436 The Country Geiitlcmaiis Magadne 



symmetry, I am learning something new the Queen of England, attracted by the fame 

 every other day." Just so ; and if he had of his wonderful herds, and his well-earned 



acted otherwise — if he had rested satisfied 

 with first-formed, and, therefore, often hastily- 

 formed opinions — he would never have been 



reputation as a producer of that which 

 maketh the heart of every Englishman glad, 

 and his face to shine — " the roast-beef of 



heard of, nor would he ever have had the old England." 

 honour of entertaining at his hospitable board 



PORTRAITS OF DOMESTICATED CATTLE. 



NO. 2. — " BOLIVAR, A SHORTHORNED BULL. 



WE have great pleasure in giving a 

 portrait of Bolivar, which may 

 justly be considered the crack shorthorn 

 bull of this season. He was bred by Mr 

 Joseph Meadows, Thornville, Wexford, and 

 his first appearance in public was made at the 

 last Spring Show of the Royal Dublin Society, 

 which was held this year during the second 

 week after Easter. He was at that time just 

 a year old, but possessed great substance for 

 his age. On that occasion he won the first 

 prize in the yearling bull class, in which there 

 were no less than 108 animals of the same 

 age entered, many of them being of a very 

 good description. The Towneley, or Irish 

 Fanners' Gazette Plate, value ^^105, was also 

 awarded at that time to Bolivar, as the best 

 of all the prize animals of any age, sex, or 

 breed in the cattle sections exhibited at the show. 

 His next appearance was at the Leicester 

 Show of the Royal Agricultural Society of 

 England, held last July— Mr Meadows thus 

 being the first Irish breeder of shorthorns 

 who has competed on English ground. It 

 may appear strange why Irish breeders have 

 been hitherto averse to show in England, 

 knowing the high character of the shorthorns 

 possessed by many of them ; and some may 

 perhaps be inclined to attribute their seeming 

 unwillingness to that bashfulness which is the 

 national characteristic of Irishmen ; but the 

 fact is, they train for their great Easter Show, 

 and as, for the most part, they either sell or 

 hire at that time, it is rarely the case that any 

 of their crack bulls are in a fit state for bring- 



ing out three months later at a Royal Show 

 in July. Their bulls are at work, and hence it 

 is that the shorthorn classes of the Irish Royal 

 Autumn Shows fall generally so far short of 

 the display in Dublin at the April Spring 

 meetings. 



At Leicester, Bolivar sustained his early 

 honours, having been put first in the yearling 

 bull class, which numbered twenty-three 

 entries, being a very superior class, and the 

 propriety of the award was universally allowed, 

 not a few going even the length of saying he 

 was the best animal in the yard. 



Bolivar was not exhibited at the Yorkshire 

 meeting, but Mr Brierly, Rhodes House, 

 Lancashire, who had purchased him soon 

 after the Leicester show, for 300 guineas, 

 brought him out at the show of the Keigh- 

 ley Society, August 21, where, amongst 

 other first class bulls, he had to compete 

 against Mr Jonathan Peel's Knight of Knowl- 

 mere, a bull which is nearly five years old, 

 and which had been second in the aged class 

 at Leicester, to Mr Booth's Commander-in- 

 Chief, beating Commander-in-Chief, however, 

 when shewn subsequently at the Wetherby 

 meeting of the Yorkshire Society. Our re- 

 porter of the Keighley Show stated that " the 

 fight was evidently between Mr Brierly's bull 

 and Mr Peel's, but it was neither a very long 

 one, nor a very severe one. After a fair 

 allowance of time for inspection by the judges, 

 the roan received the card, and Bolivar was 

 thus declared to be better than the bull that 

 beat Commander-in-Chief at Wetherby." 



