»w » ■ S■^^^^^sV\>^^\V "^ ^^^^^^^^» Webster Family Library of Veterinary Medicine CutnmlDgs Schooi of Vrsierlnary Medicine sA Tufts University 200 Westboro Road North Grafton, MA 01638 w -/ ■'■«^js«r.- .y Farm Stock 100 Years Ago BY SIR WALTER GILBEY, Bart. VINTOX & Co., 8 Bream's Buildings, Chancery Lane, EC. 1910 )ec- HAY CARTING. 1795 From the picture by Geor<:c Stubhs, R.A., in the F.hcnhain CoUectioii PREFACE Railways have bro7tg/if about extraoi'dinary changes in every department of agriculture and industry. The application of steam to land and sea transport, to factories, mines and tillage, the application of electricity to countless different purposes, and the invention and perfection of labour-saving machinery have completely revolutionised the conditions of life. I have endeavoured to deal with one small, but important, field ivhich has witnessed vast changes — namely, the Live Stock of the Farm. Who can conjecture zvhat changes, and how far-reaching, our descendants may have to record betzueen igoi and 2000 A.D. ? ■ Elsenham Hall, Essex March, 1910 INDEX A Period of Change and Progress . . . . . . i The Dawn of Veterinary Surgery . . . . . . 2 Agricultural Societies .. .. .. .. .. 5 Agricultural Shows . . . . . . . . . . 6 Sheep-Shearing Festivals . . . . . . . . 10 Ploughing Matches .. .. .. .. .. .. 13 Markets and Fairs . . . . . . . . . . 15 Travelling "Jobbers" .. .. .. .. .. 17 Tithes and their Iniquity .. .. .. . . iS Relati\'e Importance of Stock .. .. .. .. 23 Sheep . . . . . . . . . . ■ • • • 3^ Merino . . . . . . . . . . . . • • 34 DisHLEY OR New Leicester . . . . . . . . 42 South Down . . . . . . . . . . • • 45 Lincoln . . . . . . . . . . . . ■ • 47 cotswold . . . . . . . . . . • • • • 5° Dartmoor and Exmoor .. .. -• •• 5^ Dorset . . . . . . . . . . ■ • • 52 Ryeland . . . . . . . . ■ • ■ • • ■ 53 Herdwick . . . . . . . . . . • . • ■ 54 Cheviot . . . . . . . . • • • • 55 Welsh 56 Oxford . . . . . . . . ■ ■ • • • • bl Kent or Romney Marsh . . . . ■ • • • 5^ Hampshire . . . . . . . . • • • • 59 Teeswater . . . . . . • • ■ ■ • • 59 Norfolk .. .. .. .. •■ •■ •• '^° Other Breeds .. .. .. •• •■ ■• ^'^ Cattle . . . . . . • . • . • • ■ • • ^4 Longhorned 68 Shorthorn . . . . . . . . ■ • ■ ■ 7° Hereford . . . . . . . . • • • • • • 7^ Devon . . . . • • • • • • ■ • • • 75 Sussex . . . . . . . . ■ • ■ • • • 7^ Galloway or Polled . . . . . . • • . • 77 Scotch Droving Cattle . . . . • . • • 78 vt INDEX Cattle — cimliuKed PACK Jerseys and Guernseys 8i Welsh .. 83 Yorkshire and Yorkshire Polls 83 Suffolk Duns 84 Ayrshires . . 85 Kerry and Dexter 86 Irish Cattle Trade with England 86 Driving Scotch Cattle to England 88 Horses .. 93 Shire Horse 96 Suffolk Punch 99 Clydesdale 102 Cleveland Bay . . 102 Yorkshire Coach Horse 104 "Blood Horse " 104 Hunter • . 105 Roadster . . 107 Welsh Pony 109 Welsh Cob no Galloway . . III Pigs 113 Berkshire . . ■ "5 Shropshire 116 Northampton 116 Chinese 116 Other Breeds 118 Bacon Factories 119 Intelligence of the Pig 119 Poultry 122 Turkeys 122 Geese 123 Fowls 12S Ducks 130 Pigeons and Pigeon Houses 131 Appendix King George III .. 136 Robert Bakewell 139 George Culley 142 Duke of Bedford 143 Earl of Egremont 143 Sir John Sinclair 144 Thomas Coke, Earl of Leicester . . 147 Arthur Young . . 148 Lord Somerville .. 152 Sir Joseph Banks •• 153 William Marshall 154 CONTENTS A PERIOD OF CHANGE AND PROGRESS Work of Bakewell and Culley — Experiments by leading Agriculturists . . THE DAWN OF VETERINARY SURGERY Establishment of Veterinary College under St. Bel — Necessity for better methods recognised earlier — Snape's projected " Hippiatric Infirmary" (1766) — Farriery in 1790 — Bleeding— Trepanning for Glanders — Cropping horses' ears — Nicking — Neglect of cattle and sheep maladies . . . . 2-^ AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES Earliest Societies — The Board of Agriculture. 1793 — Local Societies founded — Their various objects — Thirty-two Societies founded by 1803 . . . . 5-6 AGRICULTURAL SHOWS The earliest Bath and West of England Show — Domestic animals a minor feature — Few cattle and sheep shown— Decisions of judges -Show largely attended — Sussex Show at Lewes (1798) — Premiums for bulls, heifers and South Down rams and ewes — Conditions of exhibition — Smithfield Society's first Show (1799) — Classification of beasts exhibited — Lord Somerville's Cattle and Sheep Show in London — Shows novelties 100 years ago — Reasons why only local . . . . ■ • 6-10 SHEEP-SHEARING FESTIVALS Importance of large Shearings (1790-1825)— Sheep washing and shearing always a festive season — "Coke's Clippings" begun (1778) — Popularity of the Duke of Bedford's Sheep-Shearings — Open house kept at Woburn — Features of the great Sheep-Shearings — Show sweepstakes — Ram-letting via CONTENTS PAGES — Prizes to farmers —New agricultural implements shown — Weight-guessing competitions — Best stock and most recent appliances always seen at great Shearings .. .. .. .. .. 10-13 PLOUGHING MATCHES Popular 100 years ago— Sometimes on large scale — Chelmsford match (May, 1803)— Conditions of — Work required — Time occupied — Private matches — Modern matches in Essex and Herts— Conditions of — Stimulus given by lectures— Increasing interest in .. .. .. .. .. .. 13-15 MARKETS AND FAIRS Greater importance of, 100 Years ago — Large Fairs- Ipswich (Lamb)— Weyhill and Salisbury Plain (Sheep)— St. Faiths, Market Harborough and Carlisle (Cattle) — Howden and Horncastle(Hunters) — Woodbridge, Pancras (Staffs) and St. Faiths (Horses) — Falkirk Tryst largest fair in Britain- Number of stock at October Tryst — Lord Egre- mont's prizes at Petworth Fair .. .. .. iS^i? THE TRAVELLING "JOBBER" Constant process of cross-breeding in progress — Stay- at-home life of most farmers — Office of the "jobber" — Local connection of — Welsh cattle jobbers in West of England— Sheep jobbers in Dorset, Wilts and Hants .. .. .. 17-18 TITHES AND THEIR INIQUITY Thomas Tusser (1573) on Tithing— A constant source of trouble before Commutation in 1837— All stock and crops titheable— Methods of tithing lambs under fifty in number — Over fifty— Cash in lieu — Mode of paying lamb tithe on St. Mark's Day— Of Calves paid in butter or cheese — Of milk — Peculiar difficulties of milk tithes — Of colts— Of swine — Of poultry — Of eggs paid in Lent — Acceptance of money tithe increasing 100 years ago — Threat of Clergy to revert to tithing in kind . . 18-23 CONTENTS ix RELATIVE IMPORTANCE OF STOCK PAGES Corn-growing the principal business of the farmer — Pre-eminent importance of sheep — Reasons for — Rams exchided from commons — Number of sheep in England and Wales in 1805 — Export of sheep and wool forbidden — Precautions against smuggling wool from Kent and Sussex to France — Laws against smuggling not wholly effective — Ownerless dogs a scourge to flock-masters. Cattle : Estimated number in 1770 and number in 1908 — Draught cattle 100 years ago. Horses : Number taxed in 1814 — Figures unreliable owing to exemptions — Pitt's estimate of number "on the road" (1784) — Universality of horse-breeding — The period 1790-1810 a busy one for horse-breeders, Pigs: Change in mode of keeping. Poultry: Comparative unimportance of . . . . . , . . 23-30 SHEEP Richard Parkinson counted 37 breeds — Culley's list of breeds — CuUey on breeding — Local breeds, how developed — Modern breeds known 100 years ago— Twenty breeds no longer recognised — Other local varieties — Nine modern breeds not recognised 100 j^ears ago — Endeavours to ascertain most profitable breed — Many experiments made — Bath and West Society's Premium for proof of most profitable breed (1801) — Premium awarded to Mr. Dyke for South Downs .. .. .. 3i-34 Merino Sheep: Introduction of direct by George III (1792) — Royal flock kept at Oatlands, Surrey — No pure Merinos in England for many years — Merino cross tried before 1792 by Mr. Morris and others — Merino-South Down cross more delicate than pure South Downs — Mr. Ellman's Merino-South Down ram disliked at Lewes (i 791)— Prejudice against Merinos — Mr. Boys, of Betshanger, on the Royal rams at Windsor (1792) — Royal flock does not thrive — Abolition of shepherds' perquisite skins of dead lambs, and reduction of mortality — Manufacturers' doubts concerning wool — The King manufactures it into cloth at his own cost —Prices obtained for wool at sale (1796) — Greatly increased prices obtained (1799) — Increase partially explained — Royal rams and ewes given away till 1799 — Benefits of cross on Shortwools proved — Sale X CONTENTS S H P" E P — con tin iied PAGES ordered of rams and ewes at fixed prices — Flock sold by auction in Kew Gardens (1809) — Extra- ordinary prices realised — Prices compared with those obtained for Duke of Bedford's South Downs — Merinos found in almost all parts of England by 1810 — Merinos in Australia and California at the present time . . . . . . . . . . 34-42 DisHLEY OR New Leicester Sheep: Rivals of Merino — Joseph Allom's • success as breeder — First im- provements due to Allom — Robert Bakewell— His secrecy as to methods — Bakewell's New Leicesters in general demand (1796) — Introduced into West- moreland (1792) — Bakewell's aims — Greater success with carcase than with wool — Character of wool — Necessary to clothe rams against weather — Superiority of, over other breeds — Culley's com- parisons between New Leicester and South Down — Bakewell and ram-letting — Prices obtained for season and fees for covering ewes . . . . 42-45 Southdown Sheep: Famed for wool, mutton and hardiness — In great demand for crossing — Mr. Ellman, of Glynde, Sussex, as a breeder — Mr. Coke substitutes South Downs for Norfolks — New Leicesters at Holkham — The most important short-woolled breed in England — The one most used for crossing — Woburn experiment v. New Leicester (1794-5) — Mr. Davis's successful experi- ment in Wiltshire — Mr. Curwen introduces into Windermere district (1801) — His success with pure breed and crosses with mountain sheep — Sir Charles Davers' successful experiment v. Xorfolks 45-47 Lincoln Sheep : Culley on the breed — Character of 100 years ago — Weight, wool and mutton — Bake- well said to have used as foundation for the New Leicester — Slow development of — Strictly confined to Lincolnshire— Held suitable for rich marsh pastures only — In no demand for crossing — Culley on crosses with — Lincolnshire breeders' tardy approval of New Leicesters — Explained by supe- riority of Lincoln wool — High prices obtained for wool — New Leicesters sparingly tried in 1790 — Ciood results obtained- Pure breed practically swamped by New Leicester blood (1851) . . 47-50 CONTENTS xi SHEEP— continued pa(;ks CoTSWOLD Sheep : Former importance of wool trade in Gloucestershire — Wool held the finest in England — Arthur Young on — Fleece weight — Only long-woolled hill breed . . . . . . 50-51 Dartmoor and Exmoor Sheep: Resemblance between — The Bampton Nott — New Leicester blood intro- duced— Devon Longwool .. .. .. 51-52 Dorset Sheep : A very old breed — Largely replaced by South Downs — Smaller 100 years ago — Breeds at all seasons . . . . . . . . . . 52 Ryeland Sheep : Good qualities — An old breed — District in which bred — Origin of name — One of first crossed with Merino — Reason for losing favour — Still bred — Lord Somerville's high opinion (1799) 53-54 Herdwick Sheep : Culley on their hardiness and habits — Doubtful origin — Size and fleece 100 years ago — Improved character of wool — Wide distribu- tion about 1866 . . . . . . . . 54-55 Cheviot Sheep : Highly approved by British Wool Society — Mr. Robson's crossing with New Leicester or Lincoln — His improvements — Modern popularity 55-5G Welsh Sheep: Remain pure on high pastures— In favour with some English breeders — Mr. Conyers' preference for them — Quality of mutton and weight of fleece — A profitable breed . . . . . . 56-57 Oxford Sheep: Mutton compared with Lincoln and Leicester — Aims of producer of Oxford Down — Mingled origin of modern breed — Various crossings 57 Kent or Romney Marsh Sheep : New Leicester blood sparingly used — Numbers in 1799 — Breed thought to have deteriorated 100 years ago — Average weight of — Mr. Wall's improvements — Mr. Wall's use of Dishley blood . . . . . . . . 58-59 Hampshire Sheep: Has only name in common with Hampshire Down — Displaced by South Down — Liability to rickets - Origin of modern breed . . 59 Teeswatek Sheep : The largest English breed — Weight of, compared with Wiltshire, Norfolk and others — Noteworthy for frequency of twin lambs produced — Profitable butchers' sheep— Weight of fleece . . . , . . . . . . . . 59-60 xii CONTENTS SHEEP — con tin tied PAGES Norfolk Sheep: Better described as "Suffolk" — Old breed extinct — Appearance — Great size of horns — Suited to poor pastures — Mr. Coke's prefer- ence for South Downs . . . . . . . . 60-62 Other Breeds : Border Leicester — Origin assignable to absolute date — Work of the brothers CuUey in Northumberland — Old Shropshire or "Morse Common " — South Down and New Leicester blood introduced by Mr. .Samuel Meire — Wensleydales or " Mugs " — New Leicester blood introduced — - CuUey's opinion of origin — Dunfaced — Character —Suggested Spanish descent . . . . . . 62-63 CATTLE .Standards of appraisement 100 years ago — Use for draught— Oxen used in some districts, horses in others — Pitt on encouragement of draught oxen {1801) — Reasons for discarding for draught — -Usual course of working and fattening — Draught oxen still used in parts of France — Excellence of beef — Qualities of oxen sought in England 100 years ago — Points required in draught oxen — Large oxen better travellers than small — Parkinson's list of breeds — Kyloes or Highland — Origin of name — Breeds no longer recognised — Modern breeds not known 100 years ago . . . . . . . . 64-6S LoNGHORNED Cattle : Districts where bred — Local variations — Mr. Bakewell's improved Dishley herd — Mr. Fowler's Rollright herd — Work of Webster, of Canley (1730-50) — Canley blood used in Dishley and Rollright herds— Average merit of breed not high — Valued as graziers' cattle — Indifferent as dairy cattle — Craven district Longhorns — Breed improved by Bakewell . . . . . . . . 68-70 Shorthorn Cattle : ^Mingled origin — Work of Mr. Charles Colling — Colling's famous Durham Ox — Colling's great sale in 1810 — Early maturity its chief advantage — Recognition of this by breeders — Specially suitable for salt beef . . . . . . 70-72 Hereford Cattle: Earliest de.^cription (1627) — Macdonald and Sinclair on origin — ^ Welsh crossings — Lord Scudamore's Flanders cattle — Improveil by Mr. 'J'homas Knight — Valued for draught .. 7-2-75 cox TENTS xiii (ZATTL.ll — continued I'AGES Devon ("attlk : Valued as plough oxen on light soils — In request as milkers — Mr. Conyers' opinion .. 75 Sussex Cattle : Famed for draught— Methods of working light!}' — Eight to fourteen a plough team — Resemblance to Hereford and Devon — High reputation as beef breed — Indifferent milker — Hardy character — Arthur Young on evil results of crossing in 1790 — His difficulty in buying satis- factory stock — Modern breed the recognised beef type . . . . . . . . . . . . 76-77 Galloway or Polled Cattle : Lack of horns — Small size — Valued as grazier's beast — Few kept in England — Many brought to St. Faiths Fair — Much esteemed in Smithfield Market . . . . 77 Scotch Droving Cattle: Districts where " Kyloes " bred — Size and colour — Great numbers driven south — Bred in Aberdeenshire — Improved by Duke of Gordon (1800-1830)— Improvement chiefly due to improved agricultural methods — Herd Book estab- lished— Rev. William Gilpin on fattening in Eastern counties — Great droves brought to Smithfield — Importance of to Scottish landed proprietors . . 78-81 Jersey and Guernsey Cattle : Known as Alderneys — Considered delicate — Kept by the wealthy for their rich milk — Modern reputation well established — Exports from Jersey in 1785 — Modern exports — Among the best dairy cattle — Number of exhibits at the R.A.S.E. Show, igog .. .. .. Si-83 Welsh Cattle : Variety of breeds — Black breeds most approved — Hardy character .. .. S3 Yorkshire and Yorkshire Polls : Best milkers known — Colour indications of aptitude for fattening — Yorkshire Polls particularly valued by London dairymen — Large numbers kept in and near London — Thin hides render unsuitable for draught .. S3-84 Suffolk Duns: Arthur Young on milking qualities — Daily yield — Feeding on cabbages and turnips — Breed ruined by endeavour to enlarge size . . 84-85 Ayrshires : Indifferent quality of— Improvements made by the 'thirties ,. .. .. .. 85-S6 Kerry and Dexter Cattle : Size — Crossings — ■ Command ready sale to butchers . . . . 86 xiv CONTENTS CATTLE — continued I'AGES Irish Cattle Tkade with England : Insignificant 125 years ago — Beef trade — Great increase in modern times— Good services to Irish stock-breeding of the late John Thornton .. .. .. 86-87 Driving Scotch Cattle to England: Importance of industry in days before railways — Great numbers brought south to fatten — Popularity of Scots cattle in London — Number of all cattle sold at Smithfield (1808) — Herds conducted by tracks over waste lands — Such tracks still discoverable — The drovers as a class — Method of paying drovers — Cost of sending cattle by road — Difference between drover and jobber — Power of jobbers over farmers^ Women as drovers in England — Cattle might not travel on Sunday — Cattle fattened by London distillers on grains .. .. .. .. 88-92 HORSES Importance of 100 Years ago— Bad roads — Universally employed for travel — Requirements for Peninsular War — Spanish horses less valued — Arabs less used for breeding — Reason for disuse— Utility the test of merit .. .. .. .. .. 93-96 The Shirk Horse : The principal draught breed — Breeding areas — Special fairs- — Colour — History of — Used for coach and carriage — Lord Chesterfield's Dutch importations — Earl of Huntingdon's Flemish importations — Influence of on Trent-side horses — Bakewell's Dutch importations— Culley's Blacks in Northumberland — Mares only used for work — Geldings sold — Uses of— Oxen substituted for jn Midlands— Pride taken in teams .. .. 96-99 The Suffolk Punch: Known as the "Sorrel" — Good qualities of — 111 effects of alien blood — Colour and character — Mistake of breeders — Drawing powers — Sir Robert Harland's Sale of (18 12) — Use of Yorkshire half-breds — Results — As a plough horse — Excellence of modern breed . . 99-101 The Clydesdale : Duke of Hamilton's Flemish importa- tion (1600) — Colour and character — Little known in Southern England — Modern breed .. .. 102 CONTENTS XV HORSES— continued I'AGES The Cleveland Bay: Character — Drawing powers — Mr. Lumley Hodyson on all-round utility — Colour — Swamped by other blood — Thoroughbred stallions in Yorkshire— Objects of cross-breeding — Foreign demand .. .. .. .. .. 102-104 The Yorkshire Coach Horse : Now recognised as distinct breed .. .. .. .. .. 104 The " Blood Horse " : Use of for crossing — Character 104-105 The Hunter : How bred — Faster than of old — Title to rank as distinct breed — Character — Breeding areas — Howden and Horncastle Fairs — Quicksilver's stock in Brocklesby country— Lincolnshire hacks — Hunters' Improvement Society . . .. .. 105-106 The Roadster : Not a distinct breed — Work required of — Farmers' road-horse —Pillion — Height approved — Mr. Lumley Hodgson's journeys — Horses in public conveyances — Norfolk Hackneys —Speed as trotters .. .. .. .. .. 107-109 The Welsh Pony : CuUey on its soundness — Parkin- son's praise — Highly valued now .. .. 109-110 The Welsh Cob: A modern production — Use of by women bringing goods to market — Character — Still profitable to breed .: .. .. iio-iii The Galloway : Disappearance regrettable — Dr. Anderson's description — Endurance — Wonderful staying-power — Modern term denotes a certain size . . . . . . . , . . .,111-112 PIGS Ancient method of keeping — Stubble feeding — Intro- duction of Chinese — Engaging much attention 100 years ago — Experiments in fattening — Great size of some — Poor people encouraged to keep — Many varieties recognised — Varieties much crossed . . 1 13-1 14 The Berkshire : Only variety retaining name to-day — Distinctive feature 100 years ago — Tam worth district famed — Description of Tamworth — Large eaters — Modern breed much modified .. .. 