64 



THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



evenness of feeding. The 2nd prize, Mr. F. Tupper's, 

 was a fine ox, but handled loose. Mr. Pennington's 

 first prize heifer displayed a level back and exceedingly 

 good rump, great fineness of bone, a beautiful head, 

 and less horn than is general to the breed. Lord Le- 

 confield's second prize heifer possesses surprisingly good 

 thighs, but the rump was somewhat too much thrown 

 up and deformed. The breed does not contrast favour- 

 ably with the Shorthorns and Herefords, and certainly 

 we were not the only spectators who wondered why it is 

 perpetuated. Mr. Cooke, of Livermere, received the 

 prize for the only Norfolk polled steer — a fleshy, some- 

 what flat-sided red animal, with good touch. In the 

 next class the same exhibitor was successful with a 

 white heifer, with a rather hollow back. Mr. Ellis, of 

 Guildford, took the next prize for a very small heifer. 

 There were two long-horned steers, which we took to 

 be very good samples of a very profitless breed. Both 

 animals, the first belonging to Mr. Cox, of Derby, the 

 second to Mr. Chapman, of Nuneaton, received first 

 and second prizes respectively. They dowked their 

 huge horns with clumsy respect to the aristocratic mem- 

 bers of the Shorthorn steer class on the other side of 

 the rails, and with their neighbouring cow, a prize 

 animal of the next class, the property of Mr. Burbery, 

 of Kenilworth, gave one the idea of their being descended 

 from the mammoth dun cow of Guy Earl of Warwick, 

 whose mighty rib, still to be seen at the Castle, gives in- 

 dication of a frame not to be clothed by all the seduc- 

 tive influence of even Thorley or Henri. 



It was quite refreshing to turn to the West Highland 

 cattle. All lovers of the originality, the flash and fire of 

 a mountain breed, paused, as their eyes scanned the 

 shaggy mantle, the defiant horns, and wild eye. It 

 was impossible to look at Mr. Heath's second prize 

 dun steer, without being lost for a time to the vexatious 

 jostling of butchers' greasy men. The mountain breeze 

 in fancy fanned the cheek, the foot trampled the springy 

 heather underneath, and the rugged form before us, 

 with coat all palpitating with the morning dew, assumed 

 its native dignity, and bellowed forth its challenge to 

 the leader of the advancing herd upon the echoing air. 

 It is reported that the Royal Ladies of England and 

 France spent more time in this class than in all the 

 others. The Duke of Beaufort's, who took the first 

 prize, was also a dun shaggy fellow, girthing 8 feet 2^ 

 inches, with fine springy shoulders, and wonderful 

 quality. The greatest attention, and the seduction of 

 cake and barley-meal have not rendered her submissive 

 to familiarity, as our ribs can testify ! Mr. Rainforth's 

 highly commended steer was of a black colour, having 

 a girth of 8 feet 3^ inches, and a fine springy touch. 

 Lady Brinckman's was commended. The Duke of Beau- 

 fort and Viscount Hill took the first and second prize 

 respectively, in the heifer class. Mr. Martin's heifer 

 was a pretty impudent creature. They were all well- 

 fed. The four black polled steers of the Scotch breed 

 showed the taming influences of an unctuous oilcake 

 diet. Mr. Wm. Heath and Mr. Wm. M'Combie were 

 the prize men. Their steers were square weighty beasts 

 of good quality, and Mr. Martin's prize polled heifer, 



bred by Mr. M' William, of Boquharm, well sustained 

 by the stability and compactness of her form the 

 character of the breed. 



A little Kerry cow, the property of Mr. Oliver of 

 Northampton, stood alone in the Irish classes. 



For Welsh runts the Hon. Colonel Pennant took the 

 first prize for an exceedingly beautiful animal, sleek of 

 skin and fine of bone ; and Mr. F. Neale, of Pagham, 

 the second, for one almost equally good. 



We come now to as interesting a class as any in the 

 yard, the cross or mixed breed, in which the spectator 

 observes the results of many curious experiments. So 

 far as the consumption of the country depends, it is to 

 this mixed breed that we have at present to look, and it 

 becomes, therefore, a matter of interest to observe 

 which crosses appear to produce the most profit. It 

 seems to be a recognized fact that a cross-bred animal 

 developes earlier and fattens sooner than a pure-bred 

 one, but that it is not capable of attaining to the same 

 weight as a member of the pure breed, should the period 

 of fattening be extended. In the steer class, the first 

 and second prizes are taken by Mr. Cartwright and Mr. 

 Martin. The first is the result of a cross between a 

 Polled Angus and a Shorthorn. It has the 

 contour of a Scot, with the depth in fore- 

 quarter of the Shorthorn ; colour, black. The 

 mixture of the Aberdeen with the Shorthorn affords in 

 Mr. Martin's red and white steer a compact and square 

 form, to which good feeding has imparted a springy 

 touch. The Norfolk and Shorthorn cross is exemplified 

 in Mr. Beare's 2nd prize steer — a square heavy beast, 

 with splendid hindquarters. Of the union of the Short- 

 horn and Hereford Mr. Baker's splendid steer furnished 

 a better example than we have ever seen. His girth 

 was 9 feet 2 inches. His hips were thrown wide apart ; 

 his rump and twist were astonishing ; his shoulders were 

 well set, breast capacious, and his great frame wsU and 

 evenly covered. He did not retain the Hereford head» 

 and had roan markings. We observed specimens of the 

 same union in Mr. Tombs' and Mr. Martin's heifers — 

 the former being of exceedingly good form and of a 

 white colour, and the latter rather small. The cross 

 between the Shorthorn and West Highland cattle was 

 shown to result in a roan bullock with level back and 

 a rather saucy-looking head, not quite accommodated 

 to the proprieties of civilization. This was Mr. J. 

 Beasley's steer. In Mr. Ainslie's steer the cross be- 

 tween the Aberdeen and Shorthorn gives rise to an ani- 

 mal of large proportions, with fine springing shoulders, 

 great depth, unlevel back, deformed rump, and defective 

 thighs — colour red. Connoisseurs in fruit affirm that 

 there is a certain hour, or two hours, during which every 

 pear or apple we pluck arrives at its full perfection and 

 flavour. Those who would enjoy it most must watch 

 their time, never being too impatient or too dilatory. 

 It seemed to us that Mr. Gibbs' heifer had just arrived 

 at this luscious state of perfect ripeness. There was not 

 an animal in the whole yard that gave us so much this 

 impression ; and though we have witnessed the good 

 effects of a cross between the Alderney and £1 r horn in 

 a very marked manner before, we never hare ^ i, ccen 



