June 24, 1899.
THE ESTATES GAZETTE
1090
AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY.
SHOW AT MAIDSTONE.
ROYAL
through an accustomed day’s work and the steam plough or scarifier does not meet the want- The digger attracted a very large share of attention throughout the week.
In the competition for hop-washing machines there were seven entries. The trial took place in a hop garden about a mile from the show yard, and three of the machines were very close. Ultimately the single prize of £50 was awarded to Messrs. Drake and Fletcher, of Maidstone, for a horse-power machine named the Mis'tifier. It has a capacity of 75 gallons, and is fitted with three-throw pumps and variable speed gear. It is adjustable for spraying various widths in any direction, and in volume of spray, from the finest unit to a copious shower, to a height of 25ft. Among its fittings are unchokable spraying nozzles, self-locking shafts, revolving head, accessible valve-boxes and a regulator. Altogether it appears to be a very powerful machine for its purpose. Messrs. Weeks and Son, of Maidstone, and Messrs. Lambert and Son, of Horsmonden, Kent, also had machines in the trial which made good work.
The trial of cream separators, in two classes, ipr piower and hand machines respectively, lasted over some days. The awards were made on Tuesday. For the competition for power machines suitable for farm use there were six entries, but the judges awarded only the first prize of £20, which went to the Dairy Supply Company, Limited, London, for an appliance called “ The Farmer’s Surprise,” which, it is said, separates 110 gallons of milk per hour. Nine entries were forthcoming in the class for hand-power machines, the power to drive which was not to exceed 2,500 foot pounds. The Dairy Supply Company were again successful, their machine to separate 45 gallons of milk per hour being awarded the first prize of £20. The second prize of half that amount was won by the Melotte Separator Sales Company, Bristol, with the “Melotte,” having a capacity of 45 gallons per hour.
Messrs. Bradford, of Salford, exhibited a useful new churn fastener. Instead of half-a-dozen screws there are simply a pair which have a double action, being ׳almost momentarily fixed. Messrs. Warde, of Leeds, exhibited a similar novelty ; in this case a metal ring of special construction is placed over the chum lid, grasping it and fixing it tightly and securely.
Messrs. Pond and Son, Blandford, showed a simple form of cream cover, which is an inclined plane in metal, with a hopper above and a jacketed space for cold water below. The same firm exhibited the Crown hand separator, a machine with a curiously contrived divider within the bowl. This is a conical vessel with triangular sides, perforated from top to bottom at each angle for the division of the cream globules from the milk. The ratchet action of the handle is extremely ingenious.
Messrs. Garrett, Saveall and Co. had on view a fruit and milk bottling apparatus, consisting of a metal vessel supplied by steam from the spout of a specially made tin kettle. Examples of various foods1 preserved in battles are shown, but the gist of the whole thing is in the efficiency of the bottles, two types of which are shown, rubber rings providing the means of excluding the air.
Messrs. Coleman and Morton, of Chelmsford, exhibited a cultivator, spring tined, with a seat for the driver. It is strong and well made, but displayed no particular novelty.
The Dairy Supply Company, London, showed a new plant for sterilising milk for hospitals and other institutions. The machine consists of a round vessel in which four or five large cans of milk are placed for sterilising, and, without opening, ׳delivering to the purchaser.
Messrs. It. A. Lister and Co., Limited, dairy engineers, Dursley, occupied 80ft. of covered shedding, and made a special feature of the new Framer’s Turbine Separating Plant, ranging in price from £29 10s., which includes boiler and separator. These plants are made in all sizes, and an interesting fact in connection with them is !that the hand-power Alexandra machines which have been sold by Messrs. Lister can be converted by them and driven by a jet of steam. In addition !there w!as a fine display of hand-sizes of the Alexandra Separator commencing at■ £6 each. The requirements of town daiiymen for milk coolers and sterilising plant have been well studied by this company, who also had an array of generating steam boilers used for washing-up purposes in town dairies. Milk testing apparatus of every kind, especially the Lister-Gerber Tester, which won the Royal Society’s first prize at Leicester, was displayed, and butter moulders for turning out bricks or rolls automatically in large quantities for wholesale grocers and dairymen, butter churns and small utensils were all in evidence.
Messrs. Avery, of Birmingham, exhibited in a fine collection ׳of weighing machines a weigh-
THE CHAMPION PRIZES
were awarded as follows: —
HORSES.
Best Hunter filly in Classes 7, 9, and¡ 11; gold med!al offered by the Hunters' Improvement Society. —Mr. R. B. Dixon (Lady Meta); r., Mr. F. W. Horsfall (Queen Mary).
