The Sun.
London, England, 1865-07-18 00:00:00

Royal Agricultural Society's Meeting.

PLYMOUTH, Monday.
Few people visited the showyard on Saturday,
excepting ambers of the society ; but to-day,
being bright and fine, has gathered a fair assem-
blage round the Judge's rings. The enclosed ground
is very large, no less than 35 acres in extent, beau-
tifully situated a mile from the centre of Plymouth,
upon an elevation commanding a magnificent land-
scape, and at the same time offering good slopes for
the drainage of the site in case of wet weather. The
offices, implement sheds, &c., are admirably ar-
ranged as usual, and the number of stands and ar-
ticles is very large. The implements fill sheds hav-
ing a total length of 6,700 ft., the machinery in
motion takes up 1,576 ft. more, the seeds and models
occupy 760 ft., and the live stock is lodged under
5,651 lineal feet of roofed shedding. As compared
with Newcastle meeting last year we have here
about the same number of implements, but 165
fewer entries of stock, and only about three-fourths
of the number at Worcester. .
Of short horns there is a short suppply. In the
class of only six-aged bulls the first prize won by
Mr. Robert Sharpe's "Lord Chancellor," bred by
the late Mr. Jonas Webb. This bull is not up in
condition, and is slack behind the shoulder ; and the
other animals in this class are still further from
beng first rate. The yearling bulls make a good
class—Mr. Fawkes's first prize, " Friar Tuck,"
baying rare form and quality. This clever young
bull is own brother to the first-prize bull calf, and
is bred from the Earl of Zetland's stock. Mr.
Booth's second-prize yearling bull has also con-
siderable merit. Mr. Fawkes, Sir Anthony de
Rothschild, and Mr. George Game take the prizes
in a capital class of bull-calves. The aged
shorthorn cows are very fine indeed, Lady
Emily Pigot's white " Perfume" (bred by Colonel
Townley), Mr. Stratton's "Diadem," Mr. Sharpe's
" Elegant," and Mr. Tennent's magnificent
" Frederick's Farewell" (bred by Colonel Towne-
ley), yielding' the palm to Mr. John Wood's first
prize " Corinne," which has never been shown before
at a Royal meeting. In the very large and grand
class of yearling heifers Lord Feversham shows a
real " Princess," and Mr. Charles Howard has a
pair of great beauties. The judges were Messrs.
Drewry, J. B. Thompson, and Robinson. The
Herefords make an especially fine show. Mr. J. M.
Read's fat prize aged bull " Colesborne" is ex-
tremely handsome, and has won many local prizes
before, though only commended last year at New-
castle. Here he beats both Mr. Hollings's " Chief-
tain" and Mr. Baldwin's " Battersea"—which great
pyiKe-taking bull has much gone off in his points and
handles badly. The cow classes are good, and each
one of the 11 yearling heifers gets a prize or a com-
mendation. Major-General Hood wins a first prize
with a sweet heifer-calf, and a third prize with a
two-year old heifer. The judges were Messrs.
Druce, Yeomans, and Pye. The show of Devons
is the best of this breed ever seen. Mr. Sobey and
Viscount Falmouth gain the first prizes for aged
and three-year old bulls. Mr. George Turner is in
first and second places with two-year old bulls ; and
Mr. Davy's " Empress" in the cow class, and Mr.
Davy's " Symmetry," and Mr. Quartly's yearling
heifer are all the gems of this part of the
yard ; the Devon yearling heifers, in fact, are all
superb. The judges were Messrs. Franklin, J. E.
Jones, and Umbers.
In the sheep classes we find an unexampled show
of Leicesters, large in number and of rare quality.
Mr. Burton, Mr. Dabbs, Colonel Inge, and Mr.
Cresswell beating Mr. George Turner and Mr.
Pawlett. The judges of Leicesters were Messrs.
Borman, Painter, and Twitchell. The Cotswolds
are not numerous, but comprise some animals of
wonderful proportions and beauty, particularly
those of Mr. Walker, Mr. Gillett, Mr. Wells,
and Mr. Beale Browne. In the Lincoln classes
Mr. Marshall's shearling rain and Mr. Lynn's aged
ram are exceedingly good. The judges were Aylmer,
G. Clarke, and Bateman. In Oxfordshire Downs
Mr. Wallis, Mr. Bryan, the Duke of Marlborough,
and Mr. C. Howard show the best pens. In the
Southdown classes Lord Walsinghain carries off the
first, second, and third prizes for shearling rams.
I with three commendations besides, beating Mr. Rig-
, den and the Duke of Richmond. Lord Walling-
' ham, also, wins first and second prizes and a high
commendation for aged rams, the third prize in the
class going to Mr. Waters. With shearling ewes
Lord Walsingham takes second place to the Duke
of Richmond's first ; and it is to be noted that the
Southdown sheep are generally more perfect than
ever exhibited before. The judges were Messrs.
Fookes, H. Overman, and J. S. Turner.
The horses have come up badly ; the hundred
pounds' prize for the best thorough-bred stud horse
has called but a single candidate—Mr. Casson's
Motley, by Touchstone, which won the prize last
year as the best hunter sire. He looks well in spite
of active work, having travelled hard ever since last
March, and at 14 years old it is time he gave up the
honours of the showyard. The hunter sires are a
moderate lot. Mr. Luxton's first-prize stallion took
second place at the Bath and West of England
meeting too years ago. One or two good brood
mares have made their appearance, but the hack-
neys are a small and poor class. The hunters make
a very ordinary show, even Mr. Battam's first and
second geldings being far from first-rate. There is
a good class of agricultural horses, particularly
the Duke of Beaufort's Clydesdale " Sir Robert,

