498 
Report of the Judges on the 
The Croxden Abbey Farms. 
It was early on a bright December morning that we met the 
late Mr. Carrington at Rowcester station. He had just de- 
livered there a magnificent fat Shorthorn bull on its way to the 
shambles. It was a truly grand animal, long, deep and level, full 
of flesh everywhere, without being excessively fat, with a mellow 
touch and a good bull's hide, covered with a silky rich roan 
coat. A weighing-machine being at hand, we requested to 
know his live-weight. At 22 cwts. the beam was raised. Being 
so thoroughly well made up, we estimated the dead-weight at 
|rds of the living carcass. The calculation proved extremely 
accurate, as the 4 quarters (the hind being as heavy as the fore), 
weighed 1G4(J lbs., which, at Id. per lb., the price made, was 
some substantial compensation for the loss of such a noble sire 
from the farm. We first drove to Nothill, an out-of-the-way 
cold clay larm, which is now almost all pasture, with no re- 
deeming leature upon it save a tract of useful water meadow, 
which was then being irrigated. This farm being devoted to 
cheese-making, had a herd of splendid cows, then very low in 
milk. Their produce in the winter was converted into butter. 
The buildings were quite inadecjuate to properly house such 
excellent stock, and a lew well-bred heifers were in a grass field, 
there being no yard or any kind of shelter for them. A splendid 
young bull, the " Prince of the Pinks 2nd," was kept here, 
taking the place of the grand oUl animal we had seen at the 
station. Alter inspecting a small farm at Hollington, which 
belongs to the Carrington family, upon which were some capital 
dairy cattle (their milk being mostly sold in the village), we 
came to Croxden, with the extensive and beautiful ruins of 
its glorious old Abbey. This Abbey was founded in 117(5, 
by Bertram de Verdon, for monks of the Cistercian order, 
and it is said the heart of King John was interred here, 
while his body was buried at Worcester. It has been sug- 
gested " that perhaps the most precious portion of this monarch's 
remains would be the hand that signed Magna Charta, and 
Croxden may be welcome to the heart which reluctantly con- 
sented to the glorious deed." These ruins must be intensely 
interesting to the antiquarian, the historian, and the artist ; 
but we must leave them for the fertile farm which Mr. 
Carrington did so much to make celebrated and improve. It 
had none of that prim smart appearance, which is a usuai 
feature in competing farms ; the fences are mostly high for the 
protection of the cattle, and are purposely lelt rough to shelter 
them from rain and sun. The farm lies on either side of a 
pretty little valley, watered by the Peak rivulet, which is 