Best Hackney stallion m Classes16 ׳ to 18; gold medal offered by the Hackney Horse Society.—Mr. Harry Liyesey (McKinley); r., Sir Walter Gilbey (Danish Duke).
Best Hackney mare or filly in Classes 19 to 21; geld medial offered by the Hackney Horse Society.— Mr. Harry Liyesey (Orange Blossom).
Best Polo pony stallion in Classes 32 to 34; gold medal offered by tile Polo Pony Society.—Sir Walter Gilbey (Rosewater); r., Sir Walter Gilbey (Lord Polo).
Best Polo pony mare in Classes 35 and 36; gold medal offered by tlie Polo Pony Society.—Mr. John Barker (Lightning); r., Keynsham Stud¡ Company (Oh My).
Best Shire stallion in Classes 43 to 45; gold medal offered by the Shire Horse Society.—Mr. Henderson, M.P. (Buseot Harold); l\, Mr. A. Ransom.
Best Shire mare or filly in Classes 46 to 49; gold medal offered by the Shire Horse Society.—Captain Duncombe (Boro’ Royal); r., Lord Wantage. CATTLE.
Best Shorthorn bull in Classes 65 to 67; champion prize of ¿820 offered by the Shorthorn Society.—Mr. J. Deane Willis (Bapton Emperor); r., Mr. G. Harrison (Count Beauty).
Best Shorthorn cow or heifer in Classes 68 to 71; champion prize of £20 offered by the Shorthorn Society.—H.M. the Queen (Cicely); r., Mr. J. Deane Willis (Bapton Pearl).
Best Sussex animal in Classes 85 to 91; champion prize of £10 offered by the Sussex Herd Book Society. —Earl of Derby (Bangle); r., Executors of the late Frederick Warde (Aldora Jewel).
Best Red Polled bull; champion prize of £10 offered by the Red Polled׳ Society.—Mr. R. Harvey Mason (Magician); r., Mr. Frederick E. Colman (Red Knight).
Best Red Polled cow or heifer; champion prize of £10 offered by the Red Polled; Society.—Mr. Janies E. Platt (Delphine); r., Mr. James E. Platt (Brin-hilda).
Best Aberdeen Angus׳ animal in Classes 104 to 108; gold medial offered by the Polled Cattle Society. —Rev. Charles Bolden (Proud Duke of Ballindailocifi; r., Mr. Alex. McLaren (Delamere).
Best Kerry animal in Classes 129 and 130; champion prize of 20gs. offered by the Kerry and׳ Dexter Cattle Society.—Messrs. Robertson and¡ Sons ;La Mancha Merry Boy); r., Messrs. Robertson and Sons (Eyvind an Treas).
Best Dexter animal in Classes 131 and 132; champion cup value 25gs. offered by the Kerry and Dexter Cattle Society.—The Prince of Wales ;Baba); r., Mr. E. S. Woodiwiss (Black Knight).
SHEEP.
Best Lincoln ram in Classes 146 and 147; champion prize of lOgs. offered by the Lincoln Longwool Sheep Breeders’ Association—Messrs. S. E. Dean and Sons; r., Mr. Tom Casswell.
Best Southdown ram in Classes 162 and■ 163; champion prize of logs, offered by the Southdown Sheep Society.—Duke of Richmond and Gordon; r.f Sir James Blyth.
Best Suffolk ram in Classes 173 and 174; gold medal offered1 by the Suffolk Sheep Society—Earl of Ellesmere; r.t Earl of Ellesmere.
Best Kentish ram in Classes 181 and 182; champion prize of £15 offered by the Maidstone Local Committee.—Mr. William Millen; r., Mr. William Millen.
Best pen of Kentish ewes in Classes 184 and 185; champion prize of £15 offered¡ by the Maidstone Local Committee.—Mr. Henry Rigden; r., Mr. Henry
Best Large White boar or sow in Classes 201 and 203; gold medal offered by the National Pig Breeders’ Association.—Sir Gilbert Greenall; r., Sir Gilbert Greenall.
Best Middle White boar or sow in Classes 205 and 207; gold medal offered by the National Pig Breeders’ Association.—Sir Gilbert Greenall; r., Sir Gilbert Greenall.
Best Small White boar or sow in Classes 209 and 211; gold medal offered' by tile National Pig Breeders’ Association.—Hon. D. P. Bouverie; r., Hon. D. P. Bouverie.
Best Berkshire boar or sow in Classes 213 and 215; champion prize of £5 offered by the British Berkshire Society.—Mr. J. Jefferson; r., Mr. J. Jefferson.
Best Tamworth boar or sow in Classes 217 and 219; gold׳ medal offered by the National Pig Breeders’ Association.—Mr. D. W. Philip; r., Mr. John Norman.
IMPLEMENTS, ETC.
