1 96 
Wew York State Agricultural Fair, 184S« 
jnent of the cattle show, and a splendid 
show it was. It is believed, no other occa¬ 
sion, has ever witnessed so great and beau¬ 
tiful an exhibition of the improved breeds of 
cattle. We should judge there were nearly 
200 thorough bred Short Horns on the 
ground ; and most of them choice speci¬ 
mens, creditable not only to this country, 
but such as would be so considered even in 
England, the country of their origin, and 
where they have attained their greatest per¬ 
fection. Of Herefords, there was the herd im¬ 
ported by Mr. Sotham and their descendants, 
the subject of much and deserved admira¬ 
tion. Only three or four specimens of Ayr¬ 
shire were exhibited. Of the Devons, not a 
single specimen of pure bred, so far as our ob¬ 
servation extended, was exhibited. We will 
insure a creditable representation of this 
branch, of the great cattle family, at the next 
annual show to be held in Western New York. 
The grade animals were not numerous, 
nor did they possess that merit we have a 
right to expect; a deficiency which it is be¬ 
lieved is attributable not to the want of ani¬ 
mals, but a want of spirit in exhibiting. Of 
native bred cattle there was a sad deficiency. 
We felt ashamed of our native cattle if they 
are to be judged from the display there 
made. We believe our farmers have better, 
and if they have not, they should lose no 
time in crossing over the line to Massachu¬ 
setts and Connecticut, and import some of 
the beautiful and valuable natives they pos¬ 
sess in so great abundance. It will be per¬ 
ceived that no awards were given in some 
of these classes, and only the lowest premi¬ 
ums in others. There needs a little, yes, a 
good deal of book farming among the breed¬ 
ers of native animals. If another such defi¬ 
ciency occurs we shall advocate raising the 
premiums, and open these classes to the Union. 
The fat cattle were superb. The large 
ox belonging to Mr. Rust, evidently a dis¬ 
tant relative of the Herefords, weighs over 
3500 lbs. and the pair of well matched red 
oxen, shown by Mr. Godfrey, were estima¬ 
ted to come nearly up to 6000 lbs. 
In sheep, the greatest display by far was 
among the long wools. Numerous and beau¬ 
tiful specimens were shown, of the Cotswold, 
Lincoln and Bakewell, from our most eminent 
breeders of these varieties. The middle wools 
had some beautiful representations, among 
which we noticed the splendid South Down 
"Wether imported by Mr. Roteh last season, 
which was afterwards slaughtered,andthough 
not in great condition, was found to weigh, 
dressed with the head, 140 lbs. Mr. Grove 
showed several of his beautiful Saxons, 
though small, their intelligent owner con¬ 
trives, from the weight and value of their 
fleece, to make them count, like guineas 
among coin. Of Merinos we are absolutely 
ashamed to speak. From the millions of 
this invaluable variety, New York has the 
credit of possessing, not one pure bred ani¬ 
mal was on the ground ; and but one we be¬ 
lieve of their cross ; the premium buck of 
Mr. Hull, whose blood was equally divided 
with the Saxon. Not only New York, but 
the whole Union requires to renew and re¬ 
invigorate the veins of this long tried, thor¬ 
oughly approved race, so perfectly adapted 
by general consent, to our national wants. 
We have more to say about this hereafter. 
The show of horses in the first class was 
peculiarly fine, and well meriting more pre¬ 
miums than they received. Of younger 
males, and breeding mares, the show was so 
deficient, that no awards were given. Sev¬ 
eral beautiful mares were shown, bnt not be¬ 
ing breeders , were not considered as enti¬ 
tled to premiums. The match horses were 
numerous and some of them magnificent. 
Mr. Sotham exhibited his imported 4 year 
old Sampson, a fine specimen of the English 
Black cart horse, 16 hands high, and of great 
substance. Mr. Edward Harris of Moores- 
town, New Jersey, showed his superb impor¬ 
ted Norman horse, Diligence, 7 years old, 
15J hands, of great compactness and power, 
and admirably designed to improve many of 
the work horses of this country. 
The Berkshires had it all their own way 
among the swine, though the animals on the 
ground were exclusively from the imme¬ 
diate neighborhood. We saw, however, some 
pretty specimens of the Chinas, Neapolitans, 
Byfields, and Cheshires. The show in this 
department was less numerous than it should 
have been, but the limited premiums are so 
disproportionate to the expense of bringing 
the competitors from a distance, that it is not 
likely to be much increased. 
The show of cocoons, and raw and manu¬ 
factured silk was very limited. The speci¬ 
mens were good so far as they went, but we 
hope for a better story for this department 
hereafter. 
The butter and cheese were very fine, and 
worthy of high commendation. We noticed 
our Orange Co. friends there in great force, 
but they have set their neighbors so high a 
standard for so long a time, that they have 
now a competition which it is difficult to 
overcome. 
The fruits were very splendid, and of every 
