to say how this is proved. I know, indeed, of some cases — too many, alas ! — where the success, perfect success, of the process was about to be proved beyond a doubt, but then the animals unfor- tunately— foolishly, I suppose — thought fit to die just as success was in the grasp of the practician. Some wretchedly ignorant magistrates have indeed proved themselves so stupid as to see in this so-called " practice" a disgraceful practice that was worthy of being heavily fined — a practice which, I doubt not, was deemed by the parties so fined a complete invasion of the rights of the sub- ject, as " why should a fellow be interfered with in doing what he likes with his own ?" But for those who follow such practice of " hardening" which, as I have already stated, is in many cases complete, and in nearly all semi- starvation, there is I fear little chance of doing them good by any teachings of science ; they need, it is quite clear, a preliminary teaching of quite another sort — "the education of the heart." But, for those who do not carry their practice of winter treatment of their stock to such a shameful extent as to punish them by short supplies of food or actual starvation by total want of it, but who do their best according to their light by supplying them with food, but supplying them under bad circumstances, it is possible that they may yet see the errors of their ways — errors which are those of judgment, not of mo- rality, like those who carry out the " hardening" process thoroughly and ill. I was going to say, " such is the force ofhabit, well" — but this term is altogether inapplicable to a system so monstrously bad. The reader will thus see that while I am so crotchety as to characterise the complete exposure of farm stock in winter as altogether a foolish system, I divide those who practise it into two classes : first, that which comprises those who are cruel knowingly so, who to all the inclemencies of the season add the torture of starvation — starvation brought about by placing them in fields utterly unable to yield " a good bite," and worse still, covered with snow, and that for days, by which the " bite" cannot be got at such as it is ; and, second, that class which are humane, because they sup- ply exposed stock with food, but not wisely humane, because they supply that food under circumstances which science tells them grectly influence the economy of the system. It seems very late in the day, after all that has been done in 24 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. the way of the reading of papers and the publishing thereof at once by the Agricultural Societies, Fanners' Clubs, and the like, to begia to explaiu what science really does do — to explain what the principles of feeding are, what food is, and how it goes to sustain the life of the animal, and make it give a favourable " return" to those who rear it for the shambles or for our dairy -land ; yet, as I have hinted at already, it appears that all this has been done to little purpose, to so little that the question may not be altogether a crotchety one, Is there not something yet to do, some system to be in- augurated by which the lessons of science are to be taught to those who would so greitly benefit by them ? Not many hundred yards from where I write, some cattle are going through the process of preparation for market. The fields all around me and the hills in the distance glisten white in their garments of snow. Not a blade of grass is to be seen, and over the frozen surface blows a wind from the "bitter east," which makes tlie blood even of the healthy, well-fed man who is exposed to it tingle again. These cattle I above alluded to are not going through the process of " hardening," so thoroughly carried out as to keep them starving — no ! Their owner is humane ; he supplies them with food, and abundance of it. But is there no way of letting the class he represents know, or if they know, convincing them of the truth of the knowledge, that the food is, after all, to a large extent wasted — that feeding, in the proper sense of the term, cannot possibly go ou, exposed as they are to the biting blasts of a winter day, and, worse still, winter nights such as we have now ? When the man who gives them their food — and it is is just and right to say with no niggard hand — told me how they were ex- posed, I did not require to see the animals to convince me of what I knew would be the result of such a flagrant forgetfulness of what science tells me is the right way to do. But I did see them the other day ; the sun was shin- ing out, and then the animals were trying to get such warmth from its rays as a bitter wind would per- mit them to get and keep, which blew over the surface of the frozen snow upon which they stood and shivered. If I described them it would but be done by negatives, so unlike were they in all things to animals well and wisely treated. Surely there was no evidence here of self-interest being intelligent. The merest glance at the animals sufficed to show to the veriest tyro in practical fai-ming that their condition was not what it ought to have been, and was enough, and more than enough, to have caused any reasonable man to pause, and find time to think, if think he would, that there surely must be something ■wrong in a system which gave results like these. But the worst of the matter is that such men will not think. Is there no way by which they can be forced into it? Echo answers, I fear, "no wai/.^' If they are so keen in their appreciation of what they call practice, and so dull to the value of science, that scientific papers they will not read or scientific advice listen to, have they an equal dislike to the wise sayings which float about them, and which are at least old enough to make them highly thought of by those who think age gives value ? such as " Heat is meat" — a saying, by the way, which is an admirably condensed epitome of the essay of a modern breeder upon the principles of feeding. To say nothing of science, then, if this old saw or saying was thought of and believed in, it alone would surely urge farmers whose practice is such as I have named above, to adopt a mode of treatment of their stock in winter diff'erent from that under which a double suffering is perpetrated — the suft'ering of the animals under it, and the loss to the farmers iu consequence of it. An animal badly kept can never pay ; and it is a great argument in favour of humane treatment of our farm stock, that the better they are treated and the more humanity there is displayed to them the greater the pecuniary return. So long as it is considered good practice, at all events so long as it is the practice to keep stock out in the fields in winter, it is assuredly the wisest plan to arrange so that the rigors of such exposure as must necessarily take place, shall be lessened not only" by the supply of good food but of good shelter-sheds. And these should be so constructed that in whatever direction the wind blows, the animals will be able to find shelter against it. Nor will the value of such shelter- sheds be less appreciated iu summer time, when the "plague of flies" tends so much to irritate the stock at pasturage ; and all good feeders know that restless- ness, from whatever cause, is greatly against paying feed- ing, the same, by the way, holding true of dairy stock as well. The shelter-sheds should be well-built. Some sheds afford but little real shelter, so full of holes and crannies are they, and so wretchedly made are their roofs, that the rain and melted snow passes readily through them, mak- ing the floor a perfect puddle under the feet of the stock. Animals lying down under such circumstances suffer much from chills, and their coats get baked over with clay and ordure, till the skin refuses to do the office which nature intended it to do, and which performs a most valuable part in keeping the animal healthy and all its functions in good order. "What is worth doing at all is worth doing well. I could say much upon all these points, and I most important points they are in the treatment of farm stock, but a word to the wise is enough one says ; but in the pi'esent case the misfortune of the thing is likely to be that it is just the wise who will think the word of any value, and it is not for those I write ; the foolish think they are the wise, but it is they who give no heed to it — I do not think, in fact, that it concerns them at all. It concerns the public very materially however; for it is , not easy to over-estimate the loss which the nation suffers through the folly of those of whom I have now written. ON REARING CALVES, At the present season this subject engages the attention of stock-breeders to a large extent, the healthy progress of young cattle being a matter of very serious importance, much loss resulting to owners if they grow up puny or badly-thriven; and, on the other hand, the profit and satisfaction is considerable when they do well, becoming the very foundation of future prosperity. To have good calves worth the trouble and expense of rearing some fore- sight is necessary, the parents requiring to have, as far as possible, good frames, fair size, and sound constitutions. It is useless to rear a calf out of a delicate cow, as how- ever well attended to, it will be always weakly, and haid to keep in condition, never at any time preserving a creditable appearance amongst the rest of the stock, and never able to give a return for the expense incurred in rearing and feeding. To have sound healthy stock should be the leading object of every breeder, and this can only be accomplished by selecting parents of sound coustitu- THE FARMER'S MAGAZIKS. tion, and sending away every calf as soou as bornvviiich is de- ficient iu stamina, narrow across the loins, liat-ribbed, or too light of bone. Weeding them at birth prevents much after-disappointment, and saves both trouble and expense, as, after feeding a delicate calf for a few weeks, one is loath to get rid of the young creature, even although pal- pably not worth the trouble of i-earing. Mere smallness of size I count uo objection, as, if well -formed and healthy, a calf of good breeding can be forced into growth by liberal treatment, and at weauing-time the difference will be scarcely perceptible between those which were dropped of a fair size and those that were under the ave- rage at birth. The offspring of badly-bred bulls ai-e not worth rearing, however healthy they may be, large of frame, or otherwise promising, as, with only ordinary ad- vantages, in the shape of food and shelter, young cattle which are bred from pure bulls will shoot far a-head of them, and will be worth while but yearlings from three to five pounds a-head more than those which have the disadvantage of being cross-bred from both sire and dam. At a fair in the beginning of April I saw well-bred calves ten months old, in but very middling condition, sold by a farmer for six pounds each, while his neighbour who stood alongside him could not get an offer for his two- year-olds, although asking actually less money than the other got for his calves. Every effort should be made by the owner of breeding stock to procure good bulls. If the cows are few in nmnber, two or more neighbours should join and get a good sire with a pedigree, and where even this cannot be accomplished a few of the best cows should be sent to a bull of breeding and character, and the service paid for. In the case of breeding young stock a fair start is more than half the battle, as from the time they are able to shift for themselves they are worth money and will bring it without trouble, while those that are cross-bred from both parents can scarcely be converted into cash until of such an age as to enable the purchaser to calculate with some precision what he will be able to turn them to so as to reimburse him for his out- lay. There is neither profit nor .'satisfaction to be got by putting good and expensively grown or purchased food in bad skins, it never will or can pay. With good blood so widely diffused as it is at the present day, there is really little temptation to breed from cross-bred stock, and to continue doing so shows a large amount of carelessness and indifference to their own interests on the part of those who year after year carry out a system which should be obselete. Apart from good blood, there is still another matter to be looked to, so as to ensure as far as possible the dropping of good healthy calves, which will be worth taking the trouble to rear. This more particularly refers to the treatment of the cows when carrying the calves, as if they are milked too long, or insufficiently supplied with food when dry, the offspring will be more or less affected, and a certain proportion of the members of a herd will if neglected at this time be sure to throw puny, wretched calves, quite unfit to be held over for feeding purposes, or for reproduction. If a cow is a free milker, no doubt the temptation is great to draw the milk from her as long as she will give it in any quantity, and this more particularly when there happens to be a good market for dairy produce. If a good bull has been provided for the stock, and rearing the calves forms a regular and important branch of industry in con- nection with the dairy business, milkine to within a few weeks of calving time becomes very short-sighted policy on the part of those who permit such a thing to be done. It is clear that the fcctus must be imperfectly nourished, when there is such a continual drain on the system of the dam, and what is made iu one way is surely and un- avoidably lost by the other ; viz., the impaired constitu- tution, and in consequence, decreased value of the calf. From eight to ten weeks is little enough time for the cow to be dry when a good healthy, well-developed, calf is desirable ; and its extra value will fully repay its owner for the slight loss sustained in the de- creased quantity of milk. January and February calves do well if the arrangements of the dairy permit of their being properly attended to, and the cows properly nourished during the period of gestation. They are reared and ready to go out to the pastures by the time the grass is sufficiently forward to afford a full bite, and are hardy and strong for the following winter. As a general rule, however, the month of April is the most suitable time for the bulk of dairy cattle to calve. It is first of all more natural, the springing is assisted by the genial weather, the udder is much better filled in consequence, and the cow is in better condition and health than when she calves in the dead of winter, even with a shorter interval of rest previous to parturition. This necessarily tells on the progeny, the calves being dropped firm and strong on their limbs, stouter of body, and well fleshed. Young cows calving very early in spring are exceedingly apt to get wrong in the bowels, lose condition rapidly, and if at all of a delicate constitution will remain thin for years unless permitted to lose a season, which renovates the constitution, and restores them to good condition if there is a possibility of its being recovered. I may remark eii. passant that permitting a very thin cow to run well into the season before calving — say from end of May till be- ginning of July, will generally have the effect of perma- nently strenthening her, completely overcoming the ten- dency to excessive leanness so frequently displayed by kindly milking cows of the very best bi-eeds. The cow having brought forth her young, the young animal should be removed from its dam whenever she has licked it dry. On no account should it be permitted to suck, as its doing so provokes an infinity of trouble, the mother on its re- moval withholding her milk iu the expectation of its being restored, and the calf obstinately refusing to swallow a drop of milk until absolutely starved into submission. The annoyance thus given by both animals is intense ; this, however, being not altogether the greatest trouble involved, as there is imminent danger of the udder becoming inflamed and the cow sustaining serious injury from retention of the milk. Where the object in keeping a breeding herd is principally for rearing cattle of good blood, every other consideration being sacrificed or at best but second- ary, then decidedly the calves should be suckled, the necessity for hand-feeding being in such a case com- pletely negatived. Every calf intended to be reared should be allowed to partake of the biestings, nature's medicine, without which the little creature so recently ushered into the world cannot possibly survive, or, if perchance it may do so, it is only to drag out a miserable existence for a few weeks. Although comparatively easy to get calves to drink, when gone about in a proper manner, it is exactly the opposite when attempted by a hasty-tempered or ignorant person who endeavours to do by force what can only be accomplished by gentleness and patience. The instinct of the calf teaches it to raise its head and strike against the vessel which contains the milk, w'hile the ignorant attendant keeps pushing the head down. Others, to save themselves trouble, put their finger into its mouth, keeping it there until the habit has been formed ; and the calf, by-and-by will not touch the milk until the hand is introduced. In teaching the calf to drink, there is no better plan than to open the mouth with one hand, which is easily done by slipping the arm under its neck, keeping the mouth raised at the same time. With the other hand the milk can be lifted out of the pail and poured into its mouth, when it is compelled to swallow it. The first feed may be given THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. in this way, and possibly the second, if it may appear necessary; but after that there need be no further trouble taken ; the calf, having acquii'ed the habit of swallowing, will drink freely without the slightest assistance. This mode of teaching a calf to drink saves a great deal of after-trouble and annoyance ; nothing more being required than to place the milk before it. Prevention of contact is of the utmost importance where there are a number of calves being reared together of mixed genders ; they are less liable to accident, and en- joy better health. Separation by cribs so arranged as that the occupants can see each other is undoubtedly the best mode of preventing contact, as they can stir about and benefit by the exercise. Such accommodation is, however, not attainable by ordinary farmers, and they must content themselves with tying them by the neck. However unnatural it may seem at first sight to tie calves of a fortnight old by the neck, it answers wonderfully well in practice, and is altogether so convenient that anyone beginning to follow it out will be very reluctant to leave it off, and, in fact, is not at all likely ever to do so. A leather strap with buckle is the most convenient fastening, a s n'ivel being attached to the cord connecti ng it with the post to prevent the possibility of an accident. Separation is the only cure for sucking, a habit which calves cannot be kept from when loose, and which is often the cause of serious loss. la this way also the food can be given to each animal with great exactness, every one getting its own share, however shy or timid ; and if there are some tedious in drinking (which often occurs), they may take their own time without any danger of being robbed by the others. For this reason it will be found that the smaller or weakly calves come on quicker than when a number are fed out of one trough, the strong in the latter case invariably pushing back the weak. The young animals do not seem to suffer from want of exercise, as might very naturally be assumed, but on the contrary thrive rapidly, preserve an amazing ap- petite, and, if properly fed, are always in excellent condi- tion, "When sucking is thoroughly prevented, there is no danger of loss from hairs introduced iuto the stomach, and getting impacted into a hard ball, a fruitful source of mortality at some seasons, the poor things dying in frightful agony, and generally just at the age when they are all but reared. Twice a day is quite often enough to feed a calf, giving a third meal involving a certain amount of extra trouble, besides interfering with the milk which has been placed iu the dairy, always an unpleasant thing for either mistress or maid who takes charge of it. The stomach being cleared by the action of the biestiugs, and digestion fairly commenced, there is little difficulty in keeping the young animal iu healthy thriving condition. To sharpen the appetite half-a-gallou of new milk will be sufficient for each meal dui'ing the first four of five days, gradually increasing the quantity until it reaches two gallons a day, more than that being scarcely required for any calf intended to be held over for store purposes. About the tenth day a portion of good skim milk may be substituted, slightly increasing it each day until the sixteenth or so, when the new mUk may be altogether withheld. In the early months of spring and summer calves thrive well on good skim milk, and by the time the weather becomes warm enough to cause coagulation, they do equally well on the thick milk, fattening on it if supplied in abundance. For the quantity of milk to be given a calf at each meal there should be no sjiecial rule, each animal after being fairly started getting as much as it diinks without repletion, its fully rounded sides being an excellent and unfailing indi- cation of enough having been drunk for that time. An objection may be made by many that the skim milk is here proposed to be too early substituted for the warm milk as it comes from the cow, but I say it advisedly, that it will not pay the ordinary tenant-farmer who breeds cross-bred cattle, to continue to give it longer than from a fortnight to three weeks. If he does so it inter- feres with his other arrangements regarding the disposal of his dairy produce ; and however unlikely it may ap- pear in theory the difl"erence between two lots of calves at weaning time, which have been fed, the one on new milk and the other on coagulated milk, will not be perceptible unless the former is given in much greater abundance than any ordinary rent-paying farmer is likely to give it. Large numbers of the veal calves that reach the English markets from Ireland are fed purely on thick milk, the cream being taken off, and the imbroken mass then placed before the animal, which is permitted in this case to drink to repletion. Calves reared for merely store pm'poses are, in the great dairy districts of the Province of Munster, invariably thick fat wheu weaned, with grand bone and substance, although not a particle of trouble was taken with them in any way, other- wise than supplying them with abuudance of co- agulated milk. It is astonishing how soon calves will nibble at a bit of sweet hay when hung up temptingly before them, and when about a month old it should be placed within their reach, as it helps to preserve them in health, keeping the stomach and bowels in tone ; it is, moreover, a source of amusement to the little things, and teaches them to eat. In May, when the days begin to get warm and fine, the early calves can be gradually accustomed to the open air by letting them out a few hours in the middle of the day ; in a very short time they wiU become perfectly hardy, and may be allowed to remain out night and day. If put oat too suddenly the coats will stare, and growth be checked for a consider- able time. The cold-searchiug winds which generally precede rain at this season are highly injurious to young animals newly turned out of a warm house, and they should not be permitted to remain out under its influence. It is a wretched sight to see a lot of young calves stand- ing with their backs arched and coats staring, while the rain beats pitilessly on them, and from this also they should have protection, until warm weather has decidedly set in. "When calves are weaned it is highly essential for their well-doing that they should be supplied with abundance of water. A very little neglect on this point will undo much of the good already done, and undermine the foundation of good health and sound constitution so carefully and expensively laid during the previous four mouths. THE SOIL IN THE FIELDS The first series of six geological lectures was given in the King's School, Chester. Canon Kin GfSLEY said: Allow me before touching on the special subject of this lecture, to say a few words upon the ob- ject of the whole course. It is geology : that is, the science which e.xplains to us the rind of the earth j of what it is made, and how it has been made. It tells us nothing of the map of the earth. That is, properly speaking, an astronomical ques- tion. If I may be allowed to likeu the earth to a fruit, then astronomy will tell us — when it kuows — how the fruit grew, and what is inside the fruit. Geology can only tell us at most, how its rind, it outer covering, grew, and of what it is com- TilE ^ARMEK'fci MAGAZINi3. 27 posed — a very small part, doubtless, of all that is to be known about this planet. But, as it liappens, the mere rind of this earth-fruit, which has, countless ages since, dropped, as it were, from the bosom of God, the eternal fount of life — the mere rind of earth-fruit, I say, is so beautiful and so complex that it is well worth our careful and reverent study. It has been well said, indeed, that the history of it, which we call geology would be a magnificent epic poem were there only any human interest in it ; did it deal with creatures more like ourselves than stones and bones, and the dead relics of plants and dumb animals. Whether there be no human interest in geology, whether men did not exist on the earth during ages whicli have seen enormous geological changes, is becoming more and more 'an open question ; and one on which I hope to speak hereafter, before the end of ray residence, in this or in some other place. But, meanwhile, you must all agree that there is matter enougli for interest ; nay, room enough for the free play of the imagination in a science which tells of the growth and decay of whole mountain-ranges, continents, oceans ; whole tribes and worlds of plants and animals. But it is not so much for the vastness ond grandeur of those scenes of the distant past, to which the science of geology will introduce you, that I value it as a study and wisli to awaken you to its beauty and importance. It is because it is the science from which you will learn most easily a sound and scientific habit of thought. I say most easily, and for these reasons : the most important and most magnificent facts of geology do not require, to discover them, any knowledge of mathematics or of chemical analysis ; they may be studied in every bank and every grot, by ihe side of every stream, in every quarry, every railway cutting, by every one who has eyes and common sense, and who chooses to make himself, like my friend the late illustrious Hugh Miller, a great geologist out of a poor stone-mason. Next, its most imporant theories are not — or need not be — wrapped up in obsure Latin and Greek terms. They may be expressed in the simplest English, because they are discovered by simple common sense. And thus geology is (or ought to be) in popular parlance, " the people's science" — the science by studying which the man ignorant of Latin, Greek, mathematics, scientific chemis- try, can yet become, as far as he is a geologist, a truly scien- tific man. I said that the facts of geology were discovered by common sense; its theories laid down by common sense. Geology, therefore, fulfils the saying of my friend Professor Huxley, that " science is only common sense properly regulated." But how will you learn science by mere common sense ? First, always try to explain the unknown by tlie known. If you meet something which you have not seen before then think of the thing most like it that you have seen before ; and try, if what yon know explains the one wiU not explain the otiier also. Sometimes it will ; sometimes it will not. But if it will, no one has a right to ask you to give any other explana- tion. Suppose, for instance, that you found a dead bird on the cathedral roof, and were asked how you thought it got there. You would say, of course, " It died up here.'" But if a friend said, " Not so; it dropped from a baloon, or from the clouds," and told you the prettiest tale of how the bird came to so strange an end, you would answer, " No, no ; I must reason from what I know. I know that birds haunt the cathedral tower ; I know that birds die ; and, therefore, let your story be as pretty as it may, my common sense bids me take the simplest explanation and say, ' It died here.' " In saying that, you would be talking scientifically. You would have made a fair and sufficient induction (as it is called) from the facts about birds' habits and birds' deaths which you knew. But, suppose tliat when you took the bird up, you foioud that it was neither a jackdaw, nor a swallow, nor a sparrow — as you expected — but a humming bird. Then you would he adrift again. The fact of its being a humming bird would be a new fact, which you had not taken into account, and for which your old explanation was not sufficient, and you would have to make a fresh induction — to use your common sense afresh, saying, " I have not to explain merely how a dead bird got up here, but how a dead humming-bird." But if your imaginative friend chimed in triumphantly with, " Do you not see that I was right after all ? Do you not see that it fell from the clouds ? — that it was swept away hither, aU the way from America, by some south-westerly storm, and, wearied out at last, dropped here to find rest, as in a sacred place?" What would you answer? "My friend, that is a beautiful imagination ; but I must treat it only as such, as long as I can explain the mystery more simply by facts whicli I do know. I do know that humming birds can be blown across the Atlantic alive ; I do know that they are brought across the Atlantic dead and stuck into ladies' hats, and that ladies visit the Cathedral; and, odd as the accident is, I prefer to beUeve, till I get a better explanation, that the humming bird has simply dropped out of a lady's hat." There, again, you would be speaking common sense; and using, too, sound inductive method ; trying to explain what you do not know, from what you do know already. Now, I ask of you to employ some common sense when you read and think of geology. It is necessary to do so ; not as necessary now, thank God, as it was thirty or forty years ago ; for, in past times, men have tried to explain the making of the world around them — its oceans, rivers, mountains, and continents — by, I know not what, fancied cataclysms and convulsions of nature ; explaining the unknown by the still more unknown, till some of their geological theories were no more rational, because no more founded on known facts, than that of the New Zealand Maories, who hold that some god, when fishing, fished up the islands out of the bottom of the ocean. But a sounder and wiser school of geologists now reigns, the father of whom, in England at least, is the venerable Sir Charles Lyell. He first, I may say, of Englishmen, taught us to see what common sense tells us, that the laws which we see around us now have been, most probably, at work since the creation of the world ; and that, whatever changes may seem to have taken place in past ages, and in ancient rocks, should be explained, if possible, by the changes wliich are taking place now, in the most recent deposits in the soil in the fields. And in the last forty years, since that great and sound idea has become rooted in the minds of students, and especially of English students, geology has thriven and de- veloped, perhaps more than any other science, and has led men on to discoveries far more really astonishing and awful than all fancied convulsions and cataclysms. I have planned this course of lectures, therefore, on Sir Charles Lyell's method. I have begun by trying to teach you a Little about the part of the earth's crust which lies nearest you, which you see most often, namely, the soil ; intending, if you do me the honour to listen to me again, to lead you downward, as it were, into the earth, deeper and deeper each lecture, to rocks and minerals which are probably less known to you than the soil in the fields. Thus, you will find, I shall lead you, or try to lead you, throughout the lecture from the known to the more un- known, and show you how to explain the latter by the former. Sir Charles Lyell has, I see, in his new edition of his " Student's Elements of Geology," begun his book with the uppermost, that is, newest strata, or layers, and gone regularly downwards, in the course of the book, to the lowest, or earHest strata ; and I shall follow his plan. I must ask you meanwhile to remember one law, or rule, which seems to me founded on common sense, namely, that the uppermost strata are almost always the newest ; that when there are two or more layers, whether of rock or earth, or indeed two stones in the street, or two sheets on a bed, or two books on a table, any two or more lifeless things, in fact, which lie one on the other, the lower one was most probably put there first, and the upper one laid on the lower one. Does that seem to you a truism ? Do I seem impertinent in asking you to remember it ? So much the better. I shall be saved unnecessary trouble in my future lectures. But some one may say, and will have a right to say, " Stop ! The lower thing may have been thrust under the upper one." Quite true ; and therefore I said only that the lower one was, most probably, put there first. And I said " most probably," because it is most probable that, in nature, we should find things done by the method which costs less force, just as you do them. I wiU warrant that when you want to hide a thing you lay something down on it ten times for once that you thrust it under something else, t You may say : " What P When I want to hide a paper, say under the sofa corner, do I not thrust it under ?" No, you lift up the corner, and slip the paper in, and let the corner fall on it again. And so, even in that case, the paper has got into its place first. Now, wliy is this ? Simply because, in laying one thing on another, you only move weight. In thrusting one thing under an- other, you have not only to overcome weight, but to overcome friction ; and so do clays, and sands, and stones. They are laid down on each other, and not thrust under each other ; 28 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. because so less force is expended on getting them into place. There are exceptions. There are cases in which nature does try to thrust one rock under another ; but to do that she re- quires a force so enormous, compared with what is employed in laying one rock on another, that she continually fails ; and instead of producing a volcanic eruption, produces an earth- quake. Of that I shall speak hereafter. I shall tell you in good time, how to distinguish rocks which have been thrust in from beneath, from rocks which have been laid down from above ; as every rock, I believe, between t-liis place and Snow- flon — certainly within five-and-twenty miles of this place — has been laid down. That I only assert now. But I don't wish you to take it on trust from me. I wish to prove it to you as I go on — to [put you in tlie way of proving it your- selves by using your common sense. At the risk of seeming prolix, I must say a few more words on this matter : I have special reasons for it. Until I can get you to " let your thoughts play freely" round this question of the supposition of soils and rocks, there will be no use in my going on with these lectures. Suppose then, to argue from the known to the unknown, you were watching men cleaning out a pond. At the top, perhaps, they would come to a layer of soft mud, and under that to a layer of sand. Would not com- mon sense tell you that the sand was there first, and that the water had laid down the mud on the top of it ? Then, per- haps, they might come to a layer of dead leaves. Would not common sense tell you that the leaves were there before the sand above them ? Then, perhaps, to a layer of sand again. Would not common sense tell you that the mud was there be- fore the leaves, and so on, down to the bottom of the pond ? And then, I think, common sense would tell you that the bottom of the pond was there already, before all the layers which were laid down on it. Is not that common sense ? Then apply that reasoning to the soUs and rocks around Chester. If you found a deep boring, and found, as you would find, that the boring, after passing through the soil of the field, entered clays or loose sand, you would say the clays were there before the soil. If it then went down into sand-stone, you would say — would you not ? — that sandstone must have been here before the clays, and, however thick — thousands of feet thick it might be — that would make no difference. If next the boring came into quite different rocks (and it would) ; into different sorts of sandstone, and shales, and among them beds of coal ; would you not say, "These coal beds must have been here before the sandstone ?" And if you found in those coal beds dead leaves and stems of plants, would you not say, " Those plants must have been laid down here before the layers above them, just as the dead leaves in the pond were ?" If then you came to a layer of limestone, would you not say the same ? And if you found that limestone full of shells and corals, dead, but many of them quite perfect — some of the corals plainly in the very place in which they grew — would you not say, " These creatures must have lived down here before the coal was laid on the top of them ?" And if, lastly, below the lime- stoneyou came to a bottom rock, quite different again, would you not say, " The bottom rock must have been here before the rooks on the top of it ?" And what if that bottom rock rose up a few miles off, two thousand feet, into hills like Moel Fammau and the Welsh mountains, what would you say then P Would you say, " Oh, but the rock is not bottom-rock because it is not under the limestone, but higher than it, and so per- haps it was made after it, and so Moel Fammau must be younger than the Halkin mountain, or the Buckley mountain, because it is higher P" Would not that be about as wise as to say that the bottom of the pond was not there before the mud, because the banks round the pond rose higher than the mud ? Is not that common sense ? Tsow this is, as I shall show you, the actual arrangement of the soils and rocks round here : Soil — sand and clays, containing pebbles ; sandstone ; coal measures ; limestone ; bottom rock, containing slates. You will see now why I have begun with the soil in the field, because it is uppermost, and therefore latest of all the layers ; and also for this reason, that if Sir Charles Lyell's theory be true, as it is, then the soil and rocks below the soil in the field may have been made in the very same way in which the soil in the field is made. If so, it is well worth our while to examine it. If we can understand a little about it, what it is made of, and how it got there, we shall perhaps be on the right road towards understanding what all England, the Welsh mountains included, are made of, and how they got there. But we shall best understand how the soil in the field was made by reasoning, as I have said, from the known to the unknown. AYhat do I mean ? This : Take the fields in which the soil is already made on the upland ; you don't know how. Then look for a field in which the soil is still being made (there are plenty of them in the lowland) , and learn from it how the soil is being made there, and apply the know- ledge which you gain from them to the upland fields which are^ already made. You have here peculiar advantages for seeing soil made. Thousands of acres of fresh-made soil are spread between your city and the sea, and thousands more are in process of being made between here and Flint. You will know from whence the soil comes which has filled up, in the course of ages, the great flats of the Dee from Chester Water Tower to Connah's Quay. It is river-mud and sand. The river, helped by a few tributary brooks, right and left, has brought down from the inland that enormous heap of sand and mud. You know that. You know that every flood and freshet brings fresh loads, either of fine mud from the red marl of Cheshire, or of fine sand from the sandstones ; or, possibly, of limestone mud and peaty matter out of the Welsh hills above Llangollen. Here is one indisputable fact from wliich to start. Let us look for another. How does the mud get into the river ? The rain carries it thither. If you wish to learn the first elements of geology by direct experiment, do this : The next rainy day — the harder it rains the better — in- stead of sitting at home over the fire and reading a book about geology, put on a mackintosh and thick boots and get away, I care not whither, provided you can find there running water. If you have not time to get away to a hilly country, like Mold or Gresford, then go to the nearest bit of turnpike road, or the nearest sloping field, and see in little how whole continents are made and unmade again. Watch the rain, raking and sifting with its million delicate fingers, parting the finer particles from the coarser, dropping the latter as soon as it can, and carrying the former down with it toward the sea. Follovv the nearest roadside drain where it runs into a pond, and see how it drops the pebbles the moment it enteis the pond, then how it drops the sand in a fan-shaped heap at the nearest end, but carries the fine mud on, and holds it suspended to be gradually deposited at the bottom in the still water. If you watch these things they will give you a key to the understanding of the making of whole continents. Then you would say, perhaps the sand which covers so much of V\"irral was dropped by water very near the shore of a lake or sea, and perhaps as there are pebbles about, by rapid cur- rents. Perhaps, again, the brick clays, which are often min- gled with those sands, were dropped, like the mud in the pond, in deeper water further from the sliore, and certainly in still water. It will be fair reasoning to say that. You may not be always right in your conclusions, but still you will be trying fairly to explain the unknown by the known. But have rain and rivers alone made the soil? How very much they have done toward making it you will be able to judge for yourselves if you will read the sixth chapter of Sir Charles Lyell's new " Elements of Geology," or the first hundred pages of that admirable book De la Beche's " Geological Observer," and last, but not least, a very clever little book, called " Rain and Rivers," by Colonel George Greenwood. But though rain, like rivers, is a carrier of soil, it is more. It is a maker of soil likewise ; and by it mainly the soil of an upland field is made, whether it be carried down to the sea or not. If you will look into any quarry you will see that, however compact the rock may be a few feet below the surface, it becomes in almost every case rotten and broken up as it nears the upper soil, till often you cannot tell where the rock ends and the soQ begins. Nor this change has been produced by rain. First, mechanically by rain, in the shape of ice. The winter rain gets into the ground, and does by the rock what it does by the stones of our poor old Cathedral. It sinks into the porous stone, freezes there, expands in freezing, and splits and peels tlie stone with a force which is slowly but surely crumbling the whole of Northern Europe and America to powder. Do you doubt me ? I say nothing but what you can judge of for yourselves. The next time you go to Moel Fammau look at the loose broken stones with which the mountain is coated just underneath the turf. What has broken them up, but frost P When next you go to Llangollen, look at the taius ot broken stones—" screes" as they call them in Scotland, " rattles" as we call them in Devon — which lie THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 29 along the base of those noble limestoue cliffs. What has brougiit them down, T)ut hcsl? If you ask the quarrymen, they will tell you whether 1 air, right or not. If you go tlii- ther, not in the summer, but just after tlie winter's frost, you will see for yourselves, by the fresh frost-crop of newly-broken bits, that I am right. Possibly you may find me to be even more right than is desirable, by having a few angular stones, from the size of your head to that of your body, hurled at you by the frost giants up above. If you go to the Alps at certain seasons and hear the thunder of the falling rocks, and see their long lines of " moraines," as they are called, marching slowly down upon the surface of the glacier, then you will be ready to believe the geologist wlio tells you that frost, and probably frost alone, has hewn out such a peak as the Matter- horn from some vast table-land, and is hewing it down still, winter after winter, till some day, where the snow Alps now stand there shall be rolling uplands of rich cultivable soil. So much for the mechanical action of rain in the shape of ice. Now a few words on its chemical action. Rain-water is seldom pure. It carries in it carbonic acid ; and that acid, breaking in shower after shower against the face of a cliflf — especially if it be a limestone cliff — weathers the rock chemically, changing, m the case of limestone, the insoluble carbonate of lime into a soluble bi-carbonate, and carrying that away in water which, however clear, is still hard. Hard water is usually water which has invisible lime in it. There are from 10 to 15 grains and more of lime in every gallon of limestone water, and I leave you to calculate the enormous weight of lime which must be so carried down to the sea every year by a single limestone brook, like the Alyn at Mold. You can, if you like, ascertain the weight of lime in each gallon, and the average quantity of water which comes down the stream iu a day, and when your sum is done you ^»ill be astonished to find it one not of many pounds, but pro- bably of many tons of solid lime which you never suspected or missed from the hills around. Again, by the time the rain has sunk into the soil it is still less pure. It carries with it not only carbonic acid, but acids produced by decaying vege- tables ; by the roots of the grasses and trees vi'hich grove above, and they dissolve the cement of the rock by chemical action, especially if the cement be lime or iron. But there is another force at work, and quite as powerful .as rain and rivers, making the soil of the alluvial Hats of the Dee — per- haps it has helped to make the soil of the great Cheshire and Lancashire lowland — and that is the waves of the sea. Tlie next time you go to Parkgate try if you caunot learu there a little geology. Walk beyond the town- You will find the shore protected for a long way by a sea wall, lest it should be eaten away by the waves. What the force of those waves can be, even on that sheltered coast, you may judge — at least, you could have judged this time last year — masoury torn from their iron clampings, and thrown inland during the gale of the winter before last. If they are there now look steadily at those rocks and twisted stanchions, and then ask yourselves — it will be fair reasoning from the known to the unknown — what effect must such wave-power as that have had, beating and gnawing for thou- sands of years along the western coasts of England, Scotland, and Ireland ? May it not have eaten up thousands of acres, whole shires may be, ere now ? There is no doubt of this — that if England had, unfortunately for itself, been turned round, and Norfolk and Essex placed where Wales is, there would have been nothing left of England now but Wales pro- bably. The teeth of the sea know neither rest nor pity, the cruel, hungry sea. Give it but time enough, and what would it not eat up ? It would eat up in the course of ages all the dry land of this planet, were it not baffled by another counter- acting force, of which I shall speak hereafter. As you go on beyond the sea-wall, you find what it is eating up. The whole cliff is going visibly. But whither is it going ? To form new soil in the estuary of the Dee. Now you will not wonder how the old harbour of Parkgate has become silted up. The sea has washed the land into it. Just so ; but more, the sea cur- rents do not allow the sands of the estuary to escape freely out to sea. They pile it up iu shifting sandbanks about the mouth of the estuary. The prevailing sea winds being from west to north-west, catch it up when dry and roll it up into sandhills. Those sandhills are again eaten down by the sea and mixed with the mud of the estuary, and so is formed a mingled soil, partly of clayej' mud, partly of sand ; just such a soil as I stretches over the greater part of Wirral, and over the Lan- cashire flats. Now, why should not the soil of Wirral and the soil of the Lancashire flats have been made by the same means as the soil of the estuary of the Dee ? You find in Wirral — you may see it within a mile or two of Chester — and you find on the Lancashire flats, pure loose sand jus t beneath the surface, which looks as if it was blown sand from a beacli. Is it not reasonable to suppose that it is ? You find at Helsby Craig and elsewhere in Cheshire what looks exactly like an old sea-cliff, long eaten by the waves, from the base of which the waters have gone back. Why should not Helsby Craig and Beestou be old sea cliffs ? Why should we not, fol- lowing our rule of explaining the unknown by the known, assume that such they are until some one gives us a sound proof that they are not, and say this great plain of Lincashire and Cheshire was probably once covered by a shallow sea, and its soils made as the soils of the Dee flats are being made now. Suppose once more, you were watching a pond being cleaned out, and suppose that under the lowest layer of mud you found, as you would find in those magnificent reservoirs so common in the Lancashire hills, a layer of vegetable soil with grass and brushwood rooted in it. What would you say but that the pond had not been always full. It has, at some time or other, been dry enough to let a whole copse grow up inside it. And if you found in the soil of Cheshire, as you will actually find at Dove Point, near Leasowe, under the sand-hills, a bed of earth with shells and bones, under that a bed of peat, under that one of blue silt, under that a buried forest witli the trees upright and rooted, under that another layer of blue silt full of vegetable fibre, and under that again another old laud surface with trees again growing in it, and under all the main bottom clay of the dis- trict, what would common sense tell you ? I leave you to dis- cover for yourselves. It certainly would not tell you that those trees were thrust in there by a violent convulsion, or that those layers were deposited there iu a few days, or even a few years ; and you might safely indulge in speculations about the antiquity of the river Mersey and the changes which its mouth has undergone. But you may say, and most reason- ably, that the Dee flats are just at the sea level. That the whole plain of Cheshire and Lancashire is many feet above the sea ; it must therefore have been raised out of the sea according to your theory, and what proof have you of that P ^^'^ell, that is a question both grand and deep on which I shall not cuter yet. But, meanwhile to satisfy you that I wish to play fair with you, I ask you to believe nothiug but what you can prove for yourselves. Let me ask you this — Suppose that you had proof positive that I had fallen into the river this morning, would not my presence here to-night be also proof positive that somehow or other I had, in the course of the day, got out of the river ? I think you will accept that logic as sound. Now, If I can give you proof positive, proof which you cau see with your own eyes and handle with your own bauds, and alas, feel but too keenly with your own feet, that the whole of these lowlands were once beneath the sea, then will it not be certain that, somehow or other, they must have been raised out of the sea again ? That I propose to do in my next lecture, when I talk to you of the pebules in the street. Meanwhile, I wish you to carry home the truly grand idea, which all I have said to-night tends to prove true, that all the soil we see is made by the destruction of older soils, whether soft as clay or hard as rock ; that rain, rivers and seas are perpetually melting and grinding up old land to com- pose new land out of it, and that they must have beeu doing so as long as rain, rivers, and seas have existed. If any one rejoins, " But how did the first laud of all get made ?" I must reply that that is a very rational question, but we can only answer that by working from the known to the unknown, and while we are finding out how those later lauds were made and unmade, we may stumble on some truths as to how the first primeval continents rose out of the bosom of the sea. And thus I end this lecture. I trust it has not been intolera- bly dull. But I wanted at starting to show you something of the right way of finding out truth on this and, perhaps, on all subjects, to make some simple appeals to your common sense, and to get you to accept some plain rules founded on common sense, which will be of infinite use to both you and me in my future lectures. I hope, meanwhile, that you will agree with me that there is plenty of geological matter to be seen and thought overiu the neighbourhood of Chester. It was said to 30 THE FAEMER'S MAGAZINE. me," But Chester is such a poor neighbourhood for geologists; you will be able to show them very little." I said to myself, wherever there is a river, even a drain, and a stone quarry, much more where there is a sea, or even a tidal estu.ary, there 13 geology enough to be learnt, to explain the greater part of the making of all the continents on the globe, and I hope you feel that, in so saying, 1 had commou sense somewhat on my side. THE ROYAL AGRICULTURAL BENEVOLENT INSTITUTION. The annual dinner of this institution took place on Wednesday, May 31, at Willis' Rooms. The chair was taken by the Marquis ofHuntly; and there was a very good attendance of subscribers. After the usual loyal toasts. Captain ScoTT responding for the Army, Na\'y, and Volunteers, The Cn vikma:x proposed : " Prosperity to the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution" It was, he said, with great diffidence that he rose to perform that duty, and that feeling was increased by the fact that previous anniversaries liad been presided over by noble lords and right hon. gentlemen of great eminence. He had heard a great deal about the poor farmer, but he certainly saw no evidence of poverty in the scene before him. He might well congratulate the farming interest on that display, and he should be glad to be assured that the gentlemen whom he saw fairly represented English farmers generally. Be that as it might, no one could doubt that the position of the farmers of this country was a very peculiar one, and, having travelled a good deal, he must say he had never found anything resemb- ling it elsewhere. Many English farmers occupied a position in their respective parishes or localities of the greatest importance, and when their conduct was upright and exemplary, as was generally the case, the respect in which they were held was little, if at all, inferior to that of the landlord himself. He felt the greatest respect for tenant-farmers as a body. It had been said that the old feeling which had united the proprietors and the cultivators of the soil was dying out; that when leases ran out they were not generally renewed, and that the occupation of farms did not descend now, as formerly, from generation to generation. In reading a well-known Latin poet — Virgil — on the previous day, he found some words which applied to that case. They were — AgrlcoJa incnrvo ierram dimovit aratro : Bine anni labor, June palriam, parvosqtie nepo/es Siisiinet. If he might make a suggestion with the view of helping to keep up such a state of things as was described in that quota- tion, he would say, that the landlord who resided on his estate should mingle sometimes with his tenants (cheers). Having made those few remarks about the position of farmers as a class, he would now say a few words on behalf of that institu- tion. There w^ere two reasons for supporting it which had forced themselves conclusively upon his mind. The first rea- son was connected with the vicissitudes of farming life — vicissitudes arising from diseases in flocks and herds, unfa- vourable seasons, and other causes of that kind which were entirely beyond the control of the most prudent agriculturist. Unless a man had a large balance at his banker's, unless, in fact, he were rich, it is impossible that he could be secure against ruinous consequences arising from such sources. Fur- ther, he would remark that the great changes which had been made in the system of cultivation during the last few years had had the effect of absorbing a number of little farms into large occupations, and of driving out, as it were, many men who if they liad lived ia the olden times would have been thriving farmers. Many a farmer was now almost com- pelled to give a thousand pounds for steam machinery — an outlay which was quite out of the question in the case of a man who occupied only from fifty to one hundred acres. That institution assisted men wlio, without any fault of their own, had suffered from these changes in the agricultural sys- tem, and that was one great reason why he urged its claims to liberal support. When one of the smaller class of farmers owing to the causes wliich he had mentioned was unable to pay his rent, the landlord had no option but to give him notice to quit. Landlords did not like doing that ; but in the present state of society rent must be paid (laugliter). Wlien compelled to give up his holding, an ordinary farmer had before him only three re- sources— the workhouse, emigration, or assistance from that institution. On turning to the statement of the objects which the institution contemplated, he found them to be as follows : " To provide pensions to hona jiJe farmers, their widows and unmarried daughters, and to maintain and educate the orphan children of farmers." These objects were undoubtedly excel- lent and noble ones, and well worthy of more extensive sup- port than they had yet received. During the eleven years since its formation the Society had relieved no fewer than 2i5 cases, composed as follows : 75 males, 33 married pensioners, 81 widows, 22 unmarried orphan daughters, 10 octogenarians (who receive a yearly grant of £10 till election), and 27 chil- dren maintained and educated. There were at present on the book 42 males, 80 females (/. e., widows and unmarried daugh- ters), 16 married couples, 8 octogenarians, and 27 children, making 189 in all. This number the Council was about to increase by election to 269, at an annual expenditure of £5,500 (cheers). He would not trouble them with any fur- ther details ; but it was manifest from what he had stated that the institution had already conferred a vast amount of benefit on the class for which it was established, and that it ought to receive the support of every person who was connected with the land, whether as an owner or as an occupier. It had been stated that a country with which he was very closely connected — " poor Scotland" — (laughter) was rather behind-hand as re- garded the recognition of the claims of tliat institution. It was not called " poor Scotland" by the people down there, many of whom thought no small beer of themselves (laughter), but it was undoubtedly matter for regret that it had not supplied more subscriptions to that useful institution (Hear). In the list of patrons he found only three leading landed proprietors connected with that country — the Duke of Richmond, the Duke of Buccleuch, and the Duke of Abercorn. He believed many other landowners would be willing to add their names ; and, being connected himself with the county of Aberdeen, he wished to say that he would be happy to start a branch or auxiliary association in that county (cheers). In conclusion, tlie noble lord earnestly impressed upon all present the abso- lute necessity of individual efforts to obtain additional sub- scribers in their own localities and among their own friends, as the most effectual means of ensuring increased provision for distressed farmers, or the widows and orphans of those who had been unsuccessful as cultivators of the soil. The toast was drunk with entliusiasm. Mr. W. Wells, M.P., proposed " The Chairman." After remarking that the noble marquis's speech showed how anx- ious he was to promote the prosperity- of the Society, he said that for the last half-hour his lordship had been evincing his practical interest in agricultural topics by expatiating on the merits of a particular breed of cattle. The toast was very warmly received. The Chairman in acknowledging the toast said it afforded him great pleasure to meet on that occasion so many brother- lovers of the soU ; adding that nothing delighted him more when away from the smoke of London than to have a day's amusement among practical farmers. As regarded his expa- tiation on cattle to which Mr. Wells had just alluded, he wished to observe that that breed was tlie Black Poll from Aberdeenshire. He had ti-ied four different breeds — Eng- lish Shorthorns, Alderneys, the cross between the Short- horns and the Black PoU, and the pure-bred ; and having had all these different sorts running about the field, he had found that the Scotch Black Poll ate about one-third of what the English Shorthorn consumed, and got fat sooner (Hear, hear). Mr. J. J. Mechi, in proposing "The Agricultural Societies of England, Ireland, and Scotland," said he need hardly re- mark that as an apron-string farmer he entertained great re- spect for those societies, because when he wished to learn the THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 31 business of farming he had to look into the volumes issued by those societies, by means of which their accumulated wis- dom, knowledge, and information were circulated among the farmers of the United Kingdom. Moreover, he felt that he had still a great deal to learn from such bodies, and happily they did much towards sliowing how agriculture might be practised most successfully. The question of the education of agriculturists was, in his opinion, most important. John Knox compelled the heritors of Scotland to set up a school in every parish ; and no doubt it was owing in a great degree to the prevalence of education that Scotchmen had been so suc- cessful in every part of the world, and had in some respects got the start of Englishmen. He concluded by connecting the toast with the name of Mr. Henry Corbet, who he said, as they all knew, felt deep interest in the welfare of farmers, if a little too fond of patting them on the back Mr. CoKBET in returning thanks said he had acquired consi- derable experience of the working of the three national societies. As regarded one of them — the Royal Agricultural Society of England — he had for some years endeavoured to discharge the duties of a very awkward officer. He had held the appoint- ment of auditor. He had followed the Royal Agricultural Society of Ireland from Londonderry in tlie north to Kil- larney in the south. The Highland Society of Scotland he had traced from Berwick-ou-Tweed through " poor Scotland" to Inverness, All three of these societies had done a great deal of good, and he believed they were all at that moment in a state of prosperity. Until he read the speech of Lord Spencer at the late Dublin show he was afraid that the Irish Society was not doing as much good as it ought to do ; but any one who had read that must feel that invaluable con- sequences had followed from the formation of that Society. Turning again for a moment to England, he had the honour to act also on the Executive of a Society, not for aiding the distressed EngUsh but the distressed French farmers. He was happy to say that the Chairman of that body and one of its most active members was the President of the Royal Agricul- tural Society, Lord Vernon (cheers), and that it also included a member of Council who was present that evening, Mr. Wells, and another legislator whose name was well known among agriculturists, Mr. Clare Sewell Read (cheers). That showed what an intimate connection there was between different movements in tlie cause of charity and the different societies which had to do with agriculture. He was glad to learn from what had fallen from the Chairman that evening that there was a prospect of Scotland being even brought into closer and more direct connection with that Society (cheers). His own experience of "poor Scotland," as it had been termed, had taught him that it contained some of the finest farmers in the world (Hear, hear). He could give a long list of names in illustration of that ; and he felt sure that if men like Mr. Hope, Mr. Douglas, and others were appealed to in- dividually they would join a chain of help for the institution in Scotland which would greatly increase its efficiency and extend its influence. He was quite sure they could not cultivate too sedulously the sympathy of the three great national societies. Mr. J. Clayden, in proposing " The Executive Council," expressed his admiration of the earnest attention which they bestowed on the affairs of the institution, and said it was chiefly through their influence that the Society had been enabled to gladden so many hearts which might otherwise have remained without anything to cheer them. He concluded by coupling with the toast the name of Mr. Charles Cantrell. Mr. C. CiO'TRELL said, on behalf of the Executive Council he begged to thank the company most sincerely for the honour conferred upon them. No one, he felt certain, could feel greater interest in that institution than he did ; and the ma- jority of the members of the Council, living in different coun- ties, evinced their interest in it by travelling to and from London at their own cost (Hear, hear). The Council were greatly aided by the honorary local secretaries, a body of gentlemen to whom that institution was very greatly indebted (cheers). Mr. Disraeli, while occupying the chair at a pre- ceding anniversary of that institution, remarked that in the furtherance of the objects of that institution almost every village ought to have a local secretary. He (^Ir. Cantrell), although a simple tenant-farmer had had the good fortune to obtain subscriptions from every county in England (cheers). He made that statement not in order to gain credit for him- self, but in order to show what might be done by a tenant- farmer whose heart and soul were in the cause of that insti- tution (cheers). Another element of success was the books which had been distributed. He had made it a point to take part in the work of distribution himself as far as possible, and he was confident from his experience that for every sixpence expended by the institution in that form there had been a return of a guinea (cheers). Last year Lord Sondes having suggested for consideration whether it might not be desirable to make the pensions larger, he (Mr. Cantrell) promised on that oc- • casion to bring that question before the Council. It was after- wards fully discussed, and the conclusion which the Council arrived at was that instead of giving larger pensions it would be better to enlarge the number of recipients (cheers). It was proposed to elect 70 pensioners at the next election. He well recollected that when they had only 20 pensioners their worthy secretary at that period (ilr. Charles Shaw) said he hardly knew how they were to be supported. After that day fortnight they would have about 270 pensioners, and would have given away £5,000 a year (cheers). That was a most marvellous result considering when the institution was established ; but if every subscriber would try and induce his neighbours to subscribe there might soon be a further extension. In conclusion, Mr. Cantrell stated that the ages of candidates had been reduced from 70 to 60 years in the case of men, and from 60 to 55 in the case of wives and widows, and congratulated the company that as the pensions increased in number there was hardly any addition to the working expenses of the insti- tution. formerly the executive Council were accused of ex- travagance, but no one would make such an accusation now (Hear, hear). The Chaikma^v' then proposed " The Secretary." Mr. C. B. Shaw, in returning thanks, said it was a source of great gratification to him to think that during the short period that he had occupied that post the Society had not retrograded, but had advanced ; and he looked forward to a more flourishing era when pohtical affairs had returned to their natural condition. The former Secretary boasted that during his tenure of office the committee had invested £21,000 ; but he was more gratified at being enabled to state that during his tenure it had spent what it had received. The nest toast was "The Honorary Local Secretaries," proposed by the Rev. G. C. Berkeley, and responded to by Mr. Nash. The CnAiKMAN then gave " The Ladies," for whom Mr. Mechi answered. The aggregate amount of donations announced in connexion with the anniversary was about £5,000. The musical arrangements were under the direction of Mr. George Perren, who was assisted by Miss A. Banks, Madame Osborne Williams, Mr. T. Lawler, and Mr. Sidney Naylor. FRENCH PEASANT-FARMERS' SEED FUND. A meeting of the General Committee and Subscribers was held in the last week in May, at the Salisbury Hotel, for the reception of the Executive Committee's^eport in reference to the distribution of seed-corn to the French peasant-farmers ruined by the war. Lord Vernon presided. The minutes of the previous general meeting were read by Mr. B. T, Brandreth Gibbs, and confirmed. Letters were read by Mr. H. M. Jenkins from several gentle- men expressive of regret at not being able to attend, including one from the Lord Mayor, and another from Earl Powys. He then proceeded to read the following Report of the Executive Committee : — The Executive Committee, in presenting their first report nearly five months ago, viz., on January 30th, requested in- 32 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. structiona with reference to the distribution of corn and seeds to the distressed French peasant-farmers. The General Committee thereupon passed the foUowinsr resolutions, iipon which the subsequent work of the Executive has been based : 1. That, considering the armistice which haa just taken place, and the prospect of an early peace, this Committee, recoccnislnp: the advantage of making an early beginning-, entrust to the Executive all the arrrangements they may deem most expedient for the distribution of seed, trusting that the instrumentality of the French Minister of Agricultm-e may be utihsed in so far as may be found pos- sible. 2. That an agent or agents, at the discretion of the E.^ecutive, be sent to France to aid in the distributions of the Committee. At the date of the last report the total amount of subscriptions promised was £2,0"6 5s. lid., of which about £900 had been received. At the present time the subscrip- tions received amount to £11,9.55 23. 2d., which sum includes, however, three gi'ants, amounting to £13,000, given bj- the Mansion House French Relief Fund. The E.xecutive now feel it then- duty to lay before the General Committee and the Subscribers an account of their stewardship. They are not yet in possession of complete information on all points, but the termination of the period of spring-sowing seems the most fitting time to state, as far as possible, what has been done to enable the French peasants who have suffered by the war to sow their land during the past season in the hope that they may secure a crop during the coming autumn. Before recounting the steps which have been taken to attain this object, the Executive are desirous of recording the valu- able assistance which the.y have received in the collection of donations from agricultural and other rural associations, and more particularly from the London Farmers' Club, the Cham- bers of Agriculture, the Agricultural Benevolent Institution, and the Boards of Guardians. The French Peasant-farmers' Seed Fund has heen essentially an agricultural movement, and as such the Executive have felt it their duty to make its object known, as far as they could, to every landowner and tenant-farmer in the iingdom. On the other hand, the town population has not been directly canvassed, but the Executive thankfully bear witness to the spontaneous generosity and sympathy of numberless urban subscribers, and also to the appreciation of their efforts sbown by the Lord Mayor's Committee of the Mansion House French Rehef Fund. Thus there has been no rivalry between these two great chwitable movements, but the wealthy citizen has given from his abundance not only wherewithal to feed the starving Parisian, but also the seed to sow the land of the distressed peasant. Immediately after the last meeting of the General Committee, the Executive was strengthened ^jy a delegation from a committee of com merchants in Mark-lane, formed for the purpose of furthering the object of the Fund. To the disinterested co-operation of these gentlemen no inconsiderable share of the success of our operations is due. Through their agency the corn and other seeds have been bought at prices which are exceptionally favourable, and which have not been enhanced by any charge for commission ; while the quality has in all cases been a source of admiration in every district in which the operations of the Fund have been carried on. The cordial thanks of the subscribers are eminently due to Mr. Odams, not only for his personal services, but also for the lilierality with which he placed his wharf gratuitously at the command of the Executive as a storehouse for donations of corn. He allowed his wharf, for weeks together, to be monopolised by the purchases of the Fund, amounting to several thousani quarters of grain. He also conducted the shipping department with much ability and energy, and rendered numerous other services incidental to the hurried despatch of large quantities of seed-corn to France. The Executive must also express their oljligations to the Great Eastern and Great Western Railway Companies, by whom donations of corn have been conveyed over their lines and delivered at Mr. Odam's wharf entirely free of all charges. The Executive are also indebted to the London, Chatham, and Dover, South-Eastern, London and South-Western, and the London and Brighton Railway Companies for conveying to Prance a certain ({uantity ot grain free of cost in "each case. On the other side of the Channel, the special acknow- ledgment of the Fund is due to the Chemin de Fer du Nord, which from the commencement of our operations has carried gratuitously all our consignments, and has gi\-en them pre- cedence over all comers. The other railway companies in France have not been so liberal, but they have promised to refund 75 \)er cent, of the charges which have been paid, and the Versailles Governinent have undertaken the reimburse- ment of the remainder. The mode adopted for obtaining in- formation as to the requirements of the French jieasant- farmers, by means of a schedule of tiuestions, has Droved most successful. The schedules were distributed in large numbers over the ravaged districts by the representatives of the National Society for Aid to the Sick and Wounded in War, and by the assistance of numerous private individuals. The replies to the questions were in all cases sufficiently ex- plicit to be of service to the Executive in their difficult task. It was obvious that too much seed-corn could not be sent into districts in which, according to these statements, it was " entu-ely wanting;" and it was satisfactory to receiv^ repeated and distinct assurances from extensive landowners that the latest period of sowing spring wheat was not until March 15th, and in some districts April 1st, while oats and barley were commonly sown until April 15th, and in some districts until the beginning of May. The information ob- tained soon showed that the wants of the Peasant -farmers were infinitely greater than there was, at that time, any likehhood of the Committee being able to supply. It was therefore a matter of necessity, as well as of duty, to limit the distribution to bond-fide peasant-farmers who had suffered by the war, and to restrict the quantity given so as to extend the donations of the Fund to the greatest number of people, while conferring a substantial benefit in each case. The Executive, therefore, decided to instruct their representa- tives, who might be charged with the distribution of corn and seeds, not to allow claims made by persons occupying more than 50 English acres (20 hectares), and not to give to any occupier more than 8 bushels of wheat, or 12 bushels of barley, or 16 bus'aeJs of oats, or a proportionate quantity of two "or more kinds of grain. Generally speaking, the representatives of the Fund have found it desirable to restrict stiU further both the area of occupation and the quantity of gi-ain to be given in each case, and thus a pro- portionately larger number of people have received relief. The first pm-chase of seed-corn was ordered on February 4th, viz., 30CI quarters of spring wheat, to be distributed in the Department of the Somme, by Mr. C. Sartoris, of Wilcote, Charlbury, Oxfordshu-e, who "had placed his voluntary ser- vices at the disposal of the Executive. Mr. Sartoris ha%-ing estaljlished his depot at Ajiiens as a convenient centre, it became a matter of anxious consideration how the grain should be conveyed there in safety, through a region which was partiall}^ occupied by an invading army. The as- sistance of the Xational Aid Society was again solicited, and, as in every other case, was freely given. At the in- stance of that" Society, Major-General Sir Vincent Eyre, K.C.S.I., C.B., who had superintended their operations in the North of France, placed his services and those of his staff at the disposal of the Executive ; and it is right to say that the energy and ability with which Sir Vincent Eyre and his colleagues (especially M. VaiUant, Mr. Seton Sj-nnot, Mr. Merridew, and Mr. Neave) have conducted the dif- ficult operations entrusted to them, have contributed very largely to the success with which the distribution of seed- corn has been etlected in the northern half of the invaded region. Thi'ough their exertions, not only was free ware- house-room oljtained, and, more important still, free railway transport ; but the sacks bearing the stamp of the Fund were allowed to take precedence of all private consignments. It is necessary to call special attention to the value of such concessions as these in a country in a state of war, where every available railway- waggon is " requisitioned " by one or other of the contending forces for the conveyance of sol- diers and war material. Obviously it would have been im- possible to profit by these advantages had not Sir Vincent E.^Te and Mr. Sartoris also addressed themselves to the Ger- man Commander at Amiens, General von Goeben, who, fuUj' appreciating the efforts made by the Committee, issued an order which prohibited any reqtiisition of the grain bearing the stamp of the Fund. The operation of the Fund in the North of France, as, indeed, in all other districts, ultimately assumed an importance which was not originally contem- plated ; and Mr. Sartoris soon found it necessary to avail himself of the volunteered assistance of Colonels Cox and Berrington. Afterwards, Mr. Sartoris being obliged to re- turn to England, Colonel Cox was placed at the head of the depot at Amiens, and Colonel Berrington distributed in the adjoining Department of the Pas de Calais, from a depot es- tablished at Arras. The further extension of the area of dis- tribution, at a more recent period, to the Department of the Aisne, in an easterly direction towards the Ardennes, where Mr. Bullock had been distributing the Daily News Fund, led to the appointment of Captain Webster Wedderburn as an- other assistant to Colonel Cox. Thus, the original area was, step by step, extended in every direction until it reached the boundaries of districts that were either supplied from othei depots subsequently established, or, as in the case of the Ardennes and the Meuse, the confines of the regions that were under the special charge of other Committees, to whom grants of money were made by the Executive for the purchase of seed-corn. The capitulation of Paris on the 28th of January was succeeded by the signature of the preliminaries of peace on the 26th Februarj-, and the latter event was fol- lowed by a large influx of subscriptions. Thus the Executive were enabled to enlage their sphere of operations in the North of France, and finallj' to establish depots for the sup- ply of seed-corn to other portions of the invaded region. On February 21st the Lord Mayor's Committee made their first grant of £5,000 to this Funcl. It was determined on the following day to pm-chase 1 ,500 quarters of spring wheat for dis- tribution in the district of La Beauce — the principal grain- producing region of France. Colonel Elphinstone, who had superintended the operations of the National Aid Society in the Orleans district, and whose liead-quartcr were at Tours, THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 33 offered to supei-intend the work of this Fund, aud his ser- vices were moat thankfully accepted by the Executive. The history of this district offers a close parallel with the course of events just described. Tlie wheat bought with the Man- sion House grant was followed by oats, barley, &c., pur- chased with our o^vn subscriptions, aud Colonel Elphinstone availed himself of the assistance of Captain Rennick and other gentlemen, while Mr. Miles Lewis was engaged by the Committee to travel with the grain from Honfleur to Tours and elsewhere. The necessity of this precaution has been fully borne out by experience, and Mr. Le^vis deserves much praise for the energy with which he acquitted himself of his task, and for the devotion with which he spent day and night almost for weeks together in the van of a goods-train. By these means the whole of the grain sent to this dis- trict was satisfactorily distributed, and without delay. A second vote of £5,000, made by the Lord Mayor's Com- mittee, on February 24th, coupled with a large influx of subscriptions to the Fund, enabled the Executive to estab- lish a depot at Paris for the relief of the small cultivators in the extensive region which had been devastated during the protracted siege of the capital of France. The Executive esteemed themselves fortunate in securing the services of Mr. J. Furley, one of the most valued officers of the Na- tional Aid Society, as the head of their Paris Committee, which was further composed of Mi-. R. N. James, as Secre- tary, Mr. Pitman, and subsequently Mr. Mansfield. A large quantity of wheat, barley, and oats was immediately sent to Boulogne to be forwarded to the warehouse at Paris wliich had been provided free of cost through the instrumentaUty of the officers of the " Societe des Agriculteurs de France," whose distinguished President, M. Drouyn de Lhuys, has been throughout the unfailing guide and coimsellor of the Executive Committee. With every prospect of a siiccessful distribution, this Committee comnienced its work, and about 500 quarters of seed-corn were sent into Paris and partially distributed in the southern rui'al districts, with the assistance of Mr. Norcott, the representative of the Lord Mayor's Com- mittee ; but, in consequence of the insurrection in Paris it w as soon found necessary to remove the depot to Creil. This has, luihappily, prevented the representatives of the Fund from distributing more seed-corn in the district immediately south of Paris. The Executive were of opinion that it was impossible for the Paris Committee, necessarily removed to Creil, to distribute the whole of the seed-corn allotted to the Paris district, over one-half the area originally contemplated, so that it might be given to none but necessitous persons in time to be sown in its due season. They therefore decided, with the aid of portion of a further grant of £3,000 from the Lord Mayor's Fund, to estabUsh a fom-th centre of distribu- tion at Rouen, for the relief of the Departments of the Seine Inferieure, Eure, and Calvados, with some of the corn origin- ally intended for the district south of Paris, and an additional quantity specially purchased. The Executive were fortunate in securing the volunteer services of Captain W. Delf, of Great Bentley Hall, near Colchester, one of their own body, to take charge of this depot, and in associating with him Mr. Ramsay Bushnan, who had previously been in charge of the depot of the National Aid Society at Metz. So energetically did these gentlemen pursue their task that it is now satisfac- torily completed. Such being the agency by which the work of the Fund has been jjerformed, the Executive have now to report the quantity of seed-corn distributed fiom each cen- tre of operations, viz., (1) Amiens, (2) Tours, (3) Cred, and (4) Rouen, and their subsidiary depots. (1) From Amiens Mr. Sartoris, Colonel Cox, and Colonel Berrington, with their assistants, have distributed in the Departments of the Somme, Aisne, and Pas de Calais, in round numbers, 1,000 quarters of Spring wheat, 1,450 quarters of oats, 1,050 quar- ters of bailey, and about 100 tons of potatoes sent by the Executive. In addition 168 sacks of wheat, 1,060 sacks of oats, and 1,536 sacks of potatoes sent from Scotland by the Edinburgh Committee have been distributed chiefly in the Pas de Calais. One hundred quarters of vetches, 1,000 half- pecks of haricot beans, 1,000 quarter-pecks of tm-nip seed, 1,000 two-pound packages of carrot seed, and 1,000 quarter- pounds of onion seeds have also been given by this Fund to the Department de TAisne. The total number of occupiers relieved in these Departments is as follows : Departments. 1 Seed- 1 Com. Pota- toes. Total. Somme Pas de Calais 11013 2083 4401 850 15413 2933 8000 Total (approximate) 26346 (2) From Tours, Colonel Elphinstone and Captain] Rennick, ■vvith the assistance of Mr. Miles Lewis and others, have dis- tributed the folloT;\Tng quantities in the region commonly known as La Beauce : 1,650 quarters of wheat, 1,040 quarters of barley, and 810 quarters of oats, sent by this Fund direct ; i^lso 4,280 sacks of potatoes, 394 sacks of oats, and 20 sacks of various kinds of seed, sent by two Irish Committees at Dublin and Waterford, in the " Avoca." The Executive fur- ther sent 50 quarters of Spring tares, and 4,000 packets of small seeds, of the same description as those sent to the Aisne; and they also paid £1,000 towards the cost of one of the cargoes sent by the War Victims' Fund. For this £1,000 Colonel Elphinstone received for distribution 3, ,400 bushels of oats, 338 sacks of barley, and 158 sacks of potatoes. Un- fortunately this consignment reached him so late that the period of sowing oats in that district had expired, and it be- came necessary to sell them for fodder ; but the sum realized, nearly four shillings per bushel, showed a gain rather than a loss, and the Executive having authorized him to expend the sum in the purchase of maize in the South of France, the peasant-farmers of the district will also be no losers by this contretemps. The district of La Beauce comprises portions of the Departments in the following list, which shows also the number of occupiers relieved in each, exclusive of those who have received the tares and garden seeds, the retui-ns for which have not yet been made out. Departments. Seed- corn. Pota- toes. Small Seeds. Total. Inth-e et Loire Sarthe Loii- et Cher Loiret Bui-eetLoii' 3,021 738 6,760 4,150 3,170 2,833 652 4,871 1,309 1,096 394 117 522 314 393 6,247 1,507 11,153 5,773 4,659 Total 16,839 10,760 1.740 29,339 (3) To Paris and Creil, about 800 quarters of Spring wheat, 1,150 of barley, and 1,425 of oats were sent, also about 300 tons of potatoes, and 4,000 packages of small seeds as in the other cases. The returns in reference to this distribution have not j-et been received by the Executive ; but they are in a position to state that about 2,500 occupiers resident in be- tween 40 and 50 Communes south of Paris, and about 4,300 occupiers resident in 127 Communes north of Paris have received relief from Paris and Creil respectively. No in- formation as to the distribution from the subsidiary depots at Compiegne and Enghien has yet been received, and the figures just given may be considerably augmented in the final report. (4) From Rouen, Captain Delf and Mr. Bushnan have distributed in the Departments of the Seine Inferieure, Em-e, and Calvados, the following quantities of corn and seeds sent by this Committee : 710 quarters of barley, 1,567 quarters of oats, 260 tons of potatoes, 100 quarters of vetches, 4,000 package of seeds as before, 2 sacks of cabbage seed and 11 sacks of grasses ; also a cargo sent by the Scotch Fund, con- sisting of 11 sacks of barley, 231 sacks of oats, and 871 sacks of potatoes. Captain Delf also received from Boulogne a small quantity of wheat and some barley which had been intended for distribution by the Paris Committee ; but the wheat, about 64 quarters, arriving too late to be sown, was sold for grinding. The retiu-ns relating to the distribution from this depot, also, have not yet been received by the Executive Committee. The following are the total quantities of grain, potatoes, and small seeds sent to France by this Committee : Wheat 3,695 qrs. Barley 3,836 „ Oats 5,387 „ Tares 250 „ Potatoes 700 tons. Haricot Beans 4,000 half-peck bags (500 bushels) . Turnip Seed 4,000 quarter-peck bags (250 bushels). Carrot Seed 4,000 two-pound packages (8,000 lbs). Onion Seed 4,000 quarter-pound packages (1,000 lbs). Sundry Seeds, about 500 sacks aud bags. The General Committee and the subscribers will doubtless be interested in learning the system which has been adopted by the representatives of the Fund so as to guard as much as possible both against fraud, and against misappropriation of the grain purchased with their subscriptions. The system adopted was commenced at Amiens after considerable deli- beration, and having been found to work satisfactorily it was extended to aU the districts in which the operations of the Fund have since been carried on. The first duty of the re- presentatives has been to form a Local Committee consisting of lando\\Tiers and other persons of influence and agi-icul- tural knowledge. The next step has been to obtain from the Maii-es of Communes, or other qualified persons, a statement in detail, on forms supplied for the purpose, of the wants of the peasant-farmers in their Commune or Canton, specifying the names, the acreage occupied, and the quantity of each kind of grain asked for. This statement has been signed by the Maire, the Cm-e or the Schoolmaster, aud some agricul- turist of influence, generally either the President du Comice Agricole, or a Member of the " Socie'te des Agriculteurs de France." It has then been examined by the representatives of the Fund and their local committee, revised if necessary, and the quantity actually voted stated thereon by the repre- D 84 THE FAEMEE'S MAGAZINE. seutative. The seed has then been sent for by the Mah-e or his deputy, who has signed a receipt for it, and for each por- tion of it destined for the individuals whose claims have been allowed. With the grain he has taken duphcates of these dociunents to be signed by the recipients as it was delivered to them. The origiual return fully signed has been finally dehvered to the representative of the Fund, while the indi- vidual receipts, duplicates of those signed by the Maire or his deligate, have been kept by that functionary as evidence that he duly performed his part of the transaction. In the face of these precautions it is almost impossible that there should be any room for misappropriation, except by the peasant-farmer himself; but it is of course quite possible that amongst the thousands who have received seed-corn some few may have sold it, or used it for other purposes than seed. So greatly, however, was the boon esteemed, that in at least one district the landed proprietors publicly announced that they would prosecute at their own expense any person who sold or otherwise misappropriated the seed, and demand the infliction of a fine representing twenty times the value of the grain misused. The Executive refer with the greatest satisfaction to the feeling of confidence with which their organization, both at home and abroad, has inspired the Committees of other Funds. It was obviously the duty of those Committees to make use of the safest medium for the distribution of their donations ; and in addition to the large grants made by the Mansion House ReUef Fund, the Execu- tive have been requested to undertake the distribution of grain for several other Seed-funds at home and abroad. The Committee of the Scotch "French Farmers' Seed Fund" having deputed their Chairman, lilr. Scot Skirving, to pro- ceed to France to make arrangements for the distribution of theh' seed com, that gentleman, after personally examining the methods employed and the results obtained by Mr. Sai'- toris, at Amiens, begged him to undertake the duty. More recently the same Committee sent another cargo to Havi'e to be distributed by Captain Delf ; and a Committee at Dundee has also distributed a quantity of potatoes through the same agency. Similarly, the Irish Committees established in Dublin and at Waterford sent their donations to St. Nazaire to be distributed by Colonel Elphinstone ; and an American Committee also sent some small consignments to be distri- buted in the north-west of France by Captain Delf. Last, but, as a practical exhibition of confidence, certainly not least, M. Drouyn de Lhuys, the President of the " Soci^td des Agriculteurs de France," has requested the Executive to distribute a Swedish Fund amounting to upwards of £4,000. The Executive have in every case willingly placed theu- or- ganization at the service of these Committees, who have, as a rule, paid the freight of their consignments to the French port decided upon in each case, but the expenses of distribution in France have been borne by this Fund. This cux-mnstance has increased the cost of the work of distribution ; but the Executive considered that they were justified in this expen- diture, as the great object was to relieve the largest possible number of peasant-farmers. It has also been a source of congratulation to them that lay thus working in concert with other Committees they were avoiding all danger of duplicate distribution. It is also desirable to draw attention, in refer- ence to the question of expenditure, to the difference between the operations of a Seed-fund and those of Charitable Insti- tutions for the reUef of a starving multitude in a given place, or of operatives ruined by war. The gi-ain must be taken from a suitable climate, it must be distributed by a given date to recipients who are scattered over a large tract of country, and such supervision must be exen^ised as ^vill pre- vent its being sold or misapplied. To withhold the expendi- ture necessai-y for these operations would have been to nullify the object for which the subscriptions were given. The fol- lowing is a summary of receipts and expenditure to Thursday last :— RECEIPTS. Cash received to May 18th £41,955 3 2 EXPENDITURE. """^ Seed-corn, Potatoes, Seeds, Sacks, Freight, &c., including grants to Mr. BuUock and the War Victims' Fund £34,420 14 7 Distribution abroad* 2,681 8 9 Advertising 2,230 12 7 Printing, Stationery, Office expenses, Postage, Telegrams, and Petty expenses 496 14 11 Refund to Mansion House Relief Fund 6 5 0 Other Payments by Bankers, including com- mission 21 14 9 Balance in hand , 2,098 11 7 £11,955 2 2 * Including French railway chai-ges to be refunded, amount- ing to about £1,500, The outstanding liabilities may be roughly estimated at be- tween £250 and £300, and the unpaid subscriptions at about the same amoimt. Thia statement ehowa that there ia a probable balance in hand of about £2,000. In addition to this a re-fimd of about £1,500, expended in the railway transit of grain in the north and west of France, has been promised, partly by the railway comiDanies and partly by the Government of M. Thiers. The Swedish Fund (£4,272 19s. lid.), already referred to, having been sent to M. Drouyn de Lhuys too late to be usefully ex- pended this spring, has, with his consent, been held over until the autumn. In the opinion of the Executive there wiU be ample scope for the proper distribution of these sums after harvest, either in those districts of France which have not yet been relieved, or in that which is now being devastated by ci\-il warfare. Should this suggestion meet with approval, the Executive propose to take steps to attain the double object of acquiring information for their guidance, and of ascertaining the agricultural and economic efitects of the operations of the Fund. They ai'e of opinion that if this charitable movement is destined to make a permanent im- press on French agriculture, and they have received nume- rous assurances of the probability of this residt, it is worthy of a permanent record. They, therefore, recormnend to the General Committee that the Executive he authorized to de- pute some qualified person to visit the districts relieved, and report on the results of the operations of the Fund. The CHAiRiiAA' asked the meeting to allow him to make a few observations before the adoption of the report was moved. It might appear to some people that it would have been more desirable to have delayed the present meeting until a final or conclusive report could be made ; but the general powers en- trusted to the executive committee at the beginning of the year left them quite'! unfettered in the exercise of their discretion, and it was felt that sufficient time had since elapsed to make it imperatively necessary to have an opinion pronounced upon what they had done. The first general meeting took place on the 5th of January ; at that time the war was ragiug on the continent ; the public had verj little confidence in the possi- bility of carrying into effect the operations then sketched out, and the subscriptions consequently came in but slowly. Oa tlie 28th the armistice took place, but up to the 30th the sub- scriptions had only reached £2,000, and the committee were obliged to incur much expense to make the object of the fund known, or they would not, when the time for spring-sowing ar- rived, have had any seed-corn for distribution. On the 26th of February peace was signed, and after tliat much more sym- pathy was expressed, as was shown by the flow of subscriptions that then came in. But they were still beset by great diffi- culties, having no experience to guide them in their operations, andyet being within a month or thereabouts of the latest time when the sowing of the spring-corn could take place. They had no assurance that the corn could be conveyed at all, and still less certainty that they could get the corn to con- vey ; and it was upon these particular grounds, no doubt, that the public in the first instance withheld their support. Expe- rience proved many of these apprehensions to be correct, and that there would have been almost certain failure if they had attempted to convey seed-corn to districts abroad in the occu- pation of hostile armies, but when the preliminaries of peace were signed the whole case was reversed, and that which be- fore was an obstacle and a difficulty became at ouce an element of strength, because, owing to the faciUties given to them ia the first place by the German embassy at home, and in the next by Sir Vincent Eyre abroad, whom he was happy to see in the room.tliey were enabled to send their corn with tlie certainty that it would not be requisitioned. According to their experience the German general at Amiens rendered them not only nominal but real assistance, and it was all tlie more necessary that he should allude to that, because he had observed a letter, sent by Mr. Robinson, the author of a work on the gardens of Paris, in which it was stated the writer had heard requisitions of seed-corn were made by the Ger- mans. That, like all other reports of the kind, he carefully inquired into, and he was perfectly satisfied there was no au- thority for the statement, which could only have arisen from the tittle-tatfle of the waiting-room at the Amiens railway sta- tion. Within six weeks after they commenced operations, they bought and conveyed and distributed seed-corn, and it re- quired great vigilance to insure the quantity not being too low. The Mark Lane committee assisted them materially in the pur- chase of the corn, and he was certain within so short a time they could not possibly have bought the necessary supply if that Committee had not come forward and placed their services at their disposal. The conveyance of the corn was facilitated at home and abroad by the action of the rail- way companies, more especially that of the Northern of Frauce , THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 35 wMch had from first to last couv^yed their corn free of cost. The quantity of corn sent over that line was something pro- digious, and its successful distribution was due to the energy and talent and prudence displayed by their representatives abroad, who also had no experience to guide them, but were left to act each upon his own individual judgment, while they were hampered as little as possible with constraints and re- strictions. All that was done was simply to lay down the rule or principle that the corn should be distributed amongst the largest number practicable, and that no occupiers should receive more than sufficient to sow four English acres. A French peasant-farmer was defined to be an occupier of 50 English acres. He calculated taking a rough estimate — they had relieved 80,000 of such occupiers in France. If that number was multiplied by 3 or 4 which was thought to be a fair average of the members of each family, it would reach to a very considerable total. He estimated a sack of seed-wheat would yield about 40 bushels or 10 sacks of wheat, equal to 7 sacks of flour, capable of producing 600 quartern loaves, or two quartern loaves per day for each family for twelve months. That would give some idea of the amount of benefit the Fund had conferred. As the occupation of territory was raised it became necessary to increase the organizations abroad. They commenced with the Amiens district first, then extended their operations to Tours, then round Paris, and finally to Rouen. As the subscriptions came in they were enabled to increase the quantity of corn sent out to each district committee, and the accomplishment of aU this work taxed their energies to the utmost. Indeed, had they not been supported by those who were equally anxious to ensure its success, the undertaking must have collapsed long ago. They had the help, however, of gentlemen of experience in the International Society, of others of great local knowledge, of others well acquainted with agriculture and familiar with the wants to be supplied ; and, the task being now nearly completed, he hoped the Eng- lish people would derive some satisfaction from the successful manner in which it had been performed (cheers). He was convinced it had not only produced lasting results in alle- viating the misfortunes of many suft'ering people who were not responsible for the terrible state of things in France, but that it would also tend to cement and increase the good-will and amity which had now so long subsisted between the two coun- tries (cheers), Mr. T. Gates Danton moved the adoption of the report, and bore testimony to the immense amount of labour and courage bestowed upon the work. Connected as he was with the War Victims' Fund, he had had opportunities of watching the beneficial influence this committee had esercised upon the other organisations. Mr. Sutton (Reading), in seconding the motion, echoed the sentiments of the mover, and observed that the experience thus obtained might prove equally useful in the future, as showing what could be achieved in this direction within two or three months. Mr. H. M. Jenkins (Hon. Secretary), replying to a ques- tion, said it would be difficult to make out an exact account of how much had been received in donations of corn, but, speaking roughly, he should say about 200 qrs. of wheat, 600 qrs. of barley, 100 qrs. of oats, and 35 tons of potatoes, be- sides some 200 or 300 bags of seeds of difPerentkinds. When the Committee came to make their final report, they hoped to be able to give the connect list. The motion was carried unanimously. On the motion of Mr. Kendall, seconded by Mr. Obams, thanks were accorded to the various Societies and other bodies named in the report who have assisted in the operations of the Fund at home and abroad. Mr. Scot Skirting (Chairman of the Scotch French Far- mers Seed Fund) proposed a vote of thanks to the various gentle- men who hadbeentheagentsof the Fund in France and thelocal committees who assisted them ; and having witnessed some of their labours there, he was in a position to congratulate the committee upon having had such able and zealous repre- sentatives. The nearest approximation to the duty discharged was the Irish famine relief, but then, of course, the distribu- tion was far easier to what it was in an invaded country, with ' the post-office, railways, and electric telegraph all disorganised. He had himself tried and failed at the work, or at least was glad to give it up. He hoped the balance iu hand would be applied to the relief of the environs of Paris, upon which the visitation had fallen with double severity. Perhaps in the autumn these distressed people might receive special attention, Mr. Pavy (Mark-lane) seconded the motion, and spoke of the difficulty experienced in getting the seed within so limited a time. It was supposed with an unlimited supply of money an unlimited supply of grain could be obtained, but that was altogether a mistake. Difficult, however, as was the collection, liow much more difficult must have been its distribution ! _ In the one case there were orJy scores of persons to be dealt with, in the other thousands. The motion having been carried unanimously, Sir Vincent Eyre acknowledged the vote on his own be- half and that of some of his absent colleagues, although he said there were others present mucli more entitled to do so. Great as were the services rendered by the International So- ciety during the war, the work done by this fund must be regarded as of equal value and importance, for it had really and truly been the means of warding off a great famine, the effects of which would have been felt in no small degree at our own doors. Mr. Pitman also responded, and stated that all the districts around Paris had received more or less relief from the Fund, He suggested, however, that an attempt should be made to supply seed to other than those in absolute need of it at the same price that it could be purchased in London. At present, and perhaps it would be the same in autumn, it was from 50 60 per cent, dearer upon the spot than in England. Mr. W. Delf also responded. Mr. Wells, M.P., hoped the public at large would under- stand how energetically this work had been carried out. Not a little of its success was due to Mr. Odams, and the gentle- men of the Mark-lane committee, who deserved their warmest thanks. People were not aware of the great difficulty of buying seed-corn within a brief space, and yet the whole of this work had been a race against time. The difficulties in the way would have been insuperable had it not been for the spirit with which these gentlemen had caused the corn to be brought forward, and he had very much pleasure in moving a hearty vote of thanks to them for their most valu- able practical assistance. Mr. N. Rix seconded the resolution, which was coupled with the name of Mr. Odams, whom, Mr. Rix declared, no amount of labour seemed to inconvenience, neither did it his office. The seed-corn bought was very useful for the purpose for which it was intended, and well worth the money paid for it. The resolution was passed unanimously, and Mr. Odams, in acknowledging it, confessed that when he volunteered his ser- vices, he little thought of the vast labour it would bring upon him. Mr. Pavy spoke in similar terms for the Mark-lane Com- mittee, adding that the labour could not have been more cheerfully undertaken. Mr, H. Corbet proposed a vote of thanks to the three hono- rary secretaries, upon whom, he said, much of this success must have depended. Morning, noon, and night they were always in harness, willing and ready to go here, there, and every- where to advance the interest of the Fund. At one time, as a member of the Executive Committee, he felt almost afraid to enter his room, so certain was he to hear of some special meeting or other coming off, and the Committee were compelled to stipulate that they sliould not be called together more than three or four times a-week. Not so these gentle- men, who, with their Chairman, were ever pushing the move- ment forward throughout the country ; and the immense cor- respondence carried on, together with the great difficulties they had to encounter botu at home and abroad, would fully entitle them to the present complimentary vote. Mr. Amos seconded the motion, remarking that these gen- tlemen were the right men in the right place. The resolution was carried by acclamation. Mr. B. T. Brandretii Gibbs returned thanks, regretting that, owing to two severe attacks of indisposition, he had not been able to do so much as he could have wished. Mr. Jenkins, upon whom the bulk of the work had fallen, must now be good enough to do the lion's share of the speaking. Mr. H. M. Jenkins, after describing how the subscriptions had to be concentrated and spent in London, while the dis- tribution of the seed-corn was from all points of the compass iu France, compared the task they had overcome to that of D 2 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. a Hercules ; but they were, nevertheless, the more pleased the more the subscribers gave them to do. He must be allowed to glance for a moment at the future, because the work of the secretaries had not quite come to an end. JN'ow, what was to be Cone with tlie balance ? One suggestion was to devote it to an account for furnishing seed-corn at the cost-price to far- mers who were in need of it, although not in a necessitous condition ; but to adopt the suggestion would be embarking upon a sea of enlarged and endless difficulties, aud it must therefore be steadfastly rejected hke all other proposals cal- culated to interfere with the ordinary progress of trade. The work of distribution being now finished, he hoped the mem- bers of the Executive Committee would be able to spare a little more time to find out the best way of disposing of the balance in the autumn, and he promised that nothing should be wanting on the part of the secretaries to ensure a conclusion as satis- factory as the present appeared to be to everybody concerned. Mr. C. S. Read, M.P., called upon the meeting to give a cordialj unanimous, aud hearty vote of thanks to their excellent chairman. Whatever might have been said in praise of other gentlemen, this at all events no one could dispute, that Lord Vernon's interest and industry in this matter was no less worthy of admiration. The kind and courteous manner with which he received every one who had anything to do with tliis movement had contributed a good deal to its success. ;Mr. Delf seconded the motion, which was also passed by acclamation. The Chairm.\j\' warmly acknowledged this empathic ex- pression of feeling in his favour, and declared it to be no mere form of words or utterance in a spirit of compliment, when he said no chairman could possibly have been more ably and readily supported than he had been by the Executive Com- mittee over which he had the honour and pleasure to preside. Mr. Jenkins thought they undertook a herculean task when they entered upon the work, but great as it was they had every reason to be content with the corresponding results it had already yielded, or destined to flow from it in the future. The meeting then separated, THE GRUB IN SHEEP AND EOT IN HORSES, &c. The following paper was read by Mr. J. Vaughan, Chair- man of the Board of the Guardians of the Builth Union, at the meeting of the Board : Thinking it might interest you as agriculturists and owners of sheep aud stock, I have just written the following imperfect account and history of the Fly which infests sheep, cattle, horses, and other animals, both wild and domestic, and in some parts of the world even man himself. This insect of late has been the cause of sad losses amongst the flocks of sheep in the surrounding country. The disease is commonly known by name as " the Grub, or Worm in the Head." Not having books on the subject by me to refer to, I regret that my know- legde and this paper is so imperfect, but I must ask you to take the will for the deed. The first person who in modern times studied and wrote on this fly aud larva was Vallisnieri, an Italian and pupil of the great anatomist Malpigni. He pub- lished his essays about A.D. 1700 on the fly that affected the horse and sheep. The celebrated Reuinur and Baron de Gee likewise wrote on this subject, but at that period they had but an imperfect knowledge of how the many difterent varieties ot the fly existed or were propagated. It is to the celebrated Linnseus we are indebted for classifying this fly under the common title of (Estrus. He was acquainted with five only of the European species, viz., the Bovis (ox), Tarant (reindeer), Ovis (sheep), fiaemorrhoida (horse) and Nasalis (horse). The writer Fab- ricius subsequently added three more to this class — the CEs. Bnccatus in Carolina, (Es. Pecorum (in intestines of sheep uncertain), and Oils. Trompe (reindeer). Gonelin next wrote on the CEstrus, hut both these writers liaving drawn their facts from incorrect sources confuse the reader. Since their time others have written on this subject, and a very excellent article with raouagrapli and illustrated by figures appeared in tlie 3rd vol. of the Linnaean transactions, and Mr. Bracy Clark has since published a separate volume on this subject. In Ento- mology this fly is classed amongst the genus of insects of the order of Diptera, being the ffistrus of naturalists, aud commonly known as the Gad Fly or Breeze. There are, I believe, some twelve or more distinct descriptions of this fly knovvn to naturalists. The CEstrus Ovis, or Sheep Bot Fly, is the first I will refer to. The generic character and appearance of the fly and grub or larva, is ; the wings of the fly are transparent, punctured with small spots at the base ; tlie belly or abdomen chequered black and white. The grub or larva is somewhat smaller than the horse bot, of whitish colour and egg-shaped or ovate, flat on the underside, oval or convex ou the upper, but without spines along the segments. There are two small hooks attached to the small end, the other extremity is thick truncated, encircled by a prominent ring or margin, which apparently serves the purpose of closing over and cleaning the respiratory plate, and when in action a slight snap is heard sometimes by the sudden admission of air. The upper part is studded by black lines or dots, and the flat surface with small minute rough black spots or dots along the jniddle segment. When young, these spots are not visible. The larva or grub moves with considerable quickness, holding on by the hooks or tentamla as a fixed point, and drawing up the body towards them. Ou the broad line of dots on the under side rough points appear, supposed to serve the purpose of assisting them over the smooth moist surface of the mem- branes, and of exciting inflammation in the parts where they rest, so as to cause a secretion of lymph or pus for food. It is believed that the larva or grub usually resides in the maxil- lary sinuses of the head, as the membrane lining these cavi- ties are found highly inflamed, although after the death of the sheep the grub is more generally found up in the frontal sinuses and near tlie horns. As the lining of these cavities is not found inflamed, it is supposed that the grub crawls into these situations after the death of the sheep. At the same time, quite young and full-grown larv» may be found in the sinuses of a sheep's head. From this it is inferred that the breeding is not confined to one particular period or season of the year, but it does not follow that all the larvDe should be hatched at tlie same time, although deposited by the same fly. The larvae or grub when hatched in the sheep's nostrils, by its two hooks, crawl up into the interior cavities of the skull when full-grown, when they fall through the nostrils to the ground and change to the pupa or chrysalis state, lying ou the earth or adhering by the side to a blade of grass, where in which state it remains for some two months or so, and in about the months of June and July the fly bursts the shell of the chrysahs and comes out and commences depositing its eggs on the sheep. The manner in which this species of fly deposits its eggs or ova is not easy to see, although standing close to the animal, on account of the obscure colour and rapid motion of the fly and the extreme fright and agitation of the sheep ; but from the motions of the sheep afterwards, and the mode of defence it takes to avoid it, there is little doubt that the egg is deposited in the inner margin of the nostril. The instant the fly touches this part of the sheep they shake their heads violently, and beat the ground with their feet, holding their noses at the same time close to the ground and running away, sharply turning their heads ou every side to see if the fly is near or pursuing them. They also sometimes might be seen smelling the grass as they go lest one should be lying in wait for them, and should they observe one, they run either back or some other way, as sheep cannot, like cattle aud horses, take refuge in the water to pro- tect themselves against its attack. Sheep generally have recourse to a rut, dry dusty roads, gravel-pits, high fern, or gorse, to hide, and where they crowd together during the heat of the day with their noses generally close to the ground, which renders it difticult for the fly, who makes his attacks when on the wing, to get at the sheep's nostrils. The nostril, from the repeated attacks of the fly and the frequent rubbing against the ground, becomes irritated, inflamed, and sore, which occasions their touch to be so mucli dreaded by the sheep. From the ditficult and very precarious mode these flies pursue, they cannot succeed in depositing but a few of their eggs in each sheep ; wherens, ou the contrary, it they actually entered THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 87 those cavities of tlie face, to effect it they must deposit them all, and in oue sheep, the impossibility of which is already stated. Sheep have always been subject to this trouble- some parasite, and which is by no means necessarily fatal nor injurious to the quahty of the meat. Two or three of these larvse appear to have no ill effects on the sheej) ; but on ac- count, as is generally believed, of the unusual dryness and heat of the last two or three years, and the past one in particular, this parasite has increased in some parts of the country to a very serious extent — as many as twenty and thirty of these larvae have been found in the head of one sheep, and you can imagine the effect they would have on the poor animal when they begin to bestir themselves to get out, causing frequently the death of the sheep, usually preceded by stupor and de- bility. I much wish it was in my power to effect a remedy, but I know of none. Once the grub has ensconced itself in the maxillary sinuses and convolutions of the turbinated bones of the head, even trepanning — which some French shepherds resort to without hesitation, and has been done in this neighbourhood — will not always detect them. The great difficulty is to use any local application, or even fumigate the part where the grub is, that would destroy or cause it to fall out of the head. To prevent the disease much can be done. The sheep might be moved to a different pasture for the summer months of June and July, or earlier, whilst the greater part of the bots or larvae are yet on the ground in a dormant chrysalis state. The pastures infected with the bots might, I think, with advantage be sprinkled or sown with salt, lime, or some other manure that would be likely to destroy the pupa or chrysalis and benefit the herbage, and the sheep not to be brought back again to such ground till the setting in of winter, which would be the means of destroying them most effectually, and for this process to be repeated for two or three years successively. This periodical movement of flocks to avoid the fly is carried on in other countries. In Lapland the inhabitants migrate annually with their reindeer on account of this hot which infests them. Internal remedies or drenches in this affection or complaint would be of little or no avail. The object is to prevent the fly, on emerging out of the chrysahs state, laying its eggs on the sheep's nostrils. Dipping the sheep's head in certain solutions, and using such external application as will prevent the fly attacking the sheep, is the object to be gained. An infusion of quassia chips, with a small quantity of carbolic acid added, would be a good dipping solution ; for three or four shillings sufficient could be pur- chased to dip the heads of a hundred or more sheep in, and that more than once. The heads of the sheep could be dipped more or less frequently during the fly season. The part round the nostril and ears should be kept smeared with tar or fish oil, or both combined in equal parts. A. little brimstone, assafoetida, and colocynth powder might be added, but is not necessary. None of the mmeral poisons, such as mercury, arsenic, or lead, would be of service. At the present time there is another disease existing amongst the sheep of this neighbourhood, of a different character altogether to the hot. In both complaints there is a discharge from tiie nostril, but in this latter disease no grub will be found in the sheep's head ; it has more the character of an infectious influenza or inflam- mation of the lungs. The internal liuing membrane of the nostrils, extending down into the lungs or lights, are found highly inflamed, with a running from the nose, and a dis- charge which, it is thought, gives it to the other sheep. Lambs suffer from this disease. The bowels also become af- fected, and a mattery discharge is passed ; the sheep soon be- comes weak, refuses food, and frequently dies. In this dis- ease strong opening physic, such as salts, does not appear to be called for, unless perhaps at the very commencement of the complaint ; but milder physic, such as castor oil, sulphur, common salt, with ginger, &c., the nostrils washed with vine- gar and water or a solution of Condy's disinfecting fluid, strengthening drenches, along with astringents, appear the most appropriate remedies iu the latter stages of this disease ; and carefully separating the affected from the healthy sheep is, I think, a necessary precaution to take. Bots in Horses. — There are at least two different kinds inhabiting the stomach of the horse, the O^.strus equi, or large horse hot, and Qistvus hajmorrhoidalis, or small horse bot, which at length produce, on their arriving at maturity, a two- winged insect of the fly kind. The larvae of the large horse bot attach themselves to every part of the horse's stomach, especially about the pylorus or lower part of the stomach. Sometimes they are found in the intestines. They hang in clusters, fixed by the small end to the inner membrane of the stomach, where tliey adhere by means of two small hooks ; and if removed, they will fix themselves by these hooks on the skin of the hand. It is observed that these bots, inhabiting the internal membranes of animals, are furnished with these hooks, whilst those which inhabit beneath the skin are found without them. Wlien young, the larva of this bot is of a pel- lucid ruby red colour, and without spines on the segments, and its food is the chyle or mucus of the stomach. They attain their full growth about the latter end of May, and are coming from the horse from this time to the latter end of June, or sometimes later. These large horse bots are not seen ad- hering to the bowel or rectum on leaving, as the small horse bots are. On dropping to the ground, they find out some convenient retreat, and change to the chrysalis. In about six or seven weeks the fly appears, with white wings, witii a stripe of black and two small spots. The mode the fly pur- sues to obtain for its young a situation in the stomach of the horse is truly singular, and is effected in the following manner: Wlien the female has been impregnated, and the eggs are sufficiently matured, she seeks among the horses a subject for her purpose, and, advancing on the wing, she holds her body nearly upright iu the air, and her tail, which is length- ened for the purpose, curved inwards and upwards. In this way she approaches the part where she designs to deposit the egg ; and suspending herself for a few seconds before it, suddenly darts upon it, and leaves the egg adhering to the hair ; she hardly appears to settle, but merely touches the hair with the egg held on the projected poiut of the abdomen. The egg is made to adhere by means of a glutinous hquor secreted with it. She then leaves the horse at a short distance, and pre- pares a second egg; and poising herself before the part deposits in the same way. The hquor dries ; the egg becomes firmly glued to the hair ; and this process is repeated by various flies till four or five hundred eggs are sometimes placed on one horse. The horses after a time, when they find this fly does them no injury, as the Tabani and Canopes, by sucking their blood, harldy regard it. The side and back part of the shoulder, and the inside of the knee are the parts on which these flies are most fond of depositing their eggs, less frequently the extreme ends of the hairs of the mane, but it is remarkable that the fly does not place them promiscuously about the body, only those parts which are most liable to be licked with the tongue, and the eggs therefore are scrupulously placed within its reach, showing the strongest example of pure instinct. The eggs, when they have remained on the hair for four or five days, become ripe, after which time the shghtest warmth aud moisture is sufficient to bring forth in an instant the latent larva or grub, and if the tongue of the horse at this time touches the egg, it opens, and a small active worm is produced which readily adheres to the moist surface of the tongue, and is from thence conveyed with the food to the stomach. These eggs can be hatched in the hand by moiftening them with saliva when perfectly ripe. The ffisTiius Kemorrhoidalis, or small Horse Bot. — The larva or grub, producing this insect, is much like the former, occupying the same situation also in the stoi.iach of the horse. It is rarely distinguished by its smaller siz-, and being destitute of spines on leaving the horse, when full grown it assumes a reddish green colour, and in about two days be- comes a chrysalis. None of the larvae of this family appear to change their skin, which at length becomes also the shell of the chrysalis. After remaining in the chrysalis state about two montlis, the fly appears. It was erroneously supposed for a long time that the female fly entered the bowels of the horse to deposit its eggs, but the part chosen by this insect for this purpose is the lips of the horse, which is very- distressing to the animal from the excessive titillation it occasions ; for he immediately after its touch rubs his mouth against the ground, his fore legs, or agaiust a gate or tree ; and if two are standing together, they often rub themselves against each other. At the sight of this fly the horse appears much agitated, and moves his head backwards and forwards in the air, to baulk its touch and prevent its darting on the hps, hut the fly watches for a favourable opportunity, deposits its eggs from the point of the abdomen, and he continues to repeat his attacks on the lip, till the enraged animal en- deavours to avoid it by galloping away to a distant part of the 38 THE FAEMER'S MAGAZINE. field. If it continues to follow or tease him, liis last resource is in the water, where (Estrusis never observed to pursue him. This fly will sometimes get between the legs of the horse whilst grazing, and then make his attack on the lower lip ; the titillation causes the horses to stamp violently with his fore foot against the ground, or strike out at the fly. The egg of this species appears darker than that of the former, and provided with a foot stalk from the small end, the opposite being obtuse, and provided with an oper- culum. These hreraorrhoidal bots are during the summer juonths hanging to the extremity of the horses' bowel, where they will remain for some days before they fall to the ground, and if the horse is used on the road wliile the bots are adher- ing to this part the irritation becomes peoiliarly distressing, and causes him to move awkwardly and sluggishly as though tired, and if severely beaten he soon relapses again into the same awkward way of going ; and as tliis generally happens during warm weather, it is attributed to mere laziness, and severe correction follows ; but on removal of the bot the cure is instantaneous. I believe there is no specific medicine that will detach them from the stomach and intestines. It has been observed that horses which are not exposed to bots more frequently are affected with glanders, farcy, &c. — as those of the army, coach, and carriage horses — than those not exposed to receive them. In addition to the four species of CEstrus or gadfly I have referred to in the foregoing paper, there is also to be met with in this country the CEstrus Veterinus, or Nasalis of Linnseus, the habits of which are not so well known. Those insects of this family inhabiting other countries I will not now attempt to give an account of. Bots in Cattle. — Besides the bots peculiar to the horse and sheep, which adhere by small hooks and live in the internal mucous linings of the head and intestines, there are those of a distant kind belonging to the same family which live in their grub state under the skin of the backs of oxen, deer, and other animals. The larva of the CEstrus Bovis, or great ox bot, is unlike the larva of this genus. TVhen young it is smooth, white, transparent, afterwards becomes of a deep brown colour. On examining the dots seen on the segments of the body, real hooks turned in different directions can be detected, which, when moved about in the abscess increase the irritation, and so increase the discharge of pus and matter for the sustenance of the grub. In the summer months, usually about June, the larvte, when of mature age, passes out through the external opening in the skin, and remains in its chrysalis state from about the latter end of June till about the middle of August, when the fly, forcing open a very sin- gular triangular Ud, or operculum at the small end, makes its appearance. Its effects on the cattle are often remarked ; but the fly itself is rarely seen- or taken. When depositing its eggs the pain it inflicts appears to be very sev ere. When one of the cattle is attacked by this fly it is easily known by the extreme terror and agitation of the whole herd. The un- fortunate object of the attack runs bellowing from amongst them to some distant part, or the nearest water. The tail, from the severity of the pain, is held with a tremulous motion straight from the body. The rest, from fear, generally follow to the water, or disperse to different parts of the field. In former times, when oxen were yoked to the plough, one of these flies would make them quite uncontrollable, and off they would run through hedges or whatever obstructed their way. Usually, the strongest and healthiest beasts are preferred by this fly ; and I have been told that dealers consider bots in the back as a criterion of goodness rather than otherwise. The whole of this family of insects appear to have a strong dislike to moisture, since the animals find a secure refuge when they get into a pond or brook, where the other flies which annoy them follow without hesitation, but the CEstri rarely or never ; and during very cold, rainy, or windy weather they are not to be seen. The fly has brownish unspotted wings, belly with a black band in the middle, and its extremity with orange yellow hairs. THE POTATO. fA Taper read lefore Vie Madkoii Co, Farme-i-s' Convention^ lif S, B. Johnson.) Very few cultivators give the importance to this vegetable which fairly belongs to it. In the plans for the season a large area is given to corn ; perhaps a still larger to wheat ; and oats occupy no mean place, particularly if the seed commands a fabulous price. If perchance some little out-of-the-way corner yet remains unappropriated, the force, which has well iiigh spent itself on the important crops, is allowed, on some leisure Saturday evening, to finish itself in the potato patch — and too often the patch itself is finished at the same time. The corn ground is prepared with the utmost care. You know almost to a mathematical certainty the distance the rows are apart and the points of the compass to which they run ; the number of hills in a row, and the grains in a hill ; and how many shoot up and make a stand. Should there be one too many stalks in a hill, out it must come at the proper time. It is harrowed and cultivated, thinned, re-cultivated, ploughed, and " laid by" just when it should be. When we hear of one crop of potatoes managed with similar care and patience, is it not the exception rather than the common practice? We could cite cases where, year after year, the owner was glad to get his potatoes dug on the shares ; and the luckless wight who took the job made beggarly wages at that. Witli such results staring them in the face, it is little wonder that these men say, potatoes don't pay. Why not ? The corn, wheat, and oats made good crops; the soil best adapted to them was selected; they were properly put in and properly cared for ; a handful of corn was not allowed to grow in a hill, nor was it " laid by" m such a wilderness of weeds that one might lose his way in attempting to follow the rows. Is it not true that we do not fully appreciate the value of this "?P ?. I.t^ stands side by side with wheat and corn— perhaps the third in importance of our great articles of national food. In 1860 there were 15,000,000 bush, of potatoes raised in this coun- try. It is no exaggeration to estimate that in 1SG9 the product reached 200,000,000 bushels. At 50 cents per bushel, the value would be 100,000,000. dols. TMiile this crop stands third in importance as an article of food with these great staples, as a source of profit to the producer, it stands pre-eminently at tlie head and above them. You shall have no random statement for this, but figures, a logic which is hard to evade. What say the statistics for the years 1862, '63, '6-i, and '65 ? States. Corn. Wheat. Potatoes. Dols. 46 42 4S 43 43 40 32 37 32 24 19 21 20 22 17 14 17 20 19 20 20 27 Cuts. 52 87 80 03 46 22 04 30 20 19 82 14 20 93 96 47 81 31 59 43 53 82 Dols 25 30 29 33 30 32 26 28 23 21 22 16 16 21 16 14 18 14 12 13 21 23 Cuts. 48 77 03 02 87 57 10 25 93 73 74 25 25 10 30 36 75 63 85 16 67 91 Dols 69 67 59 81 88 80 57 68 72 58 92 71 64 52 59 60 60 50 64 58 83 98 Cnts. 79 New Hampshire 77 7-?. 9+ 89 37 New York 99 New Jersey „. 46 Pennsylvania 30 Maryland 45 Delaware 04 Kentucky 25 Ohio 83 Michigan 35 Indiana 26 Illinois 13 Missouri 46 Wisconsin 51 Iowa , 91 Minnesota 40 Kansas g... Nebraska 88 45 Here in our own proud state, the granary of the world, the THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 39 average cash valae of com per acre for four consecutive years is 14 dollar^47c., of wheat 14 dollars 26c., while that of po- tatoes is 60 dollars 13c. — more than three hundred per cent, in favour of the latter. Let it be remembered, too, that this was in war-times, when the prices of the cereals were consi- derablj enhanced. With us the best results have been secured on the second bottom of a creek, running through the place. The land is high, dry, and rolling. The soil, a sandy loam ; subsoil, a porous yellow clay. Is not easily affected by the extremes of wet or drought. About ten acres of it had been in cultivation for fifty years. The humus was exhausted ; consequently, an essential ingredient was wanting for the po- tato. We seeded the field down to clover in the spring. The following year the clover made a good growth. The first crop waA cut for hay. The-after-crop, when matured, was well plonVhed under late in summer, the following spring planted to potatoes. The poorest part of it produced at the rate of three hundred bushels per acre. The ploughing under of any green crop — we prefer clover — will add to almost any soil the essential ingredients to the growth of the potato. Low, wet, or argillaceous soils should be the last resort. A large crop is often produced on low bottoms, but the quality is in- ferior. Take your stand on the corner of the chief market- towns of this county, on a day when potatoes are coming in by the waggon-load. The first question the grocer puts is, Wer^ they raised on the bottom or upland ? If the latter, they will bring ten or fifteen cents more per bushel — an ag- gregate of from 4 to 5 dollars on the load — a difference suffi- cient to pay for marketing them. Men do not care to be taxed for extra water in a potato'^ore than in milk. In many localities it would do to recommend a liberal supply of superphosphates, guano, wood-ashes, &c. ; but with us, in most cases, it would not be practicable, nor is it neces- sary to a good-paying crop. With such a soil as has been recommended, if it be much worn and the necessary humus is wanting, green crops turned under and rotted will renew the soil. When the ground is sufficiently dry in the spring, start the plough, running from ten to twelve inches deep. If the subsoil is stiff, tenacious, the subsoil plough will be advantageous. Pulverize tho- roughly with the harrow, and you are ready for planting. It is now a well-accepted fact that the earlier we can plant in this latitude the better. If the ground is sufficiently dry in March, even on the first day, let the work be commenced. We cannot disguise the fact that, with a soil unsurpassed, we labour under greater difficulties with this crop than they do in more northern and eastern localities. The potato rejoices in a cool, equable, not too humid climate. The droughts, which are the rule rather than the exception here, often set in at a time in early summer to result most disastrously, if the planting has been delayed to the latter part of April or into May, frequentlj killing the tops outright when the tubers are not half grown ; or, if the plant survives, the growth of the root ceases for a while. With the cessation of the drought a second growth commetices, and the tuber sports itself into all sorts of shapes, nearly ruining it foj the table and market. By early planting, nine times in ten we escape this disaster. If we have no variety that can be planted early and will stay with us through the winter, it is our mislortune, and, as a dernier ressorf, we will supply our northern neighbours through the summer, and they shall return the compliment in the winter ; but are we driven to this alternative ? All remem- ber the alarm caused by the potato disease in Europe, in 1843. Sorts which had been tested for years and had always been reliable, failed: Strong men, helpless women and children in Ireland actually died of starvation, such was the famine pro- duced by the failure of this crop. The loss to Great Britain in one year was estimated at fifty million dollars. A plague similar to it spread to this country and our losses from that source alone have been placed at six million dollars or more in a year. We cannot do better than to quote here the author of the "Potato Mania." In speaking of Rev. Chauncey £. Goodrich, of Utica, New York, chaplain of the New York State lunatic asylum, he says ; " At this juncture, when men were looking on with dread at the prospective anni- hilation of the potato, moved by considerations of patriotism, Mr. Goodrich turned to account his habit of observation and experiment in the vegetable kingdom. Instead of seeking for the convalescence of old varieties, he believed that the true road out of the danger lay in the direction of a renewal of the stock from original sources ; and to tliis, being now relieved from a pastoral charge, he devoted himself with singular in- telligence and industry. The potato is indigenous to the tropical mountain regions of South America. It flourishes best on the table-lands of the Andes. There is no cold of winter there, and yet the elevation makes the ground cool and moist. Mr. G., in 1843, at an expense of 200 dollars, pro- cured some potatoes from Chili. From 1843 until the time of his death in 1863 he raised not less than sixteen thousand seedlings. There are few instances on record of zeal so dis- interested, chiefly in two respects : Pirst, in that he would not permit himself to be imposed upon in the judgment which he placed upon the merits of his seedlings, remorselessly sacri- ficing almost the whole of them, sifting and reducing the number to some seventy, and ultimately to eight or ten, which, by wide and generous distribution, he had caused to be tested over the breadth of the whole North, from Canada to Virginia ; and secondly, in that he worked out his benevolent labours to the end of his hfe, without turning his industry to hia own profit. Goodrich was the pioneer and patriarch of the New Kingdom of Potatoes." Of the Goodrich seedlings, we have tested but two varieties — the Early Goodrich and the Harrison. Mr. G. describes the former as being round to longish ; sometimes a crease at the insertion of the root ; white flowers, bright lilac ; produces many balls ; yield large. This sort is No. 1 in every way. We proved it to be a good bearer, and of good quality for two seasons ; the third, the quality was good for a few weeks, after which it had a sweetish, disagreeable flavour, and we have since discarded it. The Harrison also gave fine promise at the outset ; yielded prodigiously, and was of excellent quality ; but, after the second trial, we throw it aside as only fit to raise for the hogs. Prom one of the other Goodrich seedlings, the Garnet Chili, Albert Bresee, of Vermont, originated a variety in 1861— the Early Rose — which has been tested for some years and chal- lenges the world for a competitor. It has a stout, erect stalk of medium height ; large leaves ; flowers white ; bears no fruit. The tuber is guite smooth, nearly cyUndrical, varying to flattish at the center, tapering gradually towards each end; eyes shallow, but sharp and strongly marked ; skin thin, tough, of a dull bluish colour ; flesh white, sohd, and brittle ; rarely hollow ; boils through quickly ; is very mealy, and of the best table quality. Matures about ten days earlier than the Goodrich or any other variety with which we are acquainted. Nor is this all that commends it. It is not only the earliest, and most productive summer potato, but is good for winter and the following spring. We know of no better keeper. Early in June of last summer we had on our dinner table samples from the crops of 1869 and 70. They were then pronounced excellent. Where can you find another variety that will remain perfectly sound, firm, and retain its flavour, the year round P The Neshannock was once the prinee of potatoes, but its glory has departed. It has lost its heaithful- ness, productiveness and flavour. The Buckeye or Early York, is still of fair quality ; a tolerable bearer ; eyes deep, and the center is often hard. The Peachblow is a late potato ; good bearer ; eyes deep ; flavour fine when grown on light soil ; if on a strong soil, is sometimes coarse, and hollow at the heart. It is the only variety we can recommend for a late potato. The Shaker Russet is coarse, unshapely deep-eyed, large, and few in a hill. The English Pluke is a large, smooth potato, of good quality, but not successful here. Until this new era in the potato it seldom occurred to the planter to count the num- ber of eyes in a hUl, even if he did the number of potatoes. If the seed was large, the rule was, fewer in a hill ; if small, a greater number. So many bushels were left from the winter's store. Get rid of them at some rate, giving e;ich hill a fair proportion, until the limits of the field are reached, and the store exhausted. This new era, this greenback, if not golden era, in the kingdom of potatoes, has worked a most salutary change in this respect. When a single tuber costs 50 dollars, or a valuable cow, or sixteen of them a thousand-dollar town lot, the purchaser can afford to take time to count the eyes in the potato. Thus, in the effort to make the most of what might seem a bad bargain, valuable facts have been evolved. To secure the greatest results from seed so expensive, it. was cut close, planted thin — one eye to a piece, and one piece lo a hill, were grudgingly deposited with mother earth. The lavish return she made for favours doled out so sparingly, has 40 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. brought about a radical revolution in planting. Now the question is, not how much, but how little seed shall be put in the liill. There is great diversity of opinion as to the best size for seed — whether large or small, but one eye is better than a dozen in a hill. Be careful to secure sound, well- ripened seed, whether large or small, the condition being of vastly more consetiuence than the size ; cut the large potato to pieces of one eye. Begin at ihe butt end ; cut towards the centre, leaving a due proportion of the potato with each eye. Very small potatoes may be quartered, cutting from the seed to the stem. We prefer the hill method to drills. Lay off shal- low furrows 3| feet each way ; place from one to three set in a hill, as you have the ground, or seed. If the eyes are per- fect, you can calculate on about as good a crop from one set as three ; cover with light plow or hoe from three to four inches deep ; just before or after the plant appears go over with a two-horse harrow. This is better than two ploughings for keeping back the weeds. When about three inches high, with a one-horse Diamond plough, run close to the hUl to the, depth of five or seven inches, throwing the dirt from it. Go through eacli way in this manner. By this time the plant is sis inches in height. Now take a large plough and throw the soil back to the hill. A two-fold object has been gained by this process. The seed is slow at first in starting. The) soil has packed in an about the hiUs. Now you have broken the incrusted surface, loosened the soil, warmed and given new life to the sluggish plant. The tubers have a soft, mellow, roomy bed, in which to grow and mature. No further stirring of the soil is needed. When- ever the potato has commenced to set, it should be left undis- turbed. Every additional stirring causes new tubers to set, and, as a consequence, you get a disproportionate number of small, immature potatoes. Should any weeds appear among the hUIs, pull them out by hand. The vicissitudes of the sea- sons— noxious weeds — even the terrible rot — are not at pre- sent the worst enemies of the potato. According to entomo- logists, there are ten distinct species of insects that prey upon tlie potato plant in the United States : The stalk borer, potato stalk weevil, potato worm, striped blister beetle, ash-grey blister beetle, black-rot blister beetle, margined blister beetle, three-lined leaf beetle, cucumber flea beetle, and tlie Colorado potato bug (Boryphora Ibicata). Nine of the insects named we shall not stop to notice, for they are pretty well cared for by their parasites. But the last named — the Colorado beetle — has been proved to be more than a match for its parasites, and has too often out-generaled the strategy of man himself. The lamented Dr. Walsh estimated some two or three years since that in the North-west alone this bug had damaged the potato crop to the amount of 1,750,000 dollars ! It came from the Rocky Mountains, where it was found 45 years ago, feeding on a wild species of potato peculiar to that region. As the potato began to be cultivated there, this pest soon acquired a taste for it. It started on its eastward march, from potato patch to potato patch, at the rate of sixty miles a year. ,It now holds the country from Indiana to the Rocky Mountains. A detailed description is unnecessary here. You all have, doubtless, made his acquaintance the last season. It might sharpen the courage somewhat for the coming cam- paign, to refresh the memory lor a moment with an allusion to its almost limitless resources. Accordinj to Dr. Shinier, each female lays about 700 eggs. In six days the eggs hatch into larvre, which feed on the fohage of the potato plant about seventeen days ; they then descend to the ground, where they change into purple at tlie surface of the earth. The perfect beetle appears about ten to fourteen days after the pupa is formed ; begins to pair in about seven days, and on the four- teenth day begins to deposit her eggs. There are three broods every year. If you can count the stars in the heavens, then perhaps you can calculate the number of the army that, now safely burrowed in " winter quarters" in the ground, is making ready to sweep over our potato fields the coming season, i'or two or three years previous to the last, they have visited us in small squads. Even in 1869 it was thought that their para- sites— the lady-bug and others — could and did take care of them. But in 1870, they came upon us like an "extinguisher on a rush light." Those wlio were prepared for them, by close attention, saved their earliest-planted fields ; but thousauds of laterrplanted were stripped of all their green beauty, and the naked, blasted vines abandoned to the destroyer. Any of the ordinary appliances for destroying them were of no avail. To undertake to catch them in tin pans and burn them, as had been done, would be of no more avail than to go through one of your extensive peach orchards with a doll's china cup to catch the curculio. How are we to save ourselves from this scourge ? The little corner patch of an acre or so can be managed on the tin pan and fire plan. But here are 20, 50, or 100 acres in a plantation ; we know of only one way in which it has been done effectually on a large scale ; and that is by the use of Fans Green. This is a most viru- lent poison, and must be used with the utmost care. Secure the best. It can be purchased by the canister (lilbs.) for 45 cents per pound. Puncture the bottom of a quart tin bucket with holes about the size of bird shot ; solder midway on the side a handle with a socket three or four inches deep, into - which thrust a stick four feet long ; having muffled nose and mouth, mix thoroughly one part of Paris green with eight parts of gypsum. With this long-handled bucket, and by keeping on the windward side, the muffler can be removed, and you may march with safety into the battle field. Com- mence as soon as the plants appear and dust every hill thoroughly. Go over the field twice a week, if anything in the shape of the bug is to be seen. It may be disguised by countless myriads in the yeUow eggs laid on the under side of the leaf; and some day, when least expected, the naked, de- foliated stalks are reeking with the filthy larvje. By the use of plaster [instead of flour, a stimulaut is employed of great value to the crop. After the bug is vanquished, it would be of advantage to continue the application of the plaster until the crop is ripened. The digging and storing is not a difiicult affair. With a four-tined potato-fork, a hand can dig from 20 to 40 bushels per day. Place the potatoes in convenient piles as they are dug, and cover with the tops to keep from the sun. Place in a cool, dry cellar, or bury in pits. They keep best buried. Put in piles, say four feet at the base and three feet high. Cover with six inches of straw and about six of the soil. Corn fodder evenly set up over this will be an excellent protection from rains and frost. They should be covered only lightly, until winter is about to set in for good. The half of a sheaf of straw tightly bound in two or three places should be set in the centre of each heap — like a smoke stack — to act as ventilator and carry off surplus heat or moisture. In very cold weather additional protection may be given by placing more straw at the top. If potatoes are buried in heaps, care must be exercised to thoroughly drain off the water. Potatoes intended for the table in early spring, should be kept in a cool, dark chamber to prevent sprouting. THE COB AND PONY DAY. At Tattersall's, on Monday, May 22. Mr. Mtlward's Ponies. Gs. Don Carlos, 13.3 (entire) ; winner of the first prize at Sleaford, Birmingham, and Hinckley, in 1870. Lord Calthorpe "210 The Crown, 14.2 : Mr. Thomas 100 Eva, 14.1 Major Butler 105 Grafton, 14.1 Lord Stamford 110 Gerald, 14.1 Mr. Lushington 55 Padrona, 14.1 Mr. Ehvon 90 Gladys, 14. 1 Mr. Nixon 67 Cleveland, 14.0 ; winner of second prize at Birmingham in 1870 Mr. Pfaed 56 Carlyon, 14.0 Mr. Paine 56 Elsie, 14.2 Mr. Chaplin 100 Letzia, 14.1 Lord Annesley 55 Clifford, 14.2 Mr. Ward 60 Midnight, 14.1 Mr. Gow 51 Dodona, 14.2 Mr. Bland 40 Winifred, 14.1 Mr. Paine 75 China, 13.3 Mr.— 31 This is the highest average, as well as the highest price for a single pony, of Mr. Milward's nineteen sales. Mr. J. Hornsby's (Gr.v:s'tham) Cobs. Gs. Sambo, 14.3, winner of five first and one second prize... 145 Beda, 14.3, winner of seven first and four second prizes 105 Pride of the Eye, 14.3, by Pride of the Isle 90 A Brown Hack, 14.2, by Kingfisher 41 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 41 THE BATH AND WEST OF ENGLAND SOCIETY, AND SOUTHERN COUNTIES ASSOCIATION.— MEETING AT GUILDFORD. There are few districts wliich have suffered more from advei'se seasons of late than that selected this year for the summer show of the old West of England Society. These meetings, however, have gradually become of such strength and calibre as to depend only in a very minor degree on any particular locality for their successful issue. They gather, the rather, their forces from all quarters, and when we find, as in the present entry, Shorthorns from Cornwall and Yorkshire, sheep from the Midlands, horses from the Eastern Counties, whitefaces from Wales, and white pigs from Lincolnshire, the comprehensive charac- ter of the exhibition may be readily understood. Not but that the occasion was pointed by certain breeds or classes, such as the Sussex cattle and Hampshire sheep ; where, in fact, any remarkable superiority may be said to centre. Despite the commendations so liberally scattered through the prize list, the more popular kinds of stock barely reached to an average of merit ; while in some cases, as with the Hereford beasts and Leicester rams, there was an unmistakable falling away from the front offered at some of the more recent anniversaries of this Association. Your true Hereford, indeed, is a most capricious animal as tested by the show-ring ; now mak- ing so poor a display of himself as to lead to the impression that he is fast dying away, and then suddenly shining forth again with unexpected brilliancy. As so far ascertained, 'seventy-one would threaten to be some- thing of an off year, for many of the Hereford classes were very moderately tilled at Guildford. The best bull of the all-aged entry, Monaughty 3i-d, was second, but a long way behind the first, in the two-year- old class at Oxford, where the judges spoke of him as " useful," and he also took some prizes at the local meet- ings in Monmouthshire. He has anything but improved in the interim, being quite disfigured with excrescences of flesh about his quarters, but, with some style, was no question the best of an indifferent lot. The second prize bull, Theodore, was merely commended at Taunton, but placed higher in the absence of any competition at South- ampton, where we spoke of him as a very bad one, an opinion we do not see any reason to alter, as he is notice- able neither for growth nor breeding. A yearling from the Leen would be, of course, out of his class amongst the old bulls, but in his absence another of Mr. Philip Turner's breed was placed first, although now in the herd of Mr. James, of Mappowder, who gave 70 gs. for Leopold at the last Hereford show. We thus wrote in protest at the time, on his taking no place : " Mr. Turner showed a very handsome taking young bull, that was merely commended, but beyond the winner it would not be safe to follow the award, as there were probably half-a-dozen better animals in the class than the second prize ;" and the fact of Leopold winning in a very creditable company at Guildford tends to show how he was overlooked at Hereford. The biJl calves are very indifferent, the best having a bad back and little quality, and the second promising to grow into the better beast of the two. Only two Hereford cows were paraded, and though both the prizes were duly awarded neither could have gone where it did with anything like competition. A woful falling off indeed. Then the best two-year-old heifer was only commended in the yearling class at Taunton, and there was in reality not much to beat here, the second prize. Dahlia, being very coarse ; whereas the winner, Duchess of Bedford 6th, is a handsome blood-like heifer at most points, a long way the best of her class if not of her breed. It must be remembered the Hereford yearlings of 1870 were a wonderfully good lot, as many of these have since been cleared out of the Duchess' Vv'ay to fur- ther distinction. The yearling class now only ran to fom* entries, and the first of these, short and podgy, lacks much of the graceful outline and fine character we so frequently associate with the Leen herd. It is significant enough of the merits of the Herefords at Guildford that in six classes only one commendation was appended to the actual awards, while in two or three cases the premiums might have reasonably enough been withheld. Of the Devons, on the contrary, the same set of judges commended the whole class of yearling bulls, and highly commended the whole class of cows ; and as these were the two largest entries of the breed, the compliment becomes only the more emphatic. The best bull, more- over, in the all-aged class is already, at something under three years old, a very famous animal — the best calf at the ^Manchester Royal, and the best yearling again at Oxford, as well as at Taunton. The Duke of Flitton 5th, how- ever, has not gone unscathed through his campaigns, and, in fact, despite his fine breed and quality, is now so terribly one-sided as to be almost deformed, and one of the judges was against passing him. The second-best. Sir George, another well-known but second-rate bull, has got a terribly slack back, and it is difficult to see how he should be pre- ferred to Pennsylvania, a neater animal at most points. Noticeably enough, the judges at Oxford commended the class of Devon bull-calves again commended here as yearlings, but with the order of succession reversed, the Somerset Sir Harry, the Royal second, being now placed first, and a sixth Duke of Flitton, first at Oxford, here receiving nothing more than a special commendation. Mr. Farthing's young bull is very level, straight, and true in his frame, but coarse in his character, and Mr. Jackman's second prize a particularly nice stylish animal ; so that it will be seen the Duke was not put out without good showing, as in truth the class was full of merit. In another very taking show of Devon cows there was still nothing to compare for high quality and refined appear- ance with Mr. Davy's really Lovely Queen, with her sweet head, fine expression, light limbs, and good frame, saving only a tendency to gaudiness about her quarters. Mr. Taylor, again, contrives to keep his North Devons very fine and bloodlike in Sussex, and so he took second prize, with a very sweet cow which was also second at Oxford to the Exeter Musk, here without a place. Mr. Smith's cow has great size, but she wants the style of those placed above her ; and certainly at a show of breed- ing stock there can be no reason to quarrel with the award. Indeed, holding to their line the judges might have fairly placed the Glynley two-year-old before the Hoopern Duchess, as they went pretty generally for style ; and at Oxford Mr. Taylor's heifer was declared to be the better of the two. Again, there could be no greater contrast iu two animals of the same breed than that between Mr. Davy's beautiful or really elegant Gay Lass and Mr. Farthing's coarse cloggy First Fruit, and here the Royal return was more thoroughly and more properly confirmed. It must be born ia mind that the West of 42 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. England Society makes up mixed benches of judges, and the trio who took the Devons, Sussex, and Herefords had each one his own individual fancy and experience — Mr. Ford for Herefords, 3Ir. Pope for Devons, and Mr. Woodman for Sussex. And these red Sussex took a deal of judging, for not only were the entries large, but the Sussex breeders themselves admitted that it was the best show of the sort ever got to- gether. Mr. Beeching's Young Beauty was, in fact, the talk of the day — a great, grand, handsome cow, commendable alike for depth, quality, and constitution. Xothing could be well more perfect than her forehand if she was not quite so good in her quarters ; while the second was another very taking cow, with many others in the class worthy of the two winners, as no question the general compli- ment to the class was very honestly earned. A\'hat with the difference between North Devons and Somerset Devons the Sussex certainly show more uniformity than their cousins in the west, and there could be no finer proof of the care with which the breed is now cultivated than the long line of cows and heifers all as like each other as peas from the pod — with size, without coarse- ness, and at no sacrifice of kindly feminine character. The Sussex bull, like the Alderney, shows, at maturity, but little of the high breeding of his helpmate, being pretty generally a lengthy, useful, but somewhat plain animal, more to be prized in his progeny than in himself. Still the judges commended, and highly commended many of the bulls brought out, and no questian it was altogether a very admir-able exhibition, the etfect of which is to be still further emphasied by the famous steers which are again coming on to make their mark at the Smithfield Club. The doings of Selmes promise to be revived by the Heasmans and the Steercs. In vain did Bythis and Lord Irwin, the first and second yearling Shorthorns of the Royal and All-Yorkshire- meetings, display themselves before Messrs. Drewry and Bowly. With a couple of mere commendations just to signify they were recognised were they passed over, and certainly neither has improved on his wintering. The white has disappointed us, but he is the better of the two, while Bythis has more unmistakably gone off, being now a very plain beast, although most probably he will again find friends in the ring. He is just one of those bulls which some will always like and others dislike intensely. The best of the class, on the other hand, is comparatively unknown, having never been exhibited but once pre- viously, when he took a second prize at Basingstoke. This is Mr. Foster Soffe's Lord Morpeth, a good stylish bull, rather hard to the hand, but a nice mover, and with a bit of Thorndale to fall back on in his pedigree. A far higher-bred one, however, is Captain Oliver's Lord of the Forest, by Seventh Grand Duke, a somewhat awkward, ungainly beast, very weak behind the shoulder, and Avith his quality probably as the chief point in his favour, as putting the two cracks out of it, the class was not a strong one. A far better was the younger lot, where Lord Sudeley " got his rights" with a straight, showy, high-quality bull, rather pulled down by his plain head ; while Mr. Stratton's second is well furnished and useful, but never more than a second or third-rate bull in good company. A commendation was given to another of Mr. Stratton's entries as well as one to Lady Pigott, while the class was disfigured by two or three common things, whose chief merits looked to be that they were handy home and had never been prepared. The award over the bull-calves looked to be simply inexplicable, the first prize being a poor, light-fleshed, gutty auimal, and the next best, from Messrs, Hoskeu's herd, a very pro- mising, smai-t young bull, of good constitution, a nice colour, and so forth, as altogether the only calf worth looking at in the class. However, the fatal objection of a smutty nose was supposed to solve the mystery, although there is something of an absurdity in the way in which one set of judges will pass and another bench cast such a colour. "Windsor's Butterfly, the best cow, is wearing well, very straight and deep, on a particularly short leg, but coarse and steery about her head. The second, full of Jonas Webb's blood and by Englishman, is also a fairly good cow of nice character; but the class of seven in all was anything but a strong one. The next fm-nished the great difliculty of the day, vrith three heifers standing side by side, any one,, or every one, of which should have been first. These three graces were Lady Pigot's Dame Swift, a second prize heifer about the country last year ; 5Ir. Stratton's Flower Girl, second at Taunton and the reserve number at Oxford ; and Messrs. Hosken's Countess of Oxford, the best Shorthorn at the last Cornwall show. For gi'owth, substance, coat, and really grand points. The Countess looked to fairly over-shadow the white, whose mere neat- ness by no means warrants her growing into as fine, shapely a cow as either of the others promise to become, and we assm-edly expect to see the placing of these three " put about" should they meet again. It was another very near thing with the three yearling heifers, where the high quality of Victoria was preferred to the style of Yerona and the development of Innocence ; but there was not the same amount of discussion over the award, which looked to be fairly justified. Still, judging a year- ling of any kind is always something of a lottery. Not professing to know much of Channel Island stock, the Shorthorn judges on whom this further duty devolved called Mr. De Salis to their assistance ; although in the elder class of bulls the winner must have jjlaced himself. This is Mr. Gilbey's Banboy, a beaiitiful blood- like bull, bred from Mr. Dauncey's herd. Lord Chesham's from the same stock not having fulfilled his early promise, but got all WTong in his back. The first -prize yearling was a great plain Guernsey, and the best of the lot by a long way Mr. Middleton's smart Jersey calf, just a year younger than the two placed above him, a point which could scarcely have been taken into account. There was an admirable class of cows, amongst which the ^vinner was distinguished by her great bag ; while Mr. Gilbey's second is not one of his Dauncey tribe, but a very sweet Island-bred heifer which he bought at Oxford, where she was commended. The whole class of cows was here com- mended, including some entries bred in the New Forest, where, probably from the climate being more congenial with their own, it would seem that the Jerseys can be reared at little or no sacrifice of their fine character. Three commendations were attached to the two prizes in the nine entries of yearlings, where Mr. Middleton's two heifers were again to be distinguished by their style and purity ; and as at Oxford high prices had been refused. The sheep show was only strong in places, and often far below the average of the Society's gatherings. For instance, there were only two exhibitors of Leicesters, where Mr. Tm-ner the younger and his finely -bred rams had altogether the advantage of Mr. Gould, whose ewes won in the absence of any competition. The Cotswolds were not much better represented, there being but one flock of any note in the entry, and the stylish Kilkenny rams swept off all the premiums, their only opponents being the Cirencester College and a Glamorganshire breeder, between whom the prizes for ewes were equitably divided, one for each of the two entries. Again, there were but two exhibitors of Rents, and Mr.« Henry Rigden took everythiug, but we have seen far better specimens of this old-fashioned breed than were to be encountered on the Guildford show ground. Mr. Quartley, who was the solitary exhibitor of Exmoors, took the four prizes with four [pens, but with some nice " breedy" animals well worthy of their places. There were in all four ex- THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 43 liibitors of Oxford Downs, amongst whom the premiums were distributed, occasionally in the absence of any an- tagonism beyond the winning numbers. Mr. Wallis, how- ever, for once had all the worst of it, and could get no higher than second with any of his rams. The Win- chendon shearling looked smaller, smarter, and darker in his face than Mr. Treadwell usually has them, but he is a very taking sheep ; while Mr. Milton Druce's three- shear was the-third prize old sheep at Oxford, and he is still wearing well either to the hand or the eye, showing a deal of good character. Mr. Druce also sent a very neat pen of ewes, which had only a local entry to encoun- ter. Of Somerset and Dorset Horns there was a very creditable exhibition, with some really handsome rams in the entry, and as it looked some close competition amongst the shearlings, although the judges added but one commendation. There was but a single pen of ewes in the catalogue, as the prize list here again duly chronicles the names of all the exhibitors — Messrs. Bond, Legg, Mayo, and Farthing. Thus far it will be seen the Guildford sheep show was, as we have already intimated, of no remarkable strength, for however good some of the individual entries a deal more energy has often been displayed at a merely county or yet more local meeting. On the other hand, the Downs, Sussex, Hampshire, and Shropshire were all in some force. With the exception of the Duke of Rich- mond there was not a Southdown breeder of any particu- lar note but who sent some sheep here. Nevertheless the j udges pronounced the large class of shearling rams to be short of quality, although the Heasmans, Mr. Rigden, Sir WUliam Throckmorton, Mr. Penfold, Lord Ports- mouth, and Mr. Humphrey were in competition. The Messrs. Heasman were inclined to think they had a better sheep amongst their half-a-dozen entries than the one se- lected as the best of the class. They might very possibly have pointed to a heavier ram, but we go all together with the decision in favour of bloodlike looks and style, where the winner has all the pull, as well as with plenty of size and constitution in his favour. The Hove second is a capital sheep forward, and altogether of tine Southdown type, while it is significant of the esteem in which the judges held the remaining thirty odd entries that they added but one commendation, and that, as perhaps some- thing of a necessity, to the reserve number. The old sheep they considered to be a much superior class, as the return shows ; three high commendations being bestowed in a smaller class, whUe this compliment might have been stUl further extended had not Mr. Humphrey had the misfortune to recently lose the best of his entry. It was and always will be a near thing between Sir William Throckmorton's good useful first and Mr. Rigden's stQl smarter second, to our thinking the handsomest sheep in the show. Lord Portsmouth's reserve ram is so fatally bad about his head that he can never be expected to win in good company, and the judges had no doubt whatever as to where their first and second honours would rest. The three selected pens of ewes ai'e aU creditable ; Sir Wm. Throckmorton's a really sweet sorty lot, Lord Sondes' as neat and high-bred as usual, and Mr. Hedworth Barclay's another very nice pen, the same flock having been also highly and deservedly commended for a ram, something of a distinction in such society. On the other hand. Lord Portsmouth's ewes were very plain, and Mr. Bryant Mai'shall's anything but show sheep. Some of the best Southdowns were to be found in the Special Classes, the four pens of ewes noticed being all very superior, and Mr. Ramsden's first prize a great good pen. The ewe lambs were as admirable in their degree, although here the Heasmans had clearly the choicest lot, uniting growth with breed; and the sam^flock was first again for ram lambs in the face of soma^ formidable competition from Lord Sondes and Mr. Ramsden. Very possibly at the Local Committee's dinner Mr. Upperton was speaking to the merits of the Bushbridge Downs when he said, " Having been for many years a farmer, although now mayor of the town of Guildford, he was able to testify to the improvement that had taken place in the breed of animals during the past few years by the operation of this and similar Societies. Within the last few months in this town he had seen lambs only four months old sold for 50s. each, and tegs fifteen months old at 85s." We should be quite willing to let the Southdown returns of Guildford and Taunton rest here, but T/ie Times re- porter, having no doubt been duly instructed thereon, said in that paper on Wednesday, when speaking of the old class, " Here Sir William Throckmorton is first and Mr. William Rigden second. It seems that there is a fatality attaching to some vituperative criticism, for here is Lord Portsmouth's ram, ' highly commended' by the judges, although after obtaining a prize at a former Show this sheep was abused as a bad one by an authority in agricultural journalism." Of course this is intended to refer to the strong objection we took to the way in which the Southdowns were placed at Taunton, where we con- tended that Mr. Rigden's merely commended shear-ling should have beaten both the prize sheep, as he did beat them both at the Royal Oxford Meeting ! We main- tained, further, that Lord Portsmouth's ram had no right to the second prize in the old class, and that Sir William Throckmorton's merely commended sheep should have been fii'st. Unfortunately Lord Portsmouth did not think fit to send his No. 2 to Oxford, where Sir Robert Throckmorton's Taunton commended ram took second prize to Lord Walsingham in a far better class ! Lord Portsmouth's No. 2 is now highly commended, that is to say is well beaten by Mr. Rigden's ram, which the judges passed over without a prize at Taunton ! If this be the fatality attached to " vituperative criticism," we shall certainly have no rea- son to complain of such a fate, seeing that, so far as it could be, our opinion has been corroborated. But only imagine a writer whose blunders in reporting agricul- tural meetings have become proverbial, who often muddles up one animal with another, and who generally backs the wrong beasts, like his " magnificent steer" at Birming- ham which finished without any prize whatever in London ! — Only fancy such a critic as this being weak enough to take up a case where not merely the argument but the facts are dead against that which he would insinuate rather than advance. It would be a wholesome sign to see a good bit of honest, bold, straightforward criticism in a Times report of a great show, instead of the con- tinual trimming and clumsy puffing of this, and that, and the other. There was a time, and not so long since either, when it was impossible for any one to show Hampshires success- fully against Mr. Rawlence, and now Mr. Rawlence is beaten in both the classes where there is anything like competition ; if no one could compare against his four capital entries of ram lambs. This alternation would, of itself, imply some improvement, as our reports of late have spoken to the increasing merit of such flocks as Mr. Morrison's and the Russells. At Fonthill, more especially, they have contrived to turn out a more comely, kindly sheep, which in the face of the old Conservative reading has not been unappreciated. The best old ram here was the best shearling at Taunton and Oxford, while Messrs, Arnold's is another good- looking sheep — a compliment that cannot always be paid to a Hampshire Down. The Russells' entries take more after the old type, but they have great quality, and they had to meet a number of good sheep amongst the shear- lings, where we should fancy this same bit of quality was 44 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. the turuing point in their favour. A.ud the Keut- Hamijshire are selling readily, a strong order having been recently shipped for" Germany. Every now and then, however, as you walk through the show of these sheep you come across something still terribly coarse and un- gainly ; but Mr. Rawleuce's pens of ewes are as really good, as they generally are, and here should be the corrective. The judges commended the three classes of Shropshires, and as they pretty generally put out the best known breeders, the advance should be something remarkable. The awards, however, were subject to much discussion, and in the old class of rams it is not probable that the decisions will be taken as a precedent. There are, of course, many readings of what a Shropshire should be, and the judges here looked to discard that especial neat uess and smartness which have of late been so much in fashion. As might have been expected, there were not many large white pigs at Guildford, there being but one entry of old boars, and the Duckerings maintained their lead with some pigs which opened the season very successfully a few weeks since at Glasgow. They promise to be quite equal to their previous repute, while in the young boar class the Lincoln was backed by a very good true pig of Messrs. Wheelers' breeding. There was more competi- tion amongst the large sows, where Messrs. Howard's high quality seemed to be attained at an alarming sacrifice of coat ; for beyond her ears the Duchess was absolutely bare. Of the two prize pens of breeding sows Messrs. Wheelers' were the better framed, but their coarseness kept them at the back of the Lincolus. The best small boar, a white, was also the best at Glasgow, but, good as he is otherwise, he stands badly behind ; nevertheless black Essex, black Suffolks, and black Dorsets had to put up with secondary honours or more remote distinction. Lord Portsmouth's variety, which we believe was originally the Essex, now crossed with sundry other small blacks, was first and second in the younger class of boars, his lordshsp's own entry being set off by a bad head and cocked-up snout. We fancied the Eggesford sow, a capital lengthy pig, a deal more, although she did not win, being beaten by what promises to be a very famous sow. This is Topsy, first at Glasgow, and out of a sister to Little Queen, as she looks to have an equally brilliant career before her. Mr. Sexton's second prize sow is somewhat coarse, and the Suft'olk pigs it will be seen had by no means the success of the Suffolk horses. The best couple of breeding sows were entered by Mr. Clark Andrews, who had never previously exhibited, but who here, with his own sort, a very neat white, beat the Duckerings' very good entry of really small pigs, Mr. Sexton, Lord Portsmouth, and others, in a pretty e;euerally good class. Of Berkshires there was a famous display, as here was one of the strong sections of the whole show. Pine quality without delicacy are the points now so carefully cultivated by Mr. Stewart, and the Cirencester Col- lege, and they had their reward in a strong pro- portion of the prizes, Mr. Heber Humfrey and Lord Sudeley being the only other exhibitors who could really compete with them, and his lordship's second prize sow was bred by Mr. Stewart. ^Ir. Humfrey's pigs retain perhaps as much true Berkshire type as any we see out, although at the College there is no lack of size or con- stitution ; while the Gloucester Berkshires, with all their fine character, were clearly more after " the manner " of at least one of the judges. But the Surrey Berkshire was, after all, the sight of the show ; with a long, lean, hungry head, a high, narrow back, and a flat side, it was certainly to his credit that he had not been fed up for exhibition, as feeding up such an animal on any terms would threaten to be alike a tedious and costly process. Owing to some confusion of conditions, at least half $\* ^rvtiHes of horses were sent in too late to be received. and the show was as a consequence very limited ; but in places it was by no means bad, as m.iny of the prize horses would promise to hold their own against far greater com- petition. In fact the names of such exhibitors as Major Barlow, Mr. Battams, Mr. Badham, and Mr. Boby would in some degree answer for the character of the entries, as they seldom send a bad one far away from home ; while it was said that Major Barlow was for some time in doubt as to which of his two four-year-olds he should show at Islington or Guildford. And at Islington the Seneschal horse was not only the best of his class, but the best hunter in the HaU. Still, with such collateral proof to go by an agri- cultural contemporary pronounces " the horses at Guildford the worst collection ever seen together at any show with any pretension to occupying an area beyond a parish or township," while The Yield, which should really know better, actually declares "the collection to be worse than ever." The extra- ordinary comment on such criticism is conveyed in the fact that some of the horses had already been winners at our great shows, as some of the others have every promise of further distinction. We will take six winners out of the eight classes of horses — we say nothing of yearlings or ponies — and every one of these, if they go on, will be again placed on the return list. In the all-aged class of hunters, Sedan, the winner, is up to weight, but common looking, and dropping his hind-legs after him in his faster paces, as the class was not a very meritorious one. The grey mare by Master Bagot, put second, is neat enough ; while by far the best goer was another grey mare, but a veiy weedy, narrow animal, shown by Mr. Poster Sotfe, the owner of the best Shorthorn bull. A small class of four four-year-olds never- theless included two really nice horses, curiously enough bred upon the same farm, although the home of one is now in Devonshire and the other in Essex. Mr. Battams, a great horseman, and known good judge in the West, had, natu- rally enough so near home the first choice, and he took the Knout colt ; while Major Barlow bought the other, a son of Hunting Horn. They came together at Guildford for the first time ; but even ^Ir. Battams admitted there was now no question as to which was the better of the two. The Hasketon horse is, indeed, the very stamp of a hunter, up to weight with breeding, famously furnished for his age, and with very good manners, although he looks to want a little rousing when extended. The Czar is altogether of a coarser cut, and with nothing of that " first impression" which the brov.'u gives you, and which tells so much in judging anything. With the three-year-olds Major Barlow and Mr. Battams were again first and second, the winner being a particularly hand- some colt, by Knight of Kars, good to look over in his box, aud stylish enough for the Park when brought out. If anything he is a little light of bone below the knee, but has good clean legs; and Mr. Battam's entry, with but middling shoulders and short of fashion, was as^unmis- takeably here again but second best. The yearlings were a very moderate lot, of which a sou of Dalesman, a smart goer, was pronounced the best, the other three being underbred things, with little promise of anyone of them ever making a hunter. In the all-aged class of hacks, Mr. Badham's old white. Major, the hero of a hundred fights, was cast at last, as he is a mere wreck, with as much make-believe in doing nothing as a Prima Donna who has lost her voice. If we remember aright it was at one of these West Country meetings that Chester Emperor made his last ap- pearance under much the same circumstances. Mr. Hamp- ton's roan, with beautifully laid shoulders, aud the kuack of using them, was quickly put into price, and a very varmint skewball, who went like oil, took second prize, THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 45 lu fact, what with the '' milk white," the roau, and " the coat of mauy colours," it looked at the first glaace as if the Circus people were going in for honours, a notion somewhat strengthened by the flash feeble style in which the old white paced the circle. The three-year-old Trusty is as clever a cob as ever was bred, but then he is out of that rare old mare Silverlocks, and so getting back to blood on one side of his head is really something more than what is generally known as a cob. He went a little tender, but with luck Trusty will astonish some of the critics that would have sent him back to his " parish or township." There were two or three nice ponies, the best shaped of which was an old one, foundered in his feet, and disqualified accordingly. Royal Prince, the first-prize cart stallion, was second in the all-aged class of Suffolks at the Royal Oxford meeting^ and second again this spring to Cup-bearer at Woodbridge, where hebeat amongst othersin a capital entry Oxford Emperor, so distinguished from having been the best two-year-old at Oxford. He is a very good specimen of the Suffolk, of a darker and more wholesome colour than many of the sort, with a grand forehand, but so fearfully overloaded with flesh as to look anything but his best. The second prize here. Young Champion, is also another second- prize horse, having been second to Honest Tom at Oxford, and second also at his own county show in Northampton in the spring, while he was nowhere at Sleaford where Honest Tom again won. He is a very gaudy looking animal with four white legs, and not good in his forehand, though a smart mover ; and a country paper, published on the Tuesday morning, thus anticipated the award : " The horses were a better show this year than they were either at Southampton or at Falmouth, and we may say, without boasting unduly of Suffolk, that this improvement was caused mainly by the influx of Suffolk exhibitors. The horses for agricultural purposes num- bered only 13 entries. Of these two were not sent, and the only two of the remaining eleven that were really fit for agricultural work — we mean by that working on the land — were Mr. C. Boby's Royal Prince, who looked every inch a winner, and Mr. G. D. Badham's Emperor. The others were nearly all thin-barrelled leggy animals, and no more fit for agricultural work than they were for car- riage work. The judging of this class had not been com- menced when our reporter left, so we are unable to give the result, but the first prizes for aged and two-year-old stallions must, we imagine, have been given to the Royal Prince and Emperor respectively. Royal Prince looks wonderfully fresh and well. A hard season's work does not appear to have touched him." The appendix to the West of England show is of course still altogether unrivalled. Fl owers, poultry, music, and pictures gave a grateful variety to the more substantial attractions of the meeting, as Ingenuas didicisse fideliter artes Emollit mores, nee sinit esse feros. A free translation of which we take to be that when people's senses are delighted with roses and lilies and Don Pasquale they straightway grow "quite genteel," and forget all about Berkshire pigs and Sussex cows. There was a really admirable display of prize wheats, as well as of the famous Farnham hops, which are only too good to make into beer ! PRIZE LIST. CATTLE. DEVONS. Judges (and for Herefords and Sussex) : J. Ford, Rushton, Blandford. T. Pope, Hornishatn, Warminster. R. Woodman, Southease, Lewes. ;BuU, exceeding two and Bot exceeding four years old on the 1st of June, 1871.— First prize, £20, J. Davy, Flitton Barton, North Molton (Duke of FUtton 5tli) ; second, £10, W.Tar- thiug, Stowey Court, Bridgwater (Sir George). Bull, not exceeding two years on 1st June, 1871. — First prize, £25, W. Farthing (Master Harry); second, £10, J. Jackman, Uexworth, Launceston, Cornwall (Earl of Hexwor- thy) ; highly commended, J. Davy (Duke Flitton 6th). The class commended. Bull-calf, above six and not exceeding twelve months old on 1st of Jane, 1871.— First prize, £10, W. Taylor, Glynley, Westham, Eastbourne, Sussex ; second, £5, J. Jackman. Cow, in-calf or in-milk. — First prize, £15, J. Davey (Lovely Queen); second, £10, W, Taylor (Frederica). The class highly commended. Heifer, in-calf or in-milk, not exceeding three years old on 1st June, 1871.— First prize, £15, W. Smith, Hoopern, Exeter (Duchess) ; second, £10, VV. Taylor. Heifer, not exceeding two years old on 1st June, 1871. — First prize, £10, J. Davy (Gay Lass) ; second, £5, W. Far- thing (First Iruit). HEREFORDS. Ball, exceeding two and not exceeding four years old on the 1st June, 1871.— First prize, £20, W. Evans, Llandowlas, Uske, IMonmouthshire (Monaughty 3rd); second, £10, N. Benjafield, Short's Green Farm, Motcombe, Shaftesbury (Theodore) . Bull, not exceeding two years old on the 1st June, 1871. — Firsi prize, £25, J. W. James, Mappowder Court, Dorset (Leopold); second, £10, W. Evans, (VonMoltke). Bull calf, above six and not exceeding twelve months old on Ist June, 1871. — First prize, £10, J. Baldwin, Luddingtoii, Stratford-on-Avon (Due d'Aumale) ; second, £5, H. N. Edwards, Broadward, Leominster (Ajax). Cow in calf, or in milk. — First prize, £15, L. Loyd, Monk's Orchard, Addington, Surrey (Picture) ; second, £10, E. Benjafield, Gummershea, Stalbridge, Blandford (Matchless). Heifer, in calf or in milk. — First prize, £15, T.Fenn, Stone- brook House, Downtou, Ludlow (Duchess of Bedford 6th) ; second, £10, J. Harding, Bicton, Shrewsbury (Dahlia) ; highly commended, J. D. Allen, Tisbury, Salisbury (Lovely). Heifer, not exceeding two years old on 1st June, 1871. — First prize, £10, P. Turner, The Leen, Pembridge, Leominster (Rarity); second, £5, W. Evans (Princess Louise). SUSSEX. Bull, exceeding two and not exceeding four years old on Ist June, 1871.— First prize, ^10, J. Turvill, Hartley Park Farm, Alton (Young Martin) ; second, £5, J. and A, Heasmau, Augmering, Arundel (Southampton) ; highly com- mended, J. Turvill (Young Sutton). Bull, not exceeding two years old on 1st of June, 1871. — First prize, £25, A. Agate, West-street, Horsham, Sussex (Grand Duke) ; second, £10, R. Mills, Theale Farm, Slinfold, Horsham (Bismarck) ; highly commended, Tilden Smith. Bull-calf, above six and not exceeding twelve months old on 1st of June, 1871.— First prize, £10, J. S. O.xley, Fen- place, Worth, Crawley (Sampson); second, £5, J. and A. Heasmau (Moltke) ; highly commended, J. and A. Heasman (Bismarck) ; commended, E. and A. Stanford (Challenger). Cow, in-calf or in-mik.— First prize, £15, J. Beeching, Bowder's Farm, Balcorabe, Hayward's Heath, Sussex (Young Beauty) ; second, £10, A. Agate (Primrose) ; highly com- mended, J. and A. Heasman (Southampton). The class com- mended. Heifer, in-calf or in-milk. — First prize, £15, Lee Steere, Jayes, Ockley, Dorking (Young Tiny) ; second, £10, Tilden Smith, Knelle, Beckley, Hawkhurst, Sussex ; commended, Lee Steere (Young Cowslip). Heifer, not exceeding two years old on 1st of June, 1871. — First prize, £10, A. Agate (Actress 2nd) ; second, £5, A. Agate (Adelaide 2nd) ; highly commended, E. and A. Stanford, Eatons, Steyning (Marigold 3nd). The class com- mended. SHORTHORNS. Judges (and for Channel Islands) : E. Bowly, Siddington, Cirencester. G. Drewry, Holker's Grange, Lancashire. Bull, exceeding two and not exceeding four years old on let of June, 1871.— First prize, £20, R. Foster Soffe, Hams, Eastleigh, Southampton (Lord Morpeth) ; second, £^, 46 THE FAEMEE'S MAGAZINE. R, E. Oliver, Sholebroke Lodge, Towcester (Lord of the Forest) ; highly commended, Rev. R. B. KeEnard, Marnhull, Blandford (Oxford Duke) ; commended, Lady Pigot (Bythis), and W. Linton, Sheriff Hutton (Lord Irwin). Bull, not exceeding two years old on 1st June, 1871. — First prize, £25, Lord Sudeley, Toddington, Winchcomb, Gloucestershire; second, £10, Mr. R. Stratton, Burderop, Swindon (Master Glanville) ; highly commended. Lady Pigot (Gunpowder) ; commended, R. Stratton (Saunterer). Bull calf, above six and not exceeding twelve months old on 1st June, 1871.— First prize, £10, H. D. Barclay, Eastwick Park, Leatherhead, Surrey (Zero) ; second, £5, W. Hosken and Son, Loggan's Mill, Hayle, Cornwall (Knight of Penwith). Cow, in calf or in milk. — First prize, £15, J. How, Broughtoa, Huntingdon (Windsor's Butterfly) ; second, £10, C. A. Barnes, Charleywood Farm, Rickmansworth (English Emily) ; highly commended, W. Linton (Carnation). Heifer, in calf or in milk.— First prize, £15, Lady Pigot, Branches Park, Newmarket (Dame Swift) ; second, £10, W. Hosken and Son (Countess of Oxford) ; highly commended. Rev. R. B. Kenuard (Oxford Duchess), J. How (Vesper Queen), and R. Stratton (Flower Girl). Heifer, not exceeding two years old on 1st June, 1871. — First prize, £10, Lady Pigot (Victoria) ; second, £5, J. How (Verona) ; highly commended, R. Stratton (Innocence), CHANNEL ISLANDS. Bull, not exceedinfc four years old on 1st June, 1871. — First prize, £10, W. GUbey, flargrave Park, Staustead, Essex (Banboy) ; second, £5, Lord Chesliam, Latimer, Chesham, Bucks (Dandy) ; liighly commended, G. DeUer, Greywell, Odiham (Delta) ; commended, J. C. F. Ramsden (Omnibus), and C. Alexander, Sutton Place, Guildford. Bull, not exceeding two years old on 1st June, 1871. — First prize, £10, E. A. Sanders, Stoke House, Exeter, Devon (Guern- sey); second, £5, G. D.Wingfield Digby, Sherborne Castle, Sher- borne (The Earl) ; highly commended. H. Middleton (Dandy) ; commended, G. A. Fuller (Billy Button). Cow, in calf or in milk.— First prize, £10, G. A. Fuller, The Rookery, Dorking, Surrey (Milkmaid) ; second, £5, W. Gilbey (Duchess) ; highly commended, G. Simpson (Queen). The class commended. Heifer, not exceeding two years old, — First prize, £10, G. Simpson, Wray Park, Reigate, Surrey ; second, £5, H. Middleton, Cutteslowe, Oxford; highly commended. Lord Chesham, H. Middleton (Princess Louise) ; commended, A. Napper, Cranley (Lily). SHEEP. Judges: — ^Longwools, Leicesters, Cotswolds, Kents, Oson Downs, and Shropshires. B . Painter, Burley-on-Hill, Oakham. T. Potter, Thorverton, Exeter. LEICESTERS. Yearling ram.— First prize, £10, G. Turner, jun., Alexton Hall, Uppingham, Leicestershire ; second, £5, J. Gould, Polti- raore, Exeter, Devon, Ram of any other age.— First prize, £10, G. Turner, jun. ; second, £5, G. Turner, jun. Five yearhng ewes.— £10, J. Gould. COTSWOLDS. Yearling ram.— First prize, ^£10, the executors of the late T. Gillett, Kilkenny, Faringdon, Oxfordshire ; second, £5, the late T. Gillett. Ram of any other age. — First prize, £10, the executors of the late T. Gillett ; second, £5, the late T. Gillett. Five yearling ewes. — First prize, £10, C. Spencer, Gileston, Cowbridge, Glamorganshire ; second, £3, R. Swanwick, Royal Agricaltural College, Cirencester. KENTS. Yearling ram.— First prize, £10, H. Rigdeu, Lymiuge, Hythe, Kent ; second, £5, H. Rigden. Ram of any other age.— First prize, £10, H. Rigden ; se- cond, £5, H. Rigden. Five yearling ewes. — First prize,'£10, H.|Rigden ; second, £5, H. Rigden. SHKOPSHIEES. Yearling ram. — First prize, £10, H. Wood, Pucknall Farm, Romsey, Hants ; second, £5, W. Baker, Moor Barns, Ather- etoue, Warwickshire. The ck9% conuneuded. Ram of any other age.^First prize, £10, T. Fenn, Stone- brook House, Ludlow ; second, £5, H. Wood. The class com- mended. Pen of five yearling ewes. — First prize, £10, W. Baker ; second, £5, Lord Chesham, Latimer, Chesham, Bucks. The class commended. OXEOKDSUIKE DOWNS. Yearling ram. — First prize, £10, J, Treadwell, Upper Winchendou, Aylesbur)', Bucks ; second, £5, G. WaUis, Old Shifford, Bampton, Faringdon . The class commended. Ram of any other age. — First prize, £10, A. F, Milton Druce, Burghfield, Reading ; second, £5, G. Wallis. Pen of five yearling ewes. — First prize, £10, A. F. Milton Druce ; second, £5, G, Bruford, Cranleigh, Guildford. SOVTUDOWNS, Judges : — Southdowns, Hampshire Downs, Somerset and Dorset Horns, Exmoors, and Special Prizes. W, Canning, Elston Hill, Devizes. T. Cooper, Bishopston, Lewes. R. Woods, Osberton Hall, Worksop. Yearling ram. — First prize, £10, J. and A. Heasraan, Angmering, Arundel, Sussex ; second £5, AY. Rigden, Hove, Brighton, Sussex ; highly commended. Sir W^. Tliockmorton. Ram of any other age. — First prize, £10, Sir W. Thockmor- ton, Bart., Buckland, Faringdon, Berks ; second £5, W. Rig- den ; highly commended. Lord Portsmouth, H. D. Barchy, and H. Humphrey. Five yearUng ewes. — First prize £10, Sir W. Throckmor- ton, Bart. ; second, £5, Lord Sondes, Elmham Hall, Thetford, Norfolk ; higlily commended, H. D. Barclay. UAUPSHIRE DOWNS. Yearling ram. — First prize, £10, R. and J. Russell, Far- ningham and Horton, Dartford, Kent ; second, £5, J. Raw- lence, Bulbridge, Wilton, Salisbury; highly commended, A. Morrison. Ram of any other age. — First prize, £10, A. Morrison, Fonthill House, Tisbury, Wilts; second, £5, J. and M. Ar- nold, AVestmeon, Petersfield, Hants; higlily commended, J. Rawlence. Pen of five'yearling ewes. — First prize, £10, J. Rawlence ; second, £5, J. Rawlence ; higlily commended, L. Loyd. SOMERSET AND DORSET HORNS. Yearling ram. — First prize, £10, A. Bond, Huutstile, Bridgwater ; second, £5, E. Gapper Legg, Coombe Down, Beaminster ; highly commended, H. Farthing. Ram of any age. — First prize, ^£10, H. Mayo, Coker's Frome, Dorchester ; second, £5, H. Farthing, Nether Stowey, Bridgwater ; highly commended, A. Bond. Pen of five yearling ewes. — First prize, £10, A. Bond, Huntstile, Bridgewater. EXMOOR XXD OTHER MOUNTAIN. Ram of any age. — First prize, £10, J. Quartly, ^West MoUand House, South Molton ; second, £5, J. Quartly. Pen of five ewes of any age. — First prize, £5, J. Quartly ; second £3, J. Quartly. SPECIAL PRIZES. Pen of ten Southdown ewes of any age. — First prize £7, J. C. F. Ramsden, Busbridge Hall, Godalming, Surrey; se- cond, £3, H. H. Penfold, Selsey, Chichester; higlily con- mended, J. and A. Heasman and Lord Sondes. Pen of ten Southdown ewe lambs. — First prize, £7, J. and A. Heasman ; second, £3, J. C. F. Ramsden ; highly com- mended. Lord Portsmouth. Pen of five Soutlulown ram lambs. — First prize, £7, J. and A. Heasman ; second, £3, Lord Sondes ; highly commended, J. C. F. Ramsden ; commended. Lord Portsmouth. Hampshire Down ram lambs. — First prize, £10, J. Raw- lence ; second, £6, J. Rawlence ; highly commended (twice) J. Rawlence. HORSES. Judges. — H. Corbet, The Farmers' Club, London. V, B, Watts, Melcombe, Horsey, Dorchester. rOR AGRICULTURAL PURPOSES. Stallion foaled before 1862.— First prize, £25, C. Boby, Alton Hall, Stutton, Ipswich, (Sufl'olk, Royal Prince) ; second, £15, J. Manning, Orlmgbury, Wellingborough (Young Cham- pion). THE FAEMER'S MAGAZINE. 47 stallion foaled in 1869.— First prize, £20, G. D. Badliam, The Lawn, Bulmer, Sudbury (Suffolk, Emperor) ; second, £10, Mrs. Orme, South Farm, Broadwater, Worthing, Sussex (Tiger). Mare and foal. — First prize, £15, W. Stanford, Charlton Court Farm, Steyuiug (Venture) ; second, £5, E. Hilder, Woking (Suffolk, Darby). HUNTERS. Mare or gelding, foaled before the 1st of Jan., 1867. — First prize, £25, G. B. Battams, Kilworthy, Tavistock (Sedan) ; second, £10, fi. Humphrey, Aslington Hurst, Sussex (Miss Bagot). Mare or gelding, foaled in 1867. — First prize, £25, Major F. Barlow, Hasketon, Woodbridge, Suffolk ; second, £10, G. B. Battams (Czar). Filly or gelding, foaled in 1868. — First prize, £10, Major F. Barlow (The Knight) ; second, £5, G. B. Battams (Bis- marck) ; commended, J. Michelmore, Berry Pomeroy, Tot- ness (Handcuff). Colt or fiUy, foaled in 1870.— First prize, £10, Major F. Barlow J second, E. and A. Stanford (L'Eclair). HACKS. Mare or gelding, foaled before the 1st of January, 1867, not exceeding 15 hands high, calculated to carry not less than 12 stone. — First prize, £15, G. Hampton, Findon, Worthing (Quicksilver) ; second, £5, A. Ridgway, Shepley ,_House, Blackawtown, Totues (Master Tom). Mare or gelding, foaled after the 1st January, 1867, not ex- ceeding 15 hands high. — First prize, £15, Major F. Barlow (Trusty); second, £5, H. NeviUe-Grenville, M.P., Butleigh Court, Glastonbury (Lothair). PONIES. Mare or gelding, not exceeding 14< hands high. — First prize, £10, T. Watson, Clarksland, Billinghurst, Sussex (Charlie) ; second, £5, R. Neville-Grenville, M.P. (Cobnut). Mare or gelding, not exceeding 13 hands high. — First prize, £10, Miss Frances Blackmore, Alresford, Hants (Trot) ; second, £5, E. Hilder, Woking (Tom Thumb). PIGS. Judges. — J. Moon, Plymouth. J, Smith, Henley-in-Arden. LAKGE BREED. Boar above one year, and not exceeding two years old on the 1st June, 1871. — First prize, £5, R. E. Duckering and Sons, Northorpe, Kirton Lindsey, Lincolnshire (Cultivator 7th). Boar not exceeding one year old on 1st June, 1871. — First prize, £5, R. E. Duckering and Sons (Young Prince) ; second, £3, J. Wheeler and Sons, Long Compton, Shipston-on-Stour (General). Breeding sow in farrow, or with her litter. — First prize, £5, R. E. Duckering and Sons ; second, £3, J. and F. Howard, Britannia Farms, Bedford (Duchess) ; highly commended, W. Hampton, Applesham, Shoreham (Black Sussex) ; and J. Wheeler and Sons (Ace of Hearts). Pen of two breeding sows, not exceeding two years on the 1st June, 1871. — First prize, £5, R. E. Duckering and Sons (Rose and Lily) ; second, £3, J. Wheeler and Sons (Violet and Daisy). SMALL BREED. Boar above one year old, and not exceeding two years old on the 1st June, 1871. — First prize, £5, R. E. Duckering and Sons ; second, £3, W. Mortimer Ware, Newham House, near Helstone, Cornwall (Essex, Diamond) ; higlily commended, G. M. Sexton, Wherstead Hall, Ipswich (Black Suffolk) ; and R. E. Duckering and Sons ; commended, J. Wheeler and Sons (Peter). Boar, not exceeding one year old on the 1st June, 1871.— First prize, £5, W. M. Ware (Essex, Ebony) ; second, £3, The Earl ot Portsmouth, Eggesford House, Wembworthy, North Devon (black) ; highly commended, G. M. Sexton (black Suffolk), and R.E. Duckering and Sons (white). The class commended. Breeding sow in farrow, or with her litter. — First prize, £5, R. E. Duckering and Sons (white, Topsey) ; second, £3, G. M. Sexton (black Suffolk) ; highly commended. The Earl of Portsmouth (black) ; commended, J, , Wheeler and Sons (white, Lucy 4th), Pen of two breeding sows, not exceeding nine months old on the 1st June, 1871. — First prize, £5, J. C. Andrews, Tail Mill, Crewkerne (white) ; second, £3, R, E. Duckering and Sons (vi^hite. Rose and Kate) ; highly commended, J. Wheeler and Sons (white, Rose 6th and Rose 7th), The Earl of Portsmouth (black), and G. M. Sexton (black). BERKSHIRES. (Not allowed to compete in any other class.) Boar, above one year, and not exceeding two years old on the 1st June, 1871. — ^First prize, £5, A. Stuart, Saint Bridge, Gloucester (King of the VaUey) ; second, £3, A, Stuart (Marquis of Brawn). Boar, not exceeding one year old on the 1st June, 1871.— First prize, £5, H. Humfrey, Kingstone Farm, Shrivenham (No. 337 M) ; second, £3, R. Swanwick, Royal Agricultural College Farm, Cirencester (Sambo 3rd) ; highly commended, A. Stewart (Young Prince). Breeding sow in farrow, or with her litter.— First prize, £5, R. Swanwick (Sally 5th) ; second, £3, Lord Sudelye, Toddington (British Queen 3rd) ; highly commended. A, Stewart (Bobtail 3rd and Young Snowdrop), N. Benj afield (Duchess). Pen of two breeding sows, not exceeding nine months old on the 1st June, 1871. — First prize, £5, R. Swanwick (Sally 5th and Sister) ; second, £3, A. Stewart ; highly commended, H. Humfrey (Nos. 3i6 A and B). SPECIAL PRIZES. (Offered by the Guildford Local Committee.) WHEAT. Judge.— J. Catt, Ship-street, Brighton. GROW^- IN 1870. Chidham, 5 sacks. — First prize, £5, A. Riversdale Gren- fell. Tile House Farm, Shalford; second, £3, T. and G. Drewitt, Piccard's Farm, Guildford ; third, £2, T. Langford, Weston Farm, Albury, Guildford ; highly commended, W. Dickinson, New Park, Lymington, Hants. The class commended. Talavera, 5 sacks. — First prize, £5, J. Franks, Bramley, Guildford ; second, £3, W. Messenger, Woodlands, Wonersh, Guildford; third, £2, A. R. Grenfell, Shalford; highly com- mended, E. Hilder, Woking. The class commended. White (not Chidham or Talavera), 5 sacks. — First prize, £5, J. H. Clark, Altwood, Maidenhead, Berks (Trump) ; second, £Z, J. Ellis, Artington, Guildford (Trump) ; third, £2, G. Biirford, Cranleigh, Guildford (Rough Chaff). Red Nursery, 5 sacks. — First prize, £5, I. Ellis, Great Enton, Godalming, Surrey ; second, £3, J. Franks, Bramley, Guildford, Surrey; third, ^62, T. Langford, Weston Farm, Albury, Guildford, Surrey. The class highly commended, HOPS. Judge. — A. White, Nettleshed, Yaldmg. GROWN IN 1870. Golding, one pocket. — First prize, £7, J. Messenger, Bon- hams, Neatham, Alton, Hants ; second, £3, C. Attfleid, West- street, Farnham, Surrey. The class commended. White bine, one pocket. — First prize, £7, W. Messenger, Woodlands, Wonersh ; second, £3, J. Turvill, Hartley Park Farm, Alton, Hants. Hops, not Golding or white bin, one pocket. — ^First prize, £7, J. Allden, Freosham, Farnham, Surrey; second, £3, R. J. Chaundler, Crondall, Farnham, Surrey. Inspector of Shearing.— E. Olding, Court House, Wood- ford, Salisbury. Inspector op Stock. — Professor Browne, New Cavendish- street, London. Shoeing Smith.— T. D. Broad, Broad-street, Bath. THE FIELD TRIALS. On the Monday the experiments with implements were carried ou iu the ploughing-field. Mellard and Co., of Ragely, had three ploughs at work— their original Ameri- can patent single-furrow plough, adapted for ploughing from 10 to 18 inches deep, a double-furrow plough, and a revolving mould-board plough, Davey, of Devonport, had 48 THE FARMEE'S MAGAZINE. uew double furrow-ploughs ; aud also his patent Excelsior tuniwrest plough, with self-acting aud self-locking wheels, and a new arrangement for wheels. Perkins, of Hitchin, showed one of Pirie's double-furrow ploughs, fitted with lifting apparatus, by means of which both sides of the plough are lifted out of the ground, also with patent steerage for turning the plough at the headlands with the least possible effort on the part of horses and man. Howards, of Bedford, had some of their patent uew double-furrow ploughs at work, and the value of these is becoming more generally appreciated as they dispense with a man and a horse. Hornsby and Sons also had some of their new patent double-furrow ploughs at work, where they have introduced the novelty of a central Tpedestal, on which the plough swings round when turning. Ransomes also showed some new light double-furrow ploughs in action. One of Fowler's four- furrow steam ploughs was also at work, represented by two of Aveling and Porter's 12-hor3e traction-engines, driving an eleven-tine turning cultivator, a four- furrow balance plough, and a 15 feet wide turning harrow. Howard's had a 10 -horse power stationary engine for driving a cultivator, plough, and harrow. These all did excellent work in the clover stubble. An experi- ment was made in attaching one of Mellard's double- furrow ploughs to the wire of Aveling and Porter's steam-engines, with no very signal result. The reaping machines were tried on a luxuriant crop of rye, averaging nearly seven feet in height, indeed many stalks were a few inches above this. All the principal makers went in for work. Samuelson and Co-, of Ban- bury, with their two-horse self-rakiug reapers ; Hornsby and Sons, Burgess and Key, Picksley, Sims, and Co., Howard's International reaper, Bamlett's two-horse self- raking reaper, aud Brigham and Co.'s uew reaper. The Beverley Iron Company also had a two-horse reaper with double self-acting or reversible swathe de- livery on the field. This delivers at either side, thus en- abling it to work both up and down the same side of or all round the crop, as circumstances may require, the width of cut being 5 feet 2 inches. The work was so uniform and excellent, of all these machines, as they operated on a fine standing crop under most favourable circumstances, that it is difficult to select one for precedence over another. In Bamlett's self-raking reaper, the rakes are driven at two rates of speed, delivering a sheaf at different dis- tances. In Picksley, Sims, and Co.'s new reaper the wind-mill arms are raised up during a part of the rota- tion so that the driver's seat can be placed on the side of the machine instead of on the pole. The new Wood self-delivery reaper calls for notice, or rather the series of reapers, comprising one-horse manual, two-horse manual, and the self-delivery. These machines are constructed upon an entirely new principle. The driving wheel is without either axle or spokes, the con- necting rod works through the wheel, and the parts are most simple and seemingly calculated for wear. The cutter-bar is on a line with the axis of the wheel, and follows the undulations of the ground with it. There are but two shafts and three wheels. The balance is per- fect, and side and direct draught are reduced to the minimum. The self-delivery has the same driving power as the manual, but with increased traction, and the rakes are quite as novel as the motive-power. They are actuated by a screw attached to the main shaft, and are so balanced as to be entirely under the control of the driver, who has a comfortable seat at the side of the ma- chine, out of the way of the horses, but just where his weight is most needed. Whilst sweeping the platform in a similar manner as the machines of Samuelson aud Hornsby, the rakes on the "Wood Champion" differ in nearly every respect from all others. The lower end of the rake-arm works both under and over the cam, which is of itself quite new in form. One rake counterbalances the other, and at the same time holds it in place. The adjustment is very simple, and the rakes can be arranged to suit the different conditions of the crop. When desir- able, in light crops, the rakes, by a movement of the driver's foot, can be thrown out and made to act as brakes or dummies, or the corn carried at the corners in turning. There is no jar when in motion, and the work is very uniform. The gathering of the rakes and beaters is such that the crop is lifted towards the cutter-bar, and the sheaf can be formed at pleasure. These machines are quite novel, and the work done by them in the heavy rye was very good. As to their real merits in the field we shall be able to speak with more confidence when they have been more severely tested : at least they combine the good qualities of simplicity, strength, and lightness. The haymaking trials were carried on the Tuesday in some water meadows near the town or main entrance to the showyard. The grass was light, but the trenches tried the capabilities of guidance of some of the mowers. W. N. Nicholson, of Newark, sent into the field a new patent horse rake aud hay collector, with improved spring lever, and seat for driver. It has 4 S -inch wrought iron wheels, with steel taper teeth, and such simple leverage that it can be lifted by a boy, who can either ride or walk. He also showed some improvements made in his double- action haymaker, which Las been three times rewarded by the Royal Society. Howards tested one of their double-action haymaking machines. W. Brentou, of Cornwall, showed one of his Nonpareil mowers and com- bined machines. Although alleged to be well adapted for uneven ground, having india-rubber buffers or collars fitted between the pole and the frame, so as to pre- vent any jar on the horses' necks, yet it appeared to labour much in its work, and required a second man to follow and aid with the rake. One of Picksley, Sims, and Co.'s Standard 2-horse mowers did excellent work, quite equal to the scythe. One of Wood's two-horse mowers also did well, the light crop being well suited to its capabilities. Many new improvements have been added to this well-known mower. The slipper guard aud inclined cut just intro- duced last season have been fully adopted for this. The needle lubricator is applied to a part of the machine, and is popular, while on the others a new fountain lubricator is used, also a new patent nut-lock, which eS'ectually pre- vents the nuts from shaking loose. An adjustable track-clearer is shown for the first time, and will find favour where a wide clean track is demanded. Many other points of detail have been carefully looked after. Maynard's self-acting horse-rake did not rake clean. A two-horse clipper mowing machine from the Reading Iron Works did its work effectually. The pole, which in other mowers is used for draught, is in this machine en- tirely independent, as the horses draw from an attachment which is free to slide on the under side of the pole, to which attachment the whipple-tree and draught bar are connected, the other end being attached to the main fiame of the machine. As the result of this arrangement, the draught of the horse acts in two ways — first, in a direct forward motion ; secondly, with a tendency to lift the shoe off the ground. This is particularly useful when the machine is ascending an incline ; while it leaves the knife-bar free to fall, aud accommodate itself to the sur- face of the ground when descending, and the horses are drawing more lightly — a regular and close cut of the grass is also ensured, whatever may be the varying conditions of the ground, with the greatest ease to the horses. Brigham aud Co., of Berwick, ex- hibited a two-horse " Star Buck-eye " mower, but it required a second hand to keep it to work. Hornsby THE PAEMER'S MAGAZINE, 49 aud Sous had one of their patent Paragon mowers at work, and owing to its admirable construction, there was no jolting or unsteadiness over an irregular ground, and the work was done well. Burgess and Key had at work one of their improved two-horse mowing machines, in which the two levers for lifting the beam and for throwing in and out of gear are placed well in front. Boby, of Bury St. Edmunds, had one of his light double-action haymakers, with very simple arrangements, and also a self-acting horse-rake ; while J. Le Butt had Wyatts' double-action haymaker. Lastly, A. C. Bamlctt, of Thirsk, had a two-horse mower, which made excellent work. THE MACHINERY IN THE YARD. The machinery in motion was on a very extensive scale, aud there were even some novelties, showing that invention had been at work since the last Royal meeting at Oxford. The stands of implements extended uninterruptedly for more than a quarter of a mile, all the distinguished and celebrated firms being well represented, whilst there were also other local makers who, if not so w'ell known, at least invariably follow in the train of the Bath and West of England Society. Passing down the line of engines in motion in the order in which they are placed we noticed Cambridge and Parham, of Bristol, had a 2|-horse power portable, and an 8 -horse power portable engine, driving a double blast finishing thrashing machine. The engine had a patent water heater, by w'hich the water is made boiling hot by waste heats before going into the boiler, by which an alleged saving of half the fuel is effected. Ashby, Jetfery, and Luke, of Stamford, had some small vertical portable high-pressure steam engines, driving their new chaffcutter. The 2-horse power engine occupies a small space, aud costs one-third less than the horizontal portable, being exceedingly compact, aud con- suming very little fuel. Clayton and Shuttleworth occupied a large space, covering four or five stands with portable single-cylinder engines from 4 to 8-horse power, working double-blast thrashing machines, with patent trussed frame, 54-inch drum, and adjustable rotary corn screen ; and straw ele- vators, delivering to a height of 27 feet at any angle. Edward Humphries, of Pershore, had three single and double-blast thrashing machines, with rotary screens, worked by one of Clayton and Shuttleworth's 7-horse engines. Ransonies, Sims, and Head, of Ipswich, had some G aud 8-horse power portable engines, driving thrashing ma- chine, and Hayes' straw elevator. W. M. Parker, of Farnham, exhibited two of Aveling and Porter's 12-horse power patent locomotive steam ploughing engines ; and one of Fowler's six-furrow patent balance ploughs. W. Tasker aud Sons, of Andover, had some G, 8, and 10-horse power portable and traction engines; also a patent balance elevator, or ricker. Wallis and Steevens, of Basingstoke, had three portable engines at work, a 10-horse double-cylinder, a G-horse single-cylinder, and a 4-horse, adapted for driving a 42-inch combined thrashing machine. R. Hornsby and Sons, of Grantham, had an eight-horse portable engine, working one of their combined thrashing and finishing machines, which have carried off so many prize medals. Brown and May, of Devizes, had several of their porta- ble steam engines of from four to six-horse power working. Amongst other improvements they are fitted with a new feed-water heater, whereby the water taken up at the ordinary temperature of CO to 70 degs. is in a minute or two heated by the exhaust-steam to boiling point, and a great saving of fuel and water thus elYected* But it is not only the mere cwt. of coal a day which may be economised, but the saving of wear-and-tear of the fire- box which has to be considered. P. and H. P. Gibbons, of Wantage, had a four -horse power and an eight-horse power portable engine, driving combined thrashing machines. Marshall, Sons, and Co., of Gainsborough, had four portable engines at work, of five, six, seven, and eight- horse power, driving thrashing and finishing dressing ma- chines and telescopic straw elevator. Hetherington and Moore, of Alton, exhibited two and three-horse power horizontal steam engines, with vertical multitubular boiler, also a combined pumping engine. R. Garrett and Sons, Saxmuudham, had an agricultu- ral self-moving steam engine, of ten-horse power, driving a combined thrashing and finishing dressing machine, with a 54.inch drum ; and a six -horse power engine, working a double-blast thrashing and corn-dressing machine, drum 48 inches wide ; and one of Eton's elevators, for receiv- ing and stacking the straw as thrashed. The elevator, with a one-horse driving gear, can be used for ricking hay. The steam engine is fitted with Garrett and Sons newly- registered apparatus, for heating the feed-water before en- tering the boiler. Amies, Barford, and Co., of Peterborough, had a small 2-horse vertical engine of their own make, and one of Brown and IMay's 8-horse driving corn-grinding mills and moving combined elevators. Barrows and Stewart, of Banbury, had at work an S -horse portable engine fitted with steam jacketed cylinder placed on the smoke end of the boiler, a plan which economizes the consumption of fuel and water, and supplied with extra large fire-box, moving a machine with beam- thrashing apparatus, 54-inch drum, and adjustable rotary corn screen. Robey and Co., of Lincoln, besides one of Thomson's road steamers, adapted for ploughing, improved aud manu- factured by the exhibitors, had an 8-horse portable engine at work, with patent governor expansion gear for econo- mizing fuel, and steam-jacketed cylinder, driving one of Riley's improved self-feeding thrashing machines and an improved straw elevator with Roper's patent driving apparatus, which transmits the power to the carrying chain roller at any angle, without the intervention of gearing of any kind. Ruston, Proctor, and Co., of Lincoln, had at work two portable engines of 8 and 6-horse power (nominal), driving combined thrashing and finishing machines with 54-inch drums. Turners, of Ipswich, had a 5-horse power engine as a sample of the various sizes of portable engines made by them, and working a single-blast thrashing aud win- nowing machine, with a straw elevator attached. Tuxford and Son, of Boston, had a useful 10-horse portable steeple engine, with two vertical cylinders, driving their combined thrashing and dressing machine. Holmes and Son, Norwich, had one of their 7-hor3e powerportableengines, fitted with feed water heater, driving their finishing th'rashing machine, and one of their prize clover shellers, which are now so well known in seed- growing districts. The consumption of coal in the engine driving the combined thrashing machine rarely exceeds 5 cwts. per day in the hands of common farming men, whilst in experienced bauds the duty ranges from 3^ to 4 cwts. Albert Watson, of Audover, showed some new imple- ments in a powerful bone crushing mill, a new portable 1 -horse gear- work, and a newly designed folding elevator, 28 feet long, adapted to work with combined thrashing machine, or the 1 -horse gear just named, for every description of rick-making, without alteration. 50 THE FAEMER'S MAGAZINE. John Weighell, of Pickering, had one of Brown and May's six-horse portable engines driving several of his corn-grinding mills, the Oxford first prize one being es- pecially an efficient mill, with three-feet Derbyshire stones. The revolutions, 140 per minute, are very uniform and steady throughout. Robert Maynard, of Cambridge, had a power chaff engine, with sifting and elevating apparatus combined, driven by one of Foster and Co.'s Lincoln portable engines. MUburn and Co., of London, showed one of their new combined portable engines and drying machines for corn, pulse, roots, and various materials. J. L. Norton, of London, had a number of useful articles, among others his patent grinding atd disinte- grating mill, driven by one of Brown and May's engines, also some of his lift and other pumps The Reading Iron Works had 4-horse and 7-horse portable engines, working thrashing machines of 54 and 48 inches. Powis, Western, and Co., of London, had general joiners, mortising, and other machines di'iven by a 10- horse nominal high-pressure engine. Worssam and Co. also had similar machines di'iven by OHC of Robey's 6-horse engines. C. Powis and Co., of Millwall, had a large collection of cutting machinery driven by a 10-horse power engine. Hayward, Tyler, and Co., of I/ondon, exhibited a selection of their universal steam pumps at work, besides farm fire-engines. While we have pointed out the chief novelties. We may, however, name, further, Hayward and Co.'s small steam pump, throwing up 60,000 gallons of water a- day ; A. Welch's model railway cattle-truck ; Burgess and Key's new hay press; Howard's safety water tube boiler for marine engines ; and Ransome's new ploughs, with sus- pension wheels, and a new self-acting patent screen for grain, by R. Boby. The following is a complete hst of the implement exhibitors : AfBeck, Prospect Works, Swindon ; Alway and Son, Chapel- street, Pentonville, London ; Amies, Barford, and Co., Peter- borough ; Andrews, Southampton ; Apted, Guildford ; Ar- nold and Sons, West Smithfield, London ; Ashby, Jeffery, and Luke, Stamford ; Baker, Falcon Works, Wisbeach ; Baker, Compton, Newbury ; Bamlett, Patent Reaper Works, Thirsk ; Barrows and Stewart, Cherwell Works, Banbury ; BayHss, Jones, and Baylis, Monmore Green, Wolverhampton ; Beach and Co., Dudley and Tipton Mills, Dudley ; Beare, Newton Abbott, Devon ; Belcher, Gee, and Co., High Orchard, Gloucester ; Bell and Co., Dean-street, Oxford- street, London ; Bellamy, Millwall, London ; Beverley Iron and Waggon Company (Limited), Beverley ; Bigg, Leicester House, Great Dover-street, Borough ; Boby, St. Andrew's Works, Bury St. Edmund's ; Boyall, Grantham ; Brenton, Polbathic, St. German's; Boulton and Co., Rose Lane Works, Norwich ; Bradford and Co., 03, Fleet-street, Lon- don ; Brigham and Co., Berwick-on-Tweed ; Bristol Waggon Works Company (Limited), Temple Gate, Bristol ; Braggins, Banbury; Brown and Co., Bridgwater; Brown and Co., Charlotte-street, Blaekfriars, London ; Brown and May, North Wilts Foundry, Devizes ; I3romley, Farnham ; Burgess and Key, Newgate-street, London ; Cambridge aud Parhara, St. Philip's Iron Works, Bristol ; Cannings, Finch Dean, Horn- dean ; Carpenter, Staines, Middlesex ; Carson and Sous, La Belle Sauvage Yard, Ludgate-hill, London ; Carson and Toone, Wiltshire Foundry, Warminster ; Carter and Co., High Hol- born, London ; Cheale and Sons, Southover, Lewes ; Cheavin, Boston ; Clayton and Shuttleworth, Lincoln ; Coleman and Morton, London Road Iron Works, Chelmsford ; Corbett, Perseverance Iron Works, Shrewsbury ; Coultas, Perseverance Iron Works, Grantham ; Crane, High-street, Guildford ; Cranston, Parktield, Pei shore-road, Birmingham ; Davey, Crofthole, Devonport ; Davies, Great Portland-street, London ; Day, Shavington, Crewe ; Day, Son, and Hewett, Dorset-street, Baker-street, London ; Dear, North Stonehaox Park, Southampton ; De Leon and Andre, Somerset-street, Aldgate, London ; Dening and Co., Chard ; Dennis and Co., Chelmsford ; Dodge, Upper Thames-street, London ; Duffield, WiUiam-street, Regent's Park, London ; Fames, Lynch, Mid- hurst, Sussex ; Farmers' Supply Association, King William- street, London ; Filmer and Mason, Guildford ; Fox, Walter, and Co., High Holborn, London ; Fuller S. and A., Bath ; Garrett and Sons, Leiston Works, Saxmundham, Suffolk ; Gibbons, Vale of White Horse Iron Works, Wantage, Berks ; Gibbs, Mark-lane, London ; GUI and Carling, Guildford ; Goss, King-street West, Plymouth ; Gower and Son, Hook Foundry, Winchfield; Grandy, Godalming; Hardon, Albert Works, Strangeways, Manchester ; Hart and Co., North London Iron Works, Wenlock, City-road, London; Harwood, Banner street, St. Luke's, Middlesex ; Hathaway, Chippenham ; Haynes and Son, Edgware-road, London ; Hayward, Tyler, and Co., Upper Whitecross-street, London ; Heasman, Colts- ford Mill, Oxted, Godstone ; Headley and Son, Cambridge ; Heap, City-road, Manchester ; Hetherington and Moore, Alton Foundry, Alton ; Hill and Smith, Brierley Hill Iron Works, Staffordshire ; Hobbs, Iron Works, Basingstoke ; Hodgetts and Son, Moreton-in-Marsh ; Holmes and Sons, Norwich ; Hornsby and Sons, Spittlegate Iron Works, Grantham ; Howard, Britannia Iron Works, Bedford ; Howes and Son, coach builders, Chapel Field, Norwich ; Hudspith, South l^-ne Works, Haltwhistle ; Humphries, Persliore, Worcestershire ; Hunt, Earl's Colne, Halstead, Essex ; James Isaac and Son, Tivoli Works, Cheltenham ; Johnston, Oxford-street, London ; Jones, Gloucester ; Kears- ley, Iron Works, Ripon ; Kiddle, Birdbush, Ludwell, Salis- bury ; Kittmer, Fulston, Louth ; Larkworthy and Co., Wor- cester ; Le Butt, Corn-screen and Haymaker AVorks, Bury St. Edmund's ; Lee, Windlesham, Bagshot ; Lyon, Windmill- street, Finsbury, London ; Main, Leadenhall-street, London, and Glasgow ; Major aud Co., Bridgwater ; Markall, Union- street, Whitechapel Road, London ; Marshall, Sons, and Co. (Limited) ; Britannia Iron Works, Gainsborough ; Marshall, L'pton Pyue, Exeter ; Mason and Sons, Allord ; Matthews, Royal Pottery, Weston-super-Mare ; Maynard, Whittlesford Works, Cambridge ; Mellard's Trent Foundry (Limited), Rugeley, StalTordslure ; Meyerstein, Queen-street, Londou, E.C. ; Milburn and Co., (Limited), Church-lane, Whitechapel, London ; Milford, Haldon Implement Works, Kenn, Exeter; Jlilford, Cart and Waggon Works, Thor- verton, CuUompton, Devon ; Milford and Son, W est of England Wheel Works, Thorverton, CuUompton, Devon; MitcheU and Co., Manchester; Moule's Patent Earth Closet Company (Li- mited), Garrick-street, Covent-garden, London ; Murray and Co., Banff, Scotland ; Newnham and Son, Broad-street, Bath ; New- ton, Manor-road, Bermondsey, Loudon ; NichoUs, The Repre- sentatives of, Annatto Works, Rowden HiU, Chippenham; Nicholson, Newark-on-'iVent ; Norton, Belle Sauvage Yard, Ludgate-hiU, London ; Parham, Northgate Iron Works, Bath ; Page and Co., Bedford ; Parker, Warren Corner, Farnham ; Peacock and Wilson, Grange Walk, Bermondsey, Loudon ; Penney and Co., (Limited), Lincoln ; Perkins, Hitchen ; Picksley, Sims, aud Co. (Limited), Bedford Foundry, Leigh, Manchester ; Powis and Co., Cyclops Works, MillwaU-pier, London ; Powis, Western, and Co., Victoria Works, Belvidere- road, Lambeth, London ; Priest, Woolnough, and Co., Ceres Iron Works, Kiugstou-on-Tharaes ; Rainforth and Son, Bray- ford Head, Lincoln ; Ransoraes, Sims, and Head, OrweU Works, Ipswich ; Reading Iron Works (Limited), Reading ; Reeves and Son, Bratton Iron Works, West- bury ; Rendle, Wei beck - street, Cavendish - square, Lon- don ; Reynolds and Co., New Compton - street, Lon- don, W.C. ; Richmond and Chandler, Salford, Man- chester ; Roberts and Sons, Bridgwater ; Rooey and Go. (Limited), Lincoln ; Robinson, Wembdon, Bridgwater ; RoUins, Old Swan Wharf, London Bridge ; Ruston, Proctor, and Co., Lincoln ; Salmon, Bermondsey, London ; Samuelson and Co., Britannia Works, Banbury ; Sawney, Beverley, Yorkshire ; Sharman, Melton Mowbray ; Shiner and Son, Beaminster, Dorset; Sinclair, Bishopsgate-street, London ; Smith, Basingstoke ; Smith, Royal Iron Works, Kettering ; Smith and Grace, Tlirapston, Northamptonshire ; Smyth and Son, Basenhall, Yoxford, Suffolk ; Southwell and Co., Albion Iron Works, Rugeley ; Spong, Fulham-road, London; Stacey, Bartholomew Cart aud Iron Works, Newbury, Berks ; Sted- man and Son, Normaudy, Guildford ; Stiles, Blythe-terrace, THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 61 Westminster-bridge-road, Lambeth, London; Surrey Milk Company, West Horsley, Woking Station ; Sutton and Sons, Seedsmen, Reading ; Tasker and Sons, Waterloo Iron Works, Andover ; Thorn St. Giles-gate, Norwich ; Tipper, Chemical Works, Tindal-street, Balsall-heath, Bir- mingliam ; Tuck and Son, Bath ; Turner, Ipswich ; Tuxford and Son, Boston and Skirbeck Iron Works, Boston ; Vezey, Long Acre, Bath ; Voice, Handcross Crawley ; Vulcan Works Ipswich ; Waide, Southbrook-street, Hunslet-lane, Leeds ; Warren, Maldon ; Walhs and Steevens, North Hants Iron Works, Basingstoke ; Watson, Andover ; Weeks, King's Road, Chelsea ; Weighell, Pickering, Yorkshire ; Welch, Southall ; Weston, Godalming ; White and Co., 15, Trinity- street, Borough, London ; Whitmee and Co., St. John-street, Clerkeawell, London ; Woodbourne, Park Iron Works, Kings- ley, Alton ; Wood, Walter, London ; Woods, Cocksedge, and Warner, Suffolk Iron Works, Stowmarket ; Worssam and Co., Oakley Works, King's Road, Chelsea, London; Wright, Broad-street, Islington, Birmingham. The seed pavilions of the two great firms of seedsmen were the most conspicuous objects on entering the show- yard, being placed immediately on the left of the Secre- tary's, Council, and other offices. Carter and Co. showed many hundred sample bags of their seeds, and specimens of their roots. Among the principal features of Sutton's stand was a large collection of dried specimens of natural grasses from their experimental farm, including those best suited for laying down per- manent pastures ; together with specimens of the root crops of last year. THE ANNUAL MEETING OE MEMBERS of the Society was held in the Council tent on the ground on the Tuesday, the president, the Earl of Cork, in the chair. Mr. Goodwin, the Secretary, read the following report : The Council, on the occasion of the ninety-fourth anniversary meeting of the Society, have the satisfaction of reporting a considerable increase in the number of new members, and they express a hope that the extension of the operations of the Society to the enlarged area of the southern counties, may liereafter be attended by a large accession of subscribers. There are at present on the books of the Society 139 go- vernors, 73 life members, and 864 annual members. The funded stock of the Society has, during the last year, been augmented by the purchase of £1,700 stock, and now amounts to £7,200. The entries of stock, poultry, implements, &c., for the present meeting justify the hope expressed in a recent report, that the effect of cementing the union contracted be- tween the western and southern counties may tend to the de- velopment of the agricultural and commercial resources of the two great districts. The entries of stock surpass in number those of any former year. There are in the cattle classes 31 Devons, 45 Shorthorns, 30 Herefords, 52 Sussex, and 31 Channel Islands— total, 189. In the sheep classes there are 10 Leicesters, 12 Cotswolds, 12 Kents, 59 Southdowns, 33 Hampshire Downs, 18 Shropshires, 13 Oxfordshire Downs, 16 Somerset and Dorset horns, and 4 Exmoor and other moun- tain sheep, whilst the prizes^offered by the Local Committee have brought together 15 entries of Southdowns, represented by 120 animals, and the prizes liberally presented by the Right Hon. the Earl of Portsmouth and Mr. Morrison, for the en- couragement of Hampshire Down ram lambs, have brought together 11 entries. The horse show, though an attractive feature of the exhibition, has not this year received the amount of support to which it was entitled by virtue of the increased amount of prizes offered for competition. It can- not be too strongly impressed on the minds of those interested in the Society's proceedings, that the date of entry for animals in every class is final and conclusive, and that in accordance with the rules of the Society no animals can be admitted for exhibition as extra stock. More than 50 horses have had this year to be excluded from the exhibitions, owing to non- compliance with prescribed rules. Of pigs there are 18 of the large breed, 39 of the small breed, and 35 Berkshires ; mak- ing a total of 92 animals. For the local prizes there are, for wheat 32, and for hops 11 competitors; whilst for the special prizes given by Mr. Miles, of Dixfield, Exeter, for the en- couragement of proficiency in horse-shoeing, there are 26 competitors. In the implement department there are not less than 59 steam-engines, propelling machinery in motion, and great improvement is observable in the mechanism and finish of many of the more important machines. A great number of trivial articles, not strictly connected with agricultural pro- gress and development, have on this occasion been rigidly ex- cluded from the exhibition ; but notwithstanding this regula- tion there are 184 exhibitors, and not less than 3,372 articles enumerated in the Society's catalogue. The art department is unusually rich in the exhibition of pictures of merit by rising artists ; so much so that it has been found necessary to provide space for part of them in the building ordinarily ap- propriated to manufactures and works of industrial art. The publication of the Journal has during the last year been sus- pended, except in so far as relates to a special appendix, con- taining reports of the Taunton meeting. The third volume of the third series, containing reports of the Guildford Show, will be published as soon as possible after the meeting has terminated. The vacancy occurring in the Council since the last annual meeting by the retirement of Mr. William Wippell, of Cutton, Poltimore, has been supplied by the election of Mr. Robert Neville, of Butleigh Court, Glastonbury. It has been arranged with the local authorities of Dorchester that the Society's meeting for 1872 shall take place in the immediate proximity of that ancient and interesting borough, and it is hoped that the Society's second visit to that town may be attended with results as satisfactory as those which marked the very successful meeting of the Society at Taunton last year. The Council, having regard to the usage of the Society, that the president for any year shall be non-resident in the county wherein the annual meeting is held, recommend that bis Grace the Duke of Marlborough be requested to occupy the office of president for the year ending with the Dorchester meeting. They also recommend that the Hon. and Rev. Samuel Best and Major Allen-, M.P., be elected vice-presidents; and that the following members of the Society be appointed members of the Council, to supply vacancies occurring by re- tirement, rotation, and other causes : Eastern Division. — H. G.' Andrews, Rimpton, Sherborne ; W. A. Bruce, Ashley, Chippenham ; R. H. Bush, 10, Carlton- place, Clifton, Bristol ; Henry Fookes, Wliitchurch, Blandford ; J. D. Hancock, Halse, Taunton ; Henry Parr Jones, Portway House, Warminster; Joseph Lush, Hartgills, Kihnington, Bath; H. A. F. Luttrell, Badgworth Court, Axbridge; Wil- liam Thompson, Dunsford-place, Bath. Western Division. — E. Archer, Trelaske, Launceston; Francis W. Dymond, Bampfylde House, Exeter ; Mark Far- rant, Growing, CoUumpton ; William Froude, Chelston Cross, Torquay ; John Hooper, Chagford ; Thomas Hussey, Waybrook, Exeter ; J. C. Moore-Stevens, Winscott, Great Torrington ; W. Robson Scott, St. Leonard, Exeter ; Charles Arthur W. Troyte, Huntsham Court, Bampton. Southern Division. — J. Best, Abbott's Ann, Andover ; Robert Glutton, Harts wood, Reigate ; Joseph Druce, Eyn- sham, Oxford; Frederick Gill, Beenham, Reading; Sir J. Clarke Jervoise, Bart., Idsworth House, Horndean ; J. Farnady Lennard, Wickham Court, Beckenham ; H. Middle- ton, Cutteslowe, Oxford ; J. C. Ramsden, Busbridge Hall, Godalming. Elected without reeerence to Districts. — Charles Edwards, The Grove, Wrington ; E. F. Mills, Orcheston St. Mary, Devizes; James Pitt Pitts, Newton House, Drew- steignton, Chagford ; James Rawlence, Bulbridge, Wilton ; Robert Trood, Matford, Exeter. Your committee cannot conclude without an expression of their best thanks to the Worshipful the Mayor, the Chair- man, vice-chairman, and members of the local committee, for their liberality and untiring zeal in endeavouring to promote the success of the Guildford meeting ; to those who have contributed valuable works of art and horticultural speci- mens ; to the judges in the several departments for their services ; and to the directors and officials of the railway companies for the facilities they have generously afforded. The Chairman proposed the adoption of the report. Mr. Jonathan Gray seconded this, and the report was carried. Hon. and Rev. J. T. Boscawen proposed, and Mr. J. C. Ramsden seconded, the election of his Grace the Duke of £ 2 62 THE FAEMER'S MAGAZINE. Marlborough as president for the ensuing year, when the Society visits Dorchester. Votes of thanks to the retiring president and to the Ta- rious persons named in the report by the Council were then VISIT OF THE PKIN'CE OF WALES. The Council, which had met at an early hour on the Wednesday, went in procession to the station to await the arrival of the royal train, which left the Waterloo Station at 11.40, and arrived at Guildford in 4-9 minutes, where his royal highness was received at the station by Captain ]\Ian- gles, the chairman of the company, and the corporation. The Prince was accompanied by Prince John of Gliicks- burg. General Knollys, and Lieut. -Colonel Teesdale. The mayor then requested the honour of being allowed to present an address from the corporation. This, splendidly illuminated on vellum, and enclosed in a box covei'ed with red morocco, ran as follows : To H. R. H. the Prince of Wales, K.G. From the Mayor and Corporation of Guildford, May, 1871. May it please your royal highness — We, the mayor, aldermen, and burgesses of the borough of Guildford, in the county of Surrey, desire to avail ourselves of your royal highness's presence at Guildford, on the occasion of your visit to the annual meeting of the Bath, West of England, and Southern Counties Agricultural Association, held on the borders of this borough, to offer to your royal liighness a most sincere and cordial welcome from the inhabitants of this ancient and loyal borough, and to assure your royal highness of the gratification which is felt by all classes of tiie community at your presence amongst them. We acknowledge with satisfaction the interest whicii your royal highness always evinces in support of every movement having for its object the encouragement of agriculture, arts, manufac- tures, and commerce, the advancement of science, and the good of the public at large. We beg to tender to your royal highness our heartfelt wishes for your continued and increasing happi- ness, and sincerely pray that your royal highness may be long spared to fulfil, under God's blessing, the duties of your exalted station. — Given under our common seal, the 31st day of May, 1871. Edward Thomas Uppertox, Mayor, Mark Sjiallpiece, Town Clerk. The Prince of Wales was then conducted by the mayor to the carriage of the Earl of Cork, accompanied by Prince John of Gliicksburg, and the party drove to the tutrance of the Show-yard, where the officials of the Society were in waiting. There were also present — The Earl of Lovelace, the lord-lieutenant of the county. Lord Middleton, the Earl of Dunmore, Earl Fortescue, and Lord Sidmouth. The prize cattle and sheep were brought out for the inspection of his royal highness, and he also went round the horse department, and thence through the poultry enclosure, expressing his satisfaction at the ge- neral excellence of the show. The display in the horticul- tural department much pleased the prince. The tine arts department having been viewed, his royal highness visited some of the implement stands — Ransoraes, of Ipswich ; Howard, of Bedford ; Beare, of Xewton Abbott ; Brad- foi'd, of Fleet-street ; Burgess and Key, of Newgate-street, and others. His royal highness having gone through the greater part of the show partook of luncheon, and returned to London by the special which left Guildford at 35 minutes past two. THE ACTION OF THE CENTRAL CHAMBER OF AGRICULTURE. The Central Chamber of Agriculture was established on the farmer's behalf " to look to matters coming before Parliament" — such, so far as we remember, was the way in which its duties were defined. It is evident, however, from all that occurred at the last council meet- ing that a very strong line is drawn between looking at matters before Parliament and looking to members of Parliament. So far as the authorities or ollicials of the Central Chamber be concerned one of the gravest ques- tions for consideration is the cattle-trade and traffic of the country. It is a point to which immediate attention must be called with a view to insuring some more certain protection to the home grazier and breeder. And an honourable member has a notice of motion to something of this efl'ect; while as he happens to he, moreover, a leading member of the Central Chamber of course that body will do all in its power to have him properly supported. And this aid was cer- tainly little enough, for the hapless proposition was counted out to a House of twenty-one members ; the fact being that nobody ever knew anything about it ! At the meeting on Tuesday Mr. Corrance, M.P., said that " he had received no intimation when the motion was likely to come on ;" Mr. Heueage " thought it desirable that when important questions connected with agriculture were going to be introduced in the House of Commons, the Central Chamber or the provincial Chambers should send circulars to the members of their respective counties urging them if possible to be present ;" and Mr. Pell, J^I-P-. "had been engaged in the country on business in which his constituents took great interest." Some other honourable gentleman had, no doubt, bought a yoke of oxen and must needs go and look at them, a fifth had married a wife or had some other such urgent private affair to attend to; and as nobody seems to have attended to Mr. Read or his motion of course nothing came of it. Will it, though, be credited that at the meeting of a Society of such calibre, or at any rate of such design, explanations after this fashion should come to be re- corded : Mr. i\lasfen said, " County members must be reminded of the duty which they owed to their constitu- ents ;" Mr. Corrance had not been reminded, and Mr. Pell said " the discussion showed how desirable it was that the secretary of the Central Chamber should reside in London." But surely he must reside in London, or how is it that he is always writing letters from the Central Chamber of Agriculture, the Salisbury Hotel, Salisbury Square, Fleet Street, Londoii, E.C., where he certainly intimates that he has the honour to be ! However, we will assume that this is mere make-believe, and that a man cannot live in a letter-box, or, unless he be really a conjuror, ever get into a quart bottle. But, assuming that the official staff of the Central Chamber be located only two or three days' post from town — say in the Isle of Man, at the Land's End, or in the heart of the Highlands, why should they not send out a circular to every M.P, when anything bearing upon agriculture would be likely to come before Parliament? In our innocence we had thought this was one of the special duties for which the institution had been invented. In our ignorance we had pictured piles of letters, bearing the stamp of the Salisbury Hotel, Salisbury Square, Fleet Street, London, ready and anxious to be started, no matter whether from Nova Scotia or the Fens of Lincolnshire. Nothing of the kind, however, appears to have been done, and so Sir. Corrance and others knew nothing about it. But in justice be it said, as it was not said at the meeting of the Chamber, that the secretary bad not THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 53 only written a letter to The Times, but exhorted honour- able gentlemen in his own organ, and still they knew nothing about it ! All this looks ludicrous enough ; but this was not all. Of course the county members and the Farmers' Friends, knowing nothing of \Vhat was coming on, were very sorry that so good a man as Mr. Read was so badly supported, and made their apologies to him accordingly. Quite the reverse — Mr. Read " felt that he owed an apology to the county members" — "it would be presumptuous in him to send circulars to agricultural members" — "he believed they could not help bciug absent," and so forth. This is all very nice and considerate and polite ; but in the mean time it does not seem that anybody is doing anything. County members know less about agricultural questions than ever, if we are to test them by a House of twenty- one, while iMr. Read would not be presumptuous enough to advise them, nor does it appear to be the busi- ness of anybody in particular to do so. And this is the stupendous result of looking at matters before Parliament ! There is one thing, though, that the Central Chamber is strong in, and that is, in passing resolutions. And so straightway a formidable resolution is framed, and the chairman recommends that " the secretary should send a copy of the resolution which was about to be passed to Mr. Forsteraud the Privy Council, in order to show them that they endorsed the views of Mr. Read ; and he would further suggest that Mr. Forster should be asked to acknowledge the receipt of it." This sounds forcibly enough, and a correspondence will be forthwith entered up between the Salisbury Hotel, Salisbury Square, Fleet Street, London, where the secretary's letter-box has the honour to be, and the Privy Council in Whitehall. And the Vice-President in some alarm will acknowledge the re- ceipt when he finds how the Chamber endorses the views of Mr. Read \ the more especially when he comes to remember how it endorsed that honourable gentleman the other day in the House. " Call you this backing your friends ?" as Sir John says. Although he would not be so presumptuous, Mr. Read thinks the local Chambers might reasonably send circulars to agricultural members, an opinion in which we entirely agree with him. We think, as we always have thought, that any good to come from this movement must come from the local Societies. Let constituencies, by such an agency, directly address themselves to their own representa- tives ; let them put their wishes and wants to those upon whom they have some claim, and something may be done. But this centralization serves chiefly to shift all responsi- bility, as, in the end, certain leading spirits here manage to do all that they desire to do, and to leave all undone that they do not care to be committed to. Only mark how at this meeting on Tuesday all attention was turned from the best Game Bill yet introduced. " The question was not on the Agenda Paper." Why not ? for it most assuredly should have been. Again, says another jNLP., " they need not be in a hurry, as the Game Bills would no doubt all be shelved for this session." Very possibly so ; but what then ? Are not the Local Taxation Bills more decidedly shelved for this session, and did not the meeting on Tuesday report, and talk, and make motions about Local Taxation, as if it were coming on again to-morrow ? " The new Game Bill is a very good one," says Mr. Read ; "it is far superior to any previous measure," says the chairman ; and so the Central Chamber will leave it to fight its own way just as it did Mr. Read himself in the House of Commons. Still there is some hope, for the provincial Chambers are to discuss Sir Selwin Ibbetson's Bill, and it was the determined action of some of these provincials that fairly drove the Central Chamber into recording anything like a protest against the game evil. And such is the last sitting of the Session ! THE CENTRAL CHAMBER OF AGRICULTURE. A Council meeting was held on Tuesday, June 6, at the Salisbury Hotel, Fleet-street ; Sir M. Lopes, M.P.,in the chair. After the reading and confirmation of the minutes, Mr. H. Chaplin, M.P., was elected a member. The question whether or not a meeting of the Council should be convened for July, was left to the Chairman and the Council. The Cii.viRMAJf then read the Monthly Report of the Local Taxation Committee, which was as follows: The (Committee, in presenting their report, feel that they are entitled to congratulate the Central and asso- ciated Chambers on the withdrawal of Mr. Goscben's Local Government and Rating Bill and Local Taxation Bill, and the Committee feel assured that this result has, in a great mea- sure, been due to the active exertions of the various Chambers of Agriculture. At the same time, your Committee must ex- press tlieir regret that no opportunity was afforded in the House of Commons of replying to Mr. Goscben's statement, and of exposing the numerous fallacies in the returns upon which his bills were founded. Your chairman, finding it im- possible to call the further attention of Parliament during the present session to the incidence of Local Taxation, has given notice that he will take the earliest opportunity next year of bringing forward a motion with reference to this subject. Your Committee have diligently examined the various bills now before Parliament, with a view to discover the provisions which will injuriously affect ratepayers. Your Committee recon.mend that petitions should be presented to Parlia- ment praying against the continued injustice of imposing upon the ratepayers new charges for national objects. The various bills referred to are as follows: (1) Array Regulation Bill, (2) Elections' (Parliamentarv and Municipal) BiU, (3) Further Abolition of Turnpike Tolls' Bill, (4.) Pauper Lunatics' Discharge and Regulation Bill, (5) Prison Ministers' Bill, (6) Registration of Voters' Bill, (7) Intoxicating Liquors' (Licensing) Bill (withdrawn), (8) County Coroners' Bill (withdrawn), (9) Protection Against Dogs' Bill (passed House of Commons), (10) Corrupt Practices' Act Amendment Bill. Your Committee feel gratified in being able to state that they have received numerous resolutions and letters from diflferent Chambers of Agriculture, thanking them for the action they have taken and the papers they circulated with reference to Mr. Goscben's report aud the two Government Bills. A form of petition, praying that the clauses in the Army Regulation Bill which tend to impose exdnsivchj upon ratepayers charges for national objects may not pass into law, has, during the past month, been forwarded to many Cham- bers of Agriculture ; and your Committee have much pleasure in stating that these petitions have been well signed, and will be presented to ParUament by the representatives of the va- rious districts. Your Committee bsg to call attention to a question which was put to the Home Secretary with regard to tiie great inaccuracy of the " abstract of the coanty treasurers' accounts." This question was noticed by several of the prin- cipal London newspapers in their leading articles, and it was contended, that, if Government returns could not be trusted the public had nothing to depend upon for accurate informa- tion, and that if Mr. Goschen compiled his report from returns of an equally untrustworthy character, but little reliance can be placed on his conclusions. Your chairman also proposes to call attention to the " Municipal Borough Returns," which he has found to be even more inaccurate than those above alluded to. Your Committee wish most particularly to point out the effect which will be produced should the proposed Endowed Schools Act (1869) Amendment Bill pass into law. This Bill proposes to confiscate local endowments, which have been bequeathed by the charitable for the purpose of edu- cating the children of the working classes, and to apply the 54 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. funds thus obtained for middle-class edacation. Should this proposal be carried out, those children who are now educatea free of cost through the means of such endowments wUl, ac- cording to the provisions of the Elementary Education Act of last session, have to be educated in a great measure at the ex- pense of the rate-payers. Moreover, many parishes, relying on the continued application of these endowments to their original purposes, omitted to make the necessary application to the Privy Council Office before the tspiration of the past year for grants in aid of building elementary schools. These parislies are now precluded from obtaining any such grant, and the cost of these buildings will now exclusively fall upon the ratepayers. Your Committee also desire to call attention to the report of the select committee appointed to inquire into the operation of the Vaccination Act, especially to the follow- ing paragraph : " The sug^jestion has been made that a consi- derable proportion of the expentes of working the (Vaccina- tion) Act should be contributed from moneys to be voted by Parliament. Your Committee believe that efficient working would be promoted by such contribidion. Without doubt local agency must be relied on for administration, but central inspection and control are also needed, and would be much more poiverfid if a payment towards the expenses could be icithdrawn in cases of mal-administration." The principle of further contributions from the imperial exchequer in aid of national objects is here admitted, and your Committee cannot but think that the pre- cedent thus suggested will be of great use hereafter. Your Committee would call attention to an important case recently tried in the Court of Queen's Bench, and reported in the Times of April 28th last, from which it appears that the County of Lancaster issued a mandamus against the Treasury for a ba- lance claimed by them to defray the cliarges of certain crimi- nal prosecutions, and which had been disallowed by the Treasury. The Lord Chief-Justice said that he knew not who or by what authority some gentleman at the Treasury takes upon himself to disallow items in a very important prosecu- tion, and that it could not be for the due administration of public justice that what a judge orders to be done in the matter of a prosecution, and the expenses incidental thereto, should be revised by one knowing notliing of the facts, ex- cept so far as appears from the bill of costs. It would, therefore, appear that large amounts are annuiilly dis- allowed in each county by the Treasury for the costs of criminal prosecutions, which amounts ought to be paid in full by the imperial exchequer, and not by the ratepayers, upon whom the charge falls in case of disallowance. Your chair- man has moved for a return showing the balance disallowed for each county by the Treasury during the past seven years, and lie will shortly call attention to the subject. In conclusion your Committee beg to state that they consider that there is now greater necessity than ever to increase their efforts in order that they may be prepared to meet the attempts which will undoubtedly be made in the ensuing session to increase, rather than diminish, the burdens now pressing so heavily upon rate- payers. With this view your Committee are issuing a circular poiutiug out the necessity of further contributions being placed at their disposal, and they feel confident that their appeal for aid towards an object in which owners and occupiers of houses and lands are equally interested will be generously responded to. A resolution was read from the Warwickshire Chamber, as follows : " That this Chamber fully approves of the course taken by Sir Massey Lopes, 13art., M.P., and pledges itself to give hira every support in its power." It was stated that since the last meeting two pro- vincial Chambers had joined the Central Chamber, viz., the York and the Ripon Chambers. Mr. BiDDELL moved the adoption of the Report which had just been read. Ue expressed his regret that, in consequence of the withdrawal of the Government Bills, no opportunity had been afforded in Parliament of pointing out the in- accuracies of the statements on which the Government mea- sures relating to local taxation were founded ; especially as the authority of a Minister of the Crown rendered them very likely to mislead. Some explanation was due from Mr. Gosciieu to the Chambers ; and, even for the right hon. gentleman's own sake, there should have been some correction. Mr. JjUNCEY seconded the motion. Mr. Caxdecott could testify that the returns of county expenditure were very inaccurate so far as Warwickshire was concerned. As regarded prosecutions, a considerable amount had been kept back by the Treasury that was required fo expenses, which the Judge of Assize had ordered the magis trates to pay, so that there was no option in the matter. The magistrates had waited from the beginniug of the year for the decision of the Court in the case of Lancashire, As soon as that decision had been given the Clerk of the Peace of War- wickshire applied to the Treasury for payment ; but the Treasury did not admit the fuU force of the decision, and asked that the matter might be allowed to stand over till Michaelmas. Mr. C. S. Read, M.P., said it might be some consolation to Mr. Biddell to learn that Mr, Goschen intended to publish his speech with some marginal notes relating to the accusations made against him in that Chamber and elsewhere. In that way, however, the right hon. gentleman would have the dis- cussion all to himself. The Chairmajm said, having taken some trouble to ascertain the real state of the case as regarded the expenses of prosecutions, he found that the Govern- ment had put aside about £150,000 to be divided among the different counties. They were obliged, he was in- formed, so to divide that amount that in each county there must always be a balance left unpaid ; and hence it was that he had lately moved for a return showing the sums disallowed within the last seven years. The accounts by county trea- surers were the most inaccurate ones he had ever met with, and he had found the municipal accounts also very incorrect. The inference to be drawn from all tliis was, that if the figures were so radically wTong, calculations founded upon them could be of no value. The motion was then put and carried. Mr. T. DrcKnAJi moved the following; "Accepting the withdrawal of the Government Bills as an acknowledgment of their failure to meet the requirements of ratepaj'ers, this Coun- cil greatly regrets that the Government have found it impos- sible to fulfil the promises held forth in the Queen's speech to remedy the gross injustice to occupiers and owners of land and houses under the present system of assessment to local rates." He said that, in common, no doubt, with every other member of the Council, he learnt with surprise that the Government Bills had been withdrawn. The admission by the Government of the principle of an extension of the area of taxation must be gratifying to them all ; but he hoped that next session the Government would combine with tlie House tax the horse tax and the vehicle t;is, and also adopt a more extended basis than that of parishes, under which rich parishes were bene- fited at the expense of poor ones. As regarded the removal of the house tax in rural districts, and the levying of income tax in place of it, that would, in most cases, be remitting so many shillings now levied from farmers, and imposing upon them an equal number of pounds, Mr, TuR>'EE, in seconding .the resolution, reminded Mr. Duckham that an addition to the income tax had nothing to do with Mr. Goschen's Bills. The resolution was then adopted. Mr. E. He>-eage moved the following : " That, in the opinion of this Council, those clauses in the several Bills now before Parliament which propose to increase the burdens on local rates should be firmly opposed until the question of local taxation has been more equitably adjusted." fBefore Mr. lleueage commenced his remarks, resolutions were read from the Herefordshire, Staffordshire, Warwicksliire, Leices- tershire, York, and Lincolnshire Chambers in accordance with the resolution before the meeting.] Since the last meeting the Government Local Taxation Bills had been withdrawn, or at all events the Government had suc- cumbed, and did not intend to go on with them; but, nevertheless, it was necessary that the Chambers should take steps, if they could not as yet lessen the local burdens which had been imposed upon the land during the last century, at any rate to prevent any addition being made to them. It was of the greatest importance that they should try and prevent any Bill from becoming law which would add to the local rates. One of the most popular things that a Chancellor of the Exchequer could now do was to bring in a budget, which, by means of a surplus made taxation appear as light as possible. There were two modes of accomplishing that ; one being the exercise of great economy', and the other a resort to subterfuge. Let him ex- plain what he meant by subterfuge. It was very easy to say in a Budget Speech I am going to make the taxes a million or two less than they were last year. That was all very well on THE FARMEE'S MAGAZINE. 5S paper ; but if there were a number of bills before Parliament which would impose additional burdens on the ratepayers and take out of one pocket as much as was put into the other, where was the advantage to the public ? In one form a pro- posal to iucrease local burdens would create a tieraendous row, while in another it might escape notice. That had been brought forcibly before his mind by the legislation of the pre- sent session. They had seen the Government doing all it could to show that its policy had not been expensive, while it was adding twopence in the pound to the income-tax, in order to obtaiu a surplus next year, and thus gain the power of securing some additional popularity. It had, in fact, intro- duced no less than ten bills which would impose burdens on the local rates, and he would proceed to state what they were. First, ^there was the Army Regulation Bill, which gave the Government a discretion with regard to local taxation which it was quite awful to think of. The Government had hitherto been in the habit of providing whatever was necessary for the militia, but it was now proposed that in future any barracks or other buildings which might be required for the use of the militia regiments should be provided out of the rates. It had therefore been considered rather a desirable thing to have a militia regiment quartered in a district on account ot the demand for supplies which arose in consequence, but a very different feeling would be created if that provision of the Army Regulation Bill passed. Again, there was the Parhamentary and Municipal Elections' Bill, by which the expenses of county as well as borough elections were to be thrown upon the ratepayers. In a political point of view, there was a great deal to be said in favour of that arrangement ; but, regarding it as a monetary question, they must object to it so long as there were such numbers of persons who did not pay their fair share of local expenses. The next bill was one for the Abolition of Turnpike Tolls.- He did not believe they would have much more of that measure during the present session, but the question involved was a very serious one. The Pauper Lunatics' Discharge and Regulation Bill contained a clause (clause 5) requiring poor-law guardians to provide suitable casual wards for the accommodation of discharged pauper lunatics. If anything of that kind was to be done there should be a Parliamentary grant for the purpose. Purther, there were the Prison Ministers' Bill, the Registration of Voters' Bill, the measure relating to licences, the County Courts' Bill, the Corrupt Practices at Elections' Bill, and the Dogs' Bill. Of these ten bills two had been withdrawn, but the remainder were still before Parliament ; and it should be the stern resolve and earnest effort of the Chambers of Agriculture to prevent any addition to the local burdens by means of bUls in Parha- ment until something had been done to relieve agriculturists from the unjnst pressure of the existing system (cheers). In conclusion, he might remark that the resolution which he now proposed was almost identical with one recently passed by the Lincolnshire Chamber, of which he was the chairman. Mr. Caldecott, in seconding the resolution, said the most objectionable of the bills referred to were, in his opinion, the Army Regulation and the Ballot Bills, these being the most likely to add seriously to the county rates. The returning officers of county elections were practically their own auditors, and might therefore make the expenses almost ^'vhatever they chose. In his own county (Warwickshire) the charges were nearly i£2,000 for the two divisions, and if the number of polling places was increased as much as appeared probable, a penny rate might be required to pay the expenses of a county election. Mr. D. Long thought the bills which it was intended to oppose should be mentioned in the resolution. The CuAiRMAi^ also concurred in this suggestion, and the resolution having been amended accordingly was adopted. Resolutions were read from the AVarwickshire, York- shire, and Leicestershire Chambers, expressing disapproval of the recent order of Council relating to cattle coming from Russia and Holland. Mr. T. WiLLSON moved, " That this Council views with alarm the recent Order of Council by which cattle direct from Russia are taken to the Metropolitan Market, and by which also cattle from Holland, where pleuro-pneumonia now exten- sively exists, are permitted free access to any part of the United Kingdom after undergoing a detention of only twelve hours." He said the view of the Leicestershire Chamber, which he represented, was that if foreign cattle were to be admitted into England after a detention of twelve hours, during which they were supposed to undergo an examination, though it could hardly be called one, EngUsh farmers would be placed in a most disadvantageous position, inasmuch as when they sent their cattle to the Metropolitan Cattle Mar- ket they were not allowed to supply the south of England with beef and mutton. If it were not dangerous for foreign cattle to be moved about England, how could it be dangerous for English cattle to be taken to the towns on the south coast? All they wanted was justice. Let him mention a case as an illustration. The week before last a friend of his in the north of England had some very valuable cattle, which he wished to have removed to a distance. Owing to some arrangements of the North Eastern Railway Company, these cattle were not allowed to be placed in a horse-box on the line, and the consequence was that they had to be driven through the streets of Hull, and they were afterwards placed side by side on the line with some foreign cattle which were brought from Normanton, and were going to Liverpool. He was sorry to observe that Mr. Read, in speaking on that sub- ject the other night in the House of Commons, spoke in fa- vour of foot-and-mouth disease in foreign cattle not being treated in as stringent a manner as pleuro-pneumonia. Mr. Read, M.P., denied that he had said what had been imputed to him. Mr. R. H. Maspen said he had been much astonished at the reception which Mr. Read's proposal met with in the House of Commons on the previous Friday evening. The county members must be reminded by the Chambers of the duty which they owed to their constituents ; and if they allowed the House to be counted out when there was a question so important to agriculturists before it the Chambers could not feel that confidence in them which men ought to be able to feel in their representatives in Parliament (Hear, hear). It appeared to him that there was a great dereliction of duty on that occasion (Hear, hear), and that the county members did not show a proper regard for the interests of their constituents. Considering that upwards of 91 per cent, of the animal food of this kingdom was of home production, and that what Mr. Read proposed directly tended to secure that large proportion for the benefit of the whole population as well as of the owners of home flocks and herds, he could not understand county members not considering it their duty to support Mr. Read on the previous Friday. What must the Manchester- school of members think of the way in which agriculturists were represented in the House of Commons ? In future, when a gentleman presented liimself as a candidate for a county seat in Parliament, they should carefully endeavour to ascertain whether his object in doing so were merely self-aggran- disement or to do his duty to the constituency. There had been a great amouat of lukewarmness manifested in Parliament, in reference to that question of foreign cattle. Agriculturists did not, as was alleged, wish to raise the price of meat to the consumer ; what they wanted was simply to protect their flocks and herds (Hear, hear). He, for one, would be glad to find the price of meat much lower than it was then ; but the untoward events of the last two or three years — the repeated droughts combined with the removal of the restrictions which were intended to keep out disease, had inevitably raised the price, and he believed it would be further enhanced if greater supervision were not exercised. English farmers did not desire anything beyond what was fair and reasonable, and surely as they provided nine-tenths of the stock with which the people of this country- were fed, it was a matter of paramount importance that the interests of the class who produced it should be narrowly watched over. He protested against the notion that farmers as a class were persons who wanted to fiU their pockets at the expense of the community at large (cheers). Mr. Read, M.P., said he felt that he owed an apology to his brother county members for having brought on his motion on a day which might be considered to have belonged to the the Whitsua holidays. The truth was that in the present state of business in the House of Commons it was extremely diffi- cult for any private member to bring on a motion at all. The motion wliich he had referred to had been on the paper for a month. He had gone to ballot after ballot, hoping that he might find a convenient day for introducing it, but he could not. He had never been very lucky at games of chance, and some- how or other the balloting had been against him. In the pre- vious week the Government promised to keep a House for the discussion of his motion, telling him that it would be 56 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. necessary for tbem to do so, because tliey wished after wards to go for a Committee of Supply, and therefore he expected that during tlie mysterious diuner-liour, when the House usually became so thin, the Government would secure him against a count-out ; but whether it were because tliey found that the debate was likely to go against them, or that they wished to deprive him of an opportunity of replying and to have the discussion adjourned to a more convenient day, the understanding was not carried out. As regarded what fell from Mr. Masfen, he could very well understand tlic feeliugs which prompted them ; but the House of Commons was dread- fully overworked, and lie would add that the riglits of private members were but little regarded, and that it was not till after the House met at nine o'clock that there seemed to be any chance of his motion coming on that day. Not knowing when he might have another opportunity of introducing the subject, he tiiouglit it best to do so then, and lie believed that the remarks which he made, followed up as they were by those of otiier county members, would produce a good effect. He trusted that the Committee of Privy Council would see that they had committed a great error in allowing store stock from Holland — for it was to that point tliat he directed special at- tention— where pleuro-pneumonia was raging, after under- going a twelve hours' quarantine, to be landed at Harwich, and to be sent thence all over the eastern counties and other parts of the kingdom (Hear, bear). lie maintained that the permission of that was a grave dereliction of duty, and alto- gether contrary to what Parliament expected when it passed the Cattle Diseases Bill. lie greatly feared that the foreign cattle market would not be opened on the 1st of January next, not one stone having yet been erected ; and even when it was opened it would be a little, poking, out-of-the-way wharf on tiie wrong side of the river, and without any railway com- munication, so that hardly any benefit could result from it. Mr. CoRRA^'CE, M.P., said as he was one of the members who were absent from the House of Commons on tiie previous Friday evening, he wished to say that he had received no intimation that the motion was likely to come on, either from Mr. Read or from Mr. Waller, the Secretary of the Society for tlie Protection of Home Cattle, lie was on a tour ia Ireland for the purpose of collecting information on a subject in wliich agriculturists were deeply interested. Mr. Heneage thought it desirable tiiat when important questions connected with agriculture were going to be iritro- duced in the House of Commons, the Central Chamber or the provincial Chambers should send circulars to the members of their respective counties urging them if possible to be present. Mr. Pell, M.P., observed that that discussion showed how desirable it was that the Secretary of the Central Chamber should reside in London, and intimated that he intended to make a proposal on that subject at the next annual meeting of the Council. He was, he said, himself absent from the House of Commons on the occasion referred to, being engaged in the country oil business in which his constituents took deep in- terest. In his opinion it was highly important that stringent measures sliould be adopted to check the spread of foot-and-mouth disease as well as pleuro-pneumonia. Some- thing like 5 per cent, of the animals of this couutry had been lost annually for some years past througli contagious diseases. Mr. Read, M.P., said it would be presumptuous in him to send circulars to agricultural members asking them to attend the House on a particular occasion, but the provincial Chambers might reasonably do that. He felt that he owed an apology to the county members for having brought forward his motion so unexpectedly ; but he could not help that, and he did not believe they could lielp being absent (Hear, hear.) Mr. T. HoRLEY said the Government seemed to suppose that when they had got rid of cattle plague, there was no need for precautions. Very few persons, he believed, were aware of the amount of loss which arose from pleauro-pneumonia. He held in his hand a statement of the mortality among cattle in North Holland in the present year, from whicli it appeared, that from the, 19th of March to the 22ud of April, 206 head of cattle had to be killed because they were suffering from pleuro-pneumonia. English farmers had a right to have their cattle protected against the diseases which existed in Holland, and they were naturally jealous of a relaxation of restrictions in favour of Holland when there were no corres- ponding relaxtions in their own case. The importance of that subject ought to be impressed on agricultural members more strongly than it liad ever been yet. The Chairman thought they must all feel deeply indebted to Mr. Read for having brought the subject before the House of Commons (cheers). He would suggest that the secretary should send a copy of the resolution wiiicli was about to be pissed to Mr. Forster aad the Privy Council, in order to show them that they endorsed the views of Mr. Read; and he would further suggest that Mr. Forster should be asked to acknowledge the receipt of it. The resolution was then adopted, and it was further re- solved that a copy of it should be forwarded to Mr. Forster. Dr. J. RotrERs, President of the Poor-law Medical Officers' Association, then introduced the question of poor-law medical relief. He said : In the years 1832 and 1833 a wide-spread feeling of dissatisfaction was excited in consequence of the huge extent to which the expenditure on pauperism had ex- panded, and a commission was appointed to inquire into the operation of the poor laws, with a view to suggesting such modifications as might appear advisable. Two of these com- missioners. Sir J. Kay Shuttleworth and Mr. C. P. Viljiers, have stated since that, although every conceivable cause bear- ing on the growth of pauperism was investigated by the com- missioners, sickness of liie poor, as an element in its produc- tion, was not inquired into ; in fact, its importance was wholly overlooked. It cannot, therefore, be a matter of sur- prise tiiat the Poor Law Commissioners on the oue hand, and local boards on the other, in making their arrangements for the relief of such sickness, shouli have adopted that course which appeared to them as most economic, viz., fixing the stipends of the medical officers at the lowest possible amount, and then advertising the appointments as open to all comers. Although tile sums named were in too many instances ridiculously below what was required for efficient ser- vices, they were sought after by two classes of applicants, those wlio, having been long resident in the locality, were desirous of preventing a stranger from encroach- ing on their private practice, and young men who thought, by taking these appointments, they might Jiave a chance of getting it. Not pnly were the stipends in most cases obviously insufficient, but in almost every instance they were clogged v^•ith the condition that all drugs, &c., should be sup- plied by the medical ofiicer, and, to make their dependence more complete, the parish doctor was reappointed annually. By degrees, however, certain concessions were made. Then the Government of the late Sir R. Peel introduced the prin- ciple of putting the charge of half the salaries on the Con- solidated Fund. Certain fees for midwifery and sundry operations were ordered, and the appointments were made permanent ; but though those improvements were effected, the great cardinal evil of the insufliciency of the stipends, the) large area of many country, and the excessive popu- lation of many town districts, with the provision of all medicines by the medical oflicers, and though half the salary was paid by the State, the entire absence of any principle on which the stipends were fixed, even in the same union, led to a more or less continuous agitation amongst the members of the medical service for a redress of what has been called their grievances. Having given this short sketch, the speaker now proceeded to point out the evils that had resulted from the present system, stating that the amount of pauperism traceable to sickness of the working classes had been variously estimated. Dr. G. Wallis had put it at seventy- two per cent. ; Mr. G. Hardy, in introducing the Metropoli- tan Amendment Act, at fifty per ceut. His own inquiries had led him to the conclusion that Dr. G. Wallis' estimate vv-as nearer the truth. That it was very considerable was shown by the last report of the Poor Law Board, from which it appeared that from a total of 1,085,000 paupers, four per cent, only were adult males destitute from want of work, and that thirty per cent, of the in-door, and thirteen per cent, of tlie out-door, were absolutely on the medical ofiicers' books, these being wholly irrespective of the families dependent on them. Besides these there were vast numbers of people dis- abled by age, or spinal infirmities, and of children, many being orphans. Passing to the stipends of the medical ofiicers, he stated that they were fixed on no principle whaterer ; thus they varied from 8d. to 7s. in a case of sickness, the largest proportion, however, being below 3s., and that from an ana- lysis of the expenditure on drugs for sixty metropolitan medical charities it has been found that the average cost of medicines only amounted to 2s. 5jd. per case of sickness. It was there- fore obvious that many of tiie pauper sick either went without THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. mediciue, or if tliey were prescribed for as they shoukl be, it would only be at a primary loss to the parish doctor. Passing to another point equally important, if sufficient visits, and con- sequently proper attention was paid to the sick, he found there was a general order of the Poor- Law Board limiting the area of a district to 15,000 acres and the population to 15,000 per- sons, and that as regards the area there were no less than 665* districts which exceeded 15,000 acres, and of this number 151 were above 30,000, 11 above 40,000, U nbove 50,000,8 above 60,000, and 4 above 70,000 ; and in reference to population, there were 305 districts above 15,000 persons. Of this num- ber, 15 exceed 30,000 ; 9, 40,000, and even more than tiiis. Similarly, there was an understanding that one district only should be held by a medical ollicer, but in reality there were 627 districts, whicli were held by 291 medical ofGcers, whilst 266 medical oflicers nominally attended from 1,000 to 10,000 cases of disease annually ; in fact, the Poor Law Board had never seriously attempted to interfere with local medical relief arrangements, though it must be evident that it had been reduced in sucii huge districts and populations to a mockery. He then proceeded to state that, on turning to the annual reports of the Poor Law Board, he found that in 1852 the gross expenditure in pauperism was £4,897,685. Since that time it had almost uninterruptedly increased, until at the last report (that of 1869-70) it had reached the enormous amount of £7,673,000, or an advance of £2,775,345 above that of 1852. Turning to a more pleasing picture, that pre- sented by Ireland, he said that up to 1851 their medical relief system was most unsatisfactory, but in that year an Act called the Medical Charities Act was passed, by which a medical commissioner and medical inspectors were addded to the Poor-law Commissioners, and provision made for the division of each union into dispensary districts, there being for all Ireland 719 districts, with 1,045 stations, some districts having two or more stations. At that date the total outlay was £1,199,678, or Is. 7d. in the £, inclusive of £54,289 spent on medical relief. At the end of seven years, the gross relief had fallen to £513,614, or 8jd. in the £, medical relief having been increased to £99,336. After that it slowly rose again, owing to the derth of employment, and the Penian outrages ; but in 1869-70 it was £218,858 less than in 1852, or Is. 0|d. in, the pound, and yet medical relief had been increased £69,420 above that of 1852, being £123,000 under the Medi- cal Charities Act, and £10,000 on the Irish workhouses — total £133,000. That under this system medical relief was so complete that during the year ending September 29th, 1870, 581,224 cases of disease were prescribed for at the dispensaries, and 203,200 cases visited at their own homes, total 784,424, at a cost of 2s. 6d. per head. He stated that medical re- lief in Ireland did not make the recipient a pauper ; the re- sult bemg that whilst there were 784,906 out-door poor in England, and 157,740 in-door, there were only 50,257 out-door to 288,953 in-door poor in Ireland ; the rate per head for out-door poor in England being £4 5s. per annum ; in Ireland, less than £1. In-door poor: England, £9 I63. 3d. ; Ireland, about £2 10s. He then drew attention to the cir- cumstance that the higher cost of in-door maintenance in England was due mainly to the fact that district medical officers had been compelled by the poverty of their resources to send many of their sick into the workhouses, and that these latter had degenerated in consequence (in urban districts especinlly) into huge hospitals ; whilst in Ireland, owing to the efficiency of the out-door medical relief, the house could be and was used as a test. He then proceeded to contrast the results of the two systems, and quoted Belfast, where the popu- lation was 14t,629 — eighteen medical officers ; cost of drugs, £1,508 6s. 3d. ; salaries of medical officers, £2,397 ; gross re- lief, £25,009, with the contaminous unions of Newcastle and Gateshead, where the population was 170,377 — medical officers, fifteen ; salaries, £1,212 (out of which they had to find drugs) ; gross expenditure, £60,500 ; also Cork — popolation, 147,572 ; twenty-two medical officers ; drugs, £1,407 Is. 4d. ; stipends of medical officers, £2,430 ; gross relief, £35,846. Bristol and Clifton — 160,714 ; medical officers, eleven ; salaries, £1,210 ; gross relief, £70,414 ; pointing out that in each of the Irish unions the cost of drugs only was £200 above that paid the English medical officers as stipends, from which they were supposed to find them. He then gave the estimated population of England and Wales as 22,000,000, the cost of medical relief as £282,000 ; gross relief, £7,673,000 ; Scot- land— population, 3,200,000 ; medical relief, £33,781 ; gros^ relief, £931,274; Ireland— population, 5,500,000 ; medical relief, £133,000 ; gross relief, £817,772— being for gross re- lief 7s. Ofd. per head in England, 6s. Ojd, in Scotland, and 2s. 11 Jd. in Ireland; and that medical relief constituted the twenty-seventh part of the gross outlay in England and Wales and in Scotland, and one-sixth part in Ireland. He then proceeded to state that if efficient medical relief was fol- lowed by diminution of expenditure on pauperism it was obvious that it must affect the death rate, and this he showed had been absolutely proved to be the case by a parliamentary return recently obtained by Mr. W. H. Smith, from which it appeared that whilst 1 in 43 of the population died yearly in England, 1 in 44 in Scotland, only 1 in CO died in Ireland, and whilst zymotic or preveutible deaths in England constituted one-fourth of the total mortality in 190 of the population, Scotland one-fourth, and in 194 of the population, whilst in Ireland it was one-fifth of the total mor- tality, and 1 in 308 of the population, and that the corre- spondence of general and zymotic mortality in England and Scotland was evidently due to the same cause — deficient medi- cal relief. He further observed that this lower rate of mor- tahty was not always the case, for in Ireland, up to 1852, fever was the opprobrium of the island, and small-pox destroyed its thousands of lives annually, now fever had remarkably dimin- ished, and small-pox had been all but stamped out. He further proceeded to state that to show the importance of the subject it had been estimated there were 4,500,000 of the working classes, and that one-half of these vieie ill every year, therefore it was obviously the most economic policy to provide such means as would cure their sick as rapidly as possible. Dr. Rogers then pro- ceeded to urge on the Chambers the advisability of adopting the Irish system of medical relief, and said if this were done it would involve an outlay of £310,884 on medical ofiicers' salaries, £128,000 on drugs and appliances, and £94,000 on rent, &c., of dispensary buildings ; total, £532,884, being an advance of £250,000 above that now paid for medical relief, and that if this sum was conceded it would allow the recom- mendations of the Koyal Sanitary Commission to be efl:ec- tively carried out. This additional outlay, he contended, M'ould be speedily recouped by diminished gross poor rehef expenditure. He further said that it was no part of his scheme to throw on the existing ratepayers any more burdens, eve/i apparenily. He had long since felt that the in- cidence of the poor-rate was most unequal, and that large numbers of the community escaped contributing to it in any way. He held, therefore, that it was desirable there should be a rearrangement of the meshes, so that all who benefit from tiie labours of the working classes should be brought fairly within the net. If this were true of poor rates in general, it was more especially correct when we came to deal withtheexpenditureon sanitary care and thecureof sickness when occurring among those whose means preclude their obtainmg it for themselves. He would, therefore, urge that the entire cost of medical relief, and the charges incident to such sanitary care, should be paid from the Consolidated Pund, and for convenience he tabulated his reasons. They were as follows : — (1) Because the incidence of local taxation was unequal and limited. (2) Because the character of modern pauperism was migratory, and had nearly ceased to be parochial. (3) Because sickness can- not be localized ; for these epidemics which strike first and hardest the poorer classes, extend from them to those above them on the social scale, and were also liable to, and did spread over large tracts of country. (4) Because such epide- mics, when occurring among the poor, were entitled to at least as much consideration as when occurring among cattle— and the ravages of cattle-plague had been met by a rate thrown over a whole county — especially as the health of the poor, and their preservation from such epidemic outbreaks, was a subject in which the whole community was vitally interested. (5) Because illness among the poor in one part of the country re- quired the same skill and outlay on medicines, to treat it suc- cessfully, as in another. (6) Because the principle having been conceded, of part payment from the Consolidated Pund, no valid objection could be advanced why the whole should not be thus paid. (7) Because local and often prejudiced opposition to necessary expenditure would be determined, if the whole community contributed equally, upon a basis settled by some central authority. 58 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. Mr. CoRRANCE, M.P., said that the present poor-law system was admitted to be a complete failure ; and one cause of that, no doubt, was that there was a centralised Board in London, very few of the members of which ever went beyond the circle of the Metropolis. The main principle of the poor-law of 1832 was that of endeavouring to get rid of out-door relief by bringing all applicants for relief to the test of the house. That principle was carried out, with a moderate degree of suc- cess, for a few years ; but it ultimately broke down, because it was found that without risk of a revolution it would be im- possible to apply such a test (Hear, hear). Some years after the establishment of the English poor-law system, the Irish one was started under the most unfavourable circumstances. There was degradation, physical and moral, to interfere with its satisfactory working ; and about 1848 it completely broke down, owing to causes which were well known. Amid that state of things a remedy for the prevailing evils happily sug- gested itself. Under the Medical Charities Act passed in 1805, in order to arrest the spread of fever, power was given to divide the whole country into dispensary districts, and upon that basis there was founded a vast national system under which every family and individual who required it received medical relief without being thereby pauperised. It was that alone which rendered it possible to apply the in-door test in Ireland ; and the result was that, while only 50,000 persons were classed as paupers, 700,000 persons re- ceived medical relief without being pauperised under the Act to which he had alluded. In conclusion, the hon. gentleman stated that he intended to introduce that question in the House of Commons on the 23rd instant, and appealed to the Council to assist him with some previous expression of their opinion. Mr. Varden (Worcestershire) moved the following resolu- tion : " That the present system of Poor-law medical relief is inadequate to the wants of the poorer classes, is unsatisfactory in its results, and requires amendment. To this eud it is ex- pedient that the provisions of the Irish Medical Charities Act and a dispensary system be generally adopted throughout England with such modifications as may render it appli- oable to the English system of Poor-law administration." It was manifest that if greater attention were paid to the sick poor the rates would be materially reduced. That treatment which lessened the duration of illness and saved life must be the truest economy to the ratepayer, a great blessing to the poor, and an important gain to the nation. It was a wastefid policy to create paupers by neglecting the poor in time of sick- ness (Hear, hear). Mr. Read, M.P., seconded the resolution. Dr. Dalrymple, M.P. for Bath, expressed his conviction that a large portion of the pauperism which prevailed was produced by diseases which were prsventible, but which could not be prevented without speedy and early treatment (Hear, liear)._ One of the great defects of the present system was delay in bringing medical relief to the home of the poor man. The cost of medicine ought never to have been paid out of the medical officers' salary ; such an arrangement being a tempta- tion to scamp medicines in every way, and to throw the bur- den of tile medical man in the shape of medicine upon the shoulders of the ratepayers in the shape of medical comforts (Hear, hear). He well knew that in the uniou with which he was connected the supplies of the butcher and the wine merchant had been substituted for medicine. He wished to see medical relief given in this country without involving the humiliation of pauperism, as it should be given to every one who owing to his humble station in life could not afford to pay for it. He wanted to see tlie pay of the medical officers so large as to make them less dependent on private practice and more ready to devote their time and attention to the wants of the poor (Hear, hear). The guardians had no right to em- ploy an inferior-educated medical man for the poor (Hear, hear). The poor required the best kind of medical attendance as well as the rich, and if that were borne in mind there would be fewer of tliese epidemics which so much increased the amount of pauperism. Mr. Read, M.P., said some years ago Mr. Pell and himself made a tour through Ireland, and what most struck them in the poor-law system there was that while the wages paid were less than those paid in England the amount spent in poor relief was very much less. They were also struck with the almost total absence of outdoor relief (Hear, hear). If a man knew that he could have medical relief without being a pauper that would tend to elevate him, and to prevent him from be- coming a pauper (Hear, hear). In such a ease there was no sense of shame like that which existed amongst numbers of the English in the rural districts, many of whom were born pau- pers. Indeed, the great effort of many of the poor in some parts of England was not to see how long they could keep off the rates, but how soon they could get on them (Hear, hear). He believed that a better system of medical relief would do a great deal to benefit the labouring classes, and he felt cer- tain that it would save the pockets of the ratepayers. Mr. Pell, M.P., had known many families of paupers who became pauperised for want of medical relief when sickness first made its appearance among them. Mr. T^;R^'ER said he should like to hear from Dr. Rogers whether the dispensary system had not been tried in England. Dr. Rogers replied that it was tried in London. Mr. TuRXER asked from what source the expense was paid in Ireland ? Dr. Rogers replied that one-half came out of the Conso- lidated Fund, adding that the Irish Medical Officers' Associa- tion, like that which he represented, contended that the whole amount should come out of that fund (Hear, hear). Mr. C0RRA>CE, M.P., observed that while Mr. G. Hardy was the President of the Poor-Law Board, the dispensary system was introduced in London, but that its operation was afterwards suspended. Mr. Turner, adverting to what had been said about the supplying of medicines by the medical officers, observed that in the Fen District, with which he was connected, quinine and cod-Uver oil were purchased by the guardians. Mr. Kersey said he believed that sickness among the poor arose from overcrowded dwellings as much as from any other cause; and he concurred in the opinion expressed by Lord Derby, in an able speech made by him a short time ago, that they might do what they pleased to diminish drunkenness and other vices, but that unless they diminished overcrowding all their efforts would, so far as the doctor was concerned, be in vain. He (Mr. Kersey) believed that it the number and pay of medical officers were three times as great as they were, that would be for the interest of the ratepayers (Hear, hear). The Chairman said he was sure they all felt that tlffey were greatly indebted to Dr. Rogers for bringing that subject forward (Hear, hear). That gentleman appeared to have three objects — to secure greater efficiency, greater economy, and greater humanity — aud no one could doubt that the sub- ject was well worthy of attention (Hear, hear). The resolution was then put and carried, and it was resolved that a copy of it should be forwarded to the provincial Cham- bers, and also to the President of the Poor-law Board. A vote of thanks was afterwards given to Dr. Rogers. The business on the agenda paper having thus been dis- posed of, Mr. Webb said he wished to mention one important matter which was not included in the agenda ; he alluded to the vexed question of the Game-laws. There was then before the House of Commons a Bill to exempt hares aud rabbits from the operation of those laws, and to secure compensation to occupiers for injury that was done to them in consequence of their prevalence on adjoining land. The Chairman remarked that as that question was not included in the agenda paper the meeting could not entertain it (Hear, hear). Mr. Pell M.P., thought it would be most unwise to ex- press approval without having first considered it in the usual way and without due notice having been given, that it was to be discussed (Hear, hear). Moreover, they need not be in a hurry in that case, as the game biUs would, no doubt, all be shelved for this session. Mr. Read, M.P., felt that the bill referred to was a very good one, but agreed with Mr. Pell that it was not desirable for the Council then to express any opinion upon it. No doubt it would be referred with the other bills on the same subject either this session or next, be a Select Committee. Mr. Duckham believed that the provisions of the bill in question were precisely in accordance with a resolution passed recently by the Chamber. The Chairman, nevertheless, agreed with Mr. Pell that it was not advisable for the Council to express an opinion on a THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 59 Bill which it had not had an opportunity of fully considering, although it was far superior to any previous measure (Hear, hear). If Mr. Webb wished the attention of the provincial Chambers to be called to that bill, there could, he thought, be no objection to that, but he did not think anything beyond that would redound to their credit as an agricultural Parlia- ment. On the motion of Mr. Webb, seconded by Mr. HoRLEY, it was then resolved that the Central Chamber should call the attention of the provincial Chambers to the Bill introduced by Sir Selwin-Ibbetson in the House of Commons. This terminated the proceedings. It may be added that this was understood to be the last meeting during the present Session of Parliament. THE MIDLAND FARMERS' CLUB. THE BREEDING OF STOCK. At the June meeting, the President, Mr. G. Wise, in the chair, Mr. Finlay Dun read a paper on " Some of the Prin- ciples concerned in the Breeding of Stock." Mr. Dun said that for centuries Britain had been famous for its breeds of domestic animals. We boasted of the fleetest and grandest horses the world had ever seen ; of the most symmetrical and precocious cattle, sheep, and pigs ; of the most valuable dogs, poultry, and pigeons. In the art of breeding hundreds of intelligent educated observers had been engaged. The theory or science of breeding had been carefully investigated by such competent authorities as John Hunter, Owen, Darwin, and Wallace. He could not pretend to offer any original views or scientific ob- servations, but only to gather into a simple, popular form some of the ascertained ideas in regard to a very intricate subject, and to endeavour to draw a few practical conclusions. The propagation and development, and the growth and decay, of plants and animals, all depend upon laws as fixed and immutable as those which regulate the movements of the heavenly bodies, the aggregation of crystals, or the affinities of chemical compounds. One of the most notable and generally recognised principles of stock breeding was expressed in the familiar axiom " like produces like." The most insignificant plant produced plants the fac-simUe of itself, and experienced flockmasters and attentive shepherds could readily distinguish lambs descended from particular rams. Not only were the good qualities of parents transmitted to their offspring, but faults, imperfections, and diseases. Amongst cattle good milking properties, difficult calving, tendency to puerperal fever, and many other diseases were inherited both from the male and female parents ; and frequently, amongst thorough- bred stock, the chesnut colour of some of the old stud horses cropped up. From ignorance, and stiU more often from a penny-wise-and-pound-foolish policy, sickly and delicate ani- mals were used for breeding purposes. The practical conclu- sion from these premises was obvious. Both males and fe- males intended for breeding purposes must be well formed, suitable for the purposes for which they were intended, and of sound and vigorous constitutions. In the breeding of stock, the progeny not only resembled their own immediate parents, but they called back or reverted to by-gone generations ; and it was difficult to say for how many generations old peculiari- ties would continue to crop up. Shorthorn authorities de- manded four distinct crosses of accredited blood as the minimum amount, without which no animal could be re- garded as of sufficiently pure descent to be admitted into the Herd Book. It was evident the more inherent or family characters, rather than the accidental or indi- vidual ones, were more particularly transmitted from the parents to their offspring. To ensure definite results in breeding, the pedigree and antecedents of the parents must be known ; and in this alone was the transmission of desirable characters certainly secured. In the successful breeding of sheep, the importance of using well-bred rams of established and fixed characters is now generally admitted by all intelligent flockmasters. The laws of variation must also be considered. Nature was so profuse in her variety, and so fertile in her resources, that mere slavish copies were never produced. Although to the superficial gaze animals and plants appeared identical, the variability of each was very great. But the law of variability had an evil as well as a good aspect. Whilst on the one hand there was fortunately a tendency to increase of size and vigour and fertility, there was, unfortu- nately, on the other, a like tendency to weakness, to deterio- ration, and to infertility. It therefore behoved stock-breeders to be more careful than they were to choose the most desirable variations. Care should be taken to avoid extremes in the breeding of stock. No dependence could be placed on the union of animals possessing dissimilarity of size, of type, or even of colour. The produce of such unions were irregular, sometimes following one parent and sometimes the other, while they were apt to develop the bad rather than the good qualities of each. The practice of breeding in-and-in had been successfully pursued with some of the best race-horses of former days, while in the pedigree of the best Shorthorns the close breeding of some of the most celebrated animals was apparent. Breeding in-and-in, when carefully, ration- ally, and occasionally pursued, had certainly the merit of improving the quality, st3'le, and neatness of the stock, and perhaps, also, of givmg fixity and prominence to any good qualities ; but, wherever excessively or injudiciously pursued, it brought many evils in its train. The relative position of male and female in the development of their offspring had given rise to much speculation and discussion. At one time it was believed that the female exercised a passive influence only ; but there was no doubt that both parents contribute tolerably equally to the development, although certain parts of the oganism appeared to be more especially moulded by each parent — a fact first clearly pointed out by Mr. Orton, of Sunderland, in a most interesting paper published by him in 1851. According to this view, the male impresses more espe- cially his character on the bones, skin, external configuration, and limbs ; whilst the female contributes more particularly to the internal organs, the temperament, and disposition. In other words, the male gives the external or locomotive or- gans ; the female the internal or vital organs. From this law two important practical deductions might be drawn: (1) Never to use male animals of faulty form, or with weak, badly-shaped, or diseased limbs; and (2) never to use for breeding purposes females with narrow contracted chests, weak loins, or delicate constitutions. Prepotency of particular breeds and of particular animals was worthy the consideration of the careful breeder. Prepotency occurred in either sex, but was usually most developed in tlie male. Amongst horses some of the best thoroughbred families, and Shorthorns amongst cattle tribes, were notably pre- potent, and, when crossed with Heiefords and Longhorns, speedily wiped out, as it were, their specialities. Not only was the habitual and dynamic state of parents transmitted to their offspring, but he had noticed that the produce of worn- out mares and cows showed constitutional debility, and were difficult to rear. The crossing of different varieties of plants and animals was sometimes of great importance to the agri- culturist. Amongst the domestic animals the first cross be- tween somewhat remote families of the same species answered well enough, the offspring surpassing the parents. It was, however, difficult to go on breeding satisfactorily from such cross-breds. The first crosses between the Shorthorn and West Highland or polled cow were generally admirable butchers' beasts, following the sire in size and precocity, and the dam in hardiness as well as fine quality of meat. But with neither of the parent stocks did those cross-breds pair satisfactorily. It required at least four or five generations of judicious crossing and liberal drafting to obtain the uniformity of either of the parent breeds. The careful matching of different varieties of animals with subsequent judicious selec- ..0 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. tion had evidently been the means whence had been produced some of the most valuable domestic animals, such, for example, as the race-horse and Cleveland bays, the Galloways, the Shorthorns, and Herefords, and within the present century the Hampshire, Wiltshire, Shropshire, and Oxfordsliire Downs. In judicious and practical hands extreme crossing had occasionally been serviceable ; but, of course, the produce of many of the earlier generations were by no means wliat was wanted, and required to be weeded out. Mr. R. U. MASFjiN fully concurred in what had been ad- vanced relative to keeping females on good food immediately previous to and during the period of gestation, lie had treated his ewes in the manner described, and the result had been very satisfactory. He was, moreover, convinced th-tt, however good a first cross might be, it was a great mistake to breed from cross-bred animals. He recommended all persons to breed from pure strains, being of opinion that the man who used any male animal of doubtful lineage had to pay dear for his whistle. Mr. Tow^LER remarked that ordinary farmers who grazed for the butcher, paid their rent, and made a livelihood out of their land, could not, as a rule, alTord to go to a great expense in keeping high-bred stock. Mr. IIORLEY thought no man could make a greater mistake than in keeping a badly-bred animal. Mr. FowLEK said the question was one of degree. Mr. Baktleet thought it was to be regretted that at agri- cultural shows prizes were not offered for those animals which give the most milk and butter. A vote of thanks was carried by acclamation to Mr. Dun, and the proceedings then terminated. STEAM CULTIVATION. About ninety members, on the invitation of Mr. J. R. McClean, M.P., paid a visit to Cannock Chase, for the pur- pose of inspecting tlie operations of the steam machinery employed in bringing into cultivation the large tract of land in the occupation of the Cannock Chase Colliery Com- pany. The portion of the Chase held by the Company, under a long lease from the Marquis of Anglesey, produces an ex- cellent description of coal, the principal portion of which finds its way to Birmingham and the neighbourhood ; but situated in the midst of a dense population, the idea that the surface of 2,000 acres should not be allowed to remain unproductive forced itself upon tlie enterprising mind of Mr. McClean, who thereupon contracted with tlie Staffordshire Steam Ploughing Company to prepare it for the reception of crops. The party was headed by Mr. G. Wise, the president of the Club. At Hednesford Station the carriages in which they were conveyed were detached from the ordinary train and drawn by engines specially sent by Mr. McClean to the scene of operations, where they were received witli a cordial welcome from that gentleman. Tlie recent rains had caused the work to be sus- penned for a day or two ; but the various implements were put in motion, for a time, for the benefit of the visitors. The system pursued is tliat known as the direct action ; and the plant consists of eight portable or traction engiues of from ten to fourteen-horse power each, a five and a three-furrow plough, two cultivators, two sets of harrows, and two double diggers — a new implement designed expressly to meet the requirements of the present work. These are mainly from the establish- ment of Messrs. John Fowler and Co., of Leeds, with a few of the items from Messrs. Howard, of Bedford. Tlie soil for the most part is a black peat resting on poor sandy gravel ; but some parts are quite boggy, and in others of a rather stronger nature. The first plot inspected had been worked with the double digger before alluded to, the chief peculiarity of which is that the share which takes off the surface is placed last in- stead of first. By this arrangement, on the return journey or second bout, the tliree inches of surface pared of, with the heather, fern, and bilberry roots, are passed over by the wide heavy wheel with a pressure of about two tons, and this valu- able vegetable matter is then covered wilh eight to nine iuehes ^j. tlie subsoil. The chief obstacle to the process is the bil- erry plant, which grows in patches in most parts of the Chase, ud to remove which various methods liave been tried, a rotary disc in advance of the plough-share being most efficacious. As tiiis, however, rather retards progress where the land is free from bilberry roots, it has been found more economical in practice to have this obstacle cleared away by labourers, before the soil is cultivated. The second plot, beins tolera- bly free from heather, kc, on the surface, had been twice cul- tivated, or scuffled, instead of being ploughed, and then har- rowed four or five times ; the intention being to plant rape or turnip shortly, as was also tlie next plot, which, from the fact of its being found in small high-backed lands, about four feet across, and tolerably free from heather, no doubt had in for- mer years — perhaps during the last century — been under culture. It was originally intended to have put this in oats ; but the weather interfered, and the land was not quite ready for sowing in time. The fourth plot was untouched until the first week in April, when it was double dug with the imple- ment described as used for the first plot, then harrowed and manured, and planted with potatoes. The sorts used were white rocks, and red regents ; the breadtli planted with tliese being about 130 acres, which received a dressing of Sh twt. of Proctor and Ryland's potato manure, and - cwt. of salt per acre ; and it is intended to apply about 50 cwt. of lime per acre, and harrow the same in previous to moulding up the potatoes. Tiie next plot had been cultivated until two or three years ago. In the interval it had laid waste, and was a mass of couch grass, several hundred loads of which had been brought to the surface with the cultivator, collected, and burnt ; but much yet remained to be disposed of. The portion in oats was the last walked over. This had been ploughed, in the autumn, six inches deep, with the four-furrow plough ; and, althougli the oats were not sown until May 9th, there is every probability of a fair crop — at least of straw. After the inspection the company partook of luncheon in a wooden shed, on the spot, under the presidency of Mr. M'Clean, wlio, after giving the health of tiie Queen, pro- posed Prosperity to the Midland Farmers' Club. Mr. Wise, the president, responded, thanking Mr. McClean for the pleasure he had afforded the members, and for his hospitable entertainment, as well as for the practical lesson he had taught agriculturists generally as to the reclamation of large tracts of waste land by steam-power. Mr. McClean hoped the Club would favour him with another visit in July, 187^, when he would show them the results in the crops, and also lay an account of the ex- penditure before them. Mr. Ma!>fe>' referred to the approaching visit of the Royal Agricultural Society to the county, and the benefits to be de- rived from inspecting the trials of tiie implements, which would shortly commence ; he urged those present to assist in freeing the Local Committee from the liabilities they had undertaken in connection with the exhibition. Mr. May stated his decided conviction, after ten years' trial, that steam cultivation was, in his case, a success, he having been able to dispense with four horses out of thirteen ; while, on such soils as his, a rather strong loam on marl (where not too much of the subsoil was brought up at once), he considered the yield of wheat was increased. Mr. Brawn regarded the reclamation of tracts of waste land as of great national importance, and as a much more de- sirable method of employing the surplus agricultural labour of Dorsetshire, than encouraging men to emigrate. He also commended the scheme to those who were complaining of the high price of meat, in which he was seconded by Mr. WlNTERTON. After a few remarks from Mr. Wm. Foweer, the party re- turned to the carriages, and the heavy storm which had been tiireatening, came down during the whole of the return journey. PRIZE HORSES.— Major Barlow has given the follow- ing names : to the Islington four-year-old by Seneschal, Tici/olhiiiiit ; to the Guildford four-year-old by Hunting Horn, Bcckford ; and to the Guildford yearling by Dalesman, Giiildfurd. These are all prize horses, as the six shown this season from Hasketon have all taken first honours. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 61 THE ROYAL AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY OP IRELAND. The monthly meeting of the council was held iu Sackville- street, Dublin. Sir George Hodson, Bart., occupied the chair. The Chairman said he had been requested by the local committee to submit the following resolution, which had been unanimously adopted by them : "That at the next show the council of the Society be requested to sanction an arrange- ment contemplated by this committee, to have a separate en- closure and a separate jumping ground." Mr. Wade explained that this matter had been fully con- sidered by the local committee, and it was for the council to decide if they approved of the change. The jumping ground was distinct from the show. The resolution could be carried out by the Society declining to take any part in the arrange- ments of the jumping yard, and giving the local committee permission to take out the horses for jumpiug, or retaining the control of the premises connected with the show, which they always had ; but at the same time to allow the commit- tee to reap whatever benefit they could therefrom. There were considerable expenses connected with the jumping which would have to be met by the committee, for which they liad no funds available ; but it appeared to him that it would be fair that those who joined in this sport should pay for their amusement. The council would also have to decide whether members who went into the jumping ground would have to pay like the general public. Another matter was, whether tickets for the show^ should not be issued at prices, to be sub- sequently fixed, available for the entire premises. In the first place he moved that the council grant the request of the local committee, to make a second charge for entering the jumping ground. The Chairman observed that it struck liira as the Royal Dublin Society had waived their right to hold their show this year, making a second charge would be a little sharp practice upon the arrangements which liad been already made by that body. Sir Perc^ Nugent said there was no doubt there would be a question raised as to that. Mr. MacFari.a:se observed th.at there would be a charge made for reserved seats. Mr. Wade said that always had been done. At the Eugiish shows the jumping ground was entirely separated from the ordinary show. At the Manchester show the jumpmg yard was fenced off from the rest of the premises. The only thing required was to permit the horses out of the general show-yard into the jumping ground. The Hon. Mr. Tkencu inquired if the public were required to pay twice. Mr. Wade replied in the affirmative. Mr. Purdon mentioned that £800 would be expended in the erection of the stand. Mr. Wade stated that the resolution, if adopted, would not come into operation until Wednesday. Mr. MiLLWARD concurred that it was right that people should pay for the accommodation of a stand ; it was a pity to make a second charge into the jumping ground. Mr. PuRDON said it was only following the example of the Manchester show. They paid first for going into the general exhibition, next to the jumping ground, and also for getting on the stand. Mr. Waldron disapproved of having a second charge. If a party went there with some ladies, and that so many charges were made, iu addition to driving out, he feared they would have a select audience. Mr. Vesey believed the ground would be as full as possible if a charge of Is, was made for going into the jumping ground. The Rev. Mr. Bagot remarked that they were only asking to do what had been done at the English royal shows. The local committee had voted £500 for the show, and they were most anxious to meet the council in every way. They were very anxious to get Stephen's-green, but from the legal diffi- culties which had arisen they could not do so. On holding it outside they had lost the probability of getting .6300 from the corporation. In making the financial arrangements they did the best they could. As this was to be a separate show, and having voted a large sura to carr^ it out, all that they asked was that the council would give them power to charge, if they thought fit, for seeing the jumping. Sir Percy Nugent believed the ground would be empty if they made a double charge. The Rev. Mr. Bagot said it was entirely a matter of finance. The contract already amounted to £4,000 ; and if the com- mittee had not thought it the best thing to do, they would not have adopted the resolution. The point was discussed at their last meetiug, as to whether or not they would have a stand. Mr. PuRDON stated that the great difficulty experienced in the Stephen's-green show was, that parties insisted on getting inside the ring. If there was no separate charge they would have a thousand or five thousand persons forcing their way in there, so that they might as well give up the jumping al- together. The Rev. Mr. Bagot observed that they would take care to make it worth while for parties to pay the extra charge for going in. Mr. Wade mentioned that it was not incumbent on the local committee to have jumping at all. Mr. TowNSEND seconded Mr. Wade's motion, which was adopted. The other matters contained in the resolutiou passed by the committee were also passed. Communications were received from the Baudon Farming Association and the County Cork Agricultural Society, requesting to be affiliated to the parent society. The requests were acceded to, and the secretary was directed to furnish the necessary information in reference thereto. A letter was read from Mr. Henry Trench, offering to give a prize, value £10, for the best machine for cutting and mak- ing turf. On the motion of the Rev. Mr. Bagot, the offer was accepted. The Secretary was ordered to advertise for proposals for holding the society's show for 1S7"3 iu the province of Ulster. The half-yearly meeting was held at two o'clock. Mr. Lefroy in the chair. The half-yearly report was read as fol- lows : Your council, iu submitting the report of the society's transactions during the past half year, are happy to state that there has been a fair accession of nierabers during that period, although a more active co-operation on the part of those interested in the promotion of agriculture in Ireland is most anxiously to he desired. The annual exhibition of your society to which has been added a special horse show, will be held in the first week in August next, iu Dublin, for the province of Leinster, under the presidency of his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales. Your council have to report that, in con- sequence of legal difficulties having arisen, the results of which might possibly have interfered witli the holding o f the exhibition in Stephen's-green, the intention to do so has been abandoned, and the consent of the trustees of the Pembroke estate h.as been obtained for the use of a large plot of ground most suitable for the purpose, adjacent to the railway station at Lansdowne-road. A trial of mowing machines and other haymaking implements will be held early in the mouth of June on the grounds above referred to. Tiie local committee are unremitting in their endeavours to render the undertaking in every way attractive. The prize-sheet has been considerably augmented, and additional inducements have been held out to tenant-farmers to compete in the several classes set apart for them. In anticipation of a very large attendance of visitors, your council have decided on complying with the suggestions that the exhibition should open on Tuesday and continue until Friday, thus adding one more day to the time usually occupied by the show. The social condi- tion of the labouring classess continue to occupy the attention of your council. They are happy to state that the competi- tion for the provincial gold medals for newly-erected and im- proved labourers' cottages has increased in this year, as well 62 THE FAEMER'S MAGAZINE. as for drainage and the reclamation of waste lands. The fol- lowing is the report of analyses made hy Dr. Apjohn daring the past year: "Dear sir, — During the year 1870 I have made 56 analyses for members of the Royal Agricultural Society ; the substances reported on being 3 oilcakes, 2 waters, 1 sample of Cambridge coprolites, 3 soils, 1 specimen of sulphate of potash, 8 phospho guanos, 16 guanos, and 23 superphosphates. The superphosphates and the phospho guanos (a name given to superphosphates to which ammonia has been added) were generally well made, and contained, as a mean, 17.49 per cent, of bi-phosphate, corresponding to 27 of phosphate of lime made soluble. The results obtained in analysing 11 of the 16 guanos are deserving of special attention, being materially different from those which genuine Peruvian guano was, until recently, accus- tomed to yield. I subjoiu, in a tabular form, the amount of the phosphate of lime and of the ammonia occurring in each : No. 1 Phosphate of Lime. 19.04. Ammonia, 11.28 2 28.00 10.74 3 .. 15.36 10.20 4. 16.80 11.01 5 19.20 10.71 6 15.76 11.11 7 24.00 1040 8 27.26 9.79 9 25.71 10.74 10 .. 21.00 10.20 11 .. 20.80 12,10 Mean. 20.72 10.80 The inspection of this table is quite sufficient to show that the article at present sold as Peruvian guano is much inferior in quality to the guano of same name which until recently was found in the European market. The latter included about 22 per cent, of phosphate of lime, and was capable of yielding, on an average, 16 per cent, of ammonia ; while the main re- sults for phosphate of lime and ammonia of the guanos in the above table are only 20.72 per cent, of phosphate of lime, and 10.74 per cent, of ammonia. In fact, a ton of such guano is less valuable than a ton of the Peruvian guano with which, until lately, farmers were supplied by no less a sura than £3 18s. lOd. It is obvious, therefore, that henceforward it will not be safe to purchase what purports to be Peruvian guano, unless it be first analysed, and valued in accordance with its composition aud the prices of its valuable constituents, whicli may be deducted from the present state of the manure market. And here I may mention for the information of the members of the Royal Agricultural Society that I have re- cently materially modified my method of estimating the values of manures. The mnlt'ipJlers which I have long been in the habit of using at one time correctly gave the money values ; but, in consequence of the substitution at present generally made of coprolites and mineral phosphates for bones, tlie price of the pliosphate of lime necessary for making superphosphateshas been greatlyreduced, and, as a consequence, the former metliod of estimation gives results for money values much higher than the prices at which the superphosphates can be purchased. Notwithstanding this, my former method of estimation served an important purpose ; for, though not absolutely true, it gave results which were relatively correct, and thus served as an important guide to farmers in the selec- tion of the fertilising applications which they required. There can, however, be no doubt that if, from accurate analysis first made, we can deduce not only relative, but absolute values, the communication of such information must be valuable in a high degree to all persons engaged in tillage farming, and who are under the necessity of laying in annually a stock of arti- ficial manures. I have now merely to say tliat I have matuiely reconsidered this question of money values, and have arrived at simple rules, which I shall give, without attempting to ex- plain the processes by which they were obtained. They will, I think, be found very easy of application, and are at present perfectly correct : that is, they give the prices at which ma- nures are sold by respectable manufacturers. The manure market, too, has become very steady, and I do not think that the rules will, for a^ considerable time, require to undergo any alteration. Rules fok Estimating Money Vaxues or Phosphatic Mjotuees. — Let us suppose that a superphosphate on analysis is found to contain : A lbs. per cent, of insoluble phosphate of lime ; B lbs. per cent, of biphosphate ; and C lbs. per cent, of ammonia; then the money value of such manures will be in shillings, given by the following rules : Rule 1. A by 2.22 is the value of the insoluble phosphate in a ton. 2. B by 6.56 is the value of the biphosphate in a ton. 3. C by 15 is the value of the ammonia in a ton. And hence the money value of one ton of manure is A by 2.22 + B by 5.56 -I- C by 15. Example. 'Brhrrt°oSi°'""^ f^ r'pi^^e^rpShaK^" ?,^^.^^ ® ^l-\ ammonia are oftenfound ^°™°^^ 2.0) inaphosphauomanure. Rule 1. 12 by 2.23 = 26s. 7d. =£167 2. 17 by 6.56 = Ills. Id. = £5 11 1 3, 2.5 by 15 = 37s. 6d. = £1 17 6 Money value of a ton £8 15 2 I may mention that if the insoluble phosphate of lime i s composed of coprolites of mineral phosphates, it is considered to be inactive as a manure ; for though phosphate of lime is present, from its insolubility it can scarcely exercise any fer- tilizing influence. If, however, the insoluble phosphate be bone earth, or the phosphate of lime which is found in a guano, it should be valued by Rule 1, above given. I am, dear sir, faithfully yours, James Apjohn. South Hill, Blacb-ock, 3Iay 16, 1871. Captain Thornhill. In accordance with our ninth rule, the entire Council now go out out of oflice, but are eligible for re-election. A correct Ust of those members whose subscriptions have been paid pre- viously to the 1st of April has been prepared, and forwarded to each member entitled to receive it. The following gentlemen have been recommended to form a finance committee for the current year : Joseph Kincaid, Wm. Donnelly, C.B., Phiueas Riall, Hon. Charles J. Trench, Hans. H. Woods, Charles C. Vesey, H. F. MacFarlaue, J. M. Royse, C. U. Townsend. Annexed is a statement of the receipts and expenditure during the year : ABSTRACT OF ACCOUNTS FOR 1870. To balance to credit from last account £651 15 0 Subscriptions received from the 27th April, 1870,' to 20th April, 1871, inclusive ... 1,083 2 0 Interest on £5,585 5s. 9d. in Three per Cent. Stock for one year to April, 1871 ... 164 15 3 Cash from Local Committee of Ballinasloe Show 500 0 0 Lord Blaney's donation for 1870 10 0 0 One and a-half year's rent of Agricultural Club to 1st of May, 1870 (less taxes, &c.) 81 11 Circular. Establishment — By Premiums to Local Societies £264 4 -£3,491 3 7 Medals for the year 200 Secretary's Salary 250 Chemist's do 100 Accountant's do 80 Hall Porter's Wages 26 Rent and Insurance of Premises (less taxes) 135 7 2 Remittance to the Committee of the British Association on the treatment of Sewage ... 5 5 0 Secretary's Expenses to Oxford Show 14 17 0 Printing, Stationery, and Ad- vertising 75 11 7 Postage and Carriage of Parcels 19 13 2 Repairs of Offices and Sundries 16 16 11 .£1,187 19 4 THE FARMEK'S MAGAZINE. Ballinasloe Show — Prizes paid at Balliiiasloe Show £690 5 0 Judges' Expenses 124i 11 0 Director, Stewards, &c 22 9 3 Secretary and Accountant ,,, 13 10 0 Veterinary Surgeon's fees ... 5 0 0 Clerk of the Yard 20 17 0 Drawings of the Show Yard ... 2 10 0 Badges, &c 3 1 11 Printing and Advertising ... 36 10 9 Sundries 4 0 7 £922 15 6 13 17 10 366 10 11 Judges of Cottages and Drainage BalanceinBank £316 10 11 > in Secretary's Hands ... ... 50 0 Oj £2,4.91 3 7 Examined, compared with vouchers, and found correct this 24th day of May, 1871. Wm. Donnelly, C.B., ") Members of Finance Phineas Riall, 3 Committee. GEORGE HODSON, Baronet, Chairman. Sir George Hodson moved the adoption of the report, and in doing so observed that it was unnecessary for him to make any particular observation thereon, as it explained itself. He thought the society and the public ought to express their gratitude and thanks to the trustees of the Pembroke estates for giving them the ground at Ball's-bridge free of cost for the holding of the show. Sir Percy Nugent seconded the resolution, which was put to the meeting, and unanimously adopted. Sir George Hodson moved the thanks of the society to the trustees of the Pembroke estates, and Mr. John E. Vernon, for consenting to allow to the society the use of the ground at Ball's-bridge for the holding of the exhibition in August. Mr. Harris seconded the motion, which was passed unani- mously. Mr. PURDON next moved the thanks of the society to the Commissioners of St. Stephen's Green for the facilities which they had afforded for holding the show in the Green. Mr. Robertson secondecl the resolution, which was carried. A ballot was then gone into for the election of fifty mem- bers of the council, Messrs. Millward, Purdon, and Robert- son having been appointed scrutineers, the ballot closed at four o'clock, when the following gentlemen were elected :— Sir George Hodson, Bart. Major R. W. Borrowes. R. C. Wade. Rev. R. W. Bagot. Richard Chaloner. Sir AUen Walsh, Bart. William Owen. James Robertson. Dawson A. Milward. Edward Purdon. Viscount Monck. J. M. Royse. Phineas Riall. Sir Robert Paul, Bart. John La Touche. Hon. Bowes Daly. N. M. Archdall. C. U. Townsend. W. Fetherstown. Sir Percy Nugent, Bart, General HaU, C.B. R. G. Cosby. H. J. MacFarlane. Hans H. Woods. Colonel C. C. Vesey. Sir John Power, Bart. Hon. C. J. Trench. Laurence Waldron. Viscount Powerscourt. Leopold Cust. Wm. Donnelly, C.B. Denis Kirwan. John G. Coddington. Hon. L. H. K. Harman. G. A. Rochfort Boyd. Lord Lurgan. Sir R. Musgrave, Bart, Joseph Kincaid. R. M. Garden. John Borthwick. P. J. Newton. A. L. Tottenham. Malachi S. Hussey. Baron de Robeck. Marquis of Kildare. Major Barton. Seymour Mowbray. E. J. Smith. Micliael Cahill. Hugh Harris. Sir George Hodson having been called to the second Chair, The Rev. Mr. Bagot moved that the marked thanks of the Society be giveu to Mr. Lefroy for his dignified conduct in the Chair. Mr. Townsend seconded the resolution, which was unani- mously adopted. Mr. Leeroy expressed his acknowledgments for the com- pliment that had lieen pa id him, adding that he was always extremely gratified to have an opportunity of doing anything to promote the objects of so valuable and useful a Society (Hear, hear). The proceedings then terminated. THE HIGHLAND AND AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY OF SCOTLAND. The monthly meeting of the directors was held on June 7, in their chambers, George IV. Bridge. Mr. Lawson in the chair. The minute of the special committee appointed to consider and report on the chemical department,"of the Society, with the view of affording the benefit of chemical investig-ation to the agriculturists all over the country, referred to in the proceed- ings of the directors on the 3rd May, was again read. The board approved of the following suggestions, and re- solved to act upon them as opportunity occurs, in any rear- rangement of the chemical department : — 1. That the chemist should have his laboratory at the head-quarters of the Society in Edinburgh, and reside there. 2. That in fixiug the salary of the chemist, the scale of prices for analysis should be revised, with the view of reducing the rates. 3. That the field experiments carried on by the Society should have the chemist's special attention. The publication of the results to be periodical, and under his entire charge and control. A motion by Sir Thomas Buchan Hepburn — " That a com- mittee be a{)pointed to consider how far it may be possible or desirable to prepare a short account of the present state of chemistry as applied to practical agriculture" — was, after some discussion, referred to the present committee on the chemical department — namely, Professor 'Anderson, convener ; Sir Thomas Buchan Hepburn of Smeaton, Bart. ; Professor Bal- four ; Professor Wilson ; Messrs. Stephens, Redbrae ; Russell, Pilmuir ; Harvey, Whittingham Mains ; Melvin, Benning- ton ; Goodlet, Bolshan : Hope, Fenton Barns ; Gray, South- field ; Dickson, Corstorphine ; Binnie, Seton Mains ; Scot- Skirving, Camptoun ; with the addition of Professor Douglas Maclagan. The following is the petition adopted at last board meeting, and since presented by Sir Alexander Gibson-Maitland to the House of Commons : — Unto the Honourable the Commons of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, in Parlia- ment assembled, the Petition of the Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland, incorporated by Royal Charter : Showeth — That your petitioners, as representing the proprietors and occupiers of land in Scotland, have taken a deep interest in the working of the Gun Tax Act : — That, according to tlie inter- pretation of the Board of Inland Revenue, crows and wood pigeons do not come within the term ' vermin' in the exemption clause for the purposes of the Gun Licence Act, and that be- fore any person can shoot such birds he must be provided with a gun licence — That crows and wood pigeons being very inju- rious to the interests of agriculture, great numbers of them require to be annually destroyed by the proprietors and occu- piers of land, who employ a number of persons for that pur- pose, and your petitioners consider that if a gun licence is required for each it would entail a heavy and unfair expense — • Your petitioners therefore humbly pray that crows and wood pigeons may be declared to be vermin under the exemption clause of the Gun Tax Act, so as as not to require a licence for the purpose of killing them when authority in writing has been given by the owner or occupier of the land. (Signed) Robert Russell, Chairman of Directors' Meeting. Edinhtrgh, 3rd May, 1871. On the motion of Mr. Scot-Skirving, Camptoun, it was re- solved to appoint a committee with power to form a collection of entomological specimens. The following were named : Professor Wilson, Professor WyviUe Thomson, Mr. Wilson, Eddington Mains ; Mr. Scot-Skirviug, Camptoun; Mr. Rus- sell, Pilmuir • Mr, Hardie, Old Cambus. Mr, Scot-Skirviug to be convener. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. CANON GIEDLESTONE AND THE LABOURER. At the meeting of the Halberton Benefit Clubs, on Whit- Monday, Canon Girdlestoxe, the chairman at one of tlie dinners, said : One thing, he thouglit, should be altered ; he was a practical man and liked to give them his advice, uot in a peremptory or dictatorial spirit, and the advice at any rate was worth considering. He would wish to see in tliis Club, if possible, a large amount provided for old age, for no one could value more than he did the relief which such a Society could afford to those who were sick, and the power of drying up to a certain extent the tears of the widow by making some provision for the decent interment of her husband. When lie saw aged men and women almost exclusively dependent on the miserable pit- tance doled out by the Poor Law, it made him wish that the rules of their Society should be so altered that every member of a family who attained the maximum age should have pro- vided for such a weekly or monthly income as would make his declining days comfortable and happy. He threw out the hint for their consideration, simply as his advice derived from observation of a class to which they themselves belonged. There were one or two ways in which the agricultural labourers — the class he was especially addressing — might better themselves, and one was by co-operative farms. If a certain number of them were to take a farm (and this was no theory, being in operation in | other parts of England), and manage it, each one who had an interest in it and no work elsewhere could do a cer- tain amount of work on the farm, and the profits would be I shared amongst them according to the amount each invested. They would thus have the means for making adequate pro- vision for old age, and the effect would be to inculcate habits of economy and industry, such as would tend more than any- thing else to raise the tone and character of the agricultural population. He would go one step further and direct their attention to co-operative stores. There were now naval, military, and civil service co-operative stores — to the latter some members of his family in London belonged. The result was that whatever they bought, were it butter, meat, clothing, or anytliiug they might name, they got it purer and less adul- terated, at a price much less than it could be purchased at shops, so by investing their savings in co-operative stores they would not only get the advantage of having things much better and cheaper, but also share in the profits which such societies had been the means of obtaining. He also advocated their investments being made in the I'ost-oflice Savings' Banks, which were as safe as the Bank of England. They knew him too well to suppose that he meant that an agricultural labourer with a wife and family could save ; but his remarks applied more to young men who did not require all the wages they received. They could not be too iudepeudent. Tiie more in- dependent they were the better would lie their position in life, and they would escape the poverty with which the agricultural labourer had been for so long a time overpowered. Now, they were obliged to take anything oifered them ; but if they acted up to what lie had stated, tliey would be able to s.ay, " I have a nest egg, and am uot dependent on your bounty ; I will go and search out a better livelihood." They would thus find that, instead of being obliged to take the terms offered them, they would be able respectfully and in a Christian spirit and language to make terms for themselves. He was happy to say there were many farmers iu the parish who liad always been alive to the truth of that principle, and he hoped that many who were at first not alive to it had since been converted. It was remarkable what a change in this respect had come over the country. Three or four years ago, wherever he showed his face amoug the farmers, squires, or members of Parliament, he was almost hissed out of his shoes, but now he had become quite a popular man — such a change had " come over the spirit of their dream." They saw the labourers would be independent, and they were making ready to meet the coming storm. Last November he received a special invitation to go down from Bristol to Newton Abbot to an agricultural meeting attended by peers, members of Parliament, and farmers, and nothing could be more hearty than the reception he received, and the compliments paid to him by the Earl of Devon were such as his (the Canon's) modesty would not allow him to repeat in that room. He mentioned this to show how people's minds had changed. There was another subject to which he would direct their attention — that was education. For God's sake, let them not neglect the education of their children, and think that simple accounts were all that would profit them. This world was a race, depend upon it, and the prize is his that runs it, and tiiey must bring up their children by education in order to get a prize in that race which has become so fast and rapid. He had many times been asked why he was not a member of the Halberton School Boards. He had been ear- nestly requested by many farmers in the parish to allow h;ni- self to be placed in nomination, and no donbt by the aid of the cumulative vote his electiou would have been secured. He, however, declined the honour because there was a person iu the palish (Dr. Merson) who added M.D. to the end of his name, who wore a good coat and fared sumptuously every day, and he (the Canon) should not wonder whether he would not be ashamed to shake hands witli all the friends whom he (the Canon) saw around him. That individual told him (the Canon) to his face in public vestry that he was "a liar," and therefore he made up his mind, as chairman of the vestry, to meet him there, yet he declined to sit on a Board with a mau who used such language as that. He was bound to artirra that there was not a single labourer in the neighbourhood who was uot too well educated and too well mariuered to make use of such lan- guage as tiiat to him, and it would be well for Dr. Merson if the first thing he did when on the Education Board were to lay the foundation of a school for teaching good manners and instruction to himself. He (the Canon) had no objection to an Education Board, and he had always been liberal, thougli sincere, in religion, politics, or education. He had never wished to restrict education to a sect or iiarty, and had always given the right hand of fellowship to those who differed in politics or religion from himself. He had no objection to an Education Board, and there was not one of five members on the Halberton School Board except the individual whose name he had mentioned with wliom he could not consistently act. All I have done for you, my agricultural friends — coutiuued the speaker — is to rouse the country iu your behalf, and that I believe I have done pretty well. I have just come from London where 1 have held converse with noble lords and mem- bers of Parliament, and there is no subject in the minds of our legislature at the present moment creating more attention than the condition of the agricultural hxbourer. I have endea- voured, and with no small success, to rouse public feeling on your behalf, and the consequence is they know more about you than tliey did before. I hope and trust tlie agricultural la- bourer will have bestowed upon him before long that which is given to others in cities and towns, namely, the political franchise. It must come before long, and you must be pre- pared to discharge the duties which will then devolve upon you. There ia not one of you probably aware that on July 26, 1SG9, an Act (33, 33, Vic.) was passed, wliicli provided that every single person in tlie country who inhabits a rateable tenement — no matter whether it is rated in the rate book, or whether it be paid by the owner or occupier — the occupier of every rateable tenement in this, and every other parish iu England, has jusi, as much right to speak and vote at every parish-meeting and vestry as any person in the country. Why should you, labourers, upon the sweat of whose brow the cultivation of the soil really depends, be ignored? If when those privileges are conferred upon you, you do not make a diligent use of them, the fault is not theirs but your own. AVhen 1 was at an agricultural meeting at Newton Abbot, no man could be more popular ; but supposing I had shown my face at one in Halberton, I should have beeu scared as one having wool on his back, and proclaimed THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 65 araougst tliem a black sheep. In conclusion he urged an im- provemeutin the condition of the peasantry of this country — their having better houses to live in, better wages and clothes, more economical habits — a " nest egg" in the savings' bank, something to fall back upon, instead of relying on the miserable pittance of the Poor Law. He would say that it was on this kind of improvement of the agricultural population of this country, in his belief, depended the real prosperity and safety of our land. [The Western Times says in comment on this address that it is to be regretted that the Canon made a reference to his difference with the farmers, because the work wliich he has taken in hand, and to wliich he is certainly devoting himself with great zeal and energy, ought to command the united ser- vices of every member of the agricultural interest — landlord, tenant, and labourer. Hard words have certainly passed betweeii them, and farmers as a class are not very ceremonious in turning over the leaves of their vocabulary to select the daintiest word for an occasion. But the rev. gentleman ought not to forget that in praying God to soften the hearts of the farmers, he represented them before their labourers as men of hard and relentless nature, and that to the disposition of the farmers rather than to the law of the market was to be attributed the rate of wages paid at Halberton. The rev. gentleman has practically abandoned this line of argument. He is now very properly, and with great ability, urging on the labourers the duty of helping themselves by thrift, by fore- thought, and by the education of their children, to leave those who come after them in their rank of life in a better condition than the labourer at present enjoys. All this is practically an abandonment by the rev. Canon of the imputation of hard heartedness, and if he would only withdraw the imputation, parties might shake hands all round, and harmony would be restored tq Halberton.j THE AGRICULTURAL LABOURER. TO THE EDITOR OF THE MARK LAXE EXPRESS. Dear Sir, — Would you kindly insert the following memorial and rules iu the columns of your valuable paper; for by so doing you would be greatly advancing the cause of the agricultural labourer. — I am, yours obediently, Thomas Strange. To the Lords, Ladies, Gentlemen, and Landed Proprietors of Herefordshire, Salop, and South West of England. We, the North Herefordshire and South Salop Agricul- tural Laboui'ers' Improvement Society, desire with due respect to approach you, and while thanking you for what has been done in the improvement of the dwellings of the poor, earnestly, but respectfully, call your attention to the condition of many cottages at the present time, for we fear they are calculated to increase wretchedness, squalor, and immorality. We would solicit your attention, like- wise, to the desirability in all cases, where practicable, of allowing the cottager to rent direct from the landlord, but should this not be convenient, then let him hold it of the farmer with a twelvemonths' taking and six months' notice to quit. We are also anxious to have cottages containing not less than three sleeping rooms, a well or pump, suita- ble conveniences, and a pigsty. We are very anxious to improve our condition, and we further believe that you sympathise with us, we therefore respectfully ask you to take this subject into your serious consideration of allowing on every farm above one hundred acres, where cottages are built, land suflicient for the cottagers to keep a cow, which land they shall rent direct from the landlord. So desirous are we of this privilege, that if you measured the land and supplied the timber from your timber yards, we would gladly put up the rails and sheds ourselves, and we should feel it to be the greatest boon bestowed upon a poor man with a wife and family. We would likewise respectfully call your attention to the great want of land for allotments in this part of England, and ask you to please grant us this privilege, that in every parish, township, or hamlet that there be land sufficient for every cottager not keeping a cow to rent from a quarter to half an acre of land ac- cording to family, which they shall rent from the landlord and pay a just and equitable rent for. We respectfully call the attention of landlords and tenant farmers to the wages question, which is at the present time very unsatisfactory, and we should gratefully and sincerely thank you if you would give all the able men in your employment 15s. per week cash, with the privilege of working overtime, hours being from six to six, the same ratio of wages being paid for overtime. And lastly, iu counectioa with this society, we have an emigration club, on behalf of which we respect- fully seek your patronage and support ; many of our sur- plus population desire to emigrate, but in consequence of the low scale of wages are unable to save sufficient money to pay for their passage. In order to help those who are bond fide agricultural labourers we would thank you for a donation or yearly subscription, for by so doing you would greatly advance the interest of the labourer and secure the grateful thanks of this society. — We have the honour to be, on behalf of the officers and members of the above society, your obedient servants, D. Rodney Murray, Rectory, Brampton Bryan, Hon. President. Thomas Strange, Adforton, Vice-President and Corresponding Secretary. RULES OF THE NORTH HEREFORDSHIRE AND SOUTH SALOP AGRICULTURAL LABOURERS' SOCIETY. 1st. That this society be called the North Herefordshire and South Shropshire Agricultural Labourers' Improvement Society, and in connection with it shall be the North Here- fordsliire and South Shropshire Agricultural Labourers' Emi- gration Society. 2nd. That the president, secretary, and treasurer be elected annually. 3rd. That a sub-committee be formed in every parish or township, who shall elect a treasurer and secretary for their respective parishes, who shall do the work of inscribing the names and collect the moneys the first and third Mondays in every month, 4th. That after the sub-committees are chosen, then a grand committee shall be chosen from tLe sub-committees, one or two to be elected by the members of the sub-commit- tees, or two from each committee, tlie grand committee to do the general district business. 5th. That this society give as much attention to the im- provement of the English labourer as to the emigration scheme. That the committees shall always consist of two agricul- tural labourers to one of every other class. 6th. That all may be allowed to join this society with or without paying, but only those shall be allowed to vote or emigrate who pay, the pay being one penny per week. 7th. That at the Christmas of each year the names of aU persons belonging to this society shall be given in to the general committee, when a ballot shall take place, and those obtaining the greatest number of votes shall be sent out early in the spring of each year. Should these fail from any un- THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. foreseen circunibtancc, those who polled the next greatest number, and so on. 8th, That the number sent lie always determined by the state of the funds. 9th. If any person neglect paying his subscription for a period of not less than two months, he shall forfeit all benefit arising from voting on emigration. 10th. That any person while in this society committing any criminal offence shall not hold office in this society. 11th. That no meeting shall be legal unless all the members of the grand committee have been duly summoned to attend. 12th. That the accounts be examined quarterly. 13th. That the meetings be held quarterly in summer, and monthly or bi-monthly in winter. 14th. That we, as a society, do all we can to induce other districts to form like societies. loth. Tliat every member do all he can to induce non- members to join this society. 16tli. That the names of the sub-committee be not made known, only those of the treasurer and secretary. These two shall in aU cases wliere practicable be men independent of outside influences. That all members shall have the privi- lege of attending a sub-committee meeting, but the grand committee shall be closed to all except the G. M. members. 17th. Should any member be balloted, and he have so large a family that the funds would not meet the expenditure, then the money should be put by for his benefit until he can earn sutficient to go. IStli. That it be always left to the grand committee to say what help shall be given to each family. 