THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



343 



these spaces seemed impossible : in vain the stewards 

 shouted and rode menacingly at the people ; they 

 parted and closed immediately. Again and again the 

 stewards galloped along to form lines ; now angrily 

 ordering the company back, now begging them to give 

 room : all of which was immediately complied with, but 

 was quickly forgotten, and little or no progress was 

 made. The judges at length brought implements for- 

 ward : first the hay-rake, to clear the land for ploughing, 

 &c. ; but neither leader nor workmen could be found 

 who understood Mr. Fisher's mode of tipping; 

 and one of the judges was compelled to work it 

 himself, till relieved by one of the stewards. The 

 ploughs were then brought forward to test their best 

 powers in loose work, or as "general purpose ploughs ;" 

 but neither ploughmen nor horses were to be had, being 

 used to such work. Horses, after some delay and 

 through exertions of some of the stewards, were at 

 length found, but with long " swing traces," not 

 plough traces. "Where are your plough traces?" 



"They be Mr. 's, but he will lend them." Off 



goes the horse-keeper, and at length the traces are 

 forthcoming, but take long finding. "But where are 

 the swing traces?" "Oh, in the corner under the 

 wall." These are found. "Well now, who is to 

 plough?" "Oh, the Marquis's man." He is after a 

 while found. Now a judge, accompanied by one or two 

 stewards, again tries to make room for the plough to 

 commence a furrow down the field. A space at length 

 appears, but all are looking down a long lane of heads, 

 so near each other that the ploughman can't see 

 where he is to go. By great exertion made by many 

 parties, and no little fast riding, not only up and down 

 to form a line, but right at the folk with uplifted stick 

 or whip — which, after all," un-English and laughable as 

 it looked, really proved the most efficacious — the 

 ploughman at length proceeded. On the other side of 

 the standing wheat was a similar space, but more densely 

 crowded, as the mowing machine was set to work cutting 

 a field of oats. The confusion here seemed inextricable. 

 The grubbers were all in readiness, but no room could be 

 obtained, nor could horses be found properly harnessed 

 to work them. Dray horses won't draw steadily at the 

 plough or grubber. What is to be done ? The judge 

 appeals to the stewards. Instantly efforts are made. 

 " How many horses do you require ?" "Three." Two 

 are found, one with long swing traces, the other short 

 or plough traces ; and we saw the judge industri- 

 ously engaged lengthening them by rope. The grub- 

 ber is attached; they move. It is mianifest two horses 

 cannot drag it, more especially as they prefer draw- 

 ing separately, and not both at once. Some little pro- 

 gress is made. Up rides the Marquis. " Where is Mike ? 

 he must attend to his own horses." Instantly Mike is 

 fetched, and the ploughing stops. It is to no purpose, 

 good as Mike is — and we know not how the trials could 

 have gone on without him. Two more horses are pro- 

 cured ; but as the four horses draw at four intervals, not 

 much service is performed ; however the bout is gone, 

 and up runs an exhibitor : " My grubber is ready, and 

 only wants two horses:" then two may go to plough. 



This grubber is off; but, instead of two, four horses 

 would be much more applicable. " Pray have another 

 grubber ready by the time we return," requests the judge. 

 " O sure !" But neither horses nor swing-trees are at 

 hand— both have to be sent for, and thus much time is 

 lost. In the meantime the ploughs on the further side of 

 the field are again off, and doing satisfactorily ; the com- 

 pany loo begins to thin, so that the furrows are not ac- 

 tually trodden level as the work proceeds. The mowing 

 also ceases, and the mowing machine is taken to the 

 clover field — a signal for many to follow. The trial of 

 grubbers now goes on fairly, though by no means in a 

 satisfactory manner, as the soil is only in a fit state for 

 paring, not grubbing, and Bentall's is the only parer ; 

 but here it is grubbing, not paring. " Grubbing" in 

 Ireland is nearly synonymous with " dragging" in 

 England. Both trials are at length concluded, and at 

 seven o'clock the judges are " rowled" off to the clover 

 field some half-mile away, to try the mowing machine, 

 which I think was one of the most satisfactory trials 

 during the meeting. 



I send you these imperfect outlines, and am desirous 

 that our Irish brethren may profit another year by any 

 inadvertence being pointed out that occurred in the pre- 

 sent highly satisfactory meeting. — I am, with great 

 respect, your obedient servant. 



An English Visitor. 



[We are sure our Irish friends will take this letter in the best 

 part, considering how good the general arrangements were 

 at Waterford, they can well afford to hear a httle of what 

 was not quite in marching order. — Ed.] 



THE KEIGHLEY AGRICULTURAL SHOW.— The 

 fifteenth annual meeting of the Keighley Agricultural Society 

 wa« held on Wednesday, Sept. 2. The unfavourable weather in 

 the early part of the day prevented the attendance of visitors, 

 but it improved aa the day wore on. The show itself was very 

 good, the quality of the stock was excellent, and the entries 

 were larger than they ever were before. There were 407 entriei 

 of stock, 167 of poultry, 21 of various kinds of crops, 64 spe- 

 cimens of implements, &c. ; indeed, there were more than 700 

 entries. The show of sheep, especially Leicester rams, was 

 exceedingly good. That of pigs, for the breed of which 

 Keighley has long been famous, was said to be the best ever 

 seen in the kingdom. There were some splendid specimens of 

 cattle. The short-horned bull, Inkerman, the property of Mr. 

 J. G. Sugdea, of Eastwood House, was near perfection. The 

 show of horses was not large, but there were some fine spe- 

 cimens. The entire horses— six in every class — were very 

 commendable. The prizes were not large for the stock, Mr. 

 Barratt, of Wakefield, exhibited 428 kinds of agricultural 

 seeds, which recently obtained the gold medal at the meeting 

 of the Yorkshire Agricultural Society at York. Theae ob- 

 tained the high commendation of Lord Goderich, M.P. His 

 lordship and a large number of the neighbouring gentry were 

 on the ground. The annual dinner took place at the Devon- 

 shire Arms Hotel. Lord Goderich, M.P., presided. One 

 interesting feature of the proceedings after dinner was the 

 presentation of a piece of plate, weighing 18|lb., and worth 

 £150, to Mr. J. G. Sugden, of Eastwood House, in acknow- 

 ledgment of his exertions in establishing the Keighley Asso- 

 ciation, and in promoting its progress and prosperity. 



