204 RECORDS OF OLD TIMES 



CHAPTER XXI 



Amsterdam — Appointed a judge at the great Exhibition — The journey 

 thither — The PouUry Show — My son Robert wins the gold medals 

 for poultry and water-fowl — Extraordinary weight of prize birds — 

 Paul Potter's bull — ' A wretch ' of a beast — Curious facts in heredity 

 — The famous bull as a picture — Description — The Alderney Bull, 

 by James Ward, R.A. — ' Duke of Connaught ' — Trotting matches 

 — Dutch cattle — Milk production and bacon — Tranquil beauty of 

 the Low Countries — The Dutch : their thrift, cleanliness, and 

 industry — The bulb-farms at Haarlem. 



Another expedition which I made to the Continent 

 was to an important agricultural show at Amsterdam, 

 where I had been asked to officiate as one of the 

 jurors or judges. I was selected as a member of the 

 jury for ' implements,' more especially in relation to 

 the buildings, appliances, and so forth, employed 

 in poultry-rearing for the farmyard, and in the 

 breedings and cultivation of water-fowl. Thisexhibi- 

 tion formed part of a more extended one to celebrate 

 the opening of the new public building for a 

 Museum of Art and Manufactures in Holland. 

 My son Robert, who had managed the well-known 

 poultry establishment on my holding, the Prebendal 

 Farm at Aylesbury, was a large exhibitor in live 

 stock, and glad of the opportunity of accompanying 

 me on the journey. We started from Queenborough 

 to Flushing, and hurried on to the ' Venice of the 



