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THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



experience, is g'jing to write a book about 

 them, as lie assured 8ir John Forbes at the 

 dinner, with an embrace and an altitude — and 

 as Sir John in due course interpreted to the com- 

 pany, minus only that eloquence of action which 

 so distinguished his original. In sober truth, our en- 

 thusiastic visitor could not have come to a better place 

 to study the polled cattle. It was altogether the finest 

 collection of them the Society has ever commanded. 

 Another local breeder of established reputation, Mr. 

 Walker, could make no head w'ay on this occasion, but 

 he has very recently been selling off some of his herd. 

 Judging by this, the polled make nothing like high 

 averages for breeding, and sixty guineas for a cow was 

 something quite extraordinary. It is the cross that 

 turns over the money, and there were some striking 

 illustrations in the show of what this may come to. 



Neither the Highlanders nor the Ayrshire mustered 

 in great force. It was rather out of their way. The 

 former, however, was a very commendable class. The 

 judges spoke especially to the excellence of Lord 

 Breadalbane's aged bull and cow, and more still to the 

 merits of Mr. Shaw's heifer. Indeed, for kindliness 

 of look and quality there have been few better than 

 these specimens of another native breed. " And what- 

 ever you do," said Mr. Torr, at the dinner, " don't 

 neglect the native breeds of Scotland. Depend upon 

 it, the nation does not possess more valuable animals 

 than these native breeds." We fancy he was speaking 

 here to the merits of the polled beasts; but the High- 

 landers are, in their way and for their purpose, as 

 worthy of proper cultivation. Mr. Stewart did much 

 of his own strength to make up the show of Ayrshires; 

 and in the bull classes had little or no competition. 



Whatever we may think or say just now of the 

 Leicester sheep at home, they quite sustain their repute 

 in more distant regions. The feature of the sheep- 

 show in Ireland the other day was the Leicester class ; 

 and it was the same here. In a very good entry of 

 some of the native varieties — the Cheviots and black- 

 faces — the Leicesters had still a clear pre-eminence. 

 But it must be recorded as the best exhibition of the 

 breed Scotland has ever yet seen. The farmers of the 

 country are uniting more size with their quality ; 

 while such men as Mr. Collie, of Ardgay, have 

 flocks tracing back to our own famous strains. Be- 

 ginning in the right way, they have now full proof 

 that such a sheep will " do" here. They can 

 even compete, as the prize list will show, very success- 

 fully with our English breeders; indeed, to show the 

 strength of the class, we may mention thatMr. AViley's 

 second prize shearlings at Ciiester could get no higher 

 rank at Aberdeen. They were fairly beaten by the 

 Duke of Richmond, who, changing his colours with 

 bis country, shines far more in the Nortli with the long 

 wools than the Southdowns. His Grace's lot of the 

 latter were very uneven, his ewes especially, any- 

 thing but matched. There were far better sheep against 

 him, and the entry was altogether a very creditable 

 one. Not that we can write the Southdown as making 

 much progress with our friends over the Border. As 



far as the show of them went, it was in the hands of 

 two or three exhibitors. The Cotswolds, again, are not 

 in force. In fact, there are two very awkward native 

 breeds to oppose in this department — the hardy, active, 

 black-faced mountaineers, and the lengthy, meaty 

 Cheviots from the other quarter. Tiie South Country 

 Clieviots were wonderfully good, and for general ex- 

 cellence ranked indisputably only second to the Lei- 

 cesters. 



Beyond a stray thorough-bred stallion or two of no 

 great merit, a clever pony, and a few roadsters, the 

 show of horses was confined as usual to those for Agri- 

 cultural purposes. And they do show a horse in Scot- 

 land. It is not merely the judt^cs who see him out, 

 and know how he can go. There is not a man who, if you 

 ask, but will have his horse round in a moment, and 

 away with him. It is really a treat, and one altogether 

 peculiar to the country, to see half-a-dozen or so of 

 these grand Clyde draught horses trotting as light and 

 as pleasant as ponies. Some of them have quite grand 

 action. There was a bay white-legged horse of Mr. 

 McRobbie's which went with all the style of a London 

 dealer's brougham horse, and at the same time as 

 strong and as stout as steel. None but the Clydesdales 

 can do this ; at least, so we thought until we 

 found this very nag, the best goer of them all, 

 was by an English " Shire" horse. Further inquiry 

 but further established this. The cross of the 

 Clydesdale mares v.ith a Northamptonshire or Lincoln 

 stallion is day-by-day becoming more common. There 

 was one aged horse from Towcester in the yard ; and 

 there are many more, we hear, in use. IMoreover, 

 there is no doubt but this new blood tells. The active 

 good-looking character of the native breed is still pre- 

 served, while something more is made of it. To the 

 intense delight of a couple of Suffolk men, a chcsnut was 

 also discovered along the line of rails where the stallions 

 stood, and which they at once recognised to be " a 

 Crisp." A very handsome horse he is, too, with the 

 fine quarter, or, to use a funny word for such a purpose, 

 "the quality" of a hunter. He has been serving in 

 Scotland for four seasons, and, standing side-by-side 

 by them, showed to no disadvantage with the majority. 

 But more than this, he was quite asclever when we ven- 

 tured to have him out — he could walk away as freely, 

 he could trot as gaily, and show himself altogether as 

 handsomely as the bays and browns. In plain truth, 

 the judges made a mistake in passing him over. 



We must regard this more as a mixed lot than as 

 one of pure Clydesdales, although on any consideration 

 it could not come quite up to the display at Glasgow 

 last year. But this was only natural. Still the range 

 of stallions was in both old and young horses most com- 

 mendable, and altogether superior to the mares, the 

 pick of which were clearly the two prize animals — 

 lengthy, roomy, and lively, with not that great " fea- 

 thering" of the leg some of the legitimists insist on. Two 

 Mr. Wilsons were conspicuous in the entry, the one of 

 Leven taking the first prize with a particularly good 

 coloured brown horse, and the other, of Portsoy, being 

 remarkable for the use he is making of English blood. 