which wins first prize, and Mr. Elphick's Essex
horse " Boxer," which was first at the Essex show
at Brentwood. There is a very scanty show of
Suffolks, including, however, Mr. Boby's " Con-
..

queror," which was first in his class at Brent

wood. and second at Newcastle, and also a good
horse and a prime mare and filly, exhibited by
Sir E. Kerrison. The Dartmoor and Exmoor ponies
are fewer than might have been expected, only one
or two of these possessing much merit. The judges of
thorough-breds, hunters, hackneys, and-poneys were
Messrs. Barnett, Young, and Parrington ; and of
agricultural and Suffolk horses, Messrs. Steedman,

Brooks, and Cooper. The field trials of implements
still continue. That the judges of drills, &c., Messrs.
Hicken, Thompson, Sherburn, Johnson, and Dyson,
C.E., have tough work in their department will ap-

pear when we enumerate the nine general-purpose
drills, the 15 corn-drills, the 14 small-occupation

corn-drills, the two hill-side-delivery drills, the 14
turnip-drills on the flat, the eight turnip-drills on
the ridge, the five drills for small seeds, the four
drill-pressers, the eight dry-manure distributors, the
three liquid-manure drills, the five liquid-manure

distributors, and the nine horse-hoes on the flat, all
of which had been subjected to actual trial between
Thursday morning and Saturday night, with the
loss of fully one day from wet weather. The drills

were worked in turn with the requisite varieties of
seeds and manures, the construction and mechanical
details examined, and selected drills made to deposit
upon hard road, where the regularity of distribution
could be seen, as well worked for some time with the

coulters in pulverised soil. Hornsby's arrangemen

of the manure barrel in the common drill is an effec

tive improvement.

Coultas has introduced many

simple but peculiarly valuable details into his first
class drills for all purposes, more particularly the

copper " tins" for artificial manure. Reeves has

furnished his liquid-manure drill with a cylinder
that prevents the cups from breaking ; and Sainty
has brought out quite a novelty in the shape of

springs instead of weights upon the drill levers,
an invention that lightens the implements and

adds to its efficiency where level and well-pul-
verised seed-beds are to be sown. In dry-manure

distribUtors little advance has been made upon
Chambers's barrel with scrapers for sowing either

minute or considerable quantities per acre. v Priest
and Woolnough's horse-hoe now competes against
the novel implement of Sainty with the spring
levers and light lifting frame supplanting the old
chains and winding barrel, and Hornsby brings
out a horse hoe having a swing steerage operating
with spring hangers in an exact and easy manner.
These weeding implements were tried upon young
growing rye, and again upon a turnip crop ; and as
far a testing has been bestowed upon them as the
time would permit ; though it often happens that
the merits of a good tool of this sort fail to appear
until the farmer has had it home and thoroughly
mastered every point in its somewhat difficult
management.