A A ,-s a a ^ a A' ■MflP/ A . j. 'AA ’ VaA 'PPPpPPPiP a£: . . C ! P A A A P,P A' A'A A i A' ^ - A A N ' I _ /"\ r\ fACA£ 1 i _ r\ s*. /A >rV A'A'U - ; A r. r ? a ^ ^ ^ o A - - - ~ A A " Ay- a/vPP i a a A A a. / \ A. f A a : A V : A P P A ^ P A A A A P P P A P ! ' C A r*. A> f\n A A A * A A r a-aa^ix aaft'o wWmft aa2H ^A .AA aAaA a a a a A> a' .U AAAv A aPyvU ,V\ aa W i a a ^ ^ /* A ^ > "•■ a ,v . A^/\AAAAfi $K a '* $, fjfi C.v- AsA i aa> , Ax w'A A AA^Avv ^S'axSa'J^;*"a' ftp ^*PP ^a A\ a a > \*(S 1 A A. A A A / A A /"“ ^ A P A \ 0 p 0 A A a'a A p 0 p A p £ ^ A p A * Pa P ' '^aa A aPp.aAP^,. -- a a 'aPpPa - . ° P , - A AP'a A/PP^P A A Ap r , - 0 ppA;A a ■ ! A / .- ■ > .w A PP A A A A A _ A ' \ A p A A f V 'A' A * A * . « - Q A r; A ~ ' ' A A a A a r\ ^ P' > A ^ AA^P A APCP AAA A ' 'a - 7> /V'A A A-AV •-' ' -> * r\ ’ r a.a ApP I J/V ’x\A ^ ~ . . v a a A' ' A A A x A ,A A. A „ - A A A a A P p P P A P A P • A > A - ~ ■ ";' -’ ' ^ -' ^ C A A A A ■ ‘I P A AaMa h; u A /V A A A A A AA'A/aP' “PA A A A o ~ ~ ' P A A * £ a K a „ p ,p;p A P ^ AA.„ ' ^ ft * ' a A A A p ^ ^ ^ - A A 0 A ^ ■" A A A " : PPaPP a A A A. ' pp Ap ^ P . aAaAA^A" , ^ ' a A A x ^ 0 A - ' ’A- AN ^ A /N A A A P A P A r a a ^ A A A .>•' A A A suuqTCnj SALUTE LIBRARY of ^ I3/5- THE JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY OF ENGLAND. Series. ubr**J "0RK VOLUME THE FIRST. PRACTICE WITH SCIENCE. LONDON: JOHN MURRAY, ALBEMARLE STREET. 1890. PRINTED BY SPOTTISWOODE AND CO., NEW-STREET SQUARE LONDON LIBRARY HEW YOi;!C ®OTaN‘ QARl> CONTENTS OF VOLUME I. THIRD SERIES. 1890. “ A SCENE AT WISETON ” (see page 147) . . Frontispiece Special articles. PAGE The Foundation of the Royal Agricultural Society .... 1 By Ernest Clarke, Secretary of the Society and Editor of the Journal. Fifty Years’ Progress of British Agriculture 20 By the Right Hon. Sir James Caird, K.C.B., F.R.S. Notes on Agricultural Education at Home and Abroad , , .37 By John Dent Dent. The Early Fattening of Cattle and Sheep ...... 47 By Henry Evershed. The Food of our Agricultural Crops 69 By Sir J. B. I.awes, Bart., LL.D., F.R.S. The Disposal of Sewage by Small Towns and Villages . . , ,83 By Clare Sewell Read, Observations and Experiments on some English Pastures . . .95 By William Carruthers, F.R.S., F.L.S. The Evolution of the Horse ( Illustrated ) . . . . . .110 By Prof. W. H. Flower, C.B., D.C.L., LL.D., F.R.S. Basic Cinder as Manure 129 By Prof. E. Kinch. Agricultural Worthies : I. The Third Earl Spencer ( Illustrated ) . . 138 With an Appended Note by the Right Hon. Sir Harry Verney, Bart. IV Contents of Volume I. The Development of Agricultural Machinery . . . , By Dan. Pidgeon, Assoc.Inst.C.E. The Agricultural Lessons of “ The Eighties ” . , By Prof. Wrightson. The Report of the Royal Commission on Horse Breeding By Lord Ribblesdale. Tuberculosis in Animals, and its Relation to Consumption in Man By W. Duguid. Fifty Years of Hop Farming ( Illustrated ) By Chart.es Whiteheae, F.L.S., F.G.S. The Best Means of Increasing the Home Production of Beef By Gilbert Murray. The Herbage of Pastures (with a Map) By W. Fream, LL.D. Covered Cattle Yards ( Illustrated ) By W. J. Moscrop. The Seed and its Germination (Illustrated) By Prof. J. R. Green, M.A., B.Sc., F.L.S. Farming in Devon and Cornwall (Illustrated) . . . By F. Punchard. The Plymouth Meeting (with a Plan) The Trials of Light Portable Motors at Plymouth (Illustrated) By Prof. W. C. Unwin, F.R.S. PAG* . 257 . 275 . 289 . 305 . 321 . 349 . 359 . 473 . 490 . 511 . 537 . 580 The Trials of Grist Mills and Disintegrators at Plymouth (Illustrated) . 604 By Dan. Pidgeon, Assoc.Inst.C.E. Miscellaneous Implements at Plymouth (Illustrated) .... 624 By James Edwards. Agricultural Administration in Austria-Hungary (with a Map) . . 673 By Ernest Clarke. Crops for Pickling and Preserving 710 By W. J. Malden. Foot-rot in Sheep (Illustrated) 732 By Various Writers. The Composition of some of the Famous Ancient Pastures of England . 751 By William Carruthers, F.R.S., F.L.S. The Trials of Cider-making Plant at Glastonbury (Illustrated) . . 764 By Dan Pidgeon, Assoc.Inst.C.E. The Farm Prize Competition of 1890 (Illustrated) .... 776 By F. Punchard. Contents of Volume I. V ©fffdal IReports. PAGE Report of the Council to the Half-Yearly General Meeting of Governors and Members, December_12,' 1889 157 Annual Report for 1889 of tlie^Consulting Botanist .... 167 By William Carruthers/F.R.S., F.L.S. Annual Report for 1889 of the Consulting Entomologist (Illustrated) 170 By Eleanor A. Ormerod. Annual Report for 1889 of the Royal Veterinary College (Illustrated) 184 By Prof. G. T. Brown, C.B., Principal of the College. Quarterly Report of the Chemical Committee, March 1890 . . . 192 Report of the Council to the Anniversary General Meeting of Governors and Members, May 22, 1890 393 Report on the Bullock-Feeding Experiments at Crawley Mill Farm, Woburn, during the Winter of 1889-90 399 Reports of the Consulting Entomologist 407 Report of the Royal Veterinary College 413 Quarterly Report of the Chemical Committee, June 1890 . . . 414 Report of the Education Committee on the Results of the Senior Examination of May 1890 421 Quarterly Report of the Chemical Committee, July 1890 . . . 636 Report of the Council to the Half-Yearly General Meeting of Governors and Members, December 11, 1890 824 Annual Report for 1890 of the Consulting Botanist .... 834 By William Carruthers, F.R.S., F.L.S. Report of the Consulting Entomologist, November 1890 . . • . 837 Annual Report for 1890 of the Consulting Entomologist . . . 844 By Eleanor A. Ormerod. Quarterly Report of the Chemical Committee, December 1890 . . 847 Reports of the Education Committee : — (a) On Technical Education in Agriculture .... 851 (b) On the Results of the Junior Examination of November 1890 854 vi Contents of Volume I. IRotes, Communications, ant) IReviews. PAGE Fruit Farming for Profit. By Charles Whitehead, F.L.S., F.G.S. . 197 Influenza in Horses. By Prof. G. T. Brown, C.B 199 Arthur Young’s Travels in France. By Albert Pell . , . 202 Note upon a Case under the Agricultural Holdings Act, 1883 . . 204 By S. B. L. Druce. Shetland Ponies. By It. Brydon 207 Fruit Evaporation in America. By Dan Pidgeon, Assoc. Inst.C.E. . 210 The Improvement of the Art of Horse-Shoeing. By Charles Clay . 213 Heredity. By W. Fream, LL.D 214 Market Gardening in the Scilly Islands. By E. Brewer . , . 219 The Harvest of 1889 at Home and Abroad. By AY. E. Bear . . 223 Day on Horse-Breeding. By Alfred Ashworth .... 232 The Show of Thoroughbred Stallions 235 Wood Shavings for Litter. By J. W. Leather, Ph.D. . . . 238 The Weather of 1889 239 Home Produce and Foreign Imports in 1889 242 The Price of Wheat in 1889 . . . . . . . . 248 Recent Agricultural Inventions 249 Obituary Notices of Deceased Members 253 The Market Value of the Different Samples of Wheat and Barley grown in 1889 on the Experimental Plots at Rothamsted. ( Communi- cated by the Lawes Agricultural Trust Committee) . . . 432 Boundary Fences. By S. B. L. Druce 437 The Cultivation of Sugar-Beet 441 Harvesting Wheat in AVet Seasons 450 The Horse and its Historians 452 Vegetable and Fruit Farming 454 Food Value of the AVheat Germ 456 Heredity and Sexuality 457 Recent Agricultural Inventions 461 Statistics affecting British Agricultural Interests 465 The Report of the Select Committee on the Hop Industry . . . 640 By Charles AVhitehead, F.L.S., F.G.S. Contents of Volume 1. vu The Murchland Milking Machine ( Illustrated ) 645 By Richard Henderson. Good Tenantable Repair. By S. B. L. Druce 652 Thistle Seeds. By S. B. L. Druce 653 The Price of Imported Grain. By R. IIenrt Rew .... 654 The Agricultural Statistics of the United States (tvith a Map) . . 657 Recent Agricultural Inventions 662 Allotments and Small Holdings 666 Statistics affecting British Agricultural Interests .... 671 Covered Cattle Yards. By John Dent Dent 860 Prices of Store Cattle per Live Stone, and Official Quotations . . 862 . By Albert Pell. Chicken and Poultry Farming in Germany. By Hon. A. II. Cathcart. 865 Gross Rent v. Nett Rent. By F. Punchard 869 The Vegetable Supply of a large Town 874 By Maurice L. de Vilmorin. The Tenant’s Compensation Act, 1890. By S. B. L. Druce. . . 876 Physiology of the Domesticated Animals 879 Recent Agricultural Inventions . 882 Statistics affecting British Agricultural Interests .... 885 APPENDIX. List of Council of Royal Agricultural Society of England, ] 890 . i Standing Committees for 1890 and List of Officers ... iii Distribution by Counties of Members and Council ... v List of Honorary Members of the Society vi List of Governors of the Society vii Table showing Number of Governors and Members in each Year from the Establishment of the Society xi Balance Sheet for 1889, with appended Statements of General and Country Meeting Receipts and Expenditure . . . . xii Prizes offered in connection with Plymouth Meeting, June 1890 . xx Proceedings of the Council, February 5, 1890 .... xxvii Contents of Volume I. viii PAGE Proceedings of the Council, March 5, 1890 xxxix Additions to Library during 1889 xlix Privileges of Members lviii Memoranda of Meetings, Payment of Subscriptions, &c. . . Ixiv Proceedings of the Council, April 2, 1890 lxv Proceedings of the Council, May 7, 1 890 lxxiv Proceedings of the Council, June 4, 1890 Ixxxiii Proceedings at the General Meeting, May 22, 1890 . . . xcii Proceedings of the Council, June 25, 1890 . . . ' . xcvii Proceedings of the Council, July 30, 1890 xcix Proceedings at the General Meeting, June 24, 1890 . . . cxvii Officials and Judges at the Plymouth Meeting .... cxxii Award of Prizes at the Plymouth Meeting cxxv Memoranda of Meetings, &c. . . . . . . . clxxxiv Proceedings of the Council, November 5, 1890 .... clxxxv Proceedings of the Council, December 10, 1890 .... cxcviii Proceedings of the Council, December 18, 1890 .... ccvi Proceedings at the General Meeting, December 11, 1890 . . ccix Prizes offered in connection with Doncaster Meeting, June 1891 . ccxiii DIRECTIONS TO THE BINDER. All tlie pages of text (1 to 888) should come first in the bound volume ; and the pages of Appendix (i to ccxvi) at the end. Text : — Pages 1 to 256 of the text are included in Part I. (March 31, 1890) ; pages 257 to 472 in Part II. (June 30, 1890) ; pages 473 to 672 in Part ILL (Sept. 30, 1890) ; and pages 673 to 888 in Part IV. (December 31, 1890). A ppendix : — Pages i to lxiv are included in Part I. ; lxv to xc vi in Part II. ; xcvii to clxxxiv in Part III. ; and clxxxv to ccxvi in Part IV. Cloth cases for binding can be obtained of Messrs. Spottiswoode & Co., price one shilling. JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY OF ENGLAND. THE FOUNDATION OF THE ROYAL AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. By the time this first number of the Third Series of the Journal is issued from the press, the Royal Agricultural Society will have commenced its second half-century of corporate existence. The contemporaneous commencement of a new period in the Society’s life, and of a new departure in the appearances and character of its Journal, gives a certain appropriateness to the starting of the New Series by a summary account of the origin and early history of the Society up to the time when it received the Royal recognition implied by the patronage of Her Majesty the Queen and the grant of a Charter under the Great Seal. Unhappily, all those who were familiar with the internal working of the English Agricultural Society at the time of its inception are now deceased, and though the “Royal” is fortunate in having still associated with it two survivors of the original Committee, Sir Harry Yerney, the “ father ” of the Society, and Sir Thomas Acland, our veteran Trustee, neither of these two gentlemen has felt able, with the information at his command, to undertake a sketch of the foundation of the Society, though they have both given most valuable help and suggestions, and Sir Harry Verney has contributed to the present number an interesting personal sketch of his old friend and colleague, Earl Spencer, the chief founder of the organisation. VOL. i. T. S. — 1 B 2 The Foundation of the Royal Agricultural Society. In the absence of a narrative by one who could speak from personal experience, it was judged best that the office of chroni- cler of the earliest doings of the Society should be undertaken as an official duty by the Secretary, who had the readiest access to its records and minutes ; and to that decision is due the fact that the honourable duty of contributing the first article in the New Series has fallen to the present writer. The commencement of the Royal Agricultural Society took place, as Sir Harry Thompson has well put it, “ during one of those recurring fits of associative activity to which Englishmen are periodically prone.” It was at the annual dinner of the Smithfield Club, held at the Freemasons’ Tavern, Great Queen Street, on December 11, 1837, that the project of establishing a new Society for the encouragement and development of British agriculture was first publicly mooted. The leading figure in this movement was Earl Spencer, better known throughout the greater part of his life as Lord Althorp, a nobleman who may be regarded as, par excellence , the originator of the Society. When proposing, in his capacity as President, “ Success to the Smithfield Club,” Earl Spencer observed that their atten- tion should not be confined to cattle alone, but should also be directed to the general interests of farming ; for he could say, from his own experience, that agriculture was capable of much improvement. His lordship (whose observations were received in the most enthusiastic manner by one of the largest meetings of agriculturists ever assembled at the dinner of the Club) went on to say that he had himself observed how much, of late years, farms had improved, but it was his sincere belief that farming in England was yet in its infancy ; and he gave utterance to an expression which has since formed the keynote of the then unborn Society’s operations, and was soon to become embodied in a now familiar motto. “ The application of science to practice" (said Lord Spencer) “was not as yet made by the English farmer; but if the experiments that had been successfully tried elsewhere were made intelligible to him, and the practi- cability of them explained, he had no doubt but that an improvement would soon take place that few had any conception of. If a Society were esta- blished for agricultural purposes exclusively, he hesitated not to say that it would be productive of the most essential benefits to the British farmer. . . . There was one point, however, which he must strongly impress upon them, in reference to the formation of a Society such as he had mentioned — namely, that there could be no prospect of their obtaining any useful results, unless politics, and the discussion of all matters which might become subjects of legislative enactment, were scrupulously avoided at their meetings.” It will be seen that at the close of this passage, as at its commencement, Earl Spencer, with remarkable prescience, touched in decided terms on the very points which have secured 3 The Foundation of the Royal Agricultural Society. to the Royal Agricultural Society a career of uninterrupted success as a great national undertaking. His lordship specially alluded to the Highland Society of Scotland as an example to be followed, and was warmly supported in his proposal by the next speaker, the Duke of Richmond, who also pointed to the Highland Society (of which his Grace was an active and honoured member) as one which had been the means of diffusing information on agricultural topics throughout the country, and had thus been of essential benefit to the farming interests of Great Britain. “ I cannot ” (added the Duke) “ see any reason why the farmers of England should fail to imitate so excellent an example ; and as an individual I feel it my duty to give my support to my noble friend in his exertions to institute such a Society, because I am convinced that such an institution will promote agriculture and confer great and inestimable advan tages on every class of the community.” The proposal made by Earl Spencer was further supported in cordial terms by Mr. Henry Handley, M.P. for Lincolnshire, who said it was an object which he had long had at heart, and that “ there was not, in his opinion, a single department of farming but was capable of vast improvement ; ” and the Earl of Scarborough, Lord Maidstone, Lord William Lennox, Mr. R. J. Eaton, M.P. for Cambridgeshire, Mr. C. Hillyard, Mr. Wilmot, and others, also expressed a desire to co-operate in establishing the proposed Society. Indeed, no dissentient voice was heard, and the project was fairly launched under unusually favourable auspices. The daily newspapers of the period had but little to say on the proposal, some ignoring it altogether, whilst others did not seem to grasp its full purport ; but the idea was not allowed to rest, and encouragement came from various quarters. The leading agricultural paper of the day called upon landed pro- prietors “ to stand forth in aid of an institution, to support which they are encouraged not only by the certainty of national benefit, but also by the additional stimulus of private interest,” and the provincial press contained numerous letters and com- ments on the subject, all, in the main, appreciative and hopeful. In January, 1838, a long and important lettei’ — subsequently published in the form of a pamphlet 1 — was addressed to Earl Spencer by Mr. Handley, who reviewed most ably the circum- stances of the time and the advantages to be anticipated from the formation of “ an Institute to promote practical agriculture on scientific principles.” Premising that his letter would pro- 1 A Letter to Earl Spencer , President of the Smithjield Club, on the Forma- tion of a National Agricultural Institution . By Henry Handley, Esq., M.P. London : Janies Ridgway & Sons, Piccadilly. 1838. 36 pp. 4 The Foundation of the Royal Agricultural Society. bably have never been submitted to the public but for the ob- servations made by Lord Spencer at the Smithfield Club dinner, Mr. Handley spoke of the comparative failure of the old Board of Agriculture as having been “ frequently quoted as a discourage- ment to any similar attempt,” but regarded this objection as of little weight, for that Board “ existed at a period when it was least likely to attract the settled attention or command the energies of agriculturists,” whilst “ it was discontinued at the precise time when, as subsequent events have proved, it ought to have been established.” “A period of war,” continued Mr. Handley, “is ill suited to national im- provements of any kind. During the continuance of war prices, when half a crop remunerated the grower, and the most slovenly farmers amassed wealth, the usual inducements to extraordinary exertions were wanting; and we of the present day, to whom the quotations of ‘ wheat from six to eight guineas per quarter ’ are hut as dreams of fiction, are not only surprised that our more fortunate predecessors did not effect more — we only wonder that, if possible, they did not exert themselves less. “ In 1817 [1819 ?], however, the date when the Board of Agriculture ceased to exist, a new era was about to open upon us ; and without discussing the debateable causes of the depression of agriculture which has since en- sued, whether arising from the transition from war to peace, the resumption of cash payments in 1819, excessive importation or over-production, it is sufficient to have ascertained that a vast reduction has taken place in the prioes of agricultural produce ; and it is at least prudent to anticipate that for the future we must look to comparatively low prices — subject, of course, to the variations which seasons and circumstances must from time to time necessarily entail. “ Farmers are, I believe, at length convinced that it is not in Parlia- mentary interference that they must seek a remedy. Repeated inquiries have terminated in repeated disappointments. It is to their own energies and their own resources they must look, aud by cheapening the cost and increasing the amount of production pave the way to future prosperity.” Having thus reviewed the situation, Mr. Handley went on to speak of the “ wretched modes of farming ” still to be seen in many parts of the country, whilst there had been a “ rapid and marked improvement in the breed of stock, both cattle and sheep.” Expressing his belief that this improvement was largely attri- butable to the stimulus afforded by the Smithfield Club, and by minor societies established on its principles throughout the country, “ why,” he asked, !< should not the same combined efforts be united in the application of science to the sister art, agricul- ture ?” As an example of the prejudices of farmers of the old school against what they called “ book-farming,” and of the sus- picion with which they regarded innovation, Mr. Handley cited the use of bone-manure, “ which, incredible as it may appear, though it has for the last twenty years worked miracles, and changed the face of the Midland counties, is at this time viewed as a new discovery in many districts of England by no means The Foundation of the Royal Agricultural Society. 5 remote from the scene of its earliest and continued success.” That class was, however, fast passing away, owing to the ad- vance of education and increased facilities of communication, and it was in the interests of the young farmer that the aid of science was to be invoked : — “ Science — by wliick is to be understood that knowledge which is founded upon the principles of nature, illustrated by demonstration — is the pilot that must steer us into those hitherto imperfectly explored regions, where I am well convinced a mine of wealth is still in store for British agriculture. Chemistry, Botany, Entomology, Mechanics, require but to be invited, to yield us a harvest of valuable information to guide and to warn us.” As to the nature and constitution of the proposed Society, Mr. Handley cordially coincided in Earl Spencer’s view that it should exclude political matters from its consideration, and “ should be purely confined to the advancement of agricultural science , and the encouragement of the most approved practice.” The details of Mr. Handley’s suggestions, realised and un- realised, will be interesting to the reader : — “ When the necessary funds shall have been obtained by subscription, it will be desirable to form an establishment in London, comprising a complete agricultural library, a museum for specimens of seeds, plants, &c., for models of implements, and, in all cases where it can be effected, for the implements and machines themselves, together with the means of trying them. To engage the superintendence of men eminent in the respective branches of science. To collect reports on foreign agriculture ; to correspond with other societies, both at home and abroad. To refer, as in the French Institute and the British Association, papers on professed discoveries of acknowledged im- portance to select committees to investigate and report. To amass statistical information interesting to agriculture. To offer premiums for inventions, bearing some proportionate value to the expense to be incurred ; or in certain cases defraying the cost of experiments, observations, and reports; and, above all, to communicate to the agricultural classes throughout the kingdom, by means of cheap publications, all matters of moment which shall have been submitted to the competent authorities of the Society, and which shall have stood the test of fair, rigid, and impartial experi- ment.” With respect to the adoption of the migratory principle of the Highland Society and the British Association, Mr. Handley urged that, although London should doubtless be the seat of direction, it “ is probably not the spot in which the greatest number of practical agriculturists can be brought together to discuss or acquire information on subjects interesting to them.” “ If, however, the annual meeting were held alternately at some con- siderable town situated in an important agricultural district — such, for instance, as York, Lincoln, Norwich, Bath, Northampton, &c. — not only would it be attended by a vast assemblage of gentlemen from distant parts who had communications to impart, and from others whose desire for information would induce them to be present, but it would excite a deep interest in the proceedings amongst a large class of resident yeomanry, who 6 The Foundation of the Royal Agricultural Society. would be induced to contribute tlieir assistance, both by subscription and practical experience, and who, by adopting various proposed improvements, could, as it were, convert the district, containing probably many varieties of soils and different modes of culture, into a large experimental farm — an object so much advocated by some, but which I have always thought, on the necessarily limited scale on which alone it could be attached to an in- stitution of this kind, would be impracticable in its operation and unsatis- factory in its results.” The contents of this thoughtful and well-considered letter have been dwelt upon at some length, inasmuch as it contains the outline of the modus operandi afterwards adopted, and was doubtless published at the instance of Earl Spencer himself, in order to familiarise the agricultural world with the full scope of the organisation about to be set on foot. No public steps appear to have been taken in the direction of organising the Society until the beginning of May, 1838, when the following advertisement appeared in the Morning Herald and elsewhere : — “THE NEW AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. “The undermentioned noblemen and gentlemen, having observed the great advantages which the cultivation of the soil in Scotland has derived from the establishment and exertions of the Highland Society, and thinking that the management of land in England and Wales, both in the cultivation of the soil and in the care of woods and plantations, is capable of great im- provement by the exertions of a similar Society, request that those who are inclined to concur with them in this opinion will meet them To-morrow, the Oth of May, at the Freemasons' Tavern, at one o’clock, to consider the means by which such a Society may be established, and of the regulations by which it shall be governed. “ It is suggested that the Society shall be called f The English Agri- cultural Society,’ and that it shall be one of its fundamental laws that no question be discussed at any of the meetings which shall refer to any matter to be brought forward or pending in either of the Houses of Parliament. “It is also suggested that the Society shall consist of two classes of subscribers — the one to be called Governors, subscribing annually 51. ; the other Members, subscribing annually 1/. — either the one or the other to be permitted to become Governors or Members for their lives by the payment, in one sum, of the amount of ten annual subscriptions. “ Gentlemen wishing to- subscribe to this institution will be good enough to send their names and addresses to the editors either of the Mark Lane Express or of Bell's Weekly Messenger, specifying whether they wish to become Governors or Members, and whether they wish to subscribe annually or for life. Duke of Richmond. Duke of Wellington. Eakl Fitzwilliam. EaRL SrENCEE. Eakl of Chichester. Eael of Ripon. Eael Stkadbroke. Marquis of Exeter. | Lord Portman. | Lord Worsley, M.P. Hon. Robt. Olive, M.P. IIon. Bingham Baring, M.P. Hon. 0. 0. Cavendish, M.P. Sir Robt. Peel, Bart., M.P. | Sir James Graham, Bart., M.P. | Sir Francis Lawley, Bart., M.P. 1 The foundation of the Royal Agricultural Society. Sik W atkin Owen Pell, Bart. Lieut.-Gen. Sir E. Kerrison, Bart., M.P. Edwd. Buller, Esq., M.P. K. A. Christopher, Esq., M.P. John Bowes, Esq., M.P. H. Blanchard, Esq. W. T. Copeland, Esq., M.P. J. W. Childers, Esq., M.P. WlLBRAHAM EgERTON, EsQ. Balph Etwall, Esq., M.P. II. Handley, Esq., M.P. C. Shaw Lefevre, Esq., M.P. Walter Long, Esq., M.P. Wm. Miles, Esq., M.P. Jos. Neeld, Esq., M.P. E. W. W. Pendarves, Esq., M.P. Philip Pesey, Esq., M.P. E. A. Sanford, Esq., M.P. R. A. Slaney, Esq., M.P. J. A. Smith, Esq., M.P. R. G. Townley, Esq., M.P. W. Whitbread, Esq. Henry Wilson, Esq. This list of names is suggestive, not only of the great in- fluence of Earl Spencer with the foremost men of the day, irre- spective of their political leanings, but also of the ardour with which he must have pressed his views to a practical issue in the interval between his Christmas speech and the appearance of this advertisement. It is difficult to imagine a list likely to have greater weight with agriculturists, and it is not surprising to find that when the meeting was held on Wednesday, May 9, the room was “ crowded to excess.” The assembly was indeed a notable one. Earl Spencer aud the Duke of Richmond were there, of course, with many others of their order, including Lord Chichester, a very popular landlord ; Lord Portman, then in the prime of his manhood, who, though not spared to witness the Jubilee of the Society he helped to form, was to the last one of the most earnest of its supporters ; Lord Stradbroke, who, till a comparatively recent period, was the veteran Lord-Lieu- tenant of Suffolk ; with Lord Lyttelton, the Marquis of Tweed- dale, Lord Oxmantown, Lord Eliot, Lord Hatherton, Lord Rayleigh, and others of high rank. There, too, was the great Sir Robert Peel, and, with him, another prominent statesman of the day, Sir James Graham, and many other Members of Parlia- ment, including Sir Harry Verney, Bart, (now the only survivor of the meeting), Mr. Henry Handley, whose earnest advocacy has already been noticed, Mr. C. Shaw Lefevre, afterwards Speaker of the House of Commons, who died only the other day, full of years and honours, as Lord Eversley ; Philip Pusey, who for so many years gave his best services to the Society as the Editor of its Journal; Mr. (afterwards Sir William) Miles, and Mr. J. W. Childers, staunch friends to the last ; and a host of other members of the Lower House, including Sir E. Knatch- bull, Bart., Sir E. Wilmot, Bart., the Hon. A. Duncombe, the Hon. B. B. Baring, Alderman Copeland, E. AVodehouse, Col. Sibthorp, E. A. Sanford, R. A. Slaney, E. S. Cayley, Captain R. Eaton, J. H. Calcraft, H. C. Sturt, E. W. Pendarves, W. Williams, and others. 8 The Foundation of the Royal Agricultural Society. Earl Spencer was called upon to occupy the chair, on the motion of the Duke of Richmond, and told his plain unvarnished tale without any attempt at rhetorical display, simply attri- buting the honour of his position to “ the knowledge he pos- sessed of the subject, the wish he had to form the Society, and the steps he had taken for the purpose.” He said that no one who looked about him amongst English farms could fail to see that there was room for great improvement, and a necessity for the diffusion of agricultural knowledge. By establishing a great and powerful Society, combining science with practice, and including amongst its members persons from east, west, north, and south, this knowledge might be diffused throughout the kingdom, and it was scarcely necessary to advance argu- ments to prove that the establishment of such a Society was desirable. In order to be really powerful in funds and influence, it was necessary for men of all parties to act together, and to accomplish this politics must of necessity be excluded. They had, therefore, suggested as a. fundamental rule that nothing should be discussed at their meetings which should refer to any matter to be brought forward or pending in Par- liament. When the cheering with which this announcement was received had subsided, the noble Earl referred to a meeting of farmers held on the previous night at the Green Dragon, Bishopsgate Street, at which a. resolution was passed declaring the proposed Society to be “ delusive in principle, having a tendency to mislead the farmers of England and betray the interests of English agriculture, in so far as the principle of legislative protection to agriculture is disavowed in the funda- mental resolutions,” and boldly met this objection by stating that they did nothing of the kind, but claimed their right as Englishmen to form any Society they pleased, so long as it was legal and they thought they were doing good. The Duke of Richmond, who followed, laid additional stress on the political neutrality at which they aimed, pointed in justi- fication of their course to the success attained by the Highland Society, and concluded by moving the first resolution : — “ That it is the opinion of this meeting that a Society he established for the improvement of agriculture in England and AVales, and that it be called ‘ The English Agricultural Society.’ ” This was seconded by Mr. Handley, who dwelt at some length on the objects to be attained by the application of science to agriculture ; but before it was put from the chair, a Mr. Bell interposed, with an amendment affirming that the Society was “ delusive in principle,” whereupon great confusion 9 The Foundation of the Royal Agricultural Society. arose, a small section of tlie meeting encouraging the speaker by their cheers, whilst the majority of those present expressed their disapprobation. The Chairman, having pointed out that the requisition convening the meeting confined it to those who concurred with the promoters in the formation of the proposed Society, permitted Mr. Bell to proceed for a time, but he was at length called to order, and after several pertinacious attempts to gain a further hearing, the Chairman declined to allow him to proceed further. Thereupon Mr. J. J. Allnatt, who said that “ he represented a considerable interest in the loyal county of Berks,” took up the opposition, claiming his right to be heard at a public meeting ; but Lord Spencer pointed out that this was an assembly of persons who concurred in certain principles, and that those who did not so concur had no business there at all. Further interruption ensued, and Mr. Allnatt said he should go back to Berkshire and tell the farmers that he had been refused a hearing ; whereupon the Chairman characteris- tically retorted that he had not the slightest objection to his saying that he refused to hear him, for he (Earl Spencer) was well known to farmers, and they would form their own estimate of the statement. The Duke of Richmond rose to reply to certain of the objections that had been raised, whereupon some one called out, “ Every independent farmer is going to leave the room ; ” and his Grace continued, amid laughter, “ Then I will wait till they have done so.” Some dozen persons then left the room, the disorder terminated, and the resolution was put to the meeting and carried unanimously. The next speaker was Sir Robert Peel, who said that he had readily postponed the performance of public duties in order to be present, because of the deep interest which he took in the prosperity of agriculture ; and expressed his belief that the establishment of the proposed Society would be productive of the most impoi’tant benefits. Sir Robert warmly supported the principle of political neutrality, and proposed the second resolution, affirming — “ That it be a fundamental law of this Society that no question be dis- cussed at any of the meetings of a political tendency, or which shall refer to any matter to be brought forward or pending in either of the Houses of Parliament.” This was seconded by Mr. C. Shaw Lefevre and adopted ; after which Sir James Graham, who expressed the regret of Lord Stanley at his inability to attend the meeting, proposed a resolution that the Society should consist of two classes of subscribers — Governors and Members. This resolution having- been seconded by Mr. Alderman Copeland, Mr. Webb Hall took lU The Foundation of the Royal Agricultural Society. exception to the distinction between the words Governor and Member. The Chairman explained, however, that there was no intention to cast any slur upon anyone ; that they required large pecuniary resources to make the Society effective ; and that, although they might doubtless have secured a large capital by inviting unlimited donations, they preferred the proposal embodied in the resolution. After some further remarks the amendment was withdrawn, and the resolution was agreed to, as were also one (moved by Earl Fitzwilliam and seconded by Mr. Philip Pusey, M.P.) determining that annual meetings should be held successively in different parts of England and Wales ; another (on the motion of the Earl of Chichester, seconded by Mr. E. S. Cayley, M.P.) for the appoint- ment of a Provisional Committee to frame rules and regulations, and appoint officers, and to report to a meeting of the subscribers to be held at the same place on June 27 ; and a third (proposed by Lord Portman and seconded by Sir F. Lawley, Bart.) nominating all the Governors, together with the following gentlemen, as members of the said Committee, with power to add to their number: — Sir Harry Verney, Bart., Sir Richard Jodrell, Bart., Rev. J. R. Smythies, Messrs. J. Raymond Barker, Boyes, W. J. Cross, J. Ellman, T. Ellman, Green, G. Webb Hall, Halsted, Hillyard, Ide, J. Kinder, H. Gaily Knight, C. Marshall, J. Paterson, E. Pell, J. B. Philips, Rusbridger, Sadler, H. Sadler, J. Tattersall, Thos. Weeding, Wilmot, and J. Wood. The final resolution (moved by Mr. E. A. Sanford, M.P., and seconded by Mr. J. Barneby, M.P.) appointed Messrs. Drummond as the Society’s bankers. Lord Spencer then an- nounced that he had received a letter from the Duke of Welling- ton regretting his inability to attend, and enclosing a Life Governor’s subscription of 50 1. ; and this memorable meeting was brought to a conclusion by a hearty vote of thanks to the noble Chairman (in this case no formal compliment) on the motion of Lord Eliot, seconded by Mr. W. Miles, M.P. The resolutions adopted at this meeting were duly advertised, and a notification was appended to the effect that before June 27 all persons might become members on payment of their sub- scriptions, but that subsequently members would have to be elected by the Committee. We have it on the authority of the late Lord Portman, in a letter addressed by him to the writer, that he himself was the first to pay in his subscription at Drum- mond’s, and he therefore had some pride in regarding himself as the oldest member do facto. But in the meantime the dissentient voices, which had dis- turbed the harmony of the proceedings just recorded, found The Foundation of the Royal Agricultural Society. ll further utterance. It would seem that on relieving the meeting of their presence they adjourned to another part of the tavern, and there prepared a manifesto, which made its appearance in the Morning Herald, the next morning, May 10, remonstrating against the action which they had found themselves powerless to resist, and stating that they had resolved on the formation of a Society to be called “ The Farmers’ Central Society of Great Britain and Ireland,” whose objects were “ the protection and encouragement of agriculture in all its branches, without infer- ence to party political feeling.” This manifesto, with its thirteen resolutions, seemed at first sight to give promise of some for- midable opposition ; but, as a matter of fact, the attempt was not long persisted in, and the Society ultimately resolved itself into what was practically a Protection Society, the abolition of the Corn Laws being at this time the leading cpiestion of the day. It is clear from contemporary records that the success of the English Agricultural Society was never for a moment seriously imperilled by the operations of the Farmers’ Central Society ; and as there was no opposition from any other quarter, Lord Spencer and his coadjutors went steadily to work to develop the organisation they had founded, on the lines already laid down. Within a week of the inaugural meeting at Free- masons’ Tavern no fewer than four meetings of the Provisional Committee were held. At the first, held on May 10, when the Committee assembled at the same place, there were present Earl Spencer (in the chair), the Duke of Richmond, Lord Port- man, Hon. R. Clive, M.P., Sir Harry Verney, Bart., M.P., Sir F. Lawley, Bart., M.P., Earl of Euston, M.P., Philip Pusey, M.P., E. A. Sanford, M.P., C. Shaw Lefevre, M.P., J. W. Childers, M.P., E. W. Pendarves, M.P., R. Ettwall, M.P., Jos. Neeld, M.P., Col. Challoner, Rev. J. R. Smythies, Messrs. John Ellrnan, C. Hillyard, II. Sadler, T. Raymond Barker, W. Youatt, E. Pell, C. J. Tower, G. F. Heneage, T. Ellrnan, and G. Webb Hall ; and a number of resolutions were adopted, including the following : — “ 1. That this Society consist of a President, 12 Vice-Presidents, Gover- nors, and Members. “ 2. That the Society be under the management of a Committee, consist- ing of the President, Vice-Presidents, and fifty subscribers,1 to be elected at the annual meetings, of whom twenty-five shall go out annually by rotation, but may be re-elected ; and that all Governors have the power of attending all meetings of the Committee, but shall not have the privilege of voting, unless forming part of such Committee. 1 At a subsequent meeting the Trustees were added to the Governing Cody, and were also incorporated in the first resolution. 12 The Foundation of the Royal Agricultural Society. “ 3. That the President he elected annually, and that no person who shall vacate that office he eligible to be re-elected in the same capacity for three years.” Other resolutions appointed Earl Spencer as the first Pre- sident, and Mr. Wm. Shaw (then Editor of the Marie Lane Express) as Secretary, the stipend of the latter being fixed at 200 1. a year ; determined that the annual general meeting should be held in London in the month of May, and that all elections of officers should take place thereat; and appointed the following noblemen and gentlemen as Trustees, subject to their acceptance of office : — The Duke of Grafton, Duke of Northumberland, Duke of Richmond, Duke of Sutherland, Duke of Wellington, Earl Spencer, Hon. R. Clive, Sir James Graham, Sir Francis Lawley, Sir Robert Peel, Mr. Henry Handley, and Mr. Joseph Neeld. Of these, the Duke of Wel- lington, Duke of Northumberland, and Sir Robert Peel de- clined, for various reasons ; and the Duke of Rutland, the Marquis of Downshire, and Sir Thomas Dyke Acland, Bart., were elected in their stead. The Provisional Committee next met on May 12, under the presidency of Earl Spencer, who was again supported by the Duke of Richmond, Lord Portman, Mr. Pusey, Mr. Sanford, Mr. Childers, Colonel Challoner, Mr. Hillyard, and Mr. Webb Hall ; and there were also present Lord Sheffield, Sir R. Price, Bart., Mr. Handley, Mr. (afterwards Sir William) Miles, Rev. J. R. Smythies, Mr. H. Blanchard, and Mr. French Burke. It was then decided that the President and Vice-Presidents should be elected from the Governors ; and the following comprehensive schedule, defining the objects of the Society, was resolved upon : — “1. To embody such information contained in agricultural publications and in other scientific works as has been proved by practical experience to be useful to the cultivation of the soil. “ 2. To correspond with agricultural, horticultural, and other scientific societies, both at home and abroad, and to select from such correspondence all information which, accoi'diug to the opinion of the Society, is likely to lead to practical benefit in the cultivation of the soil. “ 3. To repay to any occupier of land, who shall undertake at the request of the Society to try some experiment how far such information leads to useful results in practice, any loss that he may incur by so doing. “4. To encourage men of science to the improvement of agricultural im- plements, the construction of farm buildings and cottages, the application of chemistry to the general purposes of agriculture, the destruction of insects injurious to vegetable life, and the eradication of weeds. “ 5. To promote the discovery of new varieties of grain and other vege- tables useful to man or for the food of domestic animals. “ 6. To collect information with regard to the proper management of woods, plantations, and fences, and on every subject connected with rural improvement. The Foundation of the Royal Agricultural Society. 13 “7. To take measures to improve the education of those who depend upon the cultivation of the soil for their support. “ 8. To take measures for improving the veterinary art as applied to cattle, sheep, and pigs. “ 9. At the Meetings of the Society in the country, by the distribution of prizes and by other means, to encourage the best mode of farm cultivation and the breed of live-stock. “ 10. To promote the comfort and welfare of labourers, and to encourage the improved management of their cottages and gardens.” At the third and fourth meetings of the Committee (on May 14 and 16) Lord Spencer was again at his post, various matters of detail were disposed of, and it was decided that thenceforth the Committee should meet every Wednesday at the same place. Amongst other matters brought before these early Meetings we find that on June 13 two letters addressed to Lord Spencer were read, in which the writer (Mr. Horn, of Carrondale, near Falkirk) proposed to lay before the Com- mittee a plan of a machine for ploughing by steam, in order that they might report thereon, and offered to indemnify the Society against the cost of an experimental trial to the extent of 100/. On the 20th a letter was read from the Highland Society, welcoming the formation of the new Society, and ex- pressing a desire for reciprocal information on matters of in- terest. On June 26 the Committee recommended that the first country meeting should be held at Oxford on Wednesday, July 17, 1839; and the Duke of Wellington, Duke of New- castle, Duke of Bedford, Marquis of Exeter, Earl Fitzwilliam, Earl of Chichester, Earl Talbot, Lord Portman, Lord Worsley, M.P., Lord Moreton (afterwards the Earl of Ducie), Sir Thomas Sherlock Gooch, Bart., and Sir Charles Morgan, Bart., were nominated as Vice-Presideuts of the Society. Two of these (the Duke of Newcastle and the Duke of Bedford) declined the honour, and their places were subsequently filled by the ap- pointment of the Duke of Northumberland and the Duke of Buckingham. The nomination of gentlemen to form the Com- mittee of Management took place at the same meeting, and after some slight adjustment the list was completed as follows, the first being the only name which still retains its honoured position among the chief officers of the Society : — Acland, Thos. Dyke, M.P. Benett, John, M.P. Barker, T. Raymond. Blanchard, Henry. Boys, Henry. Buller, T. Wentworth. Buller, Edward, M.P. Burke, French. ] Cayley, Edwd. S., M.P. Challoner, Colonel. Chapman, Thomas. Childers, John W., M.P. I Curtis, Edw. B. | Eliot, Lord. \ Ellman, John. J Ellman, Thomas. Estcourt, T. H. S. B„ M.P, Euston, Earl of, M.P, Flounders, Benj. Hall, Geo. Webb. Hayter, Wm. G., M.P. Heathcote, John, M.P. Heneage, Geo. F., M.P. Hillyard, C. 14 The Foundation of the Foyal Agricultural Society. Hobbs, W. Fisher. Grantham, Stephen. Johnstone, Sir John, Bt. Kimberley, George. Kinder, George. Lefevre, C. Shaw, M.P. Le Couteur, Colonel. Long, Walter, M.P. Miles, Wm„ M.P. Pell, Edwin. I Page, W. Woods. ! Paterson, W. S. Pusey, Philip, M.P. I Price, Sir Robert, Bart., M.P. 1 Sanford, Edw. A., M.P. j Slaney, Robt. A., M.P. i Smythies, Rev. John R. | Spencer, Hon. Capt., I M.P. Thompson, Harry S. Meysey. ! Verney, Sir Harry, Bart., M.P. , Warburton, Henry, M.P. Weeding, Thos. Whitbread, Wm. H. I Wood, J. Wright, John. ’ Youatt, Wm. At the first General Meeting, field on June 27, tfie President (Earl Spencer), fiaving taken tfie cliair, congratulated the mem- bers on tfie present state and future pi-ospects of tfie Society, and then called for tfie report of the Provisional Committee, which recapitulated tfie work of organisation recorded in tfie previous pages, and formulated a code of rules and regulations, mainly in accord with those subsequently embodied in tfie Royal Charter, to tfie effect that tfie Society should consist of a President, twelve Trustees, twelve Vice-Presidents, and of Governors and Members ; and that the Council should consist of the President, twelve Trustees, twelve Vice-Presidents, and fifty other members. One General Meeting (subsequently altered by tfie Charter to two) was to be field in London every year, and one in tfie country in July or August — tfie first to be at Oxford on tfie day already fixed. Tfie exclusion of political subjects from the Society’s meetings was also embodied in a rule, subsequently enforced by tfie Charter, and tfie first list of officers (whose names have already been given) was presented to tfie meeting.1 The Committee reported that there were already 18G Governors, of whom G5 were Life Governors, and 121 Annual Subscribers of hi. each ; and 280 Members, of whom 31 were Life Members, and 249 Annual Subscribers, making a total of 4GG ; and, further, that tfie amount already received was 2, 526k Is., and 130Z. expended, leaving a balance of 2,39G/. Is. in tfie hands of tfie bankers, Messrs. Drummond. The President also read tfie following voluminous list to indicate tfie nature of tfie subjects which might be considered worthy of encouragement as topics for prize essays: — 1. Best 1 It must not, however, be supposed that these included all those who had been instrumental in the establishment of the Society. Amongst others who did not accept office, Viscount Howick (now Earl Grey) had many communi- cations on the subject with various persons, especially Mr. John Grey of Dilston, Lord Spencer, and Lord Eversley. Earl Grey, in a letter addressed to the President on March 7, 1890, acknowledging his election as a Founda- tion Life Governor, says “that he took a great interest in the formation of the Society, and that it is gratifying to him to have observed that during its half century of existence it has more than fulfilled the sanguine hopes he enter- tained of its usefulness at the time it began its work.” The Foundation of the Royal Agricultural Society. 15 Mode of Keeping Roots; 2. Subsoil or Trench Ploughing; 3. Transportation and Admixture of Soils ; 4. Insects Pre- judicial to Plants ; 5. The Black Caterpillar; 6. Application of Mechanical Power; 7. Two-horse Ploughs; 8. Spring Pood, Corn, Grasses, Vetches; 9. Rotation of Crops; 10. Best Mode of Analysing Soils; 11. Irrigation; 12. Plantations; 13. Underwood; 14. Varieties of Grain; 15. Economical Keep of Farm Horses; 16. Improved Rural Economy Abroad; 17. Stall Feeding on the Continent; 18. The Diseases of Plants; 19. Plough or Implement for Cutting Drains ; and 20. New Imple- ments ; but the last two were noted as “ not for essays.” It should also be mentioned that at this meeting Mr. J. Benett, M.P., expressed a hope that the Society would acquire chemical apparatus, with an able chemist, for the purpose of analysing samples of soils sent to him, with a view to the adaptation thereto of suitable manures. Thus, in less than two months from the first meeting at the Freemasons’ Tavern, the promoters of the Society, by dint of earnest and almost incessant labour, guided by a discretion commensurate with their zeal, had succeeded in establishing this important national institution on a firm and enduring basis, with a handsome balance at the bank ; had traced out the main lines on which the operations of the Society have since been conducted ; and found themselves in a position to look forward with confidence to a long and prosperous future. The Society having been formally constituted, it had reached what may be regarded as an experimental stage — hopeful, indeed, but still experimental ; and it redounds greatly to the credit of its founders that the soundness of their judg- ment in the preliminary arrangements, although these were necessarily subject to modification, was attested by their success. We have it on the authority of the late Lord Portman that “ in the formation of the Council care was taken to select members with varied experience,” and every effort was made at the early Councils to bring the scientific and practical men into com- munication, and to combine their experience. When on one occasion a member who farmed his own estate, and considered himself as eminently a practical man, as distinguished from what he called the theoretical members, pressed his contention to discussion by moving an alteration in a proposed committee, which would have impaired the harmony of the Council, Lord Portman suggested that in truth the distinction was chiefly a verbal one, for “ a practical man was a man who knew what was wanted, knew how to do it, and did it ” — whereupon the objector subsided, and the division of the Council was avoided. 1G The Foundation of the Royal Agricultural Society. With a vast field of activity before them, the Council set vigorously to work, entrusting various branches of their opera- tions to committees formed for the purpose ; authorising an appli- cation to the Chancellor of the Exchequer for permission to make a selection from the books and papers of the extinct Board of Agriculture, the loan of which was subsequently accorded by the Treasury ; recommending the offer of prizes (varying from 10/. to 50/.) for essays on no fewer than twenty-four subjects, including the improvements in Scottish agriculture since the establishment of the Highland Society, the preservation of turnips from the de- predations of the black caterpillar, the simplest mode of analys- ing soils, the state of agricultural mechanics, the comparative merits of wheel and swing ploughs, the insects prejudicial to cereal crops, the formation and management of water-meadows, the best varieties and the diseases of wheat, the advantages of stall-feeding, subsoil ploughing, the rotation of crops, and so forth.1 It was also determined to offer prizes of 50/. for the best draining plough, and 20/. for the best instrument for crushing gorse ; prizes for a ploughing-match at the first country Meeting, to be held at Oxford in July, 1839 ; 30/. for the best cultivated farm in Oxfordshire and the contiguous counties ; and “ such amount as the Society might think fit to award ” for the inven- tion of any new agricultural implement. By the end of July the stress of the preliminary business was over, the sum of 2,000/. had been invested in the 3J per Cents, as a “ nest-egg,” and it was resolved that the weekly meetings of the Committee should be suspended for two months. But in the meantime overtures were made to the Royal Veterinary College to give a series of demonstrations on the structure, and lectures on the diseases, of cattle, sheep, and pigs, in the belief that this would effect as great improvement in the treatment of those animals as had already taken place in the treatment of the horse. The Society expressed its readiness to defray any expenses in- volved in this proposal, and, as it met with the cordial approval of the College authorities — although for a time it was not pur- sued with the ardour considered essential to the interests of agi-iculture — an annual subsidy of 200/. was promptly voted for carrying it into effect. These matters formed the substance of a very satisfactory report for the next General Meeting, held in December, at which Lord Spencer (to whom the “ marked thanks ” of the Society were voted for his eminent services, on the motion of the Duke 1 Several of these essays will be found in the first volume of the Society’s Journal. Others were regarded as not of sufficient merit to be published ; and in some cases there was no competition. The Foundation of the Royal Agricultural Society. 17 of Richmond) announced that it had been determined to publish a Journal of the Society’s proceedings. The management of the Journal (the first number of which appeared in the following April) was entrusted to a committee ; but its editorial control was vested in Mr. Philip Pusey, M.P., who for many years, until his death in 1855, was unsparing in his devotion to this most important department of the Society’s operations. The interval between this General Meeting and the next was mainly occupied in preparations for the forthcoming Meeting at Oxford, which was looked forward to with the greatest interest. The Duke of Wellington was invited to accept the Presidency on the termination of Lord Spencer’s year of office ; but his Grace declined on the ground that he was not practically engaged in agriculture,1 and the Duke of Richmond was thereupon nomi- nated as Lord Spencer’s successor. Amongst minor matters for consideration were the Society’s medal and the Society’s motto. The former was entrusted to the celebrated Mr. William Wyon, R.A., whose designs were criticised and ultimately approved ; the latter was the subject of much discussion. Various suggestions were made, but the question appears to have been referred to the judgment of Lord Spencer, and on March 27, 1839, the motto “ Practice with Science,” embodying the main principle on which his Lordship desired that the Society should be based, was resolved upon. At the first Annual General Meeting, held on May 22, 1839, Lord Spencer was able to congratulate the Society on the fact that no fewer than 1,100 persons had enrolled themselves as members, whilst the capital invested had been increased to 3,000/., and there was a balance of 1,196/. in the hands of their bankers. The annual income from subscriptions and dividends amounted to 1,663/., but his Lordship urged the necessity of in- creasing this to at least 2.000/. a year, in order to carry out their objects. The Committee suggested the following as some of the heads under which the future labours of the Society might be conveniently grouped : — 1. Classification of Soils ; 2. Permanent Improvement of Soils ; 3. Productiveness of Seeds ; 4. Manure ; 5. Rotation of Crops; 6. Stock; 7. Mechanics of Agriculture; 8. Diseases of Cattle and Plants; 9. Grass Farms; 10. Physi- ology of Agriculture. It is clear, however, that the energies of the Society at this stage of its career were mainly devoted to the preparations for the historic Oxford Meeting of 1839 : a meeting so interesting 1 The Duke, nevertheless, manifested in various ways his interest in the Society’s proceedings, and was occasionally seen at the weekly meetings held in its earlier years. VOL. I. T. S. — 1 C 18 The Foundation of the Royal Agricultural Society. in its incidents and so important in the annals of agriculture as to deserve special treatment in a separate article.1 Encou- raged by the distinguished success of this Meeting, and by the gratifying support that the Society was receiving at all hands, the Committee resolved to petition Her Majesty the Queen for a Charter of Incorporation, and the President (the Duke of Richmond) was requested at the Committee Meeting held on February 5, 1840, to prepare a draft of the petition. On March 4, 1840, the draft petition was considered and approved, and the Duke was authorised to “ take the requisite measures on the subject,” which he appears to have done with such remark- able celerity that only two days later, on March 0, 1840, his Grace received a letter from the Marquis of Normanby, then Home Secretary, stating that the petition had been laid before Her Majesty, who had been pleased both to grant the Society a Charter under the title of the “ Royal Agricultural Society of England,” and to extend Her Royal patronage to it. The Charter itself was sealed on March 26, 1840, and a Meeting of the Members of Council named in it was held on the 30th of that month, at which the President was requested to present at the next Levee an address of thanks to Her Majesty, conveying “ the Society’s humble and dutiful acknow- ledgment to Her Majesty for this permanent mark of Her Royal patronage of the Society and its objects.” It was reported at this meeting that the Society then consisted of 82 Life Gover- nors, 191 Governors, 122 Life-Members, 1,972 Members, and 4 Honorary Members, making a total of 2,371 subscribers. It is a notable and gratifying fact that at the present time no less than 42 of these subscribers still remain, after a lapse of fifty years, on the Society’s books. At the Council Meeting held on March 5, 1890, the last assemblage of the Council in the first half century of the Society’s corporate existence, it was unanimously resolved to elect as Foundation Life Governors all these surviving subscribers of the English Agricultural Society, and the Members so elected appear in the List of Governors given in the Appendix to this number. It is unnecessary to describe at any length the terms of the Charter. It recites that the founders had formed themselves into a Society for the “ general advancement of English Agriculture,” in order to prosecute the national objects already detailed on page 12, and declares that Her Majesty, “being anxious of promoting and encouraging by our Royal protection and patronage a series of objects which, prosecuted under the This it is proposed to publish in a subsequent number. The Foundation of the Royal Agricultural Society. 19 regulating principle of tlie exclusion of all those questions of debate on which the people of every individual country enter- tain sentiments so much at variance with each other, cannot fail to lead to results affecting in the highest degree the prosperity of our people and the national wealth of our kingdom,” had authorised the petitioners to form themselves into one body politic and corporate, for the aforesaid purposes, under the name of the Royal Agricultural Society of England. The usual powers of suing and being sued, of holding lands, of framing by-laws and of appointing officers were granted, and the Charter ordered three General Meetings of Governors and Members to be held in each year, viz. : two in London in the months of May and December respectively, and the third “ in such other part of England or Wales as shall be deemed most advantageous in time and place for the advancement of the objects of the Society.” Here for the present we may leave the young Society. Its subsequent career is told in the pages of the Journal, and forms a prominent feature of the agricultural history of the times. In the words of His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales at the banquet given by Her Majesty the Queen as President of the Society to the Council and Officers on March 2G, 1889 — “ Throughout the whole of its life the Society has been constant to its original aims, so tersely summed up in its motto ‘ Practice with Science ’ ; or, in other words, scientific inquiry brought to a practical issue in developing the resources of the soil and increasing its productiveness, in stimulating the improvement of live-stock and farm implements, and in bringing to early maturity animals which provide food for the people.” This brief summary of the Society’s early history cannot be more fitly concluded than by a quotation from His Royal Highness’s peroration in proposing the toast of the Society on the same memorable occasion : — “ Looking to all that the Society has achieved in fostering the practice and science of Agriculture, we are entitled to claim for it that it has nobly done its duty, and deserves well of the country at large. That it may prove in the future as active in well-doing as it has been in the past must be the earnest prayer of us all ; and I am confident that we shall each and all of us strive to the utmost of our power to increase the Society’s sphere of usefulness, and to do our part in ‘ the general advancement of English Agriculture.’ ” Ernest Claiike. 20 FIFTY YEARS’ PROGRESS OF BRITISH AGRICULTURE. [Twenty-five years ago, Sir Harry Thompson summed up in the pages of this Journal the progress which agriculture had made during the quarter of a century which had then elapsed since the foundation of the Royal Agricultural Society. At the pre- sent moment, when the Society has just completed its fiftieth year of corporate existence, there are obvious advantages in recording in these pages a concise general survey of the changes which have taken place in the farming conditions of the country during a half-century of unexampled importance both to the agricultural community and the nation at large. As no one could possibly speak with so much authority on this subject as Sir James Caird, the Society is fortunate in having obtained his ready and cordial consent to revise for the purposes of the Journal his history of agricultural progress during the present reign. — Ed.] For some years previous to the establishment of the Royal Agricultural Society, the prices of agricultural produce had been comparatively low, chiefly from a succession of seasons favour- able to the wheat crop. The importation of foreign corn was then extremely small, and that of meat and dairy produce almost nothing. The Royal Agricultural Society of England was founded, as the English Agricultural Society, in 1838; so that the whole life and progress of that society has been co-existent with Her Majesty’s reign. The question of Free Trade had not arisen. And, for seven years longer, the potato, the chief food reliance of the poorest of the agricultural class in Ireland and the north-west of Europe, continued sound. The subjects which then seemed of chief interest to British agriculture are shown by the proceedings of the Committee of the English Agricultural Society soon after its formation in May 1838. Arrangements were made by them for annual agricultural shows of farm animals, implements of husbandry, and specimens of agricultural produce. Correspondence with similar societies at home and abroad was arranged. A veterinary school was projected. Prizes were offered for essays on agri- cultural subjects, and for experiments with manures. Reports were invited on the comparative advantages of different imple- ments, on the management of water-meadows, on the best varieties of wheat for cultivation, on the keep of farm horses, on stall feeding of cattle, on rotation of crops, on subsoil and trench ploughing, and on the best system of land drainage. The first volume of the Journal of the Society was completed in 1840, most of the contributors to which — Philip Pusey, the leading 21 Fifty Years’ Progress of British Agriculture. agricultural writer of his clay, Earl Spencer, Sir James Graham, Henry Handley, M.P., Sir Edward Stracey, J. E. Denison, M.P. — have long since passed away ; the only two survivors up to last year, each a nonagenarian, being Lord Eversley and Mr. John Dudgeon, the writer of the paper on Scotch agriculture, both since dead. Mr. Pusey then estimated the quantity and value of the English wheat crop at 12,350,000 quarters— worth, at 50s. a quarter, nearly 31,000,0000 The average produce he put at 26 bushels an acre, and pointed out the gain which would be made by the addition to that average of one bushel an acre. He further showed that an immense impulse, not only to increased pro- duction, but to the demand for labour, would arise by the ex- penditure of an additional 10, profitably made, on each acre of the cultivated land of this country. The average rate of pro- duce has since that time risen two bushels an acre, by the poorest class of wheat land having gone out of cultivation. From fall of price, the money value of the 28 bushels in 1889 was only 50 5s. an acre, while that of the 26 bushels in 1840 was 80 2s. 6c0 Among the subjects which then engaged the attention of landlords and farmers, the application of special manures to crops was beginning to attract notice. Foreign bones to the value of 254,0000 were imported in 1837. Nitrate of soda was experimentally tried in 1839. Peruvian guano soon after- wards was introduced. In 1843 I grew an excellent crop of potatoes with it in the south-west of Scotland. The kind and mode of applying manure to each crop became the subject of scientific study and experiment. The Norfolk four-course sys- tem had shown signs of failure by the difficulty of getting good crops of turnips or clover when repeated every fourth year. In Flanders the skilful farmers, in view of this, had extended their rotations so that the same crop should not be repeated in less than ten, twelve, or fourteen years. Their more intensive system had led them earlier to notice this. Another question arose. Could no remedy be found for leaving the land idle during the nine months between the removal of the corn crop in August and the sowing of the turnip crop in the following June ? To fill up the vacant time, rye was sown in the more southerly counties, which was eaten in its green state on the ground in May by sheep, as a good preparation for the winter green crop sown in June. And vetches followed later, to carry on the stock to the aftermaths from the hay, the vetches to be eaten on the ground as a good preparation for later turnips. 22 Fifty Years' Progress of British Agriculture. Economy of labour by machines was confined to a general use of threshing machinery on all large farms. Turnip-cutters were recommended as a saving of one-fourth of the crop when consumed in the field, and were coming extensively into use. Cake and corn crushers soon followed. But there was then no thought of reaping-machines or “ reapers and binders,” which are now becoming general. In regard to live-stock, the investigations of the Royal Agricultural Society showed that the cost of feeding farm -horses varied immensely, as much as 50 per cent, within a few miles, from want of knowledge, economy, and care. The earlier maturity of certain breeds of cattle and sheep, such as the Shorthorn cattle and Leicester sheep, which were fit for the butcher a year earlier than most other breeds, was urged upon the attention of farmers as enabling them to supply the market with the same quantity of meat at 30 per cent, less cost. It was felt desirable that an extensive plan of inquiry and experi- ment should be encouraged and entered upon as the foundation for establishing some regular system. And to this object the labours of the Royal Agricultural Society of England, with those of the Bath and West of England Society, earlier estab- lished, and of local societies in most English counties, have since that time been unremittingly directed. In Scotland, the Highland and Agricultural Society had long been established. The circumstances of that country had compelled a more careful personal attention by the landowners to the advancement of agriculture than had yet been felt by the more wealthy landowners of England. The law had placed upon the Scotch landowners the direct liability of finding the money for the public establishments of their counties, the churches, prisons, and police. They had the determination of questions of road-making, and, having to contribute directly a large proportion of the county expenditure, they actively con- trolled its administration. This brought them into closer business contact with the farmers than in England, and recent legislation has tended to increase this connection by the prin- ciple of imposing all county rates in certain proportions directly on landowners and farmers, and giving both a representation at the same county or parish board. There is thus a better fusion of the two interests than in England, and a readier appreciation on the part of the landowner of the outlays requisite on his part to enable the tenant to make the most of the land he farms. In Ireland, the relation between landlord and tenant is very different from that of England and Scotland. Many of the Fifty Years' Progress of British Agriculture. 23 greater landowners are non-resident, and previous to the famine of 1846 the laud was in a large measure in the hands of middlemen on leases for life, with leave to subdivide and sublet for the same time. These men had no permanent interest in the property ; their business was to make an income out of it at the least cost, and their intermediate position severed the otherwise natural connection between landlord and tenant. The potato famine in 1845-46 prostrated the class of middlemen, and brought the landlords and the real tenants face to face. But the level which the latter had been permitted to obtain, and the practice being that the tenant made the permanent improvements at his own cost, led them to consider the land- owner very much as only the holder of the first charge on the land ; and they were in the habit of buying and selling their farms among themselves, subject to this charge — a course which, as a . matter of convenience, was tacitly accepted by the landowner. He had security for his rent in the money paid by an incoming tenant, who, for his own safety, required the landowner’s consent to the change of tenancy. This suited the convenience of landowners, the most of whom had no money to spend upon improvements, many of them non-resident and taking little interest in the country, and dealing with a numerous body of small tenants with whom they seldom came into personal contact. In the North of Ireland this custom of sale became legally recognised as tenant-right. The want of it in other parts of Ireland produced an agitation which ultimately led to the first Irish Land Act of 1870, and, ten years later, to the establishment of a Land Court with power to fix the rent. Circumstances have thus brought about a situation in which the landowner cannot deal with any freedom with his property, either in the selection of tenants or in the readjustment of rents. And this has arisen, in a great measure, from the neglect by the landlord of his proper duties, in not himself executing those indispensable permanent improvements which the tenant was thus obliged to undertake, and who in this way established for himself a co-partnership in the soil itself. The general progress of agriculture in the United Kingdom was suddenly interrupted by the appearance of the potato disease, which, after a warning in 1845, spread over Western Europe with destructive force in 1846, suddenly laying waste the produce of vast tracts of country, and rendering desolate those poor and populous districts which had become dependent for their food on this hitherto prolific root. Ireland, especially the western and southern counties, where the poor population had little else to subsist upon but potatoes, was completely 24 Fifty Years’ Progress of British Agriculture. prostrated. In the worst unions in these counties, twelve out of every thirteen people were wholly dependent on the potato for their food. In a single week, in July 1846, the promise of the potato crop was, by a mysterious blight, destroyed. A sudden fear fell upon governments, both here and on the Con- tinent, when they began to comprehend the true nature of the calamity. The late Sir Robert Peel, then Prime Minister, instantly made arrangements for the purchase in America of large supplies of Indian corn, to be immediately shipped for Ireland, the part of the kingdom in which there was the most pressing danger. Then followed the repeal of the corn laws, which saved us from the insurrections that rapidly spread on the Continent, changing dynasties and unsettling governments. With the failure of the potato the agricultural system in Ireland collapsed. The people, no longer able to trust the potato, ceased to 1 conacre,’ that is, to hire land from the neigh- bouring farmers as potato gardens ; the farmer, deprived of conacre labour, had no money to pay wages in cash, and his land became unproductive ; the landlord found his rent dis- appearing, while a new order of things grew out of the con- fusion. To prevent the feai’ful consequences of famine, immense sums were advanced by Government for the employment of the people of Ireland in relief works. These were administered by the grand juries, on the understanding that the money so advanced was to be expended in reproductive works, and to be repaid to the Government by instalments in a limited number of years. The pressure was so great that it was found impossible to control the expenditure in such a manner as to make it reproductive ; and vast sums were squandered on works which could never be of any other value to the community than that of finding em- ployment and wages for the starving people for a time. The potato famine, and the consequent free import of foreign corn and provisions into this country, mark an important epoch in our agricultural history. The gold discoveries in California and Australia happening about the same time gave a rapid stimulus to enterprise and improvement in every branch of busi- ness, including that of agriculture. In 1850 and 1851 it was my duty, as commissioner for the Times newspaper, to undertake an inquiry into the state of agriculture in England in a time of great agricultural depression. On looking back on that time, and comparing it with the present, there was great depression then, but more hope than at present. Wheat is now (1890) much lower in price than it has ever been for one hundred years. Fifty Years’ Progress of British Agriculture. 25 In July 1851, the Prince Consort, speaking at a banquet at the Mansion House on the opening of the first great International Exhibition, pointed to the duty of every educated person closely to watch and study the time in which he lived, in order to add his mite of individual exertion to further the accomplishment of the ordinances of Providence, the foremost of which he described as the realisation of the unity of mankind. The products of all quarters of the globe were placed at our disposal, and we had only to choose which was the best and cheapest for our purposes, while the powers of production and distribution were entrusted to the stimulus of competition and capital. The Exhibition of 1851 was to give a true test of the point of development at which mankind had arrived, and a new starting-point from which to direct their further exertions. The three preceding years had been eventful for British agriculture. Protection duties had ceased, and the landlords and farmers of this kingdom, no longer permitted to lean on an artificial support, had now to rely on their own energy and skill. In 1851 the new starting-point had been reached, and with energy and vigour the task of increased production, to compensate for diminished prices, was begun. It has since progressed, not so much by surpassing the best farming practice of that time, as by a general advance throughout the country, leading up to that higher example. An unusual lustre was thrown on the meeting of the Royal Agricultural Society in 1851. Men from all quarters of the world flocked towards happy England to the International Exhibition, to see with their own eyes what it was in our insti- tutions or our race that had raised this country, with its narrow boundaries, to the proud position which she held among the nations. The Royal Agricultural Show of this year was held on the playing-fields of Eton on the banks of the Thames, beneath the walls of Windsor Castle, the abode for many cen- turies of the sovereigns of England, over which floated the Royal Standard of the Queen. At no previous meeting of the Society had there been so great a concourse of spectators, so fine a field for the exhibition, or such excellent specimens of all the best breeds of live stock in England. And never before could their peculiarities be studied with greater advantage. On the third day of the meeting the gathering of people, favoured by the beautiful weather, was immense. What a contrast did these British breeds present in the eyes of many of the foreign visitors to those to which they were accustomed at home ! The sleek and contented Shorthorn, the more sprightly faced Here- ford, the handsome Devon, had a placidity and easy, well-fed 26 Fifty Years’ Progress of British Agriculture. satisfaction about tliem, which spoke of the greeu fields of England, and must have puzzled a Hungarian magnate, ac- customed to his vast droves of white lean cattle, roaming for miles over the sometimes parched plains of the Teiss, in search of their scanty pasture. Not less astonished was the German flockmaster, familiar with his fine-woolled but scraggy-looking sheep, when he saw the matchless symmetry of the Southdowns. From the new starting-point in 1851, when the best farming was exceptional, there has been little advance from the best practice then reached. Drainage was well understood and was rapidly extending. The use of purchased manure and linseed cake, in addition to the manure of the farm and its green pro- duce, was spreading slowly in the better-farmed districts. Bone manure had a well-established reputation, especially in dairy counties. Peruvian guano and nitrate of soda, wherever tried, were found a most useful mode of promoting growth and in- creasing the bulk of the crop. And the literature of agriculture was not found wanting. Foremost of all were the most readable and practical essays of Philip Pusey, in nearly every number of the Journal of the Royal Agricultural Society, the embodiment of that Society’s motto, “ Practice with Science.” From week to week, up to the present time, the pages of the Agricultural Gazette , edited till his lamented death, from its commencement forty years ago, by John Chalmers Morton, have poured forth from the experience of practical farmers a continuous flood of knowledge and light upon every subject connected with agriculture. The famous experiments of Sir John B. Lawes, at Rothamsted, as described by him and his scientific assistant. Dr. Gilbert, in the pages of the Royal Agricultural Society’s Journal, from year to year, have formed a guide to improved practice in this country, both with crops and in the feeding of live stock. The train was thus laid for a rapid extension of the best practice in all parts of the country, when the strong motive- power of personal interest should come into play. In 1850 and 1851 the price of wheat was 39s. 4 d. a quarter, and of salt beef and pork, 36s. a cwt. From that time prices began to rise, and continued to do so with slight exceptions till 1874. The price of wheat, meat, and dairy produce, many times between these dates, reached an increase of from 50 to GO, and in more than one instance 100 per cent., above that of 1851. The price and rent of land rapidly increased in the same period, and a great stimulus was given to land improvement, and to the extension of the best agricultural practice. Earlier maturity in perfecting cattle and sheep for the market, by good feeding from their Fifty Years’ Progress of British Agriculture, 27 birth, added probably a fourth to the weight of home-grown meat during the period of good prices. Landlords and farmers shared in the general prosperity, and the wages of labour and the bills of tradesmen increased in like fashion. There are two capitals employed in British agriculture, that of the landowner and that of the farmer. The first, which is the land itself, and the permanent improvements upon it, had hitherto been certain and safe, and therefore yielding a small, but regular, return ; the other, the live stock and crops, subject to risk of seasons, and speculative, and liable to competition prices, requiring a much larger percentage to cover risk. The capitalist is content with 3 per cent, for his heretofore secure investment, which carried with it also influence and social position. A farm worth 50/. an acre for the freehold needs a further 10/. an acre to provide the farmer’s capital for its culti- vation. The landowner is satisfied with a return of 3 per cent, on his 50/., while the tenant looks for 10 per cent, for manage- ment and risk and capital, on his 10/. Let us suppose that the farmer has a capital sufficient to buy 100 acres at this price, and stock them ; he would get for his 5,000/. invested in freehold, 150/., and for his 1,000/. farm capital, 100/.; together, 250/. But if he followed the custom of this country and used the whole of his capital in cultivating another man’s land, he would with his 6,000/. hire 600 acres, on which his return ought to be 600/. He in truth then trades on the capital of the landowner, practically lent to him at the moderate rate of 3 per cent., which he converts into a trade profit on his own capital of 10/. The British landlord is thus the nominal owner of five-sixths of the joint capital embarked in agriculture, and upon him in the end the chief weight in any disaster must fall. But while his ownership is hampered by entail and settlement he cannot use his position with the freedom of absolute ownership, and is thus disabled from bearing his share of the strain that is now pressing on the land. The Settled Land Act of the late Lord Cairns has been a partial relief. But it is only by fee- simple ownership that a landowner in difficult times, such as the pre- sent, can do justice to his estate and his tenants. In regard to tenants, recent legislation in England and Scotland might have proved highly beneficial if its effect had not been practically limited to the “ quitting ” tenants, and thus to that portion of them, not one-tenth in number, who may be de- scribed as either the old, or the least prosperous and persevering of their class. The hopes excited by the expressed intention of the Prime 28 Fifty Years’ Progress of British Agriculture. Minister, Mr. Gladstone, in 1881, to deal with the devolution of land, the transfer of land, the registry of land, and the mode of borrowing on land, all disappeared under the pressure of the Irish land question. It has been assumed by an influential class of politicians that the agricultural system in that country can be rendered sound and prosperous by the conversion of the landlord and tenant system into that of cultivating ownership. And the main part of the time of the Legislature, so far as the land is concerned, has since been engaged towards that object, to the exclusion of those questions which so pressingly affect the wel- fare of the agricultural interests of Great Britain. It would, however, be a great error in regard to British agri- culture, whatever may be the final decision in regard to Ireland, to take any legislative step which should tend further to alter the well-recognised rule that the landlord makes all the perma- nent outlays required, and the tenant finds only the capital for cultivation. And it would be an equally mistaken policy to take any course which should diminish the landowner’s interest in the continued improvement of his property. The landowner in this country has two capitals in the land : the soil and all that is beneath it, and the buildings and other permanent works made by his capital upon it, and required for the accommodation of the people and the stock and crops of the farmer. On good agricultural land, worth 50Z. an acre, the land will represent 35Z. of that value, and the buildings and other permanent works 1 5Z. It is seldom that the farmer can command more capital than is needed for that fuller cultivation which our ex- posure to foreign competition demands. It is therefore most important that such measures should be devised as will best tend to the continuous increase of production, by giving a distinct but united interest to both landlord and tenant in ob- taining that result. The experiment being tried in Ireland of Government advances to tenants for the purchase of their farms might, however, with great advantage be offered to the farmers of Great Britain. This might be done with the view of increasing the proportion of occupying landowners, and might be limited to those occupiers who were prepared to pay down one-fourth of the price. After 1874 agricultural prosperity began to wane through an unprecedented series of bad seasons. In eight seasons, end- ing in 1882, there were only two good crops, and among the bad was the crop of 1879, the worst of this century. During this period much agricultural capital was lost. And there was no compensation by higher price, for the loss of crops in Western Europe stimulated in an extraordinary degree the extension of 29 Fifty Years Progress of British Agriculture. wheat-growing in the United States of America. They had productive years when the crops were deficient here. In a single year they increased their wheat acreage by an extent equal to our total growth. In the twenty years from 18G0 to 1880 their production of wheat rose from twenty to sixty million quarters. They could not have found an outlet for it but for the most rapid increase of railroad communication with which it was accompanied, and the increased demand from Western Europe. The cost of transport fell from twopence per ton per mile to a farthing. The distance from which wheat could be conveyed was thus increased eightfold. And as a ton of meat or provisions is six times the value of a ton of corn, and as these are yielded by the land in about that proportion, the produce of six acres in the form of meat or provisions can be transported as cheaply, so far as weight is concerned, as that of one acre of corn. This formidable and growing competition in both corn and provisions we must now reckon with. The long-continued period of bad crops and low prices, added to the losses of live stock, especially sheep, in the wet cold seasons by disease, had reduced the capital of the farmers in this country by 80 to 50 per cent, when the collapse of prices, beginning in 1875, fell upon them. Their gradual but growing poverty had for several years forced them to discontinue outlays in the maintenance of the condition of their farms. The poor clay lands are going out of cultivation. In the corn counties much of the land is in this position, and considerable tracts being without tenants are farmed by the landowners. Large reductions of rent have been made, and where land has from any cause been pressed for sale, the price has fallen greatly. At no period of the existence of the Royal Agricultural Society has there been such depression in the interests of agriculture as now prevails. On the other hand, never has there been a time in which every article of food has been so plentiful and cheap. In the earlier years of the Society’s existence the home and foreign supply of wheat was in the proportion of two-thirds home-grown and one-third foreign. In 1851 the whole supply afforded 317 lb. per annum to each of a population of *27,000,000, which at the average price of the previous ten years of protective duties amounted to 53,500,000?. But the total supply of 1889 gave 400 lb. per head to a population of 37,500,000 at a cost of 43,700,000?. Not only were our people, 10,500,000 increased in number, fed with bread at a diminished yearly cost of nearly 10,000,000?. sterling, but each individual had an additional supply of one-fourth beyond that of 1851. Fifty Years’ Progress of British Agriculture. 80 The supply of animal food in 1889, as compared with 1851, increased in still larger proportion. The quantity to each indi- vidual of the increased population was 115 lb. per head for the year 1889, as compared with 90 lb. per head in 1851. This is an increase of nearly one-third to the supply of each person, the main part of which increase has come from foreign countries. A result so beneficial in the supply of bread and meat to our ever-increasing population must render any return to protective duties on food in this kingdom impossible, so long as that in- crease is maintained by the other successful industries of the country. These increased supplies are coming yearly in larger pro- portions from the great colonies and possessions under the dominion of the Queen. The supply of wool from Australia and other British possessions comprises nearly four-fifths of the 650 million pounds grown in this country and imported annually, nearly one-half of which is again exported to the Continent. Of the foreign supply of meat the United States still furnishes much the largest proportion. But, by the refrigeratory process now successfully introduced, more than a million carcasses of sheep are already yearly brought to us from New Zealand, and laid down in excellent condition in London, at a cost for killing, packing, cooling, and freight, of 2\d. a pound, which on mutton of such good quality leaves, from the price here, a reasonable profit in the difference of the value of the carcass there, and here, to the importer. And as there is a marked decline in the sheep stocks of Western Europe, and no probability of much increase in North America owing to the costly keep indoors during the severity of the winter climate, it is satisfactory to the British consumer that he has the prospect of increasing supplies of good mutton from his brethren in Australia and New Zealand. The agricultural experiments of Sir John Benuet Lawes, which have been continued for more than forty years, have clothed “ Practice ” with “ Science,” in many points on which the British farmer was groping for knowledge. These experi- ments have been made on land on his estate of Hothamsted, in Hertfordshire, always accessible to the agricultural inquirer. The results have been published annually, and the farm itself, with every detail of the work both in the field and the laboratory, has been laid open to public inspection and criticism. Wheat, barley, and oats have been grown under a variety of manures, plots with no manure being in every case reserved for com- parison. Root crops, including potatoes, have been added. And in 1856 an important series of experiments was commenced Fifty Years' Progress of British Agriculture. 31 on grass land, which, with very little change on each of the twenty plots, has been continued to the present time. The ex- perience of the past thirty years shows that the natural produce of grass may be doubled, and even trebled, by the continuous use of special manures. As two-thirds of the cultivated land in this country, and all the permanent pastures, are in grass, this series of experiments is of very great interest and value. “It is quite certain,” says Sir John Lawes, “that arable soils are poorer than the pastures from which they are frequently derived, and that their fertility must be restored to them before a fresh pasture can be said to be re-established. It is the cost of this operation that has given rise to the saying that £ laying land down to pasture breaks a man.’ The question is whether some of the cost incurred cannot be saved. There is plenty of foul land in the country upon which the experiment might be made. And I should be disposed to advise those who have the misfortune to own such land at all events to try whether the superior grasses, when aided by manure, will not be competent gradually to drive the weeds out of the soil.” In the wheat experiments it is not surprising to find, after forty successive crops, that the soil begins to exhibit signs of exhaustion. This has been corrected by interposing a heavily- dunged green crop ; while the introduction of red clover, at long intervals, between the corn crops is also found to add greatly to the corn-producing power of the soil. To attain a maximum- paying produce Sir John Lawes finds that the land should be dunged heavily for mangel, to be followed with wheat, or barley, or oats, for several years in succession ; then interpose clover, and follow it with corn crops, keeping the land perfectly clean, and manuring all the corn crops with nitrate of soda and superphosphate. When the land shows need of change, begin again with heavily-dunged green crops. Successive crops of barley he finds to pay better, and they are more certain in his climate, Hertfordshire, than either wheat or oats, and give more corn in proportion to straw. If a heavily-dunged green crop is introduced, it is not necessary for a further succession of years to give any other manure to the corn crops than nitrate of soda and superphosphate. Potash (which may be supplied by dung) is very necessary in a grass manure, especially for clover, which, unlike corn, is injured by ammonia. The grass experiments show that by giving food to the plants, the strongest and best varieties appropriate what they most need, and by the law of the strongest put the weaker down. In the best plots the weeds almost disappear, while on one plot to which no manure is applied the weeds form 50 per cent, of the produce. 32 Fifty Years Progress of British Agriculture. In the same direction the Royal Agricultural Society of England some years ago commenced a series of experiments on the growth of crops and the fattening of live stock with special relation to the manures applied and the food used, and to the effect of the manures resulting from specific kinds of food. The Duke of Bedford, with great liberality and public spirit, has placed suitable land and buildings at the disposal of the Society, whose Council, under the guidance of their scientific officials, regulate and superintend the experiments. The whole is open to public inspection, and the results are carefully elaborated and published in the Journal of the Society. A most useful class of agricultural improvements has been the introduction, during the Society’s existence, of improvements in the seeds of the various kinds of corn and vegetables, as well as the earlier maturity and improved character of the live stock. By careful selection, and more recently by hybridisation, im- proved varieties of wheat, barley, and oats have been introduced with much success, and the same with potatoes, mangel, and other vegetable crops. The improvement in sheep and cattle is even more conspicuous. Probably one-fourth in weight of meat brought to market has been added in these fifty years by the earlier maturity of our live stock. What was exceptional then has now become general. The quality of seeds of all kinds, and of sheep, cattle, and horses, in all parts of the country has greatly and generally improved. In regard to farm implements, the most certain gain has been in the introduction of the reaping and mowing machine. This machine, originally the invention of a Scotch clergyman, was for many years neglected in this country, but was, in 1834, improved and perfected by Mr. McCormick in the United States, where the crops of vast plains of wheat could not other- wise have been handled from want of labour. In 1848, 700 of the McCormick reapers were sold in America, and the annual sale had grown to 50,000 in 1884. Again introduced in this country in recent years, when difficulties arose between em- ployers and labourers, the use of the reapiug machine made by the leading implement-makers of England rapidly spread, being constructed in this country to meet the requirements of much heavier crops than those in America. The farmer now reaps and gathers his corn at a great saving of cost, and in the knowledge that at the most critical season he is able to secure his crops with little outside help. Sheaf-binders attached to the machine are successfully coming into use. The steam cultivator, first invented by the late John Fowler, of Leeds, and much improved by his successors in the business, 33 Fifty Years’ Progress of British Agriculture. lias been largely employed, but as yet more as an auxiliary than in superseding the ordinary working stock of the farm. It is invaluable in enabling the farmer to overtake the preparation of his land for crops during favourable weather; and where deep ploughing is required to bring up fresh and to bury ex- hausted soil, no implement can effect the object so cheaply and expeditiously. But it is a costly implement, and, except on large farms of heavy land, it is more prudent for the ordinary farmer to hire, when he requires it, than to purchase. The variety of implements and machines now used in Eng- lish agriculture will be understood from the fact that the number of such articles exhibited at the last Show of the Royal Agricul- tural Society at Windsor exceeded 7,400. Many of these were in use in the early years of the Society, but additions and im- provements are every year being made to them. Within recent years the system of storing, in silos or stacks, green grass or fodder of any kind has been success- fully introduced. In wet seasons for hay-making this practice is found very convenient, and, though the nutritive quality of the grass is not increased, it may be safely preserved in this way in such seasons. Coarse grass whicli could not otherwise be utilised can by this process be turned to good account. It is claimed as especially useful on dairy farms, as winter pro- vender for cows in milk, when green food cannot otherwise be profitably grown. The future of the landed interests, and of the public in regard to the supply of food, may be briefly considered. There ai’e good signs of returning activity in trade, and with a popu- lation increasing at the rate of nearly a thousand a day, there must be a growing increase in the consumption of bread and meat. Bread was never more plentiful and cheap, and any return to the prices that ruled twenty years ago can neither be expected nor hoped for, seeing the vast change and economy in the cost of transport and the ever-widening fields of colonial and foreign production. In the last ten years the growth of wheat in this country has declined 30 per cent. It has a wider climatic range of growth than any other cereal. Other kinds of corn remain much as before. Barley, except the fine malting quality, meets with severe competition from Indian corn, which, in its various uses, prevents any considerable rise of price in barley. Oats, which are still largely grown in Scot- land and Ireland, seem likely to maintain their place. The dairy and market-garden system, fresh milk and butter, veal and lamb, beef and mutton of the finest quality and early maturity, vegetables, and hay and straw are every year enlarg- VOL. I. T. S. — 1 * D 34 Fifty Years’ Progress of British Agriculture. ing their circle around the seats of increasing populations. These are the articles which can least hear distant transport, and are therefore likely longest to withstand the influence of foreign competition. The refusal to admit live cattle or sheep from any foreign country where cattle disease is known to exist has proved of the utmost value as a sanitary precaution. As the result of lower prices, the poor clay soils, which are expen- sive to cultivate ancl meagre in yield, will be gradually all laid to grass, or be planted, and the poorer soils of every kind, upon which the costs of cultivation bear a high proportion to the produce, will follow the same rule of necessity. During the last twelve years the permanent pasture in this country has from this cause been increased by more than two million acres, upwards of 10 per cent. The consumption of food in this country has increased not only in proportion to the increase in the numbers of the people, but also with the hitherto augmenting scale of wages. Fifty years ago the agricultural labourers rarely could afford to eat animal food more than once a week. Of late years some have had it every day, and, as the condition of the rest of the people has improved in a greater degree, the increased consumption of food in this country has been prodigious. In addition to the whole of our home produce, we are importing this year pro- bably 140,000,000?. worth of foreign food. If this goes on at the same progressive rate for the next twenty years, we may look forward with confidence to adequate supplies, at moderate prices, from the fertile soils of the Queen’s colonial possessions in Australia, India, and North America, besides what may come from foreign countries. British agriculture is now undergoing the most severe trial to which it has yet been exposed. In 1851, when concluding the inquiry made by me in that and the previous years into the state of agriculture in the English counties, I referred to edu- cation in its widest sense as the most powerful aid in its further progress. Knowledge — of their business and true interest by the landlord and the tenant, and of the best mode of promoting his own welfare by the labourer — was then the first requisite towards an improvement of their condition. The tide of pro- sperity had begun by the recent gold discovei'ies of California and Australia, and it continued to flow for the next twenty-five years. During that period, from the greater prosperity of the people and the increased consumption of agricultural produce, the capital value of the land and of the live stock and crops upon it was increased by four hundred and forty-five millions sterling. The measures of a public character, required in Fifty Years’ Progress of British Agriculture. 35 addition to those within the power of individual landlords and farmers, have to a considerable extent been accorded by the Legislature. The Settled Land Act and the Agricultural Holdings Acts in Great Britain, with the Land Acts in Ireland, mark a great advance in land legislation. But one of the most important, that of cheapening and facilitating the transfer of land, has still to be undertaken. Much of the increase of capital value of the land, up to 1874-76, has since that time been lost, first by a series of bad years unprecedented in their continuance, causing not only dimi- nished crops, but also heavy loss in the live stock through the wet and unhealthy character of the seasons. The subsequent collapse of prices, which took place in 1885, falling as it did upon an agricultural class already impoverished, has greatly disheartened both landlords and tenants, and has seriously crippled their power to give employment to their labourers. Its effects are at the same time felt among the tradesmen in the country villages and towns, whose business is dependent on the spending power of the country squires and farmers. It is a remarkable fact, illustrative of the change of the agricultural system, naturally brought about under the influence of foreign competition, that the home production and value of wheat in England and Wales at the end of fifty years of the existence of the Society, which, at the commencement, was estimated by Mr. Pusey at 13,500,000 quarters, worth 31,000,000?., will not, in 1890, exceed one-half of that quantity, and be worth not much more than one-third of it in value. This clearly explains the great fall in the rent of the wheat lands in this country, especially those of the heavier class in the counties on its eastern side. These islands are, indeed, becoming every ten years less agricultural and more pastoral. In the last twenty years three million acres, nearly one-seventh of the land under rotation, have been added to the permanent pasture. This change is likely to go on, as only the better class of lands can compete successfully with the products of rich and unexhausted soils now brought so cheaply to our shores. We have still an advantage over these in the cost of transport, which is nearly equal to the rent here. And, to that extent, British agriculture on the good land should be able to hold its own. But the poor clay soils, which are expensive to cultivate and small in yield, and the poorer soils of every kind will be gradually laid to grass, or be planted for timber. The climate is admirably adapted for grazing. If our manufactures and mines continue to maintain a successful competition with other countries, and D 2 36 Fifty Years' Progress of British Agriculture. if our population, increasing at the rate of one thousand a day, besides contributing largely to our colonies, can find adequate employment at home, there will still be a remunerative market for that description of agricultural produce which can least bear the risk and cost of carriage from distant countries. It is well that we should remember that every requisite of food and clothing is an annual product of the earth, yielded no doubt to a large degree in proportion to the ingenuity and industry employed on it by man. But when man has done his utmost the result is determined by influences beyond his control. Of those substances on which life and health day by day depend, there is every year a new production, directly or indirectly of vegetable growth, and dependent year by year on the sun and rain in due season. From 1854 to 1865 there were ten good har- vests in England, and only two below an average. This covered the whole period of Lord Palmerston’s successful administration. During these twelve years we had to bear the burden of the Crimean War, followed by the Indian Mutiny and the increased military expenditure begun in 1860. Can it be doubted that such a run of propitious seasons aided the gifted Minister who then conducted the finances of this country to meet successfully our vast expenditure, not only without serious pressure on the people, but with largely increased development of their industry and resources ? In the fiftieth year of its existence the Royal Agricultural Society was honoured by the gracious acceptance by the Queen of the Presidency for that year. And again at Windsor, but on a more spacious field than in 1851, when the lamented Prince Consort presided, the Show was held in the Great Park. Nothing could exceed the fitness and beauty of the situation, or the kind- ness of the weather. Never before have the comfort of the splendid animals, and the facilities for their examination, been more carefully provided. The arrangements were so well con- sidered that the spectators were able leisurely to examine all classes of animals, and all the various implements for cultivating the soil. No hitch of any kind occurred. Her Majesty honoured the Show by three visits on successive days, amidst the most loyal and hearty acclamations of her people, sovereign and sub- jects thus bringing to a happy and successful conclusion the fiftieth year of the Royal Agricultural Society. •Tames Caird. 37 NOTES ON AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION AT HOME AND ABROAD. At the meeting of the Council of the Society held in February last, allusions were made to certain suggestions on the subject of Agricultural Education, which had been thrown out by mem- bers at the half-yearly general meeting held in the previous December. Since that meeting of the Council I have had an opportunity of reading the Reports on the State Agricultural Departments of foreign countries which were laid before Parlia- ment by the Foreign Office in August 1889. At the present moment, when the business of our own Board of Agriculture is not definitely settled, it may be a matter of interest to notice what is being done by similar departments in other countries. The first point which I think comes prominently into view is, that in nearly all countries except our own, almost every movement with respect to agricultural development seems to be originated and carried into execution by a department of the Government. These departments have a very wide field of action : they have under their care not only agricultural educa- tion, but also statistics, scientific and practical experiments, breed- ing studs, forestry, mines, game licenses, fisheries, and indeed almost everything that can by any possibility be connected with the soil of the country. I propose to look at some of these Reports, especially with reference to two suggestions that were submitted to the Educa- tion Committee of our own Society : (1) That more should be done by the Society for the advancement of agricultural educa- tion. (2) That the Society should institute or encourage a system of travelling lecturers for the instruction of farmers. We may fairly ask, What has the Society done hitherto in either of these directions ? The question has constantly been before the Council — Mr. Chalmers Morton, Mr. Holland, and Mr. Randell, on many occasions presented with great force their views, viz., that the Society should itself initiate and develop schemes for the technical education of the farmer and the labourer. On the other hand, Sir Harry Meysey Thompson, the present Sir Thomas Dyke Acland and others, held the view that what was most required amongst the labourers and smaller farmers was not so much technical as general education — that a number of boys were constantly being sent out from our country schools so poorly grounded in general knowledge that they were quite unable to avail themselves of any higher scientific teaching. Ultimately, both parties, I think, considered that the Society 38 Notes on Agricultural Education at Home and Abroad. could not provide teaching power, but that it might undertake the task of examining those who had received their education elsewhere ; qnd that, by prizes and certificates of merit, it could recognise the knowledge otherwise acquired. The result has been that the Council has dealt with this question tentatively and in a spirit of compromise. To promote higher or scien- tific agricultural education, the Senior Examinations were in- stituted in July, 1867 (the first examination taking place in April, 1868), when money prizes and certificates of merit, toge- ther with the life membership of the Society, were offered as rewards to successful competitors. These examinations have now, with slight modifications, been held for twenty-two years. They are searching in character, and require a high standard of attainment in the science (chemistry) and practice of agri- culture, bookkeeping, land surveying, and agricultural engineer- ing ; while botany, geology, agricultural entomology, and ana- tomy, are subsidiary subjects. Out of 237 candidates who have presented themselves, 61 have gained first-class and 30 second- class certificates. Amongst these, students from Cirencester, Downton, and other agricultural institutions have distinguished themselves, and the honourable certificates of the Society have been carried off by English, Scotch, Irish, and Indian subjects of Her Majesty, and at least on one occasion by foreign students. To show how very little there is of scientific teaching of agri- culture in England, it may be remarked that the majority of the successful competitors are from one college, and there are comparatively few candidates from any other source. In 1873, a desire was expressed to encourage the attendance of farmers’ sons at the county schools, which were then generally being established, and it was thought that in those schools both general education and specific teaching in agriculture might be combined. To promote this object the Council decided to offer ten scholarships of 20?. each to youths who could pass an examina- tion in agricultural subjects, and who should then proceed to a farmer or laud agent, or continue at school for another year. During the sixteen years in which this scheme has been in operation, twenty-two schools have sent up candidates, and fifteen of these schools have furnished successful pupils. The area over which the schools have extended has been large, and the popularity of the examinations has increased. We have now to consider what is being done by our own Agricultural Department : and after examining the recent Reports from foreign countries, we may endeavour to suggest the lines on which our own Government should take action. In consequence of the recommendations made by a recent Notes on Agricultural Education at Home and Abroad. 39 Departmental Committee, a sum of 5,000£. was placed at the disposal of the Agricultural Department of the Privy Council during last year; and the same sum has been continued to the new Board of Agriculture for the purpose of assisting agricultural education and research. The Government aid, so far as yet distributed, has been mainly devoted in Scotland to subsidies in aid of classes for training of rural schoolmasters, and in England to fixed or moveable dairy schools and lectures, while grants have been given also in aid of such experiments as those carried out by the Bath and West of England Society or the Norfolk Chamber of Agriculture. The Committee suggested the establishment of a central normal school of agriculture, and of other subsidiary schools, under the direction and at the expense of the State. Wisely, as it seems to me, the Department has abstained from attempt- ing to establish State schools, and has hitherto confined its operations to assisting local efforts. I am not so dissatisfied with the position of British agriculture, nor so fearful of the com- petition of the foreigner, in so far as it arises from his superior knowledge of rural affairs, as to be desirous of seeing our new Department of Agriculture undertake the business of esta- blishing agricultural colleges and schools, and taking out of the hands of voluntary associations the education of agriculturists and the improvement of agricultural knowledge. If there be a real demand for such teaching, I think we have resources of our own from which we may obtain it. Cirencester, Downton, and Hollesley Bay, are instances of what may be done for higher teaching by private effort. Aspatria, under great difficulties, has provided successfully for a younger and less wealthy class of students. At the present moment two schemes are before the Endowed Schools Commissioners for the purpose of establishing schools for the teaching of the principles of agriculture. One of these schemes, which is being promoted by the Mercers’ Company, will provide for an agricultural school to be placed at West Lavington, in the county of Wilts, and for the education of forty foundation boys paying for board and education 30 1. a year. It is also proposed to receive ordinary boarders at a higher rate. At this school instruction will be given in — («) Geography and History ; English Composition ; Mathematics, including Mechanics, theoretical and applied ; French or Ger- man. (b) Chemistry, Agricultural Chemistry, Geology, Botany, Animal Physiology, Entomology ; Veterinary Medicine and Surgery ; Mensuration, Land-surveying, Book-keeping. 40 Notes on Agricultural Education at Home and Abroad. Practical instruction will be given in the following subjects : — (c) Farm Work, Stock-keeping, Carpentry, Smith’s Work (including Horse-shoeing), Surveying and Levelling, Forestry, Fruit-culture, Bee-keeping, and Veterinary Surgery. At Wooclbridge, in Suffolk, the scheme for another school is under consideration, to which a scientific side will be attached, and in which the subjects of education will be : Chemistry, especially Agricultural Chemistry ; Mineralogy ; Botany ; Ap- plied Mechanics ; Animal Physiology ; and, at an extra fee of 41. a year, Practical Agriculture. The fees in this school will be higher, but here also there will be scholarships and exhibitions. I would here, however, refer the l’eader for more detailed information on the position of agricultural education on the Continent and in England to the papers on that subject pub- lished in the Journal in 1885, and written by Mr. Hei’bert Little, whose untimely death has deprived the Council of the Royal Agricultural Society, and the agi’icultural interest of England, of one of their brightest and most intellectual membei’s. Up to the present time the Royal Agricultural Society has done nothing towards pi’oviding or encouraging the teaching of agriculture by travelling lectui’ers. The Bath and West of England Society has made an admirable start in this direction by the institution of its travelling dairy school ; and it would not seem unreasonable that our own Society should encourage and assist efforts made in this ' direction by local and district associations. France. I have not space here to do more than glance at the admirable and exhaustive Report on French Agricultural Schools which was prepai’ed for the Agi’icultural Department of the Privy Council by Major Craigie in 1888, and which contains a mass of detail most interesting to the agi’iculturist. Since Mr. Jenkins wrote on this subject in 1882 great altei’ations have taken place, and the questions under considei’ation seem to have been systematised and thought out veiy completely. To quote Major Craigie, agricultural education is provided in France — I. In Elementary Schools. (a) In ordinary Ecoles Primaires. (l>) In the higher Ecoles Primaires Suplrieures. (c) In the Normal Schools which provide teachers for (a) and (6). II. By Local Lectures. (а) By Itinerant Professors. (б) By Fixed Chairs or Courses of Agricultural Instruction. Notes on Agricultural Education at Home and Abroad. 41 III. By Local Research and Demonstration Stations. (a) By Laboratories furnishing cheap analyses. (b) By Experimental Plots for agricultural research . (c) By Experimental Fields arranged for demonstration. IV. In special Local Schools. (a) In Fermes Ecoles, or Farm Apprentice Schools. (b) In Ecoles Pratiques d' Agriculture, or Practical Schools. (e) In certain Ecoles professionnelles. V. In State-maintained Agricultural Colleges. (a) In the three National Schools of Agriculture. (b) In the three National Schools of Veterinary Science. (c) In the National School of Forestry. (d) In the National School of Horticulture. (e) In the National Shepherds’ School. VI. In a Central Agricultural University. («) In the Institut National Agronomique at Paris. Under the first of these heads any expenditure by the State is defrayed from the general Budget of Public Instruction. In the second, third, and fourth divisions, the State provides for salaries of officers, or a subvention to meet local provision ; while in the fifth and sixth divisions the charge falls directly on the State. In the Budget of 1888-9 the sum of 10G,224Z. was taken for the provision and management of State institutions, and 57,37 61. for payments and subventions to local officers and institutions. I am very much tempted to quote freely as to the work in the primary schools, which, as pointed out in Major Craigie's Report, has encountered many difficulties and is still but unequally and imperfectly developed in practice ; I feel, however, that it is more desirable to note some remarks on the work of the depart- mental px-ofessors. Major Craigie says that the French farmer desires to be taught by the sight of actual results rather than by the most eloquent verbal recommendations. In consequence, the Government is encouraging the establishment of experi- mental plots, not so much as stations for scientific research, as fields of illustration of the good results of improved processes, seeds, manures, &c. In connection with these fields of demon- stration, the number of departmental professors has increased from nine in 1875 to 55 in 1878, and 87 in 1888. In addition to their duties at the normal schools, and their supervision of the agricultural work in the primary schools, they are expected to give at least twenty-six local lectures or conferences in each year. Much is done by individual landowners and local societies in the way of establishing and sustaining these experimental fields. Major Craigie commences this excellent] Report by saying 42 Notes on Agricultural Education at Home and Abroad. that “ the general and prolonged depression of agriculture has had the effect of directing attention among all the nations of Western Europe to the advantage of more extensive provision for the scientific and practical instruction of farmers,” and he intimates that there is amongst the cultivators themselves a much increased appreciation of the work. Belgium. Mr. Gosselin has furnished a very interesting Report for Belgium, where the Ministry of Agriculture, which includes Industry and Public Works, appears to be the initiatory power in almost all matters of agricultural interest. The central office costs about 17,000/. per annum, and there is a further expendi- ture of 05,500/. in the last Budget, of which about 30,800/. is devoted to agricultural education, including the cost of experi- mental fields and agricultural lecturers. In addition to this ex- penditure, the Provincial Budgets furnished a sum of 20,300/. Prom this expenditure of 30,800/. on agricultural education, what does the State provide ? (1) There is the Government Agricultural Institution at Gem- bloux, in the province of Namur, with a farm of 148 acres, gardens, and experimental fields for teaching agriculture, horti- culture, and arboriculture. This institution has the advantage of being in close proximity to large breweries and sugar manu- factories, in which the students can have practical instruction. The course of instruction lasts for three years, and the students, who are not admitted under sixteen years of age, must pass au entrance examination on general and botanical subjects. Boarders, if natives of Belgium, pay 28/., foreigners 40/. per annum; day scholars — Belgians 12/., foreigners 10/. per annum. Successful students can obtain the diploma of agricultural en- gineer, which qualifies them for other official teaching positions. Attached to Gembloux is an agronomic laboratory for expe- rimental reseai’ch and analysis. Similar institutions exist at Ghent, Liege, IiaSselt, Antwerp, Mons, and Louvain; at each of which the Minister of Agriculture fixes the fees to be paid for the analytical and physiological examinations. (2) School of Horticulture and Forestry at Vilvorde and Gand. (3) Botanical Garden at Brussels. (4) Veterinary College at Cureghem-lez-Brussels. At this college the course is for four years. The regular pupils pay 12/. for the teaching of each scholastic year ; the free pupils 21. for each course of lectures. There are at present boarders, but it is intended to do away with the boarding system, and to increase the number of pupils and reduce the fees. Notes on Agricultural Education at Home and Abroad. 43 In addition to these central schools, the Government are endeavouring to encourage the teaching of agriculture in primary schools. The first attempt in this direction was made by organising agricultural classes in connection with middle-class schools ; but as most of these schools are placed in towns, it was found that there was not much personal interest taken in agri- cultural matters, and the classes were a failure. The Minister of Agriculture has now directed that agriculture is to form part of the curriculum of the normal schools, in order that the masters of the country primary schools may teach the subject to the village children. “ Boys over thirteen years of age in the country districts have no more time to devote to schooling ; they are wanted on the farms, and the only way to reach them is through the primary schools.” Grants in aid are given accord- ing to the proficiency of the pupils. “ Agricultural education,” says Mr. Gosselin, “ is still in an experimental stage, but there can be little doubt that agricul- tural classes attached to the primary schools for the young, and experimental fields and lectures for adults, are the best means of imparting information on a matter of vital interest to the agricultural population.” As far as education in the primary schools goes, it would seem that the Belgian Minister of Agriculture is feeling his way very much in the same manner as our educational autho- rities at home. There is the same pressure for boys’ labour, and the school limit of thirteen appears similar in both countries. I confess, for my own part, to having very great doubt as to the possibility of giving anything like useful technical education to boys under thirteen. Up to that period their intellects need general training and cultivation, in order to enable them to avail themselves of technical instruction hereafter. In addition to the means of education offered in the above- mentioned colleges and in the primary schools, the Agricultural Department of Belgium provides for lectures on agriculture and other kindred subjects. There are “ Agronomes d’Etat,” State Agricultural Professors, and “ Agronomes Adjoints,” with salaries varying from 200Z. to 1201. per annum. These form “ as it were, a body of nomadic agricultural teachers,” whose duty is to “ popularise, in a practical manner, agricultural science. To this end they personally visit the farmers, and give gratuitous advice to any asking for it ; they organise each in his own district a series of free lectures, so that in at least five districts in each province a complete course of instruction should be given in one or other branch of the science applicable to the neigh- bourhood.” At present there are thirteen of these “ Agronomes.” 44 Notes on Agricultural Education at Home and Abroad. “ When first started, the lecturers had often to be contented with an audience of ten persons ; now the attendance is gene- rally over one hundred.” In connection with the lectures are the experimental fields, “ which were at the outset doubtfully received, but have now become very popular ; offers of ground for these experiments are made from all parts of the kingdom.” Practical demonstrations are made by the “ pi’ofessors,” soils are analysed, new manures, or varying quantities of manures, tried, instruction in poultry-rearing, dairy management, cultivation of pastures &c., are given. “ The landowner lends the ground and supplies the needful labour and natural manure ; the Government pay for the seeds or plants ; and the product of the crop, good, bad, or indifferent, as the case may be, is handed over to the landowner.” In 1885-1886, there were 408 experimental fields at the expense of the State, and 86 at the expense of private individuals ; while for the current year (1889) there are only 287 State fields, and 347 worked by private individuals. It is proposed still further to limit the State experimental fields, and gradually to confine them to land cultivated by agricultural or horticultural societies. There are other duties, connected with disease in animals, forests, fisheries, &c., which are undertaken by the State, and are commented on by Mr. Gosselin ; but I have confined my extracts to matters connected with agricultural education. Although Mr. Gosselin has given very able information in his Report, there must be several matters of detail only to be obtained by personal investigation. I think that if aid is to be given by a department of the State in our own country, or by the Royal Agricultural Society, the action taken by the Belgian Government offers an example which might, to some extent, be followed ; but that the initiatory steps might be taken by local bodies, and that the work, if satisfactorily commenced, should receive guidance and assistance either from this Society or the State, or from both combined. Establishments like the Normal College at Gembloux, or the veterinary and horticultural colleges, might, under proper restrictions, receive assistance from the State, in order that lecturers and teachers should receive a thoroughly satisfactory and practical education, something very different from the mere working up of technical handbooks. Netherlands. Mr. Conyngham Greene, writing of what is being done in the Netherlands, states that there is no separate Ministerial Department for Agriculture, but that the Government takes an Notes on Agricultural Education at Home and Abroad. 45 active part in the promotion of the interests of the agricultural community in the kingdom. In the year 1886 “ a Government Commission was instituted to inquire into the condition of Agriculture, and to suggest the best means for improving it by assistance from the State.” The labours of this Commission have not yet been concluded, but interim Reports have been presented. With respect to agricultural education, the Com- mission advise the establishment of agricultural colleges, and that the universities should be invited to co-operate by the institution of professorial chairs of agriculture, which should be endowed from Government funds. Further, they suggest raising the salaries of such teachers as have obtained a certificate of proficiency. They also consider that the institution of special professional schools ( Volk-Schulen ) is essential to the development of the agricultural prosperity of the country. “ These schools, in the opinion of the Commission, should be small establishments, suited to local requirements, and easily accessible to the agricultural community of the State.” Winter schools ( Winter-Schulen ) for theoretical instruction should also be encouraged, and while the instruction of the schools is under the direction of the State, the subsidy should amount to 50 per cent, of the expenses of insti- tution and management, provided that the prescribed conditions of efficiency are fulfilled. The Commission also recommend the acquisition of land for practical demonstration, and advise the appointment of special Government officials to be called Agricultural Instructors. In connection with these a further recommendation is made as to the establishment of three Government institutions for the purpose of testing the genuineness of manures, feeding-stuffs, seeds, and the chemical properties and value of “ the soil, and natural attributes of the farm.” The estimated cost of the three establishments would be 2,000k, the annual expenditure 80k, and the staff of each would consist of a Director receiving 160k to 180k, an Assistant 80k to 120k, and a Clerk 40k per annum. The necessary funds for the establishment of these stations have been voted, and they will be established and opened with- out further delay. The Legislatui’e has also voted grants towards the expenses of a School of Forestry, and to a Dairy School at Oudshorn, and to found a course of instruction on the same subject in the Provinces of Gueldres and Overijssel. The Veterinary College at Utrecht, which had an attendance of ninety-nine- students in 1886-1887, who each go through a course of four years’ instruction, is supported by the State. The total expense was, 40 Notes on Agricultural Education at Home and Abroad. for 1886, 7,446/., towards which 1,807/. was received from fees, sale of farm produce, &c. Denmark. The State has taken an active part in the promotion of agriculture in Denmark, as “the total sum provided in the Budget of the Agriculture Section for 1889-1890 is 56,680/., which exceeds by nearly 100 per cent, the expenditure sanc- tioned in 1883-1884.” The remarkable strides in advance which Danish agriculture has recently made seem to justify this ex- penditure ; but the last Reports to the Foreign Office do not contain any special remarks as to any new development of agri- cultural education in that country, which has already received exhaustive notice in our Journal at the hands of its late editor.1 German]i. Mr. Lowtlier gives a very interesting analysis of the expen- diture of the Ministry of Agriculture in Germany. In the last Budget for 1889-90 the total amount voted is 571,257/., of which 51 ,914/., is devoted to Educational and Scientific purposes, and 40,400/. to the Veterinary Department. The State appears to maintain the High School at Berlin, the Agriculture Academy at Poppelsdorf, the Pomological Institutes at Proskau and Geisenheim, and an establishment at Wiesbaden for chemical experiments in connection with agriculture. The salaries paid at these establishments amount to 8,447/. per annum. In addition to these seats of instruction, there are sixteen effi- cient agricultural schools distributed amongst the different pro- vinces, the Provincial Administrations directing the course of study, and paying 13,100/. towards their cost, while the annual subsidy from the Government amounts to 6,648/. There are also State subventions towards the maintenance of laboratories where experiments and investigations of great import- ance to agricultural interests are carried on. In 1888 the total cost of sixteen of these establishments was 14,846/. and the Government subsidy was 5,372/. The position and importance of these laboratories appear to be steadily increasing ; the inde- pendent revenue grows, and the Government subvention decreases. Here, as in Belgium, I feel that there are many matters of detail and of much interest to our readers which are not recorded in the Foreign Office Reports, and of which, unfortuna tely, I have no special knowledge. 1 Report on the Agriculture of Denmark, Vol. XII., 2nd Series, p. 378. See also Mr. Little’s “ Summary ” of Mr. Jenkins’s Report to the Royal Commission on Technical Instruction, Vol. XXI., 2nd Series, p. 168. The Early Fattening of Cattle and Sheep. 47 I have only attempted to review the Reports of those European countries which are in immediate contact, as it were, with our own, and where agriculture is carried on to some extent under similar conditions, where the soil has been worked for ages, and in which no special advantages of climate or natural fertility accrue to the cultivator. In the Reports on all these countries allusion is made to the same pressure that we ourselves experience from severe competition. These agricul turists as well as ourselves feel what advantages the virgin soils of the West and the newly- developed wheat-lands of the East possess. Laborious and skilful as the farmers of some of these countries have always been, they know that if they are to hold their own in the markets of the world, they must endeavour not only to produce a greater amount of grain and meat from the land which they cultivate, but that they must do this by improved processes, and cheaper methods of production. For these reasons they welcome the teaching of science ; and when the agriculturists see the marvellous progress which has been made in other industries by the use of brains as well as hands, they also ask that some por- tion of the endowments of old time, or aid from the general revenues of the State, may be furnished to further develop the teaching of modern discoveries in the most ancient art of the world. I gather from these Reports that British agricul- turists must not look to State aid or State teaching as the only, or even as the primary, force in agricultural education. They may, however, expect that in agriculture, as in other branches of knowledge, the State may exercise some superintendence and authority as to the methods of teaching, and may supply some assistance towards the attainment of a more scientific knowledge of the art which they practise. John Dent Dent. THE EARLY FATTENING OF CATTLE AND SHEEP. The sheep and cattle of three hundred years ago were diminutive compared with our present breeds, and the sheep were, as Mr. Youatt remarks, “ strangely ” so, since they were not bred for the carcass as well as the fleece, but almost exclusively for the latter. The English people of Henry VIII. ’s time were strangers to beef and mutton. In 1581 the latter was so little appreciated, that its price was only three farthings per pound. Beef was twice as dear, but its use was confined to the summer 48 The Early Fattening of Cattle and Sheep. months, except when salted, and the population generally ate scarcely any mutton or beef. The million in those days lived largely on “ spoon meat,’’ which now our working classes despise. The bulk of the population was not then assembled in towns, as now ; it was spread over the country, and the only meat commonly used was that of the only animal suited to very small farms — the pig, the fattest of all domestic animals ; as fat when finished off, at thirty stone, as any bullock of four years old whose skin-full of tallow was ever rewarded by a prize. I have mentioned the fat pork of our predecessors, because a clever writer, making fun of “ baby meat,” has described it as “a soft, juicy mixture of fat and lean, by the eating of which we hope to produce large and strong muscles in our own bodies and limbs. Hope does, indeed, ‘ tell a flattering tale.’ ” The accomplished writer could have little thought that within three or four years of his pronouncing against early fattening, as it is now practised, the system would have extended itself throughout the length and breadth of the land. If he had taken the other side, he might just as well have shown that the juicy mixture is at least digestible, that it contains a great deal more lean than the meat consumed at any former period of history, and that, moreover, it is Hobson’s choice with the public — they must take what they can get. Meat is not so plentiful in these days that we can afford to wait for the complete maturity of the live- stock which produce it. It is not necessary, however, to point out the futility of opposing a national predilection, and I shall proceed at once to offer a slight historical sketch of the gradual improvement of cattle which rendered “baby beef” possible. The modifications in the domestic breeds of animals, effected partly under the influence of locality, partly by intention on the part of breeders, may be recognised in their results by the exist- ence of widely different families of cattle and sheep. “The possibility of selection rests on variability,” says Mr. Darwin, and we see in all directions that the domestic animals have varied profoundly from their original types. There is scarcely any limit to the extent of variation when persistent attempts have been made to influence it in one particular direction. At any of our great shows of fancy pigeons or of dogs, to say nothing of the ordinary live-stock of the farm, the marvels — one might say the excesses and absurdities — of variation may be recognised. The cattle of the Channel Islands offer a familiar example of what may be accomplished in selection for the dairy under favourable conditions. Colonel Le Couteur has well re- marked in this Journal (Vol. V., 1st Series, p. 43) that the cattle of the small island of Jersey could not have been improved in The Early Fatteniny of Cattle and Sheep. 49 their milking qualities with such great rapidity in a more widely extended country. Most persons are familiar with the great improvements, origi- nated in the last century and continued in the present, which gave us our existing breeds. Eeference should also be made to the displacement of old, and sometimes of improved, breeds by others superior to them, which has occasionally happened. Mr. Youatt mentions that the Longhorn cattle in their native home, improved as they had been by Bakewell, were “ suddenly swept away as if by some murderous pestilence,” by the rivalry of Shorthorns. The same catastrophe has happened to the older breeds of pigs since the introduction of foreign varieties which ripen earlier than the old sorts. It may be safely asserted that our modern breeds of cattle have, to a great extent, won their position by their early matu- rity as compared with the older breeds. Certain breeds are no doubt adapted to particular districts, like the Herefords, which are par excellence a pastoral breed of cattle. Herefords claim as long a pedigree among improved cattle as Shorthorns. The Hereford Herd-book was not produced till 1845, but the breed had been most carefully selected and cultivated for more than a hundred years. Notwithstanding their extensive use in America, they are a more local breed than the Shorthorn. Still they equal them in early maturity, and although they are generally of smaller size, they reach as great a weight at as early an age when the system of high feeding from birth is applied to them. The same early maturity is found in the Devons, whether they be of the lesser type of beautiful red cattle which originated among the hills of North Devon, or the heavier breed found on better land in Somerset and parts of South Devon. Their Herd-book dates from 1851 ; but the record of their improved breeding runs back more than a century, and early maturity has been a special aim of their breeders during the whole of that period. Every breed has its special aptitudes. Two years since I made a tour among the Devons, visiting the late Lord Falmouth’s famous herd at Tregothnan, Cornwall, Mr. Skinner’s at Bishop’s Lydeard, and Mr. Bickle’s Bradstone Hall herd of 160 head near Tavistock. The breed is a hardy one, and there is no cosseting and caudling of cattle in the common practice of Devonshire. The young breeding animals are often wintered out of doors in small, sheltered pastures provided with open sheds to which they can retire at will. The Devons are specially adapted for pastures of less luxuriant character than some other breeds require. They will thrive on land of moderate quality where some of the heavier breeds would hardly gain flesh with- VOL. i .T. S. — 1 E 50 The Early Fattening of Cattle and Sheep. out a great deal of artificial aid. But tlie Devons, with all their merits, would not have won for their owners such a superfluity of silver plate, if they did not share with the other beef-making breeds the merit of making the best possible use of their food. They are, in fact, fast flesh-forming animals whose meat is of the finest quality. I have no desire to magnify the merits of any particular breed, but I think we may recognise the enterprising search for good and quick beef-makers in the advance of Sussex cattle in the favour of the public. I remember them a heavy and a hardy breed, well suited for the rough pasturage of Sussex, and for wintering well in straw-yards on rather short commons, their food chiefly arising from the daily thumping of the flail. Few turnips were grown in those days, and the cattle had to “ rough it ” in straw-yards in winter, and in clover, grass, and stubble fields during the rest of the year. They were a big breed, however, and Mr. Youatt was able to describe them, sixty years ago, as having deep, round barrels, straight backs, big bellies, great capacity of the parts containing the heart, lungs, and digestive organs, and wide loins with “ spread-out ” hip- bones. They were well ribbed up, too ; but they had not the beauty and symmetry of the Devons, and although they made a great weight of beef at three or four years old, or later after their period of service as working oxen was over, the principle of early maturity had not been specially developed in their case as it has been since. At the present time, I believe, no one will dispute that few breeds have recently attracted more attention than the Sussex, and that their special merit is acknowledged to be the production of a large amount of beef of good quality, on a moderate amount of food, at an early age. Competition is too keen to admit of any breed getting far ahead of others ; but although the Sussex cattle may be equalled as economic meat- makers they are certainly unsurpassed. The carcass test is not yet applied at the Shows of the Smithfield Club, as it has been for many years at Chicago, Kansas, and elsewhere ; but among the butchers’ reports of prize beasts sold at the Show of 1888, a Sussex beast came out best in the proportion of dressed carcass to live weight. The Sussex cattle are still blemished by a certain coarseness and want of symmetry, but their breeders are getting rid of these faults, and they are doing so, one may hope, and obtaining fine bone and mellow skin, and the sweet countenance and beauty of form of the dainty Devons, without sacrificing the large frames and the hardy and robust constitution of the Sussex breed. The first volume of the Sussex Herd-book is dated 1879; but breeders now grown old have told me The Early Fattening of Guttle and Sheep. 51 that their grandfathers, far back in the last century, owned excellent herds of the red cattle of the country which they had greatly improved. Arthur Young was fond of telling the same story, and his Annals contain interesting accounts of the herds of his friends in Sussex, and of their working oxen and the mountains of beef they made at six or seven years old. It would seem ungracious not to mention the Polled Angus, the breed of William McCombie, with which he won at the Paris International Exhibition of 1878 the premier prize for “ cattle of any breed for beef-production,” and specimens of which he often sold to the butchers at 55 1. each. It is true that great weights do not alone support the argument as to the rapid move of breeders in the direction of early maturity in recent times. But a grand prix of 2,500fr. was offered at the same Exhibition for animals for breeding purposes, and a prix d’aptitude of 2,500fr. for animals for beef-producing pur- poses, and both were carried off by a group of two-year-old Polled Angus cattle, which were described as being “ as even, plump, and ripe as a cherry.” I shall name last, in connection with the transference and increase of early maturity, the illustrious Shorthorns. The first volume of their Herd-book appeared in 1822 ; their fame as a grand breed of Teeswater cattle was known to travellers as far back as the year 1700, about a hundred years before Robert and Charles Colling, the miscalled founders of the breed, com- menced their sales of high-priced stock. This is the most wide- spread of all the breeds, the best adapted for purely artificial systems of farming, the least fastidious in regard to climate, soil, or lodging. We expect much of our fatting cattle; we crowd them into small yards — as I saw the other day at a covered homestead, where the animals had little more than standing-room — so that the largest possible number may yield their beef and manure under the least spread of roof. We even tie them by the neck, so that the frightened physiologist ex- claims, “ You allow your young bullocks no exercise — they cannot possibly develop muscle so ; ” and yet, somehow, the muscle comes. I suppose it is by hereditary tendency. “ You allow your young fatting animals,” says the physiologist, “ no oppor- tunity of acquiring respiratory capacity. Summer and winter you allow them no exercise, and only one result can follow — - you will ruin your breeds.” Probably this would have hap- pened long ago, but for the wonderful adaptability of the Short- horns, and for the fact that the early fattening of steers cannot affect breeding stock which does not share the treatment. The Shorthorn breed needs no praise. It equals, if it does e 2 52 The Early Fattening of Cattle and Sheep. not surpass, any other breed in the economy of meat-production at an early age. Steers and heifers alike are constantly fattened up to 100 to 120 stone of 81b. at two years old. There is no breed that assimilates so readily with others, and that is, therefore, so useful in crossing for the improvement of inferior stock. And the crosses by a Shorthorn bull, especially out of the large varieties of polled cattle, have had greater weights recorded of them than the offspring of pure-bred stock. In the earliest examples of early fattening in Sussex which came under my observation, the yards and barns and sheds of my friends were kept well filled with relays of stock, sold at eighteen months, or less, and purchased as calves. Most of the breeds were represented, including Sussex from around home, Herefords from the western dairy districts, and Shorthorns from the Brighton dairies and elsewhere. No decided preference was felt for either of the breeds ; but the Shorthorns greatly outnumbered the others, and I suppose this would be the case throughout England, except in special districts. At the same time that Bakewell was improving the breed of Longhorn cattle, he was also engaged in founding the Dishley breed of Leicester sheep ; and most readers of this kind of history will remember that one of the visitors to Dishley was John Ell- man, who had already commenced the development of the poor little Southdowns — with their small carcass, flat ribs, and light fleece, and nothing to admire but a good leg of mutton — into the most famous of the short-woolled sheep. The improvement of sheep proceeded continuously, and was, of course, conducted on the same lines as in the case of cattle. The breeds of sheep must have been very numerous, since most of the great heaths ami commons, or other characteristic tracts, fertile or barren, possessed distinct breeds. Mr. Youatt says quaintly, in his work on sheep : “ The disgraceful breed of the Kentmore sheep, and all their crosses, are now supplanted by a better animal in the county of Cumberland ; ” and in the next sentence he mentions that the original long-woolled sheep of the lower grounds of Westmoreland had been replaced by Leicesters and Cheviots and their crosses. The Teeswater sheep — a tall, clumsy, polled anhnal, proceeding from the same stock as the old Lincolnshires — had been crossed with Dishley-Leicesters ; and the breeders of the same sheep, now known by the name of Wensleydale, are at present establishing a flock-book. Our subject possesses a history which may perhaps assist breeders in shaping the future. There is no doubt that the absorption into the modern races of at least a dozen breeds of sheep, north and south, and sometimes the complete extinction The Early Fattening of Cattle and Sheep. 53 of the more “ disgraceful ” types, was due to the earlier matu- rity of the new comers. Mr. Youatt says of the Teeswaters that the first effect of the cross with the Dishley sheep — a some- what kindred breed, as he points out — was a very considerable diminution in size. But if the carcass was smaller, it was rounder and more compact, and the animal came to maturity earlier ; so that considerably more sheep were kept, and more mutton was produced, on the same quantity of land than before. The wool of the Teeswaters was not so much improved by the cross as the carcass, because “ like produces like,” and the Dishley sheep had been bred principally, or almost exclusively, with a view to quick fattening and early maturity. These, says Youatt, were the characteristic points of the sheep, “ and were sure to be transmitted to the offspring.” Without describing the methods of the great breeders, from Ellman and Bakewell downwards, it has seemed desirable to direct attention for a moment to the golden age of discovery in the breeding of live-stock, for the purpose of showing that early maturity has been kept constantly in view by the great breeders for the past two hundred years at least. That there has been continuous progress up to the present time is shown conclu- sively by a comparison of weights and ages, such as Youatt ’s synopsis in the Complete Grazier (1846) enables us to make. The following figures apply to a period between sixty and seventy years ago : The average weight of Southdown wethers at two years old was 181b. per quarter, or 9 st. the carcass; of im- proved Cheviots, at three and a half years old, 19 lb. ; of Cheviots, at four and a half years, 1 6 lb. ; of Romney Marsh sheep, at two and a half years, 24 lb. ; of Dishley-Leicesters, at two years, 22 lb. ; of Lincolns, at three years, 25 lb. per quarter. Previous to Ellman’s improvements wethers of the older Southdown breed were rarely killed till three years old. After the improvements, and about fifty years ago, they were usually fattened at two years old, and in the case of superior flocks at fifteen months old. They are now sent to the butcher at a year old, or less. Plants and animals have been “ improved ” by man till they have assumed something of the character of monstrosi- ties. To mention only a few of the modifications occasioned by selection with a view to utility, it has given sheep their heavy fleeces, and all the meat-making animals their power of forming flesh rapidly; it has given a dairy of twenty-five Shorthorn cows an average of 885 gallons of milk each during their ten or eleven months of yield, and 1,200 gallons apiece for ten selected cows ; it has conferred on horses size, strength, endurance, sneed ; and it has endowed our domestic fowls, since the first 54 The Early Fattening of Cattle and Sheep. lien came to Europe 600 years B.C., with the gift of “ ever-lasting ” egg-laying, and with an extraordinary diversity in the colour of the plumage and in the size and character of the different breeds. It must be confessed that our cultivated breeds of animals and plants have been rendered unfit to cope with such com- petitors as they would meet with outside the boundaries of fields and farms. Few, if any, would survive when deprived of the protection of the hands that moulded them into the forms that most of them have assumed. Neither the horse nor our neat cattle are found in a wild state. Our sheep, with their “ improved ” fleeces, would be destroyed, without careful shepherding, by the attacks of parasites and flies. Our poor pigs have neither snout nor leg enough to hold their own in a wild state. It is certainly a considerable interference with Nature to hasten the maturity of animals and to induce their breeding at an earlier period, and yet this has been done for our advantage with most or all of our domestic animals without diminishing their constitutional power or lessening their average duration of life. It seems, then, illogical to imagine that the utmost limits of early maturity have been already reached. Professor G. T. Brown commenced an article on “ Dentition as Indicative of the Age of the Animals of the Farm” (Journal, Vol. XVIII., 2nd Series, 1882) with these words : “ Early maturity is a sine qua non of breeders and exhibitors of farm stock ; and it is one of the objects of Agricultural Societies to encourage them in their efforts to pro- duce breeds which reach a state of perfect development at a comparatively youthful period.” As something more remained to be done in 1882 in the attainment of earlier development, it cannot reasonably be urged that we have reached finality yet, since only a very little can possibly have been accomplished in so large a field within a period so short as eight years. As “ the teeth ” — quoting Professor J. B. Simonds (“ On the Teeth of the Ox, Sheep, and Pigs, as Indicative of the Age of the Animal,” Journal, Vol. XV., 1st Series, 1854) — “ belong to the system of organs termed the digestive,” it seems almost certain that the improved feeding as well as the superior breeding of flomestic animals during the past 200 years must have hastened the development of their teeth. On this point Professor Simonds says that at three years and a quarter, “ in animals of early maturity, the fourth pair of in- cisors will occupy the places of the temporary, and will thus complete the dentition of the ox.” By far the larger number of oxen, Professor Simonds says, “ will not put them up till The Early Fattening of Cattle and Sheep. bo after three years and a quarter ; and I have repeatedly examined animals whose ages ranged from three and three-quarters to four years, and found these teeth in the act of cutting. On the other hand, I have occasionally seen them, in Shorthorn bulls, fairly through the gum at three years and a month.” He says that Shorthorns and Herefords had furnished him with the greatest number of cases of early dentition, and in his Tables of early and late dentition the Professor notes that the period of cutting the incisors is among other causes dependent on breed. One would not expect to meet with early dentition among the wild cattle of Chillingham or Chartley Parks. As might be expected, sheep obey the same law as cattle, and Cotswolds, which took the first place at Islington last December in the contest between young fat sheep, were observed by Pro- fessor Simonds to be earlier in dentition than Southdowns, Shropshires, or Hampshire Downs ; Leicesters following closely after them. Professor Brown’s experience resembles that of his pre- decessor, for, although he does not appear to have noticed any further advance since 1850, he found, from numerous obser- vations in that year, that the teeth of cattle, sheep, and swine were developed at much earlier periods than those which were stated in the works of Youatt. If, therefore, the accounts of the older veterinary writers on dentition are correct, we may certainly infer, from the evidence of the modern experts I have just quoted, that improved systems of breeding and feeding have induced an earlier development of the teeth in cattle, sheep, and swine. Physiologists inform us that the completion of permanent dentition is a fair test of maturity ; and as that period appears to have been hastened, it may perhaps be possible to induce cattle and sheep to produce their young at an earlier period than heretofore. This has, in fact, been done by those who use lambs for breeding purposes, and by those numerous breeders of cattle who arrange for the first calf when the heifer is two and a half years old, or about six months before the completion of per- manent dentition. Few persons are engaged at present in systematic experi- ments with a view to earlier development than has heretofore obtained among animals that are bred for food. In offering some evidence on this subject, I propose to quote the opinion and practices of the late Mr. John Coleman, who was a con- sistent advocate of early maturity both in breeding and feeding, believing that heifers might produce their first calf at little over two years old, and sheep when one year old, without injury to 56 The Early Fattening of Cattle and Sheep. growth or constitution. In the following passage he states his conditions, and describes his management : “ The necessary conditions are : First and foremost, a tendency to early maturity, rendered hereditary by cultivation. Secondly, abundance of good natural food ; our land must be in high condition, the pastures composed of nutritious grasses, and the crops we grow of the best possible quality : poor, stunted crops will not bring on young animals ; and especially must we have plenty of lime and phosphates in the soil for the development of bone and muscle. Then the climate must be temperate, although this is of less import- ance than the other factors we have named, because much can be done in the way of shelter. Lastly, the judicious use of artificial food to supplement the natural produce. “ Now let us consider the treatment of calves on a dairy farm ; and the management we indicate is such as we have seen carried out with most successful results. The calves are dropped in the spring — probably in March, on the average — and are removed at birth, and not allowed to suck the cow. For a few days their food comprises new milk ; after about ten days or a fortnight, warm skim-milk is introduced, with calf meal, boiled linseed, &c., and by degrees the new milk is entirely replaced by old milk, and such easily- digested nutritious materials as experience shows to answer. When the calf is one month old, a little sweet green hay is supplied, with rock salt and chalk. As the spring comes on, there are two plans open to us — we may either keep them in well-ventilated covered yards, supplying a mixture of green and dry food, which has some advantages, especially in the selection and preparation of suitable food, and protection from irritation by insects, from which serious loss of condition often occurs ; or they may be turned out during the day into a home paddock, being brought in at night. In either case, they should still have any skim-milk we can spare, in which ground linseed cake or linseed meal may be soaked, and a small quantity of pulped mangels, with carefully-prepared chaff (principally made from hay and a little oat straw) and a little oatmeal, may also be used ; indeed, the greater mixture of nourishing material, the better. It is not the quantity of food that will be consumed, but the quality, as developing frame and flesh, that is important. After May, calves that are to live out may be run in small paddocks, divided into lots of six or eight, but it is most important that each field should have a shed providing ample shelter for the lot, where they can, to some extent, be protected from insects ; and of course a supply of fresh and pure water is essential, care as to change of food, and the supply of hand meat to supplement the grass when the latter fails, such as tares, clover, &c., with a small allowance of linseed cake of the best quality. “ When from six to eight months old, the calves should be setoned in the dew-lap as a preventive to black leg or quarter evil where experience has proved liability. The action of the seton is probably as a counter-irritant, but anyhow the evidence of its utility is overwhelming. As soon as the nights become chilly, say early in October — but exact time differs according to locality — the calves should be housed at night, and be accustomed to eat pulped roots and chaff, through which may be distributed whatever meal is supplied. In the daytime they may run out as long as the weather is open, but, as a rule, towards the middle or end of November they are as well in yards altogether, with room for exercise. Winter feeding must be generous ; we want to grow the animal as fast as we can, and an allowance of linseed cake is desirable, with a moderate quantity of roots and chaff. The second summer a good pasture supplies all that is necessary. “ About midsummer— that is, when from fifteen to sixteen months old — these heifers are served, in many cases yearling bull? being allowed to run out The Early Fattening of Cattle and Sheep. 57 with them. Great care should he exercised as to generous feeding during the next winter, as the system has a considerable strain upon it. The failing grass should be supplemented in good time by a mixture of cotton and linseed cake, say, 3 lb. daily ; and this should be continued throughout the winter and up to calving, with a liberal supply of roots and chaff given. In this way there need be no check whatever in growth. . . . We are satisfied that, if we have suitable conditions and judicious management, it is both possible and profit- able to develop early maturity as regards breeding cattle ; and that, if this were more generally followed, more profitable stock could be kept and ex- penses be reduced.” As the early fattening of recent times has naturally followed closely in the wake of the earlier maturity which many genera- tions of breeders have been aiming at, it seemed necessary, even in a merely practical article, to state the theory and explain the practice of those who believe that further advances are possible. Having quoted Mr. Coleman on neat cattle, I will now give the views of Mr. Alfred de Mornay as to sheep. Mr. de Mornay’s idea, founded on Darwinian principles, is to train the ewe lambs to early-breeding propensities, and this he does by selecting for his first experiment the most forward and matured animals he can find in his flock, mating them with a lamb which is himself as matured as possible, and out of a flock where early development has been encouraged to the utmost. He then makes a careful selection of the produce, using only the forwardest lambs, until, by degrees, the habit of early breeding becomes established. It is, of course, necessary to supply the young ewes with abundant and proper food, in order that the foetus may be properly supported without too great a strain on the parent, and since Mr. de Mornay obtains four crops of lambs in four years instead of three, the extra cost can be well afforded. It is only within a comparatively few years that ram lambs have become sufficiently precocious to come into use at the age of eight or nine months ; and if the propensity to mature early can be fixed as a permanent characteristic of a flock, there seems no reason why the ewe lambs should not partake of it as well as the ram lambs. It only requires that their frames should have become fully developed by the time the tup is put to them; and if it is possible to breed wether lambs to reach the weight and size of ordinary two-teeth sheep at eight or nine months of age, I do not see why the ewe lambs could not be made to complete their development in the same time. Mr. de Mornay’s farm is a suitable one for his purpose, having a good dry soil in a favourable climate. The practice of early fattening is only suited to animals whose breed and treatment have prepared them for fast feeding. Alternate fattening and starving is always bad management for an 58 The Early Fattening of Cattle and Sheep. animal of any age ; and in the case of young animals intended for early fattening mere sustenance rations, for however short a period, cannot be attended with profit. Mr. McCombie, whose cattle-feeding was conducted with great skill, lays down some golden rules worthy of being quoted in extenso. He says : “If a grazier lias a number of fields and many cattle, to carry out the treatment of his cattle properly, shifting and fresh grass once in ten or fourteen days should, if possible, be adopted. The grazier must always consider the quality of his grass laud, and buy cattle adapted for it. It would be very bad policy to buy fine cattle for poor or middling lands. You must always keep in view how the cattle have been kept. If they have been improperly kept for your purpose, their size, whether large or small, will not save you from loss. If the cattle are kept on cake, corn, potatoes, or brewers’ wash or grain during the previous winter, it will be ruin to the graziers. You must not think that I wish you to buy lean, half-starved beasts. What I wish you to understand is, that you must keep the cattle always full of flesh ; and, as a breeder, you must be careful not to lose the calf flesh. If you do so, by starving tbe animal at any time of his growth, you lose the cream — the covering of flesh so much prized by all our best retail butchers. Where do all the scraggy, bad-fleshed beasts come from that we see daily in our fat markets; and what is the cause of their scragginess? It is because they have been stinted and starved at some period of their growth. If you once lose the calf flesh, you will never regain it. You may get a great deal of tallow internally by high feeding, but you will never again make the animal one that wiil be prized by the great retail butcher.” It is evident that early fattening reduces time and labour, and lessens risks, because the animal is always ready for the market, or it may be held on awhile for better prices. But it requires skill. I have shown elsewhere that young animals make more carcass, as well as live weight, than older ones. It is pos- sible that animals may assimilate their food better when young ; or perhaps they apply more of it in building up the body, and less in repairing the waste of the tissues, than older animals. But, however this may be, they should be of good breed, as coarse and ill-bred animals are always slow to fatten ; and they should be so fed that no check will occur to them from the period of their birth till they are slaughtered. Every experienced feeder must have noticed that lean stores often require a great deal of feeding and careful management before they make what stockmen call “ a move,” and begin to thrive. Without dwelling on the physiological reason for this, I will pass on to observe that retrogressive feeding is very bad economy. The rule of management should be progression, and therefore the calves intended for early fattening should be either bred on the farm or bought when young. It usually pays best to breed at home, unless the farm is well situated for collecting calves from the dairy districts, or, in some The Early Fattening of Cattle and Sheep. 59 parts of the country, from small farmers and cottagers. A north- country farmer said to me once, “ I get some thumping calves from my labourers.” It is very much to be regretted that in all grass districts labourers and their wives do not understand dairying, so that cows and “ thumping calves ” might become more common among them. The safest plan is to breed at home, and, in fact, one of the great advantages of early fattening is that the shortened process and the artificial method admit of its adoption in neighbourhoods where breeding was till lately disregarded. Among many farms that I have visited, where early fatten- ing is practised, besides those noticed in a former article,1 is that of Mr. Edwin Ellis of Shalford, Guildford. Mr. Ellis begins with a good calf — long, broad over the loins, with a deep chest and full eye. He breeds some, and buys many of dealers who bring them to Guildford from the western dairy districts. They are “ pailed ” at once with new milk, diluted when the supply is short, in which case a little linseed-cake meal is stirred in. The best linseed cake, not too hard pressed, is alone used. The calves soon learn to chew a piece of sweet meadow bay, and lick up a little oatmeal, and afterwards take some sliced roots, which must on no account be frosted. Calves weaned after June are finished without leaving their stalls or boxes. Those weaned earlier run in the paddocks in summer, except at night, or during rain or hot sunshine, when they are carefully sheltered. Their diet is varied. From May to October they are fed on green food of all descriptions, cut, and brought to the stalls — trifolium, spring cabbage, tares, autumn cabbage, and aftermath clover. Hardly any litter is required in the summer months, when the cattle do very wTell on the bare floor, with hedge-trimmings or other rubbish to lie on. The dry food given to them consists of cake, oatmeal, barley-meal, and, if roots fail, they eat an additional quantity of chaffed straw and hay, as well as corn, good sweet barley straw being preferred to secondary hay. A little treacle is added to the chaff. Mr. Ellis has sometimes fattened his young bullocks up to 120 stone, and they have not eaten more than 3^ lb. of cake, with meal, daily ; while Irish steers that had been let down in condition, have eaten 8 lb. of cake daily. He thinks that ten bullocks of that sort have eaten twice as much food as twenty young bullocks, sixteen months old, that were treated on the early- fattening system. It is not easy to teach the management of cattle in an article, “ Early Fattening of Cattle,” Journal, Vol. XIV., Second Series, p. 152, 60 The Early Fattening of Cattle and Sheep. but here are some golden rules by the very successful breeder and feeder whose system I am endeavouring to describe : “ I have always tried to make every man who looks after my stock, of whatever character, an enthusiast in his work. When that is accomplished, your feeding will be satisfactory, and not till then. No feeding can answer if you have a stupid clown throwing in just as much food to one animal as to another, putting fresh victuals on stale ones, and frightening the animal every time he approaches it. I have had such men, and soon parted with them ; hut when you have inoculated your man with your own enthusiasm, you have got at the root of all good feeding. Watchfulness of appetite, of likes and dislikes, humouring the dainty, changing the unappreciated food, and withholding food when the animal appears surfeited— these are methods that bring success. The man has got to love and understand his animal, and you then do far better to trust him as to feeding than to lay down a diet scale to be strictly adhered to.” In one year 170 young bullocks, all reared at home, were fattened and sold at ages varying from fourteen to eighteen months. Their average net price, sold under the hammer at Guildford, was 17/. 15s., and as the price of beef was 5s. 6d. per stone, their average weight must have been 65 stone each. The weight of beef made per week, at the average age of sixteen months, and including the weight of the calf, must have been nearly 81b. dead weight, and after deducting 1/. 15s., the cost of the calves, the bullocks must have each brought home 4s. 7±d. per week. Better results can be shown by persons who have bred their own calves or bought them at lower rates, or sold their bullocks at better prices, as Mr. Ellis has done in some seasons. He says of the system : “ One great advantage appears to be that whether the bullocks are twelve months old or sixteen months, they are always ‘beef.’ We can therefore suit ourselves as to when they go to market. If trade is bad, we slacken, and sometimes hold over for two months, and then, with markets better, out they go. The greater number go out between May and October ; then we generally wait till Christmas, and in January especially find a demand for a small ripe bullock. But as a rule they pay better in the summer months.” On a farm of 300 acres with only 15 acres of permanent pasture in small paddocks, six deep-milking Shorthorn cows are kept, and are put to a pure-bred, heavy-fleshed bull. Each cow rears from two to three calves besides her own, and these are all sent to the butcher before they are eighteen months old, the home-bred bullocks beating the bought-in ones in weight and profit. Between March and May there are usually on the farm more than a score of recently-born calves, and the same number of last year’s calves, a year old. The bullocks that would have been two years old have usually been converted into beef by Christmas. The calves are weaned at birth, and fed during four weeks on new milk, taking about six quarts each daily ; skim- G1 The Early Fattening of Cattle and Sheep. milk is then gradually substituted for new, and for the next eight weeks they take about six quarts of it daily, mixed with 21b. of oatmeal, or boiled linseed and oatmeal. During June, July, August, and September, they are put on a varied diet of mangel, hay, clover, and artificial grasses, with H lb. to 2 lb. of linseed-cake, and the same of bean-meal. Then up to March, when they are about a year old, they get three- quarters of a bushel of roots, hay, and 4 lb. to 5 lb. of cake and meal daily. Then until they are fat, they get the same food as in the former year, but rather more of it, and rather more cake and meal. As for the demand for the young beef, one hears everywhere the same story — that old-fashioned feeders who have brought their prime, ripe, three-year-old bullocks to market, have found, to their disgust — especially in summer — that the young bullocks are much more saleable than their own, and fetch higher prices, small joints of beef being preferred to large ones. Ten years ago the marketing of young bullocks at sixteen to twenty months old was quite exceptional ; it is now a common practice, and early fattening has become a widespread system. One of the examples I wish to mention is the fattening of calves running with their mothers for a year. The calves were born in spring, summered with their mothers on rich grass, wintered with them, weaned, and then summered with cake to replace the milk. They received cake for four months only, and were killed at the respective ages of sixteen and seventeen months, weighing 74 stones (81b.), and 7G stones each. The carcasses of young bullocks fed in this way on grass and corn, and getting plenty of exercise, have proved excellent beef in every respect, with a good proportion of lean, even when the animals did not exceed fifteen months old. The pastures should be rich and cool, where flies are not troublesome. In the case just named, the grass consisted of a portion of Pevensey Marsh. In the case of those breeds which are least fitted for the dairy — Herefords, Devons, and Sussex — it is a common and profitable practice to fatten the offspring young, after several months’ suckling. Mr. Richard S. Olver, of Trescowe, Corn- wall, a noted breeder of Herefords, does this. He maintains a herd of 150 Herefords, and breeds about forty-five calves yearly, keeping the best for bulls, and fattening the remainder, which are finished with cake on grass at two years old. Ho allows each cow to suckle her own calf, or sometimes two calves, for six or seven months. The heifers produce their first calves in summer at two and a half years old — a very early age from the physiologist’s point of view. 62 The Early Fattening of Cattle and Sheep. It seems unnecessary to multiply examples of early fatten- ing, but I should like to call attention to the fact that several of my informants claim a gain of weight for young bullocks, averaging 8 lb. per week from birth to the age of eighteen months. In some cases, as reported in my former article, the gain appears to have been as great as that of the young bullocks, “not exceeding two years old,” exhibited at Islington last December, 9^ lb. per week. It appears that the ordinary feeder, having good-sized and well-bred animals to deal with, may vie with the experts who prepare animals for the Shows. Feeding with maximum results is, in fact, easier and less waste- ful in the case of young animals than of old ones. The early fattening of sheep has become part of the custom- ary system of management in Hampshire. The breeding-farms have ceased to be breeding-farms exclusively. The great fairs at which lambs were disposed of as stores in the summer to pur- chasers from other counties, have to a great extent gone out of fashion, and the old system has been replaced by the modern plan of fattening the wether lambs at home and sending them to the auction marts or the fairs which are now attended by butchers from London and elsewhere. A visit to the farm of one of the most successful breeders and feeders in Hampshire, Mr. John Barton, Hackwood Farm, Basingstoke, enables me to describe the method of feeding which has now become characteristic of a Hampshire sheep-farm. The farm of 600 acres rests on the Chalk, the land being light and full of flints. Probably one reason why heavy folding does not taint the soil is its rapid absorption of the dressings. There are 445 breeding ewes on the farm, or 75 ewes per 100 acres, with their progeny. The lambs fall in January and February, and the average crop is about 100 reared lambs per 100 ewes. On September 1, the whole of the sheep, except the rams, were folded on .rape in three flocks, including 173 ewe lambs, 130 shorn wether lambs fattening for the butcher, and 445 ewes following the others and clearing up behind them. The wether lambs received 1 lb. each of mixed cake and corn, and many of them were already fit for the butcher ; but with 40 acres of rape and turnips in front of the sheep, to be followed by wheat, and therefore to be folded by Christmas, it was neces- sary to keep on the lambs for the purpose of eating up the food. The lambs were at that date seven months old and many of them would have weighed 10 stone. The whole flock would average probably rather more than 10 stone when finished at less than a year old. The usual breadths of grain crops on the farm are 130 acres The Early Fattening of Cattle and Sheep. (33 of mown seeds and sainfoin, 37 acres of fed seeds and sainfoin, 152 acres of roots and rape, including 6 acres of mangel, 35 acres of water-meadow, and 32 acres of down. The total breadth of common sainfoin is 60 to 70 acres, and there is no kind of forage crop which is more esteemed on a Hampshire sheep-farm than sainfoin, which is held to be quite indispensable for its good hay and capital aftermath. The older layers of sainfoin are usually fed through the summer, and the younger and better planted are mown for hay. The aftermath is ready for folding in August, and will furnish “ hearty ” food till the end of November. In accordance with the Hampshire plan of pro- viding frequent changes for the sheep, they are removed from their night’s fold every morning to a fold of rape or turnips. The water-meadows atford the earliest fold in spring, and then follow in succession, through the summer, tares mixed with winter barley, rape, and seeds. It cannot be said that Mr. Barton’s big, growing lambs weighing from 7 to 10 stone are stuffed with too much corn. Their early fattening is secured by skill in feeding with abundant forage of several kinds. The annual sale of 80 ram lambs on this farm shows the advance that has been already made in early maturity, and in producing lambs whose sires do not exceed twelve or fourteen months old. What the males do already, the females may accomplish by-aud-by. Early fattening may be said to have now become mainly a question of feeding. I do not, of course, mean to assert that a slow breed can be fed up rapidly, but fairly good specimens of improved cattle can be fattened at eighteen or twenty months without difficulty. In fact, the examples given in the Journal, in 1878, in the article on “Early Fattening of Cattle,” were not pure-bred animals, but the offspring of good dairy Short- horns and half-bred cattle of various kinds. Those who have not seen the official statistics relating to the Chicago Show, will be interested to learn that the highest rate of daily gain there, in the case of prize-winning animals, was made by a young Hereford of pure blood. The animal weighed 920 lb., and was 350 days old, having gained 2-62 lb. daily. This may be compared with the weight of a Devon steer ex- hibited at Islington by Mr. John Walter, and weighing 8091b. at 388 days old, having gained daily 2'09 lb. — pretty well for a little Devon ! A champion prize-winner at Chicago, a Shorthorn 1,372 days old, had gained daily from birth 1*74 lb. After the Smithfield Club Show of last year some valuable information was obtained for the Live Stoclc Journal by Mr. G. T. Turner, who examined the carcasses of some of the sheep and cattle at the slaughter-houses, and saw them weighed. The G4 The Early Fattening of Cattle and Sheep. highest percentage of carcass to gross live weight was obtained by Messrs. Uttings’ third prize Shorthorn ox not exceeding four years old. It reached 76'52. A careful study of the Tables on the opposite page will prove exceedingly instructive and will enable the reader to compare the average daily gain of live weight in sheep and cattle of various ages. I have given these Tables as a comparison of ages, not of breeds, and in order to make them more complete, it is ne- cessary to add particulars of breeds not included therein. Mr. A. P. Turner’s Hereford steer, 578 days old, weighed 1,3151b. live weight, and gained daily from birth 2’27 lb. ; the Earl of Northbrook's Shorthorn steer, 591 days old, weighed 1,5181b., and had gained daily 2-57 lb. live weight. The Earl of Winterton’s Sussex steer, 517 days old, weighed 1,2901b., and had gained 2-491b. daily. Mr. 14. J. Turner’s crossbred steer, G15 days old, weighed 1,5581b., and had gained 2'53 lb. daily. The prize-winners are not always at the top in daily gain. Nor have either sheep or cattle, in all cases, maintained the gain of former years. The Hampshires, for example, won world-wide renown by beating, during several years, the larger long-woolled sheep in daily gain ; but that was undoubtedly owing to the clever training of a former exhibitor. Last year the long-woolled lambs shot ahead of the Hampshires, and even beat the crossbreds. Mr. J. B. Green’s Leicester lambs, 243 days old, weighed 1701b., giving a daily gain of -701b. ; Mr. H. J. Elwes’ Cotswolds, 273 days old, weighed 2051b., a daily gain of ’77 lb. ; Mr. G. T. Melbourn’s Lincolns, 257 days old, weighed 171 lb., a daily gain of -G8 lb.; Mr. H. Page’s Kentish lambs had gained *70 lb. daily during their 257 days; Mr. II. Penfold’s Southdowns, at 273 days old, had gained -GO lb. ; and Mr. Chappell’s Oxfordshire lambs, at 294 days old, had gained *G7 lb. per day. Mr. G. T. Turner remarks of the champion ox under four years old, that the lean meat could not have increased since last year, and he adds that the lesson taught by the “ block test ” is that the over-aged and over-fed animals are wasteful as compared with the younger ones, and that three years should be the out- side age for steers at our fat-stock shows. When Sir Brandreth Gibbs wrote the history of the Smithfield Club, he remarked that one of the primary objects for which the society was esta- blished was to determine what breeds of animals and methods of feeding yielded most food for mail from given quantities of cattle food. We are not always logical in our methods. The system of feeding for the fat-stock shows has yielded tallow mostly, and not food for man, the organisers of the shows Cattle Slaughtered from ttie Smitiifield Club Show of 1389. No. in utaogue Description of Animal Honours Age Live weight >> liU t£*C .if £ O ^ \ A & 2 tL D (_ ■g H tJ iii g « ? 9 rt P o rj c' rH ctf Steers not Exceeding Two days lb. lb. lb. Years Old 30 W. A. Higgs’s Hereford steer . — 639 1.291 2 02 834 64-60 163 11. F. Dent's Aberdeen steer . . c. 709 1,757 2-38 1,170 66-59 21G W. Curry’s Crossbred steer . . — G32 1,203 1-90 784 65-17 Steers not Exceeding Three Years Old i First, breed . 7 Jolm YVortley’s Devon steer . | cup and r. j. best steer ) 1,000 1,744 1 74 1,152 66-06 43 ( The Earl of Coventry’s Here- > r. and h.c. 1,079 2,034 1-89 1,120 5506 77 The Queen’s Shorthorn steer . Third 1,065 1,909 1-79 1,292 67 68 118 f Wm. Stewart Forster’s Sussex < t steer t First and . breed cup ; 1,019 1,858 1-82 1,300 73-20 120 Major M. G. Best’s Sussex steer r. and h.c. 978 1.864 1-90 1,228 65-88 143 J. Hammond’s Red Polled steer — 1.044 1,919 1-84 1,280 66-70 157 A. Egginton’s Aberdeen steer . First 1,078 ?,073 1-92 1,444 69-G6 Oxen not Exceeding Four Years Old 14 The Queen’s Devon ox . . . j First and r. \ for breed cup } 1,300 1,904 1-4G 1,400 73-53 82 The Queen’s Shorthorn ox . . 1 First, breed t cup and cha. J 1,325 2,3G9 1-70 1 ,032 68-89 8G i S. W. and 11. Utting’s Short- 1 Third 1,326 2,112 1-52 1,G1G 76-52 12G C. T. Lucas’s Sussex ox . . . j R. J. Mann’s Aberdeen ox . . j First and r. , for breed cup J First and r. . for breed cup [ 1,2G0 2,0G2 1 64 1,356 65-80 165 1,339 2,210 1-G5 1,404 6353 Sheep Slaughtered from the Smithfield Club Snow of 1889. Wether Lambs under Twelve Months Old 817 Lord ITothfield’s Kent lambs . First 261 165 0-63 84 50-91 323 E. R. Berry Torr’s Devon lambs Second 284 150 0-53 90 60-00 358 P. Saillard’s Southdown lambs c. 2C1 131 0-50 85 64-89 387 / Wm. Newton’s Hampshire i ( lambs j First and r. 1 for breed cup 1 314 206 0-65 120 58-25 388 Sir E. 1 lube’s Hampshire laml)3 1 Marquis of Bristol’s Suffolk i | lambs j Second 277 188 0-61 112 5957 400 c. 270 178 0-66 104 58-42 455 Samuel Kidner’s Dorset lambs . Second 344 196 0-56 120 61-22 466 T. Rush’s Crossbred lambs . . -f l First and ^ breed cup J 300 201 0-67 128 63-63 • T Vether Sheep above Twelve and under Twenty-four Months Old 307 Ily. Rigden’s Kent wethers . . r. and h.c. 600 279 0-47 144 55-20 327 (Prince of Wales’s Southdown) 1 wethers t Second 630 209 0 33 140 66-99 333 j II. A. Brassey’s Southdown , | wethers } c. 644 198 0-31 129 65-15 339 E. Elli.s’s Southdown wethers . i Champion 1 plate f 607 218 0-36 149 68-35 VOL. I. T. S. — 1 F 66 The 'Early Fattening of Cattle and Sheep. having taken no account of the quality of the meat, and having taught nothing as to food rations. Still, we have stumbled upon the very useful information that young animals yield — if pro- perly fed — a much larger proportion of lean meat than old ones, and that before either sheep or cattle have reached the period of their earliest maturity they should cease to be eligible for ex- hibition as fat animals. Such additions to knowledge have affected the stock-feeding of the whole country. Except in the case of mountain sheep, and of cattle equally slow, the ripe three-year-old wethers and oxen of the old school are no longer met with at market. Quite re- cently, the fat-stock clubs have been compelled to re-cast their prize lists, so as to meet the requirements of the times. The Smithfield Club admitted lambs to the competitive classes in 1875, and on several subsequent occasions the champion prize offered for the best pen of three sheep of any class has been won by lambs — in 1884, by Southdown lambs which, at ten months old, had gained '61 lb. a day, or 183 lb. of live weight, yielding probably 60 per cent, of carcass, or 13 stone 5 lb. each. Mr. de Mornay’s three Hampshire prize-winning lambs in 1877 weighed, when dead, 17^ stone each; and one of his lambs has scaled, when dead, 184 stone at ten months old. The same Club established young classes for bullocks in 1880, having pre- viously, in 1870, restricted the champion prize for sheep to one- year-old sheep, i.e. under twenty-three months in December. The old-fashioned notion was that an animal must have completed its growth before it could be profitably fattened. At the present time, all the improved breeds rival one another in re- gard to the early period at which they may be fattened. But for this claim, the Sussex cattle would not have emerged from their local obscurity in the depths of the Weald, nor would the Here- ford have been found abreast with the Shorthorn upon the ranches of the Far West; while even that broad-backed beef- making bullock the Polled Aberdeen has come to the front as a quick feeder. It was long maintained by some theorists that as the term maturity could have only one meaning — namely, complete develop- ment— the shortest period of time in which that result could be attained was the object to be aimed at. “No bovine animal,” it was said, “ could attain its full natural growth and develop- ment in two years ; and the question remains to be demonstrated whether an animal fed generously and j udiciously from birth would not pay better to sell in its real maturity at, say, thirty months old, rather than as forced ‘baby beef’ at twenty months old.” This was a problem which stock-feeders in England have The Early Fattening of Cattle and Sheep. G7 worked out in their own way. Our fat-stock shows have given them no assistance. Their weigh-bridges give us the live weight, and we can calculate the carcass weight by assuming the percentage of the latter to the former. I prefer, however, the “ block test,” and we learn from the Tables at p. G5 that a steer under two years old will gain from birth about 2 lb. daily. If 65 per cent, of this be carcass, his net gain is about 9T\i- lb. per week. Steers under three years gain from birth a trifle over T8 lb. daily ; and if G5-G per cent, of this be carcass, the net gain is about 8 fib. per week. Steers under four years old gain from birth a trifle under TG lb. daily ; and if 69 -6 per cent, of this be carcass, their net gain is about 7- 7 lb. per week. We may ascer- tain further from the statistics that small breeds like Devons may almost equal the larger ones in their increase up to the age of about two years ; and we may further conclude that ordi- nary bullocks — the cattle of commerce, so to speak — would fall behind at three to four years old faster than a big show bullock, which is selected in some measure for his size and capacity of growth. All this affords “ food for reflection,” but we are still left in the dark, in spite of the shows, in regard to the quality of the increase at the respective ages and the cost of producing it. In the present crude state of affairs, we must go to the slaughter-houses and butchers’ shops for information as to the quality of the meat, and we must go to America to learn its cost. On this latter point we may take a lesson from the Chicago exhi- bitions, which have certainly done more than our own to educate the breeders and feeders of stock. After examining the informa- tion given under the head of “ Cost of Production,” an American professor stated, in the Albany Cultivator , that the carcass increase of steers between two and three years old is obtained at a cost of 50 per cent, more than that in the carcasses of animals under two years old. The National Live Stock Journal , of Chicago, published some figures after one of the shows to illustrate the extra cost as animals grow older. Nine fatting bullocks weighed at the end of their first year 906 lb. average, the cost having been If d. per pound ; in the second year five of them gained an average of 566 lb. each, at a cost of 4c2. per pound ; and in the third year two gained 650 lb. each, at a cost of 0>\d. per pound. The object of all fat-stock shows must be, in the words of the founders of the Smithfield Club, to encourage the supply of the “ cheapest and best meat.” There can be no doubt that the cheapest meat is the youngest; and in regard to the best, that is a matter for consumers to decide. It is quite in accordance with practice, as well as science, that the quality of “young meat” should vary with the feeding. v 2 G8 The Early Fattening of Cattle and Sheep. Ample evidence exists that it may be well fed and made ripe and firm by proper management. The same remark, in fact, applies to all sorts of meat, whatever the breed and age may be. A rasher of maize-fed bacon, swimming in oily fat, will hardly please refined tastes. It is within the- power of the scientific feeder to balance his rations with a view to producing milk, ilesh, fat, or lean. And he may produce firm or oily fat, hard or tender flesh. Barley or maize meal, malt or rice meal, for example, are all too rich in carbonaceous constituents and too poor in albuminoids, and they should, therefore, be mixed with such foods as linseed cake, decorticated cotton cake, or bean meal, which are all rich in nitrogenous ingredients. The German experiments have thrown some light on the chemistry of stock-feeding, but I must not venture beyond my limits as a practical writer. I may, however, refer my readers to the elaborate experiments on the feeding of animals at Rothamsted, and to the paper by Sir John B. Lawes and Dr. Gilbert “ On the Composition of Oxen, Sheep, and Pigs ” (Journal, Yol. XXI., 1st Series, 1861). The stock-feeder will do well to acquaint himself with the science of his subject, and to act in a cautious and tentative manner as an experimenter, trusting more to the direct evidence of his own trials, and of the successful stock-feeding of other people, than to the composition of the carcasses of animals, or the analyses of the substances on which they feed. I ought, perhaps, to mention here that -a paper was written by Dr. Sprague, at the request of the United States Depart- ment of Agriculture, in which the power that breeders and feeders may exert in developing particular qualities in meat is handled in a very interesting manner, from a physiological standpoint. Writing of marbled beef — that is, beef having the fat distributed among the fibres of the muscles instead of being laid on irregularly in lumps — he points out the improve- ment which has been effected in the flesh of all our domesticated meat-producing animals, and their increased capacity for laying on flesh ; and, after showing that flesh and frame are alike pliable in the breeder’s hands, he declares that they have not sufficiently attended to the quality of meat, to the structure of fibre and muscle, and to the marbling of the flesh. Meat at the best contains a large proportion of fat so largely interspersed with the lean that those who object to fat cannot help swallow- ing a large part of it with the lean, though they may not know it. The Rothamsted experiments have shown that “ of dry fat, the entire body of a fat calf contains 14£ per cent.;” that of a fat ox twice as much, or 30 per cent. The same rule holds The Food of our Agricultural Crops. 69 good of all animals, young and old. A fat lamb contains only 28^ per cent, of dry fat, a fat sheep 35^ per cent. ; and as to pigs, young ones, killed as porkers, lay on much less fat than bacon hogs. Those persons, therefore, who have no great pre- dilection for fat should eat their meat at an age when it con- tains the least of it — that is, when young. I hope the details given in this article will be found sufficient for the general guidance of those who may seek in it for some useful hints derived from practical observation and experience : the science of my subject I must leave in other hands. Henry Evershed. THE FOOD OF OUR AGRICULTURAL CROPS. If a person were asked what events had produced the greatest influence upon agriculture in Great Britain during the last half-century, he would, undoubtedly, say the establishment of the Royal Agricultural Society of England, and the publication of Baron Liebig’s work upon agricultural chemistry. It is some- what remarkable that these two events took place almost con- temporaneously, the Royal Agricultural Society having been founded in 1838, and Baron Liebig’s work published in 1840. The first number of the Journal of the Society, which was issued in April 1839, contains an article “ Upon the Present State of Agriculture as a Science in England,” by the late Philip Pusey ; and we may feel tolerably sure that this acute observer knew everything that was to be known in England on this sub- ject. In speaking of bones as a manure, he says that farmers complain of the bones supplied to them having been previously boiled, and, consequently, that they have been fraudulently deprived of the oil they contained; with regard to which, Mr. Pusey suggests, with his usual sagacity, that the manuring properties of the bones are probably increased rather than diminished by the loss of the oil. Neither in Mr. Pusey’s article, nor in an article by the Rev. W. L. Ilham, “ On the Analysis of Soils,” published in the same Journal, and for which the author was awarded a prize of 20Z., do the terms phosphate, potash, nitrogen, ammonia, or nitric acid occur. These and a great number of similar terms which represent substances of the highest importance to agriculture, and which, to the farmers 70 The Food of our Agricultural Crops. of the present day, have become “ household words,” formed no part of the science of agriculture at the time Mr. Pusey wrote. In accordance with the view generally entertained, Mr. Pham considered that the vegetable matter of the soil known by the name of humus was the source of its fertility. He says that real humus is a very complex substance, and suggests that our greatest chemists should make investigations into its nature. It was an immense step in advance when Boussingault, who was a most accurate chemist as well as a practical farmer, pub- lished analyses of the various crops grown upon his farm, and discussed the question of the fertility and exhaustion of the soil in connection with the export and restoration of definite chemical compounds. Having a considerable area of irrigated meadows attached to his farm, he considered that the hay grown on these meadows was sufficient to restore the ingredients exported from his arable land in corn and animal products, and his employ- ment of what we now call artificial manures was confined to the application of gypsum to clover. After the publication of Liebig’s work, an immense number of experiments with artificial manures were carried out in this country. While some people recommended that the exact pro- portion of each ingredient exported from the farm in the produce should be returned in the artificial manure, others argued that only those substances should be returned which analysis of the soil proved to be wanting. The great battle, however, was over the employment of nitrogen. Being the most costly ingredient in an artificial manure, the necessity for its use became a question of great agricultural importance. Some contended that, pro- vided the land was furnished with the necessary mineral ingre- dients, the plant could obtain all the nitrogen it required from the atmosphere ; while others asserted that no amount of mineral food would prevent. the yield from declining unless nitrogen in some form was used with the minerals. In an article pub- lished in this Journal, Mr. Pusey summed up the conclusions derived from innumerable experiments in the following remark : “ Ammonia for corn, phosphorus for roots,” which, although not representing any scientific law, furnished in the simplest and plainest language a most valuable practical rule for farmers. So little was known regarding the relation to the soil of some of the most important ingredients of growth, that, at the sugges- tion of an eminent chemist, a patent was taken out for fusing phosphate of lime and potash with other substances into a glass, to prevent them from being washed out of the soil ; while at the same time some one else was bringing chemical action to The Food of our Agricultural Crops. 71 bear upon phosphates to increase their solubility. By degrees it became known that the three most important foods of plants — phosphoric acid, potash, and nitrogen — exist in the soil in a very insoluble form, and that by the action of the roots of plants the two former substances are dissolved, and taken up as food ; while organic nitrogen, called humus by the older chemists, is the source of the nitric acid found in the water of the soil ; and that, until the nitrogenous compound of the humus has become nitrified, it possesses comparatively small manuring properties. When it was found that the drainage-water taken from the soil when the crop is in the full vigour of its growth contains no nitric acid, while at all other times it does contain it in more or less quantities, there could no longer be any doubt that nitric acid is the chief source of the nitrogen in some of our crops, and that the necessity for the application of nitrogen in a manure depends upon the capability of the soil to liberate a sufficient amount of nitric acid to supply the wants of the crop. It is evident that nitric acid and its salts, such as the nitrates of soda, potash, and lime, being very soluble in water, and forming no fixed compounds with the soil, like phosphoric acid or potash, cannot accumulate ; what is not taken up by the crops is more or less completely washed out during the winter. Each year, therefore, fresh quantities of nitric acid are formed, partly from the organic matter existing in the soil and partly from that supplied in the ordinary manures of the farm. The quantity available for the crop varies every year. For instance, after a very wet winter and spring a wheat crop may find very little left for its use when its active growth takes place in the spring, and must depend upon the amount liberated in the soil during its growth, or upon a direct application of nitrates. The immeuse importance of dry weather in preventing the loss of nitric acid is well illustrated by the season of 1853-54. The wheat crop of 1854 was one of the typical great crops of the present century, the yield being very large upon all sorts of land, from the lightest to the heaviest ; and yet, if we were to judge by the climate of the summer months, which are supposed to decide the yield of wheat, we should have ex- pected that the crop would be below the average. May was cold and wet, June cold and sunless, July had not one day of summer heat, and the harvest was ten days or a fortnight later than usual. But now let us turn to the winter months of the same season. From seed-time to the end of April we find a great deficiency of rain, only half the average amount having fallen. In May there was a great excess of rain, which came 72 The Food of our Agricultural Crops. just when it was wanted, and was followed by less than the average rainfall during the next three months. This unusually large crop of wheat, grown under adverse summer conditions, can therefore only be accounted for by the fact that the large amount of nitric acid which was formed in the soil, and had ac- cumulated there owing to the extremely dry weather prevailing from seed-time to harvest, was available for the use of the crop in the most important period of its growth. A great increase in the available nitric acid in the soil was evidently the cause, in the same year, of the exceedingly large yield of wheat (amounting to 21 bushels per acre) on our permanently un- manured land ; for we know that at any time, by the applica- tion of nitrate of soda, the crops on this land can be increased by several bushels per acre. The use of phosphates for root crops has sometimes led to the idea that these crops and the cereal crops do not obtain their nitrogen from the same source, and that the former are less dependent upon a supply of nitric acid in the soil. It is quite true that full agricultural crops of roots are frequently grown by the use of a manure which contains a soluble phosphate, and no nitrogen ; but in these cases the soil must be equal to furnishing the amount of nitric acid required by the crop. It is known that the formation of nitric acid in the soil is much more rapid in the summer and autumn than at other times, and that constant stirring the soil so as to expose fresh surfaces to the air increases this formation. Root crops, beginning their active growth at the time when cereals are ripening, can obtain from the soil large quantities of nitric acid which were not available for the corn crops ; the great exhaustion of the soil which follows the removal of a large root crop also proving that it obtains its nitrogen from the same source as the cereals. It is somewhat remarkable that maize, which is so largely grown in the United States, -is said to be mostly benefited by the appli- cation of mineral manures, and to derive its nitrogen from the atmosphere, and not from the soil. Owing to the growth of maize taking place during the summer and autumn, it would, like our root crops, be less dependent upon a direct supply of nitrogen in manures ; but, at the same time, it is reasonable to suppose that the source of the nitrogen in maize is the same as that of other cereal crops. So far as our crops are concerned, the evidence at our command points to the conclusion that our cereal crops, pasture-grasses, and various root crops, depend for their supply of nitrogen almost entirely upon the nitric acid in the soil. There is a very important class of plants, included under the The Food of our Agricultural Crops. 73 general term “ leguminous,” which we find in more or less abundance in our permanent pastures, and which form part of our rotations. Some of these are annuals, some bi-annuals, some perennials ; some are grown for their seeds, some for fodder ; but, for whatever purpose they are grown, these plants possess properties which distinguish them from all others grown in rotation. In their stems, leaves, and seeds, they contain larger amounts of nitrogen than the other crops, while at the same time they do not respond to an application of nitrogen in manure, as do the other crops in a rotation. It is true, I have said, that under ordinary conditions of farming root crops can be grown without a direct application of nitrogen ; but if we reduce the condition of the land by the removal of one or two of these, it will be seen that it is impossible to grow another heavy crop of roots without a very liberal supply of nitrogenous manure. No such result follows the application of nitrogen to a leguminous crop. If we apply a dressing of nitrate of soda to a mixed crop of rye-grass and clover, we can increase the rye- grass to almost any extent, but not the clover. There is no difficulty in growing full crops of grain or roots year after year upon the same soil, provided we use appropriate and sufficient manures ; but no combination of manures has enabled us to grow continuous crops of red clover upon the same arable land ; nor have our attempts to grow continuous bean crops been much more successful. So uncertain, indeed, has been the effect obtained by the application of various artificial manures to this class of crops, that farmers have generally come to the conclusion not to manure them, but to reserve the application of manures to those crops which can be depended upon to pro- duce a profitable return. Although the source of the nitrogen in leguminous plants has been the subject of scientific inquiries since the beginning of the present century, it is only since the various substances which constitute the iood of plants have been produced in a separate form as chemical salts, and have been applied sepa- rately or combined to the various crops grown in rotation, that the distinctive character of the leguminous crops in regard to the effect of nitrogenous manures has been clearly brought out. There is no doubt that the great influence of such a sub- stance as nitrate of soda upon corn crops and roots, and its want of effect upon leguminous crops, has led to the conclusion that the latter plants obtain their nitrogen from the atmosphere. Experiments carried out with the utmost care upon leguminous plants provided with abundance of mineral food only, and with air from which every compound of nitrogen had been extracted, 74 The Food of our Agricultural Crops. established the fact that, under these conditions, no increase of nitrogen in the plants takes place. In Germany, in 1883, Hellriegel commenced some experi- ments with various plants in pots : he used washed sand with mineral manures, adding to some, but not to all, combined nitrogen, generally as a nitrate, and found that, with most of the plants, the increase of growth was in proportion to the amount of nitric acid supplied, but that the leguminous plants did not derive the same benefit from the nitrogenous manures as did the others. He then applied to his plants an extract from a fertile soil, and found that some of the leguminous plants, but not all of them, grew luxuriantly under this treatment : lupins, for instance, would not grow with the soil-extract. He then took an extract from a soil where they were growing luxuriantly, and obtained good growth. Again, if he sterilised the soil-extract so as to destroy the organisms in it, it ceased to be beneficial. Hellriegel found that the plants contained much larger quanti- ties of nitrogen than there were in the soil-extract, while the amount in the plants was much too great to be attributed to errors of analysis. These experiments were so interesting and important that we considered it desirable to carry out some of a similar character, and this we have been doing for the last two years, confirming in every respect the results obtained by Hellriegel. It appears probable that although the leguminous plants do not directly utilise the free nitrogen of the atmosphere, they do in some way obtain nitrogen from it through the medium of lower organisms, the development of which is, somehow, con- nected with the growth of the leguminous plants. The question which I now propose to consider is the bearing which these ex- periments have upon practical agriculture. Are we to suppose that the large quantity of nitrogen which these plants are known to contain has its origin in the atmosphere, and not in the soil ? This is a very important question, as the opinion has already been expressed that we need not trouble ourselves about the source of the nitrogen in our leguminous crops, as it all comes from the atmosphere. Granting that the experiments recorded are perfectly trustworthy and correct — that, in the absence of nitrogen in the sand in which the seed is sown, and with a very minute amount of nitrogen supplied in the extract from a fertile soil, a gain of nitrogen in the plant takes place, we have still to inquire whether the same process goes on in an ordinary agricultural soil which contains nitrogen in more or less abun- dance. In 1860, we published in this Journal some experiments The Food of our Agricultural Crops. 