32 



Lord Rothschild is also the owner of a very fine Jersey herd. One cow 

 Gauntlet VI. gave nearly 21bs. of butter a day from 4 libs, of milk. 



As an admirer of the work of Lawes and Gilbert, I very naturally made 

 my pilgrimage to Rothamsted, where I was given every facility to look over 

 what had been and was still being done. The plots are still continued on the 

 lines that the writings of Lawes and Gilbert have rendered so familiar. The 

 laboratories and sample-rooms were also full of interest to me. New lines 

 of experimental work are being opened up, and there is no doubt that the 

 work initiated here early in the nineteenth century by Sir John Bennett 

 Lawes is being continued in a manner that he would approve of. 



THE NATIONAL SHOW. 



The Show of the Royal Agricultural Society was held this year at Liverpool, 

 between the 21st and 27th of June. I attended the show on four consecutive 

 days, but in view of its vastness and complexity I found myself unable in 

 this time to do more than go thoroughly over sheep, cattle, and heavy horses, 

 and cast a rapid glance over farm machinery exhibited. 



Before entering upon details let me say that one of the leading features of 

 the show, if one were to judge from the constant stream of visitors attracted 

 to them, were the advertising booths of Canada and of British East Africa. 

 With true insight into the proclivities of the average Briton, the British East 

 African exhibit consisted almost exclusively of trophies of the chase : the 

 natural moral being Who would not go to a country where such game was 

 to be seen from your back door ? Canada dwelt more on the opulence of 

 her resources, and proved almost equally atrractive to visitors. I was struck 

 by the fact that the stream of visitors to these two booths consisted almost 

 exclusively of the rural type that is to say, the type of settler most in de- 

 mand in new countries. Victoria and Western Australia also shared a booth 

 in common ; they did not, however, appear to share the popularity of the 

 other two. The rest of Australia was conspicuous by its absence. It 

 appears to me that if w r e are at all desirous of attracting rural settlers from 

 the old country the numerous shows held throughout its length and breadth 

 should form excellent advertising media. 



My first day at the show was given over to sheep. Of these there were 

 representatives of 24 breeds, many of which were quite new to me, and others 

 with which I had been formerly familiar had undergone manifest improve- 

 ment. 



As South Australians in general are not familiar with many of these breeds 

 I shall summarise below a few notes on each, which I had occasion to put to- 

 gether in the course of my examination of the several pens. 



Oxford Downs. Not a very large exhibit, represented by about 50 pens of 

 sheep. These appeared to me as the best all-round sheep of the show, with 

 the exception, perhaps, of the Suffolks. They are fine, large, compact sheep 



