The Sun.
London, England, 1851-09-24 00:00:00

THE LEWES SHEEP FAIR
(From the Sussex Advertiser of Tuesday.)
1., Circa,: September Sheep Fair was held yesterday
ct, Wetlands, near L-wcs. A more brilliant and
t ed day, from morning till night, has not been
t tring toe whole summer; and that, considering
traordinary beauty of the season, is a great thing
About 27,000 cheep and lambs were penned,
an early hour the arrival of many distant flock-
- 111,..C. .Cl 3 and dealers betokened that it was likely to be a
day of business.

. this indication, we are happy to say, was fully borne
out by the subsequent transactions. One of the com-
plaints frequently charged against our Sheep Fair
is that no business can be done in the morning, but
that buyer and seller can rarely " come together"
till after dinner. On the present occasion, however,
matters wore 'a different complexion. Our visitors
evidently " meant business," and after a little cautious,
but perhaps needful sparring, buyer and seller fairly
got to work, and many transactions were closed before
all the sheep bad arrived on the hill. As is pretty
nearly always the case, the " top" lots were eagerly
sought after, and of these—both ewes and lambs—sales
were readily effected at satisfactory prices. There
was likewise a brisk demand for strong useful ewes, of
whiee the dealers from other counties were ready buy-
ers, at prices which, under all circumstances, were not to
be cemplained of. Lambs of fair s:as and quality were
also io demand at proportionate figures. Culls—both
ewes and lambs—likewise found buyers at business-hko
rates. The demand fur rums wee on the whole rather
flat, ahhough some of our professed ram breeders were
more fortunate, and effeek numerous satisfactory sales.
Among the lots which particularly attracted attention
were a pen of ten score iambs belonging to Wm. Catt,
Esq., of Bishopstone. They were allowed by all to be a
" crack" lot, and were sold at 21s. 6d. Mr. Emery,
of Trturstoa, had a pen of very fine ewes for which
he obtained 38s. Messrs. Hampton, of Applesham,
had a pen of 100 ewes, two score of which were
picked at 425., being bought for the Duko of
Portland ; the remaining sixty being sold to make
up au average of 355., the price for which Messrs.
llerepton had last week sold a similar lot of 100, to the
agent of the Hoe. C. C. Cavendish, Buckinghamshire.
Messrs. Hampton had also a pen of nearly two score
rams and ram lambs, about two-thirds of which found a
sale, several of them being bought by the agents of the
Duke of Norfolk, the Earl of Liverpool, the Earl of
Essex, and Lord Deere. Mr. Tanner, of Patcham,
had some capital ewes, for the top lots of which he ob-
tained 305., and 225. for his culls. A pen of lambs
were also sold by the same breeder at 225. We
heard of but one sale of lambs above this quotation,
viz.—by Mr. Thomas Ellman, who was enabled to score
245. as his figure. A pen of wether togs sent by Mr.
J. Ilitimqu, fetched 30s. Among the general sales wo
hes.ra qdoted—Colonel Paine, ewes, 245. 6d.; 11ev. J.
G aing, ditto, 255. ; Scrase, (Ditchling), ditto, 28s;
T. Ssxhy, ditto, 243; W. Tompsett, ditto, 245., lambs,
185. ; J. Waters, ewes, 295, lambs, 21s. ;
Pagde?
ewes, 255. ; Mr. Britten, ditto, 245. ; W•
K.
Sampson, ditto, 255. ; Gorringe (Berlin),
ditto, 275., lambs, 20s. ; J. P. Gorringe, ewes, 288. ;
W. Shooemith, lambs, 20s. ; W. Elpbick (Newhaven),
ewes, 255. 6d., lambs, 20e ; A. Denman, ewes, 253. 6d ;
Hardwick (Islangletun), lambs, 193. ; Turner
(Chinton), cull lambs, 17s. 6d.
Iu addition to the above, a good many sales have
beets sffseted by our agriculturists during the last few
days among their private connexions ; thus Mr. T.
Boy s sold a pen of very fine ewes at 503., his "seconds"
fetching 30s. ; and this practice has, we understand,
prevailed in many instances—we trust at equally remu-
nerating prices.
By the above quotations, it will be seen that good
ewes ranged from 245. to 305., and even 385., according
to quality, lambs making from 17s. to 18s., 205., and
225. Culls, of both descriptions, of course went at a
low figure; but these are just the sort of transactions
of each no one is desirous of furnishing the records,
and are, for all piaetical purposes, comparatively im-
material. Upon the whole, the Lewes September Sheep
Fair of 1851 may be pronounced to have been a good
selhug fair. There waa a brisk business throughout
the thy; and if the prices obtained did not range quite
so high as in former years, we believe we aro fully qua-
lified in stating that they exceeded what was expected,
and may be considered satisfactory according to the
times. Owing to the general briskness, business was
conclude 1 at an earlier hour than usual, and at about
four o'clock the appearance of the pens showed that there
were not many lots remaining unsold. Indeed, so far
from sellers having to lower their pretensions as the day
waned, we understand that the contrary was the case, the
result being a very satisfactory clearance.