75 upon the growth of red clover, the result of which showed that under no conditions of manuring could we continue year after year to grow this crop upon the same arable soil. A few years before this we had sown some red clover upon a piece of ground which had been used as a kitchen-garden for several centuries, and had, most probably, never before grown red clover. The first crops were exceedingly large, and the seed sown in 1854 did not require to be re-sown until 1860 ; and even now, at the end of thirty-six years, although the seed generally requires to be re-sown every two or three years, and the crops have become much smaller than they were at first, still they are quite as good as the ordinary farm crops, and the average yield over the whole period we estimate to have been nearly 3 tons of hay per acre per annum, and the amount of nitrogen carried off in the hay to have been 163 lb. per acre per annum. Samples of the soil were taken in 1857, and again in 1879— comprising twenty-one years of growth. The loss of nitrogen in the first nine inches was estimated at 2,732 lb. per acre ; this was less by one-fourth than the quantity removed by the clover during that period. Unfortunately, in 1857 we did not take samples of the soil below the first nine inches ; we are, therefore, unable to measure the loss which has taken place in the soil below this depth. As however, the subsoil is very rich in nitrogen, and the roots of clover are known to penetrate deeply into it, there can be very little doubt that the crop has taken nitrogen from this source, or that the soil is the real source of all the nitrogen removed in the crops. Notwithstanding the very large removal of nitrogen from this soil, it is still richer in this substance than the farm- land growing the permanent wheat crop, which has received 14 tons of farmyard dung per acre every year for the last forty-six years. This experiment is highly interesting, as proving that it is the want of food of the right sort in our farm soils which pre- vents our growing red clover more frequently upon them ; it also shows that a vast amount of fertility may accumulate in a soil which has been used as a garden for a very long period. Upon some old pasture-land mineral manures, but no nitrogen, have been applied every year since 1856. Under this application the crop of hay removed annually has been con- siderably larger than that removed from the unmanured land, and the effect of the minerals has been largely to increase the leguminous herbage, so that it constitutes about one-fifth of the whole crop ; while upon the unmanured land not more than 8 per cent, is leguminous herbage. At the end of twenty years, careful analyses of the soil of both plots were made, and it was found that the first nine inches of the plot receiving the minei’al 76 The Food of our Agricultural Crops. manures had lost upon the acre 506 lb. more nitrogen than the unmanured land ; this would be equal to the annual loss of 25'3 lb. The analysis of the hay removed from the two plots showed that that of the mineral plot contained 236 lb. more nitrogen than the hay of the unmanured plot, a quantity corre- sponding very closely with the greater loss of nitrogen in the mineral manured soil. Too much reliance must not, however, be placed upon so complicated an operation as soil analysis, though the evidence points to the conclusion that the larger amount of nitrogen taken off the land by the leguminous herbage on the mineral plot was derived from the soil, and not from the atmo- sphere. Although we found it impossible to grow red clover year after year upon the same arable soil of the farm, whatever might be the amount or composition of the manure applied, we found no difficulty in growing other leguminous plants upon the clover-sick land — the importance of which fact is very obvious, as it enables us to continue removing large quantities of nitrogen in legumiuous crops year after year, instead of having to wait for some years until the land will again grow red clover. It is evident, if the soil of our arable fields is the source of nitrogen, and the manures which we apply to them do not con- tain any, that, sooner or later, the stock of nitrogen in our soils will be greatly diminished ; even to an extent which may eventually be measured by analysis. It is, unfortunately, the case that leguminous crops, such as lucerne, sainfoin, &c., which carry off the largest amount of nitrogen, are also those whose roots penetrate the deepest down into the subsoil ; also, that the subsoil of my experimental fields varies in character so much, even where samples are taken with the utmost care, and at no great distance apart, that at present any comparative measure- ments of the loss of nitrogen in the soil are not to be trusted, and the experiments must be carried on for some years more before we can expect to give a satisfactory answer to this important question. The general results of our experiments appear to show that while mineral manures, especially those containing potash, produce a large increase in leguminous crops, neither salts of ammonia, nitrate of soda, nor rape-cake, which furnish organic niti’ogeu, appear to have any decided influence upon them. This indicates a very distinct difference in the source from which the cereal and leguminous crops obtain their nitrogen ; for, in the same field, and within a few feet of each other, nitrate of soda alone applied to the continuous barley crop has produced an average of 33 bushels per acre for thirty-six years in The Food of our Agricultural Crops. 77 succession. The absence of effect upon the leguminous crops from the application of nitrate of soda as a top-dressing is the more remarkable as analyses of the subsoil, where lucerne (the roots of which have penetrated nine feet from the surface) has been growing for some years, showed that considerable quantities of nitric acid had been removed ; while upon a soil where white clover had been grown, the subsoil below the reach of the roots was much richer in nitric acid than it was within the range of the roots. Comparing these results with those on the adjoining soil and subsoil, where wheat and fallow had been under experiment for many years, there appeared to have been greater production of nitric acid in the soil where the white clover had grown than where the wheat grew ; and, at the same time, the subsoil where the lucerne was growing was poorer in nitric acid than the subsoil of the white clover or of the wheat-land. In one year as much as 300 lb. of nitrogen per acre has been taken off in the lucerne, although the land has received no manure containing nitrogen for thirty years ; while the wheat crop alternating with fallow cannot collect one-tenth of that quantity. It would appear from these results, that during the growth and decay of leguminous crops considerable amounts of nitrates are formed and taken up by the plants, but the actual source of these nitrates is not yet clearly established. One-quarter of the adjoining field has grown continuous barley crops, nitrate of soda being used every year as a top-dressing ; on the other three- quarters of the field barley is also grown, but red clover is occa- sionally sown with the barley upon one of these quarters, so that about once in eight years each of the three quarters has grown red clover instead of barley. The clover is made into hay, and carried off, and the barley which follows the clover receives no manure. The general result of this is, that the barley follow- ing the clover is quite as good a crop as the continuous barley manured with the nitrate of soda ; and although the clover has carried away very much larger quantities of nitrogen than the barley, the first nine inches of the clover-soil shows by analysis a considerably larger amount of nitrogen than the barley-land. More nitrogen is carried off’ in the clover than in the barley, and more nitrogen is found in the top soil of the clover-land than in that of the barley ; and this fact is quite in accordance with the experience of practical farmers, though they draw their conclusions from the increase of the succeeding crop, and not from analysis of the soil. We have hitherto, however, been un- successful in our attempts to ascertain if the increase of nitrogen in the top soil has been obtained by the clover from the subsoil. Although an attempt to grow beans continuously in a field 78 The Food of our Agricultural Crops. set apart for tliat purpose did not fail so quickly, or from the same causes, as the experiments with red clover, still the result of thirty-two years’ experience with beans established the fact that, under no condition of manuring could what might be called good agricultural crops be obtained year after year. It may be said that my land is not what farmers would call “ bean- land ; ” still, it is heavy, with a clay subsoil, and at first it grew good crops. The land, however, appeared to get “ tired ” of the crop, and after thirty- two years’ trial we considered that nothing more could be learnt by a continuation of this experiment. We therefore decided to sow the field with barley and red clover, having previously sampled and analysed the soil of the various plots with great care. Speaking generally, the soil had lost a good deal of its original fertility, and both the top soil and sub- soil were especially poor in nitric acid ; agriculturally, the field might be said to have been “ run out,” and to have no condition left in it. The clover, which was sown with the barley, was so luxuriant that the growth of the latter was greatly impeded. The leaf was remarkable for its beauty, and had a colour which I had never before noticed in any ordinary field of clover. It was mown for hay the two following years, and yielded very luxuriant crops. Upon some portions of this field no manure of any sort had been applied from the commencement of the experiments in 1848, and in some years the beans would not return much more than the seed sown ; and yet upon this same land very large crops of clover were grown, estimated to have removed 281 lb. of nitrogen per acre, while at the same time the nitrogen in the top soil had largely increased. Altogether, between the crop and the soil, something like 500 lb. of nitrogen are estimated to have been obtained from some source or other. In 1848, some acres of land were set apart for experiments upon a rotation of crops. Part of this land has been kept entirely without manure, another part has received a mineral manure, and a third part has been highly manured with minerals, salts of ammonia, and rape-cake. The ordinary four-course rotation of turnips, barley, clover, and wheat, has been followed upon one-half of the experiment ; and upon the other half the same crops have been grown, only excluding the leguminous crop, instead of which, a summer fallow has been taken, one of the main objects of these experiments being to ascertain the influence of a leguminous crop upon the other crops in a rotation as com- pared with a fallow. As it was found impossible to make the clover crop grow every fourth year, beans were substituted for it. Although we are now in the middle of the eleventh rotation, we are not yet able to give the information we The Food of our Agricultural Crops. 79 are seeking with regard to the influence of the leguminous crop, but some very valuable knowledge has been obtained. Altogether, six bean crops and four crops of red clover have been grown. Comparing the wheat which followed the beans with that which followed the fallow, it may be said that the latter was the better crop ; and, the better the season for wheat, and the larger the general yield, the greater was the superiority of the fallow wheat. This was clearly shown in the year 1863, when the wheat crop was one of the largest ever grown in this country. The following table gives the produce of the wheat after a summer fallow and after a bean crop : Bushels per acre Unmaiiured Mineral manures Highly manured After fallow . ■ . 45 46 624 After beaus . . . . 34 34# 46 Fallow more than beans . n lit This was the sixteenth year of the experiment, during which period the whole of the crops grown upon the land had been carried away. As we know with something like certainty that the yield of a wheat crop depends greatly upon the amount of nitric acid at its disposal in the soil, it appears probable that the large increase of the wheat crops upon the fallow-land, compared with the bean-land, was due to the beans having taken up nitric acid from the soil. In 1871, the wheat crop was as bad as that of 1863 was good. The yield upon the unmanured land after fallow was 1 1 4 bushels per acre ; after beans, 201- bushels. Upon the land receiving minerals after fallow it was 16 bushels ; and after beans, 24 bushels. The season was very wet ; and though we may assume that a large amount of nitric acid was washed out of both the bean- and fallow-lands, the wheat upon the bean-land was benefited by the nitrification of the crop-residue of the beans, which would take place during the spring and summer. It is somewhat remarkable that, upon land which has received no manure for forty years, and from which the whole produce upon it has been carried away, the average of ten crops of barley has been 30 bushels, and of wheat, 284 bushels. While, therefore, grain crops can manage to find sufficient food in the soil to grow well, none of the so-called “ restorative ” crops could thrive. The turnips, after the first crop had been carried off, were little larger than radishes, and the next nine crops were valueless. The beans gave only 12 bushels per acre, while the clover in 1874, cut three times, only yielded 1£ tons of hay, although no clover had been grown upon the land for twenty- 80 The Pood of our Agricultural Crops. three years ; the land which had been highly manured every fourth year giving 3i tons of hay per acre. The wheat after the clover upon the unmanured land was a worse crop than that after the fallow. From these results, it would appear that the roots and legumi- nous crops which we alternate with our corn crops are in- ferior to them in their capacity to collect their food from an ur manured soil; but when food is abundant, they have far greater power to make use of it than the cereal crops. In the 22 tons of swedes grown in 1880, and in the 4 tons of clover- hay grown in 1882 upon the manured rotation plot, much larger amounts of nitrogen and minerals would be found than in a cereal crop. The application of a mineral superphosphate of lime to the root crop every fourth year produced a very marked effect. The last ten crops of unraanured swedes were unable to produce a bulb, while the employment of superphosphate gave a produce of 7 or 8 tons per acre ; the influence of the superphosphate was also very decided upon the clover crop, but not upon the beans. With regard to the main question, How far the mineral manure had enabled the leguminous plants' to obtain their nitrogen from the atmosphere rather than from the soil, there is, however, at present no available evidence. The average of ten crops of wheat following fallow, and of ten following a leguminous crop, was identical — not quite 33 bushels per acre. Very careful samples of soil have been taken at dif- ferent times from all the experimental plots, and analyses have been made of the total nitrogen in them, and also of the nitric acid ; but although the results are of considerable interest, they do not show distinctly the differences we should expect to find in a soil which has not grown a leguminous crop for so many years, and one which has grown it every fourth year. Samples of soil taken to the depth of 27 inches after a summer fallow gave considerably more nitric acid than similar samples taken from the land which had grown red clover ; this, however, by no means proves conclusively that the clover had taken nitric acid from the soil, for more nitric acid might have been liberated in the fallow ground than in the clover ground. That food of some sort suitable to leguminous plants is accumulating in the fallow ground is shown by the difficulty we have in keeping them from growing on this ground : trefoil will come up, in more or less quantities, in the barley crop, where we cannot get at it ; but two years out of the four, in the fallow and in the turnip crop, not a plant is allowed to grow. It creeps along the ground, and ripens its seed before the barley is cut, remaining dormant in the soil until the next corn crop The Food of our Agricultural Crops. 81 comes ; and it has the same tendency to spread over the perma- nent wheat- and barley-ground. This fact, taken in connection with the luxuriant growth of the clover upon the field where the bean experiments had been carried on, seems to indicate the formation of some compound in the soil of which we are still ignorant, but which serves as food for leguminous plants. It is evident that this subject opens a wide field for special investiga- tion, and it is fortunate that we possess samples of soil taken with great care from our various experimental fields at different periods, the history of which, in regard to the manures applied apd the produce removed, has been recorded for a long series of years. Although I have only referred to the experiments of Hellriegel upon the fixation of nitrogen by leguminous plants, and the repetition of these experiments by ourselves, numerous others upon the same subject have been carried out, in France, Germany, and the United States, which appear to prove that soils without vegetation fix large quantities of nitrogen ; and also that, in those soils where plants not of the leguminous order have been grown, still more nitrogen is fixed. As a deduction from all these experiments, it has been argued that compensation must exist somewhere, otherwise the human race would, sooner or later, starve, owing to the exhaustion of the soil. If we accepted this idea, we should have to ignore the results of the last fifty years’ experiments, and go back to the view expressed long ago, that plants can obtain all the nitrogen they require from the atmosphere, provided they are furnished with sufficient mineral food. As far as regards agricultural laud under our ordinary grain or root crops, we have no evidence to show that the soil or the plant derives any appreciable amount of nitrogen from the atmosphere, beyond what is furnished by rain or dew. Where all artificial supplies of nitrogen in manures have been withheld for between forty and fifty years, and an abundance of minerals has been furnished, the yield of the crops is now so small, and the amount of nitrogen which they carry away bears so small a proportion to the quantity stored up in the soil within reach of their roots, that any exact comparison of the nitrogen carried off in the crops, and washed out of the soil by drainage, with the loss of nitrogen in the soil as determined by direct analyses, is hardly possible ; but, as far as we can judge, the soil has lost about as much as the crop and drains have removed. Turning again to the experiments on leguminous crops, we have in the garden soil evidence that red clover takes very large quantities of nitrogen from the soil — in fact, most probably the whole which the crop contains. On the other hand, we have the VOL. I. T. S. 1 tr 82 The Food of our Agricultural Crops. experiment of sand containing no nitrogen, but supplied with minerals, and with a very minute quantity of nitrogen taken from a fertile soil, where leguminous plants have increased con- siderably in nitrogen. Interesting as these experiments are, they fail to explain the behaviour of leguminous crops in an ordinary agricultural soil. My garden soil is far higher in fertility than any which a farmer is likely to cultivate, unless he happens to farm one of the black soils of Russia ; and he could not afford to cultivate a sand free from all vegetable matter and nitrogen, such as was used in the pot experiments. From the opposite results obtained in the garden soil and in the sand, are we to assume that the power of leguminous plants to obtain nitrogen from the atmosphere is dependent upon, and in propor- tion to, their inability to obtain it in sufficient quantity from the soil ; and that it is only as soils become more and more ex- hausted of their fertility that this restorative process comes into force ? It is exceedingly difficult to account for the large crops of clover grown upon the unmanured bean-land. The amount of nitrogen taken up by the crop was very great, but it must not be forgotten that the quantity of mineral matter taken up was very much larger, as we may consider that the proportion in the clover-plant is about four parts of minerals to one of nitrogen. These minerals must have come from the soil, and must have accumulated there, in some form available for the clover, during the period when beans were grown upon the land. Whether at the same time some compounds of nitrogen suitable for the clover were also formed we have no evidence to show. An attempt to grow red clover last year where it was grown four years previously failed upon all the rotation experiments. We did succeed in growing it in 1886, after we had grown a large crop in 1882 ; but in the latter year there was a good deal of disease in the- crop upon the highly-manured land, but none on the land which received only mineral manures. From what I have, said, it must he apparent that our know- ledge at present of this important subject does not go beyoud the facts that leguminous plants take nitrogen in large quanti- ties from the soil, and that, under special conditions, they can obtain it from the atmosphere through the agency of micro- organisms ; but we have no evidence to show that they do so when grown iu the ordinary course of agriculture. The most probable means by which a solution of this problem can be arrived at, is to grow leguminous crops upon ordinary agricul- tural land with a liberal supply of mineral manures ; in the course of time, the stock of nitrogen remaining in the soil must The Food of our Agricultural Crops. 83 decide tlie question one way or the other. It is very fortunate that so large an area in our various experimental fields has been kept free from all nitrogen in manures, and, had we known that land which had become “ clover-sick ” would grow other leguminous plants perfectly well, we should not have wasted twenty years in the hopeless attempt to grow clover, and we should have been in advance of our present position by the same period. At the beginning of this paper I made a few remarks upon the position of agricultural science at the time of the publica- tion of the first number of this Journal. Mr. Rham, in his prize essay, considered humus to be the chief source of fertility in soils ; it is quite as much so now as it was then. He also said it was a complex substance, which should occupy the attention of chemists ; and it has been the subject of investigations by them. It may now be desirable to pass in review, very shortly, the knowledge we have acquired regarding the food of our agri- cultural crops. Humus (in which term I include all vegetable matter in a certain state of decay) is very insoluble in water ; but sooner or later, it assumes the form of nitric acid, which combines with lime or other alkaline substances in the soil, and then becomes very soluble in water. These compounds rise and fall with the water in the soil, coming to the surface in dry weather, and passing into the drains, in the absence of growing vegetation, in wet weather. When a crop is in the full vigour of growth, the soil-water may contain no nitrates, the crop having taken them all up ; but at all other times the soil-water con- tains more or less nitrates. Being soluble in water, and entering into no combination with the soil, nitrates cannot accumulate. Each year fresh nitrates are formed from the decomposition of the humus, the fertility of land depending 'largely upon the amount of nitric acid liberated every year. What we call “ con- dition,” is so much added to the stock of organic matter, which in the course of a few years is decomposed, yielding nitric acid and mineral substances. It appears probable that our grain and root crops take up the greater portion, or, perhaps, the whole of their nitrogen, in the form of nitrates, and, provided the necessary mineral food is in the soil, the growth of these crops depends upon the amount of nitric acid which is available. The great value placed upon nitrate of soda as a manure for corn crops is a sufficient proof that the necessary amount of mineral food exists in the soil. The main object of agriculture is to produce crops which yield large quantities of starch or sugar. In Great Britaiu, wheat, barley, oats, and potatoes yield the starch, and the root crops 8 A The Food of oitr Agricultural Crops. tlie sugar ; in other countries additional crops are grown, such as rice, maize, sugar-cane, sugar-beet, &c. ; and it may be said that the amount of starch or sugar which we are able to produce upon a given area of land, depends greatly upon the amount of nitric acid which the crop can obtain from the soil. Mineral substances, however, are quite as essential to the growth of a crop as nitrogen, and, amongst these, phosphoric acid and potash are of the greatest importance. Lime is largely taken up by some crops ; and where potash is deficient and soda is abundant, the latter substance, although it cannot take the place of potash in its most important functions, can at all events aid in promot- ing the growth of crops. It is extremely important to understand clearly the capacity of our crops to obtain a supply of mineral food from the soil. In our four-course rotation, which has been kept entirely with- out manure for forty years, ten crops of wheat and ten of barley, grown in a rotation with swedes and a leguminous crop, have given an average yield of 28 bushels of wheat and 30 of barley. Each of these crops would carry off every year 15 to 20 lb. of phosphoric acid ; that is, as much altogether as would be equal to GOO or 700 lb. of phosphate of lime. Between each crop of wheat and barley swedes are sown, but no bulbs will form, and the produce is only a few hundredweights per acre. It is evident that this crop cannot take up phosphate of lime from an unmanured soil, and that the growth of the swedes was arrested from the want of phosphates, and not from that of other substances, as the application of a mineral phosphate in the ad- joining experiment was sufficient to produce a fair crop. Liebig suggested that the extension of the growth of root crops in Great Britain was due to a want of sufficient phosphates in the soil to grow more corn crops, analysis having shown that root crops contain less phosphates than corn crops. At the time Liebig wrote, the capacity of one crop to take an important food from the soil, and the inability of another crop to take it, was alto- gether unknown. When -we consider that cereal grain crops furnish by far the largest amount of food to the whole human race, we cannot but recognise how essential is the power which they possess — first, of obtaining so large an amount of their food from an ordi- nary unmanured soil, and, secondly, of growing continuously upon the same soil — neither of which properties is possessed by the other crops. The difficulty which root crops have of obtain- ing mineral food from the soil, has led to the idea that they are not dependent upon the soil for a supply of nitrogen, but can obtain it from the atmosphere. There is, however, every reason The Food of our Agriculturjil Crops. 85 to suppose that they derive their nitrogen from nitric acid in the soil, and require even more than the cereal crops. If they are less dependent upon an artificial supply of nitrogen than corn crops, it is because they grow during the summer and autumn, when nitrification of the soil is most active ; this, and the constant stirring of the soil, enables them to obtain the necessary supply, independent of any aid from manures. Leguminous crops possess qualities quite distinct from the other crops grown in a rotation : they are more dependent upon soil and climate, and less upon a direct supply of manure. When they are not grown, the food they require accumulates in the soil, and, where one kind of leguminous plant has exhausted the soil of its own special food, another may find in abundance food suitable for its own growth. How far these exceptional properties in leguminous plants are due to special compounds in the soil, or to special micro-organisms which prepare their food, is at present quite unknown ; and while acknowledging their great value to agriculture as restorative crops, we must admit that science is not yet in a position to give a full explana- tion of these exceptional properties. We see, therefore, that the economy of a rotation of crops is due to the special functions performed by the different crops. We have, first, the corn crops, which possess the remarkable power of obtaining a supply of food from an ordinary unmanured soil, and also of growing upon the same soil for very long periods. They derive their nitrogen from the soil, chiefly in the form of nitrates ; and although the crops do not carry oft’ large quantities, they are indirectly responsible for a great loss of nitrogen, owing to the early period of the year at which they cease to take up nitrates from the soil. The root crops, on the contrary, can obtain very little food from an unmanured soil, and are largely dependent upon a supply in manure, especially of phosphates. But they also take large quantities of nitrogen from the soil, chiefly as nitrates ; and owing to their growth taking place in the summer and autumn, more nitrates are formed in the soil, and taken up by the crops, and there is less loss than with the corn crops. As cleaning crops, also, the value of roots is very great, especially to the corn crops. The leguminous crops, and especially those which are sown with the corn crops, such as the red and white clovers, are great restorers of fertility, although there is still wanting a clear proof that, under the ordinary conditions of agriculture, these crops obtain their nitrogen from the atmosphere. By sending their roots deep into the subsoil, and covering the land with green vegetation for so long a period, they are able to collect 86 The Disposal of Sewage by Small Toivns and Villages. large amounts of food not available to corn crops, the effects of which we find in the increased fertility of our surface soils. I have now attempted to assign to each of the crops its respective influence in a rotation, so far as concerns their action upon the soil. With the immense amount and variety of artificial manures at our disposal, and with the knowledge which we now possess regarding the food of our crops, a rotation is ' no longer an absolute necessity ; at the same time, I am disposed to think that the advantage of a rotation in which both root and leguminous crops are grown with more or less frequency in conjunction with corn crops, and which practice has so long adopted, is confirmed by the evidence I have brought forward, as being an economical system, suitable for the agriculture of this country. j. B. Lawes. THE DISPOSAL OF SEWAGE BY SMALL TOWNS AND VILLAGES. Now that the sewage question has run through the wild ex- travagance of its early days, and sewage has come to be regarded by all sensible people simply as a nuisance to be got rid of, rather than being in itself a mine of wealth, the solution of the problem has become an easier matter. The primary question is no longer how to extract the small amount of fertilising matter it contains, with the idea of making a fortune by sewage- farming, or a valuable artificial manure, but how to rid our- selves of the sewage that it may do the smallest amount of harm at the least possible cost. Those are on the safe side who regard sewage as an unmiti- gated nuisance, from the first moment it leaves the house, until it eventually escapes into the sea. To sewer a large town often presents grave engineering difficulties ; to properly sewer a scattered village is frequently an impossibility. Then the question arises, Are sewers necessary in our country villages ? The sewage may pollute the river or watercourse into which it runs, but it is only dangerous when it poisons the water- supply of the inhabitants. If the former pollution is extensive, riparian owners can put Acts of Parliament in motion to restrain it ; if the latter, it rests with the Local Authority of the district to remove the evil. Now it is manifest that the most serious contamination must arise in those localities where the drinking-water of the village The Disposal of Sewage bg Small Towns and Villages. 87 is derived from shallow springs. Where the water-supply is deep, unless sewage escapes directly into the wrell, its perco- lation through 50, or even 20 feet of earth, must deprive the sewage of all its dangerous impurities long before it reaches the water-bearing stratum. Upon sewage-farms, where large quantities of crude sewage have been poured for years, the o or 4 feet of surface-soil still retains its power of filtering the sewage, so that the water escapes clear and pure from the under- drains. But where there is a shallow water-bearing stratum ready to burst out on every hillside, and these land-springs form the water-supply of the village, the danger of sewage contamination is serious and frequent. Where no fear of polluting the water-supply exists, attempts to sewer rural villages can hardly be justified. Not only is the expense great for a small and unequal sanitary gain, but it is seldom that the houses in a parish are so clustered together that all can be connected with the sewers. The means of flushing the drains are not always handy ; and, unless sewers are properly flushed and ventilated, they become foul and offen- sive, and sometimes are blocked. For cottages, the dry-earth closet seems the most rational way of dealing with fecal matter, and the house-slops can be easily emptied into a hole in the garden, from which under-drains might enrich the subsoil, as recommended by the late Mr. James Howard. But earth closets must be under constant supervision, and all slops must be rigorously excluded, or the closets soon become extremely filthy. Where the cottages in a village mainly belong to one proprietor, it answers well to have a man employed to remove once or twice a week the contents of the closet, and supply fresh earth ; and if the Sanitary Authority favour the dry-earth system, there is no reason why they should not contract, or employ an officer for its superintendence and scavenging, in the same way that they now pay for flushing and inspecting the sewers within their district. In treating of the disposal of the sewage of small towns and large villages, it is not necessary to refer in any detail to the construction or plan of the sewers themselves, but, rather, to the means employed to purify the sewage. Most of the attempts at village filtration are of the most primitive character. A grating to catch the flocculent refuse, and one or two tanks filled with stones, gravel, or sand — called by courtesy filter-beds — afford little means of clarification, much less purification. But they may be of essential service in removing the most unsightly rubbish and the grosser solids, which so often disfigm-e and discolour the stream which eventually receives the sewage. Filter-beds 88 The .Disposal of Sewage by Small Towns and Villages. of charcoal, iron, ferozone, and such-like substances, which receive the effluent water after it has passed through the land, may be extremely useful, and probably represent the perfection of sewage disposal. The idea of small quantities of sewage being utilised for growing vegetables or common farm-crops other than grass, has been little favoured of late years. It is the curse of most sewage- farms that they have to deal with the largest volume of sewage when they want it least; but should the amount of sewage be in itself small, when it is most wanted there is scarcely any to be had. It is, therefore, found that osiers, or ash-poles, which require little attention, and grow away whether the beds are flooded a foot deep, or the sewage trickles down the carriers in intermittent driblets, are the best crops for sewage-beds. Osiers, no doubt, require the rubbish to be kept down when they are young plants, and in the early stages of their growth ; but ash-poles will grow for years without any expense beyond cleansing the carriers and regulating the flow of the sewage — and that must be done, not for the benefit of the poles, but for the proper filtration of the sewage. One of the evils predicted from the growth of osiers, was the certainty that their rootlets would speedily choke the under- drains. Although some osier beds have been irrigated with crude sewage for many years, the drain-pipes still run as freely as when they were first laid down. Much difficulty has been experienced in finding out the localities in which villages have been sewered. Here and there, from more or less remote parts of the kingdom, tidings come that a small attempt at dealing with sewage has been most suc- cessful ; but it often turns out to be some new chemical or mineral substance which is supposed to have done wonders in a filter-bed or settling-tank. For the most part, the Rural Sani- tary Authorities which have attempted to dispose of sewage have followed the main features of the irrigation practised in the Brixworth Union , Northamptonshire— a Union which bids fair to become as celebrated for the successful removal of village sewage as it has long been known for its judicious curtailment of outdoor relief, which in twenty years has resulted in a re- duction of outdoor paupers from 1,707 to 38, and a decrease of its half-yearly expenditure in out-relief from 3,064Z. to less than 200 1. As the object of this paper is simply to record the attempts to dispose of sewage in villages, and in no way to describe the various systems of drainage employed, it will be quite unneces- The Disposal of Sewage by Small Towns and Villages. 80 sary to go through the different parishes of the Brixworth Union in detail, or to minutely explain the construction of their sewers. Sir Robert Rawlinson was consulted upon the different plans, and all the parishes were sewered upon the sound engineering principles which he has so zealously recommended as chief engineer of the Local Government Board. Where it was pos- sible, the closets of all the houses and cottages in the village were connected with the sewers, which are all constructed of glazed-earthen-soclceted pipes, varying from G to 12 inches in diameter. The old drains, channels, and ditches are still used for carrying off the land drainage and surface-water from the roads. Very few accidents of any kind have happened to the sewers since their construction. Of three blocks, one was caused by cocoanut shell, and another by a turnip ; and if the presence of these articles in the sewers might possibly be due to accidental causes, the insertion of a horse-collar must certainly be classed among malicious and wilful obstructions. Beyond removing these impediments, very few repairs or altera- tions have been necessary, which shows how thoroughly well the sewerage-works have been executed in the Union. In every instance the sewage flows, by its own gravity, to a deeply-drained plot of land, surrounded by a clay bank, to pi’e- vent any overflow. These filter-beds are generally planted with osiers, but some with ash-poles, which are more easily kept clean, and, since the decline in the value of osiers, may yield a better return. On the other hand, osiers are preferable to ash- poles, for the hoeing and cleaning they require stirs the surface, and gives better filtration. Moreover, tbe osier is a grosser feeder, having a better appetite for filth, and converting more of it into vegetable growth. The annual cuttings expose the sur- face to the purifying influences of the sun, light, and air. If the filter-bed is of clay, some cultivation is very important, as without it the land is liable to crack, and the fiocculent matter to go straight down into the drains. But the land under ash-poles can be dug once a year, and, if very stiff soil, might with advan- tage be covered with some friable soil, road-scrapings, &c. The sewage runs down a main carrier, and is diverted by the superintendent into the small channels which divide the beds, the only escape for the effluent water being through the deeply- laid under-drains. On the Brixworth osier beds, the quantity of solid matter deposited by the sewage has so raised the land that the top soil must be soon carted away. This deposit, although full of nettles and weeds, should be a capital dressing for grass-land, for it really contains as much goodness as the dried sludge which at some sewage-works, is converted into 90 The Disposal of Sewage by Small Towns and Villages. artificial manure, and Has been sold to ignorant and confiding farmers at SI. 10s. per ton. The sewers are flushed out once a month, the Sanitary Authority providing a water-cart, and pay- ing 6s. for man and horse Avhen required. The whole of the sewers are under the management of Mr. W. Gilby, for many years the indefatigable Inspector of Nuisances of the Brixworth Union. Considerable opposition was originally raised to some of these drainage schemes, that to the Brixworth sewerage cost- ing the parish 128£. Some dissatisfaction is also caused by the manner in which the outlay for these great sanitary improve- ments is charged ; and Mr. Albert Pell, in the Annual Report of the Brixworth Union in 1879, somewhat justifies this complaint, for he says : “ The law as it stands is regarded as inequitable, as it appears an improved value is conferred on one description of real property at the expense of another.” This is quite true, but is a mere trifle when compared with the injustice of allow- ing realised wealth to escape its share of local burdens, which fall so oppressively upon the depreciated agricultural land of this country. The sanitary necessity for sewering some of the parishes in the Brixworth Union was stated in a report from Dr. Thorne Thome, who, in 1874, wrote that “the deaths from fever per 1,000 were, in the Standard Rural Districts, 48 ; in Northamp- tonshire, 80 ; and in this particular Union, 112.” Dr. Thorne contended that “ the mischief was traceable to cesspools and old highway-drains in porous soils allowing soakage and pollution of drinking-water, which is mostly derived from shallow springs.” The water-tight system of sewers, which has been carried out in so many parishes, has, happily, been the means of almost banish- ing fever from those localities. Less sickness has been followed by a diminished poor’s rate ; so the sewerage of the Union may be said to be, not only -a sanitary, but a financial, success. The marked improvement in the health of this Union, com- paring the ten years previous to any sewage scheme being adopted, with the ten years which followed its adoption, is thus described by Dr. Parsons in a later report to the Local Govern- ment Board. The information from the Registrar-General’s annual and quarterly reports, “ shows a gratifying decline of mortality amounting on their present population to an annual saving of about twenty lives, or, reckoning five severe cases of illness to one death, of one hundred severe illnesses with their attendant suffering and expense.” With such testimony, how can any one doubt that the money laid out on these village sewers, has been well, wisely, and profitably spent ? The Disposal of Sewage hg Small Towns and Villages. 91 The following table shows the cost of draining those parishes of the Brixworth Union where a complete system of sewers has been adopted ; there are other villages which have been only partially sewered : — Xamc of parish in the Brixworth Union Population in 1881 Date of Works Cost, including land Extent of land irrigated How cropped Brampton Chapel 233 1880-1 £ 407 Half an acre Osiers Brixworth . . . 1,183 1876-8 822 One acre Osiers Harlestone . . . 569 1878 750 One acre Ash-poles Moulton .... 1,483 1874-8 980 One acre Osiers Spralton. . . . 817 1886 810 One acre Ash-poles IVal grave , . . 603 1874-8 673 One acre Osiers The sewering of Wliissendine, a village of Rutland contain- ing 734 inhabitants, was completed last year, at the following cost : — Sewering Wliissendine village (including 140/. for out- £ fall and osier bed — 1 acre) 840 Engineer and clerk of works 126 Compensation to occupiers of land crossed by sewers to outfall, about 25 Total £1,000 The inspection was made after a very heavy rainfall, when the Whissendine Brook, celebrated in many hunting annals, was overflowing its banks. The flood had just reached the lower part of the freshly-planted acre of osiers, upon which the sewage is delivered, but none of it escaped unfiltered. The fall of the main sewer from the village to the filter-bed is 1 in 400, and there are two flushing-tanks from spring drains. The Inspector of Nuisances of the Oakham Union is the only officer employed, but a village superintendent would appear almost a necessity. Asliwell , also in Rutland, with a population of about 200, has been lately sewered. The first contract was for 352 1. • but an extension of the chief sewer, and a larger filter-bed, cost another 140Z. The main drain is easily flushed, from the brook which flows through this village, by means of a sluice-door ; but there is only one filter-bed, its three compartments being filled with stone and gravel — so that even the clarification of the sewage is by no means perfect. The town of East Dereham , Norfolk, contains about 6,000 inhabitants, and is well and cheaply sewered. The sewage flows by its gravity into a valley, and empties itself, without any preparation beyond a small settling-tank and grating, upon 92 j t'he Disposal of Sewage by Small Towns and Villages. 4 acres of osier beds. These 4 acres filter all this raw sewage, and it is only after very heavy rains and thunder- storms that there is any overflow from fhe sewers into the brook, and that is mostly surface-water. The Chairman of the Board — a gentleman of great practical experience, who devotes his leisure to the zealous performance of the honorary duties of his oflice — considers that G acres of osiers would be ample to purify the largest volume of sewage for many years, even if the town should considerably increase ; and he is satisfied that, with the exception above stated, the sewage-effluent is now perfectly clear and innocuous. The common osier is being discarded for the “ brown Holland,” a variety which is much tougher, and sells better than the ordinary sallow. Ho produce has come down in price like osiers. A few years ago, 10/., and even 1 -5Z., per acre was made of one year’s growth. At Dereham, the two years’ crop of 1887-8 off 4 acres realised only 12/.; but this year’s growth has fetched 10/., which is still a poor price. A few mangel are grown every year on the margin of the stream. The services of one man are employed for about three-fourths of his time to direct and control the flow of sewage, and some extra help is needed to clear out the channels and keep down the weeds and rubbish before the osiers grow freely in the spring. The whole of the land was drained, 3 feet deep, before the osiers were planted, and the drains work well, and have never been any trouble from the growth of roots during the eight years the beds have been at work. The cost of the sewerage of Dereham in 1881 was as follows : — Contract for pipes, manholes, excavating and laying . ... 4a. lr. 2p. land for irrigation, surveyors, and arbitration . . . . . . . 794 12 Draining and preparing the ground . . . 473 10 Compensations for disturbance . . . . 88 7 Engineer's commission 100 0 s. d. 3,454 14 3 1 8 10 0 £4,911 4 10 In addition to this, there were expenses exceeding the amount authorised to be borrowed by about 300/., which cannot now be readily ascertained, and which were subsequently paid out of the rates. Excepting a few of the outlying portions, the whole of the town was sewered, to the extent of about two hundred acres. The sewers are all of glazed earthen pipes, varying in size from 9 to 18 inches, in gradient from 1 in 600 to 1 in 17, and in depth from G to 23 feet; and the total length is nearly four The Disposal of Sewage by Small Towns and Villages. 93 miles. There is a manhole, or lamphole, at every intersection or curve, the pipes being laid in a true line between these for examination. These holes were all (67) originally left open for ventilation at the road level, but had to be closed ; and in 1887, two sewer-gas destructors were put up, and several simple ventilating-pipes inserted at ends of the long sewers, or impor- tant bends, and there has been no trouble since. At the end of every sewer, provision is made for flushing by a 3-inch sluice- valve from the adjoining water-main, as the rain-water was kept out of the sewers as far as practicable. It may not be too much to say, that the sewage-scheme of East Dereham might — for its economy, utility, and success — compare favourably with any small town in Great Britain. The populous village of Castleacre stands upon the brow of what is regarded in Norfolk as a high hill. The road down the main street is very steep, and it was difficult to keep the high- way in repair, by reason of the rush of surface-water ; while tho practice of throwing house-slops into the road-gutters was fear- fully offensive. To remedy these two evils, a paved channel has been formed for the surface-water, and a sewer made down the street, which receives all the house-slops. There are no water-closets in the village, and the sewer empties itself into a hole in a meadow. No effort is made to utilise the sewage — which cannot be of much manurial value — and it soaks into the surrounding soil, promoting a vigorous growth of nettles. Once a year the hole is emptied of its solids by means of a chain- pump. The sewer, as occasion requires, is flushed by water- cart, the three principal farmers in turn supplying a horse gratis. Since a lofty ventilating-shaft has been inserted, there has been much less unpleasant odour from the sewer. A parish inspector has been appointed, at a salary of 10k a year, whose duties are to superintend and cleanse the sewer and all gulleys and traps, and the construction of any branch drains which have to be connected with the sewer. The total expenditure amounted to 280k The cost of engineering, which presented no difficul- ties whatever, was 50 1. — a marked contrast to the engineer’s commission of 100k at Dereham, where the sewage-scheme cost over 5,000k The clerk of the works and the Local Govern- ment Board inquiry cost 30k, making up 80k for outside expenses — a pretty heavy percentage upon a total outlay of 280k And it is possible that this engineering skill, which rigidly excludes the surface- and roof-water from the sewer, has been misapplied in this village. There is ample capacity for the largest volume of rain-water, and as no use is made of the sewage, its dilution can do no harm ; while every shower of rain 94 The Disposal of Sewage by Small Towns and Villages. would lielp to cleanse tke short sewer, and render the necessity of flushing less frequent. The flushing apparatus has a basin, or reservoir, which does not tip until it is full. It has hitherto worked fairly well, but, if not constantly attended to, it may soon get out of order and cease to act. These contrivances cannot be too simple. A cheap and apparently successful example of village sewage- irrigation is furnished at Kebivortli Beauchamp. The cost of the sewage-works and settling-tanks was only 120 ?., and the sewage irrigates 5 acres of grass-land, held on a twenty-one years’ lease at 30?., and is sub-let to a yearly tenant for 24?. 10s. No complaint has been made of the sewage being at all offensive since the settling-tanks were added, three or four years ago. The inclusion of a town of the importance of Henley-on- Thames is hardly within the scope of this paper; but hearing that a new and greatly improved system of sewage was just started there, it seemed advisable to inspect it. The engineering feat of taking the sewage to the lowest possible point, and then pumping it to the summit of the nearest hill, has been success- fully accomplished at Henley. Shone’s compressed-air system is worked by a 27 horse-power steam engine, and the sewage is lifted 120 feet, and delivered into settling-tanks. It then irri- gates about 4 acres of land, 1^ acres of which are planted with osiers, and the rest devoted to the growth of mangel and Italian rye-grass. There is no outfall, the water percolating through the deep strata of the Upper Chalk, and being seen no more. But the land is already supposed to become clogged, and the sludge is a nuisance ; so the Town Council have decided to adopt the treatment of Messrs. J agger & Turley, of Leeds, that burns the house-refuse to a carbon, which is to be employed in the deodorisation of the sewage, and for the more rapid deposition of the sludge on the settling-tanks. Then the effluent passes through a filter of carbon and cinders, by which time the sewage becomes “ so clear and odourless,” and is of such a “ high stan- dard of purity, that it might be turned into any river.” But it is to be further improved — if that is possible — by irrigating the 4 acres of land ; so the sewage of Henley (if it ever does reach the Thames after its long subterranean passage) ought cer- tainly to be the purest effluent in the world. Having now recorded a few successful examples of the dis- posal of sewage in some towns and villages, it is hardly neces- cary to particularise those Sanitary Authorities where common sewage-farming is practised on a small scale. Italian rye-grass is the only crop to which raw sewage can be directly applied with Observations and Experiments on some English Pastures. 95 any certainty of success ; and tlie introduction of silos lias made tlie growth and disposal of such herbage comparatively easy. The rapid growth of roots and vegetables can be enhanced by sewage- irrigation ; but the sewage had better fertilise the ground during the winter than be applied direct to the plants, except in dry seasons. To grain of all kinds, the flow of sewage invariably does much more harm than good. In the rural districts, there ought seldom to be any great difficulty in obtaining land for sewage-irrigation, though many owners, as well as their tenants, have a strong objection to parting with an acre or two for this purpose. There are serious impediments in populous urban localities to sewage-irrigation, the securing of suitable land at a mode- rate cost being generally the crowning difficulty. In these localities, the different modes for precipitating, deodorising, and clarifying the sewage, by the aid of settling-tanks, chemicals, &c., may be the only means for preparing the sewage-effluent for its reception into the nearest river or stream. But, the less that is done with sewage in purely rural districts before it is applied to the land, the better. It may be well to take out the floating rubbish and the heavier solids by means of a small tank and grating ; but even this is not necessary for a village filter-bed where osiers or ash-poles are the crop grown. It is necessary to keep the sewage moving, allowing none to stagnate for any length of time — and then there is little effluvia from the roughest irrigation. When once a proper system of sewers has been approved in a rural district by the Local Government Board, the employment of skilled engineers with elaborate plans, sections, and clever inventions, generally leads to a heavy outlay, without much corresponding benefit. A competent, practical sur- veyor, who can take levels, lay a drain, and make good a roadway with a strong gang of skilled drainers, will be all that is required for sewering most villages, and even some small towns. Claee Sewell Read. OBSERVATIONS AND EXPERIMENTS ON SOME ENGLISH PASTURES. The results of Dr. Fream’s investigations into the composition of the herbage of old grass lands, as recorded in the number of the Journal for October 1888 (Vol. XXIV., 2nd Series), were so important that the Council of the Society, at the recom- mendation of the Seeds and Plant Diseases Committee, resolved 9G Observations and Experiments on some English Pastures. to make further observations on some of these pastures. The method adopted by Dr. Fream was to obtain a turf 2 feet long by 1 foot wide and 9 inches deep from the best grass lands of different districts, selected by local men who were believed to know the best pastures. These turfs were planted in the Botanical Garden of the College of Agriculture at Downton, and were carefully observed by Dr. Fream during their growth; and in the course of the month of July the turfs were successively cut, the elements were separated into their various species, and then the whole of the plants of each species were weighed in their green state. The Committee selected for further observation those pas- tures in England in which Dr. Fream had determined the presence among the grasses of more than 75 per cent, of rye- grass. The following twelve localities were accordingly fixed upon. The pastures are given in the order and with the numbers of Dr. Fream ’s paper, with the percentage he records for the rye-grass among the gramineous herbage : Localities Selected for Further Observation. Fream’s No. in this Locality Percentage of rye-grass in No. paper gramineous 2 10 Tenterden, Kent herbage . so 3 3 MacgertoB, Dorset . . 76 4 7 Little Marston, Dorset . . 77 5 9 Wiveliscombe, Somerset . 82 7 12 North Curry, Somerset . . 90 10 13 Ashburton, Devon . . 82 11 2 Berkeley, Gloucestershire . 83 19 5 Aylesbury, Bucks . . 80 20 14 Old Court, Hereford . 100 21 1 Corsley Meadows, Wilts . 88 23 11 St. Alger’s, Somerset . 86 24 G Itomney Marsh, Kent . . 97 In addition to these it was decided to make similar observa- tions on a pasture at Market Harborough and another at King’s Lynn. The method proposed was, first to obtain permission from the various gentlemen who had provided the turfs to enclose a portion of the field near to the place where the turfs had been taken. This was cordially given, and early in the season of 1889 eight large hurdles were erected in each of the fields, enclosing about sixteen square yards ; and within these, four smaller game hurdles were erected, enclosing a plot four yards square. In the course of June and July, I visited all the localities, with the view of seeing the nature of the herbage in the fields in which the plots were enclosed, and of determining Observations and Experiments on some English Pastures. 97 liow far the herbage of the enclosed plots represented the whole of the pasture of the field. The enclosures, I found, were in every case alongside of the places from which the turfs had been taken. They fairly represented the general character of the pasture, though in some cases important elements in the pasture were not found in the enclosure. The state of the plants at the time of my inspection enabled me to determine the time when the plots should be cut, and in the course of July and the beginning of August the herbage of the square yard in the centre of the enclosure was cut and for- warded to me. The different elements of the herbage were then separated into their various species. Dr. Fream weighed the plants immediately on completing the separation of each turf, and while they were yet green. As the plants I examined were cut in the various localities, were differently packed, and took different lengths of time in reaching me — and moreover as the time occupied in separating the different species of the various plots varied in proportion to the simplicity or complexity of their composition, or the close resem- blance of some of the species — it appeared to me that the better way to get a common standard for the various plants was to dry them all carefully and equally, and then weigh them. The relative proportions of the different elements of the pastures in the following tables are based, therefore, on their hay weights. The pastures examined may be grouped into : I. Rich alluvial meadows ; II. Old grass pastures ; and, III. Small home fields. I. Rich Alluvial Meadows. 1. Corsley Meadoivs, Longleat, Wilts : Mr. IT. P. Jones. — I visited these meadows on June 1 7 and was conducted over them by Mr. Moorson. There was a heavy pasture, the predominant plant being Yorkshire fog, then florin, sweet vernal, dogstail and rye-grass. Hard fescue formed the predominant undergrass. There were a good many plants of tufted hair-grass (Aira ccespitosa , Linn.), and here and there a plant of cocksfoot, but not contributing much to the general pasture. There were a good many buttercups and some sorrel. The field consisted of thirty-nine acres, and had fatted thirty Scotch animals. The plot was cut on July 26 under the direction of Mr. H. Fry, and the composition is expressed in the following table. The first column gives the proportion of all the herbage in the plot. The second column gives the relative proportion of the various grasses in the gramineous vegetation, for comparison with Dr. Fream’s similar analysis, which is given in the third column : — - VOL. I. T. S. — 1 H 98 Observations and Experiments on some English Pastures. Fiorin, Agrostis alba . . , . Yorkshire fog, IIolcus lanatus , , Hard fescue, Festuea duriuscula . Sweet vernal, Anthoxanthum odoratum Dogstail, Cynosurus crist atus Rye-grass, Lolium perenne . Quaking-grass, Bri&a media — one plant Weeds The enclosed plot | The turf Analysis Analysis of the of all the gramineous herbage herbage Dr. Fream . 36 37 7 . 24 25 4 1 . 20 20 i . 10 10 . 7 7 . 1 1 88 ! 2 Dr. Fream found 3 per cent, of leguminous plants and 2 per cent, of buttercup. The 2 per cent, of weeds I found con- sisted of buttercup ( Ranunculus acris ), mouse-ear chickweed (Cer- astium triviale), bugle ( Ajuga reptans ), sorrel ( Rumex AcetoscC). 2. Berkeley Castle, Gloucestershire : Lord Fitzhardinge. — I visited this pasture on July 22, and was taken over the field by Mr. James Peter. The meadow is always under water during the winter. It is a plain a little above the level of the water. The soil is a rich alluvial loam. The nature of the herbage is neces- sarily modified by the winter submergence and the rich, damp, alluvial soil. The chief grasses were fiorin, Yorkshire fog, and rye-grass. There was a little timothy and cocksfoot, and a few plants of soft brome-grass. The weeds were buttercups and dandelions. It had been hayed and yielded a crop of over two tons to the acre. The crop was cut on July 27, 'and the analysis of the herbage gave the following results : — The enclosed plot ] The turf Rye-gvass, Lolium perenne . , , Yorkshire fog, Holcus lanatus Fiorin, Agrostis alba with A. vulgaris 3 Timothy, Phleum pratense "| Dogstail, Cynosurus cristatus • • Cocksfoot, Dactylis glomerataj Buttercup, Ranunculus acris . . . Analysis of all the herbage 34 25 36 Analysis of the gramineous herbage am Dr. Fream found 38 per cent, of white clover — which formed a rich bottom-growth in his turf — and 5 per cent, of miscellaneous herbage, consisting of buttercup and mouse-ear chickweed. 1 With Poa trivialis, Alopecwrus pratemis, Cynosurus cristatus. 2 With Poa trivialis and Dactylis glomerata. 3 I have here united the produce of these two plants, as they were not separated by Dr. Fream. Observations and Experiments on some English Pastures. 99 3. Mangerton , between Powers court and Bridjiort, Dorset : Mr. C. F. L. Sanctuary. — I visited the estate of Mr. Sanctuary on July 18. The field is a rich pasture, on a dark loam soil, in the bottom of a narrow valley. There were a good many weeds, and the field was yellow with buttercup (Ranunculus acris), but Mr. Sanctuary informed me that when the cows were put on the pasture they cleared off the .buttercups in a fortnight. The other weeds consisted of a considerable quantity of rib-grass, yarrow, bugle, knapweed, and sorrel. There was some red clover and less white clover. The predominant grasses were fiorin, yellow oat-grass, Yorkshire fog, dogstail, rye-grass, cocksfoot, and sweet vernal. The plot was cut on August 5, and the analysis gave the following results : — The enclosed plot | The turf Analysis of all the herbage Analysis of the gramineous herbage Yellow oat-grass, Arena flarescens Fiorin, Agrostis alba . . . Cocksfoot, Dactylis glomerata Yorkshire fog, Holcus lanatus Dogstail, Cynosurus cristatus Rye-grass, Lolium perenne Sweet vernal, Anthoxanthum odoratum Meadow fescue, Festuca prat.ensis . Ribgrass, Plantago lanceolata Bugle, Ajuga reptans Buttercup, Ranunculus acris . Yarrow, Achillea Millefolium Knapweed, Centaurea nigra . 17 12 11 8 3 o 9 8 4 3 Dr. Fream 31\ 22/ 3 20 13 15 3 6 S 4 7 6 1 1 Besides the grasses, Dr. Fream found in his turf 5 per cent, of leguminous plants, composed in about equal parts of white and red clover. These clovers I observed in the field, but neither of them were present in the herbage of the plot. Dr. Fream had 15 per cent, of miscellaneous herbage in his turf, consisting of buttercup, dandelion, rib-grass, speedwell and daisy, their relative importance being in the order given. I found 46 per cent, of miscellaneous herbage, consisting of the plants re- corded in the table, and in the proportions given there. 4. King's Lynn , Norfolk : Mr. F. I. Cooke. — The field on Mr. Young’s farm was portion of an extensive alluvial deposit, having a heavy loam soil. I inspected the field on July 2, and found the predominant grasses were meadow barley-grass, Yorkshire fog, dogstail, timothy, and smooth-stalked meadow- grass ; in less quantity there were present fiorin, rye-grass, 1 With Poa trivialis and Festuca ovina. 100 Observations and Experiments on some English Pastures. yellow oat-grass and foxtail. There was a little clover in the pasture. A considerable number of daisies and thistles were scattered over the field. The places where the stock had dunged and the herbage had been left were composed chiefly of York- shire fog, with some dogstail, foxtail, and a plant or two of cocksfoot, meadow barley -grass and soft brome-grass. The plot was cut in the end of July, and showed the following composition on analysis : — Per cent. Meadow barley-grass, Hordeum pratense . . . .31 Yorkshire fog, Hailcus lanatus . 26 Yellow oat-grass, Avena Jla- veseens .... . 11 Fiorin, Agrost.is alba . . 8 Timothy, Phleum pratense . 7 Per cent. Rye-grass, Lolium perenne . 7 Dogstail, Cynosurus cristatus . 5 Foxtail , Alopecuni8 pratensis . 2 Smooth-stalked meadow-grass, Poa pratensis ... 1 Red clover, Trifolium pratense . 2 This is not one of the pastures from which Dr. Fream received a turf. II. Old Grass Pastures. 5. Aylesbury , Bucks. — This is a field of sixty acres, used for fattening stock. The soil is a rich loam. I examined it on July 1, and estimated that from 35 to 40 per cent, of the pasture consisted of white clover, and that the grasses were dogstail, rye-grass, rough-stalked meadow-grass, meadow barley- grass, and a little foxtail. A considerable quantity of buttercup was scattered over the field. The whole was closely eaten down, only here and there some of the dogstail had run to seed. In a lower, damper, and richer part of the field there were patches of luxuriant cocksfoot, dogstail, meadow barley- grass, and rye-grass, with some plants of buttercup which had run to seed. The portion enclosed was on the higher part of the field, and fairly represented the general pasture. The plot was cut on July 26, and was found to consist of the following The enclosed plot | The turf Analysis Analysis of the of all the gramineous herbage herbage Dr. Fream Dogstail, Cynosurus cristatus . 30 43 2 1 Rye-grass, Lolium perenne . 30 43 So Meadow bailey-grass, Ilorcleum pratense . 7 10 Rough-stalked meadow-grass, Poa trivialis . 1 2 Bent grass, Agrostis vulyaris . 1 ^ 3 Timothy, Phleum pratense 'White clover, Trifolium repens .’ 30 IS Buttercup, Ranunculus acris . . 1 1 With Alupecurus pratensis, Holcus lanatus, and Poa trhialis. Observations and Experiments on some English Pastures. 101 In addition to the grasses Dr. Frearn found in his turf 5 per cent, of white clover and a trace of buttercup.- 6. New Romney , Kent : Mr. A. Hutchison. — I inspected this pasture on June 8. It was a small held by the side of the road near the town of New Romney, and is on a slightly ele- vated piece of ground, with a sandy loam for a soil, resting on a sandy subsoil : but it is not from the famous Romney Marsh. The field was pastured by mixed stock. On account of the high price of lean stock, and the low price of fat stock, Mr. Hutchison had not added to his stock, so that there was not sufficient in the field to consume the pasture, and it was, conse- quently, imperfectly eaten. It was full of buttercup ( Ranunculus bidbosus ), and contained a good many daisies and some sorrel. More than half of the pasture was untouched by the stock, and the parts neglected were those in which the buttercup was flourishing. The chief grasses in the field were rough-stalked meadow-grass and dogstail, with a good deal of cocksfoot and yellow oat-grass. When I visited the field in the beginning of June the rye-grass, which proved afterwards to be the most abundant grass in the pasture, was considerably behind the other grasses : the foliage could be detected when the other grasses were pressed aside, but only a few flowering heads were showing themselves. The field in which the plot was enclosed, and from which a portion of Dr. Fream’s turf was taken, had similar herbage to the neighbouring fields which I examined, and from which the other portions of the turf were obtained. The enclosed plot was fairly representative of the herbage of these fields. It was cut on July 15, and the analysis showed the following results : - The enclosed plot j The turf Rye-grass, Lolium perenne . Dogstail, Cynosurus cristatus Yorkshire fog, Holcus lanaius Rough-stalked meadow-grass, Poa trivialis Meadow barley-grass, Ilordeum pratense Yellow oat-grass, Avena Jlavescens Cocksfoot, JDactylis glomerctta Yellow suckling clover, Trifolium minus White clover, Trifolium repens Analysis Analysis of the of all the gramineous herbage herbage Dr. Fream . 59 66 97 . 13 14 a trace . 6 7 . 5 6 a trace . 4 4 2 2 3 1 ! i 1 . 6 . 4 The rye-grass, so inconspicuous in the separated plot, in the beginning of June, had now become the chief ingredient, while the dogstail and meadow-grass, the leading grasses at the With Agrostis. ] 02 Observations and Experiments on some English Pastures. earlier date, were relatively unimportant at the time of cutting. The enclosed portion was free from buttercup, though it was very abundant in the field. I detected no plants of either foxtail or timothy in the fields I examined, and though I found specimens of florin by the roadsides I did not observe it in the fields. Dr. Frearn found in his turf 21 per cent, of white clover, but no weeds. 7. Little Marston , Sherborne , Dorset : Mr. J. P. Oatway. — I visited this pasture on July 17, and was shown over the field by Mr. Oatway, who farms it. The soil was a stiff clay. The field had been hayed, and the aftermath was fed off, the stock being supplied with some corn in addition. There was a good bottom of white clover, which made little show, and some mixture of red clover, which was more visible. A good deal of buttercup was present. The predominant grasses were Yorkshire fog and meadow barley-grass, then came dogstail and sweet vernal, with still less of florin and yellow oat-grass. I observed not a few plants of black bent (Alopecurus agrestis ) scattered throughout the field. The plot was cut in the end of July, and was found to be composed of the following plants : — The enclosed plot | The tart Analysis of all the herbage Analysis of the gramineous herbage Dr. Fream Yorkshire fog, Holcus lanatus Meadow barley-grass, Hordeum pratense Sweet vernal, Anthoxanthum odoratum Dogstail, Cgnosurus cristatus Fiorin, Agrostis alba .... Rye-grass, Lolium perenne . Foxtail, Alopecurus pratensis Timothy, Phleum pratense . . . Red clover, Trifolium pratense . . Buttercup, Ranunculus acris 30 23 20 14 34 26 22 16 2 t 4 9 2 8 77 3 i Dr. Fream found only traces of white clover, and of mouse- ear chickweed and buttercup ; the herbage in his turf was practi- cally all grass. 8. Market Harborough : Mr. E. K. Fisher. — I visited the field belonging to Mr. Fisher on July 1. It was being pastured by sheep. The herbage consisted chiefly of rye-grass, with con- siderable quantities of meadow barley-grass and dogstail, and lesser amount of yellow oat-grass, with a very few scattered plants of cocksfoot, Yorkshire fog, rough-stalked meadow- grass, and fiorin. There appeared to be about 30 per cent, of Observations and Experiments on some English Pastures. 103 white clover, though the proportion was obviously much smaller in the plot. There were a good many buttercups scattered over the field. The plot was cut on August 5, and the analysis showed that it consisted of the following plants : — Ter cent. Rye-grass, Lolium perenne . 31 Meadow barley-grass, Hordeuin pratense . 31 Dogstail, Cynosurus cristatus . 14 Yellow oat-grass, Avena fla- vescens G Fiorin, Agrostis alba .... 5 Per cent. Timothy, Phleum pratense . . 2 Yorkshire fog, Holcus lanatus . 1 Cocksfoot, Dactylis glomerata . 4 Rough-stalked meadow-grass, Poa trivialis 4 White clover, Trifolium repens . 4 Buttercup, Ranunculus acris . 5 Dr. Fream did not have a turf from this field. 9. Wiveliscombe , Somerset : Mr. W. Hancock. — I inspected this pasture on July 18. Mr. Hancock took me over the field, and several other pastures on his farm. The soil of the field in which the plot was enclosed was a red, clayey loam. The field had a southern aspect. Mr. Hancock had observed that fields on his farm with a northern aspect yielded much less food than those with a southern aspect. The predominant grass in the field was fiorin ; then followed rye-grass and Yorkshire fog, with much smaller quantities of rough-stalked meadow-grass, sweet vernal, dogstail, and cocksfoot. There was a little white clover, and some ribgrass. The pasture fattened bullocks, but they had to be finished in the stalls. The plot was cut in the end of July, and the analysis showed the following results : — The enclosed plot | The turf Analysis of all the herbage Analysis of the gramineous herbage Dr. Fream Fiorin, Agrostis alba ..... 49 Rye-grass, Lolium perenne . . . .17 Yorkshire fog, Holcus lanatus . . .14 Cocksfoot, Dactylis glomerata ... 4 Dogstail, Cynosurus cristatus ... 9 Rough-stalked meadow-grass, Poa trivialis . 1 Sweet vernal, Anthoxanthum odoratum , 1 White clover, Trifolium repens ... 2 Red clover, Trifolium pratense ... 1 Ribgrass, Plantago lanceolata , , . 1 Yarrow, Achillea Millefolium . , .“l Hawkbit, Leontodon hispulus . , . > 1 Mouse-ear chickweed, Cerastium triviale . ) 52 is 15 4 9 : io 82 5 3 Dr. Fream found that the miscellaneous herbage composed 29 per cent, of the plants on his turf, and was almost entirely made up of Leontodon sp. 104 Observations and Experiments on some English Pastures. 10. Goorshill, Tenterden , Kent : Mr. George Button. — I visited this field, on the farm of Mrs. Button, on June 19. It was in hay. The soil was a stiff, yellowish clay, full of roots. The herbage of the field consisted mainly of dogstail, with a con- siderable show of Yorkshire fog ; then the following grasses, which I give in the order of their abundance : Fiorin, rye-grass, yellow oat-grass, foxtail, sweet vernal, and smooth-stalked meado.v-grass. There was a good deal of yellow suckling clover, and some red clover. The weeds consisted of sorrel, buttercup, and daisy. The pastures all along the eight miles’ drive from Ileadcorn (the station on the South-Eastern Railway) was very light, and appeared at this time to consist mainly of dogstail, Yorkshire fog, rye-grass, and fiorin. A field lately laid down on Mrs. Button’s farm contained a considerable quantity of cocksfoot and foxtail — grasses most rare in the district. Another field, which had lately been allowed to lay itself down, had nothing but couch- grass ( Triticum repens) and weeds; and a third field, which had been allowed to lay itself down six years previously, was now covered with dogstail, Yorkshire fog, and fiorin. The enclosed plot was cut on July 12, and consisted of the following plants : — The enclosed plot | The turf Analysis of all the herbage Dogstail, Cynosurus cr {status . . .20 Fiorin, Agrostis alba 28 Meadow barley-grass, Horde um pretense . 16 Yorkshire fog, Holcus lanatus . . .11 Foxtail, A lopecurus pratensis ... 1 Rye-grass, Lolium perenne . . . .11 Yellow oat-grass, A vena Jlavescens . .3 Timothy, Fhleum pretense .... Red clover, Trifolium pretense ... 7 Yellow suckling clover, 'l'r folium minus . A Weeds. . . . ‘ . . . . 2i Analysis of t he gramineous herbage Dr. Frenm 23 on 18 L ’ll 12 8 5 So 7 The great quantity of fiorin is the most remarkable peculi- arity of this pasture. The weeds consisted chiefly of butter- cup ( Ranunculus acris ), mouse-ear chickweed ( Cerastium triviale ), bugle ( Ajuga reptans), and sheep sorrel (Rurnex Acetosella). Dr. Fream found in his turf 8 per cent, of white clover, 2 per cent, of miscellaneous herbage — chiefly mouse-ear chick- weed — but some buttercup as well. 11. St. Alger’s Farm , Woodlands, Somerset : Mr. IT. P. Jones. — Observations and Experiments on some English Pastures. 105 I visited this farm on July 17. The enclosed plot was in a small field. The pasture was full of weeds, but everything was eaten down very close by the cows, except the spots which were rejected because of their droppings. The great bulk of the pas- ture consisted of ribgrass, and with it was a considerable quantity of knapweed, ox-eye daisy, and black grass. There was a little clover — chiefly white clover, with some yellow suckling — and a little birdsfoot trefoil. The grasses were — dogstail in greatest abundance, then fiorin, Yorkshire fog, sweet vernal, and rye- grass. The plot was cut on August 5, and on analysis proved to be composed of the following plants : — The enclosed plot | The turf Analysis of all the herbage Analysis of the gramineous herbage Dogstail, Cynosurus cristatus . . Sweet vernal, Anthoxanthum odoratum Fiorin, &c., Ayrostis alba and A ■ vulgaris Rye-grass, Lolium perenna, . Meadow fescue, Festuca pmtensis . Yorkshire fog, Hole us lunatus Sheep’s fescue, Festuca oviua White clover, Trifolium, rape ns . . Ribgrass, Flantago lanceolata Weeds 14 4 8 1 2 J. 2 1 03 8 Dr. Fream 50 1 14/ I 28 6 4 IO 2 1 1 2 15 57 Dr. Fream found 52 per cent, of his turf consisted of mis- cellaneous herbage, six-sevenths of which was ribgrass, the remainder being sorrel, selfheal ( Prunella vulgaris ), buttercup ( Ranunculus bulbosus), and mouse-ear chickweed. The turf which I have here contrasted with the pasture from St. Alger’s Farm is that said to be from Webb’s Farm (No. 22 — Journal, October, 1888, page 435). A comparison of the results of my examination of the pasture from St. Alger’s with Dr. Fream’s 22 and 23, makes it obvious that by some accident these two turfs have got interchanged. This has led to the ex- amination of a pasture in which Dr. Fream found only 10 per cent, of rye-grass, instead of one in which he makes the rye- grass amount to 86 per cent, of the grasses. 12. North Curry , Taunton , Somerset : Mr. C. P. Morris. — I inspected this field on July 18, and was shown over it by Mr. Morris, jun. The soil was a rich, friable loam. It had been hayed, yielding two tons of hay per acre. The predominant plants in the field were cocksfoot and yarrow. In addition, I found fiorin, rye-grass, yellow oat-grass, and Yorkshire fog. 106 Observations and Experiments on some English Pastures. There was some white clover and a few thistles scattered over the field. The hay had been cut five weeks previous to my visit, and a flock of sheep had been in the field for three days. They had everywhere cropped the cocksfoot, and where it was mixed with the yarrow the ground was very bare. Mr. Morris informed me that they fattened cattle for the butcher on this field, without any additional food. The herbage, he believed, was the natural growth of the land. No renovating seed had been sown, and the only manure applied to it was the droppings of the cattle which had been grazing on it. The grass was cut on August 7, and showed the following results when analysed : — Cocksfoot, Dactylis glomerata Tiorin, Agrostis alba Rye-grass, Lolium perenne . Yorkshire fog, Holcus lanatus Dogstail, Cynosurus cristatus Sheep’s fescue, Festuca ovina "White clover, Trifolium repens Yarrow, Achillea Millefolium Dr. Fream found the turf from this pasture to consist of 11 per cent, of grasses, of which rye-grass formed 90 per cent., and no trace of cocksfoot was found ; while the miscellaneous herbage formed 89 per cent, of the pasture, and was practically nothing but yarrow. III. Small Home Fields. 13. Ashfoirton, Devon : Mr. Robert Tucker .—I visited this pasture on July 19. It is a small field of about two acres by the side of Mr. Tucker’s house, near the town of Ashburton. It is used for pasturing two cows. The principal grasses were rye-grass and timothy ; there was some rough-stalked meadow- grass and florin, and a little Yorkshire fog. There was a little white clover, and less red clover. The miscellaneous herbage consisted of yarrow, ribgrass, buttercup, dandelion, and mouse- ear chickweed. The plot was cut on July 27, and the analysis showed it to be composed of the following plants : — The enclosed plot ) The turf Analysis Analysis of the of all the gramineous herbage herbage Dr. Fream . 56 70 . 8 10 . 6 8 90 . 6 8 . 3 4 2 1 8 . 1 . 20 With Antlioxanthum odoratum, Poa trivialis, and Arena favescens. Observations and Experiments on some English Pastures. 107 Timothy, Phleum pr (dense , , , Rye-grass, Lolium perenne . Rough-stalked meadow-grass, Poa triviulis Fiorin, Agrostis alba .... Yorkshire fog, Holcus lanatus . "White clover, Trifolium repens . . Rihgrass, Plantago lanceolata . , Yarrow, Achillea Millefolium Mouse-ear chickweed, Cerastium triviale Buttercup, Panunculus acris . . The enclosed plot | The turf Analysis of all the herbage Analysis of the gramineous herbage Dr. Fream . 36 38 i3 . 30 31 82 . 16 17 . 11 11 5 . 3 3 1 1 1 2 * Dr. Fream had 6 per cent, of white clover on his turf, and his miscellaneous herbage consisted entirely of yarrow, except a single plant of dock. 14. Old Court, Bredwardine , Herefordshire : Mr. Thomas Marston. — 1 inspected this pasture on July 28. It was a small field adjoining the farm-house and steading, from which it was not separated by a fence of any kind. The road to the chief part of the farm passed through the field. The pasture con- sisted mainly of rye-grass, with some rough-stalked meadow- grass and fiorin. There was a good bottom of red clover throughout the field. The miscellaneous herbage consisted of yarrow, with some thistles, dock, and ribgrass. The plot was cut early in August, and was found to consist of the following plants : — The enclosed plot | The turf Rye-grass, Lolium perenne . Rough-stalked meadow-grass, Poa trivialis Fiorin, Agrostis alba .... White clover, Trifolium repens . . Analysis I of all the herbage . 72 . 15 2 .’ 11 Analysis of the gramineous herbage Dr. Fream 81 lOO 10 Dr. Fream, besides the grass, which was entirely rye-grass, found on his turf 12 per cent, of white clover, and no weeds. The remarkable differences in the composition of the pastures as determined by the turfs transported to Downton, and by the enclosed plots in the fields themselves, cannot be reconciled. The personal inspection of the pastures which I made in June and July last enabled me to compare the general character of the vegetation with what was growing in the enclosed plots ; and though in some cases, which I have noted, there were impor- 108 Observations and Experiments on some English Pastures. tant elements in the pasture not to be found in the enclosure, on the whole, these plots fairly represented the general pasture. The results of this inspection, and the analysis of the herbage of the enclosed plots, convince me that small, transplanted turfs do not supply data to enable one to determine the composition of the pastures from which they are taken. Indeed, in the cases recorded in this paper the information they give is entirely misleading. Dr. Dream’s data are accurate. He has, of course, given faithfully and accurately the different plants which grew on the turfs at Downton, and the various pro- portions of these plants. But these data have not been suf- ficient for the generalisations based on them as to the pastures from which they were obtained. The difficulty in obtaining a turf like those planted at Downton, that would represent the pasture, is to find within the space of two square feet specimens of the various plants, and in their relative proportions, which make up the pasture. In the middle of April, 1889, I visited some of the pastures in Romney Marsh. In a good field, which was well stocked, and, consequently, closely eaten down, I had two turfs the same size as those of Dr. Fream, growing quite close to each other, dug out, and transplanted where they could be observed. The farmer, and his foreman, who was so good as to dig up the turfs, considered each as an equally good specimen of the pasture. When the herbage of the turfs was cut in the autumn, and the elements separated, it was found that it con- sisted entirely of grasses, though the composition of the two turfs was very analysis : — different. The following is the result of the Turf 1. Ter cent. Rye-grass, Lolium perenne . . 51 Yellow oat-grass, Avena jla- vescens '. . . 32 Dogstail, Cynosurus crist at us . 17 Turf 2. Per cent. Cocksfoot, Dactylis glomerata . 87 Rye-grass, Lolium perenne . 8 Yellow oat-grass, Avena jla- vescens 4 Dogstail, Cynosurus cristatus . 1 It is obvious that generalisations based on these two neighbouring and representative turfs would lead to very dif- ferent conclusions. It is only by such an accident as would have happened in relation to the field in Romney Marsh if I had brought away only one of the turfs, that I can understand such a result as that shown by the Downton turf from North Curry (p. 10G). The farmer at Romney Marsh would have considered either turf which he happened to fix on as representative, and sent it on to me for observation, had it been left to him to select the turf. At North Curry there was a considerable quantity of yaiTow in the field, but of course it was not so equally distributed Observations and Experiments on some English Pastures. 109 that each square foot had its proper proportion ; and there was also some rye-grass fairly distributed over the field, but yet not so that each plant was equally distant from all its neighbours. The turf that was sent to Dr. Dream contained 89 per cent, of yarrow and 1 1 per cent, of grasses, of which rye-grass formed nine-tenths. There was not a single plant of cocksfoot, which was the predominant grass throughout the field. Had it been to the right or to the left of the spot fixed upon, the turf could not have failed to show a large percentage of cocksfoot. This North Curry pasture, tested by its feeding-qualities, was undoubtedly the best of the fourteen pastures that I in- spected. But even here the replacement of the Yorkshire fog and fiorin, and, I will add, the rye-grass, by foxtail, meadow fescue, and rough-stalked meadow-grass, would unquestionably have improved it. Not one of the pastures I visited is so good as it easily might be made. The extraordinary abundance of such objectionable grasses as Yorkshire fog and meadow barley-grass in some of the pastures is surprising. A little care in preventing these and other inferior or worthless grasses from ripening their seed, and the sowing seeds of the better grasses without break- ing the turf, accompanied with a little more liberal treatment in the way of manure, would very soon greatly improve all the pastures. The composition of these pastures shows the fallacy of seek- ing in natural pastures the standard for laying down arable land in permanent grass. The adoption of such a standard is to reverse the whole practice and principles of modern farming. The farmer is, so to speak, ever at war with Nature. He is always trying to improve the breeds of his farm-stock and his crop-plants. A reversion to the wild type is a misfortune and a loss. A plant of Nature’s sowing on his farm, where it should not be, is a weed to be eradicated. Are all the observations and experience that have been collecting since the days of Linnaeus, and have been so much added to by Stillingfleet, Curtis, Sinclair, Moore, &c., and by many men still with us— are all these to be set aside ? In laying down land to pasture, as in sowing fields with wheat or any other crop, we must try to surpass Nature. We must bring together the most nutritious perennial plants which will supply palatable food for stock as far as possible all the year round, and we must exclude the weeds and worthless grasses which we have found too abundant in natural pastures. We must also consider the almost universal complaint of the deterioration, if not failure, of new pastures after the third or fourth year, and avoid short-lived grasses. Such pastures have 110 The Evolution of the Horse. been laid down during the past ten or twelve years by Members of the Society in different parts of England and Scotland. These pastures have each year gone on improving ; they have everywhere carried more stock than the old pastures on similar neighbouring lands ; and their success has been, I believe, mainly due to the exclusion of rye-grass from the mixture of seeds employed in laying them down, and by the selection of what have been proved by experience to be the best permanent grasses and clovers. Wm. Carruthers. THE EVOLUTION OF THE HORSE. From many points of view the Horse is one of the most interesting of animals. In utility to man it yields to no other. It was his domestic companion, friend, and servant before the dawn of history. It has accompanied him in his wanderings over almost every part of the surface of the earth, performing duties, both in peace and war, which no other animal could have done, and giving man facilities for the exercise of dominion over Nature which otherwise would have been impossible to him. The role of the ass, the ox, the camel, and the llama, in performing similar duties, has been of a limited and sub- sidiary nature compared to that of the horse. It is only in very recent times that the progress of mechanical invention has begun to supersede some of the uses for which the strength and the speed of the horse for many thousands of years have alone been available. How far this commencing disestablishment of the horse from its unique position, as the main agent by which man and his possessions have been carried and drawn all over the face of the earth, will go, it is difficult to say at present. To the eye of the naturalist the horse presents other, and still higher, sources of interest. No better example can be found in the whole Animal Kingdom to illustrate certain great principles found acting universally in the construction of the bodies of all living beings, whether animals or plants. The structure of the horse in relation to that of allied animals, and to the actions it has to perform in the economy of Natm-e, may be most advantageously studied by every one who wishes to gain an insight into some of the fundamental principles of biology. In scarcely any other animal has specialisation of various parts — that is, modification from the general or average type to conform with the require- ments of some special mode of existence — been carried to such an The Evolution of the Horse. Ill extreme. In many organs, but especially in tbe limbs and teeth, we find the strongest evidence of two opposing principles striving against each other for the mastery in fashioning their form and structure. We find heredity , or adherence to a general type derived from ancestors, opposed by special modifi- cations of, or deviations from, that type, and the latter generally getting the victory. The various specialisations, evidently in adaptations to purpose, will be thought by many to be the result of the survival, in the severe struggle for existence, of what is fittest for the purpose to which it is to be applied. This may or may not be the explanation, but the interest of the study of such an animal as the horse will be increased tenfold by the conviction that there is some true, and probably discoverable, causation for all its modifications of structure, however far we may yet be from the true explanation of the methods by which they have been brought about. The anatomy and history of the horse are, moreover, often taken as a test case of the value of the theory of evolution, or the transmutation of animal forms one from another with the advance of time. The evidence in favour of or against the theory may in this case be derived from two distinct sources : I. The structure of existing horses ; II. The past history of the race as revealed by fossil remains. I. By far the most interesting portions of the organisation of existing horses from this point of view are the various rudimentary, and apparently useless, structures which occur in several parts of its body — structures which correspond with some which are fully developed in other animals, but which in the horse are so reduced in size or altered in character as to be of little, if any, use in its economy. In tracing the history and affinity of animals, rudimentary organs are looked upon by naturalists as far more important and interesting than highly- developed or functional parts. As Darwin says, they “ may be compared with the letters of a word, still retained in the spelling, but become useless in the pronunciation, but which serve as a clue to its derivation.1 On the view of descent with modifica- tion, we may conclude that the existence of organs in a rudi- mentary, imperfect, or useless condition, or quite aborted, far from presenting a strange difficulty, as they assuredly do in the old doctrine of creation, might even have been anticipated in accordance with the views here explained.” II. It is, however, to the ancestral history, as disclosed by palaeontology, or the study of fossil remains, that we must look As, for example, the h in ‘ debt ’ and 1 doubt.’ 112 The Evolution of the Horse. for more direct evidence of the value of the theory ; and we are in a better position to do this in the case of the horse than in that probably of any other animal, as it is one of the few whose history can be traced, through a tolerably complete chain of links, as far back as the earliest Tertiary age.1 We must, however, not carry away the idea that the record is yet perfect. Before the commencement of the Eocene period, it is wrapped in what appears at present impenetrable darkness and mystery. Through- out the vast Tertiary period, fragments here and fragments there stand out among the ruins, from which we endeavour to reconstruct our edifice, just as the skilful architect or antiquary, fi’om the shattered pieces of marble or stone of an ancient temple, will restore to us the noble form and proportions it once bore. One thing may be said with certainty upon this subject : every fresh discovery that has been made has tended to cor- roborate, and nothing has been found inconsistent with this, the grandest and most sublime, and, at the same time, most reasonable view of the method by which the living beings around us have been fashioned into the shapes in which we now see them. A few more words may be said upon the important subject of specialisation, which will be so frequently referred to in what follows. It may be of three principal kinds: 1. The addition of parts not met with in the generality of animals, and, as far as is known, not found in the earliest members of the groups which afterwards possess them — as, for example, the antlers of deer, the horns of oxen or the rhinoceros. 2. The suppression of parts commonly present — as the upper incisor teeth of ruminants, the tails of bears, guinea-pigs, &c., the outer toes of the horse, the entire hind limbs of porpoises, &c. 3. The modification of the form, size, or relation of parts — as the immense development of the canine teeth in the walrus and male musk- deer, the complicated foldings of the molar teeth of elephants, &c. It is proposed in this paper to treat of the horse, not as an isolated form, but as one link in a great chain, one term in a vast series, one twig of a mighty tree ; and to endeavour to trace, as far as our present knowledge permits, what its relations are to the rest, and by what steps of modification in its various parts it has come to be the very singular and highly-specialised animal we have now before us, so distinct from all existing forms of life that, in most of the older zoological systems, it was 1 The latest of the great periods into which geologists divide the age of the earth is called Tertiary, or Cainozoic. It is subdivided into Eocene, Miocene, Pliocene, and Pleistocene, the last being that which immediately preceded the one in which we are now living. 113 The Evolution of the Horse. (at least, associated only with some very immediate allies, struc- turally almost identical) placed in an order apart from all other mammals, under the name of Solid ungula , Solipedia, or Mono- dactyla — the animal with the solid foot, or, rather, with a single toe on each extremity. To understand the natural place of the horse in the zoological system, it will be necessary to take a wide glance at the whole group to which it belongs. That it is a vertebrate animal, and that it occupies a place in the class Mammalia , no one will doubt. In that class it belongs to the great order XJngulata , or hoofed animals, the principal characters of which are the following : They are all eminently adapted for a terrestrial life, and, in the main, for a vegetable diet. Their molar teeth have broad crowns, with tuberculated, or ridged grinding sur- faces, and they have a very completely-developed set of milk- teeth. Their limbs are adapted for carrying the body in ordi- nary terrestrial progression, and ar9 of very little use for any other purpose, such as flying, climbing, seizing prey, or carrying food to the mouth. They have no collar-bones. Their toes are provided with blunt, broad nails, which, in the majority of cases, more or less surround and enclose their ends, and are called ‘ hoofs.’ The great majority of Ungulate animals belong to either one or the other of two great and perfectly distinct sections, which differ from each other in very many points in their structure, the most obvious of these being the characters of their limbs, from which the names of the groups, or sub-orders, are derived. One is called Artiodactijla , or “ even-toed ; ” the other, Perissodactyla , or “ odd-toed.” In the former, the third 1 and fourth toes of both feet are almost equally developed, and flattened on their inner, or contiguous surfaces, so that each is not symmetrical in itself ; but when the two are placed together, they form a figure symmetrically disposed to a line between them — the so-called cloven hoof. These two toes are always present, and well developed ; the second and fifth may be present in varying degrees of development, or may be entirely absent; the first is not present in any known member of the group, even the most ancient. In the Perissodactyle group, the middle or third toe of both fore and hind feet is larger than any of the others, and sym- 1 The number of toes in mammals never exceeds five. For convenience of description, they are designated numerically, from the inner side of the limb — I., II., III., IV. and V. — the pollex (thumb) and hallux (great toe) being the first of the fore and hind limbs respectively, and the third is the middle of the complete series. When the number falls short of five, it is always easy to determine, by their relations to the bones of the wrist ^or ankle, which of the typical series are present and which are missing. VOL. I. T. S. — 1 I 114 The Evolution of the Horse . metrical in itself, the free border of the last bone (which supports the hoof) being evenly rounded. This may be the only toe sufficiently large to be of any use to the animal, or the second and fourth may be equally developed on each side of it. In tapirs, and in many extinct forms, the fifth toe also is present on the fore-foot ; but this does not interfere with the symmetrical arrangement of the remainder of the foot around the median line of the third, or middle digit. A first toe or thumb (pollex), completing the typical five, has only been found in some ex- tremely ancient and primitive forms. _A 33 Fig. 1. — A. Diagrammatic representation of the fore-foot of an ocUl-toed or Perissodactyle animal. B. Of an even-toed or Artiodactyle. C. Carpus or wrist. M. Metacarpus. The toes are numbered as generally counted in order from the inner to the outer side of the foot. The shaded parts of A are those that are present in the Horse; in B, those that are present in the Ox. It is only by studying the fundamental type of organisation common to all the members of a group, which underlies the various external or superficial modifications by which it becomes adapted to the different surrounding conditions under which it has to carry on its existence, that the true relationship of animals can be determined. In this way it can be clearly demonstrated that the pig, the deer, the ox, sheep, goat, antelope, and camel, including even such extreme forms as the giraffe and the hippopotamus, are formed on one common plan — the The Evolution of the Horse. 115 Artiodactyle ; while the horse, the tapir, and the rhinoceros, are formed upon the other — the I’erissodactyle type, to which, therefore, we may here solely confine our attention. The remains of animals to which it is possible to trace back these three existing forms, through a series of gradual modifica- tions, without any great break, are found in abundance in the lower strata of the great lacustrine formations assigned to the Eocene period, spread over considerable portions of the present territories of New Mexico, Wyoming, and Utah, in North America. Similar animals also existed in other parts of the world ; but in Europe, the hitherto-discovered fragments which prove their existence are in a less complete and satisfactory con- dition for investigation. After giving a summary of what was then known of the ancestry of the horse, as revealed by palaeon- tological evidence, Professor Huxley wrote in 1877: — “The knowledge we now possess justifies us completely in the antici- pation that, when the still lower Eocene deposits, and those that belong to the Cretaceous epoch, have yielded up their remains of ancestral equine animals, we shall find, first, a form with four complete toes, and a rudiment of the innermost, or first digit in front, with probably a rudiment of the fifth digit in the hind foot; while, in still older forms, the series of digits will be more and more complete, until we come to the five-toed animals, in which, if the doctrine of evolution is well founded, the whole series must have taken origin.” This anticipation has been completely verified by the dis- covery, among others, of an animal called Phenacodus in the oldest of the Tertiary formations of North America. Skeletons of this animal in a remarkably complete state of preservation have been described by Professor Cope. They show an extremely primitive or generalised structure — as much so, indeed, as in any known mammal. The teeth had very short crowns, with tuber- culated surfaces, and were adapted for an omnivorous diet. There were five toes on each limb, which carried hoofs at the ex- tremities. The head was very small, and the size and shape of the brain-cavity indicated a low state of development of the organ it contained. As many as nine different species have been already described, varying in size from a bulldog to a leopard or sheep. The next very distinct stage of evolution leads us to a small animal, not larger than a fox, which once inhabited our own island, as the first indication of its existence was a skull discovered, in 1839, in the London clay of Herne Bay, to which Owen gave the name of Hyracotherium. In this and many allied forms the number of toes was reduced to four on the front foot, and three on the hind foct, No. I. being absent in 116 The Evolution of the Horse. the first ease, and Nos. I. and V. in the second ; whilst other changes had taken place in the skeleton and in the teeth that would require detailed description and illustrations in order to be intelligible. The animals formed upon this type, which are met with in a somewhat later geological epoch, present considerable diver- sity of characters, and we find them gradually breaking up in different groups, some of which, after undergoing a considerable degree of specialisation, became extinct without leaving suc- cessors. But three of these modified types, already distinct at the close of the Eocene period, have continued up to the present day, gradually, as time advanced, becoming more and more divergent from each other. These, as already mentioned, are now represented by the three families of the tapirs, the rhino- ceroses, and the horses. * The tapirs have retained much more of the original character of the primitive Ungulates of the Eocene period than any of the others, and have, indeed, remained practically unchanged since the Miocene period ; while almost all other mammalian forms which existed then have either become extinct or undergone extensive modification. They appear now to be animals tending to extinction, for though formerly having had a wide range of distribution, through the continents of America, Europe, and Asia, they are now only found at two rather isolated parts of the world — i.e. South and Central America, and the Malay region — and they are by no means numerous either in species or individuals. They are shy, solitary, nocturnal, and inoffensive animals, chiefly frequenting the depths of shady forests and the neighbourhood of water, to which they frequently resort for the purpose of bathing, and in which they will take refuge when pursued. They feed chiefly on various vegetable substances, as shoots of trees and bushes, buds and leaves. Their nose is pro- longed into a sort of short, prehensile proboscis. In the structure of the feet they scarcely differ from Hyracotherium. They are, in fact, as mentioned before, good old conservatives, which have scarcely departed in any way from the manners, customs, or structure of their ancestors. The second branch of the family can be traced through gradual modifications to the modern rhinoceroses, which in many respects are more -specialised than the tapirs. They have but three toes upon each foot, and the teeth have been considerably changed, some species having lost all the incisors, or cutting teeth, of the front of the mouth. They have, moreover, acquired the peculiarity of wearing one or two large horns upon their noses, which the early species of the family did not possess. The Evolution of the Horse. 117 Rhinoceroses were at one time abundant in North America, but at the present day they are confined to Africa and the southern parts of Asia. They are all animals of large size but of little intelligence, generally timid in disposition, though ferocious when attacked and brought to bay, using their nasal horns as weapons, by which they strike and toss their assailants. Their sight is dull, but their hearing and scent are remarkably acute. They feed on herbage, shrubs, and leaves of trees, and, like so many other large animals which inhabit hot countries, sleep the greater part of the day, being most active in the cool of the evening, or even during the night. They are fond of bathing and wallowing in water or mud. As with the tapirs, none of the species have been domesticated. The horse family are the most progressive members of the group, having undergone a more complete series of changes, in many parts of their structures, than either of the others — modi- fications all in adaptation to a changed mode of life. All the existing members of the group inhabit open plains, prairies, steppes, or deserts. They save themselves from their enemies, the larger carnivora, not by hiding among the recesses of thickets, as the tapir, or by their great size and strength, as the rhinoceros, but by the acuteness of their senses of sight, smell, and hearing, and by their marvellous speed. Their limbs are eminently adapted for galloping over hard ground, not for plodding deliberately through swamps ; and their teeth are admirably modified for masticating the harsh, dry herbage of the plains, not the soft, succulent vegetables of the marshes and forests, in which their ancestors mainly dwelt. The existing species of the genus Equus, or horse, are the following : — (1.) The horse ( Equus caballus ), distinguished from all the others by the long hairs of the tail being more abundant, and growing quite from the base, as well as from the end and sides, and also by possessing a small, bare callosity on the inner side of the hind leg, just below the hock, or heel-joint, in addition to the one on the inner side of the fore-arm, above the carpus (“knee-” joint), common to all the genus. The mane is also longer and more flowing, the ears shorter, the limbs longer, the toes broader, and the head smaller. Fossil remains of horses differing but slightly from the smaller and inferior breeds of those now existing are found abundantly, in deposits of the most recent geological age, in almost every part of America, from Eschscholtz Bay in the north to Patagonia in the south. In that continent, however, they became quite extinct, and no horses, either wild or domesti- cated, existed there at the time of the Spanish conquest, which 118 The Evolution of the Horse. is the more remarkable as, when introduced from Europe, the horses that ran wild proved by their rapid multiplication in the plains of South America and Texas that the climate, food, and other circumstances were highly favourable for their existence. The former great abundance of horses in America, their com- plete extinction, and their perfect acclimatisation when re-intro- duced by man, form curious, but as yet unsolved, problems in the geographical distribution of animals. In Europe, wild horses were extremely abundant in the Polished Stone period, before the annals of our present historical age commenced. Judging by the quantity of their remains found associated with those of the Man of that time, the chase of these animals must have been among his chief occupations, and they must have served him with one of his most impor- tant food-supplies. The character of the bones preserved, and certain rude but graphic representations carved on bones or reindeer’s antlers found in caves in the South of France, enable us to know that they were rather small in size and heavy in build, with large heads and rough, shaggy manes and tails — much like, in fact, the present wild horses of the steppes of Russia. These horses were domesticated by the inhabitants of Europe before the dawn of history ; but it is doubtful whether the majority of the horses now existing on the Continent are derived from them, as it is more probable that they are the descendants of horses imported, through Greece and Italy, from Asia, derived from a still earlier domestication, followed by gra- dual improvement through long-continued attention bestowed on their breeding and training. Horses are now diffused, through the agency of man, throughout almost the whole of the inhabited part of the globe, and the great modifications they have under- gone in consequence of domestication and selective breeding are well known to all. In Australia, as in America, horses imported by the European settlers have escaped into the unreclaimed lands, and multiplied to a prodigious extent, roaming in vast herds over the plains where no hoofed animal ever trod before. (2.) The domestic ass (Equus asinus) is nearly as widely diffused and useful to man as the horse. It was known in Egypt long before the horse, and is probably of African origin, as it has lately been found in a wild state in the highlands of Abyssinia. (3.) The Asiatic wild ass (Equus hemionus ), -which roams in small herds in the open plains of Syria, of many parts of Persia, and of the north-west of India, and in the highlands of Tartary and Tibet, from the shores of the Caspian to the frontiers of China, differs from the last in being of a redder or 119 The Evolution of the Ilorse. more yellow colour, instead of pure grey, in wanting the dark streak across the shoulder, and in having smaller ears. It has a dark-coloured stripe along the middle of the back. There are several distinct varieties, which some naturalists consider species — the Syrian wild ass ; the Onager from Persia, the Punjab, Scinde, and the Desert of Cutch ; and the Kiang, or Dzeggetai of the high table-lands of Tibet, where it is usually met with at an elevation of 15,000 feet and upwards above the sea-level. They are all remarkably swift, having been known to outstrip the fleetest horse in speed. Lastly, there are three, or perhaps four, striped species, all in- habitants of Africa — the quagga ( Equus quagga), the dauw, or Burchell’s zebra ( Equus Burchelli), the mountain zebra of the Cape Colony (Equus zebra), and another recently discovered in eastern Africa, called Equus grevyi. At the beginning of the present century these were all exceedingly abundant, especially Burchell’s zebra and the quagga, which roamed in enormous herds over the great plains north of the Orange River; but since the introduction of European firearms, their numbers are rapidly diminishing, and their complete extermination seems to be only a question of time. There are thus at least six modifications of the horse type at present existing sufficiently distinct to be reckoned as species by zoologists, and easily recognised by their external characters. They are, however, all so closely allied that each will, at least in a state of domestication or captivity, breed with perfect freedom with any of the others. Cases of fertile union are re- corded between the horse and the quagga ; the horse and dauw or Burchell’s zebra ; the horse and the hemionus or Asiatic wild ass ; the common ass and the zebra, the common ass and the dauw, the common ass and the hemionus, the hemionus and the zebra, and the hemionus and the dauw. The two species which are, perhaps, the farthest removed in general structure — the horse and the ass — produce, as is well known, hybrids or mules, which, in some qualities useful to man, excel both their progeni- tors, and in some countries, and for certain kinds of work, are in greater requisition than either. Although occasional instances have been recorded of female mules breeding with the males of one or other of the pure species, it is doubtful if any case has occurred of mules breeding with one another. The different species of the group are, therefore, now in that degree of physio- logical separation which enables them to produce offspring with each other, but does not permit the progeny to continue the race, at all events, unless reinforced by the aid of one of the pure forms. 120 The Deviation of the Horse. In tui’ning to the consideration of the anatomical structure of the horse, it will only be possible, in the space allowed for this paper, to speak briefly upon certain points of special interest connected with its present mode of life, its evolution, and its relation to other animal forms. I will first take an obvious external characteristic — the so-called “chestnuts,” or “ mallenders ” and “ sallenders,” as they are designated in old books. These are certain patches upon the inner side of the limbs of all horses, definite in form and definite in position, in which the structure of the skin is different from what it is in other places. The papillae of the derm or true skin are enlarged, and an abundant and thickened epidermal covering, which becomes dry and horny, and sometimes accumulates in considerable quantity on the surface, takes the place of the usual hair. Their structure, in fact, is much like that of a wart or corn ; but they are not a pathological product, though often treated as such in old books on veterinary surgery. They exist at birth, are equally developed in both sexes, and their constancy of form, size, and position (as mentioned before), give one of the characteristic distinctions of the species Equus caballus. They differ in form in the two limbs, but are in both placed upon the inner surface, and nearer to the hinder than the front border. That on the fore-limb is above the carpal, or wrist-joint (commonly called “knee”), that on the hind limb, below the ankle, or “ hock ” joint. In the donkeys and zebras the hinder one is absent, but the one upon the fore-limb exists, though in a modified form. In the zebra it is a large, circular patch of bare skin, of a black colour, but scarcely elevated above the surrounding surface. The signification and utility of these structures are a com- plete puzzle. Various suggestions have been made, none of which will bear examination. One of the most plausible, especially in the light of modern comparative anatomy, is that that they are rudiments or vestiges of the inner toe — the thumb or pollex of the fore-limb, the great toe or hallux of the hind limb — which, as already indicated, and will be more fully shown presently, is not otherwise represented in the horse. There are, however, many objections to this theory. The inner toe is always the first to disappear in all mammals, and no traces of it are found in any Ungulate, either Perissodactyle or Artiodactyle, except the most ancient forms. It is, therefore, most unlikely that anything of this digit should remain in the horse after the complete dis- appearance of the second, fourth, and fifth. In the next place, there is nothing beneath the modified patch of skin showing any trace of the structure of a toe, and the resemblance of this patch The Evolution of the Horse. 121 to a lioof is of the very slightest character, especially in the donkeys and zebras, where, indeed, it has none. But the most serious objec- tion is the situation of the one that is most constant — that on the fore limb — where it is placed, not on the hand, as it would be, if it represented the thumb, but upon the arm, at some distance above the wrist-joint. Lastly, such a hypothesis is quite un- necessary, for they obviously belong to a numerous class of special modifications of particular parts of the cutaneous surface, which occur in very many animals, the use of which is in most cases remarkably obscure. Bare spots, thickened patches or cal- losities, and tufts of elongated, or modified hair, often associated with groups of peculiar glands, are very common in many parts of the body, but especially the limbs, of many Ungulates, and to this category undoubtedly the “ chestnuts” of the horse belong. If they teach us nothing else, they afford a valuable lesson as to our own ignorance of the meaning and the use of a structure so conspicuous to observation, and in an animal whose mode of life, almost more than any other, we have had the fullest opportunity of becoming intimately acquainted with. That they have some significance or utility cannot be doubted ; but I must admit that it is at present beyond our powers to guess what it is, or to account for their presence upon any of the hitherto recognised principles of causation of animal modifications. The nostrils of the horse are, as is well known, large, and very dilatable, allowing of the admission of a greater or less amount of air according to the demands of respiration. Owing to the structure of the soft palate, and its relation to the upper end of the larynx, breathing takes place entirely through the nose. When men, dogs, and many other animals, owing to any great exertion, begin to pant, and require an additional quantity of air to that which is ordinarily taken in by the nose, the mouth comes to the aid of that channel, and is widely opened ; but the horse, under the same circumstances, can only expand the mar- gins of the nostrils, for which action there is a very efficient set of muscles, acting upon the cartilaginous framework which supports them and determines their peculiar outline. Imme- diately within the margin of the upper part of the nostril is a structure of very considerable interest, which is generally sup- posed to be peculiar to the horse and its immediate allies, as the ass, the use of which is entirely unknown. It is a blind pouch, about three inches in depth, conical in form, though slightly curved, and lying in the cleft seen in the' dried skull between the nasal and the premaxillary bones. It is a diver- ticulum from the nasal passage, with which it freely communi- cates below, and is lined by a continuation of the same mucous 122 The Evolution of the Horse. membrane. In veterinary surgery it is called the “ false nostril.” If this were all we knew about this organ, it would be un- satisfactory enough ; but it immediately acquires interest when we know that in the tapir a similar structure, only in a very much more developed condition, is found. In that animal it runs upwards, as a long, narrow tube, from the external nostril, at first in contact with its fellow of the opposite side, and after- wards, taking a curiously-curved course, terminates in a dilated, closed extremity, which lies in a distinct groove by the side of the upper part of the nasal bone. Its walls are cartilaginous, and convoluted in such a manner as greatly to increase the area of the internal surface. It is obvious that the “ false nostril ” of the horse cannot be looked upon as anything specially belonging to the economy of that animal, but as a rudimentary condition, or survival of some structure which is far more highly developed in some of the more primitive forms of Perissodactyles. This view is greatly strengthened by the recent discovery of an exactly similar structure in the rhinoceros, only in a condition intermediate between that in which it is found in the horse and the tapir. Thus, an organ which, when only known in one animal, appeared strange, anomalous, and puzzling, because there seemed nothing to account for its presence, acquires in the light of wider knowledge a much deeper interest ; for, if we cannot even yet discover its purpose, its presence in some modification in all of these three now very distinct forms, and in, as far as is known, no other mammals, is a strong corrobo- ration of the view, formed upon other evidence, of their close affinity and common descent. Other equally mysterious structures are the “guttural pouches,” also divertieula of the respiratory passages, large cavities, one on each side, situated at the base of the skull, behind the pharynx, and connected with the Eustachian tubes, and which, in the most approved works on veterinary anatomy, are said to be “ found only in Solipeds.” Exactly similar pouches exist in the tapir, but I am not aware whether they have as yet been looked for in the rhinoceros. The next parts to which attention may be called are the teeth, which in the horse, though founded upon the same general type as the primitive Ungulates of the Eocene period, have undergone a remarkable amount of specialisation, which fits them in an eminent degree for the purpose they have to fulfil. For convenience of description, teeth are divided, according to their situation in the mouth and other characters, into four The Evolution of the Horse. 123 sets, called (beginning from the front) incisors , canines, pre- molars, and molars ; and all the early Ungulate animals had, without exception, on each side, above and below, three incisors, one canine, four premolars, and three molars — that is, eleven on each side above and eleven below, or forty-four altogether. The modern horse has very nearly, but not quite, this full number. The front teeth, or incisors, are the same, taking the two sides together, six above and six below. The canines or “ tushes,” are present, as a rule, only in the males. The cheek-teeth, or molars and premoiars, taken together (for there is very little to distinguish them in form or size), are generally but six, instead of seven. Here, then, is a case of specialisation by suppression. One of the teeth of the ancient forms has disappeared. Which is it? The examination of fossil remains shows us that the first of the series — the anterior premolar, a fairly large and well- developed tooth in Phenacodus and Hyracotherium — gradually became smaller and smaller as time advanced. But has it entirely disappeared in the modern horse ? What do we read in old books on veterinary surgery ? — “ Wolves’ teeth are two very small, supplementary teeth, appearing in front of the molar teeth, and supposed to have an injurious effect on the eyes (!), and are therefore often removed by farriers.” These little rudiments of teeth, about which such nonsense as the above has been written, are, when properly understood, of intense interest. Their diminutive size, their irregular form and inconstant presence, combined with their history in the extinct horse-like animals, show them to be teeth which, for some reason to us at present unknown, have become superfluous — have been very gradually and slowly (as in the case of all operations of the kind) dispensed with, and are, in the stage to which the horse has now arrived in its evolution, upon the point of disappearance. The presence of these so-called “ wolves’ teeth ” alone is suf- ficient, if we had no other proof, to show that the horse is not an isolated creation, but one link in a great chain of organic beings. The six remaining molar teeth (or, rather, three premolars and three true molars) have undergone a remarkable series of modifications as time advanced. The crowns of all these teeth in the early forms were very short ; there was a distinct con- striction— the neck — between the crown and the roots, and when the teeth were developing, as soon as the neck once rose fairly above the alveolar margin, the tooth remained permanently in this position. The term “ brachydont,” or short tooth, ex- presses this condition. The free surface had two, nearly trans- verse, curved ridges, with valleys between, and had no deposit of cementum filling them, the whole exposed surface of the 124 The Evolution of the Horse. unworn tootli being coated with enamel, the hardest substance entering into the formation of animal bodies. When the ridges became worn down, the dentine, or ivory of the interior, was exposed, forming islands surrounded by enamel. With the progress of time horse-like animals appeared with the crowns of the teeth gradually becoming longer, the valleys deeper, and the ridges not only more elevated, but more curved and com- plex in arrangement. To give support to these high ridges, and to save them breaking in use, the valleys and cavities between them became filled up to the top with a bony substance, called cement, and as the crown wore down an admirable grind- ing surface, consisting of patches and islands of the two softer substances, dentine and cementum, separated by variously re- Fig. 2. — A. Side view of upper molar tooth of Anchitherium (brachydont, form). B. Corresponding tooth of horse (hypsidont form), c. The same tooth of an old horse with the greater part of the crown worn away , and the roots fully formed. D. Grinding surface of the molar tooth of a horse. The uncoloured portion is the dentine or ivory ; the shaded part the cementum, filling the cavities and surrounding the exterior ; the black line separating these two is the enamel or hardest constituent of the tooth. duplicated and contorted projecting lines of intensely hard enamel, resulted. The crown continued lengthening throughout the Pliocene time, until, in the modern horse, it assumed the form called “ hypsidont,” or high-toothed. Instead of contracting into a neck, and forming roots, its sides continue parallel for a considerable depth in the socket, and as the surface wears away the whole tooth slowly pushes up, and maintains the grinding edge constantly at the same level above the bone, much as in the perpetually-growing teeth of rats and beavers. But in existing horses there is a limit to the growth of the molar. After a length is attained which, in normal conditions, supplies sufficient grinding-surface for the lifetime of the animal, a neck and roots are formed, and the tooth is reduced to the condition The Evolution of the Horse. 125 of that of the brachydont ancestor. It is perfectly clear that this lengthening of the crown adds greatly to the power of the teeth as organs of mastication, and enables the animals in which it has taken place to find their sustenance among compara- tively dry and harsh herbage, the stalks of which often contain much hard mineral matter, instead of being limited to the more soft and succulent vegetable productions of the marshes and forests, in which the primitive brachydont forms of Ungulates mostly dwelt. The incisors, or front teeth of the horse, have a peculiarity not found in those of any other mammal, and seen only in the Equidce of comparatively recent geological formations. In the most primitive species these teeth were simple, and chisel or awl shaped ; when their crowns became worn in consequence of long-continued use, they presented an external ring of enamel, surrounding a core of the dentine, or ivory, of which the bulk of the tooth is composed. The next modification consisted in the development of a ridge along the hinder border of the base of the crown. By the continuous increase of this ridge, and its union with the edges of the main part of the crown, a deep hole is produced, the orifice of which is transversely elongated, and placed rather behind the cutting-edge of the tooth. This is the condition seen in a colt’s incisor which has just cut the gum. As wear takes place, the surface, besides the external enamel layer, as in an ordinary simple tooth, shows, in addition, a second inner ring of the same substance surrounding the pit, which, of course, adds greatly to the efficiency of the tooth as an organ for biting tough, fibrous substances. This pit, generally filled in the living animal with particles of food, is conspicuous from its dark colour, and constitutes the “ mark ” (Fig. 3 a), by which the age of the horse is judged ; and in consequence of its only extending to a certain depth in the crown, it becomes obliterated as the tooth wears away, which then assumes the character of that of an ordinai’y incisor, consisting of only a core of dentine, surrounded by an external enamel layer. The modifications of the limbs which took place pari passu with those of the teeth must have been associated with increased speed, especially over firm and unyielding ground. Short, stout legs, and broad feet, with numerous toes, spreading apart from each other when the weight of the creature is borne on them, are sufficiently well adapted for quietly walking over marshy and yielding surfaces, and the tapirs and rhinoceroses — which, as mentioned before, have altered comparatively little from the primitive Eocene forms— still haunt the borders of streams and the shady depths of the forests, as was probably the habit of their 12 G The Evolution of the TIorse. ancient representatives, while the horses are all inhabitants of the open plains, for life upon which their whole organisation is in the most eminent degree adapted. The length and mobility of the neck, the position of the eye and the ear, and the great development of the organ of smell, give them ample means of becoming aware of the approach of enemies ; while the length of their limbs, the angles the different segments form with each other, and especially the combination of firmness, stability, and a. Fig. 3. — Permanent incisor of the Horse d [See page 125.] lightness in the reduction of all the toes to a single one, upon which the whole weight of the body and all the muscular power of the limb are concentrated, give them speed and endurance surpassing those of almost any other animal. If we were not so habituated to the sight of the horse as hardly ever to consider its structure, we should greatly marvel at being told of an animal so strangely constructed that it had but a single toe on each limb, on the end of the nail of which it walked or galloped. Such a formation is without a parallel, 1 From Professor Brown’s pamphlet on Dentition as Indicative of the Age of the Animals of the Farm, published by the Society. The Evolution of the Horse. 127 and, indeed, is one of the most remarkable instances of speciali- sation or deviation from the usual type, in accordance with special conditions of life, which is known. It can be demon- strated, both by the structure of the foot itself, and also by an examination of the various intermediate fossil species, that this toe corresponds to the middle or third of the complete, typical five-toed foot — the “ ring finger ” of man ; and there is very strong evidence to show that, by a gradual concentration of all the power upon this toe, and the concurrent dwindling away, and final disappearance, of all the others, the present condition of the horse’s foot has been produced. The- small, horse-like animals of the Eocene period, with five, four, or three toes on each foot, have already been men- tioned. In the next age of the world’s history — the early Mio- cene period — the animal most like the existing horse was the Anchitherium , the remains of which are found in a fossil state both in Europe and America. In this genus there were three well-developed toes reaching the ground on each foot, and the bones of the fore-arm (radius and ulna), and those of the leg (tibia and fibula), were fully developed and distinct. This animal was succeeded by animals which have been named Hipparion, Ilippotherium , Protohippus, and Pliohippus , of which there were many kinds, differing slightly in form and proportions, and in the characters of the enamel foldings of their molar teeth, but resembling each other in the structure of the feet. In these the lateral toes, though containing the full number of bones, were much reduced in size, and did not reach the ground, but were suspended to the outside of, and rather behind, the large middle one, like the rudimentary outer toes of the deer, or the short, first digit (“ dew-claw ”) of the dog. Horses, or, rather horse-like creatures, with this structure of feet, were no longer met with when the Pleistocene, or latest geological period, set in ; but then, for the first time, appeared the true horse, in its development exactly, or very nearly, as we know it now. The outer toes (second and fourth) were reduced to rudiments of the metacarpals or metatarsals only — the so-called “ splint bones ” — entirely concealed beneath the skin, while the middle or third toe was greatly elongated, and had its last bone (ungual phalanx, os pedis , or “ coffin-bone ”) much expanded in breadth. At the same time, the stability of the fore-arm and leg was increased by the two bones contained in each in the primitive forms being completely fused into one. Even since the Pleis- tocene period a change has taken place, as in horses of the present time the lateral rudimentary metacarpals, or splint bones, though independent bones in the young animal, have a 123 The Evolution of the Horse. great tendency to become united with the large middle bone as life goes on ; but in the horses of prehistoric, or still earlier, times, they are always found free. If space permitted, numerous other points of interest about the structure of the horse’s limbs could be adduced as indicative of its position in Nature and probable descent. The number, arrangement, and relations of the muscles, especially the pre- sence of some in a perfectly rudimentary state — mere vestiges * c Fig. 4. — Side view of the skeleton of the foot of— A. Anchitherium. b. Hip- parion. c. Horse ( from Gaudry, “ Les Ancetres de nos Arnmaux ' ). II, in, and lv. Second, third, and fourth of the complete series of toes, in. Metacarpal, p 1. First phalanx or great pastern, p 2. Second phalanx or lesser pastern, p 3. Third or ungual phalanx ; coffin bone. of those which in animals with many toes cause not only the actions of bending and straightening, but also the various movements from side to side — can only be explained upon the supposition that the horse is the modified descendant of a more generalised type of animal, a view which is now held by most zoologists who have given much study to this question, and for which the principal evidence lias been briefly set forth in this paper. W. H. Flower. 129 BASIC CINDER AS MANURE. Basic cinder, known also as basic slag, Thomas’ slag, Thomas’ phosphate powder, and Thomas’ powder, is a product of a process for converting phosphoric pig-iron into steel for which a patent was taken out by Messrs. Thomas & P. C. Gilchrist in the year 1879. About 85 per cent, of the known deposits of iron ore in Great Britain are phosphoric to the extent of containing one part or more of phosphorus per thousand of iron ; probably this ratio holds good with the known iron ores of the world. In smelt- ing this ore to make pig-iron, practically the whole of the phos- phorus of the ore goes into the pig-iron. Such phosphoric pig is not suitable for making steel by the ordinary Bessemer, or by Siemens’ process, as the phosphorus remains in the steel, and renders it “cold short.” It follows, that only about 15 per cent, of iron ores, chiefly haematite, which are nearly free from phosphorus, can be used in steel-making by these pro- cesses. Pig-iron made from the Cleveland. Staffordshire, Scotland, and other similar iron ores, contains phosphorus varying usually from about 0 8 up to 3 per cent. Pig-iron of this class can now, by the Thomas-Gilchrist process, be readily converted into first- class steel and ingot-iron. The process most commonly used is a modification of the Bessemer process, though it may also be adapted to the Siemens’ process, of steel-making. The “ converter " into which the molten cast-iron is run is lined with magnesian limestone instead of with the usual siliceous ganister. Lime to the extent of about 1 5 or 20 per cent, of the weight of the cast-iron is thrown into the converter at the beginning of the “ blow.” The “ blow ” — a powerful blast of air forced through the molten metal — is conducted as in the ordinary Bessemer process, but is continued a little longer than in the ordinary plan. The oxygen of the air unites with the impurities of the pig-iron, with the phosphorus to form phosphoric acid, which in its turn unites with the lime to form phosphate of lime. Some of the iron is also oxidised to form ferrous and ferric oxides. "When the “blow ” is finished — in about fifteen minutes — most of the oxidised substances are found floating on the surface of the steel as slag, or cinder, which is then removed by tipping the con- verter. This cinder forms a dark-coloui*ed, vesicular substance, containing an admixture of fragments of steel and separate crystals of phosphate of lime. VOL. I. t. s. — 1 K 130 Basic Cinder as Manure. The slag, on being freed from metallic iron and finely pow- dered, lias about the following percentage composition : — ■ Percentage composition Phosphoric acid ..... 16 5 Lime 49-0 Magnesia . . 50 Ferrous oxide 1P0 Ferric oxide 35 Manganese oxide ..... 35 Vanadium oxide ..... '2 Sulphide of lime ..... '6 Percentage composition Sulphuric acid ...... "2 Silica 7-0 Alumina 2’0 Moisture, carbonic acid, alka- lies, &c. ....... 1'5 1000 This percentage of phosphoric acid is equivalent to 36 per cent, of tribasic phosphate of lime (bone-earth). By a modification of the process, under Schleibler’s patent, by which insufficient lime is added in the first place to ensure complete dephosphorisation of the iron, a slag richer in phos- phates is obtained, containing 24 to 28 per cent, of phosphoric acid, which is sold under the name of “ Patent Phosphate Meal.” This modified process is not, however, largely used. The steel made by the Thomas-Gilchrist process is very free from phosphorus, containing from none up to about -06 per cent. Last year the make of steel in this country by this process was nearly 500,000 tons, and the total make in all countries over 2,250,000 tons, an increase of 320,000 tons over that of the previous twelve months. In England, the chief works using it are in the Cleveland district, at Middlesbro’, and in South Staffordshire, at Wolverhampton. The following tables show the progress of the process from the commencement of its use till the end of last year : — TABLE Showing the Amount of Basic Steel, or Thomas-Gilchrist Steel, made Annually from 1878 to 1889 inclusive. Year England Other Countries Total Tons Tons Tons 1878 20 — 20 1879 1,150 50 1,200 1880 10,000 40,000 50,000 1881 46,120 289,880 330,000 1882 109,364 340,636 450,000 1883 122,380 511,993 634,373 1884 179,000 685,000 864,000 1885 145,707 799,610 945,317 1880 258,466 1,055,165 1,313,631 1887 435,040 1,589,025 2,024,01 1 1888 408,594 1,544,640 1,953,234 1889 493,919 1,780,633 2,274,552 Totals . 2,209,706 8,636,632 10,846,338 Basic Cinder as Manure. 131 The amount made in the different countries for the years ending December 31, 1888, and December 31, 1889, respectively, was as follows : — 1889 1888 Country Total Ingot-iron under '17 per cent, carbon Total Ingot-iron under 47 per cent, carbon England Germany and Austria . . . France Belgium and other countries . Tons 493,919 1,481,842 222,392 76,599 Tons 348,828 1,185,323 159,271 71,217 Tons 408,594 1,276,070 222,333 46,237 Tons 276,476 1,026,033 158,223 32,300 Total . . . 2,274,552 1,764,639 1,953,234 1,493,032 With this million tons of basic steel, about 700,000 tons of basic slag, containing phosphoric acid equal to about 3G per cent, of phosphate of lime (bone-earth), were produced. With the formation of this phosphoric slag, or basic cinder, arose the question, Can it be used as a manure to supply farm- crops with phosphoric acid ? The first, somewhat rough, experi- ments made with the slag itself in the neighbourhood of works producing it, and some made at Cirencester by the author, gave varying, and, on the whole, rather unsatisfactory, results, due, as we now know, to the slag not being sufficiently finely powdered. Scores of patents were taken out for processes by which the phosphoric acid might be utilised, mainly for agricultural pro- cesses. One of these was worked to a rather large extent. By it a fine, precipitated phosphate of lime, mainly dibasic phos- phate, is produced, containing 32 to 33 per cent, of phosphoric acid, equivalent to 70-73 per cent, of ordinary phosphate of lime. This is an excellent manure, but its high price prohibits its extensive use. There is now abundant evidence to show that the raw cinder, if very finely ground, is a very efficient phosphatic manure. That the ferrous oxide present is not in a form in which it is injurious to plants, is shown by the fact that dressings of one, two, and even three tons per acre may be given without injurious effects, though, it is true, with no more beneficial effects than very much smaller dressings. Chemical investiga- tion has shown that the phosphoric acid is combined with lime, chiefly in the form of tetrabasic phosphate (4CaO, P205, or Ca4P20,,), not in the more commonly occurring form of tribasic phosphate (Ca3P208). The phosphate in this form is much more soluble in water 132 Basic Cinder as Manure. containing carbonic acid, and in dilute saline solutions, than is the ordinary mineral phosphate of lime ; and to this is doubtless due the greater efficiency of the basic cinder, provided it be very finely ground. The grinding was at first a great difficulty, principally owing to the fragments of steel present in the slag playing havoc with ordinary mills. This difficulty is, however, now overcome, and special machinery with roller mills is at work in several places for grinding the slag. From 1882 onwards a great number of field and pot-culture experiments have been carried on with the ground slag in Germany and other parts of the Continent, and the results, on the whole, have been very favourable to the use of the slag : so much so, that by far the largest proportion of the slag produced in England has been sold to go to the Continent. Some of the most carefully-conducted and most interesting of the culture experiments in pots have been conducted during several years by Dr. P. Wagner, Director of the Agricultural Experiment Station at Darmstadt, and certain of liis experiments clearly show the importance of fine grinding. In this country, the first systematic field experiments were made in 1885, by Mr. Wrightson and Dr. Munro, on swedes. These experiments were made partly at Ferryhill, Durham, on a stiff, deep clay, deficient in lime, and partly at Downton, Wilts, on a light, chalky soil. The season was a bad one for roots, but in the stiff, clay soil, the basic cinder at the rate of 4 cwt. per acre gave excellent results — better than an equal weight of mineral superphosphate. On the chalk soil the results were not so favourable, but the cinder, especially if applied in rather large dressings, gave very marked good results. In 1886, the present writer, in conjunction with Mr. Russell Swanwick, carried out very numerous experiments with basic slag on the Royal Agricultural College Farm, both on swedes aud on potatoes, and a few on grass land. Generally, the slag, which was used in varying amounts up to 1 ton per acre, gave an increase of about 3£ tons of roots per acre over unmanured plots — not quite as much as was given by 3 cwt. of superphos- phate. The quantity of slag applied, whether 4 cwt. or up- wards, had little effect on the yield of the crop to which it was first applied : 4 cwt. and 6 cwt. gave as good results as 20 cwt. on the first crop. On potatoes, 10 cwt. of slag gave much the same results as 6 cwt. of mineral superphosphate. On grass, the slag had a good effect, but not quite equal to that produced by a somewhat smaller dressing of superphosphate. Other experi- ments were carried out in the same year by Mr. Warington, on Sir J. B. Dawes’s farm at llotharnsted ; by Mr. W. Field, junr., at Basic Cinder as Manure. 133 Redbourne, Herts ; by Dr. J. Aitken, at Pumpberston, Scotland ; by Mr. D. Wilson, at Carbetb, Scotland ; and by Mr. T. A. Dickson, Kinnersley, Herefordshire. The results of these ex- periments showed that on all these different soils the slag was an efficient phosphatic manure, in most cases — when applied in somewhat larger quantities — producing as large a yield as super- phosphate. Since 1886 this manure has been more extensively used, and seems to be slowly growing in favour. During the last three years a series of rather extensive experiments with it, on dif- ferent crops, has been made by Mr. James Mason, at Eynsliam Hall, Witney, Oxfordshire, on soils resting on the Oxford clay. Most of the results obtained have been favourable to the use of slag, and in some cases the effect of the residues of slag applied to previous crops on succeeding cereal crops has been very marked. In response to an invitation to carry out experiments mainly with the object of testing the effect of basic cinder as compared with superphosphate, several Members of the Royal Agricultural College Club agreed, in 1889, to carry on a scheme of experi- ments on swedes as drawn up by myself. These members were : — Messrs. (1) G. J. M. Burnett, (2) H. Chancellor, (3) J. Edwards, (4) E. B. Haygarth, (5) Capt. M. J. Harrison, R.H., (6) E. Powell King, (7) Thomas Latham, (8) F. W. Silvester, and (9) Beville Stanier, and (10) the Royal Agricultural College. The seed and manure used in all cases were uniform. The super- phosphate contained 26-8 per cent, of “soluble” phosphate, and 5-6 per cent, “insoluble ” phosphate. The basic slag contained 17-8 percent, of phosphoric acid, equivalent to 38’8 per cent, of tribasic phosphate of lime ; 85 per cent, of it passed through a sieve of 100 meshes to an inch : the nitrate of soda contained 98'4 per cent, of pure nitrate. The following proposals as to the carrying out of the experi- ments were circulated among the Members of the Club : — Field Experiments with Manures on Swedes with Thomas' Basic Cinder and Superphosphate, with and without Nitrogenous Manures. It is desired in these experiments to compare the effects of superphos- phate with those of finely-divided basic cinder (or slag) obtained by the “ Thomas-Gilchrist ” process of making steel. Each manure should be tried (1) alone, (2) in conjunction with farm- yard manure, and (3) with mineral nitrogen, given in the form of a ton- dressing of nitrate of soda. The superphosphate (ordinary mineral superphosphate, 25% soluble) to be used at the rate of 3 cwt. per acre ; the basic cinder at two different rates— 4 cwt. and G cwt. per acre ; and the nitrate of soda, as a top-dressing, at the rate of 1 cwt. per acre. It is proposed in these experiments, in order to counteract differences 134 Basic Cinder as Manure. due to irregularity of the soil in different parts of the field, and at the same time to avoid the trouble of duplicate or triplicate plots, to sow the manures in alternate breadths (of two or three rows each, according to the number of coulters on the drill used) across the field. Another advantage of this plan is that comparisons can be easily made at different parts of the field as to the condition of the crop at all periods of its growth. In the proposed experiments there will be 8 phosphated series and one without phosphates — 4 in all— each series tried on three different sections of land, making altogether 12 experiments. Each section of the field may be as large as is convenient, provided the pliosphatic manuring be repeated in alternate breadths. It is very important that the drill deliver the amount of manure required evenly ; and, if possible, trial should be made on unexperimental ground to test the delivering power of the machine when set. The whole experimental area should be sown in one day, and as quickly as possible, so as to avoid any differences in growth brought about by showers at the time of sowing. Should the nature of the soil indicate that potash is a desirable addition to the manuring, 8 cwt. kainit per acre may be sown broadcast across the rows over half the experimental area. It is essential that the basic cinder be very finely divided ; this, as well as the superphosphate, will be analysed in the laboratory of the Royal Agri- cultural College, and prepared and sent out under the instructions of Prof. Kinch, Unfortunately, owing to bad season and other mishaps, some of the experimental results were of no value as showing the relative effects of the two forms of phosphates : thus, the swedes of Captain Harrison (5), at Shiprods, Slinfold, Sussex, were ploughed up without being weighed. Those of Mr. King (6), Wainsford, Lymington, Hants, suffered severely from clubbing. Those of Mr. Chancellor (2), at Chessington, Surrey, were a deficient plant, owing to the dry time at the end of June, and were very much affected by mildew, so that they were of no quantitative value. In Mr. Stanier’s (9) experiments, at Peplow, Shropshire, unfortu- nately, the previous treatment of all the plots had not been quite similar, and the seed, owing to the wet weather, was sown very late. A very small crop was obtained, and the only marked result was the advantage of farmyard manure. Mr. Stanier also experimented at Cheswardine, Staffordshire. Here also no defi- nite results were obtained from the use of either form of phos- phate, though farmyard manure gave a good increase. In Mr. Latham’s (7) experiments, there is evidence that the land was in too good condition, at all events as regards phosphates, for these to show any appreciable results. Below are given the weights of roots obtained in the remain- ing five of this series of experiments : — (1.) Mr. Burnett’s experiments were carried out at Little Kendalls, Elstree, Herts, on a sandy soil, the previous cropping being: 1886, Swedes, manured and fed off with sheep receiving cake ; 1887, Wheat; 1888, Barley Basic Cinder as Manure. 135 The dung was used at the rate of 18 tons per acre. The seed was sown on May 22. (3.) Those of Mi\ J. Edwards were carried out at Tyntesfield, Somerset, on a red loam overlying carboniferous limestone. Previous cropping : 1887, Swedes; 1888, Oats. The farmyard manure was used at the rate of 18 tons per acre. Seed sown on May 31. The nitrate was not applied till August 3. The tops were badly mildewed. The roots were weighed on November 6. (4.) Mr. Haygarth experimented at Siddington, Gloucestershire, on a rather stony marl on the Forest Marble. Previous cropping : 1887, Wheat ; 1888, Barley. Farmyard manure, 12 tons. All the artificials were sown with the seed on May 31, and the crop weighed on October 21. (8.) Mr. Silvester’s experiments were at Hedges, St. Albans, Herts, on a light soil on the glacial drift. They were in an ordinary five-course rotation. Farmyard manure, 12 tons. The phosphates and the seed were sown the second week in June, the nitrate when the roots were singled ; and the crop was weighed the last week in October. (10.) The Royal Agricultural College experiments were on calcareous clay on the Great Oolite. Previous cropping three years’ roots. Farmyard manure, 12 tons per acre. The phosphates and the seed were sown on June 7, Weight of Roots 'per Acre. No. of plot (1) Gr. J. M. Burnett (3) J. Edwards (4) E. B. Haygarth (8) F. W. Sil- vester (10) Royal Agri- cultural College Farmyard Manure Series tons cwt. tons cwt. tons cwt. tons cwt. tons cwt. 1 4 cwt. basic cinder . 15 19f 22 18 18 4 14 17$ 15 10$ 2 3 cwt. superphosphate 21 84 22 19? 20 0 17 17§ 15 19$ 3 Nothing extra . . . 17 2 20 15* 17 8 17 H 14 o$ 4 6 cwt. basic cinder . 1G 19$ 19 Hi 17 12$ 15 19$ 14 12 Average of farmyard i manure plots . . 1 17 I7i 21 ”$ 18 5$ 16 8f IS °h No Extra Manure Series 5 4 cwt. basic cinder . 15 164 li 16f 14 84 11 !7$ 6$ 12 6$ G 3 cwt. superphosphate 15 H 15 11 14 3f 13 13 4$ 7 Nothing n 18| 6 9| 13 6 8 8f 11 8$ 8 6 cwt. basic cinder 14 18§ 15 4 14 11$ 13 4 (19 8$) Average of non-nitro- ) gen plots . . . . J 14 5* 12 Si 14 2$ li 14? 12 6 Nitrate of Soda Series, 1 civt. per Acre 9 4 cwt. basic cinder . 1G H 14 01 17 5$ 11 73. 16 m 10 3 cwt. superphosphate 17 3 1 13 14 18 5* 14 4 19 11 11 Nothing extra . . . 15 17$ G H 16 12 6 10 17 153. 12 6 cwt. basic cinder . 16 4 13 8 16 101 7 12 1G 17$ Average of nitrate \ plots ..... J 16 6 II 8 17 3$ Last two unhealthy 17 1 si 136 Basic Cinder as Manure. the nitrate on July 25 ; and the crop was weighed on November 13. Plot No. 8 in this series unaccountably gave very high results, which are excluded from further consideration. Both in these experiments and in Mr. Haygarth’s, which were only distant about two miles, the phosphates gave lower results than are usual in this district on land in ordinary or rather poor condition. In all these five cases the unmanured plot gave the lowest results. In all cases but the Royal Agricultural College, the plot with farmyard manure and superphosphate gave the highest yield of roots. At the Royal Agricultural College, nitrate of soda this season had a particularly good effect, and nitrate and superphosphate gave the highest result. In both Mr. Burnett’s and Mr. Haygarth’s experiments nitrate and superphosphate gave the second-best results. In Mr. Edwards’s, farmyard manure 4 cwt., and slag, gave the second-best results; in Mr. Silvester’s, farmyard manure alone. With Mr. Burnett and Mr. Silvester, although slag alone has proved a good manure, yet mixed with farmyard manure it seems to have had an ill effect on the yield. The reason of this is not obvious, but may have something to do with the presence of ferrous compounds. In the majority of cases, 6 cwt. of slag have given worse, or no better, results than 4 cwt. The slag alone has in nearly every instance given a good increase, in some cases equal to the super- phosphate, but it appears to be more uncertain in its action than the latter, especially when mixed with farmyard manure or with nitrate. It seems, from these results, that it is not usually desirable to apply more than 4 cwt. of slag per acre for roots, and it is quite probable that, had the slag been applied earlier, before Tons of Roots per Acre — • (1) Mr. Burnett (3) Mr. Edwards (4) Mr. Hay- garth (8) Mr. Silvester (10) Royal Agricultural College Average increase of \ farmyard manure [ series over non- ( nitrogen series . . / Average increase of j H 4 4f nitrate series over 1 non-nitrogen series) Increase from 4 cwt. 1 2 3 51 of slag alone over r unmanured . . . ) Increase from C cwt. 1 4 nearly 51 nearly i 1 of slag alone over 1 unmanured . . . J Increase from super- 1 3 00 5 nearly phosphate alone 1 over unmanured . ) H 9 1 nearly 5 2 nearly Basic Cinder as Manure. 137 sowing tlie seed, its results might have been better, as it is a slow-acting manure. The 4 cwt. of slag contains about 66 lb. more phosphate than the 3 cwt. of superphosphate, and thus leaves an extra amount of residue in the soil for future crops. The good effect of farmyard manure in all cases, and of nitrate of soda in most cases, and the effect of slag alone as com- pared with superphosphate alone, is shown in the table on p. 136. On reviewing the whole of the experiments recorded here and elsewhere, it seems proved that the finely-divided slag is an efficient phosphatic manure on all classes of soils, but is more efficacious on heavy clay and on peats, and generally on soils not containing much lime. On calcareous soils it is less certain in its effects, and on these superphosphate will always have a special value. It is a more slowly-acting manure than super- phosphate, and should be applied earlier. In cases where a com- paratively slowly-acting manure is wanted, it has advantages over superphosphate. Usually, also, it is requisite to apply a larger quantity of the slag than of superphosphate to produce the same immediate effect, generally about 5 cwt. of slag where otherwise 3 cwt. of superphosphate would be used. At present prices these amounts of the two several manures cost nearly the same. Five or 6 cwt. of slag contains almost double as much phosphoric acid as 3 or 4 cwt. of ordinary super- phosphate ; and if the effects produced in the first season are the same, the dressing of slag leaves a very much larger residue of phosphoric acid in the soil, which becomes available, more or less slowly, for succeeding crops. Some experiments seem to show that the slag residues are more effective than supei’phosphate residues, but more evidence is wanted on this point. In purchasing basic cinder, the farmer should obtain, not only a guarantee of the percentage of phosphates in the material, but a guarantee of the fineness of the powder, such, for example, as that 85 per cent, of it will pass through a sieve with 100 meshes to the lineal inch — i.e. 10,000 to the square inch — or that 75 per cent, will pass through a sieve with 120 meshes to the lineal inch. There is no immediate prospect of the cinder being adulterated with materials that would not be discovered by an ordinary analysis, as other phosphates are at the present time more expensive ; but Wagner has found that different samples of basic cinder, under like conditions, act with different degrees of rapidity. Thus, some English slags were more efficient than most others, and some from Cladno, in Bohemia, acted very slowly indeed. This may be due to the different amounts of free lime and of decomposable silicates present, but requires more investigation. 138 Agricultural Worthies. The powdered slag should never be mixed with ammonium sulphate before use, as it liberates ammonia therefrom, which is thus lost. When both are used to the same crop, the slag should be applied first. It is, moreover, undesirable to mix it with kainit ; or, if this be done, it should be sown at once, as the mixture is liable to cake and become hard. Owing to the great density of the slag, it is somewhat difficult to apply it evenly ; it is, therefore, often advantageous to mix it first with some dry earth or similar material. Edward Kinch. AGRICULTURAL WORTHIES. I.— TIIE THIRD EARL SPENCER. With an Appended Note by the Rt. Hon. Sir Harry Verney, Bart. Ix commencing a series of papers on “Agricultural Worthies,” relating more particularly to those who have been prominently connected with the Royal Agricultural Society, the first to claim attention is the eminent man whose name stands at the head of this notice, and who, primus inter pares, was foremost amongst those to whom we owe its inception, establishment, and early development. John Charles, third Earl Spencer, better known in early life by his courtesy-title, Lord Althorp, which he bore from his birth till within eleven years of his death, was born at Spencer House, St. James’s, on May 30, 1782. He was educated at Harrow, and at Trinity College, Cambridge, honorary degree, as was usual at that time with persons of rank. During his first term at Cambridge he was, according to his own account, very idle ; but finding that his mother had set her heart upon his being in the first class in the next college examination, he applied himself so diligently to his studies that in his second year this hope was fulfilled. EARL SPENCER.1 Born 1782 ; Died 1815. where he took an 1 This portrait is copied from the original model of Earl Spencer, taken at Althorp by the eminent Mr. William Wyon, R.A., in the year 1841. This model, from which the Smithfield Club’s medal, and other medallions of Lord Spencer were taken, is now in the possession of the Society, having been pre- sented to it in March 1890 by Mr. Leonard C. Wyon. The Third Earl Spencer. 139 His college tutor was Mr. Allen, subsequently Bishop of Ely, who had graduated as seventh wrangler, and from whom he acquired a knowledge of mathematics which he frequently turned to practical account in after-life. His mind had, indeed, a mathematical bent, and his fondness for intricate cal- culations not only facilitated his work, and made him greatly independent of others when he attained high office as Chancellor of the Exchequer, but was manifested in various ways. It is, indeed, related as an instance of his exactitude, that on one occasion, finding an error of threepence in the accounts of the Royal Agricultural Society, he spent four hours with Colonel Challoner in setting the matter right. In early life Lord Althorp evinced a strong inclination for the sea ; but his father, though he afterwards put two of his sons into the Navy, had other views for his heir-apparent, intend- ing that he should enter Parliament. Lord Althorp’s predilec- tions, however, were not legislative, but pastoral. From his earliest boyhood he was passionately attached to the pursuits and enjoyments of a country life, in which respect he but in- herited the tastes of his father, and of still earlier progenitors. It was declared of Sir Robert Spencer, raised to the peerage by James I., that “he made the country a virtuous court, where his fields and flocks brought him more calm and happy content- ment than the various and unstable dispensations of a Court can contribute ” — words which are singularly applicable to the subject of this notice.1 Lord Althorp left Cambridge on taking his M.A. degree in June, 1802, and two years later, after making the customary Con- tinental tour, he entered Parliament as Member for the pocket borough of Okehampton. The impression which he made on his introduction into London society was (says his biographer, Sir Denis Le Marchant) “ far from favourable. In person, he was neither tall nor graceful. An embarrassed manner, with a 1 This agricultural memoir of the founder of the Society has been, from the nature of things, a compilation from many sources. Amongst the books which have been consulted in its preparation are Sir Denis Le Marchant’s Memoir of Earl Spencer (Bentley, 1876), Charles Greville’s Diary, the Edinburgh Review, Lord Brougham’s Dialogues on Instinct, “ The Druid’s” Saddle and Sirloin, Bell’s History of Shorthorns, Mrs. Butler’s Life of John Grey of Dilston, the volumes of tiie old Farmer's Magazine, and other contemporary agricultural newspapers. The Editor has gratefully to acknow- ledge the valuable suggestions and assistance which he has received from the present Earl Spencer, the Earl of Powis, Lord Moreton, Sir Harry Verney, Mr. Albert Pell, Mr. John Thornton, Mr. John Gamble, Mr. Henry Smith, of Leamington, Mr. E. J. Powell, and from Mr. Francis Ford, but for whose skill and patience in searching books and records many of the facts and anecdotes contained in the paper would »+ have been brought to light. — [Ed.] 140 . Agricultural Worthies. blunt and almost rustic mode of expressing himself, which a voice the reverse of melodious made more remarkable, ill-qualified him for the position he was to occupy in the brilliant coteries of Spencer House and Althorp ; and his inferiority in personal accomplishments to most young men of his rank was painfully evident, even to his parents."’ But in spite of these disadvan- tages, in spite of his avowed detestation for what he called “ the life of a grandee,” in spite of his constant longing for those rural delights which from first to last were the chief enjoyments of his existence, he devoted himself to his Parliamentary duties with such assiduity, such singleness of purpose, and such unswerving integrity, that he gradually but surely made his way to the highest place in the confidence of his party, whilst he also secured the respect of his opponents and of the public generally by his singular freedom from the prejudices and bitterness of mere partisanship. Having been made a Lord of the Treasury when the Whigs returned to office with Lord Grenville, on the death of Pitt, in 1806, his father (then Home Secretary) induced him to offer himself for the seat vacated by this event in the representation of Cambridge University. He was unsuccessful ; but in the following December he was returned at the head of the poll, after a sharp contest, for the County of Northampton, which he continued to represent until his accession to the peer- age, twenty-eight years later. Though for years he but seldom addressed the House, he gradually acquired a reputation for straightforwardness and sterling good sense, and became familiarly known to politicians of all shades as “ honest Jack Althorp.” In 1814, Lord Althorp married the only daughter and heiress of Mr. Acklom, of Wiseton Hall, Nottinghamshire. His union with this lady imparted to the sterling qualities of his character a devotion and enthusiasm which greatly enhanced their value and usefulness, and which never left him, save with life itself. Previous to his marriage, fond as he was of rural pursuits, it could not be said that he had taken up agriculture in earnest. Field-sports claimed the chief attention of his leisure, and the Pytchley j Hounds, kept by his father and grandfather before him, furnished him with abundant occupation for eight months out of the twelve. He was in the habit of riding down from London (66 miles) after a division, and had relays of hacks placed (occasionally in stables specially built) at regular intervals along the road. He not infrequently returned to London after hunting in the same manner. Lord A 1 thorp's eldest sister, Lady Sarah Spencer (afterwards Lady Lyttelton), writing to another member of the family on March 20, 1800, The Tldrcl Earl Spencer. 141 Said : u Alfchorp has been chiefly on the high-road between London and Northampton, flying from hunting to voting and from voting to hunting, in his usual way.” As the Master of the Pytchley he was very popular, for he spared neither time nor money in keeping up the character of the Hunt. He usually had about thirty hunters — the best that money could purchase ; his men were selected without regard to expense, and the whole establishment cost him from 4,000b to 5,000b a year.1 Though he maintained the reputation he had acquired at the University as a hard rider, he had but a loose seat, and met with frequent falls, dislocating his shoulder so often that he had a whipper-in instructed how to set it — an operation which the man had frequently to perform, for the joint became so liable to dislocation that it was once put out by merely throwing up the arm in leaping a fence. Lord Althorp’s hunting journals, still preserved, are minutely descriptive of his runs with the hounds ; and his shooting records are equally precise, giving the result of every shot that he fired, although the record is by no means flattering to his skill. On his marriage and settlement on the Wiseton estate, consisting of some 2,000 acx-es, his lordship took the home farm into his own management, and, while still keeping a large stud, and maintaining his character as an eager sportsman, he also devoted close attention to agriculture and the breeding of stock. He greatly improved the property, spending some 10,000b on the transformation of the Hall into a delightful home, and building not only excellent farm-houses, but also labourers’ cottages, each of which he restricted to the occupation of a single family. As for his domestic happiness, Sir Denis Le Marchant says that “ a more attached and united couple than Lord and Lady Althorp perhaps never existed.” Even during the Parlia- mentary session he lost no opportunity, however brief, of re- turning to Wiseton. The unclouded happiness of his married life was, however, destined to be but brief, for in June, 1818, to his lasting sorrow, Lady Althorp died in London, after giving birth to a stillborn son, their first child. It would be beyond the purpose of this narrative to notice in detail the steps which gradually led Lord Althorp, in spite of himself, to the leadership of the House of Commons, a position which he occupied during that most important period from the 1 The present Earl Spencer writes that he has at Althorp a book in which Lord Althorp entered all the horses he bought, and how they were dealt with. On the first page of this book is a list of his yearly losses or gains by pur- chase and sale from the year 1803 to 1819. “ He only gains,” says Lord Spencer, “ on the last three years.” 142 Agricultural W orthies. accession to power of the Grey Administration, in November, 1830, until liis elevation to the peerage on the death of his father, in November, 1834. It was with the greatest diffidence that he consented, in the spring of 1830, to undertake the leadership of the Whig Opposition ; it was with still greater reluc- tance that, in the following November, he yielded to Lord Grey’s entreaty that he would take office, and so became Chancellor of the Exchequer, with the leadership of the House of Commons. Mr. Charles Greville, whose information is derived, through Arbuthnot, from Lord Spencer himself, states that “when Lord Grey was sent for by King William to form an ''Admini- stration, he went to Althorp, and asked him what place he would have. Althorp said he would not have any. Lord Grey said : ‘ If you won’t take office with me, I will not undertake to form the Government, but will give it up.’ ‘ If that’s the case,’ said the other, ‘ I must ; but if I do take office, I will be Chancellor of the Exchequer, and lead the House of Commons.’ ‘ Lead the House of Commons ? ’ said Lord Grey ; ‘ but you know you can’t speak ! ’ ‘I know that,’ he said, ‘ but I know I can be of more use to you in that capacity than in any other, and I will be either that or nothing.’ ” In a political article contributed to the Edinburgh Review in 1846, the authorship of which is attributed to his colleague, Earl (then Lord John) Russell, the following passage sums up the reasons for his remarkable success : — “ The state of public affairs led him to take an active part in the House of Commons, and although no one was ever so free from the Pharisaical profession of purity, yet the simplicity of his character soon made him under- stood, beloved, and trusted beyond any man in that assembly. This was the more remarkable, as his tongue was far from eloquent, and, although his arguments were sound and comprehensive, he was often so wanting in words as to be obscure, and unable to convey adequately his meaning. But the confidence of his friends, his party, and the country, supplied all deficiencies, and gave to his few and simple expressions as much influence over his audience as had ever been obtained by the most admired eloquence of our greatest orators. “ He was plain in manner and in dress,1 but a short intercourse disclosed the scholar, the gentleman, and the statesman ; for he possessed, with the entire absence of all artificial politeness, the most genuine courtesy of behaviour to all who approached him. His kindness of heart shone in the most casual, as in the most cordial, intercourse ; and while the intimacy of his friendship was a treasure reserved for few, the equanimity of his temper and the charity of his judgments extended to all who approached him in the conduct of affairs, or were opposed to him in political enmity. He had no 1 Of the plainness of Lord Spencer’s attire, Mr. Albert Pell gives the follow- ing amusing illustration : “ The tradition is that Lord Althorp used on Satur- days to jog along to Northampton market so plainly dressed, with the samples in liis pocket, that on one occasion he was addressed with undue familiarity by a stranger who overtook him. There was something in his manner, how- ever, which puzzled his companion, and which was further increased by observing from the gap above the topboots that this plainly dressed farmer wore silk stockings. On making inquiries he found he had been on the road with the great Lord Althorp.” The Third Earl Silencer. 143 jealousy, no envy, and perhaps too little ambition. lie often said that he had hoped the many votes he had given in favour of motions which were supported by small minorities would have prevented any proposal to him to accept office. But when he was told by Lord Grey that the formation of the Ministry depended upon his decision, he felt he could no longer hesitate.” Although Lord A! thorp's first budget was, in some respects, a failure, his natural clear-headedness and sound common-sense soon made him more successful in the management of financial matters; and, in the far more difficult task of piloting the lleform Bill through Parliament, in which lie had so important a share, in conjunction with Lord John Russell, his patience and candour (and complete command of temper) became con- spicuously manifest. At an early period of his official life, Francis Jeffrey — then new to the House of Commons — was struck with admiration of the man, and wrote of him : “ There is something to me quite delightful in his calm, clumsy, courageous, immutable probity and well-meaning, and it seems to have a charm with everybody.” On the death of his father, in November, 1 834, Lord Althorp (now Earl Spencer) was called to the Upper House, and the King made use of this event as a pretext for dismissing the Ministry, on the ground that it was so much weakened as to become incapable of conducting the business of the country. But whilst this use of his elevation to the peerage caused no little vexation to Lord Spencer, his return to the quietude of private life was a source of unmixed satisfaction. It is, indeed, stated on the authority of Lord Lyttelton, that he spoke of it as “ the cessation of acute pain to him.” 1 He was, as a matter of course, pressed to return to office in Lord Melbourne’s second Adminis- tration, in 1835 ; and it is said that when Lieutenant Drummond went down to Althorp on this errand, he found Lord Spencer sitting at an open window, looking at the sheep and young lambs, and he protested that nothing should induce him to leave them. No persuasion, indeed, could avail to call him back to the cares of office, for his love of the country and its pursuits was as fresh and as intense as when he was a boy at Harrow. But it is well observed by his colleague, Lord Brougham, in the introduction to his “Dialogues on Instinct,” supposed to be carried on between himself and Lord Althorp, that “ those pursuits had never interfered with the duty which 1 In a letter addressed to his daughter, Mrs. Butler, Mr. Grey of Dilston says : “ I often think of dear Lord Althorp ’s saying to me, when in office at the passing of the Reform Bill : ‘ If I were once out, they’ll never catch me again. I just know every Monday morning, on coming to Downing Street, the feeling that makes a man throw himself over London Bridge 1 ’ ” 144 ' Agricultural Worthies. lie owed his country, so long as he deemed that the sacrifice of all his domestic comforts could prove serviceable to his public principles.” He nevertheless availed himself of every oppor- tunity (even after the death of his wife) to visit Wiseton, which ever held the first place in his affections and thoughts ; and he never failed to spend a portion of the year there. Having given up hunting after Lady A1 thorp's death, his interest in horses and dogs was transferred to cattle, and he became an enthusiastic admirer and successful breeder of Short- horns. The story goes that the keeping of Shorthorns at Wiseton, and in the district generally, was initiated in the hunting field. The Rev. Thomas Harrison, a sporting cleric from Yorkshire, who used to hunt with the Pytchley, urged Lord A1 thorp, Sir Charles Knightley, and other country gentle- men whom he came across at the meets, to breed better cattle, advising them to come into Yorkshire if they wished to see what good cattle were. The result of this was a visit by Lord Althorp to Mr. Robert Colling’s sale at Barmpton in 1818, when he purchased the bull “ Regent ” (544) and several cows. It was his lordship’s boast that he had reformed his whole stock with “ Regent,” when that animal was condemned to the butcher as useless. At Mr. Christopher Mason's sale at Chilton in 1829, sixteen cows and heifers were also obtained for the Wiseton herd, which became one of the largest in the kingdom, numbering about one hundred and fifty head at the time of his lordship’s death in 1845. Many celebrated animals were exhibited from this herd, notably “Hecatomb,” winner at York in 1838. His lordship was also a frequent winner with his Shorthorns at the Shows of the Smithfield Club, taking in 1834 and again in 1840 the Gold Medal for the best beast in the classes. “ Sweet William,” “ Orontes,” “ Wiseton” (whose portrait is given in the frontispiece of this number), and “ Ranunculus ” (the sire of “ Belinda ”) were all leading bulls, and so was “ Usurer,” of which Lord Ducie said that “ he could give shoulders to anything.” Mr. John Gamble, a noted Norfolk breeder of Shorthorns, who often visited Wiseton in Lord Althorp’s time, has been kind enough to send the following interesting particulars as to some of the animals in the herd : — “ £ Wiseton,’ like all the herd, possessed a superior quality of flesh peculiarly their own. ‘Orontes’ (4623) was hard to the touch. ‘Wizard’ (6688) was of superior quality, and quite the type of the pure Short- horn, a beautiful roan, the colour of ‘ Comet’ (155). Many of the cows — especially the older ones— resembled Mason’s of The Third Earl Spencer. 145 Chilton, with shoulders very oblique quite into the chine, fin© delicate flesh without being lumpy, most symmetrical and blood- like, with good milking qualities. ‘Bon Bon’ was a pretty little cow of the Sylph tribe, which was bought by Mr. Torr for Mr. Richard Chaloner of King’s Fort, Ireland. Of all the herds of Shorthorns that have been bred with care, none ever did more good in the improvement of cattle for farmers’ use than the Wiseton herd. What became of those which went into Devonshire I do not know. It teaches one of those lessons we too often disregard, that animals have to adapt themselves to soil and climate before they can be successfully bred upon sound principles.” In Bell's History of Shorthorns may be found a number of characteristic letters from Lord Althorp to that famous breeder, Mr. Thomas Bates, of Kirklevington, whom he had known for many years. In one of these, written from Dun- stable in April, 1820, he thus prefaces his directions as to a cow named Rosette, and his doubts as to the future career of a certain bull-calf : — I am on my way up to town, and as I must on getting there drive Shorthorns out of my head, to replace them by politics — certainly a more disagreeable subject, and, perhaps, in the present state of things, a less useful one— I write you a parting letter, &c. Another, written in December of the same year, commences with the gratifying assurance that “ His Grace’s cough is nearly well,” and ends with the hope that “Earl Percy is well and thriving.” Hecatomb, which took the prize awarded for the best bull in the yard at the meeting of the Yorkshire Society held at York in 1838, beat Mr. Bates’s famous bull, Duke of Northumberland, then a two-year-old, for which his owner is stated to have refused an offer of 4,000 guineas. This was the only occasion on which that famous animal, which created such a sensation when exhibited at the first show of the English Agricultural Society, held at Oxford, in 1839, was defeated in the show-yard, and Mr. Bates never forgot or forgave the award, which was made by Mr. John Grey of Dilston and two colleagues. The Wiseton herd was bequeathed by Earl Spencer in his will to his steward, Mr. John Hall,1 and a large portion of it was sold in 1846, the year after his lordship’s death, 117 animals 1 Mr. Hall was a foundation member of the Royal Agricultural Society, and survived until January 1869, when he died at the age of eighty-six. In early days he was in great request as a judge of Shorthorns. His portrait appears in the frontispiece of ihis number, as well as in the large picture, “ The Country Meeting of the Royal Agricultural Society.” VOL. I. T. S. — 1 L 146 Agricultural Worthies. averaging about 45 1. each. The entire remainder, including the produce bred by Mr. Hall, came to the hammer on April 28, 1848. Eighty-eight animals averaged 65 1. 5s. apiece, Usurer being purchased by Earl Ducie for 400 guineas, another bull realising 370 guineas, and some of the cows 200 guineas each. That the Wiseton herd had a great reputation may be inferred from the fact that the bull “ Firby ” and two cows were illustrated, as specimens of the Shorthorn breed, in Youatt’s Book on Cattle ; and that the portraits of several other Wiseton animals were given in the early volumes of Coates’s Ilerd-booh. At no time — even when his cares as Chancellor of the Ex- chequer were most absorbing — did Lord Spencer’s interest in his farm languish, and the first letters opened in the morning wei’e those which he received from his bailiff at Wiseton. John Grey of Dilston, when he called on Lord Althorp in Downing Street, during the most arduous part of his official career, interviewing the great man’s Cerberus as a preliminary, was told : “ You’ve come about cows, sir, so you’ll not have to wait long.” Having been ushered into the presence, his lordship “ shut the door, looked round to see if they were alone, and then, before uttering a word on the political crisis in which they were so deeply interested, he asked, eagerly : ‘ Have you been to Wiseton on your way up ? Have you seen the cows ? ’ ” Every Monday morning, his lordship received the most accu- rate budget of what cows had calved during the week, with the calf-marks, and he did very little work till it was all tran- scribed into his private herd-book. On this particular morning he handed Mr. Grey a letter, saying, “ There’s a letter from Carnegie ; he admires my political course, and he writes from the Lothians to say that I shall have the first refusal of his bull.” Then he characteristically added : I’ve written to thank him for his political confidence, but I've told him that there is a flaw in his bull’s pedigree. He traces him back to Red Rose, but Red Rose never had a heifer-calf.” Sir Denis Le Marchant records the fact that when, one Easter vacation, his lordship was utterly exhausted by the debates on the Reform Bill, and was ordered off to Notting- hamshire by his physician, he (Sir Denis) called on his secretary, Lieutenant Drummond, a few days later, anxious to learn what accounts had been received, whereupon- he was handed the following characteristic note : — Dear Drummond, — I bore the journey well, and already feel much better. I am just returned from seeing the finest yearling ox I ever saw iu my life,— Yours truly, Althorp. We learn from another anecdote connected with this period, The Third Earl Spencer. 147 that in preparing the second Reform Bill the question of dis- franchisement was made to depend upon a joint ratio of the population of the borough and the amount of taxation, and to facilitate the calculation of this ratio Lieutenant Drummond prepared a scale, which was adopted by the Government. It happened (continues the story, which is authenticated by Lord Belper) that about the time of the hottest contests on the Reform Bill Lord Althorp had occasion to receive at his office a deputation of Scotch Members and others, amongst whom was Mr. T. F. Kennedy, then M.P. for Ayr, who was an intimate friend of Lord Althorp, and, like him, much interested in agricultural pursuits. When the deputation was leaving the room on the conclusion of their business, Lord Althorp called Mr. Kennedy back, and said : “ I want to tell you what I have been doing. I have been applying Drummond’s scale to my sheep ; ”■ and he then produced a list of sheep, carefully arranged in order according to a calculation founded on the joint ratio of some two qualities of the animal which he considered of primary importance. It is not impossible that the jaded Minister may have shared to some extent the feeling of the witty statesman who once defined a deputation as “ a noun of multitude that signifies many, but does not signify much.” It is also stated by Lord Cockburn, in his “ Memoirs of Lord Jeffrey,” that when, in 1832, Ministers resigned office, to be recalled a few days later, Lord Althorp was to be found, not plotting for a return to power, but spending his time in some nursery-grounds, choosing and buying flowers, of which he took home five large packages in his carriage, to be planted at Althorp. Lord Spencer’s biographer quotes an interesting letter from Mrs. Butler, who states that the packets of Lord Spencer’s letters still in her possession are labelled “ Bulls,” “ Sheep,” &c., and that by looking through these “ one may dimly identify his favourites, Cheviot, Flodden, Hector, Rhadamanthus, &c., by certain spots on the side of the nose, or the beautiful straight- ness of the back, or the snowy whiteness of the hide.” These were the matters which interested Lord Althorp, even when burdened with the weighty affairs of State ; and one cannot but admire the calm and placid temperament which enabled him, when opportunity offered, to cast these aside, and seek repose for body and mind amid scenes and pursuits more con- genial to his tastes. The picture by Richard Ansdell, “ A Scene at Wiseton,” which has been reproduced as the frontispiece of the present number, illustrates very well the daily life of Lord Spencer in his country home. He is evidently discussing with Mr. J. Elliott, the steward of his estates at Althorp, and his steward at Wiseton, Mr. Hall (who is standing in the foreground, note- 148 Agricultural Worthies. book in hand), the merits of his favourite bull “ Wiseton,” which is led by his herdsman John Wagstaff, arrayed in the flower-pot hat of the period. The date of the picture is a little uncertain ; but it was evidently some time early in the forties, as Ansdell was then engaged in painting the portraits of the leading agriculturists of the time for his great picture, “ The Country Meeting of the Royal Agricultural Society,” the en- graving of which appeared in 1845. In that picture Lord Spencer appears in precisely the same attitude as in the frontispiece — with his hands in his pockets, his dog “ Bruce ” by his side, and attired in the identical cutaway coat, breeches and gaiters, as in the “ Scene at Wiseton.” In the picture of the Society, Lord Spencer is the centre of a group which includes on the right the Duke of Sutherland, the Marquis of Exeter, the Hon. Capt. Spencer, R.N. (afterwards fourth Earl), and the Earl of Leicester, and on the left the Marquis of Downshire, Mr. Henry Handley, Col. Challoner, the Duke of Richmond, the Earl of Hardwicke, the Duke of Northumberland, H.R.H. the Duke of Cambridge, and the Duke of Beaufort.1 It has been necessary to dwell at some length — though not, it is hoped, with undue minuteness— on the varied phases of Lord Spencer's career, in order that the reader may the better understand what manner of man it was who, at the very time when he was unhesitatingly refusing such important posts as the Lord-Lieutenancy of Ireland and the Governor-Generalship of Canada — both of which were offered to him by Lord Mel- bourne in November, 1838— preferred to devote his best energies and his great influence to the consolidation of the Royal Agri- cultural Society, which in the earlier part of the year he had been so instrumental in establishing. On important occasions Lord Spencer was to be found in his place in Parliament. He was also assiduous in his attention to the various duties pertaining to his high position, as Chairman of Quarter Sessions, as a patron of the Northampton Infirmary and kindred local institutions, and in other ways. But the real pursuit of his later years was agriculture, and the maintenance and en- 1 It may be interesting to add that this picture contains the portraits of 126 of the leading agriculturists of the day, including four who happily still sur- vive : — The Earl of Burlington (now the octogenarian Duke of Devonshire), the Earl of Lovelace, Mr. J. Wilson-Patten, M.P. — on horseback (now Lord Winmarleigh) ; and Dr. (now Sir Lyon) Playfair, the latter in a group comprising the great German chemist Liebig, the Earl of Ducie, and his agent Mr. Morton (father of the late Mr. J. Chalmers Morton). Copies of this engraving are now rare, and copies of the Key still rarer. The Secretary of the Society has had the office-copy of the Key reproduced in fac-simile, and copies may be had of this reprint at 12 Hanover Square. The Third Earl Spender. 149 couragement of associations connected therewith, and especially of the Royal Agricultural Society. “ The Royal ” was not, however, the first society to enjoy the great advantage of his guidance and support. He was one of the founders of the Yorkshire Agricultural Society ; and in 1825, when the Smithfield Club had been for three or four years without a head, and seemed to be on the point of dissolution, Lord Spencer consented to become its president, and set himself to retrieve its fortunes, with such success that in 1831 a splendid candelabrum of the value of 200 guineas was presented to him, in testimony of “ his valuable services in raising the Association to its present eminence.” It was, indeed, at the annual dinner of the Smithfield Club, of which he remained president till his death, that on December 11, 1837, he first publicly mooted his project for establishing the society known at first as the English Agricultural Society. Sir Brandreth Gibbs states, in his “ History of the Smithfield Club,” that three days earlier Mr. Wm. Shaw, who afterwards became the first secretary to the Society, met Lord Spencer and Mr. Humphrey Gibbs, Honorary Secretary to the Club, in the Club-parlour in Goswell Street, and that it was then determined to bring the matter forward at the dinner, if the co-operation of the Duke of Richmond could be obtained. This was readily promised ; for though his Grace and Lord Spencer were opposed in politics, they were of one mind in everything that concerned agriculture, and it was afterwards (as Mr. Grey of Dilston observed in one of his letters) a cheering sight to see them walking in to dinner together at the annual meetings. The time and place selected for Earl Spencer’s public announcement of his scheme were as felicitous as its exponent was influential, and his lordship’s proposal was received with acclamation by one of the largest assemblages ever seen at the Smithfield Club dinner. The Duke of Richmond was prompt in his support, and was followed by Air. Handley and several others, so unhesitating in their concurrence that success was well-nigh assured. A voluminous correspondence ensued between Lord Spencer and his friends, in which the Duke of Richmond, the present Earl Grey, Air. Philip Pusey, M.P., Air. Handley, AI.P., Mr. John Grey of Dilston, and others, took part. The last- named spoke, years afterwards, of “ the bulky correspondence ” he had had with Lord Spencer and others on the subject ; but, unfortunately, this correspondence was subsequently destroyed. The time was ripe for the formation of an institution for the general advancement of agriculture, which had not received the national attention which it deserved, and many able, good 150 Agricultural Worth ies. men — such as Handley, R. Clive, Estcourt, Childers, and Philip Pusey — were ready to lend their aid ; but it required two such leaders as Lord Spencer and the Duke of Richmond to bring together the memorable gathering that assembled at the Free- masons’ Tavern on May 9, 1838, to establish the English Agricultural Society. As a matter of course, Lord Spencer was called to the chair, and set forth the object of the meeting with- out any attempt at rhetorical display, urging upon those around him the necessity there was for the wider and more general dif- fusion of agricultural knowledge, and pointing out how this might be effected by the establishment of a great and powerful society combining practice with science — an expression which is per- petuated iu the Society’s motto. He also pointed out, in plain and forcible language, the necessity for excluding politics from the Society’s operations, and thus laid down the governing principles which have regulated its proceedings, ensured its prosperity, and guided to practical usefulness the scientific operations which it has initiated or encouraged. It is unnecessary to follow Lord Spencer through the various stages of his work as the first President of the English Agri- cultural Society. His labours were constant and unremitting, and at the General Meeting held in the following December, the “ marked thanks” of the Society were voted to him for his eminent services. At the first Annual Meeting, in May, 1839, his lordship was in a position to announce that 1,100 members had been enrolled, and that the invested capital amounted to 3,000h, in addition to 1 , 1 9G7. in the bankers’ hands. Two months later he had the satisfaction of attending the first Country Meeting, held at Oxford, and of witnessing the extra- ordinary excitement wdiich that event occasioned,, and the enthusiasm manifested at the dinner in the quadrangle of Queen’s College. It was at this dinner that Daniel Webster, the American orator and statesman, responding most eloquently to the toast of “ Distinguished Strangers,” uttered the memor- able aphorism: “Agriculture feeds us: to a great degree it clothes us : without it wre could not have manufactures, and we should not have commerce. These all stand together ; but they stand together like pillars in a cluster, the largest in the centre — and that largest is Agriculture.” At Cambridge in 1840, Liverpool in 1841, Bristol in 1842, and Derby in 1843, Lord Spencer participated actively in the proceedings. In 1844, when the Country Meeting was held at Southampton, he again occupied the Presidential Chair, and in the same year gave his valuable co-operation in the establish- ment of the Royal Agricultural College at Cirencester. At the The Third Earl Spencer. 151 Shrewsbury Show, held in 1845, with the Duke of Richmond as President for the second time, no one worked harder than Lord Spencer in putting the stock into their proper stalls. In- deed he would often, at the Smithfield Club or at the “ Royal ” Meetings, work the whole day in his shirt sleeves. In con- nection with the Shrewsbury Show another peculiarity of his lordship came to the front. In the early days of the Society it was the custom to have immense annual dinners of the mem- bers, at which an infinite variety of loyal patriotic and agricul- tural toasts were proposed. The Shrewsbury dinner took place in a pavilion erected in the Quarry Walks, near St. Chad’s Church, and was attended by about twelve hundred guests. The present Earl of Powis, who, as Lord Clive, was present at this dinner, and was entrusted with the toast of the health of Lord Portman, the President-Elect, says that “ Lord Spencer, notwithstanding his prominence as the chief founder of the Society, never sat at the high table, but at the top of the centre ordinary table, under the President, and that he used to stand either on his chair or on the table when he spoke.” The toast which Lord Spencer had to propose was “ Agriculture, Manufactures, and Commerce,” and for the more effectual delivery of it he mouuted on the table. Lord Powis says that “just as he began his speech the church bell commenced tolling. The personal exertions of the Mayor were necessary to stop it, and when he had returned, and the interruption had ceased, Lord Spencer resumed his speech, saying that he had often heard of the beauty of the Shropshire belles, but he had not been before aware that they were so loquacious ! ” During the interval his lordship, with the utmost good humour, kept his place upon the table, “appearing,” says the Farmer's Magazine, “heartily to enjoy the ludicrous nature of his position, whilst shouts of laughter and bursts of applause alternately occupied the time.” The Shrewsbury Show, which was the last held in a town without railway communication, was also the last that Lord Spencer attended, for his useful life was shortly afterwards brought to a close. At the Country Meetings he always took a prominent part ; but the services rendered by him in the Council-room, and in other ways, were not less im- portant, though their value could only be adequately esti- mated by those who acted as his colleagues. He was also an occasional contributor to the Society’s Journal, and stimu- lated others to supply it with communications of interest. In one of his papers he gives an interesting account of the great improvements effected in West Norfolk by that pioneer of agricultural progress, Lord Leicester ; in another he deals com- 152 Agricultural Worth ies. paratively with the feeding properties of mangel-wurzel and Swedish turnips ; and in others he applies to such matters as the breeding of stock and the gestation of cows that aptitude for intricate calculations which has been already alluded to. Indeed, his biographer states that at one time this inclination very nearly induced him to go on the Turf, and he attended a few meetings at Newmarket ; but his interest in racing soon became confined to entertaining an annual party at Wiseton for the Doncaster week, when it was not unusual for visitors to strike a bargain with their host for the next calf of any cow to which they took a fancy. It was on one of these occasions, in the autumn of 1845, that Lord Spencer was seized with an illness which shortly after- wards proved fatal. Being for the first time a steward of Don- caster Races, with Lord George Bentinck for his colleague, Lord Spencer took lodgings in the town, and it was here that he was seized with indisposition ; but he did not allow this to prevent him from joining his guests at dinner in the evening. Gradu- ally, however, the attack assumed a much more serious aspect, and though he afterwards rallied sufficiently to bear being moved to Wiseton, a rapid change for the worse soon rendered his condition so alarming that he gave up all hope of recovery, the sudden collapse of his physical powers being attributed to weakness arising from his habitual abstinence from food through fear of his hereditary enemy, the gout. Lord Spencer breathed his last early in the morning of October 1, and the Council of the Royal Agricultural Society, in recording the severe loss it had sustained, expressed “ their deep sense of his private virtues, and of the valuable services he had so uniformly and unweariedly rendered to the Society in promoting every practical object connected with its welfare and the general advancement of agricultural improvement.” His position as one of the Trustees wTas taken by his brother, and successor in the title, the father of the present Earl ; and the vacancy on the Council thus created was appropriately filled by the election of his old friend and colleague, Mr. John Grey of Dilston. This notice of one whom the members of the Royal Agricul- tural Society must always regard with reverence, cannot be better closed than by subjoining some extracts from Mr. Charles Greville’s masterly estimate of Lord Spencer’s character, written by that keen observer of men and manners within a month of Lord Spencer’s lamented death : — He was the very model and type of an English gentleman, filling with propriety the station in which fortune had placed him, and making the best use of the abilities which Nature had bestowed upon him. Modest without The Third Earl Spencer. 153 diffidence, Confident without vanity, ardently desiring the good of his country, without the slightest personal ambition, he took that part in public affairs which his station and his opinions prompted, and he marched through the mazes of politics with that straightforward bravery which was the result of sincerity, singleness of purpose, the absence of all selfishness, and a true, genuine, but unpreteuding patriotism. His tastes, habits, and turn of mind were peculiarly and essentially English ; he was a high-minded, unaffected, sensible, v'ell-educated English gentleman, addicted to all those rural pursuits and amusements which are considered national ; a practical farmer, and fond of field sports, but enjoying all things in moderation, and making every other occupation subordinate to the discharge of those duties to his country, whether general or local, the paramount obligation of which was ever uppermost in his mind. His friends followed this plain and simple man with enthusiastic devotion, and he possessed the faculty of disarming his political antagonists of all bitterness and animosity towards him. He was regarded in the House of Commons with sentiments akin to those of personal affection, with a boundless confidence, and a universal esteem. Such was the irresistible ascendency of truth, sincerity, and honour, of a probity free from every taint of interest, of mere character unaided by the arts which captivate or subjugate mankind. Note by Sir Harry Verney. I have been askecl to give a few personal recollections of the first President whom we elected as head of the Society which has proved to be so helpful and efficient a promoter of science, as applied to agricultural practice, throughout the whole kingdom. As the “ Father ” of the Society, now that both Lord Eversley and Lord Portman are dead, I am one of the few links between the first half-century of its existence and the inaugu- ration of what we may venture to hope will be a second period of still greater usefulness, now that the necessity of the adapta- tion of science to the workaday uses of the present is seen to be of vital importance to our position as a nation in the world. Lord Althorp was an example, the most remarkable I can recollect during the fifty-four years of my Parliamentary life, of the power and influence which character alone gives. He had no commanding abilities, nor the gift of eloquence, to which such an inordinate value is now attached, and his position was honour- able, both to him and to us of the House of that day. In his most earnest addresses to us there was never a burst of fervid feeling. His hearers could not help being impressed by his ap- peals, but it was from their conscientious truthfulness and perfect simplicity ; everyone knew that he told without disguise exactly what he wanted, and why he wanted it. With some Ministers there is a feeling that they are bringing forward the thin end of the wedge — a measure to establish a principle which will help on some other object which they keep in the background. We all, Tories, Whigs, Radicals alike, knew that if Lord Althorp 154 Agricultural Worthies. had had any ulterior intention in view, he would have told us ; his language was always outspoken and transparently truthful. At the same time, though his speeches were never eloquent and never long, I do not agree with Lord John Russell that they were obscure. Sitting among the youug members of his party, I may say that we never for a moment missed his meaning, or did not follow the gist of his argument. As Leader of the House, his courtesy was such that no member, however distasteful to his audience his speech might be, could ever complain that he had not been listened to, or had been treated ungraciously. In the long and often weary debates, we knew how much happier our Leader would have been discussing the points of a fat ox, or the merits of turnips and mangels as the best material for making most beef and mutton in the shortest time; but he never for a moment lost his patience with the bores. At that time there were several clever and amusing speakers in the House. What has become of them and their speeches ? Even the names of the speakers are now forgotten ; they were men of no character. In the intervals of debate, when I wanted some explanation or information, he would allow me to go and sit by him, and seemed gratified to satisfy an honest desire to know the why and wherefore, telling me all he knew in the kindest and most agreeable fashion. He was the most open and generous of opponents, and never concealed anything that might make against his own views, so that he often anticipated a speech which would have been uttered against him, and his adversary would observe, “ He has taken my speech out of my mouth.” He always showed the utmost consideration for those who differed from him, and being as he was the Leader of the House during the difficult and aggravating questions concern- ing the Reform Bill, when the loss of the rotten boroughs was arming against it the owners of such property on both sides of the House — when fierce and bitter was the wrath poured out in full vials on the measure night after night, though not on him personally — Lord Althorp never faltered in the smallest degree. He and Lord John and their colleagues had made up their minds that the Reform Bill was a measure for the welfare of the country, and the principle of the representation of the people compelled the abolition of these boroughs. There are a few sentences of autobiography by Lord Spencer in the first pages of Sir Denis Le Marchant’s memoir which are very interesting : “ I have long known and often endeavoured to impress upon my mind that there is only one object worthy the ambition of a man of sense, and that is to obtain the favour of The Third Earl Spencer. 155 God. ... I retire from political life from my own inclination, but it is satisfactory to me firmly to believe and to be convinced that by so doing I give myself greater facilities to become a religious man than I should have possessed had I continued in the new situation where I was placed.” Mr. Grey of Dilston writes : “ Above all, Lord Spencer’s opinions upon questions, both speculative and practical, were guided by a humble re- liance on the goodness of God, and that he was bound in what- ever he might think or do, whether in following or resisting his own inclination, to obey the law of Christ.” Jeffrey calls him “ Lord Althorp, that most frank, true, and stout-hearted of God's creatures.” Such testimony will be read with satisfac- tion by those who think that Lord Althorp’s religious convic- tions gave to his principles that which nothing else could impart. The successful statesman, the eminent agriculturist, is more trustworthy if his duties are carried out in the world with the consciousness that he does them under the eye of God. The absolute trust in him felt by the House was very touching. I was present when a matter was suddenly brought before the House which was to have been debated several nights before. There was a long and brilliant speech by Croker, when Lord Althorp got up and said he had gone into the subject fully in preparation for the previous debate, and that, although he had now forgotten the arguments which convinced him, he hoped the House would trust him when he said that he was quite certain of the rightfulness of the course which he asked them to take ; and the proposal was carried through at once ! I do not recol- lect ever to have heard of such confidence shown to any other Minister ; it was the union of his robust common-sense and the perfect fairness of the way in which he treated the other side of the question which could alone have given him such power. “ He was the straightest man in England,” as was once said of Forster. On one night alone did I hear anything approaching a fervid burst of speech from him, and that was in a debate on slavery. I had just before returned from the Brazils, where I had seen it in all its horrors — in the slave ship, where the dead were lying side by side with the living, till they could be thrown overboard secretly at night in the harbour of Rio; and up country, where the slave-driver might, and did, pi’actise any amount of cruelty. Lord Althorp spoke as one who felt strongly with Wilberforce, Clarkson, and the anti-slavery party, who were working the cause of humanity at that time under great obloquy. It must never be forgotten that his public career as Leader of the House, and Chancellor of the Exchequer, only lasted from 156 Agricultural Worth ies. 1830 to 1834, when the deatli of his father removed him to the Upper House. How important his position in the Government was felt to be appears from the fact that William IV. took advantage of his quitting the House of Commons to dismiss the Ministry, saying that it could not possibly stand without Lord A1 thorp. This was a mere pretext, and Lord Grey made great efforts to induce Lord Spencer to accept some office as a peer, but he declined. His father’s imprudent expenditure had left the A 1 thorp estate very poor, and threw a quantity of unavoidable business upon his hands. He continued to live quietly in the country at a small estate belonging to his wife (Wiseton), and devoted him- self to his agricultural pursuits and to country business for the next ten years, when he died rather suddenly. The dress of that day was not a very becoming one — the blue and buff, the shorts and gaiters.; but his absence of pretension, his simplicity, gave him the unmistakable look which we like to think characteristic of a thorough Englishman. His speeches were never bitter, and never elicited a bitter reply. His look and manner during their delivery were so calm that a stranger might think them unimpressive, but the oftener you heard him the more you felt how much they con- tained, the subjects having been thought over, and his opinions expressed so decidedly and firmly, that no one could reply with any idea of inducing him to change his mind. The complete unselfishness, the absence indeed of any sort of self-seeking, or even natural ambition, was one source of the ex- traordinary influence which he exercised. The honour and the honesty which shone through every thought of his heart and every action of his life, with no adventitious gifts of any kind to enable him to succeed, were what gave him his power over the House and the nation, one never possessed even by men of such brilliant abilities as Canning and the Pitts, and I must say as creditable to the England of that day, whether in or out of the House, as it was to the man who inspired such enthusiastic affection. The Editor has sent me his sketch of Lord Spencer, and I have much pleasure in saying, after looking through the article, that I quite concur in all that he says of Lord Spencer's peculiar qualifications as the founder of the Society. He was a highly educated man, a trusted political leader, a thorough sportsman — riding sometimes sixty miles to cover ; but his taste for agricul- tural life was the background of his character. This is plainly told in the Editor’s article, which faithfully describes our founder and first President. Harry Yerney. 157 ©fffctal IRepovts. REPORT OF THE COUNCIL To the Half- Yearly General Meeting of Governors and Members , held at 12 Hanover Square , on Thursday , December 12, 1889. The Council are glad to be able to announce that the second half- century of the Society’s corporate existence will open with every in- dication of increased prosperity. During the year of presidency of Her Majesty the Queen the number of new Members elected was 2,762 — an accession of support as gratifying as it is unprecedented. 2. Since the General Meeting held on May 22 last, a total of 4 new Governors and 578 new Members have joined the Society. The addresses of 24 Members who were not included in the total at the time of the last Report have since been found, and they are now re- instated on the effective list. On the other hand, 2 Governors and 138 Members have died, and 189 Members have resigned, whilst 81 Members whose present addresses have not been communicated to the Society have been struck off the Register under Bye-law 10, and 174 more have been struck off, under Bye-law 11, for the non- payment of their subscriptions. The names of many of the Mem- bers thus struck off have remained on the books for a considerable period since the last exercise of their privileges of Members, but are now expunged in order to a more accurate statement of the number of effective subscribers. 3. The Society at present consists of — 70 Life Governors, 61 Annual Governors, 3,728 Life Members, 7,022 Annual Members, 1 6 Honorary Members ; making a total of 10,897 Governors and Members, or a net increase of 31 since the General Meeting in May. 4. During the last half-year the Council have had to deplore the loss by death of two of their colleagues — the Hon. Edward Coke and Mr. W. H. Wakefield. Mr. Coke had been a Member of the Council since 1883, and was well known as one of the leading 158 Report to the General Meeting , breeders of Shire-horses. In Mr. Wakefield the Council have lost a prominent and energetic Member, and his painfully sudden death on the 8th ult. from heart-disease, whilst in the hunting-field, was a great shock to his colleagues and fellow-workers. Only two days be- fore his death he had been present at the monthly meeting of the Council, and had taken, as was his wont, a leading part in the pro- ceedings. Mr. Wakefield was elected a Member of Council at the General Meeting held on May 22, 1871, and was appointed a Vice- President on November 3, 1886, in the room of the late Sir Edward Kerrison, Bart. He was first elected a Steward of Live-stock for the Hull Meeting of 1873, and retired as Senior Steward after the Birmingham Meeting of 1876. He was again nominated as Steward of Stock for the Norwich Meeting of 1886, and it thus fell to his lot to be Senior Steward at the historic Windsor Meeting in the present year. 5. A vacancy in the list of Trustees occurred in May through the resignation of the Earl of Lichfield, in consequence of his inability to resume any active part in the Society’s work. This vacancy has been filled by the election as Trustee of the Duke of Bedford, and that caused through the death of Mr. William Wells by the elec- tion of Sir Matthew White Ridley, Bart., M.P. 6. Sir John H. Thorold, Bart., and Mr. Walter Gilbey have been elected Vice-Presidents of the Society in succession to the Duke of Bedford and Sir Matthew Ridley ; and the vacancy in the list of Vice-Presidents caused by the death of Mr. Wakefield has been filled by the election of the Rt. Hon. Henry Chaplin, M.P. 7. To replace the three Members of the Council who were in- eligible for re-election through not having attended the meetings the number of times required under Bye-law 23, Mr. Samuel Row- landson, Mr. Garrett Taylor, and Mr. Christopher W. Wilson, were elected at the Anniversary General Meeting held on May 22. The vacancies in the Council caused by the election of Sir John Thorold and Mr. Gilbey as Vice-Presidents, and by the death of the Hon. Edward Coke, have been filled by the election of H.R.H. Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein, K.G., the Marquis of Tavistock, and Mr. Dan. Pidgeon. 8. In accordance with the new arrangements described in the last Report of the Council, the presentation of a complete balance- sheet of the Society’s accounts will in future be made annually to December 31. The Society’s Auditors have, however, examined and passed the Statement of Receipts and Expenditure to June 30 last, and they have also provisionally audited the accounts for the Windsor Meeting. The Society undertook this year certain works of road- making, extra water-supply, levelling, and restoration of the ground after the Show, which are usually borne by the Local Committee ; and as some of these works are not yet completely settled for, it has been found impracticable to finally close the accounts of the Meet- ing until the end of the year. The nearest estimate possible of the Th ursclay, December 12, 1880. 