The Sun.
London, England, 1861-08-02 00:00:00

-e4,11-1
.t4l/4t,
- 411 '77-
5151
Se-, • :01:*
-*/
‘‘\ :141111111116.-4-
orK:l‘
6,.‘ 1 Ini
itr-t •
• • *
• ?-, • t
4% i . • t;:d:
- ---;ct„- • • , • ,
"At
, • 41 - e•jr,,,eir, OTT . 0 '4' , •
3,0 '46-)' 1: 1,,:',1•17,r-S Attry, ‘"
4t)
„2.147.

PRICE.

DON,

?RID

EV

IN G,

.HIGULAND AND AGRICULTURAL
SOCIETY'S MEETING.

went by selection in breeding, and good feeding and shep-
herding ; and latterly the demands of the wool market have
led to the development of the modern Cheviot fleece, longer,
heavier, more open, and less fine than formerly. The vast
variety in the physical aspect of the sheep .walks produces
shades of difference in the breeds best adapted to particular
localities, so that crosses between Leicester and Cheviot are
also largely in favour. There are 33 entries, Mr. Brydon,
of Langholm, and Mr. Barthwick, of the same pine, being

PERTH, THURSDAY.
The Inches are two-park like meadows on which the
city dairy cows depasture and the children disport, along
the mat gin of the broad-flowing Tay, there the bare-ankled
" fair Maids of Perth" bleach their washing, and their
fathers haul in nets of leaping salmon ; and it is on the
South Inch that some 20 acres have been enclosed by the
boarding of the society's showyard. The implement de-
partment, already described, occupies the southern portion
of the ground ; on the north and east sides are the ranges
of horse-boxes ; and in the centre the substantialher amount-
roofed sheds sheds for cattle, sheep, and pigs, toget
ing to more than a mile in length. Other sheds are occu-
pied by the poultry, the dairy produce, and the always
appreciated accessory of first and second classrefreshments.
The prizes awarded embrace £340 for cattle, £220 for
horses, £272 for sheep, £54 for swine, £56 for dairy pro-
duce, and £193 for implements, being a total of £1,135 ; to
which are added 238 gold, silver, and bronze medals. The
number of entries are—of cattle, 338 ;of horses, 155; of
sheep, 616; of swine, 79 ; of poultry, 360 ; and of dairy-
produce, 91. The cattle classes are divided for short-horn,
polled, Ayrshire, Highland, fat stock, and extra stock.
The handsome, red and white, white, or roan-coloured
shorthorn may never dispossess the black or dun.-coloured,
rough-coated Scot from his native green glens under snow •
covered peaks in the loftier regions of North Britain, but
this pride of English breeds has now gained entire posses-
sion of all the arable districts in the south-eastern counties;
it is rapidly spreading along the whole lowlands of the east
coast, and is known in every arable tract throughout all
Scotland, and their importance is visible in the fact that no
less than 104 shorthorns are entered, though only two are
from English exhibitors. Many very creditable animals
are observable, as the aged bulls of Mr. Cruickshank, of
Sittyton, Aberdeen, and Mr. Campbell, of Blackburn,
Aberdeen ; also the bull of Mr. Anderson, of Bridge of
Allan ; the Duke of Montrose's bull in the same class ;
Mr. Balfour's, of Prestonkirk, yearling bull ; and especi-
ally the beautful yearling heifers of Mr. Douglas, of Drew,
which carry away all three prizes in their class. In the
aged cow class Mr. Booth, of Warlaby, of course, walks off
with a couple of prizes for his red and white " Queen of
the Vale," and his roan "Queen Mab," both splendid
specimens of what a short-horn sow should be. We were
sorry to find none of Captain Gunter's "Duchesses," nor
any specimen of the superb Towneley herd, and, indeed,
we cannot rank the entire show as one of peculiar merit.
The Highland breed of cattle have come up in some force,
there being 67 entries, and the individual excellence of so
many animals has never been equalled before. The com-
paratively moist climate, mild winter, and grassy wilds
of the Hebrides have developed and maintained the breed