115 The Shropshire : Characteristics — Preferred by dis- tillers.. .. .. .. .. .. 116 The Northampton : Resemblance to Shropshire — Great size of .. .. .. .. .. 116 xvi CONTENTS PlG^—contiiiiifil I'AGES The Chinese: Two varieties— Used for crossing — ■ Different opinions as to hardiness of — Mischievous disposition — Cross with Berkshire — Encourageil by Societies — Total disappearance of pure breed. . 11G-117 Other Breeds : Lincoln — Sussex — Merits of Suffolk — Lord Winchelsea's Rutlandshire herd — His losses — Cheshire — Yorkshire — Modern " Whites " descended from Yorkshire — Irish — Improvement of Irish in 1802— Expense of pork compared with beef and mutton — Superiority of modern Irish bacon . . itS-iig Bacon Factories: Long-snouted pigs most suitable. . 119 Intelligence of Pigs: Used for draught —Used as pointer — Used for truffle-hunting .. .. 119-121 POULTRY Turkeys : Considered paying stock — Parkinson on rearing in Ireland — Lincolnshire and Norfolk famous breeding areas — White and bronze varieties — Method of fattening — A large bird . . . . 122-123 Geese: Bred extensively in Lincolnshire fens— 1,000 persons said to have made living by, in fen district — Other breeding districts — Believed by some harmful to pastures — By others beneficial to cattle — Nottingham Goose Fair — Plucking — Feathers from live birds more valuable than from dead — Plucking still practised in parts of France — Method of fattening — Fattening geese a distinct industry — Messrs. Bagshaw's importations from Ireland and Holland — Collecting geese . in North Germany — Numbers fattened for Christmas and Michaelmas — London " goose clubs " — Droves of geese and turkeys brought by road to London — Mode of con- ducting— Wager lost owing to roosting habit of turkeys .. .. .. .. ..123-128 Fowls : Dorking and Poland — Preference for game fowls in Midlands — Cock-fighting at Holkham — Meaning of the term "Shake-bags" — The "common white" and Dorking held the best— Method of fattening Dorkings a secret — Famous rearing districts — Little attention paid to on ordinary farms— Generally kept, but left to themselves — Modern demand for poultry and eggs .. .. 128-130 CONTENTS xvii POVLTliY— continued PAGES Ducks : Regarded as profitable — Domesticated wild breed — French Rouen — Rearing under hens advised — Depredations of birds of prey — Aylesbury a breedingdistrict — Method of keeping in the cottages 130-131 Pigeons : Considered most important feathered stock — Cost of house for — Old pigeon houses — Breeds recommended — Sale of young — Value of dung — Curious method of luring home stray birds .. 131-135 APPENDIX Famous agriculturists ILLUSTRATIONS King George III leaving Windsor Castlk Frontispiece Ha.y Carting, 1795 Facing Preface Earl of Leicester, Farmer and Politician . . Facing Tithing Barn at jSIarwell Manor, Winchester . . Merino Sheep, A.D. 1825 The Ashford Cup Champion Merino Ram at New South Wales Show Robert Bakewell . . Shorthorn Bull presented to King AVii.liam IV Carrier's Cart Old Packhorse Bridge at Sitton, Beds Chiswell Street Brewery Mr. William White's Fat Pig Dovecote at Willington, Beds Interior of Old Dovecote, Ickweli. Priory, Beds II 22 34 37 42 44 70 93 94 96 113 132 133 FARM STOCK 100 YEARS AGO A PERIOD OF CHANGE AND PROGRESS The period with which I deal in the following pages was one of exceptional importance in the history of British Agriculture ; it was a time of change and progress. The great possibilities that lay in careful and judicious cross-breeding had been demonstrated by such men as Robert Bakewell* and his pupil George Culley,* whose success in improving our sheep, cattle and horses was widely recognised, and may be said to have founded the new school of stock-breeding. New methods of feedino- had been intro- duced and prominent agriculturalists of the day — the Duke of Bedford,* the Earl of Egremont,* Sir John Sinclair* and Mr. Thomas Coke, afterwards created Earl of Leicester,* among them — took the lead in conducting experiments on a considerable * Sec Appendix scale to ascerlain the results which could be obtained by different methods of dieting sheep and cattle. THE DAWN OF VKTERINARY SURGERY The time was remarkable for another development. The year 1791 saw the establishment of the V^eterinary College with the famous French veterinary surgeon St. Bel as its first Professor, and the estab- lishment of this institution marked the dawn of a new era in the healintif art as applied to domestic animals. It would be too much to maintain that there was no such thing as the treatment of sick animals before this time ; indeed, the necessity for teaching wiser and better methods had been recognised twenty-five years earlier. Edward Snape, an eminent veterinary surpfeon. as we learn from an advertise- ment in Heber's Historical List of Horse Matches Rtm, proposed to establish by subscription "An Hippiatric Infirmary" in 1766. It does not ap|)ear, however, that his scheme was carried into effect. Snape's proposal was made too soon. "Farriers" of his day knew nothing of surgery as we understand the word, and their ideas on the subject of druo-s had made slender advance upon the knowledge of two hundred years earlier. Bleeding — the stock remedy for equine ills of every kind — was still practised, and continued to be so until comparatively recent times. The Essex farmers used to bleed their animals regularly in spring and autumn as late as the year 1835, and I remember that many farmers in the district of Elsenham continued the practice until about 1850. Such drastic operations as trepanning * for glanders, however, were falling into discredit among some practitioners. Ideas concerning the appearance of the horse which had held sway for hundreds of years were also changing. Cropping the ears, which had been commonly practised for hundreds of years, was going out of fashion. Blaine,t writing in 18 16, says that at this date it was " nearly abolished." * Edward Snape {Tracts on Favviery, 1791-8) describes this operation, candidly adding that though he had often performed it himself he had never known it succeed, either in his own practice or that of others. tD. P. Blaine Outlines of the Vetevinayy Art {1816) "Nicking" was an operation whereby the horse with a drooping tail was made to elevate it in an upward curve. To give the approved carriage and shape of the tail, three incisions were made across the under part of the dock, and mechanical means were applied after the operation to prevent the severed muscles from reuniting. This operation was going out of fashion, but we gather from Blaine that it was still practised occasionally in 1816, in a less severe form. If veterinary surgery was only in its infancy as regards equine maladies, the science did not embrace the studv of cattle and sheep diseases at all. Treatment of sick cattle was referred to the local " leech,"* who, to quote a writer of the time, " knows as much of the diseases of animals as the beast to which he is sent for." It was indeed curious that during a period when energy, intelligence and wealth were successfully striving to improve the breeds of sheep and cattle, the treatment of these in illness was left to a class of men who were totally ignorant of the first principles of medicine. * The animal doctor at this time was called a " leech" ; in earlier days all practitioners of medicine were so called. AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES A brief sketch of the earlv Ao;rIcukunil Societies maybe given here. The first to be estabHshed was the " Society of Improvers" in Scotland, which came into existence in 1723. The DubHn Society was founded in 1749. In England the Bath and West of England Society for the Encouragement of Agriculture, Arts, Manufactures and Com- merce, was established in 1777. The Odiham Society, whose aim was to foster agriculture and home industries, was founded in 1785. The creation (due largely to the exertions of King George III*), in 1793, of the old Board of Agriculture, with an income from the publi-c purse of ^3,000, was, in some measure, instrumental in promoting the establishment of many Agricultural Societies. Sir John Sinclair, a very prominent agriculturalist, was the first President, and the famous Arthur Young t the Secretary. The Board did not accomplish all that was expected of it, and came to an end in the year 1822. During the ten years after the Board of Agriculture had been created, the *See Appendix, p. 136 fSee Appendix, p. 148 establishment and work of local Societies occupied a great deal of attention. Some of these, as the Northumberland Society, adopted as their main object an experimental farm ; many made the allot- ment of premiums or prizes for the best stock their principal jjurpose ; some were founded with the definite object of making experiments of various kinds; and others aimed at the collection and circulation of useful information relatino; to ao^ricultural affairs. In 1803 there were at least thirty-two Societies for the advancement of the agri- cultural interest in operation throughout England and Scotland. Some of these have lono; ceased to exist ; but others, under their original or different names, continue the work they were established to conduct in such form as the altered conditions of the industry indicate as most beneficial to those concerned. AGRICULTURAL SHOWS The idea of holding the Shows which, at the present time, are so conspicuous a feature of agricultural life took shape during the last years of the eighteenth century. In 1797 was held the first Agricultural Show ; it was that of the Bath and West of England Society. Lord Somerville,* as Chairman, named the Duke of Bedford, Mr. MIghill of Wilts, Mr. Stone and Mr. Astley of Leicestershire, and Mr. BilHngsley, a Vice-President of the Society, as Judges; and these, after examining the animals shown, decided that three sheep, New Leicester, belono^inp' to Mr. Crook of Tetherton, were entitled to the prize of plate worth ten guineas. A cow was shown, but, havino- been fed with meal for three w^eeks, was rejected. Some North Devon cattle and others also, but the advertisement required sire, dam and offspring to be exhibited, and these not being produced, it was decided that the claimant was not entitled to the premium. A dead New Leicester sheep was also shown; the live weight was 218 lbs. ; dead the quarters weighed 160 lbs. ; the carcase, being cut up, was exhibited next day in the market, and its thickness of fat much admired. This meeting of the Bath and West of England Society in 1797 was more numerously attended than any previous gathering. Several of the nobility and some 200 farmers from various parts of the Kingdom were present. * See Appendix, p. 152 8 In 1798 the Sussex Agricultural Society held its first Show at Lewes. The prize, or premium, list was practical and offered an example to be followed : — Twenty puineas * were offered for the best 3-year-old bull, if the winning bull remain in the owner's possession for a year, to serve, for £\ \s. each, 20 cows belonging to subscribers to the Society. Ten guineas* for the second 3-year-old bull, conditions as for the best, the service fee being 10^. ^d. only. Ten guineas for the best 3-year-old heifer, clam of a livino- calf and in milk at time of Show. Twenty guineas for the best South Down ram, one year old last lambing time. If the winning ram remain in the owner's possession, to serve 40 ewes at lOi". 67 fiock-mastcr of the time, made an excursion on horseback through a number of counties,* and visited, among others, the Royal Farm THE ASHFORD CUP Won by Mr. Boys with the best South Down yearling Ram at Ashford Wool Fair in 1809 (Now in the Elsenham Collection) * Annals of Agi'iciiltiiir (Vol. 19) 38 at W'intlsor, where the "Spanish Hock" then was. Mr. Boys thus describes them : — "The rams many of them much superior to Mr. Young's Don.* Their Heeces very thick and fine, the size of the carcase rather less than the South Down, but by no means so well shaped, being very narrow on the chine and thick about the throat, with larofe horns. If these defects could be remedied, this kind of sheep would certainly be an acquisition to this country, provided that the quality of the wool could be retained ; but will not such rich pasture as these sheep live upon soon change the quality of the wool ? " Mr. Boys' doubts were shared by all his contemporaries save a few. Sir Joseph Banks t and Mr. Young were among the believers in the Merino, but the [prevailing prejudice against the breed was not easy to break down. In the first place, the Royal Hock appeared not to thrive. The mortality among the lambs was so great that close enquiry was made. It was found that the men in charge regarded dead Iambs as a percjuisite. The appropriation of the skins of dead lambs * A Merino ram given by the King to Arthur Young. f Sec Appendix, p. 133 39 by the shepherds was forbidden and the mortaHty was reduced to a normal average. The manufacturers to whom the first wool clip was shown acknowledged its excellence, but, fearing that it would " not prove in manufacture so valuable as its appearance promised," none would offer a price for it. To prove that Merino wool did not lose its quality in the process of manufacture into cloth, it was manufactured at the King's own expense : — " This was done year after year in ■ various manners, the cloth always proving excellent. Yet the persons to whom the wool was offered for sale still continued to undervalue it, being prepossessed with an opinion that though it might not at first degenerate, it certainly sooner or later would alter its quality for the worse."* In 1796 it was determined to sell the wool at any price it might fetch. Some manufacturer — encouraged, we must suppose, by the results obtained in the shape of "superfine broad cloth" made at the royal expense — bought it at 2s. per pound, which was a little more than the price ruling for * An Account of the Introduction of the Merino Sheep. \\y C. P. Lasteyrie. Translated by Benjamin Thompson, 1810. 40 South Down wool at the time. In J 797 the chp sold for 2^. 6^/. per pound ; and in i 799, the value of the wool being now in some degree acknowledged, the clips of 1798 and 1799, "washed in the Spanish manner,"' consisting of 89 fleeces, were separated into three lots, according to quality, and sold respectively at ^s., 3^'. 6c/. and 2^. 6c/. The bulk of the wool, 167 lbs., was of the best quality. There were 23 lbs. of the second, and 13 lbs. of the third quality. These prices were regarded as extra- ordinary, and were accounted for — to some extent, at least — by the fact that imported Spanish wool was dearer in 1799 than it had ever been known. South Down wool, at this time, was bringing from 2s. to 3^-. per pound. The King had been giving away Merinos to various persons who would undertake to use them for crossing purposes, and over one hundred rams and some ewes had thus been distributed. The Merino cross had now been proved to increase the quantity and improve the quality of fleece in every kind of short-woolled sheep on which it had been tried, more particularly the South Down, Hereford, and Devonshire breeds.* * Annals of Agriculture (Vol. 35) 41 In 1799, considering- that the v'alue of the breed had been estabHshed, the King ordered a number of rams and ewes to be sold to any purchaser at low prices. Five guineas was named as the medium price for a ram, and two guineas for a ewe. Sir Joseph Banks was entrusted with the management of the business, and we may form our own opinion ol the rapidity with which the value of the Merino cross became recognised from the prices paid for the Royal flock in 1809. The sale was held in Kew Gardens, forty rams and sixty ewes being offered. The former realised an average of about 46-I guineas, two bringing 75 guineas each ; the latter an average of over 32i guineas, one bringing 48 guineas. We may compare these figures with those paid for some ninety South Down ewes sold at the Duke of Bedford's Sheep-Shearing a month earlier ; the highest price obtained was ^4 ]6s. per head, paid for a lot of ten. In 1 8 10, eighteen years after the King's importation, Arthur Young was able to inform the great French authority, Lasteyrie, that there were some Merino sheep " in almost every district of Great Britain," and that they had been successfully crossed with various English breeds. Though Merinos are not now bred in England, they are to be found in large Hocks in other parts of the world where climate and pasture are suitable. They are, for instance, extensively bred in Australia and in parts of America. Mr. J. Parker Whitney, of Whitney Bros., the great sheep breeders of California, informs me that his firm, in 1856, bought 300 of the best Merinos obtainable in Australia and shipped them by sailing vessel to San Francisco. Of the 300 shipped, only I 20 head survived the passage, and these were placed on Messrs. Whitney's farm, Spring Valley Ranch, Placer County. P^rom these, and from pure Merino rams obtained from time to time since in Vermont, U.S.A., have sprung a flock which now numbers about 20,000 head. The " Whitney Clip," for thirty years past, has been famous in the American markets. DISHLEV OR NEW LEICESTER SHEEP Perhaps one reason why the merits ot the Merino were not more readily recognised — or, let us say, why flock-masters were not more ready to give the breed trial — was that the Dishley or New Leicester sheep at this < - o I time held such a conspicuous place in the eyes of the stock-breecHng world. The first marked improvement in the Leicestershire breed was accomplished, as William Marshall* tells us, by one Joseph Allom, who began life as a plough-boy and became a farmer. How he brought about the improvement in his flock does not appear to be recorded. It may be that he success- fully used such Merino blood as he was able to procure ; but, however it was accomplished, Allom became known for the superiority of his breed of sheep, and it grew to be the custom for farmers of standing to buy ram lambs from him. He was the only man who became distinguished as a breeder before Bakewell's time, and Marshall, reasonably enough, believed that the Leicestershire breed, through Allom s flock, had passed the first stage of improvement before Bakewell's day. Robert Bakewell, of Dishley,t was about thirty years of age when he began to make a name for his improved breed of sheep. He preserved great secrecy about his methods of breeding. The New Leicester * Rural Economy of the Midland Counties (2nd Edition, 1796) See Appendix, p. 154 ■f See Appendix, p. 139 44 breed, however, won renown all over the country. The Bishop of Llandaff introduced them into Westmoreland about the year 1792. Bakewell had kept in view smallness of bone, improvement of bone, improvement of shape, fattening quality and flavour of mutton ; and his success in achieving- his end was generally acknowledged. Probably the appreciation which his breed enjoyed would have been even greater had it been as remarkable for wool as for mutton. The wool of the New Leicester was shorter than the generality of Longvvools,the ordinary length of staple being from 5 to 7 inches, and it varied much in fineness and weight. So thin and light was the wool that breeders used to clothe their rams to protect them from the weather. Were it not for this result of his experi- ments, we might be tempted to assume that Bakewell used Merino blood and thought it wise to keep his use of it a secret. Despite its shortcomings as a wool- producer, the New Leicester was vastly superior to the majority of contemporary breeds, though there were flock-masters who stoutly upheld the merits of the South Down. -1 ST' ^ ■<: ^ r^ u >. :^ r < v- CO •;; I- ^ o ^ >> ■^ ■Ss 45 Ciilley * gives the following particulars of the two breeds : — New Leicester, 2 -year-old wether, average 20 lbs. to 30 lbs. per quarter. ,, ,, wool, average 8 lbs. a fleece ; sold, 1792, at lod. per pound. South Down 2-vear-old wether, average 18 lbs. per quarter. ,, ,, wool, average 2^ to 3 lbs. a fleece ; sold, 1 792, at 2s. per pound. There is no comparison between the weight of a long wool and a short fleece. Bakewell was practically the originator of the system of ram-letting. In 1807 he was hiring out rams of his own breeding for 400 guineas a-piece for the season, and was receivino; 10 oruineas a service for ewes sent to the rams he kept at Dishley. SOUTH DOWN SHEEP The South Down was famous alike for quality of wool, excellence of mutton and for hardiness of constitution. * Observations on Live-Stoch (1807) See Appendix, p. 142 46 Mr. John Ellman, of Glynde, in Sussex, was one of the most successful breeders of South Downs at this time. He is said to have " done for the Shortwools what l^^akewell did for the Long wools." Mr. Coke, who estabHshed his Sheep- Shearing meeting in the first pkice as a method of bringing about improvement in the Norfolk breed, selected South Downs to replace the Norfolks on his own farm in 1792,' when the New Leicester had been long and successfully established at Holkham, and many experiments had been made. The time was one of experiment in crossing breeds of sheep by prominent agriculturists. Those made by the Duke of Bedford at Woburn were the most note- worthy, and did much to advance knowledge of sheep-mastery. One series of experiments, conducted in th:i winter of 1794-5, demonstrated the superiority of the South Down over the New Leicester in point of hardiness when kept on poor food — a matter of no small importance when we consider that a very * Annals of AgyicuUare (Vol. 19) Whei Mr. Coke afterwards the Earl of Leicester, came to Holkham, in 1776, there were only 700 sheep in the parish. In 1791-2 he himself wintered 2,400. 