I 



I have seen, where all the shoes are made, and every 

 thing done pertaining to horse shoeing. There is 

 one person who breaks and trains horses and teaches 

 riding, kc. For this purpose they have a very large 

 biiikliiig, and a beautiful course. They have at pres- 

 ent in training, horses for every purpose, running, 

 trotting, leaping, fee, fcc. There are in all about 

 400 persons employed, making quite a village. A 

 large number of the horses were out at the various 

 summer stations, and many of the cattle were at a 

 great distance in the pasture, so that I did not sec 

 their best specimens, but I saw that it was an excel- 

 lent institution, though like all others sustained by 

 government, conducted not on very rigid principles 

 of economy. 



Rve is now being harvested. Ilay is nearly all in, 

 and wheat to all appearances will not be fit to cut 

 sliort of two weeks hence. The season is not much 

 diU'erent from ours. 1 observe everywhere that the 

 scythe snath in use here is quite straight, yet they 

 seem to work easily, and their meadows are admira- 

 bly cut. I intend to say something of Caen, a very 

 interesting old town, but I cannot now. Its ancient 

 buildings, its history, its present condition, fee, are 

 worthy of notice. P. B. 



P. S. As regards politics, at present there is a 

 perfect calm in France. The only topics tliat elicit 

 even newspaper ducussion, are the tariff and the re- 

 vision of the constitution; and judging from all ap- 

 pearances, neither will at this time be altered. The 

 more radical or progressu'e portion of the assembly 

 have a strong tendency to free trade, and have, as 

 you see by the papers, recently brought in a measure 

 reducing and greatly modifying duties, and in fact 

 declare themselves in favor of absolute freedom. — 

 M. Thiers, the well known statesman and historian, 

 has made himself the champion of the opposition to 

 to it, and declares and has by figures and eloquence 

 endeavoured to prove that without protection France 

 would be ruined. In reading his arguments I was 

 strongly reminded of our tariff agitation. I shall ex- 

 press i.o opinion on the subject, but this much I know, 

 the French people bear an onerous burden in the form 

 of duties, the land absolutely swarms with officers of 

 the law, whose duty it is to prevent any freedom of 

 trade. A lady cannot go to I'aris from a country 

 town, and do her shopping, buy a new hat, fee, 

 without having it opened and examined most minute- 

 ly perhaps half a dozen times before she gets home. 

 A man cannot drive his carriage into town with- 

 out having it searched frum top to bottom, and 

 evf ry thing in it by an officer of the law. These 

 severe and minute restrictions on trade, and the pal- 

 try exactness in regard to passports are greviously 

 annoying. I express no opinion as to their necessity 

 and propriety. P. B. 



CATTLE snow OK THK ROYAL AGRICULTURAL 

 SiiLltlTY OK KNGLAND, IIKLD AT WINDSOR PARK, 

 ON THE ICth. 17th Si 18th OK JULY. 

 No previous exhibition of this kind ever held in Eng- 

 land, attracted so much attention as this. Among 

 the visitors to the great exhibition in Hyde Park, it 

 was a constant subject of conversation for a month 

 or more previous to the day on which it was held. — 

 English agriculturists from Prince Albkrt down, 

 appeared to be animated with the common desire to 

 make it remarkable in its way, a fit arcompanimcnt 

 to the show of all nations in the chrystal palace, and 

 I beiiuve they have succeeded. A collection of more 



perfect animals, or a more judicious, well conceived 

 and satisfactory arrangement, has nut, I venture to 

 say, been seen in any country. In all England, 

 abounding as it does in magnificent parks, no more 

 beautiful spot could have been selected than at Wind- 

 sor, under the Castle walls, on a velvet lawn, and in 

 the midst of park scenery that alone is worth a jour- 

 ney of hundreds of miles to see. Windsor is but an 

 hour's ride from London,and the fare during the show 

 was about 25 cts., hence almost every stranger in 

 London attended, and the whole number of visitors 

 was immense. TJie first day the price of admission 

 was fixed at 5s. sterling, (if 1.25.) The second day 

 2s. 6d., (50 cts.) The third Is., (25 cts.) 



Apprehending a rush, [ chose the first day, in order 

 to enjoy the best opportunity of inspecting the ani- 

 mals. And I afterwards had reason to be glad that 

 I did so, for I understood that the second and third 

 days were by no means agreeable. Those who 

 were present on the first day were exclusively per- 

 sons who felt a direct interest in the show. Agri- 

 culturists from different parts of Great Britain, 

 France, Belgium fee, of foreigners by far the great- 

 er number were French, and indeed at one time of 

 the day one would have supposed that they composed 

 half the number of visitors. The interest manifested 

 by the French here as well as in the agricultural 

 department of the great exhibiton, convinces me that 

 they are quite alive to improvement in every thing 

 pertaining to agriculture. 



The cattle sheds were the most convenient and 

 tasteful, and at the same time the most comfortable 

 for the animals that I have seen. Opposite the wide 

 gate through which the animals were admitted, was 

 an avenue 50 feet wide, on each side of which tlie 

 sheds were arranged in rows, with passages 30 feet 

 wide between each row. Thus giving visitors free 

 access to the animals on both sides. The sheds 

 were 15 feet wide, span roofed, the frame w"ork made 

 of light timber, and the roof covered with common 

 cotton cloth. The two sides were open. The sheds 

 were divided into stalls of 12 feet long, and the ani- 

 mals were tied up as in stables, well furnished with 

 litter. Carts of dry and green fodder and water were 

 kept moving about all day to supply every want in 

 the way of food and drink. These tasteful covered 

 sheds I consider a great improvement in shows of 

 this kind over the dismal looking open "pens" in 

 which we too frequently see the cattle huddled at our 

 shows, and not only that, but they give to persons 

 who wish to examine them a much better opportu- 

 nity ; for here we could enter, pass around the an- 

 imals, and handle them if we choose, from head to 

 tail, without the least difficulty. These sheds, too, are 

 as cheap and simple in their construction as any 

 thing can be. If I were an exhibitor of animals I 

 would cheerfully pay something extra, if necessary, to 

 secure such an arrangement as this, rather than put 

 up with the usual accomodations at our shows. — 

 Every shed was lettered, one A, another B, fee, and 

 each one devoted to a certain breed of animals, and a 

 certain class depending on age, fee, and the breed 

 and class of each was also placed conspicuously on 

 each shed or dei)artment. This enabled visitors to 

 make their examinations and comparisons with great 

 facility. A complete printed catalogue of every ani- 

 mal presented was prepared and sold to visitors at 

 the entrance gate on the first morning. In the cat- 

 alogue the animals were classed tkus — commence 

 first with Short Horn Cattle: 



