On the present occasion, though several additional boxes were inclosed in the galleries on each side, and extra charges made for occupying them, notwithstanding their great distance from the ring and the mere bird's-eye view they afforded, people were found to patronise them. Here, where there was not the slightest chance of seeing the horses or gaining information, was also placed the alloted space for the members of the Press. Thus, though it is the first time they have had the privilege of a place into which the public could on no excuse intrude, it was perfectly useless to them, and one and all, of the sporting Press at least, either went into the reserved seats (where their chairs were placed last year), or saw what they could in the crowd around the tan.The Field.

SOUTHAMPTON.

Three years since, at the first Salisbury show of the West of England Society, the premium for the best thorough-bred stallion went to Hunting Horn, an award which was not altogether fancied by some of the Direction. But with all his coarseness, there was that in Hunting Horn which surpasseth show, as he is one of the finest-bred horses in the kingdom. By Surplice, Touchstone's best son, out of Ferina by Venison; and Ferina is also the dam of the Pretender, who has just won the Derby. In fact, no one could be more highly connected, as even beyond this, Hunting Horn's stock have been turning out capitally, either with hounds or over a steeplechase course. The Council, however, was not satisfied either with the three or four really creditable stud-horses they got together in Wiltshire, or with the good beginning they had made at Exeter. And so the hunter-sire class has been abandoned, notwithstanding the results which have already followed, as more well-bred "nags" have of late years been reared in Devonshire, and thereabouts, than had ever been heard of before, and Mr. Barnes, the Andover dealer, now makes regular visits to those parts. Surely, considering the calibre of the Society, a prize-stallion should in his degree be as serviceable as a prize-bull or a prize-ram, and the offer might be advantageously revived at Taunton. Although the entry was not large there was something quite refreshing in the very look of the green grass ring at Southampton; as, only the more so, when one remembered the cockney contrivances and Barnum business being just then enacted at Islington. The lot of all-aged hunters was led off by a handsome old chesnut, the property of Mr. Hambro' M.P.-a smart, showy horse in his box, and a still better when extended. He won all the way, though The Swell, by Autocrat (just destroyed from an accident), is a very spiry, blood-like horse, and quite a prize-hunter up to a certain weight; while Mr. Battams' high commendation by Hungerford, of a coarser stamp, promised to make more money for a welter, as, indeed, he was sold during the day to Mr. Barnes for 300 gs. Despite all the outrageous puffs and" Walk up!" and wild-beast-showman tricks, we doubt whether there were three much better hunting horses than these in the Agricultural Hall, as they were far in advance of the rest of their class. Amongst the four-yearolds, Mr. Battams, who seems to buy up all the promising things he can find about, entered a Brocket mare of more fashion, who fairly placed herself; but his Ratan horse, in no way so good-looking, was fearfully blemished from an accident; and the second went to a raw, raking Irish colt, sent up all in the rough by Mr. Clement Champeney, who makes it a rule never to overdo his young things, either for show or sale; and, on his own merits, never was a prize more honestly

earned, though he did bolt with the lad, than by young Hunting Horn. Amongst the others, Mr. Michelmore sent in an animal of great substance, but with badly-laid shoulders, so that he could not walk, as he is fit for nothing better than a winker-bridle and a well-spread collar that will cover up his weak places. Mr. Battams, again, had clearly the pick of the three-year-olds, though a very sweet and stylish chesnut, bred by Mr. Canning, was not far behind the other, until a cataract put him out of competition; and so the second place fell to a coarse, cobby gelding, with far more the look of making a farm hack than a hunter. Mr. Humphrey's best yearling, by Master Bagot, what with his good limbs and great reach, has only to furnish to more than justify his rank here, if there was not much against him; while the hacks were a bad class outright, Mr. Barnes' best being all, top, and shown in regular dealer's condition. The four prize-ponies were, on the contrary, all good-especially Mr. Keyne's black, and the dun mare from Devonshire, of very true and pretty pony character; but the Foresters were a terrible failure, and the judges refused to give anything to the stallions, as they might reasonably enough have also declined to recognise any merit in the New Forest pony class.

COLCHESTER.

