406 Report on the ExJiibition of Live Stock at Leioes, 



The show of short-homs, however, at Lewes was not so good as 

 on some previous occasions. Neither. Class 1 nor 2 was so good 

 as we could have desired. The improvement in the male animals 

 did not strike us as being progressive ; this may fairly be attri- 

 buted to the alteration in the rule excluding bulls of any age, and 

 to the distance from the great short-horn district. The females 

 appeared to us as possessing great merit, many of them being 

 very superior in quality and character. 



In the Hereford class the stewards regretted to find so few 

 animals exhibited, and consequently so little competition ; but, at 

 the same time, they are justified in stating that the animals 

 shown maintained the character of this breed, and were generally 

 of excellent quality. 



In the class of Uevons they had to regret the smallness of the 

 number of animals exhibited ; but, at the same time, have great 

 pleasure in bearing testimony to the excellency of the two classes 

 4 and 5, in which there was evidently progressive improvement. 



The show this year being held in the county of Sussex, they 

 looked forward to see not only a good entry of the native cattle 

 of the county, but also some of the finest specimens of the breed, 

 in which they were not disappointed. The Sussex cattle did not 

 disgrace their native county, but sustained a good position amongst 

 the other breeds of cattle ; and the number entered proved the 

 great desire of the Sussex breeders to show the farmers of Eng- 

 land then and there assembled the best specimens of their local 

 breed of cattle. The entries in the class open for all cattle not 

 eligible to compete in any of the previous ones were, they regret to 

 say, very few in number ; and it appeared to them that no animal 

 exhibited possessed any great merit. This class being looked 

 upon as the refuge for the destitute — or, in other words, the class 

 open to all animals which are excluded from the foregoing ones — 

 the stewards did expect to find more competition, but feel almost 

 tempted to advise the Society for the future to discontinue the 

 prizes in this class ; still, as the object of the Society is to en- 

 courage the very best description of animals in each variety of 

 stock, and at the same time to present our annual exhibition as a 

 school for the general improvement of landowners and tenant- 

 farmers, they are inclined to think that much good may be found 

 aiKl benefit derived by comparing the animals of various breeds 

 in this class with the other well-known and selected varieties of 

 stock. 



The horses in Class 1, in which there were twenty-four animals 

 entered, were generally of a superior character. Three very 

 good ones were unsuccessful, from exhibiting characters of an 

 hereditary disease, two having very bad feet, and the other being 

 rejected in consequence of malformed hocks and^ bursal enlarge- 



