:THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



S5 



we have fresh men, both as breeders and feeders, com- 

 peting successfully against others that but a few sea- 

 sons since were held to be almost invincible. Nobody 

 will say but that this is all in favour of that great ob- 

 ject the Club has set itself to achieve. At the same 

 time the lesson has been thoroughly learnt. Although 

 we have new men with good animals, we have none 

 such witli bad or indifferent. They liave taken careful 

 observation of the place before they have ventured to 

 enter it. There was a time when you could the more 

 read'ly apireciate the superiority of a prize animal 

 from the comparison with those which stood beside 

 him. By this we have no such marked difference. 

 The labours of the judges are yearly becoming more 

 difficult and trying ; and many a one of us, who bow.s 

 at once to their decree, would be likely enough, and 

 with very good showing, to make another choice for 

 himself. The placing of the same animals in Bingley 

 Hall and Baker-street was often at direct vai'iance. 

 Animals passed over one week were the selected of the 

 next, and vice versa. In a word, they were nearly 

 all prize beasts. 



As we give in another place a full report on 

 the merits of the several classes, we need not repeat 

 ourselves here. There are one or two especial points, 

 however, that we may touch on. The first of these 

 relates to unquestionably the best animal in the 

 show-yard — Colonel Towneley's short-horn. It 

 now turns out that this cow is not, as was 

 supposed, intended for the butcher j but is to be still 

 kept on for breeding. She is, in fact, declared to be 

 in-calf. This announcement has caused considerable 

 discussion during the week. Many contend that such 

 a proceeding is in direct contradiction to the prin- 

 ciple of a Society that annually offers a premium to the 

 butcher who purchases to the largest extent in the yard. 

 Others, again, maintain it to be a triumphant vindica- 

 tion of the Towneley theory, that, let stock be ever so 

 fat, if they be only of the ri^ht sort, they will still 

 breed. As a rule, though, we imagine that it would be 

 rather dangerous to adopt a practice that goes to say the 

 best way to prepare an animal for breeding is to feed her 

 up for a fat show. In verity, if this contmues, the line be- 

 tween the show of " the Royal" and that of the Club will 

 be a distinction without a difference. But the matter 

 is not to rest here. Mr. Badham, of Suffolk, has de- 

 clared his intention of moving, at the next Meeting of 

 the Members of the Smithfield Club, that heifers or 

 cows in-calf be not allowed to enter at the Christmas 

 Fat Show ; but that spaj ed heifers and martins be ad- 

 missible. At present it seems, that the two latter 

 are excluded. Another mooted question was that 

 touching Mr. Heath's polled Scot, which was dis- 

 qualified at Poissy as being a cross, and not a pure- 

 bred animal. With praiseworthy resolution to have 

 the charge thoroughly sifted, Mr, Heath reserved 

 the animal for this Meeting, where lie takes 

 the first premium of his class against a well- 

 known Scotch exhibitor. Surely this should settle 

 the case. If Mr. Heath has fairly won at Smith- 

 field, he is as clearly entitled to his place at Poissy. 

 But he goes further than this. He has challenged 

 his opponents to the proof, yea or nay ; and none is 

 forthcoming I During the week his friends have circu- 

 lated a pamphlet containing the particulars and 

 correspondence, which is unmistakeably all one 

 way. A number of breeders and experienced 

 judges have also signed a paper declaring that 

 the beast looks like a pure Scot, Of itself 

 however, this goes for little or nothing. An animal 

 may to all appearance look thorough-bred, without 

 actually being so. Some of the seemingly best Short- 

 horns at Birmingham last week were prevented from 



competing because their pedigrees could not be proved. 

 We think, indeed, that Mr. Heath has clearly won his 

 cause without the aid of such evidence as this. At the 

 same time it is only right to say that the Editor of the 

 North British Agriculturist, in his paper of this 

 week, calls the Times to account for even now record- 

 ing the beast as a pure Scot; and declares "the Jury 

 at Poissy were furnislied with documents wiiich proved 

 that the sire *of the ox was a Shorthorn, and the dam 

 a polled cow." 



Turning for a moment from the Stock Show below to 

 the Implement Gallery above, we find at once that the 

 crowd is worse than ever. It is almost a question 

 whether, with the present limited accommodation, agri- 

 cultural machinery can still hold its place here. 

 Despite a higher charge for less space, the entries both 

 of stands and wares" appear, naturally enough, to 

 increase. The different articles were positively piled 

 up one on the other, and a purchaser might quite as 

 well buy from hearsay as fi-om what he could see or 

 test under such circumstances. Generally business was 

 complained of as not being so good, although one or 

 two prize firms of the present year drove a very thriv- 

 ing trade. 



The week, as we anticipated, was altogether a busy 

 one ; and we must hasten to take a brief review of a 

 few of the more important events to be chronicled in 

 its history. The Monday was signalized by the jtre- 

 sentation of THE Nesbit Testimonial, which, with 

 the discussion of the evening, brought together a very 

 large audience at the Farmers' Club. The amount 

 subscribed approached very closely on the handsome 

 sum of three hundred pounds, which was expended in 

 a service of plate, with the appropriate addition of a 

 valuable microscope. Mr. Nesbit subsequently lectured 

 on "the mechanical and chemical principles which 

 should properly regulate the practice of drainage ;" the 

 discussion quickly resolving itself into the comparative 

 merits of deep or shallow. The turn appeared to be for 

 some time all in favour of the latter, though a few 

 good men came to the rescue of the four- feet system 

 before the debate concluded. The resolution went to 

 declare that much might be said on both sides; and, 

 more definitely, that depth alone would never control 

 width. 



A full report of the Farmers' Club dinner will be 

 found further on. It was satisfactory to see from the 

 Report circulated that the Club never stood so well either 

 in strength, funds, or influence. The Smithfield Club 

 Dinner, of the day following, is also given. We never re- 

 member one so well attended ; and if the members and 

 their secretary, Mr. Gibbs, will only continue to break 

 out a little beyond their conventional course, as suc- 

 cessful a meeting may be annually ensured. What is 

 chiefly t > be feared is the stereotyped answer that " we 

 have never done this or that before." In the unavoid- 

 able absence of the Duke of Richmond, Lord Berners 

 took the chair, with every right, not merely from his 

 own tastes and success in the pursuit, but as the Presi- 

 dent of the Royal Agricultural Society. 



In this capacity his Lordship also presided at the Gene- 

 ral Annual Meeting in Hanover-square, on the Friday. 

 This was the first year of bringing forward the meeting 

 a day earlier in the week, and the experiment may be 

 recorded as a successful one. The attendance was 

 far better than usual. A lengthy discussion fol- 

 lowed the reading of the report, during which 

 another effort was made by a few malcontents 

 to put the Society and its management in as bad a 

 a light as possible. The number of members were de- 

 clinhig— the accounts were badly kept— the country 

 meetings did little good— and so forth. It turns out 

 that the Council, in the exercise of the soundest j udg- 