47 considerable proportion of the flocks in England and Wales were kept on poor pasturao-c. In 1801 Air. T. Davis, of Longleat, reported that his trial of South Downs on the Wiltshire Downs (an experiment made at the instance of the Bath and West Society) had been so successful that he and his farming neighbours were replacing their flocks of the local horned breed with South Downs. In 1 80 1 Mr. Curwen, of Windermere, wishing to improve the mountain sheep in his district, which were very small and coarse- woolled, introduced 100 South Down ewes and two rams; and, he was able, in 1804, to report his enterprise successful. The advantages of the South Down over the Norfolk were perhaps best shown by a statement compiled by Sir Charles Davers, of Rushbrook Hall, Suffolk. From 1786 to 1799 he kept Norfolks, the flock averaging 610 in number. In 1800 he replaced these by South Downs, and on 80 acres less o-round maintained an average of 845 head per year. LINCOLN SHEEP Lincolnshire, said Culley, writing in 1807, "has the same right to be called the mother 48 county, or county for long-woollcd sheep, that Lancashire has to long-horned cattle." The Lincoln sheep at this time was large, with a long, thin and weak carcase. The 3-year-old wether weighed from 20 lbs. to 30 lbs. per quarter ; it had large bones and thick, rough, white legs ; the wool was from 10 to rS inches long, and weighed from 8 lbs. to 14 lbs. per fleece. The mutton was coarse-grained, and the sheep fattened slowly on any but the rich Lincolnshire marshes. Bakewell is stated by some to have laid the foundation of the Dishley breed with Lincoln blood. Culley, who, as a pupil of Bakewell, may have had opportunities for learning his master's secrets, says that the Lincolnshire breeders "suffered the same discerning set of breeders from the Midland counties to rob them of a much more valuable breed of sheep, which they undoubtedly were tirst in possession of, before they were suffi- ciently sensible of the value of them." This appears to mean that Bakewell made of the Lincoln sheep a use which Lincoln- shire farmers tailed to make lor themselves. The slow development of the breed was a point in its disfavour. An eminent breeder 49 stated that few were read\- for market at two-shear, and that many farmers were obliged to winter some of their three-shears before they were ready for the butcher. This was a breed strictly confined to its native county ; it had the reputation of being unsuitable for any land other than the low- lying, rich marshes, by reason of its " very tender " character. Nor was it in any demand for crossing upon other breeds, owing to its indifferent shape and the coarseness of the mutton. Culley says, " Whatever crosses I have seen from Lincolnshire tups, in general, did harm." The Lincolnshire breeders were slow to recognise the value of the Dishley breed, and perhaps this can be explained. Wool was the main object of the Lincoln breeders, and long heavy wool had commanded high prices up to the time of the American War (1774-1782). The fixed belief of the Lincolnshire breeders in the superiority of their "marsh sheep " remained long after the price of wool had fallen, and only about the year of i 790 did some few of the more enterprising among them begin to try the New Leicester cross. The cross-breds, it was found, matured earlier, and made a better quality of mutton, 4 50 while the yield of wool was not appreciably affected, and in the earlier years of the last century the practice of buying and hiring New Leicester rams was becoming general. So widely was the Dishley cross used in 1 85 1, Mr. J. A. Clarke * stated, that the pure old-fashioned Lincolns were then scarcely to be found except in some few parts of the county. COTS WOLD SHKEP The wool trade and the wool manufactures were far more important in Gloucestershire a hundred years ago than they are now. In early times the Cotswold wool was held the finest in England. Young, who rode through the district in 1783, says: — "The principal object in the country is their sheep, which are good and bear longer wool than any breed I know on such poor hills. It is an exception to common rules, which seem to proportion the length of the fleece to the richness of the pasture. Their wool is six or eight inches long, in large bushy Heeces of 5 to 8 lbs., and sells at 7^. a pound. The * Journal of the Royal Agricnltural Society {\o\. 12, I St Series) sheep are about 20 lbs. a quarter, fat ; some I heard of rise to 28 lbs." The Cots wold breed differs from the hill and upland breeds in other parts of the Kingdom in that it is large and long-woolled, whereas other hill sheep are small and short- woolled. There is some doubt whether New Leicester blood was used by Cotswold flock-masters, but it is certain that the breed was greatly improved during the period (1790 to 18 10) with which I am dealing. DARTMOOR AND EXMOOR SHEEP The Dartmoor and Exmoor sheep were very much alike, the principal difference being that the latter were a little smaller. These breeds do not seem to have been of much account outside their own county, though the " Bampton Nott" or "Nat" {i.e. Bampton hornless sheep) is mentioned with approval by old writers. The modern Devon breeds differ much from those of a hundred years back. Like other sheep, the Devonshire varieties shared in the general improvement during the earlier years of the century. An advertisement of "tw^o capital Leicester Rams" at Morebath, which were offered for 52 service at 2 guineas a ewe in 1802, shows that the Dishley blood had found its way to this part of England. The Devon Longwool was the result of crossing the Improved Leicester on the old Bampton Nott, a large heavy-fieeced sheep. This breed was established in the early forties. DORSET SHEEP This breed, now known as the " Dorset Horned," is a very old one. Mr. R. H. Rew, now Assistant-Secretary of the Board of Agriculture, in his Report on the sheep shown at Windsor in 1889,* says that these sheep have been "naturalised in their native county from time imniemorial and preserved practically unmixed." Over a large area the Dorset has given way to the South Down. The Dorset of a hundred years ago was smaller and carried a fleece inferior to its modern descendant. It is noted for its peculiar aptitude for breeding at all seasons of the year, though modern flock-masters do not encourage this peculiarity. * Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society (\'ol. 23, 2nd Series) RYELAND SHEEP The Ryeland is a very old breed ; it was a native of the Welsh marshes and certain sandy tracts of country south of the Wye. Thouo-h small it was famed both lor the excellence of its mutton and the quality of its wool. The tracts whereon it was bred were formerly given up to the cultiva- tion of rye, the belief being that no other grain could be profitably grown thereon — whence the name of the local sheep. It was among the first breeds to show the advantages of the Merino cross. The Ryeland, by reason of its small size, has lost favour, and few fiock-masters prefer it nowadays. In 1863 it was said to be almost extinct, but representatives of the breed are still to be seen at the "Royal" every year. It had other merits, as Lord Somerville bore witness in his address to the Board of Agriculture in i 799 * : — " Of the Ryland I can, from experience, assert that no sheep in this Kingdom are worth more upon an average per pound ; none will bear to stock more thickly on land. * Annals of Agvicidtnvc (Vol. 33) 54 or look starvation better in the face, provided they are protected from cold." HERDWICK SHEEP The hardiness of this breed constituted its value. A hundred years ago the Herdwick was in demand for crossing to improve the hardiness of other flocks in various parts of the neighbouring counties. Culley wrote, in 1807 :— " They have no hay given to them in winter, but support themselves in the severest storms and deepest snows by scratching" down to the heath or other herbage. They do not face the coming storm, as reported, but, like other sheep, turn their backs on it ; and in such weather they generally gather together and keep stirring about, by which means they tread down the snow, keep above it and are rarely overblown." The origin of this breed is doubtful. The old writers are generally agreed that the original stock came from some other region, and are not native to the countr)- they inhabit ; but the authorities differ one from another concerning the source whence the parent stock is derived. The most reasonable 55 assumption is that it was originally a Welsh breed. A hundred years ago the Herdwick was small, with a fleece 2lbs. to 2^1bs. of thick and matted short wool, coarser than that of most other short-woolled sheep, but finer than that of the black-faced Heath breed. The hairy or " kempy " quality of the wool has been much less marked during the last fifty years. They have been greatly improved, and have spread over a somewhat wider area. In 1866, when Mr. H. H. Dixon ("The Druid ") described them, they covered Cumberland, Westmore- land and part of Lancashire. CHEVIOT SHEEP The Cheviot district and its flocks w^ere inspected in 1791 by Sir John Sinclair and Mr. Belsches. So high was the opinion of these sheep they expressed, that the British Wool Society, with the object of encourag- ing farmers in the hilly parts of England and Scotland to introduce the blood, bought fifty tups and a hundred ewes, which they offered to any who would try them at the low price of 36^". a tup and 20s. a ewe. When Culley wrote (1807), the Cheviot breed had been greatly improved by 56 Mr. Robson, either by the use of Dishley or Lincoln blood — -the authorities are not agreed which. Whatever his method, Mr. Robson brought great judgment and dis- cretion to bear on his work, and wroupfht an improvement in the breed which went far to increase its popularity and the area over which it was raised. During the past fifty years Cheviots have gained enormously in favour, as is proved by the sales at Perth and elsewhere. They cannot now be considered a strictly mountain breed, as they are purchased to stock lower- lying lands. WELSH SHEEP This breed, in its purity, seems to be very much the same to-day as it was a hundred or, for that matter, 300 years ago. Cotswold, Leicester, and other sheep were introduced and banished the smaller and less profitable breed to the higher grounds, where they have remained, uncrossed, in undisputed possession of pastures where a less hardy sheep would perish, and one more dainty would rapidly deteriorate. The Welsh breed found favour in Lngland a hundred years ago. Mr. Conyers. of Copt Hall, in Essex, kept them in preference to others. Mutton and wool were both esteemed ; the wool averaged about 2^ lbs. per fleece and brought a comparatively high price, making the sheep a profitable one. Their value was considerably advanced when raised on superior pastures. OXFORD SHEEP The Oxford sheep of a hundred years ago, described as being " equal in mutton to Lincoln and Leicester, and rather better liked," was a widely different animal from the modern Oxford Down. The latter was brought into existence about 1830- 1840, being the result of endeavours to combine, in one breed, the weight and wool of the Longwool with the quality of the Shortwool. The modern breed traces its descent from various crosses. The late Mr. Charles Howard, of Bedford, crossed the Improved Leicester and the South Down about 1 830- 1 840, and other breeders crossed the Cotswold and South Down and the Hamp- shire and Cotswold. The breed, when established as such, was for long known as the " Down Cotswold." 5^ KENT OR ROMNEY MARSH SHEEP This breed owes less than any other in England to the New Leicester. For a long time the Kent breeders refused to use Bakewell's breed, and, when they did recog- nise its superiority, they gave the Romney Marsh a slight infusion, enough to secure greater fattening aptitude, and then renounced outside aid. A note in the A7wa/s of Agriculture (Vol. 32) tells us that, in 1799, some 6o,coo acres were occupied by Romney Marsh sheep, which numbered 240,000 head. At this time it was the general opinion of flock-masters that carcase, shape, and ten- dency to fatten had deteriorated ow4ng to lack of care and attention in breeding. They averaged, at two-shear, 22 lbs. a quarter. Mr. Wall, a prominent breeder of the time, who had brought about considerable improve- ment, killed, in 1797, a sheep which weighed 45 lbs. per quarter. He had been particu- larly successful in improving shape and wool, reducing bone, and procuring tendency to fatten. Mr. Wall, in an essay contributed to the Annals of Agruultnrc about this time, refers with appro\al to the good results which 59 might be obtained from the use of Dishley blood, and it is reasonable to suppose that he was one of the first to use it. HAMPSHIRE SHEEP The modern Hampshire Down has little more in common with the old Hampshire than the name. In 1793 Arthur Young wrote : — "It was for some time a question whether the Hampshire or the South Downs were the better breed ; but it seems now to be entirely decided in favour of the South Downs, which gain ground on the others everywhere, and are even beating them out of their own country, the Hampshire Hills. Hampshires are very subject to the rickets (here called the 'goggles'), a distemper never known with the South Downs." The modern breed is descended from this cross and a cross between the South Down and Berkshire Knot or Nott. TEESWATER SHEEP Of the breeds no lonoer recoonised, the Teeswater, otherwise known as the " Dur- ham," was one of the most important, certainly in the north of England. It was the largest 6o English sheep. Mr. Bakewell once made an experiment to discover the quantity of turnips eaten during a fortnight by a ram of each of six breeds, and the weights of the several animals show the superior size of the Tees- water. They were : — Teeswater, 290 lbs. ; Wiltshire, i j;^ lbs. ; Norfolk, 162 lbs. ; Dishley (or New Leicester), 158 lbs. ; Charnwood Forester (Leicestershire), 131 lbs.; Herefordshire, 115 lbs.* The Teeswater ewes were noteworthy for the high proportion of twin lambs produced ; they seldom brought forth three, but single lambs were so uncommon that the rate of increase was equal to that of more prolific breeds. It was held also the most profitable sheep, from the butcher's point of view, the mutton being considered finer than that of the Lincoln. It was not, however, among the best wool producers ; the wethers averaged 7 lbs. per fleece and the ewes about 6 lbs. NORFOLK SHEEP This breed, it was remarked by a writer of a century ago, would more correctly be called the " Suffolk," as the best flocks were to be * Annals of AgricuUnre (\'ol. 6) 6i found in the neighbourhood of Bury St. Edmunds. The old Norfolk has now disappeared. It is described as beino- so long^ of leo- lioht of carcase, and large of bone that it more resembled a deer than a sheep. Some Norfolk and Suffolk rams had horns no less than 35 to Tyj inches long, following the curves. The Norfolk was an unprofitable variety, but local prejudice was difficult to remove. Some reason could be assigned for the preference given the local breed by Norfolk sheep-masters. Until measures had been taken to im- prove the pastures in the county a great part of it was wild, bleak and unproductive ; the grazing was so poor that only an active and hardy sheep could thrive upon it, by reason of the distances they had to travel daily in their search for a bite. Improved breeds could not thrive on such lands ; hence the disinclination of the farmers to give up the old Norfolk breed, which was so well suited to the then existing- conditions of keeping. Mr. Coke (Earl of Leicester) was among the first to undertake the task of proving to Norfolk farmers that the local breed could be improved upon ; he proved his case after he 62 had introduced folding, marling and the bettering of pasture, and had replaced his flocks of Norfolks by South I^owns, demon- strating the superiority of the latter in a practical way. The modern Suffolk is, at the present time, in high repute. OTHER BREEDS Of the breeds mentioned it may be observed that the Border Leicester was actually in existence a hundred years ago, but had not gained recognition outside the district where it had its origin. Mr. R. H. Rew * remarks that this is perhaps the only breed whose origin can be assigned to an absolute date — that is to say, the year 1767, in which the brothers Culley, pupils of Bakewell, went to Northumberland, takine a flock of New Leicesters with them. Whether they crossed these upon local breeds or not is unknown. Mr. John Usher thinks Cheviot l)lood was used to some extent ; Mr. Wood finds reason to hold that no crossing took place. The old Shropshire or " Morse Common " sheep was the foundation stock of the modern * Report on the Sheep exhibited at Windsor — Journal of the Royal Agyiciiltunil Society, October, 1889. 63 Shropshire breed. Credit for improving them is assigned to Mr. Samuel Meire, who obtained South Downs from Glynde and introduced New Leicester blood to obtain greater docility. The change was in progress about a hundred years ago. The Wensleydales at this period were called " Mugs, " and are held to have been a branch of the Teeswater breed. Some New Leicester blood was introduced at a some- what later period. Culley regarded the sheep of this district and Craven as being probably a cross between the Cheviot and Dorset breeds. The Dunfaced was a verv small, hornless breed of excellent mutton. It was conjectured that it traced descent from, or had been crossed by, sheep introduced by the wreck of the Spanish Armada. 