In some proof of all there was to do and to see, it was found that the programme of the first day's proceedings could not be strictly adhered to, in consequence of the nag judges not having made up their minds so soon as had been anticipated. But these gentlemen cut a deal of time to waste, for two of the trio took to riding their horses, and careering round as contentedly as if they were taking out their hour at Hastings or Brighton on some half-a-crown-a-sider. That a man may occasionally catch something more of an idea as to the actual form and "feel" of a horse by getting on his back is likely enough; but that it is requisite to keep continually changing from one entry to another, or to disport oneself on anything in particular for ten minutes together, is a practice scarcely to be commended on any consideration. The business becomes insufferably slow and tedious, at the same time that a judge rather bothers than confirms the correctness of his eye by showing off after this fasion. Many, moreover, as were the classes, and many as were the entries, the main interest and attraction centred everywhere over the Open or All-England premiums, and these would have gone better had they gone quicker. Not that we must be understood as here in any degree impugning the value of the awards, so far as we could gather them, for our own opinions, as previously expressed, coincide very much with these conclusions. Speaking of St. Clare, the first prize weight carrying-hunter at the recent Islington show, we said three weeks since that this horse " is anything but a good specimen of a hunter; with a good forehand, and walking away well, he is slack in his back, with thin thighs, and weak in his hind legs, as looking altogether as soft as a Shorthorn." Being the property of a resident in Essex, St. Clare was, of course, shown again at Colchester, where he was thoroughly beaten for the open prize. The horse, indeed, fairly tired and laboured round the ring like the faint-hearted animal he looks; while we are assured that his chief prowess in the field has been confined to carrying his owner a-coursing. The entry against him included

three or four of Barker, the Essex dealer's horses, led off by Tom Bowline, the chief prize hunter at Chelmsford last year, but clearly a difficult horse to ride, although a fine strong goer, and admirably piloted by young Barker. With these came amongst others a weight carrier of Mr. Sexton's, Mr. Tharp's game old chesnut, and Captain Barlows Topstall, by Cornerstone, a horse which only took a second prize at Islington, where we wrote of him as "having a deal of character," and as "by far the most gentlemanly hunting horse in the class." Once away from that cockney sawdust arena he only proved this character the more at Colchester, where he carried Mr. George Higgins "like oil" and of course took the first prize. What after this shall we say of the judgment of the Islington House of Lords, but what we have said already? and this is, that in some cases, such as the placing of St. Clare, of Whitby, and of the gold medal horse, The Commissioner, the awards of Lords Combermere and Macclesfield, to say nothing of Captain Williams, were as faulty and false as they well could have been. Dalesman, that we pronounced at Islington to be by make and shape "a much better horse than Whitby," came on and took the two stalliou prizes at Colchester, as he promises to sweep off everything in the neighbouring counties of Norfolk and Suffolk, even if he be not sent farther from home. Dalesman who, when we first saw him run, struck us as a somewhat coarse horse, has fined as he has grown older-capital proof-and is now of just the size and stamp, uniting blood with power, to be of service to those who have the sense to use him. Many of the horses here met again and again, as the prize-list will show; and with this for a guide it would be wearisome to follow them, so that we may confine ourselves in this place to the chief or open classes. In a large entry of hacks the winner was Mr. Rowland Tayler's Wheldrake, said to be by Daniel O'Rourke, although as the breeder is unknown it is hard to see how this information can have been arrived at. The old chesnut is a neat taking nag, fired before, and with something very varmint and game in his appearance, while he enjoys the reputation of being not only a good hack, but a good hunter. In fact, a special feature of the Colchester catalogue was that horses were entered for all sorts of purposes, and against Wheldrake were pitted Hilda, a very sweet mare by Sir John Barleycorn, shown previously in a hunting class; Bird on the Wing, the best hunting gelding of the county; Eclipse, the best or ladies' horse at Islington, and Voltigeur, a commended hunter at Islington. The chesnut's chief opponent, however, was a charming little black mare called Blue Bell, with a snake head, a light blood-like neck, and altogether very good forward, but set off by short crampy quarters, or she might have made a still better fight of it. As Mr. Joseph Smith's she had just beaten Mr. Dames' Tiney, as neat as a pin, and something more of Mr. Hicks'; the family or families of Smith and Hicks being apparently famous for their "dandy horses." Mr. G. M. Sexton's Misery was said to have been put first in the class of weight-carrying hacks or roadsters, but being subsequently disqualified as unsound, the prizes went elsewhere; a chesnut three-year-old being also put out of it for some reason or other, and the one premium awarded to a common under-breed rattle-trap roan-a monstrous mistake surely, with such a filly as Mr. Vickeman's Countess in the class. She is certainly high

on the leg, and has not been well done by, but she is a grand growing mare, with a magnificent forehand, and in better trim must have had better luck. There were plenty of ponies, and what is more remarkable plenty of good ones; with two or three very moderate yearlings, and a class of mares and foals, the second-best of which was racing last summer in Prince Soltykoff's colours. There was, further, a prize for jumping, for which Captain Barlow would not suffer the best hunter on the ground to contend, and after a deal too much "trying" and other foolery, the award went in favour of one of Barker's team, although, as it struck us, young Barker had quite as strong a claim to the money as any of the horses he rode. The judges did not "exhibit" themselves in this class.-Mark Lane Express, June 21st.

