THE CULTIVATOR. 
85 
^Foreign Intelligence. 
LETTER FROM F. ROTCH, Esq. 
No. 8 Sidmouth st., Regent Square , London, Jan. 1, 1843. 
Editors of xhe Cultivator— Having-felt in common 
with some others who are interested in the advancement 
of agriculture, that medals mig*ht possibly be substituted! 
with advantage in lieu of money for premiums, I took] 
the occasion when passing through Birmingham, on myj 
way here from Liverpool, to call on Mr.-, the me¬ 
dalist, a very rising man in the art, and one whose ta¬ 
lents have during many years given celebrity to other 
names than his own; for till very lately he was an ope¬ 
rative doing the work of some of the first houses in this 
place, and was, I understand, discharged from their em¬ 
ploy for venturing to put his own name in the minutest 
lettering and in the most unobtrusive manner, on a die 
of considerable merit and value which he had just com¬ 
pleted! Fortunately at this moment of indiscreet pre¬ 
sumption, a more liberal and less mercenary capitalist 
crossed his path, and advised the discarded artist to com¬ 
mence business on his own account and in his own name. 
This he has done, and I was glad to find this excellent 
medalist doing a fair amount of work, and living in a 
most comfortable and neat, though small house, with a 
large brass plate on the door daringly announcing both 
his name and occupation. Thus may it ever be with 
merit, when an attempt is made to withhold from it its 
meed of praise and reward. 
But to return; having been shown into .a very pretty 
little parlor, whose ornaments gave evidence of taste and 
virtue in its owner, the artist himself came in, and I en¬ 
tered on the object of my business, when I was shown a 
variety of medals from dies of his own workmanship; all 
of which were minute and excellent in their pai-ts, bold 
in their relief, and showing admirable skill in their ge¬ 
neral arrangement and execution. After describing to 
him what I considered the requisites of an agricultural 
medal for premiums, I found a well executed die of any 
single animal, (whether a portrait or not,) would cost 
from $35 to $40, including the reverse die for stamping 
the other side of the medal, with the necessary lettering 
descriptive of the medal and the Society; the names of 
the parties (gaining it,) to be put in, necessarily, by the 
graving tool. The impressions from such a die may be 
struck in Queen’s metal at 25c. each, in copper at 60c. 
each, in silver at $2,50, in very heavy gilt at $3,00, and 
in gold according to weight. By the electro process, 
however, a copper medal may be gilt to a thickness 
which would amount to but little short of a gold one; 
being in fact a plate of gold supported by copper, Avhich 
latter serves only to afford thickness of material for the 
parts that stand out in such bold relief from the surface, 
as would otherwise consume a much more expensive 
amount of the precious metals. Of course the die be¬ 
comes the property of the parties paying for it, anti the 
medals may be struck from it whenever they may think 
best. 
Should, however, the first cost of the die be consider¬ 
ed a larger appropriation for such a purpose than the 
funds of a County Society might seem to warrant, it must 
be remembered that by having reverse dies, the face die, 
supposing it to be adapted to bulls, might be made to 
answer for all three classes; or by a suitable arrange¬ 
ment of the reverse die be made to answer for as many 
different societies. The reverse die is not expensive, 
costing something like four or five dollars only. 
T do not pretend to know what may be the prevailing 
opinion on the subject of money premiums; but there are 
some, at least, who think with me, that any and every 
substitution for money, would be an advantage, in as 
much as it would better aid the intent of the agricultural 
societies themselves, and better meet the prouder and 
nobler feelings of the competitors. 
The difference it seems to me between premiums a- 
warded in dollars, and those presented in books, plate, or 
medals, is, that in one case the event, so creditable to 
the exhibitor, is recorded by an abiding evidence of the 
society's approbation and a^vard, which will remain a! 
pride and stimulus to all connected with the successful 
candidate. In the other case, as there is nothing dis¬ 
tinctive in the dollar, there is nothing to be carried back 
as a trophy to call forth the warm sympathies of the home 
circle, nothing cognizable to gladden even the youth who 
perhaps, with many a hope and fear, faithfully attended 
and looked after this firstling of his father’s flock. No— 
with the undistinguishable dollar in the pocket, nothing 
remains to tell the story, to realize the success—there 
is nothing to look at, to admire, to mark the event with 
those who were not present. 
I need only add that if any of our agricultural socie¬ 
ties should wish to avail themselves of my services in 
this, or any other way, it will afford me pleasure to ren¬ 
der them—and with your permission, I will, in the course 
of the next month, have some medals left at the office of 
ihe Cultivator, for tlie inspection of those who may feel 
interested to see them. I am with respect, yours, &c. 
Francis Rotch. 
Mr. Colkan in England.— From the Mark-Lane 
Express, we learn that at a meeting of the Council of the 
Royal Agricultural Society, in London, on the 6th of 
Dec., Mr. Colman called the attention of the Council to 
the great inconvenience found at present to arise in all 
comparative trials in agricultural inquiries, from the want 
of an uniformity of the weights and measures employed 
in ascertaining the resulting produce. In traveling 
through England, he had himself found it difficult to draw 
accurate conclusions from the results communicated to 
him; in some districts, the load being said to contain 
three, and in others, five bushels; the bushel being on 
one occasion estimated‘at thirty-eight quarts. In weight, 
on the other hand, he had found the pound to be made up 
of sixteen, eighteen and twenty ounces, according to the 
custom of the particular dWrlcls; while in Cambridge, 
butter was sold by tiie yard, and in Nottingham by the 
pint. 
Leicesters and South Downs.— At the meeting of 
the Smithfieid 'Club in London, in December last, Mr. 
Hillyard, a noted farmer and stock-breeder, made some 
interesting remarks about sheep. He.said the Leicester 
breed, founded by Bakewell, had been the means of im 
proving every other long-wooied breed in the kingdom, 
lie was an extensive breeder of tiffs sort of sheep, and 
the only fault with them was, they had too much fat meet 
in proportion to the lean. On this account they had not 
latterly sold as well in Smithfieid market, as the “ black- 
faced sheep,” (the Scotch breeds, South Downs, ,&c.) 
For this reason he had last season crossed many of his 
Leicester ewes with a South Down buck, by which he 
hoped to get more lean meat in proportion to the fat. 
He said « the world could not produce sheep of such 
beautiful symmetry as the pure Leicesters,” and that it 
Was certain they had “one great recommendation over 
the South downs, for a greater weight of meat per acre, 
could be produced with the Leicesters.” We observe that 
several farmers in England are crossing the Leicesters 
with the South Downs; but in general they do not breed, 
from the cross—they keep both breeds pure, and kill the 
cross-bred stock. The object is to suit the quality of 
the meat to the market. 
Cheviot Sheep. —Count de Gourcey saw a splendid 
flock of these sheep, on a poor and rough mountain pasture 
in Sutherland. He was much surprised to see these “hor¬ 
rible mountains and miserable pastures, stocked with 
such fine animals, yielding on an average 5 lbs. of long 
beautiful wool—wethers at three and a half years old, 
without having eaten any other thing but what is to be 
found in these wilds, weighing alive 200 lbs.” “What I 
have seen in this journey, makes me more convinced 
than ever that the Cheviot breed is one of the highest 
merit, since they live and fatten on such land, and that, 
too, without adding any other food besides what these 
wilds produce.” 
Sub-soil Plowing. —At a late meeting of the Corn¬ 
wall Agricultural Association, Mr. Tilley stated that he 
had practiced sub-soil plowing for four years, and that all 
his crops had been greatly benefited. His carrots had 
doubled in quantity, his turneps had greatly increased* 
his mangold wurtzel was nearly doubled. 
