The Weekly Ottumwa Courier

Glimpses of English Life. We are indebted to Rev. E. H. Waring for the following extracts from a correspondence of his brother, Prof. W. G. Waring, of Tyrone, Pa. now on a horticultural expedition and visit to France and England:

CATTLE AND MEAT SHOW AT HEREFORD ENGLAND.

Hereford is a great agricultural market. The area of fertile soil around it is large, and its poultry and meat markets are especially noted for beauty, quality and excellence. The manufacture of fat meat at as early ages as possible is the great business. Everything aids it, and everything stimulates it, and the emulation and enterprise are great. Farmers now make three or four times the money they formerly did; but they expend freely for artificial manures, work, etc., to grow the necessary root crops, and they buy a great deal of Indian corn meal, and of mixtures and preparations sold in vast quantities under the name of artificial food, thus consuming all their hay and straw, which is mostly cat for the animals, and all the coarse grain and grass in the production of which this generous climate seconds the efforts of the farmers generously. The farms are now generally large, many of them have four or five different barns and steadings. that formerly were on separate farms. The farmer now, although a renter, is a great man, commanding troops of well-drilled servants or workmen, who are exceedingly reverent of his orders. and the more so as few or none now live in the great houses. but in the cottages around, In some respects this is bad for the laboring classes, yet the condition and prospects are rapidly improving.

Well, a few days before Christmas there is a great show of fat. animals at Hereford, and it is an admiration to a practiced eye to see this grandest of the grand produce of the stalls. After that is a meat show," and the admiration is multifold. It is hard to decide whether breeder, fattener, or butcher is entitled to the most praise. Great masses of beautiful clean fat. with muscle skilfully cut and shown, so tender because so young; so free from coarseness and bone, because so well bred; so bright with glossy leaves, ribands and other decorations because it is Christmas. Many are shown in whole carcasses, and the muttons are gashed so as to alternate colors of fat and muscle, and in some cases I noticed a tuft of wool left on the end of the tail, five or six inches long and wide, and bleached to look like fine pearly silver.

HEREFORD POULTRY MARKET.

All this is nothing—that is to say it is coarse and rustic, compared with the exceeding richness, taste and ornamental in the ladies' market—the poultry market—which has become the fame and boast of Hereford; for probably no other city in the world shows a similar display. It is only of late years that the excessive competition and decoration have come into vogue. Geese are fed up to 15 or even 18 lbs, and few to 20. Their broad breasts are picked clean as a child's fair skin, and if anywhere discolored warm applications are made to secure the favorite uniform low white color. The great uniform fat covers great part of the breast; the giblets, etc., are artistically tucked into the equally nicely folded wings, and the head is brought round and skewered to one side of all. Prize fowls are mounted on little blocks or stools, covered with a bright embroidered napkin or even lace, with a wreath of flowers, or leaves, or cut paper, or pure white soft down. Turkeys look grand thus elevated, and up to 22 and 24 lbs, ornamented with gold blotched leaves of aucuba, variegated box, variegated holly, berries, artificial or natural flowers; and the livers (few of the very finest color and form) are laid on so as to be perfectly separate and single, and to show the skin more effectively, and those are often brightened by varnishing and even gilding. Very large prizers are annually competed for at the annual show, and fees are charged for admittance; two shillings at the beginning, to give the upper folks a chance to see the show without being jammed up and crushed by the "lower classes"; then one shilling and finally six pence or less.— There are three recognized classes here, and all railroads, carriages, public rooms, etc., provide separate seats or places for each selecting them by the amount paid.

CHRISTMAS DOINGS.

Christmas trees are not common but I saw some ornamented with gilt oil, white and pink streamers, oranges, toys and candies. Everyone puts holly and ivy about the windows and among the brasses on the mantle-piece, and boys and girls go round singing the same carols as of yore, and very pretty 'tis to hear many of them. The children come in duos and trios of rosy chubby faces, and go away beaming with the gladness that they sing, when some pennies and perhaps some apples and nuts are dropped into their hands. Some recite the cruelties of the crucifixion, some the birth of the Saviour, and of the meek Mother and how and where the birth took place; and the chorus was:-

Then let us be merry
Send sorrow away;
For Jesus our Saviour
Was born on this day

A very old chorus that jingles in my ears yet, renewed from the memories of youth, is:

"God rest you, merry gentlemen,
Let nothing you dismay;
Remember Christ, our Saviour,
Was born on Christmas day.

"Christ was born in Bethlehem
Hark, the herald angels sing.

and many others are sung—same tunes and words as are evidence of the indisposition to change. I may mention that I see Vyse's old spelling book little in use; the same grammars, etc., are popular. Moore's almanac is the same thing, with its dim prophecies, its vague wisdom. its rainfalls. its characters and style throughout. its zodiacal. with its lurid weird astrological pictures, lightnings, darts, kings. scepters, etc.., around the old Sorcerer. So with the talk of children, all have the same peculiar "tone' or inflection to their sentences as of old... and so the exceedingly long and equally broad track of the plowmen.