64 CATTLE It is to be borne in mind that our grand- fathers estimated the value of beasts by standards differing from ours. A hundred years ago the ox was still widely used for draught and plough, but to what extent it is impossible now to say for certain, as the authorities differ ; some maintaining that the ox was giving place to the horse, others affirming that horse- draught was not gaining ground. Reviewing the matter as we are able to do with the assistance afforded by the wealth of information collected at the time by Arthur Young, William Marshall and many others, it is clear that in some counties — Sussex, Kent, and Devon, for example — oxen were very generally used for draught, while in the Midland counties horses were preferred. In Norfolk and Suffolk, also, horses were most generally in use. It depended much uj)on the suitability of the local breed whether oxen were em- ployed n\- not. 65 One thing was clear, namely, that Ox- draught vet'sits Horse-draught was a standing topic of discussion during the period 1 790- 18 10, or thereabouts, the advocates of each method urging reasons, supported by ex- perience, in favour of their views. Men naturally argued the question by the light of the conditions prevailing in their own district, and opinion and practice differed in various parts of England. There was a very large and influential body of opinion which favoured the use of oxen for draught on general principles. Kino- Georo^e III was a warm advocate of it. When Pitt, in 1801, proposed to lay an additional tax on horses, he urged, as one valuable result likely to follow the step, that it would bring about the more general use of oxen for draught purposes — a change which would promote cattle-breeding- and increase the meat supplies of the country. The demand for beef, and the discovery that it was more profitable to kill beasts when young — say from two to three years old — brought about the disuse of cattle for draught purposes. Working cattle were not killed until worn out at seven to nine years old. 66 The usual method of employing general- purpose cattle was to put them to the yoke at the age of two or three years — it varied with different breeds or with local usage — work them until seven or more, and then fatten them on the richest pasture for the butcher. The system of ploughing by oxen is followed at the present day in many districts of France, The excellence of the " under- cut " of the joint from such beasts is beyond question ; the rest of the carcase is generally boiled down to make ragouts and the soup which figures so largely on French tables. In England, at this period, agricultural authorities, when reviewing the merits of any given breed, took into account three qualities : — ( 1 ) Its fitness for the yoke ; (2) Its milk yield ; and (3) The carcase when killed. Certain points were necessarily of im- portance in the ox as a draught animal. Weight, size of bone, and thickness of hide were the principal features ; large bone, indicative of strength, and hide which would withstanel the cliafing of yoke or harness, 6; were manifestly valuable attributes in those days. It must be added that size was of importance for a totally different reason — namely, because the large cattle could better endure the fatigues of travel than smaller beasts. The following list of modern breeds which were recognised a hundred years ago is of interest. The old authority accepted is Richard Parkinson ; and it may be mentioned that Parkinson's contemporaries recognised and described a larger number of varieties than he did : — i Longhorned, Craven or Lancashire ; Dutch;* Hereford ; Devonshire ; Sussex ; Galloway or Polled ; t Kyloes ; f Alderney and Welsh. The Dutch are now known as Shorthorns; the Devonshire is divided into two breeds — the Devon and South Devon — and the Alderneys are now known as Jerseys. I am not sure that it is quite correct to regard " Kyloes" and "Highland" cattle as the same breed ; the former term was somewhat loosely employed, and is said to be derived * Described by George Culley as the "Short- horned or Dutch." t See note on p. 68 68 from the kyles or ferries in tlie Western Highlands, over which the beasts were swum or carried on their way south to the EngHsh grazing-grounds. The following old breeds are no longer recognised : — Yorkshire or Teeswater ; Yorkshire Polled ; Suffolk Duns ; Irish ; Shetland ; Fife;* Argyle ; * and Norland or North Country.* The following were not recognised, or were not known by their modern names, a hundred years as^o : — Lincolnshire Red Shorthorns, Red Polled, Aberdeen-Angus, Ayrshire, Kerries, and Dexters. LONGHORNED CATTLE "This breed," says Marshall,! "appears to have occupied for a length of time the central parts of the island." It was the beast found in the shires — Warwick, Stafford, Derby, Leicester, Lancaster, and part of York — whence it had gone to Westmoreland. * These tliree, together witli the Galloway and Kyloes mentioned on p. 67, were known as Scotch Droving Cattle t Rural Economy of the Midland Counties (1796) 69 Various districts had each their own breed, distinguishable in some way from those of other districts, but all having the same general character. In 1 79 1 little progress had been made towards improvement, except in Leicester- shire, where Mr, Bakewell had developed the Dishley herd, and on Mr. Fowler's farm, Rollright, in Oxfordshire, where the owner had brouoht his herd to a state of o^reat perfection. It is to be noticed that both Bakewell and Fowler owed something: of their success to the labours of a predecessor, Mr. Webster, of Canley, near Coventry, W'ho, about i 730-50, was the leading breeder in the Midlands. Bakewell's famous bull Twopenny was out of a Canley cow, and the Rollright cows were of the Canley blood.* With the exception of the herds owned by Messrs. Bakewell, Fowler, Princep, and, no doubt, some others less renowned, the average standard of the breed was not a high one. Its merit was the predisposition to fatten readily, which gave it high rank as "graziers' stock"; as dairy cattle the cows were less esteemed. * Rural Economy of the Midland Counties (1796) 70 The Longhorns had their resolute ad- mirers, who would allow nothing against them, and claimed that they were as profit- able to the dairyman as to the grazier ; but the weight of opinion was not in their fa v^ our. The Craven district of Yorkshire, the southern border of Westmoreland, and the north-western corner of Lancashire had long been famous for the superiority of the Longhorns bred there — whence one of the names of the breed — but it was reserved for Bakewell to win fame for the Longhorn as an improved breed, and establish its connec- tion with the Midlands as such. SHORTHORN CATTLE The Shorthorn is of mixed origin ; it owes something to the old Yorkshire or Teeswater breed, and to the Dutch importa- tions of Mr. Michael Dobinson, to whose infiuence Culley attached so much importance. Any attempt to review the gradual rise of the Shorthorn would occupy too much space ; * and it must suffice to say that when our period had been reached it was firmly History of SJiorthorn Cattle By J. Sinclair (190S) 71 established, owing largely to the labours of Mr. Charles Colling. He made many experiments in cross-breeding before he arrived at the " Improved Shorthorn," with which the name is identified. It may be noticed that Colling's work was made known very widely through the famous Durham Ox, which had been sold in 1801 to jMr. John Day. This beast, whose live weight was 216 stone, or i ton 7 cwt., was carried about the country in a van for nearly six years, and shown in various parts of the country, until an accident compelled his owner to destroy him. He was thus made an advertisement of the breed. Mr. Colling's sale of Improved Short- horned Cattle, on the iith October, 18 10, formed an epoch in the history of British cattle-breeding. The details may be briefly summarised : — Seventeen cows were sold for ^2,802 9^-. ; eleven bulls, ^2,361 9^-. ; seven bull calves, ^687 i^s. ; seven heifers, ^942 iSs. ; five heifer calves under one year, ^321 6^. ; the W'hole herd— namely, forty-seven head — • realising /^j,! 15 17^. All the bull calves and heifers and three of the heifer calves w^ere got by Comet, son of Favourite. Comet brought the highest figure, ^i,ooo; his son, Petrarch, 365 guineas. Lily, by Comet, fetched the highest price among the cows, 410 guineas ; Countess (by Cupid), 400 guineas ; Lady went for 206 guineas, being at that time fourteen years old. Breeders began to recognise that it paid better to rear cattle which would fatten at an early age than those which would grow to great size, and this quality of the Improved Shorthorn was the secret of its rapid advance to popularity. The Shorthorn Herd Book was established in 1822. The largest and heaviest oxen of this breed were killed and the meat salted to victual the East India ships ; they produced the thickest beef, which, by retaining its juices, was the best adapted for long sea voyages. HEREFORD CATTLE The orioin of this breed is lost in obscurity. The first writer to refer to it is John Speed,* in 1627, whose mention of the number and merits of Herefordshire cattle indicate that the breed was well established in his day. The eighteenth century authorities, Culley and * England, Wales and Scotland Described (1627) 73 Marshall, held somewhat diverse views concerning" its origin, and since their time various theories have been put forward. It was left to careful investigators of our own time to collect the available evidence and reconcile statements which seem to be conflicting. Messrs. Macdonald and Sinclair,* having set out and weighed the several accounts of the breed given by previous writers, have applied thereto the knowledge acquired by eminent naturalists, and arrive at the conclusion that the breed was founded on a variety of the aboriginal catde of England, "of the type from which the Devon and Sussex breed have been derived " — a conclusion which recalls Marshall's view that the Hereford was akin to those breeds, among others. As regards the characteristic colour, Messrs. Macdonald and Sinclair find reason to believe that it was originally a whole red, the bald face being a more modern development which can be accounted for by consideration of the local circumstances. The fact that Herefordshire is on the borders of Wales, where there existed a race of white cattle which were larger than the * History of Heyeford Cattle (Revised Edition, 1909) Edited by James Sinclair 74 breed under notice, would explain the tendency to white markings by the crossings which must frequently have taken place. .And the introduction by Lord Scudamore (who died in 1671) of Flanders cattle, red bodied and white faced, would further tend to perpetuate the characteristic white face. The superior size of the Herefordshire over the related breeds, the Devon and Sussex, is also attributable to these crossings of Welsh white cattle at an earlier period, and of Flanders cattle at a later date. The great improvement in the breed is traced by Mr. Thomas Knight, of Downton Castle, to the excellence of those Flanders cattle which were imported by Lord Scudamore. Mr. Thomas Knight, who died in 1838, was a famous breeder of Herefords ; he took a keen and intelligent interest in the history of the breed, and much importance is attached to his opinion on the subject. The Hereford was considered one of the best beasts for heavy draught, by reason oi its size and weight. It was also very hardy. Mr. Ducket, who had care of the Duke of Bedford's very various cattle, told Arthur Young,* when he visited Woburn in 1797, * Auiials of Agriculture (Vol. 38) /5 that the Herefords required more work than any other breed to reduce them in flesh. They were bred in Herefordshire, principally as drauoht cattle. DEVON CATTLE This breed was held in great repute as a draught beast, particularly for the plough on the light soils. It was smaller and more nimble than the Hereford or Sussex, and was the fastest walker of any. As milkers Devons were much in request. Mr. Conyers,* of Copt Hall, Essex, a gentle- man who was much addicted to experiment with various breeds of cattle and sheep (his preference for Welsh sheep has been noticed on page 56), liked Devons better than any other he had tried. " They hold their milk longer, are liable to fewer disorders in their bags, are of small size and do not eat more than half what cows of a larger size consume." The Devon also fattened well and made good beef *This gentleman's son, Mr. H. J- Conyers, was Master of the Esse.x Foxhounds 1805-8, jointly with Mr. Archer Houblon 1813-18, and alone 1818-1853. 76 SUSSEX CATTLE The Sussex cattle were famed as a draught breed, but the methods of the Sussex farmer seem to have been pecuHar to that county. Holding that it would retard the growth of the cattle to make them exert their full strength in drawing, it was the custom to use from eight to fourteen in a single plough.* Eight oxen comprised a team, and on stiff land this was reinforced by the addition of two or three additional yoke. In size the Sussex came between the Hereford and the Devon, to both of which it bore considerable resemblance. It had high reputation as a beef breed, but we read little of it in connection with the dairy. Culley observes that it gave less milk than the Suffolk, but of richer quality. It was a hardy breed, and throve on indifferent pasture. Arthur Young, who paid a visit to Sussex in 1790, was struck by the bad results which had been brought about by crossing. It was the imiversal opinion, he says, that crossing was necessary for the mere sake of crossing, and he rode nearly 300 miles before he found a bull and a few cows which pleased him even * Annals 0/ Agriculture (Vol. 22) tolerably. " It is shocking to see the quantity of ugly, big-boned, ill-made homebreds that are everywhere met with." It is needless to say that the breed has undergone a great change for the better since Young wrote thus. The modern Sussex is the recognised beef type, which matures early and fattens readily. GALLOWAY OR POLLED CATTLE "The most essential difference," says an old authority, "between this and every other breed of cattle is in having no horns at all." It was small, generally weighing from 40 to 60 stone, but stood in high repute as a grazier's beast. A few Galloways were kept in some parts of England, but south of the Tweed it was only seen in numbers at the Norfolk and Suffolk fairs. St. Faiths, near Norwich, was a famous rendezvous for the Scotch Droving Cattle, where they were bought by the graziers and fattened. Few cattle, or none, brought so high a price in Smithfield Market, which was the destination of most of them. They were known in England almost entirely as graziers' beasts, but were moderatelv Q:ood milkers also. 78 SCOTCH DROVINC CATTLE As already said, the term "Kyloes" was somewhat loosely employed, as it was applied to others than the true Highland breed. Culley refers to " that pure unmixed, valuable breed of Kyloes which we meet with in the more Northern and Western Highlands and all the Isles, but particularly in the Isle of Skye and that tract of country called Kintail." The same authority appears to have had these in mind when he described the Kyloe as being from 20 to 35 stone in weight, generally black in colour and covered with a long close coat of hair. Great numbers of Kyloes were driven southward every autumn, most finding their way to Norfolk, Suffolk, Essex, and other southern counties to be fattened. The Northland or Norland cattle would have included those now known as "Aberdeen Angus." A breed of polled cattle has existed for a very long time in the Angus District of Forfarshire, and also in the Buchan district of Aberdeenshire. There is evidence to show that, a hundred years ago, a considerable proportion of the cattle in these districts was hornless ; and during the latter part of the eighteenth century some care and skill was 79 devoted to the improvement of the breed.* In the earlier years of the last century, the Messrs. Williamson, large cattle dealers in Scotland, used to sell about 8,000 head per year to be driven south for disposal ; and of these two-thirds were beasts raised in Aberdeenshire. The then Duke of Gordon, about 1800- 1830, brought polled bulls and cows from Galloway into the Buchan district, and these did something to improve the local breed. The great improvement, however, is attributed to the introduction of the turnip husbandry, sown grasses and general advance in agriculture. t The breed, which is some- times black or brindled, was held well adapted for grazing purposes ; its merits were recog- nised by the Highland Society in 1829, in which year prizes were offered for polled cattle at the Show held in Perth. The first volume of the Aberdeen Ang^us Herd Book was published in 1862. * Polled Aberdeen or Angus Breed of Cattle. By J. Macdonald and J. Sinclair. t Agricnlttival Survey of Aberdeenshire. By Dr. Skene Keith (1813) 8o The Rev. William Gilpin,* in his Observa- tions on Several Paris of the Counties of Cambridgeshire , Noi'folk, Suffolk and Essex, in 1769, says of the meadows on the banks of the Waveney : — " Here, besides the cattle of the country, numerous herds of starved cattle from the Highlands of Scotland find their way. Of such pasturage they had no idea. Here they lick up the grass by mouthfuls ; the only contention is which of them can eat the most and grow fat the soonest. When they have gotten smooth coats and swagging sides they continue their journey to the capital and present themselves in Smithfield, where they find many admirers." Mr. George Smith, an old resident of Bow, speaks of " droves of cattle half a mile long," from Norfolk or Suffolk, passing through that part of London on their way to Smithfield. " They usually passed through Bow on Sunday morning, and went on to the King Harry ' Layers,' a wide open space where they lay down to rest. On Monday =*= This gentleman was a brother of the famous animal painter, Saurey Gilpin, R.A., of whose life and works an account has been given by me in \'ol. i of Animal Painters of England (Vinton & Co., 1899) they were driven in to Smithfield market and sold." Culley observes that the " demand for Kyloes in England is of vast importance to those nobility and gentry who have estates in the North of Scotland, as most of their rents are paid in live cattle." JERSEY AND (iUERNSEV CATTLE The name "Alderney " was applied to all Channel Island cattle, whether they came from Jersey, Guernsey or Alderney. In 1785 the Rev. Mr. Valpy visited Jersey, and stated that no less than 120 were exported to England in June of that year. They were only kept by nobility and gentry for the sake of their peculiarly rich milk. Lord Braybrooke, who lived in the early part of the last century, had, at Audley End, Saffron Walden, a herd of Jerseys, and this was in existence until within recent years. In 1785 they were, however, to some extent appreciated, and many were imported from the islands. Mr. John Thornton* says that the annual export from the island at the beginning of the * History of the Breed — The English Jersey Herd Book (\o\. I, 1880) 82 last century was 400 head. The probability- is that the cattle were shipped only during the summer months ; so the i 20 head mentioned by Mr. Valpy as exported during June, 1785. would not represent the average monthly shipments. It may be said that no cattle have made such headway as the Jerseys and Guernseys ; the exports from the island have increased until now the number sent to this country, America and elsewhere reaches 2,000 head yearly. About 1,800 of these come to England. They now rank among the very best dairy cattle by reason of the richness of their milk. Many dairy farmers keep only Jerseys, and their popularity is further shown by the numbers exhibited at the Agricultural Shows throughout England. The Jersey class is usually larger than that of most other breeds. At the "Royal" at Gloucester in IQ09 there were no fewer than 195 entries of Jerseys and Guernseys, a total only exceeded by the Shorthorns, of which there were 422 entries. The breed that most nearly approached the Jerseys and Guernseys was the Hereford, of which there were 91 entries. The number of exhibits in any class depends to some extent upon the place where the "Royal " is held. Thus we should expect to find more Jerseys and Guernseys at Gloucester, the headquarters of a large dairy- farming country, than we should when the Show is held in the heart of the grazing country. WELSH CATTLE There were various breeds of Welsh cattle. Parkinson thought they might be regarded as two distinct kinds ; the larger brown, best suited for the yoke, and the smaller black breed, known at a later date as the " Pem- brokeshire." These latter were good milkers and had great aptitude to fatten. The Pembrokeshire was regarded as a good " poor man's cow," by reason of its ability to thrive on poor pasture and endure a trying climate. YORKSHIRE AND YORKSHIRE POLLS The Yorkshire or Teeswater were famed as a milch breed. One authority describes the cows as by far the best milkers in the United Kingdom. If the horns were yellowish, with black spots, this was considered a good point, as " indicating a great aptitude to fatten." 