One I
particularly noticed, whose habit was to stand just below the
auctioneer's rostrum, facing the animal in the ring, 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.
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