THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



15 



after a most vigorous protest. One of the Chester trio 

 was sold to Sir Edward Kerrison, Bart., M.P., but there 

 was another quite as good at home to make up the county 

 prize lot, which fetched 12 gs. a-piece, thus making up 

 50 guineas for the four. The breed is the small 

 Yorkshire white, and they fully justify a remark which 

 we heard a tyke make on them last year at North- 

 allerton, " beaycon aw over — to the varra top of their 

 heeds." This rare line of winners owes its origin to 

 Mr. Colling, but it has been carefully crossed with 

 boars from Castle Howard, Mr. Hall's of Kiveton, and 

 Mr. Cook's of Owston. There are now few great 

 pis breeders, from Prince Albert downwards, who have 

 not set themselves up with a" Wiley," at some period of 

 their existence ; and Carcase, Young Carcase, Oplimus, 

 Dumfries, Dreadnought, Priam, and Stanley (Young 

 and Old), have all upheld the Brandsby bacon dynasty, 

 which has gone on at the rate of about half-a-dozen 

 litters a year. 



Two or three bullocks were ruminating on the York 

 Fat Show, under some old thatched sheds in the adjoin- 

 ing yard, and three red John Bull calves were in 

 another, hard by. One of them. Cavendish, was 

 bound for Mr. Tindal's, of Knapton Hall, and there 

 was Yorkshireman too, from Harriet, by Grey Friar. 

 A level, thick-fleshed white bull, Sir Charles (16949), 

 by Grey Friar, was wailing for us on the green, 

 apparently " in excellent health and spirits ;" and when 

 we had scanned old Empress, the dam of Symmetry, 

 as she took her afternoon's siesta on the dung-hill, 

 along with her son The Colonel by The Duke, who had 

 recently descended to gilt estate, we strolled away among 

 the herd. Passing the church, where alas 1 three squires 

 of Brandsby Hall, father and two sons, have in less than 

 three years been laid to rest, we tarried to have one 

 peep at the glories of the rectory garden, and then 



sought Out a more congenial Briar Rose in the glebe 

 meadow. The grafting of Zetland upon White Rose 

 has had a most happy result here, and the only pity is 

 that such a handsome roan should, after a trial of three 

 seasons, have totally failed to breed. Her style, size, 

 and substance are such, that Mr. Wiley might have been 

 tempted to bring her to Baker-street this Christmas, 

 but she was put forward too late to think of it. 



More Shorthorns and Leicesterswere scattered up and 

 down the pastures of the wood shaded glen, in which she 

 held the snuggest corner, and in the midst of them, a 

 half-sister to The Friar, and The Knight by Booth's 

 Red Knight from a Sulla cow, which had lately been 

 purchased from the Duke of Leeds. The Zetland blood 

 was well upheld among some fifteen or sixteen, in 

 the home meadow, by a good old-fashioned cow, Lady 

 Zetland, who traces her descent through Hermia to 

 Buckingham and Belshazzar. There was Miss Lawley 

 also, the dam of Cavendish, of a yellowish tint, which 

 she derives' from Mr. Anthony Maynard's Yellow Boy ; 

 and Sir Charles's dam, Albina, who was purchased by 

 Mr. Allison at the Kiilerby sale, and sold to Mr. Wiley 

 at his own. Years seemed to be telling on Wild 

 Rose, the dam of Briar Rose, who has bred some five 

 bulls in succession ; Miss Crofton, a level good sort of 

 cow by Lord Spencer's Zadig (8796), represented Mr. 

 Spearman's herd; there was Agatha also, the dam of 

 Fawsley ; and Truth, good and compact, and true in this 

 respect to the Lax blood, which she gets through her 

 famous sire. Baron of Ravensworth. And so our ob- 

 servations on the triple alliance of Brandsby ended, 

 and retracing our road through the glen, which echoed 

 again with the notes of the carnival of St. Partridge, 

 we exchanged the North for the West Riding, and 

 sought a very different shrine on Doncaster Moor. 