19th. That it shall be the duty of each family sent out to refund as soon as possible the aid afforded him, so that those who subscribe who are left behind shall have the privilege of going. «D. R. Murray, Hon. President. C Thomas Stra^'ge, Vice-President and Ofl5ces^i/'o tern. < Corresponding Secretary. 1^ John f AKiiBR, Treasurer. ^■Tl. Lawrence, District Secretary. THE ESSEX AGRICULTURAL ASSOCIATION, MEETING AT ROMFORD. Node plitit told, or in common parlance it rained very hard on Wednesday night. Bcdeiiiit specfaci'In man(^, or the Essex show opened on the Thursday morning — which gradually ripened into warm really midsummer weather. The holiday was consequently pretty generally observed, and what with an admirable parade ground, and sundry companion exhibitions of dogs, poultry, and flowers, the success of the occasion seemed to be assured. To the show proper, moreover, some additional emphasis was given by Mr. Mclntosli's offer of 100 gs. for the best Shorthorn ; and as most of the cattle and horse classes were fairly well filled, a journey to Romford would look to be well warranted. Nevertheless, the inspection of an Essex agricultural meeting, as at present conducted, is not altogether a satisfactory business. There is a studied confusion of classes, a curious admixture of numbers aud natnes which tend to render tlic thing something of a problem, only to be solved through the courtesy of a steward or a judge, who places his book at your disposal. A strong majority of the entries are en- tered over and over again, as for instance 2 IS is also 203, as further he is 319 and 3C2. Tiie animal should of course carry all this information nttaclied to his head where the figures are apt to become confounded, and as now he wius a second prize aud tlien a first, it would require a much smarter system of prize-plaoard- ing to make his merits accurately known than would look to be at the command of the management. The secret or main cause of these somewhat hazy pro- ceedings is to be found in the fact that the Essex Agricul- cultural Association is still to a certain extent a ViinUed Company. The natives are content in tho first instance with beating encli other ; thence to venture step by step into more general competition, but with a goodly propor- tion of premiums insured in the outset for the direction and its friends. All this naturally tends to make matters pleasant, but it at the same times gives a feeble aud local character to a meeting, which, as it strikes us, might take far higher rank. So recently as last Christ- mas it is said somebody was busy in obtaining further support to the proposition for throwing the Society open, but it suddenly appeared they were doing quite as well as they wished to do, although everybody would like to win an All-England prize, iu addition to any more homely distinction. Ileuee that wondrous Book of Numbers, known as an Essex catalogue ; hence Would they climb yet fear to fall. Although really when put into comparison with Norfolk or Siiflblk, if their hearts fail them, they might as well climb not at all. In Sullblk they now often offer higher prizes than they do iu Essex, aud Suffolk, and Norfolk, aye, open to everybody. At the dinner the proposal for establishing au Eastern Counties Association was again broached. In a very creditable display of Shorthorns we shall altogether decline to wind our way through the intricacies of petty and public appraisement, but leaving this to the judges and stewards arrive at once at the grand total of all such sifting and selecting. There were thus left in for the Challenge Cup i\lr. R. Strattoa's Master Glauvillc (the All-England prize yearling bull), Jlr. R. Stratton's Fair Rosalie aud Innocence (the All-England prize pair of yearling heifers), Lord Braybrooke's iMemory (the best cow). Lord Exeter's Telemachus (the All-Eng- land prize bull), Mr. Bradburn's Miss Chesterfield ; iMr. Chaplin's oMaid of Honour (the prize county two-year-old heifer), ]\Ir. Macintosh's Charmer 13th (tiie prize year- ling heifer), and Jlr. Tippler's Cambridge Duke (the prize county bull). Of Mr. Stratton's lot Master Glan- ville took a second prize aud Innocence a high commen- dation at Guildford, and tiiough good enough in their way tliey will never be quite first-class animals, as they were, none of them, ever really " in it" for the Cup. In a capital class, far away the best county entry, of Shorthorn cows. Lord Braybrooke's INIemory had still an unmistakeable lead, as she is leugtliy and bloodliko, with a good back, a nice head, and clean neck, and alto- gether of a fine aud really cow-like character. Her second here was a useful but much plainer cow, rather lumpy about her quarters, the property of Mr. CUayden, who is fast getting up another herd, aud there were two or three well-merited commendations in the class. So far Modesty i)romised to have some opening for the Cup, but she was quickly eclipsed by Telemachus, Lord Exeter's prize bull, wiiich we had seen at Rugby on Tuesday, and, with the Warwickshire show only over on Wednesday, only lauded at Romford by special THE FAEMER'S MAGAZINE. 67 traiu witli Mr. Game's and IMr. Bradbum's entries on Thursday morning. Witli a better day to show himself, and a better ring to show him in' Telemachus, despite his travels, looked even to more advantage than at Rugby; and, although the judges went through the form of examining and comparing over again, it was manifest that nothing had a chance against him for the Cup. With pleHty of " appearance" and style, he is a won- derfully true-framed bull, deep, level, and square, while he can move, and, though well-fleshed, has been by no means overdone. Still, he has been known for some time in the prize-ring, having, as a two-year-old, taken first prizes at the shows of the Lincolnshire, the Warwickshire, and Northamptonshire Societies. He is now just a mouth or so over three years old, so that he will be in the all- aged class at Wolverhampton, where Telemachus is very sure to earn some further distinction. The Wolver- hampton cow. Miss Chesterfield, had akeady been well beaten in the bull, cow, and offspring class ; and many had preferred Mr. Clayden's Captain Knightley to Cam- bridge Duke 3rd when they met in the county class, where it was no doubt a close thing between the two. The Knightley, however, is but a plain bull at best, while there is a deal of character about the Cambridge Duke, Avho was bred by Mr. Bates at Preston Hall. Mr. Linton did not send on his white bull. Lord Irwin, nor did we catch a sight of Bythis ; so that beyond Mr. Stratton, Lord Exeter had little but the county to con- tend against. Mr. Mcintosh, however, made an entry for his own Cup, and here, naturally enough, the hopes of the Society centred. But the Charmer, though neat and bloodlike, is short forward, with little promise of lengthen- ing out into a grand cow, and if £100 or £500 would not buy her, the award was never really in doubt ; while it must be satisfactory to Mr. Jlclntosh to see his Challenge Cup on its inauguration won by so worthy a champion of the breed. There was nothing very particular amongst the other highly-bred Essex Shorthorns, of whom, indeed, the Shorthorns " without pedigree" had quite the call for merit. In a class of these "common" cow of six entries in all, the judges appended four commendations to the award of the two prizes ; while the yearling heifers were almost as good. There were also two or three very sweet dairy cows, and here and there a particularly good Alderney to be found in the eight or nine classes of Channel Island cattle. We said of Bandboy, on seeing him at Guildford, that "he placed himself, being a beau- tiful blood-like bull, bred from Mr. Dancey's herd," and the judges at Romford, both Channel Island authorities, pronounced Bandboy to be one of the best bulls ever seen. Again, we called especial attention to Duchess, the second prize in the cow class at Guildford, as "a very sweet Island-bred heifer, purchased by Mr. Gilbey at Oxford, where she was commended," and the judges here in the outset declared her to be the pick of tde sort, with an admirable udder, although we believe they ulti- mately placed Mr. Tower's cow before her in a not other- wise very strong entry of cows. The yearling heifers again made but a poor show, saving Lord Braybrook's first, and consequently ilr. Beadel's Lily, the best of a precisely similar class, both especially smart heifers. Amongst the others, Mrs. Cromwell showed a home-bred one of immense size, which was highly commended, and, like most of the others, shown over and over again. Thanks to Mr. Gilbey's liberality, the classes were given in duplicate, and hence it occasionally happened that an animal which should have been in competition was not brought out in its turn, and tlie judges were accordingly hunted up to go through the tiling once more. As it seems ou the face of it, Mr. Gilbey's should have been simply champion prizes for the best bull, best cow, and best heifer in any of the classes, and there would have been an end of it. But that mysterious Book of N'umbers would not of course sanction any such simplicity of arrangement, and heuce that labyrinth of classes from which stewards, judges, and exhibitors struggled so gamely to extricate themselves. In our notice of the mysteries of Saffron Walden last year we complained of the management of the horse ring, and this year there was little if any improvement. " If woman won't she won't, and there's an end on't ;" and if it be almost as hopeless to expect any move in the right direction from those who have no go in them, and it would be well to find some post more suit- able to the abilities of the gentleman who has the con- duct of the ring where the riding horses are shown ; for he is either a very poor showman or labours under the idea that the exhibition is got up especially for his edification and that of the judges. For instance, the horses were only numbered on the near side of the head, which was invariably towards himself and the judges ; while in very few instances were the smallest of rosettes, which denote the prizes, attacked to the winners' heads. After watching class after class in this fashion, we told one of the judges they had it all to them- selves, and that those outside knew little or nothing of what was going on. He was kind enough to say he would speak about it, and we believe he did, but there was no improvement. Now what could have been easier than to put the rosettes on the side of the heads of the winners, and have just sent them once round with their numbers towards the spectators ? There will always be some confusion while horses are entered in sereral classes, but the number of the class stuck on a board in the centre of the ring, while they are before the judges, would greatly correct this ; and if the number from the side of the head on the chest from a string round the neck, after the manner of the Royal Agricultural So- ciety, it would serve both judges and the public, no matter whichever way the horses went round the ring. Why spoil all the pleasure of a good show, merely through indiiference to such important trifles to any spectator who really takes an interest in the exhibition ? As a show of horses, the riding classes were much stronger than last year, while the agricultural classes, for which the Society is more famous, were well represented; and many a Punch figured in the list well known as a prize taker, and added fresh laurels to those brows that, judging by their sleek fat carcases, they do not live by the sweat of. Many a good-looking one could not pass the veterinarian, and we imagine that some of these pampered, over-topped animals, as bad on the pins as the Norfolk giant, are fit for nothing but the show-yard. We mustsay we should like to see a little less beef and more compact frames, with better limbs and feet, which some of the non-stickers to old fashions, we are glad to hear, are going in for. The hero of the day among the stallions was Bismarck, a fine grown but rather flashy horse, as well as being high on the leg, and by no means a model of a cart horse. He distinguished himself last year at Harlestou, and was third at Oxford to Oxford Emperor, whom at Romford he notv defeated; and again in the All England cart stallions did Bismarck prove prime minister, W\\ Boby's Prince Royal, the prize horse at the Bath and West of England meeting, being the highly conaraendcd ; while another West-country hero, and another Emperor, a very good limbed Suffolk, was proclaimed the best of all the two-year-olds ; but he is said to be out of a bay mare. Oxford Emperor has not improved as much as might have been expected from him as a two-yeav-old. ; while to show the eccentricities F 2 68 THE FAKMER'S MAGAZINE. of judging it may be stated here that at the Woodbridge stallion show in the spring Cup-Bearer took the first prize. Prince Koyal the second, Oxford Emperor the thii-d, and Bismarck was highly commended ! The mares were better represented than the horses, old Matehett still being proclaimed the queen in very good com- pany. In the fillies under four years old Mr. Thompson's The Despised came in for the prize, and again in [the two- year-olds, as well as in the pairs with her stable companion, Briton. Some judges, not only in cart horses, but with hunters, give prizes merely because " they are such big 'uns, and cannot get away from them," as they say ; and we think The Despised comes in for her prizes as Miss Bouncer, at the young ladies' seminary, came in for the largest piece of pudding. We do not believe in big'uns without they are readly well- made, either biped or quadruped, and as a rule would rather go for a medium size. Had The Despised fiUy been made after the fashion of her owner's gelding, a re- markably clever deep active horse without being over- topped, with both shoiilders and forelegs we think we should have seen her beauties ; but we really think th e first bench of judges that passed her over altogether were about right after all. Although there were several good-looking amongst the mares and foals, the doctor could not recommend one for the second prize, so it was withheld ; and in the plough mares, the second, again, was not awarded. We have said that the nags were better represented here than at SaflVon Walden, through ^Ir. Barker, the well- known Essex dealer, sending some of his string. Still, taken as a lot, of thorough-bred stallions, hunters, or hackneys, with an exception occasionally, there was nothing particularly good. Kettledrum and Mainstone were shown as extra stock, and did not compete for prizes. Young Toxophilite, the prize stallion, though powerful, even made, and big limbed, has not a shoulder or withers adapted for riding purposes ; and Brcnnus, though an nset'ul horse enough, does not quite look up to the old Hasketon form ; but then he is only just out of work. Little Ben is neat enough for anything, and full of symmetry down to the knee and hock — further we won't go. The other entries were Volun- teer, Knight Templar, Benham Squire, and Huutsmau. jMr. Barker, with four strings to his bow, carried otF the hunting gelding prize with a thick-set, thorough-bred looking chesnut, with strong shoulders, and who went more like an old plater than a hunter, though by far the best in the class. The second to him, Whalebone, showed some breed, but looked leggy and tucked-np for an aged horse. Nell Cook, a second prize taker at Islington to Mr. ]\rintosh's clever little horse, Yoltigeur, like many a pride of the village, looked almost handsome among her country cousins, though in Loudon society we passed her as a strong, useful mare, and nothing more. The second was a ewe-necked, Blacklock -headed mare, by I'rogmore, with good action, and that, for want of better company at Saffron WalJeu, gained the ribbons in several classes, though she is anything but a prize animal to look at ; if she can still go down with the wooden idols, which have been worshipped long enough. She is not a weight carrier, but yet she gained a commendation in the heavies. Planet the first in the top weights, is a neat compact horse, very taking to look at, and a fair mover, but with his shoulder a little too far into his neck, which is of the shortest. In the hackneys last year the set-to for the colours was between Mr. Simpson and j\Ir. Gilbey, as it was this year again. At SaflVon WaldenMr.Gilbeywas first, but heuow played second to the second at Saifi'on Walden, a weight- carrying hack that can rattle along somewhat after the Nor- folk trotter fashion. Sweetheart is a beautifid hack that re- minds us of Quadroon, if not a much improved animal in form and action, for like Sir Roger, as we are not go- ing to be " catched," we wUl not swear to our memory here. In the three-year-old mares or geldings, we preferred Mr. Tabor's Peony to the winner, as having more depth, length of shoulder, and being better proportioned. It was a near thing with Mr. Yickerman's two two-year- olds, one by Amsterdam and the other by Mainstone : had Mr. Peeves' filly been a better mover she might have stood a chance with them. In the four-year-old hacks there was a nice cobby hack to the fore, closely followed by Mr. Hutley's bay and ^Ir. Simpson's brown cob. The remainder will be found in the prize list. It really seemed somewhat absurd at the first blush o f it to summons three full-grown gentlemen all the way from AVilts, Oxford, and Dorset, to place the mere hand- ful of sheep they had got together at Romford ; but luckily something more was found for idle hands to do amongst the pigs, or this distinguished trio would have been out for a holiday indeed. In many of the sheep classes there was no competition whatever, or a man competed against himself, but we believe most of the premiums were duly awarded. Lord Braybrooke's shearling Southdown is a particularly stylish blood-like sheep, but over-shadowed by the more substantial merits of Mr. Boby's two-shear, although age for age we should take the shearling. ^Ir. Clayden's ewes are small, but neat and of good type, and Lord Braybrooke's wethers rather delicate. Mr. Giblin has the Cotswolds all to himself, and his two-shear ram is a very showy, broad sheep ; with his ewes and lambs also full of merit. They seem, further, to have an Oxford Down flock at Bardfield, the only other exhibitor of this variety being Mr. Thompson, of Thorpe, who enters some sheep bred, we greatly regret to see, " from the stock of the late Mr. C. Howard," an announcement we hope to be able to contradict at the earliest possible opportunity. There were a few Hampshire and Sutl'olk Downs, over which it would be idle to dwell, although the sheep looked to have taken a deal of judging — often enough, as we should imagine, on the consideration as to whether the premiums should be awarded or withheld ? With the exception of the fat pig premium the Ducker- ings won all the All-England prizes for both large and small breeds with the whites, which have already been about this season at Glasgow, Guildford, and Rugby. These included the famous Topsey, in which class of small sows it was impossible to say from the placard whether Duckerings or the Wheelers were second. The Cirences- ter College also sent on some of their Berkshires, and, indeed, since the death of Mr. Fisher Ilobbs Essex would promise to be more famous for Berlishires than any other breed. Mr. Griggs is here again deservedly successful with pigs, which, like his prize boar, unite length and size with coat and quality ; while his two pens of sows and pigs were as good in their way as anything on the ground. Then Mr. Clayden shows Berkshires of very fine quality ; but the small black Essex pigs, if we are to take the best boar as a sample, have sadly degene- rated since the time of the Boxted supremacy. Mr. Steam had only one entry, an old boar bred from Brandeston by Jlr. Biddell, and Mr. Sexton took a second prize. So far Suflblk looks to be out of form this season, while the Duckerings make sad havoc amongst local celebrities. Indeed, to be quite safe in this section, the conditions should specify the premiums as open to All-England, Lincolnshire excepted. Our own opinion as to the bad policy of withdrawing all prizes for implements is so well known that we shall prefer to let a county paper speak to the way in which this non-recognition system is working in Essex : THE FAEMER'S MAGAZINE. 69 " The extibition of implenieuts certainly cannot be con- sidered equal to what it has been for the last two or three years. The number of entries were very much lower than either at Saffron Walden or Colchester, while the character of the display was also inferior. This is pro- bably to be accounted for partly by the fact that no prizes were offered iu this department, many of the exhibitors feeling somewhat aggrieved at this. "We know it is argued that manufacturers attend with their imple- ments on these occasions as a matter of business. Granted that they do, but it should also be borne in mind that they go to considerable expense and trouble in attending and, further, that this part of the show is gene- rally one of the most attractive of any, not only to practical agriculturists, but to the public generally. Therefore we think it would be well for the committee to inquire into this, and not to let the implement department fall off, but to encourage it in every possible way, by offering two or three prizes. It is not so much the money value of the prize that the exhibitors considei", but it is the honour and distinction that is given to the fortunate winners." We fear that the implement show at Romford was not under the circumstances very " attractive", although the follow- ing list of exhibitors includes some of our most prominent firms : — Garrett and Sons, Leiston ; Britain, Pash ; Carey, Rochford; Bnrrell, Thetford ; Catchpool and Thompson, Colchester; Woods, Cocksedge, and Warner, Stowmarket; Davey, Paxman and Co., Colchester; Wedlake, Horuchurch ; Coleman and Morton, Chelms- ford ; Turner, Ipswich ; Eddington, Chelmsford ; May- nard, Whittlesford ; Bradford and Co., Manchester ; Ward and Silver, Melford ; Smyth and Sons, Peasenhall ; Boby, Bury St. Edmunds ; Mabbett and Pink, Romford ; Burgess and Key, Loudon ; Darby, Little Waltham ; Foster and Sous, Witham ; Page and Girling, Suffolk; Pertwee, Borehani; Harrison and Coleman, Chelmsford ; Peene, Braintree ; Cottis and Sons, Epping ; J. Warren, Maldou ; Hitch- cock, Lavenham ; Murtou and Turner, Keuniughall ; Townsend, Wimbish ; Dodge, Loudon ; A. Lyon, Lon- don ; Hills, Sudbury ; Day, Son, and Hewitt, London ; Bell and Co., London ; Busset and Co., Londou ; Baker, Wisbeach ; Godfrey and Jordan, Chelmsford ; Le Butt, Bury St. Edmunds ; Mortlock, South Hackney ; Symington and Atterton, Halstead ; Meeson, Rochford ; Tidmarsh, Stratford ; Rands and JeckeU, Ipswich ; King, Coggeshall ; Catt and Son, Ipswich ; Hart, Sudbury. PRIZE LIST. JUDGES. Cart-horses : J. Mannina;, Orlingbury ; G. M. Sexton, Wher- stead Hall, Ipswich ; G. Street, Mauldon, Ampthill. Riding-horses: J. Bennett, Rugby; \. K. Graham, Edg- baston, Birmingham; G. Weston, Bryanston-street, Lon- don. Cattle: W. Ladds, Ellington, Himts ; Stiles Rich, The Cedars, Fearnall Heath, Worcester ; W. Saaday, Radcliffe- ou-Trent, Notts. Channel Islands Cattle : J. Dumbrell, Ditchling, Hurts- pierpoint ; H. Middleton, Cuttslowe, Oxford. Sheep and Pigs: H. Pookes, Whitchurch, Blandford ; E. Little, Lauhill, Chippenham; W. Newton, Campsiield, Woodstock. Veterinary Inspector : R. Hunt, Eilgbastou, Birmingham. HORSES. FOR AGRICtFLTURAL PURPOSES. Stallion.— Pirst prize, £20, E. Emson, Littlebury (Peer of the Realm) ; second of £10, J. Ray, Great Pettit's Farm, Romford (Young Prince). Cart stallion, open to all England.— Prize, £25, W. Wilson, Baylham Hall (Bismarck). Very highly commended : I. Rist, Tattingstone (Oxford Emperor). StalUon, open to all Eugland.—Prize, £25, VV. Wilson (Bismarck). ' Highly commended ; C. Boby, Alton Hall, Stutton (Prince Royal). Entire two-year old colt.— First prize, £15, G. D. Badham, Bulmer,Tye (Emperor); second of £10, J. Piggot, Becking- ham Hall (Patriot). Entire two-year old colt, open to all England. — Prize, £15, G. D. Badham (Emperor). Highly commended: J. Piggot (Patriot). Yearhng colt.— Prize, £7, G. D. Badham. No other entry. Cart mare.- First prize, £8, G. Cant, Myland; second of £5, D. A. Green, Donyland-plaee (Duchess). Cart mare, open to all England.— Prize, £10, R. Capon, Dennington (Matchet). Highly commended : W. Bott, Brooralleld (Diamond); G. Cant. Commended: J. Warth, jun., Sutton, Isle of Ely (Diamond). Three-year old filly.— Prize, £5, J. Quihampton, Goldhanger (Blue Roan). Three-year-old filly, open to all England.— Prize, £10, W. Thompson, jun., Thorpe, Colchester (The Despised). Gelding. — Prize, £5, W. Thompson, jun. (Briton). Two-year-old filly.— First prize, £8, W, Thompson, jun. (The Despised) ; second of £5, J. Fenn, Ardleigh (Duchess). Yearling filly.— Second prize^ £2, W. and H. Havers, In- gatestone (Blossom) . Mare and foal.— Prize, £12, W. Bott, Broomfield (Dia- mond). Mare and foal, open to all England.— Prize, £12, Executors of T. Capon, Dennington, Suffolk (Matchet). Poal. — First prize, £5, G. Cant, Myland ; second of £3, D. A. Green. Highly commended : W. Bott. Plough mares.— Prize, £10, D. A. Green (Depper). Second prize withheld. Plough horses or mares, open to all England. — Prize, £10, W. Tliompson, jun. (Briton and The Despised). Highly com- mended: D. A. Green (Depper and Darby). Team of four, to all England.— Prize, £25, D. A. Green (Depper, Darby, Brock, Captain). RIDING AND COACHING. Thoroughbred stallion, open to all England. — Prize, £25, H. D. Raincock, Waltons, Ashdon (Young Toxophilite). Stallion, thoroughbred or otherwise, open to all England. — Prize, £22, H. D. Raincock (Young ToxophiUte). Hunting gelding. — First prize, £10, P. C. Baker, Westlands. Ingatestone (Tom) ; second of £5, 0. Perry, Harlow (Whale- bone). Hunting mare.— First prize, £10, Sir A. Neave, Bart., Dag- num Park (Nell Cook) ; second of £5, B. Sparrow, Gosfield- place. Weight-carrying hunters, open to all England. — Prize, £15, P. C. Barker (Planet). Highly commended : B. Sparrow.^ Hackney mare, not exceeding fifteen hands one inch. — First prize, £10, J. J. Simpson, Heybridge Hall ; second of £5, W. Gilbey, Hargrave Park, Stansted (Sweetheart). Hackney gelding, not exceeding fifteen liauds one incli. — Prize, £10, E. Heline, Hornclmrch Lodge (Ceaser). Four-year-old hunter, mare or gelding. — Prize, £6, J. Christy, Boyton Hah. Four-year-old hack, mare or gelding. — Prize, £0, G. D. Badham, Bulmer Tye. Three-year-old Mare or Gelding.— Prize, £6, B. Spar- row, Gosfield Place. Commended: J. E. Tabor, Becking (Peony) ; S. Reeve, Ingatestone Hall (Fireawey). Two-year-old mare or gelding. — First prize, £6, C. R. Vickerraan, Thoby Priory, Brentwood (Curacoa). Yearling colt or filly. — Prize, £5, C. Benson, Hauningfield, Brood Mare, with Foal. — First prize, £10, G. Simson, Gal- leywood (Lady Gay) ; second of £5, J. Lott, jun., Chobham Manor Farm, Stratford. I^oal. — Frize, £5, T. Lambert, Castle Farm, Ongar. Cob, between 13 and 11- liauds.— Prize, £0, J. Garnett, South-street, Romford (Peggy). Highly commended : T. Mashiter, Priests, Romford (Wanderer). Commended : T. Newman, Great 13ardfield. Pony,undcr 13 hands.— First prize, £4, W.Gilbey, (Maroon); second of £2, D. Robertson, Aveley Hall (Welsh). Com- mended: E. Conder, Elm Hurst, Romford (Topsey). Pony, not exceeding 13 hands. Open to all England.— 70 THE FARMEE'S MAGAZINE. Prize, £10 lOs., G. M. Sexten, Wherstead HaU, Suffolk (Matchless). Higlily commended : D. Robertson (Duniobin) ; W. Gilbey, (Maroon). Commended: J. Raven, East Ham, Barking (Tommy). CATTLE. SH0RTH0RX9. Bull.— First prize, £20, W. Tippler, Roxwell (Cambridge Doke 3rd) ; second, £13, J. Clayden, Littlebury (Captain Knightley). Bull, any age (open to all England).— Prize, £20, The Marquis of Eseter, Burleigh Park, Northamptonshire (Tele- machus). Higlily commended : J. Upson, Rivenhall (Prince Lincoln). Bull, two years old. — First prize, £15, C. Sturgeon, South Ockendon Hall (Lord Alexander 2nd) ; second, £10, J. Pert- wee, Boreham (Sir Thomas Bates). Yearling buU. — First prize, £10, J. Upson (Prince Lincoln) ; second, £7, C. Sturgeon (Oiford Thorndale DarUngton). Yearhng bull (open to all England). — Prize, £15, R. Strat- ton, Burderop, Swindon (Master Glanville). BuU calf.— First prize, £6, R. H. Crabb, Great Baddow ; second, £-i, A. P. Clear, Maldon. Shorthorn cow. — First prize, £15, Lord Braybrooke, Audley End (Memory) ; second, £10, J. Clayden (Eregonc). Highly commended: C. Barnard, Harlow Bury (Echo). Commended: R. H. Crabb (lloswell Belle; ; C.Barnard (Rose). Shorthorn heifer. — First prize, £10, J. R. Chaplin, Ridwell (Maid of Honor) ; second, £6, C. Barnard (Coronella). Com- mended: J. Clayden (Gertrude), and R. H. Crabb (Miss Pearl). Yearling Shorthorn heifer. — First prize, £7, D. Mcintosh, Havering Park (Charmer 13th) ; second of £5, R. H. Crabb (Kirkee 7th). Highly commended: C. Barnard, Harlow Bury (Tborudale's Sugar-plum). Commended : C. Barnard (Golden Butterfly) ; R. II. Crabb ; J. Clayden (Bracelet). Shorthorn heifer. — First prize, £6, 11. H. Crabb (Queen of the May) ; secoud of £!•, C. Barnard (Straw berrj). Com- mended : Lord Braybrooke, Audley End (Regret). Bull, cow, and calf, their offspring, open to all England. — Prize, £-2o, J. Clayden, Littlebury (Captain Knightly, Grace Costa, General Knightly"). Yearling bull and pair of yearling heifers, open to all Eng- land.— Prize, £20, R. Stratton, Burderop, Swindon (Master GlanviUe, Fair Rosalie, and Innocence). Commended : J. Clayden (Silent, Bracelet, and Archduke Knightly). Havering Park Challenge Cup, best pure-bred Shorthorn, i— Prize, 100 guineas, the Marquis of Eseter (Telemachus). SnOKTHOKIfS ■WITHOUT PEDIGE.E'E. Cow.— First prize, £8, J. Upson, Rivenhall (The Sort) ; second of £5, R. H. Crabb, Great Baddow. Highly com- mended : W. Sworder, Tawney Hall. Commended : W. Bott, Broomfield; G. H. Cant, Myland ; T. Mashiter, Romford. Heifer. — Prize, £6, D. A. Green, Donyland Place. Yearling Heifer. — First prize, £5, J. Oxley Parker, Wood- ham Mortimer Place ; second of £3, J. Qpson (Neatness 111.) The class commended. Heifer.— Prize, £3, W. Sworder. DAIRY CATTLE. Cow. — First prize, £8, Lord Braybrooke, Audley End (Me- mento) ; second of £5, G. II. Cant, Myland (Cherry). Cow, thorough-bred or otherwise. Open to all England. — First prize, £10, W. Bradburn, Wolverhampton (Miss Ches- terfield) ; second of £5, Lord Braybrooke, Audley End (Me- mento). JAT CATTLE. Fat ox or steer. — Prize, £5, J. Brown, Little HalliuKbury Hall. ^ ^ I'at cow or heifer. — Prize £5, C. Swan, Colchester. CII.VIVNEL ISLAND BREEDS. Bull.— Prize, £5, W. J. Beadel, Springfield Lyons. Highly commended : Mrs. Cornell, Wenden Hall. BuU.— Prize, £5, W. GUbcy (Banboy). Highly com- mended: C. J. H. Tower, Weald Hall. Cow. — Prize, £5, C. J. H. Tower. Highly commended: Lord Braybrooke (Holly). Commended: J. Eraser, Horn- church. Heifer.— Prize, £i, W. J. Beadel (Sandon). Highly com- mended : Major C. RusseU, Stubbers, Ockenham. YearUng heifer.— Prize, £4, Lord Braybrooke. Highly commended". W. GUbey (Banlass). BuU, must have served cows. — Prize, £10, W. Gilbey (Ban- boy). Highly commended : W. J. Beadel. Cow, in-milk or in-calf.— Prize, £10, W. GUbey (Duchess). Highly commended: J. Eraser. Commended: W. Gilbey (Banshee). Heifer, in-calf or in-milk.— Prize, £10, W.J. Beadel (LUy). Highly commended : Lord Braybrooke. SHEEP. Southdo\rii ram.- First prize, £10, J. Clayden, Littlebury ; second of £5, Lord Braybrooke, Audley End. ShortwooUed ram, open to all England. — Prize £10, C. Boby, Alton HaU, Stutton. SpeciaUy commended : J. Giblin, Little Bardfield. Shearling Southdown ram.— First prize, £10, and second of £4', Lord Braybrooke. Shearling shortwooUed ram. — Prize £S, Messrs. Nockolds and King, Saffron Walden. Five shearUng pure Down ewes. — First prize, £7, and second of £5, J. Claydon. Ram, Cotswold, Leicester, or Lincoln. — Prize £7, J. Giblin, Ram, Oxford or Shropshire. — Prize £7, J. Giblin. LongwooUed ram, open to all England. — Prize £10, J Giblin. Five shearling ewes, Oxford or Shropshire. — First prize, £5, and second of £3, W. Thompson, jun., Colchester. Five longwooUed shearling ewes. — Prize, £5, J. Giblin. Five ewes and lambs. — Prize, £6, J. GibUn. Five fat shearling shortwooUed wethers. — First prize, £5, Lord Braybrooke ; second of £3, W. Sworder, Tawney Hall. Five fat shearling Hampshire wethers, open to all England. — First prize withheld ; second of £3, W. Sworder. Five fat shearling, crossbreds, or longwooUed wethers.— First prize, £5, and second of £3, D. A. Green, Donyland Place. Five fat shearling crossbred wethers,''opeu to all England.— First prize, £5, and second of £3, D. A. Green. PIGS. Boar, large breed.— First prize, £5, and second of £3, G. Griggs, Romford. Boar, large breed, open to all England. — First prize, £10, Messrs. Duckering and Sons, Kirton Lindsey; second of £5, T. H. Everett, Bridgham, Thetford (Brutus). Highly com- mended : G. Grisrgs (Prince) ; C. Sturgeon, South Ockendon Hall (Berkshire)"; Boar, large breed. — First prize, £5, D. Robertson, Aveley Hall ; second of £3, G. Griggs. Boar, smaU breed. — First prize, £5, J. S. Lescher, Boyles Court, South Weald ; second of £3, W. Bott, Broomlield. Boar, sniaU breed, open to aU England. — First prize, £10, Messrs. Duckering and Sous ; second of £5, G. M. Sexton, Whersted HaU (Bothwell). Highly commended : T. Taylor," Pool Farm, Taunton (Puzzler). Boar, smaU breed, not exceeding 12 months. — First prize, £5, G. Griggs (Commodore Nutt) ; second of £3, J. A, Wil- liams, Tiie Brownings, Chigwell (Napoleon). Sow in pig. — First prize, £5, G. Griggs, Romford (Queen of the East) ; second of £3, G. Griggs (IMiss Hopeful) . Highly commended : J. A. WUliams, The Brownings, Chig- w'ell. Commended: G. Griggs (Duchess). Sow, small breed, open to aU England. — Prize, £i, Messrs. Duckering and Sons ; prize, £4, R. Swauwick, Royal Agricul- tural College, Cirencerter. Commended : Messrs. Duckering and Sons ; Messrs. Wheeler and Sons, Long Compton, Shipston-on-Stour (Ace of Hearts). The two prizes divided. Sow, small breed, open to aU England. — First prize, £o, Messrs. Duckering and Sons ; second of £3, Messrs. Wheeler and Sons (Lucy). HiglUy commended : W. Hope, Dagen- ham (Aunt Hannah) ; G. M. Sexton, Wherstead Hall (Hannah). Commended: G. M. Sexton; G. Griggs (White Rose). Sow and pigs. — First prize, £5, G. Griggs (Queen Bess) ; second of £3, G. Griggs (Picture). Tiiree sow pigs of same Utter. — First prize, £5, J. Clayden ; second of £3, J. Pertwce, Boreham. Fat pig, open to all England.— Prize, &5 58., Messrs. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 71 wheeler and Sons (King Lear). Highly commended : Messrs. Duckering and Sons. At the dinner, tlie Chairman, Mr. BIcIntosh, was very glad to see the uumher of animals that entered for his chal- lenge enp. For the liononr of the county of Esses he should liked to have won the cup, aad he should always do his part, as he hoped the men of Essex generally would do their part, and come forward another year and endeavour to get the cup back into Essex and keep it there. As they could not keep it in Esses this year, he was glad to think it had gone into such good hands as the Marquis of Exeter. The competition for the cup included representatives from Yorkshire, North- amptonshire, and other great counties, and lie believed, and he was told by the judges, that it had been a very close con- test, his own animal being beaten by only a very little. They were not going to be disheartened in Essex by the cup being taken from them— they should wish success to any county that took it from them, and all they should ask them was to take care of the cup and give them another chance of win- ning it. Mr. Bexnett, a judge of the riding horses, said that the show, although perhaps in many points not quite equal to some shows he had attended, yet contained many very good animals indeed, some of them being very much superior to what he had seen in Essex and many other parts before. He would suggest to breeders the importance of getting a little more blood in their horses. Mr. EooKES, 9ne of the judges of sheep and pigs, wishe. he could congratulate them on the show of sheep but he could not. He hoped they would have a better show next year, fod he had not had sufficient work to do in that departmentr There was a wonderfully good show of pigs — indeed it was the best he had ever seen at a local show. Mr. J. Clayden proposed " The County Members." He believed that the county members, to whom the agriculturists were much indebted, were desirous in every way to assist them, but he was sorry to see that on a late occasion when his friend Mr. Clare Sewell Kead, the member for Norfolk, brought forward a very important motion, with reference to the importation of infected cattle into the country, a matter of vast import to the consumers, there was a " count out," wliich county members ought not to have allowed. He was sure they regretted it as much as he did, and that they would do better another time. Mr. JoiiNSTo:^, M.P., whose name was coupled with the toast, said, with reference to the " count out" spoken of by Mr. Clay den, as far as he could count, there were only 19 members, independent of the Government, present at the time, and of those 19 he was glad to say that a very good proportion were members for the Eastern Counties. He made the remark at the time that if it had been an exciting party squabble, they should have had the House crowded from floor to ceiling ; but as it was only a question of the agricultural interest and the food of 30,000,000 people, they were counted out with about 30 members. The next night on which the House sat, the very thing happened that he had spoken of — they had an ex- citing party squabble, and from midnight until daylight streamed in at the windows, 400 men sat discussing whetlier they should sit next day at 3 o'clock or 4 o'clock — for three hours they were discussing whether they should discuss another matter for two hours next day. Under such circumstances, he was very glad that the toast to which he had to respond was not " The House of Commons," but " The County Members." The question had been mooted of forming an Eastern Counties' Agricultural Association. It might be said that Essex did very well as it was ; but being about equally connected with Norfolk, Suifolk, and Esses, he could not help saying that, as far as he was personally con- cerned, any such proposal would suit his book uncommonly well. Sir H. Selwin Ibbetson, M. P., referring to the "countout," asked Mr. Clayden to bear testimony that he (Sir Henry) had never been backward in his attention to this matter ; but he acknowledged that he was in fault in not being in the House on the occasion in question. He had asked Mr. Read if he intended bringing this motion on, and he replied that it was on the paper so late, and he was so ignorant of whether there was to be a morning sitting, that he did not think it would come on. He (Sir Henry) accordingly extended his Whitsun Holiday ; but he admitted now that he ought not to have done so — he candidly and honestly confessed that he ought to have been in his place in the House, but they all knew that he was absent from no lack of interest in the matter. THE WARWICKSHIRE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. MEETING AT RUGBY. Beyond its famous school and "stopping" station there is not much to be said in favour of Rugby ; as, in- deed, it would seem to be a town by which everybody goes, and where nobody stays. "With, then, the many pleasant sites at its disposal, such as Leamington, Strat- ford, Warwick, or Birmingham, it looked like some- thing of a mistake on the part of the management to take the Warwickshire Society into such a coi-ner of the county, even on the plea of finding fresh fields and pastures new. The experiment of bringing forward the meeting from the autumn to the early summer was conse- quently tested under not the most encouraging auspices, as there was a certain slackness about the proceedings and a very obvious mediocrity of material in the show itself, which we should be inclined to attribute less to time than place. The very road up through that dull hilly bit of street was dispiriting enough, while the people who lounged about on the ground were clearly think- ng a deal more of their dinner than of the merits of the animals on exhibition. It is seldom that we have seen the doings of the judges followed with so little interest. The veiy horses failed to at- tract much attention, although this is a very " horsey" district, but then there was not mucli to see hei'e, and Messrs. Cookson and Thurnall only awarded some of the prizes in their classes " upon compulsiou ;" not but that occasionally a really nice horse was paraded, such as the prize stallion jMogador, who never looked better ; and a very taking nag he is, especially handsome and blood- like, and with the power of King Tom, relieved by a bit of fashion which he inherits on his dam's side from Orlando. Mogador's only opponent, the highly com- mended Jupiter, a beautifully bred horse, by Weatherbit out of a Birdcatcher mare, is still a short hack-looking animal, with a pretty head and bad cramped action. The The third entry of hunter-stallions was old CannobiCj a well known stallion in these parts, having been bred by Lord John Scott, by whom the horse was given to the stud- groom Hemming some years since. Cannobie duly reached the show-ground on Tuesday morning, when he reared up aud died in an instant of, as it was announced, disease of the brain. He was eighteen years old, and the sire of a vast deal of hunting stock in the Shires. And of this hunting stock there was a sad confusion of classes at Rugby, with endless conditions and restric- tions, and as a natural result, but limited entries. Surely it would be better to arrange for two good classes, say of four-year-old and all-aged horses, than to fritter away the interest of what should be so attractive a section of the show. The best hunter from the War- wickshire, the North Warwickshire, the Atherstone, Pytchley, Bicester, Quoru, Duke of Grafton's, and Mr, 72 THE FAKMER'S MAGAZINE. Tailby — why not throw it open at once ? — was Mr. Gale's Monarch, a fair, useful horse e cough, and a frequent winner, where the company, as at Rugby, was not of any extraordinary merit. The best hunter, the property of a tenant-farmer within the limits of the same countries, was a wooden-looking chesnut by Rochester, with a horse of more character bred by Mr. Berry Congreve put second, and Mr. John Bennett's smart son of Artillery, a really charming horse in action, and a winner over *a country, quite unnoticed. There were a number of other premiums, in some cases with single entries, and with little worth notice beyond Messrs. Gilbert and Glover's very neat hacks, and a clever pony shown by Mr. Umbers, that looked to be the best of the lot, though the prize-list says otherwise. With, only one other in competition, and that one dis- qualified, Mr. Manning's white-legged horse had a walk over for the cart stallion premium ; while in many of the other classes of horses for agricultural purposes the entries were often as limited, and the merit less noticeable. Still the judges could not always agree, and Mr. Spencer was called in to decide which was the better mare of the two— Lord Warwick's or Mr. Scale's entry. The white- legged one from the Castle has a really beautiful fore- hand, with plenty of quality and fine action, but she is very bad on her forelegs ; aud so the Brockhurst mare, far better below, but common enough, and with a shocking neck put on about as wrong as it could be, was eventually pronounced the superior as the more serviceable of the pair. The extra stock included a half- Arab grey stallion, with a long, flourishing, Russian pedigree on one side of his head, flashy, flat-catching action, and of no particular use or purpose in his appearance. It is difficult to under- stand why such an animal should have been kept entire. Mr. liow sent on his team of Sliorthorns from Guild- ford, and took the cow prize with Windsor's JUitterllj', the two-year-old heifer with Vesper Queen, aud the year- ling premium with Verona, the closest competition seem- ing to be amongst the two-year-olds, where Mr. Anger- stein showed a very taking lengthy heifer, bred at Branches, which had certainly some months' advantage in age, but was very near upon calving. Mr. Angerstcin, who now gives the sportsmen" of the Shires an off" day's gallop with his stag-houuds, is also getting up a Shorthorn herd at Asliby, having of late been a free buyer from Lady Pigot, and taken on John "Ward's son as his manager. Amongst (he others I\Ir. Furness showed a nice milking sort of cow, called Joyous, bred by Mr. Bland at Coleby, and I\Ir. George Garue, who is coming again, his deep and stylish Duchess of Airdrie; but some of "the ruck" from Dunchnrch, Lindsey, and Kenilworth were curious specimens of the improved Shorthorn. By far away the best bull or the best beast in the show was Lord Exeter's Telemachus, a good, true, and stylish animal, well furnished, aud of fine quality, who showed a deal of promise at Sleaford and other meetings in the autumn of last year, but he had little to beat at Rugby, the Royal Butterfly having worn badly, and showing plenty of weak places. The few two- year-olds were a common plain lot, but Mr. Mumford sent a " breedy" yearling from Chilton, distinguished by a famous coat and touch, as not over-marked for show, and we fancied him more than the one put above him on the list. Mr. Beale's couple of country-side cows with their great bags were preferred to Lord Cheshara's highly-bred Alderneys for " dairy purposes" on the plea of quantity rather than quality ; but anyhow, the Latimer ladies should have taken second from the other poor things put above them, or there is no virtue in cream or butter. Ilowever, a caution as to something " suitable to the district," whatever that might happen to mean, seemed to decide it. Lord Exeter showed a pair of young white steers, the one said to be of Burghley aud the other of Booth blood ; and there were three Longhorns shown in two classes, with Warwickshire, be it remembered, as the home of the Longhorn and !Mr. Chapman as his cham- pion. The Herefords, however, do worse hereabouts, with two entries in three classes ; while the judges were induced to give Mr. Baldwin's mean bull-calf a second prize, and his heifer a first. Considering the cost at which the Luddington herd was established the white-faces can scarcely be said to have succeeded in Warwickshire. The sheep show was small, and in many respects an echo of Guildford. Thus the Kilkenny Cotswolds were again in force, and Mr. Wallis'two second best Oxfords at the West of England ^Meeting now first, but Mr. Milton Druce made no entry, and Mr. Treadwell changed his sheep in the interim for one net so smart in his character. Mr. Turner also sent in some fresh Leicesters, with Mr. Marris as his only competi- tor, and the premiums most equitably divided. As we anticipated, the awards over the Shropshire sheep in Surrey the other day have already come to be disputed. Thus Lord Chesham's beautiful pen of ewes, with size, quality, and breeding, were now put before Mr. Baker's entries, though at Guildford the award was precisely the other way, with, we believe, much the same sheep in competition. Again, Lord Chesham here takes first for shearling rams, but Mr. Baker's Guildford prize ram died soon after that meeting, so that any correction here is not so clear. With a few other exhibitors of Shrop- shiresthe struggle for supremacy was altogether between these two flocks, and over the old class of only three en- tries an umpire had to be called. The first prize was awarded unanimously enough to a great well-grown sheep, bred by the late Lord Aylesford, one of the judges also going for a ram of ^Mr. Baker's own breeding as second-best, and the other for Lord Chesham's entry. The choice was between a somewhat coarse, useful, old- fashioned sort, and the smarter neater type of the more modern Shropshircs, which Jlr. Mansell preferred, and Mr. Newton, the referee, was of the same opinion, as were most of the Shropshire breeders on the ground. But it is difficult, so far, to hold to any very particular line over such a country. i\rr. Hicken, of Dunchnrch, had some very noticeable success against the Duckerings aud others with his white pigs, which it appears are of Messrs. Howard's sort. In fact, his boar in the old class, and the sire of his two young prize pigs, was bred at Bedford, but the judges here preferred an entry of Mr. Walker's, larger aud coarser, with a thick but bad curly coat on his back. The best boar on the ground, however, was a particularly clever white of the small breed, very handsome and symmetrical, who had pre- viously to this crowning distinction proved himself the best of an excellent class, with the Duckerings showing llieir own whites aud Jlr. Crisp's black (the second prize), Mr. Turner some of the Fisher Hobbs' Essex, and ^Ir. Walker a pig bred by the renowned IMr. Eden, of Manchester, so that almost every good sort of small pig was here represented. The winner was bred by Mr. Umbers. Mr. Humphrey beat Lord Chesham and Mr. Spencer for Berkshires ; Messrs. Wheeler's sort had some further success, and the Northorpe pigs, as usual, commanded frequent mention on the prize list. In fact, the pigs, large and small, whites and blacks, made up the best section of the Warwickshire Show. ^ There were also premiums for cheese and implements, in which department the following firms were exhibi- tors : Richmond and Chandler, Manchester ; Penney and Co., Lincoln ; Humphries, Pershore ; Barrows and Stewart, Banbury ; Pinfold, Rugby ; Glover, Warwick ; Edmunds, Rugby ; Ball and Sons, Rothwell ; Baker, THE FAEMER'S MAGAZINE. 73 ComptoD ; Matterson, Huxley, and Watson, Coventry ; Fuller and Simpson, Leamington ; Glover and Sons, Warwick ; Ball, North Kilvvorth, Rugby ; Corbett, Shrewsbury ; Amies and Barford, Peterborough ; Woods, Cocksedge, and Warner, Stowmarket ; Bradford and Co., Fleet-street, London ; Mellard and Co. Rugeley ; Beach, and Co., Dudley ; Maun, Leamington ; Alcock, Rugby ; Day, Son, and Hewett, Dorset-street London ; Kelham, Rugby; Dodge, Upper Thames-street, London; and True- love, Hinckley. There was, we are told, a very large attendance on the Wednesday, when we can only trust that so preposterous a charge as one shilling for such a catalogue was reduced to a more generally available price. Catalogues should be to some extent advertisemeats, and it is very bad policy to put these out of the common reach. PRIZE LIST. JUDGES. Cattle and Agricultural Horses : C. Hellaby, Brancote Hall, Atherstone ; R. J. Newton, Campsfield Farm, Woodstock. Hunters and Hack : J . Cookson, Neashain Hall, Darlington ; H. Thurnhall, Royston. Sheep and Pigs : T. Mansell, Ergall Park, Wellington, Salop ; J. Tomkinson, Hall Field, Ashbourne. Cheese : T. Kemp, Warwick. Implements : J. Hemsley, Shelton, Newark ; J. Toone, High Cross, Lutterworth. CATTLE. SUOKTIIORNS. Bull, above three years old. — First prize, £10, and extra prize of £10, the Marquis of Exeter, Burghley Park, Stam- ford (Telemaclius). Bull, over twenty months and under three years old. — First prize, £10, W. Bradburn, Wednesfield (White Satin) ; second, £5, R.Robins, Kenilworth (Red Martyr). Bull, over ten and under twenty months old. — First prize, £8, C. A. Barnes, Charleywood, Herts (Lord Eglinton) ; se- cond, £4, J. A. Mumford, Chilton, Thame (Caballer). Cow, in milk, above three y^ars old. — First prize, £6, and extra prize £10, J. Hough, Broughton, Huntingdon (Windsor Butterfly); second, £3, W. Bradburn (Red Rose). Highly commended : M. AV. Furness, Rugby (Joyous) . Heifer, under three years old, in milk or in calf. — Firs t prize, £6, J. Hough (Vesper Queen) ; second, £3, J. W. N. Angerstein, Ashby Lodge, Rugby (Lady of Branches). Com- mended: W. Bradburn (jMissRose). Heifer, under two years old. — First prize, £6, J. How (Verona) ; second, £3, C. A. Barnes (Royal Duchess). Highly commended: C. A. Barnes (Lady A.dela). HEEEFOEDS. Bull above three years old. — No entry. Bull above ten months and under three years old. — Second prize, £3, J. Baldwin, Luddington. One entry. Cow, in milk, above three years old. — No entry. Heifer, in milk or in calf, under three years old. — Prize, £6, J. Baldwin. One entry. LONGnOKNS. Bull not exceeding four jears old. — Prize, £5, R. H. Chap- man, Upton, Nuneaton. Cow or heifer, in milk. — Second prize, £3, J. H. Burbery, Kenilworth Chase. Bull for breeding purposes, of any pure breed. — No entry. Pair of steers, of any breed, under three years old. — No entry. TOR DAIKY PURPOSES. Pair of cows in mUk, which have been used in the dairy for the last two seasons. — First prize, £10, J. Beale, Wolvey Grange ; second, £5, J. Pearman, Radford Seinele. Pair of Shorthorn steers, under two years old. — Prize, £5, Marquis of Exeter. Cow or heifer of the Channel Islands breed. — No entry. SHEEP. LEICESTERS. Shearling ram. — First prize, £6, G. Turner, jun., Alexton Hall, Uppingham; second, £3, T. Marris, Ulceby Chase, Lincolnshire. Two-shear ram. — First prize, £6, T. Marris ; second, £3, G. Turner, jun. Pen of five shearhng ■ewes. — No entry. OTHER LONG-WOOLLED SHEE?. Shearling ram. — No award, only one competitor. Two-shear ram. — First prize, £6, J. Wheeler and Sons, Long Compton ; second, £3, J. Wheeler and Sons. Pen of five shearling ewes. — No entry. COTSWOLDS. Shearling ram. — First prize, £6, Executors of the late J. Godwin, Troy Farm, Somerton ; second, £3, Executors of the late T. Gillett, Kilkenny Farm, Farringdon. Two-shear ram. — First prize, £6, Executors of the late T. Gillett ; second, £3, Executors of the late J. Godwin. Pen of five shearling ewes. — No entry. SIIROPSHIRES. Shearling ram. — First prize, £6, Lord Chesham, Latimer ; second, £3, W. Baker, Moor Barns, Atherstone. Two-shear ram. — First prize, £6, W. Baker ; second, £3, Lord Chesham. Pen of five shearling ewes. — First prize, £5, Lord Chesham ; second, £3, W. Baker. Highly commended : W. Baker. - OTHER SHORT-WOOLLED SHEEP. Shearling ram.— Prize, £5, G. Wallis, Old Sliifford, Bamp- ton, Farringdon. Two-shear ram. — Prize, £5, G. Wallis. Slaort-woolled tup, being the property of, although not bred by, a member, and to be used this season in the county. — No entry. LOC.iL PRIZE. Pen of five ewes, with their lambs in the yard. — Prize, £5, Executors of the late T. Gillett. HORSES. POR AGRICULTURAL PURPOSES. Stallion. — Fast prize, £30, J, Manning, Orlingbury ; second, not awarded. Mare, with a foal at her foot. — First prize, £10, J. E. Par- sons, Charwelton, Daventry ; second, £5, R. Robins, Kenil- worth. Gelding, under three years old. — Prize, £5, W. Fairbrotlier, Barton Dassett. Filly, under three years old. — Prize, £5, R. Timms, Braun- ston. Cart gelding, above four years old. — Prize, £5 , W. Fair- brother. Highly commended : J. N. Norman, Harboro' Magna. Cart mare, above four years old. — Prize, £5, J, A. Beale, Brockhurst. Commended : The Earl of Warwick, Warwick Castle. Pair of horses used at G.O. ploughing during the present season. — Prize, £5, the Earl of Warwick. HUNTERS. Stallion best adapted for hunting purposes. — Prize, £15, A. Walker, Rugby (Mogador). Highly commended: A. Over, Rugby (Jupiter). Hunter tliat has been ridden in the past season with the Warwickshire, North Warwickshire, Atherstone, Pytchley, Bicester, Quorn, Duke of Grafton's, or Mr. Tailby's hounds. — First prize, £15, S. Gale, Canons Ashby (Monarch) ; second, £5, J. E. Parsons (The Duke). Hunter, four years old and upwards. — First prize, £15, S. Catterns, Binley (by Retriever) ; second, £5, W. Fairbrother. Four years old gelding or filly, the property of a tenant- farmer farming not less than 100 acres of land, and residing within the limits of the Warwickshire or North Warwickshire Hunts, and to have been in his possession not less than twelve months. — Prize, £8, E. Knott, Fenny Compton. Half-bred two years old colt or filly, the property of, and bred by, a member. — Prize, £5, J. Pearman, Radford Seraele. Half-bred mare (with foal at her foot, by a thoroughbred horse), the property of a farmer occupying not less than 100 acres of land, rented or his own property, residing in the coun- try hunted by the Warwickshire liounds. — J. Pearman (disqua- lified). Half-bred mare (with a foal at her foot, by a thoroughbred horse), the property of a farmer occupying not less than 100 acres of land, rented or his own property, residing in the coun- try hunted by the North Warwickshire hounds, — Prize, £3, W. Driver, Caledon House, Coventry. 74 THE FABMEB'S MAGAZINE. Mare best calculated to breed hunters (with a foal at her foot), the property of a person whose income is derived from tlie occupation of a rented farm, and who is a member of the Society. Foal by a thoroughbred horse. — Not sufficient num- ber of entries. Hunter, belonging to a tenant-farmer, residing in Warwick- shire, North Warwickshire, Atherstone, Pytchley, or Mr. TaUby's hunts, which has been his property for sis months previous to tlie 1st of June, 1S71, and has been ridden to hounds during this season. — I'irst prize, £25, C. A. Pratt, Slienton, Nuneaton (Fhrt) ; second, £13 10s., ^Y. Rose, Off- church (The Rover) ; third, £7 10s., T. H, Montgomery, Bonrton. HACKNETlS and P03JIES. Hackney, exceeding 15 hands high. — Prize, £10, T. Gilbert, Swinford Lodge, Rugby. Hackney, not exceeding 15 hands high. — Prize, £10, J. T. Glover, Warwick. Pony, above 13, and not exceeding li hands liigh. — Prize, £5, S. Gale. Pony, above 13, and not exceeding 13 hands high. — Prize, £5, AY. Walker, HiUmorton. Hackney, exceeding 15 hands high, belonging to a War- wicksliire farmer, which has been his property for six months prior to June 1st, 1871. — Prize, £10, J.Gibbs, Cutler's farm, Wootton Wawen. Cob, not exceeding 14 hands, the property of the exhibitor for six months prior to June 1st. — No entry. PIGS. Roar of the large breed (except Berkshire) under eighteen nioaths. — First prize, £3, J. Hicken, Duncluirch ; second, £2, J. Hicken. Commended : AV. AValker, Stockley Park, Anslow. Boar of the large breed (except Berkshire) iibove, eighteen months. — First prize, £3, M. Walker, Stockley Park, Anslow ; second, £3, R. E. Duckering and Sons, Northope, Kirton Lindsey. Commended: R. E. Duckering and Sons. Boar of the small breed, under eighteen months old. — First prize, £3, and extra prize, £■!•, E. Umbers, jun., Wappenbury ; second, £3, R. E. Duckering and Sons. Highly commended : J. Wheeler and Sons. Commended: Duckering and Son and G. Turner, jun. Boar of the small breed, above eighteen months old. — First prize, £3, and second, £3, R. E. Duckering and Son. Boar of the Berkshire breed, under eighteen months old. — First prize, £3, J. Spencer, Villicrs Hill, Kenilworlh ; second, £3, H. Humfrey, Kiugstone Farm, Shrivenham. Boar of the Berkshire breed, under eighteen months old.— First prize, £3, H. Humfrey. Breeding sow, suckling pigs of her own farrow, and in milk at the time of show, of the large breed (except Berkshire). — First prize, £3, J. Hicken ; second of £3, R. E. Duckering and Sons, Northorpe ; extra of £4, J. Tlicken. Breeding sow, of the small breed, suckling pigs of her own farrow, and in milk at the time of show. — First prize, £3, J. Wbeeler and Sous ; second of £3, E. Umbers. Berkshire sow, suckling pigs of her own farrow, and in milk at the time of show. — First prize, £3, H. Humfrey ; second of £3, Lord Chesham. Best breeding pigs, of one farrow of 1871, of large breed. — Prize, £3, R. E. Duckering and Son. Highly commended : J. Hicken. Breeding pigs, of one farrow of 1871, of small breed.— Prize, £3, J. Wheeler and Sons. Breeding pigs, of one farrow of 1S71, of Berksliire breed. — Prize, £2, J. Wheeler and Sons. Sow, of any breed, suckling pigs of her own farrow, and in milk at the time of show. — Prize, £2, J. Hicken. CHEESE. Three clieeses, not less than TOlbs. each, the property of the exhibitor, a member, and made from liis own dairy in 1871 ; and a medal to the dairymaid. — Prize, £5, G. Gibbons, Tunley Farm, Bath. Highly commended : J. Harris, Fletcbampstead, Coventry. Three cheeses, not exceeding 501bs. each, the property of the exhibitor, a member, and made from his own dairy in 1871 ; and a medal to the dairymaid. — Prize, £5, M. Walker, Stockley Park, Anslow. Highly commended : G. Gibbons. IMPLEMENTS. The sum of £50 given at the discretion of the judges as under : Richmond and Chandler, Salfqrd, Manchester, £3, for chaff- cutting machine. Humphries, Pershore, £3, for thrashing machine and dresser. Edmunds, Rugby, £3, for collection of implements. Ball and Sons, Rothwell, £3 for combined potato, ridge plough, and horse hoe ; and £3 for combined double plough and subsoil plough. Matterson, Huxley, and Watson, Coventry, £5 for collection of implements. W. Glover and Sons, Warwick, £5 for collection of imple- ments, £3 for waggon, and £3 for drill. Bali, North Kilwortli, Rugby, £5 for collection of carts, and £3 for combined double plough and subsoil plough. Corbet, Perseverance Ironworks, Shrewsbury, £3 for com- bined winnowing machine and sack elevator. Amies and Barford, Peterborough, £5 for com mill, and £5 for dressing maclune. Woods, Cocksedge, and Warner, Stourmarket, £3 for horse gear. Mellard and Co., Trent Foundry, Rugeley, StaiTordshire, £3 for sheep rack. For the best farm gate, complete, at a cost not exceeding £1 5s., first prize £5, W. Ivens, Harborough Parva, Rugby. At the dinner, Mr. Newbegate, M.P., said : There is in the philosophical Radicalism of the present day an objection to every one of those elements of independence wliieh form tlie ground work of English freedom, whether in the service, or in Parliament, or in the State, or in the Church. This philo- sophical Radicalism has had its full development in the Go- vernment of France, and I ask you whether you admire that example ? They will tell you that this philosophical view of freedom is classical, that it is that of ancient Greece and Rome. But I ask you where are those empires now ? It is tlie Sason element of England which has attained the develop- ment upon which is founded English freedom, and I shall ever as your representative stand stiffly and sternly for the main- tenance of our Saxon freedom. I stand before you first as a magistrate and then as a county member, one whom these philosophical Radicals have taunted as one of the " great un- paid." They are more cautious now, but they used to speak of the great body of the working-classes as the " great un- washed," and except that it were for the good undcrstaudiug that exists between the great unpaid and the great uuwaslied, how should we have secured the peace and the freedom and the prosperity which has existed in England to the admiration of the world ? But there would be a gap between the great unpaid — as these philosophical Radicals call us — and the great unwashed were it not for the middle class of which I see such a noble specimen before me. The English farmer is a medium by wliich the two extremes of society are combined. He is intellectually the oak of the English constitution and of the Enghsh mind, and long may it stand sturdily to brave the battle and the breeze ! When trouble comes — and perhaps looming in the distance there is a dark cloud larger than a man's hand — may the oak shelter the poor and defend the feeble ! Long may there be that union between classes which this Society so eminently represents ! Long may these meet- ings be graced by the presence of the ladies of England ! and it is curious, but I was reading the other day a list of seven or eight French savatis, leaders of the intellect of France, who had been driven to England by the sad storm which has de- vastated their own country, and three at least of them had shown their appreciation of English homes, by marrying Eng- lish women. This is a tribute paid to the women of England by the leading intellects of France. Alas ! we have seen in Paris that women — who are a blessing to mankind — debased, degraded, and uneducated, become fiends. Let us by this contrast learn to be proud that we are English sons of Eng- lish ladies. Mr. John Hardy, M.P., said : When I got into the show- yard the Chairman said my stock was not fat enough.^ I did not know what fatness was until I came to Rugby. Tliis must be a land overllowing with fatness. Mr. C.NXDECOTT, the chairman : And not \vith milk. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 75 ROYAL CORNWALL AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. JIEETING AT TRURO. The real business of the Tuesday consisted of the judging of the implements for the Rodd Memorial and Society's prizes. That part of the work which had the most attraction lor the public wasthe trials'of mowers andof double ploughs, and these were attended by a large assemblage. Mowers by nine makers were selected for trial, but only eight put in an appearance. They were as follows : Howard's, Biu'gcss and Key's, Lewis and Iloole's, Brenton's, Samuelson's, Oatey's, Wood's, Picksley and Sims'. The trial took place in a small field at the head of Daniell-street, and the stewards and judges made the most of an awkwardly-shaped trial- ground. In double-furrow ploughs, the competitors Avere Messrs. Howard, Eowlcr, and Davey. The land was very hard and stift" to get through, but the work was adraii-ably done. The trials of implements took place under the supcrmtendence of Mr. Trethewy, director of the exhibition, and Mr. Davis, steward of implements. Perhaps never was there collected here a show of cattle of greater average excellence. The Devons, the Short- horns, and the Herefords were in point of quality nearly all good. The little Jersey cows, too, were of the best of their kind. The greatest praise, however, was reserved for the Devons and the Shorthorns as favourite breeds, many of Messrs. Hosken's and Mr. Farthing's entries having been already out this year at Guild- ford. The Herefords were tolerably weU represented. Though not a favoui'ite breed in the county they are in repute with a few breeders, who believe they have a peculiar value in certain districts. The Leicester sheep, as might have been expected, muster most strongly ; while the judges were so pleased with the show of pigs that they highly commended every class. The Berkshire and the small breeds were represented by some remark- ably good animals, and they were by far the most nu- merous, as apparently now the favourite breeds. There were also a few capital specimens of the large breeds. There was a very fair show of horses; the best, undoubtedly, that has ever been seen in Cornwall. There was no dis- trict of the county unrepresented, while there were many from the most distant parts of the adjoining county. Only two classes were thinly represented, those of three- year-old geldings for agricultural purposes and three- year-old geldings or fillies bred by tenant farmers in Cornwall. The challenge cup, value 60 guineas, for the best three-year-old gelding or filly, bred by a tenant far- mer of Cornwall, goes again to ^Ir. John Paull, whose property it thus becomes. PRIZE LIST. JUDGES. Devons and HEREroKDS : Mr. Newberry, Plympton ; Mr. Snow, Braunton, Barnstaple. Shorthorns, Jerseys, and Pigs : Mr. Corner, Torweston ; Mr. Morris, Maiscmaur, Gloucester. Sheep : Mr. Potter, Collumpton ; Mr. Nicolls, Altarnun 5 Mr. J. Hodder, Emeston, Modbury. Horses : Mr. Digby CoUins, Newton Park, Callington ; Mr. Warne RaddaU, South Petherwin ; Mr. Anstey, Mena- billy Farm. CATTLE. DEVONS. Bulls above three years old. — First prize, Viscount Fal- mouth (Narcissus) ; second, T. Julyan, Creed (Duke of Corn- wall) ; third, W. Earthing, Stowey Court, Bridgwater (Sir George). Highly commended: H. Benny, Ladock (Mouse- hole). Commended: W. Clark, St. Ewe (Captain). Bulls above two and not exceeding three years old. — First prize. Viscount Falmouth (Jonquil) ; second, R. H. Marshall, Mawgan ; third, 11. Davey, Pcnhole House, Northill (Martinis of Lome). Bulls notj. exceeding two years old. — First prize. Viscount Falmouth ; second, W. P. Vosper, Saltram, Plyraptou. Highly commended: Viscount Falmouth (Kingcraft), and J. Jack- man, Hexvvorthy. Commended: H. Benny, Ladock, and J. Mason, St. Clements. Cows above three years old. — First prize, W. Farthing ; second, T. Julyan ; third, J. Tremain, Philleigh. Highly com- mended : J. Tremain, and T. Julyan. Heifers not exceeding three years old. — First prize, J. Ma- son, St. Clements ; second, T. Julyan. Heifers not exceedmg two years old.— First prize, W. Far- thing ; second, Rev. S. N. Kingdon, Bridgerule, Holsworthy ; third, Viscount Falmouth. Higlily commended : T. Julyan. Commended : J. Mason. SHORTHORNS. Bulls above three years old. — First prize, T. Blarney, juu., Veryan (Majesty) ; second, R. Tremain, Trethurffe, Ladock (Towneley Grand Duke) ; third, J. Thomas, Gerrans (Duke of Koseland). Bullsabovetwoandnot exceeding three years old. — First prize , E. Bolitho, Trewiddeu, Penzance (Orion) ; second, CardeU and Martyn, Colan and St. Enoder ; third. Sir F. M. Williams, Bart., M.P., Goonvrea, Perranarworthal. Highly commended : J. Gill, Probus. Bulls not exceeding two years old. — First prize, Hosken and Son, Hayle (Prince Frederick 3rd) ; second, Tremain and Giles Williams, Philleigh and Ruanlanihorne ; third, Hosken and Son (Knight of Penwith). Cows above three years old. — First prize, Hosken and Son (Butterfly) ; second, Whitford, St. Ernie. Heifers not exceeding three years old. — First prize, Hosken and Son (Countess of Oxford) ; second, Hosken and Son (Miss Ada 2nd) ; tliird,M. H. Williams, Tredrea. Highly com- mended : Sir F. M. Williams. Heifers not exceeding two years old.— First prize, Hosken and Son, Hayle ; second, Hosken and Son ; third, Hosken and Son. HEREFORDS. Bulls above three years old, 1871. — First prize, G. and W. E. Lobb, Lawliitton ; second, W. Grose, Penpont, Wadebridge. Bulls above two and not exceeding three years old. — First prize, J. Paull, Ruanlanihorne ; second, Olver, Philleigh. Commended, Olver. Bulls not exceeding two years old. — First prize, W. Grose, Penpont, Wadebridge ; second, J. Paull. Cows above three years old. — First prize, J. Sydney Davey, Redruth ; second, R. S. Olver, St. Mabyn. Highly commended, W. R. Grose, Penpont, Wadebridge. Heifers not exceeding three years old. — First prize, Olver ; second, J. Paull. Highly commended, G. and W. E. Lobb. Commended, W. N. Grose (for two heifers). CHANNEL ISLAND. Cows. above three years old. — First prize, J. Sydney Davey ; second, Gatley, St. Erme ; third, J. Brown, Truro. Highly commended, Sydney Davey ; and F. Cragoe, Kea. Heifers not exceeding three years old. — First prize, R. Rendle, Catel Farm, Guernsey ; second, Gatley, St. Erme ; third, R. Rendle. Highly commended, R. Rendle. SHEEP. LEICESTERS. Yearling rams.— First prize, J. Tremain, Philleigh ; second, G. Turner, Cadburj, Tiverton ; third, J. Gould, Bampl'ylde Lodge, Poltimore. 76 THE FAEMER'S MAGAZINE. Old rams, — First prize, G. Turner ; second, J. Gould ; third, J. Tremain. Yearling ewes. — First prize, J. Tremain ; second, J. Gould; third, J. Mason. LINCOLNS. Yearling rams. — First prize, T. M. Cardell, Colan ; second, T. M. GardeU. Old rams.— First prize, T. M. Cardell ; second,T. M. Cardell. COTWOLDS. Yearling rams. — First prize, Gatley, St, Erme ; second, Gatley. Old rams. — First prize, Gatley ; second, Gatley. SOtJTU HAMS. Yearling rams. — First prize, J. Badcock, Bearscombe, Kings- bridge ; second, G. Martyn, Trewen, Camelford. Old rams. — First prize, J. Badcock ; second, A.. C. Clarke, St. Budeaus. DART1I00R3. Yearling rams. — First prize, J. Drew, Artiscombe ; second, R. Palmer, Radge, Tavistock. Old rams, — First prize, R. May, Grendon, Tavistock; second, T. Square, South Brenton, Tavistock. SHROPSHIRE DOWXS. Yearling rams. — ^First and second prizes, Viscount Falmouth. Old rams. — First prize, Viscount Falmouth; second, J. Sydney Davey. Yearling ewes. — First and second prizes. Viscount Falmouth. HORSES. FOR AGRICrLTURA.!, PURPOSES. Stallious. — First prize, G. Jeffrey, Lidford, Devon ; second, II. Laity, Crowan (Goldfinder) ; third, J. Down, Black Tor- rington, Devon (Morning Star). Highly commended : Reynolds, Perranzabuloe, (Young Oxford) Mares. — First prize, E. Cragoe, Kea ; second, Gatley, St. Erme ; third, G. E. Elliott, Swilley Farm, Plymouth. Highly commended: J. Merthyr. Commended: G.E.Elliott. Three-year-old Geldings. — No eutry. Three-year-old Fillies. — First prize, J. Tremain ; second, Gill, Tregassa, St. Erme. HACKS AND HUNTERS. Stallions. — First prize, T. K. Bickell, Tavistock (Hunting Horn) ; second, H. Laity, Crowan (Moiiravieff). Mares. — First prize. Viscount Falmouth, Tregothnan ; second. Viscount Falmouth ; third, Rd. Cleave, Advent, Camelford. Three-year-old Geldings. — First prize. Viscount Falmouth ; second, Colonel Tremayne, Carclew. Three-year-old Fillies. — First prize, J. Gill, St. Erme; second, S. Hendy, Wendrun. Cob not less than 14 hands or more than 14 hands 3 in. — First prize, E. James, Newlyn. Three-year-old Gelding or Iilly. — First prize, J. PauU, Ruanlanihorne. Two-year-old Gelding or Filly. — First prize, W. Rowse, Bodmin ; second, Lawry, Probus. Highly commended : Thompson, Cuby. Ponies not. exceeding 13^ hands. — First prize, J. Magor, St. Columb. PIGS. Boars, large breed. — First prize, Sydney Davey ; second, Sydney Davey. Sows, large breed. — Prize, J. Ball, Plynt's Barn, Truro. Boars exceeding 13 months, small breed. — First prize, W. M. Ware, Newham House, llelston ; second, R. Roskelly, St. Enoder. Boars not exceeding 13 mouths, small breed. — First prize, W. M. Ware, Helston ; second, J. Vercoe, Ladock ; third, Hendy, Trenowth, Probus. Highly commended : W. James, Probus. Sows, small breed, — First prize, Hendy ; second, Whitford, . Erme ; third, Hendy. Highly commended : Rd. Gill, St. Stleu. The class commended. AlPens of two breeding sows not exceeding 13 months old. — First prize. Sir F. M. Williams, Bart., M.P. ; second. Sir F. M. WiUiaras ; third. Sir F. W. Williams. The above prizes are subject to the approval of the council to decide if those which were Berkshire pigs should be con- sidered a small breed. SPECIAL PRIZES. The best bull in the yard. Lord Falmouth (Devon) ; the best cow or heifer, Walter Farthing (Devon) ; the best ram, G. Tamer (Leicester) , best pen of ewes, J. Treraaine (Leicesters). I M P L E :M E N T S. Judges. — Messrs. J. Sobey, J. Stephens, and N. Rose- veai, jun. THE RODD MEMORIAL PRIZES. PREPARATION Of THE GROUND. Best double-furrow plough. — J. and F. Howard, Bedford. Best cultivator. — J. Davey, Crafthole. Best set of harrows. — Larkwortliy, Worcester, on Messrs. PUmsaul's stand. Best set of seed harrows. — Messrs. Howard. Best chain harrow. — Cambridge and Perham, Bristol. CULTIVATION OF CROPS. Best corn drill for small occupation in hilly districts. — Brenton, Polbathic. Best turnip and mangel wurzel drill, for ridge or flat, de- positing manure w^th seed. — Brenton. Best general manure distributor. — Brenton. Best horse-hoe for green crops, on the ridge and flat, adapted to work horizontally along the side of tiie hiU. — J. Davey. HARVESTING CROPS AND PREPARING TOR MARKET. Best mowing machine. — First prize, Samuelson and Co., Banbury; second prize divided between Burgess and Key and Brenton. Highly commended : Picksley and Sims. Best haymaking machine. — ^Messrs. Howard. Best horse-rake for collecting hay or corn, having a mode of delivery more or less self-acting. — Davey. Best winnowing machine, which will also be convertible into a simple blower. — Brenton. SOCIETY'S PRIZES. Collection of the best and most improved agricultural im- plements and machines manufactured in the county. — First prize, Brenton ; second, Davey ; third, Oatey, Wadebridge. Best cooking apparatus. — Barnicoat, Merther. Best sheep-feeding hurdle-rack. — Brenton. Best field gate. — Cambridge and Parham. At the dinner, the jMayor said the Society was born in Truro, and Truro was proud of it. It was a [iroud thing for tliem to hear as they did that the show on the grounds that day was superior to that of the Bath and West of England, which had recently enlarged its boundaries. They had heard recently aljout a certain Roger Ticliborne going away ten stone and coming back twenty-six, but he thought the in- creased proportions of that Society would not throw any diffi- culty in the way of recognising it, and giviug it its rightful claims. Mr. Morris, one of the judges, said he had seen as good a lot of Shorthorns on the ground tiiat day as he ever wished to see again, and the Society must have been proud to have such animals to show, and he thought it would be very diflicult to find any animals to beat them. Mr. Collins said tlie horses and dogs in the show were far above the average. The sporting dogs w^ere superior to what he had seen in the Crystal Palace show. Then, as to the horses, he saw a half-bred two-year-old such as he had never seen in his life before. Although the size was a little under what they might hope for, the quality was as good as they could wish to see at any couuty show. Mr. T. Olver said he never saw better animals exhibited in any other county in England ; or such a fine collection of various breeds of animals as had been brought together that day. THE FRENCH PRIZES OF HONOUR.— Eight of the French Departmental prizes of honour for 1871, have now been announced. They are as follows : llle-et-Viluiue, M. Despres, the Guerche ; Isijre, the Marquis de Mouteynard, Senaiu ; Seine-et-Marne, M. Caille, Crisnoy ; Sarthe, M. Coar^Uier, Prccigne ; Gers, M. Alfred de la Lavergne, Mon- treal; Gard, M. Causse, Massereau ; Doubs, M. Cueuot, iNoel- Ceruaux ; Meuse, M. Radouan, Remennecourt. The district agricultural shows organised in former years by the French Government will not take place in 1S71. THE FABMER'S MAGAZINE. 77 THE THOENE AGEICULTURAL SOCIETY. The entries are ratlier smaller than for the year previous, the total number of entries ranging from 1,030 to 1,040. Those for horses, as also for dogs, are in excess of last year. Poultry and pigeons are about the average ; whilst cattle, sheep, and pigs also remain about the same. Rabbits are rather less ; but for butter, eggs, and flowers there is a slight improvement. Of course, the largest number of any kind shown is in the horses. The exhibition of cattle is not as large as one might expect. The number on the present occasion only included 34 entries. Neither are sheep or pigs, either as to number or quality, a very favour- able show. The number of entries for the former was 29, and for the latter 37. Of the sheep the pick of the lots were the long-woolled rams of any age. Of the pigs, the sows, gilts, and stores were the most taking, though none could be reckoned of extra cjuality. Of the assortment of agricultural implements there were 206 articles exhibited, comprising almost everything calculated to be of use on the farm or in the garden, PRIZE LIST. JUBGES. Draught Horses: Mr. S. Wormald, Cawood Castle, Selby ; Mr. J. Wressel, Crow Grange, Beeford Dritlield ; Mr. W. Roberts, Nockton, Lincoln. Hunters, Nags, &c.: Mr. E. Godfrey, Thealby, Brigg; Mr. T. Smith, Gringley, Bawtrv ; Mr. J. Everatt, Laupthton, Gainsboro'. Cattle : Mr. T. Dodds, Wakefield ; Mr. G. Angus, Bee- ford Grange, Driffield ; Mr. J. Abraham, Owersby House, Market Rasen. IMPLEMENTS. Agricultural implements, manufactured by exhibitor. — Prize, £3 3s, and the Society's Medals, B. Sanderson, Thorne. Assortment of implements, — Prize, £5 5s, and the Society's Medals, J. Glew, Howdeu. Pour-wheel carriage, manufactured by exhibitor. — Prize, £2 2s. and the Society's Medals, Smith and Son, Doncaster. Two-wheel carriage, manufactured by exhibitor. — Prize £2 2s. and the Society's Medals.'Puckering and Co., Beverley. HORSES, Agricultural mare and foal (eight competitors). — Pirst prize, M. Askreu, Levels ; second, W. Bramley, Amcotts. Com- mended : R. C. Workman, Ahnliolrae. Agricultural yearling colt or filly. — Pirst prize, P. Turner, Armthorpe ; second, W. Bramley, Amcotts. Agricultural two years old gelding or filly. — Pirst prize, W, Bramley ; second, J. Coulman, Thorne. Commended : G. Wood, Hayfield. Agricultural three years old gelding or filly. — First prize, T. Black, Thorne ; second, T. J. Brown, Althorpe. Com- mended: H.Robinson, Conisbro'. Pair of draught horses for agriculture. — Pirst prize, W, Tennant, Barlow ; second, E. Coulman, Plains House. Pair of draught horses adapted for light soils. — First prize, T. J. Brown ; second, J. t'/oulman. Agricultural gelding or mare, any age. — First prize, W. Stephenson, Althorpe ; second, S, Barker, Marr. Hunting mare and foal. — Pirst prize, M. Askreu, Thorne ; second, W. Gleutworth, Goole, Hunting yearling colt or filly. — Pirst and second prizes, W. Toder, Retford. Hunting two years old gelding or filly. — Pirst prize, J. Stiibbs, Wheatley ; second, R. Bramley, Airmyn. Hunting three years old gelding or filly. — First prize, F. Clater, East Retford ; second, J. Moore, Scalm Park, Selby. Hunting gelding or mare. — Prize, A. J. Brown, North Elrasall. Carriage mare and foal. — First prize, J. Reader, Holme ; second, W. H, Brown, Beltou. Carriage yearling colt or filly. — First prize, J, Coulman ; second, J, Shillito, Wrangbrook. Carriage two years old gelding or filly.— Pirst prize, J. Coulman j second, W. B, Houlden, Branton. Carriage gelding or mare. — First prize, J. Reader ; seconci, W. Brockton, Tudworth Green. Roadster mare and foal. — Pirst prize, G. Gooddy, Thorne ; second, W. Wbaley, Tliorne. Roadster yearling colt or filly, — Pirst prize, J, Bladwortli, Whitgift ; second, E, Ellis, Bentley, Commended : J. P, Watsou, Crowle. Roadster two years old gelding or filly. — Pirst prize, J. P, Watson ; second, P, Holme, Sykehouse. Roadster three years old gelding or filly. — First prize, T. J, Brown, Althorpe ; second, J. and G. Brown, Epwotth. Roadster gelding or mare. — First prize, E. Charlesworth, Bradford ; second, E. Winter, Goodcop. Highly commended : E. Bensou, Butterwick. Commended : P, East, Sandtoft. Weight-carryiug cob, any age or sex. — Pirst prize, J. H, Smith, Shipton ; second, E, Francis, Hatfield, Higlily coin- mended : J. Axe, Doncaster. Lady's hackney, any age or sex. — First prize, J. Reader ; second. Rev. J. Cross, Appleby Vicarage, Pony, not exceeding 14 hands. — First prize, Harrison, Everton, Bawtry ; second, J. M. Frudd, Sleaford. Pony, not exceeding 12 hands. — Pirst prize, T. Cook, Pish- lake ; second, J, Lockwood, Kelfield. CATTLE. Bull-calf. — Pirst prize, T. Clayton, Bodies, Doncaster ; second, T. Crowerofl, Carr Grange. Bull, under two-years-old. — First prize, G.Mann, Scawsby ; second, J, Brown, Rossington Hall, Bull, any age. — First prize, J. II. Sunderland, Billingley ; second, J. Brown. Higlily commended : II. Crossley, Halifax. Cow, in-calf or milk. — First prize, G. Mann ; second, H. Crossley. Highly commended : J. Dickinson, Partridge Hill ; and C. Brown, West Butterwick, Heifer, in-calf or milk, — First prize, H. Crossley ; second, J. Lee, Rossington. Pair of calves, under 18 months old. — Krst prize, J, P, Watson ; second, F. Harrison, Thorne. Highly commended : M. Askren, Thorne. Cottager's Cow, in-calf or milk. — First prize, G, Temperton, Thorne ; second, R. Lambert, Thorne. SHEEP, One shear long-wooUed ram. — No first prize awarded ; second, J, Howartli, Hatfield. Long-woolled ram, any age. — First prize, J. Shillito, Wrang- brook ; second, R. C. Workman, Alraholme. Five long-woolled ewes. — Pirst prize, J. Winder, Newton ; second, M. Askren, Levels, Five long-woolled gimmers. — First prize, T, B. Daltou, Scawby, Brigg ; second, Wm. Hart, Pinuingley. Five long-woolled rams. — First prize, T. B. Dalton ; second, M. Askren, Thorne. Highly commended: G, Robinson, llighfield House, Brigg, PIGS. Boar, any breed. — First prize, Messrs. Duckering, Northorpe ; second, C. Roberts, Wakefield. Sow, any breed. — Pirst prize, C. Roberts ; second, Messrs, Duckering, and C. Roberts, Wakefield (equal), Opeu gilt, any age. — First prize, C. F. Hallas, Huddersfield ; second, Messrs. Duckering. Higlily commended: C. Roberts, Two store pigs. — First prize, C. P. Hallas ; second, Messrs. Duckering. Highly commended : J. Hallas, Huddersfield. Cottager's pigs. — Pirst prize, R. Fillingham, Hatfield ; second, P, Hurst, Awkley ; third, G. Holgate, Hatfield, Woodhouse, BUTTER AND EGGS, A pound of butter. — First prize. Miss M. Watson, Belton ; second, Miss S. J. Greenfield, Belton ; third, Mrs. G. Bassing- dale, Belton ; fourth, Mrs. Wilson, Awkley, Highly com- mended : G. Temperton, Thorne ; Miss Haycroft, Routh, near Beverley; Mrs. J.E. Tattersall, Thorne; Miss Wlialey, The Grange ; Mrs. Coulman, Thorne. Commended : Mrs. G. Watsou, Fishlake. Twelve eggs. — Pirst prize, Miss S. Barker, Marr ; second, J.Powell, Bradford. Higlily commended: J. Thresh, Brad- ford. Commended : P. Casson, Thorne ; C. Denby, Goole, f8 THE FABMER'S MAGAZINE, THE HORSE SHOW AT THE AGRICULTURAL HALL, ISLINGTON. With half-a-crown the turnstiles could be set grating at nine o'clock on the Saturday morning for a peep at the eighth show of horses,and as the judging did not commence imtil ten, it gave ample time for a look round — a great improvement this on last year, when the public were kept waiting outside until the horses were before the judges. The Hall was as spruce, trim, and sweet as usual, while with the assistance of canvass, plain and coloured, the heat and glare of the sun was diminished, affording more agreeable accommodation for man and horse. Then the ring was free from jumping accessories and intruders, 80 that everyone had a fair chance of seeing the horses, which were numbered on the chest, after the fashion of the Royal Agricultural Society's Show, and came in in order, without any delay. Lord Coventry, Mr. George Lane Fox, and Colonel Kingscote, com- menced with the weight-carrying hunters up to fifteen stone, a class not so numerous or anything like so good as that of last year, many of them being unworthy the name of hunter. The prizes being £60, £30, and £20, in lieu of £80, £40, and £20, might have something to do with the quality. Iris, the favourite horse of Mr. Austruther Thomson, and the one he has been immor- talized on by Graut, it will be remembered when second io Sir Watkius's grand horse Expectation last year, never showed to less advantage, as he came straight away from I'ife by rail into the Hall and looked tucked up and scared, in fact was not himself at all. To make amends, and for another shy, John Pye got him this time in the best of trim, and accustomed to the circle, for the horse never looked better, and his strong going and grand hind-leg action was generally admired, as his right to first honours we did not hear questioned ; not so with The Yankee, the first at Birmingham last year, a common beast that cannot get his knee away from his heavy pointed shoulder, and who is more entitled to a collar than a third-class hunting prize ; while the second Loxley is a compact, active looking horse that we fancy we have met somewhere before. Behind these were the well- known prizetakcrs. Borderer and L5anncr Bearer, both much improved since last year, and that avc hope to see meet in the open to decide their dillerences. ^Ir. A. Thomson's Crown Prince is a hunting-like horse, but not so strong a goer as Iris. Col. P. Dongall's The Czar a slack-loined horse, but witii action and quality. Then Mr. Jonas Webb's Statesman and Mr. J. P. Pitt's Colonel have hunting form, the latter being a deep-framed, com- pact horse; while Blackthorn, thougli not looking up to the weight, and rather wide and split up behind, still was all over like getting across country. Mr. Sutton's Progress is a taking horse at a glance, but has not liunt- ing shoulders or action ; Mr. J. Musgravc's IMannalade, a sweet name, had rather a washy look, but was still second-prize horse iu the hunters without condition as to weight, where Montrose, a good-tempered, nicely framed horse, but a bit of a peacock, v.ho did not walk was first, and Mr. Sanders' The Farmer third — his owner also hav- ing two other smart ones in the class. Luxury and Tip Top. The Farmer, like many others, was entered in two classes, and in the hunters not exceeding fifteen-two wis first for the £40, but haviug won £15 in the previous class was disqualified ; though Coxcomb was first as a light-weight hunter, and first as a ladies' horse last year, and not dis(|ualified, it would prevent confusion if horses were kept to one entry. Mr. Mordaunt's Tenbury could move, and the Hon, A. F. Hood's Hurricaue looked like going for jumping races, while !Mr. B. Jonson's Elastic had breed aud action, and Mr. Smith's Gayland, and Mr. Myer's Peacock good form ; but Lord Yarborough's Esca, though a little high on the leg, was quite a gentleman that looked like leaving many of his companions behind over a country, and among them the sensation horse of the class, Mr. 'Welfitt's Loiterer, the great mistake ol 1870, of whom, when he won the 100-guiuea hunter prize at "Waketield, we said, " with his action he was no- thing but a neat gig horse," and this we stick to. If any hunting man with an eye to action will watch the black legs of Loiterer as he goes round the circle in walk, trot, or gallop, and then make an affidavit to the best of his belief that Loiterer's is hunting action, we will consider whether it is advisable] to indict hun for perjury, or hand him over to the care of his mother. Last year, according to the catalogue, he was " a remarkably clever hunter — //as been broken to harness — price two hundred and seventy guineas ;" and in this year's entry, " Has been ex- hibited six times, and has won six prizes, amounting to £250 : has carried a lady with hounds during the last season — price four hundred guineas." And with this iu their hands. Lord Coventry, Mr. Geo. Lane Fox, and Colonel Kingscote order him out of the ring, and for which we worshij) them ; for though neat enough for anything, with his action as a hunter we believe Loiterer to be as thorough an impostor as Beechwood, Master of Arts, or Voyageur, that bench after bench of jvidges, fond of the game of follow my leader, went on pouring prize money into the cotters of their owners. For hunters not exceeding 15.2, we have said that The Farmer was disqualified ; so the first place went to Mr. D. ^Iclutosh's Voltigeur, a very clever little horse, and not unknown to Islington and other rings as a prize-taker. Sir Arundell Neave took second honours with Nell Cook, a strong, useful mare, and the others were but com- mon ones. In the four-year-olds. Captain Barlow, with a compact, deep, powerful, hunting-like horse, of sixteen hands high, by Seneschal, was first, and a nice-framed one of Mr. Booth's Braudsby, second ; while about the easiest goer of the lot was Mr. Battam's Tavistock, but his back and shoulders were not quite up to the mark. ^Ir. Stephenson's Nobility aud Mr. Thomas's Jenny were of fair form, and could go. There was an entry of thirteen, but the others wTre not remarkable for anything out of the common, so the Ilasketon horse won as he liked, and afterwards the Gold Cup, as the best horse in any of the hunting classes, having Iris, JNlon- trose, and Voltigeur against him. He is a grand horse of his age, and much fancied ; of course he is raw at present, but he is sure to fine, and with riding and pulling together may in six years get his hind legs under him, and go as well as Iris, but never better. The old horse looked well aud no mistake, but we doubt if he was as a four-year-old so grand a horse as the Ilasketon gelding. Ten thorough-bred stallions came in the ring to compete for the fifty aud gold medal — Sincerity, a second-prize taker at Oxford and "Wakefield; Blackdovvn, shown at the Oxford, though wrong in the shoulders ; Can^buscan ; Master Barwell, by Nutbourne, but notliing like so good as his sire in form ; Susi)icion, iNlidsnmmer, Suffolk Littlecote, \Vat('hman, and Vivier, from which the judges selected, we think, the three best by a long way — viz., CambugcaUj Suftblk, aud Siucerity, which ar§ very useful THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 79 horses, but not without faults ; but Cambuscau is the least faulty. lie is sixteen bauds, with length, quality, good form aud looks, as well as being very muscular and hardy ; if he falls off anywhere it is below the knee and ia the ankles. Then Suffolk, with quality, has a fiue hunting forehand and a capital back, but is a shorter horse than Cambuscan, and more faulty below the knee; while, by the side of the two. Sincerity looks coarse and coaehy, which nobody can deny. Lord Coventry, I\Ir. Fox, aud Col. Kingscote having gone through their task in a careful and workmanlike manner and without pottering, resigned the ring to Cap- tains Bastard and Whitmore, Mr. Craven being an absentee. They began with the riding horses, "fine action and qucdilij essential," but notwithstanding this condition with few^ exceptions they were a very common lot. Prince Imperial is a light washy horse, but a very elegant mover; ISIarvel is very neat and quick. Anita, by Oulston, of fair form but with straight marching action. Mr. Mavor showed Elegance, who was only so in action and not in frame ; and Mr. Beart a clever cobby hack, but scarcely up to the conditions. Surely putting Queen of Trumps, a light elegant stepping park hack, as a first-class weight carrying roadster or cover hack was a mistake, while there were three or four in the class also better adapted for the purpose than the Prince of Wales' Delight. There was a medley in the park hacks and ladies' horses, as there generally is ; but darkness coming on with a thundei'storm we could not see much of them, though D. Sheward handled Blue Blazes very nicely, as he did several others. Still, dark as it was, we could catch the Grecian bend in the apparently self-willed Squire's back — a horse that the Birmingham judges preferred to one of the most perfect ladies' horses we have seen for some time, manners and all taken into consideration. There were some capital cobs, and a few good trappers, but it is not a strong show. PRIZE LIST. Hunters axd Tiiorougii-bked Stallions. Judges, — Lord Coventry, Mr. George Lane Fox, and Colonel Kingscote. Weight carriers up to 1j stone. — First prize, £C0 to J. Anstnitlier Thomson. Atherstone (Iris) ; second, £30, to G. Van Wart, Edgbastoii, Birraingliam (Loxley) ; third, £20, to T. Percival, AVansford (The Yankee). Without condition as to weight. — First prize, £50, to Capt. GreviUe, Beaufort Gardens (Montrose) ; second, £25, to .J. M. T. Musgrave, Beverley (Maraalade) ; tliird, £15, to Henry Sanders, Brampton Hill, Northampton (Tlie Fanner) ; liigiily commended Lord Yarborough's Esoa. Without condition as to weight, and not exceeding 15.2 hands. — First prize, £40, to D. Macintosh, Itoraford (Volti- geur) ; second, £20, to Sir A. Neave, Romford (Nell Cook). Highly commended : I. Lampard, Steylesbury, Wilts (Newton). Four years old. — First prize, £50 and the gold cup, to Frederick Barlow, Haskelon (Brown gelding) ; second, £25, to J. Booth, Killerby (Brandsby) ; highly commended, G. B. Battam's Tavistock. Stallions. Thoroughbred. — Prize of £50 and the Agricultural Hall medal, Lord Stamford, Enville Hall (Cambuscan) ; highly commended, T. Sharpe, Horncastle (Suffolk). Riding Horses. Judges. — Captain Bastard and Captain Whitmore. Fine action and quality essential, of any heiglit exceeding 15.3. — First prize, £20, F. Haines, Oxford-road, Ealing (Prince Imperial) ; second, £10, T. D. Murray, Jun., Carlton Club (Marvel) ; third, £5, J. B. Baillie, Leys Castle, Inver- ness (Anita). Highly commended : R. Beart, Ptainham (Nor- folk Hero). Cover Hacks and Roadsters, weight carriers, not exceeding 15'2. — First i)rize, £15, Capt. Fitzgerald, Glo'ster Crescent, Hyde Park (Queen of Trumps) ; second, £10, II.R.H. the Prince of Wales (Delight) ; third, £5, H. J, Buck, Cressage, Shropshire (Prmcess Louise), Park Hacks and Ladies' Horses. Not exceeding 15 hands 2 inches. — First prize, £20, to C. Vansittart, 1, Lower Belgrave Street (Blue Blazes) ; second, £10, to T. Percival (The; Squire) ; third, £5, to Mrs. Fitzmau- rice, 40, Glo'ster Place (Luke). Highly commended: C. Dames, Chigwell (Langford),and W.L. Ey re, Driffield (Ouida). Not exceeding 15 hands 1 inch. — First prize, £20, to G. Gtiruell (Brunette) ; second, £10, to the Earl of Rosslyn, Dun- mow, Essex (The Beau) ; third, £5, to Lord Chelsea, Wood- rising, Norfolk (Mistletoe). Highly commended : W. Gilbey (LiJy), and L. J. Doxat (Moonstone). Park Cobs. — High Steppers. Not exceeding 14 hands 2 invhes. — First prize, £29, to Mrs. Fitzmaurice (The Colonel) ; second, £10, to C. Gates, Thetford (Cheerful) ; third, £5, S. Lang, Whiteclun-ch, Tavistock (Chicken Hazard). Highly commended: H. Frishy (Dunstan), and J. Garnhara (Black Bess). Harness Horses. Not exceeding 15 hands 2 inches. — First prize, £15, Walter Gilbey, Stanstead (Lily) ; second, £10, W. and G. Salter (Defiauce) ; extra prize of £5, T. Worshington, Derby (Duchess) ; highly commended, H. Frisby, James-street, Buck- iugliara Gate (Dainty and Dazzle); the whole class commended. Not exceeding 14 hands 2 inches. — First prize, £15, J. Garnhams (Black Bess) ; second, £10, H. Frisby (Dusty) ; third, £5, withheld for want of merit. Pairs : Pair of phaeton horses with park action, W. Gilbey (Lily and Lilac), and Die Agricultural Hall Medal, Mrs. Fitzmaurice; highly commended, H. Frisby (Dazzle). Ponies. Not exceeding 13 hands 3 inches, in single harness. — First prize, £15, T. Maystons, Silver-street, Notting Hill (Beauty) ; second, £8, T. L. Gellibrand, Hornsey (Sultan) ; third, £5, C. Bernard, Stamford Hill (Forester). Pair of ponies, not ex- ceeding 14 hands 2 inches. Lord Hopetoun (.lack aud Jill) ; Agricultural Hall Medal, A. Subervielle, Lancaster Gate (Mexico and Puebla). Not less than 15 hands, for getting Roadster Trotters. — First prize, £30 and the Agricultural Hall Medal, J. Grant, Woodbridge (Fire King) ; second, £15, J. Abel, Norwich (Y^oung Phenomenon) ; highly commended, J. Dearlove, Wis- beach (Young Shales) ; second, £15, C. Groucock, Staufield Hall, Norfolk (Hero). Not exceeding 13 hands 3 inches, for getting Ponies. — First prize, £10 and the Agricultural Hall Medal, C. Groucock (King Arthur) ; and Agricultural Hall Medal, Lord Hope- toun (Jack). Tandem Horses or Ponies. — Prize, £5, C. Groucock (Tom aud Puss). Animals of extraordinary merit, not qualified to compete iu any of tlie classes. — Prize, £10, Sir S. Lukeman (Moskaloika). There were some premiums given on Friday for jumping, trotting, and so forth, a ludicrous business that is not worth criticising or recording, as the following opinions of our sporting contemporaiies will show: Of course the jumping is in as great force .as ever — so much so as to be a perfect nuisance, making it almost im- possible for an exhibitor who does not wish to make a mountebank of himself or his groom to show his horse's action in the ring. Men apparently ride worse and fall off' more than ever — though Miss Milliard, Mrs. Radcliffe, and some other ladies performed very well ; so that those who go there to see a burlesque on horsemanship are sent away rejoicing. The catalogue is as inaccurate as usual, and the pedigrees of some horses must have been evolved from the inner consciousness of the owners, for no such animals as the sires are known to the world at large. On the whole it is one of the slowest aud most uninteresting shows we ever remember at the Agricultural Hall. An inspection of the horses themselves told us that there was an immense deal of chaff foi very little good grain amongst them. — The Field. That it improves, as a show, we can scarcely admit ; and it strikes us that every year it becomes more and more a medium for passing " screws," notwithstanding the veterinary certificates that are produced. — The Sportincf Gazette, 80 THE FAKMER'S MAGAZINE. 0 BITU AR Y. DEATH OF MR SAMUEL JONAS. Ttis well-known agriculturist died at Chrishall Grange, Essex, on Thursday, June 1st, in the 69th year of his age, having been for some time in declining health. Mr. Jonas was born at Great Thurlow in Suffolk, on September 27th, 1.802. It is, how- ever, with the county of Cambridge that his name is more identified as "Sam Jonas of Ickleton," where he farmed extensively for many years. He was, moreover, the agricultural historian of the county, as the author of the prize essay on the farming of Cambridgeshire, a paper which of course appeared in the Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society, and an especial favom-ite of the then editor, Mr. Pusey, by whom it was often cited as an example of what such an essay should be. Mr. Jonas was also instrumental in establishing the Saffron "U'alden Agricultural Society, now merged into the Essex, while he was from the first a prominent member of the Council of the Royal Agricultural Society, where he was for years on most of the sub or really working committees, as well as a steward of stock at many of the shows. Mr. Jonas was equally distinguished as a leading man at the meetings of the Protection Society — a cause of which he was a most energetic and determined supporter. He wrote a good deal at the time, in maintenance of the prin- ciples he so warmly advocated and so conscientiously be- lieved in. Although he fought a losing battle, he retained the friendship of many good men he here first became acquainted with. They saw and appreciated how tho- roughly he was in earnest. Mr. Jonas was for some years a Director of the Royal Farmers' Insurance Company; and was, in fact, ever ready to take his part in promoting the in- terests and watching over the welfare of his brother farm- ers. About fourteen years since he left Ickleton, and took in hand about three thousand acres of land at Chrishall Grange, near Saffron Walden. The largest portion of this extensive holding, when firs': engaged on by him, was in as exhausted and as foul a state as it was possible to imagine. It was truly uphill work, llis proverbial energy and determination, however, brought it round ; and we believe we are justified in saying that, for the spirited manner in which he cultivated his land, and the large sums he ex])cnded in food for stock and artificial manures, Mr. Jonas will rank worthily with ]Mr. Hud- son of Castle Acre, and other such eminent English farmers. As one of these he was repeatedly invited to contest the county, and his energy and ability would have, no doubt, told inthe Houseof Commons as elsewhere. DEATH OF MR. R. EASTWOOD.— We regret to an- nounce the death, of Mr. R. Eastwood, of Thorneyholme, near Whitcvvell, Clitlieroe, until recently (lie agent to Colonel Townoley, for whom he acted several years. Mr. Eastwood was also the owner of Buttertly, winner of the Oaks ; and among other good horses, lie bred liord Hawthorn from his brood mare Lady Alice Hawthorn, The Sawyer, and Rejoinder. Mr. Eastwood's career as a Shorthorn breeder dates back to 18 13, two or three years after his father died. His tirst essay was hardly to his mind, and he got rid of every- thing, and started afresh from Mr. Henry Watson's sale. " Which do you come for ?" said the late Earl Ducie, when they encountered each other going the rounds on the Walker- ingham sale morning. " Well, my lord, that's hardly a fair question," was the rejoinder. "But if you like, as I'm pretty certain we're both after the same two cows, we'll each write their names on a slip of paper." And write them they did, and both wrote " Buttercup " and " rrinccss Royal," and it was settled that his lordship would not oppose Mr. Eastwood for the former, which he bought for 130 gs. His lordship was equally pleased with his own purchase. Looking round the herd at Tortworth, some years after, with Mr. Eastwood and Mr. Knowles, he stopped at each of them and said, " There's that dreadful tribe again." But when his companion brought him up with, " Well, my lord, how much for the whole of thera ?" he only laughed, and said, " I knew what you'd be at in a minute or two ; you'll not have thera." Mr. Eastwood had been to KiUerby from the very first, and his next step on getting Buttercup home was to hire its red Jeweller, a son of Necklace. He was rather a short bull, with a bad head and a light neck, but with capital sides and quality. His liirer was confidently assured in the North Riding that it would be " destruction to your herd to use such a brute ;" but he wisely chose to rely on his own judgment in the matter. Harlsonio, of Lax blood, had died just before of cancer in the nose, and therefore Jeweller had no rival for the love of Buttercup, and Butterfly was the issue. Bessy, half-sister to Buttercup, calved Frederick, by Lax's Duke, and thus these two crosses produced the pair from which Master Butterfly and Royal Butterfly sprang. Neither Frederick nor Butterfly were born when, in 1818, Mr. Eastwood sold his herd of twenty to Colonel Towneley, and when Frederick did come, it was in twinship with Dot. For many years Mr. Eastwood contented himself witli watching the progress of the Towneley herd under Culshaw ; but, like an old coachman, he still liked to hear the crack of his own whip, and a small, but terribly select, herd of about fifteen, with Rosette as its liady-patroness, gradually sprung up again at the Hodder side ; to he again dispersed only a few months back. SALE OF MR. DERHAM'S SHORTHORNS, At Palmer's Green, Southgate, ox "Wednesday, May 31st, 1871. BY MR. THORNTON. City men often find relaxation from city toils in country life and a little farming, bringing with them the taste and knowledge imbibed in early life and school-boy days to the town, and at the first opportunity practising what they learnt and saw in childhood. Many good stocks in the vicinity of large towns are brought out in this manner, and although it may not be done so exten- sively in this country, we believe that on the other side of the Atlantic many of the best farmers are, or were, city men. The herd at Palmer's Grceu was bred in this manner. INIr. Derham, a native of the'Bolland country, in Lancashire, which Col. Towneley, Jlr. Eastwood, and ^Ir. Peel have made so famous for good stock, brought to the south several good animals, among them Mr. John Peel's bull Bismarck, a son of Heugist, from one of the Bridget or Bliss tribe. This bull, bonght when a yearling, has been kept and used, leaving some thick-fleshed fine heifers from cows purchased of i\Ir. George Bland and Mr. John Clayden. The bull, however, had grown into a "moun- tain" of beef, 'and although of immense substance and thickness of flesh, was too heavy for use, and he went only at 53 gs., a few pounds, as some thought, under butcher's price. The 28 Shorthorns, a calf being withdrawn, averaged £43 4s. 4d., and the IS females made within a few pence of £46 each. The Daisy cows also sold well; but the horse trade was not brisk. The pigs, however, sold, if anything, higher in comparison than the Shorthorns ; for the 18 head, ranging from two to niue months old, the majority being young ones, made just £50. The first of the Shorthorn cows was Lady Braybrooke, a sweet-headed, good cow, heavy in calf, bred by Mr. Clayden. She re- turned very nearly to her old home, as Mr. J. B. B. Elliott, of Chesterford Park, bought her at 40 gs. Her heifer, Lady Audley, by Bismarck, was good enough for Australia, and went to Mr. E. K. Cox cheap at 30 gs. Lot 3, Acacia, of Mr. Bland's breeding, and Mr. Booth's Knight Errant made the same price as lot 1 ; but Lady Lucy Thorndale, a very fine roan cow, was more sought, aud, after some keen competition from Mr. Clayden, Mr. THE FAEMEK'S MAGAZINE. 81 Cock, of Barnet, and Mr. Williamson, fell eventually to Mr. Williamson at 83 gs. Colleen Bawn, one of the short- pedigree Booth-bred cows, rather thin-fleshed, a heavy milker, and a capital bull-breeder, made also a good price, going to Mr. Hugh Aylmer at 82 gs. Lot 6, Bloomer, of the Certainty tribe, a fine cow, with square, thick hind-quarters, had been torn in calving, and this accident, although said not to be de- trimental, caused her to go very cheap at 39 gs. to Mr. H. Carr. Lot 9, Katie Thorndale, by Costa out of Lady Lucy Thorndale, was a very sweet massive white heifer ; and after biddings from the Australians, she was at last secured by Mr. Cock, to remain in England, for 110 gs. Mr. E. A. Fawcett took Lady Florence at 41 gs., and Capt. Robinson gave 40 gs. for Roan Empress, another daughter of Bismarck. Lady Eleanor, a good white in-calf two-year-old, was bought for Mr. Long- bourne, at 34 gs. Rosedale, a yearling out of Lady Lucy Thorndale, was also purchased iDy ^Ir. W. Williamson at 63 gs., and Mr. H. C. Pole Gell gave 20 gs. for a bonny little calf out of Bloomer. Mr. Angerstein, jun., also got two nice heifers. The buUs averaged £38, Colleen Bawn's sons making the two best prices — Danny Mann going to Australia at"50 gs., and The Doctor to Mr. Wil- liamson at 71 gs. The dairy cows sold high, an in-calf heifer by Bismarck out of a fine large Yorkshii-e cow making the good price of 371^ gs., her dam going to Mr. E. B. Booth for 33 gs., and a large roan cow was bought by Mr. Dunham of Hendon for 31 gs. Summary. Average. Total. 18 Cows , . £45 19 4 . . £827 8 0 10 Bulls . . 38 5 6 , . 383 14 6 28 £43 4 4 £1,210 2 6 SALE OF THE LANGTON AND HINTON FLOCKS. ■ — The second sale of live and dead farming stock, tlie property of the late Squire Farquharson, took place at Langton on Wednesday, when Mr. T. Ensor submitted to public competition the Langton and Hinton Flocks, consisting of 300 two-tooth, 400 four-tooth, 330 sis-tooth, 220 old ewes, 500 chilver hoggs, 60 wether hoggs, 20 fat ewes, ",000 chilver lambs, and 500 wether lambs ; these, together with 32 rams, 24 ram lambs, 7 cart horses, and about 180 lots of waggons, carts, and agricul- tural implements, formed one of the most important sales ever held in that part of the county, and, as might reasonably be expected, drew together a very large number of agriculturists and breeders from all parts of Dorset, Somerset, Hants, and Devon. The care and attention which for many years has been bestowed on the Langton and Hinton Flocks, so as to maintain those desirable qualities for which the Southdowns are so much esteemed, and the great experience and good judgment in breeding from the most celebrated flocks, such as those of the Duke of Richmond, Lord Walsingham, the late Mr. J. Webb. Mr. EUman, Mr. H. Boys, Mr. H. Fooke's, and Mr. Goringe, was shown in the condition, sym- metry, and quality of the sheep. The sale commenced with the agricultural implements, which, in addition to those generally in use, consisted of one of McCormack's reapers, fitted with Burgess and Key's platform ; an American Eagle mowing machine, and a Burgess and Key's mowing machine. The attendance at the commencement was limited to a lew of the agriculturists and dealers of the neighbourhood, the weather not promising very fair for out-door gathering, but to- wards one o'clock the sale ground began rapidly to fill. The sale of the sheep, whicli were penned in Church Field, on the left- hand side of the road leading frem Blandford to Langton, be- gan shortly after two o'clock, with the two-tooth ewes of the Langton Flock. The sheep were offered in lots of 20 each. The results of the sale were as follows : Six-tooth ewes, 43s. to 57s.; four-teeth, 45s. to 47s. ; old ewes, 60s. to 61s.; chilver hogs, 45s. to 49s. ; wethers, 50s. ; fat ewes, 59s. ; chilver lambs, 21s. to 26s. The Langton Flock realised £2,765, the Hinton flock between £1,800 and £1,900. THE IMPLEMENT TRIALS AT GUILDFOED. TO THE EDITOR OF THE MARK LANE EXPRESS. Sir, — To my surprise I find you do me great injustice in your issue of the 5th instant. Speaking of the hay- making trials at Guildford, you state : " W. Brenton, of Cornwall, showed one of his Nonpareil Mowers and Combined Machines. Although alleged to be well adapted for uneven ground, having indiarubber buffers or collars fitted between the pole and the frame, so as to prevent any jar on the horses' necks, yet it appeared to labour much in its work, and required a second man to follow and aid with the rake." The remark that my machine appeared to labour when at work I will pass over. Professor Coleman has set that point at rest in his report on my machine in the Bath and West of England Society's Journal, June, I87O. But the statement that a second man was required to follow on with a rake, I must, in justice to myself, utterly deny. There was no second man in attendance with a rake ; there was no rake used at all. As the error into which you have somehow fallen in this matter is calculated to materially damage me, will you do me the justice to insert this letter ? I am, sir, your obedient servant, Wm. Brenton. Hast Cormoall Implement Works, Foll/atkic, St. Germans, June 16, 1871. [As " An Exploring Visitor " said last week, " some better arrangements require to be made;" and of course where there are no prizes awarded reports are liable to continual correction from the exhibitors. — Editor M.L.E.] THE PIG SHOW AT GUILDFORD. Sir, — When I was at Romford I asked jMr. Charles Duckering the history of the pen-marking aftair, and found his father had made the marks to facilitate the feed- ing, as they had such a number of entries in the show. As far as the pens being recognised by the judges goes, they consider it could not have the least eftect, for it is the custom there as at most other shows, for the attendant to show the pigs out for the judges, and no judge of pigs comes into a show-yard who does not know the Ducker- ings perfectly well by sight, without the trouble of looking for marks on the pens. Besides, there was entry after entry of theirs marked when there could be no question as to such being placed first, while these were marks plain enough to be seen from the opposite sheds. No one could argue but that it was a mistake to mark the pens before the judges came round, still anyone personally acquaiuted with Mr. Smith, Mr. Moon, or the Duckerings, knows it would require a great stretch of the imagination to fancy any of them to be dishonourably implicated in such a matter. Yours very trulj, Heber Humfrey. KinrjsloneFarm, ShrivenJiam, Berks, June \1tli, 1871. THE HEREFORDS AT GUILDFORD.— In our report we said, when speaking of the all-aged class of bulls, that " the second-prize bull, Theodore, was merely commended at Taunton, but placed higher in the absence of any competition at Southampton, where we spoke of him as a very bad one — an opinion we do not see any reason to alter, as he is notice- able neither for growth nor breeding." The owner of this animal, Mr. Nathaniel Benjafield, of Sliorts Green Farm, Motcombe, Shaftesbury, writes in the most gentlemanly tone to say that this is not true, as his bull was Mc/hly commended at Taunton ! 82 THE FAKMER'S MAGAZINE, HIGHLAND AND AGEICULTURAL SOCIETY OF SCOTLAND. A general meetinfr was held in the Society's Hall, George IV, Bridge, Sir James Gakbixer BaIRD, Bart., in the chair. One hundred and ninety-four new members were elected. Mr. Murray, of Dollerie, moved the adoption of the bye-law No. 2, altered as follows : " That proprietors farming the whole of their own lands, whose assessment on the valuation-rcU does not exceed £500 per annum, and all tenant-farmers, office-bearers of local agricultural associations, resident agricultural factors, laud-stewards, foresters, agricultural-implement makers, and veterinary sur- geons, none of them being also owners of land to an extent exceeding £500 per annum, shall pay at admission, and after- wards annually in advance, the snm of ten shillings, with the option and power of redeeming the same by payment of five guineas, as the purchase of a life-subscription, and which life- subscription may be so purchased, under deduction of any an- nual payments that the member may have previously made, with this limitation, that at no time shall a member have the power of redeeming the annual payments for a less sum than £3." The alteration was agreed to. Mr. KiNLOCH, yr., of Gilmerton, said he had to report that he had been given to understand that the arrangements for the next show at Perth were progressing satisfactorily. The fol- lowing was a comparative statement of the entries : Perth, 1871. Perth, 1861. Cattle 380 335 Horses 180 155 Sheep 630 616 Swine 60 77 Poultry 290 860 Dairy produce ... 80 91 Implements 1,500 850 3,120 2,484 Mr. KiNLOCH said he had to state the result of what the directors had agreed to in reference to the following motion, which was proposed by Mr. Munro, and seconded by Mr. Ord, last January : " That a class of implements for competitive trial be annually fixed on, the implements to be exhibited at the show, and the trial to be held at the time of year best suited for testing the strength of the implements and the work performed. That the trial be extended over a longer time than has liitherto been the practice, and that it be remitted to the directors to make arrangements with the manufacturers as to the manner in which the trials may be most satisfactorily carried out." Mr. Munro was kind enough to withdraw his motion on the assurance being given that the subject would receive the consideration of the directors. The directors sent the matter to the General Show Committee and to the Ma- chinery Committee. These committees had had a meeting with Mr. Munro, and at that meeting they went over the whole of the ground on which the present sy.stem was founded, which was embodied in a report and approved of by the society in January, 1863. They resolved unanimously to ad- here to the present system, but they agreed, as an experiment — and only as an experiment, which they did not all approve of — to recommend that it would be competent for the Local Committee of the General Show to select any description of machinery for special trial, the competition to be held when and where they might appoint. One year the implements chosen might be reaping machines ; another, potato lifters ; another, double-furrow ploughs ; and so on. The directors undertook to give prizes for the competition, but they washed their hands altogether of the competition otherwise. They had very good reasons for doing that, inasmuch as they found it exceedingly difficult to manage on previous occasions. The report of the committee was approved of by the directors, and it was remitted to Mr. Menzies to submit the matter to the Local Committee at Perth. He did so last week, and he had told him that the Local Committee at Perth declined the re- sponsibility of choosing the implements, but they were willing to do SQ With the aid of the Machinery Committee. The Local Committee also undertook the management of the com- petition. Dr. AiYDERsojf, liaving refened to some analyses of ma= nures, Mr. Haktet (Whittingham) asked if the directors had any report to make from the special committee appointed in regard, to the chemical department ? Mr. Mexzies said with regard to the minutes of the special committee on the Chemical Department that the board ap- proved of the following suggestions, and resolved to act upon them as opportunity occurred, in any re-arrangement of the Chemical Department : " 1. That the chemist slionld have his laboratory at the head-quarters of the society in Edinburgh, and reside there. 2. That in fixing the salary of the chemist the scale of prices for analyses should be revised, with the view of reducing the rates. 3. That the field experiments carried on by the society should have the chemist's special attention. The publication of the results to be periodical, and under his entire charge and control." Mr. Hajitey vrished to know when the re-arrangenicnt was likely to occur ? The minute said " When an opportunity occurs." He had been speaking about it for the last ten years. In other ten years he might be somewhere eke. Mr. Hunter (Thurston) said if Mr. Harvey wanted the re-arrangement made at once he had better bring forward a vote of censure on the chemist of the society. Mr. Harvey : That is not what I mean at all. A long discussion followed, but no resolution was put on the subject. Mr. Mexzies reported that the following premiums had been awarded since the general meeting in January : 1. The gold medal or £10 to A. H. Churcli, Professor of Chemistry, Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester, for a Report on the Cultivation of Sugar Beet; 2. The gold medal or £10 to W. J. Moscrop, agent for the Earl of Zetland, OUiver, Richmond, Yorkshire, for a Report on the Best Modes of Housing fat- tening Cattle. Professor WiisON laid on the table the following memoran- dum as to ploughing at Dunmore by Thompson's traction engine and Gray's balance plough, on 2Sth February : " The ploughing took place in a large field in Dunmore Park, which had lain about forty years in grass, and was nearly level. The soil was a strong clay, and in good order for ploughing. The engine is of 8-horse power, and weighs 7i tons, with vertical boiler and cylinders. It runs on three wheels, with india- rubber tires, each two feet broad, and covers a space of seven feet wide. The steam-gauge when the engine was drawing the plough indicated a pressure of from l201bs. to 125 lbs. per square inch. Five cwt. of coal and 700 gallons of water are stated to be consumed in a day of nine hours. The plough is a balance plough, made by Gray of Uddingstone, and is the first of the kind which has been constructed. The plough had three monldboards. The engine travels on the unploughed land, dragging the plough behind it. The length of furrow was 12^ chains, or 275 yards. The farrows made by the plough were 6 inches deep by nearly 9^ inches broad, and were fairly turned, considering that the ploughmen had not much experience of the work. A heading 20 yards wide was left at each end of the field for turning the engine. To travel the distance of 275 yards and to turn the engine, and attach it to the plough ready for the return journey, occupied a space of eight minutes ; and this required considerable activity on the part of the engine-driver when turning the engine. The engine was driven by one man, with a boy to attend to the fire and watch the pressure and water-gauges. The engine carried a supply of coals sufficient for four hours' work, and four hours' supply of water. The plough was steered by one man, whose duty also was to hook and unhook the engine to the plough at the commencement and end of each journey. At the rate at which the engine and plough were working — viz., 3 furrows, 28 inches wide, and 275 yards long, or 214 square yards, in eight minutes, the THE FAEMER'S MAGAZINE. 83 Kme required to plough an Imperial acre was within a small fraction of three hours ; and supposing the plough to work nine liours a day, which, taking the average length of days in the ploughing season is a full allowance, it would turn oyer three imperial acres per day, or about what three pairs of horses would have done. It was observed that while tlie three ploughs turn over a space of 28 inches wide, tlie engine-wheels cover a space of 7 feet wide, so that the wheels of the engine pass three times over the land before it is turned by the plough. It was also noticed that the engine passing over the land depressed the surface about l^ inch, and the soil was also compressed to this extent. The Highland Society's self- registering dynamometer, made by Messers. Easton, Amos, and Anderson, of London, was tried on the engine and three- furrow plough, and indicated a draught of 21 cwt. A com- mon swing plough, drawn by two horses, was tried to ascertain the difference in draught on the land in its natural state and where the engine had passed over, and it was found that the land, where compressed by the engine, required an additional power equal to the draught of 1 cwt., the single plough making 6 cwt. on the unpressed land, and 7 cwt. on that which the engine had passed over. The committee were desirous of seeing the engine aud plough at work on stubble or ploughed land, but Lord Dunmore had no field on which it could be shown. The committee would also wish to see the engine and plough tried in a field with a considerable slope. Lord Dunmore handed to the committee the following state- ment of the cost of his apparatus and of the daily expenditure in working it : " Cost of engine, 8-horse power £700 0 0 Cost of ploughs, 3-furrow 70 0 0 Cost of water-tank 30 0 0 0 0 Interest on 8-horse power engine at 5 per cent.... £35 0 0 Depreciation in value and wear and tear, 7 per cent 49 0 0 £84 0 0 Allowin » engine to be under steam 4 days a week =208 days, which gives 8s. Id. as daily cost for engine £0 8 1 Ploughs, cost £70, at 5 per cent, on outlay, and 5 per cent, for wear and tear=£7 per annum, and for 100 working days that would be Is. 5d. per diem 0 15 Tank would cost £30, which at 10 per cent.=£2 per annum, would give for 100 days 0 0 7 Engine driver's wages at 24s. for G days 0 4 0 Boy, at Is. per diem 0 10 Ploughman, at 2s. 6d. per diem 0 2 6 Coal, at 4d. per cwt., 5 cwt 0 18 Oil and waste 0 0 6 £0 19 9 Autumn stubbles in ten hours' ploughing, we could do 7 acres easily— equal to 2s. 9d. per acre ; spring ploughing lea, 5 acres — equal to 3s. lOd. The committee cannot close their minute without an expression of thanks to Lord Duumore for his kind- ness when they went to inspect his lordship's apparatus, and the gratification that it gave them to see his lordship interesting himself in such an important subject as steam cultivation, in which they trust he may be successful. Professor Wilson submitted the undernoted report on Fisken's system of steam tillage : Having, together with Pro- fessor Macquorn Rankine, been appointed by the Society as a deputation to inspect the working of the " Fiskeu system" of steam tillage, we proceeded (April lOth) to the farm of Offer- ton Hall, near Sunderland, in the occupation of Mr. H. M'Laren, where the " system" has been in operation during the past winter ; 440 acres, we were informed, having been ploughed or cultivated on the farm since October last. Professor Macquorn Rankine was unfortunately unable to attend. The farm is of an undulating surface of about 500 acres in extent, aud lying on the magnesian limestone. The fields appeared to have been deeply tilled, and tlie soils, of varying textures, were in a dry and friable condition. When wet their tenacity would be greatly increased. There were no stones or other obstacles met with while the work was under our observation. Before giving the results of our inspection, it will be well briefly to describe the peculiarities of the " fisken system" of working, as, although it has been before the public for several years, from various circumstances it has not hitherto taken a promi- nent position in the competitive trials of steam tillage which have from time to time been held. The " system" differs materially from the other " roundabout" modes of applying steam power to tillage purposes. The engine which gives off the power may be placed in any convenient spot adjoining the land to be ploughed, on a roadway, or by a spring of water for instance, and the power given off is conveyed by means of a light hemp rope (^ in. diameter) travelling at a high velocity — say 25 to 45 miles per hour — round the area to be operated upon, and communicating with two windlasses placed on oppo- site sides (headlands) of the land to be tilled. This high ve- locity, when communicated to the windlasses, is, by a simple mechanical arrangement, reduced to any desired speed — say two to three miles per hour. This change of velocity being necessarily associated with the corresponding increase of tension of the ropes in the exact ratio of the rate of reduction of velocity (less, of course, the amount consumed by friction, &c.). Thus an initial velocity of thirty miles an liour, when reduced at the windlass to two n iles an hour, would correspond to an increase of tension (hauling power) equal to the rate of reduc- tion—or 15 to 1. A strain or pull of 1 cwt. on the hemp travelling rope at the engine is therefore increased to a strain of 15 cwt. on the hauling rope (steel wire) working between the windlasses. In the transmission of power from the engine to the working implement a loss \N'ill always take place, greater or less in proportion to the extensibihty and elasticity of the travelhng rope, and to the friction of the various moving parts of the engine and tackle. The implement— whether plough, cultivator, or harrows — is drawn by the steel wire rope back- wards and forwards between the windlasses at any speed that may be desired. The mechanical arrangements of the wind- lasses enable the man in charge to haul them forward at the end of each " bout," and also to stop and start the implement at work the required distance with perfect precision, without communicating with the engine-driver. Owing to some delays in reaching the farm we found the work already com- menced on a 14-acre field, of an irregular parallelogram shape, with a slight but increasing gradient along the line of working. The engine was placed near the entrance, and close to a water-source, from which it pumped its own supply. The engine was one of Clayton and Shuttleworth's 12 horse-power double cylinder traction engines, with 8.35 in. cylinders, and a 12 in. stroke, and having a " grooved" fly- wheel 5 feet in diameter, round and by which the travelling rope was driven at the same speed as that of the periphery of the wheel itself. The engine consumed about 1| cwt. of coal per hour when at full work. The " travelling" rope was half an inch in diameter, and made of the best Manilla hemp ex- pressly for the work, in lengths of 250 yards, each length weighing about 1121bs. Five lengths were required for the field. The rope, 1,250 yards in length, and weighing about 5 cwt., was carried round the field at a height of about 3 feet from the ground on light porters, with friction pulleys placed at distances apart of 50 yards on the tight and 30 yards on the slack side of the windlass. The proper tension of the rope was regulated by a tightening pulley under the control of the engine-driver. While at work we timed the speed of the traveUing rope, and found it varying from 35 to 40 miles an hour. The ' hauling' rope was of steel wire | thick, and 800 yards long, equal to a straight draft (furrow) of nearly 400 yards long. The implement at work was one of Fowler's reversing cultivators, working 7 tines, and covering a breadth of 6 feet, and set at a depth of 8, in- creasing to 11 inches. The field had been steam-ploughed with a 10 by 8 furrow in autumn, and was now being culti- vated for potatoes. The distance between the windlasses (headlands) was about 200 yards, and the average length of furrow was 190 yards. The double " bout," including the turning at both ends, took from 4| to 5 minutes, according to the depth of working, giving a working rate of about 3 acres per hour. (The wire hauling rope, we noticed, was allowed to trail on the ground, Mr. M'Laren considering that the friction and extra wear-and-tear of rope was not equivalent to the cost of porters and attendants.) The work was done in a ' G 2 84 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. perfectly satisfactory manner ; no hitch or difficulty was ex- perienced in any of the movements of the implement or of the machinery. The fly-wheel made from 180 to 200 revolutions per minute, and the pressure increased from GOlbs. to 751bs. per square inch, as the depth of working was increased. Every part of the machinery appeared to be under perfect and immediate control. At our request, the cultivator was stopped several times while working 11 inches depth, and started immediately, without any apparent difiiculty or strain on the machinery. The number of persons engaged was four — two windlass men, one ploughman, one engineman. From these data it is seen that (at 70 lb. pres- sure) the engine was giving off a power equal to about twenty horses wliile the cultivator was at its work. Not having any means (dynamometer or friction "breaks)" at our command to see how this power was consumed — that is to say, divided between the working of the engine itself, of the " travelling," and of the " hauling" rope, and of the wind- lasses, we could only obtain information from our Mr. M'Laren, who gave us the following as the result of his prac- tical observations : The engine, when working at the rate of 160 revolutions per minute, required a pressure of 8 lbs. per square inch to set its own parts in motion, and an increasing pressure of 12 lb. per square inch, or 20 lb. in all, to give motion to the full length (1,600 yards) of the "travelling rope. This would be equivalent to a consumption of rather more than 2-liorse power by the engine, and of .3-horse power by the rope, or a loss of at least 5-horse power before the strain or pull reaches the windlasses. These details require to be tested by the direct and careful experiment, as also does the power consumed by working the windlasses, before any just estimate of the effective force or actual working efficiency of the tackle can he arrived at. Another important element for consideration, which has a direct money equivalent iii the calculations, is the time re- quired to set and adjust the tackle, to take it down again, and shift it to another locality. Mr. M'Laren informed us that they could begin to work in two and a-half hours after the engine and tackle readied the spot, and that they could take all up again in one and a-quarter hours, or about four hours in all. Mr. M'Laren also informed us that he had ploughed a field of 33 acres without having to shift the tackle at all, and another of 55 acres without liaving to move the engine, which was placed advantageously close to a supply of water. We were also informed that the engine and the whole of the tackle had remained out in the fields during the whole of the winter, and certainly without any apparent deterioration to rope or machinery. The main advantages claimed for the ' system,' simplicity and economy of working arrangements and of first; outlay, and general adaptability to fields of varying size and shape, appear to be substantially borne out by the practical success it has achieved on Mr. M'Laren's farm. Until, however, it has been ascertained by direct and careful test- ing what amount of power is consumed by friction, Src, and what amount of time is consumed by the arrange ment of the tackle, it is not possible to give any judgment as to the practical efficiency of the ' system,' or its comparative economical application. If the verdict on these paints be satisfactory, we shall no doubt soon see another and a powerful competitor for public favour in the field of steam-tillage, and Mr. Fisken will be entitled to the thauks of the agricultural community for having success- fully worked out a new mode of applying steam-power to the mechanical forces of the farm. " P. B. SwiNTON, Holyn Bank. " John Wilson, Edinburgh. Edinburgh, April 28, 1871. Note. — Although we have said that the rate of working of the apparatus when under our observation was about two acr^' per hour, it is right to mention, that having left the field for about an hour, on our return we found that the amount of work done in our absence was only equal to one and a quarter acres per liour. From wliatever cause this arose, there did not appear to be any want of steam-power, as when tlie engine was stopped steam immediately blew off from the safety-valve. P. B. SwiNTON. Mr. Mitchell (Alloa) reported that a proposal by the Mar- quis of Tweeddale to form a committee on the general improve- ment of land in Scotland was approved of at a meeting of the board of directors on the 1st of February, when the following gentlemen were appointed ; — The Marquis of Tweeddale, Mr, Dickson, of Corstophine ; Mr. Smith, Whittingham Mains ; Mr. Swinton, Hol}-n Bank ; Mr. Young, Keir Mains ; Mr. Elliot, Laighwood ; Mr. Stephens, Redbrae ; Mr. Mitchell, Alloa ; Mr. Hunter of Thurston — the Marquis of Tweeddale convener. The committee held a meeting on the 15th of February, when a memorandum on the subject prepared by the Marquis was read. After some conversation as to how the committee should take action, it was resolved that a copy of the memorandum should be sent to each member of committee for consideration, and that the meeting should be adjourned till a future day convenient for his Lordship, by which time it was hoped that each member would be prepared with his own views of the best mode of improving land, and of the course to be recommended to the directors. THE BIRD-BOy.— His name was Tom Beck. He was the fifth of a family of eleven — four boys and seven girls — of whom eight survived. His father was a farm-labourer, earn- ing fourteen shillings a-week. His mother had been a servant-of-ail-work in a small family, and added something, though not much, to the family income by taking-in washing. They had a little garden and a pig ; got presents of tea and flannel occasionally from a charitable-society ; had the privi- lege of getting sticks for fuel in the neighbouring woods and plantations ; got coal at half-price from the coal-store estab- lished by the squire and the parish-gentry ; and managed to jog along somehow. His elder brother was a labourer, and married, and the younger children all began to earn a little as soon as they were ten years old, by weeding in the season, if it were only sixpence or a shilling a-week. Tom himself earned four shillings a-week as a crow-boy, but had to be at his post seven days in the week in the spring season, as the crows " didn't take no account of Sundays." All the family slept in one room. He had never been to any school but a Sunday-school ; could read a little, but could not write, or read writing. Had never heard of the multiplication-table, but knew that twice two were four, and twice ten twenty. Did not know how many eight times eight were, but could co«Qt-up, he thought, on his fingers, or with stones, or bits of stick. Had heard the Bible read, and could repeat the Creed and the Lord's Prayer. Had heard of the Mount of Olives, but did not know where it was. He had never heard of the Alps, the Pyrenees, or the Andes. Had heard of the river Jordan. Had never heard of the Thames, the Khine, or the Mississippi. Had heard of the Dead Sea. Did not know whether it was in England or not. Had never heard of the Atlantic Ocean. Had heard of Jesus Christ ; everybody had. He was the son of Abraham and the Virgin Mary. He (Tom Beck) was a Christian. All of us were Christians, except the dogs and horses, and birds and animals. Some dogs were as good as Christians — "they knowed such a deal" — and he sometimes thought as how the old crows were Christians ; they were so uncommon sharp. Had often seen an old crow fasten itself upon a sheep's back, and pull the wool out of its back to help build its nest with. Thought that was more like a Christian than a crow — it was so jolly knowing. Crows were not frightened by scarecrows, as he had often seen them sit on the old hats atop of them, and caw, caw, as much as to say, " We don't care, we don't, for such stupid old rubbish as this !" He thought all birds were too cunning to be afraid after the first " go." Just at first they might be scared, but after a day or so they got used to scarecrows, and he had known starlings build their nests in them. He once took three starlings out of a nest, in the stupidest old guy of a scarecrow he had ever seen. If scare- crows were of any good there would be no need of crow-boys. His master would not let him have a gnu to shoot at the birds. He wished he would. Said he was not old enough ; but he knowed better, and would like nothing so much as to blaze away at them. Crows were afraid of stones and guns, but as for dudmen (scarecrows) the crows precious soon found out as tliey could do 'em no harm. Had heard of heaven — a place where all the people as were poor in this world were to be rich, and wear golden crowns, and where the squires and such like were to be poor, and not able to get so much as a drop of water when they were thirsty, let alone beer. He did not tliink this arrangement was unfair. He would like, however, to be rich in this world, and run the chance of the next. — AH the Year Round. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. ^ THE FACTORY SYSTEM OF CHEESE-MAKING. At the last meeting of the Cheshire Chamber of Agricul- ture, the following letter, dating from Park Nook, JDerby, May 20th, from Mr. Joh:\ CoLEMiUJ, was read : " My Dear Sir, — Our balance-sheet is now in course of being made out. We have (at Longford) sold all our cheese ; average price of 62 tons, 77s. 6d. Cost of labour, annatto- rennet, warehouse-labour, dairymaid, butter-making, and aU working expenses, will come out somewhere at 4s. lOd. per cwt. This includes £100 for one of the American managers. The cheese receipts (net) just pay for the milk at GJd. per gallon, and leave us the whey, butter, and sundries to pay working expenses with. As 6^d. is equal to 75s. for cheese, we think we have done pretty well for an ex2)erimental year. We at Longford are altering our mode of cheese-making, and getting back to real Cheddar as fast as we can. You shall have a copy of our Report as soon as issued. It will take years to perfect the factory system in this couutry, as we must make cheese for the epicure, and leave the Americans to supply the million." Mr. Latham, the Chairman, was afraid, if they all took to making cheese for the epicure, the million would get badly off. Mr. AsTo:!J : Does he say the whole of the cheese made averaged that ? The Chairman : He says for 62 tons they got 77s. 6d. per cwt. Mr. J. Slater said it appeared to him that the working expenses were to be deducted from the 77s. 6d. ; so that, taking 4s. lOd. from that, the leal price obtained was 72s. 8d. The Chairman : They say positively that the butter and whey have paid working expenses. Mr. FiNCiiETT said that, if 75s. per cwt. for the cheese represented the total produce of the cow, it was not desirable to introduce the factory system into Cheshire. There were three things in connection with the system which had not been made sufficiently prominent — the first was the cost of new machinery and plant for the factory ; the whey, which he put down at 19s. or 20s. per cow ; and the butter and milk, which was worth from 25s. to 30s. So that, by sending milk, to the factory, they would be minus about 50s. per cow, unless they would get 9d. per gallon for their milk. Mr. Broughton said they were giving 9d. at Crewe now. Mr. FiNCHETT said that he felt sure they would lose what he had stated, which would of course include pig-feed and manure. Mr. DuTTON : Are you going to put a motion ? Mr. FiNCUETT : No ; I don't wish to throw cold water on the system, but I think we ought not to be led away by such glowing accounts as we have had. Mr. DuTTON observed that there was a large quantity of milk going out of the county at 6Jd. Mr. G. Slater : It is more ; it is 7d. Mr. Lees said it averaged 8Jd. throughout the year. Mr. DuTTON said that if the factory system were intro- duced, they would be in this position — tliat they would have the option of sending their milk to the factory or to the milk- seller. He thought it would be scarcely wise for the Chamber to adopt a resolution upon this question, because it must be remembered that every farmer would act in the matter accord- ing to his own discretion ; and if he found it more remunera- tive to send milk to a cheese factory, he would do so, bat not otherwise. A great many were not so well situated as Mr. Finchett and a number of gentlemen in his neighbourhood, and they would adopt the plan most conducive to their own interest. Mr. Hornby said that in reminding them of the expenses of the factory, Mr. Finchett had lost sight of the decreased expenditure on the farm in the matter of dairymaids' wages and other expenses. Mr. Finchett said he had not ; for he did not think if he were to send Ids milk to the factory, he would be able to dis- pense with the wages of one woman-servant. If they were diminished one way, they would be increased another ; for if he had no dairymaid, he must pay a lad to take the milkj night and morning, and keep a cart for that purpose. Mr. Bateman said that so far as he recollected, the argu- ments in the previous discussion were advanced to show that Cheshire cheese had so far deteriorated in value that there was need for some change. In his opinion the subject was one of great importance, and deserved the attention of every Cheshire farmer. When he listened to the details that were given at the last meeting of the Chamber respecting the falling off of trade in the west end of London and other places, he was led to inquire if there were any market for Cheshire cheese, and it appeared to him that markets were to be found elsewhere. He was led, in fact, from what was stated then, to conclude that the farmers were going to the wall, and that farming interests were on the brink of ruin. But, he would ask, was that the case ? Were not the farmers as well off now as they were sixty years ago ? Were not the farmers and their wives better dressed now than then ? And if the farmers were doing well, how fared the landlord? Did he get as much rent for his land now as sixty years ago ? Had he any difficulty in letting a farm — if he was not one of those screws who raised land to the highest value, so that the farmer had to work the skin from the end of his fingers and the nails from the end of his toes to make things meet ? Instead of wanting tenants, there wodd be fifty or sixty after the farm, and ready to break their necks to get it. If they looked to the land itself they would also see that it produced as much now and more than fifty years ago, and they should therefore be careful, when they considered those matters, of adopting any great changes. If they had so far done pretty well they should not be in a hurry to jump to conclusions as to other systems concerning which they had not, as yet, seen any satisfactory results. Mr. Aston said he concluded from Mr. Coleman's letter that they were dissatisfied with the factory mode of cheesemaking at Longford, and were now falKngback upon the Cheddar plan. He had never heard of the Cheddar plan being adopted there before. He had also been credibly informed that they were highly dissatisfied with the result of the American mode of cheesemaking in the two factories, and that they were going to adopt the Derbyshire Cheddar mode of cheesemaking. Per- haps, however, he might have been misinformed on that point. He heard a short time since, from a gentlemen who was a large dealer, that 30 tons of the Longford factory cheese made 66s. per cwt. after all expenses had been deducted ; while another gentleman stated at, he believed, the last meeting, but on the platform of the station, that he had bought a quantity there for 65s. per cwt. He, therefore, must receive the state- ments given in the letter from Longford at present with great caution until they could be fully corroborated. He thought they should not come to any resolution about the factory sys- tem at the present meeting. He was himself endeavouring to see what he should be able to realize in pig feed, and also what could be secured from butter, and perhaps in six or eight months longer he should be better able to judge whether it would be desirable to adopt the factory system or not. He also wished to state that Cheshire cheese had risen in estima- tion, and at the present time there was a margin of 243. per cwt. between the very best American and the best Cheshire. Mr. Broughton moved that, from the information at present in the possession of the Chamber, they were not in a position to say whether the adoption of the factory system of cheesemaking would be advisable in this county. The man who made thorough good cheese, and had a wife and grown-up family about him, would never send his milk to the factory ; while those who depended on servants would very likely send it there. Mr. J. Slater seconded the proposition. In reply to Mr. Tatton, whether all the cheese made in America was made in the factory, Mr. Aston said, about three-fourths ; there were a number of private dairies. The Chairman : But all is made from large stocks. The motion was then pat and carried. THE FAELIER'S MAGAZINE. AGRICULTURAL REPORTS. GENERAL AGRICULTUEAL REVIEW FOR JUNE. The weather has been much unsettled during the past month, and vegetation has been much checked by the frosty nights and low temperature, generally, which have prevailed. Nearly all the crops are backward, though there is little positive damage beyond the delay. As we write, the wheat plant is just pass- ing into bloom, and is, therefore, entering upon the most critical period of its existence ; Should the weather prove boisterous and rainy much, damage must result to the plant, and it is to be hoped that we shall now enjoy a fair continu- anc« of genial sunshine to bring the crop forward. The latest accounts of the crop — though not such as to afford room for serious apprehensions — are not altogether favourable. Too much moisture has fallen, and the plant has been for too long deprived of warmth ; consequently, though the crop is looking weU on well farmed and strong lands, there is much loss of colour apparent on light soils. The return of genial, forcing weather would probably remedy any defects that at present exist, though there can be little doubt that the harvest will fall a week or ten days late, and that the return can now scarcely reach the average even under the most favourable circumstances. Trade at Mark Lane has ruled very dull throughout the month. The hopes entertained of a large export demand on French account have been altogether dis- appointed, and since tlie collapse of the Commune but little produce lias been shipped from this side. The market is there- fore overstocked with the flour manufactured in view of the anticipated movement, and at tlie leading outports both in England and France the stocks are exceedingly heavy. This fact has tended to depress the market, and to check operations on the part of millers. As we have now entered upon that dull, lagging period in the trade which invariably precedes harvest, we cannot look for any present return of activity unless the accounts received of the crops are such as to induce animation. For the moment neither factors nor mUlers seem disposed to extend operations, and we do not look for any material variation from the rates now current, though the ten- dency— looking at the large quantity of foreign produce on hand and afloat — is towards increased rates. The barley and oat crops arc progressing favourably, and the reports of tlie spring corn crops generally are satisfactory. Beans and pens have passed blooming, and the pods are setting well. Roots are not prospering altogether so well as could be wished, turnips, especially, having been attacked by fly. On the other hand— a consideration of much import- ance— the potato crop promises to be an excellent one. The most unfortunate feature in the agricultural world is tbe threatened destruction of the hay crop, wliicli a short time back was so promising ; the yield has seriously diminished, as much had been cut, and was lying during the recent heavy rains. There is stUl a large quantity of grass uncut, however, and hopes are entertained that a good aftergrowth may be secured. Fine weather is much needed to secure the grass now on the field. The accounts from the hop [districts are not unfavourable, though a continuance of hot weather is essential for the better development of the bine. The plant is backward, and as we are now getting on in the year it is desirable that a change should take place at an early date. The wool trade has continued steadj, and prices have been well supplied. The demand for goods has ruled active, and manufacturers are well suppUed with orders ; firm prices may, therefore, be expected to prevail. REVIEW OF THE CATTLE TRADE FOR THE PAST MONTH. The cattle trade during the past month has been rather un- settled, and prices have materially improved. The supplies of stock have been about an average, and the quality of the re- ceipts from our own grazing districts has been on the whole satisfactory. A few beasts have come to hand from Lincoln- shire in fair condition. The season is now about to commence, and as grass has been abundant, and roots promise to turn out well, we may expect to receive some choice animals. The foreign receipts during the month have embraced some choice Oporto stock. The trade has been much more active, and an advance of 4d. per Slbs. has taken place in the quotations. The best Scots and crosses are now making 5s. lOd. to 63. per Slbs. With sheep the market has been well supplied. English breeds have come to hand in good condition, and some fair foreign stock has been on sale. In sympathy with beasts the demand has been steady, and 4d. per Slbs. more money has been paid. The best Downs and half-breds have been disposed of at 63. 4d. to 63. 6d. per Slbs. Lambs have been steadier, and the top price of the choicest breeds has been 7s. 4d. per Slbs. Calves, as well as pigs, have been steadier in value. The hay crop will, without doubt, turn out well, provided the weather become dry and warm. Some fields already cut have greatly deteriorated in quality, through having been ex- posed to the late heavy rains ; but, as a set off against this, the aftergrowth promises to be satisfactory. The total imports of foreign stock into London during the past month have been as follows : Beasts 7,4S3 Sheep and Lambs 7S,727 Calves 3,739 Pigs 3,445 Total 92,394 Import at corresponding periods : Total in 1870 35,744 „ 1869 57,212 „ 1863 24,655 „ 1S67 48,508 „ 1866 47,425 „ 1865 61,935 „ 1864 38,029 „ 1863 30,059 „ 1863 22,841 „ 1861 32,751 The arrivals of beasts from our own grazing districts, as well as from Scotland and Ireland, thus compare with the three previous years : June, June, June, June. 1871. 1870. 1869. 1868. From Norfolk, Sufi'olk, &c 8,930 0,800 4,500 9,000 Lincolnshire 150 — — 370 Other parts of England 1,818 3,300 3,420 1,920 Scotland 594 850 479 97 Ireland 135 90 161 220 THE FARMBE'S MAGAZINE. 87 The total supplies of stock exhibited and disposed of at the Metropolitau Market during the month have been as iinder : Head. Beasts ... ... 13,118 Sheep and Lambs ... ... 170,713 Calves 3,636 Pigs ... 965 Comparison of Supplies. June, Beasts. Sheep & Lambs. Calves. Pigs. 1870 18,558 199,139 3,757 635 1869 20,309 167,770 3,780 680 1868 19,650 177,690 3,875 1,480 1867 16,370 146,650 2,600 3,048 1866 18,830 139,880 1,864 1,783 1865 34,050 165,730 4,378 3,310 1864 35,890 138,450 3,786 3,380 Beasts'are selling at 3s, lOd. to 6s., sheep 4s. to Gs. 2d., lamb 6s.*to 7s. 4d., calves 3s. 8d. to 5s. 8d., and pigs 3s. 6d. to 4s. lOd. per Slbs., to sink the offal. Comparison of Prices. June, 1870. June, 1869. s. d. s. d. s. d. s. d. Beef from ... ... 3 3 to 5 0 3 0 to 5 10 Mutton 3 0 to 5 4 3 0 to 5 10 Lamb 6 0 to 6 8 5 6 to 6 0 Veal 3 10 to 5 8 4 6 to 3 6 Pork 4 6 to 5 8 3 8 to 5 2 June, 1868. June, 1867. s. d. s. d. s. d. s. d. Beef from 3 0 to 5 0 3 2 to 5 6 Mutton 3 0 to 5 0 3 8 to 5 4 Lamb 5 6 to 6 6 6 0 to 7 0 Veal 3 8 to 4 3 4 0 to 5 6 Pork 3 4 to 4 3 3 4 to 4 6 The dead meat market has been well supplied. A good business has been doing at extreme currencies. Beef from 2s. 8d. to 5s. 8d., mutton 4s. to 6s. 4d., lamb 6s. to 7s., veal OS. to 5s. 8d., and pork 3s. 8d. to 5s. per 81bs., by the carcase. SOMERSETSHIRE. Tlie spring of 1871 has gone, the temperature having been very changeable, cold east and uorth-eust winds, with a few days between of high temperature, from 70 and 80 degrees, while one night this month as low as 27 to 38 de- grees. Very little rain last month, except one day at the latter end; but this rain did much good to the bean and grass crops. On the 17tli we had the heaviest rain we have had for two months, accompanied by tliunder : the weather is now unsettled, tending to winds from the south. Wheat has improved by the rain but is rather short, and as a rule thin, the good heavy pieces that may come up to 40 bushels per acre being the exceptions. It is not now likely the wheat harvest will be less than two weeks later than last year, even with more forcing heat. Barley and oats in ground promise well. Of spring beans, now in iine bloom, there is a fair prospect ; of winter beans almost nil. As yet our crop of winter fodder is double that of last year — that which is secured, and that now cutting ; however, the mowing is later than for many years. Mangel is promising in plant, and the weather is now favourable for the swedes in ground, waiting for this fine rain. Although we liave a good prospect of winter fodder, and the feed for stock far more luxuriant than this time twelvemonths, we have very few apples, aud fruit is far from a large crop. Potatoes are looking weU, with a large extent growing. There have been short supplies of wheat, but equal to the wants of the millers, whose stock, con- sidering the dull state of the flour trade, is not so large at this time as at some seasons ; yet, with the present greatly falling-off supplies, it must be lessening fast : should they come into the market more fi-eely from this cause, of Eng- lish wheat they will find it difiicult to meet their wants. Wheats liave varied from 7s. 3d. to 7s. 9d. ; best whites will scarcely command 73. 6d. to 73. 7d., reds 75. to 7s. 2d.; flour 39s. to 4l3. per 280 lbs. Millers are not working over hours. Water supply increased tliis week. Very little doing in barley, beans, or oats. There will be a better make of cheese and butter-— -the latter Is. per lb. Cheese is rather dull, with a tendency to lowered prices. Wool is a better sale, from 14|d. to 16d. per lb. Mutton and lamb are still high — 9d. to lOd. per lb., and go off pretty freely at these prices. Beef is brought out as soon as a little ripe, and before much fat has been laid inside, conseqirently the weights are light — 12s. to 14s. per 20 lbs. to sink offal. Fat pigs make 10s., with store pigs rather lower. There are large supplies of poor sheep ; these meet customers at liigh prices. Poor stock are also high, but not such ready sale as sheep. Down hoggs have fetched from 40s. to 51s. in their coats, lambs weaned 24s. to 26s., extra 28s. to 30s. in their coats. — June 24. LONDON CHEESE MARKET, (Thursday last.)— There is not much change to notice in our cheese market since our last week's circular was issued. Really prime old English and American are inquired for to a moderate extent. The quan- tity of this description now here is small. New Cheshire are beginning to make their appearance ; but, so far, only show middling in quality. The same remark will apply to Scotch and Swedish cheese. When prime, firm, meaty cheese, medium-sized and lumps, can be had, we expect a fair demand for them. American clieese are coming in pretty large quan- tities. Primest new may be quoted at about 60s. ; old have been selling this week at various prices — from 30s. to 663. The arrivals reported since last Thursday are 16,016 boxes.^ CORDEROY A^O CO. GLASGOW CHEESE IMARKET, (Wednesday last.)— A large supply of cheese brought forward this week, principally new. The best qualities met with a fair demand, while medium and inferior of both old and new were pressed at low prices. Cheddsrs: Fancy quality, new 56s. to 58s.; first- class, old 63s. to 67s., new 503. to 56s. ; fine, old 57s. to 60s., new 48s. to 50s. ; secondary, old 50s. to 56s., new 44s. to 48s. per cwt. Dunlops : First-class, old 62s. to 68s., new 50s. to 53s. ; fine, old 58s. to 62s., new 47s. to 50s. ; secondary, old 44s. to 54s., new 42s. to 46s. per cwt. Skim-milk, new, 21s. to 33s. per cwt. SALE OF MR. BOOTH'S HORSES— Mr. J. B. Booth sent up his weight-carrying hunters, well known with the Be- dale,toTattersall's on Monday, June 13; but owingtothereserves not being reached only three changed hands, viz., Balbriggan, by Killochey, 51 guineas ; Brian Born, by Chieftain (winner of upwards of £300 in prizes) 95 guineas ; and Brandsby, by Ash Plant (winner of the Yorksliire Society's second prize for three- year-old hunters at Wakefield) 145 guineas. Brian Boru was purchased by tlie master of the Durham County Foxhounds, and Brandsby by Mr. T. D. Harvey Bayley, master of the Rufford, who also bought privately Banner Bearer, by Ephe- nician, winner of prizes at Sleaford, Wakefield, Guisbro', Stokesley, Leybourne, Northallerton, and Otley in 1870. THE RECENT PIG SHOWS.— In the class of large boars at Romford, the second prize was awarded to the Cirencester College, and not to Mr. Everett. Any one who was at Rom- ford wiU not be surprised at occasional errors of this kind, excepting perhaps the farm-bailiff at Cirencester. At Rugby Mr. Matthew Walker's boar took the extra prize. THE FOUR-COURSE SYSTEM.— In the Court of Queen's Bench, before Justices Blackburn, Mellor, and on Lush, the case of Colonel St. Quintin v. Lett came for hearing. This was a penal action on a farm lease, tried at York before Mr. Baron Cleasby, when a verdict was given for the defendant. The plaintiff is the owner of Driffield Farm, near Malton, which he let to the defendant in 1863 on a lease, to cultivate the land on the four-course system, and according to the most approved hus- bandry in the district. There were penal clauses for taking white crops in succession; and the breach here sought for damages was the defendant taking a third white crop, his seeds having failed in the droughty year of 1868. There was mucli conflicting evidence at the trial as to whether the de- fendant was pursuing the best approved system of husbandry in that part of the country. Mr. Price, Q.C., and Mr. Kemplay having obtained a rule for a new trial, on the ground of misdirection, Mr. Field, Q.C., and Mr. Wills (in- structed by Mr. Hodgson, of Driffield) now showed cause. The Court refused the rule, with costs against the plaintiff, THE FARMEK'S MAGAZINE. REVIEW OE THE CORN TRADE DURING THE PAST MONTH. June has added to the numher of very changeable months experienced this season. For the first fortnight there was a great want of rain. There was indeed an oc- casional outburst of solar heat, but for the most part the days -were cold, and several nights frosty. On the 14th, however, a splendid raia fell, and it continued wet for a week ; then again after the longest day came cold wea- ther, and a sharp frost on the morning of the 26th, the efi'ects of which we have yet to learn. Some who had cut their grass early were caught, and their bulks much discoloured ; but the meadows have greatly benefited, and we may now gather an average yield. All spring-corn was helped forward and the wheat as weU ; but for this latter grain fears soon began to be entertained lest it should run to straw, or get laid heavily, though the thin- ness of plant in many fields is certainly against this dan- ger ; but the blooming time has yet to come, and should this fickleness of the season last, we may have a retui'n of the poor harvest of 1867 and advanced prices. At the first of the change the wheat trade languished, and fully Is. per qr. value was lost, and in some places more ; but the I'eturn of cold brought firmness again, and we seem to be nearing the possibility of an advance, which would be certain with a rough and an ungenial future. As it is, stocks are getting very short in farmers' hands ; for, notwithstanding the much better prices than last year's, our weekly deliveries have, for the last fort- night, been 47,000 qrs. less, and very little now comes up to London, as farmers obtain better prices, relatively, at home. It was, indeed, thought that the recovery of Paris by the Government troops would bring on orders freely, as quotations there are relatively high, but confidence as yet does not seem sufiiciently established for the resumption of busi- ness on a large scale, the pressure of the war debt being severe and discom-aging. Furthermore, what with Prus- sian occupation and an ungenial season, only a poor wheat crop is generally expected in that country, though in some parts of the south there have already been gatherings of very fine quality — the complaints coming chiefly from the north. To Europe generally the late rains have been acceptable, and prices have somewhat given way ; but neither Belgium nor Holland expect much, the severities of the winter, without a snow covering, having cut up the young plants sadly. Indeed, much land has had to be resown with spring wheat, which will make the harvest late, as it wiU also be in Germany this year. Large receipts, mostly of low quality, are expected fi-om Russia, which may fill up the room in our imports, and some from America ; but with the latter country prices will determine quantity, and they have lately been rising. Our census reminds us of about 3 millions increase since I86I, so it is not a littie that will satisfy so many mouths with the competition of our neighbours. The following prices were recently current at the places named : Red wheat at Paris 67s., white 69s., red wheat at Antwerp 62s., white wheat at Rotterdam (weak new Zealand sorts) 58s., wheat at ^laestricht 60s., at Stettin 54s. to 57s. free on board, at Cologne 59s., at Romanshorn 60s., best mixed at Danzig and Konigsberg 6 1 s. cost, freight, and insurance ; at San Francisco 61s. 6d., cost, freight, and insurance ; at A''alladolid 54s., at Palencia 543. ; red at Philadelphia 55s. 3d. per 4801bs., cost, freight, and in- surance; at New York, No. 1 spring 52s. per 4801bs., cost, freight, and insurance. The first Monday in Mark-lane commenced on a very short supply of English wheat, but there was plenty of foreign. The show of Essex and Kentish during the morning was very small. But though trade was tolerably free and full prices were made there was no quotable ad- vance on the previous rates. "With a good attendance from the country not much was passing in foreign, and to have sold low qualities freely it would have been neces- sary to take less money. "With but few floating cai-goes on offer prices were without change. The weather this week being very cold and ungenial the country markets generally were firm, and several noted a rise of Is. per qr. ; among these were Louth, Melton Mowbray, Slea- ford, Stockton, "Wakefield, &c. ; and Liverpool noted a gain of Id. per cental for the week. Edinburgh reported an im- provement of 6d. to Is. per qr., but wheat at Glasgow though firm was no dearer. At Dublin the trade was quiet and unchanged, both for Irish and foreign wheat. With rather better supplies on the second Monday of home growth, the foreign arrivals were less than one-half of the previous week, not being more 10,000 qrs. This morning the Kentish stands were completely bare, and very little appeared on those of Essex. "With ungenial weather and higher rates in several country markets factors expected to realise Is. advance, but this was firmly resisted by millers, who eventually had their way on pre- vious terms. Very little was done in foreign, and there was no change of values, and this was also the case with floating cargoes. The weather this week opened warmer, and on "Wednesday came a fine and continuous rain, with a much raised temperature, and this had its usual eft'ects on the wheat trade, as all vegetation was improved, with the prospect of a heavier gathering than at one time ex- pected. Yet so shortly supplied were many places that it only produced a dull trade, though later on in the week there was more disposition to yield, and Is. less was taken at several markets, as at Bristol, Birmingham, St. Ives, "Wakefield, &c., and en Saturday a few noted a decline of Is. to 2s. Liverpool was down 2d. per cental on Tues- day, and 2d. more on Friday. "Wheat at Edinburgh re- mained firm, but at Glasgow the late advance was lost. Dublin was again calm, but no reduction was quoted. On the third Monday there was a small English supply, but the foreign arrivals were good, including some from Australia and India. The number of samples on the Kentish and Essex stands was about the smallest since last harvest, and though the condition was excellent and factors were willing to accept Is. per qr. decline, there were not many buyers. Beyond this reduction sellers would not, however, go, as it was feared we were getting more wet than sufficed for the wheat crop. The foreign trade also was very slow at the same decline. Floating cargoes, though not abundant, also gave way to the same extent. The early part of the week continuing warm, though wet, there was a general dulness in the wheat trade, and many country markets yielded Is. per qr., as Hull, Leeds, New- castle, Spalding, Sleaford, Uppingham, Melton Mowbray, Market Harborough, Rotherham, St. Ives, Lynn, Gains- THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 89 Ijorough, Worksop, Stockton, Woodbridge, Stowmarket, &c. ; and a few were down Is. to 2s. per qr., as Bristol, Sheffield, Barnsley, &c., but a return of cold ou the 82nd again hardened prices, and the trade on Saturday in the country was not lower than on the previous week. Liverpool, after giving way Id. to 2d. per cental on Tues- day, subsequently recovered the decline. Edinburgh was down Is. per qr., and Glasgow Gd. per boll. Dublin gave way 6d. per brl. on native sorts, and the prices of foreign were little more than nominal. On the fourth Monday the English supply was again Btort, but the foreign abundant, among which were 12,000 qrs. from America and 15,000 from Cronstadt and Petersburgh. The show of fresh samples on the Essex and Kentish stands was very scanty, and tlie return of cold weather with a frost this morning led factors to hope for some advance. Foreign arrivals, however, were against this, but the previous Monday's rates were realized. The foreign trade had more business, there being a large country attendance, and the finer qualities were in request at full prices, other sorts being firm. The imports during the four weeks in home produce were 12,229 qrs. with 97,999 qrs. foreign, against 14,421 qrs. English, 56,509 qrs. foreign in 1870 ; the I/ondon exports being 5,971 qrs. wheat, 4,114 cwts. flour. The imports for four weeks into the kingdom ending 17th June were 2,357,089 cwts. wheat, 296,189 cwts. flour, against 2,288,837 cwts. wheat, 439,536 cwts. flour for the same period last year. The London average com- menced at 61s. 9d. and closed at 61s. Id. per qr. The general average began at 59s. lid. and closed at 59s. 7d. per qr. The flour trade, like that of wheat, has very little varied duMng the month, the entire decline not exceeding Is. per sack on country sorts, and 6d. to is. on American barrels, with a like proportion on foreign sacks ; but the last Monday had a firm aspect, with Norfolks quoted 39s., and barrels 28s., though there were large foreign supplies. The imports into London for four weeks were 58,505 sacks English, 18,035 sacks 59,691 barrels foreign, against 76,998 sacks English, 6,261 sacks 45,756 barrels foreign, in 1870. The arrivals of maize have been more plentiful, but not so abundant as expected, and prices have only given way Is. to Is. 6d. per qr., with a fair amount of business done. The crop in Hungary is said to have suff'ered greatly. Mixed was sold at 34s., yellow 35s. to 36s., white 36s. The imports in four weeks were 41,637 qrs., against 41,715 qrs. in 1870. The English barley crop appears, by the short receipts, to be well nigh exhausted, but our supplies of foreign have been good, and prices have therefore declined about Is. per qr., but at this reduction there has been a fair demand, especially for feeding sorts, which are worth from 27s. to 29s. per qr. Tlie value of maize having kept up more than was expected has made this grain more readily saleable. The imports for four weeks were 334 qrs. English, 33,325 qrs. foreign, against 1,141 qrs. English, 29,443 qrs. foreign, in 1870. The malt trade has ruled quiet through the month, without change, though there has been a further export of 3,708 qrs. As regards oats, the foreign arrivals have exceeded ex- pectations, and prices have consequently given way Is. to 2s. per qr., black 401bs. Swedes being procurable at 25s., and Russian sorts from 18s. to 23s., the lower qualities being most abundant, and chiefly in very poor condition, especially those from Orel ; many of these wiU have to go to granary for want of buyers, but we hardly think prices will be lower. The imports into London for four weeks were 3,848 qrs. English, 93 qrs. Scotch, 343,884 qrs. foreign, against 2,860 qr3. English, 226,836 qrs. foreign, in 1870 The bean trade has been dull, as usual at this time of year, on small English and moderate foreign arrivals, but values have not receded beyond Is. per qr. The arrivals from Egypt have chiefly caused the decline, and more are expected. The English supplies in four weeks were 690 qrs., with 4,842 qrs. foreign, against 1,285 qrs. English, 3,454 qrs. foreign, in 1870. This crop has greatly im- proved since the rains. In peas, also, only a retail trade has heen going on, chiefly in old white for feeding purposes, of which our imports have mostly consisted. Prices have been without change ; feeding 37s. to 39s., boilers 40s. to 43s. per qr. London imports in four weeks, in English sorts 72 qrs., in foreign 5,474 qrs., against 362 qrs. English, 10,502 qrs. foreign, in 1870. With moderate supplies of linseed, this grain has ruled firm all through the month, both for feeding and crushing. Cakes have been only in moderate demand, at un- altered rates. Cloverseed and other agricultural seeds, with but poor prospects generally as regards crops, have been full- priced, but speculative buyers could only be accommodated with small lots, Irom the smaDness of stocks. CURRENT PRICES OF BRITISH GRAIN AND FLOUR IN MARK LANE. BhUlings per Quarter. WHEAT, new, Essex and Kent, white 66 to 61 ,, ,, red 51 67 Norfolk, Linclnsh., and Yorksh., red 51 BARLEY 31 to 34 Chevalier 36 Grinding 29 31 Distilling 35 MALT, Essex, Norfolk, and Suffolk 60 Kingston, Ware, and town-made 60 Brown 49 RYE. OATS, Bnglish.'feed 23 to 26 Potato., Scotch, feed 00 Irish, feed, white 21 Ditto, black 19 BEANS, Mazagan ...37 Harrow 39 PEAS, white, boiler8.38 36 27 ,00 ,25 , 26 ,37 00 Potato,, 21 Fine.... 21 Potato. 38 Ticks.. 43 Pigeon 44 42M:aplo 43 to 46Grey,new 37 FLOUR, per sack of 2801b8., best town households,., 47 Best country households 40 Norfolk and Suffolk 38 FOREIGN GRAIN. / Shillings per Quarter. WHEAT, Dantzic, mixed 66 to 58 extra 60to63 Konigsberg 56 68 extra 67 60 Rostock 65 66 fine 67 69 Silesian, red 52 56 white.... 55 68 Pomera., Meckberg., and Uckermrk. ...red 55 58 Russian, hard, 43 to 44.. .St. Petersburg and Riga 47 51 Danish and Holstein, red 63 55 American 53 67 Chilian, white 60... Califomian 60 ... Australian 60 62 BARLEY, grinding 26 to 31. ...distilling and malting 34 37 OATS, Dutch, brevnng and Polands 20 to 28 feed 18 22 Danish and Swedish, feed 21 to 21,... Stralsuud... 21 25 Canada W to 21, Riga 19 to 20, Arch.l9to20, P'sbg. 20 21 TARES, Spring, per qr small 42 60 large 00 00 BEANS, Friesland and Holstein 42 43 Konigsberg 38 to 43. ..Egyptian 37 38 PEAS, feeding and maple.. .37 40.. .fine boilers 38 40 INDIAN CORN, white 33 35. ..yellow 32 34 FLOUR, per sack, French..00 00.. .Spanish, p. sack 00 00 American, per brl 25 26...extraandd'ble.27 28 IMPERIAL AVERAGES For the week ended June 17, 1871. Wheat 41,7221 qrs. 69s. 7d. Barley 369| „ 35s. lid. Oats 1,576| ,, 26s. lOd. COMPARATIVE AVERAGES. WHEAT. Years. Qrs. s. d. 1867... 36,3301 ... 65 8 1868... 23,965i ... 66 1 1869... 48,459J... 46 2 1870... 58,547i ,.. 48 0 1871... 41,7221 ... 69 7 BARLEY. Qrs. 8. d. 6971 ... 35 0 633i ... 39 2 378^ ... 32 2 783i ... 32 5 3691 ... 35 11 OATS. Qrs. s. 1,793| ... 27 1,686 ... 29 l,107i ...27 1,654| ... 25 1,576} ... 26 d. 7 3 8 0 10 90 THE FABMER'S MAGAZINE. AVERAGE S Fob thb fast Six Webks: May 13, 1871 May 20, 1871 May 27, 1871 June 3, 1871 June 10, 1871 June 17, 1871 Ag^egate of the above .. Wheat, s. d, 68 7 68 10 69 11 60 0 69 59 69 The same week in 1870 1 48 Barley. | s. cl. 37 10 37 7 36 3 36 11 38 6 35 11 37 2 32 5 Oats, s. d. 26 11 27 11 27 2 27 7 25 11 26 10 27 1 25 0 FLUCTUATIONS in the AVERAGE PRICE of WHEAT. May 13, May ZO.jMay 27. ••• I June 3. June 10. June 17. BRITISH SEEDS. Mustard, per bushel, brown 13s. to los., white 10s. to Canary, per qr 56s. Cloverseed, new red 62s. Coriander, per cwt 21s. Tares, winter, new, per bushel 7s. Trefoil, new 22s. Ryegi-ass, per qr 32s. Linseed, per qr sowing 66s. to 683., crushing 58s. Linseed Cakes, per ton £11 Os. to £11 Rapeseed, per qr 80s. Rape Cake, per ton £6 Os. Od. to £6 12s, FOREIGN SEEDS. Coriander, per cwt 21s. to Carraway ,, new 32s. Cloverseed, red 48s. to 52s white 62s. Hempseed, small 41s. to 42s. per qr Dutch 45s. Trefoil 21s. Ryegrass, per qr 32s. Linseed, per qr Baltic 58s. to 623., Bombay 63s. Linseed Cakes, per ton £11 Os. Od. to £11 Rape Cake, per ton £6 Os. to £6 12s. Bapeseed, Dutch 76s. 123. 60s. 66s. 223. 8s. 26s. 34s. 64s. lOs. 848. , 6d. 223. 33s. 23s. 34s. 61s. 10s. 6d. 803. HOP MARKET. BOROUGH, Monday, June 26.— During the past week there has been no material alteration in our market ; to-day, however, the unfavourable character of the reports from the plantations lias caused a considerable increase of business at enhanced rates. The blight has progressed considerably during the past few days, and at the present time the plantations are generally infested with vermin, and in many grounds liave en- tirely given up. Advices from the Continent report no im- provement. The New York market is very strong, with extreme Mid and East Kents £3 16 £4- 4 £ 7 7 Weald of Kent 2 16 3 15 4 10 Sussex 2 10 3 5 i 0 Farnliam and Country ... 3 15 4 15 5 12 Olds 1 0 1 5 1 15 POTATO MARKETS. BOROUGH AND SriTALFIELDS. LONDON, Monday, June 26. — The market has been well suppHed with potatoes. Tlie trade has been slow at our quo- tations. The imports into Loudon last week consisted of 2,G10 baskets from Rotterdam, 307 Dunkirk, 562 Barfleur, and 564 boxes from Lisbon. Flukes old 50s. to 80s. per ton. Regents 50s. to 60s. „ Rocks 40s. to 55s. „ Kidneys, new 9s. to 12s. per cwt. Jerseys Ss. to 10s. French 6s. to 7s. BARK AND TANNING MATERIALS. LONDON, Satuedat, June 24 £, s. English, per load of 45 cwt. delivered In London -. 13 10tol4 0 Coppice 0 0 Dutch, per ton _. B 0 Hambro' B 0 Antwerp Tree S 0 Do. Coppice 5 0 French 0 0 tUmosa Chopped 8 o Do. Ground „.„. 7 15 Do.Iionp„.„.„ „, 7 0 Cork Tree, Barbary C 0to7 0 Do. Sardinian 9 0 10 0 Valonia, Smyrna 13 0 17 0 u 0 Do. Camata „. 13 0 14 10 Biol Do. Morea „. 9 0 11 0 5 10 Terra Japouica:— 5 101 Gambler in bales 16 15 17 0 6 0, Ditto free cubes 19 0 21 0 0 ol Cutch, best Pegu ... 24 0 24 10 8 17 Divi Divi „. 11 0 13 10 9 0|Myrabolana 10 0 17 0 7 10 Sumach, Sicily, p. cwt. 20 0 21 U TIMBER. 63 0 to 67 70 BALTIC FIB TIMBER. Per load 50 cubic feet. E. d. 8. d. BIga Dantzic and Memel, Crown Best middling Good middling * second B2 Commonmiddling 52 Small, short, and irregular 4! Stettin 53 Swedish 53 0 55 0 1 Small 47 0 50 Swedish & Norway balks 32 0 38 AMERICAN PITCH PINE. nited States 0 0 0 BALTIC OAK TIMBER. Memel, crown 115 0 135 Brack 90 0 110 Dantzic and Stettin, Crown 105 0 130 0 Brack Aunsquar'd 75 0 85 0 WAINSCOT. Per log 18 cubic feet. Blga, crown 80 0 100 0 Brack 50 0 55 0 Memel and Dantzio, Crown 7B 0 80 0 Brack 40 0 47 0 DEALS AND BATTENS. Per Petersburg stanoard hundred. £ s. £ s. Archangel 11 10 12 10 Seconds „. 9 0 9 10 Petersburg 12 0 13 0 Wyburg 9 15 10 5 Finland and hand- sawn Swedish 7 0 8 0 Petersburg & Riga white deals 8X0 9 5 Hemel and Dantzic, Crown red deals... 0 0 0 0 Brack „. 0 0 0 0 Christiana & Sanne sund deals, white and yellow .,..,. 10 0 Second do _. 0 0 Dram & Frederick- stadt battens, do. 0 0 DramSVi-inchdo. ... 0 0 0 Gothenb'g.gd stocks 10 0 01 Common 8 10 Gefle and Swedish ol 14-feetdeals 10 10 0 Swedish deals and battens, long mill- sawn 8 10 Dantzic, cr" wn deok, per 40-feet 3-inch 0 17 Brack 0 11 £ 8. £ B. to 12 10 0 0 0 0 10 10 9 10 LATHWOOD. Per cubic fathom. I Petersburg 4 0 6 10 : Riga, Dant., Memel, ' and Swedish „. 3 0 5 0 FIREWOOD. Per cubic fathom. Swedish, red deal ends 3 15 4 5 Norway, red 4 white boards 3 0 3 10 Rounds and slabs 2 5 2 15 OAK STATES Per mille pipe. Memel, crown 170 0 180 0 First brack 130 0 135 0 Dantzic, Stettin, Sl Hambro' full-siz'd crown 140 0 150 0 Canada, stand, pipe 72 0 76 0 Puncheon, ^ 1,200 pieces 20 0 i£3 0 Bosnia, single brl., ^1,200 pieces 2T 0 28 0 United States, pipe 35 0 45 0 Hogshead, heavy and extra 33 0 43 0 SUght „. 20 0 25 0 PLAX, &c. £ s. £ B. £ Hemp, Petersburgh Coir yarn...-.-. -.~.~ 21 clean, per ton 33 0to33 10 Junk _. 0 Outshot ,31 10 Half-clean 29 10 Riga, Rhine 36 0 Manilla 41 0 East Indian, Sunn 15 0 Jute 18 10 Fibre _ 12 0 Flax, Riga 40 0 St . Petersburgh , 1 2 0 head 38 0 9 head „ _. 29 0 Egjrptian 0 s. cl. s. d. ENGLISH WOOL JMARKET. CcBBENT Prices op English Wool. Flbeces— Southdown hogs per lb. Half-bred ditto „ Kent fleeces , Southdown ewes and wethers ... ,, Leicester ditto „ SOETB— Clothing, picklock „ Prime „ Choice , Super , Combing, wether mat , Picklock ,, Common , Hog matching ,, Picklock matching Super ditto , MANURES. Pui-e Dissolved Bones, .£7. Concentrated Ammoniacal Manure £10. Bone Tui-nip Manure, £6 59. Superphosphate of Lime, £5 5s. Nitrophosphate, £S 5s. Potato Manure, £7 10s. Cora Manure, £7 10s. Mangold Manure, £8. Urate, £7 10s. Hop. £8. Grass, £8. Soluble or Fi.xed Guano, £12. Government Peruvian Guano, £12 12s. Nitrate of Soda, £16 15s. to £17 6s. Gypsum, £1 10s. Sulphate of AmmoJiia, .£18 10s. to £20 (all per ton). E. PuBSER, London Manure Company, 116, Fenchurch Street, E.G. Guano, Peruvian£14 10 0to£0 0 o;Cotsd.Cake,decor£7 15 0 to£0 0 0 3itol 4 4i 1 64 4i 1 5* 1 lU 3 1 1 4 1 44 2* 1 3 1 1 2 0 1 0, 4 1 4:t 2, 1 3 0 1 1 6 1 5J 2 1 3 0 1 1 Bone Ash Goo Phosphate of Lime 0 12 Linseed Cake, per ton — Amer.,thin, bgs.lO 10 0 Linsd.Bomby,p.qr.3 1 0 Itapeseed.Guzerat 3 8 0 5 0 Cloverseed, N. A.... u 0 0 0 00 0 13 Niger 2 7 0 2 80 Nitr.of Soda, p. ct.O 14 0 0 14 3 10 12 G German Kainit 3 5 0 3 15 0 3 2 OiTallow, 1st P.Y.C. 2 4 6 2 50 3 9 0, „ super. Norths 2 2 0 2 3 0 SAMUEL DOWNES and CO., General Brokers, No. 7, The Albany, Liverpool. Prentice's Cereal Manure for Corn Crops -.-.-.._.-.....-. per ton £8 o 0 Mangold Manure _._.-.-....-._. ,, '^ " « Prentice's Turnip Manure „....-.-.-.-.-.- ~. ,, 6 10 0 Prentice's Superphosphate of Lime-.—-.—™. — —— „ 0 0 0 Agricultural ChemloalWorks,Stowmai-ket, Suffolk. Printed by Rogerson and Tuxford, 205, Strand, London, W.C. ONDON AND COUNTY BANKING COMPANY. ESTABLISHED 1836. SUBSCRIBED CAPITAL... £2,500,000, in 50,000 SHARES of £50 EACH. PAID-UP CAPITAL... £1,000,000 RESERVE FUND... £500,000. DIRECTORS. fJATHANIEL ALEXANDER, Esq. | THOMAS STOCK COWIE, Esq. I WILLIAM CHAMPION JONES, Esq. r. TYRINGHAM BERNARD, Esq. I FREDERICK FRANCIS, Esq. | E. HARBGRD LUSHINGTON, Esq. PHILIP PATTON BLYTH, Esq. i FREDERICK HARRISON, ESQ. 1 JAMES MORLEY, Esq. JOHN WM. BURMESTER, Esq. 1 LORD ALFRED HERVEY. 1 WILLIAM NICOL, Esq. TRUSTEES. P. P. BLYTH, Esq | J. W. BURMESTER, Esq. | W. CHAMPION JONES, Esq. AUDITORS. Wn.T.TAM JARDINE, Esq. | WILLIAM NORMAN, Esq. | RICHARD H. SWAINE, Esq. General Managek— WILLIAM McKEWAN, Esq. CHIEF INSPECTOR. INSPECTORS OF BRANCHES. CHIEF ACOOUNTANT, W. J. NORFOLK, Esq. H. J. LEMON, Esq., aud C. SHERRING, Esq. JAMES GRAY, Esq. SOLICITOKS— Messrs. STEVENS, WILKINSON, & HARRIES. Secretary— F. CLAPPISON, Esq. HEAD OFFICE, 21, LOMBARD STREET. Manager— WHITBREAD TOMSON, Esq. \ Assistant Manager— WILLIAM HOWARD, Esq. THE LONDON AND COUNTY BANK opens- DRAWING ACCOUNTS with Commercial HouBes and Private Individuals, either upon the i)lan usually adopted by other Bankers, or by charging a small Commission to those persons to whom it may not be convenient to sustain an agreed DEPOSIT ACCOUNTS.— Deposit Receipts are issued for sums of Money placed upon these Accounts, and Interest ia allowed for such periods and at such rates as may be agreed upon, reference being had to the state of the Money Market. CIRCULAR NOTES AND LETTERS OF CREDIT are issued, payable in the principal Cities and Towns of the CoH" tinent, in Aristralia, Canada, India, and China, the United States, and elsewhere. The Agency of Foreign and Country Banks is undertaken. The PuBCHASH and SitH of Government and other Stocks, of English or Foreign Shares effected, and Dxtidejtoo, Annuities, &c., received for Customers of the Bank. Great facilities are also afforded to the Customers of the Bank for the receipt of Money from the Towns where the Com» pany has Branches. The Officers of the Bank are bound not to ilisclose the transactions of any of its Customers. By Order of the Directors, WM. McSS WAN. General Manager. POPULAR MEDICAL WORKS, PUBLISHED BY MANN, 39, CORNHILL, LONDON. Post Free, 12 Stamps ; Sealed Ends, 16 Stamps. DR. CURTIS'S MEDICAL GUIDE TO MARRIAGE : a Practical Treatise on ITS Physical and Personal Obligations.- With instructions to the Married and Unman-ied of both Sexes, for removing the special disqualifications aud impediments wliicb destroy the happiness of wedded Ufe, founded on the result of a successful practice of 30 years. — By Dr. J. L. CURTIS, M.D., 15, AlbejurI/B Street, Piccadilly, London, W. And, by the same Author, for 12 stamps ; sealed ends, 20. MANHOOD : A MEDICAL ESSAY on the Causes and Cui-e of Premature Decline IN Man ; the Treatment of Nervous Debility, Spermatorrhoea, Impotence, and those peculiar infirmities which result from youthful abuses, adult excesses, tropical climates, and other causes ; with Instructions for the Cure of Infection without Merciuy, and its Prevention by the Author's Prescription (liis infallible Lotion). REVIEWS OP THE WORK. " Manhood. — This is traly a valuable work, aud should be in the hands of young and old." — Simday Times, 23rd March, 1858. "The book under review is one calculated to warn and instruct the erring, without imparting one idea that can vitiate the mind not already tutored by the vices of which it treat3."--iV«v«; and Military Gasette, 1st Februaiy, 1856. •' We feel no hesitation in saying that there is no member of society by whom the book wUl not be found use- ful, whether such person hold the relation of a Parent, Preceptor, or Clergyman." — Sun, Evening Paper. Manhood.—*' Dr. Curtis has conferred a great boon by publishing this little work, in which is described the soiu'ce of those diseases which produce decline in youth, or more fi-equently premature old age ,"— 2?«?7y reZe^ro^/j, March 27, 1856. Consultations daily, from 10 to 3 and 6 to 8, 15, Aibsmarli Sxreit, Piccadilly, Lonbon, W. FLOCKMASTERS. HAIL STORMS. -CROPS INSURED B7 THE ROYAL FARMERS' COMPANY, No. 3, NORFOLK STREET, STEAND, LONDON, W.C., AT MODERATE RATES. SEEDS and GLASS are also Insured. FIRE Insurances at rates as low as other weU-established offices. IiIFE Assurances of any description at equitable rates. Four-fifths of the profits divided every Fifth Year. LOSSES • — Prompt and Liberal settlement of claims. Further particulars may be had at the Chief Office, or of the Agents, JOHN EEDDISH, Secretaiy and Actuary, IMPORTANT TO THOMAS BIGG, Agricultural and Veterinary Chemist, by Appointment to His late Royal Highness The Prince Consort, K.G., Leicester House, Great Dover Street, Borough, London, begs to call the attention of Farmers and Graziers to his valuable SHEEP and LAilB DIPPING COMPOSITION, which requires no Boiling, and may be used with Warm or Cold Water, for cfifectually destroying the Tick, Lice, and all othpr iosects Lnjuriotis to the Flock, preventing the alarming attacks of Fly and Shab, and cleansing and purifying the Skin, thereby greatly im- proving the Wool, both in quantity and quality, and highly contributing to the general health of the animal. Prepared only by Thomas Bigg, Chemist, &c., at his Manu- factory as above, and sold as follows, although any other quantity may be had, if required :— 4 lb, for 20 sheep, price, jar included £0 2 0 61b. 30 „ „ „ 0 3 0 81b. 40 „ „ „ 0 4 0 101b. 60 „ „ 0 6 0 20 lb. lOO „ „ (cask and mea£ure 0 10 0 30 lb. 150 „ „ included) 0 15 0 401b. 200 „ „ „ 10 0 601b. 250 „ „ „ 13 6 601b. 300 „ „ „ 17 6 801b. 400 ,. „ 1 17 6 1001b. 600 „ „ „ 2 6 0 Should any Flockmaster prefer boiling the Composition, it will be equally efifective, MOST IMPORTANT CERTIFICATE. Prom Mr. Hehbpath, the celebrated Analytical Chemist :— Bristol Laboratory, Old Park, Januarj' 18th, 1861. Sir, — I have submitted your Sheep Dipping Composition to analysis, and find that the ingredients are weU blended, and tlie mixture neutral. If it is used according to the du-ections given, I feel satisfied, that while it effectually destroys vermin, it will not injure the hair roots (or " yolk ") in the skin, the fleece, or the carcase. I think it deserves the numerous testimonials published, I am, Su-, yours respectfully, William Hbeapaih, Sen., F.C.S., &c., &c., To Mr. Thomas Bigg, Professor of Chemistry. Leicester House, Great Dover-street, Borough, London. He would also especially call attention to his SPECIFIC, or LOTION, for the SCAB or SHAB. which will be found a certain remedy for eradicating that loathsome and ruinous disorder in Sheep, and which may be safely used in all climates, and at all seasons of the year, and to all descriptions of sheep, even ewes in lamb. Price FIVE SHILLINGS per gallon— sufficient on an average for thirty Sheep (according to the vindence of the disease) ; also in wine quart bottles. Is. 3d. each. IMPORTANT TESTIMONIAL. " Scoulton, near Hingham, Norfolk, April 16th, 1855. . "Dear Sir,— In answer to yours ot the 4th inst., which would have been replied to before this had I been at home, I have much pleasure in bearing testimony to the efficacy of your invaluable ' Specific for the cure of Scab in Sheep.' The 600 sheep were all ch-esscd in August last with 84 gallons of the 'NoN-poisojrors Specific,' that was so highly recom- i mended at the Lincoln Show, and by their own dresser, the I best attention being paid to the flock oy my shepherd after ; dressing according to instructions left ; but notwithstanding the Scab continued getting worse, Beiug determined to have the Scab cured if possible, I wrote to you for a supply of your Specific, which I received the following day ; and although the weather was most severe in February during the dressing, j-our Specific proved itself an invaluable remedy, for m three weeks the Sheep were quite cured ; and I am happy to say the young lambs ai-e doing remarkably weU at present. In conclusion, I believe it to bo the safest and best remedy now in use, " I remain, dear Sir, "For JOHN TINGEY, Esq., " To Mr. Thomas Bigg. ' " R. RENNEY. V^~ Flockmasters would bo well to beware of such pre* parations as " Non-poisonoua Compositions :" it is only necessary to appeal to their good common sense and judg- ment to be thoroughly convinced that no " Non-poisonous " article can poison or destroy insect vermin, particularly such as the Tick, Lice, and Scab Parasites— creatures so tenacious of life. Such advertised preparations must be wholly useless, or they axe not what they are represented to be. DIPPING APPARATUS £14. £5, £i, & £3. DR. J. COLLIS BROWNE'S CHLORODTNE. THE ORIGINAL AND ONLY GENUINE. CHLORODYNE is admitted by the Profession to be the most wondcrfid and valuable remedy ever discovered. CHLORODYNE is the best remedy known for Coughs, Consumption, Bronchitis, Asthma, CHLORODYNE efi'ectually checks and arrests those too often fatal diseases— Diptheria, Fever, Croup, Ague. CHLORODYNE acts like a charm in Diarrhoea, and is the only specific in Cholera and Dysentery. CHLORODYNE efifectually cuts short all attacks of Epilepsy, Hysteria, Palpitation and Spasms, CHLORODYNE ia the only palliative in Neuralgia, Rheumatism, Gout, Cancer, Toothache, Meningitis, &c. From LoED Feakcis Conthgham, Mount Charles. Donegal, 11th December, 1868, " Lord Francis Conyngham, who this time last year boughtsome of Dr. J. Collis Browne's Chlorodyne from Mr. Davenport, and has foimd it a most wonderful medicine, would be glad to have half-a-dozen bottles sent at once to the above addi-ess," Earl Russell communicated to the College of Physicians that he received a dispatch ft'om Her Majesty's Consul at Manilla to the efifect that Cholera has been raging fearfully, and that the ONLY remedy of any service was CHLORODYNE.'* —See Lancet, 1st December, 1864. CAUTION.— BEWARE of PIRACY and IMITATIONS, Catttion.— Vice-Chancellor Sir W, Page Wood stated that Dr, J. Collis Bbowne was, undoubtedly, the Inventor of CHLORODYNE ; that the story of the Defendant, Feebman, was dehberately untrue, which, he regretted to say, had been Bwom to.— See Times, 13th July, 1864. Sold in Bottles at Is, lid., 23, 9d,, 4s, 6d,, and lis, each. None is genuine without the words, " Dr. J. COLLIS BROWNE'S CHLORODYNE " on the Government Stamp. Overwhelming Medical Testimony accompanies each bottle. Soli MAiry»czvBBB :— J. T. DAVENPORT, 33, Great BnsseU Slreett Bloom^buty, LoudoB. r%^^t 6 No. 2 Vol. XL.] AUGUST, 1S71. Third Series. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE AMD MONTHLY JOURNAL OP THE AGRICULTURAL INTEREST. Detritatelr TO THE FARMERS OF THE UNITED KINGDOM. LONDON : PUBLISHED BYROGERSON AND TUXFORD, 265, STRAND. PUICE TWO SHILLINGS. ROGEUSON AND TUXFORD,] [PRINTERS, 265, STRAND. miw .■ijnuijiuwiiiji iiw-mpt THE FAliMEii'S MA(}AZI:NE. AUGUST, 1871. CONTENTS. Plate I.— JERSEY HEIFERS; The Property of Mr. Henry Middleton, of Cuttes- LOWE, Oxford. Plate II.-A BAD BUSINESS. Meeting at Brigg . Meeting at Bedford Agricultural Society: Descriptions of the Plates .... The Working of the Dairy. — By the Northern Farmer Odds and Ends of Farming Facts . Export of Pedigree Stock .... The Injury to Grain in Thrashing The Lincolnshire Agricultural Society The Bedfordshire Agricultural Society The Royal Counties (Hants and BerIcs) Agricultural Society: Meeting at Portsmouth .;..... Norfolk Agricultural Society: Meeting at East Dereham The Cambridgeshire and Isle of Ely Agricultural Society: Meeting at Ely The North-East Agricultural Association: Meeting at Belfast Sale of the late Lord Walsingham's Southdowns The Weight and Value of Live Stock . , The Cultivation of the Soil . . . The Licensing Question .... Farmers' Homes ..... The Economical Management op Farmyard Manure . The Uses of Salt ..... How to Breed Hampshire Downs . . Suffolk Agricultural Association : Meeting at Becclbs KiPON and Claro Agricultural Society . , Landlords' Improvements. .... Royal Agricultural Society of England. — Dr. Voelcker's Analyses of Manures „ Monthly Council „ The Steam Plough Trials at Wolverhampton and Stafford „ The Stock Show and Show Week „ The Implement Show . „ The General Meeting The Breeding of Prize Shorthorns . . , Dr. Voelcker's Analyses .... Death of Mr. John Clayden, of Littlebury . Good and Bad Neighbours. — By Cuthbert W. Johnson, F.R.S. The Game Laws in the Colonies Stock Sales. — Messrs. Leney's Shorthorns Her Majesty's Shorthorns Messrs. Harward and Downino's The Late Suuire Farquharson's Southdowns Agricultural Intelligence, Fairs, &c. Agricultural Reports .... Review of the Corn Trade during the Past Month . Market Currencies, Imperial Averages, &c. . Agricultural Meetings in 1871 . . pages 91,92 . 92 . 97 . 98 . 99 . 101 . 105 107 111 116 118 119 122 123 124 125 127 128 129 130 135 136 136 137 139 147 161 167 169 170 171 172 174 175 176 177 178 179 180 182 183 185 ^ - ^ ^ ^ k kl;~ 1 I. ^ THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. AUGUST, 1871. PLATE I. JERSEY HEIFERS. THE PROPERTY OF MR, HENRY MIDDLETON, OF CUTTEi?I,OWE, OXFORD. These heifers were exhibited at the Guildford meeting of the Bath and West of Eaglaud Society, where, as we reported of them, they were to be distinguished by their style and purity. We prefer to let the following letter from Mr. Middleton speak for itself: — la giving a short account of my experience of cattle, I may perhaps observe that I was bora and bred a farmer, and 1 take the pride of saying that our family has been oa the same holding (which I rent of Christchurch Col- lege) for about 220 years, and that I take precedence at the audit dinners as representing the oldest tenancy be- longing to the College. The house I occupy was once an ancient priory called ' Saint Frideswide at Cutteslowe.' As regards cattle, I began with pure Shorthorns about the year 1844, and at the time of ray sale in April 1SG7 I was the oldest breeder in Oxfordshire ; but having escaped the cattle plague, I determined not again to risk so much money, and to sell the whole herd, which Mr. Stratford did down to the last lot. In the latter pai't of the same year, under the advice of Mr. Dauacey, I began to form a herd of Alderneys. Through the kindness of Mr. Dauncey, I had for some years previously to my sale the opportunity of occasionally visiting Horwood, and look- ing over the herd with him, and of profiting by his experience, so that long before I commenced I knew what an Alderney really was, and was able to set to work accordingly. At the great sale, however, I was not prepared to give the prices that the animals made ; but, directly after, finding that Mr. Dauncey's favourite old bull. Dolphin, was not sold, I again journeyed to Horwood, and purchased him. Mr. Dauncey told me that this was the best bull he ever bred ; * and that if I * At the Dauncey sale the following heifers and calves got by Dolphin sold at the following prices : Heifers — Day Star, Gl guineas; The Baa, 81 guineas; Croquet, 38 guineas; lieifers-in-calf, 55 guineas, 35 guineas, and GO guineas. Calves — 20 guineas, two at 20^ guineas each, and 21^ guineas ; bull-calf, 20 guineas. The eleven realised tlie sum of 432| guineas. Old Sf.uii.s.] meant to breed first-class animals I should select some of the choicest heifers from the Island to put to Dolphin, as he (Mr. Dauncey) generally succeeded best with fresh blood put to his bulls, and instanced three of his cows at his sale which were the result of crossing — viz.. Elk, Elfin, and Landscape. Profiting by this advice, I met several of Fowler's importations at Southampton, and I selected from time to time about twenty females. I also pur- chased some home-bred Jerseys from some of the best strains I was able to meet with, so that for the past two or three years I have possessed of all ages a herd number- ing about 60 head, and I consider that I have done well with them, having sold two fourteen-months-old heifers at Oxford for 70 guineas each, and a bull twelve months old for 33 guineas. Immediately after the sale of the two heifers, I was bid 80 guineas each for them, and offered 10 guineas to be off the bargain, but in vain. At this time one of the two Guildford heifers. Fairy, was a calf, and the same buyer bid me 70 guineas for her also, as I have since had an offer of 100 ; but I could not warrant her in calf, as having been brought up for show purposes she has proved to be a shy breeder, though I think she is now safe, having gone nearly six weeks with- out turning. I believe you know my opinion with respect to which animals will eventually be at the top of the tree, and I justify it by the care that is now taken in the select- ing of bulls and heifers by the English breeders regard- less of expense. In fact, it will soon be seen that Alder- neys will be as straight and as well-bi'ed as the cleverest Shorthorn, only one is now all beef, and the other will retain the milking properties. I have at present in use, with others, a pure-bred Dauncey's bull, Captain Claydon, and I have also four females, which I intend keeping to breed bulls from, so as to get a succession of bulls of the pure Dauncey blood. !Mr. A. Gilbey's famous bull, Banboy, is a cross once removed, being by the Dauncey Rioter, out of a heifer from the Island. II [Vol. LXX.— No. 92 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. PLATE II. A BAD BUSINESS " So ho ! friend Joshua, thou art early to the road this morning. Has the spirit moved thee and thy righteous brethi'en to act with true honesty, and pull down yonder tide nets that keep the fish from coming up the river ?" " Surely, friend, not so," answered Joshua firmly, but good-humoiu-edly at the same time ; "thou canst not expect that our own hands should pull down what our purses established. Thou killest the fish with spear, line, and coble net ; and we with snares and with nets which work by the ebb and the flow of the tide. Each doth what seems to do best in his eyes to secure a share of the blessings which Providence hath bestowed on the river, and that within his own bounds. I prithee seek no quarrel against us, for thou shalt have no wrong at our feand." " Be assured I will take none at the hand of any man, whether his hat be cocked or broad'brimmed," answered the fisherman. " I tell you in fair terms, Joshua Geddes, that you and your partners are using unlawful craft to destroy the fish in the Solway by st ake nets and weirs ; and that we, who fish fairly, and like men as our fatherg did, have daily and yearly less sport and less profit." Ominous words these ; but they have come to have a very diflPereut bearing since the time when Red Gauntlet thus pointed the argument. The spear is now held to be amongst the very worst of weapons by those who " fish fairly," and were another Sii' "Walter to paint us another fisherman's riot he would arrange for an attack on the poaching crew who work silently a-nights with torch and spear. THE WORKING OF THE DAIRY. BY THE NOETHEEN FAKMEH. Every succeeding year finds farmers increasing their dairy stock, laying out their land so as best to suit its successful management, each year developing greater in- terest on the subject of the best breeds of cattle, and the most profitable modes of managing them, than its prede- cessor. With dairy stock it would almost appear as if there was no such thing as standing stUl. Unless improve- ment is aimed at constantly, by weeding out those members of the herd which are getting old, or which after sufficient trial are found to be inferior milkers, and by occasionally introducing fresh and, if possible, superior blood through the agency of the sire, there is great danger of retro- gression. It is neither profitable nor creditable to a farmer to have his stock decreasing in stamina, in lower condition, and the receipts from their produce less than during previous years, and yet unless the interest in their welfare and improvement is continually kept up, this is a contingency that is almost sure to become a certainty. No bad milker should have a permanent place in a herd which is kept not for show, nor for breeding pur- poses solely, but principally for the disposal of dairy pro- duce. To keep such a cow is simply to lose money wil- fully, her keep costing quite as much as the best milker in the stall, and the trouble she occasions just as much as that given by the animal which gives double her amount of produce. It may be difficult to have every one first- rate, yet the herd may be so improved by judicious selection as to have all good cows. In a stock of forty we shall suppose that there are at present ten bad, or at all events indifterent, milkers. By testing the milk of these cows carefully, and ascertaining the amount of pro • duce in butter to be under the average of what might be fairly expected from the care and keep expended on each, there is nothing more easy than to keep the bull from them, dry oft' at the end of the season, stall feed, and get rid of them without further loss. To fill their places, from twelve to twenty heifers can be sent to dairy, ample margin being thus left to aff'ord a choice at the period of calving. By persisting for a few years in this course the stock will not only become first-class niQkcrs and increase the profits of their owners, but will gain a character and reputation in the district for their good qualities. Much can be done in a given time by holding over the ofi'spring of those cows which have proved them- selves to be first-class milkers, breeding, if possible, for all permanent stock from those only, and thus getting into a strain of milkers. It is just as likely as not that a heifer, whose mother was an excellent milker, may herself turn out to be scarcely worthy of house- room ; but when she is the descendant of a celebrated line of pail-fillers, the probabilities are altogether in her favour that she will possess in a high degree the good qualities of her race. In a large herd there will, in spite of the most careful scrutiny, be an occasional bad milker. This no forethought can prevent, and whatever loss may result, it must only be accepted for the time-being, and the removal of the animal causing it eff'ected on the first favourable opportunity. With regard to the best breeds of cattle for dairy purposes, it may be taken as a very safe rule, that every district of country possesses a breed of cattle in every way suitable to its climate and soil ; and that, with care, skill, and capital combined, good specimens fit for general purposes may be obtained without going far from home. It is quite possible that cattle of a particular breed, expensively purchased and brought from great dis- tances, may do very badly and lead to much disappoint- ment and loss before becoming acclimatised, and even afterwards never doing so well as the ordinary breeds to be found in the locality. With the buUs it is quite dif- ferent, they must be got of pure blood, without a stain if possible, whatever the trouble or whatever the expense. The breed that suits every variety of cattle is unquestion- ably the Shorthorn ; and wherever the situation, whether it be in the north of Scotland, the most southern point of England, or in the wilds of Kerry, a yearling Shorthorn bull should be introduced to the stock. .€35 will in any part of the three kingdoms procure a yearling of pure blood, and when it is taken into consideration that half that sum will be required to purchase a decent looking cross-bred animal of any pretensions, the prudence and economy displayed in getting the highly-bred bull be- come at once apparent. With ordinary success the first cost will always be secured when the animal is finally disposed of, his owner thus having the use of him at no expense other than providing him with food vvhile in his possession. If twenty calves are reared the whole price of the sire is regained on the first lot by the time they are twelve months old, iu their extra value over those THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 93 animals which are the offspring of a cross-bred bull. This argument in favour of good blood is so easily proved, and in fact forces itself so constantly on the notice of everyone who will take the trouble of looking into it, that it is really astonishing the principle of pure breed- ing by the sire is not universally adopted. At a fair held on the 29 th of May I saw yearlings from a good bull sell at £8 each, although in but moderate condition, and a lot of two-year-olds from a cross-bred in much the same condition close beside them for £7 each. The former lot were sold the moment business began, and almost at a word, the latter only at the close of the day, and bought by a bargain-hunter, such as frequent most markets, coming in at the finish to pick up at nearly their own otfer what the better class of purchasers will scarcely look at. Comparing the two lots as they stood side by side the ditference was striking. The straight and level backs and square full hips of the well-bred cattle contrasted strongly with the slender girth, droop- ing rumps, and thin tiiighs of the others, affording ample testimony as to the correctness of the theory which attri- butes so much importance to purity of blood. I am strongly of opinion that the best paying dairy (unless specially circumstanced) is that which combines the rear- ing of good cattle with the manufacture and disposal of its other products. Unless the demand for new milk is locally good, and the price so high as to outweigh all other considerations, sending av/ay the milk the moment it is drawn from the cow leaves the farm very bare. If ' calves are attempted to be reared, they are extremely apt to be starved, the milk being valuable ; there is nothing for pigs; and even the family and servants have often not unjust cause of complaint in reference to the scarcity of this very essential article of daily consumption. When kept at home and manufactured into butter, the skim and butter-milk affords abundant food for calves and pigs, and young stock can be raised in sufficient numbers to make the farm self-sustaining. w Very few can manage to rear a calf to each cow in a butter dairy, skim-milk being their only food after being fairly started, sows and their young requmng to get some portion of the millc. To rear three-fourths of the num- ber may be counted as good management, and if they are fairly attended to and of a good sort wiU add a goodly sum to the income of the dairy on the day when they finally leave it to shift for themselves on the pastures. £4 is a moderate value to put on a well-reared calf of good blood ; and a herd of calves, whose treatment has been liberal enough to make each animal worth this sum at weaning time, will not only be exceedingly creditable to the establishment which turned them out, but a valuable source of future profit to their owner. Provid- ing their wants are always attended to on the same scale, such animals can at any time be turned into cash, if necessary. The heifers will supply the place of older cows as they go out, and all the spare stock may be cleared off at paying prices at the age of two years. Few farms are extensive enough to enable the cattle to be bred and held over profitably until three years old. What with the permanent and successional stock the pastui'es get crowded, nothing is first-class, mediocrity as a whole be- comes difiicult of attainjnent, and in the end loss from over-stocking is unavoidable. With improved breeds it is quite unnecessary as well as unprofitable to hold longer than two years, as they can be beautifully finished at that age. A year's keep is thus saved, in itself an immense thing, and the heavy cattle being cleared off the riddance becomes doubly profitable, in enabling the farmer to be more liberal to the young stock which he retains. £20 is a very remunerative price for young animals that have just completed their second year, and very high feeding is not required to accomplish it, never allowing them to lose condition from exposure or shortness of keep being nearly all that is wanted to force a well-bred beast into premature maturity and ripeness, a few months' full feeding in the stall putting on the necessary finish. Although undoubtedly the last fortnight of April and 1st of May is a highly suitable period for cows calving, yet, when much importance is attached to the calves, a month earlier adds greatly to the value of the young animals. From whatever reason, the early, born has always the advantage, taking the lead most de- cisively, and preserving it all through the period of growth. Let anyone just take the troulble of comparing the calves born within the past month with those dropped in March and beginning of April, and he cannot but be struck with the marked superiority of the latter over the former, the great substance and hardiness of the one, and the somewhat puny and delicate appearance of the other — a remarkable difference, in fact, which no liberality of feeding can overcome. Early calving is of no advantage, however, unless abundance of succulent food has been provided for the cows. If not fed well the flow of milk will be speedily diminished, and no after treatment, how- ever generous, will restore it when lost. Let the food be kept to the cows, and although the quantity of milk given may be less, and the quality somewhat poorer than would be the case farther on in the season, yet,' when grass begins to grow, and the ■wea- ther becomes warm and fine, they will take a second springing ; and although it may be that a couple of months has elapsed since they calved, there will be but little difierence between their produce and that of cows coming in about the beginning of May. In any case I much prefer to have the entire stock calved before the first of May, so as to have the full advantage of that month which is the best in the year for milk, the grasses being young, tender, and fresh, a condition which is soon lost under the broiling sun of June. It is not too much to expect that between produce sold and the value of the calves half the season's income should be realized by the 15 th of June ; if a fortnight earlier so much the better. The past dry summers that have been experienced taught the propriety of this course, as in many dairy stocks the cows were scarcely at their full milk when they began to dry up from want of succulence in the herbage. On all light lands that are unavoidably more or less affected by drought every year, ai-rangements should be made to have a morning and evening feed every day during the sea- son, so as to relieve the pasture and keep the cows fi"om prematm'cly drawing in. Once get such a system fairly inaugurated and there is no diflnculty whatever in carrying it out, obstacles that appeared insurmountable in theory giving no trouble when reduced to practice. The quantity of manure constantly making renders it every season easier to provide an increased supply of food, not necessarily by increasing the acreage, which I by no means advocate, as increasing the expenses, but by manuring highly, adding immensely to the bulk grown on a circumscribed area. AH the forage crops stand heavy manuring, and when successfully grown leave the land improved greatly in condition, and thoroughly free from weeds, everything possessing vegetable life being fairly rotted out. For autumn sowing to come in early in spring there is no more valuable crops on light land than tares and trifolium in- carnatum. Sown not later than last week of September if possible, so as to be sufficiently forward to stand the frosts of winter, the quantity of food aft'orded per acre is simply enormous, taking the cattle completely off the pastures, giving the latter an excellent opportunity of strengthening in the bottom and withstanding the drought, however severe. May and June will be amply provided for by the autumn sowing, the land being cleared quite in time for turnips, A spring sowing of tares will carry H 8 H THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. them through July auil a portion of August, and if well manured the breadtli need not be very great to feed even a large stock. lu August and September clover will come in handy, and about the end of the latter month and con- tinued during the remainder of the milking season cab- bage will prove eminently suitable. None of these crops interfere with the quality of the produce, on the contrary, while increasing the quantity the quality is at the same time greatly enriched. The cabbage is a plant whose merits as a source of cattle food have been hitherto greatly overlooked by most farmers, an oversight which, taking into consideration its valuable feeding properties and the immense bulk of food it grows to the acre, it is hard to account for. Of late years, however, cabbage is yearly increasing as a field crop, and its value is more generally understood and acknowledged. One acre of this crop if successfully grown will, in favourable situa- tions for its sale, realise over £60, besides leaving a con- siderable residue of lower leaves to be used with cattle. This becomes a great temptation to dispose of a considerable portion of the good heads to market-gardeners, vegetable dealers and others. Such a course is certainly excusable, as with a portion of the money so made foods can be purchased, and manure brought to the farm in quantities far greater than what is required to balance what is sold of such a small portion of land as is required to grow £100 worth of cabbage. Last Octobev I went down to Staleybridge, near Manchester, to visit a farmer there, who has for some years been carrying out the principles of high feeding and high manuring, advocated so strongly in these columns. To me the visit was both pleasing and profitable, as I had the satisfaction of seeing beautiful root-crops, the best manured land, and the best cared-for dairy stock I have ever yet seen. The teeming popuhtion of that great manufacturing district causing an immense demand for the products of the dairy, and the price for every article being inconsequence over the average, the crops on this farm were laid out so as to supply as large a quantity both of winter and summer food for the cows as could possibly be obtained by skilful working and abundant manuriug. This part of Cheshire is by no means favourably adapted for high farming, with the land, sloping and craggy, running into pasturage immediately above the town, scarcely capable of support- ing the small horned sheep of the mountainous districts of Derbyshire. These slopes run on in gradually increas- ing height and sterility of soil until they reach the range of mountains familiarly known as the backbone of England, the Peak standing out with great promin- ence, forming a magnificent and fitting boundary to scenery so superbly grand in its very wilduess and desola- tion. Cabbages are reckoned of the greatest importance by this gentleman as a paying crop, giving an immense amount of the finest food for cows that can be grown, and if a portion can be spared for sale, a large sum can be made from a very limited extent of surface. One acre had been sold to a market gardener for disposal in the Manchester market — I happened to sec the last load drawn — and the money paid by this man to the grower for 4,840 square yards of produce amounted to the very large sum of £57. In addition to this about two tons of refuse leaves remained for feeding. A portion of the plants had not|hearted well; but for this, the money value would have been considerably greater. The mangolds were a splendid crop, just in process of being lifted and pitted, and were so plentiful that large quantities were being sold on the spot to small farmers, who came many of them from considerable distances to procure them. Although in this district nearly every farmer keeps a cumber of milk cows, yet few grow their own roots, de- claring that the soil and climate is not suited to their growth. One would think it s-arccly possible that such ideas could be held within seven miles of Manchester ', yet I myself saw men, whose places I afterwards visited, coming here, and asking to be complimented by getting a few tons of mangolds, paying the handsome sum of 25s. a ton for them, and looking upon it as a special favour besides. The grass on this farm was as rich green and succulent on the 27th of October as other lands are in the middle of May. The land is naturally poor and cold ; but these results have been attained by liberal manuring for the green crops, and abundant top-dressings of short dung after being laid down. The sanitary regulations of the town compelling the instant removal of all matter dangerous to public health, manure in almost unlimited quantity can be had for little more expense or trouble further than permitting a place of deposit at sufficient distance from the town to comply with the regulations. This of course is a local advantage that few can avail themselves of, and my reason for noticing it is simply to show the basis on which a prosperous farmer has built up and continued a system of successful cropping, with excellent pecuniary results to himself, and the yearly improvement of the laud which he holds. The daily stock were in noble condition, as well they might be from the care and assiduity displayed in their management. Rain was scarcely permitted to fall on them, and if the day changed to cold, however early, they were at once taken in-doors. Grass, rich, fresh, and suc- culent, was abundant in the fields, and a mixture of foods of the best and richest quality was supplied to them in equal abundance while within. ^lost of the members of the herd were fat enough to kill, while at the same time their udders were as much distended on coming in to be milked as if they had but recently calved. The house- feeding consisted of nearly everything grown on the farm all shred up together in a large cutter. The mixture at that time consisted of mangolds, khol-rabi, cabbage, chopped hay and straw, oil-cake, rape-cake, bean-meal, and a small portion of brewers' graius. Every beast got just as much as it would eat without waste, and a better or more appetizing mixture could not be put before any animal. Liberality and good taste displayed itself at every turn, the shippons as the cow-stalls are here termed, being models of clean- liness, the stall divisions on the best principles, and the ventilation perfect. The receipts from each cow average on this mode of feeding about £30 per annum, many cows giving considerably more than that sum. They are at all times fit for the butcher, and when a good price offers are frequently sold while still giving as much milk as clears their keep, £32 being a not unusual price for cattle sold not quite dry. After a round of inspection in the neighbouring dis- tricts, and a few visits to the monster cotton mills of Staleybridge (to me, a dweller in the country, a truly won- drous sight), the time at last came for departure. ]Much pleased with my visit, I shook hands at the station with my kind and worthy host, \\ho, albeit that I was totally unknown to him except through the columns of the Mark Lane Krprcss, kindly invited me down to spend a few days with him, to see his farm and stock, and be a partaker of his hospitality. Extensive corn growing and a large dairy do not suit well on the same farm, the pastures being unavoidably too new to permit the produce in butter to be profitable. The bottom is also thin for a few years, and the cows have a difficulty in filling themselves, requiring to be almost continually on foot. A well-doing dairy stock should be resting the greater part of their time, the food being supplied in such abundance, both in-doors and out, as to keep them always full, and so enable them to be as much as possible in a state of repose. Again, the young grasses, however succulent and niiik-prodnciiig, are far behind THE i^ARMER'S MAGAZINE. 95 rich old pastures in yield of Initter, this fact requiring no elaborate test to ascertain its truth, a few days' change from the one to the other proving it incontestably. The difference between the quantity of cream on each pan (to descend to particulars), its firmness and body, is so de- cided and striking as to afford the most powerful argu- ment that can be given in favour of preserving as great a breadth of permanent pasture as can possibly be managed consistently with growing the necessary forage and root crops required for winter and spring. On a dairy farm every field that has been turned up should be manured unsparingly when under green crop, so that it may be again laid down to pasture in the best possible condition. The small quantity of extra manure required to make an ordinary dressing first-rate would be amply repaid in the succeeding root and corn crops, while the rich full bite enjoyed by the cattle from the time they are first permitted to graze on it will not fail to add greatly to the profit and satisfaction of the farmer who has the spirit and liberality to lay out his money in such a judicious manner. It is quite possible to have good turnips, good corn, and possibly, if the season is moist and otherwise favourable, good hay on land that has been lightly dressed with dung, and liberally with artificials at the time of preparing for the green crop ; but the real test of good treatment is in the pasture -. it will not be cheated of its rights without showing it. The previous crops having in a great measure exhausted the sparsely distributed manurial constituents, the soil ceases to respond to the calls made upon it, growth languishes, and the herbage being scarce and devoid of succulence can no longer sustain the stock in profitable condition. It is vain to expect that stock will sensibly enrich laud that has been poorly laid out to pasture : they have no means of doing so, on account of the food which they obtain being so small in quantity and poor in quality. Mere rest will, of course, renovate the soil to some extent ; but for this time is required, and while the farmer is waiting expenses are accumulating and nothing coming in to meet them. On a large scale this cannot go on long, ruin being the invariable result of such management. No field or portion of a field however small in extent should ever be neglected or badly treated, as by doing so a corresponding amount of hard cash is excluded from the year's receipts, the amount from crop and stock being just so much the less. Sheep and milch cows agree badly on the same farm, unless of unusual extent, or the number kept of each exceedingly limited. Few men are contented with being under-stocked, mostly every one who has capital inclining to keep a large number of beasts. With ordinary store stock some kind of shift can be made, but for dairy cows sheep eat much too close, and in spite of the most careful management the cows can never get a full bite. Thus both stock are seriously impaired in their usefulness, the sheep if shortened in their range and kept on bare pasture drying oft' prema- turely, and rearing a crop of stunted lambs. The cows at the most important and critical part of the season coming on pastures that have been stocked during the entire winter and spring with a flock of sheep never find food in sufficient abundance, fall off at once in the amount of pro- duce and never afterwards regain it. When the income is made up at the end of the season the probability is that each cow has not returned much more than half of what under more favourable conditions she would have done. To know what each kind of stock can really do, and to give each a fair chance, they ought to be completely separated, if not on dift'erent farms, at least as thoroughly isolated from each other as if this were the case. But for the fact of a portion of everything being at times desirable, I would strongly advocate the work- ing of the dairy by itself, if it were only on the principle that what a man confines himself to, he is almost sure to get good at, if possessed of ordinary intelligence and business habits. If at all attentive he must find out the best modes of making that particular branch pay in a more effectual manner than if he had a number of other things on hand. Appliances for saving labour are almost sure to be hit on, and the attendants, from being constantly at the same business, soon learn to get through it both quickly and well. In the disposal of his produce the advantage still holds good: he finds out the best markets, gets stated customers, and, if the article he turns out is of the best quality, can from his intimate knowledge of the trade demand and obtain the highest price going. Particular attention should be given to the condition and feeding of the cows towards the conclusion of the season, a small quantity of produce making at that time of year a good deal of money. If permitted to lose condition, or allowed to remain out at night too late in the year, they dry at once, and lose flesh very quickly, remaining lean for the winter unless extra fed. This is a serious mistake, and one too often perpetrated, as if the cows are in strong condition when winter comes on, they are easily kept over during the time they are dry ; a little sweet straw and a very small quantity of roots daily, bringing them to the period of calving in fine health, and no perceptible loss of flesh. Thin dairy cattle in spring are a most expensive and los- ing stock, the improved food supplied to them after calv- ing naturally going to renew and build up the wasted tissues, the produce being neither in quantity nor quality anything near what it ought to be. Indeed in a herd which has been thus neglected, many of the cows will not give as much milk as would be required to rear their own calves. Under the most favourable circumstances a lean cow can never pay, the very best part of the season being past before her constitution has become so much renewed as to give her the slighest chance of milking well. So as to enable the milk and cream to be kept sweet and sound until manufactured and the produce finally disposed of, every farm should have a good house to which the milk can be removed on its being drawn from the cow. Most people would imagine that this of all things on a farm was sure not to be neglected, its utility being so unmistakable, and yet it is astonishing how many farms possess only a hole and corner place which is by courtesy called the dairy, utterly innocent of ventila- tion, and seldom free from a heavy, sour, and damp smell. It does not follow that such erections are to be found only on small farms tenanted by struggling men ; on the very contrary, a clean, tidy dairy may often be found where the surroundings are in i^many other respects miserable. This is, of course, due to the good manage- ment of the mistress or other person in charge of this particular department, good taste and a love of order and cleanliness overcoming difficulties, which to a person devoid of these qualities would appear insurmountable. On the other hand, the dairy on a farm owning from eighty to a hundred cows may not unfrequently be con - tinually found in a state of the utmost disorder, with damp, earthern floor, and the whole internal arrangements destitute of the slightest attempt at neatness. A building intended specially for a dairy, and finished regardless of expense, may be not at all suitable for the purpose in view, on account of some oversight or fault in the construction and mode of ventilation. Should the entrance to the milk-house be from the churning-room, a mistake often made, it will be almost impossible to preserve a pure atmosphere, and, worse still, should there be a drain lead- ing from the latter, however well it may be protected by the modern appliances for the prevention of gaseous exhalations, the air will never be perfectly pure. On the iuaer-door being opened, the taint is at once perceived, the smell being heavy and sickly, the floor and shelves 96 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. damp and clammy, and moisture running down the walls. When told by any dairy farmer that there is something in the grass of his farm prejudicial to the making of good butter, I always feel assured that there is an error somewhere else, and for which it is much easier to find a remedy than it is to change the nature of the grass. In a dairy of such faulty construction and insufficient ven- tilation as that which has now been pictured, it is easy to see that the butter made in it must be simply abominable, particularly if the cream is permitted to stand any time on the pans. The milk-room should have no communi- cation whatever with the scalding or churning-rooms ; but shoidd it be such a matter of convenience on ac- count of connection with other buildings as to have the entrance through the latter, no drain is admis- sible, however well protected, or mode of getting rid of waste water other than by carrying it out at the door. Although inexpensively built, a milk-house may yet pos- sess as perfect ventilation, as much facility for the most rigid cleanliness, and want for none of the usual conve- niences for setting the milk and preserving it pure and untainted, any more than if it were built for a model, and a large sum of money spent in erecting it, "Whether in- tended to be both ornamental and useful, or the latter only, and that in its simplest form, the dairy should be a light, cheerful, and airy apartment, the air at all times sweet and pure, as well as cool, the floor and walls per- fectly dry, the milk-vessels and everything within its walls scrupulously clean. Whether in connection with a large farm or a small one, it ought to be arranged so neatly, tidily, and with such absolute cleanliness in eveiy particular, every morning on the work being completed, as to provoke the remark from any visitor who may in- spect it, " This is a delightfully cool and sweet dairy!" Simple as such a remark may appear, and however'na- tural to utter it, the compliment will not readily be passed unless the dairy and its contents are in complete harmony with each other, and in the most perfect order. The ceiling should be high, and if there is an opening in connection with a ventilator on the ridge so much the better. Ordinary pavement for the floor, however suit- able otherwise and easily kept clean, is objectionable on account of sweating on the approach of rain, and thereby tainting the air at a time when of all others a dry atmo- sphere is imperative if a good article is desired. Tiles or bricks, or any other material in whatever shape, if prepared by theaction of fire, just meetsthis difficulty , neither possess- ing nor absorbing moisture. A thorough draught is vitally essential, purity and sweetness of air being impossible without it. This can be easily obtained by having win- dows on opposite sides, and directly fronting each other. These should not be mere holes, but of sufficient length and breadth to harmonize with the general style and out- line of the building. Care should be taken that they are not placed too high, as in such a case their drying cfi'ect on the floor and shelves might be partially lost. No sash or glass is required for a dairy window ; if introduced, they are more injm-ious than beneficial, obstructing the fi'ee admission of air. A square of perforated zinc answers every purpose, admitting a subdued light and air in abund- ance, and excluding the fierce heat of the sun. Flies or dust cannot gain an entrance, and the only thing in addi- tion that could be added with any show of necessity might be shutters, closing them during the prevalence of high winds, if thought necessary. The frame painted with a rich brown, and the zinc 'itself with blue some- Avhat lighter and sprightlier than its own colour, will im- part a pleasing appearance to these openings, and amply compensate for any break in the uniformity of design, if connected with a range of farm-buildings, which the dairy too frequently is. If shaded by a few trees it will prove an acquisition ; still, as the possibility of procm-ing such a shade is the exception, and not the rule, it can very well be done without. If the house is a low one, slates form the worst possible covering for the roof, on account of absorbing so much heat. When a ceiling intervenes, the temperatm-e, however, of the milk-room is not perceptibly raised, and much annoyance is in consequence obviated. There is now a great vaiiety of material to choose from in milk vessels — wood, iron, glass, china, and earthen- ware all having their advocates, who are not slow to ad- vance convincing arguments in favour of the particular article which they themselves use. For general use in a large establishment tinned ii'on forms a very economical and useful milk-pan. They are lasting, and therefore cheap in the end, although dear to buy ; the milk keeps well in them, and the cream is thrown up quite as well as in pans of any other material. They are economical, in being easily cleaned — a point of some importance to most people, a smart rub with a cloth and a little fine salt making them shine like silver, a dip in boiling water completing the cleansing process. When not in use they should be smeared with a mixture composed of whiting and oil to prevent injury, as rust taints milk very quickly, and consequently if the pans are permitted to become rusty, they are rendered useless. Much difference of opinion exists as to the length of time the milk should stand before the cream is taken ofi", and the inentable result is, that there is an immense difference in the quality of the manufactured article, although the disputants who leave it the longest cannot be brought to acknowledge the fact. If a first-class article is required, it is dangerous during the summer months to leave it longer down than four meals, and in certain states of the weather three will be found enough, unless the dairy is an exceptionally cool and airy one. It is an act of the most egregious folly to allow the milk to stand for four or five days before being skimmed, as good butter cannot possibly be made, and moreover the cream loses substance and is not so productive when old. Like a field of corn, cream the moment it has come to ma- turity begins to decay, and if carefully watched will be seen to wither on the top of the pans, all the richness which a few hoiu-s previously were so eminently its characteristics being completely lost. Good cream being placed in the churn, there is no diflicnlty in making butter of excellent quality, providiug the succeeding operations are performed with care ; but if the cream has begun to decay before being churned, it is in vain to ex- pect the butter to turn out anything but inferior. There ought to be no trouble with soft butter, however warm the weather may be, if a few precautions are taken to lower the temperature of the cream, and keep it as low as possible during the process of churning. Half- filling the churn overnight with spring-water, and plunging the cream-crocks in tubs of the same, has an excellent effect ; and when this is aided by slow cliurning, butter in the middle of summer, and in the hottest seasons, may be turned out as firm in texture as in the month of October. Whatever the form of churn, butter cannot be made in large quantities satis- factorily, if brought too quickly, one hour being the mini- mum time occupied in the churning process, and if al- lowed to run to nearly an hour-and-a-half during very hot weather so much the better. A good spring in the neighbourhood of the dairy is invaluable, as with the assistance of plenty of cold water in the manufacture of butter all difficulties vanish, or are easily overcome. Badly-managed butter can be wonderfully improved in quality by careful and patient manipulation in cool spring water : with a few applications it cau be cleansed from impurities, hardened and improved in texture, and much of the harshness of taste consequent on indiflcrent ma- nagement neutralised. On its removal from the churn the first care should be to get the milk completely out of THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 07 the butter, waslilug it in successive waters, until at last it ruus off without the slightest colouring of milk. To get rid of every drop of water is the next care, this being eSectually accomplished by dividing the butter into lumps of three or four pounds each, and pressing firmly on the bottom of the tub or cooler. To make sure of getting rid of the last drop of water it should finally be taken up in the hand and dashed down with considerable force, the expressed moisture being wiped off with a cloth at every stroke. This operation carefully performed, the butter is now ready to be salted. One pint of salt and two ounces of crushed lump sugar will be quite sufficient for twelve pounds of butter however long it may be intended to keep it, half the quantity being enough if intended for immediate use. So as to thoroughly mix the salt with the butter, it should be spread in successive layers, then turned and returned, the instrument most suitable for this purpose being a strong wooden skimmer about nine inches in circumference. This being held with both hands every particle of butter and salt can be inti- mately blended, not the slightest streak being observable when packed. To perform this operation in a proper manner, however, a good deal of trouble must be taken, it being scarcely possible to have it as it ought to be, without going over it five or six times. When ready for the keg or firkin, pack carefully, filling erery corner and pressing firmly down with the skimmer as each layer is put in. Salt butter looks all the better for a little colouring, this being easily imparted by the addition of liquid annatto. One teaspoonful of an- natto put in the churn along with the cream wUl be enough for forty pounds of butter, giving the peculiar richness of colour so much sought for by the consumer, whilst at the same time it does not interfere in the slightest perceptible degree with the flavour of the article itself. Tlie very important question how much butter does a cow really give is one often discussed, but seldom agreed upon, few people caring to admit the exact quantity, unless undeniably good. We hear of, and very probably know, men who make £25, £30, and even as high as £40 per cow per annum, but we seldom have an opportunity of knowing exactly how it fares with the plodding farmer, who, unfavoured by fortune, must forward his produce to a distant town, there to be disposed of at the wholesale price of the day. With such a man, the year's receipts per cow must be placed, if the truth is told, at a sum so modest in comparison with the first quotation as to reach to scarcely half, not even coming to half, unless a regular system of house-feeding during the summer is carried out. The larger the number of cows, the lower in general wiU be the average, as selection then becomes more difficult. If the herd numbers fifty members, five pounds of butter per week per cow may be considered low during the height of the season ; six, a very fair return ; and seven, so good as to be attainable only by liberal treatment and general ex- cellence of management. ODDS AND ENDS OF FARMING FACTS. I. — The mechanical condition of the soil exercises an important influence upon its fertility : the more completely the particles are comminuted or pulverised, or, in the technical language of the farm, the finer the tilth, as be- tween two given soils, the greater the difference between their fertility. It is, indeed, this mechanical difference that in some cases constitutes the difference in their agri- cultural value. These two soils have been carefully analysed, and both were of the same value analytically, yet the difference in actual fertility was very great in- deed, the more valuable soil being found to be the most finely pulverised. The fineness of the tilth of arable soil does not only aid fertility by allowing the air to per- meate tlu'ough its particles, but it exercises an important influence upon the relative capabilities — so far as moisture is concerned. Thus, although a heavy clay will hold a far larger amount of moisture than a light friable soil, still the heavy clay will, in a dry season, be the first to suffer from drought, whereas the greater the depth to which the Ught soil is pulverised the moister wUl be the bulk. The difference between the two soils — a close re- tentive clay and a light friable soil — will be easUy noticed in sultry dry weather by merely turning them with the hand. The light soil will be found warm, but moist, whilst the clay will be hard and burnt up. It is easy to see how widely different must be the condition of growth of plants growing in these two varieties of soil. There are, however, one or two points modifying the effects of finely pulverised soil, which will be noticed hereafter. II. — A good deal has been written and said about the exhaustion of soils : that is the abstraction of their fer- tilising mineral constituents by the repeated taking of crops from them. But that there is a much more exten- sive supply of these mineral constituents in our soil than some writers and scientific authorities would seem to be- lieve and to maintain, some researches would seem to show. Thus in the case of the celebrated Lois-Weeden system of culture, there was during a given period of fifteen years an annual extraction from each acre of land of about three-and-a-half times as much phosphoric acid, about seven times as much potass, and about thirty- seven times as much silica as would have been taken out of the soil in the course of an ordinary system of annual cropping ; and yet at the end of the period above named, there was no apparent diminution in the fertility of the soil. Messrs. Lawes and Gilbert gave us an illustration on this point, in which it was estimated that in the case of a soil one foot deep, with ordinary rotation with home manuring and selling only corn and meat, it would take one thousand years to exhaust as much phosphoric acid, about two thousand years to exhaust as much potass, and about six thousand years to exhaust as much silica as, according to the average of 42 analyses relating to 14 soils of different descriptions, had been found to be soluble in dilute hydrochloric acid. III. — A bushel of good Peruvian guano should not weigh more than 601bs., say between 561bs. and 601bs. It should be light in colour, it should be dry, so that when a handful is squeezed together the lump will cohere but slightly. The ammoniacal odour should not be too highly developed ; when rubbed between the fingers it should be smooth, not gritty, and no lumps should be in in, which when broken will yield a substance of a lighter colour than the other part of the sample. If these points are present in a sample of guano, it may be considered, according to a high authority, good. IV. — Artificial manures for loamy soils, according to a good authority, are the following — (1) for the cereal crops : Winter wheat 4 cwt. of rapecakes ; if after beans or bare fallow for application in spring, 3 cwt. guano in March or 3 cwt. each of nitrate of soda and salt; in April licwt.of sulphate of ammonia and 3 cwt. salt. For spring 98 THE FARMEK'S MAGAZINE. wheat, 3 cwt. guano at seed-time, or applied later 1| cwt. each of guano and nitrate of soda. Tor barley after turnips artificial manures will seldom be required, but if after wheat I5 cwt. of sulphate of ammonia and 2 cwt. salt, or 2 cwt. each of nitrate of soda and guano. For oats 2 or 3 cwt. of guano at seed-time ; if a later dressing be necessary, I2 cwt. of sulphate of ammonia and 2 cwt, of salt. (2) — Root-crops : Turnips, where farm-yard manure is used, 3 cwt. of superphosphate alone, cr with i cwt. of sulphate of ammonia ; where dung is not used, 2 cwt. guano and 3 cwt. superphosphate, or 3 to 4 cwt. of guano, or 4 cwt. superphosphate, and i cwt. sulphate of ammonia. Mangolds : 2 cwt. each of guano, super- phosphate, and salt, or 4 cwt. of Peruvian guano. For potatoes : 2 cwt. guano and 3 cwt. sulphate of potash, or 4 cwt. of guano. (3) — For beans or peas : 2 cwt. gaano or 2 cwt. of phospho- guano, or 2 cwt. of superphosphate. (4) — Grasses : Per- manent pasture 2 cwt. superphosphate, 1 cwt. of guano, and 1 cwt. of nitrate of soda. Artificial grasses : 2 to 3 cwt: of guano, or 2 cwt. nitrate of soda. V. — From an experiment made in the best depth at which wheat should be grown, it appears that the seed sown at half an inch of depth came up above ground in eleven days, and seven-eighths of the plants came up ; at one inch in depth, the time of coming up was twelve days, and all the plants came up ; at two inches of depth the time taiien was eighteen days, and seven-eighths of the plants came up ; at three inches the time was twenty days, and the number was six-eighths ; at four inches the time was twenty-one days, and the number four-eighths; at five inches the time was twenty-two days, and the number three-eighths ; but at the depth of six inches the number of days which elapsed before the plants came up above ground was twenty-three, and one-eighth only of the plants came up. VI. — A mucilaginous tea of linseed and bean-meal is, in conjunction with milk, an excellent food for calves. The mucilage is made, according to an authority, by mixing three quarts of the linseed and four quarts of the bean-meal with thirty quarts of water, covering the whole up close for twenty-four hours, and then adding thirty- one quarts of boiling water and thereupon boiling the whole for half-an-hour, stirring it the while, so as to make the mixture uniformly smooth. During the first fortnight a little should be mixed with the milk at the beginning of period, and then, by gradually increasing it, at the end there will be quart for quart of the mucilage-tea and the milk. At the end of the third week the quantities will be one-and-a-half of the tea to one of the milk. The end of the fourth week should see the mucilage double the quantity of the milk ; the milk up to this poiut having been sweet, but beyond it skim. At the end of the sixth week the mucilage will be two and a-half to one of milk ; from this to the end of the tenth week the milk should be gradually reduced till it disappears ; and the calves should then be fed upon the mucilage alone till they are weaned at the end of the fifteenth or sixteenth week. The quantities of the food made up of mucilage and milk in the above-named proportions should be, the first week three to four quarts daily ; the second week four to five quarts ; third and fourth weeks five to seven quarts ; fifth and sixth eight to ten ; sixth to eighth week ten to twelve — increasing the quantity one quart weekly up to the weaning time. VII. — From a carefully -conducted series of experiments on sheep-feeding made by the Farmers' Club, the follow- ing is given here as of some practical value. Taking the money-cost the following figures may be said to represent the value of the various breeds tried : (1) Cotswolds, 14s. 9^. ; (2) Leicesters, 22s. 6d.; (3) Shropshire Downs, 23s. lOfd. ; (4) South Downs, 17s. 3d.; (5) Lincolns, 30s. 5d. ; (6) North Sheep, 12s. 5id.; (7) Teeswater, lis. 7^^. The live weights gained in three months were as follows: (1) 12 st. Gibs.; (2) 14 st. 10 lbs.; (3) 15 St. 11 lbs.; (4) list. 13 lbs.; (5) 16 st. 1 lb. ; (6) 12 St. 11 lbs. ; (7) 13 st. 7 lbs. The bruised cake consumed during the above period was : (1) 300 lbs., (2) do., (3) do., (4) do., (5) 363 lbs., (6) 300 lbs., (7) do. ; of turnips (1) 926 lbs., (2) 877 lbs., (3) 924 lbs., (4) 984 lbs., (5) 936 lbs., (6) 914 lbs., (7) 978 lbs. VIII. — The value of rapecake as a material for the feeding of dairy cows is admitted pretty generally, and its analytical value is very high, nevertheless it is a fact that comparatively few adopt it in practice ; and of those who have tried it, not a few have failed in endeavouring to get their cows to take it. This chiefly arises from the pun- gent flavour which the cake possesses, as compared with oilcake (linseed). The best way to treat the cake is to give it in the form of a mash with other food, the cake being subjected to the action of boiling water, or it may be steamed. The daily allowance per cow may vary from 4 to 71bs., two stone of turnips being allowed. The following shows the relative analytical value of (1) lin seed or oilcake, and (2) rapecake : Water (1) 12.44, (2) 10.08; oil (1) 12.79, (2) 11.10; flesh-forming sub- stances (1) 27.69, (2) 29.23 ; heat-giving ditto (1) 40.95, (2) 40.90 ; ash (1) 6.13, (2) 7.79. IX. — An eminent authority states that feeding sub- stances, rich in albuminous compounds, are specially valu- able for the production of milk in dairy cows ; it will be useful to glance at the proportion of these compounds in various foods. Wheat 13.5, oats 19.65, barley 6.0, maize or Indian corn 12.3, beans 31.4, peas 22.6, rice 7.5, rye 10.5, oilcake 29.75, rapecake 29.53, cotton-seed cake 23.16, locust beans 9.00, malt combs or cummins 23.87, bran 13.80, potatoes 5.77, clover hay 13.52, mea- dow hay 8.44, turnips 1.44, mangold 1.54, carrots 0.607, parsnips 1.280, khol-rabi 2.75, Jerusalem artichoke 2.38, cabbage 1.75, wheat straw 1.79, barley ditto 1.68, oat ditto 1.63, bean ditto 6.79, pea ditto 12.35. EXPORT OF PEDIGREE STOCK. — The following Shortliorns, horses, sheep, and pigs have just been exported by M. H. Cochrane, of Hillhurst, Compton, Province of Quebec, and Montreal, Canada. The cargo left Liverpool on Thursday, July 20tli. The animals were purchased by Mr. Cochrane, Mr. Simon Beattie, and Mr. John Thornton from several of the best herds and stocks in the United Kingdom of England, Ireland, and Scotland : Cows axd Heifers. — Acacia, bred by Mr. G. Bland ; Lady Lucy Thorudale, bred by Mr. J. Clayden ; Rosevale, bred by Mr. W. Derham ; Waterloo Rose, bred by Mr. R. Chaloner ; Waterloo Rose 2nd, bred by Mr. D. Mcintosh ; Weeping Willow, bred by Mr. W. Torr ; Pet Gwynne, bred by Mr. P. RiaU ; PhiUis Gwynue, bred by Mr. P. Riall ; Glossy Wood- biue, bred by Mr. W. Bolton ; Glossy 5th, bred by Mr. W. Bolton ; French Aster, bred by Mr. J. Cliristj ; Anemone, bred by Mr. J. Christy ; Oxford Duchess, bred by the Rev. R. B. Kennard ; Portalacca, bred by Mr. J. Christy ; Belinda Oxford, bred by Mr. C. Barnett ; Fanny 29th, bred by Mr. J. Meadows; Primrose 9th, bred by Mr. J. Meadows; Royal Duchess 2nd, bred by Mr. C. A. Barnes ; Nellie Booth, bred by Messrs. Game and Son; Lady Amelia, bred by Mr. C. A. Barnes. Bulls. — The Doctor, bred by Mr. AV. Derham ; Cherub, bred by Lord Sudeley ; War Banner, bred by Mr. W. Torr ; Breadalbane, bred by Mr. W. Torr. The other stock included stallion horses of the Suflfolk and Clydesdale breeds, prize Berkshire pigs, and Cotswold sheep. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 89 THE INJURY TO GRAIN IN THRASHING, At the June meeting of the East-Lothian Agricultural Club, Blr. Douglas, Athelstaneford, the Chairman, in an- nouncing the subject for discussion as "The Breaking or Bruising of Grain by Machinery," said Mr. Cunningham, brewer, Athelstaneford, had kindly sent a detailed commnuica- tion with reference to the deteriorating effect for malting pur- poses of bruising or breaking gra-.n in the process of thrashing. On the same point, Mr. Punton, Aberlady Mains, wrote : " As regards the overdressing of barley, a serious loss is the conse- quence in malting, particularly in the spring months. When the pickles are broken or bruised they do not germinate, and when only a few days in operation they become quite mouldy and sour. The damaged grains also contaminate the sound ones, and the whole ' floor' has to be thrown on the kiln before the malting process is lialf-finished, and the quality of the malt is consequently very much de- teriorated. I observe that barley thrashed with the English high-speed mills is very often a good deal broken and bruised, but I cannot say whether it is caused by the action of the drum, or by having the hummeller too close set, possibly both of these may have something to do with it. I may mention the machinery we have here (the old style of rollers and hummeller) thrashes the barley without breaking or injuring a single pickle, and the weights during the past season ran from 57 to 591bs. per bushel. I have no experience of wheat. No doubt over-dressing will act against it too, but to such an extent, I should think, as with barley." With re- gard to the mechanical aspect of the question, Mr. Bridges, engineer, North Berwick, wrote : " This evil has been brought on by the introduction of drums running at high speeds. Krst, there were the peg mills, a few of which I erected in this county about 1850, and were discontinued principally on this account. Then immediately followed the present high- speed drums, wliicii are not free of the same fault. From 1852 to 1860, I made a considerable number of them in this county, and tried various plans to overcome this defect, but had not at this period availed myself of any of the English patents, but rather avoided them. The greatest advantage I found was in making the concave as open as possible, particu- larly at the entrance, where the bulk of the grain was knocked out, so as to allow it to escape more readily the instant it was out of the bar. For the last ten years, the concave I have been using has carried out this principle more elfectually than before, having substituted malleable for cast-iron. I have used drum beaters of various kinds, and for several years past have used only the patent serrated beaters, which are now made of steel as well as of iron, and during this period — viz., the last ten years — I have had no complaints made. As an evidence of the elTects of the improved concave, there were lately complaints made of two mills I had erected in 1858 bruising the grain. The old beaters on the drum were replaced by the patent serrated beater without making any material improvement. The concaves were next replaced by new ones, which entirely remedied the defect. But besides this con- struction, a careful millman is indispensable for the proper working, and keeping these mills in the best order. Several cases of bad management have some under my notice consider- ably affecting the brusing of grain. In putting barley througli the mill a second time in cases of smut, when the hummeller cannot be used, it is higlily needful to screw back the concave a little ; also, when rough elevators discharge into the drum no more grain should be allowed to come up than is necessary. 1 do not recollect of any case where the hummeller was at fault in bruising grain, where it was not found to be running too close at some part of the casing." On the same branch, Mr. Munro, agricultural engineer, Dunbar, wrote : " The sub- ject you name has had a great amount of my attention for several years back, namely — the evils arising from the break- ing of corn by machinery. The causes of the same are not few, from which I may mention two or three. 1st, the kind of drum used ; 2nd, the way the drum and concave are adjusted and kept in order ; 3rd, the state the corn is in when thrash- ing. In dry seasons, the drum must be kept in first-rate order to prevent breaking. The thing suggests itself to me, that if the farmers would get their millwrights at shorter intervals to examine and adjust their drums, instead of their own men shifting them, we would see less broken corn than at present. In this district, where the drums are not meddled with, there are no complaints of broken corn. In making this suggestion I do not mean to blame the men in charge of them. On the contrary, I think they deserve credit for the way that they manage them. The only kind of drum I use is Goucher's patent drum, with grooved beater plates. Mr. Cunningham said : First, then, as you are aware, the object sought in malting is to change the starchy substance of the grain into grape sugar. This is accomplished by steeping the barley in water, for a longer or shorter period, to produce fermentation. When the grain begins to vegetate, it is ex- tended on the floors, and kept there from ten to twenty days, the time varying with the condition of the grain and the tem- perature of the atmosphere. During this period the plumule or acrospire, wbich springs from the root end of the seed — the future stem of the plant, in fact — gradually ascends until it emerges from the seed at the end opposite the root. Now, it is found that the chemical change effected by the gradual extension of the acrospire — namely, that of changing the starch into sugar — is limited to that portion of the corn up which the acrospire has crept, and no further — the upper part of the corn not covered with the acrospire still retaining its starchy consistence. It is evident, then, that the secret of malting consists in promoting, by a natural and regular pro- cess, the growth of the acrospire until it reaches the end, or very nearly the end, of the corn, because when it extends fur- ther it extracts the substance of the seed. Now, it will be evident, I think, from what I have stated, that when grain is damaged to any extent, it is more than useless for malting pur- poses. In the first place, the broken and crushed corns not only do not grow, but they change colour, and become mouldy. The crushed corns, by absorbing moisture internally, rapidly decompose and putrefy when exposed long to the tem- perature of the working floor ; while those grains that are rubbed, although they do spring, rapidly discolour and decay before being ready for the kiln. The loss thus sustained in malting damaged barley consists first in paying duty for a portion of grain incapable of undergoing the necessary chemical change for producing malt, in the loss of quality and flavour, by the damaged corns becoming mouldy with decay, and, lastly — and this is the greatest loss connected with the handling of the article — in being obliged to hurry the floors to the kiln before the sound grains have had time to mature, thereby leaving the acrospire only half developed, and a considerable part of the corns still retaining their starchy consistence, leaving the malt hard and flinty, in place of com- ing out crisp and flowing in texture, as good malt should be. I may remark here that these observations are applicable to all barley which has sustained damage in the way indicated, when used for malting ; but, of course, the evil is modified by the degree to which the evil has extended. Some of the bar- ley may be only slightly rubbed, while some may be both broken, crnshed, and rubbed, and the results I have explained will follow in the proportion to which the damage has extended. Let_ me say that a good deal of damage may be sustained by grains, which can only be discovered by looking somewhat closely into it. And buyers, on some market days, have little opportunity to inspect the grain as it should be. A number of farmers, with tlie view of improving the colour of their barley, when there had been much smut, were in the habit, in the early part of the season, of putting their barley twice through the mills — a most pernicious practice, as the barley was so damaged as to be very unsafe for malting purposes. I have on more than one occasion bought parcels of barley ioo THE FARMEE'S MAGAZINE. coloured to some extent with tlie dust of the smut, and i have found that by putting the water into the steep first, and giving the barley an extra water, a considerable quantity of the smut came off. So long as the body of the corns have sustained no damage, something may be made of them. The evil maltsters above all things deprecate is the damage of corn by breaking or bruising it. I mentioned in the first part of my letter that the evils resulting from damaged barley date from the intro- duction of high-speed mills into East Lothian. Such is my experience. The particular phase of the complaint was con- temporaneous with their introduction into the county. I am quite aware that the high-speed mill, with all the necessary apparatus for finishing the grain for the market as it comes from the machine, is a most desirable im- plement. It thrashes quicker, it tlirashes cleaner, it turns out the straw in a whole state, it has many recommendations, and I believe cannot be dispensed with now. I consider, however, that much of the evil resulting from their use is the result of faulty construction or mismanagement. I often get barley thrashed with high-speed mills perfectly free from any damage whatever. If one farmer can use it to good purpose, it is surely possible for all to do it; the effort is worth trying. Ikuow that parties whose grain is known to be sound and good not only command a more ready sale in tlie market, but invariably get, I believe, a higher price. My object in writing this is more to point out the evils resulting from defective thrashing, leaving to others the task of devising the remedy ; but I may remark that I think the damage is often sustained by the grain in passing through tlie mill, the concave of the drum being screwed too close to the convex of the frame. I cannot other- wise account for the rubbing and crushing of the corn. It is the opinion of some that the hummeUer is the cause, but the grain runs through the hummeller in a thin stream. The knives, indeed, are sharp, and may possibly cut the grains. They sometimes appear as if they had been cut, so clean across does the division appear without a dimple or break on either side of the grain. If such should be the case, is it not possi- ble to alter the hummellers as they come in connection with the old beating drum, viz., to have the machine placed vertically instead of horizontally, the knives blunted, and the speed very much reduced.? There would then be a solid body of grain to act upon, and al- though tlie inlet and outlet would require some nicety of re- gulating, that might be accomplished. Another defect with some high-speed drums consists in their being screwed with- out any gauge to regulate the distance of the drum from tlie frame. Consequently the space for the grain and straw to pass between is regulated with no certainty — sometimes it may be c'oscr and sometimes wider, as inclination or accident may determine. The great bulk of the barley grown in East Lotliian bought for malting purposes, and the climate, soil, and means of the farmer combining to produce a first-class ar- ticle, so far as the raw material is concerned, I think there can be no doubt that it is greatly the interest of farmers to study the requirements of the trade (tlie malting trade), and prepare the grain in such a way tliat its value may be in no way deteriorated by the process of preparing it for the market —I repeat, the interest of farmers. I might suggest an ap- peal to your professional reputation, and say that while East- Lothian can boast of a class of farmers who have led the van in the marcli of improvement, and been foremost in utilising any discovery in science applicable to their particular domain, it seems like a stigma on their character — their professional character — that grain of such su- perior quality should be spoiled in the dressing. But I feel persuaded that, were buyers assured of greater security against damaged grain, coming as they now do from all quarters, a spirit of confidence would be implanted, and they would be the more prepared to give the utmost value for the article. I know, from conversation with parties in the trade, that the feehug has beeu that rubbing is one of the drawbacks to the East-Lothian barley. As I re- marked in many cases it is very slight, in some there is no defect ; still, there must have been a considerable amoimt of mischief when the feeling extends to the whole district. Had there been no such feeUng, it is probable prices might have been better. I must say that when I have pointed out the evil to any of my friends engaged in farming, they have in- variably admitted it, aiid expressed a most anxious desire to remedy the evil did they know how. The difficulty lay in applying a sufdcient amount of friction to separate the awn without damaging the grain. I hope that some wiser heads will be able to devise a remedy, and that no such subject wiU need to be discussed next year. In these remarks T have con- fined myself to barley as applied for malting purposes. Other kinds of grain are broken and bruised, but I would suppose that unless used for seed, or stored for a length of time, the damage sustained is nothing like so great in the way of de- stroying the value of the grain as in the case of barley mak- ing into malt, the rest being all manufactured in a dry state. The Chairman said that after the statement of Mr. Cun- ningham it could not be doubted that an evil connected with the dressing of both wheat and barley did exist, which in the one case deteriorated its value as seed, and in the other for malting purposes. Farmers would be glad if practical men could fall upon some expedient to remedy the evil. It was their desire not only to get the best price for their grain, but that the purchaser should have the full value from it, and not be subjected to the waste which it had been shown had some- times to be borne by the maltster. A thrashing-miU should, above aU things, thrash clean, for they could not afford to throw away any of the grain, seeing that they had little enough of it on the straw. A good deal of the evil complained of, he thought, arose from the hummeller, to which much atten- tion should be paid. Some of the hummellers were too hori- zontal. He considered the upright action the best because it was more under control. There ought also to be some scale for regulating the speed of the drum. As showing the import- ance of a properly working miU, he mentioned a case in which a farmer thrashed a portion of a stack, and its weight in Die market was 16st. Illb. His mill then underwent some altera- tion, and tlie rest of the stack was thrashed. This portion only weighed I6st. 61b., but in consequence of the improved mill not having broken so much, it sold Ss. per qr. higher than the heavier sample. Mr. Hope (Eenton Barns), as bearing out the statements of Mr. Cunningham, said he had been told by an extensive brewer in Edinburgh that he frequently got over the fingers by buying barley from parties he did not know. There were some farmers, this gentleman said, from whom they could buy with perfect security ; and when the barley was unbroken, he had no hesitation in giving 2s. or 3s. more a quarter for it. Sometimes, too, he had been told that when severely bit, brewers had recourse to laying in a quantity of foreign barley. These things showed the necessity for farmers paying attention to this subject. For his own part, he beheved the evil had arisen in a great measure from the high-speed drums. Mr. ^AR^'EY said he had no wish to speak disparagingly of high-speed drums ; but about thirty years ago it was an un- commou thiug to see broken grain coming into the market, and there was no doubt that broken grain had increased since their introduction. He admired the fine action of the high- speed drums ; but when the grain came out broken where was the benefit ? Mismanagement had been blamed for tliis ; but what did that mean ? It meant that these mills needed to be superintended by men accustomed continually to the same mill. Mr. SnEPiiERD (Gleghornie) said that during tlie last eight or ten years he had depended greatly upon travelling mills, and the quantity of broken grain was serious — sometimes more and sometimes less, but always a most serious fact to look at. Mr. Halliday (engineer) said he commenced to make high-speed thrashing machines sixteen years ago, and before doing so he had gone to England to see the machines in use there. After inspecting several at work, he came to the con- clusion that they had all the fault of breaking the grain. The result of what he saw made him think that the system of regu- lating the concave by six or eight screws was a very awkward thing to put into the hands of farm servants. He had therefore constructed a system of regulating the concave, whereby any gentleman could regulate it with his dress-coat on, and without stopping the mill. If the mill was not thrashing clean, the attendant had nothing to do but to turn a small handle, and the whole concave W'as regulated from one point. He found this expedient of great benefit. He had put up a mill for Mr. Tod, Bearford, about twelve years ago ; and after it was in operation they had to search the whole " bing" over to try to get a broken pickle. He thought there was a good deal in the width of the concave. He made the concave of Mr. Tod's mill pretty wide, to allow the grain to get down after being thrashed, THE FAEMER'S MAGAZINE. 101 to allow it to escape from the clrura whenever the grain was taken from the ear. He found that, with the concave being so wide, there were portions of the heads which went down without the pickle being taken out. He therefore commenced to straighten the concave to prevent these half-heads getting tlirough the concave ; but this, he thought, had a greater ten- dency to break the grain, and he therefore agreed in the con- cave being wider to let the corn get out. He beUeved, also, that the speed of the drum had sometliing to do with the breaking of the grain. When the grain was very dry, the velocity of the drum would cause this breakage : the mere contact of tlie drum would break very dry corn. The drum acted as a disintegrator when the speed was very high. To obviate this he had put two speeds on the drum, so that in thrashing beans and wlieat the speed of the drum could be reduced while the rest of the machine was going at the full rate. He had done this to several mills, by putting on an- other pulley for thrashing wheat, and he believed that since then there had been a great improvement. As to the hum- meUer, his were all horizontal, and delivered at the top in- stead of the bottom. Mr. Hope : You must work it full, then ? Mr. HLmliday : No. The velocity of the drum keeps the grain always on the outside. I admit that it does not look very natural, but nevertheless it is the fact. When it stops there is no more grain in the hummeller than there would be if it was delivered at the bottom. Mr. Paton believed the complaints made by Mr. Cunning- ham to be well founded. For his own part, he thought the whole fault lay in the setting of the drum, if farmers would look well after that, and see that the drum was equally set, there would be less breakage. He had seen mills working with one side quite open and the other quite close ; and in such a case it was quite impossible that the barley could be thrashed properly. He held that, with a well-set drum, nothing could beat the high-speed mills. Mr. DuRiE was still working with tlie old Scotch miU, and he vvas never bothered with either broken wheat or barley. Mr. HiUiLiDAY: I neglected to say, with regard to the Goucher's beater, that I believe it is far too closely grooved, and that if it were wider it would have more tendency to let the grain get through undamaged. The CnAiEMAN said the discussion had brought out some very valuable information, that upon the whole had shown it was not desirable to dispense with high-speed drums. Speed and safety, he believed, were both quite attainable in the use of these mills ; and by the application of skill and the results of experience on the part of engineers, and careful attention on the part of farmers, they might hope in the course of time to get 1 a stop put to the evil which had given rise to the discussion. THE LINCOLNSHIRE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. MEETING AT BRIGG. The Lincolnshire management is improving, for a more riotous show-ground than that at Lincoln three years ago it is impossible to imagine, or a more orderly one than that at Brigg. The Society pitched their tents within a mile of the railway station, on a nice bit of level tui'f, and nothing could be nattier than the laying out of the yard, while the comfort of the animals was studied to the utmost, and the public served with a well got up catalogue for sixpence. Then, the manage- ment of the horse-rings, the hoisting of the prize numbers on the telegram-boards, together with the numbering of the horses, and the regularity with which class after class followed each other, was almost faultless ; but still the judging of the horses is spun out until the morrow, which we are confidentially told is the day, while prize cards are not posted over the animals, but only the colours in some instances, though the hour is fast approaching six, and the yard getting empty. Now had prize cards been placed over the winning animals entered in 1, 2, or 3 classes immediately after the decisions, so that the public could read, mark and learn which were the prize beasts, a gentleman on his way home who took a delight in nothing but the Shorthorns, would not have replied to the query of another as to which was the prize in such a class ? " Well I really don't know, as some said one and some the other," but there always will be confusion while animals contend for prizes in several classes. The show of horses was grand as Islington, Bath and West of England, and Royal winners had to haul down their colours ; while the Shorthorns were about on a par in numbers with Sleaford last year, and the sheep not quite so numerous, as many an entry was represented by an empty pen. Then the pigs were excellent, and Mr. Duckei'ing in great force on his own ground, for Northorpe is but a few miles off; while Mr. Peter Eden had fled ; for on our coming up to his man, who Avas contemplating, with one eye, Young Prince, a Royal winner, and some of the fattest of bacon and brownest of home-made with the other, we exclaimed, " What, beaten by that one ?" " Ah ! sir," he replied, " you should see his nose ! It was too much for Peter, and he is gone clean away home." Leaving Peter Eden for the present at his snuggery in the Cross-lane, Salford, pondering over snouts, chaps, and collars, we will go in for a little blood, symmetry, and action. The £30 for the best thorough-bred stalHou for getting hunters being again taken by the Derby winner of '67 — the Hermit — as it was at Sleaford, when we gave a sketcli of him ; beating for the second time the dancing Broomielaw, who has put on flesh with better behaviour ; as also Suffolk, whom we have twice noticed this year at Islington and Wolverhampton, and whose hind-qnarters, second thighs, and hind-leg-action, did not improve by comparison with those of the Hermit. Then, the rather slight Wamba seemed light below the knee, and stiff and stilty in his liind legs ; and the long, light- girthed Playmate, not blest with the best of forelegs, or remarkable for symmetry ; while Denmark, by no means a pleasing subject to look upon, with bad shoulders, made up the lot. Next, Suffolk, W'amba, Tom Bow- line, Thor, and Carlton contended for the two prizes for thorough-bred hunting stallions that had served half-bred mares at not more than £5 5 s., or whose owners would undertake that they would in the county during 1872. Thor's forehand put him out of the contest ; and Carlton, by Stockwell, out of Midsummer by Melbourne, is a very useful upstanding country horse, with power without coarseness, but his strong thick pointed shoulders do not make quite a hunting forehand ; while he is much bigger below the knee than he looks, and has a scar on the olf-hock that at first seems like a reminiscence of a curb, but it is not on the tendon. Another bench may prefer Suffolk to Playmate, but we are not in love with him be- hind the hips to the ground in form or action. The hunting brood mares, nineteen in number, were a grand class, with Heliotrope, a lengthy coaching mare, which played second at Sleaford last year and third at Oxford, and that to Orpheus has thr-own a four-year-old, Tancredi, a neat, showy young horse, who in a poor lot of four- year-olds and upwards beat Loiterer, the Beverley prize hunter or gig-horse of 1870, which the judges here would not have at any price. Surely it must be palpable to any one with the least idea of action, who stood near the ring, 102 THE PARMER'S MAGAZINE. that Loiterer cannot go a bit as a hunter should, as it was to us when he came out at Islington and at Beverley in 1870. Why judges have the saddles off these wooden idols, that have been worshipped and gilded too long, to stand side by side with those that can move is beyond our comprehension. Stand-still horses we do not want, but a good spacious ring we do, so that we may get rid of the impostors. Getting back to the hunting mares, the first prize chesnut by West Australian out of Camera Obscura by Elis, is a fine made, short-jointed mare, with some of the Elis white markings. The second, Kathleen, is a very good-looking mare, with blood, length, shoul- ders, and limbs ; while the third is a mare that we said last year was a game-looking one, full of hunting charac- ter, as she should have beeu third, though not placed. These mares' foals w^ere first and second in the youngsters. Then, ^Mr. Chaplin's powerful, blood-like, Irish chesnut we preferred to Heliotrope, though she drops a little in her hind leg action. Colonel Astley's Mittie is a nice one, and her foal by Broomielaw third. Mr. Piiestly's and Mr. Wilson's greys, the old wreck of a mare of Mr. Eobson's by Brownie, and Mr. Kirkhara's Peggy were not wanting in hunting character. The best 5, 6, or 7-year-old hunting gelding turned up in Mag- num Bonum, a horse we have seen before, a fine upstand- ing, hardy, galloping-looking brown, without any beef about him, and which we were told was bought at one time by Captain Machell for £500. The next to him was Marmalade, also a second this year at Islington, and that we did not think much of there, nor do we in the open, as he has a great deal too much flourish in his action ; while the reserve was Banner Bearer, who did not show well in the slow-paces, and it would have been all the better for his chance and some others had the hurdles which divided the ring been taken away ; so that he could get in his stride, as he can gallop, and went well through the muck of Wolverhampton. ]\Ir. Ilobson had a nicely-made six-year-old by Artillery, but he was not handled well ; Mr, Stephenson's Lothair is a big chestnut that can go ; and Mr. Brady Nicholson has a thick-set useful chestnut mare, a real maid of all work. lu a capital class of four-year-olds, in which Major Barlow's ■weight-carrier Tregothnan, the Islington cup horse, and Beckford, the Bath and West of England Hero, were defeated by Wassand, a chestnut, by Vollurno, out of Romula by King Caradoc, a stag-necked horse, but in other respects fairly made, with good short limbs, and a sweet goer, and Nobility by Artillery, a capital goer, with good limbs nicely placed, form, and hardy looks. When in hand his neck appears rather throaty at the jowl, but when the rein is dropped, and he stands in his natural position, it is not. Then, like the Artillerys, he may work a trifle light in his back ribs, but for all this he is a very nice horse, and it was a near thing between the two ; in fact, we had ticked the Artillery horse down as the best goer long before the decision was arrived at. Tregothnan w'as one of the reserve, but did not show any the better for a change of jockeys. The owners of the first and second knew' they could go, and after the judges had left the ring for luncheon, the two were galloping in and out of the ring. How ditl'erent this to the wooden oues, whose owners take particular cai-e to walk them oft' directly they get a prize. The four- year-old and upwards, up to \i hut not up to W stones, a nice condition for an objection and a wrangle, were not up to much. There was a capital class of three-year- old hunting geldings or fillies by a through-bred horse — a sine qua non as w^e always thought for a hunter — with fourteen in the ring. The pick, Moslem, is a rich chesnut, full of blood and good form, with nice action, and although he has a Blacklock head it is a very taking one. The second is one of Lord Yarborough's breed by Nottingham ; and the third. Wicked-eye, a short deep black gelding by Wild Hunts- man. Mr. Booth's Duckling, by The Duke, third at Wolverhampton, is a well-made muscular mare, but a slight blemish inside the foreleg caught the eye of the judges, and we fancy put her out of it. Colonel Astley's Forerunner, by Trumpeter oiit of Shunting by the Ugly Buck, would be very handsome as a light charger. Lord Yarborough showed a lathy-looking brown by Notting- ham, and Mr. Overton a showy bay with capped hocks by the same horse. Mr. Robson had a bay by Achilles ; JMr. Johnson Cotham by Rivet ; and ]Mr. I'rudd, a brown gelding by Odd Trick, which, with some others, lacked not form and actiou. The roadster staUions only mus- tered six or seven, Clear-the-way and Young Quicksilver being among them, but the prize turned up in Young Merry-legs, a three -year-old, of thick-set proportions, and a good goer, without any flourish ; but we doubt whether he or any of his companions would make much of a gallop, but it is not their calling, for which reason we think judges ought not to rely too much on the slow paces in hunters when they have space to see them gallop, as there are many horses that could cross a country like birds, and others that could win on a race-course, that make but a poor show in a trot. There was a good muster of roadsters and hackneys, but as we did not see them out we can tell little or nothing about them. The agricultural stallions, with some useful horses among them and nine in number, had Honest Tom for their champion , and Le Bon as his second, the first and third at Wolverhampton. In the half-dozen two- year-old stallions there were two good and a couple of useful eolts. The mares for breeding draught horses were a very good class, with Royal Duchess a prize youngster at Manchester and Oxford, only commended, an honour she did not get last year iu the same class. Two or three two-year-olds, a couple of yearlings, a few nice foals, and three pairs of good draught horses, made up the agricultural classes, of which we should have seen more had the ring been within sight and somewhat neai'cr that of the nags, as at the Royal, the Yorkshire, and other shows. In numbers, the Shorthorns were about on a par with last year, with nothing very grand among the bulls, headed as they were by Royal Windsor in the Champion Class and Challenge Cup. He was a second in the bulls under three-years-old at Wolverhampton, and now defeated Telemachus ; but the Romford Champion had it all his own way iu the three-year-olds, with Charlie, a commended at Manchester for second, and Windsor Fitz-Wiudsor third. Royal Windsor having won the two cups, was out of the two-year-old class, and let Lady Pigot iu with Bythis and Victoria Rex in a strong class as to numbers, there being eleven to three last year. There were only five yearling bulls to eleven last year, a fourth prize at Wolverhampton gaining third honours, and a highly com- mended one there. Grandee, the first. Though entered, JMr. Dudding's British Flag was an absentee, as was Mr. Linton's Leeman, the first and second at the Royal ; but Mr. Dudding had the Adjutant in reserve, and caiTied the day. It is uot saying much for the cows when we report tliem, as a lot, better than at the Royal, while the three- year-old heifers were really good, and the two-year-olds extraordinarily so. Concert, third at the Royal, is first here, and the first at the Royal — Dame Swift — not even commended. Then, in the yearling heifers, Fleur de Lis, a nice heifer, and second at Wolverhampton, is third here ; and in the cow-calves under one year Lady Grace, the reserved number at the Royal beats a second Royal, Victoria Victrix, not even commended ; and such is the uncertainty of pitch-and-toss. With two or three pairs of fair bullocks, some very THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 103 creditable cottagers' cows, aud a couple of Alderneys, we come to the Leicester sheep, where iu the shearlings the Eoyal decision is confirmed, Mr. Turner and ilr. Borton being left in, and Mr. Marris the odd man out ; hut in the two-shear, or older rams, judgment is reversed, and !Mr. Borton's third at Wolverhampton is placed before Mr. Turner's first Royal. There were nearly twice as many Lincoln shearling rams at Sleaford as there were at Brigg, but perhaps as a lot Brigg had the pull, and there were some very useful sheep among them. Mr. Budding was first in the two-shear, beating a nice one of Mr. Hesseltine, with good head, loins, and wool, his sire being a fine four-shear sheep in the next class, iu which Mr. Wright was first with a three-shear, beating Mr. Budding's first Royal. But there is many a slip be- tween the cup and the lip, for Mr. Budding objected, and Mr. Wright was disqualified, as the sheep was not his property at the time of entry, aud so Mr. Wright was wrong, and Mr. Buddiug got the cup. The gimmers were first-rate, and won by Mr. Clarke, of Sleaford — who can ride, aud now aud then shows a good horse. He also had the prizes for the pens of five ewes without any op- position, aud Mr. Roe as au occupier of less than 200 acres. There was but one pen of shearling wethers and but three of lambs ; the rest was made up with a beggarly account of empty boxes. Byron says that woman is uncertain, coy, and hard to please, and we think Mr. Peter Eden, had he been the poet, would have added, " and man equally so," for iu the pigs Buckering's second Royal boar in the large breed is first, and Peter Edeu's first Royal unnoticed ; while an unnoticed one at the Royal is second at Brigg. In this decision the judges have gone for size against quality, which is more palpable than ever in the small breed, where a big useful boar beats Peter's Royal pig that never was beaten previously, and is the very pink of fashion and quality. Of Berkshire there were not more than half-a- dozen. Iu the small whites Mr. Buckering's celebrated Topsy had twelve little grunters by her side, as she was put to bed on the Royal ground, but as a pig may even have too much of a good thing, her owner gave away four of the sixteen. In leaving the prize-list to tell the story out, we may say that this does not include all the nume- rous commendations for horses, sheep, aud pigs. PRIZE LIST. JUDGES. Cattle. — Hugh Aylmer, West Dereham Abbey, Stone Eerry, Norfolk ; J. Wilson, Woodliorn Manor, Morpeth ; C. Ran- dell, Chadbury, Evesham. Leicester Sheep a.>'d Pigs. — R. Fisher, Leconfield, Bever- ley ; J. Painter, Bel^frave House, Nottingham ; L. Borraan, Baruoldby-le-Beck, Grimsby. Long-wool Sheep. — H. Mackiuder, Langton Grange, Spilsby ; J. Topliam, The Hemploe, Welford, Rugby ; R. G. E. Howard, Temple Bruer, Lincoln. Hunters and Roadsters. — Colonel Luttrell, Badgeworth Court, Weston-super-Mare ; T. Pain, Tattersall's, London ; W. Young, Norwood House, Beverley. Agricultural Horses : J. H. Wood, Humberstone, Great Grimsby ; E. T. Booth, Waiufleet St. Mary's, Boston ; T. Vincent, Har- laston, Grantham. CATTLE. shorthorns. Bull. — The champion prize, £30, J. Outhwaite, Bainesse, Catterick (Royal Windsor). Bull tlxree years old or upwards, aud for whicli the prize in class 1 sliall not have been awarded. — First prize, £15, the Marquis of Exeter, Burghley (Telemachus) ; second, £7, T. Statter, juu., Manchester (Charlie) ; third, £3, T. Willis, Carperby, Bedale (Windsor, Fitz-Windsor). Two years old bull. — First prize, £15, Lady Pigot, Branches (Bythis) ; second, £7, Lady Pigot (Victor Rex) ; third, £3, Earl Feversham, Duncombe (Colonist). Commended : P, Brown, Glentwortli ; Messrs. Budding (Standard Bearer) and Wra. Bradl)urn, Wednesfield, Wolverhampton (White Satin). Yearlmg bull. — First prize, £15, Colonel Reeve, Leaden- hara, Grantham ; second, £7, H. F. Smith, Sutton, Hull ; third, £3, J. Meadows, Thornville, Wexford. Bull-calf under a year old. — First prize, £10, Messrs. Dud- ding ; second, £7, A, Garfit, Scothern, Lincoln ; third, ^£3, T. Clayton, Bodies, Doncaster. Commended : T. Statter, juu. Bull above one and not exceeding four years old, which lias served cows during the present year, or the owner of which will undertake that he shall serve cows iu Lincolnshire during the next year at a charge of not exceeding £1 Is., each. — First prize, £20, W. Bradbura (White Satin) ; second, £10, P. Brown ; third, £5, W. Dunn, Worlaby, Brigg. Best bull exhibited in classes 3, 3, 4, or 6. — Prize, a cup, value £25, Marquis of Exeter (Telemachus). Bull of any age. — Prize, challenge cup value 20 guineas, J, Outhwaite (Royal Windsor). Cow or heifer. — The champion prize of £25, J. Outhwaite (Vivandiere). Highly commended : R. Gibson, Loudon, Ontario, Canada (Double Butterfly 2nd) ; F. J. S. Foljambe, M.P., Osberton Hall (Fleur-de-lis) ; Lady Pigot (Dame Swift) ; F. J. S. Foljambe (Concert) ; R. Gibson (Countess of Oxford) ; and J. W. Kirkham (Rose of Windsor). Cow more than four years old. — First prize, £20, J. W. Kirkham, Cadeby Hall, Grimsby ; second, £10, W. Bradburn ; third, £5, T. Statter, jun. Cow not exceeding four years old, which shall exhibit the greatest dairy properties with aptitude to fatten. — Prize, a silver cup value £10, W. Bradburn (Red Rose). Three years old heifer, having produced a calf. — First prize, £10, R. Gibson ; second, £5, W. Bradburn. Two years old heifer. — First prize, £10, F. J. S. Foljambe (Concert) ; second, £7, R. Gibson ; third, £3, J. J. Sharp, Broughton, Kettering. Highly commended : T. Willis. One-year-old heifer. — First prize, £10, H. F. Smith, Sutton, Hull (Lanwath) ; second, £7. Lady Pigot (Victoria Windsoria); third, £3, F. J. S. Foljambe (Fleur-de-Us). Highly com- mended: J. J.Sharp ; F. Foljambe. Commended: E. Paddison, Ingleby. Cow calf under one-year-old. — First prize, £7, Messrs. Dudding (Lady Grace) ; second, £4, T. Statter, jun. ; third, £2, G. Bland, Coleby Hall, Lincoln. Pair of buUocks.— First prize, £10, W. T. Lamb, Wel- bouru ; second, £5, R. G. F. Howard, Temple Bruer. Milch cow, having produced a calf, the property of a cot- tager occupying not more than 10 acres. — First prize, £5, W, Tuplin, Bigby, Brigg ; second, £2, G. Smith, Bigby. Heifer under two years old, bred by and the property of a cottage occupier. — First prize, £5, W. Vickers, Hemswell, Kirton Lindsey ; second, £2, J. Lyon, Hainton. Extra Stock. — First prize, £5, Messrs. Dudding (Short- horn cow) ; second, £2, W. F. Marshall (Alderney heifer). SHEEP. LEICESTERS. Shearling ram. — First prize, £10, G. Turner, jun., Alexton Hall, Uppingham ; second, £5, J. Borton, Barton, Malton. Highly commended : J. Borton. Commended : T. H. Hutch- inson, Manor House, Catterick. Two-shear or older ram. — First prize, £10, J. Borton ; second, £5, G. Turner, jun. Highly commended : J. Borton. Commended : T. Borton. Pen of five ewes or gimmers. — First prize, £10, T. H. Hutchinson ; second, £5, J. Borton. Best ram in the classes. — Prize, £10, J. Borton. long-wool (not LEICESTER). Shearling ram. — First prize, £15, T. Cartwright, Dunston Pillar, Lincoln ; second, £10, W. F. Marshall, Branston, Lin- coln ; third, £5, Messrs. Dudding. Highly commended : Messrs. Dudding and W. F. Marshall. Commended : T. Cartwright. Two-shear ram. — First prize, £10, Messrs. Dudding; second, £5, W. Hesseltine, Beaumontcote, Barton. Three-shear or older rara. — Prize, £10, R. Wright, Nocton Heath. Pen of five ewes. — First prize, £10, C. Clarke, Ashby-de-la- Launde, Sleaford ; second, £5, C. Clarke. Pen of five ewes, the property of an occupier whose entire 104 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. occupation does not exceed 200 acres.— Prize, 15, W. Roe, North Scarle Field, Newark. Pen of five shearling gimmers.— First prize, £10, C.Clarke ; Becond, £5, J. Pears, Mere, Branston. Pen of five shearling gimmers, the property of an occapier whose entire occupation does not exceed 200 acres.— Prize, £5, W. Roe. Pen of five shearling wethers. — Prize, £10, J. Byron, Kirkby Green, Sleaford. Pen of ten ewe lambs. — First prize, £5, J. Byron ; second, £3, T. Dalton, Sturton, Scawby, Brigg. Ram. — The chaUeuge cup, value 15 guineas, R. Wright, Nockton Heath. Extra Stock. — First prize, £2, 'L\ Harris, Ulceby (three- shear Shropshire ram) ; second, £3, J. Pears (two-shear Lin- coln wether). HORSES. Thorough-bred stallion for hunters.— Prize, .£30, H. Chaplin M.P., Blankney Hall (Hermit). Thorough-bred stallion for hunters that has regularly served mares in Lincolnsliire during the season of 1871 at a price not exceeding £5 5s. for half-bred mares, or whose owner will undertake that he shall do so during the season of 1872. — First prize, i-20, T. H. Davey, Addlethorpe (Carlton) ; second, £10, C. Marsdin, Hatfield (Playmate). Mare for breeding hunters, with a foal at her heels, &c.— First prize, £15, W. H. Clark, Hook, Howden ; second, £7, E. Heneage, Ilainton ; third, £3, R. Graves, Linwood Sleaford. Hunting gelding or mare, five, sis, or seven years old. — First prize, £20, J. M. Richardson, Limber Magna, Ulceby ; second, £10, J. M. Tattersall-Musgrave, llengate, Beverley. Commended : H. D. Bayly (Banner Bearer). Gelding or mare, four years old, calculated to make a hunter. — First prize, £50, W. Mundey, jun., TVrawby, Brigg ; second, £10, W. Stephenson, Cottingham, Hull. Hunters, four years old or upwards, up to carrying 14 stones.— Prize, £10, \V. Tindall, Lincoln (Tancredi). Hunter, four years or upwards, up to carrying 12 stones, but not up to 14 stones. — Prize, £10, J. U.S. Smith, Ulceby Commended : J. Dunn, Elsham, Brigg. Three-year-old hunting gelding or filly, by a thorough-bred horse. — First prize, £20, and a whip value £5, W. Core, Fletton, Peterboro' ; second, £10, A. Everett, Barnet-by-le Wold, Ulceby. Two-year-old hunting colt. — First prize, £10, J. lies. Bin- brook Hill, Market Rasen ; second, £5, J, J. Young, Claxby Market Rasen. One-year-old hunting colt. — First prize, £10, W. Toder, West Burton, Retford ; second, £5, J. H. Skipworth, Hous, ham, Brigg. Two-year-old hunting filly.— Prize, £10, H. G. Skipworth Rothwell, Caistor. One-year-old hunting filly. — First prize, £7, J. Dunn, Elsham ; second, ^'3, G. Walker, Bigby, Brigg. Yearling, by Broomielaw. — Prize, ^'10, J. H. Skipworth, Howsham. Hunting foal, by a thorough-bred horse. — First prize, £10, W. H. Clark ; second, £5, E. Heneage. The cleverest jumper. — First prize, £10, J. M. Richardson. Stallion for roadsters, exceeding 14 liauds 2 inches in height. — First prize, £10, J. Smith, Shipton, Market Weighton (Young Merry Legs) ; second, £5, H. Bultitaft, Ely (Clear the Way). Stallion pony, not exceeding 14 hands 2 inches in height. — First prize, £7, Colonel Astley, Elsham Hall, Brigg ; second, ^3, W. Newton, Newark. Mare for breeding roadsters. — First prize, £7, S. Gibson, Barton-ou-Humber ; second, £3, Colonel Astley. Action in harness. — First prize, £10, W. Bromley : second of £5, J. Searby. Weight-carrying cob, mare, or gelding, not exceeding eight years old, and not being under 14 hands nor above 15" hands 1 inch in height, quality aud action being specially considered. —Prize, £10, J. H. Smith, Shipton, Market Weighton. Hackney (mare or gelding), exceeding 14 hands and not exceeding 15 hands 1 inch in lieight.— Prize, i'lO, R. Mil- ward, Thurgarton Priory, Southwell. Pony (mare or gelding), exceeding 13 hands but not ex- ceeding 14. hands in height.— First prize, J. Dodds, jun., Elsham ; second, £3, W. Fowler, Manton, Rutland. Pony (mare or gelding), not exceeding 13 hands in height. —First prize, £5, J. Homsby, Grantham; second, £2, S. Gooseman, Bradley. StaUion for draught horses.— First prize, £20, W. Welcher, West Tofts, Brandon (Honest Tom) ; second, £10, C. Sharpley, Kelstern Hall, Louth (Le Bon). Highly com- mended : W. Johnson, Hatfield, Doncaster. Commended : T. Middleton, Lyddington, Uppingham. Two-year-old stallion for draught purposes. — Prize, £10, N. Melbourne, FiUingham, Lincoln (Hercules). Highly com- mended : E. Grifiin, Temple Bruer, Lincoln. Commended : W. Walker, Great Gonerby. Mare for breeding draught horses. — First prize, £15, E. Crowe, Downham ; second, £7, W. T. Lamb, Welborn, Grant- ham ; second, £3, R. Bingham, Swallow, Caistor. Highly com- mended : J. Tomlinson, Lutton. Commended : C. Lister, Coleby Lodge, Lincoln. Two-year-old cart filly.— First prize, £8, Mrs. Skipworth, South Kelsey Hall, Caistor ; second, £4, F. Cartwright, Kirk- stead Abbey, Horncastle. One-year-old cart filly. — First prize, £5, G. Houlton, South Killingholme, Ulceby j second, £3, W. E. Marshall, Branston, Lincoln. Cart foal. — First prize, £8, S. Jacklin, Horkstow Bridge, Barton; second, £4, W. Toder; third, £2, J. T. Purvis, Knaith Park, Gainsborough. Highly commended: J. Tom- linson. Commended : W. Chatterton, Belchford. Pair of draught horses (geldings or mares) under eight years old. — First prize, £10, G. C. Woolhouse, Wellingore, Gran- tham ; second, £5, G. Woolhouse, Nocton Grange, Lincoln. Commended : R. Walker, Somerby, Brigg. Extra Stock. — Extra prize, W. Bramley, Amcotts, Don- caster (cart colt), PIGS. Boar, large breed, not less than twelve months old. — First prize, £10, R. E. Duckering, Northorpe, Kirton Lindsey; second, £5, P. Eden, Salford. Commended : P. Eden. Boar, large breed, not exceeding twelve months old. — First prize, £5, R. E. Duckering ; second, £2, R. E. Duckering. Boar, small breed, not less than twelve months old. — First prize, £10, J.B.Green, Coleby House, Brigg; second, £5, G. W. Smith, Clixby, Caistor. Boar, small breed, not exceeding twelve months old. — First prize, £5, R. E. Duckering; second, £2, Lady Pigot. Berkshire boar. — Prize, £5, E. Godfrey, Thealby, Brigg. Sow, large breed. — First prize, £5, P. Eden ; second, £3, R. E. Duckering, Sow, small breed. — First prize, £5, R. E. Duckering ; second, £3, C. Roberts, Wakefield. Berkshire sow. — Prize, £5, J. Lynn, Stroxton, Grantham. Three breeding pigs of the same litter, not exceeding sis months old, large breed. — Prize, £5, R. E. Duckering. Three breeding pigs of small breed. — Prize, £5, J. G, Taylor, Castlethorpe, Brigg. Extra Stock. — Prize, £4, R. E. Duckering (black sow and a white sow), IMPLEMENTS. Stand of implements exhibited by a maker. — First prize, Homsby aud Sous, Grantham ; second, Amies, Barford, and Co., Peterborough. Stand of implements exhibited by an agent. — First prize, E. H. Smith ; second, Isaac Spight ; silver medals, J. Fletcher, Rainforth and Son, T. Harrison, and T.Ashley; bronze medals. Farmer aud Son, R. Silvester, C. F. Whitworth, G. Houlton, J. Thompson, E. Skinner, W. AVholey, Mason and Son, T. Grassby, G. Thompson, and W. Ashton. Stand of implements exhibited by a farmer. — Prize, W. Torr, Aylesby. The following were amongst the makers and ageuts who had implement stands on the show ground, or had made entries in the catalogue: llornsby and Sons, Grantham; Gibbons, Cadney, Brigg ; Neave, Barton-on-Humber ; Fletcher, Winter- ton ; Ashby, Jefi'rey, and Luke, Stamford ; I'oster and Co., Lin- coln ; Marshall and Sons, Gainsborough ; Spight, Brigg ; Han- nam, Gainsborough ; Rainforth and Son,|Liucoln ; Searles, Lin- coln ; Smith, Brigg ; Cooke, Lincoln ; Farmer and Son, Gains- borough ; Robey and Co., Liucoln ; Amies, Barford, and Co., Peterborough ; Boyall, Grantham j Marrows aud Sous, Brigg ; THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 105 Harrison, Lincoln ; Wright, Boston ; Thornton, Lincoln ; Torr, Aylesby ; Tong, 'Lincoln ; Penny and Co , Lincoln ; Knowles, Lincoln ; Cooper, Barton-on-Humber ; Robinson, Winterton ; Edlington, Gainsborough ; Pearson, Gaiusborougli ; Ogle, Scawby ; Anderson, Grantham ; Howard, Winterton; Fenwick, Kirton-in-Lindsey ; Newton, Digby ; Whitworth, Cuxwold ; Houlton, Howsham ; Moggs, Newstead ; Hunter, Ulceby ; Hodgson, Louth ; Perkins, lioston ; Tliompson, South Ferriby ; Kirkhamand Baniford,Brigg ; Watkinson, Louth ; Lyne, Brigg ; Coultas, Grantham J Ashley, Loutli; Brooke, Market Basenj Gibson, Horkstow ; Abey, Barnetby ; Spencer, Glentworth ; Metheringham, Scopwick ; Booth, Corringham ;'Smith,Bigby Kittmer, Fulstow ; Wholey, Alford ; Ashton, Horncastle Sovverby, Brigg ; Mason and Sous, Alford ; Good, Grimsby Thompson, Keelby ; West, Melton Ross ; West, Great Limber Smith, Gainsborough ; Barron, Holbeach ; Hayes and Son Stamford and Peterborough ; Coleman and Morton, Chelms ford ; Garrett, Leinston ; Picksley, Sims & Co., Sleaford ^ Richmond and Chandler, Manchester ; Woods, Cocksedge, and Warner, Stowmarket ; and Dodge, London, TSE BEDFORDSHIRE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. MEETING AT BEDFORD. Taking for its fixture a happy medium between the early summer and remote autumn, this old Society — established hi 1800 — has just held a very successful meeting iu Bedford. The manufacture of prize ploughs in these parts would certainly seem to conduce to the breeding of prize plough horses ; for, however little Bed- fordshire might have been famous in this way some few years since, the show of working pairs and young stock is now becoming a very prominent and equally creditable feature in the exhibition. The judges commended two of the classes of cart horses ; and the sixteen entries of pairs for " agricultural purposes " served to very aptly illustrate this "purpose." They were not imwieldly, over - grown, nor over - weighted dray-horse, but smart quick-stepping pair teams, pretty generally showing some quality with good looks. The judges certainly went for the biggest they could find, and the Messrs. Howard's four-year-old is a really grandly- grown animal, of just the stamp of a Norfolk cart horse, at least so said Mr. Sewell Read ; while his companion was one of the prize pair which won here in quite as good company some three or four years since. Both are tolera- bly well known about the country as the public match horses of the Messrs. Howard ; but Mr. Charles Howard took the second premium with two perhaps more properly farm horses, as it was, in fact, holding to the agricultural purposes, a difficult class to judge, and several taking pairs appeared to command no attention whatever. There were, for instance, a couple of white- legged bays, which seemed to show a deal of breeding, and which, as we followed them back to their standing, turned out to be prize horses of two years since ; but no question the most valuable pair were put first. The seven two-year-olds, with Mr. Walker first, and Mr. Davies second, were all commended ; and in another lot of seven yearling colts Mrs. Brimley took the first prize, and Mr. George Hine the second. There was not much competition amongst the yearling fillies, where Mr. George Street, of Maulden, was first and second, and Mr. Harris, of Wootton, had only iMr. Hine to beat for two- year-old geldings. The cart mares and foals ran to a large but indifferent entry, with a grey from Mr. Whitworth, of Kempston, as the best, and Mr. Hurrell, of Stevingtou, next. Messrs. Howard's prize four-year-old hunting horse, by Wingrave, is a beautiful goer, with every promise of making a first-flight nag ; but he was shown quite in the rough with a great grass carcase, and other evidence of having been badly done by ; the more consequently is it to his credit to beat Mr. Boulton's very neat filly, by The Little Stag ; as Mr. Boultou was beaten again in the next class of hunters, the property of Bedfordshire farmers. The winner here, Mr. Lilley's son of Idler, is a very true horse to look over, although naturally enough he got disgusted with the leaping business, as he is i said at the best of times to be a rather difficult horse to ride. Still the judges mounted him, as they did almost everything, and then the owners and servants rode them for half-an-hour or so at some 'gorged hurdles, with a sort of Islington Hall pond trap in the centre. It cer- tainly seemed to us, very early in the proceedings, that the Knotting bay must win, and we heard that, after a most pains-taking investigation the judges eventually arrived at this conclusion. Mr. Boul- ton's brown went very weak and slovenly, and as he was the only other one fairly in it he took the second prize. The first and second best hackneys, both by The Little Stag, have blood in their favour, and Mr. Higgins' filly promises to fashion into quite a charming mare under a saddle or a side-saddle. Mr. Gibbins' best cob is a coarse carty-quartered, under- bi'ed animal, and Mr, Lavender's second or Mr. Boulton's entry with " a leg ", of a far better stamp. Mr. Slinn won the Mayor's cup with a pretty grey pony, and we believe the best donkey was one which nobody could sit, although, as Mr. Stephenson said at the dinner, it was to be regretted that " riding judges " shirked such a duty. The show of Shorthorns was not strong, and Mr. How's Vesper Queen, an improving heifer, and unmistakeably the best of them, took the President's cup on these condi- tions. The best buU in the all-aged class was Mr. Marsh's Prince Pearl, by Baron Warlably, a long, straight red, who had not much to meet, as about the plainest and most faulty bull of the four, Mr. James' Lord Howard, was put second. Lord John Thynne's prize yearling, bred by Mr. Robarts, has a really good touch, but like the sort Douglas is growing all ways at once. Mr. Pawlett's w-as the best bull-calf of the two, and his yearling heifer, first in her class, ran close up with Vesper Queen, the best two-year-old, for the Ciiampion Cup. There was a poor class of cows, of which Mr. Lavender's roan Hawthorn was declared to be the best, as Lord John Thynne had the best dairy cow, and Mr. Pike the best Jersey in one of Mr. Dauncey's sort. The veteran Mr. Barnett won with his heifer ; and Mr. Pulver brought out another steer, curiously, like his cup ox, but rather bad in his touch. He was first in his class, as was Mr. Mumford's Climax in a companion class of fat cows ; and Mr. Fowler, of Henlow, took the prize for pairs of steers in the absence of any competition whatever. The show of sheep was short, with the exception of the Oxford Down ram class, which was numerously and creditably filled, and where Mr. Charles Howard won, beating some of his own blood in Mr. Longland's two- shear (second), a son of the Wolverhampton old sheep; while Mr. Treadwell was commended for three shear- lings shown quite in the rough. The Royal Biddenham ewes, helped out by five others, not only beat Mr. Under- wood's cross-breds ia their class, but took the cup as the 106 THE FAEMER'S MAGAZINE. best pen of sheep in the show ; while Mr. Treadwell beat Mr. Howard for breeding ewes of all ages. Mr. T. W. D. Harris took all the chief prizes for long-wools with bis well-known cross ; and Mr. Frederick Street, of Har- rowden, had the best pen of ewe lambs, Oxford Downs of course. There were but few entries of pigs ; and in the sow class, the only one where there was any competition, Mr. Wythes had the best of the famous Britannia whites ; their Silver Hair being the second prize sow, their Hero 3rd and Victor 3rd, the two prize boars, and Duchess, the best sow in pig. Amongst the extra stock Mr. Manning showed his " thoroughbred " cart horse, Mr. Bassett, of Leicester, some nice Jersey heifers, and Mr. Frederick Street a great well-grown mare from the Fen country, with slovenly "dishing " action, but we believe she was highly commended. The judges were : — For horses : Messrs. J. E. Bennett, Husbands-Bosworth, -Rugby, and J. M. K. Elliott, Heathencote, Towcester. For cattle, sheep, and pigs : Messrs. G. Baker, Orwell, Ipswich ; J. Robinson, Clifton Pastures, Newport Pag- nell ; and W. Sanday, sen., Radcliffe-on-Trent. The full attendance at the dinner might be regarded as something of a compliment, and the proceedings thereat as something of a trial to the President, Mr. James Howard. There were e'ujldeen toasts on the list, whilst reverend men of different denominations spoke for the church, and honourable members indulged occasionally in impromptu orations, in consequence of having taken to gibe one another on the work of the session. Mr. Magniac, indeed, would give a premium to the man who makes the shortest speeches, but he would limit the competition to the House of Commons, whereas such an offer might appear quite as becomingly on the prize list of an Agricul- tural Society. At the dinner Colonel Gilpin, M.P., said that foreign animals recently introduced from Holland, after having been passed by inspectors, turned out to be affected by foreign disease — pleuro-pneumonia. My own opinion has been that we cannot keep that diseaseout without sufficient quarantine for store stock and immediate slaughter for fat stock. Our present quarantine of twelve hours is not sufficient to test whether an animal is diseased or not, and I shall consider it my duty, as soon as I get back to London, to call the attention of the Vice-president of the Privy Council to it. Mr. John Hakyey said all agriculturists ought to band to- gether to get redress for the wrong done to them in having the whole of the support of the poor thrown upon the real pro- perty of the country. The PRE.SIDENT said that in the course of his short life he had been called upon to occupy many public positions, but never had felt more compHmented by election to office than when chosen president of this, one of the oldest agricultural societies in the kingdom. For n.any years he had taken a very lively interest in its prosperity, having heartily sympa- thised with its objects. It was founded for the purpose of raising the standard of farming throughout the county, for the encouragement of the agricultural labourer, and rewarding the meretorious. It was inaugurated at a time when there was very little public spirit or enterprise in agricultural affairs. Much ignorance prevailed, and throughout the greater part of the county agriculture was carried on after a most minutive fashion, and the live stock was of the most wretched quality. How much of the great advance which had since taken place was owing to the operation of this society he would not take upon himself to say, but that it had improved it considerably no reflecting mind could doubt. He was glad to know that the Society had better support now than at any former period, and when the benefits it was calculated to confer on the agriculture of the county were more fully known it would be supported in a corresponding ratio. Bedfordshire, from being one of the most backward counties in agriculture, had now become one of the most forward (Mr. Read, M.P. : Hear, jiear). The Member for South Norfolk said "hear, hear ;" when he (Mr. Howard) was in the county of Norfolk, which had a world-wide reputation for agriculture, he came to the conclusion that we in Bedfordshire were, if not superior to Norfolk, at least quite abreast of it. Still, we must not suppose that we have reached perfection. Far from it. Much of the soil of this county, by being deeper and better tilled, was susceptible of being made to raise a larger produce, and by the introduction of a larger amount of capital more meat could be produced. While there was such a scarcity of meat, and while we depended upon foreigners for one-third of our grain supplies, we could not look altogether with com- placency on our agriculture. He believed there was not a practical farmer in that tent who would not agree with him that if all England were farmed like much of tins county we should be a long way towards being independent of foreign supplies. There was one important obstacle, in his opinion, to the further progress of agriculture. He believed that until the tenantry of this country enjoyed a greater security of tenure the resources of the soil would never be fully developed. Fortunately, on the great estates of this county the relations between landlord and tenant were of a most amicable nature, but throughout the great extent of England a different state of things existed. He maintained that six months' notice to quit was altogether incompatible with high farming, and capital would never be attracted to the soil in the way it would be if the tenantry had a vested interest in the im- provements they made. Dr. Lebiig had long asserted, and Mr. Lawes had proved by experiment, that to exhaust the natural fertihty of the soil was absolutely impossible. No amount of bad farming could permanently reduce it, but all that could be taken outof it was " condition," a word the mean- ing of which was known to every man who knew anything of an animal, and this was a fact which every landlord in the kingdom would do well to ponder, and they ought not to hesitate for a moment in consenting to liberal agree- ments with the tenantry. Mr. Harvey had alluded to the revolution, and docrines which had recently been pro- pagated on the land question. He (Mr. Howard) had no fear that the rights of property would be rudely interfered with if landlords did not stand in the way of progress. They knew that the tenants could not run away with their broad acres ; and now it was demonstrated that the worst of tenants could not permanently reduce the fertility of the soil, landowners would do well to consent to liberal covenants with their tenants. Mr. Magniac, M.P., said there were two sides to many questions, and young as he was in the Houss of Commons he thought he had hear it was stated in pretty strong lan- guage that the interetss of landlords and of tenants were not always identical. He did not mean to say tliey were always in antagonism, but wherever there were two interests there were always two views. There was, for instance, the question of leases, the reference to which had been so well received, and there was also the question of the Game-laws. Mr. Harvey had referred to local taxation, but he had heard men who were competent to reason that question out suy that it depended on the rent, and that it was as broad as it was long. Mr. C. S. Read, M.P., said, in answer to Mr. Magniac, that the question of local taxation was not a question between landlord and tenant. Both these were perfectly united, know- ing that local taxation as at present levied was wrong, but the question was whether land and houses should pay the whole of the local taxation, and why all the other property of the country should go scot free. In foreign countries almost all industries, but especially agriculture, looked to the State for protection and encouragement ; in England there was a good saying that if we wanted to do a thing well we must do it ourselves, and his advice to the farmers was, never to go to the Government for anything they could have otherwise. As it was impossible for them as individuals to protect themselves, they therefore united in great agricultural societies, and fore- most amongst these was the Royal Agricultural Society of England. Some time since, in the House of Commons, it was proposed that a department of the Board of Trade should take in hand the prevention of the adulteration of manures and feeding stuffs, but he ventured on that occasion to say that if the matter were left to the agricultural societies they could do better than any Government department, and he was glad that the Royal Society had come forward and exposed the frauds to which farmers had been subjected. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 107 THE ROTAL COUNTIES' (HANTS AND BERKS) AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. MEETING AT PORTSMOUTH. With Guildford within easy hail of Portsmouth, the shows of the Southera Counties and the Royal Counties were this year, as might have been expected, somethiuc,- of an echo the one of the other. But although the Royal Couuties' Meeting is also an open one, it is but of limited scope, with the material mainly supplied from Hampshire, Berkshire, and Sussex. The handsome subscriptions, however, contributed by the town, backed by the tempta- tion of a visit to Southsea, or a trip to Ryde, gave some- thing of gala air to the occasion, that with better weather would have been amply realised. What with soldiers and sailors, there is always some seeing and doing here, while the great agricultural exhibition itself made no par- ticular call on one's time or energies. The opening section — of sheep — was decidedly the strong feature of the show ; the A. 1 . appropriately enough introduciug some capital specimens of Hampshire and west country Downs. Nearly all the best flocks were represented but the RusseUs from Kent, and their absence let in Mr. Morrison for first with the shear- ling as well as the all-aged rams. The great merit, however, was in the old class, where the judges had half-a-dozen really good sheep before them, but with the now famous Fonthill champion still the best. Five rams were here noticed, out of nine entries, a return which speaks emphatically to the excellence of the competition. The shearlings were not so generally admirable, the nice quality of Mr. Morrison's and Mr. Bennett's sheep standing out in strong contrast to some coarse, plain, or still more indifferent, animals. None of those beautiful ewes were sent in from Bulbridge ; and in one class of shearlings there was but oue entry, where the first prize was withheld, the pen being very moderate, and bad about their necks. Of the ewes in the rough, Mr. Pitt's first is just a useful pen, while Mr. Barton's next best are plain sheep, and there was not much to beat. There was a very creditable class of rara-lambs, which offered further proof of how scientifically the lines of the Fonthill flock had been laid ; and the ewe-lambs were all I'eally good. Of Southdowns, again, there was an equally strong show, some of the best Sussex flock- masters, like the Heasmans, Mr. Penfold, Mr. Humphrey, and Mr. Pinnix's executors, being amongst the exhibitors. The Messrs. Heasman are keeping back their best Guild- ford shearling for Wolverhampton, where, as he has gone on well since, and is a smart, stylish ram, he will take a good deal of beating, as, indeed, with the Merton flock out of the way, he would look very like repeating his West of England performance. In his absence, they relied on their heavier sheep, also shown at Guildford, and, at his age and weight, perhaps the biggest Southdown ever shown. He has also plenty of good looks, barring being down in his dock, and he won easily enough here, with another of the same sheep second. In the old class, the Angmering ram had got all wrong in his wool, and so put himself out of it, although he took a commendation at Oxford ; while a shearling was over- weighted in such company. Mr. Penfold, it will be seen, just got a turn the best of it in the two classes, his first ram being a very nice taking sheep forward, of good quality, and the right sort of wool. The Westdean sheep rather disappointed us after all we had heard of them, but they bad evidently not been prepared for exhibition, and should so sell all the better on the dispersion of the flock in the autumn. Mr. Wallis' second prize Oxford Down shearling at Guildford was nowhere at Ports- moutli, aud Mr. Milton Druce's unnoticed Oxford Down shearling at Guildford was second at Portsmouth — so much for difference of opinion. They were both beaten here, in the absence of Mr. Treadwell, by another of jNIr. Wallis' sheep, but we prefer the previous awai-d. The first here has the better frame, but he is weak and bad about his head, and altogether wants the masculine character of the other. There was nothing to oppose Mr. Druce's pen of Oxford ewes, and there were no entries of Leicesters ; while Mr. Mayo made up with two rams the show of Dorset horns; and the Gilletts had only the Wheelers to beat for Cotswolda. Lord Chesham and Mr. Wood competed in the two classes of Shropshires ; aud a Latimer shearling, unnoticed at Guildford, now beat Mr. Wood, who was first in the class at Guildford ! But it was pretty clear at the time that the long-wool West of England judges had no business amongst the Shropshires, where Lord Chesham looks like working up again to his previous position. The prize Hampshire Down and Southdown fat wethers were particularly good pens ; while in the cross-bred class and fat lambs there were no entries beyond those to which the several premiums were duly awarded. The best Shorthorn bull at Guildford, Mr. Soff"e's Lord Morpeth, was the best again here, as there can be no mistake abont his being a very good showy animal, but there was not much to beat amongst the few things op- posed to him. The two-year-olds were as indifferent, Mr. Walter's first having some quality, but standing out at his shoulder points, and Lord Aylesford's second being bad in his touch, and poor and meau in his appearance. Of cows there were only three entries, Mr. Mnmford's first having the remains of good looks aud nice character, but showing age in sundry humps and dips ; while Mr. Nicholson breeds his Shorthorns of the largest, entering a bull, cow, and heifei, all of great scale, and all winners. His heifer, indeed, deep, square, and straight, won out- right in the best filled class of the breed, where a number of commendations, beyond 'Mr. Young's very close second, were deservedly bestowed. Messrs. Heasman and Turvill were the only exhibitors of Sussex cattle, the two bulls. Young ilartin and Southampton having been first and second at Guildford, but with their positions reversed at Portsmouth, where they reversed eveiythiug they could. Mr. Taylor's Devons are very admirable, and his steer should bring him further honours fi-om the Smithfield Club. There was quite a numerous entry of Channel Island bulls, with sundry commendations attached to the actual award, but Lord Chesham's best of all is hardly a prize bull, although with plenty of good about him in places. His Lordship also won with a very nice heifer, and an- other noble lord — Bolton — showed a sweet, high-bred cow, as deservedly the best of her class, and from which they have been breeding. It is becoming more and more evident that for quality of butter you must have a taste of the Alderney, although as they argue in Warwickshire such kind of cattle are not " suitable for the district." Mr. Humfrcy with Berkshires, and the Duckerings in the other classes had all the best of a good show of pigs, where it was Berks and Hauls against All-England. The 108 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. best large boar and the best large sow, the best small boar and the best small sow, have all been out already this season at Glasgow, Guildford, and Romford and have never been beaten. Then Mr. Humfrey's best Berkshire was best at Guildford, and it was only occasionally that other exhibitors like the "Wheelers and Mr. Druce with his blacks ever got a turn. In the pairs of sows the Berkshire winners were rather gaUy marked, while 3Ir, Humfrey was actually the exhibitor of a white pig, one of Mr. Eden's breed, which, however, was bought for a friend and is not to leave his mark behind him at King- stone. But the physiology of breeding tells of all kinds of freaks as the results following from mere impression. The catalogue of the Royal Counties Society is illustrated. Thus, there is an engraving of a Hampshii-e Down on the title-page, of a prick-eared pig as the head-piece to his section, of a cart-horse rampant in a fitting place, and a sketch of two or three steeple-chase nags, charg- ing a fence, by way of introduction to the hunter and hack classes. Unfortunately, as we fear, the judges were not allowed to have a look at this pretty picture ujitil too late, for they commenced their duties over the hunters by actually ordering clean out of the ring the only animal that looked like going a pace over a country. This was Mr. Pallin's Merlin, a well-bred, light, corky sort of horse, with a clean knowing head, beautifully laid shoul- ders, and a wiry wearing look about him, as bound up to a certain weight to lose anything shown against him. In fact, there was not otherwise a hunter in the class, for the bay mare, useful and slow, has her heavy neck put on aU wrong, whUe for a second they hung as long as they could to a whistling, cramped-action animal, which at best was but a machiner. However, Mr. Perkins' wonderfully clevei- grey galloway, as smart and true as a model, fairly placed himself, and Mr. King's second was another neat one, as was a very varmint bay pony, the property of Mr. WarreU. Mr. Canning's prize hack, and his prize hunter, had both the looks of nice riding- horses ; while there was a wretched pig of a thing exhi- bited amongst the galloways, apparently a cross between a Suffolk cart-horse and a pony, which the judges did not order out, but looked at so hard, and sent round so often, that we had really some hopes they were going to give her a prize, their line clearly being for beef at any price. This had been just previously demonstrated by the de- cision over the class of cart-mares or geldings in work, when their choice fell on a great sour-headed animal, with something of the action, as well as the shape, of an ele- phant, and the worse he went the more they seemed to like him. But then, no doubt he would scale more than anything else, and tested by avoirdupois weight the award was possibly correct enough. Barring the win- ner there were some very creditable teamsters in this class, to one of which — a very nice mare of good quality — the judges awarded a second prize, without, as it would seem, the power to do so, as the lists only spoke to one premium. Mr. Woodman did not send his Clydes- dale, and the prizes for all-aged stallions were withheld, while a couple of growing colts were the best two-year- olds. A fine showy mare of Mr. Terry's, despite a very poor foal, was still in her place at the head of the class, but it was hard to understand how the plain -headed, greasy-heeled thing, put second, was preferable to Mr. Woodman's level good mare, backed by a smart foal. Amongst the extra stock Colonel Raines, of the 95th, showed "a very high caste pure Arab, 15 hands high," who was deservedly commended as a smart, flashy, light dra- goon sort of charger ; the Colonel also sending for inspec- tion a Cashmere ram, whose body and bones seem devoted to " silky wool," while he carries all his mutton in his tail ; and further, an Indian ram with a black head and twisted horn, and growing "very strong fine wool," Colonel Raines completed bis entry of certainly very "extra" stock with " a blue cow, or Neilguy of India, the link between the cow and deer, having a deer's head and cow's tail." This animal takes a deal more after the deer than the cow, but her peculiarities should supply a very welcome link in Mr. Darwin's history of how everything is descended from something else. It would be difficult to imagine anything more pro- vokingly primitive than the conduct of a Royal Counties Show. The judges, we believe, begin at nine o'clock, and the high-price paying public is admitted at ten, by which time, of course, the awards over some of the most interest- ing of the classes have been settled. As, however, many of the prizes are never announced until very late in the day, if even then, it is clear that the high-price paying public has a deal the worst of the bargain, as that a man gets more information by paying a shilling on Thursday, than he can for half-a-crown on the Wednesday. Continual were the complaints of exhibitors v.ho were kept for hom's in ignorance of their fate, and had it not been for the kindness of the judges, who placed theii* books at our disposal, it would have been simply imposible to have " done" the show. Blue and red rosettes were certainly given out in the horse ring, but then the numbers were either attached to the inner-side of the horses' heads, where you could not see them, or occasionally stuck on to the top of the tail, or anywhere that a playful fancy might suggest. The stall numbers again were carefully hidden from the view, instead of being at the head of each beast, or pen ; and, in fact, as a means of withholding all possible information, the system looked to be about as perfect as it well could be. As almost every other man, more- over, had some badge of office about him, these regula* tions of coarse were very efficiently carried out. There were poultry and flower shows and military bands, as matters of course, whilst those famous seeds- men, the Suttons of Reading and the Carters from Holboru, gave eft'ect to the scene with their palatial stands of tastily arranged roots, seeds, grasses, and so forth — kind of half-way houses as they are between the rearing of stock and the cultivation of the soil. In- tent on the latter service there was a small but useful ex- hibition of machinery, backed by trials of mowers and ploughs, and with steam engines put to work ou the ground by the following firms : Taskei's, Humphries, Clayton and Shuttleworth, Wallis and Stevens, Marshall of Gainsborough, and Yosper of Portsmouth, who en- tered for trial steam pumps and boilers. Amongst the collections Mr. Sutton, so long and so well known all over the country as Messrs. Howards' representative, but who has now settled down at Shirley by Southampton, had many of the best houses entered in his list, such as Clayton and Shuttleworth, Richmond and Chandler, the Howards of Bedford, Coleman aud Morton, Bentall, and Crosskill, with reapers and mowers from Samuelsou, Wood, and Hornsby. The other firms with stands of their own were Cannings, of Finchdean ; Keudell, of Blaudford ; Tasker and Sons ; Budd, Cosham ; Burgess and Key ; Hetherington and Moor, Alton ; Chase, Chi- chester ; Picksley, Sims, and Co. (Limited) ; The Read- ing Iron Works Company (Limited) ; Duffield, Loudon ; Smith, Basingstoke ; Bradford and Co., Fleet-street ; Fames, Midhurst ; Wallis and Steevens ; Hobbs, Basing- stoke; Fowler and Co., Leeds; Cheale and Son, Lewes: Dodge, Thames-street; Mitchell and Co., Manchester; Hathaway, Chippenham; Spong and Co., London; Brown and May, Devizes ; Baker, Compton ; Bell, Ox- ford-street ; Walter Wood, Thames-street ; Kearsley, Ripon; aud Sawney, of Beverley; with sundry com- panion exhibitions of sewing machines, T. carts, soda- watcr taps, mouse traps, types, aud such like " fancy THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 109 goods," which have no very direct connection with an agricultural meeting. The ploughing was on sainfoin ley, and the soil was of a kind and in a condition to show off the skill of the men and the qualities of the ploughs to the best advantage. The double-furrow competition excited the greatest inte- rest, though this wonld have been much increased had it been a competition in reality as well as name. A veiy short trial enabled the judges to decide in this class. In the single-furrow plough class Howards' were in competition with Hobbs' and Ransomes' ; but it was to be regretted that Ransomes' professional ploughman was not engaged, as the local'man, though a good plough- man, could not compete with the professional. In the farmers' class some good ploughing was also shown. After the match was concluded, Mr. Sutton showed a Howards' double-plough with one body taken off and a subsoiler tine substituted at work. The judges were so satisfied with the merit of the plough used with subsoil, that they desired a special prize should be awarded, to which the officers cordially agreed, and Mr. Sutton, of Shirley, who superintended these trials was awarded two guineas. There were also some trials of mowers, where Samuelson and Wood ran a dead heat. PRIZE LIST. Judges. Sheep. — H. I'ooks, Whitecburch, Blandford ; E. Olding, TVoodford, Salisbury ; H. Bone, Avon, Ringwood. Horses. — J. B. Spearing, Hurst, Wokingham ; W. Wheatley, Reading ; W. C. Spoouer, Eling, Southamptou. Cattle and Pigs. — A. Craddock, Lamborune ; W. Chani- piou, Reading ; G. Game, Church HUl, Cliipping Norton. Poultry. — J. Bailey, Mount-street, London. Mowing Machine Competition. — W. Chalcraft, Liphook ; C. Clark, Clanfield, Horndean. Ploughing. — J. TiirvUl, Hartley Mandit, Alton ; G. Pittis, Wymering. SHEEP. HAIIPSUIRE AND WEST COUNTRY DOWNS. Shearling rams. — First prize, £10, A. Morrison, Fonthill- house, Tisbury ; second, £5, W. F. Bennett, ChUmark, Salis- bury ; third, £3, J. Moore, Littlecot, Pewsey. Highly com- mended : W. F. Beanett. Rams of any age. — First prize, £5, "A. Morrison ; second, £3, J. Rawlance, Bulbridge, Wilts. Highly commended : J. Moore. Commended : J. and M.Arnold, Westmeon, Petersfield, and J. Barton. Shearling ewes. — Second prize, £5, A. Budd, Overton, Hants (one entry). Sliearling ewes of the same flock, which have never been housed and clean shorn. — First prize, £10, W. E. Fitt; se- cond, £5, J. Barton. Hiifhly commended : Rev. T. J. Torr, Danmer House, Basingstoke. Commended : F. S. Schwann, North Houghton, Stockbridge. Ram lambs. — First prize, £8, A. Morrison; second, £5, J. Moore; third, £3, W. F. Bennett, Chilmark, Salisbury. Highly commended : W. Lunu, Woolding Farm, Whitehurst. Ewe lambs. — First prize, £5, F. S. Schwann ; second, £3, A. Budd. Highly commended : F. S. Schwann. The class commended. southdowns. Shearling rams. — First prize, £10, J. E. and A. Heasman, Angmering, Arundel ; second, £5, J. E. and A. Heasman ; third, £3, H. Penfold, Selse.y, Chichester. Highly commended : H. Humphrey. Ram of any age. — First prize, £8, H. Penfold ; second, £5, H. Penfold ; third, £3, A. T. Newman, executor of the late Mr. J. A. Pinuie, Westdean, Chichester. Highly commended : A. T. Newman. Shearling ewes. — First prize, £10, S. W. Seward, Weston, Petersfield ; second, £5, G. Pittis, Wymering, Cosliam. OXFORDSHIRE DOWNS. ShearliDg rams.^First prize, £10, G. Wallis, Old Shifford, Bampton, Farringdon ; second, £5, A. F. M. Druce, Burgh" field, Reading. Commended : A. F. M. Druce. ShearUng ewes.— Prize, £5, A. F. M. Druce (one entry). SHROPSHIRE DOWNS. Shearling rams. — First prize, £10, Lord Chesham, Latimer, Chesham; second, £5, H. Wood, Woolley House, Romsey. Higlily commended : Lord Chesham. Shearling ewes.— Prize, £5, Lord Chesham; Highly com- mended : II. Wood. cotswolds. Shearling rams. — First prize, £10, Executors of the late Mr. Thomas Gillett, Kilkenny, Farringdon, Berks; second, £5, Executors of Mr. T. GUlett. ShearUug ewes. — No entry. LEiCESTERS. — No entries. SOMERSET AND DORSET HORNS. Shearling rams. — First and second prizes, H. Mayo, Coker's Farm, Dorchester. ShearUng ewes,— No entrj'. FAT SHEEP. HAMPSHIRE OR WEST COUNTRY DOWNS. Five fat wethers. — First prize, £5, A. Morrison ; second, £3, J. and M. Arnold. SOUTHDOWNS. Five fat wethers. — First prize, £5, H. H. Penfold; second, £3, J. E. and A. Heasman. Highly commended : W. Taylor, Glynley, Westham, Susses. CROSS-BREDS. Five fat wethers. — First prize, £5, and second, £3, C. B. Smith, Wickham, Hants (two entries). Fat lambs of any breed, bred by exhibitor. — First prize, £3 3s., W. E. Fitt ; second, B% 2s., J. Wigg, New-street, Basing, stoke (two entries). HORSES. C.UITEKS. Stallion, foaled before 1869. — No merit. Stallion, foaled in 1869.— First prize, £10, J. Butler, Sher- field Court, Basingstoke; second, £5, J. E. and A. Heasman. Commended : W. E. Fitt and 0. C. Richards, West Stratton, Micheldever. Mare and foal.— First prize, £10, S. H. Terry, Weston Patrick, Odiham ; second, £5, E. W. Snook, Bognor. Highly commended : R. J. Woodman, Southease, Lewes. Three-year-old filly. — Prize, £8, A. P. Martin (only entrv). Filly foaled in 1869.— No entry. Mare or gelding. — First prize, £5, J, C. Leather, Portsea ; extra prize, J. Stubbs, West Tisted, Alresford. Highly com- mended : T. Watson, Kingston Farm, Portsmouth. Com- mended : J. Stubbs ; W. H. Dunn, Standen Manor, Hunger- ford. HUNTERS. Mare or gelding of any age. — First prize, T. 11. Hulbert, Old Alresford, Hants ; second, £5, J. Canning, Sutton Scot- ney, Micheldever. Highly commended: W. W. Curtis, jun., Higliland House, Portsmouth. HACKS. Mare or gelding not exceeding 15 bauds high, and calculated to carry 12 stone. — First prize, £10, E. W. Snook, Middleton House, Bognor ; second, £5, J. Turvill, Hartley Park Farm, Alton. Commended: H. C. Earle, West Leigh, Havant. PONIES. Mare or gelding not exceeeding 14 hands high. — First prize, £6, W. Perkins, Southampton ; second, £3, W. D. King, Chiltley Farm, Lipliook. Highly commended : W. E. Fitt. Mare or gelding not exceeding 12 hands high. — First prize, £6, S. Warrell, Portsmouth ; second, £3, A. Ede, Swarthling, Southampton. Highly commended : G. Curtis. CATTLE. Shorthorn bull.— First prize, £10, R. Soffe, Hams, East- leigh, Southampton ; second, £5, W. Nicholson, Basing Park, Alton, Hants. Shortliorn bull, under three years. — First prize, £5, J. Walter, M.P., Bearwood, Wokingham ; second, £3, Marquis of Ailesbury, Savennake. Commended : H. E. Raynbird, Lower Mill farm, Old Basing. I 2 110 THE FARMEK'S MAGAZINE. Shorthorn cow in calf, or if iu milk having had a calf.— First prize, £10, J. A. Mumford, Chilton, Thame ; second, £5, W. Nicholson. Shorthorn heifer, under three years.— First prize, £5, W. Nicholson ; second, £3, G. Young, Ashey Farm, Brading, Tsle of Wight. Highly commended : H. Armstrong, Peckham. Commended : H. Armstrong and H. Raynbird. Sussex bull of any age. — First prize, £5, Messrs. Heasman ; second, «3, J. Turvill, Alton. Sussex cow in calf, or if in milk having had a calf within six months. — First prize, £5, Messrs. Heasman ; second, £3, J. TurviU. Devon bull of any age. — Prize, £5, W. Taylor (only entry). Devon cow. — Prize, £5, W. Taylor (only entry). Channel Islands bull of any age. — First prize, £5, Lord Chesham ; second, H. Drewitt, Milvill, Tichfield. Highly commended : J. Walter, M.P., and G. Deller, Odiham. Com- mended : Miss Malcom, Beechwood, Lyndhurst ; J. Willis Fleming, Chelworth Manor, Rorasey. Channel Islands cow. — First prize, £5, Lord Bolton, Hack- wood Park, Basingstoke ; second, £3, H. Drewitt. Channel Islands heifers. — First prize, £5, Lord Chesham ; second, £3, H. Drewitt. TAT STOCK. Fat ox or steer of any breed. — Prize, £3, W. Taylor, Devon. Highly commended : W. Nicholson and C. J. Walter. Fat cow or heifer of any breed.— Prize, £5, W. H. Dunn. Commended : R. Soffe. PIGS. Berkshire boar of any age. — First prize, £5, H. Humphrey, Kingstone Farm, Shrivenhara ; second, £3, C. Barton, Sher- borne, Basingstoke. Highly commended : J. Walter, M.P. Berkshire sow of any age. — First and second prizes, H. Humfrey. Highly commended : The Marquis of Ailesbury. The class commended. Pair of boars under six months. — No entry. Pair of sows under six months. — First prize, £4, H. Hum- frey ; second, £3, Wheeler and Sons, Long Corapton,Shipton- on-Stour. Highly commended : J. Canning, Sutton Scotney, Micheldever. Commended : The Marquis of Ailesbury. Boar of any age, large breed, not being Berkshire. — i?irst prize, £5, R. E. Duckeriug and Sons, Northope, Kirton Lind- say ; second, £3, J. Wheeler and Sons. Breeding sow of any age. — Firit prize, £5, Messrs. Ducker- ing ; second, £3, J. Wheeler. Boar of any age, small breed, not being Berkshire. — First prize, £5, Messrs. Duckering ; second, A. F. M. Druce. Commended : J. Wheeler and Sons. Breeding sow of any age, small breed. — First prize, £5, R. E. Duckering and Son; second, £3, J. Wheeler and Sons. Highly commended : Colonel Portal, Soutbington, Overton. Commended : J. Wheeler and Sons. Pair of boars, under six months. — First prize, £i, R. E. Duckering and Son ; second, £3, W. H. Dunn. Pair of sows, under six months. — First prize, £4, J. Wheeler and Sous ; second, £3, W. B. Boxall, Strathtieldsays. EXTR.V STOCK. Kyloe cow. — A. Cooper Sayers, Croft House, Bisliopstoke, highly commended. Heifer, a cross between the Kyloe and Jersey. — A. Cooper Sayers, highly commended. Hack stallion. — G. Chase, llook Grange, Titchfield, Fare- ham, highly commended (I'erformer). Arab. — Col. Raines, C.B., 95th Regiment, Gosport, highly commended. Ram, Indian breed. — Col. Raines, highly commended as a curiosity. Cashmere ram. — Col. Raines, liighly commended as a curiosity. Blue cow, of Neilguy, of India. — Col. Raines, highly com- mended as a curiosity. IMPLEMENTS. MOWING MACHINES. First prizes, 3 gs. each, to Samuelson and Co., Brittanuia Works, I3aubury ; and Walter A. Wood, 77, Upper Tliames- street, London ; second, 2 gs., Picksley, Sims, and Co., Leigh, Manchester, Highly Commended ; Reading Iron Works Company. PLOUGHS. First prize, £3, J. C. Sutton, Shirley, Southampton (How- ard) ; second, £2, P. and W. Hobbs, Basingstoke (Raisome and Sims). Farmers^ Class. First prize, £3, G. E. Kent, North End, Portsea (Howard) ; second, £3, G. E. Kent, (Howard). DOUBLE FURROW PLOUGHS. Prize of 3 gs., J. and F. Howard, Bedford. At the dinner Sir J. D. H. Elphi.\sto>'e, Bart., M.P., said the show of stock was not quite so numerous as he had been accustomed to see, living, as he did, where they devoted their energies almost entirely to the production of high-priced stock, but he had seen many animals in the showyard of great merit. There was a class in which he was more particularly interested, and he could not describe his admiration of several pens of Southdowns, such as he had seldom seen. They had tried in Scotland to introduce the Southdown, as nearly allied to their own mountain breed, but they had not had success until the Duke of Richmond settled amongst them and intro- duced the higher class of Soutlidowns, which were now almost acclimatised in the north of Scotland. But he had seldom seen any finer points in that breed, or more perfect specimens than he had seen in the showyard that day,'and he thought that one or two pens of those animals were about as perfect as it was possible for sheep to be. Lord Northbrook, the chairman, said it must be to their advantage, as an agricultural association, to come into these great centres of business, and to be put in communication with business men who were in the habit of going a little faster than they, agricultural men, were, and where more of the popula- tion were in the habit of collecting than in smiiller, although more agricultural, centres. There could not be a greater proof of this than in the large increase of space this year occupied by machinery and implements. At the last exhibitions only one half the space was allotted for machinery that there was this year. He had seen many shows, and never was there an exhibition in which there were better pens of sheep than in this one to-day. With respect to this society he might say that tliey were very much satisfied with the progress they had made of late years. Tliis was only the tentii show they had held, and up to two years ago they had only a one day's show. Last year it was a two days' show. They used to confine their operations to agricultural towns, but they had extended them to this town and to a three days' show, and they hoped with in- creased success. Tiie Mayor of Portsmouth said: The men of the town heartily rejoiced in the fact that their brethren iu the counties were about to manage, in a very large degree, their own business, because, if he had observed things aright, he had discovered that the gentlemen who generally managed county matters were men of high position, who were so absorbed and taken away from tlie little details of ordinary life, that it would be a great relief to them if those of ordinary capacity and moderate position iu life were left to fulfil those duties. There could be no earthly reason why in the county they should not have representative bodies, as they had in the boroughs, and he heartily congratulated their agricultural friends on the certainty of their h.aviug representative boards, which would become large and important bodies in tiie v.arious counties in which they lived. Mr. G.ScLATER-BooTn,M.P.,said: The Mayor congratulated them on the speedy prospect of exercising functions similar to tliose he discharged. While he appreciated the importance of his compliment he must remind him that the parishes and unions in the county had long since enjoyed and exercised administra- tive functions which were far more important iu their way than those exercised for the country at large. Sir James El- phinson, had commented upon the specimens of Southdowns, with which he had been familiar iu iiis own county of Aber- deen, through the introduction of them by his neighbour, the Duke of Richmond. He was glad to hear from one whose opinion was worth having on the subject, tiiat the capital breeds of their own Hampshire Down Sheep had always been ex- tremely well represented, and it was a matter of cougatulatiou to his friends wlio came from the chalk district to have their excellent animals appreciated by so large and intelligent nu army of spectators. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE, 111 NORFOLK AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. MEETING AT EAST DEREHAM. Time was when this Society restricted its meetings to one day only, and vibrated pendulum-like between two towns — Norwich and Swaffham — the former being sup- posed to represent East Norfolk, and the latter West Norfolk interests. But some ten years since the Society, possibly with a certain amount of fear and trembling, made the great experiment of moving from point to point. The first start was to East Dereham, and now to East Dereham the Association has returned. In the course of time, it has gone to Fakenham, Lynn, Yarmouth, Harles- ton, Attleborough, and Downham ; but it has never yet pitched its tents at Diss, and, from the absence of railway communication, it has given North Walsham a wide berth. The effect of peregrination has been veiy beneficial, for, while under the old see-saw system of Norwich and Swaffham, and Swaffham and Norwich, the attendance was comparatively small, and the number of Norfolk exhibitors, properly so-called, might almost be counted on one's fingers, the shows of the association have now been popularised to an extent which renders them much more lucrative to the Society's exchequer, while the in- direct influence of the meetings — and this is of more im- portance— upon the progress of Norfolk agriculture, so far as stock breeding is concerned, has been very materi- ally and very beneficially increased. The meetings of the Society have also become more hond fide Norfolk shows, properly so-called. There is room for further im- provement in this particular ; still, when we find, as we did on Wednesday and Thursday, that Norfolk con- tributed 364 out of 456 entries of beasts, sheep, horses, and pigs, we can but come to the conclusion that Norfolk farmers are, to a much greater extent than hitherto, de- voting their attention to the breeding of animals which they consider good enough to stand the test of pbhlic exhibition and public criticism. This season a new breeder of live stock has appeared at the Norfolk and East Anglian Shows in Mr. J. J. Oolman, M.P. for Norwich, and an active partner in the great mustard-making, starch-making, flour-making, and paper-making house of J. and J. Colman, of Cannon- street. Whatever the Colmans attempt they seem to carry out with success ; and, thanks to a very excellent steward, a very long purse, and a large measure of per- sonal good sense, Mr. Colman has stepped at once into the front rank as a live-stock exhibitor in the eastern dis- trict. The Prince of Wales seems to have also gone in for sheep-breeding upon his Saudringham property ; but thus far His Royal Highness has not proved particularly successful, having merely secured one or two commenda- tions at the East Dereham Show. In Shorthorns Norfolk was never noticeably strong ; but, with the help of Lady Pigot, Mr. How, of Broughton, and Mr. Tljison, of Essex, a few respectable, but not very numerous classes were made up. The first prize for old bulls was taken by Hogarth the Second, so well known at these meetings when the property of Mr. Kersey Cooper. One of the most prominent prizes was thus re- tained in Norfolk; but the prize-list will show that almost all the other Shorthorn premiums went either to Branches Park or somewhere else out of Norfolk. Thanks to the efforts of Lord Sondes and other gentlemen much greater prominence has been achieved at the Norfolk meetings of late years by the Norfolk and Sufiblk red polled breed, and these showed to much advantage here. The cows all appeared good dairy animals, while the bullocks had capital chines and good backs, although per- haps somewhat deficient in the springing of the ribs and in their hind-quarters. The class appears sufficiently numerous to justify the appointment of separate judges ; as the matter was arranged, it seemed to be thought that gentlemen accustomed to Shorthorns were scarcely suited to give decisions over a comparatively local breed. The cross-breds comprised some Shorthorn and Ayrshires and Shorthorn and Norfolk Polled. The fat stock embraced a few Highland Scots, Polled Scots, Shorthorns, Here- fords, and Norfolk Red Polled. The competition was, however, only weak under this head ; at the same time, Mr. Colman's prize Shorthorn was a capital one. A ten- guinea prize given by the Prince of Wales for the best fat heifer was won by a handsome level Shorthorn. In the horse department Norfolk appeared to more advantage than at any former period. In the agricultural classes the entries fifteen or twenty years since were usually so weak that the Norfolk portion of the company at the dinner was generally periodically chaffed by the judges for their shortcomings under this head, more especially if one of the judges happened to come from Sufi'olk, which makes a speciality of its cart stock. Now the tables have positively been turned, and this year Mr. Taylor, one of the judges, came out with a remark that although Suffolk horses might be nice ornaments to parks, they were not useful to farmers ; that they could not be compared with horses from the shires ; that a pony might as well be compared to a hunter, and so on. As regards the nags, Mr. Barker, from Essex, did not put in an appearance ; but Major Barlow was, as usual, at his post, and Brennus, the reserve number at Romford, carried off the prize for the best thoroughbred stallion. Through some mistake of the management he was placarded for a time as only second best, and, of course, there was some- thing of a row Royal on the correction being made. The light-weight carrying hunters comprised some capital horses, and although Mr. Bennett, one of the judges, did not express entire satisfaction with the heavy-weights, there can be no question but the Dereham " nag" show will rank as one of the best of the year. To revert for a moment to the agricultural horse stock it may be re- marked that Norfolk cart horses have now been consti- tuted by the Society into a separate division, and the Norfolk farmers have come out strongly under this head, and contributed to the Dereham show a good contingent of hearty active animals. As regards the sheep and pigs, the Merton Southdowns were not much missed, as Lord Walsingham did not exhibit of late about home; but Lord Sondes from Elmham, and the Prince of AVales from Saudringham, came bravely to the rescue ; and the omnipresent Mr. Colman also proved that he had dabbled in Southdowns in his usual enterprising fashion, having gone for inspiration to the flocks of Lord Sondes and Sir W. Throckmorton. Mr. Giblin came all the way from Essex with a grand long-wooUed ram ; but in the long-woolled classes Mr. T. Brown of INIarham swept oft', as usual, pretty well all the prizes. The miscellaneous sheep comprised some capital Oxford Downs, shown by Mr. II. Overman of Weasenham, the son, it will be remembered, of one of 112 THE FAKMER'S MAGAZINE. the most eminent Southdown sheep-breeders of the cen- tuiy. In the pig department the Duckeriugs, the Stearns, and the Sextons had most of the prizes ; the Rev. T. L. Pellowes kept one of the premiums, however, in Norfolk with a white boar, of the " small" breed, weighing only a trifle of 25 stone, and yet not unmeldy from a pig- eonuoisseui-'s point of view. Mr. Everett of Bridgham also showed a fiae boar of the large breed. The exhibitors of implements comprised : Messrs. Baker, "Wisbeach ; Baker, Lynn ; Bowles, East Dereham Bradford and Co., 63, Fleet-street ; BurreU, Thetford Cornish, AValsingham ; Dyball, Weaseuham ; Dodman Lynn ; Enller, East Dereham ; Garrett and Son, Leiston T. Gidney, East Dereham ; Gill, East Dereham ; Hamb ling and Son, East Dereham ; Holmes and Sons, Norwich T. Le Fevre, Norwich ; Marshall, Sons, and Co. (limited), Gainsborough ; Maude and Walker, Shrewsbury ; Murton and Turner, Kenninghall ; Rainforth and Son, Brayford Head, Lincoln ; Randall, North Walsham ; Rands and Jeckell, Ipswich ; Readwin, Fakenham ; Riches, Nor- wich ; Riches and Watts, Norwich ; Roby and Co. (limited), Lincoln ; Savage, Lynn ; Thorn, Norwich ; Woods, Cocksedge, and Warner, Stowmarket ; Howes and Sons, Norwich ; Baly, Sutton, and Co., Norwich ; Hills, Sudbury ; Hubbard, East Dereham ; King, Cog- geshaU ; Packard and Co., Ipswich ; Townsend, Ford- ham, Cambridgeshire. The judges awarded a silver medal to Burgess and Key for their self-raking reaper ; [and a silver medal to Riches and Watts for Howard's self-acting lever-rake. They also highly commended Maude and Walker's water-tight galvanized iron cattle- crib ; Mr. Redwin's set of team - hai-ness for four horses, with chain trace ; and Woods, Cocksedge, and Warner's one-horse gear with separate intermediate motion. PRIZE LIST. Judges. Cattle.— J. K, Fowler, Aylesbury; M. Savage, Sarsden Lodge, Oxon. NoKroLK. Cart Horses.— J. H. Plowright, Manea, Cam' bridge ; B. Taylor, Peterborough. Cakt Horses of a>-x Breed.— W. Godson, Normanby-by' Slow, Lincoln; H. W. Martin, Littleport, Cambridge. Thorodghbred a:xd Hujn'ti^'g Horses. — J. E. Bennet, Bosworth Grange, Rugby ; G. Higgins, Castle Close, Bed ford. Hackney ajn-d Riding Horses jou) Ponies.— T. Percival Wansford ; \V. Stunt, Gillingham, Kent. SouTHDOW^i Sheep.— F. Budd, Hatch Warren, Basingstoke; Hants ; B. H. Masfen, Pendeford, Wolverhampton. LONG-WOOLLED AND CROSSBRED SuEEP. — J. H. CaSWell. Laughton, Folkingharo, Lincoln; W. Game, Cirencester PiGS.—J. Moon, Plymouth. Impiejients.— T. Chambers, Colkirk, Norfolk ; J. Fergusson, Brettenham, Norfolk. CATTLE. SHORTHORNS. BnU above three years old. — First prize, £10 and silver medal, Thomas Rose, Great Melton (Hogarth the 2nd) ; se- cond, £7, Rev. J. N. Micklethwaite (Theodoras). Bull above two years old. — First prize, £10 and silver medal. Lady Pigot, Branches Park (Bytliis) ; second, £7, Lady Pigot (Victor Rex). Yearling bull.