THE UNITED KINGDOM. 73 



making the acquaintance of one of the most successful breeders of Short- 

 horns now living, and whose name with that of Mr. Booth is connected 

 wherever the celebrated blood is found. The inclosure (No. 18) is the 

 current catalogue of Mr. Aylmer's stock, to which reference, will show 

 the unrivaled character of the stock. 



The homestead, near the remains of the old abbey, is situated in a 

 rich, level country, some of the pastures carrying one and a half bullock 

 to the acre. 



On two out of the three farms occupied by Mr. Aylmer there had been 

 a slight attack of foot-and-mouth disease (a terrible scourge, where ani- 

 mals worth 500 guineas each are exposed), which had been successfully 

 treated and routed. 



At Dereham we were on classic rural ground, for Tusser, the agricult- 

 ural-axiom author, occupied the moated farm where the abbey remains. 



Having visited the plain, useful farm buildings, all fairly ventilated, 

 and seen the first group of a dozen pedigree cows all out for day graz- 

 ing, during the present very open season, we went to the manor-house 

 farm, passing the flock of Cotswold shearling ewes, fenced in with inex- 

 pensive string-netting tied to sticks. In the cattle stables each manger 

 had three divisions, one for sliced roots, one for broken cake, and one 

 for a lump of rock-salt. The latter was everywhere, in buildings and 

 fields, always accessible. 



On this farm, amongst the stock that I especially noted were young 

 Sir Anthony, a red-and- white bull, calved last March; Stopford, just 

 twelve months old, son of the Sir Simeon which has just been sold at 

 a large price to go to Ireland. Stopford promises to become as grand 

 as his sire. There were also a couple of heifers Castanet 10 and Cas- 

 tanet 11 bred from that capital bull Sir Benedict, 42388, a splendid 

 white roan. These two Castanets, half sisters and about a year old, 

 are considered worth 1,000 guineas the pair. 



The bull Felix, rather over two years, was a very handsome and com- 

 plete roan, and goes back to Comet, an illustrious descent. King Rod- 

 erick and, indeed, most of Mr. Aylmer's stock, have noticeably flat oval- 

 shaped horns. Some of the grand old cows we were looking at had 

 produced ten to a dozen calves, selling at from 350 to 400 guineas each. 

 One young bull-calf we saw, under twelve months old, is priced at 350 

 guineas. 



The repute of Mr. Aylmer's stock is such that for twenty-five years 

 there has been no occasion to exhibit at shows. Some of the cows, I 

 noted, had twice calved in the twelve months a good evidence of their 

 prolific nature. 



In Mr. Aylmer's u workshop," or study, was the framed certificate 

 awarded him at the Centennial Exhibition held at Philadelphia in 1876, 

 where he exhibited a pen of his sheep. 



DENCHFIELD STOCK. 



From the celebrated vale of Aylesbury Mr. Edw. Denchfield gives 

 some useful details of Buckinghamshire as to its'famous regions (in- 

 closure 19). 



Plaster clay is the geological strata southeast, between the Thames 

 and river Colne. Then there is the chalk formation of the Chiltern Hills, 

 and the Tesworth clay fills up the vale of Aylesbury, noted for its pro- 

 ductions both animal and vegetable. Limestone and oolite occupy the 

 north of the county, and the natural grasses of Buckinghamshire favor 

 the finishing off as well as the rearing of stock. Dairy herds of Short- 



