The Rutland daily globe. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1873-1877, 1874-01-19
Correspondence Of the Globc.l
FOREIGN LETTER.
THE LONDON CATTLE SHOW.
T,oNDoy Dee IA. ~

cutbc picculnB unu uitHough tnc lVIIleT
country has attained great excellence In this
respect she cannot yet compare her cattle
exhibitions with those of the british Isles.
And very naturally too, since England
has for centuries possessed the germs
of the many celebrated species which
across the Atlantic must be called exotic.
In America the rearing Of Dcvons and
other rare cattle is question Of expense,
chance and risk whereas England is the
home of these much-coyetcd breeds
The Smthfleld Farmers Club which,
during the present week, has held ts cx.
hibition at the great Agricultural Hall in
lslington, is perhaps the most celebrated |
society of its kind in existence from
small beginnings it has gradually increased |
until to-day the Prince of Wales - its ac- |
knowledged President
Its present size and Importance could |
scarcely have been anticipated by the score |
of gentlemen who, on the nth Day of De |
cembcr, 1903, 'bcng Smithfcld Market |
Day." met and founded by mutual con.
sent the Smithiield cattle and sheep So |
ciety.' whose objects were defined to be
the offering Of premiums for the best beast |
above a stated weight fed on grass, hay !
turnips or cabbagcs for the bcs, beast fed
on corn or oil-cake and for fine sheep sim
| ilarly maintained.
Uudcr these circumstances the vicious
system of overwhelming cattle for exhibit
ton attained its climax.
Style, elegance and symmetry wcrc all
subordinatcd to blubber, of which uncouih
patches hung from rumps, TANKS and
shoulders the huge creatures brought mp
Hal
the pavements Of the city with infinite diff
fculty and pain and ofcn-iimes they lay
down in the street where a straw tcl was
Immediately improvised and a tarpaulin
! stretched tent-wise to protect the obese
monsters from the weather.
| But the blubbcr era has passed away and
the vualitics which earn pri2er are now no
| longer obesity exaggerated into deiOrni-
ty but conformity to the highest standard
of each breed, quality and cvenncss of
flesh, excellence of handling and grace of
carriage. Such are the requisites of per-
lection in cattle in 1873 in distinction from
those of 1893 and so much has the new sys-
TEN improved the status of the various
breeds that never before has there been so
fine and eminent an exhibition as the pres
emit
Agricultural Hall is magnificent struc-
ture of brick and sandstone with crystal
roof built in the form of an extensive ar
cade many hundred feet in length.
The center of the hall accommodates six
rows of cattle stalls surrounded by four
lows of sheep pens around which again is
an ample fringe of agricultural implements.
In perfecting the comfort and cleanliness
of live stock the pleasure and ease Of the
spectator is insured.
TO one entering then by the central
porchcs the first object of interest is mag
nificent short-horncd steer raised by the
Prince of Wales The creature is of snow
white purity, wcl-coycred and weighs
twenty hundred weight.
Notwithstanding his royal patron and his
own fine dimensions the white short-horned
was obliged to yield his place to neigh
boring heifer of the same breed exhibited
by Mr.. Walter, NJ p, and Proprietor of
the London Times.
Not did this perfect specimen of short
horns receive the first prize of forty pounds
sterling but upon the assent of the Judges
was awarded the Champion Cup of the
Society, valued at five hundred dollars, in
consideration of her being the finest beast
in the show.
This short-horned breed is at present one
of the fayorites of England while each and
all of the specimens on exhibition would do
credit to the most ardent fancier
Next come the ITercfords conspicuous
for their white faces, mild eyes and huge
bulk. This department was, with excep-
ton of the last mentioned species the most
extensive and notable. The great OK of
the herd, which bore the palm for size,
weighed to a pound twenty-five hundred
| weight, although a. account of his perfect
symmetry the ligma appeared scarcely
credible.
z Near by stood the Sussex breed, brown
and vicious not so much admired, yet
wearing the colored rosettes ot the various
prizes. Beyond are the Norfolk and Suf-
folk polled cattle, most ungainly monsters,
lacking every attraction save the visual
hint of good hipes and prime roast beef.
Here are the Irish cattle, rugged, brawny
and cross. There the Welsh cattle, bearing
a strong resemblance to the american BIZ
son; so shaggy are their heads and short
their horns, that it would seem far more
appropriate to meet them upon the broad
prairie than quietly Illuminating in the pres
encc of circle of English ladies.
Then came the Highland cattle of the
Scotch breed bringing in their wild appear
ancc sense of bleak mountains bare
pastures, wind and bad weather. The hair
is long and twany, the eyes small, horns
flarring and the whole cut a very free-lance
or break-spear of the animal kingdom.
|
| slowed upon the care of species these mas
sive and shaggy IIighlanders whose beef
now "tops the market consisted chiefly of
| horns and hair with some lean and sinewy
| flesh thrown in casually. Weak in numer-
| ical strength, but strong in excellence, this
Scotch class is worthy of high commenda-
ton and in the words of an enthusiast.
| Good luck to old Scotland not many but
| good"
Finally we see the pets of England, the
| DevOns, with their sleek brown hides long
white horns and gazelle-like eyes. These
beautiful animals are not surpassed in beau
! ty and grace by any other breed; their
weight rarely exceeds ten hundred pounds,
and their height will find an average be-
| tween four and five feet Her Majesty,
the Queen, is the great patron of the Dew
Ons, and to her was awarded the first
prize.
Among the sheep were to be found South
Downs, Leicesters and Cotswolds, Lincolns,
Kentsh, Shropshire and others. AS
matter of course the splendid South Downs
bore off the admiration and the prizes,
while Lord Walsingham, the chief exhibit
tor, was the recipient of Il champion cup.
In hall by themselves, where they could
indulge in all their inherent vagaries, were
congrcgatcd pigs of the white, and pigs of
the black breed The display of broad
sides was good, odors pungcnt and appc-
titles. Victoria herself contributed an
elephantine specimen whose corpulence ex-
erted so soporfic an effect that the hearty
appliances of canes and umbrellas only pro
duced slight roar.
Thus the two first days Of the show
passed away, but upon the third the sue
cess of the enterprise was interrupted by
noxious effects of dense fogs upon the ami
mails
The present is the season when all Lon
don, is at MONDAY, so enveloped in black
fogs as to necesstate the lighting of the
streets. The atmosphere becomes dense
and impregnated with particles of floating
matter, while all gases are kept in contact
with the earth.
Consequently the carbonic acid gas gen