are the exhibitors themselves. Mr. Parkinson, Jr., himself, had certainly great reason to be dissatisffed with the decisions of the judges at Durham in 1843, when Sir Thomas Fairfax himself was placed in the back ground, and a bull placed before him, without the least character of a good Shorthorn, but the decisions at Durham in 1843, were praiseworthy in comparison to those at Stockton in 1844.

If Mr. Parkinson, Jr., chooses to reply hereto, he must put his own name thereto; it was to him I wrote, and only from him, having my letter in his possession, could that paragraph emanate which appeared in the Farmers' Journal of last Monday, week. I have never had any hand in appointing judges at agricultural shows in my life, and no person of judgment has said, or can say, I ever received a premium to which I was not entitled. But not a few persons have seen and said, how improperly my stock has been treated at public exhibitions.

I exhibited cattle at the Tyneside Agricultural Society's meetings from its first institution in 1804 to 1812, but never showed my best cattle, and was successful at every show (and those exhibitions were held sometimes thrice a year) till the last show in 1812, and I then showed better animals than I had ever showed before. One of the judges told me afterwards, that those who influenced the proceedings, decided in the room, before they went out to examine the stock, that I should never have another premium in that society, however excellent the stock I exhibited; and this gentleman, and others who knew the determination come to, advised me never to exhibit again, and for 26 years afterwards I never did, till the York meeting in 1838, although I continued my subscription to the Tyneside Society till it was dissolved.

In 1819, seven years after I had ceased to show, a breeder of Short-horns removed to the northern part of Northumberland from Tyneside, dined with me at the same table at Berwick-upon-Tweed, and after dinner he asked me, before a very large company, how my stock was going on-and I said I had not exhibited since 1812, and knowing the resolution that was come to, "that I was never to have a premium, however excellent the stock I exhibited;" he then said, "you ought not to reflect upon me seven years afterwards, for I avow myself to have been the proposer of that resolution;" and he set to work to defend himself and those who acted with him, "justifying their conduct" by saying "that they were perfectly right in so doing, as they had none of my blood, and having, for so many years, given me premiums, it was time to put a stop thereto, and act for their own interest alone, and help the sale of their own stock." This ended two years afterwards in the breaking up of the agricultural society in Tyneside, and the short-horned cattle of that district, from having been the best shows I ever knew, far exceeding any in the present day, as a whole, became the worst of any district I ever knew of, for in 1837, at the Hexhan show, there was not even the vestige of a good Short-horn from Tyneside in Northumberland, and the premiums were nearly all carried away by strangers from other districts; and with the decline of good Short-horns, the agricultural produce of the district fell off to less than one-half to what I had known it on many farms, and probably never again will become equal to what it once was, while in other parts of the kingdom the agricultural

improvements have greatly advanced. This ought to be a warning to all other agricultural societies to prevent the conductors thereof being governed by selfish motives to advance their own interest, instead of the public advantage, for I have held, and ever will hold, that the prosperity of the landed interest, I mean landlord, tenant and laborer conjointly, tends to the prosperity of every other class in the state. Apologising for the length to which I have been drawn, unintended when this letter was begun, THOMAS BATES.

I am, &c.,

KIRKLEVINGTON, NEAR YARM, Nov. 21st, 1844.

P. S. I must add further-that I showed Mr. Whittaker, Mr. Fawkes, of Farnly Hall, and others with them, the Belvedere steers to which I have referred above, in the spring of 1836, while feeding here, and showed them Norfolk's dam, feeding in the same hemble-she stood with a cow by son of 24 Hubback (2683), whose dam cost £8 in a two-year old heifer, and this cow was only 48 stone at Christmas, 1835, and was, when sold at Leeds, estimated at 84 stones, having gained 36 stones (of 14 lbs. per stone) in 20 weeks, and increased in value in the estimation of the butcher, who bid £12 for her at Christmas, to be worth £32, being £20 increased value in 20 weeks, while Norfolk's dam did not increase in weight one-fourth as much, and was sold, I think, at £27, or £5 less than the cow by son of 2d Hubback; this I pointed out to the above gentlemen, and desired them to examine Norfolk's dam's rumps, as they had no fat upon them whatever, and yet it pleased the breeder of Norfolk to say that was owing (want of fat on his, Norfolk's rumps) to second Hubback; but they then had ocular demonstration before them that it arose from Norfolk's dam.

I have just received a kind letter from Henry Lister Maw, Esq., of Tetley, near Crowle, (whom I had not had a letter from for some time) informing me that he had offered to accept the challenges given to me, and adding, what I deem due to the public to know, that the editor of Bell's Weekly Messenger had abridged the letter he (H. L. Maw, Esq.,) sent to him; leaving out a most important remark he sent them, viz: "In a note I received from Mr. Bates, upwards of a year since, in reply to one of mine, referring to a match I proposed to make at the meeting of the Yorkshire Society at Doncaster, 'he informed me he made it a rule never to enter into matches or sweepstakes, and advised me not to do so." "I thought this would have shown the public sufficient grounds for your not accepting Mr. Parkinson's match," &c.

