The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1871-06-27 00:00:00

WAREHAM AND PURBECK LABOURERT AND
SERVANPS FRIEND :3 UCIECY.

The wend competitions in mowing ant sheep-shear-
ing in connection with this °sealant society, took niece
on Wednesday last, in the beautiful park of E. J. Wel
EA., of East Lulworth, the lord of the manor thus
again evincing the intereA b, has always tat •ri i t
society. The weather was nittoh finer than it has ,ce
of late, although • few showers fell in the (nurse of the
day to maintain thi precarious character of our climate.
The crop of grass. notwithstanding toe late abunchnt
twine wu light, and oonsisted chiefly of undergrowth;
had the drought of May continual the match would
have been elenuat impassible. Tilers were eight entries
In the class for what we must now call the old-fashioned
"mowing with scythe," and it was clieeriog to obs,rve
the earnest saal of the moo about their work ; while
there is snob • spirit of emulation fostered we
may b 3 sure, whatever people say who know nothing
about it, that the race of clever honest laboaters will
not become extinct. Two hours sal a half
were allowed them to "clean above" • qearter of an
acre and tt,ey had not teach i time to o eup'ete the
patoL3s staked net for them. lies trimro wee a!sa machine
mewing, Twee implements have in th il.l t few yeas
become so fiundiarised to us in clue c.unty —an
in the Isle of Purbook, probably tlie:r intro.
dustiest is associ It'd with the n Saxe of Mr.
Henry Taylor, of Dorchester, more than any other
implement manufacturer ant dealer-and these macbin.s
have now establish, I themselve4 as doing snob a "sight
o' work," that the sympathy of non.agricaltural
lookers-on on these gala days will generally be tonal
with the scythe-men. The/ strive so hard, and &CC 301.
plish so little as compared with the machines. The
latter bad allotted to them an acre to be mown in an
boar, and all did it, though two of thew, ran it rather
too flue to be pleasant, finishing only one minute under
the hour—these were Mr Sims's.' (Came) man with
Moresby's machine, and Mr Tucker's (Lutworilt) with
Wood's American implement ; but a third—Mr Besent's
(Ktuguten) WWI. with Burgess and lE,y's miwer—hal
nine minutes to spare; while the lourth—Mr Randall's
(Winfrith) man with a Wood's machine early came to
grief, through breaking the knife guard, and was out
of the running, and it will be small o.,nsolatioa to him
to know that lie was a likely "horse" to win. Talking
about running, we should say that the time allowed the
machines eeoemetated the pair of lionies,being kept at •
trot, end there was cot much grace for turning. A
spanking pace no doubt, gives extra incisiveness to the
mower, but continuance at the rate of an sore an hour,
wield uecessitate, we should imagine several relays
of horses. for at the end they all gave minus-
takeable signs of having been at work. But for
I the men. • little mechanical knowledge, a steady
, hand. and • sure eye will suffice ; and no doubt year
alter year we shall have labourers with gre iter skill
and more machines. The sheep-shearing has hitherto
—this year as well—been done by hand; but by and
1 bye we shall not be surprised to find KHOO Yankee
"notion" introduced for "fleecing" the sheep by a
clipper that may be turned by • " But " sual•
I client for the day" he. It was worth going to Lalworila
Park to see how deftly the shearers caught • soorel
"mutton" by • hind leg, and, having so persuaded
it to hop backward on three legs to the shearing
ground, laid the animal on its back prostrate, and f orth-
with commenced slipping the wool off its neck and to
the face, making the surprised sheep wink and blink
at every sink of the shears, evidently in • sad qiiandry
as to where the nest out might be. But no doubt
1 they were handled in the best manner, and to us it
appeared that the showing was done very 01014—unne-
I times, indeed, just i little too near the skin, as sundry
red marks testified. Tee judges, however, thought
but little of the work, and said the Dorchester men
did better. No doubt they are right; but may none
lef us ever be shorn so effectually I It's worth ohaerv.
big that even the shearer. have some notions
eg art in their work not very "high art"
probably; but we are not aware that thole is • School
oi Art at East Ladwortki ; it is more in the way we
should gay of those corrugated merle entlinmastio
antiquity hunters will grow eloquent over when ex.
Whited on • bit of flint, confusing the unlearned with
cabalistic, words, in which one may only distioguiati
"Ancient Britons," "arrowheads," and so on, while
to a ornamon.plases man they appear but as the ordinary
asthma of • river's ripple. But " rerenons it nos
Moslems." The artiatio shearing we speak of consists in
making straight ridges along the beck and loins, while
they are taken scrum the shoulders. Of OCIllne• there
was a good deal of "freehand' noticeable in all this;
and whether the sheep knew all about it or not we can't
wesch, bat to us those with the lines something ap-
pro•chiag the straightness (TI of a dog's hind leg, seemed
more shamefseed than usual, and crept behind the
hi:adios meekly. As they ware Down sheep, perhaps
we ought to say they looked considerably Cows in
the mouth." Mr. li, White, of East Burton, Wool,
provided sheep for the shearers, and had • comfortable
clip of wool off them—probably about Ms. from each,
and that at lid. • pound will tot, up pleasantly for •
large flock. There were three clamed of Oleo:era-12
men accustomed to work in companies 7 men without
any special opportunities; these had to clip three sheep
each in an hour aorkehall ; and 5 boys under 18, who
wens allowed two hours for a pair of sheep, The judges
were—Mr. W. I). Dugdals of Chador' ; Mr. J. B.
Mead. of Monastery Viarm •' and Mr. John Horner. of
Martinstows. Their awards were as follows :
Seale Beaumont —Men accustomed to *bear In companies.—
First, gl, John Harris, servant to Mr. W, T. Dorey, Lulworth ;
second, dl, Hobert email. servant to Mr. Bosom, Wintertime°
Kingston; third, 10.., Jere Trent, servant to Mr. 'Lwow
Mendell, Winhith.—lioya, under In—First, El, Heart' Foote,
servant to Hr. G. KUM, 'furriest°, second, 10., Charles Baker,
servant to Mr. bunnel Tucker, Belbutab.—Farm labourers.—
First, CI, Henry Ninsham, servant to Mr. It. White, Button;
sepaal, £l. W Ulan House, wean& to Mr. Samuel Hunt,
Godlleptone ; thud, 10s., John Mitchell, eanrant to Mr. T.
H. Saunders, Watercombe.
Movnio.—With scolum—Hrst, LI 105., Robert Mason,
servant to Mr. T. H. Saunders, Watercombe ; second, gl,
James Carter, russet to Mr. IL White, Burton; tbinl, los.,
Levi Langford, servant to Mr. W. Beodeu, Combo Moyne...—
Machine mowing.—First, £3, James gams, servant to Yr. T.
Bement, Kingston; second, £2, the gift of Mr. IL Taylor, of
Dorchester, tieorge Bur.mws, servant to Mr. Bynum, of Came.
The dinner took plasm at the Weld Arms, East Lid-
worth. Mr. J H. Caloraft presided, supported by Mr.
J. J. Bates, Kr. Freeland irlilktf. the Bev. Mr. Rocket
(curate of Warehesu).Manare. J. Horner, W. D. Diligilabh
awl W. Kea& (Ike judos). Moira. beast. L Whigs.