AGRICULTURAL AND PASTORAL.

Wellington Independent, Volume XXII, Issue 2604, 30 November 1867, Page 6

AGRICULTURAL AND PASTORAL.

PEIZE SHEEP AND CATTLE IN CANTEBBUEY. On November 8, the annual Agricultural Show was held in the grounds of the Canter- ! bury Agricultural and Pastoral Society, Colombo street, Christchurch. The Lyttelton Times thus notices the exhibition of sheep and cattle : — " The sheep were a consideraable improvement on last year in numbers, j and, as a whole, were decidedly better in point of merit ; what little inferiority there was in the merinoes, being more than counter-balanced by the really superior quality of the long-wools, a finer lot than which was never collected together in the province. The competition for prizes offered in merinos was very limited. In class 1, Mr E. Gray's were the only exhibits, and the judges merely commended ; but in our opinion, a first pr«zo would not have been thrown away upon the pen, as they were a very useful lot of sheep, and of average merit. No award was made in class 3, and No 4, shared the same fate. Class 5, boasted of four entries, two of Clarkson Brothers, and two from Mr E. B. Walker. Their award seemed to baffle the judges, and to all appearances they were quito non-plussed. In the dilemma, they must have tossed up to I decide the merits of the competitors. The first, however, fell to Mr Walker, and the second to a ram of Messrs Clarkson Brothers, which we may safely state was not worth fifty shillings, whilst at the same time the judges passed over one belonging to Mr Walker which is worth nearly as many pounds ; in fact, it would have been a difficult matter to have found a better one on the ground. Clarkson Brothers had class 6to themselves, as also had Mr Matson class 7, but neither obtained an award. In longwoolled sheep, Mr J. Grigg, as will be seen by the prize list carried off tho lion's share of the medals. In class 11 (he judges had I some difficulty in making their award, the three pens being nearly equal, but the winning pens were made even, and if possible, showed the characteristics of the breed stronger than the others. Mr Grigg was again successful in class 16, with a very fine square-framed sheep. The Bomney Mnrsli rams, class 20, gave the judges plenty of work, Mrs Carter's Hero being successful, and Mr S. Bealey getting second, which was the only award we heard complained of. We incline to think Mrs Carter's Jonathan ought to have been placed second. Mr H. Washbourn was the only exhibitor of fat wethers, but the judges — rightly we think — considered the two pens worthy of fii'at and second prizes. With the exception of a pen of Cheviot sheep shown amongst the extra stock, which were highly commended, we saw nothing more to call for particular notice, but it is worthy of mention that there was not a single class unrepresented, although in Leicesters there were two, in Lincolna three, in llomney Marsh two, Southdown one, Hampshire Dowu two, other breeds two, and cross-breeds two, with only one exhibit each.

The cattle department showed a slight falling off from last year, but those entered were up to the average mark as a whole, whilst in exceptional cases, a really splendid bred and conditioned animal was shown. The bulls were very strong. In bulls calved since first July, 1866, the competition was very close, but Mr Caverhill's animal was decidedly the best, and gives promise of becoming a most desirable beast for the country. In two-year old bulls there was no competition. In bulls of any age Messrs Grigg, Caverhill, Page, Cox, and Mrs Deans were the contributors, and Messrs Page and Cox ran a very close race, the judges finally deciding in favor of the former, although we should be inclined to think that Mr Cox's animal was the best for breeding good profitable stock. In heifers, the entries were not numerous, and, as a rule, somewhat below the mark. In yearlings Messrs Gould, Fantham, and Page had the field to themselves, and much discrimination was not required in deciding the awards. In two-year olds, Mr Docker two, and Mr Page five, were the only exhibitors, and the latter somewhat easily succeeded in taking the two first prizes. Three-year-olds had only two entries, both by Mrs Deans. Each was considered, however, worthy of a prize, although we should imagine that only one was deserved. Milch cowa were not largely represented, but those shown were a very useful lot, and, with the exception of the first prize beast, the contest was very close. For the best Durham cow Mr Gould showed two very fine animals, Mrs Deans one, Mr Page two, Mr Wilson one, and Miss Moorhouse one. Mr Gould's Lily certainly deserved the first prize, but the other awards were very doubtful and difficult to decide. The best fat beast class did not give much trouble to the judges. Mr Armstrong's bullock stall fed was immensely superior to its opponents, and in fact the finest animal we have seen, standing upwards of 18 hands ; its live weight must be over 2000 lbs. The animal had been fed on mangold wurzel, hay, and crushed oats. Mr Armstrong believes in stall fed cattle being the most profitable to farmers, and it would really seem from his success in this instance that such is the case. Ho had to purchase the whole of his provender, and, if profitable to him, we need not say that it would be much more so to farmers growing their own feed . The- animal was sold for £41, and was brod by Mr Bealey. These particulars are certainly woithy of attention from the farmers. The extra stock in cattle was represented by three cows and one bull one bull calf, and two bullocks.

In draught horses the entries, although in excess of last year, were certainly deficient, except in tho entires of which a very superior lot were exhibited. In the class, best entire, imported or otherwise, Mr Ladbrooke's Wellington the champion of Kaiapoi, suffered defeat from Mr Boag's Napoleon. This class also brought out a new feature in Canterbury, viz, a " Suffolk punch." The judges were however content with highly commending him ; this may have arisen from the fact that some people would not take a Suffolk horae before a Clydesdale on any account, and indeed we cannot see quite clearly how they can compete. In the next class Tom Jones carried off tho firat honors, and Young Wellington cut out Young Lincoln for tho second medal. Wo failed, however to perceive- his peculiar superiority and must udd we prefer the latter. Mr Orton Raino was the only exhibitor in class 3, and deservedly obtained a first for his truly fino horse Lord Clyde; this horse, with proper care and attention, must carry off first-class honours for some years to come. For the remainder of the draught Btock we must allow the prize-list *o speak for itself. Under tho head of Other Horses there was a falling off from last year, and wo failed to notieo anything that culled for particular mention. In the extra stock horses Mr W. S. Moorhouse showed a very pretty two-year old colt by Quicksilver, which obtained a first prize. The action of this colt is fine and his points good, and altogether we think his sire will find a powerful rival in his son next year.