— First prize (Prince of Wale's), £10 10s. and siver medal, J. Upson, Rivenhall, Essex (Prince Lincoln) ; second, £7, Lady Pigot (Gunpowder) ; third, £i, N. Catch- pole, Bramford, Suffolk (Oxford Prize). DAIRY CATTLE. Cow above three years old. — First prize, £10 and silver medal, James How, Broughton, Hunts (Windsor's Butterfly) ; second, £7, N. Catchpole (Daisy) ; third, £4, Rev, J. L. Brereton, Little Massingham (Stranger). Heifers above two years old.— First prize, £10 and silver medal, N. Catchpole (Coronet) ; second, £7, L ady Pigot (Dame Swift). Yearling heifers.— First prize, £8 and silver medal, N. Catchpole (Lady Lubbock) ; second, £5, Lady Pigot (Dame Prudence) ; third, £3, J. How (Verona). NOREOLK AND SLTEOLK RED POLLED. Bull above three years old. — First prize, £10 and silver medal, and cup £10, B. Brown, Thursford (Norfolk Doke) ; second, £7, Sir W. Jones, Cranmer Hall (Duke) ; third, £4, J. J. Colman, M.P., Norwich (Cherry Duke). Highly com- mended : Lord Sondes. BuU above two years old. — First prize, £10 and silver medal. Lord Sondes, Elmham ; second, £7, B. Brown (Bailiff) ; third, £4, Lord Sondes. Commended : T. Brown, Marham . Yearling bull. — First prize, a£10 and silver medal, G. M. Nicholson, Elmham (Nobleman) ; second, £7, J. Hammond, Bale (The Baron) ; third, £4, J. J. Colman, M.P., Easton Duke). DAIRY CATTLE. Cow above three years old. — First prize, £10 and silver medal, J. Hammond (Buttercup) ; second, £7, H. Smith, Honmgham (Rosy) ; third, £4, B. Brown (Covintess). Highly commended : J. J. Colman, M.P. Heifers above two years. — First prize, £10 and silver medal, Sir W. Jones, Cranmer Hall (Cherry) ; second, £7, B. Brown (Countess) ; third, £4, J. Hammond (Davy the 4th). Highly commended : Lord Sondes. The class commended. Heifers above one year. — First prize, £S and sUver medal, J. Hammond (Bessie) ; second, £5, J. J. Colman, M.P. (Rose Bud). Highly commended : B. Brown. Commended: Lord Sondes. CROSSBREDS. Cows above three years old. — First prize, £10 and silver medal, J. Morton, Stow (Spot) ; second, £7, P. J. Sharman, Seaming (Nugget) ; third, £4, H. Overman, Weasenham. Highly commended : H. Overman. Commended : H. Over- man. Heifers above two years old. — First prize, £10 and silver medal, H. Overman (Handsome) ; second, £7, H. Overman (Butterfly). Heifers above one year old. — First prize, £8 and silver medal, J. Morton (Moss Rose) ; second, £5, G. M. Nicholson ; third, £3, J. Baly, Hardingham (PoUy). Highly commended : J. Morton and H. Overman. CALVES. Three calves not exceeding six months old, bred in Norfolk. —Prize, £5 and silver medal. Lord Sondes. Highly com- mended : G. M. Nicholson. EAT CATTLE. Steer above three years old, — First prize, £8 and silver medal, J. J. Colman, M.P. (Briton) ; second, £5, J. J. Col- man, M.P. (Easton Glory). Steer not above three years old. — First prize, £3 and silver medal, J. How, Broughton ; second, £5, R. Wortley, Suf- field. Cow or heifer above three years old,— First prize, £5 5s. and silver medal, J. J. Colman, M.P. Heifers not above three years old. — Prize, £5 and sUver medal, and Prince of Wales' prize of £10 10s., W. How, Tottington. HORSES. NORPOLK CART HORSES. Stallion. — First prize, £15 and silver medal, and £15, W. Welcher, West Tofts (Honest Tom) ; second, £7, J. Taylor, Walpole St. Peter (Young Matchless) ; tliird, £4, J. Howell, Runcton Holme (Young Thumper). Three years old stallion. — First prize, £10 10s. and silver medal, J. How, Denver (Farmer's Glory) ; second, £7, W. Matthew, Carbrooke (Young Bardolph) ; third, £4, F. Spel- man, Tivetshall (Ploughboy). Two years old stallion. — First prize, £S and silver medal, R. K. FoUey, Sutton, Lincolnshire (Long Major) ; second, £5, F. Spelman (Drayman) ; third, £3, L. J. Palmer, Snetter- ton (Judge). Yearhug entire colt.— First prize, £7 and silver medal, L. J. Palmer; second, £4, W. Welcher (Prince of Wales). Mare and foal. — First prize, £10 and silver medal, W. Betts, Bunwell (Diamond) ; second, £7, J. Neave, East Tud- denham (Beauty) ; third, £4, J. Neave (Bunny). Gast mare.— First prize, £5, £5 and silver medal, and £10, THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 113 £. Crowe, Denver (Smart) ; second, £7, H, Overman (_Dia- mond); third, ^J', J. Tingay,Ellmgliam (Brag). Commended: H. Overman. Three-year-old geldings. — First prize, £7 and silver medal, R. Smith, Kimberley (Short) ; second, £4',J,Tingay (Boxer). Three-year-old filly. — first prize, £8 and silver medal, W. Betts, Biinwell (Brandy') ; second, £5, T. Lombe Taylor, Starston (Countess) ; third, £3, F. O. Taylor, Thuston (Beauty). Two-year-old filly. — First prize, £8 and silver medal, E. Betts, Moulton ; second, £5, E. Betts ; third, £3, W. Allen, Little Ellingham (Smart). Commended: W.Allen. Yearling filly. — First prize, £8 and silver medal, C. Beart, Stowbridge (Lionees) ; second, £5, J. Tingay. Pair of cart horses. — First prize, £10 and silver medal, J. Tingay (Brandy and Smart) ; second, £7, H. Overman (Brag and Short) ; third, H. W. Allen, Lynn (Smiler and Short). Highly commended : H. Overman. Commended : E. Lewell, Weston. CAET HORSES OF ANY BREED. Stallion. — First prize, £10 and silver medal, W. May, Up- well (Emperor) ; second, £7, C. Boby, Stutton, Suffolk. (Prince Royal). Three- year-old stallion. — First prize, £8 and silver medal, W. Wilson, Baylham (Bismarck) ; second, £5, N. Catchpole (Emperor). Two-year=old stallion. — First prize, £6 and silver medal, H. Birkbeck, Stoke Holy Cross (Proctor) ; second, £4, J. Grout, Woodbridge (Emperor). Yearling entire colt. — First prize, £5 and silver medal, B. W. Ground, jun., Whittlesey ; second, £3, W. Welcher (Royat Albert). Mare and foal. — First prize, £10 and silver medal, J. Tom- linson, Sutton Marsh, Lincoln (Diamond) ; second, £7, Execu- tors of the late Thomas Capon, Bennington (Matchet). Highly commended, B. Mitchell, Denver. Gast mares. — First prize, £10 and silver medal, B. W. Ground, jun. (Diamond) ; second, £7, H. Wolton, Newbourn (Diamond). Highly commended, J. Lines, Thorpe Parva; commended. Col. F. M. Wilson, Stowlangtoft. Three-year-old filly. — Prize, £6 and silver medal, Col. F. M. Wilson. Two-year-old filly.— Prize, £5 and silver medal, T, Calver, Burnham Thorpe. Yearhng filly.— Prize, £5 and silver medal, E. Crowe, Denrer (Flower). THOROUGHBREDS. StaUion.— First prize, £15 and silver medal, Major Barlow, Hasketon (Brennus) ; second, £8, J. H. Norgate, Sprowston (Christmas Chimes). Commended. H. Limmer, Rondham (Hawkshaw). HUNTERS. Mare or gelding, equal to carry not less than U stones. — First prize, £15 and silver medal, J. J. Clark, Southacre (Sammy); second,£8,R. G. Beart, Rainham (Salt Fish). Mare or gelding, not equal to carry 14 stones. — First prize, £10 and silver medal, C. Crossley, Warham (Thirsk) ; second, £5, J. T. Mills, Clermont (Columbine). Commended, T.Everett, Creake (Peter). Three and four year olds. — First prize, £10 and silver medal, J. T. Mills (Ratcatcher) ; second, £5, Major Barlow (Knight of Khars). Commended, W. Branford (Godwick). Brood mare. — First prize, £10 and silver medal. Lord Sondes ; second, £5, J.T. Twaites,Carleton Forehoe (Bloomer). HACKAEY AND RIDING HORSES. StaUion. — First prize, £15 and silver medal, H. Stebbing, Stow Bedon (The Norfolk Trotter) ; second, £8, H. Bultitaft, Ely (Clear the Way). Commended, J. Warth, Sutton; J. Howel, Runcton Holme. Mare or gelding. — First prize, £10 and silver medal, W. Cann, Wyniondham ; second, £5, J. Warth (The General). Hackney mare or gelding. — First prize,£10 and silver medal, W. Cann ; second, £5, W. Case, Tuttington (Priam). Com- mended, J. J. Colman, M.P. ; R. G. Beart. Hackney brood mare. — First prize, £10 and silver medal, W. H. Jillings, Thetford (Favourite) ; second, £5, J. J. Clarke. Commended, H. Stebbing, C. Beart. COBS. Cobs.— First prize, £10, and silver medal, H. Overman (Miss Constance) j second, £7, C. Cook, Grimston (Sir William) ; third, £!•, Rev. VV. F. Tliursby, Bergh Apton, (Wonder). PONIES. Pony, not under 13, not above 13 hands 3 inches high.— » First prize, £8, and silver medal, G. Rolfe, Wymondham ; second, £5, Lord Stafford, Costessey (Billy) ; third, £3, T. L.Taylor (My Lord Tom Noddy). Commended, A. Winter, Lenwade ; W. D. Sutton, Thwaite ; and G. A. Ashley, Litchara. Pony, not above 13 hands high. First prize, £5, and silver medal, F. G. Flowerdew, Great Fransham (Kit.y) ; second, £3, G. M. Seston (Matchless), Commended, G. Baly. SHEEP. SOUTHDOWN. Shearling ram. — First prize, £10, and silver medal, J, J. Colman, M.P. ; second, £7, J. J. Clark ; third, £4, J. J. Col- man, M.P. Ram of any age.— First prize, £10, and silver medal. Lord Sondes ; second, £7, Lord Sondes ; third, £4, C. Boby. Five shearling ewes. — First prize, £J, and silver medal. Lord Sondes ; second, £4, J. J. Colman, M.P. Highly com- mended. Lord Sondes and J. Overman : commended, H. R. H. the Prince of Wales. Ten ewe lambs. — First prize, £5 5s., and silver medal, J. J. Colman, M.P. ; second, £3, Lord Sondes. Highly com- mended, H. R. H. the Prince of Wales : commended, Lord Sondes. Ten wether lambs. — First prize, £5, and silver medal. Lord Sondes ; second, £3, J. J. Colman, M.P. Highly commended : H.R.H. the Prince of Wales. Commended : Lord Sondes. LONG-WOOLLED. Shearling ram. — First prize, £10, and silver medal ; second, £7 ; third, £4, T. Brown, Marham. Ram of any age. — First prize, £10, and silver medal, J. Giblin, Bardfield, Essex ; second and third prizes, £7 and £4^ T. Brown. Two ram lambs. — First prize, £10, and silver medal, T. Brown; second, £5, T. Brown. Five shearling ewes. — First prize, £7, and silver medal, Ti Gunnell, Milton, Cambs ; second, £4, J. Giblin. SHEEP OF ANY KIND* Ten ewe or wether lambs, — Prizes not awarded. Three shearling wethers. — First prize, £7, and silver medal, J. J. Colman, M.P. ; second, £4, John Overman, Burnham, Sutton. Ten ewes.— First prize^ £10, and silver medal, H. Overman ; second, £5, Lord Sondes. Ten ewes, southdown or longwoolled.— First prize, £10, and silver medal, H. Overman ; second, £5, T. Rose, Great Melton. Twenty shearling ewes. First prize, £10, and silver medalj H. Overman ; second, £5, J. J. Clark ; third, £4, Edmund Farrer, Sporle. PIGS. LARGE BREED. Boar, above twelve months. — First prize, £5, and silver medal, Messrs. Duckering and Son, Lincolnshire ; second, £3, H. Neal, Welney. Boar not above twelve months old. — First prize, £5, and silver medal, F. H. Everitt, Bridgham ; second, £3, Messrs. Duckering and Son. Breeding sow. — First prize, £5, and silver medal, Messrs. Duckering ; second, £3, F. H. Everitt. SMALL BREED (BLACK.). Boar above twelve months old. — First prize, £5, and silver medal, G. M. Sexton; second, £3, G. M. Sexton. Highly commended : S. G. Steam. Boar not above twelve months old. — First prize, £5, and silver medal and £5 5s., G. M. Sexton ; second, £3, G. M. Sexton. Highly commended: S. G. Steam. Commended: Messrs. Duckering. Breeding sow. — First prize, £5, and silver medal, G. M. Sexton ; second, £3, G. M. Sexton, Highly commended, S. G. Steam. Three breeding sows. — First prize, £5, and silver medal, G. M. Sexton ; second, £3, S. G. Steam. SMALL BREED (WHITE). Boar above twelve months old. — First prize, £5, and silver medal, Rev. T. L. FeUowes, Honingham ; second, £3, Messrs, Duckering. 114 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. Boar not above twelve months old. — First prize, £5, and silver medal, Messrs. Duckering ; second, ^£3, S. G. Stearn. Commended : S. G. Stearn. Breeding sow. — First prize, £5, and silver medal, Messrs. Duckering ; second, £3, H. Neal. Three breeding sows. — First prize, £5, and silver medal, Messrs. Duckering ; second prize not awarded. At the dinner the Earl of Leicester said the So- ciety was established, he believed, for the purposes of the promotion of agricultnre, and, with the ex- ception of the prizes which it awarded to implements, it utterly ignored all connection with the soil. If they were not great breeders of animals they were snrely great feeders, and it must be all important for them to know what with their soU and in their cUmate was the best mode of culti- vating the earth so as to produce a heavy root crop. Was steam cultivation, of which they had heard so much lately, applicable to the Norfolk soils ? Last winter he subsoiled 4.00 acres of light land by the aid of steam twelve inches deep . Surely it must he important to many gentlemen to know what were the present and what would be the future results of this experi- ment. Again, was it not possible that they were sowing more seed per acre than was desirable,? He had from time to time lessened the quantity of seed per acre, and with success ; and this year he had sown some barley twelve inches from drill to drill, and when he last saw it, it promised to be a better crop than when sown more closely. There were many other sub- jects connected with the cultivation of the land upon which yet little light had been thrown, and which fairly came within the scope of this society. They might discuss the Game Laws, the question of hedgerow timber, and of larger enclosures, or they might discuss the best system of agreement between land- lord and tenant. They might think that he was suggesting for their consideration subjects that were dangerous and delicate. He did not believe it. On the contrary, he believed that there was a great desire on the part of the landlords of the county to meet the views of their tenants. They acknowledged a community of interest; they knew that the prosperity of the tenant meant the prosperity of the landlord. He trusted that the time was not far distant when every unnecessary restric- tion which interfered with the proper cultivation of the land would be for ever prohibited. It was for them to determine whether they would extend the operations of the Society. If they so determined, he would suggest for their consideration whether they might not offer prizes for the best essays on the most improved system of growing different crops on the Nor- folk soils ; whether they might not obtain reports upon the various experiments that were annually carried out by the members of the Society ; and whether they might not start certain subjects for discussion at these aunual gatherings. If they adopted any of these suggestions, or others which might occur to them, having the same object in view, extending the operations of the Society, and but slightly taxing its pecuniary resources, he would predict that they would give new life to the association, impart knowlege where knowledge did not at present exist, make the meetings interesting and profitable, which, he must say, he did not think they were at present, and afford information to every farmer in Norfolk. Mr. Sewell Read, the chairman, said it had been pro- posed that there should be a great East Anglian Association. By all means ; but let not the Norfolk Association be "lugged" into it. Let the Norfolk Association continue its aunual county meetings ; and then, by all means, let there be a great East Anglian exhibition, if it could be accomplished. But it ap- pears now-a-days as if everything must be done on some mon- strous and inconvenient scale. That day's exhibition was good and large enough to satisfy anybody with reasonable ex- pectations, and was quite extensive enough for anyone to in- spect. In looking round the show he could not help thinking how much this country depended, and must depend for years, on the home supply of meat. One-third of the corn eaten in this country was produced abroad, but not above one-tenth of the meat eaten came from foreign countries. The other night in the House of Commons Mr. Forster made an attack upon the county of Norfolk. It was very good policy to carry the war into the enemy's camp, or, when one had no case to abuse the plaintiff. Instead of making any answer to the charge, he (Mr. Head) endeavoured to lay before the House of Commons some facts with regard to the Veterinary Department of the Privy Council. Mr. Forster stated that Norfolk had not properly carried out the Cattle Diseases Act, and what was more, that they had offered it great opposition. Now he would appeal to any magistrate, and to the whole county, whether they had not right loyally endeavoured to carry out that Act, and whether it had not been administered with strictness and even with what some people would call severity. What was it to which Norfolk raised an opposition ? The moment the Act came into force he endeavoured to instil into the authorities the fact that at the Quarter Sessions were adjourned and could not meet till Michaelmas, there would be a lapse of time before it could be brought into operation in Norfolk. But the Privy Council put the Act in force for them ; and with what result ? They forwarded instructions to all cattle-plague inspectors, numbering 53, telling them that they were to put the Act in force with regard to foot-and-mouth disease. In the course of four or five weeks some seven of these 53 inspectors took upon themselves to visit all the farms infected with foot-and-mouth disease, and sent in a " little" bill for something like £160. If the whole of the 53 inspectors had taken upon themselves to obey the dictates of the Privy Council, the bills would have amounted to something like £1,200; so that, to say the least, they would have been taxed to the tune of something hke £10,000 a year. 'What was said at the time the Act was passed was, "Do not have any hard and fast line, and then you can carry out this Act well." But that was just what the Privy Council did not seem [to see. They ordered the couuty to do certain things which would have been just and most expedient for other counties. Take some breeding counties in Wales for instance. The only ani- mals introduced into the country during the three years he|was there were three pedigree bulls. If there were an outbreak there of foot-and-mouth disease, how necessary and how easy it was to isolate the farm ! Again, if there were an outbreak of pleuro-pneumonia, how easy and how necessary it was to isolate and slaughter the diseased animals at once. But to apply the Act to Norfolk, in 1869 it would have been neces- sary to isolate nine-tentlis of the cattle, and to slaughter the other lenth, as nine-tenths of the stock in that year were suffering from foot-and-mouth disease, and the other tenth from pleuro-pneumonia. Moreover, it would have been also necessary to stop all fairs and markets, and all transit of cattle. Therefore, he contended that it was perfectly ridi- culous for gentlemen in the Privy Council to suppose that they could frame orders which could be carried out in Norfolk as in Wales or Westmoreland, and that they must allow the local government of the county to have some voice in the way in which they should apply them. What he complained of was, not so much the Act of Parliament and the Orders in Council, but that Norfolk, which imported 19 out of the every 20 head of cattle they grazed, was made to cut off the disease by driblets. Tiieir stock came principally from Ireland. There was no law tliere concerning cattle. In Ireland they would not have the Orders in Council ; and as to an Act, they dared not pass one ; consequently there were cattle diseases iu that country, and a month after they had broken out the beasts would be upon Norwich Hill. They therefore said to the Privy Council, " You ought not only to make us stamp out the disease in driblets, but go to the fountain head — to those countries from which we import cattle, and there stamp it out also." Again, he saw a lot of Dutch heifers on Norwich IliU on Saturday. It was said on Tuesday at Lynn by a gen- tleman who ought to have known better, that there was no disease whatever among the cattle in Holland. Now in the month of April there were 483 cases of pleuro-pneumonia in one small province of Holland, from which they were going to import store stock, which they did not want, because it was dangerous. This stock would be imported after what was called "quarantine" — twelve hours detention at the ports. Then Mr. Forster told the House that the county of Suffolk carried out the Act much better than Norfolk did, and also much more economically. He stated that Suffolk paid only £253 in carrying out the Act, while Norfolk paid £841. Now what were the figures ? He (Mr. Read) had received them from the Clerk of the Peace for Suffolk, who stated that for that county on the 31st of March the cost had 'been £1,128; whereas up to the last Quarter Sessions the amount that had been ordered to be paid for Norfolk was £946. Mr. Forster no douljt had his information from the Veterinary Depart- THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. lis ment, which was always somehow or other in the wrong, and which must have inverted the figures to make Norfolk appear expensive and extravagant. Now, it was well known that in Suffolk 43 of the police were employed as inspectors. Therefore, not only had Saffolk paid more than Norfolk, but if the police were only now sufTiciently employed they must at any rate have had precious little to do before. But the police were not the right men to select as judges of cattle dis- eases. While on this subject he would remark that the present position of the cattle trade was most unsatisfac- tory. The great London market was shut against all country buyers. That to Norfolk men was a most serious detriment and hindrance. They were told that there would he a new market opened for the sale and slaughter of foreign stock on the 1st of .January. And then what would happen ? Wliy, all their tolls would be doubled in the Metropolitan Market. Let them be doubled by all means if there would be ensured some security against foreign diseases. But he did not think that would be the case. The market was not begun. There was simply a wall built up to separate the site from the adjoining land. But there was now a good market if they liked 10 use it, and he contended that they ought to continue to make use of the wharf, and to remove the cordon from London, and to let their cattle come free. The Veterinary Department of the Privy Council had spent £13,000 a year besides law expenses and stationary ; and for the purpose of collecting imperfect, unsatisfactory, and unreliable statistics £16,000 was expended, altogether about £30,000, which might be employed in providing a good department to be at- tached, say, to the Board of Trade, though, as far as he had seen of Government departments, he had come to the con- clusion of Mr. Johu Bright that farmers had better think more of sunshine and showers than of any assistance they were likely to receive from the Government. But Government would not let them alone. There was never a year without its imposing upon them new taxes and new rates. It was therefore the duty of agriculturists to be more united and more stirring than they had been hitherto. Mr. Fowler, one of the judges, said that the show was an admirable one, and far beyond the expectations of those who like himself, came from a distance. He was struck with the remarkable usefulness and value of the cattle of this district. The cows had good useful udders, so that they were likely to be capital cows for the dairy ; while the bullocks had capital chines and good backs, but they were somewhat deficient in springing of ribs and in tlie uind-quarters. Amongst the lot they scarcely found an animal but what was fit for a show- yard. As a Shorthorn breeder, he wislied he could put some of the good points he found upon the Norfolk polled cattle on the animals which he was breeding. No doubt there was scarcely a county in England in which were not to be found peculiarities and specialities of cattle, pre-eminently adapted for the districts in which they were grown ; and he should be the last to recommend practical agriculturists to depart from that class of animals which they found so useful, to Shorthorns which were so mucli talked about, and which were, he believed, the most valuable and beautiful kind of stock. At the show they found some of the most exquisite specimens of this beau- tiful breed ever seen in a show-yard. This proved that they had thrtr eyes upon the best form and the best class of animal they could possibly find, and that they were willing to try them in this district, in which flie local breed was so valuable and so good. Having stated this with regard to the show, he might say how cordially he endorsed the President's remarks as to the conduct of the Government with regard to cattle ; but, perhaps, he might be pardoned for saying before the mem- bers of a large and important agricultural county he deeply regretted to find that when their excellent member, Mr. Read, brought forward a matter so greatly affecting the interests of the farmers of England, and when their flocks and herds were in imminent danger, a count-out was the result. It did not speak well for the cordial feeling that ought to exist between county members and their county constituencies, when they allowed a gentleman like Mr. Read to bring forward a ques- tion and not give him the opportunity of having it fairly and honestly discussed. He came from a county which was proud of being represented by one of the most eminent statesmen in England, and, indeed, in the world, and he should feel it his duty to draw that right hon. gentleman's (Mr. Disraeli) at- tention, as also that of the members for his county, to this matter, so that they might not again have their interests neg- lected, or be deserted in the hour of need. Sir William Bagge, M.P., explained that Mr. Read would not have been left alone had his colleagues been aware that the question was coming on that night, but they made inquiry, and they were informed that there was no probability of its doing so. They, therefore, went and enjoyed a little rest. Sir WiLLOUGHBY Jones said the pastures of Norfolk might be divided into two categories. The rich pastures on Marshland and in the valleys would carry Shorthorns as breeding stock ex- tremely well, and there he often found fine specimens reared. But he did not think that their light acres in a light land country would enable them profitably to breed Shorthorns. If they would they could fatten them better than any people in the world, because they knew better how to use turnips and cake. But it was a different thing to breed animals upon thin and wiry acres. He did not believe it possible to breed Shorthorns satisfactorily on the upland farms. They would have to keep a succession of vetch crops growing in the summer, for some- how a cow would have succulent food or she would not give her calf the milk required. In cultivating home-breds and bringing them to a great state of perfection, Mr. Hammond and Mr. Browne among others had done a great and important work, for which they ought to thank them. No doubt where a county had a specialty — a particular class of stock that bore its name was known to be found within its borders, and was a very marketable commodity which gave it elsewhere an en- hanced price — it ought to be cultivated. If the Norfolk stock became fashionable, as he believed would be the case, they would find many people who would come to Norfolk to buy bulls and cows, and that they would drive a profitable trade ; and after all that was their principle business. Therefore, he thought that they should not do wisely if they dispensed with the prizes they now gave to cattle and sheep, because the use of prizes was, by competition, enabling persons who wanted males or females of those animals to know where to find the best ; where the best were to be found was where the chief prize winner at these shows came from, and there the buyers would resort. If at any time this show was dropped, it would be a matter of question where the best Southdowns, home- breds, or Shorthorns, were to be found, and a very great facility would be removed from the purchaser, while a man would not get that profit which he deserved for the care and expense he had taken with his flock or herd. He was a great believer in Darwinism ; he thought that they might modify an animal to almost anything. They had not yet reached per- fection ; and he would just throw out a question for solution by the next meeting, namely, who would tell them of a plant that would give them a good crop of hay, and afterwards a good crop of wheat. That was a great desideratum to farm- ing. If they had a good plant of clover, they would get a good plant of wheat ; but then they would not get a good plant of clover afterwards. There was another nut which he would give the members of Parliament to crack. The farmer and the labourer both produced genuine unadulterated goods ; but the groceries bought by the one and the oilcake and manures purchased by the other were sadly adulterated. He suggested to their representatives that they should find out some means of checking this state of things. It was checked in America, where adulteration was made a penal offence ; consequently the oilcake there was worth £3 a ton more than the Enghsh cake. Many present would not object to buy a ton of Ameri- can cake without seeing it ; but who would like to buy a ton of English cake without seeing a sample ? Mr. Taylor, one of the judges, suggested that the Suffolk horses should be exhibited in a class by themselves, as was done at the Royal shows. Nine years ago, when he judged at Dereham, he told the noblemen present at the dinner that the Suffolk horses were nice ornaments for their parks, but not useful to farmers. He thought so still. Suffolk horses could not be compared with Shire horses ; they might as well com- pare a pony with a hunter. Mr. Bejjnett, another of the judges, said there was a good exhibition of animals in the thorough-bred or hunting classes, but he should have been more satisfied if he had seen a larger show of heavy weight-carrying hunters. Mr. Henry Overman recommended farmers to grow beef and mutton rather than horseflesh, as the one paid better than the other. 116 THE FABMER'S MAGAZINE. Mr. J. T. MoTT (lescrited liow lie bought liis csperieuce in farming.and remarked that perhaps they would "pity thesorrows of a poor old man" who was once such a fool as to occupy 1,500 acres. That was twenty years ago, when he began by farming SOOacresof light land,whichwas then but in very poor condition. He knew that a root crop was the foundation of good farming. He would not stay to tell them how he burnt his fingers in dissolving bones, or how many big-bellied carboys of sulphuric acid lie "considered did not pay ; but as the stench was not agreeable, he determined to purchase his superphosphate from a manufacturer. His first ten tons were so satisfactory that the next year he took the trouble to carry a pot of this savory composition to Professor Voelcker for analysis. This cost him 20s,, but that was no object to such an enterprising farmer. The report was favourable, the analysis was printed on the hand-bills of the mamifacturer as a voucher of quality, and he gave an extensive order. Everything promised well. The turnip ground was Uke a garden ; the season was most favour- able; but, alas! by some mysterious process the article, which was called genuine, had lost its virtue. His turnips never came to the hoe — he dropped £250, and the bullock account did not look quite so well probably as the return made by the mauufactiirer of manures. This taught him never to deal with advertising quacks, and he had never been victimised since. But it must be allowed that in no article was there so much deception and difficulty in securing the money's worth as in the purchase of manures. The old proverb, " Muck is the mother of money" did not apply to all the infallible speci- fics which were thrust upon the farmer every market-day. After holding 1,200 acres for twelve years he let olf 800 to one of the best tenants in the county at double the original rent. He had held it for eight years and had just taken a new lease, so he did not think that farming was such a bad thing after all. "With regard to the exhibition, one of the most practical of its results was that an exhibitor soon discovered that his own animd was not the perfect beauty he imagined, and having the conceit knocked out of him went home a wiser if not a happier man. THE CAMBEIDGESHIRE AND ISLE OF ELY AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. MEETING AT ELY. Of cart-hoises there was a remarkably good show ; Mr; Cox, the well-known London dealer, purchased three entered by Mr. Warth, of Sutton, stating that three such together, within his experience, had never been seen at any previous show, or even three better by different exhibitors. In class I., Honest Tom" was again decorated by the blue riband. We need say no more of it than this, Tom being so very well-known. There were some very good entire two-year-old colts. The prizes were taken by Messrs, Gittus and Fyson, Tiiere were some commendable carts mares, Mr. E. Crowe's (Denver), I' Smart," Mr, C, Wale's (Cotteuham), and Mr, J. Warth, jun's (Sutton) mare been especially praiseworthy. There was by no means a despicable lot of mares and foals, and the judges found some difficulty in arriving at their decisions. The reason there was so much difficulty in making the awards was, that many of the good mares had bad foals, or the foals were good while the dams were indifferent. The two-year-old geldings were passably excellent. The two-year-old fillies in- cluded some useful animals, Mr, J. Linton's two-year-old, by Honest Tom, being well-deserving the chief distinction and designated A. 1. by the judges, who expressed their opinion that this filly would take the first prize at the Royal Agricul- tural Society, at Wolverhampton, next week. He was pro- nounced to be one of the most extraordinary animals ever ex- hibited. There were some very good plough teams, Mr. J, Warth, sen., shewing two superior brown's. Next came four premiums offered by the city of Ely and neighbourhood. Tor premium 8, there was a lot of very moderate merit, under the head of three-year-old colt, gelding, or filly. Colts were but indifferently good. The whole of tlie animals shown in these four classes were not so good as might have been expected, considering that the neighbourhood of Ely is somewhat famous for this description of horses. There were some good entries for the special prize given by Viscount Royston, M.P., under the head of the best pair or team of cart horses. The entries successful for premium 7 were again victorious, while two of Mr. Warth's were second. Taken collectively, the horses for agricultural purposes were much better than those exhibited at March in 1869. The other section was composed of riding and coaching horses, the first five premiums being awarded by the Society for weight-carrying liunters, hackney stallions, and stud mares. There were 13 hackney stallions, 18 mares and geldings, 17 hackney mares and geldings, 8 stud hackney marcs, 11 under the head of " cob, mare, or gelding," and a few for the premium to " pony, mare, or gelding, under 12 hands." The last four premiums were offered by the city of Ely. The special prize given by Mr. Evans produced 13 en- tries for the best pony, mare, or gelding not exceeding 13 hands liigh. The best saddle horse in the yard was Mr. J. M, Tharp's Phalanx, and this deservedly obtained the prize offered by Lord Royston, The same exhibitor, it will be seen, was also successful with the prize offered by the president, Mr, O. C, Pell. This class was open to all England, and Mr. Tharp secured the honour of the judges' award. The prizes offered by IMessrs. J. and H. Hall, Ely, for the second best hunter produced eight entries, and Mr. Tharp was again suc- cessful. Mr. M. Slater carried off the prize for the best light weight hunter. Mr. G. S, Hall, Ely, Mr. J. Linton, West- wick HaU, and Mr. Long, of Carlton, were competitors in the former division, witli Mr. Nash, of Royston, who showed also in the light-weight department, with jMr. Briggs, Babraham ; Mr. T. Gardner,''Moulton ; Mr. G. S. Hall and Mr. H. Long, jun., Shippey Hill. Major Pemberton's prize for heavy hunters brought out six up to fifteen stones, owned by Messrs. H, Jones, Littleport ; W. Goulder, Wimbotshan ; Linton Long, and G. S. Hail, the first named being successful. There were fifteen pens of sheep, and amongst the short wools there were some very fair shearling rams, and also some cross-bred lambs. They were small, but thought to be credit- able to the district. The specialities of sheep were two Shrop- shire shearlings, the property of Lord Chesham, The sheep shown against them included Shropshire Downs, Southdowns, Hampshire and Oxfordshire Downs, His lordship took first and second prizes. Mr. E. Street, of Bedford, was highly commended for his Oxford, being larger than Lord Chesham's, but with not the equal style. Eor the best pen of five short- woolled ram lambs, Mr. Street was again successful with Ms Oxfords, which easily beat the Hampshire Downs. Mr. G, Cooke, of Horseheath Park, Linton, was the only exhibitor of black short-woolled ewes, certified to have brought up a lamb. In the class of shearling sliort-wooled ewes, Mr. Clayden, of Littlebury, and Mr. Street competed, the former with South- downs, and the latter with Oxfordsliire Downs, making it rather awkward to decide between the different breeds. The Sufl'olk ewes were not very attractive, though good exampless of this contiguous race. Mr. T. GunneU was again successful, taking the first and second for Leicester or Lincoln rams and ewes, for breeding, and^ another premium for the best pen of fat shearlings. With Shortliorns Lady Pigot was chiefly successful in this department, taking numerous prizes. Her ladyship was first and second for bulls exceeding two years old, and for heifers not exceeding 1 year old ; she also ranked second for the best bull not exceeding 2 years old. The chief premium for this class was taken by Mr. F. E. Pawlett, of Eeeston, who also exhibited the best bull not exceeding 1 year old as well as the best heifer twelve months old. Mr. J. How, of Broughton, sent his capital cow in calf, with heifers and steers ; while he and Lady Pigot were again winners in the classes open to all England, the former with the best cow or heifer for breeding purposes, and her ladyship with the best bull in the yard, tlie much abused and equally be-praised Bythis. Mr. Martin, of Little- port, has some good grazing steers, wliile Mr. H. Tuck, of Ely, THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 117 showed two fat Devon steers. Mr. J. Clayden was the only competitor iu the new class of " Bull, Cow, and Prodncc, " with his Romford entry. The pigs were moderately good, and about as numerous as before. Of implements the following were the chief exhibitors : — Wilkinson and Son, Ely ; Headly and Son, Cambridge ; Peck, Ely ; King, Ely ; Cutlack, Ely ; Edwards, Sohain ; Cowell, Soham ; Garrett and Sons, Leistou Works, Suffolk ; E. Savage, Lynn ; Maude and Walker, Shrewsbury ; Ward and Silver, Long Melford ; Ransorae, Sims, and Head, Ipswich ; Mote and Son, March ; G. Harait, Haddenham ; Burrell, Thetford ; and Woods and Co., Stowmarket, PRIZE LIST. JUDGES, Caet Horses.— J. Martin, Wainfleet, G. Bedford, Abbots Ripton. Nag Hokses. — T. M. R. Elliott Heathencote, Towcester, J. E. Bennett, Husbands Bosworth Grange, Rugby. Cattle. — J. Lynn, Strocton, Grantham, W. Ladds, Ellington, Huntingdon. Lo:"s said he was " an animal" and a man, and also a clergyman. He thought no excuse, there- fore, was wanted to support any great society like that, or any great object like that which had brought them together, that was intended to elevate the human species, and set them think- ing— to promote intelligence, and usefulness, and happiness, in the country. Such objects were certainly deserving ot all the support of the clergy. THE NORTH-EAST AGRICULTURAL ASSOCIATION. MEETING AT BELFAST. Good as the shows of this Association have been ot late, that of this year surpassed in many particulars any former sliow held in Belfast. There was a capital entry of Short- liorns, both in the general and farmers' classes, a fair show of sheep, a very superior lot of pigs, and a better show of horses ilian we have ever seen in the North. The implement department was so well filled that it resembled a Royal show more than that of a provincial meeting. Mr. Campbell's Mameluke, the first prize aged bull of the Short- horn breed liad a good fore-end, but he did not carry his good points through, and for choice between tlie two, we would have taken Mr. Moutray's Governor, which was put second. Mr. Beresford showed Knight of the Thistle in this class, a long, good bull, but a little too mucli on the leg, and his white colour did not seem to please the judges, wlio gave him the reserved number ; but nevertheless, he is a good one. In the two-year-old class the first prize was given to Mr. Moutray's General Prim, a nice, compact, promising bull ; and the others were all good of their kind, althougli we do tliink the judges left one of the best, if not altogether the best, of the lot out in the cold. Tlie yearling bulls were very fair, and the first prize went, we think very rightly, Mr. Maxwell's Half-Sovereign, a prize bull of the last Kildare-street spring show. The calves were also very promising. Mr. Beresford's first prize cow is a nice topped, even animal, and Mr. Mou- tray's Princess of Wariaby, the second in the class, was also a very even cow, as this was altogether a good section. The heifers in-calf and iu-mQk were useful ; and in the class of the two-year-old heifers Mr. Moutray took first and second prizes, and also first in tlie class of yearling heifers, together with the Ulster cup, wliich lie has now won for tlie third and last time. Mr. lunes' calf bids fair to be a future winner, riie show of Ayrsliires was uncommonly good — quite good enough, in fact, to make a show in their nafive country ; and Mr. Peake's Devons might have been shown at the Bath and West of England with credit to the owner, who took all the prizes with them. In the thorough-bred stallions the judges had little trouble in putting Mr. Batt's Duke of York first, as he is a compact grey liorse, with strengtli, style, and shape enough to please any one ; and we consider him a great acquisition to this part of the kingdom. Mr. O'Malley's Orphan is a sweet draught stallion, and deserved the place he got ; and so also is Sir. Todd's second prize horse — a nice, short-legged, compact bay, which was put second in his class. Mr. Lindsay showed in the extra stock Young Harkaway, nearly thorough- bred, to wliich the judges gave a prize, believing him to be a very useful sire for getting carriage horses. There were, no doubt, a good many horses, and on the whole, these sections showed that a considerable improvement is going on in the north-east district in this way. There was a good show of sheep, of Leicesters and Shrop- sliires. Col. Leslie, Mr. Moutray, and Captain Montgomery were the leading exhibitors of Leicesters ; and Mr. John Peake and Mr. Richardson, Glenmore, of Sliropshires, which were very good. Jlr. Richardson's excellent ram, bred by Lord Chesham, got the cup, while his pen of ewes also took a cup. We have said that the show of pigs was superior, and this will be understood when it is stated that Lord Clermont was a leading exhibitor, and his lordship was well supported in the Berkshires by Mr. M'Clintock, Lord O'Neill, Lord Downshire, Mr. Perry, and Mr. Glenn. In the white breeds Mr. Hohnes showed some very superior Yorkshires, and Mr. Perry took the cup, with a first-rate Yorkshire sow, bred by Mr. Cooper of Liraf.rick. In the poultry department, which was filled, the Dorking and Spanish breeds made the best appearance, and the prizes THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 119 in the former class fell wholly to Mr. George Martin, while the cup fell to Mr. Mulligun, who won the most points in the class. Tlie display of butter was siuall, aud in that of green flax the samples exhibited were much better than the ap- pearance of the fields under that crop would have led us to expect. A great source of attraction was presented in the exhibition of Lord Lurgan's celebrated greyhound Master M'Grath, who had a house specially erected for his accommodation, where he received his visitors. The show of implements was the largest ever seen at a show of the North-East Association, comprising as it did sixty stands, and although a mere enumeration of the names of exhibitors does not convey a sufficient impression of the extent of this part of the show, we must confme ourselves to it for the present. Most of these exhibitors at Belfast will have stands at the en- suing Royal Irish Show, and these were : M'Kenzie and Sons, Abercorn Buildings, Belfast ; Jacques, Capel-street, Dublin ; Hillsborough Woollen Company (limited), Hillsborough ; Eiddel and Co., Donegall-place, Belfast ; Harbinson and Co., High-street, Belfast; Gorton and Co., Queen's quay, Belfast ; Daniel C. Magee, Gloucester-street, BelJ'ast ; Maims and Co., High-st., Belfast ; Hugh Rankin, Cromac-street, Belfast ; Patterson and Sons, High-street, Belfast ; Kennedy, Ballyme- glaff, Dundonald ; Musgruve Brothers, Ann-street, Belfast ; Picksley, Sims, and Ce. (limited), Leigh, Manchester ; Taylor and Wilson, Accrington, Lancashire ; Nicholson, Newark ; Wilson, Clough-mills ; Scott and Co., Chemical Works, Bel- fast ; Boucher, Moueyrea, Ballygowau, Belfast ; Anderson and Sous, Ballyraacarrett, Belfast ; Lithgow, Downpatrick ; Houghton and Thompson, Carlisle; Carlile and Co., May- street, Belfast ; Tate, Downpatrick ; Young, Ayr ; Firth and Sons, Fall's-rd., Belfast ; Lowther, Cluntagh, Killyleagh ; M'Ervil, Police-square, Belfast ; M'Cutcheon, Ballyskeagh, Newtownards ; Scott, May-street, Belfast ; Gray and Co., Cromac-street, Belfast ; Arnold, Stockbridge, Donaghadee ; Kane and Sons, Broughshane ; Lyall, Glasgow ; Scott, Killy- leagh ; Jack and Sons, Maybole ; M'Kerrell, Mallusk, Belfast ; Cashell, Main-street, Newton, Ayr ; Gray and Co., Uddings- ton, Glasgow ; Barr and M'Jannett, Ardrossan ; Askin, New- townards ; Peddie and Co., Princess-street, Edinburgh ; Brown and Son, Ferguslie, Queen's-quay, Belfast ; Gillis, Hay don Bridge, Newcastle-on-Tyne ; Morrow, Crossnacreevy, New- townbreda ; Marsden, Soho Foundry, Leeds ; Ransomes, Sims, and Head, Ipswich ; Greenhill Brothers, 13elfast ; Richard- son Brothers, Belfast ; Ritchie and Sons, Belfast ; Carson and Sous, Batchelor's-walk, Dublin ; Hunter, Maybole ; Kemp, Murray, and Nicholson, Stirling ; Richardson, Carlisle ; Lillie and Elder, Berwick-on-Tweed ; Brigham and Co., Berwick- on-Tweed ; M'Kinlay and Son, Strabane ; W. Pim, Belfast ; Gordon and Co., Newton Works, Ayr ; Scott, Killyleagh ; Bingham, Ulster-buildings, Waring-street, Belfast. There were trials of machines at the Ulster Model Farm , but no official adjudication. — From The Irish Farmers' GuzetU. SALE OF THE LATE LORD WALSINGHAM'S SOUTHDOWNS, At Merton, Norfolk, On Thursday, June 29. By Mu. J. THORNTON and SALTER and SIMPSON. By farmers and friends in many lands — as the brief inscription runs, when out for a stroll through King's, Trinity and St. John's, we encounter the anathema of Jonas Webb, as it looks on to old St. Mary's. And thus the glories of Babraham do not quite pass away ; although John Day does, as he travels still further on to establish another Eastern Empire for the Southdowus at Merton. And precisely as one flock withdrew did the other advance. The opening page of the catalogue tells lis how these " pure Southdown sheep have been very carefully reared for the last quarter of a century. The ewes were originally selected from the flocks of Mr. John Ellman, of Glynde, and Mr. Robert Boys, of East- bourne ; and the rams used were from Mr. Hart, Mr. Lugar, Mr. T. Ellman, Mr. Jonas Webb, and Mr. Rigden." But it was to Babraham they mainly looked for inspiration, and where they obtained not merely the model but eventually the modeller. The sale of Thursday last was not altogether unreserved, as there have been re- tained for further use at Merton " the first prize Royal Manchester yearling ram, a son of this ram, aud a son of the first prize yearling ram at the Royal Meeting at Bury St. Edmunds, with a small flock of ewes that have been kept distinct at the Stanford farm;" aud, as there might have been added, the services of John Day, the shepherd, so that it is probable enough that we shall soon see the Merton flock figuring again on the prize-list. It is a curious feature in the history of the Southdown that since the time of the fii'st Ellman much of his pro- gress towards perfection has been achieved rather on the turnip lands of the east than from the sweet short bite of his native range. There have so flourished in turn, the flock of Henry Overman in Norfolk, of Jonas Webb in Cambridgeshire, of Henry Lugar in Suffolk, and of Lords Walsingham and Sondes, again, in Norfolk, A somewhat involuntary homage was offered to this trans- planted excellence in the attendance at Merton, where Mr. Rigden, "years ago a very great man," as the chaii-man put it, returned thanks for the breeders of Southdowns, while Mr. Hart was a buyer, the Duke of Richmond secured the second lot put up, and the Heasmans were amongst the longest bidders for one of the best rams. As, however, the price-list will show, almost every Down flockmaster of any eminence was anxious for a taste, as ever and anon a sheep was booked for Australia, Peru, Germany, Den- mark, or Prussia ; while Mr. Stone's three first lots go to Canada. It was, in fact, a most business-like meeting, conducted in the most business-like manner. Nothing, indeed, could well have been more perfect than the general arrangements. The ring-side was so mapped out that, however large the company, every one could stand or sit, as he chose, and see, hear, and bid without any inconvenience or unseemly jostling of persons or interests. The lots, again, were changed with the most admirable order aud ])romptitude, thanks to the good offices of Mr. W^oods and the acting steward, Mr. Fooks; while the name of every buyer was audibly announced, without any of that attempted secrecy or suppression of intelli- gence which has too often been the rule on these occa- sions. Mr. Thornton, in truth, continually gave, " The Prince of Wales!" much after the manner of proposing the health of his Royal Highness, although any such for- malities were very discreetly curtailed at the luncheon. In the absence of Lord Vernon, who was engaged on a traction-engine committee of the Upper House, Sir William Bagge discharged the duties of president with laudable decision, as there was not a word too much uttered by anybody, until Mr. Thornton, having replied for the auctioneers in a half sentence or so, his colleague was seized with the ambition to make a speech, aud having, as it seemed, nothing particular to say, the company gradually dispersed under cover of an eloquent peroration. A previous look through the sheep went to show that, 120 THE FABMER'S MAGAZINE. as might have been expected, the chief attraction of the sightseers centred in the covered avenue or well furnished tent of old sheep. Here were a number of rams famous on the records of the Royal meetings — prizes of different deoi-ee at ^Manchester and Oxford, relieved by commenda- tions, special" 'Or simple, or pointed by relative worth, as ■with own brothers and half-brothers. These rams were of course very beautifully got up, if anything only too high in condition for mere use, although a magnificent illus- tration of the size to which a South-Eastern Down may be brought and the mutton he may be made to carry. Perfection, a well-preserved stylish thi'ee-year-old of fine character made 65 gs., a long price at his age ; the buyer being Mr. C'olman, the new member for Norwich, who made his mark at Dereham last week with every promise of coming stiU more to the front. One of the neatest of the old sheep was the third prize shearling at Oxford but, unfortunately, lame, as it was said, in the shoulder, and so sold for any- thing which anybody would give. The first prize shearling of last year was always remarkable for his size and weight, but it was a much mooted ques- tion at Oxford, as we wrote at the time, whether the second prize was not a better specimen of the South- down, and the sale went to correct the award. The Prince of Wales obtained the first prize for 50 gs., and Lord Portsmouth the rounder, smai'ter, and altogether more taking second prize for 84 gs. The choice, how- ever, as it seemed to us of all the old rams was the last ofi^ered, a merely commended ram at Oxford, but one which must have gone on admirably in the interim. He showed more breeding, compactness of frame, or that " neatness " so essential in Southdown, than any- thing in the catalogue ; while he began, moreover, with a capital head, not always an excellence in the Merton Downs. They coveted him in vain for Angmering, but the hammer fell — and how far more inspiriting is that incisive taji of the hammer thanlhe dull dribble of the sand- glass ! — to 60 gs. for Sir Robert Thi'ogmorton, from this time forward, a stiU more rising man on South-country, West-country, or All-England show grounds. There were no fewer than sixty-five shearling rams iu the catalogue, and as somethiug of a consequent necessity a number of very indifferent sheep, amongst them. There were mealy white-faces, weak necks and slack frames, and these sold dearly or cheaply enough, just as the market may write a fancy article. The top prices of the day were naturally to be found here, and a son of Royal ^lanchester reached to 180 gs., at which figure he was secured for Mr. Taylor, who is cultivating a" Devon herd and Southdown flock at "Westham in Sussex. This sheep is one of great substance and fine quality, but he has a bad lop, or almost Hampshire head ; nor is he quite right in his shoulders, as we should be inclined to think just the sort of sheep Lord Portsmouth does not want as a cross for his flock, although the agent fought very gamely for him. A far better type of sheep, lively, handsome, and symmetrical, was bought for the Prince of Wales at 100 gs. ; and there were other lots infinitely preferable at the price to the 180 gs., which is about the highest price we have ever seen given for a Southdown, as Sir Thomas Leunard only went as far as 170 gs. at Babraham. The yearling ewes were not well sorted, two or three good being often balanced by a couple of culls ; but they had mostly famous pedigrees ; and some of the dowagers, the two and three-year-olds, answered for their high descent in their appearance. They looked, indeed, a deal more bloodlike than when made up for the Royal or the Smithfield Club, as the case might be. The lambs were not very blooming, and people seemed to think that buying a pure Southdown lamb was very like investing iu a thorough-bred yearling colt — that is, give what you would for him, he might be the best or the worst of his yeai'. And no doubt they have often found it so at Merton — fii-st favourites are so apt to go wrong. Still, they sold well, the general average being 6 gs. for 871 sheep, 280 of which were lambs. At Babraham Mr. Jonas Webb's general average was £11 17s. 3d. for 1,404 sheep ; but he never offered a lamb, but kept these all until shearlings. Mr. Lugar's average was £6, but Mr. Sexton's and Mr. Overman's were imder this, as well as Mr. T. Ellman's in 1867 ; so that the Merton sale will rank next to Babraham in Southdown history. The attendance of visitors was noticeably not so large as that at the Shorthorn sale a few weeks since ; but as we have already intimated, and as the names of pur- chasers will further show, this was of a very good order. After the absurd list given in The Times' paragraph, where certain nobodies were exalted, and many good men, as it would seem, as carefuUy kept out, we ai-e the more inclined to hold to our rule of letting the proceedings speak to " the company present." During the earlier part of the day there was none more active amongst the crowd at the ring-side than ^Ir. John Clayden, who fvas in unusually good spirits, even for so generally cheery a companion. He was seized, however, with an apoplectic fit during the afternoon, and now lies in an almost hope- less condition at Merton ; having never been conscious since he was struck down. His eldest son was fortunately at the sale, and other members of the family at once hastened to his aid. In the autumn of last year Mr. Clay- den had a bad accident from his horse falling and roll- ing over him, when going at a smart gallop, but though much shaken at the time, he seemed to have thoroughly recovered from the shock. YEAEXme EWES. Five, by Royal Manchester, 10| gs. each. — Prince of Wales. Five, by Manchester Reserve, 10 gs. each. — Duke of Rich- mond. Five, by ditto, £3 10s. each.— Sir G. Mnsgrove. Five, by ditto, £5 each. — Mr. J. Wliite. Five, by Perfection, £14 each. — Mr. Banks. Five, three by Perfection, one by son of Royal Bury St. Ed- mund's, and one by Royal Worcester, £S each.— Mr. E. WUson, Five, by Third Manchester, £8 each. — Mr. H. Gorringe. Five by ditto, £10 each. — Prince of Wales. Five, by ditto, £9 each. — Hon. E. Kenyon. Five, by Royal Manchester, £9 each. — Mr. E. AVilson. Five, by Manchester Reserve, £10 each. — Mr. H. Stone. Five, by Royal Manchester, £7 10s. each. — Lord Sondes. Five, by Third Manchester, £10 each. — Mr. H. Gorrmge. Five, by First Prize Attleborough ram, a son of Royal Bury St. Edmund's, £6 10s. each. — Sir Geo. Musgrove. Five, by son of Royal Worcester, £8 each. — Prince of Wales. Five, by Viceroy, £G each. — Mr. J. White, Australia. Five, two by a son of Royal Worcester, two by a son of Vice- roy, and one by a son of Clipper, £5 each. — Mr. Majori- banks. Five, by a son of Clipper, £4 15s. — Mr. E. Wilson. Five, four by Viceroy, and one by a son of ditto, £5 15s. each. —Mr. J. Lloyd. Five, by a son of Clipper, £6 10s. each. — Prince of Wales. Ten, one by Royal Manchester, one by Perfection, one by Royal Bury St. Edmund's, one by a son of Royal Worces- ter, one by Viceroy, one by a sou of Prince, two by Lot 1, one by a son of Clipper, and one by a son of Royal Bnry St. Edmund's, £G 10s. each.— Mr. Scott. Ten, two by a son of Royal Worcester, two by a son of Nor- wicli, two by a sou of Clipper, three by a son of Viceroy, one by Viceroy, £5 5s. each. — Mr. J. White. Ten, one by Royal Manchester, two by a son of Royal Wor- cester, two by a son of Viceroy, two by first Attleborough, two by Viceroy, and one by Manchester Reserve, £4 5s. each. — Mr. II. Stone. Ten, one by Royal Manchester, two by Lot 1, two by a sou of Clipper, one by a son of Royal Bury St. Edmuud's, one THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 121 by Viceroy, one by Manchester Reserve, one by a son of Viceroy, and one by a son of Royal Worcester, £4 lOs, each. —Mr. H. Gayford. Ten, six by a son of Royal Worcester, two by Manchester Re- serve, one by Viceroy, and one by a son of ditto, £6 each.— Mr. J. Lloyd. Ten, two by third Manchester, one by a son of Royal Worces- ter, one by a son of Prince, two by Viceroy, two by Man- chester Reserve, and one by a sou of Clipper, £i 5s. each. —Mr. Stone. THEEE-YEAH-OLD RAMS. Highly commended at Oxford, 25 gs. — Lord Sondes. Third prize yearling at Attleborough, 12^ gs. — Mr. Hart. Perfection, second prize yearling at Manchester, and first prize two-year-old at Oxford, 65 gs. — Mr. J. J. Colman, M.P. TWO-YEAR-OLU RAMS. By Young Gaiety, 25 gs. — Hon. E. Kenyon. Third prize yearling at Oxford, 6 gs. — Mr. Griggs. By a son of Young Gaiety, 13 gs. — Mr. Ahrens. By a son of Young Gaiety, 8 gs. — Sir W. Fookes. By Viceroy, 30 gs. — TMr. Uhdeu, Prussia. By Viceroy, dam by Webb's 103, 40 gs. — Mr. Wachter. First prize yearling at Oxford, 50 gs. — Prince of Wales. Highly commended at Oxford, lOJ gs. — The Duke of Man- chester. By Young Gaiety, 1G| gs. — Sir. Richardson. By ditto, 17 gs. — Mr. Barnes. By Viceroy, 11|- gs. — Mr. Stone. Second prize yearliug at Oxford, S4 gs. — Lord Portsmouth, By a son of Young Gaiety, 11 gs. — Mr. Henty. By Royal Bury St. Edmund's, dam by Hart's ram, 5^ gs.-= Mr. Hartt. By a son of Royal Worcester, dam by Webb's 107, 20 gs.— Count Pries. Commended at Oxford, 60 gs. — Sir W. Throckmorton. YEARLING RAMS. By Perfection, dam by Royal Worcester, 17 gs. — Mr. White. By Manchester Reserve, dam by Royal Newcastle, 71 gs.— Rev. W. Holcombe. By ditto, dam by Fat Back, 40 gs. — Marquis of Bristol. By ditto, dam by Royal Newcastle, 18^ gs.— Mr, Ahrens. By Royal Manchester, dam by Webb's 107> 180 gs.-=Mr. H. Chappel. By Manchester Reserve, dam by fat Back, 15 gs.— Sir Charles Rowley. By Third Manchester, dam by Royal Plymoutli, 12| gs.— Mr. Stone. By ditto, dam by Young Reserve, 21 gs. — Mr. Seaward. By a son of Viceroy, dam Ijy Royal Newcastle, 10| gs.— Mr. Cheesman. By Royal Manchester, dam by Fat Back, 35 gs. — Mr. Banks. By ditto, dam by Young Reserve, 16|- gs. — Mr. White. By Perfection, dam by a sou of Royal Worcester, 21 gs. — Mr. G. Smith. By Third Manchester, dam by Clipper, 23 gs. — Marquis of Bristol. By First Prize shearling at Attleboro', a son of Royal Bury St. Edmunds, dam by Royal Worcester, 5^ gs. — Mr. Rose. By Royal Manchester, dam by AYebb's 107, 41 gs. — ^Mr. Turner. By ditto, dam by Viceroy, 16 gs. — Duke of Portland. By ditto, dam by Webb's 107, 17^ gs.— Sir Charles Rowley, By ditto, dam by Weblj's, 107, 41 gs.— Mr. Smith. By Viceroy, dam by Webb's 102, 8 gs. — Mr. Gamble. By a son of Viceroy, dam by Royal Newcastle, 22 gs. — Mr. J. Lloyd. By Royal Manchester, dam by Young Reserve, 31 gs. — Duke of llanchester. By Royal Bury St. Edmunds, dam by young Reserve, 14 gs., Mr. Ahrens. By Third Manchester, dam by Webb's 103, 28 gs. — Sir. Ramsden. By ditto, dam by Clipper, 24 gs. — Duke of Portland. By Perfection, dam by Royal Worcester, 30 gs. — Mr. Wilson. By Royal Manchester, dam by Royal Plymouth, 11 gs, — Mr. H. Gayford. By a son of Royal Worcester, !dam by Lord Walsingham's First York, 16 gs. — Mr. Cooper. By Manchester Reserve, dam Lord Walsingham's Tirst York, 8 gs.-Mr. Wilson. By Lot 1, which is a grandson of Clipper, dam by Royal Plymouth, 8 gs. — Mr. Stone. By Perfection (Lot 3), dam by H. Webb's ram, 100 gs.— Prince of Wales. By ditto, dam by young Reserve, 45 gs. — Mr. Homer. By Lot 1, dam by Viceroy, 35 gs. — Duke of Portland. By Tliird Manchester, dam by Webb's 103, 32 gs,— M, Del'orae, By Lot 1, dam by royal Worcester, 7^ gs. — Mr. Rose. By Lot 1, dam by T, Ellman'g ram, 34 gs,— Duke of Port- land, By Lot 1, dam by Prince, 7 gs.— Mr. Wilson, By First Prize yearUng at Attleborough, a son of Royal Bury St, Edmund's dam by Lord Walsingham's Second York 5^- gs.— Mr. C. MarshaU. ' '"" By Third Manchester, dam by Webb's 103, 30 gs. Mr. Turner. By Third Manchester, dam by Royal Worcester, 23 gs. Mr. Penfold. By a grandson of Clipper, dam by Young Reserve, 11 gs.— Mr. Penfold. By son of Viceroy, dam by Lord Walsingham's Second York, 7 gs.— Mr. Rose. By a grandson of Prince, dam by Young Gaiety, 7 1 gs.— Mr. Scott. By a son of Viceroy, dam by Prince, 23 gs,— Duke of Port- land. By Lot 1, dam by Royal Newcastle, 5| gs.— Mr. Parfit. By a son of Royal Worcester, dam by Young Gaiety, 35 gs.— . Mr. Boby. By Third Manchester, dam by Clipper, 30 gs. — Duke of Port- land. By Third Manchester, dam by Lord Walsingham's Second York, 18 gs. — Mr. Brackenbury. By Manchester Reserve, dam by Royal Newcastle, 6 gs. Mr. Rose. By Royal Manchester, dam by Royal Plymouth, lOJ gs.— Mr. Gibson, By a grandson of Clipper, dam by Viceroy, 19 gs.— Mr. Hart, By Manchester Reserve, dam by Royal Newcastle, 16* eg.— . Mr. Gibson. ^^ By Tliird Manchester, dam by Clipper, 5| gs.— Mr. Rose. By Third Manchester, dam by Lord Walsingham's First York, 20 gs. — Sir Geo. Musgrove. By a son of Viceroy, dam by a son of Royal Worcester, 6* es. — Mr. Broughton. ^^ By a son of Viceroy, dam by a son of Royal Worcester, 5 as. —Mr. J. Pellett. By Viceroy, dam by Clipper, 7i gs.— Mr. G. Barton. By a son of Royal Worcester, dam by Youug Gaiety, 12^^- gs. — Lord Sondes. By Manchester Reserve, dam by Fat Back, 6 gs.— Mr, Smith. By ditto, dam by Royal Newcastle, 7 gs.— Jlr, Rose. By ditto, dam by Prince, 23 gs.— Mr. Gibson. By Viceroy, dam by H. Webb's ram, 6 gs.— Mr. Rose. ByThird Manchester, dam by Webb's 103, 17 gs.— Duke of Grafton. By ditto, dam by Clipper, lOJ gs.— Mr. Jonas. By ditto, dam by Young Gaiety, 7i gs.— Mr. Cheesman. By ditto, dam by Viceroy, 5 gs.— Mr. Rose. TWO-VEAR-OLD EWES. In lots of five each.— Count de Fries 80s., Mr. Turner 90s., Mr. E. Wilson, 115s., Count de Fries 95s., Lord Portsmouth 175s., Lord Portsmouth 145s., Mr. J. J. Colman, M.P., 75s., Mr. Turner 95s., Lord Sondes 90s., Mr. E. Wilson 1353., Prince of Wales 95s., Mr. H. Stone 85s., Mr. G. Smith 75s., Lord Sondes 70s., Mr, G. Smith 80s., Duke of Grafton 70s., Mr. E. Wilson 7os., Mr. H. Stone 85s. THREE-YEAR-OLD ETVES, In lots of iive each.— Lord Sondes 100s., Mr. J, J. Colman M.P., 125s., Count de Fries 85s., Mr. H. P. Hart 80s., Mr. Henty 70s., Mr. N. Greenville 85s., Mr, G, Jonas 75s., Prince of Wales 85s., Prince of Wales 80s., Mr. J. Clayden 753,, Count Fries 75s., Mr. Brackenbury 75s., Mr, Homer 60s. EULL-MOUTHED EWTES. In lots of five each. — Lord Sondes 65s., Mr. G. Smith 70s., Duke of Richmond 130s., Mr. G. Smith 853., Duke of Rich- mond 903., Mr. G. W, Homer 85s,, Duke of Grafton 75s., Mr. W. Taylor 80s., Duke of Richmond 120s.j 'Mr. J, J, Colman, 122 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. M.P., 90s., Mr. Henty 7O3., Mr. Hawkins 753., Mr, J. J. Col- luan, M.P., 105s., Mr. C. Jouas 75s., Mr. H. Stone 80s., Mr. G. Smith 160s., Prince of Wales liOs., Mr. llurnard SOs., Mr. J. J. Colman, M.P., 8O3., Mr. Hawkins 753., Mr. C. A. Barnes lOOs. In lots of ten each.— G. W. Homer 70s., Mr. G. Smith 6O3., Mr. J. J. Colman, M.P., 80s., Mr. G. W. Homer 65s., Mr. Henty 65s., Mr. Henty 65s. BROKEN-ilOUTUED EWES. In lots of ten each. — Prince of Wales 75s., Mr. C. Jones 60s., Mr. J. Lloyd 55s. RAM LAMBS. One in each lot. — Mr. J. Haan £2 5s., Duke of Richmond £b 10s., Mr. J. A. Hempson £3, Mr. G. Smith £5 5s., E. Wilson £5 5s., Mr. Newcombe£8, Lord Sondes £3 5s., Mr. J. A. Hempson £3 los., Mr. N. Greenville £8, Mr. Del'orae £17 17s., Mr. F. J. S. Foljambe £21, Mr. J. Haan £5 5s., Mr. De- rome£1010s.,Mr.Jonas£215s.,Mr.G.W.Homer£1717s.6d., Marquis of Bristol £5 5s., Mr. J. Haan £3 5s., Prince of Wales £12 Is. 6d., Mr. Jonas £4, Mr. Jonas £5 10s., Mr. G. George £4 10s., Mr. Majoribanks £21, Mr. Jonas £5 5s., Lord Sondes £5, Mr. G. W. Homer £2 153., Mr. Jonas £2 15s., Mr. Rix £2 15s., Lord Sondes £7 lOs., Mr. G. W. Homer £4 10s., Mr. A. Greenville £20, Mr. J. Gamble £2 5s., Mr. Majoribanks £4 10s., J. A. Hempson £5, Mr. J. Lloyd £10, Mr. Seaward £20, Mr. H. Stone £2 5s., Mr. Jonas £5, Mr. G. W. Homer £3 5s., Mr. J. A. Hempson £6 10s., Lord Sondes £5, Mr. Sewell £3, Mr. J. A. Hempson £5 10s., Mr. Sewell £6 10s., Mr. G. W. Homer £7, Lord Sondes £5 10s., Mr. C. A. Barnes £8 10s., Mr. Jouas £2 10s., Mr. Stenning £5 10s., Mr. Penfold £6 5s., Mr. Majoribanks £15 10s., Mr. G. W. Homer £5, Mr. Hempson £5 10s., Mr. Jonas £5 5s., Mr. G. Smith £2 10s., Mr. Pellett £2 5s., Mr. T. Gayford£2 5s., Mr. C. Newcombe£2 103.,Lord Sondes £5 158., Mr. Hempson £3 63., Mr. Jonas £i. In lots of two each.— Mr. G. Wilson £6 10s., Mr. Pellett £4 5s., Marquis of Bristol £7, Mr. Hempson £4 10s., Mr. Jonas £5 10s., Lord Sondes £8 5s., Mr J. Gamble £4 10s., Mr. Stenning £8 10s., Mr. Farrer £4, Mr. Jonas £4 5s., Mr. H. Gorringe £5, Mr. G. Pitts £4, Mr. G. Pitts £4, Mr. C. Roper £5 15s., Marquis of Bristol £9, Mr. G.W. Homer £4 5s., Mr. C. Beart .£6, Mr. C. Roper £4 5s., Mr. Jonas £4 5s., Mr. H. Gorriuge £8 10s., Mr. Farrer £4 10s., Mr. Beart £4 5s., Mr. Beart £8, Mr. G. W. Homer £4 5*., Mr. Pellett £4 5s., Mr. G. VV. Homer £4 5s., Mr. Turner £4 5s., Mr. Farrer M; Mr. H. Gorringe £4 53., Lord Sondes £4 5s. E'WE LAMBS. In lots of five each. — Mr. J. Haan 77s. 6d., Mr. Del'ome 62s. 6d., Mr. H. Gayford 45s., Mr. G. Jonas 623. 6d., Mr. Del'ome 65s., Mr. Beart 62s. 6d., Mr. Majoribanks 80s., Mr. Jonas 62s. 6d., Mr. C. A. Barnes 80s., Mr. J. Lloyd 62s. 6d., Mr. Del'ome 80s., Mr. Jonas 50s., Mr. Beart 52s. '6d., Mr. J. Lloyd 62s. 6d., Mr. C. Marshall 57s. 6d., Mr. H. Gaybird 45s. In lots often each. — Mr. Jonas 35s., Mr. Durrant 40s., Mr. Beart 453., Mr. Durrant 41s., Mr. Jonas 39s., Mr. J. Lloyd 40s., Mr. Durrant 35s., Mr. J. Lloyd 36s. Summary. £ d. £ s. d. 19 old rams 27 13 65 shearlings 22 0 120 ram lambs 4 10 192 old ewes 4 0 65 three-yearewes... 4 2 90 two-year ewes ... 4 16 1 GO shearling ewes... 6 18 160 ewe lambs 2 11 2 525 10 6 1,431 13 8 543 16 4 771 5 4 267 10 1 432 10 9 1,110 2 0 407 7 871 averaged £G 63. Total £5,4{>9 15 0 THE WEIGHT AND VALUE OF LIVE STOCK. For tlie benefit of young beginners in agriculture, I make the following observations : If you are wrong in the buying, selling, and management of live stock, you may bid adieu to comfortable profits. How to buy and how to sell well are two axioms of the utmost importance to successful farming, there- fore if you cannot trust your own judment, get if you can the unbiassed opinion of some competent friend. It is worth even paying for if you have it not. But in the absence of both, let me commend to you the weighing machine, which will put you on a par with some of the best judges, and give you con- fidence in your selling, and reprove you, if in buying you pay too dear. The weighing machine clears up many doubts. Yon should remember that in selling to the buyers (butchers or dealers) you have to do with practised hands, wlio, as a rule, thoroughly understand their business, and can judge closely of animal weights, so that the odds are sadly against you, unless you know the weight, and can therefore insist on a fair market price, which you are sure always to get, either from one or another. I have known of many a rare " picking" got out of farmers who do not know what proper price to ask ; and that reminds me that it is very false economy not to have a knowledge of the state of the metro- politan and other markets. The penny, or even halfpenny, daily papers convey tliis information, so do the ordinary farm periodicals. I quote the following extract from the late Mr. Horsfall's most valuable paper on cattle feeding and dairy management. Royal Agricultural Society's Journal, volume 17, p. 275, and I hope to see the time when those two papers shall be made available to the general farmer in the form of a cheap pamphlet, for 1 know of no other treatise so valuable and comprehensive as tliat on the subject of cattle manage- ment and dairying. " I iiave weighed my fattening cattle for a number of years, and my milch cows for more than two years ; this practice enables me as once to detect any deficiency in the performance of the animals, it gives also a stimulus to the feeders, who attend at the weighings, and who are desirous that the cattle entrusted to their care should bear comparison with their rivals. Another obvious advantage is in avoiding- all cavils respecting the weight by my purchasers, who, having satisfied themselves as to the quality of the animal, now ask and obtain the most recent weighing. Tiie usual computation for a well-fed, but not over fat, beast is, live to dead weight as 21 to 12, or 100 to 59 l-7th, with such modifications as sug- gest themselves by appearances." I recommend also in this matter a reference to those valuable and laborious investiga- tions and tables by Messrs. Lawes and Gilbert in the Royal Agricultural Society's Journal, vol. 13, p. 193, and in vol. 21, p. 484. They say : " Well bred and moderately fattened oxen should yield 58 to 60 per cent, carcase in fasted live weight ; excessively fat oxen may yield from 65 to 70 per cent. Mode- rately fattened sheep (shorn) should yield about 58 per cent, carcass in fasted live weight ; excessively fat sheep may yield 64 per cent, or more. Moderately fat pigs, killed for fresh pork, should yield (including head and feet) about SO to 82 per cent., carcass in fasted live weight ; large, well fattened pigs, fed for curing, will yield a considerably higher proportion. In each of the three descriptions of animal the proportion will, however, vary much, according to breed, age, and condition." In conclusion, when you wish to invest capital profitably in agriculture let me advise you to purchase the volumes of the Royal Agricultural Society, and study their contents so far as they have a bearing on your particular case of farming. Tlie investment will be one of the best you ever made. Know- ledge is power, and tlierefore ignorance must be weakness. I get up every morning with a conviction that I have still much to learn, and altliougli 69 years of age, I do pick up almost daily some additional knowledge. Let me advise my young friends to do the same, and never to believe that they are already so wise th.at tliey have nothing to learn. Every prac- tical man would be all the wiser for knowing why his practice was successful. It is a painful truth that an agiicultural library rarely forms a part of a farmer's investment ; but tlie schoolmaster is abroad now, so that we may reasonably hope for better things ; and I never met with a farmer who was educated at our Royal Agricultural College at Cirencester who did not show the good eli'ects of theory combined with practice — the why and the wherefore. Out of a million far- mers, great and small, in the United Kingdom, there are not THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 123 20,000 who belong to the three great agricultural Societies of England, Ireland, and Scotland, and who benefit by their pub- lications. This is sad evidence of the lack of literature iu agriculture. I hope the time will come when no British far- mer can be found who would say : " None of your theory and book farming for me, 1 am a practical man ;" for as that great man, Baron Liebig, truly says, " Theory is not opposed to successful practice, but is au explanation of tlie cause of its being successful," J. J, Mechi, P. S. Since writing the foregoing I have a striking instance of the necessity for the weighing machine. Two practical farmers, previously unacquainted with each other, met at my farm last week. Jly bailiff asked their opinions of the value of some bullocks; one said £27, the other £18 to £20. The latter w.as nearly correct, 20 having beeu sold at £22 each, of which the remaining 12 were the youngest and lightest. We bought the 20 on July 20, 1870, at £G 10s. each. THE CULTIVATION OF THE SOIL, At the monthly meeting of the AVhitby Chamber of A gri- culture, Mr. G. J. W. Farsyde in the chair, Mr. Martin Simp- son, a curator of museums, delivered a lecture on Soil. Mr. Simpson said : That, as he had travelled over all the counties from Whitby to the metropolis, and also over many counties in the north, studying the various natures of the soil in each county, he thought he could not be charged with pre- sumption iu venturing to address a few remarks upon the soil in the neighbourhood of Whitby. The richest of the soil is composed of vegetable substances which have gone on decay- ing for some considerable time without being disturbed by ar- tificial appliances, as in America. In these extensive regions large crops of grain are capable of being produced with com- paratively little labour or skill. Though great improvements in science and skill had been brought to bear on the cultiva- tion of land in America, it was in this country that the greatest perfection, especially in the way of making agricultural imple- ments, had been attained, thus enabling the farmers in this country to compete much better than they otherwise would in the production of food with those in the more favoured regions. He then described minutely the geological peculiarities of the Whitby district, and explained, very learnedly and explicitly, the nature of various soils that exist in certain districts. Ue alluded particularly to the moors, and mentioned that he had no doubt that they can be much improved. In some of the more exposed places, rising many hundred feet above the level of the sea, it would be useless to attempt anything like cultivation ; but in some of the lower moor lands a great improvement could be made. Some small portions had been enclosed, and had produced fair crops of grass, but it was a question whether it would be worth while to pursue a more extensive system. It would require a very large capital, without the prospect of any immediate re- turn for the outlay, lie was of opinion that trees could be grown. At the present time, larch was the tree that could be turned to the best profit. In speaking of ploughing, he mentioned an instance that had come immediately under his notice, and which, he said, strikingly illustrated the difference in deep and shallow ploughing : the advantage of the former over the latter. Ue saw a piece of land ploughed to the ex- tent of 11 or 12 inches deep. This land was joined by another which was ploughed to about only half this depth, and both were planted with potatoes. A dry season came on, and what was the consequence ? Those potatoes planted in the land deeply ploughed sprung up, and were a good crop, whereas those planted in the other withered away and died. Were a system of deeper ploughing adopted, there would be greater and better crops. Though deep ploughing was found sound philosophy, it was a question for the farmer to think whether it would pay, but he believed that this sound philosophy would prove to be, if carried out, a sound commercial success. But there were many things that exerted themselves against the farmers which prevented them adopting systems of agriculture which they were convinced would prove of benefit. For instance, there was often a doubt about the permanency of tenancy, and it was only reasonable to suppose that no man would hire a piece of land and adopt new systems without fair prospects of some reasonable means of profit. Mr. Norman deprecated very deep ploughing. If land was deep, it exhausted it ; the plough entered the sub-soil and drained the very last nerve. If they wanted deep ploughing, it would be better to go down gradually. Mr. Peaeson said you want to plough into the pan eight or nine inches and turn it up ; the subsoil on the top and the top soil at the bottom. The roots of the plants don't feed upon the top, but the leaves do. lie would advocate the plentiful use of lime, but it requires being judiciously laid on. Some land requires lime every year, while others only require it every four or five years. Mr. Wm. Harrison (Underpark) wished to allude par- ticularly to the restoration of our waste lands into a state of cultivation. Whitby was surrounded by a great quantity of waste land consisting of moors. He thought that those waste lands could be restored by the various chemical agencies which are now afloat. It could not be expected that we can improve these high lands without robbing the lower lauds by transferring manure, but by the agency of chemistry we can act somewhat independently of this, and make them produce good grazing. It was true that there are hundreds of black- faced sheep kept upon the moor, but, if it were brought into a decent state of cultivation, it would be capable of sustaining thousands instead of hundreds. Mr. Robinson said that he had had a good deal of prac- tical experience, and he had discovered that lime was the most beneficial thing that conld be put upon land. Where it was liberally and judiciously applied, it would produce, even on poor lauds, crops that would pay better than those usually produced. With respect to the question of the best time in the year for ploughing land, there were many things tliat proved that the back end of the year was the best. He advo- cated moderately deep ploughing, but different lands required different treatment. Thus in some land, where the plough entered to the extent of nine inches, such stuff would be turned up that a practical man would much dislike to see. He thought that if laud was properly drained so much deep ploughing would not be required, and the land would still be of all practical use to the farmer. A vote of thanks was passed to the lecturer, who briefly ac- knowledged. 134 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE^ THE LICENSING QUESTION. At the June meeting of the Essex Chamber of Agriculture at Rochford, Mr. A. Johnston, M.P., the President, said : You all know the main points of the Government Licensing Bill, some of which points were undoubtedly very bad and very inadmissible. My own conviction, which I have ex- pressed in public and in private when called upon, is that you must face the question of compensation for any vested interests which you take away. I think it was rather over- looked by the opponents of the bill how much compensation really was provided by it, but at the same time it was not pro- vided in a practical way, or in one that could be accepted by those to whom it was offered. Therefore I think it must be regarded as having fallen to the ground, and as not being likely to show its face again. But there is an alternative scheme, which I believe has been actually proposed to the Government by the Licensed Victuallers' Association, and the more I think of it the more it seems to me that it is the most likely plan that has been proposed, and a plan that demands our very serious attention. Some of you may have seen it. It is tills : The Licensed Victuallers say they see the difficulty ; they know there must be a Licensing Bill, and they have no desire to offer a blank opposition to aU reform ; they see the necessity and desirability of greatly reducing tlie number of licensed houses in many neighbourhoods, and they are willing to submit to a licence rent as proposed by the biU, which licence rent should accumulate and form a fund of which those houses which it is desirable to extinguish should be compen- sated. I know there are a great number of practical difficul- ties ill carrying out such a proposal as that, but I would ask what proposal can be brought forward or mentioned which does not contain great practical difficulties? Of course it would want endless elaboration and discussion ; but it does com- mend itself to me as a scheme worthy of most careful consider- ation. Well, those are things that are not in the bill. Another thing that is not in the bill and could not be in a Licensing BiU, is what I believe to be an absolutely necessary portion of any great scheme to further the temperance of the people, viz., the abolition of the Malt-tax, which, I firmly believe from the evidence that has been given by people who thoroughly under- stand it, would lead to the brewing by labouring men at their own homes, of a light, wholesome, perhaps rather nasty — but still, if they like it, that is nothing to me — beverage, which would keep them from the temptation of intemperance. Now, I come to what is strictly within the terms of the notice, viz., the points upou which the bill seems to me to be thoroughly good as a suggestion for future legislation. First, I think it faces the difficulty of finding some fixed principle upon which the grant of licences should be made. Whether it is the best principle or not may be a subject of discussion, but at any rate it does attempt to fix a scale which shall be some guide to the licensing authority as to how many hcences they shall grant. At present it is a matter of sheer gambUng. One bench of magistrates takes one view of its duties, another bench takes another, and even the same bench in different years will take different views of the number of public-houses that are wanted in a given neighbourhood. This difficulty, of course, is more rampant in those suburbs of large towns wliich are rapidly in- creasing. Therefore in so far as the bill pretends to find some fixed principle by which the licensing authority shall be guided, I think it is undoubtedly good. In the second place, the bill recognises the inhabitants or the rate-payers so far as to give them a veto on any licences which the licensing authority may propose to give beyond a certain scale, and I think that to that extent the voice of the rate-payers would be most beneficially exercised. This Chamber can liardly re- fuse to assent to that feature unless it is prepared to rescind the resolution we arrived at at Colchester on the 18th Feb., some weeks before the bill was introduced, by which resolu- tion it was declared " that the licensing laws as at present in force are so prejudicial in their effects, especially on the labouring classes, that their amendment is urgently re- quired at the hands of the present pariiament, by giving the ratepayers some voice in the matter." Well, that disposes of two points. The third is a very important one indeecl. Everyone is alive to the gross anomaly of the mere granting of a licence to a given house immediately raising the value of that house, sometimes £500, sometimes fifteen, and I have heard of a case in which the value of the bricks and mortar was immediately raised by £17,000. That increase in value will always take place, and the question is, " Who ought to have it ?" It seems to me absurd and altogether unreasonable that because the magistrates think right to license a given house, the State, for whom the magistrates are acting, should immediately, and on the spot, make a present of what may be an enormous sum of money to the individual who happens to be the owner of that house. It seems to me that the Bill is good, insomuch as it proposes a method of intercepting, for the benefit of the public, that increased value. The fourth point is, that the Bill recognizes the desirability of diminish- ing the number of pubUc-houses where there are too many. The fifth is, that it draws a much needed distinction between inns which are strictly so in the old sense of the word — per- haps I may say in the present sense of the word — and places which have no real title to that designation ; it distinguishes, I mean, between houses in which necessary refreshment- meat and drink for man and beast — may be had, and those mere tippling bars in the towns which are the source of so much evU. If I understand the BUI aright, the limitation of the number of licensed houses would only apply to those tip- pling bars, and the magistrates would be at liberty, under proper restrictions, to license as many of what are strictly to be called " inns" as are thought proper. I do not think that point was sufficiently understood in the discussions which took place upon the Bill. The sixth point is, all those provisions for special inspection, for earlier closing, and for improved re- gulations. I tliiuk it cannot be doubted that special inspec- tion would be a very good thing — that it is desirable to have a class of men drawn from a class above that of the ordinary police, and superior to the temptations which, at any rate in the towns, they sometimes succumb to. I know very little of large towns, but I have been told by the representative of one of those towns in the north that the police generally succumb to the seductions of the public-house, and look very little after their duties there ; and when a man, supposing he is a teetotaller, does really endeavour to carry out his duty, the pressure which is brought to bear on the town council to get him removed on any pretest that comes uppermost is some- thing too great to be resisted. If that be the case it is clearly a most indefensible state of things, and I think the idea of appointing a class of special inspectors, who would be superior to such influences, is an extremely good one. But I also think there is a good deal in what the licensed victuallers say, that they should not be marked out for this special inspection as if they were a class habitually intending to break the law, but that it should extend to all those who sell food and drink in any shape to the public. I think myself that that might be extended into a general inspection of all food and drink that is sold, whether for consumption on or off the premises, includ- ing not only our own food and drink, but also the food that is sold to us for our cattle, and even the manures which we put upon our land, because, I suppose, there is more swindling, adulteration, and rascality in those trades than in almost any other you could name. I submit the resolutions which 1 have drawn up on the subject of the Licensing BiU as under : 1. That the Government Licensing BUI lately withdrawn may be approved as a suggestion for future legislation, in so far as it recogriizes the desirability of (A.) Some fixed principle being laid down as to the maxi- mum number of licences in each district. (B.) A veto of the inliahitants on such number being ex- ceeded. (C.) Securing for the benefit of the public, instead of mak- ing a present to individuals, of the large immediate extra value conferred on a property by the grant of a new licence, THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 125 (D.) A distinction being drawn between inns for necessary refreshment and mere tippling bars. (E.) Earlier closing, better regulationa, and special inspec- tion. (F.) A reduction of tlie number of licences where excessive. S. That no licensing bill will be satisfactory which does not face the ciuestion of compensation for vested interests ex- tinguished. That the " alternative scheme" of the licensed victuallers deserves serious consideration, but that its value greatly depends on the amount of the licence rent proposed to be paid. 8. Tliat legislation as to licensing alone cannot be expected seriouslj' to dirainisli intoxication. That education and other good influences may be expected to do much, but that the abolition of the malt-tax is a sine qudnon, there being abund- ant evidence that it would lead to the brewing of pure and wholesome beer by the labourers at their own homes, thus diminishing enormously incentives to intemperance. Mr. You^'GMAN, pointing to tlie fact that the first resolu- tion approved the bill so far as it recognised the desirability of some fixed principle being laid down as to the maximum number of licences in each district, askerl whether this implied that there would be no district without a licence required in it P Mr. JouxsTOX : No ; I take it that the bill would lay down a maximum ; it does not compel the licensing authority to have any licences at all. Mr. A. Holt-White : You have said nothing at all about beershops, but T suppose you include them under the term " public-houses." Mr. Johnston : Yes, they form one of the classes. Mr. Holt-White -. In the term publie-houses you take them all in. Mr. Johnston : Yes. Referring to that part of the resolution expressing approval of the bill because it secured for the benefit of the public the immediate extra value conferred on a house by the grant of a licence. Mr. Holt-White asked how such a provision would work as regarded the old public-houses — those that already had licences, and whose owners claimed a vested interest in them P If they made these houses pay for the licence in the way indicated they would immediately infringe on the " vested interest." Mr. Johnston : I would limit the provision to new licences only. Mr. Holt- White : In country districts, then, it would fall a dead letter, for in neighbourhoods like this for many years to come the tendency ought to be to diminish the number of licences, and not to grant new ones. No doubt in a place like Southend, where considerable building may be expected to go on, there may be a call for new public-houses, but if you take all the rest of the district there is no call for more public- liouse accommodation, and therefore you will get nothing from a licence tax unless you impose that tas upon those who already hold licences. 'h\x, J. G, Fry : In legislating a5 regards the number of public-houses in a district I suppose you will be entirely guided by population, not by area P Mr. Johnston : I think it is contemplated that we should have regard to both points — mixed population and area. They allow a smaller maximum of population in a country district than in a town. I think Mr. Holt- White's remarks were perfectly justifiable ; this section would have no effect in those growing districts where new licences will be erauted. The subject of a licence rent on old houses comes into the second resolution, and would be, as I understand it, the pro- posal of the licensed victuallers themselves. Before putting the resolution to the meeting, the chairman read the following letter, which had been received from Mr. John Page, of Southend :— Foley Arms Hotel, Great Malvern. My Dear Sir, — I am sorry that I shall not be able to attend your meetin»; at Rochford, as I shall not be in the county. With regard to licensing, though a strong conserva- tive, I think, perhaps I am a worse radical than you are upon that. I am for free-trade in beer. I hope to see the Crowns, Anchors, and Queen's Heads fade away, and that abomination a taproom forgotton or despised. I recognise no relationship betvceeu sociability and drunkenness, nor do I know why, when men meet to talk, they needs must drink. The repeal of the malt-tax is merely political capital. Tlie only effect would be to put its amount into the pockets of the brewers, while the poor would be supplied witli worse beer if possible than at present, because a worthless malt would be created from worthless barley, — Believe me very truly. May 39th. John Pa&e. The resolutions were then submitted and carried. Mr. Johnston had also prepared resolutions upon the subject of Local Taxation. Sir Massey Lopes entirely approved of them, with the exception that he was a little doubtful about the arrangements for the election of parochial chairmen. They were as follows : " That the Local Taxation and Local Government Bills lately withdrawn may be approved as suggestions for ftiture legislation— 1st. In so far as they provide for a consolidated rate, an explicit demand note, improved collection and audit, the better organisation of parochial and county government. 2nd. In so far as they discontinue the exemption or partial exemption from rating of mines, timber, sporting rights, mansion houses, and government property ; and 3rd. In so far as they sanction the principle of the transfer of the produce of an imperial tax locally raised to local purposes. That the proposed transfer of the house-tax alone would not be any relief to land, and tliat therefore the application of a fixed portion of the produce of schedule A of the property-tax raised in each local area to the relief of local taxation within such area is a proposal worthy of consideration." These resolutions were also adopted, and the thanks of the meeting passed to the chairman. FARMERS' HOMES, The following paper was read at the annual meeting of the New York State Agricultural Society by Mr. F. D. Curtis, of Saratoga County : It is very often the practice with farmers to think more of the farm than of the farmhouse. It is a time-honoured adage that " charity begins at home ;" hence, we think that a few suggestions correlative to this sentiment may be profitable. There is a feeling of dissatisfaction with agricultural life among the sons of farmers, leading them to hate the occupation and surroundings of their fathers, and to seek a society and business which their fancy paints to be more congenial and less laborious. Farming is hard work at the best, and when it amounts to abject drudgery, with no sunshine indoors, and the grateful clieer of books, intelhgent conversation, and encouragement to the promptings of latent ambition, not to omit good food aud a pleasant home upon which the eye delights to rest, it is no wonder farmers' sons and farmers' daughters become restless, and long for the time to come when they can tl-.row off the shackles of an unsatisfying servitude, and go to the factory, the store, or an overcrowded profession, where they can enjoy some of the privileges which they do not have at home. The remedy for this is to make home pleasant and enjoyable. Do not enrich the field and im- poverish the household. Apply every exertion in culture and drainage outside the home ; but do no not neglect to sweeten the inner atmosphere, and strengthen the ties within, so that from the intelligent happiness of the home circle there may always radiate a cheerful and intelligent, and therefore effective energy. Children must be made to /ore their homes, else the attractions of cities and villages will surely lure them away from the peaceful and monotonous labours of rural life. Let them plaJit trees, cvUtivate iliem, aad have the profits accruing » 2 126 THE FAKMER'S MAGAZINE. from the sale of fruits they bear. Let them have fowls, ani- mals, bees of their own, be taught how to rear and care for them, and enjoy the results of their attention and work in toys or books, or investments in the savings'-bank. The sense of proprietorship will give to a boy not fond of work great inte- rest in a small potato patch, or a score of sage plants, or a rod square of Lima beans. And in our country girls a love for out-of-door work should be sedulously cultivated. Let them have a garden spot, with room for flowers, herbs, and vegetables, and time to take care of it. Better raise flowers and shrubs and fowls and honey, than delve in the kitchen for evermore, and then have nothing for it. Ample provision must be made for sport during the short winter days and the long cold evenings. Checker-boards, candy puddings, games of various sorts, music, amusing books, these ave indispensable. Let the boys have traps and catch minks and muskrats, rabbits and skunks, the more the better. Let the boys and girls have sleds and skates with wrappings and furs of their own trapping, and enjoy the glare of frozen ice, the slippery side hill, the glowing starlight, the jingling bells, the bracing frosty air, and all the delights that make winter on the farm a season of festivity and sport. Then do not keep all the preserves and canned fruit, the various goodies laid up in store, only for com- pany ; but bring them out on proper occasions, just to let the boys and girls have a good time eating them, and they wUl be more ready in hot days next summer to renew the wasted store, and lay up future enjoyments for the coming snows and frosts. Then remember that any right-minded boy or girl always likes to know the reason of things. Explain to your son when you are sowing clover for manure, how and why it benefits the soil — why some soils require lime, aud others the acids of decom- position, to render them mellow and fertile. If the children are contented and happy, the young folks wiU be. Let the boys earn money, aud give them the benefit of your advice, not com- mands, how to expend it. Make the boy a man and the girl a woman as far as you can, not a drudge or a fool, by being your- self the raoutli to speak for them, the eyes to see for them, the ears to hear for them, and the brains to tliink and act for them. Let them act for themselves under your care and supervision. Try to know more thau they do ; spend your own surplus time in informing yourself, laying up a store of knowledge to impart to them, instead of gossiping with some talkative neighbour, or telling over for the hundredth time some big story or atfair wliich never had any pith or point, and whicli your sou hears, wondering how you can be interested in such nonsense, when the wide world is before him, and nature, ■whose laws and phenomena are to him an enigma, is all around him, and you should be, and lie expects you to be, capable to explain many of these things to him. Live, if possible, in the front side of the house, where something can be seen. Do not have all the grand and comfortable things in the parlour, which is opened quarterly, when the minister comes around, and the rest of the time is sacred, unless there is a funeral or a wedding, which the girls would not postjione a great while in such a home ; but have some of the cheery and nice furniture in the sitting or family room. Be sure and have sucli a room, if you have to do without the parlour ; and have a place for books, aud have some books there. In addition to what we should always expect to llnd — a bible and an almanac and histories — let there be agricul- tural papers and books. Much can be learned from them how to prevent disease among the animals, liow to cure disease, and hints and facts about the crops, which will more than re- pay tlie cost, besides furnishing food for tlie hungry niiuds of the boys and girls. The surroundings of the farmers' homes can be made more comfortable. Instead of the little building situated several rods from the house, which must be visit ad in tlie storms and cold, and exposed to the public gaze, and which is very often a nuisance, let a lean-to be made against the rear of the dweUing or the woodhouse, with an entrance under cover, where tubs can be placed, and by an addition of a little earth or plaster or muck every few days, nothing dis- agreeable will ever be experiencecl. The compost heap or the manure pile will receive the contents, and at least 10 dollars annually of additional value will be realised for each adult. Have a cistern. Gather the materials at odd times ; and if you have room in the cellar, and do not want to afford time to dig a hole, wall up one corner and let the water in. Put a pump in the kitchen in the handiest place, and with a lead pipe you may draw the water to a sink within a step from the stove. Keep a stock of wood ahead. Any wife has a just reason for divorce from a husband who is so mean and so shiftless that he furnishes her stove-wood from day to day, and any farmer who does it with the idea of economy is a dunce, for the time spent in hunting up the axe — and such a farmer always has to hunt up his axe or anything else he wants — and the time spent in going to and from his other work to cut wood, and the delays waiting for meals because the wood is green and wet, would go a long way towards working up a good stock of wood, which, being seasoned and handy, the hard - working housekeeper could use so as to save herself many a scolding ; and a man who has no wood -pile must be a scold, and unreasonable enough to find fault with his wife, when he alone should be blamed. Pork is the most expensive food, besides its tendency to make people gross and vulgar, A big pork-eater and a man of delicate sensibiUties and feelings are opposites. A pound of chicken can be produced on a farm as cheaply as a pound of pork. The same is true of mutton. Both are healthier than hog-flesh. Then why not raise chickens and lambs, and eat poultry and mutton ? An ice-house is indispensable to a a well regulated farm-house. The best way to build one is to construct an addition on the north side of the kitchen or wood-house and connect with it a dark room to be used for a store-room. This room having the ice on one side, with only a partition between and no window or ventilation except at the top, would always be cool and free from flies. Here the fresh meats and the cream and other things can be kept cool and sweet. To be handy, the ice could be taken out from the ice-house through a door opening into this room, and be closed on the outside all the year except when it was neces- sary to open in order to put the ice in. The first cost of this addition would be but a trifle, and the expense of getting the ice nothing at all, for the farmer could do all that himself. A nice house, with the road side in front of it the favourite place of deposit for all tlie broken dilapidated crockery, tin ware, and debris of the farm, is a common sight, and presents a contrast which demonstrates that the lady who presides within has no proper appreciation of the " fitness of things." Every- body likes the sweets of neatness, and the home is pleasanter if neat. Banish the swill-barrel from the kitchen door, and in its stead have two large pails ; and a rule, which every man and boy must obey, to empty them when full into the swiU- barrel, which shall constitute part of the furniture of the pig- house. A clean cellar, airy aud free from odours, is health. A house on a hill, with no trees around it, looks cheerless and uuhomelike. Have grounds around tlie dwelling. Tear away the fences, they cost money and are useless — I mean the fences shutting the house up as if there was danger of its running away. Let there be not less than an acre of door yard, ten will be better. Make a lich lawn of this and cut the grass. It can be no waste, but it wUl be a thing of beauty, and " a thing of beauty is a joy for ever." There need not be any loss to be tasteful ; nature and beauty are synonymous ; good taste and economy can therefore be made handmaids to each other. Set out fruit trees in this enclosure and dig around them with a spade each year, and topdress the whole, and the trees will grow finely, and the grass will grow luxuriantly, and the house will grow beautiful, the children will grow con- tented, the fathers and mothers as tliey grow old will grow happy, the neighbours w ill grow to emulate and to excel, the township will grow attractive, and the young men and the young women will grow up to think and to feel, that there is no place after all like home, " .S\yeet Home." TttB FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 12? THE ECONOMICAL MANAGEMENT OP FARMYARD MANURE. At a general meeting of the Goole and Marshland Chamber of Agriculture, Mr. J. Wells in the chair, a paper was read by Mr. Conder, of Pontefract, on The Economical Manage- ment of Farmyard Manure in the fold and in the Field. Mr. Conder said : The subject of this paper is of greater importance to the farmer than is generally supposed, for owing to defective arrangements of farm buildings, and the generally careless modes adopted in tlie preparation and application of this kind of manure, there is, without doubt, a serious loss and waste, the money value of which loss cannot easily be computed, but which, in the aggregate, in England alone forms a considerable percentage of the value of tlie artificial manures now so largely used in this country. This subject has an additional interest at present, wlien tlie question " How to prevent the pollution of our rivers by sewage from our large cities and towns " has become one ot the great pro- blems of the day. Every English farmer must deplore the waste occasioned by the present system of water carriage of sewage — that so much of tlie excreta from our large popu- lations is carried down the rivers out into tlie ocean, instead of beiug available for the fertilisation of the soil. It there- fore must be a matter of some interest to us to discuss how best to conserve and how most judiciously to use the ordinary manure made on the farm. Tlie question, how can this be managed in the fold and in the field so as to increase its pro- ductive power, is one which will repay the agriculturist for all the attention and consideration he may bring to hear upon it. Starting with the obvious fact that the manurial value will always increase or decrease in proportion to tlie roots, corn, and oilcake consumed along with straw by the live stock on the farm premises, stiU there is no doubt the system most generally pursued may be greatly improved upon — in the fold first, by more carefully mixing the different constituents to- gether, so as to secure greater uniformity in quality ; then, by the prevention of waste occasioned by filtration or evaporation, by employing tlie means which chemistry has made known to fix that valuable but highly volatile substance, ammonia. To secure this end, foldyards entirely covered over are preferable to open yards; but when, on account of the money outlay necessarily involved, these cannot be liad, the next best thing is to prevent the rain-water off the roofs of surrounding buildings from washing the most valuable portions of tlie ma- nure out of the yard. Buildings should be carefully spouted, and the water conducted away in channels or drains under the surface. Another essential point is the application of gypsum, or some other chemical compound, in the stables, cow-bins, piggeries, &c., which will not only prevent any unpleasant smell, but will also fix the ammonia that is otherwise con- stantly escaping. By using gypsum or sulphate of hme (cal- cined, of course), this may be effected ; also, by laying hold of the liquid portion of the deposits it will materially increase the value of tlie manure. Gypsum should therefore be libe- rally applied, not only inside the stables, &c., but occasionally over the whole foldyard. Where this calcined gypsum is diffi- cult to procure, tlie principle of Moule's earth closet may be adopted, and dry clay, finely pulverised, ashes, or charcoal of any kind may be used with a good result. Thus the health of animals kept indoors will be improved by purifying the air they breathe, and a much larger percentage of fertilising matter wiU be secured in the manure. Some writers on the subject recommend that foldyards should be carefully paved with bricks, and so formed that the liquid portions may be drained off into a large tank, to be afterwards pumped out and carted on the grass sward or otlier green crops. In some special cases perhaps this plan may be profitable, such, for in- stance, as where a large number of cows are kept for dairy purposes, or in any other establishment where large numbers of horses or other live stock are kept, and the most rigid economy in the use of straw has to be practised. But it may be questioned whether on farms where all the straw produced has to be consumed on the premises if liquid manure tanks are of any real value, and if the plan already described of ab- sorbing the urinary deposits is not much preferable. The same principle should be carefully carried out when the ma- nure is taken away from the farmstead. The system so com- mon in some districts should be avoided. There is still sometimes to be seen in this county a process something like the following : Manure is being carted out from the farmstead. You observe that it has the appearance of half-rotten straw ; little oilcake, corn, or roots have been consumed on the steading, and the most valuable portion has been allowed to run off down the surface drains from the fold. Thus made it is carted out into some bye-lane, perhaps alongside an open ditch, then lightly thrown out with forks to encourage ier- mentation. Thus the ammonia evaporates from the top as the steaming vapour arises, aud at the bottom the liquid por- tion is beiug drained away as the heavy rains penetrate com- pletely through the heap, and literally wash out its most valu- able constituents, its very life-blood. No wonder this treat- ment, wlien applied to the soil, fails to give the result the far- mer looks for. This part of tlie subject has often been matter of discussion among practical agriculturists, aud among a variety of modes considered, the following has been most gene- rally approved : Instead of the manure being thrown out of the carts as lightly as possible, the cart is driven on the top of the heap, then upturned and emptied. If near tlie homestead, a man is usually employed with a kind of drag tr pull the lumps about, keeping the surface of the heap level, building three sides quite perpendicular, and allowing a slope at one end for the cart to ascend and return. This prevents the heap from such rapid fermentation and consequent loss of strength, and preserves its most valuable properties for the cereal crops usually following the root crops to which such manure is applied. The heap should then be covered with some soil, ditch bottom or road-scrapings being generally available, |if with a coat of gypsum, so much the better. The more preferable plan is to cart the dung direct from the steading, and apply it to the land previous to the winter ploughing. This plan, however, can only be adopted to a limited extent, as it necessitates the keeping of one year's stock of dung ready for the next autumn, when the state of the weather and the press of farm work miglit prevent it being applied. When it is considered necessary that the dung sliould be reduced to a shorter and more pulverised condition, this end can be attained by simply turning over the heap formed as before described two or three weeks before it is in- tended for use. A quantity of gypsum should again be ap- plied to the top after being turned. It is of comparatively little importance whether the dung thus prepared is applied to the soil spread evenly over the surface, or, as it is most commonly applied, in drills or ridges, the great end having been secured, namely, the conservation of its most valuable constituents, and a large increase in the percentage of those valuable gases that cause rapid and luxuriant vegetation. Some attention should be bestowed on the place where the dungheap is formed. If not carted into a field, the bottom should be so formed that the liquid portion cannot be drained from the heap — this, on most soils, can easily be effected. This certainly is but a little or trivial thing. But the farmer has, in the preparation of manure, as well as in all his plans, to remember the old adage, as to the importance of little things. And though we may be inclined to agree with the wise man, " There is nothing new under the sun," still it must be ad- mitted that old things are sometimes capable of more advan- tageous combinations. In further reference to the applica- tion of manure in the field, the opinion has already been ad- vanced that this is of little comparative importance to its proper manufacture. Yet we must not regard it as of no im- portance whatever. There are several principles upon wliich it is absolutely necessary to act. The soil must be in proper condition ; not in a soft wet state, so as to be compressed by the feet of the horse or the wheels of the dung-cart. On the lightest and most friable of soils, some injury would be done ; but on heavy clays aud loams it would be an act of great foUy to cart manure while the soil remained in a wet condition. Again — The principles already insisted on in the manufacture 128 THE PARMER'S MAGAZINE. must be carried out in the application, so that there may be the maximum of waste either by evaporation or in any other way. The question, whether or not manure loses value by being allowed to remain on the surface after being spread, and whether it suffers by being applied when the earth is bound up with frost and covered with snow, or during intense heat and drouglit, by being exposed to the wind and sun — tliese topics have been discussed both by practical and scientific men, and liave elicited opinions diametrically opposed to each other. Perhaps here, as on some other questions, both sides are right and both are wrong. One is of opinion that if manure is only spread on the surface, the deodorizing power of the soil is so great, it will absorb aU the the ammonia, nitrogen, &c., that it contains, and that nothing more is necessary. In this case, the mechanical action of the manure in preventing com- pression, in opening and pulverising, to use a common phrase, in mellowing the soil in which it mixes, is overlooked. An- otlier tells us confidently that frost has no effect at all detri- mental to the value of manure spread on the surface — that it lays hold only on the moisture contained in it, and extracts nothing but water. There are always men to be found who push scientific theories containing a large amount of truth to extremes. With the most profound respect for those gentle- men who make agricultural chemistry their study, and recog- nising the advantages which chemistry has conferred, and will no doubt continue to confer on agriculture, still unless science and practice, the theory and the result, are found agreeing to- gether, there must be sometliing wrong in the deductions of that branch of science. And practice has shown that manure applied while in a state of fermentation and rapid decomposition, during either of the extremes of weather mentioned, does suffer in some degree — does lose some portion of its value ; a great deal depends on the state in which it is applied, and of the agencies of evaporation at work when so exposed. The point to be aimed at in all applications of ma- nure is to bring it into immediate contact with the soil as soon as possible. It is the custom in many districts to cart out manure and lay it in small heaps over the fields, and in this way it is sometimes left for weeks previous to being spread over the surface. There can be no objection to this mode of laying it on tlie land, called by the workmen setting on, which is a very convenient one ; but tlie practice of allowing it to re- main is unwise, as in this case a very large proportion of sur- face is exposed, which, not coming into contact with the soil, as a matter of course is allowed to " waste its sweetness on the desert air." In deciding between the relative advantages of manure being applied on the surface or under the surface of the soil, it must not be forgotten that farm-yard manure, while in a state of decomposition, is constantly giving off a certain amount of heat, whether in the soil or not ; it follows, there- fore, as a natural consequence that, unless it is in immediate contact with the earth, or some other deodoriser, it must lose value in some degree. Granting the correctness of these pre- mises, the deductions are, that if manure is obliged to be left on the surface as in the case of grass sward, it should not be applied until the fermentation is over, and it is thoroughly de- composed— also, that it is preferable to cover manure in any other stage of decomposition over with soU as soon as possible after it is exposed. But while strongly advocating the princi- ple of immediate contact with the soU, it is not to be inferred that putting manure down to the subsoil is to be recommended ; on the contrary, if put on the soil and slightly covered over, so as to protect from the extremes of weather, without doubt the most judicious method is adopted. In the best farmed districts of Scotland it is the practice to manure as much as possible previous to the winter ploughing, and in that climate, and in the months of November and December, when evaporation is at its lowest point, of course the danger of waste pointed out in this paper is greatly diminished. In adopting these views and endeavouring to act on these principles, without entering into detail, it may be affirmed that the farmer will secure not merely a better article as manure, but the very best possible for him to make, and applied so as to produce the best possible effect on his crops. Mr. Budding asked whether the manure lost its strength by being exposed to the sun. In Lincolnshire it was the cus- tom to manure the seed in summer time. Mr. RocKETT asked whether it was merely a liquid of no value, or whether it was the ammonia that escaped. The CiiAiRHAN said he would give them some of his ideas suggested by the paper of Mr. Conder. The best way of making manure was to have boxes for the feeding of cattle. He had tested the principle during the thirty years he had been a farmer, and he had found it worse for the stock, but he got good manure. The next tiling is to mix the manure. He had carried this out for some time, at Booth Ferry. It was con- sidered the best to have covered farmsteads ; but he would ask them what would be the condition of their cattle brought up in a covered farmstead ? It might answer if their stock was intended for the butchers ; otherwise it was important for the stock to come into contact with the atmosphere. At Sanc- ton, Booth Ferry, and the Pastures, througli sprinkling [with gypsura, he had not had a single case of disease, although se- veral of his neighbours suffered from it. He appoved of a ma- nure tank ; but it should be cleaned out regularly. Housed liquid manure on eighteen acres of grass land with the best results. By saving the drainings it would save the very es- sence of the manure. He would conclude by hoping the time would come when they would have good farm buildings with half their fold yard covered in, and able to pay five per cent. to their landlords for the outlay. Mr. CoXDER said that on perusing his paper they would find that he did not exactly condemn the use of liquid manure tanks. The Chatrman proposed a vote of thanks to Mr. Conder for his paper, and the meeting came to a close. THE USES 01^ SALT. At the BaUymahon farmers' Club meeting the following paper was read by Mr. AV. Benjamin Digby :— " Salt is good," Mark ix. 50. We liave thus tlie highest authority possible for estimating its importance and utility. I will endeavour in this paper to illustrate tliis in its application to agriculture in particular, and mankind in general. 1. First, then, its chemical composition. Its symbols are Na. CI., expressed as chloride of sodium, i. e., nearly two parts of chloride to one of sodium, or as 442 to 291 exactly. These two simple ele- ments separately are very pecuhar in every respect. Sodium is a metaJ of a delicate pink colour, about the consistence of bees' wax. When dropped into cold water it rolls about, and hisses like hot iron cooling, and when dropped into hot water, or merely moistened, it takes fire and burns, with a bright yellow flame. This arises from its great affinity for oxygen, of which water contains 88 per cent. The other element, chlorine, is a gas. The name is derived from " ehloros," tlie Greek for green, because this gas is a greenish colour. It is very heavy compared with air, and would suffocate if inhaled. It IS a very valuable article in commerce, being the greatest bleaching agent, and is used in many trades, chiefly by paper- makers to whiten and purify the dirty rags from wliich paper is made. Chlorine is also a powerful disinfectant : you are all familiar with it in the form of chloride of lime. How strange it is that common salt, so simple and harmless, should be composed of two extraordinary ingredients. One of the pro- ducts of salt is soda, which is so very generally useful. We have seen the strong affinity which sodium has for oxygen ; accordingly, when sulphuric acid or oU of vitriol, is poured upon common salt, there are formed two new compounds— hydrocliloric acid, called spirit ot salts and of sulphate soda, called glauber salts commercially. Tiiis sulphate of soda is then ground, mixed with ground chalk and culm: all three are burned together in a close furnace for an hour. The last part of the pro- cess is to mix a quantity of sawdust with the compound ; aU are burned again. By this means the sulphur is consumed and driven off, while there remains the carbonate of soda ready for use. 2. We will next proceed to examine tlie various uses of salt to animals and vegetables. Wheifsalt is eaten it is de- composed in the stomach, assisted by sulphur, whicli variou THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 129 articles of ioocl supply, ia a manner similar to the artificial process we have just described. The chloride goes to form hydrochloric -acid or muriatic acid ; this, with pepsine, con- stitutes our gastric juice, the active agent by which digestion is carried on. Tlie other ingredient of the salt, the alkaline or soda part, is taken up by the blood, of which it forms a very large proportion, and without wliich it could not be healthy. In proof of this: one of the severest punishments inflicted on criminals in Holland was depriving tliem of salt with their food, by which some horrible diseases were caused — so bad that the treatment was discontinued. All the juices of animals contain salt, and must be supplied with it to keep them and us in health. It also destroys worms and animalculre, which are spontaneously developed in any animal. To the beasts of our farms it "is invaluable. Korses and sheep should always have some of it to lick ; they are found to thrive much better. pattle should always have it in their liay, and salt bran mashes increase th^ yield of milk immensely. It is absolutely ne- cessary to pigs, and is an almost certain preventive of distemper in them. In fact, it has been stated and proved by learned and medical men of all ages that healthy action of the organs of animal life cannot be maintained without a supply of salt into the system. In countries distant from the sea, where no sea air or spray is ever blown, as jtjs in Britain, and where salt is scarce and difficult to be procured, the inhabitants and animals feel the want greatly, and experience a craving desire for anything saline. In the centres of Africa and South America the people seek salt, and eat it plain, with the same zest that many people in this country relish sugar, and a man's wealth is esti- mated by his being able, to have salt with his meals. Herds of wild animals in these continents are known to travel hun- dreds of miles to salt springs and lakes called salinas and salt licks. The consumption of salt in Europe alone is immense. It is computed to be about two millions and a-half tons au- hually. Nest, its use to vegetables and land. This is scarcely so well known or resorted to as it deserves. There are some vegetables, as mangolds, potatoes, turnips, carrots, and beet, which contain a large proportion of it, as is proved by the ashes of those when burnt yielding from iO to 50 per cent, of salt, showing that they require salt as part of their "manure ; this knowledge is made use of by many larmers in England, and ought to be made public in this country. It is thought by many that salt destroys vegetation ; but so does any other strong manure, if applied too close to, or touching the plant or the seed in its pure state. The best way to apply salt to crops is to scatter it over the ground a little before the crop \ goes in. It will then be dissolved and assimilated by the soil. The average quantities for the Irish acre for root crops are from 4 cwt, to 4| cwt. for light land, and from 2j cwt. to 3 cwt. for heavy soils. Potatoes and mangolds take most ; next are turnips, carrots, beet. Be- sides acting as a manure to the crop, salt is most useful in de- stroying insects, slugs, worms, and their eggs, and that pest of farmers, the wireworm is effectually destroyed by it ; but it should be applied before the crop goes in. Another benefit is that salt keeps the ground moist, preventing it being parched in summer, or frozen hard in winter ; for sea-water does not freeze so readily as fresh -water. Another effect of salt is that it hastens the decay of dead vegetable matter, so that when mixed with or thrown upon heaps of weeds, roots, leaves, &c., the mass soon decays and makes excellent manure. The best kind to use is the pickling or fishery salt, after it has been used. It then contains a deal of blood and animal refuse, by which its value as manure is greatly increased. The price of this in Dubhn is about 16s. per ton. 3. There are various sources of salt, namely, the sea-salt mines, salt lakes, salt springs, and caverns and crevices in the rocks on the shores of Spain and the Mediterranean. The greatest yield is from salt-mines. They exist in Cheshire, in America, but the largest in the world are at Saltzburgh and in Galicia, one of the provinces of Austria. The bed of salt is 460 mUes long, 20 miles broad, by 1,200 feet thick. The mining there employs thousands of hands. The salt there is in the state of rock. It contains some earthy impurities which are freed from it by dissolving it — washing and then evaporating ; and another method, instead of quarrying or Tvorking in the mines, is to sink a small shaft a few inches wide into the bed of salt, pour water down. After some time it is pumped up and evaporated. Another great source of salt is the sea ; but as sea-water contains numerous other ingredi- ents, the production of salt is a troublesome one. By analysis of sea-water on the coast of Britain, it is found to contain the following : Potassium, magnesium, bromium, sulphate of magnesia (or common salts), carbonate of lime, and iodine. The proportion of these in sea-water is 3j per cent. ; some are exceedingly small ; while of chloride of sodium (common salt) there is of this 3^ per cent., about 2f (exactly 2.70) per cent. In plain language, if you take 100 lbs. weight of sea- water round Britain, you will obtain 21bs. 11 ounces of com- mon salt. The evaporation is carried on either by boiling, as is done in many parts of our coasts, or by evaporation in wide pans. Hence the origin of Preston-pans, where the battle was fought. Evaporation is not carried on to dryness ; but as soon as the salt crystals are formed on the bottom, the mother liquor, as it is called, which is by this time very dense, is drawn off. The salt is then dried, and either cast into blocks or sent loose for sale. From the residue — the " mother " liquor — are obtained Epsom salts, magnesia, &c. The difference in the various sizes of salt grains is caused by the rate of evaporation ; when fine is re- quired, evaporation is done rapidly in a few hours; but when very coarse salt is required, evaporation occupies several days. The primary crystal of salt is a cube, but it appears often in a pyramidal form ; this is caused by several cubes united when crystalhzing. The specific gravity is 2.55, consequently sea water, or water containing salt, will be denser than fresh water : by this means its buoyancy is in- creased. Having shown its uses on land, we must not omit its great use to the sea. Not only do the salts in sea-water aid in keeping it pure, but as the sea is the great receptacle for the sewage from land, these impurities, of which there are thousands of tons annually poured into the sea, would pollute its shores were it not that the salts, with their various strong affinities, combine with them, and prevent in a great measure their poisonous gases from rising. The sea-shore would other- wise be an unhealthy place and to be avoided, instead of being, as it is, the most healthy and invigorating, and a source of attraction and enjowment. Hoping that this information may be found useful and interesting, I will conclude by an ad- vice which ia appropriate and of the highest authority, " Let your conversation be always with grace, seasoned with salt." HOW TO BREED HAMPSHIEE DOWNS.— At his letting, Mr. Saunders said he had done the best he could, though he did not mean to assert he had done better than anyone else. His endeavour had been to improve the breed of sheep, and to produce such stock as would suit his friends, and pay them perhaps better than they had paid him- self, though he had no fault to find in that particular. The stock would speak for itself ; he had done the best he could without cake or corn. He Hked cake and corn when he wanted fat ; but he could not agree with it for a lot of breed- ing rams, as he did not like to see them with cotton jacketSj but with a woolly coat. He had generally succeeded pretty well. He had showed 32 times in the last three years, and gained 28 prizes, having obtained five medals within the same period. If they would breed with his sheep, he would engage they would beat him in stock if they lived to his age, and im- proved the breed of sheep as he had done for the last 45 years. He had kept a pedigree-book for nearly 40 years which told him the state of his stock. The course he had adopted with regard to feeding the sheep to be submitted to competition was to give them some cake when the snow set in ; but they had not had a mouthful of corn nor cake since Lady-day. They had no swedes all the winter ; and he was obliged to do this — not that he liked the system, but he was compelled to resort to it, as he had nothing else to give them. A gentleman who had some of his ewes last year said some of them were 16 or 17 stone. Mr. Chapman Saunders said he saw a fleece cut from one of their ewes the other day, weighing lllbs. 130 tMb faemer'S magazine. SUFFOLK AGRICULTURAL ASSOCIATION, MEETING AT BECCLES. The chief difficulty with the Suffolk Show has now come to be its late appearauce in the East Anglian field. After the Essex, Norfolk, and Cambridgeshire Societies have had tbeii- innings, it becomes extremely hard for Suflblk to produce any striking novelty. It has been proposed that the eastern counties should combine their forces and hold one general show. The idea has not yet been actually realized, but it may be said after all to have been prac- tically carried out, since after the fashion of the High Court of Parliament an Eastern Counties Show is virtually held by " divers prorogratioiis and adjournments" at certain points in each of the four counties every summer. Each county certainly contributes a distinct contingent of exhibitors, but still at each county gathering there are old stock names always turning up — your Overmans, your Barlows, your Stearns, your Sextons, your Duckerings, and your Giblins ; and it is to these stock names that most of the principal prizes are somehow or other attached. But whatever may have been the '"padding" of the Suffolk show, it alway has its speciality in the agricultu- ral horse stock, of which Suffolk is justly proud. The style of the Suflblk cart-horse appears to be now con- sidered less "punchy" (fancy a Frenchman trying to translate this expression) ; he has become a larger, a leggier, and a roomier animal, and seems to be aiming at the dignity of drawing a dray rather than marching a furrow. The honours of the Beccles meeting, so far as the agricultural stallions were concerned, went to j\Ir. Garrett's Cupbearer, sire Conqueror, a famous horse of the late Mr. Crisp — the Tom Crisp, once well knovvn in the tented but still pcacefid fields devoted to agricultural exhibitions, but now numbered with the countless host of the dead. Cupbearer comes, then, of a good sound stock, and the district is now well furnished with his stock. He brought his owner at the Beccles meeting, in cups and specie, no less than £5G 5s., so that he may be said to have done a very good two days' work. In the three-year-old colts, Bismarck was again a winner, with some of the same judges. Lord Stradbroke sent four handsome cart mares. Some prizes for the best cart foal vvent to one of Cupbearer's progeny. The three-year-old fillies were a plain class ; the prize winner was, however, a nice compact animal. The Despised, which figured in the front among the two- year-old fillies, was not altogether fancied, and some thought that Blossom, Mr. llisl's chcsnut, might yet turn out the most valuable marc. The locally well-known chcsnut mare jMatchet, which is another of Conqueror's descendants, won a Beccles special prize as the best cart mare in the yard. Before leaving the agricultural horse stock we should note that Cupbearer, although lie carried all bef'oi'c him, did not show in first-rate form, in sporting phraseology, having lately been suffering from a severe attack of inflammation of the bowels, when he injured his hocks by striking against the walls and floor of his box. The three-year-old colts were a good class, and Mr. Rist also showed a smart yearling. In the thorough-bred stallions fortune for once deserted the Ilasketon stables, but she made amends in Major Barlow in the other hunting classes. In the hunting marcs Sir A. S. Adair had three nice animals, and one, a neat bay, took the prize. The hackney mares were a fair class ; when they were beiug judged, a black gelding belonging to Mr. Pollard, of Raveningham, jumped at the rails of the ring in a side-ways fashion, and fell with a broken neck on the other side ; his death being only a matter of a second or two. Mr. Mumford showed a neat mare, with nice shoulders. Among the four-year-olds. Major Barlow had matters nearly all his own way, and in hunters generally the Major was very strong with his Islington and Guildford team. Among the harness horses the Duke of Hamilton showed a pair of capital roans ; but ^Ir. Gilbey's grey and bay, placed first at Islington, had the prize in the class. A grey Russian mare, shown by Sir Stephen Lakeman, displayed fine action — a quality which is claimed for Russian horse-flesh ; Sir S. Lakeman's mare was bred by Count Orloff, and he is about eight years old. It may be remarked that Sir Stephen Lakeman also showed a pair of Hungarian chesnuts, Cupid and Psyche, bred by Count Batthyany. The experiment made this year by the Society in giving horses to be shown in harness appears to have been successful. As extra stock Sir A. S. Adair showed five coaching brood mares with foals. Some of the ponies entered showed capital action. The cattle and sheep classes were not the strong fea- tures of the show ; for it seems to be horses, horses, and always horses with Suflblk. Hogarth Second was again placed first among the aged Shorthorns. Mr. Tpson's Prince Lincoln, a chief winner at Dereham, was not even commended at Beccles ; so much for Shorthorn judg- ing ! A cup, given by Mr. Ogilvic, for the best Short- horn heifer, was awarded to ^Ir. Chaplin's Maid of Honour, but some dispute seems to have arisen as to the class in which she should have been entered. The Shorthorn heifers were generally a promising lot, albeit that Lady Pigot did not show. Mr. J. Overman does not exhibit Devons in Norfolk now that the Norfolk Society has ceased to make a special class of them, for the reason that the Devon is something of an exotic in Norfolk, and a large class of them cannot be made up. At Beccles Mr. Overman turned up, however, with his twelve-year-old Devon cow, Violet ; but his bull "Wellington, was vanquished in the miscellaneous bull class by a mulberry pure -\lderney. The miscella- neous cattle also comprised a choice white Ayrshire bull shown by Lord Rendleshain, and Brittany heifer. A great feature of the cattle classes was, of course, the Suffolk breed, pure and simple, termed in Norfolk the Norfolk and Suflolk red polled. Most of the prize animals shown at Beccles figured at East Dereham, at the Norfolk meet- ing, and as they have not changed since, there is really nothing fresh to say about them. The two counties are, of course, to be commended for endeavouring to develop a good serviceable breed of their own. The few Southdowns shown comprised some nice level animals. The shearling Suffolk prize tup was voted, how- ever, as usual, rather plain. A discussion ensued upon the point whether Oxford Downs could be treated as short- wooUed sheep ; the decision appears to have been in the affirmative. Mr. Giblin had some Cotswolds of good shape ; but his prize ram was not very well covered about the loins. In pigs Suffolk may be said to be at home, but the Duckerings ran the Suffolk breeders hard in some of the THE FAEMEE'S MAGAZINE. 131 classes ; Lord Reudlesham, it may be noted, has taten to pig breeding, and seems to have made a good beginning. Two of the jndges of sheep and pigs were local men. This seems a mistake, but perhaps it was Hobson's choice, as no other Curtii were found willing to jump into the gulf. The receipts in gate money at the Show were £710, against £569 at Sudbury last year, and £676 at Ipswich in 1869. The meeting was thus a financial triumph. Among the implement exhibitors were Messrs. C. Burrell, Thetford ; W. Elliott, Beccles; Garrett and Sons, Leiston ; W. Harper, Beccles ; Holmes and Son, Norwich; Marshall, Sons, and Co., Gainsborough; R. Maynard, Whittlesford ; Murt and Turner, Kenninghall ; Page and Girling, Melton ; T. and H. Kaudell, North Walsham ; Richmond and Son, Bungay ; Rausomes, Sims, and Head, Ipswich; James Smyth and Sons, Peasenhall ; Joshua Smyth, Swelling, Saxraundham ; R. Tripp, Toft Monks; E. R. and F. Turner, Ipswich; Vulcan Iron Works Company, Ipswich ; J. Warren, Maldon ; Nathan Warren, W'etherden ; W. E. Wigg, Beccles ; Woods, Cocksedge, and Warner, Stowmarket. The following firms also exhibited miscellaneous articles : Anderson and Co., Ipswich (stack cloths, &c.) ; Baly, Sutton, and Co., Norwich (artificial manures, &o.) ; T. Bradford, London (washing machines) ; H. Bridges, Stowmarket and Bury (carriages, &c.) ; G. P. Dodge, London (india-rubber machine bolts, hose, &c.) ; E. Hills, Sudbury, Suffolk (adamantine cement) ; T. P. Hitchcock, Bury and Lavenham (machine bands, &c.) ; J. K. King, Coggeshall, Essex (roots, seeds, &c.) ; C. J. Meadows, Ipswich (garden implements, &c.) ; A. W. Pashley, Haddiscoe (manures) ; Rands and Jeckell, Ips- wich (stack cloths, &c.) ; S. Smith, Ilalesworth (car- riages). The show of implements was somewhat re- duced by the near approach of the Wolverhampton meeting. PRIZE LIST. Judges. — Horses for Agricultural Purposes : 3. Manning, Orlingbury, Wellingborough ; — Woolliouse, Wellingore, Grantham ; S. C. Goodwyn, Covehitlie. R'ulhii/ and Coaching Horses : J. E. Bennett, Bosworth Grange, Rugby ; S. C. Roper, Rougham. Ca/lle : G. D. Badham, Bulnier ; N. G. Barthropp ; S. Gardiner, Wheatacre. S'/ieep : G. M. Sexton, Wherstead ; C. Sturgeon, South Ockenden Hall, Essex. Pigs: M. Biddell, Playford; — Hindson, Liverpool. Vetekinary Inspector. — Professor Varnell. HORSES. FOR AGRICULTURAl PURPOSES. Tlie best stallion. — lirst prize £20 and extra prizes of £26 5s. and £10 10s., R. Garrett, Saxmundham (Cup Bearer) ; second, £5, C. Boby, Station (Prince Royal). Three-year-old colls. — First prize, £15, W. Wilson, Baylham (Bismarck) ; second, £5, N. Catchpole, Ipswich (Emperor). Highly commended. Executors of T. Capon, Bennington (Chieftain). Two-year-old entire colls. — First prize, £15, Lieut. -Colonel Wilson, Stowhiugtoft (Heir Apparent); second, £5, G. D. Badham, Buhner (Emperor). Commended, M. Biddell, Play- ford (Duke). One-year-old entire colt. — Prize, £10 10s., J. Rist, Tatting- stone (Young Emperor). Mare with foal at foot. — First prize, £15, and extra prize £10 10s., Executors T. Capon (Matchel) ; second, £5, J. Read, Mendham, Harleston (Scot). Foal, foaled in 1871. — First prize, £8 and extra prize £10 10s., Charles Lee, jun., Walpole, Halesworth ; second, £4-, W. L. PoUard, Raveningham. Gast mare. — First prize, £10, W. Freeman, Riagsfield (Moggy) ; second, £5, H. Walton, Nevvbourne (Diamond). Three years old filly. — First prize, £10, T. Easterson, Bawd- sey (Bessy) ; second, £5, Lieutenant-Colonel Wilson (Oxford Moggy). Two years old filly. — First prize, £10, W. Thompson, jun., Thorpe Esses (The Despised) ; second, £5, [I. Rist (Bios- som). One-year-old cart filly. — Prize, £5 5s., H. Frost, Shading- field. _ Pair of plough horses.— Prize, £10 10s., W. Tliorapson, junior. Team of four cart horses, in harness. — Prize, £21, the Earl of Stradbroke, Henham Hall (Gip, Brag, Sprite, Smart). RIDING AND COACHING HORSES. Thorough-bred stallion for hunting purposes. — First prize, £20 and extra prize £10, the Duke of Hamilton and Bran- don (The Beadle) ; second, £10, Major Barlow, Hasketou (Brennus). Stallion for coaching purposes. — Prize, £10, J. Grout, Woodbridge (Harkaway). Commended: Sir A. S. Adaur (Donald Caird). Roadster stallion.— First prize, £10, H. Bultitoft, Ely (Clear the Way) ; second, £5, W. Flanders, Mildenhall (Quicksilver). Commended : J. Grout (Young Fire King). Match pair of geldings or mares for carriage purposes. — Prize, £10 10s., W. Gilbey, Hargrave Park, Staiislead, Essex (Lily and Lilac) Hunting mare with foal at foot. — Prize, £10, Sir A. S. Adair (Melon) Hackney mare with foal at foot. — Prize, £10, the Duke of Hamilton and Brandon (Jewel). Hunting foal.— Prize, £5, M. BiddeU, Playford. Roadster foal. — Prize, £5, the Duke of Hamilton and Brandon. The best foal by Dalesman or Deerfoot. — Extra prize, £10 10s., F. Barne, Sotlerley Park. Weight-carrying hunting mare or gelding, five years old.— Prize, £10, M. Mumford, Creeling (Queen of Clubs). Com- mended : Lieutenant-Colonel Wilson (Fenian). Weight-carrying hunting mare or gelding, four years old. —Prize, £10, and extra prize, £10, Major Barlow (Beckford). Commended : M. Mumford (Queen of Hearts). Weight-carrying hunting mare or gelding, three years old. — Prize, £7, E. Greene, M.P., Bury St. Edmunds. Weight-carrying hunting mare or gelding, two years old.— Prize, £5, Major Barlow (Black Locks). Light-weight hunting mare or gelding. — Prize, £10 10s., Major Barlow (Tregothnan). Commended : J. Grout (Tam o' Slianter). Riding mare or gelding, not under 15 hands high. — First prize, £10, W. Gilbey (Lily) ; second, £5, Jacob Walker, Loud- ham Hall. Hackney mare or gelding, not under 14 and not exceeding 15 hands high.— First prize, £10, Rev. W. F. Thursby, Bergh Aplon Rectory (Prince) ; second, £5, Major Barlow (Trusty). Three years old hackney mare or gelding. — Prize, £5, E. Greene, M.P. Commended, J. Grout (Beauty). Two years old hackney mare or gelding. — Prize, £5, J. F. Vincent, AVrenlham. Hackney mare or gelding.— Prize, £10 10s., Major-General Sir S. Lakeman, Stoke Park, Ipswich (Muskaloika). Highly commended, W. Gilbey (Lily) : commended, the Duke of Hamilton and Brandon (Marquis). Pony, not under 13 and not exceeding 1-1 hands high. — Prize, £5, T. L. Taylor, Starston (Lord Tom Noddy). Commended, the Duke of Hamilton and Brandon (Punch). Pony, not under 12 and not exceeding 13 hands high. — Prize, £5, W. Harlcup, Upland Hall, Bungay (Silver Star). Highly commended, G. M. Sexton, Wherstead Hall (Matchless): com- mended, J. Grout (Nobby). Pony, not exceeding 12 hands high. — Prize, £5, F. G Freeman, Henham (Charhe). Commended, G. ^Gosderham Monewden (Little Wonder) . CATTLE. Suffolk bull, not under two years old. — First prize, £10, and extra prize £10, B. Brown, Thursford (Norfolk Duke) ; second, £5, J. J. Colman, M.P,, Norwich (Cherry Duke). Suffolk bull, under two years old. — First prize, £10, J. J. Colman, M.P. (Easton Duke) ; second, £5, J. Hammond, Bale (The Baron). Suffolk cow. — First prize, £10, and extra prize £10, J. Hammond (Buttercup) ; second, £5, B. Brown (Mrs. Davey). Commended the whole class. Suffolk heifer, under three years old. — First prize, £10, 132 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. B. Brown (Countess) ; second, £5, J. Hammond (Mrs. Davey Fourth). Suffolk heifer, uuder two years old.— Prize, £10, Sir E. C. Kerrison, Broome Hall. Sborthoru bull, under two years old. — Prize, £10, T. Eose, Melton Maqua, Norfolk (Hogarth Second). Shorthorn bull, not under two years old. — Prize, £10, and extra prize £10 10s., N. Catchpole, Ipswich (Oxford Prize). Shorthorn cow. — First prize, £10, N. Catchpole (Dairy) ; second, £5, C. Barnard, Harlowbury (Echo). Shorthorn heifer, under three years old. — Special prize, £10 10s., J. R. Chaplin, Hidgewell, Halstead (Maid of Honour) . Shorthorn heifer, under two years old. — Prize, £10, C, Barnard (Golden Butterfly). Bull of any pure breed, not Suffolk or Shorthorn.— Prize, £10, H. M. Jary, Westley. ffighly commended : A, W. Crisp, Chillesford (Black Prince). Commended: Major Bar- low (Master John). Bull of any pure breed, not Suffolk or Shorthorn, under two years old.— Prize, £10, Lord Rendlesham. Cow of any pure breed, not Suffolk or Shorthorn.— First prize, £10, J. Overman, Burnham Sutton (Violet) ; second £6 and extra prize of £5, Lord llendlesham (Jessie). Heifer of any pure breed, not Suffolk or Shorthorn, under two years old.— Prize £10, A. W. Crisp (Tiny). Fat steer or heifer.— Prize £5 5s., J. J. Colman, M.P. (Briton) ; highly commended, N. Catchpole (Lady Lubbock). SHEEP. Southdown tup of any age. — Prize £10, C. Boby, Alton Hall, Stutton, Shearliug Southdown tup. — Prize £10, C. Boby. Five shearling Southdown ewes. — Prize £10 and extra prize of £5 as., G. Overman. Suffolk tup of any age.— Prize £10, J. M. Green, Stra- dishall. Shearling Suffolk tup of any age.— Prize £10, J. M. Green. Short woollcd tup of any pure breed. — Prize £3 os., J. Gib- lin, Bardfield, Essex, Shearling Suffolk ewes.— Prize £10, W. Harvey, Timworth, Bury St. Edmunds. Long-woolled tup of any age.— Prize £10 and extra prize of £5 5s., J. GibUn. Shearling long-woolled tup of any age.— Prize £10, J. Giblin. Five long-woolled shearlinff ewes.— Prize £10, J. Giblin. Ten short-wooUed lambs.-^Prize £6, J. J. Colman, M.P. Ten cross-bred lambs. — Prize £6, A. E. Nicholson, Ipswich. SWINE. Boar (black). — First prize, £8 and extra prize £5 58., G.M. Sexton, Wherstead Hall (Favonius) ; second, £!•, G. M. Sex- ton (Albert Victor). Commended, S, G. Steam, Brandeston (King William). Sow and pigs (black).— Prize, £8, S. G. Steam (Evening Star). Breeding sow (black) .—First prize, £8, G. M. Sexton (Hannah); second, £1-, G. M. Sexton (The Pearl). Highly commended, S. G. Steam (Gipsey). Three young sows (black). — First prize, £5, G. M. Sexton; second, £3, S. G. Steam. Boar (white). — First and second prizes, £8, £-1, and extra prize £5 5s., R. E. Duckering and Sons, Northorpe, Lin- colnshire. Highly commended, J. Sawyer, Tunstall (Ace of Trumps). Sow and pigs (white).— first prize, £8, J. Pettit, Aid- borough ; second, £i, Lord llendlesham. Breeding sow (white). — First and second prizes, £8 and £4, R. E. Duckering and Sons. Three young sows (wliite). — Prize, £5, R. E. Duckering and Sons. Pair of white boar pigs,— Prize, £5, R. E, Duckering and Sons. Pair of black boar pigs.— Prize, £5, G. M. Sexton. Highly commended, Lord Rendlesham. At the dinner the Chairman, Sir R. A. SrtArTOE Adaie, said the business of the evening meeting after dinner was to take stock, so to speak, as to how far agriculture had advanced — how much liigher the tide of improvement had risen since the last meeting. It seemed to liim that on many points great improvement had been made. He did not profess to be one of that enlightened class of agriculturists who knew how to compensate for the rigours of the season by the drainage which drew the unwholesome moisture from the land, and consequently the wholesome moisture from the clouds, nor did he understand the alternation of crops ; but so far as that branch of engineering which formed the framework of agri- culture, or the mo\'ing powers, wliether physical or produced by the intellect of man iu regard to steam, was concerned, he held himself competent to form an opinion. As to the subject of drainage, they had year after year developed the system which was said to neutralise the rigour of the cold soil and cold cli- mate. This had been said to have been done scientifically and .thoroughly in their fields — in fact, it might almost be said to have reached the furthest point to which this country was susceptible of its adaptation. But when the water was drawn from the fields, it must not be detained in the rivers. '\\ hen there was tliorongh drainage in the country, there must be arterial drainage of the district. In the upper waters of the Waveney, the ordinary system of drainage by widening and cleansing the ditches had accelerated the relief of that part of the district ; but they were likely to hear from theii- friends in Beccles, that they were likely to bring the floods upon them. So it was with all practical improvements — one im- provement begat another. If they improved the upper drainage of the Waveney, the lower drainage must be improved also ; and to set their marshes free, they must follow the example of the Corporation of Beccles, in dismissing the intruding water in a swifter current towards the ocean. Coming next to the ques- tion of motive power, there had recently been a little feeling excited in consequence of an apprehended disparagement on a point on which Suffolk men were particularly sensitive ; and with reference to which he thought he should do best by ex- pressing his individual opinion, or by taking upon himself the responsibility on the part of the Association which he had had the honour of representing, ol dismissing the whole matter as a good-humoured jest. It had been said that the Suffolk horses were only fit for gentlemen's parks, and unsuitable for farm work. He did not know that they needed to find fault with that in one sense. When a county was proud of its stock, it was bound to maintain the pre-eminence of that stock. It was upon that ground that he devoted a President's cup, because he believed that pure horses of the pure Suffolk breed were horses capable of doing any work that pluck and en- durance required of that spirited and animated machine. It was an old saying that a Suffolk horse would go upon his knees and drag a tree out of the ground, and he thought he might say that this was not the only position in which a Suffolk horse and a Suffolk man could ever be seen. As to the ques- tion of the Suffolk horses only being fit for parks, lie thought they might treat it as a jest born of a light heart. But there was one park for which 'the Suffolk horses were particularly fitted, and that was the park of artillery which swept through the Peninsula, France, Belgium, from Lisbon to AVaterloo. There was a troop known iu military history as the famous chesnut troop, wliich was composed of Suffolk horses, ridden by Suffolk men, and which mantvuvred for the first time in the neighbourhood of Woodbridge in the great war. Then, what a noble race of PoUed cattle there were I and they were good milkers, and he confessed he had a great desire to see that breed perpetuated, though he was aware that the Polled and the Longhom cattle were put aside for the more productive Sliorthorn. But still there was a merit in a particular cattle as suited to a district, and therefore he had given a prize for the best Suffolk bul), which he had had the pleasure of seeing that day. He thought, however, if the bull was good as a bull, the cow was better as a cow. He next came to the sheep, and it would be supposed that Suffolk had so little unoccupied laud that sheep were not likely to be plentiful. Strange, how- ever, to say, if the statistical returns of the United Kingdom were referred to, it would be found that in proportion to the acreage Suffolk stood very high as compared with the many great grazing districts. He thought they should not shut their eyes to profitable investments in agriculture. The present system of farming had been well and accurately defined. The four-course system had been laid down, .and there were a num- ber of other regulations which were yery excellent on the THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 138 whole; but it was their, province aud business ia all matters to see where au exception might be made in a mle which was true in nine cases out of ten. From his intimate connexion with the North of Ireland he might say that there were in- quiries for an enormous quantity of flax from wliich a large profit might be made Lf the farmers could once get access to those markets. There were factories in the neighbourhood of Eye where the business was carried on. A gentleman from Harleston applied to liim the other day and asked him if he could give him any introduction into the North of Ireland. He (the President) might say that the manufacturers could pur- chase the produce of 500,000 or 600,000 acres, and Ireland had never produced more than 250,000 ; so it would be seen that there was a good opening for English industry in that direction. A firm he knew had issued a form in which they offered £72 per ton for flax at three months, or a cheque at discount. He (Sir Shafto) threw out these hints in order that gentlemen present might see how profitable this branch of in- dustry might become. There was one point ^he should like to refer to ; tliough it was not in their province as an Associa- tion, it had nevertheless a close connexion with it. They were not allowed to talk poUtics at these meetings, but still they might refer to measures of policy. He referred to the ques- tion of Local Taxation which was involved with the subject of the establishment of County Boards. What he wanted to say was, that he was sure that the more the taxpayers and those who were to administer the tax were brought into connexion as to the necessity of imposing taxes and the way in which taxes were to be laid out, the better it would be lor the whole community. He could not help thinking but what the roads might be improved a little. The farmers of the county knew how difficult it was to seud heavy loads to market over a bad road. In reference to the subscription kindly promised by Sir G. Brooke Middleton for another description of horse, he (the President) thought it an excellent idea. Though there was a prize for cart-horses, there was no prize for coaching stock. He exhibited several at the show to-day, and he was glad to find that they would not come to Beccles another time without having the chance of taking something back with them. He thought this Association should do what it could to improve other breeds besides those intended for agricultu- ral purposes. Mr. G. D. Badham, one of the judges for cattle, said he had some years ago paid considerable attention to the native breed of animals such as had been shown to- day, and the ex- hibition included some of the best animals he ever saw ; but he regretted very much to say that though the animals were good they were few and far between. He would throw out one suggestion. Would it not be better to have a best milking class, or a class best suited for dairy purposes ? He would not say one word against the quaUty of the animals, for as a gen- tleman once said to him when he had inspected an animal which had taken a first prize, " I have seen your animal, and there is a great deal of the lid. per lb., a very little of the 7d." That was so with the animals that had been shown to-day — they were literally all meat. But the suggestion he was going to throw out was whether it would not be advisable to have a class for dairy cattle. The prize animal which took the President's cup was a beautiful animal, but was she so for dairy purposes ? He (Mr. Badham) much questioned it. She was said to be in milk. He should say that the quantity of milk that she would give would be very small, and she ap- peared not to be in calf. He had therefore thought it would be well for the committee to take into consideration whether it would not be as weU to have a distinct class for dairy cattle. There was one observation he should like to make in regard to the horses. The Royal Society's show came so near to the Suffolk that he had sent only one horse. He had shown several times and had taken first prizes, but he had only car- ried off the second ribbon this time, and he (Mr. Badham) was perfectly satisfied. But he wished to make allusion to the remarks which had been made in the adjoining county, and he must confess that the gentleman who made that re- mark had not had much experience with Suffolk horses. He (Mr. Badham) could refer to gentlemen who had had a great deal of experience with them, and they prized them most higUy. The late Sir Tliomas Gooch once told him that there was no breed of animal that could do the same amount of work with the same amount of cost. He (Mr. Badham) had had some experience with Suffolk horses, and he had him- self always found that to be the ease. The late Lord Howe— • and a better nobleman never lived — had shown his apprecia- tion of the Suffolk horses by requesting that he might be drawn to the grave by four of them. Coming a little nearer home, the case of a miller living at the bottom of an immense hill might be mentioned, and he used to say that he had tried horses of every breed, and he could never find any to do the work so well as the Suffolk horses. AVhat had Mr. Brown said ? Why that they would go as fast again and do as much work again as any other breed. A Voice : At what cost ? Mr. Bradiiam : Upon less food. Mr. M. BiDDELL, one of the judges of tlie pigs, said, with regard to the animals he had been called upon to overlook, lie might say he never saw a better lot. There were few in num- ber, and the fact was that tlie chief exhibitor was so strong that others did not care to compete with him ; for, few people cared to exliibit when they were almost certain of being beaten. He could not attribute the smallness of that class to any other cause than that certain names kept otiier exhibitors out, aud they were names that were known all over the king- dom. What they missed, however, in quantity, they more than made up in quaUty, there being hardly au inferior ani- mal amongst them. As to the observations that had been made in another county in reference to the Suft'olk horses he only wished that that gentleman had been at the Show to-day, and looked at the animals there, and searched the history of the people who owned them, and he would have found that tliey were persons who got their living by farming, and not in park showing. Or Lf the gentleman would give his attend- ance at a| great sale of horses that was to take place in the autumn, and would take the trouble to walk over the land there, he would see that that was kept in anything but the park-like or ornamental manner he had desoribed. It was to be hoped that the gentleman who had said such things about the Suffolk horse, had not had much experience with that animal. Let him try the Suffolk against tlie Shire-bred. A gentleman once told him (Mr. Biddell) that he once bought a commended Shire-bred horse at one of the Royal Agricultural Society meetings, and he assured him — perhaps it might not be Hterally correct, but it was as well to refer to it as illustrating his experience with the Shire-bred horse — that it cost him as much for salves, ointments, balls, &c., as it did to keep each of his other horses. He did not wish to have anything of that kind again. They might suit the fens of Lincolnsliire, but in Suffolk you could not keep their feet right, and as to their legs, you could hardly bear to go into the field where they were. Tlie Ven. Archdeacon Groome had very properly al- luded to the decrease in the agricultural population. No thinking man could view that fact without feelings of concern. But there was no donbt that one great reason for that was the low price of wheat, viz., £1 per coomb. It would be found that comparatively little labour would be employed when wheat was that price. It was not the employers that drove the la- bourers out. Of course, unless they could produce a certain amount of money, they could not lay it out, but if the price of wheat continued good, he had no doubt but that a greater number of labourers would be employed. He (^Ir. BiddeU), was an employer of lalwurers, but he did not plead guilty to sending militiamen home after having done liis period of training. On the contrary, he encouraged his men to go in, always promising to give them work on their return, whether their services were wanted or not. He could not help think- ing, however, that if the commanders of regiments would make enquiries, they woidd find that a great many of their men were not in regular employment, but persons whom business people took and discharged at a minute's notice, and agricul- turists ought not to be blamed for not employing them. He certainly thought the regularly employed labourer had not lost much time by belonging to the militia. If it was so, all he (Mr. Biddeli) could say was, that it was a very stupid tiling for farmers to do. Mr. N. G. Baethhopp, one of the judges of the cattle, thought that it was important that gentlemen acting as judges should preserve as much as possible the old type of Suffolk cart horse. Prizes had been given to-day to horses that had gained prizes elsewhere, and it was of course hard to upset such awards. At the same time one or two prizes had been given to animals that did not possess what he considered to be the real type of the old-fashioned cart horse. The late Mr, 134 THE FAEMER'S MAGAZinS. Catlin's Duke was supposed to be the best cart horse in Suf- folk, and he gained prizes for many years, beginning as a two- year-old, and he (Mr. Barthropp) did not think that the ani- mal ever was beaten. As to the animals to which prizes had been given to-day, he thought the old type of the Duke was better than that type shown not only to-day, but at various shows in Suffolk and Norfolk this year aud last. He could not help thinking that we were losing sight of the original character of the cart horse. We did not want long animals; but the Suffolk cart horse should be a deep-bodied short-legged animal, and this was the kind of animal they wanted to pre- serve. The President proposed "The Corporation of Beccles," referring to the arrangements that had been made for the re- ception of the Association. He knew of his own knowledge how assiduously the Corporation and others of the town had laboured to make the arrangements of the day complete, every suggestion made at Ipswich being deliberated upon and carried out, and he thought it would be admitted that the result had been most successful. The ground had proved to be an ad- mirable place , no sooner had the showers subsided than the wet was absorbed by the soil, rendering it at once fit not only for the animals shown, but for the delicate sUppers of the ladies, so many of whom had visited the grounds. Besides the Agri- cultural Show, arrangements had been made for a beautiful display of horticulture, which had given an additional charm to the day's meeting. Then there was a show of that feathery class, the profits of which were generally supposed to be given to the good wives of the farmers. The Poultry Show, the Horticultural Show, and the Agricultural Show had given a triple glory to this meeting, but all would have fallen flat enough indeed if there had not been on the ground those to make them welcome with their tributes and their offer- ings. The Mayor of Beccles acknowledged the toast, aud in doing so, he remarked that when they gave the Association an invitation to the town of Beccles, the Corporation intended to do all they could to give it a hearty reception. They felt that their strengtii was not very great ; but they determined to exert that strength to the utmost. He was exceedingly glad that so many had attended, and in the name, not only of the Corporation, but of the town itself, he gave them a hearty welcome. He felt that the town had had great honour conferred upon it by such a large aud distinguished attend- ance. He was not in a disposition to refer [to that which might be complained of. Let bygones be bygones ; but it was almost a jiity that Beccles should have been passed by so long by the Associaliou. They might, as a town, over- estimate themselves; but they thought themselves of some importance, aud they felt that it had been a mistake that the Association had not gone to Beccles before, and he trusted they had done something to-day to make the members feel that it had been a mistake. They were, however, exceedingly glad to see them now, and when the turn of Beccles came round again, he trusted that something better might be done to entertain the Association. As to that day's Sliow, he had heard it spoken of in the liigliest terms. He was iiimself no judge of cattle. He did not know a short iiorn from a long- horn. But he had heard of men who were anything but connoisseurs of pictures, knowing well when they stood in the presence of a great jiicture. He himself had no knowledge of cattle or of liorses ; but he was certain that in going round the show-yard to-day, he had seen some maguiliceut pictures. He stood looking at a thoroughbred for something like twenty minutes ; in fact he could scarcely take his eyes from it, and it seemed to him the jjcrfeetion ot the symmetry to be seen in a thorougiibred ; but he might say as a proof of his want of judgment, that he was not a little surprised to find that that horse did not carry off the prize — that was his mistake. In conclusion, the Mayor, referring to what had been done in the town to welcome the Association, observed that there were two gentlemen he must mention as having shown themselves more conspicuously active and useful in this matter — Mr. Garnham and Mr. Jfenn. The President said he would now call upon the company to do honour to success, not simply because it had been suc- cessful, but because it was the result of long and laborious toil and care. He had much pleasure in proposing " The suc- cessful exhibitors," and he would couple with the toast the name of Jlr. Richard Garrett, of Leiston. Mr. RicH.\:xD Garrett thought if their friends in Norfolk had been present to-day, they would have seen sometliing cal- culated to induce them to alter their verdict with regard to the Suffolk horse. He had himself some experience in the employment of horses on the road before he had any expe- rience on the farm. For the heavy weights machinery and other work he employed the Suffolk horse, and although they had now and then tried the Shire-bred they could never stand the work like the Suffolks. As to the question of keep, the Shire-bred could never live at the same expense. He had on his right a friend who had for the last 13 years tried the Suf- folk horses on the London stones, dragging stores from a brewery. He commenced to import these animals 13 years ago, and they were at work for him still. As to this day's show, he (Mr. Garrett) should have been glad to have seen a better show in the old stallion class ; there was a fair entry, but they did not all show up. He thought the three-year-olds were a promising lot, and that Suffolk was likely to hold her own. Mr. George Gayeord, with regard to the labourers, urged the necessity of giving them a better education, and the op- portunity of bettering themselves elsewhere if they could not do so at home. It must be remembered that the population increased rapidly, and, as with bees in a hive, there must be a swarming sooner or later. The labourer, he submitted, merited greater attention, and he remarked that frequent re- ference was made to the conveniences for stock on the farm, but nothing was said about the labourer, many of whom had to walk a long distance to their work. The providing of a fair quantity of good cottages in a good situation was a matter of considerable importance. Mr. Clake Sewell Read, M.P., alluded to the great loss which the farmers of the Eastern Counties had sustained in the death of two such good men as Mr. Samuel Jouas, and Mr. John Clayden. They were both men of sterling worth, and great ability. They solved the difficult problem of the present day, not how to spend money on a farm — for any fool with cash could do that — but how to apply capital to the improvement, aud the cultivation of the soil, with considerable advantage, Willi regard to the show, it was not very many years ago wheu Norfolk people looked upon the Suffolk com- petitors with a certain degree of jealous alarm. They came to Norfolk and took away many of the prizes, and they did so now to a great extent, aud their Norfolk friends were glad to see them ; but he would say this, that from what he saw of the prize-list, the Norfolk people had had the pleasure of returning the compliment, aud that that county had taken its fair share of prizes. Of this he was quite sure, that the Sulfolk gentlemen had no objection to seeing the Nokfolk competing witli them. He had lieard it said that the stock exhibited to- day was much better than it had been on previous occasions, and that being so, and Norfolk people being able to win prizes it must be clear that their stock had improved. There seemed to be au idea abroad that they should do what they could to make these local shows great international exhibitions. If that could be done, well aud good ; but he would say let them first take care of their own district. By all means let them ask for good friendly competition, but let them not forget their own native breeds. They had in Sutfoik, it had been urged, the best breed ot cart horses iu the world. But in Norfolk they only said this, that until they made a class of their own, they could never win a prize in it. Those classes made for Norfolk were being considerably improved, and the agricul- turists of that county were able to come to Suffolk and win prizes. They had encouraged the local breed of horses, and that breed was in a much greater state of perfection than in the last few years. THE FAEMEE'S MAGAZINE. Wo EIPON AND OLAEO AGEICULTUEAL SOCIETY. The annual exhibition was held at Bishopton, near Ripou. The number or entries exceeded those of last year, the entries being in 1870, 604 ; 1871, 766. The entries in the most important class — namely, the cattle — were, however, below those of last yeai', which is accounted for in consequence of the prevalence of the foot-and-mouth disease. The specimens exhibited in the various classes were good. Extra pi-izes for horses brought a large number of valuable animals into competition. The only thing which appeared to be wanting to make the show a complete success was a fme day. The weather, which has been so fatal to most of the out-door gather- ings lately, had the effect of keeping a very large number of persons from being present. The following is a list of the prizes : SHORTHORNS. Bull, two years old and upwards (open to AH England). — Special prize, T. Stamper, Oswardkirk ; second, W. Linton, Sheriff Hutton. Bull, above one and under two years. — First prize, J. Catt- ley, Stearsby ; second. Miss E. Barroby, Dishforth. BuU calf, under twelve months old. — Prize, W. Linton. Cow or heifer, in-calf or milk, three years old and upwards. — First prize, J. Outhwaite, Bainesse, Catterick ; second, J. Cattley. Heifer, iu-calf or milk, under three years old. — First prize, T. H. Hutchinson, Catterick ; second, T. Stamper. Heifer, one year old and under two. — First prize. Major Stapyltou, Helperby ; second, G. Yeates, Studley Roger. Heifer calf, under twelve months. — First prize, T. H. Hutch- nson ; second. Major Stapylton. CATTLE OF ANY BREED OR A CROSS. Pair of dairy cows, in-calf or milk (open to All England). — Special prize, G. H. Harland, Sowber Hill, Northallerton ; second, T. H.Hutchinson. Cow for dairy purposes. — First prize, Lord Grantley, Ripon ; second, C. Mason, Dishforth. Alderney or Guernsey cow or heifer of any age, in-calf or milk. — First and third prizes, W. Well, Ripon; second, G. Yeates. Cow for dairy purposes, the property of a cottager. — First prize, J. Cummins, Westwick ; second, G. Hutley, Nuuwick ; third, T. Blakeborough, Rainton. HORSES. FOR THE FIELD. Brood mare with foal at foot. — Special prize, Viscountess Downe, Thirsk; second, J. B. Booth, Catterick. Three-year-old gelding. — First prize, M. Kildiug, Snape ; second, T. Kendall, Ripon. Three-year-old filly. — Prize, S. L. Lane, Thirsk. Two-year-old gelding. — First prize, J. Mason, Dishforth ; second. Viscountess Downe. Two-year-old fiUy. — First prize, W. Clarke, Asenby; second, Viscountess Downe. Yearling gelding. — Prize, Viscountess Downe. Yearling filly. — First prize, W. Clarke ; second, R. M. Bow- man, Ripon. FOR HARNESS. Brood mare with foal at foot. — First prize, L. Mansfield, Thirsk ; second, M. Robinson, Richmond. Gelding or fiUy four years old and upwards. — First prize, H. Fawcett, Otley ; second, I. Scarth, Northallerton. Three-year-old gelding or filly. — First prize, J. W. Apple- yard, Easingwold ; second, J. Wells, Ripou. Two-year-old gelding or filly. — First prize, J. W, Apple- yard ; second, J. Wells. Yearling gelding or filly. — First prize, J, Greaves, Clother- holme ; second, W. Harland, Ripon. Single-harness horse, gelding, or mare.— Prize, T, Scott, Boroughbridge. FOR THE ROAD. Brood mare with foal at foot. — First prize, R. Williamson, Ripon ; second, W. Ingham, Bishop Thornton. Three-year-old gelding or filly. — First prize, H. Judson, Baldersby ; second, T. Carter, Ripou. Two-year-old gelding or filly. — First prize, Major Stapylton, Helperby ; second, W. Snow, Easingwold. Yearling gelding or filly. — First prize, C. Barroby, Bal- dersby ; second, G. Askwith, Hutton Sessay. FOR THE F.UIM. Brood mare with foal at foot. — First prize, J. Smith, Boroughbridge ; second, W. Dixon. Three-year-old gelding or filly. — First prize, Mrs. A.Heddon, Baldersby ; second, J. Knowles, Wetlierby. Two-year-old gelding or filly. — First prize, Mrs. A. Heddon ; second, C. Barroby. Yearling gelding or filly. — Prize, J. Pinkney, Thirsk. Pair of farm horses. — First prize, Mrs. A. Heddon ; second. Major Greenwood, Swarcliffe Hall. HUNTERS AND R0AD.STER3. Hunting gelding or mare. — Special prize, J. S. Darrell, West Ay ton. Jumper. — First prize, B. Nicholson, Garforth ; second, H. D. Bayly, OUerton. Four-year-old gelding or filly. — Special prize, T. H. Hutch- inson, Catterick ; second, and jumper, S. L. Lane. Young gentleman's hunter. — First prize, R. Wells, Thirsk ; second, S. L. Lane. Roadster, nag or mare. — Special prize, T. Dale, Wetherby ; second, T. son, Leeds. Pony, not exceeding 14< hands. — First prize, W. Wells, Ripon ; second, Heugh, Bedale. Pony, not exceeding 13 hands. — First prize, J. T. A. er, Ripon ; second, J. Cooper, Copt Hawick. Donkey of any age. — First prize, Davy, Bishop Monk- ton ; second, J. Blakey, Ripon. SHEEP. LEICESTERS OR LONGWOOLS. Ram of any age. — Special prize, first and second, T. H, Hutchmson, Catterick. ShearHng ram. — First prize, T. H. Hutchinson ; second, E. Riley, Beverley. Pen of three ewes. — Special prize, T. H. Hutchinson ; se- cond, E. Riley. Pen of three sliearhng gimmers. — C. and W. Doveuor, Ripou; second, E. Riley. Pen of five shearling wethers. — First and second prize, J. Gothorp, Bedale. Pen of five he lambs. — Prize, J. Greaves, Clotherholme. Pen of five gimmer lambs. — First and second prize, J. Greaves. ANY OTILER BREED OR A CROSS. Scotch ram of any age. — Prize, J. Walker, Grewelthorpe. Pen of five Scotch ewes. — Prize, T. Scott, Boroughbridge. Pen of five first-cross Scotch ewes. — First prize, H. Walton and Son, Richmond; second, J. Walker. Pen of first-cross Scotch shearlings. — First prize, H. Walton and Son ; second, T. Scott. PIGS. Boar of any age of the large breed. — First prize, W. Lister, Armley ; second, G. Mangles, Givendale. Sow of any age of the large breed. — Prize, G. Mangles. Boar of any age of the middle breed. — First prize, J. Um- pleby, Guiseley ; second, S. Appleby, Armley. Sow of any age of the middle breed. — First prize, C. R. N. Beswick Royds, Littleborough ; second, J . C. Taylor, Leeds. Boar of any age of the small breed. — First prize, W. Lister ; second, J. Smith, Leeds. Sow of any age of the small breed.— 'First prize, C. R. N. , Beswicke Royds ; second, W. Lister. 138 THE FAEMER'S MAGAZINE. IMPLEMENTS. Double-fnrrow plough.— Nicholson, Pegler, and Co., Ripon. Portable corn-grindiBg mill for steam power.— -J. Baxter Killinghall. , _ _ ^.^,, . ,. Portable sheep rack.— W. Granger, KiUinghall. Combined machine, 4-ft. 6in., and horse rake With steel, teeth.— H. and G. Kearsley, Ripon. Balance draft grass mower, and double-furrow plough.— H. Bushell, York. _ , . . Horse reaping machine, and stand for fixing reaper knives m while sharpening.— J. Barker, Dunnington. Water tank.— J. Ingram, Ripon. Two-row turnip drill. — W. Jaques, Thirsk. Reaping machine. — P. and J. Scurrah, Well. Twenty-eight rov/ clover and rye-grass drill.— J. Teasdale, Burneston. One-horse reaping machine, with extra knife.— E. Sherwoodj Bedale. Self-feeding sheep rack.— W. Smith, Hull. Grass-mower. — H. Stephenson, Grewelthorpe. Assortment.- R. H. Webster, Ripon. Two-ridge turnip seed drill. — J. Malthonse, Ripon. Midfeather churn. — T. Bradford and Co,, London and Man- chester. Knife-cleaning machine.— J. Orton, Ripon. Assortment.— J. Spence, Ripon. Barrel churn.— W. Hopperton, Malton. Assortment. — ^Messrs. Pearson and Bailey, Hull. Assortment. — H. Richardson and Co., York. Assortment. — A. and E. Lickley, Ripon. Assortment. — R. James, Ripon. Selection of horse-shoes.— E. Hunter, Marton-le-Moor. Assortment. — W. Parkinson, Ripon. Parisian phaeton. Prince of Wales' Whitechapel, Grantley Whitechapel cart, and for the general excellency of the ar- ticles exhibited. — S. Croft, Ripon. Parisian phaeton, Prince of Wales' dogcart, and TMiitechapel dogcart. — T. R. Mountain, Ripon. Mattinson's one-horse reaper.— -T. Robinson, Hay-a-Park. LANDLOKDS' IMPEOVEMENTS. The following circular has heeu addressed to the tenantry dn the Stoneleigh estate : Estate Office, Stoneleigh Abbey, Kenilworth, 20th June, 1871. Dear Sir, — I am directed by Lord Leigh to inform you that, liaving gone over nearly the whole of his estates with draining, buildings, and other permanent improvements, effected at a large outlay, his lordship is of opinion (and is confirmed in that opinion by the advice of persons of expe- rience) that a more satisfactory system for the management of his estates — both for his tenants and himself— can ho ar- ranged, the main features of which are : 1st. That all permanent improvements shall be effected by and at the sole cost of his lordship, a settled rate of interest on the outlay being charged. 2nd. That all repairs sliall be done by Lord Leigh. Tliese very important changes, you will see, necessitate a revaluation of your farm, and this his lordship has no doubt will be effected in such a manner as to give you satisfaction, and increase that confidence which has always existed be- tween you, his lordship, and the late Lord Leigh. This change wiU relieve you from finding and locking up in improvements that capital which will enable you more profit- ably to cultivate your farm, and give you more freedom to ad- vantage yourself, by removing your capital and energies to a more beneficial occupation, without the possibility of leaving any of your money on liis land. The subject of leases has engaged his lordship's attention, and he is not indisposed to consider any application for one. There are tenants to whom he would not grant one, and also farms so situated that he would decline to lease them ; but these tenants have his engagements to value and pay for their unexhausted improvements on quitting. Your very obedient servant, George Jones. ROYAL AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY OF ENGLAND. DR. VOELCKER'S ANALYSES OF MANURES. We have received three or four letters fi'om manure makers or their agents in reference to the recently pub- lished analyses. As these, however, were given under the authority of the Council of the Royal Agricultural Society, it seems to us that any corrections or explana- tions should in the first instance be addressed to the Society, and then, if thought fit, embodied in the report of proceedings of Council, at which such communications were read. In fact, as will be seen from the proceedings on Wednesday, this is the course about to be adopted. It would be quite impossible to give in full the letters or series of letters we have received, but we subjoin the more material points of each. Thus, in ad- dition to a number of testimonials and other analyses in favour of H. INIarshall and Co.'s Fish and Bone Manure, Professor Voelcker sends another analysis, accompanied with tliis note ; Analytical Laboratory, 11, Salisbury Square, Fleet Street, E.G. London, June 17tli, 1871. Dear Sir, — I have the pleasure of enclosing a copy of an analysis of the sample you sent me, and which you inform me was a sample of Fish and Bone Manure prepared by Messrs. H. Marshall and Co. I notice Messrs. Marshall charge £5 5s. for their Fish and Bone Manure, which is a fair price for the manure. Yours faithfully, W. Barker, Esq. Augustus VoEtCKEH. With regard to the bone-dust sold by Messrs. Oliver and Snowden to Mr. Straker, the Monkton jVfauure Company say that " as the bone-dust was pm-chased from us we wish to clear these gentlemeu from all blame in the matter. The bones were part of a cargo of Spanish bones ex ' Tasmania,' delivered to us ; they were only a few days in our works, and we are prepared to prove that they were ground and sent out as they were received from import ship ; if they contained sand it must have been in the bones themselves, as the discharging into lighter, and after that into our works, would have shaken out any dust or sand." Oliver and Snowdou state further that " no analysis of the bone-dust was given ; it was simply guaranteed ' pure and unadulterated,' and as such purchased by us at £8 per ton, and recharged to Mr. Straker at £8 7s. 6d,, less than 5 per cent, profit." THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 137 ROYAL AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY OF ENGLAND. Monthly Council : Wednesday, July 5. — Present: Lord Vernon, President, in the chair ; the Duke of Devon- shire, K.G. ; the Earl of Powis, Vicount Bridport, Lord Chesham, Lord Kesteveu, Lord Tredegar, the lion. H. G. Liddell, M.P. ; Mr. Acland, M.P. ; Mr. Bowly, Mr. Cantrell, Colonel Challoner, Mr. Clive, IVfr. Dent, M.P. ; Mr. Holland, Colonel Kingscote, ALP. ; Mr. Leeds, Mr. Masfen, Mr. Ridley, M.P. ; Mr. Shuttleworth, IMr. Thompson, Mr. Tor'r, ilr. Wells, M.P. ; and Professor Simonds. The following new members were elected : — Asterley, William Lloyd, The Pentief, Llanyinynech, Oswestry. Bagnall, George, Dravcot, Cheadle, Staffordshire, Baily, John, Python Hill, Mansfield, Nottingliara, Baldwin, Win. J. A., Dalton-in-Furness, Lancaster. Barber, Richard, Harlescott, Shrewsbury. Bate, John Wra., Astol, Shifual, Salop. Billiugton, J. S., Netherset Hey, IMadeley, Staffordsliire. Briggs, Thos., Tlie Homestead, Richmond, Surrey. Brown, Cliarles, Park Hall, Leigh, Cheadle, Staffordsliire. Brown, Richard, Ruyton Eleven Towns, Salop. Bulkeley, T. P., Clewer Lodge, Windsor, Berks. Cannon, H. R., Nagpore, India. Carr, Wm., Dene Park, Toubridge, Kent. Cottle, George, West Felton, Slirewsbury, Salop. Cope, T. Berwick, Tettenliall, Wolverhampton. Corbett, W. A.,Dumbleton, Evesham, Gloucester. Da^^s, W. H. Campbell, Nenadd-fawr,| Llandovery, Carmar- then. Elwell, Paul, Evelith Manor, Shifnal, Salop. Ford, John, Portland Lawn, Leamington. Ford, W. H., Merridale, Wolverhampton. Gibbon, Hy. J ., Homescales, Milnthorpe, Westmoreland. Gosling, J. W., Little Bradley Place, Newmarket, Suffolk. Griffin, Thos. J., Preston Vale Farm, Peukridge, Staffordshire. Griffiths, R. C, Park Farm, Broughton, Chester. HolHs, Edward, Steam Mills, West Felton, Salop. Hope, Wm., Parsloes, Barking, Essex. Ironmonger, T,, Wolverhampton, Staffordshire, Jones, G. Stow, Downham Market, Norfolk. Kempster, 'Wm., New Cuckett, Ellesmere, Salop. Kelsall, Thos., I3ethsiield, Whitchurch, Salop. Langford, Wm., Cherbury Hall, Salop. Lloyd, David, The Hayes, Oswestry, Salop. Lyne, R. S., Corapton, Winchester, Hants. Mackenzie, J. H., Northwood, West Hoatldey, Susses, Menzies, G., Trentham, Stoke-ou-Trent, Staffordshire. Miller, J. N., Patlungham, Wolverhampton. Mytton, D. H., Garth, Welshpool, Montgomery. Nearae, Edwin, Harefield, Selhng, Faversham, Kent, Nutt, Jolin, Fillongby, Coventry, Pearson, J. C, Newbridge, Wolverhampton. Pooler, Hy., Calvington, Newport, Salop. Price, Andrew, Bagley, EUesmere, Salop. Rigg, Joseph, Fellongley, Coventry, Robinson, John T., Leckhy Palace, Asenby, Yorkshire. Saunders, G. J., Oswestry, Salop. Smith, Henry, Harnage, Slirewsbury, Salop, Smith, Henry Wm., Evesham, Stanley, Hy., Yieldfields Hall, Bloxwich, Walsall, Stafford, Stewart, M. J., Ardwell House, Stranraer, N. B, Strongitharm, G., Rushall, Walsall, Staffordshire, Taylor, Wm., Bamhurst, Tattenhall, Staffordshire. Tennant, James, Newstead, Nottingham. Thomas, Edward, The Cross, Oswestry, Salop. Thomas, Richard, The Buildings, Barchurch, Salop. Thomas, Thos., Treprenal, Oswestry, Salop. Thompson, Wm., Walton, Stone, Staffordshire. Turner, E., M.P., Pantou Hall, Wragby, Lincolu Wall, Wm. IL, Pembury, Tuubridge Wells, Kent- Wallis, Eobert, Stocksfield, Northumberl^ad, Walters, Stanley, Blythbury, Rugeley, Staffordshire. Wardle, Josepli, Old Fens Hall, Whitchurch, Salop. Walker, John, Oil Mills, Leamiugtou. Whitfield, Edward, Oswestry, Salop, Williams, M. Drytou, Wroseter, Slirewsbury, Salop. Williams, W. G., Bodulwyddan, St. Asaph, Willis, H. R. D'A., Budgefield House, Ilalewood, Liverpool, Wise, J. P., Rostellon Castle, Cloyne, Ireland, Woodward, F, Spooner, Blake House, Great Saling, Brain- tree, Essex, Wright, Lyons, 24, Worcester Street, Wolverhampton. Yates, F, G., Iron Bridge, Salop, Yates, James, Atchley, Shifnal, Salop. Finances. — Major-General Viscount Bridport (chair- man) presented the report, from which it appeared that the secretary's receipts during the past month had been duly examined by the committee, and by Messrs. Quilter, Ball, and Co., the Society's accountants, and found correct. The balance in the hands of the bankers on June 30 was £2,528 17s. lid., and £2,000 remains on deposit. The quarterly statement of subscriptions and arrears to June 3, and the quarterly cash accounts, were laid on the table. — • This report was adopted. Journal. — Mr. Thompson (chairman) reported that it was in contemplation to obtain an article for the February Journal, containing suggestions for the improvement of Irish agricultm-e, with a view to increasing the production of live stock. — This report was adopted. Consulting Botanist. — Mr, Thompson (chairman) reported that in pursuance of the power delegated to this committee by the Council at its last meeting they had appointed Mr. W. Carruthers, F.R.S., and chief of the Botanical Department of the British Museum, to he Consulting Botanist to the Society. A list of the mem- bers' privileges, with a scale of fees, will be published in the next Journal. — This report was adopted. House, — Major-General Viscount Bridport (chaii-man) reported that several ceilings require whitewashing, and that a new carpet and rug is required for one of the Society's rooms, and a clock for the library.— This report was adopted. Selection. — Mr. Thompson (chairman) reported that the committee recommended the election of Mr. Brandreth Gibbs as a Vice-President in the room of the late Mr. Samuel Jonas. This report having been adopted, Mr. Brandreth Gibbs was, on the motion of Mr, Thompson, seconded hy Lord Bridport, unanimously elected a Vice- President of the Society, Chejiical.— Mr. Wells, chairman. The committee reported that Mr. WeUs and Mr. Dent, on behalf of the Chemical Committee, together with the President and Mr. Thompson, had a consultation with the counsel engaged in the case of Bradburn v. Royal Agricultural Society, and the result of their interview is fully explained in the report of what took place in the Court of Exchequer before Baron Bramwell. The committee regi-et that they did not attach sufficient weight to the explanation placed before them by Mr. Bradburn as to his connection with the sale of the manure, and recommend that the report of the proceedings in court be published in the Journal, Professor Voelcker had reported that several cases of death have occurred amongst cattle fed on a patent cake, and a communication had been received ft-om the Marquis of Exeter on the same subject — a yearling hull and Shorthorn cow, together with three pigs, having died 138 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. suddenly at iBurghley, with all the symptoms of blood poisoning in their system after being fed on this cake. A heifer had also died at the Koyal A'eterinary College, after being fed on the same cake for 17 days. The condition of the cake appears sufficient to cause injury, but the committee having received another sample of it from the Marquis of Exeter, had requested Professor Voelcker to make a more detailed examination, and a full report of this sample, and also to procure a sample of fresh cake for the surpose of comparison. The committee vnsh. to call the special attention of the Council to the opinion of Pro- fessor Voelcker on the subject of stale and mouldy cake, as given at pp. 142, 143, vol. i., 1865, and further to the caution which should be exercised in the purchase of cakes composed of several different ingredients, anyone of which ingredients being in bad condition may have the effect of setting up decomposition in the other constitu- ents of the cake, and thus produce injury to the stock using it. In reference to the case of a patent blood manure, sent by Mr. F. Minett, the committee have received an explanatory statement from the luakers, Messrs. Griffin, Morris and Griffin, which they recom- mend shall be inserted as an appendix in the next issue of the Journal. This report having been adopted, it was moved by the Earl of Powis, seconded by Mr. Leeds, and carried unanimously, " That the Council approve of the course pursued as to the action with Mr. Bradburn by the President and gentlemen who attended the consultation with Sir John Karslake." Veteri.vary. — Major-General Viscount Bridport (chairman) reported that the committeee bad had an interview with the General Purposes Committee of the Royal Veterinary College, at which it was ascertained that there was considerable difference of opinion between the Veterinary Committee and the Committee of the Royal Veterinary College. A copy of the Council minute of June 5, 1801, which contains the latest arrangement in reference to veterinary privileges made between the Council of this Society and the Governors of the College, has therefore been forwarded to the Governors, with a request that they would com- municate officially their views ou the subject. As the August Council meeting is generally tliiuly attended, the committee suggested that they should defer making their report until the November Council. Professor Brown having been requested to visit Coldham Hall for the pur- pose of investigating a serious outbreak of splenic apo- plexy amongst cattle, the committee presented his report, and recommended that it be published in the Journal and his expenses paid. The committee also recommended that Professor Simonds be allowed the travelling expenses of two veterinary assistants at the Wolverhampton meet- ing, and also that the remaining half for experimental purposes, viz., €25, be granted. This report having been adopted, Professor Simonds made a statement in reference to the patent cake, whicli had been referred to by the Chemical Committee : and ^Ir. Torr stated that, as a preventive of splenic apoplexy, he had successfully used weekly doses of half an ounce of saltpetre ; or, iu the case of very large aud heavy auimals, as much as an ounce. Education. — :Mr. Holland (chairman) reported that the present system of examination had been commenced in 1868, when £G() w^ere distributed in prizes. In the following year (1869) two life memberships were gained, and £75 were given away in prizes. In 1870 no prizes were distributed. This year two life memberships have been gained, and £60 have been awarded in prizes. Thus, in the four years, four competitors have been made life members, aud the sum of £195 has been awarded in prizes. In the first year (1868) 18 candidates entered, and 12 attended the examinations, but as no one passed in book- keeping, which was a si/ie qua non, no prizes were awarded, although in other respects the results of the examinations were satisfactory. In 1869 there were 21 entries, and 18 candidates at- tended; of these, two took a first-class, and eight were second-class men. Iu 1870 only two candidates entered ; both attended, aud both failed. This year there were nine entries, four attended ; of the four two are first- class men, and have gained life memberships, aud one has gained a second class. The committee recommended that the usual fees be paid to the examiners for the present year, and stated their opinion that more time must elapse before the ad- vantages arising from success at these examinations can be generally appreciated. They intended, therefore, at the August Council meeting to apply for a renewal of the grant on the same conditions, and on the same terms as those of last year. — This report was adopted. The following noblemen and gentlemen were ap- pointed a general Cardiff Committee : Lord Vernon (chairman), Earl of Lichfield, Earl ot Powis, Viscount Bridport, Lord^ Chesham, Lord Kesteven, Lord Tredegar, Sir Massey Lopes, Bart., M.P. ; Sir A. K. ]\Iacdonald, Bart. ; Sir Watkin W. "Wynn, Bart., M.P. ; C. E. Amos, C. Barnett, T. C. Booth, Edward Bowly, Charles S. Cantrell, D. R. Davies, Joseph Druce, W. J. Edmonds, B. T. Brandreth Gibbs, Richard Hornsby, C. Wren Hoskvns, M.P. ; Col. Kingscote, M.P. ; Robert Leeds, R. h! Masfen, Richard Milward, Charles Randell, R. C. Ransome, M. W. Ridley, M.P. ; William Sanday, Joseph Shuttleworth, William Torr, James Webb, William Wells, M.P. ; Charles Whitehead, Lieut. -Col. Wilson, Jacob Wilson, the Stewards. jNIr. Thompson having moved the following resolution : " That in future the list of questions to be answered by towns competing for the country meetings shall include one calling for a statement of the maximum cost of the and required for the trial of implements, the acreage wanted being furnished by the Society," it was seconded by Mr. Torr, and carried unanimously. Mr. ToKu then called attention to the relaxation of the restrictions on the foreign cattle trade recently made by the Privy Council, and to the injury which may have been thereby inflicted on English herds ; he regretted especially that only 12 hours' quarantine was required to be passed by animals from foreign countries, aud thought that it ought to be prolonged. lie regarded the present scarcity of store stock as one of the results of the cattle plague, and he, therefore, viewed with alarm the result of allowing cattle to be imported from Hamburgh, as had recently been the case, according to his information, into Great Britain, through the port of Grimsby. Professor Simonds, as connected with the veterinary department of the Privy Council, wished to state that the reports which appeared in the newspapers from time to time were often either erroneous or greatly exaggerated, aud he stated that the statemeut quoted by ^Ir. Torr in reference to importation of cattle from Hamburgh was utterly untrue. No cattle are allowed to be imported into the British islands, unless slaughtered at the port of land- ing, except those from Holland, Spain, and Denmark; aud these countries do not allow the importation of cattle by land or sea. Formerly the importation of cattle into Holland, and their transit through that country, were sources of considerable revenue to its Government ; but both these branches of the cattle trade had been sup- j)ressed by Royal proclamation for the sake of preserving the export trade. The cattle were all carefully examined before being shipped, and after arriving iu England THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 139 two separate inspections were made at intervals of not less than 13 hours, therefore the risk was reduced to a minimum. If, however, any case of disease were dis- covered, the whole cargo was immediately slaughtered, and the ship cleansed and disinfected ; and the owner of each vessel engaged ia conveying cattle from Holland, Denmark, and Spain, were required to give a bond to the amount of £1,000 that it had not been employed for the conveyance of cattle from the scheduled countries. In answer to a question by Mr. Dent, he added that pleuro- pneumonia was not prevalent in Holland, except in a very limited district. Mr. Dent-Dent, M.P., considered that Mr. Torr had raised a very important question, and that Professor Simonds' explanation of the regulations of the Privy Council was very satisfactory. If the Council of the Society were of opinion that the importation of store stock should be prohibited, then they ought to make that representation to the Privy Council ; but if they were not prepared to recommend so serious a prohibition, he did not see that they could recommend that any additional precautions should be taken. Mr. Thompson concurred in this view, and thought that the alarm of people on this question often arose from ignorance of the precautions that were adopted, and he also considered that any considerable extension of the period of quarantine would put a stop to the trade iu foreign cattle. Mr. DvKE AcLAXD, M.P., also expressed his satisfac- tion at hearing the explanation given by Professor Simonds, and he felt that the agricultural public ought to have the statements that had been made placed before them in an official form ; he therefore moved : " That the Council having heard a statement from Professor Simonds, as to the present regulations of the Veterinary De- partment of the Privy Council, and as to the precautious adopted with regard to the importation of foreign stock, are of opiaion that it would be desirable to obtain such a state- ment in an official form, and consequently that the Privy Council be requested to allow Professor Simonds to communi cate to the Council of the Royal Agricultural Society for pub- lication the exact regulations and restricaons under which the importation of foreign cattle is now carried on." This resolution, having been seconded by Mr, Thomp- son, was carried unanimously. THE STEAM PLOUGH TRIALS AT WOLVERHAMPTON AND STAPPORD. Monday, June 26. As anticipated, the work on Monday was confined to quite preliminary business, such as drawing lots for the various plots in Class 1, weighing out coals, gauging water-barrels, and measuring oil, by the engineers' as- sistants ; a few only of the exhibitors making use of the trial-pieces allotted them in the field which forms the depot and starting point for all the engines. An un- fortunate accident happened to the traction gear of one of Messrs. Howard's new engines entered in Class 1, a few cogs having been broken, which prevented their com- peting— a great disappointment to many visitors, who looked forward to the performance of the safety tubular- boilers of the Bedford firm with particular interest. It would have been to the advantage of several firms had they availed themselves of the opportunity aiforded this day to test the length of their ropes, the capability of their anchors to stand the strain upon them in the light soil, and the number and distance apart the shares in the cultivators would work without choking. As will be seen in the report of the trials, in many instances did the anchors repeatedly give way, cultivators clogged, and ropes were run out before the end of the fields was reached — a series of misadventures which ordinary pre- cautions would have obviated. Tuesday, June 27. Class 1. — Precisely at five minutes to ten Messrs. Fowler and Co.'s representatives received orders to pro- ceed with their first set of tackle to the trial-field. Ac- cordingly their two twenty-horse power single cylinder engines steamed up the road about four hundred yards, dragging after them a thirteeu-tine cidtivator, which was speedily set to work on the direct-action principle, a little delay only being caused in placing the spuds on the wheels at the entrance to the field, and in fixing Richards' indicator on the engine, a portion of which latter time, of course, was allowed. The thirteeu-tiues covered a breadth of 11 feet, and were furnished with shares from five to eight inches wide, but owing to the accumulation of couch-grass, and dock roots, the land having been left down two or three years, in the first bout the soil reeved up, and a stoppage was the result, as again in the second bout. The removal of tho two outside shares, however, soon remedied this, and the remainder of the work was completed in capital style, the pace of the cultivator being about six miles per hour, completely smashing up the surface to a depth apparently of ten to eleven, but in reality of only eight inches, despite of all obstacles, as even elm roots from two to three inches in diameter in the bout nearest the fence were torn up in lengths of 3 to 4 feet ! The time occupied to finish the plot, which measured nearly three acres, was thirty-five minutes, or nearly fifty acres per day of ten hours, four men being employed, viz.; one on each engine, one on \he cultivator, and one other attendant only, the inch rope used running without porters. This was the first time the single cylinder engines had appeared in public trial, aud the total cost of this set of tackle is, without cultivator, £1,850. A lighter set belonging to the same firm was next tried, consisting of two 12-horse power single cylinder engines, a 9-furrow cultivator, with 4| inch points, covering a width of 7 feet 6 inches, and working from 6 to 7 inches deep ; but in this, as in every other case, the rule indicated from 25 to 33 per cent, greater depth than the weight of the soil as tested by Mr, Anderson proved to have been stirred. This and the three following implements named were tried in a difl'erent field to the first, the surface being much cleaner, and the soil working rather freer, but with the subsoil heavier than in the former one, as the following figures will show : Wehjid of a square yard of natural soil before helny cultivated. Field No. 1. Field No. 2. Cwts. Qrs. Lbs. Cwts. Qrs. Lbs. First, 6 inches deep... 4 1 19 4 2 25 Second, 6 inches deep 4 2 13 5 0 1 Third, G inches deep... 4 1 24 5 0 11 The cultivation of this plot occupied about forty-five minutes, or about 40 acres per day of ten hours, and nothing could exceed the manner in which the work was left, all being completely stirred aud smashed up. Cost of engine and appliances, with cultivator £1,360. The next was a twelve-horse power single set of culti- vating machinery, comprising single-cylinder engine, with clip drum, six-disc anchor, and six rope porters with steel L 140 THE FAEMEE'S MAGAZINE. wire rope, to wkict was attached a seven-tine balance cultivator, with slack gear, and using eight-inch shares, taking a breadth of six feet, which also make excellent work, two slight stoppages occurring, one owing to the engine driver not understanding the Llangennech coal, which requii-es thick firing, and the other, to the culti- vator running off slightly into the worked ground. This engine weighs 9 tons 18 cwt. 2 qrs., and, with the culti- vator, is priced at £799 ; the time occupied in doing the plot being about ninety minutes, or twenty acres per day of ten hours. The speed at which the first engine was driven rendered the registration of the power employed a difficult and unsatisfactory operation, and it was aban- doned in the case of the others, with the exception of Messrs. Barrows and Stewart's engine ; the coal and water consumed being accurately noted, and the taking of the diagrams by means of the indicator, being post- poned until the trials of the selected engines are run off at Stafford, The last entry of Messrs. Fowler in Class 1 was the eight-horse power double-di'um set with single-cylinder engine, disc-anchor and six porters, and the patent seven- tine tm'ning cultivator, which also did some capital work at a depth of seven to eight inches, and in fair time, con- sidering the delay caused by not having rope enough out by fifty yards. About forty minutes were occupied in get- ting into action, and one hundred in cultivating the piece, being at the rate of eighteen acres per day ; this set costing £698, and is the one selected to compete for Lord Vernon's prize. The remaining plot in the second field fell to the lot of the Eavensthorpe Engineering Company, who work the tackle known as Fiskin's patent, which was exhibited as far back as the Royal Agricultural Society's Show at Carlisle, in 1855, consisting of a ten-hore power traction engine, ma- nufactured by Messrs. Clayton and Shuttleworth ; two patent windlasses, and a seven-tine double-action culti- vator, by Messrs. Howard. This apparatus occupied forty-six minutes in travelling from the depot to the trial field and in getting ready to work, the fixing of the standards, which carry the light Manilla rope, being speedily accomplished. The engine is stationary when at work, and the hemp rope is driven from the fly-wheel, running in a groove, cut for the purpose, the pace being something like forty miles an hour, but with so little strain on the corner anchors as to require no attendance on these after being once fixed. The hemp-rope passes round the pulleys attached to two travelling disc anchors, imparting a speed of about 1-1 2th its own to the wire rope which draws the implement. Economy m cost of wire rope, together with dispensing with the use of heavy dead an- chors, and less wear-and-tear of engine, owing to its being always di'iveu the same way, and not requiring to be stopped or reversed at the ends, are the chief advantages of this system, against which must be set the time of fixing, cost, and wear of the hemp rope and loss of power in the indirect method of transmitting motion to the wire rope, on which points the official reports will be of value. By an ingenious arrangement on the travelling anchors, the reversing of the cultivator at the ends is more rapidly performed than in any other system yet tried. This work was not so deep as most of that previously done, as the cultivator had a tendency to clog at the commence- ment of the trial, and was therefore set shallower, not more than about 5 inches being stirred, the time occupied being 79 minutes or about 22j acres per day ; cost com- plete £690. Wednesday, June 28. The proceedings this morning opened with the trial of Messrs. Barrows and Stewart's implements, which consist of au ordinary portable 13 horse-power engine with sepa- rate four-wheel windlass driven direct fi'om the fly-wheel shaft, working a five-tine cultivator on the Woolston principle. This firm were the most unfortunate in the ballot for plots, as the anchors gave way repeatedly, and several large stones were met with which impeded pro- gress ; much time was also lost in turning, so that three hours were occupied in doing the three acres, and the slow pace at which the implement went caused the land to be merely sliced the one way instead of being well broken up. This set is the lowest in price, the whole being put at £500, and this completed the competition in Class 1. !Major Grantham joined the judges, to whom were committed the steam cultivating classes, and meanwhile Messrs. Hicken and Kimber were inspecting the ploughs at work on another part of the estate, where Messrs. Howard first started a three-furrow then a four-furrow plough, these working about S inches deep ; then came the two-furrow deep plough, which fetched up the subsoil to a depth of nearly 18 inches, and for which the oc- cupier did anything but thank them, the soil brought to light being an admixtm-e of sand, gravel, and clay, whereas the surface was a good sandy loam. Messrs. Fowler came next with their three-furrow deep plough, following with a four-furrow, which did the work in such a manner as to call forth the highest encomiums from the Midlaud Counties farmers, whilst the north-country men approved more of the next plot, also done by a fom-- furrow plough, but laid rather flatter than the preceding piece. A Kentish plough was next tried, as also a five and six-furrow from Messrs. Fowler's, iu most of which trials Campain's patent anchor, exhibited by ilessrs. Amies and Barford, was used. About midday on "Wednesday the lots were drawn for the competition in Class 2, and for Loi"d Vernon's prize, the only difference in the competition being that in the former class the weight of the engine must not exceed ten tons, and in the latter it must be self-propelling. These two competition classes include seven sets, which are drawn in the following order : 1. Howard's double drum engine, 2. E. Hayes, 3. The Ravensthorpe Engineering Co. 4. Amies and Barford, 5. Fowler and Co., with 8 horse-power double drum engme, 6. Howard's roundabout. 7. Barrows and Stewart. Messrs. Howard started, in Class 2, one of their double- cylinder engines with transverse boiler, fitted with two winding drums for either double or single system, and which had been at work for twelve months on the Britannia Fai-ms, theii- patent double-action cultivator being attached. There was considerable delay in starting this set, owing to a misunderstanding as to the fixing of the indicator and by the giving way of an anchor at first ; as also in the i-emoval of the fingers or pulverisers, which did not act to advantage, owing to the mass of couch in the land. When a fair start had been eftected, the work was done in reasonable time, and a good level bottom left below the pulverised soil. Mr. Hayes met with a chapter of accidents, from his anchors failing to stand ; and the appearance of this set is certainly not in its favour, as a large drum is fitted on the crank-shaft of the engine, and from the distance it extends beyond the bearings must cause considerable wear and tear on these : fi'om this, by means of a belt, a windlass with three pulleys was driven, which is also fitted with au hydraulic apparatus for throwing it in and out of gear, and either from want of proper working or defective arrangement, the result was not very satisfactory; but the judges consented to allow a further trial on Friday or Saturday, The Ravensthorpe THE FABMER'S MAGAZINE. 141 Company unproved atout eight minutes on their time in getting to work, doing this in 37 or 38 minutes, but owing to the breaking of a bush in one of their wind- lasses, only half their plot was finished with the culti- vator, the remainder being left until a new bush was procured from Mirfield, on Fi-iday morning, when some excellent work was done with a four-furrow balance plough, with digging-breasts, of Messrs. Fowler's manu- facture. "We regret to say that this firm appears likely to be thrown out on technical grounds, owing to careless- ness in preparing the prize-list, there being an apparent contradiction of tcims between the wording of the olTcr of the prize in Class 2 and the conditions for competition, as, in the former case, it states that the weight of the steam engine must not exceed ten tons, and in the con- ditions, which were evidently framed with special reference to clip and double-drum engines, information is conveyed that the ten tons does not include the weight of the coal, water, or rope, but will take that of the drum or windlass. Now, the engine employed by this Company has been specially constructed within the weight by INIessrs. Clayton and Shuttleworth, and we have the highest authority for stating that it never was intended by the implement committee to include in this weight any of the other detaclied portions of the machinery .which might be used, and we thus feel that there are not sufficient grounds for disqualifying the Fisken tackle by adding the weight of the windlass in this instance. THrESDAY, June 29. Messrs Amies and Barford ploughed half their plot, and cultivated the other half to a depth of sis or seven inches ; but this cultivator as well as several others would be improved by lengthening the tines and giving more room for the worked land to pass between the wheels and the tines. The plough fell into some bad ground, where an old fence or quarry had existed, and the judges, there- fore, stopped the finishing of the piece. Messrs. Fowler had two entries in this section, the first being the twelve- horse power single-cylinder engine, with clip drum, moveable disc anchor, and balance cultivator, which un- doubtedly did the best work, and completed the three acres in two hours, including a stoppage of twenty minutes, in changing the anchor, which was accidentally broken by a lad dropping a wedge into a cog wheel. Messrs. Howard's plot was next, and was worked by a Clayton and Shuttleworth engine, with their seven- tine cultivator, the windlass being driven from the crank- shaft of engine. The anchors again gave way, and delay was caused by the tackle of Messrs. Barrows and Stewart, whose piece adjoined, somewhat interfering with that of the Bedford firm ; when once got fairly under- weigh the work was well done. The tackle used by Messrs. Barrows and Stewart is that of the well-known Woolston system, and although the work now done showed an improvement on that in Class 1, there is still room for more, and the number of horses required to move this set, viz., five for the engine, and five more for the windlass, snatch-blocks, porters, and anchors, render it less in favom- with many farmers than the sets which include a traction-engine. The depth here stirred was fully nine inches, the width covered 4 feet 3 inches, the five-tine cultivator being used, and on a portion of the laud two of the shai*es worked 12 inches deep, having inadvertently slipped. The plot was of equal extent with the others, viz., almost three acres, the time occupied being 2 hours 10 minutes ; coal used 4561bs., water 320 gallons. Saturday, July 1. The condition as to including the weight of the driun or windlass will have the effect of narrowing the competition in Class 2 down to very few competitors — Messrs. Fowler, Howard, and Barrows and Stewart, but the judges will probably report on the others, and leave the Council to determine as to the interpretation of its own rules; but before settling anything finally it has been decided to weigh all the engines and windlasses on Monday. The cost of Messrs. Fowlers' set being as before stated £799, rendered it necessary for them to put in another set for Lord Vernon's prize, for which they competed on Friday with the 8-horse power double drum engine, moveable disc anchor, 1,200 yards steel rope, and IG rope porters, price £618 ; a four-furrow plough, a four-furrow digger, or a nine-tine cultivator, each priced at £80, being offered to the purchasers, bringing the total cost to £698. The judges tested thctwo first-named implements, andagain very superior work was made at a depth of 7 to 8^ inches, this plot not being free from large stones (some weighing 2 cwt.) which crop up here and there on the estate. On the same day a 12 -horse power double cylinder was hired by the Society to test the machinery entered in Class 3, which must be driven by any ordinary farm engine. Messrs. Howard first set down their windlass and culti- vator, in less than 30 minutes, followed by the plough and digger ; but the engineers had provided a bran new strap to diive with, and, as is well known, these leather bands are always troublesome by stretching when first usedjthe present one proving no exception. This delay being in no way to be attributed to the competitors, of com'se due allowance of time will be made by the judges, as in all other respects this trial was eminently satis- factory. The trials of cultivators, scarifiers, skims, and diggers were proceeded with on another portion of the farm, being most carefully noted by Messrs. Hicken and Kimber, these implements, as a rule, being all driven at a slow pace, the object being to ascertain the best imple- ment on various descriptions of soil without reference to the motive-power, a distinction not duly appreciated by the majority of the sight-seers, who prefer that all should be done at racing pace, and have no idea of adopting steam implements tliat do not move faster than " our old 'osses." Messrs. Barrows and Stewart followed in Class 3, but owing to the driving-wheel of theii* windlass not being proportionate to the fly-wheel of the engine, not more than three or four horse-power was applied to the cultivator, so the judges consented to allow another trial on IMonday, when the wheel will be exchanged for a larger one. On Saturday, Messrs. Amies and Barford were the first competitors in Class 3, when they made some very good work ill excellent time, notwithstanding the rain, and the second growth of rye and vetches on their plot ; this firm's tackle being also tested with cultivator, plough, and digger, the operation of the Campain's patent anchors showing to great advantage on the triangular piece. The last to be tried in this class were Messrs. Fowlers' implements, which on this occasion were somewhat neglected by the visitors, as it was announced that the trac- tion engines would be run for time, or iu plain words, that the races would commence at 3 o'clock, by which hour most of the competitors had steamed up from the show-yard, having there being severely tested on the break. The exhibitors were dr-awn in the following order : 1. Aveling and Porter, 10 horse-power ordinary farm locomotive. 2. C. Biu-rell, 8 horse-power do. 3. Aveling and Porter, 6 horse-power do,, with Adam's patent elastic tyres. 4. Ransomes, Sims, and Head, 8 horse-power do., with Thomson's patent iudiarubber tyres. 5. C. Burrell, 8 horse-power do., with do. do. 6. Aveling and Porter, 6 horse-power ordinary farm locomotive. 7. Howard, 10 horse-power do., with tubular boiler. 8. Amies and Barford, 10 horse-power engine, manu- factured by Tusford and Sons, ■ 1.8 142 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. One or two of these did not put in an appearance, being detained in the showyard to be tested, and Messrs. Howard, after having satisfactorily passed through this ordeal, withdrew their engine owing to a breakage of the flywheel. No. 1 was well driven, and occupied 29 mi- nutes in completing the course (nearly two miles). No. 2 taking half a minute less, whUst No. 4, from which great things were expected, ran the journey in 2'1 minutes. No. 5 started at a great pace, which was not maintained, the eatire round occupying 28 mi- nutes, and it was left to the last tried to-day, viz.. No 6, to make the best time, viz., 22 minutes, a result in a great measure to be attributed to the excel- lent driving of the well-known " Little Tom," whose gyrations in many previous showyards with Messrs. Ave- ling and Porter's engines will not easily be forgotten. The trials of the smaller implements were almost neg- lected to-day, but will be vigorously resumed on Monday, when the hop machinery and appliances are to be judged in the showyard. The attendance has been very good throughout the week, and the shilling payment has brought the Local Committee in about £250, by no means a despicable instalment towards the £1,200 still deficient. The General Committee are called together for Monday to consider their situation with reference to finance and other matters, as owing to rather precipitate movements and too lavish promises in the first instance, considerably more funds are required than in previous years. The Society has at length issued a programme of proceedings for next week, and we can only add that they would have earned the thanks of everyone who attended the trials had a complete pro- gramme appeared a week back. To sum up the result of the trials, public opinion appears decidedly in favour of the chances of Messrs. Fowlers' implements in Classes 1, 2, and also for Lord Vernon's prize, in which opinion we cannot but concur, as on the heavy land their strong tackle is certain to appear to advantage ; at the same time it must be borne in mind that there are no data at present published as to comparative power employed, or cost of coal, &c., per acre. No doubt there are many excellent points in several of the other systems, particularly we may note Campaiu's] patent anchor, manufactured and used by Messrs. Amies and Barford ; the various points commended in the Fisken system, many of which are equally applicable to Messrs. Howards' and Barrows and Stewart's tackle. A great-field-day is expected on Monday, when the traction engines will be run, drawing trains of loaded waggons after them, and we understand that their ability to surmount inclines and facility of turning will weigh more iu guiding the decisious than in the mere speed of the eugine by itself, four miles per hour being considered fast enough for agricultural operations, at least for the present. Amongst the visitors have been the Russian attache and lady, the managing director of the Imperial Estates of Austria, Lieutenant Crompton, from the East India Government office, the Mayor of Birmingham, and others. The following is the programme of the proceedings at Stafford : On this day, Monday, July 3rd, the engines and wind- lasses in Class 2 weighed on the public weigh-bridge, at the Shropshire Union Railway and Canal Store, near the High Level Railway Station, after which they proceed to Stafford. The competitors in Class 3 and for Lord Vernon's Cup proceed to Stafford, and take up their positions in the plots allotted to them. On Tuesday, the tackle in Class 1 not already been tested by the eagiaeers, tried, begiauing at 10 o'clock a.m. On Wednesday and Thursday, the tackle in all Classes tested for quality of work on the heavy land, and on Thursday afternoon all the tackle run as an exhibition for the members of the Society and the public. On the Thursday all the traction engines run from Wolverhampton to the trial ground at Stafford, to be there by 12.30, and to return to Wolverhampton the same evening. The trials at Stafford were on the New Buildings Farm, in the occupation of Mr. Darlington. The road passes through Stafford, through the Market Square by the Gaol, taking the Sand or right hand road at the Four Crosses public-house (the telegraph runs along part of this road), and so to the farms about two miles from Stafford. The time of getting into place and setting down will not be registered, so that the competitors may put down their- tackle immediately on arrival. Monday, July 3. The morning of this day was occupied by the traction engines proceeding to the extensive works of Mr, Charles Matthews, Iron Hurdle Manufacturer, in the Cleveland-road, who lent about 20 tons of pig iron, which was used to regulate the loads to be drawn round the course. The amount of load was left to the choice of the competitors, the first to start, about 2.30, being Messrs. Aveling and Porter's 6-hor3e power ordi- nary locomotive engine weighing 5 tons, drawing an additional 5 tons 10 cwt. iu the truck attached. Various stoppages were made to put on and take oft' the spuds, according to the nature of the road, which was very wet and slippery iu places, owing to the recent rains. On reaching the hollow, in which the gradients on entering and leaving are 1 in 18 and 1 in 12 respectively, the truck was detached, the engine proceeding through alone ; then about 30 yards' length of chain was attached and the load pulled through, and the remainder of the journey ran at a steady pace, the total length of 145 chains being accomplished in 51^ minutes. At 5 minutes past 3 the Sutherland 8-horse power, weighing 8 tons, with vertical boiler and fitted with Thomson's patent elastic tyres, made a start with a S-ton load, but the chain and screw- jack had speedily to be got in operation ; no serious difficulties, however, occurred until the hollow before mentioned was reached, into which the engine descended at a good pace, the speed only causing the wheels to plough deeper into the mud at the bottom, the time up to this point being 43 minutes for 106 chains. About an hour was spent in extricating the engine and endeavouring to remove the waggon, the former being accomplished by placing planks for the wheels to go on, but a heavy thunderstorm coming on the truck of pig iron was left behind, aud after various stoppages in the next field the winning-post was reached by the engine iu about 3^ hours. Granted, as Lord Duumore remarked, that no farmer would attempt to draw a load of corn through such a pit as that in the course, yet in our uncertain climate, where iu harvest heavy storms frequently come on suddenly, unless engines with wheels of the Suther- land type can be fitted with spuds or spikes, they had better confine their operations to travelling on roads, or where intended to be used for farm purposes roads must be constructed for them ; and we cannot but express our opinion that they are specially adapted for road purposes in preference to travelling across the fields. Mr. Bur- rell's ordinary 8-horse power single-cylinder engine, weighing 6 tons 10 cwt., with 7 tons of load, ran its course steadily in 62 minutes, the same time being taken by Messrs. Aveling and Porter's ordinary lO-horse engine drawing 9 tons' load in two ti'ucks, making the performance of these last two and the first named a very close matter. Mr. Buvrell wisely withdrew bis engine with THE FARMEU'S MAGAZINE. 143 elastic tyres, as also did Messrs. Amies and Barford, whose engine was required at once to proceed to Stafford. Tuesday, July 4th. Owing |to the kind offices of some one who met the engines on their arrival from "Wolverhampton in the vicinity of the trial-lields at Ilopton, the drivers were directed a shorter, at the same time au almost impassahle route across one or two ditches and gateways where only a few thorns had heen laid. This led to delay in arrival, and it was half-past eleven before Messrs. Fowler's pair of 20-horse engines got into position with their 11-tine cultivator, and nearly half-past twelve before a start in the presence of the judges was effected. The soil being on this plot a retentive clay, which had been down in turf 7 or 8 years, it was found necessary to take 2 tines off the implement, leaving a width of 7 ft. C in., which was smashed up to a depth of 8 inches, this being on a steep incline, where 5 horses do not plough much more than their f acre a day 5 inches deep. Next came the 6 -furrow digger, doing 'J to 10 inches deep and nearly 6 feet wide, the powerful engines making easy work even with this severe test. Tne following table will render the fields and order of proceedings more intelligible to the reader : )*>■ CO bO 1— 1 Field. hd h-« I—" *■ tu o o 00 ^a w to l-i P3 e-t ^ > fs «H CO «-H «-( < M p 3 § *^ *t BJ hcj s m o A a o !1 J" ^ 3i o- a O B- « a> .^ b3 =!■ T ^^'i o B o Si -1 "O a s- g- '73 3 & w oog. S- O O 5= n O a> i o o B p c- o B o S- P ." ►cJ "a •A- g o 0 "-d • « -^ ^ I— ' ^ 1 ^ 1 ,_, 1 ^^ 1 H. o 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 85 ■*• h-J h- ' I- 1 1 1 K) 1 1 1 1 1 ft Cl 1 1 1 H-" 1—1 H- (— ' >-• 1 1 CO J" eji 1 i ^ 1 1 v^l 1 Hi ft h- 1 a, o ^ K After about an hour's trial of No. 1 the judges adjourned to luncheon, and nothing further was done in the shape of trials this day, except to the tempers of those who waited for some two or three hours during a pelting storm, until the announcement that business was postponed until the morrow ! All the competitors arrived at Hopton with their implements, except Mr. Hayes, whose set of tackle was detained at Barnhurst, where it was used in drawing the competing cultivators, &c., diagrams being taken to test the draught of the various implements. Wednesday, July .5. The judges went to work in earnest this morning, dividing into two sets, Major Grantham, Messrs. Kimber and Hicken taking Class 2 and Lord Vernon's prize, whilst Mr. Hemsley and Mr. Sherborne went on with class 1, Mr. Menelaus, C.E., joining either party as occa- sion required. The registration of power employed was carefully taken by means of diagrams by Mr. Anderson and assistants. Messrs. Fowler's 12 -horse power double set, with 5-furrow balance digger was first put in opera- tion in the same field as the 20-hor3e set, but had a shorter length to travel, the distance being only about 150 yards. The implement took a breadth of 5 feet and a depth of 9 inches, and when propelled at a speed of five or six miles per hour made the best work in the way of smashing up of any seen during the meeting, the fur- row slices when cut by the shares being literally lifted up something like 2 feet, thoroughly shaken and broken, and cast from 3 to 4 feet, leaving room for the soil from the next bout to take its place, the results being equal to a deep ploughing followed by a cross cultivator, the opera- tion being suitable either for a summer fallow or as an autumn breaking up of stnbble. The soil here was strong, but rather more of a red marl than clay, and worked much freer than that tried on the previous day. The 7-tine turning cultivator, taking 6 feet, was also tested here, and went well, but public opinion was unani- mously in favour of the digger, though all agreed that the next operation must also be performed by steam, as horses would be unable to move in the depth of broken soil amid the large steam-cut clods. About 10.30 a rather novel featui-e was added to the proceedings, and one somehow omitted in the pro- gramme, in the shape of Mr. Darlington, the tenant, who, accompanied by a member of the police force, perambu- lated the trial fields and accosting every one asked for their ticket ! and if members, exhibitors, or servants, well and good ; if not, a shilling was demanded, and in default of payment summary ejectment took place. Some surprise was expressed at Barnhurst at the council allowing the local committee to farm the receipts there, but still more so at the Hopton mode of doing business, as it was clearly understood that the compensation to be given to Mr. Darlington was to cover all damages, and this was probably an afterthought, as no such demand was made on Tuesday. We believe the matter will not be allowed to blow over, but will be heard of at the general meeting on Tuesday. Messrs. Howard having withdrawn in Class I., owing to inability to work their double set of tackle, there remained the Ravensthorpe Engineering Co., and Messrs. Barrows and Stewart to compete, the former firm getting perhaps the strongest working piece of land in the whole farm, but taking Messrs. Fowler's three-furrow digger, the soil to a depth of nine inches, which had not seen the light for ages was brought up and laid well for the frosts to penetrate it. The working of the cultivator was not quite so satisfactory, as the sticky clay land repeatedly clogged the implement, which was Fowler's five-tine turning cultivator, taking 4 ft. 2in. wide ; however, these stoppages only tended to show the ease with which the machinery is worked ; and the power required to perform the heavy work accomplished by the digger on this land, seems to indicate that there cannot be the loss of power attributed by many to the use of the hemp rope round the field. Messrs. Barrows and Stewart, in competition in Class 1 with their twelve horse-power double cylinder portable engine and three-tine cultivator, did deep work ; but, whether from unequal setting of the shares or the tough- ness of the subsoil, the bottom was left very uneven, varying from five to ten inches, the tines occasionally penetrating a foot deep, which in a drier soil would no doubt have effectually stirred the whole. This firm it will also be seen competed in Classes 2 and 3. Messrs. Fowler also ran their eight-horse power double-drum engine with a four-furrow plough, a four-furrow digger, 144 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. aud seven-tine cultivatov, ou plot No. 10, which had the advantage of being free from clay, and of a slightly gravelly natnre, so that there had here been just enough rain to make excellent work at seven to eight inches deej) ; and so rapidly and evenly was it performed that the set became rapidly in favour, not only for Lord Vernon's prize, but also for a high position in Class 1 ; whilst their single engine with clip-drum set, in Class 2, falling into heavier groimd, progressed favourably as long as the foui'- tine digger was used, and the depth confined to seven inches, but no sooner had this been changed for the seven-tine balance cultivator than the moveable disc anchor showed symptoms of displacement when the strain came ou it, and having been allowed by the attendant to proceed a little too far was completely pulled round, and had to await the arrival of the engine from the opposite headland before it could be replaced. A somewhat similar accident occurred to their set of roundabout tackle, where a dead anchor was pulled from its moorings, this competition having no chance in Class 1, but being undertaken to comply with the conditions in Class 3, viz., a combination of machinery to be worked by any ordinai-y farm engine. The four-furrow digger and seven-tine cultivator were both used, the engine being a 12-horse single-cylinder traction one, di-iving a detached windlass from the crank shaft. Messrs. Howard's engine was of similar power, but had double-cylinder, and alternately worked the three-furrow balance plough seven inches deep, the four-furrow digger eight inches deep, and the thi-ee-tine double-action culti- vator, with thirtcen-inch shares, sLx to seven inches deep. The whole was completed under two hours, leaving very little ground for exhibition purposes on the morrow ; the plough might have closed the furrows rather more, but there was no better digging for the size of the implement and power employed, and the wide shares used with the cultivator left a good even bottom. Lastly, in these classes, we come to ^Messrs. Amies and Barford, who drive with a 10-horse traction engine, using an improved detached windlass with frictional breaks, Campain's patent anchor, a new light three-furrow plough, convertible into a digger, and a seven-tine cultivator ; the various items enumerated making up the set of tackle are separately worthy of especial notice, and we fancy that the judges will not be able to get away from either the anchor or windlass in the classes in which these compete ; but there is room for several improvements in order to bring the tackle to work harmoniously together, which time and experience will no doubt suggest, and which we alluded to in the Barnhurst trials. Thursday, July 6th. Messrs. Howard competed in the class for Lord Vernon's prize on plot 9 with double-drum engine with transverse boiler, doing some good work with a four- furrow digger, which apparently performed its task with the expenditure of very moderate power. The Raveusthorpe Engineering Company ou plot 7 Avorked a four-furrow plough of Messrs. Fowler's, their engine, a ten-horse power traction one, being placed some 300 or 400 yards distant in an adjacent field through which a brook ran, and one of the particular advantages of the system was thereby manifested, as the engine pumped its own water. As the stopping, turning at the ends, and starting are entirely under the control of the men in •hargc of the windlasses, there is no necessity for the engineer to be in sight of the implement : it is thus evident that where a good fixed engine has been put down in a central position at a fann homestead, it is quite feasible under the Fisken system to make it available for cultivat- ing a considerable extent of land. The favour with which many points in this system were regarded seemed to grow on the spectators, and also on the judges, as the work went steadily on, and with au increased coiling space and the attachment of guide pulleys to the windlasses, giving additional weight, and the use of a ratherjheavier.wire rope, there is no doubt this set of tackle will take its place amongst the first of its class, viz., the roundabout with stationary engine. These were the only plots inspected by the judges to-day, as in each case, with a view to save time, the same work was considered as competing in two classes. Wolverhampton was early astir this morning, the trac- tion engines being all ordered to be in position ready to start at 5 o'clock, andprecisely at 5.30theSutherlandeight- horse power from Messrs. Ransomes, Sims, and Head, and driven by Mi: Head, started for Stafford, taking as a gross load, including its own weight, 22 tons 10 cwt. The 16 mile run to Stafi'ord station was completed by 9.58, the net time being 3 hours 35 minutes, the remain- ing 53 minutes being occupied by a stoppage for break- fast, water, &c. The coal consumed was 6 cwt. 1 qr., and water 5 SO gallons. The speed as fixed by the en- gineers was four miles per hour, but down hill there is no doubt this was much exceeded. After an interval of thi-ec or four minutes Messrs. Aveling and Porter's ten- horse power engine followed, loaded with 26 tons 4 cwt., and after a very steady journey reached Stafford at 11.8, being about 20 minutes longer on the way than the six- horse power engine of the same firm, which drawing 14 ton 4 cwt, only consumed Bh cwt. of coal during the journey. Mr. Bui'reU's two engines, both of eight-horse power, were last started, one with vertical boiler, and fitted with Thomson's patent elastic tyres, bringing up the rear and running a favourable trial, the three-wheel engine getting still somewhat further behind. The ad- vantage of the vertical boiler is mainly in avoid- ing the great alterations of the water level in ascending or descending hills, and this is also secm'ed in Messrs. Howard's transverse boiler. Shortly after midday, according to previous arrangement for a special train from London, the President, accom- panied by the Duke of Devonshire, the Duke of Suther- land, Lord Hill, jMr. R. INIilward, Mr. D. R. Davies, Mr. R. Leeds, Mr. Cantrell, Mr. Jacob Wilson, and other members of the Council arrived, some of the party being conveyed in one of the omnibuses purchased for the Go- vernment from Messrs. Kansome for use in India, and were conducted tlu'oughthe whole of the trial-fields by the Stewards, ]\Ir. Jenkins being also in attendance. The operations performed by Messrs. Fowler and Co. were ploughing 8 and 11 inches deep, digging 10 inches deep, cultivating, ditching, aud knifing, the above, with the ex- ception of the last two, having been fully described in the I'cport of the trials. The trench-plough or ditching ma- chine is principally useful in the West Indies for irrigation purposes, or where the surface-water requires to be rapidly taken ofl" the sugar plantations. It consists of a strong frame on 2 hind-wheels and 2 low front-wheels, the latter being provided with steerage arrangement. The axle of the hind-wheels is cranked, aud jjrovided with a segment similar to the one used in turning cultivators. The front part of the implement caiTies a sheave, round which the pulling-rope is wound, its end being attached to the engine's hind-wheel. Underneath the frame, princi- pally carried by 3 great coulters, is the scoop, similar in shape to a large right and left-hand plough bolted to- gether back to back. The common share and the two outside coulters of the apparatus cut the sides and the bottom of the ditch. The whole mass of ground is then split in two by the central coulter, and rises slowly to the surface, being placed at some distance at the two sides of the ditch. Ditches tapering from 18 inches at top to 10 inches at bottom to the depth of 2 feet may be made by the implement at the rate of about THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 145 oneymile per hour. The kuifer consists of tkree deep- cultivating tines, attached to a balance plough ft-ame, fol- lowing each other in a similar manner to ploughshares, and is useful for loosening the subsoil oa strong land, to improve the drainage, or as a substitute for draining in waterlogged clays, as it may be used on turf without ma- terially interfering with the surface. Messrs. Howard put their extra-deep two-furrow plough into operation for the especial benefit of the party, and completed their two or three bouts in good style, going at least three times the depth the soil had ever been stirred before. Messrs. Barrows and Stewart worked their cultivator, Messrs. Amies and Barford their three-furrow plough, and the Ravensthorpe Company a four-fnrrow Fowler's plough, this set of tackle coming in for the lion's share of attention. Fkidat, July 7. The trials of drills, harrows, and rolls were to be completed at Barnhurst to-day, but owing to the heavy rain in the night and early morning, it was past mid-day before these could be commenced. The rolls of Mr. Williams, Messrs. Cambridge and Parham, and Messrs. Amies and Barford were tested, leaving Messrs. Fowlerls for Saturday. Mr. Williams' is a three- part cylinder roll, 8 feet wide and 3 feet in diameter, with steering wheel in front, and by locking the outside cylin- der, it is made to turn on to fresh ground at the land's end. The turning was quickly performed, but the steer- Age-wheel ploughed very deeply into the ground. This implement will also be tried on Saturday as part of a com- bination of steam machinery. Messrs. Cambridge and Parham showed their noted wheel-Cambridge roller and clodcrusher, 8 feet wide aud 30 feet in diameter, with steer- age wheel much too small to act effectively in land at all rough. Messrs. Amies and Bardford's press-wheel roll is 7 feet 6 in. long and 3 feet in diameter, and weighs about two tons, the steering being accomplished in a satisfactory manner by two wheels, which would be improved by being a little wider. By simply moving round on his seat, which is placed on a pivot, the driver is ready to start the instant the end is reached, not a second being lost if the engine men are quick. The drills were few in number, consisting of one from Messrs. Howard, one from Mr. Hensman, and three from Messrs. Fowler and Co. Mr. Hensman's was first tried, and the steerage arrangement of this is excellent, the turning at the end being accom- plished by placing a loose turntable under the outside wheel, but during the operation the fore part of the implement exhibited a tendency to rise in the air, which would rather have imperilled the seed, had any been used. The two rows of coulters are also placed too close together to act freely in soil at all damp. Messrs. Howard's drill was tried both with and without the set of harrows fol- lowing; twelve coulters 8 inches apart are employed, and this made in our opinion the best work during the trial. Messrs. Fowler worked three drills, the first being a twelve furrow, for seed and manure, with drag harrow in front and light seed harrows to follow, taking 8 feet wide ; the second was a fourteen furrow drill 8 feet 6 inches in width with harrows as before ; and the third a fourteen furrow di'ill only — all these being manufac- tured by ilr. J. Coultas of Grantham, and all requiring considerable time and space for turning, so that unless used in a very open district, where long lengths can be obtained, they cannot at present compete successfully with horse power in point of cost or efficiency, as a 40 foot headland is left for each of the two engines and for the steam drill to turn on, which has afterwards to be culti- vated. In the class for harrows Messrs. Howard com- peted with three sets of their well-known zig-zag pattern, these being reversible, and not requiring to turn at the ends, fresh ground being entered on by means of a short shunt. These were of three sizes — for heavy, medium, and light land, with 36, 45, and 72 tines respectively, and all made excellent work, the land being a little too wet for the lighter set to clean themselves well. Messrs. Amies and Barford entered a large new triangular drag harrow, covering a breadth of 15 feet, having 41 tines, and being composed of three smaller triangular har- rows bolted together. The steerage is managed by two wheels, which from their small size are rather apt to clog. Mr. Ashton of Horucastle was an exhibitor of a new harrow in this class, which showed too much inclina- tion to leave the ground altogether when turning at the ends, otherwise working well. Messrs. Fowler's harrow pai'took more of the nature of a cultivator, being, made extra strong, with 37 tines 15 feet wide. Saturday, July 8. This day Messrs. Fowler's press-wheel roll was tried, and a few other minor implements. This roller is 15 feet in width, consisting of two ordinary rollers jointed toge- ther, the preparation to start being a rather tedious per- formance, the change to fresh ground at the ends being done by a short shunt, as with Messrs. Howard's har- rows, and had the implement travelled more steadily, so as to admit of more accurate steering, it would have had a better chance with Messrs. Amies and Barford's roll, which seemed the general favourite. The only combina- tion of implements qualified to compete in Class 15 was the roll cultivator and harrows exhibited by Mr. J. A. Williams of Baydon, Wilts, at the first turning of which the harrows mounted straight up on end and bent their coupling rod considerably, and at the second turn the roll which was placed first showed no intention to move, consequeutly on Mr. Williams giving the order to Messrs. Fowler's enginemen to put on more steam the lever snapped short off, and the trial was abandoned. In miscellaneous implements to be worked by steam power Messrs. Fowler entered a thi-ee-furrow ridging plough with straight mould boards, and Messrs. Howard their two-furrow ridging plough, which has the advantage of being fitted to their ordinary four-furrow balance plough frames, the same principle being observed in the case of their combined ridger and subsoiler, which can be attached to their cultivator frame. A large stone broke off the subsoiler, but not before sufficient work had been seen to give a favourable impression to the judges as to the usefulness of the implement for ridging up land for winter combined with deep stirring between the ridges, Messrs. Fowler's root or stone extractor was next tried, but no sufficient roots or stones were found to test its strength, which is ample for almost any power that can be applied, as the implement itself is a sort of monster plough anchor. Last of aU, a two-furrow American plough was sent out of the yard for trial, being similar to that worked by horse power at Stafford in a field near the trial grounds there, which by means of a rapidly revolving disc mould- board makes a fair seed-bed at one operation. The conclusions we arrive at from the prolonged trials is that for heavy land and large enclosures the direct action system as performed by Messrs. Fowler's double sets for either ploughing or smashing up is the preferable plan, whilst for those already in possession of a single portable or fixed engine of sufficient power the Fisken system with the suggested improvements appears particu- larly suited. As regards the secondary operations, such as harrowing, rolling, ridging, drilling, &c., until horses are entirely banished from the British farmers home- steads, we cannot believe that steam can be economically applied here, unless under exceptional circumstances, such as exist at Buscot Park, for instance ; but still we consider them as of the greatest help in continental or colonial farming. U6 l^HE i'ARMER'S MAGAZINE. PRIZE LIST. JUDGES FOR IMPLEMENTS. For Classes 1, 2, and 3, and Lord Vernon's Prize : J. Hemsley, Shelton, Newark. W. Menelaus, C.E., Dowlais, Merthyr Tydvil. F. Sherboru, Bedfont. Classes 4 to 16 : Major Grantham, West Keal, Spilsby. J. Hitcheu, Duncliurch. J. W. Kimber, Tubney, Abingdon. Classes 17 and 18 : F. J. BramweU, C.E., Great George Street, London. Hop Machinery and Miscellaneous : H. B. Caldwell, Monkton Farleigh, Bradford-on- Avon. C. Whitehead, Barming House, Maidstone. Consulting Engineers : Messrs. Easton, Amos, and Anderson. Section I.— STEAM CULTIVATION. Class 1. — For the best combination of Machinery for the cijltivation of the soil by Steam-power. First prize of £100, J. Fowler and Co., Leeds (6481), 12-horse power double set, price £1280. Second of £50, J. Fowler and Co. (6480), 20-horse power double set, price £1880. Class 2. — For the best combination of Machinery for the cultivation of the soil by Steam-power, the weight of the Steam-engine not to exceed 10 tons. First prize of £50, J. Fowler and Co. (6482), 12-horse power clip-drum engine, disc anchor, price £744. Second of £25, Ravensthorpe Engineering Company (6023), 10-horse power traction, Mirfield, York, engine set price £690. Class 3. — For the best combination of Machinery for the cultivation of the soil by an ordinary Agricul- tural Engine, whether self propelling or portable. First prize of £50, J. Fowler and c"o. (6486, 6493, 6509), stationary windlass set, with four-furrow plough, digger cultivator, price £280, or with drill and two sets harrows, £375. Second of £25, J. andF. Howard, Bedford (1170, 1174, 1182, 1185), stationary windlass set, with five-tine cultivator, price £250 ; or with four-furrow plough and digger, one set of harrows, combined drill and harrow, price £416 10s. Class 4'. — For the best Windlass, detached. Prize of £20, Tu.\ford and Sons, Boston (6914) Class 5. — For the best Snatch-block, or substitute thereof. Prize of £10, Amies and Barford, Peterborough (2675). Class 6. — For the best Plough suitable for Steam cultivation. Prize of £25, J. Fowler and Co. (6493). Class 7.— For the best Subsoiler suitable for Steam cultivation. Prize of £20, J. Fowler and Co. (6511). Class 8. — For the best Digger suitable for Steam cultivation. Prize of £25, J. Fowler and Co. (6494). Class 9.— For the best Cultivator suitable for Steam cultivation. Prize of £25, J. Fowler and Co. (6503). Class 10.— For the best Skim Plough or Scarifier suitable for Steam cultivation. Prize of £20, J. Fowler and Co. (6499). Class 11. — For the best Roller suitable for Steam cultivation. Prize of £10, Amies and Barford (2671). Class 12. — For the best Harrow suitable for Steam cultivation. Prize of £10, J. and F. Howard (1185). Class 13. — For the best DriU suitable for Steam cultivation. Prize of £10 each, J. and F. Howard (1182) ; and J Coultas, Grantham (570). Class 14. — For the best Root or Stone Extractor suitable for Steam cultivation. Prize of £10, J. Fowler and Co. (6514). Class 15. — For the best combination of any of the above Implements not qualified to compete in Classes 1, 2, or 3. Not sufficient merit. Class 16. — For the best Implement, or part of Tackle, suitable for Steam cultivation, of any other descrip- tion, not qualified to compete in the preceding Classes. Prize of £10 each, J. and F. Howard (1181) Subsoiler ; and J. Fowler and Co. (6505) Harrow Frame. Class 17. — For the best Agricultural Locomotive Engine applicable to the ordinary requirements of farming. Prize of £50, Aveling aud Porter, Rochester (7001). Highly Commended. — Aveling and Porter. Commended. — C. Burrell. Class 18. — For the best Waggon for Agricultural pur- poses to be drawn by an Agricultural Locomotive Engine. Prize of £20, Aveling and Porter (7004). Commended.— Hayes and Son, Stamford (4809). A Silver Cup, value £100, offered by the Right Hon. Lord Vernon, President, for the best combina- tion of Machinery for the cultivation of the soil by Steam-power, the cost of which shall not exceed £700. The Engine to be Locomotive, and adapted for Thrashing and other Farm purposes. — John Fowler and Co. (6484, 6493), 8-horse power double drum engine and disc anchor, set price £698. Silver Medal to Ransomes, Sims, and Head for eight- horse power locomotive with India-rubber tyres. Silver Medal to Aveling and Porter for locomotive with internal India-rubber tyres. Section II.— HOP MACHINERY. Class 1 . — No award. Class 2. — For the best machine for washing the Hop plant to remove the Aphis blight. Prize of £10, Messrs. Coleman and Morton, Chelms- ford (262). Class 3. — For the best Hop Presser. Prize of £10, W. Weeks and Son, Maidstone (3670). Class 4. — For any other improved Implement or Imple- ments used in the cultivation or management of Hops. Prize of £10, W. Weeks and Sou (Hop Sulphurator, 3671). Miscellaneous Awards to Agricultural Articles and essential improvements therein. Silver Medal to Millard's Trent Foundry Company, Rugeley, for the adaptation of the principle of the rotating-disc mould-board, as shown on the Plough entered among the Hop-Cultivating Implements (3012). Silver Medal, John Fowler and Co., Ditching Plough, (6515). [In the classes for which one prize only were offered, the judges were empowered to divide it equally between two competing implements, if they considered them equal in merit.] THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. li? THE STOCK SHOW AND SHOW AVEEK. Under favourable auspices Wolverliamptou is not a terrestrial paradise. Associated with bad \veatlier, an ill-accommodated crowd of visitors, and an ansavoury show-ground, the result was the most miserable meeting wliich the Royal Agricultural Society has ever held. Moreover, the townspeople did little to lighten the general gloom. There were none of those municipal civilities or hospitalities so common to these occasions, aud strangers "entertained" each other in hostelries of limited capabilities. The Scylla of the course, aukle-decp in slush and breast-high with abominable odours, was only to be avoided by the Charybdis of the town, where, with the rain falling fast, great men were huddled together in small rooms, to drink brandy-aud- water as a question of health aud a corrective of sewage. There could be no more melancholy sight than to watch a hunting-horse gallop through this rotten refuse, unless it were when a locomotive sunk deeper and deeper into the slough of despond, a very satire on the progress of steam- cultivation. With some experience of the down-pour of Gloucester and the duluess of Lewes, we can remember nothing so utterly cheerless as the tone of the Wolver- hampton demonstration. Neither did the show itself altogether requite for the many minor evils incident to its accomplishment. It was good only in places, and moderate enough as tested by its general strength. Here and there, as with the Short- horn cattle and Shropshire sheep, the entries were numerous, but more commonly the elasses were small, although with animals of remarkable merit only to be encountered at long intervals. There were plenty of ragged things scattered through the best filled sections, aud by way of inducting a lesson as to what a breed should be, one might often have gone to the less-popular kinds of stock. Thus, after the very indifferent display offered at Guildford, it was really a surprise to see the force with which the Hei'cfords have come again at Wol- verhampton. Some of the classes were generally and desevedly commended, and as the representative of a race, the character was uniform and good. The worst entry was that of old bulls, where Mr. Warren Evans' Monaughty, second at Oxford and first at Guildford, again headed his rank-and-file. He was never more than a fair useful bull, now much disfigured by the dis- sipation and high feeding, more or less conse- quent on a public life. The second best. Bachelor, not so familiar a white face, is a long straight bull, of some quality, but short of coat ; while the fact of the Dorset beast being placed third would seem to speak to the want of merit amongst the remainder, although we infinitely prefer the reserve to the third, as of a far finer type of Hereford, if not so well prepared for exhibition. The always moderate Sir John and a very plain bull from Warwickshire made up the field of all-aged sires. The two-year-olds were distinguished by the presence of two already famous animals : thus Ostorious was the best calf at Manchester, where he was sold by ]\Ir. Tudge to Lord Southesk, who has started a Hereford herd in Forfar- shire, although, so far as the proof here goes, not with much promise of success. Ostorious has great size, but he has not otherwise developed favourably, having lost much of Ms true Hereford character; and he was cleverly beaten by Mr. Williams' Royal Head, the best of the yearlings or off-yearlings at Hereford last autumn, when we said "' the best bull was no doubt Mr, Williams' first prize, a deep, tiiick wealthy animal, and altogether a fme specimen of the more modern Hereford." He then beat some Oxford winners, such as Count Fosco and President ; and, liaving gone on well in the interim, Royal Head is now about the best Hereford bull out. Not, however, but that the Wolverhampton yearlings were on the whole a much stronger class than the two-year-olds, where beyond the thi-ee prizes there was really nothing to speak of; whereas, the judges pronounced the dozen of yearlings to be all good, with two more especial commendations attached to the actual award. The winner. Pearl Diver, was only third at Hereford, where, however, as we said at the time, the class was very indifferently appraised, " with probably half-a-dozen better than the second prize;" although no doubt Mr. Hill's bull has been ever since on the improvement, and he showed here a very handsome, straight, and lengthy animal, of that clean bright type one likes so to see in a Hereford. Mr. Child's second is another particularly nice promising young bull, while the third best has been winning about home, but, however useful, he wants the style of Mr. Harding's son of Battenhall. One or two decidedly plain things somewhat pulled down the class, and quei-ied the force of such a compliment as a general commendation. The best ball-calf a man might judge with his eyes shut, so fine is his quality aud so wealthy his touch, the very realisation of how a Hereford beast should prove to the hand. Alexander will also bear the scrutiny of the eye, having length and symmetry, with capital quarters, but standing rather sickle-hocked. The Showle second is a calf of more growth, and all over a good ouc, while Mr. Edwards also claims the third place with a sou of Sir Hungerford, but if more fashionably bred he can bear no comparison, as the two stand side by side with the winner. Over an entry of fifteen there were five appended commendations, but such things as the Due d'xVumale, the first prize at Guildford (!) inter- fered with any more general notice of the class. If the Hereford calves at Guildford were bad the cows were worse, and discreetly enough neither of them was sent on to Wolverhampton, where, of the six shown, no- thing took less than a high commendation. Of these the certainly not little red Riding Hood, aptly enough by Colossus, out of a daughter of the Giant, fairly dwarfed the neat, round, and pretty Livia, the second heifer at Oxford, and now again second. Her lady superior here was a sweet, deep, dark-coloured cow, bred by Mr. Roberts, but exhibited by Mr. Peren, who is getting up a Hereford herd in Somersetshire. The third prize, on the contrary, was a large, light-coated, or almost yellow cow, and we must leave the prize list to testify to the excellence of the others in competition. All the heifers in calf were also highly commended, notwithstanding a somewhat larger entry, and the fact of the two best of their age having been sold for foreign parts at Oxford. So far as it could be, the Guildford award was reversed. Dahlia, very coarse in her character, shoi t forward, and of a bad colour, being now put before the stylish high-bred Duchess of Bedford, at almost all points but as mere beef the more seemly of the two, but then the Duchess is getting very near her " time." They were both, however, more clearly beaten by the Leen Rarity, who has only to grow a bit to ripen into a magnificent cow, as just now she looks a little too neat and small for her age. Of the others, all well up, the plain gaudy-quartered Chignon 148 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. scarcely merited any very particular mention, and was most probably merely thrown in. The first and second yearlings are both very stylish, but the Shropshire rather hard in her touch, while the third from Cowbridge has grown into a great, straight, and deep, but coarse heifer, with no elegance about her, and the Oxford awards where the class were calves is altogether upset. Thus, Lady Oxford, first at Oxford, now takes no prize whatever, but Mr. Evans has been short of keep, and none of his entries were in show trim ; then Sunflower second at Ox- ford is here third to Lizzie JefFerys, the reserve at Oxford ; though judging a calf must always be something of a lotteiy. The best of the babies here, another Duchess of Bedford, is of a very flashy colour, a red-and-white- quartered, but with a fine frame ; Mr. Morris' second of some promise and great growth, and the third another big plain specimen from Glamorganshire. There was in this class also plenty of competition, and tried at most points, the Royal Herefords of 'seventy-one will hold their own with every credit to the breed and the breeders. Of Devons the entry was small, something like a fourth less than at Oxford, but it was admirable almost through- out, with five out of the eight classes generally com- mended. The high character given of the Truro meet- ing, where the best of all the stock were again Devons, had led people to expect a strong show, and they were not disappointed. The best bull in Cornwall, however. Lord Falmouth's Xarcissus, was only second best here, but although a very taking specimen of the breed he was rather ofl" on the opening day, if in his bloom he could never hope to compete with Mr. Biiller's more blood-like bull, so full of masculine and at the same time pure Devon character. Mr. Farthing's well-known Sir George lost his temper and was shown blindfold, so that Mr. Davey beat him again with another Duke of Flitton ; the lop-sided fifth Duke, who is growing worse and worse in this way, being kept back for the younger class, where he beat Lord Falmouth's Jonquil, the first at Truro, but very harsh in his touch, and his old opponent Pennsylvania, and these thi-ee constituted the class. Amongst the yearlings the Somerset blaster Hany, a very true framed young bull, again beat a narrow faded Flitton, as he had done at Guildford, but one of the Truro team at length got first, and a very stylish taking young bull Cinnaman already is, with every promise of growing into something remarkable hereafter. The once famous Mr. George Turner had an entry in this class which was almost evei-ywhere about as bad as he could be. The best Devon bull-calf at Guildford, and but a moderate one at best, was not noticed at Wolverhampton, while the second in Sm'rey was not sent on, and so Mr. Farthing succeeded to first place with a good calf of a bad colour, but the class was not one of any particular merit. Her Majesty's reserve number is by Napier, a pm-chase from 3Ir. Far- thing, and shown in the class of all-aged bulls, where, however, he took no more than his share in the general commendation. " In a veiy taking show of Devon cows there was still nothing to compare for high quality and refined appearance with Mr. Davy's really Lovely Queen, with her sweet head, fine expression, light limbs, and good frame, saving only a tendency to gaudiness about her quarters. Mr. Taylor, again, contrives to keep his North Devons very fine and bloodlikc in Sussex, and so he took a second prize with a very sweet cow, which was also second at Oxford to the Exeter Musk, here without a place. Mr. Smith's cow has great size, but she wants the style of those placed above her, and certainly at a show of breed- ing stock there can be no reason to quarrel with the award." It was thus that we wrote at Guildford; but the well-primed Times' reporter did quarrel with the award, and went bodily for Musk as the best of the three, and as usaal went wrong. At "Wolverhampton Musk received no notice whatever beyond the general commendation given to the class, while the two just pre- viously put above her now simply reversed their places, as no question jNIr. Davey's cow has not done well in the interim, for she showed light and jaded. The two best at Guildford were, however, unmistakeably beaten for first by another of Air. Taylor's entries, a beautiful daughter of First Duke of Flitton, lengthy, symmetrical, and blood- like, and of as fine and majestic cow character as any- thing brought out, be it Devon, Hereford, or Durham. The first and second two-year-olds were placed precisely as at Guildford; but we still prefer the Oxford reading, while there was little against them beyond a very curious specimen of the Irish Devon, Mr. Peake showing a far better in the next class ; but then the two-year-old was bred at Mullaghmore, and the yearling by the late Mr. Nixey at Slough. Of the other yearling heifers " the beautiful Gaylass" was first at Oxford and Guildford, and the more substantial First Fruit second at Guildford and the best of all the cows and heifers at Truro. But this must have been the weak place of the Cornwall show, as First Fruit was separated at Wolverhampton from Mr. Davy's heifer, by one of Mr. BuUer's ; so that, putting Shorthorns out of the question, the Devon cows and heifers could have been nothing so extraordinary in the fai' AVest. In fact. First Fruit was not within half-a-dozen of the best Devon cow or heifer at the Royal meeting, the three cows and the two yearlings being at any rate her superiors. Mr. Farthing was in no such luck with the calves, where his very neat, straight, growing heifer was put second to a weak, washy weed from Flitton, as highly-bred as Eclipse, but so far with little more to be said in her favour. How- ever, the class was again commended, as with fewer entries the Devons, from their almost general excellence, took as much judging as many sections far better filled, nor did we hear much criticism on the way in which these duties were discharged. Saving the bit of blood to finish with the work was well done, and many a young Actress has improved on her first appear- ance. So far as the actual number of entries can be taken as any proof the Shorthorns at Wolverhampton are equal to Oxford, that is to say, there were 158 nomi- nations for one meeting, and 161 for the other. That really wonderful correspondent of The Times, however, announced on the Tuesday, after having had the nhole of the previous day to carry out his calculations, that " there were 201 entries of Shorthorns, being 48 more than at Oxford, and 30 more than at Man- chester," and so forth. This result, when compared with the catalogues, looks to be ludicrously incomprehensible, but probably, as with the unfortunate butler who got into trouble over his accounts, there has been " some mistake with the tens." However, for T/ie Times, as only forty or fifty out in its reckoning, the error is pardonable enough. But if numerically the Shorthorn show of 'seventy-one were as good as that of the previous meeting, it was wofully inferior in merit. It is question- able whether in a fair average year there was a Shorthorn at Wolverhampton which could ever have taken a first prize. The Judges certainly were kind enough to hifjhhj (!) commend two or tlu'ee classes ; but never, perhaps, was so wholesale a compliment so little deserved, for in almost every entry brought out there was more "lop and top," or more absolute refuse than was ever yet brought together. On the other hand, one looked in vain for any animal of extraordinary excellence, for a Bolivar, a Lady Fragrant, or a Knightley heifer. The judging was slow, and the method often enough apparently pur- poseless, mainly because there were so few superior and so many mediocre competitors. The decision, in fact, THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 149 over tie old bulls struck the key-note to the performance, which was at best but second-rate business. Edgar, the winner, when in his prime was a double-second — at Man- chester and Oxford — while here at nearly nine years old, and a mere wreck of himself, he was still clearly the best of his class. Standing still he looked really grand by com- parison with the others, but he moved so feebly that as somebody said, "they should give him a pension in- stead of a prise." Nevertheless, the second here and the Romford champion is a very clever and still improving young bull, although being some months the junior of anything noticed by the judges he showed small, especially when ranged side by side with his Cumberland Mentor. So far there was no difficulty, but many of the outsiders preferred the stylish and kindly, if somewhat delicate, Man's Estate, a son of Edgar, and the third two-year-old at Oxford, as the third best again here; still the one put above him, Mr. Sueyd's Ironmaster, is a grandish bull, with more constitution and masculine character, but bad to face from his un- sightly " housemaid's knee." The next placed was the Bath and West of England Morpeth, a good-looking bull enough, but with a rumoured objection as to his lacking the required foiu* crosses of Herd Book blood. The only other noticed, from a terribly indifferent field, was the Irish Charlie, half-brother to Bolivar ; but he has gone off so palpably that the commendation must have been more for old acquaintance sake than anything else. As we said last year, when Lord Irwin was continually second and second to Bythis, we always liked Mr. Linton's white, as that he promised to grow into the better of the two, and no question he has done. He came out, moreover, in far better bloom than at Guildford, and with length, depth, fashion, and action, fairly walked away from his class. Still, his old enemy Bythis was the best of all at Ely the other day ; and as he does not look to have grown an inch or an ounce, and as he is altogether a mean, plain beast, of course he is a greater wonder than ever. The second — another white — was nowhere at Wakefield ; and, although a bull with some good about him, he has certainly more luck than merit when placed so forward at a national meeting. The Scotch bull. Baron Laurie, is an active, wild, useful animal, with a mean head, and apparently a rough temper ; while another red from Panton, looking rather loose in his frame from not being fed up, has the makings of a very serviceable sire about Mm, and we prefer both these to the second-prize. The judges went no further, and there was certainly no occasion to do so, as, with an exception or so, such as Mr. Slye's entry, there were some terribly common things in the class. They highly commended, however, all the yearlings, where the Towneley Hubback showed famously in the ring ; and, by the aid of his long, lathy showman, was quickly " spotted " as the winner. He is very taking and true in his frame, being of almost perfect symmetry, and even better out than in, as he is not quite right in his touch, though at all points far away the best of his class, if not the best Shorthorn in the show, and he was at once bespoke for America at a long price — as some put it 500 gs. Of the second here, the best of the best lot of bulls at Guildford, we spoke at the time as a straight, showy, high-quality young bull, rather pulled down by his plain head, but quite in his place, and he, too, goes to America at 200 gs. The quality or touch of Ignoramus must have won him his pinze, as he is a really bad, falsely-fi'amed bull, and there is but little to like in the half- brother to Charlie, slack and high, though a good second in Dublin, and a bad fourth at Wolverhampton. A deal more to our lildng was the reserve or fifth place, Mr. George Game's Earl of Wanvick shire, a bull with quite »a admii'able touch, true shape, and smart carriage, but then he was not half as well made up as some of the others, and so of course the award went against him. Of Mr. Stratton's Master Glanville, we reported at Guild- ford as " well furnished and useful, but never more than a second or third-rate bull in good company ;" and though then second, he was now along VA^ay behind Lord Sudeley'a entry. There were two or three more moderately good, and two or three as thoroughly indifferent, bulls in this class, and the judges only knew how they arrived at that high commendation. The best bull-calf is full of pro- mise, lengthy, and square ; the second has a capital coat, but a bad touch ; and the third is as smart and showy a calf as either of the others, as they are likely enough to change about hereafter. But there was nothing here of extraordinary merit, and the judges for once held their hand when they had disposed of the prizes. The Shorthorn cows were probably the worst lot ever got together under the auspices of the national Society, and great accordingly was the disturbance over the award. Had they held to line and rule, and put the best known, the short legged, straight, and deep Windsor's Butterfly first, the pretty Warrior's Plume, with her great bag and feminine cow - like character, second, and anything else third little might have been said, but as it was the consequence was an " everlasting row," with more waste of breath than good porridge. The owner of the second prize cow, Mr. Beattie, is a fresh exhibitor in this way, having hitherto been famous for his polled Galloways, which he has recently thrown over for the Shorthorns, of which he has been a free buyer of Mr. Torr, and this cow comes from Aylesby. In the highly commended class of two-year-olds there were some really creditable things beyond the actual winners ; the three first have nevertheless been beaten over and over again and are a long way behind the Oxford form of their year, where Vesper Queen was third, and Dame Swift beaten cleverly enough by Vesper Queen at Wakefield. At Guildford, however, the Dame had all the better of the Queen, as no doubt the white has improved the more in the interim, being now a nice comely little heifer, with an elegant lengthy frame and fine touch. The blood-red, or " Devon," as they call her, lacks the style of the other, while for great growth and grandeur Mr. Foljambe's Concert is the superior of either, but at the same time so hard or positively harsh in her touch that we were bold enough to pronounce her winning out- right simply an impossibility when she came before any man who "judged with his eyes shut." The Cornwall heifer, which has been on a visit at Strox- ton since Guildford previous to her departure for America, has gone off, and never looked very formidable, although culled out at the head of a reserve lot ; while . Mr. Ladds showed a good broad heifer, Mr. Hewitt, a very neat one, INIr. Kenward also a good one, and Air. Stratton his always clever Flower Girl. In fact, it was altogether a commendable class, but a high wholesale commendation implies something of extraordinary excel- lence, and there was nothing extraordinary amongst the Shorthorns at Wolverhampton. The first yearling Lady Brough, a long straight heifer, with a vulgar head, and a poor touch, was sold, as rumour went, to go to America, for almost as many hundreds as her breeder had received pounds for her ; and if so, she must have been a bargain indeed, despite her short pedigree. Mr. Foljambe's second, a true stylisli heifer, far in calf, here changed places with Baron Oxford's Duchess, who was first, and Fleur de Lis second, at Wakefield. But the Duchess, with all her quality and nice coating, is sadly set-off by her bad black horns ; while Culshaw 'nad two other daughters of Baron Oxford in the class, both very meritorious, and both booked for Ameiica. Indeed, we prefer the highly commended to the Colonel's prize 150 -rHE FAKMER'S MAGAZlNil. heifer. TJiis was another very creditable class, and the cow calves showed a deal better than the bull calves. Mr. Garfitt's first, a purchase from Mr. Cheney at 90 guineas, is deep, thick, and smart, but with a good and bad side, in profile; and Lady Pigot's second, otherwise fuU of promise, has a harsh wiry coat. But it was something to secure one of these two prizes, where the Buddings, Colonel Towneley, jNIr. Stratton, and Mr. Brierley had to be content with commendations ; while Mr. Foljambe, with a very young but very nice heifer, and Mr. Game, Jreceived no notice whatever. Many would have it there were some better behind the winners, as judging calves is always a chance business; and, if they were not as good, there were many very good. In fact, liberal as they had been so far, the judges might reasonably enough have gone on and I'etired under cover of another general commendation. In their " admirable report," as Mr. Davies termed it, the judges of Channel Island cattle at Oxford spoke to "the advisability of the council making a thorough dis- tinction in the classes, inasmuch as the Jersey and Guernsey breeds are entirely distinct, and have not the slightest degree of affinity ;" and this recommendation was acted on at Wolverhampton, although not so far with any very noticeable success, as there were actually more entries for the three mixed classes of 1870, than in the two divisions of '71. Of Jerseys, however, Mr. Gaudin was the only exhibitor from the Island, and Mr. Gilbey had once more all the honours of the week. Of Bandboy, bred closely from Mr. Dauncey's stock, we have often of late had occasion to speak as about the best Alderney bull ever shown in England, and almost as much might be said for the prize cow Duchess, from Mr. Le Teuvre's herd ; but at Guildford the other day. Duchess was beaten for first place, by Mr. Fuller's Milkmaid, when, resolved to maintain his lead, Mr. Gilbey straightway purchases Milkmaid ; and at Wolver- hampton Duchess was first, and Milkmaid highly com- mended. No doubt the last reading is the correct one, as there was really no Alderney judge at Guildford ; while at Romford the two famous fanciers who were in office testified to the great merit of Duchess, and at Wol- verhampton Mr. Le Cornu, the chief authority of the Island, was again on the bench. There was a very good class of cows, and a few sweet, highly-bred heifers, but the Islanders are sm-ely neglecting their own interests when they decline to avail themselves of so good an advertisement, or even of so brisk a market. The Guernseys never showed so well, there being few of those great gaunt animals, all bone and coarseness, we have so often seen about, but on the contrary, there were some really neat things in the classes. Mr. Rundle Watson, who was first, and first for bull and cow, the one being the dam of the other, has a tribe dis- tinguished by their black tongues, as this appears to be regarded as no detriment. The old cow was somewhat pulled down, from having calved on the show ground ; while, beyoud these chief honours, all the other prizes went to the Pages, who were second, and second for bull and cow, and first, second, and third for heifers. The cow was very good, and the heifers as handsome as could be of their sort, though they lack the lady-like refinement of the sister-isle. It is said, the Guernseymen hold tlieir stock to be quite as pure and sacred as the Jerseys, but some odd, dai'k, cross-bred looking cattle had got into the classes ; a great black and white beast for one, looking vastly like a Dutchman. There were so few Norfolk and Suffolk Polls, under a dozen in all, for tliree classes, that but for the excellence of some of those sent it would be a question whether this breed, as a breed, should not be struck out of the prize list. Nothing tells worse in all sorts of ways than a series of badly-filled classes. Mr. Brown, however, shows such a nice sample, so good and so uniform, as Mr. Colman is clearly cultivating his herd so carefully that we should be sorry to see the section drop through, although it would be certainly advisable to throw a little more spirit into tlie competition. As it was the conditions compelled the withdrawal of some of the prizes, though the three cows were generally commended, and the Dukes, Duchesses, and Countesses are worthy of all praise. But they take some judging, and to show how well the Short- horn men were up in this business at Dereham, it may be stated that their first prize two-year-old was sold on the very day after the meeting to the butcher. It would con- sequently be idle to look up any previous performances of these red polls. Ayrshires, Longhorns, and Aberdeens contributed to a very sparse exhibition of other breeds, where the Duke of Buckingham again had a lead with his magnificent Longhorn, and Mr. Staffer drew from his Noah's ark some capital black Polls and Ayrshires — the latter being more especially noticeable amongst the Dairy Cattle, where some half-a-dozen Shorthorns made no great mark. As we are all getting a leaning this way a strong show of dairy cattle would promise to be a great success ; let us say 100 gs. for the best milking cow of any pure breed — Jersey, Ayrshire, Guernsey, Long- horn, common Yorkshire, or foreigner. We make a present of the suggestion to Sir Watkin, who might carry it out with a President's Cup. For a national Society there is no more becoming or imperative duty than throwing out fresh signals, and no question so far attention has centred on beef " at any price." Be it ever remembered that it was a well-timed offer of a hun- dred that made the Royal horse-show. And at Wolverhampton the show of horses was good, both in the riding and agricultural classes ; for what the " heavies" lacked in numbers, they made up in quality ; while theadmirable manner in whichthe ring was conducted proved that the Society has the right man in the right place in Mr. Jacob Wilson, who, beyoud being the best and most obliging of ring-masters, was anxious to give the public as much information as laid in his power, and not afraid to give a straightforward answer — which at any rate is a novelty and a treat, after the trimming one so often hears round a horse-ring. jNIr. Leeds, to whose kind deeds we have often borne witness, presided over the agri- cultural arena, mounted on one of the narrowest and most lofty of steeds, and, as his office was not one of the most arduous, still puffed he away at the fragrant weed. A rail now separated the I'ings instead of the rope of yore, against which we have so often railed when pointing out the danger to man and horse, and more especially to foals ; and everything being straight, the judges commenced business with the thoroughbred stallions for getting hunters as the clock struck eight. The third and second at Oxford were among the ten, although there was nothing up to Knowsley's form ; still, they were a useful lot, bar one — Protection, a three-year- old, who in his present form is not worthy of notice, though by Lifeboat, out of I^a Jaranda by Sir Tatton Sykes. The others were Bliukhoolie by Rataplan, out of Queen IMary by Gladiator ; Suffolk by North Lincoln, out of Protection by Defence ; Lord Hastings by Little Hastings, out of Corrival by Longsight ; Laughing Stock by Stockwell, out of Gaiety by Touchstone ; Gin by Orlando, out of Iodine by Sir Hercules ; Sincerity by Red Hart, out of Integrity by Van Tromp ; Stampedo by Alarm, out of Repentance by Annandale ; Umpire by Lecompte, out of Alice Carueal by Imported Sarpedon ; and Tim Whiftler by Van Galen, out of Sybil by TheUgly Buck. Bliukhoolie is a bay with black legs, seven years old, very neat aud bloodlike, reminding one THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 151 Inore of the elegant Orlando than his heavy, thick-set staying sire, Rataplan. He is a deceiving horse, standing a trifle under 16 hands, and moving well ; while he is hardy looking, with no lumber, has good shoulders, and is deep about the heart, with a grand quarter, and limbs well placed, as we saw nothing to find fault with in him, with the exception of a slight falliug-off in the back ribs. He is all quality, without any dross, as a thorough-bred should be, and with action strong, light, and airy, for which reasons we prefer him to Sincerity, to whom he played second. Sincerity, third at Oxford, third at Islington this year, second at Wakefield last year, and a prize taker at other places, it is only just to say is by many, and venj manij very much liked ; and nothing would give us greater pleasure than to sing his praises, as he belongs to the worthy owner of Motley, the winner of the Royal hundred at Plymouth. But we cannot, for we have tried him in our mind's eye on the racecourse, fine drawn with jockey up, though this is simply monstrous ; we have put him at the covert side, with tail squared, and it won't do ; then, as food for cannon, a charger ; or next we take a trot to Sewell, or "Wimbush and pick up a partner for him — two sets of plated harness and a gentle- man as well stufi'ed as a Christmas turkey, with waistcoat and gills to match, for he is in a gorgeous suit, with wig and cocked hat ; and as he mounts the box of an old rattle trap, covered with any amount of armorial bearings, we jump in and give the word for the Duke of Panama's. Oft" we go ! and then, and only then, is Sincerity glorious ; for as we dash along, he is the cynosure of all observers, and unanimously proclaimed the Czar of all the coach-horses. Suffolk, who was second at Islington to Cambuscan, with Sincerity third, is a very neat, compact horse, of form and quality, but fall- ing off a little in his haunches, and also slightly below the hock and knee, as well as not moving his hind-legs in the most pleasing manner. Laughing Stock we have always thought a most untrue-made horse, with flashy action, from the time he was a Royal winner at New- castle to his playing third at Wakefield to Stampedo first and Sincerity second, where we gave sketches of them. Of Stampedo we said, " if it were not for his hocks the white-faced brown, with his quality, must have won in a canter, what with his grand, lengthy, round, muscular frame, good short limbs, and really capital foreleg action, so different from Laughing Stock's fibbing pump-handle work, which is all veiy well when ruuning up and down a market place." Lord Hastings is a light, leggy, lathy horse, and with Gin may prove useful vvhere nothing better is within reach. Then come Umpire and Tim Whiffler. The American has thickened since we saw him at Birmingham a year or two back, where he was but a shadow of what he is now, but he never can be a hunter stallion with those who believe in the staying properties of back ribs. The other, Tim, is very high on the leg for a twelve-year-old, although a nice topped horse ; but it sets those thinking who knew him when iu training, whether his hunting stock would inherit the light ewe neck and lanky form of their sire as he was when Sam Rogers took him tight by the head and bullied him from end to end in the deciding heat for the Ascot cup. What a contrast there was in the form of the two horses, and what a hunting sire the giddy Buckstone would have made ! The verdict is given, and Sincerity registered in the chronicles of the Society as the Royal thorough-bred stallion of 1871. But a thorough-bred to us it is something refined and free from dross, and when Sincerity and Blinkhoolie stood side by side there was no question as to which was better in form, as it was all in favour of the little one, though a grave query arose as to what we gain iu bulk when erring and straying from the natural size of the horse if it be accomplished by coarseness, or the addition of di-oss? There was as much difterence iu the quality of the two horses as there is iu the game- cock and the Dorking, the mongrel and the fox- terrier, or Daniel Lambert and Tom Sayers. But perhaps the old simile is the best after all — the ground-ash and the elder, one as well known to horsemen as the other is to the lovers of home-made wine, stuff that we detest quite as much as we do coarse horses. There was a good class of Roadster or Hackney Stallions of twelve entries, where Eire King, the Islington prize horse, was an absentee'. Among the other eleven were such well-known roadsters as Young Quicksilver from Wisbeach, Ambition from Downham Market, and Clear-the-Way from Ely ; but the first prize went to Dick Turpin, a very bloodlike cobby four-year-old pony, of good form, got by a half-bred horse out of a pony, and never shown before. What his pro- duce may be is quite a lottery. Then the second, Fireaway the Second, is a good moving three-year-old, and rather a taking horse in his forehand, who was much fancied by Captain Bastard and Co. at Islington this year, but he has a three-cornered look viewing him from be- hind, and many considered that Ambition ought to have filled his place. Clear-the-way is a clever nag, but we never quite liked Young Quicksilver with his dishing action and small second thighs and hocks. With only three entries for the three prizes in the stallion ponies the merry-going clever like cob. Sir George, had easier work in disposing of Mr. Growcock's nice pony. King Arthur, than he had of Mr. Alan Ransomes very handsome Perfection at Oxford. The verdict over the hunting brood mares created a little sensation and exclamations of " What the de'il are they at now ?" and the like, as the red rosette was handed to the attendant of Lady Emily, a bloodlike mare, not par- ticularly hunting-like or grand in her hind-quarters, or in fact anywhere, as by the bench at Oxford not thought worthy of a place ; but they certainlv did there put an out-and-out coacher. Heliotrope, third. Then the second mare. Lady Byron, is very hunting-like, with rare withers; but the third, Jassy, though with plenty of blood, had a back that you could shave with, and was not hunting-like in her forehand ; while Go-a-head, a model of a hunter, was nowhere, neither was the neat characteristic little mare Lord Chesterfield's Newmarket, while Fanny, Lady Lift, Lady Victoria, and Jessie caught our eye among the others. But let us hark back ; for although it is not going ahead, it is pleasing at times to have a recollection of the past, and we will just look up what we have seen Go-a-head do, and judge her by the judges. In 'sixty- seven, in a large entry at Thirsk, we described her as the most hunting-like mare in the class, although she was unnoticed by the bench, who put a mare called Slip- pers first, and Lady Dalkeith second. In 'sixty -eight we again met her at Leicester, where she plays third to Maid of the Heath. On we go to Wetherby, where Go-a-head plays second to oue-eyed Sally, a Royal winner at New- castle, but the Leicester mare. Maid of the Heath, is now nowhere. At Manchester Go-ahead is only highly commended, old Sally beiug first. Pink second, and Silverlocks third. At Beverley she is first, -ind Lady Dalkeith, the second at Thirsk, nowhere ; at Oxford she is first, and the Wolverhampton mare nowhere ; at Wakefield she is first, and Lady Byron second ; but Lady Byron beats her at Wolverhampton, and the conclusion we come to, after five years of it, is that judges difter, and that it is yet to be decided which is the best mare. We do not see how it is to be come at without we appoint ourselves amicus citrice, and decide that Go-a- head, although not free from splents, is better than any she met at Wolverhampton, but that she has been fairly thrashed by old Sally. Mr. Overman's Jenny Liudj 152 THE FAEMER'S MAGAZINE. a really nice-made mare, going all round in grand style, was the first of the Hackney brood mares, followed by a veiy handsome grey, Judy. In the pony mares there were three or four nice things, Mr.Millvvard playing second ■with a four-year-old bay that will nest year make one in the string on his cob Monday at Tattersall's. The very neat "grey he was riding about the yard wUl also ap- pear before the rostrum, as well as Hilton, a very clever nag, and another or two that were in the show-yard. We now come to the hunters, and in a good show of three-year-olds the first. Banker, is a fine-grown horse, and the second of Sir W. Lawson's also good. In the hunting fillies Luna by Laughing Stock is a very nice filly ; and there was also a neat yellow bay hack by him called Covet on the ground which took a first prize, and was afterwards purchased by INIajor Barlow. The second prize horse, a chesnut by Lifeboat, had not good fore- legs, and we preferred Mr. Booth's Duckling by the Drake, out of Becky Sharpe. In the four-year-olds Major Barlow carried off the first and second colours with Tregothnan and Beckford, the Islington and Guildford prize horses, which were noticed in our reports of those meetings; as the Guildford " nags" were terribly derided by some of our knowing contemporaries. Tlie third, a chesnut filly of Mr. Cook's, went very well, and as a stand-still horse, Blankney, with plenty of quality, looked well, but went very sticky and bad. Glendower goes in a very different stj^le, but is rather high on the leg at present ; nevertheless his top is good, and we believe, with twelve stone, he would leave many of them behind. "We never recollect seeing Mr. Booth on anything better than Banner Bearer ; and both man and horse looked like business. The nag is a real nice one, as we said of him at Sleaford, and he shows much better for having a lot of flesh off, as at Islington he was smothered in it. But the open suits him best, as it does any horse that can go ; and Banner Bearer, with fifteen stone up, in the boots of the Master of Killerby, sails away through the muck of Wolverhampton course with as even and measured a stroke as a Kelley or a Chambers, while engines of we won't say how many horse power, a few yards off, are floundering about and grunting like pigs in a mud bath. He is fol- lowed by Borderer, who beat him at Wakefield, a very hunting-like horse, and with Mr. Simmouds, from Oxford — not theoldgentleman,but " YoungCharley""— in thesaddle, he is sent along as a hunter should go. They were both Killerby cracks, but now belong to Mr. Harvey Bayley, the Master of the Rufford, who goes in at a long price when he fancies anything. Here they turn the tables on Loxlcy, the second horse to Iris at Islington, a good nag through dirt, but not of the style or fashion of the other two, but stiU a hunter. IMr. Gregory showed a fair- formed one or two by L^mpire, in this and the previous class; and Mr. Basnett's Pilbert by Hazleuut, was a hunter in form and action. In a poor gathering of nine or ten Loiterer, the great mistake of 1870, the hundred guinea prize hunter at Beverley in a class of 52, here in sticky ground makes a worse show than ever. He must be tied in his shoulders, for he cannot move in the least as a hunter should, and, if we are any judges, in a banking country it would be as difficult to keep him on his legs as it would to get Bird on the Wing down — the horse which beat him, and that, it will be remembered. Lord Coyentry bought of Mr. Barker the year he was killed at Islington. After the decision, not before, Mr. Welfit objected to Lord Coventry's horse as to soundness, but it was decided against him. The horse had an enlarged tendon or something of that sort that any horse may, and the groom believes that he got this through getting his leg over the halter, and which ]Mr. YarncU decided was very likely to be the case, so that the horse was allowed to remain in his box on the Tuesday. Then Mr. Welfit set* the Society at defiance, when he is ordered out, refusing to show Loiterer unless Bird-on-the-Wing is brought out ; as the consequence was the class did not come out on the Tuesday, to no one's greater disappointment than our own, as we should have liked all the world to have seen the Wetherby prize hunter go or rather try to go. His owner was fined a sovereign ; but this is childish play, for if an exhibitor will not comply Avith the Society's rules the i)rize should be withheld, and the sooner the horse be sent out of the yard the better. If Lord Coven- try's horse had been lame of one leg, or all round, surely he is better than a wooden one. Bird-on-the-Wing has greatly thickened since we last saw him. He is not quite true in his frame, being slightly over in his forehand, but this is so beautifully balanced or corrected in the placing of his qiiarters and hind legs, together with his cat-like action, that he figm-es altogether as clever a little horse as one would wish to look on. He has taken many hunting prizes, as well as for hacks and jumping, for he is a perfect fencer, and last year, when Lord Coventry bought him at Islington, he was second in a hnnter class to a much worse horse, and third to a vulgar farmer's cob, that as a hack was not to be compared with him. The pairs of carriage mai'es were not grand, and the brougham horses absentees. There was a good muster of hackneys and roadsters, with some very clever nags amongst them, but as the rain set in the company made off for shelter and more creature comforts. The agricultural classes, as we have already said, were not great in numbers, but the cream of the country was among them ; for instance, in the all-aged staUions, not qualified to compete as Clydesdale or Suffolk, though there were only nine in the class to twenty at Oxford, still the first and second were the same horses. Honest Tom making a double fii'st aU-aged Royal, and Young Champion a dou- ble second. Then Lion is a very handsome, well-made iron grey five-year-old, not a big one, but very active ; while A I, so well known by his peculiar head and neck, we have often described. Pride of England, the light active Le Bon, and a six-yeai'-old England's Glory, are also very nseful horses, the worst being Bonny Prince, from Cheltenham. Young Champion is very short for- ward, and tucked in in his quarters, as if the breeching had been dro])ped on him when he was a foal ; while he is short in the arm, and long from the knee down ; but, in fact, he is a lump of a horse, and nothing else will give you an idea of him, for symmetry is out of the question, as he has none. Tlie Shropshire Friend is a thickset active horse, and his second, John BuU, a very nice one, but we were not taken up with the third prize. Captain. The Clydesdales were not grand, and only five in number, but two more than at Oxford ; and Young Lofty was among them again, and again the hero he was at Oxford. Her Majesty, as at Oxford, was represented by Sandy, but he is a lanky Scot that will not do the stud much credit. The two-year-old Clydesdale colts, we must confess, we have seen better represented, as there was not a single entry ; but the Suffolk all-aged stallions were much better than at Oxford, and the University hero, Harwich Empe- ror, not placed. He was distanced by Captain Garrett's grand horse. Cupbearer ; but we think our flat-sided old friend from Harwich was on a par with the other two, though Hercules is a nicely-made one, and a horse that we spoke well of at Oxford ; he does not go back to Suf- folk, but to Canada, to cross with some Percheron mares. Bismark, the Romford champion, looked coarse in such company ; but the first and second two-year-olds ' were very good, there being more of the Suffolk in the first prize, who was bought at INIr. Wolton's sale for £120. The cart mares with foah or iu foal (not Suffolk or Clydesdale) were a THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE, 153 very good class, but none up to black Diamond, bred by- Mr. Ttompson, of Skipwith, Selby, and a taker of many prizes, though now the property of Mr. H. Overman, of Norfolk — a true lover of a good animal. Princess, the first two-year-old filly, is a very fine topped one by Honest Tom, though she falls ofl" in her knees. But Norfolk was in force for the second, a smart short-legged, deep- made bay ; and the third, |old Beauty, the dam of Honest Tom, all came from that county. Princess, in the Clydesdales, is a compact built, strong-made mare, and Deborah a very useful one. The Suffolk brood mares, with five entries, three prizes, and two com- mendations, speak well for themselves; and when we mention such mares as Matchett, Diamond, and Bury Empress, we are not far out in saying the county of Suffolk was well represented at Wolverhampton. In the Clydesdale fillies. Her Majesty, on the Home Parm, with Kate and Charlotte, cut a better figure in a good class of four. The agricultural pairs, or rather dray- horse pairs, were really grand, where the prize was won with agoodpaii'of well-knownprize-takers, thoughtwehave seen them beaten in Yorkshire ; while Mr. Statter's chesnuts were very taking, as good a match as strawberries and cream or'port and filberts, from a back view reminding one of the Suffolk Matchett form ; but the third prize. Sensation, a grey mare, is a pair within herself, a mare that it is almost impossible to match, and Farmer, a grey gelding, was in no ■way her equal, though not by any means a bad horse if he had been coupled with something less grand. Sensation is a mottled grey, very handsome, of beautiful symmetry, with great weight and power, though she steps as light as an opera dancer. In fact, though we have a liking for the thoroughbred almost to infatuation, if there had been a wreath of laurel for the best horse or mare in any class, we should have decorated the brows of Sensation. In the two-year-old pairs Mr. Statter's two had nothing to oppose them, nor had his yearling ; and in the three- year-old mares or geldings he only had Mr. Brierley to contend with; but as that gentleman goes for the best, it was as great a victory as if there had been a large field. To Drummer, in the three-year-old geldings, there was no opposition ; while there was a nice one in for first amongst the two-year-olds, backed up' by two other mo- derate entries. Of late years the sheep have formed alike the grandest and most useful section of the Royal Society's meetings ; but at Wolverhampton the sheep show was, with one ex- ception, about the tamest and flattest thi'oughout that was ever got together at any of these anniversary exhibitions. The entries were generally small, and of many breeds there was not half a show, although occasionally v/ith a goodly proportion of superior animals. This compliment would apply more especially to the Leicesters, where the hitherto invincible Barton flock was at length deposed from its pride of place, and reasonably enough too. Mr. Borton would appear to have been refining on the useful Yorkshire-Leicester until he has become a small-looking delicate sheep, not doing well of late, and at most points training off. However they are still in high favour for fashionable flocks, and of the rams passed over here two go to Sledmere, and one to Mr. Hutchin- son. Mr. Turner, the younger, who is changing from Alexton to Thorpelands, in Northamptonshire, was in great force, and his two-shear for style, symmetry, constitution, and breeding, has grown into one of the best Leicesters seen out for many a day. He was of course the best of his class at Guildford, but noticeably enough took nothing beyond a commendation at the Yorkshire show at Wakefield last summer, when, as we reported at the time, " the judges considered him to be a particularly good ram in a not particularly good class, but they gave Mr, Bortoa all the prizes !" The second prize here, Mr. Sanday's three-year-old, the crack shearling at Manchester and the thii-d of his class at Oxford, has ma- tured into a really magnificent ram, with a great broad back, a clean blood-like head, and a general grandeur of appear- ance which of itself said much for the sheep put before him. The class was deservedly commended, including as it did Mr. Borton's first prize Oxford sheep and his first prize Sleaford sheep, but the one here put third was never out previous to this meeting ; while Colonel Inge and Mr. Hutchinson had also some highly-bred entries in the class. Mr. Turner's first shearling had also previously " proved" himself at Guildford, but here there was something like a race instead of a mere walk-over. The Thorpe Constan- tine second and third are both very clever sheep, with the third as it seemed to us altogether the gayer and better of the two, but his wool was said to have told against his getting higher. Mr. Sanday's highly com- mended ram is at best but a plain one, and despite half a dozen entries by Mr. Borton, and others by Mr. Hutchin- son, the shearlings were not in the ruck a strong class. There were, moreover, only three moderate pens of shear- ling ewes, over which the three premiums were very scientifically distributed. Should Mr. Brown, of Marham, give over exhibiting, it is a question whether the Cotswold classes should not, as well as the Dorsets, be forthvvith struck out of the Royal Society's prize sheet, as nothing could be worse than the way in which this famous breed of sheep is at present represented. Even the Norfolk sheep were not up to their usual standard ; for the first shearling, firm in his touch, stands very badly, the second prize is aU wrong in his shoulders, and the third in his mutton ; as, of course, the remainder of the class was miserably indif- ferent. The judges, in fact, had the lowest possible opinion of almost everything here brought out. The Kil- kenny old sheep was really a good one, and he was about the only one of any noticeable merit, while the premiums for ewes should never have been awarded. When we remember the beautiful grand pens of Cotswolds *hich have taken these honours, and then turn to the mean, miserable plain things sent fi-om the Cirencester College, we must em- phatically protest against such things being regarded as prize sheep. Even Mr. Spencer's lot, which beat the College pen at Guildford, were still preferable ; and the only consolatory reflection is that the first and se- cond prizes have been both sold to go to America : True patriots these ; for, be it understood, They leave their country for their country's good. TheLincolna were very unequal, with a bad class of shear- lings, and a far better lot of old sheep. Mr. Marshall's first is a very moderate ram to look over, but of good quality, and in such company he was fairly placed at the head of it. The Panton three-shear is a grand shapely sheep of fine chai-acter, if not a little too fine ; the second also very good, and Mr. Pears' third perhaps more after the original type of Lincoln, and of a great useful stamp. The best pen of ewes were more after the manner of Leicesters about their heads, but they are very smart and soity, if looking a little too highly bred for their purpose. There were some other very clever pens, of which the judges noticed five out of eight entries, as if not of ex- traordinary excellence there was altogether a very credit- able show of Lincolns. After the Oxfords at Oxford — the deluge, as there actually threatened to be at Wolverhampton, where, as of course was to have been expected, there was a very signal decline in the number of entries. The judges, however, went vigorously to work to correct the Oxford decisions, and over their chief opportunity effected a thorough revolution. Thus Mr. Longland's four-shear, the first prize here^ was the reserve at Oxford, and Mr, 15 1 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. Wallis' tliree-shear, the first prize at Oxford, the reserve here. Mr. Druce's three-shear, the second here, was third at Oxford, where he beat Mr. Longland, and was beaten by Mr. Wallis 1 while Mr. "Wallis' best shearling of that great sixty-strong class at Oxford was now no nearer than third in a class of eight entries ! It is only right to say that almost everybody went with the Wolver- hampton decisions, as probably beyond ^Ir. Overman, the two fresh-catched judges at Oxford were scarcely equal to such a business as that they undertook. Mr. Longland's first, even at his age, is still quite a superb upstanding sheep of great size with quality, and of really handsome appearance ; as he is i)robably as fine a specimen of the Oxford as ever was shown. It is right to say that he is by Mr. Charles Howaid's Plymouth. Sir. ^Milton Druce's always good ram showed a little weary and jaded, although he had still fairly the best of the two Oxford firsts, and Mr. "Wallis would appear to be losing his lead, as it will be remembered the Shifi'ord flock was also all behind at Guildford. We then said that " the Winchen- don shearling showed smaller, smarter, and darker in the face than Mr. Treadvvell usually has them, but is a very taking sheep," as we always thought the best ever sent from the Aylesbury country, and he won readily enough here. His chief competitor, in fact, was another very clever sheep from Winchendon, who would probably have been second but for a black tuft of wool on his shoulder, as this was held to be fatal. Mr. "Wallis' second prize was plain and leggy, and we fancied the third the most of the Shifford team, running to ten entries. The judges held well to their line, for their best shearling is a son of the best old sheep, although Mr. Charles Howard could do little on his own account. The rams threaten to grow away from any very pronounced Oxfordshire character, so far as this may be settled or agreed to, while the Biddenham ewes are always ueat, but the en- tries here were confined to three pens. Mr. Lynn had all the best of the eight entries of Rylands and other long-wools, with his nice Lincoln and Leicester cross. In a grand total of fifteen entries of Hampshires, some of which were not sent, Mr. Rawlence, despite the Ilussells and Mr. Morrisou, again got to his once wonted place and took every first prize, his best shearling being of the good old orthodox sour-headed stamj) — a sort of sheep which must be useful, for he can never be ornamental. But this again altogether upsets more recent decisions, as at Guildford Mr. Morrison and the Russells had all the best of the business ; while neither of the judges here were Hampshire men, and the awards in the ram classes look like putting the clock back. There were but two entries of Dorsets in two classes, and only one exhibitor, so that this distinction as a breed should be disallowed forthwith. Mr. Ilobsou, of Bymess, showed some good Cheviots, the ewes being a very sweet pen ; and five of the six entries of Mountain sheep were disqualified by the shearing inspectors, the well-known Mr. Peel, of Knowlmere, being noticeably enough one of the ofi'enders, and jMr. Roxburgh, from Denbighshire, the other. The official report, however, will go to say that never wei-e the sheep generally more fairly shorn, so that this system of inspection, as we always argued it would, has been attended with the most wholesome efi'ect. Amongst the Southdowns there were occasional gaps in the catalogue, as fi-om 861 to 865, and some blank pens on the ground, so that entry in all of fifty or so came to be materially reduced. In fact, it was a very short and not very interesting show. The judges would scarcely look at Messrs. Heasman's sheep, aud their good shear- ling, the best of his class at Guildford, only just reached to a commendation, but it is right to say he was quite oft" his bloom at Wolverhampton. Sir William Throckmor- ton, who promises well to take Lord Walsingham's place as a ram breeder, had all the chief honours in these two classes, it being a very near thing beween his two shear- lings, where the second showed the most style forward, but was not so good in his back as the other. In both classes they put Mr. Rigden's sheep " about," taking Guildford commendations for prizes, or more directly putting unnoticed sheep above previous winners. Thus the second-prize old ram was nowhere at the West of Eujland meeting, while the thii-d here was then second, as many thought he might have been fii'st. Judges and critics may ot course be allowed to differ, and for style or true good Southdown character we infinitely prefer the Hove third to the second in the old class at Wolverhampton. It is somewhat remarkable that if they never can do much on a show ground with their rams the Goodwood ewes are always good, though never was there a more beautiful lot than this first prize pen, which was perhaps, at all points, the sight of the show. They were so well matched, with such sweet heads and bright looks, true frames, and firm mutton, that we scarcely cared to look at anything else. Nevertheless, there are people who say that the Elmham flock of ewes was always better to look right through than that at Merton, but they were now badly sorted, at any rate ; while Colonel Kingscote's lot ran narrow and mean behind, and the Buckland ewes were only moderate, and not matched. In fact, it was the old story of Eclipse first, and the rest nowhere. The Prince of Wales and Mr. Colman had some entries, but it requires both time and money to establish a prize flock. In their report to the stewards, the judges of Shropshire sheep at the Oxford show said their determination had been " to select such sheep only as represented the type of a true Shropshire," while they went on to suggest " to the breeders the extreme importance of endeavouring to establish more uuiformHy of character," of which they oft'ered the following definition or scale of points : " A Shropshire sheep should possess great depth of firm flesh, indicated by a good muscular neck, straight and wide back, with ribs well sprung, and a heavy leg of mutton. The face and legs should be of a uniformly dark colour, aud a well covered head ; the fleece thick-set, and free from grey." There is something of a primitive simplicity in the opening sentence of this oificial description. As we take it any sheep of any breed " should possess good firm flesh," have " a good muscular neck and a straight and wide back ;" while every animal in creation ought to have his " ribs well sprung," and every sheep as cer- tainly "a heavy leg of mutton." So far then this would be a standard of uniformity not merely for the Shrop- shire but the Southdown, the Leicester, or the Lincoln, The concluding sentence is of course far more to the point, as the colour and fleece in any kind should tell di- rectly to breed. The Couucil of the Royal Agricul- tural Society, however, adopted probably a far better plan for establishing uniformity amongst Shropshire sheep, as iu these classes they put on precisely the same set of judges at Wolverhampton as had been iu otfice at Oxford. As a principle this ditto ditto system would no doubt be objectiouable. Almost every man has his crotchets and pet fancies and prejudices, as nothing would threaten to work worse than that any such likes and dislikes should hold sovereign sway. IBut the case of the Shropshire sheep is almost altogether exceptional. Since the classes were established uo other breed of stock has been shown in such infinite or iu such perplexing a variety. At the same time the Shropshire breeders are very keen exhi- bitors, as none take more interest in the business of the ring or enter more readily into competition. It would so seem that the lesson must be taught, the standard raised, the model perfected by the hands of the judges — that is by the sound decisions they may give, rather than by the trite reports they may write. THE FAKMBR'S MAGAZINE. 155 The good effect of coming to snck an understanding is, we are inclined to think, ah-eady observable. Never, pro- bably, were so many sheep of any one section brought together on a show-ground as of the Shropshires at Wolver- hampton ; and if in a class of eighty yearlings there must be some odd lots, there was no need for the judges to diverge from their line, which they held to with the tenacity of bull-dogs. They seemed to have settled on the sort of sheep they wanted, and of this stamp they looked to have some thirty or so drawn as we walked along the line. And this was not the neat pretty Down, but of a bigger, and may-be rougher sample, going back to the old foundation, but improved by careful and judicious " selection." The prize sheep here have style, quality, and appearance, but at the same time you recognise the true Shropshire type of hardy thriving animal, a thing by no means so easy to do at the shows of a few years since. Moreover, there was a yet better index to the right road in the result of the doings on Monday last. The first prize shearling ram was by the reserve sheep in the older class, and this three-shear, although shown by ]Mr. Nock was bred by Mr. Mansell. The second prize shearling was the property of Mr. Man- sell, as was the first prize old sheep, and the two best pens of lambs were by an Adcott ram. It will be so seen that many of the prize sheep go back to the same strains of blood, whilst nearly all were of the same character. Thus Mr. Stubbs' third prize shearling had the same good dark-coloured face as the second, if not quite so deep nor true in his frame, while the touch and quality of the winner just gave him the advantage, but it took a deal of judging to separate them. The reserve sheep would have made a good match in the team ; and then the judges had to look about a little. They could merely commend the more stylish entries of Mrs. Beach, or Lord Chesham's smart shearlings ; and there is a lesson to be got oft' by heart here. The old rams, although we did not see them out, were declared to be superior to the shearlings, and the Adcott first was at once accepted as an illustration of his order. He is really handsome to look on, has plenty of size, and is good in his mutton if not quite right about the colouring of his head. The weak point here is that at Oxford the same judges took no notice of this sheep, while they placed an- other of Mr. Mansell's second which is here only com- mended, and very properly placed behind his com- panion. Of course young rams may alter and improve or go back in the course of a year, but it is hard to understand any such " subsequent" difference in the two sheep here standing side by side. Lord Chesham, who would thus look to be going with the stream, took the Oxford prize last season, but we question if he were ever much fancied at Latimer ; and even the judges themselves will allow that their second reading was far the preferable. Mr. Evans was second here with another good dark sheep, and Mr. Coxon, of Freeford, third with a ram of fine constitution ; whilst there were numerous commendations, of which Lord Chesham again had a share. In fact, before the de- cisions were arrived at over the ewes we were enabled to tell his lordship's agent that had he sent five instead of ten he would have been first, whereas the two lots finished second and third; after all perhaps better evidence of the "uniform" excellence of a fiock. Nothing, however, could be more of a sort than ^Irs. Beach's entries, not merely of ewes, but as exhibited throughout the classes, and so far the Breeder's Cup went very deservedly to its fitting place. This was quite an extraordinary class of ewes, and with very little stretch might have been generally com- mended. The pens of ten ewes having had lambs were scarcely fit for the show ground, nor did they in any way prove so well as the other classes ; but there were some admirable lambs, Mr. Bradburne's 6wes being especially good, and all, as it were, of a family. If we can carry a flock of Shropshire ewes so far, the difficulty of the day may be regarded as almost overcome. Pig-fancying is becoming more and more of an amateur trade rather than any very strong feature in the business of the farm, and a majority ot the prizes were taken at Wol- verhampton by exhibitors who could not be regarded as agriculturists ; nor is this, perhaps, to be altogether re- gretted, for the show was associated with some very discreditable proceedings. Pies were disqualified as over the age at which they were entered ; pigs were disqualified as of a larger breed than that at which they were entered ; and sows were disqualified as having more pigs by their sides than really belonged to the litters. But the most extraordinary thing is that an attempt is made to keep the names of these offenders back. It is " understood," or the Pro- fessor will "report," and so on. But why so ? The first inspector of sheai'ing we encountered gave us the number of every entry he had disqualified without the slightest hesitation ; as, in fact, disqualification notices were placed over the sheep themselves. On the other hand, there is a curious reticence observable amongst the veterinarians, as nothing could apparently be more painful to Professor Simonds' feelings than to give anybody any information. If the disqualified exhibitors of sheep were paraded then there is a mon- strous injustice in witholding the names of the disqualified exhibitors of pigs; and the Stewards or the Council should be called on to supply this suppressed in- telligence forthwith. How, indeed, is an evidently grow- ing evil to be corrected without showing up the ofi'enders? As it is the innocent will be continually confounded with the guilty, and if the Council be afraid to own its handi- work or to countenance the acts of its officials, the sooner the pig inspection be thrown up the better, and " the fancy" left to " rope" each other as they please. The show of " swine," as they say in the North, was only good in places, notwithstanding that the Duckeriugs were continually beaten — occasionally with their own weapons. It is, indeed, very manifest, that the Messrs. Howard of all others have succeeded in improving on the great white Yorkshires, as they have got out of that terrible coarseness at no material sacrifice of size, and their pigs are becoming everywhere appreciated. Thus IMr. Eden's best boar iu the old class was bred at Bedford, and a capital specimen he is, with length, coat, and quality. His superiority was more directly proved by the Northorpe second, which has been about at all the leading shows of the season from Glasgow to Guildford, and never beaten until he encoun- tered Victor. This was a small, but good class, while the younger boars were indift'erent and indift'erently judged. The first, also first at Dereham, is a big limbed hog, and the second, a second at Guildford, as poor and plain a pig as ever won at a Royal meeting. Mr. Eden's entry looked to be a deal better pig than either, but he was said to be of another breed ; and there was possibly some sufiicient cause for overlooking Messrs. Duckering's prize pig, as neither was even commended. The large sows made up a capital class, with another of Duckering's hitherto invincibles no higher than second, being fairly beaten by "quite a beauty" from Manchester with a tremendous litter swarming about her. Messrs. Howard were highly commended for two entries, one of which. Duchess, was second at Guild- ford, when, as we said, " her quality seemed to be attained at an alarming sacrifice of coat ; for beyond her ears she was absolutely bare." It is no- ticeable that pigs sent direct from the Britannia farms have generally less hair than when transplanted to other styes. Do they keep them too hot, or feed them too 136 THE FARMEE'S MAGAZINE. high ? Mr. Davis, of Wolverhampton, Mr. Walker, and the Wheelers -were amongst the others here, also de- servedly commended. The four pens of three breeding sows to each entry vrere all noticed, as, in fact, they were so uniform that the two prizes and the reserve pea might have been taken, or mistaken, for all of the same litter, especially in these times when prixe sows thi'ow such a number. The boars of the small white breed looked, at least some of them, to be of a larger breed; while the younger lot was far preferable to their elders, Mr. Matthew Walker winning with a level pig of fine quality from Jlr. Eden's stock, and Mr. Fox ranking next, with another very good one ; but with fortune still frowning on the Duckerings. In the small sow class, however, it was impossible to get away from theii- entry, as the com- petition was not very close, though good ; and Topsy is at this writing, perhaps, the best pig out. Of course she has never been beaten. The small blacks, not so long since amongst the very best sorts, now seem to be bred all sorts of ways ; a cross here and a cross there, as we question whether there be any very distinct variety still maintained. It was a very moderate show of them, but they were selling fast, and Mr. Sexton, who with one of the same judges did so little at Guildford, will ship ten or twelve straight away for America. Mr. Ware's prize old boar comes from the Land's End, and his best young boar from Lord Portsmouth, while we found some of Mr. Steam's pens in blank, as we regretted to see this enthusiastic cultivator of little pigs in very indifferent health at Romford. There was a small show of pigs of breeds " not eligible " for any class in particular, but big, little, or middle-size very much as people chose to call them. Mr. Eden's first prize sow had nine pigs in her litter, and Mr. Nicholson's un- noticed sow ten. The two prize pens of three each were both especially good ; and the first prize boar was a great big hog who seemed to have got out of his right section. There have been far better shows of Berkshires, the judges not being enabled to add on a single commenda- tion in the class of young boars, and the Cirencester first and second both so unmistakeably bad that it is a matter of some admiration whether there could not have been found a better in a tolerably numerous entry. The old Berkshire boars were far better, as amongst these were some famous pigs from Mr. Stewart, Mr. Humfrey, and the College. The Gloucester pig, first at Guildford, should have been first again, had his age at a year younger than the other been properly considered. The College was more clearly first in a capital lot of sows the best class of pigs on the ground, and of course com- mended throughout. The first, also first at Guildford, is a very handsome lengthy sow of rare quality, but not too fine for a Berkshire ; and Lord Clermeut'ssecond, all the way from Ireland, is almost as good as the other. Mr. Humphrey with Sweet Seventeen, Mr. Stewart with Bobtail, and the College with another Sally, served to give an emphasis to the excellence of the class, as they have all been winners in good company ; while Mr. Baily's beautiful pen of three must have gladdened the heart of Mr. Smith, as just of the high quality strain of Berkshire they fancy in Warwickshire. These pigs were also selling fast for America, and the College, it is said, has bought back a sow sent out from Oxford. This may be politic enough, but it is only to be hoped that the hearts of the professors may never yearn again for their ))rize Cotswolds. There were other prizes for butter, cheese, wool, farms, and dairymaids, to whose comparative merits we must, at least for a week, leave the prize-list to testify. PRIZE LIST. HORSES. (All ages ealculatea to July 1st, 1871.) Judges — Caet Hobses : N. G. Barthropp, Hacheston, Wickham Market. J. H. TVood, Humberstone, Grimsby. D, Wright. Beal, Northumberland. RiDiifG HoBSES : J. E. Bennett, Bosworth Gransre, Rugby. The Hon. G. Lascelles, Sion Hill, Thirsk. A, L. Maynard, Ski mm in grove, Saltburn-by-the-Sea. Agrieultui-al stallion, foaled before 1st Januaiy, 1869 (not ciualified to compete as Clydesdale or SufTolk). — First prize, £25, W. Welcher, Mouse HaU, West Tofts, Bi-andon, Norfolk (Honest Tom) ; second, £15, J. Manning, Orlingbury, ■WelUngborough (Yoimg Champion) ; third, £5, C. Sharpley, Kelston Hall, Louth, Lincoln (LeBon). Reserve and Highly Commended : the Rev. J. Hitchcock, Chitterne AH Saints, Heytesbury, Wiltshu-e (Lion). Agricultui'al staUion, foaled in the year 1S69 (not qualified to compete as Clydesdale or Suifolk). — First prize, £20, T. Corfield, Cm-clington, Chm-ch Stretton, Salop (The Shrop- shire Friend) ; second, £10, L. Ashcroft, Mawdesley, Orms- kii-k (John Bull) ; thh-d, £5, G. Street, Maiildon, Ampthill, Bedford (Captain) . Reserve and Highly Commended : J. Perkin, Manstey Fai-m, Penkridge, Stafford (Young Prmce). Commended : J. H. Boniford, "Sherifife Lench, Evesham, Worcester (Nelson). Clvdesdale stallion, foaled before the 1st of January, 1869. — Fu-st prize, £25, W. Tomlinson, BUthford. Rngeley, Stafford (Young Lofty) ; second. £15, Lieut. -Col. R. Loyd Lindsay, M.P., Lockinge Park, Wantage (Prince Albert) ; third, £5, M. Reed, Beamish Bum, Chester-le-Street. Dm-ham, (Well- inffton). Clydesdale stallion, foaled in the yeai- 1869.— [No entr,-^-]. Suffolk stallion, foaled before the 1st of January, 1869.— First prize, £25, R. GaiTett, Carleton Hall, Sasnnmdham (Cupbearer) ; second, £15, G. D. Badham, Bnlmer, Sudbury (Hercules) ; third, £5, W. Wilson, Baylham Hall, Ipswich (Bismarck). Reserve and Highly Coimnended: The Stone- trough Collieiy Company, Ramsdell Hah, Lawton. Cheshu-e, (Harvrich Emperor). Commended: W. Byford, The Court, Glemsford, Sudbury- (Volunteer). Suffolk stallion, foaled in the year 1869.— First prize, £20, Lieut. -Colonel Fuller Maitland "Wilson, Stowlangtoft Hall, Bury St. Edmimds (Heir Apparent) ; second of £10, G. D. Bad- ham (Emperor). Reserve and Highly Commended: J. A, Pigot, Beckingham Hall, Witham (Patriot). Thorough-bred stallion, suitable for getting Hunters.— First grize, £50, J. Casson, Burgh-by-Sands, Carlisle, Cum- berland (Sincerity) ; second of £25, ,T. Watson, Warcsley, Hartlebury, Kidderminster (Blinkhoohe) ; third of £10, W. T. Sharpe, Baumber Park, Homcastle (Suffolk i. Reserve and Commended : C. and J. Moffat, Kirkltngton Park, Carlisle (Laughing Stock). Commended : The Earl of Co- ventry, Croome Court, Severn Stoke, Worcester (Umpire). StaUion, above 11 hands but not exceeding 15 hands 2 inches, suitable for getting hackneys. — First prize. £20, J. Lockhart, Culmington, Bromfleld, Salop (Dick Turpln) ; second of £10. B. Mitchell, sen., Cromo Hall, Downham Market, Norfolk (Fireaway the Second) ; third of £5, Henry Bultitaft, BedweUhay Grange, Ely (Clear the Way). Reserve and Commended : Charles Bearts, Stow Bai-dolph, Downham Market, Norfolk (Ambition). Pony .stallion, not exceeding 14 hands. — First prize, £15, H. Roundell, Otley, Yorkshire (Sir George); second of £10, C. Groucock, Smiifield Hall, Wymondham (King Arthur). Reserve and Commended : W. Dew, Wellfield House, Bangor, Carnarvon (Llewelyn). Agi-icultm-al mare, in foal, or with foal at foot, not suitable to compete as Cl3'desdale or Suffolk. — First prize, £20, H. Overman, Weasenham. Brandon, Norfolk (Diamond) ; second of £10, E. Crowe, Denver, i)ownham Market, Norfolk (Smart) ; third of £5, W. Welcher, Mouse Hall, AVest Tofts, Brandon, Norfolk (Beauty). Reserve and Highly Com- mended : W. T. Lambe, Welboume, Grantham, Lincoln (Beauty). Commended: C. Lister, Coleby Lodge, Lincoln (Royal Duchess). The class commended. Clj'desdale mare, in foal, or with foal at foot. — First prize, £20, T. Statter, jun.. Stand Hall, Whitefield, Manchester (Princess) ; second of £10, G. H. Head, Rickerby, Carlisle, Cumberland (Deborah). Reserve : Lieut.-Colonel Robert Lord Lindsay, M.P. (Polly). Suffolk mare, m foal, or with foal at foot. — Fu-st prize, £20, The Executors of the late T. Capon, Dennmgton, Wickham Market, Suffolk (Matchit) ; second of £10, Lieut.-Colonel Fuller Maitland Wilson (Bury Empress) ; third of £5 (speciallv recommended), H. Wolton, Newbourn Hall, Wood- bridge, Suffolk (Diamond). Commended: W. Byford, The Court, Glensford, Sudbm-y (Pride). Mare, in foal, or with foal at foot, suitable for breeding THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE, 157 tunters.— Pii-st prize, dE25, T. H. Miller, Singleton, Poulton- le-Fjide, Laucashii-e (Lady Emily) ; second of £15, J. Clarke, Beeston, Leeds, (Lady Bj-i-on) ; third of £5, L. Ly^yood, High Downs, Bridgnorth, Salop (Jassy) . Reserye and Highly Com- mended : J. T. Robinson, Leckby Palace, Thirsk (Go-a-head). Mare, above 14 hands but not exceeding 15 hands 1 inch, in foal or with foal at foot, suitable for breeding hackneys. — Fu'st prize, £20, H. Overman, Weasenliam ^enny Lmd) ; second of £10, T. Tones, Cross Lane Head, Bridgnorth (Judy). Reserve and Commended : T. Latham, Little Whittenham, Abingdon (Miss Dodson) . Pony mare, not exceeding 14 hands. — First prize, £10, W. Coates, Scarborough Faiin, "Winchcombe (Kitey) ; second of £5, R. Milward, Thurgarton Priory, Southwell, Notts. (Brighteyes). Reserve and Highly Connnended : G. Stokes, Camp Farm, Kingsbixry, Atherstone (Polly) . Hunter gelding, three years old.— Pu-st prize, £20 ; W. Armstrong, Kendal, Westmorland (Banker) ; second of £15 ; Sir "W. Lawson, Bart., M.P., Braytou, Carlisle ; thh-d of £10, G. J. Mitchell, Newton Mount, Bui-ton-on-Trent (Fenian) ; fourth of £5, C. Cook, Taddington, Winchcombe (The Admiral). Reserve and Commended : (>. B. Keeling, Hamp- ton House, Penkridge (The Dean). Hunter filly, three years old. — First prize, £20, J. Moffat, (Luna) ; second of £15, E. Phillimore, Prestbuiy Park Farm, Chehenham; thu-d of £10, J. B. Booth, Killerby Hall, Cat- terick (Duckling) ; fourth of £5, C. Byi-d, Littywood, Stafford (Theodora). Resen'e : The Stonetrough Colliery Company (Alice Grey). Huntef gelduig or filly, four years old. — First prize, £30, F. Barlow, Hasketon, Woodljridge (Tregothnan) ; second of £20, F. Barlow, (Beckford) ; third of £10; C. Cook, Todding- ton ; fom-th of £5, G. J. ]\Iitchell (Blankney) . Reserve and Commended : W. Tudge, Coston Hall, Aston-on-Clun, Salop (Glendower). Hunter, mare or gelding, up to not less than 15 stone. — First prize, £30, J. B. Booth (Banner Bearer) ; second of £20, T. H. D. Bayly, Edwinstow House, Ollerton, Notts (Borderer) ; third of £10, G. Van AVart, The Shrubberj-, Birmingham (Loxley) ; fourth of £5, R. B. Oswell, Shelvock, West Felton, Salop "(Filbert). Reserve and Commended: J. G. Watkins, Woodfield, Ombersley, Droitwich. Hunter, mare or gelding, up to not less than 12 stone. — • First prize, £25, the Earl of Coventry (Bu-d on the Wing) ; second of £15, S. J. Welfit, Tathwell Hall, Louth (Loiterer) ; third of £10, W. Armstrong, Kendal (Lallah Roohk) ; fourth of £5, G. Smith, AUston, Stratford-on-Avon (Brenda). Reserve and Commended : J. W. Gardom, Butterton Park, Newcastle, Stafford (Britannia). Carriage horses or mares, in pairs, under 6 years old.— Fu'st prize, £25, J. T. Robinson, Leckby Palace, Tliirsk (roans). Brougham horse or mare, under sis years old.— No com- petition, Roadster, mare or gelding, above 14 hands 1 inch, and not e.xceeding 15 hands 1 inch. — Fu'St prize, £20, J. Moffat (Covet) ; second of £10, W. Fell, The Close, Lichfield (Ma- homet); third of £5, J. Moffat (Land Agent). Reserve and Commended: R, Milward (HUton). Roadster, mare or gelding, above 15 hands 1 inch. — First prize, £20, J. Warth (The " General) ; second of £10, G. D. Badham (Tearaway) ; third of £5, T. H. Miller. Reserve and Commended : T. Statter, jun. (Maiden Hair). Cob, mare or gelding, above 13 hands, and not exceeduig 14 hands 1 inch. — Fu-st prize, £15, G. Smith (Dick) ; second of £10, W. E. Wney, Tamworth Road, Erdington, Bii-ming- ham (Bob) ; third of £5, J. G. Boraston, Kiddermuister (Comet). Reserve and Highly Commended: R. Milward (Camperdown). Pony, not exceeding 13 hands.— First prize, £10, F. Bower. Albion-street, Birmingham (Jumney) ; second of £5, W, Tyler, Friday Bridge, Bh-mingham (Billy). Resei-ve and Highly Commended; T. Statter, jun. (Queen Bee). Com- mended: G. M. Sexton, Wherstead Hall, Ipswich (Match- less) ; and T. Gatis, North-street, AVolverhampton (Dot) Agricultural filly, two years old (not qualified to compete as Clydesdale or Suffolk).— First prize, £15, J. Linton, West- wick Hall, Cambridge, (Princess) ; second of £10, J. Hawkes- worth. Barton Fields, Barton Blount, Derby (Darling) ; third of £5, S. Davis, Woolashi 11, Pershore (Darling). Reserve and Highly Commended : D. Bridgwater, Lower Porthamel, Glas- bixry, Brecon. Commended: J. Hawkesworth (Boss). Clydesdale filly, two years old.— First prize, £15, T. T. Parker, Charnock, Chorley, Lancashire ; second of £10, her Majesty the Queen, Windsor Castle (Kate). Resei-ve and Highly Commended : Her Majesty the Queen (Charlotte). Commended : T. Statter) jun. (Highland Las.sic). Suffolk filly, two years old.— Fu-st prize, £15, W. Thompson, jun., Thorpe, Colchester, Essex (The Despised). No compe- tition. Agricultm-al pair of geldings or mares, of any age. — First pi-ize, £20, C. W. Brierley, Rhodes House, Middleton, Man- chester (Champion and Warwick) ; second of £10, T. Statter, jvm, (Fanny and Diamoud) J ttoa of *5, C, W, Brierley (Sen- sation and Farmer). Reserve and Highly Commended : The Earl of Dartmouth, Patshiill, Albrighton, Wolverhampton (Shirley and Bowler). Agricultural pair of geldings or mares, four years old- First prize, £20, T. Statter, jun. (SmUer and Boxer). A giicultiu-al pair of geldings or mares, three years old. — First prize, £20, T. Statter, jun. (Thumper and Maggie) ; second, £10, C. W. Brierley (Bobby and Flirt). Agi-icultm-al gelding, three years old. — First prize, £10, E. Tongue, Manor House, Aldridge, Walsall (The Drummer). Agricultural geldmg, two years old. — First prize, £10, J, Pen'y, Salter's Hall, Claverley, Bridgnorth (Captain) ; second, £5, T.W. D. Harris, Woottoii, Northamptonshire. Reserve: G. H. Head. Agricultiu-al gelding, yearling. — First priae, £10, T. Statter, jun. (TJiumper). CATTLE. (All ages calculated to July 1st, 1871.) SHORTHORNS. JiTDGES. — G. Bland, Coleby Hall, Lincoln. W. Parker, Carleton Hill, Penrith. J. Robinson, Clifton Pastures, Newport PagneU. Bull above three years old. — First prize, £30, H. Thomp- son, Maiden HQl, Pem-ith (Edgar) ; second of £20, the Mar- quis of Exeter, Burghley Park, Stamford (Telemachus) ; third of £15, the Rev. Walter Sneyd, Keele Hall, Newcastle- imder-Lyme (Ironmaster) ; fom-th of £10, J. Wright, Green Gill Head, Pem-ith (Man's Estate). Reserve and Highly Commended : R. F. Soffe, Hams, Eastleigh, Southampton (Lord Morpeth) . Commended: T. Statter, jun. (Charlie). Bull above two and not exceeding three years old.— First prize, £25, AV. Linton, Sherriff Hutton, York (Lord Irving) ; second of £15, J. Outhwaite, Bainnesse, Catterick (Royal Windsor) ; third of £10, Sir D. Baird, Bart., New Blythe, Preston Kirk, Haddington (Baron Lawrie) : fourth oi £5, Emily Lady Pigot, Branches Park, Newmarket (Bythis). Reserve and Highly Commended : W. and H. Dudding, Pan- ton House, Wragby, Lincoln (Standard Bearer). Yearling bull above one and not exceeding two years. — Fu-st prize, £25, Colonel C. Towneley, Towneley, Burnley (Baron Hubback 2nd) ; second of £15, Lord Sudeley, Tod- dington, Winchcombe (Cherub) ; thu-d of £10, J. Lamb (Ig- noramus) ; fourth of £5, J. Meadows, Thornville, Wexford, Ireland (Prince Charlie) . Reserve and Highly Commended : G. Game, ChurchiU Heath, Chipping Norton (Earl of War- wickshire 3rd) . The class highly commended. Bull calf above six and not exceeding twelve months old. — Fh-st prize, £15, W. andH. Dudding (British Flag) ; second of £10, W. Linton (Leeman) ; thu-d of £5, T. Game and Son, Broadmoor, Northleach (Red Prince) . Cow above three years old.— First prize, £20, J. Beattie, Newbie House, Annan, Dumfriesshii-e (Wamor's Plume) ; second of £10, A. Dugdale, Rose Hill, Burnley, Lancashire (Kent Cherry 2nd) ; third of £5, J. How, Broughton, Hunt- ingdon (Windsor Butterfly). Reserve and Highly Com- mended: W. Linton, Sheriff Hutton, York (Carnation). Commended: W. Bradburn, Wedensfield, Wolverhampton (Red Rose) ; and W. J. TVTiitsed, Abbey Farm, Wroxall, Warwick (Magnolia). Heifer, in-mUk or in-calf, not exceeding three years old.— First prize, £15, Emily Lady Pigot (Dame Swift); second of£10, J. How (Vesper Queen) ; thhrd of £5, F. J. Savile Fol- jambe. M.P., Osbertou Hall, AVorksop (Concert). Reserve and Highly Commended : W. H. Hewett, Norton Court, Taunton (Nellv). Highly Commended: W. Hosken and Son, Loggan'sMiU, Hayle, Cornwall (Coimtess of Oxford). The class highly commended. Yearling heifer, above one and not exceeding two years old. —First prize, £15, J. Outhwaite (Lady Brough) ; second of £10, F. J. Savile Foljambe, M.P. (Fleur de Lis); thu-d of £5, Colonel C. Towneley (Baron Oxford's Duchess). Reserve and Highly Commended: Colonel C. Towneley (Butterfly's Memento) . The class highly commended. Heifer- calf, above six and imder twelve months old.— First prize, £10, A. Garfit, Scothorn, Lincoln (Brilliant Rose 2nd) ; second of £5, Emily Lady Pigot (Victoria Victrix). Reserve and Highly Commended: W. and H. Dudding (Lady Grace). Highly Commended : R. Stratton, Burderop, Swindon (Ma- bel); and Colonel C. Towneley (Butterfly's Memento 3rd). Commended: C. W. Brierley (Bolivar's Flower). HEREFORDS. Judges.— H. Haywood, Blakemere House, Hereford. W. Taylor, ThinghUl Court, Hereford. Bull, above three years old.— Fu-st prize, £25, W. Evans, Llandowlais, Usk, Monmouth (Monaughty 3rd) ; second of £15, P. Tiu-ner, The Leen, Pembridge (Bachelor) ; third of £5, N. Beujafield, Short'sGreen Farm, Motcomb, Shaftesbury. Reserve and Highly Commanded: J. AValker, Westfield House, Hohner, Hereford (Wonder). Commended: S. N, Eavvards, Broaaward, Leomiii,?tei' (Sir John). n 2 158 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. Bull, abo%-e two and not exc^eduiof thl-ee years old— First prize, £25, J. Williams, Saint Mary's Kingsland (Royal Head) ; second of £15, the Earl of South esk, Kinnaird Castle, Brechin (Ostorious); third of £5, P. Turner (Provost). Re- serve and Commended: J. Harding, Bicton, Shrewsbury (Noblebov). Yearling bull, above one and not exceeding two years old. — First prize, £25, R. Hill, Orleton Court, Ludlow (Pearl Diver) ; second of £15, G. Child, Westonburj-, Pembridge (Star of the West) ; third of £5, J. Crane, Benthall Ford, Shrewsburj- (Prince George). Reserve and Highly Com- mended : J. Harding (Tom Kinnersley) . Highly Commended : Her Majesty the Queen (Prince George Frederick). The class commended. Bull-calf, above six and not exceeding twelve months old. — First prize, £10, H. N. Edwards (Alexander) ; second of £5, W. Taylor, Showle Coui-t, Ledbury (The Wolverhampton Boy). Reserve and Highly Commended: H. N. Edwards (Albert). Highly Commended: R. Hill (The Colonel). Com- mended : W. B. Peren, Compton House, South Petherton (Perfection) ; W. Tudge, Adforton, Leiutwardine (Ves- pasian) ; and J. Morris, Town House, Madley, Hereford (Vendome). Cow, above three years old. — First prize, £20, W. B. Peren (Ivington Rose) ; second of £10, Philip Turner (Livia) ; third of £5, E. Tanner, Frodesley, Dorrington (Queen). Heserve and Highly Commended : G. Pitt, Chadnor Court, Dilwyn, Leominster (Highlass 4th). Highly Commended: Sir J. R. Baily, Bart., M.P., Glanusk Park, Crickhowell (Riding Hood) ; and .1. Williams, Saint Mary's, Hereford (Pansey). Heifer, in-milk or in-calf, not exceeding three years old. — First prize, £15, Philip Turner (Rarity) ; second of £10, J. Harding (Dahlia) ; third of £5, Thomas Fenu, Stonebrook House, Ludlow (Duchess of Bedford 6th). Reserve and Highly Commended : G. Pitt (Sunshine 2nd). The class highly conunended. Yearling heifer, above one and not exceeding two years. — First prize, £15, J. Harding (Lizzie Jeffreys) ; second of £10, P. Turner (Plumb) ; third of £5, T. Thomas, St. Hilary, Cow- bridge (Sunflower). Reserve and Highly Commended : J. Hungerford Arkwright, Hampton Court, Leominster (Miss Hungerford). Highly commended: P. Davis, Bickmarsh Hall, Alcester ; W. Tudge, Adfortor. (Bonnie Belle) ; and H. Rawlins Evans, jun., Swanstone Court, Dilwyn, Leomin- ster (Lady Oxford). Commended: K. Tanner (Princess Louise). Heifer-calf, above six and under twelve months old. — First prize, £10, T. Fenn, Stonebrook House, Ludlow (Lady of the Teme) ; second of £5, J. Morris (Madeline). Reserve and Highly Commended : T. Thomas (Rosalind). Highly Com- mended : Henry N. Edwards (Dewdrop). ; T. Fenn (Duchess Bedford 7tb) ; and J. Hungerford Ai-kwright. Commended : T. Fenn (Blue Butterfly), and W. Tudge (Fleur-de-lis). DEVONS. Judges. — S. P. Newbury, i, Boringdon Villas, Plympton. T. Pojie, Horningsham, Warminster. Bull above three years old. — First prize, £25, J. H. Buller, Downes, Crediton ; second of £15, Viscount Falmouth, Tre- gothnan, Probus (Narcissus) ; thii-d of £5, J. Davj-, Flitton Barton, North Molton (Duke of Flitton Itli). Reserve and Highly Conunended: Her Majesty the Queen (Napier). Highly Commended : J. Pitfield, Sj'moudsbury, Bridport (Triumph). The class commended. Bull, above two and not exceeding three years old. — First prize, £25, J. Davy (Duke of Flitton 5th)"; second of £15, Viscount Falmouth (Jonijuil) ; third of £5, W. Smith, Hoop- em, Exeter (Pennsylvania). Yearling bull, above one and not exceeding two years old. — First prize, £25, Viscount Falmouth (Chinaman) ; second, £15, W. Farthing, Stowey Court, Bridgwater (Master Harry); third of £5, J. Davj' (Duke of Flitton lith). Reserve and Highly Commended : Viscount Falmouth (Kingcraft). The class commended. Bull-calf, above six and not exceeding twelve months old. — First prize, £10, W. Farthing (Mai-qui.s of Lome) ; second of £5, J. Davy (Conqueror). Reserve and Highly Com- mended: Her Majesty the Queen (Prince Imperial). Cow, above three j-ears old.— Fii-st prize, £20, W. Taylor, Glynley, Westham, Sussex (Profit's Duchess) ; second of £10, W. Taylor (Frederica). Reserve and Highly Commended: J. Davy (Lovely Queen). The class commended. Heifer, in-milk or in-calf, not exceeding three yeai-s old. — First prize, £15, W. Smith, Hoopern (Duchess) ; second of £10, W. Taylor. Reserve and Highly Commended : T. L. Senior, Broughton, Aylesbury (Young Daisy). Yearling heifer, above one and not exceeding two years old.— First Prize, £15, J. Davy (Gay-lass) ; second of £10, J. H. Buller; third of £5, W. Farthing (First Fruit). Reserve and Highly Commended : G. Turner, Brampford Speke, Exeter (Princess Louise). The class commended. Heifer-calf, above six and under twelve months old.— First prize, £10, J. Davy (Actress the 5th) ; second of £5, W. Far- thing (Fair Rosamond) . Reserve ahd Highly Cdmmended • Her Majesty the Queen (Princess Fredei-ica). Highly Com- mended : W. Farthing (Princess Louise). The class com- mended. JERSEY. Judges. — C. P. Le Comu, Trinity Manor, Jersey. H. Tait, Shaw Fai-m, Windsor. Bull, above one year old.— First prize, £10, W. Gilbey, Hargrave Park, Stanstead (Banboy) ; second of £5, G. Simp- son, Wray Park, Reigate (Prince). Reser\-e : F. Simpson, Sion House, BeUbroughton, Stourbridge (Beauty, junior). Cow above three vears old. — First prize, £10, W. Gilbey (Duchess) ; second of £5, G. Digby Wtngfield-Digby, Sher- borne Castle, Dorset (Julia). Reserve and Highly Com- mended : W. Gilbey (Milkmaid). Highly Commended : Lord Chesham, Latimerj Chesham (Bella). Commended : Philip Gaudin, Spring Fann, St. Martin's, Jersey (Camelia) ; and J. G. Hubbard, Addington Manor, Winslow (Daisy). Heifer, in-milk or in-calf, not exceeding three years old. — First prize £10, G. Digby Wingfield-Digby (Miss Edith) ; second of £5, J. G. Hubbard (Belle). Reserve and Highly Commended: G. Simnson (M-\-rtle). Commended: P. Gau- din (Stella) ; J. G. Hubbard (Butterfly) ; and Lord Chesham (Dream). GUERNSEY. Judges. — (As for Jersey.) Bull above one year old. — First prize, £10, the Rev. J. Rmidle Watson, LeBocage, Guernsey (Ti-umpeter) ; second of £5, C. Le Page, LesNaftiaiix, Guernsey (Billy). Reserve: E. A. Sanders, Stoke House, Exeter (Victor Emanuel). Cow above three years old. — First prize, £10, the Rev. J. Rundle Watson (Stella) ; second of £5, T. Blondel Le Page, Maison de Bas, St. Andrew's, Guernsey (Daisy). Reserve and Highl.y Commended: T. Statter, jun. (Smoky). Heifer, in-milk or in-calf, not exceeding three years old.— First prize, £10. C. Le Page ; second of £5, T. Blondel Le Page (Beauty). Reserve and Highlj» Commended : T. Blondel Le Page (Lily of Guernsey). NORFOLK AND SUFFOLK POLLED. Judges. — (As for Devons.) Bull above one year old. — First prize, £10, B. Brown, Thursford, Thetford (Norfolk Duke— Norfolk) ; second of £5, J. J. Colman, MP., Carrow House, Norwich (Cherry Duke- Norfolk and Suffolk). Reserve: T. Brown, Marham Hall Farm, Downliam Market (BaiUff— Norfolk). Cow above three years old. — First prize, £10, B. Brown (Duchess— Norfolk). The class commended. Heifer, in-milk or in-calf, not exceeding three years old. — First prize, £10, B. Brown (Countess — Norfolk); second of £5, J. Hammond, Bale, Thetford (Davy the 4th— Norfolk) . Reserve and Highly Commended : Lord Sondes, Elmham Hall (Norfolk). OTHER ESTABLISHED BREEDS. (Not including the Shorthorn, Hereford, Devon, Jersey, Guernsey, or Norfolk and Suffolk Polled breeds). Judges. — (As for Devons.) Bull above one year old. — First prize, £10, the Duke of Buckingham and Chaudos, Stowe, Buckingham (Young Con- iiueror — Longhorn); secondof £5, J. Godfrey, Wigston Parva, Hinckley, Leicestershire (Samson 2nd — Longhorn). Reserve and Highlj' Commended: T. Statter, jun. (Aberdeenshire Hero — Angus). Commended: R. H. Chapman, Upton, Nun- eaton, Warwick (Earl of Upton 2nd — Longhorn). Cow above three years old.— First prize, £10, J. Godfrey (Buttercup— Longhorn) ; second of £5, T. Statter, jmi. (Prm- cess of Aberdeen — Angus). Reserve and Highly Com- mended : R. H. Chapman (The Light of Other Days— Long- horn). Highly Commended : A. Dugdale (Highland Lassie — AVest Highland) ; and W. T. Cox, Spondon Hall, Derby (Beauty — Longhorn). Commended : The Earl of Harring- ton, Elvaston Castle, Derby (Beautj*— Ayrshire) ; and the Earl of Powis, Powis Castle, Welshpool (Lady Irvine— Ayr- shire) . Heifer in-milk or in-calf, not exceeding three years old. — First prize, £10, T. Statter, jun. (Black Bess— Angus) second of £5, the Duke of Buckingham and Chaudos (Lady Marj'— Longhorn) . Commended : J. Godfrey (Beauty— Long- horn). The class commended. DAIRY CATTLE. Judges. — (As for Jersej'.) Pah' of heifers under three j-ears and eight months old in- milk.— First prize, £20, T. Statter, juu. (Rose and Beauty— Ayrshiie) ; second of £10, T. Statter, jun. (Buttercup and Dairymaid— Ayrshire) ; third of £5, J. J. Sharp, Broughton, Kettermg (Julia 4th and Julia 9th— Shorthorns). Pair of cows, over three vears antl eight months old, in milk.— First prize, £20, T. Statter, jun. (Maid of Ajt and Maid of Midlothian— A jTshires) ; second of £10, T. Statter, jun. (Maid of May and Maid of Craven— cross-bred); thinl TliE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 159 of £5, H. Crossley, Watkinson Hall Farm, Halifax (York- stiii-e Cross). Reserve and Highly Commended : T. Nash, Featherstone, Shareshill, Wolverhampton (Lizzie and Royalty— Shorthorns) . Commended: C. W. Bricrley (cross-bred), SHEEP. LEICESTERS. Judges. — R. Fisher, Leconfield, Beverley. T. Potter, Yellowford, Thorvcrton. T. H. Simpkiu, Hoby, Leicester. Shearlmg ram. — First prize, £20, G. Turner, .jiin., Alexton Hall, Uppingham ; second of £10, the Rev. G. Inge, Thorpe Constantine, Tamworth ; third of £5, the Rev. G. Inge. Reserve and Highly Commended: G. H. Sanday, Holme Pierrepoint, Nottingham. Conunended : G. Turner, Bramp- ford Speke, Exeter; J. Borton, Barton House, Barton-le- Street, Malton. Ram of any other age. — First prize, £20, G. Turner, jun. ; second of £10, G. H. Sanday ; third of £5, J. Borton. Re- serve and Highly Commended : The Rev. G. Inge. The class commended. Pen of five shearUng ewes. — First prize, £15, T. H. Hutchinson, Manor House, Catterick ; second of £10, J. Borton ; third of £5, the Rev. G. Inge, COTSWOLDS. Judges. — R. Game, Aldsworth, Northleach. R. J. Newton, Campsfleld, Woodstock. Shearling ram. — First prize, £20, T. Brown, Marham ; second of £10, T. Brown ; third of £5, T. Brown. Reserve : T. Brown. Ram of any other age.— First prize, £20, the Executors of the late T. Gillett, Kilkenny, Faringdon; second of £10, T. Brown; thii'd of £5, T. Bro^vn. Reserve: The Executors of the late J. Godwin, Troy Farm, Deddington. Pen of five shearling ewes. — First prize, £15, The Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester; second of £10, The Royal Agricultural College. Reserve : C. Spencer, Gileston, Cow- bridge, Glamorganshire. LINCOLNS. Judges. — C. Clarke, Scopwick, Sleaford. J. Greetham, Stainfield, Wragby. Shearhng ram.— First prize, £20, W. F. Marshall, Bran- son, Lincoln; second of £10, T. Cartwright, Dunstan Pillar, Dunstan, Loncoia ; thii-d of £5, W. and H. Budding, Panton. Reserve and Highly Commended : R. Johnson, Kirkireton, Wicksworth. Commended: T. Cartvsright, and C. Lister, Coleby Lodge, Lincoln. Ram of any other age. — First prize, £20, W. and H. Dud- ding ; second of £10, A. Hack, Buckminster, Grantham ; third of £5, J. Pears, Mere, Lincoln. Reserve and Highly Commended : W. and H. Budding. Commended : R. John- eon, Kirkireton, Derbj'. Pen of five shearUng ewes. — First prize, £15, T. Gunnell, Willow House, Milton, Cambridge ; second of £10, T. Cart- ^^^•ight ; third of £5, J. Pears. Reserve and Highly Com- commended: R. N. Morley, Leadenham, Grantham. Com- mended: J. Byron, Kirkby Green, Seaford. OXFORDSHIRE BOWNS. Judges.— (As for Cotswolds.) Shearling rams.— First prize, £20, J. Treadwell, Upper Winchendon, Aylesbury ; second of £10, G. WalUs, Old Shif- ford, Bampton, Faringdon ; third of £5, G. Wallis. Reserve and Highly Commended : G. Wallis. Commended : G. Wal- lis ; C. Howard, Biddenham, Bedford ; A. F. Milton Bruce, Burghfleld, Reading ; and F. Street. Ram of any other age.— Fu'st prize, £20, J. Longland, Grendon, Northampton; second of £10, A. F. M. Di-uce; thh-d of £5, G. Wallis. Reserve and Highly Commended : G. Wallis. Commended, J. Treadwell. Pen of five shearling ewes of the same flock. — Fhst prize, £15, A. F. M. Bruce ; second of £10, C. Howard. Reserve : F. Street, Han-owden, Bedford. RYLANB AND OTHER LONG-WOOLLEB BREEBS. (Not qualified to compete as Leicester, Cotswold, or Lincoln.) Judges. — (Same as for Lincolns.) Shearling ram.— First prize, £15, J. Ljmn, Church Farm, Stroxton, Grantham (Lincohi and Leicester) ; second of £5, J. Lj-nn (Lincoln and Leicester). Resei-ve : T. W. B. Han-is, Wootton, Northampton (Lincoln and Leicester). Pen of five shearling ewes.— Fii-st prize, £10, T. W. B. Harris (Lincoln and Leicester) . SOUTHBOWNS. Judges. — H. Fookes, Whitechm-ch, Blaudford. J. S. Turner, Seaford, Sussex. ShearUng Ram.— First prize, £20, Sir W. Throckmorton, Bart., Buckland, Faringdon; second of £10, Sir W. Throck- morton ; third of £5, W. Rigden, Hove, Brighton. Reserve and Highly Commended! The Duke of Richmond, K.G., Goodwood, Chichester. Commended : J. and A. Heasnian, Angmering, Arundel. Ram of any other age.— First prize, £20, Sir W. Throck- morton; second of £10, W. Rigden; third of £5, W. Rigden. Reserve and Highly Commended: H.R.H. the Prhice of AVales, K.G., Sandringham, King's Lj-nn, Norfolk. Com- mended : The Duke of Richmond (for two rams), and H. S. WaUer, Farmington, Northleach. Pen of five Shearling Ewe':.— First prize, £15, the Buke of Richmond; second of £10, Lord Sondes, Elmham Hall, Thet- ford; third of £5, Colonel R. N. F. Kiugscote, M.P. of Kings- cote Park, Wotton-under-Edge. Reserve and Highly Com- mended: Sir W.Throckmorton. Commended: H.R.H. the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Richmond. The class commended. SHROPSHIRES. Judges.