The Sun.
London, England, 1858-09-04 00:00:00

HIGHLAND AND AGRICULTURAL
SOCIETY OF SCOTLAND.

ABERDEEN, Thursday.—The weather having
been exceedingly fine, yesterday a very large con-
course of people assembled in the show ground,
notwithstanding that is. from each visitor was
charged for admission. The show of implements
was greatly enhanced by the addition of the trial
machines that had been used in the field on Tues-
day, and the working of various models which the
exhibitors managed to put in practical operation.
But the English exhibitors complain that they have
not been able to do justice to their implements and
machines in this respect in consequence of the rules
of the show. At the Royal Agricultural Society of
England each exhibitor has a space of ground for
his own productions and the judges, after looking
them over carefully, order selections to be made for
trial, and then there is a classification of articles
selected, but in this show-yard the classifica-
tion is made when the entries are registered, so that
an exnibitor from England, if he has sent his ar-
ticles under the charge of one man qualified to
describe them, has the mortification of seeing one
thing put into one place and the other parts of his
collection placed some hundreds of yards apart
from it, the uses of some of the machines being
necessarily more inferred than fully known by the
judges who award the prizes. Here also there is
a great drawback to the comfort of the exhibition
from want of cover. The whole yard, containing
14 acres of ground, is exposed, so that had the
weather been rainy the exhibition must have been
a failure.

The show to-day was the largest and most im-
portant of all the exhibitions of the society. There
were no fewer than 450 cattle, 180 horses, 590
sheep, 79 pigs, and 366 articles of daily produce
on the ground. The progress of the society will,
however, best appear when we put these entries in
comparison with those of 1834 and 1847, when the
society exhibited their stock at Aberdeen :-
1834. 1840. 1847. 1858.
Cattle lBB .. 269 .. 361 .. 450
Sheep 192 .. 126 .. 230 .. 590
Pigs
Horses . 77 88 .. 105 .. 189

Total .. 515 .. 544 .. 720 .. 1,308
The cattle shown to-day presented a yet more
gratifying proof of progress than the increased
number of entries indicates, for instead of oxen fed
up without much regard to symmetry or cost of
feeding, the whole of the animals were carefully
fed, and the prize stock was held by the judges to
be the finest that had ever passed through their
hands. In 1834 the prize ox was fed by the late
Earl of Kintore, and was such a shapeless and un-
wieldy animal that he had to be literally drawn to
the show hard on a cart prepared for the purpose ;
but no animal appeared to-day with points to com-
plain of, and all the exhibitors were complimented
on their strict adherence to the condition which
obliges the breeder to aim at producing the best
possible animal at the lowest possible cost in
feeding.
In the department of short-horns and polled
breeds the show was very extensive, and a severe
competition took place between the chief breeders
of Scotland and England. The first prize for
bulls calved before Jan., 1856, was gained by Mr.
Wetherell, of Darlington, bred by himself. Mr.
Douglas, Athelstaneford, Drem, got the first prize
for a very fine cow, and took several other prizes
by stockwhich had been successful at the great shows
of England and Ireland ; but the native short-horns
were quite a match for the stock from the south on
this occasion. The polled breed was chiefly sup-
ported Mr. M'Combie, of Tillyfour, who carried off
the first prizes in every section, and received a
medal given by the French Government, and gold
medal given by the Highland Society, in addition to
prizes, the former medal being given for an aged
bull bred to Mr. Bowie, and now in Mr. M'Combie's
hands. A prize cow of this stock brought £B5 at
Mr. M'Combie's sale last year. The competition
was remarkable to-day, also, as being a keen con-
test on equal terms between landholders and tenants,
the result being in favour of the latter. Lord
Strathallan, the Earl of Southesk, Lord Kinnaird,
and other noblemen took prizes for prime stock ;
but Mr. Harvey, of Tilly greig, Mr. Hay, of She-
thin, Mr. Martin, Aberdeen, Mr. Cruickshank,
of Sittyton, and other practical farmers, in short-
horns and crosses, carried away the leading prizes,
and for fat oxen their stock was pronounced per-
fect.

The show of horses was a very fine one, but not
equal to the Clydesdale show of last year. There
were some very superior draught stallions, and,
from the large number entered in competition, the
progress of improvement was very evident.
The sheep were much admired, especially the
native breeds ; but the Cheviots were in large
numbers, and the prizes were carried away chiefly
by the south country breeders.
The society has never succeeded in eliciting any-
thing like a general interest in the breeding of
swine in Scotland ; but the 79 pigs shown to-day
were superior to these at former shows.

There was a good display of dairy produce, and
it is worthy of notice here that, after long and
arduous competition among churn-markers, the first
prize has been awarded to Mr. Philip Hunter, of
Edinburgh, for an improvement on the old plump
churn, by which butter shown to-day was made in
18 minutes.

There was a large number of entries for fowls,
and here again, after a severe contest, the Cochin
China has had to yield to the lively Dorking and
the common barn-yard fowl.
As 'accessory to the show, there was an exhibi-
tion of flowers, and a remarkable display was made
of an almost endless variety of native and natu-
ralised sorts. .

There have been one or two lectures on agricul-
ture connected with the exhibition, and to-night
there is to be a public dinner, presided over by the
Duke of Atholl, in place of the Prince Consort, who
was at one time expected to be present and take
the chair.

The attendance in the show-yard to-day was the
largest ever known in connexion with the exhibi-
tions of the society. At one time it is believed
that there were from 15,000 to 20,000 per-
sons in the show-yard. The city is quite full, and
lodgings have been for some days at a premium.
The most perfect order prevailed throughout the
grounds to-day, notwithstanding the immense
crowd, and all the arrangements of the committee,
under the able direction of the secretary, Mr. Hall
Maxwell, have been admirably carried out.