150 accounts now outstanding shows that the Meeting has resulted in an excess of expenditure over direct receipts of about 4,90(P. 9. That the Windsor Meeting was not likely to result in an absolute profit to the Society was recognised by the Council from the first ; and the dimensions which the Show assumed when the entries were found to be so unprecedentedly large, necessarily involved the Society in expenditure which it was impossible that the entry fees and the payments for the admission of non-members should recoup. The Show being considerably more than twice as large as usual, all the attendant expenses for shedding, fodder, printing, J udges’ fees, administrative staff, wages, police, and the like, were necessarily in- creased in proportion, whilst, on the other hand, not much beyond the average attendance of paying visitors could be looked for. The prizes offered were, moreover, much more valuable and numerous than customary. 10. The Council do not doubt, however, that the general body of Members will agree with them in thinking that the Society’s funds have been well spent in bringing together, for the fitting celebration of its J ubilee, an assemblage of British live-stock, implements, and produce, of unparalleled magnitude and importance. The recent large accession of new Members will enable the Society to bear the loss on the Windsor Show without undue strain upon its resources ; and there can be no doubt that the Show did much to stimulate the interest of agriculturists generally in the operations of the Society. 11. Honoured by the patronage and presence on no less than four occasions of Her Majesty the Queen as President, and also of His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales and the other members of the Royal family, and favoured by brilliant weather, the Meeting was, indeed, a great and conspicuous success from first to last. Her Majesty the Queen’s approval of the efforts of the Society to make its fiftieth country meeting worthy of the occasion, is testified by her gracious bestowal of the dignity of a Knighthood upon the Honorary Director, Sir Jacob Wilson, and by the following letter, written in Her Majesty’s own hand, immediately after the close of the Meeting : — Windsor Cast.le : July 2, 1889. It gave me very great pleasure to visit the Show of the Agricultural Society, of which I am this year the President, and I can assure you that I was extremely gratified with this magnificent Exhibition. I must thank the Council for the care and attention they have devoted to this work, which has been so successful, and I am especially anxious to convey my acknowledgments to Sir Jacob Wilson and Mr. Ernest Clarke for their exertions in organising this Show. (Signed) Victoria R.I. To the Council of the Royal Agricultural Society of England. 12. At the Fiftieth Annual Meeting of Governors and Members, held in the Show-yard on Tuesday, June 25, H.R.H. the Prince of Wales, Acting-President, in the Chair the following resolution, 160 liepori to the General Meeting, moved by the Duke of Richmond and Gordon, was carried by accla- mation, and is inserted in this Report for purposes of record : — The Royal Agricultural Society of Eugland, in General Meeting assembled, desires, with every feeling of loyal attachment, to express to Her Majesty the Queen its grateful sense of the honour and benefit conferred by Her Majesty’s gracious condescension in the acceptance, during its Jubilee year, of the position of President of the Society. By this act Her Majesty has shown in the most direct manner the great interest which she feels in one of the most important industries in Her Majesty’s dominions. This must he a great incentive to those engaged in agriculture to continue their efforts to meet the depression under which that industry has for so long been unhappily suffering. The Society, at the close of Her Majesty’3 year of office, desires once more to assure Her Majesty that there is no class of her subjects more devotedly attached to Her Majesty than the agriculturists of England. At the same Meeting, special Gold Medals, which had been struck by order of the Council in commemoration of Her Majesty’s year of presidency, were presented to the Prince of Wales by the Duke of Richmond in the name of the Society, for the acceptance of Her Majesty the Queen and of His Royal Highness. 13. The enthusiasm with which the Members of the Society and the agriculturists of the country generally rallied to the celebration of the Society’s Jubilee was highly gratifying. The Council were specially favoured by the presence, in response to their invitation, of Lord Polwarth (president), Sir James Gibson Craig, Bart., Mr. James MacQueen, and Mr. F. N. Menzies (secretary), representing the Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland ; and of the Earl of Rosse (president), the Baron de Robeck, D.L., Mr. S. Ussher Roberts, C.B., and Mr. C. Uniacke Townshend (lion, secre- tary), representing the Royal Dublin Society. 14. The Council have decided that the Plymouth Meeting shall commence on Monday, June 23, 1890, and close on the following Friday evening. The Implement Yard and the Working Dairy will be open to Members of the Society and the public on the previous Saturday, June 21. The last day for making entries in the Implement Department will be Tuesday, April 1 ; but post- entries, of Agricultural Implements only, will be received up to Saturday, April 5. For Stock, Poultry, and Produce, the entries will close on Thursday, May 1, with post-entries at double fees up to Monday, May 12.' 15. The following Prizes for Implements and Dairy Appliances will be offered in connection with the Plymouth Meeting : — First Second Class Prize Prize ]. Light Portable Motors, steam or other, up to five brake- horse-power. («) Motors using Solid Fuel (including Steam Engines and Hot-Air Engines) ..... £30 £20 (l>) Motors using Liquid or Gaseous Fuel . . . £30 £20 1 For complete Prize Sheet, including Prizes subsequently offered, see pages xx to xxvi of Appendix, Thursday , December 12, 1889. 1G1 rirst Second Class Prize Prize 2. Grist Mills for use on a farm, to be worked by an Engine not exceeding ten brake-borse-power .... £20 £10 3. Disintegrators, suitable for working with a Portable or Traction Engine not exceeding twenty brake-horse- power ........... £20 £10 4. Plant for Cider-making, suitable for use on a farm . . £20 £10 5. Strong Dairy Thermometer, with broad Mercury Column, to float upright in milk or cream at about 40° Falir., and to be scaled in a very bold, clear manner from 40° to 120° Falir £1 — (5. Collection of non-returnable parcel-post boxes to carry from 1 lb. to 5 lb. of butter . . . . . . £2 £1 7. Collection of non-returnable parcel-post boxes to carry from 5 lb. to 10 lb. of butter £2 £1 8. Vessel to contain preserved butter, closed hermetically without the use of solder £2 — 9. Sieve or Sile for use in a dairy £1 — 16. The Society will offer at Plymouth Prizes for Hunters, Coach Horses, Hackneys, Ponies, Shire, Clydesdale, and Suffolk Horses for breeding purposes ; and the Plymouth Local Com- mittee Avill add Prizes for Hunter, Hackney, and Pony Mares or Geldings, and for Agricultural Horses not qualified to compete as Shires, Clydesdales, or Suffolks, adapted for a hilly country. Prizes are also offered by the Devon County Agricultural Association for Dartmoor and Exmoor Ponies, by the Hackney Horse Society for Hackney Stallions foaled in 1888, and by the Suffolk Stud Book Association for Yearling Stallions and Fillies of the Suffolk breed. The Shire Horse Society also offer Champion Prizes for the best Shire Stallion and for the best Shire Mare or Filly. 17. In the Cattle Classes, Prizes will be offered by the Society for Shorthorns, Herefords, Devons, Sussex, Welsh, Red-Polled, Jerseys, and Guernseys, and for Dairy Cattle giving the greatest quantity of milk containing not less than 12 per cent, of solids and 3 per cent, butter-fat. The Plymouth Local Committee will give Prizes for Kerry and Dexter Kerry Cattle, and the Devon County Agricultural Association will add Prizes for South Devon Cattle. 18 Prizes will be given by the Society for the following breeds of Sheep -Leicester, Cotswold, Lincoln, Oxford Down, Shropshire, Southdown, Hampshire Down, Suffolk, Somerset and Dorset Horned, Devon Long Wool, Dartmoor, and Exmoor. The Devon County Agricultui’al Association will give similar Prizes for South Devon Sheep, and the Plymouth Local Committee will give Prizes for Wool of the clip of 1889 — to be shown in the grease — from sheep of the following breeds : — Devon Long Wool, Dartmoor, Exmooi', and South Devon. Prizes will be given by the Society for Large White, Middle White, Small White, Berkshire, Black, and Tamworth Pigs, and for useful descriptions of Poultry. 19. Prizes will be given in six classes for Cheese, and in five classes for Butter, including one for Butter made from scalded VOL. I. T. S. — 1 M 162 Report to the General Meeting, cream, offered by the Plymouth Local Committee. Five Prizes of 51. each, and five Prizes of 3 1. each, will be given for Fresh Butter, Fresh Butter slightly salted, and Butter made from scalded cream. Prizes will also be given for Cider and Perry, and for J ams and Preserved Fruits made in 1889. The British Bee-Keepers’ Association will continue their Prizes for Hives, Honey, and Bee- Appliances. 20. The Butter-making Competitions, which the Council believe to have been of material benefit during the past few years in incul- cating the improved principles of dairying, will be continued at Plymouth. The following classes have been arranged, five Prizes being offered in each class : — (1) Tuesday , June 24. — Dairymaids who have won a prize at any agricultural or dairy show. (2) Wednesday, June 25. — Dairymaids who have not won a prize at any agricultural or dairy show. 21. Another interesting feature of the Plymouth Meeting will be a competition of Shoeing Smiths practising in the counties comprised in the district of the Show. The competition will be in two classes — Hunters and Agricultural Horses — and five Prizes will be offered in each class. The Worshipful Company of Farriers have generously offered to provide a First Prize of 10/. in each of these two classes, and to bestow the freedom of their Guild upon the two First-Prize winners. This public-spirited proposal has been cordially accepted by the Council, who have expressed to the Company their willingness to co-operate with it in its efforts to promote skilled farriery and the registration of duly-qualified Farriers. 22. Prizes amounting to 300/. have been offered in three classes by the Plymouth Local Committee for the best-managed Farms in the counties of Devon and Cornwall. The number of farms entered for competition is seventeen, and the Judges will start on their first tour of inspection shortly after Christmas. 23. The Council have agreed to continue for another year the grant of three Premiums and Gold Medals for thoroughbred Stallions serving Mares in District D, which comprises Berkshire, Cornwall, Devonshire, Dorsetshire, Hampshire, Kent, Somerset, Surrey, Sussex, and Wiltshire. These Premiums will be competed for at the same time, and generally under the same conditions, as the twenty-two Queen’s Premiums offered by the Royal Commission on Horse-breed- ing. Arrangements have again been made, in conjunction with the Hackney Horse Society and Hunters’ Improvement Society, for holding a Joint Show at the Royal Agricultural Hall, London, on March 4, 5, 6, and 7, 1890. Members of the Society will be entitled to free admission to this Show on making previous application for tickets to the Secretary. 24. The Council have received an invitation from the Town Council of Leeds to hold the Society’s Country Meeting of 1891 in that town. The customary Committee of Inspection has been ap- pointed to report on the site and other accommodation offered, and Thursday , December 12, 1889. 103 a final decision as to the place of meeting in 1891 will be made by the Council in February next. 25. The Council refer with satisfaction ' to the recent establish- ment, under an Act of last Session, of a Board of Agriculture, with their colleague, Mr. Chaplin, at its head, and they trust that the interests of the agricultural community will now receive adequate consideration at the hands of Her Majesty’s Government. They are especially of opinion that, in view of the continued prevalence of pleuro-pneumonia, the Government should undertake, without further delay, the stamping out of that disease from the country, since the result of the working of the Pleuro-Pneumonia Slaughter Order of 1888 during the past six months has been very disappoint- ing and unsatisfactory. The number of fresh outbreaks has in- creased, as compared with the returns of the preceding half-year ; and though it is true there has been a slight decrease in England, which may possibly be due to accidental causes, in Scotland the out- breaks have increased over 90 per cent. One reason why the Order has not proved to be more successful, appears to be the want of uniformity of action on the part of Local Authorities. In some districts, where the requirements of the Order have been promptly carried out, the disease has been for a time eradicated, only to be re-introduced from others where the provisions of the Order have been less rigidly enforced. It is evident, from the number of fresh outbreaks which have during the past few months occurred among cattle soon after purchase, that infected animals still find their way into markets and sale-yards, and afterwards prove the means of establishing fresh centres of the disease. If all cattle exposed to infection were slaughtered within ten days, as required by the Order, no infected animals could be thus moved, and publicly ex- posed for sale. With the present regulations in force, infected cattle, which spread pleuro-pneumonia from markets, sale-yards, and dealers’ premises, must have come originally out of some place where the disease had existed and been concealed, or, if reported, the Local Authority had failed to slaughter all the animals exposed to infection. As at present administered, the Slaughter Order has up to the present time failed to make any satisfactory progress towards the eradication of the disease. 26. In view of these circumstances, the Council, at their meet- ing on November 6, adopted the following resolution, which has been forwarded to the Board of Agriculture : — That the Government should take .action in regard to pleuro-pneumonia, and that they should apply the necessary measures for stamping out the dis- ease by slaughter, under Imperial control, and at the cost of the Imperial exchequer. The Council have also called the attention of the Board of Agricul- ture to the continued spreading of swine-fever, and to the want of uniformity in the regulations which are issued by the various Local Authorities for the purpose of checking the disease. 1G4 Report to the General Meeting , 27. The Council have appointed as Provincial Veterinary Sur- geons of the Society, Mr. J. Dawson Roberts, of Aberystwith, for the County of Cardigan ; and Mr. F. Booth, of Abergele, for the counties of Denbigh and Carnarvon. 28. Investigations have been carried on by the Society during the past year into the lung-worm disease of young cattle and sheep, and some important facts in the life-history of the parasite have been ascertained. It seems now to be placed beyond doubt that the embryos of the lung-worm find a temporary resting-place in the common earthworm ; in the digestive system of sheep they undergo developmental changes which fit them for residence in the warm- blooded animal. Inquiries have also been conducted with the view to ascertain which of the many micro-organisms found in the dis- eased organs of swine dead of swine-fever is capable of inducing the disease. Up to the present, more than a dozen different microbes have been tested, but none of them caused any kind of illness when introduced into the digestive system of healthy pigs. 29. Investigations have been made, at the request of Members of the Society, into outbreaks of disease in various parts of the country. The diseases which have been met with are : — Abortion in cows, tapeworms and hydatids in sheep, actinomycosis in cattle, contagious skin disease of sheep, tuberculosis in cattle, sheep, swine, and poultry ; a fatal form of blood disease in poultry, somesvhat re- sembling chicken cholera ; a malignant form of mouth disease in calves ; and a fatal disease, the true character of which has not yet been determined, in herds of deer in parts of the country widely separated from each other. All these investigations (the expenses attending which have been defrayed out of grants of money made by the Society for the purpose) will be described at length in the Annual Report of the Royal Veterinary College for 1889, to appear in the Journal [see page 184]. 39 The Council, conscious of the necessity of the work of scien- tific investigation into the diseases of animals being carried on con- tinuously, have resolved, instead of giving their customary grant to the Royal V eterinary College for general purposes in connection with cattle pathology, to make an annual grant of 5001 for establishing a Chair of Comparative Pathology and Bacteriology at the Royal Veterinary College, subject to the College undertaking, as before, to investigate any outbreaks of disease amongst animals that may be reported by Members of the Society, and to defray the expenses of such investigations when considered necessary or advisable, and to the existing veterinary privileges of Members being continued as at present. 31. The Second Series of the Journal, commenced in 1865, having been completed by the volume just issued, the Council have given anxious consideration to the subject of the lines to be laid down for the Third Series. It has been their endeavour to come to such a Thursday, December 12, 1889. 165 decision with regard to the future publication of the J ournal as shall maintain its high character, and increase, if possible, its influence upon English Agriculture. They have resolved that the Journal shall be published in future at quarterly intervals, and that the Third Series, to commence next year, shall contain as essential features, in addition to signed articles by experts, as heretofore, the reports of the Monthly Meetings of Council, notes on current agricultural facts, and notices of new agricultural works, British and foreign. 32. The Council regret to announce that Mr. William Anderson, who for many years has occupied, with great advantage to the Society, the position of Consulting Engineer, has been compelled to resign the office, in consequence of his appointment by the Secretary of State for War to the office of Director-General of Ordnance Factories. The Council, reverting to a practice previously adopted, have ap- pointed the firm of Easton & Anderson, Limited, as Consulting Engineers to the Society, and have elected Mr. Anderson as one of the Honorary Members of the Society, in recognition of the valuable services which he has rendered to it. 33. The Secretary of State for India, on the recommendation of Sir James Caird, has selected Dr. Voelcker, the Society’s Consulting Chemist, to proceed to India to confer with the Government, and, after personal examination and inquiry, to advise them as to the best course to be adopted for the improvement of Indian agriculture by scientific means. The Council, conscious of the honour reflected upon the Society by the selection of their officer for so important a mission, have readily granted leave of absence for one year to Dr. Voelcker to enable him to accept the appointment. They have at the same time been careful to make such arrangements for the con- duct of the Society’s Laboratory as shall effectually safeguard the interests of the Members during Dr. Voelcker’s absence. Mr. E. W. Voelcker will act as the Society’s Consulting Chemist during the year, and will make and sign analyses in that capacity. 34. The number of samples sent during the year to the Society’s Chemical Laboratory has amounted to 1,435, showing some reduction on the high total obtained in 1888. In addition, however, to the samples sent by Members, upwards of 80 analyses of milk were made in connection with the awards in the Dairy Classes at the Windsor Show ; whilst other investigations connected with the ex- periments at Woburn, and those of Local Agricultural Societies, add a further 123 to the number. The reports of the Chemical Committee have drawn special attention to the error of trusting to printed circulars regarding cakes and manures, instead of obtaining a guarantee for each particular delivery. 35. At the Society’s experimental farm at Woburn, Mr. F. E. Fraser, who for the past five years has rendered very efficient service in the capacity of farm-manager, has been succeeded on his retire- ment by Mr. Arthur E. Elliott. The Woburn excursion was held 166 Report to General Meeting, Thursday , December 12, 1889. on July 4, and was very well attended. Experiments by Local Agricultural Societies have been continued on the part of the same three Societies as previously. 36. Four hundred applications have been made to the Consulting Botanist during the year, chiefly bearing on the quality of seeds, but also respecting the composition of pastures, the causes of injury to stock, the attacks of destructive parasites, and similar subjects. The grass-seeds show a complete absence of intentional adultera- tions : not a single instance of the mixture of rye -grass with the more expensive fescues, once so common, has been met with. Some samples of meadow foxtail germinated over 90 per cent., and of golden oat-grass, nearly 90 per cent. There has been a considerable amount of dodder in the clover-seed, not less than 24 per cent, of the samples of red clover, and 14 per cent, of alsike, containing seeds of dodder. The results of the inspection of the selected pastures throughout England will be published in the next number of the J ournal [see page 95]. 37. The work of the Consulting Entomologist continues to in- crease. In addition to advice to individual Members as to insect attacks upon their crops, Miss Ormerod has in her published reports given for general information much useful practical advice as to dealing with some especially injurious kinds of farm-insects. Amongst subjects which have received special attention, may be mentioned the prevention of warble attack, concerning which many inquiries have been received. The chief injury caused by insect attacks in the past season has been that of the orchard-pests. A few kinds of insect attacks injurious to fruit-trees or crops, which hitherto had not been recorded as present, have been observed in the past season, and have been duly reported by Miss Ormerod. 38. The Council have appointed the President, Mr. Frankish, and the Secretary, as delegates to represent the Society on the Committee of the Mansion House United Association on Railway Rates, and have voted the sum of 50 1. as a contribution to the funds of the Association, with a view to assist in securing an adequate representation of the interests of agricultural objectors at the Board of Trade inquiry into the subject which is now pi’oceeding. 39. The date of the next Senior Examination for the Society’s Prizes and Certificates has been fixed for May 13 to 17, 1890. The Council have resolved to add Agricultural Entomology to this Examination as a voluntary subject, 100 marks being assigned to it. 40. The Annual Examination for the Society’s ten Junior Scholarships of 20/. each took place on November 12 and 13, when thirty-seven candidates, from twelve schools, competed. Of these candidates, fifteen passed in all four subjects (Agriculture, Chemistry, Mechanics, and Land-Surveying), and obtained the number of marks necessary to qualify them for the Society’s Scholarships and Certifi- Annual Report for 1880 of the Consulting Botanist. 167 cates in the event of their complying, during the forthcoming year, with the conditions of the Examination. Eive other boys passed in each of the four subjects, but, not having obtained the minimum aggregate of marks, are ineligible for Certificates. Of the seventeen other unsuccessful candidates, six failed in one subject, five in two subjects, four in three subjects, and two hi all four subjects. There were three failures in Agriculture, nine in Chemistry, four- teen in Mechanics, and ten in Land Surveying. Of the fifteen successful candidates, the first ten in the following list will receive Scholarships upon complying with the Society’s regulations, and the remainder will receive Certificates : — 1. Edwin Coates, Northampton Grammar School. 2. Herbert Faulkner Lee, Surrey County School. 3. Henry Hamilton Clements, Analiilt Endowed National School. 4. Samuel David Crothers, Analiilt Endowed National School. 5. Montagu Hounsell Cox, Surrey County School. 6. Arthur George Henry Verrall, Surrey County School. 7. Walter Ernest Coates White, Aspatria Agricultural College. 8. Alfred Caldecott, Queen’s School, Basingstoke. 9. William Longmore Parkin, Northampton Grammar School. 10. Percy Shelley, Surrey County School. 11. Francis Bedford Glasier, Norfolk County School. 1 / Joseph Lister, Aspatria Agricultural College. ] \ Martin Hammond Ward, Aspatria Agricultural College. 14' Edward Howard Smart, Portsmouth Grammar School. lo- Tracy French Gavin Jones, Tamworth Agricultural College. By Order of the Council, (Signed) EBNEST CLARKE, Secretary. ANNUAL REPORT FOR 1889 OF THE CONSULTING BOTANIST. During the year over four hundred applications have been made to me by members of the Society. The greater number have related to grass seeds, and the result of the year’s work in this Department is that deliberate adulteration with cheaper and worthless seeds has practically ceased. This, of course, refers only to seeds that have been examined by me, as compared with similar seeds submitted to me only a few years ago. This improvement, as my Annual Reports show, has been gradual, but always advancing. No longer do I find meadow fescue and tall fescue largely composed of rye-grass, nor sweet vernal more or less completely replaced by the almost worthless annual vernal grass of the Continent ; nor are the two qualities (/) of golden oat-grass brought under my notice, the cheaper, which was sold wholesale at one-third of the price of the other, having been 1G8 Annual Report for 1889 of the Consulting Botanist , entirely Air a Jlexuosa, a grass no one would wish to see in a pas- ture. The low germinating power of certain samples appears to me to show that some merchants carry over their surplus stock from year to year ; under these circumstances the poas and some other small and delicate seeds get completely desiccated, and are unable to grow. The two large fescues were quite free from rye-grass — a single sample of meadow fescue with 1 per cent, being scarcely an excep- tion, for so small a quantity obviously got in without intention. The germination has also been satisfactory ; the average of the meadow fescue was 96 per cent., in some cases reaching 100 per cent. ; while in tall fescue the average germination was 87 per cent., and in hard fescue 84 per cent. A quarter of the samples of cocksfoot contained seeds of Yorkshire fog, and though the quantity was small — from 1 per cent, to 3 per cent.— it seems to me that the smallest quantity of this grass is undesirable in a pasture, and its presence is the more objectionable because it can easily be cleaned out. The germination of the cocksfoot averaged 93 per cent. The samples of timothy were very clean, and the germination averaged 97 per cent. The poas examined were free from foreign seed, and true to their kinds. The germination of the more valuable rough-stalked meadow grass averaged 77 per cent., while the wood meadow grass fell to 61 per cent. ; and the smooth-stalked meadow grass reached an average of only 42 per cent. ; and this figure was reached only because some good samples raised the average of the poorer qualities. As I have suggested, this is probably due to stocks of this seed being carried over from season to season. The attention that has been year after year drawn to meadow foxtail has led to a great improvement in the quality of its seed. Some samples reached a germination of 90 per cent. ; the average was, however, brought down to 62 per cent, by some very poor samples. Crested dogstail was pure and clean, and had an average ger- mination of 90 per cent. ; tall oat-grass germinated 92 per cent. ; golden oat-grass, 73 per cent. ; and sweet-scented vernal grass, 72 per cent. The rye-grasses are more impure than any other seeds that I have examined. Forty per cent, of the samples of both perennial and Italian rye-grass had the seeds of weeds or other injurious impurities, sometimes amounting to as much as 10 per cent. The objectionable grasses that in this way got into fields were Yorkshire fog and soft brome grass. The leguminous seeds were all of a superior quality, with the exception of the presence of dodder seeds in the red clovers to the extent of 14 per cent, of the samples, and in alsike, to the extent of 4 per cent, of the samples. This is so destructive a weed to the crop that no seed which contains any of it should be used. White clover is the most impure of all the clovers ; a sample is very seldom met with that does not contain some seeds of sorrel. The average A nnual Report for 1889 of the Consulting Botanist. 1G9 germination of white clover was 90 per cent., red clover 92 per cent., and alsike 94 per cent. Trefoil is, as a rule, singularly free from impurities ; the average germination was 93 per cent. Sainfoin reached only 69 per cent., and lucerne averaged 94 per cent. I would like to call attention to a practice far from uncommon in different parts of the country. It is thought that the grasses most suitable for the soil of a district are those that grow freely in the neighbourhood ; and that, consequently, the seeds from any neighbouring field of meadow hay must give the very plants that are to be desired in a new pasture. I have had several cases of this kind brought under my notice during the season, and in each case have been compelled to utterly condemn the mixture thus obtained. I will give the analyses of two samples from the same locality which were thus obtained. The first sample of home-grown hay-seed con- sisted of — Tor cent, i Tor cent. Yorkshire fog 57 | Hard fescue 4 Perennial rye-grass .... 19 I Poas - Crested dogstail 11 Meadow fescue 1 Italian rye-grass 4 | Cocksfoot 1 The second sample of screened home-grown hay- seed consisted of — Ter cent. Perennial rye-grass .... GO Ilibgrass or plantain ... 8 Yorkshire fog 7 Soft brome grass .... 7 Crested dogstail 5 Buttercup 3 Per cent. Sterile brome grass .... 3 Yellow rattle 2 Italian rye-grass .... 2 Meadow fescue 1 Other grasses 2 During the month of July I visited the thirteen selected pastures scattered over the South and West of England. I compared the enclosed pieces with the general pasture of the field in which they were situated, and afterwards, with the help of my son, analysed the herbage of the enclosed portions, which was carefully cut, and for- warded to my laboratory at Norwood. The report of the results appears in another part of the present number of the Journal. The comparatively small increase in the applications during the past year appears to me to show that the members do not know the small fee for which the purity and germinating power of their seeds can be ascertained. Wm. Carruthers. 170 ANNUAL REPORT FOR 1889 OF THE CONSULTING ENTOMOLOGIST.1 (WITH ADDITIONS FROM REPORT OF MARCH 5, 1890.) Tiik following annual report gives an abstract of the main points of the entomological work of the twelve months from December 1888 to December 1889, to which is appended more full detail regarding some kinds of injurious insect attacks not previously recorded as being present in this country, and some other points of practical interest regarding effects of, or remedies for, insect infestation. During the past season the amount of inquiry and business coming to my hands has continued to increase. The home corre- spondence regarding identification and means of prevention of farm crop and orchard insect pests continues now throughout the year, and also frequent inquii’y as to means of giving or procuring information in agricultural entomology, and other subjects connected with the work. There has also been much correspondence, colonial and foreign, especially with the United States, partly regarding special insect attacks, and frequently consisting of consultation letters with leading official entomologists, by which I am greatly assisted. The number of letters I have written on the above subjects during the past official year (from December to December) is approximately upwards of 1,257. I do not include in these short notes written by my assistants to accompany pamphlets asked for, or the like. Inquiries have as usual been sent in regarding almost all the regularly known crop and orchard insect pests, which it is unnecessary to enumerate here, but, excepting with regard to orchard insects, I am not aware of widespread attacks of any special kind of insect having occurred over large districts during the past season, and amongst some of the kinds quite exceptionally observed as present in 1888, the beet carrion beetle has not been reported at all, and frit fly in oats at only two or three places. Some few kinds, scarcely or not at all noticed here before as injurious, were observed in the past season ; namely, the attack of a small beetle to turnips at a locality in Aberdeenshire, and a red maggot on barley at one place in Lincolnshire ; a large white woolly scale most extraordinarily prevalent on various kinds of currants, where it established itself at all, and a small boring beetle, of which the attack is very rapidly fatal to young plum trees. 1 In figs. 4 and 5 in this paper, those of the winged moths and of the wing- kss moths to right-hand side are from British Moths by Edw. Newman; the wingless moth and looper caterpillar to left in above figures respectively are from Die jjraltiisclie Insehtenhundc of Dr. E. L. Tasclienberg. The other illustrations, namely, figs. 1, 2, 3, G, and 7, are figured from original specimens for my own publications, and are lent for this paper. — E. A. 0. Annual Report for 1889 of the Consulting Entomologist. 171 These I duly reported on successively, but it seems worth obsexwation that, as in the case of the Hessian fly, these newly or lately recorded arrivals were, with the exception of the plum borer, for the most part on, or near, the east coast of the island. Some very good information has been brought forward as to various proved and serviceable methods of prevention, notably with regard to checking clover-stem sickness as soon as the plants have power of spring growth in them ; also with regard to the attack (which is sometimes excessively destructive) of turnip diamond- back moth. The subject of warble prevention has also very much advanced. With each succeeding year this has been more and more taken up by cattle owners and farmers, and now, in addition to the help given by many influential hide firms, much is being also given by leading men in various Butchers’ Associations drawing attention widely through England, Scotland, and Ireland, to the loss from this cause on meat, the importance of the subject, and the proved and easy remedies. I am in constant communication on the subject. Steady distribution of the leaflets still continues, and I shall be happy to continue to forward them to all applicants interested in warble prevention who may apply to me. The work has now increased to such an extent that by devoting my whole time to it, and with the help of amanuenses at home, and (by correspondence) the skilled and well-known aid of Mr. Oliver E. Janson, F.E.S., in identification of “ extra British,” or previously undescribed specimens, I have (I believe) been able fully to attend to inquiry and consultation business, and most scrupulously to that belonging to my work as Entomologist to the Society. But there is a great deal of good work in the way of insect pre- vention experiments offered from time to time which I have not been able to take up, because the requisite co-operation in correspondence was more than I could possibly manage, and if any arrangement could be made by which I could give attention to these, it would be of very great agricultural service. With regard to further details, taking Hessian fly presence first : — During the past season, judging from reports sent to myself, Hessian fly attack appears to have done very little serious damage. One report was sent in of an attack on fifty -nine acres of barley, in which it was estimated that every fifth straw was broken down ; otherwise, although it appeared in some districts not previously re- ported as infested, and where it was noticed as very prevalent, yet damage was either usually not mentioned, or mentioned as not con- siderable. At the Royal Agricultural College, Cirencester, where it was exceedingly prevalent on wheat and barley, in the College grounds and neighbourhood, the loss was estimated not to exceed 4 per cent, in any case. At Revell’s Hall, near Hertford (where the attack was first observed in England), although at threshing time infestation was found to have been present, from the large number of “ flax-seeds ” 172 Annual Report for 1889 of the Consulting Entomologist. found in the screenings, little of it had been -observed on the corn before harvest, and little harm had apparently been caused to the crops. At Daleally, near Errol (where the attack was first observed in Scotland), I am informed, on special inquiry, that it was not found at all. The reports of this, as well as of last year, give good hope that our wheats will not suffer to a serious extent ; but for the sake of barley (which is much more liable to injury), it is very important that the plain common-sense measures of prevention previously men- tioned should be carried out. Saddle Fly, Cecidomyia (? Diplosis ) equestris, Wagner. Another form of cecidomyideous attack (that is, attack of red maggots very much resembling in shape and colour those of a common wheat midge), but which, I believe, has not hitherto been recorded in Britain, has occurred to a slight extent on barley straw near Alford, in Lincolnshire. At present I have not been able to secure the fly, but as far as I can make out the insect will turn out to be the Cecidomyia (Dip- losis) equestris of Wagner, commonly known as the saddle fly, from the saddle-like form of the injury which the maggots cause to the infested straw. In the specimens sent me, the little saddle-like spots, each formed of a slight hollow with a raised border of diseased growth around it, and set either singly or in a succession of four or five saddles along the straw, were very notice- able, and unlike any other attack which I have seen. This attack may very likely have come from a good deal of thin foreign barley, full of dirt, weed, seeds, and other rubbish, which was sold at Alford market ; I will endeavour, if injury reappears, to get com- plete observations. Shot Borer Beetle, Xyleborus dispar , Fab. a,\ An attack of serious importance to fruit tacked by saddle fly “ red , . , 1 £ n mananu” growers occurred in stems of young plum trees at Toddington. The cause of the mischief is a small blackish beetle, the Xyleborus dispar , Fab., so named from the disparity in size and shape between the male and the female. The female is somewhat cylindrical, with a little lump on the forepart of the body, and is little more than a line long ; but the male is only about two-thirds of that length, and rounded in outline. (See Fig. 2.) The females bore into the hard wood of the stems of young Annual Report for 1889 of the Consulting Entomologist. 173 trees, and kill the part above with great rapidity. On examination, I found that one beetle tunnel was bored horizontally about two- thirds l'ound the stem, and from this three or more tunnels went directly upwards and downwards, one of these clearing out an inch or two of the central pith. Thus, in consequence of the stem being partially ringed, and the loss of sap also, the attack very rapidly proves fatal. The beetle lives in all its stages in borings in the wcod. Those stems that I opened were about three-quarters of an inch in diameter, and the group of short galleries were then (about the middle of September) absolutely crammed full and crowded with the beetles, which habit Fig. 2. — Xyleborus dispar, male and female, mag. Lines shelving not. length, and plum stems tunnelled by “ shot borer ” attack. uppearsto be one of the peculiarities of this insect. It attacks apple and plum trees, as well as many kinds of forest trees, but hitherto has been extremely rare in England. As this newly-observed infestation is a very serious matter to fruit growers, I put myself into communication both with America and the Continent, as to what measures could be taken to stop it. I find from the observations of Herr W. Eichhoff, Imperial Ranger of the Forests of Alsace, that this infestation can be very much kept in bounds by precisely the same kind of precautions which have long been used here to check increase of pine plantation beetles. The “ Shot-borers ” have been found (where they have the 174 Annual Report for 1889 of the Consulting Entomologist. choice) to select by preference, for tunnelling and breeding purposes, the stems of lately felled or fallen trees, or stumps remaining in the ground, or pieces of fallen branches, rather than the growing trees. Therefore, for purposes of checking the infestation, besides removing the young trees which are rapidly killed by the attack and burning them (with the contained pests), the removal also of all such nurseries of infestation as the above clears away much coming mischief. The female beetles have powerful wings, but before they take flight may be found by tens, or scores, in their tunnels, and, there- fore, besides destroying these in swarms as noted above, it answers well to set traps by placing pieces of newly-felled branches or poles amongst the trees to be protected. This can be done with little trouble, beginning about March, and the branches (or “ trap-wood ”) should be examined about every three or four weeks, and if at all bored into carried off and burnt, and other pieces set up about the orchard. It will also very likely be found that, as these beetles (like several of our most destructive kinds) attack by preference stems in which the sap is not in full flow, it will be the young recently removed trees which require chiefly to be guarded against their attacks. This appears to be best done as advised in Canada, by coating the bark of neighbouring trees with whitewash or soft soap, with a little Paris green or a little carbolic acid added, in quantities that will be certain not to hurt the bark, but of which the smell will deter the beetles from boring into it in the spring. It is really of great importance to fruit growers not to allow this new infesta- tion to take hold, as, where once ' established, it causes what is not inaptly described by one sufferer as fairly a “ slaughter ” of the trees. White Woolly Currant Scale, Pulvinaria Ribesice, Signoret. On J uly 30 I first reported notice of a large white woolly scale insect, which has only recently been observed in this country, and which requires attention. Its spread would be very injurious to fruit farmers, as it infests the black and also the red and white currants in profusion ; it also is found on the flowering currant : and as I have two notices of it (or a scale insect indistinguishable from it) being found on the mountain ash ( Pyrus aucuparia), attention is very desirable to see that it does not infest other kinds of Pyrus, namely, apple and pear trees. The scale insect has been identified by Mr. J. W. Douglas, one of our chief British authorities on this family of insects, as the Pulvinaria ribesice of Signoret, a species known in France and Germany, but which he had not previously been aware of the presence of in England, and it was also quite new to myself. It may be perfectly easily distinguished in summer by the white, woolly egg-bags, about a quarter of an inch long, and rather less across, looking in the distance like little lumps of whitewash, and scattered so thickly over the infested boughs that I have Annual Report for 1889 of the Consulting Entomologist. 175 Fig. 3. — Pulvinaria Ribesiee. 1 and la, Female scale with woolly egy-sac and scale removed, mag. Line giving nat. length of scale. 2, Larva magnified. counted sixty or more on a slightly-forked branch of currant only about a foot long. On the top of these egg-bags, at one end, is the brown, dead coat of the mother scale, and with- in a great number of eggs. From these hatch such multitudes of young scale insects that as they crawl in all directions they give the white wool the appearance of having been dusted with cayenne pepper, and might claim the name given to one American kind — the Pulvinaria innumerabilis. These scale insects disperse themselves very rapidly in their early stages, and do mischief by drawing away the juices of the plants with their suckers. The attack has been reported (in almost every case with speci- mens accompanying) from Wakefield and Huddersfield, and also from various localities in Scotland, chiefly near the sea-coast, from Macduff in Banffshire to near Berwick-on-Tweed. In two of these localities it had been noticed a few years ago, otherwise it does not seem to have been observed until this summer, or possibly last year. As it was very desirable to check its increase at once, I recom- mended, by the help of the newspapers, as well as by letter, that infested bushes should be burnt on the spot where they had grown. Thus the great risk of dropping young scales about amongst the bushes is avoided, and such as may have fallen beneath the bushes will also be destroyed. I am favoured by information from Mr. W. McKenzie, gardener at Glen Muick, Aberdeenshire, that, when other means to get the pest under failed, he found the application of limewash during autumn, in proportion of one gallon of water to two pounds of hot lime, applied by means of a brush to the infested branches in the autumn, to be an effectual cure. With a little timely attention this scale attack can be kept well in check, but if neglected it is likely to prove a serious inconveni- ence. Looper caterpillars of Winter Moth, Cheimatobia brumala , L., and Mottled Umber Moth, Hybernia defolaria, L. With regard to the great injury caused by insect orchard pests, and especially by the looper caterpillars of the winter moth, com- munication has been frequent throughout much of the year, but space 1 here only allows mention of a little as to the time and best method of banding the trees as a preventive of attack. 1 In my own Annual Beport for 1889 (13th Report.) I have given in detail such information as I have been able to procure regarding different kinds of grease, and methods of application, and also regarding subsequent measures to destroy eggs and caterpillars. — E. A. 0. 176 Annual Report for 1889 of the Consulting Entomologist. By November 6 I had been for some weeks receiving informa- tion of appearance of the winter moths, and also specimens ; and I advised that where measures had not yet been taken to prevent the wingless females creeping up the trees to deposit their eggs, these should be attended to as promptly as possible. F rom the first observation, on or about October 11, until the middle of De- cember, notes of presence of the wingless moths continued to be sent, show- ing the necessity of begin- ning to band early, re- peating the application. Banding the trees with cart-grease appears to be the most practicable of the measures recommended, but care should be taken (as the mixtures sold under this name vary in com- position) to ascertain that whatever is chosen should not be mixed with tar or petroleum, or any other material liable to be in- jurious to bark, in suffi- cient quantity to make the application dangerous to the bark or tender outside wood of the tree. On old apple trees, where the bark is dead outside and too thick to be easily permeated, there is not much danger, but on young trees, where the bark is still very thin, great care should be exercised. The plan followed at the Toddington fruit grounds (where from eighty to a hundred and twenty thousand trees are being protected this season) is to wrap a band of the common thin grease-proof paper, such as is used by grocers, round the tree, to paste the overlapping edges together, and lay the grease on the paper. In this manner the risk of the grease melting into the tree is avoided. Where measures of this kind cannot be carried out, care should be taken not to “grease-band” in the same part of the tree where it was applied last year. Various points are now under consideration from results of experiments of last season, which it is hoped may be of practical service when caterpillar time comes round again. FURTHER REPORT ON ORCHARD CATERPILLARS.1 In consequence of the great losses which have now occurred for several successive years, from attack of moth caterpillars, to the Fig. 4. — Winter moths. Male and wingless females. Fig. 5. — Mottled umber moth. Male, wingless female , and caterpillar. 1 From report submitted on March 5-, 1880. Annual Report for 1889 of the Consulting Entomologist. 177 orchard trees in most of our chief fruit-growing counties, some of the chief orchard growers in Worcestershire and Gloucestershire held at the end of February 1890 a special conference at Evesham to consider what concerted preventive measures could be taken. At their desire I am in communication and co-operation with them, and am placing in their hands the best information attainable, both as to the nature and habits of the most injurious kinds of caterpillars and the methods of preventive treatment which have been found to answer best. But in this country little advance has as yet been made beyond “ grease-banding,” which certainly does prevent much of the infes- tation so far as it is caused by looper caterpillars of the wingless moths ; but it is a tedious process, requiring to be yearly repeated, and is injurious to the trees unless much care is taken to protect the bai’k. Also, whilst it is not wholly efficacious, even in prevent- ing attack of loopers (that is, of the caterpillars of the winter moth and its allies), it is wholly useless in preventing attack of the many kinds of moths which come on the wing to lay eggs on the ti’ees. It is a perfect impossibility that all the attacks caused by these different kinds of moths can be prevented by destroying them in chrysalis state, as this would require a search literally everywhere — - on the surface of the ground and just below it — on the bark of the trees, on hedges, walls, palings, in sheds, Fc., and this at different seasons of the year. Insectivorous birds would help, but, as many are mixed feeders, if these are (as is often suggested) greatly increased in numbers they will be very apt to do more harm than good by supplying deficiencies of diet from the tree buds. What we want, therefore, I believe, are measures (such as have been used successfully now for years in the United States and Canada) which can be brought to bear at once on the trees when the caterpillar pests of all the different kinds are ravaging together, and which will sweep them off at very moderate expense without damaging the leafage. During the winter I have been consulting on this subject witli Mr. Fletcher, the Dominion Entomologist of Canada, who is per- fectly well versed, both scientifically and practically, in management of these attacks, and two valuable letters have been sent by him to Captain Corbett, the Superintendent of theToddington Fruit Grounds. Also, I have sent to Evesham notes with regard to measures for so dressing the trunks of trees as to prevent the ascent of caterpillars which might cross dry grease-bands or hatch from eggs thereon, and information as to applications serviceably used in America for “ washing ” off the caterpillars, with requisite details and cautions. Also it has been now arranged by the Evesham Conference to form a committee of experiment, so that effects of treatment may be carefully tried on a sound basis, both as to the applications, and the apparatus by which they are thrown, and results reported, and this, I hope, will do much good. I am myself co-operating to the best of my power. VOL. I. T. S. — 1 N 178 Annual R apart for 1889 of the Consulting Entomologist . Clover “ Stem-Sickness,” caused by Tylenchus devastatrix, Kuhn (a species of very minute white eelwonn), within the plant. During the latter part of the winter of 1888, and up to May in 1889, I received many communications regarding serious failure of clover crops, with specimens of various kinds of insects, worms, or other supposed causes of the injury, sent accompanying. In all cases, however, in which sufficient material was sent to me for complete investigation (that is to say, where plenty of specimens of the whole plants were forwarded), I have no hesitation in saying that the disease was due to the presence of the Tylenchus devastatrix , Kuhn, the same kind of minute nematode, or eelworm, which causes the disease known as “tulip-root” in oat plants, and which attacks many other grasses and wild plants, and some other regular crops. This attack may be known by the presence of the minute eelworms, often in great numbers, together with their eggs, in the infested buds and stems, and also (and more conveniently for general pur- poses) by the infested shoots having usually a more or less deformed growth. In some cases the buds were inflated, and the branches shorter and thicker than in the regular clover growth, and also, especially from one locality, the abnormal buds, or shoots, checked by the eelworm presence, though now decayed, showed a kind of bulb shape, like a knot of large leaf-scales ; and one most especially injured shoot had about six of these shortened shoots placed almost close together on the central stem. By these growths the attack may be distinguished, when it is severe, as easily as the bulb-like Tylenchus attack to oat plants known as “ tulip-root ” may be distinguished by the somewhat tulip- bulb-formed swelling of the base of the stem, with the fringe of thin, pale, doubled-up shoots growing around. Both attacks are caused by presence of the Tylenchus devastatrix, or “ stem-eelworm,” as has been’ proved by infesting one kind of plant from the other. The “ stem-eelworms ” may be found in all stages, and male and female as well as young and eggs, in the infested buds and stems. As it was eminently desirable that we should know the species beyond possibility of mistake, I submitted specimens from both W oburn and Rothamsted for technical examination by Dr. J. Ritzema Bos, Professor at the State Agricultural College, Wagen- ingen, Netherlands, as being one of the highest authorities on the subject, and these plants he found to be diseased in the same manner — that is, to have the same deformed growth as clover in- fested by T. devastatrix, which he had studied in the field in the Netherlands, and in the swollen buds and in the shoots he found this Tylenchus in large numbers, and he also found the eggs. In the dying parts of the plant other nematodes were present in small numbers of different kinds, as Cejdtalobus, Rhabditis, and Diploy aster, but these are immaterial to the present inquiry. Annual Report for 1889 of the Consulting Entomologist. 179 As these clover attacks precisely agree with those which have been carefully and repeatedly studied by Mr. Whitehead and myself, with frequent reference of our observations for verification to Dr. Ritzenia Bos and Dr. J. G. de Man, of Middleburg, and the micro- scojfic measurements have been checked by reference to those of Dr. Kuhn, Director of the Agricultural Institute, Halle, Germany (another leading authority on the subject), I do not think that there is the least ground for doubt that the attacks of clover sickness now specially under consideration are caused by the “ stem eelworm,” the Tylenchus devastatrix, Kuhn ; and I mention this so particularly because the form of attack being now before the managers of two such important agricultural stations as Woburn and Rothamsted, they will be able to point out widely the connection of the outward signs of deformed growth with internal presence of the “ stem eel- worms ” which cause this “ sickness,” and (where microscopic ap- pliances and figures of Nematodes are at hand for reference) the Tylenchi may be identified. 1 As, however, these little white wormlets are very small— only about the twenty- fourth part of an inch long when full-grown — for general purposes with this clover “ stem sickness,” as with the “ Tulip- root ” disease of oats, it is on the external appearance of the diseased crop that we must mainly rest for identification. I would venture to suggest that, as clover suffers under several attacks, and much uncertainty arises from the term of “sickness” being applied to them all, it would be a convenient and correct distinction to adopt the Continental term of ‘stem-sickness ’ where it is wished to particularise the attack of the Tylenchus devastatrix, which is more especially known as “ L’anguillule de la tige,” or “ stem- eelworm.” The best applications which have been reported to me for pre- venting or checking eelworm attack have been sulphate of potash, sulphate of ammonia, and phosphates, the first two in largest pro- portion ; or sulphate of potash alone, which has had excellent effect in checking eelworm attack when beginning to show itself. In the experiments on stem-sick clover at Rothamsted of which I was permitted to have notes, forwarded to me by Mr. John Willis, it was found that a mixture of sulphate of potash, 3 cwt., and sulphate of ammonia, 1 cwt., per acre, acted well ; as did also sulphate of iron applied on another plot at the rate of 2 cwt. the acre. These applications were given on April 3, and on examination on May 14 it was found that the disease had entirely ceased, and the clover was growing most vigorously. The above manurial applications extended their beneficial effects to the second crop. On July 26 the vigour of plant was reported as very marked on the plot which received the potash and ammonia mixture ; the growth was not so luxuriant on the plot treated with 1 For full description of T. devastatrix, with life-history, and method of injury to various crops, together with full illustration in all stages, see L'anquilhdc de la Tige et les maladies dcs ylantcs dues a ce Nematode. Par Dr. J. Ritzema Bos. 180 Annual Report for 1889 of the Consulting Entomologist. tlie 2 cwt. of sulphate of iron, but in each of the above eases the ravages of the Tylenchus had quite ceased. The attack is excessively liable to be carried in infested earth, or in manure of stock fed on infested fodder (as these nematodes are not killed by passing through the animals in process of digestion). They also infest many kinds of grasses, and crop weeds, and some other ordinary field and garden crops. Also it should be borne in mind that, as the wormlets lie much on the surface of the earth in infested fields, common digging (which is sometimes resorted to as a remedy) is by no means sure to be successful. Trenching, or deep ploughing with a skim coulter, is useful treatment, for thus the wormlets are turned down to a depth at which they will perish. Flour Mom.1 I much regret to have to mention that the very seriously in- jurious wheat hour mill (and flour and meal store) pest, the Ephestia Kuhneilla, called specially “ the flour moth,” is quietly and steadily establishing a footing in this country. The harm caused by this infestation, where it gains entrance into rolling mills in which wheat only is ground, can hardly be over- estimated. The caterpillars spread themselves everywhere, get into the spouts and machinery, and do unbounded mischief, especially by injury to the silks, and stopping the flow of flour in the spouts, by spinning webs and hanging on them. It is most difficult to deal with this attack thoroughly, for, as it would temporarily ruin the business of the mills for them to be known to be centres of infestation, all the applications to myself are made in business confidence. Where various kinds of corn could be ground, there would be no difficulty at all in clearing out this pest by substituting a kind on which the caterpillars did not feed for a few weeks ; but, where wheat only is ground, the sole method which has been found really to answer in clearing the attack out tolerably, is to stop the working of the mill for a short time, and, by means of pipes or hose from the engine, to drive hot steam into every accessible part. This, of course, rusts the shafting, but that is a lesser evil. After the steaming, a thorough whitewashing of walls and all that can be lime- washed, cleansing the floors with hot lime and with paraffin oil, and afterwards fumigating from time to time with sulphur, have been found to keep the attack in check ; but still this does not stamp it out, so as to prevent risks of the pests being distributed to set up infestation in all places connected with transmission of wheat flour, or exchange of sacks. On the first breaking out of the attack in Canada I forwarded, by desire of the Department of Agriculture of Ontario, information as to what was being done under my own suggestion here, and they improved on the plan by having a steam-proof chamber built in 1 From Report presented March 5, 181)0. Annual Report for 1889 of the Consulting Entomologist. 181 which the portions of the machinery which could be subjected to the treatment were exposed to the action of superheated steam. I drew attention to the attack last year, but from its continu- ance and spread, and also from the fact that, for obvious reasons, no miller or storeholder will warn his neighbours of their risk, it appears very desirable to suggest to all concerned that they should be on the watch, lest it should be brought into their premises ; and one most desirable precaution is scrupulous care as to the condition of returned sacks. The moths very especially lay their eggs on sacks, and brushing and baking would be most desirable precaution- ary measures. One characteristic of the attack is the manner in which the caterpillars web up the infested flour or meal into felt-like masses. When full grown, these grubs are rather over half an inch in length, and of various shades, from white to pale flesh colour, with brown heads and some other small brown markings, and the little moths are grey, with paler and somewhat yellower and half -transparent hinder wings. In one of the first appearances of this infestation in one of the large London stores, the attack took hold so fast that one whole warehouse was rapidly filled (smothered, as it was expressed) by the grubs, and several hundreds of pounds’ worth of damage was done. In the Canadian outbreak, where I have knowledge of cost of opera- tions, damage from loss and preventive necessities was estimated at 1 ,000/., and I have myself also knowledge of the heavy loss and excessive inconvenience caused in this country. After much investigation, it appears to be considered that the chief centres from which this pest has been distributed are the South European Mediterranean ports. Any details which may be desired, I would of course furnish on application. Warble Fly, Hypoderma bovis, De Geer. Warble attack receives constantly increasing attention. On March 5, 1889, 1 submitted the following abstract of information, with which I had been favoured in replies to my many inquiries regard- ing amount of money loss on hides from warble injury (during one year, or during the warble season) from several of the chief hide market companies or inspection societies — namely, from Aberdeen, Bristol, Glasgow, Leeds, Liverpool, Newcastle-on-Tyne, Nottingham, Sheffield, VlAV 11 TOCO Gentlemen, — As we experienced great difficulty in getting any of our animals to eat the meal you sent me last month, and which you guaran- teed “ to be nothing but the produce of wheat,” I thought I would have the Quarterly Report of the Chemical Committee, March, 1890. 193 same analysed, and I accordingly gent a sample for that purpose to Dr. Voelcker. On tlie other side you will find copy of his analysis, in sending which he writes as follows: — “ The meal contains a lot of refuse materials, and over 7 per cent of sand. It is very acid, and in a condition quite unfit for feeding-purposes.” After your guarantee that the meal contained not hint/ but wheat, I should like to know what explanation you have to offer in connection with Dr. Voelcker’s very damaging analysis. — Yours truly, G. W. Goodison. Messrs. , Liverpool. G. W. Goodison, Esq., Coniston Bank, Ambleside. November 12, 1889. Dear Sir, — We are in receipt of your favour of yesterday, and note contents. We are very much obliged to you for getting our meal analysed, but differ from you, as we don't consider the report at all damaging. We repeat our meal is nothing but the produce of wheat, and if you go to the trouble of getting bran or any other wheat-offal analysed, you will obtain about the same result. It would never pay us to go to the trouble of mixing 7 per cent, of sand with the meal, and such an idea is preposterous. However, we think cattle consume a good deal more than 7 per cent, of sand and dirt with turnips and roots, without any ill effects. If you get linseed or other fancy cakes tested, we guarantee you will find they contain a certain percentage of sand. We cannot account for your animals not eating our meal ; but we know this much, that customers have been ordering similar meal from us for years past, and all say it is the best value to be had, when used properly. Perhaps, if it were spiced up or sweetened with a small per- centage of cheap molasses, like certain feeding-cakes selling at double, but not worth half, the price of our meal, it would go better. . . . 2. Mr W. Large, of Taywell House, Goudhurst, Kent, sent on November 26, 1889, a sample of hair-greaves. He had purchased about 5.7 tons of it, at 45s. per ton, nett cash, delivered, and when applying for the analysis he wrote : — “ It was sold to me as hair-greaves, and guaranteed to contain 6 to 7 per cent, of ammonia and 14 per cent, of phosphates ; but the bulk coming very different to sample, I refused to pay 45s. per ton as agreed, and shall be much obliged for your report of it.” The following analysis was returned on December 3, 1889 : — Moisture .... . 43-30\ 1 Organic matter . . 36-58 Phosphates .... • . 1-63 Carbonate of lime, &c. • . 16-58 Insoluble siliceous matter • . 1-91/ 1 Coniaining Nitrogen, 2-56 = Ammonia, 3*11. 3. Mr. Thos. Stirton, agent for the Earl of Northbrook, Stratton, Micheldever, Hants, sent on January 15, 1890, a sample of linseed- cake for analysis. Ten tons had been purchased, at 81. 13s. 9 d. per VOL. I. T. S. — 1 O 194 Quarterly Report of the Chemical Committee, March , 1890. ton, delivered to Micheldever. The following was the analysis, sent on January 21, 18it0. Moisture Oil 1 Albuminous compounds (flesh-forming matters) Mucilage. sugar, and digestible tibre . Woody fibre (cellulose) .... 3 Mineral matter (ash) 13-18 10-90 24-01 32-59 9-29 y ioo-oo 9-94/ 1 Containing nitrogen 3 Containing sand 3 84 4 89 This cake contains an excessive quantity of sand. Mr. Stirton, in reply to inquiries, wrote as follows : — “I may say that I bought the cake on the understanding that it was pure, and of high quality, although it is not invoiced as such.” The following correspondence ensued between the vendor and Mr. Stirton : — T. Stirton, Esq., Estate Office, Stratton. January 24, 1890. Deab Sie, — Thank you for letter to band. The cake sent you was ’s best make, and is undoubtedly one of the best cakes in the market, notwithstanding chemist's report. I do not consider a small sample sufficient to test the quality of any cake, and if two or three samples from any one bulk were sent up, and properly analysed, a different report would be given in each case; or, if same sample were sent to another analyst, result would not be the same. The address of the firm is , and I am sending them a copy of your letter, with analysis, and will give you their reply thereon. . . . Copy of letter from Messrs. : — Mr. . London : January 25, 1890. 1)i:ak Sie, — We are exceedingly annoyed about the enclosed, as we have always, and we think justly, prided ourselves of the g-ood quality of our — cake. In this case we may say at once that we have been deceived by the shipper. We bought 4 per cent. Calcutta, of which, and Bombay, our cake is invariably made; but we found, after a great many bags had been shot, that some of it contained mwe than 28 per cent, of dirt. It was too late then to stop the cake which had gone away, but the shooting of this dirty seed was at once stopped, and we ore new having an arbitration on the matter. It is a most shameful affair, and whatever allowance we may get will never recoup us for the damage which our reputation will suffer from such a report as you have sent us. We may say that we did not know for more than a week after the cake was made and sent out that the seed contained such a large admixture of dirt, as it had not been analysed. We will show you on Monday samples of linseed shipped as 4 per cent. AVe shall, of course, be willing to allow your customer anything that he thinks he is entitled to under the circumstances We will give you the letter contain- ing the analysis on Monday, as we should like to show it, if you have no objection, to the gentleman who is going to represent us at the arbitration. AVe may add that we never had such a complaint before. — Yours truly, (Signed) . Quarterly Report of the Chemical Committee , March, 1890. 195 In enclosing the above correspondence, Mr. Stirton wrote : — “I am perfectly satisfied with their letter, and as they are willing to meet me I think, perhaps, it may be rather hard upon them to publish the error on their part.” In answer to Mr. Stirton ’s letter, Mr. Yoelcker replied : — “ I can only say that the makers should have taken the proper precaution of screening the seed before crushing it.” 4. Mr. J. Giles, of Bradford House, Kidderminster, sent a sample of cake on January 27, 1890 for analysis. Mr. Giles described the sample as “Oilcake” at 71. 15s. per ton, delivered. In reply to inquiries, he said : — “I certainly purchased it as a pure linseed-cake of the second quality. By this I mean a cake not containing the greatest amount of oil.” The cake was invoiced, “ Linseed Cake.” Five tons were purchased. The following analysis was forwarded on February 11, 1890 : — Moisture ....... Oil . 1 Albuminous compounds (flesh-forming matters') Mucilage, sugar, and digestible fibre . Woody fibre (cellulose) .... 2 Mineral matter (ash) ..... 13-4.3* 6-39 23-44 1 32 72 ‘ 13-39 1063' 10000 1 Containing nitrogen a Including sand 3-75 519 A grossly impure cake. The cake, it will be noticed, contains only a little more than 6 per cent, of oil, an excessively large amount of woody fibre, and over 5 per cent, of sand. It contained a large quantity of starchy impurities, and was very low in nitrogen. Amongst the impurities of the cake, rape, hemp, and earth-nut figured prominently. Mr. Giles received the following letter from the vendor : — John Giles, Esq., Bradford House. January 31, 1890. Deae Sie, — The — Linseed-cakes are not a pure cake, but are made from the linseed as imported. The price of the — Linseed-cake, guaran- teed 95 per cent, purity, is 9/. 10s. per ton, delivered at . — Yours truly, 5. Mr. G. Taylor, agent for the Earl of Dudley, sent on February 7, 1890, from the Estates Office, Dudley, two samples of decorticated cotton-cake for analysis, stating that he had purchased the cakes as pure at the price of hi. 17s. 6 cl. a ton (in Liverpool) for 6 tons. The analyses, sent on February 13, 1890, were as below ; — o 2 196 Quarterly Report of the Chemical Committee , March , 1890. Moisture Oil 1 Albuminous compounds 1 (desk-forming matters) J Mucilage, sugar, and di- ) gestible fibre . J Woody fibre (cellulose) Mineral matter (ash) 1 Containing nitrogen . No. 1 No. 2 0-48 5-59 979 7-00 42 06 44-50 - 100 00 24 S6 27-81 7-72 8-55 6-09 6-49 6-73 7-12 10300 These cakes — especially No. 2 — are very bad ones. They are hard, badly decorticated, and full of cotton-wool. 1 do not consider them fit for feeding. 6. Three samples of linseed-cake were sent from Norwich, King’s Lynn, and Holkham, Norfolk, which were reported on as being mouldy, and unfit for feeding. The Committee draw attention to the above cases, from which it would appear that a considerable quantity of damaged, mouldy linseed-cakes have been offered for sale in Norfolk. Such damaged or mouldy cake is utterly unfit for feeding, and frequently positively poisonous. 197 Botes, Communications, an£> IReviews. FRUIT-FARMING FOR PROFIT. The Worshipful Company of Fruiterers is principally known by its interesting annual presentation of magnificent fruit of all kinds to the Lord Mayor of London, and the accounts of this ceremony duly recorded by the Press. Recently, however, the Company has added to this graceful function, which has made it famous, the more practical and useful endeavour to extend and improve the cultivation of fruit in this country. In the first place the Company is forming a fund for offering prizes for the best cultivated fruit farms under various conditions, and not long ago made an appeal to the Council of the Royal Agricultural Society for a contribution for this purpose. Although this application was not granted, as con’ ray to the practice of the Society, it was felt that the Council would be fully disposed to assist the Company with advice and with cordial co-operation. Secondly, the Fruiterers’ Company has helped on fruit cultiva- tion by the publication of essays upon the subject. In 1883 an essay entitled “Profitable Fruit-farming” was widely circulated by the Company, describing the best methods of selecting, planting, and managing fruit trees and fruit bushes upon a large scale, and advocating the judicious extension of fruit cultivation by farmers. Just recently another essay 1 has been published by the Company, who offered a prize of 25 guineas and a gold medal for the best essay on fruit-growing calculated to be useful to cottagers and small holders. There were fourteen competitors for this prize, which was won by Mr. Wright, well known as the assistant-editor of the Journal of Horticulture, and as the author of several publications upon horti- cultural subjects. It will be considered that the issue of a practical work upon this subject is peculiarly well timed, as allotments are becoming general, and the facilities for obtaining them are so great that hardly any 1 Profitalle Fruit-growing for Cottagers and Small Holders of Land. By John Wright, F.R.H.I. Written for the Worshipful Company of Fruiterers. 198 Fruit-growing for Profit. working man in country districts need be without a plot of land. Having obtained the much coveted land, it is of the highest import- ance that the holders should be well informed as to the best systems of cropping it, and the most approved methods of management. Mr. W right, in his prize essay, shows, by convincing instances, that fruit-growing pays small land occupiers remarkably well if it is properly conducted. He then goes on to describe by clear and feasible demonstration the measures and means to be adopted to ensure success. Most farm labourers, and other labourers residing on the con fines of towns where their work lies, have gardens with their cottages. Frequently the space is most limited, but, as Mr. Wright points out, there is room enough for a fruit tree or two, or for a few fruit bushes in most of them ; and if well attended to, these will prove an important source of income. In fruit-growing localities cottagers with an apple tree or two, or a cherry tree, or a few plum trees, or damson trees, having, perhaps, gooseberry or currant bushes set under them, look to their fruit to pay their rent, or, at least, to produce enough to go a good way towards this. Even among these latter holders, though they live and move and have their being among fruit trees, there is considerable ignorance, which Mr. Wright’s essay would tend to dispel. To those whose lot is not cast amid orchards and fruit plantations, who are ignorant, it may be, of the first principles of fruit culture, this wcrk would be invaluable. To give an example of “ what can be accomplished by persevering effort with the provision wisely made in the form of fruit trees and bushes,” Mr. Wright cites the case of a labouring man, earning from twelve to fifteen shillings per week, who had a garden of about the eighth of an acre in extent. This garden contained eight or nine apple trees, some of which he grafted with improved sorts. Under these were planted as many gooseberry and currant bushes and raspberry canes as possible, and strawberx-y plants on the margins. “ This man died at the age of fifty, but left his widow in a position to open a small shop, and by carrying on the work he initiated she brought up her family, and orphan gi andchildren as well, without any assistance.” Several other examples are given showing the importance of fruit production to small holders, and the plans and arrangements of typical gardens are detailed. Upon one plot of an eighth of an acre more than half was devoted to vegetables, yet there were on the other part six plum trees, six apple trees, two pear trees, eighty gooseberry and currant bushes, two long rows of raspberry canes, and marginal beds of strawberries. After these striking illustrations Mr. Wright goes on to describe the best modes of treating each kind of fruit tree, fruit bush and plant suitable for small holdings. Raising, planting, pruning, manuring, and cultivating are explained in the most practical manner. Pruning is made as clear as possible by elaborate figures of stems, spurs, buds, and branches of fruit trees and bushes. Grafting and packing are also dealt with. In short, the essay is a complete Influenza in Horses. 190 vade mecurn, which should be in the hands of every occupier of a garden, or an allotment, who wishes to make the most of his holding. The Fruiterers’ Company holds, and most reasonably, that the fruit acreage of this country may be largely extended, and also that the cultivation and management of many of the existing orchards and fruit plantations should be greatly improved. Mr. Wright endorses this opinion, and believes that “if the cultivators of this country proceed on sounder principles and more intelligent lines, the time will come when we shall to a far greater extent than now, and far more creditably, share in providing our population with the most wholesome of food, which will be increasingly required — Fruit — the outcome of home effort and well-applied labour in British gardens and orchards.” Charles Whitehead. INFLUENZA IN HORSES. Under an old name a new disease has lately attacked the people of this country. Influenza has been known among us and our horses from remote times as a form of catarrh. “ An influenza-cold ” has always been a term in common use to express a severe attack of nasal and bronchial catarrh, associated with much weakness. The influenza which has come to us from the East — perhaps from China, through Russia, Germany, and France — has peculiarities, al- though it agrees with the old disease in some respects, especially in regard to the invariable depression, which its victims describe as most profound and distressing. It has also shown itself in the varying forms which have for so long been seen in horses. An attack of fever becomes complicated with disturbance of the digestive organs, indicated by vomiting and diarrhoea, with severe pain, the liver sometimes suffering, and also the kidneys. Congestion of lungs was a common and serious phase of the disease ; and, among other things, loss of power to regulate the movements of the limbs was often a special feature in the attack. Medical authorities say that the lately- prevalent epidemic is a novel disorder in this country, both in regard to its extent and peculiar nature. The outbreak in 1847 is reported to have shown certain characters in common with the disease of 1889 ; but those who can speak from experience of both outbreaks, say that the first cannot be compared, in regard to its severity, with the last invasion. Influenza among horses is not a novel disease. Early veterinary writers describe it as a malady affecting horses in numbers, and in some instances causing great mortality. The descriptions which have 200 Influenza in Horses. been given of the affection generally include some reference to the sudden attack, the weakness and general exhaustion, with weeping eyes, sore throats, cough, and stiffness of movement, which are the well-known signs of the influenza of our own time. Climatic influences seem to have little to do with the outbreaks of influenza which have been from time to time recorded. The horse- plagues of Egypt, the horse-sickness of South Africa, the horse-dis- temper of America, are, most probably, very closely related to the disease which has always been known in Europe. Their different degrees of malignancy may be due to the change of conditions in different parts of the world. In this country we are well aware that influenza may assume a malignant, or benign form,' according to the system of treatment to which the sick animals are subjected. While it is correct to say that horses suffer more or less from influenza periodically — in fact, a year seldom passes without the ■appearance of the disease in some districts — public attention is not attracted unless a severe outbreak occurs. Nearly eighteen years ago alarming reports reached this country of the ravages of a fatal horse-distem}, er in America. The affection had spread, it was said, from some Canadian towns to the United States, and hundreds of horses died from the disease in the streets of New York. Reports from American veterinarians led to the belief that the disease was nothing more than the well-known influenza, and in a short time the fact was admitted by the Americans themselves. The fatality was traced to the maltreatment of the sick horses, which, in obedience to the spirit of competition, were kept at work in the cars until their powers of endurance were exhausted, and they fell to rise no more. After a time, during which there was something like a panic among horse owners in the affected districts, and an approach to the same mental state among horse-owners here, the urgent appeals from many veterinary surgeons in the States prevailed. Sick horses were properly nursed and tended, and the fatal distemper proved to be as easy to manage as it is in this country. A few years after the outbreak of the American horse-distemper, another American novelty was announced, under the name of Pink Eye. Again English veterinarians recognised an old acquaintance — a form of influenza in which swelling of the eyelids and redness of the lining-membrane are the first, and often the most marked, symptoms. This time, however, we paid our cousins across the Atlantic the compliment of adopting their name for the disease, and since then we have had our outbreaks of Pink Eye, as we had long before under the more usual name of influenza. During the recent prevalence of influenza among human beings, the friendly inquiry, Have you had it ? was constantly made, and the reply was, too frequently, Yes ! Another question, not so easily answered, was asked among medical men : What is it? A form of malaria, said some. Fever, undoubtedly, replied others. A protean disease, certainly, was the response from those who declined arbitrary definitions. Catarrh, pneumonia, nephritis, locomotor ataxy (loss of Influenza in Horses. 201 control over the motions of the limbs) — in fine, a combination of the ills which flesh is heir to. Some, and, perhaps, most of those who had thought a great deal about it, had no reply at all to offer. Exactly the same queries which were put, and differently answered, in regard to influenza of man, have been asked in respect to the disease in the horse What is its nature 1 Does it spread by con- tagion or infection, or under the influence of some infecting atmo- spheric wave 1 No satisfactory solution of the problem has yet been given. Practical veterinary surgeons hold quite opposite views on the question of contagion and infection, and facts in the history of the disease may be advanced to favour either view. On all the points above referred to, valuable information has been communicated by the District Veterinary Surgeons attached to the Society. More than fifty reports were received from Bedford, Berks, Cambridge, Cheshire, Cornwall, Cumberland, Derby, Dorset, Durham, Essex, Gloucester, Herts, Huntingdon, Kent, Leicester, Middlesex, Monmouth, Northampton, Norfolk, Notts, Northumber- land, Oxford, Rutland, Shropshire, Surrey, Somerset, Sussex, Wales, Wilts, Westmoreland, and York. In some districts influenza has shown the usual catarrhal form, while in others no catarrhal symptoms were present. Pulmonary, biliary, and enteric complications were met with in many cases. Abscesses under the jaw, simulating strangles, existed in a few instances. Pink Eye w'as observed in comparatively few cases in the last outbreak. But most of the reports refer to the extreme depression which accompanies and follows the attack, and in some of them it is recorded that rheumatism was a common sequel, which considerably retarded the recovery of the patient. All the reports agree in the statement that, under proper manage- ment, a fatal termination was quite exceptional. Good nursing, the administration of small doses of salines — as sulphate of magnesia — occasional employment of stimulating liniments to the throat and chest, and, in the convalescent stage, liberal rations, with tonics, con- stitute the favourite and successful system of treatment of influenza. Bleeding, purging, and blistering — the sheet-anchors of the medicine- man of the old school — are means which, in this disease, only tend to increase the prostration, and defeat the restorative efforts of Nature. It may be asserted without any hesitation, that the outbreak of influenza among horses in this country in the Autumn and Winter of 1889 was in no way remarkable in comparison with previous great outbreaks in past years. The disease presented all the phases which have long been familiar to veterinary surgeons. In regard to the outbreak of the so-called influenza among men, the element of novelty was present in a high degree. In many of its features the disease of man closely resembled the malady of the horse, but there was nothing to justify even a remote suspicion that the two were communicable from the one subject to the other. It seems hardly worth while to suggest that both of the affections were probably due to some unrecognised atmospheric conditions. Nevertheless, there 202 Arthur Young's Travels in France. is nothing more which can be said. Dr. Tyndall has told us some- thing of the chemics and physics of the air we breathe, and it is no imputation on the science of the day to urge that something more has yet to be told. In our own organism, during the performance of the functions of life, we manufacture enough poison to kill us in a few hours, were it not for the aid of the excretory organs, which eliminate the deadly alkaloids and ptomaines from the living organisms as fast as they are formed. What equivalents of alkaloids and ptomaines are formed in the air under certain conditions, we know not — in fact, have not yet begun to inquire. G. T. Brown. ARTHUR YOUNG’S TRAVELS IN FRANCE. The notice of Miss Betham -Edwards’s delightful book 1 — delightful because it is little, and because it reproduces the charming language of a master of our tongue — must of necessity be brief, much more brief than one of Arthur Young’s complete work. Indeed, the two differ in some material respects. The latter is scarce, costly, and cumbrous in the hand. It is a heavy quarto — thus asserting its claim to position “ on the line ” in the libraries of the last century — - and, oh, glory to Suffolk ! it was from a quiet press at Bury St. Edmunds, in MDCCXCII., that it fluttered forth, with its short preface of three pages. Miss Betham-Edwards’s present reprint commences with an Editor’s Introduction of twenty-two pages, and a Biographical Sketch of thirty more, the price of all which, with “The Travels,” or, rather, so much of them as Arthur Young termed the “Journal,” and his chapter on the Revolution of France, the buyer will not find costly. Perhaps it would have been more accu- rate if Miss Edwards’s book had borne the title of “ Arthur Young’s Journal in France, and his Chapter on the Revolution”; for, in fact, out of the 566 pages of the quarto edition of “ The Travels,” no less than 250 are eliminated of matter relating to France, and 65 relating to Italy — that is to say, far more than half of the original work. Everyone, however, will admit that what is given in the small volume is that which most interests the general leader, and that it is made doubly interesting by the editor’s notes, which are as good and as instructive as might be expected from one so well acquainted with the map, literature, and history of France as Miss Betham- Edwards. 1 Travels in France hg Arthur Yount/ during the Years 1787, 1788, 1789. With an introduction, biogra hical sketch, and notes, by Miss Betham- Edwards. 2nd edition. George Bell He Sons, 1889. Arthur Young's Travels in France. 203 Her “ Introduction,” exhibiting, as it does, a picture of France as it is now in contrast with what it was 100 years ago, makes Young’s descriptions, if possible, more startling ; while the present generation will acknowledge with gratitude the excellent memoir of a life and character of which little is generally known. There are in exist- ence, as Miss Betham-Edwards explains, ample materials at Brad- field Hall for the production of a fuller memoir, and her kind host and hostess thoroughly deserve the thanks she gives them for placing these at her disposal. Revealing, as they do, the habits of the man — his failings as well as his virtues following in their varying phases year after year, as he committed them to writing— and exposing his very conscience, Miss Betham- Edwards’s use of them has been made with singular judgment and good taste. A comparison of the two title-pages - that of 1889 with that of 1792 — shows at once the subjects omitted by Miss Betham-Edwards That of the quarto volume runs thus : “ Travels during the years 1787, 1788, and 1789, undertaken more particularly with a view of ascertaining the Cultivation, Wealth, Resources, and National Prosperity of the Kingdom of France.” And it is these particular subjects, contained in part second of Young’s Travels, in twenty-one chapters, which, as well as the maps, are not to be found in Miss Betham-Edwards’s volume. They treat seriatim : — I. of the Extent,; II. the Soil and Face of the Country ; III. of the Climate ; IV. of the Produce of Corn, Rent, and the Price of Land ; V. of the French Courses of Crops ; VI. Irrigation ; VII. Meadows ; VIII. Lucerne; IX. Sainfoin; X. Vines; XI. Inclosures in France; XII. of the Tenantry and Size of Farms in France ; XIII. of the Sheep of France; XIV. of the Capital employed in Husbandry; XV. of the Price of Provisions, Labour, &c. ; XVI. of the Produce of France ; XVII. of the Population ; XVIII. of the Police of Corn in France; XIX. of the Commerce of France; XX. of the Manufactures of France ; XXI. of the Taxation of France ; and lastly, there is, in chapter XXII. — which Miss Betham-Edwards does reprint — “ On the Revolution of France,” a statement of “the cruel aggravation of the misery ” of the mass of the people, which brought about the horrible, but not more cruel, obliteration of the monarchy, aristocracy, and grand seigneurs, to whose oppressions and atrocities these miseries were traceable. Of these twenty-one chapters, all but four — viz., XVII., XIX., XX., and XXI. — are directly connected with, and illustrate, the agriculture of France. It is obvious, therefore, that the portion of the Travels relating especially to the cultivation of France, being omitted by Miss Edwards, cannot with propriety be here discussed in a notice of her book. The agricultural student loses by this curtail- ment ; but it should always be remembered, that while “ the one leading and predominant object in view” with Arthur Young on these Travels “was agriculture, he conceived that he might throw each subject of it into distinct chapters, retaining all the advantages which arise from composing the result only of his travels.” At the same time, he afforded the reader whatever satisfaction flows from the 204 The Agricultural Holdings Act. diary form by the observations made on the face of the country, manners, customs, amusements, towns, roads, and seats, in the itinerai’y, which Miss Edwards has republished. With a Quarterly Journal which will ere long, like a vampire, be sucking the brain of every available writer, the reprinting by the Royal Agricultural Society of England of the twenty-two chapters dealing with the leading and predominant object Young had in view is worthy of consideration. Should it be undertaken, the maps ought to be reproduced. A sight of them will at once suggest the advantage to the agricultural interest of preparing a selection on the same design for Great Britain. Arthur Young himself seems to have been aware of the usefulness of similar maps in his own country, as he issued some in the Agricultural Surveys published by the Board of Agriculture. We have abundance of splendid geological maps of Great Britain, but of surface maps next to none, if we except the “drift” maps of the Ordnance Survey of the eastern portion of England ; and it is, after all, with the surface that the farmer has to do. A geological El Dorado of fertility may be below him at the depth of four feet, but if the space between that and the sole of his plough or the hoof of his live-stock be taken up by a layer of boulder clay, it might as well be on the other side of the world, for all the good it will do him. If, therefore, what Miss Betham-Edwards has so admirably carried out in the republication and annotation of a portion of these Travels should lead to the complete reproduction of the wrork, with similar skill and care bestowed upon it, she will, indirectly, have rendered a great service to the readers of books worth reading, but which are not easily obtainable. Albert Pell. THE AGRICULTURAL HOLDINGS ACT. Note upon a Case relating to the Agricultural Holdings ( England ) Act, 1883, recently decided by the Queen's Bench Division of the High Court of Justice.1 It is proposed that the New Series of the Journal shall contain abstracts of legal decisions affecting agriculture, and notes on legal points which may be useful to the members of the Society. For- tunately for them, these notes and abstracts are not likely to be many or long, for the legal relations of the agricultural classes towards each other, and towards outsiders, are for the most part w'ell settled ; and if disputes arise, they are far more likely to be disputes of fact than of law. . Occasionally, howrever, a dispute in- 1 lie Paul — ex parte Pnrtarlington ( Earl of'), reported in vol. lix. of the Law Journal Reports (Q.B.D.), p. 30; and in the Law Reports, vol. xxiv (Q.B.D.), p. 247. The Agricultural Holdings Act. 205 volves a decision on some legal principle, or, what is more likely, requires the interpretation of an expression in some new Act of Parliament relating to agriculture. The case to which this Note refers comes within the last class. Mr. Paul held a farm of some 1,223 acres in Dorsetshire under Lord Portarlington, as tenant from year to year, and, in accordance with the terms of the agreement under which he held his farm, he gave his landlord notice to determine his tenancy on Old Michaelmas- day (Oct. 11), 1888. Now, there exists a custom in that part of Dorsetshire in which this farm is situated which entitles a tenant who gives up his farm at Old Michaelmas to hold over some of the land till the 11th of the following February, and this custom was incorporated into the agreement under which Mr. Paul held his farm. On October 11,1 888, Mr. Paul quitted and gave up pos- session of about 1,000 acres, but continued, in accordance with the custom, to hold over some 200 acres of the land (about 120 acres pasture and 80 arable), till February 11, 1889, and certain buildings and premises till a later date. On December 10, 1888 — that is, two months before February 11, 1889 — Mr. Paul gave his landlord notice, under the seventh section of the Agricultural Holdings Act, of his intention to claim com- pensation at the expiration of his occupancy of the farm, in respect of the use and consumption thereon of cake and other purchased feeding-stuffs and artificial manures, to the amount of about 2,200/., and that he estimated a further expenditure of about 200/. on cake and other feeding-stufls from that date to February 11 then next, when he should quit the portion of the land which he continued to hold over. And at the same time he appointed a referee to act for him. When Lord Portarlington received this notice, he declined to entertain it, on the ground that it ought to have been given two months before the determination of the tenancy by Mr. Paul on October 11, 1888, and that as it was not given within that time, it was of no effect. Putting aside the technical form in which the case was brought on, as be^ig of no interest or use to agriculturists, the question which the Courts — the Dorsetshire County Court in the first instance, and ultimately the Queen’s Bench Division of the High Court — had to decide was this: — “Was Mr. Paul’s notice' of December 10, 1888 given ‘ two months at least before the determination of the tenancy,’ within the meaning of section 7 of the Agricultural Holdings (England) Act, 18831” Both Courts decided that the notice was given in time, or, in other words, that Mr. Paul’s tenancy did not determine until February 11, 1889. The decision at first sight appears startling even to a lawyer, and still more so, I should imagine, to a layman ; for one would naturally suppose that the tenancy determined for all purposes at the date at which the tenant gave notice of its determination — viz., October 11, 1888 — and not at any other date ; but it was not so decided. It was submitted, on behalf of Lord Portarlington, that the notice of December 10, 1888, was rightly treated as a nullity, because it was 206 The Agricultural Holdings Act. not delivered two months at least before October 11, 1888, when the tenancy was determined. That if the tenant’s notice under the Act was to be delayed as this had been, no landlord would be safe, and his arrangements with an incoming tenant would be seriously prejudiced. That the Act does not permit the outgoing tenant to claim for improvements made after his notice has been given ; but that if this notice was held to be good, the tenant would be able to assert a claim in respect of the land held over during an occupa- tion of at least four months after his own determination of the tenancy of the whole farm. And further, that if the notice was good at all, it was so only as regards the 200 acres held over, and not as regards the 1,000 acres of which possession was given up on October 11 preceding. In spite, however, of these arguments, the Court, which consisted of Lord Chief Justice Coleridge and Mr. Justice Mathew, without calling upon counsel in support of the notice, held that it was good. The Lord Chief Justice, after stating the facts of the case, and referring to the seventh section of the above-mentioned Act, is reported by the Law Journal to have given judgment as follows : — “ Now, this Act was passed by the Legislature with full know- ledge of the kind of subject matter and sorts of contracts to be dealt with under it ; and this very section, which gives the tenant a right to deliver a two months’ notice of claim, gives the landlord an equal right to deliver a counter-notice of his intention to claim in respect of waste, or breach of covenant or agreement. So it was never intended that the landlord should be at the mercy of the tenant. It appears to me that the most just construction to place upon these words, ‘determination of the tenancy,’ is that they mean the end of the holding, which in the present case did not take place till February, 1889. This construction is equally fair for both parties, since it applies as much in favour of the landlord’s counter-claim as of the tenant’s claim. I cannot bring my mind to doubt but that these words do in reality mean the end of the holding ; that is to say, the end of the time for which by custom — and here the custom formed part of the contract — the tenant retained possession of the land, even though he had given up a portion of his original occupation. Until the tenant had had the full benefit of the agreement, and of the custom of the country, he could not possibly tell what his claim would be. Therefore, to hold that a tenant in such a case as the present was out of time with his notice might give rise to cases of great hardship. Accordingly, I am of opinion that to give effect to the Act we must hold that these words, ‘ determination of the tenancy,’ mean the end of the tenant’s holding of the land.” And Mr. Justice Mathew was of the same opinion, and said that he did not base it upon the facts or merits of the particular case before him. He quite agreed that the words in section 7 of the Act, “determination of the tenancy,” must mean the end of the entire holding. So far as I am aware, no similar case has ever been brought Shetland Ponies. 207 before the High Court in England, but it is worthy of notice that a very similar decision was given by the Court of Session in Scotland upon the corresponding clause of the Scotch Agricultural Holdings Act, 1883 (46 & 47 Vic., c. 62), upon very similar facts. The case to which I refer is Strang v. Stuart,1 in which the facts were that the tenancy expired at Martinmas as to the arable land, and at the followirg Whitsunday as to the houses and grass — a form of holding which, as lam given to understand, is by no means unusual in Scotland — and that the tenant, who had given notice to determine his tenancy in accordance with those terms, served his landlord with a notice of his intention to claim compensation under the Act four months before Whitsunday — four months being the period of time in the Scotch Act corresponding to the two months in the English Act. It was argued in this case that the notice ought to have been given four months before Martinmas, just as in the English case it was argued that the notice ought to have been given two months before Old Michaelmas ; but the Scotch Court, like the English Court, decided that the words, “determination of the tenancy ” in the Act mean the time when a total determination of the tenancy takes place, and accordingly held the notice good. The decision of the Queen’s Bench Division in the case to which this note mainly refers appears to be of importance to landlords and tenants of agricultural land in England, because the custom of holding over some part or parts of a farm exists, not only in the part of the country in which Lord Portarlington’s farm is situated, but in many others. And again, the decision is of importance be- cause it has been contended that the principle applies to those cases — almost universal throughout England— in which the right to use the barns and other farm -buildings, or part of them, for some time after what is usually spoken of and considered to be the end of the tenancy, is reserved to the tenant. How this point may be decided by our English Courts, if it should be brought before them, it would be presumptuous in me to predict ; but I may observe that it has been decided in Scotland, by the Sheriti of Aberdeenshire, adversely to the above-mentioned contention.2 S. B. L. Druce. SHETLAND PONIES. Thf, movement now in progress for establishing a Stud Book for Shetland Ponies has been the means of directing a great deal of attention to them, and, consequently, anything said or written respecting the breed is of more than usual interest. It is most 1 Reported in the 4th Series of the Court of Sessions Cases, vol xiv. p. CC7. A newspaper report may be found iD the Land Agents' Record for July 9, 188,7. 2 Hannan v. Ramsey, 1 Sheriffs' Court Reports, p. 296. 208 Shetland Ponies. important that all that is written about the Shetland pony at the present time should be strictly true, and it is therefore desirable to point out a few of the errors made by the writer of an article on the subject which appeared in the January number of the Cornhill Magazine. To begin with, it is asserted that there is no such thing as the genuine Shetland pony, in the sense of a single pure and original breed ; that the ponies in Unst, South Mainland, Fetlar, Fair Isle, and Bressay, are all different varieties ; and that the pure-bred pony may be anything in height- between 36 and 48 inches at the shoulder. Such statements as these are erroneous, but, unfortunately, contain just sufficient truth to render them mis- leading and dangei'ous. Dr. Edmondstone, a well-known authority, and a native of Shet- land, writing about the commencement of the present century, says: “ The Shetland pony rarely exceeds 10 hands,” and adds, “that the largest only are sold, the smallest being retained for breeding purposes.” Having measured many hundreds of them, I am con- vinced that 10 hands is the average height, and that very few are found outside a range of from 9.2 to 10.2. An occasional specimen is met with as low as 8.2 when full grown, but anything under 9 hands is extremely rare, and the largest of the pure breed rarely exceeds 11 hands. All above 11 hands are crosses, and chiefly of two kinds, namely, those bred by Lady Nicholson in the Island of Fetlar, and those met with in the South Mainland district, known as Dundrossness. The Fetlar ponies were produced by the use of an Arab stallion which the late Sir Arthur Nicholson introduced about forty years ago ; and the crosses thus established have been kept as a distinct breed ever since, and are known as “ Fetlars.” They range in height from 11 to 12| hands. The Dundrossness ponies were produced by crossing the native breed with Orkney and High- land stallions. The system was begun by Mr. Bruce, of Sumburgh, and the late Mr. Grierson, of Quendale. The ponies so bred are excellent, and well adapted for their work : they suit the residents in the South Mainland district, where good roads render the use of wheeled conveyances both practicable and necessary ; but to call these ponies the ideal Shetland breed, as the writer in the Cornhill does, is absurd. About fourteen years ago, I purchased from Mr. Bruce an Orkney horse about 15 hands in height, which had been used as a stallion in the district. The mere statement of the fact that a great many of the ponies are descended from him will show how much claim they have to be regarded as a pure breed. These two districts excepted, all the other Islands adhere to the pure, original breed, and no one acquainted with the native pony can possibly fail to distinguish between it and the crossbred. It is a mistake to say that the Unst, Bressay, and Fair Isle ponies are all different. Of course, there are individual differences, but the general characteristics are in every respect alike. The writer referred to says : “ Extremes of size either way fetch correspondingly extreme prices.” This is only true of the Shetland Ponies. 209 smallest sizes, the larger-sized natives and the crosses being worth less than the medium heights of the native breed. He further says : “ Strings of the ponies may be seen any day upon the roads, dragging peat fuel from the hills, in Lilliputian carts.” This is true only of one district in all Shetland — namely, Dundrossness, and in no other Island or district does the practice prevail. He then goes on to say that “numbers of them live out of doors all the year round, except in the severest weather.” Now, except in Dundross- ness, the ponies live out of doors in all weathers, and it is merely the fact that the former are crosses, and therefore less hardy, that compels their owners to house them. Again, it is stated that “snow often lies for seven or eight weeks covering the ground to a great depth.” This statement is far from correct, as it is well known that the average winter temperature in Shetland is higher than that of any other county in Scotland, and the fresh winds from the Atlantic soon clear the ground of any snow that falls ; this is equally true of the hills as well as the valleys. Another point on which my experience differs is in regard to young foals. The writer says : “ They are very delicate, and cannot safely be left out at night.” Now, I have known them repeatedly dropped in cold weather in April with no shelter save a dry stone dyke, and in no single instance have I heard of them taking any harm in consequence. It is, no doubt, true that scanty feeding has a tendency to reduce the size, but it is quite possible, by careful selection and mating, to breed and keep them small, and at the same time to give them an ample supply of food. This has been con- clusively proved on the Marquis of Londonderry’s holdings in Bressay. There the ponies used for breeding purposes are not only small themselves, but have been bred from small parents ; and though they get full feeding, the size has been gradually reduced, until now they rarely exceed 9g hands, and some of them are even two or three inches less. Another point on which I must join issue is the following : — “Your Sheltie is not a quick animal, is inclined to be sleepy rather than otherwise, and is, as a rule, disposed to do no more than he can help in the way of exei'tion.” Far from this being correct, [ should describe the true Sheltie as a quick, lively animal, and not the least inclined to be sleepy or lazy. It is only crosses and starved specimens that have “ a pensive, melancholy air.” No animal of the horse kind can surpass a well-bred and well-fed Shetlander in bright- ness and energy. The assertion that the Iceland pony is quicker and livelier than the Shetland, is the very reverse of the truth. To say that the purchaser of Shetland ponies will be victimised if he buys from agents in the South, is a gratuitous and uncalled- for assertion. I venture to say, without fear of contradiction, that if any one applies to a respectable dealer who is in the habit of importing them, he will be as fairly and honestly dealt with as he could possibly be were he to buy them in Shetland. One more statement must be noticed. In a foot-note, the Cornhill writer says that “heather is now practically extinct in VOL. I. T. S. — 1 P 210 Fruit Evaporation in America. the Shetlands.” This proves conclusively that his acquaintance with Shetland is very limited indeed ; it may safely be asserted that one-third of the entire surface of the Islands is covered with it. The foregoing is written in no controversial spirit, but merely with the intention of preventing the spread of erroneous impressions respecting a breed of ponies which only require to be known to ensure for them the high reputation they deserve. R. Brydon. FRUIT EVAPORATION IN AMERICA. I am enabled, through the kindness of Mr. Michael Doyle, of Rochester, N.Y., U.S.A.,to add some figures to those which appeared in a short article upon “ Fruit-Evaporation in America,” contributed to the Royal Agricultural Society’s Journal by myself in 1888. (Vol. XXIV. 2nd Series, Part II.) The western portion of New York State was there described as the home, par excellence, of the fruit-drying industry ; a district, lying within a radius of forty miles around the city of Rochester, N.Y., was designated as its centre ; and some particulars of the methods and cost of the evaporating process were given. But I was not then able to state definitely what quantity and value of evaporated fruit was produced annually in the area in question. I now learn that during the year 1888 there was dried as follows Kind of fruit Weight in lbs. Value in sterling Whole, or ringed apples . 25,000,000 £ 225,000 Chopped apples .... 8,000,000 30,000 Cores and parings . . . 4,000,000 12,000 Black raspberries . . . 760,000 30,000 Totals . .- . 37,750,000 297,000 ’ Two hundred and fifty millions of pounds (111,000 tons) of green apples, and two hundred and fifty thousand quarts of fresh rasp- berries were operated upon ; nineteen thousand tons of coal were burnt in fifteen hundred drying-houses, of various capacities, and forty-five thousand hands were employed, during four months of the year, in bringing about the above result. What the olive is to Spain, the orange and lemon to Italy, the vine to France, and the fig to Syria, such is the apple to America. That portion of the United States lying between the thirty-eighth and fortieth parallels of latitude is the natural home of this valuable fruit. Nowhere else in the world, probably, does it attain to such perfection ; nowhere else is its cultivation so well understood, or Fruit Evaporation in America. 21 1 its quality and yield surpassed. Scarcely any fresli apples were exported from America before 1870, when the drying process was unknown, but a million barrels are now sent annually to Europe, where they compete successfully with home-grown fruit on account of their large size and excellent flavour. But it is not only in western New York, or in apples and rasp- berries alone, that the business of fruit-drying is flourishing in the States. California, long known as a fruit-growing and fruit- canning State, has taken up the evaporative process during recent years, and is exploiting it with characteristic Western energy. In the genial climate of the Pacific coast, grapes, nectarines, figs, apricots, and peaches are cultivated to great advantage, and with these fruits, — more valuable than the apple, which, however, she also produces, — California is now entering the evaporated-fruit markets of the world. During 1888 there was evaporated in California as follows : — Kind of fruit W eight in lbs. Value in sterling Raisins 18,300,000 & 220,000 Peaches 4,600,000 92,000 Apricots 2,600,000 62,000 Prunes 3,100,000 43,000 Grapes Nectarines .... 2,000,000 16,000 160,000 3,840 Apples 350,000 3,500 Figs 75,000 900 Pears 25,000 350 Totals . . . 31,450,000 431,590 Raisins, it will be observed, form the largest item in this unique account of artificially dried fruit. These are rapidly supplanting, in the States, raisins of Spanish origin, and their production has in- creased from 120,000 lbs. in 1873, to 18,500,000 lbs. in 1888 ! This is, indeed, advancing by “ leaps and bounds.” Peaches, which come next in value, would figure for a much larger sum, but for the fact that so many Californian peaches are canned. It may be remarked, in passing, that western New York was once also a great peach-growing country, but a disease known as “ the yellows,” as deadly in its field of operations as the phylloxera itself, has desolated the peach-orchards of a region which otherwise would probably have doubled the value of its dried-fruit product, by adding an output of the more costly fruit to that of apples. The figures show that the average value of Rochester evaporated fruit did not exceed ‘Id. per lb. in 1888, while the Californian pro- duct netted 3 \d. per lb. all round — prices which sound low when it is borne in mind that it takes 8 lbs. of fresh fruit to make 1 lb. of evaporated apples. On the other hand, apple-rings sometimes sell for from 50.s“. to 60. 325 823 O There are, beside, one or two small farms on it . . . . . j O Ilryher contains . 103 300 17 St. Martin’s contains .... I/O 620 22 St. Agnes contains ..... 148 390 14 Total 2,041 3,560 108 Potatoes planted in fresh seaweed are waxy. 222 Market-Gardening in the Srilly Islands. Out of the 3,560 1 acres — which are the figures of the last Govern- ment survey— 2,242 are tillable or improvable. Every farmer is, more or less, a flower-farmer; but the larger ones grow also potatoes, seakale, asparagus, and tomatoes for the markets, as well as flowers. They keep a small number of cattle and sheep and grow corn, but only sufficient for home use. They make their own butter, and keep poultry. But of all these last nothing is exported — they have sufficient only for home consumption. The butter is exquisite, and would be gladly bought on the mainland, if it could be spared ; and the same may be said of the fruit, which is grown principally at Rocky Hill and Holy Yale : it is excellent, but only sufficient for home use, and, moreover, the apples are too mellow to bear packing. St. Mary's has an area of 1,527 acres, most of which is under cultivation. The largest farmer owns 70 acres of cultivated land. Eight of these are devoted to flowers, and 10 to potatoes. He grows no other vegetable but a large quantity of mangels. He owns 28 head of cattle, 3 horses, and 14 sheep. The cultivation of flowers has not reduced the amount of potatoes grown so much as one might think, and for this reason— every foot of land formerly waste, capable of cultivation, is laid under tribute for the flowers. An average-sized farm is held by a gentleman who farms 36 acres of tilled land and 105 acres of common or waste land. Four or 5 acres are planted with flowers, and about 7 with potatoes. He has 20 horned cattle and 20 sheep. He grows enough corn to feed the cattle, and the grazing-ground is contained in the 36 acres. Seaweed is, he considers, by far the best manure for asparagus. Tomatoes have so gone down in price that 9d. per pound is the price during December, January, and February. In planting he would use about 25 cwt. of seed-potatoes to an acre, and he would consider between 4 and 5 tons an acre a good return. His pre- paration of the ground for receiving potatoes is to well press it, and plough it, and dress it twice with seaweed and compost, the latter consisting of road-scrapings, earth, and “anything good.” It is then ploughed down, scarified with a cultivator, and left to rest. Sometimes artificial manure is given, and a small quantity of guano is imported. On the waste lands an immense quantity of ferns grow, which, being cut, make excellent beds for the cattle, and when they have served this purpose they form a capital manure. May and June are the great months for sending potatoes to market, though, owing to the mildness of the Winter, potatoes planted in December are often drawn again in March, when there is a good sale for them. After potatoes, he gets a fine crop of mangel. Seakale is largely grown on the Islands, and sent to the London, Birmingham, and Manchester markets. It is grown in the open air, 1 The surveys of 1851 and 1861 maybe considered incorrect; every little barren rock must have been taken into calculation to have given 4,080 acres. That of 1883 seems the correct one. The sea, though ever making encroach- ments, would not have taken into itself 520 acres in so short a period. The Harvest of 1889 at Home and Abroad. 223 and blanched in the same way as celery, with the exception that it is planted on the surface instead of in the trenches. Seakale would be by far the most remunerative crop, and if only they could ensure 3d. or 4 d. a pound for it, the Scillonians would go into its cultivation very largely. It requires no manure, but wants a light soil. At Tresco a great quantity is grown : the cost per acre is 30/. or 40/., the return, 70/. or 80/. The island of Tresco, though only twenty minutes’ distance by boat (in fine weather), is much warmer than St. Mary’s, because of the sand all round it. Mr. Dorrien Smith’s farm at Tresco is essen- tially a model farm. He spares neither expense nor trouble, and when a successful result is attained, he shares it with his tenants. He uses about 30 tons of seed-potatoes for planting. Twenty-five to thirty acres are planted with potatoes ; where possible, they are planted on slopes, so as to escape the wind, and the order of planting is “ six rows, one miss.” The “ miss ” is well manured, and later on is turned up and spread over the six rows. Three tons of seakale and 5 tons of tomatoes were sent from here last year. From 17 to 20 acres are devoted to flowers. Mr. Smith is experimenting upon a parcel of land, dividing it into four — dressing one part with fish-manure, one with farmyard manure, the third with seaweed, and leaving the fourth unmanured. He has 20 Channel Islands cattle, and about 100 pigs. The food for the last is cut up, and cooked in a large boiler. The dried fern makes good litter for pigs and cattle. All sorts of fences are tried on this farm, for the protection of flowers and vegetables. The rush fences are too opaque ; the shrubs require great attention, and occupy valuable space ; but the open palings of wood protect, while they permit the sun to play through. Of all the Islands, St. Martin's produces the most potatoes, while some of the earliest come from Brylier. On the whole Islands there are between 400 and 500 bullocks, 250 sheep, 100 milch cows, and 70 asses. There is no veterinary surgeon on the Islands, but one of the farmers is exceedingly clever in the treatment of animals, and all the farmers are more or less expert in this respect. E. Brewer. THE HARVEST OF 1889 AT HOME AND ABROAD. Speaking generally, it may be said that the harvest of 1889 was a good one in the West of Europe, and a poor one in the Centre and East ; that it was productive in the United States and deficient in Canada and India, at least, for wheat and one or two other croj s ; and that for the world, as a whole, it was distinctly'below the normal standard of productiveness. In some countries, such as Australia and the Argentine Republic, where the harvest is begun in December and finished in January, the crops of 1889-90 must be 224 The Harvest of 1889 at Home and Abroad. classed with those of 1889, as they come for consumption mainly during the current cereal year, and in these countries the crops have turned out well, though not nearly equal to early expectations in Australia at any rate. Tasmania and New Zealand are usually classed with the rest of Australia, though their harvests are well into the new year ; but of the crops of these colonies nothing more than approximate estimates can at present be offered, and they are based upon low expectations in the former colony and moderate ones in the latter. In the case of India, where the greater portion of the wheat crop is secured in March, the produce of 1890 cannot fitly be put with the crops of countries which gather in their harvests in 1889, although such information about it as is at present available will be noticed in the proper place. With these few explanatory remarks, I must at once proceed to give results, as far as they can be given, on the authority of official and other reputable estimates, the space at my disposal being insufficient to allow of a recital of the causes of abundance or deficiency in the several countries. The United Kingdom.— Although in many parts of the country the results of last harvest have proved extremely disappointing, particularly in relation to the cereal crops, the Agricultural Produce Statistics show that, taking all crops into consideration, the past year was one of the most productive of the “ eighties.” In the Table on pages 244 and 245 will be found details as to the acreage and produce of the several crops in 1888 and 1889. In the subjoined summary table the broad results for the United Kingdom are shown, while the yield per acre is also compared with the “ ordinary average ” : — Crop Area Produce Yield per acre 00 00 00 1889 1883 1889 1888 1889 Ordinary avera ge acres acres bushels bushels bushels bushels bushels Wheat 2,663,250 2,539,099 74,493,133 75,883,611 27'97 29-89 28-71 Barley 2,256,870 2,307,784 74,545,549 74,763,755 33-03 32-37 33-95 Oats 4,163,110 4,127,656 324,780 157,975,675 164,078,736 37-95 39-75 38-78 Beaus 344,147 9,844,474 5,862,099 tons 9,374,942 28-61 28-87 30-35 Peas 242,240 225,432 5,921,107 tons 24-20 tons 26-27 tons 28-46 tons Potatoes 1,394,726 1,366,456 5,582,331 6,435,387 400 4-71 4-55 Turnips 2,238,415 2,218,554 370,149 28,001,632 32,007,085 12-51 14-43 14-89 Mangolds 406,934- 6,829,322 6,740,278 16-78 18-21 19-01 Hay (all kinds) . . . 9,291,433 9,651,742 15,132,585 16,284,879 1-63 1-69 1-50 cwts. cwts. cwts. cwts. cwts. cwts. cwts. Hops (England only) 58,490 57,724 281,291 497,811 4-81 8-62 7-84 It is desirable to mention that the areas of crops in the Produce Statistics do not correspond with those of the Agricultural Returns, because in the former the figures for the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands are not included. I must also explain that the ordinary average yield for the United Kingdom, not given in the Agricultural Produce Statistics, is a true average worked out from that of Great Britain, as officially stated, and the ten years’ average of the Irish official statistics. In dealing with the crops of foreign countries, I give official statistics for nearly all the principal producing countries and the The Harvest o/1889 at Home and Abroad. 225 latest available, having written to the Agricultural Department of every country in Europe which has one. For some countries there are no estimates for any crop but wheat ; but the figures for the other principal grain crops are given as far as there are any trustworthy estimates. It is necessary to point out, however, that even official estimates of the crops of 1889, available at the present time, are subject to revision in some cases ; also that the apparent precision of some of the estimates arises from the conversion of foreign into English measures, round numbers being in some cases made more precise by that process. Russia. — A revised statement of the produce of the wheat and rye crops of Russia-in-Europe, exclusive of Poland, was issued by the Russian Department of Agriculture at the end of February. Converted into bushels, with the corresponding figures for the two previous years added, the quantities are as in the following table : — 1887 1888 1389 Wheat . . . 268,992,000 bushels 285,970,000 bushels 1 78.277,600 bushels Rye .... 721,246,538 „ 663,600,000 „ 535,704,000 The crops of 1889 are made much smaller in this revised estimate than in the first one issued by the Department.1 For Poland the estimates are 10,128,000 bushels of wheat, and 44,000,000 bushels of rye, making the totals for European Russia, including Poland, 188,405,600 bushels of wheat and 579,704,000 bushels of rye. The official estimate of the wheat crop of 1888 is equal to 14,268,000 bushels of 60 lb. The oat crop appears to have fallen very little short of that of last year, which was 512,400,000 bushels for Russia, exclusive of Poland, while the barley crop is about 120,000,000 bushels, as compared with 148,400,000 bushels for 1888, and 157,920,000 bushels for 1887. The Russian harvest was as deficient in 1889 as it was excessive in the two previous years. Roumania. — Mr. Percy Sanderson, British Consul at Galatz, has favoured me with an estimate of the crops of 1888, obtained from the Roumanian Department of Agriculture through Her Majesty’s Charge d' Affaires at Bucharest, but informs me that the estimates for 1889 are not completed. As the notions of the pro- duce of the principal crops in Roumania are very vague, it is well worth while to give the official figures in English measure : — Wheat Rye . Bariev Oats . Maize . 3.103.080 acres . 743,211 „ . 1,251,018 „ . 528,407 „ . 4,194,008 „ 54,730,120 bushels 14,172,414 „ 22,345,035 9,960,739 59,095,737 The wheat ci Finance at 43,400,000 bushels. op of 1889 has been estimated by the Minister of 1 Estimates, which have been obligingly sent to me by the Department since this article was in type, give details for European Russia, exclusive of Finland and the Caucasus as well as Poland. Allowing for certain omissions they appear to confirm the estimates given above — W. E. B. VOL. I. T. S. — 1 U 226 Tlie Harvest of 1889 at Home and Abroad. Austria-Hungary. — A preliminary official report on the prin- cipal cereal crops of Austria, exclusive of Hungary, recently issued, puts the quantities as below compared with those of 1888 : — 1888 1889 Wheat 35.993,000 bushels 29,961 ,250 bushels Barley 46,733,500 „ 37,908,750 Oats 84,931,000 „ 67,562,000 „ Rye 64,718,500 „ 58,115,750 No official report of the acreage appears to have been issued at present. In 1888 the areas were 2,964,360 acres of wheat, 2,828,600 of barley, 4,685,180 of oats, and 5,033,400 of rye. No recent official report on the harvest in Hungary has been issued, but one from Consul Faber, published in September by the Board of Agriculture, gives the following figures for 1889 : — Wheat 7,540,000 acres 95,000,000 bushels Rye 3,290,000 „ 46,000,000 Barley 2,594,000 „ 38,000,000 Oats 2,639,000 „ 37,000,000 „ The acreage is much greater than that given for 1888 in our Agricultural Returns, and I fancy that it must have been miscalcu- lated ; but the produce tallies sufficiently in the two accounts, con- sidering that the crops in Hungary in 1889 were very much below average. According to the Agricultural Returns the areas and produce of the principal cereals in 1888 were as follows : Wheat, 6,841,999 acres and 131,670,278 bushels; rye, 2,731,203 acres and 40,894,216 bushels; barley, 2,423,996 acres and 43,721,436 bushels; and oats, 2,581,451 acres and 54,771,651 bushels. It will be seen, then, that, according to Consul Faber’s figures, there was a great reduction in the produce of every crop but rye in 1889. Germany. — In this country the crops were deficient in a marked degree in 1889. The wheat crop, grown on 4,775,342 acres in 1888, and producing 92,024,000 bushels, is estimated to have produced only about 84,000,000 bushels last year. The areas and produce of the other principal cereals in 1888 were as follows : Rye, 14,361,205 acres and 202,868,650 bushels ; barley, 4,256,094 acres and 99,646,800 bushels; oats, 9,466,245 acres and 266,060,000 bushels. The pro- duce in 1889 was much smaller in each case. Italy. — The latest official statements of acreage are the follow- ing, being average areas for the period 1879-83 : Wheat, 10,951,340 acres; maize, 4,675,999 acres ; oats, 1,099,051 acres; barley, 856,552 acres; rye, 396,894 acres; beans and peas, 1,779,929 acres. The produce in 1887 and 1888 and the preliminary estimate of that of the most important crops in 1889 will be found below : — 1887 1888 1889 Wheat . . 115,633,158 bushels 101,032,822 bushels 100,630,475 busl Maize . . . 72,452,845 „ 62,863,243 „ 72,834,025 „ Oats . . . , 16,157,034 „ 13,722,101 „ 14,428,425 „ Barley , . . 7,720,575 „ 6,566,736 „ — „ Rye . . . . 4,204,904 „ 3,536,316 „ Pulse . , 12,157,414 „ 11,259,358 „ — „ The Harvest. 0/1889 at Home and Abroad. The harvest, it will be seen, was a tolerably good one for maize and a poor one, like that of 1888, for wheat and oats. Sweden. — To an official report on the crops for 1888 and 1889, for wffiich I am indebted to the Central Statistical Bureau of Sweden, I have added the ten years’ averages of production as below : — 1888 1889 Ten years’ average Wheat . . 3,593,650 bushels 3,566,738 bushel Rye . . . . . 19,339,925 20,279,325 „ 20,426,311 „ Barley . . . . 13,102,925 13,665,300 „ 15,471,469 „ Oats . . . . . 60,863,275 »» 48,056,800 „ 55,826,961 Mixed grain . . 7,937,875 »> 6,556,550 „ 6,810,284 „ Peas . . . . . 1,227,875 >1 1,449,800 „ 1,677,530 „ Beans . . . . 260,700 156,200 „ 268,995 „ Vetches . . . . 518,100 >» 656,975 ,, 758,748 „ Potatoes . . . . 41,278,325 68,554,200 „ 61,577,554 „ From these figures it appears that the wheat, oat, mixed grain, and bean crops of 1889 were inferior to those of 1888, the other crops being superior. Compared with the ten years’ average, all the crops of last harvest except wheat and potatoes fell short; but, without knowing the areas, it cannot be told whether the yield per acre was above or below average. No statistics of area have been collected since 1887, when wheat covered 1,088,868 acres, other white-straw crops, 9,742,611 acres ; peas and beans, 141,560 acres ; and potatoes, 384,401 acres. Holland. — Unfortunately the official agricultural statistics of Holland for 1888 and 1889 give only estimates of the condition of the crops in relation to an average yield. The figures indicate crops of wheat, rye, barley, and oats in 1889 much superior to those of 1888, but not equal (excepting barley) to those of 1887. They are almost exactly the same as the figures for 1885, for which year the acreage and produce are given in our Agricultural Returns as follows : — Wheat 209,364 acres 6,138,644 bushels Rye 503,674 „ 11,216,485 „ Barley 122,512 „ 6,305,743 „ Oats 282,951 „ 12,635,697 „ As the area of the wheat crop varies but little in Holland, it is probable that the produce was about 6,000,000 bushels in 1889, and this estimate is close to one recently given by a French authority. Belgium. — A fairly good harvest was reaped in Belgium last year. The acreage appears to be published officially only at intervals, and the latest details given in our Agricultural Returns show 681,552 acres of wheat, 616,230 acres of oats, 90,250 acres of barley, and 685,771 acres of rye. No official estimate of the crops of 1889 appears to have been issued at present ; but Beerbolim’s List puts the wheat crop at 19,000,000 bushels, as compared with 15,000,000 produced in 1888. Denmark. — There are no returns of acreage in Denmark later than those of 1881, when there were 137,818 acres of wheat, 660,065 of rye, 781,408 of barley, and 991,394 of oats. The pro- q 2 77/ e Harvest of 1 889 at Home and Abroad. 228 cluee in 1888 was 3,662,808 bushels of wheat, 15,098,125 of rye, 22,608,012 of barley, and 32,400,772 of oats. In 1889 the wheat crop was estimated at an average, which is about 5,000,000 bushels, the acreage having probably increased since 1881. The rye crop was over average, and may be put at about 16,500,000 bushels. Barley was much under average, and oats worse still. An average crop of barley is about 22,000,000 bushels, and an average crop of oats is about 30,000,000 bushels. France. — An excellent harvest was gathered last year in France. Complete statistics have not yet been published, except with respect to wheat and rye, and these are subject to revision. The following are the English equivalents of the areas and quantities sent to me by the Ministry of Agriculture : — - 1888 1889 Wheat 17,235,990 acres 271.537,000 bush. I 17,613,813 acres 306,515,682 bush Eye . 4,023,210 „ 61,016,510 „ | 4,085,512 „ 71,221,883 „ Statistics of other crops are always very slow to appear in France, those for 1888 having only recently been published. They put the area of barley at 2,207,440 acres and the produce at 43,453,124 bushels, the corresponding figures for oats being 9,223,664 acres and 233,633,880 bushels. The produce of both crops in 1889 was greater than these quantities. Spain. — An official report compares the yield of the principal crops of Spain in 1889 with average crops as follows : — 1889 Average Wheat 73,520,000 bushels 90,136,000 bushels Barley 41,712,000 „ 45,976,000 Rye 24,224,000 „ 20,336,000 Maize 17,968,000 „ 21.424,000 The comparison shows that the last harvest in Spain was gene- rally deficient, though in the autumn it was reported to be a good one. Switzerland. — No official agricultural statistics are collected for Switzerland as a whole, though crop estimates are issued in certain districts. In Beerbohm’s List the wheat crop of 1889 is put at 2,400,000 bushels, as compared with 2,048,000 in 1888 ; while lower estimates were given some time back in Dornbusch’ s List. The harvest was reported to be a good one. Turkey and Bulgaria.— With respect to Turkey-in-Europe I take Mr. Beerbohm’s estimate of 32,000,000 bushels as the wheat crop of 1889, as compared with 40,000,000 for 1888. The Bulgarian Minister of Finance has recently estimated the crop of Bulgaria at 35,200,000 bushels. These are higher estimates than I have pre- viously seen, but they are taken as better authorised than any others. As the crops were smaller than in 1888, the produce of that year must be assumed to be greater than it has been put before. The United States. — The American harvest was a good one for nearly all crpps. The following table, compiled from the returns of the United States Department of Agriculture, shows the area, pro- duce, and yield per acre of the principal crops in 1889, as compared with the average yield for the twenty years ending with 1888: — Th e Harvest of 1889 at Home and Abroad. 229 Crop Area in acres Produce in bushels Yield per acre (bushels) Average for 20 years (bushels) Wheat . . . 38,123,859 490,560,000 12-9 12-2 Maize . . . 78,319,651 2,112,892,000 270 254 Oats . . . 27,462,316 751,515,000 27-4 28T Barley is reckoned quite one of the minor crops in the United States, only about three million acres of it being grown, and the estimated produce for 1889 is not yet made known. The latest report states that “ the minor cereals make about their usual pro- duct.” The potato crop was very abundant in the West, and deficient in the East. Canada. — It is only from Ontario and Manitoba that agricul- tural statistics are issued annually. But it is in those provinces that nearly all the wheat produced in Canada is grown, the great province of Quebec, for instance, having less than a quarter of a million acres under that cereal, and producing only about two million bushels annually. The final returns of Ontario for the principal crops, those of 1889 being compared with the averages for 1882-9, are as below : — - Crops in Ontario Area Produce Yield per acre 1889 1882-9 1889 1882-9 1889 1882-9 Ac’ es Acres Bushels Bushels Bus] els Busht 1 i Winter wheat 822,115 932,300 13,001,865 18,056,559 15 o 19-4 Spring „ 398.610 565,385 6,697,707 8 804,317 14-3 15-6 Harley . . . 875,286 772,245 23,386,388 20.218,930 26-7 26-2 Oats . . . 1,923,444 1,613,631 64,346,301 57,041,035 33-5 35-3 Peas . . . 708,(68 644,498 13,509,237 13,171,725 19-1 204 Tons Tons Ton Ton Hay. . . . 2,386,223 2,236,622 3,728,313 3,041,077 1-56 1-36 Wheat, oats, and peas, it will be seen, were below the average in 1889, barley and hay being above the average. The average of wheat has been decreasing for several years, while the cultivation of other crops has been extended. In the case of Manitoba the acreage and yield in 1889 are com- pared with the averages for the five years ending with 1887, as shown in the following table : — Crops in Area Produoe Yield per acre Manitoba 1889 1833-7 1889 1883-7 1889 1883-7 Wheat . . Ac es Acres Bushels Bushels Bushels Bushels 623,245 339,950 7,201,519 7,137,210 12-4 20 6 Barley . . 80,238 53,383 1.051,551 1,308,437 13-6 258 Oats . • . 218,744 155,716 Tons 3,415,104 5,302,963 Tons 168 Ton 33-7 Ton Hay . . . — 199,501 — 278,843 104 1-5.3 230 The Harvest of 1889 at Home and Abroad. These figures show that the harvest was a bad one in Manitoba last year, whilst in 1888 no returns were collected. The average yields, therefore, as given above, are probably higher than they would have been if the calculation had not stopped short at 1887. Oats are grown extensively in Quebec, and barley is a good deal cultivated in Nova Scotia, as are potatoes also ; but no official returns have been issued, I believe, since the census year, 1881, when nearly twenty million bushels of oats were grown in the former province. Australasia. — Great disappointment of early expectation has taken place in Australia since harvest began, rust and storms of rain having caused an enormous amount of damage to the cereal crops. In South Australia crops of wheat which were at one time estimated at 20 to 30 bushels an acre have yielded only 5 to 7 bushels of shrivelled grain. It is supposed that the average yield has been diminished by rust to the extent of 4 bushels an acre, and it is much the same in Victoria. In the two colonies the loss from this cause is estimated at 2,000,000/. The area of the wheat crop in South Australia is put at 2,004,000 acres, and the yield is esti- mated by the South Australian Register at 91, bushels an acre, making a total of 19,130,000 bushels. This, though much less than was at one time expected, is a great advance upon the miserable crop of 1888-9, which was estimated at only 6,187,000 bushels. In Victoria, the only other wheat-exporting colony of Australia, the area of the new crop is estimated by the Australasian, after careful inquiries, at 1,200,000 acres, against 1,248,000 acres in 1888-9, the cause of the decline being the cutting for hay of a large acreage on account of rust. The produce is put at 11,912,300 bushels, or 9'9 bushels an acre, as compared with 9,529,000 bushels, or 7-6 bushels an acre, in 1888-9. Thus the two principal wheat- growing colonies of Australia have probably produced about 31,000,000 bushels. In N cw South Wales the area of wheat is less than 400,000 acres, and in Western Australia it is less still, while in Tasmania it is only about twice as much, and in Queensland it is quite insignifi- cant ; therefore the production in these colonies does not count for much, except as it affects the wheat surplus of Australasia as a whole. In New Zealand the crops were seriously injured by storms just before harvest. Last season the official estimate was 8,770,246 bushels from 362,153 acres, and this year from an enlarged area about the same quantity may be expected. Argentine Republic. — There are no satisfactory agricultural statistics for this country, and estimates for the same year are never twice alike. According to the best authorities, from five to six million acres ai’e under crops, chiefly wheat, maize, lucerne, linseed, fruit, sugar-cane, and tobacco. The wheat area is about two million acres. The annual consumption of wheat in the country is about 18,000,000 bushels, and as wheat was imported from Russia in 1889, the crop of 1888-9 could not well have been more than The Harvest of 1889 at Home and Abroad. 231 that quantity, allowing for seed. The harvest recently gathered in is one of the best ever grown, but probably barely equal to the splendid one of 1886—7, when there was a surplus for export of about 8,000,000 bushels. Moreover, the area sown for the last crop was reported to be smaller than that of 1888-9. In spite of some very sanguine estimates of the new crop, it can scarcely exceed that of 1887, and may be put at about 24,500,000 bushels. Maize appears to be grown on about a million acres, and the new crop is a very good one — probably 20,000,000 bushels. Chile. — No satisfactory statistics for this country are available. The wheat crop recently harvested is reported to be a very abundant one, and it is estimated at about 16,000,000 bushels, as compared with about 12,000,000 bushels produced in the previous year. Egypt. — The wheat crop of Egypt in 1889 was estimated at about 6,000,000 bushels, as compared with 8,000,000 bushels in 1888. The produce of 1890 is quite uncertain. India. — The final estimate of the wheat crop of British India for 1889, as issued by the Revenue and Agricultural Department, is 237,147,856 bushels, as compared with 260,372,800 bushels for 1888. The crop of 1890 is expected to turn out much less than that of either of the two previous years. The following table shows the acreage and estimated yield in 1889, as compared with the figures for 1888 and with the averages for the four years 1885-9 : — - 1883 1889 Four years’ average Area, acres .... 26,854,882 26,381,765 26,508,000 Produce, bushels . . 260,372,800 237,147,856 262,404,224 It will be seen from these figures that the area and production of wheat in India have declined in recent years. Last year’s area was more than a million acres less than that of 1886. Other Countries. — It is impossible to obtain satisfactory statistics for some countries, including our own colonies in South Africa, of the produce of which colonial representatives in this country are not able to give information. South Africa is a grain- importing country, or set of countries, and it is therefore of less consequence than it otherwise would have been that no estimates of the wheat crop of the whole of that part of the world can be given. In the following account of the wheat crop of the principal countries of the world, however, I have taken the best available estimates for such countries as Asia Minor, Egypt, Persia, and Syria. The Wheat Crop of the Principal Countries of the World. “The Wheat Crop of the World” is a heading sometimes used by writers on the corn trade ; but it is a misleading one, as no one has ever even pretended to give a complete list of the produce of every country in which more or less wheat is grown. There are several countries in Asia, Africa, and South America in which the quantity is not even approximately known, and when quantities for China or Japan, for instance, are given, they can only be regarded 232 Bay on Horse-Breeding. as pure guesses. In the following list the quantities for all the principal producing countries are official, while for certain small or remote countries I am indebted to the estimates of such authorities as Beerbohm’s List and the Echo Agricole. For convenience of reference the list is made alphabetical. Countries in Europe 1888 1889 Countries in Europe 1888 1885 Austria . . . Hungary . . . Belgium . . . Bulgaria . . . Denmark . . . France. . . . Germanj' . . . Greece .... Holland . . . Italy .... Norway . . . Bushels 36.993.000 131,670,278 15.000. 000 36.000. 000 3,662,808 271,537,000 92.024.000 4,823,750 4,800,000 101,032,822 312,125 Bushels 29,961 1 5) 95.000. 000 19.000. 000 35,200,000 5.000. 000 306,515,682 84.000. 000 , 4,400,000 6.000. 000 100,630,475 312,125 Brought forward Portugal . . . Rouinania . . Russia (incliid-1 iug Poland) . j Servia .... •Ipain .... Sweden . . . Switzerland . . turkey . . . United Kingdom Bushels 697,855,783 6.860,000 54,720,130 300,244,000 4,390,800 65.760,000 3,698,475 2.048,000 40,000,000 74.493,133 Bushels 686,019,532 9,000,000 43.400.000 188,405,600 3,8' 0,000 73.520.000 3,593,650 2,400,000 32,000,000 75,883,611 Carried forward 697,855,783 686,019,532 Europe . . . 1,250,070,321 (1, 118, 072,393 Countries outside Europe 1888 1889 Countries outside Europe 1888 1889 Algeria . . . Argentine Re- ) public1. . .J Australasia 1 Asia Minor . . Canada( Ontario 4 and Manitoba > only) . . j Bushels Bushels 19.208.000 : 20,592,000 18.000. 000 24,500,000 26,205,977 42,000,000 37.044.000 37,120,000 l 32.000. 000 25,901,091 Brought f rward Cape Colonv, &e. Chile . . . Egypt .... India .... Persia .... Syria .... United States . Bushels 132,457,977 3,819,686 12,000,000 8,000,000 260,372,800 21,952,000 11,187,500 415,868,000 Bushels 152,113,091 4,500,000 16,000,000 6,000,000 237,147,856 22,000,000 12,400,000 490,560,000 Carried forward 132,457,977 152,113,091 Totals for these , countries 1 868,657,963 940,720,947 Adding the totals for Europe to those of countries outside that continent, the grand totals for the principal countries of the world are 2,1 18,728,284 bushels for 1888 and 2,058,793,340 bushels for 1889, showing a decrease for 1889 of 59,934,944 bushels. William E. Bear. DAY ON HORSE-BREEDING.2 “ H ere is a man writing on a subject which he understands,” was the first thought that struck me when I saw the title. The author in his preface says he attributes the kind reception of his former volumes to the fact that he “ had something to say of a practical kind, such * Years 1888-9 and 1889-90. 2 The florae : Hon > to Breed, and, Hear Him. By William Day. Second Edition, pp. 453. (London : Richard Bentley and Son, 1890.) Day on Horse-Breeding. 233 as only a breeder and trainer of many years’ experience could say.” Exactly : but with this expectation I must admit a little feeling of disappointment and impatience to find page after page devoted to the study of the natural history and early records of the horse, and this couched in somewhat too scientific language. It is a little surprising also, inasmuch as the author condemns Captain Upton’s book, Newmarket and Arabia, for this very reason, and say3 : “ It is, I have no doubt, a work of much labour and erudition, though of little importance except to those who care to trace the horse of the present day back to the earliest times on record.” How much further than Mr. Day Captain Upton has gone back I cannot say, for our author carries us back to “ Persia and Armenia, in which countries the horse would first be propagated after its liberation from the ark.” Much space is devoted to pointing out the effect of the Arab crosses in early days upon our thoroughbred stock, and Mr. Day sums up by saying, “ The cross with the Arabian was an extremely fortunate one, as apparently just giving certain qualities which our own horses lacked at that distant period. But for all practical or useful purposes in this country, the Arab horse might to-day be as defunct as the Dodo or the huge Mastodon of North America.” He considers the Arab as utterly useless as a cross upon our thorough- bred stock, and hopes the “ growing disposition to reintroduce it ” may be “ nipped in the bud.” Twenty-nine pages are devoted to proving that abortion, steri- lity, temper, defective sight, roaring, and splints, are hereditary diseases. That abortion is infectious, from sympathy or some cause, I believe, but have not experienced it to be hereditary either in horses or cattle. That temper, impaired sight, roaring, and splints are hereditary most people admit. It is pleasant to hear so great an authority say that there are not so many roarers now as formerly, and this he attributes to the greater care now taken of horses. At the same time we cannot forget that “Stonehenge” stated, “Without doubt roaring is far more common than it used to be, and the possession of enlarged joints and back sinews is the rule instead of the exception.” Fifty pages are devoted to the selection of mares and stallions, and on the general principles of selection the author says “ the most important point is to select so as to ensure soundness of limbs and health of constitution . . . I should choose a mare standing 15 hands and 1 or 2 inches in height, having a small head and a shoi’t neck, with good shoulders, back and hind quarters, with broad hips and deep fore ribs, with satisfactory hocks, knees and feet, and standing well upon her legs.” In speaking of the uncertainty of breeding he observes : “ It is noticeable that the stock got by some of the most successful stallions out of a variety of mares differs in shape, size, and breeding.” With this remark all who have any experience of the subject will agree, and he might almost have gone further, and said out of the same mare. Mr. Day suggests that more races ought to be instituted for geldings, and would prefer this plan of using the Queen’s Plate 234 Day on Hoi se-Breeding. money to that of giving Prizes at agricultural shows ; at all events he would divide it. The chapter on “ Mating ” is full of really practical hints of great value to the breeder, as also is that upon the treatment of the mare, the foal, the yearling, and the stallion. Of the “ Hunter and Troop Horse ” he says : “ All good hunters are now more or less derived from a thoroughbred cross.” “ When mating with the intent to get hunters, the following are the chief points to study. Both the horse and mare should have good action, and should be temperate and well-mannered. They should have good heads and necks, with fine long slanting shoulders rising at the withers. They should each have a strong broad back and ragged hips, with good propelling power to assist them over their fences. They should have strong bone, and stand well on their legs, having flat hocks well bent under them, free from curb or any defect. They must also be sound and have no taint of disease, hereditary or otherwise. All these points, too, ought to characterise with equal fulness the relatives of both the horse and the mare we select. As to size, I should prefer a mare about 15 hands and 1 or 2 inches, not more, and a stallion of about 15 j hands high.” We now come to what is evidently a pet subject of our author’s, and find him devoting fifty pages to prove the economy to farmers in using half-bred horses instead of cart-horses or Shires. His chief argument is that whereas a cart-horse walks only 1-| miles an hour, a half-bred walks 2^. By applying this to ploughing he makes a calculation to prove that on a farm where twenty-four horses are kept, the saving under this head would be 725 1. 8s. per annum, which, added to the net profit to be derived from the yearly produce of twenty-four well-bred mares, makes a total profit of 1,347/. 16s., and he adds : “ This certainly seems an immense sum for any farmer to add to his revenue by adopting the system I advocate, yet I shall show that the estimate is still capable of augmentation.” Applying this principle to the whole tillage land of Great Britain, he states : “The national gain then would amount to 22,657,494/. ; ” and remarks : “ Surely so immense a present loss and possible gain is worth reflection, and cannot long remain neglected.” Mr. Day values the produce of the half-bred mares at four years old at 70/. to 80/. each; Some people may say this is too high, and that Shires come to be useful at 2 years old, and are more easily sold. The question of light horses versus heavy for farm work has been often discussed, but it is too big to go into here. For grass - mowing, carriage horses are admirable, but for ploughing much depends on the quality of the ground. On heavy clay-laud you must have big horses ; the weight is necessary to get steady ploughing. Again, locality, as to whether it offers a more ready sale for heavy or light horses, is to be considered. Twenty-eight pages suffice to deal with the Draught Horse, the Trotter, the Galloway, the Pony, and the Ass. Of the latter Mr. Day speaks in much praise and says : “If landlords could be induced to keep a good Jackass for the use and benefit of their poor tenants and others, whether labourers, costermongers, itinerant dealers, or what not, some good might surely accrue.” The Show of Thoroughbred Stallions. 235 The chapter on the class of land for a stud farm and its manage- ment will be read with the greatest interest and respect as the result of long personal experience. “ The soil should be light and dry, preferably of light friable loam. It should be kept in good heart. Such wet districts as there are in many parts of Lancashire certainly do not appear well suited for the raising of thoroughbreds. But there are exceptions to every rule, and even here, a ‘ Mendicant ’ was bred. Much better localities are those found in Yorkshire, or on the chalk and limestone of the south.” The last two chapters are devoted to exposing some “ Errors and Fallacies,” and in giving some final suggestions. “ Stonehenge ” is put right on a point in training. This is the only technical allusion to this important profession that I have come across, so the author cannot be accused by his brother trainers of disclosing the secrets of the craft. Mr. Day concludes with a truism all will admit : “If a third of our mares and a like number of our stallions were excluded from the pages of The Stud Book and no longer looked upon as thoroughbreds, we should probably have better horses and more of them than we have now.” Alfred Ashworth. THE SHOW OF THOROUGHBRED STALLIONS. The Annual (Spring) London Horse Show, held jointly by the Royal Commission on Horse Breeding, the Royal Agricultural Society of England, the Hunters’ Improvement Society, and the Hackney Horse Society, took place at the Royal Agricultural Hall, Islington, on March 4, 5, 6, and 7, 1890. The following particulars relate solely to Thoroughbred Stallions, which were shown under the auspices of the Royal Agricultural Society and the Royal Commis- sion, and of which there were 98 entries, 5 additional entries appear- ing as “ extra stock ” not competing for premiums. The first Spring Show of Thoroughbred Stallions was held by the Royal Agricultural Society for the northern district at Newcastle-upon-Tyne, in January 1887, on which occasion there were 45 horses in the catalogue. The first joint Show of the Royal Commission and the Society for the whole of England was held early in February 1888 at Nottingham. In 1889, as again this year, the joint Show was held at Islington. The subjoined table shows the total entries in the years named, the geographical limits of the districts being detailed below in connection with the awards : — District Class Notting- ham, 1888 Islington District N?ttinS- Class 1 JU88 | Islington 1889 1890 1889 1890 A f 4 21 14 H 2 j 3 5 B fl 6 8 I 4 3 1 C 24 7 17 J 3 3 4 D 10 13 17 K 3 2 2 E 16 11 g j 1 F 10 14 Total 105 90 98 G 7 11 8 236 The Show of Thoroughbred Stallions. The Royal Commissioners on Horse Breeding offered twenty-two “ Queen’s Premiums ” of 200?. each for Thoroughbred Stallions (three years old and upwards), on condition that each stallion winning a premium should serve not less than fifty half-bred mares, if required, during the season of 1890, and should stand or travel at the owner’s option in the district for which he is exhibited, at a fee not exceeding forty shillings for each mare, and two shillings and sixpence to the groom. These Premiums were intended to subsidise six-sevenths of Eng- land and Wales, in accordance with the district map of the Royal Agricultural Society of England, the remaining district being under- taken this year by the Royal Agricultural Society, who offered three Premiums of 200?. each, with a special Gold Medal. The Judges of the Thoroughbred Stallions were the Earl of Coventry, Croome Court, Severn Stoke, Worcestershire (acting in the place of Viscount Combermere, who was unable to officiate) ; Mr. William Baird, Barleythorpe Hall, Oakham ; and Mr. W. Dunne, Ballymanus, Stradbaliy, Queen’s County. The veterinary inspectors were Mr. Alexander C. Cope, Board of Agriculture, 44 Parliament Street, S.W. ; Mr. T. D. Lambert, Stoi’e Street, Dublin ; and Mr. John Lawson, Great Bridgewater Street, Manchester. The following are the J udges’ awards : — District Class A (Bedfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Cambridge- shire, Essex, Hertfordshire, Huntingdonshire, Middlesex, Norfolk, Oxfordshire, and Suffolk). — -14 entries. Three Queen’s Premiums : No. 9, Mr. Walter Gilbey’s Pearl-Diver ; No. 12, Mr. Leopold de Rothschild’s Roswal ; No. 14, Mr. Burdett-Coutts’s Truefit. Re- serve : 1st, No. 7, Mr. T. Jennings’s Montague. District Class B (Cumberland, Durham, Northumberland, Westmoreland). — 8 entries. Three Queen’s Premiums: No. 17, Mr. Nathaniel Clark’s Even) No. 18, the Earl of Durham’s Glendale ; No. 19, Mr. E. H. Banks’s Moss Hawk. Reserve: 1st, No. 15, Mr. W. Steel’s Blue Grass) 2nd, No. 22, Mr. M. Young’s Uxbridge ; 3rd, No. 20, Sir H. B. Meux’s Pull Together. District Class C (Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Northamptonshire, Nottinghamshire, and Rutlandshire). — 17 en- tries. Three Queen’s- Premiums : No. 23, The Earl of Lonsdale’s Blue Blood ; No. 25, Mr. J. E. Platt’s Connaught ; No. 36, Mr. Haslewood’s Suleiman. Reserve : 1st, No-. 35, Mr. J. W. Simpson’s Roll Call ; 2nd, No. 37, Mr. H. Martin’s The Jolly Friar ; 3rd, No. 31, Mr. A; J. Brown’s Macaulay. District Class D (Berkshire, Cornwall, Devonshire, Dorsetshire, Hampshire, Kent, Somersetshire, Surrey, Sussex, and Wiltshire). — 17 entries. Three Premiums of 200?. each, and Gold Medal, given by the Royal Agricultural Society : No. 43, Mr. G. P. Finch’s Eclipse ; No. 47, Mr. Isaac Clark’s Jack Tar ; No. 48, Mr. Alex. Taylor’s Lancastrian. Reserve : 1st, No. 50, the Compton Stud Company’s Masque-de-Fer ; 2nd, No. 42, Lieutenant-General O. L. Cope-Williams’s Bruar ; 3rd, No. 56, Mr. G. Jeffery’s Young Glen Arthur. The Show of 'Thoroughbred Stallions. 237 As these are the Stallions in which the Society is this year more particularly interested, details as to their breeding are subjoined : — Eclipse, chestnut, foaled 1883. Sire , Ethus, or Van Amburgh ; dam, Tormentor by King Tom ; g.d., Torment by Alarm. Exhibitor, Mr. G. P. Finch, The Briars, Alphington, Exeter ; breeder, Mr. Benjamin Ellam, Piccadilly. Jack Tar, brown, foaled 1881. Sire, Jolly Tar; dam, Water Lily by Mariner ; g.d., Lily by Cape Flyaway. Exhibitor and breeder, Mr. Isaac Clark, The Manor, Heddington, Caine, Wilts. Lancastrian, brown, foaled 1876. Sire, Toxophilite ; dam. Lady Sefton by West Australian ; g.d., Clarissa by Pantaloon. Exhibitor, Mr. Alexander Taylor, Manton House, Marlborough; breeder, the Glasgow Stud. The Hunter Stallion Committee of the Society has decided that these Stallions shall be stationed during the present season as follows : — Eclipse in the Exeter District at his owner’s stables, The Briars, Alphington, Exeter ; Jack Tar in the Plymouth District ; and Lancastrian in the Windsor District, at the Soutli Lea Farm, Datcliet. Their period of service will extend from March 20 to June 20, after which they will be exhibited (but not for competition) at the Society’s showyard at Plymouth, from June 23 to 27. The District Committees, to whom will be referred all questions relating to these Stallions during their season of service, have been constituted as follows : — Eclipse : Mr. Henry Drew, Peamore Cottage, Exeter ; Major- General Drewe, The Grange, Honiton ; Mr. William Lethbridge, Courtlands, Exeter ; Major-General Talbot, Buckerell Lodge, Exeter. Jack Tar : Mr. Wm. Coryton, M.F.H., Ermefield House, Ivy- bridge, Devon ; Mr. W. King, Southside Street, Plymouth ; Mr. R. E. Paige, St. Germans, Cornwall ; Mr. Edward St. Aubyn, Glynn, Bodmin, Cornwall. Lancastrian : Mr. Percy E. Crutchley, Sunninghill Park, Ascot ; Sir Henry Simpson, Gordon House, Windsor; Mr. Wm. Tait, Shaw Farm, Windsor. District Class E (Yorkshire). — 8 entries. Three Queen’s Premiums : No. 61, Mr. J. H. Stephenson’s Knight Templar ; No. 62, Sir Robert Jardine’s Reveller-, No. 63, Lord Middleton’s Spectre Lord. Reserve : No. 59, Mr. A. O. Haslewood’s Chip Chase. District Class F (Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, Monmouth- shire, Shropshire, Staffordshire, Warwickshire, Worcestershire, and South Wales). — 14 entries. Three Queen’s Premiums : No. 66, Mr. T. Carr’s Crom-a-Boo ; No. 76, Mr. John Rees’s Scherzo-, No. 77, Mr. G. L. Abbot’s Tomahawk. Reserve : 1st, No. 75, Mr. W. E. Litt’s Q.C. ; 2nd, No. 69, Mr. J. E. Rees’s Ivanhoe; 3rd, No. 67, Mr. A. Sherratt’s Donald Caird. District Class G (Cheshire, Lancashire, and North Wales). — 8 entries. Three Queen’s Premiums : No. 83, Mr. C. A. Kemble’s Sam Kheen ; No. 84, Mr. J. E. Platt’s Silver Crown ; No. 85, Mr. John Rees’s Snowdown ; Reserve : 1st, No. 86, Mr. C. P. Lees’s Strathavon. 238 Wood Shavings for Litter. District Class H (Stirlingshire and District). — 5 entries. One Queen's Premium : No. 89, Mr. R. J. Mann’s Peppermill ; Reserve : No. 90, Mr. R. G. Waite’s Royal. District Class I (Fifesldre, Kinross-shire, and District). — 1 entry. One Queen’s Premium : No. 92, Mr. W. Warren’s Royalty. District Class J (Ayrshire, Wigtownshire, and District). — 4 entries. One Queen’s Premium : No. 96, Mr. J. E. Bennett’s The Muleteer. Reserve : No. 95, Sir R. Jardine’s Strathmore. District Class Iv (Roxburghshire, Berwickshire, and District). — 2 entries. One Queen’s Premium : No. 98, Mr. W. Wilson’s Sir Harry. Reserve : No. 97, Mr. R. F. Trenholm’s Omega. It is not necessary to dwell in any detail on the merits of the animals exhibited ; but it appeared to be generally agreed that the quality of the Stallions competing for the Premiums was equal if not superior to that of the animals which have appeared before the J udges in previous years. WOOD SHAVINGS FOR LITTER. In the last issue of the German Agricultural Year-Book ( Land - wirthschaftliche Jahrbiiche, 1889, Vol. XVIII.), edited by Dr. H. Thiel, of the Prussian Ministry of Agriculture, appears a very interesting article by Dr. E. Ramann, Director of the Chemical Laboratory at Eberswalde, and Herr Von Kalitsch, of the Forest Department, on the results of a series of experiments made by them as to the value of wood shavings when used as litter for horses and cattle. Shavings from a considerable number of different kinds of wood were experimented with, and compared with rye-straw and peat-moss litter in respect of their power of absorbing water, the rapidity with which they decompose when mixed with earth, their respective cleanliness in the stall, and finally their manurial value. Of these materials the peat-moss was experimented with in its ordinary condition ; the rye-straw was in pieces 40 centimetres (about 1 6 inches) long ; whilst the shavings were of various widths, from 2 millimetres (about -08 inch) to 4 centimetres (about P6 inch). The softer kinds of wood proved to have a greater capacity for absorbing water than the straw, while the shavings from the harder woods absorbed barely as much as the straw. The width of the shav- ings had no material influence. When mixed with sand and moistened O with tank liquid from a shippon these litter materials slowly undergo decomposition. They were all equally treated in this way, and the amount of carbonic acid evolved during the process was taken as a measure of the decomposition, the tests extending over 75 days. Judged of in this manner, fir, pine, and alderwood decompose about as rapidly as straw, birch and beech not quite so rapidly, whilst peat-moss decomposed much more slowly. In another series of experiments to determine the same property, but in which small quantities of nitrate of soda and kainit were added to the sand, The Weather of 1889. 239 shavings, and tank liquid, the materials underwent a more equable decomposition, remaining relatively, however, in the same position to one another. In respect of their several qualifications as to soft- ness, dryness, and cleanliness when used in the stall, they also differ considerably, wood shavings being much cleaner than peat-moss, and also, since they do not absorb so great a quantity of liquid, they are much drier for animals to lie upon. As the authors point out, the importance of these qualifications depends on circumstances. In a large stable, for instance, where there is always someone to replace airy excessively wet part of the bed with fresh litter, the liability of peat-moss to become wet need not be taken into account. In small stables, however, where this cannot be looked after very closely, the wood shavings are recommended. As regards the vianurial value of the various substances, peat-moss contains more nitrogen but less potash and phosphoric acid than rye-straw, whilst wood shavings possess a relatively intermediate value, containing about the same amount of nitrogen and more potash and phosphoric acid than the peat-moss, but less potash than straw. One point in reference to the width of the shavings may be noted. If they are too narrow they entangle themselves with the hoofs, but this objection is over- come if the shavings have a width of 2 to 3 centimetres ('8 to 12 inches). j \y Leather, Ph.D. THE WEATHER OF 1889.1 First Quarter.— The weather in January till the 8th day was cold, and fog was very general ; from the 9th the temperature was variable, a few days together being a little above their averages, and then a few days a little below ; the last few days of the month were warm. The month was mostly cloudy, with a fall of rain below the average at all stations, with very little snow, and upon the whole the month was fine. The weather in February was changeable and for the most part very cold ; the first day was very warm, being 12° above its average ; the second day was cold, being more than 1° below its average, and from this day it was cold and unsettled, with the exception of the few days from the 14th to the 20th, which were generally warm ; the end of the month was very cold and Avinterly. The fall of rain was in excess in some places and in defect in others. Snow fell frequently, and the month was winterly. The weather in March was generally cloudy and cold. The temperature was below its average constantly till the 7th, and was variable afterwards, with a few warm days together and then a few cold days, to the end of the month. The fall of rain was generally in excess. The fall of snow during the first twelve days was fre- 1 Abstracted from the particulars supplied to the Registrar-General by- James Glaisher, Esq., F.R.S., &c. 240 The Weather 0/ 1889. quent, and at some places it was heavy. The melting of the snow caused great floods in Devon and Somerset on the 8th and 9th. Second Quarter. — The weather in April was generally unsettled, cold, and cloudy. The temperature of the air till the 17th day was below the average, then for four days it was warm, and then cold again to the end of the month. The fall of rain was above the average. The crops at the end of the month were looking well. The weather in May was generally warm, with frequent rain ; the temperature of the air was cold on the 1st and 2nd days, and from the 26th, and warm on other days, particularly from the 22nd to the 25th, which were hot. The fall of rain was above its average at all the stations; at Greenwich it was 3 '3 inches, and since 1815 the fall of rain has only reached or exceeded this amount on fifteen occasions. The total fall of rain at Greenwich for the five months ending May was 9 51 inches, being somewhat more than double in the same months in 1888. The weather in Jane was very fine. The temperature of the air was above the average till the 7th, and from the 25th, and variable between those days, but generally cold. The fall of rain was below its average at all stations, excepting those between latitudes 5H° and 52°. The sky was very free from clouds, and the hot sunshine caused the heavy crop of hay to be gathered in excellent condition. Third Quarter. — The weather in July was generally warm and fine for the first thirteen days, then cold to the 29th, and warm on the 30th and 31st. The temperature of the air was generally above its average till the 1 3th day, then constantly below its average till the 29th, and above on the last two days. The fall of rain was a little above its average at some stations, and a little below at others. The first day in August was fair, but the month was generally cold, with frequent rain. The temperature of the air was generally below its average between the 6th and the 28th, and at times by several degrees. Rain fell frequently till towards the end of the month, checking harvest work very much. The weather in September was fine, warm, and dry till the 14th, particularly so from the 9th to the 13th ; from the 15th it was cold but fine, being particularly cold from the 20th to the 26th. The temperature of the air was above its average till the 14th, with the exception of the 8th, and below it from the 15th, with the exception of the 27th, which was above the average. The fall of rain was less than the average at nearly every station. The month on the whole was very favourable for harvest work. Fourth Quarter.— The weather in October was generally dull and cold, with frequent rain. The temperature of the air was below its average on every day in the month, with the exception of the 7th, 16th, and 30th. The mean temperature was 48-6°. The fall of rain was above its average at all stations. The Weather of 1889. 241 The weather in November was on the whole fine, dry, and dull, being generally very warm from the 3rd to the 25th, and cold from the 26th. The temperature of the air was below its average on the first two days, and from the 26th to the 30th. The mean tempera- ture for the month was 44-3°. The fall of rain was small, and below its average at all stations. The weather in December was generally cold till the 15th, being particularly so on the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, and 12th days ; warm from the 16th to the 24th, then cold again to the end of the month. The mean temperature for the month was 37 '6°. The fall of rain was a little below its average at some stations, and a little above at others. Fogs were frequent. Hay Harvest Forecasts, 1889. — The results of the checking of the Hay Harvest Forecasts issued during the hay-making period of 1889 show that, notwithstanding the very unsettled weather which prevailed during the latter half of the period, the general percentage of successful forecasts (89) was the highest ever reached. The telegrams were transmitted daily between 3.30 p.m. and 4 p.m. on each week-day for about five weeks, beginning on June 10 in the Eastern and Southern districts of England, and ending on August 3 over the greater part of Scotland, and a week later in Ireland. The largest general percentage (95) was reached in the Midland Counties, while the smallest (82) was in Scotland E. and Scotland W. Summary of Results. Percentages Total Per- Districts Names of Stations •-< ■3 £ © centage 'H. y .2 Q> -e o A = of s § c3 c3 Success 5“ pH Ph Scotland, N. Munlochy and Golspie 57 33 10 90 Scotland, E. / Aberfeldy, Rothiemay, and t t Glamis f 61 31 13 6 82 England, N.E. . Chatton and TJlceby 67 26 7 — 93 England, E. 1 Rothamsted, Thorpe, and i t Thetford . . . . i 64 29 7 — 93 Midland Counties Cirencester and East Retford . 61 34 3 2 96 England, S. i Downton, Horsham, Maidstone, t t and Reading 60 30 10 — 90 Scotland, W. . Stranraer, Islay, and Dumbarton 52 30 14 4 82 England, N.W. Leyburn and Prescot 1 Spring Park (Gloucestershire), ) 53 30 12 6 83 England, S.W. ■j Clifton, Bridgend (Glamor- l | ganshire), and Glastonbury . ) 50 40 9 1 90 Ireland, N. Moynalty 60 40 7 3 90 Ireland, S. < Moneygall, Kilkenny, and Ard- ( 1 fert Abbey . . . . ) 56 29 10 5 85 Mean for all districts 57 32 9 2 89 VOL. I. T. S. — 1 R 242 HOME PRODUCE AND FOREIGN IMPORTS IN 1889. The Returns of the produce of crops in the United Kingdom issued on March 1 3 1 render it possible to include in this number of the Journal a Table (pp. 244-5), giving the actual results of the last harvest. There is at the close of every agricultural year, consider- able speculation as to the yield of the various crops, and this specula- tion is commonly displayed in the expression of the most conflicting opinions as to the final outcome of the season. The figures now available show that most of these opinions represented facts, but that they represented them partially — that, in short, the experience of one district was very different from that of another. Without attempting to analyse the Returns, this point may be briefly indicated. For the purpose of the Returns England is partitioned into four divisions, and the figures are given separately for each. It now ap- pears that there was a wide difference between Division I., which comprises the Eastern counties, and Division IV., which comprises the North and North-western counties. In the former all the cereal and pulse crops were below the average, and in the latter they were all above the average. This can best be shown by the percentage of yield below and above an average yield per acre in each case : — Crop Division I. Eastern counties Below average Division IV. North and North-western counties Above average Per cent. Per cent. Wheat 402 18-50 Barley 13-64 538 Oats 6 05 1 13 Beans 10-77 5 03 Peas 13-49 3 13 Division II., which includes the Home counties and the South- east of England, had rather better crops than Division I., but they were all less than the average, with the exception of wheat. On the other hand, in Division III. (Western counties) the yield, though not so good as in Division IV., was above the average in every case, except peas. r In the official summary of the Returns, it is remarked that the cereal crops “ varied greatly in their yield throughout Great Britain, though the reports as to quality, except as to barley, are generally favourable. Root crops are referred to in many of them as being conspicuous both in regard to abundance and quality, while the hay crop is almost universally mentioned as being one of the finest crops obtained for a long time.” 1 Parliamentary Paper, C. 5945 (Eyre & Spottiswoode, East Harding Street, Fleet Street, E C.) Frice 4 d. Home Produce and Foreign Imports in 1889. 243 The aggregate results for wheat in Great Britain in the year 1889 were brought up altogether to 73,202,773 bushels, as com- pared with 71,939,647 bushels in the preceding year, the estimated average yield per acre in 1889 being 29-89 bushels, against 28'05 bushels in 1888, showing an increase in the total production of 1,263,126 bushels, or T76 per cent., and an increase in the yield per acre of T84 bushels, or 6 '56 per cent. Among the root crops the rate of yield for potatoes in 1889 ex- ceeded the estimated ordinary average in Wales and Scotland, but was lower in England by 0'24 of a ton per acre, the result for the whole of Great Britain being, in 1889, 0 08 of a ton higher than the standard. The gross produce in 1889 amounted to 3,587,765 tons, against 3,059,124 tons in the previous year, when the area so planted was, however, 10,900 acres more. In a large number of districts they were reported as being a bulky crop and generally of excellent quality. Mention was made of yields of fully nine tons per acre having been grown even on inferior sand land, but which had been well manured. The Imports for the past three years of food and other products which come into competition with, or in other ways directly affect, British agriculture are set forth in Table II. (pp. 246 and 247). These figures will repay careful study. Generally speaking, the most notable fact is the great increase in the importations of meat, and especially of fresh beef and mutton, during the year 1889. Judging by the figures here given, the dead-meat trade is increasing by leaps and bounds, the quantity of fresh beef and mutton imported having been very nearly doubled in the course of three years. The number of cattle which were landed “ on the hoof ” showed a considerable increase in 1889, as compared with 1888 ; but there was a marked falling off in the number of sheep. Taking all kinds of meat, alive or slaughtered, fresh or salted, there was an increase of something like 70,000 tons in weight, and of nearly 6,000,000/. in value, in the imports of 1889, as compared with the previous year. The imports of grain are, of course, subject to fluctuations consequent upon the home yield of particular crops. The total quantity of “bread-stuffs” — that is, wheat and flour reckoned to- gether— imported showed very little change during the three years given in the table, though the quantity was somewhat less in 1889 than in either 1887 or 1888. The imports of dairy produce and eggs still continue their steady progression of annual increase, though there is some hopefulness to be gathered from the fact that the quantity of foreign cheese was slightly less in 1889 than in the previous year. The most encouraging token — from the point of view of the home producer — is, perhaps, to be found under the heading of fruit and vegetables, the distinct diminution of the imports of apples, “ unenumerated ” fruit, and potatoes being, it may be hoped, an indication that the home growers are at length commencing to make headway against their foreign rivals in the markets of the country. 244 Home Produce and Foreign Imports in 1889 Table I. — Estimated Total Produce and Yield per Acre op the I and Number of Horses, Cattle, Sheep, and Pigs, in [From the Agricultural England Wales t Crops Acreage, ‘ thousands ’ (000) omitted Produce of crops, ‘thou- sands’ (000) omitted Yield per acre Acreage, 1 thousands ’ (000) omitted Produce of crops, ‘thou- sands’ (000) omitted { Yield per 1 acre i 1888 1889 1888 1889 1888 1889 1888 1889 1888 1889 1888 1889 Corn Crops : — Acres Acres Bush. Bush. Bush. Bush. Acres Acres Bush. Bush. Bush. Bush. Wheat . 2,419 2,322 68,159 69,336 28T8 29-87 77 68 1,641 1,672 21-36 24-43 Barley or Bere 1,742 1,776 57,740 56,037 3314 31-55 118 122 3,111 3,548 26-39 2907 Oats 1,016 1,624 64,836 68,109 40-11 41-94 250 249 7,521 8,150 30-02 32-73 Rye 64 59 - - - - 1 1 — — — - Beans . 321 304 9,267 8,693 28-83 28-55 2 2 48 47 25-79 28-92 Peas 238 222 5,784 5,840 24-30 26-32 2 1 35 31 16-75 2116 Total Corn Crops . 6,400 6,307 - - - - 450 443 - - - I Green Crops : — Tons Tons Tons Tons Tons Tons Tons Tons Potatoes . • • 391 385 2,104 2,337 5-38 6-08 42 40 188 238 4-50 5-9! Turnips and Swedes 1,391 1,370 17,549 19,225 12-61 14-03 72 72 907 1,083 12-57 14-91 Mangolds . 352 318 6,112 5,978 17-36 18-79 8 7 109 122 14-05 17-5 Carrots, Cabbage, rabi, and Rape . Kohl- J 166 141 - - - - 1 2 - - - - ! Vetches, &c. . • • 380 294 — — — — 4 3 — — — — Total Green Crops 2,680 2,518 - - - - 127 124 - - - - : Other Crops, Grass, &c. : — Clovrt r and artificial grasses ) and permanent pasture J 9,575 9,420 - - - - 1,568 1,572 - - - A Ditto for hay 5,787 6,168 8,273 9,692 — — 679 695 721 781 — _ Flax • 2 2 Cwts. Cwts. Cwts. Cwts. Hops 58 57 281 498 4-81 8-62 - - - - - -J Total other Crops. 15,422 15,647 - - - - 2,247 2,267 - - - - Live Stock Year 1888 Year 1889 Year 1888 Year 1889 Horses . . Actual No. 1,091,500 Actual No. 1,091,041 Actual No. 139,063 Actual No. 141,143 Cattle . 4,352,826 4,352,657 666,259 666,101 Sheep , 15,788,794 15,839,882 2,737,788 2,840,689 Pigs 2,018,420 2,118,385 231,365 240,741 Note.— The produce of the Corn Crops for Ireland, which was originally given in weight, has been convert CO lb. to the bushel of Beans and Peas. Home Produce 245 tiNCiPAL Crops, and also the Acreage under other Crops and Grass, ie United Kingdom in the Years 1888 and 1889. •oduce Statistics.'] Scotland Ireland United Kingdom 1 u-eage, msands ’ 000) Blitted Produce of 3rops, ‘thou- sands’ (000) omitted Yield per acre Acreage ‘ thousands ’ (000) omitted Produce of crops, ‘ thou- sands ’ ( 000) omitted Yield per acre Acreage, ‘ thousands ’ (000) omitted Produce of crops, ‘ thou- sands * (000) omitted Yield per acre 1*1 1889 1888 1889 1888 1889 1888 1889 1888 1889 1888 1889 1888 1889 1888 1889 1888 1889 es Acres Bush. Bush. Bush. Bush. Acres Acres Bush. Bush. Bush. Bush. Acres Acres Bush. Bush. Bus. Bus. 69 69 2,139 2,194 3112 36-94 99 89 2,553 2,681 25-79 29-87 2,663 2,539 74,493 75,883 27-97 29-89 55 223 7,631 7,842 33-86 35-09 171 186 6,063 7,277 35-39 39-07 2,257 2,308 74,545 74,704 3303 32-37 L5 1,016 34,987 37,182 34-46 36-61 1,280 1,239 50,632 •50,637 39-53 40-87 4,163 4,128 157,976 164,078 37-95 39-75 10 9 - - — — 14 16 - - - — 89 85 - - — — 1 16 15 410 609 2602 34-10 5 4 119 125 23-47 34-05 344 325 9,844 9,375 28-61 28-87 1 1 27 35 p 18-79 24-85 i i 16 15 22T1 22-46 242 226 5,862 5,921 24-20 26-27 - :i5 1,323 - - - 1,570 1,535 - - - - 9,758 9,611 ■ - - - - ■ Tons Tons Tons Tons Tons Tons Tons Tons Tons Tons Tons Tons 57 155 767 1,012 4-87 6*54 805 787 2,523 2,847 3-14 3-62 1,395 1,366 5,582 6,435 4-00 4-71 ■ » 478 6,219 7,789 12-94 16-30 ■ 294 1 298 1 3,327 1 3,910 ‘ 11-31 13-12 2,238 2,218 28,002 32,007 12-51 14-43 1 1 18 19 13-21 17-21 3 46 3 44 3 590 3 622 3 12-90 14-12 407 370 6,829 6,740 16-78 18-21 . 8 9 - — — - 52 52 - — - — 230 216 — - — - 15 14 - - - - 37 38 - - - - 436 351 - - - - 33 657 - - - - 1,234 1,219 - - - - 4,706 4,521 - - - - 58 2,286 — — — — 9,905 9,995 — — — — 23,362 23,330 — — — — .12 601 957 958 — — 2,222 2,187 5,181 4,854 — — 9,291 9,651 15,133 16,284 — — — — — — — 114 114 — — — — 116 116 Cwts. Cwts. Cwts — - I 58 58 281 498 4-81 8-62 GO 2,887 - - - - 1 12,241 12,292 - - - - 32,771 33,155 - - - - Year 1888 Tear 1889 Year 1888 Year 1889 1888 Year 1889 Actual No. 189,787 Actual No. 189,205 Actual No. 507,201 Actual No. 515,188 Actual No. 1,927,551 Actual No. 1,936,577 1,110,290 1,120,797 4,099,241 4,093,944 10,228,616 10,233,499 6,730,567 6,951,449 3,626,780 3,789,629 28,883,929 29,421,649 154,559 151,677 1,397,800 1,380,548 3,802,144 3,891,351 nto bushels, at tile rate of 60 lb. to the bushel of Wheat ; 50 lb. to the bushel of Bailey ; 39 lb. to the bushel of Oats ; and 1 Turnips only. 3 Including Beetroot. 246 Home Produce and Foreign Imports in 1889 Table II. — Quantities and Values of Imports of Corn, Meat, Year 1889, with the Comparative (Compiled from the Trade Quantities Values 1887 1888 1889 1887 1888 1889 Animals, Living (for food ) : — Oxen and Bulls . . No. 219,222 No. 287,266 No. 441,811 £ 3,802,655 £ 5,130,837 £ 8,133,468 Cows 38,766 49,724 60,366 489,063 634,982 732,385 Calves 37,973 40,098 53,044 147,087 146,155 203,454 Total Cattle 295,961 377,088 555,221 4,438,805 5,911,974 9,069,307 Sheep and Lamb3 971,403 956,210 678,058 1,645,837 1,740,549 1,195,407 Swine 21,965 24,509 25,324 64,424 74,784 • 95,373 Total 1,289,329 1,577,807 1,258,603 6,149,066 7,727,307 10,360,087 Cohn : — Wheat .... Cwts. 55,784,685 Cwts 57,224,934 Cwts. 58,602,271 21,335,902 21,971,331 22,530,838 Wheat-meal and Flour 18,056,545 16,912,773 14,699,201 10,020,433 9,530,800 8,559,563 Barley .... 14,277,180 21,277,477 17,415,943 3,769,272 6,069,190 4,968,947 Oats 14,468,733 18,737,436 15,999,060 3,489,818 4,588,712 4,472,598 Peas 2,990,296 2,420,847 1,688,512 875,016 705,747 553,503 Beans 2,477,293 3,010,144 3,585,473 787,976 920,088 1,123,233 Maize 31,123,401 25,338,551 36,203,069 7,535,946 6,881,307 8,580,080 Maize-meal .... 5,522 14,846 24,066 4,934 8,046 19,365 Total 139,183,655 144,937,008 148,217,595 47,819,297 50,675,221 50,808,127 Meat Beef, Salted 218,437 226,536 264,542 334,050 349,259 371,580 „ Fresh 657,574 837,444 1,379,511 1,481,183 1,920,847 3,015,180 Mutton, Fresh . 784,841 989,085 1,226,669 1,576,601 1,940,979 2,578,621 Bacon 3,000,811 2,854,536 3,498,144 6,329,890 6,392,959 7,287,207 Hams 920,617 728,305 977,608 2,390,051 1,923,936 2,501,484 Pork, Salted (not hams) . 273,832 244,891 269,587 393,221 359,921 390,265 „ Fresh 153,735 242,778 116,846 379,603 556,954 286,139 Meat, unenumerated — | Salted or Fresh . J 47,035 56,781 90,982 115,650 120,551 197,017 Meat preserved otherwise ) than by Salting . ) 519,180 542,599 642,857 1,349,985 1,377,023 1,632,333 Babbits .... 117,058 100,872 123,774 311,866 276,562 341,483 Total 6,693,120 6,823,827 8,590,520 14,662,100 15,218,991 18,601,309 Foreign Imports, 247 Food Products, and Articles affecting Agriculture, in the Figures for 1887 and 1888. and Navigation Accounts.') Quantities Values 1887 1888 1889 1887 1888 1889 Dairy Produce Cwts. Cwts. Cwts. £ £ £ Butter .... 1,514,905 1,669,314 1,927,469 8,016,769 8,902,193 10,243,728 Margarine .... 1,273,095 1,138,174 1,240,760 3,869,948 3,263,826 3,652,722 Cheese .... 1,834,467 1,917,541 1,909,545 4,508,937 4,542,278 4,494,554 Total 4,622,467 4,725,029 5,077,774 16,395,654 16,708,297 18,391,004 Poultry, Sic. : — Toultry and Game, alive ) or dead . . . J — — — 409,183 403,197 472,686 Gt. Huuds. Gt. Hunds. Gt. Hunds. Eggs 9,069,837 9,320,617 9,416,639 3,080,561 3,077,109 3,122,813 Total - - - 3,489,744 3,480,306 3,595,499 Fruit, Vegetables, &c. Bushels Bushels Bushels Apples (raw) 1,948,843 3,821,946 3,617,997 665,392 1,037,084 976,148 Fruit, u nen umerated ( raw ) 2,479,004 3,039,100 2,189,508 1,167,095 1,387,271 1,149,834 Onions .... 3,649,471 3,479,418 3,862,751 617,710 641,256 674,547 Potatoes .... 2,762,958 2,384,144 1,864,610 974,133 802,110 735,999 Vegetables, unenume- ; rated (raw) . . ) — Cwts. - 600,882 621,771 623,789 Cwts. Cwts. Hops 145,298 215,927 200,690 428,250 796,404 716,637 Total - - - 4,353,462 5,285,896 4,876,924 Other Articles Cwts. Cwts. Cwts. Lard 906,190 883,469 1,193,831 1,601,635 1,815,420 2,178,408 Flax 1,560,696 1,833,650 1,783,189 2,707,814 2,991,898 3,066,114 Lbs. Lbs. Lbs. Wool 574,196,058 635,936,244 696,396,186 24,280,593 25,897,745 28,393,755 Wood & Timber : Loads Loads Loads Hewn .... 1,715,343 1,985,249 2,389,491 3,235,230 4,042,407 5,635,118 Sawn or Split, Planed | or Dressed . J 3,793,677 4,336,084 5,318,750 7,885,955 9,638,077 13,142,333 Staves .... 137,410 143,872 170,155 563,768 590,112 694,115 Tons Tons Tons Oil-Seed Cake . 265,694 259,573 256,296 1,560,493 1,620,634 1,703,521 Cwts. Cwts. Cwts. Seeds : Clover and Grass . 335,858 334,432 296,314 693,428 684,185 608,037 „ Cotton . 276,570 255,500 289,413 1,543,645 1,646,349 1,940,995 „ Flax and Linseed . 2,341,175 2,542,027 2,272,019 4,296,868 4,800,016 4,577,799 „ Rape 413,856 279,615 458,948 457,999 448,254 820,273 Total - - 48,827,428 54,175,097 62,760,528 THE PRICE OF WHEAT IN 1889. Averages for 1889. 1. d. Wheat . , . . 29 9 Barley . . . , 25 10 Oats 17 9 The annual Imperial ave- rage price of wheat has de- clined 2s. Id. a quarter from that of 1888. In the latter year the average was 31s. I0o?., whereas in the past year it was 29s. 9(7. The weekly fluctuations have been very slight, only ranging to 3s. 3c?. — in 1888 the range was 8s. 1 d. Ten years back, viz., in 1879, the lowest weekly average was 37s. 8 d. and the highest 50s. Ad., a difference of 12s. 8d. The annual average for that year was 43s. 10c7. Ten years later the aver- age has fallen 14s. Id. a quarter, a most serious de- cline. The lowest weekly average in the past year was on June 29, 27s. lie?., and the highest on August 31, 31s. 2d., the average for 1889, as already men- tioned, being 29s. 9c?. a quarter. The price of bar- ley was above that of wheat during the four weeks in October last and for the first three weeks of November, but barley was especially low on J uly 1 3, being only 19s. 9c?. a quarter. The annual Imperial average price of corn was — wheat, 29s. 9c?. ; barley, 25s. 10c?.; oats, 17s. 9(7. The sep- tennial tithe rent-charge is 27. 18s. 5c?. per 1007. lower this year than last, it being 787. Is. 3gC?., whereas last year it stood at 807. 19s. 8 Id. The average from the com- mutation in 1836 is 1017. 2s. 8\d. Henry Allnutt. The space between each horizontal line indicates tour pence. 249 RECENT AGRICULTURAL INVENTIONS, The subjects of Applications for Patents from fanuary i to March 15, 1890. Inventive genius has been greatly stimulated, since 1883, by the large reduction in the cost of obtaining a patent, which was one of the principal features of the Patents, Designs, and Trade Marks Act of that year. The number of applications for protection have, in consequence, increased annually, the total for the year 1889 having amounted to close upon 21,000. Of this number, a considerable proportion relate to inventions affecting the interests of members of the Society in their various occupations. It has, therefore, been decided, in the new series of the Journal to publish every quarter a list of such inventions connected with agriculture, compiled from the Official J ournal of the Patent Office. In order that readers of the Journal may better understand these lists, and how best to utilise the information they give, some general explanation of the proceedings at the Patent Office may here be useful. Each application for a patent is accompanied by a specification describing the invention, such specification being either “ pro- visional,” or “ complete,” as the case may be, according to whether the applicant desires only provisional protection for nine months, or a complete patent for four years. Should the inventor decide, eventually, not to go beyond the provisional stage (for he may file his “ complete ” any time within nine months), or, in other words, abandon his application for a patent, the particulars of the invention are not disclosed to the public ; but if otherwise, and the complete specification is “ accepted ” by the Office, it is open to public inspec- tion. Copies of such specifications, with photo-lithographic repro- ductions of the drawings (if any), are on sale at the Patent Office Sale Branch, about three weeks after the date of acceptance, and may be obtained, if desired, through the post, by forwarding the price, plus the postage, in stamps. Within two months from the official adver- tisement of acceptance of a specification, any person who desires to oppose the grant of the patent may do so by giving notice to the Comptroller, who accordingly affords a “ hearing ” to the two parties, and gives his decision on the case. If no such opposition occurs, the patent is usually sealed within three months from the date of acceptance of the complete specification. To each list of inventions published in this Journal will be appended a list of the numbers of the specifications on sale at the time of going to press, with the price subjoined in brackets (the postage being, in nearly every case, \d.). With the information given above, therefore, any reader who is interested in one or more of the subjects before him may, by waiting until he sees the publi- cation of the same announced, obtain a copy of the specification, with the full particulars of the invention. If, at the expiration of fifteen months, the number does not appear in the list of specifica- tions published, he will know that the application is either aban- doned or under opposition. 250 Recent Agricultural Inventions. No. of Application Agricultural Machinery and Implements, &c. Name of Applicant Title of Invention 140 288 385 536 666 868 943 960 1199 1208 1342 1370 1455 1507 1508 1532 1711 2001 2006 2093 2175 2304 2376 2405 2677 2719 2902 3000 3059 3642 3751 3779 3862 3988 Sleep, W. H. and R. H. Talbot, D. H. Bibtwisle, YV. . Holt, J. Bonnaed, T. Valadin, E. M. . Wise, W. L. . Saunderson, H. P. WOODVILLE, G. . Wilson, J. . Hubner, C. F. P. Wolseley, F. Y. . Jenks, T. Hardingham, G. G. M. Hardingham, G. G. M. Horn, W. W. Hardingham, G. G. M. Statiiam Taylor, F. . Stevenson, A. Rutledge, J. Davison, R. Boult (Noxon) Kronman, H. P. C. J. . Robertson, E. J. Behringer, A. . Ingraham, W. W. Bonne, C. R. Lee, J. Bawden, R. Anthony, J. S. . Edwards, E. Pass, E. Stretton, W. G. Ploughs. Machines for stacking hay, ensilage, &c. Mowing and reaping machines. Potato diggers and separators. Cleaning wheat and other grain. Machine for clipping hedges. Steam-ploughs. Dressing-machines for cleaning corn, seeds, Ac. Machine for pressing and trussing hay and straw. Bins or silos for storing grain, Ac. Horse-gears. Cutters and combs for sheep-shears, horse- clippers, Ac. Machines for mowing grass. Harvesters. Sheaf-carriers for harvesters. Potato digger and picker. Harvesters. Root-cutting machines. Ploughs. Separating or sieving grain, &c. Cultivating land either by horse or steam power. Mechanical presses for baling hay, straw, Ac. Seeding-machines. Sowing seeds and scattering manure. Elevator and gear to raise and weigh grain. Combined measuring, mixing, and distributing hoppers or machines for corn, grain, Ac. Machine for clipping, scouring, cleaning, grading, and separating grain. Machine for drying grain, seed, Ac. Spade-handles. Ploughs. Roofing hay or corn stacks. Tightening silage press chains. Agricultural rake-teeth. Hay- turning machine. 130 184 194 238 435 613 760 888 891 979 1081 1175 1205 1243 1305 1373 Stable Utensils and Fittings — Horse-shoes, &c. Swindell, F. C. . Horse-shoes. KlNG,H.E.,andanother Harness. Jewett, M. C. . Horse-shoes. Edwards, E. W. . . Improved horse-shoe. Jackson, A. . . Rein dees and turrets for harness. Haken, J. . . . Horse-shoes. Townsend and another Horse-shoes. Stance, B. Guest, S. Tothill, T. H. F. Pickering, W. . Grainger, A. Fellows, A. Carmont, C. K. . Bailey, C. and L. L. Ritchie, J. . Feeding-trough for horses, Ac. Instantly releasing hoises from carriages in case of accident. Holding horses and harness, and stopping run- away horses automatically. Horse-shoes. Nailless horse-sboes. Hame-fasteners. Horse-shoes. Appliance for feeding horses, Ac. Saddles. Recent Agricultural Inventions. 251 Application Name of Applicant 1448 GKAHAM, D. 1464 Watkins, B. 1491 Turner, G. H. 1664 Cafiero, G. 1739 Stone, C. S. . 1787 Harries, T. D.,ando’rs 1835 Wheeler, H. B. 1850 Annat, K. . 1963 Boult, A. J. 1969 MacLellan, P. 2026 Wincer, C. 2026 Benfield, J. and others 2049 Horn, W. W. 2147 Jutson, C. J,, and F. Poupard. 2403 Williamson, C. . 2630 McCullock, L. . 2651 Barnett, L. 2726 Kennedy, J. 2817 Gotze and another 2857 Bridge, T. H. 2884 Hall, H. . 2909 Rose, W. 3002 Weber and another 3141 Parkinson, G.M.,&an’r 3296 Whatmoush, J. , 3709 Squier, F. W. . 3727 Pond, C. P. . 3873 Alpass, J. C. Title of Invention Blind-hoods for horses. Horse-shoes. Roughing the shoes of horses. Electrical head-piece and reins. Horse-shoes. Safety stirrup-bar for saddles. Safety stirrups. Inflated pad for the hoofs of horses. Buckles for bridles, traces, &c. Horse-hoof pad. Shaft tug-buckles, &c. Horse-shoes. Horse-blanket fastening. Nailless horse-shoes. Web halter-heads for horses and cattle. Harness for horses, &c. Ankle boot or pad for horses. Shoeing horses, &c. Horse-shoe calks. Mangers. Releasing runaway horses from carriages. Shoes for horses and other animals. Stirrups. Preventing horses from running away. Studs for horse-shoes, to prevent slipping. Riding saddles. Bridle-bit. Cart saddle gearing. 388 696 876 • 895 898 1251 1270 1785 1807 2501 2638 2718 2752 2823 2882 3014 3941 Houghton, J. Fleetwood, C. J. Darling, J. and A. Symons, W., & another Vehicles. Carts and Carriages. . Endless chain-break for carts. . Preventing vehicles falling or turning over when a wheel comes off or axle breaks. Break. Newnham Dutton, C. Moss, W. C. Hannaford, C. Storey, R. . Wright, R. . Hill, T. Stenning, E. Pierce, W. J. Pearce, G. H. Offord, J. J. Eldredge, E. F Newbold, C. Carriages for common roads. Shackles employed in vehicular construction. Met hod of releasing, fastening, and moving seats Self -registering cart-weighing machine. Drawing-gear of carts and other vehicles. Carts. Spring pedestal-bearings for vehicle-axles, &c. Gigs, cars, and other open vehicles. Prevention of the overturning of road vehicles. Stocks or hubs and spokes of wheels. , Wheel-carriages. . Wheel-tires. . Friction brake for carts, &c. Dairy Utensils, &c. 48 Holmes, G. R. . . Butter and cheese cutter. 53 Wood, W. . . . Butter-moulding machine. 94 Snaydon, W. . . Cheese-vat. 320 Gronwald and another Milk-cans. 459 Mitchell, J. D. . . Butter spoons and rollers. 807 Storey, J. T. . . Revolving butter-stand — “ The Economic.” 252 Recent Agricultural Inventions. Application Name of Applicant Title of Invention 1082 Topp, G. C. . . . Preventing lactometers rotating, and strength- ening same. 1186 Smith, G., and another Machine for forming butter and cheese into pats. 1326 Schmidt-Mulheim, A. Production and preservation of sterilised milk. 1328 Appleberg, J. T. . Apparatus for preserving and purifying milk. 1381 McHardy, W. & J. . Cheese-taster. 2661 Lake, H. H . . . Apparatus for making butter. 2574 Salter, G., and others Machine for putting up butter in prints. 2593 Pain. J Machine to blend or mix butter. 2850 Ashworth, J. . . Canning and preserving butter, &c. 3103 McDonnell, W. . .A new means of inspecting or sampling butter contained in casks or firkins. 3208 Ingram, F.J.,&another Milk-delivery cans, &c. 3218 White, J. . . . Tightener for butter-casks, &c. 3228 Bradford, T. . . Churns. 3545 Bradford, T. . . Apparatus for working butter, &c. Poultry and Game, &c., Appliances. 461 Ellis, J. W. . . Mothering and rearing game and poultry chicks. 955 Pfaff, H. Incubators. 2300 Brown, D. . . .A new process for preserving eggs. 3557 Spicer, E., and another Improved nest-eggs. 3750 SCHONEMANN, A. . . Apparatus for killing fowls. 406 573 575 889 919 1090 1228 1392 1471 1643 2095 2252 2265 2303 2348 2686 2780 3111 3134 3166 3416 3553 Cakruthers, J. F. Clipsham, J. J. . Ginster, M. C. . Craig, G. Miscellaneous. . Trap for rabbits. . Trap for rabbits. . Manufacture of manure from organic matter. Sheep-dip. Barlow, J., & another. Self-setting trap for catching vermin alive. Wilcox, J. B. Andrews, H. Gibb, D. D. . Calthorp, F. C. . Barnes, E. . Lang, G. Burgon, C. and H. Pipe J., and another Beehives Improved animal-trap. Preventing cattle from goring — designated “ Horn buffers ” Oil-cake. Facilitating singeing pigs and other carcasses.- Fencing in of farmyards and produce. Shearing or clipping sheep, &c. Compound for treating vines and other plants for prevention of phylloxera, mildew, &c. Coker, H., and others . Lotion for curing mange and other skin diseases in horses, dogs, &c. Pearson, T. D. . . Droppers or standards for wire-fencing. Bown, W., and another Appliance for shearing or clipping wool, hair. McLaren, D. Blinkhorn, F. J. McDougall, I. S. and J. T. . W HITEHOUSE, T. G. Davis, B. W. . Pearson, J. R. Seed-germinator. Apparatus for distributing dry lime, dust, or hellebore powder on to plants and trees. . Compound for washing or dipping sheep, &c. . for the extermination of parasites. . Preparation of food for cattle and horses. . Device for preventing moths, caterpillars, &c., from ascending fruit-trees. . Protecting crops from destruction by rooks, &c. Numbers of Specifications Published (with Prices in parentheses). 184 (6 . 1 2 Poa trivialis J 2 Undetermined 3 No. 45. — This also came from Gravel Hill Farm, off a good old pasture, differing from the preceding one in that it is liable to occasional flooding from the overflow of the Severn. The turf, mown on July 23, yielded: — Gramineous herbage, 71 | Leguminous, 9 | Miscellaneous, 20. Trifolium repens constituted the whole of the leguminous herbage ; whilst the miscellaneous herbage was nearly all Rumex Acetosa, with a little Ranunculus acris. The gramineous ingredients were : — Lolium perenne Agrostis sp Holcus lanatus * . . . . . 51 34 Festuca ovina et var. Avena flavescens ! Poa sp. / Cynosurus cristatus Anthoxanthum odoratum j Undetermined . . . o 0 The Herbage of Pastures. 373 No. 46. — A turf from Sougar Grange, Stratford-on-Avon, Warwickshire. The pasture has been in existence from time immemorial ; it was mown about ten years ago ; it will feed one bullock per acre well. The soil was a reddish-brown, friable loam. The herbage, cut on July 10, gave : — Gramineous herbage, GO | Leguminous, 8 | Miscellaneous, 32. Trifolium repens was the only leguminous species present. Of the mis- cellaneous species, Leontodon was most abundant ; then came Rumex Acetosa, Oerastium triviale, Taraxacum, Beilis, and Carex. The grasses yielded : — Agrostis sp 42 Cynosurus cristatus Lolium perenne 30 Avena llavescsns . Holcus lanatus 11 Undetermined Alopecurus pratensis .... 5 Both Agrostis vulgaris and A. stolonifera were present. 5 1 G No. 47. — This specimen came from Messrs. Webb's Kinver Hill Farm, Kinver, Staffordshire. It was taken from land that has been down a great number of years ; though used for grazing cattle, it i3 frequently mown. Gut on July 23, the turf yielded : — Gramineous herbage, 86 j Leguminous, 3 | Miscellaneous, 1. Trifolium repens was the only leguminous species; whilst the miscellaneous herbage contained equal weights of Ranunculus bulbosus and Plantago lanceolata. The gramineous herbage on separation gave : — Dactylis glomerata 42 Lolium perenne 35 IIolcus lanatus 6 Brooms mollis 4 Poa trivialis 2 Avena flavescens . Festuca ovina et var. Agrostis sp. . . . Undetermined No. 48. — This specimen was cut from land that has been in grass for generations at Caunsall Farm, Kidderminster, Worcestershire. The herbage was cut on J uly 22, and gave : — Gramineous herbage, 86 | Leguminous, 2 | Miscellaneous, 12. The only leguminous species was Trifolium repens. Rumex Acetosa, Achillea Millefolium, and Ranunculus acris were the chief components of the miscellaneous herbage, there being besides a little Cerastium triviale and Cardamine pratensis. The grasses were made up of : — Dactylis glomerata . Lolium perenne . . Agrostis sp. . . . Festuca ovina et var. IIolcus lanatus . . 30 28 14 13 9 Alopecurus pratensis . . Cynosurus cristatus . . Poa trivialis Anthoxanthum odoratum Undetermined . . . No. 49. — I have to thank the Hon. Cecil T. Parker for suggesting to me the examination of this and the pasture next referred to ; and I am indebted to Mr. E. P. Squarey, The Moot, Downton, for the introduction which enabled me to get the two specimens. Mr. Parker, in writing to me, referred to “some notorious pastures near Ilchester capable,” so report said, “ of feeding a bullock and two sheep per acre ! ” Both specimens are from the estate of Mr. Kenelm Wingfield-Digby, Sherborne Castle, Dorset, and were sent to me by Mr. W. F. Rawlins, Limington, Ilchester, who wrote : “ The field from which this was dug is one of the best grazing-grounds near here ; it is very forcing, but not at all tart,” The specimen was dug eight inches deep, and 374 The Herhcuje of Pastures. no root-fibres could be seen on the lower face. The soil was a loose, friable loam of light chocolate colour. Cut on July 16, the herbage yielded : — Gramineous herbage, 88 | Leguminous, 1 | Miscellaneous, 11 . The leguminous herbage was made up of Trifolium repens, and the sole miscellaneous species was a coarse, heavy plant of Carduus. The grasses were thus constituted: — Lolium perenne . . Agrostis sp. . . . Dactylis glomerata . Phleum pratense Cynosurus cristatus The Agrostis was mostly A 6G 17 6 4 o Avena flavescens ] Holeus lanatus Poa trivialis J Undetermined stolonifera. No. 50. — This specimen came from the “ teart,” or “tart” land at 11- chester, so called because animals grazed upon it soon begin to scour. A comparison of the botanical analysis of this with that of the preceding turf is very instructive. This “tart” turf, cut on July 16, yielded on separation a result which can only be expressed as follows : — Gramineous herbage, 100 | Leguminous, a trace | Miscellaneous, a trace. Excepting for very insignificant quantities of Trifolium repens, Cerastium triviale, and Ranunculus, the herbage was exclusively grassy. The grami- neous components were, on separation, found to be : — Lolium perenne ...... 43 Holeus lanatus 20 Dactylis glomerata .... 13 Brornus mollis 8 Agrostis sp 7 Avena flavescens . Poa trivialis Festuca loliacea Festuca ovina et var. Undetermined , No. 51. — As my experiments were conducted in South Hants, though within a mile of the border of South Wilts, I deemed it desirable to fence off a small portion of the best old pasture on the farm, and subsequently to cut from the middle of it the herbage covering an area of 2 square feet. Hampshire is not a county notorious for the high quality of its pasturage, but the field called the “ Paddock,” from which the sample was taken, has been in grass beyond the memory of man, and it is never mown, but is largely grazed by young stock. The herbage was cut on J uly 30, and yielded : — Gramineous herbage, 90 | Leguminous, 1 | Miscellaneous, 9. The leguminous herbage was Trifolium repens, with a trace of Trifolium pratense. The miscellaneous herbage was chiefly Achillea Millefolium, with very small quantities of Plantago lanceolata, Leontodon, Cerastium, Ranun- culus, and Rumex Acetosa. The grasses separated into : — Agrostis sp 46 Lolium perenne 36 Phleum pratense 6 Holeus lanatus 4 Festuca ovina et var 2 Cynosurus cristatus . . Avena flavescens . , . Anthoxanthum odoratum Poa trivialis Undetermined , , . No. 52. — A turf sent by Mr. R. Cresswell Ward, Neasham Hill, Darlington, from a field on his own estate that has been in grass for about a century. It has been mown for the last ten years, and has received liberal manuring. The The Herbage of Pastures. 375 specimen was dug seven inches deep, and the soil — a micaceous, brown, sandy loam — was somewhat infested with wireworm. The turf, cut July 17, gave : — Gramineous herbage, 61 | Leguminous, 3 | Miscellaneous, 36. The leguminous herbage was Trifolium repens, with the merest trace of Trifolium pratense. Rumex Acetosa constituted by far the greater part of the miscellaneous herbage, the remainder comprising Plantago lanceolata, Prunella vulgaris, Ranunculus acris, with fragments of Luzula campestris, Cerastium, and Veronica. The grasses separated into : — Holcus lanatus . . . ... 46 Lolium perenne . . .... 23 Agrostis sp. . . , .... 17 Avena flavescens , .... 5 Cynosurus cristatus . .... 2 Poa trivialis j Festuca ovina et var. 1 , 3 Anthoxanthum odoratum j Undetermined ..... 4 No. 53. — This and the next turf were sent by Messrs. James Carter & Co., High Holborn. They both came from Dedham, Essex— this one from upland, and the following one from marsh-land. The upland grass has been down for many years ; it is mown every alternate year, it receives no manure, and it feeds a bullock per acre per year. The specimen was dug only six inches deep, and the soil was a gravelly sand, somewhat adhesive. The turf was mown on July 24, and yielded : — Gramineous herbage, 65 | Leguminous, 10 | Miscellaneous, 25. Four-fifths of the leguminous herbage was Trifolium repens, the remainder being Lotus corniculatus and Trifolium pratense. The miscel- laneous herbage was nearly all Rumex Acetosa, but Plantago lanceolata, Ranunculus, and Cerastium were also present. The grasses consisted of : — Lolium perenne . . Holcus lanatus . . Dactylis glomerata . Agrostis sp. . . . Alopecurus pratensis Cynosurus cristatus 46 12 10 7 7 6 Anthoxanthum odoratum Poa sp A vena flavescens 1 Festuca ovina et var. / ‘ Undetermined . . . a trace No. 54. — The turf from Dedham Marsh came from land that has been in grass for many years, no person in the district remembering it otherwise. It is mown every alternate summer. No manure is applied to it, and no cake is fed upon it. The grass is usually grazed by bullocks, and in spring the land is harrowed and rolled. The marsh is described as “heavy land, subject to floods.” The specimen was cut five inches deep, and the soil was a gravelly sand. Cut on July 24, the turf yielded : — Gramineous herbage, 59 | Leguminous, 8 | Miscellaneous, 33. The greater part of the leguminous herbage was Trifolium repens, but there was also some Trifolium minus. Rumex Acetosa was by far the most abundant miscellaneous species, there being likewise Leontodon, Taraxacum, Achillea, Ranunculus, Cerastium, and Beilis. The grasses gave: — Holcus lanatus 32 Bromus mollis 4 Alopecurus pratensis .... 28 Avena flavescens 2 Lolium perenne 17 Dactylis glomerata ..... 4 Agrostis sp. ...... , 5 Festuca ovina et var 2 Anthoxanthum odoratum , . 4 Undetermined ..... 2 376 The Herbage of Pastures. WELSH PASTURES. No. 55. — A turf sent by Mr. Charles S. Mainwaring, Galltfaenan, Den- bighshire, from the fertile Yale of Clwyd. Mr. Mainwaring describes it as : — “ A piece of our best turf, from the best feeding-pasture I know in the district, and which has, I should think, been in pasture 100 years or more. It at one time received a portion of the sewage of a town two miles off.” The turf was nine inches deep, and there was no trace of rootlets on the lower face. The soil was a rich, brown, friable loam, more clayey near the surface. The turf threw up a rich, grassy herbage, and, cut July 4, yielded : — Gramineous herbage, 90 | Leguminous, 2 | Miscellaneous, 8. The leguminous herbage was exclusively Trifolium repens. The mis- cellaneous herbage was chiefly Leontodon hispidus, the remainder being Ranunculus acris and Beilis perennis. The grasses gave : — Lolium perenne 85 Agrostis stolonifera .... 6 Cynosurus cristatus .... 3 Poa sp 1 Ilordeum pratense .... a trace Undetermined 5 No. 56. — A turf sent by Mr. D. Williams, Gorddinog, Llanfairfechan, Carnarvonshire, from the estate of Colonel Henry Platt. It was cut from the middle of one of the best old pasture-fields laid down about twenty or twenty-two years ago. The turf was nine inches deep, and no root-fibres could be seen on the lower face. The soil was a greyish loam, somewhat adhesive and stony. Cut on July 22, the turf yielded: — Gramineous herbage, 46 | Leguminous, 15 | Miscellaneous, 39. The leguminous herbage was Trifolium repens, with a trace of Trifolium minus. The miscellaneous herbage was nearly all made up of Plantago lanceolata, with very small quantities' of Ranunculus bulbosus, Cerastium triviale, and Beilis perennis. The grasses gave on separation : Festuca ovina et var. ITolcus lanatus . . Lolium perenne . . Agrostis vulgaris . Cynosurus cristatus 35 27 23 2 2 Alopecurus pratensis Poa trivialis . . . Avena flavescens Undetermined No. 57. — A turf sent by Mr. J. Maitland, The Home Farm, Tan-y-Bwlcb, Merionethshire, bailiff to Mr. W. E. Oakley. It is from the richest and best pasture in the valley, resting upon land which was reclaimed, drained, and improved over twenty years ago. The pasture has never been broken up or seeded down, so that it is the natural herbage of the soil. The turf, nine inches deep, showed no traces of root-fibres on its lower face. The soil was a very dark brown, friable loam, with a somewhat peaty appearance, and slightly ferruginous. Cut on July 20, the turf yielded : — Gramineous herbage, 76 | Leguminous, a trace | Miscellaneous, 24. Trifolium repens was the only leguminous species present. The miscel- laneous herbage was practically all Rumex Acetosa, there being besides merely traces of Cerastium and Ranunculus. The grasses were: — Lolium perenne 50 Poa trivialis Agrostis sp 21 Cynosurus cristatus Holcus lanatus 21 Anthoxanthum odoratum Alopecurus pratensis .... 5 Undetermined . . . Both Agrostis vulgaris and A, stolonifera were present. 1 2 The Herbage of Pastures. 377 No. 68. — A turf sent by Mr. Bevan Bowen, Llwyngwair, Crymmych R.S.O., from Cardiganshire. “ It was cut from a permanent grass-field on Berry Hill Farm, near Newport, Pembrokeshire, which has not been under the plough for a cen- tury, if ever. Hay was taken from it in 1887, and, during many years, it has been mown, but not oftener than in alternate years. The field is very near the sea, and about 90 feet above sea-level. It has had no top-dressing for many years, and has been grazed by cattle (not cows), sheep, and colts, during the last decade, and contains about 24 acres of land. Oxen certainly get fat on it, and it yields somewhere about two tons of hay per acre.” The turf was nine inches deep, and a few root-fibres were visible on the lower face. The soil had the appearance of a light brown, friable loam. The turf produced a mixed herbage, and when mown it was seen to be rather mossy beneath. It gave : — Gramineous herbage, 76 ] Leguminous, 4 | Miscellaneous, 20. The leguminous herbage was composed of about equal quantites of Tri- folium pratense and Trifolium repens. The miscellaneous herbage was chiefly Plantago lanceolata, with much smaller proportions of Ranunculus acris, Prunella vulgaris, Cerastium triviale, Rumex Acetosa, and Beilis perennis. The grasses separated into : — Agrostis sp 39 IIolcus lanatus 28 Lolium perenne 24 Anthoxanthum odoratum . . 1 Cynosurus cristat.us .... 