MR. BATES AND MR. PARKINSON.

To the Editor of the Farmers' Journal:

Sir-I have read in your last number a long letter from Mr. Bates, in reply to a paragraph from a "Correspondent," inserted in your paper of the 11th instant. Mr. Bates does not attempt to deny the statement of "Correspondent," and he assumed that my son wrote to him, but I thought that he, and almost every other breeder of Short-horns, knew that I am the owner of Sir Thomas Fairfax and Cassandra, and the breeder of Clementi, Collard and Cramer. Mr. Bates is desirous that your readers should know what he really did say to me, but he has not stated that he had previously and gratuitously advised Mr. Banks Stanhope to get rid of Cramer,

and if it could not otherwise be done, that he should try to persuade me to take him again, which caused me to send him the letter whereof the following is a copy, and it may be published if you think proper.

The letter from Mr. Bates to you contains mis-statements, and it proba bly will be replied to by other breeders. In autumn, 1843, I and two friends saw Mr. Bates' herd, and after repeated inquiry, the heifer which I bred; and it was his remark and not mine that she was deficient in growth. She was, however, considered superior to any other Mr. Bates showed us of the same age. I cannot doubt that other parts of his letter are equally perverted and advise him to examine the color of the noses of some that he admits are pure bred Short-horns.

Mr. Bates may reply to this letter if he pleases, but I do not intend to continue the correspondence.

I had not the least idea of showing my cattle against those of any breeder other than Mr. Bates, but Mr. Lister Maw having identified himself with Mr. Bates upon this subject, I accepted the challenge made by Mr. Maw, and have agreed to abide by the decision of a judge he has proposed. I make the following quotation from a letter I received some time ago, as it corresponds precisely with my own opinion—“I think very little of what Mr. Bates says when speaking of his own Short-horns, and still less when he speaks of those of any other breeder."

I am, &c.,

LEY FIELDS, NEWARK, Nov. 28, 1844.

TO THOMAS BATES, Esq,, Kirklevington, near Yarm:

JOHN PARKINSON.

Sir-It having been represented to me from various quarters that you have written in disparagement of my short horned cattle generally, and particularly in strongly advising that Mr. Banks Stanhope should not continue to use his bull "Cramer," which I bred and sold to him; I wrote to Mr. Stanhope to inquire if he were disposed to state a price for the bull, and intimated that I considered him superior to one for which I lately of fered 175 guineas; and as I now want a first rate young bull, I should be glad to purchase "Cramer." Mr. Stanhope has replied "That he has not the least idea of parting from him, and that double the sum I had offered for the other bull would not induce him to do so."

I am authorised to state, that Mr. Banks Stanhope would agree to match Cramer at the next Beverly meeting, against any of your bulls, then under nine years old, upon your own terms.

And I hope you will agree to show thirty of your Short-horns, which I fully admit have, in many respects, great merit, on your farm, against thirty of mine, on this farm; but neither for premium nor sweepstakes. The Council of the Royal Agricultural Society of England, to be solicited by us to appoint the judges, with the stipulation that the usual expenses for their travelling, paid by the society at the annual meetings, should be defrayed equally between us; or, if you prefer it, I have not any objection that the unsuccessful exhibitor shall pay the expenses; or that any other proper arrangement shall be made for the cattle being shown, which shall be more agreeable to you. I remain, &c.,

LEY FIELDS, NEWARK, Oct. 10, 1844.

JOHN PARKINSON.

MR. BATES AND MR. PARKINSON.

To the Editor of the Farmers' Journal :

Sir—I have read in your paper of the 2d inst., Mr. Parkinson, sen.'s letter, with his name to it-not again sheltered under a feigned signatureand, as he says "Mr. Bates may reply to this letter if he pleases, but I do not intend to continue the correspondence." (I here quote his own words.) Such being the case, I would be the last man to triumph over a fallen foe, and pity the man who could send such a challenge as he did, well knowing it would not be accepted; and I leave the public to judge, who have read my last letter showing the real pedigree from which Sir Thomas Fairfax is descended, that the only good thing in his pedigree is the small proportion of the blood of my second Hubback (1423, 2d vol., Herd Book), through Sir Thomas Fairfax's sire, Norfolk (2377, 3d vol., Herd Book), and as a proof of the superiority of second Hubback's blood, Norfolk was sold at Mr. Whittaker's sale in 1833 for 124 guineas, while the only other calf off Norfolk's dam (Nonpareil), by Frederick (267 in 1st vol., and 1060 in 2d vol., Herd Book), was sold at 31 guineas-just one-fourth of the price; this surely is a proof of public opinion that cannot be gainsaid. Mr. Parkinson has not dared to confront the statements I made of the pedigree of Sir Thomas Fairfax, "though I told him that he might call the whole world to aid him in his reply," and I called on Mr. Whittaker, the breeder of Sir Thomas Fairfax, to deny the facts I stated if he dared; and I sent him your paper of the 25th ult., containing my letter, that he might not plead ignorance of what I had written. I consider it quite unnecessary to reply to the base insinuations, and the false statements contained in his (Mr. Parkinson's) letter; as all who have seen my stock know (if they speak the truth) how contrary they are to his insinuations. I have, however, unearthed the cunning foe, and brought him out to public view-his paper pedigrees will now be examined into, and I hope, in future, no unfledged goose neither home nor foreign, will be again caught by him; his pedigrees in the last Herd Book, will be mostly found to be all late purchases, of which, of course, he could know nothing from experience, and what very little good blood there is in them, is at a remote distance, though of that blood which he affects to despise in my herd.

