The Sun.
London, England, 1867-08-29 00:00:00

The yard.was not fully prepared even on Tuesday

morning, for the valuable animals that had been

entered, and many complaints were made on
this score. Although Mr. Parrington, of Yorkshire

celebrity, was engaged as director of the horse de-
partment, his presence was not requested until Sa-

,urday, and hence he was helpless in the matter. At

a recent committee meeting some irregularities were

disclosed in connection with the engagement of,
or rather the neglect to engage this gentleman ; and
we fear that the feeling then made public has con-
tinued to operate, even to the risk of injuring the
show.

Under these circumstances it is a wonder that the

horse show is so particularly good. The entries, very
large in some classes, iu others are singularly small;
the quality for the most part is excellent. There are
several remarkable specimens of heavy horses ; but
the closest competition is among the light ones, of

which so many are so nearly equally first class that
the judges had no little difficulty. In short, all the
best horses from the shows at Bury St. Edmunds

Royal Agricultural Society), Islington, and Thirsk

(Yorkshire Society) are here. In the class of hunters
carrying not less than 14st. there were 24 entries,
and 18 came into the trial ring. They were severally
trotted and cantered round and round the paddock.
Then a selection of eight or nine was made, which
were unsaddled, walked and run before ,the judges.
Next the number was reduced to four or five, and were
tested again and again, by the exhibitor's represen-
tative and by the judges. In this way a long time
was occupied, and only after a more thorough exa-

mination than we have ever seen in a show yard
was the first prize awarded to Capt. Ileygate, of
Leominster, for a dark brown five year old, which
he bred himself, and values at £5OO. It is truly a
beautiful creature, and was much admired from the
first ; but an unprofessional eye might have bracketed
it with one or two others that met with great favour
among the spectators. All this judging, in this and
other classes, was watched by some 2,000 occupants
of the stand, and certainly not a smaller number
was crowded round the hurdles. The leaping of the
hunters, it was said on the ground, would take place
some time between 12 and 3 o'clock, and it was
this that had attracted so large an assemblage, who
bore the heat of the sun until 5 o'clock, wearied by
the judges' conscientiousness, but at last rewarded
by the sight they came especially to see. The leap-
ing was somewhat exciting, and roused the enthu-
siasm of the patient crowd. It is announced for
repetition each day of the show, and we would sug-
gest a notification in the show ground, by bell or
placard, of the time when it will take place, and a
punctual observance of this engagement by the
authorities. The entries of horses number 282, and
they are from all parts of the kingdom, from Dar-
lington to Kent.
Under the operation of the cattle plague orders of
the Privy Council no horned cattle could be ex-
hibited. As no show was held last 3 ear, in 1868
three years will have elapsed since cows have com-
peted for this society's prizes. We hope it will be
found that the interval has been employed in im-
proving the breed of cattle which best suits this
locality. In other classes the entries are as follow :
—Sheep, 172 ; wool, 3 ; pigs, 82 ; poultry, 220 ;
pigeons, 114 ; dogs, 216 ; cheese, 25 ; grain and
roots, 91 ; vegetables, 33 ; saddlery, 5 ; implements,
machinery, and miscellaneous articles, 1,549,
arranged on 114 stands.
The prevalence of the rinderpest in this district
has driven many a farmer to what is always the safest
course, namely, the distribution of his capital among
several sources of profit instead of confining it to
one which, if it fails, ruins him. For instance, the
Cheshire agriculturist whose unquestioned maxim it
was that farming in our sister country meant cheese-
making, now raises flocks of sheep, and adds shear-
ing to the festivals of the year, besides laying down
a larger acreage than he was wont in cereals. It is,
therefore, no matter of surprise that sheep are in
greater force than ever in the history of this society,
and some of them are as fine as were ever seen.
The Shropshire Downs surpassed those shown at the
Thirsk exhibition of the Yorkshire Society. The
Li ncolns, a somewhat new class, did not attract such
a competition as was expected.
A gentleman of considerable experience remarked
that he believed the show of pigs, especially of the
large breeds, was without parallel. But it may
well be questioned whether the judges consult the
beet interests of agriculture in considering quantity