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T^HE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



would hardly wag his tongue against him. When his 

 levee was over, we retraced our steps to the Home Park 

 once more, and crossing a suspension hand-bridge of 

 116 feet, we came first on Cherry Lips by 2nd Cherry 

 Duke. She is a half-sister to Malachite, with no great 

 gaiety, but a capital middle. Of Mabel and Mayfly, 

 two Moscow siaters, we liked the younger the best, and 

 she was long, low, and pretty, but with rather a droop in 

 the loin. Baroness Cherry, a twin of Baron Bicker- 

 staffe from Roan Cherry, was well haired and snug, but, 

 on the whole, we thought less of her as we got nearer to 

 her. The white Pearley had a good rib and forequarter, 

 and in the former point especially her daughter Pendant 

 resembled her. 



The Home Farm buildings gave us more scope ; and 

 the white Bride, with her little white Bridesmaid by 

 Valasco at her foot, were duly In waiting to receive us. 

 Bride has quite lost all those restless habits which she 

 had at Mr. Bolden's, where, in consequence of being 

 petted so early, she would never stop with the herd, but 

 kept lowing all day her desire for recognition, as near 

 the house as she could get. Change of scene has had 

 its due influence ; and, to use Clapham's phrase, she has 

 now become quite " doesome." She has rather a 

 Roman nose, which gives her fine character ; and her 

 good shoulders, short leg, and absence of false rib, help 

 to carry out what you gather at the first glance — that 

 she is a cow of immense constitution, and exceedingly 

 like Mr. Saunders's favourite Pearl 7th. She lost her 

 Third Grand Duke bull-calf; and the little Bridesmaid 

 was only a fortnight old. The rest of the cows were 

 clustering round the farther homestead (which, like all 

 the others, is very nicely planned) ; and those who bad 



seen Malachite, could not fail to recognize his dam in 

 CotosUp bth, when she turned her head half round. 

 Old Ruby was there, almost milked to a shadow. The 

 pail is so much her forte, that her milk, when tested 

 fourteen days after calving by a lactometer, was found 

 quite equal to an Alderney's ; and years do not seem 

 to tell on the quantity. Duchess of Norfolk yi&a a nice- 

 looking cow with the same pail propensity, and could 

 show Gleam, of a fortnight old, by Valasco; while her 

 Graceful — a clever, level heifer, but a little drooping 

 behind— had only just completed her eleven months. 

 Rebecca, by Valasco, did Ruby no small credit by her 

 wealth and substance ; and Catalpa, by Valasco, with 

 all the rich hair of her half-brother, might well be put 

 to the credit side of Cowslip 5th. Gondomar, by Va- 

 lasco from Bountiful, who has just been let to Mr. G. 

 Game, of Churchill Heath, bids fair to make up into a 

 yearling of great frame ; and his nurse-cow bore such a 

 I'emarkable resemblance to Queen Mab about the head and 

 neck, that, if a rug had been thrown over the rest of 

 their limbs, no one, except Mr. Booth or Cuddy, could 

 have safely taken his oath as to the identity. The Monk 

 was in the sole occupation of the bull coppy, after being 

 pushed from his Aylesby sovereignty by his illustrious 

 son. Dr. M'Hale. Some little black Highlanders came 

 grazing up to the wall, as we were admiring those 

 rare fore-quarters and " grand arched rib" on which all 

 the Boothites are wont to dwell ; and this quaint and 

 unlooked-for contrast of the Blacknose and Whitenose 

 nations gave us something more to muse on, as we 

 turned our back on Knowlmere and its thirty-two, and 

 strode up the valley towards Whitewell. 



ON THE COMPARATIVE FATTENING QUALITIES OF PURE 

 AND CROSS-BRED SHEEP. 



By James B. Bird, Fishwick, Berwickshire. 

 [Premium— The Gold Medal.] 



In experimenting with pure and cross-bred sheep with the 

 view of ascertaining their comparative feeding and fattening 

 qualities, the writer, on consideration, thought it would be 

 moat Btttisfictory to do bo with animals verging on the age of 

 maturity. Accordingly, twenty wethers^viz., five Leiceaters, 

 five Cheviots, five half- brads, and five twice-crossed, all in 

 their second year — were selected for the purpose. 



The Leicesters were purchased from a gentleman in the 

 immediate neighbourhood, bred by himself as the purest 

 blood ; the Cheviots and half-breda from Mr, Murray, Long- 

 yester, near Gifford, who breeds all his own stock, consequently 

 they were out of the same flock of ewes ; the half-breda being 

 got by Leicester tups, also bred by Mr. Murray. The twice- 

 crossed were bred and reared on the farms with which the 

 writer was connected (the experiment being conducted during 

 winter '58 and '59), being the produce of half-bred ewes and 

 Leicester tups — the ewes themselves a cross betwixt the 

 Leicester and Cheviot, the tups purchased as some of the best 

 blood in the conntyt 



The five Leicesters were purchased and brought on to the 

 ground on the 21st, the Cheviots and half-breds previously, 

 on the 15th October, 1858. All were retained on grass till 

 the 28th, when they were folded on white turnips, on which 

 the twice-crossed sheep had been for nearly a month before. 

 On the 13th November all were correctly weighed, each lot of 

 five, as described, being then put into separate enclosures, and 

 treated exactly alike, as immediately to be detailed. When 

 thus put up to feed, they, to appearance, seemed very much 

 upon a par as to progressing healthy condition — all having 

 thus a fair and impartial commencement. 



The enclosures were formed against a stone fence, shelter- 

 ing all the sheep equally well from the north-east, they being 

 very well protected from blasts and stormy weather frcm other 

 directions by hurdles and straw being fitted up together, so 

 as to form for them a desirable and welcome retreat, which 

 they not only used in such weather, but to which they very 

 generally retired at night even in ordinary weather, the bed- 

 ding of stritw seemingly being to tb«m «n inducement in pre- 



