THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



201 



denote true Leicester blood : if so, they must be cha- 

 racterized as the large Leicesters. 



Judging from the exhibition of Leicester sheep from 

 the general remarks made to us personally, and gathered 

 otherwise incidentally, we are inclined to believe that 

 this class of sheep are retrograding in public favour. 

 As a class of sheep used for crossing with Downs for 

 breeding " half-breds," they have decidedly gone down, 

 and are almost universally superseded by the larger 

 long-wool breeds. That they are a class of sheep pre- 

 eminently adapted to fatten well on inferior pasturage, 

 where folding is not practised, is generally admitted ; 

 but within the last quarter of a century a class of sheep, 

 known as the Lincolnshire Longwools, have been so 

 greatly improved in their fattening qualities and in oiher 

 respects, that they are fast supplanting the old Leicester 

 breed in all medium pasture-lands. Indeed, true Lei- 

 cesters are hard to find in large quantities at our fairs 

 and markets. All have some cross or other. This may 

 account for paucity in numbers at Salisbury. The 

 society stipulate that none shall compete in the class 

 but pure Leicesters. 



The SoutJidoion Classes. — Of all the sheep classes 

 this always attracts the most attention and creates the 

 mostst interest, no doubt in a great measure from the 

 known popularity of the breed ; still the greater popu- 

 larity of some of the well-known breeders has some- 

 thing to do with it. We soon hear the inquiry, " How 

 does Jonas Webb stand this year?" " \Vhere is P.ig- 

 den ?" — " Has the Duke of Richmond — Lord Walsing- 

 ham— Overman, Scott, Hayward, Pope, Sainsbury," 

 &c., " got anything ?" each respectively having their 

 favourite stocks, and desirous to give honour where 

 it is due. The unifersal reply, however, is that this 

 year Jonas Webb sweeps the whole — makes a clean 

 sweep of every prize, and the best of the high com- 

 mendations, with two additional specia! commenda- 

 tions. We need not stay to inquire how is this ? 

 The fact is patent and undisputed : Mr. Jonas Webb 

 does possess the best fiock or breed of Southdown sheep 

 in the world ; and if he be beaten, as he was last year, 

 accidentally perhaps — but beaten he was — it was by no 

 second-rate breeder, or second-rate animal. It was by 

 one who has long stood deservedly high in public esti- 

 mation as a breeder of Southdowns — by one who was so 

 right-minded that on learning of his success he playfully 

 remarked that it was what he had long expcctad, and 

 therefore he always exhibited, feeling fully assured that 

 some time or other the judges would make a mistake, 

 and he might reap the reward. So careful was he not to 

 detract from his friend Webb's great merit as a breeder. 

 We are strong admirers of Mr. H. Overman's sheep; 

 they possess large and symmetrical frames of great beauty 

 and substance, worthy to stand in that high position in 

 which they have again been placed this year ; but still, 

 we cannot do otherwise than give the palm to that 

 prince of Southdown breeders, Mr. Jonas Webb. He 

 has jthis year outdone all forme/ years, so far as he has 

 shown, and has most fully resumed the high but endan- 

 gered position in which his friend Overman placed him 

 last year. We should much like to pit these two cele- 

 brated breeders in full competition next year at Chester, 

 and trust they will show in every class and age, even to 

 aged ewes ; because if one takes all the prizes for rams, 

 so does the other for ewes, and with animals of trans- 

 cendent merit. Jlr. Jonas Webb, then, stands at the 

 head of his class, and this year he is first in the foremost 

 rank. We will notice a few of his present year's exhibi- 

 tion. No. 510, in Class I, is a splendid shearling ; his 

 countenance (a great distinction in this class of sheep) 

 is good, not too dark, except the tip of the nose may be 

 considered to possess a dark hair or two too many, which 

 for our part we have not discrimination enough to 



decide, nor do we think it to be a matter of such prime 

 importance as is now given to it. Even in this very 

 show we have seen a prime sheep put aside merely on 

 this account, and made to take second place. We think 

 it wrong. A fine complexion for a fine lady, if you like ; 

 but we look for more common sense in common things : 

 a few darker hairs on a face should not disqualify any 

 animal : 'tis merely a matter of taste, not profit. The 

 object of our society is to breed animals of the greatest 

 profit, not greatest beauty, although it may be well to 

 combine both, but never let prime proportions give way 

 to a slight discolorization of the face. But we are 

 digressing. Say there are two or three darker hairs 

 than we like, but he is a fine animal, and worthy of dis- 

 tinction ; he is of great size, and exceedingly propor- 

 tionate throughout, and bids fair to make up a first-class 

 sheep for next year. Almost the only semblance of a 

 defect we ob served was in the hinder legs being rather 

 too straight or steep, i.e., too much under him ; but his 

 truly deep frame, wide chine, and shoulders all well 

 covered, his broad fat back, and springing rib, capital 

 flank and under part, all denote a first-class animal. We 

 have seldom seen a better, and his girth is equal 

 to any coming under our tape — Prize of £25. No. 

 511 is scarcely inferior to him; his face and legs 

 a little too dark for the most fastidious ; but view 

 his truly correct frame, broad chine and shoulders, 

 all well covered, his full rump, and dark and wide 

 full twist, and thigh better than 510, and stands 

 better, and you cannot fail to admire — Prize of ^£15. 

 Li this class are many first-class animals, and, as we 

 have said, Mr. Webb takes four high and special com- 

 mendations in it, with animals in every way worthy the 

 distinction. We shall not stay to notice them further 

 than to say, they perfectly support the general contour 

 of the Babraham fleck, i he whole cluss contains 51 spe- 

 cimens of the breed, in great beauty of frame, and com- 

 prising every variety of the pure Down. To attempt to 

 go through a class so large consecutively, will occupy 

 much space to little purpose ; we will therefore content 

 ourselves with noticing such as struck us as most worthy 

 of note. Mr. lligden shows four beautiful animals, 

 full of condition, with abundance of wool, and models 

 of each other ; we thought them not quite so well got 

 up as some we have seen this first-class breeder exhibit. 

 Lord Walsingham exhibits six capital specimens of the 

 class : No. 482 is a very good shearhng, beautiful 

 in form ; 484 is worthy of favourable mention in every 

 respect; as is also 485, having a very even back, but 

 rather small frame ; they are not so full in growth 

 as some, but otherwise finely proportioned, and possess 

 length of frame; with the exception of 480, they are by 

 the Chelmsford prize sheep. The Duke of Richmond's 

 are quite in his usual character, good in every respect, 

 but rather small in their proportions. His grace 

 exhibits four. Mr. Sainsbury's lot of six denote his 

 usual character — greater length than many others, quite 

 as high standing, very useful, but less proportionate than 

 some. Mr. Scott Hayward shows four very useful well- 

 formed sheep, but rather too small, and we did not 

 admire the wool, although plenty of it. The character 

 of the sheep is exceedingly good, and denotes great care 

 in breeding. Mr. Pope shows two fine animals of very 

 creditable character, with good wool and fair quality. 

 Mr. Jonas Webb exhibits nine in this class, of which we 

 have already spoken. Mr. Farquharson shows two 

 useful sheep, and Mr. James Harding shows six credi- 

 table animals. Mr. II. Overman is an extensive 

 exhibitor, having brought forward no less than ten 

 in this class, every one of them of a first-class order, 

 denoting great substance, large and well-formed frames, 

 but they are not quite equal to Mr. Webb's for beauty 

 and uniformity of proportion j their countenancea are 



