s neighbour to aid in putting a stop
thereto.

~Dog Shows.~--The first local Dog Show was held in 1860, but it was not
until the opening in Curzon Hall, December 4, 1865, that the Show took
rank as one of the "yearly institutions" of the town.--See
"_Exhibitions_."

~Domesday Books.~--The so-called Domesday Book, compiled by order of
William the Norman Conqueror, has always been considered a wonderful
work, and it must have taken some years compiling. Some extracts
touching upon the holders of land in this neighbourhood have already
been given, and in a sense they are very interesting, showing as they do
the then barrenness of the land, and the paucity of inhabitants. Though
in Henry VIII.'s reign an inventory of all properties in the hands of
Churchmen was taken, it did not include the owners of land in general,
and it was not till Mr. John Bright in 1873 moved for the Returns, that
a complete register of the kind was made. It would not be easy, even if
space could be given to it, to give the list of individuals, companies,
and corporation who claim to be possessors of the land we live on in
Birmingham and neighbourhood; but a summary including the owners in this
and adjoining counties may be worth preserving. As will be seen by the
annexed figures, Warwick and Stafford rank high in the list of counties
having large numbers of small owners (small as to extent of ground,
though often very valuable from the erections thereon). There can be no
doubt that the Freehold Land and Building Societies have had much to do
with this, and as Birmingham was for years the headquarters of these
Societies, the fact of there being nearly 47,000 persons in the county
(out of a total population of 634,189) who own small plots under one
acre, speaks well for the steady perseverance of the Warwickshire lads.
That we are not wrong in coming to this conclusion is shown by the fact
that leaving out the Metropolitan Counties, Warwick heads, in this
respect, all the shires in the kingdom.

WARWICKSHIRE.
Extent Gross
of estimated
lands. rental.
Owners of Numbr. Acres L
Less than 1 acre ....... 46894 5883 1808897
1 acre and under 10 1956 7727 93792
10 acres " 50 1328 31485 114243
50 " " 100 447 31904 76178
100 " " 500 667 1