586 Report on the Exhibition of Live-Stock at Derby. 
known " The Swell," was easily first in the Old Ram Class, as he 
was first in the same class at Carlisle. Mr. Street, and Mr. Charles 
Howard, were first and second with pens of very useful ewes. 
The Judges have sent this Report of the Oxford Down 
Shearling sheep : 
21 sheep shown are a useful lot, and quite up to the average of j)revious 
year?. 
In the Old Sheep Class there are only three shown, but there are two very 
good sheep. 
In the Shearling Ewes four pens are shown ; the first and second are very 
useful sheei^. 
John Beyan. 
William Jonas. 
Shropshire Downs. 
A fine show of Shropshires was expected, but no one dreamed 
that 283 animals (from 153 entries) of this breed would be 
exhibited ; or fourteen more than at Kilburn. At Carlisle eighty 
animals appeared upon the scene. These figures compare most 
favourably with the numbers of any other breed shown at this or 
previous Royal Shows. They have only been exceeded by those 
of the Southdowns at Kilburn. At Carlisle and Derby, Shrop- 
shires were considerably more numerous than Southdowns, which 
are of world-wide reputation. It may not generally be known 
that Shropshire Downs originated from a breed native of the 
Longmynd range of hills, described in Plymley's' General View 
of the Agriculture of Shropshire,' as a breed " with horns and 
black faces, nimble and hard, and weigh near 10 lbs. per quarter 
when fatted. Their fleeces upon an average may weigh 2 lbs. 
to 2J lbs." This breed was crossed, it is said, with the South- 
downs and Leicesters, and raised to its present perfection of 
weight of " marbled " meat with Down-like flavour, and quality 
of wool, combining the quantity of Longwoolled fleeces with the 
finer staple of the Southdowns. Here then is a breed in which 
all the desired qualities are united ! Here is a sheep 
which meets the requirements of the time ! Surely this is the 
" comins: race " ! This breed thrives and maintains an even 
standard of excellence in all places with proper care and careful 
selection, as is proved by the success of Mr. Naper in Ireland, 
and of other exhibitors residing in the Midland counties, and 
'by the experience of many who have seen it flourishing alike in 
Kent, Surrey, Norfolk, and in other counties whose soil and 
surroundings totally differ from those of West Shropshire. It 
is a significant fact, tending to prove the popularity and wide 
distribution of this breed, that no less than thirty-seven flocks 
were represented at Derby, while the Cotswolds came from five 
flocks, the Leicesters from seven, the Lincolns from nine, the 
