THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



453 



is it necessary to repeat that what the farmera watit arc lean 

 cattle. These would be brought from the prairies and not 

 from the barn-yards of the farmers, and would be purchased 

 at low prices. Recently the American railways have thrown 

 an impediment in the way of this business by largely increas- 



piirsueJ, ami American railirsyi bava willingly made sacrificea 

 to open up new fields of trade. 



With whom the opening up of this new trade should rest 

 it is not easy to say, but that it would benefit the English 

 farmer and the English consuming classes if opened, no doubt 



ing the cost of transport, but this policy will not always be can be entertained. 



SHOWS AND SALES OF HEREFORD CATTLE— THE MONAUGHTY SALE, 

 HEREFORD SHOW AND FAIR. 



In a hale genial autumn there can be few pleasanter 

 rambles than amongst the apple orchards, or along the 

 ■winding streams of Herefordshire — extended as such a 

 pilgrimage should be to the wild hills of Radnor- 

 shu-e, or the happy valleys of the Salop. There is a 

 succession of rich " home " scenery in such a route 

 too long neglected by the professional tourist — backed 

 as this view is, or "pointed" rather, by the tribes 

 of famous white-faced cattle, and the flocks of now 

 almost equally renowned Shropshire sheep. His lot 

 should be cast in pleasant places, who can follow 

 out the pursuits of agriculture under such auspices; 

 while he may unite with them, if he so choose, some- 

 thing of the kindred associations of a sportsman's 

 life. He may find his fox in the most romantic of 

 dingles. There shall be cock shooting in the woods, 

 and trout fishing in the waters ; with unbounded hos- 

 pitality and smiling prosperity to complete the charm, 

 and fill up such a picture as Old England alone can 

 treat us to. 



But stalwart, hearty, sunburnt Autumn has held his 

 hand for once, and our week amongst the Herefords 

 was known by chilly nipping breezes, rainy mornings, 

 damp days, and early evenings. Fields of wheat yet 

 waiting for the sickle everywhere met the eye ; while 

 the uncarted shocks, sickening for home, bowed their 

 heads in tears, or fell prostrate before the embrace of 

 the unwelcome blast. The branches clustering with 

 ruddy apples, or proffering, as it were, the tiny 

 bronzing pear, would seem to tell a more cheerful tale. 

 But " the fruit," like the mangold or the turnip, is not 

 large enough to be worth much ; and with a harvest 

 home that promises to be kept about Christmas, and 

 the gloomy look of " another wet day," even a Here- 

 ford yeoman or a proud Salopian might begin to 

 quarrel with his fortunes. 



If, however, there has been " no money to be made," 

 there has been every opportunity of spending it. There 

 was the sale of" the famous Monaughty Herefords" on 

 Tuesday, Oct. 16 ; there was another sale at the Court of 

 Noke on the Thursday, and there was the Hereford 

 Show and Fair on the Friday and Saturday. The first 

 of these fixtures for the week was well up in the Rad- 

 nor Hills, where Mr. Rea has for the last twenty years 

 been cultivating a herd of Herefords, which public 

 success and real merit have now declared to be about 

 the best we have. This, though, was by no means an 

 unconditional sale, or general clearing out. It must 

 be looked on rather as a draft or thinning down, even 

 while the catalogue ran to no less than a hundred and 

 fifty lots. The list included some prize animals, 

 and a number of clever well-bred cows and calves 

 that were pronounced to have sold well. The 

 average, taking young and old, was about £20 a head, 

 and the result of the sale consequently nearly three 

 thousand pounds. A few of the last lots were not put up, 

 as night was drawing on, and the roads, though pic- 

 turesque enough, were scarcely trustworthy without 



bright lamps and good memories. The sale appeared 

 to be generally well conducted, but it was certainly 

 not " without reserve," and two of the best animals, as 

 it would seem, merely put in to make up the attraction . 

 The Canterbury prize heifer. Diadem, showing unmis- 

 takeable signs of " forcing," was knocked down to a 

 son of the proprietor ; and the hero of the enti-y. Sir 

 Benjamin, wonderfully improved of late, and now sup- 

 posed to be the best Hereford bull out, also fell to a bid of a 

 hundred and fifty from the same quarter. He was, indeed, 

 apparently sold to his own owner, as the bull stood in the 

 catalogue of the Hereford Society on the Friday as the 

 property not of Mr. Rea of Monaughty, tut as Mr. 

 Rea of Westonbury. It was, in fact, pretty generally 

 understood that Sir Benjamin was not to be sold under 

 two hundred; and one " customer " who came a long 

 distance mainly to bid for him, actually left again before 

 the animal was brought out. Mr. Russell, the auc- 

 tioneer, received young Mr, Rea's ofier of a hundred 

 and fifty with this curious comment — " And I shall 

 not allow you to bid again !" which was simply an 

 absurdity, as one such bidding having been recognized 

 there was nothing to prevent the same kind of thing 

 going on. However, no one else seemed to care about 

 it, and Lord Berwick's ultimatum by a letter to the 

 auctioneer being exhausted. Sir Benjamin was gravely 

 knocked down to his owner. The county papers care- 

 fully withheld the name of the purchaser, but it would 

 have been all the better for the genuine character of 

 the sale had this bull never been in it. We give the 

 best prices in another column; Mr. Duckham, Mr. 

 Monkhouse, Mr. Yeomans, Mr. Taylor of Stretford, 

 Mr. Smythies, Mr. Edwards, Sir John Walsh, and Mr. 

 Coleman for the Duke of Bedford, being amongst the 

 chief purchasers. The Thursday's sale at Noke was 

 consequent on a transfer of property from a mother to 

 her son, and it rained steadily the whole dny through. 

 Any interest attached to it was so materially interfered 

 with; and what with the weather and the times, prices 

 were bad, and a matter of ceremony rendered yet more 

 easy of adjustment. 



Still, neither the weather nor the times did much 

 to dampen the expectations of the breeders at the 

 opening of the Hereford Fair on the day following. 

 With a keen recollection of how well their customers 

 must have done last year, people began by asking 

 higher prices for worse things, and as a natuial con- 

 sequence, up to ten o'clock or so there was scarcely 

 a beast sold. There was a noticeable scarcity of good 

 steers, and, as it struck us, altogether a short supply 

 of animals. There was comparatively little of that 

 crowding, even in the main street. The very 'buss- 

 man threaded his way at but small sacrifice of temper 

 or outpouring of expletive ; while as rarely was a wan- 

 dering white-face driven to seek the shelter of the 

 Dragon Coffee-room, there to take his bite of cake 

 and sup of drink in rest and quiet. But the trade 

 got brisker as the day progressed, and as Here- 



