The Sun.
London, England, 1865-12-12 00:00:00

THE CATTLE SHOW.

Towards 2 o'clock yesterday, after the pink, blue,
and yellow rosettes had been adjudged in the
several classes—to the shorthorns, Scotch and
Welsh cattle, by Messrs. Hugh Aylmer, George
Drewry, and William Torr, and to Devons, Here-
ford, Sussex, Norfolk, or Suffolkpolled, longhorned,
Irish, and crossed or mixed breed cattle, by Messrs.
John Buckley, John Coleman, and Thomas Pope,
the 18 first prize oxen and steers were marshalled
side by side in the centre of the hall, and exhibitors
(now permitted to take a bird's-eye view of the
public judging), congregated in the nearest portions
of the galleries to watch the process of selection for
the great honorarium of the show. Short work was
made of half the animals, which were led off reluct-
antly to their several standings, leaving for a closer
scrutiny a Devon, Hereford, shorthorn, Sussex,
Highlander, polled Scot, Welsh, and a Hereford and
shorthorn cross. The two latter were first turned
away, then the Sussex steer, followed by the polled
Scot. Would the palm go to Messrs. Martin's short-
horn, Mr. Loyd's Hereford, Major-General Hood's
Devon, or the Duke of Sutherland's Highlander ?
The shorthorn, good as he was, was not good
enough ; the Hereford, compact, but too short in the
quarter, retired from the contest ; and there, having
vanquished their massive rivals, stood the clever
little Devon from the Royal farms, and the game-
looking little horned Highlander hesitated, appa-
rently as though they had done enough in a hurry;
dividing three against three, and ultimately calling
in one of the stewards, an eminent shorthorn
breeder, who gave his voice for the mountaineer.
Once in the history of the Sheffield Club has the
Devon breed, and once has the cross-bred class
wrested the chief prize from the shorthorns and
Herefords ; but, now, for the first time, a Scotch
beast is made the year's champion. A handsome
specimen of the breed, with beautiful head and lyre-
like horns, a dark red and brindled coat not too
shaggy to indicate good quality, an amazingly deep
frame, with short fine legs letting the carcass almost
down to the ground, very heavily fleshed, but rather
too flat-sided and wanting at the shoulder point,
small for an ox nearly six years of age, girthing
only Bft. lin., and a slack handler (at least for
southern taste), this is by no means the best that we
ever saw ; and if it be really the crack bullock of
the show characterises the quality of the whole as
considerably below par. Breeders ask--for what
was the red-and-white riband awarded ? Not for
substance ; for the shorthorn at only half the age
carries, perhaps, one half more weight of beef, and
girths within an inch of 9ft. Not for quality as
butchers' meat ; for Gen. Hood's Devon has a touch
of marvellous firmness and an elasticity indicating
the perfection of ripeness ; indeed, the dun-coated
Highlander standing behind the Duke's has a firmer
hand, and many animals in the show surpass it in
quality of flesh. Perhaps the proclivities of judges
for their favourite breeds, failing to carry the day,
ultimately gave in to pluck and the picturesque. As
the Highlander pleases the eye, so the Devon ap-
proves itself to the hand ; but pretty and well made
up as this steer is, we have seen even better at for-
mer exhibitions.

The Devons are in strong force, and of fully their
usual merit ; Mr. J. Overman, of Burnham, NOr-
folk, being first in both of the steer classes; Major-
Gen. Hood, of the royal farms, and Mr. Burton, of
Shobrooke, Crediton, Devon, being second. In the
class of steers or oxen Mr. Heath, of Ludham-hall,
Norfolk, wins the second prize to Gen. Hood's first.
Mr. Farthing, of Stowey Court, Somerset, wins a
first prize with a nice heifer ; Mr. Waiter, of Bear-
wood-park, Berks, comes in with a good second,
beating a fair third of Mr. Blomfield, of Wells,
Norfolk. And in a pretty fair class of cows, Mr.
Heath takes first, and Mr. W. Smith, of Higher
Hoopern, Devon, the second prize.
The Herefords make a fine show, but including in
their ranks too many big, plain beasts to excel their
appearance of last year. In the ox class, the first
prize animal of Mr. Heath is of tremendous size,
and girths 9ft. 7in., but is very plain, with an arched
instead of level back. Mr. J. M. Read's is hand-
somer though not so weighty. Mr. Aaron Pike, of
Tewkesbury, Glooestershire, is second in this class.
Mr. T. Jones, of Shrewsbury, and Mr. Garrett, of
Compton Scorpion, Shipston-on-Stour, are first and
second with heifers. Mr. Bettridge's first prize cow
is wonderful about the hips and quarter, not so good
forward, though fairly beating Mr. Jones's second
prize cow.
Shorthorn merits come out in the heifer class.
Here the Earl of Radnor is first, the Earl of Hard-
wicke second, and Mr. Stoneham, of Crayford,
Kent, third ; the Earl of Radnor also gaining the
£4O Silver Cup, with Gold Medal as breeder, for 1
the best female in the cattle classes. The judges had
out Mr. Heath's Devon cow, Mr. Farthing's Devon
heifer, this Shorthorn heifer, Messrs. Heasman's
Sussex cow, Mr. Pollok's Irish heifer, and Messrs.
Martin's Aberdeen and Shorthorn cross heifer; the
final competition lying between the Shorthorn and
the cross-bred, and the Shorthorn getting the best
of it. A good animal, not of the very best make
and finish, with a broad, table back, but with a tail
badly set on, slack behind the shoulder, low on the
leg, and even too low behind, this heifer is scarcely
to be placed before the Earl of Hardwicke's second-
prize red-and-white, which is an extremely pretty
heifer, of beautiful symmetry, and very much better
forward than the other. The cows are not so grand
as usual. Mr. Aldworth, of Frilford, Berks, is first
with a cow wonderfully good, except for deficient
hind-quarters ; and Mr. Ralph Newton, of Wood-
stock, is second.

The long-horns are weaker than ever—only one

moderately good steer of Mr. Chapman, of Upton,
Nuneaton, Warwickshire, which takes the prize.
The horned Scots are in large numbers, and of
great merit. The Duke of Sutherland's steer, as
before said, wins the Silver Cup, value £4O, with
gold medal to the breeder, with, of course, the first
prize in its class,—and this is £3O, for the Club
prizes are on a magnificent scale all through their
list.

The cross or mixed bred cattle are numerous, and
about as good as usual.

The sheep, especially the South Downs, are re-
markably fine ; but we see none of the old familiar
names connected with the gold medal. The glory
has departed. Goodwood, nor is it to be heard of in
the halls of Hove; a new man—at least in the
South Down world—has turned up. Lord Sondes
takes the prize, and in this case the public endorse
the decision of the judges. Of pigs, beside the
apparent paucity of their numbers, they are not
equal in size and quality to the porkers of former
years. The Radnor pen is this year as famous as
ever for the roundness of its inmates, the shortness
of their noses, and their general superiority over all
surrounding porkers.