1 Undetermined 7 No. 59. — Aturf sent by Mr. W. B. Roberts, Loveston, Pembroke, from a field that has been in pasture for at least 100 years, and probably much longer. It was dug from an average field of the farm, resting upon limestone rock, and it has been mown alternately for the last twenty years, and every alternate year grazed with dairy-stock ; in 1888 it was mown. The turf was eight inches deep, and a few root-fibres were noticeable on the lower face. The soil was a red, friable loam, rather stony. The turf threw up a somewhat mixed herbage, which, cut on July 20, yielded : — Gramineous herbage, 73 | Leguminous, 3 | Miscellaneous, 24. The leguminous herbage consisted in great part of Trifolium pratense, the remainder being Trifolium repens, with a little Trifolium minus. Of the miscellaneous species, Cerastium triviale was most abundant, this being fol- lowed, in order, by Leontodon hispidus, Rumex Acetosa, Plantago lanceolata, Achillea Millefolium, Prunella vulgaris, Veronica Chamsedrys, and Potentilla sp. The grasses were thus made up : — Lolium perenne . . Agrostis sp. . . . Dactylis glomerata Holcus lanatus . . Cynosurus cristatus Zi 22 22 19 3 Bromus mollis .... Poa trivialis Festuca ovina et var. Anthoxanthum odoratum Undetermined . . . Both Agrostis vulgaris and A. stolonifera were present. No. 60. — A turf sect by Mr. J. Brockie, Golden Grove, Carmarthenshire, from the estate of Earl Cawdor in the Vale of Towy. There is no record as to how long the land has been in grass, and it has not been mown for many years, if ever. It is not manured very often, being pastured by sheep and young cattle, fed with roots and corn, and a little cake at times. The pasture will cgrry 1 ox, or 4 young sheep, per acre, 378 The Herbage of Pastures. The turf was nine inches deep, and there was no sign of rootlets on the lower face. The soil consisted of four inches of clayey loam, resting upon a reddish, friable loam. Cut on July 6, the turf yielded : — Gramineous herbage, 86 | Leguminous, a trace | Miscellaneous, 14. The small amount of leguminous herbage consisted of Trifolium repens. The miscellaneous herbage was mostly Rumex Acetosa, but there were also present Achillea Millefolium, Ranunculus acris, Cerastium triviale, and Cardamine pratense. The gramineous herbage consisted of : — Lolium perenne 66 Agrostis stolonifera .... 19 Holcus lanatus 12 Anthoxanthum odoratum , , 3 Poa sp Cynosurus cristatus Undetermined Both Poa trivialis and Poa pratensis were present. For several of the Welsh specimens I am indebted to the introduction of Dr. W. B. Wall, Pembroke. SCOTCH TASTUEES. No. 61. — A turf sent by Mr. D. D. Stewart, Rossie Priory, Inchture, Dundee, Forfarshire. It was dug from a pasture in the eastern division of the Carse of Gowrie. The whole nine inches’ depth of soil presented the ap- pearance of a rich, brown, friable loam, slightly pebbly. There was no trace of severed rootlets on the lower surface. The herbage was cut on July 6, and yielded:— Gramineous herbage, 61 | Leguminous, 19 | Miscellaneous 20. The leguminous herbage was made up exclusively of Trifolium repens, and the miscellaneous herbage of Ranunculus repens. The gramineous herbage was thus made up— Lolium perenne .64 Agrostis sp 28 Poa trivialis 12 Alopecurus pratensis .... 1 Poa pratensis traces Undetermined ..... 5 The Agrostis was mostly A. stolonifera, with a little A. vulgaris. No. 62. — A turf sent by Mr. George Cowe, Balhousie, Carnoustie, Forfar- shire. The turf was nine inches deep, and the soil had the appearance of a dry, reddish-brown, micaceous, sandy loam, free from stones. No root-fibres were visible on the deep face. Cut on July 4, the herbage yielded : — Gramineous herbage, 88 | Leguminous, 9 | Miscellaneous, 3 The leguminous herbage was composed exclusively of Trifolium repens, whilst the miscellaneous herbage consisted of equal parts of Ranunculus repens and Rumex Acetosa. The gramineous herbage gave : — Agrostis stolonifera .... 76 Dactylis glomerata .... a trace Poa trivialis 10 Undetermined 10 Lolium perenne 6 The extent to which Agrostis stolonifera crept out all round this turf was as instructive as it was striking. No. 63. — A turf sent by Sir James T. Stewart Richardson, Bart., Pitfour Castle, Perth. This is in the western division of the Carse of Gowrie. This turf has not been broken within the memory of the oldest inhabitant. The specimen was seven inches deep ; it had the appearance of a moist, brown, friable loam, and there were a few root-fibres and two coarse roots (probably The Herbage of Pastures. 379 of Rumex) cut on the lower surface. The herbage was unusually fine-leaved, and when cut on July 27, the exposed turf was seen to he slightly mossy. The proximate analysis gave : — Gramineous herbage, 76 | Leguminous, 8 | Miscellaneous, 16. The leguminous herbage was made up exclusively of Trifolium repens. Of the miscellaneous herbage, four-fifths was Ranunculus repens, and the remainder was made up of Prunella vulgaris, Cerastium triviale, and Rumex sp. The gramineous herbage yielded the following results Festuca ovina et var. Agrostis sp. , , . Holcus lanatus . . Dactylis glomerata Cynosurus cristatus 39 29 14 11 1 Anthoxanthum odoratum Avena flavescens Festuca pratensis Undetermined . . . 3 The Agrostiswas chiefly A. vulgaris, with a little A. stolonifera. The great abundance of the narrow-leaved fescues and of Agrostis vulgaris will readily account for the fine herbage which appeared to predominate upon this turf. No. 64. — Another turf from the same place, but taken from land which Sir James Richardson states "was laid down in 1832, so that the pasture is fifty-seven years old. The proximate separation gave : — Gramineous herbage, 80 | Leguminous, 10 | Miscellaneous, 10. The leguminous herbage consisted exclusively of Trifolium repens, whilst the miscellaneous herbage was nearly all Carduus, with a little Ranunculus repens and Rumex sp. The gramineous herbage yielded : — Alopecurus pratensis .... 39 Agrostis sp 33 Festuca ovina et var 16 Cynosurus cristatus .... 2 Avena flavescens 2 The most noteworthy differences one from the more modern pasture yielded Alopecurus pratensis, whilst that from the older one did not ; whereas that from the older pasture afforded Dactylis glomerata, which did not show itself upon the younger turf. Anthoxanthum odoratum \ Poa trivialis j Holcus lanatus j Undetermined . . . letween these two turfs are that the No. 65. — A turf sent by Captain J. S. Black, Balgowan, Perthshire, from a feeding-pasture which was sown down nearly forty years ago. Captain Black writes that his grass-lands have a high reputation in then district. He adds, about this grass-land : — “ Some of it has not been broken up within the memory of anyone living, but the greater part of it (according to the custom of the country) is allowed to lie in grass for about thirty years, more or less, and then it is put through a course of cropping of four or five years. Oue 23-aci’e field after such a course, and after being sown down with grass in the summer of 1887, was let for the grazing season of 1888 for 70/.” The turf was nine inches deep, the soil having the appearance of a reddish- brown, medium loam ; the deep face showed no trace of rootlets. The herbage was cut on July 5, and yielded : — Gramineous herbage, 56 | Leguminous, 3 | Miscellaneous, 41. The leguminous herbage was made up entirely of Trifolium repens. The miscellaneous herbage consisted for the greater part of Ranunculus] acris, the remainder being Ranunculus repens, Cerastium triviale, and Taraxacum. The separation of the gramineous herbage gave the following results : — 380 The Herbage of Pastures. Lolium perenne 29 Agrostis sp 27 Poa trivialis 16 Holcus lanatus 16 Anthoxanthum odoratum . , 1 Undetermined 11 No. 66. — A turf sent by Sir Geo. Macpherson Grant, Bart., The Castle, Ballindalloch, Morayshire. It was eight and a half inches deep, and pre- sented the appearance of a dark grey, sandy loam. No trace of rootlets was discernible on the under face. It grew a very grassy herbage, which was, however, plentifully interspersed with Cerastium triviale. Cut on July 6, the herbage yielded, on proximate analysis Gramineous herbage, 90 | Leguminous, 2 | Miscellaneous, 8. The, small quantity of leguminous herbage was made up entirely of Trifolium repens. The miscellaneous herbage was mostly Cerastium triviale, with a trace of Ranunculus repens. The gramineous herbage yielded : — Holcus lanatus 30 I Cynosurus cristatus .... 4 Lolium perenne 26 Poa trivialis 2 Agrostis sp 24 Undetermined 7 Alopecurus pratensis .... 7 No. 67. — A turf sent by Mr. Lewis Beaton, the Home Farm, Cullen House, Cullen, Banffshire, from a pasture twenty-three years old, on the Countess of Seaforth’s estate. It was dug nine inches deep, and consisted of a black, micaceous, sandy loam, with fragments of micaceous sandstone. No rootlets could be seen on the deep face. The herbage, cut on July 4, con- sisted of : — Gramineous herbage, 67 | Leguminous, 33 [ Miscellaneous, 0. The leguminous herbage, which made up just one-third of the whole, was all Trifolium repens. The gramineous herbage was remarkable for the small number of species entering into it : — Poa trivialis 60 1 Holcus lanatus 5 Agrostis stolonifera .... 28 | Undetermined 7 The Agrostis crept out conspicuously upon the bare soil around the turf. No. 68. — A turf sent by Mr. W. H. Lumsden, Balmedie, Aberdeenshire, who writes:— “It was taken from a field which has been in grass for nine years, and always pastured. . The field is one of deep mould, and lies exposed to the sea, and about one mile, or rather less, from it.” The turf was nine inches deep, and the soil had the appearance of a dirty brown, stony, plastic clay. There was no trace of rootlets on the deep face. Cut on July 3, the turf yielded : — Gramineous herbage, 41 | Leguminous, a trace | Miscellaneous, 59. Of leguminous herbage, nothing save a solitary leaf of Trifolium repens was detected. The miscellaneous herbage was made up entirely of Ranun- culus repens, which crept out in a very characteristic manner on every side of the turf. The gramineous herbage was thus made up : — Lolium perenne 61 Agrostis stolonifera .... 2 Dactylis glomerata .... 18 Poa annua a trace Poa trivialis 8 Undetermined ..... 5 Cynosurus cristatus .... 6 The Herbage of Past ures. 381 No. 69.— A turf sent by Mr. Geo. Riddell, Corseliope, Heriot, Midlothian, Who writes that it is “from a field laid down into permanent pasture twenty-five years ago hy the late Charles Lawson, who farmed his own property at that time, and who was well known as the first seedsman in Britain then. The elevation of the field will he about 900 to 1,000 feet above sea-level.” The soil appeared to be a friable, stony loam ; the turf was only six inches deep, the soil being too loose to permit of a greater depth. It was a very grassy turf, and yielded after cutting on July 5 : — Gramineous herbage, 90 | Leguminous, a trace | Miscellaneous, 10. Leguminous herbage was represented by merely a few leaves of Trifolium repens. Half the miscellaneous herbage was made up of Ranunculus repens, the remainder consisting of compositaceous species of Carduus, Sonchus, and Leontodon. The gramineous herbage was thus made up : — Poa trivialis 2 Poa pratensis a trace Undetermined 9 Agrostis stolonifera .... 74 Cynosurus cristatus .... 6 Festuca ovina et var 5 Lolium perenne 4 Three-fourths of the grass, then, was Agrostis stolonifera, which crept out around the turf in a most luxuriant fashion. No. 70. — A turf sent by Mr. C. M. Patterson, Eskside House, Dalkeith, Midlothian, from the Marquis of Lothian’s estate at Newbattle. Mr. Patter- son writes that it is “ a sample of our grazing-land,” but that “ it is not what can be called feeding-land, being light and porous.” The turf was nine inches deep, and had the appearance of a very dark brown, sandy loam, with crystalline particles (mica ?) and black, scoriaceous, or cindery frag- ments. Cut on July 29, the herbage yielded : — Gramineous herbage, 82 | Leguminous, 6 ) Miscellaneous, 13. The leguminous herbage consisted exclusively of Trifolium repens ; whilst five-sixths of the miscellaneous herbage was Prunella vulgaris, and the remainder Ranunculus acris and Ranunculus repens. The grasses were : — Holcus lanatus 36 Alopecurus pratensis .... 25 Agrostis sp 23 Cynosurus cristatus .... 6 Festuca ovina et var 2 Lolium perenne 1 Phleum pratense .... a trace Undetermined 7 No. 71. — A turf sent by Mr. Thomas Gibson, Ilaymount, Kelso, Roxburgh- shire, who writes : — “ It is taken from a field of old pasture laid down more than thirty years ago. It grazes well, keeping more than a bullock to the imperial acre. It was cut for hay about twelve years ago, and was again cut last year. When in bloom I had it examined by a botanist, who was much surprised to find a very large proportion of perennial rye-grass in it, showing that a fine old sward contains that grass in a much larger pro- portion than modern authorities admit.” The turf was nine inches deep, and the soil had the appearance of a reddish-brown, friable loam, somewhat stony. No rootlets were visible on the under surface. Cut on July 12, the herbage yielded : — Gramineous herbage, 99 | Leguminous, a trace | Miscellaneous, 1. As these figures show, the herbage was almost exclusively grass, there being besides only a few fragments of Trifolium repens and a small quantity of Taraxacum. The gramineous herbage was made lip of 382 The Herbage of Pastures. Agrostis stolonifera Lolium perenne . . Holcus lanatus . . . . 50 . . 27 . . 9 Poa trivialis . . . Cynosurus cristatus Undetermined . . . 9 . . a trace ... 5 Here, again, Agrostis stolonifera crept out all round the sides of the turf. As corroborative of Mr. Gihson’s letter, it will he seen that more than one- fourth of the herbage was rye-grass. No. 72.— A turf sent by Mr. Neil M'Kenzie, Holestane, Thornhill, Dumfriesshire, from the Drumlanrig estate. It consisted of nine inches’ depth of a brownish-yellow, friable loam, not sticky, and with no trace of root- lets on the under surface. It threw up a very mixed herbage, which, when cut on July 12, was thin, weedy, and somewhat mossy beneath. The proxi- mate separation yielded : — Gramineous herbage, 35 | Leguminous, 1 | Miscellaneous, 64. The very small proportion of leguminous herbage consisted entirely of Trifolium repens. Half of the miscellaneous herbage was Rumex sp. ; a fourth part was made up jointly of Leontodon and Taraxacum ; and one-eighth part consisted of Plantagolanceolata ; the remainder being, in order of abundance, Ranunculus repens, Cerastium triviale, Veronica Cliamaedrys, Prunella vulgaris, Potentilla Anserina, Luzula campestris, and Cardamine pratense. The gramineous herbage was thus composed : — Cynosurus cristatus Poa trivialis . . . Undetermined 6 3 10 Holcus lanatus ...... 34 Agrostis sp 33 Lolium perenne 7 Festuca pratensis 7 Agrostis stolonifera and A. vulgaris were about equally abundant. My thanks are due to Mr. David Young, of the Noi-th British Agricul- turist, for helping me to got the Scotch specimens. IRISH PASTURES. No. 73. — A turf sent by Mr. David Harper, Ballely Cottage, Randalstown, County Antrim, who writes : — “ The land from which it was taken has been in pasture nearly a hundred years, and is excellent for producing beef and milk. It is not drained. The sub-soil is brown, overlying a hard, black whinstone.” The turf was nine inches deep, and a delicate network of root-fibres was noticeable on the lower face. The soil was a reddish-brown, medium loam, interspersed with fragments of a black slialy character. From the outset the turf appeared to be weedy, and it yielded, when cut on July 17 : — Gramineous herbage, 54 | Leguminous, 2 | Miscellaneous, 44. The leguminous herbage was Trifolium repens; whilst the miscellaneous herbage was chiefly made up of Plant ago lanceolata and Leontodon liispi- dus, there being also, however, much smaller quantities of Taraxacum sp., Ranunculus repens, Ranunculus acris, Beilis perenuis, Rumex Acetosa, Cardamine pratense, Prunella vulgaris, and Luzula campestris. The grasses were made up of : — Agrostis sp. Lolium perenne Holcus lanatus Cynosurus cristatus . . . . 39 I Alopecurus pratensis . . 34 j Anthoxanthum odoratum 10 Poa sp. 8 ] Undetermined . . . The Agrostis was mostly A. stolonifera. V 4 1 4 383 The Herbage of Pastures. No. 74. — A turf sent by Mr. George Hewson, Ennisinore, Listowel, Co. Kerry, from a pasture which has been been grazed by dairy-cows for the last forty years, and yields the best butter for the London market. The turf was nine inches deep, and there was no sign of rootlets on the lower face. The soil had the appearance of a dirty yellowish-brown, friable loam, containing large water-worn pebbles and many earthworms. The specimen when received was at once seen to be very weedy, and the herbage, cut on July 12, gave : — Gramineous herbage, 33 | Leguminous, 1 | Miscellaneous, 66, About one-fourth of the leguminous herbage was Trifolium repens, and tbe rest was Trifolium pratense. Rather more than half of the miscellaneous herbage was Achillea Millefolium, and the greater part of the remainder was Leontodon hispidus. There were also present, Rumex Acetosa, Plantago lanceolata, Carduus, Prunella vulgaris, Cerastium triviale, and Beilis perennis. The grasses yielded: — Lolium perenne 61 Agrostis sp 19 Holcus lanatus 8 Cynosurus cristatus .... 2 The Agrostis was chiefly A. stolonifera Anthoxanthum odoratum , . 1 Poa pratensis a trac i Undetermined 9 No. 75. — A turf sent by Mr. William Young, Brockley Park, Strad- bally, Queen’s Co. It was cut from a first-rate old pasture, resting upon deep alluvial soil, near the Stradbally River. The land has never been broken up within the memory of man. The turf was nine inches deep, and the lower face showed no traces of rootlets. The soil had the appearance of a dark brown, friable loam, and was slightly stony. The growth was of a rich, grassy character, and when cut, on July 5, it yielded : — Gramineous herbage, 97 | Leguminous, 2 | Miscellaneous, 1. The leguminous herbage was Trifolium repens, and the small proportion of miscellaneous ingredients included Ranunculus repens, Cerastium triviale, Potentilla Anserina, and Carex sp. The grasses comprised : — Lolium perenne 52 I Cynosurua cristatus .... 1 Dactylis glomerata 24 j Holcus lanatus 1 Phleum pratense 13 i Undetermined 1 Agrostis stolonifera .... 8 No. 76.— A turf sent by Mr. Thomas Barton, Dunsany Castle, Drumree, Co. Meath, Laud Steward to Lord Dunsany. It is described as from one of the best fattening pastures on the estate. The turf was nine inches deep, and exhibited no trace of roots on its lower face. The soil was a three-inch depth of clay, resting upon six inches of brown loam, moderately friable and stony. The growth was of a rich, grassy character, and, cut on July 19, it yielded: — Gramineous herbage, 99 | Leguminous, 1 ] Miscellaneous, a trace. Tbe leguminous herbage was exclusively Trifolium repens, and the mis- cellaneous herbage was Cerastium triviale. The grasses were : — Agrostis sp 37 I Alopecurus pratensis .... 1 Lolium perenne 20 ] Anthoxanthum odoratum . . 1 Holcus lanatus 23 j Poa pratensis 1 Dactylis glomerata 6 j Undetermined 5 384 The Herbage of Pastures. No. 77.— “A turf from the “ poisoned land of Meatli,” also sent, on behalf of tlie Hon. H. C. Plunkett, by Mr. Thomas Barton, who writes (Feb. 1 889) : — “ I have sent you a sod 12 in. x 12 in. x 12 in., taken from what is known as the poisoned land of Dunsany, thus called from the way it affects horses or horned stock when fed alone upon it. You will perceive the white marl at the bottom of the sod. This marl is found in this position whenever the cattle have been affected. Horses confined to graze upon this land will lose their hoofs, and all hair will fall from their manes and tails.. Horned stock will lose their hoofs, and become unthrifty — in fact, will suffer severely from what is termed here a dry murrain. It also affects barndoor and wild fowl, as birds from their eggs are mostly deformed when hatched. I have had six horses idle for six months through losing their hoofs, caused by eating after-grass on this land during the months of August and September. This bad land — about 50 Irish acres — now forms part of a division of 120 Irish acres. The 70 acres added is very good land, and allows the fifty to be more profitably grazed than heretofore. It throws up an abundance of coarse herbage, which is not consumed until we have had some frost upon it. During the summer months it is quite remarkable to see the good land closely grazed, and the remainder like a meadow. This land, under tillage, grows enormous crops of roots — mangel, carrots, and turnips ; the two former are consumed by cattle without any ill effects, but the turnips produce costiveness, as also does the hay grown upon it. Fifteen years ago, before these two divisions were joined together, it was impossible to keep the stock in health if they were kept for over a month on the affected parts — their noise, and position along the fences, wanting to get forth, were a warning to the herd. We are enclosing a portion of it this year to make ensilage of, which, I fear, will not be first class, as the herbage is very coarse.” The depth of this specimen was thirteen inches. The upper eight inches consisted of a dark brown, friable loam, somewhat peaty, resting upon two inches of quite black loam ; and this upon three inches of whitish, or putty- coloured marl, slightly shelly. The colour of the herbage was strikingly bluish-green, known to botanists by the term glaucous. It was, moreover, seen from the outset to consist very largely of Dactylis glomerata, and this would account for the coarse herbage to which Mr. Barton refers in his letter. The turf was mown on July 25, and gave : — Gramineous herbage, 97 | Leguminous, 2 | Miscellaneous, 1. Trifolium repens was the leguminous species, and the miscellaneous herbage was made up of Cerastium and Potentilla. The grasses were : — Dactylis glomerata 68 | Agrostis stolonifera .... 3 Festuca ovina et var 13 Cynosurus cristatus \ . Holcus lanatus 10 Poa sp. J ' ' Festuca pratensis 4 ) Undetermined 2 No. 78. — A turf from the famous Curragh of Kildare. It was dug nine inches deep, and showed no traces of root-fibres on the lower face. The soil was a reddish-brown, friable, sandy loam. From the commencement, and throughout its growth, the turf presented the characteristic features of Down herbage. It was not mown till August 20, and the herbage was so exceed- ingly close that it was difficult to cut it. The proximate analysis gave : — Gramineous herbage, 40 | Leguminous, 1 | Miscellaneous, 59. The small percentage of leguminous herbage was made up of Trifolium repens and Lotus corniculatus, with a trace of Trifolium minus. The Herbage of Pastures. 385 Of the miscellaneous herbage, upwards of 98 per cent, was Achillea Millefolium, a familiar plant upon Downs. The remainder was made up of Cerastium triviale, Luzula campestris, Prunella vulgaris, Beilis perennis, Cardamine pratensis, and Potentilla sp. The grasses yielded the following percentages : — Festuca ovina et var 66 Agrostis vulgaris 19 Cynosurus cristatus .... 8 Anthoxanthum odoratum . . 3 Avena flavescens 2 Undetermined 2 PARK AND MEADOW. No. 79. — The extensive preparations which were being made early in 1889 for the Show of the Royal Agricultural Society, in Windsor Great Park, suggested a rare opportunity for the examination of the turf of that ancient grass-land, I accordingly made application to Sir Nigel Kingscote, at the Office of Woods, and he kindly placed me in communication with Mr. Simmonds, the Deputy-Surveyor of Windsor Parks and Woods, by whom the turf was sent. The specimen was six inches deep ; the soil was a dirty, yellowish-brown, ferruginous clay, and no root-fibres were to he seen on the lower face. The turf, mown on July 27, yielded : — Gramineous herbage, 99 | Leguminous, 1 | Miscellaneous, a trace. The herbage was thus of an excessively grassy nature, the only plants detected besides grasses being Trifolium repens, Trifolium pratense, and Ranunculus sp. The separation of the grasses gave the subjoined result : — Agrostis sp 56 Lolium perenne 18 Festuca ovina et var 17 Phleum pratense 4 Much of the Agrostis was A. present. _____ Cynosurus cristatus .... 1 Alopecurus pratensis \ Poa sp. / * * * Undetermined 3 stolonifera, hut A. vulgaris was also No. 80. — A turf sent by Mr. E. Stratton, The Duffryn, Newport, Mon., from a field that has been mown every year for at least forty years. This meadow-land adjoins the old pasture-land from which turf No. S3 was taken. The specimen was nine inches deep, and the soil was a dark red, sticky loam, with no trace of rootlets on the lower face. From the outset the herbage was seen to be very weedy, and, cut on July 6, it yielded: — Gramineous herbage, 49 | Leguminous, 1 | Miscellaneous, 50. Trifolium repens and Trifolium pratense were the leguminous species present. The miscellaneous ingredients consisted mainly of Rumex Acetosa and Achillea Millefolium, the former rather preponderating. The remainder was made up of small quantities of Cerastium triviale, Beilis, and Ranunoulus. The grasses yielded the following constituents : — Isolcus lanatus 25 Lolium perenne 22 Bromus mollis 18 Alopecurus pratensis .... 17 Agrostis sp 9 Cynosurus cristatus .... 2 Poa trivialis 2 Anthoxanthum odoratum . . 1 Undetermined 4 The Durham turf (No, 52) is also, after ten years’ continuous mowing, a true meadow turf. C C VOL. I. T. S. — 2 ’• Table Showing tub Distribution of Species on thb 31 Turps from England. 8 1 a.ttqs -qinoraaoH a * * * * 1 ll * * 1*1111111 * * * II 1 « * * * 1 * II 05 eiiqsspiog; * * 1 1 * 1 * 1 • 1*11111111 O A A | | | •* * II II II O lassa • ••1 !*•••« 1*1111111 o *|*|| *»«|«*« CO lo xassa ***l**»»*» IMIIIIM O * A | | * CO «***[[[ »o nreqjnQ *»***l»*l* IMIIIIM CO A A | J | 0* A A A A 1 | | ^ | enqsdumH j *****|**|**|||||||| Oi A # | | | C* A A A A A A J ® | ?3SJ3tnos | * * * * | * * * | | |*||*llll » *1111 - **11111 05 j ^asraraog ******1*1 1*111111111°° *1111 - 1 1 1 1 II 1 00 9iiqs ‘J9QS90JOAV *******1** II 1 II II II | » *1111 | — * * * 1 • II 8J'^S I * * * * | * * * | 1 1 « I I I 1 I I I -pjojjt^s I 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 CO * II II - *11*111 CO oioY™ 1 * * * 1 * 1 1 * * 1 111111111“ * 1 1 1 1 1 - 1 * * II * » erpisdortig | * * * | * | * * | • | | | | | | | | | | *- *1111 - *1*1111 eitqsdojqg ********** | • || 1 1 II 1 j S * * | II c* »«««[|( CO ejfqsdorqg ********** IMIIIIM S ** 1 1 1 N * || * * f 1 s erjqsaqo *****1111**11111111 - 1*111 - * II* M t H eiiqseqo | ********* | IMIIIIM » * ii ii * i** r r i o •a -a TODOA *******1** IMIIIIM ® * ii * i C* A A A | f | f 0* 00 ■a’jsrsvoi ****** II 1 1 II II II II 1 - * ii ii - * * * II II 00 CO -A* 1 * 1 * * * 1 » * * * 1 1 1 II * 1 II I “ *11.11 - * * * II II t- CO 9Jiqsqjog * * 1 * 1 * • 1 * 1 * II 1 I'll II 1*- * II II | — *111111 CO CO MTC[S3[J3a *****111* l»IMII»l*|® *1111 - * II II II uo CO ejrqseone'i ******* M 1 IMIIIIM •* »Mii ~ •* II II* 4 rt* CO ptrepraq -mnq^JOK ******111 1 * II * 111*1 ® * ii ii *H A A ] | O • j CO CO ajiqs -q^nouinojf *• 1** 1! II 1 * II II II II - * ii ii - * * II II 1 ©* CO ©Jiqs , >»8piiqinBQ •*l****l» 1*11111111 * *mm - » » II 1 ll H CO GJjqs -sSpuqrneo »*l»l*»** 1 * 1 * II II II | • i m ii => ii ii* I r o 00 9ii qs ‘©Spiiqui^O *•***•1*1 1 II * II II II | ~ *1111 - Mill!* a e* 9Jiqs •uiobuj'i ****** 1* 1 1 II II II 1 II *■ »MM ~ *iMMt 00 ©* oijqsiqrocr | ****l*»*» 1 *11111111 ® * ii ii | ~ .|.imi 1*- OJ puepraqumo | hi* IMIIIIM • * II M 11 * * * * 1 • 1 CO pnBiiaqrano | *»** II II 1 * * II II II II ■° * II II - *1*1111 saouajjnooo w°x HOtOO^OOJCO® ■*»« CiKJNHHHHHH OCOHrHH N N C O N K2 *5 H H C* MHH Species present G rami neons Agrostis sp Lolinm perenne . . Holcus lanatus . . Poa trivial is . . . Cynosurus cristatus . Dactylis glomerata . Festuca ovina et var. Avena flavescens . . Alopecurus pratensis Anthoianthum odo- ratum Phleum pratense . . Bromus mollis . . . Triticum caninum . Avena elatior . . . Festuca loliaeea . . Festuca pratensis . . Hordeum pratense . Poa annua .... Poa pratensis . . . Total . . . Leguminous Trifolium repens . . Trifolium pratense . Trifolium minus . . Lathyrus pratensis . Lotus corniculatus . Total . . . Miscellaneous Ranunculus sp. . Cerastium triviale . Rumex Acetosa . . Plantago lanceolata . Achillea Millefolium Leontodon sp. . . . Beilis perennis . . „ o Z A »H 01 CO ^ 1ft <0 h* 00 O) O HCOfOvtMCCONCOCD OH WM ^ KSOSOOffiOH H HrtrtHHHHrirt fl W M p o g a p o a P o W g a « 0 O % fa M O O 3 w M £ w M fc fa fa K o fa o H H O P o w ◄ fa fa fa w a ” 22 CJ V—H g ^ * Q 2 5 o S5 ►H ■S o S) GO a a m Eh 8 sitqsqinonmore os l e* 100 <35 «« GjrqsqiDg; ? « p a 02 a a a H H 08 «“ 1 8 1 IS 1 1 1 1 1 S’0-* 001 79 SS 1 I'M |J5 1 I I I-" 1 100 »o is® I « I s I I i i I IS'* © © 53 tONONON 1 1 1 1 1 1 •« «> ^ rH H 1 II II 1 o © 52 CO N. 1 CO 1 IOI I 1 | 1 K5f( O II II 1 1 ” “ 001 36 111111111"'' 100 35 CO©|C5||||||||rH©* © « W 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 rH C5 34 ss ia i i i i is i iaa 001 33 SS“ 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 |«» 100 | 32 nn 1 ISI 1 1 “ | | IS'* © © 1 31 Mfl 1 1 U5 C4'D 1 © | 1 | Sf rH rH | 1 HM 1 H | | | OS 03 | | CO | t | | | | | rH lO H.r-( M N | | 1 1 1 1 1 - 100 | 29 BS 1 1 1 1 II I | I IS" || 28 ss i rs r 1 1 1 r" 100 | 100 J 27 § 1 1 ® 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 » “ 26 ss r 1 1- 1 1 1 1 1 1-*- 100 m Total . . . j Lolium perenne . Agrostis sp. . . Cynosurus cristatu Holcus lanatus . Dactylis glomerata Alopecurus pratens Avena flavescens Festucaovina et var Phleum pratense Poa sp Festuca pratensis Bromus mollis . Others .... Undetermined . c c 2 M IV. Table Showing the Distribution of Species on the Turfs from Wales, Scotland, and Ireland. 00 aiBptTH * i* 1 1* 1* 1 1* 1 1 1 1 1 ut> ** 1* [ CO I** I* 1 1 fr- t*- W8W *1**111**11*1111 CO *111 rt 1*11111 CO TPrajt **1*1**1**1111 1 1 t*» *111 - 1*11111 *o •OQ s.naanO | ****1111*1111* 1 1 CO * II 1 - ** II II 1 x> jfjjaa «««i»|«|||*|||| 1 1 CO * 1 * 1 UBiq^oipiM ****11**11111*11 • III - • 1*1111 C5 CO UtJiq^OlpiJJ ***1*11*1*1111 1 1 CO * 1 1 1 - *1111*1 00 CO aijqsuaapaaqy ***1*111*11111 1 * CO * 1 II - * 1 1 1 1 II r- co aiiqsguea *11**111111111 1 1 CO * 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 CO CO aiiqsiraopi »«**«|*||||||| 1 1 CO * 1 1 1 - ** II 1 1 1 IO CO ajiqsqpiaa **1***11111111 1 1 u& * II 1 - * * 11 1 I 1 CO ajiqsqqjaj * | i* * 4 # ft * | | ft | | | 1 1 CO * II 1 - * 1 1 1 I 1 1 CO co aiiqsqiaaa * | a a |* | 5 a | a * | | ! 1 CO • III * * * 1 1 1 1 07 CO aaiqsjBjJOj **11*111*11111 1 1 - * 1 M h *11*111 t-H CO 3JU[SJT!JJ0J **11*1*11*1111 i 1 * 1 1 1 1- * 1 1 1 1 .1 1 o CO aaiqsuaq^reuuBO ****** | | |» | | | | 1 1 * 1 II - * * 1 * 1 1 1 05 m ajiqsaqoaqinDti ft ft ft ft ft ft | ft ft |'| j | | ft | a> * * * 1 1" | ft ft ft | ft ft 00 to ajiqsna8tpiao ***11*111111*1 1 1 o *1*1 1” ft ft ft ft ft | ft t- to aiiqsq^auouapt ft ft ft ft ft ft ft | | | | | | | 1 1 t>. * 1 1 1 h * * 1 » 1 1 1 CO o a.nqsuoAOTuj«o ft ft ft ft ft | ft ft | | ft | | | 1 1 CO * * 1 1 h » • 1 1 * 1 • uo lO aiiqsqSiquaa ***111111111*1 1 1 ** * 1 II h “111**1 j saoua-unoao 1 wpx *fO5O»N^H00 00NlQ^MNW NHHHHH '■f CO CO H <73 t- ■** CO b- CO CO CO "3 S % 3 3 E-I .8 • • g • • S -a g „■ g .s-s* . g-g-ss .g§|a„ . 5> eta „ 3 S.S S 2 g Sa Ja dS .r5 I | g al o • cil53*».§"a>»P*c§r2i§iS 2 ■§ S'-S-g £ g £ ^ 3 g " H««^U5<0N00 05OHWM^WC£) 2 3 3 3 3 £ £ o 5 u O O O r+ **-> «*-««—< *C ‘C ‘£ o ' u : 2 43 p o ; 2 r* t*. o *5 O : o . : c£sg; s o I. 3 ■ Table Showing the Percentage by Weight of Green Herbage (Gramineous, Leguminous, and Miscellaneous) upon each Turf from Wales, Scotland, and Ireland. 78 aaepira 40 1 59 100 YI. Table Showing the Percentages by Weight of Species in the Gramineous Hbrbage of each Turf from Wales, Scotland, and Ireland. 78 2 1*1 1 1 S 1 I lOM o © 77 97 2 ! 1 O o II IS 1138 ll**" 1 001 76 99 1 trace 001 76 n« In 1 1 1 ° 1 1”” 100 75 •oo s.naanf) 97 2 1 o o lO “SIMMS I3N~ O O I- jtuaX 33 1 66 o o «« r- 23 1“ II II 11"“ o o CO railway c-l ^ lO ^ o o rH CO r- OS^COOI I I 1 I I VOT)' rH | II 1 1 1 © © ajiqssaujuina 35 1 64 100 | | 1 | 04 | 1 COM NN 1 H 1 | I C4 1 I 100 58 ajiqsnBSipauQ CO t— 04 o O 00 »o 05^ | 00 | 1 1 | 1 1 C4 b- CO C4 1 C4 1 1 I I I 1 100 57 ajiqsq^anouoj^ 76 trace 24 100 57 r-HOIrHIOl 1 1 1 rH C4 C4 »0 1 C4 1 1111 100 56 OJiqsnoAJ«nat?o CO »o o> O' r-l CO 100 | 56 1 M 1 N 1 1 kO | I 1 CO 1 C4 1 C4 1 1 CO 1 1 I 100 55 ejiqsqSiqusci 004 00 100 lO lO “S II II II II'*" 1 8 Agrostis sp Lolium perenne Cynosurus cristatus Holcus lanatus Poa sp Alopecurus pratensis Festuca oyina et var Dactylis glomerata Festuca pratensis Phleurn pratense Others Undetermined Total . . . Species present •Grammes Leguminosaa Miscellanea; Total . . . 390 The Herbage of Pastures. It will now be convenient to tabulate the results which have been detailed. Table I. (page 386), showing the distribution of species, presents a summary of the results obtained from the 31 English turfs. In it are named all the gramineous species, all the leguminous species, but only 7 of the most prominent miscel- laneous species which were identified. Nineteen species of grasses are enumerated; but if Agrostis sp. be regarded as denoting 2 species, and Festuca ovina et var. as denoting 3 species, the number is brought up to 22. This Table is strictly qualitative, and only indicates the distribution of the species ; it is silent as to the amount or quantity of the various species named, and it would be erroneous to draw from it any conclusions as to this latter point. As a census of species, Table I. is useful in that it records the relative frequency of occurrence in different localities of each species named. Thus, Agrostis sp. was found on every turf, Lolium perenne on all but one, and so on. The greatest number of species of grasses identified upon any one plot was 11, on one of the shallow Shropshire turfs (No. 44) ; the least number was 5, on the two excellent turfs from Cumberland (No. 26) and Monmouthshire (No. 33). The totals are not given in the Table of the miscellaneous species, because these are not all tabulated. As many as 17 miscellaneous species were recorded altogether, but, with the exception of the 7 given in the Table, none of them occurred on more than three turfs, and some on only one. The quantitative results from the English specimens are pre- sented collectively in Table II. (page 387), which records the percentages by weight of the three sections of green herbage. Table III., on the same page, indicates the percentage by weight of the total grass represented by each gramineous species, only those species which formed 5 per cent, or more of the total grass being separately recorded. This Table is of high significance, for it shows that Lolium perenne formed the largest proportion of the gramineous herbage in no less than 20 out of the 31 turfs, whilst Agrostis sp. was first in 4 cases, Holcus lanatus in 4, Alopecurus pratensis in 2, and Dactylis glomerata in 1. Tables IV., V., and VI. (pages 388, 389) set forth the same kind of information for the Welsh, Scotch, and Irish turfs as the first three Tables furnish in the case of the English turfs. Table VI. indicates that, in the 6 specimens from Wales, Lolium perenne, which was present in all, was the most abundant grass in 4 cases, Agrostis sp. in 1, and Festuca ovina et var. in 1. No species of grass appears to have shown itself in significant quan- tity (over 5 per cent.) in all the 12 Scotch turfs, though Agrostis sp. made more than 5 per cent, in 11 of them, and Lolium The Herbage of Pastures. 391 perenne and Holcus lanatus each in 7. Of the grasses, Agrostis sp. was most abundant in 3 cases, Lolium perenne in 3, Holcus lanatus in 3, and Alopecurus pratensis, Poa sp. and Festucaovina et var., each in 1. The Scotch turfs differ in several interesting points from those of other parts of the British Isles. Though it was desired to restrict this investigation to the herbage of pastures, yet in several cases turfs from meadows were sent — usually inadvertently. It seems desirable to distin- guish between pasture , or grazing land, and meadov;, or hayfield. That land which is more or less frequently mown differs in the relative composition of its herbage from land which is continu- ously grazed must be apparent from the results afforded by the turfs numbered 47, 52, 53, 54, 58, 59, 77, 80. A comparison of the pasture-turf, No. 33, with the adjoining meadow-turf, No. 80 — both sent by Mr. R. Stratton — is particularly instructive. It will be noticed that, in the mown meadows, the tendency is for Dactylis or Holcus to become predominant, and for Lolium to recede. Here, then, is a striking confirmation of an observation recorded at the beginning of 1889, by Sir John Lawes, with reference to pastures he had laid down at Rothamsted since 1872 : — “ Some of the new grass has never been mown, but some has been mown occasionally. Wherever it has been mown, the amount of rye-grass has much diminished ; but where it has never been mown, but only fed by cattle having cotton-cake, rye-grass is abundant.” Although an important and useful grass in the hayfield — notably in temporary seed-layers — it is in the pasture, under the continuous treading and grazing of cattle, that rye-grass is more especially qualified to luxuriate. It is but fair to myself to state that this investigation was entered upon without any reference to, or even any thought of, what is known as the Rye-grass Controversy. It originated, in fact, in a conversation, some years ago, between the President of the Surveyors’ Institution (Mr. E. P. Squarey) and myself, as to what might be the exact character of the herbage of pastures. In my former paper I came to the conclusion that Lolium perenne was by far the most abundant grass, and Trifolium repens the most abundant clover, in old pastures. Last year — that is, in another season, and by quite a different method — Mr. Carruthers examined a select number of the pastures from which my specimens of 1888 were drawn, and his results appear in an earlier part (pp. 95-110) of the present volume. I find, on looking into these results, that, of the 14 pastures Mr. Carruthers examined, rye-grass is recorded in 13, and no 392 The Herbage of Pastures. other grass in so many. Further, that, on the average, it made up 21 per cent., or more than one-fifth, of the total herbage, whilst it made 50 per cent, more herbage than the species of grass next to it in average abundance. So with white clover : the figures of Mr. Carruthers show that it occurred in more of the pastures than all the other leguminous species recorded, and formed considerably more than twice as much herbage as the other leguminous species collectively. Such a result, obtained by methods so different from my own, is an interesting corroboration of the conclusions which I arrived at in 1888, and confirmed in 1889. Another noteworthy similarity is afforded by the case of Festuca pratensis. I found this species, as my Tables show, infrequent in occurrence and insignificant in quantity. In 14 pastures, Mr. Carruthers only found it twice, and then but to the extent of £ per cent, each time. That my actual percentages of rye-grass are generally higher than those of Mr. Carruthers I attribute to the circumstance that, by close-cropping the turf with sheep-shears, I secured the rich undergrowth which is so characteristic of the free-tillering Lolium perenne. For the same reason I got a higher proportion of the close-lying Trifolium repens. I have calculated out for the whole series of 80 turfs which I examined the percentage of Lolium perenne in the total herbage, and I find that the 48 English turfs yielded an average of 42 per cent, of rye- grass, 6 Welsh turfs gave an average of 35 per cent., 14 Irish turfs 24 per cent., and 12 Scotch turfs 11 per cent. In closing the record of this investigation, there remains to me the pleasant duty of expressing my thanks to the gentlemen who have sent me specimens of their pastures, and who have so obligingly answered the many inquiries with which I have found it necessary to trouble them. W. Fream. 393 ©ffictal IRcpoits. REPORT OF THE COUNCIL To the Anniversary General Meeting of Governors and Members , held at 12 Hanover Square , on Thursday , May 22, 1890. In meeting the general body of Governors and Members for the first time during the second half-century ef the Society’s corporate existence, the Council are happy in being able to report the continued prosperity of the Society, and the sustained activity of all branches of its work. 2. The subjoined tabular statement shows the number of Governors and Members reported at the first Anniversary Meeting held on May 22, 1840, and at intervals of ten years since : — Data Governors Members Total Life Annual Life Annual Honorary 1840 86 189 146 2,434 5 2,860 1850 90 16-9 627 4,356 19 5,261 1860 72 119 927 4,047 18 5,183 1870 74 74 1,611 3,764 15 5,438 1880 83 70 2,673 6,083 20 7,929 1890 122 68 3,846 6,941 17 10,984 3. During the year 7 new Governors and 840 Members have joined the Society, and 20 Members have qualified as Governors, whilst the deaths of 5 Life Governors, 138 Life Members, and 160 Annual Members have been reported. A total of 102 Members have been struck off the books under Bye-Law 10, owing to absence !of addresses, 200 under Bye-Law 11, for arrears of subscriptions, and 279 have resigned. 4. As the Society completed its fiftieth year of life as a chartered body on March 26 last, the Council resolved at their meeting held in that month to elect as Foundation Life Governors of the Society all the surviving subscribers to the original English Agricultural Society who were on its books when the Charter was granted, and who have been connected with the Royal Agricultural Society ever since, 394 Report to the General Meeting , The Council have also given instructions for the preparation of an Alphabetical List of Governors and Members as on March 26, accompanied by a List of the Presidents, Trustees, Yice-Presidents, and Members of Council during the last fifty years. A copy of this List will be forwarded on application, when ready, to any Member of the Society. 5. The Council have elected the Rt. Hon. Sir James Caird, K.C.B., as an Honorary Member of the Society, in recognition of his long and distinguished services to agriculture. 6. These and other changes bring the total number of Governors and Members now on the Register to 10,984, divided as follows : — 122 Life Governors, 58 Annual Governors, 3,846 Life Members, 6,941 Annual Members, 17 Honorary Members ; or a net increase of 118 Members during the year. 7. In last year’s Report reference was made to a contemplated change in the amount of the life composition for Members in lieu of the annual subscription, and it has since been decided that Members elected after the end of 1 889 shall be entitled to compound for all future subsci'iptions by a single payment of 1 51., to be reduced to 10/, after the payment of ten, and to 51. after the payment of twenty, annual subscriptions of 1/. The privileges of Members elected before the end of 1889 are not affected by this arrangement, but remain as before. 8. The death of Mr. Herbert J. Little, on January 30 last, has deprived the Society of a distinguished Member, and the Council of a valued and esteemed colleague. For eight years Mr. Little’s ser- vices as a Member of Council were actively in request, and his untimely decease is deeply regretted by his fellow-workers. To fill the vacancy on the Council caused by Mr. Little’s death, Mr. J oseph P. Terry, of Berry Field, Aylesbury, has been elected. There are two other vacancies to be filled up by the General Meeting, one caused by the election of the Rt. Hon. Henry Chaplin, M.P., as a Vice-President, and the other caused by the retirement of a Member of Council under Bye-Law 23 (b). 9. The accounts for the year 1889 have been examined and certi- fied by the Auditors and Accountants of the Society, and are pub- lished in the first number of the new Quarterly Journal. The final results of the working of the year show a credit balance of 2,047/. 19s. 8c/., and, after allowing for depreciation, the assets show a net increase of 1,281/. 7s. 0 d. The balance at the Bankers’ on the 1st instant was 7,279/. 5s. 2d. Thursday , May 22, 1890. 395 10. The Council have made a further contribution of 50?. towards the funds of the Mansion House United Association on Railway Rates, for the purpose of safeguarding the interests of agriculturists in the Board of Trade inquiry now proceeding. 11. The general arrangements for the forthcoming Meeting at Plymouth are well advanced. The Implement Yard and the Dairy will be open to Members of the Society and the public on Saturday, June 21, when the charge for admission to non-members will be 2s. 6c?. The judging will take place in all the classes on Monday, June 23, when the charge for admission will be 5s. On Tuesday the charge for admission will be 2s. Qcl. ; and on the last three days, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday, it will be Is. 12. The total amount of space allotted in the Implement Depart- ment is 9,078 feet run, exclusive of open ground space, as compared with 10,743 feet at Nottingham in 1888, and 8,217 feet at Newcastle in 1887. The total entries of live-stock (horses, cattle, sheep, and pigs) are 1,779, as compared with 1,875 at Nottingham and 1,833 at Newcastle. There are 341 entries of horses, 641 of cattle, 576 of sheep, 221 of pigs, and 692 of poultry, besides 56 of cheese and 183 of butter. 13. Eighteen candidates have entered for the competitions of Butter-makers for the Society’s Prizes and Certificates, to take place in the Showyard on Tuesday the 24th and Wednesday the 25th J une. Thirty shoeing-smiths practising in the Society’s District D will compete for the Prizes offered for Shoeing Hunters and Agri- cultural Horses on the Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday of the Meeting. On the Wednesday afternoon there will also be a Demonstration of Systems of Horse-shoeing not in common use. 14. At the Show of Horses which was held at the Royal Agri- cultural Hall last March, under the auspices of the Royal Commission on Horse Breeding, of the Hunters’ Improvement and Hackney Horse Societies, and of this Society, the three Premiums and Gold Medals offered by the Society for Thoroughbred Stallions serving mares in District D during the forthcoming season, were awarded by the Judges to — Mr. G. P. Finch’s Eclipse. Mr. Isaac Clark’s Jack Tar. Mr. Alex. Taylor’s Lancastrian. These stallions are located for the season as follows : — Eclipse in the Exeter District, at his owner’s stables, The Briars, Alphington, Exeter ; Jack Tar in the Plymouth District ; and Lancastrian in the Windsor District, at South Lea Farm, Datchet, near Windsor. Satisfactory reports have been received from the Local Committees as to the manner in which the nominations of mares to these stallions have been taken up. 396 Report to the General Meeting , 15. The authorities of Leeds, having found it impossible to provide a suitable site, were reluctantly compelled to withdraw their invitation to the Society to hold its Country Meeting of 1891 at that town. A cordial invitation from the authorities at Doncaster having been received, and the Inspection Committee having reported favourably upon the site and accommodation offered, the Council have resolved that the Country Meeting of 1891 shall be held there. A portion of the famous Doncaster race-course will be set apart by the Corporation for the purposes of the Show. This circumstance, and the exceptional facilities of access by rail, combine to raise the highest expectations of the success of what will be the Society’s first visit to Doncaster. 16. The Council have decided to offer, in connection with the Doncaster Meeting, three Prizes of 100/., 50/., and 25/. respectively, for the best combined Portable Threshing and Finishing Machine, to be worked by steam, and adapted to the preparation of corn for market. The regulations for this competition, which will be held before the opening of the Show, have already been issued, and the entries will close on Friday, August 1 next, in order that due arrangements may be made for the supply of the necessary corn for the trials. 17. In accordance with the usual rotation of Districts, the Country Meeting of 1892 will be held in District F, which consists of the counties of Gloucester, Hereford, Monmouth, Salop, Stafford, Warwick, Worcester, and of South Wales. An invitation to the Society to visit Warwick in that year has ah'eady been received, and will be considered, with any other invitations from towns in the District, after the autumn recess this year. 18. The Council have appointed as Provincial Y eterinary S urgeons of the Society, Mr. Robert Roberts, of Wrexham, for Flintshire ; Professor W. T. Wilson, of Cirencester, for Gloucestershire ; and Mr. A. W. Mason, of Leeds, for the West Riding of Yorkshire (additional). 19. The Examiners on the diseases of animals of the farm other than the horse, in the examinations for the diploma of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons held last year, have reported that the following gentlemen attained the greatest distinction : — Mr. H. H. Milward, Mareham-le-Fen, Lincolnshire. Mr. J. Golledge, Wkaddon Grove, Trowbridge. The Society’s Silver Medal has, therefore, been awarded to Mr. Milward, and the Bronze Medal to Mr. Golledge. 20. At the last General Meeting it was reported that the Council had expressed to the Worshipful Company of Farriers their willing- ness to co-operate with it in its efforts to promote skilled Farriery 397 Thtirsday, May 22, 1890. and the examination and registration of duly-qualified Shoeing- smiths. Subsequently a Conference was held of representatives of the Worshipful Company, of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, and of this Society ; and a comprehensive scheme, settled by the Con- ference, has now been approved by each of the three bodies represented. A public meeting at the Mansion House has been convened by the Farriers’ Company for Monday, June 2 next, in support of the objects of the scheme ; and the Council have resolved to make an annual grant of 501. for the next three years towards the expenses of starting the system of registration, and of putting the new organisation upon a sound financial basis. 21. Investigations have been carried on during the last six months in reference to the conditions under which tuberculosis is communicated from one class of animals to another, and from man to the lower animals ; also in regard to the micro-organisms of pleuro-pneumonia, and the effects of inoculation. The action of the various organisms found in swine which have died of swine-fever has been tested by experiments in feeding and inoculation, but no organism has yet been isolated which is capable of inducing typical swine-fever or pleuro-pneumonia. These investigations will be con- tinued. 22. The arrangements for the establishment of a Department of Scientific Research at the Royal Veterinary College under a grant from the Society are proceeding, and it is expected that the Department will shortly be in full work. Mr. P. D. Coghill, of the Laboratory of the Royal College of Physicians, Edinburgh, has been appointed Superintendent of the Bacteriological Laboratory, and Curator of the Museum, by the Governors of the Royal Veterinary College. 23. The Council are gratified to report that their persistent efforts, in concert with other Agricultural bodies, for placing the slaughter of animals affected with pleuro-pneumonia under Govern- ment control, and for the payment of compensation at the cost of the Imperial Exchequer, have been so far successful that a Bill with these objects has been introduced, on behalf of the Government, by the President of the Board of Agriculture, and has already passed through some of its stages. The Council trust that by the firm enforcement of this Act, when passed, the ruinous disease of pleuro- pneumonia will be speedily stamped out of the country. 24. The Council have observed with alarm the renewal of proposals for the admission into this country of cattle from the United States without being subject to slaughter ; and, in view of the serious risk which would thus be incurred of introducing disease, they have entered, in a resolution unanimously passed, at their meeting on April 2, and forwarded to the Board of Agriculture, an emphatic protest against any present relaxation of the existing regulations. 398 Report to the General Meeting , May 22, 1890. 25. In their last Quarterly Report to the Council, the Chemical Committee again drew attention to the number of cases that had recently come under their notice of impure linseed-cakes branded and invoiced “ 95 per cent.,” the word “pure ” being omitted ; and also to the prevalent disregard by Members of the recommendation of the Society, printed in the Appendix to each number of the Journal, that all feeding-cakes should be guaranteed pure, and be delivered in good condition. The Council have therefore prepared Forms of Contract Note and Invoice embodying these conditions, which have been freely distributed amongst Members of the Society, and further copies of which may at all times be had on application to the Secretary. 26. From December to the end of April over 750 samples have been sent by Members and analysed in the Chemical Laboratory. In addition, over 60 samples of manures and feeding-stuffs have been analysed in connection with the Woburn Experimental Farm, and the experiments of Local Agricultural Societies. Manures such as Superphosphate, Nitrate of Soda, Sulphate of Ammonia, and other manures sold under a definite guarantee, have, with few exceptions, proved equal to the guaranteed quality. Several samples, however, of manures sold without any guarantee, and in some cases at extra- vagant prices, have proved to be either practically worthless, or of very little value. 27. The Feeding Experiments on Bullocks and Sheep carried on during the past winter at the Woburn Experimental Farm have just been concluded. One hundred sheep and 16 bullocks have been fattened ; the respective increases in live weights have been periodi- cally recorded, and the final fatted and carcass weights carefully ascertained. 28. Notwithstanding the considerable reduction in the fees to Members for the examination of Plants and Seeds announced in last year’s Report, there has been a decrease in the applications to the Consulting Botanist during the course of the present year, the number having fallen from 311 in 1889 to 260 in 1890. The quality of the seeds continues to be, on the whole, satisfactory, though occa- sionally very bad samples are submitted, as in the case of a parcel of perennial rye-grass, two-thirds of which consisted of soft brome- grass. Many samples of cocksfoot have contained considerable quantities of Yorkshire fog. Seventeen per cent, of the samples of alsike clover, and 6 per cent, of red clover, have contained seeds of dodder. In several instances the samples sent have not been large enough to form a satisfactory judgment of the bulk. 29. The applications to the Consulting Entomologist respecting the nature and methods of prevention of insect-pests continue to be very numerous, and inquiries as to warble prevention continue steadily. Much communication has been taking place for several Report on Bullock- feeding Experiments at Woburn. 399 weeks regarding the best methods of avoiding a repetition of the caterpillar blight, which has now for some years ravaged in the early summer the orchards in the chief fruit-growing counties. The careful experiments now being tried give hope of satisfactory advance. The Consulting Entomologist has been in active corre- spondence with inquirers and fellow- workers as to the methods by which serviceable information on Agricultural Entomology could be best conveyed for direct farm use in agricultural districts, as well as for practical and scientific instruction to agricultural students. 30. Sixteen candidates competed at the Society’s Senior Exami- nations which took place from the 13th to the 17th of this month, as compared with 24 candidates last year and 13 in 1888. Owing to the date of the Examination having been unavoidably fixed a little later than usual, it will not be possible to announce the results before the Meeting of Council to be held in J une. (See page 42). By Order of the Council, ERNEST CLARKE, Secretary. REPORT ON THE BULLOCK-FEEDING EXPERI- MENTS AT CRAWLEY MILL FARM, WOBURN, DURING THE WINTER OF 1889-90. TnESE experiments were arranged for the purpose of ascertaining to what extent cake would replace hay in the feeding of bullocks, and how the final results compared. Sixteen three-year-old Shorthorn bullocks were placed under experiment and divided into three lots. Lot 1. Six bullocks received daily per head : lb. Decorticated cotton-cake 3 Linseed-cake 3 Swedes and hay , ... ad lib. (but weighed) Lot 2. Six bullocks : Decorticated cotton-cake ...... 14 Linseed-cake l| Swedes and hay ad lib. (but weighed) Lot 3. Four bullocks. Swedes and hay only ... ad lib. (but weighed) Four beasts of lots 1 and 2 were kept in tho feeding boxes, and two of each lot in the open yard. The four beasts in lot 3 were kept tied up in a covered shed. The roots and hay and water were weighed out every morning, and any unconsumed food was weighed back and deducted from the 400 Report on Bullock-feeding Experiments at Woburn. amount taken. The quantity of cake given to the bullocks was gradually increased till the maximum of 10 lb. and 5 lb. per head in lots 1 and 2 respectively was reached. The bullocks were fed first at seven in the morning, when they were given roots and hay, and half their allowance of cake. At 11.30 a.m. more roots and hay were given, and at 4 o’clock in the afternoon the remainder of the cake was given. The experiment was commenced on December 30 ; the weights will be found on Table I. The beasts were weighed again on February 8, after the first period of forty days. • All the animals, with the exception of No. 12 in lot 3, kept in good health. No. 12 unfortunately had a slight cold at the commencement of the experiment, and this developed into inflammation of the lungs, and the beast had to be taken out of the experiment. Table I. — F irst Fivio of 40 Days — Dec. 30, 1889, to Feb. 8, 1890. Lot 1. No. Weight ou Dee. 30 Weight on Feb. 8 Gain daring 40 days Gain per day cwt. qrs. lb. cwt. qrs . lb. cwt. qrs. lb. lb. 35 1 10 0 7 11 i 4 1 0 25 342 o M 2 10 3 0 12 i 18 1 2 18 4-65 % ■ 3 9 1 11 10 2 0 1 0 17 3-22 HH 4 10 3 0 12 1 24 1 2 24 4-80 15 9 2 0 10 2 0 1 0 0 2-80 S a 16 9 3 0 11 1 7 1 2 7 4-37 Total . 6o 18 68 I 25 8 I 7 Average gain per head per day of Lot 1 : 3-87 lb. Lot 2. „ ( 5 10 2 22 12 0 6 1 1 12 3-80 IJ 6 9 0 24 10 2 10 1 1 14 3-85 *] 7 10 3 25 11 3 8 0 3 11 2-37 “ l 8 10 0 0 11 1 15 1 1 15 3 87 ■a (13 10 0 21 11 0 14 0 3 21 2-62 ~ 5,114 9 0 16 10 0 8 0 3 20 2-60 Total . 6o 0 24 67 o 5 6 3 9 Average gain per head per day of Lot 2 : 3 18 lb. Lot 3. 9 10 0 11 10 1 21 0 1 10 *95 10 10 1 25 11 0 11 0 2 14 1-75 11 9 0 18 9 3 9 0 2 19 1-85 Total • 29 2 26 3i 1 13 1 2 15 Average gain per head per day oj Lot 3 : 1-52 lb. Report on Bullock-feeding Experiments at Woburn. 401 Return of Foods consumed during First Period of 40 Days. Lot 1 (6 beasts') Lot 2 (6 beasts) Lot 3 (3 beasts) Total weight con- sumed during 40 days Average per head daily Total weight con- sumed during 40 days Average per head daily Total weight con- sumed during 40 days Average per head daily Swedes .... cwt qrs. lb. 86 3 4 lb. 40-50 cwt. qrs. lb. 92 0 16 lb. 43-00 cwt. qrs. lb. 49 0 0 lb. 45 73 Hay Linseed cake .. 26 2 18 12-44 30 2 22 14-32 17 1 0 16-10 and decortica- L ted cotton cake J 15 3 12 7-40 7 3 20 3-70 — — Water .... 115 3 0 54 01 103 2 0 48-30 33 2 14 31-38 The bullocks were weighed again on March 21 ; their weights and the quantity of food consumed are shown in Table II. Table II. — Second Period of 41 Days — Feb. 8 to March 21. Lot 1. No. Weight on Feb. 8, 1890 Weight on March 21, 1890 Gain during 41 days Gain per day cwt. qrs. lb. cwt. qrs. lb. cwt. qrs. lb. lb. 1 11 i 4 11 3 25 0 2 21 1-87 2 12 i 18 13 2 4 1 0 14 307 3 10 2 0 11 2 16 1 0 16 3T2 wi 4 12 1 24 13 1 15 0 3 19 2-51 (15 10 2 0 12 0 0 1 2 0 409 *£116 11 1 7 12 2 16 1 1 9 3-63 Total . 68 I 25 75 0 20 6 2 23 — Average gain per head daily of Lot 1 : 3-05 lbs. Lot 2. „ [ 5 12 0 6 12 3 17 0 3 11 2-31 11 6 10 2 10 11 1 25 0 3 15 2-41 a) 7 11 3 8 12 2 1 0 O 21 1-87 w i 8 11 1 15 12 0 10 0 2 23 1 92 a -8 f 13 11 0 14 12 0 21 1 0 7 2-90 M&ll4 10 0 8 11 2 3 1 1 23 3-97 Total 67 O 5 72 2 21 5 2 16 — Average gain per head daily of Lot 2 : 2-56 lb. Lot 3. 9 10 i 21 11 1 19 0 3 26 2-68 10 11 0 11 11 3 17 0 3 6 219 11 9 3 9 10 1 17 0 1 26 1-31 Total 3i I 13 33 2 15 2 I 2 — Average gain per head daily of Lot 3 : 2'06 lb. VOL. I. T. S. 2 D D 402 Report on Bullock-feecling Experiments at Woburn, Return of Foods consumed during Second Period of 41 Days. — Lot 1 (6 beasts) Lot 2 (6 beasts) Lot 3 (6 beasts) Total weight consumed during 41 days Average per head daily Total weight consumed during 41 days Average per head daily Total weight consumed during 41 days Average per head daily cwt. qrs. lb. lb. cwt. qrs. lb. lb. cwt. qrs. lb. lb. Swedes .... 87 3 12 40-00 98 3 10 45 00 54 3 IS 5000 Hay 31 0 19 14-19 34 2 9 15-74 18 3 24 17-26 Linseed cake . and decortica- L 19 2 21 8-97 9 3 12 4-48 — — ted cotton cake / Water .... 130 3 0 59-52 117 2 0 53-49 37 1 0 33-91 At the commencement of the third period mangel was substi- tuted for swedes, the latter having been all consumed. Table III. gives the weights of the bullocks on April 19, the practical conclusion of the experiment. Table. III. — Third Period of 29 days, March 21 to April 19. Lot 1. No. Weight on March 21 Weight on April 19 Gain during 29 days Gain per day cwt. qrs. lb. cwt. qrs lb. cwt. qrs. lb. lb. » 1 11 3 25 12 2 20 0 2 23 2-72 2 13 2 4 14 0 2 0 1 26 1-86 f 3 11 2 16 12 0 18 0 2 2 20 4 13 1 15 14 0 2 0 2 15 2-45 15 12 0 0 12 1 11 0 1 11 1-34 w a ■ 16 12 2 16 13 1 14 0 2 26 2-83 Total 75 o 20 78 2 II 3 I 19 — Average gain per head per day of Lot 1 : 2 20 11). Lot 2. - ( 5 12 3 17 13 1 11 0 l 22 1-7 g 1 6 11 1 25 11 3 4 0 l 7 1-2 a) 7 12 2 1 13 0 7 0 2 (5 21 5 I 8 12 0 10 12 2 24 0 2 14 2-4 f 13 12 0 21 12 2 0 0 i 7 1-2 g. 1 14 11 2 3 11 3 7 0 i 4 1T( Total . 72 2 21 75 0 25 2 2 4 Average gain per head per day of Lot 2 : 1-63 lb. Lot 3. 9 11 1 19 11 1 18 loss 1 — 10 11 3 17 12 0 0 gain 1 1 •38 11 10 1 7 10 1 8 1 — Total . 33 2 15 33 2 2 6 O O II Report on Bullock- feeding Experiments at Woburn. 403 Table III. ( cont .) — Return of Food consumed during Third Period, 29 days. — Lot 1 (6 bullocks) Lot 2 (6 bullocks) Lot 3 (3 bullocks) Total weight consumed during 29 days Average per head daily Total weight consumed during 29 days Average per head daily Total weight consumed during 29 days Average per head daily cwt. qrs. lb. lb. cwt. qrs. lb. lb. cwt. qrs. lb. lb. M angel . . . 02 0 16 40-0 69 3 18 45-0 38 3 10 500 Hay 23 0 11 14-87 26 0 6 16 77 13 3 16 17-88 Linseed cake-i and decortica- 1 15 2 4 10-0 7 3 2 5-0 — — ted cotton cake ' Water . . . 104 3 0 67-42 95 3 0 61-63 41 0 0 52-78 Table IV. — Gain during whole Period of 110 days, Dec. 30 to April 19. Lot 1. No. Weight cn Dec. 30 Weight on April 19 Gain during 110 days Average gain dur- ing 110 days 3 ( i S 2 a 3 M [ 4 cwt. qrs. lb. 10 0 7 10 3 0 9 1 11 10 3 0 9 2 0 9 3 0 cwt. qrs. lb. 12 2 20 14 0 2 12 0 18 14 0 2 12 1 11 13 1 14 cwt. qrs. lb. 2 2 13 3 12 2 3 7 3 12 2 3 11 3 2 14 cwt. qrs. lb. 3 0 8 or 3T2 lb. per day Total . 6o o 18 78 2 II l8 I 21 Lot 2. ( 5 10 2 22 13 1 n 2 2 17 6 9 0 24 11 3 4 2 2 8 7 0 3 25 13 0 7 2 0 10 ►H 1 8 10 0 0 12 2 24 2 2 24 - (13 10 0 21 12 2 0 2 1 7 ~ t. 114 9 0 16 11 3 7 2 2 19 > Total . 6o 0 24 75 0 25 15 0 I Lot 3. 9 . lo 0 11 11 1 18 1 1 7 ) 10 10 1 25 12 0 0 1 2 3 I 11 9 0 18 10 1 8 1 0 18 1 Total . 29 2 26 33 2 26 4 0 O cwt. qrs. lb. 2 2 0 or 2-54 lb. per day cwt. qrs. lb 1 9 or 1-36 lb per day d d 2 404 Report on Bullock- feeding Experiments at Woburn. Table IV. ( cont .) — Food Consumed during whole Period of 110 days. Dec. 30 to April 19. Lot 1 (6 bullocks) Lot 2 (6 bullocks) Lot 3 (3 bullocks) — Total amount Average Total amount Average Total amount Average consumed during per head consumed during per head consumed during per head 110 days daily 110 days daily 110 days daily tons cwt. qrs. lb. lb. tons cwt. qrs. lb. lb. tons cwt. qrs. lb. lb. Roots .... 11 16 3 4 40-18 13 0 3 16 44-27 7 2 3 0 48-44 Hay Linseed cake , 4 0 3 20 13-73 4 11 1 9 15-49 2 10 0 22 1703 and decortica- 1 ted cotton cake ) 2 11 0 12 8-67 15 2 6 4-33 — — Water .... 17 11 1 0 59-66 15 16 3 0 53-75 5 11 3 14 37-96 Table IV. shows the total inc tease in live weight of the bullocks during the whole experiment. From this it is seen that the six bullocks in lot 1, which received the double quantity of cake, have made an average increase of 342 lb. per head per day, those in the yard doing quite as well as those fed in the boxes. The bullocks in lot 2, which received only half the quantity of cake, show an average daily gain of 2 '54 lb., and no practical differ- ence is apparent in the increases of the box and yard-fed beasts. The bullocks in lot 3 receiving roots and hay alone give an average daily gain of only 1 '36 lb. During the last period these beasts appear to have remained practically stationary in weight. They were, how- ever, throughout the experiment in excellent health and to all appear- ance were doing very fairly well. On calculating the cost of the foods given to each lot, the advantage of the cake-feeding becomes still more strikingly apparent. Thus, taking the cakes at the then current prices, linseed cake 91. per ton, decorticated cotton cake 62. 15s. per ton, and estimating the roots at 10s. per ton and the hay at 3 1. per ton, the cost of the food of each lot is as follows. Lot 1. Lot 2. Lot 3. £ .«. d. £ J. d. £ s. d. Roots . 5 18 4 6 10 6 3 11 4 Hay .... . 12 2 9 13 14 0 7 10 8 Linseed-cake . . 11 10 0 5 15 0 — Decorticated cotton-cake . 8 12 6 4 6 3 — 38 3 7 30 5 9 112 0 (G bullocks) (6 bullocks) (3 bullocks) cwt. qrs. lb. cwt. qrs. lb. cwt. qrs. lb. Total increase in live' | 18 1 21 . . 15 0 1 . .400 weight j f = 2065 lb. = 1681 lb. = 448 lb. Cost per lb. of increase ] of live weight . . . j [> 4-43(2. 4-32(2. 5-94(2. In addition to the difference in the cost per lb. of increase in live weight in the hay-fed and the cake-fed bullocks, the increased value of the manure from the latter must also be taken into consideration. Report on Bullock-feeding Experiments at Woburn. 405 Thus, taking the manurial values of the food consumed accord- ing to Lawes and Gilbert’s tables, as — linseed-cake, 3 1. 18s. 6 d. per ton ; decorticated cotton-cake, 51. 13s. ; hay, 1/. 8s. Id. ; and roots 4s. 8c?. per ton, we arrive at the following results : — Lot 1. Lot 2. Lot 3. Total cost of food .... Less manurial value £ s. d. 38 3 7 20 15 5 £ s. d. 30 5 9 15 13 7 £ s. d. 11 2 0 5 5 1 17 8 2 14 12 2 5 16 11 Cost per lb. of increase in live weight 2-02 d. 2-09 d. 313 d. From these it would appear that the double quantity of cake had been economical. The percentage of carcass in the more highly- fed beasts was greater than in the others. Samples of the food were taken every week and the average composition is shown below. Analysis of Foods consumed by Bullocks. — Decortica- ted eottou cake Linseed cake Hay Swedes Mangel Moisture 9-86 12-22 13-45 88-83 86-82 Oil 13-58 11-26 — — — Albuminous compounds . . 39-94 ,26-31 8-15 1-05 109 ‘Mucilage, starch, digestible > fibre, &c J 23-89 35-34 46-78 8-47 10-45 Woody fibre 6-33 869 2559 ■98 •77 Mineral matter 6-40 618 603 •67 •87 — 100-00 10000 10000 100 00 100 00 1 Containing nitrogen . . 6-39 4-21 1-30 •17 •18 As originally arranged, the, bullocks were to be fasted on the farm and slaughtered in the neighbourhood, it being thought that a better result would be obtainable by quietly fasting the beasts for a longer time on the farm than by exposing them to the knocking about of a railway journey. At the last moment, however, the arrangements for slaughtering at Woburn fell through, and Mr. Elliott, the resident farm manager, had to arrange for the beasts to be slaughtered at Oxford. He was unable to arrange for the whole fifteen to be taken in one lot ; only half the number could be dealt with at one time. Accordingly, three bullocks each, of lots 1 and 2, and two of lot 3, after being weighed were fasted at the farm, being kept in the boxes and yard without food for twenty-six hours. The fasted weights were then taken. No. 14 of lot 2, however, managed to get over the rails that divided him from the non- fasting bullocks in the yard, and conse- quently he was not properly fasted, and his carcass weight was too low. 406 Report on Bullock-feeding Experiments at Woburn. The remaining seven beasls were fed with their regular allow- ances of food until April 26, when their weights were taken previous to fasting. The two bullocks, Nos. 13 and 15, which had hitherto been fed in the yard, went completely off their feed, no doubt on account of the loss of their companions. It was impossible to put them in the same pen, as they were receiving different quantities of cake ; they were accordingly removed to the feeding boxes, but they went noticeably back in condition and lost weight. None of these beasts indeed seemed to have recovered from the disturbing effect of weighing. This is a constant difficulty in the feeding experiments both of bullocks and sheep, and it is proposed to try the plan of purchasing younger bullocks, and, before commencing the feeding experiment, to get them thoroughly accustomed to being handled and weighed. Live and Dead Weights of Bullocks. Lot 1. Number Unfasted weights Fasted live weights Carcass weight Stones of 8 lb. April 19, 1890 April 26, 1890 — Stones of 14 lb. cwt. qrs. lb. cwt. qrs. lb. cwt. qrs. lb. st. lb. st. lb. 1 12 2 20 12 3 6 12. i 7 98 7 94 7 2 14 0 2 14 0 2 13 i 17 107 3 113 0 3 12 0‘ 18 — 11 i 22 91 8 97 4 4 14 0 2 — 13 i 0 106 0 108 6 15 12 1 11 11 1 11 11 i 4 90 4 95 2 16 13 1 14 — 12 i 8 98 8 101 0 — 78 2 11 — 74 0 2 592 2 610 3 = 58-90 p.c. Lot 2. 5 13 1 11 12 1 15 99 1 101 5 6 11 3 4 — 11 0 10 88 10 91 4 7 13 0 7 13 0 13 12 2 17 101 3 100 0 8 12 2 24 12 3 4 11 3 20 95 6 94 4 13 12 2 0 11 2 8 10 3 14 87 0 92 6 14 11 3 7 — 11 1 6 90 6 86 6 — 75 0 25 — 70 0 26 561 12 567 1 = = 57'68 p.c. Lot 3. 9 11 1 18 11 2 2 10 2 23 85 9 84 2 10 12 0 0 — 11 1 10 90 10 92 4 11 10 1 8 — 9 2 23 77 9 82 6 33 2 26 — 31 3 0 254 0 259 4 = = 58'44 p.c. It may be mentioned that the bullocks realised 4s. Id. per stone, dead weight : no practical difference was observable in the appear- ances of the carcasses of the two cake-fed lots. In the carcasses of lot 407 Reports of Consulting Entomologist. 3, it was noticed that the fat was rather firmer than that of the others. During the experiment the beasts were weighed at the end of each period with a full stomach. The weights of the carcasses were personally taken by Mr. Elliott. The experiment of fasting the bullocks at the farm did not turn out satisfactorily ; some of the beasts, owing to their eating their litter, were not thoroughly fasted, and thus their carcass weights came out very low. This was particularly noted in the case of bullock No. 1. E. W. VOELCKER. REPORTS OF CONSULTING ENTOMOLOGIST. Infestation of Fruit Trees by Caterpillars. During the late winter and spring months, much attention has been directed in the Western fruit-growing counties to ascertaining what reliable measures could be adopted in order to destroy the hordes of caterpillars which now appear almost as a regular, yearly recurring cause of serious loss to fruit-growers. It has become more and more plain each year that although sticky banding is so far of service, that in many cases the foliage of orchard trees would have been totally destroyed if the banding had not been done, yet still that it is only a partial protection against wingless moths gaining access to the trees for egg-laying, and is no protection at all from the many kinds of attack originated by winged infestations : also it is expensive, needs renewing at intervals, and, without special arrangements to insure safety to bark, is detrimental to the health of the trees. Measures were found to be absolutely necessary of a kind which could be brought to bear on any or all sorts of caterpillars together (whatever their various natures or previous histories may have been), and would kill the whole collection of ravaging hordes at once, but without damaging the leafage. It was before us all in reports of the Agricultural Departments and State entomologists of Canada and the United States, that for years back attacks to orchard trees, perfectly similar in their nature to those which have been causing us such loss here, were lessened or wholly prevented there by applications, and especially fluid applications, sprayed on to the trees, of which full details were given ; and to meet our urgent need, it was arranged by a conference of leading fruit-growers, of which the headquarters are at Evesham, to form a committee of experiment to test the serviceableness of these applications in our rather dif- ferent climate, and (at present) with our inferior apparatus for throwing fluids. This committee is working actively and with satisfactory results. I am in especial communication with Mr. J. Masters, of Evesham, the hon. secretary, and likewise with Captain 408 Reports of Consulting Entomologist. Corbett and Mr. C. D. Wise, respectively the superintendent and deputy superintendent of the Toddington fruit grounds. Mr. Fletcher, the Dominion entomologist of Canada, favours us with very serviceable advice from time to time, and I am doing all that lies in my power by co-operation, and also by identifying specimens sent me by the committee and neighbouring gentlemen, so that we might know with certainty what we were dealing with, and (approxi- mately) the date of the first appearance of the caterpillars. From examination of eggs sent me, known to have been laid last autumn (on isolated apple twigs) by female winter moths, I have been able to note and record the measurement and colour, and change of tint before hatching, of the winter moth egg, and from an enormous quantity of specimens, the result of the work of three men for three hours in trimming infested ends of apple twigs (sent me by Mr. C. Lee Campbell, of Glewstone Court, near Ross), I have also been able to note the manner in which the eggs are placed, and to see that although these dull reddish oval eggs, only about the -f.j of an inch in length, are hardly visible to the naked eye, yet before hatching time, when the caterpillar is taking its full colour, or after- wards when the iridescent transparent egg pellicles remain on the bark, then the whitish or greyish mould-like specks, where several eggs were near together on a bough, showed sufficiently to be of practical use in guiding to where caterpillars were establishing attack. The date of first hatching or attack might be put this year at the end of March. At that time winter moth caterpillars were beginning work near Ross, although they were not then noticeable at Tod- dington, and I was myself able to note their appearance as they made their exit from the egg and entrance into life, ‘ looping ’ as dexterously and markedly as in their later days. The March moth, another very injurious kind, was then laying its bands of eggs ; and Mottled umber moth was also about. In my own suggestions as to applications I limited myself to advising trials of ‘ Paris green ’ spray, as with this application we had clear information from the IJ.S.A. and Canadian Government reports of the exact proportions in which it was to be used, and of every detail concerned, and also of its success, and warnings as to requisite caution in use, it being a poison ; for those who did not care to try it (by advice of the Dominion entomologist) I suggested the use of washes of soft soap and mineral oil. The Experiment Committee has wisely made a trial and recorded results of many applications, and of these after the committee meeting at Toddington on the 1st of May last the committee decided that they would recommend the following for spraying on infested trees : — Paris green paste, in the proportion of one ounce to eight or ten gallons of water for plums, and one ounce to twenty gallons of water for apples ; London fluid (that is, a mixture of a preparation sold as ‘London purple’) one part to twenty parts. Both of these the committee recommend as effective in destroying the caterpillar, while they did no material harm to the foliage. Reports of Consulting Entomologist. 409 It will be observed that the term Paris green 1 paste ’ is used. In order to avoid risk to health from careless workers inhaling the powder, one of our chief supply firms arranged to send out small orders damped, which saves all danger from inhalation in mixing. Besides the above experiments, which are considered to be pro- gressing satisfactorily, I have had information of the successful use of the Paris green, or arsenite of copper, from private correspon- dents, and am in much communication on the subject, and also (it being a new application here and a poison) I invariably warn that it is not to be left about nor the powder inhaled. At present the main point under consideration is, I believe, date of application. Mr. Masters added to the observations on the part of the com- mittee that they considered the syringing should be done when the leaf bud was first developed, before the blossoming period, and then again after the blossoms had disappeared and the fruit was forming. The work is considered to have progressed satisfactorily, and if, as there appears to me reason to hope, our operations succeed as well as they have long done in America, the hard and skilled work of the Evesham Committee will be a benefit throughout the country. Mr. C. D. Wise, the Deputy-Superintendent at the Fruit Grounds at Toddington, writing on May 28, says : — We have, as you know, tried all sorts of mixtures, and I don’t think it is worth while troubling you with all particulars of them, as they were all useless or nearly so. Paris green is the only thing which we have found really efficacious. For plums the proportion is 1 oz. to 10 gallons, and for apples 1 oz. to 20 gallons. We have also used the former strength for currants, hut as the foliage is within the last few days becoming so much stronger, we have been using it at 1 oz. to 8 gallons. Neither of these solu- tions has damaged the foliage, but killed the caterpillar. The Paris green should certainly not he used any stronger than we have used it. As regards the Riley nozzle, we have tried it and found it very similar to that on the French pumps ; in fact, there is very little difference between the two, that is, in the way the liquid is distributed. Owing to an attack of green fly on the plums we have lately been syringing them with 2 oz. of quassia and 2 oz. of soft soap to 1 gallon of water, with Paris green added in the proportion before named. The Paris green should certainly not be used any stronger than we have used it. Mr. Masters, the secretary of the Evesham Experimental Com- mittee, has reported, continuing his previous information as to the efficacy of the Paris green in destroying the caterpillar, and also confirmatory proof that the Paris green might be used with perfect safety to foliage at a greater strength than that mentioned above.. He also noted that in some districts where the greasing precautions were resorted to, and where there was no fruit to encourage the grower to take any precautions, the trees were looking desolate — as bad as if fire had been scorching the ti’ees. I also requested information from Messrs. A. Salmon (Fruit Growers), near Hounslow, in order to obtain a report of the effects of the application on a regular scale of working business, with ordi- nary garden engines, and Messrs. Salmon reported in reply, on the 410 Reports of Consulting Entomologist. 31st of May : — “ All we can say about it is to its advantage. It has succeeded admirably. The trees look healthier and better with as much (if not more) on, as anywhere else. They are beautifully clean. It has not injured them in the slightest degree. We shall always use it in case of blight.” Messrs. Salmon also noted — relatively to recent unfounded objections to the use of Paris green on the alleged ground that it killed the birds — that the writer of these knew nothing of the sub- ject, for that they had not found one bird dead, nor signs of harm to one. A large number of reports have been sent me ever since the beginning of our work — and from very various localities ; but in not one of them have I had the slightest reference to injury occurring to birds from the use of Paris green, and I have also definite reports of injury not being found to occur where under careful special obser- vation fowls were allowed access to the ground beneath the trees. I have taken the above reports from different kinds of localities to show the success that the application is meeting with both in private and regular business use, and with our common engines as well as with the more elaborate methods of distribution. For security, I always give the most careful warnings as to requisite care in use, and not risking presence of sheep or other animals under sprayed trees, and warnings are repeatedly published — but with regard to success and safety, with reasonable precaution, I do not think we can have more complete proof than the service- able use of the green for from ten to eighteen years in Canada and the States, and the constantly increasing use of it there up to the present time. I am giving all attention in my power to the inquiries as to these attacks, and carefully pointing out where, as with some of the infes- tations to bush fruits, such as gooseberries, raspberries, and currants, these can be satisfactorily met by measures based on their habits. Attack to Strawberry Plants . I am sorry, also, to have to report a very serious kind of attack to strawberry plants, which appears not to have been previously observed — a large quantity of plants, of which a box full were sent me for examination, have been ruined by it on a fourteen acre straw- berry field. The effect of the attack is swelled and distorted growth. The whole of the shoots are in some cases greatly swollen, sometimes the whole of the flower stems and buds are stunted, and so enormously swelled at the ends that they can be compared to nothing but a bit of mis-shapen cauliflower. In another form the primary and secon- dary flower stems, although they preserve something of their shape, are only about half or quarter of their right height, widened, and crowned at the top with calyx enlarged and standing upright, abortive petals, and still more abortive stamens. At a glance the state of the plants pointed to eelworm attack, and on microscopic examination I found great numbers in most Reports of Consulting Entomologist. 411 active health present. I noted the general characteristics of these, and forwarded specimens to Dr. Ritzema Bos, as the most skilled referee on this kind of attack, and he will be good enough to inves- tigate the matter fully as soon as his time permits. At present the disease appears to him, as well as to myself, to be undescribed, and though many eel worms are present, there is a possibility that the disease may be fungoid. Meanwhile, I am cautioning the fruit-grower on the necessity of great care in not allowing the infestation to spread, especially as to burning any plants that are destroyed, not carting them to a com- post heap, for the establishment of such a virulent attack would be a real calamity to strawberry growers. Maggot of the Wheat Bulb Fly. Regarding crop attacks, the most important that is being repoi’ted at present is that of the maggot of the wheat bulb fly, the Hylemyia coarctata. This is again destructive in various places by means of the little white legless maggot feeding low down in the centre of the wheat plant, and thus destroying the shoot above it. I am trying to induce correspondents to observe in the summer whether the maggots of the next brood will be noticeable in the young shoots of ‘ couch grass ’ on fallow or partly bare land. The attack is for the most part on land fallowed in the previous year, and it is a serious one. If we could ascertain the above point we should be able to check it. At present, the best treatment I am able to suggest is to apply a stimulating dressing to the infested wheat, which may help on side shoots of injured plants so as to ripen their heads in time for the harvest of the uninfested plants. The application can best be judged of by the owner, but I am suggesting guano and salt mixed, because wheat having a power of imbibing salt until the plant tastes strongly of it, this application added to the guano would be likely to be very detrimental to such of the young wheat bulb maggots as are still feeding in the stems. Winter Habitat of Chlorops tceniopus. From notes and specimens placed in my hands by Mr. White- head, I learn that he has been fortunate enough to secure examples, sent to him from Downton by Dr. Fream, of the much-needed ob- servation of how Chlorops tainiopus (the fly which causes the very bad attack known as gout in barley) passes the winter. It was well known in Germany that the winter attack arose from autumn flies laying their eggs on autumn sown corn or wild grass. The maggot winters in the neck of the plant, in spring the infested shoot forms a thickened growth with wide leaves, and presently the infested shoot dies, and the fly coming out from the chrysalis within starts the attack of “ gout,” which, regularly as the summer comes, causes loss, sometimes to a very serious extent, on barley. 412 Reports of Consulting Entomologist. This attack is easily known by the barley ear being often unable to free itself from the swelled leaf sheaf, and the plant being more or less stunted ; also by the black channel showing the course of maggot injury down one side of the stem from the base of the ear to the uppermost knot. I have repeatedly in my reports drawn attention to the im- portance of finding where this winter condition was passed in this country, that we might make advance towards cutting off the nurseries of summer attack, but until Mr. Whitehead placed his specimen in my hands we have not had any information sent in on the subject. Mr. Whitehead on the 11th of May informed me that in the middle of April young wheat plants had been sent him, with chrysalids in situ near the base of the stem, from which on that day Chlorops tceniopus had emerged. A few days later he forwarded specimens for my examination, and I found the brown chrysalid of the Chlorops lying as he described in the heart of the plant, so near development that I could see the fiy through the transparent chestnut brown case. The widened leafage of the shoot which is a characteristic of the attack was also noticeable, and the fly on technical examination proved to be the Chlorops tceniopus. At first I did not feel certain of it being of this species of Chlorops, and therefore submitted it to the skilled examination of Mr. R. EL Meade, of Bradford, who kindly told me that he thought at first it might be the Chlorops nasuta, which is a very variable species, but on close examination he was convinced that it was a female of Chlorops tceniopus. It is somewhat curious that this attack should be in wheat, whereas our common Chlorops in its summer stage in this country chiefly attacks barley. I think, therefore, that it would be very desirable to watch for what may happen in the neighbourhood of the infested land, as we may find this variety of C. tceniopus may have some special habits. • Although it is probably too late now to search for injured shoots, yet when spring comes round again it will be well to be on the watch betimes for Chlorops-infested plants, which (without going into technical minutiae) may be known by the widened leaves of the attacked shoots. If once these were gene- rally known by sight, whether in wheat, barley, or very especially in wild grasses near corn fields, we might have a good chance of lessening the summer presence very effectively by reducing the winter nurseries. On some of the more advanced specimens forwarded by Dr. Fream there was excellent example of the uninjured stem being able to make good growth, whilst the infested shoots at the base perished, thus showing that the wheat plant being hearty will help to carry it over this form of attack, though it does not lessen the amount of infestation spread from it. Inquiry is constantly sent regarding insect attacks, and there is steadily continued application for information regarding warble prevention. Eleanor A. Ormerod. 413 REPORT OF THE ROYAL VETERINARY COLLEGE FOR THE FIRST QUARTER OF 1890. Investigations into outbreaks of disease among farm stock have been carried on during the last quarter at the College, and several inquiries have been conducted by the officers of the College in differ- ent parts of the country. In the beginning of the year an inquiry was made into an out- break in a herd of beasts in Sussex. The herd was divided into seven lots located at different farmsteads ; of these the disease has appeared in three. In one instance eight animals have succumbed, in another three, and in the third one. The malady first appeared on December 26, since which time twelve beasts have died. On inquiry into the question of food and general management, it was found that all the animals were housed and fed on grain and cake of various kinds supplied from the same stock. In addition they also received hay, which was derived from several sources, and in the case of three of the farmsteads green furze was also being employed. All the grain and cake was of foreign pro- duction ; it was, therefore, impossible to trace its connection with any particular source of contamination. The fact of the disease having confined itself to those farms where furze was being used is important, as this description of forage suggests an explanation of the way in which the tissues of the mouth may have been wounded, so as to admit of the inoculation of any virus to which they may have been exposed. The furze was of particularly strong growth, and the spines upon it were large and penetrating, conditions eminently calculated to injure the mouth and render it receptive of the conta- gion. Foreign bones for manurial purposes have been largely used on the farm, and as the disorder has not previously been known to occur upon it, these and also the grain and cakes may for the present be regarded as suspicious of having introduced the contagion there. As means to prevention of further spread of the disease, it was recommended that all the food-stuffs then being used should be dis- continued, and that the sheds and other parts of the premises with which the diseased cattle had been in contact should be thoroughly cleansed and disinfected. On these measures being adopted the disorder ceased at once. An inspection was also made of three Jersey cows, two of which were found to have tumours in the udder. On inquiring into the family history of the animals, it was found that they were all the produce of one cow, which had been recently slaughtered in conse- quence of an ulcerating growth in the same organ. On a post- mortem examination being made of this animal, similar growths to that existing in the mammary gland were also found in the abdomen — near to the intestines. The milk of the cows was submitted to microscopic examination in search after tubercular organisms, but none were found. As, 414 Quarterly Report of the Chemical Committee, June 1890. however, the cases were most probably tuberculosis, it was recom- mended that the use of milk for human consumption be discon- tinued, and that one of the affected cows be slaughtered for further examination. Experiments in protective inoculation in anthrax and swine fever have been continued, and recently some investigations have been made in reference to the effects of inoculation with pure lymph taken from the lungs of the cattle affected with pleuro-pneumonia. The results up to the present lead to the conclusion that when the lymph is perfectly free from septic organisms no irritation nor other local or constitutional effects are produced, even when the inoculat- ing fluid is introduced into parts of the body which are considered to be dangerous localities. Numerous morbid specimens from cattle, sheep, and swine have been received at the College, including tuberculous deposit in lungs, liver, and other organs ; hydatids in lungs and liver of cattle and sheep ; and actinomycosis in the glands in young cattle. The district veterinary surgeons have reported serious losses among lambs from rheumatic swellings of the joints (joint ill), asso- ciated with inflammation of the umbilical cord (navel ill), in various parts of the country. Investigations are now being carried on at the College in refer- ence to the organisms of pleuro-pneumonia and swine-fever, horse- pox and cow-pox in regard to their relation to each other, and also in the effects of a new disinfectant which promises to be of some value as a preventive in contagious diseases of farm stock. March 31, 1890. G. T. BrOWN. QUARTERLY REPORT OF THE CHEMICAL COMMITTEE. June 1890. 1. Mr. J. A. Pearson, of Compton, Winchester, sent on March 17, 1890, a sample of undecorticated cotton-cake, which he described as bought as “pure,” M. 10s. per ton ex mill. He had made a contract for 20 tons with Messrs. Dixon & Cardus, Limited, Northam, Southampton. The analysis below was returned on March 22, 1890 Moisture . Oil 1 Albuminous compounds (flesh-forming matters) . Mucilage, sugar, and digestible fibre . Woody fibre (cellulose) Mineral matter (ash) ...... 1 Containing nitrogen . . . 2 67 16'75\ 5-90 1669 33-14 ' 100-00 22-97 4-55 The cotton-cake is not a pure cake, and contains an admixture of cereal husk and starch. It contains an excessive quantity of moisture. Quarterly Report of the Chemical Committee, June 1890. 415 The following correspondence ensued : — Compton, Winchester : April 24, 1890. Dear Sir, — With regard to your analysis of cotton-cake of March 22, I saw the manager (Mr. Pinhorn) and told him the cake was not pure, when he entered into a long explanation. I told him I could not remember all he said ; he had better think the matter over and write me the result. Not hearing from him I wrote the following letter. — Yours truly, Dr. Voelcker. Pearson. P.S. — I may say I had no written guarantee that the cake was pure, but he told me it was, and made from the best Egyptian cotton-seed. I enclose the correspondence that has passed on the subject for your persusal. [Copt.] Compton, Winchester: April 7, 1890. Dear Sir, — With respect to our conversation with you on Saturday last about the impurity of the cotton-cake you sent us, we sent a sample of it to Dr. Voelcker to be analysed. On the other side you will find copy of his analysis, in sending which he writes as follows : — “ The cotton-cake is not a pure cake and contains an admixture of cereal husk and starch. It contains an excessive quantity of moisture.” After your guarantee that the cake was made from pure cotton-seed we should like to know what explanation you have to offer in connection with Dr. Voelcker’s analysis. — Yours truly, J. A. & W. Pearson. Messrs. Dixon & Cardus. Linseed Mills and Artificial Manure Works, Northam, Southampton : April 8, 1890. Dear Sirs, — Yours to hand ; the writer will be at Winchester Market on Saturday, and will see you thereon ; we may say, however, that we gave no guarantee in selling you the cake. — Yours truly, Dixon & Cardus, Limited. Messrs. J. & W. Pearson. Alfred Pinhorn, Manager. Linseed Mills and Artificial Manure Works, Northam, Southampton: April 16, 1890. Dear Sirs, — Deferring to ours of the 8th inst., also to our conversation, we now write to say that after duly considering the matter, that as the cake was not sold either with a guarantee or subject to Dr. Voelcker’s analysis, that we must decline to enter into any controversy respecting the analysis, neither do we intend to be dictated to by the P.A.S.E. as to the way in which we conduct our business, or the terms upon which we sell ; this decision was arrived at, after being fully discussed by our Directors yester- day.— Yours truly, Dixon & Cardus, Limited. Messrs. J. & W. Pearson. Alfred Pinhorn, Manager. [Copy.] Compton, Winchester: April 17, 1890. Dear Sir,— In reply to yours of this morning respecting cotton-cake, you certainly gave a verbal guarantee that the cake zvas pure and made from the best Egyptian cotton-seed, and unless you do give a written guarantee that your cakes are pure, we must decline to have any more. — Yours truly, Messrs. Dixon & Cardus. J- & 5V. Pearson. MEMORANDUM. From DIXON k CARDUS, Limited, Southampton. To April 18, 1890. Messrs. J. k W. PEARSON, Compton, Winchester. Gekt., — Yours of yesterday to hand ; we must, however, adhere to the 416 Quarter’ll / Report of the Chemical Committee, June 1890. terms of our letter of the 16th inst., and therefore cancel remainder of cake on contract. — Yours truly, Dixon & Cardus, Limited. Alfred Pinhorn, Manager. Ultimately a reduction of 18s. 2 d. per ton was allowed in this case. Cakes from the same makers were also forwarded by Mr. Stirton, agent for the Earl of Northbrook, Stratton, and by Mr. S. H. Allen, of Eastover, near Andover. The analyses were as follows : — Moisture No. I. . 16-52 No. 2. 15-30 Oil . 5-86 5-17 1 Albuminous compounds (flesh-forming matters) 18-31 16-69 Mucilage, sugar, and digestible fibre . 31-94 3607 Woody fibre (cellulose) . 23-13 22-17 Mineral matter (ash) . . 4-24 460 1 Containing nitrogen 100-00 . 2-93 10000 2-67 No. 1. — An impure cake. The cake was mixed with some finely ground cereal husk, and contained some quantity of starchy impurities. No. 2. — It is not a pure cotton-cake ; it contains an admixture of cereal husk. The purchaser in each of these cases stated that the cake was verbally guaranteed as pure. 2. On February 14, 1890, Mr. E. G. Tatam, of Moulton, Spalding, sent a sample of artificial manure for analysis. The manure was said to be made from soot, fish, blood, &c., price 3/. 10s. per ton. The following analysis and report were returned February 19 : — Moisture 1 Organic matter Phosphate of lime Oxide of iron, carbonate, and sulphate of lime, &c. Insoluble siliceous matter 24-70\ 12-49 1-32 - 40-67 20-82, 10000 1 Containing nitrogen -48 = ammonia -58. Practically worthless. I would not care to pay as many shillings as you are paying pounds for the stuff. 3. Mr. H. Pooler, of Tibberton Manor, Newport, Salop, sent on February 26, 1890, a sample of feeding-meal sold as “ Thirds or Sharps,” genuine meal from wheat only, price 12s. per 240 lbs. The Sharps were purchased in Stafford, the manufacturers being stated to be a firm in Liverpool. The material was invoiced “ Sharps ” ; a verbal description only of the material was given, but no guarantee in writing. The analysis below was sent on March 4: — Quarterly Report of the Chemical Committee , June 1890. 417 Moisture ........ Oil 1 Albuminous compounds (flesh-forming matters) . Mucilage, sugar, and digestible fibre . "Woody fibre (cellulose) ..... 2 Mineral matter (ash) 1 Containing nitrogen . . .1-93 1 Including sulphate of lime . . 8-96 Adulterated with gypsum. 11- 74\ 3-10 12- 06 54-88 " 6-03 12-19/ 100-00 In answer to inquiries, Mr. Pooler wrote as follows : — Not being satisfied with the meal on delivery, I wrote to the vendor stating I was sending sample to Dr. Voelcker for analysis. On February 24 the vendor enclosed to Mr. Pooler a telegram from Liverpool : “ Wire customer to return Sharps, send another lot as we can take no responsibility.” 4. Mr. T. Eads, of Manor House, Yelden, Higham Ferrers, sent on February 24, 1890, a sample of linseed-cake bought from a cake merchant in Bedford. Five tons were purchased at 81. 17 s. 6c?. per ton, delivered at Higham Ferrers Station. The following analysis was returned on March 1, 1890, with the remark, “A dirty impure cake containing over 64 per cent, of sand ” : — Moisture Oil 1 Albuminous compounds (flesh-forming matters) . Mucilage, sugar, and digestible fibre . Woody fibre (cellulose) 2 Mineral matter (ash) 13-24\ 9-23 23-19 32-36 ' 8-99 12-99/ 100 00 1 Containing nitrogen 2 Including sand 3-71 G-59 Mr. Eads stated that he did not trouble about having a guarantee as to purity. 5. Mr. Ernest Leycester, of the Toft Estate Office, Knutsford, sent on March 4, 1890, a sample of what he called “Fish Guano” for analysis. One ton of the material had been purchased, price 31. 10s. delivered, from the Phosphate Fish Bone Guano Company (H. Hamilton/Manager), of Central Buildings, North John Street, Liverpool, through their local agent, Mr. G. Eden, Bull’s Head Inn, Mobberley. Upon the Company’s invoice the material was described as “ Phosphate Fish Bone Guano.” The following is from the Company’s circular : — The Phosphate Fish Bone Guano Co., Central Buildings, North John Street, Liverpool, are opening out a new industry on the coasts of the great sea fisheries, and are manufacturing a very powerful and cheap guano, delivered carriage free at 31. 10s. per ton. VOL. I. T. S. — 2 E E 418 Quarterly Report of the Chemical Committee , June 1890. It is well known that fish bone and other refuse, when in a dry, powdered condition, is extremely rich in phosphates, ammonia, potash, soda, saline, and other salts, and has proved to be the best and richest fertiliser in the world. The circular continues : — It is a well-balanced guano, and works very similar to farm-yard and stable manure, consequently it is exceedingly suitable for all kinds of plants and crops, only, it being in a concentrated condition, it acts more quickly, &c., &c. Being a production from the sea, its potash and saline salts effectually destroy the larvae and germs of ground grubs, slugs, and all insect life, &c. The following analysis was sent on March 14 : — Moisture . 2-95' 1 Organic matter 635 Phosphate of lime .. . .. . . . 1‘53 - 100 00 Alkalies, magnesia, oxide of iron, &c. . . . 3-32 Sand 85’85t 1 Containing nitrogen . . . . -63 Equal to ammonia . ; . . '76 When sending this, Mr. Voelcker wrote : — • As you will see by the certificate, 86 per cent, of it is sand, and it con- tains only 1£ per cent, of phosphate of lime, and f per cent, of ammonia. The material has no right to be called Fish Guano, and is almost worthless. Upon receiving this report, Mr. Leycester wrote, on March 17 : — The “guano ” was purchased by a small tenant on this estate. ... I find that two or three other tenants on this estate have been persuaded into the purchase of this manure, so-called. I was so struck by appearance and feel of the stuff, being familiar with real Fish Guano, that I felt convinced there was something wrong, but confess that I was unprepared for the presence of so large a percentage of sand. The vendor, who is agent, probably knows nothing, of the nature of what he sold ; he went round with samples taking orders, and, from what I gather, succeeded in getting a good many. Referring to the statement in the circular that the guano was sold on guaranteed analysis, Mr. Leycester wrote, on March 20 : — I had advised tenant who had purchased the compound to apply for analysis of the same. Instead of a reply by post he received a visit from some man from the vendor, who told him that there had been a mistake and that no charge would be made for the “ manure” supplied. The visit was followed the next day by the letter which I enclose. The Phosphate Fish Bone Guano Company, Central Buildings, North John Street, Liverpool. March 18, 1890. Dear Sir, — Our representative informs us that he called upon you to- day, and acquainted you with the fact that we had strong reason to believe that the manure you received bad in some way been sent out not up to our guaranteed analysis. We are inquiring as to how this could have occurred, and beg to assure you that our manager had strict orders to send out each order exact as to quality, and, but for some remarks made amongst the men, Quarterly Report of the Chemical Committee, June 1890. 419 we should not have known that we were being deceived. As our representative told you, we will send you another ton in the place of that you have. — Yours respectfully, The Phosphate Fish Bone Guano Company. J. Worthington, Esq , Per H- Hamilton. Wood End, Mobberley. Two other samples of the same material with the following results : — have been analysed Moisture . 3-43 0-94 1 Organic matter . 20-27 2-23 Phosphate of lime . 5-18 •95 Oxide of iron, alkalies, magnesia, &c. . 12-08 3-30 Sand . 59-04 92-58 100-00 10000 1 Containing nitrogen .... 1-47 ' •29 Equal to ammonia .... 1-78 •35 6. The following cases illustrate the uselessness of such a guarantee as “ made from 96 per cent, linseed.” (a.) Mr. J. A. Gordon, of Arabella, Nigg, Ross-shire, sent on March 11, 1890, a sample of linseed-cake, guaranteed “made from 96 per cent, of pure linseed.” Twelve tons had been purchased at 81. 4s. 2d. per ton. The following analysis was returned, and the cake reported as being mixed with locust beans : — Moisture ........ Oil 1 Albuminous compounds (flesh-forming matters) . Mucilage, sugar, and digestible fibre . Woody fibre (cellulose) ..... Mineral matter (ash) ...... 1 Containing nitrogen . . . 4-34 16-25\ 13-13 27-12 30-54 f 8-66 4-30/ 10000 Mr. Gordon, in answer to inquiries, said that “the manager states that his men had, through carelessness, mixed a little locust beans with the cake before being made.” (b.) Mr. W. J. Gross, of Burton Latimer, Kettering, sent on March 8, 1890, a sample of linseed-cake. The following analysis was re- turned on March 13 : — Moisture ........ Oil 1 Albuminous compounds (flesh-forming matters) . Mucilage, sugar, and digestible fibre . AVoody fibre (cellulose) . . , . . 2 M ineral matter (ash) 1 Containing nitrogen , . . 4 07 sand .... 3-95 A dirty cake. 12-65) 9-23 25-44 33-46 " 9-87 9-35/ 10000 Mr. Gross wrote saying that he bought the cake as pure, price 9 1. per ton. The cakes were marked “ guaranteed made of linseed E E 2 420 Quarterly Report of the Chemical Committee , June 1890. imported on basis of 96 per cent, purity and doubly screened.” The cake, however, was not invoiced as pure, and the vendor refused to put the word pure in the invoice, but stated that he sold it as guaranteed on the cakes. To an inquiry from Mr. Gross, Mr. Yoelcker replied : — The linseed cake, sample of which you sent to me in March, was, as I informed you, a dirty low-quality cake. I really do not know what you can do in the matter, as the cake was not guaranteed pure. I can only say that a cake made from seed of 96 per cent, purity, and subsequently doubly screened, certainly would not contain (practically) 4 per cent, of sand. For the price you paid you should expect to get a really pure and high- quality cake ; the cake you got was neither the one nor the other. (c.) Mr. H. Padwick, of Manor House, Horsham, sent on April 18, 1890, a sample of linseed-cake, price 71. 15s. per ton. The vendors, in offering the cake, stated that the above cakes are guaranteed to be made from Calcutta linseed bought on a basis of 96 per cent, purity. The analysis of the cake was as follows : — Moisture Oil 1 Albuminous compounds (flesh-forming matters) Mucilage, sugar, and digestible fibre . Woody fibre (cellulose) .... 2 Mineral matter (ash) . ... 10-05\ 9-40 3162 30-78 ‘ 9-20 8-95/ 10000 1 Containing nitrogen . . . 5-06 2 Including sand .... 3-60 Contains far too much sand, and is not a pure cake, An allowance of 10s. per ton was made in this case. 7. Mr. W. H. Goodall, of Stoke Grange, Market Drayton, sent on May 1, 1890, a sample which he described as “bones,” price 51. per ton delivered at station. The following analysis and report were returned on May 7 : — Moisture ..... 1 Organic matter .... Thosphate of lime 2 Carbonate of lime, &c. Insoluble siliceous matter . 1 Containing nitrogen Equal to ammonia . 2 Including sulphate of lime ,, chloride of sodium This sample is a boiled bone adulterated with sulphate of lime and salt. 3rd .Tune, 1890. (Signed) Emlyn , Chairman. 21-06. 19-52 41-68 1609 165' 1-68 204 7-23 3-60 100 00 421 REPORT OF THE EDUCATION COMMITTEE ON THE RESULTS OF THE SENIOR EXAMINATION OF MAY 1890. The Committee heave to report that seventeen candidates entered for the Senior Examinations held on May 1 3 and four following days, and that, with one exception, these candidates duly presented them- selves for examination. 2. The following Table shows the results of the examination in each year from 1868, when the Senior Examination was first insti- tuted, until the present time : — Year No. of candidates examined Passed Year No. of candidates examined Passed First class Second class First class Second class 1868 18 No award No award 1880 8 4 1 1869 18 2 8 1881 12 3 1 1870 2 No award No award 1882 9 1 — 1871 4 2 1 1883 19 6 — 1872 8 5 — 1884 7 2 1 1873 9 3 — 1885 12 3 1 1874 10 1 — 1886 21 4 1 1875 6 2 — 1887 7 3 1 1876 4 2 2 1888 13 3 5 1877 8 1 2 1889 24 10 6 1878 6 1 — 1890 16 6 5 1879 12 3 — — — — — — — — — Total 253 67 35 3. Of the sixteen competitors, eleven have satisfied the Ex- aminers; and the following candidates, placed in order of merit, have gained first-class certificates, and thus become Life Members of the Society ; the first four being entitled in addition to the prizes stated below : — 1. Francis Reginald Armytage, 4 Pump Court, Temple, E.C. First Prize of 25 1. 2. Richard William Haydon, Great Coombshead, North Molton, Devon. Second Prize of 15 1. 3. Henry Crabtree, 30, Lutton Place, Edinburgh. Third Prize of \0l. 4. Alfred Henry Inman, 9 Queensferry Street, Edinburgh. Fourth Prize of §1. 5. John James Jeffray, Blackaddie, Sanquhar, N.B. 6. Richard Henderson, Portland Estates Office, Kilmar- nock, N.B. 4. The following candidates, having passed in Agriculture and in three of the other four compulsory subjects, have been awarded Second Class Certificates : — 422 Report of Education Committee , 1890. 7. Edward Douglas Malcomson Hamilton, Magherabuoy, Portrush, Co. Antrim. 8. John Arthur Llewellyn Beasley, Aylestone, Leicester. 9. George Pelham Thomas, Hemsworth, Wakefield. 10. James Gunter, Estate Office, Glasbury. 11. George Sharman Mitchell, Cannon Street, Belgrave, Leicester. 5. Of the compulsory subjects, there were two failures in Agricul- ture, eight in Chemistry, four in Book-keeping, four in Land-sur- veying, and two in Agricultural Engineering. Of the optional subjects there were no failures in Geology, but four in Botany, three in Anatomy, and one in Agricultural Entomology. 6. The Examiner in Agriculture (Mr. Thomas Bell) reports that : — “ The farming experience of candidates who came up for examin- ation having been obtained in widely separated districts of the United Kingdom, ranging from the North of Ireland and the North of Scotland to the southern counties of England, their descriptions of the management of sheep and cattle could not be otherwise than varied. The diversity of treatment entailed by the differences of climate and situation — which necessarily influence local customs — was carefully taken into consideration. The time at disposal for the vivd voce examination was too limited to elicit sufficiently the ex- perimental knowledge of some of the candidates whose paper’s were fair, but who did not come out so well when examined on the details of dairying and of the production of beef and mutton. “ The answers to questions as to rotation of crops, cultivation, manuring, and amount of produce were generally satisfactory ; but great divergence of opinion was expressed as to the quantities, varieties, and cost of grass and cover seeds desii’able for grass in rotation to lie three year’s. There was also a great disparity in the replies as to the amount of work which a man and a pair of horses should accomplish in a given time. “Those candidates who had been engaged in the practical work of the farm w%re free from the hesitation and uncertainty which some of the more theoretical students displayed.” 7. Eight of the candidates, or half of the total number, failed in chemistry. The Examiner in General Chemistry (Prof. Liveing) speaks well of the work of the three candidates who received the highest number of marks in the subject. The Examiner in Agri- cultural Chemistry (Mr. It. Warington) remarks that “the vivd voce examination proved that many of the candidates had a very slender acquaintance with the practical side of agricultural chemistry. Four failed to obtain half-marks in the vivd voce examination, and four others only a little exceeded this. Six of the candidates when shown Peruvian guano could not tell what it was, or gave ridiculous answers. The results of the written examination were better. The arithmetical question (5) [see page 427] was generally well done. The Bejoort of Education Committee, 1890. 423 worst answers were to questions 1 and 3 ; of the answers to the last-named question only five obtained over half-marks.” 8. The Examiner in Book-keeping (Mr. C. Gay Roberts) reports that the papers do not call for any detailed comment, and that the work as a whole was fairly done. 9. The Examiner in Mensuration and Land Surveying (the Rev. Prof. Twisden) reports that “ the constructions asked for in some of the questions were on the whole made neatly and accurately, though of course some candidates did better than others. The right answer was in no case obtained to question 3 [see page 427], though three or four of the candidates took it in hand the right way. Correct results were often found in answer to questions 4 and 5, and the data in question 6 were in many cases arranged rightly, and the section correctly drawn. In question 8 the calculation was not once made, and the construction in most cases was wrong. Ques- tions relating to principles (such as question 7 and the latter parts of questions 4 and 5) seldom brought out good answers. This point might be stated in another way, viz. that the work is too much done by rules, the reasons for which are not understood.” 10. The Examiner in Agricultural Engineering (Dr. Wm. Ander- son) states that the examination was upon the whole satisfactory, and that the oral work was better than the written. He again draws particular attention to the very bad sketching, and expresses his sur- prise that more pains are not taken to teach young men how to draw. He remarks that most Board School boys would have made better sketches than those submitted to him ; and he hopes that greater encouragement will be given to drawing, especially making sketches with dimensions marked thereon. Name of candidate | Age of candidate Agriculture, Paper, max. 200 Agriculture, viva voce, max. 100- Chemistry, max. 200 Book-keeping, max. 200 Land surveying, max. 200 Agrl. engineering, max. 200 a. Botany, max. 100 a. Geology, max. 100 o o c 6 £ a o cS q <1 & o go a o O — I . V, s bfl < c S 5 'rt O Eh *Armytage, F. R. . 40 153 80 141 180 168 180 62 92 65 100 1,221 f Seas ley, J. A. L. . 22 139 68 + 160 120 152 + 61 — + 700 + 19 + 55 + no + + 51 53 + 72 + + 18 149 55 + + 100 + — — — — + ’Crabtree, H. . . . 23 145 65 159 120 117 144 75 89 55 80 1,049 fGunter, J. . . . 30 151 95 + no 100 140 — — 50 — 646 fHamilton, E. D. M. 26 130 80 108 105 + 156 68 79 — 75 801 *Haydon, R. W. . . 29 191 95 149 160 119 140 71 79 + 75 1,079 *Henderson, R. . . 41 152 70 125 175 102 100 — — — 724 *Inman, A. H. . . 27 133 50 144 145 122 160 58 69 60 72 1,013 *Jeffray, J. J. . . . 19 168 85 135 170 105 154 — — — — 817 + 20 140 80 + 185 + 150 + 57 50 87 + fMitchell, G. S. . . 22 142 60 + 100 130 120 — — — — 552 + . . . . ( 23 146 85 + + + 106 + 68 — 100 + fThomas, G. P. . . 26 113 75 109 + 115 130 + 54 + 58 654 + 35 + + -1* + 123 126 — — — — + Remarks. * First-class certificate and life membership, t Second-class certificate. a Optional subjects. — Did not attempt. + Failed, not having obtained half the maxi- mum marks in the subject. 424 Senior Examination Papers, 1890. 11. Of the four optional subjects, the Examiners in Botany and Geology (Mr. W. Carruthers and Prof. Rupert Jones) make no comments upon the quality of the papers in these subjects. The Examiner in Anatomy and Animal Physiology (Prof. J. B. Simonds) reports that the papers upon the whole are scarcely equal to those of former years, and some of the candidates omitted to answer all the questions. The subject of Agricultural Entomology is included in the syllabus for the first time this year ; and it is gratifying to find that considerable attention appears to have been devoted to it by the students. Only one candidate failed out of ten who entered for the subject, whilst two obtained full marks. The Examiner (Miss E. A. Ormerod) expresses satisfaction that “ students are now taught to combat insect attacks by agricultural measures, which is a great advance on former days ; ” and she points out “ the importance of agricultural students being instructed how to distinguish better between the grub of a fly, of a beetle, and of a moth.” 12. The Table on p. 423gives the marks assigned by the Examiners to the work done by each candidate in the several subjects. June 3, 1890. (Signed) John Dent Dent, Chairman. EXAMINATION IN AGRICULTURE. Maximum Number of Marks for this Paper, 200. Pass Number, 100. Tuesday , May 13 th,from 2 p.m. till 5 p.vi, 1. Give a detailed inventory, with prices, of the live and dead stock requisite at this date, for a farm of 650 acres — 150 acres of which are good dairy or fat- tening pasture and meadow ; 200 acres dry, friable, arable land ; and 300 acres upland sheep-walk. 2. Sketch suitable buildings for this farm, including cottages for the labourers, and append a descriptive schedule. 3. Shortly describe the management of a herd (state breed) where the cows, in addition to dairy produce, are intended to provide buUocks to be fattened on the pastures, and heifers to keep up the herd. 4. What gross profits would you expect per head per annum, and state how derived ; from ( a ) the cows, (5) their produce, until the latter are sold fat or returned to the herd for breeding ? 5. What means would you use to ascertain the value of an animal when ripe for the butcher ? G. Give a rotation of crops for the arable land on the Farm in question No. 1. State acreage on each share, and gross value per acre, of an average crop at current prices. 7. How many acres should a man and a pair of horses ridge up for mangel in a day of 9 hours ? State width of ridges. 8. What manures would you apply for mangel, including farmyard dung ? State quantity and cost per acre of each variety. 9. Describe the implements used, and the process of cultivation for a grain crop, of a field where turnips had been folded with sheep ; state approximate date of sowing, kind and quantity of seed per acre. 10. Describe the subsequent preparation and the sowing down of the same land with grass and clover seeds to lie three years (1st year hay, and 2 years pasture). State what varieties of seeds you would use, with the quantity and cost of each per acre. 11. State what breed of sheep you would keep in the Midlands, and describe Senior Examination Papers, 1890. 425 how you would keep the flock of lambs on the farm in question No. 1, from the time of weaning until they were shorn and sold fat in the latter part of April, giving approximate dates for changes of food. Give the weight per head of carcass and the wool you would expect to realise. 12. What different treatment would you give the ewe lambs that are in- tended to take the place of draft ewes ? 13. State the points you deem essential in a shire-bred stallion, and the faults that should disqualify a mare to mate with him ; especially noting here- ditary diseases. VIVA VOCE EXAMINATION IN AGRICULTURE. Maximum Number op Marks, 100. Pass Number, 50. Wednesday Afternoon , May lWi. EXAMINATION IN BOOK-KEEPING. Maximum Number op Marks, 200. Pass Number, 100. Friday , May 1 6th, from 10 a.m. till 1 p.m. 1. State the advantage and the disadvantage of book-keeping by double entry as compared with book-keeping by single entry. 2. Open a Ledger for the Farm Account of Thomas Rogers, who had on Sept. 29, 1888 : £ s. d. Corn valued at 540 0 0 Horses valued at 160 0 0 Live Stock (including Cattle, Sheep, Pigs, and Poultry) valued at 1,250 0 0 Implements valued at ... 350 0 0 Foods and Manures purchased, valued at 170 0 0 Petty cash 15 9 0 Debt due from H. Jones . . . . 45 0 0 And whose liabilities were Amount owing to Sir R. Blake for Rent . 100 0 0 And to Martin & Co. Bank Account over- drawn 241 7 3 Journalise and post into the Ledger the following transactions. Make out a Profit and Loss Account and a Balance sheet for Sept. 29, 1889. T. Rogers draws cheques during the year for: Wages 850 10 0 Seeds 41 7 6 Rent 450 0 0 Rates, Taxes, and Insurance 90 3 0 Manures 149 G 0 Tradesmen’s Bills 203 5 0 Feeding Stuffs 538 4 3 Sheep. 575 0 0 Pigs 24 3 0 He buys of H. Jones 30 bullocks at 15Z. each, and pays him .... 405 0 0 He draws cheques for petty cash 75 0 0 He buys new Implements for . 30 0 0 and at Michaelmas reckons 8 per cent. for depreciation of Implements. The rent that becomes due for the 12 months is 400 0 0 426 Senior Examination Papers , 1890. receives and pays into the Bank : £ s. d. Sheep sold , 802 10 0 Wool „ 45 7 6 Cattle „ . i . . 750 0 0 Pigs , , 245 6 9 He sells to Thompson, Dairy 1821. Is. 6 d. and receives on Produce, account 171 3 4 He receives Corn Produce . 839 8 0 He sells to Thompson, Hay and Straw 175/. and receives from him on account . 150 0 0 Sept. 29, 1889, his valuations are : Corn unsold .... • • 660 0 0 Horses „ .... 140 0 0 Sheep « • • • 650 0 0 Cattle „ .... 540 0 0 Pigs „ .... 40 0 0 Poultry „ .... 5 0 0 Seeds „ .... 20 0 0 Hay and Straw unsold . • • 180 0 0 Growing Crops „ , . 700 0 0 Foods purchased „ 90 0 0 Manures „ • » 94 0 0 He has petty cash in hand 7 6 2 His unpaid Tradesmen’s bills amount to . 45 3 1 EXAMINATION IN CHEMISTRY. Maximum Number of Marks, 200. Pass Number, 100. A. General Chemistry. Thursday, May 15th, from, 10 a.m. till 1p.m. 1. How can nitrogen be distinguished from other gases ? How can it be brought into combination with oxygen ? How can you detect the presence of nitric acid, and of nitrous acid ? 2. Mention gases easily soluble in water, and others which are but little soluble. State how the solubility of a gas in water is affected by temperature and by pressure ; and give facts, or experiments, in proof of your statement. What are the gases usually held in solution in freshly fallen rain ? 3. Describe the preparation of hydrochloric acid, and explain the chemistry of the process. Explain the action of that acid with caustic soda, metallic iron, red lead, and nitric acid, respectively. 4. What are the chief sources of ammonia ? State the composition, by weight and by volume, of ammonia ; and give an account of its properties. How can you obtain ammonia from the sulphate, and what weight of ammonia will 1,000 grs. of the sulphate give ? 5. Describe the preparation and properties of sulphuretted hydrogen. Ex- plain its action with (1) white lead, (2) slaked lime, (3) ferric chloride. 6. Explain the chemistry of lime-burning, and give the chemical characters of lime. Explain the differences in the characters of limes obtained from different kinds of limestone. What is the chemical action of slaked lime with (1) sodium carbonate, (2) ferric chloride, (3) common sodium phosphate ? 7. Describe the chief characters of zinc ; and the effects of acids, alkalies, and exposure to the weather, upon it. How is iron galvanised ? 8. State the chemical composition of starch, and describe its chief properties and its mode of occurrence. Explain the relations between starch, gum, sugar, and cellulose. 9. Explain the general chemical constitution of fats. How do mineral oils, and such oils as oil of turpentine, differ from fats ? Explain the chemistry of the conversion of fat into soap. Senior Examination Papers, 1890. 427 B. Agricultural Chemistry. Thursday, May 15 fit, from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. 1. Write a paper on the humus of soil. Describe (1) its origin and nature ; (2) the conditions which favour its increase, and diminution ; (3) the part which it plays in the soil. 2. Describe the special characteristics of the manure yielded by horses, cattle, sheep, and pigs. What are the conditions which determine the produc- tion of (1) a valuable, and (2) a poor, manure? What losses is farmyard manure liable to, and how are they best prevented ? 3. Write a paper on the agricultural chemistry of the mangel crop. To what extent is it an exhaustive crop ? What are its natural capacities for drawing food from the soil ? What should be the characteristics of the manure when a full crop is desired ? How is the composition of the root affected by (1) thick or thin planting ; (2) character of manure ; (3) character of season ? 4. What do you understand by the following terms ? Monocalcic phosphate. Amide. Reduced phosphate. Lignin. Meat guano. Malt dust. Cinereal. Peptone. 5. A horse is fed with hay containing in 100 parts — albuminoids 10'3, fat 2'6, soluble carbohydrates 41-6, fibre 25 0. The digestion coefficients are for albuminoids 57, fat 24, carbohydrates 55, fibre 36. Calculate the albuminoid ratio of the diet. 6. What is the nature of rennet ? How is it prepared ? Describe its action on milk, and the influence of external conditions upon this action. EXAMINATION IN MENSURATION AND LAND SURVEYING. Maximum Number of Marks, 200. Pass Number, 100. Tuesday, May 13th, from 10 a.m. till 1p.m. 1. What is the length of a chain in yards, and of a link in inches ? What is the advantage of using a chain for making the measurements from which areas of land are to be obtained ? A rectangular piece of land is 42 chains 15 links long, and 13 chains 73 links wide ; find its area (a) in acres, (h) in square yards. 2. Draw a straight line A C, and in it take two points, N and M ; A N = 107 ft., A M = 230 ft. ; AC = 412ft. ; N D and MB are perpendiculars to AC, drawn to the right and left respectively of a man looking from A to C ; N D = 184 ft., M B = 155 ft. ; draw A B C D to a scale of 75 ft. to an inch, and note the length of B C, and the number of degrees in the angle ADC. 3. A hundredweight of seven-strand straining wire is 650 ft. long ; find the diameter of each wire, assuming the specific gravity to be 8. N.B. — You may take 77r = 22 ; the calculation will be simplified by the use of logarithms. 4. State the common practical rule for finding the volume of a piece of round timber. Apply it to find the volume of the trunk of a tree, which is 45 ft. long and 1 56 in. round in the middle. For what reasons would you expect the result to be inexact ? On which side would the error commonly be ? 5. A hole is dug in level ground ; its top is a rectangle 100 ft. long and 50 ft. wide ; its bottom is an horizontal rectangle, with its sides parallel to the sides of the top, 80 ft. long and 40 ft. wide ; its depth is 8 ft. ; find the number of cubic yards moved in digging it. Draw a plan of the hole, assuming that two of the adjacent sides of the hole are vertical. State whether in this case the volume would differ from 428 Senior Examination Papers, 1890. what the volume would be if all the sides had equal slopes, and give a reason for your answer. 6. A, B, C, D are four successive points, and their horizontal distances are as follows : — A to B = 2 chains, AtoC = 6-30 chains, Ato D = 12-10 chains; when a spirit level is between A and B and the staff is first at A and then at B, the backsight reading is 6-78 ft. and the foresight reading is 1-05 ft. ; similarly, between B and C, backsight 5 82, foresight 3-47 ; between C and D, backsight 2 74, foresight 6-25. Arrange these measurements in the form of field-book entries, and draw a section of the ground, using for the horizontal scale 1 in. = 2 chains, and for a vertical scale 1 in. = 10 ft. The datum line may be assumed to be 10 ft. below A. 7. Explain the principle of the Vernier. A scale a foot long is divided into 100 equal parts ; construct a vernier for the scale, by means of which it can be read to thousandths of a foot. N.B. — By “construct” is meant, draw a line of the actual length of the vernier and divide it into the requisite number of equal parts. 8. A, B, C are three points ; at A, A B bears N. G5° 30' E. ; at B, B C bears N. 27° 15' W. ; from A to B is 1,000 yards, and from B to C is 700 yards ; calculate the bearing of A C at A and verify the result by construction. EXAMINATION IN AGKICULTURAL ENGINEERING. Maximum Number of Marks, 200. Pass Number, 100. Wednesday , May \tth, from 10 a.m. till 1 p.m. N.B. — Not more than half the questions should he attempted. 1. Suppose a brick wall 20 feet high and of uniform thickness is required to resist a wind-pressure of 20 lbs. per square foot acting uniformly over its surface ; explain how you would decide on the thickness of the wall so as to enable it to stand the wind-pressure safely. 2. A handspike 12 feet long is employed to raise a stone. The fulcrum is placed 2 feet from the stone and a labourer presses the end of the lever down with a force of 120 lbs. Calculate the lifting pressure on the stone and the pressure on the fulcrum. 3. Explain what is' meant by “Work ’’and by “Horse-power,” and give some illustrations. 4. Explain what is meant by the “ Mechanical Equivalent of Heat,” what is its numerical value, and show how it is applied in calculating the efficiency of heat engines. 5. Explain the method of calculating the heat capable of being developed by a fuel the chemical composition of which is known. 6. Describe briefly the chemical composition of the atmosphere, and the principal properties of air. 7. Explain how the column of mercury is supported in a barometer, and show what is the maximum height to which a pump may be expected to suck water. The specific gravity of mercury is 13-4. 8. A stream of water with a fall of 15 feet is available for driving the machinery of a homestead. It is desired to secure a clear 12 horse-power ; how many gallons or cubic feet of water per minute will be required to yield the necessary power ? The efficiency of the motor may be taken at 60 per cent. 9. Sketch a single-flue Cornish boiler and its setting, giving the main dimensions. 10. Sketch an ordinary hemp-packed gland for a 2|-inch piston rod, and give the main dimensions of the parts. 11. Describe the cycle of operations in the “ Otto ” gas-engine as made, for example, by Crossley Brothers. Senior 'Examination Papers , 1890. 429 12. Describe the system of steam ploughing by means of two hauling engines. 13. What is the difference between a cultivator and a plough ? Illustrate your answer by sketches. 14. Describe an ordinary sowing drill and sketch one of the sections. 15. Discuss the advantages of pressing hay and straw for transport, and describe any one of the hand presses now generally in use. 16. Describe and sketch a tumip-slicer and pulper. Point out the difference between the two implements. 17. Describe and sketch a plumber block or pedestal bearing for a 2|-inch shaft and a flange coupling for the same. 18. Describe the process of getting up steam, starting with an empty boiler, and state what instructions you would give a driver for working it. EXAMINATION IN BOTANY. Maximum Number of Marks, 100. Pass Number, 50. Saturday , May nth, from 10 a.m. till 12 noon. Seven questions at least must be answered. 1 . Give the distinguishing characters of Dicotyledons and Monocotyledons. 2. Describe the nature and functions of stomata. 3. What are the organs that are modified for storing food in the potato, artichoke, onion, turnip, kohl-rabi, and carrot ? 4. What is meant by an epiphyte, a parasite, and a saprophyte? Give examples. 5. What are the conditions required for the germination of a seed ? 6. Explain the conditions and structure of the root which fit it for absorb- ing food from the soil. 7. Explain the changes that take place in a grain of wheat in malting. 8. Give from the British flora two examples of plants that ensnare insects. State how this is done in the examples given, and explain how the plants benefit from the capture. 9. Give the characters of the natural order Crucifer®, and specify some of the cultivated plants which belong to the order. 10. Name and describe in systematic order the plants marked A and B. EXAMINATION IN GEOLOGY. Maximum Number of Marks, 100. Pass Number, 50. Friday , May Mi h, from 2 p.m. till 5 p.m. 1. From the decomposition of what Rocks are different Soils supplied with Lime, Potash, Magnesia, and Silica ? 2. What is Clay ? What particular kinds of Clay are used in Manufactures and Building ? Where are such Clays respectively obtained ? 3. Refer to the different states and conditions in which Water exists as a disintegrating and denuding agent on the Earth’s surface ; and describe in detail its action in one or more instances. 4. Describe, and illustrate by diagram, what is meant by dip and strike. Show also how they affect the surface of England, as to its physical geo- graphy. 5. What is a Fossil ? Mention some Fossils with which you are well ac- quainted, and state what you know about them and their origin (whether animal or vegetable), the conditions under which they occur, and to what particular Geological Formations they belong. 430 Senior Examination Papers, 1890. 6. Suppose that you have to make a Road along a Valley, in which the strata strike along the valley, and dip in the same direction on both sides, on which side would you prefer to make the Road 2 Give your reasons for the choice. 7. Write a brief essay on the Geology and Physical Geography of any large County in England, Wales, Scotland, or Ireland. Give one or more sketches and diagrams in illustration. 8. What are the natural causes of the Eastern and South-eastern parts of England being distinguished for Agriculture, and of some other parts having many more Manufactures ? 9. Define marl, shale, schist, slate, basalt, and granite. For what purposes are these used 2 Where in the British Isles are the last three found in abundance ? 10. Mention some of the best districts for Sheep-walks, Grass-lands, and Corn-fields in England, and state the geological reasons for their existence. 11. From what material is Lime obtained ? Describe the process and its results. In what does Hydraulic Lime differ from common or simple Lime ? 12. Name and describe the Specimens on the Table. EXAMINATION IN ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY. Maximum Number of Marks, 100. Pass Number, 50. Saturday, May 17th, from 2 p.m. till ip.m. 1. Describe the action of the saliva on the food ; name the chief sources of its supply, and the means by which it is conveyed into the mouth. 2. Describe the process of chylification, and say in what part of the digestive system the chyle is chiefly deposited and how it is conveyed thence into the general circulation ; name also the blood-vessel into which it enters. 3. Name the blood-vessels especially connected with the liver, and say in what essential particular its secretion differs from that of other glands ; also name the chief use of the secretion in the assimilation of the food. 4. Give a general description of the circulation of the blood, and especially describe the changes which it undergoes in the systemic and pulmonic vessels. 5. Name the several membranes which constitute the so-called coats of the stomach and intestines, and explain the physiological function of each. 6. Describe the physiology of impregnation, noting especially the site where the process of development of the embryo commences. State also the period of utero-gestation in the cow, the ewe, and the pig. 7. Name the chief indications of approaching parturition in a heifer, and state the absolute proofs that labour has commenced and the means by which the birth of a foetus is effected. 8. Describe the general anatomy of the mammary gland— udder — of the cow, naming especially the vessels which convey the blood to it for the secretion of milk and those which take back the unused blood into the general circulation. 9. Give the names of the bones and other structures which are combined in the formation of the foot of the ox. Name also the provision which exists for the growth of the hoof, and, as working oxen are frequently shod in some districts, state the structures which in nailing on the shoe must be carefully guarded against injury. 10. In dishorning an ox name the several structures, in their natural order, which are cut through ; also the connection which the cavities thus laid open have with others normally existing both in horned and polled animals, and not naturally exposed to the direct action of the air. Name also the ill-effects which very often attend the operation. Senior Examination Papers, 1890. 431 EXAMINATION IN AGRICULTURAL ENTOMOLOGY. Maximum Number op Marks, 100. Pass Number, 50. Saturday, May 17th, from 12 noon till 1 p.m. Candidates mill not be expected to answer all the questions on this paper. The replies are to be as short as possible, and where the candidate is not acquainted with the scientific name of an insect, the generally received English name will be accepted. 1. Name some of the kinds of insects which are injurious to various kinds of field crops, as — to corn and grass, or fodder crops, and root crops. 2. Describe in plain words, and as shortly as you can, the appearance of one or more of the above kinds of insects in its different stages ; its method of injury to the plant ; where it goes into chrysalis state; and any point of useful interest connected with it. 3. How do you know the difference between the maggot of a two-winged fly, and a beetle grub, and the caterpillar of a moth or butterfly ; speaking generally and not noting exceptional cases ? 4. Mention any kind of grub or maggot specially found to infest crops on broken-up pasture or clover ley. How would you prevent this happening ? 5. Name the insect attacks which are most frequently injurious to corn crops. 6. Give in a few plain words a description of the appearance of one or more of the above injured crops — as, whether the straw is elbowed down, or cut off, or the grain shrivelled, and so on. 7. Give some examples of treatment of seed or of land ; or of any applica- tion, or treatment, or special rotation of crops which are practically useful to prevent any of these attacks, or to carry an attacked crop through up to a fair yield. 8. Give the reason why such treatment is useful. 9. Describe the ox warble maggot and its life history in the hide. 10. Mention the best methods of remedy and prevention of warble attack. 432 IFlotes, Communications, anb IRcvuews. THE MARKET VALUE OF THE DIFFERENT SAMPLES OF WHEAT AND BARLEY GROWN IN 1889 ON THE EXPERIMENTAL PLOTS AT ROTHAMSTED. (1 Communicated by the Lawes Agricultural Trust Committee.) The experiments on the continuous growth of wheat and barley at Rothamsted were designed and have been carried out for the deter- mination of scientific problems. It was no part of the plan to discover how to produce the largest and best crops, or to determine the most profitable manuring for different crops. Yet the investi- gations have supplied in their course many results which have been of practical value to the farmer. The annual estimates of the average wheat crop of the United Kingdom, published by Sir J. Bennet Lawes, have been based on the produce of the experimental crops in Broadbalk field. The Lawes Agricultural Trust Committee wished to ascertain the commercial value of the wheat and barley from the plots harvested in 1889. With this view they obtained the assistance of a skilled valuer who examined all the samples and reported to the Committee, Dr. Gilbert supplying some observations on the valuer’s report. The Committee resolved to offer the report and observations to the Royal Agricultural Society for publication in their Journal, and placed the documents in the hands of a sub- committee (consisting of Sir J. H. Thorold, Mr. Whitehead, and Mr. Carruthers) to prepare a statement of the results suitable for pub- lication. The only matter that is new in this communication is the market value of the crops. Though it is impossible in perusing the data here given to avoid reading the lessons which they teach, it is most necessary to bear in mind that the data refer only to one year, and that the observations of future years may greatly modify the conclusions legitimately proceeding from those of 1889. Market Value of Wheat and Barley Grown in 1889. 433 The reader must also bear in mind that as the arrangement of the manures of the different plots is based on actual and comparative composition, regardless of cost, the market values of the grain supplied by the valuer cannot be used to determine the actual or comparative profit or loss per acre on the different plots ; and, further, that the manures are not the only influences which affect the growth and productiveness of the crops. Lawes and Gilbert have shown in various memoirs that both the quantity and quality of the crop depend, in the first instance, on the fitness of the varying climatic conditions — the temperature, moisture, and sunlight — to the different stages in the life of the plant. A. Wheat. The first experimental wheat crop in Broadbalk field was grown in 1844, so that the crop of 1889 was the forty-sixth in succession on the same land. The same description of manure has been applied to the same plots for 36 years (from 1852), and indeed, with some exceptions, since the beginning of the experiments. Until 1876-7 the manures were applied in the autumn, before the seed was sown, except the nitrate of soda which was used in spring. In consequence of the loss of nitrogen by drainage, the ammonia salts, as well as the nitrate, were applied in spring for the six crops 187 8-83 ; since 1884 each ammonia plot has received 100 lb. of ammonia salts in the autumn with the minerals, and the balance as a top-dressing in spring. The only exceptions are Nos. 25 and 26, which, since 1878, have had the whole of the ammonia salts applied with the minerals in autumn. The plots are six-tenths of an acre in size. They have been divided into two equal portions, except those unmanured, those with farmyard manure, and that with rape-cake. Both portions have been similarly treated since 1880 ; but previously one-half had received at first a mixture of soluble silicates in addition to the other manures, and afterwards the straw produced on the plots was cut and applied. This has, however, been discontinued since 1880. The half-plots receiving this exceptional treatment are numbered in Table I. on page 434 as 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, 17, 19, 21, 23, 25, 27, 29, 31. The valuer went down to Rothamsted to value the samples on October 25, 1889. The average market price of home-grown wheat in England on that date was 30s. id. per quarter. On the results tabulated here, Dr. Gilbert observes : — “ It is seen that, if we exclude Nos. 14 to 18 grown under conditions of very abnormal exhaustion of certain mineral constituents, Nos. 1 to 13, 19 to 24, 27 and 28 are all priced at 32 s. per quarter ; Nos. 25 and 26 at 6 d. more, namely, 32s. 6 d. ; and Nos. 29 to 33 at 6 d. less, that is, 31s. 6 d. This is the case notwithstanding there was the greatest possible variety of manuring, and a range in the amounts of produce among these 28 plots of from 9^ to 40 1 bushels per acre. It is clear, therefore, that, excepting under certain abnormal conditions, the character of the manuring has very little direct influence on the VOL. I. T- S. — 2 F F 434 Market Value of Wheat and Barley Table I. — Produce and Value of the Wheat Crop of 1889, on Broad- balk Field Experimental Plots. Mineral Manures 4-3 a | .L CL— « o u Value Field Sul- Sul- phate | Soda Sul- J.§ Nitrogenous S-S o-fi of the 'u o zn Plots phate Po- tass phate Mag- nesia Q,P ® S a J Ji a Manures o & r" O. « M Q to 3 *3 ^ £ 3 ei Is El Wheat per acre bush. lb. s. d. £ s. d. i 2 land 1 14 tons farmyard manure since 1855 31< 59-2 32 0 5 13 7 2 2 land 2 14 tons farmyard manure since 1844 404 59'3 32 0 7 12 6 3 4 3 } TJnmanured since 1844 | 124 124 59- 8 60- 32 0 32 0 2 5 11 2 9 0 lbs. lbs. lbs. cwt. 5 6 5a 5b l 200 100 100 34 - 14? 15j 60-5 60-2 32 0 32 0 2 15 5 2 19 7 7 8 6a 1 6b | 200 100 100 34 200 Ammonia salts j 22? 234 60-5 60-1 32 0 32 0 4 6 11 4 8 5 9 10 7a 1 7b 1 200 100 100 3J 400 Ammonia salts | 30J 304 60-3 60-2 32 0 32 0 5 18 7 5 16 7 11 12 8a 8b r 200 100 100 34 600 Ammonia salts j 354 353 69-2 59'4 32 0 32 0 6 7 2 6 13 5 13 9a 200 100 100 34 275 Nitrate of soda 26? 59-5 32 0 4 19 2 14 9b — — — 275 Nitrate of soda 12? 55-6 29 0 2 0 9 15 16 10a 10b \ - - - - 400 Ammonia salts j 11? 12? 57-0 55-3 28 6 28 0 1 17 9 1 19 1 17 18 11a lib - - - 34 400 Ammonia salts | 164 164 56-8 56-1 28 6 28 6 2 11 7 2 11 1 19 20 12a 12b - 3664 - 34 400 Ammonia salts j 24? 23? 58-2 592 32 0 32 0 3 18 9 4 9 3 21 22 13a 13b 200 - - 34 400 Ammonia salts | 25 27 69-9 60-5 32 0 32 0 4 15 0 5 3 8 23 24 14a 14b — - 280 34 400 Ammonia salts j 25* 24“ 59-2 592 32 0 32 0 4 15 10 4 10 2 25 15a 200 100 100 34 f 400 Ammonia salts f 284 61-1 32 6 5 10 11 26 15b t (autumn) 1 254 60-9 32 6 5 0 1 27 28 16a 16b 200 100 100 34 550 Nitrate of soda | 29 29 60-1 59-1 32 0 32 0 5 10 7 5 8 10 29 30 17a 17b 200 100 100 34 i 11 94 59'0 59-0 31 6 31 6 2 0 7 1 15 3 31 32 18a 18b - - - - 400 Ammonia salts j 22 24? 60-1 59-7 31 6 31 6 4 2 4 4 13 3 33 19 1889 lb. Rape Cake in Autumn 22? 57-1 31 6 4 4 6 quality and value of the grain. The truth is, that there is very much more difference in the quality of grain grown by the same manure in different seasons, than by all the variety of manures used in the experimental plots, in the same season. In fact, excluding Nos. 14 to 18, the differences in weight per bushel and in value are, in all other cases, explained by comparatively slight differences in condition , dependent on the adaptation of the climatic conditions during the ripening and harvest periods to the slightly varying stage of growth and maturity at the time, under the influence of the very various manuring.” By taking the mean value of the wheat produced on the two half-plots which have the same manures, and arranging the whole plots in the order of the market value of their produce, we get the results shown in Table II., page 435. In the year 1889, the top half of each plot was sown with only half the usual number of rows of wheat, the full number being sown in the bottom half. On the top half the rows were 15 inches apart or 9 to the land, and in the bottom half they were 7\ inches Grown in 1889 at Eothamsted. 435 Table II. — The Plots of Broadbalk Field arranged according to the Market Value of the Wheat, Value of the Wheat per acre Mineral Manures Nitrogenous Manure* Sulphate of Potass Sulphate of Soda Sulphate of Magnesia Super- phosphate of Lime £ S. d. 7 12 6 Fourteen tons farmyard manure since 1844 lb. lb. lb. Ctt't. 6 10 3 200 100 100 3| 600 lb. ammonia salts 5 17 7 200 100 100 3.4 400 lb. ammonia salts 6 13 7 Fourteen tons farmyard manure since 1855 5 9 8 200 100 100 H 550 lb. nitrate of soda] 5 5 6 200 100 100 4 400 lb. ammonia salts 4 19 4 200 — — H 400 lb. ammonia salts 4 19 2 200 100 100 H 275 lb. nitrate of soda 4 13 10 — — 280 400 lb. ammonia salts 4 7 11 — — — — 400 lb. ammonia salts 1 4 7 8 200 100 100 200 lb. ammonia salts 4 4 3 1889 lb. rape-cake applied in autumn 4 4 0 — 3664 — H 400 lb. ammonia salts 2 18 0 200 100 100 None 2 11 4 — — — 34 400 lb. ammonia salts 2 7 5 Unmanured since 1844 2 0 9 — — — — 275 lb. nitrate of soda 1 18 5 — — — — 400 lb. ammonia salts 1 17 11 200 100 100 3a None 2 1 Mineral manures were put in for the crop of the previous year. 3 Ammonia salts were supplied for the crop of the previous year. apart or 18 to the land. This thin sowing was a temporary expe- dient to clean the ground, which had become very foul under the con- tinuous cropping with thick sowing. It involved very much more risk of damage from hoeing and trampling than the usual thick sowing, and very much more on some plots than on others, as some were more foul than others. The valuer made a careful comparison Table III. — Quantity of Dressed Grain per Acre on the Thick and Thin Sown Portions of the Plots. Serial No. Thick Sown Thin Sown Serial No. Thick Sown Thin Sown Serial No. Thick Sown Thin Sown 1 bushels 314 bushels 28 12 bushels 35| bushels 274 23 bushels 254 bushels 144 2 40$ 374 13 264 28§ 24 24 12$ 3 124 9$ 14 12f 5 25 28| 20$ 4 12$ nf i5f 15 nf 26 25L isf 6 Ilf 16 12} 164 54 ■ 27 29 24$ 6 15$ 16$ 17 16$ 16$ 28 29 23 7 22$ 23$ 24$ 18 16$ 29 11 74 8 23$ 19 24$ I64 30 94 7$ 9 30$ 31$ 20 23$ 164 31 22 22 10 30$ 294 21 25 234 32 24f 22$ 23f 11 354t 29$ 22 27 20| 33 20$ F f 2 436 Market Value of Wheat and Barley Grown in 1889, of the samples from the thin and thick sown portions of the plots, with the general result that the quality of the grain was somewhat better on the thick sown portions. The quantity produced per acre was, in several cases, larger in the thin sown than in the thick sown. Dr. Gilbert in considering these results says, “ The question arises how far this is due to the thin crops being much cleaner from the extra hoeing, and being much less laid, or how far to the fewer plants having a better command of the resources of the soil.” Table I Y. — Produce and Value of the Barley Crop of 1 889 on Hoosfield Experimental Plots. Serial No. Mineral Manures Nitrogenous Manures Dressed Barley per acre Weight per bushel u QJ a c "5 > quarter Value of the Barley per acre Sulphate Potass Sulphate Soda Sulphate Magnesia Superphos- phate Lime Silicate Soda lb. bush. lb. S. d. £ s. d. 1 XTmuaiiured. — HI 51-3 34 0 2 7 10 lb. lb. lb. cwt. lb. 2 — — 31 — — 20 52-6 38 0 4 15 0 3 200 100 100 — — , 9 51-5 33 0 1 17 1 4 200 100 100 Si — — 171 52-7 36 0 3 17 7 5 — — — — 200 Ammonia salts 221 51-9 29 6 4 2 11 6 — — — — „ „ „ 351 51-5 29 6 6 10 0 7 200 100 100 — — 101 63-5 30 0 3 8 1 8 200 100 100 Si — 275 Nitrate soda 351 51*9 30 0 6 14 0 9 — — — — 25} 52-9 30 Q 4 14 8 10 — — — Si — 41* 51-4 31 0 8 0 9 n 200 100 100 — 241 52-8 31 0 4 14 11 12 200 100 100 Si — 36 52-3 32 0 7 9 0 13 — — — 400 29 53-1 32 0 5 15 9 14 — — — Si 400 42* 52'1 31 0 7 18 0 15 200 100 100 400 30 533 30 0 5 12 6 1G 200 100 100 Si 400 37J 53-2 33 0 7 13 8 17 — — — — 1,000 Rape-cake so* 51-6 32 0 6 3 6 18 — — — Si — „ „ „ 334 52-0 32 0 6 7 3 19 200 100 100 — ,, w „ 281 52'1 32 0 5 7 0 20 200 100 100 Si 301 53-1 33 0 6 4 9 21 14 tons farmyard manure 1852 -71. Unmanurcd since 221 53'1 32 0 4 9 0 22 14 tons farmyard manure since 1852 411 533 30 0 7 16 7 Table V.- — The Barley of Hoosfield arranged according to the Value of the Produce ' per Acre and the kind of Manures used. — Without Nitrogenous Manures 200 lb. Ammonia salts. 275 lb. Nitrate of Soda 275 lb. Nitrate Soda and 400 lb. Silicate Soda 1,000 lb. Rape-Cake Average Value £ S. d. £ S. d. £ S. d. £ s. d. £ S. d. £ s. d. Superphosphate 4 15 0 6 10 0 8 0 !) 7 18 0 6 7 3 5 15 5 Full minerals and superphos- * 3 17 7 6 14 0 7 9 0 7 13 8 6 4 9 5 12 3 phate of lime . ] Nitrogenous 4 2 11 4 14 8 5 15 9 (i 3 6 5 4 2 manures only . Full minerals . 1 17 1 3 8 1 4 14 11 5 12 6 5 7 0 3 16 6 Average value 3 9 10 5 3 9 6 4 10 6 14 11 6 0 7 — Boundary Fences. 437 B. Barley. The experiments on the growth of barley have been carried on in the Hoosfield since 1852, so that the crop of 1889 was the thirty- seventh in succession. Some modifications of the manures were made in the earlier years of the experiments, but since 1868 the manures recorded in the tables have been annually applied. The average market price of home-grown barley on October 25 (the day on which the adjudication of the samples by the valuer took place) was 30s. lid. per quarter. From Table V., page 436, it appears that the most valuable crop was produced by the use of nitrate of soda with superphosphate of and the highest average was obtained from the plots to which the lime, silicate as well as the nitrate of soda was applied. BOUNDARY FENCES. A note upon a case decided in the County Court of Derbyshire held at Bakewell by His Honour Judge Barber, Q.C.1 So much misapprehension exists on the subject of the obligation to repair boundary fences, and on the question, which often arises in con- sequence, whether the owner of cattle which stray into a neighbour’s premises is or is not liable for the damage thereby occasioned, that a note of the following case can hardly fail to be useful. It may be premised that J udge Barber, who decided the case, practised while at the Bar on the Chancery side, and he had for many years a great reputation as a conveyancer and real property lawyer. The plaintiff was at the date of the action, and had been for some seven or eight years previously, the tenant or occupier of a field of grazing land known as Fisher’s Piece. On the north side of that field wTas a stone wall, which separated it from the adjoining field, also used for grazing purposes, and known as Poor’s Piece, in the parish of Castleton. The wall was in fact the boundary at this point between the parish of Castleton and part of the township of Bradwell, which is part of the parish of Peak Forest. The wall was of the dry masonry so well known in the district, and was of a height varying from about four to five feet. The plaintiff claimed that his landlord was the owner of the wall, and that it was included in his tenancy ; and this was conceded by the defendant. It was proved at the trial that in places the wall 1 Fletcher r. Howe. Reported in the Laiv Journal for January 25, 1890, p. 64. 438 Boundary Fences. was much out of repair, with several large gaps in it. The defendant was tenant and occupier of Poor’s Piece, which he used for grazing purposes. The plaintiff’s case was that on various occasions the defendant’s sheep, occasionally from twenty to thirty at a time, got into Fisher’s Piece through the gaps in the north wall and did damage, for which he claimed 10?. It was proved that the defendant’s sheep from time to time during the summer of 1888 made incursions into Fisher’s Piece, and that they did some damage, and the question for the Court was whether the plaintiff was entitled to recover under the circumstances of the case, the wall being admit- tedly his, and he not having kept it in repair. At the trial it was contended on behalf of the plaintiff that although the plaintiff or his landlord was undoubtedly the owner of the wall, and that the plaintiff had not repaired it himself or allowed the defendant to do so, he was nevertheless entitled to recover damages from the defendant for the trespass committed by his sheep ; and that whether the trespass was or was not in any degree attributable to his own negligence was for the purposes of the action wholly immaterial. For the defendant it was urged, that if there had been no gaps or weak places in the wall, the defendant’s sheep would not have got through and done the damage ; that it was the duty of the plaintiff, as between himself and the defendant, to keep his own wall in repair ; and that, as he would neither repair it himself nor allow the defendant to do so, he could not sue the defendant for the conse- quences of a trespass which he himself might have prevented by the exercise of a little reasonable care. “We have here,” said the learned judge, “ the question distinctly raised, On whom does the law cast the obligation of preventing cattle or sheep from straying 1 Is the owner of the cattle or sheep bound to keep them within the limits of his own land, or is the owner of the adjoining land bound to protect himself against the possible incursions of his neighbour’s cattle ? There is, I need hardly observe, no statutory obligation in this case, such as is imposed on railway companies, who are bound by statute to make and maintain suffi- cient fences, not merely for the purpose of separating the land taken for the use of the railway from the adjoining lands not taken, but also for protecting such lands from trespass or the cattle of the owners or occupiers thereof from straying thereout by reason of the railway ; nor is this the case of a man bringing something noxious or dangerous on to his land, or, as Lord Cairns put it, * using his land in a non-natural manner’ ; the defendant here is using his land in a proper, legitimate, and usual manner. The law is very ancient and well settled ; it is expressed in the old maxim, ‘ Sic utere tuo ut alienum non laxlas,’ and almost the earliest, if not the earliest cases, in which this maxim was applied, were cases of cattle trespass. Lord Hale states that where one keeps a beast, knowing that its nature or habits are such that the natural con- sequence of his being loose is that he will harm men, the owner ‘ must at his peril keep him safe from doing hurt ’ ; for, though he Boundary Fences. 439 use his diligence to keep him shut up, if he escape and do harm, the owner is liable to answer in damages. “ As Mr. Justice (afterwards Lord) Blackburn said in the case of Fletcher v. Ry lands, ‘ The person whose grass or corn is eaten down by the escaping cattle of his neighbour is damnified without any fault of his own, and it seems but reasonable and just that his neighbour, who has brought something on to his own property which was not naturally there, harmless to others so long as it is confined to his own property, but which he knows to be mischievous if it gets on his neighbour’s, should be obliged to make good the damage which ensues if he does not succeed in confining it to his own property.’ This, then,” continued his Honour, “being the general rule of law, is its operation at all qualified or affected by the fact of the owner of the land on which the trespass is committed having himself for his own purposes built a fence wall, which, if kept in repair, would protect him against his neighbour’s sheep 1 In the absence of any contract between the adjoining owners as to the maintenance of the wall (of which in the present case there is not the slightest evidence), it is obvious that the owner of the wall, who built it for his own conve- nience, might of his own free will take it down and remove it, just as he might any other building on his land, unless the adjoining owner had in the meantime acquired the right to have the wall maintained for his own protection • and this brings me to the really difficult question in this case — viz., Can the defendants successfully urge by way of defence to the undoubted trespass that they had a prescriptive right to have the wall maintained, and that the trespass is due to the plaintiff not having kept the wall in repair 1 It is well settled that an owner of land may be bound by prescription to maintain and repair a fence for the benefit of the owner of the ad- joining land, who may have a corresponding right to have the fence so maintained. Whether such a right has been acquired depends of course upon the evidence adduced in each particular case. “ What are the facts here 1 The wall is admittedly an old one, probably built at the time when the waste lands of Castleton and Bradwell were inclosed at the end of the last or the beginning of the present century. At the trial I asked for the Inclosure Awards, or extracts from them, because I thought it probable that the obligation to make and maintain this north wall would be thrown on the allottee of Fisher’s Piece, especially as it formed the boundary line between this piece and the adjoining parish of Castleton. I have not been supplied with this information, and, whatever the probabilities may be, I cannot of course assume as a fact proved that the obligation to maintain this wall was thrown by the award on the owner of Fisher’s Piece. But, at any rate, there is this solid fact to rest upon. The wall unquestionably belonged to the owner of Fisher’s Piece ; and it was important, if not absolutely necessary, that it should be maintained, not merely as separating the properties of two private owners, but as the boundary between two adjoining parishes. The only person who could properly repair the wall was the owner of 440 Boundary Fences. Fisher’s Piece ; any other person attempting to do so would be a trespasser. Primd facie , therefore, the owner of Fisher’s Piece is the proper person to repair the wall, if there is any obligation to main- tain it.” After stating that the evidence at the trial proved that the wall had been repaired by the tenants of Fisher’s Piece, is Honour continued, “From that evidence and the other facts of the case I come to the conclusion that the owner of that field or his tenant is bound to maintain this wall for the benefit, not only of himself, but also of his adjoining neighbour, and that the plaintiff by not keeping it in repair or repairing it when it was out of repair com- mitted a breach of his duty. What, then, is the result 1 It was many years ago decided that where a man had distrained damage feasant cattle that had escaped from a close through a defect of a fence, which he himself ought to have repaired, and ultimately strayed into his close, he was wrong, the trespass being the natural consequences of his own neglect of duty. The principle of that decision governs the present case ; if the plaintiff, as I hold it was his duty to do, had kept this fence in repair, the trespass would not have happened. There must therefore be judgment for the defendant. But I would add a word in addition to prevent any mis- apprehension as to the meaning and effect of my judgment. While I hold that the defendant has established a prescriptive right to have the wall maintained in repair, I do not think that he can claim to have it made higher so as to be a more effectual barrier. One of the witnesses said he did not think it was a turnable fence, but there was no evidence to show that the sheep jumped over the low places of the wall, only that they got through the gaps. If after the wall is repaired the defendant’s sheep jump over the low places into the plaintiff’s field, he will, according to my view, be liable for any trespass which the sheep commit. It is not for me to advise the defendant, but it is worth his consideration, if any part of the wall is a doubtful barrier, whether for his own protection he should not put up a wire fence oh his own land.” A writer in the Law Journal thus tersely and truthfully comments on this case : “ The lesson which the J udge reads to the Agricul- tural mind in the district over which he presides is that an occupier of land, if he does not fence for himself, must take his chance of his neighbour’s cattle straying on his land, unless he can show by a long course of practice that the occupier of the neighbouring land has not only repaired the fence but has repaired for his neighbour’s advantage as well as his own.” S. B. L. Druce. 441 THE CULTIVATION OF SUGAR-BEET. The proposal to cultivate sugar-beet in the British Isles is by no means new. The subject was before the public more than ten years ago, when, in 1879, a Select Committee of the House of Commons was appointed to inquire into the effect produced upon the home and colonial sugar industries of this country by what is known as the bounty system in those Continental countries which manufac- ture sugar for exportation. In giving evidence before the Committee, Mr. James Duncan was asked if he could offer any explanation of. the fact that the growth of beetroot was practically confined to the Continent ; and whether he considered no part of this country was adapted to the growth of beetroot. Mr. Duncan’s reply was that it was so adapted, but that the disadvantage of growing was owing to the bounty system, foreign sugar having a bounty which might be taken to be on the average 21. a ton (in France the bounty is now 51.), and which acted as a check upon the growth of sugar in England. In answer to further questions, Mr. Duncan stated that the bounty rendered it practically impossible to grow any beetroot in this country, though it could be raised in the east of England of quite as good quality as, if not better than, in France. Mr. George Martineau, in his evidence before the same Com- mittee, said that he had given a very considerable amount of atten- tion to the subject of the growth of beetroot in England. Asked as to the relative richness of roots grown in England as compared with those of foreign countries, Mr. Martineau stated that Dr. Voelcker, chemist to the Royal Agricultural Society, had found 12 per cent, of sugar in roots from Suffolk ; 12| and 13 per cent, in roots from Berkshire ; Ilf per cent, in roots from Surrey ; 10j to 134 per cent, in roots from Yorkshire ; and 10, 12, and 13, up to 15 per cent, in roots from Kilkenny. This was in 1870, since when Mr. Martineau himself has taken a considerable amount of trouble in the matter, and has grown beetroots both in Lincolnshire and the Isle of Thanet ; and, as far as the latter are concerned, has in his own laboratory found 15 per cent, of sugar — a degree of richness in which England, in his opinion, can certainly compete with France, where the average is not more than 10| per cent. The results of experiments in England and Ireland carried out last year under the direction of Dr. G. Schack-Sommer, 323, Vauxhall Road, Liverpool, would appear to have again brought the idea of beet cultivation within the possibility of profitable realisation. The trials were conducted on the farms of Mr. John Gibbons, Dunbabin Farm, Wavertree, Liverpool (the Marquis of Salisbury’s estate), and Mr. John Ennis, Springwood, Ballymitty, co. Wexford, four varieties of the best kinds of seed having been obtained from Dr. C. Scheibler, the eminent sugar chemist of Berlin. As regards choice of soil and manure, however, no special care was exercised, and the management of the crop during growth was left in quite inexperienced hands. 442 The Cultivation of Sugar-Beet. With reference to this last-named point, it is of interest to note that M. Basset, in his Guide pratique du Fabricant de Sucre, states that soils rich in mineral salts are not adapted to the cultivation of beet intended for the sugar factory. Beet easily absorbs saline matters, and alkaline salts constitute one of the greatest obstacles to sugar extraction. In the cultivation of beet in France, M. de Yilmorin recommends a first ploughing in November to break up the land to a depth of 8 or 10 inches, followed by a subsoil ploughing to a similar depth, so that the ground may be thoroughly stirred to a depth of at least 15 inches. Left rough through the winter, the land 'is twice ploughed in spring, in February and April, and is finally prepared for sowing by harrowing and rolling. Though special drills may be used, yet any drill that will deliver the seed regularly and in sufficient quantity will suit the purpose. The last week of April or early half of May is regarded as the best time for sowing ; the temperature is then about 50° to 60° Fahr., which is the most favour- able to rapid and safe germination. As with the closely allied mangel, so with beet, the germinating capacity of the seed is facili- tated by immersion in water at a temperature of 120° Fahr. The first hoeing takes place as soon as the young leaves are distinguish- able in the drill-rows, this being performed by either horse or hand labour. At this period, too, it is usual to dress with nitrate of soda. A fortnight later the plants are thinned out to 8 or 9 inches apart. About three more hoeings or cultivations should be effected by the beginning of July, after which no further care should be needed except the removal of any seed-stalks that may run up. From mid- September to mid-October is the period for lifting the roots ; but they should not be allowed to remain in the ground long enough to get frosted. From details communicated by Dr. Schack-Sommer to the Society of Chemical Industry it appears that wet or swampy ground is quite unsuited to beet-growing, the most suitable soil being a well-drained loam containing lime. A good artificial manure is one including 1 part of nitrogen to 2 parts of phosphoric acid as super- phosphate ; in Germany as much as 21. to 31. per acre are spent on artificial fertilisers. A suitable proportion is about 160 lb. nitrate and 320 lb. superphosphate, or 3 20 lb. Peruvian guano and 1 60 lb. super- phosphate, per acre. Though at Wavertree and at Ballymitty the usual precautions in beetroot cultivation were neglected, the crop not even being properly thinned, the analyses of the roots proved them to be as rich in sugar as those of German growth. Comparison with German roots was rendered possible through the circumstance that Mr. F. O. Licht, of Magdeburg, publishes during the summer months a r6sum6 of the results obtained in his analyses of freshly-drawn beetroots. On the same days as those selected by Mr. Licht, Dr. Schack-Sommer had beetroots drawn from the earth both in Ireland and Lancashire, and analysed them in his laboratory. The results are shown in the table on the opposite page. The most important figures in these tables are those showing the quantity of sugar in 100 parts, the English and Irish roots com- The Cultivation oj Sugar-Beet. 443 — Mr. F. O. Lielit, Magde- burg Wavertree. Grown at Dunbabin (Marquis of Salisbury’s Estate), Lancashire, by Mr. John Gibbons Ireland. Grown at Ballymitty, near Wexford, by Mr. John Ennis Date of experiment .... Oct. 10, 1889 October 10 October 10 Seed Seed Seed Seed Seed Seed Seed Seed No. 1 No. 2 No. 3 No. 4 No. 1 No. 2 No. 3 No. 4 Number of beetroots drawn for experiment Average weight with leaves in 112 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 grammes 900 G75 958 967 1268 1079 1118 1177 1077 Average weight without leaves in grammes Largest root with leaves in 510 246 3C4 404 429 506 469 460 479 grammes Largest root without leaves in 1G70 800 12C0 1330 2215 1440 2040 1500 1650 grammes Smallest root with leaves in 1205 370 6G0 670 760 690 720 640 710 grammes Smallest root without leaves 490 400 590 510 770 780 820 780 740 in grammes 295 130 210 200 310 380 320 310 330 Specific gravity of juice . . . 1-0806 1-0799 1-0799 1-0784 1-0793 10867 1-0838 1 0821 1-0888 Degrees by Brix saccharometer 19-4 18-7 18-7 18-3 18-4 19-9 19-8 19-6 19-9 Quantity of sugar in 100 parts 16-58 16'5 17-0 1G-7 16-4 18-2 17-5 17-2 18-8 „ „ non-sugar „ Quotient of purity „ 2-82 2-2 1-7 1-6 2-0 1-7 2-3 2-4 11 85-5 88-2 90-9 91-2 89-1 91-5 88-4 87-8 94-6 1 kilogramme (1,000 grammes) equals 2'2 lb. avoirdupois. paring favourably with the German ones. The saccharometer, or sugar-measuring instrument, employed was that of Brix, which is supposed to show what quantity of sugar there is in the juice, whilst the quantity indicated by the polariscope is real sugar ; the figures under the head of “ non-sugar” are the differences between these. The main object of analysis is to discover how much per cent, of pure sugar it is possible to extract from 100 parts of the solids of the juice, and the higher this percentage is, of course the better the beetroot. To calculate this, the saccharometer of Brix is used to show the dry substance of the juice, and then a calculation is made as to how much is sugar. If, for instance, a juice has 12 per cent, of sugar and shows 15 per cent, on the saccharometer, the result is 80 per cent, of sugar to 100 parts of dry substance. The yield of crop was only noted at Wavertree, where it averaged 42 tons 19 cwt. per acre ; equivalent, say, to 15 tons of clean roots, a very heavy crop being given by the variety of Dippe’s seed known as Gebriider Dippe’s verbesserte Zuckerreiche kleine Wanzelbohnen Elitezuchtung. There is no foundation for the idea that beetroot is an exhaust- ing crop. Before the Select Committee, in 1879, Mr. Martineau quoted Mr. J ohn Algernon Clarke, Secretary to the Central Chamber of Agriculture, and Dr. Yoelcker, chemist to the Royal Agricultural Society, to the effect that it is not an exhausting crop, and that it is one very favourable to the growth of wheat, the deep cultivation necessary to grow beetroot increasing the yield per acre of cereals and other crops. The following examples taken from Die Zuckerrube und ihre rationelle Cultur, by Dr. C. J. Eisbein, bear upon this point. 444 The Cultivation of Sugar-Beet. On the estate of Groena, in the Dukedom of Anhalt, which com- prises about 700 or 800 acres of fertile land, they did not plant any beetroot before 1837, and then up to 1853 only a few acres for trial. In 1853, however, they began to plant about 150 acres every year, and in 1856 the results proved conclusively that they had got as much com as they had formerly done when the whole area of the estate was devoted to its cultivation. On another estate, that of Ossnarsleben, near Bemburg, which comprised about 1,000 acres of fertile soil, they generally had a little more than half of the area in grain. They found, after introducing the cultivation of beetroot, that they had an increase of about 2 per cent, in the grain crop. In France, in the Arrondissement of Valenciennes, not only was the cereal crop increased by the introduction of beetroot, but they were able to feed 11,500 head of cattle instead of 700. The conclu- sion to which these facts point is that beetroot, so far from being an exhausting crop, enriches the soil if it is grown with a due regard to rotation. It is claimed that not only is it a paying crop in itself, apart from the question of the value of its fibre as food for cattle, but that it improves the condition of the soil for wheat or other cereal production. As to the frequency with which the sugar-beet crop should occupy the land, the best authorities consider it should come once in six or eight years. Dr. Eisbein, who is Professor of Agri- culture at Heddesdorf, near Neuwied, recommends the following rotation : — First year, beetroot dressed with stable manure ; second year, oats or barley ; third year, clover and grass ; fourth year, wheat ; fifth year, peas, beans, or other leguminous plants or pota- toes, dunged with stable manure ; and sixth year, rye. An alter- native succession would be : First year, beetroot with stable manure ; second year, barley or spring wheat ; third year, clover or grass ; fourth year, wheat ; fifth year, potatoes ; sixth year, oats ; seventh year, leguminous plants such as peas, beans, &c., with stable manure ; and eighth year, rye. It is important to recognise that, in the extraction of sugar from the beet, all that is taken away from the root is the carbonaceous material which the latter obtains from the atmosphere. Practically the whole of the ingredients which the plant takes from the soil, except a small percentage of salts, remain in the refuse after extrac- tion of the sugar, and are therefore directly available for the feeding of stock. Another point of interest is that the rather long interval between two beet crops in the rotation is by no means due to the circumstance that land could not profitably carry beetroot much more frequently, but is owing to the fact that it is liable to the attack of certain nematode parasites which would be unduly encour- aged were the crop repeated too often. An indispensable adjunct to the profitable cultivation of sugar- beet would obviously be the convenient proximity of a factory to which the roots could be sent. On the Continent generally, where beetroot is grown, a number of farmers in each district club together and build a factory, each farmer undertaking to deliver to The Cultivation of Sugar-Beet. 445 the factory a certain weight of beetroot during the season. The factories are run on this principle, and after the owners’ contract quantity is worked up they buy further quantities in the open market if they deem it advisable, and by this system each factory is secured a minimum quantity at a stipulated price each season. It is estimated that the capital required to establish in England or Ireland a single factory capable of dealing with 50 tons of roots per day would be about 8,000/. or 10,000/. Attempts have been made to establish such factories in this country, and they appear to have been unsuccessful chiefly for the reason that the promoters lost sight of the most important necessity of securing the co-operation of a sufficient number of farmers who would undertake the growth for a period of years of an adequate area of beetroot. The elaborate experiments at Lavenham were further handicapped through local difficulties in connection with the disposal of refuse water. An instructive table published in the Deutsche ZucJcer Industrie shows for the German joint-stock beet-sugar companies, for the year 1887-88, the name of each factory, the quantity of beets worked up, the price of beets, the amount written off capital account, and the profit or loss on the year’s working. As many as 176 factories are enumerated, the individual capitals of which range from 7,500/. to 300,000/. Only seven factories show a loss on the year’s working, the greatest loss being 3, 368/. Profits are shown by 1 60 companies, the highest profit being 36,000/. on a capital of 236,000/. Nine factories show neither profit nor loss, the balance being written off. The following extract is taken from a letter recently addressed to Dr. Yoelcker by Mr. James Duncan, whose name was mentioned at the outset : — “In the year 1868 or 1869, 1 erected a sugar factory in Suffolk. This was done after careful experiments all over England, Ireland, and Scotland. I found the east of Ireland and the east of England gave the best results, the west of England the worst, the midland counties very fair. Sugar-beet wants a warm wet summer and a cool dry autumn, also a cold winter to conserve the roots. In the west of England the beet continues to grow in the autumn, and does not ripen ; dry frosty weather ripens the root; mild moist weather keeps the leaves growing. “ The reason why sugar-beet is not grown in this country is on account of the sugar bounty system. Germany, Austria, France, Belgium, and Holland have found this industry to be very profit- able, employing much labour, introducing into farming a superior class of men, and requiring a large number of cattle to consume the pulp. The corn-crops, by the increase of manure and the very careful scientific culture, have been greatly increased. “Sir John Lawes and Dr. Gilbert carried out a lot of experi- ments on the growth of sugar-beet ; but since they stopped the experiments, the Germans have very largely increased the per- centage of sugar in the roots ; twenty-one per cent, is now quite common. 446 The Cultivation of Sugar-Beet. “ The cultivation of roots in England is not understood. Nitrate of soda is the sheet-anchor of beet cultivation. For dairy cattle sugar-beet gives capital results.” It may be added that the experiments on the cultivation of sugar-beet at Rothamsted were conducted during the years 1871 to 1875. Since that time, sugar-beet seed — and the quality of the seed is of the greatest importance — has been much improved by selection. The subjoined statement, expressed in English equivalents, is given as representing the cost and result of beet-cultivation in Germany : — Cost of Growing, &c. £ s. d. Topping stubble, 6s.; twice harrowing, 3s. . . .090 Deep ploughing with four horses or steam . .12 0 Twice harrowing in spring .020 Drilling, harrowing, drilling, and rolling . . . 0 12 0 Artificial manure, 2 l. 10s. ; hoeing and weeding, 2s. . 2 12 0 Beetroot seed . • . 0 10 6 Horse-hoed or drilled three times. , . . .060 Hoed by hand twice, 9s.; thinning, 6s. . . . 0 14 0 Lifting roots and trimming and washing . . .10 0 Sending roots to works, \l. 16s. ; making silos, Is. 6(7. 1 17 6 1 Rent, 21. 10s. ; ground dues and taxes, 18s. . . .380 12 13 0 1 These items would be'much lower in England. Amount Realised. £ s. d. 33,070 lb. beetroot at Is. l Hill, W. Barlow, J., and another Campbell, R. , . White, W. N. . . Fletcher, J. M. , . Martin, E. . ELing, H., and another . Miscellaneous. . Dog, &c., muzzles. . Cooked food for horses, &c. • Malt-drying kilns. . Garden pots. , Rat and mouse trap. Muzzles for dogs. Self-setting vermin trap. Fumigator for destroying insects in plants. Case for packing dairy and vegetable produce. Compression and preservation of vegetable products. Flower-pots and seed-pans. Pressing linseed, &c. 464 Recent Agricultural Inventions. No. of Application Name of Applicant Title of Invention 6999 6066 6198 6279 6655 6659 6752 6767 6962 7080 7200 7325 7697 8078 8098 8137 Cole, W. Williams, H. Horn, W. W. Treschow, M. Bayly, J. P. Bayly, J. P. Beckwith, G. C. . Hewetson, W. . Ashberry, P. and Stevens, G. W. . Ward, H. Muirhead, R. Cotton, W. . Martin, A. . Harvey, J. R. Oldaker, W. . Scoring pork. . Destroying rabbits and rats. . Fruit picker. . Machine for scraping carcasses of pigs. . Device for hitching animals. . Laying out orchards. - . Automatic clipping apparatus for animals. . A calf sucking preventer, anr. Mechanical clippers for sheep, &c. . Destroying slugs, snails, &c. . Machine for levelling and bundling asparagus. . Distributing liquid insecticide, &c. . Improved feeding trough. . Clipping or shearing animals. . Holding comb foundation in beehives. . Drench bottle. Numbers of Specifications Published 1 (with prices in parentheses). 94 (6d.), 955 (8 d.), 1199 (6d.), 1288 (id.), 1328 (8 d.), 1370 (C,d.), 1428 (M.), 1507 (6(7.), 1508 (8d.), 1711 (Is. Id.), 1787 (6 d.), 2001 (6 d.), 201 1 (C,d.), 2303 (id.), 2304 (6 d.), 2376 (8 d.), 2561 (6d.), 2719 (6 d.), 2817 (6 d.), 3454 (lid.), 3750 (6 d.), 4332 (6 d.), 4645 (6 d.), 4945 (6d.), 5414 (6 d.). 1 Copies may be obtained at the Patent Office (Sale and Store Branch), 38 Cursitor Street, London, E.C. STATISTICS AFFECTING BRITISH AGRICULTURAL INTERESTS. TABLE I.— Average Prices op British Corn per Quarter (Imperial measure) as received from the Inspectors and Officers of Excise according to the Act of 27 & 28 Viet. ch. 87, in each week of the year 1889. [From the “ London Gazette .”] Week ending Wheat Barley Oats Week ending Wheat Barley Oats 1889 s. d. s. d. s. d. 1889 s. d. 3. d. s. d. January 5 30 4 26 9 16 6 July 6 . 28 4 20 9 19 7 January 12 30 2 26 8 16 6 July 13 . 29 3 19 9 18 11 January 19 30 2 27 0 16 4 July 20 . 29 4 21 1 19 3 January 26 30 1 26 7 16 3 July 27 . 30 0 25 0 19 10 Eebruary 2 29 9 26 7 16 2 August 3 30 8 19 11 20 6 February 9 29 7 26 4 16 7 August 10 30 11 19 10 19 6 February 16 . 29 6 26 2 16 5 August 17 30 9 19 5 19 5 February 23 . 29 5 26 5 16 8 August 24 30 5 19 6 18 11 March 2 29 7 26 1 16 8 August 31 31 2 24 6 19 6 March 9 30 1 26 0 16 10 September 7 . 31 0 29 9 19 2 March 16 30 2 25 10 17 2 September 14 30 2 28 10 17 11 March 23 30 5 26 0 17 0 September 21 29 5 28 11 17 3 March 30 30 2 25 7 16 11 September 28 29 1 29 0 16 11 Average of ) Average of \ Winter I 29 11 26 3 16 7 Summer f 30 0 23 6 18 11 Quarter ' Quarter ' April 6 . 30 1 25 4 17 0 October 5 29 3 29 4 16 8 April 13 . 29 11 25 2 17 8 October 12 29 4 29 8 16 8 April 20 . 29 10 25 1 17 9 October 19 29 10 30 4 16 4 April 27 . 29 7 24 5 17 8 I October 26 30 4 30 11 16 11 May 4 . 29 10 24 7 18 6 1 November 2 . 30 3 31 3 16 8 May 11. 29 10 23 11 18 8 November 9 . 30 3 31 0 17 1 May 18 . 29 11 22 10 18 1 November 16 . 30 2 30 4 17 0 May 25 . l 29 5 24 0 18 2 November 23 . 30 0 29 11 17 4 June 1 29 0 21 2 18 1 November 30 . 30 1 29 9 17 6 June 8 28 9 20 9 18 11 December 7 . 30 2 30 2 17 7 June 15 . 28 4 21 0 19 0 December 14 . 30 2 29 10 17 11 June 22 . 28 7 24 8 18 7 December 21 . 30 l 30 4 18 2 June 29 . 27 11 19 11 ! 18 11 December 28 . 29 10 30 6 18 2 Average of \ Average of ^ Spring I 29 3 23 3 18 2 Autumn I j 29 11 30 3 17 2 Quarter > 1 Quarter ' 1 VOL. I. T. S. — 2 H H 466 Statistics affecting British Agricultural Interests , TABLE II. — Annual Average Peices and Quantities op Beitish Coen sold in the Towns from which Returns are received under Acts 27 & 28 Yict. ch. 87, and 4.5 & 46 Yict. ch. 37, in each of the Years 1880 to 1889. [From, the “ London Gazette .”] Tear Wheat Barley Oats Wheat Barley Oats. S. d. s. d. s. d. Qrs. Qrs. Qrs. 1880 44 4 33 1 23 1 1,607,908 1,591,925 164,791 1881 45 4 31 11 21 9 1,738,255 1,631,504 211,444 1882 45 1 31 2 21 10 1,903,858 1,873,820 211,699 1883 41 7 31 10 21 5 2,901,146 2,575,528 408,471 1884 35 9 30 8 20 3 2,833,132 3,149,341 492,918 1885 32 10 30 2 20 7 2,739,515 2,765,500 393,042 1886 31 1 26 7 19 0 2,739,822 2,474,466 367,083 1887 32 6 25 4 16 3 2,495,124 2,589,667 309,478 1888 31 10 27 10 16 9 2,427,861 1,911,835 255,726 1889 29 9 25 10 17 9 2,945,408 3,329,814 415,783 TABLE III. — Returns published pursuant to the Corn Returns Act, 1882, and to Act of 6 & 7 Wm. IY. for Commutation of Tithes in England and Wales, showing what has been, during the Seven Years ending Christmas Day in each Year, the Aveeage Price of an Imperial Bushel of British Wheat, Barley, and Oats, computed from the Weekly Averages of Corn Returns in each of the years 1883-89. [From the “ London Gazette.”] Average (Septennial) prices per bushel Years Wheat Barley Oats s. d. 3. d. s. d. 1883 5 2 3 11 2 8 1884 5 4f 4 If 3 Ilf 2 9 1885 5 if 2 81 1886 4 11 3 10 2 71 1887 4 81 , 3 81 2 6J 1888 4 51 3 71 2 5 1889 4 21 . 3 6i 2 4$ TABLE IY. — Computed Real Value of Coen imported into the United Kingdom in each of the Seven Years 1883-89. [From Trade and Navigation Returns.'] 1883 1884 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 £ £ £ £ £ £ £ Wheat . 31,434,8S8 19,825,021 24,066,013 17,888.155 21,335,902 21,971,331 22,530,838 Wheat Flour 12,318,144 10,160,010 9,651,508 8,254,407 10,020.433 9 530,800 8,559,563 43,753,032 29,991,031 33,717,521 26,142,562 31,356,335 31,502,131 31,090,401 Other kinds of ) F.onr I 31,038 23,970 18,811 12,899 4,934 8,046 19,305 Barley . 5,781,504 4,228,722 4,528,823 3.968,437 3,769,272 6,069,190 4,968.947 Oats 5,043,011 4,195,514 4,252,135 3,974,434 3,489,818 4,588,712 4,172.598 Maize . 10,314,307 7,303,099 8,473,863 7,614,113 7,535,946 6,881,307 8,580,080 Beans and Peas . 2,114,289 1,820,366 1,758,105 1,512,985 1,662,992 1,625,835 1,676,736 Total of Corn 67,040,181 47,562,702 52,749,258 43,225,430 47,819,297 50,675,221 50,808,127 Statistics affecting British Agricultural Interests. 4G7 TABLE V.— Quantities of Wheat, Barley, Oats, Peas, Beans, Indian Corn or Maize, Wheatmeal, and Flour, imported in the Five Years 1885-89; also the Countries from which the Wheat, Wheatmeal, and Flour were obtained. {From Trade and Navigation Returns.'] (Thousands (“000”) omitted.) 1885 1886 1887 1888 1889 Wheat from — Cwt. Cwt. Cwt. Cwt. Cwt. Bussia 11,986 3,710 5,523 21,369 21,322 Germany 1,983 1,318 1,552 3,265 2,539 France 3 3 71 20 127 Turkey and Roumania . . 1,063 539 687 1,601 G67 Egypt 110 41 198 730 325 United States 24,279 24,621 30,505 14,647 17,016 Chili 1,623 1,702 2,206 1,486 673 British India 12,102 11,029 8,509 8,189 9,217 Australasia 5,279 739 1,347 2,316 1,406 British North America 1,746 3,081 3,965 1,089 1,168 Other countries .... 1,280 622 1,322 2,513 4,242 Total Wheat . . . 61,454 47,405 55,785 57,225 58,602 Wheatmeal and Flour from — Germany 1,415 817 589 1,109 1,155 France 187 115 98 102 91 Austrian Territories . . 1,816 1,362 1,391 1,946 1,838 United States 11,728 11,473 14,873 12,557 10,068 British North America 281 770 959 785 1,169 Other countries .... 408 202 147 414 378 Total Wheatmeal and i Flour . . . . J 15,835 14,739 18,057 16,913 14,699 Barley 15,392 13,723 14,277 21,277 17,416 Oats 13,062 13,495 14,469 18,737 15,999 Peas 2,004 2,047 2,990 2,421 1,688 Beans 3,515 2,804 2,477 3,010 3,585 Indian Corn or Maize . . . 31,468 30,998 31,123 25,338 36,203 Indian Corn Meal .... 14 10 6 15 24 468 Statistics affecting British Agricultural Interests. TABLE VI.— Number and Value of Live Cattle, Sheep, and Swine imported into the United Kingdom in the undermentioned Years. [From Trade and Navigation Returns.'] — Number Value 1881 1888 1889 1887 1888 1889 £ £ £ /From Denmark . 25,07fl 27,38c 30,047 295,295 334,451 359,245 Germany . 7,873 10,301 — 123,672 176,347 — »» Spain 6,653 11,481 11,587 108,428 188,614 190,754 and Canada . 62,637 58,761 82,207 1,089,352 1,036,269 1,424,731 \ United States . 94,642 142,865 294,128 1,849,307 2,840,911 6,793,366 »> Other countries 22,438 36,467 23,842 336,601 554,245 365,372 Total . 219,222 287, 26f 441,811 3,802,655 5,130,837 8,133,468 /From Denmark . 28,711 35,439 47,895 329,253 410,867 539,436 ft Sweden . 1,872 3,061 2,887 22,983 34,64S 32,409 tf Germany . 2,263 4,239 32,908 66,415 — n Canada . 2,58S 2,216 2,237 45,470 40,354 39,342 ft United States . 215 630 262 3,567 12,415 4,285 ft Othercountries 3,117 4,139 7,085 64,882 70,283 116,913 Total . 38,766 49,724 60,366 1 489,063 634,982 732,385 From Denmark . 4,944 4,235 10,911 16,163 15,959 39,474 Holland . 32,734 35,494 41,214 129,424 128,863 160,282 Canada . 29 167 144 58 454 249 Calves United States . 1 — 33 5 — 111 It Other countries 265 202 742 1,437 879 3,338 Total . 37,973 40,098 53,044 147,087 146,155 203,454 From Denmark . 97,845 94,454 153,362 134,843 134,949 226,163 | „ Germany . 321,085 299,589 193,191 554,596 536,851 318,939 Sheep Holland . 501,701 498,458 198,035 867,673 954, 26S 422,129 Canada . 35,473 45,339 55,857 65,738 89,272 111,128 ana United States . 1,027 1,203 18,690 2,040 1,956 36,288 Lambs >» Other countries 14,272 17,167 58,923 20,947 23,253 80,760 . Total . 971,403 956,210 678,058 1,645,837 1,740,549' 1,195,407 From Denmark . 885 16,325 19,719 2,485 56,52 11 79,036 Holland . 20,947 8,173 1,675 61,549 18,230 3,183 Canada . 3 — 6 — — Swine J United States . — — 1 — — — II Other countries 130 11 3,930 384 J 33 j 13,154 \ Total . 21,965 24,509 25,324 64,424 74,784 95,373 Total value of all kinds . • • • ' 1 . . 1 3,149,066 7,727,307 1 10,360,087 Statistics affecting British Agricultural Interests. 469 TABLE VII— Quantity and Value op Dead Meat imported in the Four Years 1886-89. [From Trade and Navigation Returns.'] Thousands (“ 000 ”) omitted. 1886 1887 1888 1889 DEAD MEAT Quail tity Value Quan tity Value Quan tity 1 j Value Quan- tity Value Cut. £ Cwt. £ Cut. £ Cut. £ Bacox From United States .... 2,578 4,321 2,203 4,229 1,865 3,853 2,548 4,810 „ Other countries . 678 1,822 798 2,101 989 2,540 950 2,477 Total 3,256 6,143 3,001 6,330 2,854 6,393 3,498 7,287 Beef : — i From United States 183 304 203 310 213 325 254 352 Salted 1 „ Other countries 12 22 15 24 13 24 ii 19 Total . 195 326 218 334 226 349 265 371 Fresh < From United States 762 1,768 645 1,456 785 1,815 1,270 2,812 1 „ Other countries 45 94 13 25 62 106 no 203 Total 807 1,862 658 1,481 837 1,921 1,380 3,015 Hams : — From United States .... 841 1,971 814 2,097 647 1,697 873 2,217 „ Other countries .... 102 266 107 293 81 227 104 284 Total 943 2,237 921 2,390 728 1,924 977 2,501 Meat, Unenumerated : — i From United States 2 3 6 13 3 6 22 48 Sa.ted or Fresh „ Other countries 40 no 41 103 53 114 69 149 Total 42 113 47 116 5G 120 91 197 Preserved, other- ' From Australasia . 57 136 167 387 128 267 65 156 wise than by „ United States 293 663 228 631 263 630 412 932 Salting , „ Other countries 80 368 124 432 151 480 166 544 Total 430 1,167 519 1,350 542 1,377 643 1,632 Mutton, Fresh From Holland . 52 131 63 152 88 190 78 175 „ Australasia 383 842 441 925 543 1,104 613 1,292 „ Other countries .... 217 432 281 500 358 647 636 1,112 Total 652 1,405 785 1,577 989 1,941 1,227 2,579 Pork Salted or Fresh From United States 213 295 192 275 150 238 192 283 (not Hams) „ Other countries 159 ' 335 236 498 338 679 194 393 Total 372 630 428 773 488 917 386 676 Total of Dead Meat 6,697 ^ 13,882 6,577 14,351 6,720 14,942 8,467 18,258 470 Statistics affecting British Agricultural Interests. TABLE VIII.— Number op Horses, and their Declared Value, im- ported INTO, AND EXPORTED FROM, THE UNITED KINGDOM, IN EACH OP THE UNDERMENTIONED YEARS. [ From Annual Statements of Trade of the United Kingdom .] Year Imported Exported Number Value Number Value 1885 13,023 £ 195,624 1885 6,196 £ 371,406 1886 11,026 189,901 1886 7,326 409,045 1887 11,641 197,679 1887 9,463 547,396 1888 11,505 192,624 1888 12,880 848,311 1889 13,859 275,401 1889 14,267 984,000 Note. — The countries from which horses were imported in 1889 were as follows: — Germany, 6,954; Denmark, 2,685.; Holland, 1,660; France, 887; Belgium, 691; United States of America, 236; Canada, 119; and 827 from other countries. TABLE IX. — Average Prices of Wool in each op the under- mentioned Years.1 English Austra- South Leicester Half-breds Kent Southdown L ASIAN African Per lb. d. d. Per lb. d. d. Per lb. d. d. Per lb. t. d. t. d. Per lb. s. d. Per lb. s. d. 1884 8J to 9| 9 to n 9 to 9| 0 10 to 1 1± i o| i 4 1885 H 9 8f „ 9i 9| „ 10j 9 „ 9| 0 9 „ 1 0| o io£ 0 9| 1886 9 „ 9 9f „ 10| 0 9! „ 1 04 0 9| 0 10! 0 9* 1887 9f „ 10f 10 „ 11| io| ioi 0 10! „ 1 Of 0 9f „ 0 Ilf 0 10! 0 9f o lof 1888 9* „ 10i 9* „ 10| 9i „ 10! 0 10! 1889 9 „ 10 9 „ 10" 9 „ 10 0 9 „ 1 0 o ioi TABLE X. — Quantities op Certain Articles op Foreign and Colonial Production imported in the Years 1886-89. [From Trade and Navigation Returns.'] 1886 1887 1888 1889 Bones (burnt or not, animal charcoal) or as j tons [ 57,175 51,882 65,651 62,855 Cotton, Haw cwt. 1 15,187,299 15,903,117 15,246,408 17,159,316 Flax .... 1,287,034 1,560,696 1,833,650 1,783,189 Guano tons 68,744 21,251 25,052 26,804 Hemp cwt. 1,213,867 1,472,867 1,822,065 1,973,210 Hides untanned : Dry 721,964 627,132 685,254 675,158 „ „ Wet 499,271 523,393 676,176 647,250 Petroleum . . . gallons 71,026,962 77,458,062 94,177,807 102,647,478 Oilseed Cakes . tons 296,530 265,694 259,573 256,296 Clover and Grass Seeds cwt. 289,214 335,858 334,432 296,314 Flax-seed and Linseed qrs. 2,081,283 2,341,175 2,542,027 2,272,019 Rape .... 372,613 413,856 279,616 458,948 Sheep and Lambs’ Woo lb. 591,872,167 574,196,058 635,936,244 696,396,186 1 The prices of English wool have been calculated from the prices given weekly in the Economist newspaper. The figures relating to Australasian and South African wool have been taken from Returns furnished by the Board of Customs. Statistics affecting British Agricultural Interests , 471 TABLE XI.— Quantities and Values of Butter, Margarine, Cheese, and Eggs imported into the United Kingdom in each Year from 1887 to 1889 INCLUSIVE. {From Trade and Navigation Returns.'] QUANTITIES VALUES 1887 1888 1889 1887 1888 1889 Butter cwt. cwt. cwt. £ £ £ From Denmark . . . 487,603 604,512 677,491 2,669,125 3,335,064 3,743,576 Germany . . . 156,430 160,915 111,027 793,579 813,198 688,660 Holland .... 164,474 155,020 151,073 851,467 784,523 767,457 France .... 416,067 439,993 666,524 2,264,669 2,378,835 3,073,473 Canada .... 32,623 9,173 22,634 139,566 40,779 95,167 y United States . . 52,329 23,207 110,187 213,712 93,243 448,825 Other Countries . 205,379 276,494 288,533 1,084,651 1,456,533 1,526,570 Total . . 1,514,905 1,669,314 1,927,469 8,016,769 8,902,193 10,243,728 Margarine cwt. cwt. cwt. £ £ £ From Norway .... 16,650 7,784 11,051 61,962 25,045 33,399 Holland .... 1,172,074 1,043,401 1,137,094 3,546,591 2,951,522 3,280,628 Belgium . . . 22,895 6,676 10,527 70,301 18,130 30,269 >» Other Countries . 61,476 08,313 82,083 191,094 269,129 308,426 Total .... 1,273,095 1,138,174 1,240,760 3,869,948 3,263,826 3,652,722 Cheese cwt. cwt. cwt. £ £ £ From Holland .... 362,014 328,801 327,384 883,934 822,498 807,037 France .... 30.260 29,304 32,941 99,667 92,428 106,067 Canada .... 631,837 667,461 G75,900 1,552,764 1,523,833 1,565,526 United States . . 759,463 812,430 827,626 1,847,412 1,905,776 1,899,864 Other Countries . 50,893 79,545 45,694 125,160 197,743 116,070 Total .... 1,834,467 1,917,541 1,909,545 4,508,937 4,542,278 4,494,554 great great great Eggs hundreds hundreds hundreds £ £ £ From Germany . . . 3,209,799 3,707,091 2,998,865 943,914 1,146,739 893,902 „ Belgium . . . 1,678,420 1,582,929 1 ,S 1 7,353 552,598 490,011 565,057 France .... 3,070,525 2,692,057 2,950,566 1,251,688 1,053,309 1,181,335 »» Other Countries . 1,111,093 1,338,540 1,649,855 332,361 387,050 482,519 Total .... 9,069,837 9,320,617 9,416,639 3,030,561 3,077,109 3,122,813 472 Statistics affecting British Agricultural Interests. TABLE XII.— Number op Horses, Cattle, Sheep, and Pigs in the Undermentioned Countries, for each op the Years indicated. [ From Board of Trade Returns.'] Countries Years Horses Horned Cattle Slieep and Lambs Pig3 1887 No. 1,936,925 No. 10,639,960 No. 29,401,750 No. 3,720,957 United Kingdom . . . . ■ 1888 1,936,702 10,268,600 28,938,716 3,815,643 1889 1,945,386 10,272,765 29,484,744 3,905,865 . 1886 1,373,346 8,228,628 86,245,720 1,053,453 Australasia 1887 1,438,551 8,873,574 97,239,986 1,071,773 1 1888 1,485,923 9,106,695 96,121,148 1,071,773 1886 617,376 2,192,099 1,643,534 941,446 Canada ' 1 1887 629,144 2,158,306 1,440,136 868,530 1 1888 596,218 1,928,638 1,349,044 819,079 Cape Colony ■ 1888 266,120 1,292,039 13,177,285 142,479 1889 295,370 1,502,845 14,463,445 166,835 1886 50.012 629,725 676,437 32,927 Natal - 1887 54,326 611,794 484,288 46,306 1 1888 49,548 655,932 609,805 45,569 Austria • 1869 1,384,623 7,421,915 5,026,392 2.551,973 1880 1,463,282 8,584,077 3,841,340 2,721,541 1870 2,158,819 5,279,193 15,076,997 4,443,279 Hungary • 1880 2,078,528 5,311,378 9,838,133 4,160,127 1884 1,748,859 4,879,038 10,594,831 4,803,639 Belgium 1866 283,163 1,242,445 586,097 032,301 1880 271,974 . 1,382,815 365,400 646,375 1876 352,262 1,348,321 1,719,249 503,667 Denmark 1881 347,561 1,470,078 1,548,613 527,417 1888 375,533 1,459,527 1,225,196 770,785 1885 2,911,392 13,104,970 22,616,547 5,881,088 France 1886 2,938,489 13,275,021 22,688,230 22,880,190 5,774,924 1887 2,908,527 13,395,259 5,978,916 Germany 1873 3,352,231 15,776,702 24,990,406 7,124,088 1883 3,522,545 15,786,764 19,189,715 9,206,195 1886 272,700 1,530,800 802,700 458,200 Holland | igg7 274,300 1,525,600 804,300 490,254 Italy 1875 657,544 3.489,125 6,977,104 1,553,582 1881 660,123 4,783,232 8,596,108 1,163,916 Norway 1865 149,167 953,036 1,705,394 96,166 1875 151,903 1,016,617 1,686,306 101,020 1877 17,589,118 27,323,219 51,822,238 10,839,093 Russia in Europe .... 1882 20,015,659 23,845,104 47,508,966 9,207,666 9,361,980 1883 17,880,792 23,628,031 46,724,736 1885 480,330 2,366,286 2,381,467 1,442,396 1,443,676 515,556 Sweden 1886 484,885 548,210 1887 481,257 2,330,706 1,377,685 571,114 1886 12,496,744 48,033,833 44,759,314 44,612,836 United States of America . 1887 13,172,936 49,234,777 43,544,755 42,599,079 44,346,525 1888 13,663,294 50,331,042 50,301,592 1 The figures given for Canada in 1886 and 1887 relate to the Provinces of Ontario, Manitoba, and the N. W. Territories. In 1888 the numbers for Ontario only are shown. JOURNAL OF THE ROYAL AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY OF ENGLAND. COVERED CATTLE YARDS. When, in the year 1865, I contributed to the Journal a paper on Covered Cattle Yards, their number in the country was few, and their utility by the vast majority of agriculturists held to be very doubtful — indeed, at that time the matter had taken so little hold on the agricultural mind, and was fraught with so much misconception, that, had a plebiscite been taken for or against their use, those old enough to remember the set of current opinion will have little doubt as to what the nature of the verdict would have been. But all that is changed now, and within the last quarter of a century few matters of agricultural practice can be pointed to in which so radical a change of opinion has taken place — the volte face comprising alike the landlord, the tenant, the practical man, and the theorist. The credit of originating Covered Yards is unquestionably due to the sagacity of a few enterprising landowners ; but the hundreds of such yards that now exist in the country go to show that the apathy of the tenant with respect to them has long been thrown aside, whilst a thorough appreciation of their usefulness has taken its place, with a demand, both great and widespread, for their erection. I had much difficulty in carrying the tenant with me in the first yard I roofed over, but now, in letting a farm, almost the first thing asked is, “ Will you cover the yards ? ” And doubtless VOL. i. T. s.— 3 1 1 474 Covered Cattle Yards. my experience as to tliis is not singular, but could be confirmed by that of many others. On numerous large estates in different parts of the country Covered Yards are accomplished facts, and on many others the improvement is being gradually carried out, so that no special pleading is required to further the adoption of the system. Their increase now chiefly depends on the power of the land- owner to supply them, and, given this power, the choice of covering material, suitable design, and efficient construction at an economical rate, is a problem ever-recurring for solution. I do not pretend to have discovered a key to this problem, but, by illus- trating the various modes of roofing now existent, detailing cost, principles of construction, and the merits of each, I hope to be able to place such data before those interested as will enable them to compare, and so to solve it for themselves. In the construction of Covered Yards the first essential to be kept in view is to secure Efficient Ventilation. When this is wanting, cattle kept in them cannot thrive well, and one of the chief advantages derivable from their use is marred. The object of cover is to shelter, but not to tender, and, in order to this, plenty of air must be forthcoming, but so admitted as not to impinge on the cattle, or create draughts — both being prejudicial to their health. Experience has proved that this can be best attained by openings at eaves height of the building to let the air in, while a break high up in the roof induces a through current and draws off the heated foul air from below. This is known as “roof ventilation” (in contradistinction to “ wall ventilation,” which allows a free current of air to enter the yard over low end or. side walls at a height little above that of the animals kept in it), and was an invention of the late Sir Harry Meysey Thompson, and fully described by me in the paper referred to.1 It would be needless repetition to detail it again, but, the principle being a correct one, it will be briefly described, and a design of roof on that system given, as suitable to carry a covering of slates or tiles. Covering Materials. The materials used for roof-cover of Cattle Yards in 1 865 were chiefly slates and pantiles. The latter have been very exten- Vol. I. Part I. 2nd Series, p. 88. Covered Cattle Yards. 475 sively used in this part of the country (North Riding of York- shire), all the yards on the estates of Lord Zetland and other large landowners being covered with them. They forts an excellent cover, and are less heat- and cold-conducting than slates. In localities where manufactured, and little carriage is involved, they are, moreover, cheaper ; but of late years they have been rather at a discount, owing to the difficulty of getting samples good enough to stand the frosts of winter. Within the last few years corrugated iron and boards have also been exten- sively used, and Felt and “Willesden paper” partially so. The two latter I do not propose to take into consideration. For illustrative purposes I assume a typical yard of sixty feet by forty-five feet, divided into two, and enclosed by build- ings on the north and east sides, and I propose to give roof-designs suitable for covering with slate laid on in the usual way, and Fig. 1. — Elevation o f West Side of Yard , covered with Slates or Tiles. with pantiles ; with slates laid in a way known as open slating, with boards, and with corrugated iron, and also to give priced quantities of the work required for each. Fig. 1 is an elevation of the west side of this yard, showing the ventilating openings at the eaves and in the roof. Fig. 2 is a section drawing, and shows that the eaves openings on the west slope outwards and upwards, and tend to throw upwards the current of air entering the yard. These openings are re- turned round the east side : but buildings being supposed to exist here, the open spaces are got between the eaves of the two roofs, piers being built on the walls to give the necessary height to the inner one. The air-current on these sides, it will be observed, is turned downwards ; but practically little inconvenience arises from this, the adjoining roofing affording protection from anything except very strong gales and drifting snowstorms. We have i i 2 476 Covered Cattle Yards. seen a cheap and simple appliance used to obviate this occa- sional inconvenience — viz., pieces of half-inch board, about the width of the opening, suspended from the eaves between the piers by pieces of light chain. They are dropped when a storm occurs, and afford very effectual protection, and are readily looped up again out of the way when it abates. Seldom more than one side of the yard needs protection in this way at one time. Fig. 2 shows an ordinary queen-post truss, strong enough to carry a covering of slates or tiles. To get a ventilating opening high up in the roof, the queen posts are lengthened as shown, the clear space of a foot or fifteen inches thus obtained inducing a free current of air across the yard, and through its entire length, without any draught being felt below. The currents from the gables are obtained, as shown in Fig. 1, by leaving openings in them at the same level as the break in the Fig. 2.— Section of Hoof showing the late Sir H. M. Thompson’s Mode of Ventilation, covered with Slates or Tiles. roof and eaves openings. The spars on the upper part of the roof overhang the lower, and thus exclude rain and snow. The above embodies the principle of “ roof ventilation ” re- ferred to, of which the late inventor said that, “ until he was better informed, he would take leave to call perfect. ’ After many years of experience in the construction of Covered T ards, I have no hesitation in endorsing his assertion, and in no instance where it has been adhered to have I seen anything but the most complete success. I will now endeavour to set out the cost of the roof shown by Figs. 1 and 2, covered with slates laid in the ordinary way, and also covered with pantiles. Quantities and Prices of a Slated Roof on Sir II. M. Thompson’s Principle of Ventilation. Fig. 2. — (Close Slated). Fold Yard, 60' 0" x 45' 0" (inside). Yards Feet & *• 218 run 9" x 8" framed tiebeams . . . . @ /6J 6 14 4 524 ,, 1" x 24" framed tiebeams aud rafters and king posts . m 9 16 6 Covered Cattle Yards. 477 Yards Beet & 5. d. — 224 run framed cross braces 4J" x 2^" @ m 2 6 8 — 664 „ purlins 6" x 2|" »» /3 7 1 0 — 141 „ pole plates 9" x 2^" >> /4 2 7 0 — 188 „ 6" x 2|" plate to top of rafters / 3 2 7 0 — 94 „ 5|" x 1^" ridge »» / 2 0 15 8 — — No. 40 sqrs. 2|" x 2 common rafters . ?» 9/ 18 0 0 — 368 run 3" x 1" tilting fillet >» 1 1 1 10 8 — — No. 32 sets wrought-iron straps and keys >> 9/ 4 16 0 — — No. 4 cast-iron pillars and fixing >> 30/ 0 0 0 16 — run cast-iron mid-gutter ..... >> 2/6 2 0 0 31 — „ 6" half-round cast-iron eaves spouting . 1/6 2 6 6 14 — „ 3" circular cast-iron down piping . 1/3 0 17 6 446 — sup. slating with seconds Welsh grey 14" x 8" slates >> 1/10 40 6 10 31 — run blue Staffordshire ridge 1/3 1 18 9 — 20 sup. rough plate-glass and fixing .... »> 1/ 1 0 0 Cost of roof slated . £110 3 6 Cost of same roof if covered with pantiles 96 10 0 The amount 110£. 3s. 5 cl. for a yard-space of 300 yards shows the cost per yard of ground roofed over to be 7s. 4 d. The same roof covered with pantiles would cost 9 01. 10s., and per yard roofed over 6s. 5 cl. Open Slated Roof. Fig. 3 shows section of a roof-truss designed for slates to be laid in a way known as open slating. This mode of covering Fig. 3. — Section showing a Roof covered with Open Slating. A. Section of Open Slating. B. Elevation of Open Slating, has been rather extensively adopted, and, with the eaves open- ings as shown, the ventilation obtained is fairly satisfactory. 478 Covered Cattle Yards. It will be seen from sketches A and B that there is a free space for admission and emission of air between every slate, 2\ inches wide by the thickness of the slate, which, in the aggre- gate,^ something very considerable, and, being distributed evenly over the whole roof, there are no draughts, and is another cheap way of getting roof ventilation. The weight being much less — something over one-fourth — than in ordinary slating, the roof- trusses may be placed farther apart, thus resulting in a less costly form of structure. Those who have yards covered in this way speak very favourably of them, and, as will be seen below, the cost is mode- rate, and leads one to think that, as the plan becomes better known, it will be more widely adopted. Quantities and Prices for Roof covered with Open Slating. Fold Yard GO' 0" x 45' 0" (inside). Yards Feet £ S. d. — 186 run 9" x 3" framed tiebeams (long lengths) . ® 5 0 9 — 258 „ 9" x 3'' framed principal rafters and king posts „ 3|" x 2£" framed struts ft /5 5 7 6 — 84 If / 2 0 14 0 — 376 „ 7” x 2 purlins ft m 5 9 8 — 141 „ 9" x 2J” pole plates No. 34| squares, 2.1" x 2 j" common rafters, at 16" „ /4 2 7 0 — — centres „ 9/ 15 10 6 — 47 run 5" x 1 y" ridge ft / 2 0 7 10 — 184 „ 3" x 1" tilting fillet ..... ft /I 0 15 4 — — No. 6 wrought-iron f" bolts . . . . t> 1/6 0 9 0 — — „ 3 cast-iron pillars and fixing .... ft 30/ 4 10 0 17 — run cast-iron mid-gutter . . . . . ft 2/6 2 2 6 31 — „ 5" half-round cast-iron eaves spouting and holdfasts 1 ) 1/6 2 6 6 14 — „ 3" circular cast-iron down piping . ft 1/3 0 17 6 — 40 sup. rough plate glass and fixing . . . . ft 1/ 2 0 0 383 — „ slating with seconds Welsh grey slates, 14" x 8", a space of 2|" being left between each slate ft 1/8 31 18 4 31 — run blue Staffordshire ridge ft 1/3 1 18 9 £81 15 2 The cost of covering the yard by this mode is 81?. 15s. 2d., being at the rate of 5s. h\d. per yard roofed over. Board Roof. Fig. 4 illustrates a form of roof that has obtained consider- able notoriety within the last few years. It consists of a covering of boards from \ to 1 inch thick, laid on purlins of 7 inches by 2^ inches, spaced from 4^ feet to 5| feet apart. These rest on principal l-afters placed from 14 to 16 feet apart, their scantling Covered Cattle Ya/rds. 479 depending on the width of span for which they are required. For ours of 30 feet, 9 inches by 3 inches is amply strong enough. For cover, well- seasoned white- wood boards — owing to greater freedom from knots — are considered best, and are more frequently used than red-wood, although it is probable that the latter for this, or any similar outside purpose, would be more endurable.1 They are used in widths of 7 and 9 inches — the former preferable as being less liable to warp. Before the boards are laid studs are driven into the purlins at the points where the boards would have come into contact with them, and the boards resting on these studs are then securely nailed to the purlins. The object of the studs is to allow a free downward course to any wet that may permeate the roof, and prevent its lodgment on the purlins, Fig. 4. — Section showing a Roof covered with Boards. besides securing a free circulation of air between the purlins and boards, and tending to the preservation of both from decay. The boards are laid \ inch apart, giving light to the yard, and also affording the means of ventilation. Grooves about 4 inch wide, and \ inch from the edge, are made in them, with the object of catching the rain when blown athwart the face of the roof, before it reaches the openings, and conducting it down to the eaves spout. A special feature of this roof is that, though the interstices give sufficient light to the yard, and air enough for good ventilation, yet the wet that finds a way through them is in 1 Mr. Dent prefers redwood, and has used it in such of his yards as are covered with boards. 480 Covered Cattle Yards. quantity extremely small — quite too insignificant to infringe on the comfort of the animals or to impair the quality of the manure kept under it — indeed, it has been proved that less rain penetrates than when close-boarding is used. This is a curious fact, and not easily accounted for — but a fact never- theless. The higher the pitch of the roof the sooner the rain gets off, and this tends to its preservation ; but it is not well to go beyond a given pitch, as, when too high, the rain is found to enter in greater quantity. Lord Wenlock’s agent at Escrick, Mr. Walker, who has erected a great many of these roofs, and particularly noted this point, finds a rise at an angle of 40 degrees to be the happy medium between a high and a low pitch. He also advocates a moderate rather than a wide span, finding the water does not get so well away on long-sided roofs than where shorter, and is more liable in strong winds to be blown through the openings into the yards. The first to adopt it was Mr. Cundy, land-agent of Wetherby, who got the idea of its leading principle from a brickmaker, who found that his bricks were kept drier when his shelter boards did not absolutely touch than when in contact. This induced him to cover, by way of experiment, a small yard near his residence embodying the principle, which proved so satisfac- tory that he has gone on covering ever since, and up to the present has roofed over on the estate of Mr. Montagu and others upwards of 120. His neighbours, among whom may be named Mr. Dent, Lord Wenlock, and many others, have more or less followed his example. That a wooden roof is a better equaliser of temperature than any of the others herein described will be readily admitted. That the Cundy roof also attains to the first essential of Covered Yards — efficient ventilation — all who have had experience of them concur in affirming; that its first cost is less per yard than any of the others the subjoined prices will show. But whether it will in the long run prove the most economical mode of cover is not so certain, and to the consideration of this I will again recur. The following are the priced quantities showing cost of the roof : — Roof covered with Boards. Yard (inside) 60' 0" x 46' 0". Varda Poet £, S. d — 124 run 9" x 3" framed tiebeams (long lengths) . © /CJ 3 7 2 — 206 ,, 9" x 3" framed principal rafters and king posts , . , . , . . „ /5 4 6 10 Covered Cattle Yards. 481 Yards Feet — 68 run 3^" x framed struts .... — 768 „ 6" x 2|" purlins — 3,854 sup. 7" x f" twice grooved boarding, padded off purlins by galvanised-iron studs, and nailed with wire nails, per 100 feet • — — No. 4 wrought- iron f" bolts — — No. 2 cast-iron pillars and fixing .... 16 — run cast-iron mid-gutter — — No. 6 wrought-iron intermediate band supports to same, 1" x 31 — run 5" half-round cast-iron eaves spouting and holdfast ....... 14 — „ 3" circular cast-iron down piping £ s. d. @ /2 0 11 4 » /3 9 12 0 „ 13/ 25 1 0 „ 1/6 0 6 0 „ 30/ 3 0 0 „ 2/6 2 0 0 „ 1/6 0 9 0 „ 1/6 2 6 6 „ 1/3 0 17 6 £51 16 4 The amount of this being 51 Z. 16s. 4c?., shows the cost per square yard roofed over to be 3s. 5 \d. With reference to this, I may say that Mr. Cundy’s quota- Fig. 5. — Plan of Mr. Dent's methods of connecting post, tie- beams, and plates. ^4 o o \ o 1 o Elevation. Scale 1 foot per inch. tions are much lower, ranging from 2s. to 3s. per yard, but his covering is _ only half an inch thick. One yard, 132 feet by 66 feet, which I saw, was covered in 1886 at a cost of 150?. 