— B. Bond, Swansmoor, Great Haywood, Stafford. W. Kemp Bourne, Fisherwick, Lichfield. R. H. Masfen, Pendeford, Wolverhampton. Shearling ram. — First prize, £20, C. Byrd, Littywood, Stafford ; second of £10, T. Mansell, Adcott Hall, Baschurch ; third, £5, J. Stubbs, Burston, Stone, Stafi'ord. Reserve and Highly Commended : J. Evans, Uflfington, Shrewsbury. Com- mended ; S. Beach, the Hattons, Brewood ; T. Mansell ; Lord Wenlock, Escrick Park, York ; W. German, Measham Lodge, Athorstone (for two sheep) ; E.Bostock, the Hough, Stafford. Ram of any other age.— First prize, £20, T. Mansell ; second of £10, J. Evans, Uflington, Shrewsbury ; third, £5, J. Coxon, Freeford Farm, Lichfield. Reserve and Highly Commended : T. Nock, Sutton Maddock, Shifnal. Highly Commended : W Baker, Moor Barns, Atherstone (for two rams) ; S. Beach ; O. R. KeeUng, Yew Tree Farm, Penkridge ; R. Edwards, UdUng- ton, Shrewsbury ; Lord Chesham, Latimer, Chesham, Bucks ; and T. Manseil. Commended: G. Allen, Knightley Hall ; J. Evans; S. Griffiths, Argoed, Overton; J. H. Bradburn; C. Byrd ; Colonel Dyott, M.P., Freeford, Liohfield. Pen of five shearling ewes. — Fir.st prize, £15, S. Beach; second of £10, Lord Chesham ; third ot £5, Lord Chesham. Reserve and Highly Commended : W. O. Foster, Apley Hall, Shifnal. Highly Commended : W. Baker ; H. Smith, Sutton Maddock, Shifnal ; and W. Yates, Grindle House, Shifnal. Commended : W. Baker; S. 0. Pilgrim, The Outwoods, Bur- bage, Hinckley; J. Pulley, Lower Eaton, Hereford; H. Matthews, Montford, Shrewsbm-y ; J. Coxon; C. R. Keeling; J. H. Bradbm-ne, Pipe Place, Lichfield; AV. C. Firmstone, Rockingham Hall, Hagley, Stom-bridge. Ten Shropshire ewes, having had lambs in 1871. — First prize, £20, W. Baker; second of £10, S. Beach; third of £6, T. Nock. Reserve : J. H. Bradbume. Ten Shropshire ewe lambs. — First prize, £15, J. H. Brad- burne ; second of £10, S. Beach ; thii-d of £5, Lord Chesham. Reserve and Highly Commended : R. Wyati, Acton Hill, Stafford. Commended : J. Coxon. Five Shi'opshire ram lambs. — First prize, £15, S. Beach; second of £10, T. Nock ; third of £5, H. Smith. Reserve and Highly Commended : Lord Chesham. The Shropshire breeders' Cup, value £10, to the Exhibitor taking the greatest number of Prizes in all the Shropshire classes, to Mrs. Sarah Beach, of The Hattons, Brewood. HAJyiPSHIRE AND OTHER SHORTWOOLLED BREEBS. (Not quaUfled to compete as Southdown or Shropshire.) Judges. — (Same as for Southdovms.) ShearUng ram.— First prize, £20, J. Rawlence, Bulbridge, Wilton (Hampshire Down) ; second of £10, A. Morrison, Fonthill House, Tisbury, Wilts (Hampshire Down) ; third of £5, A. Morrison (Hampshire Down). Reserve and Highly Commended : R. and J. Russell, Horton Kirby (Hampshire Down). Commended: R. and J. Russell (Hampshire Down), and J. Rawlence (Hampshire Down). Ram of any other age. — First prize, £20, J. Rawlence (Hampshii-e Bo^vnl. Pen of five shearling ewes.— Fu-st prize, £15, J. Rawlence (Hampshire Down) ; second of £10, J. Rawlence (Hampshire Bown). Reserve: T. J. Torr, Bummer House, Basingstoke (Hampshire Bown). BORSETS. Judges. — (Same as for Southdowns.) Sheai'ling ram.— First prize, £15, H. Mayo, Cokers Frome, Dorchester; second of £5, H. Mayo. Pen of five shearling ewes. — No entry. CHEVIOTS. Judges. — J. Ii-ving, Shap Abbey, Westmoreland. R. Shortreed, AttonlDurn, Kelso, N.B. Ram of any age. — First prize, £15, J. Robson, Bymess, Rochester, Northumberland ; second of £5, J. Robson. Re- serve and Highly Commended : J. Robson. Pen of five ewes of any age.— First prize, £10, J. Robson; second of £5, A. Roxburgh, Caerllo, Llanrwst, Benbighshire. Reserve and Highly Commended : A. Roxburgh. 160 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. MOUNTAIN SHEEP. (Not qualifled to compete as Cheviots.) JrDGES. — J. Irving, Shap Abbey, 'Westmoreland. R. Shortreed, Attonbimi, Kelso, N.B. BatKL of any age. — The class disqualified. Pen of five ewes of any age.— Prize, JglO, J. Peel, Knowl- mere Manor, Clitheroe (Lonk). PIGS. JinJGKS.— J. Angus, Whitefield, Morpeth. H. Aylmer, West Dereham Abbey, Stoke Ferry, J, Smith, Henley-iQ-Arden. LARGE "WHITE BREED. Boar above twelve months old.— First prize, dDlO, P. Eden, Cross Lane, Salford, Manchester (Victor 2nd) ; second, £5, R. E. Duckering, Northorpe, Kirton-Lindaey, Lincobi. Reserve : H. Goodall, Arcted, SandDach, Cheshii-e (Young Casswell). Boar, above sis months and not exceeding twelve months old.— First prize, £10, F. H. Everett, Bridgham, Thetford, Norfolk (Sir Robert) ; second, £5, J. Wheeler, Long Compton, Shipston-on-Stour (General). Reserve : F. H. Everett (The Duke). Breeding sow.— First prize, £10, P. Eden (Great Western) j second of £5, R. E. Duckering, Reserve and Highly Com- mended : E. Davis, Old Mill-street, Wolverhampton. Highly Commended : J. and F. Howard, Britannia Farm (Duchess) ; P. Eden (Gipsy). The class commended. Pen of three breeding sow pigs of the same htter, above four and under eight months old. — First prize, £10, P. Eden ; second of £5, R. E. Duckering. Resci-vc and Highly Com- mended : R. E, Duckei-ing, Commended : J. and F. Howard. SMALL WHITE BREED. Boar, above twelve months old.— First prize, £10, P. Eden (Young Prince) ; second of £5, J. Sagar, Lister Hills, Brad- ford (Premier). Resei-ve and Highly Commended: R. E. Duckering. Highly Commended: T. Comber, Redclifie, Newton-le-Willows, Lancashire (Precursor). Boar, above six mouths and not exceecliug twelve months old.— First piizo, £10, M. Walker, Stockley Park (Little John) ; second of £5, J. E. Fox, Mansion House, Great Hereon, Bradford (Master McGrath), Reserve and Highly Commended : R. E. Duckering. Breeding sow.— First prize, £10, R. E. Duckerijig (Topsy) ; Bscond of £5, C. Roberts, Wakefield (.ome strong serviceable wlieel and water barrows. Picksley, Sims, and Co. (Limited), of Leigh, showed a collec- tion of their standard mowers and reapers, in which several im- provements have been made, an improved fore-carriage being attaclied to tlie pole, and the machine makes a wider cut. In their improved horse rake there is a new lock lever, so that tlie hay collected cannot be delivered till the lever is removed, lu tlie root-pulpers great improvemeuts have been made in larger hoppers and cutting bed : by the peculiar shape choking is impossible. The double and treble-action turnip-cutters are very ingenious machines, easily adapted for pulping. They perform the operation of pulping, slicing, &c., as well as se- parate machines. Benjamin Perowne, of Fakenh am, showed an invention to be attached to turnip-cutters, to prevent the last piece of a root escaping uncut. "Wm. Sawney, of Beverley, exhibited a new riddler for cleansing and sort- ing potatoes, calculated to be useful. Haughtoa and Thompson, of Carlisle, exhibited an improved broad-cast corn and seed-sowing machine, capable of sowing a very large area in a day, and which is made in various lengths ; also a roller one-horse gear, designed for working light macluQcry. Walker and Son, of Bingham, entered some new 12-row corn drills for trial, and exhibited a new setting- board for drill coulters. Ransomes, Sims, and Head, of Ipswich, had a number of new and improved implements, especiaUy a very light double-furrow plough, which ploughs Irorn 7 to 10 inches M-ide. It is thrown out of gear simply by turning it over to a slade on its side : is cheap and well adapted to Light farming. Their double tutn-wrest plough can he applied to the same purpose. There are a couple of wheels in the middle, on which it turns round on the headland. It leaves no water-furrows, and is very handy to turn. Robert Boby, of Bury St. Edmund's, has an improved self-acting corn screen, requiring no manual labour ; the cleaning collars are set in motion by an overshot or break wheel, which is worked by the weight of grain falling from the hoppers. John Warner and Son, of London, entered a garden engine, with improved apparatus for washing hop plants ; their other novelties comprised a pillar engine for deep wells, some useful light and force pumps, Brooke's cheap fire-engine, with which two men can throw 30 gallons per minute to a height of 70 feet ; a portable and effective farmers' fire-engine, for general purposes ; and a force pump with hose and jet for cleansing out mud from the boilers of portable and traction engine. Robert Willacy, of Preston, showed his cattle feeder as exhi- bited at Oxford with improvements, and a foddering truck, and chaff, or pulp distributor adapted to it. Priest, Wool- nough, and MicheU, of Kingston-on-Thames, entered a new combined drill (two in one), for drilling 12 feet wide by steam power, and which could be separated when required to drUl headlands by horse power. Amies, Barford, and Co., of Peter- borough, had a large number of improved implements, for some of which they carried off prizes ; these comprised a set of steam cultivating machinery aid cultivating windlasses, snatch blocks, drag harrows for steam power, fitted with a novel arrangement for steering and turning ; combined cultivator and drill, for either steam or horse power ; Cam- pain's patent anchors for steam cultivation ; and a two- horse traction engine by Tuxford and Sons, of Boston, and an improved rope - porter for steam cultivation. Thomas Perkins, of Hiichin, had some improved Pirie's, three- furrow ploughs. Walter A. Wood, of London, showed some improvements in his self-delivery champion reaper, and in lus manual delivery one and two-horse reapers ; also in his Excel- sior lawn mower, a light and compact implement, not liable to get out of order. Whittaker and Co., of Oldham, had a new machine for moulding cog-wheels. Millard's TVent Foundry, Rugeley, had a great variety of their new American revolving mould-board ploughs for trial, for one of which they carried off the silver medal, a hand or power thrashing machine, and some of J ackson's angular mills ; a self-revolving American horse rake, and a revolving mould-board potash raiser. J. and T. Young, of Ayr, entered an improved mowing machine with apparatus to carry the weight of the pole on the horses' back, and a combined reaper and mower fitted witli the same ap- paratus. Lewis Wright, of Alford, had a self-ridging potatoe drill for ridging, setting, manuring, and covering the same at one operation. Edward Headly and Sous, of Cambridge, ex- hibited some new descriptions of hydraulic apparatus for streets, roads, pasture lands, gardens, kc. S. aud E. Ransom, of Lon- don, had a new pulley block to lift half a ton, and a safety sack hoist. Cambridge and Parliam, of Bristol, a notched-wheel roller and clod-crusher, for use with the steam cultivator. Charles Burrell, of Thetford, a traction-engine with two of Thompson's road steamers or locomotive engines. William Weeks and Son, of Maidstone, had a number of hop engines and apparatus, for which they carried off the leading prizes Edward Hayes, of Stony Stratford, had a large number of steam cultivating machiues and implements for trial, including windlasses, anchors, and rope porters. Thomas (Jorbett, of Shrewsbury, showed improvements in his single and double furrow ploughs, and an improved American draining machine, an improved cattle conveyance, a winnowing and corn dressing machine and an elevator and weighing machine to work with it. Corbett and Chipchase, of Shrewsbury, an improved cham- pion double furrow plough, and a combined horse rake and clover drill. Burgess and Key, of Loudon, their self-raker reaper with self-delivery in sheaves clear of the horses' track, extremely simple in its arrangements, and their improved two-horse mowing machine, with both their levels placed well in front within reach of the driver. Hydes and Wigfall, of Sheffield, a number of new improved en- trance gates, sheep and cattle fencing, aud other articles W. S. Boulton and Co., of Norwich, new lawn mowers, awn- ings, and other objects. J. M. Bell and Co., of London, showed some new butter churns. Henry Beare, of Newton Abbott, a new manure distributor foi sowing broadcast guano, and all kinds of artificial miuure in small or large ciuantities. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 163 Wm. Ball and Son, of Kettering, two improved double ploughs, and one combined with a subsoiler ; and an improved break for waggon. Wm. Waide, of Leeds, showed a collection of new revolving band chains of different sizes. Barnard, Bishop, and Barnards, of Norwich, among a number of useful articles, had the following novelties : a spring water-barrow, some new pattern cattle or horse trouglis and au iron fruit truck with two revolving pails for pyramid trees, and length of portable railway. Corcoran, Witt, and Co., of London, a double-lift safety jack-hoist for raisings and lowering light loads by one man's power. Wra. Ashton, of Horncastle, entered a chisel-tooth harrow on wheels, to work either with horses or steam. The Ravens- thorpe Engineering Company, Mirfield, entered two sets of steam-ploughing tackle, one of I'iskin's cultivators, 4-1'urrow balance-ploughs, and an improved harrow and frame, also by Fisken, for trial. Wra. Hudspeth, of Haltwistle, entered a sheep-dipping apparatus, which appeared to be cheap and use- ful and what is much wanted in the hill districts. He also showed patent sewage-distributing pipes and branches. U. and G. Kearsley, Ripon, exhibited an improved double-action hay niachine, with a new motion for reversing the rakes ; and a light grass-mower, well-adapted for hilly and uneven ground. Jolin Fowler and Co., of Leeds, liad numerous sets of steam- ploughing and cultivating machinery, to the value of some £15,000, entered for trial, beside seed and manure drills, sub- soil, draining, trenching, and ditching ploughs ; the advantages of which are exemplified in the numerous prizes gained by the firm. Ruston, Proctor, and Co., of Lincoln, showed one of Nairn's, of Leith, improved road steamers, manufuctured by them. Tangye Brothers and Holman, of London, exhibited a new snatch block, a dynamic-puUey block, and a double-lift safely hoist. Head, Wrightson, and Co., of Stocktn-on-Tees, had a variety of new pulley block, calculated to lift ditTerent weights, as well as simple hand hoists. Brown and May, of Devizes, showed two of Norton and Uawksley's new grinding and disintegrating mills. J. R. Mackenzie, of Birmingham, several new fire extingushers for trial. The Duuston Engine Works, Gateshead, some improved arrangements in mills, for breaking road metal, and crushing and grinding bones. Robey and Co., of Lincoln, a six-furrow plough adapted to Thomson's patent road steamers for steam ploughing by trac- tion. Tasker and Sous, of Andover, improved folding- balance elevator. Tuxford and Sous, of Boston, a ten-horse power traction-engine, and an improved cultivating windlass. J. Cowdy, of London, a number of their new and improved hydrostatic weighing-machines, which are small, cheap, and portable. Milburn and Co., of Loudon, a combined portable engine and drying machine. Davey, Paxman, and Co., of Colchester, two new vertical engines and boilers. Aveling and Porter, of Rochester, a winding-engine for steam ploughing on the direct two-engine system, several new agricultural loco- motives, and a trolly and waggon. So much space being taken up with an enumeration of the specialities as far as novelty is concerned, a notice of the general and better-known exhibits in the yard must stand over till next week. Out ol 313 stands, only about 80 presented anything novel, although some im- provements have been made by several other exhibitors in well- known implements. Having drawn attention to the specialities enumerated as improvements by the several exhibitors, we now proceed to make a running commentary on the stands of the various manufacturers. Although the weather and the ground were most unfavourable on the first three days, by Wednesday the Committee had made arrangements to improve as much as possible the facilities of movement by rolling the ground, by long lines of planking', and loads of straw, tan, and other material, so that the visitors were able to reach the various exhibitors' stands without being bogged. Judging from the number of continental agents present, and the general interest taken in the various stands, ex- hibitors will, we should suppose, be wellsatisfied with the result. A. Aldworth, of Abingdon, had several hand-power chaff cut- ters, fitted with roUer bottom, the feed drawn by sacking. T. Allcock, of Ratcliffe-on-Trent, showed some strong and simple chaff cutters, cutting two lengths without change of wheels, and some horse rakes, with high wheels, calculated to rake Ti feet. W. Alway and Son, of Pentonville, London, ex- hibited a number of tin barrel churns, of various sizes ; a milk cooler, for milk before sending by rail, to cool 40 gallons in 20 minutes ; various kinds of railway milk cans, pails, kettles, pans, and skimmers. Arnold and Sons, the well-known instru- ment makers, of Smith!ield, had a very fine collection of vete- rinary requisites, forceps, probangs, trocars, enemas, and such like. Amies, Barford, and Co., of Peterborough, amongst nu- merous 'exhibits of this firm, were their well-known water- ballast road and field rollers, press-wheel rollers, and clod- crushers, corn-grinding mills, and steam-food preparing appa- ratus. The Atmospheric Churn Company, of New Bond- street, had on their stand a ni'.mber of their American churns, which are made by Griffiths and Browett, other dairy utensils, refrigerators and freezing machines. Aveling and Porter, of Rochester, besides their twelve-horse power engine, and several agricultural locomotives, exhibited a fifteen-ton steam road roller, which rolls 6 feet in width, and atroUey and waggon, for agricultural purposes, to be drawn by a locomotive. Jolin Baker, of Wisbeach, exhibited several of his well-known and appreciated winnowing and screening machines and com- bined machines ; and a set of Scotch side-delivery fanners. George Ball, of North Kilworth, had on his stand several strong carts for general purposes, a four-horse waggon, two double furrow ploughs, some iron single ploughs, scarifiers, and harrows. W. Ball and Son, of Rothwell, also exhibited several of their well known prize waggons and carts, several ploughs, scarifiers and diagonal and chain harrows, and a ridging plough ; potato raiser and horse hoe combined, which carried off the first prize in New Zealand. A. C. Bamlett, of Thirsk, prides himself on his mowers and reapers, the improvements in which were noticed in our last ; the prize two-horse manual delivery is now made with a driver's seat. Barrows and Stewart, of Banbury, besides a set of Smith's steam-cultivat- ing apparatus, consisting of a portable twelve-horse engine witii four-wheeled windlass, ropes, &c., had a three and a seven- tine steam cultivator, with ancliors, snatch blocks and rope porters ; several steam thrashing engines and mills, and some iron cattle cribs for the straw and fold yard. D. Bate, of Wolverhampton, showed a portable circular grist mill, simple in construction, readily moved and fixed, and requiring little working power, also a malt and oat crusher. J. Beach and Co., of Dudley, prided themselves on the success of their farinaceous food, as exemplified in the fine specimens of cattle, horses, and pigs shown in the yard which had been fed on their mixtures. Bell and Co., of Oxford-street, London, had a good farm boiler, and several box churns and butter machines. E. H. Bentall, of Maldon, made a fine display of themacliines which are his speciality ; chaff-cutters, root-pulpers, turnip- cutters, oilcake breakers, corn and seed crushers : besides this, he had Kibbler's scarifiers and improved pulleys. The Beverley Iron and Waggon Company (Limited) exhibited a great variety of articles ,including clod-crushers and rollers, mow'ers and reapers, and numerous carts and railway trucks, liquid- manure distributors, cake breakers, root washers, and cart and other wheels. R. Boby, of Bury St. Edmund's, gave special attention to the corn screens and dressing machines, of which he is a large manufacturer, and also showed several serviceable hay-makers and horse rakes. W. S. Boulton and Co., of Norwich, although exhibiting several liquid- manure carts, were specially noticeable for lawn mowers, engines, garden rollers, chairs, &e., for gardens. Bradburn and Co., of Wolverhampton, exhibited samples of their artificial phosphates and superphosphates made at the Wednesfield Works. Brown and May, of Devizes, had several of their serviceable portable engines on the ground, working grinding and disintegrating mills. Their 2J- horse power engine at £80 is within the reach of all who require a compact and serviceable little engine. Burgess and Key, of London, limited themselves to showing their mowers and reapers and combined machines, with a good and cheap lever press for hay, cotton, wool, and other articles which require compressing for baling. Burney and Co., of London, showed a number of their new tanks, cisterns, and troughs, and corn bins, for wliich the firm has so high a reputation. The Bristol Waggon Works Company (Limited) had a large and fine col- lection of waggons and carts of all descriptions, including Miller's spring waggon, a brewer's dray, a farm waggon suited for ordinary work, a harvest cart, and farm carts in great variety ; a cattle float witli low crank axle, boarded roof, port- able shafts to use at either end, and so constructed that cattle may walk in at one end and out at the other, deserves special mention ; some light spring pony carts, with patent axles, 164 dPHE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. seat boards, and poi'table hay ladders, seem exceedingly useful, being well made and finished, and ranging from £12 to £15. The firm also showed several American hay rakes, some five and six coulter corn drills, and some ex- cellent cheap winnowing machines ; Warren's street-sweeping machine, effecting a great saving in labour and expense, should commend itself to the notice of Boards of Health. Charles Burrell, of Thetford, has gone in for the manufacture of traction engines and road steamers, horizontal fixed engines and boilers, portable and fixed corn mills, and flour-dressing machinery, thrashing and other agriciiltiiral machinery. Cambridge and Parham, of Bristol, had an excellent display of rollers, chain and tine harrows, and a portable steam-engine, fitted with their patent water-heater, working a finishing thrashing-machine. Charles Clay, of Wakefield, showed several cultivators, grubbers, and broad shares, adapted for light or strong land, and a Norwegian harrow with three rows of spikes. Carson and Toone, of Warminster, had on their stand a great variety of chaff-engines, turnip-cutters, horse-hoes, and prize cheese presses, and safety horse gear ; an ingenious appa- ratus in their single and double automatic lamb creeps, the pecu- liarity of which consists in a free opening of the roller frames from the outside alone, so that the lambs after feeding can re- turn to the fold withdistendedstomachswithoutinjury. Clayton and Shuttleworth, of Lincoln, showed eight of their portable engines of different horse power, driving thrashing-machines and elevators. The extent to which steam-power has been ap- plied to farming purposes, is shown by the statistics given of the trade done by this oae firm, for they state that they have manufactured upwards of 10,700 steam engines and nearly 10,000 thrashing machines. One of the Oxford prize 10- horse single-cylinder self-combined engine with boiler was shown. Coleman and Morton, of Chelmsford, showed several varieties of their cultivators, which have carried off so many first prizes ; steerage horse hoes, rotary corn screens, oilcake cutters, and water-carts. J. Cooch (The Executors of the late), Harlestone, exhibited several of their corn-dressing machines with improvements. T. Corbett, of Shrewsbury, exliibited several of liis double-furrow Champion ploughs, Excelsior plough with skira-coulter, clod cruslicrs and land rollers, turnip hoes, driUs and harrows, winnowers, cake breakers, root pulpers, and grinding mills. Corbett and Chipchase, of Shrewsbury, many well-known implements made by various makers. Corbett and Sons, of Wellington, exhibited three steam engines of their own make, grinding mills, chaff cutters, pulpers, roUs and cultivators. Corcoran, Witt, and Co., of London, had an interesting display of mill stones and tools for millers, &c., silk flour-dressing macliine, bands and brushes, screens, oil feeders, needle lubricators, and other useful articles. J. Cornes and Co., of Kantwich, limited their exhibits chiefly to chaff-cutters and cheese-making apparatus, witii one of their horse rakes, cultivators, horse hoes and grubbers, and a simple powerful bone mill. Cottam and Co., of London, had a miscellaneous collection of stable fittings. J. Coultas, of Grantham, had on his stand specimens of iiis corn, small seed, and- corn and manure drills, manure distri- butors, liquid manure drills, and horse hoes. His general purpose drill is efficient ; and the character of the steam worked drill is shown by the award of £10 given by the judges. CrosskiU and Sons, of Beverley, besides their well- known clodcrushers and field roUer, had several of their strong and light carts, wheels, and axles, several portable farm rail- ways and trucks, an archimedeau root washer, some cast-iron pig troughs, and a bone mill. E. Davies, of Wolverhampton, made a fine display of galvanised iron tiles and roofing, fencing wire, stable buckets, wheelbarrow's, troughs, and other articles. J. Davies, of Wednesbury, had four cheap horizontal and vertical steam engines. Day, Son, and Hewitt, of Lon- don (purveyors of chemical compounds by appointment to the Prince of Wales and Her Majesty), exhibited a variety of cattle medicine chests aud farriery appliances. James Davey, of Eynsham, exhibited sets of cart harness and ploughing gears. Davey, Paxman, and Co., of Colchester, had four steam engines on the ground, driving steam corn dryers. C. Dening and Co., of Chard, exhibited three of their chain corn drills made by them, an apple mill, with corn crushing apparatus, and some sets of horse gear. The Driffield Company showed specimens of their pure linseed cake. J.Eastwood, of Blackburn, had a 4-horse engine and boiler, with hot-water heating apparatus, and a number of compound-action churns of various sizes. J. Evans and Sons, of Wolverhamp- ton, a varied collection of pumps. W. C. Eyton, of Warring- ton, two steam engines and boiler, with a very simple and efficacious automaton expansion valve and governor. John EeU and Co., of Wolverhampton, had a large display of force- pumps, pump frames, and other apparatus, made by them. George Fletcher, of Wolverhampton, a fine show of field and other iron gates, wire fencing, stable racks, cattle trougjis, and sheep hurdles. W. Foster and Co., of Lin- coln, had an 8-horse power portable steam-engine, with single cylinder driving a combined finishing thrasliing machine. John Fowler and Co., of Leeds, had on the ground two double sets of 20 horse power steam ploughing and cultivating ma- chinery. In one set the engines were double cylinder, in the other single. They had also two double sets of 12 horse power single cylinder engines, a 14 horse power double cylinder en- gine, a 12 horse power single cylinder winding engine, and an 8 horse power double drum set, all furnished with the neces- sary appliances for steam cultivation. 'Ihey also had a number of ploughs, ranging from eight furrows to four, several turning cultivators having thirteen, nine, or less tines, besides trench- ing, draining, and subsoil ploughs, and coulters, seed and ma- nure drill. The drill [is combined with a light cultivator or heavy harrow in front of the seed coulters, and a light seed harrow following. They also exhibited two 12 horse and two 6 horse traction engines, with waggons to be attached, carrying respectively six to four tons. The speed is Ij to 3 miles per hour at 150 to 160 revolutions of the engine. E,. Garrett and Sons, of Sasmundham, had several of their portable engines of 6 to 12-horse power and a light and handy agricultural locomotive. Their engines are all furnished with a registered feed-water heater. This consists of a suction pump and set of valves connected with a pipe leading to the tube whence the exhaust steam escapes. As the suction and valves are timed to act with the escape of the steam, the latter, instead of passing up the funnel, is drawn into a volume of the feed-water, and thereby condensed, this process of course causing a corresponding increase in the temperature of the feed-water. A number of their thrashing and corn-dressing machines with straw elevators were in motion, and they also exhibited many of their excelleut drills, horse hoes, and venti- lators. P. and H. P. Gibbons, of Wantage, had four of tlieir portable steam engines driving as many thrashing and dressing machines. Joseph Gilbert, of Evesham, had one of Ruston and Proctor's 6-horse portable engines driving a com- bined tlirashing machine, and also exliibited several drills and horse hoes. W. Gilbert, of Abingdon, had a large number of excellent corn aud seed drills. W. Glover and Sous, of Warwick, besides a good waggon and prize cart, exhibited a four-row cup drill, a chaff macliine, and a circular sheep crib. Gower and Son, of Market Drayton, had upwards of twenty varieties of their Suffolk corn and seed drills adapted for various work, also a two-furrow drill presser. F. and C. Hancock, of Dudley, exhibited several butter machines, and machines for washing potatoes. R. G. Handley, of Birmiugham, millstones, implements, and apparatus for mills. G. H. Harris, of Birmingham, several chaff-cutters, grist and other mills, pulpers and slicers, aud other articles of his manufacture. D. Hart and Co., of London, exhibited a large variety of well-made and beautifully-finished weighing machines, including an automatic self-registering one, rapid iu its action. The foUowhig advantages are claimed for these machines : The goods on the platform are weighed by means of two sliding weights on the steelyard. When these w'eights are both at zero they simply balance the weight of the plat- form aud otiier working parts of the machine. To ascertain the weight of goods, the large weight is moved along the steel- yard until it almost balances the articles weighed. The small weight is then moved along, untU a perfect balance is ob- tained, and the exact weight of the goods is then indicated by the position of the sliding weights on the standard. This obviates the trouble of calculating the weight of loose balances, and the liability of the latter to get mislaid and lost is, of course, not possible with these fixed weights. When the machine is out of use, wear and damage to the " centres" are entirely prevented by the " relieving" apparatus, which un- hooks the steelyard, entirely disconnecting it from the working parts of the machine, at the same time lowering the platform on to solid supports, and the levers to the bottom of the frame, leaving the steelyard iu a level posi.. THE FAEMER'S MAGAZINE. 165 tion. When the inacliine is balanced a free and delicate oscillation of the steelyard is obtained, so that any obstruction in its action can be instantly detected. G. Hathaway of Chippenham, had a collection of prize barrel chums on strong stands, which revolve on anti-friction rollers and are provided with air valve and stopper. Haughton and Thompson of Carlisle exhibited several liigh wheeled horse hay rakes, light in draft and of great cppacity, a land roller, and some reaping and other machines. Edward Hayes of Stoney Stratford exhibited two 12-horse portable engines, a set of steam cultivating machinery with the necessary appli- ances. One of the most important novelties was the self- acting windlass manufactured by this firm. The belt from the fly-wheel to the engine is made to run upon either one or two fast pulleys, or one intermediate loose pulley on the windlass, these being like the three pulleys on the driving shaft of a planing machine. The belt-slipper, which may be made to throw the belt upon either of the drawing pulleys, and thus to drive the plough through suitable gearing in either direction, is connected with two stout coiled springs pressing in opposite directions. When throvni so as to bring the belt upon either pulley, one of these springs is compressed. A light line or cord extends from headland to headland, and by this, when- ever the ploughman wishes to stop, he can disengage a catch, whereby the belt-shifter is forced aside by whichever coiled spring is under compression, and thus throws the belt upon the loose pulley. A simple steam brake, to check the speed of the windlass, is also provided. By the apparatus for stopping the plough without shutting off steam from the engine, the ploughman has his tackle under complete control in foggy weather, or in case of inattention on the part of the engine-man. This windlass, with an ordinary 1-3-horse power portable engine was selected by the Society for drawing the ploughs, culti- vators, steam rolls, harrows, &c., belonging to Messrs. Fowler, Howard, and other makers, for testing the draft of the imple- ments. The working of the engine and windlass while drawing Fowler's and Howard's 7-tine cultivator was very satisfactory. John Hensman, of Ampthill, showed a 13-row corn drill, and improved winnowing machine. Hepburn and Sons, of London, had a large collection of their well-known composite and other belts. Hill and Smith, of Brierley Hill, had a large stand devoted to miscellaneous articles, but which comprised also harrows, cultivators, horse hoes, rollers, and chaff cutters. R. Hornsby and Sons, of Grantham, made a noble display of the implements for which the firm has obtained celebrity, es- pecially portable steam engines driving thrashing machines, mowers, reapers, drills, and ploughs : in their double furrow plough the antifrictional principle is most fully carried out, slipes or slades and other rubbing surfaces being entirely dis- pensed with and wheels and rollers used instead ; the central lifting apparatus admits of the plough being turned within its own length ; the parallel straightening lever ensures the uni- formity of the furrows : in their treble furrow plough, the beam being a single straight piece of wood, ensures great strength and rigidity : in the double furrow plough the adjustment is somewhat different, the skim coulter being adjusted by a screw. Holmes and Sons, of Norwich, had one of their eight-horse power engines, driving a thrashing machine with elevator, several seed and manure drills, horse-hoes, and harrows. J. and F. Howard, of Bedford, had a large and very fine collec- tion of implements on their stand, including, besides the steam- cultivating machinery and novelties noticed in our last, hay- makers, reapers, ploughs, and harrows. To the haymakers and cvJtivators high wheels have been applied. Their steam drill, with twelve coulters, has sown as much as three acres in an hour, and this carried off a first prize. Their combined ridging and subsoil plough, worked by steam, was awarded a first prize ; a strong subsoil tine breaks up the hard ground between each ridge. Their set of patent harrows, worked by steam, also carried off a first prize, and their set of steam- cultivating apparatus, worked by a ten-horse power engine, took the second prize. E. Humphries, of Pershore, exhibited a finishing thrashing machine, which gained the Warwickshire Society's prize in June, worked by one of Clayton and Shuttleworth's engines, some cider mills and presses, and other useful articles. Reuben Hunt, of Halstead, confined himself chiefly to horse-gear, corn and seed dressing machines, turnip cutters and pulpers, oilcake breakers, chaff cutters, and horse-rakes. Hunt and Pickering, of Lei- cester, made a fine display of ploughs, rollers, drills, reapers, chaff-cutters, pulpers, cake-breakers, hoe-fork suitable for any hoe, mowers, reapers, and agricultural carts. Thomas Hunter, of Maybole, Ayr, exhibited a double and single furrow plough, and several sets of Dickson's double- drill turnip cleaners. A. Jack and Sons, of Maybole, Ayr, had two combined reaping and mowing machines, and one of Pirie's double and single furrow ploughs. James and Son, of Cheltenham, showed three com crushers, and several licjuid manure distributors, for which they have obtained high honours ; street water-carts, and clod-crushers. The John- ston Harvesting Company, of America, represented by J. G. Rolhns, London, exhibited their self-raking reapers and mowers. P. Johnston, of Loudon, had on his stand a variety of butter churns, milk-pails and pans. H. and G. Kearsley, of Ripon, had a number of grass mowers, reapers, and horse- rakes. Kemp, Murray, and Nicholson confined their exhibits to reaping and mowing machines, land rollers, turnip-sheers, grub- bers, and Pirie's double-furrow ploughs. B. Kitmer, of Louth, exhibited three dressing and blowing machines of his make. J. L. Larkworthy and Co., of Worcester, showed two Cam- bridge rolls, for use between the hop rows, several Excelsior iron ploughs and harrows, root pulpers, a cider mill, an im- proved leverage horse rake, and a few miscellaneous articles. J. Le Butt, of Bury St. Edmunds, had some hand seed drills, com screens, and haymaking machines. Lewis and Co., of Shrewsbury, had a large collection of their star chaff cutters at different prices, turnip cutters and pulpers, cake breakers, ploughs, land rollers, and clod crushers, mowing and reaping machines, and cheese presses. T. Mackenzie and Sons, of Cork, made a good display of their mower and reaper knife-grinders and rest, and their turnip and mangold sowers. H. R. Marsden, of Leeds, exhibited some of his stone breakers in action. The great value and importance of these machines is now fully understood and appreciated. Marshall, Sons, and Co., of Gainsborough, had several of their portable and vertical engines at work, driving thrashing machines and Haye's straw elevator. W. Mattison, of Bedale, had on show two reaping machines. Maude and Walker, of Shrewsbury, exhibited some wronght- iron ploughs of their make, with improved lever neck, a ridg- ing plough, land roll, and some galvanised iron cattle cribs. R. Maynard, of Cambridge, had one of Barrow and Stewart's eight-horse engines setting in motion a sifting and elevating chaff engine, and also an oilcake breaker. Mellard's Trent Foundry, besides the American mould-board plough and other improved implements noticed in our last, exhibited some plough sledges, ridging ploughs, cultivators, harrows, rollers, drills, chaff-cutters, pulpers, and cheese making utensils. F. P. Mil- ford, of Exeter, had some good general purpose waggons and carts. T. Milford and Sons, of CuUompton, exhibited a similar class of article. F. Morton and Co., of Liverpool, had a very large display of their wire fencing, gates, iron sheds and buildings. G. W. Murray and Co., of Banff, exhibited their new series of double furrow ploughs, with recent improve- ments, including steerage and general management, which appear to give the ploughman such control over the imple- ment that he can manage it as easily as a single plough ; also a capital double furrow plough, convertible into a super and subsoil plough. The alteration is made by the front plough body being removed and a subsoil tine inserted in its place, which latter can be set so as to stir up the bottom of the pre- viously ploughed furrow from four to eight inches deep, thus breaking up the solid pan and allowing the water and roots to get down. The same firm showed a very good double drill plough for two horses, and a new turnip sower, suitable for sowing turnips or mangolds, with compact attachment for sowing artificial manures along with the seed. Murton and Turner, of East Harling, showed a corn dressing machine, a seed drill, a mangold and turnip drill, and a ten-lever horse hoe. Musgrave Brothers, of Belfast, had an excellent display of stable fittings. W. N. Nicholson, of Newark, had about 40 different implements, including steam engines, haymakers and horserakes, cake breakers, land rollers, com dressing ma- chines with elevators, chaff cutters, and root pulpers. Uriah Nicholls, of Manchester, exhibited a three-horse vertical steam engine, with multitubular boiler combmed. The North Moor Foimdry, Oldham, had a steam en- gine working a centrifugal pump, and also showed several turbine water-wheels and steam fans. James Odams of Bishop's Stortford showed a new patent; 166 THE FARMER'S MAGAZli^E. horse-fork elevator for raising hay aud com quickly into a stack by horse power. Oldham and Booth, of Kingston-upon- Hull, had some bone mills worked by one of Roby and Go's, portable engines. E. Page and Co., of Bedford, made a creditable display with several of their double-furrow and general purpose ploughs, harrows and horse-hoes, horse-rakes, chatf-cutters, pulpers and brick and tile making machines. i'. Parkes and Co., of Birmingham, exhibited a good collection of draining tools, forks, spades, &:c. G. Parsons, of Martock, had a corn mill, spring-waggon, and sets of his patent wheels. J. C. Payne, of Manchester, silent fans aud machine belting and drilling machines. Penney and Co., of Lincoln, screens and dressing machines, root washers and other miscellaneous articles. T. Perkins, of Hitchin, several double and treble fur- row ploughs, drag harrows, whippletrees, aud folding shafts. Perkins and Bellamy, of Ross, had some good water-carts, sheep-dipping apparatus, and iron sheep-troughs. Picksley, Sims, and Co., of Leigh, had a fine collectiou of their standard reapers and mowers, and combined reapers and mowers, chaff- cutters, corn-crushers, roller-mills, and turnip-cutters. The horse-rake is fitted with a new lock-lever, so that the hay col- lected cannot be delivered till the lever is moved. J. D. Pinfold, of Rugby, had a small 2|-horse engine, for driving their farmers' grist-mills. They also showed a flour-dressing machine, and some of their prize brick and tile-making machines. H. Pooley and Son, of Liverpool, had a large col- lection of their weighing-machines, and their automatic grain- scales, which weigh and register from l^Olbs. to l,0001bs. of grain per minute, without cessation or interruption so long as the weigher desires to continue the operation. The scales are made to discharge themselves into the sacks direct, or into a low room or hopper. C. Price and Co., of Wolverhampton, showed some serviceable corn-bins. Priest, Woolnough, and Michell confined their exhibits to drills and horse-hoes, of which they make a variety. W. Rainforth and Son, of Lincoln, also showed some improved corn screens aud malt and bran screens, a cake breaker, and other machines. Rausoraes, Sims, aud Head, of Ipswich, had on their stand one of the finest and most varied collections of ploughs in the show yard, adapted for all descriptions of work, a couple of agricultural locomotive engines of eight-horse power on Thomson's principle, but improved by Mr. Jolin Head, intended for ploughing on the roundabout system, also one of Thomson's trains for agricultural produce and passen- ger traffic, consisting of a patent self-moving steam engine, waggons, passenger carriage, and other appendages. On com- mon roads it will travel ten miles an hour with passengers, and three miles with produce. The firm had also several expansion engines working thrashing machines and elevators, and grinding mills. To enumerate their other well-known machines and implements is needless. The Ravensthorpe Engineering Company, Mirfield, exhibited two complete sets of Eiskin's steam ploughing tackle aud set of cultivating apparatus. The system of cultivation by the light rope double windlasses comprises economy, simplicity, portablencbs, and durability. The Manila rope is light and strong, and heavy snatch blocks and cumbrous rope porters are dispensed with. The Reading Iron Works Company, be- sides some of their well finished engines, had several thrasliing machines, mowers and reapers, horse rakes, and horse gear. R. and J. Reeves aud Son, of Westbury, exhibited several descriptions of their liquid manure and seed drills, some manure aud water carts, and other implements. Riches and Watts, of Norwich, had two of their vertical engines working some American grist mills, and one of Child's aspirators for dressing grain. Richmoud and Chandler, of Manchester, showed a large and choice variety of chaff cutting machines, as to the excellence of which it is only needful to state that since the year 1S67 tliey have taken the four first prizes of the Royal Agricultural Society. Among the latest improvements embodied in these machines is a new form of mouth-piece, by the use of which choking or stoppage of the " feed" is rendered impossible. This mouth is faced with steel, to prevent wearing away, aud a regular sample, free from long straws, is always cut. It also acts as an ordinary " steel" for keeping the knife sharp. A pair of knives cutting against these mouthpieces will wear double the time of those working on the ordinary plan. The rise and fall of the top roller is regulated by spiral springs, in place of the old form of weight and lever, and their pressure is accurately adjusted to the thickness of flie hay or straw in the mouth. Two lengths of cut, and an instantaneous " stop motion" are regulated by a handle at the side of the machine. The " reverse motion" is simple and effective, its action not endangering the machine in the least, as almost all other " reverse motions" do, unless the greatest care is exercised^ An endless feed-web or lattice revolving at the bottom of the wooden hopper greatly assists the operation of feeding, especi- ally in the larger sizes, which are worked by steam or horse power. In such cases the work can be performed with one less attendant than would otherwise be needed. A new " litter cutter," for cutting up straw into lengths suitable for bedding purposes, is also shown. This machine cuts from 3 to 6 inches in length, an arrangement efi'ected by intermittent spaces in the gearing of the pinion and wheel. Just as the knife enters the cut the plain surface of the driving pinion comes in contact with a plain surface on the wheel of the roller, conse- quently the latter ceases to move until the contact of the teeth ensues, by which time the knife has passed the mouthpiece. E. and H. Roberts, of Stony Stratford, had a variety of imple- ments of their make, including field rollers, ploughs, harrows, grist mills, and bean and cake mills. A portable stand for holding mowing aud reaping-machine knives while being sharpened appeared a useful article. Robey ;md Co., of Lin- coln, besides their new 6-furrow plough adapted to Thomson's road steamer for ploughing by direct action, had three of their engines driving thrashing machines and straw elevators. Robinson and Richardson, of Kendal, exhibited a number of their revolving barrel churns of dift'erent sizes and prices. P. Rogers and Co., of Birmingham, had a selection of weighing machines, platform aud portable. J. G. Rollins, of London, made a large and varied display of all those useful American tools and implements for which he is agent. C. Russell and Co., of London, exhibited two small cheap horizontal steam engines and a vertical multitubular boiler. Ruston, Proctor, and Co., of Lincoln, had on their own stand six of their steam engines, besides others lent to exhibitors. These engines were driving some of their combined thrashing and finishing dressing machines. They attach to all their engines Chap- man's variable expansion eccentric for regulating the power, and a simple water heater. J., B, and J. Sainty, of Peterborough, showed some patent horse shoes, cattle tanks aud cribs, aud some good field-gates. AV. Sawney, of Beverley, had four winnowing and corn-dressing machines, and barrows, troughs, and sack elevators. Samuelson and Co., of Banbury, make a creditable display of reaping and mowing machines, root cutters aud lawn mowers. In their patent balance draught combined machine some im- provements have been made this season, one a means of slowing the machine when reaping. Between the sickle and the connecting rod is a hard-wood pin, preventing all " gull- ing" of the sickle eyes, and thereby lessening the dauger of breaking the knife. New oiling arrangements for the crank pin aud an easier lift to the coulter bar are further improve- ments. Their self-raking reaper is now provided with shafts for one of the horses, and a seat for the driver is now pro- vided. The lawn mowers they show have a patent edge- clipping apparatus attached to them, consisting of a revolving kuife cutting vertically against a fixed blade. Wallis and Stevens, of Basingstoke, exhibit their slow-motion automatic folding elevators, which will work with the trough nearly up- right, and consequently elevate to a much greater height than others. They take up a large quantity, do not choke, and the chains never stop. They can be worked by a light horse. Woods, Cocksedge, and Warner, of Stowmarket, exhibited a large collection of their Oxford Royal prize horse-gears, in every kind of form from donkey-power to i-horse. lu their vertical steam-engines and boilers, the workiug parts are entirely inde- pendent of the boilers, being fixed on a solid iron frame-work, which rests ou the bed-plate. Their Suffolk carts, in all sizes, were shown, and a watering-cart with a crank axle which de- livers the water low to the ground, thus preventing dust. A general assortment of crushing and grinding mills were siiown at work, crushing linseed and oats, and grinding bar- ley, maize, and beans ; and many stock feeding implements. E. Sherwood, Catterick, had one of his horse reaping machines ou the ground. Smith & Grace, Thrapston, exhibited a number of their prize grist mills, chalf-cutters, and a combiued clod- crusher and roller. Wm. Smith, of Kettering, had five of his improved prize horse hoes, and grindstones. James Smyth aud Sons, of Peaseuhall, a number of their corn, seed, THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 167 and manure drills afid distributors, a class of machinery to which they have given attention for seventy years, and made more than 11,000. Southvrell and Co., of Kugeley, showed nearly 100 useful machines and articles, including chaff- cutters, pulpers and strippers, corn-crusliers, ffrist mills, curd mills and cheese presses, clod-crushers, field rollers, ridging and other ploughs, horse hoes and cultivators. Spear and Jackson, of Sheffield, showed some beautiful drain- ing tools, forks, spades, shovels, saws, shears, axes, and other .steel articles, for which the firm liave a high reputation. The St. Pancras Iron Works, of London, exhibited all tiiose requi- sites of stable iittings to whicli the company gives special at- tention. J. Stones and Co., of Birmingham, worked three of their brick and tile pressing machines. Tangye Brothers and Holman, of London, had one of their best speed regulating governor steam engines, with vertical boilers, and several of their special steam pump cylinders, adapted for raising differ- ent quantities of water ; they also showed some lifting jacks. W. Tasker and Sons, of Andover, worked a thrashing-machine and folding balance elevator with one of their 8-horse engines. J. Tenwick, of Grantham, exhibited his improved permanent anchor with shaft for steam cultivation, his self-adjusting pulleys and wheels. Ids steel-jawed finger for preventing the knives of reaping and mowing machines being clogged, and his fountain lubricator for the same kind of machines. Thomas and Taylor, of Manchester, had a very large and fine col- lection of their hexagon eccentric churns ; also much do- mestic machinery. Robert Tinkler, of Penrith, also exhibited churns of various sizes. J. Topham and Co., of High Wycombe, exhibited two multiple needle thatch-sewing ma- chines, wliich can produce waterproof thatcli J to ~ inches in lliickness, and the rows of switching put in any position, by hand power at the rate of 1,000 feet per liour. E. H. and F. Turner, of Ipswich, had two of their portable engines, driving thrashing and grinding mills ; they also exhibited many crushing mills, cake breakers, gear-work, and other articles. Their 4-horse power engine was fitted with their recently patented self-acting variable expansion gear and equilibrium slide-valve, for which they claim the advantage of great eco- nomy in fuel. The cylinder is steam-jacketed, and the steam passages are reduced to a minimum length, being no longer than the thickness of the metal of which the cylinder is com- posed. The cut-off is controlled by the governor, which by an ingenious contrivance alters the throw of the excentric and consequently the travel of the slide-valve. More or less steam is thus brought to act on the piston as the load on the engine require.s, and this is effected without any attention from the driver. The boiler of the engine is of the ordinary substantial build of the firm, and is provided with their newly-introduced ejector water-heater, which is also a valuable fuel economiser. A very neat set of thrashing machinery of 5-horse power pre- sented several points of interest ; portability combined with great strength was especially noticeable. The engine had ample boiler and cylinder capacity, and both engine and ma- chine were mounted on substantial travelling wheels. The thrashing machine was provided with a patent rotary adjust- able screw, and finished the corn for market. The vibrating riddle, &c., being suspended on spring liangers and well balanced, gave to the machine great steadiness when in work, and thus avoided those severe strains to the framing which so rapidly cause a machine to wear out. The novelty in this stand consisted of a coprolite crusher and grinding milll for same, which obtained the Society's prize last year at Oxford. The firm has devoted much attention to tliis and other ma- chinery for the preparation of artificial manures. The crushing mill for breaking down the raw material consists of a pair of chilled rollers mounted on substantial framework, and provided with pressure levers, Sec, and by which tlie [coprolites are re- duced to the size of small beans ready for feeding the stones. The latter are of best French burr specially chosen for the purpose, and provided \rith driving gear and frame- work of ample strength and solidity for the severe work to which they are necessarily subjected. A small machine for shelling maize by hand power, suitable for the export market, we examined with much interest. Tusford and Sons, of Boston, had eight of their engines of different power at work with thrashing machines and some of Appold's centrifugal pumps, Their cultivating windlass is worthy of special note. This consists of two drums placed on each side of a wheel which is driven in the ordinary way by an engine. But its speciality consists in breaks being fixed oti the inside of the driving wlieel ; these are brought to bear by means of a small screw under the command of the attendant, and by bringing one of them down to the inside of the drum to be set in motion, it is at once started, and when the wind- lass or rope requires to be reversed the other dram is set in motion in the same way. This is not only the least expensive form of windlass but it is the safest and most effective, for the attendant can either stop the implement or reverse the draught of the rope in an instant ; while, by setting the break to the exact horse-power required to draw the implement, any danger from stones or other obstructions is avoided, for on coming in contact ^^itll any unexpected impediment the break slips on the drum and no mischief occurs. W. S. Underbill, of Newport, had three of his portable engines working thrashing machines and blast elevators ; a number of drills, grubbers, horse-hoes, ploughs, cultivators, harrows, and horse-rakes. Our list of the awards to implements last week was com- plete and correct with the exception of a commendation to C. Burrell, of Thetford, for his eight-horse traction engine, and a high commendation to Aveling and Porter, of Rochester, for their six-horse power agricultural locomotive for general pur- poses. We also omitted to mention that no award was made for hop-cultivating machinery to suspend manual labour. Passing now from the implements to the seed and manure exhibitors — Sutton and Co., of Readinfr, as usual, placed themselves well before the farming pubHc, by a fine display of those numerous seeds, roots, &c., in which they do so large a trade. Some fifty varieties of peas, an imperial cabbage weighing lolbs., fine collections of roots, potatoes, turnips, kolil-rabi of this year's growth, red globe mangolds, long yellow, and Italian ryegrass sown April 25, and yet five feet high, and producing ten tons to the acre, testified to their zeal in the cause of agricultural improvement. T. Gibbs and Co., seeds- men to the Royal Agricultural Society, did themselves justice in the fine collection of agricultural roots, grass and other seeds, and of cereals in the ear, British and foreign dried and growing specimens of grasses, &c. James Carter and Co., of London, also made a noble display of farm, grass, and other seeds of a similar character to those shown by the firms ju.st mentioned. Two or three local firms had stands of seeds and roots. The manure exhibitors were numerous, comprising Webb and Co., of Worcester ; Goulding, of Dublin ; Gibbons, Griffin, and J. Bradburn and Co., of Wolverhampton ; Packard and Co., of Ipswich ; Proctor and Ryland.of Birmingham. THE GENERAL MEETING took place in the show-ground on the Tuesday, Lord Vernon in the chair. The Secretary read over the list of farm prizes as given in the Prize List. Earl Powis moved a vote of tlianks to the Mayor, Cor- poration, and inhabitants of Wolverhampton for the reception which they had accorded to the Society. Sir Watkin W. Wy:*n seconded the motion, as he thought everj'one would allow that the inhabitants of the town had afforded every facility for holding the show. The motion was adopted, and acknowledged by Sir John Morris. Mr. ToRR proposed a vote of thanks to the railway com- panies for their arrangements for the meeting. Mr. SnuTTLEWORTH seconded, and it was carried. Mr. RA^'DELL moved a vote of thanks to the local committee at Wolverhampton for their endeavours to promote the success of the meeting. Lord Chesiiam seconded the motion, wliich was carried, and acknowledged by Mr. Bantock. Mr. John Lowe ^Birmingham) said that although it might be useful to thank the railway companies for conveying stock and implements to the place of exhibition at moderate rates, yet the two companies — the London and North Western aud the Great Western— had not met the public requirements by allowing people to visit Uolverhampton at a reduction of fare. He spoke on behalf of Birmingham, an important town in the immediate district, the inhabitants of which place had no opportunitv of visiting the sliow except by payment of 168 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. ordinary fares. On previous occasions, and especially at Leeds, the Midland and other companies made concessions in the price of tickets, and the result was that on the first shilling day 70,000 persons passed the turnstiles. Up to that moment, however, neither of the companies he had referred to had given any intimation of a reduction of fare from Birmingham. He thought Birmingham ought not to have been left in the cold in that way, and that the artisans of that town would feel that they had been shahbUy treated by the companies. Upon the occasion of races, which were less improving to the population, a reduction of fares was made, and he therefore contended that the London and Korth Western and the Great Western Companies were not entitled to the thanks of the Society. To aggravate the matter, excursion trains at low fares were run from the small towns and \-Lllages beyond Birmingham, but they passed through that town without picking up the traffic, which, he said, was an insult to the inhabitants. A Member suggested that the vote of thanks to the railway companies should be omitted at future meetings ; otherwise a hostUe Emendment might be proposed. He could understand the local committee being thanked ; but he did not see why they should thank the railway companies, who were always well paid for what they did. Another Member complained that proper accommodation ■was not found for passengers who paid the full fare. Sir Watki>' WY^'^' explained that the reason why Bir- mingham had not the same advantage as other places with re- gard to reduced fares was, that an agreement had been come to between the two companies that neither should under-seU the other. This rule had been adopted aU over the system, in order to prevent that quarrel which existed some years ago, and which proved so disastrous to everybody. He was not going to defend tlie railway authorities entirely in not having made arrangements for cheap fares ; but the excursions were run from places bej"ond Birmingham, whicli were not com- peting points, and therefore the companies could charge what- ever they liked. Birmingliam being a competing point, it was not in the power of the Great Western to charge reduced fares without the two companies meeting together and coming to an arrangement. He believed it was to the interest of the railways to give every facility to the Birmingham people, and at the same time, to do aU they could to keep their clients at other times in the best possible humour. Mr. Thukstox suggested that in future the Council should ascertain what arrangements the railway companies would make, before a locality was selected for holding the show. That was a most important question to be taken into con- sideration before visiting a particular town. He hoped that in future railway companies would carry passengers at such fares as would recoup the Society for any loss that it might sustain. Sir Watkin Wyxn said the Great Western lost consider- ably by the Oxford Show. Mr. B.vxTOCK asked if certain privileges were not granted to the exhibitors at the show ? Mr. JE^■KI^'S, the Secretary, replied, that as a broad prin- ciple there was a reduction of one-half of the return fare. Mr. Ba2stock defended the railway companies from the complaints which had been made, and observed that if repre- sentations were made to tiie companies it would be to their interest to make such concessions on behalf of Birmingham as would be beneficial to all parties. He explained that when tlie application for a siding into the show-yard was abandoned, the railway companies pledged themselves to make certain charges ; but that arrangement had not been adhered to, and the matter was now being investigated. Lord Chesham said the stock was carried by the companies at their own convenience, and the consequence was that the animals were knocked about so disgracefully that they were not fit to be shown anywhere else. He always sent Ids stock by passenger train, for which he paid ; there were, therefore, no thanks due to the railways. In reply to Lord Bridport, the Secretary said the airange- ment submitted to the Ccuncil by the two railway companies was that of a system of combination tickets, which would carry the holders on the railway and admit them to the show-yard, the basis of the arrangement being that each party to the bargain should make a concession." The railway companies were prepared to issue return tickets at a single fare, plus 10 per cent., on condition that the Society made a reduction equal to 40 per cent, on the prices of admission. On the shilling days the arrangement was to be the same, but the railway companies felt that the traffic would be so large on those days that they did not stipulate for a reduction of more than 20 per cent, by the Society. The Council was of opinion that they would not be justified in making a reduction of 40 per cent, to the inhabitants of Birmingham and other places, and at the same time charge the full price to the inhabitants of Wolver- hampton. Sir John Morris moved, and Mr. Aveling seconded, a vote of thanks to the President, for whom three cheers were given. Lord Yeexox said the Royal AgTicultural Society was the greatest educational engine in the country. One of its prin- cipal advantages was its exclusion, as much as possible, of everything sensational, and its devotion to practical business. The greatest proof of this was the absence of the jumping of horses at the show, and those attractions which were certainly much more sensational than useful. This year, too, those articles which were not really useful to agriculture had been put at a comparative disadvantage in their exliibition. The great advantage of the Society visiting a town like Wolver- hampton was the bringing of the enlightened workman into contact with those who produced his food, while the latter, on the other baud, had the benefit of seeing the centres of in- dustry, where the forces of nature were employed in making the machinery for the cultivation of the soil. The two greatest features of the show were the exhibition of steam cultivators and traction engines. It would be impossible for any local Society to undertake the exhibition and trial of those particular implements, wliicli required not only a vast area of ground, but the highest possible engineering skill in testing. If the presentation of a cup, which he had been allowed to offer during his presidency, produced what so many members of the Council were desirous of seeing, viz., the bringing of the means of cultivating by steam within the reach of the smallest farmer, he was sure that they would consider that they had performed one of the greatest works they could. He congratulated Mr. Fowler on winning the cup. He was the most formidale competitor for anyone to compete against. To the skiU and organisation which he exhibited on the field, as well as to the discipline of his men, much of his success was due. Speaking of the trial of traction engines an important feature in the Society's operations, there was now a Bill be- fore Parliament for the regulation of traction traffic, and he was satisfied that that the trials, which were conducted as they always should be, by the judges and engineers with a patience beyond all praise, would be considered most valuable by the outside world. He expressed his high sense of the assistance given to the Society by the Local Committee, who had had un- usual dififtculties to contend with. He believed the trials had been conducted by the engineers in a way whicli would satisfy every exhibitor. On the motion of Viscount Bridport, seconded by Mr. Turner, a motion was passed requesting Sir Watkin "W. Wynn to undertake the presidency of the Society at the close of the present meeting. Sir Watkin Wynx, in response, said he would ascertain what facilities could in future be offered to visitors to the show by the Great Western Haihvay Company. However, he made no promises, and expressed his satisfaction at the holding of the show next year at CardiiT. THE EOYAL AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY OF ENG- LAND.— The following list gives the attendances day by day. Monday, at Five Shillings... Tuesday, at Two and Sixpence Wednesday, at Two and Sixpence . Thursday, at One Shilling... Friday, at One Shilling 2,654 7,064 11,514 52,466 33,624 107,322 The total shows a gain in the receipts of, it is said, about £1,500 over O.xford, where, however, the attendance, especially on " the popular days," was much smaller than had been ex- pected ; and the Society loses money by the Wolveriiamptou Meeting. THE FAEMER'S MAGAZINE, 169 THE BREEDING OF PRIZE SHORTHORNS, Ex fumo dare lucem, TO THE EDITOR OF THE MAEK LANE EXPRESS. f Sir, — Now that the decisions of the Royal judges have relieved us ouce more from the heavy clouds laden with Bates' incense which have so long oppressed us, and the Shorthorn world opens its eyes to see things as they really are, allow me to assist in the diffusion of light by sending you the following brief analysis of the blood of the several prize-taking Shorthorns. It has been a work of labour, and in calculations so complicated there may possibly be some mistakes ; but nothing has been ex- tenuated or set down in malice. Allow me, further, to suggest that it would be highly advantageous if the Royal Society enforced their own rule, and disqualified those cattle whose descent for four generations, verified hij the Herd Book, was not forthcoming. It appears from this analysis that thirty-three prizes (reserve numbers inclusive) were awarded in the Short- horn classes at the Royal show this week. Of these eighteen were taken by Shorthorns in whom the Booth Hood preponderated to the extent of one-half or more. Five prizes were taken by Shorthorns who were half or more Bates. Several of the prize-takers were of Booth families, not one of Bates. Considering the number of neiv families with which Kirklevington has inundated the country, and the noise that has been made about them, the result of this crucial test is at least extraordinary. I am, sir, yours obediently, HeUidon, July \Uh, 1871. John Stoeer. BRIEF ANALYSIS Or THE BLOOD AND BREEDING OE TUE SHORTHORN OATTLE WHICH OBTAINED THE PRIZES (RE- SERVE NUMBERS inclusive) AT THE ANNUAL SHOW OF THE ROYAL AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY OF ENGLAND, HELD AT WOLVERHAMPTON, JULY, 1871. CLASS XXXVl.— BULL above three years old. 1st, 248.— Mr. Thompson's Edgar (19680) is of very old and very mixed blood. Ratlier more than two-eighths of his blood is Bates, exactly one-and-a-half-eighths Booth, and one- eighth Kaiglitley ; the remamder, being nearly one-half, is derived from otlier sources. 3nd, 254-.— Marquis of Exeter's Telemachus (27603) is of one of Mr. Charge's fine old famihes, crossed with the Mason, Eawkes, Bootb, and Bates bulls ; rather more than two-eighths of his blood is derived from Bates sources, and inconsiderable part from Booth ones- 3rd, 263.— The Rev. W. Sneyd's Ironmaster is of mixed blood. Through his sire he has two-and-a-half-eighths of his blood derived from Bates sources, and has remotely several descents from the Booth blood. He is a grandson of 7th Duke of York (17754). 4th, 251.— Mr. Wright's Man's Estate (36806) has a short pedigree, in which are some well bred bulls. He appears to have little or no Booth or Bates blood, except what he derives, dimmished by one-half, from his sire Edgar, first prize buU. Reserve number, 252. — Mr. Soffe's Lord Morpeth is through his sire two-eighths Bates, two-eighths Charmer- Kuightley. No further pedigree is given either in the cata- logue or the Herd Book. CLASS XXXVII. — BULL above two and not exceeding three years old. 1st, 282. — Mr. Linton's Lord Irwin is of a comparatively recent family. Nearly five-eighths, or considerably more than half his blood is Booth, an inconsiderable portion is Bates, and about as much is derived from the Sylph family, the remainder from various mixed sources. 2nd, 370.— Mr. Outhwaite's Royal Windsor, bred by Mr. Willis, and from one of his families, is six-eighths (or three- quarters) Booth blood ; he has no Bates blood. 3rd, 286.— Sir D. Baird's Baron Lawrie 3rd, bred by Mr. Barclay, is by his celebrated prize bidl Heir of Englishman (a son of Mr. Jonas Webb's Englishman and a Seraphiua cow), the dam being of a good family of Mr. Budding's. The blood of this pedigree is very good and very mixed ; there is a certain quantity of Bates blood, but the most marked is the Knightlev, of wbicli there is more than two-eighths. 4th, 269.— Lady Pigot's Bythis (25700) is a pure Booth bull of Mr. Boolh's celebrated BHss family, crossed with a bull of the Mantahni tribe. Reserve number, 373. — Messrs. Budding's Standard Bearer is five-and-a-balf-eighths, or nearly three-quarter;, Bootb. He also contains some of Lord Spencer's, the Gwynne, and Mr. Wilkinson's blood ; there is no Bates. CLASS XXXVIIL— YEARLING BULL above one and not exceeding two years old. 1st, 304. — Colonel Towneley's Baron Hubback 3nd is of an old and well-known family, so repeatedly crossed with the Bates blood that he is practically a Bates bull ; lie inherits, however, some Spencer blood from Grand Duke of Lancaster (19883), a little Booth from Royal Duke (16865), some Lord Carlisle, Barmpton Rose, and other blood from Brennus (8903), and is descended from other strains further back. 2nd, 294. — Lord Sudeley's Cherub is of the Seraphina family, his dam being Mr. Barclay's noted cow Seraphina 13th, the dam also of Heir of EngHshraan (24132). Through the Seraphiuas (a mixed samily of no great antiquity) a little more than two-eighths, or one-fourth, of this bull's blood is derived from the Bateses ; four-eighths, or one-half, of his blood comes from his pure Booth sire, 3rd, 298. — Mr. Lamb's Ignoramus has his pedigree so boldly given in the catalogue as to lead one to suppose either that the family is not in the Herd Bool\ or, if it is, that the pedegree was drawn up by some one who, in Shorthorn matters at least, may claim the bull's name. He appears to be de- scended from the bulls of Mr. Saunders, of Nunwick, and, like his grandsire Edgar's (19680), bis blood seems to consist of Bates, Booth, Knightley, and more mixed blood, the first being in rather the larger quantity. 4th, 303. — Mr. Meadows' Prince Charlie is of a short and recent family, to which Booth, or partly Booth, bulls have been lately used. The amount of Booth blood is about six- eighths, or three-fourths ; the remainder is derived from various sources. Reserve number, 296. — Mr. G. Game's Earl of Warwick- shire 3rd is of Sir C. Kniglitley's Walnut family, the Fawsley element being, however, nearly destroyed by repeated Bates crosses ; one-eighth of Knightley blood remains, the remaining seven-eighths is Bates, with a very slight admixture of Booth. CLASS XXXIX.— BULL CALF above six and not exceed- ing twelve months old. 1st, 312. — Messrs. Budding's British Flag is of a family which came originally from Mr. Hntton, of Gate Burton, and has since been crossed with bulls partially or whoUy Booth. His blood is nearly five-eighths, or considerably more than one-half Booth ; he has also a good deal of the Mason and 170 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. Spencer best blood. Very remotely there is an inappreciably small quantity of Bates blood through Cleveland Lad 2nd. 2nd, 316. — Mr. Linton's Leeman is of a well bred family, with a Booth substratum, on which the Booth blood has been regrafted ; he is about six-eighths (three-quarters) Booth, with remotely a little Bates blood. 3rd, 310. — Messrs. T. Game's and Son's Red Prince is of one of Mason's best families, continuously crossed with the best bulls. The sire is one of Mr. Booth's bnlls, and a bull of Booth extraction largely crossed with Bates is the grand- sire ; there is other Booth blood more remotely. As nearly as can be calculated the amount of Booth blood approximates to six-eighths, or three-quarters, while the amount of Bates is a little more than one-eighth ; the remainder is principally Mason. Reserve number. — In the Award of Prizes given to me in the show-yard, and marked " incomplete," there is no reserve number in this class. CLASS XL.— COW above three years old. 1st, 328.— Mr. Beattie's Warrior's Plume, bred by Mr. Torr, descends from the Bates Waterloo family; she has, however, had since four crosses of pure Booth bulls, so that she is practically a Booth animal, fifteen parts of her blood out of sixteen being of that strain ; it should also be borne in miud that the family from which she descends left the hands of Mr. Bates before he began the process of adulteration by infusing into his herd (as his successors have also done on a much more extended scale than he did) the modern alloy which he derived from the Matchem cow by Matchera. 2nd, 327. — Mr. Dugdale's Kent Cherry 2nd is of a famous old family, going back like So many other good things to Mr. Charge's herd. A little more tlian four-eighths, or one-half, her blood is derived from Kirklevington ; there is also some Booth, Barmpton Rose, Old Cherry, and other good blood. 3rd, 321. — Mr. How's Windsor Butterfly is of ancient Booth family, and by a Booth bull. Two crosses, one pure Bates, the other the cross of Master Butterfly (who was two-eighths Booth) intervene. This cow has five-and-a-half-eighths Booth, oue-and-a-half-eighths of Master Butterfly's blood other than Booth, and one-eighth Bates. Reserve number, 331. — Mr. Linton's Carnation is the dam of his second prize bull-calf Leeman, in Class 39 ; she is about four-eighths, or one-half, Booth. CLASS XLL— HEIFER IN-MILK OR IN-CALF not ex- ceeding three years old. 1st, 339. — Lady Pigot's Dame Swift is a pure Booth heifer of the Farewell family; for a half-cross five generations back, which introduces into her veins the splendid Mason blood of Cassandra, by Matchem (2281), can scarcely be said to impair her claims. 2nd, 340. — Mr. How's Vesper Queen is ne^rly pure Booth also. Descended from the herd of Mr. Jolly, of Warlaby, she has six crosses (and partially a seventh) of Booth bulls. The non-Booth portion of her blood is fractional. 3rd, 335. — Mr. Foljambe's Concert is of one of the most ancient Mason families latterly crossed with bulls containing Booth and Bates blood combined ; five-eighths of her blood has its origin in these two sources, the Booth element some- what prevailing. Reserve number, 3-i8. — Mr. Hewitt's Nelly is entirely of Mr. Stratton's blood, which contains some Bates, but much more Booth. CLASS XLIL— YEARLING HEIFER above one and not exceeding two years old. 1st, 365. — Mr. Outhwaite's Lady Brough has the pedigree so curtly given that it cannot be identified with that of any family in the Herd Book. Her sire (Baron Killerby) has no number attached to him in the catalogue, so that it is impos- sible to know how he was bred. The next two bulls were both bred by Sir W. Lawson, are of very good, but very mixed blood, and both go back to Mr. Outhwaite's old sort. The fourth, and last, has a very short pedigree indeed, which is principally Booth. If it is permitted to guess, the probability is that the Booth blood preponderates in this heifer ; there is a little Bates. 2nd, 358.— Mr. Foljambe's Fleur-dc-Lis is of the same old Mason family as his third prize heifer, Concert, in the pre- ceding class ; and they are not only by the same sire, but their grandams were own sisters ; the dam of this one, however, is by a very celebrated Booth bull. This heifer is four-and-a- half eighths (or more than one-half) Booth ; the proportion of Bates in her blood is one-and-a-half-eighths. 3rd, 377.— Colonel Towneley's Baron Oxford's Duchess is of the Barmpton Rose family, very largely crossed with other blood, and is by the same sire as his first prize buU in Class 38. She is four-and-a-half-eighths, or more than one-half, Bates, and one-eighth of her blood is Booth. Reserve number, 378.— Colonel Towneley's Butterfly's Memento, by the same sire as the above, is of the same family, and a grandaughter of the dam of the preceding one ; the pro- portion of blood is much the same, but in this heifer there is (through her grandsire) rather more Booth, and the quantity of Bates blood is (but fractionally only) smaller. This pedigree is given in the catalogue imperfectly. CLASS XLIIL— HEIFER-CALF above sis aud under twelve months old. 1st, 394.— Mr. Garfit's Brilliant Rose 2nd is of one of the most ancient and best known families, the Blanche or Sock- burn tribe, which goes back to a period antecedent to the times of the Collings. In the last four crosses in her pedigree Bates, Booth, Princess, and other blood has been combined in the most wonderful manner. This heifer's blood is more than three-eighths (not so much as three-and-a-half-eighths) Bates, and nearly (not quite) two-eighths Booth ; though her sire is of the Princess family, that blood has been so strongly crossed out that (not taking into consideration his remote descent from the Princesses through the Gwynues, or hers through the double descent from Belvedere, both which tell fractionally) she has only one-eighth of Princess blood. 2nd, 392.— Lady" Pigot's Victoria Victrix is on all sides pure Booth, of the Mantalini family, crossed with the Bliss. Reserve number, 398. — Messrs. Dudding's Lady Grace de- scends from a very old Shorthorn family, for forty years in the possession of the Dudding's. She is from the same dam as Countess of Yarborough, second as a yearling at Oxford last year, and first as a calf at the Yorkshire the year preceding. This heifer is by a sire of the same family, and nearly similarly descended, as Mr. Foljambe's second prize heifer in Class 42, and third prize heifer in Class 41. She is considerably more than half of the Booth blood, and has remotely on both sides a dash of Bates. DR. YOELCKER'S ANALYSES. Messrs. Keighley Maxsted and Co., of Hull, have for- warded another analyses of the kainit, stating that this was sent by them from Tyue docks out of a cargo of genuine Leopoklshall kainit, per Glenogweu, shipped by Mr. Otto Radde, of Hamburg, and invoiced to Mr. Shatru as usual. The cargo was analysed at the time of shipment by Dr. Ulex of Hamburg, and found to contain ™4'06 per cent, sulphate of potash as per his certificate of analysis No. 14,092, and subsequently instructions were given to the railway company at Tyue docks, in whose warehouses the kainit is stored, to take an average sample of the bulk as it now lies in store, and to send it direct to Messrs. Teschemacher and Smith, whose certificate is as under : ^Ve hereby certify that we have examined the sample of kainit, and the following is the result, viz., sample marked ex Glenogwen contains — Sulphate of potash 22-80 Sulphate of lime 1-30 Sulphate of magnesia ... ... ... 9'90 Muriate of magnesia ... ... ... 12'20 Muriate of soda 33-80 Insoluble 1-10 Moisture and combined water ... ... 18-90 100-00 Te.schemachek anp S.mitu. Miiiriiu/ Lane, E.C., Jidy 13///, 1871. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. m DEATH OF MR. JOHN CLAYDEN, OF LITTLEBURY. As had been feared, Mr. Claydeii never really rallied from the fit of paralysis with which he was attacked on the station at Watton after attending the Merton sale, bnt gradually sunk and died in the village ou the morning of Tuesday, July 4. lie thus survived but a few weeks the death of his brother-in-law Mr. Samuel Jonas — a prominent man like himself, not only about home but as an eminent English agriculturist. Mr. John Clayden was born, where he continued to farm, at Littlebury, in July, 1803. He was the eldest of seven children, the family of Mr. "William Clayden, a well- to-do yeoman and practical farmer, far in advance of his own times. As such, he was a frequent attendant at the famous llolkham sheep- shearings, and personally well known to Mr. Coke, afterwards Lord Leicester, who once called at Littlebury on his way to London. The son, John, began hfe at a good school in his native village ; but in 1817 his father brought him up to London, and placed him with Mr. Flower, who, noticeably enough, kept a school at Islington, a locality with which his pupil, was destined hereafter to be so directly identified. Young Clayden remained here until the Christmas of 1819, when he went bodily into the business of agriculture, being put to every practical operation on the farm, which he gra- dually took up as his strength increased ; this hard ser- vice being of course occasionally relieved by a seasonable degree of recreation, as he evinced all an Englishman's fondness for field-sports, saw no harm in witnessing the race for the Two Thousand, and we ourselves have en- countered him in the field with the Puckeridge. In a few years, however, the father's failing health compelled his son to undertake the more responsible duties of actual management; and by the year 1827 the direction of the farm, with the buying of stock, the sale of corn, and so forth, was in his charge. Mr. Clayden, senior, died in the year following ; and at the age of twenty-three his eldest son came into the control of a business which in- eluded the farming of eight hundred acres at home, and of another large occupation, about ten miles off, which his father had been superintending for an aged relative. In the first instance, the brothers John and William Clay- den took their own farm conjointly; but in 1832 the younger brother removed to Linton, in Cambridgeshire, leaving to John the undisputed possession of Littlebury. The active, business-like habits of Mr. Clayden soon gave him a standing and repute amongst his neighbours, conspicuous amongst whom was the late Mr. Jonas Webb ; and the two became fast friends. Beyond fre- quent visits to each other's houses, they wei-e almost in- variably to be seen together at the agricultural shows just then springing up, and amongst which, previous to the formation of the Royal Agricultui'al Society, the Saff'ron Walden gathering held a good place. The tastes of the two friends, jnoreover, " hit " very much as to the best kinds of stock, so Ihat they were often associated together as judges. And there were few better " all- round " judges than John Clayden. Whether it were over cart-horses, cattle, sheep, or pigs, he was never out of his element ; and, as a consequence, no one was so continually called in as referee — that is, from the parti- cular class over which he might be acting. As an ex- hibitor, his chief successes were with his Southdown sheep, his Suff"olk horses, and his Shorthorn cattle. On the death of Mr. Jonas Webb Mr. Clayden was appointed Chairman of the Agricultural Hall Company, but his public duties were by no means confined to this office. He was a member of the Council of the Royal Agricultural Society of England ; a mem- ber of the Council of the Smithfield Club ; a member of the Committee of the Farmers' Club ; one of the Di- rectors of the Agricultural Hotel Company ; the Chair- man of the Nitro-phosphate Manure Company, and one of the Honorary Secretaries of the Royal Agricultural Benevolent Institution. Then, he had been Mayor of Saffron Walden as often as Whittington was of London ; but he found time to farm in the very best style a thou- sand acres of land which he held under Lord Braybrooke, about one hundred acres belonging to other proprietors, and eight hundred acres more of his own. Mr. Clayden was a man of very active, business-like habits, while he united with these a special charm in his cheerful, genial manner, that, backed again by his high character, had served to culminate the success he has so deservedly achieved in the annals of modern agriculture ; and in the beginning of the year 1870 a testimonial was presented to him at a dinner at Saffron Walden. jNIr. Clayden, who had been twice married, leaves a family of two sons, and five daughters. If anything were needed to mark the high esteem in which Mr. Clayden was held in the agricultural world, and by those with whom he was more immediately connected, such want was well supplied by the at- tendance at his funeral in Littlebury church. Notwith- standing the fact of its being the Royal week at Wolverhampton, where many of his friends were imperatively engaged, and also the very unfavourable weather, it having rained the whole day without ceasing, yet at least 350 gentlemen and farmers from far and near were at the funeral in mourning. This was not complimen- tary mourning only, but deep and heart-felt sorrow was among them all: many also from the different companies and societies in London with which our friend was en- gaged came down to pay the last tribute of respect to him they had so much esteemed in their business relations. The funeral was of plain and simple character. Near re- lations or connexions only were invited ; but on entering the little village street on the way to the church very many others joined the procession ; the pathways being lined with tradesmen, labourers, and others ; sorrowful on- lookers, who felt they had "lost a friend." Mr. Clayden's landlord. Lord Braybrooke, with the Rev. Mr. Oldham, his chaplain ; Messrs. Nockolds and Xing, his lordship's estate agents, joined the procession to the church and vaxdt, followed by a very large train of sorrowing friends. The service was most impressively performed, and on leaving the graveyard such remarks as " God bless him !" " He was a friend," were heard in faltering tones from many who had known him long and well. N m THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. GOOD AND BAD NEIGHBOURS. BY CUTHBEKT W. JOHNSON, F.R.S. It was an early observation of the ciJtivators of the Boil that there are good and bad neighbours even in the vegetable world. The Eoman farmers noticed the vigour with which the vine vegetated when planted near to the elm. They were wont to call that tree the husband of the vine, and it has been supposed that the elm was, in fact, first introduced into England by the then masters of our island when they made their vineyards. They were well aware that, although there is " a friend- ship" between some plants, there is " enmity" between others. Cato, one of the very early Roman authors, noticed that the vine is at " enmity" with the cabbage. And these facts were observed by more than one author of the sixteenth century. Thus, Conrad Heresbach, who was born in 1508, remarks iu his treatise on husbandry, " because there is a natural friendship and love between certain trees, you must set them the nearer togethei*, as the vine and the olive, the pomegranate and the myrtle ; others," he continues, " have a natural hatred, as the vine with the filbert and the bay." Modern cultivators have noticed other facts of a similar kind, as that the acacia tree is a bad neighbour ; the gar- dener makes the same remark as to the cabbage tribe ; the agriculturist is well aware how well the corn flower {Centaurea cyanus) flourishes amid his cereal crops, and in no other place, and how the poppy almost always at- tends his crops of peas. He further notices how very vigorously the plants of wheat and rye flourish amid his tares. These observations have, within the last year or two, led in a few places to some very practical and successful trials with our root crops. These experiments are hardly so well known to the agriculturists of our islands as is desirable. They are not only valuable in themselves, but they appear to open a field of research, which in all probability will lead to other important results. I allude to the growth together in the same rows of the swede turnip and the mangold. We are aware of the difficulty with which for some time back the swede has been culti- vated in many portions of our island, and this to such an extent that in considerable districts its cultivation has been abandoned. It is therefore most important that it has been found again to flourish on many soils when sown in conjunction with the mangold, and this not in only the best turnip soils but on the poor exhausted gravels of Bedfordshire — a county where the rainfall certainly does not aid the dryness of the soil, for the average annual fall of rain is there the least of all the English" counties, being only about twenty inches — (it was only about fifteen inches in 1870). The mode of cultivation they adopt has been so well described to me by my friend Mr. John Purser, of Willington, near Bedford, that I need hardly attempt to give it in any other language. It was in a letter with which he favoured me in June of the present year that he observed, " I have grown now for six or seven years mangolds and swedes (not white turnips) to- gether, and with great success — not a failure have I yet known. ^ Upon our hot graveUy soil we sow all upon the flat : it is far better than on the ridye. My plan is this : I drill early in April four pounds of mangolds per acre, and another drill follows running one hole only, which is about a pint of swedes, iu the same rows. When we set them out we leave as nearly as we can three, some only two, mangolds to one turnip. The swedes grow very large, and very sound and healthy. Before we adopted this plan our land refused for years to grow a turnip at all. We put them into pits or clamps by the second or third week in October, and they come out in the spring as sound and healthy as the mangolds. Very many other farmers near here are doing the same, and with equal success. We certainly grow a greater weight per acre than we ever have done with turnips only." It being then established that the growth of certain plants is accelerated by having particular neighbours, we naturally inquire into the reason for this interesting fact. It is probable that it arises from some emanation either from the roots or the leaves of a plant which is grateful to its neighbour. It has been supposed by some rose cultivators that its fragrance is increased by having a leek or an onion for its neighbour. Phillips, who died in 1708, in his " Cyder," alludes to this opinion. I The Poestan rose unfolds Her bud more lovely near the foetid leek (Crest of stout Britons), and enhances theuoe The price of her celestial scent. That plants excrete from their roots peculiar matters is a pretty reasonable conclusion, although almost all the chemical investigations dii'ected to this question are at- tended with uncertainty, since in most of these the plants examined were placed in water, or other matters foreign to their natural position. My brother, Mr. G. W. John- son, iu his work on " The Science and Practice of (Jarden- ing," has given a very clear resume of the evidence hitherto produced on this very considerable question. "If," he remarks (p. 48), " the roots of plants do give out pecu- liar and varying matters to the soil which sustains them, it aids to explain why one rotation of crops is superior to another, as well as why fallowing is beneficial. Pal- lowing gets rid by decomposition of any ofi'ensive excre- mentitious matters, as well as accmnulates that which is desirable to plants; and one crop may succeed better after some predecessors than others, because their exuviae are more salutary." These facts may be all explicable by the supposition that roots emit into the soil various excrementitious sub- stances. Let us then inquire whether this supposition has been substantiated by direct experiment. M. Decan- dolle, an eminent French philosopher, was one of the earliest supporters of this opinion, and MM. Bacquerel and Macaire found that when barley and other grain were made to vegetate in pure chalk, acetate of lime was formed in it, evidently by acetic acid (vinegar) being emitted by the young roots, and this combining with the lime of the chalk formed the acetate. M. Braconnot washed the soil in which the poppy had grown during ten successive years, and obtained from it a considerable quantity of acetate of lime. The late Professor Johnston, from a series of deduc- tions founded on chemical analysis, arrived at the con- clusion " that the roots of plants do possess the power of excreting some of the substances which are held in solu- tion by their sap, on its return from the stem, and which, having performed their offices in the interior of the plant, are no longer fitted to minister to its sustenance or growth. This excretory power is not confined to the emission of THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 173 Inorganic substances; other soluble matters of organic origin are also permitted to escape into the soil, although whether of such a kind as must be injurious to the plant from which they have been given out, or to such a degree as alone to render a rotation of crops necessary, has not been hitherto well determined." Liebig is also of opinion that the roots of plants throw out excrements. He remarks: "The experiments of Macaire-Princep have shown that plants made to vegetate with theii' roots in a weak solution of acetate of lead (Goulard's extract), and then in rain-water, yield to the latter all the salt of lead which they had previously absorbed. They return, therefore, to the soil all matters necessary to their existence." Again, the late Dr. Daubeny found that when a plant freely exposed to the atmosphere is sprinkled with a solution of nitrate of strontian the salt is absorbed, but is again separated by the roots and removed farther from them by every shower of rain which falls upon the soil, so that at last not a trace of it is to be found in the plant. When bulbous roots, such as hyacinths, are allowed to grow in plain water, this gra- dually acquires a brown colour. It therefore," adds Liebig, " cannot be denied that excrements are actually given off by plants, although very possibly they do not produce them to the same degree." Macaire,. in his investigations to which we have referred, observed that when plants were made to grow in pure water for several days, soluble matter was certainly emitted from their roots, which could be detected both by its colour, taste, and smell, and also by chemical reagents, and that this soluble matter differed very much icith the kind of plant. He further observed that water charged with the excrements of a leguminous plant, although de- cidedly injurious to another plant of the same kind, suf- fered a plant of wheat, whose roots were immersed in it, to live perfectly well, while at the same time the yellow colour of the water diminished in intensity. It can hardly be said in explanation of the good derived from growing swedes and mangolds as close neighboui-s, that the ingredients they absorb from the soil or from the at mosphere, are different. Professor Johnston found in 100 parts of the tmmip and the mangold grown on the same soil Water Sugar Gum Turnip. 88.46 6.90 0.09 Mangold 85.18 0.67 9.79 Albumen 0.19 0.09 Casein 0.39 The proportion of water and dry matter in various root crops the Professor ascertained to be as follows : Water. Sugar beet 85 Red beet 82 Mangold (short red) 85 White turnip 92 Purple-topped ditto 87i Yellow (Swedish) 88 Kohlrabi 86 Red turnip 81^ Cabbage 92 Red carrot ^ 87 White ditto ^ 80 Dry matter. 15 18 15 8 12 14 18i 8 13 20 Professor Way ascertained the average amount in lbs. of the mineral matters contained in^pe ton of the bulbs of the turnip and mangold to be as'ij^lows {Jour. Bay. Ay, Soc.y vol viii. p. 199) : Turnips. Mangolds, Silica 0.34 0.54 Phosphoric acid 1.77 0.66 Sulphuric acid 2.33 0.65 Lime 1.76 0.41 Magnesia 0.47 0.43 Peroxide of iron 0.07 0.13 Potash 6.07 4..99 Soda 1.46 3.63 Common salt 1.49 5.29 The entire plants, bulbs,. and tops, yielded per ton — Turnips. Mangolds. Silica 0-55 0-56 Phosphoric acid 1'90 0-87 Sulphuric acid 2-51 0-90 Lime 3-76 0-87 Magnesia 0-59 0-89 Peroxide of iron 0-18 0-15 Potash 5-84 5-54 Soda 1.38 2-91 Common salt 3-37 6-51 Chloride potassa 0'53 — The mangold, a native of a warmer climate than our own, is not successfully cultivated, so far north as the swede turnip, but, like that root, succeeds upon almost all soils. These, and other questions relating to the cul- tivation of the mangold, some short time since engaged the attention of the Highland Society of Scotland. They awarded two prizes to Mr. R. J. Thomson, of Kilmarnock, for his researches on this very valuable root. In one of his prize essays he says : " Mangolds grow within a wide range of latitude : crops are raised at St. Helena, at 16 degs. south latitude ; and they are successfully grown in Scot- land, at 56 deg. north latitude. It will succeed on al- most all soils, even in those of the most opposite descrip- tions : a deep friable loam, abounding in organic matter, is the most suitable ; but a light land farmer says, ' We always sow our mangolds on our lightest land, where it is too light for potatoes' ; and a heavy land farmer ob- serves, ' My mangolds are invariably grown on the stiff- est land, where it's no use growing swedes.' They are sometimes grown year after year on the same soil. The Rev. R. Whittaker has grown them in Lancashire for nearly twenty years consecutively on the same ground — a clay soil ; the crop he has raised being from 27 to 32 tons per acre." Then, again, the same manures which promote the growth of the swede are also as well applied to the man- gold. The best dressing for mangolds is a question which has also engaged the attention of the Highland Society. In another prize-essay by Mr. R, J. Thomson, he describes the result of his trials with certain phosphatic and am- moniacal manures. The manures he applied, and the mean weight of the bulbs produced, per acre, from two plots will be found in the following table : Manures applied. Produce. Tons. cwts. Ash dung, 30 loads ; Peruvian guano, 10 cwts. ... 14 Dung, 30 loads ; common salt, 2 cwts 15 Dung, 30 loads ; superphosphate, 10 cwts 13 Dung, 30 loads ; salt, 6 cwts 9 Dung, 30 loads 9 Dung, 30 loads ; guano, 4 cwts 13 Dung, 30 loads ; guano, 4 cwts. ; superphosphate, 3 cwts.; salt, 2 cwts l-i Dung, 30 loads ; guano, 4 cwts. ; superphosphate, 4 cwts.; salt, 2 cwts 14 Dung, 30 loads ; guano, 3 cwts. ; superphosphate, 1 cwt. ; salt, 3 cwts 11 Dung, 30 loads ; guano, 3 cwts. ; superphosphate, 2 cwts. ; salt, 2 cwts 13 Dung,30loads 9 _ _ Now the reader will remark that these are the fertilizers which are also well applied to the soil for swedes, N 8 71 9^ 5 15f 15f 13i n 15* 174 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. If, then, the chemical composition of the swede turnip and the mangold is so similar — if they appear to absorb the same constituents from the soil, or the atmosphere — we are naturally inclined to the opinion that the mangold emits from its roots or its leaves something that is pecu- liarly grateful to the swede. But whatever may be our ignorance of the true explanation of the fact, this want of knowledge does not diminish the importance of the discovery. And, moreover, the advantage of plant- ing as immediate neighbours the mangold and the swede will, in all very reasonable certainty, be derived from cultivating other plants in close juxta position. For instance, we are all aware that, like the swede turnip, red clover, formerly so valuable in our rotations, is in many districts grown with increasing difficulty, or its cultiva- tion only attempted at long intervals. Now, is there uot a reasonable hope that, like the swede tm-nip, its growth may be restored by growing it in conjunction with some other plant ? Has any reader remarked a hint from dame Nature to this purpose. Is not the potato disease to be got rid of by planting the sets with some other root for its neighbour ? Here again we are taking only another reading from dame Nature's book. She does not shower the seeds of any one, but of many grasses over our soils, aud she crowds together the trees of our primeval forests of various kinds, only reducing them to a single variety or two where the mean temperature becomes so low that only the Scotch fir or the birch can exist. THE GAME LAWS IN THE COLONIES. A despatch, it appears, was addressed during last autumn by the Earl of Kimberley to the Governors of the Colonies, requesting information concerning the laws in force as to trespass, also as to the preservation of game, and the result has now been published in the form of a Blue Book, with observations appended, that make some of these enactments intelligible to English readers. "We learn, with but the single exception of the small settle- ment of Labrian, either laws directly affecting game, or under the form of trespass acts, are in operation through- out the whole of her Majesty's colonial dominions ; and that where such had not hitherto existed, it has recently been thought necessary to prevent the too rapid destruction of birds and animals. Amongst the North American colonies we see from the report of the Governor of Prince Edward Island, that whereas the very great destruction of partridges, or tree grouse, has tended to render these birds scarce, aud if con- tinued without some further restriction, there was reason to fear that they would be exterminated, an act was passed in 1864, by which it was made illegal to shoot, kill, or destroy any partridges, or tree grouse, between the 1st of January and the 1st of October, under penalty of ten shillings, or in default of payment, committal to gaol for a period not exceeding one month. At Newfoundland partridges and snipes are not to be killed between 25th of January and the 1st of September ; rabbits or hares not between 1st of March and the 1st of September ; deer not between 1st of March and the loth of July ; and the eggs of wild-fowls are not to be destroyed. In British Columbia it is unlawful to have game in pos- session between 1st of March and the 10th of August, or venison between 1st of February aud the 1st of August ; or to collect or destroy the eggs of any grouse, quail, prairie-fowl, pheasant, or partridge : a fine not ex- ceeding fifty dollars is inflicted for each oflFence, or in default of payment imprisonment for a term not exceeding one month : informers to receive one-half the penalty. At the Bermudas an act exists for the extirpation of the crow and the preservation of other birds. The preamble observes, This bird has become a nuisance, and is very destructive to young domestic poultry, and the few native birds which are esteemed the gardeners' friends, but are fast becoming extinct through the depredations of the crows, which are rapidly increasing, and getting very numerous. It is deemed expedient, for the better success of agricultural industry, that the crow be extirpated, and the native wild birds be protected, and their increase en- couraged. For every crow destroyed a reward is given of two shillings, and for every egg sixpence ; whilst any per- son shooting any red bird, blue bird, blackbird, or cat bird, ground dove, chick of village, or quail between 1st of January and the 1st of September will be fined not less than five, or more than twenty shillings. Throughout the West India Islands the laws appear to be confined to acts of trespass. We select the island of Antigua as an example of those generally in force : " It shall be lawful for the proprietor or possessor of any plantation to cause any animals found trespassing to be captured and impounded in the parish pound with cer- tain fines attached, aud in default of their being redeemed within three days, the cattle so impounded shall be sold by public auction. If any damage shall be committed by the trespass of cattle, which cannot by reason of their wildness be impounded, it shall be lawful for the magis- trate to issue his warrant, authorizing the proprietor of the property to shoot or otherwise destroy such cattle. In the cases of persons who shall unlawfully persist in coming or remaining in any plantation, lands, or premises after being warned not to come therein or to depart therefrom, shall be committed to the common gaol to be kept to hard labour, or be compelled to pay the fine of five pounds, according to the discretion of the ma- gistrate." At the Cape of Good Hope, the proclamation of the governor states that " existing regulations against the de- struction of game, and for the preservation of some par- ticular species uot having succeeded, aud owing to the rapidly increasing population it daily becomes more ne- cessary to guard against the total destruction of game in the colony, it is therefore ordered, that from the 1st July until the 30th of November all persons whosoever are strictly forbidden to shoot any pheasant, partridge, korban, wild peacock, ostrich, buck, comprising the whole antelope species, hare, or zebra, under the penalty of fifty rix-dollars for each head of game so killed, or in default of payment to undergo one month's imprisonment." From this prohibition however are exempted farmers and other free persons travelling through the country and shooting game for their actual consumption on the road. " In order to encourage the preservation of game, certain rewards shall be giveu to all persons who destroy vermin or animals, such as the tiger, wild dog, wild cat, mouse- hound, and hawk ; the same to be paid out of the local treasuries on the production of the head of the animal." At Natal the governor observes : " The object of the first game-law which was passed in 1866 is two-fold — first, to protect the game during the breeding months ; second, to prevent wilful trespass on private property, and also on Crown lands, in pursuit of game at any time." The eland, hartebeasts, and ostrich are now very rare in the colony, and without some provision would probably soon have THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 755 become extinct. Witli thclu may be classed also the secretary bird, whici is valuable for its habit of destroying snakes, with which the colony is everywhere infested. Trespassing in pursuit of game is of frequent occurrence in consequence of the lands being unenclosed : waggon- drivers, Kafirs, and others are in the practice of shooting game wherever they can find it, and at all seasons, and frequently of burning the grass for the purpose of disco- vering game ; and Kafirs mostly hunt in company with dogs, not only over their own and Crown lands, but also over private property, even against all warning and re- monstrance, and commit great damage and large destruc- tion of game. Amongst the eastern colonies, we find in Ceylon an act to prevent the wanton destruction of elephants and to restrict their removal from the island. This has risen in conse- quence of a tour made by the Governor in 1868 in certain districts where he says that observation has shown him the wanton destruction going on through the whole of that portion of the island visited. This is all caused by the demand which has arisen for elephants in India ; and the elephant catchers desert their legitimate cultivations in the villages, and wander over the country, catching as many young elephants as they can, and for each one they catch destroying three or four old females. Upwards of 150 had been captured and paid for by the Pattanis, or natives of India, during the year, their price varying from £5 to £25. An ordinance has been passed rendering it penal to catch or shoot elephants without a licence, except when trespassing on cultivation, when the fact shall be re- ported to the nearest headman. The government agent to be empowered to grant licences to sportsmen on the payment of a certain fee, as it is not this sort of shooting that does harm, but the constant harassing and destroying of the females of the herd when they charge in defence of their young ones. At Hong-koug any person, by an act of 1870, who shall kill, v>ound, or attempt to kill or wound, or take any birds such as woodcocks, snipes, land- rails, wild ducks, teals, widgeons, sea birds, and birds of prey, shall be liable to a fine not exceeding ten dollars, with or without imprisonment not exceeding one month. Throughout the Australian and New Zealand colonies laws are in operation against trespass and favouring the import of game. In New South Wales all birds such as pheasants, partridges, and grouse, with the birds and ani- mals indigenous to the country, are protected during the breeding season from 6th August to 31st December. Any persons destroying imported game at any time are liable to pay a penalty not exceeding two pounds in addition to the value of the bird destroyed, or any person destroying native game within the period named to pay a like sum ; and for destroying eggs or having such in his possession to pay a penalty not exceeding ten shillings for each egg so destroyed or found in his possession. In Tasmania the Trespass Act was passed rather in the interests of sheep- owners than game-preservers. The holders of large tracts of country, used as sheep-ruus, wished for protection against persons engaged in kangaroo hunting. Certain other acts endeavour to provide for the protection of both imported pheasants, partridges, grouse and hares, and for native game. They are, however, considered only mode- rately effective in their provisions, and those interested in game desire enactments of greater stringency. STOCK SALES SALE OF MESSRS. LENEY'S SHORT- HORNS, At Wateeingbury, Kent, on Wednesday, July 5. BY MR. STRAFFORD. In May, 1869, Messrs. Leney drafted 23 heifers and 20 bulls from their herd ; they were brought under Mr. Strafford's glass and averaged over 60 gs., though this price was enhanced by 500 gs. for the calf Grand Duke of Kent, which was finally not delivered, so that the average would be reduced about 10 gs. This year 32 heifers and 13 bulls were put up, the average for 44 head sold being £74 4s., consequently Messrs Leney may be congratulated on a good sale, especially as 17 out of the lot were calves of this year. The time appointed for the sale was not happy ; the first Wednesday in the month is the meetingof the Royal Agricultural Society's Council, and other agricultural engagements are also held in London on that day, moreover Wolverhampton took many away, and all the south country farmers are in the midst of hay harvest, the attendance was therefore smaller than many expected. But in yearlings and calves there is little choice for business men, and the sale only offered an attraction to those who wished to increase their herds by the addition of fashionable blood. The animals were certainly brought out in excellent condition. A few of the older yearlings were out graz- ing, but most of the calves were in boxes. A heavy thunderstorm at noon drove the company under cover, and while Mr. Sartoris took the chair at the lunch, others walked out to see the dams, among which were several fine cows. Soon after two a few more dropped in by the down train, and the business commenced. The Charmers and Knightleys were the attractive lots in the catalogue, and no high prices were obtained until lot 3, a specimen heifer by Fifteenth Grand Duke was brought in ; after some sharp bidding from Mr. Sheldon, she went at 120 gs. to Mr. Bland for Mr. W. Anger- stein. Lot 1, the first heifer off"ered, was descended from Lord Ducie's Louisa, and sired by Cambridge Duke 8rd, the first prize bull at the late Essex show; she went cheap enough to Mr. Thornton for Mr. Brassey at 67 gs. Mr. Lancaster bid strongly for Baroness Fawsley, a good ribbed heifer, and finally got her for 150 gs. Rose of Autumn, a very pretty heifer, own sister to lot 1 bulls, had been intended for show purposes, but lot 10 being unwell she was substituted, and went for 115 gs. to Mr. Larking, who also got Specimen 2nd, rather a plain heifer for 105 gs. Twin Duchess 5th, with two Duke crosses on a pure Charmer, was put up at 100 gs., and seemed rather dear at that, but the biddings continued, and Mr. Angcrstein secured her at 185 gs. A Gwynne calf, with two similar crosses to the last heifer, but a white, was bought by Mr. Howard at 90 gs. One of the best lots in the sale was Oxford Fawsley 3rd, a white heifer, with four Bates crosses on Sir Charles Knightley's Rosy tribe. The opposition was keen for her up to 200 gs., and then Mr. Lancaster and Mr. Thornton fought it out until the former got her at 310 gs., the latter taking a pretty roan calf, lot 24, for Mr. Brassey at 215 gs. Lady Bates, a deep roan heifer of a rather outside family of that blood, with only one Duke cross, made the high sum of 160 gs. Baroness Fawsley Second, a red deficient- girthed heifer of the Rosy line, went for 125 gs. to Mr. 176 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. Sartoris. There was only one daughter of the sweet- looking Chorus cow offered, and that Mr. Dun wisely bought at 70 gs., although a thin white calf. There was some fun in the biddings for Charming Duchess 2nd. Mr. Sheldon and Mr. Larking's agent bidding side by side, one cool, one hot, until the cool man won at 190 gs. Last time the demand for bulls was dull, and three white ones were passed out nnsold. This year the first was last, for lot 13, Grand Duke of Geneva 2nd, a little roan calf, came into the ring before lot 1, sucking his dam, the 7th Duchess of Geneva, a magnificent white cow. After they had walked round the ring and were duly admired, the company was solicited to make an offer ; five hundred was said to have been bid, but after three calls at five hundred it was taken away ; if " anybody likes to give 800 it will be sold." The biddings were very languid for Master Knightley, and Mr. Armstrong got a very useful bull at 50 gs., whilst His Grace, nearly own brother to the 185 gs. heifer, made but 30 gs. A very promising masculine calf by Third Duke of Geneva went to Mr. Cobb for 51 gs., and the dozen, many of which were mere calves, averaged £30 14s. 3d. COWS AND HEIFEKS. Lady Louisa's Duchess, by Cambridge Duke 3rd. — Mr, John Thornton for Mr. H. Brassey, 67 gs. Thorndale Garland, by 12th Duke of Thorndale.— Dr. Arm- strong, 34 gs. Specimen, by 15th Grand Duke.— Mr. Bland for Mr. Anser- stein, M.P., 120 gs. May Duchess 2nd, by 15th Grand Duke.— Mr. J. B. B. Elliot, 34 gs. Rose of Kent, by 15th Grand Duke.— Mr. D. Mackinder, 49 gs. Baroness Fawsley, by 15th Grand Duke.— Mr. W. Lancaster, 150 gs. Charming Duchess, by 15th Grand Duke.— Mr. J. W. Lark- ing, 70 gs. Fawsley 11th, by Lord Oxford 2nd.— Mr. Gipps, 44 gs. Chaplet, by 15th Grand Duke.— Mr. C. Collard, 35 gs. Duchess of Brailes, by Duke of Brailes.— Mr. Bland for Mr. Angerstein, M.P., 105 gs. JSpecimen 2nd, by 15th Grand Duke.— Mr. J. AV. Larking, 105 gs. Rose of Spring, by Lord Oxford 2nd.— Mr. J. B. B. EUiot, 44 gs. Lady Louisa's Duchess 3rd, by Cambridge Duke 3rd.— Mr. C. A. Barnes, 35 gs. Duchess of Brailes 2nd, by Duke of Brailes.— Mr. Bland, for Mr. Angerstein, M.P., 61 gs. Twin Duchess 5th, by 15th Grand Duke.— Mr. Bland for Mr. Angerstein, M.P., 185 gs. Lady Gwynne, by 15th Grand Duke.— Mr .'Charles Howard, 90 gs. Oxford i'awsley 3rd, by Grand Duke of Kent.— Mr. W. Lancas- ter, 310 gs. Lady Bates, by 15tli Grand Duke. — Colonel Kincrscote, 160 gs. Baroness Fawsley 2nd, by 15th Grand Duke.— Mr. F. Sartoris, 125 gs. Lady Flora 3rd, by Knightley.— Mr. Gipps, 40 gs. Lady Superior 3rd, by 15th Grand Duke.— Mr. Kingsnorth, 31 gs. Sweet Jenny Jones, by Knightley. — Mr. Gipps, 46 gs. Charming Lady, by 15th Grand Duke.— Mr. J. Thornton for Mr. H. Brassey, 215 gs. Countess 3rd, by 15th Grand Duke.— Sir G. R. Philips, 70 gs. Chaff, by 15th Grand Duke.— Mr. White, 32 gs. May Duchess 4th, by 15th Grand Duke.— Mr. B. Hale, 27 gs. Charming Duchess 2nd, by 15th Grand Duke.— Mr. H. J, Sheldon, 190 gs. • February Butterfly, by Sir Charles Knightley.— Mr. F. Cobb, 26 gs. Columbia's Duchess 2nd, by 15th Grand Duke.— Mr. C. Howard, 58 gs. Duchess of Brailes 3rd, by IBth Grand Doke.— Sir G, R. Phihps, 60 gs. Rose of May, by 15th Grand Duke. — Mr. T. Kingsnorth, 25 gs.' Rose of Autumn, own sister to lot 1 bulls. — Mr. J. W. Lark- ing, 115 gs. BULLS. Master Knightley, by Lord Oxford 2nd. — Dr. Armstrong, 50 gs. His Grace, by Lord Oxford 2nd. — Mr. Philip, 30 gs. Third Duke of Kent, by 15th Grand Duke. — Mr. Gipps, 52 gs. The Red Knight, by Sir Charles Knightley.— Sir G. R. Philips, 25 gs. Geneva Duke, by 3rd Duke of Geneva — Mr. F. Cobb, 51 gs. Shakespeare, by Sir Charles Knightley. — Mr. J. Russell, 25 gs. Janizary, by Sir Charles Knightley. — Mr. T. Kinpnorth, 22 gs. Partisan, by 15th Grand Duke. — Mr. T. Kingsnorth, 16 gs. MUcote, by Sir Charles Knightley.— Mr. Pilcher, 21 gs. Belleville, by Sir Charles Knightley. — Mr. Ford, 18 gs. Young Butterfly, by Sir Charles Knightley. — Mr. Benstead, 16 gs. General, by Sir Charles Knightley. — Mr. F. Wythes, 25 gs. Grand Duke of Geneva 2nd, by Grand Duke 15th. — Not sold. SUMMARY. 32 Heifers averaged £90 10s. Od £2,895 18 12 Bulls averaged £30 14s. 3d 368 11 44 Averaged £74 Ss. lOd £3,264 9 THE SMEETH HERD.— This stock, the property of Mr. F. Mnrton, of Smeeth, near Ashford, was sold by Mr. Straf- ford the day after Mr. Leney's sale. The herd had been bred from Lord Faversham's, Mr. Clayden's, Mr. Langston's, Mr. WeUs, and other herds, and crossed with suitable sires, but it lacked fashionable blood, and prices were not very high Among the top ones were Inventus 12th, 30 gs. (White) Kentish Lady, 36 gs. (D'Arth) ; Kentish Lassie 2ud, 36 gs (Tappenden) ; Princess, 34 gs. (White) ; Rosabel, 37 gs, (Allen) ; Minette, 25 gs. (Allen) ; Pride of Kent, 30 gs (Collard). Safeguard (27409), the bull in use of the Sur mise tribe, went for 42 gs. to Mr. Hayward and the 38 head averaged £25 15s. Some Kentish rams, for which Mr. Murton is celebrated as a breeder, made good prices. SHORTHORN SALES. HER MAJESTY'S, AT THB Prince Consort's Shaw Farm, W'indsor Castle, on Wednesday, July 19, 1871. BY MR. H. STRAFFORD. " The Royal herd was founded by the late lamented Prince Consort, with the object of breeding animals of real utility both for the dairy and the butcher." We believe that a lot of useful dairy cows was the first start of the herd, to which thorough-bred bulls were used from Mr. Manning's and Mr. 3Iajoribank's stocks ; but Sir Charles Knightley's herd laid the foundation of the pedi- grees ; Mr. Wilson, the steward at the time, selecting, at the Fawsley sale, in 1856, two cows, Alix, still alive, and in her 18th year, and Cold Cream. The main portion of the stock is bred from these two cows, who, as well as their offspring, have been exceedingly prolific. Two or three other tribes were comprised in the catalogue, but which have as yet not attracted much demand, except Jlr, Arbuthnot's old Tuberose, of Caliph family. Bulls were then hired from Mr. Booth's herd at Warlaby, and this THE FARMEE'S MAGAZINE. m practice, except during the year of the cattle plague, has continued up to the present time, Royal Benedict (27348) being now in use. A good continental trade was always done at Windsor, until the time of the cattle -plague, when the stock so greatly increased that the first public sale was announced of about 50 head, a fourth of which were bulls, to take place in October, 1867. Just at that time, Mr. Sheldon sent over from America to England some young animals of the highly fashionable Bates' blood. After remaining some weeks in quarantine at Southampton, they were brought to "Windsor for sale, and accommodated with Royal boxes. Graceful as the act was, it proved in the end mutually beneficial : party, or perhaps tribe, feeling did not at that time run so high. An immense company came to see the American cattle, and greatly assisted the Royal sale, especially of the female portion, forty-two head averaging £44 ; the bulls, however, made only £25 a-piece. This year the time of sale was moved from Octo- ber to July, and this, as it proved, was an unfortunate change. In the week after the Royal Meeting, the country, favoured at last with the sight of the sun for three whole days together, was in the midst of hay harvest ; while, farther, it was the first day of the Lincolnshire show. The attendance was, therefore, small ; and from this, coupled with the apparently draught nature of the stock, no high prices were realised. The first half-dozen cows were ten years old and over, and some of the others were doubtful breeders. Colonel Kingscote presided at the lunch, at which about 150 sat down. The usual loyal and complimentary toasts were given, and business commenced about two o'clock ; Mr. Strafford previously remarking the good effects that had been done by introducing well-bred cattle, and eulogising the good works of the late Prince Consort. The first lot, a daughter of Alix, by Mr. Booth's Prince Alfred, a very fine massive old cow, brought but 28 gs., a trifle over butcher's price. Caroline, a long, broad backed cow, went for 32 gs. Graceful 2nd, also a good specimen, was bought by Mr. W. H. Dunn — very cheap at 45 gs. ; and Mr. Grant purchased Pauline (45 gs.), and Florida, a deep, good heifer (67 gs.), for Captain Elliott. Honesty, bred by Mr. Adkins, of the Kuightley strain, very fuU of hair, but a questionable breeder, made 50 gs. ; and Mr. G. Game gave 49 gs. for a daughter of iUix, by Rajah. Many of the heifers were rough in their quarters, wluch gave a slack appearance to their backs ; still thers seemed much substance about them, and, considering that no well-bred cow had two direct crosses of the Booth bulls, they sold fairly well. Mr. Gilbey bought several to go to Spain. The bulls were all of good colours, but some of the older ones were not very first-rate. Mr. Sturgeon bought two or three at cheap prices ; and a very good calf. Earl Russell, went for 63 gs. — the top bull price — to Mr. Thornton, for Australia. Another good calf of the Cold Cream tribe made 46 gs. Some remarkably fine heifers were shown at some distance from the farm, as well as a number of large brood cows, with capital udders, from which better stock than that sold might be expected. A very good judge has observed that the strength and reputation of a herd is always shown by the biiU average exceeding that for cows. If this theory be tnie, the fact that the average for buUs was nearly £2 beyond that for cows, and nearly £10 in excess of that in 1867, may go to argue that there are brighter days and higher averages in store for the Royal herd, more especially when the strong and contrary lines of blood in the sires and dams are the closer united, and their type more tho- roughly fixed. SUMMAEY, £ s. d. £ s. 41 cows 33 2 9 1,358 14 14 bulls 34 19 0 489 6 55 Averaged £33 13 0 £1,848 0 MESSRS. HARWARD AND DOWNING'S, At Wintekfold, Kidderminster, on Thursday, July 20, 1871. BY MR. H. STRAFFORD. The same causes that operated against the attendance at Her Majesty's sale doubtless were in force at Winter- fold, as the ring and the luncheon tent showed accom- modation for a much larger company than was present. Nearly every other field, too, might be seen with the grass cut, as this from its discoloured appearance had apparently been there some time. The catalogue of sale comprised a number of choice families, of the Kirklevington, Blanche, Surmise, Waterloo, and Wild Eyes tribes ; and the first, being very pure of their kind, were the attraction of the sale. Messrs. Downing and Harward had spared neither trouble nor expense to establish the herd in what may as yet (from the local competition) be called an undeveloped district. They had selected cows of the most fashionable blood, paid Captain Gunter 500 gs. a- piece for Duke bulls, and failing the supply at Wetherby, had imported Eighth Duke of Geneva, of the same blood, from America at 800 gs. This reputation brought to- gether many admirers of the blood, among whom were Capt. Oliver, Mr. Sheldon, Mr. Leney, Mr. Bowley, Mr. Rich, and the agents of the Duke of Devonshire, Lord Skelmersdale, Lord Penrhyn, Lord Chesham, Lord Fitzhardinge, Col. Kingscote, Sir G. Philips, Sir Curtis Lampson, Mr. PaviuDavies, and other weU-known breeders. On a close mspection of the cattle by the catalogue, it be- came apparent that the sale, like that at Windsor, was of a draught character, and with the exception of two or three fashionables, no large figures were expected. Tha two first cows went very reasonable, but Kirklevington 16th being probably one of the purest and best of the tribe, was much sought. She had been confined in too small a box for calving, consequently in March last her calf came dead ; she showed, however, every appearance of health, and in order that she might not be thrown away a reserve of 300 gs. was placed upon her. When she entered the ring this explanation took place, and she was put up at a 100 gs. which went on by five's and fifty's imtil 300 gs. was reached. Mr. Thornton then bid five and the com- petition went on until fifty was called, but another " five" was sufficient, and the cow for which 500 gs. was bid in 1869 was sold for 355 gs. to Lord Bective ; Mr. Leney, it was said, being the opposition. Some of the Blanche or Sockburn cows were deep good animals, though apparently wanting hair ; but they sold well, Mr. Kirbell, for Lord Chesham, giving 85 gs. for Cherry Blanche 2nd, and 52 gs. for Lady Mary 2nd. Another Kirklevington by the TthDuke of York, a fair good roan heifer, had calved in March, but the calf was lost, and she was only recently bulled ; the biddings were not very spirited, still she at last reached 176 gs., being bought for Mr. Pavin Davies. The next lot, Kirklevington 10th, was rather wanting in pure Duke crosses, and being a little doubtful as well, went only for 55 gs. to Mr. Leney. Mr. Foster gave 83 gs. for a very good Blanche, and Mr. Savill 50 gs. for another of the same blood; although white, Lady Waterloo seemed unlike a breeder, and had returned after six 178 THE FAtlMER'S MAGAZINE. moutlis quietude, so she was put up at 200 gs. and with- drawn. Kirklevington 22nd, a white heifer by 5th Lord Wild Eyes from Kirklevington 16th, was quickly in the market, and the biddings went merrily along up to 270 gs., when Mr. Thornton's three hundred secured her as well as the dam, for the Earl of Bective. Countess Blanche, a deep good useful heifer, made 71 gs. (Capt. Webb), and Mr.Leney took Tacita 4th at 51 gs., and Tacita at 60 gs. Lady Worcester 8th, the only specimen of the Wild Eyes tribe, went to Col. Kingscote at 80 gs., while a little red Kirklevington calf by Fifth Duke of Wharfdale was sold to Mr. Ashburner, a tenant-farmer, at 100 gs. Some of the other calves by 3rd Duke of Claro went cheap. The bulls, as a whole, rather wanting in condition, were not a first-rate lot. The two Oxford bulls were both reserved at a 100 gs. each. Earl Lally, a yearling, made but 36 gs. (Mr. T. Morris), and Earl of Chatham, a light roan full of hair and quality, went cheap enough to Mr. Simmons at 70 gs. Two or three of the younger ones were not offered. Some fine cows, for service by Eighth Duke of Geneva, were staying with the rest of the herd, among which were several rich coloured good cows and heifers. SUJIMAKY. £ s. d. £ 8. 39 cows 61 15 9 2,409 15 11 bulls 29 19 5 329 14 50 averaged 54 15 9 £2,739 9 SALE OF THE LATE SQUIEE FAK- QUHARSON'S SOUTHDOWNS, At Langton, on Tuesday, July 4tii. BY MR. T. ENSOR. Tlie Guuville flocks wliich on this occasion were brouglit to tlie hammer, comprised about 3,000 pure-bred Sussex Downs — ewes, wethers, hogs, and Iambs — and, besides the sheep several cart-horses, and a collection of agricultural implements, were submitted to competition. Tlie sheep of the late Squire were as true-bied Sussex Downs as any in tlie country, owing their celebrity to the flocks of the Duke of Rich- mond, Lord Walsingham, the late Mr. Jonas Webb (whose sales Mr. I'arquliarsou frequently attended), tlie late Mr. Ell- man, the late Mr. H. Boys, Mr. Henry fookes, and Mr. Goringe, of Sussex. To the Duke of Richmond's Mr. Far- quharsou had a particular partiality, sparing on no occasion either expense or trouble to secure in symmetry and general excellence the choicest of animals. His sheep were in fact the pick of many famous flocks, for Mr. Farquharson was a connoisseur upon wliose judgment practical farmers could rely. The sheep to be disposed of on Tuesday were catalogued in 130 lots, which consisted chiefly of pens numbering 20 sheep each. There were 19 lots of two-tooth, 17 of four- tooth, and 15 of six-tooth ewes. Of chilver hoggs there were 25 lots, while the wether hoggs were sold in 15. The chilver lambs numbered 24 pens, and there were ten of wetlier lambs, the last set down in the catalogue. The 3,000 sheep were disposed of with remarkable rapidity, although the competition throughout was keen. The two- tooth ewes, in 19 lots, each numbering 20 sheep, were the first submitted to competition, and realised i'856, or an average of a little more than 45s. each sheep. Mr. Butler, a cattle dealer, was the purchaser of five lots at 45s. and 46s. Four lots were knocked down to Mr. Dickinson, who gave from 39s. to 45s. Mr. Dowding bought at 47s. ; and at Is. less than that figure, Mr. Cresdee, of Wareham, a considerable pur- chaser of the former sale, had another lot. The rest went to Mr. Whittle, Mr. Look, Mr. Pearce (for Major Hussey, Burton Bradstock), Mr. Jones, and Mr. Forester (steward to Lord Portman), the prices ranging from 4l3. to 4Ss. The four- tooth ewes fetched still higher figures, the average of 17 lots being a trifle more than 47s. per sheep, and the total sum realised, £803. Messrs. Cresdie, Butler, Whittle, W. Smith (Exeter), Wells, R. Fowler, and Jones were the purchasers, the successful bids running from 46s. to 50s., Mr. Fowler purchasing at the latter price. Fifteen pens of six-tooth evves were eagerly bought at from 46s. to 50s. Mr. Fowler again gave the latter figure, as did also Mr. Jones and Mr. Butler. The other purchasers were Messrs. William Smith, Cresdee, Whittle, Taylor, and Groves (Damory Farm). Four lots of old ewes, purchased by Messrs. Groves, Forester, and Charles, fetched from 38s. to 43s., or an average of 41s. The two- tooth wethers did not muster strongly. There were only two pens of 25 each, and these changed hands at 57s. and 59s., Mr. Wake giving the former sum, and Mr. Henry Fookes the latter. Although, as a rule, size told agamst " the squire," he generally held his own in regard to breed and quality, even in competition at the leading shows against more gigantic rivals. For the chilver lioggs, forming two dozen and one lots, the biddings ranged from 43s. to 46s., the buyers being Messrs. Forester, Cresdie, Charles, Butler, G. Wood Homer (who bid the top figure), W. Smith, Jones, and Captain Tliresher. The 25 lots fetched about £1,140. Wether hoggs were disposed of to Messrs. Strange, Jeffery, Wake, and Cresdie, at from 46s. to 49s., the 15 lots bringing in about £780. Chilver lambs, numbering about 500, realised from 17s. to 23s. each, Mr. Read, of Ibsley, purchasing pretty ex- tensively ; the other buyers were Messrs. Cresdie, Pearce, Ford (Weymouth), BaUey, and Whittle ; the 24 lots realised about £480. Wether lambs, in lots of 50, and one of 30, went at from 22s. to 25s. to Messrs. Bailey, Warren, Bennett, Cresdie, Jeffery, and AV. Fookes, the whole coming to above £550. The sale was brought to a termination at about four o'clock, the whole of the 3,000 sheep haviug been knocked down within a couple of hours. A rough calculation of the day's proceeds shows that about £5,700 was given for the 3,000 sheep and lambs, comprising the GunviUe flock. The Hinton flock fetched £2,605, and the Langton £2,765 10s., while the takings of the first day's sale exceeded £7,000, so that the whole of the farm produce was of great value. SALE OF STOCK AT THE WOLVERHAMPTON MEETING.— Shorthorns : Lord Sudeley's Cherub to Mr. Cochrane (Canada) ; Mr. Meadows' Prince Charlie to Mr. C. W. Brierley ; Colonel Towneley's Baron Hubback 2nd to Mr. Gibson (America) ; Colonel Towneley's British Baron to Mr. Snell (Canada) ; the Rev. Bruce Kennard's Oxford Duchess to Mr. Cochrane ; Mr. Ladd's Lord Oxford heifer to Mr. Miller (Canada) ; Mr. Hosken's Countess of Oxford to Mr. Gibson; Mr. Beat tie's Sousie to Sir TattonSykes; Mr. C. Baruett's Belinda Oxford to Mr. Cochrane ; Mr. Outhwaite's Lady Brough (with certain contingencies) to Mr. Gibson ; Messrs. Game's Nellie Booth to Mr. Cochrane ; Colonel Towneley's Lady Oxford to Mr. Miller ; Colonel Towneley's Butterfly's Memento to Mr. Gibson ; Mr. C. A. Barnes' Royal Duchess 2nd to Mr. Cochrane. An offer of 700 gs. for Mr. Beattie's Warrior's Plume was refused. On the show-yard Lord Dun- more purchased five heifers of the Oxford and Red Rose tribes, from Mr. Cochrane, of Canada, which are to cross with the two Duchess calves in October, and for which im- mense prices were paid ; and Duchess 97th has produced another bull-calf, which has already been sold for 1,000 gs. Herefords : Mr. Hill's Pearl Diver, Mr. Child's Star of the West, and l^Ir. Harding's Lizzie Jefferys were sold for ship- ment to Australia, and most of the Cotswold ewes and Berk- shire pigs which changed hands go to Canada. The demand for bulls was very slack, BUTLEY LAMB SALE.— The first lots sold were four- score lamb* consigned by Lord Rendlesham, 60 of which made from 31s. to 36s. 6d. Fourteen score wether lambs from J. Lewin, of Wantisden Hall, sold at from 233. to 29s. 6d. ; whilst 280 black-faced ewe lambs, from the same noted flock, made from 27s. 6d. to 34s. 6d. each. Of 280 Down lambs, from Mr. Samuel Wolton, 100 fetched from 25s. 6d. to 30s., the rest making from 18s. to 23s. 6d. Some lialf- bred lambs from Messrs. R. and A. Crisp, Gedgrave, sold at THE JFAItMER'S MAGAZINE. 1?^ prices viirying from ~0s. to ~9d. GJ. eacli. Some fat sheep, con- signed by Mr. A. Crisp, readied as high as 62s. 6d. ; and 46 two-shear wether sheep from Mr. R. Crisp, from 50s. to 60s. 6d. 140 lambs from Mr. H. M. Gobbitt, 18s. 6d. to 35s. 6d. 100 Down crones from Mr. Samuel Wolton Butely Abbey, 33s. 5d. to 45s. LAMB SALE AT KESGRAVE.— The first ftock offered was that of Mr. C. Bantoft, Howe's Farm, Martleshara. Tlie first lot of 20 half-bred Leicester lambs was bought by Mr. Green for the high price of 42s., and the next score fetched 41s. a-head, Mr. Cobbold, Trimley, being the purchaser. One lot of 40 made 35s., two made 34s. 6d., two 34s., two 33s. 6d., and two 39s. Crones fetched from 29s. to 47s. 6d. The nest flock was that of Mr. King, llushmere Hall, and the top price of lambs was 42s. a-piece, given by Mr. W. Wilson, Baylham, for 25 half-bred ewe lambs ; the others, in lots of 40, fetching from 25s. 6d. to 41s. Cast ewes made 50s. to 54s., and orones 35s. 6d. Mr. E. Tye, Melton, bought the first lot of lambs from Foxhall Hall (Mr. Wainwright's) for 32s. 6d., and other lots fetched from 23s. to 34s. Mr. Wicks bought 5 crones for 40s. each. Mr. W. rurnet's (Kesgrave Hall) black-faced ewe lambs made from 31s. 6d. to 35s. 6d. The wether lambs made from 19s. to 31s,, and two-and-a-half score of crones made 33s. 6d. The highest price made by the ewe lambs from the Haugh Farm, Sutton (Mr. A. Smith's) was 40s., the other prices being from 20s. to 35s. The wethers fetched from 20s. to 33s. 6d. Mr. King bought three scores shearling black-faced ewes at from 53s. to 60s. Mr. H. Wolton's (Newbourne Hall) Southdown lambs made from 27s. to 33s. 6d. ; his crones fetched 37s. 6d. to 43s. 6d. Mr. H. Biddell bought most of the Southdown ewe lambs from Mr. J. Everett's (Brightwell Hall) at 27s. to 28s. 6d., and Mr. E. Tye bought ten score wethers at 32s. to 33s. 6d. Mr. Hicks bought half-a-dozen fat Southdown sheep at 73s., and Mr. J. Garrod bought seven at 61s. MR. HENRY FOOKES' SOUTHDOWN LETTING.— The annual sale and letting of Mr. Henry Fookes' South Down Rams which took place on Saturday, July 8, at the Bland- ford Wool Fair, was attended by the principal Southdown breeders in this and adjoining counties. The sheep were considered equal, if not superior, to any ever offered in this county, combining great size and substance, with good quality and colour, and very heavy wool bearers ; they were never housed, and consequently in good healthy condition. The catalogue contained 73 sheep, 71 of whicii were actually sold or let at an average of about £13 each, only two sheep not finding customers. The highest prices given were by Capt. Thresher, 16 and 31 guineas ; Mr. Moysey, 15 J guineas ; BIr. Kent, ISj guineas ; Mr. Cane, 14, 19, 25, and 13 guineas ; Mr. Beasaut, 12| and 25 guineas ; Mr. Baunton. 14 guineas ; Mr. Crane, 15 guineas ; Mr. House, 16 guineas ; Mr. Scuth, 15 and 16 guineas ; Mr. Mayo, 14 guineas; Mr. H. Richards, 12 guineas; Mr. C. Pope, 122^ guineas. The highest price realized was for a fine three-year- old sheep, which, after a spirited competition, was let to Mr. J. Moore, of Littlecot, for 32 guineas. The sale was con- ducted by Mr. T. Ensor, in his usual quick and business-like manner, and all were disposed of in rather over the hour, the amount realized being about £850. AGRICULTURAL INTELLIGENCE, FAIRS, &c. BASINGSTOKE FAIR.— Between 8,000 and 9,000 sheep, being considerably more than last year, were penned. Good prices were realized. Mr. F. Budd obtained the prize of 10 gs. for the best pen of 100 Hampshire Down wether lambs, bred and fed by the exhibitor. He also obtained the prize of 10 gs. for the best pen of ewes fed by the exhibitor from the 31st of October, to consist of not less than 50 nor more than 100, taken in proportion of 10 in every 50 ewes kept by the exhi- bitor. To Messrs. J. and H. White, of Broak Oak, Odiham, was awarded the prize of 10 gs. to the person who should pen the largest number of sheep and lambs. Mr. J. Moore, of Viables Farm, obtained the piece of plate, value 20 gs., for penning the largest number of sheep and lambs. Mr. G. K. Budd, Clidlesden ; Mr. E. Cobdeu, Preston Candover ; Messrs. Palmer, Clidlesden ; Mrs. Emily Clift, Sherborne St. John ; Mr. Wigg, Basing; Messrs. Bradby, Preston; Mr. W. B. Boxall, Strathfieldsaye ; Mr. J. Moore, Pewsey, Wilts, and Mr. J. Young, Preston, were also successful exhibitors. BOSTON SHEEP MARKET.— An average supply with a fair trade at 8|d. to 9d. per lb. DUNDEE FAIR. — Fat cattle, which were less numerous than last year, were rapidly bought up at prices fuUy up to the average of last year. Lean cattle, and especially Irish spare stock, were shown in large numbers, and although the prices asked were much the same as last year, sales were very stiff, and at the close of the market many lots remained unsold. The best lot in the market — eight three-year-olds — was bought by Mr. James NicoU, Forfar, at £27 each. He also bought nine three-year-olds at ^25. Mr. George Nicoll, Forfar, sold 17 two-year-olds at £19, and three at £14. Messrs. Dodds and Bathie sold 31 two-year-olds at £17. Milch cows, chiefly Ayrshires, were a fair show so far as numbers were concerned, and the lots exhibited were in splendid condition. Mr. Batchelor, Craigie, sold eight cows at prices ranging from £19 to £26 ; and Mr. LiddeU, Denny, sold five — the largest and best lot of Ayrshire cows in the market — at prices ranging from £16 to £25. Other lots also changed hands at prices much the same as the above. The stock of horses in the market was much larger than last year. The best cart mare in the market was sold at £50. James Napier, Glasgow, bought four horses, one at £45. Messrs. Lindsay, Dundee, bought a horse for £40. Ten horses at prices ranging from £17 to £60 were sold by Mr. M'Farland, and Mr. Wilkie sold five at prices ranging from £30 to £50. Mr. David Peters sold several work horses at from £10 to £43. Ponies were in great demand, and the show not being large, good prices were obtained. GRANTHAM FAT STOCK MARKET.— 400 and 500 very fine sheep sold readily at 8d. to 9d. per lb., also some ex- cellent beasts realized 9s. 6d. to lOs. per stone. There were some store stock, which sold well. HORSHABI LAMB FAIR.— The number of lambs must have exceeded that of last year considerably, and the top price made, we believe, was 45s., for a pen of 50 sold by Mr. Ire- land, of Timberley, Bury. A lot of ewes sold at 55s. Messrs. Emery, of Hurston, sold at 44s. ; they were very fine lambs. Mr. Atkinson, of Dorking, bought a nice lot of tegs at 48s. Messrs. Penfold, Cokeham House, near Worthing, sold head lambs at 37s., and seconds at 39s. 6d. HUNTINGTON FAIR.— There was a great demand for horses. Good waggon and cart horses fetched from £40 to £50, hacks from £30 to £30, and ponies from £7 to £15. There was a scarcity of cows and calves, and those in the fair in many cases were sold three and four times over. The sheep, which were in large numbers, sold remarkably well at advanced prices. This was the best business fair held at this place for many years. LINCOLN FAT STOCK MARKET.— Good supply of fat beef, small supply of sheep, trade brisk at about the previous week's prices. Beef 10s. per stone, mutton 82d. to lOd. per lb. MUIR OF ORD SHEEP MARKET. — Lambs sold at 30s. and ewes at 60s., being respectively 5s. above last year. NEWARK FAT STOCK MARKET.— The supply was not at all equal to the demand, there being a very large at- tendance of buyers from the Mansfield, Sheffield, and other districts ; prices were accordingly even higher than last week. NEWTON-STEWART MONTHLY MARKET.— Prices ranged for three-year-olds from £13 13s. to £15 15s each ; two-year-olds £9 10s. up to £13, and cudaghs £5 to £8 153. Of pigs there were several carts on the stance, and aU sold at 9s. to 13s. 6d. each, according to age and quality. SLEAFORD FAT STOCK MARKET.— A good show of first-class fat sheep, which met with a brisk trade at fully last week's prices. Grand show of fat beasts, which were disposed of at extreme rates. Fair show of pigs. Mutton realised from 8^d. to 9^d. per lb., beef 10s. to lis. per stone, lambs from 38s. to 46s. each, pork 7s. to 7s. 6d. per stone. SPILSBY FAIR.— The show of sheep was remarkably small, but although prices ruled high, trade was brisk, and in a short time all were sold, making from 8d. to 9d. per lb., ac- cording to quality. The show of beasts was better than that of sheep, still ncitiicr in quantity or quality was it equal to 180 THE FAEMER'S MAGAZINE. that which used to be seen at Spilshy fair. There was a lively trade, and the best animals (whether intended for the butcher or the grazier) were quickly caught up. Beef made fully 10s. per stone, and in some instances somewhat more was obtained. Store beasts also fetched remarkably high prices, and many persons who from the abundance of keeping were obliged to buy, wondered how they should see their own again. The show of horses, although somewhat better in quality, was in respect of numbers not equal to that of last year. STOCKBRIDGE PAIR.— Trade opened very brL'kly at prices ranging from 8s. to 10s. per head higher than last year. The supply was short, and the greater part sold by the middle of the day at the following prices : Lambs from 28s. to 36s., Mr. Wyeth, of Bossington, obtaining 44s. for a superior lot ; Mr. Flower, of Longstock, and Mr. Lywood, of Houghton, also realising over 40s. per head. Ewes sold from 40s. to 54s., Mr. Aflee, of Rookley,' selling at the latter price, and Mr. L. Lewis, of Leckford, at o~s., wethers 46s. to 55s. each. The show of ram lambs was much less than usual. SWAIFHAM FAIR.— The show of lambs was not quite equal to that of last year in point of numbers, though the difference was notliing to speai of ; but the prices realised were remarkably high. The prices ranged according to quality, the poorest kind fetching only about 25s. per head, while some very superior animals realised as much as 46s. 6d. TVe heard of one large quantity which sold at 38s. per head, a second which made 37s., and a third 36s. per head. The general run might be said to be from 30s. to 40s. The bul- lock fair was thinly represented, but the prices realized were ^"WORCESTER FORTNIGHTLY FAIR was moderately supplied with stock, but the attendance of buyers was small. The auction sales were lower than usual. Beef ranged from 8|d. to 9d. per lb., mutton 8d. to 9d. Pigs rather cheaper. AGRICULTURAL REPORTS. GENERAL AGRICULTURAL REVIEW FOR JULY. We have seldom experienced a more variable month than that now brought to a close. July 1871 will be remembered on account of its abnormal and lugubrious character, and more particularly on account of the great disappointment that far- mers liave had to contend with in regard to the hay crop. Seldom liave the anticipations formed with regard to the yield of grass been brighter, and seldom have hopes so justly formed been so completely dispelled. Haymaking has progressed very slowly throughout tlie month, cutting and carrj-ing having been much interrupted by the frequent rams. The yield has proved to be much less than was promised a few weeks back, and the quality has deteriorated greatly. StiU there is a fair hope of a good aftermath, but tlie aggregate yield, though heavier than last year, is disappointing. The month opened cold and wet, and serious apprehensions were at one time entertained for the safety of the growing crops. Vegetation generally was arrested, and wheat was be- ginning to lose colour, more particularly on light lands. On well-fanned and hea\-y soUs appearances have never been such as to justify real alarm this year, but the reports have not been uniformly satisfactory. Wireworm and mildew have made their appearance, but these complaints are local, and it is to be hoped that the damage is restricted to the particular quar- ters from which the accounts come. The break in the clouds that took place during the closing portion of the month has had a wonderful influence for the better upon the crops. "Vegetation lias been powerfully stimulated, and much progress has latterly been made. Wheat now presents a more favour- able appearance, and though the harvest cannot be early, and tlie yield will probably prove below the average, we do not look for any serious faUing-ofF in the crops. The fields are now rapidly changing colour, and it is thought that in some of the forward districts the early wheats will be ready for cutting before the first week in August. At the same time the harvest cannot become general for some little while. Meantime the wheat trade has ruled very dull, owing to the more satisfactory accounts received of the growing crops, and to the liberal receipts of foreign produce. Prices have uniformly tended downwards throughout the month, and wheat closes 2s. to 3s. per qr. cheaper for Russian and American descriptions, and about 2s. lower for other sorts, as compared with the values current on the opening of the month. Barley and oats are well spoken of, the abundant moisture having greatly benefited the latter crop. Beans and peas have podded well, and promise a good return. Roots generally are favourably reported upon, though potatoes vary somewhat in quality. The demand for spring corn has been inactive. Maize and oats have been in heavy supply, tlie imports having been on an excessive scale. Prices are consequently 2s. to 3s. per qr. lower on the month. As usual at this period of the year, bar- ley has been little inquired after, and the quotations are nomi- nal. Very few beans or peas have been on offer in Mark Lane. Hops at one period presented a very discouraging appear- ance, the bine being very backward and much attacked by vermin. The market consequently became excited, but with the return of more favourable weather a reaction has taken place. English wool has been in constant demand, owing to the agitated state of the goods market, and the quotations have tended upwards. There appears reason to believe that this year's clip vntII be disposed of at high rates. REVIEW OF THE CATTLE TRADE FOR THE PAST MONTH. A firmer tone has characterized the Cattle trade during the month. The Lincolnshire season has now well set-in ; but up to the present time the stock has not come to hand in good condition, notwithstanding the abundance of grass. Certainly some good weight-carrying animals have been exhibited, but really choice stock has been comparatively scarce. Prospects, however, are decidedly satisfactory. A large crop of hay has been secured, although no small proportion has been carried in indifferent condition, owing to the unsettled weather. The root crops also promise to turn out well, so that there will be an abundance of food during the winter months. Tlie total receipts of stock from our own grazing districts have been about an average as regards number. From abroad a fair supply lias come to hand, including some good-conditioned Oporto stock. The trade has been firmer, and the value of the best Scots has improved to 6s. to 6s. 2d. per Slbs. The show of sheep has been moderate. Some choice stock has been received from our own districts, and the quality of the foreign breeds has not been unsatisfactory. As in the case of beasts the demand has been active, and prices have risen, the best Downs and half-breds now selling at 6s. 8d. to 6s. lOd. per Slbs. Lambs have been firmer, and the best breeds have been dis- posed of at 8s. per Slbs. Rather large supplies of calves have been on offer. There has been a fair demand, at full prices. Pigs have commanded but little attention, at steady cur- rencies. The arrivals of beasts from our own grazing districts, as well as from Scotland and Ireland, thus compare with the three previous years : July, July, July, July, 1868. 1869. 1870. 1871. From Norfolk, Suffolk, &c 1,800 300 1,100 1,625 Lincolnshire, Leicestershire, &c. 6,600 5,300 4,800 6,320 Other parts of England 3,700 2,020 2,800 1,095 Scotland 96 47 97 60 Ireland 170 450 120 120 The annexed figures show the total imports of foreign stock THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 181 into London during the past month, and at the corresponding periods in the three previous years : 1868. 1869. 1870. 1871. Beasts 6,037 8,784 6,806 5,049 Sheep and Lambs 24.,905 30,772 37,991 52,446 CaWes 2,282 4,669 4,340 3,779 Pigs 2,316 3,349 3,230 5,520 The total supplies of stock exhibited and disposed of at the Metropolitan Market during the month have been as follows : Head. Beasts 15,655 Sheep and Lambs 136,500 Calves 5,500 Pigs 780 Comparison of Supplies. July, Beasts. Sheep & Lambs. Calves. Pigs. 1870 24,843 211,610 5,350 1,155 1869 20,240 176,880 4,485 1,129 1868 24,312 195,250 3,938 1,360 1867 18,590 136,480 3,117 1,755 1866 21,710 158,990 3,778 2,420 1865 26,010 149,960 5,757 2,480 1864 27,394 147,890 4,658 3,140 1863 24,070 169,870 8,822 2,682 1862 22,392 151,060 2,339 2,632 1861 19,740 156,140 3,532 3,240 1860 19,870 153,600 3,133 2,428 1859 19,600 166,632 3,600 2,430 1858 20,468 154,922 4,262 3,290 Beasts are selling at 3s. 6d. to 6s. 2d., sheep 4s. to 6s. lOd., lamb 6s. 6d. to 8s., calves 3s. 8d. to 6s., and pigs 3s. 6d. to 4s. 8d. per 81bs., to sink the offal. Comparison or Prices. July, 1868. July, 1869. July, 1870. s. d. s. d. s. d. s. d. s. d. s. d. Beef from 30 to 60 80 to 58 30 to 56 Mutton... 8 0 to 5 0 3 0 to 5 8 84 to 5 6 Lamb 50 to 60 56 to 60 64 to 70 "Veal 3 6 to 5 0 4 6 to 5 8 3 10 to 5 6 Pork 3 2 to 4 4 3 10 to 5 2 4 6 to 5 8 NORTH NORTHUMBERLAND. As has been our course of procedure for a long series of years past to report in our plain and disinterested way the agricultural prospects from this northerly district, we cannot help looking back with regret to the many changes by the ra- vages of death or otherwise occasioned among our early correspondents, nor can we review tlie agricultural reports from the south to the utmost limits of the far north without hoping at least some of the alarmist's wiU by the blessing of Divine Providence be agreeably relieved from anticipated ruin. Our cereal crops are now so far advanced towards maturity that some calculation may be relied on, so far as bulk of straw ap- pears. Wheat is not yet entirely in full ear, and will be late, and many parts on our best breaks thin, singularly so where seeded in a rough state, either after beans or land in a poachy state. Autumn-sown will yield by far the best bulk. Wherever laud had extra working during the last dry summer and autumn the wheat plant got loose at the roots, hence blanks very thin and of a dark colour. Offshoots continue to tiller up, and the crop wiU reap very irregular and uneven. Winter and spring sown promise a fair average of ordinary seasons. Barley is a full bulky crop on all weU-farmed land. Oats are various; large breadths very short, and shoot out uneven, and the fields are dotted with black spots — always a signal for a bad-yielding crop. Beans are very good, but not great breadths. Peas are fair and have great breadths) sown where grass seeds had failed ; invariably very bulky, and are being very freely used for store feeding. The welcome planetary rainfalls during the last days of June, and up to the time we write, have proved beneficial to meadows and pasture lands. Our grazing store and fattening stock are, with few exceptions, on full feed, and more healthy than for several seasons past. Hay, as an- ticipated, has cut up light, but generally better than last year, the loggage or aftermath fresh and hopeful for autumn feed. Hay from such land has been generally put together witliout loss or spoil, and where diligence Las been the rule, safely stacked. Old meadow will yield much better than was expected early in the season. It is also pleasing to observe the liealthy appear- ance of the turnip crop. We may ride or drive for days without seeing a blank. All available hands have for weeks past been thinning and cleaning, and the contrast with last season is really singular. If we escape the wire mildew, which often destroys the plant in September, we may anticipate a full crop. Potatoes are more various ; the breadth planted will vary little than usual, but many blanks are visible in parts in consequence of seed not vegetating, and, almost general, from the ravages of rooks. On light, or on almost any soil, they have this season been most destructive ; and when we look at the industry of the vermin from twilight to dawn, it is no easy matter to keep watchers. It seems singular there should be so many advocates for nursing and preserving rookeries. There are many pests working against cultivated crops, but we have always deemed the rook the most destruc- tive to the seed newly down, or when pointing a braird they will take it out entirely if not scared or destroyed. The rook is the only fowl we have that digs up the potato or other leguminous seed ; and we have seen cornstacks attacked and nearly pulled down by these pretended gruhcaters. The wood- pigeon is also very destructive, but only to the leaves of plants in winter ; and then their beak is not formed Uke that of the black gentlemen for digging and breaking up roots. Sparrows and rabbits are also great pests on a farm, and .should be treated as vermin. — Jirly 21. NORTH WALES. A month since we imagined we were about to have another dry summer, like those of 1869 and 1870, but ever since then we have had little else but rain. It came just in time to save the turnips and mangolds, which could not start for want of moisture, and many fields of tlie former had to be re-sown, the drought and the fly removing all hope of a crop by any other means. The pastures, too, except on the damp soils, were beginning to burn, and the prospects of the hay crop were anything but cheering. The condition of things has been entirely changed by the wet weather which has ruled during the latter part of June and the whole of July up to the present:. Now the root fields, except where they were patchy before the rain came, are looking as well as could be desired, barring weeds, which have grown apace, and the yield of hay win be generally good — in many instances heavy. As, how- ever, it is rarely that we are favoured with weather suitable for all things, so the late rains, which have been of such service, have also, by their having been so protracted, greatly retarded the process of haymaking. A very L'mited area was cut and saved just before the rains set in, but the bulk has yet to be secured, and the work has been, and is still, carried on under great difficulties. Never was the proverb, " Make hay wliQe the sun shines," more applicable than now. One day is bright, with a fine drying breeze ; the nest, rain, with south- west wind ; and thus it has been alternating for weeks. The barometer has had a lively time of it, always on tlie move, up or down, but it has not reached a high point for some time. Much hay has been in the fields for three weeks or more, but most of that which was cut in the latter part of June has been carted during this week when we have had two good days and one tolerable one. Last Sunday was so fine and bright that many who had been waiting some time determined to put in the scythes in force the following day (mowing machines are scarcely known, except in the Vale of Clwyd and the adjoining lands), and a great extent has been cut since. There will be little of good quality this year, and scarcely any saved with- out having been washed. As we write, the wind blows strong from the south-west, and the mercury falls. Corn generally looks well, and both barley and oats promise satisfactory returns. Wheat is not thick, but carries a healthy appearance. Before the rain, straw of all kinds, except in our low-lying situations, was very short, but there is now a good length. Potatoes give every indication of yielding well. Cattle and sheep command excellent prices : the latter have been unusually scarce during the spring and summer. Grazing will be pro- fitable this year, and it is time that the summer graziers should have a turn, for they have been out of pocket the last two years. We are sorry to see that the practice of cutting turf for burning stUl continues in many instances in enclosed 183 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. liiuds. It is a great mistake to suppose that our peaty moors are of little value except for fuel. If they were drained— and in nine cases out of ten they may be— and the surface manured, they would carry heavy crops of grass, though not perliaps of first quality. We saw a forcible illustration of this a day or two ago, where an industrious farmer had pursued the plan we suggest in portions of an extensive moor ; and although the work of amelioration had only been done during the past three years at various times, we saw heavy crops of grass growing on the reclaimed parts, contrasting strangely with the worthless rubbish produced on the undrained and un- manured portions. In tliis instance the landlord had found the pipes, the tenant doing the labour ; and the latter was satisfied that he should this year be repaid the entire cost of his outlay. We wish we could witness a little more of this spirit of enterprise amongst the general body of our Welsh farmers. True, many of them are short of capital, and more, we fear, lack energy. — July 21. REVIEW OF THE CORN TRADE DURING THE PAST MONTH. The month of July has been extremely variable, with but little of real ^Midsummer weather ia it. There has in fact been much of the cold and wet of April. The rain at first was welcome, being greatly needed ; but it soon came in such quantities, and so frequently, that hay- makers have had an nnusually trying time, and but little has been gathered perfectly sweet and dry, while much has been discoloured and seriously damaged, with a good portion yet on the field. This catching weather happening also at the blooming time of the wheat, there is some reason to fear the results, and already we hear much red- gum has appeared and mildew to diminish the yield and reduce the quality. It is to be hoped that steady and fine weather will soon set in, or the corn will fare like the hay, with much more serious consequences to the country. The spring corn has, however, improved, espe- cially, barley, beans, and peas, which, in some localities, are very promising, as well as oaLs. Daring the last half of the month the temperature has, however, been raised, and the third week was mostly fine, and this circum- stance, with the heavy imports from various foreign parts, has brought down the value of wheat about 3s. per qr. Were it not, however, for these free imports we should have been much dearer instead of cheaper, as there has been a general falling off in the country and London supplies, for on the fourth Monday the returns only noted the English arrivals as 800 qrs., and the general deli- veries show 147,864 qrs. in four weeks, against 17'J,383 qrs. in IS70, or 31,519 qrs. short, notwithstanding the higher prices that have ruled. The fact is the wants of I'rance and other neighbouring countries at one time made large demands upon us, and with our rising population and extending business, consumption has gone on faster than calculated ; and should the wea- ther become much worse, our present imports and stocks would soon be lost sight of in the emergency, llov/ever our own crop may turn out, America and Russia appear in condition to fill a large void, with, perhaps, only France as a competitor, as Spain and Italy are said to have had fair gatherings. \Ve regret to find that the rain has already done damage to potatoes, and that the disease has appeared in so many places that growers are forcing them oil at low rales in preference to taking the risk of keeping them. The following are the prices quoted in the several places named. White wheat in Paris 62s. 6d., red 61s.; wheat at Bordeaux, 54s. 6d. to 58s., Ber- dianski at Marseilles 56s. 6d. ; wheat at Louvaiu, 62s. 6d., at Liege and Namur 62s., at Brussels 59s., at Maestricht 55s. 6d. ; Polish wheat at Amsterdam, 61s.; white Zealand at Rotterdam, 50s. to 60s. ; red wheat at Hambro', 6O3. cost, freight, and insurance ; wheat at Cologne, 54s., fine wheat, fordelivcry in October atPesth, 49s. ; high mixed at Conigsberg and Dantzic, 60s. cost, freight, and insurance; Barletta wheat at Naples, 51s. 6d., at Leghorn 59s ; good wheat at Stettin 53s. at Mayence 593. ; soft wheat at Algiers, 44s., Berdianski at Genoa 56s., Native- at Valladolid 53s., at Valparaiso 58s. Gd. cost, freight, and insurance ; at San Francisco, 60s. cost, freight, and insurance ; No. 2 spring red at New- York, 49s. cost, freight, and insurance, per 4801bs., The first Monday in Mark-lane commenced on a small supply of English wheat, but the foreign arrivals were plentiful. The show of fresh samples from Essex and Kent during the morning were extremely limited. With some rain after a frost in the previous week, and a great appearance of uncertainty as to another fall, prices of good wheat rather hardened, and the former Monday's rates were more readily paid. There being a good at- tendance from the country foreign also experienced a better inquiry, but prices were no higher. Not many cargoes afloat were on hand, and previous prices were maintained. As the rain which threatened in town soon came down abundantly in the country the general ten- dency to lower rates was checked, and some markets noted much firmness, but a few places gave way Is. per qr., as Birmingham, Lynn, and Stockton. Liverpool was also 2d. per cental down on Tuesday, but on Friday was unchanged. Edinburgh noted a decline of 6d. to Is. per qr. on wheat, and it was the same at Glasgow. Dublin was very much in calm at unaltered values. On the second Monday there was another small Eng- lish supply, but quite enough foreign, though rather less than on the week previous. The weather since Tuesday having taken up fine, it was impossible to sell unless at a decline of Is. to 2s., though scarcely any fresh samples were exhibited on the Essex and Kentish stands. Almost nothing was done in foreign, though holders generally were prepared to accept a similar reduc- tion. Fine cargoes afloat not being numerous were no lower, but those out of order realised very irregular prices, according to deterioration or the disposition of holders. The weather again becoming unsettled, and very few samples of wheat being brought to the several country markets, many farmers declined selling at any reduction, not being influenced by the London decline ; but at a few principal places Is. less was accepted, as at Hull, Leeds, Lynn, Barnsley, St. Ives, &:c. Liverpool was rather in favour of buyers on Tuesday, and Id. per cental down on Friday. Edinburgh was again 6d. to Is. cheaper, and Glasgow fully Is. below previous rates. There being no Irish wheat for sale at Dublin, foreign found a better sale, at about previous rates. On the third Monday there was the smallest English supply, and the largest foreign, of the season. Though almost nothing appeared from the near counties the re- turn of fiue weather quite paralyzed trade, and prices of the few samples exhibited were certainly Is. to 2s. cheaper to sell. Some factors who would not accept 2s. reduction, THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 18^ kept theli- samples to the following Friday, when matters were not at all improved. In foreign scai'cely anything was passing, and it was useless to press, though a similar decline would have heeu accepted. Tine cargoes afloat were fully Is. to 2s. lower, and inferior parcels out of order sold at very irregular prices, and with great difficulty. Though the weather was fine all the week, so little wheat was offered at many country mar- kets that farmers were indisposed to accept the decline of London ; but, Hull, Leeds, Wakefield, Birmiugham, Bristol, Manchester, Market Raisen, Wolverhampton, and Lynn, were down Is. ; while, Louth, Alford, and a few other places were Is. to 2s. cheaper. Liverpool gave way Id. to 2d. percental on Tuesday, and 2d. more on Friday, Edinburgh was also 6d. to Is. lower, and Glasgow very dull, and cheaper to sell. With no Irish wheat at Dublin, rates of foreign were rather easier. On the fourth Monday there was another very small return of English wheat, but plenty from abroad. The show of samples from the near counties, during the morning, was trifling. From the return of rain, and poor accounts of the growing crops, prices were firmer at the previous Monday's rates. As respects foreign, the heavy arrivals of low quality from Russia reduced values of these sorts Is. per qr., and at the reduction sales were limited ; fine white sorts were unaltered in value. The arrivals for four week's into Loudon were 7,500 qrs. English, 200,485 qrs. foreign, against 18,197 qrs. English, 112,214 qrs. foreign for the same time in 1870. There were 3,365 qrs. exported in the month. The imports into the kingdom for four weeks ending 15th July were 3,138,291 cwt. wheat, and 366,597 cwt. flour, against 1,945,632 cwt. wheat, and 309,682 cwt. flour for the same period in 1870. The London arrivals commenced at 6O3. 9d., and closed at 60s. Id. The general averages began at 59s. lid., and finished at 58s. 6d. The flour trade throughout the month has been dull, though the manufactured article has been cheaper rela- tively than English wheat. The absence of a French demand has been very disappointing to millers, and stocks in London have accumulated both in country-made and foreign qualities, there being nearly 100,000 sacks Eng- lish and 200,000 barrels foreign in London. Country sorts have, howevei-, only given way Is. per sack, but barrels have declined Is. 6d. to 23. Norfolks were worth 37s. to 38s., barrels 24s. to 26s., and 27s. for prime. The imports into Loudon for four weeks were 53,631 sacks English, and 20,377 sacks 103,913 barrels foreign, against 53,405 sacks English, and 5,149 sacks 39,253 barrels foreign in 1870. The exports to France, &c., have only been 429 cwt. With many fresh arrivals of maize from America this grain has been constantly declining in value, the reduc- tion in the value of new corn being about 3s. per qr., and on old Is. to 2s. ; but since the fall in prices there has been a good demand. As further liberal shipments of the last crop are yet expected from America prices still have a downward tendency, but stocks as yet are not heavy. The receipts in London for the four weeks were 82,206 qrs., agaiast 22,141 qrs. in 1870. The English crop of barley being apparently exhausted the arrivals have been small, and the malting season being over prices have kept nominally the same. Foreign ar- rivals also being limited, parcels in good condition have maintained their value ; but those out of order, of which there were many, were sold according to their condition at irregular rates. Useful 501bs. per bushel can be had at 253., and heavier in proportion. The arrivals into London for four weeks were 313 qrs. English, 26,639 qrs. fo- reign, against 564 qrs. British, 47,148 qrs. foreign in 1870. The malt trade has been very inactive, but the nominal price has not been reduced. The exports for four weeks were 2,792 qrs. The foreign import of oats has continued on a very ex- tensive scale, but the English supplies were limited, and only one small lot has been received from Scotland. On the first Monday there was no reduction in price, the two last weeks of the previous month having seriously given way, but in the three following weeks Russian sorts declined Is. 6d. to 2s. ; so that fair 381bs. per bushel coi-a has been sold at 18s., and 401bs. at 20s. ; but Swedish qualities in good order have not fallen in the same propor- tion, nor has native corn. With prices so low heavy losses have been incurred, and the arrivals being beyond immediate consumption over 200,000 qrs. have been stored. The imports into London for four weeks were, in English sorts, 2,794 qrs., Scotch 253 qrs., Irish none, foreign 367,006 qrs., against 2,177 qrs. English, 1,060 Irish, 213,081 qrs. foreign for the same period in 1870. Our exports this month have been small, viz., only 761 qrs. In fact the export trade has been overdone, and many car- goes returned back from Belgium. Though the supplies of native beans have been limited, they have held out better than expected, and foreign arri- vals have largely increased. With but a small consump- tion at this time of year, and maize having materially fallen as well as oats, this grain has followed, and lower rates by fully 3s. per qr. have been accepted ; and as fur- ther large arrivals are yet expected from Egypt, prices seem likely to go down still more, unless anything should befall the growing crops, which, on the whole, are said to be looking well. New Egyptian beans are offered at 33s, and 34s., mazagaus being worth 38s. to 39s. The im- ports into London for four weeks were 682 qrs. English, 14,079 qrs. foreign, against 1,338 qrs. English, 1,896 qrs. foreign in 1870. Very few English peas have appeared during the month, and there were only moderate supplies of foreign. The trade has been very limited, but, with small stocks on hand, a retail demand has been experienced for feeding white sorts at 38s. to 39s., boilers to 42s. The London imports for four weeks were 170 qrs. English, 5,741 qrs. foreign, against 629 qrs. English, 16,739 qrs. foreign iu 1870. With very short supplies of linseed, this grain has maintained its value throughout the mouth, but its high price has much curtailed the demand. As respects cloverseed, trefoil, and other agricultural seeds, a poor yield is so generally anticipated that prices have been hardening, but, for want of stocks, no large speculative purchases have taken place. COMPARATIVE AVERAGES. WHEAT. Years. Qrs. s. d. 1867... 27,393J ... 65 1 1868 ... 25,6421 ... 65 0 1869 ... 39,368| ... 50 2 1870... 38,318| ... 49 8 1871 ... 29,263J ... 58 6 BARLEY. Qrs. 637i, 258i . 289J , 5921 - 3651 8. d. 35 1 37 4 I 32 0 I 31 2 34 7 OATS. Qrs. s. d. 1,459^ , 1,024| 659 , 1,423 , 9681 ,28 4 .30 11 ,26 0 ,26 6 ,27 10 AVERAGE S Fob the pasi Six Weeks : June 10, 1871 June 17, 1871 , June 24, 1871 July 1, 1871 July 8, 1871 July 15, 1871 Aggregate of the above Thesameweekin 1870... Wheat. s. d. 59 9 59 7 59 11 59 69 58 59 49 Barley. | s. d. 38 6 35 11 36 10 36 10 34 10 34 7 36 3 31 2 Oats. s. d. 25 11 26 10 27 8 27 6 27 1 27 10 27 1 25 6 184 THE FAEMER'S MAGAZINE. OURRBNT PRIOBS OF BRITISH GRAIN AND FLOUR IN MARK LANE. ShUIinss per Quarter. WHEAT, new, Essex and Kent, white 66 to 59 „ ,, red 61 65 Norfolk, LinclnBh., and Yorksh., red 61 65 BARLEY 31 to 3i ChevaUer 36 42 Grinding 29 31 Distilling 35 39 MALT, Essex, Norfolk, and Suffolk 60 67 Kingston, Ware, and town-made 60 67 Brown 49 65 RYE 36 38 OATS, English, feed 23 to 26 Potato 27 32 Scotch, feed 00 00 Potato 00 00 Irish, feed, white 21 21 Pine 25 26 Ditto, black 19 21 Potato 26 32 BEANS, Mazagan ...37 38 Ticks 37 38 Harrow 39 43 Pigeon 44 49 PEAS, white, boiler8.38 42Maplo 43 to 46Grey,new 37 40 FLOUR, per sack of 2301b8., best town householda,., 47 50 Best country households 39 42 Norfolk and Suffolk 37 38 FOREIGN GRAIN. Shillings per Quarter. WHEAT, Dantzic, mixed 55 to 57 extra 60to81 Konigsberg 56 58 extra 57 58 Rostock 54 66 fine 55 58 Bilesian, red 52 55 white..,. 54 56 Pomera., Meckberg., and Uckermrk. ...red 64 66 Russian, hard, 41 to 43. ..St. Petersburg and Riga 45 49 Danish and Holstein, red 52 54 American 52 55 Chilian, white 58... Califomian 59 ... Australian 59 60 BARLEY, grinding 26 to 31....distiUing and malting 34 37 OATS, Dutch, brewing and Polands 19 to 27 feed 17 21 Danish and Swedish, feed 21 to 23.... Stralsund... 21 24 Canada 18 to 20, Riga 18 to 20, Arch. 18 to 20, P'sbg. 19 23 TARES, Spring, per qr small 43 50 large 00 00 BEANS, Friesland and Holstein 42 43 Konigsberg 36 to 41. ..Egyptian 33 34 PEAS, feeding and maple. ..37 40. ..fine boilers 37 40 INDIAN CORN, white 31 34. ..yellow 29 32 FLOUR, per sack, French. .00 00...Spanish, p. sackOO 00 American, per brl 23 24...extra andd'ble. 26 28 FLUCTUATIONS in the AVERAGE PRICE of WHEA T. Phice. 698. lid. 693. 9d. 698. 7d. 693. Id. 598. Od. 6Sa. ed. June 10. June 17. June 24. July 1. July 8. July 15. -n •■■r Ti ""."l '•" ... L ... BRITISH SEEDS. Mustard, per bushel, brown 13s. to ISs., white 10s. to Canary, per qr 568. Cloverseed, new red 628. Coriander, per cwt 21s. Tares, winter, new, per bushel 73. Trefoil, new 2is. Ryegrass, per qr 32s. Linseed, per qr sowing 66s. to 68s., crushing 68s. Linseed Cakes, per ton £11 Os. to £11 Rapeseed, per qr 80s. Rape Cake, per ton £6 6a. Od. to £6 10s, FOREIGN SEEDS. Cloverseed, red 48s. to 53s white 628. Hempseed, small 41s. to 42s. per qr Dutch 45s. Trefoil 21s. Ryegrass, per qr 32s. Linseed, per qr Baltic 58s. to 62s., Bombay 64s. 64s Linseed Cakes, per ton £11 Os. Od. to £11 Rape Cake, per ton £6 6s. to £6 Rapeseed, Dutch 72s. Coriander, per cwt 21s. to Carraway „ new 32s. 128. 60s. 643. 223. 8s. 308. 34s. 643. 10s. 84s. , Od. 23s. 348. , 6d. 10s. lOs. 743. 22a. 33s. HOP MARKET. BOROUGH, Monday, July 24' — Our market maintains an extremely firm tone, and fine samples have realised extreme values ; other descriptions are held firmly at recent quotations. No material improvement can be reported on our plantations ; a few sections on the Weald of Kent and Sussex give more promise, but the largest portion of these grounds are unim- proved. The blifjiit has progressed iu the important districts of Mid and East Kent, which are lapsing into the same state as the worst grounds in other places. More favourable reports have been received from the Continent ; but with the best of weather only a short crop is expected. Latest advices from New York report the market firm, with a fair demand. Mid and East Kent £3 0 £4 4 £7 7 Weald of Kent 3 0 4 0 5 5 Sussex 3 0 3 10 5 0 Jarnham and Country ... i 0 4 15 6 0 Olds 1 0 1 5 1 10 POTATO MARKET. BOROUGH AND SPITALFIELDS. LONDON, Monday, July 24. — Moderate supplies of Po- tatoes have been on sale. The trade has been quiet at our quotations. The imports into London last week consisted of 1,360 boxes from Bariieur. English Shaws 403. to 50s. per ton. Regents 60s. to 80s. „ Kidneys 80s. to 110s. „ Jerseys 60s. to 110s. „ LONDON CHEESE MARKET, (Thursday last.)— The demand for cheese during the past week has been on a very moderate scale, and buyers have been difficult to please, both in quality and price. The bulk of the English cheese in London is more or less defective, and a good deal quite in- ferior. This especially applies to Cheshire cheese, and conse- quently few purchasers can be found for it. The warm weather has had some effect on the condition of the American cheese recently received. The cheese lately landed are heated, and only a small proportion show rich-meated and firm. At present tlie inquiries for cheese are chiefly confined to the very finest qnahties, or something low-priced — say at 40s., or less. We consider prices of American cheese 2s. to 3s. per cwt. lower than they were ten days since. The arrivals of American cheese reported during the week are 2S,0'J2 boxes. — CORDEROY AND CO. GLASGOW, (Wednesday last.) — Our market is quite overstocked this week, the supply being far in advance of the demand. Sellers, though willing to concede about 2s., cannot effect sales. New Cheddars, fancy quality 60s., do. first class 54s. to 57s., do. fine 48s. to 52s., do. late (secondary) 42s. to 46s. per cwt. Dunlops, fancy quality 56s., ditto first class 50s. to 53s., ditto fine 46s. to 49s., ditto late (secondary) 423. to 46s. per cwt. Skim milk 21s. to 23s. per cwt. GLOUCESTER MONTHLY CHEESE MARKET was moderately supplied for the time of year, about 45 tons having been pitched. The sale was slow, at from 50s. to 54s. per cwt., and at the close some cheese remained on hand. PKICES of BUTTER, CHEESE, HAMS, &o. BUTTER, per cwt. : s. b. Dorset 128 to 132 Friesland 118 120 Jersey 96 102 Fbesh, per doz. ... 14 16 BACON, per cwt : Wiltshire, green... 73 74 Irish, green,T.o.b. 68 74 CHEESE, per cwt. : s. s. Cheshire 64 to 90 Dble. Glonc, new 66 72 Cheddar 78 90 American 68 64 HAMS: York 04 102 Cumberland 94 102 Irish 86 102 COVENT GARDEN MARKET. LONDON, FniDAT, July 21. The markets generallj' dm-iug the past week have been much more active, and a steady demand has ruled for most of the articles in general consumption. Bush fruit is now at its best. Strawberries still hold out good. Hothouse and West Indian Pines are also very plentiful and good ; prices low. The Potato market is thoroughly elutted, inferior sam- ples being the rule. FRUIT. B. d. s. d I e. d. B. d. Apples,^ J. sieve 0 0 to 3 0 ' Oranges, Sa hundred 6 n to 10 0 Grapes ,%J lb 2 6 BO Peaches, ^ dozen ... 8 0 20 0 Lemon.s.^ hundred. 6 0 10 0 Pine Apples, per lb. 2 6 6 0 Nectarines,^ doz. ... 6 0 12 0 Strawberries, ^ lb... 0 6 16 VEGETABLES. Asparagus, per bund. Beet, per dozen 2 0 Cabbages, per dozen... 1 3 Carrots, per bunch ... 0 8 French, %) bundle... 1 0 Cauliflowers, per doz. 2 0 Spring, each 0 0 Celery, red, %) bundle 1 6 white, ditto 1 0 Cucumbers, each 0 9 French Beans, ^ ft ... 1 0 Gooseberries, ^ quart 0 4 Herbs, per bunch 0 2 Horseradlsh.^bundle 0 to6 0 Lettuces, per score ... 0 9i 3 0 I French Cos, each ... 0 9 1 9 Do. Cabbage, each... 0 0 1 0 Mushrooms, ^ pottle 2 0 1 6 I Onions, ^ bunch 0 i 6 0 ; Parsley, per bunch ... 0 4 Peas, "*) quart 0 10 French, ditto 0 0 Radishes, long,1S bun. 0 0 Round, do 0 2 Rhubarb, %t bundle.... 0 S Shallots, %) lb 0 8 Spinach, per bushel... 2 6 Turnips, ^ bunch 0 4 Potatoc.9 : New Round, 6s. to 10s, ; Kidneys, es. to 10b. per cwt. THE FAEMER'S MAGAZINE. 186 POULTRY, &c., MARKETS.— Turkeys, 5s. to 12s.; Goslings, 5s. to 7s. ; Ducks, 2s. ; Ducklings, 2s. to 3s. ; Sur- rey Fowls, 3s. to 8s. ; Sussex ditto, 2s. to 4s. ; Boston and Essex, 2s. to 3s. ; Irish, Is. to Is. 9d. ; Rabbits, tame 9d. to 2s. 6d. ; Pigeons, Is. to Is. Sd. ; Leverets, 48. to 6s. Eggs, 6s. to 7s. 6d. per im " ~~~~ CHICORY. LONDON, Satubdat, July 22. Sales have heen effected quietly, and prices generally have been easier. Dblivebablb feom "Whaef in Baos, exclttsivb OB Duty. Harlingen ...£10 15 to £12 0 I Antwerp ....£ 0 Oto £0 0 Bruges 12 5 13 0 | Hamburgh .. 0 0 0 0 HAY MARKETS. LONDON, Sathbdat, July 22. BMITHFI ELD. —There -were much better supplies of hay and clover on sale here to-day. Transactions vrere restricted and prices had a downvrard tendency. Prime old hay, 140s. to 155s. ; inferior ditto, 100s. to 120s. ; prime new hay, lOCs. to 115s. ; inferior ditto, 36s. to 80s. ; prime old clover, 160s. to 167s. 6d. : inferior ditto, 130s. to 1-iOs. ; prime new clover, 1208. to 130s. ; inferior ditto, 60s. to 80s. ; new mixtm-es, 50s. to 100s. ; and straw, 44s. to 50s. per load. BICESTER, (Friday last.)— Hay, old, £7 to £710s.; new, £i to £5 ; Straw, £3 to £3 5s. per ton. BIRMINGHAM, Mondat, July 17.— Hay, 125s. to 147s. 6d. per ton. Straw, 5s. to 5s. 3d. per cwt. DERBY, (Tuesday last.)— Hay, £6 10s. to £7 5s. ; Straw, £3 10s. to £4 per ton. WORCESTER, (Wednesday last.) — Hay, new, 1153. to 120s. ; ditto, old, 125s. to 1308. ; Straw, 728. 6d. to 75s. IRISH HAY MARKETS. 4 to £4 3 4 per ton. 8 to 2 10 0 „ BELFAST £2 13 CARLOW 2 6 CORK 2 10 0 to 3 5 0 „ DUBLIN 4 10 0 to 6 0 0 „ LURGAN 2 10 0 to 3 0 0 „ ~ BARK AND TANNING MATERIALS. LONDON, Satubdat, July 22. Not much business has been doing, but prices have been without material change. £ 6. £ s.i £ s. £ s. English, per load of Cork Tree, Barbary..„. 6 0to7 0 45 owt. delivered in [ Do. Sardinian 9 0 10 0 London 13 10fcol4 0 Valonia, Smyrna 13 Coppice 0 Dutch, perton 5 Hambro' 5 Antwerp Tree „. 6 Do. Coppice „. 5 French „.„. 0 Mimosa Chopped ...„._. 8 Do. Ground„.„.„.„.„ 7 Do. Lone ........._. „ 7 0 Do. Camata „. 13 0 14 10 5 101 Do. Morea „. 9 0 11 0 5 10 Terra Japonioa:— 5 10 Gambler In bales 16 15 17 0 6 0 Ditto free cubes 19 0 21 0 0 O! Cutch, best Pegu ... 24 0 24 10 8 17 Divi Divi „. 11 0 13 10 9 0 Myrabolans 10 0 17 0 7 10 Sumach. Sicily, p. cwt. 20 0 21 0 FLAX, &c. LONDON, Satubdat, July 22. The market for Russian hemp has been dull, but for Manilla Bhghtly higher prices have been paid. £ a. £ s. £ s. £ s. Hemp, Petersburgh Coiryarn...„. ».►..».-. 21 0 64 0 clean, per ton 33 0to33 10, Junk " " " " Outshot 31 10 Half-clean 29 10 Riga, Rhine 36 0 ManiUa 41 0 East Indian, Sunn IS 0 Jute 18 10 Fibre „. 0 0 Flax, Riga 0 0 ; St. Petersburgh, 12 53 0 head 21 0; 9 head „ „. 26 Ol Egyptian 40 0 50 0 MARKET HIDES 66 to 641b8 „.... 0 64 to 721ba 0 72 to 801ba 0 80 to BHlbs 0 88 to 961b8 0 96tol041be „.„. 0 104 to lialbs „._. 0 HIDE AND SKIN MARKETS. LONDON, Satubdat, July 22. 8 d 3%to0 4 0 4VS 0 4% d. s. < Horae hides, each ...12 0 to 14 Calf skins, light 2 0 4 Full 8 0 8 Polled sheep 0 0 0 Haif-bredB „. 0 0 0 Downs „ „. 0 0 0 ShearUnga 2 6 3 Lambs 3 2 4 OILS. Olive, Florence, Vs chests £0 Lucca 0 GalUpoli, per 252 gallons 49 Spanish 47 Linseed, per cwt. 1 Rape, pale 2 Brown 2 Cod, per tun 35 Seal, pale 33 Brown, yel., &c. 0 Sperm 82 Head Matter 0 Southern 30 Cocoa Nut, per cwt 1 Palm 1 10 0 0 0 12 9 4 0 1 0 10 0 10 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 13 0 ITO OIL MARKET. I RESIN. French £0 6 9 0 to 0 0 0 American _» 0 76 0 0 00 1 PITCH. 0 0 0 British, per owt.... £0 6 6 to 0 0 0 0 0 0 Archangel 0 80 0 00 0 0 0 Stockholm..... 0 10 0 0 12 0 2 6 o; 0 0 01 TAR. 0 OoUmeriean £0 0 0 6 OOJArchangel „. 0 15 0 0 0 0 atookholm „. 0 16 0 0 0 0 0 00 14 0 0 2 10 0 0 0 0 TURPENTINE. French „. £2 5 0 American „.... 2 5 0 Bough „ „.„..,. 0 0 0 0 12 0 0 14 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 19 0 ENGLISH WOOL MARKET. LONDON, Monday, July 24.— The tone of the Wool market has continued firm. In all descriptions a healthy business has been transacted, and fdl quotations have been realized. CUBEENX PbICES OF ENGLISH WOOI.. S. d. S. d. Fleeces— Southdown hogs per lb. 1 5^tol 6 Half-bred ditto „ 1 6^ 1 6 Kent fleeces „ 1 5i 1 6^ Southdown ewes and wethers ... „ 15 1 6i Leicester ditto „ 16 16 SOBIS— Clothing, picklock „ 15 16 Prime ,» 13 1 34 Choice „ 12 1 2J Super , 11 1 U Combing, wether mat , 1 6j 1 7^ Picklocli >. 14 14^ Common , 1 1^ 1 2^ Hog matching ,, 1 7^ 1 8i Picklock matching „ 1 4i 1 6i Super ditto „ 1 H 1 2^ LEEDS (English and Foreign) WOOL MARKETS, (Friday last.) — There is less animation in the demand for English wool ; but it arises from the fact that manufacturers and others have got well supplied. The consumption is un- abated, and prices are very firm. There is an increased con- sumption of clothing wool, and prices are well maintained. The probabihty of the abandonment of the import duty into France will make manufacturers there less anxious to secure an increase of stocks from the present sales. 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 BRESLAU WOOL REPORT, July 20.— Business con- tinues quiet, and the demand is only slowly returning, yet a very confident feeling is generally prevailing, and greater ac- tivity is looked for in the course of the next month. In the meanwhile there lias been effected some sales in the inferior descriptions of combing and clothing wools at from 45 to 53 thalers, home manufacturers and combers being the buyers. Foreign concurrence has been generally wanting, and only a few flocks of slipes and skin wool in bundles have been ac- quired for Austrian and French account, prices ruling at from 45 to 58 thalers. The whole amount of transactions has not been beyond 800 cwts., and fresh conveyances arose to about the same figure. — Gunsbukg Brothers. AGRICULTURAL MEETINGS IN 1871. AUGUST 1. — Angus Agricultural Society.— Meeting at Brechin. AUGUST 1, 2, 3, and 4.— Royal Agricultural Society of Ire- land.—Meeting on Stephen's Green, Dublin. Entries closed. President, H. R. H. the Prince of Wales. Sec- retary, Captain Thomhill, Upper Sackville-street, Dublin. AUGUST 2, 3, and 4.— Yorkshire Agricultural Society.— Meeting at York. Entries for Stock and Implements closed ; for Farms, August 1. President, Lord Wenlock. Secretary, Mr. T. Parrington, Croft, Darlington. A.UGUST 8.— Badminton Farmers' Club. — Meeting at Badminton. President, the Duke of Beaufort. Secre- tary, Mr. R. W. Lloyd, Badminton, Chippenham. AUGUST 9.— Leicestershu-e Agricultural Society.— Meeting at Leicester. Entries closed. Secretary, Mr. T. Sheppard, Leicester. AUGUST 10.— Northumberland Agi-icultm-al Society.— Meet- ing at Alnwick. Entries closed. President, Earl Grey, K.G. Secretary, Mi\ J. WUson, Woodhom Manor, Morpeth. AUGUST 10.— Ryedale and Pickering Agricultural Society. —Meeting at Pickering. President, The Earl of Feversham. Secretary, Mr. G. Frank. AUGUST 15, 16, 17, and 18.— Bii-mingham and Midland Counties Horse Show in Bingley Hall. Entries closed. President, Earl Beauchamp. Secretary, Mr. J. B. Lythall, New Street, Birmingham. AUGUST 16.— Preston Agricultural Society. — Meeting at Preston. Entries closed. Secretary, Mr. J. Croft, Lune Street, Preston. AUGUST 18.— Keighley Agricidtural Society.— Meeting at Keighley. Entries close August 9. President, W. Lay- cock, Esq. Secretary, Mr, R, Fawcett, Keighley, 186 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. AUGUST 22, 23, and 24.— ■Worcestershire A cri'icultm-al Society. —Meeting at Malvern. Entries close August 1st. Presi- dent, Sir E. A. II. Leclimere, Bart. Secretary, Mr. A. Buck, Worcester. AUGUST 24.— Penistone Agricultural Society.— Meeting at Penistone. Entries close August 14. President, J. S. Stanhope, Esq. Secretary, Mr. J. N. Dransfield, Penistone. AUGUST 26.— Halifax and Calder Vale Agricultural Society. — Meetinsr at Halifax. Entries close August 12. Presi- dent, Colonel Stansfeld. Secretary, Mr. W. Irvine, CheaDside, Halifax. AUGUST 29, 30, and 31.— Gloucestershire Agricultural So- ciety.— Meeting at Cheltenham. Entries closed. Secre- tary, Mr. E. W. Trinder, Cirencester. AUGUST 30.— Wirral Agricultural Society. —Meeting at Birkenhead. — Entries close August 5th. President, John Laird, Esq., M.P. Secretary, Mr. W. HendersoDj jun.. Market Cross, Birkenhead. AUGUST 30.— Whitby Agricultural Society. — Meeting at Whitby. Entries close August 16. President, Hon. O. Duncombe, M.P. Secretary', Mr. J. WUkinson, Whitby. AUGUST 30. —Wirral Agricultural Society.— Meeting at Birkenhead. Secretary, Mr. W. Henderson, Junr., 2, Market Cross, Birkenhead. SEPTEMBER4.— Leominster Agricultural Society.— Meeting at Leominster. Secretary, Mr. E. Gregg, Leominster. SEPTEMBER 5.— Carlow Agricultural Society.— Meeting ac TuUow. Entries close September 1. Secretaries, Mr. P. S. Nevrton and Sir T. P. Butler, Bart., Carlow, Ireland. SEPTEMBER 5, 6, and 7.— Manchester and Liverpool Agri- cultural Society. — Meeting at Liverpool. Entries close August 1. President, The Earl of Derby. Secretary, Mr. T. Rigby, Winsford, Cheshire. SEPTEMBER 7. — Richmondshire Agricultural Society.— Meeting at Bedale. Entries close August 16. President, James Pulleine, Esq. Secretary, Mr. J. Wetherell, Rich- mond, Yorkshire. SEPTEMBER 8.— Cleveland Agricultural Society.— Meeting at South Stockton. Entries close August 23rd. Presi- dent, Joseph Dodds, Esq., M.P. Secretary, Mr. H. J. Curry, Stockton-on-Tees. SEPTEMBER 12.— North Lonsdale Agricultural Society.— Meeting at Ulverstone. Secretarj', Mr. T. Postlethwaite, Ulverstone. SEPTEMBER 13.— Wayland Agi-icultural Association.— Meeting at Wayland. President, Lord Walsingham. Secreta,ry, Mr. R. Robinson. SEPTEMBER 13.— Lancaster Agricultural Society.— Meet- ing at Lancaster. Entries close September 2. President, The Hon. F. A. Stanley, M.P. Secretary, Mr. S. Thomp- son, Lancaster. SEPTEMBER 13.— Ro.yal and Central Bucks Agricultural Society. — Meeting at Aylesbury. Entries close August 23. President, Captain Fitzgerald, R.N. Secretary, Mr. Q. Fell, Aylesbury. SEPTEMBER 14.— Vale of Conway Agi-icultural Society.— Meeting at Llanrwst. President, Charles Wynne Finch, Esq. Secretary, Mr. Hugh Pierce, Llanrsvst. SEPTEMBER 14.— Waterford Agricultural Society.— Meeting at Waterfcrd. Entries close Sept. 7. President, The Mar- quis of Waterford. Secretary, Mr. R. S. Blee, Waterford. SEPTEMBER 15.— Carmarthenshire Agricultural Society.— Meeting at Carmarthen. Entries close Sept. 2. Presi- dent, e; J. Sartoris, Esq., M.P. Secretary, Mr. D. Pros- ser. White House. Carmarthen. SEPTEMBER 15.— Cheshire Agricultural Society.— Meeting at Northwich. Entries close September 1. President, Arthur Smith Barry, Esq. Secretary, Mr. J. Beckett, Pool Cottage. Oulton, Tarporley. SEPTEMBER 19.— Oxford and Banbury Agi-icultural Society. — Meeting at Banbury. Entries close for Stock August 1 ; for Implements August 24. Secretarj', Mr. B. W. Aplin, Banbury. SEPTEMBER 20.— Denbighshire and Flintshire Agricul- tural Society. — Meeting at Mold. Entries close for Stock September 7, and for Root Crops September 30. President, J. Scott Bankes, Esq. Secretary, Mr. W. Gregg, Mold. SEPTEMBER 20 and 21.— Glamorganshire General Agricul- tural Society. — Meeting at Merthyr Tydfil. Entries close August 22. President, The Marquis of Bute. Secretary, Mr. W. V. Huntley, Welsh St. Donatt's, Cowbridge. SEPTEMBER 20 and 21.— Northamptonshire Agricultural Society. — Meeting at Peterboroutrh. Entries close Au- gust 12. President, The Hon. G. Wentworth Fitzwilliam. Secretary, Mr. J. M. Lovell, Harpole, Weedon. [The Meetifig of the Peterborough Society merges this j ear into that of the Northamptonshire Society.] SEPTEMBER 20. — Derijyshire Agricultural Society.— Meeting at Derby. Entries close for Stock, August 18 ; for Implements, September 13. President, the Duke of Devonshire. Secretary, Mi". J, C. Smith, 15, St. Mary's Gate, Derby. SEPTEMBER 21.— Tarporley Agi-icultural Society.— Meeting at Tarporley. Entries close September 11. President, The Earlof Haddington. Secretary, Mr. W. Vernon, Tarporley. SEPTEMBER 22.— North Shropshire Agi-icultm-al Society.— Meeting at Market Drayton. Secretary, Mr. W. D. Green. SEPTEMBER 27.— Huntingdonshire Agricultural Society.— Meeting at St. Ives. Entries close September 12. Pre- sident, Arthur Sperling, Esq. Secretary, Mr. J. DiUy, Huntingdon. SEPTEMBER 27.— Norton Farmers' Club. — Meeting in Meersbrook Park. Secretary, Mr. F. G. Godwin, Ches- terfield. SEPTEMBER 28.— Herts Agricultural Society.— Meeting at Hertford. Enti-ies close September 18. Chairman, Abel Smith, Esq., M.P. Secretary, Mr. G. Passingham, Ware. SEPTEMBER 30.— Lauderdale Agricultural Society.— Meet- ing at Lauder. Entries close September 25. President, The Earl of Lauderdale. Secretary, Mr. T. Broomfleld, Lauder. OCTOBER 9.— Ludlow Agricultm-al Society.— Meeting at Ludlow. Entries close September 25. President, William Blakeway, Esq. Secretary, Mr. T. Weyman, Ludlow. OCTOBER 17 and 18.— Herefordshire Agricultural Society.— Meeting at Hereford. Entries close September 18. Pre- sident, M. Clive, Esq. Secretary, Mr. J. T. O. Fowler, Hereford. OCTOBER .— Ayi-shire Agricultural Society.— Meeting at Kilmarnock. President, The Earl of Glasgow. Secretary, Mr. J. M-Murtrie. AjT. NOVEMBER .— Framlinghani Farmers' Club.— Meeting at FramUngham. Entries close November 1. President, F. S. Corrance, Esq., M.P. Secretary, Mr. W. B. Kent, Earl Soham, Wickham Market. NOVEMBER IS.— Royal Berks Root Show at Reading. En- tries close November 15. Secretaries, Sutton and Sous, Reading. NOVEMBER 22 and 23.— Rutland Agricultural Society.— Meeting at Oakham. Entries close November 6. Pre- sident, Charles Winston Eaton, Esq. Secretary, Mr. E. Wortley, Ridlington, Uppingham. NOVEMBER 23 and 24.— Chippenham Agi-icultural Society. — Meeting at Chippenham. Entries close November 17. President, Sir John Neild, Bart. Secretary, Mr. E. Little, Lanhill, Chippenham. NOVEMBER 24.— Carter & Co.'s Root Show.— At 237, High Holborn. Entries close November 15. NOVEMBER, 25, 27, 2S, 29, and 30.— Birmingham and Mid- land Counties Cattle and Poultry Show in Bingley Hall, Birmingham. Entries close October 23. President, Earl Beauchamp. Secretary, Mr. T. B. Lythall, New- street, Birmingham. DECEMBER 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8.— Smithfield Club Fat Cattle Show, in the Agricultural Hall, Islington. — Entries close for Implements October 2 ; for Stock, November 1. Pre- sident, The Marquis of Exeter Secretaries, Mr.Brandreth Gibbs and Mr. D. Pullen, Half-moon Street, Piccadilly. DECEMBER 5, 6, and 7.— Yorkshire Fat Stock Show, at York. — Entries close November 16. President, 'The Earl of Zetland. Secretary, Mr. J. Watson, Lendal Bridge, York. DECEMBER 6, 7, 8, and 9.— Royal Dublin Society.— Christ- mas Fat Stock Show in Dublin. President, The Lord- Lieutenant of Ireland. Superintendent, Mr. A. Corrigan, Dublin. DECEMBER 7.— Rugby and Dunchurch Fat Stock Show, at Rugby.— Entries close November 22. President, The Earl of Dalkeith. Secretary, Mr. E. Harris, Rugby. DECEMBER 12 and 13.— Tredegar Agricultural Show.— Meeting at Newport, Monmouthshire. Entries close November 15. President, Lord Tredegar. Secretary, Mr. J. G. Palhng, Newport. DECEMBER 12, 13, and 14.— West of England Fat Stock Show. Meeting at Plymouth. Entries close Nov. 1. President, the Earl of Morley. Secretary, Mr. J. Moon, Athenanim-lane, Plymouth. DECEMBER 13.— Rye Fat Cattle Show.— Meeting at Rye. Entries close November 29. President, Alex. B. Vidler, Esq. Secretary, Mr. H. E. Paine, Rye. DECEMBER 15.— Carmarthen Cattle and Poultry Show.— Meeting at Carmarthen. Entries close Dec. 2. President, E. J. Sartoris, Es(i., M.P. Secretary, Mr. D. Prosser, White House, Carmarthen. Printed by Rogersou and Tuxford, i-G5, Strand, Loudon, W.C. LONDON AND COUNTY BANKING COMPANY. ESTABLISHED 1836. SUBSCRIBED CAPITAL... £2,500,000, in 50,000 SHARES of £50 EACH. PAID-UP CAPITAL... £1,000,000 RESERVE FUND... £500,000. DIRECTORS. NATHANIEL ALEXANDER, Esq. | THOMAS STOCK COWIE, Esq. I WILLLA.M CHAMPION JONES, Esq. T. TYRINGHAM BERNARD, Esq. I FREDERICK FRANCIS, Esq. E. HARBORD LUSHINGTON, Esq. PHILIP PATTON BLYTH, Esq. I FREDERICK HARRISON, Esq. I JAMES MORLEY, Esq. JOHN WM. BURMESTER, Esq. | LORD ALFRED HERVEY. | WILLIAM NICOL, Esq. TRUSTEES. P. P. BLYTH, Esq | J. W. BURMESTER, Esq. I W. CHAMPION JONES, Esq. AUDITORS. WILLIAM JARDINE, Esq. | WILLIAM NORMAN, Esq. | RICHARD H. SWAINE, Esq. General Manager— WILLIAM McKEWAN, Esq. CHIEF INSPECTOR. INSPECTORS OF BRANCHES. CHIEF ACCOUNTANT. W. J. NORFOLK, Esq. H. J. LEMON, Esq., and C. SHERRING, Esq. JAMES GRAY, Esq. Solicitors— Messrs. STEVENS, WILKINSON, & HABRIES. Secretary— F. CLAPPISON, Esq. HEAD OFFICE, 21, LOMBARD STREET. Manager— WHITBREAD TOMSON, Esq. | Assistant Manager— WILLIAM HOWARD, Esq. THE LONDON AND COUNTY BANK opens— DRAWING ACCOUNTS with Commercial Houses and Private Individuals, either upon the plan usually adopted by c ther Bankers, or by charging a small Commission to those persona to whom it may not be convenient to sustain an agreed Permanent Balance. DEPOSIT ACCOUNTS.— Deposit Receipts are issued for sums of Money placed upon these Accounts, and Interest is aiowed for such periods and at such rates as may be agreed upon, reference being had to the state of the Money Market. CIRCULAR NOTES AND LETTERS OF CREDIT are issued, payable in the principal Cities and Towns of the Con- tinent, in Australia, Canada, India, and China, the United States, and elsewhere. The Agency of Foreign and Country Banks is undertaken. The PuBCHASB and Sale of Government and other Stocks, of English or Foreign Shares effected, and Dividends, Ankuitibs, &c., received for Customers of the Bank. Great faciUties are also afforded to the Customers of the Bank for the receipt of Money from the Towns where the Com* pany has Branches. The Officers of the Bank are bound not to disclose the transactions of any of its Customers. By Order of the Directors, WM. MoKEWAN, General Manager. POPULAR MEDICAL WORKS, PUBLISHED BY MANN, 39, CORNHILL, LONDON. Post Free, 12 Stamps ; Sealed Eads, 16 Stamps. DR. CURTIS'S MEDICAL GUIDE TO MARRIAGE : a Practical Treatise on ITS Physical and Personal Obligations. With instructions to the Married and Unmarried of both Sexes, for removing the special disqualifications and impediments which destroy the happiness of wedded life, founded on the result of a successful practice of 30 years. — By Dr. J, L. CURTIS, M.D., 15, Albemarle Street, Piccadillt, London, W. And, by the same Author, for 12 stamps ; sealed ends, 20. MANHOOD : A MEDICAL ESSAY on the Causes and Cure of Premature Decline in Man ; the Treatment of Nervous Debility, Spermatorrhoea, Impotence, and those peculiar infirmities which result from youthful abuses, adult excesses, tropical climates, and other causes ; with Instructions for the Cure of Infection without Mercury, and its Prevention by the Author's Prescription (his infallible Lotion). REVIEWS OF THE WORK. " Manhood. — This is truly a valuable work, and should be in the hands of young and old." — Swnday Times, 23rd March, 1858. " The book under review Is one calculated to warn and instruct the erring, without imparting one idea that can vitiate the mind not already tutored by the vices of which it treats." — Naval and Militanj Gazette'^ 1st February, 1856. *' We feel no hesitation in saying that there is no member of society by whom the book will not be found use- ful, whether such person hold the relation of a Parent, Preceptor, ov Clergyman." — Sun, Evening Paper. Manhood. — " Dr. Curtis has conferred a great boon by publishing tliis little work, in which is described the soui'ce of those diseases which produce decline in youth, or more frequently premature old age." — BaU'j Telegraph, March 27, 1856. Consultations daily, from 10 to 3 and 6 to 8. 15, Albemarle Street, Piccadilly. LoniJon, W. IMPORTANT TO FLOCKMASTERS. THOMAS BIGG, Agricultural and Veterinary Chemist, by Appointment to His late Royal Highness The Frince Consort, K.G., Leicester House, Great Dover Street, Borough, London, begs to call the attention of Fanners and "Graziers to his valuable SHEEP and LAMB DIPPING COMPOSITION, which requires no Boiling, and may be used with Warm or Cold Water, for effectually destroying the Tick, Lice, and aU other insects injiu-ious to the Elock, preventing the alarming attacks of Fly and Shab, and cleansing and pujifying the Skin, thereby greatly im- proving the Wool, both in quantity and quality, and highly contributing to the general health of the animal. Prepared only by Thomas Bigg, Chemist, &c., at his Manu- factory as above, and sold as follows, although any other quantity may be had, if required : — 4 lb. for 20 sheep, price, jar included £0 (cask and measure included) 81b, 40 „ , 101b. 50 „ , 201b. 100 „ „ 30 lb. 150 „ „ 401b. 200 „ 60 lb. 230 „ „ 60 lb. 300 „ „ 80 lb. 400 ,. „ 100 lb. 600 „ , 0 0 4 0 5 0 10 0 15 1 0 1 3 1 7 1 17 2 5 Should any Flockmaster prefer boiling the Composition, it will be equally effective. MOST IMPORTANT CERTIFICATE. From Mr, Hebepath, the celebrated Analytical Chemist :— Bristol Laboratory, Old Park, January 18th, 1861. Sir,— I have submitted your Sheep Dipping Composition to analysis, and find that the ingredients are well blended, and the mixture neutral. If it is used according to the directions given, I feel satisfied, that while it effectually destroys vermin, it will not injiu'c the hair roots (or "yolk ") in the skin, the fleece, or the carcase. I think it deserves the numerous testimonials published. I am, Sir, yours respectfully, William Hebapaih, Sen., F.O.S., &c., &c., To Mr. Thomas Bigg, Professor of Chemistry. Leicester House, Great Dover-street, Borough, London. He would also especially call attention to his SPECIFIC or LOTION, for the SCAB or SHAB, which will be found a certain remedy for eradicating that loathsome and nUnons disorder in Sheep, and which may be safely used in all climates, and at aU seasons of the year, and to all descriptions of sheep, even ewes in lamb. Price FIVE SHILLINGS per gallon — sufficient on an average for thirty Sheep (according to the virulence of the disease) j also in wine quai-t bottles', IMPORTANT TESTIMONIAL. " Scoulton, near Hingham, Norfolk, April 16th, 1855. "Dear Sir, — In answer to yours ot the 4th inst., which would have been repUed to before this had I been at home, I have much pleasure in bearing testimony to the efficacy of your invaluable ' Specific for the cui-e of Scab in Sheep.* The 600 sheep were all dressed in August last with 84 gallons of ttie ' NoN -POISONOUS Specific,' that was so highly recom- mended at the Lincoln Show, and by their own dresser, the best attention being paid to the flock oy my shepherd after dressing according to instructions left ; but notwithstanding the Scab continued getting worse. Beiug determined to have the Scab cured if possible, I wi-ote to you for a supply of your Specffic, which I received the following day ; and although the weather was most severe in February during the dressing, your Specific proved itself an invaluable remedy, for in three weeks the Sheep were quite curects like a charm in Diarrhrea, and is the only specific in Cholera and Dysentery. CHLORODYNE effectually cuts short all attacks of Epilepsy, Hysteria, Palpitation and Spasms. CHLORODYNE is the only palliative in Neuralgia, Rheumatism, Gout, Cancer, Toothache, Meningitis, &c. From Loud Fbancis ontitgham, Mount Charles, Donegal, 11th December, 1868, "Lord Francis ConjTigham, who this time last year bought s(me of Dr. J. CoUis Browne's Chlorodyne from Mr. Davenport, and has foimd it a most wonderful medicine, would be glad to have half-a-dozen bottles sent at once to the above address." Earl Russell communicated to the College of Physicians that he received a dispatch from Her Majesty's Consul at Manilla to the effect that Cholera has been raging fearfully, and that the ONLY remedy of any service waa CHLOEODYNE." —See Lancet, 1st December, 1864. CAUTION.— BEWARE of PIRACY and IMITATIONS. CAtTTioir.— Vice-chancellor Sir W. Page Wood stated that Dr. J. Collis Bhownb was, undoubtedly, the Inventor of CHLORODYNE ; that the story of the Defendant, Fbebman, was deliberately untrue, which, he regretted to say, had been Bworn to.— See Times, 13th July, 1861. Sold in Bottles at is. l^d., 2s. 9d., 4s. 6d., and Us. each. None is genuine without the words, "Dr. J. COLLIS BROWNE'S CHLORODYNE " on the Government Stamp. Overwhelming Medical Testimony accompanies each bottle. SoLB Manvfactceeb :— J. T. DAVENPORT, 33, Great Russell Street. Bloomsbury, London. 'F-az.s^ y^Mc^^JA, No. 3 Vol, XL.] SEPTEMBER, 1871. Thibd Series* THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE, AND MONTHLY JOURNAL or n\ HE AdEICULTURAL INTEREST. IBetriratelr TO THE FARMERS OF THE UNITED KINGDOM. LONDON : PUBLISHED BYROGERSON AND TUXFORD, 365, STRAND, PRICE TWO SHILLINGS. EOGBESON AND TUXFORD,] [PRINTERS, 265, STRANP, -^H^je8^i!BtHWUjjJi.k^ik.>W1iJ.W.I .iJi'lilWWWIIililWJIiH.IIWW , ■jBt»gM^^-i^'^--"'-'^^'^^^^^''liT'^'^'^^r, J. Robson, Rose Villa, Old Malton ; second, £1, C. Knowlson, Birdforth. Ladies' Hackney, mare or gelding of any age. — First prize, £3, J. H. Graves, Sutton ; second, £1, J. Batty, Stillington. FOR AGRICULTURAL PURPOSES. Mare, with foal at foot. — First prize, £3, Mrs. T. Swan, Terringfon ; second, £1, W. Temple. Three-year-old gelding or filly. — First prize, £3, and t^cond, £1, Mrs. Heddon, Uowfield House. Two-year-old gelding or filly. — First prize, £3, G. Robson ; second, 10s., — Pettinger, Carolina. Yearling gelding or filly. — First prize, £1 10s., J.Apple- yard, Wistow ; second, 10s., J. Crossley, Enaresbro'. Mare or gelding of any age. — First prize, £3, G. W. Apple- yard ; second, £1, J. Appleyard. Pair of horses, of either sex, the property of a tenant-farmer. — First prize, £5, H. Pettinger ; second, £3, G. Logan, Dud- holm Wood. Pony not exceeding 14f hands. — First prize, £2, W. Snowden and Son, Slingsby ; second, 10s., J. Walker, Hawkshills. Foals by the thoroughbred horse " V alentine." — First prize, £1, Hannah Barker, Huby ; second, 15s., W. Gill, The Lund ; third, 10s., J. Gilliard, Crayke. SHEEP. LEICESTER OR LONG-WOOLS. Ram, any age, pure Leicester. — First prize, £2, T. H. Hutchinson, Catterick ; second, 10s., E. Riley, Beverley. Shearling ram, pure Leicester. — First prize, £3, T. H. Hutchinson ; second, £1, E. Riley. Ram, any age, not qualified to compete as a Leicester.— First prize, £3, R. Allan, Crankley ; second, 10s., C. Sergeant, Hunsingore. Shearling ram, not qualified as a Leicester. — First prize, £3, J. and T. Coates, Peep o'Day ; second, £1, R. D. Batty. Pen of five ewes, any breed, having suckled lambs up to July 1. — First prize, a silver cup, T. H. Hutchinson; second, £1, E. Riley ; third, lOs., J. Cattley, Stearsby. Pen of five shearling gimraers. — First prize, £3, E. Riley ; second, £1, J. Corner, South Holme ; third, 10s., T. Plumraer, Birdforth. Pen of five giraraer lambs. — First prize, £3, J. acd T. Coates; second, 10s., J. Graves, CiotherlioLTie. Pen of five wether lambs. — First prize, £2, T. Plummer ; second, 10s., W. Pickering, Gilling. Tup lamb. — First prize, £3, and second, £1,T. Hutchinson; third, 10s., J. Graves. Extra Stock. — Prize, R. Allen, Crankley. PIGS. Boar, large or middle breed, upwards of twelve months old. — First prize, £1 10s., J. Smith, Acomb ; second, 10s., J. Wilson, Rainton. Sow, large or middle breed, upwards of twelve months old. — First prize, £1 10s., J. Graves ; second, 10s., W. Prest, Ampleforth College. Boar, large or middle breed, under twelve months old. — First prize, £1 10s., G. Sedgwick, York ; second, 10s., Mr. EUerthorpe. Sow, large or middle breed, under sixteen months old.— First prize, £L 10s., G. Sedgwick; second, 10s., T. and G. Barron, Huby. Sow, small breed, upwards of sixteen months old. — First prize, £1 10s., T. Nicholson ; second, 10s., J. Haxy. Boar, small breed, any age. — First prize, £1 10s., F. Penty, Spring House; second, 10s., H. Abell, jun., Wigginton. Sow, small breed, under sixteen mouths old, — Prize, £1 10s. G. Sedgwick. Three store pigs of same litter. — First prize, £3, F. G. Gruggen, Pocklington ; second, £1, W. Plummer ; third, 10s., J. Appleyard, Wistow. Pig, the property of a cottager. — First prize, £1 10s., E. Addison, Easingwold ; second, 10s., E. Addison. Extra Stock. — First prize, 10s., G. Fawcett, Sutton Forest ; second, 5s., T. Armin, Easingwold. AGRICULTURAL PRODUCE. Twelve round potatoes. — First prize, T. Armin ; second, C. Johnson, Easingwold. Twelve kidney potatoes. — First prize, C. Johnson ; second, J. Batty, Stillington Lane. Three pounds of butter. — First prize, W. Wikeley, Moss Ends ; second, T. B.ilderson, Bielby. Wool, three hogg fleeces. — First prize, £3, Mr. Tomlinson ; second, £1, J. Gatenby, Helperby. IMPLEMENTS. Prizes were awarded to H. Bushell, York ; J. Barker, Dun- niugton ; T. Wentworth, ToUerton ; W. Hopperton, Sheriff Hutton ; J. Wyrill, Farlington ; — Slater, Husthwaite ; and J. Smith, Easingwold, 212 THE fahmee's :magazine. THE HIGHLAOT3 AND AGRICULTUEAL SOCIETY OF SCOTLAND. MEETING AT PERTH. On the Monday the Committee made their inspection for the purpose of selecting implements for trial forthe Society's medals. The show of agricultural machinery is larger than usual, hut there is less variety on several of the stands than has heen displayed at previous meetings. There is an unusually large assortment of single-furrow, double-furrow, and drill ploughs. Among the exhibitors of single-furrow ploughs are J. Barrow- man ; Gray & Co. ; Kirkwood ; Law, Duncan & Co. ; Sellar & Sou ; Kemp, Murray & Nicholson ; Reid k Co. ; Craig ; Scoular ; and others. The Aberdeen broadcast sowing machine, manufactured by Reid & Co., was awarded the first prize at the recent Riga show. Of double-furrow ploughs there is a larger number of exliibitors than of single-furrow ploughs. The principal firms here are Pirie & Co. ; Fowler & Co. ; Gray & Co. ; Hornsby & Son ; Murray & Co. ; Mit- chell & Son ; Murray ; Mellard's Trent Foundry ; Sellar & Son. In the class of driU ploughs, among the exhibitors are — AUan & Sons ; Kemp, Murray, & Nicholson ; Reid & Co. ; Kirkwood ; Murray & Co. ; and Small. The makers have also on their stands grubbers of various forms, two-horse and single-horse giubbers, the latter description being for green crops. There is a large display of harrows of various kinds, the zig-zag being the most common. In steam cultivating implements there is little shown to indicate that steam-power is now applied to the stirring of the soil. There is a steam drill balance five-furrow plough exhibited by Anderson, Monifieth, which is on a different principle from Fowler & Co.'s balance-plough. Lord Kinnaird also exhibits a large trench- ing plough, although his name does not appear in the cata- logue. Williamson Brothers, Kendal, exhibit a 6-horse steam engine and other machines, which deserve attention. Geddes, Boghall, Ellon, exhibits a driU-distributor, entered as a new invention. In the class of drill grubbers and hoes there appears to be nothing new. There is a very large dis- play of reaping and mowing machines ; besides a considerable number of the English manufacturers, there are also many Scotch manufacturers of these machines. None of the reaping machines have any new principle applied as to the cutting of the grain, although there are some variations in the form of the rakes for laying off the cut grain. Hay-tedders are shown on a few stands, but the use of these is mainly confined to the tedding of meadow grasses, as comparatively little hay is made in Scotland from natural grasses. The show of horse-rakes is very extensive, with steel teeth or teeth made of scrap-iron for gathering the scattered stalks of grass or corn. The dis- play of common horse-carts is very meagre, and those shown apparently did not attract much attention. Potato diggers are shown on several stands. Tiiere are a few thrashing macliines, and these, with one exception, are being all exhibited by English manufacturers, at the head of whom is the firm of Clayton & Shuttleworth. Among the other exhibitors are Marshall & Sons, Robey & Co., and Williamson Brothers. In the class for traction engines Robey & Co. exhibit. Welch, Southall, exhibits two models of railway cattle trucks, which admit of the feeding and watering during transit. Richmond & Chandler have the most extensive collection of chaff-cutters and corn cutters. Kemp, Murray, & Nicholson, R. Hornsby & Sons, and Picksley, Sims, & Co. are also exhibitors. Troughs for cattle, made of fireclay, are shown by Lindsay & Anderson, Dunfermline. There are comparatively few exhibitors of cattle foods. There are, however, several exhibitors of feeding-cakes — composed of linseed, and the pressed refuse of other oleaginous seeds. There are only two stands on which collections of seeds and plants are displayed, by Dickson & Sons, Edinburgh, and Dickson & Tumbull, Perth. As regards the general and individual excellence of the animals competing, these do not, in many of the sections, come up to the standard of those wliich competed at previous shows of the Society. This is noticeable in several sections of the cattle classes, but most apparent in the Shorthorns, where the entries amount to 93. Of aged bulls 15 are entered. The animals are generally of large size, and those placed by the judges are very good specimens, but considerable dissatisfaction was expressed by onlookers at the placing of the animals. There were several very good buUs which were passed over without any notice. The yearling bulls include several animals of merit, and of cows of any age there is a large class. A breeder of Shorthorns, who was at Wolverhampton, states that the cows shown here are greatly superior to those which competed at the Royal English Society's show. Of two-year- old heifers there is a good but small class. The show of Polled Angus or Aberdeen cattle is one of the best that has been seen for many years ; the buUs are particularly good, also the cows. The second prize animal, M'Combie, was first at Aberdeen, but on the present occasion he is in his right place, as the one placed-first is a splendid animal. The two-year-old bulls exhibited were a very good class of auimals, and the Galloways are shown to great advantage. There is a com- paratively smaU display of Ayrshires, the district of this year's show being too far distant from the dairy counties of the south-west of Scotland. Several first-class bulls were shown, some of which were necessarily passed unnoticed. There is a very splendid show of Highlanders, as this was to be expected from the show being held on the borders of the Highlands. Several of the aged bulls are particularly fine specimens of the hardy breed. The fat cattle are generally excellent ; the best of these coming from the northern coun- ties, Perthshire taking the lead. Pigs never appeared in greater numbers at the shows of the Society than on the present occasion. Both the large and small breeds are well represented in point of quality, but the competition is limited. The horses are not high-classed, but in the Clydesdale sections the three-year-old entire colts and the three-year-old fillies are very superior to the older and younger auimals exhibited. The thoroughbred stallions are few in number, and the half breeds are also in limited show. A more numerous and better display of ponies, and also of horses suitable for the field, might have been expected. The blackfaced sheep have precedence in the catalogue. Tliis is as it ougiit to be, as they are best suited for the mountainous districts of Scotland. There is, though, hut a limited number shown. The Cheviot breed is very well represented. The most successful breed srs in the south of Scotland exhibit. The Border Leicesters ar ; a very good show, several of the prize animals combining ymmetry, size, and quality with good fleeces. Longwooll d, other than Border Leicesters, are repre- sented by Cotswold ^ and Lincolns. A few Southdowns are shown, and the Shr tpshircs are moderately represented. PRIZE LIST. JUDGES. SHORTnoRixs. — J. Wood, Harewood Hill, Darlington; G. H. Sanday, Ho! me Pierrepont, Notts ; J. Currie, Halkers- ton, Gorebridge, Polled Angus or Aberdeen : W. Fuller- ton, Mains of A rdestie, Monitieth ; C. Lyall, Old Montrose, Montrose ; W. Ruxton, Farnell, Brechin. Galloway : J. Graham, of SI aw, Lockerbie ; W. Rigg, Banks, Kirkcud- bright. Ayrshires : A. AUan, Munnoch, Dairy, Ayr ; H. Kirkwood, Killermont, Maryliill, Glasgow ; D. Tweedie, Castle- Crawford, Abington. Highland : A. Macdonald, B;Jranald, Lochmaddy ; J. Macarthur, Acurrach, Inverary; J. Jardiue, KiUunan, Fiatry, Stirling. Fat Stock : R. Lucas, Bridge of Allan : J. Wilson, George-street, Edin- burgh. Draught Houses.— J. Young, Fulwood, Paisley; R. Find- lay, Springhill, Bailieston ; 6. Brown, Shiel, New Galloway. Hunters and Ponies : W. Ford, Hardengreen, Dalkeith ; R. Calder, Kelloe, Mains, Edrom. THE FAEMEE'S MAGAZINE. 213 Sheep.— Blackfaced : T. Elliot, Hindhope, Jedburgh ; J. Craig, Polquheys, New Cumnock ; J. Watson, Culterallers, Biggar. Cheviot: W. Grieve, Skelf hill, Hawick ; J. Jar- dine, Arkleton, Langholm : J. Scott, Clebrig, Lairg. Border Leicester : J . Wilson, Woodhorn. Manor, Morpeth ; R. Jlardie, Harrietfield, Kelso ; K.. 11. Harris, Earnhill, Forres, English Leieesters, Southdowns, Shropshires, and other Short-woolled Sheep : K,. H. Masfen, Pendeford, Wolver- hampton ; C. Randell, Chadbury, Evesham. Pigs.— T. D. Findlay, Easterhill, Glasgow ; J. Graham, Par- celstown, Westlinton, Carlisle. Dairy Produce. — J. M'Ewen, StirHng ; W.B. Gloag,Athole Street, Perth ; C C. Stewart, Perth. Impleme;^ts. — Inspecting Committee: Professor Macquorn Rankine, Consulting Engineer to the Society ; J. Gibson, Woolmet, Chairman ; A. Slight, Edinburgh, Practical Engineer ; Professor Wilson, Edinburgh ; J. W. Hunter, Thurston, Dunbar ; R. Russell, Pilmuir, Leven ; T. Mylne, Niddrie Mains, Liberton ; G. Richmond, Balhaldie, Lawhill, Auehterarder ; R. Elliot, Laighwood, Dunkeld ; T. Ross, Bachilton, Perth ; R. Gardiner, Chapelbank, Auehterarder ; W. Watson, Seaside, Errol ; R. Wilson, Eairmount Villas, Perth. CATTLE. SHORTHORNS. First prize bulls at former shows. — W. S. Marr, Upper Mill, Tarves (Heir of Enghshman) . Bulls calved before 1st January, 1869. — Pirst prize, £20, R. Arklay, Ethiebeaton, Dundee (Annan Water) ; second of £10, J. Fletcher, Rosehaugh, Avoch (Michigan 2nd) ; third, J. Cochrane, Little Haddo, Newburgh, Aberdeen (Baronet). Commended : J. Cochrane (Lord Henry). Bulls calved after 1st January, 1869.— First prize, £20, J. Balfour, Balbirnie, Markmch (Keir Butterfly 7th) ; second of £10, Sir D. Baird, Bart., Newbyth, Prestoukirk (Baron Law- rie 3rd) ; third, W. Scott, Glendronach, liuntly (Baron Stapleton) . Commended ; R. Moubray, Cambus, Stirling (Red Rover). Bulls calved after 1st January, 1870. — First prize, £10, Sir W. Stirling Maxwell, Bart., Keir, Dunblane (Red Duke) ; second of £5, J. Beattie, Newbie House, Annan (Baron Torr) ; third, R. Bruce, Newton of Striithers, Forres (Baron Cecil). Commended: J. Lamb, BurreU Green, Penrith (Ig- noramus). Cows of any age. — First prize, £15, Sir W. Stirling Max- well, Bart. (Henrietta) ; second of £8, the Duke of Buccleuch, Dalkeith Park, Dalkeith (Young Cherry) ; third, R. Arklay, Ethiebeaton, Dundee (Flecky Wear), Commended : W. A. Mitchell, Auchnagathle, Whitehouse, Aberdeen (Lady Forbes). Heifers calved after 1st January, 1869. — First prize, £10, R. Bruce, Newton of Struthers, Forres (Raspberry) ; second of £5, Lord Kinnaird, Rossie Priory, luchture (Flower of Hope) ; third, Lord Kinnaird (Forlorn Hope). Commended : E. Baillie, Dochfour, Inverness (Woodbine). Heifers calved after 1st January, 1870. — First prize, £8, the Duke of Buccleuch (Queen of the Lothians) ; second of £4!, the Duke of Buccleuch (Lady Cecil) ; third. Lord Kin- naird (Queen of the Gipsies). Commended: W. Scott, Glen- dronach, Huntly (Caroline). POLLED ANGUS OR ABERDEEN. Bulls calved before 1st January, 1869. — First prize, £20, Sir G. Macpherson Grant, Bart., BallindaUoch ; second of i'lO, W. D. Fordyce, M.P., Brucklay Castle, Aberdeen ; third, R. Walker, Portlethen, Aberdeen, Commended : W. J, Tay- lor, Rothiemay House, Huntly. IJuUs calved after 1st January, 1869. — First prize, £20, G. Broffn, Westertown, Fochabers ; second of £10, Sir T. Glad- stone, Bart., Fasque, Laurencekirk ; third, R. Clark, Tay- bank, Errol. Commended : A. Bowie, Mains of KeUy, Ar- broath. Bulls calved after 1st January, 1870.— First prize, £10, W. M'Combie, Easter Skene, Skene, Aberdeen ; second of £5, W. J. Taylor, Rothiemay House, Huntly ; third, J. LesHe, The Thorn, Blairgowrie. Commended; G. Brown, Westertown, Fochabers. First prize cows at former shows, — ^First prize, G, Brown, Westertown, Fochabers ; second. Sir G. M. Grant, Bart. Cows of any age. — First prize, £15, Sir G. M. Grant; second of £8, Sir G. M. Grant j third, Sir G. M. Grant. Commended : W. J. Taylor, Rothiemay House, Huntly. Heifers calved after 1st January, 1869. — First prize, £10, Sir G. Macpherson Grant, BallindaUoch ; second of £5, A. Bowie, Mains of Kelly, Arbroath ; third, G. Brown. Com- mended : Sir G. Macpherson Grant. Heifers calved after 1st January, 1870. — I'irst prize, £8, W. J, Taylor ; second of £4', G, Brown ; third, G, Brown. Commended : J. Leslie. GALLOWAYS. First prize bnlls at former shows,— J. Fisher, Knells, Car- lisle, Bulls calved before 1st January, 1869. — First prize, £20, J. Graham, Parcelstown, Westlinton, Carlisle ; second of £10, J. Cunningham, Tarbreoch, Dalbeattie; third, P. Morton, Laws Hall, Longtown. Bulls calved after 1st January, 1869.— First prize, £20, J. Cunningham; second of £10, T. Biggar, Chapelton, Dal- beattie. Bulls calved after 1st January, 1870. — First prize, £10, J. Graham, Braidlee, Newcastletown ; second of £5, J. Kerr, Flatts of Cargen, Dumfries. First prize cows at former shows, — J, Cunningham; T. Cow of any age, — First prize, £15, J. Cunningham ; second of £8, T. Biggar, Chapelton, Dalbeattie ; third, J. Cionning- ham. Commended : The Duke- of Buccleuch. Heifers calved after 1st January, 1869. — First prize, £10, T. Biggar ; second of £5, J. Cunningham ; third, J. Cunning- ham. Commended : The Duke of Buccleuch. Heifers calved after 1st January, 1870. — First prize, £8, the Duke of Buccleuch ; second of £4, J, Cunningham ; third, J, Cunningham. ATRSniRES. First prize bulls at former shows. — Sir Michael R. Shaw Stewart, Bart., Ardgowan, Greenock„ Bulls calved before 1st January, 1869. — First prize, £20, J. Wilson, Boghall, Houston ; second of £10, Sir M. R. Shaw Stewart, Bart. ; third, J. Fleming, Meadowbank Cottage, Strathaven, Commended : Colonel A. Campbell, Blythewood, Renfrew, Bulls calved after 1st January, 1869.— First prize, £20, R. Kelso, Flatterton, Greenock; second of £10, Hon, G, R. Vernon ; third, J, Fleming. Commended : A. Snodgrass, Mollandhu, Cardross. Bulls calved after 1st January, 1870.— First prize, £10, W. Carmichael, Pool, Auchingray, Carnwarth ; second of £o, J. Fleming ; third, D. C. Wilhson, Parish Holm, Douglas. Com- mended : J. Fleming. First prize cow at former shows. — J. Fleming. Cows in-milk of any age. — First prize, £15, G. Dunlop, Castle Farm, Stewarton ; second of £8, J. M. Martin, Auchen- froe, Cardross ; third, M. Wilson, Blackstoun House, Paisley. Commended : J. N. Fleming, Knockdou, Maybole. Cows in-calf of any age. — First prize, J. Stewart ; second, J. Fleming ; third, G. Danlop. Commended : The Duchess Dowager of Athole. Heifers calved after 1st January, 1869. — First prize, £10, G. Pender, Dumbreck, Kilsyth ; second of £5, G. Dunlop ; third, G. Pender, Commended : J. Stewart. The class com- mended. Heifers calved after 1st January, 1870. — First prize, £8, J. Fleming ; second of £4, G. Pender ; third, J. Fleming. Com- mended : W. Hunter, Craighead, Abington. HIGHLAND. First prize bulls at former shows. — The Earl of Seafield, Castle Grant, Grantown. Bulls calved before 1st January, 1868. — First prize, £20, J. Stewart, Duntulm, Portree ; second of £10, the Duke of Athole ; third, J. Grant, Inverlaiduan, Carr Bridge. Com- mended : C. M. Campbell, Baltimore, Tigh-na-Bruaich. Bulls calved after 1st January, 1868. — First prize, £20, D. Carnegie, Stronvar, Lochearnhead ; second of £10, T. L. M. Cartwriglit, MelviUe House, Ladybank. Bulls calved after 1st January, 1869. — First prize, £10, J, Malcolm, PoltaUoch, Lochgilphead ; second of £5, the Duke of Athole ; third, J. Malcolm. Commended : R. Lawrie, Fincharn, Ford, Lochaweside. First prize cows at former shows.— 'J. Stewart, Duntulm, Portree ; J, Malcolm, PoltaUoch, Lochgilphead. 214. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. Cows of any age.— First prize, £15, the Duke of Athole ; second of £3, D. M'Laren, Corrychroue, Callander ; third, J. Malcolm. Commeaded : Tiie Duke of Atliole. Heifers calved after 1st January, 186S.— First prize, £10, J. Malcolm ; second of £5, J. Stewart ; third, J. Malcolm. Commended : Duke of Atliole Heifers calved after 1st January, 1869.— First prize, £8, J. Malcolm; second of £1, J. Stewart; third, J. Malcolm. Commended : Trustees of the late R. Peter, Urlar, Aber- feldy. TAT STOCK. Polled oxen, calved after 1st January, 1868.— First prize, the Earl of Strathmore ; second, P. Dudgeon, Cargen, Dam- fries. Polled oxen, calved after 1st January, 1869. — First prize, R. Bruce, Newton of Struthers, Forres ; second, J. Skinner, Drumin, Ballindalloch. Highland oxen, calved after 1st January, 1867. — First prize, C. H. D. Moray, Abercairuey, Crietf; second, J.J. Dajgleisli, West Grange, Culross ; third, A. Henderson, Dun- kenuy, Glamis. Commended : C. H. Druramond, Moray, Abercairuey, Crieff. Highland oxeu, calved after 1st January, 1868. — First prize, the Dowager Duchess of Athole ; second, the Duke of Athole ; tliird, the Earl of Seafield. Commended : The Duke of Athole. Oxen of any other pure or cross breed, calved after 1st January, 1868.— First prize, T. Roy, Tdlylumb, Perth; second, T. Roy ; third, T. Roy. 0.xeu of any other pure or cross breed, calved after 1st January, 1869. — First prize, R. Heath Harris, Earnhill, I'orres ; second, J. P. M'Pherson, Muirton, Kiuloss, Forres ; third, T. M. Tod, West Brackly, Kinross. Commended : R. Husband, Gellet, Dunfermline. Cross-bred heifers, calved after 1st January, 1869. — ^First prize, J. Geddes, Orbliston, Fochabers ; second, A. Cowie, Crombly Bank, Ellon. EXTRA CATTLE. Galloway. — Commended : P. Dudgeon, Cargen, Dumfries. Cross. — Commended : W. ;Marshall, Luncarty, Perth. PIGS. Boars, large breed. — First prize, £8, R. E. Duckering and Son, Nortliorpe, Kirton Lindsey ; second of £i, R. E. Duckering and Son ; third, G. Mangles, Great Givendale, Ripon, Yorkshire. Boars, small breed. — First prize, £8, R. E. Duckering and Son ; second of £i, C. A. Murray, Taymount, Stanley ; third, G. Mangle . Boars, Berkshire breed. — First prize, £8, R. E. Duckering and Son ; second of £i; R. Lyall, Carcary, Brechin ; third, Sir David Baird, Newbyth. Sows, large breed. — First prize, £6, R. E. Duckering and Sou ; second of £3, R. E. Duckering and Son ; third, G. Mangles. Sows, small breed. — First prize, £6, R. E. Duckering and Son ; second of £3, A. Stewart, Bridge of Earn, Perth ; third, J. L. Gow, Raith, Kirkcaldy. Sows, Berkshire breed. — First prize, £6, Sir D. Baird, Newbyth ; second of £3, A. Stewart ; third. Lord Kinnaird, Rossie Priory. Pens of three pigs, not exceeding 8 months old, large breed. — First prize, £4', 11. E. Duckering and Son ; second of £3 and tiiird, G. Mangles. Pens of three pigs, not exceeding S months old, small breed. — First prize, £4, R. E. Duckering and Son; second of £2, J. L. Gow, Raith, Kirkcaldy. Pens of three pigs, not exceeding 8 months old, Berkshire breed. — Second prize, £2, Sir David Baird. HORSES. EOR AGKICUITURAL PURPOSES. First prize stallions at former shows (exhibited for medium .gold medal), EJiuburgh, 1869, when the property of the pre- sent exhibitor, M. Bothune, Drcim, Beauly ; Dumfries, 1870, when the property of tiie present exhibitor, P. Crawford, Dumgoyack, Strathblane. St.dlions, foaled before 1st January, 1868 (breeder of best stallion, silver medal). — First prize, £30, P. M'Robbie, Sunny- side, Aberdeen ; second of £15, W. Wylie, Dyke Farm, Wliit- burn ; third, W. Moffat, Shirva, Kirkintilloch. Commended : C. and J. Rankin, Chapelfield, St. Cjtus, Montrose. Entire colts, foaled after 1st January, 1868. — First prize, R. Brewster, Barnbeth, Bridge of Weir ; third, P. M-Robbie. Commended: J. Bulloch, Stonedyke, East Kilpatrick ; A.Kerr, Castlehill, Durrisdeer ; J. Bullock. Entire colts, foaled after 1st January, 1869. — First prize, Sir W. Stirling-Maxwell, Bart., Keir, Dunblane ; second, A. Johnston, Lochburn, Maryhill ; third, P. Crawford. Com- mended : J. Arkley, Kingsfield. Entire colts, foaled after 1st January, 1870. — First prize, A. Weir, Newhouse Mill, East Kilbride ; second, J. Love, Greenock ; third, J. N. Fleming, Knockdon, Maybole. Com- mended : M. Bethune, Dreim, Beauly. First prize mares at former shows. — Edinburgh, 1869, when the property of the present exhibitor. Sir W. Stirling-Mas- well. Mares (in foal), foaled before 1st January, 186S. — First prize, W. Moffat, Shirva, Kirkintilloch ; second. Sir W. Stirling-Maxwell , third, M. Bethune. Commended : G. Dun- can, Kinkell, Keith Hall, Inverurie. Mares, in-foal, foaled before 1st January, 1868. — First prize, Colonel Findlay, Boturch Castle, Dumbarton; second, L. Drew, Merryton, Hamilton; third, A. Buchanan, Garscaddea Mains, New Kilpatrick. Commended : L. Drew. Fillies foaled after 1st January, 1869. — First prize, G. Knox, Polnoon Lodge, Eaglesham ; third, R. Walker, Montbletton, Bamff. Commended : J. Hunter, Strathbungo, Glasgow. Fillies, foaled after 1st January, 1870. — First and second prizes, J. N. Fleming ; third. Sir W. Stirling-Maxwell. Com- mended : The Ear] of Strathmore, Glamis Castle, Glamis. Draught geldings foaled after 1st January, 1868. — Prize, A. Weir, Newhouse Mill, East Kilbride. Draught gelding foaled after 1st January, 1869. — First prize, G. Morgan, Hosh Hill, Crieff ; second, G. Tod, East Brackly, Kinross ; third, T. Laudale, Rhynd, Perth. EXTRA SECTIONS.: Mares or geldings between 12 and 14- hands high. — First prize. Colonel J. W. Ogilvy, Rannagulzion, Blairgowrie ; second, T. Bernard, Holme House, Haddington ; third. The Duchess Dowager of Athole, Dunkeld. Commended: J. M'Inally and Son, Glasgow. Mares or geldings 12 hands and under. — First prize, T. Coutts Trotter, Champlleuaie, Linlithgow ; second. Colonel M. Macdonald, St. Martin's, Perth. EXTRA PONIES. Highly commended : Colonel M. Macdonald ; J. I\rDaff, Newmill, Stanley; Miss A. Norton, Rannoch Lodge, Pit- lochrie. Mares or geldings, foaled before 1st January, 1867, suitable for field. — First prize, C. Lamout, Ess'bank, Kinross ; second, D. R. Williamson, Lawers ; third, G. Ronaldson, Linnood, Paisley. Commended : P. L. Gray, Freelands, R«tiio. Mares or geldiugs, foaled before 1st January, 1863, suitable for field. — First prize, J. Duncan, Boghall, Kingsbarns, St. Andrews ; second, R. Gardiner, Chapelbank, Auchterarder. Mares or geldings, foaled before 1st January, 1868, suitable for carriage. — First prize, G. Anderson, Linlithgow ; second, G. H. M. Binning Home, Argaty, Donne. EXTRA HORSES. TIIORORUGII-BRED STALLIONS. Highly commended : R. Mackay, Dalkeith. Commonded : J. Playfair, Islabank, Coupar-Angus ; and W. Wilson, Don Cottage, Alford.,' IIALE-BRED, ETC. Highly commended : J. Morton, Larabieletham, St. Andrews. Commended : J. Walker, Hillhead, St. Andrews. SHEEP. BLACKFACED. Tups above one shear. — First prize, J. Greenshields, West Town, Lcsmahagow ; second, J. Archibald, Overshiels, Stow ; third, J. Greenshields. Commended : T. Aitken, Listonshiels, Baleruo. Diumont or shearling tups. — First prize. J. Archibald ; se- second, T. Aitken ; third, J.Archibald. Commended: Allau C. Pagan, Innergeldie, Comrie, Crieff. Ewes above one-shear, with lambs.— First prize, D. 1 weedie, Castle Crawford, Abingtoa; second, J. Archibald ; third, J» THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 215 Malcolm, Poltalloch, Lochgilphead. Corameuded : Tlie lambs of first and second prizes. Shearling ewes or giramers. — First prize, J. Arcliibald ; se- cond, A. C. Pagan ; third, J. Archibald. Commended : J. N. Fleming, of Knockdon, Maypole. CHEVIOTS. Tups above one shear. — First prize, T. Elliot, Hindhope, Jedburgh ; second, H, Brydou, Thirlestauehope, Selkirk ; third, J. A. Johnstone, Archbank, Moffatt. Commended : J. Brydon, Kinnelhead, Moffat. Dinmont or shearling tups. — First prize, T. Welsh, Eric- stane, Moffat; second. Sir G.Graham Montgomery, Stobo ; third, J. Johnstone, Capplegill, Moffat. Commended : J. A. Johnstone. Ewes above one shear, with lambs. — (Best pea of lambs) First prize, J. Brydon ; second, J. Archibald ; tliird, T. Elliot. Commended : J. Carruthers, Kirkhill, Moffat ; also the lambs of first and third prizes. Shearling ewes or giiuraers. — First prize, J. Archibald ; se- cond, J. Brydon; third, J. M'Gregor, Bellridding. Com- mended : Sir G. Graham Montgomery. BORDER LEICESTERS. Tups above one shear. — First prize, G. Hope, Fenton Barns, Drem ; second, T. Ferguson, Kinnochtry, Coupar-Angus ; third, A. Smith, Stevenson Mains, Haddington. Commended: R.. Binnie, Seton Mams, Longniddry. Dinmont or shearling tups. — First prize, J. Clark, Oldhani- stocks Mains, Cockburnspath ; second. The Earl of Southesk, Kinnaird Castle ; third, T. Simson, Blainslie, Lauder. Com- mended : J. Clark. Ewes above one shear. — First prize, G. Laing, Wark, Cold- stream ; second, G. Hope ; third, T. Ferguson. Commended : The Marquis of Tweeddale. Shearling ewes or giramers. — First prize, J. Lees, Marviug- ston, Haddington ; second, C. Lyall, Old Montrose, Montrose ; third, J. Clark, Commendetl : G. Torrance, Sisterpath, Dunse. LONG-AVOOLLED OTHER THAN BORDER LEICESTER. Tups of any age. — First prize, T. Wilkin, Tinwald Downs, Dumfries ; second and third, W.Norman, Hall Bank, Aspatria. Commended : T. Wilkin. Ewes of any age or gimmers. — First prize, T. Wilkin ; se- cond and tliird, W. Norman. Commended : Lord Kinnaird. SOUTHDOWJJS. Tups of any age. — First and second prizes, R. Scot Skir- viug, Camptoun, Drem ; third and commended, J. Gordon, Parkhill, Aberdeen. Ewes of any age or gimmers. — First and second prizes, 11. Scot Skirving. EXTRA. Commended : R. Scot Skirving. SHROPSIIIRES. Tups of any age. — First prize. The Earl of Strathmore ; second, A. Crawford, Pitlowie, Glencarse, Perth ; third and commended. The Earl of Strathmore. Ewes of any age or gimmers. — First, second, and third prizes. The Earl of Strathmore. Commended : W. Arnot. SUORT-WOOLLED OTHER THAN SOUTHDOWN AND SHROP- SHIRE. Tups of any age. — First and second prizes, J. P. M'Pherson, Muirton, Kiuloss, Forres. Ewes of any age or gimmers. — No award. EXTRA SECTIONS. Blackfaced wethers not above tiiree-shear. — First prize, W. Whyte, Spott, Kirriemuir ; second, Tlie Earl of Mansfield. Scone, Perth. Crossbred ewes or wethers not above two-shear. — Prize, D. Dun, Baldinnies, Dunning. EXTRA SHEEP — BLACKFACED. Very highly commended : T. Roy, TuUylurab, Perth. Highly commended : The Earl of Mansfield. Commended : T. Roy. IMPLEMENTS. H. J. Bexfleld, Maxwell-street, Glasgow — minor medal. T. Bradford and Co., Fleet-street, London, and Cathedral Steps, Manchester — medium medal. 11. M. Brechin, West Register-street, Edinburgh — medium medal. J. Donald, Bristo Port-lane, Edinburgh — minor medal. J. Grieve, County-place, Perth — minor medal. Mode's Patent Earth Closet Company (Limited), Garrick- street, Covent-garden, London — medium medal. Pirrie and Anderson, Perth — minor medal. Singer Sewing Machine Company, Reform-street, Dundee — minor medal. Springbank Chemical Company, Bellfield, Kirkintilloch — medium medal. W. Thomson, Canal-street, Perth — medium medal. The Waverley Machine Manufacturing Company, North Esk Mill, Dalkeith — medium medal. A. Welch, Soutliall — large medal. C. Wilson, Lawnmarket, Edinburgh — medium medal. J. and T. Young, Vulcan Foundry, Ayr — medium medal. J. D. Allan and Sons, Culthill, Dunkeld — medium, medal. T. Halliday, Kosehali, Haddington — medium medal. J. Hislop, Goatfield, Haddington — mediuni medal. Kemp, Murray, and Nicolson, Stirling — medium medal. Lillie and Elder, Tweedside Implement Works, Berwick-on- Tweed — medium medal. J. Pickering, Stockton-on-Tees — medium medal. Picksley, Sims, and Co., Bedford Foundry, Leigh, Lan- cashire— medium medal. B. Reid and Co., Aberdeen — medium medal. J. Richardson, Brunton-place, Carlisle — minor medal. Richmond and Chandler, Salford, Manchester — medium medal . G. Thomson, Stirling — minor medal. A. Wilson and Son, Dunfermline — medium medal. R. Bickerton and Sons, Berwick-on-Tweed — medium medal. Brigham and Co., Bervvick-ou-Tweed — medium medal. J. Doe, Errol — medium medal. Gibson and Tait, Fountaiubridge, Edinburgh — medium medal. J. Gray and Co., Glasgow — medium medal. D. Henderson, Gattaway, Abernethy, Perthshire — minor medal. R. Hornsby and Sons, Grantham — medium medal. J. Kirkwood, Tranent — medium medal. A. and J. Main and Co. — medium medal. R. Mitchell and Son, Peterhead — minor medal. G. W. Murray and Co., Banff — medium medal. J. Murray, Kilmarnock — minor medal. T. Pirie and Co., Longside, Aberdeen — large medal. G. Sellar and Son, Huntly, Aberdeenshire — medium medal. T. Wight, South Metliven-street, Perth — medium medal. G. Crystal, Princes-street, Perth — large medal. Clayton and Shuttleworth, Lincoln — large medal. J. Fowler and Co., Leeds — large medal. J. Girdwood, Greeuside-place, Edinburgh — medium medal. Williamson Brothers, Kendal — large medal. J. and T, Young, Ayr — medium medal. Mellard's Trent Foundry Company — Revolving Mould- Board Plough and the Potato Diggers shown are recom- mended for trial. At the dinner Mr. Jacob Wilson could only say that the weatiier was charming as compared with Wolverhampton (laughter). He might say the Inch was like a drawing-room as compared with a quagmire. But apart from that, and although they had sixteen or twenty thousand in their show at one time, they lost money by it ; but he did think that national associations, like the Royal Agricultural or the Highland Society of Scotland, should not mind a little loss ; they should rather consider the progress and improvement of the agriculture of their respective countries. He had no patience with economy in these annual showyard arrangements ; and he asked when you have from £20,000 to £40,000 invested in funds, what are you doing for the agriculture of your genera- tion by investing that money ? They were living in a time when agricultural progress was advancing with greater and more rapid strides than had been known in times past, and he thought they could not spend their money better than by en- couraging the improvements in mechanics as applied to agri- culture at the present day. He would instance the case of steam cultivation, and strongly urge that the merits of steam cultivation should be tested regardless of expense ; as the Royal Agricultural Society, which did not spare money in tiiis matter. He was himself in favour of Fowler's machine, but he 216 THE FAEMEE'S MAGAZINE. was not prejudiced ; if he could see a better to-morrow, he would buy it. As regarded steam cultivation he was glad to find that they had men of intelligence determined to keep up with the progress of the day, and that a society had been started for steam cultivating the whole of Scotland. Hints had been tlirown out that this Society was for the purpose of pushing forward a certain engine, hut this he hoped was not tlie case. He had been a steam cultivator for many years and there was a steam cultivating company which only the other year had got from 20,000 to 30,000 acres to cultivate. Their prices were moderate ; they could eara a fair per centage for their money ; and, what was far more important, il was a source of profit and accommodation to the tenant farmers of their district. A matter had come under his notice as a judge in the Border Leicester class of sheep ; he had been struck in several instances with the absence of clipping, and with the fact that tliere was no rule of the Society bearing on the sub- ject. Knding that this was the case, the j udges had taken the matter into their own hands ; and in every instance of imper- fect clipping they set aside the sheep, irrespective of any good quahty. But he strongly insisted that this was not a matter for the judges ; it should be made perfectly clear that imper- fect clipping would not be allowed in connection with the show of the Highland Society. TYKESIDE AGRICULTUEAL SOCIETY. MEETING AT BLAl'DOX. Tliis is the first time the Society has broken new ground, the annual meetings having hitherto been held at Hexham. The change was an experiment, which it was thought would infuse new vigour into the Society, and the results of the pro- ceedings have given the promoters of the movement no reason to regret the course taken. There were 76 entries of cattle ; and the Sliorthorns deservedly stood in the place of houour. In the aged bulls the entry of Mr. Newton's Ace of Trumps in the regular class was a mistake, as he had won the first prize in the same class last year ; and after the judges had awarded him the first prize this error was pointed out, and the honour was transferred to the second bull, and the second to a com- mended one. Ace of Trumps, however, came into competition again for the cup for the best Shorthorn, male or female, iu the yard, and he was there declared the winner. la the cows there were some escellent animals, wliich was the case also in the yearling heifers. The horses were a capital muster ; but the sheep were not of much interest, and the classes for Leicesters and Border Leicesters were not clearly defined, either by the arrangement of the catalogue or by the judges. The pigs, as usual, at a Tyneside show were an insignificant display. The implements were not numerous, but included amongst the exhibitors Coxon, Cockburn and Co. ; Colgrave, of Newcastle- upon-Tyne ; Gregory, Westoe ; Trotter, South Acomb ; Saint, Chollerton ; Bickerton and Sons, Berwick ; Lillie and Elder, Bern-ick ; the South Tyue Implement Works, Haydon Bridge ; Symm, Stocksfield ; Jackson, Stocksfield ; Archer, Dunston ; Archbold, Horsley ; and Howe, Hexham. PRIZE LIST. JUDGES. SnoRTnouNS and Leicester Sueep : T. Wethercll, Durham ; W. Cattle, Dormont Grange, Lockerbie, N.B. Horses for the Pield : J. Parringtou,Brancepeth, Durham; J. Hall, Sedgefield. Horses tor Agricultural Purposes, akd Pigs : M. Howes, Annan, Dumfriesshire ; J. HaU, Chester Hill, Belford. Butter : J. Robinson, Newcastle-upon-Tyne. SHORTHORNS. Bull of any age, not under two years old. — First prize, £10, J. Newton, Chollerton (Ace of Trumps) ; second, £i; J. Angus, Beail, Stocksfield (3rd Duke of Wellington) ; tliird, G. Angus, Broomley, Stocksfield (Prince Charley). Yearling bull. — First prize, ±'6, R. Coulson, Coastley, Hexham ; second, £3, Sir W. C. Trevelyan, Bart., Walling- ton, Newcastle (Lord Claro). Highly commended : R. Lay- cock, Winlatou, Bladon (Suez). Bull calf. — A sweepstakes of 5s. each, with £1 added, J. and G. Atkinson, Bywell Hall Farm, Stocksfield. Highly commended: J. Angus (Prince Imperial). Cows in calf or in milk. — First prize, £5, W. Lambert, El- lerington Hall, Haydou Bridge (Splendour) ; second, £3, J. and G. Atkinson (Ringlet 2nd). Highly commended : J. and G. Atkinson (Elegant Gth) ; J. Annaudale and Sons, Lintz- ford, Burnoptield (Lady) ; G. H. Ramsay, Derwent Villa, Gateshead. Commended; J. and G. Atkinson (Duchess Windsor). Two-year-old heifer.— First prize, M, W. Lambert (White- socks) ; second, £2, W. Lambert (Sunshine). Highly com- mended : G. Angus. Commended : G. Angus. Yearling heifer.— First prize, £3, G. Angus (Forget-me- not) ; second, £1, Sir W. C. Trevelyan, Bart. Highly com- mended : R. Lay cock, Winlaton, Blaydon. Heifer calf. — A sweepstakes of 5s. each, p. p., with £1 added, J. and G. Atkinson. Higlily commended : W. Lam- bert. Shorthorn, male or female. — A silver cup, value £10, J. Newton, Chollerton, Hexham; second, Thompson and Sons, Kirkham, Brampton. Dairy cow, of any age. — First prize, £5, T. Spencer, Ryton Grove, Blaydon; second, £2, R. Brown, Whickham Hall, Gateshead. LEICESTER SHEEP. Tup of any age. — First prize, £4, W. Lambert ; second, £2, J. Winter, Low House, llaltwhistle. Shearling tup. — First prize, £4, J. Winter ; second, £2, W. Lambert. Commended : Messrs. Dinning, Nilston Ridge, Haydon Bridge. Pen of tup lambs. — A sweepstakes of 5s. each, with 10s. added, Messrs. Dinning. Higlily commended : W. Lambert. Pen of three ewes. — First prize, £4, W. C. Thompson, Dilston Ilaugh, Corbridge ; second, £2, W. Lambert. Pen of three gimmers. — First prize, £i, Messrs. Dinning ; second, £2, Messrs. Dinning. Pen of three gimmer lambs. — A sweepstakes, J. H. Wood, Tliornbrough, Corbridge. Commended : J. Anuandal and Sous, Lintzford, Burnopfield. Sliearling Border Leicester ram. — A silver cup, value £10, T. Forster, jun., Ellingham, Chatliill ; second, £2, T. Forster, jun. HORSES. Three-year-old geldings or filly for draught. — First prize, £3, C. Charlton, East Denton, Newcastle ; second, £2, Rt. Hon. Lord Ravensworth. Commended : R. Laycock, Winla- ton, Blaydon. T\vo-year-old gelding or filly for draught. — First prize, £4. G. Browell, Chopwell HaU, AYiulaton ; second, £2, R. Laycock. One-year-old gelding or filly for draught. — First prize, J. Wilkinson, Cocklaw, Hexham; second, £2, R. Laycock. 1 )raught foal, a sweepstakes of 5s. each, p.p., with £1 added. — First prize, W. C. Carr, Coal Burns,Blaydon ; second, B.Lee, Stocksfield Hall. Mare for breeding draught horses, with foal at foot, or in- foal at the time of show, a silver cup, value 10 guineas. — First prize, B. Spraggon, Nalferton, Stocksfield (Meg) ; second, £5, A. Auuandale, West Chopwell, Ryton. Commended ; A. Wood, Brocksbushes (Torie). Pair of draught mares or geldings of any age. — First prize, £10, B. Spraggon (Borly) ; second, £5,W. C. Carr (Sandy). Commended : J. and G. Atkinson, Peepy, Stocksfield (Damsel). Two-year-old gelding or filly for the saddle.— First prize, £4, A. B. Davidson, Hatheridge House, Hexham ; second, £2, A. Wood. Mare for breeding hunters, with foal at foot, or in-foal at the time of show, a silver cup value 10 guineas.— First Prize, THE FAEMEE'S MAGAZINE, 217 B. Spraggon ; secoiid,£3, J. T. Robinson, Leckby Palace, Tliirsk (Go-a-head). Hunter (mare or gelding) four-years-old and upwards, a silver cup, value £15. — First prize, 11. Brown, Whickham, Gateshead (Fireaway) ; second, £5, B. Spraggon (Simon). Coraraended : Sir W. C. Trevelyan, Bt. Leaper (mare or gelding), four-years-old and upwards, a premium of £5, added to a sweepstakes. — First prize, J. Dickin- son, Chesterwood, Haydou Bridge ; second, £1, B. Spraggon (Simon). A silver-mounted riding whip was presented to Mr. C. E. Hunter, Moor Lodge, Newcastle, as the best rider in this class. Hackney mare or gelding, of any age, and warranted sound, and 15-3 hands high, a silver cup, value £5 os. — First prize, H. H. Thompson, The Oaks, Sunderland, Newcastle'; second, £2,G. B,. Monkhouse ; third, St. Nicholas' Buildings, Newcastle. Highly commended : W. Colbeck, Newcastle, and R. Forster, White House, Gateshead. Pony.— First prize, £2, R. Brown (Dick) ; second, £1, G. McConll, Ovington, Prudhoe; third, 10s., H. Stephenson, Throckley. Commended : W. R. Dickinson, Derwent Cote House, Burnopfield. PIGS. Boar. — Prize, £3, G. H. Ramsay, Derwent Villa, Gates- head. Sow. — First prize, £3, R. Brown ; second, £1, J. Philipson, Haydon Bridge. Cottagers' pig. — First prize, £3, Mrs. S. McGuinu, Hexham ; second, £2, J, Cherry, Addison Colliery, Blaydou ; third, £1, J. Phiiipsou. BUTTER. Slbs. of butter — 21bs. to he shown in rolls, and the remain- der in devices suitable for the table. — First prize, a piece of plate, Mrs. J. Bell, Whittle Dean Cottage, Stocksfield ; second, a pair of silver butter knives, Mrs. Millican, AUenheads, Northumberland. Commended : Mrs. Johnson, Mount Plea- sant, Folley Lane, Allendale; and Mrs. A. Johnson, Folly House, Allendale. At the luncheon, Mr. C. G. Grey, the Chairman, said this was the thirty-fourth meeting of the Society, and, therefore, as there were some gentlemen present who had assisted at its foundation, he thought they would be able to testify that much good work in the way of advancement and progress had been done since that time on Tyneside, and that although the general improvement in breed of stock had been very great, in nothing had it been greater than in the breed of sheep. Thirty-four years ago the breed of sheep was not par- ticularly good, and comparatively few were kept ; but he firmly believed that the making of the land on the Tyue, next to the draining, had been through the increased number of sheep fed upon it. He thought those wlio had examined the show that day would asree with him that it was one of the best which the Society had yet held. He was not aware what the sura taken at the gate amounted to ; but he anticipated that the change of locality — which was at first an experiment not agreeable to very many of their friends further up the Tyne, but which, nevertheless, was an experiment that it was neces- sary to make — would prove in point of money a very good and gratifying success. Certainly nothing could exceed the beauty of the situation, and tberefore when they com- pared it with the show ground at Wolverliampton, they could not but be more gratified with its excellence and condition. The land was dry, which the Wolverhampton ground was not, and hence they were able to walk com- fortably on the turf, instead of plodding ancle deep in the puddle. Althuugli the Tyneside Society had already done so mucli good in the improving of stock, it had this year come out very much stronger than they had any reason to expect in its display of horses. Horses, he was glad to say, were becom- ing better favourites in Northumberland than they liad pre- viously been, but still they had not got to that state of perfec- tion which they certainly could arrive at, and which he and so many otliers had so long desired to see. There were other matters of as much importance to agriculturists as the breed- ing of stock, and hence it had often occurred to him that a society like the preseut might do sometliiiig in the direction of improving the agriculture and tillage of the county. He did not see his way, neither did the committee, to carry out these views ; but he was certain that something of the kind was wanting, and hence he hoped all those gentlemen who tra- velled south and into Scotland would not forget to pick up what information they could on such subjects. There were one or two points on which they might well direct their atten- tion ; the first being the tillage of the soil and the second the manuring of it. The fashion in this county was the four or five-course rotation ; and they thought if they gave the ground a good manuring for the fallow crops they had done their duty to it for the next five years. In other places, however, where they manured land very much more heavily than they did in Northumberland, and more than once in five years, it was found to be most successful ; while the few northern farmers who manured more liberally than their neighbours could tes- tify to the fact that it paid them much better in the long run than light manuring. Indeed, many of them thought if they put on four or five cwt. an acre they did very fairly. They left their land two or three years to rest in grass, and then ex- pected to get a good crop in oats ; but in many instances, as lieknew,they would have got better crops if they had given slight assistance with guano. He maintained that any manure put on in the intervals between the turns of the fallow would well repay the outlay. There was another thing connected with tillage that he might mention They had got very much more into the way of deep cultivation lately, and that was necessarily connected with heavy manuring. They had seen a great deal in Northum- berland during the last twelve months of steam cultivation, and it confirmed him in an opinion which he had long held. Prizes were frequently given for the best ploughing, and the takers were those who could turn over the neatest lea furrow for oats ; but he had long thought that to be a mistake, as a pretty furrow was by no means the one to give a good crop. His idea was that if they simply grubbed and cross-grubbed the land, harrowed it, and then drilled in the corn, they would get better crops than they ever would by the neatest lea furrow. Un- der these circumstances he would wait anxiously the result of the trials that were sure to be made during the next few years. Advising farmers to take away their old fences and guttters so as to make space for the use of steam tackle, which tliey could now secure on very fair terms, he would recommend them to pay more attention to their system of making hay. They in- variably allowed it to remain out too long — having it stand- ing out when the sheep were knee-deep in the clover — and hence if they desired to have it worth a pound or two more they should try to avoid all this exposure, and to have it pro- perly stacked and ricked as soon as ever it could be accom- plished. Mr. M. Stephenson, jun., the Secretary, said his post was both a pleasure and a source of pride to him — a pleasure because it was always pleasant to be connected with anything that was successful and a pride because he stood in the position of secretary to the Society at that the most successful meeting it had held, both as regarded the quantity and quality of the stock exhibited, and also as concerned the interest manifested intheir proceedings by the public. Mr. Eddison said there was one point that he must allude to — the exhibition of steam ploughs — for it had afforded him very great pleasure to see the Society take up the question. Up to the present time steam ploughs had been introduced only at the large county shows, but he trusted that the exam- ple set by the Tyneside Society at their exhibition — which had its origin in what might be called one of the principal steam-ploughing counties of England — he meant Northumber- land, would soon be more extensively taken up in other parts. Mr. Raiisay said he was a member of the Society when it lield its meeting at Ovingham, in ISOi or 1805, when the old Duke of Northumberland was its president, and even then the quality of the stock exhibited was of the first-class, of sheep particularly. Since that time great progression had been made, but he did not know that there were many better cattle to be found anywhere than in that district. Mr. Grey's father won one of the best prizes in Ireland with a Tyneside-bred bull, and the names of Mr. Bates and others were such as the present members of the Tyneside Agricultural Society might well be proud of. 218 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. GREAT DRIFFIELD AGRICULTURAL SHOW. This popular little gathering, famous for its show of horses, took place on Friday, July 28; for it is all over in a day, many of the nags walking into the yard from their homes in the morning and back again at night, while a few that come from a distance get housed in and about the town, though during the exhibition they all stand the same chance with regard to the scorching rays of the sun or the pelting of the pitiless storms. As a show of horses it was very good, but, of hunters, not up to 1808, when Mr. Hall and Mr. Sykes sent the best of their studs ; though it is only right to add that the Ilolderness horses did not then compete for prizes, and that Mr. Sykes was fairly beaten. As a lot this year, they might be more even than in '68, but there was nothing formidable amongst them, judging by the prize horses, and no one would say this or that animal is sure to win at York. Then, again, as to the management, there is no improvement, for many of the horses had not a number, and of those that had the figures were so fearfully small as to be almost use- less, and if you ran the nags to their standing you would find, instead of one horse derorated with the winning colour, there were three or four in one class, so that a stranger, catalogue in hand, was com- pletely abroad. Surely if some one took this up pro hoDo ])uhlico they would be doing as much good as giving a silver cup ; for what is the use of a show if the public can learn nothing from it ? But time flies and we must get to our horses. First, the thorough-bred hunting stallions, Theobald, Orpheus, Temptation, Strathern, and Prince Plausible. Theobald by Stockwell is a fa- vourite in the neighbourhood, and a nice horse, with- out hmiber, but faulty in his forelegs ; while the blood-like one-eyed Orpheus, in the twenty-first year of his age, is but a wreck, and now a pitiable reminiscence of Orlando. Then Temptation is like a beer-barrel on tobacco ])ipes, being an overtopped son of Cathedral ; and the long light-girthed hollow-backed Strathern, with all his faults, has something taking about him ; while Prince Plausible is all over hunting-like, and the judges did not err and stray in awarding him the prize. Of hunting brood mares there were but three : Hornsea, a blood-like chesnut with good withers and short limbs, and Annie, by Robinson, in her nineteenth year, a rare good sort that has often played first in her younger days. Coast- guard, in the two-year-old hunting geldings or fillies, got first honours for his size ; but he is an Angelus, that may prove too big for anything ; while the highly commended by Piccador, dam by Robinson, is hardy-looking, with some form. A wiry-looking yearliug filly by Piccador had the prize, with only one to oppose her. The President's silver cup for the best four-year-old hunting mare or gelding, with fourteen in, made a rather nice class, although Shellahoe, the winner, has his hind legs too far away from him ; and Dandy, the commended, is a big thick short topped one, by Angelus, that we do not like. Mr. Wright's iron-grey, by Edmund Kean, for action and form we fancied as much as any ; while ^Ir. Johnson's Cutfoss, ISIr. Simpson's Archbishop, and a brown gelding. Lord Fanconbetg, of j\Ir. Lewison's, having all hunting form, we contrived to make out to whom they belonged. The all ages were not grand, although the Wakefield hero, Loiterer, was in the lot, and got mot-e than he deserved even in the empty honour of a bit of green or commendation riband. Then JNIarmalade, a winner at Islington and Brigg, had to make room for Pelham, a brown horse, by Kingfisher, with as plain a forehand as any one would wish to see, but two of the judges, crack horsemen, said he went like a tower under them. The fifteen three-year-old hunting fillies or geldings were a good class, and although The King is rightly named as far as getting the cup, being a strong good-limbed horse, he has not a good head or anything like shoulders for hunting. The commended Hugo, by Strathern, showed plenty of quality and form, as did Portland, by Spoon- stealer, and the rather hollow-backed Roll, by Cathedral. For Count Batthyany's cup for mares or geldings not less than four or more than six up to twelve stone, several started, and some rather nice horses, the win- nner, Sam Weller, being a very taking one, with form and fashion, who, with a little more bone below the knee, would be up to at least a couple of stone more. Mr. Foster's horse Resolute, and some others, whose num- bers we could not get, were worthy of notice. The roadster stallions were well represented by the very gentlemanly bay President, and the promising Young Merrylegs, of Brigg renown, as their first and second ; while the neat Favourite was again in favour as a dam, adding another first to her many prizes, although the bouncing !Miss Giles, from Sledmere, was in close at- tendance. There were half-a-dozen capital roadster geldings and marcs of any age, but the very neat Countess was handed the colours after a tussle with another Ing one from Sledmere, the rather coarse weight-carrying Alice. They were all chesnuts. With several very clever animals amongst the Ladies' Hacks, the judges got smitten with a little lady in blue from Scarboro', that sat her smart companion Onida like an artiste, and received the token of victory from the gallant Ca])tain amidst much clappiug of hands. The coaching stallions did not muster in any force, nor the mares, but Mr. Johnson's old lady by Trojan, and Mr. Reader's Bonnie are rare specimens of the sort. The agricultural horses were not grand, but among the stallions were four or five very smart active horses, and in the agricultural pairs some very clever animals. There was but a handful of Shorthorns, headed by Lord Irwin, a Royal bull, but as several were of the right stuff, no doubt they will turn up again at Y^ork. Of sheep there were less, but the little was good, with a few grandees among the grunters, some fine old birds crowing amongst the poultry, and in an adjoiuing tent gentlemen buttering one another to their hearts' content, amidst cheers, loud cheers, bravos clappiug of hands, table thumping, stamping, aud other such amusiug manifesta- tions of mutual regard. PRIZE LIST. JUDGES. Tiiouougii-Bred, Hunters and Hacks: Captain Percy Williams, Barnby Moor, Retford ; Robert G. P. Howard, Temple Bruer, Lincoln ; Jacob Smith, Humburton, Borobridge. Coaching and Asuicultural Horses : Charles Seeker, V.S., Kuaresboro' ; Ilios. Smith, Grindley, Bawtry ; Thos. Hunt, Thornington, Coldstream. Shorthorns, Sheep, and Pigs: J . P, Outhwaite, Knares- boro' ; T. 11. Hutchinson, Catterick ; J. Lynn, Stro.\ton, Grantham. SHORTHORNS. Bull of any age.— First prize, £7, W. Linton, SlienfT Hutton, Yoik (Lord Irwin) ; second, £3, T. Stamper, Uigh- field House, Oswaldkirk (Gundelwald). THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 21§ Yearliug bull. — First prize, £5, M. Thomlinson, Cowlliorpe, Wetherby (Mower King) ; secoad, £3, T. f rauks, f lyiug- dales, Wliitby. Bull-calf uuder twelve montlis. — Prize, £3, Win. Linton (Leeman). Cow in calf or milk. — First prize, £5, Wm. Linton ; second, £2, Jobn Cattley, Slearsby, York. Two years old heifer for breeding. — First prize, ^4, T. Hornby, Flotmanby, Ganton ; second, £3, W. Rausom, Drif- field. Yearling heifer. — First prize, £3, and second £1, H. F. Smith, Lamwath House, Sutton, Hull. Heifer calf under twelve months old. — Prize, £3, J. S. Jor- dan, Elraswell Hall. Fat ox ot any age or breed. — Prize, £2, P. Dunn, Siggles- thorne. Fat cow or heifer of any age or breed. — Prize, £2, Execu- tors of the late F. Jordan, Eastburn. Best animal in classes 1, 3, and 3. — Prize, a silver cup, value £10, J. S. Jordan. SHEEP. Shearling ram. — First prize, £7, J. Borton, Barton House, Malton ; second, £3, Executors of the late F. Jordan. Three shearling rams. — First prize, £5, Executors of the late F. Jordan; second, £3, E. fiiley, Kiplingcotes Farm, Beverley. Aged ram. — First prize, £5, J. Borton: second, £2, E. Riley. Five breeding ewes and lambs bred in the Riding, having had lambs in 1871, and suckled them up to the time of show- ing.— First prize, £5, W. Brown, Highgate, Holme-on-Spald- ing-Moor; second, £2, E. Riley. Five shearling wethers bred in the Riding. — No entry. Pen of ten shearling giraraers (in a proper state for breed- ing purposes), bred by the exhibitor, open to the East-Riding. —Prize, a silver cup, value £10 10s., £. Riley. PIGS. Boar, large breed. — First prize, £3, W. Lister, Armley, Leeds ; secoud, £1, J. and H. Sugden, Leconfield, Beverley. Sow, large breed. — First prize, £2, W. Lister ; second, £1, R. E. Duckering, Northorpe, Kirton Lindsey. Boar, small breed. — First prii.2, £2, W. Lister ; second, £1, R. E. Duckering. Sow, small breed. — First prize, £2, W. Lister ; second, £1, R. E. Duckering. Store pifT, the property of a labourer or mechanic. — First prize, £3, G. Spink, Hutton Cranswick ; second, £1, J. Parker, Hutton Cranswick. Extra stock. — Prize, 5s., W. Beal, Great Kelk, Lowthorpe, 8 young pigs. HORSES. Thoroughbred stalliou for hunters. — First prize, £6, H. S. Constable, Wassend, Hull (Prince Plausible) ; second £3, C. Lamplough, Laugtoft (Orpheus). Stallion for coach horses. — F'irst prize, £6, J. Reynolds, Carlton, Snaith (Ebor 4th) ; second, £2, J. Fawcett, Wilber- foss, York (Excelsior). Stallion for roadsters. — First prize, £6, T. Brown, Butter- wick (Bay President) ; second, £2, J. Smith, Shipton, Market Weighton. Stallion for agricultural purposes . — Firstlprize, £6, F. Simpkin , Sutton, Hull (Lord of the Manor) ; second, £2, R. Marshall, Keyiugbam, Hull (Simon Pure). Mare and foal for huuting. — First prize, £5, H. C. Consta- ble (Hornsea) ; second, £2, G. C. Jarratt, Harphara (Annie). Two-year-old hunting gelding or filly. — Prize, £3, W. Myas, Ulrome, Lowthorpe. Yearling gelding or filly. — Prize, £2, B. Johnson, Frodiug- ham Bridge. Mare and foal for coaching. — Prize, £5, J. Johnson, Brig- ham. Coaching mare without a foal. — Prize, £3, R. Lowish,Hais- thorpe, Bridlington (Wild Rose). Three-year-old coaching gelding. — First prize, £5, W, Johnson, Lowthorpe ; secoud, £3, G. Walker, Carlam-hill, Wawne. Two-year-old coaching gelding. — Prize, £3, G. Walker. Yearling coaching gelding or filly. — Prize, £2, G. Berriman, Watton Carr. Roadster gelding or mare of any age. — Prize, £5, J. H. Smith, Shipton, Market Weighton. Roadster mare and foal. — Prize, £5, A. Cook, Huggate, Pocklington. Three-year-old roadster, horse or mare. — Prize, £3, T. Wilson, Folkton. Mare and foal for agricultural purposes. — Prize, £5, W. Owston, Bishop Burton Lings, Beverley. Three-year-old gelding or filly for agricultural purposes. — First prize, £4, W. Walker, Scorbro' Decoy, Beverley ; se- cond, £2, T. Hornby, Cattleholmes. Two-year-old gelding or filly for agricultural purposes. — Prize, £3, W. Walker. Yearling gelding or filly for agricultural purposes. — Prize, £2, J. Cromptou, Bridlington. Pair of horses or mares for agricultural purposes, regularly worked up to the time of showing. — First prize, £4, J, Crorapton ; second, £2, W". Catterson, Beverley. Ladies' pony under 14 hands. — Prize, £3, W. Simpkin, Burton Agnes. Pony not exceeding 13 hands. — First prize, £1, R. Beckett, Tibthorpe ; second, a whip value 10s., W. Duggleby, jun., Beswick, Beverley. The President's silver cup, value £35, for the best four- year-old hunting mare or gelding. — B. Hornby, Flotmanby, Ganton (Shellahoe). A silver cup, value £25, given by the society, for the best (all ages) hunting mare or gelding. — J. B. Barkworth, Ray- well, Brough, Pelham. Best three-year-old hunting mare or gelding. — Prize, a silver cup or piece of plate, value £10 10s., given by Lord Londes- borough, Sir G. Cholmley, Bart., Boynton, Bridlington (The King). Best hunting horse or mare, not less than four years old, and not more than six years, up to 13 stone. — Prize, £10 10s., given by the Count Batthyany, M. Owston Duggleb/, Beswick Hall, Beverley (Sam Weller). Best ladies' hack of any age, not exceeding 15 hands 3 inches liiKh. — Prize, a silver cup, value £10 10s., W. L. Eyre, Driffield (Ouida). Best mare or gelding of any age, to be shown in single har- ness.— Prize, a cup or piece of plate. Executors of the late F. Jordan, Eastburn. Mare or gelding which shall jump the hurdles best to the satisfaction of the judges. — Prize, a piece of plate, W. Dug- gleby, jun., Beswick (Wildflower). Extra Stock. — F. Pickering, Driffield. THIRSK AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. This is the second year of the existence of the association, and though the entries were not equal to tliose of last season, they were numerous. There were not many cattle exhibited, but the foot-and-mouth disease has not become extinct, and the near proximity of the Yorkshire Agricultural Show may have produced some effect. The number of entries was as follows : Cattle, 73 ; sheep, G4 ; pigs, 33 ; horses, 355 ; poultry, 301 ; butter, 9 ; and implements, 81— total, 715. There were upwards of forty more entries of sheep than last year, and this may be attributed to the circumstance that several of the classes were open to All England, and thereby admitted the animals of some of the best breeders. This show as a whole was excellent. Of cattle, one of the principal features was the dairy cow class. JUDGES. Houses. — Hunters and roadsters ; A. L. Maynard, Newtou 220 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. Hall, Durham ; J. Casson, Burgh-by-Sauds, Carlisle ; G. Bolain, Alwinton, Rothbury. Coaching and agricultural : J. Mertburn, Ingleby Hill, Yarm; W. Hill, North Charltou, Chathill. Cattle, Sheep, a^'d Pigs. — T. Dodds, Mount Pleasant, Wakefield ; J. Culsliaw, Towneley Hall, Burnley ; H. T. Peacock, Tiie Mount, York. AWARD OF PRIZES. CATTLE. SHORTHOKXS. Bull two years old and upwards. — First prize, ^5, J. Knowles, Wetherby ; second, S. Frank, Brandsby. Bull above one and uuder two years old. — First prize, £5, J. Cattley, Stearsby ; second, J . Waiud, Ankness. Bull calf under twelve months old. — First prize, £2, Major Stapjltou ; second, T. H. Hutchinson, Catterick. Cow or heifer, in-calf or milk, three years old and upwards. — First prize, £4, J. Cattley ; second, H. Pickersgill, Salmon Hall, Thirsk. Cow or heifer, uuder three years old. — First prize, £3, R. Tenuant, Scarcroft Lodge, Leeds ; second, T. H. Hutchinson. Heifer, one year old and under two. — First prize, £2, Major Stapylton ; second, T. F. Imesou, Dalton, Thirsk. Heifer calf uuder twelve months old. — Prize, T. H. Hutch- inson. A silver cup, value, £5, to the best female in the above classes, Mr. Tennant's " Daisy." CATTLE or AXY BREED OR CROSS. Cow for dairy purposes. — First prize, £3, and second, O.K. Harland, Sowber Hill, Northallerton. Cow for dairy purposes, the property of a cottager. — First prize, £2, J. Walker, Thirkleby j second, J. Todd, Sion Hill, Thirsk. Three dairy cows iu-calf or milk, the property of a tenant- farmer, a silver cup, value £10. — First prize, J. Cattley ; second, £4, T. H. Hutcldnson ; thira, £2, H. Hutchinson. SHEEP. LEICESTER OR LONG WOOL. One shear ram. — First prize, £2, F. Heugh, Broomfield House, Northallerton; second, J. Greaves, Clotherholme, ilipon. Aged ram — First prize, £2, F. Heugh ; second, ditto. Pen of three gimmer shearlings. — First prize £2, C. and W. Dovener, Sunley, Raines, Ripon ; second, J. Heugh, Bedale. Pen of three ewes, having suckled lambs in 1871 — First prize, J. Heugh ; second, W. Hall, Thirsk. Oue shear ram. — First prize, £5, T. H.Hutchinson; second, £2, J. Borton, Malton. Aged lara. — First prize, £5, J. Borton ; second, ditto. Pen of three gimmer shearlings. — First prize, £3, T. H. Hutchinson ; second, £2, J. Borton. Pen of three ewes, having suckled lambs in 1871. — First prize, £3, T. H. Hutcliinson ; second, ditto. OTHER BREEDS. — (Limited to the district). Pen of three Mashara ewes, liaviug suckled lambs in 1871.— Sirst prize, i'2, W. T. Wells, Kirklington, Ripon. PIGS. Boar of the large breed. — First prize, £2, W. Lister, Arm- ley, Leeds. Boar of the small breed. — First prize, £2, W. Lister ; second, 10s., C. Roberts, Wakefield. Boar of any breed not qualilied to compete in the two pre- vious classes. — First prize, ±'2, S. Appleby, Armley ; second, D. Sanderson, Moulton Hall, Richmond. Sow of the large breed, in pig or milk. — First prize, £2, W. Lister, Armley. Sow of the small breed, in pig or milk. — First prize, £2, C. Roberts, Wakefield ; second, \V. Lister, Armley. Sow of any other breed. — First prize £2, C. Roberts ; second, J. C. Taylor, Oatlands. Three gilt pigs under 12 manths old. — First prize, £2, J. Wilson, llainton. Pig, the property of a cottager.— First prize, £2, W. Her- ring, Skelton ; second, W. Wise, Low Brewery, Ripon. A silver cup, C. Roberts, of Wakefield, for the best female pig in the above classes. HORSES. Stallion for getting agricultural horses. — PrLze, £25, J. Borshow, Burley-ia-Wharfdale. Mare for breeding weight-carrying hunters, with foal at foot.— First prize, silver cup value £50, W. H. Clarke, Hook- house, Howden ; second, J. B. Booth, Killerby Hall, Catterick ; third, J. Brown, Wiggouby, Cumberland. Brood mare for breeding coach horses, with foal at foot,— First prize, £3, L. Mansfield, Thirsk ; second, W. L. Robin- son, Thormanby. Brood mare for breeding roadsters, with foal at foot. — First prize, £3, R. Williamson, Ripon ; second, A. Hawxwell, Thirsk. Brood mare for breeding agricultural horses. — ^First prize, £3, T. F. Imeson, Dalton, Tliirsk; second, W. Dixou, Bal- dersby, Thirsk. BURSTERS. Hunting yearling gelding. — First prize. Viscountess Downe ; second, R. H. Gilbert, Thornton-le-Street. Hunting filly. — First prize, R. Cadman, Broughton ; second. Rev. A. T. Atwood, Thirsk, Two years old gelding. — First prize, £2, G. Carter, Bedale ; second, £1, Vicountess Downe. Two years old filly. — First prize, £2, R. Emmerson, Over Diusdale, Darlington ; second. Viscountess Downe. Three years old gelding. — Frst prize, £3, D. Battye, Myton ; second, J. Cattle, Barton-le-Street. Three years old filly. — First prize, £3, Viscountess Downe ; second, G. B. Pierson, Baldersby, Thirsk. Hunting gelding or mare, four years old. — First prize, £7, R. Brunton, Marton, Middlesbro' ; second, £3, W. Stephen- son, Cottingham. Hunting gelding or mare, five years old and upwards. — First prize, silver cup, value £10, T. H. D. Bayly, Edwinstowe House, Ollerton ; second, £5, J. S. Darrel, West Ayten ; third, £2, J. Kowles, Wetherby. COACHIXG HORSES. Yearling gelding. — Prize, L. Mansfield, Thirsk. Yearling filly.— Prize, J.Curry.Boltby, Thirsk. Two years old gelding. — First prize, £2, G. Robinson, Mar- ton, Middlesbro' ; second, H. Pettioger, Easingwold. Two years old filly. — Prize, £3, J. Walls, South Kilvington, Thirsk. Tliree years old gelding. — First prize, £3, T. Plummer, Bird- forth ; second, G. W. Appleyard, Easingwold. Three years old filly for coaching. — First prize, £3, J. Scarth, West Rounton ; second, £1, J. Cleasby, Carlton, Miniott. ROADSTERS. Two years old gelding. — First prize, T. Bamett, Birdforth ; second, W. Small, Sand Hutton. Two years old filly, — First prize. Major Stapylton, Myton Hall ; second, R. Robson, Thorntou-le-Moor. Three years old gelding. — First prize, £2, G. Askwith, Hutton Sessay, Thirsk ; second, R. Sedgwick, Easingwold. Three years old filly. — First prize, £2, W. A. Speck, Thorn- borough, Thirsk ; second, T. Harrison, Wheldrake. Gentleman's hackney, of any age or of either sex, not ex- ceeding 15 hands high. — First prize, £5, J. Robson, Old Mal- ton ; second, £2, C. Knowlson, Birdforth. AGRICULTURAL HORSES. Yearling gelding. — First prize, H. Walton and Son, Low Gingerfield, Richmond ; second, G. Robinson, Bagby. Yearling filly. — First prize, C. Watson, Sowerby ; second, J. Pinkney, Bagby. Two years old gelding. — First prize, £2, G. Robson, Easing- wold ; second, C. Barrowby, Baldersby. Two years old filly. — First prize, £2, Mrs. Ann Heddon, Baldersby ; second, E. and W. Pawson, Burley-in-\Vharfdale. Three years old gelding. — First prize, £2, and second, Mrs. Ann Heddon. Three years old filly. — Prize, £2, Mrs. Ann Haddon. Pair of agricultural horses, of either sex. — First prize, £i, T. Upton, Pallathorpe ; second. Major Stapyltou, Helperby. Pony, not exceeding 14 hands, any age or of either sex.— First prize, £3, A. Hawxwell, Tliirsk ; second, £1, W. Snow- dan and Son, Slingsby. EXTRA STOCK. Animals not shown in auy other class. — R. E. Browen, Wass, Oswaldkirk ; Major Stapylton ; G. Bainbridge, Easing- wold; J. Swales, Boltby, Thirsk; T. Kirk, Thirlby, Thirsk j M, Imeson, Tliirsk, THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 221 THE ROYAL NORTH LANCASHIRE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. MEETING AT BLACKBURN. Judges. Cattle. — T. Dodds, J. Knowles, aud J. Angus. Horses, heavy. — T. Henderson and J. Robinson. Horses, light. — Major C. Simpson Ballard and A. Turn- buU. Sheep and Pigs. — J. Angus and G. Cuerton. Roots, Seeds, Butter and Cheese. — R. Whalley and Mr. Gardiner. Of Shorthorns there were sixteen entries in the aged bull class, Lady Pigot forwarding two of the entries, and Mr. Statter, of Whitefield, Manchester, the same number. Mr. Statter took the first prize of £10 with a roan. Marquis of Wharfdale ; and Mr. John Farrer, of Burnley, the second prize with a white, Duke of Thorneyholme. A white bull from Marsden Hall, Burnley (Mr. AV. Tillotson's), was highly commended. A silver cup for the best bull, above a year and under two years, went to Mr. Jas. Dickinson, Upholland, Wigan ; and the second prize to Mr. R. Parker, Fern Hill, Burnley. The Baron Oxford pedigree was more successful in the next class, Colonel Towneley, who had exhibited a bull of the same sire for the last-mentioned prize, winning the cup for the best bull-calf by an eleven-months' calf of this breed. Mr. Statter, of Whitefield, was second. There were twenty-one entries in this class, among them a nine- months old by the famous prize bull Bolivar, from Mr. Brierley's farm, Jliddleton. The cows, of which there were twenty-five entries, included some exceedingly fine samples of their class. The Rev. Leonard Charles Wood, Kirkham, took the first award with Miranda X., a four-year-old white, of rare symmetry and point ; and Mr. Adam Dug- dale, Rose Hill, Burnley, was second. Li the class for heifers above two and not exceeding three years, in calf or milk, Mr. Brierley and Mr. Statter again came together, each having two animals entered. Mr. Brierley took the first prize, Mr. Statter the second, with a highly commended. Colonel Towneley received the first prize for the best heifer not ex- ceeding two years, and Mr. B. Baxter, Skipton, the second. Colonel Towneley again secured a first prize in the class for heifer calves, the Rev. R. Edwards Taylor, being second. Other awards were made as follows : SPECIAL PRIZES. Best Shorthorn bull for use of tenants.— William Bradburn, Wednesfield, Wolverhampton. Best male animal.-~Thomas Statter, jun.. Stand Hill, White- field. Best female. — Colonel Towneley, Burnley. The best bull, cow, and calf, the latter to be the progeny of one of the two former. — Thomas Statter, jun., Stand Hill, Whitefield. CATTLE OF ANY BREED. For competition by owners of land of not more than 100 acres, or tenant farmers residing witliin the Society's dis- trict. Bull two years old and upwards. — First prize, G. Haworth, Lower Darwen, Blackburn ; second, J. Farrer, Thorneyholme, Burnley. Bull above one and under two years old. — First prize, J. Dickinson, Balcony Farm House, Upholland, Wigan j second, R. Parker, Fern Hill, Burnley. BuU-calf under twelve months old. — First prize, T. Statter, jun.. Stand Hill, Whitefield; second, C. W. Brierley, Rhodes House, Middleton. Cow in calf or milk, having had a calf, and above three years old. — First prize, Rev. L. C. Wood, Singleton Lodge, Kirkham ; second, T. Statter, jun. Heifer not exceeding three years old, and in calf or mUk. — First prize, C. W. Brierley ; second, T. Statter, jun. Heifer not exceeding two years old. — First prize, B. Baxter, Elslack Hall, Skipton, Yorkshire ; second, C, W. Brierley. Heifer calf.— First prize, C. W. Brierley ; second, J. Mars- land, Aykshey, BashaU Eaves, near Clitheroe. Although not numerically an extraordinary show, the horses were generally the most interesting and attractive feature. Heavy draught horses did not approach, in point of numbers, the lighter animals for hunting and road purposes. For tha best thorough-bred stallion Mr. Joseph Tate, Pole-street, Preston, won the principal prize, and Major Le Gendu N. Starkie received a commendation. Messrs. Lund and Redman, Preston, received the first award for roadster stallions, with Octaviau. Mr. John Houghton took the first prize for draught stallions. Mr. Statter got first and second prizes for brood mares for draught purposes ; Mr. Jonathan Peel, Clitheroe, for mares for breeding hunters ; and Mr. Thomas H. Miller, Singleton, for harness mares. The first and second awards for pairs of draught horses were given to Mr. Brierley, who also obtained the first place for the best four-year-old and upwards draught mare or gelding. The young horses were an ex- ceedingly promising lot, with the exception of the class for harness purposes. The judges did not think any of the animals, after the first prize, sufiiciently commendable to merit a second award. Mr. Statter took a fillies first award for three-year-old geldings for agricultural pur- poses ; Mr. W. Armstrong, Kendal, for hunting ; and Mr. Edward Croft, Preston, for harness ; Mr. James Wright, Preston, took fijst prize for two-year-olds for draught ; Mr. Benjamin Bee, Goosnargh, for hunting ; and Mr. Lawrence Hall, Radchfi'e, for harness. For yearlings, Mr. E. Jameson, Fleetwood, took the first prize for animals for draught ; Mr. Miller, Poulton-le-Fylde, for hunting; and Mr. Nicholson, Lytham, for harness purposes. For the best foal for draught purposes, Mr. Clegg, Garstang, won the first prize ; for hunt- ing purposes, Mr. MiUer, Poulton-le-Fylde ; and for harness, Mr. Nicholson. The hunters were a better turn out. A seven-year-old bay, the property of Mr. W. Coddington, Wy- collar Hall, Blackburn, received the first prize. Mr. C. Patrick, Clough Field, Rossendale, obtained the second place. For hunters carrying 10 stone over a fence four feet six inches high, the last-named gentleman was more successful, as he obtained the first prize with a younger horse. Mr. Thwaites, Blackburn, received the first prize for roadster mares or geld- ings ; Mr. Joseph Holroyd, Rochwood, Burnley, for cobs above l^ and not exceeding 15 hands high ; Mr. Abel Buck- ley, Ashton-nnder-Lyne, for cobs above 12 and not exceeding 13|hands; and Mr. J. C.Rogerson, Cooper-street, Manchester, for ponies under 12 hands. Many were disappointed with the exhibition of sheep, as in a number of cases the entries failed to appear. The awards were : SHEEP. Shearling Leicester ram.— Prize, T. H. Hutchinson, Manor House, Catterick, Yorkshire. White-faced, long-woolled shearling ram, not of the Lei- cester breed. — Prize, J. and R. Earnshaw, Grindleton, near Clitheroe. Ram of the white-faced long-woolled, not being of the Leicester breed, of any other age than shearling. — Prize, J. and W. Pinder, Waddington, near Clitheroe. Shearling ram ol the Shropshire Down breed. — Prize, W. Baker, Warwickshire. Ram of the Shropshire Down breed, of any other age than shearling. — Prize, VV. Baker, Moor Barns. Shearling ram of the Lonk breed. —Prize, L. Duckworth, Sheep Hey, Ramsbottom. Ram of the Lonk breed.— Prize, J. Peel, Knowlemere Manor, Clitheroe. Ram of any other breed, adapted to a mountain district.— Prize, R. Parker, Moss End, Burton, Westmoreland. Pen of three Leicester ewes, not to exceed in age four sheares,"»Prize, J, and B. Earnshaw, Grindleton. q2 222 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. Three shearling Leicester ewes. — Prize, W. Clegg, Fair- hurst, Goosnargh, Preston. Three white-faced long-wooUed ewes. — Prize, J. ajid R. Earnshaw. Tliree shearling white-faced long-woolled ewes. — Prize, J. and R. Earnshaw. Three Shropshire Down ewes. — Prize, W. Baker, Moor Barns, Warwickshire. Three shearling Shropshire Down ewes. — Prize, W. Baker. Three Lonk ewes, not to exceed in age four shears. — Prize, J. Peel. Three shearling Lonk ewes. — Prize, J. G. Bridge, Edge- coates, near Rawsteustall. Three ewes hest adapted to a mountain district. — Prize, R. Parker, Moss End, Barton, Westmoreland. Three shearling mountain ewes. — Prize, R. Parker. PIGS. Boar of the large breed, any age. — Prize, P. Eden, Cross Lane, Salford. Boar of the middle breed. — Prize, P. Eden. Boar of the small breed. — Prize, P. Eden. Boar of the Berkshire breed. — Prize, J. Whalley, Fisher's Arras, Blackburn. Breeding sow of the large breed. — Prize, P. Eden. Breeding sow of the middle breed. — Prize, P. Eden. Breeding sow of the small breed, in pig or milk. — Prize, C. R. N. Beswicke-Royds, Littleborough. Breeding sow of the Berkshire breed. — J. and R. Brown, East View, Preston. The following are the awards for implements : crowing machine : First prize, Picksley, Sims, and Co , Bedford, Leigh ; second, A. C. Bamlett, Thirsk ; highly commended, W^ A. Fell, Bridge Iron Works, Windermere. Turnip pulpers : Picksley, Sims, and Co. ; highly commended, Corbett, Shrews- bury. Chaff-cutter : Picksley, Sims, and Co. ; highly com- mended, Richmond and Chandler, Manchester. Turnip cutter : Corbett, Shrewsbury ; highly commended, Picksley, Sims, and Co. Haymaking machine : A tie between Ashby, Jtffery, and Luke, of Stamford, and Nicholson, of Newark ; highly com- mended, J. and F. Howard, Bedford. Hay rake : Picksley, Sims, and Co. ; highly commended, J. and F. Howard ; com- mended, Ts'icholson, Newark. One-horse cart : Richmond and dandier ; highly commended, T. Standing, Preston. Liqiiid manure cart : T. Standing ; highly commended, Richmond and Chandler. Churn : Richmond and Chandler. Washing ma- chine : Bradford and Co., London ; highly commended, Taylor and Wilson, Accringtou. Wringing and mangling machine : Taylor and Wilson, Accringtou. Collection of saddlery : A. Wilding, Blackburn. Steam thrashing machine in motion : Standing, Preston. Collection of agricultural implements : First prize, Standing Preston ; second, Richmond and Chandler, JIanchester; extra silver medal, Picksley, Sims, and Co., Leigh. Extra silver medal for mower with shafts, H. and G. Kearsley, Ripon ; highly commended, Stack and Brownlow, Manchester. Vase water filter : Extra silver medal, J. Miller, Blackburn ; extra silver medal, Corbett, Shrewsbury ; extra silver medal. Carter and Co., London ; highly commended, Morrell, Manchester ; extra silver medal, Garnett, Lancaster. The judges of implements were Messrs. T. Chambers (Nor- folk), and J. Tunstall (Garstang). THE BATH AI^D WEST OF ENGLAND SOCIETY, AND SOUTHERN COUNTIES ASSOCIATION. A meeting of the Council was held on Tuesday, July 25, at the White Lion Hotel, Bristol ; Mr. Brembridge, V.P., in the chair. There were also present Messrs. R. G. Badcock, J. Best, J. T. Boscawen, R. Breut, C. Bush, R. H. Bush, R. R. M. Daw, T. Danger, C. Edwards, M. Farraut, II. Fookcs, Jonatlian Gray, J. D. Hancock, J. E. KiioUys, J. F. Lennard, J. Ln^^h, H. A. F. Lultrell, II. St. John Maule, H. Middleton, J. C. Jloore, Stevens, R. Neville, R. Neville Grenville, M.P., T. Phillpotts, W. Thompson, E. W.Williams, H. William, W. Smith (accountant), J. Goodwin (Secretary and Editor). A letter was read from his Grace the Duke of Marlborough accepting the office of president, but regretting his unavoidable absence on the present occasion. A vacancy in the Council, owing the retirement of Colonel Deedes, was reported by the Secretary. To supply this vacancy members must be nominated at the August meeting, and the election will take place at the next or some subsequent meeting of the Council. The Finance Committee brought up their statement of accoimts, from which it appeared that although the Guildford show was not so successful in a financial point of view as several of its immediate predecessors, yet after the payment of all expenses a balance of £27 10s. remained in favour of the Society. The committee, stewards, and officers for the ensuing year were appointed. Captain J. Tanner Davy, editor of the " Devon Herd Book," succeeds Mr. J. S. Turner, as one of the stewards of stock ; Mr. R. Neville, of Butleigh Court, is appointed a steward of arrangements and of yard implements, as also a member of the implement regulations committee. Mr. T. Duckhani, of Baysham Court is added to the list of field implement stewards ; Mr. 'J'rojte, of Huutsham Court is added to the arts and implements regulations committees; the Earl of Cork and Mr. Meade King to the railway arrange- ments committee; and Mr. Moore-Stevens to tlie judges election committee. Captain Best, R.N., succeeds to the othce of steward of arts, vacated by Mr. J. C. Ramsden, who retains office asj a member of the finwce committee. Xu other appointments there is no alteration, excepting that the Mev. T. Phillpotts retires from the office of steward of horticulture. The stewards of stock having had their attention drawn to certain alleged irregularities committed at the Guildford meeting, reported to the Council that they acquitted Messrs. Duckering and Son of any intentional irregularity, and saw no reason to reverse or disturb the awards of the judges. A memorial from the Earl of Portsmouth and seven other breeders of pigs in favour of pigs of the small black breed being kept distinct from white ones in the Society's prize-list was referred to the stock prize sheet committee. A letter from Mr. A. Benjafield, of the Poplars, Stalbridge, recommending the offer of prizes for cheese was ordered to be referred to the Dorchester local committee. As a preparatory step to the meeting of the several com- mittees, the Council resolved that the amount offered in prizes for stock at Dorchester be limited to £1,500, as against £1,4-00 last year; poultry, i'SOO, as against £180; and horticulture, £130. The musical arrangements were left to the discretion of Mr. Jonathan Gray. A proposal that the council meetings of the Society be here- after held at Taunton, instead of Bristol, was negatived by a majority of 12 to 7- The secretary was authorised to negotiate for the occupation of an additional office at No. 4, Terrace-walk, Bath, the site of the offices at present occupied by the Society. The following new members were elected : — Governors : Mr. ilontague Bere, Q.C. (recorder of Bristol), Morebath, Bampton ; and Mr. Daniel R. Stratton, of Ogwell, Newton Abbot. Life members : W. Brymer, llsingtou, Dorchester ; and W. H. Tazewell, Moor House, Taunton St. Mary's. Members : T. Banyard, Poplar Hall, Horningsea ; W. 11. Crabbe, F.S.A., East Wonford, Ileavitree ; J. Goring, Weston Park, Steyning ; A. Stewart, Priory-place, Gloucester ; H. Tresawna, Lamellyn, Probus ; W. Turner, Chyngton House, Seaford ; G. Wood, Theddeu Graoge, Alton, THE FAEMER'S MAGAZIJiiB. 223 THE YOEKSHIRE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. MEETING AT YORK. " Flags were flying, bells were ringing, and beds were rising to a guinea each, when the Prince started for the show." It was thus we wrote some five years since when the Great Yorkshire Society laslr held its meeting in the capital of the county. And now, alas ! with all the pro- verbial fickleness of Princes, the bells were ringing and the flags were flying at an opposition show across the Channel, to which the heir-apparent was ia turn s;iving his countenance, while All-Yorkshire was left to do the best it could for itself. And AU-Yorkshirc, be it understood, is quite capable of doing something for itself. With such entries of Shorthorns, horses, Leicesters, and pigs as would fairly pale the Dublin Meeting, though basking in the beams of Royalty ; with such a show-ground and such show-weather as could only conduce to a shuddering comparison with all the horrors of Wolverhampton, and with such a system of management, where the instinct of order was everywhere observable, and the obtrnsiveness of oSice nowhere noticeable, Yorkshire, even if she had not a Prince for a President, still contrived to celebrate another most successful anniversary. And at York, as in Dublin, the occasion is made something more of than a mere cattle show. In Ireland, after he had seen the horses, the Prince of Wales went to see the flowers ; whereas in Yorkshire, after he had visited the horse show, he would have gone in turn to the hound show. It is true that at the Great Yorkshire meeting, where, as a rule, we find the best horses of the year, there is no jumping, and the gathering thus becomes ouly the more legitimate in its character as an assemblage of true sportsmen and British yeomen. The horse is a noble creature, say the writers of natural history and penny primers, while others, when they see a rosette attached to his bridle, proclaim him to the world as a " magnificent brute," but the 'cute old lexicographer entered him iu his little volume as " an animal, or a wooden machine " — a most important distinc- tion this, for all Yorkshiremen adore a mover, and, to show their reverence for the " noble creature," come to view him in their best, from the buck of St. James's and the noble manly form with the serene counte- nance, crowned by the shortest of hats, down to " Ould Bob," also iu his "best," if he ever had any. Then, from the horoscope of colour in the grand stand, got up so gay, so natty, and so trim, one would almost think that Mr. Harry Boulton, like Paris of old, held the apple of discord, and was going to plant in many a bosom a thorn. But Mr. Boulton and his learned brothers have not been instructed to judge of the softest and most delicate of outlines, saucy dimples, gleaming smiles, or tints culled from roses and the lilies of the valley, but to pick out the best horse with symmetry and squai'eness, bone, muscle, and enduring looks, and, above all, to choose the animal, and not the wooden machine. It is a grand show of horses, even for Yorkshire, but the handful of thorough-bred stallions are not like unto the lot shown on Knavesmire, while amongst the hunters we have not the stamp of horse of many shown at Beverley, nor are the roadster stallions and hacks up to some Yorkshire shows of old, while we have seen the coaching stallions better represented, but never the four year old and upwards agricultural class, to our recollection, for we write without book. The thoroughbred stallions, headed by Stampedo, with Playmate, Chatsworth, Tempta- tion, Sincerity, Prince Plausible, and Theobald have aU been noticed over and over again, with the exception of Chatsworth by Stockwell, who is a horse of no great substance or character, though somewhat muscular, with a round barrel and a little high on the leg. Temptation by Cathedral is a horse that his owner cannot see as other peo- ple do, or he would have been satisfied with his Driffield defeat, where Prince Plausible beat Theobald also, as he should have done, taking the latter's ankles into considera- tion. Then Stampedo, with his curby hocks, but otherwise lengthy round muscular frame and capital fore-leg action, beat Sincerity at Wakefield last year, but at Wolverhampton Sincerity was first and Stampedo nowhere; still we agree with the Wakefield and York verdict, as we would rather risk the curby hocks of Stampedo than the coarseness of Sincerity, who by the side of other thoroughbred horses is as worsted to silk. The hunting brood mares with foals had Mappletou by Volturno, a neat, short-legged mare, the first at Driffield, for third, while the Royal winner. Lady Emily, with no great hunting charac- teristics, played second to a really nice bloodlike hunting mare, called Chess by Lammas Day ; and among the beaten were Mr. Booth's, The Moth by Mandricardo ; the well-known Lady Byron, second at Wolverhampton ; and Mr. Wray's Daisy by Sir William. The first prize we agree with, but the others might be twisted about ad infinitum. Go-ahead looked better than either of her opponents in the hunting brood mares with- out foals, though Etta by Slane is a compact, strong, brown mare, not quite clean in her shoulders ; while Song- stress by Daniel O'Rourke, though deep in her girth, is not good in her middle, besides being coarse, more especially about her legs, and large feet. Coastguard in the two-year-olds was first also at Bridlington and Drif- field, where we said that size favoured him, but as he was an Angelus he might get too big for anything ; he has a good forehand, and is tine grown, but his hind legs look like dropping into a ditch; and the second by Ainderby dam by St. Bennett, with plenty of quality, has shortish quarters, with dropping hind-leg action. Mr. Clarke's Belle, of Asenby, by Ainderby, and Mr. Wray's Kitty by Cathe- dral pleased us as much or more than some of the others. A good class of three-year-olds was headed by the Wol- verhampton Banker, a well-made compact bay, whose moving makes amends for a little deficiency in his fore- legs, while Portland by Spoonstealer, if he does not turn out a rogue, with his quality, form, and action, will make a formidable customer some day. He was the first two-year-old at Wakefield, but only got commended at Drilfield to the King, a colt of Sir George Cholmely's, whose forehand we did not considerhunting-like. Now we come to the four-year-olds, a very good lot of twenty-two ; but ere we start, a word as to judges riding, and there is nothing we like to see better than a horseman up ; but oftentimes one of the bench will get up with neitlier hands nor seat, and legs more fit for petticoats than tops and leathers, en- dangering not only his own limbs and those of others, but the exhibitor's chance of a prize. As discretion is the better part of valour we think these gentlemen would show more in coming to a verdict on terra firma. Then 224. THE FAEMER'S MAGAZINE. again, if a juJge who can i-ide gets on one or two out of half-a-dozen picked ones, is it fair to give the prize to the ridden in preference to the unridden, because he or she went strong and well under the judge? " Kide one ride all," said an exhibitor ; " they had better leave riding alone," added another, as judge and horse seemed bent on taking seats in the stand. But let us go back to the four- year-olds, and the fine-grown upstanding Joe Bennett, near upon 16 hands 2 in., with good light head and neck, a deep level top, and for a horse of his size capital syni- metiy, though in his present show-trim perhaps a little too light in his lower limbs ; but he is a great prize taker, and fair in his movements; We only say fair, as he has alongside of him the finest goer in the yard : this is Nobility by Ai'tillery, the second horse at Brigg, but a damaged hock since then puts him out of the hunt. Then we have Spellahoe with his hind legs a trifle too far away from him, but still the chosen four-year-old at Drifliield, and the showy easy-going Taucredi, the first in a class at Brigg, where the Wakefield Hero was unnoticed when com- peting for a tenner. There's Dandy also, a deep short- topped horse that we are not in love with, although there were few better goers in the class, not even the winner. Mischief, a muscular well made horse, with quality, hardy looks, and a very taking head. There was not a grand class for the Bramham Moor Hunt Cup, which was pulled ofi' by Banner Bearer, who has been taking a prize or two since Brigg, where we said had he had more room he would have shown to better advantage. Behind were the thick vulgar-necked Pelham, anything but a gentleman to look at, who at Di'iffield beat Mar- malade and several others, including Loiterer. He is a very good mover when he has room, going oily, well and strong. The third, Sproxton, could also move ; and Mr. Borton's Killerby had hunting character, as had Mr. Darby's Gadfly, but he did not act cleverly, while Mr. Horrock's Miller's Belle smacks of harness. After luncheon came the York and Ainsty Cup ; and among those that entered the lists were the well-known Loiterer and Borderer; Sam Weller, a taker of a light- weight cup atDriflield; Marmalade, an Islington and Brigg winner ; a fiery little blood mare of Mr. Hornby's ; and Mr. C. Simpson's Spartan, by Donateur, a horse that we fancied as much as anything in the class. Loiterer we have always said was in action a gig horse, and no more ; but besides this, his neck is all wrong, and though in his ninth year he does not bridle. Li fact, when Mr. Paddison sent him round a cracker, with his ears laid, head up, and choppy knee action, and theu pulled up short, nearly clearing the pummel, the whole thing reminded one more of a penny ride and manslaughter at Blackheath than crossing a countiy. The winning ribbon was handed to him amidst a mm-mur of astonishment and exclamations of " What that brute ?" But enough of our own opinion. Captain Skipworth, J. M. Elliott, Towcester, H. Boulton, Beds, E. Paddison, Lincoln, and N. Milne, MeU'ose, have given this horse 150 guineas first-prize money ; while in the last fortnight T. Pain, Tattersall's, and ex M.F., W, Young, Beverley, Col. Luttrell, Badg- worth. Captain Percy Williams, and Jacob Smith, Boro- bridge, would not have him at any price; as we believe we are right in stating that Mr. Howard, of Castle Bruer, Lincoln, alone went for him at Drifltteld. Then Lord Coventry, Col. Kingscote, and Mr. George Lane Fox sent him right out of it at Islington. However, we congratu- late the members of the York and Ainsty and Bads- worth Hunts on the sort of horse recommended to their especial notice, aad feel sure there will be a tremendous rush to get hold of such a " magnificent brute." The coaching stallions were few, but the winner tm-ned up ia Emperor a well-known prize taker, and first at Wakefield last year, and the second in the Admiral a strong necked tar that had never been on a show-ground before, while Tramp, the third at Wakefield, was out of luck. Several good mares appeared for the prizes, and Mr. Johnson's old mare by Tramp, who has been a great winner, and was first at DriiB.eld, was here nowhere ; but her opponent at Drifiield, Bonnie, now took first honours. Then there was a good show of two and three-year- olds. We have often seen a better roadster stallion class, for instance at Beverley and Wakefield. The winner here. Lord Derby, was not placed at Beverley, when Shepherd F. Knapp won, but at Wakefield his lordship was first, and the Shepherd nowhere. Lord Derby's hind leg action we noticed at Beverley, and that he was a little back at the knees. The second. Atlas, is a promising three-year-old, with good action, but rather herring-gutted. No one would quarrel with the verdict in the roadster brood mares " with foals sucking". Then again in hackney roadsters of any age " or sex" sounds very like Bow Bells, and horse, mare, or gelding to us would be more in tune ; but the deep compact Polly by old AH Fours wins in a poor classs, with Flora, a neat hack, second, and the stout Miss Patty third. In hack- neys or roadsters " equal to carry twelve stones" — a round-about way of putting it, when " up to twelve stone" — though not vulgarly correct, would answer the purpose. Mr. MiUward opens the list with HUton and Crape, but he mourns as he gets nothing ; while Mr. Lovell with Woodbine, and Mr. Barker up, for we know her not by her number which is crumpled, is a nice clever hack, and so is Countess, a Driflield first, but with a little too much fuss and fiourish for a genuine lady. Then Mr. Bow^man, of Ripon, had a very nice chesnut by Yorkshire Grey, and Major Stapylton, of Myton Hall, a very promising two-year-old by Flying Cloud, but is the age correct ? can such things be ? The ponies we left the judges riding, and hope they came to a satis- factory verdict without a spill. Recollecting that agriculture had been and still is the pursuit of Princes, we kept om* eye on the cart-horses, which were in sight of the nag ring, and oft did we trot there, but to find them at a stand-still, for the judges were slower than the nags, which were an active lot. The agricultural stallions were not up to Wakefield or Beverley, but stay, the Wakefield were more like dray- horses, and Honest Tom does not please a Yorkshireman, as he prefers something a shade lighter. The Tykes are a bustling hardy race, with pay enough to keep them- selves in condition, so that they can stride along by the side of a nag who cau step. We love the Yorkshire cart- horse, with his powerful compact frame, short legs, and no lumber, but, above all, his moving ; then there is that hardy look with the lively head that is always up, and not di'ooping on a level with his knees, with that hang-dog expression that you see in some, while their guardian is swilling or skulking behind a hedge or tree. Nonsuch is a great prize-taker, very active, but a rather light-mindled, goose-rumped horse. Le Bon is a big one among Uttle ones, as at York, but a little one among big ones, as at Wolverhampton ; and Young Warwick we forget — but such is the treacherous memory of man. North Lincoln, accustomed as we are — not to public speaking — but to Barclay and Perkins', we do not take to be a grand specimen of a dray horse ; in fact, he is not com- pact enough, and gives one the idea of a magnified coach- horse. The second, though conquered, was Invincible, like many a brave army, "The brood mares were good, weight telling with the judges ; but to our eye Mr. Thompson's black, by no means a heavy one, but all life, looked like performing any work on the fai'in, or, THE FAEMER'S MAGAZINE. 225 witH some plougliboy up, joining In and making a fail" linisli with the York and Ainsty like Dick Knight, famous in story in another shire. There were six passable two-year-olds, the winner being a deep well-made colt, and the second a grey, with looks good enough to carry off a first at Driffield. Then Noble, by name and in appearance, is a neat bay, of nice form and size, without beef, who won to the great chagrin of a noisy man in charge of the bouncing Bloomer, but it was after luncheon, and a man must " beer". The mares and geldings of four years old and upwards were an extraordinary class, with seventeen in out of an entry of twenty-four, and we do not recollect ever having seen a better; among them being Mr. Makin's first at Wakefield last year.; Mr. Crowe's deep, short- legged bay, second at Wolverhampton ; Mr. Brierley's well-known horses Champion, Farmer, Warwick, and Sensation, with Mr. Statter's prize chesnuts at Wolver- hampton. But for beauty, combined with power, symme- try, and action, give us Sensation, who could trot off with a basket carriage that would hold Coelus and Terra, and take the shine out of many a stepper in Hyde Park. Our attention has been called to a contemporary who quotes our remarks about " Loiterer being a gig horse and the mistake of 1870," and adds that the owner of Borderer is quite satisfied with the decision. We never held up Borderer as the pink of perfection ; but his late owner, a gentleman of some experience, has not such a poor opinion of him as his present master would seem to have. Loiterer's trumpeter may know a little more about him than we do from his occasional visits to Tathwell ; but one victory, after four defeats in anything but the best society, is not much to crow about. In the Shorthorn classes neither the entries nor the awards were by any means so much an echo of the July Royal as often has been the case at the Yorkshire August meetings. In the very first class, for instance, the best all-aged buU was not at Wolverhampton, nor has he pre- viously been much heard of, although always in front whenever previously exhibited. This is Mr, Stamper's roan Grindelwald, a four-year-old buU bred by the Re- verend T. Staniforth, and a really grand specimen of a Shorthorn, with plenty of size, fine character, a good if not a quite perfect masculine head, as certainly at all points one of the cracks of the year. This, indeed, was proved by the famous prize buU, Telemachus, who looked but little the worse for his travels, finishing second ; while the third, another non-exhibitor at Wolverhampton, has been a frequent winner about home, as he is a very taking bull at most points, and he would probably have also been third at the national meeting. The class here was very well filled, about the worst looking of the lot being the Irish Charlie, who showed even worse than he did at Wolverhampton, where he was commended by the judges, and when we said he " had gone off so palpably that this compliment must have been paid him more for old acquaintance sake than anything else." The best bull in the show, however, was Mr. Linton's well-known white, Lord Irwin, the best of his class at Wolverhampton, a young bull who has gone on improving since he first came out this suiunier, as he never in his whole career looked so well as he did when paraded at York. At Guildford, in June, it wUl be remembered Messrs. Drewry and Bowly put all sorts of moderate ani- mals before the Yorkshire white, and this unquestionably looks like the great mistake of the season. As for Bythis, he is the very Loiterer of Shorthorns ; one set of judges will never look at him, and the next bench sitting will give him a prize, and he was third here ; Lady Pigot being also highly commended for Victor Rex, and Lord Feversham for Colonist. The reading, so far as it could, was very much after the Royal return, with Lord Irwin, Royal Windsor, and Bythis in the prize list, and the Panton Standard Bearer, the reserve and highly commended of Wolverhampton, in precisely the same place here. The yearlings ran up to only a small and moderate entry, of which the winner. Sir George Wombwell's Newbro', was quite the calf of the class, being nearly a year younger than the third. He is, however, a particularly nice young bull, a beautiful dark roau in colour, very true in his frame, and already a champion buU about home, having taken the cup at Easingwold, The next three were altogether, many preferring the highly commended Master Glanville ; but the Burderop bull as we have before said of him, is at his best, but a second or third-rate animal. The first and second bull calves were also first and second at Wolverhampton, with British Flag always to be preferred of the two ; while the third, Sandown, is a smart but very young calf, who may grow on into the best of the three, Windsor's Butterfly, the best show cow of a bad year, and Viviandiere, the champion prize cow at Brigg, were first and second here, backed by a good old-fashioned sort of cow from Darlington for third, with commendations ex- tending to Sir John Swinbourne for Lady Margaret, Colonel Towneley for a white Butterfly, and Mrs. Barrowby for Verbena. Nevertheless the class was not a strong one, whereas the two-year-olds were good, and Concert with all her " great growth and grandeur" still correcting the Royal mistake, where, as we reported at the time, they judged her "with their eyes shut," and went against her touch. But all judges are liable to err, and it is simply impossible to understand how Mr. How's neat shapely Vesper Queen could ever have been put behind such a thing as Daisy, a plain vulgar heifer with really " frightful" hocks and thighs. The Wolverhamp- ton winner Dame Swift was now merely commended or highly commended in much the same company, and Bythis and Dame Swift — and John Ward are the enigmas of the age. With the short-pedigreed Lady Brough out of it, the Osberton Fleur-de-Lis could still again get no nearer than second amongst the yearlings ; while Baron Oxford Duchess' bad head and fatally black horn now put her quite out of aU place ; and Verona succeeded to third. The absolute winner, Mr. Singleton's white Flora, is very stylish, and the commended Victoria Winsonia — what's in a name ? — a wonderfully improving heifer, who has done better before now, although she never looked better than at York. The calf class was only moderately tiUed, but Mr. Stratton's is a very sweet lengthy heifer with every promise of growing into a handsome cow. Vic- toria Victrix was also second at W^olverhamptou, but Mr. Bromet's smart third was little heard of until she made her mark here. Mr. Briggs' Primrose is a grand specimen of the old- fashioned Yorkshire cow, an animal which was prized for her prowess over the milking-pail long before improved Short- horns were invented. And Primrose sustained the family credit in the face of all comers, for the Alderney class was a poor one, with the best of the lo', from the Wake- field Asylum, sent too late into the ring to enter into competition. Although Mr. Borton has been " correcting " the Royal awards ever since, we still question whether the lesson read there should not be of service in drawing some distinction between the more material and merely flashy points of a Leicester. The Barton flock won nearly everything it could here, of course occasion- ally at some discomfiture of previous decisions ; thus the second old sheep here was only third at the Royal, but the best of all the Leicesters at Biigg. Mr. Sanday, with his sale approaching, did not enter at York, but Mr. Turner, of iUexton, Mr. Hutchinson, of Catterick, Mr. RUey, Mr. Jordan's executors, Mr. CressweU, Mr. Tin- dall, Mr. Simpson, and Mr. Browne, of Highgate, all con- 226 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. tributed to this, the strongest feature of any Vorkshire sheep show. Not but that the Lincolns here were par- ticularly good, with some fresh blood amongst the show sheep of the season, as it is, indeed, very noticeable that not one of the flocks which took first honours at the Koyal meeting was first here. Mr. Marshall was quite out of it with his shearlings ; the Buddings' three-shear had to give place to Mr. Wright's grand ram, the best of a great class ; while the winning ewes at Wolverhamp- ton were sent no farther North, and Mr. Cartwright's pens having been withdrawn, Mr. Pears succeeded to first place. Lord Chesham, Lord Wenlock, and Mr. Baker, of Atherstoue, were the only exhibitors of Shropshires, over which classes the two noblemen divided the honours very equitably ; aud there were a few entries of Lonks and other mountain breeds. The pigs have been pretty generally run through before they reach York, and the chief winners here had been about at Glasgow, Guildford, Wolverhampton, and Brigg. Thus, Mr. Eden's first large bo\r, bred by Messrs. Howard, was first at Wolverhampton; IMessrs. Duckerings' first sow second at Wolverhampton, and so on. Then, again, Mr. Eden's best small boar. Young Prince, and the Duckerings' best small sow, the renowned To])sey, were first, and first at the Royal meeting, or almost anywhere else you like to name, and the whole business so becomes a terribly stale story. The Berkshires are a very moderate show, as perhaps might have been expected, with the exception only of Duckering's maguificent sow, which took the Cup at Wakefield last year as the best sow in the show, and was bred by Mr. Griggs in Essex. The awards over the boars of other breeds were mainly noticeable for the discomfiture of Mr. Fox's Young Prince of Airedale, a white which has won 34 times and was never beaten until this day, wheu they did not even commend the Bradford pig ! The return for the middle breed sows was more in accordance with precedent, for Mr. Eden's Busy Bee was a Koyal first, and the Northorpe sow has been winning all about the country. In the section of younger pigs the judging over the two classes of large boars and sows was very hotly canvassed, as neither of jMr. Rudsdale's boars, it was maintained, should have taken prizes, while Duckering's sow was, no question, far away the best of her "class. Mr. Eden had all the best of the small breeds here, and de- servedly enough, though they passed over a capital sow from Northorpe. The young Berkshires agaiu were iudifl'erent, but there were some excellent entries of store pigs, even going beyond the actual winners, and the whole class might fairly have been commended. The Hound Show comes a day too late in the week for all but those who come a' purpose ; as it has always struck us that the afternoon of the second day would be the most fitting, and altogether most convenient, time for this " diversion " from the more orthodox proceedings of the occasion. There were no premiums for implements, but the following were among the exhibitors : Clayton and Shuttlewoith. Lin- coln ;^ Amies, Barford, and Co., Peterborough ; Marshall, Sons, and Co., Gainsborougli ; llansomes, Ipswich ; Huston, Proc- tor, and Co., Foster and Co., Robey and Co., Lincoln ; Hum- phries, Pershore ; Hornsby and Sons, Grantham ; Fletcher, Winterton ; Wriglit, Boston ; Picksley, Sims, and Co., Leigh, Manchester; Coultas, Grantham; Boby, Bury St. Edmunds; Baker, Comptou ; Cooke, Louculn ; Richmond and Cliandler, Salford; Penny and Co., Lincoln; Hunt, Earl's Colne; Cole- man and Morton, Chelmsford ; Tong, Lincoln ; Fell, Winder- mere ; Beckwith aud Sous, Stocktou-on-Tees ; Fdlington, Gmnsborough; Bradford and Co., London; Markall and Son, London ; Raiuforth and Son, Lincoln ; aiason and Son, Alford; I^icholsou, Newark; Reeves and Son, Westbury ; Kittmer, iulstow; Harrison, Lincoln; Carter and Co., London; Weigliill, Pickering; Peacock, Goole ; Nicholson, Pegler, and Co., Ripon ; Lawson and Sons, Leeds ; Marsden, Leeds ; Lambert, Suuk Island ; Stow, Leeds ; The Beverley Iron and Waggon Company ; Barker, Dunnington ; Sherwood, Kirk- bridge, Bedale ; Mattison, Leeming Bar ; Green and Staiusby, Dewsbury ; Foster and Smurthwaite, Millington ; Vickers, Snowdon, and Morris, Doucaster ; Hopperton, Sheriff Hutton ; Kearsley, Ripon ; Hydes and Wigfuli, Sheffield ; Waide, Leeds ; Wade and Cherry, Hornsea ; Thomson and Stather, Hull ; Smith, Foston ; Read, Malton ; Robinson, Leeds ; Ed- dington and Co., Chelmsford ; Ashby, Jeffery, and Luke, Stam- ford ; Rimingtou aud Co., Newcastle ; Pickering, Stockton- on-Tees ; Mitchell and Co., Manchester ; Baker, Wisbeach ; Fowler and Co., Leeds ; Tigar's Works, Grovehill, Beverley ; Day, London ; Beesley, Crystal Balance; Lippett, Manchester ; Lyon, London ; Dodge, London ; Jones, Gloucester ; Carson and Sons, Dublin ; Barker, Hull; Pierson and Bailey, Hidl ; The Driffield aud East Riding Company ; Inman, Stretlord, Manchester; Bushell, York; Matthews, Son, and Co., Drif- field; Hague, York; Lawson, York; Richardson aud Co., York ; Catley and Ayre, Bishopthorpe-road, York ; Mann and Parker, York; Hill and Co., Pavement, York ; Walker, Walm- gate, York ; Foster, Layerthorpe, York ; Cooper, Railway- street, Y'ork. The Prize Farm movement on the part of the Yorkshire Society has fallen through, as there were only six entries made, while the conditions stipulated for ten. PRIZE LIST. JUDGES. Cattle. — H. Avlmer, West Dereham Abbey, Stoke Ferry, Norfolk; J. Douglas, Athelstaneford, Drem, N.B.; M. Savidge, Sarsdcu Lodge Farm, Chipping Norton. LoNG-wooLLEi) Sheep. — S. Jefferson, Prestou Hows, White- haven ; W. Bartholomew, Waddington Heath, Lincoln ; J. Turner, The Grange, Ulceby. Short-woolled Sheep az^b Pigs. — S. Druce, Eynshara, Oxford ; T. Atherton, Chapel House, Speke, Liverpool ; C. Stephenson, Park Farm, Woburu. Hl'nters and Roadsters. — N. Milne, Faldonside, Melrose, N.B.; 11. D. Boulton, Putnoe, Bedford; E. Paddison, In- gleby, Lincoln. Coaching and Cart Horses. — J. Furneis, Coxlioe East House, Ferryhill, Durham ; S. Robson, Westgate, Louth, Lincoln ; W. W. Hawdon, Walkerfield, Staiudrop, Durham. Wool. — T. Clayton, Stainley House, Ripley, York. Veterinary Inspector. — C. Spooner, Royal Veterinary College, London. CATTLE. shorthorns. Bulls any age above three years old. — First prize, £25, T. Stamper, Oswaldkirk (Grindelwald) ; second, £10, Marquis of Exeter, Burleigh (Telemachus) ; third, £5, J. Knowles, We- therby (Prince Leopold). Bulls above two aud not exceeding three years old.— First prize, £~0, W. Linton, Sherift' Hutton (Lord Irwin) ; second, £10, J. Outhwaite, Catterick (Royal Windsor) ; third, £6, Lady Pigot, Branches Park, Newmarket (Bythis). Bulls|above one and not exceeding two years old, — First prize, £25, Sir G. O. Wombwell, Newburgh (Newbro' 3rd) ; second, £10, Col. J. Reeve, Grantham (Grandee 2nd) ; third, £5, G. Mann, Doucaster (Rory of the Hills). Bull calves above five and not exceeding twelve months old. — First prize, £15, Messrs. Dudding, Wragby (British Flag) ; second, £10, W. Linton (Leeman) ; third, £5, Major Stapyl- ton, Helperby (Sandown). Cows of any age above three years old, in calf or milk. — First prize, £25, J. How, Huntingdon (Windsor's Butterfly) ; second, £10, J. Outhwaite (Vivandiere) ; [third, £5, R. Era- merson, jun., Darlington (Janey). Heifers, not exceeding three years old, in calf or milk. — First prize, £20, F. J. S. Foljambe, M.P., Worksop (Concert) ; second, £10, R. Tennant, Scarcroft, Leeds (Daisy) ; third, £5, J. How (Vesper Queen). Heifers not exceeding two years old. — First prize, £20, J. R. Singleton, Great Givendale (Flora 15th) ; second, £10, F. J. S. Foljambe, M.P. (FIcnr-de lis) ; third, £5, J. How (Ve- rona). Heifer calves, above five and not exceeding twelve months THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE, old. — First prize, £15, R. Stratton, Swindon (Village Rose) ; second, £10, Lady Pigot (Victoria Victrix) ; third, £5, W. 11. Bromet, Tadcaster (Countess of Elanders 2nd). Champion Cup, value £50, for the best Shorthorn in any of the classes. — W. Linton (Lord Irwin). DAIRY. Cow for dairy purposes. — First prize, £10, W. Briggs, Hirst Courtenay, Selby ; second, £5, T. Statter, jun., Stand Hall, Manchester. Alderney, Jersey, or Guernsey cow or heifer in calf or milk. — First prize, £10, C. Marsdin, Hatfield, Doncaster; second, £5, C. Marsdin. SHEEP. LEICESTERS. Shearling rams. — First prize, £20, J. Borton, Barton House, Malton ; second, £10, J. Borton; third, £5, J. Borton. Rams of any other age. — First prize, £15, J. Borton ; se- cond, £7, J. Borton; third, £3, E. Riley, Kipling Cotes, Beverley. Pens of five shearling gimmers. — First prize, £15, J. Bor- ton ; second, £7, T. H. Hutcliinson, Manor House, Catterick ; third, £Z, J. and E. Tindall, Knapton Hall, Rillington, York. LINCOLNS. Shearling rams. — First prize, £15, T. Cartwright, Dunstan Pillar, Lincoln ; second, £7, R. Wright, Nocton, Lincoln ; third, £3, Messrs. Dudding, Pauton. Rams of any other age. — First prize, £10, R. Wright ; se- cond, £5, Messrs. Dudding. Pens of five shearling giramers. — First prize, £10, J. Peai-s, Mere, Lincoln ; second, £5, C. Clarke, Ashby-de-la-Launde, Sleaford. SHROPSHIRE DOWNS. Shearling rams. — First prize, £15, Lord Wenlock, Escrick Park, York ; second, £7, Lord Chesham, Latimer, Chesham ; third, £3, Lord Chesham. Rams of any other age. — First prize, £10, Lord Wenlock ; second, £5, Lord Chesham. Pens of five shearling gimmers. — First prize, £10, Lord Chesham ; second, £5, Lord Wenlock. A silver goblet, value £5, for the best of all Shropshire rams. — Lord Wenlock (shearling). MOBNTAIN. Rams of any age of the L^nk breed. — Prize, £10, B. Dob- son, Brook Street, Ilkley. Rams of any other mountain breed, — Prize, £10, W. Ruds- dale, Danby Lodge Farm, Yarm. PIGS. Twelve months old and upwards. Boars, large breed. — First prize, £5, P. Eden, Cross Lane, Salford ; second, £2, R. E. Duckering and Son, Northorpe, Kirton Lindsey. Sows, large breed, in pig or milk. — First prize, £5, R. E. Duckering and Son ; second, £2, P. Eden. Boars, small breed. — First prize, £5, P. Eden ; second, £2, C. R. N. Beswicke-Royds, Pyke House, Littleboro'. Sows, small breed, in pig or milk. — First prize, £5, R. E. Duckering and Son ; second, £2, C. R. N. Beswicke-Royds. Boars, black or Berkshire breed. — First prize, £5, West Riding Asylum, Wakefield ; second, £2, H. Crossley, 131oom- field, Halifax. Sows, black or Berkshire, in pig or milk. — First prize, £5, R. E. Duckering and Son ; second, £2, C. R. N. Beswicke- Royds. Boars of any breed, not qualified to compete as large, small or Berkshires. — First prize, £5, F. Ambler, Halifax ; second, £2, J. Umpleby, Guiseley, Leeds. Sows of any breed, in pig or milk, not qualified to compete as large, small, or Berksiiires. — First prize, £5, P. Eden, Cross Lane, Salford ; second, £2, R. E. Duckering and Son. Not exceeding twelve months old. Boars of large breed. — First prize, £5, W. Rudsdale, Danby Lodge Farm, Yarm ; second, £3, W. Rudsdale. Sows of large breed. — First prize, £5, W. Rudsdale ; second, £2, R. E. Duckering and Son. Boars of small breed. — First prize, £5, P. Eden ; second, £3, P. Eden. Sows of small breed. — First prize, £5, P. Eden ; second, £2, C. R. N. Beswicke-Royds, Boars, black or Berkshire breed. — First prize, £5, R. E. Duckering and Son ; second of £3, J. Knowles, Wetherby. Sows of black or Berkshire breed. — First prize, £5, F. Walton, Halifax; second, £3, U. Hutchinson, York. Pens of three store pigs of any breed, from four to nine months old. — First prize £5, R. E. Duckering and Son ; second, £2, P. Eden. HORSES. Thoroughbred stallion for getting weight-carrying hunters. — First prize, £'30, A. Beaumont, Huddersfield (Stampedo) ; second, £10, J. Casson, Burgh-by-Sands, Carlisle (Sincerity) ; third, £5, H. S. Constable, Wassand, Hull (Theobald). Com- mended : W. Shaw, Shipton (Prince Plausible). Stallions for getting coach horses. — First prize, £10, H. Laverack, Brough (Emperor) ; second, £5, J. Ward, Acomb Grange (Admiral). Staihons for getting roadsters. — First prize, £10, J. Leake, Drewston, South Cave (Lord Derby) ; second, £'5, J. Crorap- ton, Burton Agnes (A.tlas). Commended: B. iSalderstone, Boston (Norfolk Hero). Stallions for getting agricultural horses. — First prize, £15, J. Forshaw, Leeds (Nonsuch) ; second, £7, C. Sharpley (Le Bon) ; third, £3, S. Barker, Doncaster (Young Warwick). Stallions for getting dray horses. — First prize, £10, R. Marshall. Hull (North Lincoln) ; second, £5, W. Stones, Suaith (Invincible). Brood mares for breeding hunters, with foals sucking.— First prize, £20, B. Spraggon, Nafferton (Chess) ; second, £10, T. M. Miller, Singleton (Lady Emily) ; third, £5, H. S. Constable (Mappleton). Commended: J. B. Booth, Killerby, Catterick (The Moth) ; J. Clarke, Beeston, Leeds (Lady Byron). Mares for breeding hunters, without a foal, but stinted to a thoroughbred horse. — First prize, £10, J. S. Darrell, West Ayton (Songstress) ; second, £4', J. T. Robinson, Asenby, Thirsk (Go-a-Head). Commended: W. Robinson, Warren Farm, Sledraere (Etta). Brood mares for breeding coach horses, with foals sucking. — First prize, £15, J. Reader, Holme, York (Bonny) ; second, £7, W. L. Robinson, Thormanby, Easiugwold ; third, £3, M. Robinson, Hauxwell, Bedale (Princess). Brood mares for breeding roadsters. — First prize, £10, R. WiUiarason, Sunny Bank, Ripon (Jessie) ; second, £a, Ann Cook, Pocklingtou (Favourite). Commended: T. Harrison, Wheldrake. Brood mares for breeding agricultural horses. — First prize, £20, W. Bramlay, Aracotts, Doncaster (Damsel) ; second, £\Q, W. Banlis, Babthorpe, Howden (Trip) ; third, £5, T. Statter, jun., Whitfield (Higldand Lassie). Two years old agricultural gelding or filly. — First prize, £7, G. Robson, Easiugwold (Bob) ; second, £3, W. Walker, Scor- borough, Beverley. Commended : W. Bramley, Amcotts. Three years old agricultural gelding or filly. — First prize, £10, Ann Heddon, Baldersby, Thirsk (Noble) ; second, £5, T. Statter, jun. (I31ooraer). Commended, R. L. Dawson, Acaster Malbis. Four years old and upwards agricultural gelding or filly. — First prize, £25, E. Crowe, Downham Market, Norfolk (Smart) ; second, £10, C. W. Brierley, Manchester (War- \vick) , third, £5, C. W. Brierley (Sensation). Two years old cart gelding or filly. — First prize, £12, G. F. Worraald, Kirby Moorside (The Baron) ; second, £6, H. Pet- tinger, Easiugwold; third, £3, J. Stephenson, Winestead, Hull (Cheerful). Three years old cart gelding or filly. — First prize, £15, T. DarreU, West Ayton, Y'ork ; second, £7, T. Darrell ; third, £3, J. Johnson, Brigham, DriOield. Hackney or roadster, any age or sex, equal to carry 15 stones. — First prize, J. Burlift'e, Leeds, (Polly) ; second, £7, T. Clarkson, Leeds (Flora) ; third, £3, J. Robson, Malton (Patty). Hackney or roadster, any age or sex, equal to carry 13 srones. — First prize, £10, W. Lovell, Norton (Woodbine) ; second, £5, R. M. Bowman, Ripon. Pony, any age or sex, not less than 12^ and not exceeding 14^ hands high. — First prize, £10, W. Stephenson, Cotting- ham, Hull (Harlequin) ; second, £5, W. Little, WiUoughton, Kirton Lindsay ; third, £2, E. Dixon, Micklegate, York (Miss Melbourne). Pony, any age or sex, not exceeding 12^ liands liigh, suit- 228 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. able for children, to be ridden in the ring by boys under 15 years of age. — First prize, £6, T. Howdle, Hull (Tommy) ; second, £3, J. Roecliffe, Birdsall, York (Roderick) ; third, £2, W. Routledge, Shambles, York (Fan). Two years old hunting gelding or iilly. — First prize, £13, W. Myas, Lowthorpe, Hull (Coastguard) ; second, £6, J. Mason, Dishforth, Thirsk ; third, £3, Sir G. Cholmley, Bart., Howsham (White Rose). Three years old hunting gelding. — First prize, £15, W. Armstrong, Kendal (The Banker) ; second, £7, J. B. Bark- worth, Ray well, Brough (Portland); third, £3, Sir G. Cholmley, Bart. (The King). Commended: W. H. Clark, Hook House, Howden (Wicked Eye). Three years old hunting filly. — First prize, £10, J. B. Booth, KiUerby (DucMing) ; second, £b, W. Green, Earswick (Lady Stanley). Commended: J. Welbura, Lund, Easingwold. Four years old hunting gelding. — First prize, £20, E. Xess- field, Scarbro' (Mischief) ; second, £10, R. Brunton, Marton, JMitldlesbro' (Joe Bennett) ; third, £,h, H. Hornby, Flotmanby (Spellahoe). Commended : Sir G. Cholmley (Danby). Four years old hunting iilly. — First prize, £15, J. Lett, Scarapston (Sensation) ; second, £1 , C. Rose, Market Hill, Malton (Lady Bird) ; 'third, £3, D. M. Inge, Pocklington. Gelding or mare, five years old and upwards, and qualified to carry at least 15 stones -n-ith liouuds. — First prize, the Bramham Moor Hunt cup, value 50 gs., T. H. I). Bayly, Ollerton (Banner Bearer) ; second, £2U, J. B. Bark worth, Rayweil, Brough (Pelham) ; third, ^£10, H. Jewison, Rais- thorpe (Sproxton). Gelding or mare, five years old and upwards, and qualified to carry not less than 12 stones with hounds. — First prize, the York and Ainsty Hunt cup, value 50 gs.., S. J. Wellfitt, Tathwell Hall, Louth (Loiterer) ; second, £20, T. H. D. Bayly, Ollerton (Borderer); third, £10, E. Hornby, Flot- manby (Lioness). Gelding or mare, any age from three years old off to five years old off, bona-fide the property of a tenant-farmer in the county of York, wlio is not a licensed dealer. — First prize, £60, R. Brunton (Joe Bennett) ; second, ^30, B. Hornby (Spellahoe) ; third, ^20, J. Lett (Sensation) ; fourth, £10, G. Ringrose (WiUerby). HOUNDS. Judges : Capt. Percy 'Williams, Mr. W. H. Williamson, and John Walker. E>"T£KED H0TI^-DS. — Two Couples — Dogs : First prize, Brocklesby (Ambrose, Aider, Rampart, and Clasper) ; second, Bramham Moor (Rallywood, Striver, Gamester, and FalstafT). — Bitches : First prize, Bramham Moor (Syren, Dainty, Gra- cious, and Whimsey) ; second, Brocklesby (Witchcraft, Anguish, Lufra, and Dainty). L'XE^TZRED HouxDS. — Dogs : First prize, York and Ainsty (Commodore) ; second, Bramham Moor (Diver), — Bitches : First prize, Brocklesby (Gertrude) ; second, Bur- ton (Solitude). Cup, value 10 gs., for the best unentered hound, to York and Ainsty (Commodore). StalUon hound. — Prize, Bramham Moor (Statesman). Brood bitch. — Prize, Brocklesby (Gaiety). WOOL. Five hogg fleeces, long wool. — First prize, £5, M. Thomlin- son, Cowthorpe ; second, £3, C. Barrowby, Baldersby ; third, £2, C. Baldersby. The Council Meeting was held on Thursday, the President, Lord Wenlock, in the chair. After the disposal of some routine business, deputations from towns in the North-Riding which were desirous of having the next year's show were in- troduced. Mr. R. H. Bower, of Welham, headed a numerous deputation from Malton. The Mayor of Richmond was ac- companied by Lord Bolton and others. The Hon. G. E. Lascelles proposed that Richmond should be the place for the holding of the show nest year. Mr. T. C. Booth, Warlaby, seconded the proposition. Mr. G. Legard, Eastliorpe, proposed that Malton be the place of meeting in 1873. Major Worsley, Hovingham, seconded the motion. Tlie question was then put by the Chairman, when 12 voted for Richmond and 17 for Malton. ROYAL AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY OF ENGLAND. Monthly Council, Wednesday, August ?. — Present : Sir Watkiu W. Wjnn, Bart., M. P., President, in the chair ; Viscount Bridport, Lord Kesteven, Lord Vernon, the Hon. H. G. LiJdell, M.P. ; Mr. Baraett, Mr. CaatreU, Colonel CliaUoner, Mr. Edmonds, Mr. Brandreth Gibbs, Mr. Holland, Mr. Hornsby, Mr. Hoskyas, M.P. ; Colonel Kingscote, M.P. ; Mr.Leeds, Mr. Milward, Mr. Ransonie, Mr. Shuttleworth, Mr. Stone, Mr. Torr, Mr. Jabez Turner, Mr. Wakefield, Mr. W^elby, M.P. ; Mr. Wells, M.P. ; Mr. Whitehead, Colonel Wilson, Pro- fessor Simonds, and Dr. Voelcker. The following new members were elected : — Anderson, William, Lesney House, Erith, Kent. Barton, Tom, The Cresceut, Carlisle. Beach, John, Standeford Cottage, Wolverliarapton. Blundell, Arthur, Chediston Hall, Halesworth. Booth, Thomas, Taraborne Park, Lichfield. Bowen, James, Troedyraur, Newcastle Emlyn. De Pass, Daniel, 9, Delamere Street, Westbourne Square, W. Easton, James, Hothe Court, Blean, Canterbury. Farwell, Frederick G., Wolverhampton. Faulconbridge, W. F., Bestwood Park, Bulweli, Nottingham. Gough, Ralph D., Willenhall, StalTordshire. Gouldburn, John, Broomhall, Nantwich. Gurteen, Daniel, Haverhill, Suffolk. Ingram, George, Chetwynd Park, Newport, Salop. Knight, Richard, Bobbing Court, Sittingbourne. Lea, Henry, 316, iiristol Road, Birmingliam. Lewisham, Viscount, Patshull, Wolverhampton. Low, George, Burglitown, Athy, Kildare. Morgan, Richard, Newtown, Montgomeryshire. Parson, Edgcombe, Coates, Cirencester. Phipps, Pukering, Collingtree Grange, Northampton. Folding, J. Bede, Burnley, Lancasliire. Price, William, New House, Caerleon. Reynolds, Osborne, Owen's College, Manchester. Richardson, John, The Oaks, Dalston, Carlisle. Roberts, Oscar Wilson, Fisherwick Park, Liclifield. Sedgwick, Alfred O., Watford, Herts. Thomas, J. Howell, Starling Park, Carmarthen. Ward, William, Penybort Hall, Oswestry. Whitworth, James R., Weston Underwood, Newport Pagnell. Finance. — Viscount Bridport presented the report, from which it appeared that the Secretary's receipts during the past month had been examined by the committee, and by Messrs. Qnilter, Ball, and Co., the Society's accountants, and were found correct. The balance in the hands of the bankers on July 31 was £9,441 18s. 7d., the sum of £2,000 remaining on de- posit. Cheques to the amount of £9,977 5s. 9d. were ordered to be drawn. The committee recommend that the Secretary be authorised to transfer the £2,000 on deposit to the current account. The committee have to report that, chiefly owing to the great expense attending the trials of steam-cultiyating machinery and traction engines at Wolverhampton, the expenditure will exceed the receipts, although the attendance was as numerous as was expected, especially when the unfavourable state of the weather on some days is con- sidered. This report having been adopted, a conversa- tion arose in reference to the question of the expense in- curred by the Society in connection with the country meetings. Colonel Wilson and Mr. Torr expressed their THE FAEMER'S MAGAZINE. 229 opinion that some reduction in tlie expenditure could be made, while Mr. Ransorae maintained that the money spent was carefully and judiciously disbursed, and that retrenchment could only be effected at the cost of ef- ficiency— a result which he hoped the Council would not sanction. Finally, Lord Vernon gave notice that at the November meeting of the Council he would draw attention to the financial results of the shows held at Oxford and Wolverhampton, and move the appoint- ment of a committee to consider the expenditure at the annual shows, and the possibility of securing ec[ual re- sults at less cost. Implements. — Colonel Challoner (chairman) reported that the implement prize-sheet for the Cardiff meeting had been revised by the committee, the proposed prize for self-moving engines having been struck out, and that the committee recommended the amended prize-sheet for adoption by the Council. This report was adopted after some additional amendments had been made to the pro- posed prize-sheet. General, Wolverhampton. — LordKestevenreported that the accounts due in connection with this meeting had been duly certified and recommended for payment, with certain exceptions. It was also reported than an error had been made by the judges in Class 93 (Shrop- shire rams above one year old), the numbers given in by them not agreeing with those to which they had affixed the cards ; but as the error was merely clerical, they recommended that the cheque for the prize money be ■ drawn in favour of Mr. T. Mansell, who was awarded the 1st prize in that class. This report was adopted. General, Cardiff. — Lord Kesteven reported the recommendation of the committee that the Cardiff meeting shall commence on Monday, July 15, and continue untU the following Friday inclusive, and that the trials com- mence on Monday, July 8. The committee also recom- mended that Mr. Corbett, the agent of the Marquis of Bute, be invited to act as steward of forage at the Cardiff meeting, and, in the event uf his being unable to act, to recommend some other competent person. This report was adopted. Veterinary. — Mr. B. T. Brandreth Gibbs presented the following report : An ad interim report from Pro- fessor Simonds was laid before the Committee on the ex- periments he has made at the Royal Veterinary College in i-eference to feeding cattle on a patent cake. So far as the experiments had proceeded, up to July 31, no symp- toms of injurious action had appeared. The same result had been obtained on feeding pigs up to the same date. Professor Simonds will forward a further report on the completion of the investigation. It was also reported that the Secretary had laid before the Committee the cor- respondence between himself and the Veterinary Depart- ment of the Privy Council, together with a i^recls of the various acts and orders in Council relating to the impor- tation of foreign animals. As this had been drawn up for the special use of the Society, the Committee recom- mended that it and the correspondence relating thereto be published in the forthcoming number of the Journal. This report was adopted. Showyard Contracts. — Mr. Torr reported that the Committee had examined and certified certain accounts relating to showyard works, which they recommended should be paid, with the exception of one, which they re- commended should be deferred for inquiry until Novem- ber. This report was adopted. The death was reported of Sir Thomas Dyke Acland, Bart., a trustee of the Society. Mr. Holland having moved the renewal of the educa- tion grant for 1873, it was seconded by Lord Vernon, and carried unanimously, after a few words from Mr. Wells, M.P., who stated that unless the number of candidates increased he could not continue to support the grant year after year. On this point Mr. Holland observed that the number of candidates could be increased if the standard of examination were lowered ; but the committee were of opinion that it would be better to raise the level of the candidates, if possible, than to lower the standard of the examinations. The Secretary was authorised to sign and seal the agreement with the authorities at Cardiff. A letter was read from Mr. B. T. Brandreth Gibbs in acknowledgment of his election as a Vice-President. An application for the loan of the Society's plough- dynamometer was granted on the usual conditions. It was announced that a silver cup, value £100, will be offered by Sir W. W. Wynn, President, for the best managed farm in South Wales and Monmouthshire which shall conform to the following conditions: 1. That it is not less than 100 acres in extent ; 3. That not less than one-fourth of the land (not sheepwalk) is under tillage ; 3. That it is held («) by a tenant-farmer paying a bona Ude rent for not less than three-fourths of the land in his occupation, or {j)) by a landowner occupying his own farm, the total extent of whose property in agricultural land (exclusive of sheepwalk) does not exceed 300 acres, and whose sole business is farming. The Council then adjourned over the autumn recess until Wednesday, No- vember 1, the usual holiday having been first granted to the Secretary and clerks. THE HEREFORDS AT WOLVERHAMPTON. — In our last week's number we stated that Mr. Duckham had written to BeWs Weeldy Messenger announcing the sale of Ostorius, but omitting to give the price. Mr. Duckham now writes to The Hereford Times to say that : " I have long since ceased to contribute to the columns of The Mark Lane Express, which may, in some measure, account for the animus which has been displayed therein towards the Herefords gene- rally and myself in particular." Was there ever such egotism as this ! We were scarcely aware of the fact that Mr. Duck- ham ever did or even coidd contribute to our columns, beyond sending occasionally a sort of circular-report, or just such a " contributiou" as that which he has favoured our contempo- rary with — that is, a puff-paragraph, announcing the transfer of some " grand" bull, some " magnificent" cow, or some " splendid" calf, or the approach of some altogether " extra- ordinary" periodical sale. Of course we had to deal somewhat trenchantly with these " contributions" ; and so, alas ! they ceased to flow. And hence the animns. Was there ever such an absurdity proffered by a man as that " contributions" like these could influence the conduct of a straightforward Journal ! As Mr. Uuckham knows well enougli, whether his " contributions" were received or not, they never had the sliglitest possible weight at this Office. But still he omits to give the price of Ostorius. Of course here the thing centres. We said the buU had gone off, lost character, and so forth, but this is dis- puted. We care nothing for Mr. Duckham's opinion, as he is or was, we believe, au auctioneer, and such gentry, from the days of George Robins, have been proverbial for their co- pious use of superlatives. All their pianos, like their bulls, are grand, their wines choice, and their kitchen ranges elegant. We care little for this sort of thing ; but, as Mr. Gradgrind puts it, " what we want is facts." What was Ostorius sold for as a calf at Manchester? and what was he sold again for as a two-year-old at Wolverhampton ? This is the point of the argument. If Mr. Duckham says that we have an animus against the Herefords he says that which is simply not true. No Journal, for instance, reports tlie Hereford meetings at such a length as our own ; but that we decline to do is to bonnet and bolster up every Hereford, or any particular Here- ford whicli comes out, or to sanction a system of clumsy puf- fing, which in the end can ouly do more harm than good to the breed and the breeders, Migiit we, further, tell Mr. Duckham a little story ? A London man who late in hfe took what he called " a literary turn," and appreciated him- self accordingly, wrote thus one fine day to the Editor of ct 236 THE FARMER'S MAGAZIKB. well-kuown Journal : "Dear L.,— Yon must not consider me any longer on the staff of your Paper, as I am about to accept an engagement elsewhere" — to which the ready answer was: " Dear G., — I never did consider you to be on the staff of my Paper : pray how the deuce did you eyer come to do so ?" — 3Iark Lane Express. THE WOLVERHA.MPTON SHOW WEEK.— The thing before all others, as it appeared to us, which threw a gloom over the whole affair, was a want of the public spirit and esjirif de corps on the part of the town authorities whicli have always formed so prominent a feature at the Society's country meetings. No social or convivial gatherings, soirees, or intel- lectual assemblies bear record to the Society's visit to Wolver- hampton. Everyone was asking his friend or neighbour whe- ther the capital of the black country did really possess a mayor and corporation, and no one, not claiming the rights of denizenship, appeared to be able with confidence to answer the question. It is not many years since that the head of the corporation of a town located in a purely agricultural district, from the energy, activity, and liberality he displayed, not only contributed to render a meeting successful which had been re- garded by many with gloomy anticipations, but won for him- self the reputation of being " the best mayor (mare) for agri- cultural purposes." The honour of vrinning the first priee by this gentleman lias been followed by many successful competi- tors for the Society's second and third prizes and " liigh com- mendations" among the heads of other corporations ; but it seems that the mayor (mare) of Wolverhampton wUl lience- forth be remembered as liaving failed to obtain even a " com- mendation" in any of the classes. The decision arrived at by the judges with regard to tlie want of sufficient merit in the chief of the local candidates seems to have had a most depress- ing influence over the rest of the competitors for public honours, and, with a few exceptions, little was seen or known of any of them. — The Veterinarian for August. THE U. A. S. PRIZE-LIST AT WOLVERHAMPTON. — It wiU be seen from the report of the proceedings of the Council that the extraordinary mistake made over the Shrop- shire sheep awards is due to the judges, who gave in the wrong numbers — and hence an error which has gone broadcast over the country. Even The Veterinarian for August publishes a prize-list wherein Mr. Allen is recorded as the winner of the first prize for old rams, a class in which Mr. Mansell is never mentioned ! BRIDLINGTON AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. In the cups and money prizes the Society on this occasion distributed upwards of £300. The entries bore a favourable comparison with those of last year, being from thirty to forty in excess, the incre.ise being in sheep, pigs, cattle, and poultry, but there was a slight decrease in horses. The numbers were as follows : Sheep, ~3 ; cattle, 29 ; horses, 144 ; pigs, II ; poultry, 128 ; and implements, 120, making a total of 458. No prizes were awarded for implements. Amongst the cattle Mr. Linton, of Sheriff Hutton, obtained first honours with Lord Irwin ; and Major Worsley, of Hoving- ham Hall, secured second place with Duke of Roxburg, three and a half years old. The yearling bulls aud heifers were good, and the class for cows in calf or milk was excellent, Mr. Linton, of Sheriff Hutton, obtaining both first aud second prizes with Carnation and Gratitude, the former seven and the latter five years old. The sheep classes, numerically speaking small, yet in merit they were creditable. The animals shown belonged to the best breeders in this part of the country ; Mr. J. Borton, ofDartonHouse,Malton; Mr.Riley, of Kipling Cotes,Beverley ; Mr. Simpson, Hunraauby ; and Mr. J. W. Sharp, L^lrome. The pig section was deserving of praise, the animals for the most part being in prime condition, healthy, and active. The most important section of the show was the exhibition of horses, in every respect equal, and in some respects superior, to the shows of previous years. The hunters were the great source of attraction, and the coaching and roadster classes vfcre in every instance highly commendable, but this was particularly so in the agricultural classes, the class most deserving of mention being for the best horse or mare for agricultural purposes, in whicii there were seventeen entries. Mr. Tennaut, of Barlow, near Selby, secured the prize with Topsy, five years old. PRIZE LIST. JUDGES. Sheep, Cattle, Pigs, and Agricultuk.vl Horses. — T. Woodcock, Tibthorpe House ; J. Jolly, East Mount Road, York ; T. Barber, Sproatley Rise. Hu:nti:sg, Coaciiimg, and Roadster Horses. — T. EUerby, Manor House, Whitwell ; S. J. Wellfit, Tathwell House, Louth ; C. Wood, South Dalton, Beverley. SHEEP. Shearling ram. — First prize, £5, J.J. Simpson, Pilraore House, Hunmanby ; second, £2, F. Jordan's Executors, East- burn, Driffield. Three shearling rams. — First prize, £5, J.J. Simpson; second, £2, F. Jordan's Executors. ^ Aged ram. — First prize, £3, J. Borton, Barton House, Maltou ; second, £1, E. Riley, Kipling Cotes Farm, Beverley. Five shearling gimmers. — Prize, £-1, E. Riley. Ten gimmer lambs. — Prize, £2, J. Stephenson, Penton. CATTLE. SHORTHORXS. Two-year-old or aged bull. — First prize, (b, W. Linton, Sheriff Hutton ; second, £2, W. C. Worsley, Hoviugham. Yearling bull. — First prize, f-t, T. Frank, lylingdales ; second, £1, M. Thomlinson, Cowthorpe. Bull calf under 12 months old. — Prize, £2, W. Linton. Cow in calf or milk. — First prize, £5, aud secofid, £3, W. Linton, Two-year-old heifer. — Prize, £3, T. Hornby, Flotmanby. Yearling lieifer. — First prize, £2, W. Tennant, Barlow, Selby ; second, £1, H. F. Smith, Lamwath House, Sutton. Heifer calf under 12 months old. — Prize, £2, R. Crowe, Speeton. Fat OS of any age. — P. Dunn, Sigglesthorne, HuU. HORSES. Hunting mare and foal. — First prize, £5, H. Watson, New- begin, Filey ; second, £2, G. C. Jarrat, Harpham. Two-year-old hunting gelding. — First prize, £i, R. Wise, Sewerby F'ield ; second, £1, R. Wheatley, Catfoss, Siggles- thorne. Two-year-old hunting gelding or filly. — First prize, £3, W. Myas, Ulrome ; second, £1, G. Angas, Beeford Grange, Driffield. One-year-old hunting gelding or filly. — First prize, £3, T. BoyntoD, Lowthorpe ; second, £1,R. Cadman, Broughton. Three-year-old hunting filly. — First prize, £3, G. C. Jarratt, Harpham; second, £1, J. Milner, Middledale, Kilhain. Coaching mare and foal. — First prize, £4', J. Reader, Holme ; second, £1, S. F. Simpson, Driughoe. Two-year-old coaching gelding or filly. — First prize, £3, — Piercy, Garton ; second, £1, J. Jackson, Buckton Hall. One-year-old coaching gelding or filly. — Prize, £2, J. S. Jordan, Elmswell. Three-year-old coaching filly. — Prize, £3, W. Johnson, Lowthorpe. Hackney mare and foal. — First prize, £3, Mrs. A. Cook, Huggate ; second, £1, W. H. Russell, Kilham. Two-year-old hackney gelding or filly. — Prize, £2, J. Wil- son, Reighton. Mare and foal for agricultural purposes. — First prize, £*, K" Wise, Sewerby Field ; second, £1, Mrs. Smith, Bempton. Two-year-old agricultural gelding or filly. — First prize, £3, A. Keith, Staxton ; second, £1, J. and H. Sugden, Leconfield. One-year-old agricultural gelding or filly.— First prize, £2, — CromptoD, Thornholme; second, T. Crauswick, Low Caythorpe. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 231 Nag of mare pony, not exceeding twelve hands higli. — First prize, £2, J. W. Jordan, North Burton ; second, 10s., F. Naylor, Hull. Four-year-old hunting raare or gelding. — First prize, £5, W. Johnson, Lowthorpe ; second, £3, J. Smith, Marton Lodge. SPECIAL PHIZES. Hunting raare or gelding, of any age. — First prize, a silver cup, J. Holiday, Barmston ; second, 65, H. Jewison, Rais- thorpe. Hunting mare or gelding, 'four years old and upwards. — First prize, a silver cup, J. Crompton, Thornholme ; second, £2, W. Johnson. Three-year-old coaching gelding. — First prize, a silver cup, and second, £3, T. Darrell, Spickers Hill, West Ayton. Hackney mare or gelding, of any age. — First prize, a silver cup, \V. and G. Lovel, Norton ; second, £2, J. Brigham, Beverley. Pony,' not exceeding fonrteeu hands high. — First prize, a silver cup, \V. Simpkiu, Burtou Agnes; second, £2, G. Hud- son, Lockington Hail, Gartli, Beverley. Horse or mare for agricultural purposes. — Prize, a silver cup, W. Tennaut, Barlow. PIGS. Boar, large breed.— First prize, £2, J. and H. Sugden, LeconfielJ ; second, £1, R. E. Duckering, Northorpe. Sow or gilt, large breed. — First prize, £2, R. E. Duckering ; second, £1, J. W. Jordan, North Burton. Boar, middle breed. — First prize, £2, and second, £1, R. E. Duckering. Sow or gilt, middle breed. — First prize, £2, R. E,. Duckering ; second, £1, T. Rea, Bridlington. THE DORCHESTER AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. MEETING AT DORCHESTER. There were more entries than usual in all classes, but there were a number of empty pens. The Society's prize for the best bull of any breed or age was awarded to a Shorthorn be- longing to Mr. G. W. Homer. Tlie best bull, under two years, was Mr. Levi Groves' Hereford. In this class Mr. T. Ensor was highly commended for a yearhng Devon, and Mr. Hull was similarly distinguished. For the dairy cow prize, Mr. J. A. Smith, Bradford Peverell, was successful ; against him was shown a useful cross-bred by Mr. Harris. Mr. Groves, Weymouth, took the Society's prize for a pair of two years' old heifers, as also the Society's prize for a pair of yearling heifers ; and in the yearling class Lord Poltimore's plate for three Devon heifers was won by Mr. Smith, Exeter. Mr. H. Mayo and Mr. T. Chick sent iu some animals, which were highly commended. The best bull (for the Hon. W. H. B. Portman's plate) was exhibited by Mr. James — a Hereford, that won a first prize at Guildford ; and Mr. Davey, Horn Park, was highly commended for an animal of the same breed. Mr. James also took Dr. Hawkins' plate for three heifers (excepting Devons) with some Herefords ; while Mr. Caines' (Burton) was commended. In the sheep classes, beginning with the Dorset horns, Mr. Henry Mayo, Coker's Frome, was the chief prize-taker — he won, indeed, in every class iu which he exhibited, taking the Society's prize for the best ram, best yearliug, bf=st pair of ram lambs. Lord Rivers's plate for 100 stock ewes, under two years, and Mr. Floyer's plate for best 20 ewes. His old ram took first prize at Guildford, and in the previous year first at the Royal, and Bath and West of England ; and the yearlings, beyond prize taking at the greater shows, were first at the Hants and Berks Meeting. Mr. Mayo's 100 ewes were the leading feature in the show, Mr. Hull showed against them some useful animals, and in the class for twelve ewes — three ages — took the Society's prize, Mr. Cox (Hyde) being highly commended. Mr. Cox won Mr. Gerard Sturl's prize for 20 ewes, and Mr. Hull's were highly commended. AVith South- downs Mr. Henry Fookes, Whitechurcli, was the chief winner, for he took the Society's prizes for best Southdown ram, best yearliug ram, best 12 ewes. Lord Ilchester's plate for three rams under two years, the High Slierifl's prize for 20 full- mouthed ewes, and Mr. Middleton's plate for best 20 ewes uuder two years. Iu these Mr. J. Harding, Waterson, siiowed some very good sheep, and gave promise of sustaining the reputation of his father. Mr. G. W. Homer was also an ex- hibitor, and won the Society's prize for a pair of Southdown ram lambs ; but his sheep bore traces of a Hampshire strain, and the judges did not consider them true to breed. How- ever, iu the bliort-wooUed classes, Mr. Homer carried all be- fore him. He had the Society's prize for the best ram, best yearling ram, best pair of ram lambs. Colonel Sturt's plate for best 20 ewes uuder two years, aud Mr. Digby's plate for best 20 full-mouthed ewes. The pigs were a fair show. The Society's prizes for the best boar and sow were both won by Mr. Mantield, who for many years lias takeu prizes in the pig classes, for Lord Digby's plate for best three breeding sows, Mr. Walden, Came, and Mr. Manfield competed, the former winning. There was a tolerable show of horses, Mr. Hull's pair of cart-horses especially deserving attention. PRIZE LIST. JUDGES. Cattle, Horses, and Pigs. — Mr. Forrester, Bryanston ; Mr. V. B. Watts, Malcombe ; Mr. Coate, Hammoon ; and Mr. J. Caddy, Bradford Abbas. Sheep. — Mr. J. Ford, Rushtou ; Mr. H. Bone, Avon ; aud Mr. W. Watts, Frampton. pieces of plate. Three breeding sows, every one of which must have had a litter.