of Kyloe or West Highland (or Island) cattle, adapted more
than any other for its peculiar feeding grounds ; hardy,
easily fed, and thriving on coarse herbage, in circumstances
where the daintier shorthorn could hardly exist. The
West Highland ox has a wide and deep chest, short mus-
cular limbs, long upturned horns, a thick coat of long
shaggy hair ; his flesh and fat are laid on equably in the
best parts, and the beef is of a fine-grained, marbled, highly-
flavoured quality, that makes him a prime favourite with
the butcher. *Of this breed there are differences in size—the
animals from Islay, the southernmost island, being the I
largest, while the small Isle of Skye cattle are the most
valued for their hardiness, and are chiefly sought by the
pure breeders. The Duke of Athole, the Marquis of Brea-
dalbane, and Mr. Pollok, of Tarbert, show some remarkably
fine bulls ; and these eminent breeders are joined by the
Duke of Hamilton and Brandon, Lady Menzies, Mr.
M'Laren, of Blair Athole, and others, in a rare show of cows
and heifers of this interesting and noble variety of domes-
ticated and developed native cattle.
The polled Galloway, native of Kirkcudbright and Dum-
fries, has been called " a Kyloe without horns," but is of
larger frame, more docile, and epter to fatten, adapted to a
lower range of grazing land. The excellence of the flesh,
more than ordinarily laid on in those parts which are good
for roasting, has made these Scots popular with English
graziers. The general form is compact, round, and deep,
with short clean legs, and the coat, of long, soft, silky hair,
is usually of a brown colour, though occasionally brindled
brown, or even dun or drab. The cows are good milkers,
the milk yielding a very large proportion of butter.
Aberdeenshire breeds and grazes more cattle than any
other county in Scotland ; for, while the climate on the
hills and on the ridges of the Grampians is cold enough, the
mildness and equality of temperature of the lowlands skirt-
ing the sea is comparable to that of south-eastern England.
The Highland cattle are in the elevated districts, and the
black or brindled Aberdeen breed, with hair shorter and
thinner, divides the remainder of the county with the intro-
duced short-horn and the now prevalent admirable cross of
the two. The Galloways, Aberdeenshire, and Angus cattle
are classed together as Polled," there being 67 entries, Mr.
Lyell, of Kirriemuir, Mr. Walker, of Banff, trustees of Mr.
Robert Scott, of Brechin, &c., being prize-takers.
The counties of Ayr, Renfrew, and Lanark, comprising a
fourth of the population of Scotland, and with a large extent
of coast washed by the Frith of Clyde and the North Chan-
nel, are well fitted, both by the demand for dairy produce
and the natural moisture of climate, for developing an un-
surpassed breed of milch cattle. The Ayrshires, sleek-
skinned, red and white, with fine horns twisting upwards,
having rather long faces, with docile expression, and white,
capacious udders, are not only splendid milkers upon little
food, but are extremely hardy, withstanding the severities
of winter in 'a bleak country, and responding with the
alacrity of a thriving disposition to the return of warm
weather and better keep. There are 67 entries of Ayrshires,
forming a particularly good show; Mr. M'Kean, of Bishop-
briggs, Mr. Stewart, of Strathaven, the arl of Strath-
more, &c., taking honours.
Unlike our English meeting there is here a class of
fat stock—an important department for the grazier, and
and of peculiar significance in North Britain ; for, only a
century ago, when Glasgow had 30,000 inhabitants, the
slaughter of cattle for the supply of the public market was
wholly unknown, though at present both Glasgow and other
great cities of Scotland e t their share of fresh meat in much
the same proportion as we do in London. In this class we
observe many very heavy well-fed oxen, chiefly shorthorn

