THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



103 



Aubrac and the Landaise, present some distinct cha- 

 racteristics, no doubt from the peculiarity of the country 

 in which they prevail, all these breeds belong, no doubt, 

 to the same origin. Therefore in this type may be com- 

 prised the following varieties, which we found repre- 

 sented at the Paris Exhibition. 



1st. The Femeline and the Bressan, a mixture of 

 Swiss and Charolaisc. 



2nd. The Gascon, the Garonnaise, the Bazadaise, 

 Lourdes, Mezenc, Arriegeoise and other Pyrenuean 

 races. 



3rd. The Aubrac, and some Limousine from the 

 mountains of Aveyron. 



4th. The Maraichine, from the fen districts of the 

 Charentes, the Parthenaise, Nantaise, and Choletaise, 

 from the departments of Vendue and Loire Inferieure. 



To give an idea of the relative importance of these 

 various breeds as shown by their muster at the Paris 

 Show, we will add their respective numbers. 



Entered. Exhibited. 



801 



699 



After many diflficuUies, raised by routine, ignorance, 

 and prejudice, those arch-enemies of progress in all 

 times and places, the .Shorthorn breed of cattle has at 

 last gained a firm and progressive footing in France. 

 It is not only conspicuous in this exhibition by the num- 

 ber of animals exhibited, but the ground it has gained 

 is still more manifest by the evident improvement the 

 admixture of its rich and generous blood with the 

 coarse and uncouth native breeds has achieved. The 

 Shorthorn classes, both pure bred and crosses, comprise 

 no less than 318 entries, of which 160 are pure bred. 



Nothing can be more invidious than finding fault 

 with the decision of judges; but we are bound to say 

 that, in our opinion and that of some of our best Eng- 

 lish judges of cattle who happened to be present, that a 

 more unaccountable selection of prize animals was never 

 made. It is a remarkable fact that the judgment, so 

 far as it related to French breeds, may be pronounced 

 as equitable as can well be; but as regards English 

 breeds, it is evident that the notions as to what consti- 

 tutes a good animal are totally at variance on the two 

 sides of the Channel ; and either English breeders or else 

 the Parisian gentlemen who form the Central Agricultural 

 Society of Paris, and from whose ranks the majority of 

 the judges were selected, must be decidedly wrong in 

 their notions of animal aesthetics. We really think that 

 a larger proportion of practical men would be advisable 

 in these juries ; for it is not likely lawyers, military men, 

 writers, professors, and Parisian rentiers, who never 

 farmed an inch of ground or owned a head of cattle in 

 their lives, can discriminate between good, bad, and in- 



difl'erent with a sufficient nicety to form a correct judg- 

 ment, whatever their predilection for animals bred in 

 the Government establishments may be. It is rather a 

 curious fact that most of the prize animals come from 

 the Government breeding-farm of Le Pin, where 

 annual sales of cattle take place, just three months 

 before the shows, the regulation being, that the exhi- 

 bitor must have owned his animal or animals at least 

 three clear months previous to the meeting. This fa- 

 vouritism is so generally received as a fact by the 

 breeders, that it is avowedly the principal motive that 

 makes them attend those sales, where prices, even for 

 indifferent animals, range much higher than in any 

 other. 



The show of French shorthorns is a fair average of 

 quality, although they do not come up to anything 

 like the standard of excellence we have attained in 

 this country. The heifer-class was particularly a good 

 one ; and among the aged cows and bulls there were 

 many animals that would command a well-deserved 

 attention in our own exhibitions. 



There was also a pretty good muster of Ayrshire cattle, 

 which seem to grow in favour with our neighbours. 



We need only mention the names of the Swiss and 

 Dutch cattle as being there represented. 



The numbers of animals in the foreign and cross 

 classes were as follows : 



ENTERED. PRESENTED. 



Shorthorns,, 160 160 



Shorthorn crosses 159 159 



Ayrshire 69 59 



Dutch.. 89 89 



Swiss 50 50 



Other prize breeds, consisting 



of DevoGs, Herefords, polled 



Angus, Alderney, &c 22 22 



Total of foreign-bred animals 539 539 



We must not omit to notice six very remarkable spe- 

 cimens of the Algerine breed of cattle, which attracted 

 a great deal of well-deserved attention. They are very 

 small, but of excellent symmetry, and showing many 

 good points which betoken the possibility of easy and 

 speedy improvement. 



The amount of prizes given to the cattle classes, be- 

 sides gold, silver, and bronze medals, comes to £6,240. 



The sheep classes were chiefly remarkable from the 

 number and merits of the leading breeds now adopted 

 in France — the Merino and the Southdown ; but this 

 department offers nothing worth the notice of our 

 readers. We will, then, merely dismiss it by saying 

 that the Southdowns exhibited by Messrs. the Comte de 

 Bouille, the Marquis de Dampierre, the Comte de 

 Benatrue, and M. Mallet do equal honour to them and 

 the Babraham flock, from which the parents were ob- 

 tained. 



There were 548 entries in the sheep classes, divided 

 as under : 



ENTERED. TKESENTED. 



Lots. Lots. 



Merino 187 152 



Foreign longwools (chiefly 



Leicester) 31 24 



Foreign shortwool (all South- 

 downs) 78 72 



Mauchamp 7 7 



Charmoise 17 15 



Barbarine 4 1 



Various French breeds 44 33 



Crosses, all with English breeds 148 111 

 Extra stock from Government 



establishments 32 31 



Total of entries 548 446 