Towards the close of last year, the Editor of this Journal was requested by the proprietors of a London Magazine, of by no means sporting proclivities, to give his views on the present practice of horseracing; and an article appeared accordingly in the number published on the first of December. After dwelling at some length on the evils existing, the writer wound-up by recommending that no two-year-old should run before the first of May; that no race in which three-yearolds or upwards are engaged should be run over any less distance than a mile; and that in a handicap no horse should carry less than 6st. 7lb., or a stone more than the minimum weight hitherto sanctioned. This paper so far effected its purpose that it attracted some attention, being given in full by certain of the English and American prints-as occasionally approved of, or as often abused, the more especially by the turf-prophet school, who talked of ignorance, unfairness, and so on. However, in the January following, Sir Joseph Hawley, as a member of the Jockey Club, gave notice that, amongst other matters, he should move, at a general meeting of the Club, that "no two-year-old shall run earlier than the first of July;" while Colonel Forester would propose that "no two-year-old shall run before the first of May;" and Lord Coventry, that "no horse shall carry in any race a lighter weight On the Saturday in the Epsom race week, at the largest meeting of the Jockey Club ever held, only one of these propositions was adopted, viz., that of Colonel Forester, for prohibiting two-yearolds running in any race before the first of May-an alteration precisely in accordance with that suggested by The Broadway some six months previously.

All this is now an old story, for of late almost every paper issued has revelled again and again in leaders and letters on the evils of twoyear-old racing, and the assumed deterioration of the horse. That most illogical of debaters, Admiral Rous, has led the way, condemning the principle and upholding the practice; while at longer intervals Sir Joseph Hawley, Mr. Henry Chaplin, Lord Derby, and the Speaker of the House of Commons have followed, and all on the other side. The result is that which at least every reasoning man has hoped for, if he did not altogether expect it thus early. The first blow has been struck, and the unwholesome impolicy of over-taxing an animal's powers before these have come to anything like maturity, has not merely been admitted, but the "iniquity" prohibited. Is it not possible to look with advantage a little further in the same direction?

Mr. Evelyn Denison says: "It is to be feared that the business of breeding half-bred stock for the road and the hunting-field will be found to be in a depressed and declining state. Before the invention of railways every farmer kept a horse to carry him to markets and fairs. Now, thousands of farmers have laid aside their riding horses, and trust mainly to railways for means of locomotion." And then, in answer to his own question as to how this decline may be arrested, the Speaker suggests that landlords "should form an institution, and agree each of them to place two or three good mares in the hands of tenants on their estates." Having quite as little faith in joint-stock companies, or other kinds of companies, as Mr. Denison has himself, it strikes us that far the more feasible plan would be to begin from the other side. One of the great wants of the country is a supply of useful, sound, thorough-bred horses; and here, as we have continually suggested, even the Government might afford some assistance. Let a few Royal £100 premiums be granted for competition at such meetings as those of the Royal Agricultural Society, the Yorkshire, the Lincolnshire, and the Bath and West of England. So far the offer of £100 in this way has never ended in a failure, as the countenance of the State would tend to the more permanent success of such a business, and the gradual introduction of a better stamp of horses for farmers' service. There could be no other such agency for accomplishing the object; for, as The Times says, and says well, "Without entering minutely into a comparison between the respective influences of shows and races upon the breed of horses, we may safely say that at shows the more useful qualities of the animal, such as endurance, strength, and general vigour, are always sure to be well represented." This is written as appropriate to the success of the Islington Horse Show, but here we join issue. The success of the Agricultural Hall exhibition is merely a matter of the shillings and half-crowns taken from the public. As "a national institution," no one who judges for himself can fail to see how the thing is falling away. There were never so many bad and never so few good horses entered here as were paraded during the past week. The better class of sportsmen and horsemen, moreover, are fast sickening of the fooleries and catch-penny tricks adopted, the water jumping, the trotting matches, the jumping matches, and so forth. Of course all this Barnum business draws, as it would, only the more, if the Directors could be induced to swallow fire or to go, head first, through pink-paper hoops. There is a bad tone, a kind of halfcoping, half-circus air about the whole affair, that may make a man laugh more perhaps than he might at other scenes in the circle, but that the exhibition is productive of any good to anyone but the managers is a question which scarcely admits of discussion. There can be no doubt, however, but that it has been well written up; as, indeed, as we are told, some of the people employed here boast that "they know how to manage the Press. And the Press has had its reward. After making the show, these gentlemen were on Saturday week in turn made a show of themselves-the very laughing-stock of the public. They were ordered up aloft into a corner, where they were so carefully disposed as to be able to see little or nothing of what was going on. Of course our own representative paid his half-crowns and took his seat where he could command the business, without being ever