84 The Yorkshire Polls differed only from the Yorkshire in having no horns. They were particularly valued by the London dairymen, and the great majority of the 12,000 cows kept in and about the metropolis for milking- purposes, at this period, were Yorkshire Polls. The hide of both these Yorkshire breeds was thin, more especially that of the latter — a fact which rendered them unsuitable for draught. The Yorkshire beef, like the Shorthorns, was in much request for salting purposes. SUFFOLK DUNS The Suffolk Dun, a polled breed of small size, was well thought of. Arthur Young* writes in terms of the highest praise of the dairy cattle he saw in Suftblk : — "The quantity of milk they yield exceeds that of any other breed I have ever met with in the kingdom. There is hardly a dairy of any consideration in the country that does not contain cows which give, at the beginning of June, eight gallons of milk in the day ; and six gallons are common among many for a large part of the season." * Annals of Agriculture {\o\. 5) 85 Arthur Young attributed, to some extent, their large milk-yield to the system of feeding. He did not find a single dairy farm in the northern parts of Suffolk without crops of cabbages and turnips which were raised for the cows. About the middle of the last century the demand for cattle of large carcase became general, and this demand proved the ruin of the Suffolk breed. In their endeavour to enlarge the carcase, the breeders gradually lost the excellent dairy qualities which dis- tinguished these cattle. Had this unfortunate mistake not been made, there can be no doubt but the Suffolk would have become the milch cow among English breeds. AY RS HI RES The ^Ayrshire cattle of this time were very indifferent. They are described* as small, ill-fed, ill-shaped, and very poor milkers ; they were usually black with large stripes of white, the horns high and crooked. The work of improving the Ayrshires was taken in hand, and in the 'thirties great advance had been made. * General View of the Agriculture of the County of Ayr. By William Aiton, i8ii. 86 At the present time, Ayrshires rank high as milk producers, and in this res[)ect nearly approach the Channel Island cattle. KERRY AND DEXTER CATTLE Parkinson describes two kinds of Irish cattle — the large and long-horned, the best of which weighed as much as i,40olbs, and the " Connaught " beasts, which scaled up to 980 lbs. The small Dexters now imported from Ireland have been judiciously crossed for many years past. They have now a separate Herd Book. The Kerry is higher on the leg than the Dexter ; it is regarded as a larger producer of milk. Owing to the demand for small joints in preference to large, both these breeds meet with more ready sale to the butcher than any larger beast. IRISH CATTLE TRADE WITH ENGLAND The huge trade in live-stock between Ireland and England is of modern growth. A hundred and forty years ago this trade had scarcely begun. "Cows, bulls and horses " were summed up together in the official 87 returns, and from them we learn that, in I 771, the total number of cattle and horses brought to England from Ireland was only 1,298 head. In 1777 the number had risen to 5,640 head. In this connection it must be said that the product of Irish pastures was sent to England as beef, of which about 200,000 barrels were shipped every year. Marshall states that 36,000 head of cattle were sent to England in 1795, and, if his figures are correct, they show that marked adv^ance in the business had taken place in eighteen years. The trade in live cattle nowadays is large and increasing. During the five years 1876-1880 England received an average of 681,550 beasts per year, more than half of which were for fattening or breeding- purposes. And, during the five years 1901- 1905, England received an average of 804,204 cattle per year, more than half of which were for fattening^ or breedingr. It is only just to add that much of the credit for the improvement in Irish stock-breeding which has taken place during the last fifty years is due to my friend, the late Mr. John Thornton, the celebrated cattle salesman. 88 DRIVING SCOTCH CATTLE TO ENGLAND In the clays before the railway this was an important feature of the cattle industry. Great herds of Scotch cattle were brought south to be fattened on the rich pastures of Norfolk, Lincolnshire and other eastern counties. The only figures I have been able to discover relating to these annual importa- tions of cattle from Scotland occur in Mr. George Mackenzie's Essay on Breeding Cattle* written in 1780. In the course of his remarks he says that " from Galloway and Ayrshire about 30,000 cattle are sent to England;" but the fact that five breeds i^see pp. 67 and 68) were known as "droving cattle " sufficiently indicates the magnitude of this trade. Scotch cattle were very popular with the London butchers, and the animals which had been fattened on English pastures formed a large proportion of the beasts killed annually at Smithfield — 152,660 cattle were sold in the year 1808. Animals for the London market were collected and brought up from the country by drovers, who, in some cases, were mounted on ponies. * Annals of Agyiculture (Vol. 40) 89 Herds moving from one place to another were not always conducted along the main roads, but by recognised tracks over the wastes, as far as these permitted. These tracks may still be traced in some parts of England, and retain names indicating their old purpose. The walled enclosures in which the herds were penned for the night also remain in various places. The drovers engaged in this business deserve a few words. They were a hardy, independent class of men, who kept themselves very much to themselves. The responsibility attaching to their work of convoying large herds of cattle safely from one end of the king- dom to the other gave them a certain stand- ing; and reliable drovers, who could deliver the herds without loss, in good condition and without undue delay, made a good living. They were paid so much per head for every beast delivered, and capable men some- times made money at the business. Making- allowance for the difference in value of money, the cost of sending cattle by road lOO years ago was practically twice that of sending them by rail at the present time. " Amid all the dearness of Eng-Hsh inns," says a wTiter,* in 1796, "oxen are driven * Annals of Agriculture (Vol. 29) 90 from Dumfries to London, 450 miles, for 18.?. to 24.?."* The greater number of cattle fatted for the markets of London and the South of England came from Scotland and the northern counties of England, and many drovers were engaged in the business. They were, for the most part, Scotchmen, who practically spent their lives on the road, carrying with them little besides a bag of oatmeal. It is necessary to distinguish between the drover and the jobber. The former conducted cattle belonging to his patrons, charging so much per head for the journey. The jobber, or dealer, was very frequently a man who had made money as a drover, and bought cattle from the farmers outright, to sell for his own profit at distant fairs and markets. It may be mentioned that there are now residino- in Norwich and the neigrhbourhood many families of Scottish origin, the de- scendants of Scottish drovers and jobbers who settled there when they gave up active work on the road. * The raihvay rate for a truck containing from eight to six beasts, according to size, by goods train from Dumfries to London is now ^6 175. yr/., which works out at from 17s. 6d. to 2],s. per head. 91 Those drovers or jobbers who bought and sold on their own account had matters very much their own way in cleaHng with the farmers and graziers in some districts. In 1793 Mr. J. H. Campbell, of Kings Down, Bristol, stated * that when he had endeavoured to induce his neighbours in Pembrokeshire to improve their cattle — " the answer of one and all was, ' We must breed what the drovers will give most money for ; and they all tell us they will not buy any but black.' Some have told me that they have had a brown ox of my sort which, in their own opinion, was at least as good a beast as any black one they had, and yet they were forced to take it as a favour that the drover would buy him at an inferior price to the others ; and assured them that had he been black they could have afforded to give them 20 or 25 per cent, more on him." The wandering life no doubt had its own attraction, and drovers who could afford to retire from the road often continued in the saddle until an advanced aoe. Women were sometimes employed as drovers in the Mid- land and home counties ; they followed the cattle on foot. It may be observed that, * Anna/s oj Agriculture (Vol. 2 i ) 92 under an old statute (3 Chas. I), cattle might not be driven on Sunday. Some of the London distillers at this period used to buy large numbers of oxen at the fairs — more especially at Kingston-on- Thames — -and fatten them on the "grains" for the butcher. The Hereford and the largest of the Welsh cattle were preferred for this purpose. 93 HORSES It is hardly necessary to insist upon the importance of the place held by horses of all kinds before the railway days. The roads of the kingdom a hundred years ago, although improving, were still in a very bad state, more especially the district and cross roads. Arthur Young's description of these latter, in his Toiir in the North of England ( 1 7 70),* * " I know not, in the whole range of language, terms sufficiently expressive to describe this infernal road. To look over a map, and perceive that it is a principal one, not only to some towns, but even whole counties, one would naturally conclude it to be at least decent ; but let me most seriously caution all travellers who may accidentally purpose to travel this terrible country, to avoid it as they would the devil, for a thousand to one but they break their necks or their limbs by overthrows or breakings down. They will here meet with ruts, which I actually measured, four feet deep, and floating with mud, only from a wet summer; what, therefore, must it be after the winter ? The only mending it receives, in places, is the tumbling in loose stones, which serve no other purpose but jolting the carriage in a most intolerable manner. These are not merely opinions, but facts, for I actually passed three carts broken down in these eighteen miles of execrable memory." 94 was still applicable to very many country highways. The great main roads were fairly good, and the number of coaches plying over long and short stages was increasing. The brief "golden age" of the road had not yet dawned, but the coaching industry required great numbers of horses. Apart from coaching, every country gentle- man drove or rode. The farmer and com- mercial traveller travelled on horseback or drove a gig. Goods, in out-of-the-way parts of England, were still carried on strings of packhorses. The importance of the pack- horse as a means of transport in old days is shown by the old " packhorse bridges" still remaining over the streams in various parts of England. These are wide enough to allow a laden horse to pass, but too narrow for carts. The canal boats which carried heavy merchandise were towed by horses ; and a great deal of the work of the farm was done by horses, sometimes by mixed teams of horses and oxen. Larofe numbers of horses also were required by our troops in Portugal and Spain during the Peninsular War, 1808-14. Many were obtained in those countries, but the majority had to be sent out from England, '•f* fft^"^^ 95 and the demand for these lent a stimulus to breeding, more especially in the northern counties, which resulted in large production. In works written after the close of the Peninsular War, references are made to the effect which cessation of hostilities had had upon the horse-breeding industry. The Spanish horses, which in earlier ages had been so greatly in request among English horse-breeders,* were less valued. Arabs, also, w^ere much less in request for breeding race-horses than they had been fifty years earlier. How little the Eastern stallion was used at this time is shown by the list of "Stallions to Cover in England in 1809," given in the Sporting Magazine of that year (Vol. 33). Of 85 sires only three are Arabs. The hiohest service fees asked for English Thoroughbred sires were 50 guineas (Gohanna) and 25 guineas (Beningborough), whereas the Elgin Arabian and Mahomet were offered at 3 guineas each. It may be remarked that all the three Arabs in the list stood in Yorkshire. * The Duke of Newcastle, in his great work written in 1658, says: "I have seen Spanish horses which were proper to be painted, or fit for a king to mount on a public occasion." 96 The decline in the use of Spanish and, later, of Arab blood was the result of the vast improvement which had been brought about in our English Throughbreds or " blood horses," as they were then called ; for the modern term "Thoroughbred" had not at this period come into use. THE SHIRE HORSE This is the modern name of the famous breed which was formerly known as the Great, Large Black, or Heavy Black Horse. It was, above all, the cart-horse, and was principally bred in the Midlands — Derby, Leicester, Warwick, Stafford and Lincoln shires — those reared in the last-named county being the largest. The Black was the best recognised breed of draught horse England possessed. The Ashby Black Stallion Show at Easter, where sires were offered on hire for the season, was an institution. Yearling Blacks were sold at certain markets or fairs devoted specially to them — Ashby, Loughborough, Burton-on-Trent, Rugby, and Ashbourne. The graziers who bought the yearlings kept them till two or two off, when they sold them to farmers, who worked them lightly in 97 the plough and then sold them, ready for work in the London drays. The distinctive colour of the breed, now known as the " Shire," is gradually disappear- ing, and a black horse is now the exception in pedigree stock, though the old colour sometimes occurs to remind us of the original strain.* The Black had had a chequered history. In the days of armour it was the war horse ;f when heavy armour was discarded it still furnished remounts to Drag^oons, and re- mained, up to the earlier years of the last century, in some request (though lighter horses were more in demand) for Army purposes. The Black was also in general use for coach and carriage work when vehicles were weighty and roads bad ; but improvements in carriages and roads led to its disuse. Various statements have been made concerning improvements in the Black. Lord Chesterfield, when Ambassador (about 1755-60) at the Hague, brought home * Horses — Breeding to Colour. By Sir Walter Gilbey, Bart. (Vinton & Co., 1907) t T/ie Great Horse or War Horse. By Sir Walter Gilbey, Bart. (Vinton & Co., 1899) 7 98 lialf-a-dozen Zealand mares, which were stabled at Bretby, in Derbyshire. One of the Earls of Huntingdon brought "a set of coach-horses of the black breed" from the Low Countries. At first he found it difficult to persuade his tenants by Trent- side to send their mares to them ; but when a few foals had been got by these stallions, the breeders at once saw that the youngsters were superior to the foals got by local stock and eagerly sent their mares to the Earl's horses. Bakewell appears to have believed in these traditions, for he, with Mr. George Salisbury, visited Germany and Holland, and brought home half-a-dozen " Dutch or Flanders Mares." These proved of use in improving the Leicestershire Blacks ; so much so that they became known as " Bakewell's Blacks." George Culley took some horses of the Bakewell breed to Northumberland, when he went thither to establish himself as a farmer, and these were the means of intro- ducing much-needed improvement into the Northumbrian cart-horses, which appear to have been of nondescript character. It was the custom of the Midland breeders to use only the mares for farm-work. All were used for breeding, and the geldings 99 were sold for farm -work in the south and west, the finest going to London as dray- horses ; some, according to Culley (1807), were still sold as Cavalry remounts, Youatt * says : " A smaller variety, with more blood, constitutes a considerable part of our Cavalry." About the end of the eighteenth century some Midland farmers began to replace their Blacks by oxen. When Marshall visited these parts of England in 1796 the "spirit for working oxen appeared to be gaining ground apace among superior managers." Culley refers to the extraordinary pride taken by the south country farmers in their teams of Blacks. He had seen six stallions in line, each adorned with fringe and tassels, "enough to half-load a common Yorkshire cart-horse." The leader of this team wore six bells, the next five, and so on to the shaft-horse, which only wore one. Equal pride in their Black horses was taken by the London brewers and their men, THE SUFFOLK PUNCH This breed, otherwise known as the "Sorrel," by reason of its distinctive colour, * The Horse, By William Youatt (1831) lOO had for a long period been celebrated for its working qualities. It was peculiar to Suffolk and Norfolk, and was esteemed for strength, activity and endurance. Arthur Y(jung, who travelled in Suffolk in 1764, 1776 and 1779, thought that the true breed was disai)pearing when he last visited the county. The old Suffolk Punch was "yellowish or sorrel" (dun) in colour, with a white blaze ; w^as punchy in shape and seldom over 15.2 in height ; as a farm horse it had no equal. Young refers to a Suffolk Punch belonging to Mr. Weeden, which drew 121^ quarters of wheat in a waggon up a hill for more than I 2 rods. There were some good examples of the breed remaining at rather a later period. Daniel * states that, at the sale of Sir Robert Harland's horses in October, 18 12, the following prices were realised, showing " the estimation in which Suffolk Punches are held": — 13 horses averaged £2>~ ^^- '- 16 horses averaged ^61 45. ; 4 horses averaged ;^8i ; 5 horses averaged ^140; 3 three-year-old colts averaged ^53 ; 2 two- year-old colts averaged ^5 1 ; 6 yearlings, * Rural Sports (Supplementary Vol., 1813) lOI /'44 each ; and 6 suckers £^'] i8^\ 6d. each. The value of money in those clays must be borne in mind with reference to these figures. The prices were equal to about twice the amount in our own day. It was the importation of Yorkshire half- bred sires that did much to change the character of the Suffolk Punch. The infusion of this blood wrought increase of height and size. It also brought about a change of colour, but the mixed breed retained many of the good qualities of the old stock, which is said to have been derived from Norman stallions put to Suffolk cart- mares. Culley has left it on record that the old Suffolk Punch could plough more land in a day than any other horse. Other authorities attribute his speed in the plough to the lightness of the soil ; but. whatever the truth, there can be no doubt of his merits. Arthur Young coupled the breed with the Black, as the only two varieties of cart- horse in England deserving of mention. It remains to add that, during the last fifty years, the Suffolk horse has been classed as one of the best breeds of heavy horses in England. I02 THE CLYDESDALE The Duke of Hamilton is credited with having imported Flanders stallions about 1600 or a few years later; the breed is said to have been produced by crossing these stallions with common Scotch cart-mares. The Clydesdale, a hundred years ago, was esteemed a good and useful farmers horse. Generally grey or brown, it stood from 15 hands to 16. The Clydesdale was popular in the northern counties of England, whither it had been brought from Scotland ; but docs not seem to have found its way further south, if we may base an opinion on the absence of reference to it by writers of the time. During the last fifty years great attention has been paid by breeders to the improve- ment of the Clydesdale. A Stud Book was established in 1883, and since that date the breed has been kept pure, and it now ranks as one of the best heavy breeds in the Kingdom. Large intakes of blood from Derbyshire had been made at earlier periods. THE CLEVELAxXD BAY The Cleveland Bay enjoyed a reputation for activity, strength and hardiness. Three I03 of these horses, it was said, would draw one-and-a-half tons of coals sixty miles in twenty-four hours, without more rest than two or three baits on the road, and would frequently do this four times a week. Mr. Lumley Hodgson, of Highthorne, in Yorkshire, writing in 1889, says: "The old- fashioned and, unhappily, virtually extinct Cleveland could ride, hunt, plough, and, to a short-legged Thoroughbred horse, breed the best of Hunters." A pure-bred Cleveland was usually, if not invariably, a bay with black legs. The process of " swamping" the breed with other blood had been going on for some time before our period. Marshall, writing in 1783, says that : — "The Vale, the Wolds, the Holderness (district) probably employ a hundred Thoroughbred stallions ; one hundred mares are considered the full complement for one horse ; some of them, perhaps, do not get fifty. . . . There must have been 10,000 brood-mares in use." This cross-breedinof was done in order to produce coach-horses, also Hunters of greater size, heavy-weight Hunters being at this period in great request. I04 In 1882, Mr. Thomas Parrincjton, writino; to Lord Cathcart, said : — "It is much to be regretted that the foreigners have been buying them up for years, until it is now difficult to find such mares in the hands of farmers." Of recent years, since Mr. Parrington wrote, much has been done to restore the breed. Classes have been allotted to it at Aorri- cultural Shows, and the encouragement given has produced the most satisfactory results. The late Mr. Blew* stated that, before the inauguration of the Cleveland Bay Horse Society's Stud Book, the foreign demand did much to keep the breed alive. THE YORKSHIRE COACH HORSE In 1 886 was established the Yorkshire Coach Horse Society. Classes are allotted to Yorkshire Coach Horses at many of the Shows, but it may be assumed that the breed is very closely allied to the Cleveland Bay. THE " BLOOD HORSE " Of the Thorouohbred or race-horse little need be said here ; it demands mention by * Journal of the Royal Agriciiifiirol Society of Englatid (Vol. 25, i88g) 105 reason of the frequency with which it was used to improve other Hghter breeds for the saddle and also for harness. "Blood" horses, as they were very generally called, were much used to get Hunters, coach and carriage horses. The Thorouofhbred w^as smaller and altogether a more suitable horse for improving other breeds than his modern descendant. I have written much on this particular point, and need not now repeat it.