9s., which comes out at 3s. lc?. per yard, roofed over ; but he told me he got the roofing done at 28s. per 100 feet super., whereas, at 482 Covered Cattle Yards. the present time, 30s. is a fair price for it. Mr. Dent’s bailiff quoted the price of a large yard roofed five years ago in a very practical workmanlike way at 3s. 2d. Lord Wenlock’s clerk of works quotes 4s. as -about the cost at Escrick, but the roofs there are constructed with substantial main timbers, with the view to slating at some future time should it be found expedient, and hence the high cost. On the Duke of Cleveland’s estate, a yard done in a very substantial manner, with one-inch boards, creosoted, cost 5s. per square yard l’oofed over. With these varied experiences it would be unwise to draw a hard-and-fast line, and say the cost is so-and-so, as so much depends on design and materials used ; but this may be safely affirmed — that, with the present prices of materials and labour, to cover with best quality of f-inch boards, 3s. Gd. per yard of ground roofed over may be taken as a full price for good, substantial work. To bring the board roof into line for comparison with the others, it is, like them, debited with iron pillars, but in practice, where a double span is necessary, oak posts are invariably used as central supports. A simple, inexpensive, but very efficient way of connecting the posts with the plate and tiebeams is effected by means of a cast-iron cap fitted on top of the former, with flanges extending for reception of the latter. This was devised by Mr. Dent Dent, and was first used on his estate at Ribston, but it has been very generally copied by his neighbours. The sketches in Fig. 5, p. 481, will show how the connection is accomplished. Corrugated Iron Roofs. These, within the last few years, have also had a fair share of patronage. They are quickly erected, and, for a certain time, require no attention to keep in repair. Opinion, however, varies much as to what time will elapse before such is required, and it is generally assumed that, when oxidation does gain a hold, deterioration will be rapid. A coat of paint is strongly recom- mended as a preservative — but this, applied biennially outside and inside, would entail a considerable burden on the tenant, and on but few of the roofs which I have inspected has it been used. Owing to iron being a rapid conductor of heat and cold, variations of temperature are more readily felt under its cover, rendering the yards in winter cold, and in summer very hot; and I doubt if cattle can do so well under them as under roofs covered with materials of less conductive-power where the tem- perature is more equable. Ventilation also is usually inferior in Covered Cattle Ya/rds. 483 them. Openings in the tops of those of circular form tend to weaken the structure. The one redeeming point which I have frequently heard ad- vocated is their economical cost as compared with slate or tile — hut that I am inclined to believe a fallacy, which will be shown later on. Fig. 6 shows section of a roof-truss for corrugated-iron roof, with principals of tee-iron, with double-apex plates at top and shoes for foot of same, with anchor-bolts and double-joint plates, purlins of angle-iron, and astragals of tee-iron. The end princi- pals to have framing, and the covering to be of best galvanised corrugated iron, No. 22 gauge, with circular ventilators. To have two wrought-iron columns, with self-fixing bases, rain-water gutters, and down pipes. Fig. G. — Corrugated Iron Roof. From a firm of respectable manufacturers and erectors of iron roofs I have had a tender to supply and fix the same at a cost of 130b From another firm I had, for a similar structure, a tender amounting to 140b 16s. Taking the lowest of these tenders, the price per yard of ground roofed over comes out at 8s. 8cb For designs of curved self-supporting roofs of best quality galvanised corrugated iron, 18 gauge, with ventilators on crown of each span, fixed complete, I had a tender of 120b. 10s., and another of 1 10b. 18s.; at the latter the price per yard is 7s. 4 \d. As bearing on this, I may quote the experience of Mr. Scarth, the agent to the Duke of Cleveland at Raby, who has constructed a great many of these roofs on the Duke’s estates in a very com- 484 Covered Cattle Yards. plete and satisfactory manner. I selected one as a fair specimen, erected on Hopewell Farm in 1888, tlie yard measuring 63' 0" by 46' 6", tbe cost of which, including plates and bolts, but without pillars, was 107/. ; and, if we add pillars and fixing, 4 1. 10s., we get a sum of 111/. 10s., equal to 7s. 5 d. per yard roofed over. This may be taken as a fair price for work, thoroughly well done, at that date ; but the rise in price of iron and labour since renders it very questionable if a roof equally good in material and workmanship could now be turned out at that price. Certainly it would not be done for less, and the price per yard, as per tender quoted, may be taken as a very moderate one. The following is a summary of the cost of roofing the yard by the modes hereinbefore described, and also the cost per yard of ground roofed over which each mode would entail : — Cost per ya-d Total cost of ground Fig. roofed over. & s. ^ ■i H II II H -s ^ « M § « 2 S 4 1 -M c/3 cn Percentage of Butter-fat Tues- day morn. \oo o o ONIO p ip c> tuo 4.9 o 2 s 2 h a lb. oz. 30 10 22 8 25 0 17 8 32 10 22 6 18 2 Monday evening N O CO CD o • ^4 -rH CD £> » 18 „ „ 28 „ • 25 „ „ jht multiplied by the usual = 6949-6 = 4031-0 10980 6 Hence evaporation per lb. of oil = = -^'4 lb. This figure is not an accurate one, but I am not acquainted with any method by which the heating value of such a material can be precisely determined. Charles J. Wilson. The Trials of Light Portable Motors at Plymouth. 601 The heat value, as determined from the chemical composi- tion, is therefore 20'4 evaporation units, or 19,700 thermal units per lb. The uncertainty as to the heat value to which Mr. Wilson alludes is due to the fact that the heat of formation of the hydrocarbons in the oil is not known. It is almost certain that the heat value deduced from the carbon and hydrogen should be reduced a little to allow for this. Consequently the heat value will be taken in the following calculations at 19,000 thermal units. Economy of cost of fuel in petroleum engines. — The Brown & May engine may be set aside as not having been in perfect working order during the trial. It remains then to compare the results of the Priestman full-power trial with results obtained in motors of other types. For the purpose of such a comparison it may be assumed that the very best large condensing steam engines use 1£ lb. of Welsh coal per indicated horse-power per hour. Taking Messrs. E. It. & F. Turner’s engine, to which the Second Prize in the class of steam engines was awarded, as representing a fairly good example of small non-condensing steam engines of about the same power as the petroleum engine, the consumption is 8’461 lb. of Welsh coal per indicated horse- power per hour. Gas engines working with Dowson gas pro- ducers are known to work with about 1-3 lb. of coal per indicated horse-power per hour. It is obvious that the Priestman engine works with about as much fuel as the very best large steam engine, with about one-eighth as much fuel as a small non-con densing engine, and with an economy about as great as that of a gas engine with Dowson gas producer. The comparison can, however, be made more accurately if we assume, on the best data available, values for the cost and calorific value of the fuel. Lata assumed. Welsh steam coal , 24s. a ton or 0T286d. per lb. Heat value, 14,600 Th. U. per lb. Coal gas. — In Professor Kennedy’s trial of the Otto gas engine 20-76 cubic feet were used per indicated horse-power. The heat value of the gas was 626 Th. U. per cubic foot, and the cost of the gas may be taken at 3s. per 1,000 cubic feet. Petroleum. — The oil used in the Priestman engine cost 0-802d. per lb., and its heat value will be taken at 19,000 Th. U. per lb. With these data we get the table on the following page. There is no doubt that the figures in this table show the performance of the Priestman oil engine to have been a re- markably good one. Taking actual weight of fuel used per indi- VOL. I. T. S. — 3 R R 602 The Trials of Light Portable Motors at Plymouth. Most Messrs. Otto gas economical Turner's engine Otto gas Priestman ’ large con- non-con- using engine oil engine densing densing coal using Dow- using Bros- steam steam gas son gas bourne oil engine engine (Kennedy) Lb. of fuel used per in- "I dicated horse-power 1 per hour J 1-5 8161 20-76 1 1-3 1066 Heat value of fuel per \ lb. Th. U / 11,600 11,600 626' 11,600 19,000 Heat value of fuel used 1 Th. U. per hour . . J Equivalent in heat value ) 21,900 123,600 13,000 18,980 20,250 of fuel used per hour ! per indicated horse- f power in lb. of coal J 1-5 8-461 0-890 1-3 1-387 Cost of fuel used per*) hour per indicated l horse-power in pence J 0-1929 1088 0-7474 01672 0-8548 cated horse-power per hour, the result is probably unprecedented, except in the case of gas engines uaing coal gas, where the actual weight of fuel used is a little less, in at least the trial quoted, which represents the highest result as yet obtained with the Otto gas engine. Taking, however, the more scientific com- parison of the heat value of the fuel, the Pi’iestman engine is better than the best large condensing steam engines, six times better than Messrs. Turner’s steam engine, and very slightly worse than an Otto engine using Dowson gas. Taking the market value of the fuel, which of course is a matter varying greatly in different localities, so that the comparison can only be a rough one, the Priestman engine is very distinctly less costly in fuel than the Turner steam engine, and only very slightly more costly than a gas engine using coal gas. It is probable that the Priestman engine could be used with a less costly oil than that employed in the trial. Then the economy of the engine would be still more striking. Indicator diagram of the Priestman engine. — An indicator diagram made from an average of three or four diagrams is shown in Fig. 6. It is very similar to an Otto engine diagram. Thermal calculations. — The following short statement rests on an assumed value of the heating power of the oil used. It is probable, nowever, that if there is any error, the heating value of the oil is rather over-estimated than under-estimated : — i These quantities are in c, ft. and Th. U. per o. ft The Trials of Light Portable Motors at Plymouth. 603 Fig. 6. tu LT <19- \ pry uA Otbj. , Messrs Prizs tmwi Bro s JjimiUtl .Petr o laim. Bru/irLe/. ■ . !'• h i r r i r - , r TO- " — JO- I so- • • 10- !o L ■a. i . Cylinder Volume in- CuJjic feeb Heat used per Hour. Total heat of combustion of 5-588 lb. of oil Th. U. 100,150 Per cent, 1000 Heat corresponding to useful work at brake J ■ 11,530 1080 Heat wasted in engine friction . . 1,920 1-81 Total heat shown by indicator . , 13,450 12-67 Heat given to jacket water . . 56,660 63-39 Exhaust waste and other losses , , 36,040 33-90 r . ' ; i, : . , • t . “ W. 0. Unwin, R 8 3 604 THE TRIALS OF GRIST MILLS AND DISINTEGRATORS AT PLYMOUTH. The second and third classes of machines entered for trial at Plymouth were respectively allotted to Grist Mills and Dis- integrators, the trials taking place in the Show-yard. Class 2. — Grist Mills for use on a Farm. Judges. James Edwards, Belmont, Flax Bourton, Bristol. Dan. Pidgeon, C.E., Walsingham House, Piccadilly. Thos. Stirton, West Stratton, Miclieldever, Hants. Prizes: First, 201., Second, KB, for the best Grist Mills for use on a farm to he worked by an engine not exceeding 10 brake horse-power. Conditions of Trial. The various entries in this class -will be driven separately by the same engine, provided by the Society. The amount of steam used for the execution of a given amount of work will be the gauge of efficiency. The following will be the points awarded : — 1. Cost . 20 2. Simplicity combined with strength, workmanship, and durability 15 3. Power taken to drive same 15 4. Uniformity of working and facilities for regulating . 10 5. Uniformity of produce . . . . . .15 6. Attendance necessary 15 7. General adaptability for grinding various kinds of produce 10 100 Twenty-six mills were entered for trial in Class 2, but the number actually tested was reduced to sixteen, either by volun- tary withdrawals during the contest, or under the operation of Clause 34 of the “ Regulations for the Exhibition and Trial of Implements,” directed against the needless multiplication of experiments with machines by the same maker, duplicates in construction, although differing in size and price. The list on the opposite page (Table I.) enumerates all the mills which took part in the competition, arranged in order of trial. Six different principles, shown in diagram by Table II., were exemplified in the sixteen mills tabulated above, principles which, as will presently appear, are all “ as old as the hills,” a fact which, while it takes nothing from the value of the com- petition, may, it is hoped, furnish such interest as “ ancient history ” can yield to a necessarily prosaic report. The Trials of Grist Mills and Disintegrators at Plymouth. 605 Table I. Order of trial Date of trial Name and address of maker Catalogue No. Price £ S. d. 1 June 21 Woods & Co., Stowmarket .... 328G 17 10 0 2 ,, E. R. & F. Turner, Ipswich . . . 3497 35 0 0 3 Blackstone & Co., Lim., Stamford . R. A. Lister & Co., Dursley . . . 2565 13 10 0 4 2400 18 10 0 5 Henry Bamford & Sons, Uttoxeter . 3366 22 10 0 G »» Henry Bamford & Sons, Uttoxeter . 3364 22 10 0 7 >1 Henry Bamford & Sons, Uttoxeter . 3363 24 10 0 8 June 23 Barford & Perkins, Peterborough 2420 16 0 0 9 » f Charles Burrell & Sons, Lim., Thet- ! I ford / 3321 17 0 0 10 »» ("Samuel Corbett & Son, Wellington,! \ Salop j 3460 13 0 0 11 n W. N. Nicholson& Sons, Lim., Newark 3329 18 0 0 12 »> John Williams & Son, Rhuddlan . . 2543 15 0 0 13 >» Woodroffe & Co., Rugeley .... 3441 21 0 0 14 15 »» Woodroffe & Co., Rugeley .... /Agricultural Mill Co., Laurence! 3442 3428 18 18 10 18 0 0 \ Pountney Hill, London . . . . j 16 ;» Robert Graham, Carlisle .... 3484 27 10 0 Table II. 1. The millstone . 2. Metal discs System Fig. 1. Fig. 2. Bepresented by Blackstone, Lister, Graham. Corbett, Woods, Bur- rell, Williams. 3. Conoidal discs metal Fig. 3. Nicholson, Bamford. 4. Grooved roller and I breast . . . ./ Fig. 4. Woodroffe. 5. Grooved roller and"! breast, with end- s wise delivery . Fig. s. 6. Rollers Fig. C. Barford & I’erkins : Agricultural Mill Co. Turner, for all classes of grinding. Bamford, Woods, and WoodrofEe, for oats. 605 The Trials of Grist Mills and Disintegrators at Plymouth. The Millstone (Fig. 1) is older than human history, being familiar to us in the quern, the Etruscan sheller, the Pom- peiian and Egyptian mills; but it will" appear, later, that stones are not so well adapted to the purposes of grist milling as metal plates or rollers. Metal Discs (Fig. 2) were used by Napoleon on the march to Moscow for the purpose of supplying his troops with meal. The “ French Military Mill,” as it was called, consisted of a pair of cast-iron discs about 12 inches in diameter, vertically ar- ranged, and turned by hand — a machine similar, indeed, in all essential respects, to that which took the first prize at Plymouth. Francis Devereux patented this “ Military Mill ” in England in 1824, and the recent winner may perhaps reflect, with some satisfaction, that “ Peace with Honour ” attends the latest triumph of a machine having forefathers born in a camp, and nurtured amid the clash of arms. Gonoidal Metal Discs (Fig. 3) were invented by David Selden, of Liverpool, who, in 1831, took out a patent for a mill which worthily fathers that of Bamford and Nicholson. Indeed, it is a question whether it might not have gone hard with the descendants in question, at the Plymouth trials, could their ancestor have appeared there as a competitor. Grooved Roller and Breast (Fig. 4). — In 1833, a certain Thomas Don, of Westminster, patented a vertical millstone which, revolving peripherally, bore against the segmental curve of a second stone of rather larger radius than the runner ; but Don was, himself, anticipated by Charles Williams, of Southwark, who, in 1810, made a metal mill consisting of a grooved roller working against a breast formed of a number of knives, screwed together so as to form the same curve as the roller, the knives being removable for the purpose of sharp- ening. The roller in Williams’s machine was kept up to the breast by weighted levers, which, while furnishing pressure enough for the purpose of grinding, allowed the breast to give way, exactly as in modern practice, on the passage through the mill of hard foreign substances. Conical Roller and Breast , giving endwise delivery of Meal (Fig. 5). — Amory Felton, an American, seems to have been the first inventor, in 1855, of the horizontal conical roller and breast, wrhich, first introduced into this country by Riches and Watts in 1857, became a model for the well known and now widely distributed Barford & Pei-kins’s gristing mill. Roller Mills (Fig. 6), like the millstone, are older than human history. Niebuhr, in 1772, described a roller mill, of refined construction, but of unknown antiquity as to design, The Trials of Grist Mills and Disintegrators at Plymouth. 607 in common use among the Arabs ; and Livingstone speaks in praise of the flour produced by a rude roller mill, also of unknown antiquity, in use among certain African tribes. One Isaac Wilkinson patented in England, in 1752, a plan of crush- ing grain by smooth metal rollers, and, so far as oats are con- cerned, the method is very extensively used to-day, although rollers — like millstones, as will presently more clearly appear — are inferior to disc- and breast-grinding for the purpose of grist milling. The Plymouth trials may be regarded as an attempt to select from among modern improvements upon the six vener- able systems of grinding above described that which is best fitted for a farmer’s use ; and it is matter for congratulation that, having regard strictly to this problem, the experiments gave no uncertain sound in declaring that flat metal discs have the greatest general adaptability for grist milling, while they are economical of power and time, produce good feeding samples, and are cheaper both in first cost and renewals than any other mills. But if no “uncertain sound” proclaimed the first prize machine, it is only fair to state the actual relationship of merit in which the first three mills, say, stood to each other after trial. The plan of judging by “ points of merit,” when strictly followed, enables such a statement to be accurately made, and it seems more just to indicate the relationship in question rather than to leave it to guess-work. At the risk, therefore, of making a somewhat wide departure from past practice, but in the interest of a more intelligent use of the prize system, it may be said that the mill which took the second prize proved to be 8 per cent, less meritorious than the first prize machine; while the Barford & Perkins mill, which stood third in order of merit, was 11^ per cent, inferior to the winner. The trials took place on June 21 and 23, in a large and convenient shed, whose one open side gave upon a railroad, extending the whole length of the shed itself, and serving to carry a timber stage, upon which were mounted the steam- engine furnishing motive power, together with an attached registering dynamometer, through which such motive power was delivered to the mills. The stage itself could be quickly moved, by means of a windlass and rope, from mill to mill, and since each exhibitor had been informed beforehand of the speed of the driving strap, he was already provided with a pulley of the proper diameter to give him such a number of revolutions per minute as he required. This arrangement worked very well. The shift from mill to mill was made in a few minutes and 608 The Trials of Grist Mills and Disintegrators at Plymouth , when, as in Bamford’s case, the exhibitor’s attendant was a remarkably quick and intelligent man, in a few moments. Each competitor received about 4 cwt. of maize wherewith to make his adjustments, but no notes were taken by the Judges of these “ preliminary ” essays. During the trials proper, 4 cwt. each of maize, beans, and oats were served successively to each mill, and, where the machine promised well, a final 4 cwt. of barley was added. The time occupied in grinding each dose of grain was taken by chronograph, while the power absorbed during that time was registered by the recording dynamometer. Samples of the meal produced were collected in numbered boxes, from time to time, as the work went on, and these samples were judged “ blindfold,” or without knowing which was which, on the morning after all the trials had been concluded. Eight mills were soon found to be, more or less, “ in it ” ; and it is proposed to confine this report to notices of their per- formances, since nothing would be gained by chronicling demerit, while the reader of Show statistics deserves every possible con- sideration at the hands of a reporting Judge. The mills in question comprise those of Corbett (3460), Woodroffe (3441), Barford (2420), Bamford (3366, 3364, 3363), Blackstone (2565), and Lister (2400). It will, probably, assist the reader to general conclusions if, disregarding the order of trial, these mills are described in the order of classification already established, viz. : — No. Type Represented by 1 Millstones Blackstone; Lister 2 Flat metal discs Corbett 3 Conoidal metal discs Bamford 4 Metal roller and breast Woodroffe 5 /Conical metal roller and breast with endwise/ delivery of meal / Barford Type I. Millstones. — It has already been stated that millstones are inferior to metal mills for the purpose of gristing, and, while it is quite true that both Blackstone and Lister produced ex- cellent samples of meal, this was done at an undue expenditure both of time and power. Between the two stools of miller and farmer both these machines fell to the ground, the work being too good for the farmer and not good enough for the miller ; while “ general adaptability for grinding various kinds of produce,” worth 10 points out of 100 in this competition, was certanly not characteristic of the stone mills. In addition, millstones themselves are more costly than castings, besides requiring constant and skilled care in dressing. Hence, nothing The Trials of Grist Mills and Disintegrators at Plymouth. 609 further will be said either of Blackstone or Lister in this report, saving that both these exhibitors showed a well-designed and well-made mill, moderate in price, and capable of producing an excellent sample of meal, but “ out of it,” so far as gristing is concerned, by large comparative losses of “ points of merit ” in respect of time, power, and adaptability. Type II. Flat discs— Samuel Corbett & Son’s grist mill (3460), which took the first prize, consists of a pair of grinding discs 17^ in. diameter, made of chilled cast-iron, trued on their faces by grinding. The discs have a “ dress,” illustrated by ^ (Table 2), the Corbett & Son’s First Prize Grist Mill. tangential grooves being in. pitch and £ in. deep at the centre, and ^ in. pitch and -jig- in. deep at the periphery of the disc. The discs are vertically dis- posed, and are con- tained between the bearings of the mill spindle, an arrange- ment which gives great steadiness in work. The live disc, or “ runner,” is car- ried upon a horizontal shaft, driven direct by belting at 440 revolu- tions per minute, and is kept apart from the dead disc by means of a spiral spring en- circling the driving shaft, and pressing against the pulley bearing. A set screw, acting against the pressure of this spring, adjusts the discs for fine or coarse grinding, while an independent pair of strong spiral springs, taking the place of Williams’s eighteenth- century levers, provide for the passage of hard foreign sub- stances through the mill without injury to the grindin surfaces. The feed consists of a joggling shoot, provided with perforated screen for the separation of straws, sticks, &c. ; while the admission of corn is regulated by a hopper slide. The joggling apparatus in this mill is peculiarly simple and very quiet in fcD 610 The Trials of Grist Mills and Disintegrators at Plymouth. its operation. The mill is supported by a substantial iron frame, and occupies a floor-space of 3 feet 9 inches x 3 feet 6 inches, while the hopper is not too high for the easy discharge of grain. The weight of the machine is under 6 cwt., and its price, 13h, very moderate. Upon going to work, on June 23, the Corbett mill disposed rapidly of its 2 cwt. of assorted corn, producing good samples of meal designed for feeding purposes, working very steadily and noiselessly, requiring little attention, and at once creating that “ favourable impression ” which, subject to confirmation by “ weighing and measuring,” suggests a prize-taker very early in a run. The records of the time occupied and power absorbed by this, as well as the other mills, will be found collected in Table Til. (page 613), for the sake of easy comparison. Type III. Conoidal discs. — Messrs. Henry Bamford & Sons exhibited three different types of mills, all of which received a more or less complete trial. Mill No. 3366 consists of a pair of vertically arranged cast-iron discs, 14£ inches diameter, of conoidal profile, with a reversible peripheral ring. The discs are of hard white iron, trued up by grinding, and are driven at 450 revolutions per minute by strap direct. The arrangements for setting to grind coarse or fine, as well as for safeguarding the discs from the passage of hard foreign substances through the mill, are similar to those already described. The grist, after leaving the mill, is received on a jogging screen, which separates the coarse from the fine meal, depositing the former in a box, from which it is occasionally returned to the hopper by the attendant. The mill, can be supplied without this screen at a proportionately lower price. This machine made good samples, whether in maize, beans, oats, or barley, and the work was expeditiously done. Reference is again made to Table III. for comparative particulars of draught and duty. Mill No. 3364 is similar to that just described, but furnished with a pair of rollers 8 inches diameter and 9 inches long, for crushing oats. One of these rollers is sparsely grooved, the other is smooth. They are geared together at equal speeds, but are not permitted to come into contact with each other. Adjustment is effected by a pair of set screws which force the bearings against stops, while the stops themselves are, very simply, adjustable so as to allow for wear in the rolls. The plan is good, and takes less power than contact crushing. This mill received cwt. of oats only, it being considered needless to re-experiment with the grinding discs, and made an excellent sample, the work being done expeditiously. Mill No. 3363 is similar in principle to No. 3366, but is The Trials of Grist Mills and Disintegrators at Plymouth. 611 furnished with two pairs of grinding discs, set one above the other, so that the grist from the upper falls into the lower mill and is there re-ground, necessarily producing a very fine sample. This machine received 4 cwt. of maize only, and made excellent work, but the whole arrangement was so obviously designed to “ butter bacon,” and as obviously involved the purchase by the farmer of two mills instead of one, that the Judges thought it needless to do more than ascertain how finely this mill could grind. All Bamfords’ mills were well designed and well made, but they lost points, in comparison with the prize machines, both in time and power. Type IV. Roller and breast-grinding. — Messrs. Woodroffe’s mill (No. 2543) consists of a grooved roller 12 inches in diameter and 16 inches long, of chilled cast-iron, trued up by grinding in contact with an emery wheel. The roller turns, at the rate of 300 re- volutions per minute, against a concave, also of chilled iron, which encircles about one-third the circumference of the grinding roller. The flutes of the latter are parallel with its axis and f-inch pitch, while the concave is fluted en zigzag. The concave is strongly and truly hinged to the mill-frame, and is kept up to its work by a pair of weighted levers, which give way to allow of the passage of hard foreign bodies through the mill. Adjustments for coarse or fine grinding are made by set screws, which control the movement of the concave around its hinges, while a pro- vision is made for instantaneously detaching the concave itself from the adjusting gear, so that the mill can be “ opened ” in a moment if needful. A good deal of interest attaches to mills of this type. As already indicated, the principle of breast-grinding was intro- duced by Williams in the early part of this century, while later, or in 1857, John Hardley, of Shide, Isle of Wight, patented a mill consisting essentially of u a drum or cylinder, having a furrowed or indented periphery revolving within a concave, the inner surface of which is also furrowed or grooved, the former W oodroffe's Second Prize Grist Mill. 612 The Trials of Grist Mills and Disintegrators at Plymouth . flutings being by preference parallel to tlie axis of the roller, while the latter are inclined thereto.” Hardley’s mill very soon came to be considei’ed the best general grinder and crusher, since it dealt effectively and expe- ditiously with a variety of substances, absorbed little power, was constructively very simple and strong, while the facilities it offered for adjustment and manipulation left nothing to be desired. As a consequence of its obvious merits, the Hardley mill was exploited with a great deal of energy, and made in considerable numbers by Messrs. Picksley & Sims, of Leigh, more than twenty-five years ago. The mill, however, ultimately declined in public favour, giving way to various forms of disc-grinders, and that for reasons which, at first sight, are somewhat obscure. Woodroffe’s mill, constituting a return to practice now more than a quarter of a century old, is, indeed, a case of mechanical “ atavism,” and, in view of its excellent performance at Plymouth, it may be interesting to inquire what it was that buried the Hai-dley mill before it was yet, mechanically speaking, dead. The answer to this question is a purely technical one. It is a difficult task to make a satisfactory chilled and grooved roller, even of small dimensions, without the use of much more refined methods than were generally in vogue either in the foundry or in the fitting-shop twenty-five years ago ; and the value of the Hardley mill depends entirely upon how good a “job ” is made of the roller and concave. On the other hand, chilled discs are easily and cheaply produced, even in the most rudimentary foundry, and it happened that, while Messrs. Picksley & Sims made no effective arrangements for producing chilled rollers and concaves of high perfection, the disc-mill maker, working under less stringent mechanical conditions, became first a formidable, and lastly a deadly, competitor with the Hardley mill. It is because Woodroffe is now taking great pains, both in founding and grinding, to make a “ good job ” of his chilled roller and breast, besides putting sound work into his concave hinges and feed adjustment, that roller- and breast-grinding made such a good show at the Plymouth trials. But for the loss of some points on cost and sample (particularly in oats), the Woodroffe machine would have run an even closer race than it did with Corbett & Son’s mill. In the result, however, it obtained the second prize. Type V. Conical roller and breast-grinding with endwise delivery of the meal. — Messrs. Barford & Perkins’s well-known “ Felton ” mill (No. 3363) consists of a conical grooved roller some 20 inches long, and tapering from inches to 7^ inches in diameter, cast of hard white metal, but not chilled. The cone The Trials of Grist Mills and Disintegrators at Plymouth. 613 is grooved parallel to its axis with straight flutings about § inch pitch and J inch deep, and revolves, at a speed of 450 per minute, against similar flutes in a concave, also of hard white iron, which occupies the whole length, and half the circumference of the grinding cone itself. The concave is adjusted for coarse or fine grinding by means of set screws, which raise or lower it in parallel guides, and the two are trued up by grinding together with sand — a method which, it need scarcely be said, does not insure truly circular surfaces in either roller or breast. The mill is driven by strap direct, and the grain admitted to the small end of the grinding-cone. Thence it passes, more or less slowly, along the incline of the conical breast, till it is at length dis- charged as meal from the end of the mill. A good deal of re-grinding necessarily takes place in the “Felton” mill, and showed itself on this occasion in heated meal, comparatively slow grinding, and heavy draught. Fine samples were produced, and although points were lost in the directions indicated, it is but fair to say that the Barford mill ran the second prize mill hard, the difference between the two, as determined by summing the points of merit, being only per cent. Table III. Name of exhibitor Cata- logue No. Material Quan- tity of material Time occu- pied Total units of power consumed Units of power required per cwt. Quan- tity of material per hour Mean horse- power lb. minutes lb. ( Maize ) f 2-33 562,120 1,124,240 1,442 7-31 Corbett & Son . . . 3460 1 Oats 56 3-66 480,107 960,394 918 3-97 { Barley ) 1 3‘27 495,321 990,642 1,027 459 ( Maize ) | 213 482,718 965,436 1,577 6-86 Woodroffe & Co. . . 3441 \ Oats 5G 2-0 265,036 531,872 1,080 4-03 1 Barley ) 1 3-47 G03.712 1,207,424 968 5-27 f Maize ) f 3'28 1,203,644 2,407,288 1,024 1112 Barford & Perkins. . 2420 Oats r 56 1 3G5 472,635 945,270 920 3-92 \ Barley J 1 4-58 1,380,094 2,760,188 733 9-13 f Maize i ( 4'25 714,624 1,429,248 790 5-09 Bamford & Sons . . 33CG 1 Oats r 5G i 3-05 507,925 1,015,850 1,101 6-04 1 Barley J 1 3-33 1,025,933 2,051,866 1,009 9-30 ( Maize ) ( G‘75 1,638,468 3,276,936 497 735 Blackstone & Co. . . 25G5 \ Oats 5G 4'53 733,529 1,467,058 741 4-90 \ Barley 6-58 1,618,302 3,236,604 510 7-45 Class 3. — Disintegrators. Judges. Dan. Pidgeon, C.E., Walsingham House, Piccadilly. Prof. W. C. Unwin, F.R.S., 7 Palace Gate Mansions, Kensington. Prizes offered: First, 207, Second, 107, for Disintegrators, suitable for working with a portable or traction engine not exceeding 20 horse-power. 614 The Trials of Grist Mills and Disintegrators at Plymouth. Conditions of Trial. The trials in this class will be conducted in a similar manner to those in Class 2. The following will be the points awarded : — 1. Cost 20 2. Simplicity combined with strength, workmanship, and durability ........ 15 3. Power taken to drive same lo 4. Uniformity of working and facilities for regulating same 10 5. Uniformity of produce 15 6. Attendance necessary ] 5 7. General adaptability for reducing various substances . 10 100 There are moments, sometimes prolonged into hours, during which, in every trial of implements, Judges acquire unsought and unwelcome opportunities for reflection ; spaces of time, vacant of work but full of impatience, during which the Society’s engineer, it may be, equally unhappy with the Judges, is cudgelling his brains for some mechanical expedient needed on the instant, or some half-nervous, half-belated exhibitor is re-splicing a strap that will not keep on the pulley, or even half-rebuilding his crude machine on the very trial ground. Several such lacunae (without responsibility on the part of the engineers, whose arrangements worked with perfect smoothness throughout) occurred during the disintegrator trials, and were utilised by the Judges in a discussion of the problem, “What, after all, is a disintegrator ? ” This gravely disquieting, because fundamental, question was raised by the appearance at the trials of a mechanical “ Banquo ” in the shape of a bone-mill, which did excellent work operating upon such materials as a farmer wants to crush — e.g. bones and cake — but was altogether incapable of dealing with the thousand and one other materials, ranging from quartz-rock to rags, which the “ Devil” readily tore into “Devil's dust.” Happily, however, the progress of the trials themselves resolved a diffi- culty— which might, under some circumstances, have proved considerable — and made the awards easy. Eight disintegrators in all were entered for trial, but the number actually tested was four ; three machines coming under the meaning of the word “ duplicate,” as defined by Regula- tion 34, while a fifth did not succeed in getting ready for trial at all. The following list (Table IV.) includes all the machines appearing for trial, arranged in the order of experimenting : — The Trials of Grist Mills and Disintegrators at Plymouth. 615 Table IV. Order of trial Date Name of maker Catalogue No. Price 1 June 20 Hardy Patent Pick Co., Lim. 253!) £ s. a. 08 0 0 2 J. Harrison Carter .... 3403 50 0 0 3 C. E. Hall, Robinson & Co. . 3479 25 0 0 4 >> W. N. Nicholson & Sons . . 3331 65 0 0 Not ready for trial W. H. Coward 3485 250 0 0 As in the case of the mills, considerable interest was given to the Disintegrator experiments by the fact that, five machines in all being present, four different principles of grinding were represented, as shown diagrammatically in Table V. Table V. System Represented by Hardy Pick Co.’s *■ Devi1.” {Harrison Carter. Hall, Robinson. Nicholson. Coward. 616 The Trials of Grist Mills and Disintegrators at Plymouth. Type I. Fig. 1.— This illustrates incidentally the character of the question which, as already stated, thrust itself upon the attention of the Judges at a very early stage of the competition. The Hardy Patent Pick Company’s machine, although called a disintegrator, cannot possibly be differentiated, as to its grinding principle, from a mill. Indeed, there is an excellent domestic coffee-mill, made by tens of thousands in Philadelphia, and sold all over the world, whose grinding surfaces cannot be distinguished from those of the “ Devil ” disintegrator, except in regard of size. Further, a certain C. M. Savoye, of Middlesex, patented a flour mill in 1832, which he thus describes: “The grindiug surfaces in this mill consist of two concentric rings, having on their contiguous surfaces a series of teeth, cut in such a manner as to present cutting edges whether moved to the right or to the left. In the upper part” (or inner circumference of the grinding rings) “they project a quarter of an inch and diminish outward to a plain or even smooth surface, so as gradually to reduce the grain to fine flour.” If, then, Nicholson’s bone-mill be not truly a disintegrator, it is evident that the Hardy Pick Company’s “ Devil ” is, equally with it, a mill. Type II. Fig. 2. — The “Collision” mills of Messrs. Harri- son Carter, and Hall, Robinson & Co., may be regarded as physical analogues of that spiritual “kicking against the pricks ” condemned by the apostle as a waste of energy. Originating one knows not where, the idea of grinding by percussion has evidently taken some hold upon public credit. It consists in violently throwing, by means of rapidly revolving “ beaters,” the materials to be pulverised against the inner periphery of a cylinder, which, consisting of steel grids, permits such fragments as are struck off at each blow to pass through the interstices of the grids, while the body from which they are struck is still further beaten against the bars of its cage. Time III. Fig. 3. — Toothed roller crushing, as already in- dicated, is one of the oldest of all methods of milling, and needs no description. Type IV. Fig. 4. — An exactly similar arrangement to that of Coward’s is described and figured in Knight's Mechanical Dictionary ; balls being used instead of edge runners for grinding, while the ground material is carried away by means of a fan blast, exactly as in Coward’s machine. The trials of disintegrators took place on June 20, under similar conditions to those which characterised the mill trials, no change in the general arrangements being made, save that the dynamometer was furnished with stronger springs for the purpose of registering a higher horse-power. Preliminary essays, The Trials of Grist Mills and Disintegrators at Plymouth. . G17 made for the sake of adjustment, were taken no note of, and, during the trial proper, each machine received a measured dose, first of bones, and afterwards of cotton-cake. The time occu- pied in disintegration was noted by chronograph, while the power absorbed was registered continuously by the recording dynamometer, samples of the products being taken from time to time, as the work went on, for subsequent examination and judging. The Hardy Pick Co.’s “ Devil ” disintegrator (No. 2539), which ultimately received the First Prize, was the fii’st machine Hardy Patent Pick Co.’s First Prize “ Devil ” Disintegrator. tried. It consists of a pair of grinding rings, one fixed and the other revolving, whose contiguous surfaces are furnished with teeth arranged in concentric circles, and diminishing in size towards the peripheries of the grinding rings, but so dis- posed that each ring of teeth travels between similar rings of teeth on the opposing annulus, as shown in the accompanying woodcut. VOL. I. T. S.--3 ’ g g G18 The Trials of Grist Mills and Disintegrators at Plymouth. The grinding rings are placed vertically within a strong wrought-iron cylindrical chamber, to which one annulus is bolted while the other revolves at the rate of 800 turns per minute. Adjustment is made, for fine or coarse grinding, by means of a set screw at one end of the spindle, operating against the opposing pressure of a spiral spring at the other end of the shaft, which itself is driven, without countershafting, by belt direct. All the moving parts of the mill are placed between the bearings, which are very long and adequate. Only three pairs of grinding discs, “ coarse,” “ medium,” and “ fine,” are employed in ranging from the coarsest to the finest work. They are of cast metal, having the teeth deeply chilled, are ground together with emery for the purpose of trueing up, and cost 21. per pair, lasting from four to six months, according to the work. This machine is well designed and constructed, the workmanship and materials being first-class throughout. It occupies an over-all floor-space of 6 feet 8 inches x 3 feet 3 inches, and weighs 18 cwt. After a short preliminary run, of which no notes were taken, the mill received 5f cwt. of bones, which was finely ground (less 1 cwt. of material rejected by the operator as too large) at the rate of 13 cwt. per hour. Over-anxiety about the fine- ness of his sample spoiled the “ Devil’s ” time on the first run, but a second dose of bones was disposed of at the rate of 1 ton per hour, while the sample still remained excellent. The machine next received 5‘4 cwt. of cotton-cake, which was finely ground at the rate of 48 cwt. per hour, the draught in the case both of bones and cake being moderate. Reference is made, in the case of all the disintegrators experimented upon, to Table VI. (page G23) for a comparative statement of time, draught, &c. The mill worked with great steadiness, and was easily fed by one man. The system of grinding adopted in the “ Devil ” disintegrator deserves some consideration. It combines the percussive action of what has been called the “ Collision ” mill with a shearing action which, progressing step by step, gradually reduces the material to be operated upon to any required degree of fineness. Meanwhile, although nothing can escape from the mill until it has reached the predetermined fineness, there is practically no re-grinding, and no loss of power from that cause. Again, the shearing action of the intermitted teeth, each upon the other, enables the machine to operate, whether upon wet or dry, brittle or tough, fibrous or non-fibrous materials. There are, probably, no substances, metals excepted, which could not be disintegrated by this machine, and its power to pulverise a great variety of The Trials of Grist Milts and Disintegrators at Plymouth. G19 things has already made the “ Devil ” the parent of certain entirely new industries. Among these there is, perhaps, no more interesting example than the conversion into manure of town and market refuse. Sheffield sends occasional contributions of mingled ashes, hampers, fish-bones, old boots, bottles, oyster shells, paper, vegetables, straw, and other “jetsam” to this ogre’s den at Heeley, all of which, after going (with a pinch of lime for the sake of sanitation) through the “Devil’s” maw, result in a digested mass of fertilizer, worth several pounds sterling per ton. Mr. J. Harrison Carter’s disintegrator (No. 3403) was the next machine brought to test. This, as before explained, is a “ Collision ” mill, and consists of a cylindrical chamber of cast-iron, within which four radial beaters of the best Lowmoor iron, steeled on their working faces, revolve at a speed ot 3,500 revolutions per minute. Substances fed into the mill are violently thrown, with a velocity of from 300 to 350 feet per second, against the inner wall of the cylindrical chamber, which consists, as to its upper half, of chilled cast-iron serra- tions, and, as to its lower half, of concave steel grids, or “ screens,” the fineness of whose mesh determines the character of the grinding. Twelve grids, advancing step by step from fa to 2 inches, are used in practice, the mill being opened and the concaves changed as grinding of this or that degree of fineness is required. The beaters are disposed vertically, and are set to travel in three planes, covering the whole width of the beater chamber. They are driven through a countershaft by belting, and lie, together with the driving pulley, between the spindle bearings, which are long and adequate. The concaves, or grids, are built up of steel bars riveted, ladder-wise, to wrought-iron laterals, the “ rungs ” being few or many, according as the work to be done is coarse or fine. An “ improved ” grid was ex- hibited (though not used), wherein the rungs were merely slipped one by one into special laterals and secured therein by a locking-plate. The machine is well designed, and well and strongly made throughout, only the best materials and work- manship being employed — a necessity, indeed, where processes of such violence as those involved in a “ Collision ” mill are concerned. The disintegrator occupies an over-all floor-space of 3 feet 6 inches x 2 feet 6 inches, exclusive of counter-shafting and brackets, and weighs 11 cwt. The trial proper began on bones, of which 5£ cwt. were first served out, but the machine had not completed sixteen minutes’ running when, warned by ominous noises, the exhibitor stopped it. On opening the mill it was found that a piece of iron s s 2 620 The Trials of Grist Mills and Disintegrators at Plymouth. (presumably a bolt-bead) bad found its way in with tbe feed, and had so damaged tbe machine as to render more or less extensive repairs needful. Tbe experience of less than half an hour’s trial bad made it evident that tbe grid is tbe “weak place” in tbe “ Collision ” mill, inasmuch as, being tbe most expensive part of tbe construction, and always under bombardment of tbe severest kind, it is peculiarly liable to costly damage. It must here be remarked that tbe “ Devil ” received several pieces of iron with bis bones, but these were all apparently re- jected by tbe attendant, who, however, stopped once for a few seconds to open bis discs, saying that be knew by tbe sound that a piece of metal was within ; whether this was so or not, no damage was done. The effect of the bolt-bead upon the “ Collision ” mill was remarkable and instructive. One of tbe beaters was bent and cracked, one of tbe steel grids was much deformed, and rendered useless without a smith’s repair, involving unmaking and re- making tbe “ ladder,” while tbe driving spindle itself was bent. Now bones are never free from iron, and while careful picking cannot insure their becoming so, electro-magnetic screening is, at present, only a scheme. Tbe question therefore arises, “ Is it not desirable that machines dealing with bones or town refuse, both of which always contain iron, should break, if they break at all, in the cheapest place ? ” Iron, entering the “ Devil ” disintegrator, comes first into collision, even when grinding fine, with the massive teeth surrounding the inner circumference of the grinding ring — teeth whose great length, and consequent strength, in the direction of the blow, give obstructions a chance of merely locking the rings and throwing the strap off the pulley. But in the case of the “ Collision ” mill, iron, entering with the feed, is flung with a speed of 300 feet per second directly against the grid, which, when the mill is grinding fine, must necessarily be a comparatively frail struc- ture, yet all the more expensive because frail, since it consists of more and finer steel “ rungs ” than the coarser grids. The Judges did not therefore regret an accident which, while it wms apparently a misfortune for the “ Collision ” mill, was, generally, an instructive event. Later in the same day, the machine, having been repaired, was restarted ; but, in the meanwhile, cwt. of bones had been ground, before the accident occurred, at the rate of 10 cwt. per hour (see Table VI.) and at a considerable expen- diture of power. A quantity of bones, equal to one-sixth of the material ground, was rejected by the feeder, who, indeed, threw out every large piece, together with any hoof or horn that The Trials of Grist Mills and Disintegrators at Plymouth. 621 occurred. Two concaves of ^-inch mesh and two of £-inch mesh were employed in bone-grinding, and the sample produced was very good. The machine was tried a second time upon cotton-cake, of which 4 cwt,. was ground at the rate of 20 cwt. per hour ; but, again, with a large comparative expenditure of power. Grids of |-inch mesh were employed, and the sample was good but dusty. The trial of Messrs. Hall, Robinson & Co.’s machine (No. 3479), which is a rather roughly made reproduction of the Harrison Carter mill, already described, ended in a com- plete fiasco. Within five minutes of starting on his pre- liminary run, his strap, which from the first was mutinous, broke, and some changes, involving the free use of saw and axe, had to be made in the platform supporting the mill before this could start again. Difficulties with the strap recurred on starting a second time, nor could the efforts of two men, coaxing the belt with hammer shafts, induce the latter to keep on the pulley. Meanwhile, the machine refused to receive any- thing but the smallest pieces of bone, which were pushed, either by means of a stick or the feeder’s hand, in a most dangerous way, into the body of the unwilling disintegrator. All large bones were rejected, and the rate of feeding was extremely slow. Before the operator had got through a fourth of his “ preliminary ” bones, the fast-slackening strap again rebelled, and attempting, in spite of hammer shafts, to mount, now the bearing, and now the body of the machine itself, finally struck work for the third time, and thus brought the “ trial ” to a close. Messrs. W. N. Nicholson & Son’s “ Bone Mill and Dis- integrator” (No. 3331), which took the Second Prize, was the next machine tried. It consists of two pairs of toothed grinding rollers, one of coarse and one of finer pitch, set one above the other, an arrangement so well known in bone and cake mills as to need no further description. The mill is well and strongly made of the best materials and workmanship, while the roller adjustments, together with the provisions for allowing hard foreign substances to pass, are well considered -and effective. The grinding rollers consist of separate discs of cast steel, which are interlocked one with the other for the purpose of diminishing galling of the square driving shaft, upon which the discs are loosely threaded. This bone mill occupies an over-all floor-space of 6 feet x 5 feet 6 inches, and weighs 28 cwt. It is driven by belting direct from the motor, the necessary reduction of speed in the crushing rollers being provided for by self-contained gearing, 622 The Trials of Christ Mills and Disintegrators at Plymouth. The machine was first set to work on 5T25 cwt. of bones, which it disposed of at the rate of 19 cwt. per hour, making rather coarser work than the “ Devil ” and Harrison Carter had done, but producing a satisfactory sample for farmers’ use. Meanwhile, the power absorbed was very moderate, while no rejections of material were made by the attendant. It was, indeed, a remarkable sight to watch, as might be done in this case, the toothed rollers crunching up huge horse heads and shoulder blades as if they relished the gruesome meal. The second trial took place on cotton-cake, of which 5-8 cwt. was reduced to small fragments, rather than powder, as in the JF. N. Nicholson & Son's Second Prize Bone Mill and Disintegrator. other cases, at the rate of 21 cwt. per hour, the sample being, again, quite satisfactory for feeding purposes, although not finely ground. Nicholson’s machine, ii not a disintegrator in the same sense as the “ Devil,” is, undoubtedly, capable of dealing very satisfactorily with such materials as bone and cake, though it would altogether fail in producing manure, as the “ Devil ” does, from town refuse. In economy of power the machine, indeed, heads the list (see Table VI. opposite), but in “ general adaptability for reducing various substances” it lost many points, yet came easily into the second place. Meanwhile, the differences in character and function between the first and second prize The Trials of Grist Mills and Disintegrators at Plymouth. G23 machines are so great that no attempt will be made, as was done in the case of the mills, to attach relative figures of merit to these two competitors. They occupy each such different ground that any such attempt would be misleading. For the man who wants to disintegrate everything , the “ Devil ” stands ready ; for the agriculturist who only wants to grind bones and cake, Nicholson’s machine furnishes all that he desires. Mr. W. H. Coward’s Disintegrator (No. 3485) did not come to trial at all. The machine, instead of being in place, under Regulation 6, ten days before the Show, was not completely erected until after the disintegrator trials had ended, so that the Judges were compelled, very unwillingly, to pass it by. While, however, they regretted Mr. Coward’s disappointment at missing a trial which, he naively confessed, would give himself valuable information, not yet in his possession, as to the capacities of his own machine, they are sure that nothing was lost to agriculture by the lapse in question. Mr. Coward’s machine was quite unfitted — whether by its massiveness, its high price, or its con- fessed inability to deal either with bones or cake — for a farmer’s use, and if it could have been set to work upon limestone chips, as the exhibitor desired, nothing of any value to agriculture could have been demonstrated. The case, indeed, is one where a fuller knowledge of what was really wanted would have saved the exhibitor much disappointment, and, it is to be feared, a heavy and useless expenditure of money. Table VI. Name of exhibitor Cata- logue No. Material Quan- tity of material Time occu- pied Total units of power consumed Units of power required per cwt. Quan- tity per hour Mean horse- power cwt. min. cwt. Hardy Patent Pick Co. 2539 | Bones Cotton-cake 5-97 5-40 18 6-75 9,198,150 2,230,000 1,539,950 412,963 19-90 48-0 15-48 10-0 Nicholson & Sons . . 3331 1 Bones Cotton-cake 5125 5-82 16 16-5 3.406.600 1.339.600 664,702 230,171 19-2 21-1 6-45 2-45 Harrison Carter. . . 3403 { Bones Cotton-cake 2-63 406 16 12 4,563,300 3,263,500 1,735,095 803,817 9-8 20-3 8-64 824 The thanks of the Judges are hereby tendered to the Stewards of Implements; to the Engineering Staff, for tech- nical assistance promptly and courteously rendered ; to Messrs. Davey, Paxman & Co., for the loan of their excellent motors, which did yeoman’s service ; and to Messrs. Avery & Co., for the use of weighing machinery. Dan. Pidgeon. G 24 MISCELLANEOUS IMPLEMENTS EXHIBITED AT PLYMOUTH. In the Implement Catalogue of the Plymouth Meeting, pp. xx. to xxiii., it is seen that, out of upwards of ninety exhibits entered as “ New Implements,” competing for Silver Medals, ten are marked thus *, showing that they were also entered for com- petition in Classes 2, 3, and 4, for money prizes. As these competitions are the subject of special papers, entries so marked will not be noticed here. As it is not possible to give full details of mechanical construc- tion, or an exhaustive consideration of adaptability to agricultural requirements, all that will be attempted by the writer is to call attention to the more salient points of both in some of the more noteworthy exhibits, leaving it to the wisdom of an intending purchaser to satisfy himself, before buying, that the appliance is capable of doing its work efficiently. The entries which are the subject of this notice will be taken in their catalogue order, precedence being given, however, to those which were, on the recommendation of the Judges (Messrs. Thomas Stirton and James Edwards), awarded Silver Medals, viz., Articles 381, 710, 2539, 3333-. Silver Medals. Messrs. T. Bradford & Co.’s “ Arch Albany ” Butter Worker (Art. 381) differs from the Workers now in ordinary use in three important particulars : — The table (see fig-. 1) forms, instead of an inclined plane, an arch with a rise in the centre of something like 2} inches ; the roller, instead of being a fluted cylinder, takes the form of a wooden screw with threads of a some- what similar section to that of the flutings on the old roller ; and, thirdly, galvanised malleable iron grooves, arched to follow the line of the table, ensure the true working of the side guide rollers, and at the same time give great strength and rigidity’ to the whole structure. This machine was tried in the Dairy, with some 9 lb. or 10 lb. of butter, by Miss Maidment in the presence of the Judges, and, though using it for the first time, she considered that the butter was thoroughly worked in one-third less time than would have been required by a worker of the old type, and it is quite possible, as is claimed by the Exhibitor, that butter might be worked in half the usual time by any one accustomed to its use. This important saving of time is without doubt due to the arched table and the screw roller. The buttermilk escapes at Miscellaneous Implements Exhibited at Plymouth. 625 both ends of the table instead of one, and has only half the distance to travel. The onward pressure of the screw has a tendency to drive the buttermilk in front of it, instead of pressing it downwards, and at the same time leaves behind channels on the surface, of the best pos- sible form for the butter- milk to run down. There is less mopping to be done, and the roller is more easily wiped and cleaned. Time, which means money, is saved here, and it may be well to state that the extra cost of the new Worker is only about two shillings. The Dairy Supply Co., Limited, for the application of a Refrige- rator between the Churn and the Separator in an Instantaneous Butter Maker (Art. 710). This contrivance may fairly be described as a wonderful development of dairy ma- chinery, and it is not too much to say that nothing in the Show- yard attracted more attention. If we had not of late years been educated up to it by such a machine as the cream separator, we should be the more astonished to see new milk converted into the three products, skim milk, butter, and buttermilk, as fast as it can run from a tap. The entire apparatus consists (Fig. 2) of several parts, viz. — a holder or tub for the milk ; a warmer to raise the temperature of the milk before passing into the separator, of the ordinary kind ; the separator, driven by a steam turbine of improved construction, with one steam outlet instead of two as formerly, and which it is claimed takes less power to drive ; a refrigerator, of improved construction, with internal diaphragms which cause the whole of the cold water to pass close to the inner surface of the metal, over which the cream is spread before passing into the churn. The churn is a horizontal cylinder, some 12 in. long by 4| in. diameter, outside measurement, with a centre spindle cai-rying straight wire beaters parallel to, and of nearly the same length as, the churn. This spindle is driven by a cotton rope belt, from a pulley on the separator spindle, at a speed of 3,000 revolutions a minute, or half that of the separator. In the trial, 250 lb. of milk was weighed, mixed, and put in the holder at a temperature of 65°. The separator was started 626 Miscellaneous Implements Exhibited at Plymouth. at 11 hours 544 minutes, milk turned on 11 hours 58| minutes, milk through 12 hours 15 minutes, washed out with 2^ gallons of skim milk, and finished 12 hours 17 minutes. The warmer raised the milk from 65° to 85°, and the refrige- rator reduced the cream to 56°. The butter, which came continuously and in fine granules, when made up weighed 91b. 2 oz., and was pro- nounced to be of ex- cellent quality, with good grain and free from buttermilk ; it is most probable that the superiority of the butter to that made by the Extractor last year at Windsor is due to the refrige- rator. The Hardy Patent Pick Co., Sheffield — Disintegrator. (Art. 2539). This machine has for two years been sent forward for trial as a “ new imple- ment.” It is described under the head of Disintegrators (page 617). Messrs. TV. N. Nicholson & Sons, Newark — “ Snapdra- gon ” Horse Rake (Art. 3333), for a Balance Snap Hook. This is an important novelty attached to the rake (see fig. 3). The hook is pivoted on a plate which is fixed on the stripper bar and slotted to receive the back lever. When the teeth fall, the lever strikes the upper part of the hook, which falls back Miscellaneous Implements Exhibited at Plymouth. 627 and allows tlie lever to pass under it, but comes forward into the right position, at exactly the right moment, to check the rebound of the lever, and, having done so, for an instant allows the lever to rise, and the hook resumes its normal position when at rest. The evil which this snap hook prevents is the tendency in some rakes, on the rebound of the lever, to throw the pawls again into the wheel ratchets, and strain the gearing. The front bar in this rake is trussed to prevent any tendency to bend or twist. This completes the record of the awards of Silver Medals. Messrs. Davey, Sleep , Harris & Go. exhibited (Art. 16) a Charlock Cleaner and Horse Rake combined. This has been recommended by the Judges to be allowed to compete as a new implement next year. The inventors have not had time as yet to perfect some of the details of construction, and did not wish to press it on the notice of the Judges. Still, it is only right that they should have credit for bringing out this implement, which already gives great promise of successfully dealing with the nuisance of charlock in corn crops, the attempt to do which has hitherto been more or less a failure. Charlock, as is well known, is not always to be taken as an indication of bad cultivation, its increase being generally the first result of deeper tillage. Such an implement as this would, therefore, benefit the good farmer, and is the more to be desired. The Charlock Cleaner is hung below the axle of the horse rake on vertical arms attached to the frame next the wheels, and consists of a fixed cutting bar somewhat similar to that of an ordinary mower, but with larger sections or blades, having immediately above it and parallel with it a long rotary brush which gathers and presses the charlock against the knife bar where it is cut and dropped behind the implement. The brush takes its motion from the driving wheels of the rake. The Cleaner is easily detached from the rake and can be set to cut at any height required. In making use of the rake frame to carry the Charlock Cleaner a great economy is effected, and the width of cut necessary for rapid work is obtained without reducing the efficiency of the horse rake when used as such. Mr. J. N. Davies, Gweleatli, Cornwall , exhibited (Art. 208) a Revolving Divider Attachment for all kinds of reapers. This is intended to deal with what is often the greatest difficulty in cutting laid and twisted corn, especially with self-binders. Mr. Davies exhibited one of his Dividers which had been through 100 acres of corn last year, and was stated to have given great satisfaction. It consists (see fig. 4) of a slightly tapering wooden cone, fluted parallel with its length, which is about 2 ft. 6 in., its diameter at the small end being about 3 in., and at the large end about 6 in. ; it is fixed on the upper edge of the dividing board, and is made to revolve from the standing corn by a chain from the wheel carrying the dividing shoe. 628 Miscellaneous Implements Exhibited at Plymouth. Mr. J. Best , 24 Old Town Street, Plymouth — Patent Auto- matic Valve (Art. 213), for intermittent working of Hydraulic Earns. This was shown at work, and appeared well finished and of good construction, acting with great certainty. It is improved in several details, especially in the balance bar, which is a hollow tube containing 7 lb. of mercury. The fluid metal runs from end to end, as the rising and falling of the float brings it over the centre of balance, with sufficient force to ensure the opening and closing of the valve. On many farms, where good springs of water exist and a suitable fall can be obtained, but perhaps without a sufficient supply of water to work a Earn continuously, by means of a small tank and a valve of this description a Earn can be worked intermittently without attention and with good results. Mr. G. R. Valentine, Ludlow, showed an “Acidimeter” (Art. 284). This is an apparatus for testing the degree of acidity in cream, milk, whey, curd, &c., and comprises a set of specially graduated test-tubes and chemical reagents, the whole fitting compactly into a mahogany case. When worked by the in- ventor good results were obtained, but it appeared to require rather more skilful manipulation than the ordinary farm dairy could command. The same was the case with this Exhibitor’s ‘Milk Tester (Art. 285). Messrs. T. Bradford & Co.’s Dairy Table (Art. 384). In the centre of this table is an improved “ making up ” press, worked Fig. 4. Miscellaneous Implements Exhibited at Plymouth. 629 both by band above, and by foot and treadle, giving a vertical pressure from below, causing the butter instantly to take the form of the chamber or box in which it is placed, in much the same way as pressed bricks are made. This table would be likely to find a place in factories and large dairies. Mr. T. B. Bums , North Cornwall Works, Camelford, exhibited a Hurricane Lantern (Art. 666), for use by shepherds and stock- men in warming milk for feeding lambs, &c. A tin bottle to hold the milk fits into a horizontal chamber in the top of the lamp, and is thus kept warm without trouble or attention at a distance from the house. If found to answer this purpose, there are many farmers who would find it useful. The Aylesbury Dairy Co. showed “ The Danish ” Hand Separator (Art. 751), to separate thirty-five gallons of milk per hour. The novelty claimed is the addition of a “ cream regu- lator ” to a hand separator, with the object of making thick or thin cream at pleasure, without altering the feed, or the speed, or the quality of the skim milk. On trial it worked up to the rate of nearly thirty-five gallons per hour, with a speed of 6,000 revolutions, but analyses of two samples of skim milk, one taken while making thick, and the other while making thin cream, showed an appreciable difference in the percentage of butter fat. The Western Counties Agricultural Co-operative Association , Plymouth, exhibited (Art. 807) a Farm Weigh-bridge. This is recommended to be allowed to enter as a new implement next year, as it already holds out great promise of meeting an urgent need, viz. better facilities to farmers for weighing their stock and produce at home. At present a farmer is exceptionally fortunate if he is within reasonable reach of a weigh-bridge, whilst to have one on his own farm is almost out of the question, unless it is a very large occupation. Messrs. Allan Jones & Co., Gloucester, showed a Fowl House (Art. 952). The system of keeping poultry in movable houses is on the increase. In this one the whole floor tilts outwards, is easily cleaned, and is strong and well made. Messrs. W. & T. Avery, Digbeth, Birmingham. — Weighing Machine and Cart Combined (Art. 1292). It is difficult to see what is the object of this combination. Perhaps it is fortunate that both the weight of the machine, and of the money re- quired to buy it, put it quite out of the reach of any ordinary farmer. The same Exhibitors had a Weighing Machine and Waggon Combined (Art. 1293), to which the above remarks apply with greater force. The fact would appear to be altogether lost sight of that farm horses probably do more than half their carting work G30 Miscellaneous Implements Exhibited at Plymouth. on soft land and bad roads, otherwise carriages of this weight would surely not be offered to farmers. Mr. T. II. Briyg, Bradford, exhibited an Automatic Easy Draught Attachment for Carts (Art. 1363). This was shown at Windsor, and the only claim to novelty this year is the adjust- ment of the traction levers in such a manner that their action multiplies in proportion to the resistance of the load. From a few practical tests which the Judges applied to the invention, there did not appear to be any extraordinary diminution of effort in con- sequence of its use. The tests were of course rough and ready ones, and did not pretend to be scientific or exhaustive ; but I think we were justified in supposing that so great an advantage to the horse as is claimed in this attachment should be evident to the eye without the assistance of a dynamometer. The end that Mr. Brigg has in view, viz. controlling the angle of draught to suit the constantly varying conditions of the horse’s work, is a most important one to farmers, and too often lost sight of, or we should not so frequently see horses flogged to get a heavy load up a hill, when a sack or two trans- ferred from the waggon to the horses’ backs would enable them to pull it with the greatest ease. Neither should we so often see horses yoked at length instead of abreast — a lamentable loss of power. I hope Mr. Brigg will persevere until he gives us a strong, simple attachment, suitable for agricultural carriages, and such as may effect a great saving of horse-flesh. Messrs. Wm. Brenton & Co ., Polbathic, St. Germans. — Corn- sower, broadcast (Art. 1386). In this implement the seed-de- liverer consists of a roller having a concave surface (like a pulley wheel), with a number of curved teeth round its smallest diameter adapted to move the grain towards the discharge opening. Mr. B. II. Williams , Liskeard — a Turn-wrest Digging Plough (Art. 1433). In giving this plough a field trial, the Judges do not wish it to be thought that they themselves are in favour of turn-wrest ploughs for general purposes. They think the verdict of the country is against their use ; but their reason for the trial was that they understood that these ploughs are very commonly used in the Plymouth district. They there- fore thought it their duty to test Mr. Williams’s plough, as the principle on which it works is, they think, new, and has a good deal to recommend it. The general construction, however, scarcely does justice to the principle. The breast and sock swing together on an upright pivot fixed to the centre of the beam, right or left as required, by means of worm and spur gearing, with a long iron connecting rod, and crank handle within reach of the ploughman. The coulter is reversed with a simple crank, worked by a light rod, also convenient to the ploughman. Miscellaneous Implements Exhibited at Plymouth. G31 To form continuity with the breast, and on either side of the plough, is a wing, the front edge of which constitutes a support to the rear edge of the breast, when at work. These wings can be raised or lowered according to the depth of the furrow, which they assist in turning and breaking. Tliis implement was tried on land that had been ploughed and cultivated for turnips, and on which a heavy dressing of long farm-yard manure had been spread. The land was wet and turned up sticky ; moreover, there was no one who had been used to the implement present to manage it. The reversing gear worked well. The plough seemed to take a heavy draught, probably because the breast was not of the best shape for reducing the suck. It is difficult to say with certainty whether this could be remedied by slightly altering the pattern, remem- bering, however, that the reversing principle requires that the outline of the edge, which the sock and breast together form, shall be a suitable outline when the same edge forms the rear of the breast. In lightness and cheapness this plough has a superiority over its rivals, and it could with great advantage be further lightened and stiffened by reducing the length of the stilts and increasing the spread at the handles. It also re- quires a better bridle head. Mr. H. S.Crump , Gloucester, showed a Pig-trough (Art. 1941) which tilts outwards conveniently for feeding or washing out. Messrs. P. J. Parmiter & Go., Salisbury, showed a Patent Flexible Harrow (Art. 1962). In this harrow, instead of the link and tine being made from a single steel rod, the link is formed as before by looping the rod in the centre ; but in place of carrying the ends down to form the tine after forming the corner loops, these loops are punched vertically to receive the tine, which has its upper end bent round the link, and cannot get out of place. The tines are easily renewed, are made of the best steel, § or -fe of an inch diameter, and have great power of penetration. In fact, these harrows are said to be used for pulling up and levelling the surface of a turnpike road previous to rolling. In the Horse Rake of the same Exhibitors (Art. 1963) the chief novelty is jointed clearing rods, which hang between the teeth, clearing them as soon as they begin to lift. Messrs. C. F. Millar & Go., Shirebampton, Bristol — Flexible Iron Harrow (Art. 2117). A strong, well-made implement. It can be worked either end forward, which keeps the teeth sharp, and it can be reduced in size in a few minutes to suit the work or the size of the horses. The same makers — Collapsible Iron Hurdle (Art. 2418). This is an invention of considerable value, as not only can the 632 Miscellaneous Implements Exhibited at Plymouth. hurdle be easily taken to pieces and put together by a farm labourer, but, as every part is interchangeable, old hurdles will make up almost as good as new. The bars are not weakened in any way at the point of connection with the angle iron heads. These hurdles are well adapted for colonial use. Messrs. Lankester & Co.’s 11 Keystone ” Hay-loader (Art. 2129). This machine is an elevator for attachment behind a waggon, and is carried on a pair of travelling wheels which drive a pronged cylinder of the nature of a hay-tedder. Over this cylinder an endless net travels, and elevates the hay to the point of delivery above the waggon. The hay is picked up in the windrow. William Lambert, Stapleliurst, Kent — Hop Washing and Fire Engine Combined (Art. 2192). The chief novelties in this machine are regulation of the pumps with speed wheels of different sizes, hose nozzles instead of perforations, and the power of using it as a fire engine, equal to 4-horse. Messrs. Powell Brothers & Whitaker, Wrexham — Potato Sorter (Art. 2284). A good implement — low hopper, hung on four chains, gives great freedom of motion with no wear and tear. Messrs. B,. A. Lister & Co., Dursley, Gloucestershire — Horse Gear (Art. 2402). The chief novelty consists in the first motion being taken from three different points, with the object of dividing the strain. It multiplies sixty-four to one, which, with 24-incli pulley, will drive a separator 7,000 revolutions a minute, and does away with the necessity for intermediate motion. The lay shaft is kept nearer the ground than is usually the case, and is fitted with a safety clutch of special design that can be attached at either end. Only one keyed wheel is used. Whether the novel construction reduces friction appears open to question, but, as we did not test this point, we do not express an opinion. The same makers’ “ Alexandra ” Cream • Separator (Art. 2404) consists of a milk holder in which the milk, before entering the Separator, is heated to 80° by means of a jacketed steam chamber which forms the bottom ; then from three to four inches above this a loose diaphragm rests on a small ledge in the side of the tub ; this checks the heated milk in rising, so that the bulk of the upper milk remains comparatively cool. On leaving the Separator the skim milk is passed through a jacketed vertical cylinder and boiled, after which it is cooled over a refrigerator and canned for sale. The milk is prevented from scumming, or sticking to the sides of the boiler, by an in- genious stirrer revolving slowly inside it. Messrs. Barford & Perkins , Peterborough — Ensilage, Field, and Cambridge Roller (Art. 2423). Combined implements are often objectionable, but the objection hardly applies in this case, Miscellaneous Implements Exhibited at Plymouth. 633 as without detriment, or complication of construction, a roller, suitable for nearly every purpose, is placed within the reach of almost any arable farmer at the small price of 21 1. Rollers are expensive implements, and small farmers are generally depen- dent on borrowing from their neighbours, or, worse still, use one unsuited to the work — an evil which this invention goes far to remedy. It consists of a water ballast cylinder, which makes a light or a heavy smooth roller ; Cambridge rings slip on to this, and it can then be used as a clod-crusher, light or heavy as required. With the frame and shafts romoved it becomes an ensilage roller. Messrs. Blackstone & Co ., Stamford, exhibited their Rutland Mower (Art. 2570). The cutting bar in this mower has perfect freedom of motion, not only in a vertical line, but also in the angle which the fingers may take in relation to the horizontal. In other words, the “ tilt,” usually given with a lever provided for the purpose, is here automatic, and, more than this, the tilt is entirely governed by the lead wheel, but is beyond the control of the driver. This, we satisfied ourselves by a trial in the field, constitutes a serious objection to what is otherwise a clever mechanical movement. Mr. G. Greenfield , Eakring, Newark, Nottingham, showed a Distributor (Art. 2797). 1 This machine (fig. 5) is recommended Fig. 5. to be entei’ed as a new implement next year by the J udges, who however were able to try it sufficiently in the Showyard and in the field to satisfy themselves that the appliance, though some- what roughly constructed and evidently hurried forward for the 1 By inadvertence of the Exhibitor this machine was numbered 2807 instead of 2797. VOL. I. T. S. — 3 T T 634 Miscellaneous Implements Exhibited at Plymouth. Plymouth Meeting, is already capable of good work, and with a little more attention to detail from the inventor will become a very efficient machine. It will sow artificial manures of any kind, damp or dry, in almost any quantity, from one cwt. to two tons per acre, and will pass stones or other hard lumps, up to H inch diameter, without choking. The head of the spreader is reversible, having brushes on the opposite side when required to sow broadcast grass seeds or corn. This it does with great regularity. The intermittent stirrer, which is a plain sliding board in the back of the hopper, is a very important feature, as in sowing damp manures it gives just the right amount of motion to keep up a constant supply to the delivery holes, without turning it into a paste. The lower front board of the hopper, carrying the discharge holes, has a lateral alterna- ting motion given to it by a small crank with a three-inch throw. This board on the inner side has small iron pegs projecting in- wards, which move the manure in the hopper to prevent sticking. The size of the discharge holes is easily adjusted. The first motion is given by a chain from the main axle. The same stand (Art. 2798 to 2801) contains a distri- butor to attach to the back of a cart ; a machine to sow turnips, mangel, and manures ; a broadcast barrow for grass seeds; and lastly, an eight-foot grass seed sower, to sling on the shoulder and work by hand. These machines have con- siderable merit, but it is not necessary to say more, as the same general principle runs through all. The grass seed barrow on trial showed no undue tendency to separate the grass from the clover seeds, as is sometimes the case. Mr. John Iluxtable , Castle Hill, South Mol ton — Chain Harrow (Art. 2832). Possesses malleable iron links of peculiar shape to cause the teeth to take a greater number of tracks ; the links have anti-locking joints to pi-event tangling. Messrs. B. Hornsby & Sons , Limited ., Grantham — “Hornsby” Reaper (Art. 3143). This is a self-raker. The four rakes are driven by chain wheel direct from the axle of the driving wheel, which gives the slow speed required, and obviates the necessity for intermediate gearing, which was former!)’ used when the first motion was taken at a high speed and had to be reduced by this means. All the rakes are controllable, and deliver, or miss, at pleasure, depending on the use of a bell-crank lever worked by the foot of the driver. The rakes can also be made to work automatically, as required. One lever puts both the clutches that drive the rakes, and the knife, respectively, in gear simultaneously. As far as could be judged in the Showyard, this appeared to be an excellent machine. The “ Hornsby Hoosier ” (Art. 3145) is a Ccrn and Small Miscellaneous Implements Exhibited at Plymouth. 635 Seed Drill. It is a ten-row drill, and two horses work it easily ; it is light and well constructed, having the general appearance of some of the American makes, due to the larger use of steel with malleable and wrought iron in its various parts. The weight of this drill is 740 lb. It has an indicator to show the acreage sown. The action of lowering or raising the coulters puts the drill in or out of gear at the same time. This is done by meaus of a wedge-shaped clutch-fork. The nose of the coulter is renewable, of hard steel, and of a good shape, which would tear rather than cut its way through the surface. The coulters have a release trip which enables them to “ kick out behind,” if I may so describe it, to free a stump, or fast stone, and prevent breakage. Mr. J. II. Garter , 82 Mark Lane, E.C. — Magnetic Separator (Art. 3405). For taking out old iron, horse-shoes, nails, &c., from among bones, before crushing, to avoid injury to the mill. This is done by passing them down a shoot at the foot of which is a revolving drum, studded with magnets, worked on an inter- mittent principle from a dynamo. By means of these magnets any pieces of iron are attracted on the upper side and dropped on the lower side of the drum, while the bones are delivered on to a platform beyond the drum. This principle of separating waste iron from other waste metals, such as brass and copper, has long been in use in engineering works, but is probably novel in its present application. The Magnetic Separator did its work well, and may be said to be indirectly an agricultural implement. Messrs. Barnard & Lahe, Bayne Foundry, Braintree, Essex— Thatch-making Machine, ‘ 4 The Spider” (Art. 4122). It is satisfactory to the writer, as one of the Judges who awarded to this machine the special prize of 25Z. offered by the Society for the best 44 Apparatus for making thatch for the covering of stacks,” at the Norwich Meeting, in 1886, to know that in the following year it was so greatly improved as to warrant the award of a Silver Medal, and to meet with it again at Plymouth, still 44 new ” as ever, or at any rate so much improved as to warrant the term, within the meaning of Buie 26. The machine has been reduced both in weight and in price. Another improve- ment is in mounting and driving the feed rollers so as to admit of parallel adjustment. An important novelty, too, is a device for drawing the string from the supply, in such a way as to effect equalization of tension and prevent breaking. The stitch can now be made long or short as required. The use of steel tubes in the construction of the frame assists in reducing the weight and adding to the strength, though in this respect the machine has never been deficient. James Edwards. T T 2 636 ©fftctal IRepoct. QUARTERLY REPORT OF THE CHEMICAL COMMITTEE. July 1890. 1. Mr. W. Moore, of Noverton, Stanford Bridge, Worcester, sent for analysis on April 28, 1890, a sample of what he described as “ wool manure.” The following analysis was returned on May 6 : — • Moisture .... Organic matter . . 66-46 Oxide of iron and alumina . . 1-24 Alkalies, &c. . 3-18 Insoluble silicious matter . 1-84 1 Containing nitrogen 0-68 Equal to ammonia 0-83 This is not wool at all, but only cotton It is practically worthless. 2. Mr. R. Marshall, of Ley Fields, Knecsall, Newark, sent for analysis on May 22, 1890, a sample of pure dissolved bones (so called). The analysis returned to him on May 29 was as below : — Moisture 1 Organic matter and water of combination . Monobasic phosphate of lime . Equal to tribasic phosphate of lime (boDe phos- phate) rendered soluble by acid . Insoluble phosphates ...... Sulphate of lime, alkaline salts, &c. Insoluble silicious matter . . . 12-60 \ 22-98 15-84 (24-81) f 14-81 32-52 1-25/ 100-00 1 Containing nitrogen . Equal to ammonia . 1-02 1-23 This is not “ Pure Dissolved Bones ” ; it is a dissolved boiled bone. The manure was invoiced “ Pure Dissolved Bones.” Quarterly Report oj the Chemical Committee , July 1890. 637 3 & 4. Mr. T. S. Walker, Kiveton Hall, Kiveton Park, Sheffield sent on June 11, 1890, two samples of Pure Dissolved Bones for analysis. Both were invoiced “Pure Dissolved Bones.” The following analyses were returned on June 19 : — Moisture 905 9-85 Organic matter and water of combination . 24-35 23-80 Monobasic phosphate of lime Equal to tribasic phosphate of lime (bone 1601 13-39 phosphate) rendered soluble by acid (25-OG) (20-98) Insoluble phosphates 15-59 24-75 Sulphate of lime, alkaline salts, &c. 32-51 27-36 Insoluble silicious matter .... 2-49 •85 100-00 10000 1 Containing nitrogen .... 1-79 1-24 Equal to ammonia ..... 2-18 151 The analyses were accompanied by the following report : — Neither of the samples is pure dissolved hones — i.e. a manure made entirely from raw bones and acid. They do not contain admixture of mineral phosphate, hut the bone used in the manufacture instead of being entirely raiv hone is steamed or boiled bone. The ammonia, in consequence, is only about half what it would be if raw hone entirely had been used. 5. Mr. Alex. lies, jun., of the Park Farm, Fairford, sent on May 17, 1890, a sample of linseed cake for analysis. Three tons had been supplied at 71. 15s. delivered (cash at two months), by Mr. James Snowsell, Cirencester, agent for the Cotswold Association “ for the supply of pure and unadulterated Artificial Manures and Feeding Stuffs.” The manufacturers of the cake were Messrs. Walker & Smith, Limited, of Hull. When sending the sample, Mr. lies wrote : — “ Strange to say, my lambs, fatting-sheep, and calves do not clean up the cake in their troughs.” The following analysis was returned on May 29 : — Moisture ........ Oil 1 Albuminous compounds (flesh-forming matters) . Mucilage, sugar, and digestible fibre . . Woody fibre (cellulose) 2 Mineral matter (ash) 1 Containing nitrogen . . . 3-96 2 Including sand .... 3 99 12- 63\ 7'09 24-75 33-23 ' 13- 26 9 04/ 10000 An abominably dirty, impure cake. It contains a large admixture of hemp, rape, earth-nut, with some cotton-seed, and the seeds of locust-bean. Such a cake has no right to he called a linseed-cake. On the invoice it was described as “ Lins. Cake,” and Mr. lies also wrote : — In selling me this cake the vendor verbally guaranteed it to contain 13 per cent. oil. ... I bought 2 tons, and he sent 3, saying it was lying 638 Quarterly Report of the Chemical Committee , July 1890. at the station and the track was required. . . . Two of my neighbours, whose names I am willing to produce, found the same difficulty in getting their stock to eat the cake, and this set me thinking. Had I used the H.A.S.E. forms, I should have been all right. On July 10 Mr. lies wrote to the Society’s Chemist : — When I showed Snowsell your verdict, he altogether scoffed at it, remarking that he had never believed in you, and that Professor Kinch was the only reliable analyst. Having such perfect faith in your verdict, and being willing to allow him to hang himself with his own rope, I sent a portion of the same cake to Professor Kinch, with the result that his figures correspond entirely with your own, and his i'oot-note is almost verbatim the same as yours. Mr. lies complained about the cake, and the following correspon- dence ensued : — Alex. lies, Jr., Esq., The Park Farm, Fairford, Gloucestershire. Hull : July 8, 1890. Dear Sir, — You have right to complain if you bought the cakes as best quality, and we have told Mr. Snowsell this, as you will see by the enclosed copies of letters we have written to him. We are always pressing dealers to push the Special 95 Per Cent., but many consumers will not give the price, hence we have to make second-class cake 30s. per ton under the highest in price and quality. May we send you some of the /b> Special ? You will then see the differ- ence. We trust that you will exonerate us from all blame ; as the servants of the consumer we have to make what he requires, but we always recommend the highest quality. If you have been deceived it is not by us ; and as you will see by the letters, we have frankly expressed our views, and that you ought to have been told that 30s. a ton is a great difference in cakes at present values, and means a correspondingly great difference in quality. — Yours truly, Wai.ker & Smith, Limited. per II. F. S. Copy — Letters From Walker and Smith, Oil Mills, Hull, to Jas. Snowsell, Cirencester. June 5, 1890. Dear Sir, — You know very well that our <^b> Special 95 Per Cent, is 30s. dearer and 30s. better than the /b> and so does every dealer in our books. To reduce 95 per cent, cakes 30s. a ton it stands to common sense that either rubbish must be put in the seed or admixture added. We prefer the latter, and if you have sold it as “ Best,” knowing that it is 30s. under the price and quality of our best quality, you are to blame, and we decline to have any blame put on us. We are making large quantities of this cake ; it is of good value at the money, and those farmers who won’t go to the price of finest cake cannot do better than buy <^b>. We shall be glad to know whether we are to send the 4 tons ordered to Bourton ; it will be our usual quality. — Yours truly, pp. Walker & Smith. H. F. Smith. Quarterly Report of the Chemical Committee , July 1890. G39 June 7, 1890. Dear Sir, — If you get your friends on to our Special, you’ll never satisfy them with any other. We send the 4 tons forward, and will meet you in a reduction in the price at the end of the month. We could do no good by seeing Mr. lies, and our telling him that he has been getting cheap cakes at a cheap price is no more than you can tell him. We strongly advise you to push specials, and let the farmer know that if he wants cheaper cake he can have it. — Yours truly, pp. Walker & Smith. II. F. S. June 11, 1890. Dear Sir, — Our Special 95 Per Cent, is the finest cake made, and it is getting us much credit, and gaining ground wherever it goes. We enclose one of numerous analyses ; this one was sent by a customer from the bulk unknown to us. We offer you 10 tons monthly, June- August, at 7/. 20 „ „ September-December, at 71. 15,?. We made large contracts thereat, aud since then forward Linseed has considerably advanced. Hence this is a most favourable offer, and we want you to push and make a trade in Special. — Yours truly, pp. W. & S., Ld. II. F. S. June 14, 1890. Dear Sir,— We note yours of yesterday, and return Mr. lies’ letter respecting the cake. If he did not know that he was buying second-class cake at 30.?. per ton under the price and quality of 95 Per Cent, he ought to have done, and you ought to have enlightened him if he did not know. 15ut surely he cannot plead ignorance in these days. — Yours truly, pp. W. & S., Ld. H. F. S. June 17, 1890. Dear Sir, — We can add nothing to our previous notes. Both you and Mr. lies knew, or ought to have known, that a difference of 30.?. in the price of linseed-cake means 30.?. difference in the quality. You have done sadly wrong in not telling your friends that they were getting cake 30s. commoner than best cake ; and how can we bear the blame that reallv is yours ? — Yours truly, pp. W. & S., Ld. II. F. S. 640 Botes, Communications, atib IRevtews. THE REPORT OF THE SELECT COMMITTEE ON THE HOP INDUSTRY. A select committee was appointed in the last session of Parliament, in consequence of the complaints and representations of many hop- planters, to inquire into the causes which have produced the steady decrease in the acreage of land under hop cultivation, and the serious displacement of labour occasioned thereby, and to report as to the best means, if any, of providing a remedy. The Committee was strong, composed of practical men, several of whom represent hop- producing districts and have a considerable knowledge of the details of hop cultivation, and was presided over by the Rt. Hon. G. Shaw-Lefevre, who is well posted up in the subject. Every point was taken and duly weighed. The witnesses were well chosen, so that not only was the hop-planting interest directly and fully represented, but also collateral interests, as of brewers, hop- factors, and hop-merchants. Scientific, chemical, evidence also was given by distinguished chemists, mainly, however, upon the question of substitutes for hops alleged to be used by brewers. It will be said by all who read the proceedings of this Com- mittee that it wras a careful and exhaustive investigation, though the conclusion arrived at is not satisfactory to the producers of hops, nor perhaps logically deducible from the main evidence given by them, which pointed unmistakably to Protection. Impartial persons stated their belief, when the appointment of this Select Committee was first announced, that nothing in the shape of relief to the hop- planters could possibly come from its proceedings. Ho Committee of the House of Commons, unless specially packed for the purpose, would deliberately recommend the imposition of a duty upon foreign hops ; and this, in the opinion of the majority of the witnesses, is the only way in which relief could be afforded, though it is certain that in the course of a very few years the increase of the home acre- age consequent upon a protective duty would again bring about over-production and low, unremunerative prices. With regard to a duty upon foreign hops the Committee say The Report of the Select Committee on the Hop Industry. 641 “ The great majority of witnesses engaged in the cultivation of hops attribute the fall of price mainly, if not wholly, to foreign imports. They allege that the price of foreign hops rules the market for English hops, and that foreign hops have largely sup- planted English hops in the home consumption. The greater number of these witnesses favour the imposition of a duty on foreign hops to the amount of 30s., or more, per cwt. By some it is suggested that this duty should be accompanied by a tax of 1Z. per acre under cultivation of hops in England. This, how- ever, was objected to by the great majority of witnesses. The proposal, therefore, is practically one for a protective duty on hops. “ Your Committee, while not excluding evidence in this direc- tion, have not thought it necessary to take evidence as to the ultimate effect and incidence of such a protective duty upon the cultivators of hops and consumers of beer, or as to the expediency of taking a step with respect to a single article of production and consumption at variance with the general commercial and financial policy of the country. Your Committee cannot recommend the imposition of a duty upon foreign hops. They have not, however, refrained from considering how far the reduction of late years in the acreage of hops has been due to their free importation.” It is shown in this report that the effect of the foreign importa- tions of hops is not nearly so great as it has been depicted. In spite of imported hops, the cultivation of English hops increased rapidly immediately after the duty upon foreign hops was taken off in 1862. In that year there were not 50,000 acres, but from this time there was almost a yearly increase up to 1878, when there were 71,789 acres of hop-land in England. The Committee state that “the crop of hops is so uncertain, varying so much from year to year both in quantity and quality, that it is necessary to take averages of not less than seven years in order to form a fair estimate of results. Taking the last three periods of seven years, and estimating the average produce of hops at 7 -8 cwt. per acre, the following table shows the average produce and import ” : — Period Average number of acres under cultivation Average produce Average import of foreign hops Total annual consumption cwt. cwt. cwt. 1869-75 63,000 491,400 167,000 658,000 1876-82 68,000 531,900 195,000 726,000 1883-89 65,000 507,000 169,000 676,300 “The septennial period 1876-82 contained two years of ex- ceptionally low produce, 1879 and 1882, and the average produce was probably somewhat below that stated ; but even with this correction the table does not show that foreign hops have sup- planted English hops of late years ; on the contrary, the imports have borne about the same proportion to the home produce in G 12 The Report of the Select Committee on the IIop Industry. successive periods. In fact, since 1867, the import of foreign hops has been maintained at about one-fourth of the total con- sumption, increasing when the home crop has been small, and decreasing when there lias been an abundant crop. Thus, in 1882, when there was almost a total failure in England, and when the price rose to a very high figure, the foreign imports reached the amount of 305,000 cwt., and in 1886, when there was a most abundant crop in England, the foreign supplies fell below 100,000 cwt.” Although it does not materially affect the conclusions of the Committee, it must be pointed out that their figures with regard to the imports of foreign hops are not quite correct. According to the returns of the Board of Trade the annual average quantity of hops imported from foreign countries during the last twenty-one years is close upon 190,000 cwt., instead of 177,000 cwt., as shown by the foregoing table. In 1882, for example, the foreign imports were 319,620 cwt., and 153,759 cwt. were imported in 1886, as shown by the returns of the Board of Trade. Erom the evidence given by brewers and hop-merchants, and from the statistics laid befoi’e the Committee, it is stated that foreign importation has not been the sole cause, nor even the main cause, of the depression in the hop industry. The general depression of trade affected the demand for beer and the consumption of malt, and saccharine substitutes for malt, and hops. In 1878 the total quantity of sugar and malt used by brewers was equal to 8,020,955 quarters, while in 1883 only 7,016,922 quarters were consumed, and in 1886 only 7,058,495. Since trade has improved there has been an increase in the con- sumption of malt and sugar. As an instance of this improvement, 7,760,823 quarters of malt and sugar were required by the brewers in 1889. Another reason for the diminution in the demand for hops is alleged by the Committee to be a considerable economy in the use of hops since 1882, when there was a hop famine, and prices were higher than they have ever been. In the words of the report : — “ The very high price of hops in 1882 induced brewers to turn their attention more closely to the subject, and science was brought in aid of the manufacture of beer. It was found possible by the use of ice to brew continuously through the year ; the consumption of beer became more rapid ; it was no longer necessary to keep large stocks of beer for many months ; the taste of the public altered, a higher quality of beer less heavily hopped is now preferred. As a result of these changes the proportion of hops used to a quarter of malt has been reduced to an amount generally estimated at 1 lb. per quarter of malt, or 15 per cent. When there is added to this the reduction due to a reduced consumption of malt, esti- mated at 12 per cent., the two together account for a largely reduced demand, and consequently for a fall of prices ; it was to be expected, therefore, that there would be a reduced cultivation The Report of the Select Committee on the IIop Industry. G43 of hops corresponding to the increased cultivation in the decade prior to 1878.” The use of hop substitutes has for some years past been declared to be an important cause of the falling off in the demand for hops. It is alleged that in 1882, when hops were abnormally dear, large quantities of substitutes, as quassia, chiretta, Colombo, gentian, were employed, and that since then the substitution of these drugs for hops lias been extensively continued. Most of the large brewers positively deny that they use sub- stitutes for hops. It would be at the risk of losing the reputation of their beers, for it is well known by brewers’ chemists that these drugs can only perform one of the functions of hops, namely, that of im- parting a bitter flavour to beer. The other functions — of making the beer keep, of giving it an aroma, and of precipitating certain ingre- dients of the wort — cannot be performed by substitutes. This was affirmed positively by scientific witnesses. In America there has been a great outcry regarding the employ- ment of these drugs for hops, but the American Government evidently do not think they are abundantly employed, as they decline to prohibit their use, and the duty upon hops imported into the U nited States has been recently raised from 37s. 6 d. to 70s. per cwt. The Committee remark that “ it is admitted generally that it is impossible to make beer such as the public require without hops, and that at most the drugs referred to can only be used as substitutes for a small proportion of the hops which would otherwise be used. It is alleged that none of the larger and better brewers make use of any of these substitutes.” They add ; “ Although the depression of the hop industry cannot be largely attributed to the use of such substitutes, the evidence submitted to the Committee is sufficient to show that their use is prejudicial to the interests of the growers in years when the crop of hops is deficient. The Committee therefore recommend that if used they should be declared.” This is the only recommendation made by the Committee. In the next session of Parliament a Bill will probably be brought in to make the use of hop substitutes illegal unless a declaration of their use is made. But in the meantime the chemists must improve their processes of detecting these substitutes, as from the evidence adduced it appears that they can only affirm that hops have not been employed, but they are unable to specify the exact substitute that may have been used. And this would hardly be sufficient in case of a prosecution. One reason alleged in support of the extensive use of substitutes for hops was that in 1882 their price rose so considerably. It must, however, be remembered that in that year quassia, whose price is said to have risen from 51. to 40/. per ton, was first extensively used for syringing the hop plants to clear them of aphis blight. In more recent years the price of quassia has doubled, or trebled, in a few weeks, in consequence of the great demand for syringing, or washing, hop plants. Other bittering substances have naturally advanced in value with quassia. 644 The Report of the Select Committee on the Hop Industry. Several witnesses who were called before the Committee expressed a strong opinion that all foreign hops imported should be required to be marked with the name of the grower, and the parish, or district, in which they were grown. This would principally be useful to brewers and would protect them from the risk of buying inferior brands for those of better quality, as Baden hops for best Bavarians, for example. But this would hardly benefit the English grower, except that if marking foreign hops were insisted upon it might reduce the amount of hops imported from Germany, where, in many cases, hops are not packed by the grower, but by merchants, who buy them half dried, and complete the process of desiccation and pack them for sale. As to this, the Committee “ are unable to see that the interest of English hop-growers can be promoted by re- quiring any certificate of origin of such foreign hops, and thus giving greater security to purchasers of them.” The general conclusion of the Committee is that “ the evidence has been to the effect that, while for several past years the price of hops has been unprofitably low, especially in the case of inferior qualities, yet the year 1889 has been an exception, and that the growers in many districts have done fairly well. As the crop in that year was somewhat above the average, there is reason to hope that, with a reduced acreage under cultivation and an increased consumption of malt, the balance between supply and demand is being redressed to the advantage of the producer, and that more prosperous times may be at hand.” This is true in the main, but the statement that the growers in many districts did fairly well in 1889 must be modified. If the growers had been able to supply the market gradually they would have done well, but many of them sold their growths in September and October, according to the pernicious custom of the hop trade, at the current rates, kept low by the large temporary supply, which were from 40 to 60 per cent, less than those holding after the Christ- mas holidays. This custom of selling the whole of the year’s growth of hops in a few weeks to middlemen — merchants — was not pro- minently brought under the notice of the Committee, nor is it ad- verted to in their report, though it tends in an important degree to decrease the price of hops to the growers. The more “prosperous times ” prophesied have already arrived for some enterprising growers who have produced hops this year in spite of blight and mould. Those whose hops have been blighted or mildewed, on the other hand, will lose much money. Prices for hops will be high, as the crop throughout the world will be much under the average, and the prospects for the next year or two are bright in consequence of diminished supply, and larger consumption caused by the improvement of trade generally. But after this the deluge, if one may judge from the experiences of former times. Planting in unsuitable places will follow after the high prices. Growers will plant beyond their capital. Inferior and heavy crop- ping sorts will be selected for cultivation, and a Select Committee will again be invoked. Charles Whitehead. 645 THE MURCHLAND MILKING MACHINE. Many efforts have been directed to the production of an efficient milking machine, but not one of the appliances that have been devised has come to a successful issue. That which is about to be described goes on the lines of others, which at one time and another have been protected by patent, in so far as the aid of a vacuum, for causing the flow of milk, is brought into play, but in the simple and easy way of distributing the motive power, and in the handy method of its application, the apparatus now under notice is at once distinguished from its predecessors. The inventor, Mr. William Murchland, is a sanitary engineer in Kilmarnock, Ayrshire, and until last autumn knew little about cows, whilst now he is better versed in the milk-yielding capacity of cows than the majority of those who own them. He has been placed at considerable disadvantage in the prosecution of his experiments. The farm steading at which they were initiated, and are still being carried out, is nearly three miles from Kilmarnock, and either Mr. Murchland or one of his assistants has been obliged to attend morn- ing and evening in order to superintend the daily milking operations. The farm, Haining Mains by name, is on the Duke of Portland’s estate, and is occupied by Mr. David Shaw. From the commence- ment, Mr. Murchland has had to contend against the hostility of the girls employed to milk the cows. And even when a fair start was made, he had to face the difficulty of having no data whatever with which to compare the results of his machine. No milk register had been kept at the place, nor could one be met with throughout the district — and this in the centre of the dairying industry in Scotland. Before referring to the results obtained, it may be well to first describe the machine, the most striking feature of which is its simplicity. An iron pipe (a, figs. 1 and 2), one inch in diameter, is carried round the cow house, in a vertical line with the shoulders of the animals, and sufficiently high to be out of harm’s way. It communi- cates with a hand-pump ( b , figs. 1 and 2), which is attached for the purpose of withdrawing the air from the pipe and forming a vacuum. The circular tank (c, figs. 1 and 2) communicates with a well ( d ), full of water, and its object is to serve as a regulator of the vacuum. From the iron pipe (a) project small connections ( e , figs. 1 and 2), one opposite the space between every pair of animals, each connection being provided with a stop -cock. To one of these connections is fitted a length of india-rubber tubing, the other end of which is attached to the special milk pail (f, fig. 1). The pail, as will be noticed from figs. 3 and 4, is cylindrical in form, with a conical top minus the apex. Its opening, which is about 4 inches in diameter, is closed by means of a thick glass disc, which sits inside flush with the outer rim of the pail, resting on a thick rubber band, held in place by a projecting ledge of brass underneath. On one side of the neck of the pail is a connection ( a , figs. 3 and 4), similar to that on the . — The Murchland Milking Machine. Elevation. 646 The Murchland Milking Machine. pipe above, but without the stop-cock ; and, opposite to it, on the othei’ side, are four connections of the same sort (6, tigs. 3 and 4). The single one a, is for the purpose of attaching the elastic tube to the pail, and so connecting the latter with the overhead pipe ; and the other four ■ are for shorter lengths of tubing {g, tig. 1), connected in their The Murcliland Milking Machine. Plan. The Murchland Milking Machine. G47 turn with the little teat-cups (fig. 5), provided for holding the teats of the animal to be milked. The cups are made of tinned iron. The short stem shown on the side view is provided with a stop-cock, and is fitted for attachment to elastic tubing. The pail, besides its handle (c, figs. 3 and 4), is fitted with two hooks (cl, figs. 3 and 4), by means of which it is suspended a little in front of the animal’s udder - — see fig. 1 — a broad band of girthing, with several links at either end (to allow of the adjustment of the proper position of the pail), being laid over the animal’s loins for the purpose. When all is ready for a start the pump is worked, and the air is thus exhausted from the pipe. Then a pail is adjusted under the cow, the long tube is attached to a connection overhead, the 648 The Murchland Milking Machine. The Murchlcmd Milking Machine. 649 Section. InxlxtL Rubber stop-cock is opened, and the pail at once forms a vacuum. Next, one of the teat-cups is moistened and placed so as to embrace a teat ; the stop-cock of the former is opened, so that the teat is brought in contact with the _ .... rr, vacuum, and the milk at once ^he Teat-cup. begins to flow. When all four of the cups have been adjusted, and each is connected with the vacuum, four tiny jets of milk can be seen playing into the can immediately beneath the glass lid or stopper. The jets deliver the milk in streams, that seem to pulsate in accord- ance with the action of the animal’s body. From 8 to 10 minutes serve to exhaust the milk stored up in the udder. An animal operated on by the machine seems to suffer no inconvenience, and to be quite unconscious that she is being deprived of her milk in an un- orthodox fashion. The apparatus causes no pain, though it is rather amusing to watch the astonishment of some fractious old cow when first brought under the influence of the machine. Her alert air, shown in the erect head, stiffened ears, and distended eyes, indicates that she is aware of something unusual going on, but what or whereabout she is not exactly sure until the apparatus has been at work for some time. After a little fidget- ing, however, and an occasional kick out, she soon recovers her equanimity, and settles down, as though nothing were the matter, to busy herself with what is to be had in the manger. And a newly calved heifer, once the apparatus has been adjusted on her and set going, makes as little to do over the a flair. Indeed, the apparatus promises to save to milk-yielding animals much distress which, under existing circumstances, it is difficult to avoid causing. Its use will obviate the excruciating pain that animals with swollen or chapped teats have to suffer when being milked by hand. And certainly its employment insures much greater cleanliness in the operation of milking than can usually be attained by using the hand. Those familiar with milking as carried out on a large scale, and under the conditions incidental to ordinary homesteads, know what this means. The several pairs of hands which feed and clean the cows and remove their litter have to take their turn in milking, and usually with too scant opportunity — and this little not always taken advan- tage of— for removing the effects of the one operation before begin- ning the other. In the south-west of Scotland there is in most parts a very decided scarcity of good milkers. At farms, where from 40 to 100 VOL. I. T. S. — 3 U U 650 The Murchland Milking Machine. cows are kept, there is frequently great difficulty experienced in mustering a sufficiency of hands for the work. A farm-servant, possessed of a wife who can milk, is picked up for service long before another who is not so fortunate (from the dairy-farmer’s view) in this respect ; and one possessed of daughters who also can help in the operation is able to dispose of his services at a premium. Hence it happens that nearly every dairy-farmer of any importance is anxiously on the outlook for an efficient milking machine, and the appearance of a simple and workable apparatus, once the ice has been broken by one or two adventurous spirits having it put in operation, will be warmly welcomed. As the diagrams show, there is not much in the apparatus here described to make the initial cost at all prohibi- tive. The fixings are of ordinary material and can be adapted to any sort of building, and they are not likely to get out of order or to need renewal for many years. The pails with their accessories form the most expensive item, and it is the number of these that determines the number of cows which can be milked simultaneously. AVith a pail for each cow in the building, and a similar number of connec- tions on the overhead pipe, the whole of the animals could be milked in the same time as an individual cow. A boy is competent to maintain the necessary vacuum for the milking, either of one, or of the whole lot at once. Three girls can easily manage to keep half-a-dozen or nine pails going ; and in this way a large number of animals can be quickly dealt with. The principle of the machine, as has already been said, is no new one. Numerous milking machines on the same initial lines as Mr. Murchland’s have been constructed, and one or two have been patented, but with no useful, practical result. They are either too complicated, or too cumbersome, to be easily manipulated. AVhere Mr. Murchland’s is superior to those which have gone before is in the availableness of the motive power at any part of the cow-house, wherever the pipe can be led — straight on, round a corner, or even into another building. AVith the other forms of apparatus it would appear that the attention of the pump is confined to one cow at a time, whereas in this case the action of a single pump is sufficient for all the animals which have to be milked, for one or all can be brought under the influence of the vacuum at the same time. The machine attempts nothing in the way of pulling and squeez- ing the teats similar to hand-milking, or occasionally thrusting against or tossing up the udder in imitation of the sucking calf, as some of the former machines have done, but trusts entirely to the pressure of the atmosphere for emptying the udder. The calf when sucking forms a vacuum by drawing its tongue down from the roof of its mouth, the closed lips in front and the false palate behind pre- venting air from entering. The teat thus surrounded by a vacuum communicates the lowered pressure to the contents of the udder. The outside pressure on the udder being greater than the inner, its contents are consequently forced out. AVhen the free space in the animal’s mouth is filled it presses up the middle of its tongue, still keeping the lips closed, which action forces aside the soft palate and The Murchland Milking Machine. G51 carries the contents of the mouth into the gullet, at the same time breaking up the vacuum and stopping the flow of milk. Thus, while in the case of the natural method of extracting the milk the vacuum is suspended every time the animal swallows, with Mr. Murch- land’s machine the action of the vacuum is maintained all through the operation, and from 8 to 10 minutes serve with the majority of the animals to empty the udder of its contents. The sucking-calf pulls but little at the teat, so that on the whole the apparatus here described approaches closely to Nature in the way the latter provides for the young animal to abstract milk from its dam. At the outset of the trials of the apparatus, in February, when calving was beginning, Mr. Murchland operated on the cows just as they came to hand. It soon became evident that the machine was effective for the purpose for which it had been introduced, and notes began to be taken of the milk yielded by the different animals under treatment. The cows continued to improve in their yield — at least, none fell off in this respect ; but there were no means of instituting a comparison between machine-milked and hand-milked animals. It was, therefore, arranged that out of the next twelve cows which were to calve, six were to be milked entirely by means of the machine, and six by hand, a register being kept of the yield of each animal morning and evening. After a while, however, some mis- chances happened to one or two of the selected six that were hand- milked, and the results of the machine-milked six came to be pitted against the returns of the full herd, a register of the yield of each animal having now been begun. For a period of three weeks, 18 cows which were hand-milked gave an average daily yield of 24£ lb. each ; and the six which were machine-milked, an average of 24| lb. And, during another period lasting two weeks, the 18 gave a daily average of 24£ lb. and the six an average of 24^ lb. From this date forward a good deal of cross-working took place, in the way of hand-milking the animals which had been machine- milked, and vice versd, thus breaking up the continuity of compari- son. By-and-by some little friction made itself apparent between the machine-operators and the girls in charge of the cows, and again Mr. Murchland confined his attention to the original six animals. But now he set himself to discover the right degree of vacuum his machine ought to be worked at, and what sort of teat-cup it would be best to adopt ; and this work likewise put aside the possibility of comparison between the differently treated animals. The vacuum used at first, equivalent to a pressure of eleven inches of mercury, would appear to be the most suitable. Mr. Murchland now inclines to use a teat-cup so formed as to surround the teat with milk, in this way following up Nature again, and so preventing the possibility of injury to the teat by bringing it in contact with a metal surface as originally done. This he accomplishes by inserting a diaphragm within the teat-cup, the lower part of which is of tin and perforated, and the upper part, which grips the root or neck of the teat, being made of indiarubber (see fig. 5), or the diaphragm may be wholly of rubber. The tu2 G52 Good Tenantable Repair. inventor is working out other modifications of the various parts of the machine, such as in situations where the milk can be run to a building below the level of the cow-house, making the weight of the milk maintain the vacuum, and so on ; but it is not necessary to describe these. The diagrams, together with this short description, indicate the main features of this new milking machine, which only requires to be seen in operation to demonstrate to practical men its feasibility. Riciid. Henderson. GOOD TENANTABLE REPAIR. A covenant by the tenant to keep the house in “good tenantable repair ” being almost as common in leases or agreements for tenancies of farms as in leases or agreements for tenancies of ordinary dwelling-houses, a note of the following case,* in which the Court of Appeal laid down a clear definition of these words, which are often so puzzling as well to the practitioner as to the landlord and tenant whose interests are directly affected by them, will, it is con- sidered, be not out of place in the Journal, although the case referred to an ordinary suburban residence and not to a farm- house. The house and premises in question were let by the plaintiff to the defendant under an agreement in writing by which the defendant (amongst other things) agreed that he would “ during the term keep the premises in good tenantable repair, and so leave the same at the expiration thereof.” The tenancy having expired, the plaintiff, the landlord, brought an action against the defendant, the tenant, to recover damages for the breach of the foregoing agreement. It is unnecessary to set out in detail the various steps in the action — suffice it to say that the Official Referee, to whom the action was in the first instance referred, awarded damages in respect of the cost incurred by the landlord in re-papering the walls of rooms where the paper which was upon them when the tenancy commenced had become worn out, in re-painting the internal woodwork where the paint had worn off, in whitewashing and cleaning the staircases and ceilings, and in replacing with a new floor the kitchen floor which had existed when the tenancy commenced. From this award the tenant appealed to the Queen’s Bench Division of the High Court, who decided that the award was wrong, and remitted the case to the Official Referee. The landlord then appealed from that decision to the Court of Appeal, and the Judges of the Court of Appeal before whom the case was heard (Lord Esher and Lord Justice Lopes), in deciding that the case ought to be remitted to the Official Referee, defined the words “good tenantable repair” in such a way as to be a guide to the meaning of that expression, not only in the * I’roudfoot v. Hart, reported in the Law Reports, 25 Q.B.D., 42. Thistle Seeds. 053 particular case before them, but generally. Said Lord Esher : “ Lord Justice Lopes has drawn up a definition of the term with which I entirely agree. It is this : ‘ Good tenantable repair is such repair as, having regard to the age, character, and locality of the house, would make it reasonably fit for the occupation of a reasonably- minded tenant of the class who would be likely to take it.’ The age of the house must be taken into account, because nobody could reasonably expect that a house 200 years old should be in the same condition of repair as a house lately built ; the character of the house must be taken into account, because the same class of repairs as would be necessary to a palace would be wholly unnecessary to a cottage ; and the locality of the house must be taken into account, because the state of repair necessary for a house in Grosvenor Square would be wholly different from the state of repair necessary for a house in Spitalfields. The house need not be put into the same condition as when the tenant took it ; it need not be put into perfect repair ; it need only be put into such a state of repair as renders it reasonably fit for the occupation of a reasonably-minded tenant of the class who would be likely to take it.” S. B. L. Druce. THISTLE SEEDS. When we see a field full of thistles seeding, and the seeds blown by the wind over the neighbouring fields, we are apt to say, “ What a nuisance to the neighbourhood these thistles are ; the man who lets them grow to such an extent ought to be made answerable to his neighbours for the loss he causes them through his neglect.” But the law unfortunately gives the man’s neighbours no such remedy, as has very recently been decided in the case of Giles v. Walker.* The plaintiff and the defendant occupied adjoining fields. The defendant’s field had formerly been forest land, but for some years prior to 1883, when the defendant’s occupation of it commenced, it had been brought into cultivation by its then owner. It was stated that the forest land prior to cultivation did not bear thistles ; but that when it was cultivated they sprang up all over it. The defendant neglected to mow the thistles, or in any other way prevent them from seeding, and in 1887 and 1888 there were thousands of thistles on his land in full seed. These seeds were blown by the wind on to the plaintiff’s adjoining field, where they took root and did damage. The plaintiff sued the defendant for such damage in the Leicester County Court. The judge of that court left to the jury the question whether the defendant in not cutting the thistles had been guilty of negligence, and the jury found that he had, whereupon the judge entered judg- ment for the plaintiff. The defendant appealed. Upon the hearing of * Keported in the Law Eeports, 21 Q.B.D., p. G56. 054 The Price of Imported Grain. the appeal the Court stopped the Counsel for the defendant so soon as he had stated the facts of the case, and called upon the Counsel for the plaintiff to substantiate the judgment. He contended that if the defendant’s predecessor had not brought the land into cultivation, the thistles would not have grown, and the nuisance would not have been created, and that the defendant, by entering into occupation of the land with the nuisance upon it, was under a duty to prevent damage from thereby accruing to his neighbours. The Court, however, which consisted of Lords Coleridge and Esher, made short work of the argument, and in a very few words allowed the appeal. “ I never heard of such an action,” said Lord Coleridge ; “ there can be no duty as between adjoining occupiers to cut the thistles, which are the natural growth of the soil.” S. B. L. Druce. THE PRICE OF IMPORTED GRAIN. It might be not unreasonably maintained that the price of grain — whether home-grown or imported — is a subject in which the British farmer is year by year becoming less interested. There are, no doubt, those who believe that the growth of — at any rate — wheat for sale will soon die out almost completely, and that the cultivation of corn-crops, so far as it exists at all, will be carried on chiefly for stock-feeding. That time, however, has not yet quite arrived, and while we grow, as we did last year in Great Britain, about 32 million quarters of cereals (wheat, barley, and oats), the market price of grain will not altogether lose its interest or importance. It is scarcely necessary to observe that the published average prices of English grain are not looked upon by farmers generally with that respect which all right-minded persons would naturally desire to pay to official figures. The reasons for their mistrust are various. The chief is that the officially collected returns do not represent altogether the sale of more than a fourth of the year’s crop. Eor instance, in 1889, the total yield in England and Wales, and the quantity accounted for at the returning markets, were, in round numbers, as follows : — Wheat Barley Oats qrs. qrs. qrs. Total yield .... 8,876,000 7,448,000 9,532,000 Quantity returned at markets . 2,945,000 3,329,000 415,000 It will be seen, therefore, that while the total produce was nearly 26 million quarters, the average price was taken from the sale of 6.V million quarters, or about one-fourth of the whole crop. As a matter of fact the case is really worse than these figures represent. It is admitted that the returns from the markets include a certain, and possibly a large, percentage of re-sales, so that the actual quantity of corn accounted for — if that which appears more than once in the figures be deducted — is to some unknown extent 655 The Price of Imported Grain. Table showing the quantity and average value per quarter of Wheat, Barley, and Oats imported from each country during the year 1889, together with the official average prices per quarter of English grain in the same year. Country 1 England and Wales Russia Sweden . Denmark Norway . Germany . Holland . France . Spain . . Austria . Bulgaria . Roumania Turkey . Egypt . . Algeria . Persia . . United States Chile . . . Argentine Republic Other Foreign Countries Total Quantity and "l Average Price : > Foreign Countries J British East Indies : Bombay and Scinde Bengal . . . . Australasia : South Australia Victoria . . . . New Zealand . . Brit. N. America . Other British Pus-\ sessions ( Total Quantity and") Average Price : > British Possessions J Total Quantity and | General Average I price for Imported | Grain J Wheat Quantity cwt. 12,614,248 21,310,304 83,183 2,537,990 126,440 463,948 634,453 2,825,292 668,276 325,757 150,407 17,009,036 572,953 37,792 11,119 46,756,950 7,572,987 1,646,217 462,067 279,842 664,151 1,170,650 23 11,794,937 Price per qr. s. (/. 29 9 31 10 31 2 33 3 30 10 37 6 28 0 32 3 29 9 26 11 31 2 34 0 33 7 30 9 29 9 32 7 31 6 31 2 38 11 37 11 35 5 34 0 33 3 58,551,887 32 3 32 7 Barley Quantity cwt. 11,892,196 7,855,500 64,747 537,883 1,608,102 64,825 611,597 8,885 307,237 74,114 3,013,457 1,899,700 272,171 190,228 388,636 297,051 154,335 17,348,468 52,442 17,400,910 Price per qr. s. i own „ .... „ „ „ rent and own land . Total .... Acreage rented and occupied .... „ owned and occupied .... Total .... It should be noted that barley is not a leading cereal crop in the United States. As a matter of fact, maize, wheat, and oats together make up as much as 97 per cent, of the total cereal production. Apportionment of Area. — The whole area of the United States is thus apportioned : — Lands not in farms, 71 '1 per cent, j productive lands, 15’3 ; woodlands, 10’3 ; unproductive farm-area, 3-3 per cent. Lands not in farms reach their highest State percentage (99-8) in Arizona and Wyoming, their lowest (6-0) in Ohio. Productive lands are at a maximum (69’3 p. c.) in Ohio, and at a minimum (0T) in Arizona and Wyoming. Woodlands range from 44'6 p, c. in North Carolina, to nil in Arizona, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, Utah, and Wyoming. The unproductive farm-area is as high as 1 8 • 0 p. c. in Kansas, and as low as 01 p. c. in Arizona, Montana, and Wyoming. West of the Missouri, lands not yet taken for farms almost exclu- sively prevail. They are very largely represented in the south, whilst in the eastern and middle States they occupy a much larger portion of the surface than in the Ohio Yalley, Acres . 37,319,221 Barley Oats 1,898,062 1,872,989 Ter cent. . 405,859= 82-4 66.385= 13-5 20,143= 4T . 492,387 1000 23,618,406= 84-8 4,226,526= 152 27,844,932 1000 658 The Agricultural Statistics of the United States. Farm Area. — The total area in farms comprises 41 '6 p. c. under tillage, 1T5 p. c. in grass-lands, 35*5 p. c. in woodland, and 11*4 p. c. unproductive. The tillage-area attains its highest percentage (65*6) in Illinois, its lowest (19-4) in Wyoming. Grass-lands are at their maximum (39 p. c.) in Vermont, and at their minimum (1*3 p. c.) in Alabama and Arkansas. Woodland ranges from 66'3 p. c. in Florida to 03 p. c. in Utah. The unproductive area reaches 67 '6 in Dakota, and only 1*9 p. c. in Vermont. Farm Tenures. — The total number of farms is 4,008,907, of which 74 -5 per cent, are cultivated by the owners, 8 per cent, by tenants paying a money rental, and the remaining 17 ‘5 per cent, by tenants paying a share of the produce. The States in which more than 90 per cent, of the farms are cultivated by the owners are — Wyoming, 97T per cent. ; Dakota, 96T ; Maine, 95*7 ; Utah, 95*4 • Idaho, 95*3 ; Montana, 94-7 ; Washington, 92'8 ; New Hampshire, 91*9 ; New Mexico, 91*9; Massachusetts, 91 -8 ; Minnesota, 90-9 ; Wisconsin, 90’9 ; Nevada, 90-3. The lowest percentage (49*7) is in South Carolina. The money-rental system varies between 23*4 per cent, of the farms in South Carolina and 0'4 p. c. in Dakota and New Mexico. Farms rented by tenants who pay a stipulated share of the produce range from 36 '6 per cent, in Delaware to 1*8 p. c. in Maine and Wyoming. As a matter of fact, the share-tenants are to be found chiefly in the cotton States of the South and East. It appears that the freedman-occupants are generally tenants in name only, with a pretence of independent occupancy, living, not on separate farms, but on temporary subdivisions of land, without any substantial appurtenances of a farm, and without the capital neces- sary to equip a man as a working farmer. Value of Lands.-— The average value of lands throughout the States is 4 1. per acre. In nine States the average exceeds this by upwards of 70 per cent. : — Rhode Island, Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, Delaware, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Michigan ; of these New Jersey is highest (137 Is. per acre), and Delaware lowest (77). On the other hand, four States, all in the South, fall more than 70 per cent, below the average : — South Carolina, 17 Is. per acre ; Texas, 19s.' ; Georgia, 18s. ; and Alabama, 17s. Maize. — This is the most generally cultivated crop, and is grown in forty-one States ; it occupies the largest area, and produces the greatest value of any crop in arable culture. The total area in maize, according to the Returns of 1888, is 75,672,763 acres, representing 41 per 1,000 acres of the entire land surface, and equivalent to more than Iwice the area of England and Wales. Maize is most largely cultivated in Delaware, Maryland, and the compact group of eight States comprising Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, Kentucky, and Tennessee, all of which grow more than 100 acres per 1,000 of total area. The premier position is taken by Iowa, with 219 acres per 1,000 ; whilst of the States named, Ohio is lowest, with 110 acres of maize per 1,000. In the group of eight States mentioned, The Agricultural Statistics of the United States. G59 660 The Agricultural Statistics of the United States. nearly two-thirds of the whole maize product of the United States is raised. Maize is very little grown in Wyoming, Montana, Idaho, Nevada, and Arizona. The largest area of maize in any one State is 7,788,790 acres in Illinois ; the smallest area of any significance is 6,100 acres in Washington. The average yield in the United States for the ten years ending 1888 was 24‘2 bushels per acre. The seven States which recorded the highest annual average yield during this decade were — Vermont, 34’3 bushels ; New Hampshire, 34T ; Maine, 33-9 ; Nebraska, 32'7 ; Massachusetts, 32 T ; Ohio, 3T7 ; and Pennsylvania, 31 '7. The lowest annual average yield is in South Carolina (9 bushels per acre). Though the South has a large area in maize, and a very rich soil, its climate is more favourable to growth of stalk than to heavy yields of grain. Wheat. — The total area, as given in the Returns of 1888, is 37,336,138 acres, representing 20 per 1,000 acres of the entire land surface, and practically identical with the entire area of England and Wales. Wheat is most largely cultivated in Delaware, Maryland, and the five States of the “wheat-belt” — Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota ; all these grow more than 60 acres per 1,000. The premier position belongs to Indiana, with 121 acres per 1,000 ; whilst, of the States named, Minnesota is lowest, with 61 per 1,000. Wheat is scarcely grown in Wyoming, Louisiana, and Elorida. Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois, in the Ohio Valley, and Delaware and Mary- land, produce almost exclusively whiter wheat ; whilst Minnesota and Iowa yield spring wheat. The spring- wheat region includes the country west of Lake Michigan and north of Missouri and Kansas, the Rocky Mountain plateaux, and a strip in New York and New England bordering on Canada. The average yield over the whole country for the decade ending 1888 was 12 *3 bushels per acre. As many as 11 States have an average yield which is more than 30 per cent, above the general average. These are — Colorado, 19'6 bushels per acre ; Wyoming, 18 ; Montana, 17'8 ; Nevada, 1 7 "8 ; Utah, 17'8 ; Idaho, 17T ; Washing- ton, 16-7 ; Oregon, 16-6 (all in the Rocky Mountains region) ; and Massachusetts, 16'9; Connecticut, 16*7 ; and Vermont, 1 6 *7 ( all in New England). In the Western States, the high rate of yield is due to a virgin soil ; in New England, to cultivation and condition of soil ; but all these States together yield a comparatively small portion of the total wheat product. The lowest average yield is in Florida (4‘7 bushels per acre). Oats. — The total area recorded in the Returns of 1888 is 26,998,282 acres, equivalent to 15 per 1,000 acres of total land surface, and representing 7 2 per cent, (nearly three-fourths) of the entire area of England and Wales. In only two States does the area occupied amount to more than 60 acres per 1,009, Illinois recording 107 per 1,000, and Iowa 72. In seven other States the area ranges between 31 and 60 per 1,000 acres — New York, The Agricultural Statistics of the United States. 6G1 Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana, Wisconsin, Missouri, and Kansas. The denser distribution in the Northern States is due to the fact that the oat crop requires a relatively low temperature. Gradual deterioration in yield and quality attends the cultivation of oats in all parts of the States. Oats of 40 to 50 lb. per bushel in Scotland, or Norway, or Denmark, usually yield lighter grain, even with the first crop, in the States, and the weight per bushel declines annually. In the South, good crops are got by autumn sowing for winter growth. Oats are not cultivated in Arizona. The largest area of oats in any one State is 3,838,000 acres in Illinois; the smallest, is 3,388 acres in Wyoming. The national average yield, based on the ten years ending 1888, was 27 bushels per acre. The highest average is that of Washington (37'3 bushels). This State enjoys a moist climate and moderately low temperature. As many as sixteen States give yields ranging from 1 1 to 30 per cent, above the general average, but they are mostly in the northern zone. The lowest average yield is that of North Carolina (lO’l bushels). In the following details concerning live-stock, the State averages are based upon ten annual estimates. The averages are consolidated from returns of county averages, and they represent the values upon the farms, or the prices paid to farmers in the primary markets. Horses. — The average value per head of horses in the United States is 137. 15s. They are dearest in New Jersey (207.) ; Rhode Island (197. 13s.) ; Massachusetts (197. 8s.) ; and Delaware (197.). In eleven other States (Maine, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Michigan, Minnesota, Dakota, South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida) the average prices range between 15 guineas and 17 guineas; whilst in all other States they fall below 15 guineas. The lowest average price is 67. 15s. (in Texas). The differences in value are attributable to differences of breed, distance from market, proportions of young and mature animals respectively in pastoral and manufacturing States, and to other local causes. Cattle. — The general average value per head of cattle (exclusive of milch cows) is 47. 2s. In eleven States the average value is more than 30 per cent, above the general average. These are — Massa- chusetts, 77. 4s. ; Rhode Island, 67. 17s. ; New Jersey, 67. 15s. ; Con- necticut, 67. 12s.; New York, 67. 11s.; New Hampshire, 67. 7s.; Pennsylvania, 57. 13s. ; Maine, 57. 13s.; Vermont, 57. 12s.; Delaware, 57. 12s.; Ohio, 57. 11s. The lowest State average is 17. 14s. (in Florida). The lowest values are represented by Texan cattle, which came from Mexico originally, and from Spain more remotely. Up to fifteen years ago they were the export cattle of the United States, going to Cuba and adjacent islands, and still being sent there. One fat Shorthorn exported to England represents the value of about five of these Texan beasts. In the grazing regions of the distant Western States the average value is lower than in the Eastern States, which buy two-year-olds to feed and finish for the market. 662 Recent Agricultural Inventions. Milch Cotes. — The general average value is 51. 10s. per head. In five States the average is more than 30 per cent, above this — Colorado, SI. 3s. per head ; Nevada, 71. 15s.; New Jersey, 71. 11s.; Montana, 71. 8s. ; and Massachusetts, 71. 5s. The lowest State average is in Florida (21. 16s. per head). The variations in value arise from differences in breed and development, better care and higher feeding in dairying districts than in non-dairying agricultural regions, and varying facilities for transport of dairy produce to market. Sheep. — The general average value is 9s. per head. In nine States — Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and Pennsylvania — the average is more than 30 per cent, in excess of this, these State averages ranging between 15s. 6c/. and 13s. per head. The lowest average is that of North Carolina (5s. 6 d. per head). The differences in value depend upon breed and grade, quantity and quality of wool, value for meat-production, and distance from market. Each district follows its special line of sheep-husbandry — pedigree-stock growing, mutton-producing, raising early lambs, or exclusive wool-growing. Three-fourths of the sheep are Merino breeds and their grades. English breeds are numerous in some sections, and grade Mexicans are common in the South-west. Swine. — The general average value of pigs is 1/. per head. In as many as seventeen States the average is 30 percent, or more above this. These States form two compact series — Maine, New Hamp- shire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Connecticut, New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware in the East ; and New Mexico, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana in the West. The highest average value per head is in Massachusetts (21. 11s.). The lowest average value is 12s. per head (in Florida). The differences in value are determined by breed, age, weight, distance from market, and other local causes. In the South, the necessity for slaughtering in December or January reduces the average age and weight. RECENT AGRICULTURAL INVENTIONS, The subjects of Applications for Patents from May 29 to August 30, 1890. N.B. Where the Invention is a communication from abroad, the name of the Inventor is shown in italics, between parentheses, after the name of the applicant. Agricultural Machinery and Implements, &c. Name of Applicant No. of Application 8263 Woodard, A. N., and Briggs, W. 8271 Burns, D. . 8342 Bentall, E. H. 8483 Griffin, H. R. 8625 Allen, S. L. . Title of Invention Potato digger. Finger bars of mowers and reapers. Driving-wheels for harvesting machines. Mowing machines. Cultivators. Recent Agricultural Inventions. 663 Application Name of Applicant 8580 Molison, T. . 8736 Anthony, J. . 8986 Morecroft, G. T. 8923 Earnshaw, R. F. 9156 Mincroft, F. and T. . 9396 Greenfield, G. . 9399 Howard, G.,&Gibbs,G. 9135 Bayly, J. P. . 9455 Mallett, T. T. 9173 Hardingham, G. 9525 Darby, T. C. 9589 Harrison, J. 9698 Kurts, M. . 9739 Sleep, W. H., Burns, T. B. 9925 Marsh, F. . 10083 Lambert, W. 10126 Parham, J. N. 10260 Wriuht, K. . G.M. and 10583 Love, P. 10649 Bayly, J. P. . 10810 Mallison, C. 10864 Bunting, W. L. 10971 Bawden, Ii. . 10973 Birtwisle . 11145 Edwards, S. 11314 Bayly, J. P. 11504 Lidstone, J. P. 11661 Scott, J. 11695 Varlow, H. J. 11917 Maynard, 11. 11922 Callister, J. 11981 Murdoch, D. A. 12101 Hall, R. 12294 Greenfield, G. 12441 Mountford, G. M. 12499 Bayly, J. P. ( Staples and others). 12558 Bamlett, A. C. 12719 Marsden, H. M. 12742 Till, A. 12933 Huxtable, J. 12946 Stevenson, A. 12948 Earnshaw, R. F. 12978 Buckle, E. . 12984 Pring & Son. 13045 Tracy, H. R. and J. 13246 Bayly, J. P. ( Buck - mutter). . 13293 Norris, J. , 13349 Thompson, W. P. ( Afar a ng os ) • , Title of Invention Potato dressing machine. Roofing bay and corn stacks. Guiding device for coiling haulage ropes of power traction ploughs. Drying wheat, barley, &c., in the straw as gathered. Reaping machines. Drills for distributing seed, manure, &c. Harvesting machines. Ploughs. Hay-making machines. Apparatus for shearing wool and hair. Implements for cultivating land. Haymaking machines. Potato harvesting machine. Machine for eradicating charlock, thistles, &c. Ascertaining internal heat of hay-stacks. Hop- washing machines. Hay and corn turning machine. Imparting revolving motion to shafts of machines used for cutting and grinding agricultural produce. Frames for drying and curing grass and grain crops. Cultivator. Conditioning or drying grain. Chaff-cutting machines. Ploughs. Mowing and reaping machines. Machines for pulping, &c., roots. Harrows. Elevators. Cultivator. Harrow. Filling and compressing chaff into bags. Combined clod- crushing, sowing and harrowing apparatus. Hay-rick remover. Drills for distributing manure. Reaping and binding machines. Digging and riddling potatoes, &c. Root cutting machine. Harvesters. Mowing machines. Plough or cultivator. Turn-wrest and other ploughs. Reaping machines, &c. Apparatus for drying cereals, &c. Potato planter. Hay and corn rakes. Elevators. Grass receptacles for lawn-mowers. Hay press. Elevating and conveying grain. 6G4 Recent Agricultural Inventions. Name of Applicant Title of Invention No. of Application 13468 Pengelly, E., & others Double movable blade coulter. 13513 Holt, J. 13539 Ogle. G. C. and IV. . 13558 Culpin, T. . 13679 Edwards, E. (lSTau- manri). Potato digger. Hay tedder. Sheaf-binding harvesters. Seed drill machines. 8323 8514 8650 8862 9438 9460 9471 9939 10103 10132 10191 10269 10270 10615 10660 10838 10896 11206 11399 11568 11665 11744 11902 12061 12236 12469 12589 12560 12686 12743 12904 13096 13546 Stable Utensils and Fittings — Horse-shoes, &c. Haslam, J. N. . . Foot pad for horses. Moritz, 0., and another Instruments for clipping horses. Butiin, C. UPFHAtlSEN, A. Burton W., Durrans, T. Lake, H. H. . and Curb bits. Safety bit. Horse-boxes, stalls, stables, &c. Apparatus for releasing runaway horses from vehicles. Eeins for riding and driving. Composition for use in packing horses’ hoofs. Horse-shoes. Removing loose hair from horses. Horse-shoes. Horse-shoes. Drenching bottle for horses, Sec Horse-shoes. Horse clipping machine. Hame tug. Horses’ nose-bag. Horses’ nose-bags. Horse-shoes. Saddles. Horse-shoes. Means for repairing harness. Horse collars and saddles. Nailless shoes for horses, &c. Horse collar. Combined curry-comb and scrape. Preventing “ crib-biting.” Shaft tugs. Stirrups. Dixon, W. . Lake, H. H. . Bloch, E. Barnes, J. E. L. Ferguson, H. A. D’Amilly, and another Day, J. H. and A. S. Witte y, G. C. Bayly, J. P. Bayly, J. P. . Butler, E. . Bean, C. B. . Cator, F. H. Close, F. A. . Hadden ( Bertolotto ). Cabana, O. . Yeadon, J. A. Jutson, and another Lehmann, C. H. . Edlin, E. H. Hume, H. R. Lunt, R , and another Tribe, D. J. . Wilson, J. A., & another Mouth-bags for horses. Elliott, F. . . . Hoof-pad. Bayly, J. P. ( Ra-fferty ). Improved bridle. Clegg, H. . Driving bit. Carts and Carriages. 8185 Campbell, D. 8515 Galvayne, S. F. . 9063 Bliss, F. D. . 10756 Sparke, W. H. . 12596 Whittington, R. 12646 IIollingworth, W. . Tip carts or waggons. . “ Brake ” for training horses to single harness. . Adjustable nuts for carriage axles. . Adjustable shaft-stop. . Preventing vehicles overturning in cases of accidents. . Adjusting the load on heavy carts by moving axle and wheels. Dairy Utensils, &c. 8551 Stokes, A. W. . . Obtaining acidity or alkalinity in milk. 8624 Harrison, W. T. . . Automatically keeping cream mixed with milk to ensure uniform quality when being served. Recent Agricultural InuentionSi 8G5 Title of Invention Application Name of Applicant 8700 White, W. N. . . Packing-case for butter, eggs, &c. Kinnamon, A. L., & anr. Butter moulds. 8980 9532 9G33 Bailey, W. H. . . Combined vacuum milking apparatus, and air- tight bottle for carrying and preserving milk and cream. Cheese presser. Douglas, J, H. . 9837 \ Listeb, R. A., and 9838 > Pedebsen, M. 9852 Shabples, P. M., & D. T. 10028 Payne, W. H, 10461 Sellabs. 10563 Raedleb, F. A. . 10950 Peesson, M. 11341 Cotton, G. . 11347 Wahlin, A. . . . . 11554 Redfebn, G. F. ( Gron - maid, &c.) 11621 Weston, G. H. . 11711 Amies, J. A. A. . 12709 Mabus, T. and J. W. . 12955 Hameick, G. H. . 13559 Nicholson, S.,&GbAY,J. Milking machine. 13632 Loosemobe, R. F. . Churns, Heating and cooling milk. Centrifugal separators. Raising cream. Centrifugal machines. Sterilising milk. Preparation of condensed cream. Milk pails. Separators for cream and butter. Sterilising milk. Separators. Milk filters. Appliance for delivering milk to houses. Manufacture and preservation of butter. Poultry and Game, &c., Appliances. 8354 Jessen, W. C. H. . 8767 Bishop, O. . 8774 Hillieb, W. H. . 9236 Geiffin, J. . 9401 Lowe, W. S. 9828 Page, T. C. . 10298 Lomas, W. E. 10487 Mitchell, W. J. . 10553 Nightingale, F. 11812 Gbeen, T. W. 12490 Bayly, J. P. (Bvehrig) . Preserving eggs. . Machine for cramming chickens. . Incubators, &c. . Egg boxes. . Machine for making trays for receiving eggs for transportation. . Apparatus for poultry and duck raising. . Improved nest egg. . Combined pheasant or poultry coop and run. . Cases or protectors for eggs. . Combined coops and feeders. Apparatus for testing and counting eggs Miscellaneous, 8596 Webb, H. I. . 8886 Gabton, R. . 9146 Saundebs, H. G. . 9880 Bayly, J. P. 9947 Reade, J. 10024 Webbeb, H. and J. C. 10412 Babnabd, Bishop, & Babnabd, Ltd. . 10828 Bubgon, C. . 10907 Guillaume, F. . 11121 Wood, T. . 11123 Stedman, G., and anr. 11298 Nielsen, J., & another 11468 Pettett, G. E. . 11800 Moon, H. . 11859 Tweedie, M. VOL. I. T. S. — 3 . Shelters for sheep, &c. . Preserving and storing grass and forage plants. . Ear-mark for sheep, &c. . Dehorning apparatus. . Destroying dogs without pain. , Protecting fruit, &c., crops from birds. . Combined travelling box, and show bench for dogs, &c. . Sheep-shearing machines. . do. do. . Machine for removing black currants from stalks. Hop funnel and gatherer. Udder protector for cows. . Clipping and shearing apparatus, . Artificial manure. . Making ensilage. "* X X 666 Allotments and Small Holdings. Application Name of Applicant 11903 Cannon, G. T. 11998 Adams, C. J. D. . 12061 Hadden, J. . 12168 Bernal, J. P. 12257 Woodrofee, F. K. 12555 Learner, A. J. . 13275 Bdrgon, C. . . 13377 King, W. F. 13691 Konig, M. . Title of Invention . Mouth-bit for administering medicines. . Hay rack for cattle stalls, kc. . Instrument for dishorning cattle, &c. . Cultivation of mushrooms. . Protecting stacks from vermin. . Composition for foot rot in sheep. . Sharpening sheep- shearing machines. , Apparatus for blowing the carcasses of calves, kc. . Malt curing apparatus. Numbers of Specifications Published 1 (with prices in parentheses). 575 (4(7.), 1321 (1 d.), 1787 (6(7.), 2049 (6(7.), 2376 (8(7.), 2679 (6(7.), 3456 (8(7.), 4526 (8(7.), 4915 (6(7.), 5921 (6(7.), 6177 (8(7.), 6314 (6(7.), 6360 (6(7.), 6456 (6(7.), 6576 (8(7.), 6797 (6(7.), 7847 (6(7.), 8354 (4(7.), 8483 (11(7.), 8980 (6(7.), 9396 (11(7.), 9173 (6(7.), 9698 (6(7.), 10132 (6(7.), 10270 (6(7.). ALLOTMENTS AND SMALL HOLDINGS. The Board of Agriculture has issued a “ Return of Allotments and Small Holdings in Great Britain,” obtained by the Inland Reve- nue Department. It is prefaced by a Report, addressed to the President of the Board, by Major Craigie, the Director of the Statis- tical, Intelligence, and Educational Department, from which the following details are taken. Definition of terms. — The allotments have been obtained by a special inquiry in upwards of 13,500 parishes. The small holdings are abstracted from the last annual Agricultural Returns. The allotments now enumerated are all areas under one acre in extent, and by far the larger number of these are below a quarter of an acre. Only about two-sevenths of the entire number exceed a quarter of an acre. Results of present returns. — The returns show 455,005 cases in which separate detached allotments of less than an acre now exist in Great Britain. The number of small holdings other than allotments is 409,422. For one in every seven of these holdings, or in 55,740 cases, the present occupier is also returned as owner of the soil, while in at least 12,613 other cases, reported during the inquiry, ownership of part of the holding is ascribed to the cultivator. Increase of allotments. — The growth in number of fairly com* parable allotments, in Great Britain as a whole, appears to be that indicated in the subjoined statement, from which, after making every 1 Copies of these and other publications of the Patent Office may be ob- tained at the Patent Office (Sale and Store Branch), .38 Cursitor Street, Chancery Lane, London, E.C. . Allotments and Small Holdings. 667 allowance for the possible imperfections of the earlier figures, it seems impossible to resist the conclusion that a large and important increase has taken place. It is noteworthy that the rate of annual increase in the last four years has been apparently three times as rapid as between 1873 and 1886 : — Tears Allotments 1873 246,398 1886 357,795 1890 455,005 The changes in each of the several counties of England, and in Wales and Scotland, where the system of allotments holds but a secondary place, are shown in detail in the following Table : — Number of Allotments under one Acre detached from Cottages as returned in the Years 1873, 1886, and 1890. Counties Allotments Counties ■J 1873 1886 1890 England No. No. No. England Bedford .... 8,364 12,602 15,194 Nottingham .... Berks 5,007 8,309 10,231 Oxford Buckingham . . 8,632 9,596 12,346 17,225 Rutland Cambridge . . . 10,576 13,428 Salop Chester .... 929 2,603 3,239 Somerset Cornwall. . . . 1,762 3,127 2,539 Stafford Cumberland . . 410 676 1,125 Suffolk Derby 5,628 7,128 10,702 10,470 Surrey Devon 7,063 10,264 Sussex Dorset .... 7,322 9,135 10,895 Warwick Durham .... 1,000 4,294 9,077 Westmoreland .... Essex 8,269 . 12,228 12,770 Wilts Gloucester . . . 7,552 11,144 14,653 Worcester Hants 6,712 8,590 12,614 York, East Riding . . Hereford .... 997 1,857 1,440 York, North Riding . Hertford .... 5,197 8,316 10,014 York, West Riding . . Huntingdon . . 3,376 5,402 5,980 Kent 4,150 6,613 11,660 Total for England . Lancaster . . . 992 3,706 4,447 Leicester .... Lincoln .... 17,168 7,430 18,496 11,710 23,396 15,921 3,098 Total for Wales . . Middlesex . . . 689 1,844 Total for Scotland . Monmouth . . . 569 767 1,802 Norfolk .... 6,400 9,130 11,855 Northampton . . 16,447 19,535 26,229 Total for Great Britain Northumberland . 968 4,142 3,247 Allotments 1873 1886 1890 No. 11,317 9,088 1,252 1,002 9,503 5,444 11,064 1,263 2,782 12,794 52 15,445 4,919 1,781 4,731 6,876 242,542 1,726 2,130 246,398 No. 14,795 14,062 1,878 1,714 14,908 6,312 15,258 3,153 4,852 17,174 295 20,760 7,322 4,333 6,812 10,704 348,872 4,949 3,974 357,795 No. 21,253 17,947 2,197 2,584 16,477 10,617 17,658 5,266 6,822 17,731 950 23,723 9,983 3,200 8,480 12,985 6,419 455,005 The allotments detached from cottages are divided into two groups only, viz., those under a quarter of an acre, and those of a quarter but under one acre in extent. The increase in both classes of allot- ments between 1886 and 1890 is about equally great. Considerable local variations will be found in the tables between the proportions of these two grades of allotments. On the whole the smaller class outnumber the larger by much more than two to one. But in particular counties the proportions are reversed. While in England, as a whole, there are 310,698 allotments under a quarter of an acre, and only 130,356 above that limit, in Bedford- shire, Huntingdon, Norfolk, Suffolk, and Worcester the larger type Qf allotments prevails, and in the East Riding of York, Lincolnshire, 668 Allotments and Small Holdings . and Cambridge the allotments exceeding a quarter of an acre are nearly twice as numerous as those below that area. The counties showing the largest number of allotments are Northampton with 26,229, Wiltshire with 23,723, Leicestershire with 23,396, and Nottingham with 21,253. An examination of the details now supplied indicates that many allotments are in urban parishes, and presumably occupied by artisans. The mining counties of Durham and Glamorgan show a remark- able increase since 1886, their allotments appearing to have been more than doubled in the last four years. Large increases also appear in Kent and Stafford. In Devon, Essex, and Warwick comparatively little change is reported. In only four English counties is any decline apparent. In Cornwall the collectors ascribe the diminution as partly due to the removal of country labourers to more remunerative railway work. In Hereford, Northumberland, and the East Hiding of Yorkshire, there appear to be also fewer allotments, some of those returned in 1886 having been improperly included under that title, while in other instances plots then oc- cupied as allotments have been required for building and other purposes. Increase in small holdings. — A comparison between the total number now shown of holdings not exceeding 50 acres in Great Britain, and the number accounted for in earlier enumerations, shows that the small holdings, other than allotments, appear to have increased as under : — Years 1875 • • Small Holdings . 389,941 1880 • • i • , 391,429 1885 • P < , . • , 392,203 1889 • P 1 , • . 409,422 In this instance also the returns appear to show a considerably enhanced rate of increase in the last four years as compared with the ten preceding. General returns of 1886 and 1890 combined. — Although it has not been deemed possible to extend the inquiry of 1890 into the ques- tion of cottage gardens or the various forms of secondary allotments, which it was attempted to include in 1886, the imperfect data then collected may nevertheless be referred to in general terms as show- ing, along with figures now published, at all events the minimum number of cases in which land is held in small plots. To the 409,000 small holdings and 455,000 separate allotments now enumerated, and collectively representing 864,000 areas, it may be permissible to add those special allotments ascertained four years ago to have been granted by railway companies, and in which no change is believed to have occurred. If we further include the so- called garden allotments attached to cottages, which found a place in the 1886 returns, and the quoted cases, admittedly incomplete, in which cow-runs and potato grounds were stated to have been pro- vided for labourers — all points in respect of which it is generally recognised no diminution, at all events, has occurred since 1886-^-- Allotments and Small Holdings, 669 one form or another of petite culture will be seen to be in existence in Great Britain in at least 1,300,000 separate instances. This total is reached as follows: — Small holdings other than allotments not exceeding 50 acres in extent (now returned ) 409,422 Allotments detached under 1 acre (now returned') . 456,005 Railway allotments detached under 1 acre (as returned in 1886) 39,115 Garden allotments of and over £ acre attached to cottages (as returned in 1886) . . . . 262,614 Railway garden allotments of and over £ acre attached to cottages (as returned in 1886) . 6,142 Potato grounds, cow-runs (as returned in 1886) . 128,448 Total 1,300,746 Not in this return Hence, all the information now available points to the prob- ability that some 1,300,000 persons in Great Britain are at present in occupation of quantities of land not exceeding fifty acres in extent. Of these persons, more than a million appear to occupy less than five acres each. The figures, therefore, indicate a somewhat larger distribution of land among the people of this country than has been sometimes regarded as probable. The following Table shows the number of allotments, and of small holdings, in each county of Wales : — • Number of Allotments under 1 Acre in extent , detached from Cottages , and of Small Holdings of \ of an Acre to 50 Acres inclusive, in each county of Wales. COUNTIES ( continued ) ALLOTMENTS (detached from cottages) SMALL HOLDINGS Under £ of an acre Of £ but under 1 acre Total Total number of small holdings to 50 acres (inclusive) Number of such holdings owned by the occupiers WALES No. No. No. No. No. Anglesey . 625 27 652 2,989 213 Brecon 463 27 490 1,892 210 Cardigan 379 102 481 4,789 1,090 Carmarthen 730 14 744 5,583 573 Carnarvon . 319 191 610 6,465 403 Denbigh 81 26 107 4,402 498 Flint . 64 41 105 3,421 349 Glamorgan . 3,219 136 3,355 4,536 411 Merioneth . 102 — 102 2,187 192 Montgomery 622 48 670 3,867 329 Pembroke . 265 17 282 4,275 404 Radnor 163 1 164 1,255 208 The Table on page 670 shows the number of allotments, and of small holdings, in England, Wales, and Scotland, and in each county pf England. Number of Allotments under 1 Acre in extent, detached from Cottages, and of Small Holdings of \ of an Acre to 50 Acres inclusive, in England, Wales, and Sootland, and in each county of England. ALLOTMENTS (detached from cottages) SMALL HOLDINGS COUNTIES, &c. Under £ of an acre 0f£ ' but under 1 acre • Total Total number of small holdings to 50 acres (inclusive) Number of such holdings owned by the occupiers Total for Great Britain No. 322,921 No. 132,084 No. 455,005 No. *409,422 No. 55,740 England 310,698 130,326 441,024 308,378 47,531 Wales . . . 6,932 630 7,562 44,661 4,880 Scotland . • 5,291 1,128 6,419 56,383 3,329 ENGLAND Bedford 6,912 8,252 15,194 3,142 393 Berks . . . 8,659 1,572 10,231 3,101 697 Buckingham , 11,347 5,878 17,225 3,749 726 Cambridge . . 4,618 8,810 13,428 6,664 10,929 1,016 Chester . . 2,727 512 3,239 1,070 Cornwall . , 2,266 273 2,539 11,774 1,322 Cumberland , 1,061 64 1,126 4,275 843 Derby . 10,030 672 10,702 10,470 10,318 996 Devon . , , 8,465 2,005 11,613 1,925 Dorset . , 8,220 2,675 10,895 4,118 4,614 618 Durham « , 8,789 288 9,077 506 Essex . . , 11,042 1,728 12,770 5,653 1,132 Gloucester , , 9,038 5,615 14,653 9,552 2,057 Hants . . . 9,316 3,298 12,614 7,095 1,672 Hereford . . 1,056 384 1,440 6,054 669 Hertford . 8,961 1,053 10,014 2,924 681 Huntingdon 2,745 3,235 915 5,980 2,324 469 Kent . . , 10,745 11,660 7,817 1,652 Lancaster . . 4,228 219 4,447 16,856 1,713 Leicester . , 20,434 2,962 23,396 6,770 722 Lincoln . . 6,825 10,096 15,921 20,692 4,092 Middlesex . 2,935 163 3,098 2,578 664 Monmouth . . 1,518 284 1,802 4,071 633 Norfolk 5,184 6,671 11,855 12,207 1,675 Northampton 17,075 9,154 26,229 4,707 741 Northumberland 2,953 294 3,247 3,839 397 Notts . , , 18,926 2,327 21,253 6,329 855 Oxford , , 11,453 6,494 17,947 3,721 617 Rutland , , 1,220 977 2,197 805 80 Salop . i, , 1,943 641 2,584 9,684 1,013 2,874 Somerset . 13,022 3,455 16,477 13,895 Stafford , 8,972 1,545 10,517 11,153 1,376 Suffolk . , 8,019 9,639 17,658 6,355 1,182 Surrey . . 4,325 941 5,266 4,274 1,313 1,365 Sussex 6,143 679 6,822 6,203 Warwick . . 11,524 6,207 17,731 5,575 837 Westmoreland 928 22 950 2,279 365 Wilts . 15,958 7,765 23,723 5,498 1,052 Worcester . 4,462 6,521 9,983 7,561 1,197 York, East Riding „ North Riding 1,118 2,082 3,200 5,329 621 5,903 2,577 8,480 9,672 768 „ West Riding 10,603 2,382 12,985 24,709 3,03 0 * Including 12,613 holdings partly rented and partly owned, of which 11,688 are in England, 690 in Wales, and 335 in Scotland, 671 STATISTICS AFFECTING BRITISH AGRICULTURAL INTERESTS. Summary of Agricultural Returns of Great Britain for 1890. Note. — The Returns were collected on June 4 in the Years 1888, 1889, and 1890. Acreage of Land in Great Britain under— Year Wheat Barley Oats Potatoes. . . ..Hops 1888 . 1889 . 1890 . Acres 2,564,237 2,449,354 2,386,336 Acres 2,085,561 2,121,530 2,111,178 Acres 2,882,252 2,888,704 2,902,998 Acres 590,160 579,222 529,661 . Acres 58,494 57,724 54,555 1890 compared 1 Increase j — — 14,294 or 0 5 per cent. r? — with 1889 Decrease j 63,018 or 2 6 per cent. 10,352 or 0 5 per cent. — 49,561 or 8 6 per cent. 3,169 or 5-5 per cent. 1890 compared • Increase j — 25,617 or 1-2 per cent. 20,746 or 0 7 per cent. — — with 1888 • Decrease j 177,901 or 6- 9 per cent. — — 60,499 or 102 per cent. 3,939 or 6-7 per cent. Number of Cattle in Great Britain.' Cattle - Year Cows and heifers in milk or in calf 2 years old and above Under 2 years old Total 1888 1889 1890 . No. 2,450,444 2,433,639 2,537,990 No. 1,434,305 1,453,859 1,439,119 No. 2,244,626 2,252,057 2,531,523 No. 6,129,375 6,139,555 6,508,632 1890 compared with 1889 Increase , j 104,351 or 4-3 per cent. — 279,466 or 12-4 per cent. 369,077 or 6’0 per cent. Decrease , j — 14,740 or 10 per cent. — — 1890 compared with 1888 Increase . j 87,546 or 3-6 per cent. 4,814 or 0-3 per cent. 286,897 or 12-8 per cent. 379,257 or 6-2 per cent. Decrease , — — — — 672 Statistics affecting British Agricultural Interests. Summary op Agricultural Returns, I860 Czech 14 32 Neutitschein . Moravia 1875 German !) 53 Prerau . . . . „ 1875 Czech 9 46 Dublany Galicia 1855 rolisli 19 78 Czernichow . M 1860 Polish 12 45 Czemowitz . Bukowina 1871 German 10 36 The agricultural schools at Modling, Tetsclien, Tabor, Dub- lany, the three forestry schools, and the fruit-growing school at Klosterneuburg are called Lehranstalten, or colleges, the others being described as Mittelschule, or middle schools, though all the sixteen are grouped together in the official reports under the latter designation. The total number of teachers in these schools in 1890 was 138, with 573 pupils. The aim of the colleges at Tetschen-Liebwerd and Tabor, as stated by Baron von Hohenbruck, is to impart “ a higher scientific education in agriculture,” and “ the necessary know- ledge in special branches.” The course of lectures lasts two years. The college at Dublany aims at the “ theoretical training of proprietors, tenant-farmers, and bailiffs.” The course of lectures here extends over three years. v Agricultural Administration in Austria-Hungary . G97 All the other intermediate agricultural schools — viz., those at Modling, Chrudim, Kaaden, Itaudnitz, Neutitschein, Prerau, Oberhermsdorf, Czernichovv, and Czernowitz — are organised ac- cording to one fixed plan. Pupils before entering must have attended and have passed the four lower classes of an ordinary middle school. The aim of these intermediate schools is the training of pupils for the practical calling of farm-managers. The course of teaching is spread over three years, and comprises (1) languages, literature, history, geography; (2) natural sciences ; (3) the different branches of agricultural science. Natural science collections, laboratories, models, plans, and maps serve to illus- trate the lectures. Farms are not considered indispensable in connection with these schools, but they have nearly all their experimental fields and gardens. After completion of the three years’ course, the pupils undergo a final examination and receive a certificate. The object of the intermediate schools of forestry is to train pupils to be practical foresters. Residents are required to have attended certain classes (4 to G) of an ordinary middle school, and to have had at least one year’s practical training. The course lasts two years, and includes lectures on natural science and subjects in connection with forestry. At the school of vine and fruit culture at Klosterneubui’g, there is a two years’ course of lectures, demonstrations, practical exercises, and excursions. Besides regular pupils, “ visitors ” who attend for a half-yearly term only, and “ guests ” who stay for a still shorter period, are admitted. The fees at the intermediate schools range from 3 1. 10s. per annum to 91. and upwards. There are scholarships and boarding arrangements at all, or nearly all, of them. Lower Schools (Ackerbauschule). — The third kind of education is given at 86 lower schools, which are again divided into general and special schools, as follows : — 29 general agricultural, and 27 farming winter schools, with (in 1890) 329 teachers and 1,394 pupils. (The winter schools have been found especially useful in Bohemia and Moravia.) 5 dairying and housekeeping (Haushaltung) schools, with 28 teachers and 116 pupils. 5 forest schools, with 15 teachers and 112 pupils. 1G garden, orchard, vineyard, and hop schools, with 73 teachers and 303 pupils. 4 brewery and distillery schools, with 26 teachers and 128 pupils. The lower schools of agriculture are intended for sons of peasants who have attended primary schools, and their object is G98 Agricultural Administration in Austria-Hungary. to impart sufficient theoretical and practical knowledge to en- able the students to farm their own holdings, or to act as bailiffs, farmers, and the like. The number of pupils is in some cases limited. The course is one of two years, and lessons are given on general subjects, natural science, and agricultural subjects, with demonstrations, practical exercises, excursions, &c. The schools are expected to possess collections, illustrations, models, imple- ments, maps, and a library. Pupils must be 16 years of age, and must have passed an elementary school (Volkschule). The so-called winter schools consist of courses of lectures given during the winter months to youths who have passed a primary school. The course comprises in most cases two winter terms. The course of the dairy and housekeeping schools for girls is from six to twelve months. The object of the schools is to give daughters of peasants opportunities of gaining knowledge and skill in the management of a frugal household. Pupils must be 16 (in two schools 14) years of age. For the lower schools of forestry, pupils must have passed a public school. The course lasts one year, both theoretical and practical lessons being given. The lower schools of horticulture, fruit-, vine- and hop- growing differ widely in their organisation according to the particular purpose they are intended to serve. The object of the brewing and distillery schools is to give theoretical and practical lessons in these important industries, accompanied by chemico-technical exercises and experiments. Pupils must have gained a practical knowledge of the indus- tries in question before entering. With many of the special schools boarding establishments are connected. The- annual cost of maintenance in these appears to vary from 71. 10*. to 25b A number of schools have farms attached to them, others have experimental fields and gardens only. The number of pupils varies in the several schools from 10 to 50. At the majority there are scholarships open to the pupils. Other Educational Efforts. — Iu addition to the instruction given at intermediate and lower agricultural schools, the Ministry of Agriculture organises special courses of lessons in general agriculture, fruit-culture, viticulture, dairying, veterinary medicine, horse-shoeing, and other special subjects. In 1889 there were 162 such courses, as against 125 in 1888 and 109 in 1887, and the number of pupils was calculated at 10,000. Agricultural Administration in Austria-Hungary. G99 The Ministry of Public Instruction also does something for primary agricultural education, in addition to supporting the Hochschule at Vienna. There were in 1889 9 -chairs of agriculture in 5 polytechnic schools, and 11 schools and 22 courses of veterinary medicine and horse-shoeing. Lessons in agriculture were given in 1888 in 42 training colleges to 2,893 pupil- teacliers. The Ministry of Agriculture has, moreover, a staff of 19 per- manent lecturers, who perambulate the country giving lectures and having conferences on farming and forestry questions with agriculturists who are unable to attend schools. Lectures of the same kind were given in 1888 by 161 other persons under the auspices of the Ministry, so that in all 180 Wanderlehrer — travelling teachers — gave in that year 1,967 lectures on general agriculture, 262 on fruit and vine culture, and 560 on other special subjects — or 2,789 in all — to upwards of 100,000 auditors. It may be added by way of conclusion that the teachers both in the lower and intermediate schools are required to pass an examination, examining boards for which exist at Vienna, Prague, and Lemberg. For the discussion of questions relating to agricultural education the Ministry of Agriculture has started a paper, Land- und forstrwirthsch aft liche Unterriclits-Zeitung. The total expenses of agricultural education not covered by fees was as follows in 1889 : — For Establish- For their ment of Schools Maintenance To the State £2,200 £12,900 To Provinces 2,400 34,400 To Private Individuals . . . 500 4,300 Total, £5,100 £51,600 or a total of 56,700k, excluding the cost of the Hochschule at Vienna, which is borne upon the estimates of the Ministry of Public Instruction. The total net cost to date of the agricultural schools established in Austria is 1,124,000k of which 187,000k is for the Academy at Vienna. Omitting this, as under the control of another Department, Baron von Hohenbruck gives the total cost of Agricultural Education since 1868 as 937,000k, of which 242,000k is for the founding of the schools and 695,000k for maintenance. The State has borne 33-5 per cent, (or 81,000k) of the total cost of establishment and 24 percent, (or 170,000k) of the maintenance ; the provinces 47-5 per cent, and 64 per cent. ; and societies and others 19 per cent, and 12 per cent. 700 Agricultural Administration in Austria-Hungry. Agricultural Education in Hungary. Just about tbe time that the first Chair of Agriculture was being established in Austria, Count George Festetics founded at Keszthely the once famous “ Georgicon,” an institution for the higher and lower education of agriculturists, foresters, gardeners, &C.1 The “ Georgicon ” continued its operations until the revolu- tionary year of 1848, when it was suppressed: to be restored, however, in a modified form in 1865, when an agitation, inspired by the Hungarian Agricultural Society at Buda-Pesth, had sprung up for an agricultural school at which the teaching should be in the Magyar tongue. Passing over certain other schools of more or less local interest and uncertain duration, the next to be established in order of time was the Agricultural Institute at Altenburg, founded by Duke Albert Casimir von Sachsen-Tetschen in 1818. The Academy at Altenburg. — This has gone through the cus- tomary stages of Hungarian educational establishments. After the revolution, it was taken over by the Austrian Government in 1850, and the teaching was in the German language. When Hungary was granted a constitution, it was transferred to the charge of the Hungarian Ministry of Agriculture in 1869, and parallel courses of instruction were given both in German and Hungarian. Since 1884 instruction has been given in the Magyar tongue only, as a part of the general attempt of Hungarian patriots to revive their ancient, historic, but to foreigners quite hopeless language. In 1874, when a general reform of agricultural education took place, Altenburg was erected into an Academy (Konigl. ungarische lanclwirthschaftliche Alcademie), and it is in fact the Agricultural University for Hungary. Students desirous of joining it have (since 1874) been required to show that they have passed through the entire course of a high school and have had one year’s practical training. Since its original establishment in 1818, 41,165 students have passed through its courses, and at the date of the last report (1888-9) 105 were then on the books. The teaching staff consists of a director (salary 210k, residence, and a percentage on the students’ fees), seven ordinary and 1 extraordinary professors (salaxy about 170k), three assistants (62k), a farm-manager (1207. and resi- dence), and his assistant. 1 See Dcr Landwirthschaftliche Fackunterricht ini Konigreich Ungarn in Jahre 1889. Published by Ludwig Czeli, Altenburg, 1890, Agricultural Administration in Austria-Hungary. 701 The course of study extends over two years, the school-year being from October 1 to July 1. The fees for lectures are about 7 1. a year; but there are eight scholarships of 12/. 10s. each which may be won by students. A farm (of 465 acres) is an integral part of the establishment ; a meteorological station was also established in 1860, a trial station for agricultural implements in 1869, an experimental station in 1873, and a seed-testing station in 1874. The total expenses for 1889 were 5,000/., and the income was 2,330/. Middle Schools. — There are four intermediate schools (Land- wirthschaftliche Lehranstalten) — at Iveszthely, already referred to as re-established in 1865 ; Debreczen (established 1868) ; Kolozs- Monostor (established 1869) ; and Kaschau (established 1875). The pupils at these schools must be 16 years of age, and must have passed a high school up to a certain standard. The course of studies is three years, and is both practical and theoretical. The fees are about 4/. yearly, and there are six Government scholarships at each school of the value of 12/. 10s. The direc- tors receive about 170/. and residence, and the professors 120/. Farms are attached to all the schools, and there are also experi- ment, seed-testing, and meteorological stations. As specialities, there are at Kesztliely fruit and hop gardens ; at Debreczen fruit gardens and osier-beds ; at Kolozs-Monostor, a veterinary hospital (which treated 106 animals in 1888-9), the making of “ Monostor” cheese from sheep’s milk, fruit gardens, vineyards, and fish culture; and at Kaschau, vineyards, a botanical garden, and a distillery, which produced in 1888-9 (principally from pota- toes) 120 imperial gallons of spirits. At the last three schools boarders are taken. At Debreczen, pupils attending the first year’s course are boarded and lodged at the farm, for which they pay 1 81. At Kolozs-Monostor there is a boarding establishment for 46 pupils, 26 of whom pay nothing, and the remainder pay 20 florins (less than 21.) a month. At Kaschau, students pay for full board and lodging 20 florins a month. Lower Schools. — In addition to the above, there are seven lower agricultural schools (Ackerbauscliulen) established and maintained by the State. These are divided into two groups : (a) for training farm-labourers and foremen, the teaching being chiefly practical ; and (b) for training managers of small farms. Pupils must be 17 years of age, healthy and strong, and must be able to read, write, and reckon. They are bound to do the work to which they are put ; and they receive board and lodging at the school, for which 12/. 10s. is payable. Part of this, how- ever, the pupil is able to earn by his own labour. The course extends over two years, and there are no fees for teaching. 702 Agricultural Administration in Austria-Hungary. There are schools of the first class at Ada, Zsitva-Ujfalu, and Szent-Imre, and of the second class at Debreczen, Rimaszonbat, Csakovar, Nagy-Szent-Miklos, which last has been in existence since 1786, over a century ago. The following statement 1 shows the number of schools and students at these schools, at intervals of five years since they came under the control of the Hungarian Government : — Middle Lower Year Academy at schools A schools -louu Altenbu'rg No. of Xo. of Xo. of Xo. of No. of No. of schools pupils schools pupils schools pupils 1867-8 140 I 104 I 17 3 261 1872-3 168 3 183 3 65 7 416 1877-8 203 4 269 2 62 7 534 1882-3 213 4 337 2 65 7 615 1SS7-8 105 4 388 7 202 12 695 The total number of scholars at these schools was thus 695 in 1887-8, as against 729 in 1886-7, and 711 in 1885-6. In the previous year’s official summary it was mentioned also that there wrere 284 pupils at the Buda-Pesth Veterinary College (established in 1787), and 366 at the Academy of Mining and Forestry at Schemnitz (founded in 1807). In addition to the seven agricultural lower schools main- tained by the State, there are four for vine- culture and one for forestry. There are also three schools receiving Government grants — at Istvantelek (established 1875, and under the control of the Hungarian Agricultural Society), and at Besztercze and Foldvar. These two last are in Transylvania, where also is another school (at Medgyes) winch receives no subvention. The total expense to the Hungarian Government for Agricul- tural Education is given in the last Budget as 36,250?. Next year this will be rather increased than diminished. Agricultural Experimental Stations. Experimental Stations in Austria. Closely allied to the question of agricultural education is that of the scientific study of agricultural problems in the field and in the laboratory. An interesting report 2 lately issued by the Austrian Government shows that there are now 11 agricultural experimental stations in that country : of which 1 Mittheilungen des lion. ung. Ministeriums fur Achcrbau, Industrie und Ilandcl, V. Jahrgang, 1889, pp. 533 et seq., pp. 849 et seq., and pp. 976 et seq. - Das land- und forst wirthseliaftli die Vcrsucltsmesen in den ini Reichsratht veHretenen K'dnigreiclicn und Ldndern, Wien, 1890, pp. 113. Ag ricultural Administration in Austria-IIungary. 703 four (one for general agriculture at Vienna, one for silkworm and vine culture at Gorz, one for vine and fruit culture at Klosterneuburg near Vienna, and one for forestry at Mariabrunn, also near Vienna) were founded and are maintained by the Government. Three others are supported by the Imperial and Royal Agricultural Society at Vienna, and the Provincial Agricul- tural Councils for Bohemia at Prague, and for Vorarlberg at Feldkirch. There are also four special and more or less private establishments maintained by the Austro-Hungarian Sugar- Producers’ Union at Vienna, by a Brewers’ Association for brew- ing and malting, also at Vienna, by the Distillers’ Union at Prague, and by Prince Schwarzenberg at Lobositz for the benefit of his own estates. In addition to the above, there are experi- mental stations at the following provincially supported agricul- tural schools : San Michele (Tyrol), Parenzo (Istria), Neutit- schein (Moravia), Prerau (Moravia), Hermsdorf (Silesia), Dublany (Galicia) and Kaaden (Bohemia). Next year (1891) further experimental stations are to be established at Czernichow (Galicia) and Ritzlhof (Upper Austria) for the testing of seeds and manures. Nor must mention be omitted here of the Society for the Advancement of Agricultural Experiments, which, though it has no station of its own, organises a great variety of valuable experiments on the estates of its members. Whilst in England the work of agricultural experimental stations is almost uniformly devoted to what may be termed field and feeding experiments, all very much of the same type, and all carried out on lines laid down by practical agriculturists, that of the Austrian stations is of a much more varied nature. The comparative trials of manures in the field, or the feeding of materials to sheep and oxen in the stall, are supplemented, for instance, by the selection of the best seeds and plants, or by investigations into the physiological development, &c., of the beasts, as the case may be. Again, analytical examination of manures, feeding-stuffs, and seeds, is not only placed within easy reach of the farmer, but the manufacturer and merchant also are permitted to utilise the stations for the same purposes. These latter privileges have been attended by very great success, and the manufacturers prefer in the majority of cases that the goods in warehouse shall be branded on the outside of the cases or bags with the guaranteed quality, as defined by the analysis. It is satisfactory to notice that farmers now make it the practice to buy only with a very definite guarantee, the vendor being obliged either to make good any deficiency in quality of the goods delivered, or to take the whole back again at his own expense. In the case of analyses made for manufacturers and merchants, 704 Agricultural Administration in Austria-Rungary. it would appear that such reports are not for use as advertise- ments, hut rather for determining the value of goods actually in warehouse. In addition to this work, instruction is given at most of the stations to a limited number of students, who combine with their studies such work as will be of assistance to the station. Qualified men are also sent from some of the stations to the various country towns, where they deliver courses of lectures, and give practical instruction wherever possible. The Imperial Agricultural Experimental Station at Vienna. — This, which is by far the most important of all the stations, merits some detailed description. It was founded by the Government in 1870 for the following objects : — (a) Scientific researches with regard to animal and vegetable production. (b) Investigations in connection with the practice of agriculture, e.g., on the laws of acclimatisation of plants and animals, on the value of new cultivated plants, on the cultivation of plants which are used in commerce and in medicine, on the manuring of permanent pastures, on dairying, &c. (c) Control of artificial manures. (i d ) Examination and application of mineral manures. (e) Analytical, physiological, and microscopic examinations for the Ministry of Agriculture, or (at fixed fees) for societies or private indi- viduals. (/) Dissemination of the results of the investigations by means of lectures and publications; training of agricultural surveyors; generally, offering advice and guidance. The station has since developed into one of the most impor- tant institutions of the kind. The work is carried on in three directions — viz., scientific researches, examinations of agricul- tural and technical products, and education. Of special impor- tance are the investigations with regard to animal physiology, manuring experiments, and the nutritive value and preserva- tion of human food. The physiological experiments are made with the aid of Pettenkofer’s respiration apparatus. Feeding experiments have lately been made with horses, calves, sheep, pigs, rabbits, ducks, and pigeons, with a view to ascertain the nutri- tive value and digestibility of mixtures of forage and also of new and suspicious feeding-stuffs. Experiments are also made on various mixed foods, on the smut of wheat, on saccharine, on manures ; on the cultivation of new fodder-plants, such as green sorghum (Sorghum saccharatum) , prickly comfrey (Sym- phytum asperrimum), the soja or soybean (Soja luspida ), and caper-spurge (Euphorbia lathyris); on ensilage, and on other matters. No experimental fields are attached to this station, it being the practice to carry out the field experiments on the farms of Agricultural Administration in Austria-Hungary. 705 private individuals. For this purpose no lack of offers from men both qualified and willing to execute the work according to the instructions of the director of the station has been ex- perienced. The growth of the analytical work done for boards, societies, and private individuals will be best seen by a glance at the following Table : — 1870 Ko. of samples examined 1877 1884 1889 Manures and soils 38 216 1,157 1,504 Products of agriculture, such as dairy produce, feeding-stuffs, &c. 40 71 1,580 2,081 Allied manufactures: sugar and starch, waters, steam-producers, . U 135 927 1,595 oils, &c Fermented products from spirit noo distilling, brewing, and wine . J Government sugar determinations . — — 3,713 6,250 Totals .... 81 1,091 8,038 12,180 Total amount of fees . £20 £285 £1,145 £2,060 The fees charged are low ; one half of them are paid over to the Government, while of the other half the director (Dr. Meissl) receives two-fifths, and the analyst three-fifths, in addition to their salaries. The expenses of maintaining the station, which varied from 800?. to 2,500?. a year, had to be almost wholly met by the Ministry of Agriculture until 1877, for the receipts were up to that time little or nothing. Subsequently the institution became almost self-supporting. In the year 1889 the outlay amounted to 2,400?., of which as much as 2,060?. was returned in the form of fees for analysis. Government Stations at Gorz, Klosterneuburg, and Maria - brunn. — The station at Gorz, which was the first to be esta- blished (in 1868), has achieved considerable success in the rearing of silkworms and in combating their maladies. The number of microscopic examinations during the last decade has reached the high figure of 1 60,000. At the station for vine- culture at Klosterneuburg important work has been done with regard to the production, composition, and adulteration of wines; and the forestry station at Mariabrunn, in addition to scientific researches, organises and supervises the practical experiments with regard to silviculture made in the different provinces of the Empire. Seed Control Station at Vienna. — The seed control station of the Imperial and Royal Agricultural Society of Vienna, which is one of the six stations founded and chiefly maintained VOL. I. T. S. — 4 3 A 70G Agricultural Administration in Austria-Hungary. by societies, was established in 1881, under the directorship of Professor von Liebenberg. The work of the station is almost exclusively the examination of seeds. This privilege is extended not only to farmers, but also to seedsmen, and the samples are drawn in warehouse from the bulk by officers of the station, after which the quality, as determined by the examination, is branded on the bags. It is also customary, when any sale is effected, to draw a sample in the presence of two witnesses, and if, on examination, it proves to be under the guarantee, the seller must either make good the deficiency or else take the goods back at his own expense. In addition to the seed-testing, a large number of botanical investigations are carried out for the purposes of scientific research. The analyses include the botanical separation of seeds and grasses, the examination of barleys as to them malting properties, and the examination of hops. The station possesses collections of the seeds of forage-plants, cereals, and of the plants of commerce and forests, as well as of pure and adulterated feeding-stuffs, and of the most important weeds and wild flowers. The following table shows the rapid development of the work : — Samples sent for analysis , . Botanical investigations Samples drawn from bulk, the sacks') being branded with the results of \ the analyses . . . . j Xo. of samples received 1881 1885 1889 207 800 2,266 423 1,045 4,486 278 1,458 3,945 This station has always received Government assistance. At first this took the form of a guarantee against deficit in ex- penditure to the amount of 700 florins per annum, which was increased in 1882 to 800 florins, and to 1,000 florins in 1889. Since then the Government has promised a contribution of 1,000 florins for the present year, and 1,500. florins (= 125h) for the three following years. The Austrian Agricultural Experiments Society. — As has been already stated, Austi’ia does not possess any agricultural experi- mental station for field experiments, as the so-called “ experi- mental stations ” described above are simply highly developed and well conducted laboratories for the skilled analysis of manures, feeding-stuffs, and seeds. But this deficiency is to a large extent met by the Society for the Progress of Agricultural Ex- periments in Austria, founded in 1885 by the Chevalier Em. de Proskowetz, Junior, of Kwassitz, who has since acted as the Agricultural Administration in Austria-Hungary. 707 Society’s President, whilst Professor von Liebenberg is the Secretary. This Society receives no financial assistance from the State or from municipalities, but is wholly supported by the contribu- tions of its members. It is in fact a quite private and indepen- dent association of men who seek to advance agriculture by carrying out, in the best and most scientific way, comparative field experiments on various points of farming practice. The results of these experiments, which are carried out in spring or autumn according to a carefully elaborated systematic pro- gramme fixed beforehand at the Society’s general meeting, and controlled by chemical analysis (made in the laboratory of Professor Schwackhofer of the Vienna Academy of Agriculture), are recorded in the very interesting and detailed Annual Reports of the Society (Mittheilungen des Vereines zur Forderung des landwirthschaftlichen Versucliswesens in Oesterreich ).* The fees of the members are 300 fls. ( = 25 1.) life member- ship, or 35 fls. a year for “ foundation members,” and 1 0 fls. a year for ordinary members. The number of foundation members, among whom are the Emperor and the Archduke William, is now twenty. The number of ordinary members, among which appear the agricultural schools of Budweis and Reichenberg, Modling, Neutitschein, Hermsdorf, Kaschau, Mediasch (Transyl- vania), as well as the State horse-breeding establishment at Radautz, is 1 14. During the first four years of the Society’s existence, 328 reports on experiments successfully carried out have been received and published. The influence of this young and promising Society is un- doubtedly already considerable, and gives promise of almost indefinite increase. It has achieved its success mainly by the energetic efforts of its President — who bears a name highly honoured in Moravia, and who is one of the three distinguished sons of a distinguished father — and of its Secretary, who, as Pro- fessor of Agriculture at the Vienna Academy, holds a position second to none amongst agricultural scientists in the empire. I had the pleasure of meeting both Chev. Em. von Proskowetz, Jun., and Dr. von Liebenberg at the International Agricultural Congress at Vienna, and came away greatly impressed with the high value of their work and the great power for usefulness of the Society of which they are the pillars. 1 These reports are published by Frick, Vienna ; and the following have already appeared : 1886 (price 1 fl. 60 kr.), 1887, 1888, 1889 and 1890 (price 3 fls. each volume). 3 a 2 708 Agricultural Administration in Austria-Hungary. Experimental Stations in Hungary. The experimental stations (such as they are) in Hungary appear to be exclusively at the agricultural schools. The records of the operations of these stations, as contained in their last reports, do not afford material for useful comment. But it may be mentioned that at the Agricultural Academy at Altenburg there is a trial station for agricultural implements (where in 1887-8 experiments were made with maize-cultivators, steam threshing machines, grubbers, sowing machines, potato planters, and the like), a chemical experiment station (where in 1887-8 124 analyses were made of artificial manures, foods, wine, wheat, &c.), a seed-testing establishment, and a meteorological station. Agricultural Societies. In addition to the direct work of the Government, the ad- vancement of agriculture is fostered in each province, either by provincial agricultural committees or boards, or by central societies receiving subventions from the Government or from the Provincial Diets. Under these, again, are district, local, or branch societies, associations, and clubs, of which in 1886 there were 1361, of which 372 were special. The total number of members of these various associations is estimated at 100,000, of which nearly half are in Bohemia. In five of the provinces — Bohemia, Upper Austria, Tyrol, Istria, and Dalmatia — the central societies which formerly existed have been replaced by provincial agricultural committees or boards (Landesculturrath). Each of these committees con- sists of a member of the Provincial Council, who is chosen by the Emperor, as president ; certain experienced officials ; the leading men of the local agricultural unions; and members nominated by the Ministry of Agriculture and the Provincial Councils for six years, and by the various societies for three years. The other provinces still retain their independent central societies. The oldest of the central societies in point of date of forma- tion is the Agricultural Society of Carinthia, at Klagenfurt, founded in 1764, which is closely followed by that of Carniola, at Laibach, founded in 1767, and that of Moravia, at Briinn, founded by Maria Theresa in 1770. The locale of the Moravian society has since the year 1818 been in the old Bishop’s Palace — a most interesting old house, now filled with antiquarian treasures dug up at Briinn (which was a lloman settlement) and a very complete collection of the fauna of the province. Agricultural Administration in Austria-Hungary. 709 In a place of honour in the hall is the original (now worm-eaten) wooden plough with which the Emperor Joseph II. about a hundred years ago ploughed a field with his own Imperial hands to show his sympathy with agriculture. The exact spot is indicated by a monument in bronze erected at Slawikowitz, which is passed on the railway journey from Briinn to Wischau. I may perhaps be allowed to chronicle here with some pride my election, after my visit to Briinn, as a Corresponding Member of this ancient and distinguished Society, the full title of which is “ K. K. Mdhrisch-Schlesische Gesellschaft far Aclcerbau-Natur- und Landeslcunde.” A considerable period elapsed before any other provincial societies were founded. In 1812 the Imperial and Royal Agri- cultural Society at Vienna, now perhaps the most important of all, was formed for Lower Austria ; and this was followed by the society for Styria in 1819 ; for Galicia in 1845 ; for Salzburg in 1848; for Bukowina in 1852; for Vorarlberg in 1861; and for Silesia in 1865. These societies nominate their own officials and committees, without interference from the Government ; but they all receive subventions, and in the majority of provinces there is also a central forestry society. The subventions take the form of money prizes and medals at agricultural shows, and grants for public improvements (such as river embankments, drainage, water- supply, &c.), agricultural experiments, special cultivations, plant- ing of trees, improvements in the breeding of cattle and other live-stock, silk-culture, and the like, adapted to the needs of each province. The particulars given above are, as already mentioned, sum- marised from a great variety of official publications and copious notes of interviews made at the time of my visit ; and as they have been revised in pi’oof by those chiefly concerned, it is hoped that they comprehend all essential facts as to the agricul- tural administration of Austria-Hungary. The actual practice of agriculture in the Empire will form the subject of a further article, to be published in the next volume of the Journal. Ernest Clarke. 710 CROPS FOR PICKLING AND PRESERVING. Farmers are constantly being advised to grow special crops, now that those on which they have relied for generations no longer prove as profitable as might be desired ; and market- garden crops are continually referred to as likely to prove remunerative. Undoubtedly those cultivators who gardened their farms in years gone by made good profits, but the advice to place a por- tion of the land under garden cropping has been followed to such an extent that sensationally high prices are much rarer than they were ; whilst it is the few rather than the many who are reaping large returns by growing what are known as coarse vegetables, and these have usually some special market or method of disposing of the produce. There is, moreover, an enormous increase in the quantity of vegetables imported, and this has acted as a heavy handicap upon the English grower. Foreign importations are felt the more severely because almost all these vegetables are grown in milder climates, and are placed on the English market before those grown in the open air in England are ready. As those which come into the market first realise the higher prices, the English-grown produce is only sold when prices are moderate, so that the extreme rates which were relied upon to meet the expense of the special methods necessary for the production of these crops are not realised, and the profitable nature of the business is much diminished. At the same time it must be remembered that the popula- tion has increased, and that each individual eats moi’e vegetables than formerly ; nevertheless, there is truth in the saying that it is easier to grow vegetables than to sell them. The relation of the pickling interest to the production and consumption of green vegetables is much closer than might at first sight appear ; indeed, from the grower’s point of view, they are almost in- separable. Most of the crops that are pickled are also used as vegetables, and in some seasons it may pay better to sell them for immediate consumption than for pickling purposes. Some portions of such crops, again, may not be suitable for pickling, whilst quite unobjectionable as vegetables. Thus, in those dis- tricts where pickling is practised, the pickling and gardening interests cannot, as a whole, be conveniently separated. The increased attention paid to the growth of vegetables has made the business more precarious — it was always specu- lative— and the prices realised are sometimes far from remunera- Crops for Pickling and Preserving. 711 tive. Hence the additional outlet obtained by utilising a por- tion of the growth for conversion into pickles is a decided advantage, and the extra business which results is a welcome addition to the possibilities within reach of the tiller of the land. The demand for pickles is of course not unlimited, but a considerable quantity is required both for home and foreign con- sumption. The consumption outside Britain is very great, especially in the Colonies, where a large amount of meat is eaten, and where even in the case of the poorer classes meat is almost always accompanied by pickles. At home the demand for tinned meats, preserved fruits, and pickles has largely increased in the rural districts, prejudices which existed till within a few years ago having largely disappeared. As wages increase, meat will be more generally eaten by the poorer classes, and it may fairly be assumed that pickles will be required with the meat. With the prospect of a larger population throughout the world, and higher wages for the labourer, the demand for pickles seems likely to become greater rather than less. Already a large quan- tity of vegetables adapted to pickling are grown abroad and im- ported ; but the greater part of the pickling is done at home, be- cause female labour, which is particidarly suitable for much of the light work connected with the process, is plentiful and cheap. Two kinds of pickling are practised. In the one case the vegetables are at once prepared and put into vinegar. In the other case they are “ brined ” for some time, before being con- verted into the form in which they are eaten. There is, indeed, a third class, in which the vegetables are preserved without the use of vinegar. The chief products which are pickled directly are red cabbages, radish pods, nasturtiums, beet, kidney-bean pods, tomatoes, and walnuts. Those which are previously placed in brine are onions, cauliflowers, cucumbers, gherkins, and vege- table marrows. Shelled peas are tinned to be used as vegetables, no vinegar being employed. Subjoined is a botanical classification of the plants named : — Name Systematic name - Natural order Part of plant used Cabbage Brassica oleracea Cruciferce . Leaves Cauliflower „ „ Inflorescence Radish Baphanus sativus „ Fruit (a jointed pod) Nasturtium (or Tropseolum majus Geraniaceaj Indian Cress) Scarlet Runner . Phaseolus multiflorus . Leguminosre „ (apod) French Bean „ vulgaris Pea .... Pisum sativum . ” (a berry) Cucumber, gherkin (or ghirkin) Vegetable marrow Tomato (or love apple) Cucumis sativus . Cucurbitaceae . Cucurbita ovifera Lycopersicum esculentum . Solanaceae . Beet . ... Beta vulgaris Clienopodiacete . Boot Walnut . Juglans regia . . Juglandaeese Fruit Onion . ... Allium Cepa Liliace® Stem (a bulb) 712 Crops for Pickling and Preserving. The systems of growing these crops, as regards rotation and manuring, are (1) as market-garden crops, (2) as market-garden- farming crops : the former do not include cereals, the latter do. Land upon which garden crops are grown requires to be very heavily manured, as everything is taken off ; and the high rents and large amount of labour required necessitate the raising of big crops. As, therefore, the land is kept in good heart it is not necessary to adhere to strict rotation, so that if there is a prospect of a particular crop proving more than ordinarily profitable it can be repeated. A typical rotation on a market-garden farm on light land would run somewhat as fol- lows : — (1) Scarlet-runner beans grown for seed ; (2) cucumbers, the land being dunged ; (3) onions, the land again being dunged ; (4) turnips grown for seed, the land being heavily dressed with soot ; (5) wheat. This would be a simple five-course system not involving catch-crops, which, however, are often inserted after certain crops in rotation ; as, for instance, cauliflower, after early pickling onions, to be gathered in the autumn of the same year in which the onions were taken off in July. Peas, either for picking or grown as selections from the leading seed-merchants, often form a considerable part of the cropping, and potatoes are always an important crop. It is impossible, in discussing pickle-farming in connection with market-garden farming, not to recur frequently to Messrs. King and Sons, of Broom, near Biggleswade, Bedfordshire, for they are the largest and most successful growers engaged in this industry, and are generally considered the most skilful. Last year Messrs. Kiug kindly allowed me to take from their books many valuable and instructive details. They farm in all some 1,100 acres, of which- about 200 acres are grass, the whole of the arable land being devoted to the growing of special crops. The land rests chiefly on the greensand and alluvial gravel, and is throughout a light loam, with nothing except its good natural drainage to specially recommend it. It is only able to sustain the system of heavy cropping by the immense quantity of manure put on it. A portion of the land, having been taken in hand as recently as the last two or three years, is hardly yet in condition for the purpose ; still a very good idea of the way in which the land is cropped may be gathered from the following details of cropping in 1889 : — Potatoes Turnip seed . Acres . 120 . 110 Cucumbers, big ones for sale, small ones and gherkins for Acres Onions and onion seed . 90 pickling .... 20 Cauliflowers for pickling . 60 Peas, selected varieties . GO Crops for Pi skiing and Preserving . 713 Radish seed .... Acres 30 Clover, seed and feed . Acres . 20 Beans, kidney and French, for Swede turnips, feed . 40 seed ..... 25 Carrots, feed 5 Pickling cabbages . 20 Sweet pea seed • 1* Mangel seed .... 40 Artichoke seed . 1* Wheat ..... 120 Lavender * Barley . 80 Mangel, feed 5 Garden crops were grown to a larger extent this year, as Messrs. King had got a portion of their newly taken land in suitable condition. To keep the land in condition for carrying such exhausting crops, Messrs. King annually purchase 2,000 tons of London dung, 4,500 sacks of soot, and 30 tons of dis- solved bones — this is in addition to the large amount of dung obtained from the live stock, of which 1,300 sheep were fattened off in 1888, besides 150 heavy beasts, and 120 big hogs. These consumed bran which cost 119k, pollards 1G7 k, oats and barley 594k, cake 052 k, beans and peas 784k, straw and hay 205k : a total of 2521k The labour bill exceeds 7,000k per annum ; rail- way bill 1,800k ; rates 500k As Messrs. King have built up this successful business, and as they are generally regarded in the trade as among the most capable of those engaged in the growth of many of the crops to be discussed in this paper, there is no need to apologise for frequently referring to their methods. Bedfordshire is now almost the only district in which brining is practised, for since Messrs. Circuit’s business in Essex was closed, the trade has drifted to the first-named county. Never- theless, the whole of the crops pickled or brined there are not grown in the neighbourhood, although by far the greater part are. No district possesses a better record, both past and present, than some of the land around Sandy and Biggleswade, which still holds a leading place, although it has been devoted to special crops for a great number of years. In Batchelor’s “ Agriculture of Bedfordshire,” published by the Board of Agriculture in 1807, the author mentions that Sir John Sinclair told him, in answer to questions, that Gardening has been carried on at Sandy from time immemorial, but in- creases considerably. The rent is supposed to he from 2k 10s. to 3k The articles principally produced are green pease and beans, cucumbers, potatoes, parsnips, carrots, radishes, cabbage-plants, and turnips, which are sent to markets in all directions to the distance of sixty miles, and perhaps further. Onions are not enumerated in the foregoing list, but that they were grown is shown by the following : — I am informed that at Biggleswade a field manured and cleaned has been let for one year to grow potatoes and onions for 5k or 6k per acre. 714 Crops for Tickling and Preserving. And again : — The practice of sowing onions in drills 6 inches wide is used success- fully. It will thus be seen that suitable land may be gardened for an indefinite time, provided sufficient manure is applied and proper methods are adopted. As representing the system of growing garden and pickling crops in market-gardens, the following rotation given me by Mr. W. Cooper, of Willow Hill, Morhanger, Beds., whose father is one of the most successful men in the business, may be of interest: — (1) Early peas, after which the land is broken up and seed-beds for producing cabbage-plants are sown ; (2) either cucumbers, kidney beans, or early potatoes ; (3) vegetable mar- rows, with rye or onions (for seed) as shelter. Some growers crop with kidney beans and early potatoes on the same land for years. Mr. Cooper, who is a briner as well as a grower, works his land on the market-garden-farming system, the following being an illustration of his treatment when getting ordinary land into fit condition for his purpose : — (1) Potatoes, manured with 100 bushels of soot per acre; (2) cauliflowers, manured with 30 tons of rotten London dung ; (3) oats manured with 100 bushels of soot; (4) onions manured with 40 tons of rotten London dung. When the land is worked round into condition, he prefers to take onions before cauliflowers. The systems of cropping hitherto mentioned do not include the quick succession of catch-crops ; illustrated, for example, in the growing of two crops at one time on the same land, which is not infrequent. Thus, onion seed and parsley seed are often mixed together and sown at one time. The onion crop is on the ground six months or so, and is then pulled ; the parsley is not injured by this, but after a hoeing, to keep down the weeds, grows rapidly, and is gathered through autumn and winter. Cauliflowers, Brussels sprouts, Savoy cabbages, and other green crops are frequently planted among the small-topped varieties of early and second-early potatoes, so that when the potatoes are dug the land is still carrying a crop well on its way to maturity. Three crops are sometimes on the ground at once, the mixed seed being sown thus : radishes, carrots, and parsley. The radishes quickly become fit for pulling, and in this way make room for the carrots, which are pulled and bunched throughout summer. The ground is then left to the parsley, which, being of slow growth in its early stages, does not require much space until it has been on the land some months, though it begins to grow rapidly when once well established. Additional instances might be quoted, but this is not neces- Crops for Pickling and Preserving. 715 sary, as it has only been deemed desirable to indicate the connection between the different croppings before proceeding to discuss the various crops individually. Crops for Brining and Pickling. Onions. — This is the most important crop grown for pickling purposes. Messrs. King grew 130 acres of onions this year, which will average from 10 to 12 tons per acre, it being a very productive season. Light, friable soils with open subsoils are best suited to their growth, and the greatest care has to be taken in preparing the seed-beds. The previous treatment of land for growing this crop is by no means confined to the few months immediately preceding the sowing, for it requires to be got thoroughly into condition, both as regards manuring and clean- liness. Certain conditions are decidedly unfavourable to the growth of onions. Land which has been cropped with common field-beans rarely produces good onions, for the latter are then liable to “ gloat” or puff, in which case they are useless for pickling, as the bulb is too soft. Besides this, onions so grown are much more liable to attacks of the onion-grub, as this insect appears to harbour in the straw, or haulm, during some period of its exist- ence, though it has not been actually traced. It not only appears more often on land on which beans have been grown, but when bean-straw is used as litter from which dung is made, and the dung is applied for onions, a' serious attack is almost certain to ensue. Therefore the cropping has to be arranged so that onions do not follow beans, either directly or after some years, and most onion-growers refrain altogether from cultivating beans. Although heavy dressings of rotten dung are often applied a few months before onion-seed is sown, it is preferred to put on a considerable quantity in the preceding years, and thereby to get it thoroughly incorporated with the soil, so that its rankness may be dissipated through the medium of other crops. Last spring I saw Messrs. King getting a piece of land on their new farm into condition for onions, but the onions will not be sown for at least another year or two. The land was in- wheat stubble which had been autumn-cultivated and cleaned ; it had already received 100 bushels of soot per acre ; 25 tons per acre of good London dung were at the time being applied, and after this there would be a dressing of 7 cwt. of dissolved bones. All these were being put on to produce a crop of swedes which would be fed off by big wether sheep, receiving as much cake as they could consume. A crop of peas will be sown in the following spring. If, after 716 Crops for Pickling and Preserving, the peas, the land seems to he in favourable condition for onions the latter will be sown, but the land will even then receive 40 or more tons of dung per acre. In a well-known book on gardening, from which quotations are frequently made, it is stated that a poor soil is necessary for producing the small firm bulbs required for pickling. This is distinctly wrong, for the land should be made exceedingly rich, and the size of the onion controlled by thick seeding. The manurial dressing previously mentioned, as followed by Mr. Cooper, is by no means excessive, and occasionally the application of dung may amount to 60 tons per acre. This is, of course, very expensive, as London dung, fifty miles out, costs 5s. 9 d. per ton at the station, to which has to be added the cost of carting and applying to the land. In connection with London dung, it is worth noting that onions to which saw-dust dung is applied are much more liable to attacks of wire-worm than are those for which straw-dung is used. Where the presence of wire-worm is suspected, it is usual to grow a crop of mustard, and to dress the land with gas-lime before sowing the onion seed; this is generally found sufficient to check the pest. If the land is in such good heart, from previous manuring, that dung is not considered necessary, 100 bushels of soot are almost invariably sown during winter, while the land lies in the furrow. Freedom from weeds is such an important matter that, where market-garden-farming is practised, the stubbles are never used as sheep-runs, but the land is broadsharefl or skimmed imme- diately after harvest to prevent seeding ; or the land is at once broken up to be made into a seed-bed for immediate sowing. The cost of cleaning onions is so great that, even under favourable circumstances, it rarely amounts to less than 51. per acre, fi’om 4 1. to 51. lO.s. being the usual range of prices. Mr. King once pointed out to me a field which he said cost 20 1. for weeding the first time he grew onions on it, but which, owing to thorough cleaning and the prevention of weeds from seeding, cost only 30s. an acre the last time he took onions upon it. In ordinary cases the land is broken up as soon as the previous crop is out of the way, and any filth is at once cleared off. It is allowed to lie through winter, and dung is carted on when there is sufficient frost, but the land is not disturbed until a favour- able opportunity occurs early in the new year. It is then worked most thoroughly, and brought down to a fine but solid tilth. An onion tilth cannot be too fine, as the seed germinates more thoroughly and more evenly the finer the soil. As it will not germinate if sown too deeply, a rough surface would result Crops for Fielding and Preserving. 