On the Exhibition of Live Stock at Chester. 387 



to the midland counties, and they are beinpf tried in other loca- 

 lities also : some have been sent to Ireland. Professor Wilson 

 gives an interesting account of these sheep in his paper ' On 

 the Various Breeds of Sheep in Great Britain ' (Rojal Agri- 

 cultural Society's Journal, vol. xvi.). Mr. Milward, in his report 

 ' On the Exhibition of Live Stock at Gloucester' (vol. xiv, 

 p, 458), states : — " The new class of Shropshire Downs was very 

 successful ; it is to be hoped that the Society will recognise 

 them as a distinct breed." At the Gloucester meeting this 

 new class contained 121 specimens ; at Chester, in 1858, they 

 reached 184; and of an improved character, showing more uni- 

 formity as a county breed. The most popular breeders of these 

 sheep are W. O. Foster, Esq., M.P., Kinver Hall, Stourbridge ; 

 E. Holland, Esq., M.P., Dumbleton Hall, Evesham ; G. Adney, 

 of Harley, Much Wenlock ; H. Smith, jun., Sutton Maddock, 

 Salop ; James and Edward Crane, Shrawardine, Shrewsbury ; 

 Mrs. Baker, Grindon, Atherstone, &c. 



The Cheviots, although classed as a short- woolled breed, can- 

 not enter into competition with the others, being in fact the 

 representatives of a mountain district, and not of a highly culti- 

 vated country. 



We turn now to the classes shown at Chester : — 



Class I. — Sltearling Rams: 61 entries! — These were com- 

 posed of Hampshire, Oxfordshire, Shropshire, West-country 

 Downs, and Cheviots. It was indeed a task for the Judges to 

 compare 61 animals of different breeds, breed against breed, size 

 against symmetry, and both against the lean but respectable 

 mountain Cheviot. 



The first and second prizes, as also a high commendation for a 

 third ram, Avere awarded to Mr. William Humfrey, of Oak Ash, 

 near Wantage, Berks, for his three shearling rams, numbered 

 respectively 647, 650, and 651. They were entered by Mr. 

 Humfrey as West-country Downs with brown faces. The other 

 commendations in this class fell upon Messrs. Crane's Shrop- 

 shire Downs, Mr. W. O. Foster's Shropshire Downs, Mr. Bryan's 

 Oxfordshire Down, and Mr. Humfrey's West-country Down. 

 The several girths of these shearling rams were as follows : — 



1st prize, No. 647, 4 feet 6 inches, 

 2nd 



Class II. — Aged Rams : 27 entries. — Here, again, we had 

 representatives of all the above breeds, forming a most inter- 