Mr. Parkinson, sen., having withdrawn from the controversy he himself excited, the only other name contained in my letter was that of Mr. Whittaker, sen., of Burly. I do not mean to reply to any letters that may be addressed to me from any other persons but those two, as I am well aware many envious and malicious spirits would wish to draw me into controversy-chagrined, perhaps, as much as Mr. Parkinson and Mr. Whittaker at the superiority of the short-horned cattle I have so often exhibited during the last seven years; but let such persons first attempt to breed such Shorthorns, and they will find it impossible, unless they first possess the same blood. When I began breeding early in life, I acted on sure principles and from data that can never deceive; and success has been the certain result, and my breed of short-horned cattle may yet be further improved from my own. herd, and they can be improved from no other; and wherever they go, they carry their good qualities along with them. The renowned American statesman, Mr. Webster, who spoke at the Oxford meeting of the Royal Agricul

tural Society in 1839, openly declared in his speech after dinner, “that he had seen the four successful Short-horns that had been exhibited that day, and he did assure the breeder of them that he has seen his cattle on the banks of the Ohio; and they were held, and justly so, in as great estimation in the United States of America as they were at Oxford." And that estimation has not been diminished; for in a letter which I have lately received from George Vail, Esq., of Troy, he says: "You will, no doubt, be much gratified to learn that Meteor, my young bull by Wellington, out of your Oxford premium cow, and from my Duchess cow by Duke of Northumberland, obtained the first premium in the first-class of Durhams, and there was also a premium offered for the best bull of any breed covering the whole ground, and this premium was also unanimously awarded to Meteor. This I consider a great victory, as there was a fine display of bulls on the ground, and perhaps the best display this country can produce. There was an imported bull from Earl Spencer on the ground, and one from Mr. Whittaker's herd; but there will be a full account given of this great State's fair at Poughkeepsie, in the New York American Agriculturist and the Albany Cultivator." And, I may here add, the stock from me taken out by Messrs. Bolden, of Hymen, in Lancashire, to Port Philip, in Australia, have been equally successful at their PUBLIC EXHIBITIONS. The whole of the pretended improved Short-horn breeders in these United Kingdoms may unite their influence, as did the influential breeders in the Tyneside Agricultural Society, to keep the merits of my cattle from being known; but wherever they are fairly tried, their merits will shine forth in producing a greater return for the food consumed than any other breed of cattle that was ever known in the world. Mr. Charles Colling, from whom I got them, repeatedly assured me that the first cow he bought of the Duchess breed, from Stanwix, of the agent of the late Duke of Northumberland, was the best cow he ever had or ever saw," and "that this first cow was better than any he could produce from her, though put to his best bulls which improved all other cattle." The cattle were in the possession of Sir Hugh Smithson's family (the grandfather of the present Duke of Northumberland) for two centu ries, and the celebrity of them was kept up by paying the greatest attention to their breeding. Mr. Charles Colling bought this tribe in 1784, and in 1804 (twenty years afterwards), I purchased my first Duchess cow of Mr. C. Colling, my bull Ketton 1st (709, 1st vol. Herd-book) by Favorite (252) then in her womb. This cow calved at Halton Castle, in Northumberland, June 7th, 1807; she was kept on grass only, in a pasture with nineteen other cows, and made in butter and milk, for some months, above two guineas per week, or forty-two shillings English money. Duchess 34th (the dam of the four Dukes of Northumberland bulls) consumes one-third less food than my first Duchess (purchased in 1804) and her milk yields onethird more butter for each quart of milk. "And whilst the consumption of food is one third less, and the milk yields one-third more butter, there is also a greater growth of carcass and an increased aptitude to fatten. This cow is now in her thirteenth year, and has had ten calves. If these are not proofs of excellence, then let Short-horn breeders say what are, and where the like can be found." I am, &c.,

KIRKLEVINGTON, NEAR YARM, December 4, 1844.

66

THOMAS BATES.