BIRD, Cardiff. Stand 21, Art. 72. A One-Horse Cart. - The body is 10 inches above the axle with the exception of this defect, the cart is well made and properly axled.

FRY, Bristol. Stand 28, Art. 7. Crank-Axle Cart. This is a very good cart for the conveyance of goods from railway stations; but the bearings of the wheels are too short.

Stand 69, Art. 1. An Iron Cart. This cart is so objectionable in every respect, that the judges consider it their duty to respectfully suggest that the owner should not use it. It is clumsily made, particularly the shafts, which, when horizontal, place on the horse's back no less a weight than 175 lbs. The wheels have no wood felloes, but only an iron rim: this, of course, would dovetail in soft ground. The weight of the cart was understood to be over 12 cwt.

The judges think that a few mechanical rules for the guidance of farm-cart makers may be acceptable. The wheels should be dished for strength; the tire cylindrical, consequently the felloes should not be bevelled. The body of the cart should be placed down on the axle by keeping the body down the cart is easier drawn and easier filled. There should be very little projection of the soles behind the tailboard, as the projection only interferes with the tipping: a cart should be at liberty in every way, so as to allow it to tip freely. When the horse is in the shafts the body of the cart should be horizontal. The height of the wheels should rarely exceed 4 feet 6 inches. It is true that high wheels. decrease draught; but it is likewise true that they are much less durable, more expensive, and heavier, and, for farming purposes, they are much in the way. The French undoubtedly carry heavy weights on roads in their carts with high wheels and long bodies (the length of the body enables the carter to keep the centre of gravity of his load low), and we admit that these carts answer admirably the purpose for which they are intended; but with respect to a farmer's cart, which is sometimes filled and emptied fifty times in a day, other considerations besides draugh tmust be taken into account-viz, handiness in loading, lightness, strength, durability, and cheapness.

CLASS 35. For the best Two-Horse Waggon, provided with efficient means for checking its speed down hill, without dragging or locking the wheels.-T. MILFORD and SONS, Thorverton, Devon. Stand 37, Art. 4. A cheap well-made waggon; but there is too much weight on the fore wheels. It is provided with a break. Half the prize was awarded to this waggon.

GEORGE MILFORD, Thorverton, Devon. Stand 20, Art. 1. A cheap wellmade waggon, to which half the prize was awarded. It so much resembles the one alluded to above, made by T. Milford and Sons, that the same remarks apply to both.

There were several other waggons exhibited; but they all, more or less, displayed mechanical defects. Some were wrong in the construction of the wheels; some, by way of ornament perhaps, had the body twisted in a most expensive and useless manner; in some the body was too narrow; in others the break was defective: in all the weight was not sufficiently thrown upon the hind or high wheels. The judges recommend that the fore wheels of a waggon should not carry much of its weight, but that the load should rest principally on the high wheels, and that the low fore wheels, by bringing them forward as far as the front of the waggon will admit, should be used more as a steerage than for carrying half the load.

CLASS 37. The best Root-Pulper.-Mr. Bentall's, of Heybridge, being the only one exhibited, we felt no diffidence in awarding him the prize.

CLASS 38. The best Turnip-Cutter.-Messrs. Fry and Bird (Mr. Samuelson's agents) each exhibited one of his Gardner's cutters. The prize was shared between them for this standard implement.

CLASS 40. The best Oilcake-Crusher. - Mr. Bentall's new crusher had the prize, which was very closely contested by Messrs. Smith and Ashby, to whom a high commendation for their simple breaker was given. The result of trial we subjoin :

CLASS 41. Gorse-Bruiser, or Chopper. - Richmond and Chandler's chopper was the only one brought under our notice, and to them was the prize granted.

CLASS 42. The best Steaming-Apparatus for preparing Food for Cattle, Pigs, &c.-Richmond and Chandler again obtained the prize.

CLASS 43. The best Churn. -Two churns were put to the test with four quarts of cream each. The following was the result :

The butter produced by the first churn was superior in flavour and solidity; and the price of the latter, being exorbitant, fully justified us in giving Mr. Bird the prize.

CLASS 44. The best Cheese-Press.-Of the four which were shown, Mr. Carson's, of Warminster, was considered the best. A weight of 16 lbs. suspended to a compound lever, gives 576 lbs. pressure on the cheese.

