THE WARLABY HERD. 115 



In glowing rhapsody of almost indiscriminate praise and we do 

 not say that any portion of his descriptions are untruthful Mr. Carr 

 occupies fifty further pages with the names of animals which Richard 

 Booth bred, the tribes to which they belonged, the prizes he won, and 

 the applause he drew as a successful breeder. One author relates : 



" It has been reported that Mr. Booth refused for his cow Queen 

 of the May, an offer of 1500 guineas,* the highest price ever bidden 

 for a Short-horn. The circumstances which are given on the late 

 Mr. R. Booth's authority are these : Two gentlemen from America, 

 apparently agents for an American company, came to see the herd, 

 and when they saw Queen of the May were completely riveted by 

 the fascination of her beauty. After dwelling for some time upon 

 her perfections, they inquired of Mr. Booth whether he would part 

 with her. He replied that he 'would not sell her for the highest 

 price ever given for a Short-horn.' 'That, sir,' said one of them, 

 'was, I believe, 1200 guineas?' Mr. Booth answered in the affirma- 

 tive. They consulted together, and asked him whether he would 

 take 1500 guineas, which Mr. Booth declined to do, remarking that 

 if she bred a living calf, and he had the luck to rear it, she was 

 worth more to him to keep, and they relinquished her with regret, 

 leaving on Mr. Booth's mind the impression that, if he had enter- 

 tained the idea, even that large amount might possibly not have been 

 their final offer." 



It appears, among other things, that Mr. Booth had fallen into the 

 recently growing absurd and destructive practice of " training " his 

 animals for the annual " Royal " and district exhibitions. This was 

 no less than loading them with excessive fat in order to win prizes. 

 This mode of "training" injured them for months, or years, and in 

 frequent instances for life, as breeders, bulls and cows alike, and him- 

 self, in common with others, severely suffered in consequence. Yet 

 knowing the ill effects of such practice, it is still kept up in England, 

 and we fear that it will yet leap across the ocean, to some extent, in 

 America. We trust not, but there is no knowing to what extremes 

 of rivalry our spirited breeders may venture to win the honors so 

 eagerly sought at our public exhibitions. This system, Mr. Carr says, 

 Mr. Booth "strongly deprecated," but was obliged to fall into it or 

 give up showing his animals in competition at the exhibitions. 



At Warlaby, in the enjoyment of an ample estate, surrounded by 

 faithful servants, happy in the fidelity of his old herdsman, "Cuddy," 



* A higher price has been offered and refused in the United States for a cow. Both offer and 

 refusal were bona fide, as we know. L. F. A. 



