The Dorset County Express and Agricultural Gazette.
Dorchester, Dorset, England, 1865-06-13 00:00:00

proud to say that Dorset and Somerset showed
• with no small measure of emcees against Devon
itself on this occasion. Our neighbour Mr.
Smith, of Bradford Peverel, beat the principal
exhibitor in this class, Mr. Walter Farthing,
of Stowe), Court, near Bridgwater, mid with his
three year old "Constitution" carried off the
first prize being as pretty, level, and symmetrical
a male Devon as we ever raw. The sire of
Constitution's dam was Lord Portman's
Palmerston, an animal which carried off many
p.izes, but whoever remembers the last public
appearance of Palmerston it Barnstaple must
admit that Mr. Smith has judiciously improved
upon many points (not however including size) in
the Palmerston family of Devon'. Mr. Farthing's
" Viscount," two years and four months,
the senior of Constitution, was bound to obtain
the second prize, as there were only two entries
in Clow I, but by the rules of some exhibitions
he would have been disqualified by his high con-
dition from showing ass breening animal. His
breadth however was great, and he was in every
way a fine bull. The Devotes were not very
aocurately judged ; although the list of judges
included two such men of repute from our own
district as Mr. Foster. of Lytchett, Poole, and
Mr. John Ford, of Rushton, Blandford. We
were not so much dissatisfied perhaps with the
placing of the three-year-olds giving the late
Mr. Buller's bull the £2O prize, and the £lO and
£5 prizes respectively to Mr. Farthing's
" Osborn," and Mr. John Pitfield's, of Sy monde-
bury's "Paris." But we should certainly have
liked to see that and the award for the yearling
bulls nearly if not entirely inverted. Mr. Walter
Farthing's first prize "Tom" had certainly some
fine character about the head, such as you see
only in perfection in the Devon', frequently also
in the shorthorns, and seldom or never (in fact
it would be a blemish) in the ,Herefords. But
Mr. John Azariah Smith's third prize,
" Hercules," had quality manifestly superior
even to Mr. Bodley's aeoond prize bull "Lincoln,"
and he was abetter animal than "Tom." Again
a more capital quality of flesh was possibly never
men in even a Devon than in Mr. J. A. Smith's old
cow " Young Gold Cup," yet she was awarded
only the third prize, whilst of Mr. Farthing's two
cows placed first and second, the first, " Piuk,"
although a pretty cow and well proportioned,
was long and slender iii body, and the second,
"Jenny," also a handsome cow, was defective in
colour, and in some parts lumpy and irregular.
For any sake, let us have Devoua judged for
symmetry and quality, their well-known charac-
teristics, if they cannot compete in size and fleshy
developments. There was only one in-calf
heifer entered and exhibited in class V., and it
was avraded only a second prize. Mr. Walter
Farthing's first-prize two-year-old, in class VI.
was a little beauty—too little perhaps—although
as we have just hinted, we hardly esteem that
a fault in juvenile Devons. Mr. Buller's repre-
sentatives obtained the second prize for an animsl
of exactly the same age but much larger, and tbe
third prize was awarded to Mr. Walter Farthing '
for a conch better hotelier's heifer t:,an
either—perhaps a much better breeding animal ,
but for one drawback—she stood so badly in '
front. There was a remarkable, though not
numerous, show of short-horns, which very neariy
put the Herefords themselves to the blush. We ;
need not enter much upon these as they are not ,
especially interesting in onr locality. But the •
Duke of Sutherland, Mr. Beever and others
showed some of the Royal Butter fly
breed ; and the animals of Messrs. Loan,
Game, and Stratton, were admirab o. ,
Lady Emily Foley, too, very narrowly missed a
prize in one ot the cow classes; but what could
even the most popular lady in Herefordshire do
against such competitors I Messrs Howards
entry here did not fill as we have stated, although
the local journals stupidly persisted in keeping
up the delusion. Mr. Holland, M.P., had ,
several entries of shorthorns, but unlike his
luck, did not carry off a prize in them classes.
And now for the Herefords. the centre of attrac-
tion in the stock yard. The bull which carried
off the blue ribbon on this occasion was an old
sicqnsintance of ours—Mr. Thomas Duckhttm's
"Commodore." Commodore won at Bristol
• last year; he was also first at Newcastle, he ,
• was first at Coventry, first at Hereford, first at
Newport, where he likewise carried off an extra I
prise as the best animal of any in the yard. His
'girth is 8 ft., although he by no means looks
Wm it, for he is so fine a bull that he possesses ,
the quality of the Devon, with the symmetry
of the shorthorn. Commodore is entered again I
to compete at the Royal Agricultural Society's ,
meeting at Plymouth, as also is his heifer cafe;
and we mention this fact as indicative of his ,
ipacity as a stock getter, the defeat of
"Tom Brown," the second prize having been
attributed in our hearing to the extensive use '
to which he had been put during the season;
for although we should not blame breeders for
reserving animals intended for competition, the ,
first goes to prove that Commodore has not been •
reserved. The owner of Tom Brown is Mr.
