30 



THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE, 



birds. Asa gathering of stock, again, the weak places 

 have been gradually filled up, more particularly within 

 the last year or two ; since care has been taken to a^ oid 

 any further collision with the Smithfield week. The 

 Birmingham Meeting has still i(s own especial features 

 in full force— its Herefords and Long-horn cattle, 

 Shropshire sheep, and Tamworth pigs. But it has, with 

 these, other sorts as well represented ; and is, indeed, a 

 Midland Counties Show no longer. You may look to 

 the best of their breeds here almost as certainly as you 

 would in London; and we shall be by no means sur- 

 prised to see the Gold Medal beasts of Bingley Hall 

 equally distinguished this week in Baker-street. 



It will be rather strange if they are not. Mr. Shaw's 

 Hereford ox and Colonel Towneley's shorthorn cow 

 are two as fine specimens of their several breeds as were 

 almost ever seen. Were it not for a little dip in the 

 back of the ox, or had the cow only a rather better 

 head, either might have been passed as perfect. Mr. 

 Shaw's beast is a magnifieent animal, of immense 

 length and depth, with all the good points of the 

 Hereford beautiiully developed. There was no mistake 

 about his claim to the Gold Medal ; while it is apleasure 

 to see this carried off by a new man. Beyond the local 

 shows of his neighbourhood, or as the exhibitor of a 

 few good sheep at this show, Mr. Shaw's name is not a 

 familiar one in the catalogue; and the only previous 

 occasion, we hear, on which this ox had been shown, 

 was at Rugby within the last fortnight, where of course 

 he was also placed (he first of his class. Colonel 

 Towneley, the owner of the Gold Medal cow, is far more 

 generally known as a successful exhibitor, and this cow 

 herself has some fame in our shnw-yards. She is, 

 moreover, not only one of the best looking, 

 but one of the best bred of her kind. As 

 recently as the end of last July " Victoria" — for 

 so is she called — was declared to be the best 

 Shorthorn cow at the Salisbury Great National Meet- 

 ing. She was also the best of her year at Chelmsford 

 in 1856. She is of Ciipital proportions, roomy, and of 

 excellent quality. She is just four years old, and 

 has had one calf. The first prize breeding boar 

 at Salisbury was the first-prize fat jDig at Birming- 

 ham. So that, in point of fact, the breeding stock 

 show of the Royal Agricultural Society is becoming 

 a mere " feeder" to our fat cattle shows of a few weeks 

 on. You are told to admire a magnificent beast or a 

 good pig, and think to yourself how much such ani- 

 mals will do, now their merits are known, to improve 

 our breeds. Most impotent conclusion ! By Christmas- 

 day they will be selling as beef and bacon. 



There is another bad habit creeping into these meet- 

 ings, that may be very appropriately noticed here. 

 For the last few seasons the entry of Devon cattle has 

 been gradually getting better and better at the Midland 

 Counties anniversaries. This year the improvement 

 is very marked. Lord Leicester takes the two prizes 

 for the oxen or steers, with a pair of his own breeding. 

 The first prize is one of the most evenly-fed oxen ever 

 seen, and both are admirable specimens of that multum 

 in parvo capability (of packing a great deal of meat in 

 a small compass) that so signally di^tinguishes the 

 Devons. Mr. Heath supports his Lordship with 

 another brace of very beautiful beasts, both highly 

 commended ; and then we come to a third, also highly 

 commended. This turns out to be nothing more or less 

 than the Gold Medal Smithfield Club ox of last Christ- 

 mas, then the property of Mr. Heath, but now standing 

 in the name of Mr. Passmore. So that this ox was fed 

 for the meeting in December, then kept on for the Poissy 

 Show in the spring, and now made up again for an- 

 other Christmas ! He is getting on for six years old, 

 and has not improved in any way since last year. This 



is hardly an illustration of early maturity, but is more 

 like keeping a plater to run on, as long as his legs will 

 carry him. We did not notice that those of Mr. Potter's 

 beast were failing him, so that most likely we shall 

 meet him about for some seasons to come, By all 

 means let young animals be kept on to show how they 

 will develop ; but really, re-feeding or fattening an 

 animal over four or five years old sounds like an ab- 

 surdity. The first prize Hereford steer, for example, 

 a wonderful animal for his age, of great width and 

 weight, should be kept on another year, as most 

 probably he will be. By that time he promises to be 

 quite as good a beast as that of Mr. Shaw. 



The show of Herefords was right through, eows, 

 heifers, and all, a very capital one. We seldom 

 remember a better class of cows, and the first and 

 second prizes, of very even merit, had all the fine points 

 of the sort. When well-fed there is perhaps no so telling 

 a looking beast as the Hereford. The very way in 

 which they are marked gives them a favourable appear- 

 ance. By-the-bye, is there such a thing as a white 

 Hereford? There was one entered and shown as such, 

 though we rather question whether, if he " claimed 

 kindred here," he would " have that claim allowed." 



The Society is, notwithstanding, very strict in its 

 regulations on matters of purity. Some very good- 

 looking Shorthorns, including the prize one of Lord 

 Lichfield, had to be entered in the extra classes from 

 the want of pedigree, or of some such proof of their 

 descent. On the other hand, there were some leggy, 

 patchy beasts in the classes proper, that in these times 

 we should have scarcely thought worth sending. In 

 fact, the Shorthorn oxen and steers were all below the 

 mark ; while the cows were as good as the others 

 were bad. Of seventeen Shorthorn cows and heifers 

 exhibited, sixteen had either premiums or commenda- 

 tions. The judges, to be sure, were very liberal in this 

 respect, and commended occasionally where they had 

 better, perhaps, have not left their sign. But this was 

 not the case with the Shorthorn cows, all of which 

 fairly merited the compliment. Indeed the cows were 

 all good, the Devons being another excellent class, 

 with the Prince Consort's heifer as the pick from 

 amongst them. She is a most beautiful creature, and 

 does equal credit to the Prince as her feeder, and to 

 Mr. Hole, of Dunster, as her breeder. 



The excellencies of the Longhorn are certainly not 

 seen in a show-yard. The Highlanders and Welsh 

 cattle — both famous eating — were short in entries, and 

 no-ways so good as we have seen them ; while the most 

 interesting cross was one exhibited by his Grace the 

 Duke of Beaufort, who seems fond of experiments. 

 This was between a West Highlander and a Devon, in 

 which some of the points of either were well preserved. 

 It is satisfactory to see that the Longhorn is being fast 

 crossed into a Shorthorn. 



The sheep show at Birmingham is seldom, at least in 

 point of numbers, a very great one. Two or three of 

 our favourite sorts are generally in the hands of two or 

 three as well-known breeders. As, for instance, Mr. 

 Foljambe and Lord Exeter enter from their Leicester 

 flocks, and Lord Walsingham from his Southdowns. 

 This season Mr. Foljambe takes every premium 

 awarded for the Longwools, and his Lordship is nearly 

 as successful as he was last Christmas with his Downs. 

 But within a very few years Lord Walsingham has 

 made extraordinary progress with his sheep, and they 

 have now quite a eharacterof their own — beautiful heads, 

 straight backs, and great width behind the shoulder. 

 So generally good, indeed, are they, that it was again 

 difficult to pick out the best of the lot, many going to 

 a merely commended pen for him. The Cots- 

 wolda do not abound here, but their cross with 



