THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



185 



THE SUSSEX COUNTY STOCK SHOW 



Was held at Chichester oa Thursday, July 12. The great 

 interest of the meeting centred iu the Southdown Sheep 

 classes, for which the following were the chief awards:— 



First prize of £10 for the best short-woolled ram, one 

 year old and under two, W. Rigden, Hove; 2nd of £5, W. 

 Bidden. % 



First prize of £10 for the best short-woolled ram, two 

 years old and upwards, W. Rigden ; second of £5, W Rigden. 



First prize of £\0 for tlie best pen of five short-woolled 

 yearling ewes, Messrs. Heasman, Angmering ; 2ud of £5, the 

 Duke of Richmond. 



The Duke of Richmond sent a number of rams, and Mr. 

 Scott Haywood and Mr. Ellman were amongst the competi- 

 tors. 



Lord March, who presided at the dinner, said nothing 

 but severe iudispositioQ prevented the Duke from being pre- 

 sent that day, and on that very morning he had looked out 

 of his window to see whether it was not possible he could in- 

 spect the stock, though of course he could not have remained 

 to the dinner, for it wou'd require some time yet ere he reco- 

 vered from the severe attack of gout with which he was seized 

 80 far back as tbe middle of January last. He knew his 

 Grace's disappointment at the result of the decision of that 

 day ; but while lie said this it was not to be imagined that he 

 wished to impugn the decision of the judges; the Duke ex- 

 pected to have been more successful, but he had been beaten 

 by an old competitor and an old friend, Mr. Rigden — he 

 meant in the cIjss for rama. Although it was probably not 

 correct to say the Duke and Mr. Rigden had fought side by 

 side ; they had fought in the same ring ; and while he ad- 

 mitted thKt his Grace had not been successful on this occasion, 

 he believed that on most occasions the Duke had beaten Mr. 

 Rigden. He believed that if his (irace were present he would 

 say that although he was beaten on this occasion he would 

 take care that it did not occur again. 



Mr. Donovan said he had great pleasure in rising to pro- 

 pose a toast which he knew would be received with enthu- 

 siasm. In these county meetings they met together in 

 friendly rivalry, and could do honour to a certain few only, 

 but he wished particularly to note that all the prizes, with the 

 exception of two or three, had gone to the east, to the great 

 disappointment of their brethren iu the west. He did not see 

 why this ehould be so. There was one thing to which he 

 wished to refer iu particular — that was with regard to the 

 horses. It was suggested to him some time ago that he should 

 get up a prize for the beat hunters, with a view of giving a 

 stimulus to the breeding of that valuable class of animals in 

 this country (Hear, hear), because, as was well known to all, 

 the breeding of those useful animals had gradually gone down 

 hill. When he was a boy they were as plentiful as blackberries. 

 And it was with the object of rendering the breeding remu- 

 nerative that he had got up a couple of prizes (Hear, hear), 

 but he was sorry to observe that the judges had not thought 

 any of the animals exhibited that day worthy of a prize. He 

 should, nevertheless, continue to go on ; and he wished, iu 

 the west as well as in the east, to get up prizes to the value of 

 £60, which should be again offered next year. He proposed 



" that they drink to the health of the successful candidates, 

 coupled with the name of Mr. Rigden" (loud cheers). 



Mr. W. Rigden, in responding, said that before he pro- 

 ceeded to say anything on the subject of the toast, he wished 

 to correct a remark which fell from the chairman as to his 

 Grace being the most successful candidate. He claimed that 

 petition for himself, for since that association had been formed 

 he believed he had beaten the Duke twice for his once (cheers 

 and laughter). He regretted, however, that his Grace had 

 not stood better at Canterbury ; but he there had to compete 

 with a formidable competitor, Mr. Webb, who had au immense 

 number of sheep to draw from, and he (Mr. Rigden) doubted 

 very much whether they should ever be able to beat him. Still, 

 they could reap an advantage, and that was by comparison. 

 Hitherto in this county they had neglected the shoulder 

 of the sheep, and he would advise others to look to this point, 

 for it was one in which they were most deficient. 



In responding to the toast of his own health. Lord March 

 said further, there was his friend, Mr. Rigden, whom he felt 

 even more vigorous now than before to have another " go at" 

 (laughter). Mr. Rigden had said he was quite wrong in what 

 he had eaid, and that he had beaten the Duke twice for his 

 once : but he must remind Mr. Rigden that he was referring 

 not to the county shows only, but to all the shows, including 

 the Royal Society and Smilhfield; and if he was wrong in 

 saying the Duke had not oftener beaten Mr. Rigden, then 

 he should apologize to him. With regard to the improve- 

 ment in Southdown sheep he quite agreed with what had fallen 

 from Mr. Rigden, that the general fault was in the neck and 

 shoulder, and it was with a view of correcting this that they 

 had gone from Goodwood to Mr. Webb more than once for a 

 change of blood ; but they must, at the same time, take care 

 not to go too far, otherwise they should lose that character for 

 which the Southdown sheep was so remarkable at the present 

 time (Hear, hear). He felt sorry the Duke had been unsuc- 

 cessful at Canterbury, and also that day ; but he felt sure it 

 was gratifying to the farmers of the county to reflect that if 

 his Grace was to be beaten at all, it should be by talented 

 persons like the Messrs. Heasman, rather than by a farmer 

 from a distant part. He complimented the Messrs. Heasman 

 upon their success, and though he was sorry they had beaten 

 the Duke, he trusted they would yet have another fight, when 

 his Grace would prove himself the better mau (cheers and 

 laughter). He had said so much of the advantages of these 

 shows that he had scarcely a shot left in the locker (a laugh) ; 

 he might, however, observe that though the weather had been 

 somewhat unfavourable, he never saw more excellent crops 

 than they had in that neighbourhood (Hear, hear). Referring 

 to a case where the white carrot had produced 35 tons to the 

 acre, the noble Earl passed oa to comment on the excellency 

 of the mangold wurzel on Goodwood farm, observing at the 

 same time that he believed they would agree with him few 

 roots were more beneficial than a good field of mangold 

 wur«el. 



The Meeting was altogether one of the most successful 

 ever held in the county, and the catalogue quite a curiosity in 

 the way of print, paper, and general appearance. 



THE PRODUCE OF THE CROP OF 1859 IN SCOTLAND. 



Sir, — As it may appear interesting to many of your readers 

 to have some idea of the acreage and produce in quarters of 

 the grain crops grown in Scotland, and the value in money of 

 the various descriptions of grain, together with the like sta- 

 tistics of the two principal green crops, I have collected these 

 and put them into shape, from the statistical accounts made 

 up by Mr. Hall Maxwell, or rather under his guidance and 

 tuperintendeuce. 



It is to be regretted that such statistics are not continued, 

 for really the expense of bringing them out was little in com- 

 parison to the fact of their being so easily and so cheaply 

 compiled and brought forward. A very small sum to a com- 

 piler, and a dinner to half-a-dozen of collectors for each county 

 in Scotbnd, surely cannot be the reason why these valuable 

 statistics were dropped iu 1859. Statistics of every descrip- 

 tion are now the order of the day, and ia one of the first and 