* THE HUNTER The Hunter, very usually the produce of a *' blood " sire and roadster, was at this time a faster horse than the Hunter of fifty years earlier. This was the result of improved agricultural methods ; the drainage of lands was better and more general, hence scent was better and hounds ran faster, obliging the hunting man to ride a speedier horse than had served him in earlier days when hounds had to pick out the line. The fields that followed hounds were much smaller loo years ago than they are * Thoroughbred and other Ponies. By Sir Walter Gilbey, Bart. (Vinton & Co., 1903) io6 in our day, and men often rode entire horses. These were used for stud purposes, and thus Hunters were bred from genuine Hunter stock. The result was a recognised race of Hunters celebrated for courage, honesty and stoutness. This " race " was nearly extinct in 1836, if we may accept the evidence of a writer in the Spo7'ting Magazine for that year. Yorkshire and Lincolnshire were great Hunter-breedino: counties. Howden, in the former county, was famous for the fair to which "unmade" Hunters were brought for sale by the breeders. Horncastle, in Lincoln- shire, was the scene of the greatest fair for " made " Hunters in E norland. Breeding Hunters was an important part of the farmer's business in these two counties. Lincolnshire — the Brocklesby country, at least — was said to be full of the stock Qrot by Quicksilver, a stallion owned by the then I^arl of Yarborough. It used to be said that the hack of the Lincolnshire Wolds farmer was a pretty good hunter for other countries. Shropshire was also a famous county for Hunter-breedino- at this time. The old system of Hunter-breeding — namely, breeding from Hunter stock — was 107 attempted by the Hunters' Improvement Society when that body was established in 1885. ^ts work was pursued and has been carried on with success in spite of much hostile criticism from the many who would still have us believe that only the Thorough- bred sire can be used with certainty in breeding' Hunters. THE ROADSTER Apart from the Norfolk Hackneys, whose wonderful trotting powers led the east country breeders to keep them apart from the common stock, the Roadster can hardly be considered a distinct breed. The average road-horse, an indispens- able animal in former times, was usually one with less blood than the Hunter ; if he could carry a fairly heavy weight, trot six or seven miles in the hour, and keep it up for a day of five hours, he was considered to fulfil reasonable requirements, thirty miles a day being as much as the ordinary traveller on a long journey wished to go. The traveller carried his luggage in a pair of bags, and the horse's load might be as much as eighteen stone. io8 The farmer's saddle-horse was very com- monly an animal of great strength. Those were the days when the pillion was in general use, and the horse was often required to carry a double load — the farmer and his wife. Fourteen hands to 14 hands 3 inches was considered the best heio^ht for the road horse. W hat was wanted was a compact, sound, willing horse that could walk as well as trot. The improvement in roads and spread of coaches did something to undermine the important position held by the Roadster, and railways finished what the coaches had begun. Mr. Lumley Hodgson, the gentleman referred to on a previous page, says that he thouQrht nothinsf of ridinof 200 miles, and in his college days always made the journey between Yorkshire and Cambridge on horse- back. The horses employed for mail and stage coach and posting were of very various character. Those which were ridden by the postillions in post-chaises were the best. Public vehicles, however, were horsed by contractors, and all kinds of horses found their way to the contractor's stables — good, bad, and indifferent. I09 There were animals, more especially of the Norfolk Hackney breed, which could trot their fifteen to eighteen miles within the hour ; but these were the racers of the road, and figured more often in sporting matches than in daily work. THE WELSH PONY The writers of a hundred years ago say little of the Welsh pony, save to praise highly its hardiness and soundness of limb. Culley says : — " Few or none can equal them for the road, none stand our turnpikes like them, and I well remember one that I rode for many years, which to the last would have gone upon a pavement by choice, in pre- ference to a softer road." Parkinson calls it " the most complete pony in the kingdom." Its small size was ag-ainst it for heavy agricultural work, and the fact sufficiently explains the little attention this breed received at the hands of writers whose principal object was to make known the merits of animals most suitable for economical working of the farm. Its merits are better understood in our own day. Reared, as it is, on the bleak hills I lO of Wales, its wonderful constitution makes it valuable for many purposes, more especially for crossino; with other breeds.* THE WELSH COB Until about sixty years ago, attempts to produce, on a basis of Welsh pony blood, a larger animal were few and unimportant ; but, since the introduction of small Norfolk Hackney stallions, the breeding of Welsh cobs has been systematically followed, and we see the results at the present day. When at Llandrindod Wells, I have always been impressed by the make, shape and paces of the Welsh cobs which are to bs seen in the town daily, ridden thither from the farms in the surrounding hills by the women who thus bring to market their eggs, butter and other produce. Sturdy, docile, quick-stepping and sure- footed, these cobs possess all the useful (jualities of the small mountain ponies, and, with them, the size — about 14 hands — and power which render them such \aluable animals to the aoriculturist in countrv where the roads arc often bridle-paths impossible for wheel traffic. * Thorough/) red and other Po7ues. By Sir \\ alter Gilbey, Bart. (\'inton & Co., 1903) 1 1 1 It is a tribute to the worth of the Welsh cob, and its pecuhar fitness for the work it is required to do, that breeding these Httle horses continues to be remunerative. My late friend, Sir Richard Green Price, was one of those who did much to brine about the improvement in the breed of hill ponies and cobs, and also to make their good qualities more widely known. THE GALLOWAY The Gallow^ay, also called the Scotch horse had become rare a century ago ; the value of these small and hardy cobs made their disappearance a matter of regret. Youatt * quotes Dr. Anderson as saying: — " There was once a breed of small elegant horses in Scotland similar to those of Iceland and Sweden, known by the name of Galloways, the best of which sometimes reached a height of 14 hands and a half." Dr. Anderson described one which was given him when a boy. He rode it for five- and-twenty years, and twice during that time made journeys of 150 miles at a stretch without stopping, except to bait the horse for about an hour each time. In its prime, he * The Horse (1831) II 2 said, it could have done 60 miles a day for a twelvemonth without any extraordinary exertion. Some remarkable feats of endurance by Galloways are on record. Perhaps the most memorable is that quoted by Youatt of one owned by Mr. Sinclair, of Kirkby-Lonsdale, which, at Carlisle, travelled a thousand miles in a thousand hours. It is unfortunate that particulars of this performance have not been recorded. The term " Galloway " is now used to describe a small horse. The Rules of the Pony and Galloway Racing Association define a Galloway as an animal of not over 15 hands. O 5 p a .5 j= < ;^ "c 1 13 PIGS The pig, a century ago, was engaging more attention than it had ever done before. Swine were raised on the system prevalent in the early and middle ages, modified as the changed conditions of the country required. The destruction of forests and reclamation of wastes forbade the rearing of swine in a half-wild state, but it was still the farmer's practice to turn his swine on to the stubbles after the crops had been carried. The Chinese pig had been introduced somewhere about 1770-80 (the date cannot be ascertained with certainty), and had been widely used for crossing with our English breeds. Numbers of fattening experiments were being made by eminent stock-breeders, and it was realised that judicious cross-breeding and feeding were the means whereby improve- ment in pork and bacon could be attained. Hoofs of enormous size were sometimes produced and attracted much notice, but 8 114 rather as curiosities than examples to be taken as models for the breeder. The desirability of encouraging the poorer classes to keep pigs was well recognised. Among the premiums offered by the Board of Agriculture in 1803 was a gold medal for the person who should build, on his estate, the largest number of labourers' cottages with land to support a cow and a hog. A very large number of different varieties was recognised at this time, Parkinson describes no fewer than seventeen, including seven varieties of Chinese pigs ; and. he adds, "there are many others." There was little difference between some of these varieties, which were named after the counties with which they were more or less identified ; and it is only reasonable to suppose that there was a good deal of crossing and interbreedino-. An anonymous writer in the Annals of Agriculture (Vol. ^.'X)^ ^799) sa.ys : — "It would be endless to particularise all the breeds of swine there are in England. - Those only which deserve our attention are: (i) The Berkshire; (2) Shropshire; (3) Northampton ; and (4) Chinese." * Tiratise on Live-Stock (1810) THE BERKSHIRE The Berkshire breed is the only one which has retained its name to the present day ; and it is to be noted that this was the most widely distributed breed a hundred years ago. At that time its most distinctive characteristic was almost the total absence of hair. The Tamworth district was famous for the pigs raised there, but this name was not applied to it ; on the contrary, Parkinson says that the most famous pigs bred near Tamworth were called " Berkshires." The Tamworth was described* as spotted red and brown, reaching a great size, having small ears, short legs and very broad sides ; these pigs were held not suitable stock for anyone who could not provide them with abundance of food, as without enough they did not thrive, fell into disease and proved less profitable than a smaller breed. The breed has underoone considerable modifications durinof a hundred vears. If we compare old and modern pictures of repre- sentative animals, the change in the shape of the head is very striking ; the whole shape of the Berkshire has been changed by careful selection. * Annals of Agriculture {XoX. 33) ii6 THE SHROPSHIRE The Shropshire breed was either white or coloured, but usually the former ; they had slouch ears, hanging on their cheeks, and short legs. The Shropshire were much in request at l)arnet, a great market in those days, no doubt because they were popular with the London distillers, as they did well on " grains." Large numbers of swine were then kept by the distillers as a profitable means of disposing of the grains. THE NORTHAMPTON The Northampton breed much resembled the Shropshire. They were white and short- legged, distinguished by their huge ears, which "sweep along on the ground before their noses, almost blinding them." This made them "a remarkably gentle breed." These pigs grew to an immense size, especially those reared in the Naseby district of Northamptonshire. THE CHINESE There were two varieties of Chinese pig — one very large, the other J small. These were used for crossing with other breeds ; the larger made most excellent bacon. The authorities are at variance concerninor the hardiness of the Chinese pig. The author of an essay in the Annals of Agricultnre* says they were very hardy and would live on less food by far than any of the three English breeds he considered deserving of attention. They were rarely seen lean or in poor con- dition ; and in his experiments he had found Chinese pigs fatten well on food that would only keep other hogs. Parkinson says that as they were somewhat delicate and difficult to rear, it did not pay to slaughter them. The Chinese- Berkshire cross was the one most usual ; this was natural, as the Berkshire offered the best material for improvement. The frequency with which the Societies offered prizes for the best pig of Chinese cross shows how generally the merit of this breed was recognised. It is strange that the Chinese pig should have so completely disappeared. It has not been known in England during the last fifty years, having been completely merged in our native breeds. *Vol. 33, 1799 iiS OTHER BREEDS The Lincoln and Sussex breeds were esteemed. Lord Winchelsea, at Burley, in Rutland- shire, kept a herd of Suffolk pigs, white short-nosed, thick small-boned, having a good disposition to fatten. Arthur Young says Lord Winchelsea found " considerable difficulty in rearing the young, either by reason of their pre- disposition to fatten or for lack of crossing. He lost forty pigs out of fifty between Michaelmas, 1797, and Michaelmas, 1798." The Cheshire breed was one of the largest, though Yorkshire pigs of great size were occasionally produced. The Yorkshire breed, from which the three "White" varieties recognised at the present day trace their descent, was popular as a distiller's pig at this time. A considerable number of pigs of different breeds were sent to America a hundred years ago to improve the stock in that country. The Berkshire are said to have been in request. The Irish pig, once lean and leggy, was im|)roving. At Ballinasloe Fair, in 1802, it was remarked that the improvement in the breed of swnie was "truly surprising." 119 In view of the number of pigs which were kept in England lOO years ago, it is a curious fact that pork, for a long period, was the dearest meat on the market. Pork was 8^^, per pound when beef was ^^d. and mutton - 3. / For many years now pig-breeding in Ireland has been a profitable industry. The best and finest bacon comes to Ena"land from Belfast, BACON FACTORIES If bacon factories should be established in England, as they have been in Denmark with the best results, pig-breeders should bear in mind that the long-snouted kinds are the most suitable ; they should be kept until they are from 15 to 18 months old. INTELLIGENCE OF THE PIG The following curious example of the tractability of pigs is worth reproducing. One day, in October, 181 1 — "A man who holds a small farm near St. Alban's, and who has ever been looked upon as a most eccentric being, made his appearance into the latter place in the following manner, viz., mounted on a small car which was drawn bv four laro^e hopfs. - 00 I20 " He entered the town at a brisk trot, amidst the acclamations of hundreds, who were soon drawn together to witness this uncommon spectacle. After making the tour of the Market Place three or four times, he came into the Wool-Pack Hotel yard, had his swinish cattle regularly un- harnessed and taken into a stable together, where they were regaled with a trough full of beans and swill. They remained about two hours, whilst he dispatched his business as usual at the market, when they were put to and driven home again, multitudes cheerino- him. " This man had only had these animals under training six months, and it is truly surprising to what a high state of tracta- bility he has brought them. A gentleman on the spot offered him fifty pounds for the concern as it stood, but it was indignantly refused." * One of the most remarkable examples of the point to which the intelligence of the pig can be cultivated is furnished by the famous "pig pointer." This was a black sow which two King's keepers in the New Forest, Toomer by name, trained in a fortnight to find game, point and back almost as well as a pointer. ' DanieV s Rural Sports (Supplementary Vol., 1813) 121 The excellent scenting powers of the pig are, as is well known, utilised by French truffle-finders, who train young swine to find the truffles buried, as they are, a few inches below the soil. They were used for this purpose in England also ; Lord Braybrooke kept truffle-hunting pigs some fifty years aofo. 122 POULTRY TURKEYS A writer in the Annals of Agricnlture* observes that turkeys pay as well as, or better than, any other birds for the amount of attention given them. He says : — - " Any farm not very small may keep one cock and six hens, and they rarely fail of bringing many young ones, as they set very steadily, scarcely ever leaving their eggs." Richard Parkinson t says that in Ireland the poorer people raised " an amazing number of very fine turkeys," rearing them on milk or butter-milk, into which shredded nettles were mixed, and a little oatmeal mixed to a paste. This food was cheap, and the turkey-raising business paid. Fine turkeys were raised on the Lincoln- shire marshes and also in Norfolk. The bronze or copper-coloured and the white * Vol. 39, 1803. t Richardson Parkinson was the author of three works on Agricuhure, pubHshed in 1807, i8ic and 181 1. 