u 



THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



Class VIII.— Potatoes. 



First prize, 562 2s , Lord Leigh, Stoueleigh. 



Second, £l Is., Mr. James Howard, Tarleton, Chorley, Lan- 

 cashire. 



The Judges for Poultry weie: 



Mr. George James Andrews, Dorchester. 



Mr. John Baily, Mount-street, Grosvenor-square, Lcndon. 



Mr. Thos. Challoner, Burnt Leys, Whitwell, near Worksop. 



Mr. Edward Hewitt, Eden Cottage, Sparkbrook, near Bir- 

 mingham. 



The Rev. Robert Pulleine, the Rectory, Kirby Wiske, near 

 Tbirsk. 



For Pigeons. 



Mr. T. J. Cottle, Pulteuey-villa, Cheltenham. 



Mr. Edward Hale, Handsworth. 



Referee for the Ages of Pigs. 

 Profegsor Simonds, Royal Veterinary College, London. 



Veterinary Inspector anh General Referee, 

 Mr, R. L. Hunt, Caunon-street, Birmingham. 



The Birmingham exhibitiou has grown into such im- 

 portance in nine years, that it deserves even an ad- 

 ditional notice beyond that embraced in our regular 

 report of the Meeting-. 



In the first place, what a magnificent building for 

 the purpose is that Bingley-hall : with ample room and 

 every convenience of arrangement, and even with ele- 

 gance in the construction of the roof and the array of 

 pillars, in the ornamentation and blazing chandeliers ! 

 And this year how comfortably have the enlarged num- 

 bers of stock and poultry been accommodated, by dis- 

 tributing the stalls of roots and seedsmen's specimens 

 throughout various parts of the great area ! "Would 

 that a similarly covered space existed in the metropolis ! 

 It would be most valuable and useful during other 

 months than December. Cannot a site be found ? 

 where is the spirit to begin; and who will find the 

 bricks and timber ? Does the Smithfield Club answer 

 best to a coaxing, or a roasting? Or is it quite bnld 

 enough to venture on such a spec, (after the example 

 of young Birmingham) were it only a little more 

 liberally fed with funds ? 



Look at the show in Bingley Hall : we had 36 

 classes of stock — including 135 entries of cattle, against 

 109 last year; 53 of sheep, against 46 last year ; and 

 103 of pigs, against 101 last year. There were 8 

 classes of roots — comprising >80 entries, against 119 

 last year : 69 classes of fowls, ducks, geese, and turkeys, 

 with 1,498 pens of birds, against 1,416 last year. 

 Six hundred exhibitors this year — an increase of 4C 

 over last time — contributed toward the excellence of 

 the show ; and while wo had the presence of the very 

 highest class of fat stock and unsurpassed poultry, it is 

 remarkable that so many of the honours were carried 

 off by new competitors, or else by those previously low 

 in the scale : an evidence this of the extension of first- 

 class breeding and feeding; while the old standard 

 prizemen keep up their pace of improvement. 



In examining the different classes, we did not forget 

 how good the Herefords were last year; what a greatly 

 improved, and indeed unsurpassed show of Devons we 

 had; while the Shorthorns, asa whole, were not so grand 

 as on some other occasions. Yet, as a testimony to 

 individual merit in different breeds, it should be 

 remembered that, while the Shorthorn gained the gold 

 medal, the Hereford and Devon prize steers were also 

 the judge's candidates for it. Last year one gold medal 

 went to Mr. Strattou's Shorthorn ox, and the other to 

 Mr. Pitt's Hereford heifer ; and this time Mr. Shaw's 

 Hereford ox and Colonel Towncley's Shorthorn cow are 



similarly victorious. But, beside these gold medals, 

 singling out the best ox or steer and the best cow or 

 heifer "of any breed or age" (that is, the best in the 

 Show), just as at Baker-street, a competition is also 

 established between animals of the same breed, but 

 of course of different sex — "extra prizes" being 

 awarded to the best Hereford, the best Short- 

 horn, and best Devon ; that is, to the most me- 

 ritorious animal in each breed, no matter whether 

 it be aged or young ox, steer, cow, or heifer. And this 

 year Lord Ward (the President) has given a piece of 

 ornamental plate for the best ox or steer of any breed 

 or age, "bred, as well as fed, by the exhibitor ;" be- 

 sides which, there is a sweepstakes in the Hereford, 

 Shorthorn, and Devon classes for the breeders who are 

 also the feeders and exhibitors. "Would not some new 

 honours of this kind be advisable in the next Smithfield 

 Club prize sheet? 



We shall not enter, in this place, into any criticism 

 of the various classes ; but what a magnificent cow is 

 that of Colonel Towneley ! her breadth and depth are 

 wonderful ! her back, chine, and rump splendid. How 

 compact she is — how level ! and what a rare touch she 

 has ! Her girth is 8 feet 6 inches ; and Mr. Swinner- 

 ton's second-prize cow, one year and five months 

 older, girths just the same. The small Devons took 

 the palm away from the large animals, as witness the 

 first-prize ox, which girths 7 feet 9 inches ; while the 

 second-prize one girths 8 feet 1 inch, having a much 

 deeper chest and a lai-ger frame. 



It was gratifying to find the Shropshire Down sheep 

 come up in such force. This breed is first rising in 

 fame, in spite of their alleged special liability to foot- 

 halt. Originally descended from a hardy mountain 

 breed, and inheriting an excellent constitution, they 

 are not only enabled to thrive on exposed moorlands, 

 but on better pastures evince an unsurpassed rapidity 

 of growth and a tendency to a heavy weight at an 

 early age. In frame and symmetry they have been so 

 improved as to be noted for deep chests, famous legs 

 of mutton, and fine dark-brown heads; while their wool 

 is of the first-class for its thick pile and length of staple. 

 And equally pleasing was it to see such a splendid show 

 of cross-brtd sheep ; Mr. Keep's beautiful and indeed 

 wonderfully-fed wethers proving the .value of the 

 cross between Cotswold and Southdown. It should bo 

 noticed that this breeder's first-prize older sheep com- 

 peted closely with his shearlings for the silver medal, 

 the latter taking the honour principally on account of 

 their age. 



We were glad to see that the veterinary inspectors 

 were unflinching in the discharge of their duties in the 

 pig classes. In one class we saw a pen of most beau- 

 tiful pigs, which would undoubtedly have gained tiie 

 prize had they not been disqualified because "the 

 state of their dentition" indicated that their age ex- 

 ceeds that stated in the exhibitor's certificate. 



It is impossible to estimate too highly the value of 

 the Birmingham Poultry Show, standing, as it does, 

 alone and above all others; for even at the Crystal 

 Palace Show, it must be remembered that the birds 

 are not exhibited in all the glory of their winter 

 plumage, as they are here ; and besides, this year's 

 chickens have time to develope themselves before the 

 show. Bingley Hall is the best possible guide for 

 poultry keepers; as the fowls, are all classified, their 

 points of excellence or demerit reduced to a system, 

 and their individual deserts determined by the men 

 who best understand them. And the public are not 

 simply taught which are the most profitable breed for 

 difierent districts or purposes ; but they are instructed 

 in the more minute characteristics of each variety 

 a'ul in all the abstruFe rxcellonci'S of a perfect speci- 



