THE EAKMEE'S MAGAZINE. 



FEBRUARY, 1861 



PLATE I. 



A DEVON STEER. 



THE PROPERTY OF HIS ROYAL HIGHNESS THE PRINCE CONSORT, 



This steer had the repute of being the first Devon 

 bull-calf ever bred by His Royal Highness the 

 Prince Consort. He was calved in October, 1856, 

 at the Norfolk Farm in Windsor Great Park, where 

 the Devon herd is kept, and was by Sultan (318) 

 out of Crocus (1238), by Baronet (6), grandsire 

 Quartly's Prince of Wales (105)— dam Violet, from 

 Mr. Halse's herd. 



Sultan (318), the first-prize Devon bull at 

 Chelmsford, was by Earl of Exeter (38), another 

 " Royal" winner at the great Show at Windsor in 

 the Exhibition year. 



Crocus was bred by Mr. J, C. Halse, of Mol- 

 land ; and her sire. Baronet, the first-prize bull at 

 the Norwich Meeting of the Royal Agricultural 

 Society, was bred by Mr. James Quartly. 



At the Birmingham and Midland Counties' Fat 

 Cattle Show, in December, 1859, this steer took 

 the first prize of £10 — with the silver medal to His 

 Royal Highness as breeder — as the best Devon 

 steer; Mr. Overman, of Burnham, taking the se- 

 cond prize, and the Prince Consort being com- 

 mended for another steer. Lord Leicester had also 

 a commended beast in this class. 



In the week following, at the Smithfield Club 

 Cattle Show, in the Baker-street Bazaar, the 

 Prince's steer took the second prize of £10 in the 

 all-aged Devon class, being beaten by Mr. Farqu- 

 harson's " best Devon" of the Birmingham Meet- 

 ing. Mr. Heath took the third premium, and Mr. 

 Ball's beast was commended. 



These were the only two occasions on which the 

 Windsor steer was exhibited, and he was sold as he 

 stood in the yard to Mr. Pawsey, of Bath. Tradi- 

 tion records him as a very neatly-formed animal ; 

 not standing high, but thick and full in his frame, 

 and beautifully fed, with flesh very firm, and of 

 exceedingly good quality. 



OLD SER1ES.1 



The Devons we fancy are still the favourites at 

 the Royal farms, as they certainly were on our 

 going over them a year or two since; but they 

 have been getting them a little too "fine" at home, 

 and His Royal Highness is giving both the Short- 

 horns and the Herefords a fair chance. The 

 Messrs. Halse, from whose herd this steer was 

 descended, have been breeders of good North 

 Devons for the last half-century, using for the 

 most part the best bulls of the late Mr. Francis 

 Quartly, and since his decease those of Messrs. 

 James and John Quartly. Some years since Mr. 

 Philip Halse was compelled to fatten many of his 

 cows and heifers, from their continuing year after 

 year to slip their calves. The cause was thought 

 to be the offensive smell proceeding from the 

 " mundic" of some mines worked in the neighbour- 

 hood. As a consequence he did not for some 

 years exhibit, but he has now again got up a good 

 herd, and during last season came out once more a 

 winner, having the first and second yearhng heifers 

 at Canterbury. Mr. John C. Halse has shown 

 very seldom at the agricultural exhibitions, but 

 when he has done so he has generally been a win- 

 ner. He has only exhibited twice at the Royal 

 Meetings— at Chelmsford and Salisbury. At the 

 former he took the second prize in the young bull 

 class with the Earl of Essex (407), subsequently 

 sold to the French Government ; and at the latter 

 Show he gained the second prize with Sultan 

 Junior (530). He has also been twice to Birming- 

 ham, carrying off" on the first occasion the first 

 prize and silver medal, for the best young steer ; 

 and, in 1857, another first prize and silver medal 

 \vith Fancy (70S), as the best fat Devon cow. Of 

 course Mr. Halse is yet better known at the West 

 of England Meetings. 



H [VOL. LIV.— No. 2. 