There was a very fine show of machinery and implements, and one found much cause for speculation in regard to the various inventions which now ciontribute towards , the economy of manual labour.
As usual, competition in the display of new appliances brought out a number of great usefulness. Among the most notable, in point of ingenuity and in the promise of future utility, was the exhibit of the Darby Land Digger Syndicate in the form of a machine for digging land by means of a revolving screw action attached to the rear of a traction engine. In fact, the Darby digger, which has gone through so many phases of fortune, comes out in an entirely new dress. Instead of diggers in the usual sense of the word, the movers of the soil are now revolving discs. The digging machine proper is wedge-shaped, although it works behind the engine, and on each side of the exposed triangle there are five pairs of these discs, which can work their way into the soil to a depth of llin. The width taken at each working is llififc. The engine necessary is one of eight-horse power, and the work is said to be equal to three times horse ploughing at the rate of six acres a day. It is quite certain that there is room for a good practical machine of this kind, for men are becoming more and more scarce and less and less able or willing to get
and Yorkshire coaohers the best and certainly the biggest class were the fillies, but after the winner, Mr. John White’s Topey, and Mr. Horsfall’s second prize, Perseverance, there was not anything very remarkable about the remaining half-dozen. Nor, it must be confessed, were the hackneys anything like what it might be expected to find at the Royal, the brood mores being a poor lot after the prize winners were done with, whilst the champion stallion, Mr. Livesey’s M'Kinley, is scarcely up to the standard of previous winners, indeed ■he was generally voted a very lucky animal to beat Sir Walter Gilbey’s typical, fine actioned Danish Duke in his class. There was, however, considerable merit to be found amongst certain of the juvenile winners, notably Sir Walter Gilbey’s brilliant actioned yearling filly Bonny Lady, Mr. H. B. Cory’s fine strapping Druid-stone Duchess, a real mover, which was to the fore in two- year-old fillies, and the last-named exhibitor’s superb yearling stallion St. Donato, the best son of the defunct sire Stowe Gabriel, and an extremely likely horse to fill the latter’s place some day. Pony stallions were a small but very fine class, Mr. Hollins winning with Confident George, a nice mover, but closely pressed by Mr. Sam Woodiwiss’® shapely and fine-actioned Hexham, Mr. Hollins1 supplying some useful winners in the other classes. The polo ponies were an excellent collection, Sir Walter Gilbey taking first in stallions with the invincible Rosewater, whilst Mr. John Barker’s beautiful chestnut Lightning was well ahead in the brood mares. In the harness classes the best was that in which Mr. E. J. Godsell’s fine goer, Lady Lofty, beat Messrs. Johnsons and Digby’s nameless brown.
The heavy horses were very good, Mr. Hen-deraori'S bay, Buscot Harold, which has been carrying all before him this season, securing the championship, his successor in the three-year-old stallions being Mr. Wainwright’s Rocks Commander. The last-named exhibitor was unlucky in the two-year-old stallions, as he again took second, the winner being Mr. A. Ransom’s Hitchin Ringleader, afterwards placed reserve for the championship, whilst in the yearlings the Prince of Wales scored his first victory of the day by the assistance of the Sandringham bred bay Benedick. The championship of the shire mares went to Captain Duncombe’s Boro Royal, and the reserve to Lord Wantage’s Hendre Crown Princess, Sir J. B. Maple winning in both the yearling and two-year-old classes. Clydesdales were small classes, but the quality present in them was good. Her Majesty’s Windsor bred Bentdnck winning in the two-year-old1 stallions ; whilst Mr. Alfred Smith and Sir W. C. Quilter were the most successful exhibitors of Suffolks.
In the shorthorns the championship for bulls was awarded to Mr. J. D. Willis's yearling roan Bapton Emperor, with Mr. George Harrison’s Count Beauty reserve ; whilst Her Majesty took second in yearling bulls with Royal Duke, and third in two-year-olds with the almost whole-coloured red Matchless, the Prince of Wales’s Stephanos being second in the old bull class. Herefords were another good lot, the Queen taking two firsts׳—׳one in bulls with Dictator, and another in cows with Truthful, as well as a reserve for the two-year-old bull Sir Wilfred, and a third in yearling heifers with Sapphire. Devons and Sussex were very nice collections, the championship of the latter variety falling to tihe Earl of Derby’s Bangle, whilst Lord Rothschild, Earl Cadogan, Mrs. M'Kenzie Bradley and other well-known breeders׳ were highly successful amongst the Jerseys. Kerries and Dexters both showed up well, Messrs. Robertson securing the bull championship with La Mancha Merry Boy, whilst the championship of the heifers fell to his Royal Highness the Prince of Wales’s charming black Baba.
