186 



Agricultural Exh ibitions. 



Vol. VII. 



For the Farmers' Cabinet. 

 Agricultural Exhibitions. 



Messrs. Editors, — If I know myself, no- 

 thing was farther from my wish, than to 

 bring the Philadelphia Agricultural Society 

 into "disrepute;" and your correspondent, 

 Culley, was never farther from the truth, 

 than when he accuses me of the intention ; 

 which he has altogether mistaken. It is the 

 system of judging and awarding publicly, 

 that I am opposed to; and I cited cases to 

 corroborate my views, without regard to in- 

 dividuals composing examining committees. 

 I am quite ready to admit, that amongst 

 them are to be found the best judges of cat 

 tie and the most respectable members of so- 

 ciety; but I have yet to learn, that either 

 judges or cattle, at public exhibitions, are 

 not amenable to criticism. Your correspond 

 ent is unfortunate in accusing me of being 

 " wonderfully pleased with some things;" for 

 he afterwards says, " nothing appears to have 

 been managed to suit his genius;" now 1 had 

 just expressed myself pleased with the award 

 of the judges, who had, in my estimation, at 

 length done justice to the Prince of Wales; 

 and I point to this circumstance, to show 

 your correspondent that he is again wrong, 

 when he " honestly'''' believes I do not know a 

 good animal when I see one; for here are 

 the judges, "unanimous in their opinion," 

 declaring that I do know a good animal 

 when I see one. I suppose I must submit 

 to the punishment of finding myself exposed 

 to ridicule amongst judges of thorough-bred 

 Durham short-horns, for having dared to find 

 any fault with Colostra; and yet, the ap- 

 pointed judges have declared unanimously, 

 that his qualities are second rate ! If I had 

 wanted coarse beef, I should have known 

 where to go for it; but what I did want, I 

 found in the beautifully-formed rump and 

 buttocks of Mr. Kelly's bull, Prince of Wales; 

 and must again express surprise, that the 

 comparison had not long ago been made by 

 the judges, to his advantage. I again ask, 

 fearlessly, is Colostra worse, or the Prince 

 of Wales better, than they were a year ago? 

 I will also again presume to ask, if Leander 

 is at all improved since the time when he 

 was declared inferior to Sam Slick; that is, 

 at one year old ! I believe not, for at that 

 time he was declared to be a perfect animal, 

 by his spirited breeder, than whose judgment 

 in stock, I know of none that I would this 

 day prefer. " But Sam Slick was not this 

 year on the ground ;" — true, and I was 

 therefore deprived of the opportunity of as- 

 certaining, whether, in the estimate of the 

 judges, he still retained his superiority over 

 Leander — and would this have been too 

 much to calculate upon, seeing that he is 



" one of the best bred bulls in America, and 

 in the hands of one of the best breeders and 

 managers of stock in the country?" besides 

 having carried off the first premium, as the 

 best bull on the ground, the last year. But 

 Leander, it may be said, was not then on the 

 ground — true again; but if I were such a 

 person as your correspondent would have 

 you believe, I should not be backward in ex- 

 pressing the opinion, that he would not have 

 been present this year, if his antagonist had 

 not quitted the stage. It must, indeed, be 

 discouraging to a breeder, to find that after 

 all his care and high feeding, he cannot 

 make an animal all he would have him; but 

 that such a thing is impossible, I would just 

 point your correspondent to an animal on the 

 ground, boasting the name "Colostra the se- 

 cond," as proof, that " all breed does not go 

 in at the mouth." 



Your correspondent must be high in the 

 councils of the judges to know, of a truth, 

 that they were unanimous in their award of 

 premiums to Judge Longstreth for his stock 

 the last year; but peculiarly unfortunate, in 

 ascribing' the loss of them to the removal of 

 his cattle from off the ground, by mistake; 

 for I would ask, if there was a single exhib- 

 itor present, who did not know that it was 

 one of the rules of the Society — oft exprest 

 and published — that "all stock must remain 

 on the ground during the days of exhibi- 

 tion?" And doubly galling to the Judge 

 must it have been, thus to be deprived of the 

 honour, through an inadvertency on his part; 

 seeing that the owner of Leander, the year 

 before, received his second premium, (see p. 

 141, Vol. V. of Cabinet,) although he caused 

 him to be removed from the ground immedi- 

 ately on the publication of the award, de- 

 claring that he considered his bull disgraced 

 by it, and indulging in ummeasured terms, 

 his opinion of the incapacity and ignorance — 

 not to say prejudice — of the judges! thus 

 breaking through the rules of the Society — 

 himself being one of the framers of these 

 rules — and setting them at open defiance. | 

 Now if the owner of Leander — a man in 

 whose judgment I am willing to place as 1 

 much confidence as in that of any other 

 member of the Society, considers the system 

 so inconsistent and unsatisfactory, I hope I 

 may presume to take shelter by his side, and 

 propose, respectfully, that the Society would: 

 amend it — which is all that I ever presumed 

 to do. 



Your correspondent's charge, of vilifying 

 the individual characters of the judges, I 

 value not — I feel it is unmerited, and that's 

 enough, without retaliation or complaint. 

 Perhaps I know most of them as well as he 

 does; and there are some amongst them, 



