THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



139 



these were Captain Guntor's twin Duchesses, clearly, 

 from their duplicate attractions, the talk of the show- 

 ground. They are really very much alike in everything 

 but colour, and have just the same-shaped heads and 

 sweet expression of countenance. Continual was the 

 discussion as to which was really the better of the two, 

 although the pretty general opinion was the judges had 

 not gone wrong. The white has the advantage in size, 

 but the other was the better in quality, and her colour 

 no doubt settled the point. But it has been a moot 

 one for some time j and at Liverpool last autumn " 79 " 

 was the winning number. They are alike extraordinary 

 heifers, very well to look on, but better in the flesh than 

 the hair. Bred for it, their success in preserving the 

 Duchess character is in its way quite perfect. Another 

 new man, I^Ir. Robinson, a Buckinghamshire yeoman, 

 who only came out last year at Warwick, was placed 

 third in this lot, with a compact heifer, very excellent in 

 her forehand, although falling away a little iDehind. But 

 she is sure to grow into something ; and there were good 

 judges who even preferred her at her age to either of the 

 two placed above her. Jonas Webb's Miss Tanqueray, 

 a winner in the Eastern Counties, Booth's Soldier's 

 Daughter, as successful in the North, and Stratton's 

 Queen of the Harem, renowned in the West, could get 

 no higher than well-merited commendations, shared as 

 these were by Mr. Noel Hill and Mr. Marjoribanks. 



Another Duchess was the theme of the three. year- 

 olds, and whether she was better than Wood Rose, an 

 argument that rose again and again as people came to 

 her. If you could only shut your eyes and be led up to 

 them, the quality of the Bates' blood no doubt would 

 convince one. But to look at, the award is correct 

 enough. Mr. Ambler's heifer begins better. She has a 

 good cow's head, while Duchess has but an indifferent 

 frontispiece. Then, again, Wood Rose has a long way 

 the advantage on that nice place, the point of the shoulder. 

 She is the leveller and straighter of the two, the back of 

 the Duchess rising in lumps, and falling in dips, from 

 sheer fat. Indeed, unless quality went for everything, 

 the decision could scarcely have been otherwise. In the 

 other dozen of heifers were Faith, the first prize 

 yearling at Warwick, and especially deserving of her 

 commendation here ; Mr. Noel Hill's Preserve, distin- 

 guished, as at Warwick, by a high commendation; two 

 .of Mr. Booth's, and two from the Duke of Montrose. 

 The Judges, in fact, commended everything brought 

 before them ; while they awarded the third honours to 

 Lady Pigot's heavily-fleshed, handsome-looking Empress 

 of Hindostan. Her ladyship was on the ground to 

 witness her triumph ; and so, to our astonishment, was 

 another of her heifers. Stanley Rose, shown at 

 Framlingham as a fat animal, or butcher's beast, is 

 Bent on to Canterbury as a breeding one ; and we are 

 now assured that she is in-calf. We had hoped this 

 abuse had gone far enough, when the worst of sinners 

 were beginning to cry out against it. There is no matter 

 of doubt or question but some of the finest Shorthorns 

 ever bred have been rendered utterly useless by being 

 over-fed ; and animals have been pampered up to 

 *' show," as Peter Pindar's razors were to " sell," until 

 they really became fit for nothing else. We fear Lady 

 Pigot is but badly advised when her Shorthorn cows 

 come to pass alike as commendable at the Royal Society 

 or the Smithfield Club. 



Another lamentable example of this system was 

 offered by an old offender, Mr. Booth of Warlaby, who 

 showed the really elegant Queen Mab disfigured with 

 lumps and patches of fat. There she lay, the greater 

 part of the time, for stand she would or could not, 

 stretching; out her sweet heifer head and fine thorough- 

 hred neck in too evident distress. And so one could 



only mark her grand expansive back and rare hips and 

 loins, the very points of a cow if kept to her 

 purpose. On this showing as a cow in milk and calf, 

 Rosette fairly beat her. She looked like a milker; and 

 has fined in her appearance from the rather coarse 

 animal she once threatened to become. Clean, hand- 

 some, big, and lively-looking. Rosette goes on again 

 to Ireland, with every prospect of standing the trip and 

 repeating her last year's victory. Lady Pigot was here 

 again third, with a cow of Jonas Webb's breeding, also 

 a little overdone with the oilcake ; while Daisy, 

 grown into a very fine heifer, went only the further to 

 contradict the absurd abuse levelled last year at the 

 Warwick judges. Sixteen cows were entered, but 

 Colonel Towneley's Fidelity did not come ; and Mr. 

 Eastwood's Souvenir, in the next class, was also an 

 absentee, having just calved. There were, however, 

 many very good ones to make up a show, quite worthy 

 of the companion bulls ; and the names of many of 

 whicli are given in the iiurncrous commendations ap- 

 pended to the organized decree. In the few other eye- 

 sores amongst them was Woodbine, the dam of the first 

 prize three-year-old heifer, but herself now grown into 

 a very vulgar-looking animal, with a gaudy, staring, 

 lumpy quarter, that should surely be a warning to 

 people who fancy that fat, like charity, covers a mul- 

 titude of sins. The judges evidently begin to think the 

 other way; and there was one remakable instance at 

 Canterbury where such a mistaken ambition has at last 

 o'erleapt itself. '' Oh, then I see Queen Mab hath 

 been with you !" 



The " short " show in reality began with the Here- 

 fords, of which there was a marked decrease in the 

 entry. One or two of the best, moreover, were not sent, 

 and amongst those left at home were Mr. James' splendid 

 heifer, the best beast of the recent West of England 

 Meeting. Her place, however, was well filled by a 

 beautiful yearling of Lord Bateman's, a very perfect 

 specimen of what a Hereford should be. With a won- 

 derful quality of flesh, and a good coat, Hebe ran as 

 true as a die from end to end. The evenness of her out- 

 line was something especially noticeable, and she finished 

 off famously, take her from almost anywhere you 

 pleased. She is by Lord Bateman's favourite bull 

 Carlisle, which, with the whole of his Lordship's herd, 

 will come to the hammer in September. The stock in- 

 cludes no less than sixty breeding cows with their calves, 

 a hundred heifers and steers, and twenty young bulls of 

 different ages. It will, of course, be the sale of the 

 season. Hebe had a companion from Shobdon in her 

 class, and the two figured as the prize pair at Dor- 

 chester, but there was nothing alongside fit to compare 

 with her. The new class of heifer calves, although 

 generally commended, led off with a bad handier, and 

 were altogether scarcely worth the compliment paid 

 them ; while only one cow was entered, the second 

 prize at Dorchester, although the judges deemed her 

 good enough to take the first here. As a lot the three- 

 year-old heifers were the evenest and best of the 

 Herefords, and the judges, with more showing, here, 

 too, commended everyone of the half-dozen they ran to. 

 Both the prize bulls came with high characters as winners 

 in the West, and at " the Royal," over and over again, 

 but this is the first time they have been directly pitted 

 against each other. Of the two the young one had de- 

 servedly the call ; for Sir Colin is growmg more and 

 more out of his good looks, and will " never do " to get 

 behind. Neither is he quite right in his touch, while 

 Leominster's great, if not only fault, is his tbin thigh. 

 Beyond this he is a very clever young bull, with a clear 

 lead of his cLiss, notwithstanding another general com- 

 mendation. The yearlings were beaded, as at Dor» 

 Chester, by Mr, Perry's Comm ; but they were not; fn 



51 g 



