CHAPTER XVI. 



FIRST SHOW AT KELSO, 1832. 



From the Ness to the Tweed was a great stretch. The 

 Society resolved to hold the show of 1832 at Kelso, the 

 date of which was fixed for Thursday the 4th October. In 

 holding the show so near the Borders, the Society 

 seemed to have aimed at securing a great competition of 

 Shorthorns, recognising by this time the importance of the 

 ' universal intruder.' The report submitted to the General 

 Meeting of January 1832 respecting this show said : ' As it 

 is the first competition open to both sides of the Tweed, so it 

 is anticipated to be, in many respects, the most interesting, as 

 well as the most distinguished, as regards the character of 

 the stock, which has yet been held, and the meeting will, 

 therefore, probably be attended by a great concourse of 

 agriculturists, without much regard to the distance they 

 may have to travel' With the view of attracting Shorthorns 

 from England, the Society resolved to offer very handsome 

 prizes. Indeed, the only prizes they offered for breeding 

 stock were assigned to Shorthorns. Only a single prize 

 was offered for each of the West Highland, Angus, Ayr- 

 shire, and Galloway breeds, the premium in each instance 

 being a sum of iJ"io for oxen. In the hope that some oxen 

 might be attracted from England, premiums of £i$ were 

 offered for oxen of the Devon and Hereford breeds. Alto- 

 gether the Society offered the sum of iJ^3io in cattle 

 premiums, but of that sum no less a proportion than ;^230 

 was allocated for Shorthorns. As much as ;^5o was offered 

 for the best bull, ^^"40 for the second best, and ;i^30 for the 

 third best. It was conditioned that the exhibitor gaining 

 the prizes should let out the bull for season 1833 for service 

 in Scotland. For cows the premiums were proportionately 

 smaller, there being two prizes of i^i5 and ;ifio. Like 



