THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



131 



THE OLD NORFOLK FARMER AT THE SMITHFIELD CLUB SHOW. 



Sir, — Whatever might be the case with the cattle — 

 and I find that the opinion I ventured to express upon 

 them is, to a great extent, supported by those practical 

 men with whom I have conversed on the subject — 

 there was no falling off in the quality of the sheep and 

 pigs, although, from one cause or another, the number 

 of either exhibited was smaller than in previous years ; 

 in fact some of the largest and most successful exhibit- 

 ors have ceased to be represented on this occasion, which 

 has caused a considerable hiatus or blank in the show. 

 There was, however, enough of these smaller animals to 

 excite the attention and admiration of the vast crowds 

 that day after day were admitted to the yards. 



The long-wooUed races of sheep were most of them 

 well represented. The Leicesters and the half-bred 

 Leicester and Downs, I thought equal to any that have 

 ever been exhibited ; and the weight that some of them 

 as shearlings had attained was enormous. This v/as the 

 case with Mr. Twitchell's beautiful Leicesters, as well 

 as those (ff Col. Lowther, Earl Berners, and some others, 

 which would have made Bakewell's heart leap for joy. 

 Mr. John Overman's half-bred Down and Leicesters, 

 too, were remarkably fine sheep,! and fully sustained 

 the reputation the family has so long enjoyed as the 

 exhibitors of this cross breed, as well as of the pure 

 Southdown. These sheep displayed their high breeding, 

 and I could not but admire how much the quality of 

 both the wool and the flesh of the Leicesters and their 

 crosses are improved, although the latter will never 

 equal the pure Downs in fineness of grain and richness 

 of flavour. Still, under present circumstances of the 

 high price of butcher's meat^ it is desirable to promote 

 the extension of the long-woolled and half-bred sheep, 

 as they certainly produce a larger amount of meat in a 

 given time than other breeds, although more of the 

 Downs can be kept upon an equal number of acres. 

 The crosses of the Cotswolds are, I think, also a great 

 improvement upon the original race, which appear to 

 me to be rather a coarse one ; and their tendency to 

 gather fat is quite equal to that of the old Lincolnshire 

 sheep, which in some respects they resemble. The few 

 of this breed that were exhibited were very fine speci- 

 mens, and it is scarcely possible to say which was the 

 best of the various lots. Mr. Cradock's ewe of that 

 breed was certainly a wonderful animal in point of size 

 and proportions, but in other respects I think several 

 others were quite as meritorious. The amount of 

 human food a flock of Cotswold sheep would yield at 

 twenty months or two years old must be enormous, if 

 the specimens at the show are any criterion ; and, as I 

 have before said, that is a good reason for the race ob- 

 taining patronage from tlie managers of our public ex- 

 hibitions whilst meat continues at so high a price, which 

 does not appear likely to be reduced while the popula- 

 tion continues to increase, and the great hives of indus- 

 try in the north are so fully employed. 



Notwithstanding the absence of the representatives of 

 three of our old exhibitors of Southdown sheep, 

 there was no falling off in the excellence of those of 

 that race which were in the yard. The late Duke of 

 Richmond's stock were certainly an ornament to the 

 show, but those of Mr. Rigden, Lord Walsingham, Mr. 

 tl. Wilson, Mr. J. Overman, and others, made amends 

 for their absence. These beautiful animals, with their 

 small delicate heads set on so spiritedly, their close and 

 fine wool, their square and well-proportioned carcases, 

 and their short and slender legs, shew them to be the 

 true aristocrats of the fold. But their flesh — there lies 

 the excellence of the breed. I think the poet must have 

 had a leg of Southdown mutton in his mind's eye when 

 he penned his admirable lines (to a gourmand at least) : 



"Gently stir and blow the fire : 



Lay the mutton down to roast : 

 Dress it quickly, I desire ; 



In the dripping put a toast. 

 That I hunger may remove. 

 For mutton is the meat I love. 



" Ou the dresser see it lie : 



O, the charming white and red ! 

 Fiuer meat ne'er met my eye : 



On the sweetest grass it fed : 

 Let the jack go swiftly rouod : 

 Let me Lave it nice and browned. 



"On the table lay a cloth : 



Let the knives be sharp and clean: 



Pickles get, and salads, both- 

 Let them both be fresh and green : 



With small beer, good ale, and wine, 



O, ye gods, how I shall dine !" 



These lines, I say, must certainly refer to either South- 

 down mutton or to the old Norfolk, to which latter 

 there is no modern mutton worthy to be compared. The 

 last taste I had of that breed was at Newmarket, some 

 forty or fifty years ago. They were well adapted to the 

 heaths of that district, but not at all to the modern 

 system of farming; for they would leap a fence five feet 

 high as easily as a greyhound, and no hurdles could 

 confine them when hungry. And then their size and 

 horns ! a Norfolk ram of four or five years old was al- 

 most as tall as a donkey, and with his spiral horns he 

 would attack the stoutest shepherd's dog as fearlessly 

 as a lion. Peace to their ashes ! they were, like their 

 countrymen (setting self-praise aside), a spirited race, 

 and 'tis a pity they have become extinct j but fashion 

 is everything. 



Asking pardon for dilating thus upon what was not 

 exhibited, I return to "nos mouio7is." The Hamp- 

 shire and west country Downs were few in number, but 

 excellent in quality. Mr. Canning's pen of the latter 

 were particularly handsome ; and so were those of Mr. 

 Stephen King, and those of his namesake W. King, 

 both which obtained the prizes with Mr. Canning. The 

 size of these animals hardly accords with my ideas of 

 the feed on the Downs ; but I suppose, in this respectj 



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