Taylor, the owner of Tsmbourne, and other
first-class bulls. The third prize bull was. Mr.
Thomas's 'Claret," a bull of grand girth, but ,
defective before the shoulder and in flank, of
great depth behind but, exhibiting some hollows
in the general contour Of young bulls the
first was Mr. J. R. Paramore's "Director,"
whose colour was good, shoulder good. and
girth fine, but he was rather short in the flank;
whilst the second, Mr. Henry Gibbon's
"Grateful," was good in flank, girth, and colour,
but had a heavy head, characteristic no doubt of
the Hereford, but as it seemed. unnecessarily so.
The third was Mr. Fudge's "Douglas."
We will not go through the female Herefords—
it is as in other instances the males that shine!
Neither will we take up the Leicester sheep. of
which the best were from Devon, and Mr.
Gould, of Poltimore, was facile prineeps. But
the Cotswolds, like the Herefords, were in their
native home—as Mr. Briggs says in Punch,
"their foot was on the heather, and their name
was Macgregor." An ingenious friend of ours,
and one of the best and most enterprising of
Cotswold farmers, has been writing in the
Gloucester Chronicle under the signature of
T. M. R., to prove the Cotswolds the indigenous
race of sheep of the country. He has traced
them in the History of Tacitus, and even, as he
believes, in the Book of Genesis; but leaving
him to settle this last with Dr. Colons°, we are
&fiend that the very peculiar Ryeland sheep
flown in such numbers at this show ,is much
rather the sheep of the district. The show of
South Downs was not numerous, hut they were
exquisite, as may be credited when we state that
our old Dorset Squire, Mr. J. J. Farquharson,
showed sit out of eleven of the yearling rains,
and deservedly carried off the first prize; Mr
Ralph Neville Grenville showed three; and
Barr Radnor, who obtained the second prize, the
other two. Mr. Grenville and the noble Earl
divided the prises in the older class
where they were the sole exhibitors—the
latter being also well entitled to the prize
for his pen of ewes, which stood alone.
Wiltshire Downs (yearling rams) were exhibited by
Mr. W. F. Bennett, of Chilmark, Salisbury, Mr.
James Rawlence of Balbridge, Wilton ; the former
also showing a fins pen of fine Wiltshire Down ewes;
arid Hampshire yearly rams by Mr. John Moore,
Ldloot Farm, Palmy, and Mr. Christopher Rose,
ZealeGreen, Mere, who also exhibited a capital pen
of five ewes.—Mr. Rawlencie also exhibited two west
country Down Imes, young and old, and five ewes,
carrying off the Ist and 2nd prizes for the yearlings,
2nd for the old rams, and both Ist and 2nd for the
ewe pens, and making, with one exception, a tote'
elearance of these Down claws. Mr. A. J. Pitfield,
of Eype, was first for Dorset horns as • matter of
course; a Somerset horn, shown by Mr. Danger, of
Hrintstile, feomereet getting the 2nd prize; but Mr.
John Pitfield, Symondshnry, also showed a very
Moe yearling. We highly commend the practice
Listrodeoed by the Messrs. Pitfield of naming their
horned sheep—the prize yearling being called for
if/41100e" Young Noble ;" it promises the prestige of
:pedigree to this risinr and prolific rum In older rams
Mr. A. J. Pitfield, Eype, was tint with his "Noble"
and 2nd with his" Constitution," although her.
Farquharson competed in this elms, as did Mr.
Darien- again with a Somerset horn ; and the other
competitors too were from the favoured spot, being
Mr. Samuel Hossey,of Bt Limy, Brid port, and Mr. John
Roper, of Eingsland, Beaminster.— Mr. Danger's
Somerset ewes bad the first and Mr. A. J. Pitfleld'a
Dereat the 'mood prise. Amongst the berms Mr.
Thorn,ofGeAney,aed Mr. Ilitcheocik, of Heytesbury,
nee leading exhibitor& Mr. Thorn in face carried off
firma prize with his "Black Prinew",, and the
4 vrith bis stare and foal ; win* Ilitapria 7. and
"- filly won also • first, Mr. Pitfield, of
.7, showed • handsome obeenut gelding;
_ black Duelist boar, "Uncle Sam,"which
small-breed second prize. The black Dorset
Tom" was also zesomoseely good, and, as
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