— Prize, £5, T. Walden. Pair of horses under six years old. — Prize, £10, W. S, Hull. Three Southdown rams under two years old. — Prize, £5, H. Fookes. Twenty Southdown full-mouthed ewes, — Prize, £5, U. Fookes. One hundred horn stock ewes under two years old. — Prize, £5, H. Mayo. Three dairy cows uuder seven years old, all same breed, and from the same dairy. — Prize, £5, A. J. Smith. Highly com- mended : H. Mayo. Three pure bred Devon heifers under three years old. — Prize, £5, J. A. Smith. Highly commended : H. Mayo and T. Chick, Strattou. Bull of any breed or age. — Prize, £5, J. W. James, Map- powder. Highly commended : J. Davey, Horn Park, Bea- minster. Twenty Dorset full-mouthed ewes. — Prize, £5, T. Cox. Highly commended : W. S. Hull. Twenty Dorset ewes under two years old. — Prize, £5, H. Mayo. Higiily commended : W. S. Hull. Twenty sliort-wooUed ewes, otherwise than horned or South- down, under two years old. — Prize, £5, G. W. Homer. Twenty short-woolled full-mouthed ewes, otherwise than horned or Southdown. — Prize, £5, G. W. Homer. Cart stallion. — Prize, £5, H. Fookes. Twenty Southdown ewe under two years old. — Prize, £5, H. Fookes. Hackney colt or filly under four years old. — Prize, £5, Levi Groves. Cart colt or filly under three years old. — Prize, £5, T. Birch. Three heifers under three years old, of any breed excepting Devons. — Prize, £5, J. W. James (Herefords). Commended : — Caines, Burton. At the dinner Mr. Floyek, M.P., the Chairman, said : I have aot observed whether the metric system has entered 232 THE FAEMEE'S MAGAZINE. largely into the consideration of Chambers of Agriculture ; I do not know how far it has been discussed, how far it has been " thrashed out" — as they call it — at their meetings. I can fancy no subject of more importance for them to consider. You know that if we deal with weights and measures we deal with that with which we have to do not only every day but sometimes every hour of our lives. Poor people, as also farmers, cannot come into market without meeting with them. And in dealing with weights and measures we must also ne- cessarily deal with the question of money. There can be no doubt whatever that if the metric system is adopted we shall come to what is called the system of decimal coinage. This is a question which it behoves us to think well of before we enter upon it : it affects our business occupations of everyday life. Instead of asking for yards and feet of certain articles, we shaU, if the system is adopted, have to use terms com- pounded of Greek and Latin. A good many persons who have advocated this system have rather thrown Greek and Latin into the back-ground., We shall have to learn an entirely new system of measurements, w'e shall have to adapt ourselves to a new state of things. I shall be very glad to hear the opinions of others on this questions, which is an eminently practical one. It is a practical matter of everyday life and nothing else ; there is no moral question, no great political question, involved in it. Every single man, woman, and I was going to say child is concerned in it ; there is no one who is not interested in it ; no one who, if the proposed change is made, will not be deeply and vitally affected by it. It is a matter upon which I should be thankful for the opinion of my constituents, of such men as those I now see around me. The ceremony of expressing in a substantial manner the cordial feelings of respect entertained towards the secretary of the Society, Mr. G.J. Andrews, who also fills the same office for the Dorchester Farmers' Club, was the nest business on the programme. The compliment was paid by the presentation of a very elegant table ornament — an epergne and candelabrum, ■with three branches ; the value exceeding 100 guineas. The Cuairji.\:n' said : I can look back over something like Ihirty-five, certainly more than thirty, years since your society was formed. As one of tlie original members I am afraid that 1 am standing amongst but few who were amongst the founders of the Society and were associated with it from its earliest days. We had the fortunate assistance, I believe I may say from the very beginning, of our excellent hon. secretary. It is true that we had another secretary, a very good friend and neighbour of ours, but you know his other avocations occupied his time so much that it was not long be- fore he retired. Besides filling the office of secretary to this society, Mr. Andrews has performed the duties of hon. secretary to the Dorchester Parmers' Club ; and it is in recognition of his excellent services rendered to both those bodies that I now beg to present to him in the names of the assembled, and also the absent, members this handsome testimonial. Mr. ArfDRZ'ws said : I may recall to my mind the grati- fying fact that near thirty years ago I received at your hands a similar token of your esteem and regard. When I consider this renewed mark of your confidence in me, my feelings are such as few men can hope to enjoy. Mr. W. Watts, one of the judges, regretted to see so many vacant pens, which gave the show-yard a very poor appearance, besides causing unnecessary expense to the committee, if persons made up their minds to exhibit they ought to do so. He should like to see a little more competition, then there would be a little more for the judges to do. Mr. Henry Fookes reminded the meeting that next year the Bath and West of England Society would visit Dorchester. That society would, he said, be as liberal as it possibly could. At the CouncU meeting on Taesday it was stated that more prizes would be distributed at Dorchester than had ever been offered by the Society at any previous exhibition. He (Mr. Fookes) therefore hoped for the honour of the county that they would all come forward to compete in order to keep back as much of the money as possible. It had been determined that next year the Dorchester Agricultural Society should not have an exhibition in consequence of the Bath and West of Eng- land Society's visit ; but perhaps the donors of prizes would kindly contribute similar prizes to the Bath society in order that the committee might be enabled to offer some good local premiums. Tliere were good Dorset horned sheep in this county, and the local prizes would be very attractive in the neighbour- hood. Mr. G. W. HoiiER could not afford to breed little sheep, be- cause, for instance, only that day he had sent some sheep to the market which fetched 62s. 6d. each, while tliose of pure breed realized only ISs. They had the same food, for they were fed together. THE EOYAL AGEICULTUEAL SOCIETY OF lEELAND. MEETING IN DUBLIN. Dublin had been greatly thronged for some time by stranger-tourists, from the raanufacturiug and business districts of England, enjoying their season's relaxation from the sterner business of life; while the city had been eager to welcome the visit of His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales, who is for the year President of the Irish Royal Agricultural Society, and gay with bunting throughout its principal thoroughfares. In 1867, when the Royal Society held its show in Dublin, St. Stephen's Green, in the heart of the city, was the site on which it took place, aud a great success it turned out to be. Much disappointment and vexation was therefore caused when the Commissioners of the fine and beautiful square refused their consent to its being so occupied this year. But a far better site for this national exposition was found on the estate of the Earl of Pembroke, in the immediate vicinity of the south- side of Dublin — a fine grass park, of over thirty acres, surrounded at all sides with good, broad, and level roads, handsome villas, and ornamental grounds, with the Dublin and Kingstown Railway rimning quarter-hour trains at a short distance, so that the show-yards was easily accessible from all quarters. The Royal Dublin Society's great annual horse show, as well as its recently-established, sheep show, was by com- pact held this year in conjunction with that of the Royal Agricultural Society. The horse show turned out a monstrous affair, numbering no less than 599 entries. The arrangements and necessary erections were excellent, the whole being placed in the hands of a competent archi- tect and builder. But holding such a horse show in con- junction with the agricultural one has been sometliing of a mistake. To create an excitement and brins; in the money, a double ditch with a bank between, a stone wall, a hurdle, and a water-fence were formed ; a Royal Stand to contain 1,200 at one side, and another stand at the opposite side of the leaping ground to accommodate many more were erected. So that when a company of the Guards with fixed bayonets and their bands marched in and took up their ground, when the royal aud vice-regal parties drove in, each accompanied by a squadi-on of horse, the advance with carabines, the rest with ckawn swords, " in all the pomp and panoply of glorious war," when the Lord Mayor, with a numereus retinue of gentlemen in in- digo on horse and on foot came on in procession, the agricultural show grounds were deserted, business was at an end, and half-crowns poured in to reple- tion, in order to witness the equestrian performances, especially those of Flynn of Tulsk, one of the most daring THE FAEMER'S MAGAZINE. 233 and best horsemen of the day. This would be all very fine fan in its proper place ; but there were a parcel of little great men, ycleped a Local Committee, who usurped the management, and carried on a system of red-tapism, which instead of facilitating the object in view, threw all sorts of obstacles in the way ; while the haubucks they appointed to carry out details became perfect obstructives. To see all oflBcers and no soldiers strutting about with ribbons red, white, and green, streaming from their breasts, running here and there, bobbing against one another, and doing nothing useful, would be amusing, were it not very vexatious. A deputation of these people visited Wolverhampton to entice English manufacturers over to exhibit the embo- diment of their anxious thoughts and artistic labours at great cost, but it is extremely doubtful if many of them will be able to make good books to recoup them for their skill, labour, and the expenses incurred, for their market has been spoiled by the equestrian exercises which lasted for three days of the show 1 The implement department numbered near 200 stands, some so very extensive as to occupy each an entire shed As this important part of the exposition has occupied so much of our columns lately, we need only give the names and addresses of the firms which have put in an appear- ance at this show. The English exhibitors were : Hornsby and Sons, Grantham ; Hill and Smith, Brierley-hill, Stafford- shire ; Robinson and Richardson, Highgate, Kendal ; Bristol Waggon Works Company, Bristol ; Corbett, Shrewsbury ; Garrett and Sons, Leiston, Suffolk ; Fuller and Co., St. George"s-road, Bristol; Richardson, Car- lisle ; Samuelson, Banbury ; Penny and Co., Lincoln ; Taylor and Wilson, Accrington, Lancashii'e ; T. Mort- lock, Shefton-road, Hackney ; H. Atkinson, City- road, London ; Richmonds and Norton, Liverpool ; W. A. Wood, Upper Thames-street, London ; Ransome, Sims, and Head, Ipswich ; J. and F. Howard, Bedford ; J. Unite, Edgvvare-road, London ; T. Read, Malton, Yorkshire; Picksley, Sims, and Co., Leigh, Manchester; Reuben Hunt, Earls Colne, Essex ; J. Le Butt, Bury St. Edmunds, Suffolk ; Slack and Thompson, Manchester ; De Leon and Andre, Aldgate, London ; Day, Son, and Hewitt, Doi'set-street, London ; Jas. Wil- liams, Bermodsey, London; B. Brown and Co., Blackfriars, London ; H. Dufiield, Regent's Park, London ; J. Beesley, Oxford-sti-eet, London ; T. Bradford and Co., London, Manchester, and Dublin ; Robert Willacy, Preston, Lancashire ; Hancock, Bir- mingham ; Ashby, Jeffery, and Luke, Stamford ; J. L. Norman, Mark-lane, London ; Mellard, Ruge- ley, Staffordshire; Reading Iron Works, Berks; S. Lawson and Sons, Leeds; Barrowes and Stewart, Banbury; E. R. and F. Turner, Ipswich; Cambridge and Parham, Bristol ; W. N. Nicholson, Newark ; Thomas and Taylor, Salford, Manchester ; J. Cranston, Birmingham ; G. Wright and Co. Westminster Bridge- road, London ; J. Beach and Co., Dudley ; B. C. Tipper, Birmingham ; J. M. Jones, Worcester-street, Gloucester ; J. Bell and Co., Oxford-street, London ; A. Lyon, Fins- bury, London ; J. Davis and Co., Crampton-street, Lon- don ; F. and C. Hancock, Dudley, Worcestershire ; J. H. Stiles, Westminster, Loudon ; R. C. Silvester, John-street Road, London ; House and Co., City-road, London ; F. Morton and Co., Livei-pool ; J. Dixon, Cheapside, Liver- pool ; W. H. Hilton, Park-road, Liverpool ; E. Ellis, Oxford-street, London : N. Wilson, High Holborn, Lon- don ; Spong and Co., Fulham-road, London ; A. E. Peirce, Hatton-garden, Loudon ; Parham, Regent-street, London ; B. Hodgetts and Son, Morton-in-Marsh ; Car- sou and Sous, Ludgate-Mll, Loudon ; J, R, Maradeii; Leeds; J. Haworth, Bolton-le-Moors ; Sawney, Bever» ley, Yorkshire ; H. Innman, Stretford, Manchester. Scotch Exhibitors. — Murray, Banff ; Young, Ayr ; Hunter, Maybole ; A. and J. Main, Glasgow ; Gray, and Co., Uddingston, Glasgow ; M. Jack, Cramond, Edin- burgh. Irish Exhibitors, — McKenzie and Sons, Dublin, Cork, and Belfast ; Kennan and Sons, Dublin ; Edmondson and Co., Capel-street, Dublin ; Curtis and Sons, do. ; Booth Bros., do. ; A. O'Neill, do. ; H. E. Brown, do. ; J. Brown, do. ; Bates and Sons, Gorey ; Colclough and Sons, Dublin ; F. Sanderson and Sons, do. ; W, White- stone and Co., do. ; Dockrell and Co., do. ; Booth and Son, do. ; W. O'NeQl, Athy ; Daniel, Dublin ; W. Kerr, Henry-street, do. ; Butler, Capel-street, do. ; Laurence and Son, Sackville-street, do. ; Burke, Wellington-quay, do. ; Francis, Cambdeu-place, do. ; Bowles, BleikhiU- place, do. ; Faucett, Killnean ; Smith and Wellstood, Capel-street, Dublin ; Drogheda Manure Co., Drogheda ; National Manure Co., Kingsend, Dublin ; Mitchell, Townsend-street, do. ; McMester, Hodgson, and Co., do. ; Checketts and Co., Queen-street, do. ; W. 0. Barre, Talbot-street, do. ; E. Cooper and Co., Kildare-street, do. ; F. Healy, Cardiffs-bridge, do. ; Hodges and Sons, Westmoreland-street, do. ; J. McGee and Co. Belfast ; T. Goodison, Sandymount, Dublin ; M. Murphy, Bun- doran; W. Lennan, Dublin; McMullen, do.; Ferrelly, do. ; Tutty, do. ; Hudson, do. ; Sheridan, do. ; Mahony, Blarney, Cork; Mrs. Callan, Dublin; Pim, Bros., and Co., Georges-street, do. ; J. Bristow, Talbot-street, do. ; Benett, Stephen's-green, do. ; Herbert, Sackville-street, do. ; Davidson, Stephen's-green, do. ; Newenham, Con- densed Milk and Cheese Factory, Mellow, Cork ; McKinley, Strabane ; J. Murphy, Thomas-street, Dublin ; T. W. Pim, Belfast; Lovely, Shaw-street, Dublin; Martin, Hill, and Co., Ushers-quay, do. ; Askin, New- townard. Gray, and Co., Belfast ; Paul and Vincent, Blackhell-place, Dublin; Grendon and Co., Drogheda; Dickson and Sons, Edinburgh and Dublin. This Society's shows of Shorthorns are never nu- merous, but when held in favourable localities are very good ; at this meeting there were 70 of aU ages and sizes brought forward, amongst which were several celebrities. The business commenced with the aged bulls, of which there were 7. Sovereign, which was never beaten in Ireland at least, since first exhibited as a yearling, and the winner of the Towneley Plate four times, had now to give place to Mr. Cook's St. Bingan (27517). Sovereign never looked better, nor has he ever been in finer, nor more serviceable condition, and is unquestionably a grand bull, taking him at all points. The contest was severe, but the judges, Messrs. Unthank and Crisp, eventually placed St. Ringan before him, and so gave over the Pm'don Cup, for the best prize bull in the yard. St. Ringan was the third bull at the last spring meeting, since then, he has wonderfully improved, he is a fine lengthy animal, with grand crops, and a full level back, from the shoulders to loin, full ribbed, fine chest and quarters, as he, indeed, could not be overlooked. He was bred by the Honour- able G. Lascelles, Moor Hill, Leeds, by Good Fitz, out of Brinder by Gay Monk. Both bulls are superb ani- mals, but of different shapes, and each of great value when used judiciously. Mr. Moffat's fine bull, Dey of Algiers, which was second at the Royal Dublin spring meeting of 1870, now falls in for third place. A high commendation goes to Mr. Smith's The Earl, the second at the last spring meeting ; and Lord Bangor's Favourite, a beautiful bull, from the Westland herd, was commended. Nine two-year-old bulls composed the next class. Mr. William Moutray'a Lord Wodehouse, from Mr. Boltou'a herd, was p«t first, aud Mr, Meadows' Prince ^34 THE FARMER'S MAGA21NE. Mason, secouJ. Tlicy stood in the same relative posi- tions at last spring's I?oyal Dublin meeting, and although their status would seem fixed, we have a suspicion, from the hollow back of Lord "Wodehouse, that the second will wear the better. He is by Duke of Jlarlborough, out of Woodbine 4th; and Prince Mason, by Prince of the Eealm (22627), out of Blos3cm 5th. A high com- mendation goes to Heir of Lothian, from the Islanmore pastures, now the property of J. Madden, Roslea Manor. He stood fourth in 1870, and third in '71, at the Royal Dublin spring meetings ; so that he has not lost ground, and is much improved since last spring, being now a bull of great depth and substance. Mr. Reynards' Prince Arthur Patrick stood in this class, and he is a bull whose profile at a distance is everything that could be desired, but he loses interest on nearer inspection, not being filled in between the crops and fore rib. The yearling bulls entered were 11. Mr. Meadow's Prince Charlie, the second bull at the last spring meeting, was entered, but having been exhibited at Wolverhampton, where he got the 4th place, was sold there. None of the others had appeared on the stage before, except Half-sovereign, the 4tii bull at the last spring meeting ; and now the property of R. P. Maxwell, Groomsfort-house, Belfast, and he was put first. ^Ir. Chaloner's handsome and very even bull. Knight of the Glen, second, is by Knight of the Crescent (26547) out of Gipsy Queen. A high commendation was given to Marquis of Lome, bred by Mr. Archdall, and now the property of M. H. Franks, Westfield, Mountreth, which, if taken care of, will prove serviceable. Mr. L. Bland now owns the commended buU Maximus Gwynne, bred by Mr. Bolton, a right good yearling, but greatly im- paired in appearance from the remains of ringworm about the neck ; he should not have been brought forward so early. The bull calves were eleven, and a very good lot they made. Mr. J. Downing, Ashfield, Fermoy, who for some years has been going in for Shorthorn honours takes both prizes ; the first for Knight of the Roses, by Sir Egbert (27468), out of young Moss Rose, a sprout from the Dr. McHale stock ; the second for Master Harbinger 3rd, also by Sir Egbert out of Gay Lass, by Master Harbinger. At the Cork local show these calves took equally high honours. Knight of the Roses first, and the Welsted Cup as the best bred in the county ; while at the Limerick they were also successful. Nine fine animals filled the cow class, Mr. IMoutray being put first for Princess of Warlaby, a very straight, level, and grand cow by Prince of Warlaby (15107), out of Butterfly by Master Butterfly 2nd. She is now seven years old, and heavy in calf. Earl Ktz- william, Coollattiu Park, his Irish demesne, takes second place for Adeliua, bred by Captain Oliver, Sholebrook Lodge, Tovvcester, by Gi-and Duke 7th, out of Autumn Rose by Vanguard. She is a grand cow, with a sweet head, fine ribs, aud firmly-lleshed from behind the arm, over the shoulder points, and along the back. Some good judges would place her higher. Limerick Lass, from the Strafl'an herd, now the property of J. Green, Millbrook, Mageny, was highly commended. An unnamed cow, bred by Mr. Lambert, of Beaupark, was commended. Mr. Cook's fine but aged cow, Ruth 20th, first at both the Limerick and Waterford local meetings this year and first at the Royal Dublin spring show of '67, stands altogether unplaced ; Miss Matilda, with a calf at her side, the second in 1870 and the first in her class in '71 at the Royal Dublin spring meetings, is passed also without any mark of recognition. She is the property of and bred by Ml-. J. ;Smith, a tenant farmer, by Dr. iMcHale, out of Lady Alice 3rd by Hindoo. There were but two three-year-old heifers in calf or in milk. Mr. ^loutray's Carnation by Knight of the Grand Cross (555), out' of Columbine by Jupiter (484), takes the lead. She is a smart one, well-filled behind the shoulders, but inclined to be patchy. The othei-. Game Hen 5th, by Dr. Collins, out of Game Hen 2nd, is very good behind the arm, but falls away from the top to the fore ribs, so that the fore part of the spine is rather too prominent. Of two-year-old heifers in calf or in milk there were five. In this class stood Chaumontil, the prize yearling and two-year-old heifer in '70 and '71 at the Royal Dublin spring meetings ; she has again changed owners, and is now the property of Mr. Montray. Favour Royal, who seems to go in determinedly for Shorthorn honours. She is now a grand heifer, and, as she always promised, of great substance. She is again the prima. JNIr. Kearney's second prize heifer. Pattern, at last spring's meeting, is now again second to Chaumontil, so that both hold their re- spective positions. She is by Prince Bertram, out of Pretty Maid by Dr. McHale, a neat sweet heifer, but a trifle hollow between the hips. Nine very good heilers entered the lists for yeaiding honoms. Mr. Smith, Islanmore, takes both prizes for the same two heifers which won at the last spring show in Dublin — the first for Repose by the prize bull Lictor, out of the late Captain Ball's prize cow Recherche ; and the second for Truelove 5th by Prince Bertram, out of Truelove 2ud by Dr. !McHale. These two heifers also took the Purdon Cup for the best two two-year-old heifers, which was last year won by Mr. Bolton, The Island. Mr. A. S. Montgomery, Kilmer, Co. Meath, received an H. C. for Princess Louise by Prince Bertram, oat of Louisa 4th by Dr. McHale, so that she is closely related to iMr. Smith's second prize heifer, Truelove 5th. Mr. Meadow's very sweet heifer, Fanny 29th, which was placed third at last spring's show, had no place given her at this meeting. Seven very sweet heifer calves were marshalled before the judges in competition for the two prizes. Henry Lyons, Croom House, Croom, took both — the first with Dove, by Lord Francis, out of Darling by Victor ; and the second for Juno by the same bull, out of Diana by Saturn, both excellent. Mr. Downing, the winner of the two prizes for bull calves, comes in with a very sweet thing. Lady Harbinger, which took first honours at the Limerick show. She is by Sir Egbert, out of Roan Lilac by Master Harbinger. The Hon. J. Massey was commended for Rose by Knight of the Garter, out of Rosebud by Proteus. The other distinct breeds of cattle were as usual but indifferently represented, as regards numbers or com])e- titors, but seventeen Herelbrds of all ages and sexes put in an appearance. Mr. Gilliland, Brook Hall, London- derry, and INIr. Kearney, ^Miltown House, Meath, who seem the ouly breeders that cultivate this sort here with any zeal, divided the prizes. There were but eight Devons, six of which were owned by Mr. Peake, Mul- laghmore, Co. Monaghan, who pockets all the prizes. Of the polled Angus there were but six, and with one exception Mr. Owen Blesinton takes all the prizes. Two West Highlands, a bull and a cow, made up this class. Of the Ayrshires there were but four bulls and eleven cows. The native Kerries mustered stronger, thirty- five filliug np this section. The Channel Island cattle numbered nine, and of the Brittany there was a solitary cow ; while tenant-farmers' milch cow s mustered but fifteen, not much to the credit of either the Irish Royal Society or the tenant-farmers. The show of sheep was good and altogether creditable ; owing, most probably, to the stimulus given by the Dublin 1?HE FAEMEK'S MAaAZINE. 235 Society iu establishing annual sheep shows in Dublin, which for this year has been held in connection with the national migratory Show. 19 shearling Leicester rams eight of them direct from England, made up the first section. Mr. S. Mowbray, Killearny, being first for a ram which we believe was bought at the Wolverhampton Royal meeting, while Mr. G. Turner, Alextou Hall, Uppingham, is second ; and Mr. T. Marris, The Chase, Ulceby, third. Of aged Leicester rams there were 15 : with Mr. G. Turner, first and third ; and Mr. Marris, second. There were but two pens each of shearling ewes, and ewe lambs : withMr. Mowbray, first in shearlings ; and Sir Allen Walsh, Bart., first in lambs. Border Leicesters mustered strong. There were 43 shearling rams, T. Robertson, Narraghmore, Athy, taking first place and the Cork cup for the best ram in the yard ; G. Laing, Coldstream, second, and L. Bland third prizes. There were but sixteen aged rams, L. Bland taking first and second, and T. Robertson third, while he had another unnoticed which should have been first. Five pens of shearling and six pens of lamb ewes closid this class. A. H. Smith Barry, M.P., first, L. Bland second, and R. G. Cosby third in shearling ewes, and A. H. Smith Barry the prize for ewe lambs. Roscommon Sheep were not fully represented, many of the pens appropriated to them being untenanted, as one owner found his sheep too much out of sorts to hazard the journey. However, there were thirty-three entries, J. Blood Smith, Fedamore, Limerick, being first and second, and Wm. Cotton, Longford House, Castlerea, third. For shearling rams, Mr. Blood Smith was Qrst aud highly commended, Mr. Roberts, Strokestown, second aud com- mended, and Wm. Cotton third. In aged rams B. Smith was first, Rd. Coifey, Killucan, second, and W. Cotton, third. For shearling ewes, J. B. Smith was first, Rd. Cofi"ey second, and Wm. Cotton third ; with Rd. Cofl'ey taking the prize for ewe lambs. For Lincolns W. F. Marshall, Branston, is the first and third, and Caleb Going second for shearling rams ; while Mr. Going takes all the prizes for aged rams, shearling ewes, and ewe-lambs. Of Shropshire and other Downs there were forty-three entries ; shearling rams twenty-one. C. W. Hamilton, who makes the Shropshires his hobby, was first and thii'd ; J. L. Naper second and highly commended. In aged rams, C. W. Hamilton was again first, third, aud com- mended ; and His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales highly commended for a Southdown ram. L. Bland had a magnificent ram in this section. In shearling ewes, H.R.H. the Prince of Wales takes first for a pen of Southdowns ; Peake, Monaghan, second for a pen of Shropshires ; with L. Bland commended for another. Iu pens of ewe-lambs. His Royal Highness is also an exhi- bitor, but Sir Allan Walsh takes the prize with Shrop- shires. Tenant-farmers exhibited but thirteen pens of ewes of all ages, but of so mixed a character that the con- test for prizes was not very encouraging. The show of pigs was very good in both sections of black aud white ; and Lord Clermont's Berkshires espe- cially commendable. 3Ir. Naper, Mr. Cooper, l\Ir. ilar- nane, Mr. Reynell, and ilr. Cosby, were amongst the other successful exhibitors. The exhibition of butter was excellent, 3G firkins, 31 cools, and 5 samples in prints were staged, the prize- specimens in each being tit to compete with the world in quality. A new industry in dairy produce was for the first time brought forward, in specimens of condensed milk, and first quality of cheese, from Mr. Newnham's Condensed Milk Manufactory, Mallow. The condensed milk is made up in tin cases, to keep for any length of tiinCj even when open, a great boon io those living in large towns, in ships on voyage, in the nursery, and in hospitals — fresh pure milk being obtained at any time by diluting with water. The show of flax and wool was not in extent what we should expect in Ireland, where there is great room for improvement ; still the samples in both were good ; but the wool was not properly classified by the Society — all sorts of long wools and short wools being found iu com- petition in these two sections. The show of horses was, no question, tlie strong fea- ture of the meeting, but this must be regarded rather as the Dublin horse show fer se than any actual part of the Agricultural Society's programme. There was a capi- tal entry of thorough-bred stallions, where the Lord- Lieutenant deservedly won with General Hesse, a hunter all over to look at, and a horse, moreover, who can move. The still better-known Citadel, now the property of Mr. Power, and the winner of an Islington £100, was second, although it was a very close thing between him and Lord Spencer's Dalesman, hitherto an almost invincible nag in the ring ; but he did not show well here, looking high and three- cornered. Of the others, Kidderminster is a nice level handsome horse, who will improve with a year's furnish- ing ; but he seemed to lack muscle by the side of such horses as Citadel and Dalesman. Little Stag is the very essence of a hunter, but on too small a scale ; and his hocks bear the Birdcatcher mark. Roman Bee, a fine, flash horse, with middling fore-joints, is not a hunter- sire ; and Tom King, of a good colour, wants sub- stance, action, and hunting character. Yorkminster is neat enough, and of a good hardy chesnut iu colour, but he is too light throughout, especially behind the shoulder, aud Duke of York is a fine coach horse, but with his hocks turned in as well as his knees and elbows. The class of sires, also thoroughbred, for getting chargers, roadsters, and carriage horses, was by no means so good. The winner, Mr. Mausergh's Joco, a fair race-horse, has plenty of good looks, but lacks bone, and the second prize, Mr. Dickson's Strood, is a finer goer, but wants the other's rich colour for chargers or carriage pairs. Mr. Dickson's other entry, the commended Mallet, is of a rare sort, but disfigured from an accident. Word Union has his neck on upside down, and of the others. Outcast and Donny-brook were never brought into the ring 1 The thorough-bred aud half-bred brood mares were alike sorry specimens, aud such as never could have been the dams of the hunting horses here exhibited, of which there was a really magnificent display. The premiums for cart stallions and mares were awarded as under : Stallions of the Clydesdale or Suffolk breed. — First prize, P. O'Malley, Woodlands (Orphan) ; second, S. Rait, Kerr (Lanark) ; tliiid,T. Butler, Priestown (East Lothian). Highly commended : W . G. Banner, Tralee (Star of the West). Stallion of any other breed. — Prize, L. M'Court, Dublin (England's Glory). No further merit. Brood mare. — First prize, S. Rait; second, Messrs. Mooney, Grumlin; third, J. Dennis. Gelding for agricultural purposes, over two and not exceed- ing four years old. — First prize, J. Roouey, Hilltowu ; second, R. Patterson, Duudalk. Filly for agricultural purposes, not exceeding five years old, — First prize, L. Joynt, Ralieuy ; second, Messrs. Mooney. The judges were as under : — Horses. — B. Persse, 11. Watson, 11. Thurnell, Major Bor- rowes, Captain Bernard, Hon. W. R. Arbuthnot, Captain Barlow, H. R. Corbett, H. Briscoe, A. Darker, N. M. Archdall. Cattle. — Shorthorns: J. Crisp, J. Unthank. Herefords and Down Sheep -. W. Heywood, W. Hewson. Polled Angus R 236 THE FAEMER'S MAGAZINE. and West Highland, &c. : T. Gibbons, A. Borthwick. Kernes : G. Hewson, Sheep. — Eoscommon : S. Garnett, Major D'Arey. Lincobs : W. Seagrave, A. Borthwick, J. Clay. Leicesters : L, Bernard, T. Harris, J. Potter. Border Leicesters: J. Clay, A. Borthwick, W. Seagrave. Shropshires: T. Horley, J. Coxon. Pigs.— H. M'Clintock, A. "Warburton. Dairy Produce. — W. Fetherston, H. W. Greene. SPECI.U. Prizes. — Mr. Wade, Mr. Boyce. At the banquet, H. E,. H. Prince Arthur said: The fine animals exhibited and the great improvements in all the agricultural implements speak more than any words can do the increasing and advancing prosperity of the country, and I am greatly rejoiced to hear that, turning to a more humble branch of agriculture — I mean the potato crops — there is a commeusurate advance. These crops have been better this season than they have been known to be for years — I may say for a quarter of a century. We know well that they are of great importance to the poorer classes of our fellow-country- men. H. R. H. The Prince of Wales, the President, said : I think I may say, without fear of contradiction, that at the present moment Ireland is rich and is prosperous. There has been a great decrease of pauperism and of crime, and I may say that what will do more than anything else towards making a coun- try prosperous is the extension of its agriculture. It was with great pleasure that I accepted the position of President of the Royal Agricultural Society, and it afforded me great pleasure to be present for a short time at the Show to-day. I feel sure that in no other part of the United Kingdom could a more creditable show be held than that which was opened near Dub- lin this morning. During the last four years there has been a great improvement in every respect in the shows of the Royal Agricultural Societies. I believe I am not wrong in stating that in 1867 the entries in the department of horses numbered 257, and now, on this occasion, they are but one short of 600. That alone shows the interest which all classes of the commu- nity take in these shows, and how anxious each one is to do all in his power to promote the object it has in view. I am as- sured that if the many gentlemen and landlords who very often find some difficulty in leaving England, but who have large interests and large estates in tliis country, could contrive to come over here more frequently, it would do more good than anything else I could imagine. I am certain that they are anxious to come over, and that their relations with their tenantry and those aroiind them should be in every respect good. I may also here refer to the great improvement made in the erection of farm buildings and cottages. Beyond doubt there has been progress in the dirction of improvement there ; but still I believe much yet remains to be done. Everything depends on the well-being of the people, and if they are pro- perly lodged it tends to cleanliness, and very possibly to moral advantage. Perhaps I may be allowed to speak of a slight personal experience in that matter. I have a small estate in Norfolk, and observed; myself the great importance of pro- viding suitable small cottages for those resident there, and, hav- ing done so,' now reap immense advantage. I am sure that that is a question which belongs in itself to the well-being of Irish agriculture, and which will accordingly receive the best consideration of this Society. His Excellency the Lord-Lieutenant said: As to the improvements effected by the Society, he would point to the better class of farm biuldings and the greater attention paid to drainage and manure, and the larger amount of tillage in the country. He felt assured that, with the confidence which was increasing every day between landlord and tenant, the capital of the farmer vn]l be more largely invested in the land, and that will produce stiU greater prosperity. Lord Leicester said : Your Royal Highness well knows that in that district of England in which you are not only an owner but an occupier of land, it is all-important that the Iriijh cattle, on which we so largely depend, should be of good quality ; and I think that the exhibition of Shorthorns to-day would rejoice the heart of a Norfolk farmer. The Marquis of Lorne said : I have attributed to my special connection with Scotland that I see my name in the list of toasts to answer for the Highland Agricultural Society of Scotland, but I prefer, with your permission, to base my claim upon another and personal ground. It is this — that the Duke of Argyll was one of the first founders of the Highland Agricultural Society, and that the Duchess, who took much in- terest in the Higliland Society, was a native of the county of Roscommon. Since the time of the founding of that Society it has done all in its power to advance the interests of agri- culture in Scotland ; but I must tell you and confess that we in the Highlands have had to take, in the matter of agricuUure, most of our hints from the Lowlands, and I need hardly remind you how close a connection there is between some parts of the Lowlands of Scotland and the country of Ireland. Indeed, I am not wrong in saying that some time ago it was quite com- mon for the farmers of Ayrshire to buy regularly in the mar- kets of Antrim. This shows a very close connection. I may express a hope that the ancient community of farming interests will always continue between the two countries, and that the Higliland Agricultural Society of Scotland will always find its most formidable rival and friend, and one of its most successful competitors, in its fellow society in this sister kingdom of Ire- laud. DUEHAM COUNTY AGRICULTUEAL SOCIETY. As compared with that of last year, the show, upon some points, was numerically weaker, whilst it completely eclipsed the anniversary of three years back, when the meeting was last held at Hartlepool. As a whole, in the open classes, the cattle were good, the class for all-aged bulls including the York winner. Lord Irvine, who secured the £15 prize, and Royal Windsor, another white, which carried off the second prize of £5. Earl Vane scored a win with Grand Turk in the class under 2 years ; and Messrs. R. Burdon, of Castle Eden, and T. H. Hutchinson, of Catterick, were winners in the younger classes. As a lot, the sheep which gained prizes were very good, Mr. T.H. Hutchinson, of Catterick, taking all the first and not a few of the second prizes. The presence of several of Mr. Duckering's celebrated sows was enough to secure him the prizes for the large and small breeds, and Mr. W. Lister, of Armley, Leeds, was equally lucky with his boars. Among the horses, the proportion of good ones to the number shown was astonishingly large, the class for Captain Beaumont's £5 cup and a £15 prize, falling to Mr. Bayley's Banner Bearer. Marmalade, by Orpheus, was second ; and Joe Bennett, a four- year-old, highly commended, Tlie young hunter classes in- cluded some very good, notably a two-year-old chesnut, which gained a well-deserved first for Mr. Tattersall, the owner of Slarmalade, The foal classes, as a whole, were but moderate ; but the agricultural horses included some capital pairs. After a long delay the pahn was awarded to a pair of rather small but wonderfully symmetrical blacks, owned by Mr. Upton, of Pallatliorpe.Tadcaster ; Mr. G. Atkinson's pair of bays. Damsel and Dinah, being placed second ; while Damsel also secured the £5 first for the best brood cart mare. Some good young- sters were also shown in the junior carting classes; and the roadsters competing for Mr. R. W. Jackson's silver cup were a capital lot, where Mr. Robson's celebrated chesnut. Miss Patty, however, had no difficulty in passing her rivals, of whom a very clever gelding, owned by Mr. Kuowlson, of Thormanby, was adjudged second best. Mr. Pease's £10 cup for the best pair of coaching colts was won by Mr. Robinson, of Leckenby, Thirsk, with a pair of roans ; and the High Sheriff's cup, for the best lady's hackney, which drew together a good lot, fell to Mr. D. Dale, of Darlington, with a Greatheart ; LaUah Rookh being second. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 237 THE BADMINTON FARMERS' CLUB. This aanual agricultural exhibition and cottagers' horticul- tural show was held on Tuesday, Aug. 9, in the Huntsman's close. The horse show generally was good, there being some twenty more than last year, including a rare lot of weight- carrying nags, and some good agricultural mares and foals. The Duke of Beaufort, as usual, sent a lot of his Scotch polled o-teu for exhibition, and contributed not a few horses in the extra classes. The show of cattle was numerically inferior to some of the recent shows at Badminton, but the quality was tolerably well sustained. The short number is owing partly to the removal of two or three well-known breeders from the neighbourhood, and partly to the bad season of last year, which resulted in stock getting out of condition, while the early period of the present show has not given time to bring the cattle up to tlieir proper standard. Of sheep there was but a short show ; but the animals were well bred ; and the same remark may be applied to the pigs. There was a small show of cheese, and a capital exliibition of roots of extraordinary growth, considering the season of the year. The horticultural show far outstripped everything that has ever preceded it. Instead of one tent, the specimens this year required two for their accommodation, and the quality was unquestionably good. JUDGES. HuNTiNfi Stock. — H. Corbet, Farmers' Club, London (ab- sent) ; W. Hurmann, The Priory, Old Windsor ; J. T. Handy, M.R.C.V.S., Chipping Sodbury. Cast Horses, Sheep, Pigs, and Roots. — W. Brown, Hazlebury, Box; E. P. Fowler, Aston Farm, Minchinhamp- ton ; E. Little, Lanhill, Chippenham. Cattle. — W. Beaven, Woodborough, Marlborough ; C. Rich, Sutton Benger, Chippenham. Cheese.— G. Butcher, Bath. PRIZE LIST. HORSES. Yearling colt or filly lor hunting purposes.— Prize, a piece of plate, value £5, W. White, Tetbury. Two-year-old gelding or fiUy for hunting purposes. — Prize, a piece of plate, value £5, H. Hewitt, Coalpit Heath, Bristol. Hunter, mare or gelding, above three years old. — First prize, a piece of plate, value £10, C. A. Tanner, Yates- bury, Calne; second, ditto, £5, C. G. Peterson, Mowswell Farm, Wapley. Roadster, mare or gelding, above three years old. — Prize, a piece of plate, value £5, J. C. Hatherell, Oldbury-on-the- Hill. Brood mare and foal for hunting purposes.— Prize, a piece of plate, value £5, H. Hewitt. Brood mare and foal for agricultural purposes. — First prize, a piece of plate, value £5, J. W. Alway, HiUsley ; second' ditto, £2 10s., J. P. Limbrick, Lower Chalkeley. Com- mended: H. G. Highnam, Dyrham. Two-year-old gelding or filly for agricultural purposes. — First prize, a piece of plate, value £5, T. Arnold, Wickwar ; second, ditto, £3 lOs., H. Reynolds, The Idovers, Danntsey, Chippenham. CATTLE. Bull, above two years old. — Prize, £2, R. H. Gould, Did- marton. Highly commended : D. F. Long, Oldbury-on- the-Hill. Bull, above one and under two years old. — Prize, £2, J. Cornock, Hillsley. Bull-calf, above three and under twelve months old. — Prize, £2, J. Thompson, Badminton. Cow, above four years old, in-milk or in-calf. — Prize, ^£3 R. H. Gould. Commended : J. Thompson. Cow, above three and under four years old, in-milk or in- calf. — Prize, £2, J.Thompson. Heifer, above two and under three years old,— Prize, £2, J. Thompson. Heifer, above one year and under two years old,— Prize, £2, J, Thompson . Heifer-calf, above three and under twelve months old.— Prize, £2, D. F. Long. Commended : J. Thompson. Cow, above three years old, in-milk or in-calf. — First prize, £3, J. Cornock; second, £2, J. Coulter, Acton, Turville ; third, £1, R. H. Gould. Pair of heifers, above two and under three years old. — First prize, £3, R.H.Gould; second, £2, J. Goulter; third, £1, D. F. Long. Commended: S. B. Witchell, Stoke Gifford, Bristol. Pair of heifers, above one and under two years old. — First prize, £3, J. Cornock ; second, ^2, D. F. Long ; third, £1, J. Goulter. Commended: R. H. Gould. Heifer-calf, above three and under twelve months old,— Prize, £2, J. Goulter. SHEEP. Long-wooUed shearling ram. — First prize, £3, H. Arnold, Tormarton ; second, £1, H. Arnold. Commended : H. Arnold. Long-woolled ram, of any age.— First prize, £3, H. Arnold ; second, £1, H. Arnold. Pen of eight long-wooUed ewes. — Prize, £2, H. Arnold. Short-woolled ram, of any age. — Prize, £2, R. H. Gould, Didmarton. Pea of eight cross-bred ewes. — Prize, £3, J. Bennett, Tormarton. Pen of eight cross-bred wether lambs.— Prize, £3, J. Ben- nett. Commended : H. Gould. Pen of eight cross-bred Chilver lambs. — Prize, £2, J. Ben- nett. Commended : J. M. Williams, Chipping Sodbury ; and H. Gould. PIGS. Boar, under twelve months old. — Prize, £1, Rev. G. F. Le Mesurier, Didmarton Rectory. Higlily commended : Rev. G. F. Le Mesurier. Boar, above twelve months old. — Prize, £1, Rev. R, Mul- lens, Acton TurviUe Vicarage. Extra stock commended : J. Goulter, Acton TurviUe. Sow, above twelve months old. — Prize, £1, R. H. Goulter. Pen of six pigs, under eight months old. — Prize, ^£3., R, H. Gould. Highly commended : R. H. Goulter. ROOTS. Mangold wurtzel, swedes, and common turnips, twelve of each. — Prize, £2, W. Minett, Acton Turville. Highly com- mended : R. H. Gould. Twelve mangold wurtzels. — Prize, £2, Mary Witchell, Stoke Gifford. Twelve Swedish turnips. — Prize, £3, W. Minett, Acton TurviUe. Twelve common turnips, — Prize, £3, W, Minett, CHEESE. PRIZES GIVEN BY THE CLUB. Cwt. of thick cheese.— Prize, £3, T. Goulter, Acton Turville. Cwt. of thin cheese.— Prize, £3, T. Goulter. At the dinner, his Grace the Duke of Beaufort, E.G., presided, and about four hundred ladies and gentlemen were present. THE FARMERS' CLUB.— During the last few days a number of portraits of past chairmen of the Club have been hung in the dining-room. The series so far is not yet quite complete, but it is hoped that the portraits of the late Mr. Shaw, the late Mr. Joseph Pain, and the late Mr. Spencer Skelton may be supplied by the relatives of those gentleman. The portraits, which are of uniform size, and coloured, are very excellent specimens of photography, and generally very successful likenesses. The Club had previously presentation portraits of two of its earliest presidents, Mr. Robert Baker, of Writtle, and Mr, Fisher Hobbs. R 2 238 THE I^AEMJER'S MAGAZME. LEICESTERSHIRE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. MEETING AT LEICESTER. If the Longhorns be gradually fading away, the Short- horn has but a comparatively recent hold in Leicester- shire, and the Leicester sheep promises soon to be so called because he is not bred in the county. In fact, in the purely agricultural classes the strength of the com- petition came from beyond the confines, and even then this was very generally of the most limited character. Amongst the cattle there were often enough but two or three entries for two or three prizes, and notwithstanding the number of classes, the judges here must have had a very easy day's work. Mr- Pulver's steer, which won at Bedford, was again the best fat ox, as he is no doubt a very improving beast, but he must drop to his leg a little more, and even then he will never rank with the Christ- mas 01 of '70, although noticeably taking after the other. This steer, however, was bred by Mr. Burditt, in North- amptonshire. The second prize steer, from Rutland, is very small and neat ; and Mr. Sharpe's best fat cow at three years and four months old was the best hreed'nuj animal when exhibited by Mr. Searson, at Oakham, in December. The Shorthorns made up a very middling show, but Sir W. W. de Capell Brooke's Knightley Grand Duke is a stylish length bull, by no means pampered up for display in public. Mr. Bayes' bull-calf was also very promising, while Mr. Bradburn and Mr. Sharpe did every- thing for the cows and heifers. A very moderate yearling "Waterloo, from the famous Gaddesby Hall herd, only took a second prize in a moderate class, but the calf did more credit to her belongings. Of the Longhorns, Mr. Chapman's pair of stirks were very excellent specimens of the breed ; and there were a few Alderneys shown, but the pick of the milking cows were both Shorthorns, and the long figui'es in parentheses gave the cue to most of the winning numbers in the catalogue. The strong feature of the meeting was the riding-horse section, where the classes were almost geaerallly well filled, so that the judges had a really hard day's work under a broiling sun. In the all-aged class of hunters there were no less than twenty entries, a strong propor- tion of which were by thorough-bred horses, and many with blood on both sides of their heads. The winner, an improving brown five-year-old, is by Knight of Kars, out of a half-sister to the Colonel's dam, and so well bred enough any way for a hunter. It was, however, a very close thing between Mr. Miles and a chesnut Irish horse of more character, shown by Mr. Pain, of Shangton, and the decision as to the placing of the first and second was not unanimous. The two prize four-year-olds were both by Mogador, but with Mr. Ward's filly aU for the choice of two ; while the well-known Mr. John Bennett had all the pull in the younger classes, taking first prizes for three-year-olds, two year-olds, and yearlings, all by thorough-bred sires, out of mares by thorough-bred horses, and the two - year - old by the Duke^ quite thorough-bred. The three-year-old is a very neat colt of hardly size enough, while the yearling shows a deal of breeding, backed" by great liberty, with every pro- mise, so far, of growing into a Leicestershire hunter. The two-year-old class was the best filled of any in the catalogue, and three or four commendations followed the award m favour of the stylish brown colt from Bosworth, but there should have been two prizes over such an entry. Bennett was first again for the best hack, a very neat one by Nutshell, and seemingly a deUghtful horae to ride, as altogether in advance of his class. Mr. MUward's handsome old grey mare was uo goer, and the first prize for cobs was awarded accordingly to a very useful but rather plain bay, who went very straight and strong. In the pony class, Castance, the celebrated jockey, came before the public in a new character, riding a little roan for his next-door neighbour, Mr. Fowler, of iManton, with which he took a second prize, apparently with as much gratifi- cation as if he had won a Derby. The almost equally renowned Dick "Webster — at least in these parts — beat the other great horseman for first, and a commonish chesnut thing, with high, flash, hammering action, took no prize whatever, to the no little astonishment of its owner and his friends, who had regarded victory as a certainty. We could not wait to " assist " over the brood mare class, where they contrived to put aside the famous Lady Florence, whose luck was never very great at Leicester. There were some good cart horses both in work and coming on ; but it would seem to be bad policy to limit the entries of show or travelling stallions to horses the property of members of the Society. Only two Leicester rams were entered in two classes, from Mr. G. Turner, jun. ; while Mr. Lynn's Leicester and Lincoln rams were the best of the other longwools, though closely run by Mr. A. Hack's Lincolns. Mr. Lynn was also successful with ewes, but did not compete in the classes for theaves and ewe lambs, in both of which Mr. T. W. D. Harris stood first. There was a stronger show of Shropshires, Mr. German taking first with a big shear- ling, with a good back, but coarse wool ; Lord Chesham second with one of his neat sheep : and commendations were bestowed on a second ram of Mr. German's and on Mr. W. Baker's entry. In the aged ram class the Rugby and Wolverhampton decisions were reversed in favour of Lord Chesham's, though Mr. Baker's Rugby winner and highly commended Wolverhampton ram, and another two- shear of great size of Mr. German's, were competitors. Lord Chesham also took first prizes for fat wethers and for a pen of theaves ; Mr. Baker taking all the other honours, viz., first and second for pen of three ewes, first for ewe lambs, and first for pen of ten breeding ewes. Messrs. M. Walker, Duckering, Lynn, Wheeler, and Carver were the principal exhibitors of pigs. The show of poultry was quite up to the avei'age ; but not so the cheese, in one class of which the first prize was with- held. The dinner of the Leicestershire Society and Sparkenhoe Club, not long since a very agreeable feature in the proceedings, has been abandoned, as " it did not pay." PRIZE LIST. JUDGES. Hunting and H.i.CK Horses. — C. Millward, H. Corbet, and G. Higgins. Cart Horses: G. Bedford and G. C. AVoolhouse. Cattle. — C. Howard and T. Harris. Sheep and Pi&s. — R. Brown aud T. Cartwright. Cheese and Butter. — J. W. Daniel audC. Mills, Poultry. — E. Hewitt. Implements. — E. Wortley. Veterinary Inspector. — M. Hack, Leicester. HORSES. HUNTERS AND HACKS. Hunter gelding or mare, not less than five years old and under ten, open to all England. — First prize, £10, R. D. Miles, Keyham \ second, £5, J. Pdin, Shangton. THE FAEMER'S MAGAZINE. 239 Geldmg or filly, four years old, adapted for hunting pur- poses, bred within the limits of the Belvoir, Quorn, Mr. Tailby's, Cottesmore, Atherstone, and Pytchley hunts. — First prize, £20, F. L. AVard, Burton Overy ; second, £5, A. J, Milner, Kinoulton. Gelding or filly, three years old, adapted for hunting pur- poses, bred as above. — First prize, £10, J. E. Bennett, Hus- bands Bosworth Grange ; second, £5, G. Hill, Edenhara Grange, Bourne. Gelding or filly, two years old, adapted for hunting pur- poses, bred as above.— Prize, £5, J. E. Bennett. Highly commended : R. Battams, Oxendon ; and the Baroness Ber- ners. Commended : J. E. Bennett, and the Baroness Ber- ners. Yearling colt or filly. — Prize, £5, J. E. Bennett. Cora- mended : J. Torbitt, llosliston. Mare calculated to breed hunters. — First prize, £10, J. W. Jenkins, Husbands Bosworth; second, £5, Captain Baillie, lUstou Grange. Commended : J. A. Beale, Brockhurst, Lutterworth. Hack not less than l^^ hands, and not exceeding 15-1 hands high. — First prize, £7, J. E. Bennett ; second, £3, L. Turner, Richmond House, Leicester. Cob not exceeding 1^ hands high. — First prize, £5, Thomas Burnaby, Upper Lodge, Pipewell, Kettering ; second, £2, R. Milward, Thurgarton Priory, Southwell. Commended : J. Allen, Knighton. Pony not exceeding 13^ hands. — First prize, £5, R. D. Miles ; second, W. Fowler, Manton, Uppingham. Jumping hunters. — First prize, £10, R. JD. Miles, Keyham ; second, £5, G. W. Coleman, Great Glenn. SPECIAL ENTRY. Jumping hacks and cobs. — First prize, £7, Mr. Smith, Oadby ; second, 63, Mr. Payne, Foston. CART HORSES. Gelding or filly two years old. — First prize, £5, J. M. Brown, Ibstock ; second, £2, J. Perry, Salter's Hall, Claverley, Bridgenorth. Commended : T. Allen, Thurmaston. Gelding or filly one year old. — First prize, £5, S. C. Pil- grim, The Outwoods, Hinckley ; second, £2, S. C. Pilgrim . Commended : H. W. Pateman, Carlton Curlieu. Mare in-foal. — First prize, £, J. A. Beale, Brockhurst ; second, £2, H. Burgess, lUston Grange. Commended : Ann Bass, Aylestoue. Stallion, bona fide the property of a member of this Society. — First prize, £10, H. Spencer Loughborough ; second, £5, J. Hack, Braunston, Oakham. Foal. — First prize, £5, the Executors of Lord Berners ; second, £2, H. Burgess, Hlston Grange. Commended : H. lugle, Elrasthorpe. Extra Stock. — Highly commended : W. Grant, Kibworth Beancharap. CATTLE. Fat ox. — First prize, cup, T. Pulver, Broughton ; second, £5, E. Wortley, Ridlington. Fat cow or heifer. — First prize, £10, J. J. Sharpe, Brough- ton ; second, £5, R. D. Miles. Bull above one year and under two years old. — First prize, £7, Sir W. de Capel Brooke, Bart., Geddington Grange ; second, £3, R. D. Miles, Keyham. Bull of any breed, over two years old. — First prize, £7, Sir W. Capel de Brooke, Bart. ; second, £3, W. Bradbourne, "VVednesfield, Wolverhampton. Bull calf under one year old. — Prize, £5, C. Bayes, Ket- tering. Cow in- milk, having had live calf since January 1st, 1871. — First prize, £7, W. Bradburne ; second, £3, W. Bradburne. Highly commended : Sir W. de Capel Brooke. Shorthorn cow, above three and under four years old, having had a live calf since 1st of January, 1871. — First prize, £5, W. Bradburne ; second, £2, J. J . Sharpe. In-calf heifer, above two and under three years old. — First prize, £5, W. Bradburne ; second, £2, R. D. Miles. Stirk, above one and under two years old. — First prize, 7 J. J. Sharpe; second, £3, E. H, Cheney, Gaddesby Hall. Heifer calf under one year old. — Prize, £5, E. H. Cheney. Highly commended : J, J. Sharpe. Commended : T. AUen Thurmaston . Long-horn bull.— First prize, £5, J. Godfrey, Wigston Parva, Hinckley; second, £2, W. T. Cox, Spondou HaU, Derby. Long-horn cow, in-milk, having had a live calf since De- cember 1, 1870.— First prize, £5, W. T. Cox ; second, £3, R. H. Chapman, Upton. Commended : J. Godfrey. Long-horn heifer, in-calf, above two and under three years old.— First prize, £5, W. T. Cox ; second, £2, W, T. Cox. Alderney and Guernsey cow or heifer, having had a live calf since 1st January, 1871, or now in-calf.— First prize, £5, R. D. Miles. Commended : W. H. Salt, Bird's Nest Farm, Leicester. Bull of any age, whether hired or bona fide the property of the exhibitor.— First prize, £5, J. A. Beal ; second, £2, J. Mndford. Cow in-milk, having had a live calf since January 1, 1871. —First prize, £5, E. Wright, Sysonby House; second, £2 10s., J. J. Sharpe. Heifer under three years old. — First prize, £5, J. J. Sharpe; second, £2, W. Bradburne. Highly commended: W. Brad- burne and J. Perry. Commended: J.Perry. Pair of stirks under two years old.— First prize, £5, R. H. Chapman ; second, £2, S. Barchnall, Catton, Burton-on- Trent. SHEEP. Leicester shearling ram. — First prize, £5, George Turner, jun., AUexton Hall; no other entry. Leicester ram of any other age. — First prize, £5, George Turner, jun. : no other entry. Long-wooUed shearling ram. — First prize, £5, J. Lynn, Church Farm, Stroxton ; second, £2, A. Hack, Buckminster. Long-woolled ram of any other age. — First prize, £5, J. Lynn ; second, £2, A. Hack. Pen of three under twenty months old Leicester tat wether sheep. — First prize £5, the executors of Lord Berners ; second, £2, the executors of Lord Berners. Pen of three, under twenty months old, long-woolled fat wether sheep. — First prize,, £5, Sir W. de Capel Brooke, Bart. ; no other entry. Pen of three long-woolled ewes. — Firt prize, 5, J. Lynn; second, £2, J. Lynn. Pen of five long-woolled theaves under twenty months old.— Prize, £5, T. W.D.Harris. Pen of five long-woolled ewe lambs. — Prize, £5, T. W. D. Harris. Shropshire shearling ram. — First prize, £5, W. German, Measham Lodge, Atherstone ; second, £2, Lord Chesham, La- timer, Chesham. Shropshire ram of any other age — Prize, £5, Lord Chesham. Pen of three under twenty months old Shropshire fat wether sheep. — Prize, £5, Lord Chesham. Pen of three cross-bred fat wether sheep under twenty months old. — Prize, £5, Sir W. de Capel Brooke. Pen of three Shropshire ewes. — First prize, £5, W. Baker, Moor Barns, Atherstone ; second, £2, W. Baker. Pen of five Shropshire theaves under twenty months old. — Prize, £5, Lord Chesham. Pen of five Shropshire ewe lambs. — Prize, £5, W. Baker. Pen of ten long-woolled breeding ewes. — First prize, £7, T. \V. D. Harris; second, £3, W. Everard, Narborough Wood. Pen of ten short-woolled breeding ewes.— First prize, £7, W. Baker ; second, £3, S. C. Pilgrim. PIGS. Boar of the large breed.— First prize, £3, M. Walker, Stock- ley Park ; second, £1, R. E. Duckering and Son, Northorpe. Boar of the small breed. — First prize, £3, R. E. Duckering and Son ; second, £1, M. Walker. Berkshire boar pig, not exceeding eighteen months old. — First prize, £3, R. E. Duckering and Son ; second, £2, J. Wheeler and Sons, Long Corapton, Shipstone-on-Stour. Breeding sow of the large breed. — First prize, £3, M. AVal- ker ; second, £1, J. Wheeler and Sons. Breeding sow of the small breed. — First prize, £3, J. Wheeler and Sous ; second, £1, R. E. Duckering and Son. Three breeding pigs of the large breed. — First prize, £3, R. E. Duckering and Son , second, £1, M. Walker. 240 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. Three breeding pigs, of the small breed.— First prize, £3, R. E. DucJiering and Son ; second, £1, J. Wheeler and Sons, Four cheeses, weighing 401b3. each or more.— First prize, £5, J. Choyce, Pin wall Grange ; second, £3, W. Drackley, Os- baston ; third, £2, Emma Barrs, Odstone Hall. Highly com- mended; T. Oakey, Normanton-en-le-Heath : S. BurchaU, Catton; W. Drackley. Four cheeses, weigliing not more than 401bs. and not less than 301bs.— First prize, £5, W. Grewcock, Barwell Fields ; second, £3, T. Oakey ; third, £2, Emma Barrs. Highly com- mended: J. Choice and W. Grewcock. Commended: M. Walker, Stockley Park, and S. Bnrchnall. Four cheeses, weight Under 301bs.»-First prize, £3; not awarded J second, £2, T. Oakey; third, £1, G. Grewcock. BUTTER. Six pounds of fresh butter,— First prize, £1, W. H. John- son, Braunstone, Leicester ; second, 10s., R. Abell, Stapleton. Highly commended : Ann Bass, Aleystone, and T. Allen, Thur- maston. Commended ; J. Choice. BIPLEMENTS. Prizes were awarded to Hunt and Pickering, Leicester ; F. Johnson, Leicester ; Woods, Cocksedge, and Warner, Stow- market; W. Ball and Son, RothweU, Kettering; BaU, Kil- wortli, Rugby ; and Choyce and Son, Gibston, Atherstone. NORTHUMBERLAND AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. MEETING AT ALNWICK. Home of the Percy's highborn race, Home of their beautiful and brave ; Alike their birth and burial place. Their cradle and their grave. I wandered through the lofty halls Trod by the Percys of old fame, And traced upon the chapel walls Each high heroic name. From him who once his standard set Where now, o'er mosque and minaret, Glitter the Sultan's crescent moons ; To him who, when a younger son. Fought for King George at Lexington A major of dragoons. This last half stanza— it has dashed From my warm lip the sparkling cup. The light that o'er my eyebeam flashed, The power that bore my spirit up Above tliis bank-note world, is gone ; And Alnwick's but a market-town. And this, alas ! it's market-day, And beasts and borderers throng the way ; Oxen and bleating lambs in lots, Northumbrian boors and plaided Scots, Men in the coal and cattle Hne ; From Teviot's bard and liero land, FVom Royal Berwick's beach of sand. From Wooller, Morpeth, Hexham, and Newcastle-up9n-l"yne. Alike in its total of entries and general excellence, the Northumberland Society's Show of 1871, held at Alnwick, on August 3, must take precedence of all its predecessors. The entries this year reach the large total of 1,039 ; last year, they were 939 ; wliile the last time the Society visited Alnwick, which was in 1866, they were 521, so that they have all but doubled within the space of five years. No wool was exhibi- ted this year ; the reason being that the experiments made in that direction iire successive years, however successful in bringing out splendid fleeces, showed that little competition took place, either because little interest was felt in the matter, cr, more probably, perhaps, because the general body of agri- culturists considered it useless to try to compete against one or two exhibitors accustomed to carry everything before them. The Society, therefore, resolved to discontinue a competition which was actually no competition at all. Never before did any of the local Societies manage to bring together such a collection of Shorthorns as that \vitnessed in the Abbey Park. The number of entries was 84<, and the judges had no easy task set them when the horn bulls above two and under seven years old were led into the ring. At leugth the first pnze was awarded to Mr. W. Linton's Lord Irwin, whicli also 5*"ied off the sUver cup given by Sir Matthew White Ridley tor the best bull. The whole class, as it deserved to be, was comiMnded ; and the bull calves, again, were commended, where Mr. W Lrnton, Sheriff Button, York, obtained first prize. Ihe show of cows was of the best ; one belonging to Sir John Swinburne was awarded both the first prize given by the Society and a silver cup, value £20, given by Sir Walter C. IVevelyan. The heifers were good specimens. The turn-out of Channel Isles and Ayrshire cows or heifers, though not large, was good, Mr. Thomas Stat- ter, jun.. Stand Hall, Manchester, being first in the former, and Mr. David Tweedie, Castle Crawford, Abington, Scotland, first in the latter class. The show of sheep was one of the best ever seen in the district. The prize-takers were the Rev. R. W. Bosanquet, Rock, Alnwick ; Mr. G. Hope, Fenton Barns, Drem, East Lothian; Mr. Thomas Forster, jun., Ellingham, ChathiU; Mr. Thomas Elliot, Hindhope, Jedburgh ; Mr. Robert Shortreed, Atton- bum, Kelso ; Mr. John Robson, Byrness, Rochester ; and Mr. T. H. Hutchinson, Manor House, Catterick. This was only the second occasion on which Mr. Bosanquet's good sheep have been brought out this year. Mr. Hope's ram, wliich got both a first prize and a silver cup was also first at the Highland and Agricultural Society's Show at Perth. The " shearing question " was the subject of con- siderable remark ; and the opinions of the secretary and com- mittee of the Northumberland Society are such that steps will probably be taken before long to prevent, if possible, the prac- tice of " clipping animals into shape." The total entry of horses was 383, well on to 100 more than had ever been entered before. The value of the money prizes offered, com- bined with the large number of silver cups presented by gentlemen who evince their interest in the Society after a practical sensible fashion, was quite suflicient, perhaps, to ac- count for such a large display. The agricultural classes were good, and the show of hackneys and himters very superior indeed. To a bay gelding, belonging to Mr. J. B. Booth, of Killerby Hall, Catterick, was awarded a sUver cup, value £25, for the best horse or mare five years old and under ten ; and Mr. Wm. Smith, jun., Melkington, Coldstream, got a cup for the best hunter in Northumberland, Durham, and Cumberland. The pigs, poultry, and dogs were well worthy the show. The display of implements was both extensive and good, and included a set of the Fisken Patent Steam Ploughing Tackle, reaping and mowing machines, ploughs, washing machines, and much else needed either on tiie farm or in the house. The judges, however, expressed their strong disap- proval of being called upon to award prizes without seeing the implements properly tested. The following is a hst of the exhibitors of implements : Ravenshorpe Engineering Company, Mirfield ; Gillis, South Tyne Implement Works, Haydon Bridge ; Symm, Newton, Stocksfiekl-on-T}Tie ; Bickerton and Sons, Old Tweed Imple- ment Works, Berwick-on-Tweed ; Colegrave, Newcastle-on- Tyne and Stockton-on-Tees; Richardson, Brunton-place, Carlisle ; Archbold, Horsley, Wylam, Newcastle ; LLUie and Elder, Tweedmouth, Berwick-on-Tweed ; Scott, Tweedmouth, Berwick-on-Tweed ; Wright, Belford ; Cockburn, Newcastle- on-Tyne ; Wilkin and Dickman, Alnwick ; Thompson, Water- side House, Alnwick ; Brigham and Co., Berwick-on-Tweed ; Carss, Morpeth ; Gregory, Westoe, South Shields ; Scott and Son, Felton, Northumberland ; Carss Brothers, Guyzance, THE FARMEU'S MAGAZINE. 241 Acklington ; Ilogavtli, Kelso ; Robinson and Sons, Easington, | Belford ; Nichol, Felton, Acklington ; Bolom and Thomson, Alnwick ; Rimington and Co., Nevvcastle-on-Tyne ; Reid and Co., Aberdeen ; Hudspitli, South Tyne Works, Haltwhistle ; Bradford aud Co., London and Manchester ; Furness, Mor- peth ; Young, Hassington, Kelso ; Wood, Eglingham, Aln- wick ; Howard, Bedford ; Newton, Wilson, and Co., High Holborn, London ; Ayton and Co., Hexham ; Robinson, Newcastle-on-Tyne ; Newson and Co., Newcastle-on-Tyne ; Maule and Sons, Alnwick ; Drysdale, Alnwick ; Luke, Aln- wick ; and Hutcliinson, Felling, Gateshead. JUDGES. Cattle (for Shorthorns, Channel Islands, and Ayrsliires).— A. Metcalfe, Ravenstonedale, Westmoreland; J. Wood, Harewood Hill, DarUngton ; and A. Mitchell, Alloa, N.B. Sheep (Border Leicesters). — T. Bell, Townfoot, Brampton; L. Drew, Merryton, Hamilton, N.B. ; and W. Smith, Mel- kington, Coldstream. (For Cheviot and any other distinct breeds) : J. Jardine, Arkleton, Langholm ; J. Hedley, Bewshaugh, Bellingham ; and G, Gibson, Freestone Bum, Wooler. Horses (for Agricultural purposes). — T. Penny, Bartle Hill, Coldstream ; C. R. Wilson, Hipsburn, Bilton ; and J. Tin- ning, Oakbank, Longtown. (For the field) : Anstruther Thomson, Atherstone ; J . Cookson, Neasham ; and W. Cattle, Dormont Grange. Lockerbie. (For hackneys and ponies) : T. H. Hutchinson, Manor House, Catterick ; H. Moore, Burn Butts, Driffield ; and C. Stephenson, Woburn, Beds. Pigs. — J. Fisher, Woodhonse, Cross Hill, Leeds ; W. Morri- son, New Bewick, Alnwick ; and J. Davison, jun., Brandon White House, Alnwick. Poultry. — R. Teebay, Fulwood, Preston. Shepherds' Dogs. — The same as for Cheviot and distinct breeds of sheep. Implements. — Same as for hackneys and ponies. PRIZE LIST. CATTLE. shorthorns. Bulls, above two and under seven years old.— First prize and silver cup, W. Linton, Sheriff Hutton, York (Lord Irwin) ; second. The Marquis of Exeter, Burleigh Park, Stamford (Tele- maclius) ; third, J. Outhwaite, Bainesse, Catterick (Royal Windsor). Commended : T. Willis, Manor House, Carperby, Bedale. Bulls, above one and under two years old. — First prize. Sir W. C. Trevelyan, Bart., Wallington, Newcastle-on-Tyne (Woodland King) ; second, J. Lamb, Burrell Green, Penrith (Ignoramus) ; third, R. Stratton, Burderop (Master GlanviUe) . Commended ; Sir M. White Ridley, Bart., Blagdon, Cramling- ton. Bull calves, under twelve months old.— First prize, W. Lin- ton, Sheriff Hutton, York (Leeman^ ; second, Sir W. C. Tre- velyan, Bart., Wallington, Newcastle-on-Tyne. Cows. — First prize and cup, J. Outhwaite, Bainesse, Catte- rick (Vivandiere) ; second, J. Howe, Broughton, Huntingdon. Highly commended: Sir M. W^hite Ridley, Bart, Blagdon, Cramllngton, and W. Linton, Sheriff Hutton, York. Com- mended : A. H. Browne, Bank House, Acklington. Heifers, above two and under three years old. — First prize, L. C. Chrisp, Hawkhill, Alnwick (Primrose) ; second, J. Wil- son, Woodhorn Manor, Morpeth. Higlily commended : J. How, Broughton, Huntingdon ; T, Willis, Manor House, Car- perby, Bedale. Commended: W. Lambert, Elrington Hall, Haydon Bridge. Heifers, under two years old. — First prize, J. How (Verona) ; second, and highly commended, R. Stratton, Burderop, Swin- don. Heifer calves, under twelve months old. — First prize. Major Stapylton, Myton Hall, Helperby (Knightly 4th) ; second, the Duke of Northumberland, Alnwick Castle. channel isles. Cows or heifers of any age. — First prize, T. Statter, jun., Stand Hall, Whitefield, Manchester ; second. Sir J. Marjori- banks, Bart., Lees, Coldstream. Commended : Sir M. W. Ridley, Bart., Blagdon, Cramlington. AYRSHIRES. Cows or heifers of any age. — First and second prizes and commended, D. Tweedie, Castle Crawford, Abington, N.B. SHEEP. BORDER LEICESTERS. Rams of any age.— First prize, G. Hope, Feuton Barns, Drem, East Lothian; second. Rev. R. W. Bosanquet, Rock, Alnwick. Shearling rams. — First and second prizes. Rev. R. W. Bo- sanquet ; third, T. Forster, jun., EUingham, Chathill. Pens of five ewes.— First and second prizes, Rev. R. W. Bo- sanquet. Pens of five gimmers.— Erst and second prizes, Rev. R. W. Bosanquet. cheviots. Rams of any age.— First and second prizes, T, Elliot, Hind- hope, Jedburgh. Commended : J. Robson, Byrness, Roches- ter ; T. Elliot. Pens of tsvo shearling rams. — First and second prizes, T. Elliot. Commended : J. Robson. Pens of five ewes.— First prize, T. Elliot ; second, R. Short- reed, Attonburn, Kelso. Pens of five gimmerg.— First prize, T. ElUot ; second, J. Robson. Commended : R. Shortreed. SHEEP OF ANY OTHER DISTINCT BREED. Rams of any age.— Prize, T. H. Hutchinson, Manor House Catterick. Pens of five ewes or gimmers. — Prize, T. H. Hutcliinson. HORSES. rOR AGRICULTURAL PURPOSES. Brood mares, with foal at foot, or in foal at the time of show. — First prize, L. Drew, Merryton ; second, B. Sprag- gon, Nafferton, Stocksfield-on-Tyne ; third, T. Statter, jun., Stand Hall, Whitefield, Manchester. Three-year-old geldings or fillies. — First prize, L. Drew, Merryton, Hamilton ; second, J. Dinning, Belton. Two-year-old geldings or fillies. — First prize, L. Drew; second, The Duke of Northumberland. One-year-old colts, geldings, or fiilies. — First prize, H. B. Howie, Detchant, Belford ; second, W. Cairns, Brauton East Side, Alnwick. Commended : T. Statter, jun. Pairs of geldings or mares, of any age. — First prize, G. Black, Lanton, Woole. Commended : J. and G. Atkinson, Bywell Hall Farm. EOR THE FIELD. Brood mare. — First prize. Major Stapylton, Myton Hall, Helperby; second, J. Brown, Wiggonby, Wigton ; tliird, T. Baxter, Broomfield Farm, Aspatria. Commended, L. C. Chrisp, Hawkhill, Alnwick. Three-year-old gelding or filly. — First prize, J. Moffat, Kirk- lington Park, Carlisle ; second, W. Graham, Gapshields, Halt- whistle. Commended, — Calder, Kelloe Mains, Edrom. Two-year-old gelding or filly. — First prize. Dr. Marshall, Annstead, ChatliSl ; second, R. Dand, jun.. Field House, Bil- ton. Commended, J. C. Bolam, Low Trewhitt, Rothbury. One-year-old colt, gelding, or filly. — First prize, J. and W. Thompson, Frolic, Capheaton, colt ; second, Major Stapylton. Commended, W. Graham, Gapshields, Haltwhistle. Horse or mare, five years old, and under ten years old.— First prize, J. B. Booth, Killerby Hall, Catterick ; second. Sir W. C. Trevelyan, Bart., Wallington, Newcastle-on-Tyne. Hunter. — First prize, W. Smitli, jun., Melkington, Cold- stream ; second, B. Spraggon, Nafferton, Stocksfield. Horse or mare, four years old. — First prize, R. Brunton, Marton, Middlesbrough ; second, J. W. Smith, Ancroft, Beal, gelding. Hackney. — First prize, W. Armstrong, Kendal ; second, J. Moffat, Kirklington Park, Carlisle. Pony. — First prize, A. H. Browne, Bank House, Ackling- on ; second, J. D. Hannan, Dunse Castle, Dunse, N. B. 5 third, J. Johnston, Crailing Hall, Jedburgh. PIGS. Boars of the large white breed.— First and second prizes, R. E. Duckering and Sons, Northorpe, Kirton Lindsey. Boars of the small white breed. — Prize, W. Lister, Armley, Leeds. Commended : R. E. Duckering and Sons. Sows of the large white breed. — First and second prizes, Rj E. Duckering and Sons. Sows of the small white breed. — First prize, C. Roberts, Wakefield ; second, R. E. Duckering and Sons. Highly com- mended : J. Wilson, Woodhorn Manor, Morpeth, Com- mended : W. Lister. 242 THE FAEMEE'S MAGAZHsE. Sows of a breed not eligible for the preceding classes. — Prize, R. E. Duckering and Sons. Pens of three sow pigs of the large breed (of any colour), under sixteen weeks old. — Prize, C. Roberts. SHEPHERDS' DOGS. Rough haired. — First prize, W. Herdman, Hepburn Moor, Alnwick ; second, J. TurnbuU, Hindhope, Jedbugh ; third, J. Wilson, Woodhorn Manor, Morpeth ; fourth, W. Pringle, Middleton Hall, Alnwick. Smooth haired. — First prize, M. Wright, Charlton, Belling- ham ; second, J. Smith, Quarry House, Cold Eglingham, Aln- wick ; third, J. Watson, Rothbury ; fourth, J. Scott, Hare- hope, Alnwick. IMPLEMENTS. T. Colegrave, Newcastle and Stockton, £3 ; J. and V. Howard, Bedford, £3 ; T. Bradford and Co., London, £2 ; J. Gregory, Westoe, South Shields, £2 ; J. Richardson, Carlisle, £1 ; Cockbum, Newcastle, £1 ; W. Thompson, Alnwick, £1 ; W. Hudspith, Haltwhistle, £1 ; Bolara and Thompson, Aln- wick, lOs. ; and Rimminglon and Co., Newcastle, 10s. At the dinner. Sir George Grey, M.P., said : To those who, like himself, could look back on the last twenty-five years, it must be a source of unmixed gratification to observe the immense improvement which during that period had taken place in the agriculture of the county. That period was one of great distress, and of considerable alarm. Twenty-five years ago, changes were to be effected, which naturally produced fears and gloomy forebodings as to the future. These changes were now passed ; and political and party questions happily were allayed, and there was no one who, with the experience of the last twenty-five years, wished to revert to the former state of things, or exchange our present condition with that which existed even before 18io, so that the day was one of which he thought the county might justly be proud. But it was not to this alone that he would refer as showing the im- provements which had taken place in the agriculture of the county, and though in that period vast sums had been laid out in draining and improving the land invarious ways. By the combined skill, energy, and capital of the landlords and tenants the productiveness of the soil had been immensely increased, and we saw the result when we looked about us and saw the productiveness of the ground, the amount and character of stock maintained upon it, and the value of the produce when brought into the market. He also noticed not only the large improve- ment in the machinery within 25 years, but also the increased application to agriculture during that time. The show of imple- ments in the yard that day was a most satisfactory one ; and as they rode or drove about the county they could not help noticing the ploughing machines, thrashing machines, reaping machines, and every kind of agricultural machines which they met. Another point which he thought of the utmost impor- tance was the immense improvement which had taken place in the dwellings of the agricultural population of the county. These changes and improvements were going on no doubt 25 years ago ; but during that period the greatest impulse had been given to those improvements, and they had reached a state which gave the greatest satisfaction, though there was no doubt still room for advance and improvement. Addressing an audience mainly of North Northumbrians, he was sure they would bear him out in saying that they owed very much of these changes to the large, liberal, and judicious expenditure by a predecessor of the noble duke — Algernon, Duke of Northumberland. To him they were largely indebted for agricultural improvement, and especially in the erection of agricultural buildings — an expenditure which did uot produce an immediate return to the man who expended it, but which might justly be considered as holding the first place among improvements, inasmuch as it tended so much to the health, comfort, and well-being of the agricultural population. The Duke of Nortuumberla>'d, the Chairman, said he thought one great reason why the agriculturists of Northum- berland had been so much more successful than those of the south, as far as his observations as an humble imitator went, was owing, firstly, to the greater pressure of poor rates, which pressed down the labour, and there was a larger amount of capital which had been devoted to the cultivation of the soil in Northumberland than was the case in the southern coun- ties. Now, he believed that earth, like the other elements of fire and water, was a good servant but a very bad master. By the possession of sufficient capital, the accidents of season and climate which might happen at one moment or another, an agriculturist was the master of the land under him, and he could turn it to his purposes. He hoped, therefore, tliat that propensity which he had met with on several occasions in the persons of the old school, that of desiring more land than they were capable of turning to profitable account, was pretty nearly past, and that all of them understood that the only chance of prosperity which they had was that the capital supplied to the soil should be sufficient to meet emergencies. Of course, without labour, without skill, without energy, skill in capital was insufficient ; capital came in aid of these quali- ties, but it did not supersede them. But he was perfectly con- vinced that no man could be a good farmer unless he had suffi- cient capital for the land which he had to cultivate. WEST OF ENGLAND HOUSE SHOW. AT PLYMOUTH. Thorough-bred stallions.— First prize, £15, T. K. Bickell (Hunting Horn) ; second, £7 lOs., M.njor J. S. Ballard (Clap- ham). Weight-carrying hunters, mares or geldings. — First prize, £15, W. M. Lancaster (Ploughboy) ; second, £7 10s., W. M. Lancaster (Father McCarthy). Light-weight hunters, mares or geldings. — First prize, £15, C. Trelawny (Bessy) ; second, £7 10s., W. F. Colher (Hazel). Highly commended: J. Michelmore (Countess). Hacks, mares or geldings.— First prize, £10, W. Jackraan (The Old English Gentleman) ; second, £8, F. T. Gloyn (Charley). Light-weight hacks and ladies' horses, mares or geldings.— iirst prize, £10, M. CoUier (Ladybird) ; second. £5, J. Laity (Hebe). •' Weight-carrying cobs, mares or geldings.— First prize, £8, Major Strode (Taffy) ; second, U, A. H. Pethick (Master Robert). Ponies, mares or geldings, exceeding 12^ and under 14 hands. — First prize, £5, J. Sampson (Alice Bray) ; second, £2 10s., W. L. Penno (Guess). Ponies, mares or geldings, not exceeding 12^ hands. — First prize, £5, T. Williams (Jack) ; second, £2 lOs., G. Stephens (Gay Lass). Agricultural stallions. — First prize, £10, W. Jackman (Matchless) ; second, £5, J. Bailey (Young Nelson). Agricultural horses, mares or geldings. — First prize, £8, G. Elliott (Blossom) ; second, £i, T. Pellow (Flower) . Special prize, a silver cup, for the best colt or filly for hunting purposes, foaled in 1868 or 1869. — T. Palmer and Sons (by Ali Pacha). Leaping prize, a silver cup.— W. Jackman (Jumping Hannah). There were also prizes for Hounds. The judges of horses were Mr. Sisman and Mr. Marsh. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 245 THE GARIOCH FARMERS' CLUB. At the dinner following tlic show, the Chairman, Sir J. D. II. Elphinstone, Bart., M.P., said : The Garioch Farmers' Club was established sixty-three years ago, by a few of the proprietors in the Garioch district wliose representatives are now here present. The rules were drawn up at Logie-Elphinstone by the late Mr. Leslie, of Warthill ; Mr. Gordon, of Rothney— the grandfather of my young friend here, Mr. Gordon, of Newton — and ray father ; and at that time there were few Clubs of the sort in Scotland. A short time previously Sir John Sinclair had set the notion of the great improvement of Scotland agoing, and it was beginning to occupy the minds of those men who were best qualified to judge on the subject. The Club has continued with uninterrupted prosperity and harmony down to this time. There has never been a difference of opinion in the Club ; and it has exercised a very large share of influence over the improvement and condition of this part of the country. It was followed by other clubs in Aber- deenshire, and the whole of this great county, as you know, is now a network of agricultural associations, adjoining each other, and in some cases overlapping each, but all of them ex- ercising a most beneficial effect upon the subjects which are of the most permanent importance to the community. I hold in my hand an extract from the records of this club, which I shall read, and from wliich I find that the first show of live stock under the auspices of the Garioch Farmers' Club was held on the horse market stance of Laurence fair, the 9th of July, 1811, 'being the day before St. Sair's fair of that year, now sixty years ago. The report of that exhibition appears to me so interesting that I here transcribe it verbatim : July 9,1811. — At the show of cattle and horses held here this day, in consequence of premiums given by the Garioch Farmer Club, present — Mr. Gordon, of Newton, Preses ; Mr. Duff, of Hatton, V.-P.; Mr. Leslie and Mr. Shepherd, Stewards ; the Earl of Kintore, Mr. Horn Elphinstone, Mr. Gordon, of Manar ; General Hay, Mr. Leith, of Freefield ; Col. Leith, Mr. Ramsay, Mr. Leslie, of Rothie ; Mr. Leslie, of Wart- hill; Mr. Jameson, Cushny ; Mr. Gordon, of Rothney; Dr. Garioch, Mr. Hay, Monkshill ; Mr. Ad. Maitland, Mr. James WilHamson, Mr. Keitli, Netlierthird. Colonel Gordon, of Coinachy; Mr. Shand, of Conland; and Captain Macpherson, of Gibstone, who were appointed Judges, having inspected the whole of the black cattle and horses brought for competition, do unanimously judge as follows : The Best Bull belonged to Mr. Gordon, of Newton. 2d ditto „ Mr. Gordon, of Wardhouse. 3d ditto „ John Ledingham in Lewesk. The 1st Stot — Mr. Gordon, of Newton's, ... Brown. „ 2d „ — Mr. Leith, of Freefield's, ... Branded. „ 3d „ — Mr. Leith, of Whitehaugh's... Branded. „ 4th „ — Mr. Philip, Barreldykes', ... Black rigged. „ 5th „ — Mr. Matheson, Waulkraill's, ... Branded. „ 6th „ — Mr. Horn, Elphinstoue's, ... Black. ,, 7th „ — Mr. Brown, Pitmachie's, ... Rigged. The Best Quey— Mr. Taylor, Gight's ... Dark dun. „ 2d ,, — General Hay's, ... ... Brown. „ 3d „ —Mr. Mitchell's, Branded. „ 4th „ —Mr. Keith, Netherthird's ... Branded. The 1st Best Colt— Mr. Geo. Williamson's... Brown. „ 2d „ —Mr. R. Williamson's, ... Bay filly. „ 3d „ — Mr. Hay, of Fyvie's, ... Bay filly. „ 4th „ — Mr. Taylor, of Gight's,... Bay stallion. (Signed) Jo. Gordon, Al. Shand, And. M'Pherson ] Judges. At this meeting of the Club, Mr. Davidson, in Mains of Cairnbrogie ; Captain Marr, in Cairubrogie ; Mr. Shand, in Conland ; and Mr. Charles Barclay, at Knockleith, were admitted members. At same meeting, the subject of the new hall to be built for the accommodation of the Club was renewed, and Mr. Leslie, of Warthill, was requested to communicate with Mr. Horn Elphinstone, and report to the Committee. At Club meeting, 25th April, 1812, on the subject of the new hall, Mr. Leslie reported that he had conversed with Mr. Horn Elphinstone. Meeting of the Club, 3rd May, 1813.— The meeting, on the motion of General Hay, unanimously voted their thanks to Mr. Horn Elphinstone for his great attention and exertions in procuring for the Club the accommodation whicli they now enjoy for the first time in the new room at Pitmachie. Well, gentlemen, from the very beginning of this club, the proprietors competed with tiie tenants, and in many cases, as you see, beat them ; but it is not an easy thing now for the proprietors to compete with the tenants. I don't see so many proprietors entered in the show list as there were in those days. If I recollect rightly, most of the prizes were carried off then by proprietors. However, that was the duty of the proprietors at the time, because there was a great transforma- tion going on then on the composition of the land. Draining, subsoiling, and all that was then in its infancy. I am sorry to say I am now one of the oldest members of the Club, and my connection with it extends over fifty years, and the changes are very great since that time. I think it was in the year 1828 or 1829, when the first shorthorned beasts that came into this country went over the brige of Ellon, and these were a bull and cow that were sent to the minister of Ellon by Mr. Robertson, of Ladykirk. He met Mr. Robertson at Harrowgate, and Mr. Robertson was so much charmed with the description of this country for the growth of cattle that he undertook to send him a couple of shorthorned beasts. What became of these beasts I could never trace, but I be- lieve there was an old bull, called Inkhorn — a white bull ; some of you may remember it. However that may be, to- wards the end of 1829 Mr. Barclay began to introduce Short- horns, and he brought down Shorthorns from Lord Spencer, who was afterwards Secretary of State for the Home Depart- ment ; and the Spencer breed took possession of the country in the first instance, and I see the trace of it most clearly in a great many of the animals in the showyard to-day. After that, Mr. Grant Duff took it up strongly in this country, and made a variety of improvements. The tenant-farmers showed their prejudices to the valuable breed, and at the same time, from the prizes which were given at that time for shorthorned stock, they did not see it to their interest to go into the thing so strongly as proprietors. However, the proprietors took the lead, and Mr. Grant Duff introduced the herds of Bates and Booth into the county. I saw one of Bates' blood that I think was one of the most fashionable animals that I have seen, that would have cut a good figure in any English showyard, but, as a high-bred animal, [ admired him very much indeed. The feeding and breeding of shorthorned cattle began about the year 1830, and from a very small beginning it has risen to one of the greatest trades in Scotland. The statistics of the trade are perfectly surprising, and the amount of money which it has brought into this country is equally surprising. Well, gentlemen, taking all these things into consideration, I think that this club, although this is the last time perhaps we may meet in this room, has not been an unprofitable asso- ciation. It has brought us together in harmony and in kindly intercourse, and it has maintained a feehng between the pro- prietors and the occupiers of the soil in this country which I shall be very sorry ever to see interrupted by anything. I only regret that circumstances have arisen of late years which I think have unnecessarily in some parts of the country in- terrupted that feeling ; I allude to matters which have arisen with regard to the Game Laws. We have had a great deal of agitation upon that subject, and a great many statements have been made which I think, if they were properly sifted, would be found to be of an exaggerated nature. I am perfectly certain that there is no propiietor in this country that I could put a name upon that would not meet his tenantry in the most cordial manner for the purpose of remoying any difSculty or 2U THE FARMER'S MAGAZmE. difference that might be between them. But I cannot see myself that it can lead to any good effect any movement which is now going on in tliis country for the purpose of doing what nothing but a Royal Commission could possibly effect. Last session we had a variety of Game Bills in- troduced into the House of Commons, and it ended in a perfect wrangle amongst the members who brought them forward. They could not agree among themselves, and the Government at last took the question out of their hands, and it was proposed nest year to lay the whole matter before a large Committee of the House of Commons. To that several members, myself among others, objected that no Committee of the House of Commons could possibly deal with such a subject, and it must be a lloyal Commission for the purpose, and the most impartial persons and the highest au- thority that could possibly deal with a subject of such delicacy as the relations between landlord and tenant. The House of Commons, I believe, took that view, and it is now generally understood that next year we shall have a Commission for the purpose of investigating, and if possible settling that question. In the meantime statements were circulated which were cer- tainly to a great degree exaggerated ; and I was sorry that our member for West Aberdeenshire — I regretted it most ex- tremely both as a personal friend and as a member for this great and influential county — should have committed himself to statements which, had they been noticed at the time in the House of Commons would certainly have been contradicted, and certainly will be contradicted if they are again advanced. I also object to the formation of a self-constituted committee on this matter, not elected by the great districts of this county, but elected at a hole-and-corner meeting in the city of Aber- deen, headed by an Aberdeen bailie, not representing the feel- ing or the sense of the tenantry of Aberdeenshire, and still more so do I object to that in the view of having a commis- sion appointed by the Government, fully, thorouglily, and im- partially to investigate the question, which must be of the very greatest delicacy. Now, gentlemen, we have a variety of matters connected witli every sort of thing in the House of Commons this year. On one occasion the Chancellor of the Exchequer coolly proposed to tax the whole of the agricultural horses. Well, we naturally said that taxing the agricultural liorses must lead to the taxing of the steam-engine, because if the farmer is prevented from moving a horse for the purpose of the motive power he cannot possibly overtake his business ; and that if so, he should rise against such a preposterous pro- posal, and should insist upon the principle being carried into all sorts of useful things. Well, the Government withdrew it for the time ; but it is my full belief that if Mr. Lowe has his swing next year, we shall have most certainly a proposal to ax our agricultural horses. At all events, I will take the t most decided stand against that proposal, and I think we have men enough to prevent it becoming law. It was a very curious thing tp see the Speaker leave the chair and speak, a thing I never saw done before during the time that I have been in the House of Commons. When the matter came up the Speaker jumped out of the chair, and threw aside his gown, and stood up for farm-horses. At aU events, we have got him with us. Well, I tliink that we can only hope that in our future locality, wherever it may be, be it at Insch or be it at Pitcaple, we may maintain the same good feeling and the same conviviality which has always characterised these meet- ings, and that we will always keep an eye to the main chance, and endeavour to forward the agriculture and the good in every possible way of the community in which we live ; and therefore I beg leave to propose long life to the Garioch Agri- cultural Association, and wherever we may be obliged to pitch our tent, I hope and trust that at the end of the next 60 years those who are living at that time, who wiU be our successors, will be able to give an account of their stewardship as we have done on this occasion. They had the pleasure of meet- ing to-day a gentleman from America, sitting on his (the Chairman's) right hand, Mr. Ferguson. He was a son of Mr. Ferguson, of WoodhiU, who was a great agriculturist in Scotland in the days of his youth. He was a great friend of Mr. Barclay, of Ury, and was one of those gentlemen to whom he alluded in the observations he made as to the introduction of Shorthorn cattle. He emigrated to Canada, importing bulls of the highest class into that country ; but for a time he found that the people would not accept of their services. Now, however, through his exertions, and the exertions of other gentlemen who had taken their cue from him, the breed of cattle in that country had been much unproved, and would be yet much more improved by the introduction of fresh blood into the country. His friend on the. right was a gentleman highly connected with business in his adopted coimtry, and he trusted and hoped they would give him a hearty welcome on that occasion as a stranger who had come to grace their board, and that they would wish him good speed in aU his under- takings. He begged to welcome him to the Garioch Farmer's Club. Mr. Fekgxjsox said that his father emigrated in '34 from Aberdeenshire to Canada ; and that he was one of the original members of the Higliland Society. In Canada he found the farmers had little stunted-looking calves and bulls tliat they would not take a present of, and when he imported Short- lioru stock and Leicester sheep, he offered the use of the stock without charge ; but it was refused, the reply being, " No, sir, we are rather afraid of that big animal." That pre- judice had, however, disappeared, and there was now a line race of animals. THE FARMERS' POSITION. At the quarterly meeting of the Carmarthenshire Farmers' Club, Mr. T. T. Mousley in the chair, the subject for discus- sion was " The Farmers' Position in the Country," which was introduced by Mr. G. F. H. Rowe, of the CtinnahJioi Journal. Mr. Ro^VE said : One of the most renowned but ill-fated withal, of the many occupants of the throne of France — Napo- leon Bonaparte — pronounced the inhabitants of Great Britain to be a nation of shopkeepers. Nearly seventy years have passed away since this description was applied ; and wliatever truth it contained at the commencement of the present cen- tury, has been augmented by the course of time. Yet its un- qualified accuracy can be questioned for a variety of reasons. Commerce carries a great deal of fuss and bluster in its train, and thereby ensures for the manufacturer and tradesmen more than their proper sliare of attention. Anyone who takes the trouble to examine impartially the several strata— if I may be pardoned for using a geological and common expression — which comprise our entire population, and tlieir relative posi- tions to each other, must arrive at tlie conclusion that those * iJj^ community who are engaged in agriculture form the stable base of the national pyramid of Great Britain. In every prosperous country the same arrangement exists. Across the Atlantic the possession of unbounded resources in land has secured for the Great Republic of the United States an almost imrivalled advancement. An agricultural population is almost invariably loyal, peaceful, and averse to convulsive agitations ; for these are hereditary traits, descending with slight diminu- tions from generation to generation. There have been times when tiieir value has become felt in the United States. Con- trary examples may no doubt be quoted both in Europe and elsewhere ; but reference is here made to the rule and not its exceptions. Now it may be argued that commercial inter- course lias given Great Britain the larger part of its enormous wealth, thickly peopled whole districts, adorned tlie country with innumerable palatial dwellings or " stately homes," and offered a fruitful stimulus to latent energies. AU this may be granted, and it represents a very glowing picture of facts ; still it would be imsafe for the prosperity of Great Britain to be hinged on commerce. A capitalist whose stock chiefly con- sists of the circulating medium — I say tins having due regard to the cost of the buildings and machinery for the purposes of production — may ([uit and often does leave this country with- out inconvenience when adversity begins to dawn, in order to invest his hoardings profitably in a foreign clime. The high THE FAHMEH'S MAGAZINE. 245 rate of interest yielded by capital in trade makes the mauul'ac- turer a monied man ; and when his particular branch of busi- ness is paralysed, the machinery thus rendered idle is nearly always saleable because it is convertible for otlier designs. Land, liowever, is a iisture; and its owner, although a parti- cipator in the untorward prospects that shed a gloom around, must necessarily in the majority of instances be immoveable also, or else be prepared for absolute ruin. Thus it follows that tlie agriculturist is instinctively jealous for the prosperity of his country, and is induced by powerful motives to watch its interests, and to promote them. For the very same reasons the British Government ought to be vigilant in furthering the farmer's welfare. Something is undoubtedly done with that intent from time to time, but with a half-heartedness that well nigh destroys all sense of the benefit ; anyhow, farmers are less grateful on that account than they otherwise would be. Now there is a cause for this semi-negUgence and disparagement of the farmer. In the world of man as in the regions of inani- mate or material nature, a law of cause and effect ever operates. History testifies to that law ; and the pro- foundest philosopher and the greatest discoverer is not the man who is capable of exploring the starry realms, ami exposing in a massive volume the realities of their ap- parently hazy contents, nor he who sees with strange vision the unbroken line of man's descent from the lowest types of living organisms; but the shrewd observer who traces the faintest impresses produced upon the mind by events in the gigantic task of human government, and during the growth of mankind in numbers. There was a day when agriculture con- stituted the main employment in Great Britain. The gradual upheaval of the feudal system gave birth to commerce or ma- nufactures. In its infancy commerce enjoyed the patronising care of the sovereigns on the throne, and as one result of its development, its influence displaced that previously exercised by the tillers of the soil. And it is partly because Parliament now wrongly imagines the nation as a whole to be dependent but in a small degree on the farmer, that the feelings and desires of the latter remain comparatively unheeded, and his petitions virtually disregarded. Can the nation afford to adopt an atti- tude of indifference towards the agricultural situation ? This lias been tested a hundred times. Witness the prevalent anxiety about the probable results of the home harvest, an anxiety penetrating into commencial circles, where it is calcu- lated with precision that a partial or complete failure of any crop, and how much more of crops in general, must tend to increased prices, and to affect the selling rates of most com- modities. And yet place in juxta-position the treatment meted out to the farmer, of which we have an excellent exemplifica- tion in the circumstances surrounding the question of local taxation. A clearer case of injustice could not be adduced than the infliction of the whole burden of local taxation on land. Colossal fortunes had not been heaped up to an appre- ciable extent in the reign of Queen Elizabeth when the relief of the poor by local taxation commenced : so that the legisla- tors of the middle ages merely adopted the idea that it was a duty of such wealth as was discernible to sustain the poor. This was but the re-afiSrmation by law of the principle that was integral to the feudal system, when the owners of estates were under obligation to sustain the indigent amongst their vassals or serfs. The theory was that property, humanly speaking, brought the poor into being. When, therefore, a new species of property has been originated in the country, viz., personalty, a most fertUe agency moreover in the pro- duction of paupers and pauperism, it is only just that it should contribute its quota towards the expenses of the Poor-law, and not selfishly impose the entire charge on the soU. The justice of the farmer's case has been laughed to scorn ; the whole of the twenty milHons and more of local taxation has still to come out of his pocket. For this agriculturists have them- selves much to blame. However active they may be now, they have not been energetic in the past ; their Chambers of Agri- culture and Farmers' Clubs are modern institutions, and have only recently brought pressure to bear on the legislature. A retrospect of the last forty years will evidence how many changes have been procured by means of organized associa- tions. Scarcely a single innovation of any moment can be mentioned which is not due to such agencies either in the whole or a large part. There is one of those changes in wliich the cultivators of the soil were deeply and closely concerned — the repeal of the Corn-laws. Avoiding an entrance into the merits of a conti'oversy which raged with fury for seven years, and which has been in all probability lastingly settled, it may be affirmed without chance of contradiction that the Repeal of the Corn-laws in 1846 ensued from the exertions of the Anti- corn-law League. Whether Mr. Cobden and his fellow- lecturers were riglit or wrong they succeded in accomplishing their object by sheer dint of persevering agitation. If farmers are to succeed now in obtaining a recognition of their just demands, and in securing a redress of grievances, they must proceed in like manner and emulate so notable an example. But they will never succeed satisfactorily until the Cabinet includes a Minister whose functions will wholly relate to Agri- culture. Why should there not be a Minister of Agriculture for Great Britain ? To protect the interests of Commerce a Board of Trade has been established ; and therefore in solicit- ing a Minister of Agriculture agriculturists cannot be accused of preferring a preposterous request. There are some who maintain that the present Board of Trade works unsatisfacto- rily. On Friday last, in the House of Commons, Mr. Macfie invited attention to its constitution and modus operandi. But the discovery of imperfections affords no room for conten- tion against the principle of a Board, and therefore in favour of its extinction ; but rather argues for its re- construction. A Board of Trade is indispensable. _ I may be reminded that a department of the Privy Council professes to represent the farmer in a some- what analogous manner. Little, however, is done beyond the issue or relaxation of restrictions respecting the importations and slaughter of foreign cattle. This sub-department of the Privy Council is utterly inadequate for all practical purposes. To adopt the phraseology of Artemus Ward — agriculture is not its forie. Besides, there is or soon will be a general breaking up of the composite character of the Privy Council, in response to the universal conviction that its multiplied powers ought to be distributed. It would be out of place, nor would time permit me, now to anticipate and answer the ob- jections that may be invented against the appointment of a JMinister of Agriculture. Amongst the foremost would pro- bably rank the plea that a salary must be paid him, in propor- tion to the official income of other members of the Cabinet, amounting perhaps to £2,000 a year. Now at all times the labourer is worthy of his hire, even if he be a Minister of Agriculture. Notwithstanding the necessity for national economy, it is very unlikely that Great Britain will be plunged into bankruptcy by the suitable remuneration of such a Minister. Farmers contribute very liberally to the National Exchequer, and to expend something in return on their in- terests is only a fair requital. France has a Minister of Agri- culture ; and Great Britain ought not to be behind her neigh- bours. The present would be a most opportune period for starting the cry in behalf of a Minister of Agriculture, because ere long ministers for other purposes will be created. For example : it is now believed that a separate Board of Health will shortly be formed for the United Kingdom with a Cabinet minister as its president. Much easier will be the task of rendering reform comprehensive in its scope while it is in pro- gress, than of reviving its spirit when allowed again to slumber. But if a JVIinister of Agriculture be instituted, his efforts ought to be supplemented by the ramification of Chambers of Agri- culture and Farmers' Clubs throughout the kingdom. Here again, agriculturists may advantageously extract a leaf from the books of their commercial fellow-countrymen. In the ma- jority of manufacturing towns of importance in England, par- ticularly in the nortliern and midland districts. Chambers of Commerce are to be found. The meetings are held at regular intervals, and " Business" is the watchword of the members. Tariffs are discussed with commendable intelligence and zeal ; no time is wasted in conversational gossip ; and petitions are forwarded to parliament with a promptitude that cannot fail to tell in the long run. To agriculturists at large, I would say, " Go and do likewise," and let " Nil Desperandum" be en- graven on your hearts. The farmer's position in the country is affected by several grievances, which Chambers of Agricul- ture and Farmers' Clubs could help to remove. Two of them will be cited for illustration. When an industrious tenant- farmer has contrived by thrift and unflagging industry to save a few hundreds of pounds, he naturally begins to aspire to change his position from a tenant to a landowner. Shakespeare condemns ambition to be a sin ; but at least this kind of am- bition is a very pardonable fault, and one that even deserves 24^ THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. encouragement. Tlie tenant learns that a certain farm is for sale, which will suit his purpose. But when he comes to buy, he is compelled to pay a heavy price to some lawyer for making a conveyance before his title can be considered complete. This is an oppressive interferance by law. A commercial man can purchase £10,000 worth of wool, iron, or any other raw material at the extra expense of a few coppers, an invoice only being requisite ; but if a tenant-farmer acquires a few acres of land costing £500, the chances are that he will have to pay a purchase-bill when he receives Ivis deeds, amounting to £20 or £30. The time has arrived when a more simple and inex- pensive, and still equally effectual method of registering the sale and purchase of land ought to be devised and sanctioned by the legislature. The second illustration relates to the suf- ferings endured by cattle in their transit by rail. Huddled to- gether in a truck, in nearly the same fashion as the unhappy victims of the Black Hole in Calcutta, the animals are exposed, perhaps, to a scorching sun and perpetual torment by the flies for twenty-four hours without cessation. Often for so long a period they remain without water, and suffer intensely from thirst. Need it be said that the constitution of an animal is seriously injured by such treatment, and its value in the market either for farm stock or the shambles greatly depreciated? Railway companies ought to be forbidden to carry cattle be- yond a certain distance without supplying them with water under heavy penalties. A law to that effect, however, will be postponed for a long time unless associations such as I have the honour of addressings move in the matter. Recent legisla- tion is calculated to affect materially the farmer's position in the country. By the Elementary Education Act of 1870 the scholastic training of every child in England and Wales is intended to be secured. In time the employer of agricultural labourers will experience the effects. Whenever the mental faculties of a human being are developed by culture, a higher degree of self-estimation is liable to be gene- rated ; and once our agricultural labourers begin to be so affected, they w^ill insist on a more liberal scale of wages. Therefore, before long, farmers must expect to find this call made ou them. Capital and labour have been antagonised in England for thirty years. This antagonism, which spreads like contagion, threatens to overwhelm the agricultural dis- tricts of the country. Combination among employes is its fundamendal feature; nor am I indulging in dreams while warning farmers that t),e time is approaching when they will be forced to confront the difficulty. Already societies have been formed called "Agricultural Labourers' Improvement Societies," being neither more nor less than the germs of trades' unions. One of these recently lield a meeting on the borders of Wales, the report of which, contained in the Marl- Lane Express for the 17th of July, is instructive, though only in one sense interesting. The very style in which the pro- ceedings are detailed is significant, and you will pardon me for delineating that style as an imitation of what has been adopted in the reports issued by the now celebrated " Inter- national Working Men's Association." As a specimen of what was spoken at this meeting, the following may be quoted : " Kinsley broke new ground. He contended that if the labourer had not been true to his employer, the latter could not have risen so high in the social scale as he had done ; some getting from the donkey-cart to the gig, and others from the gig to the carriage and pair. It was their duty to ask for an increase of wages, no matter what the answer might be, and also for facilities to keep a cow." At present such senti- ments are incipient, but are not likely to remain so. Another generation will find them more general, and ere then the Ele- mentary Education Act will have given them an impetus. Let it be understood that I am not pronouncing any opinion whether that Act is a wise or premature one, but merely en- tering into facts. If a demand for iucreased wages be made, tenant-farmers will be the first to feel it and acutely. The immediate future promises to be favourable to such a demand, because, by the gradual opening out of the mineral resources of the Principality, the pressure in the labour market will be much relieved, and it will be proportionately less easy to ob- tain farm labourers ; consequently they will command the terms on which they shall be hired. In anticipation of this possibility, all who hear me will mentally realise the urgent necessity for extending the use of machinery in agriculture, rendering the farmer less dependent on his employes. At first sight this in turn may seem Utopian to the small tenant- farmer. His means present an insuperable hindrance to the purchase of machinery ; but what a single purse cannot afford may be within the grasp of a number of purses combined. The Carmarthenshire Farmers' Club, for example, might, when the time arrives, purchase suitable machinery, and let it on hire to various of its members. Nor would the speculation be unremunerative. Farming has now become a science, and is recognised, moreover, as not the least of the sciences. In an age of progress, it is natural that the method of tilling the soil should change and improve. I am not about to say whether the eight-course, six-course, or four-course system in the rotation of crops is best, but I do affirm that it is now seen the powers of mother earth cannot be stimulated without the expenditure of a larger amount of capital than has been customary. Scientific knowledge is essential to the most suc- cessful farming. He who knows the composition of the so'l ownid or rented, the primary elements and their proportions composing the manure at his command, the properties which will feed the crop lie wishes to grow, must necessarily employ his capital to the best advantage. In other words, a farmer, in order to be successful, ought to possess a familiarity with chemistry. Need I state that the growth of a plant is caused by the absorption of certain contents of the soil, and that a living plant is but a transformation into another and vitalised compound of certain elementary atoms coalesced in the sur- rounding earth ? It is almost too late in the day to insist on the close connection subsisting between agriculture and chemistry ; the plea is stale. So early as 1 795 the Earl of Dundonald published a treatise dealing with the subject, a short extract from which may not be out of place: In his introduction, the noble earl remarked : " The slow progress which agriculture has hitherto made as a science is to be ascribed to a want of education on the part of the cultivators ef the soil, and to a want of knowledge, in such authors as have written on agriculture, of the intimate connection that subsists between the science and that of chemistry." Properly studied this points to the want of Farming Schools in the country, without which the farmer will not be able to occupy a proper position. A boy intended to be a surgeon, a lawyer, a chemist, is at an early age put to learn his trade or profession. The same must be done with the boy whose pre- dilections are for agriculture. To a certain extent this maybe done already ; but when farming has clearly become advanced into a scientific operation the embryo farmer ought to be taught science. Experience is a poor substitute. xVcross the Channel in 1! ranee similar schools have existed, and in Eng- land they may be found but not iu sufficient numbers. And the expense attending them could not be great, be^'Juse the pupils when engaged in agriculture, as would be the case perhaps daily, would help to earn the cost of their maintenance. The cry for technical schools or colleges swells on every hand ; and if farmers are true to their position they will add their voices to the chorus. The rapid growth of population on the island leads me lastly to inquire how the farmer's position is likely to be affected thereby. During the last thirty years commerce has expanded in a manner without parallel, and has drawn the people as it were within its friendly embraces. The multiplication of woollen, worsted, and cotton mills, with the incessant demand for their production^, has proved a profitable field for the investment of capital, and has swallowed up much that otherwise would have competed for the possession of land. Perhaps in this way we may partly explain the fact that whereas iu 1770 there were 250,000 landowners in the United Kingdom, now there are less than 30,000 ; for commerce often pays 20 per cent, and more lor the use of money ; while land can with the greatest difficulty be made to return 5 per cent, on the outlay or the capitalised value. Unless our ex- ports continue to augment in equal ratio to the population, or an emigration to foreign lands or the colonies takes place, a keen competition for tlie tenure or possession of land will commence, and it will fallow that rents will rise. A slight relief would be afforded by bringing under the plough tracts now uncultivated. In Wales I find from published figures that 2,230,810 acres are put down as untilled. But it must not be presumed that this is accurate, because no allowance has been made for patches and whole districts covered with buildings. Again, in these figures there is included barren soil, mountainous, and hardly worthy ot being reckoned as arable. But making all allowance it is indisputable that no small section of the Principality is not and has not yet beeu ^HE i^AtlMER'S MAGAZINE. farmed. Including England and Scotland also, the quantity is immense and reaches millions of acres. I am far from dis- puting a landowner's right to indulge his choice and keep a portion of his estate as game preserves. Interference by law ■with that right must absolutely be condemned as prejudicial to the public welfare. But in the event of a considerable amount of capital being disengaged from commerce the land- owner will find it a profitable speculation to bring his game- preserves into the market for sale. And that will propor- tionately relieve any prospective pressure of competition for land, and diminish the chances that rents will tend upwards. Siiould the farmer's position be rendered more uncomfortable either by an increase of rents or an increase in the rate of wages, it is not dilHcult to foresee the consequence. Small tenements wiU cease ; small holdings will be amalgamated ; otherwise farming will not pay. The growing use of ma- chinery, and the disposition to expend more capital by the agriculturist, alike point to a similar result. Whatever may be the future of the tillers of the soil, for the present they have no reason to despair. Theirs is an ancient, an honourable occupation. The sons of the soil have in ages of yore firmly laid the foundation of our island's fame, affording the present and future generations a noble ancestry on which to gaze and meditate. At home, abroad, wherever found, lion-hearted Britons have left the impress of their race. Such a race know not despair. Going onward in life, they will ever trust in a superintending Providence, Who has never yet deserted them ; Who, when they have put their hands to the plough, made the furrows, and scattered tiie seed, has bounteously commanded the rains to descend, and the sun to shine, and blessed their efforts with a fruitful increase. Mr. H. NoETON (Mayor of Carmarthen) being a commercial man or a manufacturer, he hardly thought it vvas in good taste for Mr. Rowe to use the words " fuss and bluster" in respect of commerce. And in defence of the commercial interests of the country he must say that they had fastened the agricultural interests. It was his sincere belief that without the cotton mills of Lancashire and the woollen mills of Yorkshire, agri- culture in this country would not be in the advanced state in which we now find it ; but rather in the backward condition which was visible in the remote districts of the earth, in the western parts of North America, in South America, in Aus- tralia, and elsewhere. The agricultural interest was deeply indebted to the ingenuity of the great intellects which had figured in the ranks of commerce, to the Stephensons, the Watts, and others. Agriculture and commerce would fade and prosper together. Mr. Rowe had also made allusion to the sale of land and the comparatively easy sale of machinery. Novv on the latter point he could speak from experience. He had a relative who had a woollen mill that had been lying idle for many years at a loss of £500 or £600 per annum, a proof that machinery was not very saleable, although not unmoveable like land. Whether land be moveable or saleable, he could say he should be well satisfied with the prospects of land if a landowner. Mr. Rowe had stated that land would not return more than five per cent, on its value. That was attributable to the want of expenditure of capital on the soil. If a land- lord was wise enough to drain his land, and then hand it over to a good tenant, then, like the merchant or tradesman, he might make 15 or 20 per cent, on its value. (No, no.) Well, that was \m opinion ; the interest yielded by land would entirely depend on the amount of capital expended upon it. Some people were apt to pooh pooh Mr. Meclii on the point ; but that gentleman, whom he had the iionour of knowing personally, produces his balance-sheets, showing that he could make 15 or 20 per cent, on his land by a great expenditure of capital. Instead of making five, six, or seven pounds per acre, he (Mr. Norton) believed it was possible to make, and that Mr. Mechi really did make, £10, £15, and £16 per acre. There was nothing so generous as the soil when properly at- tended to. He agreed with Mr. Rowe that it would be a good thing to appoint a Minister of Agriculture. Of course he would be elected by the House of Commons, or in some such way ; but in respect of political opinions such a minister ought to be neutral, for he did not believe there was any ne- cessary connection between agriculture and politics. He was of opinion that a Minister of Agriculture ought not to be ap- pointed by the Cabinet, nor did he see the necessity that such a Minister should be a member of the Cabinet ; and as for the paltry sum required for his salary, whether it be £3,000 or £4,000 a year, it ought not to be considered an obstacle for a moment. Mr. Rowe had also mentioned the subject of conveyancing, and expressed a wish that there were a cheaper method established. He had himself a relative who had bought land in the State of Kentucky in the United States, and when he came over, his relative was in the habit of pull- ing out of his pocket his conveyance, which was a piece of paper about foolscap size. The cost of the conveyance was only a few dollars, aud he believed it was quite as good as if it consisted of four or five skins of parchment. Another point in the introductory lecture with which he agreed was that boys intending to be farmers should go to an agricultural college, where they would learn the rudiments of chemistry, if not learn the science more elaborately. Dr. Hopkins, who was present, would tell them in detail if required the value of chemistry to a farmer. On the whole, the paper read by Mr. Rowe had aflforded hira much gratification, and he believed it was calculated to do much good. ilr. UiGGixsON (agricultural implement agent) only hoped the farmers in the country would follow up the advice that had been given, and use in future a greater quantity of agricultural macliinery. And in so doing he also hoped they would not lose money, but would fiud the investment of in- creased capital in land a profitable speculation. Mr. Harris (Penllwni) alluded to the want of leases as a farmers' grievance ; in fact, he regarded the question of the leases as one of the most important that could be discussed at an agricultural meeting. He could mention an instance which had occurred during the last twelve months, and could name tlie place, if necessary, of a tenant-farmer who had invested £150 in his land ; and the game had been sold, and all the benefits of the outlay had gone to others by the sale. Now that circumstance proved that the want of leases was a great grievance to farmers, and it was a grievance which landowner* ought to take in hand. He then referred to similar illustra- tions which had occurred in Carmarthenshire. Now he wished to speak candidly on the subject, especially iu the presence of Mr. Mousley, who was agent to one of the best of landlords. Earl Cawdor ; and had been the means of getting excellent tenants on his Lordship's estates. Now the simple point he wished to enforce was tliat there ought to be security offered to the tenant for the outlay of his money ; otherwise enterprising tenants would be knocked on the^head and lazy fellows would enjoy equal advantages. With regard to com- merce and agriculture he could only say he differed with Mr. Norton, and only wished that in tilling the soil it was possible to reap a return of 15 per cent, on all outlays of capital. As a farmer he would be glad to get five per cent. It would be a good thing if when a man spent money he did meet with so great a reward. It was so in commerce, but iu agriculture he did not believe that 3^ per cent, was always obtained ; in fact, in nine cases out often it was hard to get both ends to meet. The use of steam machinery might be a means to that end and effect considerable improvement. If land were well drained then he admitted it would pay, but not without it. But what security had tenants in general at present if they expended money and drained land ? And if some farms were even drained, containing much bog-land, they would not pay more than £2 per acre. He agreed with Mr. Norton in the opinion that both agriculture aud commerce had a bright future before them, and that they depended much on each other ; but still he was not of opinion that the prospects were so extremely bright as had been spoken of. Farming was almost in its in- fancy even yet, but farmers ought to be going a-head ; they ought to take the interests of agriculture in hand and watch them. The commercial men had been making great efforts for a great many years, and almost everything they had asked Parliament they had got. Now a better organisation was wanted amongst agriculturists throughout the kingdom, and then, ere long, what they wanted they would also be able to obtain. If they did not do that then there would be no help for them but quietly to submit to their fate. They ought to put forward what they desired in a prominent way, and then they would be able to get almost everything they could reasonably expect for the protection of their interests. Mr. Morgan (Llwyu) did not quite agree with Mr. Rowe when he recommended tenant-farmers not to go to lawyers for advice in the purchase of land. When a person became his own lawyer it was often found to he much the dearer plan. He did uot thiuk £5, £10, or £15 speat ou the lawyers was at 248 THE FAEMER'S MAGAZINE. all thrown away, and was apparent by the cheapest mode often proving the worst in the end. The higher scale of wages which would he liiely to be asked for by labourers had also been referred to. He quite agreed with Mr. Rowe's remarks on that point. The " Go-ahead" style would not do entirely ; there must be a little of the " AH right" with it. At the recent banquet given by the Lord Mayor of London, at the Mansion House, the American Minister said : " If you English- men could just add a little bit of the go-ahead style to your all-right style the amalgamation of the two would act very well." l^ow perhaps that was true. But his belief was that when education was spread more amongst the lower orders the re- sult w'ould be a superior class of labourers, a body of skilled labourers who would be worth more wages. But he should like to ask how in the name of fortune it was possible to make land pay if they had to give higher wages to men like those at present employed. He agreed however with the idea that a labourer ought to have his cottage and cow ; and where a man was so useful that he could be reckoned as a farmer's right- hand man, he might have a couple of cows. It would tend to make such a man more looked up fo, and Dick, Tom, and Harry would be taught to regard him as a head man, and would be induced to strive to qualify themselves to take his place whenever the situation became vacant. At present a farm-labourer, generally speaking, had nothing to look for- ward to ; he earned so many shillings a week, and when he became too old for further employment, or was not in good health, he was simply told he must go elsewhere. As to scien- tific knowledge, he perfectly agreed with Mr Rowe that it was ueccessary. A proper scientific training for a farmer's son could now be had by sending him to the College at Cirencester, but the terms there were no less than £95 or £100 a year, which were very high. It would be useless to expect a farmer to educate more tliau one of his sons at such a rate. He should very much like to see school-boards introduce into any schools they might estabhsli such elements of education as could become useful to tillers of the land. Mr. NoKTo^- : Rudiments of chemistry for example. Mr. MoRGAJM agreed with that. Mr. Rowe had] also re- ferred to the preservation of game. He himself thought that game ought to be preserved, but thought rabbits ought to be destroyed as being vermin. But he objected to giving his servants permission to shoot, because it tended to convert them into regular Radical poachers. Mr. Norton's remark respecting the interests of commerce and agriculture being welded together he also endorsed. An illustration of the mutual dependence of the two he had witnessed that day at the fair at Llandovery. Having a short time to spare, he sold a lot of sheep there for a higher price than usual to purchasers who had come down from England. And he further noticed that the competition for cattle was also keen. For those re- sults they were indebted to the railway. Respecting the re- lationship of landlord and tenant, he regarded the former as the elder and the latter as the younger brotlier, and he main- tained that it was always wise for the younger brother to listen to the elder brother's counsel and advice, and anyone who interfered between them was a meddler. There could be no mistake about that, for no one would do so unless he hoped to reap some benefit to himself by so doing. He likened sucli a meddler to the little cur wlio, when he saw two dogs quar- relling over a bone, came up and stole it away from both. With respect to the draining of farms, he contended that when that was done others reaped the benefit at a future time. Eor example, his late lamented father drained no less tlian 1,700 perches in one year, the benefit was now derived by himself. Now, that was a large quantity of laud to drain in one season, especially with stone, or brush, or shale. His father would never allow a pipe to be laid in his land. And in order to drain those 1,700 perches, it required 1,700 cartloads of stone ; no mean lot to be carted in a single autumn. Now, the ques- tion was when land was required to be drained who was to do it. It was a rule with his late father tliat as landlord he would cut the drains and the tenants should haul the stones and fill the drains up, subject to his superintendence. Now, a tenant might be fairly expected to do tliat, and when that was the arrangement too much of the burden did not fall on either side. He disagreed from Mr. Harris in respect leases. Suppose a tenant-farmer obtained a lease which bound him for 31 years and in the meantime he died, lie should like to know Whether in that case the widow, who might be left with a young family and little means, was to be compelled to com- plete the lease ? It was very seldom that anybody could be ' found who would say a word in favour of sub-letting. To a widow thus circumstanced a lease would be a burden and not a boon. He preferred an agreement, and believed it would be found better for both tenants and landlords. Mr. Lewis (Llwynyfedwen) also warmly espoused the cause of Tenant Right. He further argued that the farmers' grievance in respect of Local Taxation, in which Mr. Rowe had referred, was diminished by the abolition of the law of re- movals. The old law requiring paupers to be removed to their own parishes had been done away with, and conse- quently the pressure in that respect on agricultural parishes was lightened, inasmuch as labourers who had gone into the commercial districts would not be brought back again. Dr. HoPKi2«"S said the experiment of agricultural schools had been tried in two or three instances in large places like Cirencester, and had rather proved a failure. There was this to be considered, that when a person was educated at some such college he could not be bound to become an agriculturist. And the fact was that many of such persons had entered on entirely different pursuits. Especially was this the case in Ireland where very little benefit had resulted from the farm- school movement. Now that was a most important tiling to consider. A person when he had gained information of a certain kind qualifying him for a particular vocation in life might go and engage liimself to something else. It was rather his opinion that attention should be bestowed in our elemen- tary schools in some way to farming. If little plots of land could be procured for the children to cultivate, much good might result. And it should be remembered that an agricultu- ral training was seldom thrown away. Even supposing a man emigrated to the back States of America, he would always reap the benefit of a knowledge of agricultural pursuits. Those also in a higher station of life could never lose by such knowledge, because it could be employed in horticulture, and it would tend to the benefit of the com- munity at large. He had taken a note of what was said in the introductory lecture respecting the enclosure of waste land. Now he contended that it would be impossible to get more than 6s. 6d. per bushel for corn, and it would not pay therefore to enclose the waste land. At any rate at the pre- sent time landowners could not undertake to include wastes, for the plain reason that they could never make the virgiu soils in Wales superior to any they had in "Wales at the pre- sent time. Another question which liad turned up during the discussion was the Game laws. Now it was a fact that game had very little chance of taking anything out of the soil with the exception of when it was first sown, or when it was just ready to reap. And it should not be forgotten that the effect of the game laws was to make landlords much more satisfied than they otherwise would be, and to come down and spend tlieir great revenues in the country. Therefore on that account farmers ought not to be too sensitive about a paltry matter, but consider it in its proper light. As to farmers having been neglected by the Government it was no doubt the case. When the first agitation took place respecting the Corn- laws, he listened very attentively to Mr. Cobden in Drury Lane and other places. At tliat time it was fashionable to speak against the farmers as being the greatest bores possible ; the manufacturers were every thing. But those who did so forgot this, however clever they might be, that each man must look to his cook ; and there was notliing man enjoyed whicli was not obtained from the ground. He wished to bring that to Mr. Norton's recollection, for Mr. Norton was a most liberal man and always had been so. Everything they got, whether for manufacturers or otherwise, was procured from the soil, whether they looked at cotton goods, or woollen manufactures, or malt for brewing. Mr. Norton : Water comes from the land too. Doctor. Dr. Hopkins : Yes, and you know something about that too. Turning to the question of leases he argued tliat it was requisite the landlord should have security as well as the tenant, for security must not be on one side alone. It was requisite a landlord should know whether a tenant who wished a lease for 21 years was capable of managing the farm in a proper way. The speaker here instanced how he luid suffered in that way, by leasing a farm to a bad tenant, who allowed the fences to get into such a miserable condition tliat it cost more to repair them than all the rent received from him. THE FAEMER'S MAGAZINE. 249 He approved of the suggestion for a cheaper transfer of land on sale. He also agreed with Mr. Harris that it was almost impossible to get five per cent, iu return for the outlay of capital in farming. Take the case of the present season, those who had had turnips had suffered great losses, and also those farmers who had some rye-grass and clover. They had been obliged to cart them home for the dung-heap, or cut them up for horses. The Chairman really thought, as Mr, Rowe said, that agriculture, as a rule, had not received the encouragement which, considering the important stake it holds in the country, it ought to have had, and which many branches of commerce had obtained. It was true, as had been remarked by Mr, Norton, that commerce and agriculture were closely allied, but that rathef tended to strengthen the cause of complaint that too great a share of the burdens of the country had been cast on agriculture. There was no reason in the vporld why commerce and agriculture should not sail together and so if the one was unduly burdened the effect would re-act on the other. Kespecting the position, or what ought to be the posi- tion, of farmers, and condition of farmers in the country, they were all agreed that it was not satisfactory ; but there were so many difficulties surrounding the same, so many obstacles to encounter, in endeavouring to effect any improvement, that he feared it must be a work of very long time before any per- ceptible alteration would be accomplished. Certainly there have beeu " go-ahead" times in agriculture as well as otlier departments of industry, yet it might safely be said that agri- culture had not kept pace with other branches of industry. Some few districts it might be possible in consequence of cli- mate or the soils to make available for good agriculture, with- out having regard to any great expenditure of capital. But that unfortunately was not the case in this part of South Wales. In reference to climate, however, they had nothing to complain of. The last three years had beeu very successful years for farmars in point of weather, and so far as he could see they had been doing well. But the system of farming in this country was not what it ought to be. It was an un- pleasant thing to say, yet it was the fact that farming in this part of the country was carried on upon too small a scale. Whether it would pay to any great extent to merge the farms and make them larger, consideriug the nature of the soQ and the advantages that the farming classes had in this country, was a serious question. It could hardly be expected that there would be any very perceptible improvement in the mode of cultivating the soil in this country, until there was a more general system of education abroad, and a greater amount of capital by some means, in the hands of farmers. He did not know whose place it was to improve or put the land or the country into a better condition to start with, but he earnestly wished to see it in a better condition, for then it would yield two or three times the extent of crops now realised. In some places it was possible to see the land yielding only one quarter of the crop of which it was capable, owing to the very bad farming. But the difficulty was in deciding who ought to improve the soil, the tenant or the landowner, for to effect that something like the value of the fee simple would be requisite. Now, it was certain that landlords could not afford to expend that sum ; and the tenant farmers were un- willing to spend that sum even if they had the capital and held under an agreement or a lease. Now as to the question of leases he must say, speaking impartially, that a tenant was a great fool to go on improving his land to any great extent unless he got some security. If he had reason to place con- fidence in his landlord, all well and good. But whether he was wise in placing reliance on a mere hope or expectation would always depend on circumstances. It was perfectly fair and reasonable that a farmer should say to his landlord — " I am prepared, sir, having got so much capital, to expend it on my farm, if you will give me some reasonable security, a lease or an agreement, to protect me in the outlay." They could not expect tenants to lay out money without obtaining some security in return. And while on that subject he might men- tion that Lord Cawdor has recently drawn up, after taking his tenants into council, an agreement for a lease, which he hoped was, after the great trouble that had been taken about it, cal- culated to protect both sides. It was better to be without a lease unless it should protect both landlord and tenant. One word more in respect of education, which had become a very important question indeed, He was not quite sure whether they were not educatmg the lower classes to a greater extent than those classes above them. Mr. Morgan : There is no doubt about it. The Chairman said he was firmly persuaded that the work- ing classes were now being put in possession of a more liberal education than a great many of the farmer class above them. The labouring class had not the same difficulties to contend with that farmers had. They got their regular wages, or should do so, and did not suppose there was any difficulty about that, and their anxieties were relieved. He sincerly hoped means of providing a more liberal system of education for small farmers would be found. Of course small farmers could not be expected to go to places like Cirencester, which were too expensive. If they coiild only engraft on school boards, if they were to have them in the country — Mr. Morgan : You are quite right, sir, if we are to have them. The Chairman repeated that if they were to have school boards he should like to impress on the members the neces- sity of giving a general and practical system of education for pupils in those schools, for it would not be sufficient to give an agricultural education to only a few. Then there would be a better chance of expending capital on the soil with the ad- vantage of skilled labour. Mr. RowE, in reply, said : He hoped he had not hurt the feelings of the Mayor of Carmarthen by the reference in the introductory paper, to the " fuss and bluster" which attended commerce. What he meant was that commercial men were necessarily travelling throughout the kingdom, and that com- bined with the transit of their goods, tended to produce an excitement which attracted more attention than was given to the agriculturist. He feared that some remarks in his paper had beeu slightly misunderstood, perhaps because they were not expressed with sufficient clearness. It was not said in the opening paper that agriculture and commerce were neces- sarily in opposition to each other. Allusion was certainly made to the success attending the efforts of commercial men in obtaining certain concessions from the Legislature, which was. a totally different matter. He agreed that com- merce and agriculture were mutually dependent ; and the concluding portion of his paper went to prove it by showing that if any great amount of capital were released from commerce, those who possessed it would instantly seek opportunities to invest it profitably in the soil, there, by helping to raise the rents in an almost artificial man- ner. The agriculturist must of necessity be dependent on the manufacturer, because the latter was a large purchaser of what he had to sell. Now, it was gratifying to him to find, notviith- standing the searching critiscim to which his paper had been subjected, that many of the suggestions and ideas it contained had been endorsed in the able speeches delivered during the discussion. Before proceeding further he would mention that while some of the speakers had referred to leases, the word had not occurred in the introductory paper. It was purposely omitted as relating to a topic that might not add to the har- mony of the meeting. The question of leases was a most dif- ficult and delicate one to treat off, as had been shown that after- noon. One of the points that had been warmly commended in his paper, was the indication of the connection between farming and chemistry. He wished he could press that home on the minds of farmers. All plants were fed mainly by the properties of the soil. Sometimes a crop would be found to grow in one soil and not to thrive in another. Why was that ? Simply because the soil in the one case con- tained properties adapted to feed the plant which in the other it did not possess. It was as clear as possible. It was customary for farmers to say that they were dependent on Providence for their crops. He admitted the fact, and believed in his very heart in the superintendence of a Divine Pro- vidence in the affairs of this life as firmly as any ecclesiastic in the United Kingdom. But what was the real truth ? Provi- dence had applied certain laws to material Nature, laws re- lating to the soil ; and if farmers did not understand those laws and adapt them to their own purpose they would suffer. One of the great laws of Nature was that when its system of procedure was disregarded, the neglect was always followed with penal consequences. Let farmers therefore endeavour to understand the chemistry of the soil, of manures, and plants, as much as possible, and they would be the gainers. Before departing from that subject he would meutioa that just as he 250 THE FAEMEK'S MAGAZINE. was on the point of starting for the meeting he laid his hands on a book that had afforded him much pleasare, which was very instructive respecting the growth of plants, and was en- titled " How crops grow," by S. W. Johnson. It detailed how inanimate matter was translated into the vitalized vegetable organism or plant. This subject naturally led to the question of Farming Schools. Now, Mr. Morgan had said that the annual cost of a pupil at the Agricultural College at Ciren- cester was £95 per annum. The figures being correct they must tend to show an extravagance, or a want of economy. In many excellent schools and colleges the cost did not equal that, and if a similar college were established in Carmarthenshire, he ventured to say that pupils would be trained for much less than £95 per annum. When pupils were employed in agricul- ture they helped to earn the cost of their maintenance, and to say under such circumstances that the cost of a pupil was £95 per annum astonished him. The time had arrived for a large increase of Farming Schools. There was a general plea for technical education throughout the country, and he had not seen it advanced more ably in a small compass than in the two orations on the subject recently delivered at Peterborough by Dr. Mill, the secretary to the proposed National University, in which the want of Farm Schools was alluded to. Finally, he would urge on farmers once more the necessity for organisation if they desired to obtain a redress of grievances. If they pressed their claims on the legislature earnestly and perse- veringly and unitedly, if they lost no opportunity for so doing, they would fiud in course of time that though the exertions required would exhaust much patience and required to be again and again renewed, their labour would not be in vain. THE AGEICULTUEE OF EGYPT. At the quarterly meeting of the Ayrshire Farmers' Club, held in Ayr, Mr. Brown, Ardneil, in the chair, Mr. M'Creath read a paper, in which he said : In Egypt there is great diificulty in getting correct informa- tion. What I give is from personal observation, and should ou that account be the more reliable. The soil of Egypt is either sandy desert in all its sterihty, or land luxuriantly fer- tile. Where you have the Nile witli its life-giving influences there is vegetation in profusion, and where its waters do not leach, the land is barren as the seashore. There is no rain in the Upper country, and little in the Lower, so that all the resources of Egypt flow from the Nile. This river annually rises and falls. It is at its lowest in May and June, and at its highest in September and October. From its lowest level it rises in Upper Egypt 20 to 30 feet, but in the Delta or Lower Egypt only some 4 feet. In Upper Egypt, it in a great mea- sure overflows tlie country, but in the Lower district it is eon- fined by embankments. The Nile in the Delta divides itself into two branches, and from these branches there are many canals, wliile from the canals there are innumerable resers^oirs, so that the country is all intersected witli watercourses. The Nile not only waters the country, but what to agricul- turists is another great essential, it manures the land. The water of the Nile is of a brownish colour, and when it remains for a time upon the land, it leaves a sediment or deposit that is extremely fertilising. The rise and fall of the river is not uniform. The extent to which it rises is a matter of great importance. Two years ago it rose very high, and did im- mense damage. On the other hand, a very low Nile leaves a great tract of country unwatered, and consequently out of cultivation. When the Nile is at its height the canals and water-courses are full, and tiie water is easily flooded over the fields. As the Nile recedes the work becomes more diflicult, and gives rise to immense labour. There are three modes of raising the water — the first is by manual labour, the second by animal labour, and the third by steam-power. There are several modes of manual labour. A very common one is to use a leathern basin slung from a long pole, which is mounted on pivots, and balanced by a large stone as a counterpoise at the other end. The basin end is depressed by the labourer until it dips into the water below ; on being freed it is raised by the counterpoise until the leathern basin comes to the level. It is then emptied, and the operation begins again. The animal labour is sometimes done by donkeys, but gene- rally oxen, in connection with pumps. The apparatus consists of a wheel turning on a horizontal axis, and carrying an end- less rope, upon which are placed earthen pots or jars. As the wheel is turned the pots and jars are carried round, and fill themselves with water at the bottom, and empty themselves at the top. Steam-power has recently been introduced, and is now greatly used in connection with hydraulic pumps. The land under cultivation is all flat ground, and when the water is raised to the level, it is carried through trenches, and from those trenches it is led in small courses, and those courses, when filled, overflow and flood the ground. When the water is absorbed, it leaves a deposit that acts as a fertiliser and, being in the shape of a crust upon the ground, tends to prevent evaporiition and excludes the drought. The pumping of water is not confined to the banks of the river and canals. The water of the Nile seems to per- colate all over the country ; and, with a well sunk under the level of the river or canal, a supply of water can be had. Grain is the principal production of Upper Egypt, but the Viceroy has of late introduced the cultivatiou of the sugar- cane on a very extensive scale, so that there are now thousands of tons of sugar annually exported from Alexandria. In Lower Egypt the staple crops are corn, cotton, and clover, which are grown on something like the following rotation : Cotton planted in March occupies the ground till November ; clover is tlien sown, and is on the ground till February. Wheat, beans, or barley may then be taken, and they are reaped in May and June ; Indian corn is then sown, and it is reaped in September. Then there may be one or two crops of clover got up till February, when cotton comes again. Of course this only applies to land where cultivation is carried on under the most favourable circum- stances. In many casts less is made of the laud. Crops such as grain and clover give a yield such as we are accustomed to iu this country, even under what is termed high farming. The implements used are few and exceedingly primitive. The laud IS not turned over by the plough, as in this country, but is simply stirred up. This is done by a light, wooden article, something like our plough, without tiie reist or mould-board. The seed is sometimes sown before and sometimes after this operation. Water is applied immediately after the seed is put into the ground. Reaping is done by pulling the grain or cutting it with small hooks — reaping-machines not yet having found their way into the country. Carrying is all done on the backs of camels or donkeys — carts or waggons not beiug in use Thrashing is done, as in olden times, by the treading of oxen. Winnowing is done by casting the grain up, and the wind separates the chaff'. The grain is sent in barges down the canal to Alexandria, and is shipped to Europe — principally to this country. England is also the market for the cotton grown in Egypt. The beasts of burden used are oxen, camels, and donkeys. The tillage is generally done by them, but mur- rain has frequently made sad havoc amongst them, and left their work for the camel and donkey. It is rather a strange sight to see the camel and donkey yoked together. The oxen are strong powerful animals, and some of them would grace a Scotch showyard. In travelling through Pales- tine I was astonished with the interior class of oxen iu use there. The best of tiiem are no larger than a two years old Highland stirk. I don't know what it may have been in an- cient '.times, but at present a yoke of oxen in that country does not represent much capital, but in Egypt it is different. Sheep and goats abound in Egypt. Stock is good and valuable, and although much less so than iu this country. The great hindrances to agriculture iu'Egypt are exorbitant taxation and insecure tenure of land. It is difficult to conceive a more arbitrary system of government than prevails in Egypt The Viceroy or Governor pays tribute to the Sultan of Turkey. The latter extorts what he can from the Viceroy, and the Viceroy adopts the same principle towards the tillers of the soil. The rate of taxation is at the discretion of Government officials, and it is of the moat oppressive nature. The cotmtry is divided THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 251 into districts, and each has its governor, and those gover- nors extort in every possible way from the poor natives. When the occupier of the land is unwiUiug or unable to pay the taxes laid upon him, las ground is confiscated to the Viceroy. Owners of land are not only deprived of their possessions in that way, but valuable land is often made over in the most arbitrary manner to the Viceroy, or some favourite official, and assumed compensation given in some other holding. But such changes are always against the interest of the poor agri- culturists. To such an extent has this been carried, that it is reckoned the Viceroy at the present time is in possession and managing on his own account about one-third of all the land in Egypt under cultivation, and it is grievous that all this land of his should be done by forced labour. Such a system may enrich him individually, but it cuts the root of national pros- perity. In Palestine there is the same blighteniag influence ; naturally fruitful fields and fertile valleys lying waste, owing to the oppression and tyranny of Turkish rule. However hard and oppressive the rule of the Viceroy may be upon the poor Egyptians, those Europeans engaged iu commerce meet with every encouragement. They are relieved from all taxation, each nationality has its own legal tribunal, and life and pro- perty are in every way protected. There are indications of an important change, and if it would briug about security in the tenure of land, combined with moderate taxation, the agricul- ture of Egypt might yet become a field for British capital and enterprise. Mr. Dalgleish (Temple Mains) said Egypt was no doubt a very interesting country. Mr. M'Creath did not say whether the Egyptians came up to the pitch they might in agriculture. Perhaps Ayrshire farmers, if there, might see much that could be done to better advantage. But they must give the natives credit for what they were fit for. Mr. Cunningham (Shields) said, in regard to what Mr. M'Creath had stated about the Egyptian tilling, or rather stirring or " poutering " the land with the rude ancient plough, if the people lived in Ayrshire they would require to go deeper into the soil if they wished to be able to pay the increased rents and the other burdens which the farmers had to bear. He dare say they would all like to have a Nile here to vpater and manure their land ; but as they had not, it was their duty to take the best substitute they could get. The subject of manure was the leading s\ibject in regard to agri- culture of the present day. Every year they found an in- creased (juantity of manure was required for their lands. Whether the land needed more, or the manure sold was not up to the mark, he was not prepared to say. The fact was that more manure was yearly required, and lie therefore thought they were more than ever called on to do something to put themselves right in regard to the subject of manure. Mr. Robertson (Ryeburn) said what struck him during the reading of the paper was, that it might be beneficial if farmers in this country took advantage of running streams, rivulets, and ditch water, for the purpose of irrigation, par- ticularly m dry seasons. Although the water here was not so rich iu fertility as in Egypt, yet it might be of advantage in dry seasons, both for cropping and grassing. Mr. MuitDOCii (Holehouse) agreed with Mr. Robertson, that if a proper system of irrigation could be devised, it would pay the expense. Mr. Caldwell (Knoekshoggle) doubted if any system of irrigation here would pay. The waters of the Nile had evidently a fertilising power which the water in this country had not. The water there Mr. M'Creath said, was brown, and high in colour. Was there anything special to account for this ? Mr. Flint did not see that irrigation was much required here. He thought they had abundance of rain in Scotland these last two or three years. As to manure, the Nile, they were told, by its deposits manured the soil of Egypt. Well, what did they do with the natural manure ? Could some means not be devised to send over that to this country ? He knew there were large quantities of bones coming from tliat quarter. He tiiought, too, something might lie done as to improving the grain which came here from Egypt. It was greatly mixed with clay. Probably this was partly caused by the mode of tlirashing — the grain being trodden by oxen — but he believed the adulteration was also partly intentional. He thought it would be well if something were done to put a stop to this. He had expected to liear from Mr, M'Creath sometliing about hypothec and the Game-laws in Egypt, but not a word had been said on the subject. He was sorry to hear of the poor agriculturists being so oppressed by their superiors. There was little chance of much progress in a country where the Government acted in such an unjust and oppressive manner. Mr. M'Creath said there were no leases in Egypt. The land was farmed almost entirely by the owners. Mr. Young said he was astonished that the old system of thrashing referred to by Mr. M'Creath was still adopted. Could some more modern system, such as travelling thrashing- mills, not be introduced ? Mr, M'Creath : Roads would first require to be made. Mr. Young thought until the country had a liberal and wise system of Government, things would never improve raucli. As to slaves, were they bought and sold ? Mr. M'Creatu : Not publicly, but they could be had pri- vately in Cairo. Mr. M'Creath, in reply to the remarks of Mr. Flint about mixing the grain with clay, said the people here were as much to blame as the Egyptians. Clean grain, unmixed with any deleterious substance, could be sent here if the buyers chose to give the price for it. Suppose you sent a lot of clean grain, and another shipment with 10 per cent, stones aud mud, the best lot would not bring 2^^ per cent, more than the other ; so it paid to send it out. Until the value of grain was regulated by the quality, the practice of mixing would, he feared, be continued. As to the game-laws, game in Egypt was public property, and, instead of hypothec, the practice of fore-renting was adopted. Votes of thanks were awarded to Mr. M'Creath and the Chairman. DRESSING THE EARTH.— Mr. Ruskin has resolved to give .£1,000 to the public ; and has had this sum invested iu Consols, m the names of two men of honour. Mr. Ruskin thus describes his plan of dealing with the money : I will tell you a little more of what we are to do with this money as it increases. Eiist, let whoever gives us any be clear iu their minds that it is a gift. It is not an investment. It is a frank and simple gift to the British people ; nothing of it is to come buck to the giver. But, also, nothing of it is to be lost. This snoney is not to be spent in feeding Woolwich infants with gunpowder. It is to be spent in dressing the earth and keeping it — in feeding human lips, in clothing human bodies, in kindJiug human souls. First of all, I say, in dressing the earth. As soon as the fund reaches any sufficient amount, the trustees shall buy with it any kind of land olTered them at just price in Britain. Rock, moor, marsh, or sea-sh.ore — it matters not what, so it be in English ground, and secured to us. Then, we will ascertain the absolute best that can be made of every acre. We will first examine what flowers and herbs it naturally bears ; every wholesome flower that it will grow shall be sown iu its wild places, and every kind of fruit tree that can prosper ; and arable and pasture land extended by every expedient of tillage, with humble and simple cottage dwellings under fautless sanitary regulations. Whatever piece of land we begin work upon, we shall treat thoroughly at once, putting unlimited manual labour on it, until we have every foot of it under as strict care as a flower garden ; and the labourers shall be paid sutficient, unchanging wages ; and their children educated compnlsorily in agricultural schools inland, aud naval schools by the sea, the indispensable first condition of such education being that the boys learn either to ride or to sail ; the girl to spin, weave, aud sew, and at a proper age to cook all ordinary food exquisitely ; the youth of both sexes to be disciplined daily iu tlie strictest practice of vocal music ; and for morality, to be taught gentleness to all brute creatures, finished courtesy to each other, to speak truth with rigid care, and to obey orders with the precision of slaves. Then, as they get older, they are to learn the natural history of the place they live iu ; to know Latin, boys and girls both, and the history of five cities— Athens, Rome, Venice, Florence, aud London. Now, to what extent I may be able to carry this plan into execution, I know not ; but to some visible ex- tent, with my own single hand, I can, and will, if I live. 263 THE FAEMER\S MAGAZINE. PRESTON AGRICULTURAL SHOW. MEETING AT PRESTON, The annual show was marked by manifold features of genuine success. The weather was of the most favourable character, and even the intense heat of the previous week or ten daj's was tempered into a genial warmth entirely within the scope of human comfort and sustenance. The entries in all the varied classes and departments, both in live stock and iu mechanism, were larger than at the first meeting a year ago. Exhibitors stood well by their promises, and the muster in articles lay and specimens lively was beyond all expectation gratifying. In the prime point of quality, whether of farm- stock, farm produce, or farm implements, there was indisputable proof not simply of comparative value but of intrinsic merit and excellence. Further, tlie attendance of visitors was very gratifying in point of numbers, and therefore promising in the practical interests of the Society. The main conditions of thorough success, then, were amply fulfilled ; and although, in the nature of things, it would be an easy matter to find justi- fication and excuse for any incident of failure, there is no direction in wliich it is requisite, or even desirable, to cast about for such dubious assistance. The extreme youth of the Society might readily be advanced as an irresistible plea to cover any apparent shortcomings. Without a history of by- gone successes by which to test present acliievements, the Preston Agricultural Society escapes a critical process that as easily adduces signs of decadence as of flourish- ing growth ; whilst demanding all consideration, for aught of drawback or demerit that may be apparent, on the tendar ground of inexperience. The show of implements and of agricultural machinery generally, whether silent or iu motion, could only, of course, have been considered as of limited capacity if placed in con- trast with the gigantic coUectious which this year's exhibitions have called forth throughout the country. The mere question of extent need not be used — indeed, cannot be rightly used — as the test of excellence in this particular ; for whilst it would be an idle truism to say that in variety lie many of the features of general attraction, it is quite possible within small compass to bring together the chief improvements of the day iu field machinery. The chief collection, both in extent and as the judges' award subsequently declared, excellence, was that ex- hibited by Mr. T. Standing, of fishergate, who was awarded the first prize of £5. Quite as much space, apparently, as had beeu taken up by the whole of the other exhibitors had been taken by Mr. Standing, whose collectiou numbered about 120 implements, embracing almost every invention wliich has been discovered for aiding the farmer iu the ready and scientific prosecution of his labours. The most prominent of the machinery — and one which at cer- tain periods of the day certainly made itself both heard and felt, as well as seen — was an eight-horse single- cylinder portable steam engine, by Messrs. Clayton and Shut- tleworth, of Lincoln, which supplied the motive power to a number of chaff cutters, grinding and kibbling mills, and other ingenious appliances for expediting labour. Close by was a large blast finisliiug and thrashing machine, by the same makers, with all the latest improvements, and backed by the tangible approval of many thousands of purchasers. Further, Mr. Standing exhibited many of ISaralett's, Fell's, and Wood's mowers, reapers, and horse rakes ; Richmond and Cliandler's chaff cutters, and Bentall's patent for the same work ; Kan- somes and Sous' new double-furrow plougli ; the " original patent" American revolving mould-board plough, the success of which has become a " household word ;" a variety of other ploughs of the best and newest construction, whilst iu the lesser articles, the stand comprised pretty nearly every machine which has won the merit of sound approval throughout the whole range of inventive genius agriculturally directed. A bare inventory of the machines would far exceed the space at our disposal. Picksley, Sims, and Co.'s collection was the next m order and also iu numbers ; it included between forty and fifty macluue* for jaowing, pulping, cliaff cutting, ana kibbling • the second prize was awarded to this stand. Messrs. Taylor and Wilson, of Accrington, exliibited ten or a dozen capital wringing and mangling machines, and also a 2^-horse steam engine of careful construction. A stand of Messrs. J. and J. Hallmark, of Market-place, Preston, highly commended by the judges, contained several capital home washers, together with lever and spring machines ; and also lawn mowers, garden syringes, and reels. Mr. Ephraim Taylor, of New Market-street, Blackburn, exliibited several compound-aetiou churns aud octagon washing machines iu motion and practical use. A collection of churns, cheese vats, and tubs was shown. by Messrs. Wliittingham and Sou, of Friargate, Preston. Mr. W. Troughtou, Church-street, had excellently displayed the re- sources of his establishment iu his collection of grasses in pots, dried grasses, agricultural roots and seeds, and potatoes, labels, improved flower pots, lawn mowing machines, garden rollers, engines, and barrows, and a variety of other useful inventions in that direction, aud coming under the head " miscellaneous articles." The number of entries was about two hundred and fifty. There was a first-class collection of cattle in both classes, gentlemen's and tenant-farmers, and the latter ran the speci- mens of the amateurs a close race iu many instances, whilst iu others some dissatisfaction was, however, expressed by the judges at the neglect of exhibitors in certain cases to give the ages of their animals. This was remarkably manifested in the very first premium offered. The first prize was awarded to Mr. Parker's roan Royalist, a fine animal with grand points certainly ; but there can hardly be a doubt that had the owner of the second prize bull, Mr. Staffer, given the age he would have stood first. The show was a capital one in every way. The bulls under two years were a very fair class, but there was a considerable falling off, in point of quality, between the younger animals and the older ones. The aged bulls were de- cidedly the best class. There were one or two nice bull calves ; but the specimens were not extraordinarily good, especially compared with the fine samples of breeding and condition which had previously paraded the ring. The prize-takers were good and promising youngsters. There was an excellent class of aged cows, and the judges experienced much difficulty in getting them sorted for the prizes. Mr. Statter was again to the front, closely followed by Mr. W. Dodgson, of Plumpton Hall. Under three years, the heifers turned out fairly, and were what may be called a good class. For the best heifers not exceed- ing two years, however, the quality was not remarkably good ; and with regard to the calves, they were not so good as could have been wished. Tiie tenant-farmers' bulls were an excel- lent lot, and it was difficult to make a selection for the prizes ; but when the aged lot was left, the young bulls showed a simi- lar falling ofl' to that experienced iu the other class. Mr. Tora- linson's calf was of more than an average merit, and Mr. Mars- land's was fittiugly rewarded. Tlie remarks already made may be applied to the cows or heifers — the old ones were decidedly the best ; but the display was better than ordinary of the " over two" heifers, where the competition was close, Mr. Mars- land again taking the first prize with a nice roan. In the class below, the young heifers rather fell off in quality ; and the calves, too, were scarcely found so good as eould have been desired, although there was uot much room for fault-finding. The prizes for the three best dairy covvs brougiit oat two splendid groups, each animal being veritably a picture ; and the winners, Mr. Lund, of Uolliugshead Fold, aud Mr. Dodg- son, Plumpton Hall, deserve the highest compliment. In ad- ditition to receiving the second prize, Mr. Dodgson was highly commended. Unquestionably, the horses constituted the strong point of the show, leaving out of the reckoning the classes of lesser importance ; aud the collectiou, for a local exhibition, merited the high encomiums it received both from the judges and the visitors. In sheer point of numbers it far overtopped other classes, )jut even this flatteriug featiu'e was surpassed by the THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 253 xcellence of quality. Five thoroughbred stallions were brought into competition, and these horses included the ani- mals best known and most favoured in the district. The chief prize fell to Lord Hastings, belonging to Mr. Joseph Tate, of Pole-street, Preston, a fine-looking horse, with splendid legs and hocks, and altogetlier as good inherently as attractive outwardly. Lord Hastings has been exhibited at eight shows, and at seven has carried off the first prize decisively. Mr. Brown's fine brown horse Humdrum, with nothing at all humdrum or ordinary about it, took the second prize worthily. Messrs. Lund and Redman's roadster stallion Octaviau won easily in point of quality. In tiie draught stallions the deci- sion of the judges at the Royal North Lancashire meeting at Blackburn was singularly reversed, and we do not care to venture any explanation. Mr. Cooke, of Much Hoole, carried off the first prize with his Ploughboy, a very good horse, with excellent legs and superior action : and Mr. Edmundson, of Estwistle, near Burnley, had to be contented with a second place, although at the show referred to he was placed before his opponent. The brood mares were a capital show, and Mr. Jenkiuson's Nateby mare. Star, fully deserved the position attained at the head of the list. Mr. Statter's raare, which came in second, is a good animal, but she has not the decided quality of the other competitor. The mares for road or field in foal were also a nice class, and Mr. Fos, of Singleton, took the prize with the handsome chesnut Pink, a fine goer. The pairs of draught horses were only moderately good, if we ex- cept the takers of both prizes, Mr. Brierley's,'Middleton, which were far in advance of the rest in aU particulars. The draught three-year-olds were capital, and the winning horses of both first and second prizes in the next class for other pur- poses. Mr. W. Jackson's Singleton and Mr. W. Coddington's Blackburn were nice blood-looking horses. The prize-winner in the two-year-olds for draught purposes is a nice bay filly belonging to Mr. Rimmer, of Farington. The " other pur- poses" two-year-olds were an average class, and the yearlings for draught fair, but not of first quality. Mr. T. H. Miller carried olf the first prize in the yearling class for general pur- poses with a good brown colt, and Miss Aglionby won second honours with a lively chesnut. The colts and fillies for draught were a good show — an excellent show, in fact ; the leaders being Mr. W. Harrison, Woodplumpton, with a good brown of four months, followed very closely by Mr. T. Cartmell, of Clifton, with an equally promising grey by British Ensign, three months old. In the succeeding class there were some fair colts. There was a particularly good show of Leicesters and of long-woolled sheep, and the Southdowns were of fair character, but only limited. The Fell sheep merited warm commenda- tion. In white-faced lambs, also, the collection was to be commended ; whilst the gimmer lambs were of extraordinary merit, and ranking above an average class. Altogether, the show of sheep was excellent, and several exhibitors from a distance expressed surprise at the high character of several of the pens brought forward from the district. The whole col- lection was in good order and condition. The pigs formed a fine show, considering its limited extent ; but the chances of local exhibitors were altogether swamped by the porcine wonders forwarded by Mr. Peter Eden, of Sal- ford. His two splendid boars of the large breed — without question a couple of the best animals iu all England, as re- cent contests have proved — carried ofi" the first and second prizes without diflficulty ; but Mr. Wareing, of Woodplumpton, received high commendation for a fine young boar of ten months. The result was varied in the small breed boars, Mr. Eden having to content himself with the second place, giving way to Mr. Leigh's, of Lea, fine boar Sam. The Berkshire boars were tolerably well grown, and the first-prize winner, shown by Mr. Curtis, Garstang, was deserving hearty com- mendation. In breeding sows, Mr. Eden went again in front for both premiums ; and for the smaller kind he again took first money, but was closely folio ived by Mr. Leigh. The Berkshire sows were tolerably good pigs ; but do not call for more particular mention. PRIZE LIST. Judges.— Cattle : R. Ormrod and J. Culshaw. Horses : W. Longton and J. Bell. Sheep and Pigs : M. Walker and G. Sedgwick. Implements; J, Uarrisoa and D, Ashcroft. CATTLE. SHORTHORNS. (Gentlemen's and Tradesmen's Class.) Bull, two years old or upwards.— First prize, R. Parker, Burton (Royalist) ; second, T. Slatter, jun. Commended : J. Tunstall, St. Michaels (Sir Edward). Bull, above one and under two years old. — First prize, R. Parker, Burnley (Baron Stanley) ; second, T. Statter, juu. Bull calf, under one year.— First prize, T. Statter, jun.; second, 13. Bee, Goosnargh. Cow or heifer, above three years old, and iu calf or milk. — First prize, T. Statter, jun,; second and commended, W. Dodgson, Kirkham. Highly commended : J. Milner, Myers- cough. Commended : J. Sykes, Poulton-le-Fylde. Heifer, above two and not exceeding three years old, and in calf or milk.— First prize, T. Statter, jun. ; second, J, Tate, Preston, Heifer, not exceeding two years old, — First prize, T. Statter, jun. ; second, J. Lund, lugol. Heifer calf.— First prize, T. Statter, jun. ; second, J. Mars- land, Bashall Eaves. (Tenant Farmer's Class.) Bull, two years old and upwards. — First prize, W. Tillotson, Burnley ; second, J. Tunstall, Garstang. Highly commended : G. Hawarth, Darwen. Bull, above one and under two years old. — First prize, R. Whittam, Mount Pleasant, Burnley ; second, J. Bannister, Ashton. Highly commended : R. Holt, Ribbleton. BuU calf, under one year old.— First prize, J, Tomlinson, St. Michaels ; second J . Marsland, BashaU Eaves. Cow or heifer, above three years old, and in calf or milk. — First and second prizes, J. Lund. Highly commended : W. Dodgson. Higlily commended and commended : J. Blilner, Myerseough. Heifer, above two and not exceeding three years old, and in calf or nulk. — First prize, J. Marsland ; second, R. Blezard, Ingol. Heifer, not exceeding two years old. — First prize, T, Mars land ; second, J, Woodhouse, Lancaster, Commended : R, Blezard, Heifer calf. — First prize, J. Lund ; second, J. Marsland. Three dairy cows.— First prize, J. Lund ; second, W. Dodg- son, HORSES. Thorough-bred stallion. — First prize, J, Tate, Preston (Lord Hastings) ; second, R.Browu,Longridge (Humdrum). Roadster stallion. — First prize, Lund and Redman, Preston (Octavian) ; second, J. Butler, Treales (Hercules). Draught stallion. — First prize, A. Cook, Much Hoole (Ploughboy) ; second, J. Edmondson, Extwistle (England's Glory) . Highly commended : J . Gerrard, Heaps (Conqueror). Brood mare for draught purposes, being in foal or having produced a foal in 1S71. — First prize, J. Jenkinson, Nateby ; second, T. Statter, Manchester. Brood mare for road or field purposes,being in foal or h.aving produced a foal in 187L — First prize, T. Fox, Singleton ; second, R. Hulton, Milnthorpe, Highly commended : T. H. Miller, Singleton. Pair of draught horses, 3 years old and upwards, — First and second prize, C. W. Brierley, Middleton. Three-year-old gelding or filly for draught purposes, — First prize, C. VV. Brierley ; second, T. Stratter. Three-year-old gelding or filly, for other purposes, not being thorough-bred. — First prize, W. Jackson, Singleton ; second, W. Coddington, Blackburn, Higlily commended : T, Strick- land, Cartford. Two-year-old gelding or filly for draught purposes. — First prize, P. Rimmer, Farington ; second, J. Wright, Tarleton. Highly commended : R. C, Richards, Kirkham ; J. Deacon, Leyland, Two-year-old gelding or filly, for other purposes, not being thorough-bred. — First prize, B, Bee, Goosnargh ; second, J. Banks, Little Hoole. Yearling colt or filly for draught purposes. — First prize, Rev. J. Pinningtou, Stonyhurst ; second, W. Clegg, Fairhurst. Yearling colt or filly for other purposes, not being thorough- bred.— First prize, T. H. Miller ; second, Miss E. A. Aglionby, Hawkshead. Colt or filly foal for draught purposes, — First prize, W, T 2 254 THE TAEMER'S MAGAZINE. Harrison.Woodplarapton ; second, T. Cartniell, Clifton. Highly commended : T. Wilson, Much Hoole. Colt or filly foal for other purposes, not being thorough- Ijred. — First prize, J. Cross, Preston ; second, T. Fox, Single- ton. Highly commended : E. Croft, Ribbleton. SPECIAL PRIZES. By Messrs. Lund and Redman. — Colt or filly foal by tlie entire horse Octavian. — Prize, T. Statter, jun. Highly com- mended : Mrs. J. Humber, Fulwood. By Mr. A. Cook. — Colt or filly foal by Ploughboy. — Prize T. Wilson. By Mr. T. T. Parker, — Draught mare or gelding four-year- old or upwards. — First prize, C. Yates, Preston ; second, H. Hunt, Longton. Hunters, to carry not less than 12 stone over hurdles 4 feet high. — First prize, G. Wightman, Over Darwen (Sir Colin) ; second, J. Wilson, Milnthorpe. Highly commended: B. Walmsley, Preston (Never Fear) ; John R. Patterson, Hall Beck, near Ulverston. Pony fencer, not exceeding thirteen hands high, over a loose bar 3 feet high. — First prize, J. E. Patterson ; second, E. Birley, Clifton. Road or field mare or gelding, four-year-old or upwards. — First prize, T. Powell, Preston ; second, T. H. Miller. Cob, not exceeding 15 hands. — First prize, S. Leese, Preston ; second, T. Fildes, Lytham. Cob, not exceeding U hands high. — First prize, L. Attley, Newsham ; second, J. H. Openshaw, Darwen. Pony, under 13 hands high. — First prize, J. II. Patterson ; second, T, Statter, jun. Highly commended: E. Uowarth, Preston. Pony, under 12 hands. — First prize, C. Leigh, Preston ; second, J. Harding, Preston. Highly commended : J. Uoulker, Blackburn. SHEEP. Rani of the Leicester breed of any age. — First prize, T. Seed, Clithero ; second, J. Miluer. Highly commended : T. Bracewell, Ribchester. Long-wool ram of any age. — First prize, J. and R. Earn- shaw, Griudlcton ; second, J. and W. Pinder, Waddinj^tou. Ram of the Down breed of any age. — First prize, \V. Dodg- son, Kirkbam; second, R. IL Willacy, Penworthani. Ram of any breed adapted to a mountain district, any age. — First and second prizes, L. Duckworth, Rarasbottom. Three Leicester ewes, any age. — First prize, J. and R. Earusbaw ; second, J. Miluer. Highly commended : J. Woodhouse, Lancaster. Three ewes of the Down breed, not to exceed in age four shears, each having reared a lamb in 1871. — Prize, W. Dodg- son. Three shearling ewes of the Down breed.^Prize, W. Dodgson. Three ewes of any other breed, any age, and best adapted to a mountain district. — First and second prizes, J. G. Bridge, Rawtenstall. Highly commended : 11. Parker, Burton, West- moreland. Three half-bred ewes, bred from either lonk or blackfaced ewes, any age. — First and second prizes, W. T. Holgate, Grindleton. Wbitefacedtup lamb. — First prize, J. Woodhouse; second, H. Ball,Broughton. Highly commended : \V. Jackson, Bolton-le- Sands. Commended : W. Sraalley, Clitheroe. Tup lamb of the Down breed. — First and second prizes, W. Dodgson. Three whitefaced gimmer lambs of the Leicester breed. — First prize, J. Woodhouse; second, W. Clegg, Goosnargh. Highly commended : J. Miluer, Myerscough. Three gimmer lambs of the Down breed. — Prize, W. Dodgson. Three cross bred gimmer lambs. — First prize, J. Howard, Newton, near Clitheroe ; second, W. and T. Holgate. Three gimmer lambs, adapted to a mountain district. — First prize, J. G. Bridge ; second, J. J. Midglcy, Birkett-Newton. Highly commended : R. Parker. PIGS. Boar of the large breed, any age. — First and second prizes, P. Eden, Salford. Highly commended : T. Wareing, Wood- plumpton. Boar of the small breed, any age. — First prize, A. Leigh, Lea ; second, P. Eden. Highly commended : P. Eden. Boar of the Berkshire breed. — First prize, L. H. Curtis, Garstang ; second, Rev. J. Pinnington, Stouyhurst. Highly commended : J. Whalley, Blacburn. Breeding sow of the large breed, in-pig or milk. — First and second prizes, P. Eden. Highly commended : J. Birch, Sefton' Commended : W. Woods, Preston. Breeding sow of the small breed, in-pig or milk. — First prize, P. Eden; second, A. Leigh. Highly commended: Kitchen and Co., Feniscowles. Breeding sow of the Berkshire breed, in-pig or milk. — First prize, J. Jackson, Garstang ; second, J. and R. Brown, Preston. Highly commended : J. and R. Brown. IMPLEMENTS. Collection of Agricultural Implements. — First prize, T. Standing, Preston ; second, Picksley, Sims, and Co., Preston. Highly Commended : J. and J. Hallmark, Preston; Ephraim Taylor, Blackburn, Commended-. J. Foster, Preston. THE DINNER was served the large room of the Red Lion Hotel, Church- street. From fifty to sixty gentlemen were present, among them being Mr. R. Townley Parker, in the chair ; Hon. F. A. Stanley, M.P., L. Spencer, M.D., Mayor ; Aldermen M. Myres and Rawchffe; Mr. T. T. Parker, Mr. Charnock Richard, Mr. E. G. Melling, Mr. Wilson, jun., Mr. Rigma- den, &c. After the usual loyal toasts, the Chairm.vx said he had now to propose the toast of the evening — " Prosperity to the Preston Agricultural Society." He was sorry to say he did not possess — what he thought might have been afforded him — the slightest knowledge, either financially or otherwise, with regard to the exhibition that had taken place that day, and which he was quite sure had delighted many thousands. Having commended the show of pigs, mares, and ponies, and described the cows as "moderate" in his opinion, he again regretted he had no iufonuatiom on the matter upon which he could have addressed thein with regard to the toast, which he hoped they would receive with due honours, and endeavour to induce persons with capital to promote the interests of agriculture in every way. Mr. Alderman Rawclifee replied. He said he took con- siderable interest in this institution last year, and had helped otiiers to do some blindly foolish things. When a man made a blunder, he thought the best thing he could do was to con- fess it. At the same time, if he was so open at confessing a blunder, he hoped they would put their hands in their pockets and relieve them from the state of affairs into which that binder had led them. He did not think that this institution should not exist in this town, though there were already established the Royal Nortii Lancashire aud several local shows in the neighbourhood ; for, if they considered, there was ample room here for a very excellent show of stock. But, whilst he wished success to the institution, he hoped they would allow him to say that he was not much iu favour of agricultural societies as they are now carried on. He did not wish to throw down tiie " apple of discord," but if any gentle- man would try to controvert what he said tlicre might be some discussion that would lead to rules being laid down for the better regulation of agricultural societies. He alluded par- ticularly to the prizes given for horses, cows, sheep, aud pigs. Now, what was the main feature that coinraanded the atten- tion of the judges ? Fat and weight ? If that was so, theydid not need judges, but merely a pair of scales and weights. What he wished to say was, that stock ought to be shown iu its ordi- nary condition. That was his opinion. He did not want to say too much upon that point, but he thought that all stock ought to be shown at these exhibitions in its ordinary condition. If a man, a judge, could not tell what an animal would be from what it was tiien, he was not capable of being a judge. Tiieu, again, he would say, tlie gentlemen farmers (and in this district there were a good many) had no business to be com- petitors. They were mostly daiiy farms about here, and the most beneficial class of animals a farmer could keep on liis premises were those that gave most milk and butter. First, he had to pay bis rent, aud lie should try to lay something by besides ; but if he competed witii gentlemen he would do THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. himself harm. Therefore, they ouptlit to be classified : tiic geutlemau should uot show against tlic teuaut-farracr, nor the tenant-farmer against tlie gentleman. Suppose eight or ten people all fed up their animals for one prize ; they could not all get it, and they had spent a great deal of money in feeding them, done then\ an injury, and sustained a great loss them- selves. Tills was a dairy district, and he would advise the teuuut-farraer, after securing a good quality of cow for miliv and butter, that he should leave feeding cattle alone. He would say, give a prize to those who would put the greatest amount ot manure on pasture fields. If seven or eight per- sons competed for that prize, only one could get it, but tiiey would all be gainers afterwards ; eacii would find himself handsomely rewarded at home. Mr. llawcliffe concluded by compliraeutingtlie Chairman on his presence among tiicm, and hoped he would be long spared to give the light of his pleasant countenance upon their proceedings. The Hon. i\ A. Stanley, M.P., said they knew that all these meetings were called together to show various classes of animals ; that some people came together for the sake of seeing what they could see, aud some for the purpose of plea- sant meetings, hoping to take away pleasant feehngs and recollections. Now, he was of the latter class. He was sure it came home to their feelings to see the Chairman presiding. Mr, Hermon was absent on account of heavy Parliamentary duties (and they were much indebted to him for his assiduity), and he was removed from them by such a distance as could not, under present circumstances, be overcome ; but, without any disrespect to Mr. Uermon, they did uot wish the chair to be better filled on this occasion. Tiiey had got in it one of the most genial presidents, one of the best and kindest friends the town could have; and in proposing "The health of Mr. Parker, and long life to him," he should speak the feelings of all present. The CnAiRiiAX, after acknowledging the toast, said that a little while ago he had no small reason to complain that he did uot possess the slightest report on tlve state of the show ground that day, that they might form some opinion of the sup- port agriculture was hkely to receive by the present meeting. Since that time he had had placed in his hands the number of entries in the several classes exhibited. He found that of the live stock there were 756 entries ; implements, 250. He must say that in the matter of implements it was most desirable that^a knowledge of all improvements made in them should be as largely disseminated as possible ; for, as they were aware, in the labour market at this moment there was a great deficiency, labourers' wages amounting to a very serious sum. Of cattle there were 117 entries, horses 186, sheep 69, pigs 30, butter and cheese 11 — he was sorry to remark that in an essentially dairy country — and lastly, the entries of poultry were 165, and dogs 163. Tiiat was certainly a favourable report, but he had no opportunity of comparing it with that of last year. In fu- ture, liowever, perhaps some gentleman would have the kind- ness to prepare sucli a statement, that the chairman might be able to show the advancement made by the Society. It was not possible for him to sit down after having had his health proposed by his hon. friend, without expressing to him his own feelings, and also on behalf of the whole county, that great es- teem and universal regard which the community paid to the name of Stanley. He had been proud for many years to con- sider that illustrious house had done honour to this country. If it were possible that he could by any means show his attach- ment to that noble house, he should be happy to devote the last hours of existence to it. After several other toasts had been proposed and responded to, Mr. Alderman Rawcliffe proposed the health of the judges. He referred to his former observations on judges and fat stock, and said it required an expert to tell them tlie quality of an animal kept under such circumstances as he had mentioned. Therefore it was a matter of importance to select gentlemen for that office, as far as possible, out of the district, lest they might be accused of partiality. Mr. Bell, one of the judges of horses, in responding to the toast, congratulated the Society on the show of horses par- ticularly. He would advise them at future shows to have everything a little handier for the judges, who sometimes had to wait ten minutes before they could proceed. — One of the judges of cattle also replied on behalf of himself and colleague, saying the cattle were a very fine show, and there were some hard contests. The tenant farmers ought to be glad as well as the judges. Some of them had taken prizes from the gen- tlemen once or twice that day. He believed the best animal in the field belonged to a tenant farmer, or he was not worthy to be a judge. They had done their best as judges, and he hoped they had given satisfaction. One of the gentlemen who had spoken previously made some remarks about the fattening of stock for show. Now, it was not the duty of judges to ask what they were fattened for. If they saw a fat animal before them they did not know who had fattened it ; he might be a farmer or not, and they must use tlieir own judgment so far as they could. If they saw a nice fat animal they were sure it was a thriving animal ; if they saw one come into the enclosure lean and poor, they were uot sure that it might not have eaten as much food, and as good, or even better, perhaps, than the other. He hoped they would go on prospering. A vote of thauks to the Chairman having been proposed by Mr. Jackson and agreed to, as the gentlemen were leaving the room, the proceedings terminated. — AbriUged from T/i<^ Brest on Guardian. KEIGHLEY AGRICULTUEAL SOCIETY. The twenty-ninth annual show was held under rather un- favourable auspices in regard to weather. Rain fell heavily in the morning, and although it cleared up later on, aud the sun shone out for a short time, a sharp thunderstorm bxirst over the ground when the hunters were being tried, and the torrents of rain entirely stopped the proceedings. Happily the atmosphere again cleared, and the judges were able to finish their work. The show was held as heretofore in a field on the Skipton-road. £650 was offered in prizes and nineteen silver cups or other prizes. The total enlries were about equal to last year. Notwithstanding tiie weatlier, the attendance was large. The cattle and horses, accommodated in covered sheds, surpassed anything previously seen at Keigliley, both in regard to numbers and quality ; the hunters, iu particular, were a superb collection, one of the judges stating them to be the best lot he had seen this season at any show. The pigs were fine specimens, and so were the sheep, but the latter were fewer in numbers than are usually seen at this show. The poultry and pigeons were not so numerous as ordinarily, but the qua- lity was up to the mark, though they were seen to great dis- advantage ov^ing to the morning's raiu, which drenched the peus. The winners of firsts in poultry aud pigeons were : H. Lacy, Hebden Bridge; W. A. Taylor, Manchester ; J. Siehel, Tiraperley ; C. Sidgwick, Riddlesden ; C. W. Brierley, Mid- dleton, several, and a cup for the best game pen ; J. J. Booth, Silsdeu; H. Pickles, jun., Earby, several; T. Mitchell, Keighley ; J . RoUinson, Lindley ; T. Dean, Keighley, cup for best pen ; H. Bcldon, GoitstocK ; II. Bowker, Keighley ; T. Briden, Earby ; T. E. Kell, Wetherby ; J. Spencer, Clayton ; W. II. Sutcliffe, Keighley ; G. Noble, Staincliffe ; W. E. En- twistle, Cleckheaton ; E. Leaeh, Rochdale ; J. Berry, Sils- den ; E. Horner, Ilarewood, several ; W. Caiman, Bradford ; H. lardley, Birmingham ; J. Fielding, jun., Rochdale, seve- ral ; F. Graham, Birkenhead ; R. Ogden, Rochdale.— Firsts in rabbits were given to R. and G. E. Easam, Newark ; J. Buckley, Bradford ; T. Driver, Morton Banks ; S. Green- wood, Hebden Bridge.— Mrs. Harrison, Old Carrhead, took first in butter. — In implements a cup was given to AV. and F. Richmond, Colne, for best agricultural, and another cup was taken by John Robiuson, Leeds, for hay-harvesting implements, both of these makers show- ing fine collections of their work. Firsts were given in roots to J. Riley, Junrtion; R. Petty, Sutton ; and J. Ividd, Sutton. In pigs firsts were awarded to C. Roberts, Wakefield ; 256 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. P. Eden, Salford ; J. E. Fox, Great Horton; J. Umpleby, Guiseley ; S. Reeday, Keighley ; C. McDonnell, KeigUey ; R. E. Duckeriug and Sons, Kirton ; C. R. N. Bes^icke, Little- borough ; T. Binns, Keighley ; Z. Steel, Keighley ; J. Harri- son, Cowling ; T. Newton, Keigliley ; J. Reeday, Keigliley ; J. Shackleton, Oakworth ; J. Spence, Farnhill ; and D. Driver, Esley Head. The judges were: — For Shorthorns: The Rev. L. C. Wood, Singleton Rectory ; W. Sandy, Holme Pierpoint. Notts ; H. W. Beauford, Bedford. — Horses : J. \Yilson, Wood, born Manor, Morpeth ; L. Hodgson, Highborn House, Easing- wold ; T. Gibbon, Burnfoot-on-Esk. — Sheep ; E. Riley, Kip- ling Cote, Beverley ; W. Robson, Great Ousebom, York. — Lonk Sheep : G. Browne, Troutbeck. — Pigs : J. Smith, Henley-in-Arden ; J. Culshaw, Townley, Burnley. — Poultry : Mr. Hewitt, Eden Cottage, Sparkbrook, Birmingham ; R. Teebay, Fulwood, Preston. — Pigeons : F. Esquelant, Brixton, London. — Crops : H, Ambler, Watkinson Hall ; J. Renton, Farnley, Otley. — Butter : W. Peacock, Malham. — Implements: H. Ambler, Watkinson Hall ; J. Renton, Farnley, Otley. The following are the prize takers in cattle, horses, and CATTLE. (Open to the United Kingdom.) Short-horned bull, above two years old. — First prize, J. Outhwaite, Catterick, Short-horned bull, above one year old. — First prize, R. Stratton, Swindon ; second, R. Parker, Burnley, BuU calf under twelve months old. — First prize. Lady Pigot, Nawmarket ; second, T. Statter, jun., Whitefield. Short-horned cow in milk or calf, — First prize, J. Outh- waite ; second, A. Dugdale, Burnley, Short-horned heifer, under three years old, — First prize, Lady Pigot ; second, J, How, Huntingdon. Short-horned heifer, under two years old. — First prize, R. Stratton ; second, J . How. Heifer calf under twelve months old, — First prize, Lady Pigot; second,T. Statter, jun. Dairy Cow. — First prize, W, Bentley AUerton ; sacond, H, Crossley, Halifax. Alderney or Guernsey cow or lieifer. — First prize, E. Holmes, Keighley ; second, R,L. Hattersley, Keighley. To the exhibitor of the best three Shorthorns. — First prize, J. Outhwaite; second, J, How ; tliird, R. Stratton. TRADESMEIJ'S A^D FARMERS' PREMIUMS. (Open to the district comprised within a radius of 15 miles from the Devonshire Arms Hotel, Keighley.) Short-homed huU, above two years old. — Prize, AV. TiUot- sou, Marsden Hall. Short-horned bull, under two years old. — Prize, R. Parker. Bull calf under twelve months old. — First and second prizes, T.Hird, Skipton, Short-horned cow in milk or calf. — First prize, H, Crossley ; second, R. Parker. Short-horned heifer, under three years old. — First prize, B. Baxter, Elslack Hall ; second, H. Crossley. Short-horned heifer, under two years old.— First prize, B, Baxter ; second, H. Crossley. Heifer calf under twelve months old. — First prize, T. Hird ; second, J. Duckett, West Morton. HORSES, Coaching Stallions.— First prize, Stirk Brothers, Kildwick ; second, P. Fort, Keighley. Roadster stallion.— First prize, J. Gill, Silsdeu ; second, J. and S. Cockshott, Cringles. Draught stallion.— First prize, J. Forshaw, Burley-in- Wharfedale ; second, J. Edmondsou, Haughton Extwistle, Three-year-old roadster gelding or filly,- First prize, J, Ellis, Beeston ; second, J. W. Mills, Guiseley, Two-year-old roadster gelding or filly.— First prize, J, F. Crowther, Mirfield ; second, J. Keighley, Sandbeds. One-year-old roadster gelding or filly.— First prize, P, Par- ker, Carrhead ; second, J. Scott, East Bierley. Drauglit brood mare,— First prize, T. Statter ; second, L. Freer, Halifax. .p.^°!^'^ v"u ^°°'^ mare.— First prize, H, Mason, Bingley ; second, E. Holmes, Keighley, > s> j > -o^BrfJrL!^'"''' or marc-First prize, H. Glover, Son, and o., Bradford ; second, W. Laycock, Keighley, Nag or roadster. — Firt prize, E. Salt, Shipley Bay ; second, H, Mason, Bank Field. Cob, not to exceed 15 hands. — Prize, E, Charleswortli, Bradford, Pony, not to exceed 13^ hands.^First prize, A. Sutcliffe, Burnley; second, T. Statter, jun. Horse or mare in single harness. — First prize, B, Smith, Manningham ; second, J. Smith, Bradford. Lady's horse or mare, — First prize, W, M, Spence, Weston ; second, A. Dugdale, To the exhibitor of the best hunter,— First prize, J. B. Booth, Catterick ; second, J. M, Tattersall, Mnsgrave ; third, £, Nesfield, Scarbro', To the exliibitor of the best leaper. — First prize, H. John- son, Spofforth ; second, B, Nicholson, Sturton Grange ; third, T, Ingle, Knottingley, SHEEP, (Open to the United Kingdom.) LO^"GWOOLLED SUEEP. Leicester or any other longwooUed ram, two shear or aged. —First, second, and third prizes, T. H. Hutchinson, Catterick. Leicester or any other longwooUed ram, one shear. — First and second prizes, T. H. Hutchinson. Leicester or any other longwooUed tup lamb. — First prize, T. H. Hutchinson ; second, R, Burr, Ripley, Pen of three Leicester or any other longwooUed ewes, two shear or aged. — First and second prizes, T. H. Hutchinson, Pen of three Leicester or any other longwooUed ewes, one shear. — First and second prizes, T. H. Hutchinson. Pen of three Leicester or any other longwooUed ewe lambs. — First prize, T. H. Hutchinson ; second, M. Lamb, Otley. Leicester or any other longwooUed ewe lamb. — First prize, R. Surr ; second, M. Lamb. (Open to the district comprised in a radius of 15 mUes from the Devonshire Arms Hotel, Keighley.) Leicester or any other longwooUed ram, one shear. — First and second prizes, M. Lamb. Leicester or any other longwooUed tup lamb. — First prize, G. Greaves, Otley ; second, M. Lamb. Pen of three ewes, any age. — Prize, M. Lamb. Leicester or any other longwooUed ewe lamb.— First prize, W. Dawson, Otley ; second, M. Lamb. LO:\K SHEEP. • (Open to the Uaited Kingdom.) Ram, two shear or aged. — First prize, B. Dobson, Hkley ; second, W, RUey, Oak worth. Ram, one shear. — First prize, J. B. Sedgwick, Ridlesden Hall ; second, B. Dobson. Tup lamb, — First prize, B, Dobson ; second, J. Duisdale, Exley Head, Pen of three ewes, two shear or aged. — First prize, J. G. Bridge, RawtenstaU ; second, J. Dinsdale. Pen of three ewes, one shear. — ^First and second prizes, J. G. Bridge. Pen of three ewe lambs. — First prize, B. Dobson ; second. Smith and Hanson, Otley. Ewe lamb. — First prize, B. Dobson; second, Smith and Hanson. Pen of three ewe Iambs, first cross from Lonk ewes. — First prize, J . Gill, Silsden ; second, B. Baxter, Elslack Hall, Ewe lamb, first cross from Lonk ewes. — First prize, M. Lamb ; second, J. Gill. A floral and horticultural exhibition was held in a marquee adjacent to the show ground. There was a nice coUection of plants, ■ flowers, fruits, and vegetables; the latter being of re- markably superior quaUty. FOOD OF THE HOOPOE.— Carrion, beetles, larvffi, ca- terpiUars, ants, and many other kinds of insects are devoured by the common hoopoe in large numbers, its long beak en- abUng it to search for its victims in any hole or crevice into which they may have crept. Large beetles are kiUed by re- peated blows, and by crushing them against the ground until the wings and feet have been broken off. The morsel is then tossed aloft and dexterously caught and swaUowed. The young birds are at first unable to perform this rather difiiciUt feat, and therefore require to be fed by those who may wish to rear them. — CassclPs BooJi of Birds. THE FAEMEE'S MAGAZINE. 257 THE DUTY OF FAEMEES. At a meeting of the Wigtown farmers' Club, Mr. John Grainger in the chair, a paper was read by Mr. J. C. Grainger, of Wiggonby, on " The Duty of Farmers." Mr. Grainger said : Young men should be taught to do, as well as to know when a thing was done. It was an easy thing to take a farm and put it into good condition, if a man had plenty of money in his pocket, but this was quite a diiferent thing from, making it pay. Every farmer ought to learn to plough, sow, reap, &c., well, and thoroughly well, but some mental calculation was required also, in order that a system of farming might not be followed which did not pay. Turning more to the education question, so far as it bears on the re- quirements of the farmer, I presume you are all aware that there is some talk of establishing an agricultural college in and for the north of England. A most valuable paper on this subject has recently been read at the Hexham Farmers' Club by the Rev. Mr. Dvvarris. As much that he states coincides with my own views, I take the liberty of quoting some of the chief points : " Let," he says, " farmers' schools be made good, and not too dear. Tlie farmer would pay a reasoueble sum towards the board of his children, and a reasonable contribution towards their tiution, say £20 a-year for board and £7 10s. as remune- ration for the teachers. In order, however, that it might be done well at these rates, several conditions are requisite. It is only through large numbers and good management that the best teaching and a proper diet could be secured at these prices. Then for so large a school buildings of consider- able dimension and some dignity, ample grounds for recreation, are eminently desirable ; and to these conditions we must add the means of exciting emulation and of rewarding merit in such a laborious and painful pursuit as the discipline of the mind, by prizes aud certificates and honorary distinctions of all kinds. Fame is the spur which the clear spirit doth raise, To spurn delights aud live laborious days. These are the conditions of a school which the farmers could support for themselves." He goes on to say that the school should be built on the border of two counties, in a healthy district, and of easy access to Northumberland, Durham, and Cumberland. To give prospect of success to such a school as I have supposed to be desirable, at a cost to the farmer of not more than £27 10s., it seems to me that the following advan- tages must be first secured to it : (1) Buildings free of rent ; (3) a subsidised tuition ; (3) some special privileges to the farmer class ; (4) a form of government which shall command public confidence. It would be a great benefit if a school such as has been described could be built, and I think it might clearly be done. The cost of the building once ascertained, the money might be raised by shares, say of £100 each. Each farmer subscribing might have certain extra privileges, while non-subscribers' children should pay five pounds per annum extra. Leaving the question of education for that of taxa- tion, I think it as much the duty of farmers to look after their pockets and interests in that hue as any we have spoken of. And in what way can this be done better than by free discussion at our meetings ? The opinions expressed find their way to the press, and thus indirectly (if no more direct action is taken) influence the government in power. I know many outsiders think our meetings are so much time lost, use- less in fact, but without such and other kinds of meetings it is very probable that their pockets would suffer considerably more than they do at present. If I remember right, one of our own members would be amongst the first to read a paper on local taxation ; the question has also been ably discussed at Brampton. In almost every house, at one time or another, one hears sometliing said about excessive taxation, or the un- equal manner in which the taxes are raised, plainly showing that the shoe pinches. Mr. Wright thought the paper was very difficult to un- derstand. Mr. Hetiierington agreed with what was said about having to serve an apprenticeship to farming. Mr. Wright said it was not necessary to be able to plough or work ; they could get men to do that. A farmer required a good head-piece. Mr. M'Meciian would suggest to the chairman and the meeting whether farmers were not the " best abused " set of men going. Almost every lecturer and speaker had a fling at them, and they were spoken of as if they were half a century behind any other trade or profession, whereas he be- lieved the opposite was the case. Mr. Ross said that Mr. Grainger's paper was above his comprehension. When a lecturer treated upon so many sub- jects it was dltficult to carry the m all in one's head, so as to reply to them. Farmers had certainly to direct their attention to all kinds of things, vegetables, and animals. They had to ac- quire the experience, so that if they looked at a plant or field which was not doing well they would know what was wanted ; a man of letters would not know this. He thought the paper was very good, but it embraced too many subjects. Mr. Grainger said it was quite possible to introduce too many subjects. What he desired was to impress upon their minds the benefit of a thorough analysis of soils, and also to direct their attention to watching the pockets of the rate- payers, because he thought taxation was not enough looked after. The Chairman thought the paper in many respects a good one, and much approved of that part where he spoke of an agricultural college. If such a thing were established he thought he shou d send a son, and asked ]\L-. Norman if it would not be cheaper a good deal at £27 10s. per year than where he was at Cirencester. Mr, Norman said it cost four or five times as much. MORPETH CHAMBER OF AGRICULTURE.— At a meeting, Mr. T. J. Ward in the chair, Mr. Thos. Lawson, of Longhurst Grange, said the subject of that day's discussion was county rates and county boards, and he might congratulate the rate-payers of Northumberland on the progress their efi'orts had made on these questions. He well remembered the supercilious looks with which the advocates of county reform were greeted forty years ago, but such reception never chilled Northumbrians, and by ward meetings, county meetings, and more lately by chamber meetings, they had steadily urged on Parliament the desirability of placing the county-rate under the control of county boards, elected by, and responsible to the rate-payers, aud in the present session of Parliament a bill had been introduced by the present Ministry for this purpose, but unfortunately it formed part of a measure that was not so highly approved, and had been withdrawn. He moved that the following petition be agreed to and be signed by the chair- mam on behalf of the meeting and sent for presentation to the House of Commons by the Hon. H. G. Liddell, M.P., to the effect " That a large local tax, under the name of county-rate, is annually levied on your petitioners, and has of late years much increased iu amount. That your petitioners do not pos- sess any direct control over the expenditure of such rate ; your petitioners, therefore, pray your honourable House to pass a law for the election of a financial board in each county, and to place the expenditure of this rate for county purposes under the control of such board. Your petitioners further pray that the county-rate assessment basis be so amended as to include all the property ability of the county, and that the assessment be made on the lettable value of all property within the county :" this being seconded, was carried unanimously. Peti- tions for a uniform standard, agricultural statistics, and repeal of the Malt-tax were signed, and the deputy-secretary (Mr, John Aynsley) was directed to prepare one on turnpikes and highways, according to the resolution of the last meeting of the Chamber. 258 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. THE BIRMINGHAM HORSE SHOW, The gathering in Bingley Hall at Birmingham is one of the last of the pleasant meetings and greetings of the show season ; but all happiness has an end — hence the chief ])leasure of its next beginning. Dear, dear, what a place it is, that Bingley Hall ! fresh with deal planking, red cloth, and advertising placards, gorsed bails, and the vague smell of horses, suggestive of coming wonders : the brown tan laid down so level in the circus; the com- pany coming in and taking their places ; the judges chatting and looking carelessly about, as if they didn't want to begin, and knew all about it beforehand ! What a sight was that which burst upon us when the string of two-year-olds came dancing in ! Well might a free-list subscriber say that the reserved seats were the places to see from, and wonder they were not much dearer. Then the show itself, how like Astley's! Had we not the horses which little Jacob believed from the first to be alive, and the ladies and gentlemen of whose reality he could be by no means persuaded, even to the forlorn damsel that made Barbara cry, and the tyrant who made her tremble, for was not the one admirably represented by a young lady in a riding habit, and the other by the lithesome, obliging man in brown holland, whose word is law in the regions of Bingley ? Again, the military man in boots was not without his fellow, and there was any number of ponies ready to take the part of the "famous one," which reared on his hind legs when he saw the murderer, and wouldn't hear of walking on all fours again until he was taken into custody ; as there were further plenty of equestrians eager to outshine those great heroes, famous for their exploits on the Brentford, York, and Edmonton roads. In fact everything was delightful, splendid, and surprising, even to the old gentleman who applauded every verdict and beat his umbrella on the floor until it was nearly worn down to the gingham, although he made but a poor substitute for that gloriously happy trio — Jacob, Kit, .and Barbara's mother. Our sketch of Bingley Hall is taken from the Old Curioslti/ Shop, with a little assistance from harlequin and his wand, who, in one of his freaks, turned the gas into two-year-olds and made judges of the fiddlers. But harlequin has been very active throughout the show season, not only among the horses but with the Shorthorns, sheep, and pigs, as with one stroke of his wand he has upset all the decisions of a former meeting ; and then, skipping away to another gathering, with a crack sets them as they were ; while at a third assembly he so jumbles and knocks them about that honest John Bull begins to doubt whether he is playing his part at an agricultural show or a pantomime, and turns about as suspiciously as if he expected to be crammed into an oven or bonnetted as the policeman. Devoting part of the day to the mountebank business may have something to do with the falling otf of the show at Bingley, as it was not a strong one, and many a well- known exhibitor was not down in the catalogue or in the ilesh, while there was scarcely a dealer of any note in the Hall ; but Horneastle fair and Wolverhampton races being on may have caused a thinness in the gathering. Then, in consequence of the death of Mr. Major Richards— a kind, obliging steward of the ring — Mr. Westley Richards did not send any of his Leicestershire cracks. The judging generally commences here with the thorough-bred stallions, but this year the two- year-olds were the first in, mustering thirteen or fourteen strong, the contest for the colours being be- tween a chcsnut gelding by General Hess, a loose-going colt, that through the awkwardness of his attendant did not give a good show. He has a nice head and neck, with lengthy withers, having plenty before the saddle. His middle is good, with the exception of that lightness in the girth peculiar to his sire ; then he has rather a short quarter, with good limbs, large joints, but at pre- sent stands a trifle stiff or back at the knees. The second is also a chesnut, one of the big Angelus' stamp, of fair form, but a disher and coarse ; while the third, by Lifeboat, is a deep wiry-looking bi-own colt, well put together, and the commended Lorna, by The Lawyer, is a nice lengthy filly, with a I'ound barrel, capital back, and looking all over like going, though of no great substance below the knee. The three-year-olds were good. The Knight, by the Knight of Khars, is a very stylish nag; but when highly com- mended last year as a * wo-year-old we said he was not quite right in his shoulders. The second, a chesnut by Lifeboat, is a nice-looking, good-topped filly with deep, well laid shoulders, but light below the knee ; while the third was Luna by Laughing Stock, a very nice filly, and a first at Wolverhampton ; but we think now, witla her style and action, she is more likely to be valuable for the park than a hunter. The Banker, a first three-year-old at Wolver- hampton, and again in a class of twenty-one at York, was dismissed, together with a nice bay horse by Rat- catcher, of Mr. Mills', Thetford, which beat Major Barlow's Beckford in Norfolk, and a real varmint light-weight hunter, Master Whifller by Tim Whiftler. But this" is all waste of time, as the riding benches say that "you cannot tell anything about them without you get on their backs" ; and as they have not, we shall still poll for the Banker. " Must get on their backs, or you can't tell any- thing about them." — As we write this it is the hour of night when churchyards yawn, and we look nervously over our shoulders expecting to see the ghost of Lord George, or get a crack on the head from John Gully, as such a sweeping assertion does away with all the honour and glory of the Turf, as far as owners and trainers are con- cerned, and at the same time makes a mighty knowing card of the bow-legged lad with mouth big enough to accommodate the largest of Tenby oysters, and a brain that would go in an egg cup. Then what think ye of such a statement, you full-blown lovers of whipcord and ginger, that buy a score of horses in a day from merely seeing them run up and down a market place? And yon patrons of the leash, or judges of foxhounds, do you think it possible to tell whether a dog goes strong and well without getting on his back ? No — ride 'em, ride 'em — and ride the four -year -olds the two gallant officers did and no mistake, giving jMajor Barlow's prize horses such a bucketing that made them lather and blow most fearlully. As the nags in their distress panted, in the oppressive atmosphere of the Hall, for a Suffolk zephyr, the Major and Bcckford's jockey looked on, but not in anger we hope ; while poor Tregoth- nan, as he sobbed and sighed, if of a philosophical turn of mind, like Mr. Pickwick in the Fleet, must have thought from the first that " it was not the place to bring a young 'un to," and, perhaps with Mr. Weller, nor an old 'un either. The tug of war was between Tregothnau, the four- year-old prize horse at Islington, and at Wolverhampton, THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. BecLford, of Guildford renown, aud sccoud to his stable compaaiouat Wolvcrliainpton ; aud Misfortune, who again had the ill-luck to play third to them as she did at Wol- verhampton. She is a nice marc, of breed and a good goer, but a little shelly in her middle and a trifle slack in the loin ; but with all this we like her much. Beckford brings his hind-legs under him, strong and well, which Tregothnan did not; still we prefer Tregothnan. But this is an oft-told tale, as wc have described these horses over and over again. Tregothnan is a fine looking horse in his stall, while Beckford promises to furnish into a very useful good stamp of nag. There are persons, and some sportsmen of note, who are too lazy to come and see the horses judged and in action, but come round the stalls when the prizes are over the horses' heads, walk np to the animals, look over their backs, feel their legs and so on, and then form an opinion as to which is the best, and some are like town-criers in giving it out, " He's the best !" Now, these gentlemen always remind ns of the old lady that bought a grand piano of a respect- able auctioneer, and when she got it home found there vvere no insides, aud consequently no go, but she solaced herself by placing it in one corner of the room, where it fitted to a T, and asking her friends whether it was not a handsome bit of furniture ? What a lot of people run their hands down the legs of the grand piano at a horse show ! Now Squire, alias Genial Boy, as your mistress prefers to write it, you are qualified for a hunter not over fifteen two ; let us have a look at you. AVhat can we say about a head like that ? why, that it is good enough for anything, and that you are as neat aud clever throughout; as when Mr. Elliott took hold of your head, you w^ere ready to fly from under him. But we have seen you before, my lad ; and how came you quali- fied last year, in the hunters exceeding fifteen two ? High-heeled boots, of course ; for we recollect writing of you then, " While one really nice horse and a goer, Mr. Dilke's Genial Boy, comes in for a commendation." The second, Dublin, is nice enough, but not over-stout ; while Mr. Barker, of Ingatestone, with his two Romford prize horses, gets highly commended for Tom, the Rataplan horse, who bears the stamp of his sire in many points. Lallah Rookh was in this class — a little mare by Laugh- ing Stock, that played third to Bird on the Wing, and next to Loiterer at Wolverhampton. Here he comes ! Loiterer never showed better than he did at Wakefield ; aud it was there we gave a description of him, when in all his glory, with the 100-guinea prize ribbons that Captain Skipworth and Mr. Elliott ordered to be pinned to his head. We have watched him minutely in at least eight shows up to the wretched performance in the ring at Birmingham, palpable to any one, and the judges gave him the prize regardless of the well-known lines : If I kuow'd a donkey wot could'ut go. Do you think I'd acknowledge him ? Oh, no no. Mr. Elliott thinks we have been too hard on the horse, while many think we have not been hard enough; but let The Binningliam Post have its say. " He stands 15 J hands high, but does not look it ; and in the ring behaved anything but creditably, considering his reputation. Judged from his leaping performances and canters, many might be apt to pro- nounce him a wretch to go and a brute to leap. His mouth, however, was evidently very tender, from the way he threw up his head when the groom ])ulled the reins, showing that most careful handling by one familiar with him is necessary. We need not here enumerate all the prizes this splendid horse has gained in his lifetime." The horse has never bi'idled, and as to his groom he is a quick clever fellow in the saddle, for not fine horsemen like Captain Skipworth and Mr. Elliott can keep Loiterer's head down. Nor could Mr. Boulton at York, even when he allowed him to walk away with the reins on his withers. Open the gates — make way for the grand piano ! The third horse. Melton, is a blood-like animal with a good forehand, but high on the leg, with the hind ones rather straggling, in fact he is not well put together ; still he can move, but rather high and charger-like. Paddy Byrne, from the same stable, pleased us better, being a stout hardy compact little horse of breed, on a short leg that looked like a slayer. There were several others worthy of notice. Borderer in the hunters up to 15 stone is not at home in a circus, as he wants room to gallop, which is his best pace ; and we do not envy the Master of the Rufford his feelings if he saw his pet with Dick Webster up trying with a couple of persuaders to get him over that bit of gorse. Rode he on Borderer ? Tell me, gentle friend, How he went under him ? Middling, very midling ; but he takes it in style at last, and Richard was himself again. Then, Romeo, Romeo, wherefore do they give hunter prizes to brougham hoi-ses, Romeo ? for with your beefy shoulders you are nothing else, and w^e do not see why a judge should be saddled with the reputation of having given a prize to a brougham horse as well as a "gig horse" if he really did not fancy him, and upon good authority, we know, sweet Romeo, you art no fancy of Mr. Elliott's. The third was Loxley, and although a little scrambling in his canter we verily believe the last should have been first, judging by his perform- ance in the circle, together with his well-placed head, neck, shoulders, and hind-leg action, so good and hunting-like. We remember him well at Islington and Wolverhampton, aud he improves as you become better acquainted with him, as anything good is sure to do. Then came the thorougri-bred stallions, but what a falling oft' was there ! The entry was Laughing Stock, Paul Jones, Count Boulate, Breunus, Whitby, Gem of the Peak, and Carlton ; but of these only that deformity, to our eye. Laughing Stock, Gem of the Peak, and Paul Jones were in the Hall. Gem of the Peak is a black, and a neat made horse throughout, but fired where curbs arise, and has a pedigree that almost makes one doubt his being an aristo- crat, by Master Sykes, dam by Sir Colin Campbell, grandam by Joe Lovell. Paul Jones by Buccaneer, out of Queen of the Gipsies, by Chanticleer, better known as the Steam Engine of Chester Cup fame, has a plain head and neck, strong muscular shoulders, deep girth, but is rather tapering and shelley in his middle, with good quarters, well let down in his stifle, and a rare length of secoud thigh, with great leverage in the hocks, which are nicely placed ; in fact, he is more useful than ornamental. So much for the thorough-bred stallions generally, a very interesting class ! Messrs. Thurnall, Elliott, and Stevenson went to work with the hacks and roadsters on Wednesday, and were not long in coming to a verdict in favour of Rosalina and the Fenian, in a small class exceeding fifteen hands high. In the next lot of park hacks or roadsters not exceeding fifteen hands. Princess Louise, a strong, lengthy, very useful bay, with park action, but not remarkable for beauty, won with the assistance of Dick Webster ; while the rather common-looking, good- going, weight-carrier, Alonzo, played second to her, but a horse that was first in this class when much better re- presented last year. The best looking of the others were Mr. Millward's Hilton, Mr. Darby's Prince, Mr. Everitt's gelding, Mr. Whittington's Salt-Box, Mr. Smith's Robin Hood, and Jfr. Kenrick's Jenny Jones. The weight- carrying hacks not exceeding ISj^ hands were very poor, Dandy being a coarse vulgar fellow, and Land 260 THE FAEMER'S MAGAZINE. Agent very raw, but if schooled in time he may make a very neat hack, if his neck be not too weak, as well as a trifle too short. Picton moved, but is better adapted for harness purposes. In the weight-carrying hacks not exceeding 141 hands, Mr. Frisby, who is well known for his steppers, won vnth Dunstan, a strong cobby fashion- able horse, not unkaown to the prize-ring, but with a little too much flouiish in his action, as we should think, to be pleasant riding. The second to him was a stale-going grey, but the best goer was Jlr. Barling's rather vulgar - looking Wasp. Men think anything good enough to put their dear little lovey-doveys on ; but it seems there is a sweet little cherub that sits up aloft to look after their necks, as they seldom meet with an acci- dent. The first prize was about the only one with any spring in him, and which really went like a lady's horse. He is a chesnut by Oxford, out of Sylvia by Teddington, and has a wicked eye, as seemingly half incliued to be sulky with the lady in green who looked very natty on him. The second was a well-made brown by Glenalvou, but not a pleasing goer ; whQe many of the others reminded us more of a four-poster than a lady's palfrey. In those under fifteen hands, The Hart, only a commended one last year, is a pretty hack ; Lady Lovelace is of fair form, and moved well, but was evidently new to the circus; while a neat grey cobby hack of Mr. Millward's would do quite as well for grandpapa as grandmamma. In the harness horses, Mr. Frisby, from the little village, had it all his own way, for all his pots turned to gold, and deservedly too, for he must go to long prices for such animals. Dewdrop, fifteen two, is a grand stamp of harness horse, and a good goer. Thau the Empress, fourteen three, with fine town action, no one could wish for anything better ; as with Eclipse, a very handsome little horse of the same height, as a partner they went together like the Siamese twins, and had never been separated, distancing all in paii's. The second to Empress in single harness, Gipsy, is a nice gig mare, with good useful action that looked like bowling along, as did Mr. Thomas' Kitty and Mr. Tharmes' bay. Mr. Tharmes' browns, although they did not stand a chance in the pairs, faired better as a tandem, and with a first-rate whip went rouud the com'se in style, turning fii'st one way and then the other, and cutting a figure of eight like some professor ia skates. This accomplished, Jehu, in a second act with a pony tandem, came in for considerable applause. The agricultural stallions were Mr. Addison's Garabaldi, Air. Heath's Young Prince, i\Ir. Tomlinson's Young Lofty, Mr. Manning's Young Champion, Mr. Corfield's Shi-opshire Friend, and Mr. Middleton's Rut- land Hero, a very useful, deep, well-formed horse. The cele- brated Clydesdale Young Lofty and the Northamptonshire Young Champion we have had over and over again, and a description to om* readers would be more tedious than riding a jaded horse or listening to a jarring wife ; but Rutland Hero, we believe, beat Young Champion in the spring, as he should have done here. PRIZE LIST. HORSES. Judges. — ^The Hon. Colonel Cholmoudeley, Nantwich. J. M. K. Elliott, Towcester. Captain Skipworth, Brigg. Thoroughbred stallions for getting hunters. — First prize, £30, C. and J. Moffatt, Kirklington Park, Carlisle (Lausjhing Stock) ; second, £10, W. H. Logan, Tamwortli (Gem of the Peak) ; third, £5, W. E. Everitt, Finstall, Bronisgrove (Paul Jones). Hunters, exceeding 15^ hands high, equal to 15 stone, 5 years old and upwards.— First prize, £-tO, T. H. D. Bayly, pilerton, Notts (Borderer) ; second, £10, T. Percival, Wans- ford (Romeo) ; third, £5, G. Van Wart, Edgbastou (Loxley). Hunters, exceeding lo|^ hands high, without condition as to weight, 5 years old and upwards. — First prize, £40, S. J. Welfit, Louth (Loiterer) ; second, £10, A. Newman, Winch- combe, Cheltenham (Walton) ; third, £5, T. Percival (Mel- ton). Highly commended: T. Percival (Paddy Byrne). Hunters, not exceeding 15| hands high. — First prize, £20, Mrs. C. F. Dilke, Maxtoke Castle, Coleshill (Genial Boy, late Escjuire) ; second, £10, F. S. P. Wolferstan, Tamworth (Dublin). Hunters, four years old. — First prize, £30, Major Barlow, Woodbridge, Suffolk (Beckford) ; second, £10, Major Barlow (Tregotlman) ; third, £5, C. Cook, Taddington, Winchcomb (Misfortone). Commended: Captain Heygate, Buckland, Leominster (Trumpeter). Three-year-old colts and fiUies for hunting purposes. — First prize, £20, Major Barlow (The Knight) ; second, £10, E. Phillimore, Prestbury, Cheltenham (chesnut filly) j third, £5, Major Barlow (Luna). Two-year-old colts , or fillies for hunting purposes. — First prize, £15, J. Goodliff, Stilton, Hunts (chesnut gelding) ; second, £10, J. M. Tattersall-Musgrave, Beverley (chesnut gelding) ; third, £5, J. Watson, Ilartlebury, Worcester (brown gelding). Commended ; F. D. Lea Smith, The Grange, Hales Owen (Lorna). HACKS, HAHXESS HOKSES, AXD PONIES. Judges. — J. M. K. Elliott, Towcester. Major Stevenson Leominster, H. Thurnall, Royston. Hacks or roadsters, exceeding 15 hands high. — First prize, £15, J. Gilman, Birmingham (Rosalina) ; second, £5, G. J. Mitchell, Burton-on-Trent (Fenian). Park hacks or roadsters, not exceeding 15 hands high. — First prize, i£15, L. Turner, Leicester (Princess Louise) ; second, £5, G. Wilkes, Birmingham (Alonzo). Weight carrying backs, exceeding 14j and not over 15§ hands high. — First prize, £l5, H. Wiggin, Harborne, Bir- mingham (Dandy) ; second, £5, J. Moffat, Carlisle (Land Agent). Weight-carrying hacks, not exceeding 14^ hands high,— First prize, £15, H. Frisby, 13, James-street, Buckingham Gate, London (IDunstau) ; second, £5, G. W'. Shilliiigford, Eynsham, Oxford (Grey). Ladies' hacks. — First prize, £15, W. Tyler, Friday Bridge, Birmingham (Unit) ; second, £5, T. Jones, Shrewsbury (Tommy). Ladies' hacks, not exceeding 15 hands high. — First prize, £15, 11. N. Hooper, Cowbridge (The Hart) ; second, £5, W. AVood, Burton-on-Trent (Lady Lovelace). Commended : R. Milward, Thurgarton, Southwell (Petronel). Harness horses exceeding 15 hands high. — First prize, £15, H. Frisby, 13, Jaraes-street, Buckingham Gate, London ; second, £5, J. A. Browning, Edgbastou (May Bell). Harness horses exceeding 14 and not over 15 hands high. — First prize, £15, H. Frisby (Empress) ; second, £5, J. Gray, Sutton Coldfield (Gipsy). Highly commended : S. Tharme, Wolverhampton. Pairs of horses in harness. — Prize, £20, H. Frisby (EcUpse and Empress). Commended : J. Watson, Birmingham (Hector and Prince). Tandem horses 15 hands high or upwards. — Prize, £5, G. Tharme, Birmingham. Ponies in harness not exceeding 14 hands liigli. — First prize, £10, G. Tharme; second, £5, W. H. Logan, Tam- worth. Ponies not exceeding 14 hands high. — First prize, £10, H. J. Wilde, Bridgnorth ; second, £5, J. Blakeway (Queen Bee). Ponies in harness not exceeding 13 hands high. — First prize, £10, H. Ganieson, Birmingham (Beauty) ; second, £5, L. Turner, Leicester (Beauty). Highly commended : T. Mabbutt, Birmingham (Jessie). Ponies in saddle not exceeding 13 hands high. — First prize, £10, W. Lock, Worcester (Henwick) ; second, £5, W. Tyler, Birmingham (Bobby). Ponies in harness, not exceeding 12 hands high. — First prize, £10, F. A. Grew, Birmingham (Taffy) ; second, £5, P. Bower, Birmingham (Jimmy). Highly commended : J. J. Hortou, Birmingham (Kitty). Ponies, not exceeding 13 hands high, to carry children.— THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 261 First prize, £10, J. Goodliff, Stillon, Hunts ; second, £5, C. Myring, Walsall (Jane). Pairs of ponies in harness. — Prize, £10, Mrs. C. F. BUke (Champagne Charlie and Tommy Dodd). Tandems : Ponies under 14 hands liigh. — Prize, £5, G. Myring, Walsall (Jane and Jenny). Commended : P. Bower, W. Tyler, and Messrs. Grew and Gameson, Birmingham. AGRICULTURAL OR DRAY HORSES. Judges. — J. J. Burberry, Stratford-on-Avon. H. Lowe, Tamworth. Stallions. — First prize, i'30, H. Tomlinsou, Blythford, Rugeley (Young Lofty) ; second, £10, J. Manning, Orling- bury, Wellingborough (Young Champion) ; third, £5, T, Mid- dleton, Lyddington, Uppingham (Rutland Hero). THE WOOL-GROWING CAPABILITIES OF NEW SOUTH WALES. TO THE EDITOR OF THE JOURNAL OF THE MELBOURNE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. Sir, — There are two things the wool-growers of this co- lony require to know : 1st, the sorts of wool th&t they can grow to the greatest perfection on their runs, taking the soil and climate into consideration ; and 2nd, the wools which are most in demand and likely to be so in the London market. I have good hopes that definite information with respect to ques- tion No. 2, will, before long, be obtained through the inquiries which are now being made by the society in London and else- where ; and the best thing which we can do in the meantime is to endeavour to solve the question No. 1, and ascertain, as far as possible, the wool-growing capabilities of the different classes of country in the colony. These can only be ascer- tained by a free interchange of ideas on the subject, and a well-sustained discussion carried out by those who can give their own experience and bring forward practical proof in support of their opinions. With a view, therefore, of evok- ing this discussion, I will here offer, as shortly and concisely as I can, an opinion of the wool-growing capabilities of the different classes of country we possess, and I shall not be very sorry should it be proved that the views I put forward are not correct ; for, in that case, the true capabilities of the various districts would be established, and the object aimed at in putting this classification of country before your readers, and the wool-growers generally, will be fully attained. In dealing with ray subject I will, with a few exceptions, which I shall notice, adopt the classification proposed by the wool committee in their report, wliich appeared in the Society's journal of February last. The alterations I propose "are the taking of the portion of New England lying on the west side of the coast range and the police district of Queanbeyan out of the coast and moun- tainous district, and the county of Hume, with the eastern portions of the counties of Mitchell and Bourke, the county of Bland, and part of the county of Gipps, out of the intermediate district, and including them in the " western slopes." The wool committee divided the colony into five districts, but there are actually only four classes of country, the Merriwa and Mudgee districts being the same sort of country as the Western Slopes, and only separated from the latter district as a matter of policy, to increase the number of new exhibitors. There are thus, then — taking them according to their capa- bilities for growing fine wool — 1st, the Western Slopes dis- trict, including Merriwa and Mudgee ; 2nd, the Coast and Mountainous ; 3rd, the Intermediate ; and ^th, the Salt Bush. And to enable those who have not seen the proposed districts laid out on a map of the colony to have a correct idea of the country included in each of these districts, I will here run roughly over their boundaries. I. The Western Slopes (including Mudgee and Merriwa). — This district, so far as it is in this colony, is bounded on the north by Queensland ; on the east, com- mencing at the Queensland border, near Tenterfield, by the coast range southerly to its junction with the Liverpool ranges ; thence by those ranges westerly to the head of Coulson's Creek ; thence southerly, leaving Merriwa a few mUes to the west, the boundary crosses the Goulburn Uiver, thence stiU southerly to the head of the Carpetree lliver, leaving Keen's Swamp on the west ; thence westerly to the Turon lliver, and by that river to its junc- tion with the Macquarie ; thence southerly, pass- ing near Gulgoug, Blayney, and Hockley, to tlie ranges at the sources of the WoUondilly ; thence westerly, south-westerly, and westerly, leaving Bolong on the east and Binda on the west, to Crookwell ; thence southerly, leaving Pomeroy on the east, to Ban Bau, on the coast range, and by that range to the head of tlie Queanbeyan lliver ; thence westerly by Michalego, crossing theMurrumbidgee,Couradigbee, and Tumut Rivers, towards the Tarcutta Hill, leaving Tumut and AdeloDg on the south ; and thence southerly to the Murray River, at the junction of the Gingelhck Creek; on the south by the Murray ; on the west, the boundary starting at the western side of Boomanoonanoo Head Station, on the Murray, runs northerly to the Billibong Creek, about twelve miles below Gunambil Head Station ; thence north-easterly by the Boree Creek, to the Murrumbidgee, below Kokibitoo, about twenty- five miles above Naranderra ; thence north-easterly to Boor- oongal, on the Yeo Yeo Creek ; thence to the Lachlan River, about fifteen miles below Forbes ; thence, crossing the head of the Began to the Macquarie River, about eight miles below Dubbo ; thence north-easterly to the Castlereagh, at its junc- tion with the WaUanburrawang Creek ; thence by the Castle- reagh to its junction with the Barrone Creek, and by that creek easterly to its source ; thence easterly to the head of the Brigalow Creek ; thence northerly to the Namoi River, at Turrawan ; thence by that river to the junction of the Briga- low Creek ; thence northerly and north-easterly to the Gwydir River, about fifteen miles below Morree ; and thence north- easterly and northerly to the Queensland Border, about sixteen miles west of Bengalla. The country included in this district, " the Western Slopes," is considered the pick of the colony for wool-growing : it is, in fact, as good as any in the world, being sound, well grassed and watered, and possessing a temperate climate, in which the fleece grows all the year round without check, the climate being neither too hot in summer, nor too cold in winter. It this district the very finest wools can be and are grown, either combing or clothing, according to the taste or fancy of the owner, or the breed of sheep with which he began, many of the growers of the best wool in this district having both combing and clothing sheep on their runs. II. The Coast and Mountainous. — This district, so far as it is New South Wales, is bounded on the north by Queensland ; on the east by the sea ; on the south by Victoria and the Murray River ; and on the west by the eastern boun- dary of the Western Slopes, including Mudgee and Merriwa. There are also in many parts of this district tracts of first-class wool-growing country, but it is, as a whole, rather high-lying and too exposed, and the feed generally too coarse to produce the very finest descriptions of wool, unless the sheep had shelter-sheds to protect them during the very cold weather of winter ; and that, of course, has not been attempted, except in the case of a few stud flocks. In this district, too, both comb- ing and clothing wool can be grown ; but it would seem that in the higher lying portions of it combing is more profitable than clothsng. III. Intermediate, — This district is bounded on the north by Queensland ; on the east by the western boun- dary of the Western Slopes ; on the south by the Murray River; on the west, the boundary starts from the Jlurray at its junction with the Murrumbidgee and runs northerly about 58 miles; thence it turns north- easterly, on a line with, and about 12 miles distant from the Lachlan River, to a point on the western boundary of the Wel- lington Pastoral district, about 12 miles north-east from Murrin on the Lachlan; thence by that boundary north-easterly across the Bogan, about six miles north of Mount Hopeless to the Mara Creek, and by that creek to the DarHng River ; thence by that river upwards to its junction with the Barwin 262 THE FAEMER'S MAGAZINE. River, iiud by that river to the QaeeuslanJ boundary at the point of commencement. This is a remarkably sound class of country. The climate, though hotter than that of the Western Slopes, is thoroughly healthy for sheep, perhaps the most healthy in the colony ; and the feed, which is a mixture of salt bush and grass, very nutritious, too much so iu fact, for the production of the very finest wools. The climate also appears to be too warm to admit of the growth of very fine and very dense wools at a profit. Its specialily, therefore, taking the district as a whole, seems to be a sound combing wool, ranking from fair to very good. On the ■eastern side of this district there are tracts of country iu which good clothing wool can be grown, but they are of no great extent ; arid even there, I believe, combing wool pays better than clothing. It can, I think, be seen, that while a clothing wool, with a very fine and delicate fibre and short staple, could not altogether withstand the heat of such a climate as that of the Interme- diate District, but would to some extent lose its yolk and vitality, a good lengthy combing wool, of fair fineness of fibre, would do so, both from the long staples protecting each other and the comparative stoutness of the vesicles of the fibres withstanding the heat and retaining the yolk better. Besides, the tendency of wool, so long as it is sound, is to increase in length of staple and stoutness of fibre in hot climates, while it loses in density and fineness ; and the grower should work, as far as possible, with and not against nature. If the expla- nation here given of the process of deterioration in the fleece in hot climates be correct, this deterioration would, with respect to combing and clothing wools of the same value, go on very much faster and to a greater extent in the latter than in the former ; for in wools of these two classes of the same value the fibre is considerably stouter in the combing than in the clothing. Then again, to have anything like the same weight of wool per sheep, the fleece, in the case of the clothing sheep, must be comparatively high in density, and density is far harder to be got and maintained in a hot climate than length. It has been adduced as a reason for growing clothing wool in comparatively hot climates like that of some parts of this and the Salt Bush Districts that soundness is not so re- quisite in clothing wools as in combing. Now this, looking at the subject from a grower's point of view, is a mistake ; for if wool be to any extent unsound he suffers a loss, and where the wool is thoroughly so, a very heavy one. Thus, if only a portion of the staple be unsound through a break in the fibre, the unsound portion is a loss to the manufacturer, working up, as it does, into " noils ;" and lie cannot, of course, buy such wool but at a heavy discount. If, again, the whole staple be unsound, the deduction must be larger, as such wool cannot be worked up into any but the lowest class of goods. A profitable wool, whether it be combing or clothing, therefore must be sound ; and to produce a sound wool in a climate anything beyond temperate, the grower must increase the thickness of the fibre with every increase of heat till he finds out how far he reciuires to go in that direction to secure a thoroughly sound staple, but no farther, or rather scarcely as far, for it is well known that the tendency of sound wool in a hot climate is towards coarseness as well as length. If the clip should become too coarse the grower could rectify that by introducing finer combing rams into his flocks. If neces- sary to do so, there is ample room to increase the stoutness of the fibre iu hot districts without making it anything like so coarse as that of the long-wooUed breads in England, the wool of rthicli sells at remuneritive prices. The wool it is here recommended to grow in the hot country would, there- fore, if sound, bring a better price than these English wools, and being more dense would not weigh so very much less per fleece. Thus, with comparatively heavy fleeces and fair prices for the clip, sheep of this class would yield a good return iu wool, to say nothing of their being heavy weights when fattened. IV. S.\XT-Busn. — This district is bounded, so far as it is in this colony, on the north by Queensland, on the east by the western boundary of the Intermediate district, on the south by the Murray River, and on the west by South Australia. The climate is hotter, again, than that in the Intermediate district, and the moisture less, while the soil is dry, sandy, and dusty, the grass scarce, and the feed principally herbs and salt-bush. If it be the case that it would be unprofitable to grow clothing wool in the Intermediate district, much more would it be so, for the reasons adduced, to attempt it in this; for the fleeces of that class of wool would be only half the weight they ought to be, and the wool harsh, thriftless, and unsound. If my premises are correct, the following are the conclusions with respect to wool-growing in this colony at wliichl arrive: 1. That a fleece, to be profitable to the grower, must be sound. 3, That the sheep which produce the very finest wools re- quire a climate such as that of the 'R'estern Slopes, which is neither too hot in summer nor too cold in winter. 3. That if the climate he, as it is iu the more exposed portions of the Coast and Mountainous district, colder than this happy me- dium, the stoutness of the fibre must, unless the sheep be housed iu cold and wintry weather, be increased, and a stronger class of sheep kept, the increase of the stoutness of the fibre being iu this case required on account of the cold ; for if the sheep be not housed, with every degree of coldness of climate beyond a medium temderature their size and sta- mina must be increased ; and we kuow that with every in- crease of size of frame, beyond a fixed standard, must come increased stoutness of fibre — /. e., to a certain extent, coarse- ness. 4. That if the climate be hotter, as it is iu the Inter- mediate and S;ilt-busli districts, than in country like the Western Slopes, the thickness of the fibre must, for the rea- sons already adduced, in that case also be increased to keep it sound. 5. That the necessity for this increase of the stoutness of the fibre on account of the climate being too cold may to some extent be obviated by fencing in and turning out the sheep in weU-sheltered paddocks ; and where the flocks are small, it can be so to even a greater extent by housing them. 6. That little or nothing can be done to obviate the disadvan- tage of too great heat beyond having the camping and water - ing places for the sheep, where practicable, near to shade. There are, however, many portions of the hot country where there are neither trees nor scrub, and shade would require to be made by planting ; but it is scarcely to be expected that the Crown tenants, under their present tenures, will go into improvements of that description. 7. That it seems neces- sary, therefore, where the climate is too hot, to increase the stoutness of the fibre with every increase of heat, and to trust to the length and soundness of staple and weight of fleece, combined with heavier carcase, to make wool-growing pay ia that class of country. Alex. Biiuce. LAND LEGISLATION IN AUSTRALIA. The agricultural statistics recently issiied from tlie Regis- trar-General's ofiice must have sadly disappointed those hope- ful spirits who still expected to see something of that great development of the agricultural industry which our legislators and politicians used to boast they had secured for the colony of Victoria. Some three or four years ago, we had Cabinet Ministers starring it, or stumping it, at provincial gatherings, and assuring the public that as the only obstacle to tlie almost unhmited cultivation of cereals was removed by the very liberal land law they had enacted, the colony would now, to a certainty, take a high position as a great exporter of corn. And while wo were to supply the mother country with bread. the facility with which land could be procured here was to attract from it a large accession to our population. These prophetic visions were always received with great applause by the auditors, and the ministers used to accept the incense of adulation with an engaging frankness which showed it to be all the more grateful to themselves from the happy conscious- ness that they had unquestionably earned it. We took occa- sion at the time to point out that there were economical diffi- culties iu the way which could not be removed by Act of Par- liament, even when combined with tlie sacrifice of millions sterling out of the public purse involved in the Esau-like dis- posal of the choicest blocks of the lands of the colony, their THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 2G3 own and their children's heritage, to the lowest instead of the highest hidder. The Opposition organs professing stiong free-trade principles could descant learnedly on the dwarfing and blighting influence of Government fosterage of, or interl'erence with, particular branches of industry in ques- tions connected with the tariff or manufacturing interests, but had not the lieart to apply their own principles to agri- culture, which they seemed as desirous of promoting and " encouraging," by Government bounties, as the most thorough-going protectionist. Time, which tries all things, has, amongst otliers, put to the test our notable laud system. We should scarcely think that Opposition members can be alto- gether displeased that the result should be so entirely in ac- cordance with their theory as free-traders, though decidedly unfavourable to their practical efforts as land-legislators. Consistent protectionists, however, cannot be expected to derive the same amount of consolation from this fact. These gentlemen practically maintain that the many should always suffer on behalf of the few, or in other words that the general public should be taxed and otherwise victimised for the benefit of each particular section of producers or would-be pro- ducers. This theory, wrong-headed as it is, still appears, when view ed in a particular aspect, to possess some traits which should deserve respect. It miglit be regarded as an at- tempt to carry out the Christian precept of bearing oi-e an- other's burdens, and it might be urgedt hat if all are taxed for the benefit of each, each would receive back as much as he liad to pay for the support of others. One great objection to this system of mutual spoliation is, that those en- gaged in the staple industries, the producers of exports, cannot share in the profits, but bear all the losses. The value of their produce, depending on a foreign market, cannot be increased by local taxation, but can be seriously diminished through the enhanced price of all the articles they require in exchange. Now the production of exports is the great source of national wealth ; the very fact of any goods being exports shows that the country has some special facility or advantage over otliers in producing them. Such industries are hardy plants, requir- ing nothing from the State, but contributing largely to the revenue both directly and indirectly. Their merits are conse- quently tolerably recognised Ijy all civilised monarchies ; but with democracies the feeling appears rather different. As some mothers are said to entertain the greatest atf'ection for tlieir most sickly, rickety, or deformed children, so our democracies exhibit a strong preference for those industries which the greatest amount of fostering and constant assistance can only keep alive in a feeble unhealthy state, while tlie self- supporiing members of the family are continually being called on to minister to the wants and pampered appetites of the favourites. Perhaps they are ambitions of the title of " ma- ternal democracy" in opposition to that of " paternal despotism." On behalf of the mining interest Mr. Joseph Jones protests, not unreasonably, against a system of taxation which prevents the working of much auriferous ground that could be made to pay if miners were not debarred from getting full value for their gold by protective taxes. He might, however, have com- plained fur.her that mining had been discouraged, through the miners having been incited and indeed bribed by tl.e State to give up producing gold, in order to seize the best lands occupied by the other great producing interest, and so diminish as much as possible the production of wool and mutton, in the vain hope of creating a great export of wheat. Our legislators, in their wisdom, clearly reversed the whole piovcrh, and con- sidered a bird in the bush worth two in the hand. Unfor- tunately, too, their attachment to favourite theories is not of so half-hearted a nature as to be amenable to mere reason, or to yield readily, if indeed at all, to the teachings of experience. Protectionists are never much at a loss to explain away any little apparent failuie in the practical working of their princi- ples. They look through a microscope at any points that can be made to seem favourable to themselves, and, with their very eccentric ideas as to the relations between cause and effect, even in the most signal failures, they can always find some room for congratulation, if it is only tliat things are no worse than tliey find tliem, when the adverse circumstances or the machinations of the enemies of the people are taken into con- sideration. Their remedy — a little more protection in this, that, or the other direction — is as invariable as Dr. Sangrado's prescription of phlelsotomy and cold water, and about as effi- cacious. If the patient still suffers it only shows he has not had enougii of it. As protection really means increased taxation of the general public, an extra price on articles of consumption to some, and deprivation to others, the two specifics must be allowed to have many points of resemblance. The agricultural element being a special favourite, and appearing to have fallen into rather a languishing condition, to give it relief the patient has been bled from both veins and arteries, or, at least, both in income and capital, by Custom House and Land Office practi- tioners, so that if there be any virtue in bleeding the body corporate, from tlie extent to which this has been effected, agriculture should have, by this time, arrived at a state of wonderful development and robust strength. It is now half- a-dozen years since the Amending Act was passed. All pre- hminary difficulties should long ago have heeu cleared away, so that the pubhc, or even the minority, have now some right to inquire what equivalent they have received for the sacrifice of so much of their own and their children's property at a price far below its market value . It would seem only rea- sonable to ask — What average export of breadstuffs may we expect to derive from the " millions of acres, admirably adapted for the growth of cereals," thrown to the selector? What distribution of tlie population among the country dis- tricts has been effected by the formation of happy homesteads and rising townships on the agricultural areas ? audalso. What fresh influx of population, whether by sea or overland, has been attracted to the colony by a desire to partic'pate in the advantages of our land system ? This last question is, unfor- tunately, rather too easily answered ; for a glance at the census returns shows that during the last three years our whole population has only increased by 6j per cent., while during the three previous years the rate of increase was Oj, and during the three years before that it was 12j per cent. As regards population, therefore, it would appear that the Land Act has had anything but a beneficial effect. A little further progress in this direction would put ns in the way of emptying the colony instead of filling it. The census returns do not indi- cate any great expansion of population in country districts, but on the contrary, they show it to have been accumulating at the metropolis and suburbs to the extent of over 212,000 out of a total of 730,000. This is a ratio so disproportioned to the population of all the rest of the colony, as to awaken the most serious apprehensions that a state of things so un- healthy can only result in a severe monetary crisis. Charac- teristically enough, it has been proposed by some of the free and enlightened to remedy tiiis evil by throwing open some fresli land for selection — their faith in the nostrum appearing rather strengthened by tlie entire failure or contrary effect of previous applications. The true reason of this gra- vitation of the people towards Melbourne is probably to be found in the rate of wages of nearly all descriptions of labour being higher than the country districts can well afford to pay, so that they can only employ a very limited quantity. The metropolis, where all the great accumulations of capital are concentred, would appear to be the only part of the colony rich enougli to hold out much prospect of work, at present rates, to the unemployed in country districts. Unless the real producing interests, which our legislation has so seriously em- barrassed, are favoured with another gleam of sunshine, the capital also will soon find itself unable to provide work at current rates for the numbers wanting employment. In this case, unless wages come down to tlie level the country can afford to give, great distress, scarcity of money, and depreci- ation in the value of property are quite likely to ensue. — The Melbourne Economist. THE AGRICULTURAL HALL COMPANY, — Mr. Robert Leeds has been elected Chairman of this Company in the place of the late Mr. John Clayden. Mr. Leeds also suc- ceeds Mr. Clayden as Chairman of the Nitro-phoshate Com- pany. 264 THE FAEMER'S MAGAZINE. WHEAT-GROWmG IN AUSTEALIA. The Sydney Morning Herald and its friendly contemporary the Sydney Mail are drawing mournJul pictures of the con- dition of Soutli Australian farming. It appears that off and on for years oar farmers, if not the colony itself, have been shivering on the brink of bankruptcy, and that at no period was the danger more imminent than now. Wheat-growing, upon which we have so long trusted, is to be our ruin. The harvests of golden grain, instead of increasing our national wealth, as we have fondly hoped they were doing, have been luring us on to destruction. The cereal surpluses in wliich we have trusted are but a snare and a stumbling-block — an unfailuig source of impoverishment. The fancied profits of farming are in reality losses, worse stUl, they are iynes fatui, beguiling the unwary into adopting a pursuit which has notliing but failures before it. The cardinal fact upon which our Sydney contemporaries build tlieir doleful conclusions is that the ave- rage of our wheat crops perversely keeps below fourteen bushels to the acre. They have settled it in their mind that 5s. is the normal price of wheat per bushel, and that the land must produce over fourteen bushels at that rate or bear the sentence of unprofitableness. iTollowing out their hypothesis on the basis of last year's returns, they satisfy themselves that " the fesv are gainers by wheat-growing, while the many are losers. In a country where the average is 15 bushels, a great many growers will produce 20, some 30, a few 40 bushels per acre, and, of course, a larger proportion wiU be below 20 bushels. But the gain of the few is so neutralised by the loss of the many that the country must be written down a loser by the contractor. We cannot resist the impression that she makes us a present of lier working capital with every bushel of wheat when the average yield and the price per bushel do not exceed what has been stated." This piece of information is as disinterested as it is gratuitous, for it is ad- mitted that it would be an ill day for New South Wales when South Australia gave up wheat-growing, because slie can buy it cheaper of South Australia than, considering the hability of the plant to blight, she can grow it herself. In a question so intimately concerning the chief producing interest in the colony, it is worth while tracing to their source the arguments upon which the Herald and Mail foivnd their belief in the un- profitableness of South Australian wheat production. The Herald was the first to enter the field as a critic, and spoke to the following effect : " In order to gain an accurate conception ol^ this case, it is necessary to sacertain the average cost of producing an acre of wheat. The operations of ploughing and harrowing, reaping and harvesting, cannot be estimated at lower than 50s., the seed would not cost less than 10s., nor the rent less than Gs., which would bring tlie cost by the acre to i'3 Cs. This expenditure is open in mauy ways to increase, but scarcely admits of reduction. lu the next place, no one will take exception to 5s. as the average price per bushel : at any rate, it is not too low. Well, five times 13 make G5 ; so that 13 bushels per acre, at 5s. a-busliel, will just return to the grower the cost of cultivation, minus Is. per acre. If he gets 14 bushels he will be repaid, and pocket 4s. per acre for his year's trouble, which will be little enough encouragement to repeat the process. Supposing, then, that wheat cannot be grown at a profit unless 14 bushels be the yield, when the price is 5s. per bushel, it is clear that a heavy loss is sustained by the colony when the average yield per acre is only llj bushels. The loss is about 9s. per acre. Therefore an area of G04,701 acres would return less £272,114 19s. than the money ex- pended upon it, The loss would be about lOd. per bushel, so that if 5,018,004 bushels are avaikble for export, they will in- volve the country in a loss of £209,111 on these conditions. If wheat should be at Os. per bushel, tlieu 11 J bushels per acre will just repay tlie grower his outlay with 3s. in addition. Just at present tlie market is better ; but usually the price is oftener below than above 5s. per bushel, so that it would be perfectly safe to conclude that when the average of South Australia is below 14 bushels, a loss is sustained more or less in proportion as the yield recedes from that standard." The writer in i\\e.Mail might by the uninitiated be thought to have some special sympathy with his editorial brother of the Herald, for he endorses and follows up his argument in the most amicable way. " Perhaps," he says, " somebody may be in- clined to question one premise upon which this calulation is made — that is to say, the cost of cultivation, &c. Of course, in a matter of this sort it is difficult to arrive at averages, for the Government does not require to know what the crop has cost. If they did, it is probable that they would receive replies as varied as those wliich reach us from the sugar-growers re- specting cost of cultivation. Very few cultivators are accus- tomed to enter into any calculations at all ; and when they are asked to compute the expense of any operation, ten to one they omit their own labour totally. They would leave out of sight the rent, saying that, ' being freeholders, they paid no rent.' Nothing would be charged for wear-and-tear, nor for interest on capital. And, further, a difficulty would be expe- rienced in coming at the value of a pair of horses for a day's ploughing. It is therefore very probable that a good many cultivators, on beholding the expenses of putting in and har- vesting a crop of wheat laid at OGs. per acre, would exclaim against it as much too high. We believe it would be found to be more rather than less were all the expenses taken into ac- count ; and although it may be sometimes less, it is generally, in our opinion, much more. From a reference to the South Australian journals we perceive the expense often put down at 75s, per acre, tlie labour consisting of nothing beyond plough- ing, harrowing, sowing, and harvesting, tlie other expenses being confined to seed and rent. Had the above estimate included car- riage, as it might have done, since the price obtained is what obtained at the port of delivery, it would have been somewhat increased." With all respect for the Sydney commentators, we beg leave to question their calculations and dispute the results. To place the cost of putting in the seed and reaping the harvest at 75s. an acre is, so far as our ordinary crops are concerned, a gross exaggeration. Take the case of a free- holder— and the balk of South Australian faruiers are, or up to this time have been, freeholders. He buys his land at say £2 an acre — a high average. He pnts in a crop, attends to it, harvests it when ripe, and carries it to market, and the whole expense wLU very slightly exceed 50s. an acre. If he is fortunate euougli to reap 14 bushels per acre, and can obtain 5s. a busliel for it on the nail, he realises a handsome profit. Tliis is not a mere matter of theory, for it has been proved over and over again in the experience of South Australian agriculturists. Not only have they refused to starve on 14 bushels to the acre and 5s. per bushel, but ihey have continued to eke out a livelihood on much smaller returns. The advan- tage which the majority of our cultivators here have is, that both the climate and the character of the arable land permits of the free use of machinery. Moreover, the large extent of coast-line, and the proximity of our tilled territory to the sea, afford facilities for shipment of which few wheat-growing countries stand possessed. We have satisfaction in beiug able to assure our contemporaries that, so far from 14 bushels per acre being an unprofitable yield, it is one that, if vouchsafed yearly, would secure for our farmers a position of compara- tive alfiueuce. It is a succession ol such seasons as we have l.ad of late, with averages of five or six bushels to the acre, that prostrates the wheat-growing interest. In ordinary times farmers with their teams can add somewhat to their income by doing other than farm work during slack times ; but when year after year the labour and expense of putting in a crop receives five bushels to tlie acre as their recompense, the whole business becomes monotonous and disheartening. In one re- spect we can- most heartily agree with The Herald and Mail. Cultivators of the soil do not pay half as much attention as they should to the science of farming. In a new country, where land is plentiful, labour scarce, and the processes of husbandry necessarily primitive, it is only natural that de- pendence should be placed rather ou the extent of the area THE FAEMER'S MAGAZINE. 265 under crop than on the artificially enhanced fertility of the soil. But the time for this description of agriculture has gone by here, and something like a rational system should be inaugur- ated. The Herald compliments the farmers of the Burra on the supposition that they have by judicious treatment main- tained the richness of their lands against the exhaustive effects of frequent cropping; but the compliment is undeserved, for the county of B urra, although long settled, has but recently taken its place amongst wheat-growing localities. In the meantime, so long as we can obtain New South Wales orders for wheat at 6s. or 7s. a bushel, and so long as Providence grants us an average of from 12 (o 14 bushels per acre, there is no danger of the colony, agriculturally considered, collaps- ing into insolvency. We do not pretend, like the Californians, to be able to produce wheat at Is. 6d. a bushel, but we can grow it in ordinary seasons at a much less cost than 5s. a bushel.— r/je Adelaide Observer. OBITUARY. DEATH OF Me. HENRY TRETHEWY, Sen. This eminent agriculturist died at Grampouud, in Cornwall, on Tuesday, July 2oth, at the ripe age of eighty-foui", having worn hale and active almost to the very last. For upwards of half a century there have been few men better known or more respected in the West than Mr. Ti'ethewy. As an agent for some extensive estates, his liberal management was such as to give equal satisfaction to, and to establish a mutual feeling of con- fidence between, owner and occupier ; and, as has been said of him, good farming, good tenants, and lasting im- provements have followed in his footsteps. As a laud valuer and referee, Mr. Trethewy stood equally high, while as a judge of Devon and Hereford cattle he was continually called upon to act at the meetings of the Royal Agricultural Society of England, the Bath and West of England, and the Royal Cornwall Society ; although he eventually abandoned these two breeds for the Short- horn, which he introduced into Cornwall. To Hemy Trethewy, moreover, is the credit due of being the first man who ever employed steam power in the practice of agriculture. It is just upon sixty years since an engine, by Trevithick, was placed at Trewithin, at the cost of £70, where it was used for thrashing, chaffcutting, and cora-bruising ; so that Mr. Trethewy must he i-egarded as one of the pioneers of his time, as he was not without honour in his own country. In the autumn of 1SG5 a testimonial, consisting of a portrait, by Knight, R.A., together with six massive silver salvers, and a tea and coiFee service, also of solid silver, was presented at a dinner at Truro ; one of the salvers bearing the following inscription : " To Henry Trethewy, of Grampound, from a large number of landowners, yeomanry, and friends, as a mark of their high esteem, and in grateful ackuow- ledgment of the substantial services he has rendered to agriculture, particularly in his native couuty of Corn- wall." On this occasion the chairman, j\Ir. P. P. Smith, said : " Of all the eminent agriculturists in Cornwall, and there are many, IMr. Henry Trethewy has, by general consent, beeu considered to be the greatest livmg bene- factor to the interests of agriculture in his native county. His reputation, however, is not confined to Cornwall, for it extends to every portion of the kingdom in which agriculture is cultivated as a science. Mr. Trethewy's career has been one of unblemished honour : it has beeu fraught with useful lessons to all ; and he would never have attained his present position if he had not kept steadily before Mm the maxims of self-reliance and self-help." Mr. Trethewy was born ou October 39th; 178G, and by birth and breeding a true Cornishman, where the family is of very long standing. He leaves thi-ee sons- Mr. Hemy Trethewy, of Silsoe ; Mr. William Trethewy, who remains in Cornwall ; and another son, Alfred; established iu North Wales. MR. JOSIAH PARKES, the eminent Agricultural En- gineer, died at Ereshwater Bay, in the Isle of Wight, on Wednesday, August 16, in the 79th year of his age. At one period Mr. Parkes took a very promineut part in advo- cating the more thorough drainage of land, and he may be regarded in this way as one of the pioneers of agricultural progress. He wrote and spoke with much effect, and de- servedly earned the compliment of being elected an honorary member of the Royal Agricultural Society of England. MR. RICHARD STRATTON, of Burderop, Swindon, and formerly of Broad Hinton, died at Winchester on Tuesday, Aug. 22, after a long illness, aged 62. Mr. Stratton was celebrated for his Shorthorn herd, v/hich he cultivated with much care ; as the prize Hsts of the Royal, the West of England, and other Societies have for many years past testified to the^merits of his stock. Mr. Stratton also occasionally acted as a judge of Sliorthorns at the Great Meetings of the three kingdoms, although from his beiug so continually an exhibitor not so frequently as he otherwise might have done. He was a highly honourable conscientious man, and his loss will be much felt, not merely by his friends, but in the agricultural world. The death of Mr. WILLIAM WEDD TUXFORD took place on Friday, the 11th of August, 1871, in his 90th year. Mr. Tuxford was the head of the firm of Tuxford and Sous, the agricultural implement makers of Boston. We take the following from the Stamford Mercury : After the passing of the Municipal Reform Act, in 1835, the popvdarity of the deceased was strikingly manifested in the large majority by which he was elected to the Town Council. In the discharge of the important duties devolving upon him in this position he displayed the same conscientious independence and integrity of action as had characterised him through the whole of his political life. The deceased founded the well-known firm of Tuxford and Sons, general engineers and iron-founders, of Boston ; but had previously established a scientific reputation as inventor of a process for " reeing" wheat, &c , by machinerj'. The firm soon acquired a wide-spread notoriefy by the intro- duction of portable steam-engines, combined thrashing-ma- chinery, and other high-class engineering productions. Eor many years the Royal Agricultural Society of England awarded their first prizes to Messrs. Tuxford and Sons' portable steam engines, and only a month ago it awarded the prize to the firm for their novel and improved windlass for steam cultiva- tion, so that it may fairly be said the deceased died in harness, with honours upon him. Iu conclusion we may observe that Weston Tuxford, deceased's father, claimed to be a descendant ou the maternal side of the Weston family mentioned in Pishey Thompson's History of Boston. In this the following record in connection with the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem, formerly existing iu Boston, occurs : "Two rather noted Knights of St. John of Jerusalem were connected with Boston. One was Sir Wm. Weston, the last Lord Prior of England, and holding that office at the time of the dissolution of his order iu 15W. He was the son of Edmund Weston, of Boston. Henry 8th offered Sir William such portion of the goods and chattels belonging to the priory of Clerkeuwell as he might appoint and a pension of £1,000, but he refused to receive it, and died on the very day the priory was suppressed." The remains of Mr. Tuxford were deposited in the family vault in St. Nicholas' church-yard, Skirbeck, on the loth iust. The death of Mr. HENRY HUMPHREY, of Amberley, near Aruudel, Sussex, took place on Sunday, the 13th August, iu the 69th year of his age. The deceased was well known and higlily respected among the Southdown flockmasters, having always taken the greatest interest in the breeding and rearing of these sheep, on which his opinion and advice were not lost, as may be seen in the flock of his eldest son, Mr. Henry Humphrey, of Ashington. S66 THE FAKMER'S MAGAZINE. OXFORDSHIRE DOWNS. At the Winchendoa Ram Sale, Mr. Treadwell said perhaps he uever had a lot with such good heads and colours. He had always been good with heads, and he believed that was a good starting point. Some persons liked big sheep and some small ; but he uever saw sheep loo big for him if they were good. Some people liked slieep with a lot of wool, and some with little ; but he never had too much wool for him- seh', if he did for other people. He always kept liis sheep pretty fat. Mr. Gladstone said last year he would show the farmers how to fatten their sheep, and allowed them to steep barley for feeding purposes. He thought he had done right. He steeped his barley tliis year, and liad the exciseman pay )iim a visit. He gave some of that barley to his sheep, aud he believed it was one of the best things they could use. He and his brother-farmers had been subject to a great deal of annoyance from Mr. Gladstone and his friends ; but in this case he must say that Mr. Gladstone had done some good. Mr. Cook said he cultivated a very barren spot in Bedford- shire ; but his sheep this year had gone into the market, and were well up to the mark. He had sent tegs into the market, which, he was assured by the butchers, weighed sixteen stone. Mr. Treadwell had supplied him a tup which had answered all his expectations. He (the speaker) was a farmer, and lived on a farm where his forefathers had for 400 years, aud perliaps the family was in as good a position now as they were in the time of Charles and of James, and the rest of them ; and since he had had a tup from Mr. Treadwell, he was able to compete with any of his neiglibours. They were very badly-otf for keep in Bedfordshire this year as they had very little clover or grass ; but he was glad to see, as he was coming along the road from Aylesbury, that they liad abun- dance of grass in that neighbourhood. It must be a very great gratification to them to know that they had keep enough to go on to Michaelmas. They did not know, as lie had known the last two years, what it was to have to keep stock without any provender for them on the land. He was glad to see that they had an abundance. Mr. 11. J. Newton said it had becu his lot, he did not say it boastfully, to be called upon, on more than one occasion, to judge sheep at the Royal Society, and that duty he always undertook, he would not say with diffidence, but with a deter- mination to use whatever knowledge he possessed on the sub- ject, with a view to arrive at a just and proper conclusion. It might be expected that he was going to make some remarks with respect to the merits of the Oxfordshire sheep, but he had not much special knowledge of tiiat class of sheep ; and he never yet gave a decision which he was not prepared to give his reasons for. He had expressed the opinion at Wol- verhampton, and that opinion lie would repeat, that the old sheep exhibited by Mr. Longland at Wolverhampton Show was, to his mind, the model of what a sheep ougiit to be. He was of good size, of excellent formation, capital quality of llesh, had good wool, and was of tlie proper colour. It was gratifying to sec the breeding of sheep taken up iu the sjiirit it was by the young farmers of the district. Speaking of Mr. Longland's sheep he forgot to mention that the first-prize shearling exhibited by Mr. Treadwell at Wolverharapton- Show was by him ; and tlie editor of The Mark Lane Express remarked that the Oxfordsliire Down breeders did well to take their line of breeding from that sheep. SHEEP SALES AND LETTINGS. THE HOLME riERREPONT LEICESTER ELOCK. — Mr. J. M. Pott otTercd for sale by auction on August 10 the flock of Leicester sheep, the property of Mr. Sanday, jun., Holme House, Nottingham. The tlock, which is a portion of that which lias made the name of Mr. William Sanday famous, consisted of 13 rams, Co ewes, 20 shearling ewes, 36 ram- lambs, aud 35 ewe-lambs. There was a good attendance. Before the sale commenced a luncheon was provided, at which Mr. Torr, of Aylesby, presided. Mr. Pott, in introducing the flock, said he had been looking round among those who, like lumself, had been cultivating the beautiful neutral tint which it took more than 50 years to acquire, those grey hairs which young men in all classes of life sought so anxiously to obtain, to see whether he could trace any faces who were present here sis or seven and twenty years ago, when he had the honour to sell the flock from which this was descended — that of the late Mr. Burgess. He was here at the beginning to sell the first of the flock, and he was now here at the last. He then offered the flock, and the following is a return of the sale: Shearling Rams. By A Y, dam by M M, g. d. by 0 N, g. g. d. by Y N, g. g. g. d. by G, g. g. g. g. d. by T, g. g. g. g. g. d. by A.— Mr. Mead, 35 gs. By A Y, dam by H, g. d. bred by Col. Inge. — Mr. Massey, 20 gs. By A Y, dam by M M. g. d. by X X, g. g. d. bred by Mr. Buckley. — Mr. Cranfield, II gs. By A Y, dam by D X, g. d. bred by Col. Inge. — Mr. Cran- field, 121 gs. By A Y, dam by S T, g. d. by S C (prize ewe at SaUsbury), g. g. d. bred by Mr. Buckley — Mr. Birchnall, II gs. Old Rams. — ^Tiiuee-sueae. By Quid, dam by M M, g. d. by X X, g. g. d. by W X, g. g. g. d. by L N (dam of L X).— Mr. Langdale, 36igs. Two-shears. By L X, dam by S T, g. d. by C S (prize ewe at Salisbury), g. g. d. bred by !Mr. 13uckley. — Mr. Allen, 10 gs. By D X, dam by M M, g. d. by W X, g. g. d. by No. 3.— Mr. Mann, 16 gs. By L X, dam by H, dam bred by Col. Inge. — Mr. Harrison, 10 gs. By L X, dam by M M, g. d. by X X, g. g. d. by G N, g. g. g. d. by A Y (dam of 90-guinea sheep). — Mr. Marshall, Remp- stone, 8 J gs. By L X, dam by X X, g. d. by G N, g. g. d. by A Y.— Mr. Messenger, 10 gs. By L X, dam by M M, g. d. by X X, g. d. bred by Mr. Buck- ley. — Mr. Spencer, 9 J- gs. Six-shears. By M M, dam by C N, g. d. by Y N, g. g. d. by G.— Mr. Cresswell, 32 gs. The remaiader of the lots made fair prices. MR. MANSELL'S SHROPSHIRES.— The high position obtained by Mr. Mansell's rams at the Wolverhampton meet- ing, caused a large attendance at Adcot Hall, Tlie first ram was a two-shear, Major, winner of first prize at R. A. S. 1871, by Conservative, bred by Mrs. Wadlow, which was also tlie sire of many of the best lots. It was purchased for Mrs. Beach, at 50 guineas ; the second, also a two-shear, and winner of secoud prize at Oxford R. A. S., being let to Mr. C. Byrd, at 40 guineas. Mr. Kemp Bourne gave 32 guineas for a three-shear, wliich had been let in previous years to Mr. Coxon aud Mr. Eirmstone, at 40 and 45 guineas. Tlien fol- lowed the shearlings headed by the Wolverhampton second prize ram True Type, by Marquis, which was iiired by Messrs. Masfen and Keeling at 71 guineas ; Mr. C. Byrd taking the next at 40 guineas, at which figure a shearling was liired for Lord Bradford ; aud Mr. May secured a shearling for the season at 31 guineas. Other shearlings made 37 guineas (to Mr. Bostock), 25 guineas, and 20 guineas down to 5 j gs. tlie average for the forty-three being close on £20. Tlie ewes did not make as much as was anticipated ; four pens going to Lord Chesham at 67s. 6 J. to 92s. 6d, each, two to Mr. German at 90s. and 92s. 6d., and others to Messrs. Eelton, Roberts, Juckes, and Price, at from 80s. down to 60s. Tlie average was about 72s. 6d. Mr. Cureton presided at the luncheon ; and Mr. Preece conducted the sale. THE EREEFORD SHROPSUIRES.— Mr. Coxou's sale was entrusted to Mr.Preece.and opened with C'onductor,R.A.S: prize sheep, wliich was let for the season for 101 guineas to Mr. German. No. 2, winner of first prize at Oxford R. A. S. used last year by Mr. German, went to l\Ir. Barnwell at 24 guineas ; and the other aged sheep made from 16 guineas down to 10 guineas. The first shearling ram by Mansell's Mansion 3rd. goes to Hamilton, Dunboyne, at 41 guineas ; and auotlier by Commander, to Lord Howe, at 31 guineas. Others sold at 24 gs. 20 gs. 19 gs. 16 gs., down to 6 guineas ; the average being £17 4s. The ewes ranged from 135s. to 60s., several pens making 100s, or upwards. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 267 THE OXFORD RAM SALES.— At tliese annual sales nearly 800 rams and other sheep chauged hauds. The auc- tioneers were Messrs. Jonas Paxton and G. Castle, J. and W. hcroggs, Franklin aud Gale, and Mr. J. A. Mountford. There Was a large attendance of farmers and breeders from this and the neiglibouriug counties. The principal buyers were the Duke of Marlborough, Sir II. W. Dashwood, Bart., Messrs. H. Barnett, M.P., J. Treadwell, G. Wallis, Longlands, J. Bryan, E. Harper, Gerring, Hunt, Denchlisld, Lane, Case, H. Stilgoe, Franklin, Eagle, N. Stilgoe, Wiggins, Cheeseman, G. J. B. Marsham, G. T. Drake, Barlow, Gomm, Atliawes, Woodley, Webster, Brookes, Mumlord, A. Hopcraft, Mayford, Shepperd, Dover, Lindars, A^'hite, Louch, Chas. P. DufTield, G. Drake, A. Gillett, Peacock, Janes, Holliday, Bolton, Lyford, Moulder, Shrubb, J. Waters, Marriott, Latham, Bliss, Rayer, Walker, Horley, W. I'enemore, R. Haynes, A. Willesdon, Brown, Pritchett, W. Shipton, Swain, Houe, Freeman Hobbs, Fraraptoa, J. Gale, Hilchman, Phillips, P. Slatter, J. Greaves, H. Horwood, W. Chillingworth, Daniells, Ing, Badcock, Kimble, E. Harper, Johnson, C. Edmonds, AUin, F. Daven- port, Fisher, Parrott, Cook, Strange, Syder, Filcher, Wood- ward, Farebrother, Walford, Kiugham, Haramans, Reynolds, Guy, Huraphriss, Boulton, Couling, Heatli, ClilTord, Gleusford, Crook, Budd, J. T. Gale, W. Parsons, S;c. Tlie first lot dis- posed of by Messrs. Paxton and Castle consisted of 45 Ox- fordshire Down ram lambs, the property of Mr. Blake, of Botley. These realized an average of £6 16s., the higliest price being 11^ guineas. The next consisted of 40 Oxford- sliire Down sliearlings, the property of Mr. Joseph Roberts, of Curbridge. These sheep fetched remarkably high prices, the average being £1G 19s., and is the highest average for this class of sheep that was ever obtained. The highest priced sheep was sold to Mr. Treadwell, of Winchendon, for 42 guineas. The next highest was sold to Mr. Wallis, of Shifford, for 41 guineas. Mr. Longlauds purchased one at 33 guineas, and two were sold to Mr. Baldwin and Mr. J. Bryan for 28 guineas each. The Oxfordshire Down shearling rams, the property of Mr. G. Wallis, realised an average of £13 lis. 6d.; the liighest figure was 21 guineas, the buyer being Mr. Hobbs, of Maiseyhampton, and one was sold to the Duke of Marlborough for 13| guineas. The 16 Cotswold ram lambs belonging to Mr. C. Gillett, of Lower Haddon, fetched an average of £7 12s. 3d. The highest figure reached was 13 guineas, the purchaser being Mr. C. Duffield, of Marcham. Mr. G. Drake,' of Bignell, purchased one at 11 guineas, and Mr. Brooks, Fyford, one at 10 guineas. Twelve Oxfordshire Down shearling rams, the property of Mr. W. H. Hunt, Charlbury, were disposed of at an average of £12 lis. 6d. The best was sold to Mr. Richard Eagle, North moor, for 18 guineas, and one to Mr. Prickett, for 13^ guineas. The Oxfordshire Down shearling rams, the property of j\Ir. C. Gillett, of Coote House, realized an average of £10 The highest figure was 15.V gs., tlie buyer being Mr. Badcock, of Abingdon. The Oxfordshire Down ram lambs belonging to Mr. J. S. Parker, of Itiley, averaged £G 5s. 9d. One was sold to Sir Henry Dashwood for 13 gs., and one to Mr. Allin, Little- more for 10 gs. Thirty-nine Oxfords, the property of Messrs. W. and T. Franklin, of Ascott, were disposed of at an average of £6 85. lOd. The highest figure w.as £15 10s., the pur- chaser being Mr. Joseph Gale, of Cuddesdou ; Mr. Franklin, of Curanor, purchased oue for £11 10s. The Cotswold ram lambs belonging to Mr. W. H. Gillett, of Southleigh, averaged £5 2s. 6d. each. Mr. Bolton, of Finstock, purchase the best for 8|^ gs. The Cotsword shearling rams, bred by Mr. Lord, of Eynsham. One was sold to Mr. G. T. Drake for 15 gs., Mr. Barlow bought one for 13,Vgs., and Mr. C. J. B. Marsham oue for 12| gs. Tlie Cotswold ram lambs, the property Messrs. West, of Bletchington, averaged £4 6s. 6d. The highest figure was 7 gs., the purchaser being ^Ir. Walker of Yaru- tou. Messrs. Franklin and Gale submitted about 50 Oxford- shire Down ram lambs, the property of Mr. H. Gale, of Cud- desdou, and they averaged £6 3s. 3d. each, the highest price being 16 gs., and the lowest 3^ gs. Mr. J. T. Gale, of South Minster, Essex, purchased the highest priced sheep ; they also sold 280 ewes aud theaves, and 100 ewe lambs, the property of Mr. W. Parsons, of Elsfield, being the whole of his breeding flock of 0.xfordsliire Dowus. The ewes and theaves made from 62s. to 73s. per liead, and the lambs from 33s. to 70s. IMessrs. J. and W. Scroggs offered 35 Oxfordshire Down ram lambs, and eight shearlings, belonging to the executors of the late Mr. F. Pratt ; they realised an average of 8^ gs. Mr. J. A. Mumford submitted about 20 Oxfordshire Down ram lambs, from the flock of Mr. J. K. Shrirapton, of Easington. The average of this lot was £4 4s., the best lamb fetching C gs., the purchaser being Mr. Mumford, of Boarstall. SHEEP SALE IN SUFFOLK.— Mr. R. Bond sold 2,000 lambs aud sheep by auction, at Sutton, wlien the attendance of purchasers was large. 140 half-bred lambs from Mr. A. Smith's Rendlesham farn. sold at 41s., 40s., 36s. Gd., and averaged from 36s. to 37s. each ; 80 crones from the same cousigner averaged 35s. Gd. ; 85 crones sent by Mr. R. Weltou averaged 44s.; 380 half-bred lambs from Mr. W. Borrett's, of Tunstall, commeuced at 31s., and averaged 30s. 9d. ; 140 consigned by Mr. W. Toller, of Gedgrave, averaged the same money ; 350 blackfaced ewe aud wether lambs from Mr. J. S. Clarke, of Eyke Rookery, commenced at 31s. 6d., 30s., aud averaged 26s. each ; 80 crones from the same farm averaged 34s. ; 80 Down lambs and 40 crones from Butley Abbey sold freely, the latter averaging 44s. 6d., and black- faced lambs 29s. Gd. ; 70 blackfaced shearling ewes sent by Mr. Josenh Smith, of Hasketon, averaged G8s. 6d., the pur- chasers being Mr. Robert Welton and Mr. C. K. Cordy ; shearling blackfaced rams, also sent by Mr. J. Smith, sold at from i-4 10s. to £8 8s. ; 70 blackfaced refuse wether lambs from Mr. W. Walker's, Ferry Farm, Sutton, averaged up- wards of 25s. ; fat sheep, consigned by IMessrs. R. and A. Crisp, of Gedgrave HaU, averaged 62s. Gd. ; 200 half-bred lambs, 32s. 9d. THE COLD HARBOUR RAMS.— Messrs. Franklin and Gale disposed of, by auction, at Ilsley sheep fair, a lot of Hampshire Down ram-lambs,frorathetlockofMr.A. de Mornay. The trade was not so brisk as expected. A ram was let from September the 1st to November the 1st, at 24^ guineas, to Mr. Wilson, of Newbury ; and another sold for 20 guineas to Mr. Boardman ; Mr. Hatt, of Cadwell, was the purchaser of 13.|^. The lowest price was ^4 14s. 6d. ; the average about £6 Gs. 6d. A few older sheep were sold at an average of £6 13s. BULBRIDGE RAM SALE.— At the annual sale and letting of Ilampsliire ram lambs and rams, the property of Mr. James Rawlence, of Bulbridge. Messrs. Ewer aud Winstanley, of Salisbury, were the auctioneers. The following were among the prices realised : — For the season : 60 gs., Mr. Morrison, Fonthill ; 51 gs., Mr. Olding ; 36 gs.. Mr. Moore, Littlecott ; 21 gs., Mr. D. Chen aud Mr.Syms, Sher- borne. For a month : 21 gs. ; Mr. Kirby, 20 gs., Mr. Walter, Bearwood. The average was over £32 a head. At the ram lamb sale the following were among the prices obtained : — Single : 30 gs., Mr. Melsome, Maddiugton ; 27 gs., Mr. Walter; 171 and 17 gs., Mr. W. Cordery, Hazeley ; 17 gs., Mr. Ferris, Mauuingford; 14^ gs., Mr. Canning; 14 gs., Mr. Milton, Wiveliscombe ; 13^ gs., Mr. Allen, Pyt House ; and for a pair Mr. Cordery gave "l9j guineas. The average of the 81 lots was over £10 63. a head. Of two-tooth rams the higliest figure given was by Mr. Dibben, Bishopstone, 37 gs. The average was £13 16s. 6d. There were seven two-tooth rams for sale, one of which went for 17gs. to Mr. Syms, Sherborne, and another for 15| gs. to Mr. Lovell, of Northampton. The total amount realised was over £1,600. THE MARKSHALL SHEEP LETTING.— The annual letting of Mr. T. Allen's long-woolled rams was held at Markshall, near Norwich. The ram lambs offered made from £3 to £3 12s. each, the shearlings from £5 to £14 5s. each, aud the two-shear sheep from £5 5s. to £6 each. Tiie averages were : Earn lambs £3 53. 5d. each, shearlings £7 15s. 9d. each, and two-shears £5 12s. 6d. each. THE MARHAM COTSWOLDS.— At Mr. T. Brown's annual letting 80 ram lambs, 80 shearlings, aud 10 two- shear sheep were let by Mr. Simpson. The prices made for the lambs varied from 4^ to 21 gs. ; for the shearlings, from 6^ to 34 gs. ; and for the two-shears, from 6 to 10| gs. The average for the lambs was £7 Os. 3d. ; for the shearlings, £10 14s. ; and for the two-shears, £7 16s. THE WEST DEREEAM LONG-WOOL SHEEP.— Mr. Hugh Aylraer's annual letting took place on F'riday, July 28. All the lambs were let. 100 lambs realised from 5 to 20 guineas, averaging £G 10s. 3d. ; 80 shearlings from &^ to 30 guineas, average £10 Ss. 9d.; aud 10 two-shears from 5^ to 10 guineas, average £6 15s, 268 THE FAKMEK'S MAQAZmE. THE MIDDLE ASTON COTSWOLDS.— The fortieth sale of the Middle Aston rams, with which the name of the late Mr. Cotlier is inseparably connected, took place at Hopcraft's Holt. There was a large gathering, and the wea- ther was exceedingly favourable. Many of those present had, doubtless, come to secure some of the Middle Aston blood, it being the last opportunity they would have of doing so. There were sold nine old sheep and 58 shearhoggs. The highest price was 33 gs., bought by Mr. W. Lane, of Broadfield ; the lowest, 5J gs., and the average £11 17s. 6d. The purchasers were 3Iessrs. Fletcher, Roll right; Holloway, Baynard's Green ; Court, Chalcote ; Gibbons, Tackley ; Checkley, Brogboro' ; Piatt, Brogboro' ; Newton, Campsfield ; R. Phil- lips, jun., Bicester; Cantrill, Stoke near Windsor; Joseph Gibbs, Ascott ; Mertin Gibbs, Ascott ; Pettipher, Rollright ; Westover, Dun's Tew ; W. Mansfield, Hethe ; Mather, Chad- lington; Edgington, Merry's Court; C. T. Eve, Sandford; G. Game, Churclnll ; Gregory, Enstone ; C. Gillett, Tangley ; R. Abraham, Little Tew ; Kimber, Tracey Farm ; J. Wady, Warkworth ; Hewer, Fair Green ; Gurrier, London ; Savage, Sarsden ; Chamberlain, Adderbury ; T. Berridge, Piralico Farm; T. Root, Beaconsfield; J. Greaves, Swalcliffe ; S. Smith, Somerton ; Patullo, Aynhoe ; R. Berridge, Somerton ; Adkins, Rousham ; W. Edwards, Over Norton ; Gu}', Chip- ping Norton; R. Hall, Barford; Graddock, Lineham; and Stone. Mr. C. WATERS' RAJMS.— The sale of Hampshire Down ram lambs, the property of Mr. Charles Waters, of Down Farm, Salisbury, took place at the Market-house, Salisbury, Mr. John Waters being the auctioneer. The sale comprised 56 ram lambs. The prices realized were 16^ gs., 13^, 12^, 13, 10, 9, 8 gs., &c., down to 3 gs., at wliich price one lamb only was sold. MR. W. CHILLINGWORTH'S OXFORDSHIRE DOWN FLOCK.— This flock was submitted to public com- petition on Thursday, July 27, by Messrs. Franklin and Gale. The ewes and theaves were first disposed of. The highest bids were 30^ guineas for a pen of live, knocked down to Mr. Un- derwood ; 26^ guineas for two ditto, to Mr. Hanbury and Mr. Cooling respectively ; and 25J guineas for two ditto, bought by Mr. U. Gale, of Cuddesdon, and Mr. T. Shrimpton, of Crendon, respectively. The 79 lots produced £1,419 — an average of £18 7s. per pen, or £3 13s. 4d. per sheep. A few- pens of ewe lambs were bought in at 12| guineas, but the remainder exceeded that amount, ranging as high as 19 guineas — a purchase of Mr. Longlands, Mr. Hobbs coming next with 18 and 16 guineas. The 30 pens fetched £4-28— an average of £14 os. per pen, or £2 17s. for each ewe lamb. The biddings for the ram lambs were spirited ; Mr. Parker, of Headington, led with 24J guineas ; Mr. Hanbury secured another at 20| guineas ; Mr. Brufoid one at 15 guineas ; while to Mr. Latham's and Mr. Hewitt's biddings the hammer fell at 13^ guineas. Double figures were of frequent occurrence. The 65 ram lambs produced £515, or £7 18s. Gd. the average. The total sum realized for the G05 was about £2,300. Mr. J. TREADWELL'S OXFORDSHIRE DOWNS.— The annual sale of shearliug rams from the flock of Mr. Treadwell took place at the Model Farm, Upper Winchendon, and was by far the most successful that has yet taken place. The attendance, as well as the prices, were better than ever known before. One ram, at 33 gs., was purchased by Mr. Bryant. The others ranged from nine to eighteen guineas. The highest figure ever reached previously was 27 gs. The sheep, 58 in number, sold at an average of £14 6s. 9d. each. The sale was conducted by Mr. Mumford. COTSWOLD RAMS.— At the first annual sale of Mr. Wm. Lane, of Broadfield, fifty-four sheep were sold at an average of £18 2s. 6d. There was a large attendance of agriculturists, including breeders from Norfolk and other distant counties. On the following day the sale at Mr. Robert Game's, at Aids- worth, was held. Fifty sheep were sold and four let, making an average of £19 Is. Id. There was a large company. One shearlmg ram was let to Mr. J. Brown, of Norfolk, for 82 guineas. On Tuesday there was held the annual sale at Mr. James Walker's, of Northleach. Thirty-eight sheep were sold and realised an average of £17 13s. 2d. Mr. George ^letchers sale was held on Wednesday, at Shipton, near l^heltenham, and drew together a large company. Tlie prices reahsed were not so high as was expected. The average of the 47 rams offered was 12 guineas. Mr. W. Lane, of Bread- field, purchased one at 51 guineas, Mr. E. Fowler at 41 guineas, Mr. Mace at 30 guineas, Mr. Jas. Walker at 25 guineas, Mr. Pope at 20 guineas, Mr. Smith, of Sherborne, at 19 guineas, and Mr. Craddock at 18 guineas. The lowest priced one was 6 guineas. Mr. James Villar officiated as auctioneer. MR. SCHWANN'S HAIMPSHIRE DOWNS.— This flock was sold at North Houghton Manor by Mr. John Waters, of Salisbury. For ram-lambs the highest prices for single lambs were from I65 gs. down to lOJ gs., and four pair from 15 gs. down to 10 gs., the average of the ram lambs being £5 18s. 3d. each. The chilver lambs realised from 76s. down to 43s. per head, the average being 49s. 3d. per head. For two-teeth ewes the prices were from 86s. down to 58s. per head, this age averaging £3 3s. 6d. For four-teeth ewes from 102s. down to 58s. per head, averaging £3 6s. Si. The six-teeth ewes brought from 88s. down to 56s. per head, and the average was £3 6s. 7d. FuU-mouthed ewes from 65s. down to 49s. per head, averaging £2 17s. 8d. Amongst the purchasers were Mr. J. Moore, Mr. Warwick, Mr. Olding, Mr. Barton, Mr. Taunton, Mr. F. Budd, Mr. G. K. Budd, the Marquis of Winchester, Mr. C. Saunders, Mr. Carpenter, Mr. George Edney, Mr. C. Stone, Mr.M. H. Marsh, Rev. T. Best, Mr. Lunn, Mr. Bone, Messrs. Tory, Mr. Twynam, Mr. Ringer, Mr. Kirby, Mr. Courtney, Mr. White, Mr. Crook, Sir Fowell Buxton, Mr. Lewis, Mr. Titt, Mr. Neate, Mr. Sprake, aud Mr. Friend. MR. COLE'S HAMPSHIRE DO"OTSrS.— Lot 1 was let for a month at 9 gs.. Lot 2 for the same time 8 gs., others made 6^ gs. and 5 gs., one only being let under, viz. 4| gs. The ram-lambs for sale then followed. Lot 13 made 15 gs., lot 15 8 gs., others made from 7j gs. down to 5 gs., no animal being sold uuder that sum. The principal purchasers were Messrs. Parham, Raxworthy, Rogers, Stiles, Jelferys, A. Jefferys, John Coles, Dutfosee, Mace, PuUen, CoUings, Dyke, Croom, Baker, Uinton, Britten, Millard, Carpenter, Scott, Scaine, and Weaver, MR. DIBBEN'S HAMPSHIRE DOWNS.— Messrs. Ewer and Winstanley, of Salisbury, put up to sale by auction, at Salisbury, about 100 ram-lambs and rams, the property of Mr. E. Dibben, of Bisliopstone. There were six lots of rams to be let until the 1st of September, and one ran rapidly up to 62 gs., at which point the ram jumped over the hurdles and knocked down two or tliree of the bystanders. Still the biddings went on, and eventually it was knocked down at the extraordinary price of 70 gs. to Mr. Budd, at Hatchwarreu, Hants. The other five went at the following prices : 7i gs., Mr. Jones; 9 gs., Mr. R. Coles; 9| gs., Mr. Barton ; 8 gs., Mr. Olding ; 8 gs., Mr. Jones. Lambs sold as follows : 11^ gs., Mr. lilake, Chitterne ; 12 gs., ditto; 14 gs., Mr. Coles; 62- gs., Mr. Brown, Stockton ; 6^ gs., Mr. Jones ; 7j gs., Mr. Jonatlian Taunton, jun. ; G gs., Mr. Edwards ; 11^ gs., Mr. E. Pinckney ; 23 gs., Mr. J. Fleetwood ; 17 gs., Mr. Olding; 11 gs., Mr. Pern; 10| gs., Mr. Pinckney; 34 gs., Mr. W. Taunton. MR. E. HANOI'S COTSWOLDS.— Mr. J. Villar sold at Sierford, 50 Cotswold rams, which made an average of £12. The average last year was £10 8s. 8d. for the same number of sheep. At Coates, Messrs. Moore aud Hill sold 41 shearling rams for Mr. Henry Howell, which realised an average of £9 12s. 7d. Last years average vras £10 lis. for 27 sheep. THE I'ORKSHIRE LEICESTER RAJI SHOWS. — The season has commenced well, and there is promise of a revival from the extreme depression (mainly caused by drought and numerically small flocks) of last year. The inaugural sliow, that of Mr. James Hall of Scorborough, near Beverley, has been held uuder successful circumstances. The shearlings averaged S^gs., the higliest being £32, to Mr. Jordan, of Eastborne. The two-shear sheep averaged £8, and the aged sheep 8| gs. per head. The 86 sheep let brought a total of £722, or an average of £8 8s. all round. Lord Chesham has sold the whole of his draft ewes to Mr. Richard Milward,Thurgarton Priory, Notts, and his lordship has selected a ram-lamb from the flock of Mr. Tiios. Nock, ol' Sutton Maddock, at 35 guineas, being one of the pen of five which obtained second prize at the Wolverhamptou meeting. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 269 SALE OF THE WESTDEAN (MR. PINNIX'S) SOUTHDOWN FLOCK.— On August 24th one of the best bred flocks of Southdowns in existence was brought to the ham- mer by Messrs. E. Wyatt and Son, the well-known auctioneers of Chichester. Tlie flock in Cjuestion was that of the late Mr. J. A. Pinnix, of VVhetdean, a pretty village five miles from Chichester, and which must not be confounded with the village of the same name near Eastbourne, also a noted sheep-breeding locaUty. Though the flock of Mr. Pinnis was so well bred, it was not a celebrated flock in the popular sense of the word, such as Lord VValsiiigham's, the Duke of Richmond's, Mr. Rigden's, &c., simply because Mr. Pinnix always abstained from exhibiting at agricultural shows ; but among breeders no flock was more celebrated for excellence, and, as was justly re- marked by the auctioneers, " The testimony to the excellence and quality of the flock being fully appreciated by Southdown breeders, has been evinced these many years past by the fact that in letting rams no breeder has been more successful, or let so many annually." Under these circumstances it is not surprising that a large number of the leading flock- masters of Sussex and neighbouring counties, as well as others from greater distances, should have repaired to Westdean on Thursday, when the flock was sold, in spite of the unfavourable weather. After the sheep had been keenly scrutinised an adjournment took place to luncheon. At the conclusion of the repast Mr. Wyatt, who conducted the sale, made a few introductory remarks and then proceeded to business. Yearhng Ewes : Lots of five two-tooth ewes were sold to Messrs. Heasman at £6 10s., 85s. and 65s. ; to Mr. Clark (for the Duke of Richmond) at £5 5s. ; to Mr. Fowler (Whitchurch) at 84s. ; to Mr. Harris (Donnington) at £5 and 75s. ; and to] Mr. Carew Gibson at 75s. Lots of ten ditto were sold to Mr. Green (of Herefordshire) for 80s., 72s. 6d., and 70s. ; to Mr. Gorham (Cackhara) at 67s. 6d. ; Mr. J. Wyatt (Nutbourne) 65s. and 60s. ; Mr. Sparkes (Wittering) at 63s. ; Mr. Gibson at 6O3. ; Mr. Woodbridge (Goodwood) a- 57s. 6d. and 67s. 6d. ; and Mr. Disbury at 653. Two-year- old Ewes : Lots of five 4-tooth ewes were sold to Mr. Fookes at 90s. ; Mr. Gibson 84s. ; Mr. Homer (Atthillhamptou) 60s. ; Mr. G. Pittis (Wymering) 75s. ; Mr. Stone (Lancing) 67s. 6d. ; and Mr. Whitcher (Stoughton) 65s. Lots of ten were sold to Mr. Woodbridge at 6£=. 6d ; to Mr. R. H. Ellman (Landport) 67s. 6d. and 62s. 6d. ; Mr. Fookes 72s. 6d. ; Mr. S. Beard (Rottingdean) 75s. and 67s. 6d. ; Mr. Green 72s. 6d. Lots of twelve were bought by Mr. Gorham at 70s., and Mr. Disbury 67s. 6d. Three-year-old Ewes : Lots of five 6-tooth ewes were bought by Mr. Carew Gibson at 90s. and 77s. 6d. ; Mr. Fowler 85s.; Mr. Fookes 80s.; Mr. Dearling (Lodsworth) 75s. ; and Mr. Padwick Thorney) 70s. Lots of 10 were bought by Mr. Homer at 70s., Mr. T. Harris 75s., Mr. G. Drewitt (Oving) 77s. 6d., Mr. Stone 70s., Mr. Green 75s. and 70s., Mr. Wood- bridge 67s. 6d., Mr. J. Saxby (Northease) 70s., Mr. Davis (for Lord Dacre) 67s. 6d. Full-mouthed ewes ; Lots of five were sold to Mr. Green at £7 iOs., ilr. Woods (Crows Hole) £6, Mr. Woodbridge £5 5s., Mr. Stone 77s. 6d., Mr. Disbury 70s., Mr. Carew Gibson £5 5s. Lots of ten were bought by Mr. Fookes at 723. 6d., Mr. Porter (Fosholt) 72s. 6d. and 70s., Mr. MarshaU (Godabning) at 72s. 6d., 67s. 6d., and Cos., Mr. Dearling 70s., Mr. R. Lucas (East Marden) 67s. 6d. and 62s. 6d., Mr. Davis (for Lord Dacre) 70s., Mr. Wood- bridge 65s., Mr. Stone 67s. 6d. Broken-mouthed ewes : Lots of six were bought by Mr. Bird (Sutton) at 77s. 6d., and Mr. Dearling at 67s. 6d. Yearling rams : A yearling ram, by a son of No. 10, a Goodwood sheep, Mr. T. Cooper, Norton, 32 guineas ; ditto, Mr. Barclay, Leatherhead, 21^- guineas ; ditto, by T. Ellman's No. 3, Mr. T. Harris, 23 guineas ; ditto, by a Westdean sheep, son of No. 10, from Goodwood, Mr. Tickner, Boreham Street, 15 guineas ; ditto, by a Westdean sheep, No. 6, son of No. 10, from Goodwood, Mr. Green, 14 guineas ; ditto, by No. 9, a grandson of T. EUman's No. 16, Mr. Stone, 15j guineas ; ditto, ditto, Mr. Styers, 17i guineas ; ditto, ditto, Mr. Green, lOj guineas ; ditto, ditto. Mr. Styers, 11| guineas ; ditto, by the same as lots 1 and 2, Mr. M'oods, 12 guineas ; ditto, by lot 79 in this sale, grandson of Mr. T. Ellman's No. 2, Mr. Richards, Wimbourne, 15 guineas ; ditto, by No. 6, a Westdean sheep, son of No. 10 from Goodwood, Mr. Richards, 12 guineas ; ditto, ditto, Mr. Hodson, West Blatchington, 21| guineas ; ditto, ditto, Mr, Ashby, Eastdean, near Lewes, 16 guineas ; ditto, ditto, Mr. Elliott, Houghton* 13 guineas ; ditto, ditto, Mr. Hipkin, Racton, 12 guineas ; ditto, ditto, Mr. Tickner, 20 guineas ; ditto, by lot 64, son of No. 10 from Goodwood, Mr. Hipkin, 15 guineas ; ditto, by No. 10 from Mr. J. Pinnis. Walderton, Mr. Homer, 28^ guineas; ditto, ditto, Mr. Fookes, 20 guineas; ditto, ditto, Mr. Whicher, Stoughton, 15^ guineas; ditto, by No. 10, a Goodwood sheep, Mr. R. H. Ellman, 10-^- guineas ; ditto, ditto, Mr. J. Saxby, Northease, Lewes, 10^ guineas ; a yearling ram, by No. 10, a Goodwood sheep, Mr. Ashby, 23 guineas; ditto, ditto, Mr. Hodson, 14^ guineas; ditto, ditto, Mr. R. H. Ellman, 15 guineas ; ditto, by a Westdean sheep, Mr. Hodson, 19 guineas ; ditto, ditto, Mr. Richards, 15 guineas ; ditto, by No. 10, a Walderton sheep, Mr. Richards, 16^ guineas ; ditto, by No. 8, a Westdean sheep, son of No. 10 from Goodwood, Mr. Ashby, 30 guineas ; ditto, by No. 3, a Westdean sheep, son of No. 10 from Goodwood, Mr. T. Harris, 11-^- guineas ; ditto, ditto, Mr. T.Harris, 12| guineas; ditto, by No. 10, a Walderton sheep, Mr. Fookes, 18 guineas; ditto, ditto, Mr. Woodbridge, 12| guineas ; ditto, by a West- dean sheep, Mr. Styers, 11 guineas ; ditto, by lot 64, son of No. 10 from Goodwood, Mr. Woods, 20 guineas. Two-year- old Rams : A two-year-old ram, by lot 64, son of No. 10 from Goodwood, Mr. Barclay, 4i4| guineas ; ditto, son of lot 70, a Walderton sheep, Mr. Stenning Beard, 14 guineas ; ditto, son of No. 10 from Goodwood, Mr. Carew Gibson, 52^ guineas ; ditto, Mr. J. Saxby, 12 guineas ; ditto, Mr. Wheeler, 17^ guineas ; ditto, Mr. Fookes, 20 guineas ; ditto, Mr. Parlett, Bury, 15 guineas ; ditto, Mr. King, Westburton, 18^ guineas ; ditto, Mr. J. Saxby, 20 guineas ; ditto, Mr. Tickner, 15^ guineas ; ditto, Mr. J. Saxby, 14^ guineas ; ditto, ditto, Mr. Ashby, 29 guineas ; ditto, by No. 4. a West- dean sheep, Mr. S. Beard, 21 guineas ; a two years old ram, by lot 64, son of No. 10 from Goodwood, Mr. Tickner, 13 guineas ; ditto, by No. 5, a Westdean sheep, Mr. Disbury, 11^ guineas; ditto, by a Westdean sheep, Mr. Styres, 11 guineas; ditto, ditto, Mr. Green, 20 gs ; ditto ditto, Mr. Wheeler, 18 gs.; ditto, by No. 3, son of No. 10 from Goodwood, Mr. Wood- bridge, 15i guineas ; ditto, ditto, Mr. Woods, 21 guineas ; ditto, by No. 5, a Westdean sheep, Mr, Parlett, 10 guineas; ditto, ditto, Mr. Saxby, 14 guineas; ditto, by lot 64, son of No. 10 from Goodwood, Mr. Fletcher, 8 guineas ; ditto, by No. 10 from Goodwood, Mr. Fletcher, 10^ guineas ; ditto, by No. 3, son of No. 10 from Goodwood, Mr. Saxby, 11 guineas ; ditto, ditto, Mr. Turner, 8 guineas ; ditto, by No. 10, a Walderton sheep, Mr. Davis, 13J guineas; A two-year-old Ram, by No. 10, from Good- wood, Mr. Clark, for the Duke of Richmond, 41 guineas; ditto, ditto, Mr. Green, 34| guineas ; ditto, by son of T. Ellman's No. 2, Mr. Barclay, 14 guineas ; a three-year-old ditto, by No. 5, a Westdean sheep, by Mr. T. Saxby, 10 guineas; a five-year-old ditto, by No. 12, a "Westdean sheep, Mr. Lamb, 8 guineas ; a four-year-old ditto, by T. Ellman's No. 16, Mr. Coote, 71 guineas ; ditto, a "Walderton sheep, son of No. 12, Westdean, Mr. W. Fogden, 9 guineas ; a five-year-old ram, by T. Ellman's No. 16, Messrs. Heasman, 25 guineas ; a three-year-old ditto, by No. 5, a Westdean sheep, Mr. W. Hipkins, 8^ guineas ; ditto, by No. 1, a Westdean sheep, Mr. Porter, 9 guineas ; ditto, by T. Ellman's No. 2, Mr. J . Saxby, 11 guineas ; a four-year-old ditto, by No. 12, a Westdean sheep, Mr. H. Hipkins, 8 guineas ; a three-year-old ditto, by No. 10, from Goodwood, Mr. Ashby, 10 guineas ; ditto, M. Ashby, 27 guineas; ditto, Mr. Humphry, 2o§ guineas; a four-year-old ditto, by a Westdean slieep, son of T. Ellman's No. 2, Mr. Drewitt, 11 guineas ; a five-year-old ditto, by a Westdean sheep, son of T. Ellman's No. 16, Mr. J. S. Turner, 18 guineas ; a four-year-old ditto, by No. 10, from Goodwood, Mr. Heasman, 7 guineas ; ditto, Mr. Coote, 9 guineas ; a three- year-old ditto, by a Westdean sheep, Mr. H. Hipkin, 11 guineas ; ditto, by No. 2, a Westdean sheep, grandson of T. Ellman's No. 16, Mr. Bird, 11^ guineas. THE SCOFWICK RAMS.— The celebrated flock of long- wool Lincoln rams, belonging to Mr. C. Clarke, of Scopwick, was submitted to public competition on August 24th by the Messrs. Briggs. As a breeder Mr. Clarke has long occupied a foremost rank, and for many years he carried oft' the prin- cipal prizes at the annual meetings of the North Lincolnsliire Agricultural Society. Latterly, however, he had retired from the list of exhibitors, being content to rest on his well-earned laurels, aud the estimation iu which his flock has beea held ^ T 2 , 270 THE FARMER'S ]\IAGAZINE. lias been proveJ from the fact that it has been resorted to, at the private lettings, by the principal rani-breeders of the county. When it was announced some time ago that Mr. Clarke had determined to sell the whole of his rams by auction, in couse- ijneuL'o of his intention to retire from his position as a ram- breeder, regret was very generally expressed. Notwithstanding the unfavourable weather, considerably more than a hundred of the leading ram-breeders and agriculturists of this county attended the sale on Thursday, and buyers were also present from Yorkshire and Nottiughamshire. The sheep were penned in a field adjoining the house, and a choicer selection of animals has rarely, if ever, been offered for competition. They were not in show condition, but their quality and symmetry were undeniable. The pick of the lot was un- doubtedly lot 39, a magnificent two-shear, which, after a spirited competition between Mr. Caswell, Mr. Gunning, Mr. W. P. Marshall, and Mr. T. Kirkham, of Biscathorpe, fell to the bid of the latter gentleman (who used him last year), at 150 guineas. This sheep had a splendid carriage, with fine skin, and beautiful head. There were thirty-three shearlings. Mr. Byron secured No. 7, a very useful sheep, for £38 17s. ; I\Ir. Clarke, of Ashby, No. 9, a grand sheep, with beautiful coat, and a splendid mover, for £63 ; and Mr. Lister, No. 22, for £¥J 7s. Mr. C. Clarke (Ashby) became the fortunate possessor of No. 43 (a magni- ficent two-shear, with nice coat and beautiful flesh), for £65 2s.; the following lot was knocked down to Mr. Kera- shall at £42 ; and Mr. Banyard secured Lot 58 (the last of the two-shears), at a like figure. The three-shear and aged sheep were wonderfully good, the best in a prime lot falling to the bid of Mr. J. S. Caswell at £89 5s. This was a wonder- fully good sheep, used at Scopwick last year. Mr. Paddison, of Ingleby, bought Lot Gl, a grand up-standing sheep, which he used last year, for £67 4s. ; Mr. Smith secured Lot 59 for £46 4s. ; and two others were knocked down at £31 10s. each. Sixty-nine sheep were offered, and one was withdrawn, the 69 realizing an aggregate of £1,639 lis. 6d., being an average of £23 ISs. Id. The 33 shearlings averaged £19 IBs. 6d. ; the 25 two-shears, £24 2s. ; and the 11 three- shear and aged sheep, reached the extraordinary average of £32 13s. 9d. Such a result is almost unparalleled in the history of ram-breeding in this county, and we trust such substantial appreciation of his skill as a breeder will induce Mr. Clarke to reconsider his determination, and to devote his skill and experience to the improvement of a breed of sheep which have no rivals as producers of both wool and mutton. THE HIGHFIELD RAMS.— The annual gathering of Leicester ram breeders was held at Mr. Stamper's, High- field House, Nunnington, North York. The letting was brisk; the highest shearling was taken at £20 5s. by Mr. Tinsley, of Malton, the average price being nearly £8 each. The two-shear sheep brought a strong competition. The prize sheep at the Kyedale show let to Mr. Green- wood, of Swarcliff'e Hall, for £31 10s., and the lot aver- aged 10 gs. per head. The aged sheep averaged about ^7 per head ; the general average tlirougliout the day was over 8 gs. per head, only three being turned back. Mr. E. Olding's Hampshires : This sale took place at Court House Farm. The highest lots fell as under: To Mr. Dibden 28 gs., Mr. C. Waters, Durnford 21 gs. ; both these being lambs let for the season only ; Mr. Moore, 16 gs. ; Mr. Squarey, 13^ gs. ; Mr. M.H. Marsh, 12 gs. and 10| gs. ; Mr. Gav, lOgs.J Mr.' W. Long, 9 gs. The average of 58 lambs let was £7 10s. 8d. each. MR. OLDING'S RAM SALE.— Mr. Edmund Olding's annual ram sale took place last month, at his farm. Court House, Lower Woodford. These rams were selected from the improved Hampshire Down sheep, descended irom the well-known flock which was brought to great perfec- tion by Mr. Ohliug during the time he resided at Ratfin Farm, near Amesbury. The stock was in excellent condition. Be- fore the sale the company partook of a substantial luncheon pro- vided by Mr. and Mrs. Olding, the chair being taken by Mr W Long, and the vice-chair by Mr. C. Edney. The companv af- terwards adjourued to the ring, and Mr. Waters commenced the sale. It seemed to be the general opinion that the lambs were well brought out, excellent as to being well-woolled ^^i^a^V 1?'= ^° ''>" "^'^ '='^1°^!^ «'i'l qualify of the ?erv fpi i-,^''*'"'^^^^'"? ""^ ^'•"'•' attendance only mnv Zrlt' f"^ ^'" ?''-' r°S ^vithout competition, manj persons having purchased more largely than they intended on account of the excellent character of the stock. The highest lots fell as under: To Mr. Dibben, lot 3, 28 gs. ; to Mr. Charles Waters, of little Durnford farm, lot 4, 21 gs., both these lots being lambs let for the season only ; to Mr. Moore (who competed keenly for all the best lots), lot 50, 16gs. ; lot 16, 14igs. ; to Mr. Squarey, lot 40, 13|gs. ; Mr. M. H. Marsh (Ramridge House), lot 56, 12gs. ; and lot 55, lO^gs.; to Mr. Gay, lot 20, lOgs. ; to Mr. W. Long, lot 10, 9gs. Messrs. Cossins, of Somerton, Mr. Miles, Wexcombe, and Mr. Green, Salterton, also each purchased several lambs at very fair prices. The average of 58 lambs sold and let was £7 10s. Sd. each. SALE OF HAMPSHIRE DOWN SHEEP. — The above sale took place at Bradwell, near Wolverton, at the residence of Mr. W. G. Duncan, of Bradwell house. This is the second year of this kind of sale, and the result has proved satisfactory in both instances. The breed is not much known in this district, although it is a very useful one, as it is much more hardy than many other breeds, and on cold rough land it will do well when other sheep would degenerate. After lun- cheon the company adjourned to the meadow, Mr. Goodwin mounted the rostrum and commenced the sale. The bidding generally was not brisk, and the prices, in the majority of cases, were not so high as last year. The following is a return of the sale ; — Sheep : Three ewes, £4 5s. per head, Mr. Bull, New- port. Three ewes, £3 8s. per head, Mr. Bull. Three ewes, £2 19s. per head, Mr. Linnell, Great BrickhiU. Five theaves, £3 7s. per head, Mr. Craddock, Bradwell. Five wether lambs, £2 9s. 6d., Mr. Checklev, Tyringham. Five ditto, £2 6s. 6d., Mr. Cbeckley. Five ditto, £2 6s., INIr. H. E. Bull, Tickford- park. Five ditto, £2 5s. 6d., Mr. J. Townsend, Tyringham. Five ditto, £2 7s. 6d., Mr. H. E. Bull. Two wether lambs, £2 6s. per head, Mr. Checkley. One Hampshire Down ram lamb, £3 12s. 6d., Mr. Mills, Newport. One Hamp- shire ditto, £4, Hon. Percy Barriugton, Westbur}'. One Hampshire ditto, £4 5s., Mr. Linnell, Paulerspury ; ditto, £5 2s. 6d., Emerton ; ditto, £4 12s. 6d., Goosey, Wavendon ; ditto, £3 15s., Frankhn, Haversham ; ditto, £5 5s., Holdham, Fenny Stratford ; ditto, £12, Checkley, Tyringham; ditto, £3, Walker, Stony Stratford; ditto, £11, Clode, Great Linford ; ditto, £9 5s., Captain Borlase Tibbits, Barton Seagrave ; one shearling Hampshire Down ram, bred by Mr. W. King, Hungerford, £14, Major Levi, Woughton- on-tlie-Hill ; one Hampshire Down ram lamb, £3 2s. 6d., Craddock, Bradwell ; ditto, £3 2s. 6d., W. Pike, Castlethorpe; ditto, £12 5s., Thompson, Hanslope ; ditto, £4 15s., Linnell, Great BrickhiU ; ditto, £4, Price, Newport, Paguell ; ditto, £4, Pike, Hanslope ; ditto, £3 12s. 6d., Pike ; ditto, £6 10s., Ratliffe, Hanslope ; ditto, £4 5s., Pike ; ditto, £4 2s. 6d., Ward, Newport Pagnell. Alderneys : A grey and white cow, four years old, in-calf, to calve October 23rd, £21 5s., Hon. Percy Barrington ; a brown and white heifer, 18 montlis old, in-calf, £13, J. Clode ; a self-coloured heifer, 18 months old, in-calf, £14 15s., Whiting, Castlethorpe; two steers, 21 months old, £15 15s. each. Pike ; two ditto, 19 months old, £14 5s. each. Pike ; a barren heifer, 2^ years old, £li5, At- kinson, New Bradwell ; a barren cow, £10 10s., Linnell, Great BrickhiU ; a ditto, £11 10s., J. Townsend ; a ditto, £11 10s., Mills, Newport ; a self-coloured bull, 20 months old, a pure- bred Dauncey, £15 5s., John Fountaiue ; a ditto, £11 10s., Walker. A number of pigs were also sold, making good prices. MR. HORLEY'S SHROPSHIRE FLOCK.— The Fosse flock was founded upvvards of twenty years ago, principally upon the old flock of Mr. Masfen, of Norton Canes. With the exception of a few of Mr. G. Aduey's, no ewes have been purchased since its original foundation, but sires have been selected from the flocks of Mr. Byrd, Mr. Coxon, Mr. Evans, Mr. Crane, Mr. Randall, Mr. Keeling, Mr. Masfen, and other breeders, when^ although no very high prices were reached, the sixty-six rams averaged slightly over £10 10s. each. The ram lambs secured customers for the sixty at from 503. to 105s. each. The shearling ewes numbered one hundred. The two best pens made 90s. and 105s. respectively, the others going at 80s., 75s., down to 70s. the lowest price paid. The general average .vas about 77s. 150 older ewes were offered, and 120s., 115s., and 100s. per head were paid for the best pens. Tlie general run was SOs. to 85s., the average running close to the last named price. The ewe lamb.s ranged from 60s. to 80s., averaging nearly 70s. Mr. R. H. Masfen presided at the luncheon ; and Mr, Preece was the auctioneer. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 271 THE SHROPSHIRE SALE AT SHREWSBURY. — At Mr. W. G. Preece's thirty-sixth annual sale, a large number of rams from some of the most noted ilocks in the kingdom were submitted. The attendance was scarcely so large as usual. The first lot was a three- shear lam by Young Patentee the Prime, whicli was sold for 10 guineas. A two-shear, by Lord Warden, was let for H; guineas ; and a shearling, by Conservative, for 5 gs. Eiglit lots, belonging to JMr. Edwards, of Oxon, were disposed of. Thirty-five rams, the property of the executors of the late Mr. Craue, of Shrawardine, and Mr. Edward Crane, of Fortou, were next submitted. A shearling ram by Crosswood Hero, dam by Duke of Newcastle, was let for 41 guineas ; and another by Crosswood Hero, dam by Plymouth ~ad prize, for 41 guineas. The whole made a fair average. The llev. C. P. Peters sold two shearlings for b^ and 6 guineas, respectively ; and 41 rams belonging to Mr. John Evans, of IJffington, stood next in the catalogue. A three-shear, Favourite, by Non- pariel, was knocked down at 16 guineas, a two-shear by the same sire for 2G guineas, and another for 21 guineas ; and then a shearling, Proud Salopian, by Cardinal, dam by Young Emperor, was let for 50 guineas. A shearling by Cardinal, dam by Chieftain, fetched 40 guineas, and others were pur- chased at 31 guineas, 31 guineas, and so on; the average being about 15 guineas. Mr. Thornton, of Pitchford, disposed of a three-shear ram, by Volunteer, for 18 guineas, and a two- shear for 17 guineas. Mr. T. llorton, of Harnage Grange, sold 13 rams at a moderate average, the highest figure being 16 guineas for a shearling by Pirate, by Corsair, a first prize R.A.S.E. The Hon. E. Kenyon obtained 16 guineas for a two-shear by Packiugton 3nd ; but sold four otlier rams at lower figures. Mr. Joseph Crane, of Calcott, made an average of over 13 guineas for five rams. Mr. Fenu, of Stonebrook House, Ludlow, and Mr. Harding, of Bictou House, oiTered five rams, all of wliich were sold ; and a two-shear ram, their property, was let for 20 guineas. Mr. G. Allen, of Knightley Hall, Staffordshire, had fifteen lots, and only three were passed. A two shear rara, by Fatback Patentee, was let for 50 guineas, and a shearling, by tlie same sire, for 17 guineas. Another shearling was sold for 37 guineas. Fifteen of Lord Chesham's rams ivere disposed of; and a shearling by the Duke of Manchester, realised 36 guineas. The next highest price was 31 guineas for a shearling, by Kenyon's ram. Mr. ll. Bostock, of The Hough., Staft'ord, sold five rams, a shear- ling by Horton's Duke of Kent, making 20 guineas ; and Mr. M. Williams, of Dryton, disposed of two rams. Mr. Andrews, of Nobold, sold two rams, and let one for 10 guineas ; and Mr. J. Pulley, of Lower Eaton, Hereford, sold sixteen ; but the highest figure was 10 guineas. The last rams sold were the property of Mr. Waiuraan, of Whiteley Manor, Newport, Salop. Nearly 1,000 ewes were sold on Friday, at an average close upon £4 each ; these being seut by the following breeders : Messrs. Crane, Evans, Horton, Fowler, Feun and Harding, Williams, Edwards, Bowen and Jones, Minton, Payne, Lee, Everall, Pickering, Preece, Holder, Nevett, Bridgeman, Jones, Wood, Morris, Bather, and Capt. Lovett. In several instances as high figures were paid for ewes from an ordinary farmers flock as for the drafts from the most noted ram breeders, but a few sliow pens realised as high as £10 10s. per head. THE SHROPSHIRE SHEEP SALE IN BIRMING- HAM, BY MESSRS. LYTHALL AND CLARKE.— The first of this year's sales of Shropshire sheep was held on July 37, in Bingley Hall, Birmingham, when, consider- ing the early period of the season for which this was fixed, it passed off remarkably well. About 150 sat down to luncheon under the presidency of Mr. G. A. May, of Elford Park. Among them were the agents for the Mcrquis of Exeter, Earl Ducie, the Earl of Warwick, Lord "Willoughby de Broke, and Captain Oliver, while Messrs. Mansell, T. Horton, Ilorley, J. Evans, C. R. Keeling, Masfen, C. Byrd, W. Yates, T. Nock, J. Beach, W. Baker, E. Lythall, J. Stubbs, and other ram-breeders were present. Although no extravagant prices were realised, most of the stock made its value, some of the ewes in particular selling at high figures. Some four or five Irish gentlemen were present, who bought nearly £500 worth of stock, and purchases were also made for Devonshire, Worcestershire, Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire, Gloucestershire, Leicestershire, Staffordshire, Warwicksliire, and Shropshire. A list of the principal prices follows : Mr. Yates' ten rams, 5 J- to 13g3. ; average £11 Is. Mr. Nock's fourteen rams, 6 to 30gs. Lord Willoughby de Broke's rams, 6 to llgs. Mrs. Beach's twelve shearlings averaged £17 14s. Mr. Pilgrim's four ams averaged lOgs- Mr. H. J. Sheldon's rams ranged from 6^- to 8^gs. The Marcjuis of Exeter's rams ranged from £1 to £5. Mr. Stubbs' shearling ram fetched 43gs., Mr. Z. Walker's ram 5 gs. Mr. Lort's five rams aver- aged 5jgs. W. Picken's ten rams ranged from S^ to 8gs. Mr. Yates' five ewes ranged from £2 lOs. to £2 15s., Mr. Pilgrim's two ewes Ggs., Mr. Nock's five ewes £3 3s. to £3 6s., Mrs. Beach's ewes £4 10s. to £7 7s., AV. Lort's ewes £3 18s. to £3 10s., E. Lythall's eight ewes £3 15s. to £3 14s., Lord Willoughby de 13roke's six ewes £4 13s. 6d. to £5, J, H. Lee's six ewes £3 13s. to £2 16s., James Dugdale's five ewes £3 4s. to £2 18s., T. Walker's three ewes £3 14s. to £3 15s., J. Tolefree's six ewes £3 14s. to £3 19s., Isaac Down- ing's eight ewes £3 7s. to £3 9s., Z. Walker's four ewes £3 9s. to £3 16s., and Mr. Wilday's twenty ewes £3 10s. each. Mr. Lythall's fourteen rams ranged from 5| to llgs., aver- aging £8 lis. SALE OF SHROPSHIRE SHEEP.— Mr. German, of Measham Lodge, near Ashby-de-la-Zouch, held his annual sale of Shropshire sheep on Wednesday, August 16tli, when 44 rams and 165 ewes were disposed of. The last three years the sheep from this flock have been sold at the Ashby-de-la- Zouch Smithfield, but from the fact of the spirited determina- tion of the proprietor to raise his flock equal to any in the country, and the confidence the public have shown in pur- chasing his rams on previous occasions, induced him to hold his sale this year at the Measham Field farm. After luncheon business was commenced in a most spirited manner by Mr. J. German, of the firm of Davenport, German, and Allen, Ashby- de-la-Zouch, commencing with a grand two-shear rara, whicli was let to Mr. Rose, Ash, near Derby, at 31 guineas ; No. 2, a three-shear ram, sold to Mr. Geo. Moore, 17 gs. ; No, 3 was let to Mr. Geo. Astle, at 3 7 gs. ; No. 4, Mr. W. Princess, 19 gs. ; No. 5, the first shearling, was let to Mr. G. Fulton, Shardlow, at 21 gs. (this sheep was highly commended at the Royal Agricultural Society, Wolverhampton, and took first prize at the Leicestershire Agricultural Show at Leicester) ; No. 6, Mr. Orme, 14 gs. ; No. 7, Mr. Singlehurst, Kingstone, 17 gs. ; No. 8, Mr. George Moore, IS gs. ; No. 9, Mr. Sale, 10 gs. ; No. 10, Mr. Barber, Best wood Park, 9 gs. ; No. 11, Mr. J. W. Faux, 12 gs.; No. 12, Mr. Singlehurst, 14 gs. ; No. 13, Mr. Booth, 16 gs . ; No. 14, Mr. Gardner, 31 gs. ; No. 15, Mr. Everard, Narborough, 14gs. ; No. 16, Mr. Sale, 8^ gs. ; No. 17, Mr. Fowler, 11 gs. ; No. 18, Mr. G. Sale, 7^ gs. ; No. 19, Mr. Oakey, Packington, 13 gs.; No. 20, Mr. Hatchett, Lockington, 14 gs. ; No. 31, Mr. Edge, Stretton, 33 gs. ; No. 22, Mr. Alcock, Burbage, 18 gs. ; No. 23, Mr. Webster, 8 gs. ; No. 24, Mr. Garner, Willesley, 16 gs. ; No. 25, Mr. Ilenson, Burton Lodge, 13 gs. ; INo. 26, Mr. Geo. Dewes, Willesley, 15 gs. ; No. 37, Mr. Sale, sen., 8 gs. ; No. 23, Mr. Startiu, 8 gs. ; No. 39, Mr. Clare, 8 gs. ; No. 30, Mr.H. E. Goodall, 16 gs.; No. 31, Mr. Smith, Rangemoor, 17 gs. ; No. 32, Mr. Rat- clilF, 11 gs.; No. 33, Mr. Thirlby, Packington, 9 gs. ; No. 34, Mr. T. Ratclilf, 10 gs. ; No. 35, Mr. Booth, Tarnhorn, Stafford, 21 gs. ; No. 36, Mr. Wood, Clifton, 18 gs. ; No. 37, Mr. Eaton, Derby, 10 gs. ; No. 38, Mr. F.Walker, 7i gs. ; No. 39, Mr. John Thomp- son, 10 gs. ; No. 40, Mr. Lilley, Swepstone, 9 gs. ; No. 41, Mr. Barber, 8 gs. ; No. 43, Mr. W. Ball, 6| gs. ; No. 43, Mr. Booth, Tarnhorn, 12 gs. ; No. 44, BIr. Princess, 10 gs. ; the average price of the rams being £15 each. The compe- tition for the ewes was most spirited, prices ranging from 60s. to 102s. 6d. per head, or an average of 75s. per head. The purchasers were Mr. W. H. Clare, Mr. Savidge, Mr. Fultou, Mr. Barber, Mr. G. F. Brown, Mr. Alcock, Mr. Edge, and Mr. Fowler. MR. R. H. MASFEN'S SALE.— In consequence of harvest operations being in progress, this annual sale on the 18tli was not quite so numerously attended as the celebrity of the Pendeford flock has generally ensured ; nevertheless there were many of the principal flockraasters and representatives of large landed proprietors present. The stock submitted by Mr. W. G. Preece comprised 60 superb Shropshire rams and about lOD stock ewes, all in capital condition. The bidding for many of the best animals was very spirited, as the prices realized for them will denote : No. 1, Preserver, a magnificent animal, was knocked down to Mr. Coxon for 39 gs. No. 3, 272 THE FAHMER'S MAGAZINE. Noble, 30 gs., Mr. Sanday, of Holm Pierrepoiut. No. 4, Marcus, 28 gs., Mr. G. Wilkes, of Knowle. No. 5, Comns, 23 gs., Mr. Horley. No. 7, My Lord, 25 gs., the agent of Sir John Chetwode. Nos. 9 aud 24, the agent for Lord Hather- ton, for 13 gs. and 11 gs. respectively. No. 10, Chieftain, 23 gs., Mr. S. Leather, of Delamere Forest, Cheshire. No. 11, Rupert, 32 gs., Mr. G. T. Forrester, of High Ercall, Welhngton. JNos. 26 and_27, at 20 gs. and 16 gs. respectively, were purchased by the agent of Mr. John Peel, of Middletou. No. 49, The Colonel, was let for 20 gs. to Mr. Mansell, of Addcott. No. 6, a Two Shear, was purchased by Mr. H. Rogers, of Wolgarstone, for 13 gs. No. 8, The Baron, aud 32, The Peer, bought for 20 gs., by the agent of Mr. H. C. Vernon, of Hilton. No. 46, a ShearUn?, and No. 8, Two Shear, knocked down for 20 gs. to Mr. Webster, of Bishton Hall, near Albrighton. Of the other older raras. No. 1, Rob Roy, a Two Shear, was let to Mr. John Crane, of Shrewardine, for 30 gs. No. 5, Cantab, let to Mr. Wall, of Shustock, near ColeshUl, for 21 gs. The ewes were a superb collection. Lot 1 was purchased by Mr. Stubbs, of Preston HiU, for the re- markably good price of £o each. Lot 2 was, however, supe- rior, both in form and build, and after some spirited bidding they were secured by Mr. Bradburne, of Pipe Place, near Lich- field, at £6 5s. each. The average price realized by the rams was £13 7s. 5d. each, and for the ewes, £4 Is. lOd. MR. J. H. BRADBURNE'S SHROPSHIKES.— This sale of 40 rams and 140 ewes took place at Pipe Place, Mr. Preece being the auctioneer. The shearlings, 28 in number, were first disposed of, lot 1 being sold to Mr. Crisp for £10 10s., lot 2 to Mr. Barnes for £7 17s. 6d., lot 3 to Mr. Thorne- loe for £11 lis., lot 11 to Mr. Barnes for £13 13s., lot 13 to Mr. Fair for £14 14s., lot 22 to Sir A. Rothschild for £14 14s. In the two-shear rams lot 1 realised £16 16s., being bought by Mr. James; lot 5, £15 15s., bought by Mr. Kitson; and lot 6 to Mr. Booth for £10 10s. The ewes averaged 65s. each. Seven show theaves were sold to Mr. Murray — five at £7 5s., and two at £4. SHROPSHIRE RAMS.— Two shearling Shropshire rams .ind several ewes have been selected by Mr. W. G. Preece, of Shrewsbury, from the flock of J\Ir. J. H. Bradburne, of Pipe- place, Lichfield, to the order of Messrs. Redfern and Alexander, of Great Winchester-street Buildings, London, for shipment to Australia, The prices were 25 gs. each for the rams, and 5 gs. each for the ewes. THE HAGLEY SALE.— On Monday, Aug. 21, the annual sale of pure Shropshire Down rams and ewes took place at the Lyttelton Arms Hotel, Hagley, by W. B. Woolridge (of the firm of Messrs. Oates, Perrens, aud Wuoldridge, of Stour- bridge). The animals were selected from the fiocks of Mr. W. C. Firmstone, Hagley; Mr. John Uarward, Winterfold ; and Messrs. E. Webb and Sons, of Kinverhill. Tlie attend- ance was moderate. Previous to the sale about 200 partook of an excellent dinner provided in a large room at the hotel. Of Mr. W. C. Firmstoue's lot the first was purchased by Mr. 11. Cox for 13 guineas. Of the nine one-shear rams by Beach's No. 1 offered the highest price realised was 10|^ gui- neas. Mr. J. Harward's included sixteen one-shear rams, six of them being by Caractacus the 2nd, nine by a ram of Mr. Crane's, and one by a Montford ram, and a three-shear ram, Caractacus the 2nd, by Caractacus. Tlie six by Caractacus fetched 52 guineas, the nine 6Ui guineas, and the Montford sheep 7 guineas. A sharp competition took place for Carac- tacus, which was knocked down to Messrs. Webb for 17i gui- neas. Forty ewes, belonging to Mr. W. C. Firmstone, realised £111 15s. A similar number, belonging to Mr. John Har- ward, were sold for £119 10s. The whole of the animals sold »ealised over £500. RUGELEY ANNUAL SHEEP SALE.— This important sale took place last month in the Smithfield at the Shrews- bury Arms Hotel. About 1,000 sheep were disposed of; prices being high and varying from 50s. to 75s. per head for ewes, rams averaging £5 10s. each. The prin- cipal contributors were Lord Bagot, Messrs. T. B. Hora- fall, B. Bond, Nichols, Parton, Burgess, Harvey, Stubbs, Holland, Woolley, Brown, &c. The sheep offered for sale were of a remarkably good class, still upholding the high position for which this district is n6ted. The purchasers were numerous, including several continental buyers. The sale was conducted by Mr. Henry Quinton. THE ANNUAL SHEEP SALE AT HOVE.— Mr. Rig- den's annual sale of Southdown ewes, and letting and sale of rams, took place last month, and was, as usual, largely attended, not only by agriculturists of the home county, but also by many well-known breeders and flockmasters from distant shires. The great skill and care with which Mr. Rig- den has bred his fiock, the enormous expense he has incurred in procuring the best blood in the world, and the high character of the sheep he offers for sale, are too well known to need any comment. After luncheon the company returned to the pens, and Mr. Drawbridge, the auctioneer, briefly addressed them. He stated it was a legitimate sale, and he lioped there would be spirited biddings and high prices. The sale realised £600 10s. The following prices were made : Ewes : Five fuU- mouthed ewes, £3 12s. 6d., Mr. Smith, Paddockhurst ; five ditto, £5, Mr. Hart, Beddingham; five ditto, £3 15s., Mr. Smith ; five ditto, £3 10s., Mr. Smith ; five ditto, £4, Mr. Harris, Norrington, Chichester; five ditto, £3 17s. 6d., Mr, Smith ; five ditto, £5 7s. 6d., Mr. Harris ; five ditto, £3 12s. 6d., Mr. Butler (for Hon. Mrs. Talbot), Winchcombe ; five ditto, £3 15s., Mr. Butler ; five ditto, £3 3s., Mr. Hart ; five ditto, £2 12s. 6d., Mr. Clarke (for Duke of Richmond) ; five ditto, £2 12s. 6d., Mr. Porter ; five ditto, £2 17s. 6d., Mr. Porter ; five ditto, £3, Mr. Porter ; five ditto, £2 17s. 6d., Mr. Smith ; five ditto, Mr. Clarke ; five shearling ewes, £2 1 2s. 6d., Mr. Porter ; five ditto, £3, Mr. Butler ; five ditto, £3 5s., Mr. Butler ; five ditto, £3, Mr. Smith. Rams for letting : Four- years-old, by the second prize ram at Battersea, not let ; three- years-old, by a grandson of Archbishop, £16 16s., Mr. Smith ; two-years-old, by 40, £13 2s. 6d., Mr. Gillespie, Bolney ; two- years-old, by ditto, dam a Goodwood ewe, not let ; two-years- old, by 40, obtained the second prize at Wolverhampton, £23 2s., Mr. Gorringe, Kingston ; one-year-old, by Mr. Henry Webb's, a grandson of Reserve, £27 6s., Lord Newbury; one- year-old, by ditto, £15 15s., Lord Hylton ; one-year-old, by a grandson of Mr. Webb's 21, £16 5s. 6d., Mr. Smith ; one- year-old, by grandson of reserve, not let ; one-year-old ditto, £10 10s., Lord Hylton. Raras for sale : two-vears-old, by a son of Plenipo, £17 6s. 6d., Mr. Field, Ashurst Park, Tunbridge Wells; two-year-old, by ditto, £11 lis., Mr.J. Moon Stevens, Winscot, North Devon ; two-year-old, by ditto, £10 10s., Mr. Oldham ; one-year-old, by a son of 40, his dam a Goodwood ewe, £22 Is., Mr. Bradshawe, Belgrave, Leicester ; one-year-old, by Grandson of Webb's 21, not sold ; one-year- old, by a sou of Young Elegance, £14 3s. 6d., Mr. Harris ; one-year-old, by ditto, £13 2s, 6d., Mr. Harris ; one-year-old, by Grandson of Webb's 21, £13 2s. 6d., Mr. Lane ; one-year- old, by ditto, £11 lis., Mr. Drumrcond, Cadland, Southamp- ton ; one-year-old, by Grandson of Reserve, dam a Bedding- ham ewe, £10 10s., Mr. Porter ; one-year-old, by ditto, not sold; one-year-old, by ditto, £10 10s., Mr. Lane; one-year- old, by Son of 40, not sold ; one-year-old, by ditto, £18 7s. 6d., Lord Sudeley, Gloucestershire. GALLOWAY T. SOMERSET CHEESE.— About two years ago the dairy farmers of Galloway, through Mr. David Guthrie, secretary of the Stranraer and Rhins of Galloway Agricultural Society, challenged the cheesemakers of Somer- setshire to a competition for £200. The challenge was refused, and several Somerset newspapers passed severe strictures on the Galloway farmers for their presumption. A few weeks ago Mr. Guthrie received the programme of a great cheese show, to be held at Frome, Somersetshire, on the the 27th September, and as one of the classes at the show is open to the United Kingdom, and a sweepstakes for a cheese of any make or size, opeu to the world, competition was apparently invited from this side of the border. A meeting of the dairy farmers in the Rhins district of Wigtownshire, numerously and influentially attended, has been held in the Town Hall, Stranraer — Colonel M'Douall of Logan presiding — for the purpose of taking into consideration the propriety of enter- ing for the cheese show at Frome. After some discussion it was resolved that Wigtown as a county should tiof take pa. in the competition. It was also resolved that Mr. Guthrie,i representing the dairy farmers of Wigtownshire, should offer a challenge to the Somersetshire cheesemakers similar in terms to that given two years ago. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 273 SALE OF THE FARNLEY HERD, Thk Propertv of the late jNIb. F. H. Fawkes, at Tarnley Hall, Otley, on Tuesday, Aug. 1, 1871. BY MR. H. STRAFFORD. Few herds have been better known to the public, through the past to the present generation, than the larnley, and it may also be said that few herds have done more good in their time to the stock of the country. Its rise took place fully forty years ago. Mr. Whitaker, who lived hard by, required milk for his numerous mill hands, and gradually established a large herd of Short- horns, which were as good milkers as they were beef - growers. The Americans soon found this out, and Col. Powell, with two or three importing com- panies, bought scores of good cattle from Burley and Greenholme. Mr. Fawkes paid ten guineas apiece for some calves, and these, with the bulls Norfolk and Sir Thomas Fairfax, laid the foundation of the Farnley herd. Two cows from Mr. R. Booth's Studley herd were added to it in 1834, and some from JMr. B. Wilson and the Duke of Buccleuch's, and thus started the herd grew into a fine stock. Bulls bred at home were used, and several were and have been ex- hibited at the Royal and Yorkshire shows, as the public well know, with great success. These animals were gene- rally conspicuous for their substance and fine roan colour, and it was a rare occasion that a white was shown ; consequently, they were in great demand, and eventually led up to periodical auctions where good prices were obtained for good stock dispersed. Twenty years ago the averages were among the highest of the time, but the enormous increase in the value of pure Shorthorns within the last five years make these prices appear low now. Twelve or thirteen years a^o two bulls were bought. Royal Oak from Mr. Wetherell and Lord Cob- ham, a white ofthe Gwynne tribe, though slightly bred away from the strain by the later crosses. This bull left some fine stock, which, as the price-list shows, fetched most of the best prices on Tuesday last. A sale — so recently as the spring of last year — reduced the herd to about 35 head, and these were brought to the hammer soon after the death of Mr. Fawkes, on the day prior to the York- shire Show. Scarcely a week before the sale, Mr. Fawkes' brother and successor also died. Mr. Strafford, when introducing the sale, took the opportunity of pay- ing a little tribute of respect to the memory both of i\Ir. Whitaker and Mr. Fawkes, men whom he had known for 40 years, and who had done much good in their generation. The cattle were brought out in a manner creditable alike to Mr. Scott the bailiff, and Robinson the herdsman. The cows were of a good old stamp, not large or coarse in size, but neat, short-legged, and of good quality, with nice horns and countenances ; they were certainly the best part of the herd. The competition was very brisk for most of the lots, but especially for those by Lord Cob- ham. The rich Farnley colour had been kept up, but not the substance, many of the young things coming out with bad backs and flat sides. Lord Darlington, the first bull, fetched only beef price, and the second one was not offered. Ninth Lord, the roan yearling shown at Wolverhampton, made the top price, going, after sharp bidding from Mr. Stanton, who bought several of the heifers to go to Canada, for 150 gs., to Mr. Barnes, of Australia. So another old stock has been dispersed ; but we trust that the heir of Farnley will not let the historic repute of the estate die ; for those who visited the Hall to see the marvellous Tm-ner gallery; rarely left the place without seeing the herd, which, in its way, graced and beautified the park and lovely estate as much as the gluwiug landscapes ornamented the walls of the comfortable old mansion. COWS AND HEIFERS. Blue Belle by Reformer (18G87), out of Blue Bonnet.— Mr. G. Wentwortli, WooUey Park, 41 gs. La Belle by Royal Oak (16873), out of La Bonne.— Mr. G. lliirgreaves,43 gs. Isabella by Royal Oak (16S73), out of Beauty.— Mr. G. Wentworth, 56 gs. Lady Valentine by Lord Cobliam (20164), out of Vanity.— Mr, G. Wentworth, 85 gs. Lady Maggie by Lord Cobliam (30164), out of Magnolia. — Mr. A. Metcalfe, 51 gs. Lady Fairy by Lord Cobhani (30164), out of Fairy Queen. — Mr. W. Thompson, 50 gs. Lady Beatrice by Lord fJobhara (30164), out of La Belle. — Mr. W. Thompson, 65 gs. Revival by Reformer (18687), out of Valerian.— Major Green- wood, 41 gs. La Brilliant by Reformer (18687), out of La Bonne.— Mr. Stanton, Canada, 34 gs. Lady Beaujolois by Lord Cobham (20164), out of Blue Belle. —Mr. R. E. Oliver, 60 gs. Flitch of Bacon by Friar Bacon (21780), out of La Bonne. — Mr. Wellcock, 40 gs. Her Lassie by Thorndale Lad (23066), out of Her Ladyship. —Mr. R. England, 39 gs. Thorndale's Balm by Thorndale Lad (33066), out of Friar's Balsam. — Mr. 11. E. Oliver, 50 gs. Vervain by Lord Montgomery (26686), out of Revival. — Mr. G. Wentworth, 41 gs. Betty Bacon by Friar Bacon (21780), out of Lady Betty.— Mr Stanton, Canada, 43 gs. First Duchess by Reformer (34930), out of Lady Valentine. — Mr. G. Wentworth, 65 gs. Lady Isabella by Lord Cobham (30164), out of Isabella.— Mr. G, Wentworth, 47 gs. Second Duchess, by Reformer (34930), out of Lady Margery. — Mr. Stanton, Canada, 51gs. First Lady, by Lord Darlington (26633), out of Valerian. — Mr. Clarke, 36gs. Second Lady, by Lord Darlington (26633), out of Lady Beau- jolois.— Mr. Stanton, Canada, 4lgs. Third Lady, by Lord Darlington (36633), out of Leap in the Dark.— Mr. G. Hatfield, 36gs. Fourth Lady, by Lord Darlington (26633), out of Her Lady- ship.— Mr. G. Wentworth, 25gs. Fifth Lady, by Lord Darlington (26633), out of Flitch of Bacon. — Mr. G. Wentwortli, 20gs. Lady of Lome, by Lord Cobham (30164), out of Blue Belle. —Mr. T. Barber, 40gs. Lady Belle, by Lord Cobham (20164), out of La Belle.— Mr. llargreaves, 36gs. Third Duchess, by Reformer (24930), out of Isabella.— Mr. G. Wentworth, 35gs. Sixth Lady, by Lord Darlington (26633), out of Lady Maggie. —Mr. G, Wentworth, 42gs. Seventh Lady, by Lord Darlington (36633), out of La Bril- liant.—Mr. Ellis, 31gs. BULLS. Lord Darlington, by Duke of Darlington (21586), out of Ane- mone.— Mr. Bates, 46 gs. Eighth Lord, by Lord Darlington (26633), out of Reaction.— Mr. G. Wentwortli, 23 gs. Ninth Lord, by Lord Darlington (26633), out of Lady Wal- lace.— Mr. Barnes, Australia, 150 gs. Tenth Lord, by Lord Darlington (26633), out of Revival.— Major Greenwood, 41 gs. Eleventh Lord, by Lord Darlington (26633), out of Lady Beatrice. — Mr. H. Ripley, 55 gs. Third Duke, by Reformer (2493U), out of Lady Fairy.— Mr, T. Shutt, 26 gs. Fourth Duke, by Reformer (24930), out of Revival.— Mr. G. Wentworth, 25 gs. Summary. £ s. d. £ s. 28 Cows 46 4 9 1,294 13 7 Bulls 54 18 0 384 6 35 Averaged... £47 19 5 £1,678 19 274 THE FARMEE'S MAGAZINE. REV. J.D. JEFFERSON'S SHORTHORNS, AT YORK ON Thuksdav, August 3rd 1871. BY MR. THORNTON. This herd, which has been bred for many years at Thicket Priory, about ten miles from York, has beeu thinned down by occasional sales, which have al- ways been held near the city. The cattle- plague sadly mowed down the herd in 1866, and this year, the [herd having outgrown the place, about 37 head were brought to York and sold on the second day of the show. The cattle were not in good condition for sale, and several were of short descent, being bred from stock that had been reared at Thicket for their great dairy properties. Two or three lots, however, of fashionable pedigree pulled up the average to £32 10s., and considering the stock, the sale was not only largely attended, but weut off well. COWS AND HEIFERS. Julia, by Ranter (18666), out of Lady Jersey.— Jlr. W. Angerstein, 65 gs. Teresa, by Veteran (13911), out of Twinua.— Mr. G. Long, 21 gs. Bertha, by Ranter (18666), out of Lady Bertlui.— Mr. G. Barton, 27 gs. Jessica, by Duke of Waterloo (2161G), out of Julia.— Sir W. 0. Trevelyau, 33 gs. Selina, by Lord Waterloo (24475), out of Lady Selbv.— Mr. E. Morrell, 32 gs. Lady Eastthorpe, by Duke of Waterloo (21616), out of Lady Emma. — Mr. E. Crawshaw, 30 gs. Jessy, by Duke of Waterloo (21616), out of Julia.— Sir W. C. Trevelyan, 31 gs. Tulip, by Duke of Waterloo (21616), out of Teresa.— Mr. B. Lucas, 27 gs. Duchess of Waterloo, by Earl of Jersey (23838), out of Countess of Waterloo.- Mr. T. Wilson, 160 gs. Lady Newby Wiske, by Eastthorpe (vol. xviii., p. 561), out of Newby Belle. — Mr. L. Learmouth, 36 gs. Alice, by Duke of Waterloo (21616), out of Amy.— Mr. R. Bleazard, 27 gs. Countess of Eastthorpe, by Duke of Waterloo (21616), out of Lady Emma. — Mr. C. Barroby, 36 gs. Viscountess Jersey, by Duke of Waterloo (21616), out of Lady Jersey. — Mr. W. Angerstein, 77 gs. Lady Sedan, by Duke of Waterloo (21616), out of Lady Selby.— Mr. R. Bleazard, 25 gs. Daisy Bud, by Duke of Waterloo (21616), out of Daisy.— Mr. W. Gonder, 22 gs. Amine, by Duke of Waterloo (21616), out of Amy.— Mr. E. Crawshaw, 17 gs. Michaelmas Daisy, by Viceroy, out of Daisy Flower.— Mr. R. Bleazard, 28 gs. Seraphine, by Lord Newby Wiske (26696), out of Selina.— Mr. Harrison, 17 gs. Bella, by Earl of tlic Valley, out of Miss Bertha.— Mr. R. Bleazard, 18 gs. Miss Selby, by Lord Waterloo (21175), out of Lady Selby.— Mr. J. 11. Cattley, 9^ gs. East Vale, by Earl of the Valley, out of Lady Eastthorpe.— Mr. C. L. Tuunard, 15 gs. Lady Villiers, by Earl of the Valley, out of Jessica— Mr. T. Wilson, 22 gs. Ada, by Lord Waterloo (21475), out of Amy.— Mr. S. AV. Tmker, 15 gs. Nyraph, by Lord Waterloo (21475), out of Lady Nicety.— Mr. J. Knowles, 27 gs. Veronica, by Lord Waterloo (21175), out of Verona.— Mr. J. Brigham, 19 gs. BULLS. Earl of the Valley, by Lord Waterloo (214.75), out of Lady of the Valley.— Mr. F. Danby, 35 gs. w 'n,'^^,^"'''^ '^^''''^''^O" (21175), out ofLady Nicety— Mr. W. Taylor, 21 gs. J J Lord Newby, by Lord Waterloo (2-4175), out of Newby Belle. —Mr. W. Nicholsou, 26 gs. Count Jersey, by Duke of Waterloo (21616), out of Lady Jersey. — Mr. T. Craig, Australia. 57 gs. Valerius, by Duke of Waterloo (21616), out of Lady of the Valley— Mr. J. Theaxted, 31 gs. Velocipede, by Duke of Waterloo (21616), out of Verona.^ Mr. Kirkpatrick, 18 gs. Lord Jersey, by Earl of the Valley, out of Countess of Jersey. — j\Ir. E'. Morrell, 28 gs. Vatican, by Duke of Waterloo (21616), out of Ladyoftlie Valley.— Mr. W. White, 16 gs. Nimrod, by Duke of Waterloo (21616), out of Newby Belle. — Mr. T. Stamper, 12 gs. Edward, by Duke of Waterloo (21616), out ofLady Emma.— Mr. J. S. Lockwood, ll^^ gs. Jaques, by Lord Waterloo (24175), out of Julia. — 31r. Clarke, 20 gs. SUMMAKY. Average. Total. 25 Cows £35 5 3 £881 9 6 11 Bulls 26 5 lU 289 5 6 36 ^■32 10 5 £1,170 15 0 SALE OF LORD FEVERSHAM'S SHORTHORNS, At Duncombe Park, on Thursday, August IOtu. BY MR. STRAFFORD. The foundation of this herd was laid more than fifty years since by purchases from ^lessrs. Charles and Robert Colling, Major Bovver, and Mr. Parrington ; while from time to time, as opportunity has offered, animals from other good herds have been introduced. The stock offered included several descendants of Mr. iMasou's No. 13 at the Chilton Sale, a few from Lord Ducie's Chaff by Duke of Cornwall (5947), and the Knightley strains were represented by Polygeneva, whose dam, Polytint, was bred at Fawsley, and Hospitality. For upwards of twenty years Mr. Bates' bulls and their descendants have principally been used, viz., Cleveland Lad (3107), Second Cleveland Lad (3408), Second Earl of Beverley (5963), Fifth Duke of Oxford (12762), the Royal winner at Chester and at the Yorkshire Show in 1858 ; Gloucester (12950), the first prize bull at the Paris International and at the Yorkshire in 1856 ; Sky- rocket (15306), the Royal winner at Leeds in 1861, and at the Yorkshire in 1862; Orestes (22443), and latterly Manchester (26798), who was himself in the sale. BULLS. Manchester, roan, calved August 26, 1866, by Orestes (22443), out of Mint. — Mr. Cattley, Stearsby, 45 gs. Capri, red roan, calved August 4, 1867, by Veteran (25361), out of Coral. — Mr. Newton, Overton, 30 gs. Hospitality, roan, calved August 20, 1867, by Potentate (22537), out of Harebell.— Rev. Mr. Danby, Stamfard, 35 gs. Pylades, white, calved August 19th, 1868, by Orestes (22443), out of Festive.— Mr. T. Brookes, Thirsk, 33 gs. Colonist, roan, calved January 7, 1869, by Orestes (23443), out of Columbia. — Major Stapylton, 53 gs. Coriolanus, red, calved November 12, 1868, by Orestes (22443), out of Coral.— Mr. Burt, Grautham, 37 gs. Chancellor, red, calved July 17, 1869, by Orestes (22143), out of Charmer. — Mr. Taylor, Malton, 31 gs. Corinthian, roan, calved October 8, 1869, by Orestes (22443), out of Coral. — Mr. J. Newton, 33 gs. Colonist 2nd, red roan, calved February 12, 1870, by Orestes (22443), out of Columbia. — Sir H. Johnstone, 55 gs. The Sarr, red and white, calved June 27, 1870, by Orestes (22443), out of Sylvia.— Mr. Mowbray, 21 gs. Sedan, roan, calved September 25, 1870, by Orestes (22443), out of Svveetbriar 2nd. — ISfr. Priestmau, 30 gs. Cicero, white, calved January 22, 1871, by Manchester (26798), out of Cecilia.— Mr. EUiott, 24 gs. Colonist 3rd, roan, calved February 9, 1871, by Orestes (22113), out of Columbia.— lion. E. Lascelles, 47 gs. THE PARMER'S MAGAZINE. 275 Victorious, red and white, calved February 11, 1S71, by Coriolanus, out of Victoria. — Rev. W. Prest, Appleforth College, 17 gs. COWS AND HEIFERS. Sympathy, roan, calved December 18, 1865, by Photograpli (20i9iJ), out of Soprano. — Mr. Hodgson, llighthorne, 35 gs. Pearl, white, calved in 1866, by Next of Kin (20405), out of Whitethorn.— Mr. R. H. Bower, Welbam Hall, 26 gs. Royal Celia, roan, calved January 26, 1868, by Royal Cam- bridge (25009), out of White Lily.— Mr. Cattley 35 gs. Peppermint, red, calved in January, 1868, by Orestes (22413), out of Mint. — Hon. E. Lascelles, 40 gs. Magdala, red, calved April 29, 1868, by Vesuvius (21017), out of Miriam. — Mr. Coverdale, 31 gs. Leoline, red, calved April 7, 1868, by Orestes (22443), out of Leonora. — Hon. E. Lascelles, 33 gs. Siren, roan, calved September 28, 1868, by Manchester (36798), out of Sympathy.— Mr. T. Stamper, Highfield, 32 gs. Princess of Ryedale, roan, calved March 13, 1869, by Man- chester (26798), out of Princess 2nd.— Mr. AV. Scoby, 37 gs. Polygeneva, red and little white, calved March 29, 1869, by 3rd Duke of Geneva (21592), out of Polytint.— Mr. Hodg- son, 56 gs. Victoria 2nd, roan, calved April 29, 1869, by Orestes (22443), out of Victoria. — Mr. Cattley, 30 gs. Lily of Ryedale, red and white, calved June 3, 1870, by St. Swithin, out of Leonora. — Mr. Newton, 18 gs. Lozenge, red and white, calved March 29, 1871, by Lord Towneley (36749), out of Peppermint. — Mr. Cattley, 51 gs. Summary. £ s. d. £ s. d. 13 Cows averaged 36 4 6 434 14 0 14 Bulls „ 36 16 6 515 11 0 26 „ 36 10 11 £950 5 0 GENERAL AGRICULTURAL REPORT FOR AUGUST. Tlie brilliant weather experienced during the past month has had a most material effect upon harvest prospects, and consequently upon the crop generally. Very much progress has been made with cutting and stacking the corn crops, and they have so far been secured in excellent condition. Harvest- work has been greatly accelerated by the brilliant sunshine, and it is further to be noted that reaping machines have this year come into more general use than hitherto. Prom some districts we received complaints of the scarcity of labour, but this is by no means general, and the harvest has seldom been so rapidly got in, and under such favourable conditions. Wit'' regard to the actual results of the crops, it is as yet too early to speak positively ; but there is little doubt in our mind tliat the falling off in bulk in the wheat crop is about 10 per cent., and tliere is reason to fear that the deficiency will become more apparent as thrashing is proceeded with. Opinions are at present very variable, but there is a decided tendency on the Mark Lane market to modify the opinions hastily formed upon insufficient data a short time back. The qoality and condition of the wheat crop are good, the weights of the samples on offer at Mark Lane having varied from 60 to 65 lbs., but there is a falling- off in the quality of the later exhibits from that of the early ones. The prices realized for the new crop have been 54s. to 58s. for red, and 56s. to 60s. for white per quarter ; but, as we write, it is very difficult to obtain 60s. for the choicest samples. It is not improbable tliat the deficiency in bulk will be compensated for fjy the increased weights and im- proved quality, or nearly so, while the large foreign supplies available and prospective, must necessarily tend to depress the market. Farmers should send forward freely, so long- as it is possible to obtain present currencies, but millers are by no means anxious to operate for the moment, and it would be difficult to dispose of any large quantity. There is a con- siderable falling-off in the imports, the aggregate of which, since the commencement of the year, is as follows :^ IMPORTS 01' GRAIN INTO THE UXlTJiD KINGDO.M SINCE AUGUST 28. 1870-1. Imports. Exports. Cwts. Cwts. Wheat 33,456,196 ... 3,256,730 Barley 7,746,418... 111,818 Oats 9,864,509 ... 1,441,767 Peas 985,074 ... 56,780 Beans 2,119,596 ... 16,657 Indian Corn 15,880,776 ... 79,371 Flour 4,389,312 ... 1,352,403 1869-70. Imports. Exports. Cwts. Cwts. Wheat 37,845,41.1... 971,332 Barley 7,687,150... 101,260 Oats 11,328,618 ... 811,843 Peas 2,012,454 ... 14,582 Beans 1,738,966 ... 3,161 Indian Corn 17,622,997 ... 16,450 Flour 5,846,759 ... 135,965 The barley crop is the best cereal crop this year, though there is a falling off in the proportion of fine samples. The tendency of prices is temporarily downwards, but it must be borne in mind that we shall not receive the usual large sup- plies from France and Germany this season. Oats are a good crop, while beans and peas have proved very favourable in the result. The prospects of feed for stock were seldom better. All roots have prospered well, turnips, mangolds, and swedes having been very favourably affected by the moist character of the season. Unfortunately these observations do not apply to potatoes, which have been badly attacked by disease, more especially in Ireland. This, however, is the only serious failure in the agricultural year. The hay crop, which at one time, tlireatened to show a serious falling off, har, proved about an average, though the magnificent expectations formed at an early period of the year have been completely disap- pointed. Hops have fared badly, but at length show signs of im- provement, though a great deficiency will be found in the yield. Stocks of old produce are large, and the supplies from abroad promise to be liberal. The wool market has continued very firm. Manufacturers have been deterred from operating in consequence of the high prices demanded, but there is little doubt, in the present rtourishing state of the woollen and worsted trades, that the quotations current can be well maintained. EAST RIDING CHAMBER OF AGRICULTURE.