717 in some portion of the seed being over-buried, if the rest were put in at a proper depth. Nevertheless, after finely reducing the soil, it must be solidified, but not worked when wet, or it will become packed, which is injurious. The seed is generally sown broadcast for growing “ picklers,” as the onions are better distributed about the ground, and each plant gets a fairer share of space than when placed in drill-rows. After seeding it is harrowed in with light harrows or raked in with iron hand-rakes and, if occasion demands it, rolled as well ; the subsequent workings consist of hand hoeings and weedings. The quantity of seed sown is generally from GO lb. to 80 lb. per acre, but if its germinating power is low as much as li cwt. has been used. The appearance of the field when the onions are about 4 inches high is not unlike that of newly laid down grass- land when viewed at a short distance, so thick do the young plants stand. There is no thinning, all the plants being allowed to mature. The seed varies in price very much, the usual quotation being from Is. 6d. to 10s., though it has been as much as 20s. per lb. The cost of the seed is thus a very serious item, and the growth of seed is a most important part of the onion grower’s business, which must be briefly noticed. The usual method is to grow the seed from bulbs placed in rows about 2 feet apart, though a considerable quantity is grown in rows much farther apart when used for providing shelter for cucumbers. Strong land grows the best seed, al- though light, friable soils are most suitable for growing bulbs. AVell-shaped onions are selected, and are transplanted in February in rows, about 3 tons per acre being required for planting a full crop. These, as a rule, will come to seed fit for gathering in September. The whole crop does not ripen at once, but as the seed-heads are fit they are cut and collected, and placed on cloths to dry. The method of drying the heads so that the seed will thresh out freely is somewhat tedious. The heads are placed on cloths resting on straw and spread out during the day, but before night or rain they are raked up into the middle of the cloth. Above the cloths hurdles are set up like an inverted V, and the ends of the cloths are turned up over them. The straw which thereby becomes exposed is gathered up, and placed on the top of the ridge formed by the hurdles. When the heads are dry enough, they are threshed by means of the flail. In very windy weather, loss often arises through the seed being blown off the cloth, where if any seed falls out of the heads it is collected. As onion-bulbs are worth from 3 1. to 10/. per ton, and some- times even more, seed-growing is very expensive. Unfortunately 718 Crops for Pickling and Preserving. the crop is very subject to destruction by mildew ( Peronospora Schleideniana). This fungoid disease, which also attacks the young onions, generally appears in cold wet weather in July. The young plants are not, as a rule, destroyed, though in bad cases they make no further growth ; a very severe attack on the pipes or stems which carry the seed-heads may result in the loss of the whole of the seed. In the years 1888 and 1889, the seed crops were most seriously injured, nine-tenths of some being absolutely killed ; while very few crops suffered loss to the extent of less than one-third. Seed was therefore dear, and there was a large demand for that of foreign growth, which, though often very good, cannot be relied upon. The Russian seed is commonly to all appearances perfect, but it is not infrequently useless for pickling purposes because the bulbs grown from it split like chestnuts, having some resemblance to shallots, which are objected to in the trade merely on account of their shape. I saw a field of 14 acres, which — regarded casually — appeared to be perfect ; but when the onions were skinned for pickling they were found, from the cause mentioned, to be useless, and the owner calculated that he had lost 1,000?. This was not his first ex- perience of serious loss from tins cause. The best seed for the purpose in view is the English-grown Spanish onion as a main crop, though the Silver-skin is occasionally cultivated for pro- ducing specially early bulbs, in order that a start may be made with the brining in good time. To return to the pickle crop, which was described as being sown. The hand-weeding commences as soon as the onions are well up, this work being done chiefly by women and children, who go down upon their hands and knees and carefully pick out or cut out every weed. No top dressings are applied, as artificial manures are not popular ; nitrate of soda and other nitrogenous manures are found to cause an excessive growth of neck and a soft bulb, producing what are called “ romps,” that is, onions of rampant growth, which are altogether unsuitable for pickling purposes. Farmyard manure is the fertiliser most preferred, as it retains the moisture in dry seasons and keeps the soil open in wet ones. Soot is the market-gardener’s favourite concentrated manure. The onions for pickling are hoed up with either the hand-hoe or the horse-hoe ; when they are loosened they are collected by hand into rows. It is best to take them away and peel them at once, but this is not always practicable. Onion-bulbs are liable to two diseases — one is known as “ mouldy nose,” and attacks the nose or root end either before or after pulling, but is generally caused by excessive wet : when once thus attacked the bulbs are spoiled for pickling. 719 Crops for Pickling and Preserving. The other disease, known as “ stale rot,” attacks the crown after pulling, and whilst the bnlbs are stored, so that it is not discovered until they are handled. The operations of peeling and brining are not generally understood, but as they enter into the pickle-grower’s business they may be briefly described. The onions are brought to sheds, and are there sifted with the object of removing the bulbs which are too big for pickling, and also to clean them to some extent. The suitable ones are then handed over to women or children, whose duty it is to cut off the tops and bottoms, and to peel off the outer skins until the bulbs are free from deeply coloured portions. These after being inspected are thrown into a large tub of fresh water and washed, after which they are placed on sieves and separated into different sizes. In all, five sizes are made up : the smallest are the most valuable and ai’e called “ pimps,” while the others grade as firsts, seconds, thirds, and fourths, the last named, rather more than an inch in diameter, being the largest which are received in the trade. The onions are next placed in water and well washed, after which they are put into separate barrels, and when the barrels will hold no more a strong brine is poured into them, and they are coopered up. The work, so far as the briner is concerned, is now finished, except that from time to time it is necessary to fill up the barrels with brine, as loss arises from evaporation, and also from shrinkage of the onion itself. The process of brining is necessary to destroy what is known as the “ vegetable ” in the onion, that is, the green colouring, which the brine does in course of time. Some manufacturers will not use onions until they have been in brine at least a year. It is very largely due to the circumstance that they are not brined that home-made pickles are not so bright and clear as those made by large firms. The quality of the water is an important factor, for, if it is too hard and the onions are left in it for a day or two, they become black. As showing what a quantity may be grown on one farm, it may be mentioned that in 1889 Messrs. King brined 4,000 casks, which were the produce of about 90 acres; this year they grew 130 acres, and the yield is much greater per acre. In addition to this, they will brine something like 1,000 barrels of cauliflowers and about 400 to 500 barrels of cucumbers and gherkins, all the produce of their farms. Others interested in pickling and brining grow their own material, besides occa- sionally purchasing from smaller growers. During the past few years considerable quantities of pickling onions have been im- ported from Russia and other countries where labour is cheap. Though it is to the interest of the English farmer not to allow 720 Crops for Pickling and Preserving. others to step in, the grave difficulty of labour is one which market-gardeners must look forward to with even greater anxiety than ordinary farmers, as so much of their work has necessarily to be done by hand. Their greatest safeguard against foreign competitors appears to be in the employment of women and children. Messrs. King for some months during the pickling season employ as many as 1,000 hands, the greater number of whom come from neighbouring towns and villages ; but men are required for all the heavier kiuds of work. Cauliflowers. — The extent of land on which cauliflowers can be successfully grown is very considerable, as, by suitable manu- ring and management, good crops may be obtained on light loams, fen loams, and even on strong loams. Cauliflowers have the family characteristics of the cabbages in adapting them- selves to circumstances very readily, and in being but rarely injured by insects. Hence they are met with in many districts, and, as vegetables, are placed on the market at almost all seasons, because, by taking advantage of different climates, they can be made to come to maturity at all times. Cornwall is the earliest district to send them into the market, but the Channel Islands and France also send them in early, and secure the best prices. These, do not affect the pickling trade, as it is those which mature in summer and autumn that are chiefly used for brining. The plants are invariably grown in small seed-beds, and transplanted when a fitting opportunity occurs. Those grown for pickling are sown in beds in the early spring, about 101b. of seed being required per acre. The seed-bed should be made on a finely prepared tilth. Deep cultivation is not desirable, as it has a tendency to make the roots penetrate to a considerable depth, whereas it is much preferable to keep them near the surface, as they are then not only easier to pull, ‘but there is adhering to the stem a mass of fine fibrous rootlets which help the plants to strike quickly when they are moved. It is a good plan to distribute a heavy dressing of superphosphate on the surface at the time the seed is sown and to harrow all in together, for nothing keeps the rootlets near the top so well. Cauliflowers may be grown after various crops, for, as has been stated, strict rotation is not adhered to in gardening. For early gathering, land which has carried a crop of onions in the previous year is in high favour, as it is generally rich and clean, but after onions 100 bushels of soot are applied. The land is got into suitable condition, and the plants are usually set 2 feet to 3 feet square apart. It is advisable to have well- Crops for Pickling and Preserving. 721 grown plants, as they make the fastest growth, but large plants require more careful setting than smaller ones. The main root should be cut off, so that the rootlets may strike near the surface as much as possible, and in all transplanting it is ne2essary to prevent the root from turning up in the dibble- hole. Another common way of growing cauliflowers is to plant them between rows of early small -topped potatoes, which are dug early and sold “ green.” The plants then get a good root-hold before the potatoes are dug, and time is economised ; the soil from the l'idges is turned back on them, and with a little horse- hoeing a good growing tilth is prepared. It is an approved plan with all varieties of cabbages to drop a little nitrate of soda round each plant very soon after transplanting, as a more vigorous start is thereby promoted : cauliflowers are no excep- tion to this rule. Cauliflowers are also successfully planted out on land which has carried an early crop of pickling onions taken off at the end of June or the beginning of July. By putting in large plants at that time, the heads are ready for cutting in October, and the custom is in favour with briners. When the heads are fit to cut, men are sent into the crop daily, and pick out those which are ready and suitable, whilst others, not sufficiently grown, are left to mature. Firm heads are essential for pickling, and these, as soon as cut, are at once taken away to be brined. The preparation for brining consists in cutting off all stemmy and green portions, so that nothing but the white coral-like part of the head is left ; this, of course, results in a large amount of offal, which is usually carted away and consumed by sheep on pas- tures, so that it is not wasted. The yield of clean heads varies very much, from one to five tons per acre of prepared heads being grown, though five tons is not common. The process of brining is practically the same as for onions. Cucumbers , Gherkins, and Vegetable Marrows. — The fruit of the cucumber and vegetable marrow is pickled to a consider- able extent. Large cucumbers are usually sliced, small ones are picked out and sold as gherkins; and vegetable marrows — though this is not generally known — are pickled and substituted for cucumbers when the crop of the latter fails. Cucumber-growing in the open air is not so profitable as it was, owing to the more extended cultivation under glass. Open- air cucumbers are not so good as those raised beneath glass, but the field cucumbers are the only ones employed for pickling. The Dutch cucumbers, grown in both Holland and Belgium, are also strong competitors in the vegetable market, and very VOL. I. T. S. — 4 3 B 722 Crops jor Fielding and Preserving. fine ones may be purchased in September at Is. 2 d. per dozen. English field-grown cucumbers generally fetch about 3 d. to 2>\d. per dozen, whereas, before the days of glass and importation, say ten years since, they used to command 2s. per dozen. As the market for the primer quality is lost, the crop is not so popular as it was. Cucumbers are a particularly risky crop to grow, as they suffer much from cold and from insect and fungoid attacks. On account of their susceptibility to cold, it is necessary to provide shelter in open fields. For this purpose thick rows of rye or onion seed are sown in parallel lines, and the cucumbers are planted between them. Occasionally kidney-beans are grown as shelter. The land has therefore to be worked in the autumn, and the rye is sown in rows ranging from 4 feet to 10 feet apart, according to the variety of cucumber to be cultivated. When onion seed is grown to provide shelter, the rows are usually planted 4 feet to 5 feet apart. About 18 cwt. of onion- sets are re- quired per acre ; these are planted out in January or February, so as to be well grown by the time they are needed as shelter. Onion seed grown in this way generally yields more in propor- tion than when it is cultivated as a whole crop with the rows closer together, and from 6. to 12 cwt. of seed per acre is considered an average crop. The land must be in rich condition for cucumbers, and worked to a fine tilth, and towards the latter end of April or the beginning of May the first seed should be planted. The favourite varieties in the field are the Stockwood Ridge and the Pershore Long Ridge. About f lb. of seed is required to plant an acre, and this is dibbled in, but it rarely happens that a full plant is obtained without filling up. In fact, it is no uncommon occurrence to have to plant the whole ground three or four times in one season. As the cost of seed varies from 14s. to 21s. per lb., this is a very heavy item. Young plants are extremely liable to injury by frost, and are subject to attacks of wire-worm. A small brown ten-legged grub frequently destroys the crop by attacking the roots. The green fly is also very injurious and attacks the head of the vine in any stage of its growth, preventing further progress. No means are taken to combat the attack beyond occasionally pick- ing off the heads. Mildew is a very serious disease, and appears, after flowering, from the end of July to the middle of August. The plants turn yellow, and if the attack is severe they do little good. Towards the middle of September the plant goes down, and picking comes to an end about the beginning of October. The Crops for Pickling and Preserving. 723 crop is a most uncertain one, even if it runs the gauntlet of the attacks just mentioned, and the yield is difficult to determine ; but a good result would be 80 barrels per acre, the barrel weighing about 3^ cwt. When disposing of the produce the larger cucumbers are picked and sold for consumption as vege- tables. The “ chumps ” (coarsely shaped cucumbers) and seconds are brined and used for making into mixed pickles, being sliced after brining. The smallest and neatest shaped ones are picked to be sold as gherkins, but the quantity of gherkins brined in England is small, those specially grown for the purpose in France being much preferred. The brining is a very simple process, nothing being done beyond washing the cu- cumbers before putting them into brine. Vegetable marrows are occasionally used for pickling at times when cucumbers are scarce, and they make very good substitutes. They are hardier than cucumbers, and the yield is very great. The market, however, is uncertain, and frequently they are quite unsaleable. In years of great scarcity of fruit they are used by manufacturers of inferior jams and marmalade to make syrup for jams, and this sometimes causes the price to be remunera- tive. The cultivation is practically the same as for cucumbers, the most popular varieties being the Long Yellow, the Bush Yellow, and the Bush • Green. They are not uncommonly planted on dung-heaps and compost-heaps, where they grow immense crops ; and they are all very useful for planting in odd corners and similar places not convenient for growing other crops. The small marrows are brined in the same manner as cucumbers. No other vegetables are brined, but those that have been discussed are the ones that demand the greatest attention from the grower, as the other varieties are worked up by the pickle manufacturers, who get the whole of the profit of pickling, whereas the grower gets a portion of the profit of manufactu- ring on those which are brined by him. Cffiors for Pickling. Bed Callages. — The next class to consider is that in which the vegetables are pickled without undergoing the process of brining. Of these, red cabbages are the most important. The red cabbage is an extremely hardy plant, which can be grown on almost all soils, provided sufficient manure be ap- plied. All cabbages are hungry feeders, and large quantities of nitrogenous manures can be put on with much advantage, and without risk of injury, for it is almost impossible to over- 3 3 2 724 Crops for Pickling and Preserving. manure them. Wherever ordinary cabbages can be grown, the red variety will do equally well, and the culture is practically the same. The seed is sown in August, and the plants are best transplanted in the autumn, either to a newly turned furrow or to a piece of autumn-tilled land. It is advisable to mark out the land first by crossing it with a marker-out, or with a drill set at the required width, and then crossing again at right angles. The plants are inserted whei’e the lines intersect, and horse- hoeing can then be effected in both directions. This is a great advantage, as the horse-hoe does the best after-tillage, and largely relieves the hand-hoe, which should only be required to work immediately around the plants. The cabbages should not be less than 2 feet 6 inches apart, and if the land is in good heart, especially on sewage ground, which is particularly favourable to the crop, 3 feet or even more may be allowed, as the quality of the cabbages is very much in accordance with the size, the larger ones always commanding the higher prices. Red cabbages are of two kinds — the Drumhead and the Ox- heart. The Oxlieart is the more valuable for pickling, as it is darker in colour. The yield of cabbages varies very much, according to the amount of manure and moisture present, and ranges from 10 tons per acre on light, dry soils, to 40 tons on rich sewage land. The outer leaves are always stripped before the cabbages are sent away ; and a cartload of red cabbages is heavier than a similar load of any other root or vegetable crop grown on the farm. This crop was until recently a very profitable one ; but English-grown “ picklers ” have been almost unsaleable in' recent years, owing to the heavy importations from Belgium, which not only get into the consumers’ hands earlier, but can be put on the London Market cheaper than is possible by rail, even from a less distance than fifty miles out of London. Scores of acres, of late years, have never been sold, or even offered for sale, as they would not bring home 10s. a ton ; in fact, buyers could not be found at any price. There is one saving point, which is that they are the best of all cabbages for sheep-keep, although a prejudice exists on account of the colour. They are also good for cows ; but if the outside leaves are allowed to decompose, howr- ever slightly, the milk is sure to be tainted. So much are they esteemed by market-garden farmers, that some grow them extensively as sheep-feed, without the slightest expectation of selling them for pickling. Scarlet Runners and French Beans. — Although not extensively grown for pickling purposes, still considerable quantities of Crops for Pichling and Preserving. 725 beans are pickled, both for mixing and for selling separately. French beans are preferred for the purpose, as it is not desired to have them too large ; but scarlet runners are employed when the supply is short. As only the smaller ones are of use, the chief means of disposal must be sought in the vegetable market. French beans, as compared with scarlet runners, are not exten- sively grown in England, as they are not so hardy and do not yield so well. A light, warm soil in good heart is necessary for the crop, and a finely-prepared tilth is essential. As they are very susceptible to frost, they cannot be sown early ; in forward seasons the first seed may be planted about the middle of April, and the seeding continued until the middle of May. A fine tilth having been prepared, grooves are made with either a hoe or a hand plough ; for French beans the grooves are 2 feet 6 inches apart ; for scarlet runners, 3 feet apart. The seeds are dropped in the rows, those of the French beans being placed about 8 or 9 inches apart, and of the runners 1 foot apart ; they are then covered with soil. It is usual to sow about 3 pecks of runner seeds per acre. The French beans never require sticking ; and in field-culture no support is given to the runners, as an endeavour is made to induce them to grow bushy, and they are dwarfed by having the top shoots nipped or cut off. Gathering commences in July, and continues until frost kills the plants in autumn. In favourable years 500 bushels of pods, weighing 32 lb. per bushel, are gathered per acre. They are sold at from Gd. to 3s. per bushel in the market ; but there are heavy expenses, which, if they do not swallow up the whole of the market-price, are frequently so great that not more than a penny or twopence per bushel is brought home. Still, taking one time with another, they may be considered fairly profitable. Radishes. — Another vegetable which is occasionally met with in the pickle-jar is the radish ; but the seed-pod, and not the root, is the portion pickled. The ci'op is, therefore, a seed crop, of which a portion of the pods may be picked for pickling, if there is a demand for them. Hence it is immaterial whether the turnip-radish or the long radish is grown. The soil required is of the usual market-garden type, free, well-drained, and in high condition. It is not necessary to discuss the growth of radish roots, as their cultivation is distinct from that of the seed. In order that the pods may form there must be ample space for the branches to spread ; and the seed is sown in the early part of May, in rows 2 feet apart, the surplus plants being struck out with a hoe, as in ordinary root-cultivation. Rarely, 726 Crops for Pickling and Preserving. if ever, is the whole crop grown exclusively for podding for pickling purposes, so that it is impossible to say what quantity of pods are grown per acre ; but the average yield of seed is about 20 bushels per acre, and the pods are very large in proportion to the quantity of seed contained in them. The seed is difficult to thresh ; and, all things considered, it is not a very popular crop. Nasturtiums. — Nasturtiums are so commonly grown for the sake of their foliage and blossom that the value of the unripe fruits for salads or for pickling is frequently lost sight of. Whilst the blooms have been improved by selection, the seed has not suffered. Capers are considered a more suitable accom- paniment to boiled mutton ; but they are expensive, and com- paratively out of reach of some people, who find pickled nastur- tiums make a very palatable substitute. They are so common that they are rarely grown on a large scale ; but as a poor man’s pickle they are by no means to be despised. In some districts they are used in salads, or placed in slices between pieces of bread and butter, as sandwiches, and are highly esteemed. Any odd piece of land can be utilised for growing them ; and as there are both giant and dwarf varieties, they can be selected to suit circumstances. If planted in the spring, the green fruits are fit to pick in the early autumn ; but they should not be allowed to get too old. Beet. — This is a product which is not pickled to a very great extent ; but a considerable quantity is worked up, the greater part being done by housekeepers, instead of by large pickle- merchants, as is the'case with most of the crops previously men- tioned. The sale of beet is therefore effected in small quantities, as it is generally retailed from the markets, or dispensed by green- grocers. There is nothing strikingly different in the cultivation ot beet and of mangel, except that beet must be planted closer to- gether. The rows are drilled about 18 inches apart, and the plants are set out 6 to 8 inches apart in the rows. Perhaps beet may not be considered quite so much a crop of the heavier loams on which mangel will flourish ; but on almost any land where there is a fair depth of soil, free from superabundant moisture, it may be easily grown. If the land is not clean, it is carefully forked in the autumn to remove couch, and then ploughed over to a good depth. Dung is generally applied in winter or spring, so that it may be well worked in during the tillages, in order to obtain the necessary tilth, the soil being in readiness for drilling by the beginning of May. About 1 1 lb. of seed are required 727 Crops for Fielding and Preserving. per acre. When the plants are big enough, they are singled, and are kept clean by hoeing throughout the summer. When the crop is lifted, which must be before there is danger of frost, the roots are not cleaned or trimmed, but stored, with the earth adhering, in clumps or heaps, and protected from frost by substantial coverings of straw and earth. Tomatoes. — The great increase in the popularity of the tomato as an esculent has led to much attention being given to its growth during the last few years. The attempts to grow tomatoes in the open air have not always proved successful, owing to the uncertainty of the Eng- lish climate, which in average seasons is too cold, wet, or sunless to ripen the fruit. Occasionally, in hot years, like 1887, grati- fying results are obtained, leading to the planting of increased quantities in the succeeding year, but too frequently with disap- pointing returns. Though the open-air cultivation of tomatoes is often recommended, yet it is doubtful if great success can be relied upon until some cheap method is discovered for prevent- ing mildew. Marvellous results are occasionally obtained, and these are often taken as the basis of calculations as to the profit that may usually be relied upon; but my experience in special croppings has been that, as they have to meet limited markets, there shortly arrives a time when the margin of profit becomes very small, owing to competition. As I wished to get reliable information as to the prospect of success likely to be obtained by growing tomatoes in the open, I asked Mr. George Monro, of Covent Garden, to give me the names of the most successful growers he knew. He mentioned Messrs. C. Steel & Son, of Ealing, and Mr. M. F. Watkinson, of Ealing Common, both in Middlesex. T accordingly wrote to them. In reply to several questions, Messrs. Steel kindly replied to the following effect : — They have grown tomatoes for twenty years in the open air, and their yearly cropping has been from 1 to 9 acres. The crop is taken in rotation with other crops. The plants are raised under glass, and planted out in the last week of May ; but, except for the purpose of raising, none are grown under glass. Carter’s Perfection and the Large Red have proved the most successful varieties. The tomato-disease appears to be very similar to the potato-disease. They consider that glass would be more profitable than open-air culture, and conclude by saying that the seasons these last few years have been, as a rule, so bad — although in 1887 they grew 10 tons per acre — that they think of giving up the practice altogether, and growing entirely under glass. 728 Crops for Pickling and Preserving. Mr. Watkinson agrees with the foregoing, for in his reply he says : — I do not think tomatoes are worth growing as an open-air crop, without you can make fine weather for them. I have known of several successful crops grown in the open air, but of a great many more which, owing to disease, or to lack of warmth to mature the fruit, have been unsuccessful. I am inclined, therefore, to think that tomatoes are not likely to prove a reliable crop unless the situation and local climate are very favourable. The large importations of tomatoes, which have increased very much of late, keep the market constantly supplied, so that very high prices are not probable in the future. Still it must be admitted that the English-grown fruit is the choicest, and is likely to maintain its position as the best on the market. From January to May, before the English fruit is ready, there is a large supply from the Canary Islands. Jersey sends consider- able consignments from May to the end of October, and from July to the end of the year large quantities arrive from Valencia, Bordeaux, Belgium, and Holland, those from the Netherlands being nearly equal to the fruit grown at home. Thus, through- out the year there is a steady supply. Those cultivated under glass are, doubtless, the most profitable of the English-grown tomatoes, for they are under the control of the cultivator, and by good management can be relied upon to make a steady return. The expense of putting up glass is, however, a great consideration, and a hindrance to most people. The outlay on glazing is a very heavy one, and any means of lessening the cost of construction would doubtless be welcomed by gardeners. Mr. G. F. Strawson, of Newbury, the inventor of the ingenious machine which takes its name after him, has given much attention to this subject, and he recently showed me an original method of fastening glass, which he was using in his own houses. He has since told me that lie has been so success- ful with the tomatoes grown in a house which he finished in May last that the cost of construction had been repaid by one sea- son’s produce. He has not quite perfected his plans, but will do so shortly, and will then make them public. I would strongly recommend those who are thinking of using glass for tomato- growing in the future to consult his report when it is published. When tomatoes are planted in the open air, they should be first forced under glass, then hardened. It is absolutely neces- sary that the plants should be strong and well grown, so that they may be able to take the fullest advantage of the short Crops for Pickling and Preserving. 729 English summer, and arrive at maturity before the autumn frosts set in. At no stage of their growth can they withstand frost, so it is useless to plant them out before the end of May. The land must be highly manured, with the tilth most carefully pre- pared ; and the plants should be set from 2 feet to 2 feet 6 inches square apart, and kept scrupulously clean. They are supported by strong stakes driven firmly into the ground. After the plants have grown to the required height, the tops and laterals must be kept back, so as to encourage the formation of blooms; and this nipping of the shoots must continue as long as the plants appear to need it. The yield is very variable, on account of the mildew, and varies from an almost total failure to 10 tons of fruit per acre. Of course, in situations where walls with favourable aspects can be utilised, some of the advantages of houses are obtained, and tomatoes do better than in strictly open places. The mildew which attacks the leaves, and then the stems of the plants, and thus prevents flowering or fruiting, is, as previously stated, very similar to that which attacks the botanically-allied potato. The remedy announced for potato- disease should therefore prove as effective on tomatoes as on potatoes. A solution of blue vitriol, mixed with lime,1 is applied, in the form of a spray, before the plants show signs of attack ; and the dressing must be repeated whenever the weather is humid, or in any way seems likely to promote the disease. A point in favour of growing tomatoes in the open air is that they make most excellent pickles ; and those who are not fortunate enough to be able to ripen the fruit, would do well to pay attention to this method of utilising them. They must be unripe for pickling purposes, as it is necessary that they should be hard. No other vegetable grown in England appears to be capable of conversion into so many kinds of sauce as the tomato, and many of them are very simple to make. Thus another convenient means of disposing of the produce which has not ripened sufficiently to be consumed as fruit is afforded. Many varieties are before the public, but perhaps the most popular for open-air culture are Carter’s Perfection and Sutton’s Maincrop. Carter’s Red and Yellow Currant Tomatoes are wrell adapted for pickling. Walnufs. — Pickled walnuts are so distinct in character from any other pickles, and are so highly esteemed, that there is always a steady market for them. 1 This is the bmiillie bordelaise (“ Bordeaux stirabout ”), used as a fungicide by French cultivators. The proportions are 6 lb. of lime, 6 lb. of sulphate of copper (blue vitriol, bluestone), and 10 gallons of water.— Ed. 730 Crops for Pickling and Preserving. Walnut-trees are almost always planted singly, or in very small clumps, and rarely on any recognised plan. Hence an account of a case in which they were planted on a definite system may not be without interest. In 1831, Sir William Long planted a field of some 6 or 7 acres in extent with walnuts ; it is said, because he had an idea that walnut-wood was likely to become scarce, and would, when arrived at maturity, be in great request for gun-stocks. He calculated that while the wood was maturing the land would pay its way by means of the fruit. The field is, naturally, a rich loam resting on gravel, at Kempston, near Bedford. Several varieties of walnuts were selected, and the trees, 3G5 in all, were planted “ on the square,” 21 yards apart. So they remained until some fourteen years ago, when about two- thirds of them were cut down, as it was found they were too close to flourish. In order that the land should not be out of profit while the trees were making no return, it was planted with hops — some of the last grown in Bedfordshire — and they stood for about ten or a dozen years, when they were stocked up and the land seeded down to grass, in which it still remains. At present the trunks measure from 3 to 5 feet in circumference at 4 feet from the ground, and from the ground to the fork 14 feet. Since the trees began to bear they have averaged about 2,000 nuts per tree ; whilst the biggest yield, in 1870, was 5,000 per tree. Of course, as yet, the trees have but little felling value ; but this they will acquire as time progresses. Meanwhile, the grass and the nuts are making a fair return per acre ; so that, like much other fruit- planting, this has not been a bad investment, though the ultimate return is still a long way off. Pickling offers an additional opportunity for disposing of the fruit. In very fruitful years the quality of the nut is im- proved by thinning ; and as the fruits for pickling must be small, and not old enough to have a shell inside them, it is altogether expedient to pickle a portion of the immature fruit. Crops for Preserving. Peas. — Green peas, when shelled, are preserved in tins in such a way as to retain to a considerable extent their original flavour. This mode of preservation is, of course, not pickling.; for, after particular treatment, the peas are packed in tins or cans, and kept good by the exclusion of air, and not by the presence of vinegar. This business might well be extended, for compara- tively few housekeepers are aware what a valuable addition canned peas make to the vegetables available for winter consumption, although in hotels they are largely consumed. 731 Crops jor Pickling and Preserving. There is an old saying that “ a good crop of peas has often been the 'ruin of a farmer.” By this is meant that, when a good crop of peas is grown, it proves so remunerative that the farmer is inclined to grow a larger quantity in future ; but it is such an uncertain crop, that years may elapse before he grows another profitable one. Among the risks which have to be run, the worst is the damage done by the green fly, which attacks the shoots at the top of the haulm, and sucks out the nutritive juices, so that the pods cease to form, and those already formed do not fill. Another is the mildew, which attacks the whole plant, and is known as the blight, for the crop is either partially or wholly ruined. Hail, again, is sometimes very destructive. There is, moreover, the risk during harvesting : for in wet seasons it is a very awkward crop to gather in, and the peas may either germinate in the pods, or shell out during the frequent turnings necessary to dry them ; or they may be carted too soon, and rot in the stack. All but the last-named of these risks apply when the crop is grown for picking ; but the last is, of course, of less importance then, although there are generally a certain number of pods not gathered which have to run the risk. The haulm, or straw, is well worth careful harvesting, it being the most valuable straw we have for feeding purposes, especially for milking-cows, as it imparts a more nutty flavour and a better colour to butter than any other food used in winter feeding. The green-pea crop is grown very largely by market-garden farmers ; but the earlier varieties for picking are, perhaps, chiefly grown by market-gardeners. So far as peas for gathering for preserving are concerned, it is not important that the earliest varieties should be grown, as the aim is to obtain a heavy yield, rather than to get them into market early ; the heavy-yielding varieties are therefore chosen. In selecting varieties, it is necessary to favour those which are best suited to the soil naturally, and also to the same soil under different conditions of cleanliness. I have found that, among the shorter-strawed varieties, none of those commonly grown are superior in all points to the Dr. Maclean, a pea of the Champion of England type, of which the Fillbasket is also a good representative. All of these genei’ally find favour with the London market-gardeners. Among other medium-length varie- ties, Yeitch’s Perfection is a hardy sort, with very strong laterals, and is a good yielder. Lye’s Favourite is also found very pro- lific. Daniels’s Matchless Marrow, the Telegraph, and the Telephone, are among the most useful of the longer-strawed kinds. Of the longest-strawed sorts, the Ne Plus Ultra is very reliable ; as is also the British Queen, which is much of the 732 Crops for Pickling and Preserving. same type, as well as the Tall Mammoth, which has proved itself very productive. Many other varieties might be mentioned ; but after considerable experience I find those named to be among the most reliable varieties as main croppers. Short-strawed varieties should never be grown on weedy land. Peas grown as a main-crop require richer soil than the earlier sorts, and the land should, therefore, be got into good heart by manuring, the dung having been put on in time to be well worked into the soil. Although in market-gardens they often follow a crop of winter greens, which necessitates the land being freshly stirred, it is generally admitted that peas do best on a stale tilth. A well-prepared tilth is required, and this must be in readiness for drilling by the beginning of April ; it is not necessary to put the peas in before then, whilst, by waiting, the risk from frost is avoided. In field-culture, from 3 to 4 bushels of peas are drilled per acre, aud they are sown in rows from 1 to 2 feet apart. Occasionally they are dibbled, about three or four peas being dropped into each hole, and the holes placed a foot or more apart, when, of course, less seed is required. In field-culture no supports are used, the expense of sticking being tkei’eby avoided. The crop is thoroughly hoed as long as hoeing is practicable. In June and July the picking for preserving takes place. Only young peas are preserved, as they turn out best, and are more like fresh ones when they are afterwards cooked. The later pods rarely contain so many peas as the earlier. From what has been said it will be understood that the average yield is rather difficult to ascertain ; but 150 bushels of pods per acre may be considered a fair crop. This year, indeed, I saw a crop of Yorkshire Hero peas from which 300 bushels per acre were gathered, whilst there would most likely be from H to 2 qrs. of seed left in the haulm. The price of pods would, pro- bably, be about 2s. per bushel, and this quantity might shell out l a peck or more of peas, according to the variety, season, and time of year. W. J. Malden. FOOT-ROT IN SHEEP. At several recent meetings of the Council of the Society reference has been made to the familiar and troublesome complaint termed Foot-rot in Sheep. So far as is known, the disease has never yet been associated with the presence of any specific micro- 733 Pool-rot in Sheep. organism, though, in these days of bacteriological research, it might have been thought that so widespread a disorder would have attracted the attention of investigators, had there been reasonable hope of successful exploration in this direction. As a matter of fact, opinions upon the subject vary considerably, and it is with the object of presenting different sides of the question, rather than of recording any new advance, that the following notes are presented. Emanating from different sources, they set forth the views both of ilockmasters and of professional men. They cannot perhaps claim to constitute a symposium, but it is hoped that they may serve to stimulate inquiry — at least on the part of those who still regard the question as an open one. It is deserving of mention that the United States Depart- ment of Agriculture, in an official document,1 dated October 13, 1890, defines the term “contagious diseases” as including inter alia “ sheep-pox, foot-rot, and scab in sheep.” Hence foot-rot is, on the authority of American veterinarians, scheduled as contagious. The subjoined notes are contributed by the following flock- masters in the order named : — 1. Mr. James Nott, Penn Hall, Eardiston, Tenbury, W orcestershire . 2. Mr. W. J. Malden, Oardington, Bedford. 3. Mr. David Buttar, Corston, Coupar Angus, N.B. 4. Mr. Chai’les Howard, Biddenham, Bedford. These are followed by observations : — 5. From the writings of Professor G. T. Brown, C.B. G. From a new work by Professor J. H. Steel, F.R.C.Y.S. 1 . Mr. James Nott. As this disease seldom kills the animals outright it is often neglected until it becomes almost unbearable, when it is usually treated until it is nearly cured and then allowed to run on again, becoming eventually as bad as ever. This is, I think, because nearly everyone is under the impression that it cannot be entirely and permanently got rid of. I need not say that a knowledge of the manner in which it is introduced into the system or the foot, of the time required, and of the circum- stances or conditions under which this takes place, would be a material help in suppressing, and keeping free from, the complaint. 1 Regulations for the Inspection and Quarantine of Neat Cattle, Sheep and other Ruminants, and Swine, imported into the United States. I'oot-rot m Sheep. no A 7 o4 In tlie case of people who are always buying sheep, it is, under existing circumstances, quite impossible to avoid foot-rot, owing to the prevalence of the disease. In the case of those who only breed and do not deal in sheep, there is, if ordinary care be exercised in the introduction of the few animals it may be neces- sary to buy, no difficulty whatever in keeping free from foot-rot — this, at least, is my experience. For more than twenty years I have kept a small breeding flock, ranging from sixty to 300 animals, and have never known a case of foot-rot to arise spontaneously, or from the most unfa- vourable conditions for the feet under which I have known sheep to exist. Yet all the flocks in this neighbourhood, under similar circumstances, continually have foot- rot more or less, according to the season, whether they are dry or breeding flocks, and this because it lias never been thoroughly eradicated. To get rid of the complaint it is necessary, before all things, that every hoof upon the place should be examined, and all animals that are diseased, however slightly, placed by themselves. At the same time, a strict watch must be kept upon the sound sheep for at least three months, placing them if possible upon a completely fresh lair, and never letting them go where the diseased animals have been. If they continue quite well, and if they form the bulk of the flock, I would rather sell the rest, even if cured, than run the risk incurred in introducing them again amongst the sound animals. Sheep that have suffered from foot-rot are never safe, until after the expiration of a considerable time, but how long I cannot exactly say. This is, I think, the great reason most farmers consider foot-rot arises spontaneously, as if the diseased animals are separated for treatment at all they are returned to the sound sheep as soon as apparently well, with the result that, after a little time, especially if the season favour foot-rot, the attack comes on again as severe as ever. Nearly every practical man knows how to cure foot-rot, and this is scarcely worth speaking about in comparison with the means of keeping free from it. I recommend that every bit of diseased surface should be exposed with the knife down to the quick, but not beyond it, as the blood interferes with the dress- ing ; the latter should be of a more or less caustic nature, and the feet should be kept dry for some time after applying it. Let this be repeated as often as appears necessary, no matter how busy one may be with other things. In unfavourable weather it is a good plan to dress the feet in the evening, keeping them in the dry till morning. My own experience may be briefly recorded. From the time of my first keeping sheep, especially during the period from 18G7 Foot-rot in Sheep. 735 to 1878, I generally imported foot-rot every time I purchased fresh animals ; but, taking a greater interest in sheep than other farm stock, and being rather partial to the work of dressing their feet, I generally quickly got rid of it, especially as I did not buy very often. At this time I took another farm, and in consequence had to increase my sheep stock to a considerable extent ; in the course of doing so, foot-rot developed so badly that I began to despair of getting rid of it. At length I be- came so tired of the work of dressing the feet that I determined, if I ever did get rid of foot-rot, I would not buy sheep again in any number. This resolution I have adhered to ever since, with the result of never having a case of foot-rot except amongst the few animals the strange sheep might be placed with. In 1879 the liver-rot came and swept both sheep and foot- rot away, except about thirty yearlings and two or three other sheep, which, being on another farm, escaped liver-rot and foot- rot alike. With these I bred again. On September 19, 1880, I bought a ram of the late Mr. Randell, of Chadbury, but he brought no complaint. In 1882 I bought from a neighbour a ram apparently free from foot-rot at the time, though I had seen him suffering from it previously, so that I only placed him with two or three other sheep, which remained all right. Thinking I was safe, I placed him with the ewTes, but he had not been with them more than a week when one was observed to be lame and suffer- ing from foot-rot. Consequently she and the ram were removed at once, and luckily no more succumbed. Still it almost threw the ewes out of season, as I could not readily get another ram. Eventually, at the end of October, Mr. J. Bowen-Jones, Ensdon House, Shrewsbury, supplied me with a ram lamb which proved sound. In December 1883 I again bought from a neighbour a ram which brought no disease. In the autumn of 1884 I purchased a ram lamb affected with a trace of foot-rot ; he was cured and placed with the ewes with no ill results. In December 1885 two ram lambs were pur- chased without foot-rot following. In the winter of 1886 an aged ram which was bought from a neighbour was apparently free from foot-rot, but upon being placed with some wethers they soon became affected with the disease, and were sold right away. A ram lamb bought in the autumn of 1888 brought no disease. Early in 1889 I bought from a neighbour an aged ram with the foot-rot. He was placed by himself, and constantly dressed until every trace of foot-rot had disappeared, when he was placed with another young ram in a 12-acre meadow where no sheep had been for months. They kept right until washing time (several weeks), when a third, an aged ram, which had never had 736 Foot-rot in Sheep . the foot-rot in his life, was placed with them, and the very next morning the young ram was lame, and was found to be suffering from foot-rot. In about two weeks the aged sheep had it also, and on the stranger it showed itself in the course of another week or so. We dressed them, curing first one and then another, but never getting them all three wTell at once. When the pur- chased sheep seemed all right he was removed, and put "with two or three weaning calves until it was time to put him to the ewes ; neither ram nor ewes subsequently showed any symptoms of foot-rot. The other two rams were sold. These details must be very uninteresting, but they include every sheep I have pur- chased since 1878, except a ram lamb from Mr. Gilroy Temple, Laugherne, near Worcester, in the autumn of 1889, which brought no disease. Though fully prepared to get foot-rot after buying sheep, especially if some of them were affected with the complaint at the time, I hardly expected to get it through the purchase in 1882 of a single animal, more particularly as that animal was not suffering from it himself. If I had not known that he was labouring uuder it some time before, my faith might have been shaken as to the possibility of keeping perfectly free from it, as up to 1878 I had never been free for a very long time together, through buying a few sheep now and again. As I had to wait until the autumn of 1886 before another case arose, what could I think except that it was the introduction of the fresh sheep, though not affected himself, and only coming out of a flock affected with the disease, which had given it mine ? Moreover, only those sheep were affected to which he was introduced, and no other case of foot-rot showed itself until the spring of 1889, after the introduction of another sheep. At the present time I have not on my place a single animal of my own breeding — and they are all so except two — which has ever had foot-rot. The same is true of their mothers before them, after living, breeding, and sometimes dying a natural death, without my having occa- sion even to look at their feet. I think this is strong evidence, whatever people may believe, that foot-rot will not arise spon- taneously on this particular farm, or indeed upon any of the three I have occupied in this neighbourhood. There are farmers besides myself who find they can keep free from this disease by not dealing in sheep, only breeding. They think it necessary, however, to be careful about moving troughs frequently and in not having the animals too thick upon the ground or under trees, where they lie closely and very frequently for shelter in the summer, or in certain low-lying grassy orchards or lattermath, &c. If the least trace of disease Foot-rot in Sheep. 737 is present, it may no doubt be rapidly developed under these circumstances, especially in a showery time. Some people say they can produce the disease in a fortnight amongst sound animals by placing them in unfavourable circumstances for the feet. I have had young sheep for nine months at a stretch, penned up under very much more than ordinarily unfavourable circumstances for the feet, without the least trace of foot-rot arising. It was only necessary to remove excess of horn at the middle and at the end of the time, the animals continuing as sound and upright as possible. One of my neighbours saw these sheep from time to time, expecting them to break out every day, although he knew I had never had a case under the ordinary routine of the farm. When he found that no ill effects followed, he began to believe there must be something in what I had told him, and commenced operations upon his own sheep, which were very lame with foot-rot at the time. The result was the complete eradication of foot-rot from his young sheep in a short time, and from the older ones in a reasonable time afterwards. He is now probably completely free from this distressing complaint, not having had a case for months past, although he had not been without it for years previously. This is the only case I have ever known in which the foot- rot has been rationally treated with a view to stamping it out, and it appears to have succeeded. As a rule, the difficulty is to get people to be particular enough, and persistent enough, in following out the treatment to the end, instead of leaving off when the disorder is apparently no longer doing any damage, or neglecting it when a busy time comes on. It is a work which requires the master’s eye constantly, or, better still, his hands as well. What, however, is even more important is not to re- introduce the disease unawares after once getting rid of it ; yet this is what I believe is constantly being done, though quite unwittingly, and is the reason most people think the disorder comes spontaneously — and it certainly looks like it, developing with rapidity as it does under favourable circumstances. I am not at all surprised that practical men (who are not often scientific) should have been misled by such an insidious disease, and that the opinions concerning it are almost as many as the people who hold them. Scientific inquirers seldom have much practical acquaintance with it, the poor sheep scarcely coming under their notice, at least as regards their feet. Hence, for generations, our knowledge of the disorder has made but little progress. Flockmasters freely admit that nothing to which sheep are liable is more annoying, or gives more trouble, or is a source of greater loss to them than foot-rot. If what I maintain be VOL. i. T. s. — 4 3 C 738 I'oot-rot in Sheejj. correct, tliat foot-rot cannot be developed unless by contact with affected slieep or their lair, and if full advantage were taken of this circumstance, the benefit to individuals and to the country generally would be immense. A good deal of money is expended annually in trying to stamp out certain diseases to which farm stock are liable, but which are only local, and affect comparatively few individuals. Foot-rot is universal, and concerns almost every man who owns a score of sheep. If it should be found that there are circumstances under which foot-rot can be produced, or will come of itself, indepen- dent of contact with affected sheep or their lair (a proposition I do not admit for a moment), surely these circumstances might generally be avoided. But even if not, and we are obliged to have foot-rot raging in certain districts, it need not be all over the country as at present. Or, why should my sheep remain free for years together, while the sheep of everyone else in the district, without exception, whether they buy or only breed, are continually suffering, notwithstanding that the sheep are of the same breed, are similarly managed, and are subject to the same conditions of soil and climate ? Why should I generally get foot-rot, immediately after purchasing one of these sheep from the outside, amongst that portion of the flock to which he is introduced ? Why, moreover, does it not extend any further amongst my animals, if the single strange sheep did not bring it ? Until I can get satisfactory answers to these questions I must adhere to my opinion, although it is in direct opposition to that of thousands of farmers, including most of my friends and neighbours. I hope they may be all wrong, for their own sakes, for the country’s sake, and for the sake of the sheep, and that I am right. If my belief be correct that foot-rot is contagious, and arises in no other way, it is a pity that the truth should bo any longer hidden away. In conclusion, I would say that foot-rot must not be held responsible for all lamenesses to which sheep are liable. If I might be allowed to speculate, I would say that I consider the true disease is quite independent of all circumstances of soil, climate, food, and water, or of structural differences in the animals, and that it requires the presence of a living organism, without which the disease is impossible. 2. Mr. IF. J. Malden. I have had experience with sheep in two districts which differ great ly as regards the effect of the land on foot-rot, although Foot-rot in Sheep. 739 they are both light land localities — the chalk soils of Wilts and Hants, and the gravels of Beds, — and it appears to me that the causes of foot-root are very similar in both areas. The predis- posing cause must be sought in anything which induces the skin between the claws to rupture. This seems further demonstrated when the feet of white-faced sheep are examined, and a com- parison is instituted between the formation of the feet in different breeds. Down breeds are more liable to foot-rot than are the white- faced. When the foot of a Down sheep is examined, it may be noticed that the claws are very close together, and that the skin is thin and tender. That this should be so is not surprising, because for centuries these sheep have run on their native downs, which are very hard, and are covered with short and generally dry herbage. On such lair the feet rarely sink into the ground, so that there is no need for the claws to spread out to prevent sinking. The feet of the white-faced sheep are bigger, the claws open more widely and more readily, and the skin between the claws has become hardened. This is but natural when it is remembered that these sheep have for long periods dwelt on soft grass land, and on arable land which is liable to puddle, and which during the greater part of the year will not carry the sheep clean on the surface. To adapt themselves to such circumstances the feet have expanded — the claws have spread out — so that they may be better able to resist the ten- dency to sink. The herbage on these lands is longer and often wetter, so that a breed of sheep possessed of feet which readily ruptured between the claws would not thrive. Doubtless, by natural selection, sheep which could not eudure frequent wetting without chafing would not become permanent, but would give way to those better able to do so. The effect of lair on the feet is simiiarly noticeable in the case of horses, for those bred on the soft fens have feet broader and more open than those bred on hard soils. White-faced sheep are but rarely moved on to soils which are less suited to their feet than those on which they are bred. Down sheep, on the other hand, are largely imported into other dis- tricts, where the^ seldom meet with such good lair. They more frequently have to live under the same circumstances as the white-faced breeds are accustomed to, and as they are not fitted for such conditions they fall lame where the white-faced remain souud. It is, indeed, not even necessary to transport Down sheep into other districts for them to suffer as much as they would if taken into a district of the white-faces. If they are merely driven from the Downs to the water-meadows, which are 740 Font-rot in Sheep. often found within the distance of half a mile, the sheep may suffer as much from foot-rot as if they had been transferred to the Lincolnshire fens. Even when they are put on the gravel loams of the adjacent valleys, they suffer as severely as though they had been sent to the gravels of Beds. When they are turned on the broken-up Down land they do not experience much trouble, as the land generally carries them well ; but if they are folded on vetches in wet weather they fall lame because the feet are constantly wet, and the vetch-haulm readily chafes the skin between the claws. There are numerous means b}^ which chafing may be induced. Such are, lying on wet straw in the lambing-yard ; friction be- tween the claws when they are wet, dirty, or contain dried vegetable matter and dirt forming a cake ; sinking in the ground ; malformation of the foot ; neglect to pare the hoof ; and many other causes known to the sheep-farmer. If chafing continue for some time, it is likely to be followed by foot-rot ; and that form of foot-rot which commences be- tween the claws is the most common. I am inclined to the belief that this variety of foot-rot rarely, if ever, attacks sheep unless the skin between the claws is broken, or some portion of the sensitive region of the foot is laid bare. As the disease only breaks out when certain parts are exposed, it would undoubtedly appear that foot-rot is contagious, as the conditions point to inoculation, which could hardly happen if the skin remained whole. On two separate occasions, while I was working on my father’s farm, foot-and-mouth disease broke out, and when this was cured the sheep — some 800 or 900 each time — fell with foot-rot. It was most difficult to heal because the hoofs came off, and the feet could not be kept free from chafing, whilst the foot-rot continually broke out afresh until new horn grew. With these exceptions, I have never had any specifft diffi- culty in getting rid of the disorder. Doubtless the best means of preventing the disease is to keep the feet hard by having the sheep on firm lair; by hardening the skin with solutions which, inimical to the progress of the disorder, at the same time prevent any chafing ; by making the sheep walk over caustic lime; by keeping the feet neatly pared. When the disease shows itself in a flock, the sheep which have fallen lame should be taken out and dressed, and not returned to the flock until quite souud. On hard chalk soils, containing flints, the feet generally keep naturally trimmed so that there is little to do but to dress them with a mild caustic, which may be applied in the form of powder, liquid, or salve ; or the sheep may be made to walk through a trough containing a caustic solution. When Foot-rot in Sheep. 741 the animals are on soft land the feet should be constantly- trimmed, so that they are always neat and with no overhanging portions of hoof to prevent a healthy circulation of blood ; also to avoid chafing on any portion of the foot. When the disease actually shows itself, more care is neces- sary to get the foot free from rough portions of hoof, and to pare the claws so that all diseased parts may be accessible to the caustic. It is, indeed, most essential that every trace of the dis- ease should be reached by the application, otherwise the hoof will grow round the untouched spot, which will continue to in- crease in size, and, finding the lower portion of the foot too hard, will gradually extend upwards and burst out at the top of the hoof, in which position it will be a long and laborious work to cure it. If sheep are carefully dressed twice, a cure may be relied upon ; but it is tedious, unpleasant, and expensive labour. Unfortunately, too, it is often not thoroughly done, and, as a result, the disease lingers about for some time. It is a mistake to use a very strong caustic, as the hoof is thereby made too hard, and grows in a bad shape. The kind of foot-rot I have been speaking about is the most common, but there is another form which is not looked upon as contagious. Whether this is in reality a separate disease it is difficult, in the face of much conflicting evidence, to decide. It certainly takes a somewhat different form, though it can be cured by the same treatment as the common kind. More skill is required, however, in paring the hoof, for the disease almost invariably works up the inside of the hoof and breaks out at the coronet, and is then spoken of by shepherds as the worst kind. As it is most common on soils which are most favourable to the usual disorder, it would appear that the lair must have a direct influence on its development. 3. Mr. David B uttar. In the course of a letter addressed to Mr. J. Bowen-Jones, Mr. Buttar communicates the following instructions for dealing with foot-rot Pass the whole flock twice during the year through a solution of arsenic, which is thus prepared : — Boil 2 lb. of arsenic with 2 lb. of potash (pearl ash) in 1 gallon of water over a slow fire for half an hour. Keep stirring, and at any signs of boiling over pour in a little cold water; then add 5 gallons of cold water. Put this solution to the depth of 1 in. to 1^ in (just sufficient to cover the hoofs of the sheep) in a strong, well-made, water-tight trough, 12 ft. long by 18 in. wide, and about C in. deep, with narrow strips of wood nailed 742 Foot-rot in Sheep. across the bottom to prevent the sheep from slipping. The trough must be set and fixed perfectly level alongside a wall or other fence in some out-of-the way place. It should be provided with a good waterproof lid, secured by a padlock, so as to pre- vent the possibility of danger from any poison which might be left in the trough. There should also be a wooden fence on the other side of the trough, extended somewhat at the entrance Fig- 1. J 1 i II i 1 i 1 1 11 1 1 THOUGH fence fence Pen No. 1. i Gate lGate ■ Pen No. 2. Gate | end to guide the sheep into it, as indicated in the diagram (fig- !)• Before the sheep are driven through the trough their feet should be well pared ; then walk them quietly through and let them remain in Pen No. 2 for half an hour or so before taking them back to their pasture. If sheep are badly attacked I would recommend drawing out all the affected ones, and passing them through the trough a second time, after remaining for half an hour in the pen. Should this not cure them, repeat the process in a fortnight or three weeks’ time. Having got free from foot-rot, the passing of the flock through this solution twice a year will completely prevent any new attack. Before adopting this plan my sheep were scarcely ever free from the disease. Now I have not a single case, and have had none since I first resorted to the practice in 1885. 4. Mr. Charles Howard. Commenting on the foregoing, Mr. Howard writes : — Although there is nothing new in the notes of the three farmers, yet I hope the attention of flockmasters generally will be called to the subject, and something good may come out of it. When I was a youth and first went to learn farming (some fifty years since), this disease was not known, or at all events not in the locality in which I was situated. It has now become the bane of a shepherd’s life, and entails unknown losses to British flock- Foot-rot in Sheep. 743 masters. I am glad to say I have now but very few lame sheep. I owe this to the constant attention of my shepherd, and to the ointment I have been fortunate enough to meet with. In the summer of 1889 I visited the farm of my friend Mr. Henry Page, of Walmer Court, Kent. I found he had but little, if any, foot-rot among his sheep, and in the course of discussion he told me he could cure it in one or two dressings at most with an ointment which his old foreman prepared. He sent me some to try, and both I and my shepherd were so struck with it after using it that I wrote to Mr. Page requesting him to induce the old man to part with the recipe by paying him the small sum he required. This is the ointment I refer to, of which the following is the recipe : — • 2 oz. verdigris, powdered. 2 oz. armenic (Armenian Bole), powdered. 2 oz. blue stone (blue vitriol), powdered. I Pour the oil of vitriol on last, and Keep stirring with a stick until it leaves 4 oz. caustic, powdered. £ pint turpentine. 4 oz. Stockholm tar. 2 oz. hog’s lard. 2 oz. oil of vitriol, very slowly, or it will boil over, off boiling. Mr. Page’s farm is on the chalk, and therefore less subject to foot-rot than many other soils, my own amongst the number. I have, during a rather long experience, tried all sorts of remedies for this troublesome and wasting disease, but I have never found any so effective and speedy in its cure as this. I shall be very glad indeed if, by the publication of this recipe in the Journal, it should prove the means of doing the same good to many other breeders as it has done in my flock. The course I pursue is to draw out all the lame sheep, take them to some dry hovel or shed, thoroughly well pare their feet so that the disease is bottomed, and then apply the ointment. The sheep remain in the shed, or in a dry gravelled yard, for at least one night. I am quite sure that, by the use of this oint- ment, and with proper attention, the disease can be kept under. I fear that, in many cases, the shepherd is not sufficiently relieved of his ordinary duties to attend adequately to the sheep’s feet. When the disease is prevalent he should have all the assistance he requires. It is most desirable that the sheep’s feet should be every few weeks properly pared, a practice that will tend very much to retard the disease. Foot>rot is one of the most subtle of diseases. I have known my sheep to be quite free from it upon one farm, but if taken to another, upon which there was pasture with abundance of trees, they would within a very few days begin to fall with it. Mr. Nutt’s theory is not always correct. I know many farms 744 Foot-rot in Sheep. where no sheep are ever bought, yet foot-rot is always existing upon them. It would be useless for our West of England men to breed their lambs unless the holders of root-growing farms of other parts of England bought them for consuming their green crops. 5. Professor Brown , C.B. As long ago as 1864 Professor Brown communicated to the Journal of the Batli and West of England Society a paper entitled “ Foot-rot in Sheep ; with Observations upon the Allied Diseases in other Animals.” The author wrote : “ By some it is con- sidered to be malignant, developing during its progress a peculiar poison or virus, which is capable of producing the same disease, by inoculation, in a healthy foot. Other observers deny the contagious property, and refer the spread of the disease to the general prevalence of the cause in the locality where it may exist.” He remarked that, concerning the essential characters which distinguish foot-rot from other affections of the foot of the Fig. 2 sheep, very little appears to have been ascertained. “ Should farmers consider this admission a reflection upon veterinary science, they are requested to pardon the suggestion that veterinary science has had very little to do with the matter. The great authority always has been the shepherd, whose assertion of the presence of ‘ foot-rot ’ or other disease in the flock is not likely to be ques- tioned.” In different parts of the same foot, and among different animals, it is pos- sible to distinguish many stages of the disease, as it affects the horn of the hoof. In a white hoof a dark spot may be detected, in- dicating a hollow place. A very close examination may probably result in the discovery of a minute fis- sure, £ inch to 1 inch long, crossing the hoof transversely. The illustration (fig. 2) repre- sents these three conditions in one hoof, instead of in three feet of the same animal, as they really occurred. 1. Represents the broken, or, more correctly, the withered portion of the horn. 1. Shrivelled or decayed liorn. 2. Dark spot, indicatin; a cavity. J. Minute fissure.— (Brown.) Foot-rot. in Sheep. 745 ff, Indicates the presence of a hollow cavity containing dirt. 3. The minute fissure, apparently superficial, existing as a dark line upon the wall of the foot. The precise structural alterations which result from foot-rot appear to be the following : — a. Mechanical derangement of the structure of the hoof and the intro- duction of gritty particles into the canals or into accidental fissures. b. Softening and disintegration of the horny structure by the moisture of the soil and the exuded fluids from the internal membrane. c. Irritation of the internal membrane, causing excessive secretion of epithelial cells with serous exudation, associated with increased vascularity and sensibility. Subsequently, in 18G8, Professor Brown communicated to the same Journal another paper, “ Observations on the Diseases of the Foot of the Sheep generally comprehended in the term Foot-rot; with a Keport of Experiments which were carried out for the purpose of deciding the disputed question of the con- tagious or infectious nature of these diseases.” On this occasion it was remarked : — “ Many authorities adopt the conclusion that foot-rot depends upon local conditions, and is altogether unconnected with infection. Others assert the disease to be so contagious that a single animal affected with foot-rot, if introduced among a healthy flock, is capable of communicating the disease, and that not only to the sheep with which he comes in contact, but in a manner also to the land, so that the previously healthy soil acquires a new character, and becomes foot-rotting land.” The difficulty attending the inquiry was illustrated in the following extract from the first paper : — “ Most of the information conveyed to us comes from men who were not acquainted with the characteristic elements of the disease, and who seem to have recorded effects irrespective of their possible causes, giving, in place of logical deductions, the mere impressions which the facts made on their own minds at the time of their occurrence. The only direct evidence bearing upon the question refers to inoculation, and the conveyance of the disease by an infected animal to a perfectly healthy locality. On both these points the results recorded by different observers are opposed. The facts advanced on one side prove that the disease will spread from a diseased sheep to healthy animals in a previously healthy situation; and, further, that direct contact of a healthy foot with the matter from a diseased one will induce the disease. The facts on the other side prove that a diseased sheep may with impunity be allowed to mingle with healthy ones on a dry soil, and that contact with the matter of 1 foot-rot ’ is not injurious unless the healthy foot has been previously denuded of a portion of its horny covering.” After recording various cases of conflicting evidence, the author proceeded : — “Nothing can be more graphic than the descriptions which have been uoted, and, if read in the light of recent experience, they furnish a clue to 746 Foot-rot in Sheep. the explanation of numerous discrepant opinions upon the subject of foot-rot in sheep. The observations which have been made during the last few years have established in the writer’s mind the conviction that the foot of the sheep is liable to at least five distinct diseases, which are produced by inde- pendent causes, and in their earlier stages quite easily recognised by their characteristic features. One of the five affections generally comprehended in the term foot-rot is undoubtedly highly contagious. Another of them . . . can be propagated by the action of the morbid products of the disease, when all the conditions are favourable. The remaining three varieties are conse- quent upon mechanical influences, and only occur when those influences are in action. These conclusions, the truth of which now scarcely admits of a question, furnish at once an explanation of the great differences, which have been noticed by observers, in the characters presented by the diseased parts, and also of the contradictory opinions which have prevailed, as to the con- tagious nature of the malady.” In discussing the diseases of tlie foot of the sheep, Professor Brown divides these into (1) those in which the hoof horn is primarily affected, and (2) those in which the hoof horn is secondarily affected. Under the first head he classes the following non-contagious forms : — a. That variety of which an illustration (fig. 2) has already been given. It exists on sandy soils or upon clay lands where much grit is mixed with the clay ; it prevails most extensively in wet seasons, but even during a certain dry summer occasional instances were met with. b. That variety dependent upon the overgrowth of the hoof-horn, which occurs particularly among sheep that have been removed from a bare upland pasture to a rich, soft, lowland turf. In this form the hoof is primarily at fault, and the derangement of internal structure is a result of the external changes. As in the variety previously noticed, however, when the malady is fully developed, every distinctive character is lost in the general morbid state of all the foot structures, and very frequently tho implication of adjacent parts. c. That variety arising from injuries inflicted from without. Punctures from thorns, wounds caused by projecting sharp stones, and occasionally the accidental introduction of a naii into the foot, may be followed by inflammation, and, if neglected, by the separation of the hoof from the secreting membrane, and the successive appearance of those changes of structure which are observed in foot-rot, as the term is understood. With reference to those forms of foot-disease in which the hoof- horn is secondarily affected, it is observed that sheep are un- doubtedly liable to at least one affection of the feet of a decidedly contagious character — that, namely, which is identical with foot- and-mouth disease in cattle. Another form of the foot-disease, which may he distinguished as O 5 Yarrow | 1G Pawlett Hams - - - - - A - - A - - P - - - A - P, predominant. A, abundant. 0, common. Here the power of the pasture to carry an exceptionally large quantity of stock is no doubt due to the rich and well-watered soil, which supports a vigorous vegetation. The nutritive value of the grass depends upon the quantity of protoplasm and starch present in the tissues ; and the quantity of these food-sub- stances depends on the quality of the soil. The best grass on a poor soil, struggling for its own life and scarcely able to lay up starch for its seeds, is of small feeding value compared with the same grass grown on a rich soil. The difference between the feeding value of the two grasses is something like the dif- ference in the feeding value of a lean bullock and the same bullock after it has been fed and fattened for the butcher. Even the poorer grasses on a rich soil will provide better food than the best grasses on poor soil. But how much more valuable would these rich lands be, if the herbage were of a better quality ; if, instead of squirrel-tail, dogstail, and rye-grass, Pawlett Hams were covered with fescues, foxtail, and meadow- grasses ? 3. Pastures in which Yorlisliire Fog and Fiorin predominate. These meadows, on rich loamy soils, do not supply the amount of food that they are capable of, because of the quality of the herbage upon them. The poverty of the pasture is greatly modified by the presence of so large a quantity of fiorin, and by a varying proportion of other grasses and of clovers. * 758 The Composition of some of the Table III. — Predominant Grasses — Yorkshire Fog and Fiorin. No. Pasture | Cocksfoot Meadow fescue | Foxtail | Timothy Rough-stalked meadow-grass Yellow oat-grass 0) a "5h o K Hard fescue Dogstail d & i *3 H Sweet vernal | Squirrel-tail Hassock-grass Brome-grass Yorkshire fog Clover Yarrow Rib-grass 48 Patting Close — _ C A p A _ C p 62 Angerton . . c ? C A C p C C C 63 Whittingham C — — — C — p C — p — 47 Halton, 1st . c — — C — A A r — C — p c 44 The Tofts. . A — — — C A p C p c c 68 Milburn Eank A — — — A A p A A — — p c — P, predominant. A, abundant. C, common. 4. Pastures in ivhich Yorkshire Fog, Fiorin, and Dogstail predominate. Dogstail, though placed by many writers among the best pasture grasses, is acknowledged by all to produce but little foliage. Gorrie, a careful observer and practical agriculturist, rightly estimates its value when he says that it yields “ a com- paratively scanty supply of innutritious herbage, which is not liked by any kind of stock ; and unless pastures where it pre- dominates be barely eaten down in the early part of the season, when its stems are tender, these attain to a height of twelve or eighteen inches, and become rigid, dry c windle straws,’ which both injure and disfigure the autumn and winter verdure.” Dogstail is one of the so-called fine grasses, and looks as if it ought to be a favourite with stock, but the presence in autumn of so many of its bents in all pastures where it abounds is the plainest testimony that it is rejected as food. Had the leaves been eaten down, the flowering stalks would not have been pro- duced. No doubt it has, as chemical analysis shows, high Table IY. — Predominant Grasses — Yorkshire Fog, Fiorin, and Doostail. No. Pasture Cocksfoot | Meadow fescue 3 -*■> H O >> A o s EH Rough-stalked meadow-grass cO A o £ o o m 1 to 6 P? fl *t-i .2 a; o ‘3 to o a p p p 1 to c Sweet vernal ‘3 'o 1 Er C/2 3 i- tx U 0 z * £ 1 ■A cC 2— to o a 5 = Yorkshire fog O > o 5 Mill Yarrow | 10 60 11 Killerton . . Meldon 2nd . Exe Meadows 0 — 0 0 c — c p p p — P P P A P, predominant. A, abundant. 0, common. 759 Famous Ancient Pastures of England. nutritive value, but when stock do not eat the plant, they cannot utilise its nutritious properties. In closely grazed pastures dogstail is eaten, like other grasses which are rejected when the stock has a sufficient supply of baitable food to permit of a choice. In the majority of our pastures, unfortunately, the ripe seed-heads secure the rapid increase of a good-looking but useless grass wherever it gets a place. 5. Pasture where Florin and Ilassock-grass predominate. The hassock-grass is rightly looked upon as a most objec- tionable plant in pastures. Its long, hard, and harsh leaves, with edges so sharp that they cut the fingers when roughly drawn along them, are disliked by cattle, and in careful hus- bandry the hassocks are uprooted and destroyed. Table V. — Predominant Grasses — Fiorin and Hassock-grass. No. Pasture j Cocksfoot Meadow lescue 3 * o Timothy Rougli-stalked meadow-grass Yellow oat-grass Rye-grass G o & Hard fescue | 3 bo o « Tall oat-grass | "rt G H o > o 5 Yarrow 1 1 45 Castle Field . 0 - C - - A p - c - - r - A A - - P, predominant. A, abundant. C, common. In this field the hassock-grass, which made up a large pro- portion of the pasture, was freely eaten, and the cattle were in good condition. It may be that there is in the pasture a scarcity of palatable food, and that the hassock-grass afforded as agreeable a mouthful as the fiorin, Yorkshire fog, or rye- grass of which the pasture was otherwise chiefly composed. No doubt the clover, which formed a good bottom to the pasture, accounted to some extent for the good condition of the cattle. 6. Pastures in which Fiorin predominates. Thei’e are two species of Agrostis found in pastures ; the one (Agrostis vulgaris, L.), popularly known as common bent or black twitch, is frequent in dry pastures; and the other (A. alba, L.), called fiorin or marsh-bent, is very frequent in wet meadows. Both species are stoloniferous — that is, they have creeping wiry stems that stretch out sometimes several feet from the parent plant and, taking root at the joints, give rise to new plants. 760 The Composition of some of the This is specially the case with the florin, which in many meadows so overruns the ground with these rooting stems as to prevent the growth of better grasses. When there is a choice of food, the cattle do not select florin, but it is nevertheless a useful plant in soils which are not favourable to the growth of other grasses. It makes also a fair quality of hay. Fiorin flourishes all the year round, but is specially an autumn grass. Table VI. — Predominant Grass— Fiorin. No. Pasture Cocksfoot o CD £ 'S e8 o Foxtail | Timothy Rough-stalked meadow-grass 5 3 o _c o Rye-grass .S3 O H Hard fescue ’3 't!) P Tall oat-grass | Sweet vernal Squirrel-tail ci fe & o c rt 51 o a o 5 Yorkshire fog Clover Yarrow Rib-grass 1&2 Prc-ston PI ice . _ A p __ A i 37 Stilton, 2nd . . — — — — — c C p A A C — — — A A — 1 0 SG Stilton, 1st. . . c — — C — _ C p A — _ C — — — A A cl- 40 Farm Ask . . . — — — C — - A p — C — — — A A 61 Meldon, 3rd . . Severn Valley . c — — — — - — p — C c — c — C — 22 — — 0 c — - A p — c — — — c — A -!c 28 Inningliam . . c — — c — A p — c — — C — — A A 4 Arun Valley, 2nd c — — c — — — p — c — C — — — 36 Sugar Hills . . A — — — — — C p A c c — — — A A C 0 P, predominant. A, abundant. C, common. The two valuable pastures at Preston Place had a fair quantity of rye-grass and Yorkshire fog, but their feeding value was due to the vigorous growth of the florin, which was by far the most abundant ingredient. The two meadows at Stilton differed little except that in the one there was a fair admixture of timothy and cocksfoot, which were wanting in the other. The best of the fiorin meadows that I visited was* the Sugar Hills field at Duncombe Park, where there was a good deal of cocksfoot, hard fescue, and clover. The presence of the York- shire fog, generally in considerable quantity, in all these pastures except that of the valley of the Arun, is a serious detriment. 7. Pastures in which Rye-grass predominates. There can be no doubt that rye-grass is preferred as a food to dogstail, if we accept the testimony of the autumn bents as an evidence of the rejection of plants by stock. The number of bents in proportion to the quantities of rye-grass and dogstail in a pasture is much greater for the dogstail. But there may always be found a number of ripe heads of rye-grass in pastures where this grass occurs, and as no flowering stalk can appear unless the stock, in its feeding, has passed over the individual plant, it is obvious that rye-grass is not a favourite food. Famous Ancient Pastures of England. Table VII. — Predominant Grass — Rye-grass. 7G1 r, predominant. A, abundant. C, common. 8. Pastures where Rye-grass predominates along with oilier Grasses. The two following tables comprise pastures which are supe- rior to those placed in Table VII. , because of the presence of a greater variety of grasses, some of them of superior quality. Table VIII. — Predominant Grasses — Rye-grass and Dogstail. Table IX. — Predominant Grasses — Rye-grass and Fiorin. 38 Town Meadow _ _ _ _ p 64 Swinhoe . . . — — c — c p 24 Parrot's Close . — c c — p 23 Newton’s Field — — c 0 — p 27 Casthorpe . . — c 0 — — p 2G Abbey Field . c c 0 — 0 p 43 Barton Closes . c 0 — 0 — — p 21 Newuham . . c — — — — — p P, predominant. A, abundant. 0, common. 9. Pasture in ivhich Meadoiv Fescue, Fiorin, and Yorhshire Fog predominate. Meadow fescue was observed in quantity in only three of the pastures examined (Tables IX., X., XIV.), and in only one 762 The Composition of some of the of them (Table X.) did it form a predominant element. It is remarkable how rare this grass is in these natural pastures. According to the statistical method of determining the value of a grass, meadow fescue should be excluded from all mixtures for laying down permanent pasture. Yet its excellences are so fully recognised that it is included in all such mixtures. Table X. — Predominant Grasses — Meadow Fescue, Fiorin, and Yorkshire Fog. No. Pasture Cocksfoot Meadow fescue Foxtail | Timothy 1 Rough-stalked | meadow-grass Yellow oat-grass ci So 6 fl o £ j Hard fescue Dogstail | | Tall oat-grass Sweet vernal Squirrel-tail Hassock-grass 3 C5 Sc 0) a o Yorkshire fog Clover Yarrow .Rib-grass | 59 The Park . . A P - - - A A p A - C _i_ ii p c P, predominant. A, abundant. C, common. 10. Pastures where Cochsfoot predominates, alone or with other grasses. The terms coarse and fine, as applied to grasses, have intro- duced much error into the estimate of their value. Many fine grasses ai’e of little or no value in meadows, while some valuable grasses have been rejected because they are coarse. And no grass has had its character more traduced by the application to it of the term “ coarse ” than cocksfoot. Curtis excludes it from his list of best grasses, and represents it as a rough, coarse, hardy, early, and productive grass. His editor, John Lawrence, in the fifth edition (1812), says that it “has, of late years, become a favourite object of culture, as a separate grass, with some eminent and extensive farmers, on account of its certainty of growth, early use, abundant quantity, and accommodation of itself to almost all sorts of soils. It is necessary, as with all coarse grasses, to feed- or cut early, and most particularly on rich and moist soils ; with which precaution, the cocksfoot, being young, tender, and juicy, is said not only to be very nutritious, but well affected by all sorts of cattle. Its second product is to be depended upon for quantity.” These diverse views persist in our own day. In some places cocksfoot is treated as a pest, to be eradicated, in others esteemed as the most valuable grass in the pasture. It is certain that the best pastures on medium soils that I have examined throughout England have owed much of their feeding value to the presence of cocksfoot in consider- able abundance. Whenever a field was fairly stocked, and the Famous Ancient Pastures of England. 763 soil not exceptionally rich, there were no complaints against this grass. The value of pastures in which cocksfoot predominates, and therefore their position in the tables, is influenced by the quality of the other grasses and the clovers associated with it. Table XI. — Predominant Grasses — Cocksfoot, Rye-grass, and Yorkshire Fog. Table XII. — Predominant Grasses— Cocksfoot and Ficrin. 41 Newton Morell . P — — C — 0 c p — — 1 -10 I- A C U |i 60 Valley Meadows P A — — — A A p c A _! 1 A A — r 34 High Griff. . . P — — — — C — p c — c I— _J_J_ C — — r 32 Cascade .... P — — — — c — p 0 — — 1— [-1-1- — 1- Table XIII. — Predominant Grasses — Cocksfoot with Other Grasses. 33 The Park . . . P _ — — c c P P C _ c _ 9 Cricket St. A — — A — — A — — A — — — — A A — — Thomas 3 Arun Valiev, 1st A — — A — — — A — A — — A — — — — — — 25 Oatfield .... A — — A — — A A — A — — — — — — A A — 5 Arun Valley, 3rd P — — P — — 0 C — p — — C — — — A — — 19 Ingfield. . . . P — — P C c P C — c — c — — — c A c — 12 Little Bray . . P — P — — A — 0 A - — — — c A c — Table XIY. — Predominant Grass — Cocksfoot. 63 Worley’s Close . P _ — — — — 0 — — — — |— !— — A A A _ 46 Beaufront . . . P — — — — c — — A c — — — [ — — A A A — 17 Hall Close . . . P — — — — — A A — A — A — — A A A — 61 Brampton . . . P — — A — — A C — A — — C C — A A A C 7 Arun Valley, 5th P — — 0 — — 0 0 — — — — — — — — 20 South Lawn . . P 0 c c — c 0 C C 0 — c 0 0 A — c 14 Lydcott .... P ! 15 Quarry Field . . P 1 P, predominant. A, abundant. C, common. The most obvious deduction from the preceding tables is that the feeding value of a pasture depends more on the quality of the soil than on the nature of the herbage of which it is com- posed. None of the pastures inspected approach, in feeding powers, those at Pawlett Hams, near the mouth of the Parret ; and yet the grasses which form the great mass of the herbage there are of second-rate value. On a medium soil they would produce a very poor pasture. One cannot fail to be im- 764 The Trials of Cider-making Plant at Glastonbury. pressed witli the inferior quality of the grasses that make up the herbage in a large number of these famous pastures. In some of them, no doubt, the most fitting grass has, by Nature’s selection, secured a leading place, as in the case of florin ; but too frequently a useless grass, because rejected by the stock, has taken possession of the soil, as in the case of Yorkshire fog. It is the proper work of the cultivator to clear his pastures of such intruders, and to replace them by the better grasses. This operation would add immensely to the feeding capabilities of our pasture lands. I am happy to be able to add that the owners of several pastures where Yorkshire fog abounds have agreed to undertake experiments for the purpose of supplanting it with the better grasses. Wm. Carruthers. THE TRIALS OF CIDER-MAKING PLANT AT GLASTONBURY. Two prizes, of 20/. and 10/. respectively, were offered in the Implement Department at the Plymouth Meeting for “ Plant for Cider-making, suitable for use on a Farm,” and five com- petitors appeared at the Show ; but the Judges, after an exami- nation, reported their inability to form any conclusions as to the relative merits of the machines exhibited without an actual trial with apples. No fruit being available in June, the Council resolved that the trials of cider-making plant should be deferred until autumn, and then take place in some cider-making district to be selected later. In the result, and upon the invitation of Mr. R. Neville Grenville, a Member of Council residing in the neighbourhood, the town of Glastonbury was settled upon, Mr. Neville Grenville most kindly undertaking all necessary preparations for the conduct of the experiments, and furnish- ing engine-power, from his own workshops, for driving the machinery. In addition, Mr. Grenville extended the hospi- tality of his house to the representatives of the Society, who, becoming his guests at Butleigh Court, have to thank him, not only for his admirable arrangements in regard to the trials themselves, but for the most agreeable hospitality which a host could offer or guests enjoy. Indeed, the whole surroundings of the cider plant trials were almost idyllic in character. They took place in that The Trials of Cider-making Plant at Glastonbury. 765 “ island valley of Avilion, Where falls not hail, nor rain, nor any snow, Nor ever winds blow loudly, but it lies Deep meadowed, happy, fair with orchard lawns, And bowery hollows, crowned with summer sea,” within tlie precincts of Glastonbury Abbey, and hard by the kitchen of the great ruined monastery, itself scarcely injured by the lapse of five centuries since Abbot Breynton’s cooks first served its four gigantic fireplaces, and before the evil days when Thomas Cromwell’s iron hand fell, at the bidding of Henry’s appetites, upon the monasteries of England. “ Sir,” said one of the unexpectedly numerous visitors, attracted to an exhibition- which proved full of local interest, “ I pay a yearly visit to, and am greatly interested by your splendid annual country meetings ; but I would cheerfully give up all coming Shows of the Royal Agricultural Society of England if, instead, I might see Glastonbury Abbey once again in working order, and tenanted, as before the Reformation, by Abbot, Prior, and Monks.” Even in decay, these great ecclesiastical buildings appeal to the least imaginative mind, and the speaker in question was, probably, not the only man who, cider-mug and bread and cheese in hand, found the “ Abbot’s kitchen,” appropriately serving as a refreshment-room during the trials, suggestive of speculation as to what agricultural England was like when, Feudalism being discrowned, the Church was both king and landlord in Britain, while Industrialism, the present reigning monarch, was, as yet, an impossible dream. No slugs in the service of agriculture (Thomas Cromwell’s Commissioners of Inquiry notwithstanding) were the Glaston- bury monks at one period of their career, — witness the labours which, embanking the river Brue, previously in almost per- petual flood, reclaimed the “ Island of Apples ” itself from a swamp, and laid the foundations of what is, now, some of the richest pasture land in the West of England. And did they make cider, too, they of the “ good bellyful, The warm serge, and the rope that goes all round ” 1 Yes — and that, probably, by means of machinery easily matched in Somersetshire to-day, but, probably also, of a quality now only to be found in “ Maister’s bar’l.” And how do their ghosts regard that “ science ” which has harnessed the “ divil’s oan team” to the row of mills and presses marshalled beside the “ Abbot’s kitchen,” or these moderns, in grey suits and pot-hats, “ weighing and measuring,” with chronograph and indicator, the performances of each machine? Much, probably, aa the 766 The Trials of Cider-making Plant at Glastonbury. “Zummerzet” of to-day thinks and speaks, in the hearing of all men, of the winning machines and their sweating attendants. “ This b’aint zider-makin’, I tell ’ee ; this here be tur’ble haard wurk.” Alas for the change from the “ good old times,” before the tyrant Industrialism was crowned King of England ! The devil takes the hindmost everywhere now except — does one hope, or dream ? — in the dear old West Country, where “ it is always afternoon,” and where, fit or unfit, the delicious “ easy all ” of later monkish days, thank God, survives. But it is time to turn from monasteries and monks to the business of the Royal Agricultural Society, from dreaming to doing. Four out of the five sets of cider-making plant entered for trial at Plymouth put in an appearance at Glastonbury, and if the fifth — Ladd’s Mill and Press — were absent, this was so exclusively designed for private use that the competition lost nothing in practical interest by its absence. Conditions of Tidal. The subjoined points of merit were determined by the Stew- ard and Judges in consultation before the trials commenced. Mill Press 1. Power absorbed per unit of work performed . 20 15 2. Time occupied „ „ „ . 10 10 3. Efficiency 20 25 4. Mechanical construction 10 10 5. Attendance required 10 10 6. Price 10 10 Total .... 80 80 The judges appointed by the Council were : — F. J. Hayes, The Elms, West Pennard, Glastonbury. Dan. Pidgeon, C.E., Walsingham House, Piccadilly. The following machines competed, and their trials will, for convenience sake, be described in the order given below instead of in their actual sequence. Description Makers’ names and addresses Catalogue Phice number Mill Press Power Plant Dening & Co., Crimcbard £ .<. d. £ j. d. Works, Chard Workman & Sons, Slim- 2369-70 17 10 0 38 0 0 Hand Plant. bridge, Gloucestershire . Workman & Sons, Slim- 2361 19 0 0 19 10 0 bridge, Gloucestershire . Joseph Bamber, Saul 2363 11 0 0 15 0 0 Street, Preston 2364 110 0 14 0 0 767 The Trials of Cider-making Plant at Glastonbury. Power Plant. Dening’s Power Plant came first to trial in the forenoon of October 15, the mill receiving fifteen bags, or 2,250 lb., of apples, and starting to grind at 10.24 a.m. After working 25 minutes, a small piece of limestone, entering with the apples, locked the feed-rollers and caused the breakage of two teeth in one of the gear wheels driving the crushing rolls, thus putting the mill hors de combat. Eighteen hundred pounds of apples had already- been crushed when the accident occurred, at the rate of 100 lb. per 1*4 minutes, but the work was not well done, many pips escaping whole from the mill in consequence of the springs (which, as in roller mills generally, are provided to allow of the harmless passage of hard foreign substances through the rolls) being too weak. Great stress is laid by cider-makers on the question of crush- ing the apple pips, since when this is properly accomplished the ratafia-like essence contained in the seeds diffuses itself through- out the mass of apple-pulp, and gives highly-valued flavour to the subsequent brew. Dening’s crushing rolls are of granite, 15 in. diameter, by 15 in. long, and ran, during the trial, at differential speeds of 65 and 130 revolutions per minute respectively. It was found impossible to measure accurately, by means of the indicator, the absolute amount of energy consumed either in this or any of the other mills. In some cases, it was too small, in others, too irregular ; the fly wheel of the engine, in the latter case, being as often driver as driven. But enough was learned to enable the Judges accurately to grade all the competitors, although they are not in a position to state the consumption of energy in units of power. The feed of Dening’s mill consists of a pair of deeply and sharply fluted rollers, which first break up and then deliver the apples to the crushing rolls. They ran, during the trial, at 85 revolutions per minute, and were fairly effective in action, but became locked, as before stated, by the entry of a piece of stone (a common occurrence in practice) causing a fracture in the roller gearing. The latter, it must be remarked, was often much too shallow in gear, the consequence of using relieving springs of insufficient strength, and it may well be that the teeth, which appeared amply strong for their work, were thus caught at a disadvantage at the moment when the mishap occurred. While one man fed, another man removed the pulp from the mill to the press, where other two men built it into a “ cheese.” This process is eminently characteristic of Somerset- 768 The Trials of Cider-making Plant at Glastonbury. shire practice, and is probably of very ancient origin. A layer of pulp, some three inches thick, was first spread evenly over the floor of the press. This was then lightly covered with reed- straw, and a second layer of crushed apples added, the process being repeated, again and again, until some eight or nine “ cakes ” of pulp had accumulated, when the platen was lowered and pressing began. The operation of building the “ cheese ” is a skilled one. Each cake is made of slightly smaller dimensions than the preceding one, so that the structure takes the shape of a low truncated pyramid, the object being to- avoid deformation of the cheese edges on the application of pressure. Actual pressing began at 11.10 a.m., and was completed at 1 o’clock, a period of 1 hr. 50 min., during which time, however, the platen was raised three times, and the edges of the cheese thrice “ pared ” true and square. Each time, the sheared fragments were thrown on the top of the cheese, and the pressure reapplied until all the juice had been expressed, and the remaining “ pomace ” took the form of a solid, coherent cake, easily reducible by the knife into blocks of a size and weight handy for transport to the cattle yard. The quantity of juice produced from 1,800 lb. of apples by Dening's press was 106 gallons, equal to 5-9 gallons expressed in 6T minutes from each 100 pounds of fruit. Dening’s press consists of a strong wooden frame with a channelled bed, and a platen which is depressed by the action of two screws, turned somewhat rapidly, at first, by means of a winch and gear, more slowly, later, by the application of a long lever directly to each of the screws, and, slowest of all, by the use of the same lever operating with the advantage of gearing having a ratio of some five to one. The question of the amount of power absorbed by a cider- press is not of any practical moment, and did not come under review*, except in the most general way, in this competition. In Somersel shire, it is thought best that the process of pressing should be intermittent, and occupy some considerable time. Whether this belief has or has not arisen from its fitting in well with the somewhat crude character of the presses commonly used in the “ Island of Apples,” it is certainly the practice to put up a “ cheese ” one day and let it stand all night before giving it the final squeeze. Since, however, no very definite logical grounds were forthcoming in support of this local custom, the Judges were compelled to allot more points to machines, equally efficient with, but more expeditious than the Dening jJtess. Whether fast or slow pressing be adopted, there are The Trials of Cider-making Plant at Glastonbury. 769 always, at least, two men about a cider mill, who easily supply all the energy required where cider-making is carried on as a business per se, while still less power is demanded in the case of a farmer pressing for home consumption. Workman and Sons’ Power Plant. — The mill received fifteen bags, or 1,800 lb., of apples at 2.47 P.M., and finished its work in 23 minutes, or at the rate of 100 lb. of apples per 1-3 minute. Workman’s Apple Mill. It must, however, be remarked that this machine ran idle for at least a third of the time, the one man employed at the press being unable to deal with the pulp as fast as the mill supplied it. Indeed, Workman could have bettered a first-rate perform- ance by employing two men at the press and one man at the mill, instead of two altogether, the points gained under the head of “ attendance being more than lost under the head of “ time/’ YOL. I. T. S— 4 3 E 770 The Trials of Cider -making Plant at Glastonlury. The mill consists of a pair of rollers 14 J in. diameter by 18 in. long, constructed of “Pennant” stone, a material which pre- serves a rough surface in work. These ran, during the trial, at differential speeds of 175 and 350 revolutions per minute re- spectively, and were fitted with a strong “ carriage-spring ” attachment, securing the harmless passage of hard foreign substances through the mill. The feed is peculiar and effective. It consists of a single wooden roller, thickly set with wrought-iron studs, and revolv- ing 250 times per minute in close apposition to a horizontal metal plate. In addition, there is a wooden plunger which, now approaching, and now retreating from the feed roll at the rate of 50 reciprocations a minute, first admits, and then presses, the entering apples against the roller. This was the best feed on the ground, leaving nothing to be desired either in its operation or in its adjustment ; but, as before hinted, its intermittent action was fatal to the accurate measurement, by an indicator, of the power absorbed by the mill, notwithstanding which it was clear that, of the two machines, Workman’s was lighter in draught than Dening’s. Workman’s mill produced an excellent sample of pulp, the flesh of the fruit being well separated from the rind, and the pips crushed in a very satisfactory manner. As in Dening’s case, Workman began to charge his press as soon as the mill got into operation, but using an essentially dif- ferent process. No “ cheese,” properly so called, was built ; but the bed of the press having been first covered by a canvas cloth of open mesh, this received a layer of pulp some two or three inches thick, which was then completely inclosed by folding the cloth. A “ former,” or wooden frame of suitable size and shape, was next dropped over the “cake ” thus produced, and a second canvas laid therein. A second layer of apple pulp and a second inclosing sheet followed, the “ former ” serving to size each cake, aiul so on, until all the pulp had been disposed in some eight or nine “ cakes.” Actual pressing began at 3.15 P.M. and was completed in 39 minutes, while the quantity of juice produced from 1,800 lb. of apples was 108 gallons, equal to 6 gallons ex- pressed in 2T7 minutes from each 1001b. of fruit. Workman’s press consists of a strong wooden frame having a channelled bed for the reception of pulp, and a platen depressed by the action of two screws, operated by means of a winch-handle, acting, through a neat system of change-speed gearing, upon two worms and worm-wheels, the latter forming nuts for the press-screws. This arrangement worked extremely well, and is much more convenient to handle than the shifting levers of Dening’s press. It was competent for either of the men to The Trials of Cider-malcing Plant at Glastonbury. 771 give an occasional turn to tlie handle at any odd moment, in- termittently with scooping pulp and dipping juice, while the fact that, from the same quantity of apples, Workman got rather more juice than Dening, in a third of the time, while em- Workmaris Cider Press. ploying half the labour, affords striking evidence of superiority in the press. The “ pomace ” from W orlcman’s press cannot, of course, be cut up into blocks, as in Somersetshire practice ; but it did not, in the Judges’ opinion, appear less well adapted for cattle food, or for transport, than the sheared cakes of pomace. 772 The Trials of Cider-making Plant at Glastonbury, The question of cleanliness, involved in the use of pressing cloths, must, probably, be resolved in favour of reed-straw as against canvas, since washing is dispensed with in the former case, while it is a necessary part of Workman’s system. There is also the question of comparative cost, reed-straw being, of course, cheaper than the cloths, but neither consideration weighs much against the solid advantages which the Gloucestershire men appeared to the Judges to have established for their system. This plant, comprising mill and press, was awarded the First Prize. Hand-power Plant. Workmans Hand-power Plant consists of a mill and press, similar in construction to, but smaller in size than, his power plant, the mill, however, being furnished with a different feed. This consists of a wooden roller closely set with wrought-iron studs, which pass at every revolution through a horizontal row of similar studs forming a fixed portion of the mill. There is no plunger, as in the power-mill feed, the apples falling from the hopper through an adjustable slide direct to the feed roll, which first breaks and then delivers them to the crushing rolls. This arrangement is not quite so effective as the “plunger” feed already described, but was much superior to that of any other mill. The machine received 900 lb. of apples at 1.4 P.M., and finished grinding in 17 minutes, or at the rate of 1*88 minutes per 100 lb. of fruit, while the press was started at 2-7 and completed its work in 16 minutes. The total quantity of juice produced was 55 gallons, equal to 6T gallons expressed in P77 minutes from each 100 lb. of apples. This plant, comprising mill and press, was awarded the Second Prize. P amber s Iland-power Plant departed rather widely in method from the common practice of cider-pressing, and was consequently regarded with a good deal of interest by the prac- tical cider-makers present at the competition. His mill received 900 lb. of apples, and started grinding at 11.58 A.M., the work being finished in 47 minutes, or at the rate of 5-22 minutes for every 1001b. of apples. This apparently slow rate of grinding resulted from the method employed, which, for the sake of cbarness, must next be described. So far as grinding is concerned, Barnber makes his pulp much like other people, but instead of building a “ cheese,” like Dening, or pressiug between cloths, like Workman, he hangs a sack under his mill rolls, and, when this is full, removes it, with the aid of the man employed The Trials of Cider-making Plant at Glastonbury . 773 in feeding the apples, to the bed of his press. Then, while the feeder returns to his work and fills a second sack, the press- man lowers the platen upon the bag of pulp in the press, and squeezes as much juice out of it as he can before sack No. 2 is ready to come forward. When this is the case, he raises the platen quickly, by means of a special apparatus, to be hereafter described, throws sack No. 2 upon sack No. 1 , and again brings down the platen. This operation is repeated until some five or six bags have accumulated in the press, when they, all together, receive their final squeeze. In the case under review, the sacks were filled, and followed one another into the press at intervals averaging ten minutes’ duration, so that each bag received ten minutes’ independent squeezing, upon a bed growing less hard with every added sack, before the mass was pressed as a whole. The first bag was put in the press at 12.9 p.m., and the fifth, and last, at 12.50, or forty-one minutes after the first; but pressing was not com- pleted until 2 o’clock, or in 1 hr. 51 min., being at the rate of 12‘33 minutes for every 100 lb. of fruit pressed. Sixty-two gallons of juice were thus produced from 900 lb. of apples in one hour and fifty-one minutes, equal to 6'9 gallons extracted from each 100 lb. of fruit in 12 33 minutes. The larger output of juice was no doubt due, first, to the system of piecemeal pressing, and, next, to its long continuance. Bamber, apparently, took no account of time, but only concerned himself to obtain a maximum quantity of juice, thus obtaining results which would, probably, have followed had Workman adopted similar tactics, but with the effect of losing more marks on “ time” than he gained in “ efficiency.” In what precedes, the “ cart ” of method has been “ put before the horse ” of description, and it is now time shortly to notice the mill and press whose performances have already been discussed. Bamber’s mill consists of a pair of crushing rolls compounded of emery and cement, which ran, during the trial, at differential speeds of 160 and 260 revolutions respectively, while the feed roll made about 260 turns per minute. The latter consists of a single roller, about 3 in. in diameter, composed of a series of two-bladed brass knives spirally arranged on their axis, and almost exactly resembling the cutting apparatus of a domestic sausage-making machine. The sample of pulp produced by Bamber’s mill was excel- lent, and the pips were well crushed, but the feed of the machine was very imperfect. The mincing roller was so small that it would not take hold of the apples at all, unless these were 774 The Trials of Cider-making Plant at Glastonbury. pressed upon it by the attendant, wlio was provided with a hand-tool for this special purpose. As a consequence, it was nearly as much as one man could do to get apples enough through the mill, although the rate of grinding was so slow (100 pounds per 5-22 minutes). On the other hand, the power absorbed was very small, but the machine was an amateurish affair, altogether inadequate to the wants either of farmer or cider merchant. It must further be remarked that the mill with which Bamber competed at Glastonbury differed in certain important particulars from that which he entered for trial and showed at Plymouth ; so that, had not the trials been deferred, he would have competed with a machine obviously less fitted for its work than that which he used at Glastonbury. In the Plymouth machine, motion was given by one crushing roll to the other through a pair of pulleys of 3! in. and 5| in. diameter respectively, coupled by a crossed gut belt, about § in. diameter ; whereas, in the Glastonbury mill, this arrangement had given way to toothed gearing, obviously because the gut had been found insufficient in actual work. Bamber’s press has been already so fully described in the Report on the Nottingham trials of Hay presses,1 where it took a first prize, that there is no need here of many words. To the hay press there figured he has added a channelled bed, while he has furnished the platen with a number of strong spiral springs, which continue to exert a pressure upon the matter in the press after the attendant has loosed hold of the screw lever. In this way, it is claimed, expressing goes on continuously, instead of intermittently, as in the ordinary press ; but it is doubtful whether in other presses the elasticity of the apple pulp does not itself ensure that continuity of pressure which the springs in question are designed to exert. The quick return of the platen, which has already been alluded to, and which, indeed, makes the “ piecemeal” system of pressing possible, will be found fully described and figured in the Report already quoted, and need not, therefore, be re- described ; but it may be remarked, in passing away from Bamber’s plant, that, slow as it was in action, and amateurish as was the mill in construction, its principles, new to the cider- making world, created great interest, and were not unfavourably discussed by the practical men present, who, it will easily be understood, were of a class and county not indisposed to “ stand upon the old ways.” See Journal, Vol. XXIV. (2nd Series), 1888, p. 587. The Trials of Cider-making Plant at Glastonbury. 775 Table summing the General Results of the Trials. 100 lb. of apples Time occupied in grinding Time occupied in pressing Gallons of juice obtained Power Plant. minutes minutes gallons Workman .... 1-3 217 GO Dening .... 1-4 61 69 Hand Plant. Workman .... 188 1-77 G1 Bamber .... 5-22 12-33 6-9 The foregoing figures, measuring the performances of the various competitors, and hitherto scattered through this Report, may now be brought together, with advantage to the reader, since, apart from questions of good construction and workmanship in the various machines which, of course, received the careful con- sideration of the Judges, they point to the winner with no un- certain finger, and buttress conclusions which the Jury believe were equally shared between themselves and the public. It is not often, indeed, that so interested and, therefore, interesting, a public gathers in a trial field. Every man on the ground seemed to know, as they say in Cornwall, all about “ tin and fish,” or, in Somersetshire equivalents, all about apples and cider; — what else, indeed, should one expect in Zummerzet, where a story of Mr. Neville Grenville’s must illustrate how much these two things are to her children ? Not many years ago, some shallow muddy pools, hollowed in the Lias formation of the neighbourhood, formed the only water-supply of a certain Somersetshire village. These, in pre- scientific days, excited no man’s fears, but housewives cooked and scrubbed in happy ignorance of the microbe and his wily ways. At length there came a new sanitary inspector, Pasteur-bitten, and a microscopist, who, shocked at the state of things he found, could not rest until he had brought down Mr. Bailey Denton to inspect and report. The authority arrived, and was duly horrified at the mud-holes whence, he presumed, the village drank. Turn- ing to the hale old native who had shown him the way, he said, “ And is this the water you drink, sir ? ” “ Whaat did you zay, zur ? ” was the surprised reply, and the question had to be repeated more than once before the Western man could catch its drift. At length he “ caught on,” and, with a burst of hearty laughter, exclaimed, “ Oh, Lard bless ’ee, noa, zur, we doant drink no watter down here, we’ve got plenty o’ good zider in Zummerzet ! ” 776 The Farm Prize Competition of 1890. And plenty of other good things and people have they too, says the Society’s Reporter, bidding adieu to one of the kindliest counties of England. In which spirit of sincere appreciation he further thanks the Steward and Engineer of the Society, not so much, on this occasion, for their assistance in lightening judicial labours, as for aid afforded in enjoying, under a most hos- pitable roof, two or three days of the pleasantest possible com- panionship. Dan. Pidgeon. THE FARM PRIZE COMPETITION OF 1890. The competition for prizes for the best farm management, which has now for twenty years been so useful and attractive a feature of the Royal Agricultural Society’s annual gathering, was this year, by the liberality of the Plymouth Local Committee, thrown open to farms in the counties of Devon and Cornwall, a district in which there had not before been a competition of the kind in connection with the Royal meetings. The prizes offered were as follows : — Class 1. — For the best managed Arable and Grass Farm of 200 acres and upwards, of which not less than one-half shall be arable. First prize, 60/. ; second, 40/. [A third prize of 20/. was subsequently awarded in this class on the recommendation of the Judges.] Class 2. — For the best managed Arable and Grass Farm above 100 acres and not exceeding 200 acres, of which not less than one half shall be arable. First prize, GO/. ; second, 40/. Class 3. — For the best managed Arable and Grass Farm above 40 acres and not exceeding 100 acres. First prize, 50/. ; second, 30/. ; third, 20/. The regulations of these competitions are now pretty gene- rally understood ; but it may possibly facilitate a comprehension of what follows, and at the same time be useful for purposes of record, to subjoin the conditions which had to be complied with : — 1. — The competition in all three classes is limited to Tenant Farmers paying a bona-fide rent for at least three-fourths of the land in their occu- pation. 2. — The Judges are instructed to take into consideration cases in which Competitors occupy land when Agents for their landlords, and are likely to derive undue advantage from that dual position. 3. — Competitors must enter for competition all the land in their occupa- tion in the district. 4. — Competitors must have had the land ip their occupation for not less than two years. Schedule of Farms Entered for Competition. g-c 3 * &a w 8 §■3 >.n .2 .2 t-> 0= i>> — I M tCi 00 o 4 o ^ 2 ; rt &’> ' O £3 ^ a +» b O st U O C >»« g^-S a g r- § (uh^: >.,2 £ >,-§ b- 5 ^ 'a .2 m o |*£fi 3 ■ rt 43 h £8 B —« o S3 H S =» 5^*0 °?3 ^ ^ Si> t> c -*5 •1 -p 'H 2 * © O a «'jy 3 ta > ~ S a M O >» rf§| 0 o J C -t-> ^ ss CJ c 3 43 43 g? 3 1 « fl.a 3 g ^ C * d S ca 5 o O H ■+j To and clay light r-j 43 3 .5 a 43 bo 43 &• rt O) 43 ^3 >» > 43 r3 ff . * £ 5 >»-g t- ^ To 0 m >» 0 >> >» tC =3 - ai? ^ O -*J O 'S 0 >> bo H 43 bO 3 c3 O bo 3 bo 13 +3 bt •—* 43 ri bo _bp^ M .2 s lJ-5 •j a k4 *h3 0 I I I I I I I s 2 a o t. ■3^° 3Ssgy .2 3 2 iC | «H a ° o 8 i O 3 W 3 W ° a a oca cs-a c S = « •i'i; a >m.3 d> . —1 J~-> o a gal 2 pj c f ” 5 3 Ph fc C < S-! a o oj a 2 I J-H 3 3 ° o s a Sf a K_, O O c & -p •eI? CCO £g E-i F ► 6 | S So 3 '•2 •» _r_r ^ 2 L O ’/J 3J O W-grtSo-g^r^ oH gj-3 s H H SZ5 H £ a | 5 y-S .. s s3 O go h icd eg w O 2 rv? O CUD'-' OJ •g SH - O;! - cos .2s £i? -gs go 1-3 a -c g -o O (i, g o -c g CO §0 s-g^-sw ol^-g as ScftnsS .“-2^ 3 - >-< 'tr, - 1 f*i£ T w O *3 hnT, _• £ 3 SH^ , « rn +i 12 |3 H H 5So| c •“ o *• >1 Ph 2 S 3 o |_ H "> ^ -tf r a 0 2s 'o ^3 g » 01 c„3 alw a Or 3 K iJ t> to o a O W O' to to~ H« 1 J§.§ 33 2«J qr" b=s-g •sSPt ” 778 The Farm Prize Competition of 1890. [ Continued from page 776.] 5. — The last day of entry is Saturday, December 7, 1889. The Entrance- fee is 1/. to Members of the Society, and 21. to Non-Members. Members of County Agricultural Societies that are contributors to the funds of the Plymouth Local Committee ■will be allowed to enter on the same terms as Members of the Royal Agricultural Society. 6. — Competitors are recommended to send a tracing of the plan of their farms with their Certificate of Entry, and to have ready for the J udges on their first visit a correct list of the Stock on their farms. 7. — The Judges will be instructed to withhold the Prizes in the absence of sufficient merit in any of the competing farms. 8. — The Judges will be instructed especially to consider : — 1. General Management with a view to Profit. 2. Productiveness of Crops. 3. Quality and suitability of Live-Stock, especially that bred upon the farm. 4. Management of Grass-land. 5. State of Gates, Fences, Roads, and General Neatness. 6. Mode of book-keeping followed (if any). 7. Management of the Dairy and Dairy Produce, if Dairying is pursued. 8. The duration of the tenancy. 9. — The J udges are authorised to recommend to the Council the Award of Certificates to any really deserving persons employed on any of the com- peting farms for distinguished merit in the discharge of their duties, such recommendations to be accompanied by a certificate of good character and length of service from the competing Farmer. Particulars of the farms entered for competition in each class are given in the Table on the preceding page, and the names of the Judges appointed by the Council to adjudicate on their respective merits are subjoined: — James A. Caikd, Northbrook, Micheldever. Joseph B. Hill, Smethwick Hall, Congletou. Frederick Phnchard, Underley, Kirk by Lonsdale. Nine of the farms are situate in South Devon, one in North Devon, and one on the eastern side of the county ; the remaining six are in Cornwall. It was anticipated that as one of the counties, Devonshire, is the third largest in the kingdom, and the other, Cornwall, about the fourteenth, the two comprising together about 1,800,000 acres, the number of entries would have been much larger, especially in the Class for small farms, of which there are many in the two counties. But this anticipa- tion was not realised, and even the very generous offer of Sir Massey Lopes, the chairman of the Local Committee, to double the amount of any prize won by any of his tenantry, failed altogether to meet with that response which so liberal and encouraging an advance deserved. Many reasons were urged for this paucity of entries. One, more flattering to the sensitive- ness than to the enterprise of the local character, attributed it to the innate dislike of all Devonshire and Cornish men to defeat. The Form Prize Competition o/1890. 779 “ A host of competitors might enter, but only as many could win prizes as there were prizes to be competed for. whilst the un- successful ones would be impatient of defeat ! ” Another cause (and one which probably had a practical and deterrent effect) was the condition that “ one half the farm must be arable,” and a doubt as to what the word “ arable ” here included. Throughout the two counties there is a large extent of land which has of late been either laid down to permanent grass, or which, originally laid down for a rotation, has gone to grass so well that it has been allowed to remain “ green side up.” In some of these cases the landlords or previous occupiers had provided the seeds, but in others the present tenants had done so. In the former, the land had, of course, passed from the category of arable to that of pasture ; but in the latter the tenant might claim the right to plough up the land at will, and so be entitled to class it as “ arable.” Be this as it may, the fact remains that some of the most fertile districts, notably that of Tavistock and Milton Abbot, where it is claimed lies some of the best grazing land in the kingdom, were unrepresented. So equal, also, are the pro- portions of pasture and arable upon many farms, that the inclu- sion of orchards amongst the former turned the scale against their occupiers’ right to enter. But limited as the competition undoubtedly was, it was not without its special features of interest, because of the diverse circumstances of situation, and the various methods adopted by the competitors to develop the capabilities of their several farms. Some had all the advantages of situation which proximity to a large town or seaside resort could confer, whilst others laboured under the disadvantage of being distant tenor twelve miles from the nearest market or railway station. Again, some farms had inherent capabilities for the production of certain special crops, such as apples for cider, strawberries and other fruit for early and distant markets, green forage crops for sale in adjacent towns, and so on ; and all these capabilities were being turned to the most profitable account. Further, there was the large capitalist spending his money freely, but judiciously, in the cul- tivation and manuring of his land — putting plenty in and getting plenty out — whilst the farmer of moderate means, living comfort- ably, but not extravagantly, was devoting all his energies in efforts to make his farm pay, despite the times or the lack of special advantages of either soil or situation. Finally, there was the working man, plodding successfully against the difficulties attaching to all small agricultural holdings, and eking out the profits from his land by extraneous carting, or other work obtain- able in the district. 780 The Farm Prize Competition of 1890. Following the usual practice of these inspections, the Judges paid their first visit to each of the competing farms in January last, when they saw the bulk of the root crops of the previous year, examined the stubbles and stacks of corn and hay, and inquired into the winter management of the stock. They also inspected most of the fields, critically examined the sheep and other stock, and had peeps into the account books and other records. As a result of this, the competition in Class II. became slightly re- duced, because of the manifest superiority of the management of more of the competitors than there were prizes to award. The farms which were left in this Class, and all the original entries in Classes I. and III., were visited a second time in June, when the various stocks and crops were carefully inspected, and all the details of management fully inquired into. At the con- clusion the Judges compared notes, and found that they had individually arrived at decisions which were practically unanimous. Class I. — First Prize Farm. Occupied by Mr. W. P. Vosper , Merafield , Plympton , Plymouth. This is the largest farm in the competition, and, as the Judges soon found, is in the hands of a man of unusual enter- prise, skill, and capital. Situate as it is between four and five miles from the three self-adjacent towns of Plymouth, Stone- house, and Devonport, its management is mainly directed to reaping all the advantages which such a situation confers. In this direction few, if any, men can have accomplished more than Mr. Vosper has done, and rare indeed are the farms in the kingdom which can show higher or more satisfactory results. The farm comprises 821 acres, of which 436 are arable, and the remainder pasture and orchard. It was formerly let in four separate holdings, one of which (Saltram) was the home farm and park of Saltram House (the residence of the landlord, the Earl of Morley). This portion was taken by Mr. \osper in 1868 in succession to his father, and was the starting point of that extensive trading with the “ Three Towns/' which he has subsequently so profitably developed. Four years later V ixen- ford was added ; and in 1885 Merafield, which Mr. A osper had been managing for some time for his mother, was taken on his own account. Lastly, Hardwicke was added in 1887, and marvellous and rapid has been the change in its productive capacity. The four farms are now held as one under a lease for 14 or 21 years, at the option of the tenant, from Lady-day, 1889, at a rent of close upon 21. per acre. The Farm Prize Competition of 1890. 781 In 1885 the landlord erected a handsome and commodious house and outbuildings, also sundry sheds and farmbuildings. The tenant at the same time built a laundry and greenhouse, and made other improvements at a cost of about 1,100Z., and for these and certain drainage, compensation is provided at the end of the tenancy. The farm buildings are, from the circum- stances of their history, placed at four different points of the farm, but are none the less convenient for the profitable working of the land. They are fitted with various convenient appliances, some of which are Mr. Yosper’s own designs, for economising labour, notably (1) a chaff elevator at Harxlwicke, with shoots for delivery in three directions ; (2) a Dutch barn at Merafield with corrugated iron roof, of which the centre sheet lifts up to allow hay, &c., to be passed through from the elevator ; (3) a cement trough arranged specially for washing roots and potatoes when required, but at other times forming a large drinking trough ; (4) a broad step ladder from the centre of the feeding passage of the cowshed, by which ready access can be had to the granary and fodder store above, but which can be lifted out of headway when the feeding passage is required for other purposes. These and many other somewhat similar items are all proofs of a master mind bent upon accomplishing his tasks at as small an expenditure of labour as possible. Arable Land. The cropping in 1890 is as follows, viz. : wheat, G9 acres ; barley, 5G ; oats; 11; potatoes, 14; vetches, 7; swedes and turnips, 37 ; mangel, 38 ; cabbage, 9 ; clover, &c., cut for hay, 52 ; rotation grasses grazed, 143 acres : total, 43G acres. The rotation followed, with the one exception referred to farther on, is (1) mangel, (2) wheat followed by trifolium, (3) roots, (4) barley or oats, (5) seeds which remain down three or more years according to circumstances. The mangel get a heavy dressing of dung (30 to 40 loads per acre of home-made, or 40 to 50 loads of town dung or scavengings from Plymouth), and in addition 3 cwt. each of mangel manure, bone meal, and dissolved bones drilled at the same time as the seed. Of the latter 9 lb. per acre is sown, and as early in April as the land can be got ready. In the autumn, before any frost may be expected, the roots are pulled up and carted to the yards or store sheds near the buildings and consumed there, the practice in Devon- shire being to commence giving mangel much earlier than is usual elsewhere — say about Christmas. Some are retained for the ewes and lambs in the following spring, and so plentiful had 782 The Farm, Prize Competition of 1890. been the crop of 1889 that on the Judges’ visit in June there were several cartloads unconsumed. Several. varieties of wheat are grown. One field of Scholey’s Squarehead was a most promising one, and on the 9th June was just coming into ear ; another of Oakshott’s Champion, and others of Hardcastle and Carter’s Red are described in the Judges’ books as grand crops, and the best seen on the tour. Mr. Vosper says his crops frequently produce 50 bushels of wheat per acre, and on one occasion he got 80 bushels per acre of Normandy White. In 1888 he sold the straw from 12 acres for 84 Z. As soon as the wheat crop is removed, the land is scarified, dunged, and cleaned (if necessary), and a crop of trifolium sown, which in the following spring is sold green at Plymouth. This crop is one of the most remunerative grown, because of the favourable market for its disposal. The land being in high condition already, and specially dunged on the wheat stubble, the trifolium grows rapidly, and is ready for sale before most other crops in the neighbourhood. Thus Mr. Vosper is able to get the higher price of the early market, so that his return for this crop not unfrequently realises 1 01. per acre. Indeed, the total receipts for green forage (inclusive of occasional cuttings of clover) not unfrequently reach 500Z. in the season. So much of the trifolium as is not sold before the prices get down to a low level is made into silage in a stack pressed with Johnson's apparatus. Part of the stack made from the 1889 crop was standing in the yard in January, whilst in June the surplus of the 1890 crop had been so secured. An occasional second mowing of clover is also made into silage, when not sold green in the Three Towns. As the crop of trifolium is removed day by day the plough follows immediately to prevent the stems getting dry and hard, and afterwards the land is prepared for swedes and cabbages. For the former about 25 to 30 carts of dung, and 3 cwt. each of superphosphate (mineral) and dissolved bones, 4 cwt. of nitrate of soda, and 5 cwt. of salt are used. The cabbage plants — mainly Drumheads, here called “Flat-polls” — are generally put in on the fiat during the first week in June, at about 2 feet 2 inches apart each way. The crop is given to the dairy cows throughout the winter. The swede crops are not sown until about midsummer, and the common turnips later still. In the autumn some of the tops of the swedes are sold green as a vegetable, and make from 20s. to 30s. per acre. The roots are mainly fed off by sheep, which get an allowance of cake and corn. The barley crop follows, and Mr. Vosper, The 'Farm Prize Competition of 1890. 783 being a maltster amongst various other vocations, is able to make the best of his own growth. The sort chiefly grown is Golden Melon, though this year some fields have been planted with Chevalier and Beardless. Lime is commonly applied for this crop. A mixture of clover and other seeds is sown with the barley, the sorts and quantities varying according to the soil, and the period for which the lea is intended to remain. For a three or more years’ lea the following is commonly sown : — Alsike clover, 2 lb.; Somerset clover, G lb. ; Dutch clover, 1 lb.; Cornish marl, 2 to 3 lb. ; trefoil, 1 lb. ; cocksfoot, 5 lb. ; timothy, 4 lb. ; foxtail, 3 lb. ; rye-grass (Devon eaver), 2 gallons. In this mixture the Devon eaver has of late been reduced from 4 to 3 gallons, and now to 2. If the crop of grass is intended to be “ bundled ” and sold gi’een, a larger quantity of timothy is added, because of the partiality of the Plymouth buyers for that variety. Mr. Vos per, being inter alia a seedsman, is very careful in the purchase and selection of his seeds, and applies his knowledge of the various grasses to so good a purpose that his crops of seedgrass are free from imported rubbish, and have the proportions of each variety regulated according to the soil and other circumstances. The first “ seeds ” are generally mown and made into hay. Two fields were being mown at the time of the Judges’ second visit, and most heavy and abundant crops they were. These were afterwards secured in first-rate condition, and placed in a stack which was estimated to contain 100 tons. Occasionally, the third year’s lea is mown — especially if the grazing land is full of grass. In this event another dressing of dung is applied. Sometimes a crop is mown early for green fodder, and in such cases a second mowing is taken in the same season. Leas in their last year get a dose of nitrate of soda, and are cut before breaking. Lime, of which a considerable quantity is used as a corrective of the heavy manuring rather than on account of its scarcity in the soil, is then applied, and the land is carefully skirted for the succeeding root crop. Some of the pastures get au occasional manuring of either dung, or bones, or artificials. Indeed, the whole of the grass land on the Ilardwicke portion has been dressed with bones (raw or dissolved) during the two years it has formed a part of this farm, and a very marked contrast is visible in its pro- ductive powers when a glance is taken at adjoining fields or surrounding farms. It will thus be seen that Mr. Vosper is a “ heavy tiller.” His bills for artificial manures in the last two years amounted to 781. The Farm Prize Competition of 1890. close upon 1,000L, whilst the stable manure from Plymouth cost him about 600h, in addition to some 300Z. worth of town scavengings. When to this is added the residue from an outlay of 4,500L in cake and other feeding stuffs, it will be readily admitted that he puts ££ plenty into the land.” One considera- tion, therefore, which the Judges had to take into account was whether he got £< plenty out ” in return, especially as the chief of their instructions was to take “ profit ” into account in deciding upon the different methods of management. An in- spection of his books, and a careful consideration of the crops grown, and prices obtained, left no doubt upon their minds that the return in this case warranted the outlay. Such is the ordinary course of treatment and cropping of the great bulk of the arable land of the farm. But a somewhat different method is followed in the case of one field (Chelson Meadows), which, being low-lying and a strong alluvial deposit on stiff clay, requires special and exceptional treatment. This field forms part of a tract of about 200 acres which, lying below high-water mark and covered by high tides, was reclaimed about eighty years ago at the expense of a predecessor of the present Earl of Morley, by an embankment of about 2,000 yards long, and has since been drained and brought into cultivation. Part of the land is in Mr. Yosper’s occupation — other parts, chiefly in grass, are laid to adjoining farms, and are used as the race course for the Plymouth meetings. The particular field specially referred to has been cropped as follows, viz.: 1884, mangel; 1885, wheat; 1880, mangel - (heavily dunged); 1887, wheat (limed eight tons to the acre) ; 1888, clover (cut twice, bundled, and sold green); 1889, the same (gas lime, six to seven tons put on fresh) ; and 1890, mangel. In January last this field was being ploughed by one of Davey, Sleep, & Co.’s balance ploughs, which laid the furrow slice seven inches deep perfectly flat (fig. 1). The land was then left untouched until the end of April, when it was cultivated or “ tormented” two or three times, then manured with Plymouth scavengings at the rate of ninety-seven cart loads to the acre, and afterwards ploughed over very shallow — say two inches deep. This was followed by various rollings, harrowings, and pressings (with Cambridge presser), until reduced sufficiently fine to be fit for drilling. As this land can only be worked when dry, Mr. Vosper, when he finds it favourable, sends as many of his men and horses there as can well be spared. As many as twenty-two horses have been working in one field — small as the largest on the farm may be — at the same time, and it is a common saying amongst the neighbours that “ Vosper The Farm Prize Competition of 1890. 785 never turns into a field in the morning but he is sure to finish it before night.” At the time of the writer’s intermediate visit in May, eleven horses and eight men were engaged here in the various opera- tions, from the first cultivation, after flat ploughing down, to drilling, and the final rolling and harrowing. At this time, Mr. Yosper was somewhat anxious about making the best use Fig. 1. of the short spell of favourable weather experienced this year, and succeeded in doing so. On the Judges’ last inspection in June, the plauts were well up, had been horse-hoed, and were being hand -hoed and singled. The crop of mangel on this field has reached 70 tons per acre, and wheat over 60 bushels per acre. Live Stool: . — The numbers seen on the two visits were as follows : — Cows in milk . First visit 134 Second 125 Cows and heifers in calf or barren 55 21 „ „ feeding . 15 61 Steers feeding . 7 10 ,, stores and yearlings 13 15 Calves .... 15 8 Bulls .... 4 4 Breeding ewes 243 251 200 Lambs .... 97 267 Wether hoggets 176 80 Ewe „ 177 173 Ram „ 28 25 Aged rams 4 4 Two year wethers feeding 62 Geld ewes „ 24 41 visit VQL. I. T. S. — 4 244 819 rco O F 786 The Farm Prize Competition of 1890. I Brought forward , 10G2 1031 Work horses . . 23 24 Hacks 2 2 Colts and yearlings 5 4 Ponies . 2 2 31 32 Tigs • • 72 114 1,165 1,180 This gives the large proportions per 100 acres of 29-60 cattle, and 99 ■ 7 5 sheep, the average of the county being 20-47 cattle and 69-74* sheep. Between the visits the following sales had taken place, viz. : 192 sheep, 25 calves, 18 cows, 7 steers, 33 pigs, and 36 lambs ; whilst the purchases had been 2 steers, 23 cows, 5 heifers, 1 calf, and 2 horses. One horse had died, and 6 pigs had been killed for the house. Periodical sales are held on the farm, when much fat and surplus stock is sold, whilst on the other hand the cattle bought annually cost about 2,500Z. The dairy cows are kept for the production of milk and cream for sale in the Three Towns. The returns from this source are simply enormous, and amounted in the last two years to close upon 10,000/. This is something like 30 1. per cow per annum. Some idea of the extent to which these returns are in excess of those from ordinary dairy farms may be formed when it is mentioned that, in the eastern part of the county, a common practice prevails for farmers to sublet their cows to dairymen for from 10Z. to 12/. per cow per annum — the farmer providing cows and a certain acreage (generally 50 acres for 20 cows) to run them on, including a field or two for hay, also buildings and dairy ; whilst the dairyman finds only extraneous feeding stuffs, if any are used, and labour for attending and milking the cows, and for conveying the produce to market. Mr. Vosper’s large return arises mainly from his cows being extra heavy milkers, and from the high price obtained for his cream, which is thicker, on account of the cows being unusually well fed and attended to. The milk cows are kept at Saltram and Merafield, and get daily throughout the year a liberal allowance of artificial feeding stuffs. In winter, in addition to cabbages, mangel, silage, and hay, a mixture of hay chaff, maize meal, ground cotton seed or linseed cake, bran, malt coombs, and fenugreek is given to the extent of about 12 lb. per head per day. In summer, about half that weight is given. The cows run out all the year round except in the very rough part of winter. One peculiarity of Mr. Vosper’s stocking is to put large numbers — say 50 or 60 * The Farm Prize Competition of 1890. 787 cows, in like condition as regards breeding — into a field at tlie same time, and change the fields often, rather than divide the cows into smaller lots, and spread them over more fields. He considers the freshening of the grass under his plan very desirable. The dry cows are kept at the other farmstead, and are either fed for the butcher or retained for breeding, according to their state and milking capacity — the rule being that, as soon as a cow goes -wrong in respect to breeding or milking, she is fed off as rapidly as possible. The supply of cows for the dairy is kept up by frequent pur- chases of newly calved ones. Mr. Vosper, being well known in the neighbourhood as ready at all times to purchase good milkers at top market prices, gets early intimation of any that are for sale, and when the appearance of an animal suits him he does not , often miss the opportunity of buying. From 15 to 20 calves are reared yearly, and these are only from the very best milkers ; the remainder are sold off, so as not to entrench upon the supply of milk available for sale. For a herd mostly made up of individual purchases this one bears a remarkably uniform character, all the animals having the appearance of having been cast in the same perfect mould. The Judges on their first step on to the farm were greeted by as fine a lot of 70 dairy cows as they would wish to see, all with large level frames, deep sides, and capacious udders, which went far to remove from their minds impressions which had previously been formed somewhat adverse to the South Hams cattle. No one who has seen Mr. Vosper’s herd can venture again to express a prejudice against the breed in its native district. Only the morning’s milk is sold as new, circumstances not being convenient for an evening delivery into the towns. Milking commences between 4 and 5 A.M., and is conducted by 13 or 14 hands, to each of whom 10 cows are allotted. In warm weather the milk is passed over a refrigerator prior to its being put into tin cans and sent off, which has to be done iu time for delivery at Plymouth at 7 A.M. As an instance of Mr. Vosper’s energetic activity it should be mentioned that he is frequently at the Saltram Buildings when operations begin in the early morning. The evening’s milk is set in tin pans holding about 2 gallons apiece. These tins are all of a uniform size, so as to allow of each one being placed on any of the 4 holes prepared in a stove on which the scalding is done. This work takes place on the following morning, and is superintended by the foreman’s wife, who has done the dairy work for Mr. Vosper and his father for nearly 30 years. Of her and her work Mr. Vosper 3 r 2 788 The Farm Prize Competition of 1890. Bays lie cannot speak too highly, and certainly the Judges no- ticed about the dairy, premises, and utensils under her charge a degree of cleanliness which confirms his opinion of her industry, and his reliance on her work being always thoroughly and pro- perly done. The cream is taken off the milk on the following morning, and placed in glass dishes sent by the various purchasers so as to be fit to go on to the table at once. These go with the morning’s milk to Plymouth, or to houses in the immediate neighbourhood, as the case may be. Very little butter is made, and only when the supply of cream is in excess of the demand. If the prices are low, this butter is put into pans, salted, and preserved until a higher price can be secured. So much of the scalded milk as there is demand for goes to Plymouth with the morning’s milk, and the remainder is given to the few calves or many pigs which are reared and fed. The delivery of milk is done by two men, each of whom carries with him a book in which are set down details of the quantities received and delivered. This book is taken daily to Mrs. Vosper, who enters the several transactions in one larger book prepared for the purpose. Often 80 to 100 items a day have to be entered in the general ledger. Thus the dairy and its produce is a very important element in the management of this farm, and here, as in other departments, Mr. Vosper has the advantage of a most efficient helpmate in Mrs. Vosper. A breeding flock of 250 South Hams ewes is kept, and their produce reared to maturity. . Some of the earliest lambs go off fat. Great care is taken in selecting a few of the best of the ewe hoggs to add to the flock, and so keep up that high charac- ter which it has long possessed. Mr. Vosper being a frequent judge of this breed of sheep, knows the best type to aim at, and has succeeded in raising a flock of undoubted excellence. Some of the wether hoggs were estimated to weigh 28 to 30 lb. per quarter Mid to be worth at butcher's price 41. apiece. Like most of the other Devonshire farmers Mr. Vosper is not horse-proud, though his stud is of that useful and light active character which is so suited to the district. Three are Suffolks which seem quite at home here, and two others were purchased in Wales. They are all well fed and attended to, and, in particular, each one gets an occasional bran mash, or drink of linseed gruel, and a tablespoonful of nitre every Satur- day night, as a corrective of their high feeding during the rest of the week, which consists mainly of hay, chaff, beans, malt, bran, and crushed oats. All are clipped twice yearly. Pigs are not here that insignificant item which is usual in the locality. Twenty-one breeding sows are kept and their produce fed off, The Fa7'm Prize Competition of 1890. 789 A large lot of poultry is kept and reared for table, the pro- ceeds in this department being 190 1. per annum. The orchards are well attended to, and special attention is paid to top dressing and pruning. The fences and gates on the farm are models of neatness, for Mr. Yosper neglects nothing. In the fields where the cows run, a row of barbed wire is placed on short stakes driven horizontally into the bank, to prevent the animals damaging the fence. Every fence on the farm is “ dressed ” once a year, and no scrub is allowed to grow on the top. The labour bill on such a farm is of necessity a heavy one, amounting as it does to about 1 ,300Z., or ll. 10s. per acre per annum. The regular staff numbers 30 hands, who receive from 13s. to 16s. per week, with sundry privileges. Mr. Yosper seems to have imparted to his men much of that smartness and energetic activity which is so strong a feature in his own character. The Judges saw none of that slouching, or deliberation of movement, in his workmen wliiok is so common in the agricultural labourer, and so trying to the patience of an active mind. A most pleasant feeling exists between both parties, for each appreciates the good qualities of the other, and one result of this happy state of things was seen when, during the recent labour agitation in the neighbourhood, nothing occurred to disturb the relationship between master and man on this farm. Mr. Vosper speaks in high terms of most of his men, especially of some half-dozen who have worked for him and hia father for periods varying from 19 to 24 years, and whom he has recommended for the Society’s Certificates of Merit. The Plymouth trade in milk, poultry, and green food (for which the annual tollgates paid amount to upwards of 804), necessitates a somewhat elaborate system of bookkeeping, the bulk of which falls to the share of Mrs. Yosper, who in this as in many other ways is a true Devonshire farmer’s wife, and ever ready to take an active and efficient part in the work. The books are prepared specially for the farm, and show the receipts and expenditure under each of the several headings. A balance-sheet is annually drawn out, those for the last two years showing an investment of capital amounting to between 15.0004 and 16,0004, whilst the annual turn-over amounts to from 13.0004 to 14,0004 The figures read more like a large trading concern than a mere agricultural occupation. Mr. Yosper is upon the best of terms with his landlord, the Earl of Morley, as indeed who could fail to be with so genial and thorough a nobleman in every sense of the word ? The agent, Mr. Newbury, also speaks highly of his tenant’s qualifications. 790 The Farm Prize Competition of 1 890. The man who Las much to do can always Lave more, and not unfrequently does more, and does it better, than lie who Las little to do. Tliis is tlie case with Mr. Vosper, who not only takes Lis daily part in tLe supervision and management of tliis farm, and tLe malting, and seed business referred to, but is a director of various other concerns, and in particular of the Western Counties Agricultural Co-operative Association, which Las an annual turn-over of 140,000Z. in feeding stuffs, manures, seeds, and implements sold to agriculturists of the district, of whom some few of the present competitors form part. Mr. Yosper, further, is a member of the County Council, besides acting pri- vately as trustee for various friends and relatives. Class I. — Second Prize Farm. Occupied by Mr. J. N. Franklin , The Bassets, Huxham, Fxeter. This farm comprises 454 acres, of which 250 are arable, 194 pasture, and 10 orchards, and is the property of Lord Poltimore, whose residence (Poltimore House) and park are in close proximity to one end of it. The land lies in two divisions, separated about one mile from each other ; one (Poltimore Farm) is four miles, and the other (Bussels), where Mr. Franklin re- sides, is six miles from Exeter, in the eastern division of the county. Mr. Franklin' holds under a lease for 21 years expiring in 1901, and has been tenant for 20 years, having followed his uncle, who had occupied the farm for 30 years. About 80 acres are low-lying water meadows of which the soil is stiff clay, but which under present management is made very productive. Much attention has been given to the drainage of this land, and to the provision of the necessary gutters and carriers for its irrigation. One portion was drained 15 years ago at Mr. Franklin’s sole cost, but of late the landlord has provided the tiles, whilst the tenant has carted and put them in. The main drains are generally 5 to G feet deep, with minors Tun- ing into them at various depths and distances. One long main drain of 400 yards deserves especial mention because of the difficulty of its construction, and the great appa- rent benefit which has resulted. Owing to the very slight fall the work had to be most carefully manipulated, and naturally received Mr. Franklin’s close personal attention. The drain, vary- ing in depth, is carried straight from point to point with as slight a fall as practicable, and at each angle, or change of direction, there is an inspection and flushing chamber, 2 feet 6 inches in diameter, with a wooden lid, which is mainly kept locked to prevent obstruc- The Farm Prize Competition of 1890. 791 tions being thrown in, and getting thence to the drain. Upon the Judges’ first inspection the water level in the surrounding land was, owing to a previous heavy rainfall, considerably above the pipes, but in June it had lowered to about half the bore of the pipes, thus showing that the drain is acting in a most satisfac- tory manner. The work cost Mr. Franklin about 300/., and reflects very great credit upon his engineering skill. It has resulted in a marvellous impi'ovement, by converting 35 acres of waterlogged land into excellent and safe grazing ground. The meadows are irrigated at intervals between November and April, and occasionally get flooded in other wet seasons. To regulate the flow and distribution of the water, sundry gutters and carriers have been made, and some floodgates fixed. The very efficient working order in which these are kept is only one amongst many instances of the close care and attention which Mr. Franklin devotes to all parts of his holding. The bed of the river (the Clist) is cleared every second year, and the distributing gutters yearly, or as they require it. Thirty-six acres of these meadows are mown annually, and, judging from the nature of the herbage, the process has led to improvement. The rest are grazed, and in summer time carry one bullock to the acre. The stock is changed from one field to another every few days, and towards autumn the more forward animals are picked out, and put on the best of the land, getting if needed a little cake, though this is seldom the case. The other animals, being fresh in condition, are rapidly finished off in the yards and buildings. In the spring, the early keep in these meadows is invaluable for ewes and lambs, which run on during the day, but are removed to higher and drier ground at night. The ewes are put on the grass a week before they are due to lamb, so as to flush their milk. Adjoining the meadows is a dry old pasture, which in January was getting a dressing of Exeter dung, and in June was full of the richest and most succulent herbage, proving that the manuring was not a casual or special one. Round about the Bussels House and homestead some 33 acres have recently been laid down to permanent pasture at the tenant’s expense, and are doing remarkably well. The fields are very clean and the grasses true to sorts. On the arable land, the four-course system of cropping is followed, except upon one portion where barley is found to succeed best when in immediate succession to some other corn crop. Last year the corn grown here went to a maltster at 35s. per quarter, and this year barley is following barley with prospects of an excellent result. About seventy acres of wheat are 792 The Farm Prize Competition of 1890. grown annually, partly after lea, and partly after roots. Some of the fields seem light for this cei’eal, but under present manage- ment the crops seem to warrant its growth. Mr. Franklin finds that upon the average of the last seven years his wheat has thrashed out at the rate of 34 bushels per acre. The wheat sold in 1888 realised 455 1. 10s., and in 1889 4G7/. 15s. Gel. ; barley in the same years producing 504Z. 16s. and 377 1. 12s. respectively. Esses Rough Chaft’ or Long Buff is the sort of wheat mostly grown, and is drilled at the rate of two bushels per acre in rows 9 inches apart to admit of horse-hoeing, a process which is not commonly applied to corn crops in the county, but which is deemed neces- sary here to keep down the poppies to which the land is much subject. With the exception of this weed the land generally was clean. About one third of the root crop is mangel, another third swedes, and the remainder common turnips, rape, cabbages, and thousand-headed kale. One field of 16 acres for mangel had been steam-cultivated in the autumn, and in January was having a dressing of farmyard manure, of about 20 loads to the acre, which was being ploughed in. The seed was drilled on the flat early in May at the rate of 5 to 6 lb. per acre, in rows 2 feet apart. In June the plants were well up, and had been horse- hoed twice, the hoe being of a kind commonly used in the district, and which does two whole and two half-rows at a time. Little or no artificial manure is used, as Mr. Franklin does not care about it, especially as he is able to get from Exeter what extra dung he requires. In 1888-9 one hundred and nine waggon loads, of three tons each, of this dung were purchased, and in 1889-90 one hundred and sixty-three, the increase being due to the Tramway Co. (from which it is bought) having increased the number of their horses. Part of this year’s purchase had been put on to a field of first year’s seeds, which was an unusually forward and heavy crop. The mixture for this lea (intended to be down for 2 years) was Italian rye- grass, 1| peeks ; red clover, 8 lb. ; alsike, 2 lb. Cabbages and kale are grown, but only sufficient potatoes to supply the house. The cabbage and kale plants are placed during the last ploughing on the face of every second furrow slice as soon as it is turned by the double furrow plough, which on the next journey covers their roots, and leaves a bed for the following row of plants. To secure firmness a stone roller is sent across the rows. The fine crop of cabbages planted in this way in 1889, which the Judges saw, prevents them ex- pressing any adverse opinion upon this method of planting, which has at any rate one merit, i.e., simplicity. Trifolium and The Farm Prize Competition of 1890. 793 winter vetches are also grown. A portion of the former crop was in June being made into silage in a stack in the held where it had grown. The only weight intended to be applied was the placing of new hay on the top of the stack about two or three days afterwards. The fields are much larger than common in this county of small inclosures, and are mostly from 15 to 20 acres each. Considerable lengths of old fences and banks have been removed in bygone years, and much land has thereby been added to the crop-growing area. Two lengths of thorn hedges have been planted by the present tenant, one 12 years and the other 5 years ago, and both prove that thorns will grow well in the district on clay land, though Mr. Franklin doubts their doing so on light land. One of these lengths is about 800 yards, and was in substitution for a bank which was 10 feet wide through- out. The saving of land in this case is put at an acre. The thorns were planted on the flat in a single row, and received a little dung at planting time. They have since been carefully attended to, as indeed have all the fences on the farm. At the foot of the old banks in fields where cattle are grazed, a row of barbed wire on upright posts has been placed to prevent bullocks from crumbling the banks down with their horns, stones for facing being very scarce and expensive in the district. Four teams of horses are kept, with one extra horse for the shepherd, and another for odd work. Two brood mares and their colts, and two pony mares and their produce complete the horse stock, except two hacks, one of which is kept for Mrs. Franklin’s use, and the other to take Mr. Franklin on his daily rounds. One of the ponies (an Exmoor) might, if shown at Plymouth, have saved the class from some rather uncom- plimentary remarks which have been passed upon it. Only sufficient cows are kept to supply the house. From 80 to 90 two-year-old steers or heifers are bought annually, and grazed or fed off. About 50 of them are grazed on the water meadows and adjoining old pastures, and the remainder are stall-fed in the winter. Some are North Devons, others South Hammers, whilst a few are cross breds. Most of them are bought in Exeter market, one of the chief centres for agricultural produce of all kinds. Mr. Franklin being a regular attendant there, and a good judge, as also known to be at all times open to buy, is frequently offered small lots of animals suitable for his purpose. His keen and thorough judgment enables him to make his purchases judiciously, and to select only such animals as are likely to do well and pay, which, under the prevalence of auction marts, is rapidly becoming a lost art. The 31 steers 794 The Farm Prize Competition o/1890. and 2-3 heifers seen by the Judges in June had been bought at various times within the year in 22 different lots at an average of 14 1., and had been remarkably well purchased. Between the two visits of the Judges 1,650Z. worth of stock had been sold off, and 7507. bought on in their places, and yet the valuation of stock at Lady-day 1890 worked out at practically the same figures as in the previous year’s balance-sheets, thus showing that the transaction had not been a casual one. During the summer the cattle need little or no cake, but those tied up in the winter get 5 lb. daily, with maize and other meal. It may here be incidentally mentioned that, as soon as any fresh cattle are brought on to the farm, they are dressed with brine for the prevention of warble fly. A breeding flock of 180 ewes of the Devon long- wool breed is kept, and a right good grand lot they are. A few are remnants of a pure bred flock which Mr. Franklin formerly had, and with which he was at one time a most successful exhibitor in the show yards of the “ Royal,” Bath and West of England, Royal Counties, Devon County, and numerous other societies, also at Exeter and other fat stock shows. He won between 70 and 80 prizes in the 10 years prior to 1886. In this latter year he was unfortunately seized by a constitutional infirmity which has since become more or less acute and per- manent, and has prevented him from devoting that close personal attention to his flock which is necessary to procure success in the showyard. lie has therefore been compelled reluctantly to abandon bi’eeding for purity and exhibition, and has turned his attention to rearing half-bred lambs for early feeding. His ewes are now crossed by a Hampshire Down ram, and the produce, which generally begin to arrive about the middle of January, are sold off fat between the following November and Feb- ruary. In January last some were being sold at 3 guineas apiece. Early in the year between 200 and 300 long-wool hoggets are bought. Of these 5-0 of the best are retained for the flock, the remainder being put at once on turnips and fed off. Some go before shearing time, others after. The draft and geld ewes also go off fat. Thus between 1st April, 1889, and 1st April, 1890, no less than 564 sheep were sold off. At the time of the June visit there were on the farm 127 ewes for flock, 44 draft ewes, 34 ewe lioggs for flock, 72 wether hoggs, and 216 lambs. All, including the lambs, had been shorn. The ewes and wethers were estimated to have clipped 12 to 14 lb. of wool each in the grease, and the lambs about 34 lb. each. The present price for this wool is 8cZ. per lb. The lambs had been weaned since 1st May, and 110 of the earliest, which after their The Farm -Prize Competition of 1890. 795 shearing looked more like wethers than lambs, were folded on winter vetches, and getting mangel (of which sufficient were in hand to last a month), and \ lb. -of cake, and ^ lb. maize each per day. The vetches were mown daily, and put between two narrow rows of hurdles, on either side of which the lambs were penned. Mr. Franklin prefers forcing his lambs rapidly, towards the last six weeks of their stay on the farm, rather than commencing at once on their arrival. Much care is devoted to the manufacture and “ matching ” of cider, of which about 200 hogsheads are produced yearly. Before pounding, the apples are sorted so that only those of equal ripeness are ground together. The cider is care- fully racked and matched, and examined daily during the process of fermentation. An excellent quality of sweet cider is thus secured, which is sold to agents who supply the London and other markets. Every attention is paid to cleansing the casks or hogsheads, and for this purpose a mechanical appliance is used which greatly facilitates the work. Mr. Franklin finds that, like all other home producers, cider makers are affected by foreign competition, especially from America, whence cider is sent at low freights as ballast in the large steamers, and comes into this country duty free. The labour bill amounts to about 500 1. a year, and includes the wages of a bailiff, whose services have become necessary since Mr. Franklin’s infirmity. The labourers get 11s. to 13s. per week, and 3 pints of cider daily. Nine of them live in cottages on the farm. In harvest time the cutting, binding, and setting up of the corn is let at 4s. per acre ; machine and horses lent free. The stacking is done by day work. Three of the labourers are recommended by Mr. Franklin for long and faithful service. One of them (the shepherd) was bound as a parish apprentice to Mr. Franklin’s grandfather, and has since been on the farm or with the family for 55 years. Mr. Franklin speaks in high terms of all three. A day-book and ledger is kept, as also is a detailed cash- book, in which the cash transactions are entered under the several headings, so that the total receipts for cattle, sheep, or corn, or cider, and so on for each year, are shown, as also the payments for labour, stock bought, feeding stuffs, &c., purchased. A record is also entered of the cost price of each lot of animals purchased, and the money received upon their sales, so that at a glance the money left by each lot can be ascertained. Mr. Franklin’s experience coincides with that of most stock farmers, namely, that the year 1889 was the best there has been for graziers and feeders for many years. 796 The Farm Prize Competition of 1890. Mr. Franklin ranks deservedly liigk in the respect and good opinion of Ms brother farmers, by whom his business and other capacities, and kindliness of disposition, have frequently been recognised in most flattering ways. For many years he has acted as Vice-chairman of the Local Highway Board, and has taken an active part in the superintendence of the road repairs. At the first County Council election he was returned by the largest majority of any of the members. In 1884, a gold watch was presented to him by his political and other friends, in lieu of one of which he had been relieved when leaving a political platform. In the present competition he has run his successful competitor very close, and is thoroughly entitled to the honours awarded him. Class I. — Third Prize Farm. Occupied hij Mrs. Hill and Son, Newtalce Farm, Staverton , Totnes. This holding consists altogether of 366 acres, of which 221 are arable, 107 pasture, and 38 orchards. The chief part belongs to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, who are owners of a considerable estate in the district. The late Mr. Hill (hus- band and father respectively of the present tenants) entered upon one portion, including the house, at Lady-day 1851, and upon a second (130 acres) in 1865. In 1873, seventy more acres were taken, and in 1880 a further addition was made, which brought the farm up to its present dimensions. Upon the death of his father, the present Mr. Hill, then a lad of 14 years of age, was brought home from school to assist his widowed mother in the management of the farm, and when old enough was made a joint tenant in the occupation. Together they have for several years carried on the holding, each taking an active part in the work which falls to his or her share. The condition of the farm, and the excellence of its whole management, reflect much credit upon both mother and son, for having so successfully overcome the trying- difficulties in which circumstances had placed them. The farm is situate about 3^ miles north-west of Totnes, and half a mile from Staverton Railway Station. It is very undulating, but the soil being light, and overlying a dry rocky subsoil, the work of cultivation is comparatively easy. One feature in which the farm is so thoroughly representative of Devonshire is the number and smallness of the fields, and the height and width of the numerous division fences. The total number of inclosures is 90, of which 13 are under one acre (mainly orchards), 14 others under two acres, 17 between two and four acres, 23 between four and six acres, and 23 between The Farm Prize Competition of 1890. 797 six and nine acres. The largest is 8a. 3r. 7p. The length of fences dividing these fields (exclusive of 9| miles of boundary and road fences) is 10 miles. The gates number 200, and as they cost, with their ironwork, 15s. apiece, to say nothing of the posts or pillars of masonry at each side, their erection and main- tenance locks up capital which might be more usefully applied elsewhere. The present tenants scored some points in the com- petition because of the very efficient way in which every gate on the farm was hung and attended to. Not a single one was found which did not open and shut most freely. Mr. Hill has during his tenancy removed miles of old banks, averaging five to six feet in width, and he might continue the work with advantage. The buildings of the farm, unlike most others on the Com- missioners’ estates, lie scattered, and somewhat inconveniently, the result, doubtless, of three or more farms being thrown into one. Some useful sheds have been erected within recent years. The arable land is cropped mainly on the following rotation, viz. : — First year roots, second barley or oats, third roots, fourth wheat or barley, fifth seeds — left down four or five years. Thus about thirty acres are laid down each year, and the same extent of lea broken up. As there is no large town near, from which supplies of stable and other dung can be drawn to supple- ment the home production, Mr. Hill has to be less lavish with the latter than his two more successful competitors can afford to be. His farmyard dung is applied mainly to the mangel crop, and to a field of old meadow grass which is mown yearly. The fertility of the other land has, therefore, to be maintained by dressings of artificial manure and lime, and by a liberal con- sumption of corn and cake by sheep fed on the turnip and other crops. The average expenditure for manure and feeding stuffs purchased during the last four years has been 3 661. per annum, in addition to the value of home-grown corn consumed. The result of this management, as testified by the various crops of corn, grass, and roots, is eminently satisfactory, and proves that fertility can be maintained if the ordinary resources at command of all farmers are judiciously applied. This was specially noticeable in the unusual growth and abundance of herbage in the majority of the grass fields on the Judges’ second visit in June. Field after field is described in their books as “ very full of grass,” even where the land was said to have been eaten bare earlier in the spring. Indeed, in some instances the question cropped up whether or not certain fields would not have been better mown than grazed, so thick and forward was the herbage in them, and so plentiful was the grass in the other pastures all over the farm. This abundance of grass was all the 798 The Farm Prize Competition of 1890. more extraordinary in view of tlie large proportion of sheep and other stock maintained on the farm, as shown in the following Table : — Cattle per 100 acres . Sheep „ ,, * Cattle and sheep „ „ , (reckoning 3 sheep = 1 cow) . Messrs. Hill’s Devon England . 16-66 20-47 17-41 . 128-68 69-74 63-34 X 59-56 43-72 38-54 It was not in growth and quantity of herbage only that Mr. Hill’s grass crops excelled, but in quality also, for clovers and rye-grasses of all kinds were abundant, and seemed to retain their hold for long periods. Indeed so kindly does the land take to grass, that sundry fields which were laid down with a mixture for one or two years only, were allowed to continue longer, and one field in particular, in which seeds were sown for a catch-crop only in 1888, Mr. Hill has not yet had the heart to break up. The seeds in this case were sown with a corn crop to provide early spring feed for ewes and lambs, and to be ploughed up and planted with turnips in the same year. This is a com- mon practice with Mr. Hill, as he finds it provides him with early keep for his flock, and the land can be got ready in ample time for swedes or common turnips, which are not usually sown in the district until after Midsummer. Much of the abundance of the clovers is due to the free use of lime and bones. The former is applied chiefly to lea just before bi'eaking, and at the rate of eight to nine hogsheads per acre. This costs 2s. 9 d. per hogshead at the kiln, which is three miles distant, and is estimated to last seven years. A cart holds two hogsheads. Bones are used for root crops in conjunction with artificial compounds, and applied at the rate of 2^ cwt. each of j inch bones, dissolved bones, and mineral superphosphate. Occasionally some nitrate of soda and kainit are added. The old pastures were likewise very full of grass, and showed that they had been equally well attended to. The herbage was very rich and full of clover. No cows could wish for more luxuriant grazing ground, nor need any greater stimulant for the production of milk, than Mr. Hill’s were rejoicing in on the high ground just above the house. The cattle kept number about 60. Of these about 18 are cows in milk, and the remainder are their produce of various ages. All calves are reared, and the heifers are bred from and take the places of the older cows as they come into profit. The steers are fed off at three years of age. Thus every head of cow stock has been reared on the farm. It is hardly necessary to say that they are all “ South Hammers,” and that the dairy cows show The Farm Prize Competition of 1890. 799 fair milking capacities. Tlie young stock did not seem as good as they should have been from such dams, but this is frequently noticeable in the South Hams breed. More careful selection, however, of sires would do much to correct this failing. The work of the dairy falls to Mrs. Hill’s share, and right well is it looked after. Up every morning at five o’clock, Mrs. Hill is able personally to superintend the scalding of the milk, and the making up of the butter, which is done daily. Cream is sent by parcel post to distant places, such as Torquay, Bath, and Cheltenham, and is sold at the same price per lb. as butter. Milk and butter are sold retail to the villagers and neighbours, and the surplus butter is sent to Totnes on the weekly market day. One woman and a girl are kept in the house to assist in the dairy and house work. The former also assists in the milk- ing of the cows, having generally 10 allotted to her, but if more she is paid an extra 4 cl. a week for each one. A breeding flock, of about 235 ewes, of South Devons is kept and their produce reared. The ewe hoggs are mostly retained for the flock, the draft ewes being usually sold into the eastern part of the county, “ the land of water meadows,” where they are crossed by Shropshire or Hampshire Down rams, and fed off with their lambs, which arriving early go off soon at top prices. The wether hoggs are fed off the following spring or summer, about one half being kept on until after shearing time. Those seen were estimated to clip 16 to 17 lb. of wool in the grease. The ewes and hoggs were in excellent condition, many of the former too much so when compared with the condition of their latest lambs. Evidently the breed are not good mothers, as was noticed on many of the farms, and they do not produce as large a, crop of lambs as various other sorts do, Mr. Hill’s 235 producing only 290 lambs or barely 1£ per ewe. In other cases the judges heard of even less increases, and were informed that if one lamb is weaned for each ewe put to the ram the result is considered satisfactory. The other stock on the farm consists of eight work-horses, three colts, and one riding hack ; also three sows and their latest produce. The labour bill amounts to 300 1. per annum, which covers the wages of six men and four boys. Three pairs of new cottages, and one old one, are included with the farm, and are let to the labourers at the rate of 2s. 6d. per week. The new cottages are some of several pairs which have in recent years been erected in the district by the Commissioners at an estimated cost of about 500Z. per pair. They are neat and sub- stantial erections on excellent sites, and contain three bed- 800 The Farm Prize Competition of 1890. rooms, sitting-room, kitchen, and back kitchen each. A small garden is attached to each cottage, and in it the tenant grows some early crops of potatoes and other vegetables. One special feature of the management of this farm is the manufacture and treatment of cider, to which con- siderable personal attention is paid by Mr. Hill, and for which he is rewarded by the great demand for his production. The 23 orchards are most carefully attended to ; the trees regularly manured, and pruned, and all vacancies at once filled by young and healthy plants from a nursery on one part of the farm. Mr. Hill has for four years in succession won local prizes for the best-managed orchard. Great attention is paid to the selection of the sorts or varieties of apples, and so much is Mr. Hill’s knowledge of the subject recognised and appreciated that he does no small trade in the supply of suitable fruit trees for various localities. One nurseryman alone is growing 2,400 trees for him from which to supply his needs. Just now he is making trials and notes of sundry table sorts with the view of entering upon their more extended growth. In addition to the produce of the farm, apples from neighbouring orchards are purchased, and converted into cider. Great care is taken in the selection of fruit for each grinding and pounding, and in the special treatment of the product ac- cording to the varying degrees of ripeness in the apples. Sweet and sour fruits are mixed in careful proportions such as ex- perience has proved to be productive of the best cider, and care is taken to keep the first “ falls ” by themselves, as they produce only rough cider. The middle crop is most pi’eferred, and the month of November, from the 10th onwards, is considered the best time for the pounding. After the juice has been extracted and put into casks the time comes when Mr. Hill’s personal attention is most devoted to its manipulation. Each cask or hogshead is daily examined and tested, and if any special treat- ment is found to be necessary, he makes a note of it on a card which is attached to the top of the cask. The man whose time is chiefly employed in the cider cellar during the autumn and spring goes round afterwards and carries out the written instructions. The result of this close and careful attention is the production of a superior article for which Mr. Hill has a sufficient demand from private customers to enable him to do without the middleman. He thus realises prices which are considerably above the ordinary run, and makes this branch of his farming a remunerative one. If other farmers in the county were to devote the same care and attention and business abilities The Farm Prize Competition o/1890. 801 to the production of cider, their orchards would be much more remunerative than they hitherto have been. The Judges were so favourably impressed with the successful management of this farm in general, and of the cider in particular, that they ventured to recommend Mrs. Hill and her son for a third prize, which the Local Committee very liberally and con- siderately granted. Class I. — Commended Farms. Occupied by Mr. J. S. Ford, Senior , Hall Torrs , YealmpAon. This farm lies close to the picturesque village of Yealmpton, about 7 miles east of Plymouth, and between 4 and 5 miles from the Plympton and Ivybridge railway stations. For depth and richness of soil, and natural advantages, this farm is one of the most favoured in the competition. No finer grazing ground can be wished for than some of the old pastures, whilst the crops on the arable land show that the soil is a grateful one, and repays liberal treatment. Mr. Ford has held the farm since 1878, when he succeeded his father, who had been upon it for 42 years. The cropping and cultivation of the arable land are upon much the same lines as on the farms already noticed. The fields are square, and of fair size, and many old fences have from time to time been removed. Indeed, the farm bears many evidences of having been well managed and looked after in the past. A considerable extent of stone facing to the fences has been done in years gone by, and some 40 1. has been expended in such work by the present tenant within the last three years. The stock are good all round, though perhaps not quite so numerous as the farm is capable of carrying. Formerly, Mr. Ford was an admirer of Shorthorns, and kept a small herd, but although successful with them in the show-yard, he was no more able to induce his neighbours to appreciate their good qualities, and to substitute them for South Hammers, than sundry more recent breeders of the “ red, white, and roan” have been. For some years, therefore, he has devoted his attention to the local breed, and has met with more success. Six heifers and a bull were on both occasions of the Judges’ visits being fed and got ready for exhibition at Plymouth, where they afterwards won three first prizes, one second prize, and a commendation. The sheep also are worthy of mention, as they were an excellent level lot, showing much aptitude to fatten, and carrying heavy fleeces of wool. All of them were of Mr. Ford's own breeding. In January some of the early lambs were ready for the butcher, VOL. i. T. s. — 4 3 (j 802 The Farm Prize Competition of 1890. and one in fact had been sold for 2 guineas for a feast to which the .Judges had been kindly invited. Upon the whole, the management of this farm, although not quite up to that of those to which the prizes have been awarded, is worthy of special commendation. Occupied by Mr. William Lowry Treveor, Gorran. This, the only farm in Class I. which is in Cornwall, is situate ten miles south of the town of St. Austell, where is also the nearest railway station. The country around is an open one, and has hardly any hedge-row or other timber. The soil is mainly light and easy to work, and being near the sea-coast the climate is moist. The cropping is very similar to that in Devonshire which has been reported upon, except that occasion- ally di’edge corn is taken in immediate succession to some other cereal crop. Some fields have been laid down to permanent pasture by the present tenant, and sundry new fences erected. In fact some little improvement is constantly being made. Four dairy cows are kept and their calves reared, and many steers and heifers are bought for grazing and are fed off. The total head on the farm numbers 82. They are mainly crossbred Guernsey and Shorthorn. Pure Shorthorns have been tried occa- sionally, but they have not always been successful. The sheep are “ South Hams,” and are described in the Judges’ notes as a very uniform good lot. Rams are bought at Totnes or in that neighbourhood, because there the wool retains its quality and staple, which is not the case in Cornwall, where after exposure to the climate it gradually deteriorates. Mr. Lawry, who has been on the farm twenty-three years, has been a tolerably regular visitor to the Royal show-yards, and has there occasionally purchased new implements which took his fancy. He has, therefore, a good assortment of modern and new implements (such as self-binding reaper, thatch-maker, &c.) mixed up with sundry old-fashioned and clumsy ones for which Cornishmen still retain their fancy. The average yearly sales of stock and crops range from 1,300k to 1,500k, whilst labour is 250k, and artificial manures cost about 200k Class II. — First Prize Farm. Occupied by Mr. E. Cornish , East Farm , Charleton , Kingsbridge. This farm consists of 182£ acres, of which 141£ are arable and the remainder in grass and orchards. It is situate about The Farm Prize Competition of 1890. 803 24 miles from the small market town of Kingsbridge, which is li miles from the nearest railway station. The tenancy is a yearly one, held under Lord William Compton, and has now existed for seven years. The rent and rates amount to about 320Z., the former having been reduced from 470 1. since the tenancy commenced. The house is a new one, and is built on a larger and more ambitious scale than are most farm-houses in the county. The dairy is large and well ventilated, and the rooms are spacious and lofty. The farm-buildings are, however, much scattered and inconvenient, and in unsuitable situations. Some cattle boxes and yards have recently been erected. Water is laid on in the yards, and useful drinking-troughs are provided. In one of the buildings, in which there is a root-store with a loft over, an opening has been left in the floor of the loft through which roots can be tipped from above direct from the carts which are backed to the opening, but prevented going too far by wooden blocks. The farm lies on a hillside facing south-west, and rises gradually from a small estuary of the sea (on which is a landing-stage or wharf for the use of the farm) to a height of 350 feet at the highest point. From this latter the open sea is visible at three points of the compass. About 50 acres of corn and 36 acres of roots are grown annually, the remainder of the arable land being in rotation grasses of various ages. No definite course of cropping is adopted. The wheat sown is mainly Fenton’s White, or the Red Chaff White, and is drilled in rows 6 inches apart at the rate of 2 bushels per acre. Some of the corn crops were very promis- ing and all very forward. Some trifolium and winter vetches are sown, parts of which are mown and taken to the yards for horses. The remainder is eaten by sheep twice and occasionally (as this year) three times. The crops are mainly dunged at the rate of 15 to 20 loads per acre, with an addition of 5 cwt. of mineral phosphate. Where no dung can be had, 5 cwt. bone phosphate is substituted. All the swedes and turnips are eaten off by sheep, which get also cake and corn. The first year’s seeds are mown after being dunged, the second and third years’ are grazed. After this they are generally ploughed up and followed by roots. All the rotation grasses had done well, and in some of the fields near the house the first year’s lea for mowing was remarkably full and heavy. The permanent pastures are most luxuriant, and have been thoroughly well treated. One field of grass intended to be mown was very full of the richest herbage. There are some 3 a 2 804 The Farm Prize Competition of 1890. - water meadows which are regularly irrigated when there is sufficient water, but this occasionally runs too short to cover the whole area in one year. Provision is made for all the drainage from the homestead and other buildings and yards being added to the water used for irrigation. The land which had been covered in the spring was full of grass at the time of the Judges’ second visit. Considering that the farm has no advan- tage of situation for obtaining dung other than that produced on the farm, and also that Mr. Cornish’s expenditure in arti- ficial manures is only from 50 1. to 60 1. per annum, the land is in remarkably good heart, and is growing crops that cannot fail to be remunerative. A large quantity of dung is, however, made in the sheds and yards at home, and much of it under cover in the boxes during the whole winter. The orchards are well attended to, several young trees having been planted since the tenancy began and carefully pruned and protected. Cider is made for home consumption only. The fences and banks are kept neatly, and much stone- facing has been done by the tenant, who has paid 40h for stones for this purpose alone. Thirty-seven head of cattle were on the farm in January, and 30 head in June. Of these, 10 were dairy cows or heifers in milk, all showing great milking qualities, the remainder calves and steers of various ages. Between the visits some of the cows had aborted, and so there was not the usual number of young calves being reared. The cattle were all South Hams of nice quality and with an aptitude for putting on condition. In January nine head in all, chiefly steers of about years of age, were being fed for the butcher and were thriving well, although not getting much in the way of artificial food. Most of the cattle were bred on the farm, and are descended from the stock of Mr. Cornish’s father, who is an old breeder and has gone occasionally to' the Somerset Devon for a cross to keep up quality and feeding properties. The 1 1 bullocks fed last year realised 256k Good as are the cattle on this farm, they are excelled by the sheep, which are “ South Hams” and as fine a lot as can be found in any part of the county. These, likewise, are descended from the flock of Mr. Cornish, sen., who is acknow- ledged to be an excellent breeder and judge of all kinds of stock. About 60 breeding ewes are kept, and are put to a South Hams ram. Of the produce, the best of the ewe hoggs are retained and added to the flock, the wethers are sold off fat in the spring, whilst the draft ewes go the same way later on. Seventy- four sheep sold last year averaged above 55s. each, the wethers The Farm Prize Competition of 1890. 805 making from 61s. to 66s. each. Some rams are reared for sale for breeding purposes. All the sheep are well kept, and when feeding for the butcher get cake and corn daily. The lambs are favoured also, as Mr. Cornish believes in keeping “ young things going.” The ewes were all in grand condition. One hundred and forty-five sheep were shorn in 1890 and averaged 13 lb. of wool per fleece in the grease. At a recent local Show this flock was awarded three first and two second prizes in three classes, and in fact all but “ swept the decks.” The horses were as good for their part as the other stock. Indeed, no better were seen on any farm during the inspection. The six work horses are smart active animals, and it was quite a treat to see the quick way in which they moved when plough- ing, and how they “ whipped ” round at the end of each double furrow. A brood mare and her colt, and a harness nag, com- plete the stud. The labour bill amounts to about 170 1. per annum, exclusive of the value of three cottages which are held with the farm, and of sortie potato ground and its cultivation. Mr. Cornish him- self frequently lends a hand, and does sundry lots of sowing and other work in busy times. The whole farm is worked at a light expense, but is, nevertheless, in a condition surpassing many another on which the expenditure in labour, manure, and feeding stuffs, is proportionately greater. The management and quality of the stock also contribute much to Mr. Cornish’s success. Class II. — Second Prize Farm. Occupied by Mr. J. S. Ford, Jan., Luson, Holbeton, Ivybridge. Mr. Ford, who is a son of the competitor of that name in Class I., occupies two adjoining farms which lie 10 miles south- east of Plymouth, and six from Ivybridge, which is the nearest railway station. One farm belongs to Lord Revelstoke, whose residence is close by, and the other to Mr. H. B. Mildmay, of Flete, which is between two and three miles away. One for- merly belonged to Mr. Ford’s father, who sold it to the present owner a few years ago. The farms together comprise 1 72 A acres, of which 145^ acres are arable and 27 pasture, and are fairly convenient for joint occupation. The tenancies are yearly, and the rents, tithes, and rates amount to about 40s. per acre. The house in which Mr. Ford resides is a comfort- able and convenient one, and the buildings generally provide ample accommodation, although from the nature of circumstances the latter are somewhat scattered. Some of them are new, and 806 The Farm Prize Competition of 1890. all of tliem are in good repair. The other house is divided into two cottages for labourers. The soil is mostly heavy, overlying a clay subsoil, and in some places a loose rock. The cropping of the land varies according to the nature of the soil, the heavy portion being of course more frequently planted with wheat, and the lighter with barley. In some fields where the soil varies, the kind of corn crop is varied also. This year there are 22 acres of wheat, 18J of barley, 7 of oats, and 30 of roots. The remainder of the arable land is under rotation-grasses of one, two, or three years’ sowing. The wheat, chiefly Golden Drop or Cam- bridge White, is on the whole fairly good, but one field has been much thinned by wireworm. Last year one field averaged 40 bushels per acre. Barley is a promising crop, and one field of black oats after three years’ lea is a remarkably strong one. Mr. Ford has not yet had the farm long enough (only five years) to get into a regular rotation, and has in a few cases had to follow one corn crop by another. This has limited his opportunities of clearing the land of his predecessor’s legacies. Where two crops have succeeded each other, some 3 cwt. of artificial manure has been sown for the second crop. One field of mangel is after potatoes which followed oats. The potatoes got 20 carts of dung and 12 hogsheads of lime per acre, and the mangel got 7 cwt. of special manure. Another field of mangel is after old lea. This had dung on the grass in 1889, then lime, sis hogsheads (= three tons) per acre mixed with soil, and, in 1890, 7 cwt. of dissolved bones. The swede crops get 7 cwt. dissolved bones and mineral phosphate per acre, and in some cases dung as well at the rate of 10 to 12 cartloads. Where dung is used the roots are carted off, but where none is used the turnips are fed off by sheep. Some rape is sown after wheat and then fed off. The first year’s lea is mown, and dung applied afterwards, as Mr. Ford finds the succeeding grass crops are better under this plan than where the dung is applied for the first mowing. The land does not take very kindly to grass, though where lime has been re- cently applied the clovers and grasses hold much longer and better. Most of the pasture land has only been recently laid down. There are two water meadows which are irrigated a week at a time — between Michaelmas and Ladyday — with water from a pond in the yard, through which a small stream runs, and which re- ceives all the drainage of the yards and buildings. The water- carriers are well laid out, and extended to as high a level as The Farm Prize Competition of 1890. 807 practicable. These water meadows were full of grass in June, and well calculated to flush the milk of some fine dairy cows which were grazing on them. The orchards extend to four acres, and are well looked after. Each tree gets a dressing of dung or compost yearly, and the pruning, &c., is duly attended to. Forty hogsheads of cider were produced last year, half of which were sold off unracked at from 25s. to 30s. each. A small herd of dairy cows (10 to 12 South Hammers) is kept, and the produce reared. Some of the cows are exceptionally good, and the young stock promise to maintain the character of the herd. One two-years-old bull of Mr. Ford’s own breeding was a thick good animal, with level back, even flesh, and a fine masculine head. A younger one, recently purchased from a good herd, has, like so many young South Hammers, room to develop and furnish, but at present is not equal to the home- bred one. The cows are arranged to calve between Michaelmas and Ladyday, when butter realises the highest prices, and when calves are said in the locality to rear best. The cows are well kept, and the best milkers when in full profit get cake and bran and oats. The rest get bran and oats even when on grass. The total head in January was 4d, including two bulls, and in June a similar number — the places of the steers fed off’ in the spring having been taken by calves born since. The cattle were a very even and good lot, and seemed able to thrive and milk hard at the same time. One heifer had been shown three times, and had been placed first on each occasion. All the cattle were in capital condition. About 100 breeding ewes (South Hams) are kept; 30 of the ewe hoggs are added yearly to the flock, whilst the remainder and the wethers are fed off for the butcher in the winter and early spring. Some ewes and lambs of 1890 had gone off fat before the June visit at 78s. “the couple,” viz. ewe and lamb. The sheep are well fed and kept going. In January the hoggs and wethers were getting lib. oats and ~ pint maize daily, on cabbages and turnips, and in June those for the butcher were having |lb. cake daily. The lambs are weaned early in May, and get a little cake or corn for a short period to prevent their going back in condition. Rams are bought generally from Mr. Ford, sen. One of these had taken 1st prize at Yealmpton, in a class of seven. The five horses are a good, useful, and active lot, and show more breeding than is common in the county. One had recently won first prize at a local show. Two smart active hackneys are also kept for Mr. Ford’s riding. Thirteen black pigs, some 808 The Farm Prizo Competition of 1800. ducks and geese, and 150 cocks and liens complete 4k e list of live stock. The labour bill amounts to about 15s. per acre, and pur- chased feeding stuffs and manures cost 250k Corn and other produce last year realised between 450k and 500k, and live stock sold for about 700k An excellent and simple system of accounts (Elliott’s Far- mers’ Account Book) is kept, in which columns and pages are prepared and filled up for a year’s transactions under each department or heading. The method is exceedingly simple and clear. A balance-sheet and valuation is made each year. Mrs. Ford lends a hand very frequently at these accounts, as well as looking after the dairy work. Class II. — Highly Commended Farm. Occupied by Mr. Charles Horn , Blowiscombe , Yelverton. This farm lies at the foot of the western fringe of the Dartmoor Forest, and participates in the rougher climate which prevails in that district. It is seven miles south-east of Tavistock, and a similar distance north-east of Plymouth, and con- tains 159£ acres, of which one half is arable and the other half grass. Mr. Horn has been tenant for four years only, and has, therefore, not had time to get all the arable land into equal order and condition. But he is going the right way to work, and in course of time may take a higher position in a similar competi- tion. His old pastures, and some fields which have recently been laid down, show signs of much liberal treatment. In one of the former there was the unusual sight of the ox-eye daisy, generally so indicative of poverty, growing in the midst of most succulent clover, which is frequently taken as a proof of fertility. The daisies were significant of previous poor treat- ment, whilst the latter was the result of recent applications of forcing dung. A continuance of the latter will soon eradicate the former. A field of meadow grass intended for hay was an especially heavy crop, and full of good herbage. It has been mown regularly during the tenancy, and has received a coating of dung (eighteen carts to the acre) directly after the removal of the hay crop. A dairy herd of twenty cows is kept, but its management differs from that on the other farms reported upon in one im- portant point — namely, that the cows are sold as soon as they have produced their second calf. This is the time when, as a rule, they realise most money, because of the demand for them The Farm Prize Competition o/1890. 809 810 The Farm Prize Competition of 1890. by dairymen and others. The calves are retained, and the heifers bred from early, to keep up a succession of calvers for this heavy draught upon the number of dairy cows. The heifers are well fed, especially after they have first calved, so as to keep them growing, and secure their being in good condition when the time for their sale arrives. Thus about ten cows are sold yearly, and ten first calved heifers added in their place. The steers are fed, and seven or eight go off yearly. About fifty ewes (Improved Dartmoors) are kept, and part of their produce sold as fat lambs. Twelve had gone in June at 35s. each. The hoggs are kept until after clipping time and then sold fat. Three horses do the work of the farm. A chestnut colt bred here was by a sire of the “ old packhorse ” breed — a breed for which the district was at one' time very celebrated, and from which many a four-horse team has been taken direct from the plough to a nobleman or gentleman’s stable. Hardly any corn is sold, but what little is grown is mainly consumed on the farm, in addition to 15(B. worth of cake and maize. Much lime and artificial manure have been used lately. On this farm is the best and most convenient set of buildings met with. Indeed, so excellent is the arrangement, and so rea- sonable the cost — l,000h — that a plan (Fig. 2, on page 809) is, with the permission of the landlord, here submitted, with one other comment only — that if means had been provided for cart- ing on to the loft (to get the corn sheaves to the threshing machine, &c.) the arrangement would have been perfect. In this, and in other respects, Mr. Gill has been an improving and encouraging landlord. He appreciates Mr. Horn’s efforts to farm well, and since the prize awards have been made known lias presented him with manure sufficient for twelve acres of permanent grass. Class II. — Commended Farm. Occupied by Mr. Henry Quartly , Holland, South Molt on. This is the only competing farm which lies in North Devon, being situate close to the northern boundary of the county. The approach to it from Dulverton, picturesque and interesting as it may be to the tourists who frequent that locality, is not an inviting one to the searcher after prize farming, as it offers him but little prospect of success. But appearances are at times very deceptive. The farm was formerly in two holdings, in one of which The Farm Prize Competition of 1890. 811 (Brimley, 117 acres) Mr. Quartly succeeded liis brother in 1875, and the other (Rowry, 58^ acres) he has rented since 1882. The whole belongs to Sir W. Throckmorton, Bart., of Southdown fame, who is owner also of a considerable extent of land in the neigh- bourhood. Attached to the farm is a right of common over Molland Moor, which is about 3,000 acres in extent, and forms part of the Exmoor range of hills, or “ downs ” as they are locally called. Much of the land is too steep for cultivation, and, indeed, were it not for the necessity of growing root crops, Mr. Quartly would prefer not ploughing at all. As it is, when any field is broken up it is laid down again as soon as possible, with as many root crops and as few corn crops intervening as practicable. Thus the cropping of one field ploughed out of lea in 1888 has been swedes and mangel in 1888, mangel and swedes in 1889 (the mangel this year following the swedes of previous year, and vice versa ), whilst in 1890 the whole has been sown with rape and vetches mixed, and seeded down with the following mix- ture : — Rye-grass (Devon eaver) 3 pecks, red clover 4 lb., white clover 2 lb., alsike 2 lb., and ribgrass ^ a peck. The land in the meantime is treated liberally with dnng and artificials, and excellent crops of roots, especially of mangel, are grown, though some of the fields are at an elevation of 1,000 feet above the level of the sea. Some kohl-rabi is grown, being treated exactly as swedes, and the Judges were assured the crop is quite equal to the latter. A considerable area is “ watered ” by irrigation, for which Mr. Quartly has at his own expense cut several carriers. The liquid manure from the farmyard is allowed to run into the stream which is used for this irrigation, and so well has it answered that Mr. Quartly considers that the land has been trebled in agricultural value. Where the water cannot reach, artificial manures are applied. Lime has been used fairly freely and (with the view of making experiments) in two fields certain strips of land in the centre were left unlimed. The actual line of application was clearly defined by the difference in the herbage, and by the cattle grazing more closely on the limed than on the unlimed land, although in one case 6 years have elapsed since the lime was applied. The farm is essentially a sheep farm, and its management is chiefly directed to that end. A breeding flock of 130 to 140 Exmoor ewes is kept, and its produce retained until fat and ready for the butcher. The wether hoggs are fed well during winter and in their second summer, and go to the butcher in 812 The Farm Prize Competition of 1890. the following August and September, when the tourist season at the neighbouring seaside places of resort is at its height, and when the tenderness and delicacy of flavour in Exmoor mutton are highly appreciated. The ewes are turned on the adjoining moor about Midsummer (or just after clipping), taken off for tupping about the end of August, and put on again for a fortnight after. The draft ewes go southwards in the early autumn, and are there crossed by Devon Longwool or South Devon rams, and, with their last crop of lambs, fed off. Mr. Quartly’s uncle was much celebrated for his flock of Exmoors, and won many prizes at Smithfield and elsewhere. Many of the sheep to-day at Brimley are descended from his flock. Little need, therefore, to say that the Judges greatly admired their neat compact frames and fine wool, which do credit to their sire, who has been successfully exhibited at local Shows. Being a “ Quartly ” also, what wonder that the present competitor should have inherited a decided love for and discerning judgment in the selection of “North Devons” to stock his farm with ? Some of the cattle are descended from the old Quartly stock which has been for many years so frequently in the Royal and other prize lists, and are themselves prize winners. The latest addition to the herd is a recent purchase for 32 guineas of a heifer at Lord Falmouth’s sale. The climate and drawbacks of situation placed Mr. Quartly at a disadvantage in the competition, but the Judges considered him deserving of commendation for his persevering efforts to overcome the physical difficulties of his holding. Class III— First Prize Farm. Occupied by Mr. J. W. Lawry, St. Mellion, Saltasli. The Judges’ visits to this farm were some of the most interesting periods of their inspection, for here they met with an instance, and a most gratifying one it was too, of what a man of enterprise, perseverance, and intelligence can accomplish, not only in the profitable cultivation of land, but in the establish- ment and promotion of a local industry which is calculated to confer beneficial advantages upon his poorer neighbours. The farm comprises GO acres of arable land, of pasture, and 30 of orchards and fruit gardens. The greater part is held under a yearly tenancy from the Earl of Mount Edgcumbe, and is situate in Cornwall, on the banks of the River Tamar, which divides the two counties. Mr. Lawry was born and brought The Farm Prize Competition of 1890. 