with his back to
the auctioneer. When he wished to bid he raised his head very
slightly, making a nod backwards to the auctioneer, who, knowing his
man, was looking out for this method of attracting his attention.

Though the ordinary farm sale is by far the most amusing and
picturesque, the sale of pedigree stock is much more sensational. When
the shorthorn mania was at its height, and the merits of Bates and
Booth blood were hotly debated, when such phrases as "the sea-otter
touch," referring to the mossy coat of the red, white, or roan
shorthorn, were heard, and the Americans were competing with our own
breeders in purchasing the best stock they could find--prices were
hoisted to an extravagant height. There is no forming a "knock-out" at
a pedigree sale; sturdy competition is the only recognized method of
purchase, and the sporting spirit is a strong incentive, especially
when the vendor is known as a courageous buyer at the sales of the
leading breeders.

I attended the dispersal of a herd where the owner had been for years
one of these sporting buyers; he had, however, gone more for catalogue
blue-blood than perceptible excellence, and the stock were brought
into the ring scarcely up to the exhibition form which a pedigree sale
demands. The American buyers were well represented, and the popularity
of the vendor brought a great crowd of home buyers, so that the sale
went off with spirit. I chanced to sit next to the veterinary surgeon
who attended my own stock as well as the herd on offer, and it was
amusing to hear his confidential communications as the animals were
sold at huge prices. He knew their faults and weaknesses
professionally, and it was no breach of confidence, when a cow had
passed through the ring and extracted a big figure from an American
buyer, to whisper them in my ear. I noticed that the Americans, no
doubt with commissions to buy a particular strain of pedigree,
appeared to pay more attention to the catalogue than to the cattle
themselves, and I saw some sold at fancy prices, which I should really
have been sorry to see in my own non-pedigree herd. The sale was a
great success, from the vendor's point of view at any rate, and I
think the average exceeded seventy guineas all round, including calves
only a few months old.

Some years later I visited Shipston-on-Stour with two friends to
attend a shorthorn sale in that neighbourhood. Mr. Thornton, the
well-known pedigree salesman, was the auct