— At the monthly meeting at Beverley, Mr. W. Bainton, of Be- verley Parks, in the chair, a letter was read from the Mor- peth Chamber of Agriculture, setting forth certain grievances which they considered agriculture had to bear. No action was taken in the matter, the letter not containing, in the opinion of the members, sufficient of a definite nature for them to discuss. On the motion of the Chairman, seconded by Mr. G. W. Langdale, it was agreed that the annual meet- ing for the appointment of officers should be held on that day fortnight. A discussion took place respecting the tax upon farmers' light vehicles, but no resolution upon it was carried. The chairman glanced over the business of the Chamber for the past year, and congratulated the members on the present prosperous state of agriculture. He regretted, however, that the work of the Government with regard to the interests of the farmers, had been all doing and undoing. He advocated also the appointment of a president who would take an active part in the affairs of the Chamber, and promised at an early date to read a paper on Land Tenure. 276 THE FARMER'S 1MAGA2INE. AGRICULTURAL INTELLIGENCE, FAIRS, &c. ASnrORD LAMB FAIR AND STOCK MAREET.— Tuesday last was our lamb fair, but the quantity of store stock brought in was much less than it generally is, which is a sign tliat the farmers have plenty of keep at home. The store sheep and lambs penned were, in round figures, 5,000 in num- ber, and it is not often that such high prices are made as pre- vailed to-day. 35s. per head was a frequent price for good store lambs. Mr. Scott, of Boy's Hall, made of liis large con- signment 38s. per head ; and some even fetched 4Gs. Prices of inferior lambs ranged from 25s. to 30s. per head. To show the difference of the value of store stock between this year and last, it may be mentioned that such Iambs sold last autumn at Irom 7s. 6d. to 12s. 6d. and los, per head. Old sheep were also dear, making 40s. to 50s. per head ; and store tegs the same. There were about 1,400 fat sheep brought in, and the wethers, and in fact all the best class of them, made very high prices, from 5s. lOd. to 6s. 2d. per stone. Fat lambs, of wliich there were 300, were also exceedingly dear, making the liighest figures of last week. There were some lean bullocks and horses, in each of which a good trade was done ; but although there were only 90 fat bullocks, purchasers were few, and the trade was sluggish. It seems the consumption of coarse beef is limited during the hot weather. Most of the salesmen effected clearances, there being some large buyers of store sheep ; an old gentlemen, named Gibbons, took no less than 780 of one seller. BRIDGNORTH AUGUST FAIR, AND MESSRS. NOCK'S GREAT SALE OF RAMS AND SHEEP.— On Monday there was a very large attendance of sheep breeders, agriculturists, and dealers, including the whole of this district, and part of Staffordshire. Amongst the most noted were Messrs. Keeling and Cheatle (Tamworth), Preece (Shrews- bury), Cavendish (Chyknell), Tart and Davies (Patton), J. R. Cartwright and Wyley (Admaston), Dudfield (Kinlett), J. Wilson (Aston Hall), Hall (Wombouru), Wilson (Copley), R. Bradley (Ewdness), Hughes (Hampton's Load), &c., &c. Mr. Nock commenced his sale in the Smithfield exactly at the time appointed, twelve o'clock, and wielded his hammer with more tliau usual success, as the following high prices amply testify : Mr. Wadlow's, of Haughton, grand rams went from 8 guineas to 20 guineas each ; Mr. Instone's, of CaJlaughton, from 8 guineas to 23 guineas each ; Mr. Foster's, from 6 guineas to 10 guineas each ; Mr. Wadlow's yearhng ewes, from 51s. to 65s. each ; Mr. Instone's store ewes, from 80s. to 92s. each ; Mr. Massie's yearling ewes, from 55s. to 63s. each ; Mr. Wild's store ewes, from 55s. to 58s. each. Previous to the disposal of the above, Mr. Nock obtained for fat wethers 54s., and fat ewes 52s. to 58s. each ; lambs, from 27s. to 33s. 6d. each ; stores ewes, from 46s. to 51s. each ; fat cows, from £16 to £22 OS. each ; cows and calves, from £17 to £18 10s. ; sows in pig, £7 12s. 6d. each ; sow and eleven pigs, £8 128. 6d. ; sow and nine pigs, £9 2s. 6d. The sale realised near £1,500. The day was most favourable throughout, the com- pany numerous, and the biddings spirited. CREDITON FAIR.— The annual " green fair" commenced on Tuesday with the sale of cattle in St. Lawrence Green. The supply of bullocks was scanty, for which eshorbitant prices were asked. The supply of sheep was large, but sale was ex- tremely dull, the greater portion not changing hands. Prices had a rather downward tendency toward the close of the fair. HAILSHAM SHEEP FAIR.— This annual fair was held on Saturday. The supply was much larger than usual, 2,448 sheep and lambs being penned, as against 1,300 last year, and there not being a proportionate nnmber of buyers present trade ruled rather slack during the morning, and prices were somewhat easier than at the recent large fairs. Among the sales effected were the following: Mr. Davey, 50 mixed lambs, 30s. ; Mr. Paxton, Willingdon, 50 cull lambs, 23s. ; Messrs. Homewood, Rodraill, lambs, 27s. 6d. ; Mr' Deadman, Helliugly, teg, 46s.; Mr. Robert Stapley, Nin- Jield, 40 wether tegs, 42s. ; Mrs. Shoosmith, Nettlesworth 24 mixed cull lambs, 22s. 6d. ; Mr. John Breton, Sayerland 25 mixed cull lambs, 21s.; Mr. Guy, Willingdon, 66 cull lambs. at 22s., 20 at 20s. 6d., and 30 at IBs. 6d.; Mrs. Robert Pitcher, Crawley, 40 mixed lambs, 19s. ; Mr. Josiah Pitcher, 24 wether lambs, 29s., 17 cull ewe-lambs, 22s. ; j\Ir. T. Carey, Shawpits, Hellingly, 50 wether-lambs at 27s., 25 at 23s., 2"5 culls at 19s., ; Mr. Valance Elam, 40 old ewes, 33s. 6d. ; Mr. Deadman, Chalvington, 20 broken mouthed ewes, 33s. The number of store beasts on the ground was about 150, prin- cipally consisting of Irish and Welsh. Mr. Foreman, of Battle, sold 20 Welsh heifers at £10 a-head. HAWKESBURY UPTON FAIR.— This half-yearly fair was held on Friday. The attendance of farmers, butchers, dealers, and general agriculturists was large and highly re- spectable, including many from Bristol, Bath, Gloucester, Hereford, Birmingham, Warwick, Salisbury, Cardiff, Newport, &c. The fair has always been famous for its supply of horses of every description, but on this occasion the supply was not near equal to the demand, horses of any age or quality selling at the present time at very high prices. A few cart horses, of very good quality, were readily disposed of at high prices. Sheep of every description were in pretty good supply, and competition was very brisk. Mutton (best wether) realised from 9Jd. to lOd. per lb., and in some cases as high as lO^d. to lid. per lb. was obtained; fat ewes, 8d. to SJd. ; lamb, 9|d. to lOJd. Pigs of all kinds were in rather short supply, and not near equal to the demand. Bacon pigs, lis. to lis. 6d. per score ; porkers, lis. 6d. to 12s. HEREFORD AUGUST FAIR.— This annual sheep and ram fair was held on Wednesday. The attendance of buyers was good, but not above the average. The market was well stocked with useful sheep and rams, not a pen being empty. In the stalls there was a very fair show of store cattle, but good fat beasts were rather scarce. The supply of horses was scant, and with the exception of a few good teamsters they were of very moderate quality. There was a demand for use- ful carters and a good animal fetched a long price. The pig pens were not full, but some very useful stores were on offer. These changed hands at better prices than they have lately realised. Porkers sold quickly at 6id., the primer qualities making 7d. Store beasts sold slowly at dearer rates than of late. Beef may be quoted at Sd. to 8H. The latter price was only obtained for a few very prime animals. In the sheep mar- ket there was a demand for fat animals, which realised per lb., 9d. to Djd. Lamb sold at lid. There was a large supply of stock ewes, but only a few pens could boast of first-rate quality. There was, however, a good demand for them, and so long prices were obtained. One pen was sold by Mr. Alfred Edwards for 51s. 6d. a piece. Rams were in force, and many of them sold well. Breeders were looking out for wool-making qualities, and consequently the long-wools commanded the best sale. Mr. Alfred Edwards sold a pen of shearling rams, the property of Mr. Pinches, of Hardwick, at prices ranging from six and a half to nine guineas. Six Webton Court rams, bred by the late Mr. Davis, were sold by Messrs. Pye and Sunder- land. The competition for these well-known rams was very keen, and as those on offer were fine animals, they were sold quickly. Number one fetclied Sgs. ; No. two 7igs. ; No. three 12igs. ; No. four Sgs. , No. five, 18gs. ; and No. six, lOgs. Tiie greatest sale of the day, how- ever, was that of 21 rams bred by Mr. Price, of Penallt Court, all of which were sold at prices ranging from seven and a half to twenty-three and a half guineas. For some of the rams the competition was very keen. For number seven, a very fine ram, the bidding ran up to twenty-three and a half guineas, and at that price the animal was sold to Mr. Wigmore, Bickerton Court. Another ram was bought for Colonel Feilden at sixteen and a half guineas. The remainder sold as follows : — one for seven and a half guineas, six for eight and half, two for nine, one for nine and a half, one for ten, one for ten and a half, one for eleven, one for eleven and a half, two for twelve, one for twelve and a half, one for thirteen and a half, and one for fourteen and a half guineas, the average being £11 14s. each. Messrs. Pye and Sunderland also sold some good Shrop- shire rams from the Dorstoue flock from £5 to £8 los. Short- woolled rams were neglected, and many were sent back unsold. Twenty-five yearling ewes, the property of Mr. T. Jovvitt, tlie old Weir, were also disposed of by the last-named auctioneers, and fetched 52s. per head, and a number of yearling wetliers from the same flock realised 56s. 6d. per liead. The competi- tion for twenty exceedingly handsome and pure-bred.Ryelands, produced from the celebrated stock of Mr. J. B. Downing, of THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 2'?7 Holm Lacey, was uot so keeu as we have before witnessed, aUhough several were disposed of at satisfactory prices. This remark will also apply to the Shropshire Downs offered. Mr. Nathaniel Taylor, of Worcester, sold by auction a capital lot of Oxfordshire Down Rams, the property of Mr. Charles Gillct, of Cote House. They realised from £6 6s. to £9 19s. 6d. HORN CASTLE HORSE EAIR, Aug. 15.— This fair was opened on Monday with the show. The supply of horses, al- though not numerically up to many previous fairs at Horncastle was, for stamp and quality, ample to sustain the long acquired celebrity. There was tlie usual large assemblage of dealers, professional and amateur, and buyers had to concede to de- mands of breeders. Sales were made at the foilovi'ing general quotations : Harness horses, four and five year old, suitable for breaking to double and single harness for private carriage purposes, 70 to 85 guineas, and seasoned horses 90 to 140 guineas ; easy-stepping light-legged horses for small brough- ams and phaetons, 55 to SO guineas; well-matched pairs of carriage-horses 220 to 350 guineas ; horses suitable for railway carriers, omnibuses, and heavy machine work, 40 to 65 guineas ; common roadsters, 30 to 45 guineas ; trotters of celebrity, 40 to 75 guineas ; riding horses, handsome nags, 50 to 75 guineas; neat, compact-built cobs, GO to 80 guineas ; covert hacks, Galloway, and harness cobs, 50 to 70 gs. ; neat- going pairs of matched ponies, 40 to 70 guineas ; horses for park riding, easy mouthed, for ladies' saddles, aud chargers, 100 to 200 guineas ; and among this class were horses of high fashion. Hunters of good blood produced from 150 to 2U0 guineas ; and hunters of reputation in the field fetched 300 guineas, and promising well-bred young Irish horses, 75 to 170 guineas. Stale and used-up hunters made but low figures. Horses suitable for artillery and army work were in great re- quest, and a spirited competition existed between English and foreign army horse contractors, and many strings of this class of horses were consigned to the Continent. Provincial dealers were heavy buyers of hunters, and the London division specu- lated largely in harness-horses of high class. IPSWICH LAMB FAIR.— Altogether there was a little more than 13,000 sheep and lambs in the field. Of bullocks nearly 400, and 250 head of horse stock. Tlie sheep and Iambs were principally in the hands of the following dealers : Messrs. Makens (Riugshall and Norwich), 3,000; Mr. N. Creasey (Cratfield), 1,100 , Messrs. Spurling and Sons (Shot- ley, Ipswich, and Woodbridge), 2,000, sold by auction; Mr. R. Bond (Ipswich), 1,600, sold by auction ; Messrs. Sexton and Grimwade (Ipswich, Colchester, and Hadleigh), 90, by auction ; Messrs. Cruso and Hawkins, about 80 tups, by auc- tion; Mr. Oakey (Cambridge), 180 tups; Mr. Barker, 200 sheep and lambs; Mr. W\ Nesling (Kenton), 700; Mr. Brook (Charsfield), 700 ; Mr. C. Page, 900 ; Mr. S. Page, jun., 500 ; Mr. L. Goss (Ipswich), 400 ; Mr. S. Robinson (Ipswich), 200; Mr. Hunt (Culpho), 280; Mr. G. Smith (Higham), 400 ; Mr. Cowles (Stratford), 200 ; Mr. Wm. Beer (Hintleshara), 120; Mr. S. Page, sen., 200 ; Mr. Wm. Page, 200 ; Mr. Gooding (Debenham), 120 ; Mr. R. Johnson (]\Iy- land), 120; Mr. F. Woods, 300; Mr. T. Betts, 100 ; Mr. Vince (Campsey Ash), 140 ; Mr. E. Betts, 130 ; Mr. G. Fisk (Braraford), 50; Mr. J. Groom (Woodbridge), 80; and a few holders of smaller lots. Messrs. Makens had about 80 beasts ; Mr. Lewis Goss, of Ipswich, about 70 head. The principal holders of horses were JMr. Martin, of Cattawade, and Mr. Pratt, of Melton. There was a large number of cobs and ponies in the hands of dealers, who certainly roared themselves, if their trade did not, for the noise and rushing hither and thither with the horses was such as to keep a ^good space of that part of the field very well cleared. Trade was complained of in the early part of the day as dull and slow. High prices were asked and eventually given. The cloudy skies and the few light showers that had fallen during the last few days had suddenly improved the prospects of keep and enabled holders to be firm, and good prices vi'ere made. Lambs generally ranged from 35s. to 38s., but a few choice lots of forward ones, half-breds, reached as much as 443. eacli. Ewes, from 63s. to 70s. each. Beasts, store, £7 to £13 each ; fat, lOs. per stone. IRVINE MARYMAS HORSE FAIR.— At our fair, held on Wednesday last, there was a good supply of horses of rather a superior description, nearly aD of which met vnth a ready sale at what was reckoned very high prices. Good draught horses brought from £25 to £50, and a few of very superior quality were disposed of at from £50 to £50. An inferior class ranged from £15 to £25. Only a very few were present of the lowest quality. Of riding horses the number was very limited, and for these there did not appear to be much demand. LAMPETER AUGUST FAIR.— This fair was lield on Saturday, when a larger number than usual of dealers attended, and there was a great competition for the best beasts. The farmers and graziers were indeed quite perplexed as to what to charge, owing to the demand being unusually brisk. The dealers were not satisfied with waiting for the incoming of the stock at the place where they are generally sold, but posted themselves on the different roads leading to the town, and thereat made several bargains. The rates varied from £6 to £18 for steers at two years old. It is believed that not one single beast was left unsold by 3 p.m. The oldest man living here does not remember witnessing such a fair. LANARK FAIR.— The third for the season of the great sheep markets held at Lanark commenced on Monday. The stock shown consists of blackfacdd ewes and wether lambs, Cheviots, and crosses. In bygone years blackfaced ewe lambs generally took the lead in regard to numbers, but on the present occasion, as well as that of last year, wether lambs were by far the largest class. There was a very evi- dent scarcity of good ewe lambs, while the wether lambs were mostly seconds, tlie "tops" having been disposed of at the market held a fortnight ago. The turn-out of Cheviots and crosses was a full average, both as regards the number and the quality. The attendance of buyers was good, and a con- siderable stroke of business was done by the Enalish dealers, who purcliased the chief part of the ewe lambs for breeding purposes. A brisk demand was experienced for ewe lambs, and the whole were sold early at very high prices. A very fine lot from Caddenhead, and which was the object of admira- tion, realised the extremely high figure of £23 per clad score, being 7s. above the top price at the same market last year. Generally, ewe lambs would be up from 4s. to 5s. Wether lambs were a slacker trade than at the last fair, and prices easier — probably Is. per head. At the finish of the proceed- ings, however, a good clearance was effected. Cheviots and crosses enjoyed a good sale. The former would be up from 3s. to 4s. apiece, and the latter 3s. 6d. to 4s. 6d., from last year. MARLBOROUGH LAMB FAIR.— Tliere was a large number of sheep penned. Prices decreased 3s. or 4s. per head for ewes, and Is. to 2s. for lambs. A fine lot of sheep reared by Mrs. Price, of Wolfhall, realised 57s. per head. 78s. was bid for the best 100 ewes belonging to that lady, but refused. MONZIE LAMB FAIR.— This market was held on Fri- day, near FouU'ord. The stock shown, which consisted chiefly of blackfaced lambs, was placed on the stance at an early hour. Prices, compared with last year, were 6s. higher. The best lots of top cross-bred lambs sold at from 23s. to 24s. per head. The best lots of blackfaced lambs sold at 14s. each. Second and third-rate animals sold at prices varying from 7s. to 10s. a-head. Previous to the market numerous sales were effected of cross-bred lambs at 22s. per head. ROMNEY MARSH SHEEP AND LAMB FAIR.— This important fair for the sale of sheep, lambs, and wool, was held as usual at New Romney, on Monday last, and was largely attended by buyers from the upland districts in Kent, Surrey, and Sussex. The total number of sheep and lambs penned was 11,500— viz., 4,000 lambs, 2,500 tegs, and 5,000 ewes, and the greater portion of these all changed hands at the fol- lowing averages : Lambs, 32s. per head ; tegs, 44s. ditto ; ewes, 46s. ditto. The wool trade ruled brisk, at £24 per pack for best Kent fleeces, and £14 for lambs' ditto. ST. LAWRENCE FAIR, BODMIN.— At this Fair, on Monday, fat cattle sold at 80s. per cwt., store cattle 45s. to 50s. per ditto, cows and calves £12 to £16 the two, sheep 8|d. to 9d. per lb., lambs (in the wool) OJd. per lb., lambs (shorn) 9d. per lb., store sheep 50s. to 53s. each. The sup- ply was limited, and the demand brisk. Some good horses were off'ered for sale at the horse-fair in the latter part of the day. The weather was fine. WORCESTER FAIR.— There was about the usual time- of-year supply of stock, and the trade done was at about the same prices as those obtained at the previous fair. 278 THE FAEMER'S MAGAZINE. REVIEW OE THE CORN TRADE DURING THE PAST MONTH. The poor promise of a colJ and raiuy July has during the month of August been happily changed by the sudden tropical heat, which lasted for nearly three weeks, and brought the harvest more rapidly to maturity than the most sanguine would have dared to predict as possible. We are glad to say that about one-half of the corn has been gathered in the south, and with fine weather still ruling, another three weeks will bring matters nearly to a close. The first and earliest crop of hay has already been followed by a capital second, and all the corn yet brought to market has been in fair condition, in spite of a few showers, which did more good than harm in mel- lowing the samples both of wheat and barley. All spring corn is well reported, barley this season standing first ; and the quality of the wheat has been much beyond ex- pectation. There is plenty of straw, which was much wanted, but the ears having been short and defective, we certainly are not warranted in looking for an average yield. Many farms already are one-quarter to 12 bushels short per acre, aud this with old stocks exhausted and a French demand still upon the market, has served to prevent a decline in prices, notwithstanding a continuous inpour of heavy foreign arrivals. As much, however, is yet in the field, we are still dependent on the weather, and should it still re- main fine we are likely to see easier rates for a time, whatever the season may ultimately bring. This hot weather was very much wanted for northern Europe to make up for a backward season, but it is remarkable that scarcely any foreign market has given way. France has eontinued firm, so has Germany. Hungary, under the belief of a deficiency, has actually risen somewhat, as well as Spain, which lately was reckoning on French wants as a source of prospective business ; and America, being informed of the state of things here by submarine cable, has raised the prices of breadstufFs. Thei'e is, indeed, one question which may turn out an evil of magnitude, that is, the state of the potato crop in Ireland. It is to be hoped that the first reports have been much exaggerated ; but should they only half prove true, it will be a further draught upon a light crop of wheat. But the best set-off we have is the fact that maize is plentiful in America. The following were the most recent prices of wheat, at the several places named : Best white wheat at Paris 69s., red GGs., red Richelle at Marseilles 59s. 6d., Ber- dianski sorts 5-ls. At Nantes red wheat was quoted 58s. ; fine old white at Bordeaux 63s., best new 59s. ; Polish mixed at Amsterdam 59s., at Maestricnt 583. ; white new Zealand wheat at Rotterdam COs., red sorts at Hambro' 51s. to 5Ss., at Pesth (Hungary) 39s. to 4Ss. ; best high mixed at Danzig 62s., cost, freight, and in- surance ; in Spain white wheat 43s. to 50s. ; white at San Francisco 58s. 6d., cost, freight, and insurance; best No. 2 red spring at New York 49s. 6d., and winter 50s., per 4801bs., cost, freight, and insurance. The first Friday in August opened on the smallest Eng- lish supply known for a long time past, there being only 630 qrs. ; but the foreign arrivals were free. Very few fresh samples were exhibited on the Essex and Kentish stands, and the trade in anticipation of Monday's holiday had more the appearance of suspense than business, though prices were nominally as at the commencement of the week. With but few country buyers, the foreign trade was very limited, at unaltered quotations. Floating car- goes were dull. With very brilliant and forcing weather in the country, the markets, being lightly provided, gave way only to a small extent, and some not at all, the utmost decline being about Is. per qr., as at Bishops' Stortford, Bungay, Hungerford, and Newcastle. Liver- pool, though firm on Tuesday for white qualities, was Id. to 2d. lower per cental for red, with a further decline for such on Friday. Glasgow gave way only 6d. per qr., and Dublin not at all, though the demand was limited to foreign sorts. On the second Monday there was an improved, but still small quantity of English wheat, with a very heavy arrival of foreign. Among the limited number of samples exhibited on the Essex and Kentish stands were some fine new white qualities, varying in weight from 61 to 63 or 64 lbs. per bushel, the best being for some time held at 6O3. ; but eventually it was sold at 59s. The quantity of old was too small to make a market, and it was neglected ; but nominally the value was as on the week previous. A demand for fine white having again sprung up for France, such sorts were in request at fuU prices ; but the heavy arrivals, consisting mostly of red from Russia and America, were lowered in value Is. to 2s. per qr., with but a difiicult sale at the reduction. Floating cargoes were also difficult to place, unless fine. The weather having continued .almost cloudless and intensely hot up to Thurs- day night, the earlier country markets began to feel its effects in lower prices, and there was a general reduction of value to the extent of Is. per qr., several places making the fall Is. to 23. per qr., as Gainsborough, Lynn, St. Ives, Spilsby, Sheffield, Stockton, &c. Though Liverpool gave way on Tuesday Id. per cental, this decline was sub- sequently recovered. The Scotch markets were easier. Edinburgh was down Is. per qr. and Glasgow 6d. to Is. per qr; but the scarcity of native wheat at Dublin kept up its value, foreign also being fully as dear. On the third Monday there was again a limited supply of native produce, with abundance from abroad. Expect- ation was to-day disappointed as regards new samples, there being very few, and still fewer of the old crop. This, with the late rain and unsettled aspect of the weather, inclined factors to hold out for Is. per qr. advance ; but millers would not pay it, and business was accordingly done on previous terms. It was, how- ever, not so as regards foreign sorts, which not having previously been reduced had nothing to recover ; but Russian and American, in consequence of a good country attendance, went off" freely, the former recovering the late Is. decline, and the latter 23. per qr. Floating car- goes, more especially white sorts, were iu demand at full prices. The altered character of the weather this week, and small supplies iu consequence of occupation with harvest work, gave some tone to the country wheat trade. All markets were firm, and some Is. dearer, as JNIanchester, Gloucester, and Reading; and at some other places there was a greater advance. Though Liverpool lost Id. to 2d. on Tuesday, it was more than made up on Friday. Both Leith and Glasgow were up Is. per qr., and foreign wheat at Dublin brought 6 J. to Is. more money. On the fourth Monday there was but a small supply of English wheat ; but the foreign arrivals were very heavy, THE FABMER'S MAGAZINE. 279 there beiug 28,000 qrs. from Aniciicn, and as much from Russia, with some from Danzig, the East Indies, and Australia. There was but a moderate show on the Essex and Kentish stands, chiefly new while and of good quality, for which rather higher rates were demanded, and, in some instances, paid, it being generally believed that the yield was very short. The day, however, being fine and hot, the foreign trade was not so brisk as on Friday, though good red American sorts and the best Saxonska were about Is. above the prices of the previous Monday. Floating cargoes had brought from Is. to 2s. advance, but sales fell off again through the fineness of the weather. The imports into Loudon for four weeks were 6,524 qrs. English, 200,725 qrs. foreign, against 30,419 qrs. English, 193,346 qrs. foreign in 1870. The London exports were 12,336 qrs., against 2,260 qrs. in 1870. The imports into the Kingdom, for four weeks ending 19th August, were 3,759,084 cwts. wheat, 238,646 cwts. flour ; against 3,197,879 cwts. wheat, 310,667 cwts. flour, in 1870. The London averages commenced at 60s. 9d., and closed at 57s. 8d. The general averages began at 58s., closing at 57s. lOd. ; showing that prices in the country have been steadier than in London. The flour trade has been very inactive through the month, large stocks remaining on hand ; the best town made has continued at 50s., Norfolks at 37s. to 38s., with higher marks in proportion, and American barrels at 243. to 26s., at which rates they can yet be imported ; but there is no margin for the expenses. The imports into London for four weeks were 46,110 sacks English, 11,489 sacks, 25,090 barrels foreign, against 62,343 sacks English, 14,097 sacks 29,932 barrels for the same period last year. Of maize there have been good arrivals. On the second Monday, when they were heaviest, prices gave way Is., and fair new was procurable at 293. Since then the bad news respecting potatoes in Ireland have hardened prices. The arrivals during the month were 82,076 qrs., against 71,954 qrs. last year. The lateness of the season and the inactivity of the malting trade have brought very little new barley to market, the quality of which seems generally good, though iu some cases too steel3^ Malting prices as yet are not settled, but we have heard of 88s. as a probable price. Low grinding foreign beiug more plentiful and mostly iu poor condition, has given way from 6d. to Is. per qr., prices being from 25s. to 2Ss. The imports of British growth during the mouth were 280 qrs., with 47,069 qrs. foreign, against 787 qvs. British, 38,338 qi-s. foreign in 1870. The malt trade, as is usual at this time of year, has been without any features of interest, excepting that there still has been a small export demand to the extent of 665 qrs. Holders of stock seem anxious to get out as the new barley is promising. The oat trade has continued quite overdone with foreign imports, every week bringing very large supplies, and prices have accordingly given way about Is. per qr. Fair 381bs. per bushel Russian oats are now to be had at the moderate rate of 18s., and fine black up to 22s., though the present scarcity of new English and Scotch qualities keeps them quite above the current market rates. A great many of the late imports have been unfortunately in bad order, from not being kiln-dried as formerly, and have entailed very heavy losses upon buyers and ex- porters. The imports into London for four weeks have been 3,483 qrs. English, 719 qrs. Scotch, no Irish, 324,212 qrs. foreign ; against 6,144 qrs. English, 62 qrs. Scotch, 1,300 qrs. Irish, 493,133 qrs. foreign in 1870. Prices now seem so low that there is scarcely room for any reduction, yet they must depend upon the supplies, and there does not seem any probability that France will be in want this season, as all fodder there is reported as abundant. Beans during the present month were very little in request, owing to the extremely hot weather ; and as several cargoes of Egyptian have arrived, together with Italian sorts, prices of foreign have given way Is. to 2s., so that Egyptian of fair quality are procurable at 33s. ; but in such a slovenly way have many been shipped, with so much of the dried peat mud in the samples, that those who must clean them before use will not give over 31s. English sorts being scarce have not been pressed on the market, or they would have proportionately de- clined. The imports for the month into London were 1,270 qrs. English, 7,776 qrs. foreign : against 1,232 qrs. English, 2,564 qrs. foreign in 1870. While foreign white peas have been steady and in moderate demand for boiling, new English hog peas have appeared of good quality, and sold at 35s. to 36s., white being worth 42s. The demand has altogether been limited, and is likely to remain so for white sorts, though for hog-feeding we may shortly expect more inquiry ; but the low price of maize has diminished the consumption, as well as the plentifulness of vegetables and grass. The London imports for the month were 1,254 qrs. English, 4,030 qrs. foreign; against 2,258 qrs. English, 35,026 qrs. foreign for the same period in 1870. The imports of linseed have continued limited, the largest being on the last Monday, but this did not lower prices, as stocks were scanty. The total for the month was 33,416 qrs., against 23,343 qrs. last year. Since the set in of fine weather the seed trade, which was moving upwards in the belief that cloverseed would be very short, has been quieted again by the impression that some fair seed would be produced. But trefoil has been firm, and English canarysced has risen 2s. to 3s. per qr., while winter tares, which on first appearance were valued at 10s. per bushel, are now offered at 8s. OURRBNT PRICES OP BRITISH GRAIN AND FLOUR IN MARK LANE. BhUlings per Quarter. WHEAT, new, Essex and Kent, white 56 to 60 „ ,, red 51 66 Norfolk, Linclnsh., and Yorksh., red 51 66 BARLEY 31 to 34 Chevalier 36 42 Grinding 29 31 Distilling 35 39 MALT, Essex, Norfolk, and Suffolk 60 86 Kingston, Ware,aud town-made 60 66 Brown 49 64 RYE 36 38 OATS, English, feed 23 to 26 Potato 27 32 Scotch, feed 00 00 Potato 00 00 Irish, feed, vrhite 21 21 Fine 25 26 Ditto, black 19 21 Potato 26 32 BEANS, Mazagan ...37 38 Ticks 37 33 Harrow 39 43 Pigeon 44 49 PEAS, white, boiler8.38 43Maplo 43 to 466rey,new 37 40 FLOUR, per sack of 2801b8., best town households.., 47 50 Bestcountry households 39 42 Norfolk and Suflfolk 37 38 FOREIGN GRAIN, Shillings per Quarter. WHEAT, Dantzic, mixed 56 to 58 extra 61to62 Konigsberg 57 68 extra 59 61 Rostock 54 66 fine 57 58 Silesian, red 52 54 white..., 57 59 Pomora., Mockberg., and Uckermrk. ...red 53 55 Russian, hard, 43 to 44... St. Petersburg and Riga 47 50 BARLEY, grinding 25 to 30.. ..distilling and malting 33 37 OATS, Dutch, brewing and Polands 18 to 27 feed 16 20 Danish and Swedish, feed 19 to 22.... Stralsund... 19 22 Canadal7tol9, Rigal7to20,Arch.l7to20,P'8bg. 19 22 TARES, Spring, per qr small — — large — — BEANS, Friesland and Holstein 42 43 Konigsberg 35 to 39. ..Egyptian 32 33 PEAS, feeding and maple... 36 39... iino boilers 37 40 INDIAN CORN, white 30 33. ..yellow 29 31 FLOUR, per sack, French„00 00.„SpaniBh, p, sack 00 00 American, per brl 23 24i.„extraauad'ble.25 26 280 THE FARMER'S j^IAGAZINE. COMPARATIVE AVERAGES. WHEAT. Years. Qrs. 1867... 22,859i 1868... 61,642i , 1869... 46,2/9J , 1870... 47,377 , 1871 ... 33,7801 , d. 68 2 57 1 53 1 54 7 57 10 BARLEY. Qrs. 6711 l,79i| 821i 339 OATS, Qrs. l,675f , l,927i 1.4611 2,949 d. ,.28 11 ..29 2 ..26 3 .. 25 10 1161 ... 35 9 l,204i ... 27 AVERAGE S Fob thb past Six Weeks : 15, 1871 , 22, 1871 July 29, 1871 Aug. 5, 1871 12, 1871 19, 1871 Aggregate of the above The same week in 1870... July July AU; Aug. Wheat. Barley. s. d. 8. d. 58 6 34 7 58 10 35 11 53 0 34 3 58 0 36 7 58 5 35 11 57 10 35 9 58 3 35 6 5i 7 33 5 Data. s. d. 27 10 27 2 28 3 27 4 26 6 27 6 27 5 25 10 BRITISH SEEDS. Mustard, per bushel, brown 133. to 15s., white 10s. to 128. Canary, per qr 60s. 668. Cloverseed, new red 62s. 64s. Coriander, per cwt 21s. 22s. Tares, winter, new, per bushel 7s. 6d. 8s. Trefoil, new 28s. 348. Ryegrass, per qr 328. 343. Linseed, per qr sowing 64&. to 66s., crushing 58s. 63s. Linseed Cakes, per ton f 11 Os. to £11 5s. Rapeseed, per qr 71s. 74s. Rape Cake, per ton £6 6s. Od. to £6 10s. Od. FOREIGN SEEDS. Cloverseed, red 48s. to 53s white 64s. 68s. Hempseed, small 41s. to 42s. per qr Dutch 44s. 45s. Trefoil 24s. 28s. Ryegrass, per qr 32s. 34s. Linseed, per qr.... Baltic 58s. to 62s. ... Bombay 63s. 63s. 6d. Linseed Cakes, per ton £10 10s. to £11 5s. Rape Cake, per ton £6 6s. to £6 10s. Rapeseed, Dutch 70s. 72s. Coriander, per cwt 2l3. to 22s. Carraway ,, new 35s. 36s. HOP MARKET. BOROUGH, Mo>-DAY, Aug. 28.— There is no alteratiou to report in our market, wliich continue quiet, with very firm prices. Material assistance has been given to the plantations by the fiue weather of the past few weeks, but while many grounds have improved, others have made uo progress, owing to the severe attack of mould, which has spread and effected considerable damage, especially in Middle Kent. Coutinental reports of Belgium are more favourable. Latest advices from New York state the market to be very excited, owiag to an in- crease of vermin in the plantatious, aud an advance of 5 cents, per lb. on 1870's has taken place, which, however, has tended slightly to check business. Mid and East Kent £3 Weald of Kent 3 Sussex 3 Earnham and Country ... i Olds 1 0 ... .. £-i 4 .. ... £7 0 ... ... 4 0,. ... 5 0 ... ... 3 10 ., ... 5 10 ... .., 5 5.. ... 6 0 ... ... 15.. ... 1 CANTERBURY HOP MARKET, (Saturday last.) -The demand is confined to small lots for present use ; prices con- tinue firm. There is still a diversity of opinion as to the amount of produce per acre, which can only be settled by picking. The late genial weather has been beneficial in bring- ing the bur into hop ; it is expected that picking will be com- menced in a fortnight. WORCESTER HOP MARKET, (Saturday last.) — The general reports from the planters this week, upon the whole, are not quite so favourable, as the cold and frosty nights with wind have somewhat retarded the growtli, therefore it is now too late for any improvement, except witli the few most fa- voured grounds. Market quiet but firm. Nothing ofl'ered by planters to-day. POTATO MARIvETS. BOROUGH AND SPITALFIELDS. LONDON, Monday, Aug. 28.— The supplies of potatoes have been moderate. Tliere has been a fair demand at our quotations. Regents CDs. to 80s. per ton. Shaws 4-Os. to 60s. „ ^W»eys ,„., „n. .„,„,.. ....u-.-.i SO?, tQllOs, ,, PRICES of BUTTER, CHEESE, HAMS, &c. BUTTER, per cwt, Dorset 128 to 130 Friesland 120 Jersey 94 Fbbsh, per doz. ... 13 BACON, per cwt : Wiltshire, green... 78 Irish, green, f.o.b. 76 122 102 14 CHEESE, per cvrt, Cheshire 64 to 74 Dble. Glouc, new 52 68 Cheddar 74 84 American 46 56 HAMS: York 88 98 Cumberland 86 94 Irish 94 102 LONDON CHEESE MARKET, (Thursday last.)— We have nothing new to report with regard to English Cheese this week. The supply of new Cheshire is limited, and the price too high to admit of any important demand. Fine Somerset and Scotch are fairly saleable. There has been a good sale for American Cheese at rather lower rates, namely, 46s. to 54s. Useful quality has also been sold at further re- duced prices. The arrivals this week are 38,325 boxes. GLASGOW CHEESE MARKET, (Wednesday last.)— A moderate arrival of Cheese forward this week, but with the accumulated stock hing over for the last two weeks the market was well supplied. Business very slow, and confined to the very choicest parcels. Large arrivals of American Cheese of fine quality, wliich were otfered at 12s. per cwt. under last year's prices at this time, and wliich operated against our home Cheese ; buyers, being convinced that our prices must yield very considerably before long, therefore confine their purchases to the merest retail requirements. Cheddars, fancy quality new 60s., first-class 54s. to 58s., fine 50s. to 53s., secondary 44s. to 4Ss. ; Dunlops, fancy quality 56s., first-class 50s. to 54s., fine 46s. to 50s., secondary 42s. to 46s ; Skim Milk 21s. to 24s. per cwt. ENGLISH WOOL MARKET. LONDON, Mo^■DAY, Aug. 28. — Although business in the Wool market has not been on a liberal scale, the tone has continued healthy ; choice hogs and wethers have been dealt in to a fair extent, at extreme currencies ; other sorts have sold quietly. CCBEENT PeICES OF ENGLISH WoOt. Fleeces — Southdown hogs per lb. Half-bred ditto „ Kent fleeces „ Southdown ewes and wethers „, „ Leicester ditto „ SOBTS— Clothing, picklock , Prime ,, Choice Super ,, Combing, wether mat ,, Picklock ,, Common ,, Hog matching , Picklock matching „ Super ditto , BRADFORD WOOL MARKET, (Thursday last.)— ThereT has not been so much business passing during the week, and to-day there is a quietness pervading the market, as both buyers aud sellers appear to be inditferent with regard to business. There is not any giving way in the price of wool, as staplers' quotations are very firm aud spinners' wants not very pressing. Business is very much restricted to users supplying their immediate requirements. All descriptions are in good consumption, but the finer classes are mostly inquired after. MANURES. Pure Dissolved Bones, £7. Concentrated Ammoniacal Manvire £10. Bone Turnip Manui-e, £6 5s. .Superphosphate of Lime, £5 5s. Nitrophosphate, £6 5s. Potato Manure, £7 lOs. Com Manure, £7 10s. Mangold Manure, £8. Urate, £7 IDs. Hop, £8. Grass. £8. Soluble or Fixed Guano, £12. Government Peruvian Guano, £12 123. Nitrate of Soda, £1B 15s. to £17 6s. Gypsum, £1 10s. Sulphate of Ammonia, £18 10s. to £20 (all per ton). E, PuBSEH, London Manure Company, 116, Fenchurch Street, E.G. Guano, Peruvian£12 7 6to£12 15 0 Cotsd.Cake,decor£7 10 0 to£7 17 C s. d. 8. d. 5Uol 6 5^ 6 5^ 64 6 6* 5 6 6 6 3 3^ 2 f! 1 6* 7h 4 4* 1^ 54 7* 84 4^ 54 H 24 Bone Ash 5 15 0 Phosphate of Lime 0 12 Linseed Cake, per ton — Amer.,thin. bgs.lO 15 0 Linsd.Bomby,p.qr.3 1 C Rapeseed, Guzei-at 3 8 0 0 0 Cloverseed, N.A.... 2 10 0 0 00 0 1 3 Niger 2 7 0 2 80 Nitr.of Soda, p. ot.O 14 G 0 0 0 0 0 0 Gei-man Kainit 3 5 0 3 15 0 3 2 Oi Tallow, 1st P.Y.C. 2 4 6 2 5 0 3 10 Oi ,, super.Norths 2 2 0 2 30 SAMUEL DOWNBS and CO., General Brokers, No. 7, The Albany, Liverpool, Prentice's Cereal Manuie for Corn Crops per ton £8 0 0 Mangold Manure „ ,. 8 0 0 Pi-entice's Turnip Manure »».»..*.»».».»...-.... n 6 10 0 Prentice's 8upei"phosphate of Lima — . .. 0 0 0 AgTicultui-.il CluniiiMl Work?, Stowmarket, Suffolk. Printed by Roger^oa and Tuxford, 205, Straud,Loud.onj W,C. Meeting at Perth THE FARMER'S MA&AZINE. SEPTEMBER, 1871. CONTENTS. Plate I. — THE BULL'S HEAD. Plate H— A F.A M I L Y PARTY. Descriptions op the Plates Our Water Supply . — By Cuthbert W, Johnson, F.R.S The Farm Labourer's Wages . The Experiences of an Amateur Farmer The Growth op Tobacco The Land Laws op England . Sewage Farming . . The Shorthorn in America The Mounting of Cavalry Setting Milk for Cream The Swedish Agricultural Show Intellect in Agriculture . Steam Cultivation for 300 Acres The Game Laws of Europe Legislation on the Utilization of Sewage Floating Curds Easingwold Agricultural Society The Highland and Agricultural Society op Scotland Tyneside Agricultural Society : Meeting at Blaydon Great Driffield Agricultural Show . Thirsk Agricultural Society • • . . . The Royal North Lancashire Agricultural Society: Meeting at Blackburn Bath and West of England Society, and Southern Counties Association The Yorkshire Agricultural Society : Meeting at YorIc Royal Agricultural Society of England The Herepords at Wolverhampton .... Bridlington Agricultural Society .... The Dorchester Agricultural Society: Meeting at Dorchester The Royal Agricultural Society op Ireland: Meeting at Dublin Durham County Agricultural Society The Badminton Farmers' Club Leicestershire Agricultural Society : Meeting at Leicester Northumberland Agricultural Society: Meeting at Alnwick West of England House Show at Plymouth . The Garioch Farmers' Club . The Farmers' Position The Agriculture of Egypt Dressing the Earth .... Preston Agricultural Show : Meeting at Preston Keighley Agricultural Society Duty of Farmers .... Morpeth Chamber of Agriculture The Birmingham Horse Show The Wool-growing Capabilities of New South Wales Land Legislation in Australia The Aricultural Hall Company Wheat-growing in Australia Obituary : Death of Mr. Henky Trethewy, Sen Richard Stratton ; Mr. William Humphrey . . Oxfordshire Downs . . , Sheep Sales and Lettings . Sale of the Farnley Herd Sale of Rev. J. D, Je?person's Shorthorns at YoRk Sale of Lord Feversham's Shorthorns Agricultural Reports Agricultural Intelligence, Fairs, &c. Review of the Cirn Trade during the Past Month MaSKBT GuRRSNOiBS; Imperiaii AvERAass, &g, 0 , ; Mr. Josiah Park Wedd Tuxfordj Mr ES : Mr. Henry lGES. 187 187 190 192 193 194 197 199 200 201 201 202 203 204 205 207 210 212 216 218 219 221 222 223 22S 229 230 231 232 230 237 238 2 10 242 243 244 250 251 252 255 257 257 258 261 262 263 264 265 266 266 273 274 274 275 276 278 280 THK MARK LANE EXPRESS AND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL, LARGEST AND THE LEADING FARMER'S AND GRAZIER'S NEWSPAPER, PUBLISHED E\^RY MONDAY EVENING, IN TIME FOR POST. Office of Publication ami for Advertisements, 265, Strand, London. May be had of all Booksellers and Newsmen iiiroughout the Kingdom .price Sevenpence, or £1 10s. 4d. per annum. DR. J. COLLIS BROWNE'S CHLORODYNE. THE ORIGINAL AND ONLY GENUINE. CHLORODYNE is admitted bj^ the Profession to bo the most wonderful and valuable remedy ever discovered. CHLORODYNE is tbe best remedy known for Coughs, Consumption, Bronchitis, Asthma. CHLORODYNE etfoctually cheeks and arrests those too often fatal diseases — Diptheria, Fever, Croup, Ague. CHLORODYNE ^cts like a charm in Diarrhoea, and is the onl.v specific in Cholera and Dysentery. CHLORODYNE effectually cuts short all attacks of Epilepsy, Hysteria, Palpitation and Spasms. CHLORODYNE is the only palliative in Neuralgia, Rheumatism, Gout, Cancer, Toothache, Meningitis, &c. From LoBD Francis ONTNGnAU, Mount Charles, Donegal, 11th December, 1868. " Lord Francis Conyngham, who this time last yearboughtsf meof Dr. J. CoUis Browne's Chlorodyne from Mr. Davenport, and has found it a most wonderful medicine, would be glad to have half-a-dozen bottles sent at once to the above address." Earl Russell communicated to the College of Phj-sicians that he received a dispatch from Her Majesty's Consul at Manilla to the efifect that Cholera has been raging fearfully, and that the ONLY remedy of an3- service was CHLORODYNE." —See Lancet, 1st December, 1S64. CAUTION.— BE^YARE of PIRACY and IMITATIONS. Caution. — Vice-Chancellor Sir AV. Page 'Wood stated that Dr. J. Collis Browne was, undoubtedly, the Inventor of CHLORODYNE ; that the story of the Defendant, Freeman, was deliberately untrue, which, he regretted to say, had been Bworn to.— See Tin.es, 13th July, 186i. Sold in Bottles at Is. l^d., 2s. 9d., 4s. 6d., and lis. each. None is genuine without the words, " Dr. J. COLLIS BROWNE'S CHLORODYNE " on the Government Stamp. Overwhelming Medical Testimony accompanies each bottle. SoLK Manufactfbeb :— J. T, DAVENPQRT, 33, Great Russell Street, Bloomsbury, LondOB. ONDON AND COUNTY BANKING COMPANY. ESTABLISHED 1836. SUBSCRIBED CAPITAL... £2.500,000, in 50,000 SHARES of £50 EACH. PAID-UP CAPITAL... £1,000,000 RESERVE FUND... £500,000. SlTHANIEL ALEXANDER, Esq. TYRINGHAM BERNARD, Esq. 3ILIP PATTON BLYTH, Esq. )HN WM. BURiVIESTER, Esq. DIRECTORS. THOMAS STOCK COWIE, Esq. FREDEaiCK FRANCIS, Esq. FREDERICK HARRISON, Esq. LORD ALFRED HERVEY. WILLIAM CHAMPION JONES, Esq. E. HARBORD LUSHINGTON, Esq. JAMES MORLEY, Esq. WILLIAM NICOL, Esq. TRUSTEES. P. P. BLYTH, Esq | J. W. BURMESTER, Esq. I W. CHAMPION JONES, Esq. AUDITORS. WILLIAM JARDINE, Esq. | WILLIAM NORMAN, Esq. | RICHARD H. SWAINE, Esq. General Manager— WILLIAM McKEWAN, Esq. OHIEP INSPECTOR. INSPECTORS OF BRANCHES. CHIEF ACf^OUNTANT. W. J. NORFOLK, Esq. H, J. LEMON, Esq., and C. SHERRING, Esq. JAMES GRAY, Esq. Solicitors— Messrs. STEVENS, WILKINSON, & HARRIES. Secretary— F. CLAPPISON, Esq. HEAD OFFICE, 21, LOMBARD STREET. Manager— WHITBREAD TOMSON, Esq, | Assistant Manager- WILLIAM HOWARD, Esq. THE LONDON AND COUNTY BANK opens— DRAWING ACCOUNTS with Commercial Houses and Private Individuals, either upon the plan usually adopted by ther Bankers, or by charging a small Commission to those persons to whom it may not be convenient to sustain an agreed 'ermanent Balance. DEPOSIT ACCOUNTS.— Deposit Receipts are issued for sums of Money placed upon these Accounts, and Interest la -llowed for such periids and at such rates as may be agreed upon, reference being had to the state of the Money Market. CIRCULAR NOTES AND LETTERS OF CREDIT ai-e issued, payable in the principal Cities and Towns of the Con- inent, in Australia, Canada, India, and China, the United States, and elsewhere. The Agency of Foreign and Country Banks is undertaken. The Pdechasb and Sale of Government and other Stocks, of English or Foreign Shares effected, and DiviDKirrs, yriruiTiES, &c , received for Customers of the Bank. Great facihties are also afforded to the Customers of the Bank for the receipt of Money from the Towns where the Oom- pany has Branches. The OflQcers of the Bank are bound not to disclose the transactions of any of its Customers. By Order of the Dii ectors, WM, MoKEWAN, General Manager. POPULAR MEDICAL WORKS, PUBLISHED BY MANN, 39, CORNHILL, LONDON. Post Free, 12 Stamps ; Sealed Buda, 16 Stamps. DR. CURTIS'S MEDICAL GUIDE TO MARRIAGE : a Practical Treatise on ITS Physical and Personal Obligations. With instructions to the Married and Unmarried of both Sexes, for removing the special disqualifications and impediments which destroy the happiness of wedded life, founded on the result of a successful practice of 30 years. — By Dr. J. L. CURTIS, M,D., 15, Albemarle Street, Piccadilly, London, W. And, by the same Author, for 12 stamps ; sealed ends, 20. MANHOOD : A MEDICAL ESSAY on the Causes and Cure of Premature Decline IN Man ; the Treatment of Nei-vous Debility, Spermatorrhoea, Impotence, and those peculiar infirmities which result from youthful abuses, adult excesses, tropical climates, and other causes ; with Instructions for the Cure of Infection without Mercmy, and its Prevention by the Author's Prescription (his infallible Lotion). REVIEWS OF THE WORK. " Manhood. — This is truly a valuable work, and should be in the hands of young and old." — Sunday Times, 23rd March, 1858. " The book under review is one calculated to warn and instruct the erring, without imparting one idea that can vitiate the mind not abeady tutored by the vices of which it treats." — Naval and Military Gazette, 1st February, 1856. " We feel no hesitation in saying that there is no member of society by whom the book wiU not be found use- ful, whether such person hold the relation of a Parent, Preceptor, or Clergyman." — Sun, Evening Paper. Manhood. — " Dr. Curtis has conferred a great boon by publishing this little work, in which is described the source of those diseases which produce decline in youth, or more frequently premature old age." — Dailv Telegraph, March 21, 1856. ^ J tr & ^ Consultations daily, from 10 to 3 and 6 to 8. 15, Albemarle Street, Piccadilly, London, W. LONDON AND COUNTY BAILING COMPANY. ESTABLISHED 1836; •nbscrlliecl Capital, £2,500,000, in 50,000 8Iiare» of £50 eacli* ( Paid-up Capital, £1,000,000. Reserve Fund, £500,000. \. Nathaniel Alexander, Esq. Thoa. Tyringham Bernard, Esq. PhiUp Patton Blyth, Esq. Thomas Stock Cowie, Esq. rrederick Francis, Esq. Frederick Harrison, Esq DiBECTOBS. Lord Alfred Hervey. William Champion Jones, Esq Edwd. Harbord Lushington, Esq. James Morley,Esq. William Nicol, Esq. Frederick Youle, Esq. By discounted bills, and ad- vances to customers in town and country 10,061,582 2 2 By liabilities of customers for drafts accepted by the Bank (as per contra) 2,640,138 5 9 Genebal Manageb. — William M'Kewan, Esq. i Chief In spbctob.— W. J. Norfolk, Esq. IirsPECiOES OF Bbanches.— H. J.Lemon, Esq., and C. Sher- ring, Esq. Chie^ AccoTJNiAifT.— James Gray, Esq. Secbetabt.— F. Clappison, Esq. Head Office.— 21, Lombai-d-street. Manages. — Whitbread Tomson, Esq. Assistant Majtagee.— William Howard, Esq. At the HALF-YEARLY GENERAL MEETING of the Pro- prietors, held on THURSDAY, the 3rd August, 1871, at the City Terminus Hotel, Cannon-street Station, The following Report for the half-year ending the 30th June, 1871, was read by the Secretary. WILLIAM CHAMPION JONES, Esq., in the Chair. The Directors, in presenting to the Proprietors the BalanQe- Sheet of the Bank for the Half- Year ending the 30th June last, have the satisfaction to report that, after paying interest to customers and all charges, allowing for rebate, and making provision for bad and doubtful debts, the net profits amount to £90,100 168. 8d. This sum, added to £4,349 Os. 8d. brought forward from the last account, produces a total of £94,449 178. 4d. They have declared the usual dividend of 6 per cent., with a bonus of 3 per cent., for the half-year free of income tax, being at the rate of 18 per cent, per annum, which will absorb £90,000, and leave £4,449 17s. 4d. to be carried forward to Profit and Loss New Account. They have to announce the retirement of their esteemed colleague, John WiUiam Burmester, Esq., from the Direction, on account of advanced ago, and the election of Frederick Youle, Esq., in his stead. The dividend and bonus, together £1 16s. per share, free of income tax, will be payable at the Head OflBce, or at any of the Branches, on or after Monday, the 14th instant. BALANCE-SHEET of the LONDON and COUNTY BANK- ING COMPANY, 30th June, 1871. Dr. TocapiUlpaidup £1,000,000 0 0 To reserve fund 600.000 0 0 To amount due by the Bank forcustomers'balances, &c. 14,505,287 15 2 To liabilities on acceptances, covered by securities 2,640,138 5 9 17,145,426 0 11 To profit and loss balance brought from last account.. 4,349 0 8 To gross profit for the half- year, after making provi- Bion for bad and doubtful fletots, viz 251,931 ( 266,280 6 10 Or. By cash on hand at Head- offlce, and Branches, and with Bank of England £2,130,797 4 3 By cash placed at call and at notice, covered by Becuri- ties 2,131,464 11 0 £18,901,706 7 9 Investments, viz. : By Government and guaran- teed stocks 1,400,764 15 By other Btocks and securities 145,102 7 6 -£4,262,261 15 3 -12,701,720 7 11 By fireehold premises in Lombard Street and Nicholas Lane, freehold and leasehold pro- perty at the branches, with fixtures and fittings 246,735 By interest paid to customers 38,220 By salaries and aU other expenses at head- of&ce and branches, including income-tax on profits and salaries 107,901 9 10 6 3 5 3 £18,901,706 7 9 Dr. Pbofit and Loss AccorNi. To interest paid to customei"s, as above £38,220 6 3 To expenses, as above 107,901 6 3 To rebate on bills not due, carried to new account 15,708 18 0 To dividend of 6 per cent, for half year 60,000 0 0 To bonus of 3 per cent 30,000 0 0 To balance carried forward 4,449 17 4 Cr. £256,280 6 10 By balance brought forward from last account £4,349 0 8 By gross profit for the half-year, after making provision for bad and doubtful debts 251,931 6 2 £256,280 6 10 We, the UQdersigned, have examined the foregoing balance- sheet, and have found the same to be correct. WM. JARDINE, -) (Signed) WILLIAM NORMAN, ^Auditors. RICHARD H. SWAINE, ) London and County Bank, July 27, 1871. The foregoing Report having been read by the Secretary, the following resolutions were proposed, and unanimously adopted : 1. " That the report be received and adopted, and printed for the use of the Shareholders." 2. " That the thanks of this Meeting be given to the Board of Directors for the able mariner in which they have con- ducted the aflaii's of the Company." (Signed) W. CHAMPION JONES, Chairman. The Chairman having quitted the chair, it was resolved, and carried unanimously : 3. " That the cordial thanks of this Meeting be presented to WiUiam Champion Jones, Esq., for his able and couiteous conduct in the Chan-." (Signed) P. P. BLYTH, Deputy Chairman. (Extracted from the Minutes.) (Signed) F. CLAPPISON, Secretai-y. -1,546,867 3 3 LONDON and COUNTY BANKING COMPANY. NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN, that a DIVIDEND on the Capital of the Company, at the rate of 6 per cent, for the half-year ending 30th June, 1871, Nvith a BONUS of 3 per cent., will be PAID to the Proprietors, either at the Head Ofllce, 21, Lombard-street, or at any of the Com- pany's Branch Banks, on or after MONDAY, the 14th instant. By order of the Board, W. McKEWAN, General Manager. 21, Lombard-Street, August 4th, 1871. r^r^s-^ No. 4 Vol. XL.] OCTOBER, 1871. Third Sbries* THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE AMD MONTHLY JOURNAL OP THE AGRICULTUEAL INTEREST. TO THE FARMERS OF THE UNITED KINGDOM. LONDON : PUBLISHED BYROGERSON AND TUXFORD, 365, STRAND. PEICB TWO SHILLINGS. EOGERSON AND TUXPORD,] [PRINTERS, 265, STRAND. rN THE ROYAL FARMERS' INSURANCE COMPANY, 3, NOEFOLK STEEET, STEAND, LONDON, W.O. . CAPITAL. Persons insured by this Company have the security of an extensive and wealthy proprietary as well as an ample Capital always applicable to the payment of claims without delay. LIFE DEPARTMENT.— BONUS,— Insurers of the participating class will be entitled to fotir-fifths of the profits. ASSIGNMENTS.— The Company grant Policies payable to the Registered Holders, whereby much expense and iucouveuience are prevented, Stamp Duty paid by the Office, FIRE DEPARTMENT,— 1st Cks3— Not Hazardous Is. 6d. per Cent, 2nd Class — Hazardous ••• 2s. 6d. „ 3rd Class— Doubly Hazardous 4s. 6d, „ BUILDINGS and MERCANTILE Property of evei7 description in Public or Private Warehouses.— Distillers, Steam Engmes, Goods m Boats or Canals, Ships m Port or Harbour, &c, &c., axe Insured in this Office at moderate rates. SPECIAL RISKS.— At such rates as may be considered reasonable, FARMING STOCK.— 53. per cent., with liberty to use a Steam Thrashing Machine without extra charge. Nearly FIVE MILLIONS Insured in this Office. SEVEN YEARS' INSURANCES may be effected on payment of Six Years' Premium only. LIGHTNING and GAS. — Losses by Fire occasioned by Lightning, and Losses by Explosion of GflS when used for Lighting Bmldings will be allowed for, RENT, — The Loss on Rent while Buildings remain untenantable through fire may be provided against. HAIL DEPARTMENT.— (Crops and Glass.) Policies to protect parties from Lose by the destruction of Growing Crops or Glass, by Hail, are granted on Moderate Terms. LOSSES,— Prompt and liberal settlement. AGENTS WANTED. Apply to JOHN REDDISH, Esq., Secretary and Actuary. IMPORTANT TO FLOCKMASTERS. THOMAS BIGG, Agricultural and Veterinary Chemist, by Appointment to his late Royal Highness The Prince Consort, K.G., Leicester House, Great Dover Street, Borough, London, begs to call the attention of Fai-mers and Graziers to his valuable SHEEP and LAMB DIPPING COMPOSITION, which requires no BoUing, and may be used with Warm or Cold Water, for effectually destroying the Tick, Lice, and all other insects injurious to the Flock, preventing the alarmmg attacks of Fly and Shab, and cleansing and purifying the Skin, thereby greatly im- proving the Wool, both in quantity and quahty, and highly Contributing to the general health of the animal. Prepared only by Thomas Bigg, Chemist, &c., at his Mann- factory as above, and sold as loUows, although any other quantity may be had, if required :— 4 lb. for 20 sheep, price, jar included £0 61b. 30 81b. 40 101b. 60 201b. 100 301b. 150 401b. 200 501b. 250 601b. 300 80 lb. 400 100 lb. 500 (Cask and measure included) 0 10 0 15 1 0 1 a 1 7 1 17 2 6 0 Should any Flockmaster prefer boiling the Composition, it will be equally effective. MOST rMFORTANT CERTIFICATB. From Mr, Hehbpath, the celebrated Analjlical Chemist :— Bristol Laboratoiy, Old Park, January 18th, 1861. Sir, — I have submitted yom- Sheep Dipping Composition to analysis, and find that the ingredients are well blended, and the mixture neutral. If it is used according to the directions given, I feel satisfied, that while it effectually destroys vermin, it will not injure the hair roots (or "yolk ") in the skin, the fleece, or the carcase. I think it deserves the numerous testimonials published. I am. Sir, yoiurs respectfully, William Hebapath, Sen,, P.C.S,, &c,, &C.| To Mr, Thomas Bigg Professor of Chemistry. Leicester House, Great Dover-street, Borough, London. He would also especially call attention to his SPECIFIC, or LOTION, for the SCAB or SHAB, which will be found a certain remedy for eradicating that loathsome and ruinous disorder in Sheep, and which may be safely used in all climates, and at all seasons of the year, and to all descriptiona of sheep, even ewes in lamb. Price FIVE SHILLINGS per gallon— snflacient on an average for thirty Sheep (accordmg to the virulence of the disease) ; also in wine quairt bottles, Is. 3d. each. IMPORTANT TESTIMONIAL. " Scoulton, near Hingham, Norfolk, April IBth, 1866. •'Dear Sir,— In answer to yours ot the 4th inst,, which would have been repUed to before this had I been at home, I have much pleasure in bearing testimony to the efficacy of your invaluable * Specific for the cure of Scab in Sheep.' The 600 sheep were all dressed in August last with 84 gallons of the • NoN-PoisoNOrs Specific,' that was so highly recom- mended at the Lincoln Show, and by their own dresser, tha best attention being paid to the flock oy my shepherd after dressing according to instructions left ; but notwithstanding the Scab continued getting worse. Being determined to have the Scab cured if possible, I wrote to you for a supply of your Specific, which I received the following day ; and although the weather was most severe in February during the dressing, your Specific proved itself an invaluable remedy, for in three weeks the Sheep were quite cured j and I am nappy to say the young lambs axe doing remarkably weU at present. In conclusion, I beUeve it to be the safest and best remedy now in use. " I remain, dear Sir, "For JOHN TINGEY, Esq., «• To Mr. Thomas Bigg. ' "R. RENNET. 1^" Flockmasters would be well to beware of such pre* parationa as "Non-poisonous Compositions:" it ia only necessary to appeal to their good common sense and judg« menttobe thoroughly convinced that no "Non-poisonous" article can poison or destroy insect vermin, particularly sucU as the Tick, Lice, and Scab Parasites— creatures so tenaciousi of life. Such advertised preparations must be wholly useless/ or they are not what they are represented to be. DIPPING APPARATUS £U, «6, £i, & £3. >\ I i ' iii A. |- "%^ /!l^fe iV m-i \ ' \' .^ ^v^ '^,_ G ^ ^i?^^-. ZorulaTi.PiMished hy Jiofft^rsonJiyTuj^yl. 265, StTand, /??// THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. OCTOBER, 1871, PLATE I. A "ROYAL" LEICESTER RAM. THE PEOPEETT OF ME. GEOEGE TUENEE, JUNE., OF ALEXTON HALL, UPPINGHAM. This ram, now a two-shear of Mr. Turner's own breed- ing, is by the Reserve old sheep at the Manchester meeting of the Royal Agricultural Society, out of a Holme- Pierrepoint ewe, purchased at Mr. Sanday's sale in 1861. The Manchester Reserve ram was by the first-prize old sheep at the Bury St. Edmunds' meeting of the Royal Society. In 1871 as a shearling this ram was not sent to Oxford, but he won a local prize or two, and went on to the Yorkshire show at Wakefield, where, as we reported, " the judges considered him to be a particularly good ram, in a not particularly good class ; but they gave Mr. Bor- ton all the prizes !" the Alexton ram being only reserved and highly commeuded, In 1871 as a two-shear he took the first prize of his class at the Guildford meeting of the Bath and West of England Society, and the first prize at the Wolverhamp- ton meeting of the Royal Agricultural Society of England, where we said that " for style, symmetry, constitution, and breeding he had grown into one of the best Leicesters out for many a day." He was let last season and again this to Mr. Spencer, of Gileston. Mr. Turner is a son of the weU-known Mr. George Turner, long of Barton, Exeter, so famous for his Devon herd and Leicester flock. Like his father, how- ever, the son is changing from Alexton — a farm he held for many years under the late Lord Berners — to Thoi^pe- lands, in the adjoining county of Northampton, PLATE II. WHITE GAME. Mr. St. John has clearly a horror of mountain hares as interfering with sport, while from his own experience " I must cordially confess that I made an inward vow against ptarmigan shooting again iipon snow-covered mountains." He had two narrow escapes for his life in one day. During storms, the ptarmigan burrow deep under the snow in search of shelter and food ; and seldom descend far down the mountains, even in the severest weather. When only the summits are covered they descend to the edge of the snow ; but when the whole mountain is white they do Old Sreies.] not leave it for the lower hills, but find what shelter they can by burrowing. Ptarmigan shooting dm-ing winter is most laborious sport, and is frequently attended with no small risk, owing to the snow concealing the numerous clefts and dangerous places which intersect the heights where these birds abound. The days, too, bein^ short and the changes of weather frequent, the ptarmigan- shooter must work carefully and quickly. Our authority is the naturalist's Note-Book; and although the black swan is a rara avis, the white game is rarer still. U [Vol. LXX.— No. 4. 282 THE FAEMEE'S MAGAZINE. HEADS. By Henry Corbet. [From the Bath and West of England Society's Jonrnal.'] From the cradle to the grave, in all conditions and ages, throughout all nations, from Adam to the last existing man, from the worm we tread on to the most sublime of philosophers, physiognomy is the origin of all we do and suffer.— Latateb. At a dinner-table one evening at the Farmers' Club, a discussion incidentally arose as to the chief points to be taken into consideration in judging an auimal ; when there was a very unanimous opinion in favour of heads and shoulders. Narrowing the argument, agaiu, to any one particular point to go by, there was a clear majority amongst the half-a-dozen or so of us, who joined in the conversation, in favour of heads. The shoulder, no doubt, answers very much for shape and symmetry of frame, but the head answers for everything. If you go for breed, you look above all to the head ; if your aim be style or fashion, you must seek this in the head, as nine times in ten that very accommodating phrase known as quality should prove itself by a good head. You get at the very purpose of an animal by a look at his head. The calm placid countenance of a naturally thriving beast ; the noble, masculine, well-defined features of a sire of any character ; the several uses of the horse, the instincts of the dog, and the mere gluttony of the pig, how safely you may arrive at a conclusion by studying the head ! A scale of points for one or two certain breeds has already been drawn out ; but in none of these is sufficient im- portance, at least as I am led to think, attached to the head of an animal, as the main index to his purity of blood, strength of constitution, and actual fitness for that service for which he is intended. Who would take to himself a bull with a mean, delicate, " cowy" head ? And yet I have seen such distinguished in a Royal show-ring. Or, who would crave for his own riding, the sour-visaged, vicious-eyed hack ? Or care to breed, or try to breed from the steery -looking heifer, which has lost the very semblance of her sex, from the misdirected zeal employed in feeding her up for show P A man may save himself a deal of money, trouble, and disappointment, by making the head a first principle in establishing a flock or starting a herd. So strongly have I felt the necessity for more attention being given to this matter, that I have during the last year or so made it my business to collect from some of the best authorities, either as breeders or judges, as it were, a standard series of Heads, with the why and the wherefore any one feature should be regarded as an excel- lence, or another rejected as a drawback. In doing so, it may be as well to observe the Heralds' Order of prece- dence, and in bringing under review the several breeds or varieties of stock, to begin with that citizen of the world, the Shorthorn. Mr. Booth, of Warluby, we are told, " attached much importance to the heads of his animals. Conforming, as regards cows, to the popular opinion that they should be moderately small and tapering, he con- tended that the bull should not only be broad across the brows, but with a lusty horn, especially stout at the base. Mr. Booth would not use a bull in which these substan- tial evidences, as he regarded them, of vigorous constitu- tion and procreative power were wanting. And, indeed, sound physiology teaches that the more or less luxurious growth of the horn, ia the result of conatitutional opera- tions. The marked influence of ill-health or castration on the growth of the horn, is sufficient proof of this. That the use of sires exhibiting these indications of a masculine character has no influence on the female progeny preju- dicial to their feminine mien and character, a glance at the Warlaby cows and heifers will show. They are re- markable for their lady-like aspect, aud gi'aceful, well curved waxy horns ; those inextinguishable tell-tales of some otherwise unsuspected jump in the dark out of the dark — inky horns and dingy noses being unknown amongst any of the leading families of Warlaby. The mild prominent eye is expressive of that equable contented temperament so favourable to the attainment of ripe con- dition ; a tendency further indicated by the double chin- like appendages of pendulous fat beneath the root of the tongue, which, however objected to by some admirers of the more horse-like conformations of the head, give, in the opinion of others, an engaging piquancy of expression, and is always regarded approvingly by the knowing grazier as an earnest of aptitude for kiudtty feeding." So say the records of KiUerby and Warlaby, while this de- ^ scription may be supplemented by something more in detaU. The head of a Shorthorn bull should be broad aud moderately lengthy, with a full open countenance, a large prominent eye, and plenty of width between the horns, where there should be a good covering of hair. The horns themselves must be strong and slightly backward with a very gentle inclination upwards, positively upright horns beiiig the worst of all kinds. From being broad above, the head should taper gradually towards the nose, but not too decisively, as nothing is worse than a bull ^ with an " egg-sucking" frontispiece, as a houndsman would say; and the muzzle itself should be of a clear cream or flesh-coloiu*. Writing a quarter-of-a-century since, Mr. Wright says of the Shorthorn's head, that " some prefer it to be long and lean, whilst others approve of its being thick and short ;" but the long and lean head for a Shorthorn would never do in these days. Mr. Day, speaking to the merits of the famous Durham Ox says, " the head was rather long and the muzzle fine, eyes bright and prominent, with the ears long and thin." According to the print, however, the head of the Durham Ox, although refined and high-bred, is too weak and delicate even for a steer, that is, to pass muster in these times. But the perfection of the improved Shorthorn's head is to be found in the female. The very expression, so calm, so sweet, and so dignified, is of itself a delightful " study ;" and when old Homer, in the way of compli- ment, applied so continually the epithet, lo-ojpis, or ox- eyed, to his matron Goddess, he must have drawn upon the future, and have pictured to himself the noble, self- assured, full-blown beauty of one of our modern " Duchesses." The tranquil beaming eye, so full, so mild, and yet so prominent, the fairly broad forehead, ruunlDg down in that graceful line to THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 283 the muzzle, where we drop the Goddess, or we shall have Jupiter resuming his masquerade, intent on the conquest of another Europa. The horns of the Short- horn cow shoidd, then, be slightly curved and spreading, bright and clear in complexion, with a bronze tapering tip ; the nostrils wide, with the ears large, and fringed with that fine delicate hair, " only to be found," accord- ing to an enthusiast, " on a pure-bred Shorthorn." Still, good though the head may be, this loses nearly all its fascination if it be not properly set on. It should run elegantly into the somewhat full, firm neck, with plenty of play and style in its carriage. Any animal which droops its head in a half-guilty, hang-dog fashion, can never show to thorough advantage, and, of the two, it would be better to have them as the dandy described his partner in the quadrUle, " with her head buckled up like a four-in-hand leader." But the naturally, nicely-arched neck is the thing to go for, be it in a woman, a heifer, or a horse. That 'cute observer Sam Slick felt this when he was fastening the hooks and eyes, " I never see such a neck since I was raised. It sprung right out o' the breast and shoulder, fuU and round, and then tapered up to the head like a swan's." There are certain Shorthorn tribes or herds that have always been known for good heads. Noticeably enough, although fed terribly high for exhibition, the Athelstane- ford heifers never lost their beautiful expression of coun- tenance, and Rose of something's head was thought to be nearly perfect. I had opportunity of seeing a great deal of these animals for a season or two, occasionally crossing with them as they went the rounds of the national meetings, from England back again to Scotland, or over to Ireland. Then, as they have demonstrated at Towneley, the Barmpton Roses throw handsome and blood-like heads, and the Hertforth Cherries, as I am assured, were a family renowned for the grandest heads, which came very beautiful and high-bred, with a certain whiteness of the eye, very " taking " in its way. Old Cherry was the dam of Gainford, and Gainford was the sire of all Mr. Crofton's best stock. But, lovely as are the heads of the females, many bulls of the Bates blood are anything but good in this respect. There is an efteminacy in some of the sort which looks as if perseverence in one particular line had been carried too far, and nothing tells more of any such too close consanguinity than a feeble, weak, " pretty," head. You see it alike in man and beast. And yet you cannot, of course, always " breed heads." With all the attention paid to this point at Warlaby, by far the worst " place " about the celebrated prize bull, Commander-in-Chief, was his head, and this was so bad as to mainly account for his ever having been beaten. It was more that of a steer than a bull, plain and common, with an unpardonable horn. On the other hand, Mr. Bates, whatever may have come of it after- wards, evidently attached due importance to this point, as the oft-told story goes of his once buying a bull at a long price, although he had never seen more of the animal than his head. The fatal mark against the head of the Shorthorn, " the damned spot," which like that on Lady Macbeth's hand nothing cau wash out, is the black or smutty nose, as held to be too sm'e a sign of bad blood or impm'ity in a close or more remote degree. But there is no telling how or when you may throw back to a cross, and Col- lings crossed with the Kyloe, while there were " unsus- pected jumps in the dark," that are nevertheless very much matters of history. Perhaps no animal of any repute was ever credited with so many black noses as a well-known Northern " Duke," and there are tribes in descent from him which throw black noses to this day. There is, however, a difference between a thorough smutty nose and one which is only dark in patches, of which Mr. Pawlett's prize bull. Baron Warlaby, is a very recent example. Many maintain that this was not a smutty nose in the true acceptation of the term, and so one set of judges would pass him, and another Bench set him aside. At the Manchester Meeting of the Royal Agri- cultural Society they ordered him out, and at the Oxford fleeting they awarded him a prize. According to Mr. Wright— in 1846—" There are many well-bred Shorthorns with dark muzzles. This has been considered by many to be a recent introduction through some in- ferior cross ; but, without denying that, let it not be forgotten that some of the early Shorthorns were not entirely free from it, although not very common, but the sire of Foljambe could not boast of much delicacy there." When, somewhere about the beginning of the present century, Mr. Thomas Booth was showing his Shorthorn herd to a neighbour, the other objected to what he called their raio noses — " in his day the stock was nearly aU black-nosed, and he never knew a raw-nosed cow that was not delicate." It must be remembered that this was the word of a Yorkshire farmer, as uttered in the district from which the best Shorthorns have sprung. Early maturity or quick feeding is the chief recommendation of a Shorthorn ; and so when we look one in the face we must bear in mind that what we want is, as Mr. Carr puts it, " a placidity and composui-e of mind, a phleg- matic disposition, suggestive of fattening propensity." In fact, a frisky Shorthorn should be something of au anomaly. Not so the Devon. I should myself have a fancy for a certain wildness or boldness in the head of a pure North Devon ; and when Captain Davy says this should in many points resemble the head of the deer, he seems to me to have very happily illustrated his subject. There is, of course, no surer tell-tale to this beautifvd breed of animal than the blood-like head and lively look, as one may often distinguish in this way the little " native" gentleman from his commoner, heavier- countenanced cousin, born and bred on the fat lands of Somerset. With such a description apt to my hand, it would be worse than idle to attempt any other than that I have from Captain Davy : " The head should be small, with a broad indented forehead, tapering considerably towards the nostrils ; the nose of a creamy white ; the jaws clean, and free from flesh ; the eye bright, lively, and prominent, encircled by a deep orange-coloured ring ; the ears thin ; the horns of the cow long, spreading, and gracefuUy turned up, tapering off towards the ends ; in fact, the general aspect of the head should in many points resemble that of the deer. At the same time the expres- sion must be gentle and intelligent. The horns of the bull are thicker set and more slightly curved, or in some instances standing out nearly square, with only a slight inclination upwards. Fault has been found with the length of the horn of the Devon as being disproportionate, and we have been recommended to get them more like those of the Shorthorn ; but I hope, and indeed feel sure, that our breeders will never consent to give up one of the grandest characteristics of their breed." Here, again, we have the rata nose, as the old Northern farmer contemptuously called it, and here, too, precisely the same sort of discussion crops up : "A Hack, or even a spotty nose is very much disliked, and a calf so marked is never kept by the best breeders. Now the wild cattle in Chillingham Park are of a creamy white colour, with black muzzles ; may not the appearance at rare intervals of these black muzzles, and also of the wJiite of which I have already spoken, be additional proofs, if any be want- ing, that the Devons were originally descended from the wild cattle which were natives of these islands ? I never heard these marks accounted for. Judging from the rude state of agriculture until, we will say, within the last two U 2 281 THE FAEMEE'S MAGAZINE. huiidreJ years, it is just possible that our ancestors were not so fastidious about the colour of the nose as we have since become, and did not object to breed fi-om an animal with a black muzzle." So says Captain Davy, and his theory is well put ; but still it is not so clear v;lii/ we should be so fastidious in preferring a white nose to a black. The Shorthorn breeders say the smut comes originally from a cross, al- though this would seem to be somethine; of a hypothesis at best. Can the curse of a black nose be further shown by any accompanying want of style or quality — in a word, Does its appearance necessarily imply an inferior animal in other respects ? In support of my own theory, I am glad to say that some of the best and most successful Devons I have ever seen have had the handsomest heads, and I need but name Mr. James Davy's Temptress family to recall their fine deer-like character, telling as truly of their lineage as the longest pedigree in The Herd Book. The mottle-faced Hereford is fast going out of fashion. Few people would object to buying a good mottle-faced cow ; but no breeder of note would care to rear a bull thus marked, as he might be diliicult to sell, for un- doubtedly the white faces arc now all the fashion. A well-known judge and breeder tells me that, beyond the colour of the face, and the length and straightuess of the horn, the good points in a Hereford bull's head cannot differ much from those to be appreciated in other breeds. While, however, the horn of the bull runs straight and level from the poll, those of the cow and ox gradually curve upwards. The eye of the male should be rather lively than otherwise, and that of the cow conveying pre- cisely the same calm, comfortable, good-tempered look which I have already identified with the Shorthorn. The face should be of a beautiful clean white in colour, backed by a rich red, more especially in the bull ; the horn also white or light yellow, occasionally tipped with black, and the nose white ; although here, again, we have the evil of black noses, which come, it is said, more frequently in Herefords than in any other breed of cattle. The head should certainly not be small in proportion to the other parts, as, in fact, a head either large or small out of pro- portion is simply a deformity in any animal. A really good head must have a certain length and breadth, to which such a phrase as small can never reach. Mr. George Smythies has favoured me with a measurement of the head of Governess, a choice Hereford cow, the pro- perty of Mr. Green, of Marlow : Length of face 21^ inches. Between eyes 13 Round nose 25 Length of horns 20 ,' Widtli of horns from tip to tip 37^ „ It is said that Professor Owen, if you give him only the thigh-bone of some antediluvian creature, will work up the frame of a perfect monster, and with these dimen- sions he could no doubt fashion out a model Hereford. Governess, however, was altogether on a larger scale than the animals now exhibited, which are neater and finer, as no doubt but few heads would measure against her. One of the kindest heads I ever saw on a Hereford cow was that of Stately 2nd, the property of Mr. Evans, of Swan- stone, though she never did quite so well iu public as might have been expected ; but If to her share some trifling errors fall, Look in her face and you'll forget them all. The champion Hereford bull, of his day, on the con- trary, begins with a somewhat mean, small head ; whereas there sbouia be something very noble in the head of a wlutetace, when seen at his best. There is no animal which tells more of high breeding than an Alderney, or rather a Jersey-born, cow. There is a refined air and carriage, a certain comely "presence," which would forbid all thoughts of the butcher, and never carry one's appetite beyond a syllabub on thin bread-and- butter. A Shorthorn bears " beefsteaks" on his very visage, whereas we shudder at the notion of cutting prime pieces out of old Daffodil, or of putting a round of Nora Creina in salt. It would be worse than killing and eating the pet lamb, let alone the question of Daffodil ever possessing any prime beef, 'while Nora, more palpahly, being all angles can have no rounds. No — the head and beaming eye of the Alderney speak again of her purpose, of rich cream and yellow butter ; but the charm here is all on the cow's side. Beyond a peculiar, wild wicked eye there is not much to admire in the head of an Alder- ney bull, and even the cows lose much of their graceful character when bred away from then" native isle. In the Jersey scale of thirty-six points for a perfect cow or heifer, one each is allowed for the following excellencies : " Head small, fine, and tapering; cheek small; throat clean ; muzzle fine, aud encircled by a light colour ; nos- trils high and open ; horns smooth, crumpled, not too thick at base, and tapering ; ears small and thin (one uoint), of a deep orange colour within (one point) ; eye full aud placid." The eye of the bull must be lively and his horn tipped with black, but beyond these the points are much the same. Mr. Dumbrell, of Ditchling, who has the largest herd of Alderueys iu the kingdom, has thus sketched the head for me : " The horns should de fine, tapering, and cnmipled, coming level from the head, aud not turned up. The ears large, plentifully fringed with fine silky hair, with the inside skin of the ear of a deep rich orange colour, and the hair between the horns fine. The eyes, placed wide apart, should be large, prominent, bright, and intelligent ; the forehead wide, and depressed in the centre ; the cheek fine, and very tapering to the nostrils, which should be large, and the muzzle black, edged with tan. The head itself should be distinguished by a certain unmistakeable evidence of good breeding which is readily recognisable, but not so easily put upon paper." The Jersey Society goes on to distribute the other points over the back, the barrel, legs, and so forth ; but if we put down fifteen points for the head, and ten for the udder, leaving the other eleven for general appearance, we should arrive at a tolerably accurate, if not so elaborate, an estimate of an Alderney, which, after all, you must judge mainly fore and aft. I cannot be- lieve in any man entering a ring with a pencil in his hand and carefully entering one point for this, and another for that, until he had proved a very pretty little sum in simple addition. He would surely " bother" himself dar- ing that somewhat tedious process.* Mr. M'Combie, again, speaking of course of his much beloved black PoUs, says -. " A perfect breeding or feeding animal should have a fine expression of countenance ; I could point it out, but it is difficult to describe upon paper. It should be mild, serene, and expressive. He should have a small, well put-on head, piominent eye, with a clean muzzle. Thick legs, thick tails, sunken eyes, and deep necks, with thick skin aud bristly hair, always point to sluggish feeders." Some years since I was at a meeting of the Highland Society at Aberdeen, * Since writing this, I have heard an amusing story in point. A scale liad been settled for certain breeds of sporting dogs, and at one of the shows the judges, after having awarded the premiums iu a class, went on to prove their de- cisions by the new system. Tliey accordingly noted down so many points for the head of the first-prize dog, so many for his tail, so many for style, and so forth ; and they proceeded to appraise the second and tliird prizes after the same fashion. The several totals were then carefully counted up, when it was found that each of these three dogs had ^Jixcisely the same nmiher of points in his favour ! THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 285 when ratter a good story got about as to the heads of these famous Polls. Some philanthropists from Paris were present, and so struck were they with the Aberdeen- shire cattle, that they offered, on the part of some French Humane Society, an extra medal for the best bull, the impression being that an animal without horns could do little injury either to the herd or the herdsman. Whereas the Poll has, in " fancy" parlance, rather " a fighting mug of his own," as often enough, like bulls of other breeds, a bit of temper, and with that hard bullet- head of his he will at times butt away like a nigger. However, the medal was duly awarded, and the French embassy returned, no doubt able to report that it had dis- covered a breed of cattle which must have flourished in Arcadia in the Golden Age — so gentle, so mild, and so harmless. Let us look to another kind of Scotch cattle, and what would the West Highlander be without his head ? The butcher will say in answer — " the very best beef" — but with his head aU his character is gone. There is a wild grandeur, I had almost said majesty, about the head of the Highlander, that should count up very fast in any scale of his points, as perhaps no other animal shows in this respect such insignia of Nature's nobility. You may read of his Highland home in his clear bright eye, his magnificent horn, and his rough, but right royal coat. And the Southron would seem to have a deal still to learn in this way, for at the Smithfield Club Show of 1869 the judges selected as the best Highland ox an animal with an ugly "cowy" half -Ayrshire head, that was no doubt a mongrel ; and a new class had straightway to be instituted, iu order to avoid such awkward " findings" for the future. The beauty of the horse, and of the head of the horse, have been sung in all ages. Job says, " the glory of his nostril is terrible," and that "he smelleth the battle afar oS" while Virgil repeats the image: Micat auribus, et tremit artus ; CoUectumque premens volvit sub naribus ignem. And this notion of "nostril fire" has been pronounced " the noblest line that ever was written without inspira- tion." Again, Homer and Shakespeare are never weary of taking the horse as an illustration of corn-age, vigour, and intelligence. I am inclined to doubt, though, whether the ancients could really have had any correct idea of what a horse's head should be, from the very name which Alexander the Great gave his almost equally renowned charger, Bucephalus — a composition of two Greek words, boics and kephalos, that is, the head of a bull ; just about the worst kind of head a horse could have. We see this repeated, however, at a later period in the animal on which the Knights of the Tourney were mounted, where the same thick, broad bull's head is very commonly the type. But a man in armour was of course a great weight, and his war-steed probably more of a heavy di'aught-horse than the stamp upon which we now see a dragoon officer. In fact, the modern charger, the hack, and the hunter, must all show breed ; and let me thus en- deavour to sketch the head of the well-bred horse, as it should be. The size of this must be in just proportion to the body, as certainly not noticeably small, but of a happy medium in length and breadth. Indeed, a horse's frame should "prove" by his head. The ears should be long, somewhat thin, and moderately open, and not set too wide apart, nor pricked up, but the rather with a gentle inclination at the points towards each other. Our cropping forefathers when they went so much for short pricked ears, could have had but a poor notion of the actual beauty in this feature of the horse, nevertheless, there are writers who go with them ; Youatt, amongst others, who says, " the ear should be small and erect," but I cannot agree with him, nor do I think that he was any great authority on the horse. In the short stiff ear you lose that beautiful significant " play," almost as true a reflex of a horse's "thoughts" as the eye itself. There is scarcely a movement of the ears but which has its meaning, and on this our barbarian ancestors improved by cutting them off ! A lop-ear is assumed to indicate coarseness of breeding and sourness of temper, but this is not invariably the case. I have seen some thorough-bred horses with lop-ears ; and Oulston, who carries his very drooping, is, in other respects, a horse of particidarly bloodlike appearance. Nor does the lop always answer for sluggish or bad disposition, as it is more " the look of the thing" after all, and I knew a really good judge who rather fancied a hack with one lop-ear. Beginning, then, with the lengthy, flexible ear, the horse's forehead should be broad, bold, and gradually expanding in width from the pole to between the eyes, which should be set in the head a third of its entire length from the pole. Nothing has a worse effect than the eye of the horse being set up too high in his head. And the eye of the horse is, of course, one of his great beauties, or one of the chief tests of his worth. Dark, bright, and lively, it should be a combina- tion of spirit, sagacity, and gentleness, as, in fact, the eye of a gentleman. Especially to be avoided is the small, sunken pig's eye, which tells of everything that is bad. To proceed, the face from the forehead should be rather round — not exactly bulging like the Gohannas — gradually reaching to a slight dip between the eyes and the nostrils, and then rising and falling again before coming to the nose. This dishing in the face of the high-bred horse is deservedly prized, as the great prominent Roman nose or " Blacklock head" is to be equally avoided. How capitally Leech has transferred all its native ugliness to Jorrocks' Arter-Xerxes ! The nostrils should be square and open, with a sharp angular look about them that gives a certain peculiar grandness and force to the face. The saying that " a horse should be able to put his nose into a pint pot" is something very like nonsense ; as, indeed, I scarcely ever knew a horse, with, what a woman would call, a sweet, pretty head, to be good for much. It is the expression of the horse's countenance which constitutes his chief charm, and there are many sober-headed horses who, without being handsome, show this all but speaking intelligence in a very remarkable degree. The jowl should have a sweep from the root of the ear, with a good depth and a width of channel, tapering gradually to the muzzle. Plenty of room for the windpipe to play in is a great point, and the best judge of a yearling we have, or cer- tainly a gentleman who generally does the best by his purchases in this way, makes this width of jowl a cardinal point. The lip, another sure sign of blood, should be thin, firm, and of moderate length, as the pendulous thick lip is unsightly in itself, and a tell-tale of bad-breeding. A fat or fleshy head cannot, of course, be ornamental to either man or beast, and, as every one has his own fancy, mine is for a longish, lean head on a horse ; how many good nags have I known with that serious, almost judicial cast of countenance ! The horse's head must, above that of all other animals, be well set on. The effect of the best head is ruined if this run " throaty" into the neck, while a certain inclina- tion is everything, either in the way of elegance of ap- pearance or comfort in going. I have seen some good race-horses with ewe-necks, but that of the hunter or the hack must give nicely in the right direction, if the horse is to be ridden with anything like satisfaction. I have said that the shoulder should answer for action, but I do not know but that you may often get at a key to this from the head. When you see a dull, drowsy-eyed, melancholy visaged beast, drooping his head in his stall, cannot you tell before you have him out what a slouching. 286 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. ^lovely goer he will i)rove ? ever waiting for a dig of the spur or a crack of the whip; whereas the bright, cheerful- looking horse points his ears, and steps away at once. The head of the heavy-draught horse is not so important a point as that of the better bred one. It lacks much of the sensibility of the other, does not taper nor dish so grace- fully, and is, in fact, more in conformity with the charac- ter of a mere beast of burden. StiU great improvement is observable in the heads of our cart-horses, from the time when our old black breed was in the ascendant, and in none more so than amongst the Suffolks. At the time I first met with these in their own county, I was assured that the small, mean pig-eye was " the proper thing," but since then this has gone very much out of fashion, and the heads of some of the more modem Punches are now handsome enough. In fact, as some good old Conservatives will have it, a vast deal too pretty for their purpose. I cannot say that I rank myself amongst the staunch admirers of the Arabian ; but in General Dumas' book on the Horses of the Sahara, edited by Abd-el-Kader, there is a high-flown description of the head of the Arab, too amusing not to be given : " The eye of a horse should be turned as if trying to look at its nose, like the eye of a man who squints. Like a beautiful quoquette who leers through her veil, his glance towards the corner of the eye pierces through the hair of the forelock, which covers Ms forehead as with a veil. The ears resemble those of an antelope, startled in the midst of her herd. The fore- lock is abundant. In the hour of pain mount a slender mare, whose forehead is covered by silky and flowing hair. The nostrils are wide : each of his nostrils resem- bles the den of a Uon ; the wind rushes out of it when he is panting." If we go by heads, indisputably the highest-bred looking sheep are still the two breeds to which most of the other sorts trace something of their excellence. I refer, of course, to the Southdown and the Leicester, either in its way of a very patrician type. Next only, indeed, to the thorough-bred horse or the Jersey cow, there is not an animal on the show-ground which carries more style and "stamp" on his countenance than the Southdown. Moreover, to see him at his best, you must bring him straight up from the Sussex Downs. I do not believe altogether in the positive advantage of mere size or weight, but I go rather with the conclusion to which Cline arrives in his admirable little treatise on form, where he says, " it is wrong to enlarge a native breed of animals, for in proportion to their increase of size they become worse in form, less hardy, and more liable to disease." And I would say, further, that they are apt to lose much of their fine character, so that they suffer alike in symmetry and quality. Thus, when we attempt to grow the Southdown to a greater size than he would reach to on the South Downs, we can only do this at the sacri- fice of some other point. The best-bred sheep in appear- ance at this present time are surely to be found in the Duke of Richmond's flock ; and no man could safely go further in improving the Southdown than the justly- celebrated Mr. John Ellman of Glynde. It is to his standard that we must still look if we wish to work on right principles, as it is to him I shall turn for the definition, although he begins with a statement which cannot be passed without comment : " The smallness of a sheep's head is an indication of its being well-bred." There is nothing neater than the head of a Southdown ; but, as a rule, as I have said, a very small head is objectionable in any anmial, more particularly a male, and that capital judge ot a sheep. jMr. Henry Lugar, confirms me in this opinion : iUe head of a Southdown" as he writes to me, " may be too small, and if the sheep be kept on for breeding purposes, delicacy wiU in time be the result " Mr EUman's description runs on thus : " The head should be neither too long nor too short, the lips thin, and the space between the nose and the eyes should be rather thin ;" but, as Mr. Lugar adds, " a little wider just above the nostrils than nearer the eyes." Ellman, in continuation, says, " the under jaw or chap ought to be fine and thin, the ears tolerably wide, well covered with wool, and not too thin;" while according to Mr. Lugar, they should be " of a fair length, standing well up, but not prick- eared." EUman could see " no merit in a very prominent eye ;" he the rather " admires a tolerably fuU, bright-looking eye, but the eyecup or bone should not project," for the reason, as he gives it, that the ewes would have more difiiculty in lambing. In so smart a sheep as the Southdown the eye of the ram should be lively if not somewhat bold, in contradistinction to that placid gaze which men so covet in some other breeds of stock. Ellman concludes his description by stating that " sheep should be well covered with wool on the forehead, and especially between the ears, as it is a great protec- tion against the fly." Noticeably enough this authority, who flourished about the beginning of the pressent cen- tury, says nothing of the colour of a Southdown's face — a point which fanciers now often look to before any other, as one which breeders cannot always maintain, I have seen Southdowns exhibited but a few years since, from a very famous flock, nearly as light in their countenances as Leicesters, and I have heard of others getting their lambs as dark as Hampshires. The happy medium or proper tint is a beautiful mouse colour, in admirable keeping with the structm-e of the head and the texture of the wool. Were I asked to name a " set " of the most thoroughbred Southdown heads I ever saw, I think I should turn to the Duke of Eichmond's second-T^v\zc pen of ewes at the Royal Oxford Show of last summer. About the best-headed sheep they ever sent up from Merton was a Smithfield Club fat shearling ; and the ram with the finest head for a Southdown, which Mr. Jonas "Webb bred, was Plenipo, and this sheep was out of a Glynde ewe. In fact, we must go back again and again to the Sussex Downs for fine character, and we must go to heads to get this. In the autumn of last year I was spending a day at Angmering, near Arundel, and of course looking over the famous Sussex cattle and stiU more famous Sussex sheep. On the shepherd turning a flock of ewes towards us I went to face them, when one of the Messrs. Heasmau said, " You won't be able to see much of their legs of mutton in that way." "No," was my answer, "per- haps not, but I shall be able to see something I think even more of in a sheep than a leg of mutton." And as they met me, so matchy and breedy, all showing a certain family likeness in their faces, I cannot but believe that I arrived at a glance at a better notion of their true charac- ter than by trying their backs, necks, or legs ; and it is by his ewes you must prove a man's actual success as a sheep-breeder. A smart prize ram may be tiunied out oc- casionally ; but it is to his home flock you must look for established and reliable worth. As I walked down the lines at Manchester, and noticed the brown faces, the grey faces, and even the white faces, the long, somewhat Roman-nosed, old-fashioned cast of countenauce, or the neat snug " nob " of the Down, and when I found that all these sheep, notwithstanding their diversity of character and expression, were classified as Shropshires, I must confess that I felt fairly at sea. The very judges, moreover, have not for some time past held very strongly to any particular line, and I thus feel it the more necessary to say so much as I do here, on the strength of the best evidence I can call. " It is very cu- rious that I had for some weeks been thinking of writing to you on this subject, as it is very essential that we should have judges who thoroughly understand the cha- THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 287 raderistics and the history of the breed." So wrote Mr. Thomas Horley, of the Fosse, in answer to my letter ; and it is through his kindness that I am enabled to sketch out the head of a true Shropshire, being the more induced lo avail myself of such assistance, as, like Mr. Lugar with South-downs, Mr. Horley no longer exhibits sheep, al- though he frequently acts as a judge. The head of a Shropshire ram should be black ; but this colour should not extend to the wool on the neck. In size the head should not be too small nor effeminate, with a bold, broad, but not coarse forehead, full eyes, and tolerably prominent ears, self-coloured, but not mottled. Many good rams have their ears tipped with black round the edges, and show a kind of copper or copper-and-gold colour farther down ; and if they be well wooUed this is not in any way objectionable, saving that such a tint is more generally perceptible in rams which have been forced into high condition. The ear, although not so long as to be remarkable, should not be so short as to be hidden by the wool, which should come well up round the back of the head and ears, with a tendency to cover the top of the head. The nostrils must be fairly expanded, but there should be no inclination to bareness about the ridge of the nose nor between the nostril and eye — any such want of covering being very objectionable, and never to be noticed in a ram of any repute. There is altogether a strength and force about the head of a true Shropshire that should never be disregarded when looking at such sheep. It will, indeed, be observed that this description does not go for the pretty grey mixture, as no doubt the black-face is far more after the manner of the genuine Shropshire breed ; but even from the true black-faces there will occasionally crop up a speckled-face cheek, which, as with the Hereford ox, is more a mark of being out of fashion than any positive detriment. The wool of the Shropshire should be close in texture, and not in- clined to curl. Any study of the heads of cross-bred animals or newly- established breeds is not so satisfactory in the way of a test, as the flock-masters themselves seem scarcely to have agreed as to precisely what they should go for. The subjoined synopsis of the bead of an Oxfordshire Down ram may consequently not accord with the views of all, but it reads to me as a very good type to aim at. It should be long and tapering, with a forehead not too broad, but sufficiently so to give a good masculine expression, with a full bold eye, and ears well set back — that is, not too near the eyes. The poU must be well covered with wool, adorned with an ample top-knot on the forehead, and the face of a nice dark colour, between a jet black and a fawn. Some of the ewes, like those I have seen at Biddenham, have really blood-like heads ; but the judges do not always go for style, but prefer a rather coarser kind of animal, and I must admit that I am not quite satisfied with the lineage as traced by the head of an Oxford Down sheep. Neither is the first im- pression of a good old-fashioned Hampshire Down ram easily obliterated ; for the lop ear, the Roman-nose, and coarse, heavy features, if faithfully sketched, would make up, as Charles Surface says of his aunt Deborah, " a very formidable likeness." Some visible improvement, how- ever, has taken place of late, as it is rather against the spirit of the times to maintain that the plainer an ani- mal is to the eye proportionately greater must be his use and value. There is something very taking in the clean finely-cut features of a Leicester, over whose head those two great men — Bakewell and Ellman — agreed to differ. The long-wool man considered the prominent eye in a sheep an indication of good breeding, whereas the other " could see no merit in a very prominent eye." A very successful breeder of Leicesters, when these sheep were more in fashion than they are now, tells me that a well-placed prominent eye, standing deer-like, rather beyond or out- side the general contour of the head, must still be re- garded as a good point. The face should be rather long, as denoting size, but should be shortened in effect by a broad indented forehead. The bridge of the nose should be somewhat broad and arched — or Roman-nosed — with wide open nostrils of a jet black in colour. The ears, of a fair length, should occupy a prominent position on the head, not too low, not set very far apart : and the " high-quality" well-placed ear of the Leicester is a very safe sign of his purity. The ears and the head should be covered with beautiful silky wool — another proof of good breeding ; while there must be a peculiarly delicate tint of blue visible just beneath the wool on the head, as in fact your true Leicester is as proud of his blue blood as a Spanish Hidalgo. If there be, on the contrary, a tohite ground, this is suspicious or more directly indica- tive of inferior caste, strong objectionable wool, and a taste of foreign or Lincoln blood. A red ground, again, is to be guarded against as telling of a weakly constitu- tion, a feeble fleece, and a fineness of bone, carried to an undesirable extreme. The Leicester head should be especially bare and quite free from wool of any strength, the expression somewhat sedate, but of marked character in the ram, and his head set on rather bold and lofty, in preference to the low drooping carriage which, at one period in his history, was considered to be " the proper thing." It is sufficiently suggestive to find that the breeders of Border Leicesters have a positive horror of the blue cast, a fact which of itself goes far to show that this variety of sheep has come from a cross, most probably with the Cheviot. The borderer, indeed, lacks much of the aristo- crat in his appearance, so noticeable in the English Lei- cester of older pedigree. The head is longer and not so refined, the neck thin and weak ; and, though the Border may by this time be perhaps ranked as a breed of itself, there is not much to go by in his frontispiece. He hardly looks as if he ever had a grandfather. I wish we could see more at the West of England Meetings of a far more ancient family, which should furnish one of the leading sections of the show. I, of com-se, refer to the grand towering Cotswolds, of which Mr. Well, of Hampnett, writing many years since says : " The head should be long and thin, the ears rather wide and not too thin, having no wool but a tuft on the poll ;" whilst I am indebted to Mr. Robert Game, of Aldsworth, for a better and more elaborate reading of a Cotsweld countenance. The head should be wide between the eyes, and the eye itself full, dark, and prominent, but mUd and kindly, and in no way coarse about the brow. The face should be proportionately wide to the space between the eyes, but not too flat, and should run of much the same width to the nostrils, which must be well expanded and somewhat broader than the face, with the skin on the nose of a dark colour. The cheek is full, and, as the face, well covered with white hair; a just perceptible blue tinge on the cheek and round the eye being rather "fancied." The ear, long but not heavy, of medium thickness and covered with the same short soft hair, should be carried well up, while black spots on the point of the ear are not considered objectionable. The top of the head should not be coarse nor bald, but covered with wool, not hair, and the Cotswold is to be distinguished by a fine tuft of wool on the forehead. Mr. Wells says the head should be long and thin ; Mr. Game, that it should be sufficiently long to save it from being called a short thick head, but that it should not have a long lean appearance. Grey faces stiU crop up occasionally in all the best HUl flocks, but these are the exception. Of the other breeds the improved Lincoln now looks 288 THE FAEMEB'S MAGAZINE. to take much after the Leicester head, although coarser iu its character ; while the true Dorset, with his nicely curled horn, should have a white eye in harmony with the colour of his countenance, although the best sheep of last season showed an eye as black as a sloe. As for the Scotch blackface, he is as handsome in his degree as the Highland beast, as he tells alike by his head of the wild country from which he springs. Can there be anything more terrible than the long- snouted, lop-eared, narrow head of such a pig as we may still occasionally see by the roadside, who breaks away as you approach him, with a rush and a grunt, into a round swinging trot, and is out of reach before you can attempt to reckon him up. Does not such a head augur too surely of his pinched razor back, his flat sides, and his coarse quality ? A kind of pig who will eat any given quantity, without this having " the least effect on him," as the three-bottle men would boast of their potations. On the contrary, what can be a better assurance of " breeding nice pork," as the Fat Boy said of his master, than the round dumpling head of a small black ? Full, but yet fine, positively pretty in its plump contented ex- pression, and bound to make flesh even in its sleep. Mr. Fisher, of Carhead, in his scale of 110 points for a per- fect pig, allows eight for the head, while he has thus sketched for me the chief features : The forehead should be broad, as indicating a general width of frame and strength of constitution, with a face just long enough to enable the animal to collect its food, for anything beyond this indicates excess of offal. The ears should be slightly pointed forwards to keep out the wet, and sufficiently erect not to interfere with the sight, as they should be well covered with hair, more particularly ou the under side, and the orifice nicely filled in to keep out litter, dirt, and so forth. The ear should further show a good fringe of hair on the outer edge. In a full-grown pig of the small breed the length of the ear from the tip to its in- sertion in the forehead should be from 6 to 7 inches, and in the improved large breed from 8 to 9 inches may be taken as a fair length. The chap should be well filled up to the eyes and ears ; and, commencing near the point of the under jaw, should extend to the brisket, leaving no tucked-up appearance under the gullet. The head of the improved Berkshire, of course a very different animal from the old-fashioned Berkshire or Hampshii'e hog, should be something after the shape of a cone, though not too pointed nor at all turned up at the nose, but short, straight, and deep ; la fact, about as long as thick through, at a line to be taken from between the ears. There should be but little white about the face, if still with a sprinkling of lighter-coloured hair on the centre of the forehead, as well as on one or both eyes ; whereas black markings ou a white pig are not liked, and I have known very keen hands try to burn them out by show time. This paper might be extended to almost any length, as where, for instance, could we wish to see more character thau in the head of the dog — the long square, if I may so put it, head of the foxhound, so thoughtful and dignified in repose — Tiie wise, bench-like sagacity of brow ; the same Jaw of the old EUenborongh-sire ; or the handsome intelligent countenance of the colley, which Landseer loves to paint ; or the refined features of the greyhound, which Miss Mitford sketches so charm- ingly, when writing of her own Mosstrooper : " His face was singularly beautiful ; the finest black eyes, very bright, and yet sweet, and fond, and tender — eyes that seemed to speak ; a beautiful complaisant mouth, which used sometimes to show one of the long white teeth at the side ; a jet-black nose ; a brow which was bent and flexible, like Mr. Fox's, and gave great sweetness and ex- pression, and a look of thought to his dear face — there never was such a dog !"? It is noticeable that while one writer compares the jaw of a foxhound to that of a Chan- cellor, we have here the brow of the greyhound likened to that of a statesman, and the idea in either case is al- most equally happy. Or, looking in another direction, how thoroughbred is the long, thin head of the game- cock, set off by his quick, bright, defiant eye ; a bird who, by way of exception, seems scarcely "natural" unless he be in close-cut fighting trim ! Foxhounds and fighting cocks, however, may be not altogether in place in an Agricultural Journal, and so let me conclude, as I com- menced, with a word from Lavater : " The farmer walk- ing through his grounds regulates his future expectations by the colour, the size, the growth, the exterior — that is to say, by the physiognomy of the bloom, the stalk, or the ear of his corn, the stem and shoots of his vine-tree. He remarks in their appearance, as the physiognomist in the countenance of shallow men, any want of native energy." It is tolerably clear from this that Lavater was the first man who cultivated Pedigree Wheat when he ex- tended his theory to the study of the ear, or head of com. The Farmers' Club, Z\st January, 1871. THE REAPING MACHINE. By the Northern Farmer. These have now been brought to such perfection, and moreover so simplified, and in consequence so much re- duced in price, as to be within reach of most farmers possessing sufficient breadth of corn to render a reaping machine a necessary article of husbandry. The scythe, •which a few years ago became the favourite implement for the severance of the corn, displacing the hook with nearly all but the cottier farmer, has had in its turn to succumb to the reaper, and take a secondary position amongst the implements of the harvest field. The scythe in its day has done grand work with the farmer of great extent, and so useful is it where corn is much laid, that many men still cling to it, considering that its capability of adaptation to even the most tangled crop is so great as to enable it to rank ou a footing of equality with the very best machines. This of course is felt to be more espe- cially the case on soils growing soft flaccid straw, where the whole of the corn crop is more or less lodged every season. Wielded by a powerful man accustomed to its use, the scythe is no despicable implement even up to the present day, one man clearing two acres of a moderately good crop with comparative ease when stand- ing fair, and heavier or more difficult crops in proportion. With a few hands the owner of from twenty to thirty acres of crop can thus very soon bring his harvest to a conclusion ; and doing it both neatly and well, if he takes the precaution to fix a few wires on the head of the scythe, so as to grasp the corn and carry it tidily into the swathe. Striking it in against the standing corn is by far the best mode of throwing it down, although latterly THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 289 it does not appear to be so generally practised, probably on account of a second person being required to lay it out. This, however, is no extra expense, as the binding is so much facilitated by its being laid down regularly and in exact quantity for a sheaf, as to completely balance the outlay incurred in lifting after the scythe. The in- creasing difficulty of procuring harvest hands may also have some effect in causing farmers to throw the corn out from the scythe in the same manner as hay, as when the crop is ripe the mowers can proceed with the cutting, while the other hands are engaged elsewhere at work, which for the time being may be actually more pressing than the saving of the harvest. For the farmer of con- siderable acreage the reaping-machine is indispensable, and where the average breadth of corn grown is anything over thirty acres it should never be done without. For the middling fanner the combined machine suits ex- tremely well, the cutting of the hay and corn harvest keeping it sufficiently employed for the season, to pay for wear and tear and interest of capital. When the breadth to be gone over is so small as not to do this, the pos- session of a machine ceases to be profitable, and it be- comes better to hire one from a neighbour, or use the scythe. Although, as in this case, the combined machine is useful, yet when the extent is considerable it should never be relied on. It is a difficult thing to make a machine which will answer two purposes equally well ; and here, although the actual severance of each crop must of necessity be performed in the same manner, with the same knives, and same motive power, yet the collecting of the crop as cut, and laying it off in sheaves, make a distinction which in a great measure alters the character of the work to be performed. The one-horse reaper just meets this difficulty. Having but one operation to perform, the working wheels are few, and the whole construction of the machine is simple and easUy understood by the ordinary farm men ; it is wonderfully light of draught, and going at great speed gets over a deal of work in a day. Although called a one-horse reaper, and supposed to be work for but one horse, it is in practice found to give plenty of work to two ; the one placed before the other. This arrangement lightens the work so much, that the horses can keep a quick step for the entire day, a matter of great importance in getting over the ground, as everything else being favourable and in good working order, the higher the speed at which the knives can be driven, just so much better do they clear themselves, and do the work re- quired of them to satisfaction. The driver and raker should be both handy men, able to change with each other, as it is most distressing for any one man to follow a pair of horses for a whole day at the rate of speed at which they are required to walk, so as to work the reaper satisfactorily. The work done by this little machine is so good, and the quantity of ground stripped in a day under favourable conditions so great, that no farmer should be without one who has a fair quantity of ground to get over, and who possesses the very small number of pounds required to purchase it. Although the corn must be cleared out of its way by hand-labour, it should not, as a rule, be kept going only when the hands are ready to bind it, as much valuable time is frequently lost by doing so, especially when the corn is fully ripe. Three smart boys or girls, not quite able to bind, will lift the sheaves out of its reach, giving no delay whatever, unless the crop is a very heavy one, in which case an additional hand can be put on. The extra expense in- curred by laying it out in this way counts for nothing in a busy day when much of the corn is ripe, and the farmer is consumed with anxiety to get it severed. The extensive farmer, with a large breadth of corn to be got over, and possessing plenty of working capital, need scarcely have a moment's anxiety about the cutting of his corn, the extraordinary ingenuity and mechanical skill of modern engineers and implement manufac- turers having now produced a machine, self-raking and self-delivering, which for style of performance and speed of working, may, without the slightest exaggeration, be pronounced perfection. I know of no greater boon conferred upon agriculturists than the reaping machine as now turned-out by the leading manufacturers of this country and America, as by its use harvesting operations, as regarding time occupied and expenses incurred, are reduced to the smallest possible limits. A machine that will cut an acre an hour, doing this so closely and neatly as to lead to the impression that the land had been shaved ; that lays out the corn without displacing a straw ; that divides it into sheaves with unfailing exactitude, placing them so far out on the cleared surface as to leave ample space for the horses to walk without the slightest danger of disturbance or injury, and that moreover does all this with a motive-power of two horses, and requires no manual assistance but the man who drives them, and who sits completely at his ease, leaves very little indeed to be desired in the way of improvement. Anxiety to do a big day's work shoidd never tempt any one to cut corn badly, the very capability of this machine to do it quickly being all the greater inducement to take time, cutting only on the sides of the field which affords the most favour- able conditions for doing it in a workmanlike manner. The machine was never yet made which will cut laid corn without coming behind it or taking it at an angle, nor yet do it properly if the corn is even bent or being blown away from it while in the act of working. Such portions should therefore be invariably passed, the machine going on empty until it reaches the point where, from the posi- tion of the corn, it can be cut to advantage. A roughly cut stubble, interspersed with cut heads of grain and bunches altogether missed brings discredit on the machine which performed the work, but at the same time much more to the owner who had it in his power to do his work in good style had he but chosen to do so. When the conductor is an intelligent man, taking an interest in what he is entrusted with, he may very safely be told to do as it will best do with him, working where it does well, and passing where it does badly : he will, pleased with the confidence placed in him, seldom fail to give sa- tisfaction. When the field is not badly laid, patches oc- curring only at intervals, it is good policy to send a man with a scythe to cut out such portions as they become exposed, carrying the cut portion away at once beyond the reach of the machine. Those now made with one large wheel, through which the driving-rod works, and which by an ingenious contrivance gives motive-power to the various working parts of the machine, promise to be- come extremely useful and efficient. The entire absence of complication and sparing use of cog-wheels, particu- larly in connection with the self-raking attachment, are matters of congratulation to intending purchasers, as the liability to derangement is thus reduced to the lowest possible limit. The working of the rake on the prin- ciple recently adopted excites the warmest admiration when at work, being at once strong, simple, and efficient. The only noticeably weak point is the broad rim of the travelling-wheel, which, being cast-iron, looks scarcely fit to bear the strain of two powerful horses, and the vi- bration inseparable from the working of such a machine. If not suitable to use malleable iron for this wheel, it could at any rate be strengthened by a couple of bands carefully fitted to avoid compression, and bolted firmly to the original circular frame. This precaution would assuredly save much after-annoyance and trouble, and should not be omitted by intending purchasers. Before purchasing, every farmer should satisfy himself which make is most suitable for his requirements by carefully 290 THE FAEMER'S MAGAZINE. watching its performance in the field. Public trials, of which there are now many, afford a pretty fair test of what each can do. But in addition to this, when the one that appears to be the most useful, and which seems to come the nearest to meet his particular requirements, can be seen quietly at work on a field within easy dis- tance— that is the place to form a decided opinion. As ' in every district there are to be found farmers both rich and spirited enough to purchase every new implement that has the appearance of work and nsefulness about it, ordinary men, who can afford only to follow in the beaten track, have no want of opportunity of judging for themselves before investing their money. SIGNS OF THE TIMES. In the face of a pretty general admission as to a bad wheat harvest Mark Lane of Monday last spoke to a decline in prices, as it does again to-day ; while beef, mutton, and store stock are getting dearer and dearer. Nothing would now threaten to create a sensation in the corn market, and nobody seems to know the figure to which a sheep or a Shorthorn may soon reach. A man should be prepared to grow grain at something like a certain fixed rate, for all the world can make loaves of bread, but the production of prime joints would seem to be a business more immediately in the hands of an Englishman. The commentary here again is a curious one. On the very day when prices were falling in Mark Lane Mr. Mechi pens a letter to The Times on Agricultural Reform. And the basis of this Reform is that we should grow more wheat and less stock : "One- half of the United Kingdom is occupied by permanent pasture, much of it exhausted, weedy, and nationally most unprofitable ; deprived of the benefits arising from culti- vation, yielding a minimum of produce and employing a minimum of labour and capital." I\Ir. Mechi pro- ceeds accordingly to "insist upon the necessity of breaking up these poor pastures." In proof of this necessity he calls attention to the letters of The Times' correspondents, Messrs. Sanderson and Scott, who " have written gloomily of our wheat prospects," and to the facts that Mr. Prout has 153 acres in wheat but no permanent pasture, and Mr. Mechi himself only fourteen acres, " eight of which I shall break up this year as unprofitable." The moral of this is obvious enough : let everybody take to growing corn and everybody give over breeding cattle. Such ad- vice would look Jjust at present perhaps a little ill-timed, but it is offered on the practice of Messrs. Mechi and Prout, whose ethics would indeed go to show that how to farm profitably is to farm without stock. A man might, as they do at Tiptree, keep plenty of cocks and hens, and a good head of game, but he should go no further in this direction, have no pastures, no herds, and no flocks. " Where," asked IMr. Sewell Read, at one of the late meetings of the Farmers' Club, " can I find any man so competent — as an agent or adviser — as the gentleman who has written such an extraordinary quantity of lively agricultural articles in The Times ?" while Mr. Hitch- cock, of Lavenham, says, as recently as Saturday, to The Times itself, " Your general readers must sometimes read with surprise the letters which appear in your columns upon agricultural topics. I need not say that farmers are frequently astonished at them, and marvel much at the advice they contain." The fact, however, of being able to quote thus much from the columns of our contemporary, tends to show that Messrs. Sanderson, Scott, Mechi, and Co., are no longer to have it quite all their own way. In truth, on Saturday, the other side fairly got an innings ; and Mr. Hitchcock is permitted to say how difficult it is " for us poor farmers to decide upon which of our counsellors to lean, and what adds to our ^culty is when we read in these letters in The Settles, written by such able correspondents, statements of facts the very opposite of what we see about us." Then, again, Mr. James Howard, of Bedford, says that these reports of Mr. Sanderson and Mr. Scott ap- pear to have obscured Mr. Mechi's " usually cle vision." And of course a very grave question arises here. If such reports have obscured the vision of Mr. Mechi, how have they acted on the other hundreds of thousands of readers of The Times ? For years past these annual reports have been published almost without cavil or contradiction ; just as, take him all the year through, Mr. Mechi is the standing agricultural authority of the same Paper. Whether it be Game, Tenure, or Cropping, there are more letters from Tiptree than anywhere else. It has often struck us that this was scarcely fair, and we cannot but welcome the wholesome arrangement which gives to others a hearing through the same chan- nel. Under the somewhat ambitious title of Agricul- tural Reform Mr. Mechi declares that the great thing is to break up the poor pastures ; whereas Mr. James Howai'd says, instead of breaking up, improve them : " No land sooner yields to remedial measures and gener- ous treatment than pasture. Some ten years ago my farm manager strongly urged me to break up a piece of poor grass. I objected, and instructed him to drain it, to harrow it well two or thi'ee times a year, and to give the animals kept upon it mangold, coru, or cake. This field is now as nice a piece of pasture as any in the neighbour- hood. Again, every practical man knows that to breed successfully a certain proportion of permanent pasture is necessary, if not indispensable, and that more stock can be raised upon farms containing some 20 or 30 per cent, of grass land than on farms exclusively arable." Here we have the practical man with his 20 or 30 per cent, of grass land, against Mr. Mechi's eight acres and Mr. Prout's no permanent pasture whatever. But then Mr. Mechi is something more than merely a practical farmer, he is a philosoper and philanthi-opist, as his great object is to provide food for the million ; though if nobody is to breed or to care for stock, meat, as Mr. Howard says, " will soon be at famine prices." Still there are always two sides to a question, and Mr. Mechi finds a supporter in another of last Saturday's cor- respondents, who, however, does not give his name. This writer compares the stock-sustaining properties of land in Ireland with those of England, of course to the ad- vantage of the former, maintaiuing that good pasture land is in England the exception. But, then, has either Mr. Mechi or his anonymous friend ever tried to improve poor pasture ? The question must be argued according to the times we live in, and our want just now is not so much a want of wheat as of meat. Moreover, as has been demoustrated continually of late, we import more cattle disease from Ireland than we do from the Conti- nent, and the growing scarcity of beef and mutton must necessarily be traced in a greater or lesser degree to such a cause. There are people who would almost prohibit the importation of beasts from abroad, maintaiuing that we lose more than we gain in this way, while, of course. THE FAEMER'S MAGAZINE. 291 with the foreigner the Irish cattle would be excluded until thoroughly free again of Pleui'o-pueumonia and Foot- and-mouth. Associate such vigorous measures as these with Messrs. Mechi and Prout's plan of breeding no cattle whatever, and it is tolerably clear that an English- man would soon lose his boasted right to roast beef, and be reduced to a vegetable diet. As INIr. Hitchcock puts it, " the present price of wheat will certainly not inter- fere with the general prosperity of the country," where- as the general complaint is the present price of beef and mutton. Mr. Mechi's Agricultural Reform is, in a word, running all in the wrong direction. In our Echoes of only last week it wiU be found that Mr. Caird said at Castle Douglas, " it was a very remark- able fact which the census had lately told them — a fact upon which the prosperity of agriculture in this country materially depended — that within the period from 1801 to 1871 the population had exactly doubled. In 1801 it was 16,000,000; in 1871 it was 32,000,000; and the remarkable fact was this, that the agriculture of the United Kingdom, combined with the operation of those measures of Free-trade which had be- come law, had made the pi'cssure for subsistence on the part of these 32,000,000 considerably less than it was on the part of the 16,000,000 — that was to say, that the 32,000,000 now existing were much better-fed than when there were only 16,000,000 of a population. They might hope that state of things would still go on. And let them remember this, it was not at the expense of the consumer that agriculture was prospering." This is well put ; while Mr. Caird points his argument in this way : " Their great business was the growth of beef, cheese, and buttei*, rather than the cultivation of corn, which could be brought from abroad." — 3Iark Lane Express of September 25. THE DERBYSHIRE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. MEETING AT DERBY. At this the eleventh show there were some fears lest the prevalence of foot-and-moutli disease should keep away many of the animals entered, and no doubt a number of vacant places were left empty on this account, but the show was fully an average one in numbers and quality. The bulls and dairy cows and heifers were good, and the horses were numerous, with the agricultural horses particularly good. The poultry was a good show, and there were not many poor pens. Some very fine roots were exhibited. Tlie wheat shown was not of a high sample ; but the barley was excellent, and the oats good, though somewhat deteriorated by the weather. The show of implements was small for a county show. Of the cattle, Mr. Mitchell's four dairy cows, which took first prize in class 1, were a superior lot, and particularly good milkers. The heifers were a prime class, and one of the best in the yard. The two years old bull class was well filled, and the bull calves a superior class. In the fat stock Mr. F. Wright was first with a beast of great girth, and for an animal under three years old, really extraordinary. A four years old chesnut, shown by Mr. G. J . Mitchell, was awarded the first prize for hunters. He was bred by Mr. ChapUn, M.P. Mr. G. Wheeldou, Derby, took second prize with a bay mare. The hack or harness class was not good. In the three years old class Mr. Mitchell had a colt highly commended, which was second here last year in the two years old class, and also second at Birmingham. Had hacks and hunters been separated, Mr. Mitchell would probably have won a prize in the hackneys. The agricultural horses were of a su- perior character ; but Mr. H. Tomlinson's Clydesdale Lofty, which was first, towered far above the others in merit in every point of view. The agricultural mares and foals were a fair and numerous class. The two-year-olds were also good. Mr. Hawksworth's filly, which was only commended, took second prize at the Royal Show. The long-woolled sheep reared in Derbyshire and exhibited at this meeting display the characteristics of both the Leices- ter and Lincoln breeds. The class of breeding ewes was a moderately good one, and the pen which took the first prize was of the Leicester type, while the second prize animals more closely resembled the Lincolns, having larger frames and more lustre wool. The theaves made a respectable show. The ewe lambs were a numerous and good class, and the first prize pen favoured the Leicester type, being small and neatly made. The long-wooUed aged ram which carried off the first prize was a fine sheep, and the shearling rams were both good. The classes of long-woolled sheep were better fiUed than those of the Shropshires. The mixture of the Leicester and Lincoln breeds is well suited to the high and exposed land of Derby- sliire. The exhibition of Shropshire sheep was deficient, and in fact, there was scarcely any competition for the prizes. Mr. Baker, Moor Barns, was in fuU force with a number of show animals, and he carried off nearly the whole of the premiums. The breeding ewes made a fair show for a county meeting, and the yearling ewes were as good as could reasonably be expected, but the yearling rams were poor, and the judges, had they been severe, would have withheld the prizes. In the class of ewe lambs Mr. Baker failed to obtain the first prize on account of dark wool appearing in two of his lambs, one of which was very dark for a short-woolled sheep. Of pigs Mr. Walker carried off the first prize for large breed boars, and this, in the opinion of the judges, was the most meritorious class of all among the pigs. The class of aged sows was a capital one. A difficulty arose with regard to the awarding of the second prize in this class. It was given to Mr. W. Johnson, Shuckton, for a sow, the age of which was stated to be eleven months, but as she had a litter four months old the judges anticipated that a mistake had been made. Should that prove, on inquiry, to be the case, the Earl of Harrington will receive the second prize. The sows of the small breed were a good class, and a fair average of excellence was reached by this section. There was a good deal of question as to premiums offered for small-breed pigs going to Berkshires, and in one case the litter was regarded as exhibit- ing large breed characteristics. The judges appeared to leave to the stewards the responsibility of admitting the animals into the classes. A Berkshire class would be an advantage. There were about fifty entries for cheese and butter. Of these thirty-two were in competition for the Society's prizes for the best hundredweight of cheese, and the contest was therefore a pretty severe one. Many good dairies were shown, and after much consideration the judges awarded the three prizes in the following order: For cheese — Mr. T. Oakley, Mrs. Stretton, and Mr. C. R. Colville. For butter— Mr. S. Woodward, A. Mundy, and Mr. T. Hancock ; and in the class made by tlie daughter of a member, Mr. T. Hancock was first ; and Mr. J. Greatorex was second. A considerable proportion of the cheese was discoloured, but this was attributed to the season, and not to defective manufacture. There were 17 en- tries of butter, many of which were of superior quality. Tlie roots shown included several highly creditable entries, but considering the very favourable season the size andquaUty were perhaps not better than might reasonably have been anti- cipated. Neither the red nor the white wheat was particularly fine, but the barley was very superior, and the oats made a fair show, although some of the samples were shghtly damaged by being weathered. For a county meeting the collection of implements at the Derby show is never very large. Mr. Gilbert Murray, Elvas- ton Castle, contributed the greatest novelty on the ground — a " self-acting churning machine." A heavy weight attached to a rope is hoisted over a pulley to the height of 36 feet, and, descending slowly, sets in motion a machine composed mainly 292 THE FAEMER'S MAGAZINE. of a few cog-wheels in a strong frame. To this machine a driving-band is attached, and a rotary motion is thus given to the barrel-churn. It is claimed for the invention that it saves manual labour, that it is simple and inexpensive, and that by its means CO pounds of butter may be churned in half-an-hour — the time occupied by the weight in descending the distance of 20 feet. Messrs. J. and G. Haywood, Derby, exhibited a large and useful collection of implements ; Messrs. W. and J. Ratcliff showed a very useful selection ; Messrs. Thompson and Upton, Derby, also made a creditable show ; and Mr. T. Corbett, Slirewsbury, had a select selection. The following were among the other exhibitors : J. Woolley, Allestree ; J. Smith, Derby ; Bradford and Co., Manchester and London ; J. Beach and Co., Dudley, and G. Hathaway, Chippenham. PRIZE LIST. JLT)GES. Cattle. — W. Sanday, Radcliffe, and J. Dicken, Mansfield. Horses, Agricultural. — G. Woolhouse, Wellingore, and J. Andrews, Broughton Clays. Hunters and Hacks : — . Colton, Newark ; J. Bennett, Husbands Bosworth ; and — . Wright, Wanlip. Sheep and Wool. — Long-wool : T. Tomlinson, Atlow, and J. Lynn, Stroxton. Short-wool and Pigs : — . Hall, Wilne, — . Coxon, Freeford. Poultry. — Dr. Hitchman, and — . Lowe, Comberford. Grain and Roots. — G. Wheeldon, and — . Sibray. Cheese. — . Emberlin, Leicester, and — . AVatson, Birmingham. Butter. . Barber. Implements. — Messrs. Bullock, Abell, and Purves. Veterinary Surgeon. . Rossall, Sandiacre. CATTLE. DAIRY cows. Four cows, helonging to members keeping more than twenty cows. — First prize, G. J. Mitchell, Newton Mount ; second, M. T. Hopkinson, Woodthorpe. For the best animal in this class. — Prize, a silver cup Mrs. Packman. Two cows, for dairj'ing purposes, belonging to members not keeping more than twenty cows. — First prize, E. Vale, Derby ; second. Earl of Harrington ; third. Earl of Harrington. Pure bred Shorthorn cow, having had a living calf between January 1st and July 1st, 1871. — First prize, Mrs. Packman, Tupton ; second, E. Vale ; tliird, Mrs. Packman. Highly commended : E. Vale. Pair of heifers under three years old. — First prize. Earl of Harrington ; second, G. J. Mitchell ; third, W. T. Cox, Spon- don Hall. Commended : E. Vale. Pair of in-calf heifers, belonging to a tenant farmer dairy- ing not less than twelve cows. — First prize, G. J. Mitchell ; second, G. Bryer, Markeaton. The prizes to be withheld until a certificate be produced to the Secretary that the heifers were calved before the 1st May, 1871. Pair of stirks under two years old, best adapted for dairy purposes, belonging to a tenant farmer. — First prize, E. Vale ; second, S. Robson, jun., Melbourne ; third, G. J. Mitchell. Best female Shorthorn, for breeding purposes in any of the classes. — Prize, silver cup, Mrs. Packman. Prizes were olfered for four rearing cow calves, but there was no entry. Shorthorn bull, two years old and upward. — First prize, T. Yates, Sapperton (Lord of the Hills) ; second, T. Yates (Nor- grove) ; third. Earl of Hairington (The Doge). Commended : J. Else, Codnor Breach (Prince Albert). Yearling (or not exceeding two years old) hull of the pure Shorthorn breed, most suitable for the general use of a tenant farmer, and which shall be, and has been, the property of the same for six months previous to the day of exhibition. — First prize, J. Raynor, Markeaton (Julius) ; second, E. Canner, Stanley Grange (White Boy); third, S. Robson, jun. (Mel- bourne). A silver cup was given in addition to the first prize in this class. Bull calf, not exceeding twelve months old. — First prize, Mrs. Packman (Hampton) ; second, W. Cox, Brailsford (Amiens) ; third, Mrs. Packman. A silver cup to the exhibi- tor of the best pure bred Shorthorn in any of the classes. Fat ox or steer of any breed.— First prize, F. Wright, Os- maston Manor ; second, W. T. Cox ; third, J. Evans, Alport. Fat cow or heifer of any breed.— First prize. Earl of Har^ rington ; second, W. H. Marbrow, Newton ; third, W. T- Cox. A silver cup to the exhibitor of the best animal in classes 11 or 12. To the member, whether owner or representative of ovmer as steward or baiUff, who shall exhibit the best four specimens of home-bred dairy stock, whether a bull and three cows or four cows ; size and quality to be taken into consideration. — First prize, Dr. Hitcham, Mickleover; second, J. Brough, Kirk Langley. Pure bred Alderney bull, one-year-old and upwards. — First prize, C. H. BakeweU, Quarndon ; second, J. Fountain, Cows- ley House. Alderney cow in-milk, two years old and upwards. — First and second prizes, E. Holden. Alderney calf, or yearling under two years old. — I'irst prize, C. H. Bakewell ; second, J. Fountain. HORSES. Stallion for agricultural purposes, two years old and upwards, that has travelled within the district of the association this season. — First prize, H. Tomlinson, Blytheford ; second, J. Burrows, Stanley. Highly commended : H. Spencer, Lough- borough. Brood mare and foal for agricultural purposes. — First and second prizes, R. Hall, Boro' Fields ; third, T. Rose, The Ash. Highly commended : R. Gilman, Longford. Commended : J. Docksey, Hilton. Two years old gelding or filly for agricultural purposes.— First prize, A. TomUnson, Stenson; second, J. W. Chappell, Breaston ; third, W. Hollingworth, Dale Abbey. Highly commended H. Thompson, Sawley. Commended : J. Hawkes- worth. Barton Field. One-year-old gelding or filly, for agricultural purposes. — First prize S. Wade, Mickleover ; second, Mary Tatem, Little Eaton ; third, Ann Eley, Longford. Highly commended : H. Thompson, Sawley. Commended : R. Gillman ; Catherine Gregory, Astou-on-Trent ; and Mary Fletcher, Mile Ash. Pair of horses for agricultural purposes. — First prize, J. Porter, Weston-on-Trent ; second, T. Ilose ; third, W. Porter, BreadsaU. Highly commended : J. Thompson, King's Newton. Commended : J. Rose and W. Hollingworth. Brood mare and foal best fitted for breeding hunters and hacks. — First prize. Rev. R. Feilden, Muggiuton ; second, R. Sale, WinshUl ; third. Rev. J. Copestake, Trusley. Hack or harness horse above four years old, which has not previously taken the first prize in any of the classes. — First prize, G. Cowlishaw, V.S., Derby ; second, G. Murray, Elvas- ton. Highly commended : W. R. Wardle, Weston. Gelding or filly, of the value of £50, not thorough-bred, above three and under four years old , the property of a mem- ber of this Society from the 1st day of March, 1871. — First prize, J. Pegge, Littleover ; second. Earl of Harrington. Higlily commended : G. J. Mitchell. Commended : W. Wood- w ard , Stanton-by -Bridge. Gelding or filly, not thorough-bred, above two and under three years old. — First prize, W. German, Measham ; second, E. Bland, M.D., Sandiacre. Cob, not exceeding 14 hands, for riding or harness purposes. —First prize, J. Whittingham, Coton ; second, Earl of Har- rington. Highly commended : S. Wade. Commended : G. Rossell, V.S., Sandiacre, and Captain Stepney, Mickleover. Hunter, four years old and upwards, following the hounds hunting in Derbyshire, and being bona fide the property of the exhibitor from the 1st March, 1871.— First prize, G. J. Mit- chell : second, G. Wheeldon ; tliird, G. Shaw, Cropper. SHEEP. long-wools. Five breeding ewes, having had lambs in 1871, and suckled them up to the 1st of June. — First prize, F. Dean, Ashlehay ; second, R. Johnson, Kirk Ireton ; third, J. Heathcote, Hog- nastou. Five theaves. — First prize, A. Bryer; second, F. Dean ; third, R. Johnson. Five ewe lambs.— First prize, J. Heathcote ; second, Mary Tatam. Ram of any age above a shearling. — First prize, R. Lee, Kniveton ; second, R. Johnson ; third, T. Maskery, Nor- bury. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 293 Shearling ram.— First and second prizes, R. Lee ; third, F. Dean. SHORT-WOOLS. Five breeding ewes, having had lambs in 1871, and suckled them up to the 1st of June. — First and second prizes, W. Baker, Moor Barns ; third, C. Smith, Langley. Commended : C. Smith. Five theaves. — First and second prizes, W. Baker ; third, J. Rose, The Ash. Five ewe lambs.— First prize, C. Smith, Langley ; second, W. Baker. Ram of any age above a shearling. — First prize, W. Baker j second, W. German. Shearling ram. — First and second prizes, W. Baker. Ram la mb. — First prize, W. Baker ; second, Earl of Har- rington. Commended: J.Rose. Pen of five wether sheep, of any breed, not exceeding twenty-two months old.— First prize, J. Rose ; second Earl of Harrington. PIGS. LARGE BREED. Boar of any age best adapted for general use. — First prize, M. Walker, Stockley Park ; second, Earl of Harrington. Highly commended : M. Walker. Commended : A. Bryer, Quamdon. Sow of any age. — First prize, M. Walker ; second, W. Johnson, Shuckton. Highly commended: Earl of Harrington, and M. Walker. The whole class commended. Three breeding pigs of one litter, not exceeding three months old. — First prize, M. Walker ; second, J. Milnes, West HaUam, SMALL BREED. Boar of any age best adapted for general use. — First prize, M. Walker ; second, Earl of Harrington. Sow of any age. — First prize, J. Faulkner, Bretby ; second, Earl of Harrington. Highly commended : M. Walker. Com- mended : T. George, Littleover. Three breeding pigs of one litter, not exceeding seven months old. — First prize, T. M. Crowley, Breadsall; second, M. Walker. Pig, bona fide the property of an agricultural labourer, whose personal earnings do not exceed 15s. per week. — First prize, S. Bosworth ; second, J. Blorley ; third, J. Wass. Extra Stock. — Dr. Hitchman, highly commended for Berkshire boar and sow. ROOTS. Six roots of mangold wurtzel, to be taken from a crop of not less than two acres. — First prize, Mrs. Stretton, Brizliu- cote ; secoud, J. Faulkner. Six swedes, to be taken from a crop of not less than two acres. — First prize, Mrs. Stretton ; secoud, J. Faulkner. Six turnips, to be taken from a crop of not less than two acres. — First prize, J. MUnes ; second, J. Faulkner. Six ox cabbages, to be taken from a crop of not less than two acres. — First prize, C. R. Colvile, Lullington ; second, J. Faulkner. CHEESE AND BUTTER, Cheese of not less than 1 cwt , made by the exhibitor in the year 1871. — First prize, T. Oakey; second, Mrs. Stretton; third, C. R. Colvile. Highly commended : S. Woodward, T. Oakey, aud R. Bull. Commended: J. Pegge, and T. S. Radford. BUTTER. Milk butter (not less than six pounds) made by the exhibi- tor.— First prize, S. Woodward, Trusley ; second, A. M. Mundy, Shipley Hall. Milk butter (not less than six pounds) made by the daughter of a member.— First prize, T. Hancock ; second, J. Greatorex, Stretton. WOOL, Three fleeces of long- woolj — First prize, R. Johnson; second, F. Robinson, Newton Grange, Ashbourne. Three fleeces of short-wool. — First prize, J. Rose ; second, T. S. E. Carrington, Eaton. GRAIN. Sample of red wheat.— First prize, J. Faulkner; second, J. Greatorex. Sample of white wheat. — First prize, J. Greatorex ; second, J . Faulkner. Sample of barley. — Prize, J. Faulkner. Sample of oats. — First prize, J. Thomson, King's Newton; second, J. Faulkner. AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS, MACHINERY, &c. Selection of implements for agricultural purposes. — First prize and medal, J. and G. Haywood, Derby ; second, W. aud J. Ratcliffe, 16, Corn Market, Derby ; third, Messrs. Thompson and Upton, Derby. Cnurning machine.— Prize, a medal, G. Murray. MIDDLETON AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. In many respects the show is essentially a Manchester one. Situated at so short a distance from the city, and the relations between Manchester aud Middleton so close and identical, tlie meeting naturally derives great support from the city, not only in the matter of exhibitors, but in the multitude of visitors who crowd the Show-yard, large as it is. This year there is again a proportionate increase in the entries. The total number of entries is above 5,000, being an increase of 600 over those of last year. The amount given in prizes is £1,100. As an exhibition of farm-stock, the Sliow-yard — where the vast extent and range of sheds and shedding is viewed — and tlie comparatively small space occupied by stock, compared with the great array of articles introduced under the heading of implements, tends to create a little disappoint- ment. Some of the classes in cattle were exceedingly thin in numbers, aud many were filled wholly by Mr. Brierley and Mr. Statter. There were between 50 and 60 head shown. For bulls above two years old Mr. T. Statter, jun., was the only exhibitor, and, as a matter of course, received the first- prize. In the next competition Mr. Statter was second to Mr. Brierley, of Rhodes House, for bulls one-year-old and under two. Mr. Brierley's young bull comes from the same stock as Bolivar. At the Royal Agricultural So- ciety's Wolverhampton Show he obtained fourth place in his class, and at the Manchester and Liverpool Show first prize and a silver cup in a local class. Mr. Brierley, being at home at Middleton, held his own in nearly every class in which he exhibited. The prize-list for the remainder of the stock simply alternated between the names of Brierley and Statter. For bull-calves under one year, Mr. J. L. Becker, of Foxdenton Hall, was second to Mr. Brierley, whose bull is 11 months 10 days old. But for a rougher touch, the calf seems a perfect specimen of his sire, Bolivar. The same kindly, well shapen head and clean cut frame at once identify him with the once popular Shorthorn bull. Mr. Brierley came first for dairy cows, Mr. Statter being second. For two-year-old heifers the position was reversed, Mr. Statter being first and Mr. Brierley second. For one-year-old heifers, Mr. Brierley took both first and second prizes, against Mr. Statter and Mr. Becker, who exhibited. Mr. Brierley was also awarded the first for heifer calves, and Mr. Becker the second prize. Mr. Statter and Mr. Brierley were the only exhibitors of mUch cows ; and the former gentleman received both first prizes for the best three cows and cow in milk. More entries might have been ex- pected for the premiums given for tenant-farmers. No aged bulls were shown, and only two in the class under two years. Mr. G. A. Goolden, Birtle, received the first prize, and Mr, David Partington, Egypt Farm, Unsworth, near Bury, received the second in the latter class. Mr. R. Travis, Blackley, received the chief premium for dairy cows, and Mr. Thomas Hanson, Wilderness Farm, Heywood, the second. Two-year- old heifers were not deemed sufticiently numerous, or of such merit, as to deserve even mention at the hands of the judges. Mr. Goolden was first and Mr, Travis second iu the competition 294 THE FAEMER'S MAGAZINE. for one-year-old heifers. Mr. Bradshaw Partington, Lichfield Cottage, Blackley, was the only exhibitor and recipient of a prize for geld cows in milk. Mr. Goolden received the silver cup given by Mr. Brierley for the best beast owned by a tenant farmer. In the general competition, Mr. Statter received the first prize of £8 given for aged bulls ; and Mr. G. Haworth, Lower Darwen, the second of M. In the same competition, Mr. Statter received the first prize for yearling bulls ; Mr. Henry Nield, Worsley, being second. The same gentleman occupies a similar position to Mr. Statter with regard to bull-calves. Kve splendid animals were shown in the competition for dairy cows ; and Mr. Brierley, Mr. Statter, Mr. Dugdale, of Burnley, and the Rev. Leonard C. Wood, of Poulton-le-Fylde, had to succumb to Mr. TV. Bentley, of Greenside, Bradford, who was awarded the first position of merit ; Mr. Statter was second. Mr. Brierley, who exhibited two heifers, received tlie first prize for two-year-olds, and Mr. Statter the second. Mr. I5rierley completed Ids run of first prizes by taking others for one-year-old heifers, heifer- calves, and three cows in calf or in milk. In yearling heifers, Mr. Statter was second ; Mr. Haworth for heifer-calves and cows in calf or in milk. Premiums were given to drovers for milch cows ; and the first \ras obtained by John Coates, Bar- rack Road, Rochdale ; and the second by Nathaniel Hyde, of Rhodes, iliddleton. The horses as a class were more nume- rous, and appeared to be much more than they really were, owing to several of the owners re-entering for other competi- tions in the catalogue. Thirty-seven premiums were given for light and heavy horses, leaping, and single and double- wheeled conveyances. There were about 172 horses entered in all the classes. The district competition, compared with the general premiums, was limited, and Mr. Statter again carried away the greater portion of the prizes. The hunters and road- sters were exceedingly numerous. The first prize of £bO, for hunters, it will be seen, went to Mr. V. Wart, of Edgbaston, near Birmingham, for Loxley. The awards for horses were as follow : HORSES. Judges (Light Horses). — Major Ballard, Cowbridge, Gla- morgan ; Captain Skipworth, Hows ham, Brigg, Lincoln- shire; W. S. Atkinson, Barrowby Hall, Woodlesford, Yorkshire. Heavy Horses: J. H. Wood, Humberstone, near Great Grimsby ; John Bromley, Lancaster. DISTRICT COMPETITION. Brood mare and foal for agricultural purposes. — First prize, David Partington, Egypt Farm, Unsworth, near Bury ; second Robert Lindsey, Roach Bank, Pils worth, near Bury. Mare or gelding, under 16 hands, for agricultural purposes. First prize, Robert Lindsay; second, John Morris, Heap, near Bury. Pair of plough horses. — First prize, Lawrence Hoyle, Heap, near Bury ; second, Henry Shuttleworth, Middleton. Brood mare for draught purposes. — Prize, Tliomas Statter, jun., Wliitefield, near Manchester. Mare or gelding for draught purposes. — Prize, C. W. Brierley, Rhodes House, Middleton. Pair of draught horses. — Prize, C. W. Brierley. Three-year-old gelding or filly for draught purposes. — First prize, C. W. Brierley ; second, J. Morris. Two-year -old gelding or filly for draught or agricultural purposes. — First prize, Daniel Fletcher, Unsworth, near Bury ; second, T. Statter, jun. Yearling gelding or filly. — First prize, Hilton Greaves, Derker, Oldham ; second, Thomas Mellodew, Moorside, near Oldham. GENERAL COMPETITION. Stallion for agricultural purposes. — First prize, John Edmondson, farmer, Houghton, Entwistle, near Burnley ; second, John Gerrard, Heap, near Bury. Brood mare for agricultural purposes. — First prize, T. Statter, jun. ; second, Henry Neild, Worsley. Pair of horses for agricultural purposes. — First prize, C. W, Brierley ; second, T. Statter, jun. Mare or gelding under 16 hands for agricultural purposes. — First prize, Samuel Barlow, StakeliiU, Middleton ; tecond, T. Statter, jun. Three-year-old gelding or filly for agricultural purposes.— Prize, T. Statter, jun. ^ ' ^ ^ ^ Two-year-old gelding or filly for agricultural purposes,— First prize, T. Statter, jun. ; second, Christopher Holder, Stonefleld, Baxenden, near Accrington. Yearling gelding or filly. — First prize, H. Neild, Worsley ; second, T. Statter, jun. Stallion for draught purposes. — First prize, T. Statter, jun, ; second, Thomas Partington, Black Bull Inn, Middleton. Brood mare for draught purposes. — Prize, T. Statter, jun. Mare or gelding for draught purposes. — C. W. Brierley. Brood mare roadster. — First prize, T. H. IMiller, Singleton, Poulton-le-Fylde ; second, T. Statter, jun. Mare or gelding roadster. — First prize, Joseph Moseley, Levenshulme, Manchester; second, Mr. Clarkson, Leeds. Mare or gelding that never won a prize. — Prize, Charles Leigh Clare, Park Lane, Higher Broughtou, Manchester. Four-year-old gelding or filly for road or field. — First prize, W. C. Brocklehurst, Batley Hall, Presthury ; second, Henry Inman, Rose Bank, Stretford. Three-year-old gelding or filly for road or field. — First prize, J. Battersby, Oldham ; second, W. C. Brocklehurst. Two-year-old gelding or filly for road purposes. — First prize, James F. Crowther, Gnowl Grove, Mirfield; second, J. Duck- worth, Radcliffe, near Bury. One-year-old gelding or fiUy for road or field. — First prize, T. Statter, jun.; second, George Wliittaker, Moss Shaw, RadcUffe. Weaning colt or fiUy. — First prize, T. H. Miller, Singleton, Poulton-le-Fylde; second, T. Statter, jun. Cob, mare, or gelding not exceeding lij hands. — First prize, Spencer Leese, West Cliff, Preston ; second, Thomas FUdes, East Beach, Lytham. Pony not exceeding 13^^ hands. — First prize, W. S. Glad- stone, 3 Rumford-street, Liverpool ; second, Alfred Challinor, V.S., Nelson-square, Bolton. Pony not exceeding 12^ hands. — First prize, Thomas Gray, Bolton ; second, George Taylor, New Mills. Hunter mare or gelding. — First prize, George Van Wart, The Shrubbery, Edgbaston, near Birmingham ; second, T. H. Newton, Oldfield, Altrineham; third, Frank Robinson, 22, Priory -road, Kilburn, London. Jumpers, mare or geldiug. — First prize, James Wilson, M.D., Newchurch-in-Rosseudale ; second, Thomas Newton, Oldfield, Altrineham. Pigs and sheep were only a meagre show. Two sheep breeders (Mr. Henry Neild, Worsley, aud Mr. G. F. Statter, BroomhUl, Carlisle) were only represented on the catalogue, and for rams of the long and short-woolled breeds Mr. Neild took both prizes. For pigs, the awards were : PIGS. Judges. — Simeon Lord, Bluepits, near Manchester ; Thomas Atherton, Chapel House, Speke, near Liverpool. GENERAL COMPETITION. Boar, large breed. — First prize, Peter Eden, Cross Lane, Salford ; second, P. Eden. Breeding sow, large breed.— First prize, P. Eden ; second, Clement R. N. Beswicke-Royds, Pyke House, Littleborough. Litter of sucklings, not more than seven weeks old, large breed. — First prize, Johu Openshaw, Waterloo Inn, Man- chester-road, Bury ; second, George Hardman, Friendship Inn, Whitlane, Pendleton. Fat hog or gelt, large breed. — First prize, William Roth- well, Hamerterrace, llochale ; second, J. Openshaw. Boar, middle breed.— First prize, P.Eden; second, Frank Ambler, 56, Haugh Shaw Terrace, Halifax. Breeding sow, middle breed. — First prize, P. Eden ; second, F. Ambler. Litter of sucklings, not more than seven weeks old, middle breed. — First prize, Edmund Howarth, Lower Lane, near Rochdale ; second, Richard Hurst, Spring Hill, Rochdale. Fat hog or gelt, middle breed. — First prize, Wm. Dewhirst, Halifax ; second, Wm. Rothwell, Rochdale. Boar, small breed. — First prize, P. Eden; second, Clement R. N. Beswicke-R^yds. Breeding sow, small breed. — First prize, C. R. N. Beswicke- Royds ; second, C. R. N. Beswicke Royds. Litter of sucklings, not more than seven weeks old, small breed.— First prize, P. Eden ; second, Edmund Whitehead, HiU Bank House, Middleton. Fat hog or gelt, small breed. — First prize, Thomas Bolton, Albert-street, Rochdale ; second, T. Ambler, Halifax. Extra stock.— First prize, P, Eden ; second, P. Eden, THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 295 THE ROYAL AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY OF IRELAND. The monthly meeting of the Council of the Society was held in Upper Sackville Street, Dublin, Sir George Hodson, Bart., in the Chair, and the other members present were Lord Monck, Baron De Robeck, Sir Allan Walsh, Bart., Phineas Riall, Charles Colthurst Vesey, James Robertson, Robert H. Borrowes, William Owen, William Young, Martin C. Vesey, Laurence Waldron, and Charles Cobbe. The Chairman informed the Council that he had been es- pecially requested by II. R. H. the Prince of Wales to convey to that body the expression of his thanks for his kind reception by them at the recent exhibition, and of his entire satisfaction with tlie arrangements made for the comfort and convenience of himself and the Royal party. He liad also received a letter from the Lord Lieutenant, in which his Excellency gave them credit for the great zeal and energy displayed by those having charge of the arrangements, and congratulating them on the superiority of the show. The Chairman then stated that the following important letter had been received from the Chief Secretary : Dublin Castle, 14.th August, 1871. Sir, — I am directed by the Lord Lieutenant to acquaint you that his Excellency has received from Professor Ferguson, to whom, at the request of the Council of the Royal Agricultural Society, and with his Excellency's approval, the sanitary ar- rangements of the late agricultural show at Ball's Bridge were entrusted, a report of certain irregularities in connection with cases of foot-and-mouth disease among the animals there col- lected. It is stated : 1st. That the disease appeared in an animal on the evening of Thursday, the 3rd instant, but that notice was not given to the Government inspector, and that the animal was sent into Dublin, although there was a quarantine place and infirmary adjoining the showyard ; and 2ndly, that two aiimals which had been placed in the infirmary yard on the morning of Friday, the 4th instant, were allowed to be re- moved therefrom on tlie evening of the same day, although the officials in charge had been requested to detain them there. As such proceedings were in direct violation of the directions of the Order in Council relating to this disease, to which your attention had been specially called, I am to request that you will move the CouncU of the Society to favour me with any ex- planation which they may desire to make for his Excellency's luformation. I am, sir, your obedient servant, T. U. Burke. The Secretary, Royal Agricultural Society, 42, Upper Sackville-street. Captain Thorniiill intimated that he had written to Mr, Morgan on the subject, but up to the present he had not re- ceived any reply. The animal that was removed from the yard was not suffering from foot-and-mouth disease, but from dry murrain, and died that night. Mr. Waldron suggested that the further consideration of the letter be adjourned to the ntxt meeting of the Council, copies of the communication, in the meantime, to be sent to Mr. Wade and Mr. Corrigan for their explanation thereon. The suggestion was adopted. A letter was received from Mr. Stephens claiming the prize for the best Ayrshire cow, in consequence of Mr. David Patton's animal having been removed from the yard. Mr. Owen inquired if the prize had been awarded to Mr. Patton's cow P Captain Thornhill replied in the affirmative. The Council decided that they could not entertain the ob- jection, as the animal had to be removed from the yard in con- sequence of Ulness. Major Borrowes moved the adoption of the following resolution: "That in reference to the veterinary surgeon's opinion, after examination of horses for prizes at future shows of the Society, that such horses must be absolutely sound at the time of examination to entitle their owners to the prize, and no opinion as ' temporary,' but 'sound,' be accepted for the future." This he intended as a recommendation to the premium-sheet committee. The resolution having been seconded, was put from the chair, and unanimously adopted. Mr. Robert Shaw, of Barberstown, Straffan,, was balloted for, and unanimously elected a life member. The usual routine business having been disposed of, the Council adjourned, MANCHESTER AND LIVERPOOL AGRI- CULTURAL SOCIETY. At a general meeting held at Liverpool to " receive the re- ports of inspectors for draining, marling, sub-soiling, laying down land to grass, and best cultivated farms," the Mayor of Liverpool (Mr. J. G. Livingstone), one of the vice-presidents of the Society, presided. The following awards made by the inspectors were ratified by the meeting : Draining. — Tenant and occupier of not less than 150 acres who shall drain the greatest quantity during the year ending 12th May, 1871.— Prize, £8, T. Warburton, Bewsey Farm, Warrington. Of not less than 100 acres and under 150.— Prize, J86, J. Warburton, Dial Post Farm, Burtonwood. Of not less than 70 acres and under 100. — Prize, £4, R. Kelsall, Wood Lane, Burtonwood. Marling. — Tenant and occupier of not less than 100 acres who shall marl not less than 10. — Prize, £3, W. G. Ashton, Roby Farm, Liverpool. Extra prize : Silver medal, W. Stock- ley, Reeds Farm, Rainford. Of not less than 50 acres and under 100, who shall marl not less than 5. — Prize, £3, J. \Mialley, Moss Nook, Rainford, St. Helens. Manure Tanks and Reservoirs. — The tenant and occu- pier who shall construct the best tank. — Prize, £3, R. Whal- ley. Mill Green, Bold, Warrington. Eradicating Hedges. — Tenant and occupier of a farm of not less than 160 acres who shall eradicate, at his own ex- pense, the greatest length of hedges, in proportion to the size of his farm.— Prize, £5, T. Ball, Woodend Farm, Maghull, Liverpool. Of not less than 80 and under 160 acres.— Prize, £4, J. Warburton, Dial Post Farm. Of not less than 40 acres aud under 80. — Prize, £3, J. Clayton, Kirkby, Prescott. Planting and Raising Hedges. — Tenant and occupier who shall have raised, after planting in any one season, the greatest length of Whitethorn Hedge (not less than 880 yards), in proportion to the size of his farm, and after the most approved method. — Prize, £5,R.tWlialley, Mill Green. Not less than 440 yards.— Prize, £3, J. Whalley, Moss Farm, Rainford. Low-lying District — Arable or Cultivated Farms, —Tenant and occupior of not less than 150 acres in the best state of cultivation. — Prize, £10, E. Musker, Aintree. Of not less than 100 acres and under 150.— Prize, £8, W. Turton, Halebank, Warrington. Of not less than 50 acres and under 100.— Prize, £6, H. Williamson, Orrel, Liverpool. Dairy or Grazing Farms. — Tenant and occupier for the best managed dairy or grazing farm of not less than 100 acres and under 200.— Prize, £8, H. Sanderson, Willeiscote, North- wich. Laying Down Land to Grass. — Tenant and occupier of a farm not less than 150 acres, capable of arable cultivation, who shall lay down in the best manner for mowing not less than 15 acres. — Prize, £5, F. G. Byron, Speke, near Liver- pool ; extra prize, R. G. Owen, Halewood, Warrington, silver medal. Farm for pasturing.— Prize, £5, W. Birch, Stand Farm, Aintree. Farm of not less than 100 acres and under 150, for mowing, not less than 10 acres. — Prize, £4, G, Halsall, Halewood. Farm of not less than 50 acres and under 100, for mowing, not less than seven acres. — Prize, £3, R, Mawdsley, Orrel Village. Farm of not less than 35 acres and under 50, for mowing, not less than three acres. — Prize, £3, J. Southern, Culcheth. HiGii-LYTNG District — Laying Down Land to Grass. — Tenant and occupier of a farm not less than 150 acres of land, capable of arable cultivation, who shall lay down, in the best manner, for mowing or pasturing, not less thaa 10 acres. —Prize, £4, H. Neild, Grange Farm, Worsley. 298 THE FAEMER'S MAGAZmE. compact little horse of breed, on a short leg, that looked like a stayer." Melton -nras third at Birmingham and Paddy Byrne highly commended, and at Malvern Melton was first and Paddy Byrne highly commended. But Melton is a very different horse in the open to what he is in a circus ring ; although, notice- ably enough, he came in here romping and fighting, and moving much after the manner of a charger, and it was not uiitLl he settled down and fairly extended him- self that his really fine action became apparent. He went resolutely up to his bridle, while his fencing was as good as his galloping, and once set-a-going, he won all the way. Paddy Byrne, though a clever horse enough, would not compare with the other where there was room for a trial, and the four-year-old Misfortune took second prize ; as of her it was recorded last week : " Misfortune, who again had the ill-luck to play third to Major Bar- low's pair as she did at Wolverhampton, is a nice mai-e, of breed and a good goer, but a little shelly in her mid- dle and a trifle slack in the loin ; but with all this we like her much." She was, however, fast going amiss at Malvern, and on Tuesday hardly promised to see out the three day's jumping, for which her rider, on the contrary, was very keen. This was altogether a fair creditable class, out of which a thick, useful, short-legged horse of Major Ballard's was necessarily drafted early on account of his infirm hocks. The pick of the neighbouring Hunts was a nice, level, bay horse, a good goer and a fine fencer, while Mr. Colman's chesnut, put second, has a deal more character, but with dwelling rather rocking-horse action, and a great disinclination to show off at the hurdles, although he could fence well enough when he chose. The best hunter, the property of a tenant-farmer, was a roan which had been drafted early in one of the previous classes ; and the best hack a common, useful, harness cob which could move a bit, but not a gentleman's nor a prize hack, according to our interpretation of the term. Something a vast deal more like this was Mr. Hooper's highly commended son of Fraucatelli, a really stylish, well-bred, good-looking hack, but a chipped knee and a big bridle put him out of it. He went, moreover, much more pleasantly under Major Ballard than with Major Barlow, and one was a judge and the other wasn't. The first prize pony was a Billy Button Astlean kind of animal, but the class was altogether indifferent ; while most of the decisions in the horse section of the show from the cart stallions onwards were arrived at on a division being called and taken. At a meeting held as it were under the shadow of the Herefordshire Beacon, the entry of Hereford cattle was curiously and lamentably small. There were in all six- teen animals sent to compete for fourteen premiums, while in the companion classes of Shorthorns there were fifty- two entries, the half-dozen dairy cows being also of the more popular sort. Ai-e the breeders of white-faces indifferent ? or why is it that the shows of such cattle, held in the home or adjoining counties, are now so often so small and uninteresting? Still there were some good animals to be found in this short show ; such as Monaughty and Bachelor, the first and second prize bulls at Wolverhampton, backed by Mr. Tanner's prize cows, Queen and Lady Milton, and two or three equally well- known heifers from the Leen and Bicton herds. When we have said so much we have said nearly all, for there was but little further competition, and there was no section which excited comparatively so little attention. The sheep show was confined to Shropshires and Long- wools, "the Oxford and other Down classes" not bringing ^^i^gle entry in the four classes ; while the awards over the Shropshires created a deal of discussion, as all prece- dent as established of late seemed to be set aside. The Midland Counties Herald, a good authority in this way, says : " The Shropshires were allowed precedence in the sheep classes; and we would suggest that the judges should in future include a second gentleman who wiU pay rather more attention to the points which are universally admitted to characterise the true specimens of the breed, when we should not see, as was the case on Tuesday, prizes obtained by sheep with coarse Cotswold coats and pale faces. In ewes, Mr. Firmstone's pen had been got into much better condition since AVolverhampton, and was placed before Mr. Baker's and Mrs. Beach's pens, which there occupied first and second positions. In the class for shearling ewes, to the surprise of nearly every one, Mr. Pulley's \vei*e placed first, and Mr. 13aker's and Mr. Firmstone's highly commended pens at the Royal Agricultural Society, between which the con- test was supposed to lie, second and third. Mrs. Beach won with a shearling ram, to which the extra prize as the best male animals in the sheep classes was also awarded. Mr. Pullej" was second and third with sheep as opposite in character to the first as can well be imagined." Of the other Longwools Mr. Harris, of Wootton, had some of the best, and ilr. Harris, of Stoney-lane, some of the worst, the third-prize theaves being as bad a pen as ever took a premium. With the Duckerings, the Wheelers, Mr. Smith of Henley-in-Arden, the Cirencester College, and Mr. Heber Humfrey as exhibitors, there was a capi- tal show of pigs, alike of Whites and Berkshires, Mr. Smith's Champion boar being probably the best Berk- shire of his day, although not exhibited at Wolverhamp- ton, where his owner was one of the judges. The implement exlaibitors were : Bradford and Co., Fleet- street, London ; Belcher, Gee, and Co., Gloucester ; Mines, Cheltenham ; BayHs, Worcester ; McNaught and Smith, Wor- cester; Jennings and Son, Hereford ; Lyou, Windmill-street, Finsbury, London ; Davis, Malvern Link ; Towndrow, Malvern Link ; llussell. Great Malvern ; Passey and Co., Worcester ; Skarratt, Worcester ; Cross, Malvern ; Scott and Oram, Wor- cester ; Lee, Gloucester ; Rendle, Victoria-street, London ; Hill and Smith, Brierley Hill ; Sawuey, Beverley ; Burrow, Great Malvern ; Hamsher, Malvern ; Halford, Upton-on- Severn ; Webb and Sons, Wordsley, Stourbridge ; Beach and Co., Dudley ; Whitgrove and Son, Worcester ; Shorland, Amen Corner, London ; Brag^ins, Banbury ; Huds- peth, South Tyne Works, Haltwhistle, Northumber- land ; Dodge, Upper Thames Street, London. Hobday, Worcester ; Sparks, Great Malvern ; Larkworthy and Co., Iron Works, Worcester ; Lewis and Co., Iron Works, Shrewsbury ; Crump, Tewkesbury ; Horton, Worcester ; Hall, Worcester ; Jones and Howe, Worcester ; Cook, Malvern Link ; Lely and Son, Redditch ; Tipper, Birmingham ; Hor- ton, Colwall, Malvern ; Tomlins, Great Malvern ; Newman, Forthampton, Tewkesbury ; James and Sou, Tivoli Works, Chelteuham ; Burgess, Malvern Wells ; Soutliwell and Co., Albion Iron Works, Rugeley ; Hatliaway, Chippenham ; Hall, Worcester ; Burrows and Son, Leigh Sinton, Great Malvern ; Humphries, Pershore ; Wallis and Stevens, North Hants Iron Works, Basingstoke ; Corbett, Perseverance Iron AVorks, Shrewsbury ; Woods, Cocksedge, and Warner, Suffolk Iron Works, Stowmarket ; Caswell, Martley, Worcestershire ; Jones, Tewkesbury. PRIZE LIST. JUDGES, Cattle.— W. Taylor, Thinghi 11 Court, Hereford; S.Rich. The Cedars, Fearnall He.^th, Worcester ; T. Morris, Maise- more Court, Gloucester. Sheep and Pigs. — M. Savage, Sarsden, Chipping Norton J. Dale, Spetcliley, Worcester. Horses. — Major Barlow, Hasketon, Woodbridge, Suffolk; H. Corbet, Farmers' Club, London ; H. Ridgeley, Steveu- ton, Ludlow. Wool. — J. Coucher, St. John's, Worcester. larLEiLEZ^TS.— G. Shackell, Erleigh Court, Reading. THE FARMER'S MAGAZmE. 299 CATTLE. 8H0UTU0RNS. Earl Beaucharap's prize. — BuUinSlxorthora classes, £25, — The Marquis of Exeter (Telemachus). Bull, above two years old. — Eirst prize, The Marquis of Exeter, Burghley Park, Stamford (Telemachus); second, J. Outhwaite, Bainesse, Catterick (Royal Windsor). Highly commended: Earl Beauchamp, Madresfield Court, Malvern (Festival) ; G. Game, Churchill Heath, Chipping: Norton (Royal Butterfly 20th) ; J. Cooper, Powick Farm, Worcester. Bull, above one and under two years old. — First prize, H. Allsopp, Hindlip Hall, Worcester (Maruhull Duke) ; second, E,. Strattou, Burderop (Master Glanville) ; third, G. Game (3rd Earl of Warwickshire). Highly commended : the Rev. Walter Sneyd, Keele Hall, Newcastle-under-Lyne (Lord of the Manor). Cow, in milk or in calf. — First prize, J. Outhwaite (Vivan- diere) ; second, J. How, Broughton, Huntingdon (Windsor's Butterfly). Highly commended : W. Bradbum, Wednesfield, Wolverhampton (Miss Chesterfield) ; W. Bradburu (Red Rose). Two-year-old heifer, in milk or in calf. — First prize, J. How, (Vesper Queen) ; second, W. Bradburn (Coralline) ; third, W. Bradburn (Moss Rose). Commended: H. Allsopp (Daisy). Yearling heifer. — First prize, Rev. W. Sneyd, Keele Hall, Newcastle-under-Lyne (Maid of the Mist) , second, J. How (Verona) ; third, R. Stratton (Innocence). Highly com- mended : Rev. Walter Sneyd (Firenze) ; R. Stratton (Mabel). Commended': Earl Beauchamp (Severn Maid) ; G. Game Girl of the Period) ; G. Game (Butterfly's Duchess). The Toddington Challenge Cup, of the value of fifty guineas. —The Marquis of Exeter (Telemachus). HEREFORDS. Sir E. A. H. Lecbmere's prize of £20 for best Hereford. — P. Turner, The Leen, Pembridge (Rarity). Bull above two years old. — First prize, W. Evans, Llan- dowlas, Usk (Monaughty 3rd) ; second, P. Turner (Bachelor). Commended : J. Twinberrow, Whitehouse, Suckley, Worcester (Monarch). Bull above one and under two years old. — Prize, J. Twin- berrow (Woodman). No competition. Cow, in milk or calf. — First prize, R. Tanner, Frodesley, Dorrington, Salop (Queen) ; second, R. Tanner (Lady Mit- ton). Commended: T. Fenn, Stonebrook House, Ludlow. Two-year-old heifer, in milk or in calf. — First prize, P. Turner (Rarity) ; second, J. Harding, Bicton, Shrewsbury ; third, T. Rogers, Coxall, Brampton. Yearling heifer. — First prize, P. Turner ; second, R. Tan- ner (Princess Louise) ; third, E. J. Morris, Stanley Pont- large, Winchcomb (Stanley's Delight). DAIRY cows. Three dairy cows, in milk, any breed. — Prizes first and se- cond, Earl Beauchamp. SHEEP. SHROPSHIRE. Five breeding ewes, — First prize, W. C. Firmstone, Rock- ingham Hall, Hagley, Stourbridge ; second, W. Baker, Moor Barns, Atlierstone ; third, Sarah I3each, The Hattons, Bre- wood. Five theaves. — First prize, J. Pulley, Lower Heatou, Here- ford ; second, W. Baker ; third, W. C. Firmstone. Shearling ram. — First prize, Sarah Beach; second, J. Pulley ; third, J. PuUey. Ram of any age. — First prize, T. Fenn; second, R. Tanner ; third, W. Baker. LONG-WOOLLED. Five breeding ewes. — First prize, T. W. D. Harris, Woot- ton, Northampton ; second, T. W. D. Harris ; tliird, T. Harris, Stoney-lane, Bromsgrove. Five theaves. — First prize, T. W. D. Harris ; second, T. W. D. Harris ; third, T. Harris. Shearling ram. — First prize, T. W. D. Harris ; second, T. W. D. Harris. Ram of any age. — First prize, T. Harris; second, J. Wheeler and Sous, Long Corapton, Shipstoa-on-Stour. Oxford Down classes,— No eutries, PIGS. Boar, of large breed.— First prize, R. E. Duckering, Nor- thorpe, Kirton Lindsay ; second, R. E. Duckering. Breeding sow, large breed.— First prize, R. E. Duckering ; second, R. E. Duckering. Highly commended : J. Wheeler and Sons, Long Corapton. Two hilts, of large breed.— First prize, J. Wheeler and Sons ; second, R. E. Duckering. Boar, of small breed.— First prize, R. E. Duckering ; second, J. Wheeler and Sons. Breeding sow, of small breed.— First prize, J. Wheeler and Sons ; second, R. E. Duckering. Highly commended : R. E. Duckering and J. Wheeler and Sons. Two best hilts, of small breed.— Prize, R. E. Duckering. Boar, of the Berkshire breed — First prize, J. Smith, Henley- in-Arden ; second, Russell Swanirck, (jirencester. Breeding sow of the Berkshire breed. — First prize, Russell Swanirck ; second, H. Humfrey, Kingstone Farm, Shrivenham. Hilts of the Berkshire breed.— First prize, Russell Swanirck ; second, R. Swanirck. Earl Somers' £5 for the best boar in the pig class. — Prize, J. Smith, (Berkslure). HORSES. Stallion, for agricultural purposes. — First prize, H. Tom- linson, Blithford, Rugeley (Young Lofty) ; second, W. Wyun, Clanhill Leys, Grafton, Alcester (A 1). Highly commended: J. Manning, Orlingbury (Young Champion). Pair of cart geldings or mares, above four years old, which have been regularly worked. — First prize, J. Groves, Friar- street, Worcester ; second, S. Davis, WooUashill, Pershore. Cart mare and foal. — First prize, S. Davis (Darby) ; second, T. BaUinger, Barrows Court, Boddington, Cheltenham (Bonny). Cart fiUy or gelding, two and under three years old. — First prize, S. Davis (Darling) ; second, J. Perry, Salters Hall, Claverley, Bridgnorth. Thoroughbred stallion, constitutionally sound, that has served mares regularly in the county of Worcester during the season of 1871, or that is certified to serve mares in the county of Worcester in the season of 1872. — First prize, Earl of Coventry, Croome Court, Severn Stoke, Worcester (Umpire) ; second, M. Biddulph, Ledbury (The Mallard) Highly com- mended: J. G. Watkins, Woodfield, Droitwich (Fairfield Selection). Hunter, irrespective of weight. — First prize, T. Percival, Wansford (Melton) ; second, C. Cook, Taddington, Winch- comb (Misfortune). Highly commended : T. Percival (Paddy Byrne). Hunter, ridden in the past season with the Worcestershire, Herefordshire, Ledbury, Cotswold, Albrighton, Ludlow, North and South Staffordshire, or North Warwickshire Hounds.— First prize. Major Martin, Ham Court, Upton-on-Sevem ; second, W. Colman, Rowallau, Great Malvern (Dragoon). Highly commended : H. Allsopp (Chance) ; E. A. N. Royds, Ellerslie, Great Malvern (Saucy Girl). Hunter, the property of a tenant farmer resident in Worces- tershire.—First prize, W. S. Coucher, St. John's, Worcester (Lord George) ; second, G. C. Matthews, Eastbury, Hallow, Worcester (Rosina). Tliis award is disputed on the ground that Mr. Coucher is not a tenant farmer. Hunting mare or gelding, under five years old, — First prize, C. Cook, Toddington, Winchcomb (Admiral) ; second, J. G. Watkins, Woodfield, Droitwich. Hack, not exceeding fifteen hands. — Prize, W. Lea, Other- ton Farm, Cotheridge, Worcester. Higlily commended : R. N. Hooper, Lansannor (The Hart). Commended: T. W. Blyth, Aldington (Vanity). Pony, above twelve and under fourteen hands. — Prize, W. Godsall, Tewkesbury. Commended : C. R. Kynoch. Brood mare for producing hunters. — Prize, G. B. Jones, Eight Oaks, Castlemorton, Tewkesbury. Commended : W. Taylor, Ambersley. WOOL. Tod of wool of the clip of 1871, shorn from long-woolled sheep. — Prize, T. Harris, Stoneylane. Tod of wool of the clip of 1871, shorn from short-wooUed sheep.— Prize, H. Allsopp. Commended: R. Hickman, Cotheridge, Worcester. 298 THE FARMER'S MAGAZOTE. compact little horse of breed, on a short leg, that looked like a stayer." Melton was third at Birmingham and Paddy Byrne highly commended, and at Malvern Melton was first and Paddy Byrne highly commended. But Melton is a very different horse in the open to what he is in a circus ring ; although, notice- ably enough, he came in here romping and fighting, and moving much after the manner of a charger, and it was not until he settled down and fairly extended him- self that his really fine action became apparent. He went I'csolutely up to his bridle, while his fencing was as good as his galloping, and once set-a-going, he won all the way. Paddy Byrne, though a clever horse enough, would not compare with the other where there was room for a trial, and the four-year-old Misfortune took second prize ; as of her it was recorded last week : " Misfortune, who again had the ill-luck to play third to Major Bar- low's pair as she did at Wolverhampton, is a nice mare, of breed and a good goer, but a little shelly in her mid- dle and a trifle slack in the loin ; but with all this we like her much." She was, however, fast going amiss at Malvern, and on Tuesday hardly promised to see out the thi-ee day's jumping, for which her rider, on the contrary, was very keen. This was altogether a fair creditable class, out of which a thick, useful, short-legged horse of Major Ballard's was necessarily drafted early on account of his infirm hocks. The pick of the neighbouring Hunts was a nice, level, bay horse, a good goer and a fine fencer, while Mr. Colman's chesnut, put second, has a deal more character, but with dwelling rather rocking-horse action, and a great disinclination to show off at the hurdles, although he could fence well enough when he chose. The best hunter, the property of a tenant-farmer, was a roan which had been drafted early iu one of the previous classes ; and the best hack a common, useful, harness cob which could move a bit, but not a gentleman's nor a prize hack, according to our interpretation of the term. Something a vast deal more like this was Mr. Hooper's highly commended son of Francatelli, a really stylish, well-bred, good-looking hack, but a chipped knee and a big bridle put him out of it. He went, moreover, much more pleasantly under Major Ballard than with Major Barlow, and one was a judge and the other wasn't. The first prize pony was a Billy Button Astlean kind of animal, but the class was altogether indifferent ; while most of the decisions in the horse section of the show from the cart stallions onwards were arrived at on a division being called and taken. At a meeting held as it were under the shadow of the Herefordshire Beacon, the entry of Hereford cattle was curiously and lamentably small. There were iu all six- teen animals sent to compete for fourteen premiums, while in the companion classes of Shorthorns there were fifty- two entries, the half-dozen dairy cows being also of the more popular sort. Ai-e the breeders of white-faces indifferent ? or why is it that the shows of such cattle, held in the home or adjoining counties, are now so often so small and uninteresting? Still there were some good animals to be found in this short show ; such as Monaughty and Bachelor, the first and second prize bulls at Wolverhampton, backed by Mr. Tanner's prize cows. Queen and Lady Milton, and two or three equally well- known heifers from the Leen and Bicton herds. When we have said so much we have said nearly all, for there was but little further competition, and there was no section which excited comparatively so little attention. The sheep show was confined to Shropshires and Long- wools, "the Oxford and other Down classes" not bringing a single entry in the four classes ; while the awards over the Shropshires created a deal of diaciissiou, as all prece- dent as established of late seemed to be set aside. The Midland Counties Herald, a good authority in this way, says : " The Shropshii'es were allowed precedence in the sheep classes ; and we would suggest that the judges should in future include a second gentleman who will pay rather more attention to the points which are universally admitted to characterise the true specimens of the breed, when we should not see, as was the case on Tuesday, prizes obtained by sheep with coarse Cotswold coats and pale faces. In ewes, Mr. Firmstone's pen had been got into much better condition since Wolverhampton, and was placed before Mr. Baker's and Mrs. Beach's pens, which there occupied first and second positions. In the class for shearling ewes, to the surprise of nearly every one, Mr. Pulley's were placed first, and Mr. Baker's and ^Ir. Firmstone's highly commended pens at the Royal Agricultural Society, between which the con- test was supposed to lie, second and third. Mrs. Beach won with a shearling ram, to which the extra prize as the best male animals in the sheep classes was also awarded. Mr. Pulley was second and third with sheep as opposite in character to the first as can well be imagined." Of the other Longwools Mr. Harris, of Wootton, had some of the best, and Mr. Harris, of Stoney-lane, some of the worst, the third-prize theaves being as bad a pen as ever took a premium. With the Duckerings, the Wheelers, Mr. Smith of Heuley-in-Arden, the Cirencester College, and ^Ir. Heber Humfrey as exhibitors, there was a capi- tal show of pigs, alike of Whites and Berkshires, Mr. Smith's Champion boai" being probably the best Berk- shire of his day, although not exhibited at Wolverhamp- ton, where his owner was one of the judges. The implement exliibitors were : Bradford and Co., Fleet- street, London ; Belcher, Gee, and Co., Gloucester ; Mines, Cheltenham ; Bayhs, Worcester ; McNaught and Smith, Wor- cester; Jennings and Son, Hereford ; Lyou, WindmiU-street, Finsbury, London ; Davis, Malvern Link ; Towndrow, Malvern Link ; Russell, Great Malvern ; Passey and Co., Worcester ; Skarratt, Worcester ; Cross, Malvern ; Scott and Oram, Wor- cester ; Lee, Gloucester ; Reudle, Victoria-street, London ; Hill and Smith, Brierley Hill ; Sawuey, Beverley ; Burrow, Great Malvern ; Hamsher, IMalvern ; Halford, Upton-on- Severn ; Webb and Sons, Wordsley, Stourbridge ; Beach and Co., Dudley ; Wliitgrove and Sou, Worcester ; Shorland, Amen Corner, London ; Bragsins, Banbury ; Huds- peth, South Tyne Works, Haltwhistle, Northumber- land ; Dodge, Upper Thames Street, London. Hobday, Worcester; Sparks, Great Malvern; Larkworthy and Co., L'on Works, AVorcester ; Lewis and Co., Iron Works, Shrewsbury ; Crump, Tewkesbury ; Horton, Worcester ; Hall, Worcester ; Jones and Rowe, Worcester ; Cook, Malvern Link ; Lely and Son, Redditch ; Tipper, Birmingham ; Hor- ton, ColwaU, Malvern ; Tomlins, Great Malvern ; Newman, Forthampton, Tewkesbury ; James and Son, Tivoli Works, Cheltenham ; Burgess, Malvern Wells ; Southwell and Co., Albion Iron Works, Rugeley ; Hatliaway, Chippeuliam ; Hall, Worcester ; Burrows and Son, Leigh Sinton, Great Malvern ; Humphries, Pershore ; WaUis and Stevens, North Hants Iron Works, Basingstoke ; Corbett, Perseverance Iron Works, Shrewsbury ; Woods, CockseJjre, and Warner, Suffolk Iron Works, Stowmarket ; Caswell, Martley, Worcestershire ; Jones, Tewkesbury. PRIZE LIST. JUDGES. Cattle.— W. Taylor, ThinghiU Court, Hereford; S.Rich. The Cedars, Fearnall Heath, Worcester ; T. Morris, Maise- more Court, Gloucester. Sheep and Pigs. — M. Savage, Sarsden, Chipping Norton J. Dale, Spetcliley, Worcester. Horses. — Major Barlow, Hasketon, Woodbridge, Suffolk; H. Corbet, Farmers' Club, London ; H. Ridgeley, Steven- ton, Ludlow. Wool. — J. Coucher, St. John's, Worcester. LiiPLEMENls.— G, Shackell, Erleigh Court, Reading. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 299 CATTLE. SHORTHORNS. Earl Beaucharap's prize. — Bull inSliorthora classes, i£35. — The Marquis of Exeter (Teleniachus). Bull, above two years old. — First prize, The Marquis of Exeter, Burghley Park, Stamford (Tclemachus) ; secoud, J. Outhwaite, Bainesse, Catterick (Royal Windsor). Highly commended: Earl Beauchamp, Madresfield Court, Malvern (Festival) ; G. Game, Churchill Heath, Chipping Norton (Royal Butterfly 20th) ; J. Cooper, Povvick Farm, Worcester. BuU, above one and under two years old. — First prize, H. Allsopp, Ilindlip Ilall, Worcester (Marnhull Duke) ; second, R. Strattou, Burderop (Master Glanville) ; tliird, G. Game (3rd Earl of Warwicksliire). Highly commended : the Rev. Walter Sneyd, Keele Hall, Nevvcastle-uuder-Lyue (Lord of the Manor). Cow, in milk or in calf. — First prize, J. Outhwaite (Vivan- diere) ; second, J. How, Broughton, Huutingdou (Windsor's Butterfly). Highly commended : W. Bradburn, Weduesfield, Wolverhampton (Miss Chesterfield) ; W. Bradburn (Red Rose). Two-year-old heifer, in milk or in calf. — First prize, J. How, (Vesper Queen) ; second, W. Bradburn (Coralline) ; third, W. Bradbura (Moss Rose). Commended: H. Allsopp (Daisy). Yearling heifer. — First prize, Rev. W. Sneyd, Keele Hall, Newcastle-under-Lyne (Maid of the Mist) , second, J. How (Verona) ; third, R. Stratton (Innocence). Highly com- mended: Rev. Walter Sneyd (Firenze) ; R. Strattou (Mabel). Commended': Earl Beauchamp (Severn Maid) ; G. Game Girl of tlie Period) ; G. Game (Butterfly's Duchess). The Toddington Challenge Cup, of the value of fifty guineas. —The Marquis of Exeter (Telemachus). HEREFORDS. Sir E. A. H. Lechmere's prize of £30 for best Hereford. •^P. Turner, The Leen, Pembridge (Rarity). Bull above two years old. — First prize, W. Evans, Llan- dowlas, Usk (Monaughty 3rd) ; second, P. Turner (Bachelor). Commended : J. Twinberrow, Wliitehouse, Suckley, Worcester (Monarch). Bull above oue and under two years old. — Prize, J. Twin- berrow (Woodman). No competition. Cow, in milk or calf. — First prize, R. Tanner, Frodesley, Dorrington, Salop (Queen) ; second, R. Tanner (Lady Mit- ton). Commended : T. Fenn, Stonebrook House, Ludlow. Two-year-old heifer, in milk or in calf. — First prize, P. Turner (Rarity) ; second, J. Harding, Bicton, Shrewsbury ; third, T. Rogers, Coxall, Brampton. Yearling heifer. — First prize, P. Turner ; second, R. Tan- ner (Princess Louise) ; third, E. J. Morris, Stanley Pont- large, Winchcomb (Stanley's Delight). DAIRY COWS. Three dairy cows, in milk, any breed. — Prizes first and se- cond, Earl Beauchamp. SHEEP. SHROPSUIRE. Five breeding ewes, — First prize, W. C. Firmstone, Rock- ingham Hall, Hagley, Stourbridge ; second, W. Baker, Moor Bams, Atherstone ; third, Sarah Beach, The Hattous, Bre- wood. Five theaves. — First prize, J. Pulley, Lower Heaton, Here- ford ; second, W. Baker ; third, W. C. Firmstone. Shearling ram. — First prize, Sarah Beach; second, J. Pulley ; third, J. Pulley. Ram of any age. — First prize, T, Fenn ; second, R. Tanner ; third, W. Baker. LONG-WOOLLED. Five breeding ewes. — First prize, T. W. D. Harris, Woot- ton, Northampton ; second, T. W. D. Harris ; third, T. Harris, Stoney-lane, Bromsgrove. Five theaves. — First prize, T. W. D. Harris; second, T, W. D. Harris ; third, T. Harris. Shearling ram. — First prize, T. W. D. Harris ; second, T. W. D. Harris. Ram of any age. — First prize, T. Harris; second, J, Wheeler and Sons, Long Compton, Shipstoa-on-Stour. Oxford Dowa classes,— No entries, PIGS. Boar, of large breed.— First prize, R. E. Duckermg, Nor^ thorpe, Kirton Lindsay ; second, R. E. Duckering. Breeding sow, large breed.— First prize, R. E. Duckering ; second, R. E. Duckering. Highly commended : J. Wheeler and Sons, Long Compton. Two hilts, of large breed.— First prize, J. Wheeler and Sons ; second, R. E. Duckering. Boar, of small breed.— First prize, R. E. Duckering ; second, J. Wheeler and Sons. Breeding sow, of small breed. — First prize, J. Wheeler and Sons ; second, R. E. Duckering. Highly commended : R. E. Duckering and J. Wheeler and Sons. Two best hilts, of small breed. — Prize, R. E. Duckering. Boar, of the Berksliire breed — First prize, J. Smith, Henley- iu-Ardcn ; second, Russell Swanirck, Cirencester. Breeding sow of tiie Berksliire breed. — First prize, Russell Swanirck ; second, H. Humfrey, Kingstone Farm, Shrivenham. Hilts of the Berkshire breed.— First prize, Russell Swanirck ; second, R. Swanirck. Earl Soraers' £5 for the best boar in the pig class. — Prize, J. Smith, (Berkshire). HORSES. Stallion, for agricultural purposes. — First prize, H. Tora- linson, Blithford, Rugeley (Young Lofty) ; secoud, W. Wynn, Clanhill Leys, Grafton, Alcester (A 1). Highly commended: J. Manning, Orlingbury (Young Champion). Pair of cart geldings or mares, above four years old, which have been regularly worked. — First prize, J. Groves, Friar- street, Worcester ; second, S. Davis, Woollashill, Pershore. Cart mare and foal. — First prize, S. Davis (Darby) ; second, T. Ballinger, Barrows Court, Boddington, Cheltenham (Bonny). Cart filly or gelding, two and under three years old. — First prize, S. Davis (Darling) ; second, J. Perry, Salters Hall, Claverley, Bridgnorth. Thoroughbred stallion, constitutionally sound, that has served mares regularly in the county of Worcester during the season of 1871, or that is certified to serve mares in the county of Worcester in the season of 1873. — First prize, Earl of Coventry, Croorae Court, Severn Stoke, Worcester (Umpire) ; second, M. Biddulph, Ledbury (The Mallard) Highly com- mended: J. G. Watkins, Woodfield, Droitwich (Fairfield Selection). Hunter, irrespective of weight. — First prize, T. Percival, Wansford (Melton) ; second, C. Cook, Taddington, Winch- comb (Misfortune). Highly commended : T. Percival (Paddy Byrne). Hunter, ridden in the past season with the Worcestershire, Herefordshire, Ledbury, Cotswold, Albrighton, Ludlow, North and South Staffordshire, or North Warwickshire Hounds. — First prize. Major Martin, Ham Court, Upton-on-Severn ; second, W. Colman, Rowallan, Great Malvern (Dragoon). Highly commended : H. Allsopp (Chance); E. A. N. Royds, Ellerslie, Great Malvern (Saucy Girl). Hunter, the property of a tenant farmer resident in Worces- tershire.— First prize, W. S. Coucher, St. John's, Worcester (Lord George) ; second, G. C. Matthews, Eastbury, Hallow, Worcester (Rosina). Tliis award is disputed on the ground that Mr. Coucher is not a tenant farmer. Hunting mare or gelding, under five years old, — First prize, C. Cook, Toddington, Winchcomb (Admiral) ; second, J. G. Watkins, Woodfield, Droitwich. Hack, not exceeding fifteen hands. — Prize, W. Lea, Other- ton Farm, Cotheridge, Worcester. Highly commended : R. N. Hooper, Lansanuor (The Hart). Commended: T. W. Blyth, Aldington (Vanity). Pony, above twelve and under fourteen hands. — Prize, W. Godsall, Tewkesbury. Commended : C. R. Kyuoch. Brood mare for producing hunters. — Prize, G. B. Jones, Eight Oaks, Castlemorton, Tewkesbury. Commended : W. Taylor, Ambersley. WOOL. Tod of wool of the clip of 1871, shorn from long-woolled sheep. — Prize, T. Harris, Stoneylane. Tod of wool of the clip of 1871, shorn from short-woolled sheep. — Prize, H. Allsopp. (Jonimended : R. Hickman, Cotheridge, Worcester, X * 800 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. IMPLEMENTS. Prize £5, for the best collection of the most useful agricul- cultural implements, J. L. Larkworthy and Co. ; £5, for the best collection, exhibited by manufacturer, Corbett, Shrews- bury; £3, for the best collection of improved implements used in the cultivation and management of hops, J. L. Larkworthy and Co. Silver medals to J. Braggins, Banbury, for gates and patent locks ; Corbett, Shrewsbury, for combined winnower and elevator ; Humphries, Pershore, for thrashing ma- cliines ; Hornsby, Grantham, for double ploughs and reap- ing machines ; James and Son, Cheltenham, for bone crushers, pump, and water cart ; Southwell and Co., PiUgeley, for grist mill ; Webb and Co., Worcester, for chemical manures ; jredals would also have been awarded to Carter and Co. London ; Hathaway, Chippenham ; and Wallis and Stevens, Basingstoke ; but the entries were not made in time for competition. At the dinner, Sir E. A. H. Lechmere, Bart., the chairman, proposed " Success to the Worcestershire Agricultural Society." He believed that society took its date from the year 1830, when certain gentlemen and agriculturists of the county met to con- sider its formation, with a view, no doubt, to the attainment of much the same objects as those for which they had met that day. An especial object was to take into consideration the depressed state of agriculture. Great changes had occurred since that time. He looked around him in vain for the faces of depressed agriculturists. While tlie times had changed, the circumstances of the Society had altered also. Formerly, the meetings — no doubt very interesting aud successful, and re- flecting great credit on tliose who promoted tliem — were held in the confined space of the Cattle Market at Worcester, and those who visited them met at the dinner table as depressed agriculturists, and made long speeclies. They met that day under far brighter circumstances — assembling at the foot of those grand old hills, aud having the attractions of music and flowers, and last, though by no means least, the presence of ladies. He thought the members of the committee acted very wisely in making the change they did, and they deserved very great credit for incurring so much hibour and responsibility. He should like to see another phase of the Society's work, and still larger meetings held. He would wisli to see tlie Worces- tershire Society inviting the counties of Gloucester, Hereford- shire, and perhaps Shropshire, to join it in holding one large show for the four counties in each year. He conceived sucii an exliibition would be of far greater benefit to the agricul- turists of the district than the present meetings, however plea- sant and successful they might be. He had had some corre- spondence with a gentleman who took great interest in agri- culture in Gloucestershire, namely, Mr. Holland, who saw no great difficulty iu the way of effecting the desired object if that county were approached in a friendly spirit. He believed Mr. Holland was not at all disinclined to entertain the question. He had had no communication with Herefordshire gentlemen, but he considered it very possible that they would be willing to entertain the proposal. He suggested, at any rate, that the committee of this Society should take the question into consi- deration. On some future occasion when they met they might see before them Herefordshire cattle, Cotswold sheep, Shrop- shire sheep, and an assemblage of the agriculturists of the four counties. Mr. W. E. DowDESWELL, M.P., said he cordially agreed with every word spoken by Sir Edmund in regard to amalgamation with neighbouring societies, but he wished to vindicate the committee's conduct in respect of this matter. It was iu the recollection of many gentlemen that a resolution was passed about two years ago authorising the committee to meet and endeavour to elfect an amalgama- tion with the Herefordshire and Gloucestershire Societies. They attended at Hereford, and had a lengthened correspond- ence with Gloucestershire. Herefordshire received them in the courteous manner iu which the residents in that county received strangers when they were once across those beautiful hills, but told them it preferred having its own show. Glou- cestershire, without giving any very decisive answer, said, in ettect that the time for amalgamation had not yet come. He hailed with the greatest satisfaction (and he was sure Mr. Buck, and the members of the committee who recollected the circumstances, received with equal satisfaction) the fact that the chairman of the Gloucestershire Association had commu- nicated in black and white to Sir Edmund Lechmere that he was anxious for amalgamation. On hearing from the com- mittee of the Gloucestershire Society, the Worcestershire Committee would call a general meeting of the members to consider whether or not it would be for the benefit of local agriculture that the two societies should amalgamate and hold the shows alternately in the two counties. Sir John P.\kixgton cordially joined with his hon. friend in the chair and with Mr. Dowdeswell, in the feeling that they would do well to themselves and to their neighbours if they could promote the general agriculture of the district by an amalgamatiou of the societies in several counties, and the holding of one great show. He hoped to see that accom- plished. Lord BEA.UCHAMP said they must feel ou the present occasion greatly obliged to Mr. Curtler for his timely warning, because this was a case in which to be forewarned was to be forearmed. He was sure Mr. Curtler's warning woull be taken to heart, and that they would be prepared to adopt all necessary precau- tious— to separate those of their cattle which might be attacked by foot-and-mouth disease from the rest of the flocks and herds, aud prevent the infection from being carried into their neighbours' fold-yards. With regard to the question of amalga- mation, while he believed a union of the societies would tend very much to the advantage of agriculture throughout the dis- trict, he must remind them that advances had been made by this society, and it was well known that they were ready to amalga- mate on fair and equal terms with other societies. But he did not think the whole burden of the necessary negotiations and arrangements should be thrown on this county. The Gloucestershire Society should take active steps to give effect to Mr. Holland's views before he would recommend the committee of their society to spend further time in trying to bring about an amalgamation. Mr. WuiTAKER said he must allude to a painful subject, namely, the small support received by the Chamber of Agri- culture from uoblemen and geutlemeu in the county. He asserted that every landlord should enrol his name as a mem- ber of the Chamber. There were some unreasonable men iu all societies, but as long as the Chamber displayed the mode- ration it had hitherto shown — not advocating fancy measures, but only requiring justice — it was the duty of the landlords to support the tenantry. It was for the tenantry also to do their duty. Every farmer renting 100 acres a year should cousidcr himself bound to join the Chamber, which should number at least 2,000 members. He was sure that if the gentry and farmers throughout the county lent a helping hand to the Chamber, great good might be done without advocating ex- treme measures. Mr. Trinder said allusion had been made to the question of amalgamation witii the Gloucestershire and Herefordshire Societies. It must be borne in mind tiiat two years ago this Society took the iuitiatlve iu the matter,but neither of the other counties received the proposal with approval. It should also be remembered that the Worcestershire Society had not only held its own, but had increased year by year in strength and popu- larity. If further steps were taken in the matter, they must emanate from the Gloucestershire and Herefordsliire Societies. He could not but express iiis regret that, meeting as they did ou the borders of Herefordshire, tiie cherry sides and white faces had not more largely competed for the prizes offered. Should this arise from jealousy of tiie favour shown to the more fashionable Shorthorns by the giving of a challenge prize, he, for one, as an admirer of tiie llerefords would be happy to subscribe his guinea towards providing another challenge cup, to be competed for ou a future occasion by breeders of tiiat class of animals. Mr. Buck said although he had assisted iu the endeavour to bring about the amalgamatiou spoken of, he believed, look- ing at the results of the last few shows, that if other societies did not wish to join them, they could reasonably hope to hold their own, aud to increase the influence of the Society. THE FAEMEE'S MAGAZINE. 301 AIRDALE AGEICULTURAL SOCIETY. The fifth annual show of this young but flourish- ing Society was held at Bingley. The town, from the early morning till late in the night, jiresented a scene of great bustle and animation. The main street was neatly lined with fir trees, which were fixed in the ground at the edge of the curb stones, and at different points there were erected triumphal arches, which were decked with heather and artificial flowers. The streets were closely packed on one side with all manner of stalls, and in Myrtle Place and on the south sido of Ireland Bridge, there were a large number of shows. Thousands of per- sons crov^ded the streets, and several very heavily-laden trains arrived during the morning, when the town be- came very crowded, despite the large numbers who were attracted to the show ground, which was at a distance from the town. Considering the moderate size of the town in connection with which tlie show is lield, it is higlily credi- table to the district that tlie prize-list reaches the handsome total of £350 — about £50 in advance of last year. fVom the starting of the society in 1866, each successive sliow has been a marked improvement on the preceding one, and this year's, therefore, has been the best of the series. The entries were fully fifty in excess of last year, and the show in every respect was one of great excellence. The entries in the horse department were large, and the display was first-class, many of the animals shown possessing sterling merit. In the hunter class the cup was carried away by Mr. E. Charlesworth's Monarque. In the roadster stallion class, Merrylegs, shown by Mr. John Smith, Shipton, Market Weigliton, took the cup ; and a like distinction was carrred ofi' in the drauglit staUion class, by Mr. James Forshaw, Burley-in-Wharfedale, with Nonsuch. The show of cattle was decidedly superior. The competition was very close, and in cousecpieuce of the great merit of many of the animals shown, the judges' work was rendered very difficult. In the Sliorthorn class Mr. Statter, of Whitefleld, and Mr. Hutchiuson, Catterick, who was a large exhibitor, tooK. the first prizes. Pigs were numerous and a remarkably fine show, the majority of the animals being of a very superior kind. Sheep were a numerous show, and on the whole the quality was good for the country in which they were exhibited. In dogs there was a capital show both in numbers and breed. The show of poultry was also good. The black and other red game birds were a fiue class, and the cup was taken by Mr. E. Ackroyd, Eccleshill, with a very beautiful couple of game-fowl. The hurdle leaping drew together anaudience numbering several thousands. JUDGES. Cattle a^d Sheep. — G. Smart, Woodhouse Grange, Aber- ford, South Mil ford ; J. Coates, Clapham. Horses. — G. Holmes, Bar House, Beverley ; J. Wildcrs, Croston Park. Pigs. — W. Hornsly, Stittenham,York. CATTLE. (Open to aU.) Sliorthorn bull, any age. — First prize, silver cup, W. Tillot- son, Marsden Hall, Burnley ; second, T. Statter, jun.. Stand Hall, Whitefield. Shorthorn cow or heifer, any age. — First prize, silver cup, T. H. Hutchinson, Manor House, Catterick ; second, T. Statter. (Open to tenant-famers who are chiefly dependent on their farms for a living.) Shorthorn buU, above twelvemonths old. — First prize, J. Robertshaw, Grange, AUerton ; second, T. Garforth, Men- ston, near Otley. Shorthorn bull calf, under twelvemonths old. — First prize, T. Hird, Small House, Skipton ; second, T. H. Hutchiuson. Shortl'orn cow or heifer, above two years old.— First prize, T. H. Hutchinson ; second, J. Ilobertshaw. Shorthorn heifer, under two years old. — First prize, J. At- kinson, Deer Park, Bingley ; second, T. Hird. Shorthorn lieifer calf, under twelvemonths old. — First prize, T. H. Hutchiuson ; second, T. Hird ; extra, S. Atkinson, Thornton-road, Bradford. (Confined to the parish of Bingley, or a circuit of four miles from the Market-place, and to have been in the possession of the exhibitors one month previous to the 30th August, 1871.) Cow, for dairy purposes. — First prize, silver cup, Miss Bent- ley, Allerton ; second, W. H. Jackson, Keighley. HORSES. Hunter. — First prize, silver cup, E. Charlesworth, Bradford; second, C. Semon, Bradford ; third, B. Nicholson, Garforth. Leaper. — First prize, silver cup, E. Charlesworth ; second, J. M. Andrew, Albion Hotel, Dewsbury. Roadster stallion. — First prize, silver cup, J. Smith, Ship- ton, Market Weighton; second, J. Gill, Ilowden Park, Silsden. Draught stallion. — First prize, silver cup, J. Forshaw, Burley-iu-Wharfedale ; second, T. Statter. Horse or mare in single harness. — First prize, silver cup, T. Marshall, Bradford; second, J. Smith, Piccadilly, Bradford. Nag or roadster. — First prize, silver cup, E. Salt, Ferny- hurst, Shipley; second, II. Mason, Bankfield, Bingley. Cob, under 15 hands. — First prize, silver cup, J. H.Smith ; second, E. Charlesworth , Roadster brood mare. — First prize, H. Mason ; second, Mrs. J. W. Rhodes, Huddersfield. Roadster gelding or filly, three years old. — First prize, J. W. MiUs, Clieviu Grange, Guiseley ; second, F. Mitchell, Brad- ford. Roadster, gelding, or filly, two years old. — First prize, J. F. Crowther, Mirfield ; second, J. Keighley. Roadster, gelding, or filly, one year old. — First prize, J. Scriven, Throstle Nest, Otley ; second, T. Parker, Old Carr Head, Crossbills. Draught brood mare.— First prize, T. Statter, Stand Hall, Manchester ; second, L. Freer, liouldsworth, Ovenden. Draught gelding or filly, three years old. — First prize, J'. Moore, Cottingley ; second, R. Layfield, Denton. Draught gelding or filly, two years old. — First prize, E. and W. Pawson, Burley-in-Wharfedale ; second, W. Anderton, Bingley. Draught gelding or fdly, one year old. — First prize, J. and H. Cringles ; second, E. Haley, Dean Lane Head, Allerton. Mare or gelding, for agricultural or general purposes. — First prize, silver cup, Bottomley and Sons, Buttershaw Mills, Bradford ; second, T. Statter. Pony, above ISj hands and not exceeding 1-i liands. — First prize, W. White, West Villa, Doncaster; second (uame omitted). Pony, under 12-2^ hands. — First prize, J. Anderton, Bing- ley ; second, T. Statter, jun. Pony leaper, above 12J hands and not exceeding 14 hands. First prize, J. M. Andrew, Dewsbury; second, J.Hudson, Bowling Hotel, Bradford. Pony leaper, under 12^ hands. — First prize, T. Wall, Keighley; second, T. J. Sunderland, Coley Hall, Halifax. SHEEP. LEICESTER OR LOMG-WOOLLED. Ram, any age. — Prize, C. and W. Dovener, Sunley Rains, Ripon. Ram lamb. — First prize, C. and W. Dovener ; second, R. Sun, Fellisclifif, Ripley. Pen of three ewes, any age. — First and second prizes, C. and W. Dovener. Pen of three ewe lambs. — First prize, C. and W. Dovener ; second, R. Surr. 302 THE TARMER'S MAGAZINE. L02JKS. Kara, any age. — First prize, B. Dobsou, Ilkley ; second, W. Eiley, Oakworth. Ram lamb. — First prize, B. Dobson ; second, J. Smitb, Hainwortb, Keighley. Pen of three ewes, any age. — First prize, J. Dinsdale, Esley Head, Keighley ; second, C. Sedgwick, Ryddlesden Hall, Keighley. Pen of three ewe lambs.— First prize, B. Dobson ; second, Smith and Hanson, Uttley. Ewe lamb. — First prize, B. Dobson ; second, Smith and Hanson, CROSS-BKEDS. Pen of three ev/e lambs, first cross from Lonks.— First and second prizes, J. Gill, Silsden. PIGS. Boar, large breed. — First and second prizes, W. Lister, Armley. Boar, middle breed. — First prize, cup, J. E. Fox, Great Hortou ; second, F. Ambler, Halifax. Boar, small breed. — First prize, C. R. N. Beswicke-Royds, Littleborough ; second, W. Lister. Sow, large breed, — First prize, W. Lister; second, F. Ambler. Sow, middle breed. — ^First prize, J. C. Taylor, Oatlands ; second, J. Rudd, Horton. Sow, small breed. — First prize, C. Roberts, Wakefield; se- cond, C. R. N. Beswicke-Royds. Boar, large breed, under nine months. — First prize, T. Hutton, Bingley ; second, J. Umpleby, Guiseley. Boar, middle breed, under nine mouths. — First and second prizes, C. McDonnell, Keighley. Boar, small breed, under nine months. — First prize, S. Ree- day, Keighley ; second, J. Hillas, Bradford Moor. Gilt, large breed, under niue months. — First prize, J. Um- pleby ; second, J. Reeday. Gilt, middle breed, under nine months.— First prize, C. R. N. Beswicke-Royds ; second, C. McDonnell. Gilt, small breed, under nine months.— J. Hillas ; second, W. Lockwood, Guiseley. Store pig, under nine months.— First and second prizes, J. Brumfitt, Sheepscar. Fat pig, under twelve months. — First prize, W. Dewhirst, Halifax ; second, J. Spencer, Farnhill, Kildwick. LABOfRING SIE:!J'S PREMIUMS. Sow, any breed. — First prize, Z. Steel, Keighley ; second, T. Burns, Keighley. Gilt, any breed, under nine months.- First prize, T.Bams ; second, J. Smith, Bingley. Store pig, under nine months. — First and second prizes, Dracup and Roe, Saltaire. Fat pig, under twelve months.— First prize, Dracup and Roe ; second, \Y. Boyce, Baildon. GLOUCESTERSHIRE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. MEETING AT CHELTENHAM. The cattle and sheep, which occupy the premier position in the catalogue, are the weak point of the show ; the number of entries originally was not very large, and at the last moment it was considerably reduced by the withdrawal of several from competition from a very excusable dread of the foot-and-mouth disease, which has so unfortunately broken out in the county. In the Sliorthorn classes there was a better show than of Herefords. The bull. Lord of the Forest, shown in class 1, by Mr. R. E. Oliver, of Towcester, was second at Guildford In class 2, Mr. R. Stratton was the only exhibitor, with two young bulls. In class 4, Mr. Stratton took the first award for his roan bull James I., and a roan cow with roan calf by his Majesty. Mr. W. Bradburu took first honours for breeding cows, and was second to Mr. Stratton's first for heifers under three years. In the Hereford classes the most successful ex- hibitor was Mr. Morris, of Stanley Pontlarge, without whose entries, the Herefords, indeed, would have been almost " con- spicuous by their absence," while, as it was, there was just about a prize for each animal of this breed exhibited. The loug-wooUed sheep comprised only sixteen entries, and were chiefly Cotswolds, of which breed the late Mr. Gillett's execu- tors, and Mr. H. Cole, of Cireucester, were the most successful exhibitors. Sliort-wools were slightly more numerous than the long, and the chief prizes were taken by Colonel Kings- cote, Sir W. Throckmorton, and Mr. Wallis. The pigs were numerous, and the show of Berksliires particularly fine. The hunters, with the exception of those which took first and second prizes, were below par, looking more like flashy light- weight liorses than fourteen-stone hunters. Of the five-year- olds the well-known Misfortune took the red riband, second honours going to a very promising young horse. The Rajah, belonging to Mr. Charles Harland. The Admiral, a grey gelding, three years old, having been amiss, did not show to advantage. Major Quentin's horse never was dangerous except to his master, who, " provoking a caper which he seemed to chide," got put on the small of his back in the arena, while his horse showed his leaping powers by clearing the ropes, and disappearing among the crowd. Amongst the hacks not exceeding 15 hands, and numbering thirteen Mr. R. N. Hooper's The Hart, admirably shown by taptain Ballard, took first prize, and a blood-looking chesnut, belonging to Major Quentin, second place ; while Lizzie, the property of Mr. Cook, a cobby mare, escaped notice altogether though she took first prize at Malvern last week for jumping, where she was never placed in her class, and at Kidderminster last 3'ear first prizes as a hack and as a jumper. Of thoroughbred stallions there were six entries. Redoubt by ArtiUery took the first prize, and Umpire second place. Umpire's stock have proved well, and it was only last week that Not-out, one of his sous, won the Ebor Handicap, at York ; the day after his sire won the first prize at Malveru. A 1, the grey horse, already the winner of eleven prizes, took the first prize for cart horses ; and the second prize was given to Mr. Manning's Young Cliarapion. First prize for cart mares and foals was taken by Lord Sudeley, for a great roomy mare. Beauty, witli a foiil at her foot, and the Duke of Beaufort ran second with a slashing grey mare. Glen, showing great power and substauce, with a fine colt by her side. Of implements there was a thoroughly-varied show, belong- ing to Messrs. Alexander and Pumphrey (Cirencester), James and Son (Cheltenham), R. and A. Lister (Dursley), J. and H. Fovey (Cireucester), and Messrs. Savory and Son (Glou- cester). Several of the steam-engines and so forth were at vvork on each day, and attracted all the more practical of the sight-seers. PRIZE LIST. Cattle.— T. Mace, R. J. Newton. SuEEP AND Sheep Dogs. — E. Little, R. H. Masfen, T. Porter. Cart Horses. — W. Allen, E. J. Monis. Riding Horses. — J. Capel Croome, Sir Reginald Graham, Colonel Kingscote. Cheese. — E. Bretherton, D. Long. Implements.— Captain De Winton, T. Lawrence. CATTLE. shorthorns. Bull above two years old, — First prize, R. E. Oliver, Sliool- brook-lodge, Towcester; second, F. Leybourne, Popham, Hunchctt-liouse, Bristol. Above one and under two years old. — First prize, R. Strat- ton, Burderop, Swindon ; second, R. Stratton. Bull calf under twelve months old. — First prize, R. Strat- ton ; second, C. Hobbs, Maisey-Hampton, Cricklade. Bull, cow, and offspring. — Prize, R. Stratton. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 303 Breediug cows. — First prize, W. Bradburn, "VVednesfield, 'Wolverhampton ; second, Miss F. Strickland, Apperley-court, near Tewkesbury. Highly commended : Lord Fitzhardinge ; J, Limbrick, Iron-Acton, Bristol ; Miss Fr. Strickland. Heifer under three years old. — First prize, R. Stratton; second, W. Bradburn, Wednesfield. Heifer under two years old. — First prize, E.. Stratton ; second, R. Stratton. Heifer calf under 13 months old. — First prize, R. Strat- ton ; second, T. Morris, Maisemore-court. HERETORDS. BtiII above two years old. — Prize, J. Walker, Westfield House, Holmer. Bull calf under twelve months old, — First and second prizes, W. Taylor, Showle Court, Ledbury, Herefordshire. Bull, cow, and offspring. — Prize, E. J. Morris, Stanley Font- large, Winchcomb. Breeding cow. — Prize, E. J. Morris. Heifer under two years old. — E. J. Morris. Heifer calf, under twelve months old. — Prize, T. Cadle, Longcroft, Westbiiry on Severn. SHEEP. lONGWOOLS. Five theaves.— Prize, S. W. D. Harris, Wootton, Northamp- ton. Ram of any age. — Prize, Executors of the late T. Gillett, Kilkenny, Faringdon. Commended : T. Beale-Browne, Sal- perton, Andoversford, Cheltenham. Shearling ram. — First and second prizes. Executors of the late T. Gillett. Five ewe lambs. — Prize, H. Cole, Ashbrook, Cirencester. Five ram lambs. — H. Cole. SUORTWOOLS. Five theaves. — First and second prize, Col. Kingscote, C.B., M.P., Kingscote Park, Wootton-under-Edge. Ram of any age. — First prize. Col. Kingscote ; second, H. S. Waller, Farmington, Nortlxleach. Shearling ram. — First prize. Col. Kingscote ; second, W. Playne, Longfords House, Minchinhampton. Five ewe lambs. — Prize, F. Gillett, Burford. Five ram lambs. — Prize, Sir W. Throckmorton, Bart., Buckland, Faringdon. Oxfordshire and Shropshire ram, of any age. — Prize, G. Wallis, Old Shifford, Bampton, Faringdon. Commended : G. Wallis. Shearling ram.— Prize, G. WaUis. SHEEP DOGS. Sheep dog of the English breed. — First prize, W. Lawrence, Brockworth Park, Gloucester ; second, A. Stewart, Sainthridge, Gloucester. PIGS. Boar under a year old. — First prize, R. Swanwick, Royal Agricultural College Farm, Cirencester ; second, Lord Fitz- hardinge. Boar pig more than a year old. — First prize, H. Humfrey, Kingstone Farm, Shrivenham ; second, J. Wheeler and Sons, Long Compton, Slupstou-on-Stour. Three sow pigs of the same litter under nine months old. — First prize, R. Swanwick ; second, J. H. Elwes, Colesbourne. Sow pig for breeding purposes. — First prize, A. Stewart, Gloucester ; second, J. W. Wheeler and Sons. Sow and pigs.— First prize. Lord Fitzhardinge ; second, R . Swanwick. HORSES. Stallion for agricultural purposes, above two years old.— First prize, £30, W. Wynn, Grafton ; second, £10, J. Manning, Orlingbury. Mare and foal (her own offspring) for agricultural purposes. —First prize, £10, Lord Sudeley, Toddington ; second, £o, Duke of Beaufort, Badminton. Commended : S. Davis, near Pershore. Gelding or filly for agricultural purposes, under three years old.— First prize, £5, S. Davis, Woolashill ; second, £3 10s., J. Sivill, Longford. Stallion calculated to get hunters or hacks.— Prize, H. Brown, Swindon. . Hunting mare or gelding of any age.— First prize, £30, F. B. Jones, Cheltenham; second, £10, W. R. Helman, Chelten^ ham. Hunting mare or gelding under five years old.— First prize, £15, C. Cook, Taddington ; second, £7 10s., Chas. Harland, Cheltenham. Mare calculated to breed hunters, with her foal at foot, got by a thorough-bred horse.- Prize, £10, W. Slatter, Dalin- worth. Hack not exceeding 15 hands. — First prize, £10, R. N. Hooper, Cowbridge; second, £5, Major Quentin, Chelten^ ham. Pony above 13 and under 14. hands high.— First prize, £8, Major Quentin ; second, M, Major Quentin. Pony not exceeding 13 hands high.— First prize, £5, E. Phillimore, Cheltenham ; second, £3, G. Houghton, Tewkes- bury. JUMPING PRIZES. (Gift of the Cheltenham Local Committee.) For the best jumper in class 39, for hunters of any age, prize, G. J. Lawson, Chepstow. For the best jumper in Class 40, for hunters under five years old, prize, H, Clinton, Tewkesbury. For the best jumper in class 42, for hacks not exceeding 15 hands, prize, C. Cook, Teddington. For the best jumper in class 44, pony not exceeding 13 hands, G. Houghton, Tewkesbury. IMPLEMENTS. Collection of implements for agricultural purposes.— First prize £10, J. and H. Tovey, Cirencester ; second, £5, James and Son, Cheltenham. Implement or implements of merit, prizes to be given at the discretion of the judges.— £2 Alexander and Pumphrey, Ciren- cester, for litter cutter ; £2 P. and H. P. Gibbons, Wantage, Berks, a straw elevator ; £2, Brown and May, North Wilts Foundry, Devizes, for a steam-engine, water heated by con- densed steam ; £2 to R. A. Lister, Dursley, Gloucestershire, for a safety lever chaff cutter ; £1 to J. Merret, Birdlip, Gloucestershire, for a double plough ; £1 to C. F. Webb, Stratton, Cirencester, for an agricultural cart. CHEESE. Cwt. of thick cheese.— First prize, G. Gibbons, Tunley Farm , near Bath ; second, S. M. Harding, Nupdown, Thornbury. Cwt. double cheese, first prize, J. Smith, Nupdown, Thorn- bury ; second, G. Harris, Court House Farm, Cam, Dursley. Cwt. thin cheese — Prize, G. Harris. THE WEST GLOUCESTERSHIRE FARMERS' CLUB. The Club embraces a large area, its operations extending over Mangotsfield, Winterbouine, Frampton, Cotterell, Wester- leigh, Pucklechurch, Wick and Abson, Dryham and Hinton, Wapley and Codrington, Doynton, Siston, Bitlou, St. George's, Stapleton, Stoke Gifford, Filton, Horfield, Westbury-upon- Trym, Henbury, Iron Acton, Yate, Dodington, Chipping Sod- bury, Almondsbury, Bristol, Thornbury, Littleton, Elberton, Olveston, and Alveston. In all these places local committees have been formed to promote the objects of the Associarion, and their efforts appear to have been successful iii all respects. for the meeting was, on the whole, the best the Clvib has ever held. It was held on Kingswood-hill. PRIZE LIST. HORSES. Gelding or filly, above three years old, for hunting purposes. —First prize, J. Monntstephen, Almondsbury ; second, H. Grace, Kingswood. Mare or gelding, above four years old, equa to 1-i stoiie 30-1 THE FARMER'S MAG-AZINE. with hounds. — rirst prize, H. Grace ; second, L. Cornock, Kington. Jumping prizes. — First prize, H. Grace, for SuuOf-box ; second, il. Grace, for Grasshopper. Mare and foal for hunting purposes. — First prize, G. H. Jones, Dodington ; second, J. Matthews, Frampton Court. Cart mare and foal. — First prize, J. Williams, Olveston; second, T. Parker, Stoke Gifford. Gelding or filly for agricultural purposes, under three years old. — First prize, W. H. WilUams, Dodington ; second, H. J. Highnam, Dyrham. Gelding or filly, under three years old, for hunting or carriage purposes. — First prize, S. Young, llorthani ; second, H. Hewitt. Yearling colt or filly, suited for liunting or carriage pur- poses.— First prize, W. Lawrence, Westerleigh ; second, G. F. Worlock, Codrington Court. Pony, not exceeding 13 hands. — First prize. Rev. A. G. Morris, Fishponds ; second, W. Jefferies, Warmley. CATTLE. Fat ox. — First and second prize, T. Walters, Grimsby Court. Fat cow, above four years. — First prize, W.Tayler, Chipping Sodbury ; second, 11. lies, Wapley. Fat steer, under four years. — First and second prize, B. Pool, Olveston. Pair of steers, under three years. — First prize, H. Williams, Heubury ; second, Sir G. S. Jenkinson, Bart., M.P., Eastwood Park. Bull, cow, and offspring. — First prize, W. II. Williams, Dodington ; second, J. Yalland, Fishponds. Bull, above two years. — First prize, C. Keen, Littleton-on- Severn ; second, 11. J. Highnam, Dyrham. Bull, above one and under two years. — Mrs. M. Young, Alveston ; second, W. Savage, Hinton. Bull calf. — First prize, W. H. Williams, Dodington ; second, G. Anstey, Hinton. Best bnll of any class or breed. — C. Keen, Littleton-on- Severn. Dairy cow, in milk or calf, above three years. — First prize, J. Lirabrick, Iron Acton ; second, W. B. Limbrick, Yate. Pair of heifers, above two and under three years, in calf. — First prize, W. II. Williams, Dodington ; second, Mrs. M. Young, Alveston. Pair of lieifers, above one and under two years. — First prize, H. Williams, Henbury ; second, W. U. Williams, Dod- ington. Pair of heifers, above one and under two years. — First prize, J. Godfrey, I3arr's Court ; second, H. Williams, Henbury. Pair of heifer calves. — First prize, J.Godfrey; second, J. Thomas, Gaunt's Earthcott. SHEEP. Long-wooUed or cross-bred shearhog ram. — Prize, G. II. Jones, Dodington. Ram of any breed. — First prize, J. Matthews, Frampton Cotterell ; second, G. H. Jones. Five fat wethers. — First and second prizes, T. Knight, Westerleigh. Five fat ewes. — First prize, Mrs. F. Blanche, Latteridge ; second, C. Pendock, Mangotsfield. Five G-tootli wethers.— Prize J. Parker, Stoke Gifford. Five 6-tooth ewes. — First prize, C. Pendock ; second, II. Hewitt, Coalpit lleatli. Five 4-tooth ewes. — First prize, Mrs. Blanclie ; second, C. Pendock. Five 4-tootli ewes.— First prize, C. Pendock : second, II- Hewitt. Five breeding 2 tooUi ewes.— Prize, W. Alway, Dyrham. Five breeding 'J-tooth ewes. — First prize, Mrs. Blanche ; second, C. Pendock. Pen of breeding ewes. — Prize, C. Pendock. Five chilver lambs.- First prize, J. Matthews; second, Mrs. Blanche. Five wether lambs.— First prize, Mrs. Blanche; second, J. Matthews. PIGS. Fat pig. — First prize, S. Davis, Bristol ; second, J.Godfrey, Barrs Court. Boar above sis months and under two years old. — First prize, J. Dove, Hambrook ; second, R. Heraber, Westbury. Breeding sow above twelve montlis in farrow, or having farrowed within three months. — First prize, Mrs. Matthews, Wick ; second, R. Hember. Four pigs under nine mouths old. — First prize, S. Davis ; second, Mrs. Blanche. Fat pig, the property of an agricultural labourer. — First prize, AV. Yeoman, Soundwell ; second, S. Gunt«r, St. George's. CHEESE. Cwt. of thick cheese made on exhibitor's farm. — First prize, R. Phelphs, Doynton , second, E. Williams, Oldland Common. Ditto thin. — First prize, R. lies, Wapley; second, J. Batley. Hinton. Ditto, made in T. Brown's improved opening vats, — Prize, R. Phelps. Prizes were also awarded to servants and ploughmen. At tlie dinner. Sir George Jenkinson, M.P., said he knew politics were eschewed at these meetings, but that he did not think that rule ought to prevail so strictly now as it did twenty years ago. The farming interest was not now what it was twenty years ago. The farmers had a very different race in life now to what they had twenty or thirty years ago. Every man must look out lor himself now, and every interest must look out for itself ; and he said, without the least hesitation, that farmers, if they wanted to take their part and to succeed in the struggle of life, and to have their interests looked after, must look after politics just as much as other men. There must be no exception on the score of politics or anything else for the farmers any more than for the merchants and traders of this country ; and, although they might eschew all party conflict and all acrimonious expressions at meetings of that sort, he did not think it was possible for any agricultural body to hold tlieir peace in the struggle of this life ; and he did not think it was possible to exclude from these meetings all subjects, merely because they were political, seeing that they bore as much upon the agricultural class as any other. He regretted extremely that one of their county members was not there that afternoon ; he meant the one who had lately spoken after so plain and manly a fashion. He (Sir George) had read with the greatest satisfaction and pleasure the remarks which, as an English country gentleman, as a farmer, as an English county member, and as member for West Gloucester- shire, Colonel Kingscote lately made at the Badminton Farmers' Club, and also at the Kingscote Farmers' Club, altiiough it might, perhaps, be matter of question whether all the Colonel's friends would read them with as much satisfaction. Still, he rJways spoke well of the bridge that carried him over, and when he saw a man who repre- sented part of his (Sir George's) county speak as he did, he had some hopes that there was some good in him yet. He wished the other county member had been present, and had spoken as Colonel Kingscote did at those two meetings. He thought that they, as farmers, had a right to look back at the last session of Parliament and review what the Legislature had done in favour of the agricultural classes. He confessed that he could see nothing that it liad done. It seemed to him as if every fresh impost was to be put on the agricultural classes iu the shape of rates, and that no relief was ever to be given to them in the way of spreading those rates over all classes of property. There was a General Rating of Property Bill brought in by the Government this year, and it was brought in by a gentleman who was supposed to be a very good President of the Poor-law Board; but the moment he had brought forth that child he was taken away and put to nurse another. He was placed at the head of the Admiralty, and he (the speaker) did not think he had done so much good at the Admiralty as he would probably have done had he been left to nurse the child he himself was the father to. That unfortunate child, he regretted to say, was not entirely immaculate, because there was in one page a mistake of over twenty millions. He hoped, however, that next year they would have the rating question properly dealt with by Govern- ment, and have some home legislation carried through. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 305 WIRRAL AGRICULTURAL SOCITY. MEETING AT BIRKENHEAD, Although the Meeliug was tliis year confined to one day, the number of entries was almost as great as last year, when the show remained open for three days, there being only about 40 fewer. In explanation of the circumstance that only one day was this year allotted, it should be stated that there was an objection on the part of the agriculturists to allow their stock to remain so long as three days, and also that the committee bore in mind the fact of tlie Manchester and Liver- pool Society's show coming next week. The horses entered last year numbered 131, whilst this year they were 132 ; cattle 6i, against 75 this year; sheep 91, against Oi ; pigs 98, against 211; poultry 221, against 198; dogs 211, against 229. No doubt the foot-and-mouth disease, now prevalent throughout the county, interfered with the show of cattle, inasmuch as many owners refrained from becoming exhibitors on that account. With regard to the horses, the agricultural class was not so well represented as last year, but there was an improvement in the lighter description. The sheep were not e(£ual to last year's, but the cattle were better, and the same remark applies to the poultry, and also to the dogs. The dogs, indeed, formed an exceedingly attractive feature, com- prising as they did many beautiful specimens of the favourite breeds. The most attractive fealure of the show was the trial of hunters in the afternoon, the grand stand and the ground immediately surrounding the enclosure being crowded. During the leaping a very serious mishap unfortunately occurred. Among the competitors was a cob belonging to Mr. John Wainwright, of Upton, which was ridden by a boy. The ani- mal went over the fence and the ditch, but it made a " bolt" towards the gateway at the west end of the ground, and knocked down several persons. One gentleman was severely hurt on the face. He received a cut under the lower jaw, was greatly shaken, and bled profusely. Mr. Henry Churton, the coroner foi South Cheshire, who is connected with the me- dical profession, being on the ground, rendered every assist- ance, as did also Mr. Lamb, surgeon, of Birkenhead. An- other gentleman was found lying in a fainting state, appearing to have received an injury to the collar bone ; whilst a third had received a cut on the side of the head. All the suflFerers were immediately attended to, and those most severely injured were taken to the Birkenhead Borough Hospital. The arrangements in connexion with the ground were ably carried out under the direction of Mr. Robert Dobsou, of Rock Ferry. PRIZE LIST, JUDGES. Horses. — Hunters and Roadsters ; Colonel Cholraondeley, Abbot's Grange, Nantwich ; W. Lort, The Cotteridge, King's Norton ; Captain H. Cotton, Pentre Island, Plint. Agricultural: W. Dale, Liverpool; R. Kenwick, Shrews- bury ; Owen, Norris-green, Liverpool. Cattle. — Morton, Skelmergh Hall, Kendal; Pickering, Poulton, Wrexham. SuEEP. — Roberts, Sealands, Chester; Horton, Harnage Grange, Salop. Grain and Roots, Cheese, Butter, and Implements. — Wise, Upton Manor Farm, Birkenhead ; Webster, Stone- house, Litherland ; Wheelhouse, Guildon Sutton, Chester. Consulting Engineer. — Maxwell Scot. HORSES. Thoroughbred entire horse. — First prize, R. C. Naylor, Hooton Hall, Chester ; second, W. Johnson, Shotwick Lodge, Chester. Entire horse for draught or agricultural purposes. — First prize, A. Cook, Mutch Hoole, Preston ; second, J. Statter, New Brighton. Mare for agricultural purposes, with foal at foot, or that has had a foal this year. — First prize, W. Dale, Thornton Lodge, Neston ; second, J. Sumnerj Upton. Gelding or filly for agricultural purposes, foaled after Jail. 1, 1869. — Firstprize, J. Simpson, Court House, Bromborough Pool ; second, J. Jones, Saughall, Cheshire. Colt, gelding, or filly, for agricultural purposes, foaled after January 1, 1870. — First prize, J. Haddock, Capenhurst ; second, W. Dale. Foal for aj;ricultural purposes. — First prize, J.Sumner; second, J . Maddock. Hunter. — First prize, J. Statter; second, G, G. Belcher, Holmstead, Mossley-hill, Liverpool. Jumper over hurdles and water. — First prize, R. J. Van- derkiste, Birkenhead; second, T. H. Jackson, Manor House, Claughtou ; third, S. L. Radford, Raby, and T. B. Brierley, Tattenhall, Cheshire. Lady's horse, of any age or sex, for horses regularly ridden by ladies and owned by themselves or some member of their family, and not under 15 hands high. — First prize, J. Torr, Carlett Park, Easthara ; second, S. Kirby, Manchester; third, A. Hutton, Malvern Lodge, Oxton. Gelding or mare, 15 hands or upwards. — First prize, G. G, Belcher ; second. Colonel Kenuard, Dawpool. Mare, 14 hands and upwards, with foal at foot. — First prize, Hon. Sir E. Oust, Leasovve Castle, Birkenhead ; second, W. D, Briscoe, Neston. Gelding or mare, 14 hands and under 15 hands. — First prize, A. Woods, The Grange, Sefton ; second, T, Fildes, East Beach, Lytham. Cob, gelding, or mare, 12 hands and under 14 hands. — First prize, S. L. Radford ; second, J. Torr. Pony, gelding, or mare, under 12 hands. — First prize, J. C. Rogerson, Manchester ; second, M, A. RaUi, Fairfield ; third, T. H. Jackson. Jumping cob, 12 hands and under 14 hands. — First prize, J. Wainwright, Upton, Chester ; second, J. Stevenson, Chester. Jumping pony, under twelve hands. — First prize, T. Jones, jun., Neston, Chester ; second, J. Wainwright. Extra stock. — First prize, W. Robinson, Little Altcar; second, R. Jones, Moreton. Special prizes for Donkeys. — First; prize, C. E. Ince, Pren- ton ; second, J. Prince, Oxton Village. CATTLE. (Restricted to farmers residing within the Society's district, and principally dependent on their farms.) Bull of any breed, calved after January 1, 1869. — First prize, Samuel Oxton, Storeton ; second, T. Westray, Spital, Bull of any breed, calved after January 1, 1870. — First prize, T. Westray ; second, R. Jones. Dairy cow, — First prize, W. D. Briscoe; second, T. Westray. Heifer, calved after January 1, 1869. — First and second prize, W. Rose, Barnston. Heifer, calved after January 1, 1870. — Firstprize, W. Dale j second, T. Parry, Neston, Chester. Calf, calved after January 1, 1871. — First prize, Mr. Wheel- house, Guildeu Sutton ; second, T. Westray. (Open for general competition.) Siiorthoru bull, calved after January 1, 1869. — First prize, J. Outhwaite, Bainnesse, Catterick* second, T. Statter, jun., Stand Hall, Whitefield, Manchester. ' Shorthorn bull, calved after January 1, 1870. — First prize, E. Musgrove, Aughton, Ormskirk ; second, Musker and Birch, Aintree. Shorthorn cow. — First prize, J. Outhwaite; second, T. Statter, jun. Shorthorn heifer, calved after January 1, 1869. — First prize, T. Statter, jun. ; second, E. Musgrove. Shorthorn heifer, calved after January 1, 1870. — Firstprize, T. Statter, jun.; second, J. Hart, Bulkeley, Malpai, 306 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. Channel Island cow in milk or calf. — First prize, S. Wil- liamson, Copley, Neston ; second, T. Statter, jun. Cow of any other breed in milk or calf. — First prize, T. Statter, jun. ; second, J. R. De Wolf, Oxton. SHEEP. LEICESTERS, OR ANY OTHER LONG-WOOLLED. Ram under four years. — First prize, G. F. Statter, Broom- hUl, Carlisle ; second, T. H. Hutchinson, Manor House, Catterick. Shearling ram. — First, second, and third prizes, T. H. Hutchinson. Pen of three ewes. — First and second prizes, T. H. Hutch- inson. Pen of three shearling ewes. — First and second prizes, T. H. Hutcliinson ; third, G. F. Statter. Tup lamb. — First prize, J. and W. Pinder, Waddington, Clitheroe ; second and third, T. H. Hutchinson. Three ewe lambs. — First prize, T. H. Hutchinson ; second, J. Torr. Pen of three Cheviot ewes. — First prize, H. Littledale, Liscard, Birkenhead ; second, Mrs. Ziegler, Landican, Birken- head ; third, J. Torr. Best ram under four years. — First prize, S. Griffiths, Argoed Farm, Overton, Ruabon; second, W. Baker, Moorbarns, Atherstone. Shearling ram. — First and second prize, W. Baker ; third, S. Griffiths. Pen of three ewes of any age.— First and second prize, W. Baker. Pen of three shearling ewes. — First and second prize, W. Baker ; third, R. Kynaston, Thornton Hall, Neston. Tup lamb. — First and second prize, W. Baker. Three ewe lambs.— First and second prize, W. Baker. PIGS. LARGE BREED. Sow and litter of not less than six pigs, the pigs not to be more than ten weeks old. — First prize, J. Birch, Sefton; second, T. Rathbone, Backwood Hall, Neston. MIDDLE BREED. Boar of any age. — First prize, W. Gamon, Hoole Cottage, Chester ; second, C. Morriss, Holmleigh, Grassendale. Sow and litter of not less than six pigs, to be not more than ten weeks old. — Prize, J. J. Briscoe. SMALL BREED. Boar of any age. — Prize, C. Morriss. Sow of any breed. — Prize, A. C. Lockwood, Chester. Boar. — Prize, A. C. Lockwood. Extra Stock. — First prize, — Evans, Grange-lane; se- cond, J. Farrall, Sutton Lodge, Chester. GRAIN AND ROOTS. Two bushels white wheat. — First prize, Executors of the late J. Hegan, Dawpool ; second, W. Pulford, Mere Farm, Oxton. Two bushels red wheat. — First prize, Executors of the late J. Hegan ; second, S. Ledward, Hill Bark, Frankby. Two bushels barley. — Prize, C. L. Campbell, Thurstaston Hall. Two bushels of white oats. — First prize, H. Davis, Thorn- ton Grange, Neston; second, Executors of the late J. Hegan. Two bushels of yellow oats. — First and second prizes, H. Littledale. Two bushels black oats.^First and second prizes, H. Davis. Two bushels beans. — Prize, C. Bushell, Hinderton Hall, Neston. Twenty round potatoes. — First prize, T. Hay, Wallasea ; second, W. Marshall, Poulton-cum-Seacombe. Twenty kidney potatoes. — First and second prizes, W. Mar- shall. Sis roots Swedish turnips. — First prize, H. Turner, Thornton Hough, Neston ; second, J. Walker, The Grange, Storeton ; third, C. BusheU. Six roots mangold, long red. — First prize, S. Ledward ; second, W. B. Burnham, Spital; third, the Hon. Sir Edward Cust. Six roots mangold, globe. — First prize, H. Turner ; second, W. B. Burnham ; third, W. Inman, Upon Manor, Birken- head. CHEESE AND BUTTER. Tliree cheeses over 501b. weight each, made in the Society's district. — First prize, W. Dean, Ledsham ; second, G. Knowles, Burton. Three cheeses over 301bs. weight each, and under oOlbs., made in the Society's district. — First prize, W. Dean; second, G. Knowles. Four pounds of butter, made up in half-pounds, made in the district. — First prize, W. Inman ; second, C. Langley, Raby, Neston ; tliird, Mary Brown, Irby, Birkenhead. IMPLEMENTS. Carriages.— Silver medals to R. Main, Birkenhead, for stand-up waggonette ; and E. Davis and Sons, Birkenhead, for park phaeton. Sewing machines. — Silver medals to Singer Manufac- turing Company, Liverpool, for new family scning machine ; the Howe Machine Company, Liverpool, for collection ; I. Bragg and T. H. Stephens, Birkenhead, for collection ; and Tester Sewing Machine Company, Liverpool, for collection. Agricultural implements. — Silver medals to T. Corbett, Shrewsbury ; and Lewis and Co., Shrewsbury. At the dinner, Mr. Laird, M.P., the Chairman, said he had heard some complaints that the prizes were too open ; that this brought cattle from all parts of the country — cattle sent specially for the purpose of getting prizes — and that this did not give a fair cliance to the farmers of the hundred of Wirral. (A Voice : " That is humbug on their part.") Whether it was humbug or not, he (the Chairman) should be sorry to see the Wirral show come to be a second-class meeting ; but that objection could be easily rectified by having one set of prizes open to the country, and another set of prizes confined to the hundred of Wirral. He would urge upon the farmers of the hundred the necessity of persevering in the path of im- provement, so that they might not be left behind by the farmers of Lancashire and other places, but rather that they should beat those who came from " foreign parts" to compete. The Society was established thirty years ago, and during that time a great improvement had taken place in agriculture. With the increased facilities for crossing the Mersey, at the end of three years the Wirral farmers ought to be in a position to show the Liverpool market what they could do. Mr. R. Barton proceeded to show that, as compared with the three-day exhibition last year, there was an increase this year, with a one-day exhibition in almost every class, with the exception of sheep. This result in every respect showed that a one-day show was the best for the Society. The exhibition that day showed a decided progress in the Society, and it also proved that they were gaining confidence and ground in the country generally, which was a fact they might congratulate themselves on. He would urge the desirability of having the prizes open, if they fall back to a competition for the hundred of Wirral only, or for the district only, then the Society would become a very inferior one, and it would not pay. He urged that the farmers should be always trying to be doing something better, and if they were beaten one year they should determine not to be beaten another year. The farmers of the hundred should not confine themselves to exhibiting at the meetings of that society, but they should compete in Warwickshire, Shrop- shire, Yorkscire, Lancashire, and other neighbouring counties , and thus learn the value of stock in those places. If they did that, they would come back and win prizes at their own society. He Ijelieved the show of that day to be as good as usual. He had seldom seen a better class of hunters or of roadsters. He thought there was a falling off in agricultural horses. Mr. T. B. FoRWOOD maintained that the farmers of Wirral were far superior to those of Prussia, Saxony, Belgium, and France. He had been lately on the continent, where he saw the farmers using wooden ploughs and wooden harrows. He never saw an iron plough in Prussia or in Saxony, nor did he see a piece of machinery in either of those countries, and it was not till he got to Holland that he found a piece of ma- chinery, and that was for chopping turnips. THE FARMER'S MAGAZmE, 307 THE HALIFAX AND OALDER YALE AGRICULTURAL ASSOCIATION. MEETING AT HALIFAX. There was aa unusually large entry of stock, and the show was iu every respect successful. PRIZE LIST. JUDGES. Cattle, Sheep, Roots, and Butter.— H. Ambler, Halifax, and S. Watkinson, Gargrave. Horses, Hunters and Roadsters. — H. Sanders, Northamp- ton ; J. H. Skipworth, Brigg ; and E. Langley, Knowlmere. Coaching and Draught Horses : J. Crawshaw, Dews- bury, and W. Godson, Normanby-by-Stow. Wool. — R. Midgley, Horley Green, and D. Crossley, Halifax. Pigs. — J. Eisher, Cross Hills, and S. Barrett, Harewood. Implements. — J. Smith, Lightcliffe, and J. E. Crowther, JVIirfield. CATTLE. (Open to the United Kingdom.) Two years old and aged Shorthorn buU. — Prize, J. Knowles, Wetherby. One-year-old Shorthorn bull.— Prize, T. Statter, jun., White- field. Shorthorn bull calf, under twelve months old. — J. Knowles. Alderney or Guernsey buU, any age. — Prize, T. Riley, My- tholniroyd. Three years old and aged Shorthorn cow.— Prize, Rev. L. C. Wood, Poulton-le-Eylde. Two years old Shorthorn cow. — Prize, T. Statter, jun, Oue-year-old Shorthorn cow. — Prize, T. Statter, jun. Shorthorn Wye calf, under twelve months old. — Prize, T. Statter, jun. Alderney or Jersey cow, any age. — Prize, W. Smith, Hali- fax. Guernsey cow, any age. — Prize, H. Crossley, Halifax. Ayrshire cow, any age.— Prize, T. Statter, jun. Dairy cow, any age or breed, except pure-bred Shorthorn ,— Prize, H. Crossley. Best of any breed or cross breeds, not already classed.- Prize, T. Statter, jun. (Open to farmers in the parish of Halifax and the townships immediately adjoining.) Shorthorn bull, above one year old. — Prize, A. S. Shaw, Southowram. Shorthorn buU calf, under twelve months old. — Prize, J. Crossley, Stones Grange, Todmorden. Three years old and aged Shorthorn cow. — Prize, J. Ban- croft, Ovenden Wood, Hahfax. Two years old Shorthorn cow. — Prize, J. Crossley. One year old Shorthorn cow. — Prize, J. Crossley. Shorthorn Wye calf, under twelve months old. — Prize, J. Robinson, PeUon. Dairy cow, any age or breed, except pure-bred Shorthorn.— Prize, G. Higgin, Hebden Bridge. The borough member's silver cup, for male animal of the Shorthorn breed, of any age above twelve months. — J. Knowles. The vice-president's silver cup, for female animal of the Short- horn breed, of any age above twelve months — T. Statter, jun. The vice-president's silver cnp, for bull in the farmers' class above one year old. — A. S. Shaw. The vice-president's silver cup, for dairy cow, heifer, or calf of any age or breed, or cross breed most likely for milking or dairy purposes, the property of a farmer.— G. Higgin. HORSES. (Open to the United Kingdom.) Hunter, any age. — Eirst prize, silver cup, value 50 guineas, or £5, S. J. Welflt, Louth ; second, £10, E. H. D. Bailey, Ollerton. Leaper, above Hlhands high, any age.— Eirst prize, £5, in addition to the vice-president's silver cup, B. Nicholson, Sturtou Grange, Garforth ; second, ^5, T. Newton, Altrincham. Leaper, 14-^- hands high and under, any age. — first prize, the vice-president's silver cup, or £o, T. W. Townsend, Brow Bridge, Greetland ; second, £3, E. S. Bent, Eallowfield. Roadster stallion, any age. — First prize, the vice-president's silver cup, or £5, J. Smith, Shipton; second, £2 10s., J. GiU, Silsden. Yearling roadster, colt or filly.— Prize, Mrs. Jackson, Har- tishead. Two years old roadster, gelding or filly. — Prize, J. E. Crow- ther, Mirfield. Three years old roadster, gelding or filly. — Prize, T. Mitchell, Bradford. Roadster, mare or gelding, four years old and aged. — Prize, £3, in addition to the vice-president's silver cup, J. Moseley, Levenshulme. Roadster mare and foal.— Prize, Mrs. J. W. Rhodes, Spring- field, Huddersfield. Draught stallion, any age — Prize, the vice-president's silver cup, or £5, J. Eorshaw, Burley-in-Wliarfedale. Yearling draught colt or filly. — Prize, T. Statter, jun. Three years old draught gelding or filly. — Prize, C. W. Brierley, Middleton. Draught mare or gelding, any height, four years old aged.— Prize, the vice-president's silver cup, or £5, C. W. Brierley. Draught mare or gelding, not exceeding 16^ hands high, any age, the property of a tradesman or farmer resident within the parish of Halifax. — Prize, J. Kershaw, Eour Mills, Halifax. Draught mare and foal, — Prize, T. Statter, jun. Carriage horse, any age. — Prize, J. Eoster, Cliffe Hill, Halifax. Pair of carriage horses, any age.— Prize, the president's silver, cup, J. Eoster. Lady's pad. — Prize, the vice-president's silver cup, A. Dug- dale, Rose HiU, Burnley. Cob not exceeding LiJ hands high, any age. — Prize, the vice-president's silver cup, or £5, E. Charlesworth, Bradford. Mare or gelding for harness purposes, any age, to be shown in harness and trap. — Prize, the Society's silver cup, or £5, B. Waud, Lightcliffe. Pony not exceeding 13J hands high, any age, to be shown in harness and trap. — Prize, the Society's silver cup, or £5, J. G. Hey, Cleckheaton. Pony, not exceeding 13^ hands high, any age. — Prize, John Maude, Leeds. Pony, not exceeding 12 hands high, any age.— Prize, J. C. Rogerson, Manchester. SHEEP. Ram of any age or breed. — Prize, L. J. Crossley, Willow Hall, Halifax. Pen of three Leicester ewes, any age. — Prize, L. J. Cross- ley. Pen of three lonk or mountain ewes, any age.— Prize, T. B. Sidgwick, Keighley. Pen of three ewes of any other breed, any age.— Prize, J. Knowles. WOOL. Two fleeces Northumberland hogg wool.— Prize, Sutcliffe and Co., Halifax. Two fleeces Irish hogg wool.— Prize, Anderson Brothers, Halifax. Two fleeces Irish wether wool.— Prize, R. Youd and Co., Halifax. Two fleeces Midland Counties hogg wool,— Prize, E. Haigh, Hahfax. Two fleeces Midland Counties wether wool.— Prize, J. Holdsworth, Halifax. 308 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. Two fleeces South Country hogg wool. — Prize, W. Apple- yard and Son, Halifax. Two fleeces South Country wether wool. — Prize, W. Apple- yard and Son. PIGS. Boar, large breed, any age. — Prize, P. Eden, Salford. Boar, middle breed, any age. — Prize, J. E. Fox, Bradford. Boar, small breed, any age. — Prize, P. Eden. Black boar, any age or breed. — Prize , P. Eden. Boar under six months old, any breed. — Prize, C. G. Barber, Lightcliife. Sow any age and litter of pigs. — Prize, P. Eden. Sow large breed, any age. — Prize, C. R. N. Beswick-Royds, Littleborough. Sow middle breed, any age. — Prize, P. Eden. Sow small breed, any age. — Prize, C. Roberts, Wakefield. Black sow, any age or breed. — Prize, R. E. l)uckering and Sons, Kirton Lindsey. White gilt under six months old, any breed. — Prize, P. Eden. Black gilt under six months old, any breed. — Prize, H. Crossley, Broomfield, Halifax. Store pig large or middle breed, any age. — Prize, P. Eden. Store pig small breed. — Prize, C. R. N. Beswicke-Royds. Black store pig, any age or breed. — Prize, M. Walton, Halifax. (Open to working men resident within the parish of Halifax.) Pig above six mouths old, of any sex or breed. — Prize, W. Dewhirst, Hipperholme. Gilt any breed, under six months old. — Prize, G. Spencely, Halifax. Sow of any age, colour, or breed, except black. — Prize, C. Roberts. Black pig of any sex or breed. — Prize, P. Eden. ROOTS AND BUTTER. (Open to the parish of Halifax.) Six roots of turnips of any sort. — Prize, J. Binns, Light- cliife. Six roots mangel wurzel, any sort. — Prize, L. J. Crossley. Six kohl rabi. — Prize, T. Riley, Mytholmroyd. Two pounds of butter. — Prize, Rev. T. Sutcliffe, Hepton- stall. IMPLEMENTS. Prizes for the best plough, pair of harrows, haymaker, hay- cutter, and turnipcutter were awarded to J. Robinson, Leeds ; and for the best washing machine, to Taylor and Wilson, Accrington. PENISTONE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. The show itself, both of agricultural stock, proper and of dogs and poultry, was considered to be very good, and tlic entries numbered about eighty more than last year. The stock was allowed to be removed immediately after being judged, the lain being so heavy. PRIZE LIST. JUDGES. Cattle and Sheep. — E. W. Addy, Upper Cudworth, Barns- ley ; W. Mellows, High Melton, Doncaster ; J. Rooth, Stretton, Alfreton, Derbyshire. Horses. — J. Robinson, Manchester ; T. Rogers, Wath-upon- Dearne. Pigs.— J. Sheard, Iluddersfield ; C. Speight, Shc.Tield. PouLTKY, — J. Dixon, Bradford ; M. H. Broadhead, Holm- firth. Dogs. — H. Miller, Upperthorpe ; J. Barker, Lyme Park, Stockport ; T. Beever, Boardhill, Penistouc. CATTLE. Shorthorn bull of any age. — First prize and cup, T. Statter , Stand Hall, Whiteficld, Manchester ; second, T. Wragg, Lox- ley Grange. Shorthorn bull calf, under twelve months old. — First prize, T. Clayton, Bodies, Doncaster ; second, J. Wright, Scholes , Holmlirth, Shorthorn cow or heifer. — First prize, T. Statter ; second, T. Adwick, Staythorpe, Newark. Cow for dairy purposes. — First prize, S. C. Alderson, Barns- ley ; second, J. Wright. Two-year-old Sliorthorn heifer. — First prize and cup, T. Statter ; second, T. Adwick. One-year-old Shorthorn heifer. — First prize and cup, Eliza Sayles, Ecclesfield ; second, T. Statter. Shorthorn heifer calf, under twelve months old. — First prize> T. Statter ; second, W. Smith, Barnes Hall. SHEEP. Ram of any age. — First and second prizes and cup, T. H. Hatcliinson, Catterick. Shearling ram. — First and second prizes, T. H. Hutchinson* Tup lamb, bred in 1S71. — First and second prizes, T. H. Hutchinson. Tup lamb, bred in 1861. — First prize, Mrs. Birks, Edge Hill, Penistone ; second, W. Parkin, Pond Farm, Snowden HUi. Pen of three ewes, having suckled lambs in 1871. — First prize, W. Parkin ; second, W. Atkinson, Oxspring, Penistone. Pen of three yearling gimmers. — Prize, T. H. Hutchinson. Pen of three shearling gimmers. — Prize and cup, W. Parkin. Pen of three ewe lambs, bred in 1871. — First and second prizes, J. Stones, Barraby Hall, Cawthorne. Pen of three ewe lambs, bred in 1871. — First prize, Mrs. E. Birks ; second, W. Atkinson. Ram of any age. — Prize, W. F. Marshall, Branston, Lincoln. Shearling ram. — First and second prizes and cup, W. F. Marshall. HORSES. Gelding or mare for agricultural purposes. — First prize, T. Statter, jun. ; second, W. Bramley, Amcotts. Brood mare for agricultural purposes. — First prize and cup, T. Statter, jun. ; second, J. Parker, Burton, Barnsley. Foal of 1868, gelding or filly, for agricultural purposes. — First prize, T. Statter, jun.; second, J. and J. Charlesworth, Field Head Farm, Dodworth. Foal of 1869.— First prize, J. Baddiley, South Kirkby ; se- cond, W. Bramley. Highly commended : G. Wood, Hay- fields, Doncaster. Foal of 1870, for agricultural purposes. — First prize, T. Statter, jun. ; second, J. Haigli, Pule Hill, Thurgoland. Foal of 1871, for agricultural purposes. — First prize, J. Parker, Burton, Barnsley ; second, II. Dransfield Addey, Upper Cudworth. Roadster.— First prize, T. E. Morrell, Hellaby Hall, Rother- liara ; secoiid, J. Fisher, Dodworth. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 309 WHITBY AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY, The following is a tabular statement of the entries of stock for the last teu years : Yrs. Horses. Cattle. Sheep. Pigs. Total. 1862.— 142 . . 43 . . 67 . . 43 . . 302 1863.— 171 . . 65 . . 78 . . 33 . . 367 186i.— 259 . . 49 . . 78 . . 23 . . 391 1865.— 200 . . 75 . . 77 . . 70 . . 420 1866.— 228 . . 0 . . 53 . . 22 . . 310 1867.-212 . . 0 . . 73 . . 40 . . 395 1868.— 219 . . 33 . . 65 . . 24 . . 341 1869.— 181 . . 48 . . 57 . . 18 . . 314 1870.— 175 . . 53 . . 45 . . 38 . . 312 1871.— 332 . . 57 . . 70 . . 31 . . 390 The show of horses was of a very superior description, and it was the leading feature of the exliibition. The hunting classes were extremely well represented, amongst the entries being several animals well known in tlie field. The entire horses were all of good breed and quality, and we may particu- larly mention the agricultural stallion, Uercules, belonging to Mr. Milbourn, of Fillingham, which obtained the first p.e second section in point of importance was that for cattle. The classes for bulls were represented by some of the best blood in the district, and heifer classes were also commendable. The principal class in the cattle department was that for yearling Shorthorn bulls of the district. Mr. lludsdale, of Danby End, obtained the prize of £5 with a fine young bull fourteen mouths old, aud it also obtained the first prize in the yearling bull class. The dairy cows constituted a capital collection of fourteen animals, the prize-takers being Messrs. R. aud T. Smith, of Whitby, Mr. H. Ward, of Whitby, and Captain Turton, of Larpool Hall. The sheep and pigs were of fair average merit throughout, the pigs particularly ranking amongst the primest specimens. An excellent class was that for sows or gilts of any large breed, comprising eleven animals. Mr. Duckering, Northorpe, ob- tained the first prize, and Mr. J. Wilkinson, Whitby, secured second honours with a splendid Berkshire sow, two years old, one of the finest specimens of its breed in the country. JUDGES. Hunters, Roadsters, and Ponies. — A. L. Maynard, New- ton Hall, Durham ; W. J. Simpson, Easton House, Brid- lington. Coaching and Agricultural Horses. — H. Eoxton, Well- burn Grange, Kirbymoorside ; J. Robinson, Newcastle-on- Tyne. Cattle, Sheep, and Pigs. — J. Cattley, Stearsby ; T. Stamper, Highfield House, Oswaldkirk. Moor Sheep.— J. Wilson, Littlebeck, Whitby; G. Allison, Hawsker, Whitby. Implements.— W. Watson, Bempton, Bridlington ; J. Pier- son, Goathland. PRIZE LIST. HORSES. Thoroughbred stallion.— Prize, £2, P. Hoggarth, Lyth. Coaching stallion. — Prize, £3, R. Rhea, Pickering. Agricultural stallion.— Prize, £2, N. Milbourn, Fillinghan. Coaching brood mare, with her foal or stinted. — First prize, £3, R. Wilson, Kingthorp, Pickering ; second, £1, F. Stain- thorp, Newton, Saltburn-by-the-Sea. Coaching foal, colt or filly.— First prize, £2, J. Harrison, Glazedale ; second, £1, R. Wilson. Yearling coaching colt or gelding. — First prize, £2, C. Pratt; second, £1, W. Ward, Aislaby. Yearling coaching filly. — First prize, £2, F. Staiuthorp ; se- cond, £1, J. Plevvs, Ugglebarnby. Two years old coaching gelding. — First prize, £3, G. F. Wormald ; second, £1, J. Jackson, Goldsbro', Whitby. Two years old coaching gelding. — First prize, £2, J. and J. Welford; second, £1, F. Norman, Ruswarp, Whitby. Three years old coaching gelding. — First prize, £2, R. Rhea ; second, T. and G. Codling, Whitby. Three years old coaching filly. — First prize, £2, C. M. Palmer, Grinkle Park ; second, £1, G. Gill, Brotton, Saltburn- by-the-Sea. Special prize for Cleveland bay brood mare, with ber foal or stinted, a silver cup (fjiven by the president, the Hon. O. Duncombe, M.P.), — R. Watson, Maltby House. Agricultural brood mare, with her foal or stinted. — First prize, £3, R. Watson ; second, £1, J. Donaldson, Ayton. Agricultural foal, colt or filly. — First prize, £2, and second, £1, Mrs. M. Kitchen and Son. Agricultural yearling colt or filly. — First prize, £3, J. Braithwaite ; second, £1, W. Sleightholm, Dean Hall, Whitby. Tvvo years old agricultural gelding or filly. — First prize, £2, and second, £1, N.Davison, Risebro' Hagg, Kirbymoorside. District prize for pair of agricultural horses. — First, £2, — Bnrnett; second, £1, J. Porritt. Hunting brood mare, with her foal or stinted. — First prize, £3, S. B. R. Robson, Ganton ; second, £1, R. Jackson, Nor- manby. Hunting foal, colt or filly.- First prize, £2, J. Weighill, Whitby; second, £1, W. Woodwark, West Barnby, Whitby. Yearling hunting colt or filly. — First prize,£3,P. Shiminins, Whitby ; second, £1,T. Boyes, Fryup, Yarm. Two years old hunting gelding. — First prize, £3, C. M. Palmer ; second, £1, I. Garbutt. Two years old hunting filly,— First prize, £2, C. M. Palmer ; second, £1, G. F. Wormald. Three years old hunting gelding. — £2, J. Jackson ; second, £1, J. Wilkinson. Three years old hunting filly. — First prize, £2, Captain E. H. Turton, Larpool, Whitby ; second, £1, W. Ward, Banniel- Flat. Special prize for hunting mare or gelding. — First prize, £7, R. Brunton, Marton ; second, £3, E. Nesfield, Scarborough. Special prize for leaping (given by the tradesmen of Whitby).— First prize, £10, W. Ward, Banniel Flat ; second, £2, W. Duell, Borrowby, and R. Jackson, Normanby, divided. A whip for the best rider was awarded to G. Pearson, and G. Dodds obtained a pair of spurs as the second best. District prize for hunting mare or gelding. — First prize, £4, D. Smallwood, Stainsaere : second, £2, J. Hindson. Roadster mare or gelding, over 14 hands. — £3, J. Robson, Old Malton : second, £1, R. Rhea. Ponies over 12^ and not exceeding 14 hands. — First prize, £2, W. Simpkin ; second, £1, Mr. Cowell, Brotton, Saltburn- by-the-Sea, 310 THE FAEMER'S MAGAZmE. Ponies not exceeding 13^ hands high.— £1, M. Kitching, Ayton ; second, 10s., M. Kitching. Donkeys in the district. — First prize, 10s., J. Wilson, Egton, Yarni : second, 5s., T. Richardson ; third, 2s. 6d., J. Green, Sleights, Whithy. EXTRA STOCK. Horses. — First prize, W. Ward, Aislaby; second, Stone- house and Son, Miekleby. CATTLE. Bull calf, over six and under twelve months old. — First prize, £3, W. C. Worsley, Hovingham ; second, £1, D. Hart- ley, Westerdale. Yearling bull. — First prize, £3, W. Rudsdale, Danby ; se- cond, £1, J. Porritt, Buck Rush. Two years old bull. — Prize, £3, T. Brown, Butterwick, Malton. Heifer calf, over six and not exceeding twelve months old. — First prize, D. Webster, Broughton ; second, £1, H. Ward, Hawsker. Yearling heifer. — First prize, £3, R. Hodgson, Westerdale ; second, £1, J. Sanderson, Westerdale. Two years old heifer, in-calf or milk. — First prize, and second, £1, G. D. Y'^eoraan, Woodlands. Cow, in-milk or calf. — First prize, £3, D. Webster; second, £1, J. Wilson, Farndale. DisTEiCT Prizes tor Cattle. Yearling Shorthorn bull. — Prize, £5, Mr. Rudsdale, Danby End. Dairy cow, with special reference to milking. — First prize, £3, R. and T. Smith ; second, £1, H. Ward ; third, 10s., Capt. E. H. Turton. Two yearling heifers, which have been the property of the exhibitor six mouths prior to the show. — First prize, £1, R. Hodgson ; second, 10s., D. Allinson. Cottagers' cow. — First prize, £1, R. Nicholson; second, 10s., T. Wilson, Hawsker. LEICESTER SHEEP. Two-shear or afted ram. — First prize, £3, R. P. Petch, Skelton ; second, £1, R. Jackson, Thornton Grange. Shearlinfj ram. — First prize, £3, H. Barker, Barugh ; second, £1, G. D. Yeoman. Tup lamb.— First prize, £1, and second, £1, Wm. Ward, Banniel Flat ; third, 10s., W. S. Gray. Five ewes, having reared lambs in 1871. — First prize, £3, D. Allinson ; second, £1, J. Elliot. Five shearling gimmers. — First prize, £3, E. Tindall, Knap- ton ; second, £1, W. S. Gray. Five gimmer lambs. — First prize, £3, Wm. Ward ; second, £1, W. S. Gray. District Prize. Three tup lambs. — First prize, £1, Wm. Ward ; second, 10s., W. S. Gray. MOOR SHEEP. Two-shear or aged ram. — ^First prize, £1, second, 10s., Wm. Rudsdale. Shearling ram. — First prize, £1, J. E. Medd; second, 10s., Wm. Rudsdale. Tup lamb. — First prize, £1, C. and J. Smith ; second, 10s., Wm. Rudsdale. I'ive ewes, having reared lambs in 18/1. — Prize, £1, Wm. Rudsdale. Five shearling gimmers. — Prize, £1, C.and J. Smith. Five wetliers, two-shear or upwards. — First prize, £1, second, 10s., J. Peirson, Goathland. PIGS. Boar of any large breed, over six months old. — First prize, £3, C. Duckering, Northorpe ; second, £1, John Deal. Sow or gilt of any large breed over six montlis old. — First prize, £3,R. E. Duckering ; second, £1, J. Wilkinson. Boar of any small breed, over six montlis old. — First prize, »3,R,E, Duckering J secoudj £1, R, P. Clarkson, Piokeriug. Cottagers' pig (open to the district only) . — First prize, £1, William Pearson, Abbey Cottage ; second, 10s. ditto. IMPLEMENTS. Mr. J. Weighill, Pickering, £i, for stand, and 10s. for corn screen. Messrs. Jackson Brothers, Lytb, £2, for stand, and 5s. for Samuelson's improved reaper, and 5s. for pulper. Mr. W. Sawney, Beverley, 15s., for stand. Mr. G. Pounder, Kir- bymoorside, 10s. for stand. Mr. G. Matterson, Ryedale Foundry, Kirbymoorside, £1, for stand. Messrs. Sonley and Son, Kirbymoorside, 10s. for four barrel churns. Mr. Paul Smithson, Bridlington, 10s., for waggon for agricultural purposes. At the dinner, the chairman, Mr. W. H. Gladstone, M.P , said : A model chairman ought to have examined every animal in the show, and to have been able to descant on their merits or demerits. He had no faculty for doing this. He had visited the show, and had been interested in so doing, but there was one test which he could apply in common with everybody who had visited the town, and which might be called the table test. When the mutton and potatoes and other agricultural produce were taken in comparison with what was produced in other places, it put the town in a very good position wdth regard to the quality of its productions. He must congratulate the meeting on the success of tlie show, which was more particularly shown in the figures which the secretary had handed to him. Last year the number of horses exhibited was 175, this year there had been 333. The number of cattle exhibited last year was 53, this year it had been 56. 45 sheep had been shown last year against 70 this year, and in the pigs there had been a diminution of 8, whilst the poultry had increased, there having been ZOi entries against 334 this year. He was happy to tell them that the receipts had also increased, as last year £150 had been taken, and this year it had risen to £170. This, the 3Sth meeting of the Society, had been held under very favourable circumstances, and we found ourselves in the pros- pect of a rich and abundant harvest, with all its attendant blessings. Within the last ten years the prices of agricultural produce had very much risen to the advantage of the farmer. He had been reading the Guide to Whitby lately, and he foimd from that v.ithin 150 years the price of mutton had been multiplied by five. Whitby, whilst no doubt greatly interested in agriculture, ought not to lose sight of manufactures. It might be true that the spread of manufac- tures had the effect of causing a rise in wages, but it carried with it preponderating advantages. It caused a better market to be provided, stimulated the demand, and caused an increase of railway accommodation. He was glad to see that there was every prospect of two additional railways in this neighbour- hood, and they would give to the farmer the opportunity of bringing to the cultivation of the soil much improved machinery, which would effect a great saving of labour. They would be able to bring at a cheap rate aU the more valuable manures wbicli could be applied to the cultivation of the crops. There was one feature of that show, as of all other sliows, to which he would refer, as it had been the subject of complaints from quarters which were entitled to respect. He was inclined to think that too much attention was paid to ornamental ex- cellence in stock. If ornamental excellencies carried away aU the prizes it would tend to dishearten tliose farmers who had not capital to lay out in procuring such excellence. He would suggest that in some future show a class be provided in which beasts might be sjiown which were not expected to be possessed of oruaraental e.xcellence. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 311 CRAVEN AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. The seventeenth annual show of the Craven Agricultural Society was held at Skipton. The various mills in the place were stopped, and the streets presented quite a holiday ap- pearance. Decorative arches were suspended over the prin- cipal approaches to the show ground, and there was a liberal display of flags from the windows along the way. The prin- cipal part of the town was crowded with show booths and tents of all descriptions, and presented much the appearance of a fair. Skipton is the centre of a great grazing district ; and the exhibition, in both number and quality, compared very favourably with that of the previous year. The total number of entries was IjO^i, as compared with 959 in 1870. The total amount given as prize money was fiMG, which was £19 in excess of last year. The show of cattle was said by the judges to be the best which the Society lias ever had . For the best bull, in the competition open to the kingdom. Lady Pigot, Newmarket, took tlie first prize. The first prize for yearling bulls was awarded to Mr. Richard Parker, Burn- ley ; and for buU calves Mr. Thomas Statter, Manchester, was first. The whole of the class of cows in calf or milk was commended, and the first prize being taken by the Rev. Leo- nard Charles Wood, Poulton-le-Pylde. Lady Pigot was a large exhibitor, and took a number of prizes. Mr. Thos. Statter, Whitefield, Manchester, besides other prizes, took the silver cup, value 20 guineas, for the best collection of Short- horns. The tenant-farmers in the district showed well in the classes open to them. Mr. J. Knowles (Wetherby), Mr. Robert Whittam (Burnley), Mr. John farrer (Burnley), Mr. Thomas Hird (Skipton), and Mr. Benjamin Baxter (Skipton) were the first prize-takers. Tor the best tenant-farmer collec- tion of Shorthorns a silver cup was given to Mr. John Parrer, Burnley. The horses were a good show, especially the roadsters and hunters. Mr. J. H!" Wright, North Rigton, near Otley, got the first prize for a tjioroughbred stallion. For the best road- ster stallion Mr. James Gill, Silsden, was first ; and for the best draught stallion Mr. James Forshaw, Burley. Tlie cup for the best hunter was won by Mr. J. M. S. Musgrave, Be- verley, with a five-year-old bay. The sheep showed a considerable increase upon the numbers of last year. The effect of this annual exhibition has been to improve greatly the breeds of sheep in the district, and this was apparent in the excellent quality of the young stock shown. For an aged longwoolled ram Mr. W. Thompson, Bedale, was first ; and for a shortwoolled ram of any age the first prize was taken by Mrs. Jowett, Keighley. These were open to the kingdom. In the classes of longwool sheep, open to local competition, Messrs. J. and W. Finder (Waddington), Mr. Robert Surr (Ripley), Messrs. J. and R. Earushaw (Cli- theroe), and Mr. Anthony Bentley (Settle) were prominent prizetakers. Mr. John Young (Hazlewood), Mr. Samuel Newall (Eastby), and Mr. Stephen Hudson (Hazlewood) car- ried off all the first prizes for mountain sheep of the Scotch breed. For Lonk sheep Mr. Benj, Dobson (Ilkley), Mr. J. B. Sedgwick (Keighley), and Mr. John Dinsdale (Keighley) were the principal exhibitors and prizetakers. The half-bred sheep included some fine crosses. The following were first- prizetakers : Mr. Henry Nutter (Skipton), Mr. Wm. Varley (Airton), Mr. Chris. Swithenbank (Malham), Mr. William Carlisle (Bordley Hall), Mr. Wm. Young (Hazlewood), Mr. J. Markendale (Gargrave), Messrs. William and Thomas Holgate (Grindleton), and Mr. James Gill (Silsden). Two longwooUed ewes, four and five-shear, exhibited by Mr. W. Thompson, Bedale, as extra stock bred by the exliibitor, were very superior animals. The pigs were a large show, and exhibited an increase as compared with last year. For the best boar of the large breed Mr. Wilson, Armley, Leeds, took first and second prizes ; while Mr. J. E. Fox, Great Horton, Bradford, was the first-prizetaker for a boar of the middle breed. For a boar of the small breed Sir, John Sagar, Lister HiUs, Bradford, was first. For the best sow of the large breed Mr. Clement, Littleborough, was first ; best sow, middle breed, Mr. J. C. Taylor, Leeds ; and best sow of small breed, Mr. C. Roberts, Wakefield. The first prize for a boar of the large breed, under nine months, was won by Mr. John TJmpleby, Guise- ley ; best boar, middle breed, under nine months, Mr. Charles McDonall, Keighley ; best boar of the small breed, under nine months, Mr. Joseph Reeday, Keighley. In the various classes of gilts, Mr. John Umpl^by, and Mr. Joseph Bramfitt, Leeds, were foremost. There was a large show of poultry. Dorkings, Cochins, and Spanish were especially fine. Amongst the Hamburgs there were some good specimens, but they were failing in feathers. The game was a moderate show ; game bantams very good. Geese were good in quality, but few. Aylesbury and Rouen ducks were excellently represented, and there were some pretty foreign birds. The show of young poultry and pigeous was also very good. Among the pigeons were a large number of carriers. The attendance on the ground was very large during the day. The judges were as follows : Shorthorns. — Thos. Dodds, Wakefield ; Chas. Bland, Gaddesby Hall, Leicester. Horses. — Thomas Robinson, Wiugate Hill, Tadcaster ; W. Robson, High Ouseburn, York. Sheep. — Thomas Willis, jun.. Manor House, Carperby ; Anthony Horner, Nidderdale ; Robert Hol- gate, Buckden. Pigs. — Stephen Barrett, Harewood ; Joseph Culshaw, Towneley, Burnley. Poultry and Pigeons. — Enoch Hutton, Pudsey, near Leeds ; James Heywood, IMiddleton, Manchester. Roots, Butter, Cheese, Oatcake. — Joseph Cul- fshaw, Towneley, Burnley. Shepherds' Dogs. — The same as or sheep. BATH AND WEST OP ENGLA.ND SO- CIETY, AND SOUTHERN COUNTIES ASSOCIATION. A meeting of the Council of this Society was held on Tuesday, Aug. 29, at the White Lion Hotel, Bristol. Present : The Earl of Cork, in the chair ; Sir J. T. B. Duckworth, Mr. Bremridge, Mr. Jonathan Gray, and the Rev. T. Pliillpotts, vice-presidents ; the Hon. and Rev. J. T. Bos- cawen, Mr. C. Bush, Mr. R. H. Bush, Captain Davy, Mr. Dymond, Mr. C. Edwardes, Mr. Hole, Mr. Holly, Col. Lut- trell, Mr. Moore Stevens, Mr. Spiers, Major Trood, Mr. Troyte, Mr. Herbert WiUiams, and J. Goodwin, Secretary and Editor. At the commencement of the proceedings the Earl of Cork stated that he should not be doing his duty, in the position he occupied, were he to omit alluding to the loss sustained by the Society since the Guilford meeting in the death of the late lamented Sir Thomas Acland, a man universally esteemed and respected by persons of every rank and station in life, and sin- cerely beloved and esteemed by his neighbours and friends. Happily they had in the present Baronet a warm and zealous friend of the Society, who they felt satisfied would foUow in the steps of liis worthy father. The business of the day was chiefly of a routine character ; Col. LuttreU being appointed one of the Stewards of Arrange- ments, and Mr. Grenfell one of the Stewards of Field Imple- ments. A copy of the Society's Journal, which has just been issued to members whose subscriptions are not in arrear, was laid upon the table, and reference was made to an article by Professor Brown on Pleuro-Pneumonia, especially that portion of it con- taining a history or summary of the legislation that has taken place with reference to the disease. The Council at their meeting in October next will take into consideration at what town the meeting of 1873 shall be lield. 3l2 TSE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. ROCHDALE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. There was a large attendance, the day being observed as a hohday. The entries were numerous, the prizes liberal, the competition iu many of the cases keen, and the stock exhi- bited above an average. The entries nearly approached 1,900, comprising 75 head of cattle, 135 of horses, GO of sheep, 7'2 of pigs, 201 of poultry, 270 of pigeons, 50 of rabbits, and 100 entries in the class for vegetables, 7 for butter, 653 for implements, and 20 i for dogs. The amount given in prizes was about £600. The cattle exhibited included several suc- cessfully exhibited at the Royal Agricultural Society's recent meeting. A new feature in the programme this year was a silver cup given by Mr. C. W. linerley " for the best turn- out with two-wheeled couveyance, horse, and harness, driven on the show-ground." In the class for bulls four or five animals were shown, any one of which might have been worthy of first honours at any local exhibition. The milch cows were also good as a class. In draught-horses, as usual, Mr. Thos. Statter, jun., of Whitefield, near Manchester, and Mr. C. W. Brierley, of Middleton, were the chief rivals. Mr. Brierley carried off four first-class prizes in this class and for agricultural purposes, whilst Mr. Statter took five first prizes. The roadsters were well represented ; but the ponies were a poor show. PRIZE LIST. JUDGES. Cattle.— B. Baxter, Elstack Hall, Skipton ; T. Dodds, Mount Pleasant, Wakefield. Horses (heavy). — J. Bromley, Lancaster ; T. Metcalf, Ut- toxeter, Staffordshire. Horses (light). — J. Clarke, Beeston, near Leeds; J. Greaves, riixton, near Manchester. Sheep. — T. Birtwistle, AVithin Grove, Accriugfou ; W. MiJg- ley, Salesbury Old Hall, Ribchcster, Preston. Pigs. — W. Gamon, Hoole Cottage, Cliester; T. Atherton, Chapel House, Speke, near Liverpool. CATTLE. GENERAL COMPETITION. Bull of any breed. — First prize, J. Farrar, Thorneyholra, Burnley ; second, T. Statter, jun., Wliitefield, Manchester. Bull calf, above one and under two years old. — C. W. Brierley, Rhodes House, Jliddleton; second, T. Statter, jun. Bull calf, not exceeding twelve months old. — First prize, T. Statter, jun. ; second, C. W. Brierley. Cow in calf or iu milk. — First prize, Rev. L. C.Wood, Kirk- ham ; second, C. W\ Brierley. Heifer, not exceeding three years old. — First prize, J. Leigh Becker, Chadderton Road, Manchester ; second, T. Statter, jun. Heifer, not exceeding two years old. — First prize, C. W. Brierley ; second, T. Statter, jun. Heifer calf, not exceeding twelve mouths old. — First prize, C. W. Brierley ; second, T. Statter, jun. Tliree cows (iu calf or milk), open to cattle dealers. — First prize, C. W. Brierley ; second, J. Coates, Toad Lane, Rocli- dale. Fat calf, open only to butchers within the parliamentary borough of Rochdale. — Prize, J. Coates, New Market. tenant-farmers' premiums. Bull of any breed. — Prize, T. Statter, jun. Cow (iu calf or milk). — Prize, C. VV. Brierley. Heifer, not exceeding three years old.— First and second prizes, C. W. Brierley. Heifer, not exceeding two years old. — Prize, C. W. Brierley. Heifer, if not exceeding twelve months old.— Prize, C. W. Brierley. Silver cup, given by Mr. C. M. Royds.— C. W. Brierley, (three year old heifer). TENANT-EARMERS MAINLY DEPENDENT ON FARMING, RENTAL NOT EXCEEDING £100 PER .ANNUM. Cow (in calf or in milk). — Prize, R. Turner, Norden. Heifer, not exceeding three years old. — Prize, J. A. Mason, Milnrow. Heifer calf, not exceeding twelve months old. — Prize, J. Crossley, Wait worth. Silver cup, £5, given by Mr. E. A. N. Royds — W. Pea- cock, Littleborough. HORSES. DRAUGHT UORSES. Cart stallion. — First prize, T. Statter, jun. j second, J. Ed- mondson, Entwistle, Buruley. Horse. — First prize, C. W. Brierley ; second, Mayor, Alder- men, and Burgesses of Rochdale. Horse, under sixteen liands. — Prize, Mayor, Aldermen, and Burgesses of Rochdale, Pair of horses. — Prize, C. W. Brierley. AGRICULTURAL HORSES. Brood mare, to bring foal with her. — Prize, T. Statter. Horse. — Prize, C. W. Brierley. Pair of agricultural horses. — Prize, C. W. Brierley. Three years old gelding or filly. — Prize, T. Statter, jun. Two years old gelding or fiUy. — Prize, T. Statter, jun. One-year-old colt or filly. — Prize, T. Statter, jun. Foal. — Prize, W. Rawstron, Hopwood, Middleton. '" Pony not exceeding lii hands. — Prize, J. Uttley, Roch- dale. Pony not exceeding 13^ hands. — Prize, W. Lumb, Brotlie- rod, Rochdale. Pony 12| bauds. — Prize, J. C. Rogerson, Manchester. Stallion, as a roadster. — Prize, J. Gill, Silsden, Leeds, Brood mare, as a Toadster. — Prize, Mrs. W. Rhodes, Hud- dersfield. Three years old gelding or fiUy, adapted for saddle or liar- ness. — Prize, 11. Newall, Littleborough. One-year-old colt or filly, adapted for saddle or harness.— Prize, J. F\ Crowtlier, Todmorden. F'oal, adapted for saddle or haruess.^Prize, T. Statter, jun. Mare or gelding, adapted for harness. — Prize, J. Schofield, Greenroyd, Rochdale. Mare or gelding, not exceeding 15 hands, adapted for har- ness.— Prize, T. Fildes, Lytham. Mare or gelding, adapted for saddle. — Prize, T. Barcroft, Waterfoot, Mauchester. Mare or geldiug, not exceeding 15 liands, adapted for saddle. — Prize, T. Statter, jun. Best turn-out, with two-wheeled conveyance. — First prize, G. Hardy, EUesmcre Brewery, Mauchester. Mr. Hardy's cliesnut mare and drag (the latter a light, compact, neat, and admirably finished specimen of coach workmanship by Mr. E. Mather, of Manchester) were much admired. Mr, Robinsou, Salkelk, was second in the competition, the principal prize for which was given by Mr. Brierley. HUNTERS. Best aged hunter. — First and second prizes, C. Captain Patrick, Rossendale ; third, T. H. Newtou, Oldfield, Altrin- cham. Jumper. — First prize, T. H. Newtou ; second, IJr. J.Wilson, Newchurch. PONIES. Best jumper, not exceeding li hands. — i'irst prize, E. Stanley Bent, Mauchester; second, W. Lumb, Brotherod, Rochdale. Best jumper, not exceeding 13 hands. — Prize, A. M. Royds. SHEEP. Tup, long or speckled-faced breed. — Prize, L. Duckwortli, Ramsbottom. Tup hogg. — Prize, L. Duckworth. Tup lamb.— Prize, J, Pickup, Newchurch, THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 313 Three ewes. — Prize, J. G. Bridge, Rawtenstall. Three ewe lambs. — Prize, J. G. Bridge. Ewe lamb. — Prize, J. Pickup. Three wethers. — Prize, T. Statter. Tup, any other breed of sheep. — Prize, J. and W. Pinder, Clitheroe. Three ewes. — Prize, J. and W. Pinder. Three tup lambs.— Prize, T. Statter. Three ewe lambs. — J. Tattersall. Tat sheep (open only to butchers in Rochdale). — Prize, J. Coates. Tup hogg, long or speckled-faced breed(confined to the parish of Rochdale). — Prize, Squire Jackson. Tup lamb. — Prize, Squire Jackson. Three ewes. — Prize, Squire Jackson. Three ewe lambs. — Prize, J. Hill. Ewe lamb. — Prize, Squire Jackson, Three wethers. — Prize, C. Hill. Three wether lambs.— Prize, C. Haworth, PIGS. Large breed boar.— Prize, P. Eden, Salford. Breeding sow. — Prize, P. Eden. Middle breed boar.— Prize, P. Eden. Breeding Sow. — Prize, P. Eden. Small breed boar.— Prize, P. Eden. Breeding sow.— Prize, C. R. N. Beswicke Royds. Fat pig (any breed, sow).— Prize, R. E. Duckering. Large breed boar (the property of residents within the parish of Rochdale).— Prize, C. R. N. Beswicke Royds. Breeding sow. — Prize, S. Robinson. Litter of sucking pigs, age not to exceed seven weeks.— Prize, J. Wolfenden. Middle breed boar. — Prize, B. Butterworth. Breeding sow. — Prize, T. Bolton. Small breed boar.— Prize, C. R. N. B. Royds. Breeding sow.— Prize, C. R. N. B. Royds. Litter of sucking pigs, age uot to exceed seven weeks.— Prize, S. Robinson. THE LAND QUESTION IN ENGLAND. On his accession to the title Lord Derby would seem to have readily taken shelter in the sacred shade of the Upper House. From the politician he drops down into the country-gentleman ; and we hear of him now far more frequently as the leading spirit of some local Society than as the hope of a party or the hero of a debate. But whatever Lord Derby does he does with all his might ; and, perhaps, no man more carefully considers the purport of any- thing he is about to utter. He thus becomes something of an authority upon any subject which he touches ; associa- ting, as he almost invariably does, a singularly dispassionate judgment with a very extensive knowledge of the question to which he speaks. The lesson to landlords which he has just delivered at Liverpool becomes consequently only the more impressive when we remember the quarter from which it emanates. There is nothing impulsive here, no outbreak of mere after-dinner oi'atory ; as the probability is that every sentence had been prepared and settled by some elaborate note long previous to this falling into the con- secutive connection of an address which reads like an essay. Additional weight, moreover, is given to this lecture from the fact that Lord Derby himself speaks and feels as a landlord. He is no outsider, hotly advocating reforms which would verge on revolution ; but, on the contrary, his sympathies are evidently with his class, and his principles over the land question eminently Conserva- tive. The purport of Lord Derby's speech is to keep landlord and tenant together very much as they are, at the same time that he impresses the necessity for some improvement in the relations between the two ; while he regards this as a duty which must spring from the land- lord. If more is to be made from the cultivation of the soil more in the outset must be done by the owner. And this, as we take it, is the moral lesson which Lord Derby would inculcate. There are sentences in this Liverpool speech which might be written in letters of gold ; as at least we have ever endeavoured to give such wholesome ethics all due prominence : " We want to move on, but we want also, if possible, to move on together — to live and let live — not for a few to make fortunes and the rest go to the dogs ; and I will add that if this work of agricultural improve- ment is to be carried on as it should be, it is the landlord, quite as much as the farmer, who must put his shoulder to the wheel." And the very heading to this paper, the text- words to which we speak are Live and Let Live and Property has its duties as avell as its rights. It will be noticed that in the single sentence we have quoted Lord Derby enunciates these two very pre- cepts ; but his lordship goes even still further with us, when he says that in order to encourage the use of more capital by the tenant, " security is the first requisite," and again we may turn to our own motto of Tenant- Right, to which through evil and good repute we have held for the last quarter of a century. Lord Derby would offer such security by means of a lease, but of course to ensure the land being kept in a perma- nently high state of cultivation a lease cannot stand alone. The influence of Lord Derby's speech is already shown by the leader in The Times which immediately followed ; one penned in a far better spirit towards agri- culture than anything that has proceeded from the same quarter for many a long day, and wherein it is urged that " many have much to say against leases, and not without reason. A lease is a contrivance to induce a tenant to get out of the land in the last years of his holding all and more than all he put into it at the begin- ning. This is, no doubt, often the case, and yet it is difficult to believe that it is impossible to frame an agree- ment which shall prevent a tenant from racking the land while giving him security for his investments in it." This is well and fairly put, and yet until very recently The Times would countenance nothing but a long lease as the only penacea for all the ills of agri- culture. Again, The Times tells us how " Se- curity is the first requisite of good cultivation. Far- mers, in nine cases out of ten, have faith enough in their landlords, but it is the tenth case which demands atten- tion, and we have seen that in Ireland the absence of security in the tenth case has driven the Legislature to sanction coercive restraints on the authority of owners which every one regretted even while allowing their neces&ity. There is no fear of anything of the same kind in England or Scotland ; but if the principle of free con- tract is to continue to govern the relations of landlord and tenant, ' good' tenants wanting leases can no more be expected to forego security for their capital than ' good' landlords can be expected to forego security for their rents." This is clearly in advocacy of English Tenant- RiGHT, a claim against which, acting under certain Scotch instincts. The Times at one period could find no language too strong. The thing was an encroachment on the rights of property, it tended rather to lock up than employ capital, and so forth ; the simple truth being that as the Y 314 THE FAKMER'S MAGAZINE. principle conies to be better understood the more will its justice be admitted. The reference here made to the Irish Land Question brings us to another point in Lord Derby's speech with which we cannot go so readily. He says, truly enough, that "the landlord has not very often the capital required," that is to put his estate in a proper condition ; while his lordship fails to see that this inability to fulfil the duties of property is " very often" traceable to the difficulties attendant on the transfer of land, or to the entailed embarrassments of generations of owners. In Ireland this difficulty has been solved by Act of Parliament, and landlords unable to discharge their duties by the land have been freed of the obligation through the very simple process of buying them out. But even waiving this phase of the question, certain further facilities and reforms are required before any full or general secmity of capital can be warranted from the owner to the occupier. Mr. Stewart, the barrister, and an acknowledged authority on the Laws and Customs of Land, said before a Committee of the House of Commons that " a very large class of landowners, or of persons standing in the relation of landowners, were incapacitated by law from binding themselves and successors to remu- nerate their tenants at the termination of the tenancy for temporary or permanent improvements. He thought that two-thii-ds of the lands of England were settled in this way." Admirably, in fact, as Lord Derby treats many of the cases and phases which arise in considering the Land Question, it is doubtful whether he attaches sufficient importance to the abuses necessarily attendant on the present system of proprietorship. There ai"e two ugly facts which still stare us in the face, and still im- pede our progress : too many landlords cannot find capital, and too many more cannot give proper security for its employment. — The Mark Lane Express. THE MANCHESTER AND LIVERPOOL AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. MEETING AT LIVERPOOL. Successful as are many of the autumn meetings, these necessarily lack the attraction of novelty, and great as was the entry and good the quality at Liverpool, the show was something of an oft-told tale, Thus,amonest the Shorthorn bulls were Edgar, Lord Irwin, Telemachus, Royal Windsor, Grindelwald, Iron Master, and Lord of the Manor, with most of these doing much as they have done, while Charlie, own brother to Bolivar, out of all form at Wolverhamp- ton, was now reduced to merely local competition. Then the cows and heifers included Vivandiere, Concert, and Pleur-de-lis, all again winners of course, for the country is pretty well run through by the beginning of September. Once more did A.l. and Young Lofty fight their battle amongst the cart stallions, whilst Sincerity was still the pick of a poor show of thorough-breds, and Banner Bearer, Borderer, and Loiterer, were as usual amongst the hunters. Banner Bearer was put out of it, and Borderer won ; while, according to The Field " in the light weight class there were foi'ty-nine entries — a large muster — including many excellent horses. Por about the first time, Mr. W^elfitt's Loiterer was beaten, the first prize and cup for best hunter in both classes being awarded to Mr. Riggs's Chang." This is rather strongly put, as Loiterer was nowhere dm-iug this very season at Isling- ton, second at Wolverhampton, nowhere at Brigg, nowhere at Driffield, and nowhere at Keighley ; so that being beaten at Liverpool " for about the first time," must carry with it some peculiar interpretation. There was otherwise a capital show of horses, a great entry of Shi'opshire sheep, as well as some famous Leicesters, where Mr. Hutchinson, however, swept the decks ; and as the prize list will prove, the best of pigs, with such exhibitors as the Duckerings, Mr. Eden, Mr. Knowles, Mr. Pox, and the Cirencester College. There were 197 entries of Shorthorns, and 17 entries of bulls above two years old, amongst those exhibited being several which were prize-takers at the Royal Agricultural Society's show at Wolverhampton. The winner was Mr. H. Thompson's Edgar, bred by Mr. C. R, Saunders, of Nunwich Hall, "Penrith. The second was Lord Irwin, belonging to Mr. W. Linton, of Sheriff Hutton, Yorkshire. The third prize was the Marquis of Exeter's Telemachus, the second prize at the Royal Show, where two others only highly com- mended here were also prize-takers. Nine bulls were shown of above one but under two years old, the w'nner being the property of the Rev. Walter Sneyd, of Keele Hall, Newcastle, Staffordshire. He took the first prize as a bull-calf twelve months ago at the Walsall show. In the class of cows above three years old in milk or in calf the chief prize was taken by Mr. J. Outhwaite, of Catterick, with Vivandiere. In under three years old, Mr. P. J. S. Poljambe, M.P., was the winner with Concert and Pleur-de-Lis ; and the best heifer calf was also shown by Mr. Poljambe. The prize list will speak to the other breeds. There were 349 entries of horses, ranging from the finest thoroughbreds to the draught breed. Pour thoroughbred stallions were shown. The draught stallions numbered 16. There wei-e 84 hunters entered, and 21 ladies' hackneys. There were 161 entries of sheep, and 135 entries of pigs. PRIZE LIST. JUDGES. Cattle. — H. W. Beauford, Formby-hall, Southport; B. Baxter, Elslack-hall, Skipton ; W. Parker, Carleton-hill, Penrith. Horses (cart.) — J. H. Wood, Humberstone, Great Grimsby ; J. Bromley, Lancaster. Horses (I'ght.) — J. M. K. Elliott, Heathencote, Towcester ; G. Clay, Minton-house, Wem ; W, S. Atkinson, Barrowley. hall, Leeds. Sheep. — J. Wood, Harewood-hill, Darlington ; T. Horley, The Fosse, Leamington. Pigs.— C. M. Sexton, Wherstead-hall, Ipswich; R. H. Watson, Bolton-park, Wigton. Cheese and Butter. — R. Pedley, Crew ; H. Warburton, Manchester. Grain ajstd Roots. — J.Kay, Warburton-park, Lyun ; J. Hornby, MinshuU- Vernon, Middlewich. Implements. — R. Wlialley, Bold, Warrington ; W. Scot- son, Aigburth, Liverpool ; M. Scott, engineer, Tranmere. HORSES. (Open for competition to the United Kingdom.) Stallions, thoroughbred, most suitable for getting weight- carrying hunters. — First prize, J. Casson, Burgh-by-Sands, Carlisle ; second, R. C. Naylor, Hootou-hall ; third, G. Holmes, Bar-house, Beverley. Stallions for getting horses for draught purpose*,— First THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 315 prize, W. Wynn, Crauhill-leys, Graftou, Warwickshire ; se- cond, H. Tomliuson, Blithford, Rugeley, Clydesdale ; third, A. Cook, Much Hoole, Preston. Highly commended : T. Statter, jun. Commended : W. Shawe, Lathom, near Orms- kirk. Stallion colts, draught breed, foaled in 1869. — First prize not awarded ; second, R. Asheroft, Rufford ; third, L. A. Mawdsley, Ormskirk. Stallions most suitable for getting horses for carriage or road purposes. — First and second prizes, B. Mitchell, Down- ham Market, Norfolk. Mare or gelding, for draught purposes, four years old and upwards. — First prize, C. W. Brierley ; second, W. Robinson ; third, J. Wright, Walton. Highly commended : The Earl of Crawford and Balcarres. Three years old gelding or filly, cart breed. — First prize, T. Statter, jun.; second, C. W. Brierley; third, J. Hampson, Wigau. Two years old gelding or filly, cart breed. — First grize, T. T. Parker, Chorley ; second, J. Wright, Walton ; tliird, T. Statter. One year old gelding or filly. — First prize, J. Waterworth, North Ashton ; second, W. Shawe, Lathom, Ormskirk ; third, J. Pover, Chester. Three years old gelding or filly, half-bred. — First prize, J. Rigg, Windermere ; second, W. Roberts, Thornholme, Burn- ley ; third, R. Reade, Chester. Two years old gelding or filly, half-bred. — First prize, T. Horrocks, Singleton, Poulton-le-Fylde ; second, T. M. Tatter- sall, Musgrave, Beverley ; third, W. Roberts, Thorneyholme, Burnley. One year old gelding or filly, half-bred. — First prize, T. Horrocks ; second, E. L. Wright, Wigan ; no merit for third. Brood mares for breeding hunters. — First prize, T. Hor- rocks ; second, T. Statter, jun. ; third, S. Kirkby, 3, City- terrace, City-road, Manchester. Brougham horse, gelding, above four years old. — First prize, T. Percival, Wansford, Northamptonshire ; second, A. Hey- wood. West Derby ; third, T. Jefferson, Scaleby, Carlisle. Hack or roadster, mare or gelding, 15 hands or upwards. — First prize, W. Murray, Broughton Mews ; second, J. Scho- field, Greenroyde, Rochdale ; third, H. S. Woodcock, Wigan. Cobs, raare or gelding, under 15 hands. — First prize, F. Hollins, Wavertree ; second, C. Smith, Rugby ; tliird, J. Wil- liams, 145, Bedford-street South, Liverpool. Mare or gelding pony, above 12 hands 2 inches and under 13 hands 2 inches. — First prize, W. S. Gladstone, Gateacre, Liverpool ; second, E. Ashton, Parkfield, Middleton, Man- chester ; third, A. Earle, Childwall Lodge, Wavertree. Mare or gelding pony, under 12 hands 2 inches. — First prize, T. Gray, Bradshaw-gate, Bolton ; second, J. C. Roger- son, 73 and 75, Oldham-street, Manchester ; third, M. A. Ralli, B'airfield, Liverpool. Stallion for getting cart-horses, the property of landlords who allow them to serve the mares of their tenants gratis. — Silver medal, W. J. Leigh, M.P., Lyme Park, Stockport. Brood mare for breeding horses for draught purposes. — First and third prizes, T. Statter, jun., Stand Hall, White- field ; second, W. Dale, Thornton Lodge. Brood mare for breeding roadsters or carriage horses. — First prize, W. Mawdsley, Speke Town Farm, Liverpool ; se- cond, E. L. Wright, Hindley Hall, Wigan; tliird, T. H. Miller, Singleton, Poulton-le-Fylde, Lancaster. Pair of draught horses, mares or geldings, the property of tenant-farmers principally dependent on farming. — First prize, J. Roberts, Saltney, Chester; second, W. Shawe, Lathom, Ormskirk. Pair of ditto, open to all members. — First and second prizes, C. W. Brierley, Middleton, Manchester; third, T. Statter, jun., Stand Hall. Three-year-old gelding or filly, cart breed. — First prize, G., HalsaU, Hale-bank, Warring; second, J. Henshaw, Hale- bank, Warrington ; three, T. Statter, jun. Two-year-old gelding or filly, cart breed. — First prize, W. Dale ; second, R. Barnett, Wettenhall-hall, Winsford ; third T, Statter, jun. One-year-old gelding or filly, cart breed. — First prize, J. Roberts, Saltney ; second, H. Neild, The Grange, Worsley ; third. Earl of Crawford and Balcarres, Haigh-hall, Wigan. Three-year-old gelding or filly, haU-bred.—'First prize, J, Robinson, Lee Green-hall, Church Miushull; second, R. BartoD, Caldy Manor, Birkenhead ; third, W. Dutton, Garden Lodge, Gateacre. Two-year-old gelding or filly, half-bred. — First prize, H. Neild, Worsley ; second, J. Wright, Minshull Mill, Middle- wich ; third, W. Birch, Aintreee, Liverpool. Oue-year-old gelding or filly, half-bred.— Prize, Earl of Crawford and Balcarres. HUNTEKS. Mare or gelding, up to 14 stones and upwards. — First prize, T. H. D. Bayley, Edwinstowe House, OUerton, Notts ; second, T. Percival, The Haycock, Wansford, Northamptonshire ; third, G. Van Warb, The Shrubbery, Edgbaston, Birmingham. Mare or gelding, up to 12 stones and upwards. — First prize, F. Rigg, Brook House, Lea-green ; second, S. J. Welfitt, Tathwell-hall, Louth ; third, T. Percival, The Haycock, Wans- ford. CATTLE. (Open for competition to the United Kingdom.) SHORTHORNS Bulls above two years old. — First prize, and silver cup, H. Thompson, Penrith ; second, W. Linton, Sherilf Hutton, York ; third, the Marquis of Exeter, Stamford. Highly com- mended : J, Outhwaite, Catterick ; Rev. W. Sneyd, Keele- hall, Newcastle ; J. Knowles, Wetherby. Commended : E. J. Smith, Islanmore, Croom, Limerick ; T. Stamper, HJghfield- house, Oswal Kirk. Bulls above one, but under two years old. — First prize. Rev. W. Sneyd ; second, T. Lace, Grenaby, Isle of Man ; third, R. Parker, Fern-hill, Burnley. BuU calf above six, but under twelve months old. — First prize, J. Knowles, Wetherby; second, T. Statter, junior, Stand-hall, Wliitefield, Manchester ; third. Rev. W. Sneyd. Cow above three years old, in milk or in calf. — First prize, and silver cup, J. Outhwaite, Catterick ; second, J. W. Kirk- ham, Cadeby-hall, Grimsby. Highly commended : Rev. L. C. Wood, Singleton-lodge, Kirkham. Commended : F. Lythall, The Spittall Farm, Banbury. Heifer above two, but under three years old. — First and second prizes, F.J. S.Foljambe, M.P., Osberton-hall, Work- sop ; third, the Earl of Harrington, Elvaston-castle, Derby. Highly commended : J. R. Chaplin, Ridgewell, Halstead, Esses. Heifer above one, but under two years old. — First prize, and silver cup, E. J. Smith, Islanmore, Croom, Limerick ; second and third. Rev. W. Sneyd. Heifer calf above six, but under twelve months. — First prize, J. Farrer, Thorneyholme, Burnley ; second, E. H. Cheney, Gaddesby-hall, Leicester ; third, the Earl of Harrington. OTHER BREEDS, Ayrshire cow or heifer above two years old, in-milk or in- calf. — First prize. The Earl of Crawford and;Belcarres, Haigh- hall, Wigan ; second, A. Woods, Sefton ; tliird, T. Stratter, jun., Wliitefield. Welsh cow or heifer above two years old, in-milk or in-calf. — First prize, F. W. Earle, Edenhurst, Huyton ; second and third, T. Statter, jun. Kerry cow or heifer above two years old, in-milk or in-calf. — First prize. Rev. J . C. Macdona, Hilbre-house, Cheshire ; second, J.G.Morris, Allerton; tliird, H. Inman, Stretford, Manchester. Highly commended : Rev. J. C. Macdona. Com- mended : R. Gladstone, jun., Court-hey. French or Channel Islands cow or heifer above two years old, in-milk or in-calf. — First prize, G. Maples, jun,, Waver- tree ; second and third, J. P. Duff, Lydiate-house. Highly commended : W. Pritchard, Aigburtli. French or Channel Island bull, of any age. — First prize, Williamson Brothers, Ramsdell-hall, Cheshire; second, H. S. Woodcock, Wigan. Kerry bull. — First prize, Rev. J. C. Macdoda ; second, R. Gladstone, jun. Welsh bull of any age. — Prize, T. Statter, jun, Ayrshire bull of any age. — First prize, J. Tweddle, Askerton Castle, Cumberland ; second, R. Kerr, Fazakerley, Liverpool, Best bull of any breed, belonging to a landlord resident in the iUstiict, that is allowed to serve the cows of his tenants Y 2 m THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. gratis, the Society's silver medal to the Earl of Crawford and Balcarres. There were other classes, with the competitiou limited to members resident in the Society's district. SHEEP. (Open for competition to the United Kingdom.) LEICKSTER3. Shearling ram. — First and second prizes, T. H. Hutchinson, Catterick ; third, J. T. Clifton, Lytham Park. Commended T. H. Hutchinson. Earn of any other age. — First and second prizes, T. H Hutchinson ; third, £. Riley, Beverley ; silver medal, G. F Statter, Carlisle. Commended : T. H. Hutchinson. Ram lamb. — First, second, and third prizes, T. Hutchinson Three shearling ewes. — First and second prizes, T. H Hutchinson ; third, E. Riley. Highly commended : E. Riley Three ewes of any age, having reared lambs this year. — First and second prizes, T. H. Hutchinson ; third, G. F, Statter. Three ewe lambs. — First and second prizes, T.H. Hutchinson SHROP.SHIRE DOWNS. Shearling ram. — First prize, J. Coxon, Freeford, Lichfield second. Lord Wenlock, Escrick Park, York; third, Sarah Beach, The Huttons, Brewood. Highly commended: W Yates, Shifnal, Salop. Ram of any otlier age. — First prize, W. Baker, Atherstone Warwick ; second, Lord Wenlock ; third, S. Griffiths, Over ton, Ruabon. Highly commended : B. Wainman, Newport, Salop. Ram lamb. — First and third prizes, T. Nock, Sutton Mad dock, Shifnal ; second, T. Johnson, I'rodsham. Highly com mended and commended : J. Coxon, Freeford. Three shearling ewes. — First prize, Sarah Beach (and tlie silver cup for the best pen of three ewes) ; second, W. Baker third. Lord Wenlock. Highly commended: J. Coxon. Com- mended : W. Baker and T. Nock. Three ewes of any age, liaving reared lambs this year.^ First prize, S. Beach ; second and third, W. Baker. Highly commended: J. H. Bradburue, Lichfield. Commended: T. Nock and J. H. Bradburne. Three ewe lambs. — First prize, J. H. Bradburne ; second, S. Beach ; third, W. Yates. Highly commended: T. Nock and J. Coxon. Commended : W. Baker and T. Johnson. SOUTHDOWN s. Shearling ram. — First and second prizes, Col. R. N. Fitz- hardiug Kingscote, Wotton-nuder-Edge, Gloucestershire ; 'third, J. and A. Heasman, Angmering, Arundel, Sussex. Ram of any other age. — First prize, H. S. Waller, Farming- ton, Northbeach ; second and third. Col. R. N. Fitzharding Kingscote. Three shearling ewes. — First, second, and third prizes. Col. R. N. Fitzharding Kiugscote. Three ewes of any age that have reared lambs this year. — Mrst and second prizes, H. S. Waller. CHEVIOTS. Shearling ram. — First and second prizes, R. Shortreed, Kelso, N.B. Commended : J. Robson, Rochester. Ram of any other age. — First and second prizes, J. Robson. Three shearling ewes. — First and second prizes, R. Short- reed. Three ewes of any age, having reared lambs this season. — First and second prizes, R. Shortreed. CROSS-BRED SHEEP. Three shearling ewes. — Prize, S. Davies, Eardswick Hall. PIGS. Boar of large white breed above one year old. — First and second prizes, P. Eden, Salford; third, R. E. Duckering, Northorpe, Kirton Liudsey. Sow of large white breed above one year old, for breeding. — First prize, P. Eden ; second, R. E. Duckering ; third, C. R. Nuttall, Beswicke Royds, Pyke House, Littleborough, Lancashire. Boar of large wliite breed under one year old.^First prize, P. Eden ; second and third, R. E. Duckering. Pair of sows of large white breed under one year old.— First prize, 1". Eden ; second, R. E. Duckering. Boar of small white breed above one year old. — First prize and cup, and second, P. Eden ; third, C. R. Nuttall. Breeding sow of small white breed above one year old. — First prize, C. Roberts, Railway Waggon Works, Wakefield ; second, C.R. Nuttall; third, R.E. Duckering. Boar of small white breed under one year old.— First and third prizes, P. Eden ; second, C. R. Nuttall. Pair of sows of small white breed under one year old. — First prize, C. R. Nuttall ; second, P. Eden ; third, R. E. Duckering. Boar of middle-breed above one year old. — First prize, J. E. Fox, Mansion House, Great Horton, Bradford ; second, F. Ambler, Haugh Shaw, Halifax. Breeding sow of middle-breed above one year old. — First prize and cup, P. Eden ; secoud, R. E. Duckering ; third, J. Kenyon, Brighton-street, Redbank, Manchester. Boar of middle-breed uuder one year old. — First and third prizes, P. Eden ; second, H. Neild, The Grange, Worsley, Manchester. Pair of sows of middle-breed under one year old. — First and second prizes, P. Eden ; third, R. E. Duckering. Boar of the Berkshire breed above one year old. — First prize and cup, J. Smith, Henley-in-Arden, AVarwickshire ; second, Earl of Harrington, Elvaston Castle, Derby; third, J. J. Briscoe, Thornton-hall, Sutton, Chester. Breeding sow of the Berkshire breed above one year old. — ■ First and cup, R. Swanwick, Royal Agricultural College Farm ; second, C. Morris, Holmleigh, Grassendale ; third, F. Rigg, Lea-green, St. Helens. Boar pig of the Berkshire breed under one year old. — First and second prizes, R. Swanwick ; third, Earl of Harrington. Pair of sow pigs of the Berkshire breed under one year old. — First prize, Marquis of Westminster, Moat House, Tarpor- ley, Cheshire ; second, R. Swanwick ; third, T. Atherton, Chapel-house, Garston. Boar, improved Essex breed, above one year old. — First prize and cup, and second, J. Kuowles, Wetlierby House, Wetherby ; third, P. Eden. Breeding sow, improved Esses breed, above one year old. — First prize and cup, J. Knowles ; second, H. N. Abbinett, Finch House, West Derby ; third, R. E. Duckering. Boar, improved Essex breed, uuder one year old. — First and second prizes, J. Knowles ; third, H. N. Abbinett. Pair of sows, improved Esses breed, uuder one year old. — First and second prizes, J. Knowles ; third, T. Comber, Red- cliffe, Newton-le-Willows. Extra Stock. — A medal was awarded to M. Walton, Foundry-street, Halifax, for litter of black pigs, aged twelve weeks. CHEESE. (Open for competition to the United Kingdom.) Four coloured cheese, above 401bs. weight each. — First prize, G. Prescott, Hulgrave, MinshuU Vernon ; second, T. Balmer, Tattenliall, Chester ; tliird, T. Simon, Ternhill, Mar- ket Drayton. Commended : W. Dean, Ledsham, Sutton, Chester , G. Ridout, Leighton, Middlewich ; J. Cornes, New Farm, Hurlston, Nantwich. Four white or uncoloured cheese, above 401bs. weight. — First prize, T. Balmer ; second, J. Chffe, Wliitley Hall, North- wich ; third, H. Wood, Puckuall Farm, Romsey, Hants. Highly commended : J. Wood, Town Fields, Over. Extra Prize. — The judges recommend the Society's silver medal as a premium to G. Murray, Elvaston Castle, Derby, for model of cheese factory and the whole of the working plant. FRESH BUTTER. Six half-pounds, production of eshibitor's own dairy. — First prize and champioa prize. Rev. A. Wright, Tilston Rectory ; second, E. Turner, Gooden F'arra, Heywood ; third ; T. Harri- son, Auglitou, fjiverpool ; fourth, H. Wood, Romsey. Com- mended : B. G. D. Cooke, Colmendy, Mold ; and S. Davies, Eardswick Hall, Middlewicli. SEEDS. (Open to competitiou to seedsmen or gardeners.) Stands of farm and garden seeds, grain, and roots. — First prize, J. Carter and Co., London ; second, J. Dixon and Son, Clieeter. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. ?.17 GRAIN AND ROOTS. (Growa by exhibitors in 1871 : Open for competition to the United Kingdom.) GKAIN. Wliite wlieat, not less than two bushels. — First prize, T. H. Hodson, Nantwich ; second, J. K. Fowler, Aylesbury, Bucks ; third, J. Cornes, Ilurleston, Nantwich. Yellow or red wheat, not less than two bushels. — First prize, F. Lythall, Banbury ; second, W. Sheffield, Tattenhall, Ches- ter ; third, J. Greatorex, Stretton, Burton- on-Trent. White oats, any variety, not less than two bushels. — First prize, J. Southern, Culcheth, Warrington ; second, F. Lythall; third, J. Cornes. Yellow oats, any variety, not less than two bushels. — Prize, H. Neild, Worsley, Manchester. Barley, any variety, not less than two bushels. — First prize, J. K. Fowler; second, J. Cartwright, Speke ; third, T. H. Hodson. Beans, any variety, not less than two bushels. — I'irst prize, F. Lythall ; second, J. K. Fowler. ROOTS. Six roots of Swedish turnips of any kind. — First prize, T. Beakbane, Lunt, Liverpool ; second, J. K. Fowler ; third, W. Birch, Aintree. Sis roots of any other kind of turnips. — First prize, H. Neild, Worsley, Manchester ; second, S. Allen, Onston, \Vea- verhani ; third, J. Greatorex, Stretton, Burton-on-Trent. Six roots of long red mangel wurzei. — First prize, T. Bal- mer, Tattenhall, Chester; second, J. Birch, Sefton, MaghuU ; third, G. W. Crump, Woolas-hill Farm, Fershore. Six roots of yellow mangel wurzei. — First prize, J. K. Fow- ler ; second, T. Balmer ; third, J. M'Gregor, Weaverham, Cheshire. Six roots of any kind of globe mangel wurzei. — First prize, G. W. Crump ; second, J. Cornes, Hurleston, Nantwich. Two Scotch cabbages. — First prize, H. Neild; second, J. Greatorex. Samples of twenty round potatoes (kind to be stated on entry). — First prize, J. Sorley, Roselands, Aigburth ; second, J. Cartwright, Speke ; third, F, Lythall, Banbury. Samples of twenty flat potatoes (kind to be stated on entry). — First prize, F. Lythall ; second, H. Simcock, Barton Moss ; third, H. Neild. Samples of twenty bovina or other cattle potatoes (kind to be stated on entry) . — First prize, F. Lythall ; second, R. Bec- kett, Harford, Northwich ; third, H. Neild. Collection of samples of grain and roots, all of exhibitor's own growing in 1871. — First prize, J. K. Fowler ; second, J. Greatorex. Extra Produce. — A medal to A. Baruchson, Waterloo, for white Silesian sugar beet, and collection of various sorts of sugar manufactured therefrom, also of spirits distilled from tlie best molasses, and potash made from the refuse after distilla- tion. A medal to J. Sorley, for samples of seedling potatoes, of exhibitor's own growing from the potato apple of tiie third year's growth. IMPLEMENTS, MACHINERl, &c. Agricultural machinery in motion. — First prize, J. and H. Keyworth and Co., Liverpool. Collection of farm implements and tools. — First prize,. J. and W. Keyworth, Liverpool. Dairy vessels and utensils. — First prize, John Gidraan, King- street, Knutsford ; second, W. and F. Richmond, Colne. Articles of domestic use. — First prize, G. Peet, 13, Great George-street, Liverpool ; second, W. Bennett, jun., Liverpool. Useful articles in slate. — First prize, W. Orrae Carter, Liver- pool ; second. Belcher and Gee, Gloucester. Best stand of carts, waggons, and drays, for farm and town purposes. — First prize, U. Bracewell, Uriche, Burnley. Best stand of carriages, whitechapels, &c. — First prize, J. Evans, 46, Seel-street, Liverpool ; silver medal, Hy. Farr, Market-place, Wigau ; medals, I'raucis Mulliner, Liverpool, and M'Naught and Smith, Worcester. Best assortment of stable and cowhouse fittings. — First pri ze, Musgrave Brothers, Belfast. Best field-gate and posts of any material, with self-adjusting fastening. — First prize, F. Morton and Co. (Limited), Naylor- street, Liverpool. Best and most useful waggon for farming purpoaes.— Medal to H. Bracewell, Burnley. Best two-horse cart for general farm purposes. — Medal to H. Bracewell, Burnley. Best one-horse ditto : Medal to Wm. Ball and Son, Rothwell, Kettering. At the dinner. Lord Derby, the chairman, said : I rise to propose " Prosperity to the Mancliester and Liverpool Agri- cultural Society," and fortunately the figures in my hand enable me to assure you that that prosperity is not merely a wish in your mind or in mine, but an accomplished fact. The Society has existed now in its present form for nearly a quarter of a century, and its history is one of steady rapid growth. In 1850 the number of persons who paid for ad- admission to the show-yard was 3,300, in 1860 it was over 20,000, and three years ago at Manchester it was 33,000, or just tenfold the number of seventeen years before. The entries of like stock, produce, and of implements, stand higher than in any former year, and in implements especially the in- crease has been enormous. In that department the entries at the present meeting are 2,600, wliich, I am told, is 1,600 more than at any previous show. We have 750 members, of whom 150 were admitted within the last twelve mouths. We have £1,000 laid by for a rainy day ; we have an income which was last year over £3,000, not including the balance from the year before. Our yearly subscribers are 20 per cent, more in number than they were in 1870, and an extra fund of more than £2,000 has been raised by the local com- mittee in aid of this exhibition. I think you will want no further proof that the Society is doing its work and holding its own. Nor is it necessary that 1 should stop to argue the question as to the usetulness of societies of this kind. Ex- perience has decided that matter for us. There is hardly a parish in England which does not help to support one, and in these parts so far from their falling off the tendency is rather to multiply them to excess. Their object is, in one word, to show the farmer how„to make the most of his land. Now, if there is one thing more certain than another, it is this, that where farming has to be applied to a limited area like that of England, where an acre costs more than a square mile in some countries, it can only be made to answer. Foreign compe- tition and home competition, too, can only be met by the combination of chemical and mechanical appHances, requiring some capital to attain them and some knowledge to manage them. Of course a man may go on after the fashion of the Irish cottiers, scratching the earth for a bare subsistence, but that is not farming ; and I am only repeating an opinion which I have expressed before, and which I hold very strongly, when I say that the cottier, the peasant cultivator, honest and industrious and frugal as he may be, has just as much chance of holding his own against tlie combination of capi- tal and science as bows and arrows have of superseding breech-loading riiles, or hand-loom weaving of driving the power-loom out of the field. And do not let anyone imagine that this question of skilled or unskilled farming is a small one. It may very well be that the enormous wealth due to manu- factures and commerce, the weath which is represented by 200 millions yearly of Britisii exports, the wealth for which we lay the whole world under contribution, should make us com- paratively indifferent to what we get out of the spoil, and, apart from that, there is a claim which may be put forward, and which, within fair limits, is a very reasonable claim, for the preservation of a moderate proportion of our little island for purposes of beauty and enjoyment, whether to the owners or to the public. High farming is apt not to be picturesque, and some sacrifices of profit may reasonably be made in the interest of that kind of taste which we all desire to see more and more extended. But, after setting apart all that can be required for that purpose on a liberal allowance, the fact still remains that we do not get, as yet, out of English earth one- half of what we probably might with advantage if all out present resources were brought to bear on the soil. Mr. Mechi, who, as most of you know, is rather enthusiastic in this mat- ter, puts tlie estimate much liiglier, but I don't want to over- state my case. No doubt there has been, and there is great improvement. We hear talk now and then about the recla- mation of waste lands, and it is endeavoured to raise a cry on that subject. Why, ever since I can remember, we have been 318 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. reclaiming our waste lanJs in Lancashire, without any fuss or noise about it, and in half a century we have pretty well suc- ceeded in changing the lace of the country ; and if anyone complains that this process of improvement does not go on fast enough, they must remember that in the nature of the case where tenant-farmers are concerned it must be a gradual one. There are other besides economical considerations which affect us. We may wish that all our tenants had capital and science and energy, but I think that very few landlords would choose to lay it down as a principle that anyone not possessing these quahficadons should be turned off from a farm on which he and his fathers before him may have lived. We want to move on, but we want also, if possible, to move on together — to live and let live — not for a few to make fortunes and the rest go to the dogs ; and I will add that if this work of agricultural improve- ment is to be carried on as it should be, it is the landlord, quite as much as the farmer, who must put his shoulder to the wheel. It may be said that he has not very often the capital required. Well, I beUeve that what is wanted from the land- lord is much less that he should put a large amount of capital of Ilia own on to the soil — though of course, that is desirable — than that he should offer no obstacle to its being put on by the tenant. Security is the first requisite, and I hold that any tenant good enough to be kept permanently on the land ought to have a lease if he wants one. I say " kept permanently," because there are, of course, cases where tenants are retained from kindly feelings, though not very fit to do justice to their farms, and in such cases the landlord may reasonably desire some check upon mismanagement. As to conditions of let- ting, they would vary in different places, but I have not altered the opinion which I expressed some years ago, that as a rule they ought to be few and simple. If a man is not able or willing to do the work, he is in the wrong place, and would be better away, though I admit that in practice you cannot al- ways act upon that view. If he is fit for his business he will probably do it best in his own way. Then there is that tick- lish question of game— a word I am almost afraid of uttering on such an occasion, tliough I do not think I shall have any- thing to say upon it that can provoke controversy. I have always thought it a question which, with moderation and good sense on botli sides, ought not to give trouble. Nobody can doubt that there is a great deal of over-preserving in England, and that in some places it has been carried so far as to amount to a public nuisance, and when that is the case I hold that vrhat is in fault is not the love of sport, but a love of ostenta- tion and display, and it can hardly assume a more objectionable shape. VVe are told that there is to be some legislation on the subject. Now, personally I am not a very keen sports- man, and I shall acquiesce heartily in whatever Parliament may decide; but I would just point out that it is possible for you to go so far as to defeat your own object. The absolute sweeping away of tlie power of keeping game on farms, however brouglit about, would of course imply, under their changed conditions, a general re- valuation for rents, and by that operation the tenant wouhl certainly not be a gainer; while in other cases it might probably lead to this— the rich men, fond of their sport, and willing to make sacrifices in order to keep it, would take more and more of tlieir estates into their own liauds in order to enjoy their amusement undisturbed. Tbat would not be an arrange- ment, I think, for the benefit of any party. One thing, I think, the tenant really has in many cases to complain of, and that is the difficulty of making a fair bargain with his landlord where game is concerned ; because, not knowing what the quantity of it will be, he cannot form an estimate beforehand as to the probability of loss. If that can be remedied — and I do not see why it should not be— I cannot see that there is any in- justice or grievance remaining so far as that is concerned. I ought to apologize for the length at whicli I am detaining you, but there is a far wider and graver question which many have for years past been discussing at pubhc meetings, and which I do not like to leave entirely untouched — I mean the question of ownership of the soil. I have but little to trouble you with in regard to it, audi shall carefully avoid touching on auy- tliing that can be considered political ground. What I most wish to point out is the curious uncertainty as to the facts of the case m which we are, and the expediency of doing some- thing to have that uncertainty removed. I have seen it re- peated again and again that the whole soil of these islands is in the hands of less than 30,000 persons, but it is perfectly well known to every one much interested Ln such matters that that assertion rests on a mere mistake — on the misreading of a statement made in the Census of 1861. In that Census about 30,000 persons returned themselves under the head of land- owners, the great majority who held land having entered them- selves, as they were free to do, under other designations ; and the best proof of the fallacy of the figures is this — that 15,000 out of the whole so returned were women. Now, we know that half the land is not in female hands, and that probably not one-tenth of our landowners, if so many, are women. I won't set guess against guess, but if I were compelled to do so I should say you might multiply the figure I have given of 30,000 by ten at least, and still be be below the mark. Another fallacy constantly repeated, and which I can with similar con- fidence contradict, even from my own limited experience, is that it is a very difficult matter for anyone to buy a landed estate, that land is so locked up that it cannot be brought into the market. Now, inasmuch as people having estates to sell are fond of pressing them on the notice of those whom they suppose may wish to buy, I have some personal knowledge of that matter, and I affirm with confidence that there is at this moment hardly a county in England where a man looking for a landed investment cannot find what he wants. If it were otherwise, we should have plenty of complaints from the capitalists of these parts ; but the fact is, I believe, that at the present time there are, of the two, more sellers than buyers. We live in days of change. There are a great many people who prefer to have their property where they can, at a few hours' notice, move it to any part of the world, and that is a feeling more likely to increase than diminish. It may be the fact — I believe it is — that a man who wants only a few acres does not always find it easy to buy them, but if there is any real demand for small freeholds, surely it would be worth the while of speculators to buy up large estates as they come into the market and to sell them again piecemeal. If that is not done, the only reason can be that it does not pay. Then there is another notion afloat — that estates are constantly tending to become fewer in number and bigger in size. That is the point on wliich no man's observation can be wide enough to enable him to speak with certainty ; but I greatly doubt whether the fact is so. Some large estates, no doubt, are growing, but many alas break up, and the one process probably balances the other. Near great towns, especially near Lon- don, there is certainly, as a rule, more of dis- ruption than of accumulatiou. My belief is — though 1 give it only as a thing which seems to me probable, not as a thing proved — that both very great and very small properties are becoming fewer, and those of a middle size more numerous. Poor landowners prefer ten per cent, in trade to two per cent, from laud — they sell and go into business ; and, on the other hand, there is a limit beyond which most men do not desire to extend their holding of what is essentially an unreraunerative investment. But why should we be left on this subject to mere speculation ? Is it impossi- ble to get at the facts ? Is a Domesday Book more difficult now than in the days of the Conqueror ? If what is called the Land Question is to come to the front, as I suppose it will, surely vve ought to discuss it with as much positive knowledge as we can bring to bear. I am not insensible — no man who keeps his eyes open can be so — to the value, in asocial point of view, of having a numerous body of men concerned in land owning. My contention is only this, that the supply of land in the market fully equals the present demand, aud that the popular theory, that it is so locked up that nobody can buy, rests on no solid foundation. Mr. Christopher Bushell proposed Success to the Royal Agricultural Societies of England, Ireland, and Scotland. Mr. B. Gibbs responded on behalf of the Iloyal Agricul- tural Society of England ; Mr. R. A. Macfie, M.P., on behalf of the Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland ; and 'Mr. £. Purdon on behalf of the Royal Agricultural Society of Ireland. Mr. J. M. K. Elliott responded for the judges. In the classes he had to deal with he could not please himself. It was iu this way : all the classes were so numerous and so good that, if possible, he would have had great pleasure in giving many more prizes. During the three days of this Meeting 75,000 visited the SV®w-yard, and the receipts amounted to £4,850, THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 319 LEOMINSTER AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. The first exhibition of cattle, horses, sheep, pigs, and im- plements, under the auspices of the revived Leominster Agri- cultural Society, was lield on the first Monday in September. The Leominster show of olden days was a sight worth the seeing, and well deserved its popularity. Just as the Society was in its zenith, and on the very eve of the holding of its show, came the out-break of the cattle plague, and the meeting had of necessity to be postponed. This was in 1865 ; nor has any exhibition till now been held since that time. Hereford cattle again formed the principal element in the show, and for the best bull and offspring Mr. Philip Turner carried off the prize with Bachelor, the second prize at Wolverhampton, and Mr. H. N. Edwards, the only other competitor in this class came in for a commendation with Sir John. For the best pair of two- year-old steers Mr. Edward Hughes, Lady Court, took the prize, and came in for a commendation with another pair. The competition in this class also was limited, there being only one other exhibitor, Mr. Philip Turner. The prize heifers in class 3 (best pair calved since 1st March, 1869) were the property also of Mr. Turner. The prize takers in the next class (best pair of steers calved since 1st March, 1870) were exhibited by Mr. George Bedford, Milton ; and the best yearling heifers were shown by Mr. T. Fenn, of Downton. There was a more extended competition in this class, and besides the prize takers Mr. George Yeld, Twyford, and Mr. H. N. Edwards, of Broad-street, were each commended. In the class of bull calves Mr. H. N. Edwards's calf, though it gained the first prize at the Boyal, came in for only second honours here, Mr. S. Edwards's calf taking first. In class 9 again (best rear of yearlings) there were only two com- petitors, Mr. Edward Hughes, Lady Court, and Mr. R. H. Ridler, Gattertop. The prizes were taken by Mr. Hughes with 28, while Mr. Ridler showed 24. In the extra stock class Mr. J. H. Arkwright showed a lot of breeding cows, and also some heifers ; Mr. G. Yeld a lot of heifers, and Mr. Smith, Monkland, and Mr. Meredith, Wharton, each some steers, those of the first-named exhibitor (twelve in number) being not for competition. There was a fair amount of competition in the sheep classes. Mr. Pinches's Headsman took the prize as the best whiteface, and Mr. Fenn's Shropshire as the best of the blackfaced breed. Mr. Pinches and Mr. Fenn occupied the same relative positions in the classes for ewes, Mr. Pinches taking the prize for the best pen of ten whitefaced, and Mr. Fenn for the best pen of blackfaced ; while Mr. John Thomas, of Cholstrey, was commended for a pen of whitefaced ewes, and Mr. T. D. Edwards for a pen of ten blackfaced sheep. Mr. Thomas was first also with whitefaced wether lambs, and Mr. T. A. Turner, Staunton-on-Arrow, with black-faced wether lambs. Mr. Pinches was again successful in white- faced yearling ewes, Mr. John Thomas receiving commenda- tion. The honours in the last class of blackfaced yearlings were taken by Mr. Turner, of Staunton, and Mr. Fenn com- mended. Mr. Pinches exhibited several ram and yearling lambs and some ewes as extra stock, for which he took some prizes, and Mr. Thomas sundry lots under the same head, for which he also was awarded a prize. The pig classes were the worst represented of any at the show, there being only two entries, and those by the same exhibitor, Mrs. Prescott, of Bockleton. In the horse classes there was a capital show. For the best colt or filly under five years old, suitable for hunt- ing purposes, Mr, G. Bedford, Milton, took the prize with a gelding by Stepping Stone. There were five entries in the hunter's class, and Mr. Bonham Caldwall's Gemma Junior was declared the winner. In the cob class the prize-taker was the property of Major Peploe ; while a good-looking animal, ex- hibited by Mr. T. Cranston, Little Dilwyn, came in for a com- mendation. There were only two entries for the best nag mare and foal, Mr. Edwards, of Broadward, taking the prize. For the best yearling nag colt or filly. Captain Stevenson, of Hennor House, Leominster, received the prize with a colt by Double X, Mr. Edward Hughes being commended. In the class for cart horses the prize-takers were Mr. R. J. Dent, Alton Court, Dilwyn, cart gelding; Mr. W. Hinton, Lady Meadow, Yarpole, cart mare and colt, and Mr. \V. K. Godlrey, Stoke Prior, Leominster, colt ; and Mr. Lane, Ryelands, and Mr. G. Bedford, Milton, were each commended, the former for a filly, and the latter for a colt. There was a terrible "wrangle" over the hunters' prize award, the Judge having increased the strength of the fences. The judges were : For cattle, sheep, and pigs, Mr. John Wigmore, Lower Wesson, Ross, and Mr. James Williams, Stretfford Bury ; and for horses, Mr. John Walker, Knights- wick. At the dinner Mr. Edwards, the Vice-Chairman, said that with regard to the number of entries that they were as numerous as under the circumstances could have been expected, because, as aU present were aware, it was something like seven years since the last show was held, and naturally it was a matter of some difliculty to resuscitate a thing that was half defunct. But they had got in the Leominster district agriculturists who were doing their best to produce good stock, and they had also got in that district some of the very best Herefords that could be produced. They had men, too, who were trying to produce sheep the best calculated for the country. He saw no reason, therefore, why they should not have a tolerably good show of cattle, sheep, and horses, once a year and every year. It had been brought to his knowledge within the last few days that there was some talk of an amalgamation between Herefordshire, Shropshire, Worcestershire, and Gloucestershire ; and should such amalgamation take place he believed it would be to the advantage of all the counties. We could help the other counties, and they could help us, and if only we could part witli that little bit of jealous feeling which wo had we might both give and receive a good deal of good ; but if no such amalgamation should take place he thought they might be able to have a fair show in Leominster every year. Sir Herbert Croft refering to the allusion made by the vice-chairman to an amalgamation of the Herefordshire, Shropshire, Worcestershire, and Gloucester Societies into one, said he saw the challenge thrown down the other day at Mal- vern for the amalgamation of the four societies, and he must honestly confess he would be very glad indeed to see it take place for this especial reason, that as there was no chance of having the Royal at Hereford for the next ten years, and as when it did come it was rather an expensive amusement, he would be glad to see a society established in this part of the world something after the model of the Bath and West of England as an amalgamated society of the four counties of Hereford, Gloucester, and so on, would be. But although Mr. Edwards had alluded to the possibility of an amalgama- tion taking place, he did not observe that Mr. Walker, who came from Worcestershire, seemed at all delighted with the idea ; but he must say that amongst those with whom he had talked the opinion seemed to be that such a show would be an extremely good thing, provided it could take place not at the expense of the locol shows. It came therefore to this. At present there did not seem to be any inclination to do away with the local shows, which were feeders to the larger shows ; and the starting of such a show as had been spoken of seemed to resolve itself simply into a question of money. He would be extremely glad himself to subscribe to such a society as he had hinted it. If the four counties could be united, and the meetings held on the same principle as the music festival at the county town of each in turn, he thought it would be an extremely desirable thing for all parties. He expressed no opinion of his own on the question ; he simply said he did not think the farmers generally seemed at all in the humour to give up their local shows in order to have a show once in four years. Mr. Walker said that, as a member of the committee of the Worcester Agricultural Society, he would only say, in re- joinder to Sir Herbert Croft's allusion to his silence on this point when he spoke before, that Worcester would be pleased to join the other three counties in the way suggested. He had not, he said, expressed any opinion on the matter when speaking before, considering that he was then speaking as a 320 THE FAEMER'S MAGAZINE. judge, and as a judge ouly. But, being appealed to, he could assure the company tliat it was the sincere wisli of the Worcester Society to join the other three counties. Mr. Watts said he could remember the time when the plough was drawn by four or five horses. Now, only two were used. The land, too, had been much improved ot late years by draining, though it was not by draining only, but the know- ledge that had been difTused that liad led to the improvements which had taken place in agriculture. V\'ith regard to the white-faced breed of cattle, he should be glad to subscribe or do anything he could to maintain that breed. He had seen them in many places, and that celebrated man, Mr. Heath, always said there was no cattle equal to the Herefords. Then with regard to horses, when he was a boy there were a great many better horses bred in Herefordshire than there were at the present time. There nsed to be some very good breeding mares in the neighbourhood of Ivington, but they had all gone. As to sheep, there had been great improvement in those animals. Tlie black-faced sheep came originally from Norfolk, and crossed with what were called the Sliropshire-down ; but they were then very different animals from what they now were. He recollected that old Mr. Edwards, of Broadward, used to have a very fine flock of Leicester sheep. Mr. Thomas said : As to the amalgamation of Hereford- shire with Shropshire and the other counties, his opinion was that the Hereford being a distinct breed no such amalgamation ought to be allowed to take place. If they did amalgamate and did away with the Hereford show it would be a serious thing for the breeders, for people came from all parts of the world to buy cattle at that show. He was an advocate for local shows, but he would say let the Hereford show be kept up by all means. These local societies brought people to- gether, and a great deal of good arose from them. He was sorry to find that they were not better supported by the county gentry. They had been favoured with the company of two of the county members at that meeting, but he cer- tainly felt regret that there were not more local gentry present. THE CLEVELAND AGRICULTUEAL SOCIETY. The annual show was held at South Stockton. With the exception of cattle, the entries in all the departments were good, but not equal to the show of last year when held at Guisborough. No doubt the extensive prevalence of the cattle disease in the district had iufluented the entries, and hence the smaller number in comparison with previous years. The total amount of money offered in prizes was £400. The entries comprised the following : Horses 260, Shorthorns 22, sheep 50, pigs 25, poultry 140, dairy produce 13. JUDGES. Cattle, Sheep, and Pigs.— S. Rowlandson, Newton Mor- rell; T. Wetherell, Claypath, Darlington; T. Outhwaite, Knaresborough. Horses.— Hunters : C. Wood, South Dalton ; J. Parrington, Brancepeth; A. L. Maynard, Newton Hall. Cleveland Bays and Coaching : R. Hodgson, jun., Langton Grange ; J. S. Darrell, West Ayton; J. Purneis, Perryhill. Draught, Roadsters, and Ponies : T. Scott, Boroughbridge ; J. Thomas, North Otterington ; J. S. Stowell, Darlington. PouLTE-*!.— E. Hutton, Pudsey. Eggs, Butter, and Cheese.- G. Watson, Middlesbrough ; A. C. Knowles, Stockton-on-Tees. SHORTHORNS. OPEN TO ALL PARTS OF THE UNITED KINGDOM. Bulls of any age. — Pirst prize, T. M. Cleasby, Redcar ; se- cond. Earl Vane. Cows in calf or milk. — Prize, R. Emmerson, jun., Darling- ton. DISTRICT CLASSES, Bulls of any age. — First prize, Representatives of the late T. Johnson, Stockton-on-Tees ; second, R. Brunton, Middles- brough. Bulls under eighteen months old. — First prize, Mrs. Kitch- ing, Northallerton ; second, J. Pierson, Great Ayton. Cows in calf or milk. — First prize, D. Webster, Northaller- ton ; second, W. Wilson, South Stockton. Cows for dairy purposes in calf or milk. — First prize, J . Herring, Middlesbrough ; second, T. Robinson, Stockton. Two-year-old heifers in calf or milk.— First prize, R. Beach, Stockton ; second, W. Callender, Stockton. SHEEP. leicesters and blackeaced. (District Prizes.) Shearling rams.— First and second prize, R. P. Fetch, Marske-by-the-Sea. Two shear and upwards.— First prize, E. P. Fetch ; second, 11. Beach. Pens of five breeding ewes — First prize, R. Beach ; second, ±v. r. retch. Pens of five shearling gammers.— First prize, H.EUiff.Yarm : seio-.djR. Beach. Pens of five gimmer lambs. — First prize, F. Tidyman, Stock- ton ; second, Mrs. Kitching. Tup lambs. — Prize, F. Tidyman. Blackfaced tups. — First and second prize, W. Rudsdale, Yarm. Pens of five blackfaced breeding ewes — First prize, Messrs. C. and J. Smith, Yarm ; second, W, Rudsdale, PIGS. Boar, under two years old, large breed. — First prize, J. Dinsdale, South Stockton ; second, W. Rudsdale, Yarm. Boar, under two years old, small breed. — First prize, W. Rudsdale ; second J. Nightingale, Guisboro'. Sow of any age, laige breed, in pig or milk. — First prize, P. Sturdy, Middlesbro' ; second, W. Rudsdale. Sow of any age, small breed, in pig or milk. — Prize, J, Nightingale. Grazing pig. — First and second prize, J. Starling, Guis- boro'. Litter of pigs under eight weeks of age. — l^irst prize, J. Nightingale ; second, F. Carter, Midelesboro' Two store pigs, any breed, not exceeding twelve months old^ — First prize, W. Appleton, Stokesley; second, T. Curry, Great Ayton. HORSES. Cleveland bay brood mare. — First prize, L. Manfield, Thirsk ; second, R. J. Sayer, Great Ayton. Cleveland bay colt foal. — First prize, W. Wise, Northaller- ton ; second, T. Wood, Marske-by-the-Sea. Cleveland bay filly foal. — First prize, J. Porritt, Saltburn- by-the-Seas; second, I. Ward, Guisbro'. Cleveland bay yearling filly. — First prize, T. Wood ; second, I. Plews, Whitby. Coaching brood mare. — First prize, R. Watson, Stockton- on-Tees ; second, W. L. Robinson, Easingwold. Coaching colt foal. — First prize, J . Snowball, Hemlington ; second, J. Dodsworth, Stockton-on-Tees. Coaching filly foal. — Prize, W. Hutchinson, Yarm. . Coaching yearling gelding. — First prize, L. Manfield ; second, T.Curry, Great Ayton. Coaching two-year-old gelding — Prize, G, Robinson, Mid- dlesbro'. Coaching !wo-year-old filly. — First prize, J. and W. Garnett, Northallerton ; second, J, Feathers,tone, Middlesbro'. Coaching three-year-old gelding. — First prize, J. and G. Leng, Darlington ; second, J. S. Stowell, Darlington. Coaching three-year-old filly. — First prize, J. Coulson, Yarm ; second, H. Carter, Stockton-on-Tees. Roadster brood mare.— First prize, W. F. Filter, South Preston ; second, P. Sturdy. Roadster foal, colt, or filly.— First prize, W. AValHs, Red- car ; second, J. Davison, Darlington. Roadster yearling colt or filly.— First prize, P. Sturdy j •e:ond, M. Brunton, Darlington. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. S21 Roadster two-year-okl colt or filly. — First prize, J. W. Pease, M.P., Guisbro ; second, J. Kirby, Knaytoa. Roadster three-year-old colt or fdly. — First prize, J. Carter, Richinond ; second, M. Law, Darlington. Draught brood mare. — Prize, R. Watson, Stockton-on-Tees. Draught colt foals. — First and second prizes, Mrs. Kitching, Whorlton, Northallerton. Draught filly foals. — Prize, T. Curry, Morton Carr, Great Ayton. Draught yearlings, geldings, or fillies. — First prize, H. Eramerson, Lazenby, Redcar ; second, A. H. T. Newcoraen, Kirkleatham Hall, Redcar. Draught two-year-old geldings or fillies. — First and second prizes, J. Raine, Nunstainton, Ferry Hill. Draught three-year-old geldings or fillies. — First prize, Ann Heddon, Baldersby, Thirsk ; second, J. W. Pease, M.P., Guis- bro'. In pairs for agricultural purposes, mares or geldings, under eight years old, tlie property of a te^iant farmer. — First prize, N. Stonehouse and Son, Marske-by-the-Sea ; second, J. Peir- son, Ayreholme, Great Ayton. Pairs of young draught horses, mares or geldings, either two or three years old, the bona fide property of one or two persons resident within the district. — First prize, N. Stonehouse and Son ; second, T. Curry. Ponies, mares or geldings, under eight years of age, from 13 to 14f hands 2 inches high. — First prize, W. Stephenson, Cottinghara ; second, W. Snowden and Sons, Slingsby, York. Mares or geldings, under eight years of age, not to exceed 13 hands high. — First prize, H. Smith, South Stockton; second, A.Kitching, Ayton Firs, Northallerton. HUNTERS. Hunting brood mares. — First prize, J . T. Robinson, Asenby, Thirsk ; second, R. Jackson, Normanby, Middlesbro'. Hunting colt foals. — First prize, R. Ward, Piuchingthorpe, Guisbro' ; second, T. Curry. Hunting filly foals. — First prize, T. Blackburn, Great Broughton, Northallerton ; second, J. Walton, Acklam, Mid- dlesbro'. Hunting yearling geldings. — Prize, J. Mewburn, Redcar. Hunting yearling fillies. — First prize, A. H.T. Newcomen ; second, P. Shimmins, Whitby. Hunting two-year-old geldings. — First prize, G. Carter, Bedale ; second, J. Mewburn. Hunting two-year-old fillies. — First prize, R. Emmerson, jun,. Over Dindsdale, Darlington ; second, J. W. Pease. Hunting three-year-old geldings. — First prize, C. M. New- comen, Kirkleatham; second, R. F. Trenholm, Butterwick, Sedgefield. Hunting three-year-old fillies. — First prize, T. Darrell, West Ayton ; second, J. B. Booth, Catterick. Extra Stock. Horses. — First prize, Hopkins, Gilkes, Se. Co., Middlesbro' j second, T. Webster, Stainsby, Stockton-on-Tees. Specia-l Prizes. Four-year-old hunting geldings, by a thorough-bred horse. — First prize, R. Brunton, Marton, Middlesbro' ; second, E. Nesfield, Scarbro'. Four-year-old hunting mares, by a thorough-bred horse. — First prize, J. Kirby, Knayton, Thirsk ; second, G. Blackburn, Stokesley. Hunting gelding or mare of any age (by a thorough-bred horse), which shall have been hunted during the last season with the Cleveland or Hurworth Hounds. The exhibitor to be a tenant-farmer and a member of the Cleveland Hunt Club, cup, R. Brunton, Marton, Middlesbro' ; for leaping, R. Jackson. BURNLEY AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. PRIZE LIST. JUDGES. Cattle.— T. Dodd and T. Hood. Horses. — J. Bromley and R. Bond. Sheep, Pigs, and Butter. — R. Riley and J. Mercer. Poultry, Pigeons, and Rabbits. — H. Smith, Doug- las, and Tate. CATTLE. Bull, two years old and upwards. — Prize, silver cup or £5, T. Statter, jun., Stand Hall, Whitefield, Manchester. Bull above one and under two years old. — Prize, cup or £5, R. Parker, Hollin Cross, Burnley. 13ull calf under twelve months old. — Prize, T. Statter, jun. BuU calf under six months old. — Prize, B. Bee, BiiUsnape Hall, Goosnargh, near Preston. Cow, in-calf or milk, above three years old. — Prize, T. Statter, jun. Heifer, in-calf or milk, under three year old. — Prize, T. Statter, jun. Heifer under two years. — Prize, T. Statter, jun. Heifer calf under twelve months old. — Prize, T. Statter, jun. Bull, two years old and upward, the property of a tenant farmer. — Pnze, cup or £5, J. Farrer, Thorneyholrae, near Burnley. Bull above one and under two years old. — Prize, cup or £5, R. Whittam, Mount Pleasant, near Burnley. * Bull calf under twelve months old.— Prize, R. Whittam. Bull calf under six mouths old. — Prize, R. Parker. Cow, in-calf or milk, above three years old. — Prize, J. Farrer. Heifer, in-calf or milk, under three years old. — Prize, J. Farrer. Heifer under two years old. — Prize, J. Farrer. Heifer under twelve months old. — Prize, Farrer. Fat cow, fed by the exhibitor. — Prize, R Riley, Hapten Hall. HORSES. Brood mare for agricultural purposes.— Prize, T. Statter, jun. Brood mare for draught purposes. — Prize, T. Statter, jun. Brood mare for road or field.— Prize, Mrs. Dugdale and Sons, Mytton Bridge, Mytton. Gelding or filly, for road or field.— Prize, T. Barcroft, Gag- hills House, Waterfoot, near Manchester. Three years old gelding or filly, for road or field. — Prize, W. Roberts, Thorneyholme, near Burnle.y Two years old gelding or filly, for road or field. — Prize, W. Roberts. Yearling colt or filly, for road or field.— Prize, P. Parker, Old Carr Head, Crossbills, Leeds. Gelding or filly, for agricultural purposes, of four years old and upwards. — Prize, C. W. Brierley, Rhodes House, Mid- dleton. Gelding or filly, for draught purposes, of four years old and upwards. — Prize, C. W. Brierley. Three years old gelding or filly, for draught or agricultural purposes. — Prize, 0. W. Brierley. Two years old gelding or fiUy, for draught or agricultural purposes. — Prize, T. Statter, jun. Yearling colt or filly, for draught or agricultural purposes. — Prize, T. Statter, jun. Foal for road or field. — Prize, Mrs. Dugdale and Sons. Foal for draught or agricultural purposes. — Prize, J. Daw- son, Overtown, near Burnley. Foal got by Young Sampson. — Prize (given by owner of sire), H. Tatham, Burnley. Cob not exceeding 15 hands. — Prize, T. Fildes, East Beach, Lytham, Douglas. Cob not exceeding l-i hands. — Prize, L. Uttley, Newsham Lodge, near Preston. Cob not exceeding 13 hands. — Prize, T. Statter, jun. Pony not exceeding 12 hands. — Prize, J. Uoulker, Revidge Blackburn. Stallion for road or field.— Prize, J, Gill, Howden Park, Silsden, near Leeds. 322 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. Stallion for draught fpurposes.— Prize, J. Eorshaw, Burley, near Leeds. Hunter.— Prize, cup or £7, Major Starkie, Huntroyd, near Burnley. Best jumper, not to exceed 14 hand.— Prize, E. Stocks, Burnley. Jumper, not to exceed 13 hands. — Prize, W.Lumb, Brother- hood Hall, near Rochdale. Donkeys. — Prize, A. Smith, Accrington. SHEEP. Ram, Leicester or long-woolled breed.— Prize, J. and R. Earnshaw, The Hill, Grindleton, Clitlieroe. Shearling ram, Leicester or long-woolled breed. — Prize, J. and R. Earnshaw. Tup lamb, Leicester or long-woolled breed. — Prize, W. Sraalley, Grindleton, Clitheroe. Mountain or lonk ram. — Prize, T. Howarth, Cheesden, near Rochdale. Mountain or lonk shearling ram. — Prize, L. Stanworth, Worsthorne. Mountain or lonk tup lamb. — Prize, B. Dobson, Ilkley. Pen of five ewes of the Leicester or long-woolled breed.— Prize, J. and R. Earnshaw, Pen of five shearling gimmers, Leicester or long-woolled breed.— Prize, J, and R. Earnshaw. Pen of five gimmer lambs, Leicester or long-woolled breed. —Prize, J. and W. Pinder, Waddington. Pen of five lonk ewes. — Prize, J. G. Bridge, Edge Coates, Rawtenstall. Pen of five lonk gimmer hoggs. — Prize, J. G. Bridge. Pen of five gimmer lambs of the mountain or louk breed.— Prize, J. Pickup, Turn Hill, Dean, near Newchurch. Pen of half-bred ewes. — Prize, W. and T. Holgate, Asker Hill, Grindleton, Clitheroe. Pen of five half-bred shearing gimmers. — Prize, W. and T. Holgate. PIGS. Boar large breed. — Prize, P. Eden, Cross Lane, Salford. Boar middle breed.