123 varieties were regarded as distinct. It was thought that the former were wilder and more prone to stray than the latter, and this was attributed to their being "more freely bred from the wild turkeys " imported from America. The cheapest method of fattening was by " cramming " them with barley meal made into paste with milk, butter-milk or pot-liquor. Parkinson mentions that there was to be seen in Leadenhall Market a turkey weighing 30 lbs., for which the salesman asked 2 guineas. It is a question if this turkey could have been what is now termed a " stag" — that is to say, a year-old bird. GEESE Geese were held the most profitable kind of poultry. They were raised in vast numbers in the Lincolnshire fens. Pennant says that a single person would keep as many as 1,000 old birds, each of which raising seven goslings, the owner at the year's end would find himself master of a fiock of 8,000 birds. On the great tracks of fenland, before they were drained, over a thousand persons made their living out of geese. Geese were extensivelybred also in Norfolk, Suffolk, Cornwall and the Aylesbury district 124 of Buckinghamshire. Some farmers believed that geese were injurious to the pastures ; writers on the subject contradict this idea, however, maintainino' that o:eese were not only harmless but beneficial. In the Midland counties it was believed by some that geese were " healthful things " among cows, and many farmers made a point of keeping a flock, the idea being that the birds purified the water of the pond where the cattle drink. The importance of goose-rearing appears in the name of the " Nottingham Goose Fair," so-called because held at the time of year when geese are ready for market, and great numbers were brought for sale by the country people. The Nottingham Fair dates from 1283-4; geese have long ceased to be a specialit)-, however. The profit of goose-keeping lay in the practice of plucking. In the Lincolnshire fens the feathers were the principal object, and it was usual to pluck the birds five times a year, at intervals of six weeks, beginning at Lady-da\'. The value of the ooose feathers was estimated at about a shilling a head per year, and threepence more for the quills, at that time in general demand for pens. 125 The feathers from live geese fetched a better price than those taken from dead birds, and if the process of plucking were done at the right time, when the feathers were "ripe" and came away easily, there was no cruelty in the operation Geese shed their plumage three times a year, and our fathers regarded it as wanton waste to allow the feathers to drop of them- selves. In many parts of France goose-plucking is still practised. Geese were fattened for the market on oats and water, or boiled carrots or potatoes, when special treatment was thought desirable. Fattening geese was a distinct department of the industry ; it was practised by farmers who made a speciality of collecting the birds and feeding them up. The Messrs. Bao-shaw, of Norwich, were well-known in this connection, and they carried on the goose-fattening business for many years. In the early part of the last century, Messrs. Bagshaw used to import great numbers of geese from Ireland and Holland and fatten them for the Michaelmas and Christmas markets. The Dutch geese, so-called, were for the most part brought to Holland from 126 Russia, and were shipped from Rotterdam to Norwich. Mr. R. G. Bagshaw, the present head of the firm, informs me that he used to visit Northern Germany in search of geese, which he purchased from people who trav^elled about the country collecting them. Harwich was the port to which the birds were sent, and the early part of October was the time when the majority arrived. About thirty or forty years ago, Messrs. Bagshaw fattened every year from ten to fifteen thousand geese for Christmas and about 2,000 for Michaelmas. The large "goose clubs," supported by working-men in London, were prominent among their regular customers at that time, but the firm no longer supply these clubs. The demand for geese has fallen off enormously of late years. Vast numbers of geese and turkeys were brought to London from the oreat breeding areas of the Eastern counties. Defoe* says that in one season — August to * Daniel Defoe, who died in 1731, though best known as the author of Robinson Crusoe, was the author of numerous works, among them A Tour through the Island, written in 1722, which contains much information concerning agricuhure and hve- stock. 12/ October — as many as 300 droves of turkeys, each of which might number 500 to 1,000 birds, would pass over Stratford Bridge on their way to London. The geese fed on the stubbles by the way. The Rev. \V. B. Daniel mentions that in 1793 a single drove, numbering over 9,000 geese, passed through Chelmsford. I remember, in the year 1840, once seeing hundreds of droves of turkeys and geese on the old coach road at Bishop Stortford slowly travelling towards London. This was before the Great Eastern Railway was constructed. Each drove numbered about a thousand and was conducted by two men, each of whom carried a long slender pole with a red flag on the top ; with this implement he guided and marshalled the birds on their way. An odd wager made in 1740 in connection with the travelling powers of geese and turkeys is worth recalling. Geese being much the slower walkers. Lord Orford bet the Duke of Oueensberry that a drove of these would reach London from Norwich much sooner than a drove of turkeys which started at the same time. The Duke lost the wao^er. The turkeys, as Lord Orford knew they would, flew up into the trees at dusk to roost, and their drivers found o-reat difficultv in 128 dislodging them to resume the journey. The geese, on the other hand, continued their journey in the dark and arrived at their destination two days before the turkeys. FOWLS Various breeds of fowls were raised. The Dorking and Poland were kept as farm stock, and, in the Midlands, game fowls were held superior to other breeds as egg- producers and for the table. Game fowls, it is hardly necessary to remark, were kept by persons in all ranks of life for cock-fighting. Mrs. Stirling, in an interesting essay contributed to the Nineteenth Century and After (April, 1908), entitled " Fresh Light on Coke of Norfolk," says of life at Holkham : "On days when it was too wet to shoot, cock-fighting took place in the portico, and the guests sat at the large window to watch it." It is only necessary to glance at the old Spoi'ting Magazine to see how large a place cock-fighting held among our ancestors at this time. Game fowls were popularly known as "Shake-bags." This term has reference to a usage of the cockpit. The usual method was to match cock against cock 129 by weight, the birds being carefully weighed that each might be pitted against a foe of equal weight. On occasion it would be arranged that the cocks first taken, or shaken, out of the bags in which they were conveyed to the pit should fight one another. Hence the term " Shake-bag." The writer in the Annals of Agriculture before referred to mentions " the common white — ^that is, large with white legs "^and the Dorking as the two best. Dorkings were in great demand for the London market. They were famous, and the art of fattening them was " a sort of trade or mystery " concerning which the initiated preserved secrecy. North Chappel and Kenford, in Sussex, and Oaking, in Berkshire, were famed as fowl-rearinof centres. Little attention was bestowed on the ordinary fowls of the farmyard ; indeed, an authority of 1781, though he describes them as " a necessary part of the stock of a farm which yield considerable service and profit by their eggs, brood, feathers, dung, &c.," recommends them as being cheap to main- tain, inasmuch as they can support themselves 9 I ;o the greater part of the year and ma)- be kept " near any highway side." In the days when wheat paid the farmer and wool brought a high price, it was not worth his while to spend time and trouble over such a small matter as poultry-keeping. Of late years the demand for poultry and eggs has greatly increased ; and, in spite of the heavy importations of both from foreign countries, farmers and cottagers are devoting much more attention to the rearing of fowls and production of eggs than they did formerly. The increasing importance of the industry induced me to publish a little work on the subject* DUCKS Ducks were regarded as profitable stock by reason of the small amount of care they required, and the eagerness with which they consume harmful grubs, &c. " The best," says our authority in the Annals of A(rriculture, " are the wild breed which is domesticated on many farms, and the largest is the French Rouen Duck." * Poultry Keeping on Farms and Small Holdings. By Sir Walter Gilbey, Bart. (Vinton & Co., 1.906) The practice of rearing ducklings under hens was recommended. The duck was likely to swim three-fourths of a large brood to death, if she were not kept out of the water in a coop ; also, the ducklings were likely to be destroyed by crows if allowed to remain about ponds where there was little cover to conceal them. Dark colour in ducks was held an advant- age, as the ducklings were not so quickly seen by crows, hawks, gleads,* &c. The Aylesbury district, then as now, was famous as a duck-raising centre. The birds, for the most part of the white variety, were reared for the Christmas market. Duck-breeders kept the birds in their cottages to promote the production of eggs. Parkinson says : — " They are commonly admitted into their bedrooms, under the beds, at nioht, and some rest in the kitchen fire corner, by which means they are kept warm. Their food is raw beef or other coarse raw flesh." PIGEONS AND PIGEON HOUSES Pigeons were held of more importance than any other feathered stock, except in * The English glead, gled, or kite has been extinct for many years. those districts where goose-rearing was extensively carried on. One important consideration in keeping pigeons was the original cost of the pigeon- house or cote, which, as usually built, required an outlay of from ^loo to ^150. The interior of the house made it costly, as many thousands of bricks were necessary in fitting shelves with dix'isions, so that each j)air of birds had a separate box for nesting ; in this way the house would accommodate 100 to 200 pairs. Pigeon-houses, on a much larger scale, built in early times, remain to show the importance attached by our ancestors to this stock. The photograph facing this page is that of a double cote at Willington, in Bedford- shire, which was built in the time of Henry VIII (1509- 1547). I am also enabled to give an illustration of the interior of another old dovecote, at Ickwell Priory, in the same county ; this building is six-sided, and, making due allow- ance for the door, the walls provide nesting holes for about 570 pairs of birds. There are several old dovecotes in my own neighbourhood ; all that I have seen are round buildings. INTERIOR OF OLD DOVECOTE, ICKWELL PRIORY. BEDS. Farmers were counselled to ignore the fancy breeds ; the only two varieties that deserved their attention were the " tame breed which lays and sits all the year round, and the common blue flight- breed, much less than the other, which breeds in seasons at seed-time and in harvest." The latter were held preferable where a large number was kept. The young pigeons commanded a ready sale, and the dung collected from the pigeon- house was worth is. 6c/. a bushel. The birds may have done useful service by eating the seeds of injurious weeds, but the unfortunate farmer who had no pigeon-house found the necessary food on his land to feed birds belonging to his neighbours. This was a real hardship in some districts, where one farmer who did not keep pigeons was surrounded on all sides by neighbours who kept large numbers of birds ; but it was one of those evils for which the sufferer had no remedy. The only thing the farmer could do was to begin pigeon-keeping himself, and find consolation in the thought that they obtained their share of his neighbours' crops. 134 Parkinson gives a curious account of the way a flight of pigeons which had deserted their cote was lured home again. He had built a cote at Cleethorpes, in Lincolnshire, and stocked it with four dozen young birds procured from a farmer about six miles away. Following the seller's advice, he kept them shut up and fed them well for 14 days and then gave them liberty. They remained about the place for a time and then disappeared. Having been informed by a rat-catcher in the neio;hbourhood that he knew a method by which pigeons could be induced to return, Parkinson sent for him after the birds had been away about 14 clays, an occasional one having been seen in the interval. The rat-catcher came and, having boiled some ingredients he brought with him, painted the pigeon-house carefully inside and out with the mixture. Parkinson expressing doubt as to the efficacy of tht- plan, the rat-catcher agreed to wait for his pay until the next day, when he maintained the birds would return, and if they did not return to claim no payment. About eleven o'clock next mornincj one pigeon appeared and, after flying round and round at a great height as if fearful of alighting, settled on the cote, cooed, " re- peatedly rubbed its nib where the ingredients ^35 had been applied, and at last flew away. About three o'clock the same clay all my emigrants returned." Parkinson supposed that the birds had been frightened away by the visit of an owl or cat, and, though he could not induce the rat-catcher to disclose the secret of the preparation with which he had painted the house, the smell led him to the conclusion that it contained assafoetida and salt. •Pigeons like the smell of the former and are excessively fond of the latter. The first arrival, carrying the smell of assafoetida on his plumage, might induce the others to return with him. 136 APPENDIX KING GEORGE III The great attention paid to the improvement of live-stock and to the betterment of agriculture which distinguished the period dealt with in the foregoing pages was very largely due to the close interest taken by King George III in all matters relating to the industry. He took an active part in all schemes that promised to benefit agriculturists, and spared no pains to encourage and promote them. His patient, and ultimately successful, endeavour to break down the prejudice which existed against the Merino, alone entitles him to the affectionate nickname "Farmer George " bestowed on him by the country. To the King's personal assistance may be traced the mstitution of the old Board of Agriculture and the institution of many of the Societies which were founded during his reign. Recognition of liis influence is shown by the terms of a letter setting forth " Some Considerations on the Breed and Management of Horses" addressed to him in 1778, in which the following passage occurs : — " The total neglect of all former regulations for the breed, the manifest degeneracy, the abuse and wanton destruction of horses, peculiar to modern times, are evils which affect the dearest interests 137 of your Kingdom, the interests of population, of agriculture, and of commerce. From Your Majesty's paternal interference only can efifectual reformation be expected." In 1787, over the signature of "Ralph Robinson," he addressed to the Annals of Agriculture certain letters on husbandry in which he evinced a thorough knowledge of the management of various soils and exposed some leading errors in the then prevailing system of farming. In 1 791 the King sent a ram from his own lately imported flock of Merinos for the improvement of British wool in Scotland. The animal, which was selected with great care by the King himself, was declared to be the best specimen of the true Spanish breed that the Scottish Society had been able to obtain. The Kmg approved of selling, not giving away, his sheep. " Anyone may take a sheep, if given, and neglect it," said His Majesty, "but nobody will buy one who does not mean to take care of it." * Never- theless, as stated in the text, he did give away many in his endeavours to make the merits of Merinos better known. Some of the finest sheep sent to Smithfield were his property. Though the royal farms were not managed to the best advantage, the larger landed proprietors and others who had command of capital were eager to follow the King's example. The introduction of Merino sheep by the King had shown the capability and utility of the growth of fine wool, and the necessity and benefit of attending to our own native fine-woolled * George III : Court and Family 138 breeds of sheep. The Duke of Bedford at Woburn, Mr. Coke at Holkham, and Mr, Curwen in Cumber- land followed His Majesty's example. In 1807 the Grand Junta presented him with a flock of Merinos numbering 2,000. The sheep, in pile and beauty, were the finest bred in Spain. George III established three farms, each of a different soil and differently managed, at Windsor and Kew, and converted a portion of Riclimond New Park into arable land; he also held, under his own manage- ment, the whole of the Old or Deer Park at Richmond, and farmed land at Mortlake, whereon he erected extensive farm buildings. " The ground, like man," said the King, "was never meant to be idle ; if it does not produce something useful, it will be overrun with weeds."' * Windsor Great Park was not taken into culti\"ation until 1 791, but in 1785 the Little Park was stocked with sheep and cattle, which shared it with the deer and hares. A thousand acres of the lightest part of the Great Park was converted into what is now known as the Norfolk Farm ; while 400 acres of good loamy soil formed the Flemish Farm. Though the remaining 2,400 acres were left in plantation and park, they were soon, from the impro\ements made on them, capable of carrying more stock than the whole had done before, and this without unnecessarily sacrificing a tree. George III understood and loved horses, and was an excellent horseman and whip. When at Windsor, no matter wliat the weather, he generally rode the whole distance between that place and Buckingham Palace. He spent no little time in the royal stables. Oiiartevlv Revieu- 139 " Do you see that horse ?" he once remarked to Lord W'inchelsea. " I have had him twenty years and he is good now. Do you know the secret? I will tell it you. I know his w^orth and treat him accordingly."* George Ill's interest in agriculture increased until the failure of his mental and bodily health. On 29th January, 1S20, he died very quietly in his 82nd year, and was buried at \Mndsor. ROBERT BAKEWELL Robert Bakewell, of The Grange, Dishley, Loughborough, was born in 1726. He served his apprenticeship to farming under his father, whom he succeeded in 1773, but he took a prominent share in the management of the farm for many years before his father's death. The farm at Dishley, in 1770, consisted of 440 acres, of w'hich no were under the plough. The re- mainder was given up to grass, the farm buildings, &c. Bakewell was the first improver of grass-land in the Kingdom by reason of his system of irrigation, which enabled him to cut grass four times a year. The stock on the farm averaged 60 horses, 400 sheep and 150 cattle of all sorts and ages. Visitors to Dishley were always impressed by the scrupulous neatness, order and regularity that prevailed, and by the ingenious devices for saving labour. Bakewell travelled much in England, seeking information about farming methods in various * George III. By B. Willson (1907) 140 districts and picking up useful hints concerning different breeds of stock. He also travelled abroad, and no doubt it was the neatness and cleanliness characteristic of the Dutch farms he visited that strengthened his love for orderly management at Dishley. He maintained that intelligence and care in selection would enable the breeder to get beasts to weigh where you want them to weigh — in the roasting instead of the boiling pieces— and that the shape should give the greatest value in the smallest compass. He scouted the old notion that the blood must be constantly varied by mixing different breeds, and . made it liis principle to breed for small bone. His system was to breed within his own herd and flock, occasionally from closely related animals, and occasionally also from unrelated animals. Bakewell's success, great as it was as a breeder of cattle, was principally in the production of the Dishley or New Leicester sheep. Controversy raged for many years concerning the origin of the " Dishley sheep." Arthur Young and George Culley, who had better opportunities of ascertaining facts than others, agree that Lincoln blood was used, and Bakewell himself told Mr. Chaplin that at one time he had used " old Lincoln rams," by which we may understand Lincolns of the unimproved type. Bakewell's enterprise did not cease with the production of the Dishley or New Leicester. He made further experiments and, by a judicious cross which he never divulged, produced yet another improvement. At his death he left two distinct types of sheep — the Dishley and another distinguished as HI the Improved or New Leicester, the former being renamed the " Dishley or Old Leicester." One of the " sights" at Dishley was the museum, containing skeletons and pickled joints of the best sheep and cattle for comparison of one generation with the next. Mention is made in the text (p. 45) of the fact that Bakewell originated the business of letting rams for the season. In 1760 he let out rams for a few shillings ; ten years later the fee for a season's use ranged up to 25 guineas, and within a few more years Bakewell's income from rams hired out was declared to amount to 3,000 guineas for a season. His famous ram Two Pounder was let for one season for 800 guineas in cash, and a reservation that one-third of the ewes covered should be Bakewell's own, which made the payment equivalent to 1,200 guineas. He established, in 1783, the Dishley Society or Tup Club, in which he was moving spirit. The object of the club was to protect and advance the interests of breeders of improved stock. Bakewell had no secrets about his horses. He used Dutch or Flemish blood to improve the old Black horses of Leicestershire. Others had the same opportunities, but it was reserved for him to turn them to the best account, and in 1785 he had the honour of showing a famous Black horse of his breeding to the King at St. James's. His horses were gentle and willing workers, slow but very powerful. Of Bakewell's pigs little seems to have been recorded. Some have decided them as Berkshires, others as a mixed breed. What is known is that he inbred them very closely and made many experi- ments in fatting. 