the chief winners of prizes.
We can hardly omit to notico another and singular
Scotch breed—not present, however, at the show. The tiny
sheep, of the Shetland and Orkney Islands, weighing some
301 b. when fully fat, has to withstand the continual storms,
often so tremendous that the eagles hold on to the crags
by their talons ; and'his fleeco is therefore composed of two
coats, an inner one of gray wool or thick fur, with long
hair growing through it ; and at the beginning of the sum-
mer season the sheep sheds the true wool, which is pulled
off by hand, not shorn, so as to leave the hairy mantle for
protection. This droll animal, wonderfully adapted by
nature to his habitat, feeds in the sharp winter months upon
sea-weed left by the sinking tide (the flocks perceiving by
instinct the time of the ebb),' and in times of pinching
scarcity will browse, it is said, even on dried fish and other

animal food.
The extent to which the Leicesters are being used for
crossing the native sheep appears in the change in the kind
of stock at the great border markets within 50 years. The
great lamb fairs of St. Boswell's and Melrose are mainly
supplied from the grazing districts of Berwick, Roxburgh,
Selkirk, and Peebles. Formerly the one was composed of
pure Cheviots, and the other of black-faces; now not a
single Cheviot lamb is to be seen at St. Boswell's, or a
black-face at Melrose ; the former fair being now a show of
Leicesters or of Cheviot and Leicester crosses, while the
latter consists of Cheviots and crosses. Turnip-husbandry,
draining, and liming have created a greater demand for
store sheep to eat the enlarged quantities of food, and
breeders are supplying the ever-increasing want by
improving the old sorts by selection, by crossing with
other varieties, or exchanging altogether for a more pro-
fitable description of animal. Leicesters occupy the larger
share of the sheep-pens in the yard, there being no less
than 111 entries; the generality, however, bearing a very
different character to the well-known types of sym-
metry and fine quality that take prizes at our English show,
Mr. White, of Dunning ; Mr. Beattie, of Annan ; Mr. Din-
ning, of Belford, Northumberland ; Mr. Simpson, of Lau-
der, &c., being specially great in the class.
Some 21 entries of Cotswolds, proposed for crossing with
the Cheviots, in which the Earl of Wemyss and March,
Lord Kinnaird, and Mr. Gibson, of Woolmet, are success-
ful; a show of 25 pens of Southdowns, in which the Duke
of Richmond, Mr. Scot Skirving, and the Earl of Southesk
win prizes; and a few extra stock complete a good display
in the ovine classes.
Of the small show of pigs we have little to remark, ex-
cept that Mr. Harrison, of Heaton Norris, and Mr. Wain-
man, of Crosshills, are among the exhibitors.
If England may be proud of her massive dray and big
black carthorses, Scotland may justly boast of her Clydes-
dales. They are said to have originated in a cross of
the old native packhorse with some imported Dutch mares.
They are powerful 16-hands horses, with fine small heads
and great activity, their natural lively pace enabling
them to get through more ploughing in a day than
more sluggish breeds of draught animals, while no
description of horse is better adapted for single-horse
carts. 'I he object of the improving the breeds
is to lessen their tendency to a light body and rather
too lengthy legs. The prevailing colours are bay and
brown with black legs, occasionally with one or more white
feet, and there are also many blacks and grays, and a few
chestnuts. There are 129 entries, forming a splendid show,
the mares and three,year• olds being remarkably fine.
A few ponies and extra stock horses complete this
thoroughly business and agricultural portion of the show.
Of course the poultry are out of feather, but, with the
dairy department of "powdered butter," "imitation Eng-
lish" cheese, &c., they formed a focus of attraction for lady
visitors.
We missed the grand collections of seeds, roots, and
cereal specimens, &c., of Lawson and Son, of Edinburgh,
and other seedsmen, together with the stalls of flax, wool,
and other agricultural productions, which add an interest to
our English meetings.
There has been a fair gathering of visitors, in spite of
weather like a late cold-stream entertainment that con-
verted a horticultural occasion into a shower-flow ; the
banquet passed off merrily under the presidency of his
grace the Duke of Atholl ; the ball of course wilt be decidedly
satisfactory, and the special trains are sure to bring in a
large concourse to-morrow,—possibly to relieve the minds
of implement makers, who are finding business dull at this
otherwise successful meeting.

SPORTING INTELLIGENCE.

;iandson of the eeellitect of the present
IMr. Fowler, Mr. Hawkshaw, Mr, G. Ren-
.-John Rennie, and Mr. Page.
_ Saturday le et t he committee decided t414.4pEi,,,
.o accept Mr. Page's design, anerileat..,.
was appointed engineer for it Aotistfiiiiikni," i,-/-
think the general public willirea:r'47 2sraii-tiinllpt,')7l
eijiiiiiiAt, es.
decisioi arrived at; fo
_,,,, -s , - e:Je.,
design as it now ap ars on pa rc*.: , ....,k
lkir\t
. , ~. . 1...... ,
will be a structure of which all cI..WA-iii,
be proud. The whole design is oneNg iniressse
boldness and magnificence. It will be built of
mixed granite and iron, but so arranged in its
architectural features as to be most graceful in out-
line, though enormously massive in all its details.
Never were such colossal proportions attempted in
any bridge before, though the slight curve and enor-
mous span of the arches give to the whole a lighter
and even more graceful effect than we find in the
lines of the bridge at Westminster. The design is,
in fact, as much superior in simple grantleur and
beauty to new Westminster as new Westminster is
superior to the ruinous old obstruction it has super-
seded. It will consist of only three arches, the
centre one being of the gigantic span of 280 feet, or
40 feet wider than the centre arch of the grim and
funereal-looking structure at Southwark. The two
side arches will be 220 feet span each, but none
will have the high-shouldered look which is gene-
rally given to arches of this great width by making
their rise a high one. From the springing of the
arch to the crown will only be a rise of 20 feet,
which in a span of such extent only amounts to the
most gentle curve, and, in fact, when seen from the
river the outline will appear to be almost straight.
The spandrils of the outer rib on each side will be
closed, but filled up with figures in bas-relief and
rich ornamental scrollwork. The cornice beneath
the parapet is of exceedingly bold and handsome
design, with a parapet above of solid granite. The e
piers, however, form the most massive and noble
looking features of the whole. These will be four
in number, all of granite, and of immense size,
width, and depth. Each on its extremity will be
surmounted with a column of polished red granite,
for which in size and massiveness we must look for
parallels among the rock-hewn temples of Egypt.
They will be Doric columns, 40 feet in height, 23
feet in diameter at base and capital, and no less than
18 feet diameter in the column. Each of these,
though built hollow, will weigh upwards of 500
tons. Their capitals will reach to the summit of the
bridge, and it is intended hereafter to surmount
them with colossal groups of statuary. The whole
structure will only be a few feet longer than the
present bridge, but its width will be nearly double
—namely, 76 feet against 42. There will be two
foot-ways of 14 feet wide, instead of as now two
of 7. There will be two tramways of 81 feet each.
These will be in the centre of the bridge, leaving
two roadways of 16 feet each for the light traffic,
and omnibuses going and coming. The whole area
of road and footway will be nearly 78,000 feet, in-
stead of 41,000, the area of the present bridge, which
cost per square foot of surface £3 15s. 6d. The cost
of the new bridge is estimated at from £245,000 to
£250,000, which is at the rate of rather less than
£3 6s. a-foot, or, size for size, nearly half the price
of the old one.
The following table shows the length, area, and
cost of each of the metropolitan bridges :