818 up on the farm, and succeeded his father as tenant 24 years ago. Since that period he has converted a material portion of the land into orchards and fruit gardens, and has developed a trade or traffic in the growth and sale of fruit, which has been profitable to himself and beneficial to the district at large. If, in this report, prominence is given to Mr. Lawry’s fruit farming, to the curtailing of the record of his other management, the reader must not assume that the latter has few points worthy of record, but rather that the former is in the writer’s opinion of so much more absorbing interest as to demand all his available space. Fruit farming, and its application to small holdings, has of late been such a fruitful subject of discussion that a record of its successful practice cannot fail to be of more public interest than a mere reiteration of the best of ordinary farm management. Briefly then, the arable land this year is cropped as follows, viz. : wheat 4 acres, oats ojr, barley 6, mangel 2, and other root crops 4, the remainder being in seeds of various duration. The land is clean, and well managed, and is made to produce heavy crops of corn and roots. No finer crops of mangel or turnips were seen anywhere than here, and one crop of white turnips deserves especial mention because of its being the second crop on the land during the year. The field was sown in the autumn of 1888 with winter oats, which were harvested about the middle of August 1889, then dunged, ploughed, and sown with common turnips, and a right good crop resulted. The mangel crop was estimated to weigh upwards of forty tons per acre, and was little short of that grown the previous year, for which a second prize had been awarded in a local competition. Mr. Lawry attributes the weight and success of his crop to the fact of the plants being left thicker on the ground than usual, because of the rows being only nineteen inches apart and the plants singled out to ten inches. The excess in the number of roots at these distances over those at 2 ft. by 10 in. is 7,560 per acre. All the green crop land (except that for mangel) is sown with either trifolium or vetches, and the produce made into silage in a silo which is fitted with an apparatus of Mr. Lawry’s own invention, for lifting the heavy stones used for weighting. All the dung produced on the farm is applied to the arable land, and is supplemented by bones, guano, and nitrate of soda. The expenditure in purchased artificial manures and feeding stuffs averages 250Z., in addition to some hundred tons (weight) of town manure, which is brought from Plymouth by barge to a wharf on the river boundary. This latter manure is applied to 814 The Farm Prize Competition of 1890. the orchards and strawberry ground. Seven acres of the grass land form part of a plot of about 150 acres which was reclaimed by Lord Mount Edgcumbe from the River Tamar about twelve years ago, and which, when let separately, now realises 21. to 3 1. an acre in yearly rent. When first reclaimed the land was full of holes and hollows into which cattle and horses were apt to sink. These holes had to be filled up by spade labour. Afterwards the land was trenched two spit deep, then drained, and afterwards limed at the rate of 4^ tons per acre, put on hot. Two crops of oats followed, then the land was summer fallowed, and afterwards laid down to permanent pasture, which is now capital grazing ground. The landlord paid for the embanking and draining, and the tenants did the remaining work of reclamation, getting the land at a nominal rent for the first year or two. Mr. Lawry spent 10(H. in labour in reclaiming his portion, but doubts if either he or his landlord has yet derived much benefit from the outlay. Part of the land is now planted with plums and raspberries. Ten cows are kept for dairy purposes, and are mostly cross- bred Shorthorns, and Guernsey. These are put to a Shorthorn bull, the present sire, bred by Mr. Treadwell, having been bought at the Birmingham sale in 1889. The calves are all reared and fed on the farm until matured either for the herd or butcher. About forty-five ewes, chiefly Dartmoors, are bought each autumn, and put to a dark-faced and short-wool ram (either Hampshire or Shropshire, or a mixture of both). The lambs are pushed on from birth, so as to go off fat as early as possible. The ewes also are well fed, and sold to the butcher during the summer. The increase in this flock had been three lambs to each pair of ewee. A few pigs are fed, and a lot of poultry kept and reared. The receipts for tho latter amount to about 70 1. per annum. Three horses are kept. The labour bill for the whole averages from 400Z. to 500Z. per annum, but fluctuates according to the abundance or otherwise of the fruit crops ; a good cherry year entailing quite 20^. a week extra during the picking season. The ordinary rate of wages is 15s. a week, for about nine months of the year, when the men work from 7 a.m. to 5.30 r.M., but in “picking” time they are raised to 20s. per week, with no limit as to hours, and when work frequently commences between 4 and 5 A.M. For cherry picking, 24s. to 26s. per week is given to men accustomed to the work, and who are careful not to damage the trees whilst “gathering.” But this is an uncertain crop, as, for instance, in 1887 Mr. Lawry sold 18 tons of cherries, but in 1889 only 15 cwt. In “strawberry” and “bush fruit ’’times forty The Farm Prize Competition of 1890. 815 to fifty or more extra hands, mainly women and girls, and school children, are engaged, the latter earning during the six weeks’ holiday 6s., 8s., or 10s. a week, apiece, according to age. As many as 3,000 punnets of strawberries have been gathered and sent off in a day. The figures in the balance-sheet of the agricultural portion will bear comparison with those on most farms, but it is upon the fruit crop that Mr. Lawry relies mainly for his profit, although this is not now what it used to be. In the “good old times” he has sold as much as 1,000£. worth of fruit in a season, but now, owing to increased competition, the prices are quite a third less than they were ten years ago, and the middleman gets a full share of the price paid by the consumer. Mr. Lawry has also a lessened area under straw- berries, consequent upon the land which was first found most suited to their growth having become “ sick ” or “ tired ” of them. Still, despite all these drawbacks, the gross receipts on the whole farm amount to about Ihl. per acre, on an average of seasons. A difference of 101. per ton in the price of straw- berries or raspberries, and a corresponding difference in the same season between the “jam ” and “dessert” markets, will materially affect the balance-sheet of this farm. The history of Mr. Lawry’s first introduction to this branch of his occupation deserves recording, because it shows the enterprise and dogged determination to overcome difficulties which are his marked characteristics. Being in London for the purpose of seeing the Exhibition of 1862, he strolled early one morning into Covent Garden Market, where his attention was attracted to the prices asked for strawberries. Knowing that his father had in his little garden, in Cornwall, some fruit which was quite equal to that for which such high prices were asked, the idea struck him to have some forwarded to him to try to sell. He wrote his father accordingly, and all was sent him that could be found, but, owing to ignorance in the art of packing, the fruit, on arrival, was quite unsaleable. But Mr. Lawry was not disheartened ; so, instead of grieving at his failure and aban- doning the project, he set to work to overcome the difficulties, and with such success that shortly afterwards his fruit became the earliest, and obtained the highest prices, in the London, Manchester, Liverpool, Edinburgh, Cardiff, and other markets. To the present day the district continues to supply the earliest “ out of door ” fruit in the kingdom. Directly upon his return from London in 1862, Mr. Lawry planted as much land with strawberries as was available, and set to work to get moi’e ready until, in about three years, he had quadrupled the area under that crop. This went on increasing until either all the suitable 31G Tlie Farm Prize Competition o/1890. land had been cropped, or the prices realised had by reason of increased competition considerably fallen. In due course the produce from the new plantings (augmented by purchases of fruit from the villagers and gardens around) was sent to London and realised 2s. to 2s. 6d. per lb., which was quite three times the rate of the local market. From the very satis- factory returns of this second venture the extended growth of the fruit became general in the district, and acres of straw- berries are now grown where, prior to the casual visit to Covent Garden, only a few yards had been devoted to them. In the meantime the procuring of “ punnets,” or little baskets in which to pack the fruit, became a great difficulty, and often Mr. Lawry had to “ run up ” to London by night in the middle of the season to obtain what he wanted. Here again his indomitable pluck and enterprising skill came to his aid, for he devised the idea of making the punnets at home, and now he is able to produce not only what he requires himself, but some for sale also at prices less than half those he formerly paid. At first the wood from which the punnets were made was prepared by hand-planes, but at Mr. Lawry ’s instigation, and upon his guaranteeing to take a large quantity, a firm in Plymouth entered upon the preparation of the wood by machinery, and, after many developments of the latter, is now able to turn out material for a large quantity as well as make up seventy gross of punnets daily. Another factory has since been established in the parish of St. Mellion at which much wood is prepared and tied up in bundles for sale to the fruit growers and their workpeople. This punnet-making is now quite an important local industry in the little village of Boetheric, near which the farm lies, women and children employing their spare hours in the winter months in the work, and making quite a comfortable addition to the family earnings. From what trifling causes do great results arise ! The accidental stroll into Covent Garden was, as Mr. Lawry says, practically the making of his fortune, and the foundation of a local industry, which has proved a boon indeed to the resi- dents of a Cornish village. The fruit is grown on the steep banks alongside the river, and on the southern slopes of deep valleys which open out on either side. Care is taken to select only those sites which face southwards, and are sheltered by the surrounding lands from the westerly winds and spring frosts. A deep and rich soil, however, is not so much sought after as a thin and warm one, because of the latter favouring early maturity. Preference is given to strawberries because of their being the most reliable The Farm Prize Competition of 1890. 817 and most profitable crop, but in course of time tbe land gets sick of them, when cherries, plums, apples, and other fruit trees are substituted. Ten years is the average life of a strawberry plantation, though there are plots in the locality which have been twenty years in existence, and are still prolific. The cherries and other tall fruit trees are planted at wide intervals, and the intervening spaces filled with gooseberry, raspberry, and other bushes. The plants and trees are all placed in rows, and the intervening ground is kept open, and free from weeds. Under one portion of a cherry and plum plantation grass seeds were sown some two or three years since, but the practice will not be continued, as the trees are found to thrive and produce best where the ground around the stems is cultivated yearly, and air gets admitted to their roots. On new ground, before the bushes and trees have attained much size, cauliflowers, cabbages, &c., are grown. New plantations of strawberries are constantly being made to take the place of those which are worn out. In this matter especial attention is paid to procuring the earliest sorts, because they are the most profitable, the early baskets in the market invariably getting the best prices. Mr. Lawry is, therefore, always on the look out for the varieties which have this impor- tant quality, and this spring paid 5 1. for a small hamper of plants which were specially recommended on that account. The few berries which these plants have produced this year bear out their recommendation. Runners from strawberries are cut off as they appear, except when a bed begins to show signs of decline ; then the runners between alternate rows are allowed to take root so as to fill up any casual vacancies. Town manure from Plymouth is mainly used, and is carried on to the ground in handbarrows, but occasionally bones or some artificial manures are applied. A perceptible difference between two adjoining plots which are let to Mr. Lawry’s workmen seems to point to pig manuro being very suitable. Many old banks and fences have been removed because of their obstructing light and air, and harbouring birds. In their place, alongside the roadways, wire fences have been substituted, although, as Mr. La\yry casually remarked, £t when we can get a ton of strawberries a day we don't mind a few birds.” Of the crops this year, strawberries, raspberries, and goose- berries— in fact, all bush fruit — are quite up to the average. Plums also are fairly good; but cherries and apples are almost failures, except one variety of the latter, which Mr. Lawry has recently introduced, and is cultivating on an extended scale VOL. I. T. S. — 4 3 H 818 The Farm Prize Competition o/1890. because of its being a reliable bearer. A fig tree was also in full bearing. Upon the Judges’ visit on the 11th June, Mr. Lawry had just received his first return for strawberries for the season from Manchester, and was satisfied with the result. This was rather a later commencement than usual, as in some years the first pickings have usually been ready by 23rd May. The fruit, when packed, has hitherto been sent by road to Saltash Station, which is nine miles away, or by water to Plymouth, and thence transferred to the Great Western Railway, but the recent opening of the new line of the South-Western Railway, with a station at less than half the distance on the other side of the river, will doubtless be found a great advantage, especially as competition between the two companies will probably result in lower freights. At present the rate of carriage to Scotland is 81. 10&\, Manchester .5 1. 15s., Liver- pool hi. 15s., and London SI. 10s. per ton. As much as 150Z. has been paid for railway carriage in a season. In connection with this subject it may be mentioned that Mr. Lawry was called as a witness before the House of Lords’ Committee on the Railway Rates Bill, and gave evidence as to the charges for carriage of fruit, &c. The finding of the best markets and the quickest routes thereto is another instance of Mr. Lawry’s active business capacity and shrewdness. Having ascertained that the northern markets were generally in advance of the London ones towards the middle and end of the season, he consigned fruit there ; but, not being satisfied with the prices first obtained, made inquiries, and found that his consignments arrived too late for securing the top figures. This was especially the case at Edinburgh. He then entered into negotiation with the various railway com- panies, and is now able to get his fruit into the northern markets as early as consignments from Covent Garden and other districts. Fruit now gathered in Cornwall before 6 A.M. one morning is sold in Edinburgh at 6 A.M. the next day, and at other less distant markets at a still earlier hour. Mr. Lawry’s success in the past has naturally secured for him many followers. Much land in the neighbourhood is now devoted to fruit growing. EvSry cottage garden, or allotment, has its bed of strawberries, the produce of which is sold in the various local markets or by retail to the passengers on the steam- boats which ply up and down the river in the holiday season. Occasionally some of the fruit is sold with Mr. Lawry’s to dis- tant markets, and the proceeds are divided in equal rates, for Mr. Lawry is an ardent advocate of co-operation, and is a share- The Farm Prize Competition of 1890. 819 holder and customer to a considerable extent of the Western Counties Association already referred to. Four or five years ago, about 30 acres of coppice wood, called Brent Wood, was cleared, and converted into strawberry and fruit gardens. It was let off in plots of the proverbial three acres extent, and from being worth 8s. to 10s. an acre as coppice is now let at 51. to 61. an acre on ten years’ leases. The landlord sold the coppice, but the tenants, who in some cases were labourers, cleared the land, then limed it at the rate of 50 bushels per acre, took a crop of potatoes, and afterwards planted strawberries. The landlord has provided some fruit trees, and has the right to purchase any found by the tenants, who have to maintain trees and plants when once attached to the soil. Twenty-five 2-liorse cartloads of dung have to be applied to each plot yearly, for which there is a wharf on the river side about three-quarters of a mile away. The labour of clearing, which has been done mainly by the tenants themselves, and entirely at their expense, is estimated at 20?. per acre, and the annual weeding is put at 51. per acre. In the first year of produce, as much as 300?. has been received for sales from some of the plots; but out of this must be deducted 50?. to 70?. for cultivation, picking, and something for railway and land carriage. Sometimes 100, and occasionally 200, persons may be seen gathering fruit on this reclaimed land. The first crops, however, have been in excess of all succeeding ones. It may be interesting to mention as an instance of fair and considerate dealings between landlord and tenant, that in Mr. Lawry’s lease are covenants for liberal compensation for bones, lime, and feeding stuffs, and for land brought under fruit culti- vation. Twenty pounds an acre is taken as the basis of com- pensation for this latter, extending over a graduated period of five years. In addition, Lord Mount Edgcumbe has allowed Mr. Lawry, in common with all his agricultural tenants, 10 per cent, reduction of rent for the last four or five years. The writer can imagine advocates of fruit farms and small holdings pointing to this one as an instance of the success attending the schemes they advocate. But this is quite an exceptional case. The circumstances of the locality specially favour the existing usage, and Mr. Lawry himself is “ one in a thousand.” Few are the men in his rank of life with the same enterprising abilities, persevering energies, and shrewd in- telligence, and rarer still are the occasions when such men confine their attention to a few acres of land. Other occupations provide more scope and greater profits. 3 H 2 820 The Farm Prize Competition af 1890. Class III. — Second Prize Farm. Occupied by Mr. C. Batli, Gear Farm, Camborne. This farm is situate just outside the small town of Cam- borne, the centre of one of the chief mining districts of Cornwall. 46a. 1r. 13p. are in grass, and the remaining 22a. 1r. 19r. are arable. The tenancy is under a lease for 21 years, of which two-thirds have expired. In this Mr. Bath succeeded his father, who had been on the farm for 46 years. Bent, tithe, and rates amount to about 45s. per acre. The house is a substantial and roomy one, of comparatively recent erection, and is kept in capital order and condition. The dairy is well planned and ventilated, and is as clean and neat as it can possibly be. The other buildings are well built, and contain all the accommodation needed for the farm. Water is laid on to every pasture field from the town supply, which passes along the road bounding one side of the farm. For this the tenant pays 4 1. 10s. a year, and considers the advantages are quite worth it. One portion of the farm is stiff clay, and lies so low that there is no fall for the drainage, except by crossing the adjoining land for some distance. This is doubtless the reason why two or three of the fields are undrained. One of these is named Park Starver, and is not far from . deserving its name, though if it were drained and treated as Mr. Bath treats the rest of his land it would soon redeem its character. Around the homestead the soil is comparatively light, and responds gratefully to the liberal treatment which it receives. The pastures are fairly good and show much clover, rye-grass, and rib-grass ; but' Yorkshire fog is too prevalent in some of the leas, and would seem to have been imported in the seed mixtures, as it is somewhat rare in the older pastures. Some of the grass fields are mown in alternate years, and are always manured before mowing. Indeed, the land is in such good heart, that last year, upon the advice of the landlord’s steward, one field of seeds was mown twice, so full was the second growth. This second cutting was got late, and, to prevent over- heating, alternate layers of the hay and rakings of the corn fields were placed in the stack. In cases such as this the making of silage would have been much the best plan of securing the crop. Only nine acres of corn, chiefly “ dredge ” for home con- sumption, are grown. The root crop this year extends to 6^ acres, and is chiefly in turnips; 1J acres are mangel, whilst The Farm Prize Competition of 1890. 821 cabbages and potatoes, which are both to be sold off, cover | acre in all. The land generally is very clean, and in capital condition. Mr. Bath buys about 15 1. worth of artificial manures yearly, and consumes most of his own corn. He has a great liking for compost heaps, and in January last had as many as seven ready to go on to a like number of fields. They are composed of soil dug from the foot of the fences, road-scrapings, and dung. A small herd of cows (half-bred Guernsey and Shorthorn, and excellent milkers) is kept, and their produce reared. Other cows, and heifers, and a bull or two to keep them company, are bought in the spi’ing and fed off. Some go early in the autumn without cake. Others are kept till Christmas and get an allowance of meal, &c. In January the total head numbered 36. Of these, seven cows, one steer, and two bulls, had gone to the butcher before June, and their place was supplied by 10 cows (Irish), and one bull bought in May last. Mr. Bath selects his feeding animals to suit the local mai'kets, where the prices for the different qualities of meat rule much more evenly than those offered by the generality of butchers else- where. Last Christmas his fat bulls and cows made 64s. per cwt., whilst for the best of heifers he could realise only a trifle above Id. per lb. The demand for the best qualities is not equal to that for the coarser ones. From 25 to 30 ewes are bought each autumn, and put to a Shropshire ram. The ewes were good big sheep, and 27 of them produced 37 lambs. The latter were the most forward seen on any of the farms, except Mr. Franklin’s. Indeed, four had gone at Easter at 40s. apiece. Last year the prices ranged from 35 s. to 50s. each between May and July. The 24 ewes that had been bought for 1889 went out, with their produce, for 74 1. over prime cost. Five pigs are kept, but Mr. Bath does not care about them, because the miners keep one apiece. Some poultry are kept, and young chickens are bought, reared, and fed. Five horses do the work of the farm, and in addition help to augment the profits by carting tin, &c. for the neighbouring mines. As much as 200/. per annum has thus been added to the credit side of the farm account. Much attention is paid to dairy produce. Mr. Bath was himself at one time a butter-maker and has competed at local Shows. But Mrs. Bath now does the work, and under his tuition has become so good a hand at it that this year she won two first prizes and a very high commendation in local contests. Mr. Bath is a lover of neatness. His implements and tools are stored away, each in its proper place. His gateways 822 The Farm Prize Competition of 1890. and fences also were in tlie neatest of order. Some of the former had been only recently renewed, and the gates had received their triennial coat of paint. The general etate of the farm is a very creditable example of good management on the part of a small holder. Class III. — Third Prize Farm. Occupied by Mr. F. F. Damerell, Colwell Farm, Fgg BucJcland, Crown Hill, Plymouth. This is a small farm of 84 acres (49^ arable, 32 grass, and remainder homestead, &c.), situate on the south-western con- fines of the Dartmoor Range, and about six miles north-east of Plymouth. About 25 acres were formerly part of the Buckland Common, which was inclosed 25 years ago. The tenancy is under lease for seven years which expires in 1892. The house is small but well built, and the farm buildings are fairly substantial erections. They are not quite extensive enough to accommodate all the stock which Mr. Damerell has on the farm during winter, but in this respect the position is one which is common to most small holdings. The provision of sufficient buildings at a cost upon which the tenant can afford to pay interest, is one of the difficulties which was frequently impressed upon the House of Commons’ Committee on Small Holdings. Of the arable land, 1G acres are in com, 1 2 f in roots, and the remainder in rotation grasses. A dairy herd of 17 cows is kept, chiefly crossbreds. The morning’s milk is sent into Plymouth, whilst the evening’s supply is set and scalded next morning. Some of the calves are reared until matured for either the herd or the butcher. About 45 ewes, improved Dartmoors, are bought in the autumn; those bought in 1888 cost 40s., and those in 1889 46 s. each. An early crop of lambs is taken and the ewes are fed so as to go off fat shortly after shearing. In June last 22 of the 1890 lambs had been sold at 35s. and 36s. apiece, and some ewes at 31. The sheep seen are described in the Judges’ notes as a very useful lot, and were estimated to clip 10 lb. of wool each. Seven horses are kept, but some of them are mainly employed in carting stones for the highways and main roads in the locality. The receipts for this extraneous work last year were just above 200Z. At the time of the June visit, the horses were drawing implements to the Show-yard at Plymouth. A fairly liberal expenditure is made in cake and other feeding The Farm Prize Competition of 1890. 823 stuffs and in lime and artificial manures, and some town dung is brought back from Plymouth when the horses and carts have occasion to go there. The labour bill is a somewhat heavy one, but this is accounted for by some of the men being engaged for the stone-carting. Conclusion. The writer cannot conclude without drawing attention to one of the lessons which has been strongly impressed upon him during his visits to the district of the competition, viz. that the old proverb about the early bird getting the worm (if he is up first) might be rendered “ the early grower gets most profit.” As the reader, if he has had patience to wade through the fore- going details, must have seen, there are several instances given in support of such rendering. One competitor gets the highest price for his green forage because he has it ready and in the market earlier than his neighbours ; another gets the best return for his fruit because it is the earliest in the market ; whilst the profits from the potato and flower crops in Scilly and South Cornwall are entirely dependent upon their early maturity and being first in the market. It perhaps goes without saying that the Judges were every- where received with the greatest cordialness and hospitality, which they heartily appreciated. What visitor on errands such as theirs ever failed to meet with free welcome ? And surely none could fail to appreciate the tender mutton, juicy beef, piquant cider, clotted cream, and delicate junket which are so hospitably offered to all visitors in Devonshire and Corn- wall. The several competitors met the Judges with the kindest consideration, and offered every facility for a thorough insight into their respective methods of management. For all this the Judges desire to express to them their best thanks, and to assure them that they will retain for many years the most pleasant re- collections of the kind and friendly reception they met with. F. PUNCHARD. 824 Official (Reports. REPORT OF THE COUNCIL TO THE HALF-YEARLY GENERAL MEETING OF GOVERNORS AND MEMBERS, HELD IN THE Hall of the Royal Medical and Chirurgical Society, At 20 Hanover Square, W., ON THURSDAY, DECEMBER 11, 1890. Earl Cathcart (Trustee) in the Chair. The Council have to report that the List of Governors and Members has undergone the following changes during the half-year which has elapsed since the Anniversary General Meeting on May 22 last : — 3 new Governors and 219 Members have joined the Society, 5 have been reinstated under By-Law 12, and 3 Members have qualified as Governors ; whilst the deaths of 1 Honorary Member, 6 Life-Gover- nors, 79 Life-Members, and 83 Annual Members have been reported. Twelve Members have been struck off the books under By-Law 10, owing to absence of addresses; 79 under By-Law 11, for arrears of subscriptions ; and 30 have resigned. 2. The Council regret to announce that no less than five of the original Members of the Society have died since their election as “ Foundation Life-Governors ” in March last — viz., Sir John Ogilvy, Bart., of Baldovan House, Dundee ; Mr. William Aldam, of Frickley Hall, Doncaster ; Mr. Joseph Druce, of Eynsham, Oxford (a Member of the Council from 1860 to 1888) ; Mr. F. H. Dickinson, of King’s Weston, Somerton ; and Mr. Isaac Pearson Evans, of Griff, Nun- eaton. Amongst other Governors and Members whose loss by death the Society has had to deplore during the past half-year are the Marquis of Normanby, the Earl of Rosslyn, Lord Deramore, Lord Magheramorne, Loid Tollemache (a Member since 1841), Sir Richard Wallace, Bart., Sir Tcnman Mosley, Bart, (a Member since 1841), Sir Edwin Chadwick, K.C.B. (a Member since 1842), Mr. RoberJ Leeds (a Member of the Council from 1869 to 1889), and Report to the General Meeting, December 11, 1890. 825 Mr. W. Beckett, M.P., who was one of the chief promoters of the Society’s visit to Doncaster next year. The Council have also received a notification of the death of Mr. Edward Tesdorpf, of Ourupgaard, Falster, Denmark, who was elected an Honorary Member of the Society in 1877. 3. The Council have elected the following gentlemen as Honorary Members of the Society, in recognition of their- distinguished ser- vices to agriculture : Baron Arthur Von Hohenbruck, of the Imperial and Royal Ministry of Agriculture, Vienna. Chev. Emanuel Von Proskowetz, sen. (of Kwassitz), of the Imperial and Royal Agricultural Society of Moravia and Silesia. Mons. Henry Leveque De Vilmorin, of Paris. 4. These and other changes bring the total number of Governors and Members now on the Register to 10,924, divided as follows : 116 Life-Governors, 64 Annual Governors, 3,799 Life- Members, 6,926 Annual Members, 1 9 Honorary Members ; or a net decrease of 60 Members during the half-year. This is not really a diminution of the effective strength, as the previous statement included the names of a considerable number of deceased Life-Members, whose deaths were not reported to the Society until forms of receipt for the Journal were issued in the spring. 5. The Council deem it necessary, however, to remind the Members that the maintenance of the Society’s operations upon their present scale depends upon a continued flow of new subscribers. At least 500 new Members need to be elected every year to take the place of those who die or retire. The Council desire, therefore, particularly to invite each Member to interest himself in obtaining new subscribers to the Society, and to suggest the names of any farmers, or others interested in Agriculture, in his district or of his acquaintance, who would be likely to become Members. The Secre- tary will, upon receipt of instructions, either write direct to the gentlemen named, or will forward a supply of application forms to the nominating Member. A form of nomination is printed in each number of the Journal. 6. The Council have the gratification of announcing that H.R.II. Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein, K.G., has consented to be nominated as a Vice-President of the Society. The tAvo vacancies on the Council referred to in the last Repoit were filled up at the General Meeting on May 22, by the election of Loid Brougham and Vaux, of Brougham Hall, Penrith, and Mr. Joseph Beach, of the Hattons, Wolverhampton. Tavo other vacancies, Avhich have recently 826 Report to the General Meeting, arisen by the resignation of the Marquis of Tavistock and by the appointment of the Earl of Jersey as Governor-General of New South Wales, will come in due course under the consideration of the Council. 7. The Country Meeting at Plymouth in June last was favoured by fine weather, and the Society received from the local authorities and the inhabitants of the Three Towns generally a very cordial welcome. The show of live stock (particularly of the local breeds of cattle and sheep) was universally admitted to be a very good and representative one ; and the Trials of Light Portable Motors, Grist Mills and Disintegrators lent particular interest to the Implement Department. At the request of the Mayor (Mr. H. J. Waring), to whom the warmest thanks of the Society are due for his indefatigable efforts to promote the success of the Meeting, the experiment was tried for the first time of having only one half-crown day, and making the charge for admission on the third day of the Meeting (Wednesday) one shilling only. The results were not such as to warrant a continuance of the plan, for the two shilling days on Wednesday and Thursday caused the attendance on the final day (Friday) to drop to 14,026, which is the lowest figure of the last ten years. The total attendance of paying visitors at the Meeting was 97,141, as compared with 155,707 at Windsor in 1889, 147,927 at Nottingham in 1888, and 127,372 at Newcastle in 1887. 8. Opportunity has been taken by the Society’s Auditors, when checking the accounts for the half-year ended June 30 last, to examine and pass the balance-sheet for the Plymouth Meeting. The final result is an excess of expenditure over receipts of 2,1 97A 7s. 1 d., which will fall to be defrayed out of the Society’s general funds. A comparison of the various items on both sides of the account with those of the Nottingham Show in 1888, when the receipts exceeded the expenditure by 4,229/., shows that whilst the expenses of administration were about the same on both occasions, the Society received this year 1,000/. less for entry-fees and 4,000/. less for receipts at the Show itself, and paid 1,000/. more for the construction of the Show-yard, owing chiefly to the rise in the price of timber. 9. The Council have decided that the Doncaster Meeting shall commence on Monday, June 22, 1891, and close on the following Friday evening. The Implement Yard and the Working Dairy will be open to Members of the Society and the public on the previous Saturday, June 20. The last day for making entries in the Implement Department will be Wednesday, April 1 ; but post- entries, of Agricultural Implements only, will be received up to Monday, April 6. For Stock, Poultry, and Produce, the entries will close on Friday, May 1, with post-entries at double fees up to Tuesday, May 12. With the view of keeping the number of entries at the Meetings within manageable limits, the Council have resolved that no exhibitor shall in future be allowed to make more than three entries in any one class. Thursday, December 11, 1890. 827 10. The following Prizes for Implements and Dairy Appliances will be offered in connection with the Doncaster Meeting : — Cliis*s 1. Combined Portable Threshing and chine to be worked by steam, and Finishing Ma- adapted to the First Prize Second Prize Third Prize preparation of corn for market £100 £50 £25 2. Cream-separator (Power Machine) . . £30 £20 — 3. Cream-separator (Hand Machine) . £20 £10 — 4. Mechanical Milking-machine . . £20 £10 — As announcedin the Report to the Anniversary Meeting in May, the entries for the Prizes for Threshing-machines closed on August 1 last, up to which date nine entries had been received. For the other Classes, 2, 3, and 4, the entries will close on April 1, 1891. 11. The Society will offer at Doncaster Prizes for Hunters, Hackneys, Ponies, Shire, Clydesdale, and Suffolk Horses for breeding purposes. The prizes customarily offered by the Local Committee for breeds of animals of special interest to the district will on this occasion be given exclusively for Horses, a sum of 865£. having been voted from the funds of the Local Committee for this purpose. The Prizes thus offered include 7 classes for Hunter Mares, Geldings, and Colts ; 7 classes for Coach Horses ; 6 classes for Hackneys ; 2 classes for Ponj' Mares or Geldings ; 2 classes for Harness Horses and Ponies ; and 2 classes for Agricultural Geldings of any bi'eed. The Council have decided to insert in the Prize Sheet a new Regulation that no Stallion shall be awarded a prize until a veterinary examination shall have pronounced such Stallion to be free from hereditary disease. 12. In the Cattle Classes, Prizes will be offered for Shorthorns, Herefords, Devons, Sussex, Welsh, Red-Polled, Aberdeen Angus, Galloways, Ayrsliires, Jerseys, Guernseys, Kerrys, and Dexter Kerrys, and for Dairy Cattle giving the greatest quantity of milk containing not less than 12 per cent, of solids and 3 per cent, of butter-fat. 13. In view of the large increase which has taken place of late years in the number of breeds which have possessed Stud or Herd Books for upwards of seven years, and thus come within the Society’s rule that any animal exhibited of these breeds must be entered or be eligible to be entered in the appropriate Stud or Herd Book, the Council have passed a regulation requiring proof of eligibility of animals entered as eligible for the Stud or Hex’d Book to be fur- nished to the Secretary at the time of making the entry. 14. Pi-izeswill be given for Leicester, Cotswold, Lincoln, Oxford Down, Shropshire, Southdown, Hampshire Down, Suffolk, Wensley- dale, Border Leicester, Cheviot, Black-faced Mountain, Lonk, and Herdwick Sheep ; for Large White, Middle White, Small White, Berkshire, Black, and Tamworth Pigs ; and for useful descriptions of Poultry, including Table Fowls and Table Ducks. 828 Report to the General Meeting , 15. For Farm and Dairy Produce, Prizes will be given in six Classes for Cheese of 1891 make, in two classes for Soft Cheese, and in three Classes for Butter. Prizes will also be given for Cider and Perry, and for Jams and Preserved Fruits made in 1890. The British Bee-Keepers’ Association will continue their Prizes for Hives, Honey, and Bee Appliances. 16. The Butter-making Competitions, which have been an inter- esting feature of the Annual Shows for several years past, will be continued at Doncaster. Four classes have been arranged for, five Prizes being offered in each class. There will also be a competition of Shoeing Smiths practising in the county of York. The compe- tition will be in two classes, Hunters and Agricultural Horses, and five Prizes will be offered in each class. The Worshipful Company of Farriers have generously offered, as before, to provide the First Prize in each of these two classes, and to bestow the freedom of their Guild upon the two first-prize winners. 17. Prizes amounting to 300?. have been offered in three classes by the Doncaster Local Committee for the best-managed Farms in the county of York. The number of farms entered for competition is eleven, and the J udges will start on their first tour of inspection early in January. 18. The Council have agreed to continue for another year the grant of three Premiums of 200?.- each for Thoroughbred Stallions serving Mares in the Society’s District E, which consists of the county of York. The Doncaster Local Committee have promised to bestow a Gold Medal upon the owners of each of the three Stallions winning the Society’s Premiums, which will be competed for at the same time, and under the same conditions, as the twenty- two Queen’s Premiums offered by the Boyal Commission on Horse- breeding. 19. The Council have received invitations from the Town Councils of Warwick and Gloucester to hold the Society’s Country Meeting of 1892 in those towns. The customary Committee of Inspection has been appointed to report on the site and other accommodation offered at each place, and a final decision as to the place of meeting in 1892 will be made by the Council in February next. 20. As on the occasion of the last great International Agri- cultural Congress, which took place in Paris in 1878, the Society was officially represented by its then President and other delegates, the Council deemed it expedient that the Society should also be repre- sented at the Congress which took place in Vienna in September last, under the patronage of the Emperor of Austria. It will be grati- fying to the Members to know that the Society’s participation in this Congress was warmly welcomed by the Executive Committee, and that all possible facilities were everywhere given to the Secre- tary, who represented the Society, for obtaining information as to Thursday , December 11, 1890. 829 the agricultural administration and practice of the Austro-Hun- garian Monarchy. 21. The Council have received an invitation from the Organising Committee of the International Congress of Hygiene and Demo- graphy, which will be held in London next August, under the presi- dency of H.R.H. the Prince of Wales, to appoint delegates repre- senting the Society upon the General Committee of the Congress. As the Congress proposes to discuss the important subject of the re- lation of diseases of the lower animals to those of man, the Council have accepted this invitation, and have appointed the President and the Chairman of the Veterinary Committee to act as the Society’s representatives. 22. The scheme for the examination and registration of farriers or shoeing-smiths — to which reference was made in the last Report —was publicly inaugurated at a meeting held at the Mansion House on J une 2 ; and, a sufficient guarantee fund having been raised to start the scheme on a proper financial basis, the Council have given their formal adhesion to it, and have nominated as their representatives on the Registration Committee the President of the Society for the time being, the Chairman of the Veterinary Committee for the time being, Sir Jacob Wilson, Mr. Charles Clay, Mr. Walter Gilbey, and the Secretary. Up to the 31st instant, it is proposed to admit all shoeing-smiths to the Register without ex- amination, upon sufficient evidence of the skill of the applicant being produced ; but after the commencement of 1891, all candi- dates for admission to the Register will be required to undergo such examination as the Registration Committee may appoint. The Committee have promised to admit to the Register, free of charge, all the winners of prizes, and all commended competitors, at the Society’s Horse-shoeing Competition to take place in the Doncaster Show-yard next J une. 23. In their last Report, the Council referred with satisfaction to the fact that a Bill for placing the slaughter of animals affected with pleuro-pneumonia under Government control, and for the payment of compensation at the cost of the Imperial Exchequer, had been intro- duced into Parliament by the Government. Since then the Bill has received the Royal assent, and is now (since September 1) in force throughout Great Britain. The Council readily undertook, at the request of the Board of Agriculture, to use the Society’s influ- ence in securing for the Board the earliest intimation of outbreaks of the disease, and with that view issued a circular letter to all the Members, impressing upon them the great importance of prompt declaration of disease whenever it might appear, and of a loyal submission to the orders which may from time to time be issued by the Board of Agriculture. The Act has, since the appointed date of its commencement, been administered with firmness and strin- gency ; and, according to the latest information, the total number of cattle slaughtered under its provisions has been about five thousand. 830 Report to the General Meeting , 24. The Department of Research and Comparative Pathology, which has been established at the Royal V eterinary College under a grant from the Society, is now in working order. In the Labo- ratory, during the past three months, the undernoted subjects have received attention, and most of them are yet under investigation, viz. : — Milk from tuberculous cows ; tumours ; suspected actino- mycosis ; cystic tumours ; tuberculosis in the horse ; tuberculosis in cattle ; pyaemic abscesses in cow’s liver ; pleuro-pneumonia, contagious and septic ; anthrax in cows ; foot-rot in sheep ; and a form of tuberculosis in the kangaroo. 25. The Council have appointed as Provincial Veterinary Surgeons of the Society, Mr. Owen Thomas, of Ty-coch, Llanerchy- medd, for the county of Anglesey ; and Mr. C. Hedworth Golledge, of Sherborne, for the county of Dorset. 26. In the six months ending November 30, over 700 samples have been sent by Members for analysis at the Society’s Laboratory. Of these over 200 consisted of samples of linseed-cake. The number of cases in which linseed-cake, purchased without a guarantee of purity, has been found to be extremely impure or adulterated fully confirms the repeated cautions of the Chemical Committee on this subject, and shows the necessity of Members of the Society acting on the advice embodied in the form of “Contract Note ” issued by the Council in the early part of the year. The number of samples of decorticated cotton-cake sent for analysis shows a very considerable diminution. This is without doubt due to the very inferior quality and excessive hardness of the great bulk of the cake imported into this country. The number of manures sent for analysis again shows a considerable falling-off. Manures sold with a distinct guarantee have, as a general rule, proved of good quality. Some cases, how- ever, of adulterated bones and inferior dissolved bones have been dealt with in the Quarterly Reports of the Chemical Committee. A few instances of superphosphate containing low percentages of soluble phosphate have also occurred. A very large number of samples of drinking-water have been examined, and in many instances reported upon as unfit for use. 27. In addition to the analyses of samples sent by Members of the Society, eight analyses of manures and feeding-stuff's have been made in connection with the Woburn Experimental Farm ; and over 800 determinations of nitrogen in samples of soil from the permanent wheat and barley plots have been made. The crops of wheat and barley from the permanent and rotation plots of the Experimental Farm have been threshed and weighed, and the results will be published in the Journal. On the rotation plots the whole of the crop of swedes was unfortunately destroyed by “ finger-and-toe.” Feeding experiments on one hundred sheep and eighteen bullocks have just been started. 28. Three hundred and eighty applications have been made to the Consulting Botanist during the year, principally referring to Thursday , December 11, 1890. 831 seeds foi’ permanent pasture. The quality of the seeds examined continues to be of the same high quality as was reached last year. No case of intentional adulteration was met with, if a case of rye- grass is excepted, which contained 66 per cent, of the seed of brome- grass. Several cases of injuries to crop-plants from the attack of fungal and other parasites have been investigated. The disease which has done serious injury to larch plantations has been the subject of special inquiry, and an account of it is being prepared for publication. An inspection has been made of a large number of the famous ancient pastures of England, which will form the subject of a paper in the next number of the Journal (see page 751). 29. During the past half-year the work of the Consulting Ento- mologist’s Department has steadily progressed, almost daily appli- cations being received for identifications of insects or for informa- tion concerning means for their prevention. Amongst other kinds of uncommon insect pests, respecting which applications have been received, may bc‘ mentioned the appearance of the American Clover- seed Midge, the Stem Eelworm as an attack seriously stunting the growth of bean-plants, and attacks of two other kinds of Eelworm which have been injurious by causing extremely deformed and totally barren growth in strawberry-plants. The Apple Chernies, or Apple-sucker, did mischief (little previously observed) in the spring. The Hessian Fly was present in many localities, but, so far as was reported, did very little mischief. The treatment for prevention and also for direct clearing off of Orchard Caterpillars proved success- ful, in the cases which have been reported, where it was carried on according to directions. The attention to Warble attack has also been very satisfactory in amount and effect, but plain information is still much needed amongst the workers who personally attend to the cattle. Miss Ormerod reports that “ there is certainly a very satisfactory increase in .amount of public information as to practi- cable measures for lessening amount of losses by insect agency, and that applications constantly increase for plain and sound information, and as to where serviceable works can be procured bearing on farm insect prevention.” 30. As a result of the Examination for the Society’s Senior Prizes and Certificates, which took place on May 13 to 17- last, eleven of the sixteen candidates satisfied the examiners ; and the following com- petitors, placed in order of merit, gained First-class Certificates, and thus became Life Members of the Society ; the first four being entitled, in addition, to the prizes stated below : — 1. Francis Reginald Armytage, 4 Pump Court, Temple, E.C. First Prize of 25 1. 2. Richard William Haydon, Great Coombshead, North Molton, Devon. Second Prize of 15 1. 3. Henry Crabtree, 30 Lutton Place, Edinburgh. Third Prize of 10/. 4. Alfred Henry Inman, 9 Queensferry Street, Edinburgh. Fourth Prize of 51. 6. John James Jeffray, Blackaddie, Sanquhar, N.B. 6. Richard Henderson, Portland Estates Office, Kilmarnock, N.B. T)ie following candidates, having passed in Agriculture and 832 Report to the General Meeting, in three of the other four compulsory subjects, were awarded Second- class Certificates : — 7. Edward Douglas Malcolmson Hamilton, Magheraboy, Portrush, Co. Antrim. 8. John Arthur Llewellyn Beasley, Aylestone, Leicester. ft. George Pelham Thomas, Hemsworth, Wakefield. 10. James Gunter, Estate Office, Glasbury, 11. George Siiarman Mitchell, Cannon Street, Belgrave, Leicester. The next Senior Examination has been fixed for May 12 to 16, 1891. 31. The Annual Examination for the Society’s ten Junior Scholarships of 20 1. each took place on November 11 and 12, when forty candidates from fourteen schools competed. Of these candi- dates, sixteen passed in all four subjects (Agriculture, Chemistry, Mechanics, and Land-Surveying), and obtained the number of marks necessary to qualify them for the Society’s Scholarships and Certifi- cates, in the event of their complying, during the forthcoming year, with the conditions of the Examination. Two other boys passed in each of the four subjects, but, not having obtained the minimum aggregate of marks, are ineligible for Certificates. Of the twenty- two other unsuccessful candidates, ten failed in one subject, seven in two subjects, three in three subjects, and one in all four sub- jects. There were nine failures in Agriculture, nine in Chemistry, eleven in Mechanics, and nine in Land-Surveying. Of the sixteen successful candidates, the first ten in the following list will receive Scholai-ships upon complying with the Society’s regulations, and the remainder will receive Certificates : — 1. Joseph Lister. Aspatria Agricultural College. 2. William Wilson, Aspatria Agricultural College. (David Alexander, Maybole Public School, N.B. 3. (eq.) - William Austin Koihnson, Sedgeferook School, nr. Grantham. I Edward Howard Smart, Portsmouth Grammar School. C. John Daniel, Ashburton Grammar School. 7. William Grice Mason, Aspatria Agricultural College. 8 William Hutcheson, Aspatria Agricultural College. ft. William Avery Gillson, Norfolk County School. 10. Charles Arnison, Aspatria Agricultural College. 11. Uobert George Heaman, Devon County School. 12. Ernest Edgecombe, Ashburton Grammar School. 13. Charles Hugh Mills, Ashburton Grammar School. 14. Bobert IIennie, Maybole Public School. 15. Henry Johnson, Swanley Horticultural College. 10. Joseph Harker Newman, Surrey County School. 32. The Council are gratified to find that the subject of Tech- nical Education in Agriculture has been taken up by the Board of Agriculture, and there is no doubt that the action of that Board has done very much to stimulate interest in this subject, both amongst agriculturists themselves and amongst other bodies which are con- sidering the general question of technical education. The alloca- tion by Parliament to the County Councils of a portion of the proceeds of the license duties, with an intimation that these funds, Thursday , December 11, 1890. 833 for tlie present year at least, may be appropriated in aid of tech- nical education, has recently brought this subject very much to the front ; and as it may reasonably be anticipated that in the agri- cultural counties some of this money will be devoted to the promo- tion of technical education in agriculture, the Council have felt it incumbent upon them to give careful consideration to the -directions and methods in which such a grant could be best applied. The Council have already debated this question on two occasions since the last General Meeting ; but as the subject is one of some com- plexity and much difficulty, they have postponed any final recommen- dation in the matter until their meeting to be held in February next. 33. The Council have been invited by the Charity Commissioners to give their opinion upon several schemes which are intended to provide agricultural sides at schools already existing ; and they have been asked to nominate representative governors, both upon these foundations and upon several others for secondary schools throughout the country. 34. The Council have received a letter from the Board of Agri- culture, inviting the opinion of the Society as to the establishment of some more uniform system than exists at present of examining pupils to whom Dairy Instruction is given, and asking if the Society would be willing to make a selection from amongst its Members of Examiners qualified by their special acquaintance with this branch of Agriculture, in order to secure for the projected examining body the highest possible qualifications. The Council have readily promised their co-operation to the Board of Agriculture in the establishment of such an examining body, which the Council think the Members generally will agree with them in considering to be very desirable and highly important. 35. Three parts of the Society’s new Quarterly Journal have now been published, and the fourth part, completing Yol. 1 of the Third Series, will be issued on the 31st instant. In compliance with a de- sire expressed by a number of Members for the uniform binding of their volumes of the Journal, the Council have selected a superior green cloth cover, with gilt lettering at the back and the Society’s device at the side, and have arranged with Messrs. Spottiswoocle IRevtews. COVERED CATTLE-YARDS. 1st connection with the article on Covered Yards which Mr. Moscrop wrote for the last number of the Journal, it may be interesting to give the cost of a yard which my bailiff, Mr. Reid, has recently erected on one of my farms at Cattail, Yorkshire. The yard is 61 feet square. One side is bounded by the wall of the existing farm-buildings, and the other three sides are built with railway-sleepei’s placed perpendicularly, and home-grown larch. The uprights in the yard, and in the exterior fencing, are made of peeled larch — whole trees of about forty years’ growth, which were cut down eighteen months ago. The sleepers were picked ones, and sawn down the middle ; so that the thickness of the wall is half the thickness of an ordinary sleeper, and • the horizontal bracings are battens 2\ inches by 7. The walls are about 9 feet in height inside the yard, the sleepers being 1 foot deep in the ground inside, and 2 feet outside ; and there is a space of about 2 feet 6 inches between the top of the fence and the eaves of the roof, which over- hang a little. The roof is in two spans running parallel to the existing build- ings ; and the gable-ends are boarded down to the same level as the eaves. A stable in the old buildings has been converted into a turnip-house, with a door into the new yard ; and there is also a gateway out of the yard into the tields. The whole is well spouted, and the rain-water utilised for a galvanised iron trough in the yard, the overflow from which is carried away in the drain, so as to prevent any stagnation of water round the circuit of the foundation. The roof is of timber, constructed as described by Mr. Moscrop in the Journal. The cost of the yard has been : — £ ». a. Purchased timber . 49 5 0 Larch posts (estimated) . 4 0 0 Sleepers, sawing, carriage, &c. . 10 17 6 Gate and posts . 1 1 0 Carpenters’ time Masons’ time . 11 0 0 . 0 13 4 Draining-tiles, drainers’ time, &c. . 4 2 0 Iron-work, spouting, &c. . 18 14 10 99 13 8 861 Covered Cattle-yards. The labour of levelling the yard, and making a new road into it, and the expense of alterations for turnip-house, are not included. The tenants carted the sleepers from the railway-station, and levelled the yard. The cost comes out something under 5s. the square yard for the covering in and providing three sides of the fencing. At present half the yard is occupied by straw, and I have no doubt that after next harvest the yard will probably be nearly filled with barley sheaves for the first threshing after harvest. I find that the covered yards are frequently used for this purpose, as they are not required for cattle until after the first lot of corn is sent to market. If the corn be not stored there for a time, the yards are always most useful receptacles each evening at harvest-time for several cartloads of sheaves which may be gathered at the close of the day. These being put in this manner under cover are ready for the stack in the early morning, when, perhaps, heavy dews may prevent the collection of sheaves in the fields. As there have been some inquiries as to the spout girder which we use between the roofs when there is a double or treble span, I add a sketch of the same. The length of the girder gives the distance between cm Ena view a fret Side view each pillar in the yard. The cost of these girders is 8s. per cwt., and as each weighs about 9 cwt. 1 qr., the cost per girder is 3 1. 14s. 0 d. In addition to two with slates and four with tiles, I have now erected twelve boarded roofs for yards, and I believe all my tenants are quite satisfied with them. I am inclined to think that from the thorough ventilation obtained they are very healthy for stock. The yards are not too hot, and yet are warm enough for shelter and comfort. The manure comes out in first-rate con- dition, and there is no accumulation of dust and dirt, and, so far, very little cost in repair. My tiled roofs have suffered far more from gales of wind than the boarded ones. The rain-water readily runs off the roofs, and if well spouted — which I consider to be a sine qud non for these yards — an ample supply of rain water may be collected from them. Not long since I took shelter under one of my timber roofs during a violent thunder- storm, when the spouts could not carry away the water, which ran over in all directions ; but only a slight spray came through the interstices of the boards. We have not yet had experience as to the life of the roofs, but even were they to require to be renewed after thirty years, I believe they would be well worth erecting, both for landlord and tenant. I hope, however, that with proper care and attention we may look for a much longer life than I have indicated. John Dent Dent. 862 PRICES OF STORE CATTLE PER LIVE STONE, AND OFFICIAL QUOTATIONS. In the twenty-fifth volume of the second series of this Journal, (1889) I contributed, at the request of the J ournal Committee, a short article on weighing live stock. I did not then give, much less enlarge upon, the reasons for resorting to this practice, or the objections raised against its adoption. It seemed to be a subject that had passed out of the schools into the market, and that what has to be written further, to be useful, should be the experience of those who have sold and bought cattle over the machine. Among such persons will be those who, convinced by practice of its advantages, resort to this test and guide in the general course of business ; some who by its means satisfy curiosity and confirm their wavering judgment at the time of a deal ; and others who, unable to identify themselves with the mechanical operation in the sight of all the world, buy by hand and eye, and then concede to a believer permission to pass the purchase over the scales. The resistance and ridicule, offered by the vendor to this igno- minious and suspicious handling of the stock he has disposed of, are in proportion to the price he imagines he has obtained, above the value of the day, from the “practical man ” who can do without the machine. Anyhow, the method gains ground, and in Scotland has made a sure footing ; and I am able to give the weights and prices per head and per live stone of nearly 3,000 head of store cattle bought to graze or feed between October 1, 1889, and July 1, 1890. Some have been bought and weighed under my own eyes, but the figures and statistics relating to nearly all of them have been collected and tabulated by Mr. Westley Richards. The sales have taken place in localities far apart, and under diffe- rent conditions— at farms and fairs in Shropshire, at Welshpool, at Oswestry, at Penrith in Cumberland, at Lincoln, Rugby, Leicester, Oakham, Glasgow, and in Ireland. The stock, as may be inferred, have been of divers sorts and qualities : rough Irish, black-polled Irish, cross-bred polled Galloways (blue-greys) — “beauties”; rough, horned, very coarse Irish — “beasts” ; Welsh runts, Hereford cross-bred and pure-bred, shorthorns, English pure and cross-bred Irish, horned and dishorned, heifers of all the above breeds, superior and inferior, and some few cows, and to these are added from the Dominion some nice Canadians. The first lot of stores I have an account of is one of 700, sold in October 1889 by one grazier in Ireland. They were rough cattle, Mayo mountain bullocks, weighing sixty-three stone each and cost- ing in Ireland 10£. 18s., the price per stone being 3s. 5 \d. On the 26th of the same month 12 cross-bred polled Galloways, blue- grey, best quality, weighing 68^ stones, cost in Rutland 4s. 6 \d. per live stone, and on November 23, 5 pure bred Galloways, 63 stones, Prices of Store Cattle per Live Stone, and Official Quotations. 863 4s. 9 \d. and one smaller and younger, 52 stones, 5s. 0|e/. per stone. About the same time 21 black-polled Irish (64 stones) were bought at 4s. 6je/. at Leicester. In February 1890, 15 Hereford oxen, cross-bred, weighing 61 st. 1 lb., each made 4s. 7\d. per stone at Shrews- bury, and 16, a year and a half old, 581? stones, made there 4s. 8 d. per stone ; 64, two and a half-years old, 64 stones, made there 4s. 7 \d. per stone, and 20 heifers, two years old, 55 st. 12 lb., 4s. 9c/. per stone ; while 8 inferior shorthorn heifers, 60 stones, made but 3s. 9.\d. In the same month, three-year-old best Welsh runts at Oswestry, 80 stones, made 4s. 6 d. per stone, and the same description, 59^ stones, 4s. 8 d. per stone at Craven Arms. On April 2, 20 of the same sort, (outlayers), 68 st. 5 lb., cost at Leicester 5s. 0 \d. per stone; when also cross-bred polled Galloway heifers, excellent quality, not two years old, 51 st. 1 lb., cost in Cumberland 6s. 3c/. per stone (much too costly) and shorthorn oxen, home-bred, fair quality, 76 st. 5 lb., cost at Leicester 4s. 8 d. per stone. On May 1, homebred shorthorn bullocks, 74 stones, made 4s. 9f d. per stone at Lincoln. At the same date, 60 dishorned Irish oxen, three years old and fresh, 66 st. 2 lb., made 4s. 5 d. a stone in Ireland, their carriage to the Midlands would add 2 \d. a stone to their cost ; and 40 dishorned Irish heifers of the same breed, 48 st. 11 lb., cost in Ireland 4s. 7 \d. per stone, while a similar lot of 4 at Shrews- bury, 57 stones, were bought at 4s. 6^d. per stone. Welsh heifers at Leicester at that date, 45 stones, made 4s. 10c/. to 5s. 2\d. per stone, and shorthorn heifers, to keep round, 52 st. 7 lb. down to 39 st. 1 lb., cost at Leicester 4s. 8 d. to 5s. 8c/. per stone. These Welsh shoi’thorn heifers could not at such prices be expected to make a profit to the grazier who fed them. At Leicester Fair, however, some good shorthorns, on May 12, 74 st. 8 lb., made as much as 5s. 3 d. per stone, and black-polled Irish heifers, good quality, 56 stones, 5s. 2 \d. per stone, but these were dangerous prices to buy in at. Shorthorn bullocks, however, at Shrewsbury, from 46 to 51 stones, were making 5s. Id. average per stone, and shorthorn barren cows, 68 stones, 4s. 7f c/. ; Herefords (barreners), 63]? stones, 3d. a stone more money, while Hereford heifers, 12 of 48 stones, 27 of 55 stones, and 48 of 48 siones, made respectively 4s. 1 He/., 5s. Id., and 5s. 1 \d. per stone, and 50 Hereford barreners, 6H stones, 4s. 9c/. per stone ; 40 two-year-old Hereford steers, 63 stones, made 5s. He/. These could not have been well bought. So much for the month of May. Coming now to June 4 and Glasgow market, 4 Canadian heifers, 64 stones, made 4s. 1 \d., and 20 oxen, some polled, 5 coarse, but the rest well bred or nice, made from 3s. 6 |cZ. to 4s. 8|c/. per stone — these beasts have, it is believed, paid for grazing. In July, 322 Hereford bullocks at Shrewsbury, scaling from 52^ up to 70^ stones, made from 4s. 8 d. up to 5s. per stone, and 128 Hereford heifers, weighing from 44^ up to 54 stones, made from 4s. 9|c/. to 5s. 1 d. per stone ; 123 shorthorn heifers of 60 stones, making 4s. lie/., and bullocks id. less. In J uly, at Shrewsbury, heifers came down 2d. per stone. Here, then, is a sketch of the cost per stone of nearly 3,000 head of store cattle which has been collected and tabulated by private 804 Prices of Store Cattle per Live Stone, and Official Quotations. individuals, mostly by one person. All the trouble, labour, and ex- pense of these statistics have been furnished by private enterprise. The knowledge thus obtained, only published as it is now, long after the store cattle trade is over, can be of no service to those who were engaged in it during the past twelve months. Could the in- formation have been officially made public from time to time as the sales came off, how interesting and instructive it would have been to buyers or sellers of stores at the time, and how much such informa- tion would facilitate transactions between buyers and sellers at a distance from each other, or the execution of orders on commission ! It is not too much for agriculturists to ask of the Board of Trade, or the Board of Agriculture, to procure such returns and publish them weekly for public use. They may be incomplete, possibly meagre, at the outset, but it is now well known that there are in Eng- land, Ireland, and specially in Scotland, auctioneers, cattle-dealers, breeders, and graziers who could, and many who would, willingly give the information, if furnished with forms for its transmission to the Department of State charged with the preparation and publica- tion of these statistics. For the purposes of farming business, such returns would undoubtedly prove of greater value to agriculturists than the present annual agricultural statistics. The one would be a guide to the buyer and seller, while the other— which is not — is of service only to the statistician. The Board of Agriculture has invited the co-operation of the Royal Agricultui’al Society of England in the suppression of conta- gious disease in animals, and there can be no question but that the points of contact between the Department of State and the Society will be many, though the functions of the two institutions are and must be different. Now, this Society publishes periodically, in its Journal, statistics affecting British agricultural interests. Among them is a table with the price of wheat for the year, depressing enough just nowr, but which will be referred to with interest in future years. Another table gives the average prices of British corn from the London Gazette , while the average price of wool per lb. is given in another table under four different qualities. If a student or statistician in years to come, or indeed at the present time, desired to know the current value of store cattle, he ■would find this Journal silent as regards official information, for the best of reasons — that the State has not troubled itself to procure and furnish such information. Perhaps without public weighing-machines it was not possible to do so. We know all about it on the other side of the Atlantic, and next to nothing in the case of cattle reared and fed in our own country. There has been hardly any general importunity on the subject, and it requires pressure to move great departments of State. As the present want of knowledge which is really obtainable is discredit- able to the country at large, and to agriculturists in particular, the attempt to remove it would surely be one in which the Royal Agri- cultural Society of England might take hearty and zealous action. Albert Pell. 865 CHICKEN AND POULTRY FARMING IN GERMANY. Herr Gruenhaldt, of Schloss Walmiinster, PostTeterchen, Lorraine, a Hanoverian by origin, was long engaged at Heidelberg in the invention and construction of incubators, and in hatching out chickens for those who sent him eggs and employed him in that way. He is now in the occupation of the Schloss, or chateau, in question, and with the option of purchase ; the land attached, beyond gardens and orchards, is inconsiderable— in all some thirty English acres. The soil is rather of a stiff and retentive character. The Herr is a married man, with one daughter, and of scientific tastes, employing in his house, for bells, telephone, and for regulating the temperature of his incubators, thirty electric batteries or jars ; he is also a photo- graphic artist, and executed excellent illustrations of his surround- ings and operations, a few of which have been utilised for the wood- cuts that accompany this paper. I have no precise knowledge as to the proposed arrangements, but I rather gather that Herr Gruenhaldt intends to institute courses of practical instruction in the art he professes. The village of Walmiinster is twenty English miles north-east of Metz, and has a population of about 100 souls, little farmers and their belongings, who speak a bad German dialect ; but at the Schloss pure German only is spoken. All the incubators for use and sale, together with all the other appliances used in poultry- raising, are made at home. Practically all the chicken and poultry food is purchased, as buckwheat, Indian meal, fish made into baked cakes, etc. Three cows are kept, but from four to eight gallons of milk are used every day for the poultry food. Windfall fruit, cabbages and garden refuse are used largely, being pitted for winter, and afterwards boiled. There are no horses ; communication with the railway-station, distant three and a half English miles, is kept up by telephone, and by post-cart which passes twice daily. The stock advertised as always on hand is from seven to ten thousand head of poultry, chiefly chickens, with turkeys, geese, ducks, guinea fowls, and rabbits — the common tame rabbit. The geese are the large Italian, which are said to grow to twenty-five pounds. The ducks are Aylesbury and a sort of half- wild duck. The chickens are of various breeds, as Plymouth, Dorking, Cochin, Bramahs, Houdans, Langshans, &c. ; but the various breeds are to be reduced to four, .the multiplicity causing confusion in the execution of the various hotel and other orders, viz., two French breeds, one English, and one German. Herr Gruenhaldt has a high opinion of a small white German breed called “ Ramelsloher,” from a village of that name near Hamburg ; they are excellent for table, good winter layers, and hardy. In that village all the inhabitants raise chickens in winter ; they are hatched out in the natural manner, but kept VOL. I. T. S. — 4 3 L 866 Chicken and Poultry Farming in Germany. warm in the kitchens, and, so raised, command the best prices in the early spring markets. As might be expected, the Schloss is not without a considerable population of rats and mice. The value of the produce is thus estimated : Smaller chickens, fat, and sent all over Germany, packed, dead, in hampers, 1 mark 60 pf. (1 mark = Is. English). Larger, 2 marks 60 pf. Some excep- tionally large and older, 4 marks 50 pf. A goose, after being plucked, cleaned, and trimmed, sells for 11c?. per English lb. The feathers are sold, white feathers being most in demand ; and all the 1, Roof space occupied by chickens ; 2, the English student’s room (two windows) ; 3, position of incubating room (for interior see Fig. 5). birds of all kinds sold are plucked, cleaned, and sent off six hours after they are killed. The staff employed — the master, Herr Gruenhaldt, excepted — -is, in addition to one maid in the house, — ■ One clerk, for hotel and other correspondence ; The manager, a Hungarian, a man skilled in poultry art ; One foreman, who is not concerned in the poultry business; Three boys, who mix food, and attend and clean and shut up the poultry at night under the direction of the manager. Three or four men are employed on the place for the cows, garden, orchards, etc. Extreme cleanliness is an essential feature of the poultry manage-' 867 Chicken anil Poultry Farming in Germany. rnent — a cleanliness observed in all the departments ; and even then it is difficult for an outsider to understand the possibility of long- continued avoidance of fouling and foiling the spaces occupied. The orchards contain some 1,200 fruit-trees, plums, apples, pears and peaches, which are sold, and go to North Germany and else- where. The illustration on page 86G (fig. 1) represents the front of the house, and it is interesting as showing the complete conversion or dese- cration of the old French chateau residence. The roof space is entirely occupied by newly hatched-out chickens, and they remain there for six weeks. Here, as elsewhere, the utmost attention is paid to cleanliness. There are three tiers of cages, with trays, well sanded, which, canary-cage-like, draw out. I saw about twenty chicken* Fig. 2. in each cage. Any number of wood sparred fronts (fig. 2) are pro- vided, which are interchangeable and washed daily ; they drop into wood slots. The feeding trough, washed constantly, and always in use, is about a yard long or under. Section, full size, is shown in fig. 3. Fig. 3. The poultry courts or runs are at the back of the house, and each one averages perhaps thirty by forty paces ; they are on grass, with shrubs inclosed, and shelter buildings some seven feet high, in which the chickens are shut at night. They are, from six weeks old, kept in the courts, and for six weeks longer ( i.e ., twelve weeks in all), or to a period when best fitted for sale. Many are sold fat at three months old. There are, in all, nineteen courts, and an estimated mileage of wire net (close at bottom, larger mesh above) equal to six English miles. Several hundred fattening cages are in use in two or three tiers. They are without light except from the opening, as shown in the sketch (fig. 4), and just big -enough, and no more, to hold one bird. A very wide perch, oval on the section, is constructed within. 3 l 2 868 Chicken and Poultry Farming in Germany. No doubt, on an emergency, to meet orders and otherwise, eggs and poultry can, as well, be obtained in the village and neighbour- hood : in short, the Schloss and village to some extent co-operate. Fig. 4. A, Slides up— a slide door ; B, opening for air and food , takes bird’s bead and neck on'y ; C, milky food in a tin disli. The annexed illustration (tig. 5) gives an idea of the interior of the Incubating Room. Fig/o. 1, 1, Thermometers ; la, instrument for examining eggs to ascertain incubation ; 2, 2, 2, indi- cations of electric wire conductors for regulation of heat by means of thermometer at 1 ; 3, lamp for heating, regulated by electricity ; 4, papers indicating particulars, time due, kind of eggs, &c. The turkeys, geese, ducks, and guinea fowl, are for convenience hatched under hens, as they require longer time. The incubators are made, on the place, of wood and tin, or zinc ; Gross Rent v. Net Rent. 869 there are several patents. The incubators already in use are six in number, and each takes 500 eggs. After five days the infertile eggs are removed, and sold for cooking, and replaced with other selected eggs. Assuming the demand, the supply might readily be made very considerable, say, with %ix machines for incubation and ten batches in a year, 500 x 10 x 6=30,000 chickens a year ; say a profit of one mark (Is.) per head sold, this would give a profit of £1500. Incubation is affected by thunder, and curiously enough it was noted the eggs did not hatch out well during the army manoeuvres, when, within a mile of Walmiinster, batteries were placed on either side of the valley, and there was all day firing of great guns. The newly acquired estate of the Emperor is not far off, and his Majesty was expected to visit Walmiinster this autumn. It only remains to be said that Herr Gruenhaldt is a well-edu- cated man, very ready, out of business hours, to converse agreeably in his own pure Hanoverian German ; he writes and understands English, but never uses that language in conversation ; his family, wife, and daughter, are amiable ; and, altogether, for a young man desirous of learning conversational German, not to mention other matters, the gite is agreeable and desirable. A. H. Cathcart. GROSS RENT v. NET RENT. There is perhaps no point connected with the ownership of an agri- cultural estate, and at the same time having an important bearing upon its successful management, which is so little heard of, and con- sequently so generally ignored, as the difference between the gross rent paid by the tenant, and that portion of it — the net — which ultimately reaches the landlord’s pocket. The landlord, especially if he be an “improving one,” desirous of giving his tenants all the facilities necessary to enable them to make the best of their farms (and which of our large landowners is not so X) knows too well that the cost of maintaining his estate in a satisfactory and proper condition, and of executing the various improvements which are from time to time demanded of him, en- croaches considerably upon the gross rentals paid by his agricultural tenants. This knowledge has been specially forced upon him during late years, because, with the fall of rents on the one hand, and the increased cost of labour and materials on the other, the encroach- ment has been taking place at both ends of his rent-roll. The growth of his proportionate expenditure has also been augmented by other causes, for, beyond the increased cost of ordinary repairs, there have been changes taking place which have called for more outlay on the landlord’s part — as, for instance, the great change in some districts from arable to pasture, and the consequent necessity for more buildings ; the subdivision of farms in revulsion of that 870 Gr'ross Rent v. Net Rent. throwing together which the economic causes now under considera- tion led to in the past, but which the results have shown to have been mistaken policy ; the greater attention paid to the provision of comfortable and convenient cottages ; and the growing requirements of sanitary authorities in the matters of sewerage and wholesome water-supplies, and so on. All these, to say nothing of sundry drainage and other improve- ments from time to time necessary to maintain rents, have con- tributed to the lessening of the proportion of gross rents which landlords have had available for their own housekeeping and other expenditures. Nor is this demand for outlay on the landlord’s part likely to lessen in the near future ; for the margin of profit from the occupation of land is too small, and the means of the working farmer tenant now so much sought after are often too limited, to enable the occupier either to do the improvements himself, or to go without them without unduly limiting his powers of doing justice to the land. Also the transfer of control and of the right of in- spection to the Board of Agriculture in the case of outbreaks of cattle-disease, and the casting of the payment of compensation upon the national exchequer, will doubtless be shortly followed by com- pulsory provisions for moi’e space and ventilation in cattle-sheds and improvement of water-supplies, which will not unfrequently lead to their entire remodelling. But of the amount of this expenditure little or nothing is ever heard, because our landowners, even if they notice it very closely, seldom care to mention it ; and so the would-be land reformers, if they give thought to the matter at all, have to resort to guess-work, with its consequent very inadequate conclusions, or else, as is more generally the case, they find a con- venience and encouragement in altogether ignoring it. Hence, agitators for the redistribution of land, and advocates for the re- establishment of small holdings, plod on in happy unconcern of that one great practical difficulty in the way of the success of their schemes. A recent return to Parliament in the Report of the Select Com- mittee on Woods and' Forests and the Land Revenues of the Crown, however, lets in a little light upon the point under consideration, and shows tolerably clearly what the cost of keeping an estate in order and up to modern requirements means to an improving and considerate landlord. The statement on pages 872 and 873, submitted by Col. Sir Nigel Kingscote, K.C.B., and compiled by him from figures supplied by sundry private landowners, gives the actual figures connected with eleven estates in as many different parts of the kingdom, selected as typical instances of reputable and judicious management. It will be noticed that, with the exception of No. 3 — as to which the figures are extraordinary and quite abnormal — there is much uniformity in most of the percentages of outlay, and that the aver- ages of the figures given show that, inclusive of fixed charges and donations to schools (to avoid permanent rates, &c.) about one-third of the gross rents is absorbed in the maintenance and improvement Gross Bent v. Net Bent. 871 of the estates. There is little doubt that this table could have been considerably extended by the inclusion of other and smaller estates without any material alteration of the results. With a continuance of such rates of expenditure over only a limited number of years, “ What,” it may be asked, “ has or will become of the prairie value ? ” The fact is that this prairie value has long since disappeared ; and, nowadays, an agricultural estate cannot be kept in order and up to modern requirements in respect to the provision, maintenance, and repair of its buildings, fences, and drainage, and to the execution of the many and various improve- ments demanded and necessary to command good tenants, without a large encroachment upon the gross rentals. Indeed, it may be safely averred that once at least within a century the fee simple value of the land has to be expended by its owner in maintaining its rental. The returns referred to do not, of course, show how much of the respective outlays will be productive of interest in the shape of increased rents ; nor is it necessary here to take that matter into account, because the point to which this note is directed would not be affected by it. The outlays, it is only fair to assume, were under- taken because they were considered necessary to secure the most profitable occupation of the land, and, whether or not additional rent is to be paid in respect of them, the money had all the same to be provided, for without them the occupiers would not have been in the position to make the best of their farms. The probability, however, is that a very small proportion only of the expenditures is being followed by increased rents, but that rather the outlays on improve- ments were found necessary for the maintenance of the old rentals. The point under consideration was strongly impressed upon another Committee of the House of Commons — viz., that on Small Holdings — and nearly every witness referred to it. The Committee in its Report frequently alludes to the difficulty arising from the provision and maintenance of buildings, and describes it as “ almost insuperable under present conditions ” in the matter of the re-esta- blishment of small occupations. It fell to the lot of the present writer to show to the Committee that this very difficulty had been one of the chief causes for the regrettable disappearance, since the beginning of the present century, of the small “ Statesman,” or Free- holder of the North, and that, coupled with other economic causes still applicable to the holding of land, it had led to their voluntarily disposing of their patrimonies rather than hold them under circum- stances which caused such material reduction in their incomes. It is to be feared that the proposal of the Committee to shift the burden on to the occupier’s shoulders will be found as insuperable to the establishment of the proposed occupying but partial owner as it has been in the past to the retention or maintenance of small occupations. Only large and wealthy proprietors can afford the present difference between gross and net rents, without unduly limiting the assistance and accommodation afforded to the tenant. F. PUNCHARD. 872 Gross Rent v. Net Rent. KS a w 02 ta > ■< a a, a o O £ O £ <3 e V. s J 1^ £ "8 ° -§ *> ►« §> "8 £ e • S< O1 Total Expendx- TUBE CO oo 00 *-H r- 00 00 H b- o 00 Miscella- neous 00 00 00 H 6'S r- 00 00 do Fix’d charges- & donations to churches, schools, &c. oo 00 00 r—i b» O t- 00 00 07 Repairs and im- provements 00 00 00 H O N 00 00 rH OS < ^ 5a p o H * « a 2 v a 'S a u . C tO © a Ban di .2 ai’ss *,$ sf* — ►» o> o ® « o e > :& ° a > a63 :i § ® ° ~ S3 a o ° " Ch i if ij a p d 3 c8 ^ qj if © ~ G *3 >‘rf3 § c +3 c -S iu W OI.H g*^ £2 H W e5 fl _ a Is* •g*> Sa „- 1 ^ f, S Of “ -!! P s a ^ © “ * *3 _ 2 £ a tea ll cs c a a OT o-SgS » •a *_ S a .b •§»£„ te’3 a > a. c6 eS •— 1? © r© c3 © a O C.C l, S’s B g § s^lSl -* § 3 fe O a'S'g 2« ■p ;; D C, o cs « ce 5 a „ . a} ^3 _ ^ nH cf 'P 03 O og^S nil §8- •£ a, P. a © w r: o ({^ 2 ®i-5° c-2 5 '3 .S cT 1-2 £ oH cT « bL*® _p g ^ u P g-o 01 OT) WJ - Ol 5 flg a m* 55 2 g 5^ P.O 2 d "3 to if it ? ■3 a a a a a 5-S if a © a-| &h a •aj fcl (M UO r-t j Gross Rent v. Net Rent. 873 • rn 'S a C j§ cj )-i ^ o d o3 5 ©. n d °s ll if $.? S’® .d a ■** a# |'l • 8 Ec S A d ■d TJ 'So c8 o3 es o o &I S3 go & »5 ® ® MgS ^ §-2h SS|S > § ■°V 3 3 o °'3.’S pal o d H J3 ,-g ® a'O C § OJ JO so S cS >. O c3 d ^ d o 03 'g> H X2 •t; xj Is §.3 K2 ui “3s 3§.s S £ ® • »» . Pneumatic harness. . Roughing horse-shoes. . Horse-shoes. . Calk for horse-shoes. . Sanitary nose-bag. . Rasp for horses’ feet. . Hame tugs. 15628 D’Amilly and Caillet Horse-shoes. 15679 Lane and Colls 16700 Govan, A. A. 15732 Temple, T. . 15879 Blackford, E. O 15935 Williams, D. 16239 Partridge, J. 16300 Cox, J. S. . 16310 Barkwitii and Loads. Tubular air-pads for horse-collars, &c. 16733 SKERRiTTand Wilcock Horse-shoes. . Horse-bits. . Horse-collars. . Cart saddles. . Stopping horses from bolting. . Stirrups. • >» Application Name of Applicant 13778 SAYLE, R. G. 14056 SCATTERGOOD, G. 14123 Butterfield, & anr. 14215 Lea, C. 14871 Drought, J. T. . 15014 Boyes, T. 15375 Witley, G. S. 16376 Chester, C. 16437 May, F. 15528 Brown, C. L. 15558 Marshall, J. B. . 16753 Brasseur and Mallet 16754 Bottriel, H. J. . 17174 Lee, L. S. . 17291 Wells, A. E. 17359 Offord, T. . 17632 Boult ( Irvine and anr.) 17877 GAnmiER(Bretonneau). 17907 Pendlebury and anr. 17911 Sheather, C. 18041 Huband, T. A. 18098 Gozzett, C. C. 18586 Heys, W. E. ( Martinet ) 18781 Blackbourn, J. . 19623 West aw ay & Simmons 19663 Lake ( Coveil) 19799 Biclefeld, J. M. 19843 Isbister, J. . 19966 Jacobs and Lucien 19971 Lea, C. 20065 Shaw, S. Trees for riding saddles. Portable horse-shoe rougher. Preventing horses’ hoofs striking. Nose-bags. Horses’ elbow-pad. Horse-collars. Nose-bags. Harness tugs. Pneumatic horse-shoe pad. Horse-shoe to prevent slipping. Ointment for horses’ hoofs. Knee-caps for horses. Nailless horse-shoe. Saddles and girths. Device for attaching horse-shoes. Nose-bags. Wooden-bodied horse-collar. Stopping runaway horses. Horse-shoes. Saddles. Carts and Carriages. 13928 Knight, A. W. 13974 Prime, and another 14247 Dawson, W. B. . 14504 Magill, T. S. 14856 James, W. II. 16652 Harpur, F. A. 17004 Henrard, A. F. . 17638 Walker, E. F. 19170 Wyatt, B. . 19412 Hill, T. 20060 Rogers and Sons . Steps of carriages. . Suspending carriage-bodies. . Seats of dog-carts, &c. . Carriages, &c. . Carriage-brake. . Self-adjusting arrangement for two-wheeled carriages. . Utilising the efforts of teams of two or more horses abreast. . Pneumatic tyres to prevent side slipping. . Cart and root-cutter combined. . Wagons. . Automaton front and hind Dog-cart seats. 884 Recent Agricultural Inventions. Dairy Utensils, &c. Application Name of Applicant 13715 Hoskins, C. . 13912 Allen, O. J. 13935 Pett, J. H. . 13973 Hansen, T. and anr. 14495 Amies, T. A. . 15172 Pett, J. H. , 15420 Watson, L. . 16464 Bonne, C. B. 17144 Hauser, S. . 17526 Thompson ( Ahlborn ) 18745 Cole, W. Title of Invention . Apparatus for washing butter. . Packing cheese for exportation. . Churn. . Churns, &c. . Hoop and bottom for railway milk cans. . Butter press. . Milk churn. . Churn. . Butter churns. . Butter-worker. . Production of butter. 14261 14417 14884 15271 16823 16146 17966 18831 14208 14371 14417 14510 15137 15307 16068 16195 16318 17660 17959 18071 18552 18765 18812 19008 19614 19760 19812 20304 Poultry and Game, &c., Appliances. Glover, C. E. Wvlam, E. . Freeth and Pocock Levick, O. K. Morse, J. Lathbury, C. J. . Cashmore, C. Mann, S. . Incubators. . Food for game and poultry. . Packing cases for eggs. . Incubators. . Incubator and rearing appliance. . Model incubator. . Rearing and brooding chickens. . Heat regulator for incubators. Miscellaneous. Peache, J. C. Andrews, L., and anr. Wylam, E. . Muirhead, W. M. Seaman, A. R. JULL, J. W. . Boon, N. Blackie and Nisbet . Cank, T. Wright and others Horlyck, H. Rowlands, D. Cooke, F. I. . . Avery, W. B. Scott, E. L. Nash, R. G. . Newall, J. W. Rucker and Allbutt . Hoyt, D. A. WOODHOUSE & RAWSON Limited . Shearing sheep, &c. Clippers or shears for animals. Food for animals. Drinking troughs for cattle, &c. Honey extractors. Food for dogs. Dipping and lifting sheep by complex circular motion. Sheep-shearing machine. Alarm guns for game preserves. Beehive frames and fittings. Milking machine. Ear-marking sheep. Preventing access of rats, &c., to stacks. Steelyards and cattle-weighing machines. Cure for distemper in dogs. Device to indicate ownership of cattle. Machine for clipping hair and wool. Drawing docks, &c., from lawns. Lawn sprinklers. Cattle-branding apparatus. Numbers of Specifications relating to the above subjects Published since September 1 1 (with prices in parentheses). 288 (8 (7.), 868 (8(7.), 1511 (6 d.), 1835 (6 (7.), 2574 (8 (7.), 4380 (8(7.), 4857 (8(7.), 6313 (6(7.), 6576 (8(7.), 6911 (8 (7.), 8048 (8 1873 1858 1861 1861 1871 1863 1851- 59i 1862 I 1856 1852- 57) 1866 > 1869 ILR.H. The Frince op Wales, K.G., Marlborough House, Pall Mall. Acland, Rt. Hon. Sir Thomas Dyke, Fart., Killer ton, Exeter, Devon- shire. Bedford, Duke of, K.G., Wobnrn Abbey, Bedfordshire. Bridport, Genl. Viscount, K.C.B., Criehet St. Thomas, Chard, Somerset. Catiicart, Earl, Thornton-le-Street, Thirsk, Yorkshire. Dent, John Dent, Bibston Hall, Wetherby, Yorkshire. Egerton op Tatton, Lord, Tat ton Park, Knutsford, Cheshire. Kingscote, Col. Sir Nigel, K.C.B., Kingseotc, Wotton-under-Edge, Gloucestershire. Macdonald, Sir Arciiirald K., Bart., Woolmer lodge, Liphook, Hants. Powis, Earl of, Poms Castle, Welshpool, Montgomeryshire . Richmond and Gordon, Duke of, K.G., Goodwood, Chichester, Sussex. Ridley, Sir M. W.,Bart., M.F., Blagdon, Cramlington, Northumberland. 1872-711 1884 1 1867 1876 1881 1872 1848 1865 1880 1867 1874 1881 1869 VOL, 2Hicc^3rc^(llrnti). Chaplin, Rt. Hon. Henry, M.P., Blanliney Hall, Lincoln. Devonshire, Duke of, K.G., Holier Hall, Lancashire. Feversham, Earl of, Buncombe Park, Helmsley, Yorkshire. Gjlbey, Walter, Elsenham Hall, Essex. Lathom, Earl of, Lathom Hall, Ormskirk, Lancashire. Lawes, Sir John Bennet, Bart., Bothamsted, St. Albans, Herts. Lopes, Rt. Hon. Sir Massey, Bart., Maristow, Boborough, S. Devon. Moreton, Lord, Tortworth Court, Falfield B.S. 0., Gloucestershire. Ravensworth, Earl of, Bavensworth Castle , Gateshead, Durham. Spencer, Earl, K.G., Althorp, Northampton. Thorold, Sir John H., Bart., System. i Park, Grantham, Lincolnshire. Whitehead, Charles, Barming House, Maidstone, Kent. I. T. S. — 1 a Year w elected Couuc 1889 1881 L 862-6 1877 1880 1871 1885 1874 1883 1885 1887 1888 1885 1882 1879 1875 1879 1879 1889 1888 1876 1883 1886 1874 1884 1886 1881 1886 1889 1888 1886 1871 1889 1874 1886 1878 1886 1889 1889 1882 1875 1883 1889 1889 1889 1882 1889 1889 1865 * M List of Council of the Society. Otljrr fBUmbfrtf of Council. H.R.H. Prince Christian, K.G., Cumberland Lodge , Windsor. Allender,G.Mander,31 Si. Petersburgh Place, Bayswater, Middlesex. * Arkwright, J. Hungerford, Hampton Court , Leominster, Hereford- shire. Ashworth, Alfred, Tabley Grange, Knutsford, Cheshire. Bowen-Jones, J., Ensdon House, Montford Bridge, Salop. Caird, James A., Northbrook, Michelderer, Hants. Chandos-Pole-Gell, H., Hopton Hall, Wirksworth, Derbyshire. * Clay, Charles, Walton Grange, Wakefield, Yorkshire. Coventry, Earl of, Croome Court, Severn Stoke, Worcestershire. Crutchley, Percy E., Sunninghill Park, Ascot, Berkshire. Darby, Alfred, Little Ness, Shrewsbury, Shropshire. De Laune, C. DE L. Faunce, Sharsted Court, Sittingbourne, Kent. * Emlyn, Viscount, Golden Grove, Carmarthen, S. Wales. * Foster, S. P., Killhow, Carlisle, Cumberland. + Frankish, William, Limber, Vlceby, Lincolnshire. Gorringe, Hugh, Kingston-by-Sea, Brighton, Sussex. * Grenville, R. Neville, Butleigh Court, Glastonbury, Somersetshire. Hamond, Anthony, West acre, Swaffham, Norfolk. * Hornsby, James, Stapleford Park, Melton Mowbray, Leicestershire. Howard, Charles, Biddenham, Bedfordshire. * Jersey, Earl of, Middleton Park, Bicester, Oxfordshire. Mainwaring, C. S., Galltfaenan, Trefnant B.S.O., North Wales. Martin, Joseph, Highfield House, Littleport, Isle of Ely, Cambs. Miller, T. Horrocks, Singleton Park, Poulton-le-Fylde, Lancashire. * Muntz, Philip Albert, M.P., Dunsmore, Bugby, Warwickshire. Parker, Hon. Cecil T., Eccleston, Chester. Pell, Albert, Hazelbeach, Northampton. * Pjdgeon, Daniel, Walsingham House, Piccadilly, IF. * Portland, Duke of, Welbech Abbey, Worksop, Notts. * Ransome, J. E., Holme Wood, Ipswich, Suffolk. * Rawlence, James, Bulbridge, Wilton, Salisbury, Wilts. Rowlandson, Samuel, Newton Morrell, Darlington ( Yorkshire ) * Sanday, George H., Langdale Lodge, Clapham Park, Surrey. Scarth, W. T., Staindrop House, Darlington, Durham. * Sheraton, William, Lynnville, Wem, Salop. Smith, Alfred J., Rsndlesham, Woodbridge, Suffolk. * Smith, Henry, The Grove, Cropwell Butler, near Nottingham. * Spearman, Sir J. L. E., Bart., Llansannor Court, Cowbridge, Glam. * Stafford, Marquis of, Lilleshall, Newport, Salop. * Stratton, Richard, The Duffryn, Newport, Monmouthshire. * Sutton, Martin J., Kidmore Grange, Caversham , Oxon. * Tavistock, Marquis of, Endsleigh, Tavistock, Devonshire. Taylor, Garrett, Trorose House, Norwich. * Tremayne, John, Heligan, St. Austell, Cornwall. * Warren, Reginald Augustus, Preston Place, Worthing, Sussex. * Wheeler, E. Vincent V., Newnham Ct., Tenbury, Worcestershire. Wilson, C. W., Bigmaden Park, Kirkby Lonsdale, Westmoreland. Wilson, Sir Jacob, Chillingham Barns, Belford, Northumberland. rs of Council who retire by rotation, but may be re-elected, STANDING COMMITTEES FOR 1890. *#* The President is a Member ox officio of all Committees, and the Trustees and Vice-Presidents are Members ex officiis of all Standing Committees except the Committee of Selection. finance Committee. Kingscote, Col. Sir Nigel (Chairman). Thorold, Sir J. EL, Bt. Bridport, General Viscount. Frankish, W. Ridley, Sir M. White, Bt., M.P. Sanday, G. H. 3t?fluSe Cnmmittee. Chairman of Finance Committee. Parker, Hon. C. T. The President. Wilson, Sir Jacob. Bridport, General Viscount. Allender, G. M. jjournal Committee. Cathcart, Earl (Chairman). Emlyn, Viscount. Thorold, Sir J. H., Bt. Ashworth, A. Caird, J. A. De Laune, C. de L. Faunce. Frankish, W. Pell, A. Pidgeon, D. Sutton, Martin J. Whitehead, Charles. Dent, J. D. Cf) rim cal Committee. Emlyn, Viscount (Chairman). Spearman, Sir J. L. E., Bt. Grenville, R. N. Bedford, Duke of. Thorold, Sir J. H., Bt. Howard, C. Tavistock, Marquis of. Arkwright, J. H. Pell, A. Parker, Hon. C. T. Bowen-Jones, J. Tremayne, J. Acland, Sir T. D., Bt. Caird, J. A. Voelcker, Dr. Lawes, Sir J. B., Bt. DeLaune.C.deL. Faunce. Warren, R. A. Macdonald, Sir A. K., Bt. Dent, J. D. Whitehead, Chas, g>rco£ anti Hlant BBiSea^eS Committee. Whitehead, Charles (Chairman). Thorold, Sir J. H., Bt. Arkwright, J. H. Bowen-Jones, J. Caird, J. A. Carrutiiers, W. De Laune, C. df, Faunce. Hornsby, J. Mainwarino, C. S. Ormerod, Miss E. A L. Pell, A. Stratton, R. Sutton, Martin J. IPetertnarj) Committre. Thorold, Sir J. H., Bt. Brown, Professor. (Chairman). Chandos-Pole-Gell, H. Bridport, General Viscount. Clay, C. Egerton of Tatton, Lord. Cope, A. C. Moreton, Lord. Crookshank, Prof. Parker, Hon. C. T. Darby, Alfred Kingscote, Col. Sir Nigel. Dent, J. D. Wilson, Sir Jacob. Fleming, Dr. George. Allender, G. M. Foster, S. P. Ashworth, A. Gorringe, H. Axe, Prof. J. Wortley. Hamond, A. Master of Farriers’ Company. Miller, T. H. Pell, A. President of Royal Coll, of Vety. Surgeons. Simonds, Prof. Smith, A. J. Wheeler, E. V. V. Wilson, C. W. S'tacR-prtjeS Committee. Sanday, G. H. (Chairman). Bowen-Jones, J. H.R.H. Prince Christian, K.G. Coventry, Earl of. Moreton, Lord. Parker, Hon. C. T. Spearman, Sir J. L. E., Bt. Wilson, Sir Jacob. Allender, G. M. Arkwright, J. H. Ashworth, A. Chandos-Pole-Gell, H. Crutchley, P. E. Darby, Alfred. Foster, S. P. Frankish, W. Gilbey, Walter. Gorringe, H. Howard, C. Mainwaring, C. S. Martin, Joseph. Miller, T. H. Muntz, P. A., M.P. Rowlandson, S. Simonds, Professor. Smith, A. J. Smith, Henry. Stratton, R Taylor, Garrett. Tremayne, J. Wilson, C. W. The Stewards of Live Stock. IV Standing Committees for 1890. implement Committer. Frankish, W. (Chairman). Bo wen- Jones, J. Bridport, Gen. Viscount. Moreton, Lord. Parker, Hon. C. T. Thorold, Sir J. H., Bt. Wilson, Sir Jacob. Allender, G. M. Anderson, W. Clay, C. Grenville, R. Neville. Hornsby, J. Howard, C. Martin, Joseph. Pidgeon, D. Ransome, J. E. Rowlandson, S. Sanday, G. H. Sheraton, W. Smith, A. J. Smith, Henry. Stratton, R. The Stewards of Im- plements. 1875 July 3L 1849 Mar. 5, 1890 April 7, 1869 May 12, 1838 June 27, 1838 Mar. 5. 1890 •Nov, 2, 1887 April . 2, 1890 Mar. II, 1840 Mar. Si 1890 May 13. 1839 Mar. Si i89° Feb. 3. 1869 July 14, 1880 Mar. 6, 1872 Nov. 7. 1883 July 7, 1869 Feb. i3> 1839 Mar. Si 1890 Dec. l ti, 1839 Feb. 23, 1842 Dec. ii, 1839 Mar. Si 1890 July 19. l843 Feb. 4> 1857 June 5. 1867 Mar. 3. lS7S March 6, 1889 Mar. Si 1862 Mar. 3. 1875 Nov. 7, 1888 June 5. 1873 Feb. 19, 1840 Mar. Si 1890 — 1861 May 5i 1852 Nov. 3, 1886 April S> 1854 June 4, 1879 Nov. 2, 1870 June 5, 1889 July 2, 1884 Dec. 12, 1888 Jan. IO, 1840 Mar. Si i890 July 13, 1882 June 3. 1884 Dec. 4. 1839 Mar. 5. I49 1890 Mar. 3, 1875 Mar. S, 1890 July 3, 1861 Mar. 5, 1890 June 30, 1873 Mar. Si *890 Feb. 3, 1875 Nov. 7, 18S3 Mar. 3, 1875 Mar. 5, 1890 June 2, 18S0 Mar. S, 1890 July 3, 1889 Mar. Si 1890 Mar. s, 1890 June 2, 1880 ( Life Governor. X List of Governors. fPoETMAN, Viscount. ..Durweston, Blandford , , tPowis, Earl of...Powis Castle, Welshpool Ravensworth, Earl of... Ravensworth Castle, Gateshead-on- Tyne Richmond & Gordon, Duke of, K.G.. .Goodwood, Chichester . t Ridlf.y, Sir Matthew W., Bart., M.P....Blagdon, Cramlington . Ripon, Marquis of, K.G....Studley Royal, Ripon . , , *Rodd, F....Trebartha Hall, Launceston , . , , ^Russell, Lord C. J. F....Drakelow Lodge, Woburn . . t Salisbury, Marquis of, K.G... Hatfield House, Herts . Salt, Sir W. H., Bart....Maplewell, Loughborough , , Savile, Lord, G.C.B...Ruiford Abbey, Ollerton, Notts. < . ^Saunders, T. B... .The Priory, Bradford-on-Avon , ■f Schroder, Baron J. H. W....The Dell, Staines . . , , *)■ Sefton, Earl of...Croxtetli, Liverpool *Simonds, Prof. James Beart...St. John’s Villa, Ryde, I. W. ^Simonds, W. Barrow. ..Abbotts Barton, Winchester . . . *Smith, Henry. ..The Chestnuts, Leamington .... t Smith, Rt. Hon. W. H., M.P...3 Grosvenor Place, S.W. f Smyth, Sir J. H. Greville, Bart. ..Ashton Court, Bristol ^Sparks, William. ..Crewkerne ....... Spencer, Earl, K.G...Altliorp Park, Northampton ^Stratton, J. Locke. ..Turweston House, Brackley Sudeley, Lord...Toddington, Winchcomb • . . . . Suefield, Lord...Gunton Park, Norwich •(■Sutherland, Duke of, K.G. ..Stafford House, St. James’, S.W. . tSuiTON, John Manners. ..Kelham, Newark t Sutton, Martin J...Kidmore Grange, Caversham, Oxon. . Sutton, Sir R. F., Bart...Benham Park, Newbury, Berks. tTANQUERAY, John S...c/o W. Sweetland, 64 Jermyn St., S.W. tTnoROLD, Sir John H., Bart....Syston Park, Grantham Tredegar, Lord. ..Tredegar Park, Newport, Mon. •fTuRBERVlLL, Lt. Col. Picton...Ewenny Priory, Bridgend . fTwEEDMOUTH, Lord... Brook House, Park Lane, W. . j&Verney, Rt. Hon. Sir Harry, Bart....Clayden House, Winslow . •(Wantage, Lord, V.C...Lockinge, Wantage . , . . . tWARWicK, Earl of. ..Warwick Castle, Warwick . . . . Westminster, Duke of, K.G. ..Eaton Hall, Chester . ( W hite he ad, Charles. ..Banning House, Maidstone . . . Willoughby De Eresby, Lord...Normanton Park, Stamford . (Windsor, Lord... Hewel Grange, Bromsgrove . . . . #Winmarleigh, Lord...Winmarleigh, Garstang .... * Wood, James. ..Ockley Manor, Keymer, Sussex . . (Yerburgh, Robert A., M.P...Billinge, Scarr, Blackburn . . * Elected a Foundation Life Governor March 5, 1890. Date of election Date of election as Member as Governor Aug. 6, 1862 Mar. 5, 1890 — July 4, 1855 Feb. S, 1868 July 1, 1885 June 20, 1838 Dec. 2, 1868 Apr. 7, 1869 May 5, 1886 — July - 3, 1861 July 16, 1839 Mar. 5, 1890 May 26, 1838 Mar. 5, 1890 — Feb. 6, 1889 Feb. 5, 1868 Mar. 5, 1890 — Mar. 27, 1889 June 13, 1838 Mar. 5, 1890 Nov. 3, 1869 April 2, 1890 — Dec. 8, 1869 July 25, 1838 Mar. 5, 1890 June 19, 1839 Mar. 5, 1890 June 19, 1839 Mar. 5, 1890 — Apr. S, 1882 — July 3, 1878 June 6, 1838 Mar. 5, 1890 Dec. s, i860 Mar. 3, 1875 May 13, 1839 Mar. 5, 1890 — Nov. S. i879 July 1, 1868 Nov. 3, 1875 — July 1, 1868 — May 8, 1844 May 1, 1878 Feb. 1, 1882 — Dec. 12, 1888 Feb. 16, 1848 May 8, 1849 Aug. 5, 1868 May r, 1889 — May 3, 1876 Feb. 7, 1872 Mar. 3, 1880 July 9, 1845 April 2, 1890 May 10, 1838 Mar. 5, 1890 June 3, 1863 May 1, 1872 — June 1, 1859 July 3, i860 June 5, 1872 Apr. 1, 1857 Feb. 6, 1889 Mar. 3, 1869 May 5, 1875 — Nov. 6, 1878 — May 12, 1838 Aug. 8, 1838 Mar. 5, 1890 — Nov. 7, r888 t Life Governor. 1 Y.B, A List of the 10,700 Members of the Society on the Register at December 31, 1889, has been printed, and a copy will be sent to any Member on application. ( Xi ) Table showing the Number of GOVERNORS and MEMBERS in each Year from the Establishment of the Society. Governors Members Year President of the Year Total Life Annual Life tnuual Honorary 1 1838 3rd Earl Spencer .... 65 121 31 249 — 466 1839 1840 | 5th Duke of Richmond . . 1 86 189 116 2,434 5 1,100 2,860 1841 Mr. Philip Pusev .... 91 219 231 4,047 7 4,595 1842 Mr. Heury Handley . . . 101 211 328 5,194 15 5,849 1843 Earl of Hardwicke .... 94 209 429 6.155 15 6,902 ‘ 1844 3rd Earl Spencer .... 95 214 442 6,161 15 6.927 1845 Duke of Richmond .... 94 198 527 5,899 15 6,733 6,971 1846 Lord Portman 92 201 554 6,105 19 1847 Earl of Egmont . 91 195 607 5,478 20 6,391 1848 Earl of Yarborouglr . . . 93 186 648 5,387 21 6,335 5,512 1849 Earl of Chichester . . . ' . 89 178 582 4,643 20 1850 Marquis of Downshire . . 90 169 627 4,356 19 5.261 1851 5th Duke of Richmond . . 91 162 674 4,175 19 5,121 1852 Earl of Ducie 93 156 711 4,002 3,928 19 4,981 1853 Lord Ashburton 90 147 739 19 4,923 1854 Mr. Philip Pusey .... 88 146 771 4,152 20 5,177 1855 Mr. William Miles, M.P. 89 141 795 3,838 19 4,882 4,979 1856 Lord Portman 85 139 839 3,896 20 1857 Mr. E. Denison. M.P. . . . 83 137 896 3,933 19 5,068 1858 Earl Berners 81 133 904 4,010 18 5.146 1859 Duke of Marlborough . . . 78 130 927 4,008 18 5,161 1860 Lord Walsingham .... 72 119 927 4.047 3,328 ' 18 5,183 1861 Earl of Powis 84 90 1,113 18 4,633 1862 f H.R.H. Prince Consort . . ( Lord Portman ! 83 97 1,151 3,475 17 4,823 1863 Viscount Eversley .... 80 88 1,263 3,735 17 5,183 1864 Lord Feversham .... 78 45 1,343 4,013 17 5,496 1 865 Sir E. C. Kerrison, Bt., M.P. 79 81 J ,386 4,190 16 5,752 1866 Lord Tredegar 79 84 1,395 4,049 15 5,622 1867 Mr. H. S. Thompson . . . 77 82 1,388 3,903 15 5,465 1868 6th Duke of Richmond . . 75 74 1,409 3.888 15 5.461 1869 H.R.H. Prince of Wales . . 75 73 1,417 3,864 17 5,446 1870 Duke of Devonshire . . . 74 74 1,511 3.764 15 5,438 1871 Lord Vernon 72 74 1,589 3,896 17 5,648 1872 Sir W. IV. Wynn, Bt., M.P. 71 73 1,655 3,953 14 5,766 18/3 Earl Cathcart 74 62 1,832 3,936 12 5.916 1874 Mr. Edward Holland . . . 76 58 1.944 3,756 12 5,846 1875 Viscount Bridport .... 79 79 2,058 3,918 1 1 6,145 1876 Lord Chesham 83 78 2,164 4,013 11 6,349 1877 Lord Skelmersdale .... 81 76 2,239 4,073 17 6,486 1878 Col. Kingscote, C.B., M.P. . H.R.H. Prince of Wales . . 81 72 2,328 4,130 26 6,637 1879 81 72 2,453 4,700 5,083 26 7,332 1880 Duke of Bedford .... 83 70 2,673 20 7,929 1881 Mr. William Wells . . . 85 69 2,765 5,041 19 7,979 1882 Mr. John Dent Dent . . . 82 71 2,849 5,059 19 8,080 1883 Duke of Richmond & Gordon 78 71 2,979 4,952 19 8,099 1884 Sir Brandreth Gibbs . . . 72 72 3,203 5,408 21 8,776 1885 Sir M. Lopes, Bt., M.P. . . 71 69 3,356 5,619 20 9,135 1886 H.R.H. Prince of Wales . . 70 61 3,414 5,569 20 9,134 1887 Lord Eaerton of Tatton . . 71 64 3,440 5,387 20 8,982 8,884 1888 Sir M. W. Ridlev, Bt., M.P. 66 56 3,521 5,225 16 1889 H.M. The Queen . . . 73 58 3,567 7,153 15 10,866 1890 (Mar. ^ | Lord Morel off m ' 54 3,798 6,937 17 10,929 1 The figures for 1843 are taken from the December report, after the removal of the names of members who had discontinued their subscriptions, but it was reported in the previous May that 1,436 had been elected during the preceding twelve mouths, bringing the then nominal total to 7,285. In all other cases, from 1840 to 1889, the figures are from the May reports. It should, how- ever, be observed that these were occasionally affected by the necessary revision of the list. Dr. ROYAL AGRICULTURAL Balance Sheet xii Correspond- ing figures for 1883 £ 33,049 901 3,668 £ s. d. To Assets at December 31, 1888 38,0G3 0 10 Less Annual Subscriptions and Compositions received in 1888 but belonging to 1889 . 1,288 0 0 ». J. Add Balance at credit of Income and Ex- penditure Account as per Statement (A) . 2,013 9 11 Add Balance at credit of Windsor Show Account, as per Statement (B) .... 34 9 9 36,776 0 10 324 354 166 36,775 Depreciation written off : Country Sleeting Plant (16 per cent.) £285 9 6 Books and Furniture (10 per cent.) ' . 332 3 2 Machinery (10 per cent.) . . 149 0 0 2,047 19 8 766 12 8 ERNEST CLARKE, Secretary. WELTON JONES & CO., Accountants. OCIETY OF ENGLAND. December 31, 1889. xm Cr. Correspond- ing figures for 1888 £ 29,033 3,184 1,834 1,490 2,090 70 590 229 1,288 By 30,0002. New Consols (2f per cent.) at cost . Value on 31st December, 1889, at 96f =29,062?. 10s. Otf. [Of this 30,000?. Stock, 105?. is held against Special Prizes.] By Books and Furniture at De- Auditors on behalf of the Society. C. G. ROBERTS J xvi METROPOLITAN EXHIBITION Statement of Receipts Contributions towards Expenses:— £ s. d. Net Receipts from Mansion House Fund 5,444 1 8 Subscription from Windsor Local Committee 2,000 0 0 Contribution from Windsor Local Committee towards Sleeper Roads . . . 350 0 0 Contribution from Windsor Local Committee towards Laying Water Mains to additional Ground . 33 0 0 Contribution towards Show Fund from Society's General Revenue .... 5,000 0 0 CATALOGUES:- Extra Lines in Implement Catalogue 129 14 0 Woodcuts of New Implements 778 Advertisements in Catalogues Fees for Entries of Implements Implement Exhibitors' Payments for Shedding Non-Members’ Fees for Entry of Implements . £ s. d. 1 12,833 1 8 137 1 C 367 15 8 3,705 0 0 319 0 0 Fees for Entries of Live Stock By Members 3,250 Entries @6 s 812 10 0 1 13 Post Entries @ 10s 71 10 0 By Non-members 536 Entries @ 1/ 536 0 0 24 Entries of Goats @ 10.« 12 0 0 40 Post Entries @ 21 80 0 0 1,512 0 0 Vees for Shedding Accommodation for Vehicles in Harness Classes .... 14 10 0 Fees for Accommodation of Herdsmen 237 0 0 Fees for Horse Boxes and Stalls 682 5 0 Fees for Entries of Poultry By Members : — 285 Entries . By Non-members 504 Entries Entries of Table Poultry, 76 @ Is Other Entry Fees:- Non-Members’ Fees for Entries of Produce . . Fees for Entry in Horse-shoeing Competitions . Deposits of Butter-making Competitors forfeited Miscellaneous Pveceipts:- Fines for non-exhibition of Live Stock Fines for Disobedience to orders of Stewards . . . . Fines due from previous Shows Premiums for Supply of Refreshments Premiums for Cloak Rooms and Lavatories . . . 36 12 6 130 10 0 3 16 0 170 18 6 106 1 0 9 10 0 3 0 0 232 5 0 14 5 0 45 10 0 292 0 0 673 0 0 50 0 0 Carried forward . . £23,112 2 11 AT WINDSOE, 1889. and Expenditure. xvn Cost of Erection of Show-yard ;— Timber, 10,6757. 17j. Id. ; Joinery, 1867. 6s. 10J Ironmongery, 427 7. 13*. 2d. ; Hurdles, 4207. 2s. 11<7 Labour, Paints, Oils, Lead, Glass, &c Bricks, Lime, Cement, Goal, &c <• . Canvas, 2,1447. 2s. 8<7. ; Roofing-clotb, Felt, Baize, &c. 3447. 12s. 0<7 Railway Charges, 5197. 19s. 5(7. ; Horse Hire, 3507. 19s. 5d Working Dairy : — Bricks and Cement, 1337. 3s. Id. ; Ironmongery, 47. 8s. Od. ; Railway Charges, 17. 6s. 5 d. ; Coal, 17. 5s. 0J. ; Wages, 417. 3s. 3(7. ; Petty Expenses, 19s Cardboard Numbers Stationery, Postage, and Telegrams Insurance, 317. 2s. Od. ; Sundries, 377. 17s. 8d Repairing Engine, 307. 18s. 5 d. ; Repairing Harness, 17. 2s 6d. Bedticks for Herdsmen, 507. 19s. Od. ; Curtains, 267. 5s. 4 d Rent for Storing Plant, 77. ; Hire of Plant, Ladders, Poles, Ac. 167. is. 9d. . Fence to Queen’s Pavilion Horse-shoeing, 37. 5 s. 3d. ; Baskets, 17. 6s. 6 d. Compensation Wages, 3,5637. 6s. Id. ; Gratuities, 257 Superintendent of Works, Salary and Expenses Less : — Bale of Materials £5,613 10 1 Work for Exhibitors and Purveyors 2,811 10 1 Special Show-yard Works;— Levelling and Draining : — Wages Horse Hire, 1287. 7s. 7 d. ; Drain Pipes, 797. 19s. 8(7. ; Ironmongery, 27. 2s. 6 J. Sleeper Roads : — Cost of Sleepers, 4507. ; Gravel, 557. 8s. 8d Wages, 1347. Is. lid. ; Railway Charges, 5387. 4s. 7 d. ; Horse Hire, 387. 11s. 6d. ; ) Ironmongery, 4s. 6 d I - (Towards this Expenditure the Windsor Local Committee contributed 3507.) Less Sale of Sleepers Restoration of Ground Wages, 1227. 2s. 2d. ; Horse Hire, &c. 607. 11s. 10 d. . Repairing Fences, 67. 8s. Od. ; Grass Seeds, 47. 15s. 6(7 Laying Gas and Water Mains : — Gas Mains, 117. ; Water Mains, 957. 19s. Id. . (Towards the laying of the Water Mains to additional Ground, the Windsor Local Committee contributed 397.) Clearing up Manure Wages, 247. 0s. 5 d. ; Horse Hire, 317. 12s. Od Expenses of Secretary's Department;— Secretary’s Journeys to Windsor, and Expenses Gratuities to Staff for Extra Work Evening Allowances to Staff Extra Temporary Clerks in Office Preparation of Catalogues : Special Staff Printing:— Printing of Prize Sheets, Certificates, Admission Orders, Parchment Numbers, i Circulars to Exhibitors, Prize Cards, Members’ Tickets, Judges’ Books, and l Miscellaneous ) Secretary’s Local Printing, 117. 12s. 7d. ; Surveyor’s Local Printing, 77. 3s. Od. General Printing for Stallion Show Programmes, 537. 14s. 9d. ; Plans of Show-yard, 177. 3s. Od Implement Catalogue, 4287. 3s. 6d. ; Bound Copies of ditto, 307. 13s. 0d. . . Stock Catalogue, 1,1417. 7s. 9d. ; Bound Copies of ditto, 587 Carriage of Copies to Show-yard : Implement, 127. 10s. Od. ; Stock, 457. . . Printing Awards, 2517. 0s. 2d. ; Carriage, 27. 16s. 6d. ; Services of Bicyclists 1 between London and Windsor, 127. 6s. Od J Advertising, Bill Posting, and Placarding;— Advertising Prizes offered, 797. 17s. lid. ; Ditto Stallion Show, 107. 3s. 3d. ; Ad- 1 vertising Show by Posters and Placards, and in Newspapers, 2,3457. 5s. 3d. j Printing of Posters and Placards Postage, Carriage, and Stationery £ 9. d. 10,862 3 11 817 16 1 380 6 1 117 4 0 2,488 14 8 870 18 10 182 4 9 112 8 fl 69 4 0 68 19 8 32 0 11 77 4 4 23 4 9 8 0 0 4 11 9 62 7 6 8,588 5 7 642 4 0 20,437 19 10 8,425 0 2 276 5 2 210 9 9 605 8 8 711 2 6 1,216 11 2 258 1 0 182 14 0 11 3 6 8 14 9 183 15 0 63 12 9 282 4 6 101 18 0 663 12 4 18 15 7 11 16 3 70 17 9 458 16 6 1,199 7 9 57 10 0 266 1 8 2,435 6 5 240 3 6 £ I. d. 12,012 19 8 480 14 11 958 10 J 193 17 6 106 19 7 65 12 5 610 5 0 2,746 17 10 2,675 9 11 247 15 10 £20,125 2 10 VOL. I. T. S.— 1 Carried forward . . . xviii METROPOLITAN EXHIBITION Statement of. Receipts Brought forward from page xvi Admissions to Show-yard Saturday, June 22, @ 2s. 6(7 Monday, June 24, @ 5s Tuesday, June, 25, @ 2i. 6c7 Wednesday, June 26, @ 2s. 6d . . . Thursday, June 27, @ 2s. 6(7 . Friday, June 28, © 1 Saturday, June 29, @ 1« Season Tickets, @ 10s. 6 d Da}' Tickets, sold at the rate of 25 for 17 Society's Share of Combination Railway Tickets : — Great Western Railway London and South Western Railway . . . . Entrances to Horse-ring Monday, June 24 . Tuesday, June 25 Wednesday, June 26 ... Thursday, June 27 Friday, June 28 Saturday, June 29 Dairy.— Receipts at Stand at Working Dairy Sales of Produce at Working Dairy Sale of Catalogues £ 5. d. £ s. d 23,112 2 11 64 2 0 4 9 2,259 3 4 2,836 14 2 3,929 12 2 6 9 1,029 0 6 320 15 6 586 19 6 429 8 3 251 11 6 111 7 6 238 7 6 277 16 0 313 2 c 123 9 0 53 15 0 59 8 0 99 8 9 14,932 13 5 1,117 17 6 168 16 9 1,083 12 2 Prizes Awarded. The total amount of Prizes as given opposite was distributed as follows Horses, 2,6127. ; Asses, 307. ; Cattle, 3,4527. 5s. 0<7 6,094 5 0 Sheep, 2,3967. 5s. Od. ; Goats, 527. ; Pigs, 6957 3,143 5 0 Poultry, 3297. 10s. Od. ; Corn, 1307. ; Wool, 1377 596 10 O Cheese, 2527. ; Butter, 397. ; Cider and Perry, 1747 465 0 ' O Hops, 1607. ; Jams and Preserved Fruits, 687 228 0 0 Buttermaking, 337. ; Horse-shoeing, 427 75 0 0 Implements, 407. ; Dairy Appliances, 207. ; Dairy Designs, 217. 81 0 0 Contribution to Bee Department 50 0 0 Gold and Silver Medals 314 0 0 11,047 0 0 Less : — Champion and other Prizes offered by various Societies ... 793 10 0 10,253 10 O Premiums to Thoroughbred Stallions 600 0 0 (Towards these Premiums the Mansion House Committee con- tributed 3007. out of the 6,4447. Is. 8d. raised by them.) 10,853 10 0 £40,310 7 9 ERNEST CLARKE, Secretary. WELTON, JONES & Co., Accountants. AT WINDSOR, 1889. and Expenditure {continued). XIX Brought forward from page xvii Amount of Prizes Awarded (for details sec opposite) Cost of Forage for Live-Stock:— Hay, 793 l. 5s. 7 it. ; Straw, 8311. 19s. 10(7. ; Green Food, 5697. 5s. 1 1 „ Appliances . . . ] 200 0 Farm Prize Competition . 300 0 Butter-making Competitions 32 0 Horse-shoeing Competitions . 42 0 Total . . . 6,281 0 Last Day of Entry for Stock and Farm Produce, THURSDAY, MAY 1, 1890, (Post Entries at Double Fees up to MONDAY, MAY 12.) Copies of the detailed Regulations and Conditions under which these Pi tzes {which are open for General Competition ) can be competed for , and Forms of Certificates of Entry , can be obtained on Application to the Secre- tary at 12 Hanover Square, London, JF. HORSES. Prizes HUNTERS. C'la6S 1 Mare and Foal . 2 Filly, foaled in 1887 3 Filly, foaled in 1888 4 Mare or Gelding, foaled Prizes COACH HORSES. Class 1st 2nd 3rd £ £ £ 6 Stallion, foaled pre- viously to 1889 . 20 10 5 7 Mare and Foal . 20 10 5 8 Filly, foaled in 1887 . 15 10 5 9 Filly, foaled in 1888 . 15 10 5 in the vear 1884 or 1885:— i* (a) Light weight, up to 12 stones . . . .20 (5) Weight carrier, up to 15 stones . . .20 5 Mare or Gelding, foaled n 188G l . . . .20 HACKNEYS. 10 Stallion, foaled before 10 5 1888, above 15 hands 20 10 5 11 Stallion, foaled before 1888, above 14 and not 10 5 | exceeding 15 bauds . 20 10 5 12 Stallion, foaled in 1888 - 13 Brood Make and Foal, 15 10 - 10 5 1 above 15 hands 15 10 5 1 Offered by the Plymouth Local Committee. 2 Offered by the Hackney Horse Society. XXI Prize List for Plymouth Meeting, 1890. HORSES— continued. Prizes Class HACKNEYS-™*'- 1st 2nd 3rd £ £ £ 14 Brood Mare and Foal, above 14 hands and not exceeding 15 hands .15 10 5 15 Mare or Gelding, foaled in either 1884 or 1885, not less than 14 hands and not exceeding 15 hands’ . . . - 15 10 - 10 Mare or Gelding, above 15 hands’ . . . 15 10 — PONIES. 17 Stallion, not exceeding 14 hands . . . 15 10 5 18 Brood Mare and Foal, not exceeding 14 hands . 15 10 5 19 Mare or Gelding, above 12 hands 2 inches and not exceeding 14 hands 1 15 8 3 20 Mare or Gelding, not exceeding 12 hands 2 inches’ . . . . 10 0 3 Prizes Class SHIRE. 1st £ 27 Stallion, foaled in 1887 . 20 28 Stallion, foaled in 1888 . 20 29 Stallion, foaled in 1889 . 20 30 Mare and Foal . . 20 31 Filly, foaled in 1887 . 15 32 Filly, foaled in 1888 . 15 33 Filly, foaled in 1889 . 15 2nd 3rd £ £ 10 5 10 5 10 5 10 5 10 5 10 5 10 5 Champion Prizes of 25/. for the best Shire Stallion and of 1 5/. for the best Shire Mare or Filly are offered by the Shire Horse Society. CLYDESDALE. 34 Stallion, foaled in 1887 .20 10 5 35 Stallion, foaled in 1888 .20 10 5 36 Mare and Foal . . 20 10 5 37 Filly, foaled in 1887 . 15 10 5 38 Filly, foaled in 1888 . 15 10 5 Two Champion Prizes of 25/. each for the best Clydesdale Stallion and for the best Clydesdale Mare or Filly are offered by the Clydesdale Horse Society. DARTMOOR PONIES. {Not exceeding 13 hands 2 inches.') 21 Stallion, foaleil before January 1, 1888 2 . .8 4 - 22 Mare in foal, or with foal at foot 2 . . . .84- 23 Mare or Gelding (to be ridden) 2 . . . G 4 - EXMOOR PONIES. ( Not exceeding 13 hands 2 inches.) 24 Stallion, foaled before Jan uar y 1, 1888 2 . .84- 25 Mare, in foal or with foal at foot2 . . . .84- 26 Mare or Gelding (to be ridden)2. . . .64- A Champion Prize of 20/. is offered by the Plymouth Local Committee for the best Pony in Classes 19, 20, 23, and 26, suitable for riding purposes. SUFFOLK. 39 Stallion, foaled in 1887 . 20 10 5 40 Stallion, foaled in 1888 . 20 10 5 41 Stallion, foaled in 1889 3 15 10 - 42 Mare and Foal 20 10 5 43 Filly, foaled in 1887 15 10 5 44 Filly, foaled in 1888 15 10 5 45 Filly, foaled in 1889 3 15 10 - AGRICULTURAL HORSES. ( Not qualified to compete as Suffol/is, Clydesdales or Shires, adapted for a hilly country.) 46 Stallion, foaled pre- viously to 1 888 . .15 10- 47 Mare or Gelding, foaled in or after the year 1884 ’ 15 10 - 48 Pair of Draught Horses (Mare or Geld- ing), suitable for Agri- cultural purposes in Devon and Cornwall * ,15 10 - SHORTHORN. 49 Bull, calved in 1884, 1885, 1886, or 1887 20 10 5 50 Bull, calved in 1888 20 10 5 51 Bull, calved in 1889 . 20 10 5 52 Cow or Heifer, in-milk or in-calf, calved pre- viously to or in 1887 . 20 10 5 .15 10 5 .15 10 5 Two Champion Prizes of 25/. each fur the best Male and the best Female Shorthorn are offered by the Shorthorn Society. CATTLE. 53 Heifer, calved in 1888 54 Heifer, calved in 1889 1 Offered by the Plymouth Local Committee. 2 Offered by the Devon County Agricultural Association. 5 Offered by the Suffolk Stud-Book Association, xxii Prize List for Plymouth Meeting, 1890. CATTLE— continued. Trizes Class HEREFORD. — • £ E5 Bull, calved in 1884, 1885, 1886, or 1887 . 20 56 Bull, calved in 1888 . 20 57 Bull, calved in 1889 . 20 58 Cow or Heifer, in-milk or in-calf, calved pre- viously to or in 1887 . 20 59 Heifer, calved in 1888 . 15 60 Heifer, calved in 1889 . 15 2nd 3rd £ £ 10 5 10 5 10 5 10 5 10 5 10 5 DEVON. 61 Bull, calved in 1884, 1885, 1886, or 1887 . 20 10 5 62 Bull, calved in 1888 . 20 10 5 63 Bull, calved in 1889 . 20 10 5 64 Cow or Heifer, in-milk or in-calf, calved prc- viouslj' to or in 1887 .20 10 5 65 Heifer, calved in 1888 . 15 10 5 66 Heifer, calved in 1889 . 15 10 5 SOUTH DEVON 'Hams). 67 Bull, calved in 1884, 1885, 1886, or 1887 1 .15 10 5 68 Bull, calved in 1888 1 . 15 10 5 69 Bull,, calved in 1889 1 .10 5 3 70 Cow on IIeifer, in-milk or in-calf, calved pre- viously to or in 1 887 1 . 15 10 5 71 Heifer, calved in 1888* .10 5 3 72 Heifer, calved in 1889 1 . 10 5 3 SUSSEX. 73 Bull, calved in 1885, 1886,orl887 . . 20 10 5 74 Bull, calved in 1888 or 1889 . . . .20 10 5 75 Cow or Heifer, in-milk or in-calf, calved pre- viously to or in 1887 . 20 10 5 76 Heifer, calved in 1888 or 1889 .... 15 10 5 WELSH. 77 Bull, calved in 1885, 1886,01-1887. . , 20 10 5 78 Bull, calwd in 1888 or 1889 . . . . 20 10 5 79 Cow or Heifer, in-milk or in-calf, calved pre- viously to or in 1887 .20 10 5 80 Heifer, calved in 1888 or 1889 . . . . 15 10 5 RED POLLED. 81 Bull, calved in 1885, 1886, or 1887 . . . 20 10 5 82 Bull, calved in 1888 or 1889 . . . . 20 10 5 RED POLLED— w/it. — Class 1st £ 83 Cow or Heifer, in-milk or in-calf, calved pre- viously to or in 1887 . 20 84 Heifer, calved in 1888 or 1889 . . . .15 JERSEY. 85 Bull, calved in 1884, 1885, 1886, or 1887 . 20 86 Bull, calved in 1888 . 20 87 Bull, calved in 1889 . 20 88 Cow or Heifer, in-milk or in-calf, calved pre- viously to or in 1887 . 20 89 Heifer, calved in 1888 . 15 90 Heifer, calved in 1889 . 15 GUERNSEY. 91 Bull, calved in 1884, 1885, 1886,01-1887 . 20 92 Bull, calved in 1888 or 1889 . . . .20 93 Cow or Heifer, in-milk or in-calf, calved pre- viously to or in 1 887 . 20 94 TIeifer, calved in 1888 or 1889 « . , .15 KERRY. 95 Bull, calved in 1884, 1885, 1886, 1887, 1888, or 1889 2 . . . 15 96 Cow or Heifer, in-milk or in-calf, calved pre- viously to or in 1887 2 . 15 97 Heifer' calved in 1888 or 1889 2 . . . . 10 DEXTER KERRY. 98 Bull, calved in 1884, 1885, 1886, 1887,1888 or 1889 2 15 99 Cow or Heiff.r, in-milk or in-calf, calved pre- viously to or in 1887 2 . 15 100 IIeifer, calved in 1888 or 1889 2 . . .10 DAIRY CATTLE. Prizes 2nd 3rd £ £ 10 5 10 5 10 5 10 5 10 5 10 5 10 5 10 5 10 5 10 5 10 5 10 5 10 0 10 0 5 0 10 0 10 0 5 0 Cows, in-milk (of any breed or cross), giving the greatest quantity of milk contain- ing not less than 12 per cent, solids and 3 per rent, butte. e-fat. 101 A. Cow, over 1 ,200-lbs. live weight . 15 10 101 B. Cow between 900-lbs. and 1 , 200-lbs. live weight .... 15 10 101 C. Cow, under 900-lbs. live weight . . 15 10 1 Offered by the Devon County Agricultural Association. - Offered by the Plymouth Local Committee. Prize List for Plymouth Meeting, 1890. xxiii SHEEP. Prizes Prizes LEICESTER. - HAMPSHIRE Class 1st 2nd 3rd Class DOWN. 1st 2nd 3rd £ & £ £ £ £ 102 Two-siiear Ram . 15 10 5 126 Two-shear Ram . 15 10 5 103 Shearling Ram . 15 10 5 127 Shearling Ram . 15 10 5 104 Pen of Three Ram 128 Pen of Three Ram Lambs, dropped in 1890 10 5 - Lambs, dropped in 1890 10 5 - 105 Pen of Three Shear- 129 Pen of Three Shear- ling Ewes, of the ling Ewes, of the same same flock . 15 10 5 flock .... 15 10 5 COTSWOLD. SUFFOLK. ino Two-shear Ram . 15 10 5 130 Two-siiear Ram . 15 10 5 107 Shearling Ram 15 10 5 131 Shearling Ram . 15 10 5 108 Pen of Three Ram 132 Pen of Three Ram Lambs, dropped in 1890 10 5 _ Lambs, dropped in 1890 10 5 - 109 Pen of Three Shear- 133 Pen of Three Shear- ling Ewes, of the same ling Ewes of the same flock . . 15 10 5 flock .... 15 10 5 LINCOLN. SOMERSET AND DORSET 110 Two-shear Ram . 15 10 5 HORNED. 111 Shearling Ram . 15 10 5 134 Ram, Two-shear and up- 112 Pen of Three Ram wards .... 15 10 5 Lambs, dropped in 1 890 10 5 - 135 Shearling Ram , 15 10 5 113 Pen of Three Shear- 130 Pen of Three Shear- ling Ewes, of the same ling Ewes, of the same flock . . . . 15 10 5 flock . . . . 15 10 5 OXFORD DOWN DEVON LONG-WOOL. 114 Two-shear Ram . 15 10 5 137 Ram, Two-shear and up- 115 Shearling Ram . 15 10 5 wards . 15 10 5 110 Pen of Three Ram 138 Shearling Ram . 15 10 5 Lambs, dropped in 1890 10 5 _ 139 Pen of Three Shear- 117 Pen of Three Shear- ling Ewes, of the same ling Ewes, of the same flock . 15 10 5 flock * 5 10 5 SOUTH DEVON. SHROPSHIRE. 140 Two-siiear Ram 1 . 15 10 5 118 Two-siiear Ram . 15 10 5 141 Shearling Ram 1 . 15 10 5 119 Shearling Ram . 15 10 5 142 Pen of Three Shear- 120 Pen of Three Ram ling Ewes, of the same Lambs, dropped in 1890 10 5 - flock 1 . 15 10 5 121 Pen of Three Shear- ling Ewes, of the same DARTMOOR. flock' . 1 15 10 5 143 Ram, Two-shear and up- wards .... 15 10 5 SOUTHDOWN. 144 Shearling Ram . » 15 10 5 122 Two-shear Ram . 15 10 5 145 Pen of Three Shear- 123 Shearling Ram . 15 10 5 ling Ewes, of the same 124 Pen of Three Ram flock . . . . 15 10 5 Lambs, dropped in 1890 10 5 - 125 Pen of Three Shear- EXMOOR. ling Ewes, of the same 14G Ram, Two-shear and up- flock . . . , 15 10 wards .... 15 10 5 A Champion Cup of the value of 2 5/. 147 Shearling Ram . 15 10 5 for the best Southdown Bam exhibited in 148 Pf.n of Three Shear- Classes 122 anil 123 is offered hi/ South- ling Ewes, of the same down Breeders. flock . . . . 15 10 5 1 Offered by the Devon County Agricultural Association, XXIV Prize List for Plymouth Meeting , 1890. PIGS. LARGE WHITE * Class BREED. 1st 2nd3r3 £ £ £ 149 Boar farrowed in 1889 .10 5 3 150 Pf.n op Three Boar Pigs farrowed in 1890 . . 10 5 3 151 Breeding Sow farrowed previously to or in 1889 10 5 3 152 Pen of Three Sow Pigs farrowed in 1890 . .10 5 3 MIDDLE WHITE BREED. 153 Boar farrowed in 1889 . 10 5 3 154 Three Boar Pigs . . 10 5 3 155 Breeding Sow farrowed previously to or in 1889 10 5 3 156 Three Sow Pigs . . 10 5 3 BERKSHIRE BREED. Prizes Class B RE Fn 1st £ 161 Boar farrowed in 1889 . 10 162 Three Boar Pigs. . 10 163 Breeding Sow farrowed previously to or in 1889 10 164 Three Sow Pigs . . 10 2nd 3rd £ £ 5 3 5 3 5 3 5 3 Two Champion Cups of the value of 10/. each for the best Boar in Class 161 and the best Sow in Class 163 are offered by the British Berkshire Society. ANY OTHER BLACK BREED. 165 Boar farrowed in 1889 . 10 5 3 166 Three Boar Pigs .10 5 3 167 Breeding Sow farrowed previously to or in 1889 10 5 8 168 Three Sow Pigs . . 10 5 3 SMALL WHITE BREED. 157 Boar farrowed in 1 889 . 10 5 3 158 Three Boar Pigs. .10 5 3 159 Breeding Sow farrowed previously to or in 1889 10 5 3 160 Three Sow Pigs . .10 5 3 TAMWORTH BREED. 169 Boar farrowed in 1889 . 10 5 3 170 Three Boar Pigs .10 5 3 171 Breeding Sow farrowed previously to or in 1889 10 5 3 172 Three Sow Pigs . . 10 5 3 POULTRY. FOWLS. Prizes are offered for the best Cock, Hen, Cockerel, and Pullet respectively of each of the following Breeds : — Classes £ £ s. 173 — 176 Dorking, Coloured . 2 1 10 177 — 180 Dorking, Silver Grey 181 — 184 Dorking, White or any other variety . 2 1 10 2 1 10 185 — 1 88 Game, Old English . 2 1 10 189 — 192 Game, Indian . 2 1 10 193 — 196 French 2 1 10 197 — 200 Brahma . 2 1 10 201—204 Cochin 2 1 10 205 — 208 Langslian . 2 1 10 209 — 212 Wyandotte . . 2 1 10 213 — 216 Plymouth Rock 2 1 10 217 — 220 Minorca . 2 1 10 221 — 224 Andalusian 2 1 10 225 — 228 Leghorn . 2 1 10 229 — 232 Hamburgh Table Fowls. 2 1 10 233 Pair of Cockerels of 1890, of any pure breed . 2 1 10 234 Pair of Pullets, ditto . 2 1 10 235 Pair of Cockerels of 1890, cross from Dorking and any other pure breed 236 Pair'of Pullets, ditto . 10 10 Table Fowls — cont. Classes 237 Pair of Cockerels of 1890, cross from Game and any £ £ s. other pure breed . . 2 1 10 238 Pair of Pullets, ditto . . 2 1 10 DUCKS. Prizes are offered for the best Drake and Duck, and for Young Drake and Duckling of the following Breeds : — 239—240 Aylesbury . . 2 1 10 241 — 242 Rouen " . . .21 10 243—244 Pekin . . . 2 1 10 245 — 246 Any other Useful Breed . . . 2 1 10 Table Ducks. 247 Pair of Ducklings of 1890, of any pure breed . .21 248 Pair of Ducklings of 1890, of a first cross from any pure breeds . . . 2 1 10 Geese. 249 Gander and Goose 10 . 2 1 10 Turkeys. 250 Cock 251 Hen 10 10 Prize List for Plymouth Meeting, 1890. xxv PRODUCE. Class WOOL. 252—255 Three Fleeces Devon Long Wool, South Devon, Dart- moor, Exmoor respectively. Prize of 4?. in each Class. Prizes CHEESE. 1st 2nd 3rd £ £ £ 256 Three Cheddar, not less than 50 lbs. each, made in 1889 . . 15 10 5 257 Three Cheshire, of not less than 40 lbs. each, made in 1889 . . 15 10 5 258 Six Stilton, of 1889 make . . . . 15 10 5 259 Three Cheeses, of any British make, made in 1890 . . . . 15 10 5 Prizes Class SERVED FRUITS. 1st 2nd 3rd £ £ £ 271 Collection of Jams . .532 272 Collection of Fruit Jellies . . .532 273 Collection of Bottled Fruits . . . .532 274 Collection of Preserved Fruits for Dessert pur- poses . . . .532 275 Collection of Dried or Evaporated Fruits for Cooking purposes .5 3 2 HIVES, HONEY, &c. Offered by the British Bee-keepers’ Association. Soft Cheese. 260 Three Cream Cheeses .3 2 1 261 Three British Soft Cheeses, other than cream (made from milk, no extra cream added) .3 2 1 BUTTER. 262 Three Pounds \ Fresh Butter, Five of 5/. each absolutely free Five of 3/. each from salt 263 Three Pounds Fresh Butter, slightly salted 264 Three Pounds Butter, made I Five of 5/. each from Scalded | Five of 31. each Cream 1 . . ) 265 Three Pounds W hey Butter, ■without any ad- ] st 2nd 3rd 4th mixture of Fresh £ £ £ £ Milk or Cream .32 1 - 266 One Keg or other Package of Salt Butter, not less than 14 lbs. . .5 3 2 1 ) Five of 5/. each [ Five of 3/. each CIDER AND PERRY. 267 Cask Cider made in the autumn of 1889 . 268 One Dozen Cider made in the autumn of 1889 . 269 One Dozen Cider made in any year before 1889 270 One Dozen Perry . 1st £ 5 5 5 5 2nd 3rd £ £ 3 2 3 2 3 2 3 2 1st 2nd 3rd 4th s. s. s. s. 276 Collection of Hives and Appliances . 40 30 - - 277 Observatory' Hive stocked with Bees and Queen . . 20 15 10 - 278 Frame Hive for general use, un- painted . . . 20 15 10 - 279 Frame Hive for Cottager’s tise .20 15 10 - 280 Honey Extractor 15 10 - - 281 Section Racks, fitted for use and interchangeable . 15 10 5 - 282 Feeder . . ,10 5 - - 283 12 Sections Comb Honey, gross weight about 1 2 lbs. 20 10 5 - 284 6 Sections Comb Honey, gross weight about 6 lbs. 20 10 5 - 285 Section of Comb Honey . . . 15 10 - - 286 Run or Extracted Honey, gross weight about 24 lbs. 30 20 10 5 287 Granulated Honey, gross weight about 12 lbs. . . .20 10 5 - 288 Display of Honey, in any form . . CO 40 20 - 289 Useful Inventions introduced since 1888. Special Prizes according to merit. 290 Most interesting and instructive Ex- hibit not men- tioned in the fore- going Classes . 20 10 5 - 1 Offered by the Plymouth Local Committee. XXVI Prize List for Plymouth Meeting , 1890. IMPLEMENTS.1 Prize3 1 Light Portable Motors, steam or other, up to five brake-horse-power. (n) Motors using Solid Fuel (including Steam En- gines and Hot Air En- gines) . . . . 30 20 (J>) Motors using Liquid or Gaseous Fuel . . 30 20 Prizes Class 1st 2nd £ £ 2 Grist Mills for use on a farm, to be worked by an engine not exceeding ten brake- horse-powjr . . . . 20 10 3 Disintegrators, suitable for working with a portable or traction engine not exceeding twenty brake-horse-power .20 10 4 Plant for Cider-making, suitable for use on a farm .20 10 5 Strong Dairy Thermometer 1 G Collection of non-returnable Parcel- Post Boxes to carry from 1 lb. to 5 lbs. of butter . 2 1 7 Collection of non-returnable Parcel-Post Boxes to carry from o lbs. to 10 lbs. of butter 2 1 to contain Pre- served Butter, closed hermetically, without the use of solder. . . .2 9 Sieve or Sile for use in Dairy 1 DAIRY APPLIANCES.1 8 Vessel FARMS.2 1st 2nd 3rd 1 For the best managed £ £ £ Arable and Grass Farm of 200 acres and upwards, of which not less than one half shall be arable . . . GO 40 1st 2nd 3rd 2 Arable and Grass £ £ £ Farm above 100 and not exceeding 200 acres, of which not less than one-half shall be arable . GO 40 - 3 Arable and Grass Farm above 40 and not exceed- ing 100 acres . . .50 30 20 BUTTER-MAKING COMPETITIONS. Class 1. (Tuesday, June 24) Dairymaids who have won a prize at any Agricul- tural or Dairy Show. Class 2. ( Wednesday, June 25) Dairymaids who have not before won a prize at any Agricultural or Dairy Show. Prizesi 1st 6/., 2nd 4/., 3rd 37., 4th 27., 5th 1/., in each class. HORSE-SHOEING COMPETITIONS. LIMITED TO SHOEING SMITHS IN THE COUNTIES OE BERKS, CORNWALL, DEVON, DORSET, HANTS, KENT, SOMERSET, SURREY, SUSSEX, AND WILTS. Class 1. Hunters (Tuesday, June 24, and, if required, Wednesday, June 25). Class 2. Agricultural Horses (Thursdav, June 2G, and, if required, Friday, June 27). Prizes : 1st 107., 2nd 57., 3rd 3/., 4th 21, 5th 17., in each class. The Worshipful Company of Farriers of London will present the Freedom of their Guild free of cost to the winner of the First Prize in each Class, and have also provided the funds for the two First Prizes. 1 The Entries in these Classes close on April 1st. 2 The Entries for the Farm Competition closed on December 7, 1889. ROYAL AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY OF ENGLAND. IProceebmos of tbe (Council, WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY S, 1890. LORD MORETON (PRESIDENT) IN THE CHAIR. Present : — Trustees. — The Duke of Richmond and Gordon, K.G., Earl Cathcart, Mr. J. D. Dent, Sir Nigel Kingscote, K. C.B., Sir A. K. Macdonald, Bart. Vice-Presidents. — Right Hon. Sir Massey Lopes, Bart., Mr. Walter Gil- bey, Sir John Thorold, Bart., Mr. C. Whitehead. Other Members of Council. — H.R.H. Prince Christian, K.G., Mr. G. M. Allender, Mr. J. II. Arkwright, Mr. J. Bowen-Jones, Mr. J. A. Caird, Mr. Chandos-Pole-Gell, Mr. Charles Clay, Earl of Coventry, Mr. Percy E. Crutch- ley, Mr. Alfred Darby, Mr. C. de L. F. De Laune, Viscount Emlyn, Mr. S. P. Foster, Mr. William Frankish, Mr. James Hornsby, Mr. T. H. Miller, Mr. P. A. Muntz, M.P., Hon Cecil T. Parker, Mr. Albert Pell, Mr. Daniel Pidgeon, Mr. J. E. Ransome, Mr. G. H. Sanday, Mr. W. T. Scartli, Mr. Alfred J. Smith, Mr. Henry Smith, Sir Joseph Spear- man, Bart., the Marquis of Stafford, Mr. R. Stratton, Mr. Martin J. Sutton, Mr. Garrett Taylor, Mr. R. A. Warren, Mr. E. V. V. Wheeler, Mr. C. W. Wilson, Sir Jacob Wilson. Officers. — Mr. Ernest Clarke, Sec- retary and Editor; Mr. E. W. Voelcker, Acting Consulting Chemist ; Mr. Wilson Bennison, Surveyor. The following members of the Plymouth Local Committee were also present : the Mayor of Plymouth and Mr. Edward St. Aubyn. The minutes of the Council held on December 11 last were read and confirmed. Death of a Member of Council. The President said that before the ordinary business of the day was commenced it was his melancholy duty to announce officially the death of one of their most esteemed col- leagues, Mr. Herbert J. Little. Mr. Little had been for more than eight years a member of the Council, and during the whole of that time had worked actively and energetically on behalf of the Society. He was a man of exceptional ability, and he (Lord Moreton) was sure that he was only expressing the feeling of every mem- her in that room when he said that the Society had lost in Mr. Little one of its most able and active members. Election of New Members. The election of the following fifty- six members was then proceeded with : — Bait ams, George B. . . Kil worthy, Tavistock. Bi.amey.W. C. . . Beiimare, Yeryan, Gramponml Road, Cornwall. Bland, ,T. L.. .Blaudsfort, Abbeyleix, Queen's Co., Ireland. Boog, T. Elliot. .Teliidy Office, Camborne, Cornwall. Boulton, H. IV.. .The Leys Farm, Alyechurcli, Worcester. Boulton’, J. B. . . A1 vecliureb, Worcester. Byrd, David E...Spurstow Hall, Tarporley, Cheshire. Cai.throp, F. Cecil . .Briars Cottage, Formby, Liverpool. Capel, Arthur . . Bulland Lodge, Wiveliscombe, Somerset. C a ruing ton, W. H. . .Friquet.Castel, Guernsey. Clark, Henry Frampton Mansell, Stroud. Coddkgton, Lt.-Col. .T. N..01d Bridge, Dro- gheda, co. Meath, Ireland. Cook, N. . . Chevitliorne Barton, Tiverton. Cootk, C. J... Mount Coote, Kilmallock, co. Limerick, Ireland. XXV111 Monthly Council , February 5, 1890. Crebeb, W. F...Lanjore, St. Germans, Corn- wall. Cromar, Robert.. Brook Farm, Lanfiridge, Redhill, Surrey. Deigiiton, R. M...Elmsfield, Milnthorpe, Westmoreland. Dingle, J. Darley. .Darley, Callington, Corn- wall. Drabble, Peter Brownell. .Woodside, Sund- ridge, Sevenoaks, Kent. Bastes, William . . Guston Court Farm, Dover. Flowerdew, H. H... Walton Hill, Preston, Lancashire. Ford, Henry. .Deptford Ct.,Ivybridge, Devon. Franklin, Joseph N.. .The Bussels, Huxham, Exeter. Groser, Albert. .31 George St., Plymouth. Hoare, Henry H. A.. .Wavendon, Woburn. Hunt, Bev. ' Thos. Henry.. Euyton Park, Shrewsbury. Jadhava, Khaslierao Bliagavantrao-.Baroda, Bombay Presidency, India. Jennings, Richard. . 9 Bedford Pk., Plymouth. Lassey, Edmund . .Victoria Ed., Morley, Leeds. Lord, H.. .Trewall, St. Germans, Cornwall. Matthews, Thos. . . Fontigary Farm, Barry, Cardiff. Martindale, John W... Mixon Hay Farm, Leek, Staffordshire. Morel, Thomas.. Penarth Glamorgan. Nuttall, J...19 Longfield, Heywood, Lancs. Oi,nTER, Robert.. St. Germans, Cornwall. Parson, N... Higher Tregantle, Millbrook, Plymouth. Pender, W. Rous Tresilian. .Budockvean, Falmouth. Pennell, Charles. .Lincoln. Piumptre, H. F. Goodnestone..Wingham, Kent. Pountney, Thomas C...Bittell Farm, Alve- chnrcli, Worcester. Robinson, C. W... Lineage Farm, Burford, Tenbury. Sandford, H. B. . . 30 Bank Street, Sheffield. Simonds, R. Henville.. Winterbourne Abbas, Dorchester. Snell, Samuel F., .Blaekadon, Menheniot, Cornwall. Steavenson, E. H...Wroxeter Vicarage, Shrewsbury. TiPriNG, Lt.-Col. Wm. Fearon .. Blasted Park, Sevenoaks, Kent. Tompson, T... Holt Hall, Wliitacre, Birming- ham. Trant, B. . . Tregood St. Martins, Sandplacc R.S.O., Cornwall. Trood, Edward. .Rosecliffe.Saltash, Cornwall. Verdin, W. H.. .Darnliall Hall, Winsford, Chester. W adams, Thos... Lodge Farm, Alvecliurcli, Worcester. Watson, Wm.. .Grove Ho., Beverley, Yorks. Williams, 0. F...Weirend, Ross. Willyams, H. J.. .Nanskeval, St. Columb, Cornwall. Wyatt, J. A. Penfold.. Harsfold, Billings- hurst, Sussex. Young, Townend.. Richmond Park, Hands- worth, Yorks. The reports of the several Com- mittees were then presented and adopted as below Finance. Sir Nigel Kingscote reported his election as Chairman of the year. The accounts for the month ended on December 31, as certified by the Society’s Accountants, showed re- ceipts amounting to 1 ,2737 6s. !V7., and expenditure 1,9147. 16s. The balance at the bankers’ on December 31, 1889, allowing for cheques out- standing, was 2,758 7. 14.?. Id. The accounts for the month of January, 1890, showed receipts amounting to 4,8797. 12.?. \d., and expenditure 3977. 0.?. 6f7. The balance at the bankers’ on January 31, allowing for cheques outstanding, was 7,2417. 6.?. id. Accounts amounting in all to 9807. 12s. 2d. were recommended for pay- ment. It had been customary to issue a new list of members once every three years. As the last list issued was published in 1887, the Committee had ordered a new alphabetical list to be printed, copies of which were laid upon the table. They recom- mended that the list be now issued at the price of 2,i. 6d. per copy. Sir Nigel Kingscote also re- ported that the Committee had con- sidered the accounts and draft balance- sheet for 1889, which had been ap- proved, and the Committee were unanimous in recommending that out of the receipts for 1889 the sum of 5,0007. be placed to the credit of the Windsor Show. They recommended that the names of twenty-two life and twenty- four annual members who were deceased, seventy- two members who had resigned, four life and eleven annual members whose addresses could not be discovered, and of ten members in arrears with their sub- scriptions, be struck off the Society’s books. The Committee had given orders for the reinstatement of five members who had, since their names were struck off the books, paid the subscriptions owing by them. The total number of members on the books after these alterations (excluding those of new members nominated for election) was 10,882. Financial Results of the Year 1889. Sir Nigel Kingscote then said As this is the first meeting of the Council which has been held since the termination of 1889, the present is the proper occasion on which to report to the Council, and through Financial Results of 1889. xxix them to the members at large, the financial results of that eventful year- in the Society’s history. The Council will remember that at the commencement of the year we had issued our prize-sheet for the great Windsor Meeting ; and, confi- dent of the generous support of the inhabitants of the Metropolis and of the approval of our own members, had pledged ourselves to an expendi- ture of 12,000?. for prizes alone, besides an outlay for works and administrative expenses which, with tire experience of past years before us, could not be estimated at less than as much again. We all of us expected a big Meeting ; but no one could have forecast the enormous, and one may truly say colossal, dimensions which the Show ultimately assumed. With the prizes all open for general competition, the Society obviously could not pick and choose the entries, but had to find room for all comers ; and, as is well known, the expenses to the Society of the shedding, food, and general supervision of the stock ex- hibited are very far in excess of the small charge imposed as the entry fee. As the Council said in their report to the General Meeting of December- 12 last : “ That the Windsor Sleeting was not likely to result in an absolute profit to the Society was recognised by the Council from the first ; and the dimensions which the Show as- sumed when the entries were found to be so unprecedentedly large neces- sarily involved the Society in expendi- ture which it was impossible that the entry fees and the payments for the admission of non-members should recoup. The Show being considerably more than twice as large as usual, all the attendant expenses for shedding, fodder, printing, judges’ fees, admini- strative staff, wages, police, and the like, were necessarily increased in pro- portion, whilst on the other hand, not much beyond the average attendance of paying visitors could be looked for.” I shall not myself readily for- get the afternoon of Saturday, May 4, a day or two after the entries were closed, when I met in a council of war at the Showyard the Honorary Director, the Secretary, and the Sur- veyor, to consider the ways and means of accommodating (lie enor- mous number of entries which had been pouring in at Hanover Square at the rate of many hundreds a day. As a result of the decision then arrived at, the country was scoured for timber of the size we .wanted, almost every available bit of canvas was pressed into service, and an army of men were employed to erect the extra shedding found to be necessary ; whilst at Hanover Square a considerable ad- ditional staff had to be organised, and all the officials had to work twelve hours a day till the Show opened, in order to get through the business. It is not necessary to go into further details as to this. Those who know anything of the organisa- tion and administration of Shows will have been prepared for the announce- ment that the takings at the doors, the fees for entries, and the other receipts were insufficient to meet the cost of building the shedding, paying the prizes, and defraying the pre- paratory outgoings, and the excep- tionally heavy administrative expenses of the period of the Show itself. We had estimated that if the Mansion House Fund which the then Lord Mayor, Sir I’olydorc De Keyset-, was kind enough to inaugurate, and which his successor, Sir James White- head. did so much to promote, could be brought up to 10,000?., we might be able to meet the expenses. In the public appeal for additional funds, which appeared in the newspapers on our Jubilee day last March, the Lord Mayor, aft cr referring to the reliance of the Society upon the support of the City and Metropolis when it offered so large a prize-list as 12,000?., said that the Mansion House Fund then amounted to about 5,000?., and that at least as much again — i.e., a total of 10,000?. — was needed. For various reasons, upon which it is not now necessary to enter, only a net amount of 5,144?. (after allowing for expenses) was collected in the City, and as 300?. of this was allocated to premiums for thoroughbred stal- lions, but 5,144?. remained available towards the general expenses of the Show. Since the final result, as ascertained by the auditors, was an excess of expenditure over receipts of XXX Monthly Council , February 5, 1890. 4,965/., it will be seen that our origi- nal forecast was realised in quite a remarkable manner, for if we could have raised in the City 10,000/., this excess would have been almost exactly wiped out. It is with much gratification, how- ever, that I am in a position to announce that the general result of the working of the Society during 1889 is so satisfactory that we are able out of our own resources to place to the credit of the Windsor Show the 5 ,000/. more which we originally hoped to obtain from extraneous contribu- tions, and. notwithstanding this, to carry forward the handsome balance of 2,013/. to the credit of next year. I am sure that all the Council, and the members of the Society at large, will desire that the most brilliant and successful Agricultural Show that has ever been held, a Show honoured by the immediate presidency of our Sovereign, and the active personal interest of the Royal Family, and which has done more to enhance the credit and reputation of the Society than anything else that could be mentioned, should not have attached to it the undeserved stigma of being a financial failure. Our extra receipts for that Show have come to us not in swollen ad- mission fees at the gates, but in the much more satisfactory and per- manent form of a large, influential, and enduring increase of our number of members. In moving, therefore, that out of our receipts for the year 1889 the sum of 5,000/. be placed to the credit of the Windsor Show, which did so much for the Society, and was so effectual a recruiting agent for it, I feel sure that I shall have the cordial and unanimous sup- port of the Council. Turning now to the items of receipt which have made this proposal pos- sible, I find that during the year we received no less than 7,617/. for annual subscriptions, as against 5,126/. in 1888, the subscriptions received in advance being carried forward in both cases to the year to which they properly belong. One excellent result of the general interest excited amongst members by the Windsor Show was that wc received during the year the unusually large sum of 703/. for subscriptions in arrear. The receipts from life com- positions during 1889 were no less than 5,690/., as against 1,198/. in 1888, the same adjustment of figures as in the case of subscriptions being made to bring the compositions into the year in which the members’ privileges commenced. Our oilier sources of income can be dismissed in a few words, as they were much the same as usual. In- vestments and rents yielded 1,190/. as against 1,017/. ; the sales of the Journal and other publications, and receipts from advertisements yielded 511/. as against 755/. (in which, how- ever, one and a half year's advertise- ments were included) ; and the fees paid by members for chemical analyses yielded 756/. as against 763/. in 1888. Our total income was there- fore 15,767/., as against 9.539 in 1888, or an increase of no less than 6,228/. It may, perhaps, be urged that a portion of this really represents capi- tal, as the life compositions received ought to be spread over a series of years. We have not been unmindful of this possible criticism ; but as the life compositions of past years have been placed to the -credit of current revenue, whatever their amount, we have thought it best to leave the old arrangement undisturbed for this year, which is the end of the first half-century of the Society’s exis- tence, and of the life composition at the old rate of 10/. ; and to take time for consideration of the best plan for dealing in the future with life com- positions in their relations to revenue. On the other side of the account, our ordinary expenditure for last year, despite the fact that the great accession of new members necessarily involved increased work and therefore greater expense, was about the same as usual. General administration cost 3,895/., as against 3,776/. in 1888 ; the Journal, of which of course many more copies had to be printed to satisfy the needs of new members, cost 2,233/., as against 1,890/.; the Laboratory cost 1,268/., as against 1 ,135/., and our Other Scientific Departments — Botanical, Entomo- logical, and Veterinary', 651/., as against 536/. Our education prizes and examinations, senior and junior, Alteration of Bye-Laws. xxxi cost us 310?., as against 326?. Three items not in the 1888 account, viz., 227?. for pamphlets on various practical subjects, 116?. for sundry expenses connected with the celebra- tion of the Society’s Jubilee, and 50?. given towards the funds of the Mansion House United Association on Railway Rates, bring the total up to 8,764?., against 8,638?. in 1888. Adding the 5,000?., which we propose to place to the credit of the Windsor Show account, a net balance remains of 2,013?., which is carried to the balance-sheet. Summarising very rapidly our financial position now as compared with twelve months ago, we have added to our funds a total of 2,047?. from revenue. Deducting 767?. for depreciation, at our accustomed libe- ral rate, of country meeting plant, books and furniture, and machinery, our total assets on December 31, 1889, were 38,056?., as against 36,775?. at December 31, 1888 (allowing for subscriptions and compositions paid in advance, but belonging to 1889). We are richer by 1,281?. in money, and by 2,000 in members than we were at the end of 1888. Every de- partment of our work has increased and is increasing in importance and usefulness ; and we shall, on March 26 next, complete our fiftieth year of corporate existence with a feeling that our position is now more con- solidated and secure than at any pre- vious period of the Society’s history. In concluding this somewhat lengthy summary of the results of last year, it is only necessary to add that the detailed accounts of the Windsor Show were finally passed by the auditors on January 6 last, and that the auditors’ final examination of the balance-sheet and ordinary receipts and expenditure will take place as soon as the cheques for the accounts belonging to 1889, which have been authorised to-day, have been issued and cashed. The ac- counts will then, in accordance with our customary usage and precedent, be published in cxtenso in the first number of the Journal of this year. [See pages xii to xix]. After some remarks by Mr. Strat- ton and Mr. Dent, the motion of Sir Nigel Kingscote was agreed to. Tickets for Stallion Show. On the motion of Sir Nigel Kings- cote it was unanimously resolved : — That the Secretary be authorised to issue to am- candidate for election as a new member, who may make application on or before Saturday, March 1, a ticket of admission to the forthcoming Horse Show at the Royal Agricultural Hall, provided that the usual form of undertaking has been previously signed by the candidate, and that his subscription for the cur- rent year has been paid. Alteration of Bye-laws. Sir Nigel Kingscote moved, Sir John Thorold seconded, and it was unanimously resolved : — That Bye-law 3 (a) passed at the Council meeting held on May 1 last, be amended by the addition at the end thereof of the words “ The Council may at their discretion elect any such Governor or Member, with- out further payment by him, as a Life Governor of the Society.” Question of Life Composition. Sir Nigel Kingscote formally moved, pursuant, to notice, and Sir John Thorold seconded : — That Bye-law 6, passed at the same meeting, be amended by the addition of the words “ may upon his election, or at any subsequent period, com- pound for all future subscriptions (including that for the current year) by a single payment of 15?.” Mr. Stratton, in moving the fol- lowing amendment — “ That the Life Composition be in future 15?. between the ages of twenty-one and thirty, and 10?. above the age of thirty ” — said he was not going to delay the Council with many more remarks on this subject, because he thought it had been sufficiently discussed. But he must say that 15?. was altogether too high, and that a uniform pay- ment for all ages was absolutely in- equitable. He thought a 10?. payment was sufficient, and had worked well. He was quite prepared to see a pay- ment of 15?. up to thirty years of age, and 10?. afterwards, which would meet the difficulties raised in regard xxxn Monthly Council , February 5, 1890. to young men remaining members for so long and enjoying the privileges for 10Z. He thought that 10Z. after thirty years of age was a quite suffi- cient amount for the Life Composi- tion, and that anything more than two sums would be extremely incon- venient. Mr. Bo wen- Jones, in seconding the amendment, said he thought it would be an equitable arrangement and a fair compromise between the conflicting opinions which existed on the Council. Mr. Ransome thought that the 15/. composition between the ages of twenty-one and thirty was rather against getting new members between those ages. Mr. Gilbey said he would content himself by simply moving the reso- lution which stood in his name : — “ That the Life Composition be in future 15/. for members over twenty years of age and not more than thirty, 12/. 10s. for members over thirty and not more than forty, and 10/. for members over forty years of age.” Mr. Gakrett Taylor seconded this amendment. Sir Nigel Kingscote said lie thought the Council would allow him to explain the position in which he stood as Chairman of the Finance Committee. He had the cordial sup- port- of his colleagues, both of those who were present and of those who were absent — viz., Lord Bridport and Sir Matthew Ridley — with whom he had had considerable correspondence. The Council would remember that on May 1 last, after full debate, they came to a certain decision, and it was not the desire of the Finance Committee that this decision should be disturbed. But Mr. Stratton brought forward at the last meeting of Council a motion which sought to upset the settlement arrived at in May, and although Mr. Stratton’s motion was defeated by a large majority, the general feeling of the Council appeared to be that it would be desirable for a member to have the opportunity of paying a life com- position upon his election, instead of having to wait for a number of years, as decided by the Council in May. Accordingly, he, as chairman of the Finance Committee, undertook, mini- sterially only, to make a formal motion at the present meeting of the Council for the payment of a life composition of 15/. for all new mem- bers elected after the beginning of this year, which was coming back precisely to the resolution which the Finance Committee asked the Council to accept last May. He did not pro- pose to go over the ground again. He had corresponded with Mr. Strat- ton on the subject, and had tried to arrange the matter amicably with him, but he found they could not agree. He must still adhere, and ask the Council to agree, to the original proposal of the Finance Committee — viz., that the life com- position should be 15/. in future. Mr. Foster suggested that Mr. Stratton should substitute thirty-five years for thirty years as the age at which a member could compound at 10/. Mr. Stratton accepted this pro- position. The Duke of Richmond and Gordon hoped the Council would ad- here to the resolution on the agenda paper. He was old enough to recol- lect the lime when they thought a great deal about a “ sliding scale ” connected with agriculture. However good that might have been in those days, it had been abandoned for many years. He did not think with regard to the subscription of members of this Society that a sliding scale would be at all a satisfactory mode of ar- rangement. They had the greatest confidence in this Finance Committ ee. He supposed t hat there was no Society whose Finance Committee took more trouble and came to more satisfactory results. The Council had gone tho- roughly into the matter, and, as he understood, were satisfied with the proposal which the chairman, Sir Nigel Kingscote, had made. He should ask Sir Nigel to adhere to the motion upon the agenda paper, and to take the sense of the Council upon it. On the question being put, Mr. Gilbey’s amendment was negatived without a division, and Mr. Stratton's (as altered by Mr. Foster) by thirty votes to seven. Sir Nigel Kingscote’s motion providing for the payment of a life composition of 15/. upon election was then carried new. con. Reports of Committees. xxxiii House. Sir Nigel Kingscote reported his election as chairman, and announced that the engraved portraits of Her Majesty the Queen and H.R.II. the Prince of Wales, which had been presented to the Society by Her Majesty and His Royal Highness, had been Suitably framed, and were now hanging on the walls of the Council-room. A number of accounts for house expenses had been passed and referred to the Finance Com- mittee. Journal. Earl Cathcart reported that he had been elected Chairman for the year. The arrangements to be made for the new series of the Journal had been considered, and the editor had presented a preliminary draft of the contents of the first part of the new series. The Committee reported that the judges of farms had paid their first visit of inspection on January 21 to February 1. On the motion of Earl Cathcart, it was resolved that the answer from the Council to the suggestion of Messrs. Robertson and Packard, that the Journal should be published monthly in future, should be, “ That the Council having, after full discus- sion , decided at their last meeting that the Journal should be published at quarterly intervals, are unable to re- open the matter." Chemical. Viscount Emlyn reported that he had been elected Chairman of the Chemical Committee and of the Woburn Sub-committee for the year. Various matters connected with the Laboratory and Chemical Department hail been discussed and settled. The feeding experiments at Woburn were 1 nogressing sat isf act orily. Seeds and Plants. Mr. Whitehead stated that he had been elected Chairman for the year. With regard to the fatal disease attacking cows on a farm belonging to the Duchy of Lancaster Estate, the Committee reported that the Consulting Botanist had ascer- tained that the cows were principally attacked during the winter, when VOL. I, T. S. — 1 they were in the yards, and that therefore it would be useless to examine the pastures at this season, but that he had examined the hay — samples having been sent to him — and had found that it was composed of good grasses, and was free from injurious plants. The Committee recommended that Mr. Carruthers should present a preliminary report upon the pastures offered for investi- gation in the present season, before the railing-in of the plots, which it was proposed should take place next year. Veterinary. Sir John Thorold reported that he had been elected Chairman for the year. A letter had been received from the Central Chamber of Agri- culture, stating that the President of the Board of Agriculture had pro- mised to receive a deputation of Agricultural Associations on Wed- nesday, the 5tli inst., at 4 P.M., for the purpose of urging upon the Government the necessity of early legislation providing for the compul- sory slaughter of animals affected with pleuro-pneumonia, and for the pay- ment of compensation for slaughter at the cost of the Imperial exchequer; and the Committee recommended that the Society be officially represented at this deputation by delegates ap- pointed by the Council. A letter had been received from the Royal Veterinary College assent- ing to the conditions of the Society’s grant of 500 1. for the establishment at the College of a Chair of Com- parative Pathology and Bacteriology, and stating that in founding this most important chair due care would be taken that the Royal Agricultural Society should be identified with its establishment. Professor Brown had presented the following report : — Pleuro-pneumonia.— Duringthe eight weeks ending January 25 there were fifty-four fresh out- breaks of this disease reported in Great Britain, viz., thirty-five in England and nineteen in Scot- land. The outbreaks in England were in Cumberland, Hants, Kent, Lancaster, London, Middlesex, Norfolk, Notts, Surrey, and East xxxiv Monthly Council , February 5, 1890. Susses; while those in Scotland occurred in the counties of Aber- deen, Edinburgh, Forfar, Lanark, Perth, and Sterling. It may be observed that the counties of Essex, York (W.R.) and Fife, in which the disease was prevalent throughout the greater part of last year, do not appear in the above list, and have therefore been free from the disease for the past two months. In the case of Hants and Notts, counties in which no pleuro-pneumonia existed in 1889, the disease has recently been introduced. In Hants five outbreaks have been reported since the beginning of the year, all due to a lot of cows sent from the neighbourhood of London and sold at Basingstoke in October last. The number of cattle attacked with this disease, or found diseased after slaughter, during the eight weeks has been 207, while 635 healthy cattle which had been ex- posed to infection were slaugh- tered. In Ireland twelve fresh outbreaks were reported during the eight weeks ended January 25, all of them in the Dublin district; 18 cattle were attacked and 131 healthy ones in contact were slaughtered. Anthrax. — In England twenty- five outbreaks of anthrax were reported bet ween the end of Novem- ber 1889 and January 25 ; thirty- four animals were attacked, thirty- two of which died. In Scotland six outbreaks were reported and twelve animals attacked, ten of which died and two recovered. In Ireland four outbreaks were re- ported ; thirteen animals were at- tacked, all of which died. Swine Fever. — This disease has been less prevalent during the past two months than it has been for years, only 440 fresh outbreaks be- ing reported, as compared with 719 in the corresponding weeks of 1888 and 1889. The number of swine attacked was 2,633, of which 1,361 were killed, 1 ,082 diseased pigs died, 299 recovered, while 272 remained alive when the last return was made up. In Ireland thirty outbreaks of swine fever were reported and 75 pigs were attacked. Mr. Foster said he had been unable to attend the Veterinary Committee, but he had been asked by the local authorities in Cum- berland to make as strong a re- presentation as possible on the subject of pleuro-pneumonia. The great difficulty they found in Cumber- land, and no doubt in other counties, was not so much to stop the spread of the disease when it was detected as to detect it in the first instance, because of the impossibility of finding it out by inspection, no inspection being allowed. In the last outbreaks, some months elapsed before intima- tion of the existence of the disease was given to the police. Mr. Pell explained the arrange- ments which had been made for the proposed deputation to Mr. Chaplin by a preliminary meeting of those intending to be present, held on the previous day. Various details connected with the deputation having been discussed, Mr. Dent moved, the Duke of Rich- mond and Gordon seconded, and it was resolved that the following six delegates be appointed to officially represent the Society at the deputa- tion to Mr. Chaplin on the subject of pleuro-pneumonia, as recommended by the Veterinary Committee : — Lord Moreton (president), Sir Jacob Wilson, Mr. Bowen-Jones, Mr. Foster, Mr. Frankish, and Mr. Pell, attended by the Secretary. Stock Prizes. Mr. Sanday reported his election as Chairman of the year. Acting upon the powers conferred upon them by the Council at its last meeting, the Sub-Committee had accepted and had authorised the insertion in the prize- sheet of prizes offered by the Hackney Horse Society, and the Shire Horse Society ; of prizes for ponies, Kerries, and Dexter Kerries offered through the Plymouth Local Committee ; and of champion prizes for Berkshire pigs of- fered by the British Berkshire Society. An offer of champion prizes had been received from the Clydesdale Horse Society, and an offer of fourth and fifth prizes of 31. and 21. each from the Shropshire Sheep Breeders’ Association for the Shropshire shear- ling ram and shearling ewe classes. Reports of Committees. XXXV Tbe Committee recommended the acceptance of the Clydesdale cham- pion prizes, but were unable to accept the class prizes offered by the Shrop- shire Sheep Breeders’ Association. They also recommended the accept- ance and inclusion in the prize-sheet of the champion prizes offered for Short- horns by the Shorthorn Society. Letters had been received from Devonshire exhibitors asking the Council to reconsider its decision as to the giving of prizes for hunter mares or geldings, and asking for separate classes for heavy and light weight-carrying hunters. As these prizes were not given by the Society the Committee had referred these letters to the General Plymouth Com- mittee, but were ready, if thought well by the Plymouth Local Committee, to sanction the separation of the two classes in the prize sheet. Judges’ Selection. Mr. Sax day (chairman) reported that the Committee had selected a list of Judges of stock and produce to be invited to act at Plymouth in June next on the usual terms. The Committee recommended that a new list of Judges be obtained by nomi- nations from members of the Society, the various Stud, Herd, and Flock- book Societies, and the principal breeders of the various classes of stock. Implement. Mr. Frankish reported his election as Chairman for the year. The Com- mittee had considered and given directions respecting a variety of letters relating to implements at the Society’s Shows which had been brought before them. The nature of the trials to be held in 1891 had been discussed, and it was unanimously agreed to recommend trials of thresh- ing machines at the Society’s Country Meeting next year. The Committee having considered the suggestion made by Mr. Gibbons at the General Meet- ing, “that in connection with the Country Meeting of 1891 the Society should institute trials of haymakers,” recommended that the answer of the Council be that it was not proposed next year to institute trials of imple- ments other than threshing machines, General Plymouth. Sir Massey Lopes presented this report, which stated that the question of dividing the class (4) for six-vear- old and five-year-old hunters into light-weights and weight-carriers had been discussed. The Committee recommended that, the Local Com- mittee being willing to provide the extra prize-money (35 Z.), the class be divided as suggested. The prizes for hunters offered in connection with the Plymouth Meet- ing would then be as follows : — Prizes i Lilti tL18 o 1st 2nd 3rd £ £ £ 1 Mare and Foal .... 20 10 5 2 Fil y foaled in 1887 . . 15 10 e 3 Filly foaled in 1888 . . 15 10 5 . j Mare or Gelding foaled in ( 1884 or 1885. («) Light weight, up to 1 20 10 12 stone j (5) Weight-carrier up to j 15 stone ) 20 10 6 5 | Mare or Gelding foaled in 1 t 1886 J 20 10 5 The Committee recommended the acceptance of the offer of the Short- horn Society of two champion prizes of 25 1. each for the best male and the best female Shorthorn. Showyard Works. Sir Jacob Wilson reported his election as Chairman for the year, and that the works in connection with the Plymouth Showyard would be commenced this month. The Committee made various recommend- ations as to the acceptance of tenders for the supply of hurdles, and offers for the supply of a fire engine and appliances, and of the tiles for the roofing of the Dairy. Selection. Earl Cathcart reported his elec- tion as Chairman for the year. The Committee had considered the vacancy in the Council caused by the death of Mr. Wakefield : and in view of the necessity of filling up shortly a further vacancy, they had postponed any recommendation on the subject. On the motion of Earl Cathcart, seconded by Sir Jacob Wilson, the Council conferred the honorary mem- bership of the Society upon the Bight Hon. Sir James Caird, K.C.B., in recognition of his distinguished ser- vices to agriculture. c 2 XXXVI Monthly Council , February 5, 1890. Education. Mr. Dent reported his election as Chairman. The Committee had con- sidered communications from the Charity Commissioners, enclosing copies of draft schemes for the administration of two foundation schools, situated respectively at Woodbridge, in Suffolk, and West Lavington, in Wiltshire. The Com- missioners inquired whether the Council would undertake the duty of appointing a Governor upon each foundation as provided for in the draft schemes, and they also invited any suggestions which the Council might think proper to offer off the clauses relating to agricultural edu- cation. With regard to the Wood- bridge foundation it had been re- solved, on the motion of Mr. Ransome, that Mr. Alfred J. Smith, of Rendle- sham, Woodbridge, be recommended to the Council as the Society’s repre- sentative Governor, to act so soon as- the scheme should come into ope- ration. The West Lavington scheme provided for the establishment of an agricultural school upon the lines of the Aspatria Agricultural College, and the Committee had accordingly given careful consideration to its provisions. They had made several suggestions for the improvement of the scheme, and had embodied them in a letter to be forwarded to the Commissioners. The Committee recommended that Lord Moreton be nominated to act as the Society's representative Governor upon this foundation when established. The Committee had considered the suggestions relating to agricultural education which were made at the General Meeting last December, and presented the following recommend- ations as to the answers to be adopted. Mr W. R. Robertson : That more should lie done ly the Society for the advancement of agricultural education. This proposal is constantly receiv- ing the attention of the Education Committee ; but the Committee are not prepared at present to recommend any new departure. They will, how- ever, consider carefully any definite suggestions on the subject that may be laid before them. Mr. C. F. Hope : That the Society should institute or encourage a system of Travelling Lecturers for the in- stmetion of farmers. The Committee recommend that they be authorised to confer with any county or district associations desirous of establishing such lecture- ships, and to assist them by advice or otherwise. Mr. W. Lipscombe : That the Society should prepare and issue diagrams of animals and things con- nected with agriculture, for use as object lessons for elementary scholars in rural districts. The further consideration of this suggestion, together with a reference as to magic-lantern slides from the Seeds and Plants Committee, was deferred. Mr. Dent, referring to the sug- gestions relating to agricultural edu- cation which had been made by members of the Society, remarked that with respect to Mr. Robertson’s suggestion, the Committee did not wish to throw cold water on any attempts to improve agricultural education. They considered the two schemes for (he foundation of schools at West Lavington and Woodbridge, now under consideration by the Charity Commissioners, as steps in this direction which they would watch with very great interest ; but at that moment they were not ready to re- commend anything further to be done bjT the Society, as a society, in the way of encouraging agricultural edu- cation. At the same time, if friends of agricultural education would sub- mit any definite views and schemes, and not simply say that more ought to be done by the Society for agri- cultural education, they would be read}' to examine and look into such proposals, and give them their very best attention. Mr. Hope had written several letters for the purpose of bringing forward the question of travelling lecturers. Mr. Hope had been working in York- shire, and it was stated that his lectures had been well received and fairly well attended. Again, in this case, the Education Committee did not think that it was for the Society to organise or establish agricultural lectures, lint they did think that something might be done by t lie Council and the Education Committee Reports of Committees. xxxvn in the same way that the Chemical Committee hacl done with district Agricultural Societies and local ex- periments. Something might be done in the way of lectures on dairying or other agricultural subjects, and the Committee recommended that they be empowered to receive com- munications from county and district associations desirous of establishing such lectures, with a view to assist- ance being given to them by the Society either by advice or by a pecuniary grant. The Committee had had before them two very important matters, viz., the two schemes drafted by the Charity Commissioners for the foundation of schools at Woodbridge, in Suffolk, and at West Lavington, in Wiltshire. The Woodbridge school was a grammar school already en- dowed, and it was proposed to add to it a modern side in which agriculture should be taught. The fees were to be 50?., a sum which appeared too high for the ordinary farmer class. The Committee had no particular re- commendations with regard to this scheme, because it appeared rather a higher class school, and apparently came up to the same level as the Colleges at Cirencester, Downton, Hollesley Bay, &c. The West Laving- ton scheme was to be started under a charity founded on the will of Aid. Dauntsey, dated 1543, yielding a maximum endowment of 2,000?. a year. The Commissioners proposed to devote a certain sum of money to the establishment of an elementary school, and about 1,300?. a year for an agricultural school on the same basis as the Aspatria Agricultural School, which might be preparatory for Cirencester College. This scheme was considered very carefully in Committee yesterday, and certain suggestions with respect to age, lodgings, fees ta be charged, &c., were made. West Lavington was a district of large farms, but no doubt with a view to respect local feelings and prejudices — Alderman Dauntsey being a West Lavington man — it had been decided to start the first school, at all events, at West Lavington. To mark the Society’s appreciation of the principle of this scheme, the Com- mittee recommended that Lord More- ton, President of the Society, should be nominated as the Society’s repre- sentative Governor. Earl Cathcabt drew attention to the valuable information to be ob- tained from a recent Parliamentary Blue Book on Foreign Agricultural Departments respecting the travelling lectureships, which were a very es- sential feature in those Scandinavian countries which had made themselves such serious rivals to British agri- culture. He suggested that this Blue Book should be noticed in the Journal. Mr. Bowen-Jones said that itin- erant lectures were already esta- blished by the Board of Agriculture, and had been found very successful in some parts — North Wales, for instance. Professor Dobbie had given lectures in a number of towns, and they were attended largely by the farmers in the district. He thought this subject might be kept in view by the Society, and also that members of the Council might to a great extent make known the beautifully executed drawings of Miss Ormerod and her sister, issued by the Society, and cause them to be used for object lessons in the elementary schools. He believed it was partly owing to the fact that managers of these schools were not aware that such illustrations existed that they were not much used. Dairy. The Hon. Cecil T. Parker an- nounced that he had been appointed Chairman for the year, and that the Committee had had under considera- tion at their meeting yesterday the arrangements for the dairy at the Plymouth Show, and for the judging of the butter-making competitions and dairy appliances. Hunter Stallion. The Duke of Richmond and Gor- don announced that he had been elected Chairman for the year. The appointment of Judges and veterin- ary inspectors for the forthcoming Spring Show on March 4 to 7 had been left in the hands of the Royal Commission on Horse-breeding. Mr. T. H. Miller, as senior steward of stock, was appointed to act as steward at the Stallion Show on behalf of the Society, Monthly Council, February 5, 1890. xxxviii Railway Rates. Mr. Frankish drew attention to an appeal for additional funds issued by the Mansion House United Asso- ciation on Railway Rates, and moved that a further grant of 50/. be made by the Society to the funds of the Association. He said that the rail- way companies had been a long t ime in considering their case ; at the same time the money raised for the purpose of the defence was dwindling away and rapidly disappearing. As they were aware, Lord Moreton and himself had been asked to act on the Executive Committee of the Mansion House Association as representing the Society, and he asked the Council to place at their disposal a further sum of 50/. for such purpose. More money might be required to carryout the traders’ case to the end, but he believed the traders were quite able to maintain their own interests. Having regard to the present position of affairs in agriculture, they wanted from the Society all the help that could be obtained. Mr. Sutton having seconded this motion, Mr. Dent said he must demur to some of the statements by Mr. Frank- ish. It was not the railway com- panies that had been lengthening out the proceedings. Speaking as a rail- way director, he felt very strongly that this inquiry was being prolonged to a most inordinate length by asso- ciations of traders. Further remarks having been made by Sir Nigel Kingscote and Mr. Sutton, Sir Jacou Wilson said he thought they should go back to first principles and remember what was the origin of this question. It was considered by the Council that the agriculturists of this country had a grievance, and when action was taken by the Lord Mayor it was thought that they should have their cause properly represented before the Committee. The Council then entrusted the matter to Lord Moreton and Mr. Frankish, and made them a grant of 50/. for the purpose. That sum was now found to be in- sufficient. They were there as the representatives of the farmers of England, and he thought that the support of the Society should not now be withdrawn. The grant of 50/. was then agreed to. Country Meeting of 1891. The Secretary read a letter from the Mayor of Doncaster, enclosing copy of a resolution passed by the Corporation of that borough, cordi- ally inviting the Society to visit Don- caster in 1891, and announcing that the Corporation were willing to head the subscription list, and to give the free use of ninety acres on the Race Common for the purposes of the Show- yard. The Secretary added that as this invitation arrived at a time when the Inspection Committee for the Country Meeting of 1891 were as- sembled at Leeds for the purpose of inspecting the sites offered by the Cor- poration of that town, the Committee had decided to inspect the site offered by the Doncaster authorities on llicir way back to London. The Committee had inspected at Leeds two sites which had been selected by the local authori- ties, but as there were certain impor- tant. matters connected with the rail- way arrangements for the settlement of which the companies must be con- sulted, it had been decided to re- commend that the final decision should be postponed until the next meeting. The action of the Committee was approved by the Council, and it was resolved to invite the authorities of both Leeds and Doncaster to attend the next meeting on March 5, Country Meeting of 1892. The Secretary read a letter from the Town Clerk of Warwick inviting the Society on behalf of the Corpora- tion to take into consideration the advisability of selecting Warwick as the place of Country Meeting for the year 1892. The Secretary was in- structed to thank the Town Council for its invitation, and to state that the quest ion of the place of Country Meeting for the year 1892 would be taken into consideration after the autumn recess this year. Date of Next Meeting. Various letters having been read, the Council adjourned until Wednes- day, March 5 next, at noon. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 5, 1890. LORD MORETON (PRESIDENT) IN THE CHAIR. Present : Trustees. — Earl Cathcart, Sir Nigel Kingscote, K.C.B., Sir A. K. Mac- donald, Bart., Earl of I’owis, Sir Matthew White Ridley, Bart., M.P. Vice-Presidents. — Earl of Fevers- liam. Right Hon. Sir Massey Lopes, Bart., Sir John Thorold, Bart., Mr. C. Whitehead. Other Members of Council. — Mr. G. M. Allender, Mr. J. H. Ark- wright, Mr. J. Bowen-Jones, Mr. J. A. Caird, Mr. Chandos-Pole-Gell, Earl of Coventry, Mr. C. de L. F. De Laune, Viscount Emlvn, Mr. William Frank- ish, Mr. Hugh Gorringe, Mr. Anthony Hamond, Mr. James Hornsby, Mr. Charles Howard, Mr. C. S. Mainwar- ing, Mr. Joseph Martin, Hon. Cecil T. Parker, Mr. Albert Pell, Mr. Daniel Pidgeon, the Duke of Portland, Mr. J. E. Ransome, Mr. James Rawlence, Mr. Samuel Rowlandson, Mr. G. H. Sanday, Mr. W. T. Scarth, Mr. Henry Smith, the Marquis of Stafford, Mr. Martin J. Sutton, Mr. R. A. Warren, Mr. E. V. V. Wheeler. Mr. C. W. Wilson. Sir Jacob Wilson. Officers. — Mr. Ernest Clarke. Sec- retary and Editor ; Mr. W. Car- ruthers, F.R.S., Consulting Botanist ; Mr. E. W. Voelcker, Acting Consulting Chemist ; Mr. Wilson Bennison, Sur- veyor. The following members of the Plymouth Local Committee were also present: Mr. Edward St. Aubyn and Mr. R. B. Johns, Secretary of the Local Committee. The minutes of the Council held on February 5 last were read and con- firmed. Surviving Members of the English Agricultural Society. The President then observed that, before commencing the ordinary busi- ness of the day, he desired to recall for a few moments to the memory of the Council the fact that that day was practically the end of the first half- century of the Society’s corporate existence. On March 6, 1840, the Marquis of Normanby, who was then Secretary of State for the Home Department, wrote to the Duke of Richmond, as President of the English Agricultural Society, to acquaint his Grace that, having laid before Her Ma jesty the Queen the petition of the President, Trustees, Vice-Presidents, Governors, and Members of the English Agricultural Society, praying for Her Majesty’s patronage of the Society, and also for a Charter, Her Majesty had been graciously pleased to comply with the prayer of the petition, both as to the patronage and grant of a Charter, and further to allow the Society to be called Royal. Although the actual date on which the Great Seal was affixed to the Charter was March 26, the Society might fairly regard itself as having been an incorporated body since March 6, 1840, and thus they met together that morning on what was virtually the last day of the Society’s fiftieth year of existence as an incorporated body. He (Lord Moreton) was sure the Council would desire that on the completion of the Society’s first half-century of life, those who happily survived of the original founders of the Society, and who were the pioneers of its success- ful working, should receive some small compliment at their hands. He had, therefore, the greatest pleasure in moving that the forty-two surviving subscribers to the English Agricultural Society who were on its books when the Charter wras granted in March 1840, and who had been connected with the Royal Agricultural Society ever since, be elected Foundation Life Governors of - the Society. It would be gratifying to the Council to know that no less than three of its xl Monthly Council , March 5, 1890. own members were included in this honorary list, viz., the Duke of Devon- shire, the Duke of Richmond, and Sir Thomas Acland, and one of its honorary officers, Professor Simonds, besides a member of the original Committee, Sir Harry Verney, the “ Father ” of the Society, who was now the only survivor of the band of eminent men who gathered together on May 9, 1838, to found the English Agricultural Society. In submitting his motion to the favourable and unanimous approval of the Council, he would only add that at present there were upon the Society’s books 177 Governors and 10,752 Members, making a total number of 10,929 sub- scribers, which, allowing for the con- siderable reductions from the nominal list which were made last autumn in consequence of the absence of ad- dresses, &c., was by far the largest number which the Society had ever had at any period of its history. (Hear, hear.) The motion was then put from the chair, and earned unanimously. Surviving Subscribers of the English Agricultural Society who were on the Books when the Charter was granted on March 26, 1840. Date of joining the Society. Veexey, lit. Hon. Sir Harry, Bart May 10, 1838 Devonshire, Duke of, K.G. . May 12, 1838 Grey, Ear], K.G. . . .'May 12,1838 Wixmar LEIGH, Lord . . . May 12, 1838 Bussell, Lord O. J. F. . . May 26, 1838 Aclaxd, lit. Hon. Sir T. Dyke, Bart May 23, 1838 Bigg, Thomas .... June 6, 1838 Sharks, William . . .June 6,1838 Hulse, Col. Sir Edward, Bart. . June 13, 1838 Saunders, T. B June 13, 1838 Richmond and Gordon, Duke of, K.G June 20, 1838 Lovelace, Earl of June 26, 1838 Dickinson, F. H. . . . June 27, 1838 Baillie, W. Hunter . . . July 18, 1838 Simonds, Prof. J. B. . . . July 25, 1838 -Macclesfield, Earl of . . Aug. 8, 1838 Wood, James .... Aug. 8, 1838 Oluiton, John . . . .Dec. 15,1838 Calvert, Frederick, Q.C. . . Feb. 13, 1839 Ellmax, Robert H. . . . Feb. 13, 1839 Holford, B. S Feb. 13, 1839 Neame, Frederick . . . Feb. 13, 1839 Pinney, Col. William . . Mai-. 13, 1839 NORTH, Rt. Hon. Col. J. S. . May 8, 1839 Deuce, Joseph .... May 13, 1839 Stratton, J. Locke . . . May 13, 1839 Monck, J. Bligh . . . .May 23,1839 Morrell, F. J. . . . . May 29, 1839 Simonds, W. Barrow. , • June 19, 1839 Smith, Henry .... June 19, 1839 Kemble, Thomas Batten, John . Kemble, Horatio Rodd, F. Greaves, William Essex, Earl of . Evans, Isaac Pearson Glover, John Houblox, R. Archer . Ogilvy, Sir John, Bart. Fletcher, John P. . Drewitt, R. Dawtrey Date of joining the Society. . July 10, 1839 . July 16, 1839 . July 16, 1839 . July 16, 1839 . Dec. 4, 1839 . Dec. 11, 1839 . Dec. 11, 1839 . Jan. 10, 1840 . Jan. 10, 1840 . Feb. 5, 1840 . Feb. 19, 1840 . Mar. 11, 1840 The following is a copy of the letter addressed by the President on behalf of the Council to the noblemen and gentlemen elected as Foundation Life Governors: — 12 Hanover Square, Loudon, W. March 5, 1800. Sir, — As the Council Meeting held to-day was the last held in the first half-century of the Society's corporate existence, the Council resolved by an unanimous vote to elect as Foundation Life Gover- nors of the Society all the sur- viving subscribers to the original English Agricultural Society who were on its books when the Charter was granted to it on March 26, 1840, and who have been connected with the Royal Agricultural Society ever since. As your name appears in the list of Original Members, I have the pleasure to acquaint you with your election to-day as one of its Foundation Life Governors ; and I am happy in being the medium of expressing to you the con- gratulations of the Council on your long association with the Society, and their hopes that you may be spared for many years to exercise the privileges of a Life Governor. Believe me, yours faithfully, (Signed) Moreton, President. Medallion of the Third Earl Spencer. The President said he had also the pleasure to announce that Mr. Leonard C. Wyon, the Society's Medallist, and son of the equally eminent Mr. William Wyon, R.A., had, in view of the approaching com- pletion of the Society’s fiftieth year, most kindly presented to it the original model of the founder of the Society, Lord Spencer, which Mr. W. Wyon took at Althorp in the year xli Election of New Governors and Members. 1811. This, as they would see, had obvious traces of Mr. Wyon's master- hand upon it. and it was the original from which the Smitlifi eld Club medal and other medallions of Lord Spencer had been taken.1 The model would be hung up on the walls of the Council-room with the other portraits of the early founders of the Society, and he was sure the Council would wish him to express to Mr. Wyon the Society’s thanks for his most hand- some and acceptable gift. (Hear, hear.) Election of New Governors and Members, The election of the following seven Governors and thirty-nine Members was then proceeded with : — Governors. Derby, Earl of, K. G. . . Knowsley, Prescot. Luttiiell, Col. H. A. F., C.B.. .BadgwortU Court, Axbrirlgc. Matt.!-:, Jolm. .Bedford Lodge, Harerstock Hill, N.W. Mouxt-Edgcumbe, Earl of.. Mount Edg- ettmbe, Plymouth Feel, Edmund. .Brynypys, Ruabon. Footman, Viscount, Durweston, Blandford. Salt, Sir W. H., Bart. .Maplewell, Lough- borough. Members* AhnoTT, David Taylor. .Woodlands, co. Cork. Baker, W. S... Bowman Hill House, Stone Dartford. Bear, Horace. .Maidstone, Kent. Bouyerie, Hon. D. P. . .Colesliill House, High worth. Buextox, George Henry. .St. Germans, Corn wall. Botcher, Charles. .Maetliendre, Glasbury Brecon. Campbell, Hon. Alex. F. H...Symonds Yat Boss. Capon, G. G. . . 63 Mortimer St., Regent St., W Cash, Edwin. .St. John’s College, Cambridge. Curtis, P. F.. .Strat£ord-sub-Castle, Salisbury U. nor, Thomas . . Stoke Bardolph, Nottingham Forster, Stuart.. Newton, near Faringdon Berks. Girling, John W.. .Thorington Hall, Essex. Glexday, A. ..Four Oaks Farm, Sutton Cold field. Guernsey Royal Agricultural and Horti cultural Society .. Guernsey. Holman, A. F. ,.5 Cambridge Terrace, Tor point, Devonport. Kent, A. U. . . Coin St. Aldwyns, Fairforc Glos. Law,B.W. . . Stancil, Tickhill, near Rotherham Massey, F. I.. .54 and 55 Bunhill Row, E.C. May, C. 0.. .Sutton's Gate, Hornchurch, Essex Mu AKIN, G.. .Bran -tone Road .Burton -on -Trent Middleton, H...Hampole Manor, Doncaster. 1 A copy of this model appears in the Memoir of Earl Spencer, on page 138 of the present number. Mills, F.. .The Rookery, Orcheston St. Mary, Devizes. Moret y Prendergast, Don Segisinundo. . 4 Blanca de Navarra, Madrid. Musker, J. H.. .The Greys Farm, Westerham Hill, Kent. Perrott, T. . . Kynastou, Bronhyddon, Os- westry. Reade, Joseph.. 11 Old Square, Lincoln's Inn, W.C. Sich, Arthur John . .Waltham Lodge, Chiswick. Stocks, F. W. . . Downliam, Clitlieroe. Thorburn.J.D. . . Hearthstones, Bromborougli, Cheshire. Townsend, Richard. .Tliauet House, Stroud. Waring, H, F.. .The Limes, Maidstone. Weddel, William. . 16 St. Helen’s Place, E.C. Wklsby, Thomas. .Southport, Lancashire. Wheatley, W. J.. .Gilling Grange, Richmond, Yorks. W hidler, J. M.. .Raven's Farm, Little Easton, Dunrnow. Williams, William. .Wliitstone, Cornwall. Wood, J. A... 8 Severn Road, Weston-super- Mare Youngmax, George. .Leufield, Maidstone. The reports of the several Com- mittees were then presented and adopted as below : — Finance. Sir Nigel Kingscote (Chairman) reported that the accounts for the mouth of February, as certified by the Society’s accountants, showed receipts for that period amounting to 67 47. Os. Od., and expenditure 9817. 14s. 107. The balance at the bankers on February 28, allow- ing for cheques outstanding, was 6,9337. 12s. Id. Accounts amount- ing in all to 1,3757. 1*. were recom- mended for payment. The Committee recommended that Messrs. Frankish and Sanday be appointed Stewards of Finance at the Plymouth Meet- ing, and that the names of four life and five annual members who are deceased, thirteen members who have resigned, and three whose ad- dresses cannot be found, be struck off the Society’s hooks ; also that two members struck off who have paid up their arrears be restored to the register. Journal. Earl Cathcart (Chairman) re- ported that Mr. de Laune had been added to the Committee. Various points connected with the new Journal had been discussed, and final arrangements made as to its produc- tion. The price to non-members of each number had been fixed at 3s. 6d. per copy. xlii Monthly Council, March 5, 1890. Chemical. Viscount Emlyn presented the Quarterly Report of the Chemical Committee, which was adopted and ordered to be published (see p. 192.) Seeds and Plant Diseases. Mr. Whitehead (Chairman) pre- sented a report by the Society’s Con- sulting Entomologist, which was ordered to be published.1 Veterinary. Sir John Tiiokold (Chairman) reported that Professor Brown had presented the following report : — Pleuro - Pneumonia. — During the four weeks ending February 22r.d there were twenty- six fresh outbreaks of this disease reported in Great Britain. Fourteen of these were in England, in the counties of Bucks, Chester, Cumberland, Lan- caster, Middlesex, and York (West Hiding) ; the twelve outbreaks in Scotland occurred in the counties of Aberdeen, Ayr, Edinburgh, Fife, Forfar, and Perth. The total num- ber of cattle attacked was 175, of which seventy-nine were in England and ninety-six in Scotland The number of healthy cattle slaugh- tered as having been exposed to infection was 355, of which 128 were in England, and 227 in Scotland. Iii Ireland, during the four weeks, ten fresh outbreaks of pleuro- pneumonia were reported — nine of them in North Dublin, and one in South Dublin ; forty-two cattle were attacked, and 152 healthy cattle in contact with the disease were slaughtered. Anthrax. — In Great Britain there were seventeen fresh out- breaks of this disease reported in the four weeks. Sixteen of these occurred in England, in the counties of Devon, Durham, Lancaster, Leicester, Lincoln (Lindsey), Nor- folk, Northampton, Oxford, Somer- set, Sussex (East), York (North 1 This report is embodied in the Report of the Consulting Entomolo- gist, printed on pages 170 to 184. Riding), and York (West Riding) j the outbreak in Scotland took place in Forfarshire. The number of animals attacked with anthrax was twenty-six ; of these diseased animals, one was killed and twenty- five died. No fresh outbreak of anthrax occurred in Ireland during the four weeks, but two animals were attacked and died on premises where the disease had previously existed. In three cases of out- breaks of anthrax in Northampton- shire and one in Somerset, Professor Penbertliy, of the Royal Veterinary College, has carried out a system of protective inoculation. Altogether 165 cattle were inoculated in Northamptonshire, and thirty-five in Somerset. At the present time only one case of death has been recorded in the inoculated herds, and in this instance inoculation of rabbits with the blood of the dead animal did not produce anthrax. The result s arc altogether satisfactory as far as they go, but no definite conclusion can at present be drawn, because outbreaks of anthrax in this country commonly cease after the loss of one or two animals without the employment of any protective in- oculation for the remainder. Swine-Fever.- -There were 201 fresh outbreaks of swine-fever reported in Great Britain during the four weeks ; 937 swine were attacked, 454 diseased pigs were killed, 405 died, ninety-three re- covered, and 254 remained alive at the end of the week. In Ireland twenty fresh outbreaks were re- turned, and forty-six pigs were attacked. Rabies. — In England there were fourteen cases of rabies in dogs during the four weeks. They occurred in the counties of Chester, Hants, Leicester, London, Surrey, and York (W.R.). In Ireland there were fourteen cases of rabies, twelve in dogs, in the counties of Antrim, Carlow, Cork, Limerick, London- derry, Queen’s Co., Roscommon, and Wicklow ; the other two cases were in cattle in co. Cork. Diseases in Cattle and Sheep in Derbyshire.— Mr. W. Aulton, district veterinary surgeon, reports that parturient apoplexy (dropping xliii Reports of Committees. after calving) has lately occurred almost daily among cows in his dis- trict; fifteen cases came under his observation in less than one week. The treatment adopted has been fairly successful, the recoveries amounting to sixty per cent. Mr. Aulton remarks on the serious effects of the sudden wintry weather on sheep and lambing ewes ; numerous losses have resulted from catarrhal pneumonia with spinal disorder. The Committee had considered the report of the Sub-Committee of the Conference on Horse Shoeing ap- pointed in December last, and the Draft Scheme for the Examination and Registration of Farriers as Shoe- ing Smiths prepared by the Worship- ful Company of Farriers, and amended by the representatives of the Worship- ful Company, of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons, and of the Royal Agricultural Society of Eng- land. This scheme and the report of the Sub- Committee having been previously circulated among the members of the Council, it had, on the motion of Mr. Pell, seconded by Professor Axe, been resolved to re- commend the adoption by the Council of the scheme as at present printed.1 The Examiners on the diseases of animals of the farm other than the horse in the examinations for the diploma of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons held last year had reported that the following gentlemen have attained the greatest distinction : — 1. Mr. H. H. Mill ward, Mareham-le-Fen, Lincolnshire. 2. Mr. .T. Golledge, Whaddon Grove, Trow- bridge. The Committee recommended that the Society’s large medal be given in silver to Mr. Millward, and in bronze to Mr. Golledge. They also recommended the payment to the Royal Veterinary College of the first quarterly instal- ment of the Society’s grant of 5001. Applications for appointment as the Society’s provincial veterinary sur- geons (1) from Mr. Robert Roberts, of 30 Bridge Street, Wrexham, for the county of Flint, and (2) from Professor W. T. Wilson, of the Royal 1 See page 213. Agricultural College, Cirencester, for the county of Gloucester, in succes- sion to Professor Almond, had been acceded to. Stock Prizes. Mr. Sanday (Chairman) reported that a letter had been received from Mr. Robert Thompson, the owner of the first-prize winner, Belle Madeline, in Class 80 at the Windsor Meeting, from which it appeared that this cow had not complied with Regulation 49 of the prize-sheet. The foUowing were the animals which, in conse- quence of the above-mentioned dis- qualification, succeeded to the prizes, being duly qualified therefor, and the Committeerecommendedthat cheques be drawn in favour of their exhi- bitors:— First prize of 201. to Lord Polwarth, for Wave of Loclt Leveti. [Awarded second prize.] Second prize of 101. to Mr. C. W. Brierley, for Marchioness of Waterloo 6th. [Awarded third prize.] Third prize of 51. to Mr. Thomas Stokes, for Autumn Hose. [Reserve number.] Judges’ Selection. Mr. Sanday (Chairman) reported that, with very few exceptions, the invitations to judge at Plymouth had been accepted, and the necessary instructions had been given for the completion of the list. Implement. Mr. Frankish (Chairman) pre- sented the Report of this Committee, which stated that Mr. J. H. Knight, of Barfield, Farnham, had drawn the attention of the Society to an error in the records of the trials of his petro- leum engine during the Windsor Show last year, and the Committee recom- mended that the following report, which had been received from the Consulting Engineers, be published in the Proceedings of the Council, in order that the Society might take the earliest opportunity of correcting the error which had unfortunately oc- curred : — “ An investigation of the case shows that a clerical error has been committed on the part of the xliv Monthly Council , March 5, 1890. engineers in reducing their experi- ments. The consumption of oil was stated as 354 per brake horse- power, whereas it really worked out 2 f per brake horse-power. This would not, however, have affected the awards as made at the Windsor Meeting.” The Committee had given further consideration to the subject of the pro- posed trials of Threshing-machines in connection with the Meeting of 1891, and recommended that three prizes of 100?., 50?., and 25?. respectively be offered for the best Threshing- machines. It was proposed that these trials should take place in June 1891, before the opening of the Show. General Plymouth. Sir Massey Lopes reported that the Local Committee were taking steps with regard to various matters con- nected with the forthcoming Meeting, including the preparation of an official list of lodgings. The Committee recommended that the services of a military band be secured for the Show week, and that the usual application be made to the Home Secretary for the services of a detachment of the metropolitan police. Showy ard Works. Sir Jacob Wilson (Chairman) reported that Mr. Bennison had taken possession of a part of the Show ground at Plymouth, and had com- menced fixing the offices and outer fencing. The Committee had con- sidered the tenders for the supply of refreshments at Plymouth, and pre- sented their recommendations thereon. Committee of Selection. Earl Cathcaet (Chairman) reported that Mr. Sunday having become an ex-officio member of the Committee, by virtue of his Chairman- ship of the Stock Prizes Committee, the Committee recommended that Mr. Stratton be added to their number as an elected member. The Committee presented their recommendation of a new member of Council in the room of Mr. Chaplin, elected a Vice-Presi- dent, and had postponed until the next meeting their recommendation as to the filling up of the vacancy caused by the death of Mr. Herbert J. Little. Hunter Stallion. Mr. Sanday reported that the judges at the Stallion Show held that week had awarded the three premiums of 200?. and Gold Medals, offered by the Society in Class D, to Mr. G. P. Finch, of Alphington, Exeter, for Eclipse (No. 43) ; to Mr. Isaac Clark, of Headington, Caine, for Jack Tar (No. 47) ; and to Mr. Alex. Taylor, of Manton, Marlborough, for Lancas- trian (No. 48). The Committee recommended that these stallions should be stationed during the present season as follows : — Eclipse in the Exeter District at his owner’s stables, The Briars, Alphing- ton, Exeter, Jack Tar in the Plymouth District, and Lancastrian in the Windsor District, at the South Lea Farm, Datchet; that the period of service should be from March 20 to June 20 ; and that the owners of mares in the districts in which the stallions were stationed should have a prior claim to nominations up to Monday, the 17tli instant. Country Meeting of 1891. Mr. Gokringe read the report unanimously agreed upon by the members of the Inspection Committee on the results of their inspection of the sites offered at Leeds and Don- caster. Withdrawal of the Invitation from Leeds. The Mayor of Leeds (Mr. Aider- man Emsley), accompanied by Mr. lteginald Wigram, the Honorary Secretary of the Local Committee, attended the Council for the purpose of personally explaining the circum- stances under which l lie Corporation felt themselves compelled to withdraw their invitation to the Society to hold its Country Meeting of 1891 in that town. His Wcrship said that in December last the Corporation had sent an invitation to the Society to hold the Show of next year at Leeds. The townspeople had taken up the matter with great spirit, and they had contemplated almost as a certainty the - holding of the Show in their midst. The meeting of the Koyal Country Meeting of 1891. xlv Agricultural Society had not been held in their town since the year 1861 . That occasion was a great success, and they thought that, as the popu- lation since that time had nearly doubled, and everything had suc- ceeded most prosperously with them, they should next year — at all events with regard to the attendance — have overtopped any Show which the Society had held up to that time, and there was not the slightest doubt that they would have done so. A Local Committee and a surveyor were ap- pointed to look out for sites, and on February 1 the members of the Com- mittee of Inspection accompanied the Local Committee over the whole of the sites which up to that time they could recommend. They went firstly to a site which was satisfactory so far as regarded the situation, but which, in the general opinion of the Committee, appeared almost to be despaired of in consequence of the unevenness of the land, and because of its having a ditch of great breadth running right through it. The other site inspected was at Haigh Park, on the Leeds and Pontefract road, about three miles from the town. The great objection to that site was that, being three miles out of the town, and being outside the borough, t hey could not expect that attendance of the public which there would be in a site nearer the town. Besides this, there was but one road to it, and the only railway near was the Midland. It appeared that the owner had now an offer for this estate, and had not been able up to the present time to give them a promise that they could have the land, even if the Society would take it. After the visit of the Committee, they had to see if they could obtain another site. The place where the Show was held in 1801 was Cardigan Fields, about a mile from the town, admirably situ- ated ; but, unfortunately, owing to the expansion of Leeds, it had now dwindled down to 20 acres, which evidently was insufficient for the Society’s requirements. It had been bought for building purposes, and ho was asked a rent for the 29 acres of 2,0001. In view of their getting Cardigan Fields upon these terms, they had gone across the river Aire, and had asked for permission to use land on the other side for the pur- pose. As to the question of cost, it was found that, with the 2,000/. they would have to pay the owner of the land for the Cardigan Fields, and with the cost of putting a bridge over the river, a total minimum ex- pense of 9,000/. would be incurred. They considered this a very large sum, and the General Committee had passed a resolution, which they had asked him (the Mayor) and Mr. Wigram to come personally to ex- plain to-day. The resolution was to the effect that, the Cardigan Fields being only obtainable at a very con- siderable cost for the purpose of the Boyal Agricultural Society’s Meeting of 1891, the Committee did not feel justified in recommending it, and that being the only site likely to meet with the approbation of the Society, the Committee abandoned the hope of receiving the Society as ori- ginally proposed. They trusted that Doncaster would have a good meet- ing, and they would do all they could to assist them. (Hear, hear.) Sir Jacob Wilson said he was sure it would be the pleasure of the Council that the Mayor of Leeds and- Mr. Wigram should not leave that room without a vote of thanks being accorded to them for their courtesy and kindness in receiving the Com- mittee at Leeds, and in coming per- sonally to explain the decision at which the Local Committee had arrived. He had very vivid recollec- tions, as Lord Powis would have, of their successful visit at Leeds thirty years ago, and he had looked forward for very many years to a repetition of that visit. However, as circumstances stood, he was perfectly sure that the best course had been taken, though it was a source of deep regret to many of them in that room. He had great pleasure in moving a vote of thanks to the Mayor of Leeds for his efforts on behalf of the Society, and for his attendance that day. The Earl of Powis said that, as President of the Society for the year 1861, when the Society first visited the town of Leeds, he might perhaps be allowed to second the motion of Sir Jacob Wilson. He had no better wish for the Meeting of the Society xlvi Monthly Council, March 5, 1890. in Yorkshire than that the weather should be as fine, and the numbers of those who attended equal to that occasion, when 73,821 people passed the turnstiles in one day. Indeed, they came in so quickly in the middle of the day by the excursion trains, that they were obliged to give up passing them through the turnstiles, and Colonel Challoner and Lord Brid- port got a washing-tub, and sat on chairs on each side of it, whilst the people tossed their shillings in as they went by through the open gates. Mr. Gorringe, as senior steward of implements, said he felt bound to endorse all that Sir Jacob had ex- pressed as to the great courtesy shown them by the Mayor and Cor- poration of Leeds. The President expressed the feel- ing of regret with which the Council had heard the Mayor’s communica- tion, and his own sense of the kind- ness and hospitality which the Mayor and his colleagues had shown them when they visited Leeds the other day. He regretted that they would not see so much of them as they would have done had they gone to Leeds, but if the Mayor and the other gentlemen would condescend to visit them at Doncaster, he was sure they would do their best to re- turn the hospitality which they had received. The Mayor of Leeds said he was very much obliged to the Council, and the only reason for the withdrawal of the invitation was the great prosperity of the town of Leeds. His Worship and Mr. Wigram then withdrew. Invitation from Doncaster. The Earl of Feversham then introduced a deputation from Don- caster, consisting of the following gentlemen : — The Earl of Wliarncliffe, the Hon. H. W. Fitzwilliam, M.P., the Mayor of Doncaster, Col. St. Leger, Mr. C. E. S. Cooke, Mr. F. J. S. Foljambe, Mr. F. B. Frank, Mr. R. J. Streatfield, Mr. G. B. C. Yarborough, Mr. Alderman Bentley, Mr. Alderman Smith, Mr. Alderman Stockil (Chair- man of the Race Committee), Mr. T. Anelay (Borough Steward), and Mr. G. Chafer (Local Secretary). The Earl of Wharncliffe said he had the honour to represent Don- caster, as being a resident landowner of the locality, and he thought, per- haps, the nearest landowner to the town. They regretted very much to say that they were deprived that day of the presence of a neighbour whose loss by death they all deeply deplored, and who had been of the greatest possible assistance to them. He referred to Lord Auckland, who, although known to all of them for a very long time, could not have been valued half so highly as by those in the neighbourhood. He would call upon the Mayor, who was fully cog- nisant of tlio facts and figures, to make the statement which he had to communicate. The Mayor of Doncaster (Mr. J. Firth Clark) said he had, on behalf of the Corporation of Doncaster, and of a very large and influential pub- lic meeting of landowners, manu- facturers, and others, to give the Society a very hearty invitation to hold their Meeting at Doncaster in 1891. Lord Wharncliffe had spoken of the influential character of the deputation, and he counted it an honour to speak on their behalf, to give the Society the invitation, and to lay the necessary facts before the Council. It was proposed to hold the Show on their well-known racecourse called the Town Moor. Most of them would agree that this site could not be surpassed, probably hardly equalled, in Yorkshire for the proposed Show', and the Corporation ottered ninety' acres of that course for the purpose. The Inspection Committee had seen the site, and should be able to judge of its capabilities. It was surrounded by farms, and a good deal of the land adjacent was also the property of the Corporation. The site, too, was a very beautiful one, and an attraction in itself to bring visitors to the town . The approach from the town was a very broad, even one, lined with mag- nificent trees, and so wide that four lines of carriages could be driven abreast; and there was also a broad ap- proach from the station to the towm. In addition, the town could offer a num- ber of hotels for the accommodation of visitors. The inhabitants of the town w’ere accustomed to provide for a very large influx of visitors every year. Country Meeting of 1891. xlvii Thousands of people came to stay at Doncaster for days together. Many of the inhabitants threw open their houses for the convenience of visitors, and no doubt that practice would be greatly extended on the occasion of the Royal Show. Then they had accommodation in Doncaster for as many as 700 or 800 horses. That, he thought, was an item which would interest them, and which would be satisfactory to know. At the Don- caster railway station there was abundance of accommodation for all the traffic. Perhaps nowhere else were the officials so accustomed to deal with a large amount of concen- trated traffic as at Doncaster during the race week, and at the same time keep up the ordinary traffic with punctuality and despatch. Each of the principal railway companies of the kingdom ran into tire railway station at Doncaster. The railway companies could provide ample ac- commodation for the goods traffic. Special docks for heavy machinery would be provided, and they had docks for the unloading of a whole trainload of animals at a time. The population of Doncaster was 35,000 ; but he wished to point out that within a radius of twenty miles were the towns of Gainsborough, Rother- ham, Dewsbury, Barnsley, Pontefract, Wakefield, Goole, &c., which made up a population of 600,000, and that within a radius of forty or fifty miles there were the great manufacturing towns of Hull, Leeds, York, Bradford, and the other towns in the West Riding. Moreover, Doncaster was a splendid agricultural district. Its corn, cattle, and general produce markets attracted an enormous num- ber of those interested in agricultural pursuits every Saturday, and upon those markets the people of Doncaster had spent no less than 70,0007., not counting the sites. They were pre- pared to fulfil the conditions laid down by the Society before a town could be honoured by being chosen for the Show. The list of subscrip- tions which had been laid upon the table showed that a sum of nearly 4,0007. had been collected towards the expenses, 5007. of which had been promised by the Doncaster Agricul- tural Society, who in the event of the Royal Show being held at Doncaster had decided cordially and unani- mously to give up their own Show. Their local society, though not a county one, was larger than a good many county societies, and had a larger number of subscribers. The Corporation had voted 500 guineas to the local fund. The cost of the site would not have to be paid for out of the local fund, and probably 7007. or 8007. would represent the expenditure of the Doncaster Committee for the purposes of the Show. The subscrip- tion list was headed by all the local bankers with very handsome sub- scriptions, and by noblemen and gentlemen, who had come forward in the matter most cordially and liberally ; and it was supported by tradesmen of all classes according to their means. They had only had three weeks to work in, or the subscription list would have been considerably increased, and there was no doubt that it would be considerably in- creased during the next few months. They had communicated with the Council of the Yorkshire Society as to their giving up their Show next year. He was not able to say that they would, but they would do their utmost to induce them to do so. In conclusion, his Worship repeated the most warm invitation of the Corpora- tion and inhabitants of the town of Doncaster. They felt that the Society would be conferring upon them an honour in accepting their invitation, which both the Corporation and the neighbourhood would appreciate by doing their utmost to further the interests of the Society. They be- lieved that the Show would add to the Society’s permanent subscription list, and if they came to Doncaster he thought the Society would be able to look back upon its visit as one of the most successful Shows which it had ever held. The Hon. H. W. Fitzwilliam, M.P., said he would not waste time by reiterating what had been said by the Mayor, but on behalf of the local residents he could assure the Society of a most cordial invitation to Don- caster and the district. Mr. F. B. Frank, as a member of the Council of the Yorkshire Agri- cultural Society, said as at present xlviii Monthly Council, March 5, 1890. arranged the Yorkshire Society would hold its Show, if held at all, quite in the north part of the North Riding. Whether they would or would not forego their Show in 1891 he could not say, but they had taken this course before. When the “Royal” lastheldits Show at York, in 1883, they gave up their own Show, and sub- scribed 800?. towards the local fund. He did not know whether they would subscribe or give up their Show upon the present occasion, but he had undertaken to bring • the subject before their Council at their next meeting on April 3. He could only say, on behalf of themselves as landowners in the neighbourhood, how glad they would be to see the Society. They would do their ’best to make the Show a success. They could not possibly in all England have better ground, better railway accommodation, or better railway management. The President said the state- ment of the Mayor was so clear and complete that he had only one question to ask — viz., the amount likely to be given for the local prizes. He did not know whether that point had been considered. The Mayor replied that they proposed to devote the 500 1. from the local agricultural society as the nucleus of a special prize list ; and they were prepared to augment that by at least 500 1. more. In all prob- ability the sum would be more than 1,000?., because of the ground being already prepared and gas and water laid on to the grand stand on the race common. His Worship added that the Chairman of the Race Com- mittee had authorised him to say, on behalf of the Committee, that the offices at the grand stand for tele- graphing and for reporters, and the dining-room fitted up with cooking apparatus, would be placed at the disposal of the Council, which would greatly increase their personal con- venience. The Earl of Powis said the Council would not trouble the deputa- tion to retire, but had placed in his hands the following resolution, which he had great pleasure in moving : — “ That the Country Meeting of 1891 be held at Doncaster, subject to the customary condition that the usual agreement be entered into by the Mayor and Corporation with the Society, such agreement to embody the answers to the printed queries and the verbal answers to the questions asked of the deputation.” He thought that Doncaster was a place eminently suited for a meeting of the Society. Leeds represented the great manu- facturing and industrial interests of the West Riding. Doncaster — sur- rounded as it was by good farms and good laud — might claim, as the Mayor had said, to represent the agricultural (and might he add the sporting ?) characteristics of the county. As they were all agreed upon that point, it was not necessary for him to dilate any longer on the advantages of choosing Doncaster. He could only hope that when they met there the weather might be as suitable and the receipts as large as at Leeds in 1861, when he had the honour of being President of the Society. Sir Jacob Wilson seconded the resolution, remarking that he did so from a firm belief that Doncaster possessed all the requirements of the Society for the Show. The resolution was then unani- mously passed, and the President formally announced it to the Mayor, at the same time expressing the thanks of the Council for the courtesy of the deputation in attending there that day. The Mayor, in reply, stated that the deputation were very much honoured and pleased by the resolution which had been passed, and he would only repeat that they would do their utmost to make the Show a success. He echoed Lord Powis’s wish that the Show might be as great a success in regard to weather and finances as at Leeds in 1861. The deputation then withdrew. Date of Next Meeting. Other formal business having been transacted, the Council adjourned until Wednesday, April 2, at noon. ADDITIONS TO THE LIBRARY DURING THE YEAR 1889. [The name of the Donor , or the mode of acquisition, appears in italics after the title of each work.'] Agricultural Gazette, for 1888-9. Fol. Lond. 1888-9 Editor Agricultural Journal of the Cape Colony. Vols. I., II. 4to. Cape Town, 1888-9 * Depart, of Agric. Aikman, C. M., Agricultural Education in this Country and Abroad, with special reference to Germany Author Anales de la Sociedad Rural Argentina. Yols. XXII., XXIII. Royal 8vo. Buenos Aires, 1888-9 Society Ancel, Chas., Etude sur les Engrais. 