142 Probably no man in his position ever had the necessity for entertainment more forced upon him. Dishley was the show farm of England at a time when agriculture and stock-breeding were attracting a peculiarly wide measure of attention. In Bakewell's kitchen were entertained Russian princes, French and German royal dukes, British peers and sight-seers of every degree. As he practically kept open house for the countless visitors who came to Dishley, the task of entertaining them must have taxed his resources. Robert Bakewell died, after a tedious illness, on ist October, 1795. He bequeathed his flock and herd, which had never been dispersed, to his nephew, Mr. Honeybourn, who continued to breed at Dishley for some years. GEORGE CULLEY George Culley, born m 1735, devoted himself in early life to agriculture, especially to improving the breed of cattle. He was the earliest pupil of Robert Bakewell, and on leaving Dishley established himself with his brother in Northumberland, where the two did much to improve the local breeds of horses, cattle and sheep. Crowds visited the farm to see the results of their experiments. Culley published many works on stock raising and agriculture. He died at Fowberry Tower, Northumberland, on the 7th May, 181 8. 143 THE DUKE OF BEDFORD Francis Russell, 5th Duke of Bedford, was the son of Francis Russell, Marquis of Tavistock, who was killed by a fall from his horse on 22nd March, 1767. He succeeded his grandfather, John Russell, 4th Duke, in 1771. Devoted to politics in his early manhood, the principal employment of his later years was agriculture. He became a member of the original Board of Agriculture in 1793, and was first President of the Smithfield Club (17th December, 1798). His model farm at Woburn was established with every convenience that could be desired for the breed- ing of cattle and experiments in farming. He made some valuable experiments upon the respective merits of the various breeds of sheep. •' The Sheep-Shearings which he started at Woburn lasted for several days each year, and to these the whole agricultural world was invited. Ploughing and other competitions took place, wool and other products were sold, various exhibits were made, and prizes given. The Duke died, unmarried, at Woburn, 2nd March, 1802, after an operation for strangulated hernia. He was buried at Chenies on loth March, at night. THE EARL OF EGREMONT Sir George O'Brien Wyndham, 3rd Earl of Egremont, was born i8th December, 1751, and suc- ceeded to the peerage at the age of tw^elve, on the Annals of Agricnlture (1795) 144 death of his father. He took little part in politics. In 1793 he was appointed to a seat on the Board of Agriculture. In addition to the Petworth estates and other property in Enj^dand, he succeeded, in 1774, to the Irish property of his uncle, Percy Wyndham O'Brien, Earl of Thomond. For many years a leading figure in London society, he lived almost entirely at Petworth in his later years. Lord Egremont made Petworth House a nursery of art and a college of agriculture. Arthur Young superintended the disafforesting of the great deer park. Lord Egremont was a most successful stock- breeder. He had a fine stud, and his horses won the Derby and Oaks oftener than those of any other owner. It was as a patron of art that he was chiefly remarkable. He was a Vice-President of the British Institution, and was one of the first to appreciate Turner, who had a studio at Petworth. Charles Robert Leslie, Haydon, Constable and Flaxman were also frequently entertained and employed by him. Egremont erected a market cross at Petworth, and built schools there. The road to Horsham was made under his directions. He died, unmarried, at Petworth on nth November, 1837. SIR JOHN SINCLAIR Sir John Sinclair, first President of the old Board of Agriculture, was born loth May, 1754, at Thurso Castle, Caithness. He inherited the extensive family estates in Caithness when only 16 years of age, and at once began improvements, one of which was the 145 rapid construction of a road across the mountain of Cheilt, theretofore considered impassable. In 1780 he became Member for Caithness. In 1782 he obtained a grant of ^15,000 towards the relief of a serious famine in the North of Scotland. In 1784 Sinclair secured the seat for Lostwithiel, in Cornwall. In 1786 he made a tour through the north of Europe, visiting the courts of most of the Northern States, and being received in audience by the King of Sweden, Catherine of Russia, the King of Poland, and the Emperor Joseph. In 17S6 he was made a Baronet, with the almost unique privilege that the patent should include the male descendants of his daughter, should he die without an heir. As President of a Special Committee of the High- land Society, Sinclair investigated the comparative merits of the wool of different breeds of sheep, especially of the Shetland flocks. He inaugurated the British Wool Society at a Sheep-Shearing festival in 1791 at Newhall's Inn, Queensferry. He devoted much time and money to the improve- ment of his estates in Caithness. Land there was still cultivated on the " open-field " system, known in the Highlands as the "rig and rennel " method. He abolished the feudal services which still survived, and introduced an improved method of tillage founded on a regular rotation of crops and the cultivation of turnips, clover and rye-grass. He improved the breeds of live-stock, encouraged sheep-farming, and introduced the Cheviot breed into Caithness. He planted trees, founded the herring- fishery at Wick, and established manufactures in Wick and Thurso. 146 He was largely instrumental in persuading Pitt to establish a Board of Agriculture, of whicli he was appointed President. The idea of a Board did not originate with Sir John, but his importunity forced the step on the Government. In 1794 Sinclair raised a regiment of Fencibles, 600 strong, of which he was appointed Colonel. Subsequently he raised another regiment of 1,000 men, for service in Ireland. His relations with Pitt becoming strained for a second time, at the annual election of the President of the Board of Agriculture, in 1798 Pitt set up in opposition Lord Somerville, who was elected by a majority of one. Sinclair's schemes had seriously embarrassed the Board during his five years' Presidency, and he left it in debt. In 1S06 he resumed the office of President, and held it until 1813. In 1810 he became a Member of the Privy Council, and a few months later received the appointment of Commissioner of Excise, a valuable sinecure. Acceptance of this office obliged him to resign his seat, after 30 years in the House. Two years later he retired from the Presidency of the Board of Agriculture, and withdrew into private life, residing chiefly in Edinburgh. He died 2rst December, 1835. Sir John Sinclair married first, in 1776, Sarah, daughter of Alexander Maitland, who died in 1785, and, in 1788, Diana, daughter of Lord Macdonald, by whom he had a numerous family. 147 THOMAS COKE, EARL OF LEICESTER Thomas William Coke, of Holkham, Earl of Leicester, was the eldest son of Robert Wenman, who took the name of Coke on succeeding to the estate of his maternal uncle, Thomas Coke. He was born 4th May, 1752. He entered Parliament, very unwillingly, in 1776, as Member for Norfolk, in succession to his father, and sat until 1782. Re-elected in 1790, he held his seat till 1806. In 1807 he was elected for the Borough of Derby and afterwards again sat for Norfolk. He refused a peerage, but accepted it in 1837, when he was created Earl of Leicester and Viscount Coke. In 1776, when he came into his estates, the whole district round Holkham was unenclosed and agricul- ture was at a very low ebb. The sheep were the old Norfolk breed, and, with the exception of a few milch cows, there were no cattle on the farms. The refusal of a tenant to accept renewal of his lease at a rent of five shillings an acre originated the improvements which made the estate famous. Coke determined to farm the land himself, but, being ignorant of farm management, he collected a number of practical men and entrusted the work to them. He made it an object-lesson, annually inviting the neighbouring farmers to examine the farm and discuss its manage- ment. These meetings gradually developed into the celebrated Holkham Sheep-Shearings, the last of which was held in 1821. By an improved course of cropping, by the applica- tion of marl, not least by a change of live-stock, the land became so much improved that, in 1787, wheat 148 was sown on it for the first time. The farmers were slow to follow Coke's example ; but at last he was able to boast truthfully that he had converted West Norfolk from a rye-growing to a wheat -producing district. After experimenting with Dishley sheep and Merinos, Coke adopted Southdowns, which proved most suitable for the pasture. With respect to cattle, he finally bred only Devons. He greatly improved the Suffolk breed of pigs by crossing them with the Neapolitan, thereby obtaining superior meat. It is said that the rental of his Holkham estate rose from £^2,200, to above /^2o,ooo under his manage- ment, the annual fall of timber and underwood averaging about ^2,700. He spent over ;^i 00,000 on farmhouses and out-buildings. On the death of the 5th Duke of Bedford, Coke became the chief agriculturist in the country. Coke was a keen sportsman and one of the boldest riders and best shots in England. He married twice. He died at Longford Hall, Derbyshire, on 30th June, 1842, in his 91st year. ARTHUR YOUNG Arthur Young, son of the Rev. Arthur Young, Rector of Bradfield, Suffolk, was born at Whitehall on nth September, 1741. In 1758 he left school at Lavenham and was apprenticed to Messrs. Robinson, of Lynn, witli a view to entering ^lessrs. Tomlinson's counting-house. At Lynn he compiled political pamphlets, beginning in 1758 with The Theatre of the 149 present War in North America, for which he received £io in books. He also wrote four novels. In 1759 his father died, much in debt, and Arthur Young left Lynn "without education, profession, or employment.'' The death of ]\Ir. Tomlinson upset his scheme of a mercantile career, and, in 1761, he went to London, and started, at his own expense, and conducted for five months, a monthly magazine, The Universal Museiun. Returning to Bradfield, he took a farm of 80 acres, belonging to his mother, and farmed it from 1763 to 1766. In 1765 he married Martha Allen, of Lynn — an unhappy marriage from the outset. In 1766 he took a farm of 300 acres in Essex, tried experiments, lost money, and paid ^100 to a farmer to take it off his hands. His successor is said to have made a fortune out of the place. Having advertised for new farms, he made a tour of inspection of the places offered, and published his notes as A Six Week's Tour through the Southern Counties of England and Wales (1768). In this book, for the first time, the facts and principles of Norfolk husbandry were discussed in print. He then took a farm of 100 acres at North Minims, Hertfordshire, which was, he says, not merely sterile land, but " hungry vitriolic gravel." In 1769 he published Letters concerning the Present State of the French Nation, Essay on the Management of Hogs, a.nd,m 1770, The Expediency of a Free Importation of Corn at this Time, which was warmly praised by the King. His bookseller and his friends called for more tours. In 1770 appeared A Six Months' Tour through the North of England ; in 177 1, The Farmer's Tour through I50 the East of England, The Farmer's Calendar, of which Dr. Paris mentions ten editions, and Proposals for Numbering the People — a. suggest\ox\ eventually adopted in 1 80 1. In 1772 he published Political Essays concerning the Present State of the British Empire. At this time his circumstances were so straitened that he seriously thought of going to America. In 1773 he undertook to report the Parliamentary Debates for the Morning Post at five guineas a week, walking home — 17 miles — to North Minns every Saturday and back on Monday. In 1773 he wrote Observations on the Present State of the Waste-Lands of Great Britain, and, in 1774, Political Arithmetic. In 1776 he w^ent to Ireland, but, unfortunately, the journal of his tour, with specimens of soils and minerals which he had collected, was stolen from him. From 1777 till 1779 he was Lord Kingsborough's agent in Co. Cork ; when he resigned the post he again took a farm near his home. In 1780 he published his Tour in Ireland, in which he attacked the bounty on land carriage of corn to Dublin, with the result that the bounty was reduced by half in the next Session of Parliament. In 1784 he commenced his celebrated Annals of Agriculture. Forty-six volumes appeared continuously, and among other contributors were George III (who wrote under the name of his Windsor shepherd, Ralph Robinson), Lord Orford, Mr. Coke of Holkham, and Lord Bristol. In 1785 Young's mother died and Bradfield became his property. From INIay to November, 1787, he toured in France. In 1788 he was deputed by the wool growers of Suffolk to support a petition against the Wool Bill, and was examined at the Bar of both Houses. He published two pamphlets on the subject, The Question of Wool Truly Stated. In July, 17S8, Young set out on his second French journey. After travelling 100 miles, his mare became blind, but he continued to ride her and returned to Bradfield in October, after an extended journey. He brought chicory seed from Lyons, and ultimately grew over 100 acres of it at Bradfield. In 1789 he made his last French journey, and in October, 1792, published his Travels in France during the Years 1787, 1788 and 1789. In May, 1792, Young proposed "to arm the men of the Kingdom in a sort of Horse Militia." He himself joined a Yeomanry Corps at Bury. Young now bought 4,400 acres of Yorkshire moor, but sold it almost immediately, on being appointed Secretary to the Board of Agriculture. He complained much of Sir John Sinclair, President of the Board, and of his appointment of incompetent persons to write the reports in several counties. The death of his favourite daughter in 1797 greatly affected him. In 181 1 he underwent an operation for cataract, but a week later ncAvs of the Duke of Grafton's death moved him to tears, and this destroyed all hope of recovering his sight. He died at his official residence in Sackville Street on the 2oth April, 1820, and was buried at Bradfield. His family became extinct on the death of his grandson in 1896, 152 LORD SOMERVILLE John Southey, 15th Lord Somerville, was born at Fitzhead Court, near Taunton, on 21st September, 1765. He succeeded to the title and estates on the death of his father's elder brother in 1796; was elected a representative Peer of Scotland in the House of Lords, and was re-elected to the Parliaments of 1802 and 1806. In 1793 he was appointed an orij^inal Member of the Board of Agriculture, and in 1798 was elected its President. During his two years of office he reduced the expenses of the Board within the limit of the Parliamentary grant, and curbed the extravagance which had involved it in difficulties. Next to George HI, who introduced IMerino sheep into England, he became the largest breeder and owner of Merinos in the country. Two hundred of his sheep sold for ;^io,ooo. In 1802 he visited Spain, where he bought a valuable flock of pure Merinos ; during his stay he acquired a thorough knowledge of the Spanish system of their management. He not only devoted much time and attention to improving sheep-breeding generally, but also invented several useful agricultural implements. In 1802 he started, in London, an annual show of cattle, sheep, and pigs, &c., for which he provided the prizes. He was a constant attendant at the Sheep- Sheerings at Holkham and Woburn. He died of dysentery at Vevay, in Switzerland, on the 5th October, 1819. He was buried at Aston- Somerville. 153 SIR JOSEPH BANKS Sir Joseph Banks was born on the 13th February, 1743(4). His father died in 1761, leaving him an ample fortune and estate at Revesby, Lincolnshire. In jNIay, 1766, Banks was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, and during that summer went to Newfoundland to make a collection of plants. After his return he made the acquaintance of Dr. Daniel Solander, a favourite pupil of Linnaeus and an Assistant Librarian at the British Museum. Solander was his companion on his tour round the world, and later became his Librarian. Banks accompanied Cook's expedition in the " Endeavour," which, leaving England in August, 1768, visited South America, Tahiti, New Zealand, Australia, New Guinea, Batavia, the Cape of Good Hope and St. Helena, and reached England again in June, 1771. In November, 1778, he became President of the Royal Society, and held the position until his death. His determination to reform certain abuses led to some discontent, and a few members left the Society. In 1802 he was chosen a member of the National Institute of France. He died at Isleworth on the igth June, 1820. The writings of Sir Joseph Banks are comparatively insignificant. On the death of Dr. Solander he seems to have given up all idea of publishing the account of his travels and collections. The MSS. are pre- served in the Botanical Department of the British ^Museum. II 154 WILLIAM MARSHALL William Marshall was baptised on 28th July, 1745, at Sinnington, Yorkshire. In 1774 he undertook the management of a 300 acre farm near Croydon, where, in 1778, he wrote his first work, Minutes of AgriculUire made oti a Farm of 300 Acres of Various Soils, near Croydon. In 1779 he published Experiments and Odserz'ations concerning Agriculture and the Weather. In 1780 he was appointed agent on the Norfolk estate of Sir Harbord Harbord. In 1783 he contributed to the Philosophical Trans actiofis an account of the " Black Canker Caterpillar which destroys the Turnips in Norfolk." He left Norfolk in 1784 and settled at Stafford. H\s Arboretutn Ainericattum, ?in alphabetical catalogue of American Forest Trees and Shrubs, appeared in 1785. From 1786 to 1808 he lived in Clement's Inn, London, during the winter, travelling in the country during the summer. His chief publication was A General Survey, from Personal Experience, Observation, and Enquiry, of the Rural Ecotiomy of England. In his Pural Economy of the Midland Counties he proposed the establishment of a Board of Agriculture. His proposal received effect in 1793. In 1808 he bought a large estate in his native place, Cleveland, Yorkshire, and retired thither. His latter years were devoted to compiling A Review and Complete Abstract of the Reports of the Board of Agriculture on the Several Counties of England. In 1779 he published Proposals for a Rural Institute or College of Agriculture, and was building such an institute at Pickering when he died, on i8th September, 1818.