IM 



THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



people would take to him even more readily than they 

 do at present. It is difficult to persuade the uninitiated 

 that the light mealy chesnut is just the best colour of 

 all. With such crests, forehands, legs, and middle- 

 pieces, if a few could only be polished up to dark 

 browns or good bays ! We can imagine Mr. Barthropp 

 or Mr. Crisp shuddering at the very idea of such 

 heresy ; or old Mr. Catlin rising from his grave to con- 

 found such impertinence. Soberly and honestly, we 

 can quite accord with Mr. Spooner's present estimate 

 of this almost unrivalled kind of cart-horse. With the 

 best of tempers, good action, immense power, and pro- 

 verbial endurance, they must always be hard to beat. 

 To those who still do not know much of them, we can 

 only counsel a visit to one of the Suffolk Meetings. Let 

 them make a note of that at Bury St. Edmund's next 

 summer. 



As we have already hinted, the Ipswich horse-show 

 was not one of these horses only. For hunters, hacks, 

 brood-mares, foals, cobs, and ponies, it was alike com- 

 mendable and attractive. And here we must ask par- 

 don for being, perhaps in the least possible degree, egot- 

 istical. For some six or seven years now have we con- 

 tinually urged tliat classes of riding and driving horses 

 should form part of an agricultural exhibition. It is 

 only right to add that on our first doing so, this was by 

 no means the case. At the same time it is only as fair 

 to say that nowhere has such a proposition been re- 

 ceived with such systematic or inexplicable coldness as 

 at the Council table of the Royal Agricultural Society. 

 At last, however, even here has the well-bred horse 

 been acknowledged as worthy of some national recog- 

 nition and encouragement ; while other societies have 

 for some time been getting better friends with him. The 

 East Suffolk has always had a leaning this way ; but as 

 the East Suffolk with scarcely enough competition. For 

 two or three years, for instance, had the same 

 thorough-bred stallion been unopposed. On this occa- 

 sion there were three shown, of which the prize horse. 

 Revenge or Recovery, is about as pretty and neat a 

 nag as any one would wish to see. His sire, the old 

 Recovery, was himself taken as a model for the sculp- 

 tor; but we question whether his son is not even 

 handsomer still. His head is a perfect picture in itself; 

 and had he but a little more substance. Captain 

 Barlow need not fear to show his horse in any com- 

 pany. Another famous specimen of his sort was the roan 

 cob stallion, with a dial of the old Prickwillow 

 character about him; while there was a very full 

 entry of good brood mares, and some as excellent 

 young stock. This, after all, is the test of what 

 we are doing in this way. It only depends on 

 one man or so to provide a stud horse. The point is, 

 to get the county to support him by mares fit to cross 

 with. The proof here was in some very promising 

 foals by Revenge, Ilaxby, and The Lion. The same 

 sign was given in Devonshire the other day, where but 

 a few years since they had not a horse of any sort worth 

 looking at. It will be seen that Captain Barlow had 

 rather the best of this department, and logically 

 enough. He would appear to go more for blood than 



his neighbours, and that is just what is wanted all the 

 country through. It is useless attempting any real im- 

 provement in our hunters and riding stock without the 

 thorough-bred horse being brought directly into 

 use. And, a man who makes up his mind 

 to have a good one benefits his district almost as much 

 as himself. The novelty here — a gi-eat attraction in 

 its way — was a class of hunters, all of which had to 

 face a row of four-feet hurdles before the judges could 

 pass them as eligible for their class. It brought out 

 three very good-looking four-year-olds, of which, how- 

 ever, the chestnut, by Bay President, was unmistakeably 

 the best. The jumping business was amusing enough 

 in its way, though we rather question the necessity or 

 policy of such a proceeding. On very hard ground it 

 is not everybody who would care about having a pro- 

 mising young one rattled over hurdles ; and at best the 

 performance does not make him much of a hunter 

 It puts one in mind of the platers they used to show at 

 the cover-side yeai-s back, to " qualify" for hunters' 

 stakes. 



The show of Suffolk cattle was scarcely up to the 

 mark of what this breed has done ; and one of the 

 judges assured us he remembers it within this year or 

 two as much better. Mr. Badham shared with Mr. 

 Hudson, jun., of Castleacre, and Mr. Reed, of Lax- 

 field, the , honours of these classes ; while Mr. Bar- 

 thropp and Mr. Crisp had it very mucli their own way 

 with the shorthorns. Blood here, again, was sure to 

 tell.. All the first-prize animals go back to the Herd 

 Hook; and Mr. Barthropp's prize cows had both 

 high-sounding pedigrees, with the Duke of York 

 and Duke of Oxford strong in them. After 

 the distinct classes for their own native sort 

 " the other breeds" in Suffolk mean the shorthorn ; 

 and an amusing instance of the leaning for one or the 

 other was afforded at the dinner. In the covu-se of liis 

 telling and suggestive speech, the American, Mr. 

 French, touched on a prize cow he had been shown that 

 morning, but as to the real merits of which he was still 

 in some doubt. " Was it as a good milker she was en- 

 tered ?" he had asked. "Not exactly, perhaps," was 

 the answer. " Or as fit for the butcher, then ?" he had 

 next very naturally inquired. "Well, not exactly," 

 was again the explanation. And hero, under cover of 

 some laughter, one man whispered to his neighbour, 

 "It's one of Badham's Suffolks he saw." "No, no," 

 rejoined the other, very quickly: "it was one of 

 Barthropp's Shorthorns !" 



And the dinner ! what shall we say of that without 

 Mr. French's speech ? Until you came to the dinner 

 itself, nothing could be better managed. All the heavj' 

 business is got through before-hand. The Society 

 gives a whole scries of premiums to labourers, well 

 responded to by the latter, and working in every way 

 most satisfactorily. These are distributed, not after, 

 as we have seen at some meetings, but most judiciously 

 before the dinner takes place. The election of a new 

 secretary, as the successor of the late Mr. Manning 

 Kerr, was also duly proceeded with. From three very 

 good men the choice fell upon Mr. R. Bond, of Kent- 