— Prize, H. R. W. B. Royds, Pyke House, Littleborough. Boar small breed. — Prize, P. Eden. Breeding sow large breed. — Prize, P. Eden. Breeding sow middle breed. — Prize, P. Eden. Breeding sow small breed. — Prize, H. R. W. B. Royds. Store pig. — Prize, C. Harrison, Burnley. Cottagers' class store pig. — Prize, T. Warah, Adamson's farm, Burnley. AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS. Por the best collection of agricultural implements.— Prize, £5, W. and E. Richmond, Colne. SALE OF THE LATE MR. THOS. BARNES' SHORTHORN HERD, At Westland Kells, Ireland, on Wednesday, Aug. 23. BY MR. THORNTON. The liistory of Irish Shorthorns traces through a period of little more than forty years. Prior to 1829 little account can be found of any pedigree cattle of high cliaracter crossing the Channel, though it is known that Lady Ross imported Tees- waters and good cattle from the neighbourhood of Darlington. The late Mr. Robert Holmes was, however, the great improver of Irish stock, for by introducing thoroughbred horses aud after- wards pure-bred Shorthorns, he paved the way to that perma- nent improvement in horses and cattle that has given them such a good demand in that country. It is with the Shorthorns we have now to do. Mr. Holmes bought many good auiraals from Mr. Mason's sale, Mr. Booth, Mr. Champion, aud other breeders at that time, and his example was soon followed by his young friend Mr. Thos. Barnes, who, after having used Mr. Holmes' Prince George (2i64) started on his own account, aud by the ad- vice of Mr. Holmes bought two animals oftlie Maulalini tribe. One of them produced a bull called Albion, and after using him, Mr. Barnes hired Hamlet (8126) from Mr. John Booth, and then followed a succession of the best-bred bulls on hire from Messrs. John and Richard Booth, until the herd, after the dispersion of Mr. Holmes in 1S53, took rank as the best stock in the country ; indeed he fairly earned the title of the Booth of Ireland. His stock was much sought by English breeders. Mr. Torr used several of his bulls, Mr. "Walde, Mr. J . Robinson, and Mr. Chas. Howard were also hirers. Lady Pigot gave him 500 guineas for Victoria, a heifer of the Mantaliui tribe, and the Rev. T. Staniforth about two years ago bought a cow and heifer of the same tribe at an enormous price. The death of his eldest son in 1868 fell so heavily upon him that he contemplated selling his entire stock, but his health continuing very feeble, it was put off and put off until last spring, when he quietly passed away, having earned the gratitude of his countrymen in the improvement of tlieir stocks, by the use of his bulls in all parts of Ireland, as well as the respect of his neighbours by his uprightness and consideration as an extensive laud agent. His son William succeeded to the Westland estate, aud in order to carry out his father's wishes the herd; save a half-dozen old cows, and the bull Lord Napier, was announced for sale. It excited much attention in Ire- land, but misfortune befel the stock. The foot-and-mouth disease broke out in the county, and a week before the sale it smote the Westland herd very seriously. Too late to postpone the sale it went on, and though those who had talked of going from England were advised, it deterred only one or two. The cattle the day before the sale presented a melancholy appear- ance, some were so lame they could scarcely walk, others were frothing at the mouth and not eating, whilst the whole stock had sunk stones iu condition. The morning of sale brought the most prominent breeders from Ireland aud a few from Scotland, and several were for begging off the sale until the end of October or next spring. Mr. Barnes, however, con- cluded that the company should not be disappointed, and ordered the sale to go on. Liberal conditions were then drawn up. The cattle were to be kept until the Inspector had given a clean bill of heallh, and no money was to be paid nntil the certificate had been forwarded to the purchaser, Mr. Barnes taking all the risk and expense of the herd upou him- self until such -was given. When these conditions were an- nounced, they were received with the approval, indeed the applause of the company. Some of the old cows, newly calved, came in very lame, and made, as will be seen below, but comparatively low prices. Although two or three made 70 and 80 guineas each, the company waited for the first Mantalini, lot 7, Grand Duchess 3rd. It should here be said that some few years ago Mr. Barnes introduced a slight cross on this tribe by sending his best cow. Sylph, to Mr. Bolden's Grand Duke 3rd. Beneficial as the cross may have been, it did not meet with the thorough approval of the company, as the price of the only pure specimen will eventually show. Lot 7 was started at a 100 gs., and, after competition between Irish and English breeders, fell at 220 gs. to Mr. E. J. Smith, a rising young breeder in County Limerick. Some of the Bright Eyes tribe descended from Mr. Lawson's herd were beautifully-formed, good cattle, as also were the Isabellas ob- tained from Mr. Knox, but having some objectionable crosses- The fiue structural formation of the cattle was very striking, as they hobbled in dreadfully reduced in coudicion ; and had they been covered with flesh and in full bloom, as the stock generally is at this season, shown on the splendid grass-lauds of Meath, they would doubt- less have realized far higher prices. Lot IS, Bracelet, having a double cross of the Third Grand Duke, was a splendid young heifer : the biddings gradually rose to £300, aud the excite- ment of the comparatively small company could scarcely be restrained : they cheered. Five more was bid, aud Mr. Dow- ning's ten secured her for Co. Cork, Necklace, of the same THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 323 tribe, by King Richard, was very mucli cut up, and people thought she would not make half Bracelet's price, still the biddings were very rapid, and Mr. G. Allen bought her to go to Co. Down for 335 gs. The excitement became intense : the crack heifer of the sale, the only pure specimen, stood at the gate ; whilst Brunette, a fine heifer of the Briglit Eyes tribe, went cheap at 105 gs. to Mr. Whyte, of Aberdeen. When Mantalina came in there was a pause. After Mr. Thornton had given her pedigree, a hundred was bid ; this was followed by two, three, four, five hundred, and it was announced afterwards ten bidders were in at five hundred. The company cheered ; then followed " and ten" from Jlr. W. Bolton, of Co. Wexford ; this went on up to 700, " and ten" came again, until 740 ; " two bidders at 740" (the Rev. T. Staniforth and Mr. Booth) ; "fi?e" said Mr. C. T. Booth, " and ten Thornton" came instantly from Mr. Bolton ; a pause ensued ; " at 750, and the glass runs, going at 750 gs., and — gone." Mr. W. Bolton, Co. Wexford, for " ould Ireland." The company took off their hats, shouted, cheered, and were immensely ex- cited. As an animal the heifer was a very fine specimen, of a beautiful rich roan, well formed, and of excellent quality ; she was greatly reduced in condition, but still in her low state a very symmetrical splendid creature. Several of the other heifers were very good and full of style and character ; they sold remarkably well, chiefly to Irish breeders. A white twin heifer to a buU, also a pure Mantalina, was looked upon as doubtful, still Mr. Bolton also secured her at 72 gs. The bulls were a good lot, though often lame. White Duke, a fine-topped, very symmetrical animal, was like a prize winner ; several Irish breeders wished to secure him, but Mr. G. Atkinson finally got him cheap at 160 gs. Favourite, a promising roan calf of the same strain, went to Mr. H. C. Pole Gell at 190 gs., and two little white bull calves of the Mantalini tribe looked very indifferent, from the want of mUk and effects of the disease. Viewing the sale under these extra- ordinary circumstances, it is certainly one of the most memor- able on record. To think that a herd of 44 head should make over a £100 a-piece wlien reduced by disease, is in itself the great evidence of the value and excellence of the herd and the confidence and esteem the public had in the late Mr. Barnes as a breeder. Subjoined are the prices. COWS AND HEIFERS. Medora, roan, calved June 1, 1862, by Dr. Mc Hale (15887), dam Sweetbrier by Nimrod (13388)— T. Rose, Norfolk, 47 gs. Speranza, white, calved June 11, 1864 by British Flag (19351), dam The Nun by Dr. Mc Hale (15887).— R. Jefferson, Whitehaven, 58 gs. Brilliant, roan, calved April 26, 1865, by Ravenspur (20628), dam The Nun by Dr. Mc Hale (15887). — H. Robinson, Yorkshire, 81 gs. Bright Eyes, red, calved April 26, 1865, by Ravenspur (20628), dam The Nun by Dr. Mc Hale (15887).— Mr. Beattie, Canada, 80 gs. Cherry, red, calved April 21, 1865, by Ravenspur (20628), dam Sweetbrier by Nimrod (13388).— J. Rose, 86 gs. Grand Duchess 3rd, red and white, calved April 3, 1866, by Royal Sovereign (22802), dam Grand Duchess by Grand Duke 3rd (16182). — E. J. Smith, Islaumore, Limerick, 220 gs. Isabella Ravenspur, roan, calved Fabruary 7, 1866, by Raven- spur (20628), dam IsabeUa by British Prince (14197).— R. M. Gumbleton, Cork, 71 gs. Eye Briglit, roan, calved January 28, 1867, by Royal Sovereign (22802), dam Speranza by British Flag (19351).— A. A. Ashworth, Bolton, Lancasliire, 61 gs. IMinerva, roan, calved June 28, 1867, by Duke of York (23804), dam Medora by Dr. Mc Hale (15887).— J. Bamford, Kells, 55 gs. Roseleaf, red and white, calved April 18, 1868, by Royal Duke (25104), dam Rosebud by Ravenspur (21628).— Hon. J. Massy, Limerick, 35 gs. Gift 7th, roan, calved May 3, 1868, by Royal Duke (25014), dam Gift 5th by the Druid (18981). — Mr. Beattie, Canada, 80 gs. Bright Duchess, red, calved December 27, 1868, by Royal Duke (25014), dam Bright Eyes by Ravenspur (20628).— Hon. J Massy, 42 gs. Royal Rose, roan, calved January 3, 1869, by Royal Duke (25014), dam Moss Rose by Hopewell (10332). — A. Mitchell, Alloa N.B., 56 gs. Cherry Blossom, red, calved January 17, 1869, by Royal Duke (25014), dam Blossom by Duke of York (23804).— J. Bom- ford, Ireland, 40 gs. Charlotte, red, calved January 24, 1869, by Royal Duke (25014), dam Cherry by Ravenspur (20628).— R. Reynell, jun.. County Westmeath, 62 gs. Rosary, red, calved February 28, 1869, by Royal Duke (25014), dam Red Rose by The Druid (18981). — H. Smith, Ireland 46 gs. Bracelet, roan, calved March 13,1869, by Royal Duke (25014), dam Grand Duchess by Grand Duke 3rd (16182).— J. Downing, County Cork, 310 gs. Isabella Royal, roan, calved March 11, 1869, by Royal Duke (25014), dam IsabeUa by British Prince (14197).— A. S. Montgomery, County Meath, 67 gs. Gift 8th, roan, calved June 25, 1869, by King Richard (26523), dam Gift 5th by The Druid (18981).— A. Metcalf, West- moreland, 40 gs. Necklace, red, calved May 21, 1869, by King Richard (26523), dam Grand Duchess 3rd by Royal Sovereign (22802). — G. Allan, County Down, 335 gs. Brunette, roan, calved October 29, 1869, by King Richard (26523), dam Brilliant by Ravenspur (20628). —J. Whyte, Aberdeen, 105 gs. Mantalini, roan, calved March 27, 1870, by King Richard (26523), dam Alpine by British Prince (14197).— W. Bolton, County Wexford, 750 gs. Sweetmeat, roan, calved January 12, 1870, by King Richard (26523), dam Sweetheart by Duke of York (23304). —D. Nesham, Durham, 38 gs. Richard's Blossom, roan, calved February 22, 1870, by King Richard (26523), dam Blossom by Duke of York (23804), E. J. Smith, County Limerick, 97 gs. Richard's Rose, roan, calved February 22, 1870, by King Richard (26523), dam Rose by Royal Sovereign (22802). —J. B. Booth, Yorkshire, 100 gs. Woodbine, red and white, calved, March 31, 1870, by King Richard (26523), dam Sweetbrier by Nimrod (13388).— A. Ashworth, Lancashire, 82 gs. Richard's Maid, roan, calved April 13, 1870, by King Richard (26523), dam Medora by Dr. Mc Hale (15887).— A. S. Montgomery, County Meath, 77 gs. Memnonia, red and white, calved April 18, 1870, by King Richard (26523), dam Minerva by Duke of York (23804). — E. J. Smith, County Limerick, 55 gs. Richard's Gift, red and a little white, calved June 2, 1870, by King Richard (26523), dam Gift 5th by The Druid (18981). — W. Smith, County Down, 80 gs. Royal Princess, white, calved January 22, 1871, by Royal Prince (27384), dam Sweetheart by Duke of York (23804). — J. Shane, Ireland, 50 gs. Royal Maiden, white, calved April 15, 1871, by Royal Prince (27384), dam Alpine by British Prince (14197)— W. Bol- ton. County Wewford, 72 gs. Radiance, roan, calved April 19, 1871, by Royal Duke (25014), dam Bright Star by Royal Sovereign (25044).— R. ReyneU, jun., County Westmeath, 27 gs. Maid of Westlaud, white, calved May 22, 1871, by Royal Prince (27384), dam Minerva by Duke of York (23804).— A. S. Montgomery, County Meath, 48 gs. BULLS. Lord Spencer, red and white, calved April 27, 1868, by Royal Duke (25014), dam Strawberry by Ravenspur (20628).— A. Mitchell, Scotland, 71 gs. White Duke, white, roan ears, calved May 11, 1870, by King Richard (26523), dam Grand Duchess ; by Grand Duke 3rd (16182).— G. Atkinson, Durham, 160 gs. Cupid, red, calved July 11, 1870, by Royal Duke (25014), dam Cherry by Ravenspur (20628). — Rev. Mr. Bradshaw, County Down, 40 gs. Bright Duke, roan, calved August 13, 1870, by Royal Duke (25014), dam Speranza by British Flag (19351). — R. Reynell, jun.. County Westmeath, 35 gs. Pilot, red, calved January 2, 1871, by Royal Duke (25014), dam Isabella by British Prince (14197.— H. Kernan, Ire- land, 30 gs. Favourite, roan, calved November 21, 1870, by Royal Prince -r/ 324 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. (2738 i), dam Grand Duchess 3rd by Koyal Sovereign (32802).— H. C. Polegill, Derbysliire, 190 gs. Sovereign Prince, roan, calved March 14, 1871, by Iloyal Prince (27384), dam Blossom by Iloyal Sovereign (22802). R. Rynd, County Westmeath, 28 gs. Brightness, white, calved March 10, 1871, by Royal Prince (27384-), dam Eye Bright by Royal Sovereign (22802).— E. O'Beime, County Meath, 25 gs. Lord Ross, roan, calved April 3, 1871, by Royal Prince (27384), dam Roseleaf by Royal Duke (25014) — R. G. Cosby, Queen's County 43 gs. Remus, white, roan ears, calved April 15, 1871, by Royal Prince (27384), dam Alpine by Britsh Prince (14197).— K. Key- nell. County Westmeath, 64 gs. Grand Prince, white, roan ears, calved April 19, 1871, by Royal Prince (27384), dam Grand Duchess by Grand Duke 3rd (16182).— J. Doran, County Louth, 60 gs. Average. 33 Cows and calves... £110 10 8 ... £3,647 14 0 11 Bulls 71 14 3 ... 783 G 0 44 Averaged £100 14 1 ...£4,431 0 0 SALE OF MR. GROVE'S SHORTHORN HERD, At Castle Gkove, Letterkenny, Ireland, on Priday, August 25, 1871. BY MR. THORNTON. A long and tedious journey to the extreme north of Ireland brought most of the Westland company to Castle Grove, a beautiful estate on the banks of Loch Svvilly. Its owner, ^Ir. Grove, who is better known among breeders by the name of Wood, has been before the public as a breeder for more than 30 years. Few men now-a-days act as he did at starting. lie visited the best herds in England, and started with a few animal of Bates' blood, using a son of Second Duke of Northumberland. He then tried some of the Booth stock, and finding they thrived better than others, and were adapted to the climate, he took up the Booth strain and endeavoured to breed from the best. He obtained some of the Broughtou tribe, and these were sold privately about ten years ago, in a lot, to Mr. Carr at an average of about 300 gs. He also obtained some of the Fame tribe, with two or three crosses of different blood, and these, known, as the Norma family, produced some remarkably fine cattle. Mr. Grove has often exhi- bited very successfully at the Irish shows, and at the North West Society has generally carried all before him ; so much so that he has had all the bull trade of the North of Ireland, and a ready sale for his bulls ere they reached a year old. The stock were shown on the morn- ing of sale, save two or three of the show animals, in the fine grass lands near the house, and a very magnificent lot of cattle they were. In good condition, and many heavy milkers too, they possessed a similarity of character that was charming to see. The cows were large, grand- looking cattle, of great substance and hair, rich roan or red in colour, and very symmetrical. The small number of the company took the Englishmen by sm'prise, and some thought there was scarcely a lot apiece. Only forty-seven sat down to the lunch ; but at the ring-side, beautifully situate in a grove of plane trees, more gathered together ; still for a Shorthorn sale it was a very short company. Many of the cows were very old, and two or three in a doubtful state ; still they were grand cattle, especially lot 2, which, although doubtful, fell to Mr. Downing at CO guineas. Norman Lady, the first cow without Mr. Ambler's Comet cross, excited great competition, and, to the sur- prise of the company, after opposition from English buyers, went to Mr. J. Downing for 200 gs. Chemisette, a magnificent heifer, but very doubtful breeder, went only at butcher's price. Mr. Barnes bought the Lady Sarah tribe, considered the best of Booth and Mason blood, and which under the name of Ruby was well known yearsago, but had become extinct, at Westland. Mr. Barnes bought all save one of the family, which fell to the Rev. T. Staniforth, at 260 gs., and for which he was the last bidder but one. Cinderella, a young cow very thin, and milking heavily, but a splendid breeder, with five crosses of the best Warlaby bulls, was keenly contested for by Mr. Gather, of Co. Derry, Ireland, and Mr. "Whyte, of Aberdeen, Scotland, who took her at the high price of 270 gs. The two stood close together, and bid quietly their single and five guineas, until, after a long struggle, the Scot wou. It was indeed, truly, a giant's struggle, as of old, but in a better cause, and scarcely thirty mUes as the crow flies from the Causeway. One of the most beautiful C3\vs in the sale, with ahead and body and elegance of character worthy of Lady Fra- grant herself, and with five Warlaby crosses upon Mr. Torr's old Hohenlinden by Pilgrim to boot, went at last to the Rev. T. Staniforth for 305 gs., after competition from all parts of the ring, both by English, Irish, and Scotchmen. Northern Lady, a fine young heifer, having lost her calf, went to Cumberland cheap for 170 gs. ; and Ringlet, a very beautiful heifer, newly calved, with three Booth crosses on the Fame tribe, fell to Mr. Hugh Aylmer for 280 gs., perhaps the cheapest lot in the sale. Nepenthe, a red, prize two-year-old heifer, had been hurt with the bull; still, she made 125 gs. The compe- tition for all the best specimens was very keen, and seve- ral of the best wei-e retained in Ireland, jMr. Downing giving 310 gs., the highest price, for a beautiful roan, daughter of Coquette. Two heifers out of Cinderella were splendid specimens, one going to Lancashire, and the other to ^Mr. Smith, of County Limerick. The first bull, the only yearling in the sale, was a rich roan of great growth and substance, who goes to Australia for 93 gs. A young calf, Cato, of the Norma tribe, was very promising, and went, like several of the other lots, into Norfolk, whilst a few of the Irish breeders and local farmers competed for and bought the bull-calves. The sale, interrupted by heavy showers, was thus brought to a a conclusion, at an average of 10s. short of a hundred a-piece. COWS AND HEIFERS. Coquette, roan, calved December 31, 1854, by Comet (11298), out of Norma.— Mr. T. Rose, Norfolk, 40 gs. Ciboulette, roan, calved Febuary 5, 1859, by Prince Arthur (13497), out of Coquette. — Mr. John Downing, Cork, 60 gs. Colleenette, red and white, calved June 8, 18G0, by King Arthur (13110), out of Coquette.— Mr. R. Jeflferson, Whitehaven, 70 gs. Rosalie, roan, calved January 1, 1862, by Sir Roger (16991), out of Ciboulette.— Mr. R. M. Gumbleton, Cork, 46 gs. Nonsense, red and white, calved July 6, 1862, by Sir Roger (16991), out of Norah 9th.— Mr. T. Rose, Norfolk, 30 gs, Norman Lady, roan, calved September 7, 1862, by Sir Roger (16991), out of Norma. — Mr. John Downing, Cork, 200 gs. THE FABMER'S MAGAZINE. S25 Ruth 15th, roan, calved March 30th, 1863, by Sir Roger (16991), out of Ruth 13th.— Mr. T. Rose, Norfolk, 40 gs. Lady Martha, roan, calved June 21, 1863, by Elfin King (17796), out of Lady McHale.— Mr. W. Barnes, Co. Meath, 75 gs. Patience, roan, calved January 10, 186-4, by Elfin King (17796), out of Pansy.— Mr. E. J. Smith, Co. Limerick, 50 gs. Lady of the Lake, red and white, calved April 23, 1865, by Sir James (16980), out of Lady McHale.— Mr, W. Barnes, Co. Meath, 150 gs. Ruth 16th, roan, calved April 29, 1865, by Sir James (16980), out of Ruth 13th.— Major FoUiott, Co.Sligo, 35 gs. Gertrude, roan, calved August 6, 1865, by Sir James (16980), out of Graston. — Rev. T. Stanifortb, Windermere, 70 gs. Cinderella, roan, calved November 20, 1865, by Sir James (16980), out of Clematis.— Mr. J. Whyte, Aberdeen, 270 gs. Vaudeville, white, calved November 15, 1865, by Sir James (16980),outof Vanity.— Mr. J. Carson, Co. Derry, 31 gs. Chemisette, roan, calved February 1, 1866, by British Crown (21322), out of Ciboulette.— Mr. W. Scott, Co. Tyrone, 41 gs. Ruth 18th, red, calved April 30, 1866, by British Crown (21322), out of Ruth 13th.— Mr. W. Fox, Whitehaven, 61 gs. Hyacinth, roan, calved June 3, 1866, by British Crown (21322), out of Hare Bell.— Rev. T. Stanifortb, Winder- mere, 305 gs. Gay Lass, red and white, calved January 4, 1867, by British Crown (21322), out of Graston.— Mr. E. K. Cox, Austraha, 62 gs. Nicety, red, calved April 7, 1867, by British Crown (21322), out of Nonsense. — Archbishop Beresford, Armagh, 63 gs. Rutli 22nd, red, calved August 14, 1867, by British Crown (21323), out of Ruth 17th.— Mr. D. Nesham, Darlington, 53 gs. Northern Lady, roan, calved January 22, 1868, by British Crown (21322), out of Norman Lady.— Mr. R. Jefferson, Whitehaven, 170 gs. Novelty, red, calved February 18, 1868, by British Crown (21322), out of Nonsense. — Mr. T. Liudsey, Co. Down, 50 gs. Ringlet, roan, calved April 14, 1868, by British Crown (21322), out of Eosahe. — Mr. Hugh Aylmer, Norfolk, 280 gs. Purity, white, calved April 24, 1868, by British Crown (21323), out of Patience.— Messrs. F. and J. McElderry, Co. Antrim, 49 gs. Nepenthe, red, calved January 2, 1869, by British Crown (21322), out of Norman Lady.— Mr. W. Barnes, 125 gs. Lady of the Manor, red and white, calved February 25, 1869, by British Crown (31322), out of Lady of the Lake. — Rev. T. Stanifortb, Windermere, 260 gs. Paith 24tb, red, calved May 7, 1869, by The Suttler (23061), out of Ruth 18tb. — Messrs. J. and J. Gaitskell, Whitehaven, 55 gs. Countess, roan, calved May 23, 1869, by The Sutler (23061), out of Coquette. — Mr. J. Downing, Fermoy, 310 gs. Maid of the Mist, red, calved May 19, 1869, by The Sutler (23061), out of Fairy Queen.— Messrs. J. and J. Gaitskell, Whitehaven, 255 gs. Noteworthy, roan, calved April 18, 1870, by The Sutler (33061), out ef Nonsense.— Earl of Castlestuart, Co. Down, 30 gs. Kuth 35tb, white, calved May 19, 1870, by The Sutler (25061), out of lluth 16th.— Mr. R. M. Gumbleton, Cork, 51 gs. Cantiniera, white, calved May 16, 1870, by The Sutler (23061), out of Ciuderella.— Mr. A. Ashworth, Bolton, Lancasliire, 180 gs. Cynosure, roan, calved April 3, 1871, by Great Hope (24082), out of Cinderella.— Mr. E. J. Smith, Islaumore, 110 gs. Vanilla, roan, calved April 12, 1871, by Great Hope (24082), out ot Vanity. — Earl of Castlestuart, 26 gs. Nemesis, red, calved June 6, 1871, by Great Hope (24082), out of Nonsense.— Mr. R. M. Gumbleton, Co. Cork, 25 gs. Lady of tiie Valley, red, calved June 9, 1871, by Great Hope (24083), out of Lady of the Lake.— Mr. W. Barnes, 61 gs. BULLS. Commander, roan, calved June 3, 1870, by The Sutler (33061). out of Coquette. — Mr. Uangar, Australia, 93 gs. Victor, roan, calved February 10, 1871, by Great Hope (34082), out of Vaudeville.— Mr. S. Wjftt, Londonderry, 38 gs. EoUo, red and white, calved tMarch 18, 1871, by Great Hope (24082), out of Ruth 22nd.— Messrs. F. and J. McElderry, Co. Antrim, 31 gs. Nestor, roan calved April 33, 1871, by Great Hope (24083), out of Novelty.— Mr. J. E. Boyd, Co. Donegal, 17 gs. Reporter, red, calved May 12, 1871, by Great Hope (24082), out of Ruth i8th.— Earl of Caledon, 18 gs. Cato, red and white, calved May 16, 1871, by Great Hope (24082), out of CoUeenette.— Rev. J. Micklethwaite, Nor- folk, 86 gs. Ganymede, red and white, calved June 5, 1871, by Great Hope (24082),- out of Gertrude.— Mr. D. Glen, London- derry, 17 gs. Cotinsellor, red and white, calved June 9, 1871, by Great Hope (24082), out of Coquette.— Mr. G. Allen, Co. Down. 42 gs. Sdmmary. AVERAGE. 36 cows Ill 13 5 SbuUs 44 17 9 44 head averged 99 9 9 £ s. d. 4,018 7 0 359 2 0 £4,377 9 0 Mr. Reynell's small herd, advertised for sale at West- land, could not be removed from Killynon, on account of foot-and-mouth disease, and will probably be sold later in the autumn. Mr. Barnes' and Mr. Grove's herds amounted to £8,808 Qs., or 2s. over £100 each. They are the greatest sales that have ever been known in Ire- land, as indeed they were two of the best herds. It is very satisfactory to see that so many of the best were retained in Ireland, and is a great credit to the rising young breeders of the country. Several go to England and a few to Scotland ; while the result confirms a great fact, that where good animals of pure blood come into the market, even at the outside corners of the kingdom, the public will go there for them, and encourage those who labour to pro- duce a good class of cattle tor the welfare and improve, ment of their district and country. SALE OF THE DUKE OF DEVONSHIRE'S SHORTHORNS, At Holker Hall, Lancashire, On Wednesday, September 6th, 1871t BY MR. STRAFFORD. Holker, although not having the reputation of Wetherby, has nevertheless, for many years past, been considered by breeders the head quarters of the Bates Shorthorn. A quarter of a century ago Lord Carhsle's stock gave a start to the herd, and in '61 a sale took place, the fashion and goodness of the present Bracelet tribe being the best indication of what the stock then was. In 1853 Oxford 15th was bought at the Tortvvorth sale, and this cow founded the tribe by which the herd has been chiefly known. Mr. Tanqueray's sale suppKed some of the Barringtons, and Mr. Maynard's, in 1863, the Wild Eyes or Winsome family, then considered of slight value, but which has since risen to at least four times in worth. A first-class herd has rarely been dispersed without Mr. Drewry's good judgment being exerted in securing a fine S26 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. specimen for Holier. Thus the herd has run with the fashion of the times. A Charmer went from Mileote, a Grand Dnchess from Preston Hall, a Welliugtonia (Waterloo) from Havering Park, yet no descendants have been left of these celebrated tribes, and it is to the Oxford and Wild Eyes families of the late Mr. Bates' Sliorthorns that the public have looked. The merit of both tribes has been seriously canvassed by many breeders. After ilie Cleveland Lads were introduced upon the Duchesses a great stamp was placed upon the Oxford tribe ; and although, perhaps not equal as some would have had it on Wednesday last, yet the family ranks now almost as high as the much-sought Duchesses. Tlie 186i Holker sale was con- sidered a great success, but the average sinks into insignifi- cance when compared with the £240 of Wednesday. Certainly, it may be said that since then the best tribes, with the help of noble patronage and Canadian enterprise, have more than tripled in value. The sale was advertised as early as last spring, and has been looked upon as being the event of the year, though a few on the other side of the house did not hesitate to think it would require all the forces to top the WhiteweU spring sale averages. The catalogue was very select, comprising but thirty-three females and twelve bulls, and of these eight were Oxfords, eleven Wild Eyes, and ten Blanches : two lots not being in a breeding state were withdrawn. The company was hardly so numerous as one might have expected to see, there being a comparatively small local attendance, whilst the " admirers of the sort" were particularly strong, and it would be difficult to name any fashionable breeders, save perhaps Messrs. Leney, who were not present. One of the Windermere Lake busses, with four-in-hand, brought the Storr's party, with Mr. T. C. Booth, Jacob Wilson, Beattie and others. Major Hamilton stood for Ireland, but it was difficult to see a Scotch breeder, saving the presence of the Earl of Dunmore and Mr. Beattie among the crowd at the ring side. Noticeable, too, was the absence of foreign or colonial buyers, save by deputy. The stock showed very well in the splendid pasture adjoin- ing the farm, and the good-lookijig, unnumbered lots told us that though the selection was of the very best, yet there were the moulds left from which many might yet be cast. The bulls were paraded, as per announcement, at 11.30, and a very fine lot they were, especially the wliite lot 6, whose thick, loose skin seemed to shake again over his thick, symmetrical car- case. The schoolroom seated about 250 to lunch, at which the Duke presided, supported by the Earls of Dunmore, Bec- tive, Eeversham, Lord Skelmersdale, the Speaker, Colonel Kingscote, Colonel Gunter, Captain Gaudy, Messrs. Sartoris, Sheldon, Bowly, Beauford, Cheney, Foster, Moore, and others, wliilst the representatives of Lord Peurhyn, Colonel Towne- ley. Sir W. C. Trevelyan, and Sir M. W. Ridley, were not far distant. The usual toasts preceded the sale, the Earl of Dun- more proposing the healtli of the Duke, who handsomely acknowledged Mr. Drewry's services. Mr. Stratford was punctual at his post, and, after the customary conditions, stated that the sale was iatended to be worthy of the place, every lot was in such a state that from ordinary foresight disappointment could hardly easue, and two lots somewhat doubtful were withdrawn. Mr. Bowly opened the business with a 50 gs. bid for Bright Star, a large useful eleven-year- old cow, which went at last to Mr. Barber for 75 gs. Cleo- patra 5th, one of the purest and best looking of the tribe, brought out a new purchaser in Mr. Wakefield, of Kendal. The two following lots were not remarkable, and Mr. Cheney seemed determined to have the first Blanche, lot 5, a thick- fleshed, deep, but rather rough cow, wliich was also at 210 gs. The first sensational lot was the seven-year-old cow, Grand Duchess of O.xford 7th, a large roan with big rumps and flattish sides, having a grand carriage and head erect, with rather dark elevated horns. There was a pause for a minute or two, which Lord Dunmore broke by bidding 500 gs. ; after this the advances were slow but general until finally the Earl of Bective and Mr. Smith were the only two left in, the latter getting her for 915 gs., for Lord Peurhyn. The following lot, as in all dear sales, was cheap, and the Earl of Bective took the first Winsome, a red and white, but of a similar character to the Oxford cow, at 355 gs. Bracelet a very good broad-backed cow, a 70 gs. purchase at Mereold Hall last year, went to Mr. J. Dickinson, of Uphollaud, for 100 gs. ; apparently cheap enough, though not near so cheap as Elvira 6th seemed to be, to Capt. Gaudy at 106 gs. This cow was really a magni- ficent animal, and was far and away the prima donna of the dowagers. Oxford Rose was a favourite with many, Mr. Sheldon and Lord Dunmore going for her. Winsome 7th put up at a 100 gs., ran away quickly to 200 gs., and finally to 300 gs. (Mr. Brogden), her yellowish red tinge not detracting from her general excellence. Four heifers followed soon after this, by Grand Duke 17th, The first, Grand Duchess of Oxford 16th — minus the Earl of Warwick and Priam crosses — was rather short of hair and a trifle weak in the back ; otherwise a good, strong, round-ribbed heifer. She was also put in at 500 gs., and as the expectancy was aU for the roan yearling of this tribe, she fell, high as it may seem, yet cheap doubtless, as it will be in the end, to the Rev. P. Graham for 610 gs. ; Lord Bective again taking the succeeding lot as well as lot 2-1, a hairy, thick, red Winsome, at 405 gs., the top tribe price. Blanche 9th, the last of the four, but by some considered the best, got, by some un- happy mischance into difficulties. After fair, good competition, 220 gs. was reached, and the glass run, but there was no buyer : she was then tried at 200 gs., but still no claimant ; then " Who bid 150 gs.?" "Pll take her," and the Rev. P. Graham got one of the prettiest and cheapest yearlings, though he made it up in the 370 gs. for Winsome 10th, a pleasing, nice heifer. Grand Duchess of Oxford 18th was at the head of the young heifers, and with her fine rich colour, good coat, and great depth and substance, was a very taking lot. Started at 500 guineas, the biddings ran in fifties to 800, which Lord Dunmore bid. Then came several odd shots, until finally Lord Feversham, who sat beside Lords Bective, Skelmersdale, and Captain Oliver, took up the opposition against Mr. Fair, one of Lord Bective's agents, until Mr. Fair's " five" at 965 provoked a solemn " thousand" from his Lordship. The "five" came again instantly, and the heifer weut to Lord Bective at 1,005 guineas, the best price yet given for an Oxford, and the highest price ever reached at an auction. Mr. Angerstein was lucky in taking the two next lots — one of which, Blanche 10th, many considered a better heifer than the Oxford — before tlie astonishmeut of the company had subsided ; but Lord Bective and Lord Feversham took the last three heifers between them. The order of sale was broken with the bulls, lot 6, a white Oxford, taking the lead, and the other bulls in order of age* The white was undoubtedly one of the largest and finest calves that had been seen for a long time ; aa a little weakness on the legs may have arisen from his great weight and condition, but his handling was something to be felt and remembered. Many were in for him, several at five and six hundred, but Mr. Isaac Downing and Mr. Smith (Penrhyn) stayed the longest, up to in- deed to 980 gs., when Lord Feversham's "thousand" again kept him for Yorkshire, amid the cheers of the company. Mr. Botter- ill, a new buyer, but of an old family of breeders in Holderness, took the strong-shouldered 19th Duke of Oxford at 335 gs., and the Speaker got apparently a cheap one in the 21st Duke at 155 gs. The tsvo last Oxford bulls, both white, were mere caves, and very thin, Mr. Downing getting rather the better of the two at 305 gs. The other Ibulls were good, especially Barden, a rich roan of the Barringtou tribe, which went to Mr. Marshall at 220 gs. for Australia ; oddly enough Mr. Thornton, who was buying for Autstralia, being the oppo- sition. Tlie sale concluded about five, and, although slow throughout, resulted in a total of £10,349 17s., being an average of £240 13s. lOd. for the forty-three head. This completely throws all otlier averages, save the Grand Duchesses, in the shade. Some were inclined to think it would have been greater had the en- tire herd been sold. This, however, seems doubtful, though there are about twenty fine heifers of the Oxiord and Wild Eyes tribes, and the magnificent bull Baron Oxford 4th left behind. As a lot, those sold were large cows of great substance, deep colour, and in splendid condition ; indeed, the fine land and geuial climate at Holker would seem particularly well adapted for Shorthorns, and they come out fuller of hair and better in llesh than the same tribes appear in some more southerly districts. COWS AND HEIJtERS. Bright Star, red with little white, calved January 12, 1860, by Red Duke (18676), out of Bright Eyes by 3rd Duke of York.— Mr, T, Barber, Hull, 76 gs. THE FAEMER'S MAGAZINE. 327 Cleopatra 5tli, roan, calved January 2, 1861, by Qtli Duke of Oxford (17738), out of Cleopatra 3rd by Cambridge Bar- rington 2nd.— Mr. W. Wakefield, Kendal, 125 gs. Lady Butterfly Princess, roan, calved January 10, 18G3, by Richard (16834), out of Butterfly Princess 6th by D'Israeli. — Capt. Gandy, Westmoreland, 73 gs. Alexandria, red and white, calved March 10, 1863, by Grand Duke 3rd (17994), out of America by Murmaduke. — Mr. H. De Vitre, Berks, 51 gs. Blanche 3rd, roan, calved September 17, 1863, by 10th Duke of Oxford (17739), out of Blanche by Dundas.— Mr. M. Ken- nedy, Ulverston, 210 gs. Grand Duchess of Oxford 7th, roan, calved May 23, 1864, by Lord Oxford (30214), out of Grand Duchess of Oxford by 3rd Grand Duke. — Lord Penrhyn, 915 gs. Elvira 10th, roan, calved June 16, 1864, by Richard (16834), out of Elvira 4th by D'Israeli. — Mr. H. De Vitre, 44 gs. Winsome 2nd, red and white, calved March 12, 1865, by Lord Oxford (20214), out of Winsome by Oxford 2ud. — Earl of Bective, 355 gs. Bracelet, roan, calved March 23, 1866, by Sir James (22902), out of Blanc Mange by Magistrate.— Sir. J. N. Dickinson, Wigan, 100 gs. Blanche 5th, roau, calved April 15, 1866, by Grand Duke 10th (21848), out of Sylph by Glo'ster.— Mr. G. Ashburner, TJlverston, 85 gs. Elvira 6th, roan, calved June 25, 1866, by Grand Duke 10th (31848), out of Elvira 2ud by 8th Duke of Oxford.— Capt. Gandy, 105 gs. Oxford Rose, red, calved September 28, 1866, by Imperial Oxford (18084), out of Rose of Raby by Lumley.— Earl of Dunmore, 215 gs. Bland, roan, calved January 21, 1867, by Sir James (23902), out of Blaac Mange by Magistrate. — Lord Chesham, Herts, 52 gs. Carohne, roan, calved January 10, 1868, by Grand Duke lOtli (21848), out of Cleopatra 9th by Lord Oxford.— Mr. W. Angerstein, Norfolk, 160 gs. Lady Bright Eyes, roan, calved August 24, 1868, by General Napier (24023), out of Bright Eyes 2nd by Royal Butterfly 3rd. — Earl of Dunmore, 150 gs. Blanche 7th, roan, calved November 22, 1868, by Grand Duke 10th (21848), out of Blanche by Dundas.— Mr. J. E. Denison, 135 gs. Winsome 7th, red, calved January 9, 1869, by Grand Duke 10th (21848), out of Winsome by Oxford 2nd.— Mr. A. Brogden, Llverston, 300 gs. Blanche 8th, red and white, calved January 31, 1369, by Grand Duke 10th (31848), out of Blanche 3rd by 10th Duke of Oxford.— Mr. H. De Vitre, Berks, 110 gs. Musical, roan, calved June 24, 1869, by Grenadier (31876), out of Minstrel 3rd by lOtli Duke of Oxford.— Mr. R. Hetherington, Carlisle, 80 gs. Grand Duchess of Oxford 16th. red, calved November 14, 1869, by Grand Duke 17th (34064), out of Grand Duchess of Oxford 6th by Imperial Oxford. — Rev. P. Graham, Lan- cashire, 610 gs. Winsome 8th, roan, calved December 1, 1869, by Grand Duke 17th (24064), out of Winsome by Oxford 2nd.— Earl of Bective, 320 gs. Winsome 9th, red, calved December 17, 1869, by Grand Duke 17th (24064), out of Winsome 2nd by Lord Oxford. — Earl of Bective, 405 gs. Blanche 9th, roan, calvei December 29, 1869, by Grand Duke 17th (24064), out of Blanche 3rd by 10th Duke of Oxford. — Rev. P. Graham, 150 gs. Lady Joceljii, roan, calved May 17, 1870, by Grand Duke 10th (21848), out of Elvira 10th by Richard.— Earl of Dunmore, 90 gs. Winsome 10th, red with little white, calved June 13, 1870, by 18th Duke of Oxford (25995), out of Winsome 4th by Grand Duke 10th.— Rev. P. Graham, 370 gs. Grand Duchess of Oxford 18th, roan, calved September 27, 1870, by Baron Oxford 4th (25580), out of Grand Duchess of Oxford 11th by Grand Duke 10th.— Earl of Bective, 1,005 gs. Carry, white, calved October 10th, 1870, by Baron Oxford 4th (25580), out of CaroUne by Grand Duke 10th.— Mr. W. Angerstein, Norfolk, 70 gs. Blanche lOtb, roan, calved November 3, 1870, by Grand Duke 10th (21848), out of Blanche 4th by Lord Oxford — Mr. W. Angerstein, Norfolk, 170 gs. Lady Laura Barrington, white, calved November 11, 1870, by Baron Oxford 4th (25580), out of Lady Ellen Barrington by Lord Stanley. — Earl of Bective, 355 gs. Blanche 11th, white, calved January 2, 1871, by Baron Oxford 4th (25580), out of Blanche 7th by Grand Duke 10th.— Earl of Feversham, 100 gs. Winsome lltli, roan, calved January 5, 1871, by Baron Oxford 4th (25580), out of Winsome 5th by Grand Duke 10th.— Earl of Eeversham, 350 gs. BULLS. Sunshine, white, calved November 19, 1869, by Grand Duke 17th (34064), out of Morning Star by Lord Oxford.— Mr. Marsden, 50 gs. Duke of Oxford 19th, roan, calved May 8, 1870, by Grand Duke 10th (31848), out of Grand Duchess of Oxford 7th by Lord Oxford.- Mr. R. Botterill, Hull, 335 gs. Macgregor, red, calved May 19, 1870, by Grand Duke 10th (31848), out of Rose of Raby by Lumley.— Mr. Allen, 100 gs. Barden, roan, calved February 22, 1870, by Grand Duke 10th (21848), out of Countess of Barrington 4th by Lord Oxford. — Mr. Marshall, Australia, 220 gs. Sunlight, red and wliite, calved June 21, 1870, by Grand Duke 10th (21848), out of Bright Star by Red Duke.— Mr. Statter, 90 gs. Duke of Oxford 20th, white, calved October 28, 1870, by Baron Oxford 4th (25580), out of Grand Duchess of Oxford 13th by 2nd Duke of Wetherby. — Earl of Eeversham, 1,000 gs. Wastwater, roan, calved January 36, 1871, by Baron Oxford 4th (35580), out of Winsome by Oxford 2nd.— Lord Chesham, 50 gs. Duke of Oxford 21st, red, calved February 24, 1871, by Grand Duke 10th (21848), out of Grand Duchess of Oxford 5th by Priam. — Mr. J. E. Denison, 155 gs. Duke of Oxford 33nd, white, calved April 26, 1871, by Baron Oxford 4th (35580), out of Grand Duchess of Oxford 7th by Lord Oxford. — Mr. I. Downing, 305 gs. Stars and Stripes, red and white, calved April 30, 1871, by Grand Duke 17th (34064), out of Alexandria by 3rd Grand Duke. — Mr. Ormandy, 35 gs. Dunbar, roan, calved May 19, 1871, by Baron Oxford 4th (255S0), out of Blanche 5th by Grand Duke 10th.— Mr. Greetham, 47 gs. Duke of Oxford 33rd, white, calved July 4, 1871, by Barou Oxford 4th (25580), out of Grand Duchess of Oxford 9th by 12th Duke of Oxford. — Mr. A. Brogden, 155 gs. Summary. AVERAGE. £ s. d. 31 cows £248 2 0 7,691 5 0 12 bulls 22111 0 2,658 13 0 43 averaged 240 13 10 £10,349 17 0 MR. SLYE'S SHORTHORNS, At Beaumont Grange, Lancaster, on Thursday, Sept. 7tf, 1871. BY MR. STRAFFORD. Mr. Slye generally reduces his herd every two years by a draught sale, and Holker ofi'ered such attractions to south country buyers that his turn came in well after the Duke's. The foot-and-mouth disease had unfortunately been in the dis- trict, and the herd fell with it a few days previous to the sale. Although it had not very greatly affected the condition of the cattle yet they showed to great disadvantage, and had to be kept at the seller's risk and expense until a clean bill of health could be obtained. Tliis was known at Holker, and doubtless deterred several from coming, the company being small and uncomfortably divided between the ringside and the lawn in front of the house. Some of the cows fetched fair prices. Golden Duchess, lot 3, going cheaply to Mr. Richards at 50gs,;her daughter, lot 9, being competed for by S':?8 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. Mr. Sheldon and Mr. Barnes until the latter got her at 100 gs. The fashionable lot was a nice roan Tebruary calf, by Mr. Bowly's 2nd Duke of Tregunter from Lady Thorndale Bates of the Barriugton tribe. The biddings went well along up to 450 gs., and although a reserve was talked about, it was not announced, " Who'll say 500 ?" Mrs. Faw- cett, of Scaleby Castle rose, and said, " I will," and the glass run, and she got it at 500, though it was said Lord Bective intended giving 700 gs. Mr. J. K. Fowler secured a white Bates and Charmer calf at 58 gs., and Mr. Mcintosh got quite a show lot in Fawsley Duchess 2nd ; a Bates upon Knightley at 150 gs. Several of the females were of the old Farnley MiUicent tribe, from wluch Mr. Slye bred the good roan bull he has been exhibiting ; the highest priced one of this family was a two years old heifer, Cambridge Beauty, which fell to Mr. Haslam, at 65 gs. Grand Duke of Kent 2nd, one of the Grand Duchess tribe, had also a reserve upon him ; he was brought in first, and although lie was a very useful buU, with a head a trifle more effeminate than is generally seen on the Dukes, there was no bid of 700 gs., the reserve price, so he was passed out. Bar- rington Duke, nearly own brother to the 500 gs. heifer, was a thick sappy vigorous calf, and after much competition Earl of Bective secured him for 200 gs. The others made fair prices, the last being not sold. The disease had doubtless a deterrant effect on some of the less fashionable tribes, still £71 10s. was a fine average for the twenty-eight, and we believe fuEy up to Mr. Slye's anticipations. COWS AND HEIFERS. Lady Spencer 2nd, rich roan, calved April 19, 1864, by Grand Duke of Lancaster (19883), out of Lady Spencer. — Mr. H. J. Gibbon, Holmescales, 30 gs. Moss Rose 5th, rich roan, calved January 13, 1866, by Royal G Wynne (22784), out of Moss Rose. — Mr. R. Parker, MUnthorpe, 41 gs. Golden Duchess, red and white, calved February 7, 1866, by Golden Duke (19860), out of Czarina.— Mr. R. C. Rich- ards, Kirkham, 50 gs. Rose of Lancaster, roan, calved February 20, 1866, by Grand Duke of Lancaster (19883), out of Moss Rose 2nd. — Lord Cheshara, 51 gs. Rose of Cambridge, white, calved March 10, 1866, by Grand Duke of Lancaster (19883), out of Cambridge Moss Rose. —Mr. J. P. Haslam, Bolton, 40 gs. Red Ducliess 8th, red, calved November 11, 1868, by Grand Duke of Lancaster (19883), out of Red Duchess 6th. — Mr. J. Todd, Mireside, 32 gs. Cambridge Beauty, rich roan, calved February 23, 1869, by Grand Duke of O.xford (24070), out of Rose of Cambridge. —Mr. J. P. Haslam, 65 gs. Duchess 9th, rich roan, calved May 7, 1869, by Grand Duke of Oxford (24070), out of Duchess 8th.— Mr. R. C. Rich- ards, 44 gs. Golden Duchess 2nd, roan, calved May 29, 1869, by Barrington Oxford (25607), out of Golden Duchess.— Mr. C. A. Barnes, Cliarleywood, 100 gs. Sweetheart 35th, roan, calved March 13, 1870, by Patrician (27428), out of Sweetheart 11th. — Rev. J. Swarbruk, 50 gs. Cambridge Beauty 2ud, rich roan, calved April 15, 1870, by Barrington Oxford (25607), out of Rose of Cambridge. — Mr. R. Parker, 26 gs. Red Duchess 9th, red, calved November 1, 1870, by Grand Duke of Lancaster (19S83), out of Red Duchess 6th.— Mr. Starkey, 50 gs. Lady Tregunter Bates, rich roan, calved February 19, 1871, by 2nd Duke of Tregunter (26022), out of L. Thorndale Bates.— Mrs. Fawcett, 500 gs. Royal Charmer 5th, white with roan ears, calved March 23, 1871, by Grand Duke of Lancaster (19883), out of Royal Charmer. — Mr. J. K. Fowler, 58 gs. Fawsley Duchess 2nd, roan, calved March 24, 1871, by Bar- riugton Oxford (25607), out of Lady Knightley.— Mr. J. Boyd, 150 gs. Duchess 10th, rich roan, calved March 30, 1871, by Barring- ton Oxford (25607), out of Duchess 8lh.— Mr. J. Tood, 25 gs. Cambridge Beauty 3rd, rich roan, calved April 6, 1871, by Barrington Oxford (25607), out of Rose of Ciuiibridge.— Lord Chesham, 33 gs. " Lady Barrington Spencer, red and white, calved April 30, 1871, by Barrington Oxford (25607), out of Lady Spencer 2ud.— Mr. H. J. Gibbon, 21 gs. Moss Rose 6th, rich roan, calved June 20, 1871, by Grand Duke of Lancaster (19883), out of Moss Rose 5th. — Lord Chesham, 50 gs. BULLS. Fawsley Baronet 2nd, rich roan, calved March 10, 1870, by Grand Duke of Lancaster (19883), out of Lady Knightley, —Mr. W. Parker, 41 gs. Grand Duke of Lancaster 2nd, red, calved March 26, 1870, by Grand Duke of Lancaster (19883), out of Dulcimer. — Mr. Brockebank, 36 gs. Royal Hnbback, red and white, calved May 5, 1870, by Bar- rington Oxford (25607), out of Duchess 8th.— Mr. H. J. Gibbon, 31 gs. Farnley Duke 2nd, rich roan, calved May 21, 1870, by Bar- rington Oxford (25607), out of Mos3 Rose 5th. — Mr. Mercer, 17 gs. Lord Barrington Spencer 2nd, red, calved June 11th, 1870, by Barrington Oxford (25607), out of Lady Spencer 2nd.— Mr. Kendal, 41 gs. Sir Charles, red, calved June 19th, 1870, by Patrician (27428), out of Sweetheart 6th.— Mr. Bowhng, 28 gs. The Emperor, rich roan, calved August 29th, 1870, by Bar- rington Oxford (25607), out of Sweetheart.— Mr. N. Eckersley, 57 gs. Prince of Oxford, white, calved October 19, 1870, by Barring- ton Oxford (25607), out of Oxford Gwynne.— Mr. R. C. Richards, 40 gs. Barrington Duke, red, calved November 25th, 1870, by 2nd Duke of Tregunter (26022), out of Lady Bates 3rd.— Earl of Bective, 200 gs. SUMMAKY. AVERAGE. £ S. d. 19cows £78 5 0 ...1,486 16 0 9 hulls 57 5 8 515 11 0 28 head averaged 7110 3 2,002 7 0 SALE OF A PORTION OF MR. FOSTER'S SHORTHORN HERD, At KlLLUOW, CUMBERLAJiD. 0.\ Friday, September 8th, 1871, BY MR. STRAFFORD. It seems scarcely three years ago since ,the whole of the Killliow herd was dispersed. Mr. Foster was, how- ever, quickly in the market again, buying up |fiue tliick heavy-fleshed cows, by first-class bulls from well-bred dam at most of the sales — viz.. Lord Penrhyn, Earl of Aylesford, Sir C. Lampson, Messrs. Bowly, Howard, Leney, Tracy, Rich, Slye, Angus, Fawcett, and other breeders. These were put to tlie 17th Duke of Oxford, a purthase from Holker, and some good calves, the better being the bulls, were brought in after him. Mr. Geo. Moore, who.«e estate at VVhite- hall almost adjoins Killhow, contributed half a dozen remark- ably good cows and heifers, which realised some of the best prices of the day. The splendid pastures in the vaUey of the Ellen were envied by the southeners, and well they might be, for the cattle came out in that splendid trim — full of hair and blooming condition that rich grass invariably gives ; indeed many breeders went so far as to remark that they were a wonderful even uniform lot such as is rarely seen together, and as a whole perhaps superior to those sold at Holker. The ring filled with seats iuside after the Cumberland fashion was densely crowded with a larger company tlian at Holker, though many who were present there were absp'it ticre and a strong local attendance, who got but little chance of a " bargain," occupied their places. Two or three lots wore of fashionable pedigree, lot 2 being one of the Surmise tribe and in calf to the celebrated bull Second Duke of Collinghain ; so she was bought for Lord Dunmore at 190 gs., Mr. Cheney being the last bidder. Carolina 5th, a 205 gs. purchase at Didmarton, and with a pure Bates pedigree, made 10 gs. oyer THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 329 cost price (Mr. M'lntosh), her heifer, by Grand Duke 10th, going for 325 gs. to Mr. Angerstein, who was indeed the great buyer of the sale, for he took ten lots at an average os nearly £140. Young Strawberry, lot 5, of the old Anguf blood crossed with Booth's and one of the finest cows in the sale, went very cheap to Mr. H. C. Pole-Gell at 76 gs. ; her two-year-old heifer, of immense size, being also secured by him at one guinea more. Mr. Bowly's Musicals and Mr. Rich's Ursulas had greatly improved on their appearance in Glouces- tershire, aad Mr. Angerstein took most of them into Norfolk, where they will require all their robustness and quality to stand against the poor light soil of that county. The Fantails, bred by the Brothers Graham, with Knightley blood upon a Bell Bates cow, were much in demand. Mr. Cheney secured the old cow at 90 gs., and he fought bravely, but unsuccessfully, against Mr. Angerstein for the others. Grand Duchess 6th, a long, fine cow of the Wild Eyes tribe, from Penrhyn, was much admired, and great was the competi- tion. Sir Curtis Lamson getting her at 325 gs. Duchess Gwynne, a purchase at Packington, lost both money, hair, and bloom since last May, and went to Colkingscote, for Lord Bective, at 150 gs. lied Rose, a very fine red heifer, was kept in the county bya new beginner. Mr. Sheldon seemed very determined on Twin Duchess 3rd, a level, beautiful cow, as she cost him 250 gs. ; her heifer, a nice roan, was also much sought, but Sir Wilfred Lawson got her at 175 gs. Two or three heifers by Royal Cambridge, Mr. Foster's previous bull of the Cam- bridge Rose sort, were particularly thick and massive, like their sire, though somewhat wanting in length. Sir W. Law- son put two of them up at 100 guineas each, and there was no opposition. A promising Surmise calf by Grand Duke 10th went to Mr. Sartoris for 210 gs. The heifer calves also sold well. The bulls were mere calves, and only four of them ; they went chiefly among the local company at a £36 average. COWS AND HEIFERS. Belinda, red, calved March 21, 1860, by Sir Roger (16991)» out of Berrington Lass. — Mr. H. C. Pole Gell, Derbyshire, 36 gs. Princess, red, calved December 24, 1861, by May Duke (13320), out of Surmise. — Earl of Dunraore, 190 gs. Fatima Gwynne, white, calved July 20, 1862, by 2nd Duke of Thorudale (17748), out of Francess Gwynne. — Mr. F. Sar- toris, 60 gs. Fantail, red and white, calved April 10, 1863, by Barleycorn (17348), out of Fair Helen.— Mr. E. H. Cheney, 90 gs. Young Strawberry, roan, calved November 27, 1863, by Knight of Windsor (16349), out of Strawberry,— Mr. H. C. Pole Gell, 76 gs. Carolina 5th, roan, calved January 8, 1865, by 7th Duke of York (17751), out of Carolina 2nd.— Mr. D. Mcintosh, Essex, 215 gs. Lily Cardigan, white, calved March 8, 1865, by Majestic (22263), out of Lily.— Mr. Shepherd, 33 gs. Butterfly Princess, red, calved May 9, 1865, by Federal (21734), out of Butterfly Princess 8th. — Mr. Jennings, 28 gs. Ursula 19th, roan, calved June 8, 1865, by 7th Duke of York (17754), out of Ursula 12th.— Mr. W. Angerstein, Norfolk, 105 gs. Musical 6th, roan, calved October 4, 1865, [by 7th Duke ot York (17754), out of Chorus.— Mr. "W. Angerstein, 105 gs. Persiani, roan, calved October 16, 1865, by 7th Duke of York (17754). out of Peru.— Sir Wilfrid Lawson, 120 gs. Florentia lltli, roan, calved February 25, 1866, by 7th Duke of York (17754), out of Florentia 5th.— Mr. W. Anger- stein, 61 gs, Jessy Cardigan, roan, calved April 20, 1866, by Majestic (22263), out of Jessy.— Mr. R. Jefferson, 67 gs. Fantail 3rd, red and white, calved April 21, 1866, by Touch- stone (20986), out of Fantail.— Mr. W. Angerstein, 155 gs. Grand Duchess 6th, roan, calved August 31, 1866, by Duke of Geneva (19614), out of Grand Duchess. — Sir C. Lamp- son, Sussex, 325 gs. Duchess Gwynne, red, calved September 15, 1876, by 9th Grand Duke (19879), out of Jenny Gwynne.— Earl of Bec- tive, 150 gs. Red Rose, calved in February, 1867, by Merry Monarch (22349), out of Bloomer Girl. — Mr, J. Bowman, Cnmber- land, 68 gs. Fair Butterfly Princess, light roan, calved July 2, 1867, by 14th Duke of Oxford (21605), out of Butterfly Princess 10th.— Mr. E. H. Cheney, 80 gs. Twin Duchess 3rd, red and white, calved September 19, 1867, by Knightley (22051), out of Twin Duchess.— Mr. W. J. Sheldon, Brailes, 250 gs. Pink, red, calved March 19, 1868, by Worth (23244), out of Tulip.— Mr. W. J. Sheldon, 50 gs. Oxford Brilliant, red, calved March 10, 1868, by 14th Duke of Oxford (21605), out of Eliza.— Mr. W. Heskett, 71 gs.< Musical 13th, roan, calved March 21, 1868, by 7th Duke of York (17754), out of Harpsichord.— Mr. W. Angerstein, 140 gs. Holly Lady, roan, calved June 7, 1868. by 14th Duke of Ox- ford (21605), out of Hollyhock 5th.— Mr. Shepherd, 32 gs. Placid, red and white, calved May 9, 1868, by Royal Cam- bridge (25009), out of Prosperous.— Mr. Baxter, 68 gs. Fantail 5th, red and white, calved June 19, 1868, by Royal Cambridge (25009), out of Fantail 3rd,— Mr. W. Anger- stein, 360 gs. Ganymede, red, calved July 13, 1868, by Fair Lad (23905), out of Gertrude. — Mr. Richardson, 48 gs. Cranberry, rich roan, calved August 18, 1868, by 2nd Duke of Claro (21576), out of Yewberry.— Mr, A. P, Clear, Essex, 54 gs. Peruvian Queen, red, calved September 8, 1868, by 2nd Duke of Claro (21576), out of Peru.— Mr. C. Fisher, 43 gs. Ciderella, roan, calved in September, 1868, by Duke of Cum- berland (21584), out of Dulcibella.— Mr, T. H, Parker, 38 gs. Princess Royal, white, calved October 2, 1868, by Lord Ox- ford 2nd (20215), out of Princess Alice.— Mr. J. Dalton, 33 gs. Ketura 7th, red roan, calved October 11, 1868, by 2nd Duke of Collingham (23730), out of Ketura 5th.— Mr. W. Anger- Cleopatra 13th, white, calved October 18, 1868, by 3rd Duke of Claro (23729), out of Cleopatra 9th.— Captain Gandy, 31 gs. Sweetheart 3rd, rich roan, calved October 28, 1868, by Sir Walter Gwynne (22921), out of Sweetheart 2nd.— Mr. T. H. Parker, 95 gs. Musical 15th, red and white, calved January 19, 1869, by Grand Duke 13th (21850), out of Musical 7th.— Mr. W, Angerstein, 160 gs. Fawsley Duchess, rich roan, calved March 10, 1869, by Grand Duke of Lancaster (19883), out of Lady Knightley.— Mr. D. Mcintosh, 190 gs. Sprightley, roan, calved March 15, 1869, by Brigade Major (21312), out of Young ^Strawberry.— Mr. H. C. Pole Gell, 77 gs. Lady Cardigan, white, calved April 12, 1869, by Ravenshope (22681), out of Gowan Cardigan.— Mr. R. Jefferson, 36 gs, Elvira 14th, roan, calved April 14, 1869, by 14th Duke of Oxford (21605), out of Elvira 12th.— Mr. Dalton, 36 gs, Cambridge Witch, roan, calved June 6, 1869, by Royal Cam- bridge (25009), out of Oxford Witch,— Sir W. Lawson, 100 gs. Royal Gertrude, red, calved July 2, 1869, by Royal Cam- bridge (26009), out of Gertrude.— Sir W. Lawson, 100 gs, Maia, roan, calved July 28, 1869, by Grand Duke 10th (21848), out of Andromache.— Mr. W. Fox, 78 gs. Jenny Cardigan, white, calved January 18, 1870, by Ravens- hope (22681), out of Jessy Cardigan. — Mr, R, Jefferson, 34 gs. Grand Duchess Surmise, red, calved June 2, 1870, by Grand Duke 10th (21848), out of Priucess.— Mr. F. Sartoris, 210 gs, Florence Graham, red and white, calved June 17, 1870, by 17th Duke of Oxford (25994), out of Florentia 11th.— Mr. W. AngersteiU; 93 gs. Grand Duchess Carolina, roan, calved September 26, 1870, by Grand Duke 10th (21848), out of Carolina 5th.— Mr. W. Angerstein, 325 gs. Charming Duchess, roan, calved November 11, 1870, by 17th Duke of Oxford (25994), out of Twin Duchess 3rd.— Sir W. Lawson, 175 gs. Grand Duchess Ursula, red, calved November 11, 1870, by Grand Duke 10th (21848), out of Ursula 19th.— Mr. J. Fawcett, 125 gs. Flora Mclvor, roan, calved November 13, 1870, by 17th Duke 330 THE FAEMEE'S MAGAZINE. of Oxford (25994'), out of Fairy Belle.— Earl of Bective, 61 gs. Countess of Eoseberry, red and white, calved December 10, 1870, by 17tli Duke of Oxford (2599i), out of Belinda.— Sir W. Lawson, 36 gs. Countess Cardigan, red, calved February 8, 1871, by 17th Duke of Oxford (25994), out of Jessy Cardigan — Sir W. Lawson, 30 gs. Blue BeU, red, calved March 14, 1871, by The Fiddler (27628), out of Pink.— Mr. A. P. Clear, 51 gs. Fairy Gwynne, white, calved June 28, 1871, by 17th Duke of Oxford (25994), out of Fatima Gwynne.— Earl of Bective, 60 gs. BULLS. Music Master, white, calved November, 28, 1870, by 17th Duke of Oxford (25994), out of Persiani. — Mr. Dixon, 20 gs. Brilliant Prince, roan, calved January 27, 1871, by 17tli Duke of Oxford (25994), out of Oxford Brilliant.— Mr. Hedley, 47 g8. Favonius, red and white, calved February 19, 1871, by 17th Duke of Oxford (25994), out of Andromache. — Mr. J. Todd, 36 gs. Duke Gwynue, red and white, calved June 10, 1871, by Duke of Cambridge (25940), out of Duchess Gwynne. — Mr. R. TFatson, 36 gs. Total £5,716 4s. Od. Averageof 56 head... £102 Is. 6d. The three great north sales were thus brought to a close after an agreeable though slow business. Following with such great average prices after the two Irish sales last week they are the more remarkable, and tend to show the great de- mand for high bred stock there is throughout the country. Fashion no doubt lends a helping hand, but when men farming their own estates for profit and tenant farmers also give their hundreds for stock, as was the case this week, but more par- ticularly in Ireland last week, it must be sometliing more than mere fashion that tempts men to make such apparently rash outlays in high bred animals. SALE OF MR. THOMAS BELL'S SHORTHORNS, At Brockton House, Eccleshall, Tuesday, Septembee 12, 1871. BY MK. THORNTON. Mr. Bell, as many of our readers may be aware, is the compiler of the late Mr. Bates' papers on the improved Shorthorn, which have recently been published in a small volume, and doubtless drew attention to the sale of his herd on Tuesday last. A large company assembled, but we missed many of the faces that smTOunded the Holker ring, though representatives were present from the leadiUf< aristocratic breeders. The attraction of the sale, was the white two-year-old bull Eighth Duke of York, which was owned conjointly with Messrs. Tunnicliffe and Allen, but who, a few days prior to the sale, allowed their third share also to be exposed, so that the full value of the buUs might be obtained, and the purchaser have him free from any partnership existing. The bull conse- quently, in the absence of lot 1, was brought in first ; started at five hundred guineas, he rose in slow biddings to 800 gs., on which price Mr. Fawcett bid five more, and the Earl of Bective's agent, Mr. Puuchard, finally bid up to one thousand : the opposition was hard to check ; the unceasing " five" came again and again ; and Mr. Punchard still opposed, until sixty was bid, and " five" answered instantly, at which sum he was knocked down to Mr. J. Farvcett, of Scaleby Castle, and friend; being at 1065 gs., the highest price that has yet been given for a bull, and the highest realised for any Shorthorn at public auction. The bull, a charac- teristic-looking animal, was low in condition, but of a creamy-white hue, and excellent in quality ; whilst the few calves by him were full of hair and very promising. The first a white heifer from Pearl Blossom 6th, a thin, plain, white young cow (which Mr. Fawcett got very cheap at 30 gs.) went finally to Mr. Cheney at 81 gs. The next calf, a roan and also of the Peach Blossom tribe, was bought by Mr. J. K. Fowler at 36 gs. Col. Kingscote's agent securing the last, also a roan of the Georgiana tribe, for 50 gs., and some of this family he had previously purchased from Mr. Bell for the Colonel. Even the bull calves fetched extra prices, and exceeded the sums realized by the yearlings, which were very small and low- in condition. The cows and heifers were in a somewhat similar state, though not so poor as the young bulls, but there was a roughness about their heads and a weakness in their backs which probably Eighth Duke of York would have iraprcyed had be been retained and the herd kept any length of time. A few were, however, very promising. Mr. Fowler bought two or three useful cows, and his neighbour Mr. Barnes took the two specimens of the Babraham Celias to Charleywood, where the family is almost entirely located and becoming a herd tribe. Some of the in-calf heifers were thick and hairy, and, being served by the Eighth Duke of York, seemed ■worth a little more than was given for them, especially as their pedi- grees were of pure Bates blood, though certainly not of the first water. Georgiana 10th, a newly-calved heifer, went for 66 gs. to Col. Kingscote ; and Princess Victoria 7th, a fine roan heifer, to Lord Skelmersdale at 100 gs., about half her value, as some people considered. Sir Percival Heywood bought several very useful lots, and the only specimen of the Lady Hudsous went to Mr. Cheney for 75 gs. At the luncheon !Mr. J. Fawcett, of Scaleby, presided ; Mr. Thos. Bates, of Heddon Bank, supporting him. COWS AND HEIFERS. Peach Blossom, by Delhi (15865), 33 gs., Mr. Fowler. Tryphena, bv Fourth Duke of Oxford (11387), 40 gs., Mr. Fowler. Georgina 7th, by Fouith Duke of Oxford (11387), 36 gs., Mr. Stubbs, Raspberry 2nd, by Baron Westbury (19287), 30 gs., Mr. Bates. Mary Jane 2nd, by Lord Ravensworth (20322), 30 gs., Mr. Oti&dwick Ruby 3rd, by Lord Ravensworth (20222), 30 gs. Rev. E. C. Barry. Dahlia 3rd, by Lord Ravensworth (20222), 38 gs., Mr. Blun- dell. Hilpa, by General Garabaldi (21812), 50 gs., Mr. Barnes. Ruby -Itli, by Second Baron Westbury (19388), 36 gs., Mr. Spencer. Georgina 9th, by Second Baron Westbury (19288), 33 gs., Mr. ADeu. Nina 6th, by Roan Prince, 31 gs., Mr. Bostock. Countess of Brocton, by Lord Liverpool (22168), 44 gs., Mr. Allen. Raspberry 3rd, by Lord Liverpool (22168), 44 gs., Lord Fitz- hardinge. Georgiana 10th, by Northern Light (26984), 66 gs., Colonel Kingscote. Lady Mary, by Northern Light (26984), 21 gs., Mr. Spencer, THE FAEMER'S MAGAZINE. 331 Henrietta 7th, by Prince of Oxford (27172), 25 gs.. Rev. .E C. Perry. Princess Victoria 7th, by Thirteenth Dake of Oxford (21604), 100 gs.. Lord Skelmersdale. Peach Blossom 6th, by Earl of Glo'ster (21644), 30 gs., Mr. Fawcett. Nina 9tli, by White Prince 5th, 31 gs., Sir P. Heywood. Raspberry 4th, by Earl of Glo'ster (21644), 28 gs., Lord Fitzhardinge. Georgiana 12th, by Earl of Glo'ster (21644), 45 gs., Mr. G. AUen. Lady Mary 2nd, by Earl of Glo'ster (21644), 46 gs., Mr. J. Fawcett. Laura 2nd, by White Prince 5th, 25 gs., Mr. T. Bates. Dahlia 4th, by Earl of Glo'ster (21644), 42 gs.. Sir Percival Heywood. HUpa 2nd, by Prince of Oxford (27172), 52 gs., Mr. C. A. Barnes. Tryphena 2nd, by Prince of Oxford (27172), 34 gs., Mr. J. K. Fowler. Nina 11th, by White Prince 5th, 29 gs.. Sir P. Heywood. Lady Mary 3rd, by Prince of Oxford (27172), 21 gs.. Rev. H. 0. Wilson. Raspberry 5th, by Prince of Oxford (27172), 36 gs.. Sir P. Heywood. Lady Hudson 11th, by Prince of Oxford (27172), 75 gs., Mr. E. H. Cheney. Dahlia 5th, by Prince of Oxford (27172), 24 gs., Mr. E. Bostock. Countess of Brockton 2nd, by Prince of Oxford (27172), 37 gs.. Sir P. Heywood. Tryphena 3rd, by Second Duke of Wetherby (21618), 27 gs., Mr. G. AUen. Newlight 2nd, by Prince of Oxford (27172), 13 gs.. Sir P. Heywood. Peach Blossom 8th, by Eighth Duke of York, 81 gs., Mr. E. H.Cheney. Peach Blossom 9th, by Eighth Duke of York, 36 gs., Mr. J, K. Fowler. Georgiana 15th, by Eighth Duke of York, 50 gs.. Col. Kingscote. BULLS. Eighth Duke of York, by Fourth Duke of Thorndale (17750), 1,065 gs., Mr. J. Fawcett and friend. Prince of Oxford (27172), by Second Lord Oxford (20215), 41 gs., Mr. J. Chadwick. Jonas Webb, by Prince of Oxford (27172), 18 gs., Mr. J. Riley. Clarence Duke, by Prince of Oxford (27172), 14 gs., Mr. T. Spencer. Fifth Earl of Glo'ster, by Second Duke of Wetherby (21618), 17 gs., Mr. T.Bates. Tichborne, by Second Duke of Wetherby (21618), 11 gs., Mr. B. Wainman. Orton, by Second Duke of Wetherby (21618) 12 gs.,'Rcv. H. 0. Wilson. Fourth Duke of Brockton, by Second Dnke of Wetherby (21618), 32 gs., Mr. G. Allen. Second Earl of Pershall, by Second Duke of Wetherby (21618), 16 gs., Mr. W. Stubbs. Sixth Earl of Glo'ster, by Eighth Duke of York, 20 gs., Mr. G. H. Earp. Third Earl of Pershall, by Eighth Duke of York, 23 gs., Mr. J. Ritchie. Prince Bismarck, by Eighth Duke of York, 20 gs., Mr. H. Killick. Summary. ATEEAGE. £ S. d. 37 cows £ 41 2 4 1,521 9 0 12 bulls 112 15 9 1,353 9 0 49 head averaged 58 13 6 2,874 18 0 SALE OF MESSRS. BUDDINGS' SHORTHORNS. At Panton House, Weagby, Thuesday, Sept. 14, 1871. BY MR. THORNTON. Eleven years since the larger portion of the Panton herd was sold by auction, Richard Budding having carefully bred it from his father's stock, and used the best and most fashionable bulls of the time, nearly a dozen having been at that time hired from Warlaby. Soon after the sale he retired from the business, and put his two sons, William and Henry, in possession. They added to the herd a number of cows and heifers from Mr. Henage and Mr. Topham's stocks, and used Lady Pigot's and the Rev. J. Storer's buUs, which were almost entirely of Booth blood. At the beginning of the year they went again to Warlaby, and hired Manfred and British Crown, and most of the cows and heifers were in calf to these bulls. The father went but little into the showyards with either his cattle or sheep ; but the sons well and successfully advertised themselves by that method, and also made two or three advantageous sales. At the Oxford Royal they came second with year- ling heifers, and sold their winner for 850 gs. for Canada. They also took first prizes the same year at the Royal and Yorkshire with a bull-calf, Robin Hood, which M'Dougall, the "canny chiel' from Australia, bought for 150 gs., and now prices at a thousand in the colony. This year they were again similarly successful with bull calves, and two or three other prize specimens were included in the cata- logue. With this "blaze of triumph" the herd was an- nounced for sale, and, saving a few old cows, comprised the whole of it. There was plenty of size, abundance of coat, sqdthicknesB of flesh in most of the Boimals for sale ; but there was rather a lumpiness or coarseness about them that was not to be seen in the father's herd ; but then they were hardly so well bied nor had the judgment matured. It is one thing to breed Shorthorns, but it is quite another to keep a herd fine in appearance and uniform in character. Many of the old cows were past the decade of life, and although said to be "safe," were looked upon as "doubtful" by the company. Countess of Wragby, one of the best cows and the dam of three prize winners, as well as being a Sir Roger (1699 J) cow, was one of the best and cheapest lots, going to Mr. Adwick, of Straythorpe, after slow competi- tion, for 56gs. There were plenty of bids up to a price for most of the many lots from the good people of the county, but those out of it took most of the best animals. Mr. Camm, the Speaker's representative, got several good cows, and a handsome pair went to Mr. Currie, of Hal- kerston, Edinburgh ; Mr. T. C. Booth put in a few bids, which were generally pretty soon covered, as most of the animals he selected for his friend Mr. Armitage were the pick of the sale and the fancy of other people also. Lot 13 Agility, not a large cow, but a capital breeder, he bought at 61gs., and a capital heifer in Lady of the Lake. Earl Brownlow's agent also got some useful lots, and the Hebea all went, save one plain heifer, to Mr. Cruikshank, of Sittyton, and a very useful lot they were, combining size, hair, and flesh with good milking properties, and the best of Mr. Wilkinson's old Lenton blood. Mr. Yarborough bought several fine promising heifers and a fresli and youthful breeder. Mr, J. Jjister made a gogd 2 S !32 THE FARMER'S MAGAZESTE. start with a fiue down-calving cow in Ruby Rose at 87g3. Miss Rich, a shocking specimen, was a very doubtful heifer, and went to a jobber. Nor were the buyers confined to the home counties. Mr. Hugh Gorringe, of Sussex, got a pretty heifer in Ada at 37 gs. ; and one of the plums of the sale went to Mr. J. Beattie, of Annan, for 70 gs. Mr. George Bland, of Coleby, fought well for the county against distant buyers for Summer Flower, which he finally got at 86 gs. There are usually two good men who go to a sale — one buys the best, and the other the worst ; we should think that Captain Pratt was in the light of the former, as he not only secured three good breeding heifers, but the beautiful show heifer, Virginia, at 95 gs., as well as the prize red bull. Standard Bearer at 81 gs., and the prize calf British Flag, after competition with Sir Thomas Whichcote, for 155 gs., at which figure he seemed very cheap. It is understood they are going out to Kentucky. The agent of the Rev. Mr. Torr took some of the cheapest lots, chiefly whites, into Hampshire. The white show heifer, Lady Grace, was not hotly con- tested. Mr. Statter was a languid bidder against the Rev. J. Storer ; and at 81 gs. the heifer may win all the money in premiums. A very promising show calf in Countess of Oxford was bought by Mr. Stubbs for 43 gs. Neither Robin nor the Stuart were in great demand, as both were aged and the latter abetter stock-getter than a bull. They made only beef prices, though neither went to the block. Adjutant, the roan Lincoln prize-calf, brought out strong competition, and was finally kept in the county by Mr. Ealand for 87 gs. The young bulls were all good and sold well at an average of nearly £60, the cows making £46 7s. Mr. Turner occupied the chair in the luncheon tent, at which over 300 sat down. Mr. William Budding, in a very flowery eff'usion, returned thanks for his father and the firm, and the sale began precisely at one o'oclock, as advertised. It was very lively throughout, Mr. Thorntou's Irishisims giving humour to the proceedings, which were finished soon after four o'clock. COWS AND KEIiERS. Springflower, by Vanguard (10994), 33 gs., J. C. Pickic. Countess of Wragby, by Sir Roger (16991), 56 gs., T. Ad wick. Anna Maria, by Sir Roger (16991), 34 gs., C. F. Paddison. Rose of Castile, by Sir Roger (16991), 34 gs., J. Codling. Hawthorn, by Hightliorn (13028), 33 gs., T. Pears. Attraction, by Prince Alfred (13494), 26 gs., J. Ashlin. Judith's Joy, by Prince Alfred (13494), 61 gs., J. Currie. Almack's Princess, by Prince Alfred (13494), 36 gs., The Speaker, Right Hon. J. E. Denison. Vixen, by Sweetmeat (18952), 34 gs., F. Frudd. Duchess Second, by Storm King (18933), 34 gs., J. Greetham. Ruby, by Colonel Colling (17587), 80 gs.. The Speaker. Abbess, by Friar Tuck (17892), 25 gs., R. Cowton. Agility, by Woodranger (21128), 61 gs., T. C. Booth for W. Armitage. Lady Augusta, by Lord Panton (22204), 39 gs., W. Knapton. Royal Bride, by Welford (23196), 51 gs., J. CodUug. Alice Hawthorn, by Friar Tuck (17892), 31 gs., T. W. Cadman. Hawthorn Blossom, by Lord Panton (22204), 52 gs., P. Brown. Attraction Royal, by Royal Buckingham (20718), 40 gs., W. Knapton. Alice Buckingham, by Royal Buckingham (20718), 35 gs., G. B. Skipworth. Fancy 14th, by Royal Buckingham (20718), 51 gs., Earl Brownlow. Eugenie 4th, by Royal Buckingham (20718), 43 gs., J. Currie. Hebe 24th, by Colonel Colling (17587), 50 gs., A. Cruick- shank. Rose of Panton, by Royal Buckingham (20718), 42 gs., The Speaker. Ladybird, by Royal Buckingham (20718), 81 gs., Y. Yar- borongh. Ruby Rose, by Feudal Chief (21740), 87 gs., J. D. Lister. Miss Rich, by Feudal Chief (21740), 20 gs., M. Marshall. Bouquet, by Baron Rosedale (21239), 27 gs., J. C. Pickin. Lady Tuck, by Colonel Tuck (23596), 32 gs., A. Sharpley. Rosary, by Baron Rosedale (21239), 30 gs.. Rev. J. Storer. Lady Blanche, by Baron Rosedale (21239), 30 gs., H. Sharpley. Almack's Flower, by Baron Rosedale (21239), 27 gs., W. Chapman. Hawthorn 3rd, by Baron Rosedale (21239), 28 gs., Y. Yar- borough. Rosebud 2nd, by Ravenshope (22681), 50 gs., R. Taylor. Amelia, by Ravenswood (22682), 51 gs., H. Pratt. Ruth, by Raveuswood (22682), 52 gs.. Earl Brownlow. Venetia, by Ravenswood (22682), 85 gs., Y. Y'arborough. Hebe 27th, by Ravenswood (22682), 42 gs., A. Cruickshauk. Ada, by Ravenswood (22632), 37 gs., Hugh Gorringe. Prize Flower, by Ravenswood (22682), 50 gs., H. Pratt. Fancy 18th, by Ravenswood (22682), 70 gs., J. Beattie. Actress, by Ravenswood (22682), 44 gs., T. W. Bartholomew. Summerflower, by Ravenswood (22682), 86 gs., G. Bland. Amelia 3rd, by Ravenswood (22682), 62 gs., H. Pratt. Virginia, by Ravenswood (22682), 95 gs., H. Pratt. Rose of Promise, by Ravenswood (22682), 30 gs., R. Cowton. Duchess 4th, by Ravenswood (22682), 40 gs., T. W. Cadman. Lady of the Lake, by Knight of the Tliistle (26555), 48 gs., T. C. Booth, for W. Armitage. Rose of Summer, by Knight of the Thistle (26555), 36 gs., Rev. T. J. Torr. Attractive, by Robin (24968), 70 gs., T. Pears. Eugenie 5th, by Knight of the Thistle (26555), 30 es.. Rev. T. J. Torr. Hebe 28th, by Robin (24968), 42 gs., — . Stafford. Hebe 26th, by Knight of the Thistle (26555), 26 gs., A. Cruiek- shank. Admiration, by Robin (24968), 45 gs.. The Speaker. Vanity, by Robin (24968), 60 gs., R. Burchnall. A.deUne, by Robin (24968), 38 gs.. Rev. T. J. Torr. Judith's Duchess, by Knight of the Tliistle (26555), 36 gs., E. Paddison. Rosebud 3rd, by Knight of the Thistle (26555), 25gs., R. Cowton. Fancy 19th, by Robin (24968), 35 gs., T. C. Booth, for W. Armitage. Royal Bridesmaid, by Robin (24968), 51 gs., W. Knapton. Pretty Maid, by Robin (24968), 51 gs.. The Speaker. Almack's Queen, by Robin (24968), 44 gs.. Earl Brownlow. AmeUa 4th, by Robin (24968), 31 gs.. Rev. T. J. Torr. Lady Grace, by Robin (24968), 81 gs., T. Statter. Camp Flower, by Robin (24968), 31 gs., J. Codling. Archduchess, by Robin (24968), 36 gs.. Rev. T. J. Torr. Hebe 29th, by Robin (24968), 41 gs., A. Cruickshauk. Lady Bertha, by The Stuart (27650), 22 gs., H. Sharpley. Countess of Oxford, by Standard Bearer, 43 gs., C. Stubb. Royal Princess, by The Stuart (27650), 26 gs., G. Bland. Amy Buckingham, by The Stuart (27650), 20 gs., G. B. Skip- worth. Ameha Fifth, by Standard Bearer, 9 gs., W. Richardson. BULLS. Robin (24968), by Imperial Windsor (18086), 41 gs., T. Statter. The Stuart (27650), by King Charles (34040), 33 gs., E. Wortley. Standard Bearer, by Ravenswood (22682), 81 gs., H. Pratt. British Flag, by Robin (24968), 155 gs., H. Pratt. Lord Hawthorn, by Robin (24968), 51 gs., H. Minta. Adjutant, by Robin (24968), 87 gs., J. R. Ealand. Prince Imperial, by The Stuart (27650), 34 gs., G.P.Watson. Fancy Stuart, by The Stuart (27650), 50 gs., W. J. Gilliat. Hermit, by Standard Bearer, 31 gs., T. Marris. Victor, by The Stuart (27650), 40 gs., J. Chatterton. Adonis, by The Stuart (27650), 23 gs., J. Abraliam. Summary. AVERAGE. £ S. d. 71 cows 46 7 0 ... 3,290 14 0 11 bull* 59 15 1 ... 657 6 0 82 head averged 48 3 0 £3,9i8 0 0 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 333 THE ROYAL BUCKINGHAMSHIRE AND CENTRAL BUCKS AGRICULTURAL ASSOCIATION. MEETING AT AYLESBURY. The old Royal Bucks True Blue and No-Surrender Society has celebrated a very successful anniversary in conjunction with its younger relative the Central Association. The cattle diseases, now so prevalent, did not appear to have in any way interfered with the entries, which were pretty generally good, although these did not often extend beyond the county itself. A marked improvement was observable in the show of horses since we last visited a meeting at Aylesbury, as this was more especially noticeable in the cart classes, where the competition was often both large and creditable. There were upwards of twenty entries of all-aged horses in work, of whom a great weighty black from Adderbury was put aside from his bad shallow feet, and the chief prize went to a better looking and better moving bay, if not with quite so much power as the "cast" horse. Be- yond the winner, Mr. Badrick's smart compact short- legged mare, there was nothing of any particular merit in the mare and foal class, although the judges " agreed to differ" as to the next best, and Mr. Bulford had to be called in to give the casting vote. Mr. Terry's two-year- old filly was about the best of all the horses, while the same exhibitor backed the winner with another very nice mare, which took the second prize. The best hunter, a showy well-grown five-year-old, is by Wingrave, a horse who promises much as a sire of cross-country stock from half-bred mares ; but the class was altogether a curious collection of cobs, weeds, screws, machiners, and so forth, while with a row of hurdles ready the judges declined to have anything to do with such a business, leaving it to the exhibitors to "jump" or not as they pleased after the awards were declared. The best hack was a clever three- year-old, with quite a " set" furnished look about him, as well as a bit of temper which will need looking after ; and the best yearling by D'Estournel, out of Archeress by Longbow, a pedigree good enough to race a bit. The brown is, indeed a very charming colt, with clean limbs, a neat head, and a famous back and body. He went, moreover, very straight and true, and so settled it against the other two commended colts, which were both bad awkward goers, but otherwise good looking enough for anything. By way of improving the breed of horses hereabouts, a Vale of Aylesbury Horse Company has been started, with the object as it would seem of putting a Norfolk trotting stallion on to any sort of hack or har- ness mare. The notion is not a very promising one, nor so far does much seem to have come of it, as the foals shown by the Company's horses were a very ragged lot, with the winner out of a long way the best looking mare. It may be as well to say here that the effect and enjoy- ment of the horse section of the show was thoroughly destroyed by no ring having been provided into which the several classes might be taken ; as, moreover, making anything like a critical examination under such circum- stances was a service of some danger, as the horses crowded about you. To show how utter was the confu- sion which reigned, it may be stated that the steward of an exhibitor attempted to force his conversation on one of the judges while a class was under inspection ! But by another year a promise has already been made that a horse-ring shall be provided. The cattle classes included such exhibitors of Short- horns as Mr. Aubrey Mumford, Mr. J. K. Fowler, and Mr. Barnes, of Chorley, with some very highly-bred animals in the entry. The best of all the cattle, how- ever, was declared to be Mr. Senior's fat Devon, Prin- cess, who lacks much of the length and elegance of Per- fection, and does not accordingly threaten any immediate repetition of the Smithfield Club performance. The best cow, again, beating Sweetheart 30, and sundry other Shorthorns, was Mr. Senior's Young Daisy, another Devon of more character and style than the fat cow, but standing very badly behind. The second-prize bull was one of the Duke of Buckingham's Longhorns, and indeed these single entries of other breeds were continually beat- ing whole tribes of Shorthorns. The two yearling Short- horns, however, were put first and second as they were at Rugby, and Mr. Barnes and Mr. Mumford had some further success in the younger cow classes. Still the strength of the cattle show centred in the cows entered in ^lots of three, and into which the Messrs. Denchfield sent quite a little herd of useful, kindly, really milking cows, which fairly took both the prizes, although the whole class was commended. And here, again, the high- bred ones were put out of it, as the plan adopted at Burston is to buy in dairy cows and to put these to a pure-bred bull, but never to breed from a had milker. The result is in every way a success, as it is not so long since that the Denchfields refused an offer of £45 a-head for thirty cows in their herd. The production of milk is of course one of the first considerations, but the cows are good enough to stand the ordeal of the show-ground, aa was proved at Aylesbury, for rarely has there been en- countered a more legitimate exhibition of farmers' stock ; and these cows were an exhibition of themselves. We doubt if Lord Chesham or Mr. Treadwell sent quite their best sheep, and Mr. Longlands won with a two- shear ram. In fact, the pride of the sheep show was to be found amongst the fat wethers, where Mr. N. Stilgoe had quite a grand pen of Oxfords, which of course have in these parts rather the pull of the Shropshires and other sorts. Beyond the pigs, a Royal Bucks prize-list runs on to an infinite variety of poultry, ploughing, roots, shep- herds, herdsmen, and dairymaids, culminating in a dinner, to which Mr. Disraeli sent his excuses, and where the business of the evening was just beginning wheu the next up-train issued its peremptory summons. PRIZE LIST. JUDGES. PLOUGHIN& AND PiGS. — N. Stilgoe, Adderbury Grounds, Banbury ; J. Bulford, Hordley. Horses. — H. Corbet, The Farmers' Club, Loudon ; J. Bennett, Husbands Bosworth, Rugby. Cattle. — R. Newton, Campsfield, Woodstock ; C. Hobbs, Maiseyhampton. Sheep. — J. Game, Bushey ; A. Howland, Thame. Butter. — 11. Pjbus, Metropolitan Meat Market, London. Root-crops. — L. Denchfield, Burston ; E. W. Clarke, Had- denham. Roots in the Show-yard. — C. Elliott, Hulcott. Poultry. — E. Hewitt, Eden Coltage, Birmingham. 334 THE FAEMER'S IklAGAZINE. HORSES. TOR AGRICULTURAi PURPOSES. Geldings, three years old and upwards. — First prize, a silver cup or piece of plate value £5 5s., J. Seamons, Hulcott ; second, £2, J. P. Terry, Putlowes. Commended: E. H, Baylis, Hogstone. Geldings under three years. — First prize, a silver cup or piece of plate value £5 5s., W. and J. Rose, Eythorpe ; second, £2, TV. B. Clarke, TJppings, Weedon. Highly com- mended : J. K. Fowler, Prebendal Farm, Aylesbury. Mare and foal. — First prize, a silver cup or piece of plate value £5 5s., R. Badiick, Bierton; second, £3, J. Barry, Chilton Grounds. Highly commended : W. and J. Rose. Mares under three years. — First prize, a silver cup or piece of plate value £5 5s., J. P. Terry ; second, £2, J. P. Terry. Highly commended : W, B. Clarke. Horses and mares for hunting purposes. — First prize, a silver cup or piece of plate value £7 7s., G. A. Lepper, Ayles- bury ; second, £3 3s,, A. R. Howland, Thame. Commended : J. Hughes, Whaddon Hill, Stone. Nag geldings and mares for riding and general purposes. — First prize, £5 5s., A. R. Howland ; second, £2, H. Gurney, jun., Aylesbury. Commended : G. A. Lepper. A silver cup for the best yearling nag colt, the Right Hon. Lord Norreys, Ridgbarn Farm, Cuddington. Highly com- mended : The Right Hon. Lord Norreys ; J. and E. Dench- field. A silver cup value £10 10s. for the best sucking colt or filly, by either of the company's horses, J. A. Mumford, Chilton Park Farm, Thame, CATTLE. Bulls, any breed, two years old and upwards. — First prize, a silver cup or piece of plate value £5 5s., J. A. Mumford ; second, £2, His Grace the Duke of Buckingham and Chandos, Stowe Park. BuUs under two years. — First prize, a silver cup or piece of plate value £5 5s., C. A. Barnes, Chorley Wood ; second, £2, J. A, Mumford. Cows in milk or in calf. — J^irst prize, a silver cup or piece of plate value £5 Ss., T. L. Senior, Broughton Hoi'se : second, £2, J. A. Mumford. Three cows in milk or in calf. — First prize, a silver cup or piece of plate value £10 10s., J. and E. Denchfield, Burston ; sei'.ond, a silver cup or piece of plate value £5 5s., J. and E. Denchfield. Heifers, in milk or in calf, under three and over two years. — First prize, a silver cup or piece of plate value £5 5s., G. Underwood, Little Gaddesden ; second, £2, G. Underwood. Highly commended and commended : J. A. Mumford. Heifers, in pairs, under two years. — First prize, a silver cup or piece of plate value £5 5s., C. A. Barnes ; second, J. A. Mumford. Fat cows. — First prize, a silver cup or piece of plate value £5 58., T. L. Senior ; second, £2, J. A. Mumford. SHEEP. Rams, any breed. — First prize, a silver cup or piece of plate value £5 5s., J. Longland, Grendon, Northampton ; second, £2 2s., J. Treadwell, TJpper Winchendon. Five (store) ewe lambs for breeding purposes. — First prize, a silver cup or piece of plate value £5 5s., J. Treadwell ; second, £2, J. Treadwell. Five fat ewes, any breed or age. — First prize, a silver cup or piece of plate value £5 5s., J. Treadwell ; second, £2, R. Fowler, Broughton. Five fat wethers. — First prize, a silver cup or piece of plate value £5 5s., N. Stilgoe, Adderbury Grounds, Banbury ; second, £2, N. Stilgoe. Highly commended : The Right Hon. Lord Chesham, Latimer, Chesham. Five ewes of any breed, except Shropshire, intended for breeding purposes. — First prize, a silver cup or piece of plate value £5 5s , J. Treadwell; second, £2, Z. W. Stilgoe, Adder- bury Grounds, Banbury. Five Shropshire ewes intended for breeding purposes. — First prize, a silver cup or piece of plate value £5 5s., R. Fowler; second, £2, E. H. Baylis. Commended: E. H. Baylis. Five theaves, any breed, intended for breeding purposes. — First prize, a silver cup or piece of plate value £5 5s., the Right Hon. Lord Chesham ; second, £2, G. Underwood. A silver cup value £5 5s., presented by His Grace the Duke of Marlborough to the owner of the best pen of breeding ewes or theaves in the yard, the Right Hon. Lord Chesham. A gold pencil-case value £3, given by J. Gadsden to the owner of the best pen of fat sheep, N. StUgoe. PIGS. Boars, any breed. — First prize, £3 3s., J. Wheeler and Sons, Long Compton; second, £2, J. Biggs, Cublington. Commended : E. C. Clarke, Manor Farm, Haddenham. Sows, any breed, either in pig or with litter. — First prize, a silver cup or piece of plate value £5 5s., E. C. Clarke ; second, £2, J. Biggs. Highly commended : J. K. Fowler, Prebendal Farm, Aylesbury. Three fat pigs. — First prize, £3 3s., J. Biggs ; second, £2, C. Elliott, Hulcott. Commended: J. Wheeler and Sons. EXTRA STOCK. Lord Norreys highly commended for cart stallion (Black Prince). BINGHAM HORSE SHOW. At this the first annual horse show in connection with the Bingham Agricultural Society the animals entered were generally msritorious. Commencing with cart horses, in Class 1 for the best gelding of any age the first prize of £5 was awarded to Mr. Robert Watson, Scarringtou, for a grey gelding five years old ; Mr. John Burgess, of Holme Pierrepont, took the second prize of £2 with a three-year-old. In Class 2 for the best mare of any age there were seven competitors, aud the first prize of £5 fell to Mr. J. Burgess, Holme Pierrepont, for a black mare nine years old ; Mr. R. I'isher, of Whatton, taking the second prize with a red roan mare. Class 3 for the best mare in foal or with foal at foot Mr. Richard Marriott, of Langar, carried off the £* prize with a mare and foal. In Class 4 for the best two-year-old colts or fillies there were twelve competitors ; the first prize, £5, was taken by Mr. William James, Langar, and the second prize by Mr. John Pacey, Northfield House, Langar. In the best huuters mare or gelding class twenty were entered. The first prize, a silver cup, was taken by Mr. Wilham Lambert, Clarendou House, Nottingham, with The Dane; and the second prize fell to Mr. Musters' True Blue. The whole class was a creditable one. In Class 6 for best three-year-old mare or gelding Mr. G. B. Davy took the silver cup with a chestnut gelding, Mr. Thomas Potter, of Trowell, showing an ammal which was commended by the judges. The prize of £4, given for the best brood mare for breeding hunters, in foal or with foal at foot, was carried off by Mr. G. H. Sanday, with Juanita Perez. Two other mares were commended, viz., those belonging to Miss Burnside, of Lamcote House, and Mr. John Foster, Bingham. Eighteen competitors ap- peared in a class for the best horse or mare for ridiug and driving purposes, not to exceed 15 hands 1 inch in height. Mr. Philip Hornsby, Barrowby Cottage, Grantham, secured the first prize of £4 ; Mr. Samuel Dakin, of Goose-gate, Nottingham, the second, £2 ; Mr. George HassaU, of Shelford Manor, was commended, and Mr. James Hornsby, Castle, Grantham, highly commended. In Class 9 for the best hackney brood mare in foal or with foal at foot the first prize, a silver cup value £6, was won by Mr. E. Smith's Kate, and the second taken by Mr. Thomas Morris, Cotgrave ; Mr. G. Holbrook, of Attenborough, was highly commended for his mare and foal. Prizes were offered for the best jumpers in the hunting class. The awards were: First prize, £1, Mr, Howsin Spafford, Elston, Newark ; second, Mr. W. R. Brockton. The judges were — Cart horses : Mr. T. Vincent, Harlaxton ; Mr. L. W. Ladkin, Lutterworth. Hunters and hacks : Mr. J . E. Bennett, Husbands Bosworth ; and Mr. T. Colton, Eagle Hall, Newark. After the show Mr. Bausor, auctioneer, Nottingham, offered several horses for sale. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 335 NORTH LONSDALE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. The annual show was held in Lightburne House Park. The season for harvesting is late, and has been protracted ; this no doubt hindered many farmers from attending, who were engaged looking after the ingathering of their crops, and who would otherwise have swelled the crowd on the field, and round the dinner table. The entries outnumbered those of any previous year, amounting altogether to three hundred and twenty-three. PRIZE LIST. JUDGES. Shorthorns and Sheep. — Rev. A. L. Wood, Singleton Vicarage, near Preston ; and M. T. Wilkinson, Gift Hall, Garstang. Horses and Pigs. — Mr. J. Fearon, Keekle House, White- haven, and Mr. Bolton, Rampside. SHORTHORNS. Bull, two years old and upwards. — First prize, T. Robin- son, Ulverston ; second, J . Bentham, Holmbank. Highly commended : J. Ashburner, Elliscales. Bull, above one and under two years old. — First prize, W. and T. Robinson ; G. Ashburner, Low Hall, Kirkby. Bull calf, under one year and not less than six months old. —First prize, W. and T. Robinson; second, J. Croudson, Urswick. Heifer calf, under one year and not less than six months old. — Frst prize, A. Brogden, M.P., Ulverston; second, G. Ash- burner. Highly commended : W. Ashburner, Netherhouses. Cow or heifer, in calf, three years old and upwards. — First prize, W. and T. Robinson ; second, J. Croudson. Heifer in calf or milk, two and under three years old. — First prize, G. Ashburner ; second, W. Ashburner. Heifer intended for breeding, above one and under two years old. — First prize, G. Ashburner ; second, W. and T. Robinson. Commended : J. Croudson ; W. Ashburner. Dairy cow. — First prize, J. Croudson ; second, G. Ash- burner. Highly commended : W. and T. Robinson. Yearling bullock. — First prize, J. Sharp, Bankfield House, Ireleth ; second, W. Bolton, Parkbouse. Two year-old bullock. — First and second prizes, J. Sharp. Special prize offered by Myles Kennedy, Esq., J.P., for the best three Shorthorned cattle, above one year old,] bred and reared in the district. — Prize, W. and T. Robinson. A silver challenge cup, value 10 guineas, for the best bull, above one year old, the property of a tenant farmer resident in Lonsdale North. — Prize, W. and T. Robinson. A silver challenge cup, value 10 guineas, for cow or heifer above one year old, the property of a tenant farmer resident in Lonsdale North. — Prize, G. Ashburner. open to general competition. Bull above one year old. — First and second prizes. Lady Pigot, Newmarket. Commended : H. W. Gibbons, Holm- scales; A. Metcalfe, Ravenstondale ; W. and T. Robinson. Cow or heifer above one year old. — First prize. Rev. ]j. C. Wood, Singleton ; second. Lady Pigot. Highly commended : Lady Pigot. SHEEP. Leicester ram, two years old and upwards. — First prize, R. Jefferson, Preston Hows, Whitehaven ; second, A. Brogden, Esq., M.P., Lightburne House, Ulverston. Highly com- mended : G. Lewthwaite, Broadgate, Millom, and J. Kellet, WindbUl. Yearling Leicester ram. — First prize, J. Stables, Scales ; second, J. Ashburner, Scales. The whole class was com- mended. Long-woolled ram, not being Leicester, two years old and upwards. — First and second prizes, W. Norman, Hall Bank, Aspatria, Winton. Yearling long-wooUed ram, not being Leicester. — First and second prizes, W. Norman. Leicester ram lamb. — First and second prizes, R. Jefferson. Woolled ram lamb, not being Leicester. — First prize, R. Coward, Moat Farm ; second, W. Norman, Leicester shearling ewes. — First prize, R. Jefferson ; second, J. Ashburner. Three long-woolled shearling ewes, not being Leicester.— Psize, W. Norman. Three ewe lambs of the Leicester breed. — Prize, R. Jef- ferson. Three long-woolled ewe lambs, not being Leicester. — Prize, W. Norman. Shropshire or Southdown ram of any age. — Prize, J. Cranke, Ulverston. Shropshire or Southdown ram lamb. — Prize, R. Atkinson, Tarn Green. Three Shropshire or Southdown shearling ewes. — J. Ash- burner, Elliscales. Three Shropshire or Southdown ewe lambs. — Prize, G. Drewry, Holker. Herdwick ram of any age. — First and second prizes, Q. Browne, Troutbeck. Three half-bred shearling ewes, from Herdwick ewes by a white-faced ram, or from Scotch horned ewes by a white-faced ram. — Prize, G. Ashburner, Low Hall. Special prize presented by Myles Kennedy, Esq., for three ewes of any breed or age, bred and reared in the district, in. the hands of the breeder. — Prize, silver cup, value £5, J. Ashburner. HORSES. Mare, in foal or with foal at foot, for agricaltural purposes. — First prize, J. Haston, Greenside, Milnthorpe; second, R. and A. Deason, Hambledon. Mare, in foal or with a foal at foot, for road or field. — First prize, J. Bentham, Urswick; second, T. Woodhonse, Thurstonville. Gelding, rising five years old, for road or field. — Prize, J. Hodgson, Leece. Commended ; Sarah Allison, Seathwaite. Gelding, rising four years old, for road or field. — Prize, A. Orr, The Priory, Hornby. Commended : A. Brogden, M.P., and W. B. Coward, Colt Park. Gelding, rising three years old, for road or field. — Prize, T. Dixon, Wreaks, Broughton. Filly, rising four years old, for road or field. — J. Fisher, Dalton. Filly, rising three years old, for road or field. — Prize, J. Mason, Marsh Grange. Gelding or filly, rising four years old, for agricultural pur- poses.— Prize, J. Kendal, Harborrow. Gelding or filly, rising three years old, for agricultural pur- poses.— Prize, R. Simpson, Urswick. Yearling colt, for road or field.— Prize, R. Ashburner, Gleaston Park. Commended : A. Orr. Yearling filly, for road or field.— Prize, R. Ashburner. ■yearling colt or filly, for agricultural purposes. — Prize, R. and A. Deason, Hambleton. Commended : J. Ormandy, Gleaston Park. Foal, for road or field.— Prize, G. H. Fenton, Kendal. Foal, for agricultural purposes. — Prize, R. and A. Deason. Commended : J. Ormandy, Gleaston Castle. Pony, not exceeding 13^ hands high. — Prize, J. Turner, Tunstall. Cob, exceeding 13| and not exceeding 15 hands high.^ Prize, J. Fearon, Keekle, Whitehaven. Highly com- mended : J. H. Schneider, Hall Garth. Leaper. — First prize, J. Fearon ; second, J. Turner. A silver challenge cup, value 20 gs., for the best hunter (horse, mare, or gelding). — Prize, M. Kennedy, Hill Foot (light bay). Special prize, offered by M. Kennedy, J. P. (colt or filly foal), by any thoroughbred horse in the district. — Prize, R. Ashburner. PIGS. Boar of the large breed.— Prize, J. Kendall, Little Mill. Boar of the small breed. — First prize, I. M. Kennedy, Hill Foot ; second, T. Ormandy, Barrow. Sow of large breed. — First prize, J. Park, Ulverston ; second, T. Ashburner, New Barns. 336 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. LANCASTER AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. At the annual show despite the prevalence of the foot- and-mouth disease raging amongst cattle in the neigh- bourhood there was a good show of Shorthorns, and the competition was very close, as was fully and strikingly evidenced in the case of bulls|two years old and upwards, for which there were ten entries, and so evenly balanced were two of these animals that they were upwards of an hour in the ring before the judges could decide whether Mr. Kuowles or Messrs. Gibson and Metcalfe were to have the first prize. It was, however, eventually awarded to Mr. Knowles. The silver medal for the best Shorthorn buU with not less than four pure Herd-book crosses, presented by Mr JohnJ Bromley, fell into the hands of Mr. Jackson Irving, Conder Green ; the silver cup presented by the Society (or the best male animal was also awarded to Mr. Irving, and the silver medal for the second best to Mr. J. Smith. The silver cup for the best Shorthorn cow, fell to Mr. John Woodhouse of Scale Hall, and for the second best, the silver medal was awarded to the Rev. J. Swarbrick, of Thumham. The challenge cup for the best male animal was awarded to Mr. J. Knowles, of Wetherby, "iorkshire, and that for the best female animal to the Rev. L. C. Wood, of Singleton Lodge. In sheep there was also a good show, and the judges had great diihculty in deciding upon the awards for the various prizes, especially in the shearling rams, the prize for which was carried off by the Exors. of the late Mr. 13riggs, of Morecambe. The largest number of prizes in the sheep class was obtained by Mr. John Cock, of Coat Green, who in addition to other prizes carried off the silver challenge cup, for the best collection of Leices- ter*, consisting of one male and three female animals. The challenge cup for long-woolled sheep, not being Leicesters, was awarded to Messrs. R, and T. Escolme, Morecambe, and that for short-woolled sheep fell to the lot of Mr. Bowhng, ot Lan- caster, and the special prize presented by Mr. S. Thompson, for the best collection of pure bred Leicesters, to Mr. Jacob Nelson, of Cockerham. The young horses were pronounced by competent judges to be the best show ever yet exhibited in Lancaster. The yearling geldings were also pronounced to be a remarkably good class. The challenge cup for the best three-year-old gelding or filly, for road or field, was awarded to Mr. Thomas Muckalt, of Priest Hutton ; for agricultural purposes, to Mr. T. Cottam, of Beaumont ; the silver cup for the best hackney, to Mr. T. Rigg, of Windermere, and the cup presented by Mr. J. Fenton for the second best, to Mr. Jackson Turner, of Tuastal. The silver cup for the best pony fell into the hands of Mr. T. Rigg, of Windermere, and tlie medal for the second best to Mr. S. Leece, West Cliff, Preston. The silver cup for hunters was awarded to Mr. Bur- row, Whittington, and the silver medal, the second prize, to Mr. Jackson Turner of Tunstal ; the silver cup for the best lea- per to Mr. C. W. Wilson, High Park, andthe medal, tlie second prize, to Mr. W. A. Fenwick, of Burrow Hall. The special prize for the best three-year-old hunter was awarded to Mr. Thomas M uckalt, of Priest Hutton, and the second to Mr. William Dob.ion, of Yealand. In pigs the show was very good, and several of the prizes remained in Lancaster and the immediate neighbourhood. The show of poultry was under the average, but some fine specimens were exhibited. Of cheese, butter, and oat cakes, there was only a limited quan- tity, and in roots the supply was but small though the speci- mens were very fine. Some very fine potatoes were exhibited, tlie American reds claiming a large share of attention. The wheat, oats, and barley were pretty generally good. KEPORT OF THE INSPECTORS OF CROPS. To thf Commitiee of ihe Lancaster Jr/riciilti-class animals are to be produced. Second, the practice of using bulls long before they come to maturity : It will be sufiicieutly evident to every one that such a practice cannot fail to be injurious, and, though instances to the contrary may be adduced, they are only the exceptions which prove the rule. I am also quite of opinion that over-feeding is another cause of deteoriatiou ; but it is not likely to be discontinued at present, as, owing to the ex- treme dilficulty of judging animals when out of condition, there are but few who will purchase them. I am well aware of the scarcity of first-rate sires, and never in the history of Shorthorns have they realised such enormous prices ; but had the supply increased in proportion with the number of breeders, no such difficulty would have arisen. One advantage, liow- ever, has been gained. There is no lack of useful bulls, which may be purchased at moderate prices, and these, I think, we may fairly congratulate ourselves, have much improved the ordinary stock of the country, more especially in Ireland, as may be seen by the superior quality of the cattle brought to our fairs and markets. I am now especially addressing myself to farmers, many of whom keep well-bred bulls, a practice the importance of which cannot be over-rated. Here I may per- haps be allowed to make a few remarks on the selection of this description of stock. In the first place, it should always be remembered that the male has a greater influence on the quality of the stock than the female ; consequently, every female put to a good male will probably produce a better animal than herself; this rule applies to all ordinary stock put to a well-bred sire. Therefore, never spare a few pounds in the purchase of a good animal, for you may reasonably ex- pect a handsome return for the amount expended in the im- proved quaUty of the stock. Second, with regard to the selection, the importance of which I think you will admit, I would most strongly recommend you to fix upon a flock or herd known to be descended from a long line of heavy-fleshed and robust animals, and one whose owner has a character for careful selection of his breeding stock. I am glad to A A g 348 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. say that breeders answering to tliis description are still to be found. By pursuing this course, the danger of getting inferior stock is reduced to a minimum. Anyone who lias the smallest experience in breeding knows how often the offspring of two first-class animals is not what might fairly be expected. For this reason well-bred bulls are often to be obtained at a moderate price from our best breeders, many of which, if of strong constitution, might be depended upon to produce good stock, or, at any rate, good feeders. Carefully avoid, how- ever, herds bred from the light-fleshed, narrow', and delicate animals so common at the present day. In purchasing a buJi for ordinary use, above all things choose a fair-sized anima. with good quaUty of flesh ; if well descended do not be toe particular about his form. The shoulders are better well open at the top, not narrow like the withers of a horse, no matter if a little coarse, if it is a sign of constitution ; the ribs should be well sprung, a most important point, but difficult to get ; the hips large, even though they should be coarse ; the head and neck masculine, and the horns rather thick than otherwise— a thick horn is a sign of robustness and vigour. I do not like the thin, papery hide which so many admire ; you may be sure there is not much flesh under it. I think I have now given you the essential points of a useful animal, and one obtainable without any very great outlay. As there may be some amongst my hearers who are breeders of first-class Shorthorns, a few words of advice to them may not be out of place, though it must be understood that they do not in any way extend to those whom we may term " pedigree breeders." With them I liave no sympathy ; and tliough I am bound to admit that large sums of money may be and are realized by this mode of breeding, that its effects are injurious must be apparent to every unprejudiced person. What I have said in my advice to farmers will apply liere, only, if possible, with tenfold force, viz., avoid any tendency to light flesh or delicacy of constitu- tion. A cross of this kind is often attended with most disas- trous results ; a case in point occurred seme years ago in the herd of the late Mr. Richard Booth, whose name is doubtless well known to most of you. lie had for many years been breeding entirely from liis own stocks, and thinking that a cross was beneficial, he was induced to purchase at one of the sales of the late Earl Spencer a bull called Exquisite. Earl Spencer's lierd, thougli neat in form, were wanting in flesh and robustness— the very characteristics possessed in such an eminent degree by Mr. Booth's, but the cross, contrary to Mr. Booth's expectation, proved a most un- fortunate one, tlie stock from Lord Spencer's bull being de- cidedly inferior. Similar cases have more than once occurred in my own flock of Leicesters, and this has strengthened ray conviction that, unless the male be superior, or at least equal to tlie female, in all essential poiuts deterioration must take place. Let me here again impress upon you the importance of selecting a bull from a herd superior to your own ; he should, of course, be as perfect in form as possible, but the following poiuts sliould be made a siue qua no>i, viz., good and heavy flesli, good looks, well-sprung ribs, and, above all, a pedigree without blot. Bear in mind, however, that a long pedigree is not necessarily a good one. Success iu breeding, I am quite convinced, requires a certain amount of intuitive knowledge ; it is this which enables one to see at a glance when an animal is likely to be a good stock-geitcr, or whether a young animal is likely to improve or deteriorate. I cannot believe that this faculty is possessed by many of the breeders of the present day : if it were, the quality of the cattle brought under our notice at sales and sliows would be very different. To quote au eminent authority (Mr. Darwin), " Not one man in a thousand has accuracy of eye and judgment sufficient to become an eminent breeder. If gifted with these qualities, and he studies his subject for years, and devotes liis lifetime to it with indomitable perseverance, he will succeed, and may make great improvements ; but if he wants any of these quali- ties, he will assuredly fail." Before concluding this part of my paper I must say a few words on the subject of in-breed- ing—a subject to me most interesting, but at the same time most complicated. I feel certain that, under some conditions, the experiment might be tried with every chance of success, but these conditions so seldom occur that It can be attempted in but few cases. The conditions to winch t refer are tliese : If two animals be first-rate in form and quahty, witliout the slightest appearance of delicacy, or if tue male be very good in points where the famale is deficient. or if it be desirable to perpetuate any particular strain, then I think you might put father and daugliter, mother and son, or indeed, any relations together, with the exception of brother and sister. Bear, in mind, however, that any defects in the parents would be exaggerated, and each generation would decrease in stamina. From personal experience I cannot speak with any authority, having only tried the experiment once, and then [upon sheep — the result was not satisfactory. Feeding : I feel some diffidence in address- ing you on the subject of feeding, being well aware that there are many present who are better qualified to do so than myself. I must, therefore, be excused making any length- ened remarks, hoping that some one may be induced to offer a few suggestions before the close of the meeting. I shall begin by saying a few words on the rearing of calves, and their after-treatment until fit for the butcher. I have always con- sidered September, October, and November the three best months to begin rearing, that the calf may be strong enough to withstand the second winter, which is always the most trying time. Each calf should have, if possible, a loose box not less than 9 feet by 5 feet 6 in., especial care being taken that it be well drained, any accumulation of moisture being most inju- rious. Each box should be provided with water-trough, man- ger, and small rack for hay. New milk should be given for a fortnight at least ; this should gradually be supplemented by skimmed milk, and mixed witli linseed or oil-cake porridge, tliat as many as possible may be reared. A little good hay should be given as soon as the calf wiU eat it, and I believe that no better food can be substituted. A small quantity of linseed cake may also be given, with pulped roots and cut hay; if hay be scarce, a very little straw may be added. At the age of 14 or IG weeks the milk may be gradually discontinued, and a little flour substituted, which may be mixed with the pulp and chop. Tliis treatment should be continued through- out the winter, and up to the first week in May, when the calf may be turned out to grass, fetching it up at night for the first fortnight at least. One pound of cake per day should be given during tlie summer, and by the autumn this treatment should have produced an auimal in good condition, and well able to get through the ensuing winter. The cake should now be increased to 1^ lbs. to 2 lbs. per day, and equal portions of hay and straw may be given chopped and mixed with pulped roots. If the stock are to be sold at an early age, which I strongly advise, a small quantity of flour should be given with the chop. I would here impress upon you the importance of keeping every young animal in a thriving state ; should it once lose its calf's flesh, it will take some time to restore it, and it should be remembered that time is money. At the end of the second winter the yearling ought to be in good condition, and during the next summer he may be grazed in the store pastures with ewes and lambs. At two years old those not sufficiently for- ward to be fed may be put into the straw folds ; they should have an unlimited supply of cut straw mixed with pulped roots. If a sufficient quantity of roots can be allowed they are in my opinion preferable for store cattle to any kind of cake. Tlie heifers intended for stock may be put to the bull; a few of the rest, with some of the steers, may possibly be sufficiently forward to be fed in the winter. Feeding may commence with from 4 lbs. to 5 lbs. of cake per day with as many roots as can be spared, and if possible a little hay ; the quantity of cake may be regulated to suit the time wlien the animals are to be disposed of. It is a much debated question with feeders wliether the preference should be given to boxes, stalls, or yards. I should place tliem in the followiug order : 1st, yards ; 2nd, boxes ; 3rd, stalls. It depends, however, in some measure on the kind of cattle to be fed. Steers will improve faster in yards or boxes, but cows, from their quarrelsome dis- position, do better in stalls. Farmers, however, have not often sufficient accommodation to admit of choice in the matter. In the foregoing remarks I have pre-supposed that the stock have been fairly bred, for it is only by this means that early maturity can be secured ; at the same time I would have it understood that I am speaking of ordinary stock, and not of animals intended for exhibition. Not having any definite knowledge of the system adopted by the large dairy farmers in rearing, I cannot give any information on the sub- lect, but beg to refer you to the forthcoming volume of tlie llo^iil A(jricxiUuraJ Society's Journal, where you will find some valuable hints in the account of the first prize dairy farm. I may remark that the calves ou this farm were econ- THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 349 omically fed and in very good condition. With regard to the rearing and management of first-class breeding stock, I most strongly recommend that all the bull calves should, whenever practical, be reared upon cows in the open pastures ; they should suck from six to eight months, and a few weeks before wean- ing should become accustomed to artificial food, as a calf so soon loses condition after leaving the dam. Exercise should be given regularly, this being such an essential point. The bull calves will, of course, receive the most liberal treatment possible until sold ; the heifers only require to be kept in good growing condition, which can be done by giving a very small quantity of artificial food and good hay. They should be put to the bull at one-and-three-quartcrs or two years old, as, if this be longer deferred, they are likely to prove non-breeders. Stock for exhibition require the rcost liberal and careful feeding. Only so much should be given as can be consumed at once ; if any be left it should be removed. This I believe to be the most important point in feeding. Change of food is also very essential. Linseed-cake should be given with judgment : if too much be given the animal is soon cloyed. But all these directions will be useless unless the intending exhibitor have an intelligent, persevering, and trustworthy servant, as it must depent upon his exertions to bring out the animal in show- condition at the right time, which is no easy matter. Econo- mical feeding, i. 2^ AGRICULTURAL MEETINGS IN 1871. OCTOBER 3.— Royal East Berks Agricultural Association.— Meeting at Maidenhead. Entries closed. President, Colonel Vansittart. Secretary, Mr. W. Bulstrode, Mount Farm, Cookham Dean, Maidenhead. OCTOBER 5.— Farnworth Agricultural Society.— Meeting at Famworth. Entries closed. Secretary, Mr. J. Daven- port, Ditton, Warrington. OCTOBER 9.— Ludlow Agricultural Society.— Meeting at Ludlow. Entries closed. President, William Blakeway, Esq. Secretary, Mr. T, Weyman, Ludlow. OCTOBER 17 and 18.— Herefordshire Agricultural Society.— Meeting at Hereford. Entries closed. President, M. Clive, Esq. Secretarj', Mr. J. T. O. Fowler, Hereford. OCTOBER 20. — Usk Farmers' Club.— Annual Meeting. Secretary, Mr. J. H. Clark, Usk. OCTOBER .-Ayrshire Agricultural Society.— Meeting at Kilmarnock. President, The Earl of Glasgow. Secretary, Mr. J. M'Murtrie, Ayr. NOVEMBER .— FramUngham Farmers' Club.— Meeting at Framlingham. Entries close November 1. President, F. S. Corrance, Esq., M.P. Secretary, Mr. W. B. Kent, Earl Soham, Wickham Market. NOVEMBER 18.— Royal Berks Root Show at Reading. En- tries close November 15. Secretaries, Sutton and Sons, Reading. NOVEMBER 22 and 23.— Rutland Agricultural Society.— Meeting at Oakham. Entries close November 6. Pre- sident, Charles Winston Eaton, Esq. Secretary, Mr. E. Wortle.y, Ridlington, Uppingham. NOVEMBER 23 and 24.— Chippenham Agricultural Society. — Meeting at Chippenham. Entries close November 17. President, Sir John Neild, Bart. Secretary, Mr. E. Little, Lanhill, Chippenham. NOVEMBER 2'1.— Carter & Co.'a Root Show.— At 237, High Holbom, Entries close November 16. NOVEMBER, 25, 27, 28, 29, and 30.— Bii-mingham and Mid- land Counties Cattle and Poultry Show in Bingley Hall, Birmingham. Entries close October 23. President, Earl Beauchamp. Secretary, Mr. T. B. Lythall, New- street, Birmingham. DECEMBER 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8.— Smithfield Club Fat Cattle Show, in the Agricultural Hall, Islington. — Entries close for Implements October 2 ; for Stock, November 1. Pre- sident, The Marquis of Exeter, Secretaries, Mr.Brandreth Gibbs and Mr. D. PuUen, Half-moon Street, Piccadilly. DECEMBER 5, 6, and 7.— Yorkshire Fat Stock Show, at York. — Entries close November 16. President, The Earl of Zetland. Secretary, Mr. J. Watson. Lendal Bridge, York. DECEMBER 6, 7, 8, and 9.— Roj-al Dublin Society.— Christ- mas Fat Stock Show in Dublin. President," The Lord- Lieutenant of Ireland. Superintendent, Mr. A. Corrigan, DubUn. DECEMBER 7.— Rugby and Dunchorch Fat Stock Show, at Rugby.— Entries close November 22. President, The Earl of Dalkeith. Secretary, Mr. E. Harris, Rugby. DECEMBER 12 and 13. — Tredegar Agricultural Show at Newport, Monmouthshire. Entries close November 15. President, Lord Tredegar. Secretary, Mr. J. G. Palling, Newport. DECEMBER 12, 13, and 14.— West of England Fat Stock Show. Meeting at Plymouth. Entries close Nov. 1. President, the Earl of Morley. Secretary, Mr. J. Moon, Athenanim-lane, Ph-mouth. DECEMBER 13.— Rye 'Fat Cattle Show.— Meeting at Rye. Entries close November 29. President, Alex. B. Vidler, Esq. Secretary, Mr. H. E. Paine, Rve. DECEMBER 15.— Carmarthen Cattle and Poultry Show.— Meeting at Carmarthen. Entries close Dec. 2. President, E. J. Sartoris, Esq., M.P. 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And, by the same Author, for 12 stamps j sealed ends, 20, MANHOOD : A MEDICAL ESSAY on the Causes and Cm-e of Premature Decline IN Man ; the Treatment of Nervous Debility, Spermatorrhoea, Impotence, and those peculiar infii'mitiea which result from youthful abuses, adult excesses, tropical climates, and other causes ; with Instructions for the Cure of Infection without Mercury, and its Prevention by the Author's Prescription (his infallible Lotion), REVIEWS OF THE WORK, " Manhood. — ^This is truly a valuable work, and should be in the hands of young and oW^^Smi^y TimeSf 23rd March, 1858. 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Conaumera are warned that none is- genuine unless the bags bear the Trade Mark, and are secured with a Leaden Seal. Also Manufacturers of "PATENT AMMONIATED PHOSPHATE," especiaUy adapted for Wheat, Barley, and Hops, and of BONE, BLOOD, and SPECIAL 5.IANUEES of first-rate quaHty. PARTICFLARS OP JAMES GIBBS AND COMPANY, WORKS— Victoria Docks. OFFICES-16, Mark Lane, London, E.C„ OR THEIR AUTHORIZED AGENTS. LONKON AND COUNTY BANKING COMPANY. ESTABLISHED 1836. SUBSCEIBED CAPITAL... £2,500,000, in 60,000 SHAKES of £50 EACH. PAID-UP CAPITAL... £1,000,000 RESERVE FUND... £500,000. NATHANIEL ALEXANDER, Esq. T. TYRINGHAM BERNAJLD, Esq PHILIP PATTON BLYTH, Esq. JOHN WM. BURMESTER, Esq. WILLIAM CHAMPION JONES, Esq. E. HARBORD LUSHINGTON, Esq. JAMES MORLEY, Esq. WILLIAM NICOL, Esq. DIRECTORS. THOMAS STOCK COWIE, Esq. FREDERICK FRANCIS, Esq. FREDERICK HAilRISON, Esq. LORD ALFRED HERVEY. TRUSTEES. P. P. BLYTH, Esq \ J. W. BURMESTER, Esq. I W. CHAMPION JONES, Esq. AUDITORS. WILLIAM JARDINE, Esq. | WILLLiM NORMAN, Esq. | RICHARD H. SWAINE, Esq. General Manager—WILLIAM McKEWAN, Esq. cmep inspectob. inspectors op branches. chief acoountant. W. J. NORFOLK, Esq. H. J. LEMON, Esq., and C. SHEERING, Esq. JAMES GRAY, Esq. Solicitors— Messrs. STEVENS, WILKINSON, & HARRIES. Secretast— F. CLAPPISON, Esq. HEAD OFFICE, 21, LOMBARD STREET. Manager— WHITBREAD TOMSON, Esq. | Assistant Manager— WILLIAM HOWARD, Esq. THE LONDON AND COUNTY BANK opens— DRAWING ACCOUNTS with Commercial Houfles and Private Individuals, either upon the plan usually adopted by other Bankers, or by charging a smaU Commission to those persons to whom it may not be convenient to sustain an agreed Permanent Balance. DEPOSIT ACCOUNTS.— Deposit Receipts are issued for sums of Money placed upon these Accounts, and Interest ia allowed for such periods and at such rates as mav be agreed upon, reference being had to the state of the Money Market. _ CIRCULAR NOTES AND LETTERS OF CREDIT are issued, payable in the principal Cities and Towns of the Con- tinent, in AustraUa, Canada, India, and China, the United States, and elsewhere. The Agency of Foreign and Countiy Banks is undertaken. The PuECHASB and Salb of Government and other Stocks, of English or Foreign Shares effected, and DiviBBiros, AKNriTiBs, &c., received for Customers of the Bank. • Great facihties are also aJQTorded to the Customers of the Bank for the receipt of Money from the Towns where the Com- pany has Branches. The Officers of the Bank are bound not to disclose the transactions of any of ita Customers. By Order of the Dii ectors, WM. MoKEWAN, General Manager. 1^ &v No. C, Vol. XL.] DECEMBER, 1871. Thikd Series. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE AND MONTHLY JOURNAL or THE AC^RICITLTUEAL INTEEEST. ^ TO THK FARMERS .01! THE TJNITED KINGDOM. LONDON : PTJr>LlSHET>:BY ROGEllSON AND TUXFORD, 265, STRAND, I'RTCE TWO SHILLINGS. ROGERSON AND TUXFORD,] [PRINTERS, 265, STRAND. IMPORTANT TO THOMAS BIGG, Agricultural and Veterinary Chemist, by Appointment to his late Royal Highness The Frince Consort, K.G., Leicester House, Great Dover Street, Borough, London, begs to call the attention ot Farmei-s and Graziers to his valuable SHEEP and LAMB DIPPING COMPOSITION, which requires no Boiling, and may be used with Warm or Cold Water, for efifectually destroying the Tick, Lice, and all other insects injurious to the Flock, preventing the alarming attacks of Fly and Shab, and cleansing and puriij-ing the Skin, thereby gi-eatly im- proving the Wool, both in ciuantity and quality, and highly Contributing to the general health of the animal. Prepared only by Thomas Bigg, Chemist, &c., at his Manu- factoi-y as above, and sold as lollows, although any other quantity may be liad, if required :— 4 lb. for 20 sheep, price, jar included £0 2 0 6 1b. 30 „ „ „ 0 3 0 81b. 40 „ „ , 0 4 0 101b. 50 „ „ „ 0 5 0 201b. 100 „ ,, (Cask and measuj'e 0 10 0 301b. 150 „ „ included) 0 15 0 401b. 200 „ „ , 10 0 501b. 250 „ ., „ 13 6 601b. 300 „ „ „ 17 6 80 lb. 400 ,. „ „ 1 17 6 1001b. 500 „ „ , 2 5 0 Should any Flockmaster prefer boiling the Composition, it ■wUl be equally effective. MOST IMPORTANT CERTIFICATE, From Ml". Heeepath, the celebrated Analytical Chemist :— Bristol Laboratoiy, Old Park, January 18th, 1861. Sir, — I have submitted your Sheep Dipping Composition to analysis, and find that the ingredients are well blended, and the mixture neutral. If it is used according to the directions given, I feel satisfied, that while it effectually destroys vermin, it will not injm-e the hair roots (or "yolk ") in the skin, the fleece, or the carcase. I think it deserves the numerous testimonials published. I am. Sir, yours respectfully, William Heeapath, Sen., F.C.S., &c., &c., To Mr. Thomas Bigg Professor of Chemistry. Leicester House, Great Dover-street, Borough, London. FLOCKMASTERS. He would also especially call attention to his SPECIFIC, or LOTION, for the SCAB or SHAB, which will be found a certain remedy for eradicating that loathsome and ruinous disorder in Sheep, and which may be safely used in all climates, and at all seasons of the year, and to all descriptions of sheep, even ewes in lamb. Price FR'B SHILLINGS per gallon— sufficient on an average for thirtj- Sheep (according to the virulence of the disease) ; also in wine quart bottles. Is. 3d. each. niPORTANT TESTIMONIAL. " Scoulton, near Hingham, Norfolk, April 16th, 1855. " Dear Sir, — In answer to yours ot the 4th inst., which would have been replied to before this had I been at home, I have much pleasure in bearing testimony to the efficacy of your invaluable ' Specific for the cure of Scab in Sheep.' The 600 sheep were all dressed in August last with 84 gallons of the 'NoN-poisoNOUs Specific,' that was so highly recom- mended at the Lincoln Show, and by their own dresser, the best attention being paid to the flock oy my shepherd after dressing according to instructions left ; but notwithstanding the Scab continued getting worse. Being determined to have the Scab cured if possible, I wrote to you for a supply of your Specific, which I received the following day; and although the weather was most severe in February during the dressing, your SPECiric proved itself an invaluable remedy, for in three weeks the Sheep were quite cureil ; and I am happy to say the young lambs are doing remarkably well at present. In conclusion, I believe it to be the safest and best remedy now in use. " I remain, dear Sir, "For JOHN TINGET, Esq., " To Mr. Thomas Bigg. ' " R. RENNET. KS" Flockmasters would be well to beware of such pre- parations as " Non-pcisonous Compositions :" it is only necessary to appeal to their good common sense and judg- ment to be thoroughly convinced that no "Non-poisonous" article can poison or destroy insect vermin, particularly such as the Tick, Lice, and Scab Parasites— creatures so tenacious of life. Such advertised preparations must be wholly useless, or they are not what they axe represented to be. DIPPING APPARATUS £14. £6, £4, & £3. THE ROYAL FARMERS' INSURANCE COMPANY, 3, NOEFOLK STREET, STRAND, LONDON, W.C. CAPITAL. — Persons insured by this Company have the security of an extensive and wealthy proprietary as well as an ample Capital always applicable to the payment of claims without delay. LIFE DEPARTMENT.— BONUS.— Insurers of the participating class will be entitled to four-fifths of the profits. ASSIGNMENTS. — The Company grant Policies payable to the Eegistered Holders, whereby much expense and inconvenience are prevented. Stamp Duty paid by the Ofiice. EIRE DEPARTMENT,- Ist Class — Not Hazardous Is. 6d, per Cent. 2nd Class — Hazardous ... ... ... ... ... 2s. 6d. „ 3rd Class — Doubly Hazardous ... ... ... ... 4s. 6d. „ BUILDINGS and MERCANTILE Propei-ty of eveiy description in Public or Private Warehouses.— Distillers, Steam Engines, Goods in Boats or Canals, Ships in Port or Harbour, &c. «Sec., are Insured in this Office at moderate rates. SPECIAL RISKS.— At such rates as may be considered reasonable. .FARMING STOCK.— 5s. per cent., with liberty to use a Steam Thrashing Machine without extra charge. Nearly FIYE MILLIONS Insured in this Office. SEVEN YEARS' INSURANCES may be efi"ected on payment of Six Years' Premium only. LIGHTNING and GAS. — Losses by Fire occasioned by Lightning, and Losses by Explosion of Gas when used for Lighting Buildings ynll be allowed for. RENT.— The Loss on Kent while Buildings remain untenantable through fire may be provided against. HAIL DEPARTMENT.— (Crops and Glass.) Policies to protect parties from Loss by the destraction of Growing Crops or Glass, by Hail, are granted on Moderate Terms. LOSSES.— Prompt and liberal settlement. AGENTS WANTED. Apply to JOHN REDDISH, Esq., Secretaiy and Aotuaiy. ^-^^^ 0 l:!!ll!ll|l!laWWB!f|'l:'?;ii!'i)i;i!imtitWglll!Ji!li;lffifv "•!/'' ^-m THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. DECEMBER, 1871. PLATE I. A "EOYAL" SHROPSHIRE RAM. THE PROPERIT OF MR. THOMAS MANSELL, OF ADCOTT HALL, SALOP. The ram Major, bred by Mr. Mansell, is by Conserva- tive, dam byMaccaroni, out of a ewe by Short -legged Patentee. Conservative, also bred by Mr. Mansell, was the reserve and of course highly commended ram at the Oxford meeting of the Royal Agricultural Societyin 1870 ; hav- ing previously been also noticed at the Manchester Royal meeting, where he was let to Mr. Charles Byrd, of Litty- wood, and was consequently the sire of both the first prize shearling and first old sheep at Wolverhampton. Conservative was subsequently sold to ^Ir. Nock, of Sutton Maddock, as whose property he once more reached to a Royal reserve at Wolverhampton. Oxford Hero, the second prize shearling at Oxford, was also by Conservative, as well as other winning sheep at the national shows. Maccaroni, bred at Adcott, was sire of Mansion, a first prize ram at Plymouth. Major was first exhibited at Oxford, where he was not noticed by the judges ; but was let to Mr. F. Byrd, of Dunstan, for 63 gs. ; who returned the sheep in very good condition, and he took first prize in the old class at Wolverhampton. Mr. Byrd's first and second prize ram lambs at the recent Penkridge meeting were by Major, who has since been sold to Mrs. Beach, of The Hattons. In our report of the Wolverhampton meeting on the Monday following, we said: "The first prize shearling ram was by the reserve sheep in the older class, and this three- shear, although shown by Mr. Nock, was bred by Mr. Mansell. The second prize shearling was the property of Mr. Mansell, as was the first prize old sheep, and the two best pens of lambs were by an Adcott lam. It will be so seen that many of the prize sheep go back to the same Old Sr.RiF.s.] strains of blood, whilst nearly all were of the same cha- racter. The old rams were declared to be superior to the shearlings, and the Adcott first was at once accepted as an illustration of his order. He is really handsome to look on, has plenty of size, and is good in his mutton if not quite right about the colouring of his head. The weak point here is that at Oxford the same judges took no notice of this sheep, while they placed another of Mr. Mansell's second which is here only commended, and very properly placed behind his companion. Of course young rams may alter and improve or go back in the course of a j^ear, but it is hard to understand any such ' subsequent' differ- ence in the two sheep here standing side by side. Lord Chesham, who would thus look to be going with the stream, took the Oxford prize |last season, but we question if he were ever much fancied at Latimer ; and even the judges themselves will allow that their second reading was far the preferable." The judges say for themselves in the new number of the Royal Agricultural Society's Journal: " The all-aged rams were the most noticeable feature. In this class we found a large proportion of the animals of marked superiority, iu illustration of which, 20 were either awarded prizes or received special commendations at our hands. We consider this the best class of Shrop- shires ever brought together in the Royal Show-yard, an opinion we feel sure all who have given them a careful inspection will admit. The first-prize sheep was not without a fault ; although one of the heaviest carcases of mutton, with a heavj' fleece of wool of superior qualitv, we considered him rather deficient in style." The judges of Shropshires, at both Oxford and Wolverhampton, were Messrs. B. Bond, of Swansmoor, Stafford ; W. Kemp Bourne, of Fishewick, Lichfield ; and R. H. Masfen, of Pendeford, Wolverhampton. I I rVoL. LXX.— No. 6. 470 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. PLATE II. THE SENTRY. Look out, Bob ! and no doubt Bob will look out, I man bad gone to get a dip, and there are people who take although from his expression we should say he would { their unadulterated plunge up to Christmas. The dead rather go on with the beat. However, he holds hat and ', game in the foregi-ound should be just the sort of vermin pipe as hostages of his master's quick return, as but for to burrow about a ban-eu sand bank, the "inclement season" it would appear that the sports- THE FARMERS' CLUB. THE AGRICULTURAL LABOURER. The first meeting of the Club, following the adjournment in May last, was held on Monday evening, November 6th, in Salisbury-square, and was numerously attended. Mr. J. B. Spearing, chairman of the year, presided. The subject appointed for discussion, viz., " The Agricuhural Labourer — his Employment, Wages, and Education," was introduced by Mr. C. S. Read, M.P. The Chairman said: Gentlemen, as this is the first meet- ing since our long summer recess, I may, perhaps, as your chairman, be allowed to make a few general remarks before we proceed to tlie direct business of the evening. I will do so as briefly as possible. I think, tbat on the whole, I may venture to congratulate you upon the improved prospects of agriculture, the last season being more likely to prove remu- nerative than the three or four preceding ones. Our wheat crops are, as a rule,' defective, both in quality and[quantity, owing to the deficiency of heat ; but other grain crops, more particularly barley, oats, and peas, are more than the usual average. Our root crop is a most abundant one, and the price of stock is imusually high. Coming to the more direct subject for the evening, which relates to the agricultural la- bourer, I may remark, that I never remember to have seen in the western district so much damage done to crops, both in the field and in stackyard for want of hands to secure them (Hear, hear). The question of labour is, in fact, becoming a more serious one every year, and it behoves us to consider well how far we can with advantage increase the use of ma- chinery as an auxiliary in farming operations. It seems to me that the agricnltural labourer already is getting either more cunning or over-educated — I don't know which it is (laughter), and does not like so much hard work as he used to do — and if he becomes much more educated than he is we shall not be able to depend upon his labour at all. I will not de- tain you any longer, but will at once call upon Mr. Read, who will, no doubt, introduce the subject in a most able and inter- esting manner. Mr. C. S. Read, M.P., said : Mr. chairman and gentlemen, I have first to apologise for not being prepared with a written paper. I am sorry to say, that I have not been able to find time even to write my introduction. But I have made such copiousnotes that I fear I shall tire you very much before I have done, though I trust you will give me a patient and indulgent hearing, on account of the great importance of the subject, im- portant especially at the present time. Some of you may, per- haps, be inclined to ask what was my reason for suggesting as a subject for discussion "The agricultural labourer — hisemploy- ment, wages, aud education." In glancing over the list of papers which have been read before this Club, I found that about every two years the condition of the agricultural labourer had, either directly or indirectly, been the topic of one night's dis- cussion : I felt confident that at no period of our history has the transition state of the labourer been more remarkable than it is at the present moment, and I was jealous that we should retain the reputation of the Club for never neglecting or dis- regarding the agricultural labourer (Hear, hear). I may add, that if I had known that after a lapse of five-and-twenty years the Royal Agricultural Society was going to issue such a paper as that of Mr. Dent, in the last number of the Journal (cheers), I should not have ventured, perhaps, to undertake to introduce this subject; for I feel quite sure that after the publication of that able essay — and anyone who has read it, as everyone ought to do, must acknowledge that it is able— any remarks of mine must appear dull and flat indeed (cries of " No, no"). Now, I no not wish so much to give you my own opinions on this question as the conclusions which have been formed by disinterested and competent witnesses. I have, therefore, consulted the Report of the Commission appointed in 1865 to inquire into the agricultural gang system, the Report of the second Commission, appointed in 1867, to inquire into the employment of women, young persons, and childreu, in agriculture ; a very excellent little book, though at the same time a very dear one, pubUshed some time ago, entitled, " The Agricultural Labourer," from the pen of Mr. Kebbel, being a reprint of series of articles which appeared in the Pai! Mall Gazette and the Conihitl 3Iar/axine ; Mr. Bailey Denton's paper on the same subject, read before the Society of Arts ; and Mr. Dent's recent essay in the Journal of the Royal Agri- cultural Society to which I have just alluded ; and lastly, I have referred to the papers which have been read before this Club. Now, I have no desire to wander from my subject, but when we are talking of the wages and the condition of the agricultaral labourer, it is absolutely necessary to go be- yond money payments, and to consider other things connected with them. And first I would remark with regard to the division of agriculturists into landlord, tenant, and labourer, that as we have this division we must accept it. I think it is a wise division. You all know that that division has been recently assailed ; but I beheve that in a small rich country like this it THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 471 is desirable that the existing classification should continue, and that there should be the tenant-farmer occupying an inter- mediate position between the landlord and the labourer. It was well remarked by Mr. James Howard — whom we must all rejoice to see again amongst us with restored liealth (Cheers) — in a very business-like and practical paper read by him at Northampton in 1859, that capital and labour are alike the two piers of an arch on which society rests. It appears to me that the stream of agriculture is so wide that it cannot be bridged at one span ; and hence we have got an intermediate pier in the centre of the stream. The tenant-farmer supplies half capital and half labour, while the landlord is the sleeping partner — the rich capitalist who has money enough to rest contented with a small rate of interest for his investment. The tenant-farmer could not live on the capital which he possesses without thorough work ; so he puts his capital into the land and expects to be remunerated through the culti- vation of the soil. The labourer is a man who has no capital, and who wants good wages and constant employment. What has been the result of this division ? Better rents, larger produce, and higher wages than are obtained in any country in the old world. I now come to the question of the labourer's early history. We are frequently told by learned men that there has been a very bright page indeed in that history. Well, gentlemen, I am of opinion that the middle ages are very well to write about, but were very middling times to live in. The labourer then was nothing more than a slave. He was the villien of his lord ; he was confined to one parish, and if he left it he was branded with the letter F ; his wages wei e settled by statute, and at one period their amount was one penny per day at harvest time, and a half- penny at other times. I am quite ready to admit that in the palmy days of the Plantagenet kings, putting out of con- sideration his social position, the labourer was well fed and well cared for. During the wars of the Roses, however, he suffered very greatly, and it was not till the days of Good Queen Bess that his prosperity revived, and an Act was pased, which provided that no new cottage which was built should have less than four acres of land attached to it. During the subsequent civil wars and the time of the Protectorate, the agricultural labourer experienced great depression. But with the Restoration came another golden age which lasted to the latter half of the last century, when the inclosure of commons and the high prices of the war curtailed the labourer's means and increased the cost of living. What does this history teach us ? Why that in times of civil strife and commotion the agricultural labourer suffers just as much as his rich neighbour, and that he flourishes most in times when monar- chical and aristocratic institutions, both of which are being assailed at the present moment, are in the ascendant. I do not intend to dwell on this point. But I would ask any one present — the oldest gentleman in the room — to tell me whether he remembers a time when the agricultural labourer was better off or more prosperous than he is at the present moment. (A voice : " Certainly not.") We must not be contented with general assertions, but must compare his con- dition now with his condition at some other specified time. Let us then go back just twenty years, that is to the first days of free trade, and I say emphatically that he is decidedly better off than he was at that period, the improvement resting, not on my authority, but on that of Commissioners who have investigated the subjects. His wages are slowly )5ut Barely op ^he rise; his emplpyment i» worp ponstaftt than it was, and I may add, from my own experience, that he is paid better now for doing less work (A voice : " No quesion about it.") So far as I am concerned I am very glad of it, and I only wish I could afford to pay him more. In 1851 Mr. Caird, after travelling through nearly all the counties of England, reported the result of his investigations in The Times newspaper. He visited six of the lowest- waged counties — Gloucester, Wilts, Suffolk, Cambridge, Berks, and Dorset, and he found that iu those counties the average pay of agricultural labourers was 7s. l^d. a week. The Agri- cultural Commissioners tell us that Dorset is still the lowest county as regards wages, and I find that, according to them, the average there is now 8s. per week. But, then, the labourer has a cottage, fuel, and other perquisites, and Mr. Stanhope says that he really earns 10s. to 12s. In the Cotswold HiUs, Bishop Fraser tells us, the wages range as low as 10s., while others quote them up to 14s., so that there we have a medium of something like 12s. a week, against 7s. l^d. in 1851. These were wretched wages, not including piecework. But 1851 was an exceptionally low year : there was a season of great agricultural depression, and therefore I do not quite coincide with Mr Dent when he puts the increase of wages at the present period at 75 per cent. I think that estimate is a mistake ; I would rather put the in- crease at 30, or at the most 35 per cent., on day work ; and with an increase of one-third in twenty years, I think the wages of the agricultural labourers in this part of the country may be regarded as being in a satistactory position. We may be told that higher wages are paid in Northumberland, Cum- berland, Lancashire, and the East and West Ridings of York- shire. In 1851 the average rate of wages in those counties was 13s.; it is now from 13s. to 15s., and consequently there has been no such increase iu the higher wage counties as in the others during the period in question. Let me refer you a moment to the excellent essay of Mr. Bailey Denton on the agri- cultural labourer, written after twenty years' experience in almost every county in England, by one who may certainly be re- garded as an impartial authority, and who has no such reason as farmers are supposed to have for stating wages higher than they really are. Mr. Bailey Denton divides the country into seven districts, and he says : " The mean weekly day-labour wages of able-bodied men throughout the whole of England may be taken at 12s. 6d. To this must be added the additional gains by occasional piece-work, extra payments at hay-time and harvest, when double the ordinary wages is frequently given. In the ag- gregate, the actual income derived from these employments is equal to from Is. 6d. to 3s. a week, according to the custom of different districts. Where piece-work can wholly take the place of day labour a labourer may earn 25 per cent, more than by the day. The total value of the beer and cider sup- plied to each labourer as his allowance at hay-time and har- vest, when employed in drilling and machine-thrashing, and when engaged in piece-work, if spread over the whole year, would amount to from Is. to 2s. a week more, according to locality. With these additions to his dh-ect money wages, the farm-labourer gains from 15s. to I63. per week, taking the mean of England." Fifteen or sixteen shillings a-week, without the wages of his wife or children. And now let any farmer turn to his labour- book of twenty years ago, and see if he does not now pay "a good deal more per acre than he did then. Why I recollect when 35s. per acre on light arable land was considered a good amount of money to spend in wages ; but the amount is now frequently 35s., and I am afraid that I do not get off under 40s., the cause of that being, my friends tell me, that I go tp Parliament and don't look after ray farm (laughter). AUj^iis 472 THE FAEMER'S MAGAZINE. increase has come in spite of the increased use of machinery. And let me just say this, tliat I believe that in the future the cost of our manual labour will be one of our most difficult items to deal with (Hear, liear), and that if it goes on increas- ing mucli more it vrill tend more than anything else to turn the land into grass, in spite of all Mr. Mechi's efforts to put it under the plough (laughter). Now let us contrast for a few moments the condition of the rural with that of the urban la- bourer. Well, the rural labourer has pure air and good health. We cannot put a market or money value upon tliat advantage. There can be no doubt that the death-rate in towns is 5 per cent, higher per 1,000 than it is iu tlie country. The rent of a cottage in the country is about Is. 6d. a-week, while in towns three or four shillings is paid foi a similar kind of dwelling. A few months ago a man left my employment to fill a very good berth at Norwich. Only last Saturday I saw his wife, and I asked her liow they were getting on. " Well," she replied, " My husband earns plenty of wages, but I have to pay Ss. 6d. every Saturday night for a very small cottage, without any garden at all." Tlien consider what a good gar- den produces for tlie labourer. I really think that if he has a rood of ground he ought to make at least £4 out of it. I am assured that mechanics pay for fruit and vegetables quite 23. a-week ; and therefore, if you put the two things together — rent and garden — you will find that the rural labourer has an advantage in those respects over the artisan to the extent of something like 43. a-week. There are other little advantages in the country as compared with town. There are gleaning, picking acorns, cheaper bread, better milk, and more abun- dant pork ; I won't say a word about the pig, because, unless they are specially kept for manurinng the garden tliat may be a disadvantage. There are, however, for the town labourer more choice of shops, aud less wear of clothes, and is nearer to his work, and there is more demand for children's labour. To make the contrast complete, we must mark the present advance in the price of most provisions. All luxuries are much dearer than they were. We of the middle classes, who are house- keepers, well know tliat the price of meat is much higher, and I tliiuk the labourer must find that the increased value of butter and clieese pulls considerably on his weekly income. On the other hand, under free trade, flour is ten per cent, cheaper than it was under protection, and in the case of a labourer with a family of children it is often found that from half to three-quarters of the weekly income is spent on flour diet. Fuel has been made much less costly, through the spread of railways ; tea and sugar, and groceries generally, cost less. I might allude to the condition of the foreign labourer, for recollect what Mr. James Howard in his paper on continental farms told us about the manner in which foreign agricul- tural labourers are fed and clothed ; and you have doubtless also read Professor Voelcker's report on the poor peasant- farmers of Belgium. I believe that on the Continent 12 hours is the general working day of the agricul- tural labourer. I have myself seen labouring men work- ing regularly in Paris on Sundays. I was told the other day, by a gentleman from New York, that he was confident that the wages of our agricultural labourers earning £35 a year were, taking into consideration the cost of the necessaries of life in America, quite equal to wages to the amount of £30 in the United States. Again, consider for one moment the different rates of wages in different localities. To my mind, when all things are considered, there is no very great difference : the result is much the same, if you take into account the perquisites, beer, &c., rents, different hours and the amount of work performed. One of the very best of her Majesty's Commissioners, and certainly one of the most practical of the whole number, Mr. Culley, after stating that in Northumberland the wages of an agricultural labourer are IBs. per week, compares the condition of a labourer there with one in Berkshire who earns only 12s. a week, and he goes on to prove that, in consequence of the larger amount of work exacted from the northern labourer, the northern farmer pays less per acre than the Berkshire farmer. Again, Mr. Bailey Denton says — and remember he has undertaken works all over the kingdom, aud, as I said before, he is a fair and impartial judge — " Measured by the real value of the services rendered by the agi'icultural labourers in difl'erent parts of England, the prices peculiar to different districts are as high as the return to be gained from those services will sanction. I consider it a fallacy to suppose that the labourers of one district are as good workmen as the labourers of another, and that for the services of each, when applied to the same object, the same money should be paid." Aguin, he says : " Where labourers are superabundant, it is most desirable that the surplus hands should move into another district, where labour is scarce ; but to encourage unions, with a view to raise wages in low-paid districts, without improving the quaUty of the work done, is cruel both to the employed and the employer, for the one will be deprived of the only sound ground of independence ; while the other will be obliged to paj' money for an inadaquate retui'n." Will Canon Girdlestone, after reading this, again recommend labourers to form trades' unions ? I don't think they would have a very much better chance of doing that than farmers — and I am quite sure that we should not agree on that point (laughter). Why, it may be asked, should not labourers transplant themselves without having associations formed for them ? They do so daily in every part of the land. A single man who likes to save a week or two's wages can go to almost any portion of England by parliamentary train. I say a single man. A man with a wife and family cannot. I was rude enough to say before Miss Becker at the meeting of the British Association at Norwich that I thought a wife aud children were an incumbrance to an agricultural labourer (laughter). I was considered a very un- gallant mau for expressing that opinion ; but I think we of the middle-class know that as regards locomotion a wife is something of a hindrance (laughter). Now as to the changes in the agricultural population, it appears that from 1801 to 1841 there was a gradual aud rapid increase. It was checked by about 1851, an has since declined. It has especially de- clined among able-bodied men ; it has not declined in sheep- farming or stall-feeding districts. Machinery in no way accounts for the decrease but when the Registrar-General tells you that half London is recruited from the country" ; wlien you know that soldiers and policemen, guards on railways, porters, carters, are all more or less recruited from the rural population, I don't think you can mucli wonder at the result. And I would remark that this importation of fresh blood into old manufacturing towns is one of the very best things for the country that could possibly happen. The population of manufacturing towns have a strong tendency to become de- crepit and undersized, and they ought to feel only thankful when they get an influx of strong, able-bodied countrymen to restore the physical character of tlie community. Corres- pondents of the newspapers are constantly asking us how a man can live on 2s. a day. Now, in the first place, I contend that he does not live on 23. a day ; in the nest place, I main- THE FARM]']R'S MAGAZINE. 473 taiu tliat if he get 2s. a day in the winter, he ought to be well contented; for this reason, among others, that agriculture is a primitive industry, and depends more on unskilled labour than any other craft. It costs a great deal of time and money to make a skilled artisan. What I would ask, is generally paid for corresponding unskilled la- bour in towns ? Take tlie bricklajer's slab, take the unskilled labourer who is employed about the docks, take shoemakers, hand-loom weavers, and the lower class of manufacturing operatives, and I believe you will find that as a rule agricul- tural labourers receive as much as is paid for the same style of work in towns, Moreover, all must admit that employment is more constant in winter than it was twenty years ago ; that slack hands, as we call them, find more regular work ; and that machinery and high farming tend to employ hands all the year round. I contend that the hours of the labourer are not excessive, uor is his strength unduly taxed. Of course, in the harvest and the haysel the hours are longer ; but then the labourer is rewarded for his additional work ; with extra hours there is extra pay, and I believe that during the last harvest a good many labourers in Norfolk earned from 30s. to 40s. a week. T don't know whether the breakfast half-hour is common in any other counties, but it has crept into Norfolk, and it seems to be extending into other districts. Nominally the time allowed is only ten minutes, but practically work stops for half an hour. We constantly see our horses stand shiver- ing under the fence for that period, and I believe that on the whole the thing is tacitly admitted ; so that the so-called ten hours is, in our case, in reality nine liours and a half. Manu- facturing hands begin work with the strike of the clock, and hence there is no loss of time. Our farm labourers first yoke, they then ride to field, and they are back by the hour of leaviug off. In fact the manufacturer generally gets half an hour, and frec^uently an hour more out of his workpeople than we get out of ours. We have all heard a great deal lately about the nine hours' movement. I, for one, are quite ready to accept that demand for work — nine hours' actual work. I will engage to say that taking one day with another we do not get more than nine hours out of our men now. In winter the working-day is often only about seven hours. There is one thing that I want to impress on my brotlier farmers, and that is the necessity of making a better use of wet days. I do think that we should all try and get a great deal more in-door work done in wet weather (Hear, hear). Preparing]manure, crushing corn, grind- ing cake, and many other things ought to be done ou rainy days. If a poor fellow does happen to be caught in the middle of a storm, let him go h ome and dry his wet clothing instead of continuing to work in tiiem to the injury of his health, and let him make up for it by a little overtime. Again, I think a little more regard should be paid for Sunday in connexion with labour. With the exercise of some forethought many labourers might have more time for attending church. Now I look to task, or piece, or taken work, as it is called in different locali- ties, as the " future" of the agricultural labourer. I believe that the price of piece-work has risen very much more than weekly wages, and I am very glad of it. If a high rate of day wages is paid there will not be much piece-work. But why should I talk about piece-work ? In 1861 Mr. Charles Howard concisely and completely summed up the advantages of piece- work in the following words : " First it enables the farmer to get his work done more ex- peditiously, and at the proper season, with less supervision on the part of the master, tod. That generally :t is less exijousive than day work, and the master pays for no more than is done. 3rd. That, regulating wages by the quantity and fjuality of the work performed, is an incentive to indus- try, and affords greater scope for the exercise of skill, thereby giving the industrious ami skilful man his legitimate advan- tage over the lazy and indifferent one. 4th. By placing higher wages within the reach of the labourer, the tempta- tion to the best of our rural population to leave farming work for other spheres is lessened." Did I not say that that description was complete ? and did I not say that it was concise ? (Hear, hear.) It would be impossible for anybody to say more in advocacy to tliis class of work than Mr. Charles Howard did in his address to the Club in 1861. It is worthy of remark that in all those trades in which piece-work prevails there is great development and great prosperity both of mastecs and men. And I am sorry to confess that I believe task-work is not gaining grouad, but is rather losing it in agriculture (Hear, hear). One very legitimate excuse is made for this : it is that in hoe- ing turnips a dexterity and nicety are needed rather than the putting forth of all a man's strength. There may be some- thing in that argument, but I will tell you what is the chief reason why task-work does not prevail more ; it is that farm- ers d ) not like to incur the trouble connected with piece- work (Hear, hear). Let rae add — I hope I shall not offend any young farmer present by doing so — that I fear there are a great many young employers who really would not know the value of piece-work. If you were to take many of our young dandies round their land and ask them the prices of hedging, ditching, hoeing, ploughing, &c., I don't believe half of them would be able to tell you (laughter, and Hear, hear). Piece- work makes not only better and more skilful labourers, but also more practical and intelligent farmers (Hear, hear). Day work gives to all labourers just the same uniform wage ; it does exactly what the trade unions want to do, that is it brings down the best man to a level with the worst (Hear, hear). You may say that there are many things which cannot be done by piece. I agree with you. There are things which require watchful care and attention rather than any great skill or strength. I am free to confess that, as a rule, agricul- turists do not pay sufficiently for this care and attention. Take, for instance, the case of some old men. Why, gentle- men, there is hardly an old man upou your farm probably who has not some special qualification. One old fellow has the bump of order, is especially tidy and neat; another has a taste for implements ; another is great in dressing corn ; another is useful in training lads; another is valuable in rela- tion to the health of stock ; another — and this is perhaps a more (luestionable character at times — is very active in keep- ing down sparrows, a mortal foe to rats, and possibly also can snare a rabbit or something bigger. In many ways such persons might, I think, often be made as useful as younger and stronger men. The relations between farmers and labourers have been much shaken of late ; but there is still a kindly interest between employer and employed, and long may it last! (cheers). We have one great advantage over the manufac- turers— we are personally acquainted with all our la- bourers. The farmer has many opportunities of doing good at no great cost to himself. In many cases, I fear, all the skim milk in the farm is given to the pigs. Why should it not be given to the labourer who re- quires it? Surely this would be much better than every labourer's keeping a cow, as some persons contend that they should! Supposing the labourer had accommodation for keeping a cow, which is hardly ever the case ; supposing the 474 THE FAEMER'S MAGAZINE. wife did kuovv how to manage a dairy, which she does not; supposijig the man had a good cow, and cows did not die ; and, lastly, supposing that the labourer had the exact amount of the food which sliould be given to the animal — sup- posing all these things ; it is quite possible that it might be a very nice thing for a labouring man to keep a cow ; but until all these possibilities had become realities it would I think be mucli better for the farmers to let their labourers have skim milk at a mere nominal cost, especially as it is such a necessary article of diet to young children. Then, again, you can bene- fit the labourer to a large extent by affording him facilities for growing potatoes, by carting his coals, by supplying him in «ome cases with underwood, and in others with brushwood. Then there are the comforts of the farm kitchen. I am happy to say that these are generally dispensed with a kind and liberal hand. I think every farmer ought to be able to feel every night that he has done something towards making those around him happier and better, and if he cannot do that, why then I think he has not played his part satisfactorily. I now come to the subject of machinery. Twenty years ago this was in its infancy. The active hostility of the labourer had been disarmed, but still every machine is regarded by him as having been invented for the sole purpose of depriving the poor man of his hardly-earned wages. Now, I contend that ma- chinery has eased the labourer's excessive toil, and left whai; remains to be done easier for the muscles though it may be harder for the brain. It is surely easier to direct a great power than to exert that power one's self ! Surely there is no harder work than swinging a flail all day, no stronger ex- ertion than mowing with a scythe, no more back-breaking work than reaping ; and yet harvest wages are no less than they were, and men are better employed and better paid in winter. Machinery is one means of rewarding intelligence. Where the steam-plough is used the best man gets the highest wage. The best engine-men are invariably agricultural labourers, and this fact shows that such men have a great deal in them, and that aU that is wanted is that it should be brought out. I now come to cottages. Here a great evil stUl exists, although a great work has been accomplished all over the country. I believe there has been a general effort on the part of landed proprietors to furnish good and decent homes for the labourers on their estates. The other day while I was at one of the great houses of tlie land I saw a garden terrace which had not been completed. I asked the lady of the house how it was that the terrace was not finished, and she replied, " My husband, immediately after he had bought the estate, determined that all the cottages should be put in proper order, and this is to be done before the garden work is completed for me." I believe that he was right in that determination ; and I wiU venture further to say that those noblemen and gentle- men who are supposed to be interested in what is called the new social movement are better employed in improving the cottage accommodation for the labourers on their estates than in attempting to provide country villas for all the town artisans. As regards settled estates great facilities have been afforded of late for the building of improved cottages ; but the Inclosure Commissioners have not done all that might have been done. They surely do not want to have all the old cottages pulled down, and yet they do not advance money for repairs and alterations. For some parishes — I speak especially of open ones — the accommodation is still very bad, though the inspectors of nuisances have done something to prevent over- crowding, and dilapidated and dangerous houses from being tenanted. There is nothing worse for health and morals than badly ventilated and over-crowded dilapidated cottages. It is, however, a very odd fact that in the worst counties of Eng- land in that respect you find a healthy and moral race. If you go to Scotland and look for a moment into one of those wretched little pens — I will not call them bed-rooms — where the agricultural labourer sleeps, you wiU fancy that he must be stifled, and yet a more healthy race of people does not exist than the Scotch peasantry. If you go across the water to Ireland you find a most loathsome and horrible cabin, where the whole family almost literally pig together, and in the midst of all that you find a modest, moral, and virtuous race of women. Still, as I have before intimated, notliing can be said in defence of many of our wretched hovels. The worse the accommodation, and the greater the inconveniences, the higher frequently ap- pear to be the rents. It is a curious fact that many labourers appear to like all this. Why, think you ? Because there are no rules, no restraint about taking lodgers, no inspection by the landlord, parson, or farmer's wife. Where, it may be asked, should new cottages be built ? Why, surely on the farm. T am aware that some labouring people do not like that arrange- ment. This is especiaUy the case with some of the women, who cannot gossip, cannot have their httle friendly chat, as they would in other localities ; and to this I may add that the family have perhaps to walk farther to church, and the chil- dren to school. On the other hand, the father of the family is much farther off the beer-shop, and much nearer to his work on the farm, and has a much better chance of having a good garden. Now the question arises, who ought to have the letting of labourers' cottages — the landlord, or the tenant- farmer. I have myself never seen any reasonable objection to the letting of the cottages with the farm ; and if a land- lord does not like that, he should, as a matter of course, allow the farmer to nominate the tenants. I, for one, entirely ob- ject to weekly notices to quit. However badly a labourer may have behaved, we have, I think, no right to turn him and his family in the road at the end of seven days (cheers). We should,! think, give him at least three months' notice, and we may during that time be able to find a better labourer. Gentlemen, I am very sorry to have detained you so long (Loud cries of" Go on"), I will, then, with your kind in- dulgence, now speak of allotments. Tliese, to be of any use, should be near the man's home, and I think they should never exceed a quarter-of-an-acre. One word about the so-called immorality of the rural districts. I think the number of natural children in those districts has been greatly exaggerated. This is a very important point, because, mind you, in the country we have nothing like that recognised, and, as some persons would term it, well-ordered system of prostitution which exists in many towns (Hear, hear). A paternal Government has been trying to make that more safe and more pleasant (Hear, hear). In the country, every slip from the path of virtue is sure to leave its mark at the end of nine months. When a woman does fall there, she does not of necessity become an abandoned wretch, but as a general rule, in the end gets married, and becomes a faithful wife and good mother. Let me now speak of the women who are employed in agriculture. 1 do not know any subject on which a greater amount of non- sense and twaddle has been uttered than on this one. Com- missioners who have investigated the matter, have said that there is a great deal of work that can be done by women with benefit to the farmer and without injury to themselves, and that when this is the case it is foolish THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 475 to object to it. Bishop Fraser has been led away to attack the dress of womeu employed on farms as unfeminine, instan- cing nailed boots, leather gaiters, and short skirts. Such things, if not ornamental, may at all events be useful ; and I may remark that they are not more unfeminine than the pilot jackets and billycock hats which adorn many of the young ladies of tlie present day (laughter). Sure I am that the dress which is thus objected to is not more likely to unsex those who wear it than half of what is uttered in these days of women's rights (cheers). They tell us that this is a " low type of labour," and that a " low class of females are employed in it." Well, this may to a certain extent be the case, but all are not of the class described ; in some cases a servant prefers field- labour to seeking another situation, and among those employed are some who, without any fault of their own, have come to grief in some better employment. I may add that there are a number of half-witted, stupid creatures, who cannot gain an honest living in any other way. The employment of women in agriculture is however dying out, with better wages and the discovery of more suitable employment. I believe that with this kind of improvement it will in time become entirely ex- tinct ; but let it be that for years to come there will be married ■women without children, or old spinsters who are fitted for nothing better, and like it ; and I do not see how any great harm can arise. All that I have said against the employment of women appHes with greater force to girls. They should be at school or at service, and not at work on the farm ; but I do not think that we want an Act of Parliament to limit the age at which they should be employed. I certainly do not at all agree with the Commissioners that 16 is the lowest age at which a girl should go out to work. In all probability, if she does not go out to work till then, she will not go at all. Such a limit is too high for the purpose of education, and I may add also that it is too young in relation to morality and health. With re- gard to boys and the prohibition of their working under 10 years of age, I may remark that one of the Commissioners (Mr. Tremenheere) differs from his brother Commissioners on that subject. In the work of Mr. Kebbel, to which I have be- fore referred, I find the following statement of Mr. Tremen- heere's views : " He contends, first of all, that the earnings of children under ten are often indispensable to the parents, while in many of the most important agricultural counties there is an ' imperious demand' for their labour. He denies that their earnings are more than absorbed by the extra food which they require, and the extra wear and tear of clothes which ensue when they are at work ; and he scouts the notion that, with the exception of house-work, young children are put to any kind of agricultural labour which is physically injurious to them. He draws a very clear distinction between the farm and the factory. In a factory or a workshop a child is hable to work in a close and heated atmosphere ; and when working in connection with machinery, its atten- tion is ever on the stretch, and its movements are often rapid and continuous for various periods of time together. The effect of such a mode of employment upon the very young was shown to be physically injurious to them, and, there- fore, to justify legislative measures for theii- protection. But it has been seen that employment in the healthy occupation of agriculture cannot be shown to be attended with physical injury, even to the very young." The working of the Agricultural Gangs' Act has, I trust, on the whole been satisfactory. It was a mild measure, and, like all mild measures, was more likely to be accepted than a violent one. As t was consulted by the Government about the passing of that Act, and helped to pass it, I feel much pleased that it has answered so well. But agricultural gangs are, I believe, after all notliing more than a necessary and transitory evil. They have existed and been known chiefly in the Pen districts and in the great barren, unenclosed sheepwalks of Norfolk. In the old times a labouring man considered that you were asking him to be transported, if you asked him to go and live in the Fens ; he would have thought that you wanted him to incur all the evils of ague and fever ; but in Norfolk these dreary wastes are enclosed, the Fens are now drained, and cottages are being built in the Feus, ague is gone, and I believe that in a few years the employment of agricultural gangs will have become a thing of the past. With regard to commons, I would observe that all the best were enclosed long ago, and in my opinion it is better for the country to grow more corn and employ more people, though it may have been a hard thing for the cottager. As regards the rights of the cottager, I want to know what right he had inde- pendently of the cottage wluch he occupied. He has no greater right over the soil than the parsons or the farmers' sons. The right is attached to the cottage, and the owner of the land generally gets an allotment in consideration of that right. My own experience in regard to commons is, that they are, as a rule, surrounded by the very worst description of cottagers. You find congregated on the waste a miserable race of sfiuatters, occupying horrid hovels and livmg in the greatest poverty,filth, and ignorance. The squatters may certainly keep a little poultry on the common, but in very many cases a sharp farmer or dishonest dealer reaps the chief benefit, by taking off the ground a large proportion of the grass, whilst to the cottager the result is lost rather than gained. One word now, on the comparative value of small and large farms. On arable land, with plenty of machinery and capital, the labourer finds the most constant employment and is better paid, except in certain busy seasons when everybody needs him, upon large farms than upon small ones. And remember what Dr. Voelcker wrote about Flanders. In Flanders it is a rule that with small farms there go high rents and low wages ; while my little experience of Ireland enables me to state that, while the same rule holds good there with regard to small farms, if you go to districts were the farms are large you will find high wages and low rents. In some districts of Norfolk there are small farms com- bined with bad cultivation, high rates, and unemployed poor in winter ; while in other districts where the farms are large — in some cases they may be too large — you have the reverse of tliis state of things. I think it would be a mistake to do away with all small holdings, especially near large towns. There should, in my opinion, be some small dairy farms, and some little farms for meritorious labourers. But on the other hand, I am confident that a good man will save more money as a skilled labourer than as a small farmer ; and if he does succeed as a small farmer it will be, in the words of Mr. Cbarles Howard, which we must all remember, because he does the work of two labourers, and lives at the expense of one. Now you all know my opinion about game ; but let me just read to you what is said on this subject by Mr. Kebbel, to whom I have before alluded. That gentleman says : " Among the peculiar sovirces of demoralisation to which the English peasant is exposed, the preservation of game ia often cited as the worst. This is a very great mistake. No- body knows better than the poacher the real character of the game. If his apologists like to shelter him behind a wholly mistaken concejjtion of it, of com-se he will avail himself of their kindness ; but as for sujDposing that the poacher himself is led away by the delusion that pheasants are wild animals, in which nobody has any right of property, it is one of those fond inventions which only personal acquaintance with a single member of the profession is required to dispel. Game is no more a temptation to dishonesty than other luxuries ; and whatever is to be said against the game-laws is to be said against them rather as a farmers' grievance than a labourers'." Let me add, that game indirectly affects faruwig operations You cannot farm against ground-game, and on estates where game is preserved to an unlimited extent you will always find 476 THE FAEMEKS MAGAZINE. tl;e land h;'g (Claxby, Spilsby), said : When he looked back at his boyhood, and recollected what a number of men were then employed on the roads for a mere pittance, he could not help leeling that the position of the labourer was now much improved (Hear, hear). In the reports which he had met with from various counties, he found great complaints of a scarcity of labour. Farmers all over England complained that they could not get their corn cut, or stacked, that they could not obtain waggoners, and that they had not sufficient labour at command for the various operations of the farm. Mr. Howard had justly pointed out that they must look for the improved system of farming to the use of machinery. Enterprising men might in some localities double the produce of their farms; but they could not do that with the snme amount of labour, even with the most liberal use of machinery, and there was no longer that surplus labour which existed some time ago. It was easy to knock down four poor old cottages and erect two good new ones in their place, but the more farms were improved the greater number of cottages would be required, and if this were not done the scarcity of labour would prevent rents from rising. Many gentlemen had alluded to the want of an adequate amount of labour during the late harvest. Would they be prepared to employ ad- ditional labourers during winter? (cries of " No, no"). Well, then, what were they to do? On mixed soils it was perhaps possible for a farmer to employ as many men in winter as in summer, by growing more roots, especially with the present high price of meat. Mr. H. Tretiiewy (Silsoe, Ampthill) wished to allude for a moment to the remarks of Mr. Read, in respect to the con- duct of the Inclosure Commissioners. Mr. Read intimated that he thought the commissioners should be a little more liberal, and advance money for the repairing of cottages and buildings generally. Now he (Mr. Thethewy) believed that they had not power to lend money for repairing, and his object in rising was to prevent any misunderstanding on that subject (Hear, hear). The powers of the commissioners were limited to new erections. He quite concurred in the opinion of Mr. Read, that it was desirable that they should have a little more authority than they possessed ; and he would suggest to Mr. Read and other members of Tarliament to consider how far their powers might be usefully e.ttended. Having had a great deal to do with the commissioners, he had often regretted that their authority did not include the repairing of buildings, as many proprietors were not in a po- sition to expend their own money for that purpose. With regard to the emigration or removal of labourers, he might observe that it would be greatly to the interest of farmers as well as labourers if the latter could sometimes be induced to remove to a district where their services would be in demand ; but that was a very difficult object to carry out. He had more than once induced labourers to remove to another county ; but for some reason or other — perhaps because they regarded themselves as part of the natural produce of the soil — they returned, although they had beeu earning more money elsewhere than they could obtain at home. The Rev. E. S.myihies (Hathern Rectory, Loughborough) said, when that question was selected by the Committee of the Club nine months ago for discussion, it was no doubt considered by them a question of great importance ; but since that time they had passed through such a period of anxiety with regard to the amount of labour on their farms, that it had assumed an aspect of vastly increased importance. Waa there any gentle- man in that room concerned in agriculture who did not feel that he had never gone through a more difficult period than that of the last harvest ? (Hear, hear). From north and south, from east and west there were the same complaints of the scarcity of labour, and it was exceedingly difficult to get in the crops. Some persons thought that that was owing in a great degree, at least as regarded some parts of the country, to the diminution in the supply of Irish labourers ; but, be the cause what it might, there was nothing like labour enough to get in the harvest properly ; and the consequence was very great loss in the quality of the corn and other crops. Like a preceding speaker, he should be very glad if the considering of the sub- ject were adjourned, as very much remained to be said upon it. The Ch.virm.\:n said he felt it his duty now to bring the discussion to a close ; not because the subject was anything like exhausted, but because the time did not ad- mit of its being protracted any longer. It was a very im- portant subject indeed. He had made some notes upon it; but owing to the lateness of the hour, he should not use them. It was not customary for the discussions of this Club to be ad- journed from one meeting to another, but he would suggest to the committee, that, iu consequence of the great importance of this question, they should, at their meeting in January next, have placed on the card some similar question for discussion next year (Hear, hear). Mr. Read then replied. He said Mr. Sidney remarked that he made an apology for the present condition of the agri- cultural labourer, but Mr. Sidney had made an eloquent apology for the Poor-law. AVhat he said, or meant was that they could not expect to see much independence, forethought, or thrift in agricultural labourers as long as the present system of outdoor relief existed. With regard to what that gentleman said about the labourer learning geography, he would tell him that tlie labourer had learnt enough geography to know what were the wages paid in Lancashire or at Newcastle, and the way to get there. He quite agreed with what Mr. Masfen said respecting beer. It had never been his plan to make beer part of the wages of his men ; but sometimes if he thought they had been overworked, or had worked a little overtime, he gave them some beer for a finishing spurt, or to cheer their spirits. As regarded tiie great and solemn question of skim-milk, let him offer thera a little experience with respect to giving away. During his boyhood his father kept a large dairy. His motiier, being a very kind-hearted woman, wished the skim- railk to be given away ; but the bother and confusion which this occasioned was such as no one perhaps could have con- ceived possible. Every one thought that he or she had a right to come at any time, and to have any quantity. At last it was determined to charge the nominal price of a farthing per quart, to have a fixed hour for the sale, and from that time no com- j)laint was made by anyone, and the most perfect order and satisfaction prevailed. Mr. Howard had said something about great crops. He (Mr. Read) had always found that great crops were the cheapest to keep clean, and the caltivation of such crops received the greatest amount of assistance from machinery. He agreed with Mr. Trethewy, that at present the Inclosure Commissioners had no power to advance loans for the repairing or enlarging of cottages. On the motion of Mr. T. Horley, seconded by the Rev.E. Smyiiiies, a vote of thanks was given to Jlr. Read for his in- introduction, and the proceedings terminated with a vote of thanks to the chairman. At the meeting of the Committee on Monday, November 6, Mr. Henry Cheffins, of Easton Manor, Dunmow, was elected Chairman of the Farmer's Club for 1872. THE FAEMER'S MAGAZINE. 481 THE SCOTTISH CHAMBER OF AGRICULTURE. At the annual general meeting, held in Edinburgh, tliere was a large attendance, Mr. Scot Skirving the retiring Pre- sident, in the chair. The following recommendations from the associated coun- ties, and the suggestions thereon by the Counties Committee, were submitted : I. Aberdeen recommends (1) to the Chamber the pro- priety of requesting Messrs. M'Lagan and Loch to introduce into Parliament a bill embodying the leading features of the game bills of these gentlemen, and founded on the resolutions of the Chamber at its meeting about Whitsunday last, pro- posing the withdrawal of hares and rabbbits from the game- list, and the declaration of all contracts for their preservation illegal. Recommend general meeting to take up and dispose of this with the Forfar recommendation. (2) To support Mr. Goodlet's (of Bolshan) motion to hold at least tlie summer- meetingofthe Chamber at Perth. Referred to general-meeting. II. Ayr desires that the following should be submitted to the directors : (1) That the directors have some interesting subject for discussion at general meetings. (2) That they re- quest the Hon. C. Caruegie, M.P., to re-introduce into Par- liament his bill for the abolition of hypothec. (3) That the Chamber bring prominently before the general community tlie unsatisfactory state of the tenure of land in Scotland, and as to compensation to tenants for permanent improvements. Sent to general meeting, with a request that a general meet- ing be held to consider the question, at which Mr. Macneil Caird (Stranraer) should be invited. III. Forfar resolved to recommend the Chamber : (1) To petition both Houses of Parliament for the aboUtion of the law of hypothec. (2) To petition for the repeal of the game laws. (3) To recommend that admission as a life- member sliould, iu the case of original members, and of those wlio had paid five yearly subscriptions, be tiiree guineas in- stead of five. Sent to general meeting, with a recommenda- tion that it be considered carefully by the directors. (-1) That the present rules in force in regard to the removal of cattle from the Metropolitan Market should be maintained. IV. Roxburgh recommends the dissolution of the Coun- ties Committee. Disapproval of tlie recommendatioa. V. Fife recommends the Chamber to consider land-leases, with the view of securing thereon (for the benefit of landlord and tenant) the maintenance of the highest cultivation of the soil to the last hour of a lease. Remitted to the general- meeting, at wiiich Mr. Caird is to be present. THE SUMMER MEETING OF THE CHAMBER. Mr. GooDLET (Bolshan) moved : " That the summer- meeting of the Chamber be held annually at Perth, as tlie most central place for members meeting at that season of the year." Mr. George Harvey (Whittingham Mains) seconded the motion, on the understanding that if it was found not to work, they should return to Edinburgh again. The motion was then agreed to. The Chairman then delivered the customary closing ad- dress, in which he said : It is not my intention to make more than a few observations upon those semi-political questions which have from time to time engaged our attention. The chief of these are the game laws and hypothec. With regard to the latter I have indeed no right to offer an opinion, as it is only within the last few years that I became convinced, partly by the able advocacy of one or two members of this Chamber, and perhaps still more by the weakness of the de- fence, that the law was not only unnecessary, but was often unjust. I saw from the opponents of hypothec that it fre- quently was the means of placing upon a farm capital which really belonged neither to the owner or the occupier of the land ; whilst from tlie other side I learned that there were hundreds of farms all over Scotland which were (as the advo- cates of the law boasted) occupied by the same families for generations, through the agency of hypothec, who were yet too poor to pay a single half-year's rent in advance, should they be called upon by a change of circumstances to do so. It struck me that it was a very questionable benefit, a very doubt- ful kindness, which resulted iu families existing for genera- tions, giving labour, and thought, and skill, with what capital they had, with no other result than that they should live from hand to mouth, and struggle on for ever, father and son and grandson, barely keeping their lips above the bitter waters of poverty. Hypothec is, therefore, not a law of wliich I feel in- clined to be conservative. Gentlemen, during the year that has passed I have not said a single word in reference to game or game laws. A supporter from the first moment that I read it of Mr. Loch's bill, I knew at the same time that conside- rable difference of opinion existed in the Chamber as regards matters of detail, though of detail only ; and, there- fore, I considered it was not the part of the Presi- dent to take any active share in your discussions. We are constantly twitted by our opponents with our want of una- nimity iu the matter : but it is ray firm belief that, as regards not only this Chamber, but the whole of Scotland, the great bulk of the agricultural body — in fact, an overwhelming majority of their number — are at one in this, that they think a fair and just settlement of the question would be that, while landlords retained the exclusive right to all winged game, they should share with the occupier the right to kill hares and rabbits. This privilege they think should be fixed and settled by law, and it is only as to the precise mode of doing so that there is some difference of opinion. On the other hand, I am equally convinced that it is only a small minority who wish to see tlie Game-laws abolished, or who imagine that, if they were abolished, tiieir abolition would in any way redress the evils complained of. It is not by the Game-laws that deer are at present protected, and a trespass law could protect hares and rabbits quite as well as a Game-law. Few or no farmers object to a full, fair herd of game to be used for fair sporting purposes ; it is the battue and market systems (these compara- tively recent innovations) that cause all that bitterness of feeling which has so unfortunately set class against class. Masses of hares, which destroy ten times the amount of food which they actually consume, are on some estates preserved all the year ronnd for a single day's slaughter, when they are driven with the other game iuto the coverts or turnip fields, where they are frequently confined by netting, to be shot down wholesale by what may be called volley firing, gathered up, counted, boasted of in the local newspaper, and then sold in very matter-of-fact fashion to the poulter, who sometimes comes out with an advertisement that he has received six or eight hundred head of game, killed by a nobleman ! The latest improvement I have heard of in battues was that a cart and horse was driven right across the turnip fields, following the line of shooters. This bottling up of game for a whole season for the coarse gratification of a single day reminds me of nothing so mucii as the poor sailor who sometimes hoards his daily allowance of rum that when he has got a bottle full he may have one glorious debauch. Goldsmith wrote : " Yes, let the rich deride, the proud disdain The humble pleasures of the lowly train ;" but is there no danger that these well-known lines may be re- versed, and that such battues may make them be read : " Yes, let the low deride, the poor disdain The paltry pleasures of the lordly train" ? From a sportsman's point of view I hold that tlie battue system destroys the sport of shooting, and very often puts an end to fox-hunting as well ; but that is only a small part of the evil. It was objected to me, when you did me the honour to elect me President, that I was a Tory ; but I trust you will pardon me if I make one passing observation on this game difficulty from a purely Conservative point of view. It is, then, I would say, a very bitter thing for an earnest Conser- vative to see his party shut out from all share in the guid- ance of the country, and even its best members driven from the representation of almost every county in Scotland, chiefly because a small minority of the landed gentry, whose social position makes them conspicuous, prefer the killing of a heca- tomb of hares to all that once made England so powerful and so glorious. These gentlemen seem to have deliberately made their choice ; and to find a parallel to it we must go back to the day when Esau sold his birthright. I think the Chamber 482 THE FAEMER'S MAGAZINE. sliould anxiously watcli the present tendency to tax the ani- mals and even the implements of the larm. The shepherds' dogs were first taxed, then the gun that scared a wood-pigeon, then the cart that took a poor man and his family to church ; and I have no doubt, if a firm resistance is not given, we shall very soon have every farm-horse taxed, while the whole steam horse-power of Manchester will go free. There is an- other matter to wldch I think the Chamber might with pro- priety direct attention. I allude to many of the conditions inserted in leases, which are utterly out of keeping with the present position and circumstances of the agriculture of Scot- land. I need not allade to them in detail, as they are only too well known. Most of them originated in distant times and were the creation of circumstances which have long since passed away, while others owe their more recent origin to mistaken ideas and to misdirected legal ingenuity. A great portion of the text of too many leases is a mere anachronism, alike injurious to the interest of landlord and tenant, and forms at the same time a serious hindrance to the free and proper and progressive cultivation of the soil. How absurd, for example, to bind a man to farm now in ac- cordance with the ideas of a century past ! Is there any other science than agriculture (except perhaps theology) in which it is attempted to force upon 1871 the principles and the practice of 1771 ? What would people think if doctors were bound be- fore receiving their diplomas to do certain things and not to do certain other things, in accordance with the teaching and knowledge of a hundred years ago ? It is my conviction that in hundreds of cases these leases are only signed under the compulsion of irresistible circumstances, and that the tenant has a sense both of shame and indignation when he does sign them. Why, then, are they signed ? Because, in the first place, the limited extent of land in this country makes it a virtual monopoly, and there are so many persons anxious to farm that in the struggle for existence they must either accept the conditions or give up all hope of farming in this country. Agriculture differs from other professions in this, that the number of those who wish to practise it will always be swelled by new comers, who, having succeeded or failed in some other profession, wish to invest their gains or hope to repair their losses in a business wliich most people think they understand, and all believe to be much more remunerative than it really is. But, I would ask, are the numbers of applicants for farms not unduly swelled from the ranks of the farmers themselves ? I here venture to allude to what I think a too common mode in which the sons of farmers are reared and educated. Is it not very frequently the case that farmers who know only too well how little margin of profit there is in farming at present rents allow the early years of one or more of their sons to slip away without attempting to give them such an education as would enable them, when the proper age arrives, to seek admission into some other trade, business, or profes- sion, and thus at the period of opening manhood, hundreds of youths find it too late to think of anything else ; they know how to farm, and they know nothing more, and hence, if they fail to find a farm they have the prospect of years of idleness before them. It is exceedingly difficult to suggest any general rules for the education of farmers' sous, from tlie great diversity of their prospects and situations in life. It has been re- marked that when oue talks of landed proprietors every rank of life is included, from a duke to a forty-shilling freeholder ; and in like manner the word farmer may include many con- ditions of life, from the man who may have his sous educated at Eton and Oxford if he chooses, to his poorer brethren, who can sometimes barely afford to send theirs for a few years to the parish-school. Farmers, however, have had no lack of advice as to how they ought to educate their sons ; indeed, if advice would do us any good we should be perfect, as we are decidedly the best advised persons iu the world. Everybody, indeed, lectures or advises farmers, the chief qualification of most of the lecturers being a total ignorance of the subject they lecture about. I was much struck some time ago with the advice of one of these advisers on the subject of education. I shall not name the gentleman, as he IS not here to reply to me, but I notice his advice because not only was it given in quite an ex cathedra style, but his sentiments were, I regret to say, adopted and applauded at a meeting of the Royal Agricultural Society of England. He said that no boy could turn out a good farmer if he did not de. vote himself to the practice of the farm from the age of fourteon or fifteen. He seemed to admit that he must go to sohool previous to that period, but from that age he ought to devote his whole time to learn the practical details of agriculture. He should try to get some successful farmer to take hun as a pupil, and teach him to plough and sow and stack, and so on. Now, if the lad proposed to be a peasant farmer, who was to tin his land with his own hand, the advice was good enough ; bnt on the contrary, the youth was supposed to receive some £5,000 to stock a farm with, which, supposing he was one of an average large family, would imply that his father possessed a considerable amount of capital. There can be no doubt that, whatever were the professions for which that lad's brother, were destined, they would receive a very different and much more extended education, and would consequently, when men, have a vast advantage over him. Why, I ask, should that son be placed all the days of his life in an inferior position to the rest of his family simply because he had been destined to become a farmer ? The idea that a man wLU succeed better in any pro- fession if he be schooled and instructed in it alone appears to me quite erroneous. I was filled with astonishment on read- ing the same advice as that which I have quoted addressed by a distinguished and strong-brained clergyman to the students of the Free Church. They were to study only divinity, and then take some successful preacher as a model. This advice was illustrated by an anecdote. A traveller on a Bristol coach asked the coachman a great many questions as to the places they passed. What mountain was that ? What was the name of that river? To all which Jehu replied, "Don't know." At length the gentleman, getting cross, said sharply, "Is their anything you do know ? " " Yes," said the coachman ; " I know how to drive the coach." But even that man may come to regret that he could do nothing but handle the reins or whip when the railway whistle first screamed in his ear shrill no- tice that his occupation was in danger, and in like manner I think that the young farmer should possess as many weapons as possible with which to fight the battle of life, t would depre- cate all attempts to get up agricultural colleges, as we sometimes hear talk of, where a sort of technical education is proposed to be given. I would simply say, let each man get for his sons the best education which his means and his opportunities afford, and don't let it be the worse because the boy is to farm. If it should be said that at nearly all existing institutions a boy's time is occupied in learning Latin and Greek, or the higher mathematics, I would say so much the better. Don't be dis- turbed by any sneers as to Greek or Latin. Don't be moved by the thought that before he is thirty the man may have for- gotten nearly all the classics that the boy was taught. The Professor of Humanity in the University here, in his opening address last week, painted to his students in glowing terms the inexpressible delights of those who could so master the classic authors, as to make them the easy companions of their lives. But this pleasure, which falls to the lot of a mere fraction of those who study classics, forms no part of the rea- son I would give for haviog them taught. When a boy learns gymnastics and climbs up a pole, there is no intention of making him an acrobat — the design is to strengthen the muscles of his limbs ; and so with the classics or mathematics. I would teach them to the many as the best means of exercising and strengthening tiie mental muscles, and I do not believe that modern languages, though yj^";- *(^ much more useful and necessary, are able to educate the mind as the more difficult studies do. In fact, a man may, and indeed often does, speak several European languages with perfect fluency, and yet has no more education than a second-rate valet de place. If any- one should be inclined to alter a line of Burns, and ask me contemptuously if " turnips could be grown by dint o' Greek ?" I should say that " Yes" would at least be quite as good a reply as " No,"^because a brain properly trained and tutored and developed is placed upon a vantage ground, and can quickly adapt itself to altering circumstances, and can easily gather fruit in any new field of knowledge. Mr. Skirving having vacated the chair, Mr. Smith (West Drums), the newly-elected president, took his place. The Secretary having read the recommendation from the Aberdeen Counties Committee, The Chairman asked if any person appeared in support of the recommendation. There being no answer to the Chairman's call, the resolu- tion from Forfarshire was then read, when Mr, GooDLET (Bolshan) said : Having been appointed the county representative at the late meeting of the Countiea Committee of Forfarshire, it is my duty, and I rite with ple^- THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 483 sure to support the overture from that committee, and to move in accordance with the resolution sent up by it last year, and again renewed this year, " That this meeting, viewing with regret the unsuccessful attempts that have been made by individual members of Parliament to remedy by legislation the abuses arising out of tlie Game-laws, and having especially in view the utterly inadequate character of the proposed Government measure introduced by the Lord Advocate, resolve to petition farliament for the total abohtion of these laws." I do not think, gentlemen, that it is necessary for me to enu- merate the many abortive attempts of individual members of Parliament to legislate on the Game-laws with the avowed ob- ject of removing the grievances we, as farmers, suffer under them, as they are well known to all of us : nor need I waste your time in reviewing the Government Bill of the Lord Advo- cate— a lawyer's bill from beginning to end of it, and one which has been condemned by farmers generally, as leading to interminable disputes and wranglings in courts of law between landlord and tenant — bringing grist it may be to the lawyers' mill, but endless trouble and not infrequent ruin to the farmer ; and, moreover, rending more and more those friendly ties wliich should ever subsist between landlord and tenant, but which the excessive preservation of game for buttues on many estates has of late years done much to subvert. T shall only call your attention shortly to the position which this Chamber now occupies with reference to these laws, and which, I think, fully justifies me in supporting the overture from Forfarshire. At this time last year we had Mr. M'Lagan and Mr. Loch before us, each advocating his own bill then be- fore Parliament. The meeting, as you will remember, was ad- journed after the two M.P.'s had been heard, to give members an opportunity of discussing their bills. In the meantime, however, the directors took upon them to frame a resolution of their own, embodying, as they conceived, the principles of both, and at the adjourned meeting which took place in January last, when the two bills ought to have been discussed, they were both thrown aside, and the directors' resolutions formed the sole subject of debate. Their resolutions obtained the sanction of that meeting, and the directors were authorised to frame a bill in accordance with them. The bill, I believe, was framed, but beyond that I am not aware of its having got any further. At all events, neither of the two M.P.'s had adopted it when the debates on tlie Game-bills took place in Parhament some months afterwards. At the debate on the second reading of Mr. Loch's biU in March, we gather the opinions of the two members on their respective bills, and we cannot wonder if, after that, neither of them have agreed to adopt the amalga- mated bill of our directors. Mr. M'Lagan on that occasion spoke of Mr. Loch's bill as " a perfectly useless measure," " not worth the paper it was written on ;" and Mr. Loch, on his part, said of Mr. M'Lagan's bill, that " its only effect would be to relax the game laws so far as hares and rabbits were concerned, and the right of the teuant to shoot these animals would be no further advanced than at present." Mr. Loch, moreover, seemed to think witli the Lord Advocate that it is a mistake to call the Game-laws laws for the protec- tion of game, but that they are in reality trespass laws, and as such essential for the protection of the farmer's property. Such being the utterly antagonistic views of these gentlemen, it seems worse than useless to expect that they will ever agree to amalgamate their biUs into one embodying the principles of both as desired by the overture from Aberdeenshire, and it is difficult to see how any good can come of this Chamber again asking them to do so. Mr. Loch's bill, which Mr. M'Lagan characterised as a " Land Contracts Amendment BiU," main- tains the Game-laws intact, but limits the right of private contract. Mr. M'Lagan's, on the contrary, chps the wings of the Game-laws, but abstains from intermeddling with private contract. Both bills are, I have no doubt, distasteful to game preservers ; but many of our landlords, I believe, would sooner see the Game-laws abolished out-and-out than that their rights of contract with their tenants should be curtailed or interfered with in any way. To me it seems a mere waste of time for this Chamber to go on busying itself to bring about unattainable compromises. AU our efforts hitherto in that direction have proved lamentable failures, and since our game- preserving landlords refuse to have anything to do with Mr. M'Lagan's biU, which only proposed to drop hares and rabbits from the game list, what reason have we to expect that they ^U accept it with the " i»Rlienable right " chuse ii^ppffi^ded to|,it? Besides, gentlemen, lido not think our Aberdeen- shire friends come before us with clean hands in seeking this compromise. Mr. Barclay stated at a meeting of the Aberdeen Tenants' Committee lately, that " it should be distinctly understood that while the tenants were willing to show the landlords a desire to settle the question by means of com- promise, accepting the right to kill hares and rabbits only, they do so, reserving the right they believe the cultivators of the soil should have of defending their crops from all sorts of wild animals." Gentlemen, my notions may be antiquated, but I have always understood that, in offering to compromise a matter, men do not reserve rights but forego them ; and if we are not prepared to forego what Mr. Barclay calls reserved rights, then, say I, let us cease to ask a compromise which would certainly not give us these rights. If offers of compro- mise are to be made at all, they should, in my opinion, come from the other side, but no such offer has yet been made to us, or at least none that copes sufficiently with the evils of wliich we complain. My friend Mr. Hope, in moving the director's resolution at the January meeting, remarked in the coarse of his speech that "possibly the members of Parliament may be entitled, before moving in the matter, to ask the Chamber, ' Tell us what you want — first agree among yourselves before coming to us.'" Now, for my part, I dispute the right of any member of Parliament to put this question to us. We are agreed that a serious grievance, arising from excessive preser- vation of game, exists ; and it is the unanimous opinion of the Aberdeenshire farmers, as well as that of farmers generally, that a " fanner should have full power to protect his crops from all sorts of wild animals," and what we have to do is to tell our legislators this. It is their duty to pro- vide the remedy — certainly not ours to frame a bill for the purpose. Enough for us that we prove the existence of the grievance ; and the numerous bills introduced into Parlia- ment, were there nothing else, abundantly show, not only that there is a grievance, but that its existence is admitted at all hands; and in my opinion it is now high time for this Chamber to cease seeking relief by unattainable compromises, in doing which it has, as we all know, long laboured in vain ; and I propose that we should now go to the root of the evil, and petition for the repeal of laws which it seems impossiljle to modify to the extent, at all events, that is needful for our relief. We are neither qualified, nor, if we were, are we the proper party to frame Acts of Parliament. That is, as I have already said, the duty of our legislators ; and, in my opinion, those of them who would come to us crying, " Tell us what you want — agree among yourselves before coming to us," have little desire to see us agreed, and far less to legislate for the redress of our grievances. I am convinced that it is labour in vain for this Chamber to distract itself longer with these unprofitable compromises ; and in order to bring the question to an issue here, I beg leave to move, that this Chamber petition Parliament for the total abolition of the Game-laws, in terms of the overture from Forfarshire now on your table. Mr. Wm. Riddell (Hundalee, Jedburgh), seconded tlie motion. He was astonished at the cowardly manner in which Mr. Barclay, of Aberdeen, and his friends had backed out of this matter. It was certainly cowardly of their Aberdeenshire friends to send in an overture to the meeting, and not one of them to appear in support of it. He did not support the repeal of the game laws on the ground that it was a landlord and farmer question, but on the broader basis as affecting the great masses of the community. When the prices of the necessaries of life were at such a high figure, and the question as to the food of the people was of such im- portance as it undoubtedly was at the present moment, he could not shut his eyes to the danger of allowing these game laws to remain any longer on the statute-book, as well as the law of hypothes. They asked the Legislature to repeal them because they were wrong and unjust. They were widening the gulf, already wide, between landlord and tenant : for, in all counties of Scotland, how seldom did they see even their landlords or their factors except on rent-day. In one estate in Forfarshire alone, he found that tlireeper cent, of the rent-roll of £70,000 was paid to induce men to forsake useful employment for the purpose of breeding and preserving the winged and four-footed robbers of the people's food (Hear). Mr. Bethune (Blebo House) did not think the motion submitted would prove an adequate solution of the question ; nor did ho think tho agriculturisti^ of Scotland an a body 484 THE FAEMER'S MAGAZmE. wanted the laws abolished. He was surprised that no attempt was made to sweep away the heap of absurd game laws that existed, before introducing new laws. He believed the ma- jority were in favour of the wiuged game being given up to the landlord. Not a hundred men in the House of Commons were sincerely in favour of abolishing the game laws, and there was not, therefore, the slightest ground to liope that they would get them abolished. He moved as an amendment that this Chamber memorialise the Government to bring in a bill founded on the principle of Mr. M'Lagan's bill. Sir. Hope (Fentoubarns) did not propose any opposition to the motion of Mr. Goodlet. The attempted amalgamation of Mr. M'Lagan's and Mr. Loch's bills had proved an utter failure ; and he was still satisfied that the bill of the former gentleman would have proved sufficient to remedy all the grievances under which they suffered. . Mr. Cl.vy (Kerehester) seconded the amendment on the ground that it was reasonable and just. It would meet the difficulties of the farmer if they were allowed to kill hares and rabbits. The winged game in this country are considered valuable. It created an amount of sport to our noblemen and otlier people that could afford to carry a gun. Winged game did the farmers no harm, and he would ask the Government to repeal those privileges which had to a large extent benefited our country, and more especially the Highlands, iu the shape of grouse shooting. Mr. Alex.v>'der (Forfar) said this was an imperial question, and was not to be regarded merely as one between landlord and tenant. He had no sympathy with the complaints of the tenant farmers against their landlords. The moment they signed an agreement they began to howl and swear that they had done wrong. In doing so they only exposed themselves as a lot of men who were ready to do what was wrong, and curse themselves atfer for doing it. He considered the question in various aspects with the view of showing how unjustly the laws were framed and ad- ministered so as to press heavily on thepoor and not to touch the rich; and pointed out that for moral offences lighter punishments were awarded than what was meted out to a person convicted of poaching. Why were not the laws, if they were worthy of being preserved, enforced against tlie rich ? One of the greatest of- fenders he knew was a lord-lieutenant of a county, who invited shooting parties none of whom held a licence; but nevertheless the Executive took no notice of tliem. The poor man was sent to jail, but they were afraid to touch the peer that made the laws and then broke them. The best thing they could do would to be turn out the Liberal Government by their votes, and when they were in opposition they would give that which they will not give when in power. He entertained a high respect for the old Tory landlords, but thouglit they were benighted in their views. As a class, they were equal to any in the country. There was a propriety of removing laws which prevented the formation of a grand landed party. Supposing the Game-laws, tiie law of hypothec, and laws which prevented compensation for unexhausted improvements were abolished, there was nothing to prevent landlords and tenants going into the same political lobby, and he spoke that sentiment in these days of social and communistic dogmatism, in the interests of true Conservatism. The laws were, root and branch, bad, and had a demoralising effect on all connected with them, and made their landed proprietors act like a set of cads, who allowed poaching among the great and prosecuted it among the small. These laws made the landowners obnoxious to the whole of the community. Mr. Shepherd (Gleghornie) supported the motion. He acknowledged the failure of the compromise, and this, he added, had only the effect of developing a feeling for increasing the stringency of these laws. He held that all kinds of game might be kept within certain bounds, and in this way fed better than at present and at considerably less cost, while much of the annoyance at present experienced would be done away with were some plan of this nature adopted. Holding these sentiments, he willingly voted for Mr. Goodlet's motion. Mr. Scot-Skirving said he did not know tlie name of the gentleman who had spoken previous to Mr. ShepUerd, but he was astonished that he characterised the landlords of Scotland as a set of cads. Jlr. Alexander (warmly) : I beg your pardon, sir, but I did not say anything of the kind. What I said was that these laws had a tendency to make the landlords of Scotland behave as a set of cads, and that is a verv different thing from what you say. Mr. Scot-Skirving reiterated his statement, and complained that full notice had not been givenof Mr. Goodlet's motion. He then referred to the uncertainty in the minds of those who asked for total repeal of these laws as to the result of such a measure, and challenged them to say whether the game was to be in- creased or diminished, and by whom was it to be shot. If Mr. Bethune wo'ild alter his motion as follows, he would sup- port it instead of moving a direct negative : " That this Cham- ber petition Parliament to bring in a bill which shall enable the occupiers of land to protect themselves from the ravages of hares and rabbits." Mr. Bethune accepted the amendment. Mr. DON.U.D Fisher (Pitlochrie) said he had a pretty ex- tensive knowledge of farmers, and knew that they did not sign the conditions of lease willingly. They were compelled to sign them; if they didn't, they must go to the right about. He thought Mr. Goodlet's motion was a very good one so far as it went, but it did not go far enough. He would suggest the following addition : " That landlords and tenants are not to be allowed to contract away the privileges sought for if they are obtained." Mr. M'L.VGAN, M.P., before the Chamber came to a divi- sion, would like to express an opinion on this subject — espe- cially as the Chamber seemed to forget that there was to be a select committee appointed on the Game Laws next session. He would be sorry if the Chamber committed itself to either the one motion or the other, because they might depend upon it that any motiou come to, whether for the repeal of the Game Laws or for carrying out the resolution of last year, would be laid aside, on the ground that the subject was being investigated, and until that inquiry was finished no bill would be introduced. In reference to himself, he mentioned that he had been quoted several times for the connection he had had with the combined resolutions of the Chamber last year. The fact was, neither Mr. Loch nor himself could introduce a bill of the kind referred to, as the bill of the Chamber came up too late for adoption, and they were already pledged to their onn. Meeting Mr. Barclay in the House of Commons, he said to him that he was inclined to bring in a bill embodying the resolutions of the Chamber, and that he approved of it. He further stated that the Chamber had produced a more sensible bill than Mr. Loch's, and that he would be inclined to give it his support. His objection to Mr. Loch's bill was that while he prohibited the landlords and tenants to contract on the game, he left it open to the tenant to contract his right away to any otiier party, even the greatest poacher iu the land. He had used an expression, perhaps too strong, that in conse- quence the bill would not be worth tlie paper it was written upon. He suggested that a committee be appointed by the Chamber to collect evidence to lay before the select committee. He moved that the Chamber delay decision in this matter until the report of the select committee appointed by the House of Commons be made public. This would le.ive them unfettered as to future action. He would not express his opinion on his own, as he, in common with many gentlemen, was willing to wait aud see what kind of evidence was brought forward. If he found the evidence such that it would not justify liim in bringing in his bill again, he would not do so ; and if it justified a repeal of the Game-laws, he would go in for that. Mr. AiEXAXDER said that Mr. Bright had gone into com- mittee on the Game-laws, and had never come out of it. Per- haps a successful vote for the repeal of this Chamber might facilitate the future movements of a committee. A Member seconded Mr. M'Lagan's motion. Mr. Cujjnixghame (Shields) said that they came here year after year and discussed this question. Last year they were sent home without anything being done, and this year the same thing was proposed again. He did not think they should separate without coming to a decision one way or another. A division was then taken, when there voted : For .Mr. M'Lagan's amendment, to delay decision in the matter, 14 ; Mr. Bethune's amendment, to petition Government to bring iu a bill, 7 ; Jlr. Goodlet's motion for the repeal of the game laws, 23. The motion was declared carried amid loud cheering. At the suggestion of Mr. M'Lagan, supported by Mr. Shepherd, it was referred to the directors to appoint a com- mittee to collect evidence on the subject of the game laws, to be laid before the Select Committee of the House of Commons. Mr. M'L.vgan proposed a vote of thanks to the chairman, wliich brought the meeting to a close. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 486 EXPORTATIONS OF PEDIGREE STOCK. It was announced at Wolverhami)tou during the week of the Royal Show that many foreign buyers were over, and from then until now a number of pedigree animals have left oar shores. There seems on the part of the Americans a great desire to sent out prize winners. The large sums oifered in prizes, and the numerous State fairs held in September and October in America, make it worth the while of the importer to pay a good price for our best specimens, aud to run the risk of shipment. Many of " the cracks", however, both at Wolverhampton and York, were not sold; Mr. Foljambe, Lady Pigot, Mr. How, and Mr. Beattie rftfusing large sums for their prize animals. Still several good ones were sent out. Mr. Cochrane, who imported so largely to Canada East during 1868-9-70, made this year only a few purchases, and those were chiefly of store animals ; with a Suflblk stallion or two. Mr. Miller, Mr. Thomson, aud Mr. Stanton, all of Canada West, took out a few prize winners, and also some breeding heifers and bulls. A large number of Cotswold sheep were also purchased. Mr. Craig, with several others, went extensively into Berkshire pigs for the great Chicago Hog Fair, where about £200 was offered as the head prize. These animals went out safely. Mr. Gibson, of Minneapolis, who it was rumoured was buying for Colonel King, took out several of the Towneley prize animals, the late Mr. Eastwood's noted heifer Double Butterfly 2nd, some cows from Mr. Aylmer, and also Sir W. Stirling Maxwell's prize cow, Henrietta, for, it was said, 400 gs. These had an unfortunate passage, the weather was rough, and the cattle much bruised when landed. This probably may account for their defeat at the Minneapolis Show in the herd prizes of a bull and five cows or heifers. Several herds were shown. Col. King, whose stock was chiefly bought from Mr. Cochrane's im- portations of last year, took the first prize of a thousand dollars, or about £200 ; Mr. Gibson the second prize of 750 dollars, and Mr. Brockway, an American breeder from Wisconsin, third prize of 500 dollars. At the Chicago pig exposition 5,000 hogs were shown. Mr. Craig, who took out the Cirencester Sambo 2nd, the first prize boar at Wolverhampton, won two first prizes with him, but for the great sweepstake prize of a thousand dollars for a display of pigs, he received only the second award of 500 dollars, being beaten by Messrs. Clay's stock from Kentucky, where most of the best Berkshires of America are to be found. It is reported that the trade for cattle aud pigs is dull, but that the demand for sheep is on the increase. Besides these, five very choice pure- bred heifers were sent out in September to Mr. EJwiu G. Bedford, of Kentucky, including one of Mr. Bowly's Gazelles, and Mr. Barnes' Lady Adela. These arrived safely. Capt. Pratt, of the ship Hudson, a well-known admii'er and exporter of good stock, took out in the beginning of the month several Shetland ponies, sheep, and pigs, also a few first class Shorthorns, including British Flag, the first prize bull calf at the Royal aud Yorkshire Shows, as well as Messrs. Budding's fine red bull Standard Bearer, and four of the best heifers from their recent sale at Panton ; two heifers. Flower Cherry and Lady Marie, from Mr. Torr's herd at Aylesby, and Mr. Barnard's prize bred heifer Coronella accompany the six from Panton ; while it is understood that they are intended for public sale in Kentucky. It may not be uninteresting to breeders to hear that the importation made in June by Messrs. Hampton Van Meter and Co, were publicly sold iu Kentucky last August. The shipment consisted of 3 Tbulls and 20 cows and heifers from Lord Penrhyn's, Messrs. Nesham, Christy, Searson, Game, Pawlett, and other breeders. A great drought had prevailed for several weeks ; beef and pork had declined nearly one-third in price since spring, yet notwithstanding these drawbacks, good prices wei-e obtained, the investment leaving a profit to the company. The 23 head made nearly £4,000, averaging about £170. The higheat price obtained was 220 gs. for Lord Penrhyn's Cowslip 2nd. The Australian trade for bulls is still good, and the best ships generally have consignments of live stock to the colony. The Paramatta and Sobraon, two Sydney vessels, both took out Shorthorns, Herefords, aud horses. By the former Mr. E. K. Cox of Sydney sent out several thoroughbred fillies going back to Whalebone and Bird- catcher blood ; also Mr. Carr's young white pure Booth bull Earl Fitz Windsor, and a heifer, Lady Audley, bred by Mr. Derham. Mr. P. Anderson of New England had two heifers from Mr. Aylmer's herd ; and for Dr. Jenkins, two young cows from Lord Walsingham's and Mr. R. Jefferson's herds were sent out. By the Sobraon Messrs. Fanning of Wooroowoolgen imported several prize Here- fords, Sir G. Wombwell's Shorthorn bull, Newburgh 3rd, the first-prize yearling at York, and a very first-class young bull Weal Lord, a two hundred guinea purchase from Mr. Torr. Messrs. Dangar, Gedge and Co. shipped the Shorthorn bull Commander, from Mr. Grove's sale, in Ireland, a Blanche cow, and a Knightley bull from the Rev. J. Storer, and a fine young cow of Mr. Barnard's, as weU as some Herefords. Besides these some bulls were also purchased for Messrs. Lamb of Sydney. Several Angus Polls from Mr. M'Combie's herd, and a few Clydesdale stallions have also been shipped to the colony, where it appears pure-bred Shorthorns are more highly valued than in this country. Mr. R. M'Dougall, near Melbourne, has issued a little pamphlet headed " M'Dougall's Sires of the Season 1871," with the following inscription on the title page : Let ev'ry man who boasts of costly blood Describe the channel whence it floweth ; We then can tell from " Coates" if it be good, Or if tUe breeder only bloweth. After refuting some unjust observations in true John- sonian style, he gives the pedigrees of his imported bulls, also of their sires, adding that " a few cows would be taken in to Field Marshal Booth, the white calf bought last year at Warlaby, at 100 guineas each, including three months' keep for cow, or he would be sold bodily for the sum of 4,000 guineas — not one shilling less." On Major Booth (26790), also bought at Warlaby, 60 guineas is charged, and his loioest selling price is 2,500 guineas. Robin Hood, the prize bull calf of Messrs. budding's at Oxford and Wakefield, 1870, is fixed at 30 guineas service, and 1,000 guineas sale ; whilst for the Oxford Lad, the first prize Hereford bull calf at the Royal last year, 12 guineas is the service fee. Germany is doing very little as yet ; a few young bulls have been sent to Hamburg and Stettin. France, how- ever, is rapidly rising from her trouble. This week, Mons. St. Marie has purchased four superior young bulls of Bates and Booth blood at good prices, some of these being it is understood for the French Government. K K 486 TgE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. ODDS AND ENDS OF FARMING FACTS. X. — Dairying. — (a.) The best temperature for tlie milk to be for tbe yielding of cream, as sliowa by the experieuce of the best butter-makers of a district celebrated for the high quality of the butter made, is 60 degrees, or betweeu this and 62 degrees. If milk be raised to the temperature of boiling water, or nearly this, it will yield a much larger amount of cream than if the temperature be at 60 or 62 degrees, but the butter so made from it will not keep for any length of time. The cream that rises first from the milk is the best for butter-making purposes. Good — at least the best — butter cannot be made from cream which is allowed to remain in the milk till it is old. Cream rises best from shallow vessels, and by far the best material of which they can be made is glass. To lessen the risk of breakage of these, certainly the costliest of all milk - vessels, it is better to offer a re- ward for aU the vessels produced whole at the end of a season, than to inflict a fine for those which may be broken. (b.) The temperature at which the cream is to be churned should be the same as that at which the cream has been raised from the milk ; it should not be allowed to exceed 64 degrees. It is a mistake to bring the butter too quickly. A consideration of the "facts" of the case will show the reason for this. The globules of butter in the cream are covered with a thin pellicle of casein ; the object is to get rid of this as completely as possible ; but it requires time to do this. Quick churning will bring butter, no doubt, more quickly, but as the casein will be in greater quantity than if the churning was more slowly done, the butter will not keep so well. {c.) Much has been said as to the different methods of butter-mahing, some advocating churning of the whole milk, and some of the cream, and some of the cream and milli combined. A very emi- nent autliority, who experimented largely on the churn- ing of all these mixtures, states that (1) cream alone is more easily churned than a mixture of cream and milk ; (2), that the addition of some water, during churn- ing, facilitates the process, especially when the cream is thick and the weather hot ; (3), that butter made from sweet cream has the finest flavour when fresh, and keeps the longest ; (4), that scalded cream yields the largest amount of butter, but that it does not keep long ; (5), that the most economical mode is to churn the milk and cream in a condition slightly acid, and that it yields a large amount of excellent butter. The same experimenter, after an experience of thirty years, says that he has come to the conclusion that butter is yielded in the largest quantity aud of the best quality, by churning the whole milk. This should be kept till it is decidedly sour, and covered with a thick skin, wrinkled or uneven on the surface. This is churned at a temperature of Go''. (d^ There are various modes of preparuir) annatto for the colouring of cheese and butter — the following is oue: Mix with one and a third gallons of boiling water oue pound of anuatto, half a pouud of concentrated potash, one and a third ounces of saltpetre. Carrot-juice yields a good colour for the purpose, but it requires to be used when perfectly fresh. When the butter is obtained from a cow properly fed there will be no fault to find with its colour. {e) The salting or powdering of butter requires to be done with great care. The following is the mode adopted in the dairies in which the celebrated Kiel butter is made. The salt used is of the first quality — clean and dry. The butter is made into lumps about thirty or forty pounds in weight ; and over the surface of each lump some one-and-a-half or two pounds of salt is sprinkled, or at the rate — say, of three-and-a-half pounds of salt to one cwt. of butter. Allowed to lie for a short time, it is then worked slightly in with the hand. The second working is made with lumps of five or six pounds weight, the salt being well kneaded in, when the lumps are allowed to lie for twelve hours. The last working is very complete, so as to get rid of all the fluid which ought to be expelled : before the third or last working is begun, a little salt, at the rate of one pound to the cwt., is added : no working of the butter in cold water is allowed. Under ordinary circumstances the proportion of salt to butter when made for market in this country is one ounce to the pound of butter: half this quantity when the butter is to be used at once. In Scotland, as is well known, what is called " fresh butter" is largely used, having no salt at all in its composition. This system certainly afi'ords a crucial test of the flavour of the butter, although to the palates of a large majority of butter eaters in England the flavour of saltless or un- powdered butter is insipid and flat. (/.) The proportion of butter to milk in cream varies very much, according to the circumstances attendant upon the breed of the cow, the mode of feeding it, &c. It is generally stated that a quart of cream should yield a pound of butter, but it may be taken as decided that this will be above the average experience of dairymen. Oue authority gives his at 4 pounds of butter from 7 quarts of cream, little more than one-half of the above esti- mate. Another authority, however, has it on record that he obtained 13 ounces of butter from 1 quart of cream. The following are statements of dilTerent results from the same cows, but with dift'erent modes of feeding : 16 quarts of cream gave 12 lb. 8 oz.; 24 quarts, 16 lb. 12 oz.; 30 quarts, 20 lb. 8 oz. ; 70 quarts, 49 lb. 12 oz.; 50 quarts, 321b.; 60 quarts, 401b. According to "general" au- thority, a quart of cream is obtained from 12 quarts of milk. One special authority, quoting the results of many returns, states the average quantity of milk required to produce one quart of cream was ten quarts, the lowest range being eight, the highest twelve. The yield of the best out of four cows, at a public competition, was aa average of 12 per cent, of cream. {g.) Analysis of 3Iilk. — The quantity of solid matter in 401bs. being showu to be 5.061bs. as follows : Pure casein 2.001b., butter 1.23, sugar 1.75, phosphate of lime 0.9, chloride of potassium 0.11. Analysis of butter, the quantity of solid matter in lOOlbs. being shown to be as follows : Pure fat or oil 82.70, casein or curd 2.45, water with a little salt 14.85. (//.) The u-eight of hag required bg a cow per day has been estimated at three per cent, of her weight. Thus twenty-lour pounds of hay will be required by a cow which weighs eight hundredweight. (/.) The quality of the water used for urishing the but- ter in preparing it for market, is stated to have an effect upon the butter ; hard spring water being the worst, soft water being the best. On this point we require more detailed information, although the facts stated in support of this opinion seem very conclusive, and it certainly is a reasonable thing to suppo'se that the quality of the water THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE, 481? used for this purpose would have some influence more or less decided. In making the Kiel butter (see e) no work- ing of the butter in water is allowed. The following is the method adopted for preparing the butter for market : As the butter is taken fi'om the churn it is slightly pressed to get rid of a portion of the whey, and then put on trays and carried into the cellar, where it is made ready for market. A long trough, and which is provided with a few holes at the bottom of the lower end, is placed in an inclined position, and is previously well washed with hot and finally with cold water. The dairymaid taking up some five or six pound in her hands, which are also washed in hot and finally cold water, keeps pressing the butter against the sides of the trough until the whey, &c., is fully expressed ; as the butter gets extended in the pro- cess it is then rolled up and again pressed against the trough. The processes of pressing and rolling up are repeated again and again till the butter is perfectly freed from all whey. One churning is finished right off before another is begun. (/'.) Different Modes of Feeding. — Winter feeding. («) At four o'clock in the morning each cow gets half a bushel of brewers' or distillers' grains, after which they are milked. At seven o'clock each cow is allowed to eat as many whole turnips as it desires, after which it gets a drink of water, and then the stall is cleaned, after which the animal is allowed to rest. At ten o'clock each cow is allowed to eat as much as it likes of a " steamed chop " of hay and straw. At two o'clock a feed of mangolds is given, after which a drink of water, and, after being cleaned out, a second feed of steamed chop. The cow is then milked at half-past three, after which it gets more steamed chop if it can eat it. If the cow is losing flesh, or milking very heavily, it gets an addition of three and a-haK pounds of linseed cake per day. In summer the feeding is on the same plan, but, for the roots and steamed chaff, Italian ryegrass is substituted. (i5.) For each cow in winter feeding the following substances are made up into a mash, steamed or otherwise cooked : Fifty-five pounds of turnips, a pound and a fifth of oilcake, three pounds and a fifth of rapecake, one and a-half ounces of salt, a pound of mixed meals, as beans, oatmeal, &c., together with a like quantity of the refuse of wheat, or grain dust. This mashed food is supplemented by a food given dry, or in the natural condition, made up as follows : Thirteen pounds of straw, and five pounds of hay cut into chafl", twelve pounds of mangolds and half a pound of linseed-meal ; the food to be divided into three por- tions, the mash given first and the dry food afterwards, (c.) At five in the morning as much hay is shaken down before each cow as will keep it busy till about seven o'clock, after wbich it gets a drink of water, which is succeeded by a feed of oat or barley straw chaff mixed with four or five pounds of meal, and a little salt, the whole moistened with water. A little hay or straw is given between the first and second feeds, which latter is at one o'clock, and is the same as the first feed. Plain straw is given to each cow for the evening and night feeding, {d) The feeding materials are brewer's or distiller's grains, mangold, rapecake, or oilcake four pounds per day, bean- meal six pounds ditto. {e) Another method. Ninety pounds of pulped turnips mixed with seven pounds of cut straw per day per head. The materials for three days' feeding are well mixed and allowed to lie in a bin before being used. In addition to this mixture four pounds of oUcake per head per day are given. The ninety-seven pounds of grated turnips and cut straw are divided into four equal portions. One portion is given to the animals at six o'clock in the morning, a second at nine o'clock, a third at one, and the fourth and last at four o'clock, about three pounds of hay being given in the evening, and the linseed-cake at mid-day. (/.) Another method : At seven o'clock in the morning each cow gets seven pounds of cut hay, at nine o'clock half-a- pound of bean-meal in a pailful of water, at ten o'clock two pounds of oilcake, at one o'clock seven pounds of cut hay, at two o'clock two pounds of oilcake after being watered, at five o'clock a quarter of a cwt. of roots, and at eight o'clock seven pounds of cut hay. (^.) The fol- lowing method has been adopted with great success for obtaining large supplies of mUk for a town business : At eight o'clock 30 lbs. of cooked roots are given, mixed with 1^ lbs. of linseed and two pounds of bean or pea meal ; and a quantity of light grain or chaff; this is followed with a supply of oat-straw. At ten o'clock, sixty pounds of yellow turnips are given, with straw ; at two o'clock, a sixth of a bushel of grains ; and at five o'clock, sixty pounds of yellow turnips are given with oat-straw. (/^) The last method we now give is as follows : Sixty pounds of cooked turnips, four pounds of rapecake, and hay ad libit mn. The cooked turnips are mixed with some chaff, the rapecake and the chaft' being previously steamed together. The above methods are all adapted for house or winter feeding. In a succeeding lot of " facts," we shall glance at different methods of carrying out summer feeding, concluding this lot with a statement showing the relative value of different feedint/ materials for dairy imr- poses, as compared jvith one hundred pounds of good meadow hay : Oats 50 lbs., peas or beans 25 lbs., oilcake 50 lbs., wheat-straw 400 lbs., oat-straw 300 lbs., barley- straw 400 lbs., rye-straw 300 lbs., pea-straw 250 lbs., vetches 250 lbs., hay 80 lbs., potatoes 200 lbs., beetroot 460 lbs., cabbage 350 lbs., carrots 250 lbs. AGRICULTURE IN THE EAST. The inquiry by Her Majesty's Secretaries of Legation and Consular Agents covers a wide space, from the United States, with all the intermediate European countries, to the provinces of Eastern Turkey, and further on to Per- sia and Bushire, on the confines of British India. It is a bold stretch of travel to cross the Atlantic, to steam up the Mediterranean and enter past the Golden Horn through the Bosphorus to the Black Sea ; but the Eas- tern question has always been a stock-in-trade article with diplomatists, to be drawn from their portfolios at intervals, again to disappear, when immediately follow Turkish and Egyptian loans that puzzle men on 'Change with their enigmas of periodical drawings and borrowings. If we look closely into the condition of the backward nationalities, even the Russian for instance, Turkey does not, comparatively speaking, appear in that sinking state that her interested neighbours may wish to assume, and there is a fair chance that what she most requires will be fortb- coming, namely, increased banking facilities and railway commuuications. What is the condition of agriculture, or the status of the proprietor or peasant, how lodged, clothed, and fed, or indeed, how he exists at all, has rarely perhaps occurred to anyone to investigate. We need no apology, therefore, for directing attention to Mr. Palgrave's description of these classes in his account of Asia Minor, information that could only bo gained by a, 488 THE FAEMER'S MAGAZINE, gentleman of unusual intelligence, resident upon the spot, and armed witt that indefinable ex-official influence attaching to one of her Britannic Majesty's servants in foreign countries. Hence our reasons, also, for reminding representatives of the agriculturist interest, of what may be gained by keeping in friendly accord and upon intimate relations with our Foreigu-office service, and with its agents abroad. Passing from the zone on the southern coast of the Black Sea, from whence the inhabitants emigrate yearly to the mountains to escape from the intermittent fevers that prevail, we find in the interior the climate is in general healthy and bracing, except in some of the deeper valleys. Cereals form the staple agricultural produce : corn and barley arc abundant and excellant, also rye and oats, although the cultivation of the latter is somewhat neglected : turnips, carrots, beet-root, pot- herbs, and the like succeed excellently when tried. Or- chard fruits, such as apples, pears, apricots, plums, peaches, besides melons of every kind, require only a little horti- cultural care to become first-rate in quality. Silk does well in the valleys, and cotton has been planted with a tolerably good result in some favourable spots ; whilst the wool of the sheep reared on the pasture lands is remark- ably fine. There are other kinds of cultivations, such as the vine, the olive, and the mulberry tree, but in no in- stance have any of these been suflicieutly developed to deserve the name of an art, or to occupy those engaged in them so exclusively as to give a distinct character to their mode of life. Along the sea-line of the Black Sea most of the villagers are more or less mixed up with fishing, and with the coasting trade ; but these fishermen and long-shore sailors are only such occasionally ; their fields are what they look to for their staple maintenance and occupation. The pastoral class, which is very nume- rous inland, is composed in great measure of Koordish and Turkoman clans, semi-nomade, wild, and almost savage in their habits. Many of the ordinary villagers also keep or breed sheep and cattle, but live stock is in almost all cases a mere adjunct ; tillage is the main business. Some, though not many, of the peasants exercise the ]>rofession of carpenter, smith, or weaver in their respec- tive hamlets, but this again is only supplementary to their agricultural work. The peasant class, therefore, is numerous beyond all others, and constitutes at least 19-20ths of the entire rural population. Some of them are proprietors of the land they till, others tenants, the latter being to the former as about 2 to 1. But what- ever may be the form or title of occupation, the material result is very similar, the tenants, on the whole, being rather better off than the owners of the soil. The condition of the average peasant, whether pro- prietor or tenant, is described by i\Ir. Palgrave, who assigns to him the average allowance of arable land — about eight English acres : more than this his rude implements will not permit him to cultivate to advantage. The market-value of an acre of land is, if for plongbiug, 300 piastres (£2 10s.), on an ordinary estimate; if" for plant- ing, about 130 piastres (£1 Is. 8d.). The materials of the cottage cost little or nothing, and the construction it- self is in part done by his own labour : still much remains towards completion that exceeds mere peasant skill, and the total expense of the dwelling generally reaches £1G or £25. Cottages to let are things unheard of iu the country villages. A barn requires for its construction about £8, and when once built, may, like the house, last from twenty to thirty years. A pair of oxen used for drawing the plough, costs from 700 to 1,000 piastres (£5 16s. to £9 3s.). The two animals together have hardly the strength of one English beast. B^utfaloes are preferred where they can be had. A pack-horse, too, is iudispenable for conveying field-produce to market : the price is from 450 to 800 piastres (£3 15s. to £6 ISs.). Agricultural implements and house furniture represent a value of about £20 additional. Everything connected with field-labour is yet at its simplest and most primi- tive expression : the wooden plough used is merely a crooked stick, shod with iron at the point ; next comes a wooden spade, or a two -pronged fork for turning up the clods ; then a harrow, which is nothing but a hurdle of wattled twigs — these, with a sickle of the rudest descrip- tion, that tears ug more than it cuts, and a clumsy iron hatchet, are the chief items. Sowing is done by hand and broad-cast : thrashing, like that of biblical Palestine, is the work of oxen or horses, who partly trample out the grain, partly crush it from the ear by dragging over it a heavy hob -nailed board, on which a boy is seated to give it additional weight. Winnowing means just tossing up the chaff and the grain together against the breeze. Manure is seldom employed — never systematically, nor is it properly spread and dug into the ground. Of subsoil- draining no one has so much as heard, nor is there any established system of rotation of crops : the land, when over-taxed, is left to lie fallow for one or more years, and then tilled exactly as before. The cultivation of vines, olives, and fruit-trees consists almost wholly in letting them grow just as Nature wills, without pruning, cleansing, clipping, binding, or even mere turning the earth about their stems. Grafting is the only horticultural art known or practised. Upon a calculation of the annual earnings and expen- diture of the three classes— the landowner, the produce- partner tenant, and the tenant in rent — there appears a balance of 26s. for the latter, the most favoured. This scanty pittance is clearly inadequate to any emergency ; and if to all we add that almost every peasant, especially if a landowner, is deep in debt, with a millstone of usu- rious interest, yearly increasing at compound rate, tied round his neck, we shall conclude what appears to be fully borne out by fact, that the normal prospect is poverty culminating in beggary, starvation, or emigra- tion. The peasants themselves are not responsible for this state of things. Taken individually, the villagers are hardy, industrious, steady, and, above all, perfectly sober, the Mahometans especially. But to put these quali- ties to profit they would require, first, good agricultural im- plements ; secondly, ready means of market communica- tion for the sale of their produce ; and, thirdly, capital. At present the transport cost of a sack of grain from a hundred miles inland to the coast amounts to somewhat more than the prime market value of the article itself. Then, too, over all, is a Government that, taking much, gives little in return ; and, worse still, the army con- scription, levied exclusively on the Mahometan subjects of the Porte, bears on the agricultural population, nine- tenths of which are Mahometan, with a weight alike disproportioned to their numbers and their means. But for all these depressing agencies neither the soil nor those who till it are primarily or principally in fault. With regard to the practical purposes for which this in- quiry was prosecuted, namely, the outlets for redundant po- pulation, and the prospects of emigrants in this amongst other parts of the world, we learn from Mr. Palgrave's account that in no case, and in no part of these regions, whether coast or inland, could a solitary European field- labourer hope to find, not to say prosperity, but even existence. No efforts that he could singly make could effect any serious change in the disadvantageous circum- stances around him, and he would consequently be exposed to the same poverty and privations as the natives, with much less power of endurance ; while native competition and the other adverse causes would render the emigrant's position alike uuprofitable and untenable. Another pro- THE FAKMER'S MAGAZINE. 489 ject, however, has been oftea canvassed in the east — that of a body of European agriculturists establishing them- selves on the grounds and under the direction of a native landowner: neither would this meet with success. Accord- ingly the only manner in which European agricultural cnterprize can succeed would be by means of a colony, and the prosperity of the colony itself would be in pro- portion to its independence of the local influences around, and the Ottoman administration in particular. The ex- periment has been already reduced to practice by German settlers, and, according to the measure of the undertaking, it has answered very well, though on a small and ten- tative scale hitherto. At the present time a larger body are about to fix themselves in the interior in the neigh- bourhood of Angora, where the fleeces now obtained are a sufficient proof of what might be reared by proper care. Nature affords every facility for the cultivation of cereals, beet-root, tobacco, silk, or the viue ; and although a European colony could not, nor sliould not, take its chief support from the surrounding natives, the latter would soon, in view of their own profit, aggregate themselves to the colony, to which they would add their labour and, in process of time, their capital. No better field for rural and agricultm-al enterprise, in the opinion of Mr. Palgrave, exists perhaps in the entire Eastern temperate zone than Central Anatolia ! THE LAND QUESTION. At the Social Science Congress at Leeds, Mr. W. Vernon Harcourt, Q.C., M.P., in tlie chair, the special question for consideratiou was " What alterations are expedient in the laws relating to the devolution and transfer of land ?" Mr. MozLEY, the secretary, read a paper by Mr. Wra. Sykes Ward, Leeds, on " Suggestions for facilitating the Transfer of Land." He assumed it was generally considered desirable to diminish the expense and to make the title to any estate as safe, and to enable it to he as easily transferred as the title to stock and shares in public securities or rail- ways, so far as such purpose could be effected without any injustice to public or private rights. He referred to the expense in investigating the title of land on every transfer. With some slight or comparatively feeble and abortive ex- ceptions, little had been done by the Legislature to amend the laws regulating the title to laud, and this appeared to have arisen from the popular prejudice laying the blame on the terms of tlio conveyance instead of on the anomalies of the law and the practice of investigations for such titles. He then reviewed and considered the effect of some of the statutes passed during the last thirty years for amending the laws of real property. He next referred to the law of contracts, whicli had grown to be a great evil, from a series of decisions of the courts, and had become a very great anomaly. All other documents meant what ap- peared to be the construction of them in precise and gram- matical English ; but the contract for the sale of land meant a great deal which was not expressed, and which could never be understood by a non-professional person signing it ; and until the law of contracts for the sale of laud was altered by statute, no other amendments in conveyancing would be fully ope- rative. No injustice could arise Irom a contract being re- quired to be affirmative instead of negative ; a vendor must agree what title he had to give, and not to stipulate wliat he was not required to give. He then made a variety of sugges- tions for facilitating the transfer of land ; and if tliey were carried out there would not be much to desire either in the further dimiuution of expense or the safety of tenure. He re- commended that the statute constituting the Register of Deeds for the West Riding of the county of York should be extended to all counties. The system of registration established in the county of York was, with the exception of some details which might be amended, very simple and inexpensive, and perfectly answered the purpose of preventing the suppression of deeds ; yet the necessity of searcliing the register, and the cost of re- gistering all deeds, caused a very considerable increase in the cost of conveyances and mortgages of small parcels of land ; so much so that there was some reason to doubt whether regis- tration should not be confined to deeds of settlement and in- cumbrances not effecting a change of apparent possession. Mr. Arthur Houuouse, Q.C, also read a paper. Adverting to the magnitude of tlie subject, he warned the audience that he did not intend to discuss the larger questions raised by the Tenure Reform Association and the Land Labour League, who were aiming rather at a reconstruction of the whole basis of society than at the reform, of any particular depart- ment of law. Intimating a dissent from them partly on legal and partly on more general grounds, he desired to attempt the discussion of the transfer and devolution of land from one private owner to another; and even so, he said the sub- ject was very large and difiicult, and much detail and techni- cality must be avoided. He first dealt with the transfer of land, meaning thereby the machinery by which it passes from hand to hand. He traced briefly the liistory of legislation ; the Commission of 1857 ; Lord Cairns' Bill of 1859 ; Lord Westbury's Act of 1862 ; the Commission of 1869 ; and Lord Hatherley's Bill of 1870. He imputed the ineffectiveness of the Act of 1862 to its too stringent and comprehensive cha- racter ; and submitted that the Commissioners of 1857 and those of 1869 were right in recommending a registry confined to absolute ownership and not requiring perfect titles in the first instance. This, he thought, would work usefully. The speaker then went on to state that _it was impossible to combine any simple system of conveyancing with a very complex sys- tem of law, and that by far the most important part of the subject was ^the devolution of land on the mode and ex- tent of ownership. He laid down the principle that land should always be in hands capable of fulfilling the duties re- quired by the community at large. It was so in feudal times for military purposes ; it should be so now for commercial and peaceful purposes. He then showed that owing to settle- ments and to personal disabilities of owners a very large por- tion of the land of the country was fettered by restrictions. The remedies he proposed were — 1. That the land of a de- ceased owner pass to his executor ; 2. That in the hands of the executor it should he treated as personal property now is ; 3. Tiiat the disability of beneficial owners should not fetter dealings with land, but that his trustees being the registered owners, should have full power over it ; 4. That nobody should be permitted to settle land except on persons in exis- ence at the date of the settlement : 5. That the period for bringing an action for the recovery of land should be short- ened. In conclusion, he warned his hearers of the great dif- ficulty in effecting alterations of this kind, especially that con- ained under the fourth head ; even that contained under the second liead, simple and obvious as it was, had been urged for years with great ability, but with no hope of success until this year. The President said that he had prepared a few observa- tions on the same subject, and they pointed to almost the same conclusion as Mr. Hobhouse had come to. It was not likely, lie said, that the ideas which were subverting continental society would find support in this country ; but tliere was seldom smoke without fire. The law relating to land in this country was in a profoundly unsatisfactory condition, and the time had come when sometliing must be done. It was the business of the law to define the rights of property, but it was first necessary that they should understand what those _ rights were. Of all property there was none in which the nations at large were more deeply concerned than that which consisted in land. The aggregate of private properties in England formed England, and England after all was the possession of the English people. He referred to the registration of titles, and said that the difficulty, he conceived, lay not so much in the registration of titles, as in the nature of the titles themselves. There were those who wished to see the State assume the ad- 490 THE FABMER'S MAGAZINE. miuistration of the land ; but he could not concur in that. He believed the State was extremely illiitted to perform either the public or private functions of the landowner. It would be best to leave the land in the hands of private proprietors, who should be able to buy what they wanted, and to sell when they wished. They could not, without creating more evils than they cured, attempt to make men improve their property as they ought. They should remove all those artificial obstruc- tions which at present the law permitted to freedom in deal- ing with the land, and it was in that sense that the Legislature might beneficially act by removing the fetters which stayed the action of landowners. The real remedy was to be sought, not in a system of registration, but in the sim- plification of titles themselves. The nominal proprietor of an estate was often only the mere recipient of the rent derived from the land, and the nominal proprietor was perhaps in the receipt of barely sufiieient to meet the wants of his family, and not being able to get the capital necessary to improve the land, the estate languished, and the population pined. If the nominal owner could sell, then he might sell the land to those who would be able to do justice to it, or if he could borrow upon it, then he might do justice to it himself. The law, however, allowed him to do nothing. A restriction was required upon the large power of contingent limita- tions which the law at present permitted; he did not suggest any interference with the rights already vested or created ; but in the future the law should allow the creation of no estate in land except in fee simple. He would leave to a man the absolute power of disposing his land and property to whom he pleased. He did not like the French law which dictated the proportions in which a man had to dispose of his estate. If a change was made in the law owners might sell their outlying estates, on which they did not reside, and so tend to decrease the increasing evil of absenteeism. It was said by some that the present system was necessary to keep up old famihes. If old families were worth keeping up they would keep themselves up, and if they were not, then it would not be to the advantage of the community that the law should endeavour to keep them up. The amendment of the law, he thought, should come from the landed interest, who should demand greater freedom from the shackles imposed upon them by the law of settlement. He concluded by recommending that solicitors, instead of being paid so much per folio, ought to adopt the Scotch plan, and be remunerated the same as brokers, by an ad valorem payment in proportion to the money value of the transaction. Mr. Serjeant Cox read the next paper, entitled, " Land Law Reform." Two parties, he said, are demanding a reform of the laws that regulate real property — one party seeking reform, the other seeking revolution. The object of the paper was to consider what reforms are required, and in what manner they may be accomplished. The substance of the complaint is that land is monopolised by a few, tliough many are desirous to possess and willing to purchase it — being prevented through the inability of the owners to sell, by reason of the law of in- heritance, of settlements, of incumbrances, and the consequent costs of transfer. The alleged causes of the asserted monopoly of real property are : 1st, variety of tenure ; 2nd, the law of inheritance ; 3rd, the powers of devise and settlement ; 4th, mortgages ; and 5th, the system of conveyancing. Taking these alleged causes seriiifim., the learned Serjeant suggested — 1st. That facilities should be afforded for tlie conversion of any tenure into freehold, by extending the powers of the Copyhold Commissioners ; and that all existing varieties of tenure should be reduced to three, viz., the owner in fee, the owner for life, and the tenant for a term of years not exceeding one hundred. 2nd. The abolition of the law of primogeniture, leaving to owners of property who desire to preserve tiie estate in the family to do so by will. 3rd. Tlie powers of settlement and devise form the most formidable obstacles to the ready sale and cheap conveyance of real property, as purchasers are re- luctant to buy property subject to such charges. He proposed to apply as a remedy the practice adopted with respect to land required by railways, viz., to permit of its being discharged, at any time, by any person entitled to the actual possession, from all incumbrances whatsoever on application to the Copyhold Commissioners. 4th. With respect to mortgages, he would abolish the existing system of requiring a re-conveyance when a mortgage is paid off, and make a simple endorsement of a receipt upon the mortgage-deed to operate as a re-conveyance of the estate. 5th. As to the costs of conveyancing, these are almost entirely due to the difficulties caused by the preceding defects in the law of real property. So long as the law allows a man to have any interest in real property other than actual possession, there must be an investigation into title preliminary to sale. The proposed power of discharge of mortgage would do much to remedy the evO. complained of; but that which most of all would abbreviate the labour and cost of title- making would be a compulsory register of incumbrances of all kinds ; and no charge upon property should be valid unless registered. In conclusion, he approved of Lord Derby's sug- gestion of a new Domesday Book. Mr. MozLEY (for Professor Jacob Waley) read the fourth paper, entitled " Suggestions for Facilitating the Transfer and Disposition of Land." The two principal questions were, What are the best means of facilitating the transfer of land ? and. What alterations are necessary in the laws relating to land? These questions, though distinct, are closely con- nected. He did not depreciate the advantages of a system of State registration of owners and transfer of land ; but the officers charged with the carrying out of the Laud Transfer Act of 1863 should be invested with much larger powers. He did not think the Continental system of sale and purchase of land would suit this country. It appeared more than probable that any change in the land laws not involving the complete reconstruction of our social system would not have the effect of materially diffusing the ownership of laud ; still, increased facilities for the transfer and disposal of land might be intro- duced with advantage. He proposed : 1st. That five years should be the limit (and not twenty years, as at present) for the assertion of dormant or displaced claims. 2nd. That ad- verse possession should operate against the estate — that is to say, not merely against the limited owner during the currency of whose interest the adverse possession takes place, but against the whole series of owners having successive interests, who, for this purpose, shall be considered as represented by the owner entitled to the possession barred by the non- assertion of his rights. 3rd. In order to protect the pur- chaser against concealed encumbrances, the law should lequire as a condition of the settlement of land against a subsequent purchaser, and this settlement should be enrolled in tiie Com- mon Pleas. 4th. Estates' tail should exist only for purposes of defining and limiting the devolution of the land so long as not disposed of by the act of the tenant in tail. 5th. The personal representative of a deceased owner of laud should have power to sell or mortgage the real estate of the deceased, and receive the money. 6th. A limited owner in possession should have power to lease or sell the estate for any purpose for which it is best adapted by an application to the Court of Chancery, which shall appoint trustees to receive the money and hold it in trusts corresponding to the interests in the land. Mr. Fowler, M.P., said he accepted the statement of Lord Derby, that the produce of England should be twice what it is, but he thought the statement was under the mark. It was his opinion that if the whole of this country was cultivated as large areas were cultivated there would be more than double the present amount of production. In wheat alone there would be an immense increase. Lord Derby's remedy was to give leases, but this only assisted the tenant's capital, and did not remove the restriction upon the landlord's capital. He contended that there should be nothing but fee-simple owner- ship, and he believed that such a change would effect a revolu- tion in twenty years. He had no sympathy with those people who wanted to give the land into the hands of the Govern- ment for division. He looked upon that proposal as being worse than visionary — he was going to say, as worse than revolutionary ; it would make the whole titles to property un- satisfactory. With regard to the arrangement of Mr. Mill, lie did not think it would be wise at all to introduce imcer- tainty as to the ownership and the natural increment of pro- perty. He thought, if the idea was once introduced, that the right to the increment of property depended upon what a Government vainer said about it, the rich man who wanted means would fight shy of an investment so interfered with. Again, he had no sympathy with a law which said that how- ever great a blackguard a son might be he should have his son's inheritance. Mr. HosKiNS spoke from the point of view of tlie Land Tenure Association, He denied that there was any inteutioaal THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 491 confiscation on the partof the Association, its principal aim being to allow the State to benefit by the increased value of land. Mr. James Howard, M.F., said that he agreed with what fell from the Chairman as to the loose and visionary notions which were afloat on what was popularly called "The Land Ques- tion," words often uttered by those who were utterly ignorant of the questions involved. There was a certain class of writers and speakers who taught the doctrine that the land of the country belonged to the people. If they simply meant by these words that England belonged to the Euglish, they were only uttering a truism which could do no harm ; but if they meant more than this — and he was afraid that some well known writers did — if they meant that people without any property of their own had a right to a beneficial interest in the property of others, they were incurring a most grave responsibility. With respect to the remarks of the last speaker, who enun- ciated the views of the Land-Tenure Association, viz., that the State has a right to the " unearned increase" in the value of the landed property of the country, he (Mr. Howard) thought such a position untenable. But admitting the principle, he had never seen any practical scheme for giving effect to it, and he liad read all that Mr. Stuart Blill and others had to say upon the subject. For instance, how vpas this " unearned increase" to be ascertained, and by whom ? The thing was im- practicable. It was undoubtedly true that the increased wealth of the country had given a greater value to land ; but so it had to almost everything else. Increased wealth simply meant a greater purchasing power, and the Legislature of this country would never listen to any proposal to pass a law of this kind that would apply to land but not to otlier property. Having said thus much, he was ready to join with the Chair- man in saying that our present land laws were profoundly unsatisfactory : any law which hampered the legal distribution of wealth was injurious to the body politic. This was one of the first axioms of political economy, and was doubly true when applied to land ; inasmuch as the land of this country was unlike other descriptions of property — a fixed c^uantity. He could not go with those who would frame our land laws with an especial view to the subdivison of estates, he would leave this to the operation of natural laws, such as supply and demand. He thought that to frame the law with either a view to the aggregation or subdivision of estates would prove alike injurious. He was aware that, if left to natural laws, many years must elapse before the evils entailed by the existing laws would be remedied ; but he de- precated any violent action, and maintained that, if there were greater freedom and facilities for selling and buying land, things would soon right themselves. That the present hindrances to transactions in land were profoundly unsatis- factory, every one felt. If one crossed the Channel to that little country, Belgium, he found a very different state of things : a seller of land and a buyer had simply to resort to the Lands Register Court in the adjoining county town, and there, without the intervention of a lawyer, the transfer was effected in a few minutes, and a report of the transaction, with a plan of the property sold, was transmitted to the Registrar's Court in Brussels. Again, if one took a voyage across the Atlantic, he found that in every state capital a re- gister existed of all the land in that state, giving the owner, the number of the plot, the acreage, &c. Any change in the ownership was effected in the same way as in Belgium, and a copy of the transaction transmitted to Washington; and surely what is done so easily and satisfactorily in these or other coun- tries ought not to be an insuperable difficulty in this. He did not quite agree with the remarks which fell from Serjeant Cox. He thought that, before the State placed upon a State register the name of the owner of any estate, due inquiry should be made into his title ; therefore he agreed with the Earl of Derby as to the need of a survey of the whole country. When this had been made, and the name of the owners had been, after proper inquiry, placed upon the State register, he would give indefeasible titles, and thus avoid the necessity of a tedious and costly inquiry into the subject every time the land exchanged hands. He agreed with Lord Derby and a previous speaker (Mr. Fow- ler, M.P.), that the produce of the country in corn and cattle could be enormously increased ; but what was required to ac- complish this was the same as was required in every other business that was extended — more capital. The present laws hindered the embarcation of capital both in the purchase and in the cultivation of the land. Beef was not now solely produced in grass-fields, but was manufactured in costly homesteads, in many of which the process was carried on as systematically as in any of our northern mills and manufactories. These homesteads, and other facilities necessary for producing beef and mutton, cannot be supplied by impoverished landlords ; nor can the homesteads be fully stocked except by wealthy tenants, who are shy of embarking their capital upon the estates of needy or greedy landlords without adequate security. What was needed was security of tenure. He had known many a man of capital and intelligence brought up to farming, who, rather than embark his money in the cultivation and improve- ment of the land of another, without a title to compensation for improvements, had carried his capital and intelligence into other pursuits. In conclusion he would express an opinion that great good would accrue to the country from the establish- ment of an Encumbered Estates Commission and Court, as it would bring a good deal of land into the market which the present nominal owners could not make the best of, and the re- sult would be the introduction of capital upon it, and it was capital which was required to increase the supply of the food of the people. LOCAL TAXATIOH. At the Leeds Social Science Congress, the president of the Department, Mr. Wm. Kewmarch, was chairman in this section, where the special question for discussion was, " What principles ought to regulate assessment and administration of Local Taxation ?" Mr. E. R. FoRDHAM read a paper on the subject. He said local taxation, unlike almost every other system in the country, remained just in the state in which it was origin- ally organised. It started with the assumption that everyone in the country should contribute to the exigencies of the State in proportion to his ability to do so. This was fairly secured in the then state of things, when the only income from pro- perty was that derived from houses and land, or nearly so. Now, the income from land and houses was only about one- third of the people's annual income, instead of constituting nearly the whole, as formerly. It seemed to be conceded that the onus of maintaining the pauper, of educating him, of making roads, and supporting a police force for the security of the population, ought to be thrown on the people generally. How is it, then, that all these charges, which were always in- creasing, should still remain almost the exclusive burden of a part of the State, the owners of real property ? There were several ways of accounting for tliis. Oiie was, that property in land enjoyed a protective duty on corn, which probably enhanced its price by 6s. per quarter on all the produce of these islands, say eight million quarters of wheat and two million quarters of other grain. This would give them nearly £3,000,000, a considerable set-off towards the charge of keeping up these institutions, which then did not exceed £6,000,000 ; but now that this annual grant of £3,000,000 was withdrawn by the repeal of the Corn Laws, and also on the importation of cattle, there seems no reason why these charges should not be again equally shared by the whole wealth of the country, or at any rate why a much nearer approximation to equality shoidd not prevail. This might be accomplished in two ways. The area of taxation might be much extended— it might be extended to mines, now employing a large population, but paying little or nothing to the vast mass of pauperism created by such population. Then, again, see the enormous number of ships— floating houses— their lettable value immense, tenanted by seamen, earning countless millions for the ship- owner, and leaving their pauper population, belonging to those employed in such vessels, a Inirden borne by real property only, from which these ships are exempt. Then there were 4.9SI THE FARMEE'S MAGAZINE. tlie many millions of property in railways paying a very small proportion of income "of the shareholders towards the rates. Why should not railways be rated as land was ? Why should not rail owner contribute the same propoportion of his income from rent, or estimated rent, of a railway as a landowner did from the rent of his land ? The vast amount of wealth stUl untaxed for these purposes would bear some share of those charges which were paid from the national exchequer by arresting the diminution of duties on such articles as tea and sugar, and slightly increasing those on alcohol. Let the Post- ollice charges remain as they were, and there would be a con- stantly increasing surplus from this source. The property and income-tax also would yield a rapidly large increasing sum. These sources would almost imperceptibly rectify the flagrant injustice of the present plan, now obsolete. With respect to the incidence of rates on houses, he contended that it was much more unjust than on laud, and that it fell almost ex- clusively on the tenant. This state of tilings had an important incidence thus : £6 rental would be rated at £5, and a pound- age rate of 4s. would thus deprive the tenant of £1 per annum. In the case of a labourer who earned 12s. per week, which would give him an annual income of £31 4s., it would repre- sent in his case a property -tax of 8d. in the pound as his con- tribution towards the support of pauperism, &c., as occupier, wliile the owner of the house, much more able to contribute, would not, in respect of this property, pay a fraction. If this very unequal impost were removed, the labourer's house would cost him only £6, instead of £7, as it did now ; and he would liave the £1 to pay for a house with a second or third bed- room, so essential to the interests of morality. With regard to land, exactly the reverse was the case. Every tax, such as land-tax, tithe, rates, is always paid by the owner, and its amount affects the value of the land to the owner, but in no way concerns the tenant. Mr. BuRUAM Saifokd (vice-president of the Society for Equalisation of the Poor-rates) also read a paper, in which he said, mere beneficent administration set aside the great law of nature, by which man was compelled to exertion that he might obtain the necessaries of hfe. The system of national mainte- nance in this country had produced the following instructive results, viz., it had destroyedsell'-reliance, forethought, and self- denial, and had fostered indulgence and sensual excess, and had become a premium on improvidence. It had deadened filial piety, having enabled children and parents both to throw their natural responsibilities upon the country. lie advocated restraints among the poor on improvident marriage, such as existed conventionally among all other classes ; but he depre- cated the separation, and the deep anguish caused by it, of the poor old married couples in their declining years, as detri- mental to the popular regard lor the sanctity of the marriage tie. Those burdens of local taxation of a purely local cha- racter should be separated from those that should be national. The spirit of the basis of the existing poor-law, passed in the 43rd Elizabeth, cap. 2, contemplated that personal as well as real property should support their mutual offspring, the poor. Since the rise of trading companies, the rising influence of commerce had, instead of relieving the land, enabled it to add to the burden of the land the maintenance of the vast number of paupers caused by commercial failures. He contended that many of the grievances of taxation arose from the exist- ence of too great a variety of financial machinery, and said mfiuy desirable results would accrue by rendering the taxation of the country equitable by transferring to one machinery all those subjects which were of a national character. The nuisance of collectors calling for taxes, he considered, might be obviated, and, at the same time, economy be secured, by having certain days appointed by public notice when the taxes could be received by an otficer on circuit. He sug- gested the establishment of free money-orders for small sums, payable on account of taxes, as Government receipts were free of stamp duty. Mr. BoTLY said land had increased very much in value by the great commercial operations of this country, and the fact was they were continually sending children from the agricul- tural districts into the manufacturing towns for occupation ; therefore, it would be seen tiiat the manufacturing districts were employing the children of agriculturists. With respect to the question of keeping up the roads, he said, remembering the wear and tear of harness and other stock, there was nothing more profitable to the agriculturist than good roads ; therefore, he thought they should bear their share of main- taining the roads in repair. As to the income-tax, he thought it would be better to put it on to real property than to tax a man for what he earned by the sweat of his brow. Everything, he maintained, went to show that land did not bear an undue proportion of the taxes. Mr. D. FoRDHAJi thought the argument that land was rising in value, and did not pay a fair proportion of the rates, was a mistake. The increase of the value of land was an accidental circumstance, and there were other kinds of pro- perty which had risen much more rapidly in value than land. He instanced railway property, and particularly the rapid rise in the shares of the Great Northern Railway Company. He did not see why agriculture, although it did derive the great ad- vantages from the roads referred to by the previous speaker, should pay so much more towards tlieir maintenance than other property. There were some persons using the roads in certain localities very much who paid nothing to the roads. He thougnt, as the country was now thrown into highway dis- tricts, they should have a " Highway District Chargeability Act," the administration of which should be similar to the poor-law, because it would be found that in the neigbourhood of railways the rates were very high. Mr. F. Wilson (London) thought the rates should be paid by land, because it was land which benefited by the population raised upon it. As the population accumulated, so should the landlord have an interest in improving his property. Thus, he thought, as the landlord was benefited by the population, he should pay for the roads. The remedy for the present unsatis- factory state of things was for the municipalities to become the proprietors of the property in the municipality, and they would thus regulate the amount of rates ; therefore, no differ- ences would ensue. They ought not to permit the increase of the rates by allowing landlords to build upon land which was not fit for building purposes, thus engendering fever and disease, which meant an increase of rates. A conversation here ensued as to the bearing of the papers upon the subject. Several gentlemen thought the papers read did not go sufficiently into the subject, and therefore it was no use continuing the discussion. The CiiAiKMAN also expressed this opinion. He regretted that they had not been favoured with Sir Massey Lopes's paper, which they had expected, and he thought unless they could get some gentleman to further ventilate the subject it was no use proceeding. Mr. E. CiiADWicK said it was quite impossible to discuss so wide a subject within the limits assigned to them. The whole of the evils of our present taxation were, he urged, due to the early system upon which the poor-law was established. He said the one principle acted upon with respect to our taxation for many years past had been this — wherever the rates were high, the people in that district began to consider how the rates could be shifted. In those districts where manu- facture was the most heavily rated tliey tried to put it upon agriculture, and vice-versa. Now it had come to this — and he saw it throughout the entire country — that one section of the community was trying to shift the onus of taxation upon the other. Even the Government, he was sorry to say, was following in that suit. Local municipaUiies assumed that nothing could be better than their own administration. He thought that in the towns the local rates were kept down to the lowest possible amount. In London, the object was to stop outdoor relief in supplement of wages The fact was that out of the entire sum given in relief, three and a-half millions was relief (riven in abuse, and they would not get rid of abuse until they improved the administration. He maintained that if local administration was properly carried out there was no part of it which was not beneficial to landed property. One great cause of the present unsatisfactory state of things was central legislation. It was the penalty we were paying for centralisation. The Ciiair:man said the sum received in England for local taxation was £17,000,000. It was made up in the following general proportions : Poor-rate, £8,000,000, county, hundred, borough, and police rate, ^£3,000,000 ; highway rate, £1,500,000; the rest being made up by property, watch, im- provement, and other r.ates. As to the incidence of the taxa- tion, the difference between the English, Scotch, and Irish systems was that in England the local taxes were wholly paid THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 493 by the occupiers, and in Scotland and Ireland in proportion by both owners and occupiers. In England the rates were man- aged by tiie magistrates ; in Scotland, by the owners entirely ; and in Ireland, by bodies on which the occupiers were repre- sented. The discussion, so far as it had gone, pointed ver.y clearly to the imperfect nature— not to use a stronger word — of the English plan of assessing the whole of these rates from the occupier alone. A very considerable part of these rates was a charfjC on sound principles of economy. The occupier, of course, on all principles of right, and expediency, and economy, was fairly liable to provide out of his own resources a certain part of tlie local expenditure, such as lighting, police, and the poor-rate ; but he should hardly be liable to what might be called permanent purposes. He should hardly be liable to take upon himself the cost of such great works as, for example, the cost, once for all, of extensive public works, drainage, or county or borough buildings. Those clearly ought to be borne by the owner, and at the present time a considerable part was borne by the owner. What had been done of late years, especially in the metropolis, had pointed to a much more extensive division of those local burdens than had been made in England up to the present time — that was to say, the adoption in England of those principles which had been wrought out with far more success in Scotland, and to a certain extent in Ireland, than perhaps they had been worked out anywhere else. Then there was the much larger question which was incidentally raised, whether, in regard to this local revenue, some other kind of property besides real property should be brouglit into account. They knew that in England, and also in Scotland and Ireland, and he might say in nearly every other country in Europe, whatever the theory, the only fact was that those local burdens were assessed almost entirely upon real property. It was fortunate for the purpose of that discussion that they were able to refer to what had been done in the State of New York with regard to this question of the mode of assessment. The result of inquiries was to prove that the attempt which had been in force in New York and contiguous States to raise the local revenue by assessment on real and personal and all kinds of property had been an entire failure ; and it had been recommended that in future the assess- ment should be confined entirely to real property. For his part, he entirely agreed in that recommendation. The local taxation of Belgium, which might bear comparison with that of any other country, was placed entirely upon the basis of taxing only the visible, tangible, and real estate possessed by a man. When they went beyond that, they found themselves landed in a maze of difficulties, out of which there was no escape at all. THE AGRICULTURAL VALUE OF SEWAGE. The liistory of sewage irrigation affords a striking example of the readiness with whicli a plausible theory may be accepted and promulgated by men of enthusiastic temperament, whose minds are given to specirlaiion without the corrective influence of proper experience. Seeing that in the warm climate of Egypt, China, Persia, India, Piedmont, Lombardy, and elsewhere, water has from time immemorial been succes- fully used for irrigation purposes, and has given fertility to certain arid and otherwise almost barren districts, it has been at once concluded that sewage, which is water plus a small quantity of manure, must necessarily be suitable for every kind of soil, and every variety of crop, in every description of climate. This is the theory which is earnestly recommended to the notice of the British farmer, whose so-called " pig-head reverence for the practice of hid forefather, and ignorant belief in his own experience," make him extremely cautious in accepting it, for he rightly thinks that the condition of the soil in the cold and humid weather of this country is very difFerent from what it is in the warm and dry atmosphere of the south ; in fact, one of the greatest difficulties he has to contend with is a superabundance of water in the land during the greater part of the year, and, with the view of remedying this, he has adopted the system of thorough and effective drainage. It is not likely, therefore, that he will readily accept a theory which requires him to ignore his experience and nullify his practice by converting his farm into a swampy morass. A few enthusiasts, however, have accepted the hypothesis, and in putting it into practice have occasionally found that in certain seasons, especially with light and porous soils, the results have been highly successful ; but the success has never been en- during, for it has depended upon conditions of season as regards drought, which is altogether exceptional. When this has been otherwise, as in the experiments at Alnwick, the results have been disastrous. Even in ordinary times, there is an average of 150 wet days in the year, when sewage cannot be profitably applied to the land. On the other hand, however, it sometimes happens, as in Lombardy and Piedmont, that the seasons are so dry that the application of even water to the land is ex- tremely beneficial. On such occasions the farmer would gladly take sewage, as he would water, for the parched and hungry crops. But this is not a common occurrence, and rarely lasts for more than a month or so. To be compelled, therefore, to take sewage at all times througliout the year is a condition of things which the farmer very properly declines, for under such circumstances, according to Mr. Lawes, it is inapplicable to every description of crop ; whereas, if a person can apply it to-day, and not to-morrow, just as he pleases, he may use it with every description of crop. Professor Way is of the same opinion, for he says, " If the farmer is bound to take large quantities of sewage at all times, he will decline to take it at all, because he cannot take it in times of rain, and it must be put upon land properly prepared for it, and laid out as a sewage farm." Evidence to the like effect has been given by Mr. Congreve, who managed one of the sewage farms at Rugby, and who found from experience that the taking of sewage at all times throughout the ye&r was the great difficulty in the matter. " If I had a farm," he says, " in the neighbour- hood of London I would take sewage if I were at liberty to take it when it suited my purpose, and should apply it over a very limited area at a certain time of the year, but if I were compelled to take it at all times I should refuse it altogether." Mr. Mechi is evidently of the same mind, for he says he would rather not be regulated as to the time of applying it, but would use it when he wanted it. This, indeed, is exactly the way in which it is dealt with at Worthing, Birmingham, and Edinburgh, where the farmers know what they are about ; and this was so strongly impressed on the Parliamentary Com- mittee of 1863 and 1863, that they stated in their report of the evidence before them, " that it is desirable that those using sewage should have a full control over it, so that they may apply it when and in what quantities they may require." In proof of this, tlie Committee have quoted the evidence of Mr. Lawes, Professor Way, Mr Tregelles, Mr. Samuel Christy Miller, Mr. McCann, and Mr. Miles ; iu fact, almost every witness before the Committee spoke of the ditliculty of man- aging a sewage farm so as to get rid of the sewage at all times ; and, as might be expected from the perplexities of the subject, there is the widest difference of opinion respecting the time when sewage ought to be put upon the land so as to be most profitably and safely utilised. Mr. Mechi applies it to meadow land from the beginning of May to nearly the end of June, and on feeding pastures he uses it at all times during active vegetable growth. The Earl of Essex puts two dressings, each of 2'2.5 tons to an acre, upon his meadow land for hay, from October to January, or longer ; and he uses it in the summer time, directly after cutting a crop of Italian ryegrass. Mr. Tregelles Employs it for pasture land during the winter, and root crops in summer, using it upon swedes when they are as big as marbles, and mangolds all the while they are growing. But as ryegrass is the only plant that will stand a thorough and nearly constant dressing of sewage, it i%, par ex- cellence, the crop which is selected wherever there is much sewage to be disposed of ; and although it is often killed by excess of sewage, especially in frosty weather, yet in summer time it is often treated to a liberal allowance of it, almost to the time of cutting. A like difference of opinion exists as 494 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. to the way in whicli the sewage should be distributed upon the land. Mr. Smith, of Deanston, who was the first to dream of the profitable utilisation of sewage by irrigation, proposed that it should be applied by means of hose and jet, iu the fire brigade fashion, under a pressure of a column of liquid 150 feet high. This, he thought, would force the sewage through the elaborate system of underground pipes, which were to be laid down in every sewage farm, and drive it to the place where it was wanted. Mr. Edwin Chadwick adopted this idea, and used all the influence of the old Board of Health to get it put into practice throughout the United Kingdom. Thousands of blue books, with detailed instructions for arranging tlie pipes and pumps of sewage farms, were circulated by the Board. Popular lectures were given, speeches were made, and sensational articles written, to show the value of sewage as liquid manure, and how it ought to be pumped on the land. It was, in fact, one of the instructions of the Board that every system of sewers should be brought to one outfall, with the view of applying the sewage to agricultural purposes. Mr. Mechi, Mr. Telfer, and Mr. Kennedy were among the first to accept the tempting tlieory and to put it into practice. Soon after, it was adopted by Mr. Walker of Rugby, Mr. Neilson and Mr. Littledale of Liverpool, and Mr. Chamberlaine of Nor- wich, nearly all of whom have had cause to repent it. The history of Mr. Walker's failure is worth recording, for it is typical of all the rest. Iu 1854, when the sewage of Ilugby had become so unbearably offensive that Mr. Walker was contemplating legal proceedings to abate it, he unfor- tunately met with Mr. Chadwick's glowing account of tlie agricultural value of sewage, and fancying there was a for- tune in the nuisance if properly dealt with, he entered into an agreement witli the Local Board of Health to take all the sewage of Ilugby for twenty years, if they would deliver it upon his land, and make all the necessary arrangements for distributing it thereon by hose and jet. The Board, therefore, erected a steam-engine for pumping the sewage, tanks for collecting it, and a proper system of pipes for distributing it — gladly paying tiie heavy expenses thereof to be rid of a troublesome nuisance ; and Mr. Walker no doubt laughed in his sleeve at the apparently hopeful bargain he had made ; but, alas for human foresight, the results were so unprofitable that the bargain was at length repudiated, and the pipes are no more. This, however, is the system which is still advocated by Mr. Mechi, Mr. Ellis, Baron Liebig, the Earl of Essex, Mr. Miles, of Bristol, and the Chairmen of the Parliamentary Committees of 1863 and 1863, all of whom say that small dressings of sewage, by means of hose and jet, are more profitable than larger dressings by open carriers. But this is not the opinion of Mr. Lawes, Professor Way, Dr. Voelcker, Mr. Cliristy Miller, the late Sir Joseph Paxton, Mr. Blackburn, and Mr. Ilawlinson, all of whom recommend the distribution of sewage by open carriers — permanent or moveable. In most cases the carriers are permanent, but at Mr, Hope's farm at lloraford and Mr. McDougall's farm at Carlisle, they are moveable. In every case, however, the land must be properly prepared for it, so tliat the sewage shall be evenly distributed, and the subsoil water freely removed. As to the quality of soil wliich is best suited for sewage irrigation there is likewise much difference of opinion. Most agricultural chemists of large practical experience advocate the use of a porous sandy soil. Dr. Voelcker, for example, says that all liquid manures produce the most beneficial and striking effects when they are applied to light, deep, and sandy soils, soils, resting upon a porous subsoil — soils containing from ninety to ninety-six per cent, of sand and but little alumina, so that the sewage may go through it and not over it. Pro- fessor AVay also states that he would select a pure sandy soil in preference to anything approaching clay, because saud will become richer in clay every year that sewage i# applied to it, — apart from the fact that clay can always be added to sand if necessary, whereas no clay soil can be made open enough to receive sewage — in fact " a dry absolute clay is," he says, " the last soil 1 should wish to use sewage upon, because, al- though it has the power of extracting manurial qualities of sewage, tlie sewage cannot get into it. Even if the clay were ever so well-drained, the liquid would run over it." Accord- ing to Mr. Lawes it is best applied to the most porous, sandy, and sterile soils, like that of Bagshat Heath, and the same opinion was entertained by the late Sir Joseph Paxton. On the other hand, some chemists are of opinion that the soil should contain a notable proportion of clay, because clay has the largest power of absorbing ammonia, phosphoric acid, and potash — the most important constituents of sew- age. Baron Liebig opposed the scheme for distributing the sewage of London upou the Maplin sands, because they do not contain sufficient clay, and he attributed the success of the Craigintinny meadows at Edinburgh to the circumstance of their containing much alumina. He thought, indeed, that the Maplin sands would require at least two million tons of clay to give them fertility to the depth of an iuch. Mr. Bailey Denton, who has recently acquired popu- larity in connection with this subject, is of the same opinion, and argues that a soil with a considerable portion of clay is better than a very porous soil, because it delays the percolation of sewage, and retains the manurial elements. But then the land must be thoroughly drained, for that is Mr. Bailey Denton's speciality, and he blames the Rivers Pollution Commissioners for not making it a sine qi'd noit that no irri- gation should be practised without deep subsoil drainage. The value of clay as a constituent of ordinary soil is ad- mitted on all hands, for it not only absorbs and fixes the chief elements of manure, but it also elaborates them, and fits them for the use of the growing plant. This power was first in- vestigated by Brouner, in 1836, and afterwards, in 1845, by Hustable and H. S. Thompson. Later still, iu 1850, 1853, and 1S55, it was stiU further examined by Way, who thought that the absorbent power of a soil was dependent on the chemical action of certain silicates of lime and allumiua, which fixed the alkaline bases, and allowed the acid consti- tuents (phosporic acid excepted) to pass in combination with lime. Liebig's views at first were entirely opposed to these opinions respecting the absorptive power of soils ; but, iu iu 1858, he ascertained from experiment that every plant- bearing soil absorbs the fertilising elements of mauure — clay doing it best, and pure sand worst — whilst turf and peaty mat- ters had an intermediate action. He found that a common clay soil in the neighbourhood of Munich would absorb (per acre, four inches deep) 3,0761bs. of ammonia, l,9101bs. of potash, and 8SSlbs. of phosphoric acid; and that the [action was not merely of a physical nature, for it seemed to prepare and elaborate the materials for the use of the plant — acting, in this respect, like the stomach of an animal, Voelcker also found in his experiments that all soils absorb ammonia from its solutions, clay doing it best, and organic matter worst, the difference iu other soils being but slight. He ascertained, however, that the whole of the ammonia was never, in any case, entirely removed, however strong or weak the solution of it was, and that water would subsequently wash it out agaiu, to some extent, though uot completely. Potash salts were most freely absorbed by clay, and hardly at all by sand ; and with respect to the phosphoric acid of soluble super-phosphate, it is absorbed and rendered insoluble by all arable soils- chalky and marly soils acting more powerfully than clay or sand — the change being not immediate, but the work of time, and requiring a large proportion of soil. The ageuts which are chiefiy concerned in these remark- able effects are alumina and hydrated oxide of iron, with lime and other bases. Warrington, indeed, has proved that, al- though all the constituents of a soil, except quartz, have the power of absorbing manurial elements, yet alumina and hydrated oxide of iron possess it to the largest extent, the order of absorption being as follows : Eor acids, phosphoric, carbonic, sulphuric, muriatic, and nitric ; and for bases, am- monia, potash, magnesia, lime, and soda — the form in which the base is best appropriated being the hydrate, phosphate, or carbonate; the sulphate, nitrate, and chloride being but slightly absorbed. The extent to which the solution is diluted is also a matter of considerable importance ; for, although Liebig and some others are of opinion that the soil wiU appropriate the manurial elements of a solution, no matter how dilute it is, yet Voelcker has proved beyond all question that weak so- lutions, like sewage, will actually remove those elements from a soil, and that unless a plant is growing, and is therefore able to appropriate the elements of sewage at the time it is applied, there is no power in the soil to arrest the elements, and to store them up for future use, when thoy are contiuu- ously applied in such a weak form. The action of the soil, therefore, under such circumstances, is merely to strain the THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 495 liquid, aud to effect the oxydation of its nitrogenous com- pounds, which pass away as nitrates and are entirely lost. This is easily proved by an analysis of effluent sewage water when vegetation is inactive, and the plant is unable to appro- priate nitrogenous matters ; for at such times, the sum total of all the soluble nitrogen in the sewage is found in the effluent water in the form of useless nitrates. It is very doubtful, in- deed, whether at any time the nitrogenous matters of sewage are entirely utilised by the plant, even in its most vigorous state of growth, and whether the plausible theories which are so rife concerning the value of ammonia, &c., in sewage, are not altogether erroneous. A glance at the table which is given at page 46 of the Third Report of the Commissioners appointed to inquire into the best mode of distributing the sewage of towns (1865), will show that the amount of soluble organic matters of sewage, as estimated by the process of incineration which was then iu use, is not very different from that in the effluent water. Average Composition of the Sewage and Drainage Water Collected at Rugby in the Seasons of 1862 AND 1863. GRAINS PER GALLON. Season 1862— May to Octo- ber, both inclusive. Soluble organic Five-acre field— matter. Raw sewage . 7.83 Effluent water . 7-18 Ten-acre field — Raw sewage . 7-60 Effluent water . 7.83 The two fields — Raw sewage . 7-71 Effluent water . 7.56 These were the results of sixty-two analyses ; aud in com- menting on them the Commissioners say that, " of the mat- ter in solution, a gallon of drainage water contained sometimes Season 1863— Nov., 1863, to Oct., 1863, both inclusive. Soluble organic Five-acre field — matter. Raw sewage . 8.35 Effluent water . 7.46 Ten acre field — Raw sewage . 8.30 Effluent water . 7.98 The two fields — Raw sewage- . 8.33 Effluent water . 7.73 more and sometimes less, but on the average much about the same amount, both of organic and inorganic, as a gallon of the sewage." In criticising this remark, the Commissioners appointed in 1868 to inquire into the best means of preventing the pollution of rivers (First Report, 1870, p. 71) say, "There can be no doubt that these results, and the statement founded upon them, so far as it relates to organic matter, are erroneous, and that the cause of the fallacy lay chiefly in the absence of nitrates in the raw sewage, and their presence in large quan- tities in the effluent water." But in many cases, the oxyda- tion is far from being complete, especially when the land is overtaxed. Professor Way says that if sewage be put upon a soil in larger volume than about 1,500 tons per acre per annum, even with rich-growing Italian rye-grass, the subsoQ water is foul. The same fact was observed by Mr. Westwood, of the Annerley School Farm, who found no difference in the results, as regards the crops of rye-grass, whether he used 1,500 tons per acre by hose and jet, or from 8,000 to 9,000 tons per acre by open carriers ; but in the latter case the effluent water was almost as foul and as high-coloured as the original sewage. In the exeriments at Rugby, Mr. Lawes noticed that, although there was an additional crop of grass with an increased flow of sewage, yet it was by no means in proportion to the quantity used ; for, while with 3,000 tons of sewage an acre he got 23 tons of grass, yet with 6,000 tons an acre he got no more than about 28 tons of grass, and with 9,000 tons an acre only 32 tons of grass. It is evident, therefore, that neither the plant nor the soil is capable of appropriating aU the manurial elements of sewage, and that, therefore, they must pass away in a more or less oxydised and useless form. This brings us to a question of great practical importance, namely, how much sewage can be profitably and safely applied to a given area of land. On this head, as on every other, there Is the greatest difference of opinion, although it results generally in the fact that the sanitary and commercial aspects of the question are widely opposed, it being impossible to realise agricultural success, with a perfect deodorisation of sewage ; for, in one case a large proportion of sewage is re- quired, and in the other a small.— 2%e Medical Press. THE BLANDFORD FARMERS' CLUB. At the first meeting for the season Mr. A. Spooner, of Eling, read a paper on the Chemistry of Feeding Stuffs ; Mr. G. Gailpin in the chair. Mr. Spooner said we must first consider the principles that exist in food, and the effect they have on the animal system. These principles are divided into two classes, viz., the " Proxi- mate and ultimate." The proximate principles are further- more divided into two classes ; firstly, into those principles which consist of three elements, viz., carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen ; aud secondly, those which consist of four elements : carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, and nitrogen. Carbon, in a separate condition, is a solid body of a black or grey colour, as is seen in charcoal, soot, coke, aud other substances of which it is the principal ingredient. The same thing happens in the putre- faction and decay of the animal and vegetable matters, al- though by a slower process. Carbonic acid gas is present in small quantities in the atmosphere, and is a constant product of respiration as well as in fermenting liquids, of combustion of all kinds. Oxygen in a free condition is an invisible gas without taste or odour. It constitutes one-fifth of our ordin- ary atmosphere. Oxygen is not combustible — that is, it will not burn, but it is a powerful supporter of the burning of other bodies. Hydrogen, in like manner, is an invisible gas, when uucombined. It is very extensively diffused throughout nature, and for its extreme lightness was formerly used for baUoous. Water is composed of hydrogen and oxygen, for if these two gases be mixed together the sole product formed is water. Water is the sole result, and again, by decomposing water we obtain the gases. Hydrogen is combustible, but does not support combustion ; for instance, a light, as in the case of carbonic acid, is immediately extinguished when plunged into a jar of this gas ; the hydrogen burns only vifhen it comes in contact with the air ; nitrogen is also a gas without taste, odour, or colour, and constitutes the great bulk of our ordin- ary atmosphere, nearly four-fifths. The presence of nitrogen cannot be easily shown, although it plays such a very im- portant part in the composition of feeding stuffs. 1 1 is neither combustible nor a supporter of combustion ; like corbonic acid gas it extinguishes flame, and may be distinguished from the latter by vapour in reaction on lime water. The proximate principles, those principles which consist of the three elements carbon, hydrogen, and oxygen, are called the non-nitrogenous, or carbonaceous compound, and, with one or two exceptions, are also called resporatory, heat-giving, or fat producing sub- stances, on account of the part they perform the animal system. Class I., that is, those principles which contain, in addition to the elements mentioned, nitrogen, are called the nitrogenous or flesh-forming constituents, on account of the function they perform in relation to animal life. The compounds which belong to the non-nitrogenous and of producing principles are the following : Woody fibre, or lignine, which is by far the most abundant of vegetable products, and forms the bulk of most plants. It is almost useless as a feeding material, and is even objectionable when present in very large quantities, since it passes unchanged through the animal system, owing to its in- digestibility ; hence the amount of this substance materially affects the value of feeding matters. However, as it exists in young plants it is digestible to a certain extent in the stomach of animals, and seems to be nearly^ as useful as the other members of this group. The rest of the compounds of this class are starch, sugar, gum, mucilage oil, or fatty matter. The greater portion of these compounds, which exist more or less in every kind of food used for cattle, when received into the system, become, as it were, the " fuel" necessary for sus- taining the animal heat in the process of respiration. The breath of animals effect the combination between the combus- 49^ THE FAEMEil'S MAGAZINE. tible materials in the blood, aud tlie oxygen of the atmos- phere; and, as in this process, a certain amount of heat is liberated, the requisite temperature of the body is thus kept up. These combustible materials, which may with great propriety be called the animal fuel in food, are starch, sugar, and oil. The greater portion of food con- sumed by animals is required for the purpose of supplying heat to the body by undergoing oxidation in the lungs, in which process carbonic acid and water are formed, aud pass off in the breath exhaled. When more of this kind of food is taken up by ail animal than is necessary to sustain the proper heat of the body, tliat excess is stored up in the form of fat. It follows then that an animal confined in a small space, and consequently able to take but little exercise, soon gets fat, from the forma- tion of this material of the food that would otherwise be con- sumed by exertion. All of these respiratory compounds are capable of being converted into fat in the animal system, but with different degrees of facility. Thus it may be readUy imagined that respiratory matter, in the form of vegetable oO, as found in various seeds, is much more capable of being con- verted into that material than starch or sugar. This explains the superiority of the different oil cakes in the fattening of cattle over other feeding stuffs. When food is deficient in the respiratory principles the animal system suffers from the want of heat. Moreover, unless a due amount of combustible matter is present in the body for the oxygen of the air to act upon, the surlace of the lungs themselves are wasted by the oxygen of the air. We may, therefore, conclude that the non-nitro- genous or respiratory principles in food keep the animal body in its proper temperature, so that the functions are maintained, and any excess of those matters furnish the material for the formation of fat, but are unable to supply actual nourishment in the proper sense of the word, that is, by restoring the waste the body sustains by exertion, and giving matter for the forma- tion of flesh and sinew, and other parts of the animal frame. To supply those deficiences we must, therefore, have resource to the nitrogenous, or flesh forming principles, the composition of which I have already mentioned. They exist in the choicer portion of all vegetable substances, and closely resen.ble a substance called albumen, or white of eggs, hence they are sometimes called albuminous compounds, of which are tiie fol- lowing : Albumen, casein, gluten or vegetable fibrin, and legu- mine, as found in different substances. All these compounds are very much alike and are considered equally valuable. Since, then, it is from the nitrogenous portion of food the bodies of animals are chiefly built up and strengthened, it fol- lows that tiie value of feeding matters are very materially affected by the amount of albuminous matter they contain; fur the muscles and tissues, wasted by exercise and fatigue, are renovated from these materials. For this reason, work- ing horses require oats and beans in proportion to the amount of work they do, or otherwise their frames become wasted, aud their strength diminished. And, again, the nitrogenous portion of food is also capable of keeping up the temperature of the body to a certain extent. We may therefore infer that the nitrogenous principles are the most valuable in food, but alone are totally incapable to support life. In conjunction, however, with the respiratory principles, they form tlie proper food for cattle, such as nature has ordained. Having dis- cussed the composition of animal food, and the use of the various matters contained in them in the animal system, we will now direct our attention to the various kinds, and their relative feeding ((ualities. Linseed cake justly stands at the head of our feeding stuffs, and if good and genuine, will con- tain about 11 per cent, of oil (although the greater portion of its oil has before been extracted from the seed), 28 per cent, albuminous, or flesh-forming matter, 30 per cent, of non-nitrogenous matters, such as starch, sugar, and mucilage, 12 per cent, of woody fibre, aud 5 per cent, of mineral mat- ters. Linseed cake is therefore a very nutritial article. First, it contains, in some cases, as much as 12 per cent, of oil, which constituent must, up to a certain extent, be regarded as the most valuable of the respiratory form occurring in oil- cake, from the fact that having an abundance of other respi- ratory matter, in the form of starchy substances, which are sufficient alone to sustain the animal heat, the greater portion of the oil is converted into fat in the animal system. Ten parts of oil is usually estimated as equal to' twenty-two parts of starch. The proportion of nitrogenous matter is generaUy speaking, great€r than that found in any other natural produce used as food. As its cost is about two-thirds that of linseed cake, and its manuring value rather greater, it is valuable for growing stock. JIucilage is also very abun- dant in this kind of cake, which is considered a valuable con- stituent in food. Tlus mucilage is very characteristic, upon mixing oilcake with water, when it becomes at once very gelatinous, and is employed amongst other tests of judging the quality. Linseed cakes are made from seed grown in different localities, all of which possess the same qualities almost equally, provided they are free from dirt and other impurities. The only objection to linseed cake is its high price, which is governed, not only by the demand and the supply, but by the price of the oil. When the oil sells freely, and is in great demand, it stimulates the manufacture, but when the market is slow it tends to increase the cost of the cake. Linseed cakes are often at the present time very much adulterated, sometimes with bran, which, although perfectly harmless as a feeding ingredient, diminishes the value of the cake. At other times starchy materials, such as rice dust and damaged grain, are met with occasionally. Rape cake, although for- merly almost entirely devoted to the purposes of manure, is now extensively used as a feeding stuff. It does not differ very widely in general composition from the linseed. The following is its composition : Oil llj per cent., albumen 30^, starch, kc, 28, and mineral matters. Thus it contains a higher percentage of albuminous matter than linseed cake. However, it has a certain bitter taste, which somewhat lowers its merit as food. The chief objection to rape cake is its liability to contain the poisonous seed of oil of mustard, the presence of which can be detected by mixing a little with water, and subjecting it to heat, when the smell of the mustard is very easily recognised. It must be borne in mind that mustard is present more or less in almost every sample of rape cake. Practice is, therefore, requisite in a certain degree to ascertain to what extent the presence of mustard is injurious. Foreign rape cake is the best, inasmuch as it is mostly made from seed grown in the north of Germany and France, which is purer than the East Indian seed, from which English rape cake is usually manufactured. Decorticated cotton cake is a valuable feeding substance containing as much as 16 per cent, of oil, and 10 per cent, of albuminous of flesh-forming matter. It is prepared almost exclusively in the Southern States of America, where the thick husk can be profitably stripped off. The taste and smell of this cake are peculiar, and less pleasant than linseed cake. It contains such a large proportion per cent, of flesh-forming element, and being so extremely rich in oil, with a fair amount of phosphates, must, therefore, be regarded as a very valuable feeding stuff, although the quantity of respiratory matter, in the form of starchy matters, is rather low compared to other cakes. If the feeding value of food were entirely proportionate to the amount of these constituents they contained, we should bring the value of decorticated cotton cake higher than that of linseed; but as this holds good only to a certain extent, we must take into consideration the taste and smell of tlie article, as well as the amount of essential constituents before being able to decide upon its feeding value. It is found to bt at best only equal to linseed cake, although many feed- ers do not entertain so high an opinion of it. Common or undecorticated cotton cake contains rather a large amount of husk, and if given in very large quantities is rather hazard- ous, on account of injury which may happen to the animals fed upon an undue proportion of that substance ; notwithstanding, it is a valuable addition to our feeding stuffs if used with care, the cost being considerably lower than linseed cake. Decor- ticated earth nut cake is a sweet palatable cake, extremely rich in flesh-forming constituents, containing as much as 40 per cent. It is produced from a nut found in Africa, after the extraction of the greater portion of its oil, which then leaves about 2 per cent, in the cake. Palm nut cake is a useful feed- ing material, particularly for pigs. It sometimes contains as much as 13 per cent, of oil, but the proportion is rather variable. Its flesh-making elements are rather low. There are various other cakes that arc used in feeding, but as most of them have only a passing interest attached to them, and are not largely used, I will only mention them by name. They are poppy-cake, semolina, scssarae, hemp, cocoanut-cake, S:c. It is very often a rather undecided question with farmers which is the cheapest and most profitable food to employ, com or cake, and sometimes when the former is low in price the THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 497 latter is discarded altogether. Now tliis is uot right, for it should be remembered that liuseed has medicinal as well as feeding qualities, and it is well-known that animals are never so healthy and never winter so well as when they are supplied with linseed-cake. It is by no means sufiicient in estimating the relative value of corn and cake merely to ascertain the cost per ton. We will now take an analysis of beans, which is the next most concentrated form of food, and compare it with that of linseed cake, and we find that instead of having 12 per cent, oil we have only 2, 21 albuminous compounds, 6 starchy matters, and 3 mineral matters. The comparison would appear more striking by cal- culating the amount of each constituent^ per ton. For instance, in one ton Unseed cake there are 2541bs. of oil, compared to 451bs. in beans ; 6321bs. albuminous compounds to'.6221bs., 3591bs. carbonaceous matters (starch, gum, &c.) to l,6201bs., and lOQlbs. mineral matters to 7Clbs. Thus in one constituent alone beans have the advantage in quantity, lite- rally speaking, but not in quality, for since oil is estimated at more than double the value of the otlier carbonaceous matters, such as starch, S'c, the intrinsic value of the total quantity of carbonaceous principles would be greater in liuseed cake than in beans, andjwith beans we may also include peas and lentils, being very similar in composition, Oats contain a larger por- portion of fatty matter than beans, viz., as much as five per cent., but only a httle more than half as much albuminous com- pounds, five per cent, starchy matters, three per cent, mineral matters. Again, the large amount of oil contained is too much for the animal unless used in small quantities, and with food in which oil is deficient. It is only in such cases, and when from the low prices of oil the seed is comparatively cheap that it is profitable to employ it. Some people think it is more profit- able to buy linseed than the cake. This might have been years ago, when the former could have been bought at a compara- tively cheaper rate than now, but, although it contains three times the quantity of oil, it has less of the flesh-forming ele- ment. Therefore the cake must be more profitable than the seed for feeding purposes. The following is the complete analysis of mangold : Water 87-7 per cent., starch, sugar, &c., 8.50, albuminous compounds 1.5, woody fibre 1.2, mineral mat- ters 1.1 If we take the analysis of swedes we should find that the greater portion of them consists of water, viz., 89^ per cent., thus leaving a very small margin for the really necessary constituents of food. It is found that swedes, mangolds, and indeed roots generally, which are most valuable for feeding purposes, contain most sugar, which seems to be the highest and most valuable carbonaceous product present in this kind of produce. What a great difference in composition to linseed cake ! It shows the superior advantage of giving cake in com- bination with turnips inasmuch as it supplies those ingredients of which the latter are deficient — that is mainly, the flesh- forming principles. By feeding alone on turnips, a much larger quantity of water than is desirable for the well-doing of the animal is given, and it causes the temperature of the body to be so lowered that an additional supply of carbonaceous mat- ter is required to keep all that excess of water, as we may say, boiling ; in fact, to sustain the animal heat. The composition of mangold is very similar to that of swede. It however, con- tains a greater amount of carbonaceous matters, consisting prin- cipally of sugar, with somewhat less water, and is consequently of greater value for feeding purposes than swedes. On account of the large amount of nitrogenous matter present in oil- cakes, the most profitable way of using it seems to be in combination with some article of an opposite character that is rich in respiratory matter, such as barley meal, Indian corn, or the carob or locust bean. The locust bean, also known by the term St. John's bread, contains a large amount of sugar, which afi'ords a means of not only augmenting the respiratory elements in mixtures of food, but at the same time of imparting a sweet fiavour, thus making coarse or other foods more palatable to the animal fed. This property is rather a drawback than otherwise in one respect, inasmuch as the beans appear as nice to the boy on the farm as they are beneficial to the cattle ; they are, in fact, old as sweetmeat. In fatting animals a food in which the respiratory matter predominates would seem to be most suitable, since the muscles or flesh are incapable of increase to anything like the same extent as fat. Respiratory matters in the form of vegetable oil is most favourable for the formation of fat ; hence the efficiency of oilcake, although the common respira- tory jnatter, such as starch, sugar, ?M mucilage, are also, though probably less easily available for that purpose. We can scarcely give the animal too much nourishment, provided its health is maintained, as we thereby shorten the time of fattening, and thus save the food that would be otherwise consumed in sustaining the system during that period. But when the system is undergoing development, as in young or growing animals, we gain more the advantage of growth than tiie formation of fat, in which case the mineral elements for which, of course, time to a certain extent is necessary, are particularly required, as well as a due proportion of respira- tory and fleshmaking elements. Deficient food, or, what amounts to the same thing, food which does not furnish the requisite quantity of the various nutritial elements required by the animal to meet the wants of its system, is always a loss to the owners of stock, from the fact that the animals cease to make progress and fallback, and thus it requires a much larger proportion of nutritial fsod to regain flesh than it other- wise would to have retained its former condition, and, again, all that food consumed, instead of yielding its proper return, was expended in keeping the animal alive. Moreover, all the time consumed, we might have been making progress. The quantity and quality of food required by animals will be just in proportion to the demands upon its system. An animal has no power to produce anything which nature has ordained that it should, unless the raw materials of the same are supplied in food. It is by carrying out with care and judgment the principles involved in the feeding of animals, th.at we can ex- pect to dispose of the many kinds of food at our command to the best advantage, and thereby to develop the resources of agriculture, and increase, it is hoped, the profits of farming. I will now make a fevv remarks on feeding in relation to manure. Tlie question is. What benefit do we gain from the food consumed by our animals in the shape of manure ? The value of the manure, of course, depends entirely upon the quality of food consumed. Of the three chief classes of the components of food already described, the carbonaceous or respiratory compounds are lost or used up in the greatest quantity in feeding ; the nitrogenous or albuminous compounds in smaller though considerable degree, the mineral matters the least. The office of the carbonaceous principles being to sup- port respiration, a large quantity of those taken in the food are lost as invisible gases in the breath, as I have before mentioned ; a further portion goes to the formation of fat, consequently only a small quantity is left in the dung, except that undigested, as woody fibre. These components of food, or their remains in the dung, are the least valuable as manure, from the fact that plants are able themselves to obtain from the atmosphere the necessary elements requsred for the formation of these products ; hence the additien to the soil of these elements as manure, in ordinary cases, is necessary. The albuminous compounds of food are returned for the most part in the dung in a decomposed state, except after performing their office in the nutrition of the body, that portion retained as animal produce. The mineral elements of food are all returned in tiie manure, except that portion retained as increase, or other- wise, in animal produce. The mineral elements of food are very valuable as manure, since they have but a limited source of natural replenishment, i. e., from the soil. Phosplioric acid is no doubt the most valuable of these substances, as it occurs but very sparingly in the best of soils ; potash again must be considered valuable as manure. The above are the residual products of food that occur in the dung. Decorticated cotton cake, containing such a large per centage of nitrogenous mat- ters, with a very fair proportion of phosphates, is of tlie highest manuring value of any feeding stuff's. According to Dr. Voelcker's tables the value of a ton of decorticated cotton cake, after being used as food, is estimated at £5 6s. 6d. Mr. Lawes, in a more recent publication, even places it higher, viz., £6 10s.; in fact, highest of all the diff'erent articles used as food. Next comes decorticated nut cake, £4 18s.; rape cake M Os. 9d.; and then comes linseed cake, £3 15s. 8d.; beans, peas, and lentils, £3 2s.; Indian corn, £1 5s.; wheat and barley, £1 7s. Although estimating the value of feeding stuff's as food alone from their chemical composition, may be considered on the whole somewhat as a doubtful question, there can be little doubt in estimating their relative manuring value, seeing that by for the largest amount of value resides in the albuminous portion, and may be estimated by the am- monia to which it is equal, after allowing for a per centage used up in the increase of the animal. Mr. J, Ford fully concurred with the lecturer as to the 498 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. value of linseed cake as food for stock, but at the same time expressed liis opinion that iu consequence of the abundance of roots this year, and the high price of cake, not so large a quantity would be used this season. He, however, hoped that artificial food would be cheaper. One thing he could not understand, and that was that turnips were not so good as for- merly. They were grown to a great size, but there was not that proof in them as in former years. Wiether this arose from the use of so much artificial manure or not he could not say, but turnips now were certainly inferior in quality to what they were years ago. With respect to feeding stuff, he quite agreed with Mr. Spooner that linseed cake was the best, but the worst of it was that it cost so much money, and from this cause he believed that, as there was a good deal of inferior barley, farmers would find it to their advantage to use that. Although linseed cake was good food, yet he thought that cattle did better with a mixture. He wished most heartily to thank Mr. Spooner for coming forward and giving them so use- ful a lecture. Mr. H. FooKES quite agreed with Mr. Ford as to the in- ferior quality of turnips now as compared with former years. Forty years ago his father fed his sheep entirely on swedes and hay, on land which had been entirely manured with farmyard manure, and it was then considered that every acre of feed would fatten a good ox. It was true that the land then was only fresh broken up. With regard to the relative value of swedes and mangold as food, Mr. Spooner had stated that there was more profit in mangolds, and he believed that for lambs from the month of April mangolds were best, but not before. He (Mr. Fookes) quite agreed with Ur. Ford as to the ad- vantage of using a little cake with other food. Mr. G. Keynes considered that the principal thing was this, to have a return on their farms of all that they grew, and he thought they ought to make a good deal more use of corn as food with a sufficient proportion of oilcake. He had not so much opinion of cake as many had. He could not see giving three halfpence per pound for oilcake when they had other food. If they had all the manure it might be best ; but he considered that chaff mixed with a proportion of roots was not only much cheaper, but a food on which sheep throve well, and that the greater the variety of food used wai the best. Mr. ScETT said he was fattening about 150 sheep. He first gave them sainfoin and rape, and then gave turnips and rape when tliey did not do so well. The cause of this had been ably explained by tlie lecturer. He then gave them half- a-pound of cake, but they did not improve much, and he then increased the half-pound of cake to one pound, with some corn mixed with it, and the sheep were going on very satisfac- tory. Mr. Eyers said he bought some culls a short time ago, and now they were worth about £4 a head. He clianged their food several times, and he believed that a mixture of food was the best. He should like to have Mr. Spooner's opinion re- specting maize as food for liorses, whether it would be advan- tageous to mix it with beans and oats. Maize was at one time very much used for London omnibus liorses, but not one- fourth of that quantity was used now. Mr. Spooler, in reply, said that maize used in small quan- tities was very beneficial, but it had an injurious effect if used in large quantities. Mr. T. Fry wished to confirm what Mr. Scutt had said about sheep. He believed he was £100 worse off than he was a few months ago. He had been feeding his slieep on rape, and then put them into as fine a piece of turnips as he had ever seen. He did not examine them for a few days, as he ought to have done, but when he did he found they had gone back. Indeed, he never saw sheep in so short a time become so emaciated. He directly got some old beans, and cut up some clover hay. This he put into troughs, telling his shep- herd to keep two troughs always filled, and since that had been done he could see a marked difference in the sheep. No doubt the sheep deteriorated from not having iu the turnip sufiicient warmth-producing power. He (Mr. Fry) did not agree with Mr. Keynes that in using oilcake we do not see it in the after-crop, for he had seen places in the same field where it could be distinctly traced where oilcake had been used and where not. There was one tiling he wished to call attention to. He did not think they were sutficiently careful to cut hay early enough. It had been the usual practice to commence using hay for sheep at Blandford fair, but he thought it would be better to commence with dry food before that time. Of this he was convinced, that it was best to give some dry food with turnips. Mr. Spooler, sen., said, nitrogen, which was ko essential and important in manure, was, he regretted to say, becoming very scarce. He saw in the Journal of the Royal Society that Mr. Nasmyth, a scientific and learned man, had been contriv- ing an apparatus which, by means of compression, would ex- tract the nitrogen from the atmosphere, but he (Mr. Spooner) fancied that what had been ths dream of the philosopher for many years would be a dream many more. He wished that it could be accomplished, and that they might be able to im- prove the guano. With reference to the ploughing in of the root-crops, a short time ago he was in Scotland, and perhaps in no parts was there finer root-crops than in the Lothians, He inquired there what they did with those crops, and was told that they frequently sold the roots to the cowkeepers, and allow them to have them at £2 per ton lower if they consented to leave the green on the ground, but this they generally de- clined to do. The green of the crops was nearly as nutritious as the root. Mr. R. Lewis understood from Mr. Spooner that the manure from cotton-cake was superior to that from linseed. Mr. Spooler : Yes. It is better. Mr. Spoo^"ER jun., in acknowledging a vote of thanks, said he quite agreed with the opinions expressed by Mr. Ford and Mr. Fookes as to the advantage of combining cake with corn. Linseed-cake must be used in smaller quantities. To feed animals successfully attention must be given to tlieir pe- culiar nature and condition. The food which might be suit- able for one animal might not be for another, and therefore it must be left to the owners' judgment in a great measure as to the food to be given, its quality and its quantity. PRESENTATION TO A QUITTING TENANT. A meeting has been held at the ancient homestead on Canley Farm, part of the Stoneleigh estate, which has for some years past been iu the occupation of Mr. Thomas Hands, and has for about three centuries been held by his ancestors. The occasion was that of Mr. Hands quitting the farm, under notice of his landlord. Lord Leigh. The farm servants— up- wards of twenty iu number — had determined to express their sympathy with Mr. Hands, and on Friday evening they met their employer at the old farm-house on Westwood Heath for the purpose of presenting him with a testimonial. William Hyde, a labourer, who had been in Rlr. Hands' employ for many years, said they had met together on that occasion to ask their most worthy employer to accept a small token of their respect : it was a humble gift, but freely given. He expressed smcete regret at Mr, Hands having to leave them, and concluded by sayiug that as it had pleased God to call him away from them, they wished him and his wife and family every happiness. He then presented Mr. Hands witli an inkstand, bearing the following inscription : " Presented to Mr. Thomas Hands, of Canley, iu the parish of Stoneleigh, by tlie workmen in his employ, as a token of respect for the kindness he has shown towards them during the many years they have been employed by him. 1871." Mr. Hands said : My friends, who liave presented me with tliis handsome testimonial, I am very sorry that the connection which has so long existed between us is about to close, aud I think from no fault on my part. It is true I am a plain speaking man, and that from having spoken the truth and made a speech at Leamington, I am about to leave my farm. It is also true that I might have continued the occupation, but THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. uot, I consider, with houour to myself. I hope that the farm will soon be let aucl that you will still be employed upon it. I sincerely hope that Lord Leigh will liave a better tenant, and that you will have a better master than I have been. Many of you have been with me from my childhood, all of you for years, and I fancied till within the last few months that I should have ended my days with you and ray children with yours. I assure you there is nothing I could feel more than the sympathy of my men in my time of trouble. I am very sorry to see the good feeling which has existed for so long a time on this estate completely destroyed ; but it is a great con- solation to me to find that my conduct has met with your ap- probation, as the handsome present you have made to me fully shows, and I shall be proud to hand down this testimonial to my children, as a mark of your kindness and good feeling to- wards me. You all know that I have spent hundreds of pounds ou my farm since I have held it,'in manure and improvements that the general custom of Tenant-Right will not allow me to claim for. I have no doubt I shall be better without the farm, but it is hard to leave it after my ancestors have been on it for so many centuries, and the way in which I have been turned out of it i feel even more than all the rest. I must again thank you for your kindness, and in conclusion I may say that although I shall no longer be your master I hope we shall continue to be friends. Mr. RicuARD Pakker said that a great many people were surprised at Mr. Hands being turned out of his farm. He did not wonder a bit after the manner in which the cottagers had been turned out of their cottages and compelled to take others which were not nearly so good, while other persons were al- lowed to walk into their homes and occupy their garden upon which they had spent so much toil. The Rev. C. Rickards said he had to make a remark about what had been said in reference to the cottagers being turned out. He might say that whatever difl'erence there was between landlord and tenant, so far as the cottagers were concerned, no complaint could be made against Lord Leigh on that score. No man could be more interested in them nor have the welfare of the cottagers more at heart, than Lord Leigh had. He knew that from his own experience. The other day Lord Leigh had asked him if he knew of anybody that was ill. He (the speaker) gave his lordship the names of about half-a-dozen persons, and port wine and gravies were ordered for them. Another proof of Lord Leigh's kindness was that he went round to every cottage once a year. They might question a man's motive, but it was only fair to suppose that Lord Leigh's motive was a good one. Of course he (Lord Leigli) might find other ways to employ his time than going round to his cot- tagers ; and althongh he might have turned some people out, he (the speaker) thought his lordship had some good end in view — (hisses). He was quite sure that if Lord Leigh had made any mistake it was to be regretted, and as far as it was in his power he was willing to do good iu his parish. Short addresses were afterwards delivered by labouring men, who had been in the employ of Mr. Hands for terms ranging from ten to forty years. All these hands spoke of the kindness of Mr. Hands, and very much regretted that he was leaving the farm. At the close of the meeting the men were supplied with refrehments, and Mr. French, farmer, of Finham, near Stone- leigh, proposed the health of Mr. Hands in very eulogistic terms, and the men heartily responded to the toast with musical honours, BOROUGHBRIDGE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. At the 46th annual meeting, as just held, Mr. A. S. Law- son was re-appointed President for the ensuing year, and Mr. Thomas Scott Vice-President and Secretaiy. At the dinner Mr. Jacob Smith read a paper on Grass Lands. He said : In introducing the subject of grass lands, I am afraid I shall not be able to give you much information ; but I do so because I hope by bringing the subject forward we may have some discussion, and by that means it may lead men to think the matter over, and so some good may arise ; for, although at present the improvement of grass land is very little attended to by many farmers, I feel sure the day is uot far distant when it will be much more seriously considered than it is at present, for when we look at the great increase of population, and what is more, the greater increase of meat consumers, we may well ask how these wants are to be sup- plied ; for though the increase of cattle from abroad has been large, still there are many difiiculties and much uncertainly attending the importation of foreign cattle. If, then, we have to increase our supply of beef, how is it to be done ? Certainly not by adopting Mr. Mechi's idea of ploughing out all our old pastured land. I think in this Mr. Mechi will have very few supporters ; but I am sure a great deal may be done by improving these pastures. When we look hack at the great advance made within the last 20 years both on the cultivation and the increase of beef and mutton from arable land, it does appear wonderful that grass land should remain very little, if at all improved during the same period. This is perhaps accounted for in a great measure, because the im- provement in many ways is not immediate. Then, again, some manures have great value upon some land, upon others none, and in using artificial manures it is necessary to be care- ful. I will briefly state to you what experience I have had in some of these manures. Bones I have seen applied with won- derful results so marked, that in walking across the field, no one could fail to notice the difference where the bones had been put on — grass, beautiful and rich, where there had not been any, and not a bite for anything to eat ; but I put 30 quarters on ten acres in the middle of a thirty-acres field some years ago, and I have never been able to see that they did any good, Jjime, too, I have seen great results from iu some fields, and in others a slight improvement the first year, but very little afterwards. Prepared manures, and guano, I have tried and found in a wet summer a great increase, in a dry one none, and I cannot say much for the lasting improve- ment. I shall now give you my ideas as to the effectual way of benefiting grass land. In the way of manures, I think there is no doubt that good farm yard manure has no equal, it always shows itself, and in mixed farms (by mixed farms I mean those that are partly tillage and partly grass), I think more manure might be spared for the grass land than there is at present. In farms, principally grass, of course farm yard manure is not to any great extent available, and what there is is generally used for the meadow land. In order to improve pastures you must stock properly ; grass lands must be stocked with beasts, as sheep are injurious to grass — especially good grass. Some landlords are very particular about tenants taking two white crops, &c., off arable lands, but in my opinion a tenant that stocks grass land with sheep, damages the land- lord's property far more. I think you may stock good grass with sheep until it will scarcely grow anything ; many people run a few sheep amongst their cattle, but it is bad both for the cattle and the land. Keep horses out of grass if you wish to improve it. I do not say that one or two horses in a field will do much, if any harm, but you see many who have mixed farms and many who have only a small proportion of grass, turning all their cart horses out into pasture fields. They will pro- bably tell you it is only poor land, and well it may be, when grazed year after year with a lot of cart horses. You may take the best field in the country and graze it with cart horses until it is a very poor one ; besides cart horses can be so much more cheaply kept in the yards by mowing green meat. There- fore if you wish to improve your grass keep sheep and horses out of it, and stock with such cattle as are best adapted to the nature of the land, and give them a liberal allowance of cake, and you will soon see a marked improvement. Of course, you do not see it the first year, but you see your cattle feed much faster, and every year you wiU see your land alter, keeping more stock year by year, and the quality of grass wonderfully im- proved. I have tried it now for some years, and I am quite satisfied with the results, I think, in most years, the cattle 600 THE FARMEK'S MAGAZINE. quite pay for the cake, aud sometimes more. I am sorry I am not able to give you a quicker remedy. I liave uo wonderful specific whicli will transform aU the grass laud in the country in a year or two into ricli pastures, but if ray remedy is slow, it is sure, aud by using cake you are always increasing the amount of beef for consumption. Some men may say it is all very well for men to do so who feed cattle for the butcher, but it will not do for a man who only breeds. I don't agree with this, as I think no cattle pay better for cake than young cattle. By keeping young calves well, you may make a two years old nearly as good as, with ordinary keep, it would be at three. If so, this is going a great way to an equivalent to making two blades of grass grow instead of one ; and so sure am I that there is scope for improvement in grass land that I think we shall soon live to see two blades of grass growing wliere only one grows now. If by reason of this discussion we help to bring this about, our time will not have been mis-spent, and surely there never was a time when there was such inducement to rear and feed as much stock as we can. I have mentioned Mr. Mechi before, because just now we all, T dare say, know he has been writing letters, advocating the ploughing out of grass. So far from this, I think there is poor, bad land, especially any that is far from the homestead, that would be much more profitably farmed were it laid down to grass, as it would answer well for the rearing of young cattle For breeding purposes, care ought to be taken that it should be clean, and in good order, where laid down, and liberal treatment used afterwards will greatly assist it after it has been laid a few years. I should strongly advise anyone who has a field of this kind to let it rest for one half-year, that is, neither stock it nor mow it, but let the crop of grass grow. The seeds will shake, tlie roots will spread, and the land be warmer. The nest spring there will be as much keep for stock as if you had the hay crop. I have tried it myself, and I am sure I liad more keep on the land in spring than if I had taken the hay aud fog as well. It was perfectly astonishing. Since then, the field has been more like an old pasture, and grows more than double the grass. I have now introduced the subject, and I am sure I have left room for plenty of discussion. If gentlemen will give some of their experience, and also their opinions, I shall be in hopes that good may come out of the consideration of the subject. Mr. i'oRD said that the management of grass lands opened out a large question. Undoubtedly grass lands were capable of great improvement to make them properly available for the production of beef. He looked forward to the time when every rood of sward land should be brought into thorough grass cultivation. As agriculturists the question was asked them. How were they to provide the nation with beef and mutton ? He was not quite sure whether Mr. Mechi was not right in his views with regard to the ploughing out of grass and, as he adopted enlightened ideas on farming. He did not advocate the ploughing out of grass land in a wild and reckless manner, without exercising any judgment, as such a course of husbandry must be regulated according to their knowledge of the condition and capabilities of the land. He considered that a great quantity of land in the country now in grass would be better in tillage, aud at the same time he thought that there was a great area of land which ought to be laid down iu grass. He did not agree with Mr. Smith as to allowing certain kinds of fields to rest for a time by neither mowing nor stocking tliem, because, in his opinion, a close, compact sod could not be obtained with- out cutting the grass. This was an important matter in the procuring of rich grass. Mr. Bennett said that Mr. Smith had not alluded to the drainage of grass lauds. Where there was a bad description of grass, it could not be improved without the land being drained. He agreed with Mr. Ford as to the ploughing out of certain kinds of land ; but this ought to be very carefully done. The grass land of the country might be materially im- proved by a judicious system of management. Mr. Calber said that the price of beef and mutton made the subject under discussion of very great importance, espe- cially at the present time, and if the great demand for beef and muttou was to be met there must be great improvements made in the condition of grass land. He did not agree with Mr. Mechi in his opinions about the ploughing out of grass lands. For his own part he did not like the idea of ploughing out grass land, whicli could be greatly improved by a liberal application of manure, and by giving the animals grazing on such land as much cake as they could eat in a reasonable way. From what he knew of grass land great judgment was required in draining it. In the laying down of grass land he should advo- cate cutting it the first year and avoid eating it off with sheep. Mr. T. Scott said that he trusted the laying down of grass land would not be introduced into the discussion that day, but that some gentleman would deal with it on a future occasion, when it would form the topic of another interesting discussion. After alluding to the effects prpduced upon lands by the appli- cation of lime and bones, he recommended the trjing of a small portion of these substances as an experiment before they em- barked upon their use in an extended manner. He quite agreed that it was judicious to use linseed and other cakes upon land iu preparing their stock for the butcher, as by this plan the grass was improved. He scarcely agreed with Mr. Smith in letting the grass rot upon the land for a season as a means of improving it, because he knew that in some districts especially the grass wanted well eating down. In old pastures they should not put on sheep and horses, and he agreed with Mr. Ford that grass land was improved by cut- ting, as it made the roots spread, and the crop grew closer and more compact. Mr. Powell said that he knew many farmers who applied all their manure to arable laud, and left the pastures to provi- dence, a course of farming which he condemned. Mr. Ford said that sheep eat very deeply into the roots of grass, wliich were permanently injured, and some kinds of grass were so eaten down as to cause them to die out. Sheep un- doubtedly did injury to grass laud. Mr. Smith entered into some details in justification of the course he pursued with regard to allowing some land in his occupation to rest for a time by neither stocking nor mowing, showing that the plan had answered remarkably well, and that the land had become improved. He quite agreed, however, that old and permanent grass land wanted eating down once a year, but not too bare. He condemned the folding of sheep on grass land, aud horses, especially cart horses, did harm to grass fields. He did as little as possible in feeding sheep on grass land, besides which the animals did not do so well on such land. Beasts ought to be kept on grass land. As to the drainage of land it was a great advantage in low wet districts. Wet grass land required drainage, but drainage upon this kind of land was not so much required as upon arable land. Mr. L.\wsoN, the Chairman, said that they had had an in- teresting discussion, and Mr. Smith had dealt with the subject iu a practical manner, and to him their thanks were due. He understood, but he did not know whether it really was so, that there was another kind of mischief done by sheep being upon grass land. With regard to newly laid down grass he believed tiiat Mr. Thompson had stated that when sheep were put upon it they gnawed down the best grass to the roots, aud defiled it. He thought that the keeping out of sheep from grass laud was the line of Mr. Thompson's argument. Mr. Smith earnestly hoped that the grass land of this country would become largely and permanently improved, for it was wonderful what it could show in the shape of crop when properly attended to. The greater the amount of grass that was produced the larger the number of head of cattle would be turned upon it, aud more dung came back to the landj which consequently went on improving. Mr, T. Scott referred to some grass lauds which he knew being worth very little an acre, because they received little or no attention from the occupiers, whereas the same description of land, when occupied in small parcels by cottagers who cul- tivated it, was worth 50s. per acre when before it was not worth half-a-crown per acre. This fact showed that land, however inferior it might be, was capable of very great and wonderful improvement. