London to John O' Groat's. 119 



of the Cambridge Show, brought together 2,000 visitors, 

 constituting, perhaps, the most distinguished assembly 

 of agriculturists ever convened. On this occasion the 

 Duke of Richmond, an hereditary and eminent breeder 

 of Southdowns in their native county, bid 100 guineas 

 for a ram lamb, which Mr. Webb himself bought in. 



Having attained to such eminence as a sheep- 

 breeder, Mr. Webb entered upon another sphere of 

 improvement, in which he won almost equal distinction. 

 In 1837, he laid the foundation of the Babraham Herd 

 of Shorthorn cattle, made up of six different tribes, 

 purchased from the most valuable and celebrated 

 branches of the race bearing that name. An incident 

 attaching to one of these purchases may illustrate the 

 nice care and cultivated skill which Mr. Webb exer- 

 cised in the treatment of choice animals. He bought 

 out of Lord Spencer's herd the celebrated cow, 

 " Dodona." That eminent breeder, it appears, had 

 given her up, as irretrievably sterile, and he parted 

 with her solely on that account. Mr. Webb, however, 

 took her to Babraham, and, as a result of the more 

 intelligent treatment he bestowed upon her, she pro- 

 duced successively four calves, which thus formed 

 one of the most valuable families of the Babraham 

 herd. When I visited the scene of his life and 

 labors, all his sheep and cattle had been sold. But 