CLASS 45. The best Cooking-Apparatus for Farm-house Kitchens. Mr. Gliddon, of Taunton, had the best of this class, and a very neat and apparently effective range it is for baking, boiling, stewing, or roasting.

CLASS 46. The best Field-Gate. - Wightman and Denning, of Chard, offered a tubular iron gate, which, but for one mechanical error, would have been a pretty good production. Mr. Rowsell, of Buckland St. Mary, obtained the prize. The crooks and loops of this gate should have been as far apart as the hind piece will allow the horizontal bars of iron between the wooden bars would have been better done away with. There is not any objection to the tension diagonal bar being of iron; but if wood is preferred, the hind piece should be made longer at the top to allow the diagonal bar to be dovetailed: the thick top bar in this case must be tenoned on one side. This gate, like the other, is far too expensive.

CLASSES 47 and 48.- For the best Specimen of Fencing, &c., and for the best Self-acting Valve for discharging small Streams into Tidal Rivers. Nothing worthy of the several prizes was submitted for our inspection.

CLASS 49. The best and most useful Collection of Agricultural Implements. -This prize was given to Mr. Bird, of Cardiff, for his well-selected array of almost every necessary implement, machine, and tool requisite for carrying on

the business of farming. Mr. Fry, of Bristol, obtained a second prize in this class.

A novel bone-mill, manufactured by Rea and Burns, of Liverpool, was put on trial with 10 cwt. of bones, a large portion of which was ground into fine pieces. This was accomplished, not after the usual manner of passing between two or more rollers, but by the process of rasping-an action which appeared to us to produce as good a sample of broken bones as by the mode heretofore practised. Unfortunately the trial came to an abrupt termination. This mill will always be liable to the same accident, unless the defect can be provided against.

Mr. Eddy exhibited a rotatory gravel screen; Mr. Eaton a lifting jack; Mr. Bird a hand-plough sledge, price 8s. We also observed some trussed whippletrees, which we strongly advise farmers not to purchase. The defect in these whipple-trees is, that they are not equalising as soon as one horse is in advance of the other. A scale or weighing-beam is only perfect when the three bearing points are in one line. In each of these whipple-trees the middle bearing point is nearly one foot behind the other two points, consequently a high-spirited horse, by stepping in advance of his neighbour, may draw three-fourths of the load instead of one-half, without such a result being suspected by the ploughman. We trust we shall see no more of these unmechanical implements.

Mr. Wright and Mr. Rowsell exhibited American hay-collectors-an indispensable implement on a farm even where only a few acres of hay are grown. Messrs. Smith and Ashby had also their horse-rake.

Messrs. Richmond and Chandler had a root-washer, which could be easily raised out of the water and the vegetables emptied. Messrs. Sims, Pickley, and Co. (Stand 65) displayed some garden-seats, &c., which are cheap and ornamental.

Messrs. Lucas and Sons had some good steel gripes. The forks were defective, the shafts being much and unnecessarily weakened by being turned too deeply to fit the sockets: the sockets are too small. The prongs of some of the digging-gripes were square, and the sharp edge or diagonal was towards the resistance: this, although a very simple matter, materially weakens the prongs -besides it is far less trouble to the manufacturer to keep the flat side of the square or rectangle, instead of the diagonal, to the resistance. The latter method is undoubtedly adopted under the delusion that it is the stronger plan. A square bar of wood or iron will offer resistance, as nearly as possible, in the proportion of 10 stone when the flat side is in the direction of the strain, and only 7 stone when the diagonal is in this direction. We would respectfully suggest to the Council of the Bath and West of England Society that they should put a paragraph in the Birmingham and Sheffield papers, drawing the attention of the manufacturers of gripes and forks to these defects.

There were several descriptions of washing-machines exhibited. We had no means of testing their practical value; but there was one kind, the American ball-machine, which is anything but creditable to the manufacturer, inasmuch as it is so very unsubstantially made. We believe that many of these machines assist the operation of washing.

Mr. Tegetmeier, Muswell Hill, London, exhibited a bar and slide bee-hive. The hive is made of wood; but we think straw is a better material. With this objection we quite approve of Mr. Tegetmeier's system and invention.

Stand 76, Art. 4. Williamson, Brothers, Canal Iron Works, Kendal, exhibited a vortex turbine, which was said to be superior in some instances to the vertical water-wheel.

Stand 21, Art. 73. Mr. H. Bird, Cardiff, had Crosskill's Archimedean rootwasher.

