THE UNITED KINGDOM. 69 



I saw no costly outlay anywhere, neither in barns, sheds, stables, or 

 fences at Sandringham. 



Many of the animals of the Prince of Wales's herd are obtainable at 

 fixed prices that are so moderate that any farmer may invest in them, 

 and, compared with the prices asked in similar first-class herds, it is evi- 

 dent that Sandringham, as a source of good Shorthorn blood, is meant to 

 be a fertilizing stream for farmers at home and abroad. The " Diadem " 

 strain is a valuable one for its milking qualities, some of the cows giv- 

 ing two gallons when out on grass. The herd of cows out in the open 

 Wolierton marshes were looking, on the 17th of January, all in healthy 

 condition, noticeably so considering the slight attack from foot and 

 mouth disease from which all had suifered. The Babingleyherd, only 2 

 miles distant, had entirely escaped. The hardihood and general con- 

 dition of both herds witnessed to the good stamina of the stock, and 

 whilst the Babingley farm is in soil, situation, and general character only 

 a good average one, the Wolferton low levels, wind-swept and marsh- 

 musty, are as exposed and cold as can be any quarters to which the 

 stock are likely to be moved. 



The Sandringham Shorthorn herds represent the best of the blood in 

 the kingdom. Its stock is drawn from the herds of the Duke of Man- 

 chester, the Earls of Dunrnore, Feversham, Bective, of Lord Fitzhard- 

 inge, of Colonel Kingscote, and of Messrs. Bowly, Darling, Hamer, Sa- 

 muda, Sartoris and Tracey, as representing the Bates blood ; whilst 

 the Booth blood is represented by the herds of Her Majesty the Queen, 

 the Rev. J. N. Micklethians, and Messrs. Hugh Ayliner, H. D. Barclay, 

 A. H. Browne and J. Gamble. 



The pastures are often of that good grazing character called " bullock- 

 pastures" of the old mixed grasses and adapted to fattening stock. In 

 this direction the Prince of Wales has often been successful, and there 

 are now in the yards some Devon, cross-bred Black Polls, and two High- 

 land cattle that may be expected, in 1884, to be in the front rank at fat 

 stock shows. 



From the responses to my circulars requesting information I extract 

 the following : 



THE DUFFRYN HERD OF SHORTHORNS. 



Mr. K. Stratton writes relative to his "DuffrynHerd of Shorthorns 7 * 

 (inclosure 8) : 



History of the Stratton lierd. My herd was founded by my father in 1837, by the 

 purchase of Phoenix (6,290), which had been bred by Mr. Bellamy from the stock of 

 C. Coiling, and Avas the sire of Moss Rose, calved in 1638, whose progeny may be said 

 to have made the reputation the Stratton Shorthorns may claim. It has been com- 

 puk'd that they have won not less than 10,000 in prizes. The dam of Moss Rose 

 was a cow of good Shorthorn character and an excellent milker. She was purchased 

 in the market and her pedigree was unknown. The herd has always been managed 

 with a view to produce stock combining good milking and feeding qualities; with 

 what success the records of the Smithfield Club, the London Dairy Show, the Dairy 

 Classes of the Royal Agricultural Shows attest. At the Smithfield shows they have 

 won more champion prizes than all other Shorthorn tribes pnt together. 



In my father's time the herd was kept for many years on the Wiltshire Hills; my 

 brothers herd at Alton Priors was also kept at a very considerable elevation, some 

 700 feet above the sea, and proved remarkably hardy. They have always been bred 

 with a view to hardihood, and many of the heifers and late calving cows have in- 

 variahly been kept in the open fields all through the winter with only straw or rough 

 hay besides the grass of the pasture to eat. These Shorthorns are as hardy as any 

 domestic breed, and when Shorthorns have been objected to,on the ground of delicacy, 

 they have become so from the system of "in-and-in breeding" largely practiced by 

 breeders in this country. 