The sheep section was, perhaps, the best filled of any in the show, so far as absolute merit was Concerned, and therefore Messrs. Dean’s championship win in Lincolns—one of the strongest breeds—׳was a victory to be proud of. The Southdown® were another most excellent collection, the championship falling to the Duke of Richmond, the Prince of Wales taking a second prize in ram lambs, and highly commended in shearling ram® ; the highest honours in Suffolks falling, as is usually the ease, to the Earl of Ellesmere. As might be expected, the Kentish or Romney Marsh classes were very strong at Maidstone, the championship here falling to Mr. W. Millen and Mr. H. Rigden respectively for their rams and ewes. The pigs were an unusually good lot, Sir G. Greenall winning the highest honours in both large whites and middle whites ; whilst in the small whites the championship fell to the Hon. D. P. Bouverie, who secured a reserve for the honour as well; Mr. D. W. Philip capturing the corresponding honour in the Tamworth section.
The meeting of the Royal Agricultural Society of England, the 60th of the series, was opened at Maidstone on Saturday, so far ■as the implement section was concerned, and on Monday the magnificent Mote Park, which is this year given over to the display, was thrown open to •the public, and the opening proper took place. Maidstone was very much en fete, all the leading thoroughfares being gaily decked with bunting and streamers and floral festoons. There was no denying the enormous interest the Agricultural Society’s show had excited in the district. Never before, surely, has there been such an invasion in the old town as during the present week, when breeders of live-stock, farmers and agriculturists from all parts of the country, to say nothing of sightseers in the shape of the general public, came in such numbers that the accommodation was taxed to the uttermost.
Mote Park, with its 80 odd acres of undulating grass, its richly-timbered hillocks, and the fine panorama it commands of the surrounding country so prolific of hop gardens, constitutes an ideal ground for a display of this kind, and it seems strangely inapt to apply to it the term "show yard.” The history of the demesne is said to date back to the period of Edward IV., and as appropriate in a way to the doings of the present week, a visit was paid to the estate exactly a century since by King George III., who then made an inspection of the Kent Volun-teers. On his way to the show ground on Tuesday the Prince of Wales drove under a handsomely-decorated arch, which had been erected at the instance of the corporation as an exact replica of that which served as a “triumphal” structure upon the historic oocasion mentioned.
In the implement department there were 4,200 exhibits. The livestock show, in point of numbers, hardly compared well with those held in proximity to some of the big ׳towns like Manchester and Birmingham, or even Darlington. With the Warwick, Cambridge and Leicester meetings, however, it well bears comparison, save as regards the entries for horses, which were no more than 424. But of cattle there were 683 in the show yard, and of sheep 631, as against last year’s Birmingham figures of 792 and 624 respectively ; while, having regard to the experience of recent shows, breeders of pigs cannot be said to have shown up badly with their 147 animals. All told, these classes represent a total of 1,885, as against 2,323 last June ; whilst in the poultry section there were 625—a total which is more than equal to the average of these shows.
_ As usual, a number of lectures and demonstration® in the dairy section, and various competitions, notably in horse shoeing, were arranged in connection with the meeting, and the visit of foreign agriculturists proved interesting. All things considered, then, and having regard to the circumstances that 15 years, or thereabout®, had elapsed since Maidstone was last the centre of a like attraction, success on this occasion waited upon the efforts of the promoters of the “Royal” show.
The following table shows the number of entries in each section in comparison with those of previous years.
	Maid-	Bir-	Man-	Lei-	
	stoDe,	m’ghm,	Chester	eester,	lington,
	1899.	1898.	1897.	1896.	1895.
Horses ..	424	709	981	594	650
Cattle ..	683	792	821	594	548
Sheep	631	624	701*	551	505
Pigs	147	198	185	144	
Total ..	1,885	2,323	2,688	1883	1,703
Poultry ..	669	964	867	901	769
Produce..	625	635	715	574	474
* Including 52 Goats.
As usual the place of honour in the catalogue was awarded to hunters, the first class being for mares, with foal at foot, which attracted four entries, Mr. F. B. Wilkinson’s well-known bay Lady Templar—a very excellent sort—achieving an easy victory. Something like a sensation was caused in the over 13st. 71b. class by the defeat of Mr. T. D. John’s well-known champion Gendarme by Sir H. de Trafford’s Roscommon, the stylish chestnut which did so well at Wembley Park Show, but the winner is a clinking good horse, and a grand mover, so that though Gendarme was beaten he was not disgraced. Mr. John, moreover, won in the lighit-weight class with Sportsman, and in the three-year-olds with Huntsman, the last-mentioned chestnut being placed over the Islington crack, Shannon View. In the Cleveland bays