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. >01 ROYAL AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY OF ENGLAND. Monthly Council : Wednesdarj, Novemler 1. — Present: Sir Watkia W. Wynn, Bart., M.P., President, in the chair ; the Earl of Lichfield, Viscount Bridport, Lord Chesham, Lord Tredegar, Lord A'ernon, Mr. Baldwin, Mr. Barthropp, ]Mr. "Barnett, Mr. Booth, Mr. Bowly, Mr. Cantrell, Colonel Challoner, Mr. Druce, Mr. Brandreth Gibbs, Mr. Hornsby, Mr. Bowen Jones, Colonel Kiugscote, M.P. ; Mr. Leeds, Mr. Mihvard, Mr. Pain, Mr. Randell, Mr. Shuttleworth, Mr. Thompson, Mr. Torr, Mr. Wakefield, Mr. John 'Wells, Mr. WeUs, M.P. ; Mr. Jacob Wilson, and Dr. Voelcker. Sir A. K. Macdonald, Bart., "Woolmer Lodge, Liphook, was elected a Governor of the Society. The following members were elected : — Bell, Robert, Mallsgate, Brampton. Beswicke-Royds, C. R. N., Pyke House, Littleborough. Boneliill, C. G., Bickford Grange, Penkridge. Booth, E., Wbitelock, Trent Park Faim, New Barnet. Campbell, Arthur J., St. James' Place, Eerraoy, Ireland. C'arruthcrs, G. Brockbank, Westbourne Terrace, Lancaster. Cawley, W. Payne, Ashby St. Ledgers, Rugby. Dowiiing, John, Ashfield, Eermoy, Ireland. Du Plessis, Gustave, Clifiteau du Plassi, par IMettray, Indre et Loire, France. Ellis, P. P., Ilerbrandstoue Hall, Milford Haven. Grant, Colonel W. L., 13, Victoria Street, S.W. Hurst, Robert, Rochdale. Jowitt, Thomas, Tiie Old Weir, Hereford. Keir, Captain G. Lawrence, 33, Pembroke Road, Kensing- ton, W. Lascelles, P. Henry, J\Iaj field, Rowledge, Farnham. Lenthall, E. Lyffin, Besseleigh Manor, Abingdon. Lenton, W., jun., Oundle. Norman, George, Dinnaton, Swimbridge, Barnstaple. North, Charles, The Hall, Rougham. Page, Joseph, Wiunerton House, Kidderminster. Parker, T. Townley, Charnock, Chorley. Peterson, A. T. T., Drumdnar, Lymington, Hants. Wilhams, Robert Ap Hugh, Bodehvyddan, St. Asaph. Finances. — Viscount Bridport presented the report, from which it appeared that the secretary's receipts during the past three months had been duly examined by the committee, and by Messrs. Quilter, Ball and Co., the society's accountants, and found correct. The balance in the hands of the bankers on October .31 was £073 15s. 4d., and £2,000 at deposit. The quarterly statement of sub- scription and arrears to September 30, and the quarterly cash account, were laid on the table. The arrears then amounted to £1,509. The committee recommended that 28 members in arrear of their subscriptions be removed from the list of members. — This report was adopted. Journal. — Mr. Thompson (chairman) reported that the committee requested the instructions of the Council in reference to the President's offer of a silver cup for the best managed farm in the South Wales district, but that they did not recommend theoti'er of a second prize. They also reported that the cost of the farm prize competition of 1871 was as follows : Prizes offered by landowners and local com- mittee ... ... ... ... ... i'250 Society's prizes... ... ... ... ... 100 Society's expenses, including advertising, in- spection, and report... ... ... ... 235 Total ,£575 This report having been presented, a conversation ensued, in which Lord Bridport, Mr. Randall, Mr. Cantrell, and Mr. Bowly advocated the offering of a second prize, while Mr. Thompson and Mr. Jacob "Wilson defended the re- commendation of the committee, on the ground that the special circumstances of the district did not require it. Finally, it was moved by ]Mr. Rowly, seconded by Mr. Cantrell, and carried by 11 votes against 8, " that a second prize, of the value of £50, be offered by the society." — Subject to this amendment the report of the Journal Committee was received and adopted. Cheiiical. — Mr. W. "Wells, M.P. (chairman), re- ported that, in accordance with the resolution passed at a previous Council mee'.ing, the opinion of counsel had been obtained on the questions then raised, and a letter had been written by the secretary in the terms recommended ; but to this letter no reply had as yet been received. — This report was adopted. General, Cardiff. — Lord Vernon (chairman), re- ported that a correspondence had been held between IMr. Randell (at the request of the committee) and Mr. Corbett, the Steward of Forage for the Cardiff meeting, in reference to the quantities of forage and roots required for the ensuing exhibition, and that the committee i-ecom- mended the purchase of the quantities which were likely to be required. This report was adopted. The President announced that in the course of a few days there would be a conference between the authorities of the London and North-Westcru and of the Great Western Railway in reference to the fares for passengers, stock, and imple- ments, ill connection with the Cardiff meeting. The Honorary Director and the Secretary were thereupon in- structed to draw up a memorandum of the concessions which the Society was desirous of obtaining for its mem- bers, visitors, and exhibitors. Ijiplejient. — Colonel Challoner (chairman) reported that, with reference to the engineers' bill for additions to the Society's plant, they recommended that the Secretary be requested to inspect the plant with the consulting engineers, and ascertain whether some of the apparatus specially supplied for the "Wolverhampton meeting might not with advantage be disposed of, and carried to the credit of the account. — This report was adopted. Shoivyard Contracts. — Mr. Randell (chairman) re- ported that the whole of the works connected with the showyard at "Wolverhampton were satisfactorily com- pleted, and that the Society's portable buildings are now safely deposited within the intended showyard, at Cardiff, under the new contract with Mr. Penny, who is entitled to receive £561 9s. 3d., the final balance of the account for works at Wolverhampton. It was also recommended that the plan produced of the Cardiff showyard be adopted, subject to any modification which the Hon- orary Director may find necessary. — This report was adopted. Stock Prizes. — Mr. Mihvard (chairman) reported that tho committee had arranged a draft of the stock prize-sheet for the Cardiff meeting, and that they recom- mended that the Secretary be directed to prepare a jjroof, and send a copy to each member of the Council previous to their next meeting in December. This report was adopted. Selection. — !Mr. Thompson (chairman) reported the following recommendations of the committee : — L L 502 THE FARMEE'S MAGAZINE. 1. That Mr. E. Holland be elected a trustee of the Society, ia the place of Lord Beruers, deceased. 2. That Sir A. K. Macdonald, Bart., he elected a trustee of the Society, in the room of the late Sir Thomas Dyke-Acland, Bart. 3. That Mr. M'Intosh, of Havering Park, Esses, be elected a member of Council, to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Mr. Claydeu. 4. That the Hod. W. Egerton, M.P., be elected a member of Council, to fill the vacancy caused by the election of Mr. B. T. Brandreth Gibbs as a Vice-President. This report having been adopted, it was moved by Mr. Thompson, seconded by Mr. Shuttlewortb, and cai'ried unanimously, that Mr. Holland be elected a trustee of the Society. On the motion of Lord Bridport, seconded by Mr. Torr, Sir A.. K. Macdonald, Bart., was unani- mously elected a trustee of the Society. It was then moved by Mr. Milward, seconded by Colonel Kingscote, M.P., C.B., and carried unanimously, that ^h\ M'Intosh, of Havering Park, Essex, be elected a member of the Council; and, on the motion of Mr. '\^'ells, M.P., seconded by Mr. Randell, it was unanimously resolved that the Hon. W. Egerton, M.P., be elected a member of the Council. Yeterixary. — Major-General Viscount Bridport (chairman) presented the following report : — The Vete- rinary Committee have had under cousideration the letter of the Principal of the Royal Veterinary College, dated July 17, stating that a reply to the communication of the Eoyal Agricultural Society would be sent after the next meeting of the " General Purposes Committee" of the College. The committee now lecommend that the Secretary shall write to the governors of the College, stating that the Society has been anxiously awaiting such reply, and further to request that the same may be com- municated not later than December I next, iu order that it may be considered at a special meeting of the Veterinary Committee to be held previous to the next monthly Council. Mr. Torr, having called the attention of the committee to a disease prevalent amongst, and fatal to, lambs in various parts of the country, and also to a reso- lution of the Lincolnshire xVgricultural Society, request- ing him to bring the subject under the notice of the Council of the Eoyal Agricultural Society, the committee reported that they considered the subject of sufficient im- portance for this to be done, and that they had therefore requested Mv. Torr to take this step at the present Council meeting. — This report having been adopted, Mr. Torr submitted the following extract from the minutes of the general meeting of the Lincolnshire Agricultural Society, to the consideration of the Council : — "The committee appointed at the last meeting of the Council are of opinion that the prevailing disease amongst lambs ought to be thorouglily investigated by competent authority. " They, therefore, recommend that Mr. Torr be requested to bring this subject under the notice of the Council of the Royal Agricultural Society, at their meeting to be held on Wednesday next, and be requested to report to the Council of this Society on November 10 next. "That iu the event of the Tioyal Agricultural Society deciding not to take action in the matter, that the Council of this Society be empowered to nominate a committee to investi- gate the subject, and to expend such moneys in the investiga- tion as may be found necessary. " (Signed) J. H. Thorold, " October 27, 1871." " Chairman. It was thereupon moved by INIr. Thompson, seconded by Lord Bridport, and carried unanimously — "That the thanks of the Council be given to the Lincoiushire Agricultural Society for their communication, and that Professor Siraonds be requested to make a thorough and immediate examination of the nature of tiie disease and the circumstances under wliich it most commonly occurrs, and to give suggestions for its treatment and prevention." The President haviug then called attention to the importation of foot-and-mouth disease tlu'ough the medium of Irish cattle, his statement was confirmed by jNIr. Thompson and Colonel Kingscote ; it was, there- fore, moved by Colonel Kingscote, seconded by Mr. Torr, and carried unanimously, " That numerous com- plaints having been made of the unhealthy state of the Irish cattle imported into England, it is resolved that the Secretary be instructed to write to the clerk of the Privy Coimcil, calling the attention of the Government to the subject." Lord Vernon then moved the resolution, of which he had given notice, slightly altering his terms, as follows :— " That a special meeting be appointed to consider the whole question of the receipt and expenditure of the Society, and the possibility of securing equal results at less cost." In advocating the appoiutment of this committee. Lord Verron gave a sketch of the causes which had led to a continual increase in the expenditui-e of the society for many years, more particularly in connection with the annual shows. He particularly noticed the increase required of late years in accommodating exhibitors and visitors, and the expenses attending the trials of im- plements and the exhibition of stock on so lai'ge a scale ; and while indicating generally several directions in which it was possible that inquiry might result iu economy, he expressed his conviction that no body of men could be more vigilant than the Council iu controlling the expenditure of the Society in accordance with the policy which was decided upon from time to time. He concluded by moving the appointment of the committee, suggesting that the following noble- men and gentlemen should be invited to act as represen- tatives of some of the standing committees of the Council : — Fi/iiti/cr: — Lord Bridport, Colonel Kingscote, and Mr. Davies. S/iowyan/ Contracts : — Lord Vernon, Mr. Randell, and Mr. Shuttlewortb.— ^^c/t- Frizes.— Mr. Dent, Mr. Milward, Jlr. Torr, and Mr. Jacob Wilson. — Imj)leme)it : — Lieut. -ColonelWilson, Mr. Booth, Mr. Ransome, and Mr. Thompson. Lord Bridport, in seconding the motion, expressed his belief that there was no cause for alarm at the expenditure incurred by the Society of late years, for although it was uudoubtedly large he considered that it had produced very good results, and he was not of opinion that the Society should lay by a large sum of money for the use of a future generation. At the same time, he thought that investigation might be beneficial with- out curtailing the uscfuluess of the Society. Mr. Thompson, in supporting the resolution, expressed his conviction that the controul of the finances of the Society of the present time must meet with the approval of all members of the Society ; but as all old societies have a tendency to ruu in grooves without taking sufficiently into account the changes required by altered circumstances from time to time, he thought that Lord Vernon's committee might point out some improvements, which would otherwise not be accepted. 1 Letters were read from winners of farm prizes re- questing certificates of their success, and the Secretary was instructed to prepare a document suitable to such occasions. A letter was read from Messrs. Eastons, Amos & Anderson, announcing the retirement from the firm of Mr. J. C. Amos, and that in future their designation would be Eastons and Anderson. The date of the general meeting in December was fixed for Thursday the 7th, at 12 o'clock. THE FARMER'S MAaAZINE. 503 THE SMITHFIELD CLUB. Council Meeting, November 1st, 1871. — Present : The Marquis of Exeter, the President, in the chair; Lord Bridport, Lord Tredegar, Vice-Presidents ; Messrs. C. S. Bigge, T. C. Booth, J. N. Beasley, T. Duckham, J. Druce, Brandreth Gibbs (Hon. Sec), J. Giblett, R. Hornsby, R. Leeds, E. W. Moore, R. J. Newton, W. Sanday, C. Stephenson, T. L. Senior, "W. Torr, and Jacob Wilson. The minutes of the last Council Meeting were read and confirmed. The report of tlie Stewards on the detention of the animals destined for the country in consequence of one having heen attacked with foot-and-mouth disease at the last Show having been read and adopted, the Hon. Sec. was authorized in reference to the licence from the Privy Council to take the necessary steps to secure as far as possible the recommendations of the Stewards being carried out. The particulars will be communicated to exhibitors and made public as soon as finally determined upon. The Council appointed the usual Committee in re- ference to the arrangements for cattle conveyances and their being disinfected under the superintendence of a properly appointed oflicer. Mr. Joseph Stratton, of Manningford Bruce, Marlbo- rough, was elected a member of the Council in the place of the late Mr. Richard Stratton. The Council prepared the House List of the eight members recommended for election on the Council at the next General Meeting, in the place of the eight who re- tire by rotation, and who are not eligible for re-election for one year. Lord Tredegar, Vice-President, was elected President for the year 1872, in the place of Lord Penrhyn, who had signified to the last meeting his inability to act, and had at the same time presented £100 donation to the funds of the Club. The proposition of the Agricultural Hall Company in reference to the implement catalogue was agreed to, viz.. That the separate catalogue of implements be discon- tinued, but that in lieu there shall be added to the stock catalogue an index giving, 1st. The name, address, and trade of each exhibitor or firm ; 2ud. The number of the stand ; 3rd. A plan of the galleries, showing the position of each stand, and its reference number ; also, 4th. The name, address, trade, and number of stand of each exhi- bitor or tirm on the ground floor. The reply of the Agricultural Hall Company to the Council respecting the ventilation of the Pig Hall was read. The Chairniau of the Agricultural Hall Company en- gaged to see that the matter of ventilation in the Pig Department should be seen to, and, as far as practicable, remedied. It was resolved that the Hon. Sec. be requested to in- vite the butchers' purchasing cattle at the Club Shows to send an account of the dead weights for publication, and that the name and address of each butcher complying with this request be published in conjunction with his re- turn. Authority was given for the Silver Cups, &c., to be ordered, as usual, of the Club's silversmiths, Messrs. Thomas, of Bond Street. A letter from Mr. Robert Wortley, suggesting that no animal exhibited at Birmingham should be admitted to the Club's Show was read, and the Council determined that it was too late to entertain this proposition under existing circumstances. The following were duly elected members of the Club : The Earl of Aylesford, Packington, Coventry. Jeremiah James Colmau, M.P., Carron House and Easton Lodge, Norwich. Earl Cowper. R. B. Basendale, Kimptou, Welwyn, Herts. John Seaman Postle, Smallburgh Hall, Norwich. Hedworth Barclay, Eastwick Park, Leatherhead. Charles Dorridant, Aldershott Park, Aldershott. Charles Whitehead, Barraing House, Maidstone. W. A. Hope, Wellingborough. Thomas Latham, Wittenham, Abingdon. John Pears, Mere, Lincoln. Walter Scott, Gleudrouach, Huntley, N.B. John J. L. Lubbock, Catfield Hall, Norfolk, John Gervis Sharp, Broughton, Kettering. John Carter Clayden, Barnet, Herts. Joseph Stratton, Alton Priors, Marlborough. W. de Charr, St. Stephens, Canterbury. Col. Kingscote, M.P., Kiugscote, Wootton-under-Edge, Lord Burghley, Burghley House, Stamford. James Messenger, Reading. The thanks of the meeting were voted to the Marquis of E.xeter, President, for his conduct in the chair, BATH AND WEST OF ENGLAND SOCIETY, AND SOUTHERN COUNTIES ASSOCIATION. The usual meeting of the Council was held on Tuesday, October 31st, at the White Lion Hotel, Bristol. In the absence of the Duke of Marlborough the chair was taken by Major Allen, M.P. There were also present : The Marquis of Bath ; Messrs. J. D. Allen, J. Best, J. Towusliend Boscaweu, C. Bush, R. H. Bush, Thomas Danger, A. F. Milton Druce, Charles Edwards, Mark Parrant, Henry Fookes, Jonathan Gray, J. D. Hancock, Meade King, J. E. Knollys, J. Lush, H. A. F. Luttrell, H. G. Moysey, R. Neville, Wilham Rig-den, W. B. Simonds, M.P., Arthur Thynne, J. S. Turner, H. Williams, W. Smith (Official Accountant), and J. Goodwin (Secretary and Editor) . DoKCUESTEE MEETING, 1872.— The Council resolved that this meetmg shall commence on Monday, June 3rd, and having approved the Stock and Poultry Prize Sheets, they were ordered to be forthwith printed and circulated. The amount offered in prizes exceeds that of any previous year by £145, irrespective of local premiums. For Devon, Sliorthorn, Hereford, and Susses cattle, in addition to the prizes hereto- fore offered, there is a new class for heifer calves above six and not exceeding twelve months old. For the first time, also, Jersey and Guernsey cattle are sepaiately classified. There is also a class for dairy cows. The sheep classes remain the same as last year, with the exception that Devon Long- wools take the place of Kentish sheep. As a means of encouraging the horse show the Council have resolved again to reducethe entrance- fee. In the pig classes a sepiiration betv/een black and white pigs of the small breed is introduced, the same prizes as here- tofore being offered for pigs of the large breed and Berkshires. In the Stock classes all entries must be made by the 17th of April, aud in the Poultry classes by the I3th of May. Among the special conditions affecting the exhibition of Stock are the appointment of two Inspectors to examine sheep on their admission to the show-yard with instructions to report to the Stewards any cases in which sheep have not been really and fairly shorn bare. The Council resolved henceforth to reduce the preliminary money payment required from towns where the Society's meetings are held, from £900 to £800 ; at the same time oft'ering a much larger sum in prizes. Among the new members elected was Col. Alcock, of Ennis- corthy, Ireland, h h2 50-i THE FARMER'S MAGAZmE. THE HIGHLAND AND AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY OF SCOTLAND. The first monthly meeting of the directors of this society for the season was held ou Wednesday, Nov. 1, Sir James Gardiner Baird, in the chair. Before proceeding to the husiness of the raeetin?, the Ch.urjian reported the death of Mr. Russell, Pilmuir. In referring to his connection with the society, Sir James stated that in 1856 Mr. Rasseli was named by tlie society a member of the Council ou Agricultural Education, and he held that office and acted as one of the Board of Examiners from that period till his death. Besides con- tributing various papers to the society's Transactions, he acted as editor of that publication from 1S60 to 1860. He was appointed a director of the society in 1867, and his term of ofliee would not have expired till January 187~. The society was also indebted to Mr. Russell for acting as a member of various committees. Sir James Baird then moved — " 1. That the death of Mr. Russell, Pilmuir, having been communicated to the directors of the Higiiland and Agricultural Society of Scotland, they resolved to record in the minutes tiieir deep regret for his loss, and their sense of the obligations wiiich the society owes to hira as a director and an examiner in agricultural education. 2. That the board direct that a copy of this resolution be transmitted to Mrs. Russell, with their respectful condolence with her and family under so painful a bereavement." The resolution was unanimously adopted. At a meeting of the Inspecting Committee on Implements, held at Perth during the sliow, it was resolved that the imple- ment left for them to select for special trial should be potato diggers. The following is the report by the committee : " Tiie Local Committee of Superintendence of Implements in the Showy ard of the Highland and Agricultural Society at their last exhibition at Perth having resolved to give the exhibitors of the potato diggers au opportunity for competitive trial, intimated this to all tlie exhibitors in the showyard. On Saturday, tlie 30th September, the trial came off in a field, on the farm of Hilton, near Perth, kindly granted to the com- mittee by Mr. Thomas Richmond, the tenant. The field was dry croftlaud, deep soil, and free from stones. Tiie crop of potatoes was first-class, being comparatively free from disease ; but as tiie crop had been planted after lea there was here and there a good deal of unbroken turf intermixed with the soil, which, together with the strong crop of potato tops, tested fully tlie machines exhibited, and their capabilities of working under diflieulties was fairly tried. The members of committee of Superintendence were Mr. Richmond, of Balhaldies ; Mr. Ross, Bacbilton ; Mr. Wilson, Fairiuount Villas, Pertii ; Mr. Gardiner, Chapelbank ; and Mr. Elliot, L:iighvvood. The committee, after careful examination and full consideration, were unanimously of opinion that the diggers exhibited did the work remarkably well. The machine exhibited by Law, Duncan, and Co., appeared to be more complicated, and some time was occupied in adjusting it, the work at first performed being imperfect ; it made good work, however, alter being taken aside and properly adjusted. Even if it had done its work equal to the others, the price, £1G, in the opinion of the committee, would have told much against it. Ail the other machines did their work well, insonnicli so that the com- mittee came to the conclusion that tliey ouglit not to select any individual machine for special cominendatioi!. Tlie machines exhibited by J. Bisset and Sons, James Jlollison, and James Robertson in particular, did their work remarkably well, and although the committee do not feel themselves justified in selecting any particular machine and give it precedence over tiie_ others tried, they would be pleased if the directors of the society would intimate to the exhibitors tiio approval by the committee of the machines exhibited ; and further, the com- mittee consider the directors ought to cull the attention of the public to potato diggers, as there are many districts in the country where they are comparatively unknown, and to recom- mend them for general use on the recommeudatiou of the com- mittee, as the members of committee were of opinion that the work performed by the machines exhibited was in every way superior to what could have been done by either a single or double mouldboard plough in the common way, the diggers laying the potatoes on the surface of the ground in a ready form for gathering, and taking them clean out of the soil, as very few came to the surface where a grubber was afterwards put across the land from which the potatoes had been raised. The committee, therefore, can with confidence recommend potato diggers to the public, and to all farmers who cultivate potatoes upon anything like a large scale. The machines are easily drawn, a pair of horses working them without difficulty. The directors agreed to award the medium silver medal to each of the exhibitors of potato diggers who attended the trial; and to record their thanks to the committee for carrying out the trial and for their report. Letters from Mr. Wilkin, Tinwald Downs, recommending greater encouragement for long-wooled sheep, and from Mr. Harley, Rosebauk, suggesting money premiums instead of medals for poultry, were referred to the General Show Com- mittee. At the meeting of the directors on the 1st of February last a special committee was appointed to consider and report ou the propriety of recommending the adoption of registers throughout the country. At a meeting of this committee held on the 12th of July, Mr. Irvine, of Dram, reported that the subject of hiring markets had been before the directors in 18-i9 and 18G0, when reports had been drawn up and published in the society's Transactions. The queries issued in 1860 were submitted to the committee, and after careful revision it was resolved that they should be recommended to the board to be again circulated among some of the leading farmers in each county in Scotland. The queries are as follows : 1st, How are farm servants, male and female, including those for house or dairy work, engaged in your district ? 2ud, If hiring markets exist, do they work satisfactorily, or the reverse, in the way of obtaining good servants? 3rd, Is attention paid at hiring markets to the previous character ol servants, or are they generally engaged irrespective of character ? 4th, Do country tradesmen— such as millers, smiths, wrights, &c. — en- gage servants at hiring markets, and do any other parties at- tend them for a lii^e purpose ? otii. Is it chiefly the younger class of servants who attend these markets, and are they re- garded as holidays ? 6th, Is earnest-money given when a servant is engaged, and if so, is there any disadvantage from the practice ? 7th, Are hiring markets productive, directly or indirectly, of evil in your district ? 8th, Are you of opinion th.at hiring markets are susceptible of improvement, or that they should be abolished? Uth, If susceptible of improve- ment, what means would yon employ ? lUth, If they sliould be abolished, what means would you employ, and what substi- tute would you suggest ? lltli, If servants are obtained in your district without hiring markets be pleased to specify the means, whether by a register, by certificate of character, or otherwise? 12th, Docs your system work well? 13tii, Do auy registers exist in your district, and are they much used ? 14th, Be good enough to furnish any suggestions or informa- tion not embraced in the foregoing queries. The queries were approved, and ordered to be circulated. On a report from the Finance Committee, the directors resolved to set aside £1,00U for a building fund, with the view at some future period of obtaining a more suitable iiall for the meetings of the society. A meeting of the committee in charge of the chemical department was held on the 25th of October, to report on two remits from the directors. The first was a motion made by Sir Thomas Buchan Hep- burn, " to consider how far it may be possible or desirable to prepare a short account of the present state of chemistry as applied to practical agriculture." After various explanations had been asked and given, the committee approved of the motion ; but as furtlier consideration as to the manner in which it can be carried out was deemed necessary, it was agreed to adjourn the meeting to a future day. The second remit was a motion made by Mr. Scott Skirving, l^HE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 505 Caraptoun, and liad reference to the sale of manures and feeding stuffs. The minute bears that the subject had been carefully considered by the committee, and that it had been resolved to recommend the directors to instruct Dr. Anderson to publish in the reports of the directors' meetings the names of those selling manures and feeding stuffs, with a guaranteed analysis differing materially from the analysis made by him in the laboratory. The board approved of the minute, and it was remitted to the committee to consider the discussion as to the chemical department, whicli took place at the general meeting on the 21st of June. Sir James Gardiner Baird was added to the committee. It was reported that the special committee on the improve- ment of laud had held a meeting on the 25th of October, when it was resolved to print and circulate among the members of the committee a statement on the subject by Mr. Elliot, Laighwood, and to hold another meeting in January. The Marquis of Tvvecddale invited the directors and the special committee on Steam Cultivation, to attend a trial of Ksken's apparatus which is to be in operation next week on his lordship's farm of Yester Mains. Several members of the board signified their intention of being present. A letter was read from Mr. Malcolm Macgregor, S.S C, sending an excerpt from the minute of meeting of tlie trustees of Professor Dick, containing the election of Mr. Thomas Walley, M.ll.C.V.S., Mxnchester, to the chair of Cattle Pathology in the Edinburgh Veterinary College. Tlie board approved of the appointment, and instructed the Secretary to intimate this to the agent for Professor Dick's trustees. Various communications from the Privy Council for Trade as to the stations where water should be provided for cattle sent by rail, were remitted to the special committee on the subject. It was remitted to the Committee on Office-bearers to suggest the list for 1872 ; to the Committees on District Shows and on Cottages to revise the awards for 1871, and consider the applications which have been lodged for 1872 ; and to the Committees on Premiums for Essays and Reports to read and report on the papers lodged in 1871, and to revise the Ust for 1872. PREEBOM OF CULTIVATION The following is the paper read by Mr. Ruston at Wisbeach : Perhaps there is no document extant which is regarded with so much real conservative veneration, and whose text has been so literally adhered to as the old skeleton lease, which has been so scrupulously preserved and so jealously cared for in nearly every lawyer's office, and has been handed down as a kind of lieir-loora from generation to generation. Its forniuhe and its covenants have been repeated with the most vertabira ex- actness decade after decade. It is a curious old document, heavy with age, and reverenced for its antiquity. Its style of composition drives one's thoughts back to the times of agri- cultural infancy, and its verbosity is a painfully wearying in- fliction. It contemplates no agricultural progression, its co- venants of to-day are to be the settled, unalterable obligations of the future, as they have been the sure and binding terras of the past. Tliere is an utter absence of the conception that science and practical agriculture can ever succesifuUy combine in largely augmenting the capabilities of production, but there seems the implied idea that agriculture has reached its zenith, and that the cultivation of the soil must be held in with bit and bridle, lest unrestrained liberty should result in exhaus- tion, and landlord and tenant sink in one common ruin. Now we want to look at this subject for a few minutes, just to see how far these restrictions are wise, and how far they may be advantageously relaxed. It is not our intention to discuss the merits and demerits of leases, or the advantages or disadvan- tages of yearly tenancies, with sufficient and satisfactory Tenant-Rights. Both tliese systems of hiring have thcirad- vocates and their opponents, and both have in them that which is good and that which is evil ; but in which the good, and in which the evil, most largely preponderates, I must leave to every man's individual judgment to decide. My object is rather to plead for greater liberty in cultivation, whether the hiring be for a term of years, or only from year to year. We want to break the spell and charm of these old stereotyped covenants and conditions. They have long enough, as relics of antiquity, held in captivity minds otherwise strong and enterprising, and have placed hindrances innumerable in the way of agricultural progress and advancement. Let us blot from our minds all memories of the past, and starting de novo, and taking an intelligent and thoughtful view of the present, and the probabilities of the future, seek to shape our farm agreements according thereunto. We shall then be conferring a boon alike upon owners and occupiers, and upon tlie country at large. Eor increase of production without a corresponding exhaustion of the soil must be a national blessing. With a population daily increasing, it appears of the utmost im- portance that every possible effort should be made to in- crease production in order to meet the enlarged requirements of the community. The acreage under cultivation cannot be largely increased, and the yield per acre, in many in- stances, cannot be verv considerably altered. It has heed said that the man who makes two blades of grass grow where only one grew before is to be looked upon as a public benefactor. And so he is. And we may, regarding this as the enunciation of a principle, claim a rich meed of praise for the man who by the judicious application of capital, and the skilful management of his farm, if not double, can largely increase its produce. We don't wish to say hard things of those who place impediments in the way of the successful accomplishment of so desirable a result. We rather wish to invite their attention to the evils consequent upon the restrictions imposed, and to ask their co-operation in seeking their modification or removal. There is, doubt- less, a growing conviction of the necessity of relaxing to some extent the stringency of existing covenants, and of giving more freedom and scope to enterprise and intelligent occupiers ; hence, we now and then see a breacii of cove- nant amongst the better class of tenants disregarded, and allowed to pass without remonstrance, or in familiar phrase, " winked at." We would, however, prefer seeing the ob- noxious covenants removed than their breacli unheeded. It is neither wise in principle nor sound in morals to make laws and not enforce obedience to them. It tends to en- courage coudnct which, in the abstract, we are bound to condemn, and which, if manifested in all tlie business rela- tions of life, would effectually destroy all confidence, and would consequently be an unmitigated evil. The last quarter of a century has been fruitful of such mighty changes, and such rapid agricultural development (very unlike the slow development of the jelly-fish to the monkey, and the monkey to the man), that all the relations between landlord and tenant require revision, and claim serious and immediate attention. Steam cultivation, the enormous consumption of artificial food, and the almost incredible quantities of artificial manures supplied every year to the soil, necessitate fresh rotations of crops, and altogether altered modes of industry, and call for new forms of agreement as between owners and occupiers of land. This seems to us so self-evident a fact as to be patent to every one, and to require no argument to enforce it. As we have already intimated, the yield per acre of the cereal crops grown upon a farm which is highly and adequately cultivated cannot be very considerably increased. Already the state of cultivation is such, tliat any effort to produce larger crops will, in favourable seasons, be fraught with evil, and result in loss. The increase will be in the bulk of straw, but with this there will be a corresponding decrease in the yield of grain. We need only remind you of tlie harvest of 1SG9 in proof of the correctness of this assertion. One of the greatest fears ex- perienced by the modern fanner who cultivates his land highly is that the first thunder shower in June will prostrate his luxuriant crops, and seriously reduce their money value, 506 THE FARMER" a MAGAZINE. And all tiiis because lie uses too much cake, and is too generous in liis application of his manures. What then must be done ? What is the remedy for this state of things ? Is his style of cultivation to be lowered that lie may with greater prospect of profit to himself manage his farm in harmony to those stringent and unalterable covenants under which he occupies ? Or shall those covenants be relaxed, and the privilege of taking ad- ditional and varying crops be conceded, encouraging a more free and extended, instead of a diminished and restricted, use of all those fertilizers which enrich the soil, and when applied with judgment, under right and favourable circumstances, benefit alike the owner, the occupier, and the consumer ? We say, encourage high farming, give greater freedom of cultiva- tion, and let the land everywhere teem with plenty. Make more meat, meat is dear, animals must pay for feeding now, are all utterances witlx which our ears are quite familiar. But the practical question is, how can more meat be made ? and if made, what will be the result ? To make more meat' implies the use of more oilcake and other feed- ing agents, and the extensive use of these implies greatly enriched manure, and this manure, to be a source of profit to the farmer, implies an increased acreage of money-paying cropping, which implies the removal of restrictions and in- creased liberty of cultivation. Surely it has not come to this that agriculture must quietly fold her arms— do as Lord Rus- sell said a few years ago it was our privilege as a nation to do, " rest, and be thankful." Shall the rolling tide of agri- cultural progress be stayed and dammed back because anti- quated covenants and deep-rooted prejudices render its onward flow unprofitable ? Which shall yield ? Shall progress? or shall the restraints to progress ? Shall inteUigence or preju- dice triumph ? These are questions thoughtful men are pre- senting, and are shrewdly observing what are signs of the times, that they may try to puzzle out what the answers shall be. There was a time when the idea of additional cropping was the occasion of the gravest apprehensions ; and the pos- sible, yea the probable, exhaustion of the soils was a bugbear which terrified many. But these fears are gradually subsiding, and we should rejoice to pronounce their funeral oration ; but they are not dead, only dying ; every now and then we detect signs of life. But science is making rapid strides, and day by day disclosing the futility and groundlessness of such fears, and in companionship with practice (an alliance at one time deemed incompatible) is teaching us how possible it is to in- crease production, and yet to retain the fertility of the soil. T need only refer to the experiments which are being made year byyear by Mr. Lawes, of Rotliamsted, as aa evidence of the truthfulness of this. Probably some of you may have seen these, and others may have read or heard of these ; but be this as it may, they clearly indicate what may be done, and sliow the decided advantage of high cultivation, conducted under the guidance of practical and scientific knowledge, and how surely it results in profit to the occupier, without loss to the owner. Many land agents and many landowners are intelligently and thoughtfully weighing these matters, and are preparing to en- courage and facilitate agricultural progress. We commend the subject to tlie attention of all. To say there are no diffi- culties in the way of a liberal extension of privileges is to as- sert what is not true, and to say that these difficulties are in- surmountable is, we conceive, not the less untrue. Were all tenants good farmers, and fed their lands bountifully, and cul- tivated them wisely and well, the great hindrance to increased liberty would be removed. i5ut so long as estates are encum- bered with slovenly and grasping tenants, wlio, regardless of consequences, are ever seeking to take from, and ever unwill- ing to add to the soil, allowing their cupidity and avarice to control all their operations, vainly imagining that such a sys- tem_ is to their advantage, and deluding themselves with the notion that in proportion as they impoverish the soil they en- rich themselves— we say that as" long as this state of things continues so long will there be an argument to be employed in opposing concessions so urgently needed. But the argument, however skilfully it may be used, is not a sound one. It can- not be wise to punish the good and discourage all progress, and set aside all advancemeut, and crush all spirit of enter- prise, on the ground that some are unworthy. We entertain far too high an opinion of the intelligence and ability of those who occupy a position between the owner and the occupier, a position so honourable and responsible, as to suppose that they cannot devise some way of encouraging good tenants and liigh cultivation, and of repressing and restraining the evil prac- tices of bad ones. It is not for us to assert dogmatically how and in what way this shall be accomplished. Suffice it to say we believe in its practicability and are deeply impressed with its necessity. To put the matter briefly, our position is this. It is of the utmost national importance that the land should be made to produce all that the discoveries of modern science and the most skilful practical cultivation can possibly make it yield, and that everything that prevents the realisation of this should be at once and forever removed ; that by liberal man- agement greatly increased produce may be secured without any corresponding exhaustion of the soil ; that increased pro- duction consequent upon high cultivation implies better rents to the owner, larger profits to the occupier, cheaper food to the consumer, and increased wealth to the nation ; that the main obstacle to the enjoyment of this universal good is the system on which lands are let, and the restrictions which are imposed. Wc therefore, in conclusion, plead for a full and in- telligent re-consideration of the terms on which laud is let, and their adaptation to the exigencies of the times. The speaker concluded by moving " That it is desirable that all lands should be made to yield a maximum amount of produce, having re- gard to the continued fertility of the soil, and that whatever hinders the realisation of this must be regarded as a national evil, and is opposed alike to the interests of both owner and occupier, and requires to be at once removed." MELPLAISH AaRICULTUEAL SOCIETY. MEETING AT BRIDPORT. The exhibition was one of the largest ever held under the management of the Society. For the best bull, cow, and offspring of any pure breed, there were sent some of the Devons of Mr. John Pitfield, Symondsbury, and the prize fell to the lot of that breeder. His bull, the Duke of York, is a moderate- sized well-proportioned animal, with many excellent points, and his sire and dam were first-prize winners at the Leicester show of the Royal Society. Mr. A. J. Pitfield, of Eype, showed a much larger bull than the Duke, and was the only competitor against his brother in this class. Mr. Clement Davy, of Horn Park, Beauminster, was re- presented by a Hereford, which was successful in the class for bulls irrespective of breed or age. In the dairy-cow class ani- mals were shown by four competitors, Mr. J. Pitfield again achieving an easy victory. He had the award of £2, and also received high commendation ; a cow sent by Mr. Sprake was likewise commended. Mr. John A. Smith, of Bradford Peverell, had entered ; but was not represented. For the prize offered for two-year-old heifers, Mr. J. Pitfield's Devons were in the fore, his brother Alfred being highly com- mended. Mr. T. Hussey, Denhay, Symondsbury, won the laurels for yearling lieifers, Mr. John Pitfield being highly commended. The latter, as extra stock, but not for competi- tion, showed three Devon cows ; he also sent a two-year-old cart colt, and a cob whicii had previously been a prize winner. Amongst the sheep that were penned none attracted more at- tention than those of Mr. George Miller, of Bradpole, and Mr. George Pitfield, of Netherbury, both of whom won in several classes. Mr. Robert Eooks was likewise successful in two classes, while Mr. J. S. Nichols, formerly of Melplaish, and now of Buckland, near Lymington, in Hampshire, took the prize for the best pen of Down ewes, two, four, and six teeth. Downs are not great favourites iu the Bridport district ; but Mr. Nichols' have size, symmetry, and purity of breed. Mr. John Pope, of Symondsbury, also showed some prime Downs. There was a good collection of pigs ; indeed, this section had never been surpassed at any previous show of the Society. Mr. Walden, of Came, showed in the sowpig class, and two of his were the pick of the entry ; but the third spoilt their chance, the prize consequently going to Mr. Thomas Hussey. Mr. John Davey, of Yondover, gained the award offered by Sir Molyneux Nepean, doing so against considerable competition. A pig of the Fisher Hobbs' breed, sent by Mr. J. S. Nichols, was much fancied, and Mr. William Manfield, of Portisham, was also one of the prize winners. Tiie hunters mustered half-a-dozen in all, Mr, N. i\L Loggin winning the prize. THE FAEMl'lE'S MAGAZINE. 507 THE GREASLEY AND SELSTON AGEI- CULTURAL SOCIETY, In some of the classes tlie entries were not so numerous as might have been anticipated ; but the absence of stock from some farms was attributed to a fear of the foot-and-mouth disease. As far as the animals shown were concerned, how- ever, they were noticeable for their healthy appearance and condition. PRIZE LIST. HOKSES. Horse adapted for hunting purposes — First prize, £5, Mr. Pidcock, Nottingham ; second, £2, S. T. Jackson, Watnall. Hack or roadster. — First prize, James Widdovvsoa, Huck- nall; second, S. T. Jackson, Watnall. Cart mare, with foal at foot. — First prize, Mr. Annable, Watnall ; second. Barber, Walker, and Co. Cart foal. — First prize. Barber, Walker, and Co. ; second, H. Allcock, Linby. Two years old cart gelding or filly. — First and second prizes, E. Godber, Hucknall Yearling cai t gelding or fiUy. — First prize, Barber, Walker, and Co. ; second, H. Allcock. Mare or gelding adapted to agricultural purposes. — First and second prizes, E. Godber. CATTLE. Cow in milk, that has had a ca'f since April 1st. — First and second prizes, J. C. Musters, Annesley Hall. Highly commended : Mr. Winson, Watnall ; H. Allcock. In-calf cow. — First prize, H, Allcock; second, T. Atten- borough, Moorgreen. Heifer under three years of age, calved or in calf. — First and second prizes, H. Allcock. Beast under two years, — First prize, T. AUcock ; second, H. Allcock. Beast under one year old. — First prize, H. Allcock ; second, Mr. Chambers, Watnall. Bull, two years old and upwards. — First prize, J. Widdow- son ; second, H. AUcock. Bull, under two years old. — Prize, 'J. C. Musters (nine months). SHEEP. Three long woolled ewes, haviug reared a lamb. — First and second prizes, H. Allcock. Three long woolled theaves, having reared a lamb. — First and second prizes, H. Allcock. Five longwooUed ewe or wether lambs. — First and second prize. H. Allcock. Long woolled ram, of any age above a shearling. — Prize, Mr. Winson, Watnall. Long woolled shearling ram. — Prize, Mr, Annable, Watnall. Long woolled ram lamb. — First and second prizes, Mr. Evans, Moorgreen. Short woolled ram, of any age. — First prize, Mr. Mellovvs, Papplewick ; second, J. C. Musters. Three short woolled ewes, having reared a lamb. — First and second prizes, Mr. Mellows. Three short woolled theaves. — First and second prizes, Mr. Mellows. Five short woolled ewe or wether lambs. — No award. PIGS. Boar. — Erst prize, J. C. Musters ; second, Mr, Porter, Hucknall. Breeding sow, pigged or in pig. — First prize, Mr. Brad- bury, Nuttall ; second, H. Allcock. Gilt. — Prize, J. C. Musters. ROOTS. Crop of Swedish turnips, four acres and upwards. — First prize, Mr. Bonser, Bobber's Mill: second, W. Banner, Watnall. Crop of Swedish turnips, one acre and under four. — No award. Crop of mangold wurtzel, three acres and upwards. — Rrst prize, Mr. Bonser ; second, Mr. Reek, Nuttall. Crop of mangold wurtzel, one acre and under three. — First prize, T. Allcock ; second, W. Houghton, Nuttall. EXTRA STOCK. Two heifers.— Highly commended : Mr. Widdowaon. THE MONMOUTH AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. PRIZE LIST. HORSES, Entire cart horse. — Prize, £5, no entry. Cart mare and foal.— Prize, £3, T. Derrett, Mardy, Usk. Three years old cart colt or filly.— Prize, £3, T. Derrett. Two years old cart colt or filly.— Prize, £3, H. Williams, Llandenny. Yearling cart colt or filly.— Prize, £3, 1. Theyer, Walford. Entire horse calculated to produce hunters and chargers.— Prize, £5, T. C. Hallen, Raglan, Wolsey. Brood nag mare iu-foal, or with foal at foot. — ^Prize, £3, W. Powell, Blackwood. Three years old uag, colt or filly.— Prize, £3, T. P. Brown, Weirend. Two years old nag, colt or filly. — ^Prize, £3, T. P. Brown. Yearling nag, colt or filly. — Prize, £3, W. Powell. CATTLE. HEREFORDS. Stock bull, two years old and upwards. — Prize, £5, W. Evans, Llandowlas (Monauglity 3rd). Yearling bull. — Prize, £3, J. James, Amberley. Bull calf under twelve months old, — Prize, £3, J. Hayncs, Llanrothal. Pair of cows in-milk, or within three months of calving. — Prize, £3, J. James, Amberley. Pair of two years old heifer. — Prize, £3, T. P. Brown. Pair of 3'earling heifers. — Prize, £3, W. Evans. SnORTHOK^S. Bulls two years old and upwards. — Prize, £5, J. A. Rolls, The Hendre. Yearling bull. — Prize, £3, no entry. Pair of cows in-milk, or within three months of calving.— Prize, £3, J. A. Rolls. Pair of two years old heifers. — Prize, £3, J. A. Rolls. Pair of yearling heifers. — Prize, £3, J. A. Tippins, Rock- field. Bull, cow, and offspring, the calf to be under twelve months old at the time of exhibiting. — Prize, £5, W. Evans (Here- fords). Pair of two years old steers. — First prize, £2, J. James, Amberley ; second, £1, not awarded. Pair of yearling steers. — First prize, £2, W. Evans; second, £1, not awarded. SHEEP. (Short-wools, including cross breeds.) Pen of four yearling wethers.— Prize, £3, A. Armitage, Dadnor. Pen of four wether lambs. — Prize, £3, J. B. Sainsbury, Highgrove. Pen of four ewe lamb.— First prize, £3, A. Armitage ; se- cond, £1, not awarded. Pen of four yearling ewes.— First prize, £3, A. Armitage ; second, £1, J. B. Sainsbury. Pen of four breeding ewes.— First prize, £3, N. G. Price, Llancillo ; second, £1, A. Armitage. Ram.— Prize, £3, C. J. Smith, Bryant's Court. (Long-wools, including cross breeds.) Pen of four yearling wethers. — Prize, £3, no entry. Pen of foar wether lambs. — First prize, £3, W. Brown, Lewston ; second, £1, not awarded. Pen of four ewe lambs. — First prize, £3, W. Brown ; second, £1, not awarded. Pen of four yearling ewes. — Prize, £3, C. Kearsey, Glew- ston. Pen of four breeding ewes. — First prize, £3, I. Theyer ; second, £1, C. Kearsey. Ram.— Prize, £3, C. Kearsey. PIGS. Boar under two years old. — Prize, £3, C. Kearsey. Breeding sow and litter of pigs, the latter to be under thres months old. — Prize, £3, J. B. Sainsbury. Breeding sow in farrow. — Prize, £3, J. A. Roll!', 508 THE FAEMEK'S MAGAZIIsE. AN AMEEICAN AGEICULTUEAL SHOW. TO THE EDITOK. Sin, — -I have some recollection of reading in T/ie Mark Lane B.rpress some eighteen months or two years ago an interesting description of a Canadian farm in the jjossession of a Mr. Brown, and was much pleased with the account, at the same time regretting that American agriculture was not more frequently discussed in the English Papers, knowing it to be generally interesting to the farmer. Since that time I have read a lecture delivered before the Farmers' Club by Mr. James Hovrard, M.P., descriptive of things in America, which everyone, and especially tenant farmers, ought to read. I was far from thinking at that time that I should one day parti- cipate in the pleasure of seeing a little of American agriculture as it is, and attending one of its shows ; but the opportunity has since presented itself, and having been pleased with what I have seen I resolved to write a description, as far as lay in ray power, for the benefit of friends in England, knowing it would be interesting to them. On reflection I concluded to send you a brief account, asking you to kindly publish it ia your next issue of The Mark Lane Express, at the same lime I regret iny inability of writing a very elaborate description of things at the show, on account of having no papers or catalogues as a guide. The city of Cleveland, in which this show was held, is situated on the river Curgahoga and shores of Lake Eric, numbers one hundred thousand inhabitauts, and does an immense manufacturing business in iron and other goods, also oil rchning, thousands of barrels coming weekly from the State of Pennsylvania for thai purpose. It possesses numerous lumber yards, vessels being solely employed in conveying lumber from the Saginaw District, State of Michigan, to the city. Railway companies run trains from all parts of the United States to one depot ; hence it possesses great facilities for trading with all districts. The ground on which this annual show is held was bought by a company styling itself the Northern Ohio Pair Association, at the rate of one hundred dollars per acre, and consists of, I believe, about one hundred and fifty acres. A part is laid out as a race-course, one mile iu circumference, with grand stands and stables, situate on one side of the St. Clair-street, but connected by a bridge with the show grounds. The lirst show took place in October of last year, and although the weather was very unfavourable it was well attended, and the scheme seemed to be a successful one. Tuesday, September 12lh, was the first day of the show this year, and the following morning promising a favourabe day, I started for the grouuds, wilh a three- quarters of an hour's walk before me. I was able to shorten my journey I afterwards found by crossing lots ; and having no apprehension of being overhauled or molested by game-keepers or police on suspicion of tresspasiug in pursuit of birds or vermin, I availed my- self of the privilege, and after emerging upon the St. Clair-street, and wading through a sea of sand and dust, I reached the gates, paid down my half-dollar greenback, and procured my ticket and admission. And here I encoun- tered a strange medley of sights and sounds. From one side could be heard the clanging of hammers ; from another the noise of hand organs ; showmen, who rented places on the ground, used their lungs as if they were to be employed no more ; and organists ground the'ir organs as if fearing that all the music would eke out o f them if one note did not tread rapidly on the heels of the other; cocks crowed from the poultry department, ducks quacked, sheep bleated, cattle lowed, horses neighed, donkeys brayed, pigs grunted, steam engines whistled, the machinery groaned, a few children bawled, and occa- sionally the police united their stentorian voices with the wild discord. There appeared to be everything to excite the attention of the visitor, and as the day advanced I found the crowd increase, and the medley grow more interesting. The first sight which attracted my attention whilst strolling down the avenue was the fire engine, horses, and hose cart ; the latter is a kind of windlass mounted on wheels, round which the hose is secured, and which, drawn by one horse, accompanies the engine. This steam tire engine, of elegant workmanship, was despatched from the city as a remedy in case of fire, and as it glittered in the morning sun it certainly resembled a massive piece of plate for brilliancy, being construeled of burnished steel, brass, and copper. I may as well add, that in American cities the fire department is conducted admirably, alarm boxes being placed iu every locality, from which alarms by the aid of electricity is sent to the tire engine stations immediately a fire breaks out. Passing ou I came to the poultry department, and here found over one hundred coo])s, tilled with cocks, hens, geese, and goblers, that kept up a continuous noise, making the woods resound with their shrill voices. Mr. Ford, of Ravenna, Ohia, a noted fancier, had the largest collection of poultry on exhibition, composed principally of light and dark Brahmas, Dorkings, Black Spanish, Silver Spangled llamburghs, Japanese Bantams, and many varieties of Polands. There were also several coops of Rouen and Bremen geese, Aylesbury ducks, and other imported breeds, and a pair of English ferrets — a curiosity generally unknown here. I next observed, a short distance from the poultry dcpartme.it, a number of bulls, which had been lead out and hitched to the trees, undergoing their accustomed morning ablution, a certain amouiit of sponging and combing, which produced a refreshing ell'ect, which they ajiparcutly enjoyed. I regretted very much to find that the arrangements in the stock department were imcomplete, the cattle stand- ing in the pens without any certificate of ownership, breed, age, or weight ; the only information attainable being the ominous word " taken," chalked on the boards, having reference, I presume, to the reservation of pens. The breeds were principally Shorthorns and Ilerefords, some of these very fine, with a good sprinkling of Ayrshire, Sussex, and Dcvons, and also some good cross-breds. The Shorthorn and Hereford bulls called forth admi- ration, and two Shorthorn steers (weighing 3,0001bs. each) were universally admired. The fat stock were very credita- ble, some heifers in particular, which would stand a chance at Smithtield next December. The cattle were mostly clothed up to protect them from the attacks of trouble- some files, and produced the eflcct of perfect ease and comfort, and freedom from restlessness. On turning to where the pigs were on exhibition, I was amused some- what on beholding a ])ig being groomed by a coloured-boy, and, judging from the contented grunts and comic grins, the performance appeared gratifying to both jjarties, pig and nigger too. The breeds of pigs were principally Berk- shire, Poland, and China, and cross-breds, some from Indiana being well worth seeing. The sheep were mostly THE FAEMER'S MAaA^INE. mo all horned breeds, with the exception of some imported ; among the latter were some apparent West Country downs and weighty Southdowns. It was my impression before coming to America to find no good stoclv here, but have since found that the generality of stock and cows resem- ble those in England for weight and size, and I have had during my sojourn here opportunities of seeing some great big-framed working cattle, which if fatted as in England would turn the scales with a heavy vengeance. Commonly pigs in this locality are white-haired breeds. i sincerely hope that as the Northern Ohio Fair Associ- ation get into better working order, they will have all lists, certificates, and catalogues made out by the second day of the show as at the Smithfield, and other of the Old Country meetings. Proceeding to the machinery depart- ment I eucouutered an apparent iuferu;il machine mounted on wheels, and designated a road-steamer. It was built at Paiuesville, Ohio, situated 30 miles from Cleveland, from which plrce it had arrived the preceding day, doing the distance in seven hours. There is just cause I fear to attach the epithet of " infernal machine" to American boilers, judging from the numerous recent boiler catastrophes, prominent among them being that of the ill-fated steamer Wcstfield of New York, when nearly one hundred lives vvere sacrificed. The majority of the boilers at the show, I observed, were leaking more or less, one especially at the base of the steam dome, and at several rivets. The road steamer was also bubbling away at the junction of the fire-box with the boiler, the engineer an patentee coolly remarking it could easily be remedied, by tlie ajjplication of a caulking iron. There may not be anything serious in these leakings, but as I before observed the frequency of boiler blow-ups produce a different opinion and confirm the belief that proper care is not taken in their construction. To return to the road- steamer : it was a locomotive boiler placed on four wooden wheels of about 8 ft diameter, the two nearest the fire-box beiug the steering wheels, managed by a com- plicated contrivance, and so arranged that the man at the wheel sat with his back to the direction the engine was going. The propelling power was obtained by means of a leathern belt running from the fly-wheel to the pulley-wheel on a shaft secured to the carrying gear and immediately in front of the smoke-box door. At the extremities of this sliaft were cog-wheels, acting in a circular cogged-rack ])laced in the inside of the felloe of the earring wheels ; there was also a contrivance for transmitting power from the main-shaft to the driving shaft by means of endless chain and studded wheels, on the same principle as Green's lawn-mower, but owing to the breaking of this chain, whilst in motion, a young man had received serious injury in the arm, and the appliance had lost favour, being used only in wet weather. The engineer was stationed on a platform fixed between the fore and hind wheels, his lever of reversing gear being secured to the side of the boiler in a horizontal position, working in a slide, and secured in its required position by a common thumbscrew — rather a temporary arrangement. The engineer informed me it was used principally for thrashing, but generally competent to do farm-work, ploughing in- cluded, by attaching ploughs behind it. It could propel ifself up any hill or on any road, where a Yankee team (two horses) could draw 15 or 20cwt. Price of engine complete 1,500 dollar*. AYhilst looking on, I mused on the jirobable results of a competitive trial with one of Messrs. Aveling and Porter's or Garrett's traction engines, and was interrupted in my train of thought by hearing a young man exclaim, " I say, mister, will your machine catch bugs '?" and receive an answer that it did not possess the ability of catching them, butprobably might be the means of destroying them after being taken. The inquiry uttered in so hurried and unexpected a manner produced a laugh, but we were immediately assured he was perfectly in earnest, having just inspected an invention for removing the bugs which infest the potato vine commonly kno vu as the Colorado bugs, which of late years have been crossing the continent of America in an easterly direction at an annual rate of GO miles. I afterwards examined this machine, a patented invention, and was convinced of its utility for the designed purpose. It consisted of two pans slung between two wheels, which was pushed between two rows of potatoes, causing a pan to be on each side of a single row. A fiat brush was attached to the frame of this machine, i-eceiving an oscillating motion by means of a belt worked by one of the carrying wheels to a small pulley. The motion of the brush would certainly have a tendency to remove any insects on the potato haulm, providing it stood erect ; and it appeared impossible for the bugs to fall otherwise than into the pans. It requiied little ex- ertion to propel it. After leaving the road steamer, I inspected an engine and machine in motion, manufactured by Gaar, Scott, and Co., Richmond, Indiana. The barn works, consisting of thrashing machine and elevator com- bined, was considerably smaller and lighter than an English machine, and was working well. The distance between the engine and machine was three times as much as I have been accustomed to see in England, the belt driven crossed and so slack that it nearly touched the ground, the length of belt. T presume, making up for slackness, and producing sufficient tension on the wheels. The engine, said to be ten-horse power, apparently five or six, was very w^ell got up, the cylinder being stationed on the right, and completely on the side of the boiler, and the shaft across the front of the smoke-box end and door, where a seat and foot-board was also fixed for the convenience of the teamster, the horses being driven with reins and in double harness. In referring to their cata- logue of machines, I find they give a series of letters from dilferent States. One man says in writing from Jlontana territory, in 58 days they got out 34,000 bushels of grain, principally wheat, and on one occasion in nine hours 1,105 bushels ; another writing from Shenandoah Valley, Vir- ginia, states that in the season, ending November 29, 1869, they had thrashed 26,000 bushels of wheat and 4,590 bushels of oats. An extract from an Albany agri- cultural paper notifies that an eye-witness timed the men without their knowledge, and found that in one minute they thrashed 2 bushels and three pecks of grain, well cleaned and ready for market. In writing from McLean County, Illinois, a person states that in one day they thrashed over 1,000 bushels of wheat. Letters from other States speak strongly in its favour also. Pi'icc of engine and machine, 1,700 dollars. A gentleman standing by said, " I remember when wc used to cut our grain with the sickle, and paid half a-dollar a-day, but when the cradle came up they all said the woi-king man would be ruined, and then when machines were invented they all taid, it would raise the devil, and so it has, I think, for you can't get a man under two dollars a-day now." I next proceeded to the legion of mowers and reapers on view, and could but think that a purchaser would be similarly circumstanced to the boy in the cook shop, who found himself among so many delicacies, aud hesitating which to begin first. It is certainly a hard matter to tell which is the best machine, each one possessing good points in various parts, and in fact, in some instances, the advan- tages possessed by one machine over another is often very trifling. Some claim to be the lightest in draught, another strength and durability, whilst another maker insinuates that it is impossible for any machine to compete with his for general capabilities and superior workmanship. I noticed that every machine had excellent arrangements for passing obstructions, as stumps and stones, and it was 510 THE FARMER'S MAGAZEN'E. very remarkable the pitch to which the knife-plate could be elevated, the kuife being in motion at the same time. I have had opportunities this summer of seeing the "Buckeye" mower at work, and am con\auced a better kind of machine for all kinds of ground cannot be desired; it is strongly put together, well arranged in detail, and does its work well. It has had trials afforded for testing its mettle, having been frequently run into stumps, and the shock resulting has been sufficient to fetch the horses off their legs, and all this without serious injury. I was struck with the novelty of a machine on exhibitiou, named the Eureka, manufactured at Ploughkeepsie, New York State, which presented the singularity of having the knife-plate directly between the two carrying-wheels, the extremities of the plate resting on two small wheels, the knife being worked by a capital arrangement on the prin- cinciple of the excentric. This machine lays claim to ab- solute direct draught, can cut anywhere where two horses can walk, and with a 5 feet bar with greater ease than a i^ feet on an ordinary side-cut machine ; one horse only walks in the standing grass, a long neck yoke and whip- pletree being used, and the grass which has been trodden down on one bout is cut on the return, the other horse being on the cleared track. It is worthy of notice that the position of the grass after being cut by this machine is almost erect, and consequently dries in a very short time. Persons from all parts of the States who have tried it, speak in its praise as an excellent machine. There were large collections of ploughs and harrows and other tilling implements on exhibitions, also some good seed-drills : one especially I noticed as superior to any I have seen here or in England. The grain was worked by an ingenious contrivance, consisting of fluted wheels worked by a rod, which distributed it with the greatest precision and re- gularity. A tool for digging post-holes was also to be seen and experimented with. The digging part was a steel cylinder 8 inches in length, and, I think, about 6 inches diameter. Down this cylinder or scroll was an opening to allow of expansion whilst being struck into the ground, a long handle being fixed at one end. One hand only is necessary for working this tool, as it freely cuts its way into light sandy ground free from stones, and the dirt rising into the inside of this spring cylinder is held tight in the same, and is brought to the surface, when a jarring tap causes it to drop out. There was also a good display of waggons, very different from those in England. The Yankeewaggonisdrawuby two horsesabreast,andlhe carrj"- ing gear is of similar construction to the English timber carriage, but of course very much smaller. For carrying dirt, stones, &c., dumping boards are used : these consist of a number of boards two inches by four inches in thick- ness (handled at the ends), which form the bottom ; for the sides, boards about one foot to IG inches in width, and end boards the same. AVhen the load is to be de- posited on the ground the end boards are removed, and the dumper and teamster remove the bottom ones in rotation, and the load drops through. If manure is to be loaded on the waggon the dumping boards are taken off, and a box is fitted on in their place. A team numbers two horses. One person, who is the teamster, looks after and drives them ; the Jiarness is similar to the English double, and no matter what the load is, the driver always rides. I must not forget to mention that for the purpose of carrying hay, straw, kc, a frame or rack takes the place of the box or dumping boards : there were to be seen excellent designs for dumping waggons. After viewing other things out of doors, too numerous to men- tion, I entered the power hall, and inspected numerous grist mills, aud other machines at work. There were also inventions for soap aud paint mixing, tapping nuts, aud ornamental wood cutting, all in motion. Near this building was the temporary printing establishment of the Clecelandj Leader newspaper, whose presses at the time of my visiting them were engaged in printing circulars and cards, and also an apparent sheet of theii" issue, which were gratuitously distributed, but which on inspection proved to contain but little more than advertisements, with a brief notice that the fair was open and the weather was fav'ourable — an assertion by no means false, judging from the appearance of the grounds. There was also a small paragraph respecting a rival newspaper, the Cleve- land Herald, which read as follows : " AH day Sunday the full force of the Herald printing establishment was employed in erecting a striped umbrella on the fair grounds, under which the office has to be exhibited. On Monday the establishment was brought out on a wheel- barrow from the city, and on the evening it was ready for exhibition. Visitors are requested to inspect it this morning if it has not been stolen away during the night." So much for Yankee literary rivalry. Near to thisbuUding was the telegrai)h office; alsothefruit hall, containing speci- mens of apples, grapes, and peaches in abundance. The floral hall also contained sights worth seeing, splendidfoliage plants, trees, ferns, &c., being on exhibition. There were also other buildings, containing works of art aud science, all intensely intei-esting to the visitor. In the afternoon the trotting matches took place. And now I must di'aw this to a close. I regret that I have no better informa- tion to forward you, but hope to have the opportunity on a future day. It would be useless to do more than allude to the probable results of these shows on American agri- culture ; doubtless they will promote a superior system of farming, a greater attention to the rotation of crops, and less slovenly habits, so characteristic of the American farmer. He will profit immensely by being brought into contact with men of science aud iugenuity, and also by seeing new methods and ideas of doing things, and the comparison of the results with those they have been accustomed to, will have a tendency to promote a greater methodical arrangement, so requisite in succesful farming. Before concluding I would say to all tenant-farmers not well fixed, who have long been hoping for better things — " Come Westward ;" listen no longer to the talk about game-law compromises, Tenant-Kight compensa- tion, &c. Your choice here is an extensive one, for mil- lions of acres are requiring cultivators. Become pos- sessors of your own free lots, and thereby make provision for approaching old age. Entitle yonr children, as citizens of the United States, to become freeholders and future landed proprietors. Hemember that every five years of your tenancy you have been paying a rental sufficient to purchase a good farm here. Your rates, taxes, tithes, &c., might have assisted you in purchasing stock, which would have consumed the produce devoui'ed aud destroyed by your landlord's vermin, and your crops have been con- tinually blighted, owing to the presence of wide-spreading hedgerows and worthless, unsightly timber, which you dare not aud your landlord will not remove. Here is perfect freedom, Tenant-Kight, and no game-laws. Taxes amount to a nonentity, and no intriguing, avaricious, semi-clerical landlord questions the right of propriety of a tenant-farmer eujoying his roast turkey dinner, or listening to his daughter's perfoimances ou the piano. In the wise orderings of Providence, America with its millions of acres of fertile plains, its richly watered val- leys, aud timber-growing districts, its mines of wealth, was discovered to man at a time when greatly needed, aud became peopled by the most ingenious, enlightened, and persevering of the Anglo-Saxon race. And now the country, after 250 years of steady progress, numbers 40 millions of inhabitants, and, owing to its fertility aud THi: FAEMER'S IMAGAZIKE. 511 enterprise, has become the great corn-producing country of the world. Nations may learn whilst studying America that true greatness and glory cannot be established by force of arms and territorial aggrandisement ; it is only by founding their Governments oa the lasting basis of free- dom, peace, trulh, and justice, in the defence of which the sons of this free and highly favoured country would sacrifice all they possess, and if needs be their lives also. I am yours, &c., Wm. a. Underwood. Hast Cleveland, Ohio. THE LAMB DISEASE A large number of agriculturists belonging to Devon and Cornwall met together at the Plymouth Guildhall to take into consideration the lamb disease. The Chairman, Sir Massey Lopes, Bart., M.P.,*in opening the proceedings, pointed out that the object for which they were assembled together was one of considerable importance ; it concerned not only the interests of agriculturists, but equally those of the community at large, because they must all agree that when a disease prevailed amongst their cattle and sheep it must enhance the price of meat. Therefore there was not a single man oi woman in the country who was not in a large degree interested in at all events preventing, if possible, a re- currence ot this as well as other diseases, which he was sorry to say were now raging throughout the country. They liad met there to consider more particularly the lamb disease, but he could not help saying just a woid or two with reference to two other diseases which were now rapidly spreading. It was a serious fact that the foot-and-mouth disease at this moment existed in no less than 73 British counties, and he had been informed oilicially that at the present time there were 25,000 cattle suffering from it. This was a very serious matter, and required that the most careful attention should be paid to it. They all knew that pleuro-pneumonia and the foot-and-mouth disease had been imported into this country by foreign cattle, and he strongly felt, as he always had done, that Government had not been sufficiently alive to the iujuries and dangers that were inflicted upon agriculturists by these two diseases. Fur- thermore, he was of opinion that every head of cattle imported into this country should be slauglitered at tlie port of entry, and he looked upon the twelve hours' system of inspection to be a humbug, a delusion, and affording no security whatever. Lamb disease was not, however, an imported disease. It had existed in the districts throughout Devon and Cornwall, more or less, for many years past, and he thought they had very properly met together to give it their consideration, and he sincerely trusted that they would arrive at some practical result. They should consider the cause of the disease, and the 'preventive measures which were most likely to avoid a recurrence of it, and seek to obtain information as to treatment. Years ago some Cornish agriculturists subscribed together and gave £30 for the best essay on lamb disease. The prize was taken by Dr. Crisp, whose opinion was that it arose from parasites in the lungs, and recommended good and generous diet as a pre- ventive. Mr. Crisp further thought the turning of lambs into clover or coarse grass when dews were upon it was very likely to bring about the complaint, and that the disease was in some measure owing to the land being overstocked with sheep, to the exclusion of other kinds of cattle. Mr. Tucker (Molenick, St. Germans) read a short paper ou the disease in which he said that it was not infectious, or in- digenous to the laud. There was no doubt tliat the disease had prevailed in tlie country from time immemorial, appearing in the same form, and as fatal as at present. With every August came the disease. Greater loss has been sustained in Cornwall from it than from any other disease combined to which sheep were hable. The highest authorities were agreed that it was a parasitic disease. Through these parasites the lungs were prevented from oxidising the blood ; hence great debility, and always diarrhoea before death, this being the effect of debility. He knew of no means of removing these parasites with safety to the ]ife of the animal. But he believed ranch could be done by preventive means. One great mystery of the disease was, that while on one farm it was known, on a farm with tlie same soil it was not known. This was proof that it had its origin in some local cause, and he believed that lamb were annually liable to it when fed on certain pastures, and that a single field or a small portion of land often diseased a large flock. Experience pointed to old and broken laud, especially where the pasture was coarse from want of drainage. Here tliey wanted science to distinguish between healthy aud un- healthy pastures, and if such could be done it would be a great boon to the farmers of this country. If tiiey took their lambs entirely off pasture land, he thouglit they would hear very little of this disease. Mr. BiCKTORD (Veterinary Surgeon, Totnes) followed with a short paper also, agreeing that prevention of the disease should be their first object. But he must confess that the measures just recommended would not, at all times, avert these calamities. Each season seemed to give birth to its special disease among their domesticated animals ; but while foot-and-mouth disease, pneumonia, and cattle plague were eminently infectious, the disease among lambs was neither one nor the other, but a parasitic disease. The effect of the disease was a direct loss of blood, reduction of vital action, and an insufficient conversion of food into blood for the repairs of the body. He was certain that the disease would not be so widespread as it is were it not for the great antipathy far- mers had to administer medicine to their flocks. As a rule, sheep were most unsatisfactory patients, due in a great mea- sure to the character of the disease which generally prevailed amongst them, and the resistance they usually offered to its effects ; but the prevailing disease among lambs was a specific disease, which could be rendered perfectly harmless if treated at the outset by a specific remedy. This he impressed strongly upon them. Parasites were undoubtedly taken in with food. If- veterinary surgeons received more encouragement from agriculturists there would not be so much loss of Mfe among our domesticated animals as at present. Tliere was a remedy to this disease. Mr. Page was disappointed with the papers read because they gave them no specific remedy. His remedy would be to leave the disease to Motlier Nature. They must invigorate the system as far as possible, and let the lambs run along with the ewes till August, after weaning. If they did this, he was certain the lambs v/ould be well. Mr. Pratt thought the disease arose from the absence in the soil of tire necessary constituents to keep up a healthy system and healthy constittuion in the lamb. Their object should be to supply tlie deficiency. It was too much the lule to have a disproportionate amount of sheep compared with the liorned cattle. They sliould also plough, use lime freely, and largely admixture grasses, and import a little new blood from the mountains. He knew Dartmoor sheep would not pay, but they should be obtained in order to renew the blood. Field rape would be a most valuable auxihary in the beginning of August. In allowing sheep to eat a crop after sheep, he believed farmers were doing themselves a great mischief. He proposed a resolution embodying these views. Mr. Dewdney could not agree with Mr. Tucker that new pasture was tiie best thing for sheep. He had not lost a lamb in the old pasture. Mr. SowuEN had always found his flocks thrive better on new pasture. He frequently changed his sheep. It they had rich lambs they should be careful not to allow them to remain in low ground in foggy weather. While vvith ewes they should give lambs artificial food, and when they saw anything the matter with them they should apply a remedy at once. Mr. CouLTON (Buckfastleigh) thought the disease very insidious. Tlie dry season had sometliing to do witli it. He believed tlie lambs were not lioru in their usual healthy state. He had taken a great deal of trouble, and had gone to consi- derable expense, to falhom the disease, but could not. It 612 THE FAEMER'S IMAGAZINE. affected the consumer, and very much concerned the pocket of the fanner. It was a sort of consumptive disorder in the system. To find out the cause of the disease they must look to the breeding animal. The Chairmax pointed out that Mr. Bickford had said he knew of a remedy, aud asked that gentleman if he could, con- sistently with his professional duties, tell them of the remedy, but this Mr. Bickford respectfully declined to do. Mr. Snell, who said he had a farm in East Cornwall, accounted one of the worst in the county, and had never lost a Iamb from this disease, changed diet frequently, sometimes giving the lambs a day in an arish field, a day in clover, and a day in pasture. Mr. Neiiemiau Stephens believed he had rid the last mentioned farm, which he had before inhabited, of this disease, having sold all the fat lambs off the farm, and thus getting rid of the seeds of the disease. Every gentleman had failed to convince him that he knew either one or the other remedy. If Mr. Bickford had found out a specific remedy, he had no occasion to study any other branch of the veterinary profession. If he did know a remedy he was cleverer than the profession generally. He had changed lambs as often as most other men. He had tended them so that no other man could tend them better. Had given them every kind of food, and had intro- duced the different kinds of grass — had tried mustard, rape, white turnips, everything he tliought would be beneficial to tlie lambs — and yet he had failed either to prevent or cure. By generous diet lie had waded them through the disease, but they had so depreciated in value that it was just as well in a pecuniary point of view they had died. As regarded overstock- ing, he would rather overstock with bullocks than sheep. He had imported fresii breeds of sheep, but to no good purpose. Mr. RosEVEAKE advocated constant change. Mr. Thomas, veterinary surgeon, had found chlorine gas the best remedy. This, Mr. Stephens said, he had tried, hut not successfully ; whereupon Mr. Thomas said it ought to be applied by surgeons. The CiiAiRMAX here suggested that the matter should stand adjourned until the nest meeting of the Devon Cham- ber of Agriculture, which was agreed upon. ECHOES FROM THE AUTUMN MEETINGS. BEDFORDSHIRE. At Bedford, Mr. Crouch, the Chairman, said Societies of this kind had done a very great deal of good during the present century, and even within the last fifty years agriculture had ad- vanced with gigantic strides, whether with regard to the culti- vation of the soil or the breeding and rearing of fat stock. To the success of agriculture was mainly owing the great ad- vancement of this country, for without agriculture no com- mercial pursuits would flourish. Some 25 yearsago it was said in the House of Commons bv a few men of extreme views — Mr. Hume, he thouglit, among the rest — that they should not be sorry to live to see the day when not a blade of grass would be grown in the country, for we could get our supplies im- ported, and the country could be turned into better account than by adhering to agricultural pursuits. That idea has long been exploded. If a bad harvest took place here its effect ex- tended to Europe and America, and the success of our harvest was watched with very great interest, not only at home, but in every corner of every country abroad. The production of meat, however, was quite as important, if not more important, than the growth of corn. At present the price of meat was extravagant, as far as the consumer was concerned, but the demand for it was very great, and so long as the commercial community and our great manufacturing interests flourished that demand would continue, and meat would hold at com- paratively high prices. We were suffering now from cattle diseases which were brought here from abroad, but it was to be hoped that in the course of time some way would be estab- lished by which these foreign animals might be slaughtered on their arrival, and go into consumption without contaminating our herds ; but it was a difficult question. His own opinion was that the restrictions in reference to the foot-and-mouth disease were carried to too great an extent. The harvest of this year was not a very successful one, but in this neighbourhood we should have an average crop, and the farmers hoped they would obtain remunerative prices. The success of the agriculture of this country was a question quite as important to the consu- mers as it was to the producers, and he thought the latter was rather haraly used when they were spoken of as a selfish set of men, although it must be confessed they grumbled a little oc- casionally. He had been a guardian for 1-2 or 1-i years, and when he accepted that appointment he did so with the intention of fulfilling its duties as well as he could. It was a very diffi- cult thing to administer the Toor Law, and he was afraid that we were now drifting again into pauperism. He did not think that ought to be the case. Looking at the prosperity of the country, he thought the out-door relief, especially of the able- bodied and those suffering from illness, should be reduced in- stead of being increased. Eiom the reports of the various "Unions of England during the year, it appeared that there was an increase instead of a decrease, and he felt that ought not to be. Although our feelings might lead us to give relief in doubtful cases, still he thought we must be more strict in carrying out the rules and regulations of the Poor Law Board. When a man once received relief as a pauper he soon lost that sense of self-reliance which should be the first feeling of our labouring population. These were matters which required much thought and consideration. Mr. W. A. Stimson referred to the cattle plague- Al- though it did not become him to speak in the presence of farmers as to the way in which the disease is communicated, still he had seen a short time ago a very forcible illustration of the way in which the disease w.ts propagated in this country. When at Ilotterdara lately he had seen a quantity of store cattle collected from all parts of the Netherlands for shipment to England, and after having been exposed in the Rotterdam market with stock from all parts of the country, they were sent over in boats, ill-provided with accommodation, packed like sardines in a box, and provided with little food aud no fresh water. If that system was not calculated to bring out a weak spot in a bnllock, he did not know what was. He had watched those cattle coming over, and, on reaching Harwich, they re- mained a certain time in quarautinc, alter which they were sent to London and thence despatched to all parts of England, so that, if infeclion was imported, it was at once spread broadcast. It seemed to him that, if we wanted to give the bullocks in England the foot-and-mouth disease, this was a very effectual means of doing so. He thought that, if the farmers of England were only agreed that foreign stock sliould be brought over in boats which supplied proper accomodation, and tluit they should remain an adequate time in quarantine, they would be able to force these measures upon Government. Unless they did so, they would have no help against periodical visitations of conta- gious discuses. A word about the Poor-laws. Before they con- demned a man for going to the parish for his 2s. 6d. or 3s. a week, when he had nothing to feed his six or seven children at homo, they must first of all say to him, " There is your work ; go and do it." He was not going into the vexed question of large and small farms, but he knew tliat there were many labourers over flie counir}', hard-working men, who wou!d work if they could find work to do, and it was a false principle to assert that they had lost their " independence" if they fell back on the parish for relief in such an emergency. Mr. Charles Howard alluded to the foot-and-mouth disease. Of course there were differences of opinion as to where it came from, but there could hardly be a doubt that we derive it from our Continental neighbours, and he tliought Government was certainly behind hand. Although he knew they had various contending interests in this matter, yet he thought it was due to the breeders and producers of stock in this country that they should be protected from this disease. The present price of meat was to some extent due to the disease which was now decimating our herds and flocks through the introduction of foreign animals, and we should THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 513 never be free from the disease so long as these animals were spread throughout the length and breadth of the land. It would be no harm if the fat animals were killed at the port of debarkation; the meat would be much better, and the im- porters would find it a more profitable course. As for store stock, an extended Cjuarantine would be advantageous to the ' animals themselves, as was shown from what Mr. Stimsou had said, for if while in. quarantine they were supplied with proper ; food and water they would be in a better state than they are now when landed. Wlieu farmers talked of these matters, however, they were told tiiat they wanted to return at once to j protection. The fact was that it mattered very little to the farmers, for they would liave protection in the increased price of the animals left, but it was a question for the consuming classes in the country to take up. Mr. Stimsou had remarked tiiat it rested with the farmers of tliis country to get this question settled, by uuiting as one man, but they had never done that yet, and he thought Mr. Stimson was hardly right in his assumption that the Legislature would at once settle the question in compliance with their demands, for there was a stronger interest than the agricultural interest, who were not so noisy as some of those living in large towns. With regard to the remarks in reference to the Poor Law, he thought that question had been somewhat misuaderstood ; at least his own experience led him to say that it was not the able-bodied men who were relieved, but those men who were overtaken by sickness, and who, he was sorry to say, had not provided themselves with a club ; and he thought the Poor Law very properly told those men that they could not expect the same amount of relief given to them as to the man who provided for himself in a club for the case of illness. CORNWALL. At Truro, Mr. T. Olvek said they had had very excellent ploughing in the field that day, both with the single and turn- wrest plough. The single plough seemed to be growing into disrepute in that neighbourhood, and many were in favour of the double and the turnwrest ploughs, because with the single plough there was a ditficnhy when they came to use the reaping machines at harvest. He iiad long been of opinion that a single plough properly handled was superior to the double plough, but they required skilful management. Some years ago he was requested to act as umpire at a plougliing match held at St. Austell, and he was then bold enough to tell the farmers of that district, who were supposed to be far ad- vanced, tlmt there was not a man in the field who knew how to handle a plough to open a cut and finish it ; and he ob- served that another year he would send a man to show tliem. He did so, and it resulted in great advantage to the district. In ploughing a piece of ground the most important thing was to get a good seed-bed. It was well known to farmers that the top of the cut, where they first commenced, was generally deeply manured, and that part was prepared to produce a heavier crop than any other part ; but, unless the furrows were nicely drawn, instead of producing tiie heaviest crop, they would find it au indifferent one. Instead of there being a wide space on the top of the cut where seed migiit be de- posited, the two furrows were put close together, and the seed fell off. Then in finishing a cut, they often got large furrows, which interfered with the reaping machine, and they got a large quantity of seed deposited, and tlie consequence wastliey got little corn. The plan he had adopted was simply to turn the comb, then sow a quantity of light manure in tlie furrow, grub it up witli the grubber, and they would then find that tliere would not be the slightest iuconvenicnce passing across these furrows with the reaping machine. He was persuaded that the single plough would lay these furrows much closer than the double plough, because when the furrows were run- ning in opposite directions they could never be laid so closely together as when they followed each other. There had been some indifferent ploughing that day, but he had seen quite as bad meetings of much older societies. There was a two-furrow plough on the field, but the judges did not consider its work deserving of a first prize. As regarded these ploughs generally, he had no doubt they were valuable in certain localities, but, as a rule, he did not think they wonld be found useful in Coruwall. Vritli such horses as Cornisli farmers were ia the habit of using, it was enough for them to pull a oue-furrow plough ; and he was persuaded that very little advantage or saving to Corn- wall farming would arise from using tlie two-furrow plough. AVhore the land was light, these ploughs might be used to great advantage. Much was said at present respecting the operation of ploughing. There could be no doubt that it was a most important operation, because when land was well ploughed the labour afterwards was very much lessened. Some advocated deep ploughing, amongst others Mr. Mechi, who seemed to be the oracle of agriculture. Few practical farmers, however, followed his advice. At the same time he occasionally threw out some very useful liints ; but the mis- fortune was that they did not apply to aU districts alike. A practice suitable at one place would not be suitable at another, lie always read Mr. Mechi's letters with interest, but he had no doubt they all considered him the mouthpiece of the Man- chester party, and he liad no doubt in the world that he was very well paid by that party, and a capital advocate he was for clieap food. They differed sometimes as to how cheap food was to be produced, Mr. Mechi said plough deep ; plough by all means by steam. As a practical agriculturist, and, having some experience in Cornwall, he did not hesitate to say that he had invariably fouud shallow plougliing the most advantageous. Where the subsoil was rich and retentive, and where it was necessary, as Mr. Mechi said, that the soil should be aerated, no doubt, in many cases, deep ploughing would be fouud beneficial ; but wliere the soil was shallow and the sub- soil porous they would find it much more profitable, as a rule, to plough shallow. When they ploughed shallow it was desirable to plough well, and hence the advantage of having such societies as that. Probably good ploughing was more important in Cornwall than in most other parts of Englaud. Cultivating had become general in many places, and, no doubt, where the climate was dry and the land was of a clayey nature, the cultivator might be used with advantage ; but where the climate was so humid, and the soil so calculated to produce grass as in Cornwall, their crops would generally be overcome witii grass and weeds. Hence, if Mr. Mechi delivered a lecture on agriculture in Northumberland or Norfolk, and then come to Cornwall to deliver the same lecture, the farmers would find him giving very erroneous advice, and would con- sequently take little notice of his remarks. Another question to which he would refer was, when land should be ploughed. He was ashamed to think that in this age of progress there were many leases throughout the length and breadth of England that dictated to the occupier when and how he should plough liis laad. It was well known to every prac- tical farmer that seasons had such an infiuence on their crops that in order to raise the greatest amount of produce, wh.ch it was their duty to do, they had frequently to break up the lighter soils. Notwithstanding this lie was sorry to say that in eight cases out of ten leases were drawn stating that land should not be broken up unless it had been allowed to be at rest and in grass a certain number of years. As a great deal had lately been said about leases, he hoped these absurd clauses would be removed, because they were a disgrace to the age in which we lived. He was pleased to see a few months ago that an action had been brought by a landlord against a tenant for breaking up land contrary to the clauses in the lease, and that the jury found a verdict for the defendant, in- asmuch as in consequeuce of the dry summers this land was entirely valueless to the tenant in its then state, and he was tlierefore justified in breaking it up. Then there was the question what land should be broken up. He would fall back again on Mr. Meclii. They must remember that Mr. Mechi was the mouth-piece of the manufacturing and m.ercantile interest. Mr. Mechi said his object was to produce, if possible, cheap food, in order that the manufacturers might grow rich out of it. Mr. Mechi said a great deal of the land now laid down in permanent pasture should be ploughed. He (Mr. Olver) had no doubt that there was a great deal of land laid down that should be ploughed up, and that would return more than it was doing: at present; but then Mr. Mechi spoke indiscriminately, and what he wanted them to do was to plough up their grass lands. They, as practical men, knew that it was possible to expend £10 in the cultivation of an acre of land which would not produce more than £8. Whatever business a man followed he must adopt a system that would be profitable to himself. Mr. Mechi thought food had become dear, and it certainly was dearer than it was likely to continue to be ; but he (Mr. Olver) thought it would be a great mistake to b.'eak up their old grass lauds that had been laid down for many years. 614 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. Nature re(iuired a long time to put a iiiece of grass laud into good order, and when made they would find the mole and the earth worm at work to keep it in a perfect state, and he would therefore advise people generally to hesitate before they broke up such land. There was a great rage now for reclaiming waste lands ; but he would advise agriculturists, as a rule, to be very cautious as to how they meddled with that. He would rather cultivate good laud than poor land, and he was con- vinced that there were thousands of acres in this county that would not pay for cultivation. They might get two or three pretty good crops from certain lands, but afterwards they would dwindle away and the land would become profitless. He would let the merchants and manufacturers cultivate such land if they wished, men whom he would be glad to see more disposed to pay their fair share of the rates of the country. He advised yonng farmers never to lay out their money in the poor lands of this country, but rather to go to America, where they would probably get a comfortable home for them- selves. DEVO?s"SHIRE. At Colytou, Captain Dick, the chairman quite agreed with those who thought that the present state of things concerning the labourer could not continue any longer. It was a very in- tolerable state of things, and the sooner a just and liberal solution of the difficulty was come to, the better would it be for all parties. He heartily hoped and believed that he should see the day when, by giving the labourer more wage^, the farmer and landlord would get a larger revenue from the estate. At Witheridge, Lord Portsmoutii for a long time had thought Financial Boards were right and just, and ultimately they ^^ ould be sure to come. Taxation without representation was contrary to every principle of good Government. He felt very strongly that the ratepayers ou^ht to have a voice in the appointment of those who administered funds raised from the rates. Another point on which he had thought a great deal, was the subject of Local Taxation. He hoped and trusted the Government would take up the question in earnest. It was a very serious question, hut he would not go to the length of some, because he thought it would be approached from a fair and impartial point of view. The system of taxa- tion should be based on justice ; in fact, the burden should he spread fairly and justly over the whole population as far as possible. There were some things which it would not be prac- ticable to throw on the Consolidated Fund — in wjiich such a course would not be attended with economy. He, however, thought it would increase the efficiency of the police if the ratepayers of the county — who had to pay three-fourths of the cost whilst the Government only paid one-fourth — had some control over them. But now the Government had the en- tire control, and this made it a matter of taxation without re- presentation, which was contrary to every principle of good government. It would increase the efficiency of the police very much if the force, as in Ireland, was an imperial instead of a county force. What could be more absurd than the county magistrates in Quarter Sessions discussing about the police, and having no power over them ? The Chief-con- stable was not amenable to them, for he held office subject only to the approval of the Home Office. Tliis state of things created a wrong and an injustic. Tlien as to a malefactor, if a Devonshire policeman had a warrant against a man who chose to go into Somersetshire — or into some borough — that warrant had to be backed by a magistratesof that jurisdiction, causing delay. He thought the ratepayers of the county had a claim to be relieved from taxation over which they had no control. And besides this, the present county police system was cumbrous and uusuited to the days of railways and tele- graphs. Coming to another point of local taxation, it was unfair to throw the expense of militia stores on the county rates, because the militia was a part of the defence of the country, and they might just as well ask localities to pay for barracks. Just now in the recess was tlie time when rate- payers should make their grievances known. If any one looked at the taxation returns they would find there was a considerable surplus. Seeing this, he thought that a tax most oppressive and opposed to the very principle of free trade — the tax on horses and servants — might be abolished. Parti- cularly was it hard that a shopkeeper in rnral towns, who was obliged to keep a, horse and man to deliver his goods, should be called on to pay a tax for both. As to throwing the cost of the poor on the general taxation of the country, he did not think that would be advisable, because they wanted the locality to check abuses which would creep in unless the people of the dis- trict had an immediate interest in putting them down. No doubt the Poor-law system required amelioration and improvement — which every statute in working out required — but still it had done a great deal of good. He felt that this question of local taxation concerned ail and they must in considering it study the good of the wliole community and not merely one brancli of it, because if they did not they would in remedying one evil create others. He thought there ought to be an end to ex- emptions. Touching rating, if a man turned game dealer, let his game, and get a profit from it, that man ought to pay a tax for it. If they came to an estate where there was a heavy head of game, and the rent deteriorated, it was not fair that that land should escape taxation. The man would be deriving benefit from the sale of game which eat up the produce of the farmer, and therefore decreased his chance of paying his rent, and decreased the rateable value of the land. Woods and mines also should be subject to taxation ; in fact, exemiitions of all kinds should be got rid of. He hoped and trusted this great question would be thoroughly dealt with by Parliament, and that they would hold the balance evenly between both in- terests. It was no use taking the burden off one side and throwing it on the other, because if the agricultural interest suffered the trading community suffered, and vice versa. Such meetings as these were the ones where topics should be dis- cussed by the farmers and opinions expressed by the farmers, for only iu this way could they make their wants known. At Broadclist, Sir T.DtreAclajS'D.JLP., the chairman, said, in proposing Prosperity to the Association, its object was to improve the skill and the quality of their workmen rather than to provide anything like a substitute for wages. Many re- marks had been made of societies of a certain kind that they brought men up once in about twenty or thirty years to be given a sovereign or two, or a coat or waistcoat, as a reward for faithful service. That was not what this association pro- fessed to do. They were not indifferent to the moral qualities of their workmen, but after long observation of the habits of their own people in Broadclist — he did not speak of other places — they were quite satisfied that their workmen needed to have their skill and intelligence developed. If they were to succeed in doing any good in that way they must all work together. It could not be effected by the eflfort of one master, one landowner, or any individual ; it must be the joint work of the whole community. Their happiness was intimately bound up in the happiness of those they employed. There was a great deal of thought being excited iu England just now with reference to these questions. Political questions had, no doubt, recently caused a great deal of earnest thought, and led to rapid action. But it seemed as if they were approach- ing an era when social questions would be uppermost. Land- owners and occupiers could not shut their eyes to the increas- ing power of the working classes of the country, to the increasing tendency of inquiry. As he had said, social ques- tions were growing in their influence among the working classes, and, not only that, the Press was taking up the land question very seriously. Some of those, too, connected with the land had given a great deal of prominence to the land question, and he had warned soiie of his landed friends that tliey did not know exactly what would be the effect of the discussions they had raised, that they might lead to conse- quences that they did not quite calculate upon. It appeared to be rather a growing opinion that iu the old time laud was held much more in common, even before the feudal times, than people seemed to think, that in other countries that sort of community of interest in the laud was only, so to speak, the remains of a system that was, perhaps, universally preva- lent in times of which they had no very accurate historical record. Those ideas were laying hold upon the public mind, they were being very freely discussed, unreasonable arguments v^ere sometimes used with reference to them that he thought might possibly tend to mislead uuthiuking persons very much ; but they all pointed to this, to the day of an absolute auto- cracy, what they called in conversation independence, a sort of idea that a man might do what he would with his own. That might be met by a corresponding saying that property had its duties as well as its rights, but he was quite sure tliat proi)erfy had its burdens and obligations as weU. If ideas THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 515 had auy trutli in thein, by being thoroughly discussed nothing but good could result. i3ut if a caricatuie of ideas got hold of the popular mind, they knew that it very freej^uently moved the masses much more than things in which they had a direct self-interest. When the masses got hold of exag- gerated ideas, the masses were very apt to crush individuals, as they saw in trades unions, and other combinations, and they had seen fearful results brought about abroad on the same principle. What was, then, their duty — labourers, occupiers, and landowners — in these times ? To look the facts clearly in the face, not to be carried away by exaggera- tion, not to think too much of what might be possibly fan- ciful. There were two entirely different questions to be con- sidered, although people were very apt to talk as if they were one, which, in his opinion, they were not. The first question was, what system would produce the greatest amount of food for the people ? That was an economic question, and must be looked at just like questions of banking, insurance, or auy other matter of business. Tiie other question was, what was most tor the happiness of the greatest number of the people of the Bation ? That was a social question, aud the two were not the same. He for one could not but feel that in this country the enormous accumulation of wealth in a few hands — he did not speak only of land, hat of all property, whether landed or otherwise — side by side with such terrible misery as they saw around them was a very alarming feature of the times. Then came the question of how far that could be dealt with by legis- lation. He feared some things were too strong for the law, too strong certainly for the power of them as imperfect legislators. It seemed to him, with reference to this laud question, as if, more or less, they were on a sort of inclined plane on which they could not very well stop themselves. Land had the great advantage of being a secure property in one sense, and the enormous increase of pecuniary wealth in the country had an inevitable tendency to accumulate land into masses, and of course to raise the value of land. It followed also, of course, that the income or interest derivable from land was very much less in proportion to the increased amount sunk in it. He did not say rents were falling, he knew that not to be so, and he was very much alarmed sometimes to see the extreme compe- tition there was for farms. He did not say that the happiness of mankind was promoted by easy-going ways in any branch of life, but he thought the extreme competition did not arise on account of the capabilities of the land to carry an increased rent. Be that as it might, he thought all those things indi- cated a considerable necessity for caution on the part of those who had to deal with them. DORSETSHIRE. At Bridport, Mr. J. Floyer, M.P., said Mr. Hastings at the Leeds Congress advocated a plan which I hope I may never live to see carried into operation — viz., that all the re- lief to the poor shall be given in the v.'orkhouse. I believe that would be a fatal thing. If this suggestion had come from Mr. Hastings only, perhaps it would not be necessary that I should mention it to you to-day ; but other persons, able men in the House of Commons, have proposed that the same alte- ration should be effected. A.nd remember this is no party question. I recollect that one member of great ability intro- duced last session into the House a motion on this very sub- ject ; and, although not advocating an absolute and entire withdrawal of the system of outdoor relief, yet he went a long way in that direction. Now, the labourers employed in agri- culture are from the necessity of the case the most poor of the operatives of the country, for they are not skilled artizans, and they never can demand the wages of that class of work- men. They are not likely to ever receive any such remunera- tion. Marrying early, and bringing up large families, they cannot earn a sufficient amount from their labour to enable them to lay by for times of sickness aud distress. I have al- ways held that it would be most cruel, and what the agricul- turists of Dorsetshire would never approve, to adopt any plan by which those labourers, who, with their families, had worked for them all their lives, would be driven into the workhouse, aud cut oflf from those associations which are just as dear to the poor man as they are to the richest person in this kingdom. Mr. John Pope said although the season had not been, perhaps, equaf in some respects to that of last year, yet he felt bound to say that on the whole they were at present in a better position than they were a tsvplvemonth ago. If they looked around them they would find that they had abundant cause for thankfulness. Although there had been a deficiency in the wheat crop, yet the quantity of straw had hardly ever of late been equalled ; there was an average crop of barley ; oats, peas, and beans were equally good; and although the sea- son had been an anxious one to agriculturists, yet on the whole it had been a beautiful one. At Shaftesbury, Mr. Gerard Sturt, M.P., said, in coming there that day he, through his gaze out of the right-hand side of his brougham, and saw a shepherd, a sheep- dog, a flock of sheep, and a pen. It was rather extraordinary, but this pen was just the size of the lobby of the House of Commons. The shepherd said something to the dog — " Go round them," he supposed. And off he went with his tail up in the air, and away went all the sheep into the fold. Now, he said to himself, why there's IMr. Gladstone, Mr. Glyn, and the Liberal party. Often had he heard Mr. Gladstone say to Mr. Glyn, "Go round them." " Go round them," says Mr. Gladstone ; " Bow-wow" says Mr. Glyn ; and then they saw a sight that, perhaps, they never saw before — the Lushes, the Seymours, the Groves, and the Seymours again tumbling head over heels into the lobby, just as he told them. Well might he truly say no shepherd in Dorsetshire or Wiltshire, or any other shire, ever had a better or more faithful sheep dog than Mr. Gladstone possessed in Mr. Glyn, the member for Shaftes- bury. They must allow him to tell them, as he had often told them at those meetings, how difficult it was to make speeches at agricultural dinners where politics were not allowed. He always noticed that when members of parliament attempted to adhere to this rule they invariably began to flounder. He had read some speeches delivered by his friends the other day, and he confessed he could not help laughing. What said one of them, addressing the farmers, "You don't know how to pay your labourers, you only give them 12s. You ought to give them 14s." " No," said another, " you ought to pay them by tut work." " Not so," said a third, "you ought to pay them by time." " No," said a fourth, " not so, but pay them accord- ing to the profits of the farm on which they are employed." If the labourers of Dorset and Wilts were paid upon that sys- tem, taking the last two or three years, they would be very badly off. But there was an exception to those speeches, and that was the speech delivered by one whom he believed to he the coming man of the day — Lord Derby. He talked plain common sense, and went straight at all the topics of the day. He touched upon the Game-laws, and he (Mr. Sturt) a;ireed with what he sf. id in regard to them. It was a very simple matter — they ought to have every tenant on their estates on their side. Preserve hares and rabbits, but make tlieir ten- ants their gamekeepers. Lord Derby also touched upon other matters which would be a most serious consideration did they not know the common sense of the country. It was a fearful thins to see all the institutions of the country attacked right and left, as they were in a great many parts of London aud tlie larger towns. Lord Derby said that it was stated the agri- culturists vi'cre behind the times. Now he would put it to them — had not agriculture improved 50 per cent, during the last 50 years P Let anyone only walk round within a mile of the town, and he would see the features of the country almost altered by the energy and industry of the agriculturists. Then, again, it was said no land was to be bought. Well, he was not very old, but he was out of his teens, and he had arrived at a certain age ; but how many estates did he not recollect being sold — Milton Abbey, Canford, Piddledown ? There al- ways had been land to be obtained, and, what was more, if there was any gentleman present in want of it, and would give him the money, he would be very happy to find him a very nice estate in Dorset himself. One more point v^itli refer- ence to agriculture. He recollected attending a few years ago atone of these meetings, and making remarks about foot-and- mouth disease. He was pooh-poohed at the time by Mr. Glyn, but he maintained that he was right then, and that he was right now. Mr. Forster — and he must admit that Mr. Forster was a really able and great member when he presided over that department — said that if anyone would let him know of a case of the disease he would stamp it out. He (Mr. Sturt) said at the time that was impossible, for until they slaughtered every head of foreign cattle which arrived in the ports of the country, so long would they have that frightful scourge. It was a serious matter, and one that he could speak conscientiously upon, for he h;id suffered from it, and when 516 THE FAKMEE'S MAGAZINE. he had asked his agent what it wouhl cost him, he was told £3 per head. That was a very disagreeable tiling for him, but stiU more disagreeable would it be for the tenant-farmer, who had to pay his rent twice a year. ESSEX. At Dunmow, Sir. Brydges Henxiker said, at the present moment we are labouring under one great difficulty, and that is the Poor Law as it is at present administered. I contend tliat at present the Poor Law — I allude more particularly to the outdoor relief — is most faulty and most demoralising. AYe will take for one moment, if you please, the list of prizes which tills society offers, because in that vre see laid down what we think ought to be a model labourer. We offer, to begin with, prizes for education at school ; then we take him at the age, say, of 10, when he ought certainly at the latest to be learning the work p.t which he has to earn his living — we take him at that age to farm work, for which we offer prizes, and we say, further, that he ouglit at once to belong to the Dunmow Friendly Society in order to lay by what lie can save after he has bought the things necessary for housekeeping — for he is to marry early and have a large family, because we offer a prize for that — if they are brought up with little or no parocliial relief he must necessarily keep away from the beer- Iiouse ; lie must deny himself various indulgences of that sort, and if he has brought up his family well and has kept up his subscriptions to the Dunmow Friendly Society, at the age of 05 he will receive something like 4s. a week. Now I will take on the other side, not a model labourer but one, unfortunately, who comes a great deal under our notice. He, up to the present time, lias not been to school. He marries very early too — marries somebody equally frivolous and improvident. In all probability they have not even got a bed to lie on, or if they have, they have not paid for it. Tiiey liave an immense number of children of course, aud of course, they say, the ratepayers will keep them. The moment the man gets out of work he goes to the board witliout the slightest feeling of degradation or shame. He looks upon it as a right to be maintained by the ratepayers ; aud wlien these men get aged and able to work no longer, they do as a body look upon it so completely as a right to be kept out of the poor-rates that even if tliey liave children in such a position that they might main- tain them they don't think they ought to do it. I con- tend that this is most improper. I contend that the Poor Law has been taken away from the course wliich it was meant to follow. The first Poor-law — the statute of Queeu Elizabeth — was formed upon the good old principle that the relief shall be given for work done — th:it unless a man work neither shall lie eat. We went away from that. Step by step that principle was lost sight of, and iu conse- quence of the gross administration of the law pauperism rose to such a height as to threaten to overwhelm this country. I daresay there are some here can remember, what I, at any rate have been told, that the poor-rates once amounted to something like ISs. in the pound, this caused the present Poor-law to be instit\ited, and that was formed upon a good principle too, it was ioimed upou the principle of the work- house test. That principle, again, has been lost sight of, and we are again threatened with this overwhelming wave ot pauperism. The workhouse test, I can quite understand, has been thought very often to be a cruel one. But I contend there would have been merciful justice in keeping to that principle, and if we had kept to it more strictly we should not liave the amount of pauperism we have now. Step by step we liave been going out of the right direction, aud step by step we must go back again. We cannot go suddenly back, and in attempting to go back there must be cases of irdividual hardship, but I do say iu the interests o( a society like this, the interests of those who would wish to see tlie people im- proved, that it is perfectly useless to preach providence while the labouring population are brought up with their preseut ideas about relief, and while the Poor-law is administered in so la.\ a way as it is throughout the country. At Freshwell, Lord Eustace Cecil, the chairman, said there are jieople who have the idea that if the whole land of England were made into national property, and if it were divided, say, into 10-acre lots, the position of the labourer would be much better than it is at present. Now, for my part, I believe exactly the reverse. Without capital, without the knowledge of how to cultivate his laud, with a heavy mortgage, in all probability, upon his few acres, I believe that the last state of the labourer would be worse than the first. I do not see that great agriculturist, if I may call him so, ray friend Mr. Mechi here this evening, but perhaps if he were, with bis love for cultivated commons, he would dispute my point. But Mr. Mechi — and I wish to speak of him with every respect — is a most successful agriculturist in one sense. His success in agriculture appears to me to bear the resem- blance of a type of the christian man, that his right hand does not know what his left hand is doing, because it has always struck me that while Mr. Mechi's right hand is adding up his farming accounts, his left hand is creeping insensibly to his till in Regent- street. I know there are others, also, who would perhaps dispute my position with regard to the labourer, and would direct my attention abroad, and say how far supe- rior, in point of prosperity, were the labouring classes on the Continent. But a!thou?h, as a universal proposition, I should entirely deny this, I will, for the sake of argument, admit that in a certain few localities it may be the case. But there is one thing — 1 might say two things —which our philosophers and philanthropists, who are not always very practical on these matters, entirely forget, and that is that abroad there is a very great dilTerence of climate, and there is a much greater— :»nd[ am sorry to say it — a mucli greater providence among the pea- santry. Where, for instance, can you grow vines, and olives, and tobacco, and fruit, side by side with corn and roots? Iu what favoured spot in England can it be done wilh suc- cess ? And yet I have myself seen this done in the favoured localities of the south of f ranee, Switzer. land, and many other parts of the continent. Again, as to providence. No peasant, no person in the position of a la- iiourer at all should ever think of marrying before he could afford the luxury of a wife ; and yet how common is it to find a young man rushing into matrimony almost recklessly, how common is it to find a young man suddenly cut down by dis- ease or even by death, and leaving his wife and family a burden to the rates ! Well, I should be very glad indeed to see a little more providence on tiiat score in the labourer, because when I come to compare his condition with his fellow- labourer on tlie continent, I must say that I think it is equal if not superior. And when we read such expressions as we have read lately, namely, that our labourers are nothing better than serfs, I say I perfectly understand the quarter from whence they come, and also the object for which those ex- pressions are used. I am quite certain of this, that in the matter of wage, for instance, that of our labourers will very well compare with that earned on the continent, aud I believe that on the whole they earn higher wages than anybody in Europe. I am not now speaking of America and the colonies, because it is well-knowu that there, although the labourers earn very much higher wages, it is under very exceptional cir- cumstances, and they have to pay very much higher for the comforts, if not for the necessities of lile. As to the question of wage I would say one thing more. 1 am perfectly well atvare that in the north a Yorkshire man will earn say 16s. a- week, and that iu the south wages are very much less, say lis. or 12s. a-week ; but I think that when wc go into tlie matter we shall find out that if the northerner gets 16s. a-wcek, he does 16s. worth of work ; and that if the southerner, unfor- tunately, gets less wages, it is because less work has beeu done ; aud my belief is that the rate of wages, when fairly compared, is very much the same. But in saying this I do not for a moment deny that we have not arrived as yet at per- fection ; that there is much to be done, and will be much to be done ; and that there are some districts undoubtedly far behind others. And I must attach importance here to the fact that great improvement has been made, especially in the matter of cottage renovation. Throughout the length and breadth of the land, go where you will, you will see this work is progressing, slow^ly but surely. Legislation may do some- thing for us, but legislation will not do all. I sincerely hope that in the next session of Parliament something may be done, if not by the ministry, at least by my colleague, in the matter of the licensing laws, and I hope something may be done in regard to my pet scheme — if I may be so vain to call it so — the adulteration of beer. I hope that something may be done in the improvement of cottages for the suburban population. But after all's said and done, you cannot make a man either sober or provident by act of Parliament. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 517 ColonelBniSE, M.P., said • A certainclass of political econo- mists tell us that if we could abolish out-relief it would he hard to the few but merciful to the many ; that oue family might suffer severely, but that three families would be kept off the rates ; that one should suffer that three may live. I say God help the poor if tliat is to be (he state of tilings in this country at the present time. And I believe that the evil that would arise would be greater than that you want to get rid of. I believe that the evil would be starvation to many, and would result in an increase of indiscriminate charity, vvliich is a greater evil than the present one you are trying to provide a remedy for. I should imagine that those who look far into the history of our country cannot but see that the present system of our poor laws, demoralising though they may be, and requiring amendment in particular points, may yet have in some way saved us from a great social revolution, such as have overtaken other countries of Europe. I am not going to apply this to the ease of our own district. If you want to in- crease the wages yon can do so on the same principle as our political economists recommend with reference to out-relief. If you like to be hard upon the poor, and not to employ them in the winter, you will find that they will not stand that very long ; they will leave this part of the country for a more con- genial clime. But on the other hand, if you want to preserve and keep a good supply of labour iu your district, find employ- ment for the men when employment is scarce ; be kind to them then, and considerate towards them at all times, and then I say you will have always a good supply of labourers around you, and it will answer your purpose much better than any harsh treatment. Now I want to say oue word more upon the question of relief, and it is on medical relief. I believe there might be very great improvements made in our system of medical relief. I believe the medical men, as a rule, are under-paid, and I further believe that they ought to be paid, not out of the rates but out of the consolidated fund. I do not see how one locality is more interested in the health of the popu- lation than the wholecountry generally. Ibelievethere ought to be more stringent rules laid down by the Poor Law Board as to the visiting and the attendance of the medical men upon the poor. Tliere ought to be some organized system of visit- ing, and the old and incurable ought to be visited periodically. I believe that the medical officer's duties ought to be confined to visiting and attending upon the poor. At the present time it is a great inducement to a medical man to take a Poor-law district for the sake of the private practice he may obtain in the district, not connected with his duties to the poor. Now I believe this is a bad principle. I believe also that the medi- cines ought not to be dispensed by the medical man ; they ought to be dispensed by the guardians of the poor, who ought to have entire control of the medicine department, by means of a committee or sub-committee, or in some other way, as our friend Mr. Smith and his colleagues, who so thoroughly under- stand this question, would suggest. I am quite sure of this, we should not have such heavy bills for butcher's meat aud wine and beer — which I always regret extremely to curtail in the meetings of the board of guardians — we should not have such heavy bills for these items if we had a different dispen- sation of medicine to the poor. I believe the medical men themselves are not satisfied with their present position, and I trust before long there will be considerable amendment upon that point. I do not know any class of men who work harder, or who have the same severe and difficult woik to perform, aud they are very often very little appreciated for their labours. HANTS. At Avon, Lord Malmesbuky, the chairman, said, I am, I believe, the senior member of the association, and the oldest man in the room. It has given me this advantage, that I may look back and remember what this neighbourhood was, and the state of agriculture so many years ago — I will say forty years ago — aud I wish there were men present as old as my- self or older, in order to bear testimony to what I tell you. At that time I do not think there was any part of England that could boast less of its agricultural skill and science than the neighbourhood in which we now live. I recollect per- fectly as a young man, before I inherited an estate, walking out shooting in fields where the turnips were about as large as a hen's egg, and there was a great deal more grass than stubble — up to one's knees in fact ; there was a great quantity of weeds, and the hedges were blocked up with elm timber ; in short, a great many things were seen which we hare heard of but no longer behold. At that time I never should have thought it possible that in 40 years, and I may even say 20 years, such extraordinary improvement should have takea place as we may now witness in this part of the country. Tliis year particularly, perhaps partially owing to the wet season, the crops of roots are something wonderful. I have been a good deal in countries proud of their roots, both man- gold and swedes, but I assure you I have never seen such enormous turnips and such fine roots generally, aud so regu- larly and evenly arranged, as I have not only on my own pro- perty but in the neighbourhood around. With regard to the stubbles, although it has been a very wet season, they are much cleaner than in former years. Forty years ago mangold was only heard of, not tested, in tiiis part of the country, but tlie extent to which it is now cultivated proves the great in- telligpuce aud activity existing among the tenant farmers of this district. What lias given them this, and also that feeling of reliance upon themselves? It is dependence on and satis- faction with those who own the land. Yet I see among the other changes which are proposed, such as those we have lately alluded to, it is said the laud laws require to be altered. What do they mean by the "land laws?" They mean to alter that great and noble system of confidence between landlord and tenant which exists in this country, and in no other like it. They wish to interfere, and no longer to leave the landlords aud tenants free agents in their respective contracts with one another. I consider it an insult to any'intellectual person, to be told that two grown-up men, the landlord on the one side and the man wishing to take a farm on the other, should not be able between themselves to come to a fair agreement as to the time and conditions upon which the one lets and the other takes the land. I see that aciordmg to the wishes of these theorists the House of Commons is to make laws for us, and tell us what we are to do with respect to one another — • how to arrange estates, and what covenants to make one with the other. Thus the good feeling which now exists among us all would certainly be destroyed, and the consequence would be a retrograde movement in agriculture instead of a pro- gressive oue. That has been tried in Ireland, but I do not know whether it will answer or not. I know nothing of Ire- land except that the habits of the people are perfectly different as between landlord and tenant from what they are here ; but this is what I suppose has started these opinions that such and such laws should be made for this country as have been made for Ireland. Now, I am quite convinced, if such laws as were passed for Ireland two years ago were passed for England, they would be perfectly futile both to the tenants on one side in many cases and the landlords on the other — but less to the landlords than to the tenants. If the landlord does not retain sufficient personal interest and power over his estate, he will naturally not reside on it. He will not look upon it as an heirloom, where he was born aud where he means to die. He will not look upon his tenants like so many brothers, as it were, who are to go through life with him, both gaining a fair profit from the estate which belongs to him ; but, as we see in France and other countries, he will look upon the estate as a mere invest- ment, and himself not being amused upon it, and having no personal power and interest in it, he will depart from it, and either he will, if he has capital, farm his own estate, under the care of skilful agents and middle men, or if he does not do that he will let it out at once to some pubhc company which would spring up on the speculation of taking large estates and cultivating them to the best profit they could. There would be an end to that invaluable race af men — that class which Lord Derby used to call " the backbone of the country " — the tenant farmers. There would be no longer that feeling which has brought us all together in this room, a feeling which makes the strength of this country, wherever you find it, whatever districts it may be divided into. There- fore, in addressing you as a society who have bent their minds to the mode of agriculture in this particular district, I cannot explain to you how completely the system has succeeded. I see so many faces arouud me that are young and cannot re- collect how different the time was aud how very inferior agri- culture was twenty-five or thirty years ago from what it is now, and how it has risen under the present laws, and is daily mproving. 1 cannot sufficiently recommend to you a con- nuance of that system of acting together, consulting together, M M 518 THE FAEMER'S MAGAZINE. and, above all, of being plain and straightforward with your landlord, telling liira all the grievances you have, and coming to that common understanding which two Euglishmeu of common sense ought always to be able to accomplish within half an hour. With respect to this Government or any other — of course I do not allude politically to anything — I have only one prayer to make to them and to the House of Commons, and that is, leave us alone ; leave us to our own good sense and our own industry ; leave us to the laws regarding landlord and tenant under which we have lived for all time, and I am perfectly certain the system cannot be improved in any way. The landlord and tenant are now both under the surveillance of public opinion, and if they dispute they have what is better than any written law, the custom of the country, to resort to. I believe that has always decided cases in which disputes have taken place, and nothing could be more futile than to decide them by any hard and rigid line which could not be drawn for every part of Great Britain, va- rying as it does so much in all its customs and mode of agricul- ture, its climate, soil, and everything else. We hear that farmers cannot prosper without capital. The question is, what is the meaning of capital ? In Lancashire its meaning is very different from what it is here ; it means a sum of money counted by thousands and tens of thousands, which we, I am afraid, in this part of the country cannot boast of, our capital being our intelligence. Then the variety of tenant farmers is so great, taking them throughout Great Britain. In the Lothians they farm 2,000 aud 3,000 acres ; so you may take them where they keep the best hunters, and live in great luxury ; and from these you may go to poor little farmers on the confines of Dorsetshire, in the New Forest, the Forest of Dean, Exmoor, and such places. You cannot make a general rule for classes that vary so much. Each member of that class, each landlord and each farmer, must judge for himself, and they must be left to arrange tlieir affairs according to their experience of the place, according to the soil they have to break up, and the climate whicli may smile or frown upon them. But, above all things, leave them alone. Mr. H. Bone said, the only improvement he could suggest was some alteration in the principle on which tenants held their farms. He believed if the plan of binding down the tenant farmer to a system of culture as in that neighbourhood was continued, they would not very much increase the products of agriculture. Lord Leicester had recently spoken against binding down covenants, and to the necessity, among other things, of giving the tenant thorough security for the capital employed by him, and those were the opinions that ought to prevail. The principle should be carried out that tiie land should be made to produce the greatest possible quantity of food. It was necessary that every tenant farmer should lay out a certain amount of capital on good security, and the im- provements in that neighbourhood which his lordship had al- luded to would never have been carried out except for the capital employed by the tenant farmers. If the system now in use in Lincolnshire were adopted in that county there would he as great an improvement on the existing state of things as his lordship had described in comparing the present time with that of twenty-five or thirty years ago. Lord Malmesbuky said that men of capital were not al- ways easy to pick up. Tliere were men with a certain sum of money, who farmed as much as they could, but he should be very sorry to inquire into the Ltate of their fortunes and their private concerns, to tell them they ought to have so much money to cultivate the farm, and ii they could not show that amount of money they could not remain there. Capital was steadily increasing in this country, but if landlords were to " drive by steam," the misery and cruelties that would occur would resemble those that happened in Ireland. It was to his interest that all the farms belonging to his estate should im- prove, bat he should never think of ejecting a tenant because because he had no capital, and could not take to high farming at once. Mr. Bone had not only capital, hut also intelligence and activity, but all men were not like Mr. Bone, and they must take hum.an nature as they found it. HEREFORDSHIRE. At Hereford, Mr. S. Robinson", the High.Shcriff, said, speaking as a farmer, he had formerly entertained a prei^erence for Shorthorns, but since coming into Herefordshire he had been very glad to adopt the Herefords instead, and was now himself a breeder of them. Shorthorns were very much the fashion in some quarters, and one sometimes heard of their fetching very large prices, but his own opinion of that was that not unfrequently those prices were " fancy" prices, and that the real value of the animals was not represented by the prices which they fetched. The Herefordshire tenant farmers must find it pay to cultivate their own county breed of cattle, because it was with their cattle that they paid their rent. The tenant farmers had succeeded, too, in a remarkable way in holding their own against what were called gentlemen farmers ; for, if they did not always stand first, they did not come far behind those who had large means and spared no expense in the pro- duction of their cattle. He really thought, therefore, that the Herefordshire breed must be a very good one for farmers. He had found it so, aud he did not think he was likely to have to regret his choice ; for every year he had been improving. Herefordshire was lucky also in having the class of sheep it had, those sheep being of a stamp and scale pecuharly weU suited for the farmer ; he could have wished, though, to have seen a larger show in the sheep classes than there had been that day. There was, it was true, a good lot, but he thought it ought to have been better. As to the pigs he could not say much about that department ; Herefordshire did not seem to make much nay iu that direction ; certainly, he did not think the pigs did much credit to the soil, but he lioped the Society would be able another year to oti'er such prizes in the pig classes as .should induce a keener competition among the dif- ferent breeds, because if they could bring good stock into the county of course the county must be benefited. With regard to horses, the reason that there was not a better show in the horse classes was, he supposed, that the Society had not funds enough to offer prizes sufficiently large to induce entries of really good animals. Sir J. R. B.ULEi' said those who were set over us had dug out a well-dried crop called local taxation, and they had planted landlord and tenant in alternate rows, and had saddled each of them with half the local taxation. Now, speaking as a land- lord, he had no objection whatever to that arrangement, but looking at it from the tenant-farmer's point of view he did not think that they should hastily commit themselves to that appa- rently favourable arrangement. The price of farms had been increasing year after year ; and if a general redistribution of rents were to take place during the present year he did not think it would he altogether to the advantage of the occupier. He threw this out for their consideration, thinking that it was a matter which might well be discussed. He was surprised to hear that the towns paid more to this charge for local taxation than the country ; but it must be remem- bered that if the towns paid more to their rates they received in return conveniences which were not enjoyed by persons in the country. They paid, it was true, to the sewers-rate, for example, and the gas-rate, but they had a fair return for their money ; whereas, if they, in the country, wanted a drain they must dig it themselves ; aud if tliey wanted light, why they must carry their ov\-u lanterns. In regard to this question of local taxation they wanted only what was fair — fair to them- selves and fair to their neighbours — viz., that each and every class of property should bear its proper share in the burden of the country. Mr. Michael Biddulpii, M.P., with regard to the show, was very sorry, with the High-Sheriff, that it was not a larger one, because, considering the importance of the city of Hereford as an agricultural centre, lie did think we ought to have had a larger exhibition. As far as the cattle were con- cerned he considered it a very good show, but certainly with regard to other animals, aud especially horses, he thought that the less they said about it the better. Possibly one reason that may have kept things away, and may so have made the show smaller, was the fact that the foot-and-mouth disease was rife in the neighbourhood. It was spoken very much of in dif- ferent parts of the world, and he heard with very great regret that this kingdom was not free from it. He trusted that Here- fordshire might escape, as it had done, happily, or nearly so, in the case of the cattle plague, and that wc might not have to account that among the drawbacks to the farming prospects of the county. The question of larger shows had very often been mooted at these meetings, and as hr as he was alile to make out, the farmers of Herefordshire were not inclined for the amalgamation of their show ; and he must say he thought it was a very difficult question to decide. Naturally, one did not The faemer's magazine. 519 like to give up one's show aud to amalgamate it with other counties, tliough tliere were certain advantages to be derived from that which must be obvious to every one. Sir Herbert Croft said he was going to ask them two things. He was going to ask them to arm his colleague aud himself with two petitions. The first petition that he wanted was a complaint as to the station accommadation of the city of Hereford. The second petition that he wanted was a petition praying that the provisions of the Cattle Diseases Act might be made to apply to and to include Ireland, which, strange to say, it did not now do. He had received a letter from a very practical agriculturist, wherein the writer asserted that the foot-and-mouth disease was clearly aud beyond all doubt im- ported from Ireland, and saying that members of Parliament must look to it that importation from Ireland be prohibited without delay. Mr. M. Clive, the chairman, expressed his regret that the Society was not in so flourishing a condition as it ought to be, and would be if its objects were more thoroughly appreciated by all classes of the farmers of the county. Their funds, he found, were this year only £1 3s. 7d. in excess of last year ; while the total income was only some M20. He did not think that rapid progress was always the most safe ; but he did think that they might have made better progress than this. He was BOrry, too, to notice that in some of the classes the competition was limited in the extreme. With regard to amalgamation, of which a good deal has been said of late,he thought the best amal- gamation that could take place would be the amalgamation of the different local societies with the county society rather than the amalgamation of the county society with other counties. Let Ross, Ledbury, and Leominster unite with the Hereford- Bhire society, and let the meetings be held at each of those places in turn, giving Hereford, in consequence, of course, of its greater importance, an oftener turn than the other towns — say every other year, and at the other towns in the alternate years in rotation. The Mayor of Hereford urged a strong effort towards the raising of further funds, and the making of Hereford — if the amalgamation of the local societies should be brought about — the head-quarters, in the sense of the meetings, though peri- patetic, being held there more frequently than at the other towns in the county. As it was, the show was rather a discredit to the county from the smallness of the exhibits ; but he hoped that by some or other of the ways that had been suggested it might be made a more worthy one. Mr. J. H. Arkwrigut believed the advantages of small societies were enjoyed by only a few, and that if the matter were really taken ino consideration, those smaller societies would be even proud to amalgamate with the county society. They had a precedent in the case of Worcestershire, where an amalgamation of all the societies within the county took place, with the result that the subscriptions were in a short time increased five fold, and the entries proportionately. Mr. Jajjcey, speaking on behalf of the committee, must say that they had been alive to the advantages which might be gained by amalgamation with other societies. They had conferred with other societies with a view to inducing them to join our own, so that we might have the shovv here in certain years and to travel about in other years ; but they had been met with the answer, " We will give you so much to come to us, but we cannot come to you." There was not much likelihood of their doing much while a spirit existed like that. He saw that in a speech deli- vered by the chairman at the Ludlow Agricultural Show that gentleman had expressed himself favourable to an amalgama- tion of Hereferdshire with Worcester and Gloucester, but ad- vised that the Ludlow show could not be given up. But it was of no use getting up a society which was to have any preten- sions to being a county society at all unless the small local societies could be got to come in, so that the society might be upon such a basis and on such a scale as that the county might well be proud of it. It was said that more money was to he got. Now it was all very well to say that more money must be had ; the committee had not been asleep, he could assure them ; they had canvassed diligently, but the money did not come in so freely. He believed it a great thing to have an attractive programme, but to have an attractive programme money raust he had, aud that was precisely what could not be got. ' Mr, J, Morris was sorry tliRt ia some of the^classes there should have been so few entries, though there were, on the other hand, some few classes which had filled better than ever. He agreed that it was essential that something should be done in the way of infusing new life and spirit into the Society ; and he could not help thinking that the best way would be, first of all, to amalgamate the small societies, and then to talk about joining with other counties. As a breeder of Hereford cattle himself, he thought we had nothing to fear for our own stock in competiton with other breeds, for whenever we went either to the Royal or to the Bath and West of England, or anywhere else, we well maintained our prestige ; while, if we could bring other cattle into the district, we might thereby not only en- hance our own position, but improve the funds of the Society also. Major Peploe, one of the judges, said a good deal had been said about the unworthy show that had been made of horses, and what had been said in that respect he cordially and tho- roughly endorsed. He would only add that if the farmers of Herefordshire would breed horses with the same care that they did their other stock, there was no reason why they should not do equally well, and with as much profit. Horses were espe- cially scarce at this time ; immense numbers had been pur- chased, not only by foreign Governments for military purposes, but by private persons for horse-dealing purposes, and for sale in Austria, Prussia, and other countries. He would give prizes if others would also. It was the breed of mares which required to be improved rather than that of sires. Mr. J. BosLEY expressed a contrary opinion, and suggested that the offer of a prize of £50 for a good sire to travel the country would probably be the best course to pursue with a view to improving the breed of horsi-s in the county. At St. Weonards, Mr. R. B. Mynors, the chairman, said they lived in what was called " free trade" times, and with free trade he did not complain as he never was a protectionist. But if free trade was applied to some branches it ought to he applied to all. The principles of free trade were first of all that the raw material should be imported into England free of duty, and then used up here. With that, as he had said be- fore, he did not complain. The second principle was that there should be no tax on articles of British manufacture, and iu accordance with that principle there should be no tax on British industry. The Legislature had, therefore, removed the tax on many articles of manufacture which formerly were very oppressive and quite detrimental to the manufacture of those article. Now he asked them was the same rule applied to agriculture P He said " No." Then he asked " Why ?" He felt very diffident to touch on the subject of the malt-tax and make that an illustration of his argument, because that was such a long-vexed question. He complained that the matter had not been fairly dealt with by the House of Commons. Colonel Barttelot had certainly done his duty very fairly, but he had not goue fully into the question. Now, the tax had not yet been removed, and he asked why it had not been re- moved with other taxes on trade. There could be no possible ground for its maintenance. Mr. Cobdcn, who was the great advocate for its removal, said it ought to be abolished; and since then he (the Chairman) always thought Mr. Cobden was an honest man. He complained that agriculturists had not been fairly dealt with. It was asked whether it was probable a tax that produced seven aud a-half millions could be abo- lished to-morrow. Now, they lived in times when they had what was called a growing revenue. For years, with very rare exceptions, they had had a growing revenue. If they did not understand him he meant that the revenue exceeded the esti- mate of the Chancellor of the Exchequer. When the Chan- cellor came to look into his state of finances he found that the revenue had considerably exceeded the estimate, and therefore he made considerable remission in the taxes. In the course of time the Chancellor of the Exchequer had remitted to the country twenty millions of taxes, but " D — 1 a bit" had the malt-tax been taken off. Every one said that the tax ought to be taken off, and if the Government could not take it off to the full extent why not do it partially ? Persons said that if the tax was taken off the agriculturists would get the benefit and not the consumer, but he argued that the consumer would be equally benefited. Persons had always taken a very narrow view of the matter, but all he could say was that if the tax was abolished the British subject would get the benefit some- how or other, and that the tax ought long ago to have been Rbolishe^i There might he reasons why it had not been M M2 520 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. abolished. If it had related to Mauchestcr the tax would have been abolished long ago. There they had their Chambers of Commerce, and their interests being identical they united to- gether and their voice was heard and felt throughout the country. Agriculturists did not do this, and therefore there was some little blame to be attached to themselves. In order to get some of their grievances taken off they had now their Chambers of Agriculture. These had not been established long, but he was glad to see the farmers interesting themselves in their affairs. But still in tlie working of these chambers he thought they was very much wanting, if they had one at Hereford, another at Worcester, and another at Bristol all discussing different subjects, instead of acting, as they ought to act, simultaneously with the Chamber in Lon- don. That Chamber ought to impart to the provinces ques- tions of importance. The lesser chambers should take their cue from that chamber, and they should act as independent bodies, yet with one voice.' This had been a very fruitful year, and when the financial year came round tlie Chancellor would make the usual remission of taxes ; but it remained to be seen whether lie would be an honest man. Agriculturists would not get their rights unless they made themselves heard, but there was no reason why the Chancellor of the Exchequer should not do liis duty if he was urged to do it. In fact, he was persuaded that they would be listened to if they made themselves heard as one body from one end of the country to the other. lie thought there were other pieces of Legisla- ture not quite satisfactory. They had not only the tax he had complained of, but an impost had now been laid upon guns, by the imposition of the ten shilling licence. Now, lie wished to know what part of the community would be affected by that tax? The sporting man was not affected, he had always to take out his game licence. The towu's-people did not pay. Then wlio did ? The only parties affected would be those who kept a gun for the purpose of shooting a few crows, or any- thing that might come on their crops. Then, he asked, was not this another rap at the agri';ultural interests ? He had another bone to pick with the Chancellor of the Excliequer : When that personage ultimately yielded to the threats of the match girls, in his celebrated speech he made one very tenta- tive remark. He said that there was one class of the com- munity iu whose favour great exemptions were made, and that was tlie farming class. He instanced tiie exemption of agri- cultural horses, and asked why this should be. He could but add for the credit of one of the Chancellor's friends that he got up and remarked that the agricultural horses only repre- sented steam-power, and that they should not tax them be- cause they were machinery. In conclusion, he remarked that with a fair field the agriculturists could take care of them- selves. He thought the agriculturists had a right to demand fair treatment, and to demand to be put on the same footing as the other interests of the community. Mr. Webb thought the committee did wisely to try and im- prove the cottages in the neighbourhood, as it had been said a good cottage made a good man. Nothing was more con- ducive to the cleanliness and happiness of a man, his wife, and home than a good supply of water. Now he regretted to say that many of the labouring classes had to carry their water half-a-mile. Many persons said agricultural labourers' wives should go out to work. How, he would ask, was it possible for them to do so. In many instances they had a large family to look after, and then they had to go half-a-mile to fetch their water. He thought that if they had better cottages they would have a better class of men. As to the evils consequent upon the wretclied slate and size of some of the labourers' cottages in the present day, there were frequent cases which came to light every day of father, mother, and a family of bro- thers and sisters all sleeping in one room. He contrasted the wretched cottages of the working man with the comfortable, dry, airy, and warm stalls in which animals were kept. He thought that if it was so essential that beasts and animals should have clean and comfortable places provided for them and a good supply of clean water, how much more so should the human being have these essentials, and not be left, as he was in many cases, far below the beasts of the field. He knew of a landlord in liis neighbourhood who had built some good comfortable cottages for his labourers, and he could bear tes- timony to the fact that the children who were brought up in these cottages were quite a contrast for clean, healthy looks to those brought up iu some of the wretched homes by wiiich they were surrounded. There should be a cottage to every fifty acres farmed, and if these cottages were well built and well supplied with water, the labourer would be very much benefited, while the landlord would get a good percentage on the money he had expended. At Ross, Mr. C. Keaesey said that if the farmers gave their men less cider and more wages, they would be a great deal better off. He had not given his men cider as wages for the last six years, and had liad no drunkenness on his farm in consequence. As for the amount of wages, he was willing to give his best men 15s. a week, and lie knew it would be money in his pocket to do so ; but as for the labourer keeping a cow, where was he to get the money in the first place to buy it, and next where was he to keep it, and who was to do the milking and make the butter ? HERTFORDSHIRE. At Tring, the Hon. II. Cowper, M.P., said several far- mers would shut our ports to foreign cattle. It was not for him to say whether this would be wise or not, but he believed it would be impossible. Several members of Parliament had suggested that the ports closed from Germany should be opened. The agricultural members pull cue way, the town members another, and Government is often puzzled to know iiow to decide between the two. The foot-and-mouth disease has been in this country since ISIT, and some persons believe that that diseases came from foreign parts. That reminded him of General Trochu accounting for the immorality that prevailed in Paris before the war, by saying it arose from Eng- lish luxury and Italian corruption. But whatever the cause, it was essential that proper care should be taken to ascertain the length of time which the disease migiit take before it manifested itself. One inspecting officer says the disease can be discovered in eight days. If so, let a quarantine last eiglit days. Mr. Fowler states the disease couldn't be discovered within three weeks. If so, let the quarantine last three weeks. Mr. Abel Smith, M.P., said his attention had been called to the extent of out-relief: he was no advocate for refusing relief where it might break up homes or send families into the workhouse, that would be increasing expenditure : he would also have the aged and infirm well taken care of; but the ablebodied paupers ought to work hard. He had no pity for the idle vagabond tramps, and he would make them work hard and try to earn their own living : he regretted to see iu the Poor-law reports a great increase of vagrancy in the coun- try ; and they all ought to try and check it. Mr. J. K. FowLEK said, when they attempted to defend their flocks and herds from foreign infection they were called protectionists in disguise ; but he said defend us from foreign disease, and you are iielping to make meat cheap for the people of this country. With regard to the period of incubation of the foot-and-mouth disease, one authority stated that it required ten to twelve days before it showed itself. After further remarks respecting the disease in the locality, and what had been said and done at other meetings about it he added. They did naturally expect that tlie members for agricultural boroughs, as well as for agricultural counties, would not have deserted Mr. Sewell Read in the House of Commons ; and would not have left the House to be counted out when he brought for- ward the question of cattle disease. He thought it was a great slur on Mr. Read's exertions. Let them hope that at some future day — he hoped not far distant — they would see that most oppressive and disgraceful tax removed — the Malt Tax. They knew its effects in many ways on labourers and others ; but he would tell of its effects on cattle feeding. One of the most successful exhibitors of fat stock said he never took beasts to the show without their having one or two sacks of malt, and he said it was one of the best things possible for feed to finish off" the animals for the butcher. Now, if only one sack is required, the duty on that is lis. 4d. ; and it was a scandal and a shame if a farmer sent, say only 20 beasts to the market, that he should be taxed above £11 on ins own produce, for getting meat into condition fit for the food of the people. That was point to be pressed on the attention of tlie public. LINCOLNSHIRE. At Bourn, Mr. Welbt, M.P., said, respecting the subject of local taxation, he was not clear in liis own mind whether it THE PAEMER'S MAGAZINE. 621 «'ould be wise on their part to press for any immediate decision oa that topic ; he doubted if any measure that would at all im- prove their position would be likely to gain attention at present. There were matters of far greater importance than local taxa- tion which called for legislation ; not the least of which was the question of providing proper rules and regulations for the management of coal and other mines, whereby they could, if possible, prevent for the future those fearful losses of life which annually occurred from explosions. Another matter of the greatest importance was the adoption of measures for guard- ing against the pollution of the air we breathe and the water we drink. No one could blame the agriculturists of England if they were to endeavour with one voice to call for a further revision of the laws relating to the importation of cattle, lie considered the present state of things most unsatisfactory, and he believed the time was not far distant when not only farmers but all classes of the community would awake to the fact that the remedy asked for was only fair and just : he thought that fat cattle ought to be slaughtered at the ports of importation, and all foreign store beasts ought to be subject to quarantine for such time as would make it impossible for them to propa- gate disease about the country. Mr. Dean referred to the decision given by the magistrates at Sleaford petty sessions in a charge against his friend Mr. Scales of having in his possession scabbed sheep. Tliat decision was denounced by all who knew the particulars of the case. As a neighbour of Mr. Scales, he could speak to his flock being free from scab ; and to shovv the ignorance of the inspector he had been given to understand that that individual had stated he had never known a sheep to be struck on the back with flies, which was the case with the sheep in question. Mr. Scales had had scores in his experience, and a great many the last summer. The case was sent to Professor Simouds, who, being engaged at tlie time, put it in the hands of so.me other Professor, who certified it not to be scabbed. Strange to say, the magis- trates were not satisfied with this person's certificate, and called in a veterinary surgeon from Lincoln, whose opinion they acted upon in preference to that given by tlie Professor, and in opposition to Mr. Scales's own veterinary surgeon, Mr. D. Wyer, a man of great reputation in the profession and of un- qualified respectability. He admitted that the law with refer- ence to those cases was a very good one, but he thought the magistrates ought to be more careful in the investigation of such cases. So indignant were Mr. Scales' friends at the decision, that many offered to come forward and subscribe to have the case taken to a higher court. NORFOLK. At Yarmouth, Mr. C. S. Read, M.P., said they had, by the blessing of Providence, in tliat part of the country grown an excellent crop of corn, and had harvested it in capital condi- tion. Bathewasquitesurethey knew — soraeofthem better than he did — that that turn of the tide, that advent of prosperity, did not come one day or one hour too soon. He was talking to an old friend of his soon after harvest, and he said, " Yes, it is a great blessing that we have had a good harvest, and if we could get such another between tins and Christmas we should be all right." But let them be tiiankful for what they had received ; and seeing so many employers of agricultural labour present, might he ask them to have a thought for the agricultural labourer, and let him enjoy a little of their in- creased prosperity ? He knew they would say to him tliat in the winter the days were very sliort, and whereas the gentle- men in Newcastle had given men nine hours per day, they would soon have not more than seven hours' work a day from their agricultural labourers. That was so ; but he hoped they would remember the price of bread is considerably more than the average of the last few 3'ears ; that meat was exceptionally dear ; and that almost any oiher provision had very much ad- vanced in price lately. Therefore lie did hope that during the winter they would pay every labourer who was good for anything 2s. per day. Now perhaps he might be allowed to point to what had been a chief subject of discussion in tie press during the antumn — viz., what they were pleased to call " Agricultural Reform." Of course we farmers came in for a good bit of advice ; and as they charged them nothing for it, he supposed the advice was worth nothing. But he objected to be lectured as to what they were to grow, and the amount of capital they were to expend in their land. If they were in the days of protection it would be quite right for the con- sumers of the country to tell them that they did not employ enough capital ; did uot employ sufficient amount of labour ; and did not provide enough for the wants of the country. But now that they had free trade, a farmer had a right to think of himself, and not of the multitude. He must grow that which pays him best ; and if he thought grass-land was most remunerative, the country had no right to tell him that he ought to convert it into arable land. He would take the case of the light lands of Norfolk. He thought they had been ploughed too much rather than too little for the good of the farmer. Take, for instance, a large sheep-walk which might be rented at about lOs. per acre. It did not require much labour, nor a great deal of capital, and perhaps the far- mer might reap a profit of something like 5s. an acre from the land. It did not grow much certainly, but what right had the country to say, " Break up that sheep-walk, convert it into arable land, employ so much more labour, and grow us corn and more meat upon it." If it paid the farmer best to keep the land as a sheep-walk, by all the arguments of free trade he had a right to do so. Those theoretical gentlemen, those political economists, were always poking these sort of rules upon them, but they never cared about carrying them out. Why, for instance, when they set about the abolition of the law of settlement, did they not abolish it altogether, and say, " Where the tree falls there let it die ?" It was because they were afraid that the labourer, who might go into the manufacturing districts, would become a burden to them, and that they would not be able to send them back to their own parishes. Then look at the legislation with regard to the ex- cise duties on malt. Why was that left on when bricks, glass, and papers were set free ? Fair play was a jewel, and he contended that the Government had not been fair to the agri- culturists. When they pretended to carry out a measure it should be carried out independently of party or individual in- terest, and they should endeavour to do what was right, not for one class, but for every class of this great nation. Mr- CoRRANCE, M P., said : The malt-tax was not a party question,, for it affected the interests of all. He might enumerate a roll of questions which Mr. Read had fought for, and in connection with which he (Mr. Corrance) had been his humble coadjutor. Local taxation, the adminis- tration of the Poor-law, and the Cattle Plague questions were not party matters, but they would, he believed, become so, for sooner or later, they would be adopted by a party, and they who were sometimes blamed for being too much party men— and this had even been said of Mr. Read — were simply in honest good faith advocating the interests of their constituents, and were obliged to adopt one side or the other. However those whom he was addressing niiglit differ in opinion, they would agree with him that if they had no party, yet as agricul- turists they had a distinct and definite policy, which policy was to obtain either a partial or complete repeal of the malt- lax, and to endeavour to induce the Privy Council to perform the duties they had undertaken. Agriculturists had interests in local taxation far more than most of them were aware, and when they began to pay the education rate and saw the provi- sions of the Sanitary Bill, they would begin to realise it. All were agreed upon these points, and he thought Government ought to have the pressure of such gentlemen as he saw around him in order to ensure their due performance. There were otiier things that the Government ought not to do, and he called upon those who belonged to the opposite party to say so, as it would come better from their lips — let them tell Govern- ment honestly this, that the Chancellor of the Exchequer had no business to waste a million of money upon the corn duties, and that he ought uot to throw out broad hints for taxing the farmers, because sometimes these hints were unpleasantly acted upon. As a party man, he would say that these were not party politics, but agricultural politics, and he wished all agriculturists on such matters to sail in the same boat toge- ther. There was one other requirement that they wanted, and that was more agricultural members. Perhaps he was a bold man to say this in the presence of Mr. Read, but what he de- sired to convey was that the agricultural members were not sufficiently strong to fight the battles of the agriculturists. The agriculturists were not represented in the proper numeri- cal proportion — there were good and excellent men amongst them, but there were not enough. At Acle, Mr. C. S. Read, M.P., said this time twelve months I made a few observations upon the tenure of laud in this 522 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. county, and since then there has heen established in Lon- don a Land Tenure Reform Association. This society is, to my mind, very wild and very revolutionary. But gentlemen must remember that although this little cloud is no " bigger than a man's hand," in the present aspect of affairs it may be- come something terrible. It is no use saying to us that things are wild, revolutionary, and visionary. You must remember that those things that were considered wild and revolutionary forty years ago, have been adopted by the strongest Govern- ment the country has ever had ; and when I tell you what this society proposes to do, perhaps you will say that its sup- porters are most unreasonable, I think they are.' They are all philosophers — learned men. The president is Mr. John Stuart Mill, who tells us that there is no real property in land ; that is to say, that the State never actually parts with the laud, but that it always has the power to step in and buy it up for the public good, just the same as a railway company has the power, after having got an Act of Parliament, to buy land to make a railway. Tliey also say that we have no right to the increased value of the land unless we happen to make that increase ourselves. Now, I should like very much that Mr. John Stuart Mill should come into Norfolk, to thoroughly agricul- tural land, and see how much land can he increased in value unless you do something to improve it. But these gentlemen are going to abolish the law of primogeniture ; to prevent the accumulatioQ of land in large properties ; to insist on the Go- veruraent buying up large estates as they come into the market, and to let thera out to be farmed on the co-operative prin- ciple. I am quite sure that, as practical men, you will say, " What stuff and nonsense all this is !" But, you must re- member that in these days things are judged theoretically. If a thing is not theoretically right, however well it may answer in practice, the Parliament of this country comes and upsets it. Everybody acknowledged that the Irish Church was no practical grievance, but it was abolished. Everybody has told us that purchase in the army practically worked well, but it ii abolished. And so you may go on. Every institution of this country has to be tried on its merits — I even say on its theoretical merits — and, therefore, I contend that unless land- lords and occupiers of land are thoroughly united, the time may come — I do not say that it is just now — when we shall find ourselves even in a worse bos than we are at pre- sent. One grievance that, as an occupier of land, I pointed out this time twelvemonth was that in a great agricultural county like this the occupier of the soil has no right whatever to any one of the im- provements that he makes. There is no custom, and unless there is a private agreement, all those things are by law the property of the landlord. I will ask you, as practical farmers, supposing you were to receive notice to quit on next Lady-day, and you were all to leave your farms next Michael- mas, whether you would not leave in the land at least £1 per acre of your property, which I contend ought to be as much your property as tiie balance that you may happen to have at the baukers. Now, I say that with increased appliances of science, we farm better and we farm more expensively almost every day. It was said to me at Blofield, " The custom of the country which you talk about, namely, the Tenant- Right of Lincolnshire, may be very well for Lincolnshire," but why in the world should it not be right in Norfolk ? The wolds of Lincolnshire, where this Tenant-llight is common, are exactly the same sort of land as the greater portion of West Norfolk, and under the system of payment for unexhausted improvements the agriculture ol Lincolnshire has wonderfully advanced. We have in Norfolk 830,000 acres of arable land ; supposing we strike out 30,000 for very small holdings, another 100,000 for land occupied by the owners, and another 100,000 acres as badly farmed, there are still left 000,000 acres which, unless held under lease, have by law uo protection to the tenant. I believe that if the Tenant-Right of Lincolnshire, which is uothing more nor less than compensation for unexhausted improvements, were extended to Norfolk, that you would see it would do more towards the advancement of agriculture than anything else. Landlords say they do not like to grant long leases. There is a great deal to be said for and against this. But I cannot see what there is to be said^ against compensation to tenants for unexhausted improvements. I was told at Blofield last year that there was no improvement in this part of the country that the tenant made which he could be com- pensated for. But do not some of you marl ? do not some clay ? do not some drain ? do not all use a large quantity o' artificial food and manure ? Do not tell me that you can get these out in six months. I am quite sure that if that gentleman who had made those observations had been a farmer — and it is a lucky job for him that he is not ; he has a much better birth than that — instead of a lawyer agent, he would have known very well that farmers have a great deal of floating capital in the land that is at the mercy of the landlord ; but of which, be it said to the honour of the landlords of Norfolk, they have not taken advantage. But I say that whenever there comes to be a discussion on the land, this will be one of the things pointed out to show the bad relation which exists between owners and occupiers. For goodness gracious sake, then, let us try to remove that evil before that day comes. NOTTINGHAMSHIRE. At Moorgreen, Mr. T. C. Nixon, the Chairman, said there was no doubt at all that this was a very remarkable society . This year they had been prevented from the usual compe- tition of ploughing through circumstances over which the committee, he believed, had had no control, namely, the want of land on the one side, and on the other hand the want of good conduct on the part of the working men last year. The want of land might have been got over, but in the other mat- ter he commended the committee for the prompt and decisive measures they had taken to suppress that vice which he was afraid was sometimes very injurious to the country population — he meant the vice of excessive drinking and quarrelsome- ness where there ought to be peace and happiness. They had strongly marked their determination to put down any such conduct in the future, and he trusted it would have the de- sired effect. At Bingham, Mr. Hildy.vrd, M.P., believed it was the truth that there was Dog Bill passed to answer the complaints of certain agriculturists in the Northern parts of England, to the effect that stray dogs were a great nuisance, and they hoped means would be taken to put a stop to them. The police consequently had power given them to take up all stray dogs, and that was the only direct measure that he believed had been passed in connection with agriculture. Under these cir- cumstances all he could do was to go back to, perhaps, the good intentions of the Legislature, and to what they meant to do. He must remind thera that for the last two or three years in that room he had expressed a hope that the Govern- ment would carry out its promises as to investigating the serious complaint which they made, and which they felt was properly made regarding the local taxation not being adjusted. The Go- vernment had promised this and that, and to their great delight, when Parliamentmetth's yearthey found inher Majesty's Speech that a measure for the adjustment of local burdens was to be one of those placed before them. This sounded just what they wanted, but they were rather taken aback by a paper that was then presented to them from Mr. Goschen's office, giving them statistics of the local burdens in the dif- ferent countries of Europe, and comparing them with their own. He would give them one instance, and they might judge from that. Take the case of Hungary. It was a country purely agricultural, but they compared their local taxation witli that of Hungary, and it led them to infer that their rate was very much lower than that of that country. Of course such was the case, because there was nothing but real property to tax in Hungary. Two measures based upon these erroneous statistics or premises were brought in. They were so unpalat- able both to the country and to the House of Commons that they never went to a second reading, and there was an end of their hopes as far as agricultural business was concerned. Another measure mentioned in the Queen's Speech was the Licensing Bill. In that they were all very much interested, in common with every member of the community, for wherever they went they saw the terrible effects of drunkenness in this country. Whether as magistrates or as employers of labour, they knew the evils attendant upon drunkenness, and they hoped, therefere, that by wise stipulations they might be very materially altered. A bill was brought forward, and the pro- visions were some of them good aud others so unjust, that the leading journal stated the bill was perfectly impossible. The measure dropped before the second reading, aud they would think that two such big bills being dropped they had little to do. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 523 SHROPSHIRE. At Marton, General Herbert said tliere was jio doubt that the tendency of the surphis agricultural population was to- wards the towns, and the natural effect was that education would teach men how to use inipleracuts far more complicated than those tliey at present possessed, and which may corae into use within the nest twenty years. The Americans were much in advance of the agriculturists in this country. The agricultural labourers in Cumberland and the northern coun- ties got higher wages than they got liere. They were conse- quently better clothed, better fed, and were capable of doing a better day's work. He thought wages would rise higher ; but as the labourer would be better fed, the farmer would be no loser in tlie end, because he would get a better day's work. Everybody could see that the agricultural labourer, with a large family, should live better than he did live at present. It was their bounden duty to give every child in the empire a good education in a tree country like this. They ougiit to liave a fair and full opportunity of obtaining a good education, and he would also add a good religious education. Mr. E. H. Morris said, if they discharged their duty pro- perly, by increasing the home comforts of the labourer, they would do a great deal to prevent that drunkenness which arose from a want of home comforts. The labourer was not naturally a drunkard, but was driven to it by the want of good houses and comfortable homes. A good deal was being talked of at the present time about the wages of agricultural labourers be- ing so low, men getting 9s., 10s., and lis. per week ; but then the labourers had other perquisites that made their wages equal to los. or 16s. a week. For his own part, he (Mr. Morris) would rather pay his labourers 15s. or 16s. per week than allow them the perquisites he did. Mr. BowEN Jo^^Es said, from the report on the prize farms for " the Royal," it was shown that not only did labourers work hard and fare hard, but also that a good deal of hard work vi^as done by farmers and their wives. On the dairy farms it appeared that they commenced work at four in the morning, and were frequently at work till nine or ten at night. He did not know how it was in that neighbourhood, but he could speak for his own, and he was sure they could not get labourers to work so many hours. Farmers scarcely took stock of the hours they and their wives and families worked, and lie felt constrained to turn from the report he had quoted to the uine hours system at Newcastle. It was a strange anomaly to him to think that while the labouring classes were deserving a cessation of labour and higher wages, the farmers were work- ing harder than ever. They should not forget the value of tlie labour of the farmer and his family, but at the same time he hoped the wages of the labonrer would increase, as long as it was possible for the farmer to obtain a fair remuneration for his capital and labour. One of the great means to the above end was not only to educate the labourers, but to educate themselves, as all present would admit what a lever educa- tion was to every man's progress. He thought a scheme might be devised that the endowments in the county should be added to the middle class schools, so that an agricultural edu- cation may be given in them. As to the cattle disease, the higaest veterinary authority in the hmd stated that the foreign diseases imported into the country were the cause of disease to their own herds and flocks. It was therefore of the utmost importance that tlie foreign cattle should be slaughtered at the port of debarkation. The farmers should show their deter- mination to Parliament, and the work would be done. SOMERSETSHIRE. At Hawkchurch Mr. He.vl thought they would agree with him that many things which had recently transpired were very disparaging to the agriculturists. They could not shut their eyes to the fact that so much centralisation in- creased their taxation, and had a tendency to crush the middle classes out of existence. They knew how considerably their rates and taxes had increased during the last few years. And now they were about to have placed upon them that most ob- noxious rate for compulsory education. He agreed with edu- cation to a certain extent. But he did not agree with nursing the labouring classes, which seemed to be the aim and object of modern legisln.tion. Independently of acts of parliament, the facilities for education were now so great that every dili- gent boy had the opportunity to learn. He considered that an act of Parliament which kept boys in indolence until they were thirteen years of age was highly injurious both to the boys and to the employers of labour. His experience was that boys who went to work in their early days turned out to be the best men. He gave boys of nine or ten years of age 5d. or 6d. a-day, which was a great help to the labourer in the bring- ing up of his family. But when the boys were highly educated they would become so elevated in their ideas that tliey would be above doing dirty work. They would say, " Oh, I can read and write, and I shall not do dirty work. I shall be a policeman, or a porter," and would treat the industrious youth who went to work at uine years of age with contempt, although he was worth twice as muoh as the young scamp who had just left school. There were many labourers who had five or six children under ten years of age. How was it possible for those men, with eight or uine shillings a-week, to send their children to school ? Who would have to bear the burden of educating them but the middle classes, who often could not afford to pay for the education of their own children? He felt convinced that that Act of Parliament would be the means of rearing up the offspring of the labourer to indolence. The boys, because they could make a few figures, would scorn to do the work which it was their duty to perform. He did not think that education made the world more honest or more moral. If they traced the crime of the past half-century they would find that most of the murders, suicides, and robberies were committed by people who were educated. And another proof that book knowledge did not make them better was the fact that the more schools tliere were the more policemen were required to watch over the people. He asked them to look at highly-educated Prussia, where much more crime was com- mitted amongst that supposed-to-be enlightened race than amongst the illiterate working classes of England? The Education Act gave an undue advantage to the labouring class over the middle, and what with Republicanism and with the pernicious influence exercised by the artisans of the great manufacturing districts — who were always fostering a spirit of restless discontent — the middle classes would be ultimately swamped unless they stirred themselves to bring about an al- tered state of things. STAFFORDSHIRE. At Shenstone, Col. Dyott had heard many things said with regard to co-operative agriculture. He looked upon that as a co-operative society composed of the owners and occupiers of the soil working together for their common good. The two important points which in his humble judgment ought to be principally considered at this time by agricultural associations were, first, the extreme burdens which they had to bear in the shape of rates and general taxation ; and secondly, the state of the labour market, which was a matter of pressing impor- tance. The ideas of some as to what should be the hours of work and their remuneration were expressed in a little couplet : Eight hours' sleep, eight hours' play, Eight hours' work, and eight shillings a-day. This really meant four days' work and two days' play in a week, and this was what the operatives in the great hives of industry, or hives of idleness — for they might call them which they liked— were really asking for. The agricultural labourers had not yet reached this point; but his experience led liim to this conclusion, that when the employer was in great need of help, as at harvest time, the labourer, instead of lending a helping hand, as he ought to do in return for the benefits con- ferred upon him, took advantage of the opportunity to extract between 30s. and 'tOs. from the employer for reaping his wheat. This was a lamentable return to make for what they hoped and believed they were doing for the labouring classes by means of these agricultural societies. He should like to see a different feehng exist when the day of trial came, for he thought that the men should be content with a fair remune- ration. With regard to the increase of the local rates, it had been caused, not by the expenditure for the relief of the poor, but in a great measure by the police force. He thought the time had come when the Government ought to be asked to consider whether they should not take the police force under their entire control, and defray the cost out of the national exchequer. The cost of the police force in this country was about £50,000 a year, and if this were transferred from the 524 THE FAEMER'S MAGAZINE. local to the imperial taxpayers it would be a great relief to tlie occupiers of land, while lie questioned whether the force would nut be better managed than at present. He was one of those who tliought that the existing management of the police force was not what it might be. He believed it was susceptible of very great improvement. The tendency now was to increase the force iu the direction of the superior officers. Instead of having useful constables with staff iu hand, we had to pay for superior officers, very highly dressed, and it must be remem- bered, too, that this dress was a thing we had to pay for. This he thought was a matter which constituents should press upoQ the notice of candidates at the proper time. With re- gard to agriculture, he might say that for 25 years or more he had been as much a practical agriculturist as any one of them, and he was not altogether satisfied that the course they pur- sued was a right one. They were working under what was now called tiie four-course system, and he had his doubts as to whether it was the right one for them to pursue any longer. It was not the system many years ago, and the crops were then more productive than they now were ; formerly the barley produce was almost double ^^ hat it was now, but then the seed crop was not broken up as it was now under the four- course system, but was allowed to lie about three or four years before it was broken up. He thought they might with ad- vantage consider whether they should not abandon this four- course system and return to one more like that which prevailed fifty years ago, when these very large crops of barley were produced. If they wished for a suitable season in which to begin the change by allowing the seeds to lie down more than one year, tiiey could not have a better one than the present, for in all his experience he had never known so good a prospect for the clover crop. Wlieat and bsrley were good in some respects, but as regarded turnips the less said tlie better. The gallant Colonel concluded amid loud applause by expressing the deep interest he felt in the success of the Asso- ciation and in agriculture generally. Mr. BiiAWN said they were continually told that the next (juestion which must rise to the political surface was the land question, and while the majority of those who were engaged in the cultivation of the soil were sorely puzzled to know what it meant, every one else appeared to know sometiiing about it. Tiiere was one class of the community that believed the solution of this subject would be found iu the division of tlie land among the population. How agriculture could be carried on under such circumstances he must leave them to decide. Another section of the same class insisted that the State should take the soil in their own hands, and cultivate it for the benefit of the people. He saw but one advantage which could be gained by sucli an arraugement — that when the State turned farmer we should hear no more about the foot-and-mouth disease. There was anotlier little cloud rising in the agricultural horizon. In a town in Lancashire a com- mittee had been formed to check the rapacity of the greedy fanner, and their first edict had gone forth to this effect: " Whatever others may do, the inhabitants of this town shall be supplied with new milk at Hi. a quart, skim milk at Id., and butter milk at 0?rd. a quart." He believed tliat their next movement would be to fix the prices of beef and mutton, and this would prove a very serious matter. As to Mr. Mechi's advice, his (Mr. Brawn's) counsel was, " Improve your pas- tures as much as you can, but don't break them up." He recommended as au inexpensive way of improving pasture lands the consumption upon them, especially in the winter mouths, of cake and other food suitable for the cattle depas- tured on them. Grass land was necessary for the rearing of young stock. Mr. Mechi said that young stock did not pay, but the same might be said of the juvenile portion of the Immau race. Moreover, if we reared no calves where would be our mountains of beef. He advocated the migration of labourers from places where they were superabundant to others where their services were much needed, and as to the land question farmers wanted a reasonable assurance that they could not be turned out at six months' notice and lose wliat- ever they had invested iu the improvement of their farms. It was the shooting season, and in the face of such a phalanx of landlords and sportsmen it would be dangerous to poach, or he would fire off a barred at the hares and rabbits. Lord Derby had said that the cause of excessive preservation of game was not .sport but ostentation. He did not believe that there was any landlord in that room troubled with this com- plaint, but he w'ould ask them while enjoying reasonable sport to give their tenants permission within certain restrictions to destroy hares and rabbits. At Penkridge, Lord HATnERTON said : Possibly some day we shall have a Act establishing County Financial Boards. He was not one of those who would object to inch a measure if it were proposed, but he was satisfied that though they might have more talk at such boards the business would not be one whit better conducted, and no greater economy would be prac- tised by those who were sent as the representatives of the rate- payers than by the magistrates of the county. He read the other day a remark made at an agricultural meeting that the police of this county cost no less a sum than £50,000 annually. This might have alarmed some of them, but what were the facts? nually. Anyone who read that statement would have supposed that the county police cost £50,000 annually, whereas this sum represented the gross expenditure of the whole police witliin the county, boroughs included, and on the opposite side of the account nothing was said with respect to the return which was made in the shape of fees for services, payments made by the police for accommodation in their barracks, and for the allowance of one-fourth the cost of pay and clothing made by Government. The real fact as regraded the county police was that the usual expenditure amounted to £iZ4-,S00 a-year for a population of nearly 700,000. During the year ended the 30th of September last the police rates collected in the county amounted to £22,G~1. This only showed liow figures might mislead persons when the explanation was not forthcoming at the time. Witii respect to agriculture, he might observe that at the meeting at Walsall last year he intimated his intention of trying the experiment of autumn cultivation for the barley spring crop. He was bound to say that it was a signal failure. Such cultivation might be of great service where the land was very retentive, and where sheep could not be folded so much on the ground during the winter ; but on such land as he had — of a poor character — nothing compensated for that constant dibbling of the manure by the sheep's foot into the soil. The barley grown on tiie laud cultivated in the autumn was not only later than that which w as cultivated in the usual way, but it was a poor crop. SUFFOLK. At Ixworth, Colonel Parker, M.P., felt that the legislature had been, to some extent, remiss in not preventing the fre- quent introduction of disease by the adoption of more cautious measures with reference to the importation of foreign cattle. It was said that when the foreign ports were opened the poor, as well as the rich, would be able to get meat at a reasonable price, but what was the case now ? Beef was Is. per lb., and that was a tiling never heard of before. He hoped that some steps might be taken by the legislature which would be a remedy for the serious evils which now existed. Lord Augustus Hervey, M.P., thought it must be patent to all who considered the subject that the importations of cattle from abroad did not balauce the amount of meat which was lost by the diseases which were imported with the cattle, and he considered that the best means that could be adopted to put an end to the state of things which now existed was to have the fat beasts slaughtered at the port of entry, and a sufficient quarantine for store cattle. Mr. GKEE^'E, the chairman, as to the question of the disease amongst cattle, considered it was necessary that mea- sures should be adopted for the importation of cattle, though he would not for a moment put a bar upon food coming into this country. It had been said and not contradicted, that foreign cattle only formed five per cent, of the food of England, and he asked whether we were not injured to that amount from want of care in reference to the importation. Therefore, though we could have no desire to keep food out of the country, we did desire that it should come in, in a manner so as not to cause as much, if not more injury than it did good. As to the exhibition of roots, he thought the display highly creditable. He could not help thiuking that better roots, if not so fine, might be jiroduced by sowing the seed later. He had lately come from Norfolk, and he found that the turnips which were sown early sull'ered a good deal from frost, and did not appear to recover, whereas the latter sown ones had suffered little, and they were now beginning to grow, and would make good roots. Adverting to the question of deep cultivation, his ex- perience was that on his deeply culivated land the crops in time THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. .25 of drouglit would not fail nearly so quickly as those on his neighbour's land. Many people liad an idea that the subsoil was brought to the surface, llis plan was to take the culti- vator, and cultivate the laud 10 or la inches deep for the turnip crop ; then followed the laj er, and he maintained that that suited the drought better than any other system. As to leases, Lord Leicester had stated that he found in the leases of his estate such restrictions as he should not like to be bound by were he a tenant of a farm ; and he had endeavoured, with the assistance of his agent, to frame a lease more in accord- ance with the spirit of the age. He (Mr. Greene) thought there ought to be less restrictions. The more liberty a tenant had, the more his interest was bound up in the land, the better it would be for both parties. A tenant could not farm land long to the injury of the landlord without injuring himself. Some objected to education on the ground that labourers, when educated, were likely to leave the soil and become police- men, or go on to the railway, or into some other employment. He apprehended no such results, provided the labourers had comfortable dwellings provided for them. If the labourer be- came the more valuable by reason of education, the more im- portant it was to attach him to the soil, and there was no better way of doing that tiian by providing good homes, with a little piece of land. Tlie Education Bill which had been passed he considered a fair compromise for all parties, but he saw that there was some agitation going on with respect to religious questions. He contended that to give education without religion was like sending a ship to sea without a rudder. Mr. J. E. R.v>'S0ME said : Double-furrow ploughs had a good many advantages, which, perhaps, were not seen at first sight. On light land two horses were usually employed to draw a single plough. That was generally an excess of |!Ower which was not really wanted, and if it was possible to divide the two horses into other subdivisions of the two parts, they would not probably use so mucii power as they now did, but, inasmuch as one horse was not sullicient, two had to be used ; but the double-furrow plough, properly made, did not take more than half as much again drautrht-power as a single plough, and two horses were often sufiicient to work a double plough on a light land farm. He was not, of course, speaking of special work done seven, eight, or nine inches deep, but of ordinary ploughing of five or six inches. In the case of mixed soil land, three horses on a double plough were often equal to do the work of four, and there was, therefore, a saving of one horse out of four. On very heavy land, where three horses were employed on a single plough, four horses would generally be able to do the work with the double furrow, and tiiere would then be a saving of two horses out of six. The horses would not be working harder than with the single plough, inasmuch as they took only one half more draught, and it must be patent to every one who considered the subject that there was an advantage beyond any reduction that could be made in the draught of tiie ordinary plough. Take for in- stance the single plough which required two horses, In order to make that into a suitable draught for one horse, it would be necessary to reduce the draught one half, and that would njt be possible. It might be reduced a fourth, but by putting two together it was possible to eDFect some of it by using three horses, because then the draught power was exactly equal to the work. Another advantage was there was not so much treading of the bottom of the work. Tliere was also the saving; of the men, and the getting over the work at the proper season of the year. There was in the new plough a consider- able saving in the draught in some soils by the use of the friction wheel. lie might, perhaps, be allowed to point out what the actual money saving effected by the use of double ploughs would be. The ploughing per acre with two horses, putting them at ~s. Gd. each, and the man 2s., with a single plough, would make 7s. per day. That was exclusive of wear and tear of the implement. Tlie double plough, with three horses at 2s. 6d., and the man at 2s., would make 9s. 6d., half of which was 4s. 9d., showing a saving of 2s. 3d. per acre on all the ploughing that was done. It would be found that on an average the whole of the arable land on a farm was ploughed twice a-year, some parts requiring but one ploughing, others three or four, and it therefore made a saving of 4s. 6d. per acre on all the ploughed land. On the other hand, there was no gain if the horses, which had been saved by the use of double ploughs, were standing still, but he took it that on most farms more horses were kept than would be necessary for the other operations, provided the ploughing could be got over, at the right time of the year, with a lesser number. It would be understood that the basis upon which he went was this, that more horses were used than would be the case if the ploughing could be accomplished at the right time of the year. Supposing, to illustrate his remarks, he took a farm of 300 acres of arable land. He did not think it would be an ex- treme calculation to say that on such a farm 12 horses would be required, six men, and six single ploughs. If three double ploughs were used, only nine horses and three men would be required to work them, and they would get over the same quantity of work, and there would then be a saving of three men and three horses. These three horses, or at least two of them, might be dispensed with during the greater portion of the year, and perhaps the whole ; and the time of the men who v.'ould otherwise have been employed in single ploughing would be saved. Taking an average of farms, some light and some mixed, and some heavy soils, an acre per day was accom- plished with an ordinary plough, and double this quantity, or two acres a-day might be considered a fair day's work for a double plough. At this rate the ploughing on the whole of the farm would take about 17 weeks per annum. The fol- lowing calculation would show the saving effected : Interest on the value of 3 horses at £30, equal to £90, at 5 per cent £4 10 0 Annual decrease in value, at £2 each ... ... 6 0 0 Hazard of loss at 5 per cent. ... ... ... 4 10 0 Annual value of food : 3 horses, at I2s. a-week 93 13 0 Shoeing and farrierv, at £1 each ... ... 3 0 0 Wages of 3 men, for 17 weeks, at lOs 25 10 0 Total Deduct interest on value of 3 double ploughs at £10, at 5 per cent. 137 2 0 1 10 0 £135 12 0 On 300 acres, this amounted to 9s. per acre. If only two of the three horses could be dispensed with, the saving would still amount to £100, or 6s. 6d. per acre. If they present would consider these figures, they would find that there was something substantial at the bottom of them. Some advo- cated the using of the spare horses in other work. If the horses were turned to another account and the produce was increased thereby, there would, he thought, still be a saving of the amount he had named. It did not matter to the firm he represented whether they sold single or double ploughs, but it was a matter of considerable importance to farmers, if by the use of double ploughs they could effect such a saving or even half as much as he had named. SURREY. At Epsom, Mr. Page, the vice-chairman, said the fact is, what they principally required was to be let alone ; so far as regarded the farming interest, he believed it would do better without legislation altogether. It had been the rule to impose iresh taxes on farmers from time to time, and the Legislature, like the taskmasters of old, demanded that they should make more bricks with less straw. There was one serious point in connection with agriculture which demanded earnest considera- tion— he alluded to the diiniuutioa of stock in the country. All who are acquainted with the details of larming must know that to meet the increasing wants of the population it must be carried out on a high scale — that is to say, an increased number of stock should be kept on the land to furnish facili- ties for obtaining larger supplies of manure. Of late years, disease has been imported among our herds with serious effect upon the production of stock, because, in addition to the in- roads which the disease made, the breeders of stock were struck with a panic which prevented them from breeding as they used to do because of the risk they run ; for nothing is so injurious to a farmer when he has a nice herd of cattle as to see them carried off by disease that might be averted. The Legislature has wisely come to the resolution that the disease is owing to the importation of foreign stock into the country. They have taken some pains to remedy it, but their views are very one- sided— they put in the vent-peg but leave open the bung-hole. They impose most vexatious regulations upon us to stamp out the disease, but at the same time that great offender, Mr. Forster, allows foreign stock from the holds of vessels, reeking 526 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. with pestilence, to travel all over the country and spread disease around them. He (Mr. Page) was a member of the Home Cattle Defence Society, and they held that the matter could not be put on a safe footing unless foreign cattle were slaughtered at the point of landing. If this was done, it would tend to lower the price of meat, because tlie present risk pre- vents breeding. All the breeders want is security, which they cannot have under the existing regulation as to the importatiou of foreign cattle. This is a question which affects all classes in the couutry, for unless something is done the price of meat will be still further enhanced. It had been established by statistics that only five per cent, of the home consumption of cattle is imported ; nevertheless, those in high places were wil- ling, by giving an undue advantage to that five per cent., to jeopardise the remaining ninety-five ; but when this was repre- sented to the authorities, what was the answer ? That the foreigner must not be discouraged, because if he is it will in- terfere v^ith the supply. If a poor fellow had a cow with a little foaming at the mouth, the magistrates on the county benches were down npou him directly, and, with a good deal of virtuous indignation, fined him £5 ; yet Mr. Forster takes animals out of the noisome holds of ships reeking with con- tagion, and gets off scot-free. SUSSEX. At Lov.er Seeding, Mr. Hubbard, the chairman, said it was sometimes a question with farmers as to which was the most profitable farming, for " corn " or " horu." On con- sidering this question, they must remember the relative value of corn and meat was now very different to what it was one hundred years ago, when it was supposed that a pound of bread and a pound of meat were of equal money value, and he need not stop to point out the difference in the value now, as they knew all about it. Then, again, they had, in con- sidering this question, to remember that the great corn-growing countries of Russia and America, from both of which we drew immense supplies, were extending their growth of wheat to an enormous extent, and particularly so in Russia, a country with which he was much better acquainted than lie was with America. But the supply from either of those countries was no doubt practically unlimited, and facilities for transit were now so great that the price of wheat in this country was not likely to vary much. Now, although these countries could produce an abundance of meat as well as corn, the distance was too great for the transportation of fresh meat into the markets of this country, and hence the high and increasing prices which it commands. But whether they farmed princi- pally for meat or for corn, the cultivation of the land must always be a matter of the highest importance to farmers, and good ploughing was always sure to be one essential to the suc- cess of the farmer, and they might therefore be said, in giving prizes for ploughs, to have taken one step in the right direc- tion. He should very much like to see in this country more care and consideration given to the well-being of the labourers. He should like to see them better fed, better clad, and better housed tiian tiiey were. In m;tny parts of the country the dwellings of the agricultural labourer were but wretched huts. A sty might do for a pig, but the labourer who works upon the land should have a wholesome and comfortable habitation. He believed that just round about them they were tolerably well olf, but in many other parts they were in a most deplor- able condition. It had been given as a reason why farmers did not take more care and account of their labourers that when they were worn out and good for nothing they had no difliculty or expense in replacing them, whilst an agricultural implement or a slave when worn out could not be replaced without a fresh outlay of capital. If tiiey looked into the matter thoroughly, however, farmers, he thought, would see that by not giving greater consideration for the comfort and well-being of their labourers, all the best and most intelligent of them were being taken away from them by the railways to large towns and populous districts. He was very glad to see, however, that both at Sliropshire and AVestnioreland, where he had lately been, a great improvement had lately been made with regards to the dwellings of the poor. The whole face of the couutry had been entirely changed by the erection of new cottages on the land, and he hoped soon to see these improve- ments more general throughout the country, for they might depend upon it that every encouragement possible should be given to those who labour on the land. "WORCESTERSHIRE. At Alveley Mr. R. Woodward said it might be of some little interest to them to know that in the present year^ which, as they all know, was not a very productive year — the yield of that wlieat, which had been thrashed out in the last two or three v.eeks, had been 38 bushels (of G21bs.) to the statute acre. The wheat which gained the first prize went by the name of " Riddle," and he got it four or five years ago from Gloucestershire. That crop of 13j acres yielded 35 or 36 bushels, which, for the present year, he thought they would not deem a very bad crop. Probably they would not consider it a waste of their time if he went a little into detail as to what their present position was and w hat were their prospects with regard to the supply of food. They were probably aware that the eyes of the country were very much upon them as agriculturists, and that the Press had taken the matter up very warmly. The Times newspaper was very early in the field prog- nosticating that this or that crop would be a failure, and that this or that crop would be abundant. The Times sent round a commissioner (Mr. Sanderson) to examine the crops of the country about the period of harvest time. Probably those present were not all aware of the report vhich IMr. Sanderson had made to the Times as to the result of last year's harvest. It was published in the Times some three months ago — about the commencement of harvest. Mr. Sanderson gave it as his opinion that the wheat crop of the present year was somewhat superior to that of 1867, but rather inferior to that of 1860. Many of those present were, he was sure, well aware that the crops of 1867 and 1869 were both very deficient, whereas the crops of 1866, 1868, and 1870 were deemed abundant. Mr. Scott, another eminent agriculturist, published his opinion of the harvest. He had, to some extent, confirmed Mr. Sanderson that the crop of wheat is a very deficient one, and not superior to 1669. What the opinion of those present might be he was utterly unaware, but he was perfecty willing to state his opinion of the crop of 1S71. He did not hesitate to say that it was superior in point of yield to that of eitlier 1867 or 1869, although he could not but admit that it was a very deficient crop. The deficiency also with regard to condition was very great indeed. He, however, did not subscribe to the belief that it was as deficient as in 1867 or 1869. Nevertheless we should require a very considerable importation of foreign grain to supply tlie population of tliis country with food until the next harvest. He totally differed from the opinion of Mr. Sanderson, that it was an exceedingly bad crop of wheat and a most abundant crop of barley. Mr. Sanderson considered the crop of wheat to be at least 25 per cent. short of the average. He did not think it more than 14 or 15 per cent, below an average crop. Mr. Sanderson believed the barley crop to be 25 per cent, above the average. He had had some little experience of the yield, having thrashed about one-third or one-fourth of his crop. If Mr. Sanderson had informed the Times that the barley crop was 10 per cent, above the average of the last four or five years, he would have been much nearer the mark. As to wheat being anything like so deficient a crop as in 1867, he did not believe it. Mr. Lawes, the eminent manure manufacturer, with whom, no doubt, many of them dealt, and whose manures, he understood, were really good, had followed iu the wake of Mr. Sanderson and Mr. Scott. He declared the wheat crop to be so deficient this year that we should require thirteen million quarters to carry us on till next harvest. He (Mr. Woodward) did not believe anything of the kind. He thought it probable that as for the last seven years we had imported on an average eight milliora quarters per anuum, we might now be said to require aid to the extent of from seven to ten millions. He felt satisfied, from the information he had from abroad, that if we should happen to require anything like 13 million quarters we should never get them. With regard to the future price of corn — a point on which they might not be inclined to totally disregard his opinion — he thought it would be their own fault if they did not realise for their crop of wheat from 53s. to 60s. per quarter, or, speaking of the Worcester- shire bag, from 20s. to 22s. 6d. That opinion he would qualify from the circumstance that the potato crop was said to be going into decay in many parts of the country. He thought that about 8s. a quarter in the price of wheat might for the nest six or eight months hinge upon the good keeping, or the decaying of tiic potato crop. Potatoes entered TSEFARMER'S MAGAZINE. 627 largely into the food of this country, aiid if, during the winter, they decayed and became exceedingly dear, there would be a mucli larger consumption of bread, and the consequence would be that before they could supplement the present year's crop of wheat by imports to any great extent from America, the Baltic, and South Russia, they might have a rise of even 8s. a quarter in the price of wheat. He had thought it might be apropos on such an occasion to give his opinion of the state of the corn market, hecause this had a very material influence upon the other interests of the country. In fact all eyes were upon the supply of food, and the Press was very forward in making matters known to the people. It was the policy of the Press to make things as smooth as possible lest the public should become alarmed about the deficiency in the supply of food. He need not tell them that the great interests of the country were in a most thriving and prosperous state. Tliey appeared to have emerged from the difliculties that had pressed upon them since 1S6G. The commercial, manufacturing, and mining interests, were all in a state of great prosperity, conse- quently tliere would be an increased consumption of food, and even of luxuries. It behoved all who were interested iu agri- culture to do their utmost for the common weal. He need scarcely say to any practical farmer that it was a duty he owed to himself and his family, his landlord, and the coramuuity at large, to get out of the land as much as he possibly could. At tlie same time he must not forget, if lie extracted from the land a large crop of corn or grass, to put something into that laud. It would be as reasonable to suppose that the human frame could endure for a succession of days 16 hours' labour in the 2i hours as that the land could hear overcropping without something being put into it. He therefore urged them not to forget to manure their land ; this would afford them the best security for the crops they desired to ob ain from it. The population of the country, by the last census, was thirty-one millions, and a deficiency of two or three million quarters in the product of wheat was a very serious matter. He did uot say but what the country could pay for what it wanted ; the surplus of the world came to us. But the greater tlie proportion of the food of the country which they could produce, the greater would be the wealth and prosperity of the country. That time last year Frauce was desolated by one of the most disastrous wars that ever overtook any European nation. Had the late Em- peror been still upon the throne, and that war been avoided, he had not the least doubt, looking to the deficiency in tlie harvest of France this year, that they would have had at the present moment at least 8s. a- quarter more for wheat, and a proportionate advance in every other description of grain. But in reality the French people were so crippled in their resources from the immense amount of indemnity they had to pay to the Germans that they could not afford to consume the amount of wheaten bread they had been accustomed to, and he did uot fear in the foreign markets that competition from a French demand which might otherwise have been experienced. Therefore, he was not sanguine that they could expect very high prices for wheat, although he believed the present price would be maintained, and even increased. THE STORING OF TURNIPS. PENRITH FARMERS' CLUB. At a meeting of this Club, Sir H. Vane presiding, Mr. Newby-Fr.vser, of Hay Close, read a paper on " The Storing of Root Crops," in the course of which he said : With regard to turnips, of course it greatly depends upon how the farmer intends to consume them during the v/inter and spring how he will store them ; that is whether they are to be consumed in the byres and sheds by cattle, or in the fields by sheep. In ray calculation I have always endeavoured as nearly as possible to consume two-thirds of my turnip crop upon the ground by sheep, the remaining one-third being drawn off the fields for the feeding of other cattle at the home- stead ; and my plan of storage has been as follows : If the turnips have been intended for hoggs, my plan has been tojnit them into pits containing about three cartloads each, in rows, covering them with a little straw, and above that a layer of two or three inches of soil, allowing an opening in the top of the pit for any air to escape through that may have been caused from heatiug, &c. For Swedish turnips that have been sown early, say in May, thai have attained to their full growth, and vfliich are intended to be consumed by feeding hoggs, I have found no plan succeed so well as this, both for the safe keeping of the turnips, and also for advantage to tlie hoggs themselves, as in average seasons they come out iu February and March, clean, fresh, and dry, with very frequently not nore than one dozen bad ones out of the three cartloads. If the turnips are later sown and have not arrived at full maturity, I have generally pulled two rows or drills at a time, placed them into a deep fur opened between the two rows by means of the plough, and the returning plough covers them in. By this method I have fre- quently known turnips add one-third to two-thirds bulk between 1st of December and 1st of March, in addition to which they are taken up sound, sweet, and fresh, with scarcely a rotten root amongst them ; and another advantage is, that all cutting and poachingof the land in a wet November or December is thus entirely avoided. 1 have noticed many farmers simply allow the roots to remain in the field as they grow ; run a double mould-board plough between the drills, with a strong deep hold, and thus throw a certain amount of earth around the plants, but this plan I have never adopted, nor do I approve of it, either in theory or practice. The two plans that I have adopted certainly came at the first to a little more expense and trouble, but I am inclined to think that eventually they are much the most profitable, and my idea is that the thing " worth doing at all is worth doing well." If the turnips are intended for consumption by aged sheep, such as two and three-year-old Cheviots or black- faced wethers,|old ewes, clipped hoggs, &c., I should not attempt to do anything with them at all ; but merely allow them te re- main in the field growing, and take their chance as to the character of the winter. I have never had any occasion to at- tempt the storeage of common turnips, having always con- trived to get them consumed by Christmas at the latest by both cattle and sheep, so that the foregoing remarks must be taken as applying merely to the Swedish varieties. Next, as to the storage of turnips intended to be drawn off the fields, and consumed by cattle ; and here you will forgive me for say- ing that upon how tlie turnips are got out of the ground and stored depend in a great measure to the feeding of your cattle during winter. I maintain that all swede turnips intended for cattle feeding ought not to be sown later than the end of May, and pulled and stored not later than the 1st of December, in a clean, dry condition. I never saw anything more forcibly illustrated than this was last winter, for I had about 120 head of cattle tied up feeding for the butcher ; the ground was in a wretched wet state during the latter part of November and early part of December, and as a consequence we were only enabled to get some 200 cartloads of turnips led, in a very middling state, by the middle of December, the remainder being hacked up at intervals as it was found practicable, the consequence be- ing that my cattle did not thrive nearly so well as they other- wise would have done had the turnips been stored in a dry, clean state ; but this was attributable entirely to the excep- tional character of the season. In storing turnips for cattle feeding, being well off for turnip houses, I have at the com- saencement of the season filled them as full as possible, and the remainder I have usually carted and put into long rows at some convenient and suitable place near the farm building, making each pit about four and a half feet wide at the bottom, and about the same height in the centre. When the turnips have been thrown up and placed in proper form, T have had them covered with a slight layer of straw, and above that some two or three inches of earth. In ordinary seasons turnips keep very well this way, and generally come out fresh and green. Another plan I have found succeed very well is that of measuring out a square, say ten yards long by ten yards broad, and throwing up the turnips, cartload by cart- load, until they attained to an average and regular height of say five or six feet. When the hesp is completed they are left in a nice square, and by throwing on tlie top of the heap a covering of clean, dry wheat straw, and above that three or four inches of horse manure, I have found them keep uncom- monly well. A brief discussion followed the reading of the paper ; and votes of thauks to Mr. Fraser and the chairman brought the meeting to a close. 528 TflE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. SHEEP BREEDING AND MANAGEMENT, BY THE NORTHERN FARMER. While a Well-managed flock pays well every season, affording ample pecuniary encouragement to its owner to preserve a high standard of excellence, by the continual infusion of uew blood from the best strains in the king- dom, theie are yet years exceptionally good, when the regular breeder makes a large sum over the profit ordinarily gained, by the sudden increase in value of this description of stock. The present year affords an ex- ample of this, quite striking enough to draw the attention of all connected with this branch of husbandry, either as breeders, feeders, or dealers. The demand for sheep during the past six months has been unusually brisk, and prices have risen in a corresponding ratio. Now that breeders are maiiing up their stocks for the ensuing sea- son, it becomes actually difHcult to purchase any lot with tlie least pretention to character, without having to give a fancy price for it ; and those who are fortunate enough to liold largely, add very considerably to the receipts which might fairly be calculated on, as the result of capital judiciously invested. In former years, when a run upon sheep occurred, the high prices were principally confined to the best breeds, but of late all descriptions have participated in the rise in value, from the scraggy mountaineer, requiring years to fatten, to the maguilicent Leicester, whose native pastures are the park of a noble- man, and whose ripe maturity is attained in the brief period of twelve months. The excellent milking properties of the poorer breeds of sheep, and the valuable offsping they are thus enabled to rear when crossed with a first-class ram, is the principal reason for their gradually assuming a forward position in public estimation: this, coupled with the cheap rate at which till now the ewes could be bought in, and the superior quality of the mutton when of the right age, has apparently kept up a continually increasing demand, which has at length resulted in com- parative scarcity, and very great increase in value. In choosing a flock of ewes to hold over for breeding purposes, there is not the slightest occasion for having them superbly grand, faultless in symmetry, or even of extra large size, as a firmly-built, strong-loined, compact ewe of but moderate bulk, while not being such a large con- sumer of food, is in general a much better nurse than a big-boned one, a feature in the character of a breeding flock, which can scarcely beoverestimated, and which no rent- paying farmer can afford to overlook. Grandly-bred heavy- fleshed ewes are a very unsafe investment when taken from a fine soil and dry climate toland and climateslightly inferior. It takes them a full year to become acclimatised, and if not carefully attended to the first winter in the matter of food and shelter, many will die, while a considerable portion will be mere shells when the spring comes round, utterly unable to rear their lambs profitably. On the very same keep, ewes selected more for their thrifty qua- ties than the grandeur of their ajjpearance, and coming from pastures scarcely so good, will do well from the day they arrive, give no trouble, and make an excellent return in money. The receipts from wool forming a very considerable item in the year's returns, and the present price being very high, those ewes possessing wool of good quality and promise of a weighty fleece will naturally have the preference, and being much sought after will cost more than short-wooUed sheep iu consequence. A close firm fleece rather than a lengthy open one, should be the standard aimed at, the former keeping out the drenching rain much better than the latter, and preserving the skin dry and comfortable through a lengthened storm. Moreover, a close fleece is always indicative of a sound constitution, the ewe possessing it seldom being a bad doer. In the choice of a ram much care should be exercised, as much of the future well-doing of the flock de- pends on his influence. Whatever his breed let it be pure, and he will, although not distinguished for fault- Icssness of symmetry himself, yet be able to transmit to his progeny all the good qualities of his race. At pre- sent the run on the white-faced breeds is particularly noticeable, the sums realized at recent sales for shearling rams of this variety being something extraordinary. To some extent this preference may be traced to the supe- rior clip of wool which can be secured from the white- faced breeds, and the high value at which it now rates : but undoubtedly the perfection of form which breeders of this class of sheep have attained, and the great weights which they can be fed up to at an early age, is the principal reason for the high position they now hold in the estimation of the public. If possible rams should be purchased from a well-known flock, possessing the best blood, hardiness of constitution, good wool, and bone which, while not coarse, is yet of suflicient strength to carry a heavy carcase. Rams overfed, and so loaded with fat as to be incapable of following the ewes with any degree of activity, should be carefully avoided, as they are productive of much disap- pointment and very serious loss. It is unreasonable to expect that an animal whose appetite has been pampered and stimulated with a variety of fat-producing foods, until the weight of his body has become an intolerable burden, and that has been carefully sheltered from wind, rain, and sun, could possibly prove as useful as one that had been fed altogether in the fields, his food principally grass, merely assisted with a little corn, roots, or cabbage, according to the season, or that liis progeny could be so sound and healthy. Cutting off only the points of the wool, and permitting the bulk of a whole year's growth to remain, for the purpose of covering real or imaginary defects in the formation of the animal operated on, is a disgrace to the intelligence of the age, and a blot on the character of those who practise it, which should for ever be wiped out by its immediate discontinuance. With re- gard to the animal which has the misfortuue to be subjected to such treatment, it becomes the very re- finement of cruelty — a fact that ought to be quite sufficient to secure its condemnation, even although the motives which prompted it were perfectly pure, instead of being an effort to make more money by giving an appearance of symmetry, which they do not really jjosscss. After all the trouble that has been gone to, it is the eye only that is deceived, as the moment the hand is placed upon the apparently beautifully forward and deep chest, the broad square back, or the well-filled thighs, the truth is ascertained. There is a tell-tale bunchiness of body about the falsely clipped sheep, which can never be attained when clipped fairly, nature refusing to be im- proved to the extent which some men seem to think necessary. Should it so happen that a purchaser is de- ceived for the time being, the illusion will be quickly dis- THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 529 pelled when the fleece is taken off the following season. Should it be considered desirable to breed crosses purity of blood is quite as necessary by the sire as when the blood is preserved unmixed, the fiist cross between two distinct breeds being invariably the most valuable. Al- though excellent results can be obtained by crossing, early maturity', heavy weigbts, and high prices, yet for the far- mer wlio docs not feed off his sheep it is safer to preserve his flock pure, as he can command better prices for his store stock when of a good sort, and his customers are | more likely to become permanent, giving him for store j stock considerably over what they would make in open market when their value as breeders is fully ascertained. The neat bright head, neck well set on, and general ele- gance of contour tells well in the sale of a lot of breed- ing ev^es when all are so nearly alike as to look as if they had been cast in a mould. There is another advantage secured when the breed is kept pure, an opportunity being afforded for disposing of a numlier of the rams for breed- ing purposes, either as lambs or hoggets, whichever age is most sought after in the district. If the farm on which they are reared is a sound one for sheep, there will be no difficulty in selling a considerable number at remunerative prices. If sold as lambs anything over 50s. each will be good payment, when no expense has been incurred for extra food, and if a good many are sold (he average price of the year's lambs will be raised to a much higher figure than could otherwise be reached. Keeping over for an- other year, and giving a portion of cake or corn, and ' selling as shearlings is not such a certain mode of making • money, it being quite possible that after all the sheep may | have to be sold at butcher's price. The reason for this is simply, that they are now beyond the price which the small or middling farmer will give for a ram, and coming into competition with the regular ram : breeders, their customers will not purchase from an uu- , known flock, when for but a few pounds more they can have a sheep whose line of descent can be traced un- sullied through many generations. Rams of good blood . being now to be had at a reasonable rate, there is not the ' same temptation to overwork theni as there was in years past, and it will pay to get an extra ram, thereby reducing the number of ewes with each to a safe limit. Forty ewes are quite sufficient, when the price of an extra ram is not a consideration, and the fall of lambs will be greatly improved both in strength and numbers. "When tlie lambs come to be drafted, the presence of a large number of weaklings pulls down the monetary returns most vexatiously, and no effort should therefore be spared in endeavouring to have the entire lot as even as possible. When flie ewes are with the rams, it is all important that the food should be abundant, and of a stimulating nature if possible; a run for an hour or two each day on a piece of succulent rape answering the latter purpose exactly. Liberal treatment at this stage has a great influence on the lambing season, the number of twins being greatly in excess of what is usually the case under less favourable conditions. A pint of corn each day, begun a few weeks previous to, and continued through the period of service, is of immense benefit to the ram, and will be well repaid by his hardiness of constitution and unimpaired usefulness and activity. On those farms where the whole of the lambs not required as breeders are cleared off at the age of from four to six months, it is of importance to hive them dropped early, February being about the best paying month of the year, providing an ample supply of food has been stored up for their use. If sheltered for the first few nights, until they have fairly strengthened and become familiar with the teat, it is amazing what a degree of cold they will endure, aud how much really bad wea- ther they will stand with impunity, and thrire all the time, if the dams have plenty of food. The young grasses and clovers hained up from harvest to lambing time form the best milk-prodncing pasture the ewes can be put on after lambing, and when grazed thus early the fields are cleared in plenty of time to grow a crop of hay the same season, scarcely at all inferior to what they would have done had they been permitted to remain uatouched, POOR-RATE ASSESSMENT AND CATTLE DISEASE RESTRICTIONS. At a quarterly council meeting of the Somerset Chamber cf Agriculture and County Association of llatepayers, held at Taunton, Mr. Thomas Baker presiding, the following letter was read from Mr. J. Waller, secretary to the Home Cattle Defence Association, to the secretary of tlie Somerset Chamber : Dear Sir, — I read with true interest and pleasure the calm, well expressed, and forcible commuuicatiou addressed by you to the Lords in Council which appeared in Saturday's Times. Such a communication cannot fail to have some weight ; but, knowing tbe inHueuce as I do of foreign cattle importers witli the Veterinary Department, I am convinced that it is only by pro- secutions and by the purchase and exposure of infected animals passed as sound, and such like practical measures, that any- thing really effective can be done. Will tlie Somersetshire Chamber of Agriculture aid us with " the sinews of war " in endeavouring to second their sentiment by the means I have named ? By " us," I mean the Home Cattle Defence Asso- ciation, to whose address, 81, Fenchurch-street, a reply, con- sistently with your convenience, will greatly oblige, my dear sir, yours respectfully, Joui< Waller. The question of subscribing to the funds of the Associa- tion named was referred to the finance committee. The secretary, Mr. H. Genge Andrews, presented the following series of resolutions, which were approved and carried : 1. Resolved, — That, in the opinion ofj this council, the enforcement of effective regulations for preventing the im- portation of foreign cattle disease, and a radical reform of the basis on which the poor-rate assessment is now levied, are two subjects on which chambers of agriculture should concentrate their agitation between this and the opening of the next session of Parliament. 2. That nothing short of the sale and slaughter of all foreign fat animals, and quarantine for lean stock, at every port licensed for the admission of foreign cattle can have the slightest chance of excluding infection or contagion, where latent in the imported animal. 3. That grants of money from the Consolidated Fund, and such remissions of taxation as the house-tax, are bonuses to the owners of personal property, paid from the national exchequer to enable the House of Commons and the Ministry of the day to avoid the duty of removing the exemption complained of, and of restoring the poor-rate assessment to its original prin- ciple, namely, that all persons should contribute to it " according to their ability." 4. That, therefore, no rest can be found for the agitation now raised against the exemption from the poor-rate assess- ment of income arising from personal property, until such property is made liable to the assessment by an Act of the Legislature. 5. That Mr. Goschen's report on Local Taxation, presented to the Lords of the Council in the last session of Parliament, page 49, has shown that upwards of 16^ millions will be an- nually collected under the poor-rate assessment when the 630 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. education rate and repairs of turnpike roads are added thereto in full. G. That a large number of legislators and other influential persons, being owners of invested capital and of annual in- comes now exempted from the poor-rate assessment, benefit largely by this unjust exemption. 7. Tliat the influence of those who benefit has continued the temporary annual Act of Exemption obtained in ISiO, placed many new and heavy charges on the assessment, and increases those heavy charges continually. 8. That, unless the efforts of the owners and occupiers of real property, and of any other property now liable to the as- sessment, be combined and effectively used to secure, by Act of Parliament, the removal of this unjust exemption, this enor- mous annual charge of 16V millions will be perpetuated on rateable and real property, with such unlimited additions to it as the Parliamentary influence of those who benefit by it may from time to time enforce on the Government of the day. 9. That the proofs of the unfairness and injustice of the exemption are— the 43rd of Elizabeth ; the reports of the Lords thereon in 1S50 : the decisions of the Court of Queen's Bench, given by the Lord Chief Justice Littledale ; the law of Scotland, founded on the law of Elizabetli ; and the annual Exemption Act of 18-tO, which admits the liability of personal property by an Act of a temporary character, to screen it from the effect of the decision of the courts of law. 10. That, were the assessment once replaced by Parliament on its original basis of equal contribution according to "ability" or "means and substance." equality in taxation would be secured, the anomaly of exemption of large classes of income abolished, and all classes would have an equal in- terest in establishing and maintaining the best possible mode of administration and control, by central and local authorities. 11. Tliat this council, in conjunction with the Central Cliaraber and the Local Taxation Committee, under the able presidency of Sir Massey Lopes, will continue to use its utmost effort* to influence Parliamentary constituencies in favour of a radical reform of the basis on which the poor-rate assessment is now levied, in which reform the payers of the rates now levied in towns are more deeply interested than any other owners or occupiers of rateable property. The hon. treasurer was authorised to apply for payment of the parochial and individual subscriptions reported by the finance committee as being in arrear. ROSS AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. The show of cattle was very limited in extent as compared with that made in previous years. This falling-off is accounted for, in a measure, by the prevalence of foot-and-mouth disease in the district ; but there was also another reason for the deficiency, iu the fact that at least one intending exhibitor sent his stock too late for admission, according to the rules of tlie Society, and they had, therefore, to be returned. Of the sheep, Mr. Armitage, who was deservedly successful, regretted at the dinner there were so few to com- pete with him at the show ; but he spoke in praise of the specimens in the other classes shown by Mr. Wigmore, Mr. Kearsey, and Mr. Loveridge. The pigs were not in any way remarkable. The poultry show, a new feature, contained a good collection, contributors hailing from all parts of the kingdom. PRIZE - LIST. JUDGES. — Stock: W. Evans, Llaudowlas, Usk; R. Keene, Pencraig, Newport ; — Porter, Baunton, Ciren- cester. Poultry : E. Hewett, Birmingham. CATTLE. nEREFOEDS. Bull more than two years old. — Prize £3, G. E. Drinkwater. Bull under two years old.— No entry. Two breeding cows and their calves (belonging to the same subscriber), over three years old. — Prize, £2, G. E. Drink, water. Commended : J.Bennett. Pair of heifers under three years old. — Prize, £2, T. P. Brown, Commended; J.Bennett. Pair of heifers under two years old. — Prize, £2, J, Bennett. SHORTHORXS. Bull, irrespective of age. — Prize withheld. Two breeding cows in calf, or with calves (belonging to the same subscriber), over three years old. — Prize withheld. Pair of heifers in calf under three years old. — No competi- tion. One entry disqualified through being too late. Pair of heifers under two vears old. — Prize, £2, Wm. H. CoUins. AX I BREED. Lot of breeding cattle, in proportion to the acreage of land in the occupation of the exhibitor. — Prize, £3 3s., T. P. Brown. SHEEP. LOXGWOOLS. Pen of ten breeding ewes. — First prize, £3 3s., and second, £2 2s., R. Loveridge. Commended: J. TVigniore, J. E. Jones, E. Price. Pen of ten yearling ewes. — Eirst prize, £3, 3. E.Jones; second, £2, W. Smith. Highly commended : J. Wigmore. Pen of ten ewe lambs. — First prize, £2, J. Hartland ; se- cond, £1, G. Morgan. Commended : A. Webb. Pen of ten wether lambs. — First prize, £2, J. Hartland ; second, £1, A. Webb. Commended : G. Morgan. Ram lamb. — First prize, £3, J. Hartland ; second, £1, J. and F. Wigmore. Commended : F. W. Barling. Yearling Ram. — First prize, £3, and second, £3, J, Wig- more. Pen of breeding ewes (occupiers up to 100 acres to show 10, above 100 and up to 150 acres 15, and so on in proportion, i. e., five sheep for every fifty acres or proportion thereof). — Prize, £3 3., R. Loveridge. Commended : J. Wigmore. SHORTWOOLS, INCLUDING CROSS- BREEDS. Pen of ten breeding ewes. — Prize, £2, A. Armitage. Pen often yearling ewes. — Prize, £2, A. Armitage. Pen of ten ewe lambs. — Prize, £2, W. Marfell. Com- mended : A. Armitage. Pen of ten wether lambs. — Prize, £2, A. Armitage. Pen of breeding ewes (occupiers up to 100 acres to show 10, above 100 and up to 150 acres 15, and so on in proportion, /. ^., five sheep for every fifty acres or proportion thereof). — Prize, £3 3s., A, Armitage. PIGS. Boar pig. — First prize, £2, Rev. W. Holt Beever ; second, £1, Sir Herbert Croft, Bart., M.P. Sow in farrow or with pigs. — First prize, £2, C. Kearsey ; second, £1, J. Hartland. Pig belonging to an agricultural labourer wholly in the era- ploymeut of a subscriber, and t a have been in the possession of the exhibitor three months prior to the show. — First prize, £1 5s., G. Tausell ; second, £1, tt''. Greenway ; third, 15s., J. Seaborn. EXTRA PRIZES. One dozen swedes, 5s., A. Webb. Four cross-bred pigs, 2s. Gd., A. Webb. Twelve swedes, 5s., F. W. Smith. Half- brei filly, £3, T. P. Brown. Spaniel, 5s., J. Wigmore. Hunter, 10s., T. Donne, Ross. Ten stock ewes, 10s., J. and F. Wigmore. Three ram lambs, £1, J. and F. Wigmore. Tiiree ram lambs, £1 5s., J. Wigmore. Sheep dog. — First prize, £1, T. Burford ; second, the en- trance fees, J, Weaviu. GRAIN. Four-bushel sack of red wheat. — First prize, £2 2s., C, Kearsey, " Biddle's Imperial ; " second, £1 Is., T. P. Brown, " Biddle's Imperial." ROOTS. Four acres of swedes, grown with Webb and Co.'s chemical manure, within a radius of 12 miles of the town of Ross. — Prize, £5 5s., G. E. Drinkwater. Four acres of turnips grown with Webb and Co.'s chemical manure, within a radius of 12 miles of the town of Ross. — Prize, £5 5s., A. N. Dowle. Two acres of maugold wurzel, grown with Webb and Co.'s chemical manure, within a radius of 12 miles of the town of Ross. — Prize, £5 5s., G. W. Lloyd. Three acres of swedes, grown within a radius of 10 miles of Ross, with Foster Brothers' phospho guano ; farmyard manure may be used, but no other description of artificial mauure,— » Prize, £5 5s., R, Loveridge. Three acres of turnips, grown within a radius of 10 miles of THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 531 Ross, with Foster Brothers' phospho guano ; farmyard manure may be used, but no other description of artificial manure.— Prize, £5 5s., i\ W. Smitli. Six acres ot swedes, grown in the Ross district with the Herefordsliire and South Wales Company's manures, — ^^Only one entry ; prize not awarded. Crop of five acres of swedes, grown with Proctor's turnip manure only, within a radius of 15 miles of Ross.— Prize, £5 5s., Mrs. E, Bennett, BLOFIELD AGRICULTURAL ASSOCIATION. The meeting at Acle was one of the best and most nume- rous exhibitions of stock tliis Association has ever held. There were some excellent farm horses, and a small show of entire cart horses. Mr. J. N. Waite's Major, brotlier to the cele- brated Honest Tom, won the society's prize of £3. For Mr. Walpole's cup there was an entry of only four mares and foals, all first-class animals. Mr. Robert Gil- lett's chesnut cart mare, that lias often been successful at these shows, was again first in her class, Mr. Mainprice's big bay mare making a very good second. In the three-year-old cart colt class, Mr. Aldous was first, and Mr. R. Gillett second. The animals in this and the two-yoar-old and yearling cart colt classes were very commendable, and there was a good entry of foals. In the riding class. Mr. E. Gilbert's bay was first ; and among the riding colts, Mr. Thomas Gillett took tlie first and second prizes. In the cattle classes, the society's first prize went to Mr. T. W. Jary, for his yearling Shorthorn bull, bred by Mr. Kersey Cooper, a well-grown but somewhat plain animal, with coarse horns and a good skin. The chief feature of the stock classes at tlie Blofield Asso- ciation has always been the fat steers or heifers. The prize of two guineas for the best fat steer or heifer went to Mr. S. Goulder for his white Shorthornheifer, veryneat, and well fatted. There was some very strong competition for a cup, given for the best steer or heifer not b'-ed hy the exhibitor. In this class, Mr. T. W. Jary showed a bullock of enormous propor- tions, but tlie cup went to Mr. J. Squire's deep, level, and evenly-fed Shorthorn. Mr. Squire took both prizes for the pair of steers or lieifers for winter grazing. In tliis class there was a large and good entry. The Shorthorn cows were not particularly attractive ; but again Mr. Squire was the winner of both premiums. The slieep were by far the best entry that had ever been seen at tliis local show ; althougli of these classes the ewes were not remarkable either for quality or size. Tlie pigs, if not numerous, were a very good entry . PRIZE - LIST. JUDGES. — Stock : Messrs. R, Wortley (Sufiield), R. Barker (Blickling), and J. Seago (Stoke Holy Cross). Roots : Messrs. W. Slipper, A. Neave, and H. Baker. HORSES. Pair of cart geldings or mares. — Prize, the cup, T, W. Jary. The class commended. Cart stallion.— Prize, £3, J. N. Waite (Major). Com- mended: C. Tidraau (Thumper). Cart stallion under four years old, — Prize, £Z, Messrs. E. and T. D. Gilbert. Cart mare and foal. — Prize, a cup, T. Gillett. Highly com- mended : R. Gillett. Cart mare.— First prize, £3, R. Gillett ; second, £1 10s., J. Mainprice. Three-year-old cart colt or filly. — First prize, ^2, J. A. Aldous; second, £1, R. Gilbert. The class commended. Two-year-old cart colt or filly. — First prize, £2, J. A. Aldous ; second, d£l, E. Gilbert. Tlie class commended. One-year-old cart colt or filly. — First prize, £2, R. Gillett ; second, £1, E. Gilbert. The class commended. One-year-old cart colt or filly. — First prize, £3, R. GUlett ; second, £1,T.W. Jary. Cart foal. — First prize, £3, J. Squire ; secoud, £1, ^^', Gil- lett. The class highly commended. Riding mare or gelding. — Prize, £2, E. Gilbert. Riding colt or filly.— First prize, £2, T. Gillett ; second, £1, T. Gillett. CATTLE. Bull.— First prize, £3, T. W. Jary ; second, £3, D. Walker (Vauban). Fat steer or heifer, — Prize, £2 3s., S. Goulder. Highly commended : J. Squire. Fat steer or heifer. — First prize, a cup, J. Squire ; second, £3, R. R. Kidman. The class commended. Pair of steers or heifers for winter grazing. — First and second prizes of £2 and ^£'1, J. Squire. Shorthorn cow.— First and second prizes of £3 and £1, J. Squire. Polled cow.— Prize, £2, S. H. Benns. Three-year-old heifer. — Prize, ^2, T. W. Jary. Two-year-old heifer. — Prize, £2, S. H. Benns. Four steers or heifers. — Prize, £3 3s., J. Squire. SHEEP. Tup. — First prize, £2, H. N. Burroughes ; second, £1, E. Gilbert. Ten ewes. — First prize, £2, E. and T. D. Gilbert ; second, £<,R. H.Gilbert. Five fat sheep. — First prize, a cup, E. Gilbert ; second, £1, J. A. Aldous. The class commended. Ten lambs. — First prize, £2, E. and T. D. Gilbert ; second, £1, D. Bullard. The class commended. PIGS. Boar.— Prize, £2. E. Garrett. Sow.— First prize, £2, J, A. Aldous; second, £1, J.N. Waite. Highly commended : R.H.Gilbert. Six store pigs. — First prize, £1 10s., R. H. Gilbert ; second, 15s., R. Gillett. ROOTS. Crop of roots grown upon a farm of not less tlian one hun- dred acres in extent, the quality of the land being taken into consideration. — First prize, a silver cup, J. Squire ; second, J. Aldous. CANNOCK DISTRICT AGRICULTURAL ASSOCIATION. The tw^enty-fifth annual show took place at Penkridge. The epidemic prevalent affected to some extent tlie entries in the cattle classes. On the other liand, the horses, both for agri- cultural purposes and those adapted for hunting, came out very strong. Mr. Nash, of Featherstone, carried off the prize for bulls, having only one other competitor. The class for pairs of milking cows was much better represented, and the prize animals were very good specimens. Mr. Brad- burn, who took the first prize in the above class, also exliibifed a very nice pair of heifers, for which he received a similar re- ward. There was a very fair show of Shropshire sheep, Mrs. Beacli, of The Hattons, who exhibited in every class, carrying off all the first prizes except in the ram lamb class. The judges were of opinion that it was scarcely worthy of so cele- brated an exhibitor as Mrs. Beach to compete at a small dis- trict show with animals which had taken prizes at the Royal and other leading shows against what might be termed pasture sheep. Abont the best class were the ewe lambs, wliich would have been a credit to any show. In fact, considering the season, they were extraordinarily good. The wetlier lambs, too, were little inferior, showing plenty of character and breeding. The ram lambs, though the most nume- rous in number, were not by any means so good in quality as the two preceding classes. The show of pigs was small, but very good. In boars the two Berksliires exhibited by Mr. Wyatt carried off the prizes, the younger of the two being placed first. For store pigs Mr. Byrd,' of Littywood, took the first prize with a very nice pen of the small white breed. The roots, as might be expected from the favourable season, were extremely fine. The horses were the strong point of tlie show. For agricultural purposes the mares and foals were the best class in the yard, and the judges had considerable difficulty in making their selections. The hunting horses, how- ever, made the finest display, both the weight-carriers and those 532 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. of lighter frame being represented by exceptionally good specimens. PRIZE LIST. JUDGES.— Stock : W. Brewster, Balderton Hall, Middle, Salop ; J. Evans, UfHn°rton, Shrewsbury. Hunting Horses : E. C. Peake, Rugeley ; T. Mansell,_Adcot, Wel- lington. CATTLE. Bull.— Prize, T. Nash, Featherstone. Pair of milking cows. — First prize, W. Bradburn, Wednes- field; secoud, T. Isash. Pair of in-calf heifers. — Prize, W. Bradburn. Pair of stirks.— Prize, T. Nash. HORSES. AGRICTILTURAL. Mares and foals. — First prize, J. Thornley, Hednesford ; second, J.Sidney, Wobastou. Highly commended : H.Rogers, Wolgarstone. Two-year-old colts. — First prize, Mrs. Stanley, Yieldflelds Hall ; second, J. Marson, Acton. Highly commended : J. Goodwin, Otherton. Yearling colts. — First prize, J. Birch, Pearse Hay ; second, R. Swale, Saredon. nUNTERS. Weiffht-carriers. — First prize, E. M. Vaughan, Lapley ; se- cond, W. F. Tredwell, Hednesford. Highly commended : E. A. Foden, Teddeslay. Light-weight carriers. — First prize, H. Rogers : second, B. Gilpin, Wedges Mills. Highly commended: C. Stubbs, Pres- ton Hill ; A. L. Vernon, Brewood. SHEEP. Ewes. — First prize, Mrs. Beach, The Hattons ; second, R. Wyatt, Acton Hill. Yearling ewes. — Prize, Mrs. Beach. Yearling wethers. — First prize, T. J. GrifTia, Preston Vale ; second, G. B. Keeling, Penkridge. Ewe lambs. — First prize, Mrs. Beach ; second, R. Wyatt. Highly commended: F. J. Keeling, Brewood. Wether.larabs. — First prize, Mrs. Beach; second, H. Rogers. Highly commended : II. Rogers. Ram lambs. — First and secoud prize, C. Byrd, Littywood. Highly commended : Mrs. Beach. PIGS. Sow and pigs. — First prize, J. Birch ; second, R. Wyatt. Highly commended : C. Stubbs. Boars. — First and second prize, R. Wyatt. Commended : W. Drury, Cannock. Store pigs. — First prize, C. Byrd ; second, R. Gilbert, Penk- ridge. ROOTS. Collection. — First prize, C. Stubbs ; second, J. Lees, Dray- ton ; third, F. Byrd, Dunston. Crop of swede turnips. — First prize, G. B. Keeling (2i tons 15 cwt.) ; second, C. Stubbs (23 tons 16 cwt. 81bs.) Common turnips. — First prize, C. R. Keeling ; second, R. H. Masfen, Peudeford. Mangolds. — First prize, J, Brawn, The Bosses ; second, E. Rowley, Norton Canes. SALE OF MR. M'COMBIE'S POLLED STOCK AT TILLYFOUR. Mr. William M'Corabie, M.P.,Tillyfour, lias disposed of his stock of polled Aberdeenshire and Angus cattle. From his celebrity as a breeder of stock, it was expected that a large number of dealers would turn out to the sale. And such indeed, was the case, fortlie morning trains brought large numbers of purchasers to Tillyfour. The stock for sale looked exceedingly well ; but a thorough agriculturist, with a keen, detective eye, could observe a considerable falling off in tlie quality since the days when Mr. M'Combie took such a prominent place in the prize lists of northern cattle shows. The fact that Mr. M'Combie has in his possession about one hundred medicals and cups, which were awarded to him for his proficiency in cattle breeding,'' gives evidence' that his stock was at one time more than ordinarily superior ; but of late years the animals have scarcely been so pure in blood. In fact, the pedigree of the animals is not wliat might be ex- pected iu a herd ouce so famous, There is yet, however, in the Tillyfour herd a number of those fine old cows which took high honours at Southern shows ; and we are doubtful if better models of animals could yet be found in the North. There could not have been round the ring less than GOO people. The sale commenced with the cows, of which there was a fair show. Most of the animals looked well, but fears were en- tertained by purchasers that some of them were not in proper season ; and this fact had, no doubt, an effect in lowering the prices in some degree. Good tigures were, however, realised, but it may be stated that the cows sold cheaper than any of the other stock. The Marquis of Huntly purchased the finest cow, which was an animal of good substance and long pedigree. Two years old heifers realised excellent prices, the first animal on tlie list having been purchased at 60 guineas. The biddings for this class of stock was very keen. The year- ling heifers were a first-class show, and some of these sold at high prices. COWS. Elf, calved 1865.— Lord Airlie, 37 gs. Rosie, calved 1S66. — Mr. Ross, Anniesby, Kincardine O'Neil, 27 gs. Flora, calved 1S69.— Lord Cawdor, 30 gs. Myra, calved 186S. — Mr. Williamson, Caskieben, 25 gs. Daisy, calved 1869 (and bull calf).— Mr. Stevenson, Tillyfour, 33 gs. Edith, calved 1865.- Mr. Walker, Ardhunchart, 37 gs. Dido, calved 1867 (and heifer calf). — Mr. Paterson, Mulben, 45 gs. Dora, calved 1868. — Marquis of Huntly, 49 gs. Deceit, calved 1866. — Mr. Marline, Aberdeen, 31 gs. Lady Magg, calved 1868. — Mr. Adamson, Balquharn, 33 gs. Hopeful, calved 1867.— Mr. Todd, West Brackla, Kinross, 30 gs. Mina, calved 1863. — Colonel Farquharson, Invercauld, 34 gs. Rachel, cplved 1 863. —Mr. Walker, Auchnafairn, 20 gs. Haida, calved 1859. — Mr. Adamson, Blanquharn, 32 gs. TWO-YEAR-OLD HEIFERS. Grace. — Marquis of Huntly, 60 gs. Rarity. — Dr. Roberstop, Indigo, 26 gs. Mysie. — Colonel Ferguson, Pitfour, 32 gs. Kindness. — Mr. Simpson, Tarwathie, Strichen, 22 gs. Sophia. — Mr. M'Combie, Easter Skene, 23 gs. Diaua. — Mr. Adamson, Bocharn, 25 gs. Joan. — Mr. Adamson, Bocharn, 30 gs. YEARLING HEIFERS. Calved April 14, 1870.— Earl of Airlie, 28 gs. Calved August 2, 1870.— Jlr. Stephen, Coujilass, 28 gs. Calved May 3, 1870.— Mr. Bland, Camphill, 15 gs. Calved August 12, 1370. — Sir George Macpherson Grant, 40 gs. Calved May 16, 1870. — Mr. Barclay, Auchlossan, 19 gs. Calved June 1, 1870.— Mr. Stevenson, Tillyfour, 43 gs. Calved July 9, 1870.— Mr. Manscu, Kilbean, 23 gs. Calved April 30, 1870.— Col. Ferguson, Pitfour, 21 gs. Calved May 7, 1870.— Mr. J. Smith, Campfield, Kincardine O'Neil, 17 gs. Calved August 16, 1871.— Mr. Smith, Cividley, Kcig, 15 gs. Calved 1870.— Mr. Bland, Camphill, 18 gs. Calved 1370.— Mr. J. Burness, Harthill, 20 gs. THREE-YEAR-OLD BULL. Prince of Wales — Dr. Robertson, Indigo, 36 gs. BULL CALVES. Calved Januarv 7, 1871. — Mr. M'Keuzie, Glenomick, 33 gs. Calved March '9, 1871.— Sir G. Macpherson Grant, 56 gs. Calved March 26, 1871.— Mr. Hunter, Whitehill, Strichen, 25 gs. Calved April 5, 1871. — Mr. Adamson, Balquharn, 28 gs. Calved April 14, 1871.— Mr. Bland, Campfield, 25 gs. Calved April 27, 1871.— Mr. M'Corabie, Easter Skene, 21 gs. HEIFER CALVES. Calved December 16, 1870. — Mr. M'Combie, Kenmay, 28 gs. Calved Januarv 19, 1871.— Mr. Paterson, Mulben, 29 gs. Calved March 30, 1871.— Mr. Stevenson, Tillyfour, 19 gs. Calved March 12, 1871. — Mr. J. A. Pearson, Jolinston Lodge, Laurencekirk, 19 gs. Calved April 5, 1371.— Mr. Walker, Portletheu, 15 gs. Calved April 22, 1871.— Mr. Manson, Oakill, Oldmeldrura, 25 gs. Calved June 4, 1871. — Mr. Shand, Bittencerrie, Banchory, 13 gs. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 533 SALE OF THE HON. COL. DUNCOMBE'S SHORTHORNS, AT WMvESLEY PARK, HUMTXGDOASIIIKE, ON OCTOBER 20. BY MR. THORNTON. The herd at Waresley Park has been quietly improving tlie stock of the immediate neighbourhood and the Wes- terdale estates iu Yorkshire, for more than a quarter of a century. Unknown to the outside public or frequenters of the showyards, it yet produced many very superior animals, and eleven years since, when sixty-two head ave- raged close upon £30, the purchasers found that they had obtained animals which left excellent stock. A few cows were added to those remaining, which, by the way, were retained for supplying the house with milk. One, Larkspur, came from Mr. Craw- ley's sale, another, Calistra, from IMr. R. Budding's, and a third, Geraldine, as well as Telltale, from the Bushey Grove stock ; but by far the larger portion of the herd had been reared from the old foundation, and the most numerous family came from the Countesses, a tribe which had been obtained from Tyneside quite thirty years back, and which was full of the good old Jobling and Angus blood. There was also a large family of the "Warlaby Fame tribe, but the crosses had not been of the same strain ; as indeed, tlie bulls used had always had some Bates' blood. Cleveland Lad .3rd, one of the earliest, was a son of the sire of Grand Duke ; Sylvester, bred by Lord ¥e- versham, at Duncombe Park, was by Glo'ster, a sou of Lord Ducie's Duke of Glo'ster; and then followed Volun- teer, a son of JMarmadukc, who was by Duke of Glo'ster also. Very few bulls had been purchased of late years, the best I'eared being used. A change, however, being considered necessary. General Wetherby, a good useful roan bull, was brought from Gloucestershire. He was bred at Kingscote, and got by Second Duke of AYetherby, out of one of the Georgiana cows. His calves were very full of hair and of nice colours, but they seemed to want a little more natural flesh. Many considered them a trifle small : they certainly had none of the coarseness that may now-a-days be seen in some of the more fashionable strains, but their uniform appear- ance, the pretty character, especially in the heads and horns, their excellent quality and good milking properties, made them very taking, and certainly, for the district, very desirab'e cattle. jNIr. Barnett took the chair at the lunch, and his brief speeches were models of what should be done on these occasions, when business is the I'eal object of the company. About 300 assembled round the ring-side, and despite the showers which fell at the beginning of the sale the biddings were very general, in many cases two bidders running for lot after lot. The old cows were very good, and as most of them were in a good breeding state, Capt. Reed was fortanate in ob- taining such a good lot of animals as the beginning of a herd, lot 3, Sally, being being a particularly good auimal and an excellent breeder. The prices were very even for the first ten cows. Mr Ladds bought one of the Pame cows, Queen of the Mist, said to be the beit milker iu the herd, very cheap at 42 gs. ; and lot 11, of the same tribe, a sweet-looking fine cow, goes to Australia at G3 gs. Patty 3rd, a true Shorthorn, as an old Lincolnshire breeder styled her, went very cheap at 55 gs. ; andSelina, who had calved in the morning of the sale, was reserved by leave of the company as a cow for the house. Mirabel, a white Fame heifer, was bought by INIcssrs. Dudding, at 45 gs. and j\Ir. Greenvvcod secured some very useful lots for ]Mr. Banks Wright. The heifers were a very nice lot : perhaps the plum of the herd was Sugar Loaf, a very beautiful red heifer with a little white on her quarters, but her sweet head, nicely curled horns, and grand guality of flesh were very taking : she was pur- chased for Mr. Dangar, to go to Australia, at 80 gs. — tlic top price of the sale. There was rather a preponderance of white animals ; and it was quite noticeable to observe the want of competition when a white entered the ring as compared with the other colours. The younger members of the Fame tribe were purchased by Mr. Rose, of Norfolk, who is just starting a herd ; and Mr. J. Gamble, also took several sym- metrical lots of fine quality into the same county. The first two bulls made only a few guineas over market price, but the yearlings went at good paying figures. Although a good hairy lot, many of them wanted broader backs ; still, as a whole, they were better than is generally seen in a large herd. jNIr. Grosvenor llodgkin- soi, M.P., gave 50 gs. for the thickest, and a very pro- mising roan yearling ; Francis 1st, very like making a winner, goes to Mr. Brown, in Northamptonshire, for 45 gs. The two last calves were not brought forward. COWS AND HEIFERS. Larkspur, roan, calved February, 8, 1859, by Welcome Guest (15497).— Capt. Reed, 32 gs. Geraldine, red, calved November 7, I860, by Great Mogul (14651).— Mr. C. Baynes, 38 gs. Sally, red, calved July 27, 1862, by Volunteer (19087).— Capt. Reed, 39 gs. Mulberry, red, calved February IG, 1863, by Volunteer (190S7).— Capt. Reed, 41 gs. Windsor Lass, roan, calved May 9, 1863, by Royal Butterfly 5tb (18756).— Mr. H. B. Wright, 43 gs. Silk, red, calved March 26, 1858, by Sylvester (15364).— Earl of Cawdor, 36 gs. Satin, roan, calved November 25, 1863, by Volunteer (19087). Mr. H. B. Wright, 40 gs. Lavender, red, calved December 30, 1863, by Confederate (19493).— Mr. W. Trethewy, 40 gs. Calistra 2nd, roan, calved March 10, 1864, by Volunteer (19087).— Mr. Edwards, 35 gs. Queen of the Mist, red, calved April 16, 1864, by Volunteer (19087)— Mr. W. Latlds, 42 gs. Sugar Plum, red and white, calved August 21, 1864, by Hypocrite (19996)— Capt. Reed, 37 gs. Girl of the Mist, roan, calved May 21, 1865, by Hypocrite (19996).— Mr. H. Grant, Australia, 63 gs. Patty 3rd, roan, calved July 25, 1865, by Hypocrite (19996). — Major Fannmg, 55 gs. Windsor Queen, white, calved March 29, 1866, by Sailor Boy (22825).— Capt. Reed, 40 gs. Tit-for-Tat, white, calved September 18, 1866, by Sailor Boy (22825).— Mr. T. Watson, 36 gs. Mirabel, white, calved April 4, 18G7, by Sailor Boy (22825). — Messrs. Dudding, 45 gs. Spray, wliite, calved November 25, 1867, by Sailor Boy (22825).— Mr. H. B. AVrigbt,42 gs, Calistra 4lh, wliite, calved December 21, 1867, by Sailor Boy (22825).— Mr. J. Gamble, 35 gs. Sarsuet, roan, calved January 10, 1868, by Sailor Boy (22825). — Earl of Cawdor, 49 gs. Soft Soap, roau, calved February 15, 1868, by Sailor Boy 1^22825).— Mr. T. Topliam, 47 gs. Coiiut-ss of Windsor, white, calved May 21, 1868, by Cantab (23507).— Mr. Banks, butcher, 42 gs. Hyacinth, red, calved June 26, 1S68, by Cautab (23507).— Mr. S. Armstrong, 33 gs. Queen Mab, red, culved October 8, 1SG8, by Cantab (23507). —Mr. T. Rose, 51 gs. Sylph, roan, calved October 20, 18G3, by Cantab (23507).— Mr. W. Ladds, 40 gs. Lily of the Valley, wliite, calved November 20, 1868, by Cautab (23507).— Mr. G. Brown, 40 gs. Mountain Dew, roan, calved February 5, 1SG9, by Cantab (23507).— Jlr. T. Rose, 50 gs. Sally Lum, red, calved March 3, 1869, by Cantab (23507).— Mr. S. Armstrong, 30 rs. Songstress, roan, calved March 31, 1870, by Cautab (23507). —Dr. Willis, 30 gs. 534 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. Sugar Loaf, red and white, calved April 17, 1869, by Cantab (23507).— Mr. W.Dangar, Australia, 80 gs. Windsor Pride, roan, calved April 23, 1869, by Cantab (23507).— Mr. C. P. Tebbutt, 36 gs. Tartlet, roan, calved June 8, 1869, by Cantab (23507).— Mr, C. P. Tebbutt, 26 gs. Camelia, white, calved September 30, 1869, by Cantab (23507).— Mr. J. Parker, 32 gs. Water Witch, red, calved February 15, 1870, by General We- therby (24026).— Mr. T. Rose, 36 gs. Sunflower, red, calved February 20, 1870, by General Wetherby (24026).— Mr. J. Parker, 41 gs. Duchess Wetherby, roan, calved June 20, 1S70, by General Wetherby (24026).— Mr. S. Beattie, Canada, 40 gs. Duchess Wetherby 2nd, red, calved July 15, 1870, by General Wetherby (24026).— Mr. J. Parker, 35 gs. Duchess Wetherby 3rd, roan, calved September 11, 1870, by General Wetherby (24026).— Earl of Cawdor, 40 gs. Duchess Wetherby 4th, white, roan ears, calved November 28, 1870, by General Wetherby (24026).— Mr. J. Gamble, 25 gs. Duchess Wetlierby 5th, white, calved November 28, 1870, by General Wetherby (24026).— Mr. J. Gamble, 30 gs. Sweet Brier, red, calved January 16, 1871, by General Wetherby (24026).— Mr. G. Underwood, 31 gs. Erica, red, calved February 3, 1871, by General Wetherby (24026).— Mr. G. TiUcock, 21 gs. Heather Bell, white, calved February 28, 1871, by General Wetherby (24026).— Mr. T. Rose, 30 gs. Maid of the Mist, roan, twelve years old, by Admiral (14064). —Mr. T. Rose, 61 gs. Petroleuse, red, calved March 3, 1871, by General Wetherby (24026).— Capt. Reed, 27 gs. Patty 5th, white, calved March 13, 1871, by General Wetherby (24026).— Mr. S. Armstrong, 25 gs. Windsor Belle, red roan, calved March 21, 1871, by General Wetherby (24026).— Mr. F. Curtois, 24 gs. Firefly, red roan, calved April 6, 1871, by General Wetherby (24026).— Mr. F. Curtois, 23 gs. Duchess Windsor, roan, calved Aug. 2, 1871, by Windsor Lad (27823).— Mr. T. Rose, 22 gs. BULLS. General Wetherby (24026), roan, calved in May, 1865, by Second Duke of Wetherby (21618).— Earl of Cawdor, 46gs. Windsor Lad (37823), roan, calved May 11, 1867, by Sailor Boy (22825).— Mr. G. Armstrong, 46 gs. Duke Wetherby 3rd, red, calved February 3, 1870, by General Wetherby (24026).— Mr. W. Trethewy, 47 gs. Mosquito, red, calved March 9, 1870, by General Wetherby (24026).— Earl FitzWilliam, 35 gs. Windsor Boy, white, calved March 14, 1870, by General Wetherby (24026).— Mr. Hartley, 47 gs. Etonian, roan, calved May 28, 1870, by AViudsor Lad (27823). —Mr. H. Franklin, 37 gs. Duke Wetherby 4th, red, calved July 3, 1870, by Geueral Wetherby (24026).— Mr. D. M. Brown, 26 gs. Duke Wetherby 5tli, white, roan ears, calved July 14, 1870, by General Wetherby (24026).— Mr. Webb, 35 gs. Splendour, roan, calved Sept. 6, 1870, by General Wetherby (24026).— Mr. G. Hodgkinson, M.P., 50 gs. Duke Wetherby 6tli, roan, calved Nov. 24, 1870, by General Wetherby (24026).— Mr. C. Ellis, 30 gs. Windsor Prince, white, roan ears, calved Nov. 7, 1870, by Windsor Lad (27823).— Mr. A. Brown, 3igs. Duke Wetherby 7th, white, calved Nov. 30, 1870, by General Wetherby (34026).— Mr. D. Hartley, 24 gs. Randolph, red and white, calved March 2, 1871, by Mr. Pawlett's Rubens. — Mr. Campion, 15 gs. Warrior, roan, calved January 11, 1871, by General Wetherqy (24026).— Mr. J. Barnes, 21 gs. The General, red, calved February 6, 1871, by General Wetherby (24026).— Mr. G. Brown, 33 gs. Francis 1st, white, calved March 10, 1871, by General Wetherby (24026).— Mr. D. M. Brown, 45 gs. Earl of Windsor, white yearling. — Mr. D. Gunnell, 30 gs. Sponsor, roan, calved March 18, 1871, by General Wetherby (24026).— Mr. D. Willis, 31 gs. Marshal, roan, calved May 8, 1871, by General Wetherby (24026).— Mr. G. Paris, 18 gs. Field Marshal, white, calved July 11, 1871, by Geueral Wetherby (24036).— Mr. R, Ellis, 11 gs. Don Qoixote, red and white, calved June 20, 1871, by General Wetherby (24026).— Mr. Millard, 19 gs. Balmoral, red and white, calved August 1, 1871, by Widsor Lad (27823).— Mr. C. Ellis, 12 gs. Aurelius, roan, calved Sept. 2, 1871, by General Wetherby (24036).— Mr. G. Armstrong, 9 gs. The following is a summary of the sale : 48 Cows averaged £40 Ss. 3d £1,927 16 23 BuUs averaged £33 Os. Od 736 1 71 Averaged £37 10s. 4d. £3,663 17 At the finish of the sale, Mr. Thornton said that it concluded the season, and was probably the last sale that would take place in England this year. Before sepa- rating, he wished to remark that it had been a year im- precedented in the history of Shorthorns. Upwards of fifty sales had taken place, and about £100,000 had changed hands for pure-bred animals by auction, and that, too, at a time when the country was full of disease. This herd and Mr. Ladds', recently sold in that district, had realised an average of nearly £40 a-piece for close upon 200 head, a fact that should impress young farmers that well-bred stock could be reared ou a light- land district and be made to pay. He earnestly hoped that they would breed more cattle than they had done. People were for grazing, chiefly because it was a quicker return, but the country required more stock to be bred in it, both of cattle and sheep, and in producing more stock we should decrease the demand and value of foreign cattle, and so get the country into a healthier state. The high price of meat was the best proof of its scarcity, and the more there were bred the better for the country, and for auctioneers too. The de- mand for our pedigree cattle was continually in- creasing. Animals were leaving the country almost weekly for Australia and America, a few animals had been ah'eady bought up for Germany, and at the present moment there was a French agent in England buying bulls for the new Government. Mr. Thornton strongly advised the use of good bulls upon common country cows, adding *' look well to the pedigree, but do not, on any consideration, sacrifice flesh and substance to too much blood." SALE OF MR. R. W. REYNELL'S SHORTHORNS IN IRELAND. This sale had been postponed since the dispersion of the Westland and Castle Grove herds in August last, ou account of the foot-and-mouth disease. The stock having become healthy were announced for sale by Mr. Thornton at Killynon, Killucan, Co. Westmeath, ou Tuesday last, the 24th instant. In addition to the small herd of Short- horns, a few Hereford bulls, some sheep, fillies, and pigs were also advertised. The weather being everything that could be wished a numerous company attended. The stock having, however, but a local reputation there was an absence of buyers from England aud Scotland as well as from the south of Ireland. Notwithstanding the severe attack the cattle came out in good condition ; only one animal was lame, and there was an abundance of fine hair and natural flesh that isuot often seen. Forfive-and-twenty years Mr. Rcynell has bred the stock from his frieuds, the late Mr. Holmes' and Mr. Barnes' herds, Westland bulls having for the last three or four generations been used. The cows went at reasonable prices to local bidders ; but for the heifers, which were very choice, there was excellent competition. Mr. Cox, of Australia, bought a very handsome red in-calf two-year-old by Mr. Hanics' Duke of Leiuster, out of u half-sister to the dam THE FAEMI<]E'S MAGAZmE. 535 of Bolivar, for 50 gs. A very symmetrical white heifer with spleadid forequarters by Royal Prince (27384), a bull hired by Mr. Torr, of Aylesbury, went for 53 gs. to Mr. W. Barnes. The gem of the sale was a beautiful roan hairy January calf, by Lord Spencer (26738), which, after sharp competition between Mr. Shirley Montgomery and Mr. Stowell ftarnett, fell to the latter for 80 gs. Mr. Garnett also bought the Pauline family and two or three other good heifers. There was no trade for the bulls, the spring being the great season in Ireland, and the seven reduced the£35 average for the cows and heifers to £32 2s. for the entire herd of 28 head. There was still less competition for the Hereford bulls, which had been bred from the best of Lord Berwick's, Mr. Price's, and Mr. Burlton's blood ; several white faces were not sold, and 20 gs. was the top price for a good two-year-old bull by Sir Harry (2767), out of a cow from Mr. Price. The sheep were chiefly large good hoggets, and 131 aveiaged 57s. each ; but the pigs were mere suckers, though pure Berk- shires, and very good-looking. A sow and her litter of four fetched £11 10s.; and seven little pigs, a week old, ultimately went for nearly £3 a-pieoe. The sum total of the sale was £1,521. THE SMITHFIELD CLUB SHOW. (from a supplement to the LONDON GAZETTE.) At the Council Chamber, Whitehall, the 11th day of Novem- ber, 1871, by the Lords of Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council. Present : — Lord President ; Mr. Hammond. Whereas tlie Lords of Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council have by a licence bearing even date with this order licensed the Metropolitan Board of Works, as the local autho- rity for the metropolis under the Contagious Diseases (Animals) Act, 1869, to hold under the direction of the Smithfield Club, at the Agricultural Hall, in the parish of Islington, in the metropolis, on the 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th, and 8th days of December, 1871, the exhibition and sale of cattle and other animals, commonly known as the Smithfield Club Cattle Show (and in this order referred to as the show) ; and whereas the licence provides for the appointment of a pass master to the show, and of two veterinary surgeons for the show ; and whereas it is necessary that further provision be made for the regulation of the show : Now, therefore, the Lords and others of Her Majesty's Most Honourable Privy Council, by virtue and in exercise of the powers in them vested under the Contagious Diseases (Animals) Act, 1869 (in this order referred to as tne A.ct of 1869), and of every other power enabling them in this behalf, do order, and it is hereby ordered, as follows : — 1. Words in this order have the same meaning as in the Act of 1869. 2. Cattle that have been iu the metropolis for more than seven days before the opening of the show shrll not be ad- mitted thereto, and cattle brought to the metropolis for the show shall be taken direct thereto. 3. No cattle shall be admitted to the show without a licence for the purpose from the Commissioner of Police of the me'ropolis, or of the City of London. 4. Each animal before admission to the show shall be examined by the veterinary surgeons for the show, or one of them ; and if on such examination any animal is found to be affected with any contagious or infectious disease, it shall not be admitted to the sliow. 5. If any case of cattle plague occurs in the show the council of the Smithfield Club shall cause all the animals in the show to be forthwith slaughtered, in pursuance of the condition to that effect contained iu the licence. G. If any case of foot-and-mouth disease occurs in the show the following regulations shall have effect : — (1.) The animals affected with foot-and-mouth disease shall be slaughtered in the metropolis, and for that purpose shall be moved to a slaughterhouse, with a pass of the pass-master of the show, (3.) The animals not so affected may be moved and dealt with as if a case of foot-and-mouth disease had not occurred in the show. 7. If any case of contagious or infectious disease other than cattle plague or foot-and-mouth disease occurs in the show, tlie animals in the show shall be liable to be dealt with as if this order had not been made. 8. If no case of contagious or infectious disease occurs in the show, cattle exhibited in the shov/ may be moved (in accordance with the provisions of this order, and not other- wise), as follows: — (1). They may be moved out of the show for slaughter in the metropolis. (2) . They may be moved out of the show, and then alive out of the metropoUs. 9. Cattle moved out of the show for slaughter in the me- tropolis shall be moved only with a pass given by the pass- master of the show to the owner or purchaser desirous of moving the same. 10. All cattle exhibited in the show and not moved out of the metropolis shall be slaughtered in the metropoUs on or before the 21st day of December, 1871. 11. Cattle moved out of the show and then out of the metropolis shall be moved only in manner and subject to the conditions following : (1). There shall be a hcence of the Commissioner of Police of the metropolis for the movement. (2). Such Hcence shall only be granted on a certificate of health signed by one of the veterinary surgeons for the show, and a certificate of the pass-master of tlie show of the cattle having been exhibited in the show. (3). If the cattle are moved out of the metropolis by rail- way, they shall be conveyed in properly constructed cattle vans, without stopping, to the railway station, and there be transferred from the vans directly to the railway truck. (4). If the cattle are moved out of the metropolis otherwise than by railway, they shall be conveyed, without stopping, from the show out of the metropolis in properly constructed cattle vans. (5). Provided that if any cattle being so moved, while in the metropolis, come accidentally or otherwise in contact with any cattle not having been exhibited at the show, they sliall not be moved out of the metropolis, but shall be slaughtered in the metropoUs. 12. If no contagious or infectious disease occurs in the show, animals (other than cattle) exhibited in the show may be moved out of the show and out of the metropolis as if this order had not been made. The schedule contains the following forms : — (1). Pass for slaugliter in case of foot-and-mouth disease. (2). Pass for slaugliter in case of healthy cattle. (3). Licence for movement out of metropolis with certifi- cates annexed. 13. Any dung of animals, and any hay, straw, litter, or other thing commonly used for food of animals, or otherwise for or about animals, shall not be moved out of the show without a certificate of one of the veterinary surgeons for the show, cer- tifying that the thing moved has not been in contact with, or being used for or about any animal affected with a contagious or infectious disease, or that it has been properly disinfected. 14. Where the licence of a commissioner of police is required under this order, the commissioner is hereby empowered to grant the same, and the commissioner may at any time, if he thinks fit, revoke any licence granted by him. 15. Licences, certificates, aud passes required under this order shall be in the respective forms given in the schedule to this order, or to the like effect. 16. This order shall have full effect notwithstanding any- thing in the Metropolitan Contagious Diseases (Animals) Order of August, 1869, or in any other order of the Privy Council. 17. If any person or body does anything in contravention of, or fails to comply with any of the provisions of this order, such person or body shall be deemed guilty of an offence against this order. EDMUND HAKRISON. SEWAGE A.S A FERTILIZER OP LAND, AND LAND AS A PURIFIER OF SEWAGE.— Mr. Bailey Denton wiU read a paper on this subject at the Society of Arts ou the Wednesday in the Smithfield Show week. n u 2 tj'G THE FABMEl^'S MAaAZINE. THE CENTRAL CHAMBER OF AGRICULTURE. A meeting of tlie Cuur.cil anJ deputed members of pro\ia- cial Cliambers was held at the Salisbury Hotel, Salisbury Square, on Tuesday, November 7, under tlie presidency of Sir M. Lopes, M.P. The Secretary announced that the Shropshire Chamber had doubled its subscription to the funds, and that the Dukfi of Rutland, the Earl of Leicester, and Lord Leigh had become life-members by the payment of £10 each. A few new ordinary members were then elected. The Chairman stated that at the meeting of tlie business committee, the previous night, it was unanimously agreed to recommend the Council to pass the amended articles of associa- tion eii hloc without resuming the discussion at the 27th which stood adjourned from the 3rd of May last. In this view lie himself quite concurred, though of course it was open to any gentleman to object to the proceeding. Mr. C. M. Caldecott (Warwickshire) then moved the fol- lowing resolution, as prepared by the business committee: "Considering that the rules proposed by the committee ap- pointed on December 7th, 1S70, are calculated to meet the views of the majority of the Chambers of Agriculture, par- ticularly with respect to the power of making laws and the equalization of the voting power in proportion to numerical membership and money contribution to the Ceutral Council, this Council accepts tiiose rules as now submitted to it." In making this proposal, Mr. Caldecott observed that, so far as his Chamber was concerned, it was perfectly satisfied with the rules as they stood, with the single exception of the 27th, which related to the coustitution of the business committee. The number of members was much too large for a working committee, and the new rule constituting a committee to con- sist of the Chairman, Vice-chairman, and seven members, would, he believed, be a great improvement. One complaint of the associated Chambers at a distance was that they had not the representative power at the general meetings which they ought to have. That power would, however, be given them by the new rules, so that the objection was practically done away with, and they would have a hearty union estab- lished between the Central Chamber and the great northern districts. The code Viad been amended by a committee which might be said to represent all opinions, and had carefully weighed tlie objections urged against every proposition. He thought, therefore, the Council might take the rules upon the responsibility of that committee, and try them for the next twelve months, at the end of which period, if they did not act well, they miglit be further altered. Mr. T. WiLLSON (Oluey) seconded the motion for reasons similar to those adduced by the proposer. Mr. D. Long (Gloucestershire) moved, by way of amend- ment, to expunge the 27tli rule recommended by the committee, and to restore the original rule, which provided that the Business Committee should comprise tl;e Chairman, Vice- Chairman, and twenty-four elected Council members, with power to add to their number from the deputed members, and wliicli arrangement, he contended, had not been found in- convenient. Jlr. Gexge Andrews, in seconding the amendment, ob- jected to placing the Council so entirely in the liands of a small committee, as the new rule would do. Nothing, indeed, could be more inconsistent with the independence of the Council, who, in the end, might finj themselves hampered by a mere clique ; besides, the new rule directed that the com- mittee should meet previous to every Council meeting to pre- pare resolutions and arrange all matters for the consideration of the Council ; and if the committee were to meet for these purposes the evening before the Council meeting he did not see how it would be consistent with the twentieth rule, which required that tlie subjects to be considered in Council should be included in an agenda forwarded to each associated Chamber fourteen days before the day of discussion. Mr. C. S. Reap, JI.P. (Norfolk), was as desirous as any one to see the committee composed entirely of representative men, and there was no reason why that should not be the case. For who were to elect the seven men ? Fifty-six menibera appointed by the district Chambers and eight members only appointed by the Central Chamber. If the fifty-six could not control the eight, surely they ought to be able to do so All the committee had to do was to arrange the business for the following day. The amendment of Mr. Long, on being put to the meeting, was negatived by more than two to one ; but another proposal from the same quarter, to the effect that four at least "of the seven committee men should be deputed members," was, after being seconded by Mr. Corrance, M.P. (Suffolk), agreed to. With this emendation, the twenty-seventh rule was accepted ; and the resolution moved by Mr. Caldecott was then adopted. The following report from the Local Taxation Committee was laid before the Council by Sir M. Lopes, Chairman of that body : Local Taxation Commiitee Rkpoht, XovEirsBR, 18"1. The Local Taxation Committee in presenting- their Report feel that it is an appropriate time to issue a summary of their proceedings during the past nine months, and refer to the progress they hive made during that period towards the attainment of the objecis they have had in view. In the first place the Committee feel much satisfaction in calling at- tention to the vast amount of increased interest which is being taken b.y all classes in the subject of Local Taxation Reform. This is evidenced to some extent Ijy an analysis of the present state of the Committee as compared with its con- dition at the commencement of the Session. The names of the Committee are printed with this Report (together with a list of subscriptions already received and promised np to this I ate). At the Ijeginning of the Session ten only of the Committee were members of the House of Conrmous ; at present eightj'-three of the General Committee are member.^ of the Legislature. Many other influential persons, who have l>een led to see the importance of the subject through the efforts of the Committee, have also added their names to the list. The Committee feet that they are entitled to con- gratulate their friends and themselves on these results. Three yaars ago, when this subject was first introduced liy the Chairman in the House »f Commons, there was CDin- parativelj' little sympatliy or response, ^ok it seems to be very generall.y admitted that gi-eat grievances exist, and that it is imperatively necessary that some remedies should be ap- plied, and that the whole suliject should receive full, fair, and impartial consideration. It will be in the recollection of many that last autumn the Committee, at the suggestion of their Chairman, drew the attention of the Magistrates at Quarter Sessions to the small control which tliej' exercised over the County Rates, and which are generally supposed to be under their exchisive and independent control ; whereas SO per cent, of the total expenditure is, Ijy .statute obligatory, levied for national purposes. The Magistrate., were askeJ to consider whether it would not ho advisable for them to pe- tition the Legislature against this anomaly. The Committee are glad to be able to state that this suggestion met with great success, and early in the Session a large majority of Courts of Quarter Sessions adopted the course suggested, and forwarded petitions to the House of Commons. The Committee subsequentl.v deemed it advisable to apyjeal to the Ratepayers generally, through Boards of Guardians ; and here again the result justified their sanguine expectations. It appears from the thirty-second report of the Select Com- mittee on Public Petitions, tliat 27-1 petitions (very nume- rously signed) have been forwarded to the House of Com- mons, praying for a reform of the existing system of Local Taxation. 'Numerous petitions were also presented, praying that certain clauses in the Army Regulation Bill, which would not onlj- continue, but very much aggravate the system winch makes the County Rate chargealjle with all expenses connected with Militia Storehouses and billet- ing, might not pass into law. On the 2Sth of February the chairman lirought the subject of Local Taxation under the consideration of the House of Commons, in the following motion : " That inasmuch as many of the existing and con- templated charges on the Local Rates are for national pur- poses, and that it is neither just nor politic that such charges should be levied exclusively from one desciiption of pro- perty (via,, houses and land), this House is of opinion that it is the dutj' of the Government to inquire fortliwith into the incidence of Imperial as well as Local Taxation, and take such steps as ghall ensure that every description of pro- THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 537 pei-ty shall cc(uitably contribute to all national bm-dens." This was the first occasion on which those of the C'om- mitteo who are members of the House of Commons, felt themselves .justified in pressing for a division. The result was hij^hly gratifying ; for though in a minority, yet the number of their supporters was sufficiently large to justify the coiu-se which had ))een taken. The committee have reason to know that that number would have been considoraljly increased had Government met this motiou by a direct negative ; but, owing to their moving the previous question, the Chairman was precluded from making a reply, and many members •who sjmipathiscd with the motion voted with the Govern- ment ; a distinct promise having been given by Mr. Goschen that he would introduce a Bill dealing fully with the whole subject. It is also worthy of notice that the' House was more thau ordinarily full on ttiis occasion, and that, amongst the 195 members who voted in the minority, there were many who usually vote with the Government, thus proving that the question is not regarded from a party point of view, an object which has been steadilj' borne in mind by the com- mittee from the very beginning, and which they deem most essential. Full and corrected copies of the reports of the various speeches in this debate have been prmted and widely circulated among Chambers of Agriculture, Boards of Guardians, and other local bodies who are interested. Numerous well attended and influential meetings have been held in various districts of the metropolis for the discussion of the subject. The following resolution has been on each occasion unanimously adojited : "That as many of the enlarges now defrayed from the poor-rate are national in their object, it is neither just nor politic that such charges should be levied exclusively on one class of persons and pro- perty, and that this meeting, fully recognising the great evds attendant upon Govermnent interference with local matters, deem it expedient that a petition shall be prepared for presentation to Parliament, praj'ing that all national charges shall be transferred from local to imperial taxation, and that in all future legislation on this subject the principle of local control over local affairs shall be distinctly recog- nised." It is thus made very evident that the ratepayers (householders and others) are becoming alive to the injus- tice under which they suffer, and it is to he hoped that other large towns will follow the example of the metropolis, and convene meetings for the discussion of this most im- portant subject. The committee have strenuously exerted themselves to oppose all clauses in the various bills brought before Parliament during the present session, which, if passed, would have increased the charges upon ratepayers. These bills arc enumerated below, and a few remarks are apijended, pointing out what ai)pearcd objectionaljle in them, and also giving the results which have been obtained by the cflorts ol the committee and their friends ; 1. The Rating and Local Government Bill, 2. The Local Taxation Bill (Both withdrawn). 3. The Clauses ia the "Ai-ray Regulation Bill" relating to Militia Barracks and Storehouses (defeated). 4. Clause IS in the "Elections (Parliamentary and Municipal) Bill" (defeated). 5. Municipal Corporations (Boroughs, &c.. Funds) Bill (withdrawn). 6. Prison Ministers' Bill (withdrawn). 7. Registration of Voters Bill, No. 1, 8. Registration of Voters Bill, No. 3 (Both withdrawn). 9. Pauper Inmates Discharge Bill (passed). 10. The Vaccination Act (1867) Amendment Bill (passed). The committee would here remark, that in the case of these ten bills, which, either in whole or in part, they considered prejudicial to the interests of rate|)ayers (inas- much as they would have imposed increased burdens upon them) their opposition has been effective, with the exception of the Vaccination Act Amendment Bill, and the Pauper In- mates Discharge Bill. These two Bills were carried through the House at the very close of the session, when the great majority of members had left town, and when full or fair dis- cussion as to then* merits was utterly impossible. The com- mittee consider they are entitled more particularly to con- gratulate their friends on the withdrawal of Mr. Goschen's two bills (the Rating and Local Government Bill, and the Local Taxation Bill) . This result has been mainly due to the active exertions of the various Chambers of Agriculture as wcUasother ratepayers. As soon as these bills were introduced the committee pubUshed an analysis of them in connection with the report previously issued by Mr. Goschen. They succeeded in pointing out the numeroiw fallacies which abounded in this Report, and the general incompleteness and inaccuracies of the i-eturns on which they were founded, and consequently the injustice of the conclusions to which the Bills wei-c in- tended to give effect. Their effect would have been to pro- mote dissension and discord between Owners and Occupiers ; and it was palpable that their tendency was to divide theie common interests, and so to weaken the opposition, formid- able as long as it was united, of these two classes. With regard to the " Army Regulation Bill," Lord George Hamil- ton (one of the members of the Committee), in the House of Commons, opposed Clause 7, by which the Government pro- posed to transfer the power of granting Commissions in the Militia from Lords-Lieutenant to the central authority, but at the same time to continue and extend the system which charges the County Rates with all the expenses of Militia Storehouses, and building Militia Barracks. In the Di^-ision which followed Lord George's motion the'Government gained a Ijare majority of two in a full House. The Committee have published and widely-circulated a lull and corrected report of this debate, together with an analysis of the Division List, and there is reason to believe that the Government will not persist in their attempt to increase Local charges in this direction. The Committee determined to oppose most strongly Clauses 18, 19, 20, and 21 of the Elections ( I'arliamentary and Municipal) Bill, which would have thrown a considerable proportion of Electioneering expenses upon Ratepayers, and thus were glad to find that the name of a distinguished sup- porter of the Government appeared to the first amendment that was moved to the 18th clause. In consequence of the result of the Division on this Amendment, other Amendments, in the name of your Chairman and other members of the Com- mittee, were never reached, as the Government abandoned all the Rating Clauses after the decisive Division taken on the first Amendment. The Committee have circulated among the Chambers of Agriculture a full report of this debate with the Division List. It will have been observed that the chief argument raised by almost every speaker during this debate had reference to the injustice of adding in the slightest de- gree, for any new object whatever of a National character, to the already heavy amount of local burdens. The Com- mittee feel it to be matter of congratulation that, in a House when 416 members were present, these^rating clauses should have been rejected by the large majority of 96. Bearing in mind that on a previous division Lord Geoge Hamilton's motion to expunge the rating clause of the Army Regulation Bill was lost by a majority of two, it must be admitted that there is much to encourage hope and continued exertion in the future, and that no Government will endeavour to force contributions of this or any other National character, excep- tionally from one section of the community, and from one descriijtion of i)roperty only. In the Municipal Corporations (Boroughs, &c., Funds) Bill, the Committee would point out that Clause 2 proposed to give absolute and unlimited powers to governing bodies to charge on the Borough Rates the cost of promoting, furthering, or opposing any measures or objects which thej- might think fit, at the expense of the Ratepayers, without their consent and appro val, and depi iving them of their constitutional right of Appeal if they felt aggrieved. Clause 5 was of a retrospective character, and would have given the Secretary of State power to charge on the Borough Fund such expenses as might have been incurred during the pre- vious three years, even in such cases as that of Sheffield, where Courts of Justice had decided that they were illegal. These clauses, as tending to increase the charges upon Rate- payers to an indefinite amount, and for any purpose whatever, were steadily resisted by the Committee. It appears mani- festly unjust that " governing bodies" should have the power of spending large sums without the control of the Ratepayers, and without special reference to their opinions and wishes. If such arbitrary powers had been conferred, Ratepayers would have been continually involved in litigation, and, whether the schemes promoted or opposed were sanctioned or not, the expenses in either case would have fallen on them. In the Prison Ministers' Bill, Clause 3 would have given the Secretary of State power to appoint Ministers of any per- suasion (where the prison authorities had failed to do so), if the average number of prisoners of that persuasion had exceeded ten during the three years preceding. These officials were to be paid very liberal salaries, according to a schedule attached to the bill, and, though appointed by the Home Secretary, their salaries were to be paid out of the county-rates; and they would have been quite independent of the visiting justices. During the past session two bills were introduced to regulatg the Registration of Voters ; No. 1 with regard to counties, and No. 2 with regard to boroughs. Both these bills proposed to charge the expenses of registration upon the ratepayers. It should here be remarked that a portion of the expense is al- ready bin-ne by ratepayers, but the bills proposetl to create a new officer to be paid for by ratepayers, and to that extent to diminish the duties of the Revising-Barrister. Had these bills become law an additional charge of at least £150,000 per annum would have been added to the rates. Jlr. Pell and Mr. Clare Read opposed the second reading of No. 1 Bill, and it was ultimately withdrawn, and shortly afterwards No. 2 met with the same fiite. In the " Pauper Imnates Discharge and Regulation Bill" clause 9 provides that, if guardians fail to provide casual wards with such fittings and furniture as may be approved by the Poor-law Board, they thall not be entitled to repayment from any Parliamentary grant.i. The committee are ot' opinion that this description of pauper in- 538 THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. mates ought to be classed as vagrants, and as such should be under the jurisdiction of magLstrates, and not under the Poor-law Guardians. The committee would also remark that police cells have already been jirovided at the expense of the ratepayers, and are avaUable for the reception of vagrants. £7,000,000 have been already expended out of the rates for ITnion-houses alone since 1835, and it is unjust that Poor-law Guardians should be compelled to expend constantly (and without any discretion being allowed them) fnrther sums at the instance of the Poor-law Inspectors. In the Vaccination Act (1867) Amendment Bill, clause 5 makes obligatory the appointment of an officer to be called the " Vaccination Officer," who is to be paid out of the rates. Formerly the appointment of such an oflEicer was optional with the guardians. With regard to this clause Mr. Pell moved, in the House of Commons : " That it is neither just nor ex- pecheut to charge the local rates with payments as authorized by this biU, but that effect should be given to the Report of the Select Committee on the Vaccination Act (1867), 'that the efficient working of the Act would be promoted by the con- tribution of a considerable proportion of the expenses from moneys to be voted by Parliament.' " It is satisfactory to note that when the Chau-man called the attention of Mr. Forster to this recommendation of the Select Committee, to the effect " that a considerable portion of the expenditure should be defrayed from the national exchequer, inasmuch as it was for the national benefit," the Vice-President of the Council admitted the justice of the suggestion, although he stated, that, in his opinion, it could not be carried out in. the present bill ; but, that he would support it when the whole question of Local Taxation was considered next session. The Committee, after much consideration, did not think it ad- visable to oppose the Local Government Board Bill intro- duced by the Government, inasmuch as it proposed to give no increased power to the Executive, and to detract nothing from local control, but simply aimed at effecting a concen- tration of the authority which at present exists, though in- conveniently distributed among several distinct departments. At an interview of the Executive Committee with Mr. Stans- feld (the President of the then Poor-law Board), shortly after the introduction of the bill, he strongly dis- avowed any intention to prejudice (under the title of the Bill) the position taken up by the Committee, of insisting upon a distinction between charges of a local and national character. He denied that any centralising power would be created bj' the BUI, or that any increased charge would thus be throwTi upon ratepayers, but stated that it would concentrate scattered departments, encourage and strengthen local authority, and no measure supplant it. Subsequently, when moving the second reading of the Bill, he stated the same opinions most fully to the House ; but the Committee regret that in consequence of the late hour at which this, as well as other ;most important Bills were brought under the notice of the House, the speeches were imperfeclly reported, and the public have lost their usual opportunity of learning Mr. Stansfeld's precise views on the subject. Should the recommendations of the Sanatory Commissioners be carried out (though good in themselves), a vast increase of expense will be th^o^vn upon the rate- payers solely, for an object which all must acknowledge to be of national importance. In the case of cholera, or any other epidemic attacking this country (and the prospect of cholera is more than probable), the necessary expendi- ture would be very largely augmented. A Bill has just been introduced for the purpose of consolidating and amend- ing the laws relating to public health and local government in England and Wales. This bill will come before the House of Commons for discussion next session. During the Parlia- mentai'y recess the Committee will make themselves ac- quainted with the provisions of this Bill ; and should it ap- pear that any new charges aSecting ratepayers are to be proposed, they will publish an analysis of the Bill, pointing out the clauses, and showing their probable effect. The Committee would call attention to the fact that a great pro- portion of the expenses of elementary education will have to be defrayed from the rates, and to the very large amounts already proposed to be raised as loans, on the security of the rates, to enable School Boards to carr>' out the initiatory proceadings connected with their duties." It is apparent that there will be a steadily-increasing impost upon the rate- payers, in many instances causing an additional rate of 6d. in the £, for an object which all must allow to be of national importance, and not for the benefit of ratepayers more than any other class of the community. The Cliairman of the Committee has brought before the notice of the House of Commons certain gross inaccuracies in the Abstract of County Treasurers' Accounts, and also in the Borough Ac- counts. Amended returns were obtained ; but as they do not give the public a clear idea of the state of Local Finance, the Chairman has moved for a form of return, wliich, when issued, will have the desired result of showing the expendi- ture incurred, and the amount reimbursed by the Treasury', both in Counties and Boroughs, under the folloniug head- ings : Police ; Administration of Justice ; Limatics ; Militia. The Lord Chief Justice Cockbum having made some very stringent remarks in a case brought before the Queen's- Bench, in April last (Queen r. Treasury Commissioners), ad- verse to the practice of the Treasury of disallowing expenses which had been incurred by order of the Court in Criminal prosecutions, and thus throwing them upon the County- Rates, this case has been strongly commented on in the Solicitors'' Journal (August 19, p. 761). This paper holds that " the Chief Justice was right in the opinion which he ex- pressed, and that there is no authority for this disallowance." The Chairman of the Committee moved for a return which should show the amounts disallowed in each county and borough of England and Wales for the past seven years — 1861 to 1871. From this return, which has just been issued, it appears that the per-centage disallowed in coimties is : For England alone, 6-28 ; Wales, 11"3; England and Wales, 8"7 per cent. Under these circumstances the Committee have deemed it advisable to caU the attention of the magi- strates at the Michaelmas Quarter Sessions to this question, and have issued accordingly circulars to all the Clerks of the Peace, suggesting the propriety of petitioning ParUament on the subject. In several counties, and notably in Devon- shire, Lincolnshire, Leicestershire, Somerset, the'West Riding of Yorkshire, &c., action either by application for a manda- mus, or by petition, has been taken, whUe the magistrates of Lancashire are beheved to be about to re-open the ques- tion by fuither legal proceedings. The Committee cannot help expressing their opinion that although the total amounts disallowed by the Treasury, in the cases referred to, may not be individually very large, a question of principle is involved, which it is of great consequence to maintain ; these disallowances by Treasury officials being a violation of the compact entered into in 1817, and enunciated by Sir Robert Peel, when he carried a resolution transferring such charges from local to imperial taxation. In conclusion, the Committee would point out that the tendency of legislation has hitherto been to throw upon the ratepayers various new charges for objects, which, however good in themselves, have more a national than a local character. Chancellors of Ex- checiuer have thus been enabled to take credit for budgets which by no means represent the actual taxation of the country, but, by relieving imperial at the expense of local taxation, give a very delusive impression of the actual amount of our na- tional imposts. The Comittee therefore feel it incumbent up- on them to urge upon all their supporters the necessity for increased exertions. Those of the Committee who are mem- bers of the House of Commons will not fail, when addressing their constituents, to place the bearings and present aspect of the subject fully before them; and, when they reassemble next Session, they hope that the number of their supporters will be so increased as to insure a speedy attention on the part of the Government to the injustice of the anomalies complained of. The prospect of the more prominent place in the Legislative labourers of next Session which the revision of Local Taxa- tion may fairly expect to claim, will, the Committee trust, induce all ratepayers, urban and rural alike, to press on their representatives the interest they individually feel on a subject of such vast import to the social well-being of the en- tire community. The Committee consider that most satis- factory progress has been made daring the past Session, and by the aid of the cordial sj-mpathy and co-opertionof Cham- bers of Agriculture, and ratepayers in general, a position has been attained fully justifying their expectations in the past, and affording substantial encouragement for exertions in the future. Signed on behalf of the Committee, MissEX Lope8, chairman. »*, Captain Craigie has accepted the post of Secretaiy in place of Mr. C. F. Gardner, resigned. Mr. Tr.\.sk having moved, aud Mr. Caldecott seconded the reception and adoption of the report, Mr. Neild (Lancashire) pointed out the advantage of in- cluding all local rates in one " demand note." This had been done in the union of Chorlton-on-Medlock, and tlie rate- piyers were thereby enabled at one glance to see all that they had to pay and to what purpose the money was applied. If it were generally adopted it would materially assist in promoting a leform in the system of local taxation. ilr. Hicks (Cambridgeshire) mentioned that he had brought the subject of Treasury disallowances in criminal prosecutions before the Quarter Sessions of his county, aud that the finance committee had directed the clerk of the peace to put himself in coramuuication with any counties which might be willing to take up the matter in conjunction with them. Mr. Whitaker (Worcestershire) animadverted upon the luke-warmness displayed by many counties on the subject of local taxation, and remarked that without the expression of a strong public opinion the gross injustice of the present system would never be remedied. He hoped, therefore, that county gentlemen would join tlie agricultural Chambers and help them to subscribe more liberally to the funds of the local taxation committee. THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 539 The motioa for receiving aod adopting the report was then agreed to, and the Secretary was directed to accompany the report with an appeal to the local Chambers to increase their subscriptions. The Chairman, referring to Mr. Neild's observations with respect to the " demand note," stated that the select com- mittee of the [louse of Commons on local taxation had, at his instance, unanimously passed a resolution to the effect that a note should be sent to every ratepayer, setting forth not only the amount in full but every particular object and purjjose. And in the event of any further legislation the subject would not be lost sight of. Mr. BiDDELL (Suffolk'! said a provision of that sort in Mr. Goschen's bill was the one redeeming feature of the measure. Mr. Read, M.P., in moving that " This Council con- siders that the failure of the Contagions Diseases (Animals) Act has demonstrated the necessity for compulsory slaughter or fourteen days' quarantine of all imported foreign animals, as uniformly demanded by this Council," said he had undertaken the duty at the request of the president, who was good enough to say that it was a subject peculiarly his (Mr. Read's) own. Well, if that were so, he had no reason to be proud of it ; for, whilst no man could have tried harder to do some gC'od, no man had ever accomplished so little as he had done in this mat- ter. They had made a strong rod for their own backs and done comparatively no good whatever, either to the producers or consumers of meat or the importers of cattle. He saw now, and after giving the Contagious Diseases (Animals) Act a trial of two years, that so far as regardjd the foot-and-mouth disease the measure had been a total and complete failure. When the question was under tlie consideration of the House of Commons, he ventured to say that it would be so, and, unfortunately, liis predictions had been verified ; be- cause he believed that at no period within the last ten or a dozen years had the foot-and-mouth disease been so rampant and destructive as during the last few months. When the cattle plague broke out he had the honour of being appointed one of the commissioners who went fully into the considera- tion of the subject with the common idea then entertained by farmers that pleuro-pneumonia and the foot-and-mouth disease were a sort of epidemic that they could not guard against, and that it was of no use to try to get rid of them by any legis- lative enactments ; but they were utterly undeceived. First of all the commissioners had before them the evidence as to what those diseases were — that they were simply contagious and could be stopped. They had then a total cessation of all traffic and fairs and markets during the cattle-plague era, and, to their great astonishment — at any rate to his own — not only did they stamp out the cattle plague, but they were at the same time delivered from pleuro-pneumonia and foot-and- mouth disease for two or three years. He believed, aud now stated it most confidently, that what they had gained from the cessation of those diseases in that period fully compensated them for all the loss that the cattle plague had inflicted upon them, for three years they were free from the foot-and- mouth disease ; but everybody who attended the London market must have known that all that time the metropolitan layers were more or less infected by it. Foreign cattle continued to bring it into London; but it did not go beyond London, and it was not until the summer of 18G9, when the Government thought proper to turn the foreign sheep all over the country, that they had this visitation again. It was all very well to be " wise after the event" ; but he told the vice-president of the Council this : " You are well aware that foot-and-mouth disease is now rampant in the coun- tries from which we are importing sheep ; and that, being subject to that disease, they can carry the infection about with them, even when not diseased themselves ; and now what are you going to do ? You are going to turn out those sheep all over the country, and the result will be that you will see an outbreak of the foot-and-mouth disease in a little time." In the autumn of 1869 the foot-and-mouth disease spread over the country again ; they had not since been able to get rid of it, and, in his opinion, they never would. It was of no use to attempt cutting off the disease in driblets as they were trying CO do. They must go to the fountain-head, and arrest the stream of importation at its source. It was constantly said that it could not be proved that these were foreign diseases ; but let the fact be remembered that it was not until about the time that foreign importations of sheep and cattle became general that they had those diseases among their live stock. On the other hand it had been proved before a Committee of the House of Commons that the foot-and-mouth disease and pleuro-pneumonia had existed on the Continent from time im- memorial. Let not that be forgotten. They could not say exactly when the diseases came here. They could not tell exactly how the cattle-plague came here, though there were people who said it originated in some foul London dairy, was spontaneously generated there, it fact; and a majority of farmers and dealers would say that the foot-and-mouth disease came with the east wind, in which case it would be useless to attempt to stop it, inasmuch as the east wind was not to be stopped. Believing, however, as he did, tfiat it was not gene- rated spontaneously, he considered that it was imperative upon them to take such precautionary and stringent measures as were best calculated to banish it from the country (Hear, hear) . Mr. Neild seconded the resolution, and urged that all foreign beasts when not slaughtered at the port of landing, required, so to speak, " acclimatising," before they should be allowed to come in contact with native herds. In his opinion the Act of Parliament had failed on account of not slaughtering at the port of entry. The state of things was at present such that, whether in fat or dairy stock, it was a most discouraging busi- ness for farmers to be stock-owners at all. In Cheshire and Lancashire the losses in dairy stock particularly were frightful to contemplate, and he wished it to be understood that it was simply and solely from a desire to protect our flocks and herds from foreign diseases, and not from any other or lower con- siderations, that they asked that the Act of Parliament should be carried out, Mr. Fowleu (Chairman of the Home Cattle Defence Asso- ciation) stated that according to the reports obtained by Mr. Waller, the Secretary to that body, inspection was at present almost a farce. He hoped, therefore, that they would do their utmost to render it effectual before bringing any pressure to bear upon their Irish brethren. What they wanted especially was that at the ports of debarkation foreign animals should be slaughtered, and that an efficient quarantine shonld be estab- lished on all animals intended as stock in this country. In the course of the last few weeks a cargo of fine cattle from Portugal was landed in this country, and had passed as free from foot-and-mouth disease on a Thursday ; but the next morning the gentleman to whom the beasts were consigned, discovered that they were suffering fearfully from that disease. They were therefore sold within the port of London as diseased animals, and removed for slaughter within the metropolitan district. The very fact of removal from " that part of a port" a provision which the Government had laid down, showed of itself how ineffective was the system. Moreover, sheep might have been passing at the same time, as they were not included in the supervision, and have been the means of disseminating the disease throughout the country. It was impossible, then, for the Chamber to be too strong in their representations to the Government, and in the demand they made in behalf of themselves, both as farmers and as large consumers of beef, that the regulations should be stringently and effectively en- forced. We admitted that there was a difficulty in connection with the subject when they came to consider the case of Ire- land. The system there was simply this. Dealers went over the country, and bought up the one or two animals which the cottier or small farmer possessed, and which at this season of the year they must sell, for want of the necessary layerage, good yards, and food for maintaining them. It was almost im- perative indeed upon the poorer Irish farmer and cottier that they should dispose of their cattle at this period of the year. The beasts were bought and shipped to this country, and were then sent into the fold yards at Norfolk and other parts ; and no doubt formed a valuable accession to our stock. The point to press upon the Government therefore, as.to Ireland, was that there should be strict supervision in Ireland, and that the herds should be rigidly inspected at the ports of embarkation, where he was told that inspection was at present delusion and a sham ; in short, that there was no inspection whatever (Mr. Masfen. " Nor in England either.") Tliat was quite true ; nor in England eitlier. Then, with regard to the place from which the cargo of cattle he had mentioned had come from. It was a noteworthy fact that in Spain and Portugal the price of meat had risen to such an extent that it was within a trifle as high as in JEngland, and there was scarcely a margin of profit GiO THE FAHMEil'S MAGAZINE. left on tlie importation of cattle from the Peninsula. It was all very well to say that English agriculturists had raised the price of meat, by their attempt to prevent the importation of foreign stock ; but the price of meat abroad had risen as ra- pidly as in this country, and he had the authority of one of the largest dealers for stating that it was a fact that there was scarcely any margin of profit on the importation of cattle from Spain and Portugal. He thought he had said enough to show the necessity of pressing the resolution as strongly as possible upon the Executive, and he was pleased to sec that farmers, re- presented as they were by Cliarabers of Agriculture, the Earmers' Club, and the Home Cattle Defence Association, were united on the qaestion, and hoped they would send au influ- ential deputation to the Government to insist upon their right both as producers and consumers to have tlie necessary regu- lations enforced. Mr. Wi'iiOND (Hertfordshire) supported the resolution, and produced the certificate of a medical practitioner, which showed that a patient of his was suffering from severe illness, conse- quent npon the use of milk from a diseased cow. Mr. Martin (Cambridgeshire), in taking the same line, said all that was wanted was protection for our home stock, and he disclaimed any desire to restrict, either directly or indirectly, the quantity of stock imported from abroad. The resolution was carried unanimously. Mr. Brow.nt; (Norfolk) proposed, as the next resolution, " That Government officers should inspect all cattle and sheep previous to embarkation from Ireland, and that all vessels en- gaged in conveying animals between Ireland and Great Britain should be subjected to effectual supervision as to accomraod- tion, cleansing, and disinfection." Such a provision would, he believed, provide an additional safeguard. He also thought that not only foot-and-mouth disease, but pleuro-pneumonia was to a great extent preventable, and tiiat their existence at this time was traceable chiefly to mismanagement. A cargo of cattle was embarked, for instance, in a vessel from Ireland. The vessel was overerowded, and the animals in consequence over- heated during a ten or twelve hours' voyage. They were landed in the evening, and placed in a damp low meadow. A frost oc- curred in the night ; next morning they were put in trucks, and conveyed by railway one or two huudred miles into the coun- try, in all probability to he subjected to the same treatment next evening. He put it, then, 'whether this course of treat- ment was not of itself sufficient to generate foot-and- raouth disease, or pleuro-pneumonia, or both. If there were an effective inspection at the port of embarkation ; if in ever}' case where an animal was found to be alfected the whole lot with which he was herded were prevented from being shipped, they would guard very much against the importation of any disease from Ireland. He insisted, therefore, upon the necessity of placing the vessels under strict supervision, that the cattle and sheep should not be over-crowded and over- heated on their voyage, that at the port of landing a sufficient number of dry and well-sheltered layers should be provided, that the animals on landing should be subjected to close in- spection, that the healthy cargoes should be seut to one layer- age, and if it were found that notwithstanding the inspection in Ireland a cargo was diseased on arriving in England it should he sent to another and distinct layerage from which it should not he allowed to leave until pronounced free from disease. Indeed, if all cattle were compelled to rcmaiu 13 hours iu good dry layers after landing, he he had no doubt that it would tend greatly to prevent the introduction of disease from that part of the kingdom. Mr. Webu (Worcestershire) having seconded the motion, Mr. Haruwick (Gloucestershire) said he could prove from liis own experience in Bristol market that inspection was a farce. Some animals were landed at that port from Ireland a few weeks ago, and after being officially inspected were sent to the market, where they were purchased by a friend of his liaviagbeen first examined by a veterinary surgeon, who was a friend of the purchaser, and who also passed them as sound. Tiiey were then taken home, but on the following Saturday morning three out of the sixteen of which the herd consisted were atTected with foot-and-mouth disease, and within four days every one of the lot was down with it. He felt certain then that the only effectual way of stamping out the disease, was the method laid down in the resolution— that all fat ani- mals should be slaughtered at the landing-place, and all store animals be put in quarantine for a certain number of d.iys. In the process of sliipmeut they should not be oveiorowdcd or subjected to more excitement than was unavoidable, and the vessels in which, they were embarked should be as clean and well- ventilated as possible. He had witnessed the landing of many an Irish cargo at Bristol, and anything more fearful than the stench which arose from the hold as it was unbat- toned could scarcely be imagined. The sickening effluvium might be detected a mile round, and the wonder to him was how a cargo of beasts ever escaped disease. Mr. Pell, M.P. (Leicestershire), explained that an Order in Council of May 13th, 1S70, provided for the very object con- templated by the resolution and the regulation of the transit of animals by sea. It made provision that on and after a cer- tain date pens were to be constructed, and parted by substan- tial divisions. It gave the size of the pens and described the sort of floor the animals were to be brought in upon, in order to their having a good foot-hold, and the arrangements for ventilation. It also dealt with the conveyance of shorn sheep. The ninth clause of the Order prescribed that all vessels en- gaged in bringing cattle, whether from Ireland or abroad, should be cleansed, and what should be done with the dung which came out of them. Thus it would be seen that provi- sion had been made for the accommodation of cattle and for cleansing of the vessels in which they were carried. But, un- fortunately they saw no result from this provision. On the contrary, cattle came to the port of Bristol in vessels which were iu a filthy state, and he had been informed that it was not the province of any person to board a vessel for the pur- pose of ascertaining whether it was clean or not, or if the Order in Council was carried out. By the resolution before the Chamber, therefore, they asked the Government to appoint the necessary officers for this purpose. He believed, and had reason to believe, however, that arrangements were made at the commencement of last month for Government inspectors to further the execution of the 5th, Gth, 7th, Sth, 9th, 10th and 11th clauses of the Order in Council to which he had re- ferred. They were doing this now ; and in regard to Bristol, Government officers did inspect those vessels, and did see to the accommodation and the cleansing of them ; but it appeared that they did not inform against those who broke the law, be- cause the power of doing that was vested in the local autho- rities, and it was left to them to carry it out. It was neces- sary, therefore, to ciU upon the Government to do what they had already done. He did not say whether the inspection was effectual or not ; but to keep the Chamber right with the Government, and not to betray ignorance on the subject, he proposed to amend the resolution iu this form : " That the Government should make their present inspection of all cattle and sheep previous to embarkation in Ireland, and of all ves- sels engaged in conveying animals between Ireland and Great Britain, as complete and etfectual as possible." This amend- ment he moved in order that it might not he said that they were ignorant of the action of the Government, though it might be of an imperfect nature, or not fuch as they desired, and moreover had hut recently been initiated. Mr. RoBiNSOX (an importer of cattle) stated that since the promulgation of the Order iu Council of May 1870, the vessels engaged in the trade with Ireland were fitted up iu the best possible manner. Formerly it was the custom to heave the beasts iuto and out of the holds with ropes, but now tliese arrangements admitted of their walking into and out of the vessel. In his opinion the conveyance by sea had little to do with tiio spread of disease, because as a rule the owners of the vessels were also owners of the cattle, and always insured them, and latterly, since the foot-and-mouth disease had been rife, they had insisted upon stricter cleanliness. In fact, he believed that cattle got better treatment in vessels than on shore. Still tlie owners of these vessels were desirous of ef- fecting every improvement for the health and comfort of the beasts, and as far as the establishment with which he himself was counected they were in the habit of carrying thousands of cattle yearly, and the loss was a mere trifle, not one head in five thousand, he supposed. Mr. S.MiTii (Essex) seconded Mr. Pell's amendment, with all the more pleasure that it contained nothing in the nature of prohibition, but simply proposed that all proper precautions should be used, that the cattle might have as fair a chance as possible of leaving the Irish shores and reaching the English market iu a healthy condition. Eor he thought it would be decidedly wrong to place any restriction on the circulation of THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 541 cattle ; but at the same time the best provisions for its regu- lation should be devised. His own experience showed that the inspection now in operation did not amount to much ; for example, there was a large market at St. Ives, at which as many as 0,000 or 7,000 beasts were sometimes assembled, to be afterwards distributed all over the country. What was the inspection ? If one diseased animal was found among a herd of one hundred, he was removed, but his companions were left to circulate freely here, tliere, and everywhere. Such an in- spection as that must uecessariy be ineffectual as a means of checking the spread of disease. For his own part he was in- clined to doubt wliether all the care in the world would prevent it. His own herd suffered badly from foot-and-mouth disease so far back as 1S3'J — three years before foreign cattle were admitted into the country under Sir R. Peel's new tariff. At one time he had not less than 30 beasts suffering from the complaint, and in the same spring 50 lambs were seized by it, and all died. The CitAiRM.\j?f : It was not correct to suppose that, be- cause foreign cattle were not imported free of duty previous to 1839, therefore no foreign cattle were imported prior to that date. He had no doubt tliat both foot-and-mouth and pleuro- pneumonia were first brought into this county by foreign stock. Sir G. Jenkixson, M.P., pronounced the existing system of inspection in a port like Bristol to be utterly useless, whether before embarkaliou or after landing, as a means of preventing the spread of the disease by animals which had been in con- tact with others that were palpably diseased. In the interest of the dairy counties, he moved as an amendment, "That in the opinion of this Chamber all cattle landed at any port in England, from any vessel coming from any place where cattle disease is known to exist, should be subjected either to compul- sory slaughter or to a 'iuarantiue of at least 14 days." A provision such as that would, he conceived, strike at the root of tlie evil, and give more protection than was at present en- joyed. Mr. DUGDALE (Dorset), as a sufferer to a considerable ex- tent from foot-and-mouth disease in purchased animals, se- conded the i)roposal. Mr. Harding approved of placing Irish stock for a tempo- rary period in the same category with foreign. Mr. Fowler, on the other hand, objected to treating Ire- land as a foreign country, and cautioned the Chamber not to make enemies of the Irish members of Parliament, who were now among their best friends. Mr. MASi'EN took the opposite view, and thought the adop- tion of Sir G. Jenkinson's amendment would be viewed witli favour by Irish members. The amendment made no mention of Ireland and the inference lie drew from it was that all animals which had been in a vessel might, during the time of their stay there, have contracted or imbibed the seeds of dis- ease. Hence they ought to be watched with care for a certain period before coming in contact with native beasts. Mr. Erowxe reminded the Chamber that it had already passed a resolution which dealt with the foreigner, and that the amendment could consequently apply only to Irish impor- tations. Mr. Read, M.P., said the Irish grumbled much about the restrictions already imposed upon them, and that by the Act passed in 1870 the Irish Privy Council had full power to deal with cattle diseases. In August last he wrote to Professor Ferguson for a copy of the Orders then in force, and found that there was nothing said there respecting inspection at the ports. He thereupon put it to the Government whether it would not be possible to have some inspection at the ports ; and now they found that in October the Order was put in operation. With regard to Bristol that port had power, and so had St. Ives, if they thought proper, to detain all cattle that had been herded with diseased animals ; and it was the fault of the local authorities, not of the Government, if that were not done. He was always ready to give the Privy Council due credit or to censure them when they deserved it ; but in this case they were not to be blamed so much as the local authorities of Bristol and St. Ives. As to the proposal of Sir G. Jenkinson, if it were acted upon, what would they have to do ? Ten thousand cattle entered the port of Liver- pool in the course of a week ; and fancy quarantining that number for fourteen days! ("Hear," and laughter.) He undertook to say that, if they had never caught the disease before, they would be pretty sure to get it ere they left the quarantine ground. It would, in short, entirely destroy the trade in store cattle. Sir George said, What's the difference, whether we get the disease from Holland or from Ireland ? Sir G. Jenkinson : No, I did not say so. Blr. Read : No, you did not ; but you will presently The lion, baronet did not want the store cattle from Holland, because they were so wretchedly bred and were certain sooner or later, from the manner in which they were treated on board ship, to be subject to pleuro-pueumonia when they arrived here. The small number we got from Holland would no doubt allow of their being quarantined without great loss, whereas to quarantine for fourteen days the thou- sands on thousands we received from Ireland every year would entail immense loss upon the importers, and during the au- tumn months put an end to the importation of Irish store stock altogether. Mr. T. HoRLEY (Leicestershire) saw no hope of delivering the country from foot-and-mouth disease until the farmers, cattle dealers, and the public were wiUing, as in the case of the cattle plague, to adopt the system of removing cattle by licence. As an alternative, the only course was for the per- sons interested to co-operate with the local authorities in en- forcing such regulations in various counties as were calculated to confine the disease within as narrow limits as possible. There was little use in inspecting the cattle in a market at ton or twelve o'clock in tlie day when many had already changed hands, and some infected ones might be on their way to spread disease among thousands all over the country. Witli respect to Irish beasts, inspection at the ports of embarkation and debarkation had proved unavailing, and he suggested that all cattle should be removed to the port of shipment under licence, which would press much less hardly on the owners of stock than the present practice. As to Sir G. Jenkinson's amendment, if gentlemen had visited Ireland, and seen the great improvement and immense increase which had taken place of late years in the cattle there, they would come to the conclusion that it would be a mistake to do anything to dis- courage the importations to tliis country where the cattle were so badly wanted. Mr. Turner (Peterborough), replying to Mr. Read's ani- madversions on the local authorities of St. Ives, invited him to explain this fact ; A magistrate residing in the neighbour- hood of that town having placed himself in communication with the Privy Council, received for answer that the Orders of the Council were fully carried out by the inspector seizing the diseased animals only, and that he was not permitted or em- powered by their orders to take any which he did not know to be diseased, or with which the diseased animals had been herded. If Mr. Read's statement were correct, there must have been a new Order in Council superseding that. Mr. Read : An Order, dated the 1st October, 1870, directed that the local authorities might prohibit or regulate the re- moval out of any field, stable, cow-shed, or other premises in which the disease had been found to exist, of any animal that had been in the same field, or premises, or in contact with any any animal affected by the disease. Mr. Turner : Still the fact he had mentioned might be relied upon. jMr. WiiiTAKER, believing that the existing system of in- spection in Ireland was all iiumbug, and that the flocks and herds in this country would never be free from disease unless it were destroyed, concurred in Sir G. Jenkinson's amendment. Mr. Caldecott observed that there were two sets of local authorities in England — one in the county, and the other in town, aud that in 99 cases out of a hundred the latter were anxious not to go further than they could help in imposing restrictions upon the cattle trade. The truth was they looked at the question solely from the consumers' point of view, and considered all rules and regulations had a tendency to enhance the price of meat. They would not, therefore, heartily co- operate with the county local authorities in carrying out the provisions of the Act. Mr. Neild gathered from the discussion that gentlemen were distrustful of the Irish farmers, who they thought were not so careful of their stock as Englishmen were ; whereas those who were acquainted with Ireland knew that extreme care was taken of the stock there. He hoped that nothing would go fortli from the Council which would supply another argument to the " Home rule" party in the sister island. 542 THE FAEMER'S MAGAZINE. Mr. PjiARSE had no doubt lliat the disease had been iai- ported from Ireland, in coiisequence of the regulations not liaving been enforced there. Mr. Waller (Secretary to the Home Cattle Defence Association) said that a fatal objection to Sir G. Jenkinson's proposal was how they were to find out where disease existed Who was to tell them that ? On the ground of policy alone it would be suicidal to introduce the question of Irish or Scotch importations, and many reasons could be assigned why they should take the course suggested by Mr. Fowler, who was the first to see what was the practical result of an increased period of quarantine in our foreign importations, and, next, if the necessities of the case required it, to turn their attention to other measures. Mr. Pell condemned the amendment of Sir G. Jenkinson, on the ground that it would subject every animal, diseased or not, to a quarantine of fourteen days, and that this was placing Irish cattle upon a different footing from that of Eng- lish. If the proposal were adopted, then, upon the principle that English and Irish cattle were to be placed on the same footing they ought to do this. At the present moment foot- and-mouth disease was rife throughout English counties. But he would take Leicestershire, and surely it would be no more than just that no animal, sound or unsound, going from that county to Norfolk or London, should be subjected to fourteen days' quarantine previous to being exposed for sale in a market (Hear, hear). Nay, he would go a step further in behalf of the Irish jiroducers, and say that the conditions under which their cattle came to this country were more favourable to health than those under which cattle were conveyed from Leicestershire to Norfolk. As to the disease coming from Ireland, the reverse was the case ; for it was carried thither from England in the first instance. Mr. Pearse did not mean to say that it had originated in Ireland, but only that it was being transmitted to us from there. Sir G. Jei^kixson disavowed any wish to aim a blow at the Irish cattle trade. If such a power existed as Mr. Read had described, it was unknown to the local authorities. Mr. Neild had stated that the Irish farmers were careful of their stock. Tiiey were, no doubt ; but how did they it show ? By sending their diseased animals to this country (Hear, hear, and No). The question was then put to the Council, when Sir G. Jenkinson's amendment was rejected by 25 to 11 ; after which the original resolution, with Mr. Pell's emendation, was agreed to, with four dissentients only. Mr. T. DucKiiAM moved and Mr. Turner seconded — "That Government officers should be appointed (o enforce the provisions of the Act with reference to the cleansing and dis- infecting of railway trucks, yards, and pens, and the watering and transit of animals on railways in Great Britain and Ireland." The resolution was carried. It was further resolved on the motion of Mr. Little, se- conded by Mr. Strike, " That the interests of stockowners and consumers alike demand the removal of the cattle con/on from the Jletropolitan District," and on the motion of Mr. D. Long, seconded by Mr. Buck, that a copy of the fore- going resolutions be immediately forwarded to Mr. Forster and the Prime Minister, aud " That Mr. Gladstone be re- quested to receive a Deputation from the Chambers of Agricul- ture upon this subject in the week of the Smithfield Club Show." A Committee, consisting of the Ciiairman, the Vice- Chairman, Mr. Read, Mr. Pell, and Mr. Genge Andrews, with power to add io their number, was subsequently nomi- nated for the purpose of making the arrangements, prelimi- nary to the interview with the Premier. The last business mentioned in the agenda paper was the policy of appropriating to secondary or middle-class educa- tion endowments left for the education of the poor. The Chairman suggested that as they had now arrived at so late an hour and so few communications had been received on the subject, the discussion should be postponed ; but in thus dismissing the question, he observed that if the principle advocated by the Endowed Commissioners were carried out, namely, that of confiscating and diverting small endowments in the rural districts from the primary education of the poor to secondary education, or the education of the wealthier classes, it would be alike impolitic and uujust. It would be unjust because those small endowments tended much to miti- gate and diminish tiie great injustice of exceptionally imposing upon the owners and occupiers of real property alone the expense of carrying out the Elementary Education Act ; and it was impolitic, because if endowments which were origi- nally left for the particular object of benefiting the poor were confiscated and diverted by the Legislature to other purposes for which they were never intended, it would materially deter the creation of such charities hereafter. The argument of the Commissioners was that since the passing of the Endowed Schools' Act of '69 Parliament had passed the Elementary Education Act of last year, and that their powers had been very much increased by that measure. Under its provisions they said the education of the poor was provided for out of rates, and for that reason they argued they were able and were at liberty to divert the 'endowments originally left for the benefit of the poor to the advantage of the more wealthy classes. He (the Chairman) contended, however, that there was neither law nor right in such an argument. In their programme the Commissioners said that " a great many of the small endowments aud some large ones are used at the present moment in paying the ordinary expenses of the primary schools of the country ; and as questions respecting the permanent application of these endowments to elementary education frequently arise, it will be useful to state what general rules the endowed school Commissioners are, after a consideration of a great many individual cases, disposed to observe in dealing with them." They went on to say : " The positionof this matter has been substantially altered by the passing of the Education Act 1870 and the Code of 1871. Under the Endowed Schools Act of 1869 the CommissioHers were bound to frame such schemes as would render endow- ments most conducive to the advancement of the education of boys and girls ; and so they are still. But in order to find out what is most conducive, they have to look at all the surround- ing circumstances, and these have changed. It is true that for many years past elementary education has been the object of great attention and zealous exertions, both on the part of Parliament and of voluntary agencies, while secondary educa- tion has received no such assistance. This circumstance has frequently been dwelt upon as a reason why the Commission- ers in making new educational schemes sliouid look to the promotion of secondary rather than of primary education; but it was not a conclusive argument so long as the provision for primary education remained imperfect. Now that the legal provision has been made complete in amount, the argument acquires almost irresistible iorce. If ea- dowments can be made conducive to education at all, it must be generally true that they will be most useful if applied to those educational purposes for which money is wanted, but is not forthcoming fiom other sources If endowment is to be applied to the ordinary elementary ex- penses, it will simply relieve some of the other sources of revenue. Those other sources are (a) school fees, (i) Parlia- mentary grant, (c) subscriptions, (