THE PR0POSED AGRICULTURAL BENEVOLENT COLLEGE. 



la accordance with an advertisement, a meeting was held 

 io St. Jamea'a Hall, Piccadilly, on Thursday, in the Smith- 

 field Show week, at 1 o'clock, for the purpose of founding an 

 institution under the above title, but with the more direct 

 object of providing a fund for the relief of decayed farmers, 

 their widows, and orphans. Mr. Alderman Mechi, with whom 

 the project originated, presided over nearly a hundred who at 

 one time were present, Amongst these were Lord Feversham, 

 Major Parker, M.P., Mr. Wreii|Hoskyns, Mr. Jonas Wehb, 

 Mr. T. Crisp (Suffolk), Mr. Odams, Mr. Skelton, Mr. Grove 

 (Essex), Mr. C. Lawson (Edinburgh), Mr. J. Parkinson, Mr. 

 Heard, Mr. Cressiugbam, Mr. Chandler (Wilts), Mr. Howard 

 Reid, Mr. Corbet, Mr. Bateson (Bith), Mr. T. Scott (London), 

 Mr. Cults, Mr. Halkett, and Mr. Bazin, the partner of Mr. 

 Mechi. 



The Chairman, in opening the proceedings, said, if he 

 were asked why he had taken this matter in hand, be would 

 reply that in all good works some one must make a beginning, 

 and that when the institution was established, he would be 

 happy to see the management entrusted to persons who had 

 more influence than he had. As an alderman of the City of 

 London, he had an official connexion with some of its princi- 

 pal charities, and he had oftea asked himself how it was that 

 amidst the benevolent institutions which abound there was 

 none connected with the greatest interest in the kingdom. 

 Agriculturists generally were neither poor nor unwilling to 

 assist their needy brethren, but agriculture did not yet know 

 her own power and resources. There were in the United 

 Kingdom at least 500,000 farmers, occupying 50,000,000 

 acres of land, and paying an annual rental of £50,000,000. 

 The value of the land itself, taken at 25 years' purchase, was 

 £1,250,000,000, and the capital of the tenantry invested in 

 the land, taken at £5 per acre, which was a low estimate, 

 amounted to £250,000,C00 more. Besides being wealthy, he 

 felt quite certain that agriculturists generally were charitable. 



That they were hospitable, everyone knew ; and hospitality 

 and charity ordinarily went together. They only wanted 

 an opportunity of exercising tiieir charity, and when this 

 was afforded the work would be well and amply done. Of 

 the need of such an institution as was contemplated abund- 

 ant testimony was afforded in letters which had been ad- 

 dressed to himself in relation to the object. What he pro- 

 posed on that occasion was the establishment of an institu- 

 tion which would afford support or assistance for a certain 

 number of decayed farmers and their widows, and provide a 

 suitable residence and education for orphans. In order to 

 carry out these objects there would be a building fund, an en- 

 dowment fund, a fund for general purposes, and, what was 

 the most important of all, an annual subscription list ; and he 

 had no doubt that when the institution was fairly established 

 it would, like other benevolent institutions, have the benefit of 

 occasional charitable bequests, which would help to render it, 

 what it certainly ought to be, the greatest charitable institu- 

 tion in the kingdom. Success must of course depend in a 

 great degree on economy and judicious management, and 

 hence he thought it desirable at the outset to obtain some old 

 mansion, instead of proceeding to build without having the 

 requisite funds. As regarded the mode of management, it 

 was intended there should be a council, consisting of about 50 

 persons, who should appoint a working committee. The elec- 

 tion of pensioners would of course proceed on the tii'e British 

 principle, that those who subscribed money should have a voice 

 in its application. With respect to the site for a building, he 

 hoped that when there were sufficient funds in hand to build 

 with, some benevolent landowner would make a grant of land — 

 perhaps in a locality where land was not very valuable. He 

 (the chairman) was of opinion that the site should be within 

 about 30 miles of Loudon. As an alderman of the City of 

 London, he knew the importance of dinners as respected cha- 

 ritable contributions (laughter), and therefore he thought the 