Stand 14. Messrs. Lowder and Son had some umbrella stands.

Stand 11.

Messrs. Hughes and Sons, Dover-road, London,
Messrs. Hupham and Brown, Exeter, Devon,

}

Stand 63. Messrs. Chanter and Co., Bow-road, London, exhibited what they termed a reciprocating fire-box furnace. Every other bar could be slightly moved backwards and forwards by a simple lever, which might break the slag.

Stand 64. Mr. Bridges, 146, Oxford-street, London, exhibited a large variety of butter-prints and other small articles for dairy use. This stand was well worth an inspection.

Stand 17. Mr. Lyon, 32, Windmill-street, Finsbury, London, exhibited two pair of ornaments in shells. They were very beautiful works of art.

Robert Young, Bark House, Newport, Monmouth, exhibited a tool for planting forest-trees. It appeared to us an excellent instrument for the purpose. Unfortunately we could not find Mr. Young to show us how he used his tree-planter. Mr. Young's invention should not be lost sight of by those who are in the habit of planting extensively. The price in the catalogue is 10l.; but this may be a misprint.

Mr. Eaton, of Kettering, Northamptonshire, exhibited a covered circular trough for sheep, which is a useful and cheap article.

Mr. Reed, of Regent Circus, had water-engines, injecting-instruments, probangs, pumps, syringes, &c., all of which for utility and finish reflected great credit on the maker. The same encomium applies to Mr. Tree, of Blackfriars, who had a display of farmers' rules, cattle-gauges, barometers, thermometers, draining levels. We noticed also that Mr. Archer, of High Holborn, exhibited an ingenious apple-paring machine, which, while it peeled the apple, at the same time removed the core.

WILLIAM LISTER.
THOS. SCOTT.

II. Report on the Exhibition of Live Stock at Cardiff.*
By ROBERT SMITH, Emmet's Grange, Exmoor.

THE invitation of our Welsh friends to celebrate the Society's seventh anniversary upon a sister land was well responded to. As a whole, the Cardiff Exhibition may be fairly described as a successful meeting. It is true the competition was varied, and we had our weak and strong points; yet, happily, in every class animals were to be found representing the true type of their respective breeds. This was essential to the fulfilment of the objects of the exhibition.

The breeders in the Western Counties have displayed their samples, and await the extension of their market. The animals from the adjacent neighbourhood, as also many from a distance,

added materially to the extent and consequence of the show. Hence it is our satisfaction to record that the Society appears to have gained ground in public estimation, fellowship, and usefulness. The Society returns to its western home with a vigour rarely equalled and not excelled by any district society in the world. The importance of such gatherings cannot be too strongly impressed upon the public. Whether we regard the interest attached to the collection of show animals, or the purposes to be gained by bringing them together, we may safely assert that the Society's meeting at Cardiff has sown the first seeds of future enterprise in the agriculture of the Principality. But while the Welsh farmers reflect upon the results they saw produced at the Cardiff meeting, they must not be indifferent to the thought that such a display could only be realised by "unity of purpose;" that is to say, a combination of enterprise and goodwill amongst the members, but more especially amongst the energetic officers and members of council.

Happily for our neighbours, they will have the opportunity of displaying a reciprocity of feeling at the North Devon Meeting in 1859, and thus aid our progress by cementing the intercourse and extending the interests that are growing up on either side the Bristol Channel.

With a view to best illustrate the extent of the competition at the Cardiff meeting, I quote from the Society's Report to the General Meeting :

"Of stock there were 137 exhibitors, viz.: - From South Wales, 74; Somerset, 15; Devon, 18; Cornwall, 1; Gloucester, 10; Dorset, 0; Wilts, 6; and from other counties 13. The stock entered for competition includes :

"Cattle. Bulls 55, cows 35, heifers 56, steers 6: making a total of 152 cattle.

"Sheep. Rams 149, ewes 226: total 375 sheep. "Pigs. Boars 17, sows 42: total 59 pigs.

"Horses. Stallions and colts 36, mares and fillies 64: or 100 horses and ponies. The grand total of live stock exhibited being 686."

This exhibition shows an increase over that of last year of 167 head of stock.

In proceeding to notice the several established breeds of live stock exhibited at the Cardiff meeting, it may be interesting to commence with a short notice of their respective importance.

CATTLE.

DEVONS.-The North Devon cattle have long been recognised