112 



THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



was well established as the " Comet" of Cumberland. 

 This bull, however, did him but little good, in comparison 

 with his successor, Mr. William Smith of West Rasen's 

 Homer (2134), of Lord Spencer's breeding; and never 

 were 70 gs. better laid out. He was nearly seven years 

 old when he came ; and after three seasons' use, the 

 present Duke of Devonshire purchased him, at the first 

 Nunwick sale. White Rose, by Gunthorpe (2049), 

 had been among the first females which Mr. Saunders 

 selected ; and from a cross between the former and 

 Homer, and Mr. Sober Watkin's Chorister, the ker- 

 nel of the first herd was derived. Mr. William 

 Parker was equally alive to Homer's merits; and 

 the cross with his Windermere, of Mr. Sober Wat- 

 kin's Old Emperor blood, brought out that Pearl tribe 

 which Mr. Saunders went boldly in for at the Yan- 

 wath sale. A few White Roses were left, as relics of 

 Mr. Saunders's first era ; and Abraham Parker (9856) , 

 by Mehemet Ali, shortly arrived from Brougliton Hail, 

 to play hero in the second. In his owner's mind he has 

 always ranked below Homer; but he reigned a year 

 longer on the Eden-side. His quality and top were 

 quite good enough to counterbalance rather faulty thighs 

 and flanks ; and his best nicks were with Venus, by Bel- 

 lerophon (3119), from one of Sir Charles Tempest's 

 cows, and Fanchette, by Petrarch (7329), from one of 

 Mr. Watson's. Venus calved Sir Charles (12075), and 

 Sherry, now in Sir Matthew White Ridley's herd ; and 

 Filagree, from Fanchette, became Mr. Alexander's for 

 150 gs., at the Nunwick sale of '55. Venus had been 

 subjected to the iron hammer some weeks before the 

 knock-me-down of the ivory one was heard in the 

 land; and the 56 which remained averaged about 40 gs. 

 The fact of its being the week before the Carlisle Royal 

 brought a very goodly assemblage to Mr. Strafford's 

 aid; Fanchette, whom Mr. Sanday bought for 31 gs., 

 as a speculative bargain proved a very great hit; 

 and Mr. Drewry was pretty lucky with the pair of 

 doubtfuls — Sarah Gwynne and Cicely — which he added 

 to the Holker herd. Mr. Cartwright, of Aynhoe, and 

 Mr. Howard, of Bedford, had a fancy for Pearls, and 

 acted on it ; and a heifer- calf of this tribe was the only 

 keepsake at Nunwick when 



" The last wheel echoed away." 

 Mr. Saunders did not leave her long to pine, in his 

 300 paternal acres, among half-breds ; and his journey 

 to the Fawsley sale, in the April of the next year, re- 

 sulted in the purchase of Fleda, by Greyfriar (9172), 

 and Lady's Slipper, by Earl of Dublin (10178), for 

 155 gs. each, after a punishing finish with the Americans 

 for the latter. Sir Wilfred Lawson, of Brayton Hall, in 

 the same county, bought three, the highest of them for 

 125 gs. ; but his luck with them has not been equal to 

 his neighbour's. The amazing fertility of the Fawsley 

 herd has been as singularly proved by this pair as it has 

 been by Garland and Chrysalis, seeing that each pair 

 have had ten calves between them. Fleda was heavy in- 

 calf with Baron Fawsley (14130), by Duke of Cambridge 

 (12742), when she came ; and the cross with Prince 

 of Glo'ster (13517), who was bought from the Duke of 

 Devonshire's the same spring, produced Nunwick, the 



twins Ella and Minnie (which were on a visit to 

 Holker), and last, though not least, Annie. A hundred 

 guineas was refused for Prince of Glo'ster ; and the 

 butcher's report of him recently was, " 30 stone a 

 quarter, sinking offal." The herd of cattle on the farm 

 generally averages about sixty head, of which twenty are 

 pure Shorthorns, and the rest have one or two 

 crosses. The thorough-breds are gradually creep- 

 ing into a majority ; and Birthday, by General Have- 

 lock (14598), from Siddons, and Nelly Gwynne, by 

 Old Rowley (15O20), from Orphan Gwynne, are acces- 

 sions since our visit. 



After a little rough-drying, for the second time that 

 day, we merged the past in the present, and sallied forth 

 into the court-yard. Mr. Adkins had been there a few 

 days before us, in search of his cherished Favourite 

 blood, and carried off Mocassin, by Nunwick, from 

 Lady's Slipper, as the corner-stone of a new herd. 

 Mocassin's own brother was there, bearing the old Duke 

 of Glo'ster coat, mark for mark, as well as other 

 characteristics. Drawn up side by side in the yard be- 

 hind, were the old bulls Baron Fawsley and Nunwick. 

 The former, who has since become beef, failed by com- 

 parison as regards style and fine bone, and his good 

 spring of the rib was rather counterbalanced by his 

 sire's fault behind his shoulders, which was more ap- 

 parent when lie was set in motion. Although he measures 

 well through the heart, Nunwick's middle was hardly 

 equal to his rare ends, and the best view of him is from 

 behind, as his twist is so well let down. He beat Mr. 

 Watson's General Haynau at Penrith, in 1859, after a 

 long discussion between Messrs. Douglas and Culshaw, 

 the judges, but this year Captain Spencer's Young Ben 

 was too much for him. Mr. Saunders has had some 

 good calves by him, nearly all roans like himself, but 

 Eighth Duke of Oxford (15939) has been hired from 

 the Duke of Devonshire for the ensuing season, for the 

 sake of a pure Bates cross. 



The next move was made to the byre, which has 

 just been completed on the most perfect scale, with 

 perforated windows and capacious skylights. There 

 is accommodation for forty cows, standing head to 

 head, in rows of ten each, and calf-boxes are 

 ranged along each end. Old Fleda ranked first in 

 the array, and even ten years and nine contributions 

 to the Herd-book have left her in capital case, and 

 that robust style and good back and quarters are 

 all there, which earned her so much notice on the 

 Fawsley day. Lady's Slipper stood next her, but 

 we had to take her more on trust, as she had not re- 

 covered from a severe attack of milk-fever, which 

 naturally went pretty hard with a cow of her deep pail 

 propensities. The well-packed quarters of a big red cow 

 next her, betokened the mighty " Gainford his mark" 

 in the third generation, and further on, a cross of Sir 

 Harry Gwynne on a half-bred cow had told its un- 

 erring tale. Countess Emma by Heir at Law (13005) 

 had just arrived in exchange for a 71 guinea cheque, 

 from Mr. Stewart's sale : where eleven cows and heifers 

 were purchased for the Brayton herd. She strains back 

 to Mr. Crofton's Elvira, who beat twenty-one cows at 