8vo. Meurthe-et-Moselle, 1889 Author Annales Agronomiques. Vol. XV. 8vo. Paris. 1889 Purchased Annali di Agricoltura, 1888-9. 8vo. Rome. 1888-9 Govt, of Italy Annual Report of the Agricultural Department, Bengal, for 1886-7. Fol. Cal- cutta, 1887 Govt, of India of the Bureau of Industries for the Province of Ontario, for 1887-8. 8vo. Toronto, 1 888-9 Govt . of Canada of the Department of Agriculture of Ontario, 1888. 8vo. Toronto, 1889. Govt, of Canada of the Department of Interior, 1888. 8vo. Ottawa, 1889... Govt, of Canada of the Department of Revenue Settlement and Agriculture, for 1882-6. Fol. Madras. 1881-7 Govt, of India 32nd, of the Maine Board of Agriculture, for 1888-9. 8vo. Augusta, 1889. Board of Agric. 36th, of the Massachusetts Board of Agriculture, for 1888. 8vo. Boston, 1889 Board of Agric. 9th, of the New Jersey State Agricultural Experiment Station, for 1888. 8vo. Trenton, N.J., 1889 Station of the Transactions of the National Association of British and Irish Millers. 8vo. Lond., 1888-9 Assoc. of the Secretary for Agriculture, Nova Scotia, for 1887-8. 8vo. Halifax, 1888-9 Secretary of Smithsonian Institution, 1886. Part I. 8vo. Washington, 1889. Inst. Anthrax (Cumberland) Disease in Sheep and Cattle, for 1888. Fol. Sydney, 1888 Govt, of Viet. Anuario Estadistico de la Republica de Paraguay. Ano 1886. Libro Primero. 4to. Asuncion, 1888 Republic of Paraguay Apple and Pear as Vintage Fruits. Technical descriptions by R. Hogg. General Editor, Dr. Henry Graves Bull. 8vo. Hereford, 1886 ...Editor Athenaeum, for 1888-9. 4to. Lond., 1888-9 • Editor Atti dell’ Associazione di Proprietari ed Agricoltori in Napoli. Anno 1887. 8vo. Portici, 1888 Assoc. Atti dell’ Associazione di Proprietari ed Agricoltori in Napoli. I. Giglioli, Suessola. Anno I. 1888. 8vo. Napoli, 1889 Assoc. Baldwin, Thos., Introduction to Practical Farming. 18th Ed. 8vo. Dublin, 1886 ; ..Author Baron, Prof., Methodes de Reproduction en Zootechnie. 8vo. Paris, 1888 Purch. Barral, J. A., Dictionnaire -cPAgriculture. Fasc. 14-21. 8vo. Paris, 1888-9. Purchased d VOL. I. T. S. — 1 1 Additions to the Library during the Year 1889. Baudement, fimile, Les Races Bovines au Concours Universel Agricole de Paris en 1856. fitudes Zootechniques. (Plates.) Fol. Paris, 1862 Purchased Bear, W. E., The British Farmer and his Competitors. 8vo. Lond., 1888 Author Bell’s Weekly Messenger, for 1888-9. Fol. Lond., 1888-9 Editor Bericht, Preussens Landwirthscliaftliche Verwaltung in den Jahren 1884-7. Band I., II. Royal 8vo. Berlin, 1888 German Govt. Besano, Professor C., -Sui Metodi atti a distinguere il Burro Artificiale dal Burro Naturale e le loro Miscele. 8vo. Lodi. 1888 Author Blyth, A. W., Foods : Their Composition and Analysis. 3rd Ed. 8vo. Lond., 1888 Purchased Board of Trade Journal. Vol. VI. 8vo. Lond., 1889 Board of Trade Boletin Mensual de Estadistica Municipal. Ano I., II,, III. Royal 8vo. Buenos Aires, 1887-9 , Argentine Republic Boletin de Departamento Nacional de Agricultura. Tomos XII., XIII. 8vo. Buenos Aires, 1888-9 Depart, of Agric. Bollettino di Notizie Agrarie. Anno XI. Royal 8vo. Rome, 1889 Govt, of Italy - Revista Meteorico-Agraria. Royal 8vo. Rome, 1889 Govt, of Italy Brown, G. A., Sheep- Breeding in Australia. 8vo. Melbourne, 1880 IV. Campbell Brown, Professor, Report on Eruptive Diseases of the Teats and Udders of Cows in relation to Scarlet Fever in Man. 8vo. Lond., 1888 ...Govt. Bulletin, Department of Agriculture, Victoria. Nos. 2, 3. 8vo. Melbourne, 1889. Govt, of Victoria de l’Agriculture. Tomes IV., V. Royal 8vo. Bruxelles, 1888-9 Govt, of Belgium de la Societe des Agriculteursde France. An. XX. 8vo. Paris, 1889 Society de la Soci6ted’ Agriculture, Sciences et Arts de la Sartlie. 2 Ser., Tome XIV. 8vo. Le Mans, 1874 Purchased . Mensuel de la Societe des Sciences, Agriculture et Artsde la Basse-Alsace. Tome XIII. 8vo- Strasbourg, 1889 Society Ministere de l’Agriculture, for 1888-9. 8vo. Paris, 1888-9 Director des Seances de la Societe Nationale d’Agriculture de France. Compte Rendu Mensuel. Tome XLVIII. (1888.) 8vo. Paris, 1889. ..Society de la Soci6te Imperiale des Naturalistes de Moscou. N. S. Tomes I., II. 8vo. Moscow, 1888-9 Society Canadian Live Stock and Farm Journal. Vol. VI., Nos. 73, 75. 4to. Toronto, 1889 Editor Cattle and Dairy Farming, United States Consular Reports. Parts I., II. 8vo, Washington, 1887 Govt, of United States Cavalieri, E., La Questione dei Probi-Viri in Agricoltura. 8vo. Roma, 1888. Author Chamber of Agriculture Journal and Farmers’ Chronicle. Vols. I-XXI. 4to. and fol. London, 1868-79 Purchased Censo Municipal de Buenos Aires, 1887. Tomes I., II. 8vo. Buenos Aires, 1889 A rgentine Republic Cope, A. C., and Prof. Victor Horsley, Reports on the Outbreak of Rabies among Deer in Richmond Park, 1886-7. 8vo. London, 1888 Govt. Cornevin, Ch., Des Plantes Veneneuses et des Empoisonnements qu’elles D6terminent. 8vo. Paris, 1887 Purchased Cotes, E. C., Notes on Economic Entomology. Nos. 1, 2. 8vo. Calcutta, 1888 ..... ....Trustees Ind. Mus. Crespo, Dr. Don Antonio F., Censo General de Poblacion, Edificacion, Comercio 6 Industrias de la Ciudad de Buenos Aires. Tomos I., II. 8vo. Buenos Aires, 1889 Author Curtis, Prof. C. E., Practical Forestry ; its Bearing on the Improvement of Estates. 8vo. London, 1888 -Jr. Author Estate Management. A Practical Handbook for Landlords, Agents, and Pupils. 3rd Ed. 8vo. Lond., 1889 .Author Additions to the Library during the Year 1889. li Ellis, Sir J. Whittaker, The Irish Land Question considered Historically and Economically. 8vo. Kingston, 1886 Author Eriksson, J., Collectio Cerealis Varietates Cerealium in Suecia maturescentes continens. Fasc. I. Fol. Stockholm, 1889 ..Author. “ Field," for 1888-9. Fol. London, 1888-9 Editor Fleming, Dr. G., Reports on African Horse-Sickness, 1888. Fol. London, 1888 Author Roaring in Horses (Laryngismus Paralyticus) ; its History, Nature, Causes, Prevention, and Treatment. 8vo. Lond., 1889..... Author Flock-Books : — Oxford Down Flock-15ook. Vol. I. 8vo. London, 1889 Assoc. Flock-Book of Suffolk Sheep. Vols. I— III. 8vo. Bury St. Edmunds, 1887-9 Society Ford, T., Common-sense Hints on Haymaking, Stacking Corn, and the Treat- ment of Farmyard Manure. 8vo. Gloucester, 1889 Author Hints on Haymaking, Stacking Corn, &c. 8vo. Lond., 1889 Author Fry, G , The Theory and Practice of Sweet Ensilage. 8vo. London, 1885. Author Gayot, E-, Chevaux de Trait Frau^ais. 8vo. Paris, 1887 Author Giglioli, Dr. E. H., Avifauna Italica. Elenco delle Specie di Uccelli Stazionarie o di Passaggio in Italia. 8vo. Firenze, 1886 Author Primo Resoconto dei Risultati della Inchiesta Ornitologica in Italia. Parte Prima : Avifauna Italica. Elenco Sistematico delle Specie di Uccelli Stazionarie o di Passaggio in Italia. 8vo. Firenze, 1889... A uthor Giglioli, I., Educazione Agraria Britannica. 8vo. Roma, 1888 Author Resultati del Primo anno di Esperimento sulle Variety e sui Concimi del Frumento al Campo Sperimentale di Suessola presso Acerra uell’ Anno Agrario 1887-8. 8vo. Napoli, 1889 Asioc. II Frumento : sue Varieta e Concimi al Campo Sperimentale di Suessola. 8vo. Portici. 1888 Author Gilbert, Prof. J. H., Results of Experiments at Rothamsted on the Growth of Potatoes, &c. 8vo. Cirencester, 1888 Author Girard, Aime, Reclierches sur la Culture de la Pomme de Terre Industrielle. Text 8vo. ; Plates Ito. Paris, 1889 Purchased Goltz, Dr. Theod. Freiherr von der, Handbucli der gesammtenLandwirtschaft. Lief. 1-11. 8vo. Tubingen, 1888-9 Purchased Goppelsroeder, Prof. F. (1) Capillar-Analyse, See. 8vo. Vienna, 1889. (2) Farbelectrochemische Mittheilungen. 8vo. Miilhausen, 1889 Author Grandeau, L., Ettides Agronomiques. 2™° Serie (1886-7). 8vo. Paris, 1888. Publishers Griffiths, A. B., A Treatise on Manures, or the Philosophy of Manuring. 8vo. Lond., 1889 Author Handlingab och Tidskrift, Kongl. Landtbruks-Akademiens. Ar 1888—9 . 4to. Stockholm, 1888-9 Ahad. Hartig, Dr. It., Lehrbuch der Baumkrankheiten. 2te Aufi. 8vo. Berlin, 1889 Purchased Hay, Mrs. G. W., Some Plain Words about Butter-making. 8vo. London, 1888 Author Heiden, Dr. E., Lehrbuch der Diingerlehre. Band I., II. 8vo. Hanover, 1879-87....... . Author Herd-Books : — Coates’s Herd-Book. Vol. XXXV. Svo. Lond., 1889 Society Davy’s Devon Herd-Book. Vols. IX.-XII. Svo. Bristol, 1884-9 Society Frisian Herd- Book (Friesch Rundvec-Stamboek). Aflevering I.-XV. Svo. Leeuwarden, 1880-9 Consul for Netherlands <72 lii Additions to the Library during the Year 1889. Frisian Herd-Book Association, Dutch and Frisian Cattle. 8vo. Leeuwarden. 1889 Consul for Netherlands Frisian Herd-Book (Kalverenboek), Pedigree Register. Parts I. (1887) II. (1888)-.- 8vo. Leeuwarden, 1888-9 Ditto Galloway Herd- Book. Vols. VIII., IX. 8vo. Dumfries, 1888-9 Society Guernsey Herd- Book. Yol. IV. 8vo. Guernsey, 1889 Society Herd-Book of Hereford Cattle. Yol. XX. 8vo. Hereford, 1889 ...Society English Herd-Book of Jersey Cattle, by John Thornton. Vols. I., II. 8v©. Lond., 1880-2 Society Ilulp-Stamboek (Auxiliary Herd-Book). Aflevering I.-IV. 8vo. Leeuwarden, 1885-88 Consul for Netherlands Nederlandsch Rundvee-Stamboek. Aflevering I.-XIV. 8vo. Zwolle and Schiedam, 1876-89 Ditto North Holland Herd-Book. Vols. II.-V. 8vo. Hoorn, 1884-9 Ditto North Wales Black Cattle Herd-Book. Vols. I., II. 8vo. Bangor, 1888-6. W. A. Detv Polled Herd-Book. Vol. XTII. 8vo. Banff, N.B., 1889 Society Red Polled Herd-Book. Vol. III. 8vo. Norwich, 1886 H. F. Euren South Wales Black Cattle Herd-Book. Vol. IV. 8vo. Carmarthen, 1888. Jas. Thomas Indian Agricultural Gazette, for 1888-9. Folio. Calcutta, 1888-9 Editor Jahkbuch der K. K. Landwirthschafts-Gesellschaft in Wien, for 1886-8. 8vo. Vienna, 1888-9 Gesellsch. Jahrcsbericht der Agrikultur-Chemie. Neue Folge, VIII. 8vo. Berlin, 1886 Purchased Jahrcsbericht der Koniglichen Landwirtschafts Gesellschaftzu Celle, for 1888. 8vo. Hanover, 1889 Gesellsch. Jemmett, Alex., Farm Bookkeeping made Easy. 8vo. Wimbledon, 1889. Author Jenyns, Rev. F. G., A Book about Bees. 8vo. Lond., 1886 Author Johnson, A. E., The Analyst’s Laboratory Companion. 8vo. Lond., 1888. Purchased Journal of the Bath and West of England Society. 3 Ser., Vol. XX. 8vo. Lond., 1889 Society _ — . of British Dairy Farmers’ Association. Vol. V. 8vo. Lond., 1889 Assoc. of the Farmers’ Club, for 1889. 4to. Lond., 1889 Club of the Geological Society. Vol. XLV. 8vo. Lond., 1889 Society of the Royal Dublin Society. Vol. VI. 8vo. Dublin, 1872 Society of the Royal Horticultural Society. Vols. X., XI. 8vo. Lond., 1888-9. Society of the Royal Manchester, Liverpool, and North Lancashire Agricultural Society, for 1888. 8vo. Liverpool, 1889 Society of the Royal Meteorological Society. Vol. XIV. 8vo. Lond., 1889. Society of the Royal Statistical Society. Vol. LII. 8vo. Lond., 1890... Society of the Royal United Service Institution. Vol. XXXIII. 8vo. Lond., 1889 Inst. of the Society of Arts, for 1888. Royal 8vo. Lond., 1889 Society and Proceedings of the Royal Society, N.S. Wales. Vol. XXII. 8vo. Sydney, 1889 Society fur Landwirthschaft. Band XXXVI., XXXVII. 8vo. Berlin, 1888-9. Gesellsch. d’Agriculture Pratique, for 1888-9. Royal 8vo. Paris, 1888-9 ...Editor de l’Agriculture, for 1888-9. Royal 8vo. Paris, 1888-9 Editor de la Societe Centrale d’Agriculture de Belgique. Tome XXXVI. 8vo Bruxelles, 1889 : ; Societ Keechove, Comte Oswald de, CatSchisme de Laiterie. 8vo. Gand, 1887 Autho r Additions to the Library during the Year 1889. liii Korrespondenz des Milchwirthschaftliclien Vereins. No. 33. 4to. Kiel, 1889 ...... Verein Kornicke, Prof. F. and Dr. Hugo Werner, Handbuch des Getreidebaues. Band I,, II. Band I. Die Arten und Varietaten des Getreides. II. Die Sorten und der Anbau des Getreides. 8vo. Bonn, 1885 Authors Landwirthschaftliche Jahrbiicher. Band XVIII. 8vo. Berlin, 1889. German Govt. Bd. XVIII. Erganzungsbd. I., 1888. 8vo. Berlin, 1889 ...German Govt. Landwirthschaftliche Versuchs-Stationen. Band XXXV.,- XXXVI. 8vo. Berlin, 1888-9 Purchased Latzina, F., L’ Agriculture et 1’lSlevage dans la Republique Argentine, & c. Royal 8 vo. Paris, 1889 Author Lavalard, E., Le Cheval, dans ses Rapports avec l’Economie Rurale et les Industries de Transport. Tome I. 8vo. Paris, 1888 Author Lawes, Sir John B., Memoranda of Origin, Plan, and Results of Field and other Experiments at Rothamsted, Herts. 4to. Lond., 1889...A«<7mr and J. H. Gilbert, On some Points in the Composition of Soils ; with Results illustrating the Sources of the Fertility of Manitoba Prairie Soils. 8vo. Lond., 1888 ....Authors on the Composition of the Ash of Wheat-Grain and Wheat-Straw grown at Rothamsted in different Seasons, and by different Manures. 8vo. Lond., 1884 Authors Live-Stock Journal, for 1888-9. Folio. Lond., 1888-9 Editor Lonay, A., La Question de l’Azote et Culture des Legumineuses. 8vo. Nivelle, 1889 Author Macadan, W. I., Manures, Natural and Artificial, 4to. Lond., 1888...A«f7wr Madras Agricultural College. Report for 1883-7. Folio. Madras, 1884-8 Govt, of Madras Marck, Prof. G., Ueber den relativen Diingewerth der Phosphate mit beson- derer Riicksichtnahme auf Thomas-schlaeke, Knochenmehl, Feruguano, und Koprolithenmehl. Gekronte Preisschrift. 8vo. Dresden, 1889 Purchased “Mark Lane Express,” for 1888-9. 4to. Lond., 1888-9 Editor Memoires publics par la Societe Nationale d’Agriculture de France. Tome CXXXII. 8vo. Paris, 1888 Society Memoirs and Proc. of the Manchester Literary and Philosophical Society. 4th Series. Vol. II. 8vo. Manchester, 1889 Society Memorial des Manufactures de l’Etat: Tabacs. Tome I, Livres 1, 2. 8vo. Paris, 1884-6 Purchased Meteorological Record. Vol. VIII. 8vo. Lond., 1889 Society Minutes of Proceedings of the Institution of Civil Engineers. Vols. XCVII., XCVIII. 8vo. London, 1889 Inst. Mittheilungenderdeutschen Landwirthschaft-Gesellschaft, 1884-6. 4to. Bonn, 1885-7 Gesellsch. Moeller, Dr. J., Mikroskopie der Nahrungs- und Genussmittel aus dem Pflanzen- reiche. 8vo. Berlin, 1886 Purchased Monografia Statistica ed Agraria sulla Coltivazione del Riso in Italia. 8vo. Roma, 1889 Govt, of Italy Moore, D., Concise Notices of British Grasses best suited for Agriculture, with preserved Specimens of each kind. 3rd Ed. Fol. Dublin, 1856. Purch. Miintz, A., et A. Ch. Girard, Les Engrais. Tomes I., II. Tome I. Alimenta- tion des Plantes Fumiers. Engrais des Villes ; Engrais Vegetaux. Tome II. Engrais Azotes ; Engrais Phosphates. 8vo. Paris, 1888-9. Purch. “Nature,” for 1888-9. 4to. Lond., 1888-9 Editor Notes on Indian Economic Entomology. Vol. I , Nos. 1, 2. 8vo. Calcutta, 1889 Trustees End. Mus. liv Additions to the Library during the Year 1889. Notes on Indian Insect Pests. Vol. I., No. I. 8vo. Calcutta, 1889. Trustees Ind. Mas. Nunn, J. N., Notes on Horse-Breeding in South Africa. 8vo. 1889 1... Author Olivera, Ed., Estudios y Viages Agricolas en Francia, Alemania, Hollanda y Belgica. Tomes I., II. 8vo. Buenos Aires, 1879 Author Onslow, Earl of, Landlords and Allotments; the History and Present Condi- tion of the Allotment System. 8vo. Lond., 1886 Author Ormerod, Miss E. A., Notes on “ Licked Beef ” and “ Jelly,” and Injury to Hides from Attack of Ox Warble Fly, or Bot Fly (Hypoderma bovis). 8vo. Lond., 1889 Author Hessian Fly, Report on Insects injurious to Wheat Plants in New Zealand. 8vo. Lond., 1888 Author Report on Hessian Fly in New Zealand, 1888. 8vo. Lond., 1888 Author — - — Report of Observations of Injurious Insects and Common Farm Pests during the years 1887-8, with Methods of Prevention and Remedy. 11th and 12th Reports. 8vo. Lond., 1888-9 Author Papers and Reports from Journal of Royal Manchester, Liverpool, and North Lancashire Agricultural Society. 8vo. Lond., 1889 Society Parbury, A. F., Annual Farm Account Book. 4to ...Author Practical Farming. 12mo. Horsham, 1882 Author Parliamentary Papers : — Agricultural Adviser, 1st Annual Report, 1887. 8vo. Lond., 1888. Govt. Agricultural and Dairy Schools. Minutes of Evidence. Fol. Lond., 1888 Pure h. Agricultural and Dairy Schools. Report and Final Report of Departmental Commission on, for 1887-8. Fol. London, 1888 Puroh. Agricultural Returns of Great Britain, &c., for 1888, 1889. 8vo. London, 1888-9 Govt. Agricultural Statistics of Ireland for 1888. Fol. Dublin, 1889 Govt. Agriculture of Nice, Report on the, for 1888. 8vo. Lond., 1889 Govt. Army Veterinary Department Annual Reports and Statistical Returns, for 1887-8. Fol. Lond., 1888-9 Govt. Census of England and Wales. Vols. III., IV. Fol. Lond., 1884 ...Purch. Code of Regulations] with Schedules, by the Right Hon. the Lords of the Committee of the Privy Council on Education, for 1888-9. Fol. Lond., 1888-9 Purch. Colonial and other Possessions of the United Kingdom, in each year from 1873 to 1887. Statistical Abstract. 8vo. Lond., 1888 Govt. Contagious Diseases. Inspection and Transit of Animals, for 1888, Annual Report on. 8vo. Lond., 1889 ..Govt. Diseases of the Teats and Udders of Cows, Report on Eruptive, for 1888. Fol. Lond., 1888 Govt. Foreign Countries, in each year from 1877 to 1886-7. Statistical Abstract. 8vo. Lond., 1889 Govt. French Agricultural Schools, Report on, prepared for the Agricultural Department, Privy Council Office, by Major P. G. Craigie. 8vo. Lond., 1888 ! Govt. Irish Privy Council Veterinary Department, relative to Animals intended for Exportation from Ireland to Great Britain, Report from the, for 1877. Fol. Dublin, 1878 Govt. Market Rights and Tolls, Royal Commission on. Reports and Minutes of Evidence. Vols. I.-V. 8vo. Lond., 1889 Purchased Pleuro-Pneumonia and Tuberculosis in the United Kingdom, Report on. Parts I, II. Fol. Lond., 1888 Govt. Potato Crop, Report on. Fol. Lond., 1880 Govt. Sugar Trade. The Progress of the Sugar Trade. Fol. Loud., 1889... Govt. Trade and Navigation Accounts for 1888-9. 8vo. Lond.. 1888-9 ...Govt. Additions to the Library during the Year 1889, lv Trade of the United Kingdom with Foreign Countries in British Possessions, Annual Statement of the, for 1887-8. Fol. Lond., 1888-9 Govt. Transit of Cattle from Ireland to Great Britain, Report on the, for 1889. Fol. Lond., 1889 Govt. Transit of Animals from Ireland to Ports in Great Britain, for 1888, Report of the. Fol. Lond., 1889 Govt.. Pidgeon, D., An Engineer’s Holiday; or, Notes of a Round Trip from Long. 0° to 0°. 2nd ed. 8vo. Lond., 1883 Author Old-World Questions and New-World Answers. 2nd Ed. 8vo. London, 1885 Author Plowright, C.B., A Monograph of British Uredineae and Ustilaginete. 8vo. Lond., 1889 Purchased Potter, Thomas, The Construction of Silos, and the Compression of Green Crops for Silage. 8vo. Lond., 1886 Author Pringle, R. 0., The Live-Stock of the Farm. 3rd ed., Edited and Revised by Jas. Macdonald. 8vo. Edinburgh, 1886 Jas. Macdonald Proceedings of the Privy Counci and Information received respecting an Insect supposed to infest the Wheat of the Territories of the United States of America. Fol. Lond. Printed by order of Parliament, 1789 Sir George Dashrvood, Bart. Proceedings of the Institution of Mechanical Engineers. 8vo. Lond., 1889 Inst. of Royal Geographical Society. Vol. XI. 8vo. London, 1889 ...Society of the Royal Institution of Great Britain. Vol. XII. 8vo. London, 1889 Inst. Regulations concerning Analysis of Food and Drugs in the District of Columbia, under Control of the Commissioners of Internal Revenue. 8vo. Washington, 1888 U.S. Govt. Report on the Adulteration of Food, 1887. Ottawa, 1888 ...Govt, of Canada of the Board of Agriculture of Massachusetts. Vol. XXXV. 8vo. Boston, 1887 Board of Agric. of the Bureau of Industries for the Province of Ontario for 1888. 8vo. Toronto, 1889 Govt, of Canada of the Commissioner of Agriculture for 1888. 8vo. Washington, 1889. Depart. of Agric. of the Commissioner of Internal Revenue for the Fiscal Year ended June 30, 1888. 8vo. Washington, 1888 Govt, of the United States of the Council on Agricultural Education, 1888-9. 8vo. Melbourne, 1889 Govt, of Victoria of the Experimental Farms, 1888. 8vo, Ottawa, 1889. Govt, of Canada of the Judges in the Tobacco Prize Competition. Fol. Lond., 1888. Lond. Chamber of Commerce of the Minister of Agriculture for the Dominion of Canada for 1884-6. 8vo. Ottawa, 1885-7 .• Govt, of Canada of the North-East Agricultural Association of Ireland for 1888. 8vo. Belfast, 1889 Assoc. on the Operations of the Agricultural Department, Madras Presidency, for the Official Year, 1886-8. Fol. Madras, 1888-9 ... Govt, of Madras of Proceedings of National Agricultural Society of Victoria for 1888. 8vo. Melbourne, 1889 ..Society of the Secretary of the Massachusetts Board of Agriculture for 1888-9. 8vo. Boston, 1888-9 ...Secretary of Board of Agriculture of the State of Pennsylvania for 1888. 8vo. Harrisburg, 1889 Board of Agric. of the Statistician, Department of Agriculture No. 57, on Yield of Crops per Acre (November, 1888) ; No. 58, on Crops of the Year (De- cember, 1888) ; No. 60, on Distribution and Consumption of Corn and Wheat (March 1889) ; No. 61, on the Condition of Winter Grain (April, 1889). 8vo. Washington, 1888-9 ......Depart, of Agric. lvi Additions to the Library during the Year 1889. Report on Stock, N.S. Wales. Depart, of Mines for 1889. Fol. Sydney, 1889. Govt, of N.S. Wales Rerolle, Dr. L., Du Colonage Partiaire et Specialement du Metayage. 8vo. Paris, 1888 Author Revue du Paraguay, Annees 7., II. 8vo. Paraguay, 1888-9. Hep. of Paraguay Risler, Eug., Physiologie et Culture du Ble, &c. 12mo. Paris, 1886 ...Author Rogers, James E. Thorold : A History of Agriculture and Prices in England, &c. Yols. I.-VI. 8vo. Oxford, 1866-87 Purchased, Ronna, A., Travaux et Experiences du Dr. A. Voelcker. Tomes I., II. 8vo. Paris, 1886-8 Author Les Irrigations, Tomes I., II. 8vo. Paris, 1888—9 Author Russia : — Agricultural Reports. Part 3. General Statistics of the Year 1887 (Depart, of Agricul. and Rural Industry). 8vo. St. Petersburg 1888. [In Russian] Russian Government Agricultural Report, according to Replies of Summer Workmen to their Masters for 1889 (Depart, of Agric. and Rural Industry). Parts 1 and 2. 8vo. St. Petersburg, 1889. [In Russian] . . . Russian Government Historical Sketch of the Government Regulations for the Development of Rural Economy in Russia from the Beginning of the Empire to the Present Time, by N. V. Ponomareva. 8vo. St. Petersburg, 1888. [In Russian] Russian Government Report on the Inquiry into the Volga Wheat Trade, carried out by the authority of the Minister of Finance and of the Crown Lands, 1887-8. By A. Klopoff. [In Russian] ‘1887. 8vo. St. Petersburg, 1889. 1888. 8vo. Tver, 1889 Russian Government SACHEKI, G., Concorso Internazionale di Essiccatoi da Cereali in Milano. 8vo. Rome, 1889 Govt, of Italy Schiibeler, Dr. F. C., Norges Vaextrige. Et Bidrag til Nord-Europas Natur- og Culturhistorie. Bind I., II. 4to. Christiania, 1885-6 Author Semper, H., Die Tropische Agrikultur. Ein Handbuch fiir Pflanzer und Kaufleute. Yols. I.— III. 8vo. Wismar, 1886-8 Purchased Shire Horse Society. Tenth Annual Report of London Show. 8vo. London, 1889 : Society Shortt, Dr. John, Monograph of the Cocoanut Palm, or Cocos nucifera. 8vo. Calcutta, 1888 Author Silos for Preserving British Fodder Crops stored in a Green State. Third Edition. 8vo. Lond., 1885 Editor of “ Field ” Skinner, W. R., The Mining Manual for 1888. 8vo. Lond., 1888 Author Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections. Vols. XXXII., XXXIII. 8vo. Washington, 1888 Smithson. Inst. Statistics of the Colony of Tasmania for 1888. Fol. Tasmania, 1889 Govt, of Tasmania Statistique Agricole de la France, publiee par le Ministere de l’Agriculture. Resultats Generaux de l’Enquete Decennale de 1882. Royal 8vo. Nancy, 1887 Govt, of France Stazioni Sperimentali Agrarie Italiane. Vols. XIV.-XV. Royal 8vo. Rome. 1888 Govt, of Italy Stebler, Dr. F. G. and Dr. C. Schroter, Die besten Futterpflanzen, 3te Theil, die Alpen-Futterpflanzen. 4to. Bern, 1889.. Purchased The Best Forage Plats fully described and figured, &c. Translated by A. N. McAlpine. Fol. London, 1889 ..... A. N. McAlpine Stephens, Henry, The Book of the Farm. 4th Ed. Revised and in Great Part Rewritten by James Macdonald. Div. I.-III. 8vo. Edin, and Lond., 1889 James Macdonald Storer, Prof. F. H., Agriculture in some of its Relations with Chemistry. 2 vols. 8vo. Lond., 1887 Author Additions to the Library during the Year 1889. lvii Stud-Books Cleveland Bay Stud Book. Yol. IY.-V. 8vo. Saltburn, 1887-8 Society Clydesdale Stud Book. Vol. XI. 8vo. Glasgow, 1889 Society General Stud Book. Vol. XV. 8vo. Lond., 1885 Purchased Hackney Stud Book (Stallions and Mares). Vol. V., VI. 8vo. Norwich, 1888-9 Society Hunters’ Improvement Society. Record of Prize Mares, See. Vols. I — III. 8vo. Lond., 1887-9 Society Shire-Horse Stud Book. Vol. X. 8vo. London, 1889 Society Suffolk Stud Book. Vols. III.-IV. 8vo. Hiss, 1888-9 Assoc. Stud Book, National des Chevaux de la Race Beige. Vol. I. fasc. 1. 8vo. Li&ge, 1886 Society Stud Book de la Race Boulonnaise. Tome I. 8vo. Boulogne-sur-Mer, 1887 Society Stut-Buch des Koniglich Preuss. Haupt-Gestiits Trakehnen. Von J. P. Freutzel. 8vo. Berlin, 1878 Verein Yorkshire Coach-Horse Stud Book of Great Britain and Ireland. Vols. T.-ir. 8vo. York, 1887-8 Society Sueur, H. le, fitude Pratique sur la Laiterie en Normandie. 8vo. Carentan, 1886 Author La Pomme en Normandie. 8vo. Caen, 1887 . .Author Tallerman, D., Wastes in Agriculture and How to Prevent Them. 8vo. Lond., 1889 Author Thornton’s Circular. Vols. I .-XI. 8vo. Lond., 1868-89 John Thornton Transactions of the Highland and Agricultural Society, Scotland. 5th series. Vol. I. 8vo. Edinburgh, 1889 Society of the Middlesex Natural History Society, 1887-8. 8vo. Lond., 1888 Society of the New York State Agricultural Society. Vol. XXXIV. 8vo. New York, 1889 Society of Royal Dublin Society. Vols. I.— III. 4to. Dublin. 1880-6 ...Society of the Surveyors’ Institution. Vol. XXI. 8vo. London, 1889 Inst. Tull, Jethro, The Horse-Hoeing Husbandry ; Compleat in Parts: or an Essay on the Principles of Tillage and Vegetation. 4to. Lond., 1743 lieu. II. Hooper Upton, H. M., Profitable Dairy Farming. 8vo. Lond., 1888 Author Vergara, D. M., Cultivo de los Rosales en Macetas. 8vo. Madrid, 1889 Author Yerslag over den Landbouw in Nederland, for 1886. 8vo. s’Gravenhage, 1888 Govt, of the Netherlands Veterinarian. Vol. LXII. 8vo. Lond., 1889 Editors Veterinary Journal. Vols. XXVIII. -XXLX. 8vo. Lond., 1889 Editor Vilmorin, H. L. de, Catalogue Methodique et Synonymique des Froments. 8vo. Paris, 1889 Author Voelcker, Dr. J. A., Butter and Butter-Making (Lecture). 8vo. 1889 Author Wagner, Prof. P. The Increase in the Produce of the Soil through the Rational use of Nitrogenous Manure. Translated by G. H. Henderson. 8vo. Lond., 1888 G. H. Henderson Wallace, Prof. R., Farm Live Stock of Great Britain. 8vo. Edinburgh, 1889 Author India in 1887. 8vo. Edinburgh, 1888 Author Zeitschrift fur Analytische Chemie, Jahrgang. XXVII.-XXVIII. 8vo. Wiesbaden, 1888-89 Purchased Zeitschrift des landwirthschaftlichen Vereins in Bayern. Jahr. LXXVIII. 8vo. Miinchen, 1888 Verein The Society is indebted to the Editors of numerous other agricultural and general papers for the current numbers of their publications, which have been placed for reference in the Heading Hoom. ROYAL AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY OF ENGLAND. $0tetn John Price, Brecon. . G. A. Lepper, Aylesbury. . G. A: Banham, 'Downing Street, Cambridge, . J. Dawson Roberts, Aberystwith. County. ( w; ) Carnarvon Chester . Cornwall Cumberland Denbigh . Derby . Devon . Dorset . Durham . Essex Flint Glamorgan Gloucester Hants Hereford Herts Hunts Kent Lancaster Leicester Lincoln (South) Lincoln (Mid) Lincoln (North) Merioneth Metropolis and Middlesex Monmouth Montgomery . Norfolk . Northampton Northumberland and Westmorland Notts Oxford (North) Oxford (South) Pembroke Rutland Salop Somerset (North) Somerset (South) Stafford . Suffolk . Surrey . Sussex (East) Sussex (West) Warwick Wilts . Worcester York (East Riding) York (North Riding) York (West Ridiug) Provincial Veterinary Surgeon. F. Booth, Market Street, Abergele. W. Lewis, 1 South Street, Nantwich Road, Crewe. Thos. Olver, Truro. John Bell, Lonsdale Street, Carlisle. F. Booth, Market Street, Abergele. W. Aulton, Derwent Street, Derby. W. Penhale, Barnstaple. W. Vessey, Weymouth. John E. Peele, 8 New Elvet, Durham. James Taylor, Veugewell Hall, Wix, Mauuiugtree. Robert Roberts, 30 Bridge Street, Wrexham. Charles Moir, Cardiff. [Cirencester. Professor W. T. Wilson, Royal Agricultural College, J. D. Barford, 57 Above Bar, Southampton. W. Good, 30 Mill Street, Ludlow. W. Wilson, Berkhampstead. James Smith, Huntingdon. W. A. Edgar, Westfield House, Dartford. J. B. Folding, Red Lion Street, Burnley. John Wiggins, Market Harbro’. Captain B. H. Russell, Grantham. Charles Hartley, 4 Norman Place, Lincoln. J. B. Greswcll, Mercer Row, Louth. Evan Wynne Williams, 1 Queen’s Row, Dolgelly. William Hunting, 16 Fulham Road, S.W. G. Lewis, Monmouth. James M’Cavin, Montgomery. Frederick Low, Norwich. T. J. Merrick, Castilian Street, Northampton. C. Stephenson, Sandyford Villa, Newcastle-on-Tyne. Frank H. Gibbings, Albert Sq., Derby Road, Nottingham. Chas. N. Page, Banbury. J. P. S. Walker, Oxford. David Evans, Haverfordwest. B. Freer, Uppingham. W. E. Litt, Shrewsbury. T. D. Broad, Broad Street, Bath. Robert Gibbs, Taunton. Harry Olver, Trescoe, Tamworth. J. Worsley, Ipswich. J. L. Lupton, Richmond. R. A. Stock, Lewes. I. H. Callow, Horsham. Osborn Hills, Leamington. H. Hussey, Devizes. H. R. Perrins, Upper Butts, Worcester. James Jebson, Yapliam Grange, Pocklington. W. Barker, Middlesborough. Joseph Carter, 28 Great Horton Road, Bradford. Entomological $ribilege£. The Council have fixed the charge of 2s. 6d. for the determination of the species of any insect, worm, or other animal which, in any stage of its life, injuriously affects farm-crops, with a report on its habits, and suggestions as to the methods of prevention and remedy. Portions of the plants injured should accompany the specimens of the insects. All specimens should be sent in tin or wooden boxes, or in quills, so as to prevent injury in transmission. Parcels or letters containing specimens (carriage or postage paid) must be addressed to Miss E. A. Ormerod, F.R.Met.Soc., Torringtcn House, Holywell Hill, St. Albans. , . ( kiii ) Member#' botanical §&ritoilege£. The Council have fixed the following rates of charge for the examination, by the Society’s Consulting Botanist, of Plants and Seeds, for the bond fide and indi- vidual information and benefit of Members of the Society (not being seedsmen). The charge for examination must be paid at the time of application, and the carriage of all parcels must be prepaid. 1. — A report on the purity, amount, and nature of foreign materials, the perfectness and germinating power of a sample of seed . Is. 2. — Determination of the species of any weed or other plant, or of any epiphyte or vegetable parasite, with a report on its habits, and the means for its extermination or prevention . . . . Is. 3. — Report on any disease affecting farm crops Is. 4. —Determination of the species of a collection of natural grasses found in any district, with a report on their habits and pasture value . 5s. N.B. — The Consulting Botanist's Reports on Seeds are furnished to enable Members, — purchasers of seeds and corn for agricultural or horticultural purposes, — to test the value of what they buy, and are not to be used or made available for advertising or trade purposes. PURCHASE OF SEEDS. The purchaser should obtain from the vendor, by invoice or otherwise, a proper designation of the seed he buys, with a guarantee that it contains not more than a specified amount of other seeds, and is free from ergot, or, in the case of clovers, from dodder, and of the percentage of seeds that will germinate. The germination of cereals, green crops, clovers, and timothy grass should be not less than 90 per cent. ; of foxtail, not less than 60 per cent. p of other grasses, not less than 70 per cent. The Council strongly recommend that the purchase of prepared mixtures should be avoided, and that the different seeds to be sown should be purchased separately. INSTRUCTIONS FOR SELECTING AND SENDING SAMPLES. I. Seeds. In sending seed or corn for examination the utmost care must be taken to secure a fair and honest sample. In the case of grass-seeds, the sample should be drawn from the centre of the sack or bag, and in all cases from the bulk delivered to the purchaser and not from the purchased sample. When bought by sample the whole or part of that sample should be sent. When it is considered necessary to secure legal evidence, the sample should be taken from the bulk and placed in a sealed bag in the presence of a reliable witness who is acquainted with the identity of the bulk, and care should be taken that the purchased sample and bulk be not tampered with after delivery, or mixed or come in contact with any other sample or stock. One ounce of grass and other small seeds should be sent, and two ounces of cereals or larger seeds. The exact name under which each sample has been bought should be sent with it. Grass-seeds should be sent at least four weeks, and clover-seeds two weeks before they are required, and they should not be sown until the report has been received. II. Plants. In collecting specimens of plants, the whole plant should be taken up, and the earth shaken from the roots. If possible, the plants must be in flower or fruit. They should be packed in a light box, or in a firm paper parcel. Specimens of diseased plants or of parasites should be forwarded as fresh as possible. They should be placed in a bottle, or packed in tinfoil or oil-silk. All specimens should be accompanied with a letter specifying the nature of the information required, and stating any local circumstances (soil, situation, &c.) which, in the opinion of the sender, would be likely to throw light on the inquiry. Parcels or letters containing seeds or plants for examination (carriage or postage prepaid) must be addressed to Mr. W. Cakruthers, F.R.S., M Central Hill, Norwood, London, S.E. ( lxiv ) MEMORANDA. Address op Letters.— All letters on the general business of the Society should be addressed to the Secretary, at 12 Hanover Square, London, \V. Telegrams.— The Society’s registered address for telegrams is “Practice, London.” Replies by Telegraph cannot be sent unless paid for in advance, and cannot be guaranteed in any case. Telephone Number, 3675. Office Hours.— 10 to 4. On Saturdays 10 to 2. General Meeting in London, Thursday, May 22, 1890, at noon. Country Meeting at Plymouth, Monday, June 23, to Friday, June 27, 1890 (both inclusive). Monthly Council (for transaction of business), at noon on the first Wednesday in every month, excepting January, September, and October : open only to Members of Council and Governors of the Society. Adjournments. — The Council adjourn over Passion and Easter weeks, when those weeks do not include the first Wednesday of the month ; from the first Wednesday in August to the first Wednesday in November ; and from the first Wednesday in December to the first Wednesday in February. Subscriptions.— 1. Annual.— The subscription of a Governor is £5, and that of a Member £1, due in advance on the 1st of January of each year, and becoming in arrear if unpaid by the 1st of June. 2. For Life. — Governors may compound for their subscriptions for future years by paying on election, or at any time thereafter, the sum of £50, and Members by paying £15. Members elected before 1890 may compound at any time on payment of £10 in one sum ; and Members elected in or subsequently to 1890 may compound for the same amount after the payment of ten annual subscriptions. Governors and Members who have paid their annual subscription for 20 years or upwards, and whose payments are not in arrear, may compound for future annual subscriptions, that of the current year inclusive, by a single payment of £25 for a Governor, and £5 for a Member. No Governor or Member can be allowed to enter into composition for life until all subscriptions due by him at the time shall have been paid. No Governor or Member in arrear of his subscription is entitled to any of the privileges of the Society. All Members belonging to the Society are, under the Bye-laws, bound to pay their annual subscriptions, until they shall withdraw from it by notice in writing to the Secretary. Payments. — Subscriptions may be paid to the Secretary, either at the office of the Society, No. 12 Hanover Square, Loudon, W., or by means of crossed cheques in favour of the Secretary, or by postal orders, to be obtained at any of the principal post-offices throughout the kingdom, and made payable at the Vere Street Office, London, W. When making remittances it should be stated by whom, and on whose account, they are sent. All Cheques and Postal Orders should be crossed “London and Westminster Bank, St. James’s Square Branch.” On application to the Secretary, forms may be obtained for authorising the regular payment, by the bankers of individual members, of each annual subscription as it falls due. Members are particularly invited to avail themselves of these Bankers’ orders, in order to save trouble both to themselves and to the Society. When payment is made to the London and Westminster Bank, as the Bankers of the Society, it will be desirable that the Secretary should be advised by letter of such payment, iu order that the entry in the bankers’ book may be at once identified, and the amount posted to the credit of the proper person. No coin can be remitted by post, unless the letter be registered. Journal.— The Parts of the Society’s Journal are (when the subscription is not in arrear) forwarded by post to Members or delivered from the Society’s Office to Members or to the bearer of their written order. The back numbers of the Journal are kept constantly on sale by the publisher, Mr. John Murray, 50a Albemarle Street, W. New Members.— Every candidate for admission into the Society must be nominated by a Governor or Member, and must duly fill up and sign an application for Membership on the appointed form. Forms of Proposal may be obtained on application to the Secretary. The Secretary will inform new Members of their election by letter. ROYAL AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY OF ENGLAND proceetunos of the Council, WEDNESDAY, APRIL 2, 1890. LORD MORETON (PRESIDENT) IN THE CHAIR. Present : — Trustees. — Earl Cathcart, Sir Nigel Kingscote, K.C.B., Sir A. K. Mac- donald, Bart., Mr. J. Dent Dent. Vice-Presidents. — Earl of Fever- sham, Earl of Ravensworth, Sir John Thorold, Bart., Mr. C. Whitehead. Other Members of Council. — Mr. G. M. Allender, Mr. J. Bowen-Jones, Mr. J. A. Caird, Mr. Chandos-Pole-Gell, Mr. Charles Clay, Mr. C. de L. F. De Laune, Yiscount Emlyn, Mr. S. P. Foster, Mr. William Frankish, Mr. Anthony Hamond, Mr. James Hornsby, Mr. C. S. Mainwaring, Mr. Joseph Martin, Mr. T. H. Miller, Hon. Cecil T. Parker, Mr. Albert Pell, Mr. Daniel Pidgeon, the Duke of Portland, Mr. J. E. Ransome, Mr. James Rawlence, Mr. Samuel Rowlandson, Mr. G. H. Sanday, Mr. A. J. Smith, Mr. Henry Smith, Sir Joseph Spearman, Bart., the Marquis of Stafford, Mr. Garrett Taylor, Mr. R. A. Warren, Mr. E. V. V. Wheeler, Mr. C. W. Wilson, Sir Jacob Wilson. Professor Brown, C.B., the Mayor of Plymouth, Mr. John Clutton (Foundation Life Governor). Officers. — Mr. Ernest Clarke, Sec- retary and Editor; Professor James B. Simonds, Consulting Veterinary Surgeon ; Mr. E. W. Voelcker, Acting Consulting Chemist ; Mr. Wilson Ben- nison, Surveyor. The minutes of the Council held on March 5 last were read and con- firmed. VOL. I. T. S. — 2 Election of New Governors and Members. The election of the following eight Governors and sixty-five members was then proceeded with : — Governors. Clinton, Lord. .Hean ton Satcliville, N. Devon. Dicksox-Poynder, Sir J., Bart. . . Hartliam Park, Corsham, Wilts. G lustra i>, Sir W., Bart...Fornham Park, Bury St. Edmunds. Grant, Sir G. Maepkerson, Bart. . . Ballindal- loch Castle, N.B. Harcourt, E. W.. .Nuneham Park, Abingdon. Lonuesbo rough, Earl of . . Londesborough Park, Market Weightou, Yorks. Schroder, Baron. .The Dell, Staines. Tweedmouth, Lord.. Brook House, Park Lane, W. Members. Alexander, W., jun.. .Les Marais, St. Mary’s, Jersey. Baldock, Captain E. . . Belvedere, East Mailing. Beldam, F. W. E.. .Toft Rectory, Cambridge. Blahey, J. H. . . Liskeard, Cornwall. Brawn, John. . Melchbourne, Bedford. Bridgman, P. H. . . Kingston, Stoke Climsland, Callington, Cornwall. Brooke, Arthur . . Ley lands, near Dorking. Burns, T. B. . .Camelford, Cornwall. Carwardixe, Joseph. .Old Parsonage House, Bedminster, Bristol. Cordonnler, Anatole. .Roubaix, France. Creber, John. .Menlieniot, Cornwall. Culver well, W. J...Durleigk Farm, Bridg- water. Damerkll, E. F...Collwell Farm, Egg Buck- land, Devon. East, J. T...The Limes, North End, East Ham, E. Egerton, T. F. . .Alverley Hall, Doncaster. Fraxklen, T. M...St. Hilary, Cowbridge, Glamorganshire. Gawex, C. R...Chetwynd Park, Newport, Salop. Geake, T. H. . .St. Germans Quay, Cornwall. Goodman, C. . . Faircrofts, Barking, Essex. e lxvi Monthly Council, April 2, 1890. Gregory, T. . .Tarboek, Prescot, Lancashire. Hambly, I*. . . Westcott, Callington, Cornwa'l. Harford, W. H. . . Oldown House, Almonds- bury. Hatherton, Lord..Teddesley, Penlcridge, Staffs. Hawke, G.. .Castlewich, Callington. Heaman, G. jun. . . Down Farm, Dolton, Devon. Hoff, H.. .Wormegay, King’s Lynn. Hooppell, W. W.. .Scobbiscombe, Kingston, Kingsbridge. Ivory, John. .Wilson’s, East Ham, E. Hangman, William. .Upton Park, E. Laverton, Arthur . . Bella Vista, Truro. Lillico, William. .Croydon. Macrae, J...The Oaks, Woodmansterne, Epsom. Manchester, J...St. John, New Brunswick, Canada. Mattison, Frank. .Lceming Bar, Yorks. Medforth, R. . .Bridlington, Yoi’ks. OuTWDf, H.. .The Parks, Hatfield, Doncaster. Ozaxne, H. M. .. Lily vale, Castel, Guernsey. Payne-Gallwey, A. P.. .Pilmoor, York. Phillips, Seth . . 157 Highbury New Park, N. Pole-Carew, Colonel B.. .Antony, Torpoint. Porter, John. .Ringmer, Lewes. Radford, C. H...West Axtown, Yelverton. RAWSON, P. H. ..Woodhurst, Crawley. Ref.d, W. H... Drumhead Iron Works, Laun- ceston*. Rickard, H.. .6 Old Town Street, Plymouth. Riding, E. J... College of Agriculture, Downton. Robinson, R. H. . .The Albert Works, Preston. Rogers, E. P. . . Burncoose, Perranarworthal. Roper, G. A.. .The Grove, Richmond, Yorks. Seaton, Lord. .Nutwell Court, Lympstone, Devon. Serpell, W. ..Gt. Kellow, Polperro, R.S.O., Cornwall. Simonds, John . . Etloe House, Leyton, Essex. Sparke, A. J.. .South Farm, Brixton, Devon. Spurway, Bryan P. . . Heathfield Rectory, Taunton. Tabor, C. A.. .Sutton Hall, Rocliford. Thompson, W... White Cross Grange, Wad- worth, Doncaster. Thomson, G. M. T. . . 25 Belgrave Crescent, Edinburgh. Thornton, J. . . 1 Park Street, Cirencester. Titt, J. W. ..Woodcock Iron Works, War- minster. Warner, T. C. T...Highams, Woodford Green. Watts, J. H. . . Home Farm, Denham, Bucks. Weston, T. W...Polbathic, Cornwall. Williams, A.. .39 Great Eastern Street, E.C. Wilson, H. C.. .46 Stanhope Gardens, W. Wroth, W. S.. .Court Barton, Bigbury, Kings- bridge. The reports of the several Com- mittees were then presented and adopted as below Finanoe. Sir Nigel Kingscote (Chairman) reported that the accounts for the month of March, as certified by the Society’s accountants, showed receipts amounting to 1 ,5067. 8s., and expen- diture 1,3757. 2s. 7 d. The balance at the bank on March 31, allow- ing for cheques outstanding, was 7,0647. 17s. 6 (l. Accounts amounting in all to 3,4937. Os. Id. had beeil passed, and were recommended for payment. The quarterly statement of subscriptions, arrears, and property had been submitted and approved. The Committee recommended that the names of thirty-eight deceased members, five who have resigned, and one in arrear, be struck off the Society’s books; and suggested that a conference of the officials of the Plymouth Meeting be convened by the President for Tuesday, May 6, to settle details connected with the management of the Show. Sir Nigel Kingscote added that the Finance Committee would be greatly obliged if members of Council and of the Society generally would acquaint the Secretary with the death of any members in their respective districts, as it was otherwise exceed- ingly difficult to obtain accurate in- formation of the deaths, changes of addresses, &c.,of members, especially of life members. House. Sir Nigel Kingscote (Chairman) presented the recommendations of the Committee as to the erection of a further book-case and various house repairs. Journal. Earl Cathcart (Chairman) re- ported that the first number of the new quarterly Journal was now published, and copies would be issued to mem- bers immediately. The question of the free list for the Journal had been again discussed, and directions given to the Editor thereon. The articles to appear in future numbers of the Journal had been preliminarily settled. Chemical. Viscount Emlyn (Chairman) re- ported that the proposed form of con- tract note for cakes [see page 192] had been again considered, and in- structions given for copies to be sent out to members with the current num- ber of the Journal. The Committee called special attention to a compound called Phosphate Fish Bone Guano, which was being sold at the price of 37. 10a. per ton delivered free. Three samples of this so-called manure had been forwarded by members of the Reports of Committees. Ixvii Society, and had been analysed, with the following results : ' — No. 1. No. 2. No. 3. Moisture 3-43 •94 2-95 “Organic matter . . 20-27 2-23 6-35 Phosphate of lime . 5-18 •95 1-53 Oxide of iron, alkalis, j magnesia, &c. j ■ 12-08 S-30 3-32 Sand 59-04 92-58 85-85 100-00 100-00 100-00 “Containing nitrogen 1-47 •29 •63 Equal to ammonia 1-78 •35 •76 At the Woburn Sub-Committee, letters had been read from the Board of Agriculture with reference to the experiments with Lathyrus sylvestris carried out last year at Woburn, and the Secretary had been instructed to inform the Board that it was pro- posed to continue these experiments. As to the request of the Board that the Society should nominate two or three gentlemen likely to conduct experi- ments on different soils, the Com- mittee thought it desirable that no steps should be taken with regard to this until the experiments should be further developed. The Sub-Committee recommended that for the present year the usual excursion to Woburn be discontinued, but that special arrangements be made for any gentlemen wishing to visit the experiments. The experi- ments on sheep-feeding would shortly be concluded, and arrangements made for the sale and slaughter of the sheep. Seeds and Plant Diseases. Mr. Whitehead (Chairman) stated that Miss Ormerod had reported that experiments would be made in the coming season in various fruit-pro- ducing districts, with remedies against the attack of the winter moth caterpillars. A letter having been received from Mr. Robert Garton ask- ing that the Society would undertake the supervision of his experiments for the improvement of cereals, the Committee recommended that the application be not complied with. Veterinary. Sir John Thoeold (Chairman) stated that Professor Brown had pre- sented the quarterly report ofthe Royal Veterinary College (see page 413), which was ordered to be published. 1 See also page 418. The Worshipful Company of Farriers had accepted (subject to one or two verbal changes) the provisions of the scheme for the examination and registration of farriers, as amended by the joint conference, and the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons had accepted the scheme except as regarded the phrase “ Farriers as Shoeing-smiths,” which they proposed should read “Farriers or Shoeing- smiths.” This alteration having been accepted by the Worshipful Company, the Committee recommended that it also receive the sanction of the Society. Professor Brown had presented his monthly report as follows : — Pleubo-pneumonia. — In Great Britain, in the four weeks ending March 22, there were twenty-four fresh outbreaks of this disease, sixteen in England, in the counties of Cumberland, Hants, Kent, Lan- caster, London, and Stafford ; the eight outbreaks in Scotland occurred in Edinburgh and Perth. The number of cattle attacked was 150, viz. 100 in England and fifty in Scotland ; while the number of healthy cattle slaughtered in contact was 200 in England and 237 in Scotland. In Ireland there were four fresh out- breaks of pleuro-pneumonia in the four weeks, all of them in the North and South Dublin Unions ; thirty-eight cattle were attacked, and 146 healthy ones in contact were slaughtered. Anthrax. — There were five out- breaks of this disease reported in England — in Lincoln (Kesteven), Sussex (west), York (East and West Riding). In Scotland, three out- breaks of anthrax occurred in Banff, Dumbarton, and Lanark. Altogether eighteen animals were attacked, eleven of which died. In Ireland there were two outbreaks of anthrax, and six animals at- tacked, three of which died, and three recovered. Swine Fevee. — In Great Britain there were 225 fresh outbreaks of swine fever, and 1.304 pigs at- tacked ; 673 diseased swine were killed, 516 died, 131 recovered, and 208" remained alive at the end of the week. In Ireland sixteen out- breaks occurred, and forty-three pigs were attacked. e 2 lxviii Monthly Council , April 2, 1890. Babies. — In England, eight cases of this disease were reported, all of them in dogs, in the counties of Hants, London, Middlesex, Notts, Sussex (west), and York (West Riding). In Ireland seven cases of rabies were reported in dogs in the counties of Carlow, Cork, Galway, Leitrim, Limerick, and Londonderry. Sir John Thokold added that in order to properly start the scheme for the registration of Farriers, some financial assistance on the part of the Society would no doubt be necessary, and he gave notice, therefore, that at the next meeting of the Council he would move for a grant for this purpose. Importation of American Store Cattle. Sir Jacob Wilson then rose and said : For some time past there has been a movement in Scotland and elsewhere to secure the importation of store cattle from the United States to be landed in this country without being subject to slaughter, and no doubt many members of the Council, like myself, have received letters advanciDg those views. More re- cently these opinions have found expression in two questions which have been put to the President of the Board of Agriculture in the House of Commons. It seems, therefore, abso- lutely necessary that the whole ques- tion should be very carefully consi- dered. More especially is this the case at the present moment, when, in conformity with the expressed opinions of this Society and the representatives of agriculturists all over the kingdom, the Government are about to take stringent measures for the eradication of pleuro-pneumonia. It certainly seems a most ill-advised act. to do anything which might tend to nullify the proposed action of the Govern- ment by exposing ourselves to the risk of introducing disease from abroad through a new channel. I cannot but think that if this Society were to assent to any such proposal, or were to abstain from entering a most decided protest against it, we should justly lay ourselves open to the charge of inconsistency by shut- ting one door from disease and open- ing another. It is of course well known, and the advocates of the importation of American stores have admitted it, that the Eastern States of America are so tainted with pleuro-pneumonia that importation from them cannot possibly be contemplated. This view is emphasised by the fact that two cargoes during the last week have been landed from America in which pleuro-pneumonia was found to exist. When, however, they change their ground and ask for the importation of cattle from the Western States, they are confronted by two difficulties, to my mind insuperable, for which they have never offered any solution. Firstly, they have not indicated any means by which the English Govern- ment can satisfy itself according to the Act as to which portions of the United States are free from pleuro- pneumonia, nor have they indicated in what way any precautions could be taken against the introduction of pleuro-pneumoniafrom infected States into those which may at the present moment be practically healthy. Se- condly, they have not, so far as I know, indicated any means by which animals from the Western States, as- suming they are free from disease, can be safely brought through the tainted districts in the East and shipped from the Atlantic ports. Even if animals could be safely transported across the Continent in “ bond,” it appears to me that it would be exceedingly difficult to prevent their communica- tion at the port of lading with animals from the diseased districts. I think it may be taken for granted that the difficulties attendant upon the importation of store cattle from the Western States of America through the Atlantic ports are so great, that it may, for the present at least, be dismissed from the region of practical politics. But there is another aspect of the question which is more specious in appearance, though to my mind more dangerous in its possible results. It has been suggested that animals might be brought into this country through the Southern States of America, more especially from Texas, which are very far distant from the regions affected with pleuro-pneumonia, and the cattle from which might be shipped to ports Importation of American Store Cattle. lxix upon the Gulf of Florida, such as Galveston, thus obviating any risk of coining into contact with pleuro- pneumonia. This proposal is specious, because at the present moment, so far as we know, Texas and the neigh- bouring States are free from pleuro- pneumonia; but I would point out that were animals allowed to come from Galveston, the result would inevitably be a considerable movement of stores from other districts to that favoured port, which might soon deprive Texas of its immunity from pleuro-pneu- monia. This danger is one which must necessarily always exist, be- cause, as is well known, the American Constitution does not admit of any State restrictions imposed by the Federal Government ; and it is always more than probable that there would not be that uniformity of action be- tween the States concerned which would be our only safeguard against the introduction of disease. More- over, there is the further danger to be considered, of the risk of intro- ducing the Texan fever into this country. Any one who has travelled in America must be aware what a terrible scourge that disease has been to the district where it has appeared, and I for one, and I am certain my colleagues on the Council as well, could not for a moment consent to any legislation which might lay this country open to its introduction. Passing from the question of dis- ease upon the other side of the Altantic, whence arises this inordi- nate demand upon this side for store stock? There are to my mind two prominent points connected with it. First of all, it is to a great extent local in its character. There is, of course, a general scarcity of stores through- out the country, but it is only in certain corn-growing districts where the demand has reached its present acute stage. Secondly, I believe it is of a temporary nature. If we examine into the causes of the pre- sent scarcity of stores, I think it will be found "to a very considerable extent to lie in the ravages which have been caused in recent years by cattle disease, and to the consequent discouragement which has been given to breeding. We are now happily free from foot-and-mouth disease, and I trust that the legislation now pro- posed may result in ridding us of pleuro-pueumonia. I am strongly of opinion that it will be better, even with some inconvenience, to await that result, than to endeavour to fill the gaps which have been caused by disease in our herds by exposing our- selves to the risk of other disease by admitting animals from the United States. For my own part, I do not believe that this demand for the importation of American stores is of a purely spontaneous or disinterested charac- ter. It is, on the one hand, urged by the Americans themselves, and it is upon this side of the water mainly advocated by gentlemen who, how- ever great their stake may be in this country, have considerable interests in the United States, which very naturally cause them to be anxious, if possible, to open up an export trade from that country to this. But, natural as this action is on the part of owners of American ranches, I am not myself prepared, nor do I believe that the agriculturists of this country are prepared, to run the risks which we are asked to do at the bidding of these gentlemen or for the promotion of the interests of the United States. I earnestly trust that this Society and other agricultural bodies throughout the country may make clearly known to Her Majesty’s Government the feelings of agriculturists generally upon this point, and may urge upon them the extreme danger of listening to proposals of this nature. I beg, therefore, to move the following resolution : — 1. That this Council has ob- served with alarm the renewal of proposals for the admission into this country of cattle from the United States without being sub- ject to slaughter, and, in view of the serious risk which would thus be incurred of introducing dis- ease, desires to enter an empha- tic protest against any present relaxation of the existing regula- tions. 2. That a copy of this resolu- tion be forwarded to the Board of Agriculture. The Earl of Feversham seconded the resolution, saying that, after lxs Monthly Council , April 2, 1890. the exhaustive speech of their friend Sir Jacob Wilson, he felt that very few words would be necessary from him. He cordially agreed with all that had been stated as to the danger of admitting store cattle from America, as was proposed. They had 'only to look at the report of the Veterinary Committee that day, and what did they find? One hundred and fifty cattle had been suffering from pleuro-pneumonia during the last four weeks, and had been slaughtered. Of healthy cattle in Great Britain there had been no less than 500 slaughtered. That was a very serious state of affairs, and he could not help thinking that the pro- posal against which they asked the Council to protest and object was one which would probably materially contribute to aggravate the state in which they found some of the herds in this country. The agricultural interest in the country had made great sacrifices to avert the introduc- tion of this disease from foreign countries. They could not do better than leave the matter in the hands of the Government, who had brought forward the bill to which Sir Jacob had alluded, and which had been carried last night in the House of Commons without a division. He thought this proposal was likely to strengthen their hands, and he had great pleasure in seconding the motion, feeling it would be both dangerous and impolitic to admit cattle from those ports of America to which reference had been made. The resolution was then put, and carried unanimously, and a copy ordered to be forwarded to the Board of Agriculture. The Earl of Ravensworth drew attention to the importance of in- cluding in Professor Brown’s monthly report the date of each occurrence of anthrax, stating that people were apt to say that such occurrence had happened a long time ago. If the date were inserted it would draw the attention of neighbouring counties to the outbreak, and to the necessity of taking the greatest possible pre- cautions at once, in order to prevent the spread of so fearful a disease as anthrax. Professor Brown having stated that there would be no difficulty in supplying the dates of each outbreak of anthrax, his Lordship formally moved, Sir John Thorold seconded, and it was resolved that the dates be given in future in the monthly reports. Stock Prizes. Mr. Sanday (Chairman) stated that the Committee had considered various points arising out of the prize sheet, and proposed to hold a special meeting on May 6 to discuss the whole question of the composition of the Society’s prize sheet and regula- tions. Judges’ Selection. Mr. Sanday (Chairman) reported that the list of nominations for Judges of stock at Plymouth was now complete. Implement. Mr. Frankish (Chairman) reported that the draft regulations for the trials of threshing machines at Don- caster had been discussed and settled, and the Committee recom- mended their adoption as follows, and also that the entries close on Friday, August 1, 1890, in order that preparations might be made for the supply of the necessary corn : — Doncaster Meeting, 1891 : Prizes for Threshing Machines. In connection with the Doncaster Meeting, a First Prize of 100?., a Second Prize of 50?., and a Third Prize of 25?., are offered for the best combined portable threshing and finishing machine, to be worked by steam, and adapted to the preparation of corn for market. (The width not to exceed 4 feet 8 inches inside the frame, and the width of drum not to exceed 4 feet 6 inches). Regulations. 1. The necessary arrangements for the supply of corn (wheat, barley and oats) for the trials will be made by the Society. 2. All machines for competition must be delivered at the depot of the trial-shed not less than ten days previous to the opening of the Show. 3. The threshing machines will be driven by a portable engine through a registeringdynamometer, p, •izes for Threshing Machines. lxxi both provided by the Society. The driving pulleys on the machines must be adapted to 1,884 feet per minute speed of driving belt. 4. Before starting work the competitor must declare the num- ber of attendants required. If he personally, or any other extra attendant not included in such declaration, shall render any actual assistance in working or adjusting the machine during the trial, the fact will be noted by the Judges. Each machine will be allowed fifty sheaves of wheat and fifty sheaves of barley for adjust- ment before the trial. 5. The order in which the several machines will be tested will be determined by the Stewards, who will decide by lot. 6. No competitor will be allowed to enter more than one machine for competition. 7. The points representing per- fection will be as under : — Clean threshing 30 Clean shaking 10 Cavings free from corn 5 Chaff free from com 6 Chaff free from cavings, seeds and dirt 5 •Straw unbroken 5 Corn uninjured 15 Cleanness of delivery from machines . 2 (i.e. absence of lodgment). •Perfection of finishing 5 (i.e. screening or sorting). Construction and convenience of working 6 Power in proportion to results ... 5 Economy of Attendance ..... 4 Price 2 Total 100 * In threshing the barley and oats, the points of straw unbroken will not be given, but will be added to the points allowed for perfection of finishing, making the number 10. 8. The sheaves to be threshed will be kept under cover. The stacks will be worked so as to give each machine as nearly as possible the same quality of work. The sheaves will be served out by weight to each machine. The straw resulting will be re-threshed, and the various products delivered by the machines, as well as the corn separated by the second threshing, will be carefully weighed and samples set apart for final comparison. 9. Means must be provided for examining the inside of the ma- chines as perfectly as possible, in order to ascertain how completely the various products are delivered. 10. Those machines which ap- pear to the Judges of sufficient merit, after preliminary trials with both wheat and barley, will be run for a final trial, of not less than one hour with wheat, one hour with barley, and half an hour with oats, in order to enable a more correct and satisfactory judgment of their merits to be arrived at. 11. For the exhibition of articles competing for the prizes for threshing machines, a sufficient amount of space will have to be taken by exhibitors under the ordi- nary regulations (to be issued later). 12. Notice of the place and date of the trials will be posted to every competitor as soon as they are fixed.1 General Plymouth. The Earl of Feveesham reported that Sir Massey Lopes — who was un- fortunately absent on account of domestic bereavement — had obtained the consent of the Bishop of Exeter to preach the sermon in the showyard on June 22. On the representation of the Mayor that Wednesday was the customary half-holiday at Ply- mouth, and that the appointment, of any other day for a public holiday would be inconvenient, the Committee resolved that the charge for admis- sion on that day should be one shil- ling, instead of half-a-crown as usual, and that the charge for both the grand stand and the stand at the dairy on that day should be one shilling. Arrangements had been made for the attendance of a detach- ment of the A Division of the Metro- politan Police at the Plymouth Meet- ing. The Committee had considered and approved the provisional pro- gramme, and left the final details for settlement by the Honorary Director and the Secretary. Showyard Works. Sir Jacob Wilson (Chairman) reported that the entrances and general offices at the Plymouth Show- 1 See also page lxxix for a further regulation added by the Council on May 17, lxxii Monthly Council, April 2, 1890.' yard had been erected, and 4,000 feet of implement shedding built; that the grand stand, dairy, and some re- freshment sheds were in hand ; and that the Local Committee were pull- ing down the wall fences inside the show-ground, and had made arrange- ments to lay the water services. A letter had been read from Sir W. Gilstrap as to luncheon accommoda- tion for Governors in the Showyard, and the Committee recommended that the same privileges in this respect be accorded to Governors as to Members of Council. The Committee recommended the acceptance of the following offers to provide appliances at the Plymouth Showyard free of charge : Messrs. Page, Keen, & Page, a clock for the turret at the entrance to the Show- yard; Messrs. John Bellamy & Co., water tanks ; Messrs. W. & T. Avery, a large weighbridge ; Mr. J. S. Inman, the building of the bandstand. Selection. The recommendations of this Com- mittee as to the vacancies on the Council having been read, Earl Cathcakt moved, Mr. Sanday seconded, and it was unanimously resolved, that Mr. Jos. P. Terry, of Berry Field, Aylesbury, nominated at the last meeting, be elected a Member of Council, to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Mr. Herbert J. Little. Earl Cathcabt said that, as the Council would be aware, a list of re- tiring Members of Council, with their attendances at the Committee and Council meetings, had to be prepared at that meeting in anticipation of the general meeting on May 22. Under bye-law 23 (J), Members who did not attend meetings of the Council at least twice in each year were disquali- fied from being re-elected, but the Council reserved to themselves the right of waiving that provision in favour of any one if they saw just cause to do so. There were two re- tiring Members of Council who had not attended the prescribed number of times during the last two years (the Earl of Jersey and Mr. Sheraton), and it was the opinion of himself and of his colleagues on the Selection Committee, that this bye-law should be waived in favour of Lord Jersey. His lordship had been in India, and since his return, as all in that room knew, had been very much indisposed. Lord Jersey had expressed a wish that no bye-law should be stretched in his behalf, but said that if the Council were disposed to apply the saving clause in his favour, he would be anxious to attend and do all that he could for the Society. Lord Jersey was a very valuable member of the Council, and therefore the Committee hoped that in his case the bye-law might be waived. A formal motion to this effect hav- ing been unanimously passed, Earl Cathcabt said that there would thus be two vacancies to fill up at the general meeting, one caused by the election of Mr. Chaplin as a vice- president, and the other by the retire- ment of Mr. Sheraton. Education. Mr. Dent (Chairman) reported that Mr. Foster had been added to the Committee to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Mr. Little. Copies of the new Education Code, and of a bill introduced by Mr. Jesse Collings and others for “industrial agricultural education in public ele- mentary schools,” had been laid upon the table. A total of seventeen can- didates had entered for the senior examination to take place next month, and the time table for the examina- tion had been settled. Dairy. The Hon. Cecil T. Pabkee (Chairman) reported that various details as to the Dairy and Produce Departments of the Plymouth Show had been discussed and settled. The show of old cheese in past years not having proved thoroughly satisfac- tory, the Committee did not suggest the offer of prizes for cheeses made in 1890 in connection with the country meeting at Doncaster in 1891. Hunter Stallion. Mr. Bowen-Jones reported that the District Committees for the ser- vices of the Society’s three stallions were now fully constituted, and that all the arrangements were complete. It was agreed to adjourn until the lxxiii Retiring Members of Council. June Council, unless occasion for summoning the Committee should arise before the end of April. Mr. Sanday had undertaken to settle with the Royal Commission on horse- breeding the proportion of the joint expenses at the Show payable by this Society. Retiring Members of Council. The annexed list was prepared of the Members of Council who re- tire by rotation, but are eligible for re-election, showing the number of attendances at Council and Com- mittee Meetings of each of such Members during the past two years, in accordance with Bye-law No. 23. Agricultural Congress at Vienna. The Sf.cbetary read a letter from the Commercial Department of the Imperial and Royal Austro-Hungarian Embassy in London, inviting the Society’s participation in an Inter- national Agricultural and Forestry Congress to be held next September in connection with the Vienna Inter- national Exhibition, and enclosing a programme of the subjects to be con- sidered. After some discussion, it was resolved, upon the motion of the Earl of Feveksham, seconded by Mr. Chandos - Pole - Gell, that the Society be officially represented at this Congress by the Secretary, if his engagements at the time permit, and also by any Member of the Council who may desire to attend. Country Meeting of 1891. On the motion of Sir Jacob Wilson, seconded by Mr. Sanday, the seal of the Society was authorised to be affixed, with the formalities Attendances at Meetings of Council and Committees from April 1888 to March 1890 inclusive Council Meetings. Total number, 19 Committees No. of Meetings Attendances Arkwright, J. H. . . . 10 98 43 Clay, Charles .... 13 60 36 Emlyn, Viscount . . 16 92 47 Foster, S. P 11 65 25 Frankish, William . . 19 137 109 Grenville, B. Neville . 6 61 8 Hornsby, J. (elected ) December 12, 1888) . J Jersey, Earl of . . . 2 26 1 Muntz, P. Albert, M.P. . 9 30 8 Pidgeon,Daniel(elected 1 g June 5, 1889) . . . J Portland, Duke of j (elected April 11, [■ 3 9 — 1888) j Ransome, James E. . . 16 36 16 Rawlence, James . . 10 10 — Sanday, George Henry 18 147 128 Smith, Henry (elected) March 6, 1889) . . . J Spearman, Sir J. L. E., j Bart, (elected March [■ 7 11 4 6, 1889) ) Stafford, Marquis of . 7 10 — Stratton, Richard . . 6 92 33 Sutton, Martin J. . . 12 68 29 Tavistock, Marquis of | (elected June 5, 1889) ) Tremayne, J. (elected) March 6, 1889) . . . f Warren, R. A 17 43 32 Wheeler, E. Vincent V. ) (elected March 6, j 8 8 2 1889) j prescribed by the Charter and bye- laws, to an agreement with the Cor- poration of Doncaster for the holding at that town of the Society’s country meeting of 1891. Date of Next Meeting. Other business having been trans- acted, the Council adjourned until Wednesday, May 7. lxxiv Monthly Council , May 7, 1890, WEDNESDAY, MAY 1, 1890. LORD MORETON (PRESIDENT) IN THE CHAIR. Present : Trustees. — General Viscount Brid- port, K.C.B., Earl Cathcart, Mr. J. Dent Dent, Sir Nigel Kingscote, K.C.B., Sir A. K. Macdonald, Bart., Sir M. W. Ridley, Bart., M.P. Vice-Presidents. — Right Hon. Sir Massey Lopes, Bart., Earl of Ravens- worth, Sir John Thorold, Bart., Mr. C. Whitehead. Other Mem bers of Council. — Mr. G. M. Allender, Mr. J. H. Arkwright, Mr. Alfred Ashworth, Mr. J. Bowen-Jones, Mr. J. A. Caird, Mr. Chandos-Pole-Gell, Mr. Charles Clay, Earl of Coventry, Mr. Percy Crutchley, Mr. Alfred Darby, Mr. C. de L. F. De Laune, Viscount Emlyn, Mr. William Frankish, Mr. Hugh Gorringe, Mr. Anthony Hamond, Mr. James Hornsby, Earl of Jersey, Mr. C. S. Mainwaring, Mr. T. H. Miller, Mr. P. A. Muntz, M.P., Hon. Cecil T. Parker, Mr. Albert Pell, Mr. Daniel Pidgeon, Mr. J. E. Ransome, Mr. G. H. Sanday, Mr. W. T. Scarth, Mr. A. J. Smith, Mr. Henry Smith, Sir Joseph Spearman, Bart., Mr. Richard Strat- ton, Mr. Garrett Taylor, Mr. Jos. P. Terry, Mr. John Tremayne, Mr. R. A. Warren, Mr. E. V. V. Wheeler, Mr. C. W. Wilson, Sir Jacob Wilson. Professor Brown, C.B. Officers. — Mr. Ernest Clarke, Sec- retary and Editor Professor James B. Simonds, Consulting Veterinary Surgeon ; Mr. E. W. Voelcker, Acting Consulting Chemist. The following members of the Plymouth Local Committee were also present : The Earl of Mount Edg- cumbe, Mr. Edward St. Aubyn, and Mr. R. B. Johns, Secretary of the Local Committee. Sir Nigel Kingscote said that he was requested by His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales to express his re- gret at being unable to attend the meeting of the Council that day,asthe opening of the Military Exhibition, fit which he had promised to preside, was fixed for the same hour as the Council meeting. A letter had been received from His Royal Highness Prince Christian, who had been present at the Stock Prizes Com- mittee on the previous day, express- ing regret at the necessity of his absence owing to the same cause. Election of Governors and Members. The minutes of the Council held on April 2 last having been read and confirmed, the election of the follow- ing five Governors and ninety Mem- bers was proceeded with : — Governors. Allender, G. M.. .Stammerham, Horsham. Amherst, W. A. Tyssen, M.P.. .Didlington Hall, Brandon. Ashburton, Lord. .The Grange, Alresford. Stapylton, Major H. M...Myton Hall, Helperby, Yorks. Swinburne, Sir John, Bart., M.P.. .Capheaton, Newcastle-on-Tyne. New Members. Anderson, W. ..New House, Kenilworth. Ash, W. H. B.. .The Manor Farm, Ringmore, Devon. Asiiby, W. R.. .Moor Farm, Lingfield, Surrey. Avery, W. B. . . 39 Wellington Rd., Edgbaston. Balfour, Rt. Hon. A. J., M.P.. .Whitting- hame, Prestonkirk, N.B. Barker, T.. .Elm House, Northallerton. Barrett, Thomas L. . . Peterborough. Batten, E. . . Coldrenick, Menheniot, Cornwall. Beaumont, W. W.. .Melford, Palace Rd., Tulse Hill, S.W. Blackshaw, J... Holly Bank Farm, Marton, Chelford, Cheshire. Blake, George. .Wellfield, Llanelly. Blake, P.. .Tideford, St. Germans, Cornwall. Blake, T. V.. .Pound, Lanclrake, St. Germans. Bond, P. G. . . 105 Union Street, Plymouth. Bower, T.. .Park Road, Nantwioh. Bowyer, E. W...High Legli, Knutsford. Bradshaw, F.. .Lifton Park, Litton, Devon. Bradshaw, G. B. . . Lifton Park, Lifton, Devon. Britten, F. . . Shermanbury Grange, Henficld, Sussex. Brook, A. J. . . Brook Lodge, Bexliill, Hastiugs. Brown, George. .Bingham, Notts. Brunton, S.. .Frogmore House, St. Albans. Carlton, T. W. . . 90 Canfield Gardens, N.W. Cartwright, T. W...Raguall Hall, Dunliam- on-Trent. Chichester, W. H.. .Grenofen, Tavistock. Climenson, H. J. Montagu . . Shiplake, Henley. oa-Thames, Election of Governors and Members. lxxv Co ad, J. . .Trcleage, St. Kevernc, Cornwall. Coad, N.. .Pengelly, Linkenhorne, Callington. Congdon, J.. .St. Keyne, E.S.O., Liskeard. Conudon, J. E.. .East Love, R.S.O., Cornwall. Cooke, J. \V. . . Hirdrefaig, Llangefni, Anglesey. Davenport, W. Bromley, M.P. . . Capestliorne, Chelford, Cheshire. Divett, J. R.. .Tavistock, Devon. Edwards, W. T. A.. .(Port Louis, Mauritius), R. A. College, Cirencester. Evans, VV. P.. .Caldwell, near Nuneaton. Firth, F, H. . . Cator Court, Ashburton. Fitzgerald, Lieut. R. P., R.N... North Hall, Basingstoke. Fox, T. H. . . Oak House, Farnborough. Fox, W. St. John. .Beeehwood, Farnborough. Geake, T. H.. . 12 Sussex Place, Plymouth. GOTnoup, G.. .Clapham Lodge, Londonderry, Bedale. Ham ar, R. . . Brampton, Aston-on-Clun, Salop. Hannakord, P.. .Plymouth. Harris, A... The Cedars, Leighton Buzzard. Heatley, J. . . The Chestnuts, Eaton, Market Drayton. Hendy, James. .Probus, Cornwall. Hill, J. H.. .Newtake, Staverton, Totnes. Hodgson, B. J.. .Spennithorne, near Bedale. Horn, C.. .Blowisconibe, Yelverton, R.S.O., Devon. Howey, Major J. E. W... The Grange, Wood- bridge. James, W.. .Barteliver, Grampound Road, Cornwall. Kexmarb, Earl of. .Killarney Ho., co. Kerry'. Langton, Charles. .Barkliill, Liverpool. Lotes, Eight Hon. Lord Justice. .8 Cromwell Place, S.W. Luscombe, W...Hall Farm, Harford, Ivy- bridge. Matthews, F.. .Fifield, Chipping Norton. Nesbitt, E. J. Beaumont. .Tubberdaly, Eden- derry. King’s Co. Newton, M. H.. .Castle Freke, Clonakilty, co. Cork. Paige, R. E. Treboul . . St. Germans, Cornwall. Parker, R...Tredise, Sheviock, Cornwall. Pennant, A: D.. .Lillingstone Dayrell, Bucks. Perkin, J. . . Ottery, Tavistock. Perry, J. D.. .Tavistock. Pitt, W., jun.. .Trevelmond, Liskeard. Powell, Miss C. M.. .Maesgwynne, Whitland, Carmarthen. Pybijs, H...Hook House, Kirkby Fleetham, Bedale. Radnor, Countess of.. Longford Castle, Salis- bury. Roberts, J. Rice. .Tanygraig, Pentraeth, Anglesey. Robinson, C.. .Tollesby Farm, Middlesbrough. Rogers, Capt., J.P...renrose, Helston, Corn- wall. Rugo, T. S.. .Corton, Upton Lovell, Bath. St. Aub yn, Edward . . Glynn, Bodmin. Smith, E...Thorpeflelds, Thirsk. Smith, G. A... The Place, Haverhill. Snell, W. B.. .North Wayton, Halt, Cornwall. Stevens, Thomas . . Kingston-on-Thames. Sugden, F. L. . . Lea End, Alvechurch. Theakston, T.. .Masham, R.S.O., Yorks. Thody, W. J.. .Hatfield, Herts. Threlfai.l, C.. .Hartford, Cheshire. Tuuningen, U. B. . .R. A. College, Cirencester. Tryon, Mrs.. .Bulwick Hall, Wansford. Tucker, E.. .Molenick, St. Germans, Cornwall. Watson, J...Wentbridge Lodge, Pontefract. Wilkinson, G. G.. .Leicester House, Great Dover Street, S.E. Willett, Rev. F...Bedalls, Lipdfield, Sussex. Williams, A.. .The Gulf, Dagenham, Essex. Woods, M. H.. .Ote Hall, Wivelsficld, Sussex. Wright, E.. .31 Victoria Park Road, E. Wright, Dr. E. P.. .Trinity College, Dublin. Nominations of New Members. Sir Nigel Kingscote said lie desired, with the Council’s permis- sion, to anticipate his usual annual motion with regard to the admission to the privileges of membership of new candidates for election. As the Show was now held earlier in the year, it was found advantageous that the subscriptions of new members should be paid as early as possible before the transference of the Society’s offices to the showyard. He moved, therefore “ That the Secretary be authorised to receive nominations of members, and to admit them to the privileges of membership for the Plymouth Show, on condition that they sign the usual contract and pay their sub- scription for the current year.” This motion was adopted. The reports of the several Com- mittees were then presented and adopted, as below : — Finance. Sir Nigel Kingscote (Chairman) reported that the accounts for the month of April, as certified by the Society’s accountants, showed total, receipts amounting to 3,715 1. Os. Id., and an expenditure amounting to 3,500 1. 12s. 5 d. The balance at Bank on April 30, allowing for cheques outstanding, was 7,279 1. 5s. 2d. Ac- counts amounting to 3,501Z. 14s. 11 d. had been passed, and were recom- mended for payment. The Committee recommended that the names of thirty -eight life and thirty-two annual members whose deaths had been re- ported to the Society, of twenty mem- bers who had resigned, of seven whose addresses could not be found, and of fourteen in arrears be struck off the Society’s books. Also that one mem- ber whose address had been found be reinstated. The Committee recommended that a reprint be made of the alphabetical list of Governors and Members as at the completion of the Society’s fiftieth year of corporate existence (March 26 last), the copies already printed hay- lxxvi Monthly Council , May 7, 1890. ing been exhausted, and there being already a considerable number of applications from members for copies, which could not be complied with. The Committee suggested that oppor- tunity be taken of printing in this list a statement of the Presidents, Trustees, Vice-Presidents, and Mem- bers of Council of the Society since its establishment. Combination Picture of the Council. Sir Nigel Kingscote remarked that the Combination Picture of the Council and Officers of the Society at the Windsor Show of 1889, which included portraits of Her Majesty the Queen and the Prince of Wales, was now completed, and copies would be available immediately on application to the photographer, Mr. Barraud, of 263 Oxford Street. The ordinary size of the picture would cost a guinea, or, framed, 1Z. 15s. ; but a larger size would also be published, the price of which would be five guineas. Journal. Earl Cathcart (Chairman) re- ported that the Editor had submitted a list of the proposed articles and notes for the forthcoming number of the Journal, which had been approved. Mr. Whitehead’s revised edition of his pamphlet, Hints on Vegetable and Fruit Growing, had now been issued from the press as a sixpenny pam- phlet. The purchase for the library of Messrs. Macmillan’s new Library Keference Atlas of the World had been authorised. Various suggestions for articles in future numbers of the Journal had been considered, and directions thereon given to the Editor. Chemical. Viscount Emlyn (Chairman) pre- sented the report of the Committee, which included details of the experi- ments on the feeding of bullocks and sheep at Woburn, and on the sale of the animals. These results will be pub- lished in the Journal [see page 399]. Seeds and Plant Diseases. Mr. Whitehead (Chairman) pre- sented a report by Miss Ormerod, the Society's Consulting Entomologist [which is embodied in the paper pub- lished on page 407.] Mr. Whitehead, in reference to Miss Ormerod’s very interesting re- port, containing an account of the caterpillars which were now devas- tating the fruit-trees of this country, said it was very difficult to find effec- tual remedies against these pests. The Agricultural Department in Ame- rica, where these caterpillars were very troublesome, recommended the use of arsenite of copper. Miss Ormerod reported that the Experi- ment Committee, lately formed at Evesham, had decided to recommend the use of this arsenical poison in the form of Paris green or London purple. Under the supervision of that Com- mittee these two deadly poisons had been tried on fruit-trees with, so far, signally good effect. Of course it was highly dangerous for the poisons to be scattered broadcast all over the country, and oDe could not advise too much caution in their use. With re- gard to the Paris green, the propor- tion which should be used was one ounce of the poison to twenty gallons of water for apple-trees, and one ounce to eight or ten gallons of water for plum-trees. One pound was supposed to be enough for from 140 to 280 gallons of water. Experiments had been made with London purple in the fruit plantations of Kent. In one instance the solution had been too strong, and it had not only killed the caterpillars, but had scorched up the trees. This showed how very careful they should be. At the same time a fair and proper trial of these poisons might avert a plague of caterpillars. They had had for the last three years caterpillars innumerable, and if not checked by some means they would have a very disastrous effect. Mr. Hamond having raised the question of the effect of the poisons upon the birds which live upon the caterpillars, and the Earl of Kavens- WORTH of their employment upon trees under which animals might be feeding, Mr. Whitehead replied that with regard to the birds the caterpillars were so very small and so embedded that the birds were hardly able to get at them. There was not the least danger of the birds being affected in that way, at all events in the early stages. With regard to the question lxxvii Caterpillars on Fruit Trees. of the noble Lord, instructions had been issued by the Board of Agricul- ture that it would not be safe to use the poisons on trees under which was pasture. Mr. Dent asked whether this cater- pillar was the same as that which in- fested the oaks, and remarked that if people were not so fond of catching all the tits, bullfinches, &c., these pests would not be so numerous. It was to the brutality of gardeners in slaughtering every bird they could that the great increase of insects was to a large extent due. Mr. Whitehead answered that the caterpillar referred to was not of the same species. Its habits were somewhat, but not exactly, similar. As to the slaughter of birds, that had caused to some extent the increase of these caterpillars ; but it would re- quire all the birds in the world to deal with the enormous swarms of caterpillars which had been infesting fruit-trees for years. The Earl of Ravensworth asked whether any careful investigation had been made into the outbreaks of these caterpillars ; whether early frosts had any effect upon them; and whether there were any data in regard to them. Mr. Whitehead replied that there were swarms of these caterpillars about fifteen or sixteen years ago. They then ceased for some years. The last three or four years they had again increased, and seemed likely to stay longer. Early frosts had little or no effect upon the swarms of grubs. The action of frost might make the food less palatable to the caterpillars, but no experiments had been tried on this point. They had just the same trouble in America, where caterpillar and insect pests had increased won- derfully within the last few years. If the Americans had not adopted these poisonous solutions to kill the various insects, they really would have had no crops at all. Veterinary. Sir John Thorold (Chairman) presented the following report by Professor Brown : — Pleuro - Pneumonia. — During the five weeks ended April 26, there were thirty-two fresh out- breaks of this disease reported in Great Britain, 111 cattle were at- tacked, and 436 healthy ones which had been exposed to infection were slaughtered. Of these outbreaks, twenty-three occurred in England, in the counties of Cumberland, Durham, Essex, Lancaster, Leices- ter, London, Middlesex, Norfolk, Notts, Surrey, and York (W.R.). The nine outbreaks in Scotland were in the counties of Aberdeen, Edinburgh, and Forfar. Of the 111 cattle attacked, sixty-nine were in England and forty-two in Scotland, while 315 of the healthy cattle slaughtered were in England and 121 in Scotland. In Ireland, thirteen fresh out- breaks of pleuro-pneumonia were reported in the five weeks ; thirty- eight cattle were attacked and 266 healthy ones in contact with them were slaughtered. These outbreaks occurred in North and South Dub- lin and Rathdown. Anthrax. — There were ten out- breaks of this disease reported and thirteen animals attacked. These outbreaks occurred in the following districts and on the following dates : — St. Martin’s, Stamford, in the Soke of Peterborough, March 27 ; Bishop Auckland, Durham, and Selby, York (W. R.), both on March 29; Leeds, York (W.R.), April 2; Harby, near Leicester, April 3 ; Hillfield, Dorset, April 6 ; Portsoy, Banffshire, Scotland, April 7 ; Otford, Sevenoaks, Kent, April 12 ; Bickenhill, near Bir- mingham, April 19 ; and St. Leonards, East Sussex, April 22. In Ireland there were no cases of anthrax reported during the five weeks. Swine Fever. — There were 334 fresh outbreaks of swine fever re- ported in the five weeks; 1,920 were attacked, 844 diseased pigs were killed, 787 died, 137 recovered, and 297 remained alive on April 26. In Ireland thirty fresh outbreaks of swine fever were reported, and ninety-four pigs were attacked. Rabies. — In England eleven cases of this disease in dogs were reported in the five weeks; they occurred in Essex, Hants, London, Middlesex, East Sussex, and York lxxviii Monthly Council , May 7, 1890 (W.R.). In Ireland twenty-nine cases of rabies were returned — twenty-three dogs, five cattle, and one ass. Professor Brown had also reported the appointment of Mr. P. D. Coghill, of the Laboratory of the Royal Col- lege of Physicians, Edinburgh, as Superintendent of the Bacteriological Laboratory and Curator of the Museum which bad recently been established at the Royal Veterinary College by the aid of the Society. The Committee recommended that a grant of 50 Z. per annum for three years be made by the Society towards carrying out the objects of the scheme for the examination and registration of Farriers, subject to the condition that the whole guarantee fund of 200Z. mentioned in the report of the sub-committee be raised. They also recommended the appointment of Mr. A. W. Mason, of Leeds, as an additional provincial veterinary sur- geon for the West Riding of York- ' shire. On the motion of Sir John Thorold, seconded by Mr. Clay, the grant of 50Z. in aid of the Horse Shoeing scheme was agreed to as re- commended by the Committee. Stock Prizes. Mr. Sanday (Chairman) reported that the Committee had had under consideration a number of letters as to the eligibility of exhibits of cattle, and had given directions thereon. A letter had been received from the Shorthorn Society stating that the champion prizes offered by that Society for competition at the Ply- mouth Show were to be subject to the rules and regulations of the Royal Agricultural Society; and that the Shorthorn Council were of opinion that all the prize animals in each class should be judged for the cham- pion prizes offered by them. The Committee had considered and dis- cussed the whole question of the composition of the Society’s annual prize sheet for live stock, and had made some progress therewith. They proposed to continue the considera- tion of this matter at their next meet- ing on June 3. Judges’ Selection. Mr. Sanday (Chairman) presented the recommendations of the Com- mittee as to filling the only remain- ing vacancies on the list of Judges for the Plymouth Meeting. Implement. Mr. Frankish (Chairman) re- ported that the Allotment Committee had met on April 16, and had allotted the positions in the Imple- ment Department. The amount of shedding allotted was : ordinary shedding, 6,117 feet; special shed- ding, 1,670 feet ; machinery in motion, 1,291 feet = 9,078 feet run, exclusive of open ground space. The Com- mittee recommended that the judging of the implements competing for the Society’s prizes at Plymouth com- mence at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, June 17, and of the new implements competing for the silver medals on Thursday, June 19. The regulations of the trials of threshing machines at Doncaster, as settled at the last meet- ing, had been issued to exhibitors and others interested. The following letter, which had been addressed to a limited company of which he (Mr. Frankish) was the Chairman, had been read by him to the Committee ; and on the motion of the Hon. Cecil Parker, seconded by Lord Bridport, it had been resolved that the letter be entered upon the minutes and pub- lished in the Proceedings of Council ; and that the thanks of the Committee be given to the Chairman for bring- ing the matter forward : — Agricultural Engineers’ Association, 19a, Coleman Street, London, April 25, 1890. Doncaster Show 1891. Dear Sirs, — At a Council meet- ing held this afternoon of the above Association, the question of the prizes offered by the Royal Agri- cultural Society for threshing machines at the above Show was considered. At the meeting there were present : — Mr. Ruston, Mr. Clench, Mr. Marshall, Mr. Ran- some, Mr. Hornsby; and it was agreed amongst them conditionally that, provided other makers would not compete, they would abstain from doing so. It was also thought lxxix Trials bf Threshing Machines al Doncaster. desirable that circulars should he sent bearing the names of those who were conditionally binding themselves not to exhibit, to the whole of the makers of threshing machines, and seeing you were not present or represented, I was directed to write and ask for sanc- tion to place your name on the circular. Kindly let me have your assent to my so doing and oblige, — Yours truly, (Signed) Cooper Corbidge, Secretary. Messrs. Foster Sc Sons, Lincoln. A letter dated March 31 from Mr. Itansome to the Secretary, drawing his attention to an extract from the Engineer of March 28 as to the pro- posed prizes for threshing machines at Doncaster had been read and dis- cussed, and it had been moved by Mr. Stratton, seconded by the Hon. Cecil Parker, and resolved, that the following regulation be added to the conditions of trial : — Should the Judges find any num- ber of exhibits to be of practically equal merit, they are empowered to bracket them as equal, and so divide the prize money. In presenting this report, Mr. Franktsh said that as soon as he received the letter which he had read he felt at once the great import- ance of it. He saw that whatever efforts the Society might make, in order to have a good competition, would be thwarted by the action of the Agricultural Engineers’ Associa- tion, and he thought it his duty, as Chairman of the Society’s Implement Committee, to bring the matter for- ward for their consideration : and he was sure he was very sorry to have to do so. Firstly, it was necessary for the public to know that if there was a failure in the threshing machine trials at Doncaster, it did not rest with the Society. (Hear, hear.) Secondly, if these great manufac- turers did not enter, it might induce many ordinary makers to enter on the chance of gaining a prize. Thirdly, it had been necessary to con- sider whether, in the face of this opposition, the prizes should be with- drawn ; but this idea the Committee did not entertain. He might mention that although Mr. Ruston’s name was amongst those in the letter, his firm had already made an entry for the prizes. Mr. Ransome said that before the report of the Implement Committee was adopted he would like to make a few remarks. When the question of offering prizes for the ensuing meet- ing at Doncaster came before the Implement Committee, and the ques- tion was raised as to the class of machines for which such prizes should be given, it was suggested that steam threshing machines, amongst others, should be tried. Personally he was of opinion that there was no satisfac- tory reason at all why the Society should not have a trial of threshing machines at the Doncaster Meeting. He, therefore, offered no opposition to it, but, on the contrary, at that time he personally expected his own firm would compete, and he had every reason to suppose that, with the large sum of money offered for the prizes, and with suitable conditions, there would be a good competition. He, therefore, rendered all the assist- ance he could to make the trials when they came off as perfectly com- plete as possible, and he took rather active steps on the Implement Com- mittee in connection therewith. However, when the prizes were made known, and when they came before the manufacturers of steam threshing machinery, he found that there was a very strong feeling that it would not answer their purpose to compete for these prizes. The reason was this : Most large makers had had their machines tested in every county in England, Ireland, and Scotland, in all parts of the world, on thousands of farms with millions of acres of grain, and they had established their position as first-class makers with a great deal of trouble, exertion, and expense. So to compete for a prize, however important it might be, offered by the Royal Agricultural Society, and however anxious they might be to obtain it, they had to consider that out of twenty competi- tors only one could be placed at the top of the tree, and nineteen must be placed as inferior. That was a very lxxx Monthly Council, May 7, 1890. important question for manufacturers to consider, and when it came before the manufacturers of these machines they saw that it would not answer their purpose to compete for the prizes. With regard to the letter which had been brought before them, he was not aware until yesterday that the Chairman of their Implement Committee was a Director and Chair- man of one of the large engineering firms, as a member of which the letter had been addressed to him. That letter he (Mr. Ransome) con- sidered a perfectly private communi- cation. Mr. Frankish had thought it his duty to bring it before them, and he had nothing further to say, but he should not feel that he did his duty if he did not protest against this letter being made public. Occupying the position of Chairman of the Company, Mr. Frankish knew that his firm, or rather some of the members of it, were members of the Associa- tion. As the Society had a perfeot right to issue prizes without consult- ing the Engineers’ Association, so the Engineers’ Association had a perfect right to decide whether they should compete or not. Mr. Ruston’s name was in the letter, and the entry which Mr. Frankish had alluded to was made informally, and, he believed, without Mr. Ruston’s own knowledge. Under these circumstances, he thought the Agricultural Engineers were quite justified in consulting one another as to whether they should enter into this competition or not. The Society had been perfectly fair to meet them in having published the conditions, and they had this time certainly consulted the makers as to what the points of excellence should be. Whether these firms competed or not there would certainly be some firms enter for the competition, and the conditions should be as perfect as possible. Mr. Frankish said the letter was not marked private in any way, and even if it had been, he considered it his duty to the Society in some way or other to expose what was going on. Mr. Dent, as one of the oldest members of the Council, as having taken considerable interest in the trials of implements, and remember- ing the line which had been taken before by his late friend Sir Harry Thompson, wished to express, as an individual, his gratitude to Mr. Frankish for his action in the matter. (Hear, hear.) He was a warm ad- vocate of an extensive and an ex- haustive trial by this Society of agricultural implements. The whole action of the Society in giving prizes, and the constant competition in its showyard trial-fields, had done an enormous amount of good in the promotion of improved agricultural machinery. He did not agree with their late friend, Mr. Randell, that the heavy expense in connection with the steam cultivator trials was a proper reason for giving them up. They had recently heard from the Agricultural Press, and he believed from the Association of Agricultural Engineers, how very much this Society was neglecting its duty in not doing as much as it could to promote the prosperity of implements. They had seen the former trials of the Society justly contrasted with the very little encouragement given of late to agri- cultural machinery. They did nothing now but give a few medals to new implements, many of which did not appear to be of very much worth. When he saw these liberal prizes given for that most important imple- ment, the steam threshing machine, he hoped they were now coming back to the better practice of old times. He had lately read an account of a large maltster offering prizes for barley which was the least injured for the purposes of malting. They wanted to see whether it was care- lessness in working, or whether im- proved machinery was required to turn out English barley better than any other barley in the world. Just when they were going to do some- thing of the kind, they had brought forward a letter that was called a private letter, and which seemed an attempt on the part of agricultural implement firms to boycott the Society. By no means let the Society give up the idea of giving the prizes. If those gentlemen did not like to try, let them stand out in the cold, and see if there were not as good men behind them. They did not want to get into hot water with the Engineers’ Reports of Committees-. Ixxxi Association — they had been on the point of doing that on several occa- sions— but he did think that, as the Council were trying to do their best for the agricultural engineers’ own business, they ought to stand very firm in the matter. Mr. Hornsby wished to state that he had endeavoured to act for the good of the agricultural engineers and of the Society. He thought with Mr. Ransome that, if prizes were offered, it would decidedly be better to have, in the best way possible, a schedule of the prizes that were offered. He thought it might be considered that they, as members of the Committee, were in a position to arrange the prize sheet for the ad- vantage of themselves. He therefore asked the Implement Committee to permit him, before this schedule was published, to bring it before the Agricultural Engineers’ Association. In doing this, he did not know but that the members of the Association and the threshing machine makers would compete ; and if some of them had decided not to compete, he could only say, as regards his firm, that, commercially, it would not pay them to compete for these prizes. In these times, those that were connected at all with commercial matters knew the depressed state of things, and they could not afford to expend money without they saw, as they considered, some future advantage in it. He was sure the agricultural engineers would thank the Society for the manner in which they had put forward their prizes. Viscount Emlyn said he must refer to one point which seemed to have escaped attention. No one objected to any firm keeping out of the competition of its own accord, but many of the Council felt strongly that it was hardly fair to the Society that two members of the Implement Committee should have joined with other persons in endeavouring to induce certain firms to abstain from competing at the forthcoming trials. The report of the Committee was then adopted, and the subject dropped. General Plymouth. Sir Matthew Ridley reported that the band of the Royal Marines VOL. I. T. S. — 2 had been engaged to play three times a day during the last four days of the Show. The question of the Sunday Service had been discussed, and the Committee recommended that the details be left in the hands of the Rector of Stoke Damerel for settle- ment. Applications from the Hunters’ Improvement Society, the Shorthorn Society, and the Shropshire Sheep- breeders’ Society for permission to hold meetings in the Plymouth showyard were granted on the usual conditions. The Secretary had been authorised to issue to the Local Committee free season tickets for subscribers of 21. 2s. and upwards to the Local Fund. Showyard Works. Sir Jacob Wilson (Chairman) reported that the whole of the im- plement shedding and about 1,700 feet of cattle shedding at the Plymouth showyard were completed, and that 200 horse boxes were built. The grand stand, pavilions, refreshment rooms, and dairy were all in a forward state, and the local committee were laying on the water and making the roads to the entrances. The Gas Company had commenced laying the gas main to the trial yard. The Surveyor’s monthly cash statement showed an expenditure of 373 1. Is. 3d., and accounts to be paid for materials amounting to 1 ,343Z. 12s. Id. The Committee recommended that Mr. J. B. Body be appointed auctioneer for the sale of timber after the Show. Selection. Earl Cathcart (Chairman) re- ported that the essential business of the Committee held yesterday had been to consider the name to be sub- mitted to the general meeting on May 22 next as President of the Society for the year 1891. They had had a very unusually large meeting of the Committee, and they were unanimous in their decision. He considered him- self fortunate to be the voice of the Committee on this occasion, and he had special pleasure in naming Lord Ravensworth. The Earl of Ravensworth, who was received with cheers, said he thought it was due to the Council that he should say one or two words in recognition of the very high and the f lxxxii Monthly Council , May 7, 1890. very undeserved honour they had paid him in nominating him President for next year. He always liked to speak out on these occasions, and he felt that he was truly undeserving of this honour, for, in the first place, he was not to compare with many others who might have aspired to the chair. There were two feelings which weighed very much upon his mind. In conse- quence of the long Parliamentary career which he had had, and perhaps latterly owing to a little of the lazi- ness which attached itself to growing years, he had not worked on that Council so much as might have been expected under other circumstances. Then, he felt that there were many others who had done vastly more work, and whom natural ambition might have induced to offer themselves or to have been considered as candi- dates for this post. He was afraid he had neither the ability nor the prac- tice necessary to conduct with honour or credit the transaction of the business of such a Society. His chief qualification was his seniority, and this he could not help. In the time to come he would have the opportunity of making up a little lee- way, and he might be able, and he certainly in- tended to try — to show the Society how greatly he was interested in it ; and he should endeavour to conduct himself in such a manner as to main- tain that high standard of dignity to which the Society had attained under previous Presidents. Feeling so very strongly as he did, and having the greatest aversion to be brought into a prominent position, he yet accepted with gratitude the honour proposed to be conferred upon him ; though he felt himself very unworthy to fill the high office of President of their great Society. (Cheers.) Vacancies on the Council. The Secretary reported that for the two vacancies on the Council, to be filled up at the general meeting on May 22 next, the three following gentlemen had been nominated : — Lord Brougham and Vaux, Brougham Hall, Penrith. Proposed by Mr. S. P. Foster. Seconded by Sir Jacob Wilson. Mr. Joseph Beach, The Hattons, W olverhampton. Proposed by Mr. J. Bo wen- Jones Seconded by Sir J. Spearman, Bart. Mr. E. J. Beale, Stoneydeep House, Teddington Grove. Proposed by Mr. John King. Seconded by Mr. T. B. Lennard and Mr. Edward Prentis. Date of Country Meeting. The Secretary read a letter from the Koval Counties Agricultural Society enclosing the following reso- lution : — That the Secretary be instructed to write to the Council of the Royal Agricultural Society of England to draw their attention to the fact that they have this year fixed the date of their Plymouth Meeting in the week in which it has been custom- ary to hold the Meetings of the Koyal Counties Society for the past twenty-five years, and further to request the Council of the Royal Agricultural Society to receive a deputation from this Society, so that a mutual understanding may be arrived at regarding the dates of future Meetings. After some discussion, in which Sir Jacob Wilson, Mr. Dent, Sir Mat- thew Ridley, Sir Nigel Kingscote, the Earl of Ravensworth, Earl Cathcart, Mr. Stratton, and Mr. Pell took part, it was resolved, on the motion of Sir Matthew Ridley, seconded by Sir Jacob Wilson, that the Secretary be instructed to reply that, whilst the Council are of opinion that it would not be possible to alter the date of their annual Country Meetings, they would be willing, should the Council of the Royal Counties Agricultural Society desire it, to receive a deputa- tion on the subject. Country Meeting of 1892. On the motion of Sir Jacob Wilson, seconded by Mr. Chandos- Pole-Gell, it was resolved that the Country Meeting of 1892 be held in District F, which consists of the counties of Gloucester, Hereford, Mon- mouth, Salop, Stafford, Warwick, Worcester, and of South Wales. Date of next Meeting. Other business having been trans- acted, the Council adjourned until Wednesday, June 4, at 10.30 A.M. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 4, 1890 LORD MORETON (PRESIDENT) IN THE CHAIR. PRESENT:— Trustees. — General Viscount Brid- port, K.C.B., Earl Cathcart, Mr. J. D. Dent, Sir Nigel Kingscote, K.C.B., Duke of Richmond and Gordon, K.G., Earl of Powis, Sir Matthew White Ridley, Bart., M.P. Vice-Presidents. — Earl of Fever- sham, Mr. Walter Gilbey, Right Hon. Sir Massey Lopes, Bart., Earl of Ravensworth, Earl Spencer, K.G , Mr. C. Whitehead. Other Members of Council. — Mr. G. M. Allender, Mr. Alfred Ashworth, Mr. Joseph Beach, Mr. J. Bowen-Jones, Lord Brougham and Vaux, Mr. Charles Clay, Earl of Coventry, Mr. Percy Crutchley, Mr. Alfred Darby, Viscount Emlyn, Mr. S. P. Foster, Mr. William Frankish, Mr. Anthony Harnond, Mr. James Hornsby, Earl of Jersey, Mr. T. H. Miller, Mr. P. A. Muntz, M.P., Hon. Cecil T. Parker, Mr. Albert Pell, Duke of Portland, Mr. S. Rowlandson, Mr. G. H. Sanday, Mr. Henry Smith Sir Joseph Spearman, Bart., Marquis of Stafford, Mr. Garrett Taylor, Mr. Jos. P. Terry, Mr. R. A. Warren, Mr. E. V. V. Wheeler, M. C. W. Wilson, Sir Jacob Wilson. Officers. — Mr. Ernest Clarke, Secretary and Editor ; Mr. E. W. Voelcker, Acting Consulting Chemist ; Mr. Wilson Bennison, Surveyor. The following members of the Plymouth Local Committee were also present : The Mayor of Plymouth, Mr. Edward St. Aubyn, Mr. Thomas Pitts, jun., and Mr. J. R. Venning (Town Clerk of Devonport). Election of Members of Council. The minutes of the Council held on May 7 last having been read and confirmed, The President officially an- nounced that the result of the election of twenty-five Members of Council, held on the 22nd ult., was that the twenty- three retiring Members of Council were re-elected, and that Lord Brougham and Vaux, and Mr. Joseph Beach, of The Hattons, Wolverhamp- ton, had been elected to fill the other two vacancies. Earl CATHCARTintroducedthe two new Members to the Council, and said that they had great pleasure in wel- coming Lord Brougham and Mr. Beach there that day. Election of Governors and Members. The election of the following two Governors and thirty-five Members was then proceeded with : — Governors. Revelstoke, Lord. .Membland. Plymouth. Rothschild, Lord.. 148 Piccadilly, W. Members. Alexander, Lt.-Col. W. J... Acton, Poyntz- pass, Ireland. tAitMYTAOE, F. R. . .4 Pump Ct., Temple, E.C. Bailey, T...25 High Street, Hull. Beck, A. C.. .Sandringham. Bentinck, Count Charles. . Amerongen, Neth- erlands. Booth, G.. .Busliwood, Henley-in-Arden. Biiett, J. jun. ..45 St. James St., Nottingham. Burgess, A. T...80 Brayford Road, Peckham, London, S.E. Burton, J. B...Winton House, Alfriston Polegate, Sussex. Church, C. C.. .Williamscote, Banbury. JCrabtree, H.. .30 Lutton Place, Edinburgh. Davis, F...Woolas Hill, Persliore. Dudley, E.. .The Hermitage, Melton, Suffolk. Frisby, II.. .14 James Street, S.W. Grafton, F. F...91 Portland St., Manchester. Graham, W. P.. .Woodmans, King's Langley. 4HAYD0N, R. W. . ,Gt. Coombshead, N. Moltoii. t Henderson, R. . .Portland Estates Office, Kil- marnock, N.B. Hillman, J.. .68 Torrington Square, W.C. Hutton, Capt. H ..Union Club, Trafalgar Sq London, W.C. tlNMAN, A. H. . . 67 Lombard Street, E.C. JJeffray, j. J. . . Blackaddie, Sanquhar, N.B. Lane, R. C. ..Rothwell, Kettering. Lang, J. D. . .Knowle, Sidmoutli, Devon. Lyne, R. W.. .Barton, Marlborough, Wilts. Molesworth, Rev. Viscount.. St. Petroek Minor, Cornwall. Morrison, M. . .Elton Hall, Stockton-on-Tees. Palmer, H. W...Farmleigh, Abbey leix. Queen’s County. Preece, E. G. ..Oak Street, Shrewsbury. Priest, J. C.. .Lannock, Weston, Stevenage. Tayleu, S. W...A11 Cannings, Devizes. Trkvethan, J.. .Beer Barton, Roborough, Devon. Van Raalte, C.. . Aldenliam Abbey, Watford. Wood, M.. .Low Effingham, Masham, Yorks. Wood, T. . .The Philippines, Brasted, Kent. J Life Member by Examination. /2 lxxxiv Monthly Council , June 4, 1890. Honorary Members of the Society. The President announced with regret the death of Mr. Edward Tes- dorpf, of Ourupgaard, Falster, Den- mark, who had been one of the Honorary Members of the Society since the year 1877. Subsequently, on the motion of Earl Cathcart, seconded by Mr. Charles Whitehead, it was unanimously re- solved that the honorary membership of the Society be conferred upon M. Henry de Vilmorin, of Paris, in re- cognition of his eminent services to European agriculture. M. de Vil- morin's diploma of honorary member- ship was sealed at the meeting with the official seal of the Society, and signed by the President and the Secretary. The reports of the various com- mittees were then presented and adopted as below : — Finance. Sir Nigel EJngscote (Chairman) reported that the accounts for the month of May, as certified by the Society’s accountants, showed receipts amounting to 2,2547 5s. 1*7, and ex- penditure amounting to 3,5047 2s. 3d. The balance at the Bank on May 31, allowing for cheques outstanding, was 6,0297 7s. 7 d. Accounts amounting in all to 4,4237 Os. 10*7, had been passed, and were recommended for payment. The Committee recom- mended that the names of twelve life, eight annual, and one honorary mem- ber, whose deaths had been reported to the Society, of eight members who had resigned, three whose addresses could not be found, and four in arrears (in all thirty-six), be struck off the Society’s books. House. Sir Nigel Kingscote (Chairman) reported that the Committee, having carefully considered the inadequacy of the Council room for any large assemblage at the general meeting of members, had resolved to recommend that these meetings be held in future in the large hall of the Royal Medical and Chirurgical Society, at 20, Han- over Square, This hall would seat 300 to 400 people, and was only a few yards from the Society’s house. Journal. Earl Cathcart (Chairman) re- ported a further reprint of Mr. White- head’s “ Hints on Vegetable and Fruit Farming,” and stated that a list of the contents proposed for the forth- coming number of the Journal had been submitted by the Editor and approved. The Committee recom- mended that the price of available back numbers of the first two series of the Society’s Journal be fixed for members at 3s. 6*7 each number, the present publishing price of the new quarterly series. A request for per- mission to reproduce in the “ Veteri- narian” Professor Flower’s article on “The Evolution of the Horse” had been granted upon the usual condi- tions. A letter had been received from the Meteorological Office asking whether any changes were desired in the names of recipients of the Hay Harvest Forecasts for this year, and the Secretary had been instructed to reply in the negative. Chemical. Viscount Emlyn (Chairman) pre- sented the quarterly report of this Committee (see page 414), which was ordered to be published with the proceedings of Council and in the next number of the Journal. Mr. Warren said that a few mem- bers of the Woburn Sub-committee went down to visit the Experimental Farm on the 21st of last month, and they were glad to find that the experi- ments were very well managed under Mr. Elliott. But it seemed desirable that there should be at least two offi- cial visits to the farm by members of the Sub-committee during the year, and he should like to propose that it be an instruction to the Woburn Sub- committee that some of its members should visit the Experimental Farm again this summer, and that there should be two official visits each year. Mr.PELLseconded.and at thesame time said that, as a member of the Chemical Committee att ending almost all the meetings, he desired to say how very much the useful action of the Council was impeded by members of the Society refusing to give them all the information which was neces- Report of Veterinary Committee. lxxxv saryfor making an exposure of cases of adulteration and false trade. In the report brought up that day they had been very much hampered by the de- sire of members not to let their names or the names of the traders appear, afterthey had satisfied themselves that without any doubt there had been im- posture and fraud ; and it was really rendering the Society much less use- ful than it might be. He made these observations in the hope that, by their becoming in some degree public, members of the Society might regard it as a matter of duty to assist the Chemical Committee by permitting them to make disclosures which were thought necessary in the interests of fair trade. Speaking for himself, he feared that in some instances money passed between the agents of members and the frauduleut traders, between whom there was an implied under- standing that the matter was to be hushed up. The Chemical Committee must afford to the members of the Society all the privileges which the Society advertised, but by withhold- ing names members were making the action of the Society less efficient. That was his reason for calling atten- tion to the matter that day. Mr. Warren’s motion was then agreed to. Seeds and Plant Diseases. Mr. Whitehead (Chairman) sta- ted that the Consulting Botanist had reported the progress of his inquiry into the composition of ancient pas- tures, and the Committee had sanc- tioned his proposed visits for the in- vestigation of those which he might consider desirable for the purpose. Miss Ormerod had presented a report (embodied in the report on page 407) which the Committee recommended for publication. He(Mr. Whitehead) remarkedupon the importance of Miss Ormerod’s report as showing the continued at- tacks of the caterpillar pest on fruit trees, and the use of Paris green and other arsenical poisons to destroy them. No doubt these arsenites, if used properly and carefully, would prove an efficacious remedy. Veterinary. Mr. Dent (in the unavoidable absence of the Chairman, Sir John Thorold) presented the following report from Professor Brown : — Pleuro - Pneumonia. — During the four weeks ended May 24 there were forty-one fresh outbreaks of this disease reported in Great Britain : thirty- six of them in England, in the counties of Chester, Cumberland, Essex, Kent, Lan- caster, Leicester, London, North- ampton, Surrey, and York (W.R.). The five outbreaks in Scotland occurred in Edinburgh, Fife, Forfar, and Renfrew. The total number of animals attacked was 176, and 804 healthy cattle in contact with the disease were slaughtered. In Ire- land eleven fresh outbreaks were reported in the four weeks, forty- one cattle were attacked, and 240 exposed to the risk of infection were slaughtered. Anthrax. — In the four weeks twenty-one outbreaks of anthrax were reported, nineteen in England and two in Scotland. These out- breaks in England occurred at the following places and on the follow- ing dates : — Lichfield, April 27 ; Northampton, May 1 and 7 ; Basing- stoke, May 3 ; Cosford, Suffolk, May 7 ; North Walsham, Norfolk, May 8 ; Hensall, near Selby, May 11 ; Liskeard, Cornwall, and Ken- dal, Westmoreland, May 16; Skel- ton, Cumberland, East Retford, Notts, and Stourbridge, Worcester- shire, May 17 ; Bishop Auckland, Durham, Bacup, Lancashire, and Rothbury, Northumberland, May 19 ; Bentham, Kirkby Lonsdale, May 21 ; Litton Cheney, Dor- chester, May 23. The two out- breaks in Scotland occurred in Aberdeenshire, May 17, and Wig- town, May 18. The number of animals attacked was 113, of which one was killed, fifty-two died, and forty-seven re- covered. In Ireland there were two outbreaks of anthrax, and two animals attacked. Swine Fever. — There were 426 outbreaks of this disease reported in the month. This is an increase as compared with the preceding four weeks, but a decrease as com- pared with the corresponding period of last year. The number of pigs attacked was 2,453 ; 961 lxxxvi 'Monthly Council , June 4, 1890. diseased swine were killed, 1,037 died, 157 recovered, and 414 re- mained alive when the return was made up. In Ireland thirty out- breaks of swine fever were reported in the four weeks, and ninety-four pigs were attacked. Rabies. — In England there were ten cases of this disease reported, one in Derby, three in Hants, one in Surrey, and five in York (W.R.). In Ireland there were thirty-one cases of rabies returned, twenty in dogs, seven in cattle, two sheep, one pig, and one goat. Letters had been read from the Worshipful Company of Farriers for- warding a resolution of thanks for the Society’s promised contribution of 6 01. annually for three years, towards carrying out the objects of the scheme for the examination and registration of farriers or shoeing smiths, and re- porting that the sum of 1,300/. had up to the present time been sub- scribed towards the probable expenses of working the scheme. Conse- quently the conditions mentioned in the report of the sub-committee (viz. that at least 1,000/. shall have been collected before commencement of registration) had been fulfilled. The Committee therefore recommended that the following six representatives of the Society be appointed to serve upon the General Registration Com- mittee, in accordance with the pro- visions of the scheme : — The Presi- dent of the Society for the time being, the Chairman of the Veterinary Com- mittee for the time being, Mr. Charles Clay, Mr. Walter Gilbey, Sir Jacob Wilson, and the Secretary. The Se- cretary had reported correspondence with the veterinary authorities of Dublin Castle as to the necessity of permits issued by them for the return to Ireland of cattle exhibited at Ply- mouth, and as to the furnishing of cer- tificates to the effect that such cattle are free from disease at the closing of the show. The Committee reported the death of Mr. Hugh Jones, of Llan- gefni, the Society’s Provincial Veteri- nary Surgeon for the county of Angle- sey, and they recommended that Mr. Owen Thomas, of Tycoch, Llanerchy- medd, be appointed in his stead. Mr. Dent observed that, with reference to the cases of anthrax reported, Professor Brown believed many of the cases were not anthrax ; because the Professor did not consider that forty-seven would have recovered, as stated. It would probably, there- fore, be some other disease reported as anthrax. With reference to pleuro- pneumonia, the return was exceed- ingly unsatisfactory. The county of Cumberland appeared to have become a sort of sink of infection ; and the disease had spread from there to many other places. Mr. Foster said that the great trouble they had to contend against in Cumberland was to find out the disease, the existence of which was concealed. They believed the disease had existed in several places for the last twelve or eighteen months, but they had to prove that it was there before they were able to deal with it. Earl Spencer said that, as they had heard what had been said about Cumberland, he wished to state the difficulties which they experienced in the county of Northampton. One difficulty was in the endeavour to trace the source of the disease. They found that in that county the disease almost invariably broke out amongst cows or heifers, and he believed — they could not actually prove it, but they had considerable evidence to show — that the disease almost always arose from what were called shed cattle. It was an exceedingly difficult matter to trace the disease. They found that the dealers absolutely refused to give any evidence whatever as to where they got their cows. The difficulty, therefore, of any attempt to stop this trade in shed cows was immense. How this was to be done was a very grave question, and he would like to have heard the opinion on the subject of some of the experienced gentlemen who sat in that room. In Ireland, in the Dublin dairies, and in Scotland, in the Edinburgh dairies, he used to hear the same thing as to the exceed- ing difficulty of this question. They might have better inspection of dairy sheds in the towns, not only with regard to the sanitary condition of the dairies, because that, he imagined, was really now the object of inspec- tion, but also with regard to the movement of the animals. Whether this should be included in the new Pleuro-Pneumonia and Dairy Cattle. lxX"xvii Act which the Minister of Agriculture was about to put into force he was not prepared to say ; but he thought something in that direction must be done. The disease increased just at the time when the Minister of Agri- culture was going to take the matter up. He did not know whether Mr. Chaplin would be able to trace better than they could the source of the disease, but if he could not his task would be an exceedingly difficult one. Mr. Dent said the outbreaks almost invariably occurred in dairy cows. In their division they had been carrying out the Act in a most stringent manner, and they thought they had obtained some mastery over the disease ; but it still lurked and lingered about in the dairies, and was communicated by the cows from one dairy to another. It was almost always amongst the cows, and this led to the slaughter of valuable dairy herds and of young cattle brought into contact with them. The Earl of Ravensworth referred to the great difficulty there was to get the Borough Councils, who were the governing bodies in the boroughs, to co-operate cordially in a matter of this kind. That in his experience was the great difficulty they had to contend with. Unless they got that perfect co-operation between town and county it was absolutely impossible to trace the disease. Sir Jacob Wilson concurred with the remarks of the previous speakers, which, he said, showed how much justification there was for the Bill now before Parliament. It proved that the real curse had been the concealment of the disease. Whilst, as things stood at present, the Act might be well administered by the local authorities of any district, they had no power to act beyond their respective boundaries ; therefore they could not trace where the disease came from or where it went to. In future, with a central authority, they would be able to trace it throughout the whole country, irrespective of boundaries. Another thing, the Bill took powers of entry into dairies, which they did not before possess. They therefore hoped that this would give them further powers of discovery. The increase of the disease just now was undoubtedly due to the animals going out to grass and being scattered over the country. If it had been possible for the Bill to come into operation whilst the animals were in the sheds, they would have had a much better opportunity of grappling with the disease. He hoped that when the winter months come on the Government would tackle the subject with energy. Lord Ravensworth had referred to a point which was undoubtedly of great im- portance. He could point to the borough of Newcastle and to the county of Northumberland as an in- stance where the authorities worked in thorough harmony ; and the result was that when an outbreak occurred it never spread. The same thing applied in Perthshire and Perth. If the two authorities worked together it was possible to prevent the spread of the disease. Mr. Pell said he could add nothing to what had been stated by Lord Spencer excepting one reason why there was this very great danger connected with the dairy sheds. He believed that no London dairyman had ever applied for compensation. He could assure the Council that the instances — if indeed there were any — of urban dairymen discovering and disclosing the disease and applying the law for compensation were ex- tremely rare, and for this reason : there would be outcries directly on the part of their customers with re- gard to the sale and purchase of their milk. Therefore, when an urban dairyman found the disease upon his premises, his object was to kill the animal, sell it, get it out of the way, or call in a dealer to purchase the whole herd. The dealer required a certificate of the soundness of the animals; and there were veterinary surgeons in London who were a little obscure about the nature of the disease when called in. The assur- ance being given that the animals were healthy, the dairy was cleared out, and the cows went down into the country. The virtue attaching to those animals was the price paid by people who knew what a shed animal was by the appearance of the skin. The matter was hedged by the know- lxxxviii Monthly Council , June 4, 1890. ledge that, if the animals proved to be unsound, there was a security for more than the value being paid for them in compensation. If, on the other hand, they turned out to be sound, then the people thought they had got a good bargain. That was the reason why they had the great danger with the shed cattle. Until there was some special legislation or action taken by the Board of Agri- culture with regard to the dairy sheds of the large towns and of the metropolis to prevent these animals going out, or to register them so that they might be identified, the people in the country would have to pay thousands of pounds which they might be well spared. He was very glad Lord Spencer had taken notice of this subject, and he hoped that before many years something would be done to put a check upon this trade in dairy cattle. Sir Nigel Kingscote said this showed that the present Bill in Parlia- ment did not go far enough. Until' they made it a criminal offence to sell diseased cattle, it would not be possible to stamp it out of the country. The report of the Committee was then adopted. Stock Prizes. Mr. Sand ay (Chairman) reported that the Committee had further con- sidered the composition -and regu- lations of the stock prize sheets of future meetings, and had agreed to a number of resolutions, which they proposed to submit for the approval of the Council when the draft prize sheet for the Doncaster Meeting was under consideration. Judges’ Selection. Mr. Sanday (Chairman) stated that the Committee, having had before them a statement of the number of entries in the various classes, were of opinion that the number of judges already appointed would be sufficient. Implement. Mr. Frankish (Chairman) re- ported that the Committee had con- sidered the details of the arrange- ments for the trials of implements at the Plymouth Meeting, and presented their recommendations thereon. General Plymouth. Viscount Bridport submitted various recommendations from this Committee as to details of the ar- rangements for the forthcoming Meeting at Plymouth, and as to ap- plications received from Breeding Societies for permission to hold meetings in the showyard. Arrange- ments had been made with the St. John Ambulance Association for the establishment of an Ambulance sta- tion in the showyard. Showyard Works. Sir Jacob Wilson (Chairman) reported that the whole of the im- plement yard was completed, that a number of exhibits were in position, and others were daily arriving ; that the horse-boxes and stock-sheds were in a very forward state, and would be all finished in good time ; that the Local Committee were carrying out some works in widening the main road from Plymouth to the showyard, and were laying the temporary sleeper road to the entrances, and that they had completed the laying on of the water and other works inside the showyard. Education. Mr. Dent (Chairman) reported that of the seventeen candidates who entered for the Society’s Senior Examination, held on May 1 3 and four following days, sixteen duly presented themselves for examination, the remaining candidate being absent on account of ill-health. Of these six- teen competitors, eleven had satisfied the examiners. Six had gained first- class certificates, and thus became Life Members of the Society, the first four being entitled in addition to the prizes stated below ; and five others (Nos. 7 to 11) having passed in agriculture and in three of the four compulsory subjects had been awarded second-class certificates : — 1. Francis Reginald Armytage, 4 Pump Court, Temple, E.C. First prize of 25 1. 2. Richard William Haydon, Great Coombs- head, North Molton, Devon. Second prize of 151. 3. Henry Crabtree, 30 Lutton Place, Edin- burgh. Third prise of lOf. Ixxxix Result of Senior Examination, 1890. 4. Alfred Henry Inman, 9 Queensferry Street, Edinburgh. Fourth prize of 5 l. 5. John James Jeifray, Blackaddie, Sanquhar, N.B. 6. Richard Henderson, Portland Estates Office, Kilmarnock, N.B. 7. Edward Douglas Malcomson Hamilton, Magherabuoy, Portrush, Co. Antrim. 8. John Arthur Llewellyn Beasley, Aylestone, Leicester. 9. George Pelham Thomas, Hemsworth, Pontefract. 10. James Gunter, Estate Office, Glasbury. 11. George Sharman Mitchell, Cannon Street, Belgrave, Leicester. The Committee had agreed upon a report, embodying the results of the examination and the chief points dealt with by the examiners, whicli would be published in the next number of the Journal (see page 421). Two commu- nications had been received from the Charity Commissioners, (1) with refer- ence to the Bromyard Grammar School, stating that the scheme for that founda- tion had beenapprovedbyHer Majesty in Council, and (2) forwarding copies of a draft scheme for dividing the endowment of Jarvis’s Charity into two endowments in the parishes of Staunton-on-Wye, Bredwardine, and Letton, and inquiring whether, in the event of the scheme receiving the approval of Her Majesty in Council, the Council of the Society would be prepared to appoint a Governor, as proposed in Clause 6 of the draft. The Committee recommended that the Council undertake this duty upon the completion of the scheme, and that Mr. E. Vincent V. Wheeler be nominated as the Governor represent- ing the Society. Copies of the report of the Joint Committee of the Central Chamber of Agriculture and the Farmers’ Club on Technical Education in Agriculture were laid upon the table, and, after discussion, it had been resolved to recommend the Council to agree with the follow- ing recommendations of the Joint Committee : — (1) That there should be esta- blished and maintained, at the cost of the State, a Central Normal School of Agriculture. (2) That State aid should be liberally given to certain endowed and county schools on condition of their establishing an agricultural side for the proper teaching of the theory and practice of agriculture —practical instruction being carried out on a farm, which might either be the property of the school — or rented by the school — or avail- able by permission of neighbouring farmers. Arrangements should be made for the delivery of courses of lectures by the teaching staff or other lecturers, open to farmers of the district. (3) That grants should continue to be given by the State in aid of local effort to provide technical in- struction in dairy or other branches of farm work. (4) That aid should be similarly given to local agricultural associa- tions or chambers of agriculture engaged in scientific research. (5) That in all cases where State aid is afforded, it should be of a permanent character, subject only to certain definite conditions laid down by the Board of Agriculture, and to the admission of annual in- spection by an officer of the Board. (0) That ample facilities should be afforded by the State to enable children in rural elementary schools to acquire knowledge of their future work, either as agricultural labour- ers or as tenants of small holdings. Mr. Dent, in moving the adoption of this report, called particular atten- tion to the Committee’s recommenda- tion of agreement with the conclusions of the Joint Committee of the Central Chamber of Agriculture and the Far- mers’ Club upon Technical Educa- tion in Agriculture. Time was pres- sing, since, as they were aware, the new Board of. Agriculture had the matter under consideration, and the Council would not wish that the Royal Agricultural Society should be the last in the field to offer any expression of opinion to the new Department. On the whole he thought most of the re- commendations made by the Joint Committee were those that he could personally altogether agree in; cer- tainly that State aid should be made to endowed and county schools on condition that they established an agricultural side for the proper teach- ing of the theory and practice of agriculture, and that aid should be similarly given to local agricultural associations or chambers of agricul- ture engaged in scientific research. xc Monthly Council, June 4, 1890. The establishment of a Central Normal School of Agriculture was, of course, a serious matter. If it were well done, and thoroughly good people placed at the head of it, and a farm established at which different methods of agri- culture could be shown to the students, and the students could take a prac- tical part in it and get practical know- ledge, it would bring out some good teachers, and it would enable young farmers of some education and young agents to spend a couple of terms for the purpose of improving their theo- retical knowledge and adding to the practical knowledge that they already had. On the other hand, if satisfac- tory persons were not placed at the head of the school, and if the details were not carried out satisfactorily, then it would prove a gigantic failure and do a great injury to agriculture. He did not like the appearance of the Society being behindhand, or not appearing to take sufficient interest in a question which was being con- sidered by the new Board of Agricul- ture. He therefore moved that the Society should agree in the recom- mendations of the Joint Committee. The Duke of Richmond and Gordon, whilst agreeing in the im- portance of the first recommenda- tion, said he should be sorry to see it adopted by the Council on the present occasion, or until they had an opportunity for its further con- sideration. He suggested that the further discussion of the recommen- dations of the Joint Committee should be adjourned until the next meeting, and they would possibly be able to acertain meanwhile whether the Board of Agriculture would be likely to take any steps in the matter and, if so, what steps. It seemed to him a very large question. The last recommendation, “ that ample facilities should be afforded by the State to enable children in rural elementary schools to acquire knowledge of their future work, either as agricultural labourers or as tenants of small holdings,” would be remarkably difficult to carryout in all the elementary schools of the country. He moved that the paragraph in the report upon this subject be referred back to the Committee for further consideration. Earl Cathcart seconded this pro- posal, remarking that he thought if any mistake were made now it would seriously throw them back. If they went to the Agricultural Department with half-considered re- commendations, when they went with a really momentous matter they would be received as was the cry of “ wolf.” Mr. Dent, on the part of the Education Committee, agreed that it was not satisfactory to discuss hastily so important a matter, and though it would be inconvenient formally of the Committee to attend at a later period, it was better that the subject should be referred back. He pro- posed that a copy of the report of the Joint Committee of the Central Chamber and the Farmers’ Club should be sent to each member of the Council, who would then be able to see upon what grounds the Com- mittee based their recommendations. The motion that the subject be referred back to the Committee was then agreed to. Dairy. The Hon. Cecil T. Parker (Chair- man) reported that seventeen entries had been received for the Butter- making Competition at Plymouth, viz. eight in class 1 and nine in class 2. The final arrangements for the Dairy in the Plymouth showyard had been discussed and settled. Hunter Stallion. The Duke of Richmond and Gordon (Chairman) presented the report of this Committee as to the services of the Society’s premium stallions during the present season. The thanks of the Society were or- dered to be sent to the Royal Com- mission on Horse-breeding for a bound copy of the reports which the Com- mission have presented to Parliament. Steward of Forage for Doncaster Meeting. On the motion of Sir Jacob Wilson, seconded by Mr. Frankish, it was resolved that Mr. Charles Clay, of Walton Grange, Wakefield, be ap- pointed Steward of Forage for the Doncaster Meeting. Mr. Clay expressed his sense of the Suggestions made at General Meeting. xci honour which had been conferred upon him, and said that he would do all he could to advance the success of the Meeting. Suggestions made at General Meeting. The Council then considered the suggestions made by the members at the General Meeting on May 22 (see page xciii), and agreed, on the recom- mendation of the several Committees concerned, to reply as follows : — Mr. George Barham : (a) That the report shovld he sent by post to all the members in anticipation of the meeting. The Council have on two previous occasions within the last two years reported that it did not appear neces- sary that the serious expense should be incurred of printing, addressing, and posting to every member the reports to the general meetings. This expense, including the cost of addressing the wrappers, would be from 40(. to 50 1. on each occasion. The May report is issued to the daily and agricultural press as soon as the final figures of the entries for the forthcoming country meeting have been ascertained and verified ; and the room in which the meeting is held is available after eleven o’clock to members who may wish to attend and consider the report in anticipation of the public meeting. Moreover, if any member who desires to have the report sent to him by post before the meeting will communicate his wishes to the Secretary, a copy will be sent to him as soon as ready. As the report to the December General Meeting is only settled on the pre- vious day, it would not, of course, be possible to make the same arrange- ments with regard to that report. (b) That the Implement and Stock Catalogues of the Country Meetings should be issued together in one volume. It is now too late to make any alteration in the arrangements for the catalogues for the Plymouth Meeting, but the question of amalgamating the two catalogues will be again consi- dered after the recess. (e) That the refreshment arrange- ments at the Showyard should be improved. The Council are at all times desirous of making the refreshment arrangements at the showyards as convenient and satisfactory to mem- bers and visitors as possible, and will gladly consider any practical sugges- tion having this object, regard being had to the necessarily temporary character of the arrangements, and to the fact that most of the visitors resort to the tents at about the same time in the day. Mr. H. D. Marshall and Mr. John Kichardson : — That there should be a larger repre- sentation of agricultural implement makers on the Council. This question will be duly con- sidered by the Committee of Se- lection as vacancies occur on the Council. Dates of Forthcoming Meetings. It was arranged to hold during the Plymouth Meeting a daily meet- ing of the Council in the Council Pavilion in the showyard at 1 P.M., from Monday, June 23, to Friday, June 27, inclusive. The general meeting of governors and members was fixed to be held in the large tent in the showyard at 12.30 P.M. on Tuesday, June 24. The ordinary monthly meeting of the Council will be held at 1 p.m. on Wednesday of the show week, June 25, in the Council Pavilion, and the final meet- ing of the Council before the recess at 12, Hanover Square at noon on Wednesday, July 30, 1890. ( xcii ) procecbmos at 5lst Hnmvei*$ar\> fiDeetino of (Sovernors anb flDcmbers. THURSDAY, MAY 22, 1890. LORD MORETON (PRESIDENT) IN THE CHAIR. Present: — Trustees. — Gen. Viscount Bridport, K.C.B., Earl Cathcart, Lord Egerton of Tatton, Sir Nigel Kingscote, K.C.B., Earl of Powis, Duke of Richmond and Gordon, K.G., Sir Matthew White Ridley, Bart., M.P. Vice-Presidents. — Right Hon. Henry Chaplin, M.P., Earl of Feversham, Earl of Lathom, Right Hon. Sir Massey Lopes, Bart., Earl of Ravens- ' worth, Sir John H. Thorold, Bart. Other Members of Council. — H.R.H. Prince Christian, K.G., Messrs. G. M. Allender, James A. Caird, Percy E. Crutchley, C. De L. Faunce De Laune, Viscount Emlyn, Messrs. S. P. Foster, William Frankish, Hugh Gorringe, James Hornsby, Earl of Jersey, Messrs. C. S. Mainwaring, P. Albert Muntz, M.P., J. E. Ransome, Samuel Rowlandson, G. H. Sanday, Alfred J. Smith, Martin J. Sutton, Garrett Taylor, Jos. P. Terry, R. A. Warren, and Sir Jacob Wilson. Governors.— Messrs. W. A. Tyssen Amherst, M.P., C. C. Cotes, H. W. Freeland, Earl Man vers. Lord Mid- dleton, Mr. W. Barrow Simonds. Members. — Hon. George Allsopp, M.P., Messrs. Cecil C. Baker, G. Barham, G. Titus Barham, John Barker, E. J. Beale, William E. Bear, Sir Edward Birkbeck, Bart., M.P., Messrs. Walter Blott, H. A. Blyth, John Brazell,W. Briginshaw, Marquis of Bristol, Messrs. A. E. Brooke-Hunt, W. W. Chapman, Philip Chasemore, H. H. Chattock, Matthew Clarke, Thomas Clarke, Henry Clayden, New- ton Clayton, Nathaniel L. Cohen, William Cooper, H. S. Cox, Major P. G. Craigie, Messrs. George Culley, R. David, Herbert Dodwell, S. B. L. Druce, William Dunham, George W. Elliot, M.P., F. M. Evans, William Everitt, Richard Fowler, Dr. W. Fream, Messrs. II. F. Getting, J. C. Getting, George Gibbons, Arthur N. Gilbey, II. W. Gilbey, W. W. Glennv, Argo G. Gold, Henry Gold, W. Hugh Gorringe, John Graham, J. A. Hat- tersley, W. Hedges, J. A. Hempson, Walter J. Hensman, C. S. B. Hilton, G. M. Hipwell, J. E. Holinshead, R. G. Horwood, H. Howard-Vyse, John Hughes, Surgeon-Major Ince, M.D., Messrs. H. Kains-Jackson, George T. James, A. H. Johnson, George Jonas, Edwin Kay, Frederick King, John King, Nigel R. F. Kingscote, Samuel Kingston, Walter H. Long, M.P., Alexander Macdonald, J. T. Mc- Dougall, H. D. Marshall, Sir J. R. Heron Maxwell, Bart., Messrs. T. May, B. Mead, W.* Merriman, W. Miskin, J. S. Mott, A. P. Newman, T. H. G. Newton, W. Newzam Nicholson, John Norman, jun., J. C. R. Okes, James B. Page, J. P. Parrott, Hugh Penfold, F. Pickard, Claude M. S. Pilkington, Edward Prentis, Stephen Pullen, Clare Sewell Read, W. R. Robertson, Julian C. Rogers, Henry A. Rolls, K. Sando, A. Setli-Smith, C. H. Sharman, G. F. Sheppard, F. Sherborn, James Sinclair, Elias P.Squarey, J. Stedman, jun., Thomas Stirton, H. M. Stollery, George Stratton, Col. the Hon. W. P. Talbot, Messrs. Charles Taylor, J. Herbert Taylor, John Thornton, M. G. Thorold, F. G. Thynne, W. Toop, John Unite, Sir W. Vavasour, Bart., Dr. Paul Vieth, Messrs. James Walker, Henry Webb, Jonas M. Webb, &c., &c. The Secretary having read the Bye-Law as to the business of the anniversary meetings, Sir Edward Birkbeck, Bart., M.P., moved that the Earl of Ravensworth General Meeting of Governors and Members. xciii be elected President of the Society for the ensuing year, saying that he was quite sure that the meeting would accept this proposal with acclamation. Lord Ravensworth had been connected with agriculture all his life, and he had been a member of the Royal Agri- cultural Society since the year 1867. He was confident that the proposal which he submitted would meet with the approbation, not only of all pre- sent, but of the whole agricultural community throughout the United Kingdom. (Cheers.) Mr. Thomas Stirton having briefly seconded the motion, it was put to the meeting by the President, and declared carried unanimously. The Earl of Ravensworth, in reply, said that it was his highly agreeable duty, in the best terms that he could, to return his cordial thanks for the very great honour they had done him in accepting the recom- mendation of the Council, and unani- mously electing him as President for the coming year. He considered it the greatest honour which a member of that Society could aspire to ; and he desired to assure them that as far as it lay in his power he would in the capacity of President uphold the dig- nity of their great and world-appre- ciated Society. He congratulated the Society upon their good fortune and sound judgment in selecting a place for the country meeting next year. He thought Doncaster was perhaps as favourable a spot in the United King- dom as any could wish to have been selected. It was in the centre of a great district of agricultural activity, and there were other associations, dear to every Englishman, connected with the old Town Moor of Doncaster, which had made that place a popular resort ; and he trusted and hoped that the meeting held there would at least equal in success, if not exceed, any previous meeting of the Society. He returned his most sincere expressions of gratitude for the honour which they had conferred upon him. (Cheers.) The twelve Trustees and twelve Vice- Presidents having been re-elected by show of hands, the President ap- pointed Sir John Heron Maxwell, Bait., Mr. S. B. L. Druce, and Mr. John Thornt on to act as scrutineers of the voting papers for the election of twenty - five members of Council. These voting papers having been duly collected, the President announced, when the report of the scrutineers had been received, that the twenty- three members of Council who retired by rotation had been re-elected ; and that Lord Brougham and Vaux, of Brougham Hall, Penrith, and Mr. Joseph Beach, of The Hattons, Wol- verhampton, had been chosen to fill the two remaining vacancies. The Secretary having read the report of the Council to the meeting (see page 393), The adoption of the report was moved by Mr. W. W. Glenny, who referred with gratification to the in- creased number of members, the satisfactory state of the finances, the bringing of the Society into more fre- quent communication with the gene- ral body of members by means of a quarterly instead of a half-yearly journal, and the efforts which the Society had made, in concert with other agricultural bodies, towards placing the slaughter of animals af- fected with pleuro-pneumonia under Government control, and providing for the payment of compensation out of the Imperial Exchequer. He deprecated the admission of live animals from America, thus spreading diseases which would prove, and which had proved, so baneful to the herds of this country. Mr. George Barham seconded, and suggested that the report should be circulated to the members before- hand. He criticised the refreshment arrangements at the showyard as a weak point connected with the Society. He suggested that, instead of issuing two catalogues, the implement and stock catalogues should be bound to- gether. If the new American paper were used, the bulk of the book would not be greater than the present stock or implement catalogue. There would be an immense advantage if the par- ticulars of the implements exhibited were in the hands of everyone who took a stock catalogue. There had been a great many remarks in the papers with reference to the expendi- ture and the loss at the Windsor Show. He would not treat upon that at length, but he would say that no money was better laid out than the money spent xciv General Meeting of Governors and Members , there. The Show was a great and a brilliant success. It was necessary that the Jubilee Show of the Society should be a brilliant success, and he heartily congratulated the Council upon the success of that Show, and upon the expenditure of the money which was required to bring it about. He referred with much gratification to the second contribution by the Council of 50 1. towards the funds of the Mansion House United Associa- tion on Railway Rates, though he thought it would have redounded very much more to the credit of the Society if the contribution had been 500Z. in- stead of 50 1., considering the powerful bodies which they had to fight and how weak and divided the agricul- turists were. Surgeon-Major Ince moved the following amendment to thereport : — That this meeting, whilst ap- proving the report generally, dis- agrees with paragraph 23, which expresses gratification in the pro- posed transfer of the payment of compensation for the slaughter of kine suffering from alleged pleuro- pneumonia from local to imperial funds. In the course of a speech of some length, he expressed the opinion that the danger from pleuro-pneumonia was greatly overrated by alarmists, who coun selled the wholesale slaughter of cattle as the only means of stamp- ing out the disease. He regarded the majority of cases, said to be pleuro- pneumonia, as simply cases of catarrh, and he did not believe there had been a case of true, genuine, virulent pleuro- pneumonia in the country for many many months, if not years. The amendment having been se- conded by Mr. John Richardson, was put to the meeting and immedi- ately negatived, only the mover and seconder voting for it. The report was then adopted without further discussion. Alderman John Baeker proposed a vote of thanks to the auditors, Messrs. A. II. Johnson, C. Gay Roberts, and FrancisSherborn, for their services during the past half-year. It was a gratification to know that the Society was prosperous and flourishing, that its numbers were increasing, and that there was a good balance at the bank. Whatever might be the case as to the refreshment arrangements at the showyard, they would agree with him that there was no weak point in the rendering or auditing of the Society’s accounts. Mr. George Gibbons seconded, adding that he hoped he might be allowed to say a few words with regard to a suggestion which he brought before the General Meeting in December last to the effect that the Council would do well to offer prizes for implements. He was very glad to see that that had been done. He had noticed in the daily press some statements made that the agri- cultural engineers did not seem to favonr that proposal. He hoped it was not correct. They had very much to thank the agricultural engineers for in the improvement of their imple- ments during the past forty years. But they were not perfect. Many of them were too costly and too cum- brous — not what they hoped they would be. The fathers of the present implement makers did not despise the good offices of that Society, and they acquired very substantial com- petences thereby. He trusted that the sons would be equal to their fathers, and he hoped that they would rise to the occasion, and, as a whole, come forward to compete in a manly, straightforward manner for the prizes which were being offered by that Society. The vote of thanks to the auditors having been carried unanimously, The President asked if any member had any remark to make or suggestion to offer which might be referred to the Council for their consideration. Mr. HJD. Marshall wished to make one remark with reference to the observations of the last speaker. He was not a very old man, but he was one of the fathers of their own (implement) business, which was a tolerably extensive one. The ques- tion of competing was one that lay deeper than the public were aware of. He thought he might say that there was a time when there were six — he believed there were now two — representatives of the implement makers upon the Council. Having regard to the contribution of the Thursday , May 22, 1890. XcV engineers of the country towards the funds of the Society, he did not think that they had been met in a fair or reasonable way. They had been treated with rather scant courtesy. A larger representation upon the Council would be an advantage to the Society, the community in general, and, he thought, to the engineers as well. Their representation had been very inadequate for many years past. Mr. W. E. Bear said he had for many years advocated more attention on the part of the Society to the encouragement of new inventions, and also to the improvement of the plants of the farm. The live stock department monopolised too much of the attention and money of the Society. He was glad to think that the Society proposed to go back to its good old practice of former days. But they saw that whilst the Society piped to the implement makers, the implement makers had declined to dance. He was very glad to see that the Council adhered to their plan of having the trials of threshing machines at Doncaster, in spite of the attempts made to boycott them. The New- castle engine trials— when the same action was taken — brought out some excellent results, and when some of them saw these results, they were dis- posed to think that those who declined to enter had shown that discretion which they were told was the better part of valour. Upon the present occasion they perhaps saw looming in the distance some redoubtable David whom these Goliaths had reason to fear. Those who occupied high niches in the Temple of Fame were naturally anxious to keep new men from climbing up the stairs. In this connection the interests of the farmer were not at one with those of the great implement makers. They saw at the shows certificates and medals displayed as having been awarded in the past to machines now of an antiquated type, which were best suited for agricultural museums. These signs were con- spicuously displayed, and the makers got credit to which they were not now entitled. There ought to be more frequent competitive trials in connection with implements. He wanted to say this too: That the examination and trials of novelties for the few medals given by the Society were carried out in a very perfunctory manner. There was scarcely time for the judges to get round and see the entries. He might have offered other criticisms ; but there had been, if not too much criticism of the Society lately, too much of the wropg kind. It was of a character to make all persons who respected themselves feel particularly friendly towards the Society. In a certain quarter the Society had been criticised in what he could only call a vulgar and bumptious manner, reminding them of the fable of the donkey in the lion's skin, trying to imitate the lion’s roar, but only succeeding in emitting a feeble bray, which the Society could afford to treat with contempt. Mr. John Richardson said he would like to confirm what had been stated by Mr. Marshall, of Gains- borough. Implement makers, whose exhibits formed so large a fraction of the Society’s Show, ought to be much better represented. There were now only two representatives of imple- ments upon the Council, instead of six, as formerly. Considering that the Council consisted of about eighty members, he thought that a quarter of the total number should consist of agricultural implement makers. Mr. Clare Sewell Read moved a vote of thanks to the Chairman for presiding, and for the distinguished services which he had rendered to the great national Society. He was quite sure that it was a very great pleasure to those who were old men to see the young ones coming forward in the cause of agriculture, and it was particularly gratifying when they found an honourable representative of one of the first founders of the Society in the chair on the present occasion. Mr. Samuel Kincston seconded, remarking upon the business-like manner in which the proceedings had been conducted by the noble Chair- man. Lord Moreton in a few words acknowledged the vote of thanks, and the proceedings terminated. ( xcvi ) MEMORANDA. Address op Letters. — All letters on the general business of the Society should be addressed to the Secretary, at 12 Hanover Square, London, W. Telegrams.— The Society’s registered address for telegrams is “Practice, London.” Replies by Telegraph cannot be sent unless paid for in advance, and cannot be guaranteed in any case. Telephone Number, 3675. Office Hours. — 10 to 4. On Saturdays 10 to 2. Country Meeting at Plymouth, Monday, June 23, to Friday, June 27, 1890 (both inclusive). General Meeting in London. Thursday, December 11, 1890, at noon, in the large hall of the Eoyal Medical and Cliirurgical Society, 20 Hanover Square, W. Monthly Council (for transaction of business), at noon on the first Wednesday in every month, excepting January, September, and October : open only to Members of Council and Governors of the Society. Adjournments. — The Council adjourn over Passion and Easter weeks, when those weeks do not include the first Wednesday of the month ; from the first Wednesday in August to the first Wednesday in November ; and from the first Wednesday in December to the first Wednesday in February. Subscriptions. — 1. Annual. — The subscription of a Governor is £5, and that of a Member £1, due in advance on the 1st of January of each year, and becoming in arrear if unpaid by the 1st of June. 2. For Life. — Governors may compound for their subscriptions for future years by paying on election, or at any time thereafter, the sum of £50, and Members by paying £15. Members elected before 1890 may compound at any time on payment of £10 in one sum ; and Members elected in or subsequently to 1890 may compound for the same amount after the payment of ten annual subscriptions. Governors and Members who have paid their annual subscription for 20 years or upwards, and whose payments are not in arrear, may compound for future annual subscriptions, that of the current year inclusive, by a single payment of £25 for a Governor, and £5 for a Member. No Governor or Member can be allowed to enter into composition for life until all subscriptions due by him at the time shall have been paid. No Governor or Member in arrear of his subscription is entitled to any of the privileges of the Society. All Members belonging to the Society are, under the Bye-laws, bound to pay their annual subscriptions, until they shall withdraw from it by notice in writing to the Secretary. Payments. — Subscriptions maybe paid to the Secretary, either at the office of the Society, No. 12 Hanover Square, London, W., or by means of crossed cheques in favour of the Secretary, or by postal orders, to be obtained at any of the principal post-offices throughout the kingdom, and made payable at the Vere Street Office, London, W. When making remittances it should be stated by whom, and on whose account, they are sent. All Cheques and Postal Orders should be crossed “London and,Westminster Bank, St. James’s Square Branch.” On application to the Secretary, forms may be obtained for authorising the regular payment, by the bankers of individual members, of each annual subscription as it falls due. Members are particularly invited to avail themselves of these Bankers’ orders, in order to save trouble both to themselves and to the Society. When payment is made to the London and Westminster Bank, as the Bankers of the Society, it will be desirable that the Secretary should be advised by letter of such payment, in order that the entry in the bankers’ book may be at once identified, and the amount posted to the credit of the proper person. No coin can be remitted by post, unless the letter be registered. Journal.— The Parts of the Society’s Journal are (when the subscription is not in arrear) forwarded by post to Members or delivered from the Society’s Office to Members or to the bearer of their written order. The back numbers of the Journal are kept constantly on sale by the publisher, Mr. John Murray, 5Ua Albemarle Street, W. New Members. — Every candidate for admission into the Society must be nominated by a Governor or Member, and must duly fill up and sign an application for Membership on the appointed form. Forms of Proposal may be obtained on application to the Secretary. The Secretary will inform new Members of their election by letter. ROYAL AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY OF ENGLAND proceedings of tbe Council. WEDNESDAY, JUNE 23, 1890. LORD MORETON (PRESIDENT) IN THE CHAIR. Present: — Trustees. — Earl Cathcart, Mr. J. D. Dent, Col. Sir Nigel Kingscote, K.C.B., Duke of Richmond and Gordon, K.G., Sir Matthew White Ridley, Bart., M.P. Vice-Presidents. — Earl of Fever- sham, Rt. Hon. Sir Massey Lopes, Bart., Sir J. H. Thorold, Bart. Other Members of Council. — Mr. Percy E. Crutchley, Mr. Alfred Darby, Mr. Hugh Gorringe, Mr. A. Hamond, Mr. Charles Howard, Mr. C. S. Main- waring, Mr. T. H. Miller, Hon. C. T. Parker, Mr. Albert Pell, Mr. Dan. Pidgeon, Mr. J. E. Ransome, Mr. S. Rowlandson, Mr. G. H. Sanday, Mr. A. J. Smith, Sir J. L. E. Spearman, Bart., Mr. Martin J. Sutton, Mr. Garrett Taylor, Mr. John Tremayne, Sir Jacob Wilson. Professor Brown, C.B. Mr. Ernest Clarke, Secretary and Editor. The minutes of the Council held on June 4, and of the special meetings of the Council held in the Showyard on June 23 and 24, were read and con- firmed. The proceedings at the Special Councils included the sanction of the award of a Third Prize in Class I. of Farms, in the event of the Local Committee being willing to provide the funds, and various decisions on the subject of the entries of and prizes awarded to Jersey cattle. VOL. I. T. S. — 3 Election of New Governors and Members. The election of the following Governor and twenty-four members was proceeded with : — Governor. Burton, Lord. .Eangemore, Burtou-on-Treut. Members. Blight, B. . .10, Eestormel Terrace, Plymouth. Boston, Joseph. .Broad Lane, Acock’s Green, Birmingham. Brown, H. C. . . Kingston Blount, Tetsworth. Brown, Eichard.. Land port, Lewes. Byass, B. N.. . Wyck Hill, Stow-on-the-Woid. Dear, Francis.. Lower Farm, Preston, Cond- • over, Southampton. Dennis, Henry Dyke. .New Hall, Kuabon. Dyke, John. .15 Water Street, Liverpool. Hargreaves, J. E.. .Beezor Lodge.Kendal. Homer, G. W. . Athelhampton Had, Dorchester. Millyard, J. W. . . Littlebridge, Bromyard. Newman, M. W.. .Empingham, Butland. Pearson, A. .Bamsdale Farm, Arnold, Notts. Bitson, Archibald. . Micklethwaite, Wigtou. Bodd, E. S. . . Chardstock House, Chard. Bod well, W. H. . . Holbrook House, Ipswich. Budland, T. N.. . Woolverstone, Suffolk. Schack-Sommer, G. . . 323 Vauxhall Eoad, Liverpool. Steele, R. D . . 30 Exchange St. East, Liverpool. Strickland, E . . Clifton Ho., Hailsham, Sussex. Taylor, Charles, jun...Akeld House,- Wooler, Northumberland. Thomas, G. P. . .Hemsworth, Wakefield. Todd, D.. .Trinity Vicarage, Bingley, Yorks. Walker, J. W... Dalton Parva, Botherham. Finance. Sir Nigel Kingscote (Chairman) presented for payment various ac- counts amounting in all to 2, 052lAs.6d., which had been duly passed by the Committee. 9 xcviii Monthly Council , June 25, 1890. Showyard. Works. Sir Jacob Wilson (Chairman) reported that the wetness of the paint on some of the sheep hurdles had been discussed in the Committee, and that the Surveyor had been instructed to prepare estimates for sheep hurdles, after the pattern of the pig hurdles, for use at future Meetings. Mr. Bennison’s statement of accounts had been examined and passed by the Committee, and they recommended that a cheque of 400Z. be drawn in his favour for labour required during the forthcoming month. Trials of Cider-Making Plant. The following report, signed by Messrs. Dan. Pidgeon and F. J. Hayes, as Judges of Plant for Cider- making, and endorsed by the Stewards of Implements, was received:— As the Judges appointed in Class IV., we have made a careful inspec- tion of each of the exhibits in the yard, and find a great variety of machines, all of which are of con- siderable interest ; but we find our- selves quite unable to form any conclusions as to the relative merits of the machines in question, without a trial of apples assisted by the dynamometer. After discussion it was resolved, on the motion of Mr. Dent, seconded by Sir Matthew White Ridley, that a further trial of these implements shall be made at some convenient place during next autumn, when the apples are in a condition for making the cider. [See p. cxv.] Dates of Future Country Meetings. The Secbetaky reported further correspondence with the Royal Counties Agricultural Society, as to the proposed deputation from that Society with reference to the dates of holding this Society’s Annual Country Meetings, and it was arranged that a deputation of five or six representa- tives from that Society should be re- ceived on W ednesday, July 30 next, at 12.15 P.M. Nomination of General Doncaster Committee. On the motion of Sir Jacob Wilson, a General Doncaster Com- mittee was appointed, to consist of the whole Council, together with six representatives of the Local Com- mittee to be nominated by the Mayor of Doncaster. Votes of Thanks. On the motion of Sir Jacob Wilson, votes of thanks for assistance rendered in connection with the Ply- mouth Meeting were unanimously passed to the Mayor and Corporation of Devonport ; to Messrs. Harris Bulteel & Co., the local bankers of the Society ; to the Chief Constables of the Devon, Plymouth, and Devonport Constabulary ; to Messrs. Spooner & Co. for the furniture used in the offices ; and to Mr. J. W. Billing for the floral decorations in the Show- yard. It was also resolved that at the close of the Meeting letters should be written conveying the appreciation of the Council of the very efficient services rendered by— 1. The Detach- ment of the A Division of Metropolitan Police, under the command of Chief Inspector Wren; 2. the Officials of the St. John Ambulance Association in charge of the Ambulance Station ; and 3, the Officials of the Great Western and South Western Railway Companies for the facilities afforded by them. Miscellaneous. Communications were received — 1, from the Correspondents for the Society’s Premium Stallions, Eclipse , Jack Tar , and Lancastrian , reporting the details of service during the past season ; 2, from the Organising Com- mittee of the Imperial Institute transmitting a copy of the Con- stitution of the Permanent Govern- ing Body, upon which it is pro- posed that the Royal Agricultural Society of England shall be repre- sented by one member; 3, from Monsieur Henry de Vilmorin, thank- ing the Society for his election as an Honorary Member ; 4, from the Hunters’ Improvement Society as to their proposed award of gold medals to brood mares ; and 5, from the Town Clerk of Warwick with refer- ence to the Society’s Country Meeting of 1892. Date of Next Meeting. The Council then adjourned until Wednesday, July 30, at 12 Hanover Square, at 12 noon. xeix WEDNESDAY, JULY 30, 1890. THE EARL OF RAVENSWORTH (PRESIDENT) IN THE CHAIR Present : — Trustees. — Right Hon. Sir Thomas Dyke Acland, Bart., Earl Cathcart, Sir Nigel Kingscote, K.C.B., Earl of Powis. Vice-Presidents. — Earl of Fever- sham, Earl of Lathom, Right Hon. Sir Massey Lopes, Bart., Sir J. H. Thorold, Bart., Mr. C. Whitehead. Other Members of Council. — Mr. G. M. Allender, Mr. J. Bowen- Jones, Lord Brougham and Yaux, Mr. James A. Caird, Mr. Chandos-Pole-Gell, Earl of Coventry, Mr. Percy Crutchley, Mr. C. de L. Faunce de Laune, Viscount Emlyn, Mr. William Frankish, Mr. Hugh Gorringe, Mr. Charles Howard, Mr. C. S. Mainwaring, Mr. T. H. Miller, Mr. Albert Pell, Mr. James Rawlence, Mr. G. H. Sanday, Mr. W. T. Scarth, Mr. A. J. Smith, Mr. Henry Smith, Mr. Garrett Taylor, Mr. Jos. P. Terry, Mr. R. A. Warren, Mr. E. V. V. Wheeler, Mr. C. W. Wilson, Sir Jacob Wilson. Officers. — Mr. Ernest Clarke, Sec- retary and Editor; Mr. E. W. Yoelcker, Acting Consulting Chemist. The following members of the Don- caster Local Committee were also present : — The Mayor of Doncaster, Mr. F. Bacon-Frank, Alderman Stockil, Mr. John White, Mr. G. T. Wood, Mr. G. B. C. Yarborough, and Mr. George Chafer (Secretary). The minutes of the last monthly meeting of the Council, held in the Showyard at Plymouth on the 25th June, and of the Special Councils held on the 26th and 27th June, were read and confirmed. The minutes of the Special Councils recorded various decisions upon points of detail connected with the Plymouth Show, and suggestions made by the Stewards of Stock which were referred to the Stock Prizes Committee for con- sideration. Extension of leave to Consulting Chemist. The President said that, as a matter of urgency, he must ask the permission of the Council to allow him to interpose before the ordinary business commenced, in order to read a telegram which had been received at the India Office from the Govern- ment of India, asking that the Society’s consent might be obtained to an extension for a further period of two months of the year’s leave of absence which the Council had granted to their Consulting Chemist, Dr. Voelcker. Dr. Voelcker, as they were aware, was now engaged in India upon a Government inquiry, of great complexity and importance, ; s to the best course to be adopted for the improvement of Indian Agricul- ture by scientific means. The Indian Government, to whom the Society had lent the services of Dr. Yoelcker at the instance of Sir James Caird, telegraphed that they were anxious that he should complete his report 'before his departure, and they pro- posed that he should leave for England by the first steamer in January, which would enable him to attend the Society’s Council meeting to be held in February. He thought the Council would probably be willing to accede to the application, and to extend Dr. Voelcker’s leave of absence until the end of January next. Viscount Emlyn said that the Chemical Committee had not had an opportunity of considering this appli- cation, as it was received after their sitting yesterday, but he thought he might venture to say in their name that they would raise no objection to the extension of Dr. Voelcker’s leave of absence, and he hoped the Council would accede to it, as the work of the laboratory was being carried on en- tirely to the satisfaction of the Com- mittee by the Acting Chemist. 0 c Monthly Council , July 30, 1890, it was then unanimously resolved to extend Dr. Yoelcker’s leave of absence until the 31st January 1891. Election of Governors and Members. The election of the following Go- vernor and fifty-four Members was then proceeded with : — Governor. Freake, Sir Thomas G. . . Warfleet, Dartmouth. Members. Alexander, F.. .41 Eccleston Square, S.W. Auckland, Lord..Edenthorpe, Doncaster. Bain, D. W.. .Glenfendon, Portreath, Cornwall. Berg, Count F. . . Sagnitz, by Riga, Russia. Cousins, W. W. . . The Gattons, Cliffe-at-Hoo, Kent. Cross, William 1 . .Red Scar, Preston. Cruft, Charles. .325 Holloway Road, N. Danby, Captain Joliu.. South Villa, Foggy Furze, West Hartlepool. Dickinson, E. . . Meersbrook Bank, Sheffield. Doyle, J. A.. .Withdean Farm, Patcliam. Eastley, T. B. . .Uplands, Paignton, Devon. Elder, A. L. ..Craigburn, Hindmarsh, South Australia. Fowler, E. S. . .Barton Ct., Col wall, Malvern. Fowler, R. H.. .Steam Plough Works, Leeds. Fox, C. J. . . Metkeringham, Lincolnshire. Fox, Rev. H. E. . . South Bailey, Durham. Frankish, J...Brigg, Lincolnshire. Gref.xshields, R. L.. .Eastham, Cheshire. Harrison, Major-General Sir Richard, K.C.B., R.E., Government House, Devonport. Hyde, Rev. J.T.. .Ruan Lauikorne,Grampound Road, Cornwall. Johns, R. B. . .20, Princess Square, Plymouth. Lambert, H. C. M. . . Sandhills, Bletchingley. Lanes, R. . .Sherbeck, Boston. Lanyon, W.. .Treludderow.Newlyn East, Corn- wall. Lumley, Percy, ..Selby, Yorkshire. Farrington, H. M.’ . .Imperial Hotel, Hull. Peter, R. A., J.P. . . Flymiarven, Love, Cornwall. Rattray, J. T. . . Kilmorna, Listowell, co. Kerry. Roebuck, T.. . Wadworth Grange, Doncaster. Rycroft, R. N. . . Kempshott Park, Basingstoke. Salter, W. H.. .The Hall, Attleborough. Scott, R.. .Glen Allen, Alnwick. Skdlen, H. J.. .Wimborue, Dorset. Shepherd, H. A. ..Shaw End, Kendal. Smith, F. A. . . Easthorpe Ho. Ruddington, Notts. Soltau, V. IL. .Little Efford, Plymouth. Sorabjee, KhanBaliadoor Bazenjee. .Commis- sariat Department, Bombay, India. Sturgeon, C... South Ockcnden, Romford. Telfer, J. S. G...The Woollaw, Rochester, Otterburn, Northumberland. Tooth, R. L. . .1, Queen's Gate, S.W. Townsend, C. E... Mount Coote, Kilmallock, co. Limerick. Tylue, Edward. .R. A. College, Cirencester. Unite, James &.. .5, Maida Vale, W. Unwin, W. C., F.R.S. . . 7, Palace Gate Mansions. V ei.vin, W... Upton Farm, Ermington, Ivy- bridge, Devon. Vendrell, Sefior Don Adolfo .. Guatemala, South America. Waide, R.. .7, South Brook Street, Leeds. W ebb, J. . Gt. Grove Farm, Ottersham,Chertscy. Webb, S. G...Plymleigh, Broughton Drive, Cressington, Liverpool. Williams, H. H. . .Penealenick, Truro. Williams, J.. .Regilbury Park, Winford, Bristol. Williams, P. D. . . Scorrier, Cornwall. Wilson, W. E. S... Friars Hall, Hadleigli. Wise, W. . . Woolston House, N. Cadbury, Bath. Wolfe, Miss E. S... Jarvis Brook, Tunbridge Wells. The reports of the General Don- caster Committee and of the several Standing Committees were then pre- sented and adopted as below : — General Doncaster Committee. In view of the fact that a deputa- tion from the Royal Counties Agricul- tural Society was in attendance to make representations as to the dates of holding the Country Meetings of the Society, it was resolved that the report of the General Doncaster Committee should be read first, but that its adoption should not be dis- cussed until after the deputation had stated their case. Sir John Thorold then reported that the Committee had been con- stituted at the meeting of the Council held on June 25tli, and was to consist of the whole Council, with six mem- bers of the Local Committee to be nominated by the Mayor of Doncaster. The following gentlemen had been nominated by the Mayor as local representatives, and had all been present at the meeting of the Com- mittee held that morning: — The Mayor of Doncaster, Mr. G. B. C. Yarborough (President of the Doncaster Agricul- tural Society), Mr. F. Bacon- Frank, Alderman Stockil, Mr. John White, Mr. G. T. Wood, and Mr. George Chafer (Local Secretary). The Com- mittee had considered the date to be suggested for the holding of the Doncaster Meeting, and had unani- mously resolved to recommend, on the motion of the Mayor of Don- caster, seconded by Mr. Sanday, that the Show be held from Monday, June 22nd, to Friday, June 26th, 1891, the Implement Yard being open on the previous Saturday. The Mayor of Doncaster having announced that the Local Committee would be willing to offer £300 in prizes for farms situated in Yorkshire, the Committee recommended that these prizes be accepted, and that the conditions be 1 Reinstated under Bye-law 12. 'Farm, Prizes in connection with Doncaster Meeting. ci as below : the entries to close on Saturday, November 1st nest : — Farm Prizes in connection with Doncaster Meeting. Class 1. — For the best managed Arable and Grass Farm of 200 acres and upwards, of which not less than one-half shall be arable. First Prize, £50 ; Second, .£30 ; Third, £20. Class 2. — For the best managed Arable and Grass Farm above 100 acres and not exceeding 200 acres, of which not less than one-half shall be arable. First Prize, £50; Second, £30; Third, £20. Class 3. — For the best managed Arable and Grass Farm above forty acres and not exceeding 100 acres. First Prize, £50; Second, £30; Third, £20. Conditions of Entey. 1. — The competition in all three classes is limited to tenant farmers paying a bona fide rent for at least three-fourths of the land in their occupation. 2. — In assessing the proportion of arable and grass land on the occu- pation, the Judges are instructed to consider as permanent pasture all land that has been laid down to pasture for ten years. 3. — Competitors must enter for competition all the land in their occupation in the district. 4. — Competitors must have had the land in their occupation for not less than two years. 5. — The last day of entry is Saturday, November 1st, 1890. The entrance fee is £1 to mem- bers of the Society, and £2 to non- members. Members of the Don- caster Agricultural Society will be allowed to enter on the same terms as members of the Royal Agri- cultural Society. 6. — Competitors are requested to send a tracing of the plan of their farms with their certificate of entry, and to have ready for the Judges on their first visit a correct list of the stock on their farms. 7. — The Judges are instructed to take into consideration cases in which competitors occupy land when agents for their landlords, and are likely to derive undue ad- vantage from that dual position. 8. — The Judges will be instructed to withhold the prizes in the absence of sufficient merit in any of the com- peting farms. 9. — The Judges will be instructed especially to consider : — 1. General management with a view to profit. 2. Productiveness of crops. 3. Quality and suitability of live stock, especially that bred upon the farm. 4. Management of grass land. 6. State of gates, fences, roads, and general neatness. 6. Mode of book-keeping followed (if any). 7. Management of the dairy and dairy produce, if dairying is pursued. 8. The duration of the tenancy. 10. — The Judges are authorised to recommend to the Council the award of certificates to any really deserving persons employed on any of the competing farms for dis- tinguished merit in the discharge of their duties, such recommenda- tions to be accompanied by a cer- tificate of good character and length of service from the competing farmer. The number of certificates so granted may not exceed three in the case of a farm entered in class 1, two in the case of class 2, and one in class 3. Deputation from Royal Counties Agricultural Society. A deputation was then received from the Royal Counties Agricultural Society with reference to the dates of holding the Country Meetings of the Royal Agricultural Society. The Earl of Nokthbbook, as Pre- sident of the Royal Counties Society, introduced the deputation, which con- sisted of the Duke of Wellington, Lord Basing, and Messrs. Dymore Brown (Chairman of the Committee of the Society), W. J. Henman, W. Mousley, W. Newton, the Secretary (Mr. Charles Simmons), and the As- sistant Secretary (Mr. C. Franklin Simmons). His Lordship said that the Council were fully aware of the object of the deputation. The Royal Counties Society thought they had a grievance against the Royal Agricul- Cll Monthly Council, July 30, 1890. tural Society, in consequence of the change of date and time of their Meetings. Lord Basing, who had been so very long connected with the Society, would kindly state their case. Lord Basing said that the matter, though not perhaps one of life and death, was yet to them a very serious one, in which they took the deepest interest, and which was most impor- tant for their future success. Their Society had been in existence for a great number of years. Beginning in a small way, they had within the last few years grown very considerably, comparing with the Bath and West of England, and covering the two counties of Hants and Berks, each county containing a Koyal residence ; and Her Majesty the Queen was a patron and subscriber. For twenty- five years they had continued in uninterrupted success, and particu- larly for the last moiety of that period. There was no interruption to the continuous improvement in their numbers, in their exhibitions, and in the credit which they got from the press and the public, until the un- fortunate year when, on the occasion of the jubilee of the “ Royal ” Society, that Society changed the habitual period of their meetings from the early part of July to the third week in June. This week had been the meeting-time of the Royal Counties from the first, and no interruption had occurred and no difficulty had been felt. In their experience they found that week to be the most convenient time until two years ago, when the “ Royal ” met at Windsor, in the district of the Royal Counties, on the occasion of their jubilee. The con- sequences of that were disastrous to the Meeting which the Royal Counties held the same year at Horsham. To their surprise, the “ Royal ” Society, having changed the period of their Meeting from July to June in that year, continued the same course in the year which followed, viz., this year at Plymouth, and the results to the Royal Counties were also very disastrous. He attributed their losses in these two years to the fact that they followed instead of preceded the Meeting of the “ Royal ” Society. It was known that the breeders of stock and the exhibitors of imple- ments, whose assistance they desired to have, looked to the “ Royal ” as the culmination — the acme of the agricultural year. Many exhibitors withdrew from competition after that date, and, especially, the foreigners went away as soon as the “ Royal ” had held its Show. He appealed to that most representative meeting of the “ Royal ” Council to decide this question, not exclusively on the point of personal convenience of any of the leading members of the Council, but to decide it in the interest of the agricultural com- munity of the whole kingdom. It might be that the “Royal” Society would desire to absorb within itself all the duties and all the functions which appertained to smaller societies, but he hardly thought that that would be found to be the case, but that they would take a large and liberal view of their position, and feel that they were responsible in a way for agri- cultural shows of all kinds, which, as they knew, had been conducted with constantly growing success. It would be a calamity if the Royal Counties or the Bath and West were hindered in the further success of what had hitherto been a prosperous career. To show some of the points which he had indicated, he might mention that previous to the year 1889 the Meetings of the Royal Counties Society were uniformly held in the third week in June. There was only one show during the whole of that period which resulted in a loss, and that was in the year when the Queen’s Jubilee took place, with which of course the Society had nothing to do. Each of the shows since the change of date had resulted in a considerable loss. During the last two years, when the “ Royal ” had held its show in the third week of June instead of in July, as had been customary for fifty years, the gate money for the Royal Counties Show had seriously fallen off, being 30 per cent, below the average of the six previous years. But a point interest- ing to agriculturists was that the number of absent exhibits in the stock classes had largely increased since the change of date. The num- ber of entries which had been received, but which on the opening day of the show held in 1889 were Deputation from Eoyal Counties Agricultural Society, ciii found wanting, were four times as many as in 1888, while at the Win- chester Show this year the absent exhibits exceeded by eighty-eight those of last year’s show. Exhibitors would not incur the expense of sending to the Royal Counties Show after they had been beaten at the “Royal.” They had the same difficulty in regard to the implement exhibitors. Since the date had been changed the number had fallen considerably, the average of implement exhibitors during the last two years being 50 per cent, below the average of the five preceding years. Foreign buyers did not attend the Royal Counties Show because they went home immediately after the “Royal” Show. He earnestly hoped that the members of the Council would consider whether — in consequence of the Royal Counties having to hold their Meeting at the time named — the period of the year would not have very serious and prejudicial effects upon the fortunes of a very much smaller, less important, but certainly thriving Society, and whether they could not prevent this by reverting to the older period for their annual Country Meeting. No other members of the deputa- tion desiring to offer any observations, The President said it was his duty, on behalf of the Council, to thank them for coming there that day to explain the reasons of the change which they suggested. He could assure them that the statement so clearly made by Lord Basing would be most carefully considered by the Council. It would not be in accord- ance with his duty or the convenience of the Council that he should attempt hastily to give an answer to the important points brought forward. There was, however, one matter to which he would like to take an ex- ception. He could assure his friend Lord Basing, an old Parliamentary colleague of his own, that there was no desire on the part of the “ Royal” Society to “absorb” the duties of other, not rival, but local societies. In proof of that he would point to the effect of the operations of that great Society in the success with which county shows were held all over the kingdom. The Council thanked them very much for their attendance, and their answer would be conveyed in writing to the Royal Counties Society. The deputation then withdrew, and the President declared the question open to discussion. The Mayor of Doncaster (Mr. Joseph Firth Clark), on behalf of the Local Committee, stated that there were reasons which made it exceed- ingly important that the date of Meeting should not be changed from the third week in June. The Earl of Feversham sug- gested that perhaps Sir Jacob Wil- son, or some one who had had long experience in the affairs of the Society, would state the peculiar advantages which were supposed to exist in the change from the former date to the present. He had no doubt that there were excellent reasons for the change, but he should like to know what the reasons were for continuing the changed date. Sir Jacob Wilson said unfortu- nately he was not present at the meeting of the General Doncaster Committee when the matter was dis- cussed that morning, but he had been very carefully into the matter with the Secretary and others, and they had come to the decision that the week commencing June 22nd was certainly the right week for the Don - caster Show, and that this period of the year was generally most suitable for their Meeting. The farmers of England had come to the conclusion that this was the best week for their purpose, not only on the ground that it suited holiday-makers, but because it was a most convenient week with reference to the hay harvest and other operations of the farm, and the ani- mals were best fitted for showing at that time. There were other consi- derations which might be mentioned, but he thought he need not point to anything more than the weather which they had had during the last two years. Their experience of the weather during the present season, and certainly during the Windsor Show, showed that they had selected the right week. The Council did not of course wish to offend the susceptibilities of any other Society, but really he must demur to the interests of this large national Society CIV Monthly Council, July 30, 1890. being sacrificed to those of much smaller and more local societies : which, whilst undoubtedly doing good service in their respective spheres, could hardly claim a monopoly of a week which had been proved most convenient to the general body of agriculturists throughout the country, whom it was the object and the function of the “Royal” to serve. The arguments of the deputation were not in his opinion sound, because from his own personal experience nine-tenths of the shows of the United Kingdom took place after the “ Royal,” and successfully. The President was connected with some large and im- portant societies which had held exceedingly successful shows within the last week. As his friend Mr. Garrett Taylor reminded him, the Royal Counties was not the only Society interfered with by the change of the date. The N orf oik Agricultural Society found themselves similarly situated, but they took the philo- sophical measure of adopting the week of the “ Royal.” He believed they had no reason to complain, but had held a very successful Show at. Yarmouth. That proved that it was not necessary that the county shows should culminate with the “ Royal.” He pointed to the fact that 700 or 800 horses were going to be exhibited at the Yorkshire Show at Harrogate next week. That showed that the interest was still being kept up. Then there was the Show of the Highland Society going on that day at Dundee. Their friends must not forget that both last year and this year the Royal Show was held in a district which was sup- posed to belong to the Southern Counties. Whether the Royal Counties Show were held at Horsham or at Winchester, it was equally likely to be injuriously affected in this way. But next year when the “ Royal” went to Doncaster, they would not feel the same il 1 effects. All things considered, and after an experience of more than twenty-five years in connection with that Society, he could not help feeling that the Council had adopted the right principle in holding the Show during the third week in June. Mr. Garrett Taylor, as a repre- sentative of the county of Norfolk, said that their Society was in exactly the same position in regard to the date of the Show. The “Royal” had taken their week, and they, therefore, simply bowed to the decision of the larger Society, and took the week of the “ Royal.” Their experience of the change in the Show held at Yarmouth bad been most successful, both in regard to the entries of stock and the entry of the public, so much so that they had taken £1,100 in gate money. After some further conversation the recommendation of the General Don- caster Committee, that the date of the Doncaster Meeting be fixed for Mon- day, June 22nd, to Friday, June 26th, was put to the vote and unanimously adopted. At the request of the Council, the President undertook to inform Lord Northbrook, as President of the Royal Counties Agricultural Society, that the Council had unanimously come to the conclusion that no sufficient reasons had been adduced for altering the period of the year, which the Council, after many years’ experience, and with the approval of the great body of their members and exhibitors, had recently fixed upon for the holding of their annual Country Meeting. Finance. Sir Nigel Kingscote (Chairman) reported that the accounts, as certified by the Society’s accountants, for the month of June, and also for the period ended 26th July, had been laid upon the table and approved. The receipts for June were 2,33 il. Is. 6 d., and the expenditure was 4,942 1. 10s. 10 d., and for the period ended the 26th July the receipts were 2.102Z. 16s. 6 d., and the expenditure was 1,532Z. 18s. 4 d. The balance at the bank, allowing for cheques outstanding, was 3,420Z. 1 8s.3 1888, bred by J. H. Casswell, s. Willoughby; d. Lustre by Promise. Class 111. — Lincoln Shearling Earns. [14 entries, 4 absent.] 1055 I. (£15.) — R. Wright, Nocton Heath, Lincoln, born Feb. or Mar. 1889. 1046 II. (£10.) — H. Dudding, Riby Grove, Grimsby, born about Mar 1, 1889. 1056 III. (£5.)- — R. Wright, Nocton Heath, born Feb. or Mar. 1889. 1049 R. N.— Henry Dudding, born Mar. 1, 1889. Com.— Henry Dudding for No. 1044 ; John Pears for No. 1053. Class 112. — Pen of Three Lincoln Earn Lambs, dropped in 1890. [6 entries, 2 absent.] 1061 I. (£10.)— John Pears, Mere, Lincoln, born Feb. 1890. 1063 II. (£5.)— R. Wright, Nocton Heath, Lincoln, bom Feb. or Mar. 1890. 1058 R. N, & H. C.— Henry Dudding, bom Mar. 1, 1890. Shropshire Sheep. cli [Unless otherwise stated, each animal named below was “ bred by exhibitor.”] Class 113. — Pen of Three Shearling Lincoln Ewes, of the same flock. [6 entries, 2 absent.] 1069 I. (£15.) — R. Wright, Nocton Heath, Lincoln, born Feb. or Mar. 1880. 10G5 II. (£10.)— Henry Budding, Riby Grove, Grimsby, born Mar. 1, 1889. 1061 III. (£5.)— Henry Dudding, born Mar. 1, 1889. Oxford Downs. Class 114. — Oxford Down Two-Shear llarns. [3 entries, none absent.] 1070 I. (£15.) — J. Treadwell, Upper Wincliendon, Bucks, for Progress, bom about Feb. 14, 1888; s. Baron Druce 146, d. by Baron Bicester 129. 1071 II. (£10.) — J. Treadwell, for Grand Lord, bom about Jan. 20, 1888; s. His Lordship 347, d. by Baron Bicester 129. 1072 R. N. — J. Treadwell, for Windsor Favourite, born about Feb. 7, 1888 > s. Freelands Pride 145, d. by Royal Preston 128. Class 115. — Oxford Down Shearling Rams. [13 entries, none absent.] 107G I. (£15.) — Albert Brassey, Heytlirop Park, Chipping Norton, for Prime Minister, born Jan. 28, 1889 ; s. Young Howard 544. 1085 II. (£10.) — J. Treadwell, Upper Wincliendon, Bucks, for Royal Plymouth, born about Feb. 14, 1889; s. Brassey’s No. 22, 217, d. by Royal Preston 1 28. 10S2 III. (£5.) — J. Treadwell, for Hobbs’ Vicar, born about Feb. 7, 1889; s. Irchester Vicar 373, d. by Hobbs’ No. 6350. 1078 R. N. & H. C. — Albert Brassey, Heytlirop Park; s. Compton 1st 241. 1079 Com. — Exors. of the late ZaciiARIah W. Stilgoe, Adderbury, Oxon. Class 116. — Pen of Three Oxford Down Ram Lambs, dropped in 1890. [6 entries, 2 absent.] 1086 I. (£10.) — George Adams, Pidnell, Faringdon, bom about Jan. 15, 1890 ; s. Prince Edward 438, d. by Fyfield Duke 310. 1088 II. (£5.) — -Albert Brassey, Heytlirop Park, Oxon, born Jan. 21, 1890. 1091 R. N. & H. C. — Wm. J. P. Reading, Langford, Lechladc. Class 117. — Pen of Three Shearling Oxford Down Ewes, of the same flock. [8 entries, 2 absent.] 1095 I. (£15.) — Albert Brassey, Heytlirop Park, Chipping Norton, born Feb. 8, 1889 ; ss. Young Howard 544 and Sir John 469. 1092 II. (£10.) — George Adams, Pidnell, Faringdon, born about Jan. 15, 1889; s. Prince Edward 438 ,d. by Fyfield Duke 310. 1093 III. (£5.)— George Adams, bom about Jan. 15, 1889; s. Prince Edward 438, d. by Fyfield Duke 310. 1094 R. N. & H. C.— G. Adams, s. Prince Edward 438, d. by Fyfield Duke 310. 1097 Com. — J. A. Miles, Higkworth, born Feb. 15, 1889. Shropshires. Class 118. — Shropshire Two-Shea Rams. [25 entries, 5 absent.] 1115 I. (£15.)— Andrew E. Mansell, Astol, Shifnal, born Mar. 1888. 1104 II. (£10.) — A. S. Berry, Pbeasey Farm, Gt. Barr, Birmingham, for Coven- try Choice, born Mar. 1888, bred by W. R. Mann, Bolarum, LeamingtoD. cl Award of Live-Stock Prizes at Plymouth. [Unless otherwise stated, each animal named below was “ bred by exhibitor.”] 1012 III. (£5.) — Mrs. Barrs, Odstone Hall, Atberstone, for Rising Star, bom Mar. 1 888 ; s. Ringleader 3693, cl. by Pride of Freeford 957. 1101 R. N. & H. C. — Francis Bach, Onibury, Craven Arms, bom Mar. 3, 1888. H. C.— Francis Bach for No. 1100; A. G. Lucas for No. 1114, Dudinaston 2nd; A. E. Mansell for No. 1117; John Price for No. 1121. Com. — John Bourne for No. 1105; George Graham for No. 1111. Class 119. — Shropshire Shearling Rams. [96 entries, 22 absent.] 1174 I. (£15.) — W. F. Inge, Thorpe Hall, Tamworth, born Mar. 1889. 1130 II. (£10.) — Mrs. Barrs, Odstone Hall, Atherstone, born Mar. 1889. 1129 III. (£5.) — Mrs. Barrs, born Mar. 1889. 1163 R. N. & H. C. — George Graham, The Oaklands, near Birmingham. H. C.— Mrs. Barrs for Nos. 1127, 1128; A. S. Berry for No. 1131; Thomas Fenn for Nos. 1158, 1159; George Graham for Nos. 1160, 1162 ; W. F. Inge for Nos. 1171, 1172, 1173 ; A. E. Mansell for Nos. 1184, 1185, 1187; T. S. Minton for Nos. 1197, 1198; J. L. Naper for Nos. 1202, 1203, 1204; M. Williams for No. 1219. Com. — F. Bach for No. 1125; A. S. Berry for No. 1132; John Bourne for No. 1135; J. Bowen-Jones for No. 1139; Richard Brown for No. 1146; G. Lewis for No. 1177; P. L. Mills for No. 1193; J. L. Naper for No. 1201: John Price for No. 1209; H. Townshend for No. 1217. Class 120. — Pen of Three Shropshire Ram Lambs, dropped in 1890. [19 entries, 10 absent.] 1230 I. (£10.) — W. F. Inge, Thorpe Hall, Tamworth, bom Feb. 1890. 1222 II. (£5.) — H. Sc A. Bradburne, Pipe Place, Lichfield, bom Feb. 1890. 1238 R. N. & H. C. — Richard Thomas, Baschurch, Salop, born Mar. 1890. H. C. — John Bourne for No. 1221 ; Richard Brown for No. 1225. Com. — T. H. Miller for No. 1236 ; Wm. Thomas for No. 1239. Class 121. — Pen of Three Shearling Shropshire Ewes, of the same flock. [29 entries, 9 absent.] 1250 I. (£15.) — Geo. Graham, The Oaklands, Birmingham, born Feb. 1889. 1259 II. (£10.) — T. S. Minton, Montford, Salop, born Feb. 1889. 1251 III. (£5.)— George Graham, born Feb. 1889. 1253 R. N. & H. C. — W. F. Inge, Thorpe Hall, Tamworth, born Mar. 1889. H. C J. Bowen-Jones for No. 1242 ; H. & A. Bradburne for No. 1244 ; John Price for No. 1264 ; A. Tanner for No. 1266. Com. — T. Fenn for No. 1249; A. G. Lucas for No. 1256; P. A. MUNTZ, M.P., for No. 1260; H. Townshend for No. 1268. Southaowns. Class 122 — Southdoivn Tivo-Shear Rams. [12 entries, none absent.] 1271 I. (£15, & Champion, £25.') — J. J. Colman, M.P., Carrow House, Nor- wich, born Feb. 1888. 1280 II. (£10.) — W. Toop, Aldingbourne, Chichester, born abt. Feb. 12, 1888- 1278 III. (£5.) — The Duke of Richmond & Gordon, K.G., bom Feb. 1888- 1269 R. N. & H. C. — H.R.H. the Prince of Wales, K.G., born Mar. 1888- 1273 H. C. — E. Ellis, Summersbury Hall, Shalford, Surrey, for Duke 2nd. 1274 Com. — E. Ellis, for Summersbury. Cap given by Southdown Breeders for best Southdown Rams in Classes 122 and 123. Hampshire Down Sheep. clii [Unless otherwise stated, each animal named below was “bred by exhibitor.”] Class 123. — Southdown Shearling Rams. [33 entries, 6 absent.] 1281 I. (£15, & R. N. for Champion.) — H.R.H. the Prince of Wales, K.G., born Mar. 1889. 1292 II. (£10.) — Edwin Ellis, Summersbury Hall, Shalford, Surrey, born . about Feb. 14, 1889. 1312 III. (£5.) — W. Toop, Aldingbourne, Chichester, born about Feb. 12, 1889. 1287 R. N. & H. C. — J. J. Colman, M.P., Carrow Ho., Norwich, born Feb. 1889. H. C. — The Duke of Hamilton & Brandon, K.T., for No. 1293 ; W. Toop for No. 1313. 1303 Com.— Hugh Penfold, Selsey, Chichester, for Selsey Bill. Class 124. — Pen of Three Southdown Ram Lambs, dropped in 1890. [14 entries, 4 absent.] 1318 I. (£10.) — Edwin Ellis, Summersbury Hall, Shalford, Surrey, born about Feb. 7, 1890. 1327 II. (£5.) — -W. Toop, Aldingbourne, Chichester, born Feb. 12, 1890. 1316 R. N. & H. C. — J. J. Colman, M.P., Carrow Ho., Norwich, born Feb. 1890. 1322 H. C. — C. T. Lucas, Warnham Court, Horsham. Com. — H.R.H. the Prince of Wales, K.G., for No. 1314 ; the Pagham Harbour Co. for No. 1323. Class 125. — Pen of Three Shearling Southdown Ewes, of the same flock. [16 entries, 3 absent.] 1331 I. (£15.) — J. J. Colman, M.P., Carrow Ho. Norwich, born Feb. 1889. 1335 II. (£10.) — Edwin Ellis, Summersbury Hall, Shalford, Surrey, born about Feb. 14, 1889. 1343 III. (£5.) — W. Toop, Aldingbourne, Chichester, born about Feb. 14, 1889. 1329 R. N. & H. C. — H.R.H. the Prince of Wales, K.G., born Mar. 1889. Com. — Edwin Ellis for No. 1334 ; The Duke of Richmond and Gordon, K.G., for No. 1341. Hampshire Downs. Class 126. — Hampshire Down Two-Shear Rams. [7 entries, 1 absent.] 1349 I. (£15.) — H. Lambert, Babraham, Cambridge, born about Jan. 21, 1888. 1347 II. (£10.) — College of Agriculture, Downton, bom Jan. 17, 1888. 1346 III. (£5.)— R. Coles, Middleton, Warminster, bom about Jan. 20, 1888. 1345 R. N. — Robt. Coles, born Jan. 20, 1888. Class 127 .—Hampshire Down Shearling Rams. [14 entries, 4 absent.] 1360 I. (£15.) — H. Lambert, Babraham, Cambridge, bom about Jan 21, 1889. 1354 II. (£10.) — Robt. Coles, Middleton, Warminster, born abt. Jan. 20, 1889. 1356 III. (£5.) — Robert Coles, bom about Jan. 20, 1889. 1353 R. N. — C. & T. Coles, Winterbourne Stoke, Wilts., born Feb. 1, 1889. Class 128. — Pen of Three Hampshire Down Ram Lambs, dropped in 1890. [11 entries, 4 absent.] 1373 I. (£10.) — F. R. Moore, Littlecott, Upavon, Wilts, born Jan. 1890. 1372 II. (£5.) — F. R. Moore, born Jan. 1890. 1365 R. N. & H. C.— J. Barton, Hackwood Farm, Basingstoke, born Jan. 1890. 1371 H. C. — H. Lambert, Babraham, Cambridge, born about Jan. 21, 1890. 1367 Com.— R. Coles, Middleton, Warminster, born about Jan. 20, 1890. cliv Award of Live-Stock Prizes at Plymouth. [Unless otherwise stated, each animal named below Was “ bred by exhibitor.”] Class 129. — Pen of Three Shearling Hampshire Down Ewes, of the same flock. [4 entries, 1 absent.] 1377 I. (£15,) — College of Agriculture, Downton, born Jan. 17, 1889. 1378 II. (£10.) — College of Agriculture, Downton, born Jan. 17, 1889. 1376 R. N. — C. & T. Coles, Winterbourne Stoke, Wilts, born about Feb. 1, 1889. Suffolks. Class 130. — Suffolk Two-Shear Rams. [4 entries, none absent.] 1381 I. (£15.) — E. Gittus, Snailwell, Newmarket, for Quite Royal, born Feb. 25, 1888 ; s. Bendigo 1st, d. by Samson 2nd. 1382 II. (£10.) — T. L. Roberson & C. J. Eaton, Hengrave, Bury St. Edmunds, for Hengrave Pride, born Feb. 22, 1888 ; s. Tommy 2nd 282. 1380 R. N. & H. C. — The Marquis of Bristol for Van Dyke 3rd. 1383 Com. — J. Smith, Thorpe Hall, Hasketon, Suffolk, born. Feb. 1888. Class 131. — Suffolk Shearling Rams. [12 entries, 4 absent.] 1390 I. (£15.) — Edward Gittus, Snailwell, Newmarket, for The Swell, born Feb. 1889 ; s. Quite Royal, d. by Samson 2nd. 1387 II. (£10.) — The Marquis of Bristol, Ickworth Park, Suffolk, for Van Dyke 5th, born Jan. 29, 1889 ; s. Van Dyke Royal 2nd 827. 1385 III. (£5.) — The Marquis of Bristol, for Van Gwynne Royal 4th, born Jan. 25, 1889 ; s. Van Gwynne 1st 288. 1391 R. N. & H. C. — Edward Gittus for Sailor ; s. Sailor Frince. Com. — The Marquis of Bristol for Nos. 1388, Van Dyke Royal 3rd, 1389, Van Gwynne 6th. Class 132. — Pen of Three Suffolk Ram Lambs, dropped in 1890. [6 entries, 2 absent.] 1396 I. (£10.)— The Marquis of Bristol, Ickworth Park, Suffolk, born Jan. 1890 ; ss. Van Dyke 5th, Van Dyke Royal 3rd, and Van Gwynne Royal 4th. 1397 II. (£5.) — The Marquis of Bristol, born Jan. 1890 ; ss. Van Gwynne Royal 3rd, Van Gwynne 1st 288, and Van Dyke 3rd 828. 1399 R. N. & H. C. — T. L. Roberson & C. J. Eaton, Hengrave, Suffolk. Class 133. — Pen of Three Shearling Suffolk Ewes , of the same flock. [7 entries, 3 absent.] 1402 I. (£15.) — The Marquis of Bristol, Ickworth Park, Suffolk, born Jan. 1889 ; ss. Van Gwynne 1st 288 and Van Dyke 3rd 828. 1403 II. (£10.) — The Marquis of Bristol, born Jan. 1889 ; ss. Van Gwynne Royal 2nd 832 and Van Dyke 3rd 828. 1405 R. N. & H. C. — T. L. Roberson and C. Eaton, Hengrave, Suffolk. Somerset and Dorset Horned. Class 134. — Somerset and Dorset Horned Rams, Two-Shear and upwards. [4 entries, none absent.] 1409 I. (£15.) — H. Farthing, Tliurloxton, Taunton, for Duke, bom Jan. 1, 1887. 1412 II. (£10.) — Samuel Kidner, Bickley Farm, Milverton, Som., born Dec. 1887, bred by Mrs. Davies, Preston, Milverton. 1410 R. N. & H. C. — John Kidner, Nynehead, Wellington, Som. Devon Long-wool Sheep. civ [Unless otherwise stated, eacli animal named below was “bred by exhibitor.’’] Class 135. — Somerset and Dorset Horned Shearling Dams. [8 entries, none absent.] 1 116 I. (.£15.) — Herbert Farthing, Thurloxton, Taunton, for Prince, bom about Jan 1, 1889 ; s. Dorset. 1111 II. (£10.) — \Vm. J. Culverwell, Durleigh Farm, Bridgwater, born Jan. 14, 1889, bred by the late W. T. Culverwell, Durleigh Farm. 1120 III. (£5.)— S. Kidner, Bickley Farm, Milverton, Som., born Dec. 1888. 1417 R. N. & H. C. — John Kidner, Nynehead, Som., born Dec. 1888. 1419 H. C. — S. Kidner, Bickley Farm, Milverton, Som., born Dec. 1888. 1415 Com. — Herbert Farthing, Thurloxton, Taunton, for Captain. Class 136. — Pen of Three Shearling Somerset and Dorset Horned Eives, of the same flock. [5 entries, none absent.] 1421 I. (£15.) — Wm. J. Culverwell, Durleigh Farm, Bridgwater, born Jan. 10, 1889, bred by the late W. T. Culverwell, Durleigh Farm. 1423 II. (£10.) — John Kidner, Nynehead, Wellington, Som., born Dec. 1888. 1422 III. (.£5.) — Wm. J. Culverwell, Durleigh Farm, born Jan. 15, 1889, bred by the late W. T. Culverwell, Durleigh Farm. 1424 R. N. & H. C. — S. Kidner, Bickley Farm, Milverton, Som., born Dec. 1888. 1425 H. C. — E. J. Stanley, M.P., Quantock Lodge, Bridgwater, born Jan. 1. Devon Long-wool. Class 137. — Devon Long-wool Rams, Two-Shear and upwards. [10 entries, none absent.] 1431 I. (£15.) — Sir J. H. Heathcote-Amory, Bt., Knightshayes Court, Tiverton, for Royal Windsor, born Feb. 14, 1888. 1429 II. (£10.) — Sir J. H. Heathcote-Amory, Bt., born Feb. 28, 1888. 1432 III. (£5.) — Charles Norris, Mosshayne, Exeter, born Feb. 13,1887. 1426 R. N. & Com. — N. Cook, Clievithorne, Devon, for Jumbo, born Feb. 1887. Class 138. — Devon Long-wool Shearling Rams. [25 entries, 3 absent.] 1443 I. (£15.) — Sir J. H. Heathcote-Amory, Bt., Knightshayes Court, Tiverton, born Feb. 28, 1889. 1438 II. (£10.) — N. Cook, Chevithorne, Tiverton, born Feb. 1889. 1442 III. (£5.) — Sir J. H. Heathcote-Amory, Bt., born Feb. 7, 1889. 1444 R. N. & H. C. — Sir J. H. Heathcote-Amory, Bt., born Feb. 21, 1889. 1457 H. C. — C. G. Thorne, Curdon, Williton, Som., born about Feb. 6, 1889. Com. — Charles Norris, for No. 1450; A. C. Skinner, for Nos. 1454, 1455, 1456. Class 139. — Pen of Three Shearling Devon Long-ivool Ewes, of the same flock. [8 entries, 1 absent.] 1464 I. (£15.) — Sir J. H. Heathcote-Amory, Bt., Knightshayes Court, Tiverton, born Feb. 21, 1889. 1463 II. (£10.) — Sir J. H. Heathcote-Amory, Bt., born Feb. 28, 1889. 1461 III. (£5.) — -N. Cook, Chevithorne, Tiverton, Devon, bom Feb. 1889. 1462 R. N. & H. C.— N. Cook, born Feb. 1889. H. C. — C. Norris for Nos. 1466, 1467; E. R, B. Torr for No. 1468. clvi Award of Live-Stock Prizes at Plymouth. [Unless otherwise stated, each animal named below was “bred by exhibitor."] South Devons.1 Class 140. — South Devon Two-Shear Rams. [4 entries, none absent.] 1471 I. (£15.) — John Wintle, Keynedon Barton, Kingsbridge, born Feb. 1888. 1470 II. (£10.) — James Stooke, Sherford, Brixton, Devon, born Feb. 14, 1888. 1472 III. (£5.) — John Wintle, Keynedon Barton, Kingsbridge, born Feb. 1888. 14G9 R. N. & H. C. — J. S. Hallett, Sherford Barton, Devon, bora Feb. 1888. Class 141. — South Devon Shearling Rams. [16 entries, none absent.] 1482 I. (£15.) — James Stooke, Sherford, Brixton, Devon, born Feb. 14, 1889. 1483 II. (£10.) — James Stooke, Sherford, born Feb. 14, 1889. 1484 III. (£5.) — James Stooke, Sherford, bom Feb. 14, 1889. 1485 R. N. & H. C. — James Stooke, Sherford, born Feb. 14, 1889. 1477 H. C. — John S HalleUT, Sherford Barton, born Feb. 18S9. Com. — John Wintle for No. 1486 ; John S. Hallett for No. 1478. Class 142. — Pen of Three Shearling S. Devon Ewes, of the same flock. [7 entries, 1 absent.] 1492 I. (£15.) — James Stooke, Sherford, Brixton, Devon, bom Feb. 14, 1889. 1491 II. (£10.) — James Stooke, Sherford, born Feb. .14, 1889. 1490 III. (£5.) — J. S. Hallett, Sherford Barton, Devon, born Feb. 1889. 1489 R. N. & H. C. — J. S. Hallett, born Feb. 1889. Dartmoor. Class 143. — Dartmoor Rams, Two-Shear and wpwards. [7 entries, none absent.] 1498 I. (£15.) — James Drew, Artiscombe, Tavistock, bora about Feb. 20, 1888, bred by II. Hanns, Rowden, Tavistock. 1499 II. (£10.) — John Knapman, East Ash, South Tawton, Okehampton, Devon, born March 11, 1887. 1502 III. (£5.) — J. & E. B. Yelland, Cobham Week, Bridestowe, Devon, born March 3, 1888, bred by Mr. Westcott, Kelly, Devon. 1497 R. N. & H. C. — James Drew, born about March 10, 1887. H. C. — Wm. Palmer for No. 1500 ; Ward & Chowen for No. 1501. Class 144. — Dartmoor Shearling Rams. [19 entries, 6 absent.] 1510 I. (£15.) — John Knapman, East Ash, South Tawton, Okehampton, Devon, born March 1, 1889. 1516 II. (£10.) — W. Palmer, Yelland, Okehampton, Devon, bom April 1, 1889- 1509 III. (£5.)— John Knapman, born March 16, 1889. 1518 R. N. & H. C. — Wm. Palmer, born April 23, 1890. H. C. — The Directors op Convict Prisons for No. 1503 ; James Drew for No. 1505 ; Wm. Lang for No. 1511 ; Wm. Palmer for No. 1517; H. R. Perkin for No. 1520. Class 145. — Pen of Three Shearling Dartmoor Fives, of the same flock- [8 entries, 2 absent.] 1529 I. (£15.) — J. & E. B. Yelland, Cobham Week, Bridestowe, Devon, born March 9, 1889. 1522 II. (£10.)— The Directors of Convict Prisons, Prince Town, Devon, born April 1889. 1 Prizes given by the Devon County Agricultural Association. Large White Pigs. clvii [Unless otherwise stated, each animal named below was “bred by exhibitor.”] 1523 III. (£5.) — James Drew, Artiscombe, Tavistock, bom about Feb. 20, 1889. 1524 R, N. & H. C. — James Drew, Artiscombe, Devon, bom about Feb. 20. 1525 H. C. — James Drew, bom about Feb. 20, 1889. 1528 Com, — Ward & Chowen, Burnville, Brentor, Bridestowe, Devon. Exmoor. Class 146. — Exmoor Rams , Two-Shear upwards. [2 entries, none absent.] 1531 I. (£15.) — Sir Wm. Williams, Bt., Heanton, Barnstaple, born Mar. 1888. Class 147. — Exmoor Shearling Rams. [4 entries, none absent.] 1535 I. (£15 ) — Sir Wm. Williams, Bt., Heanton, Barnstaple, born Mar. 1889. 1634 II. (£10.) — Sir Wm. Williams, Bt., born March 1889. Class 148. — Pen of Three Shearling Exmoor Ewes, of the same flock. [6 entries, none absent.] 1539 I. (£15.) — R. Stranger, Court House, N. Molton, born March 1889. 1538 II. (£10.) — Richard Stranger, born March 1889. 1536 III. (£5.) — W. Lethbridge, Wood, Okehampton, born March 4, 1889. 1537 R. N. & H. C. — Wm. Lethbridge, Wood, Okehampton, Devon. H. C. — Sir Wm. Williams, Bt., for Nos. 1540, 1541. PIGS. Large White Breed. Class 149. — Large White Boars, farrowed 1889. [12 entries, 4 absent.] 1546 II.1 (£5.) — Denston Gibson, Rotton Park Farm, Edgbaston, for Pioneer, born June 18, 1889 ; s. Young Prince, d. Primrose VII. by Gamester JI. 319. 1542 III. (£3.) — R. Boddington, Colebrook Hall, Birmingham, born June 2. 1549 R. N.— Joseph Nuttall, Heywood, Lancashire, for Hero. Class 150. — Pens of Three Large White Boar Pigs, farrowed 1890. [11 entries, none absent.] 1561 I. (£10.) — Sanders Spencer, Holywell Manor, St. Ives, Hunts, born Jan. 1, 1890 ; s. Holywell Jackie, d. Holywell Jewel. 1557 II. (£5.) — C. E. Duckering, The Cliff, Kirton Lindsey, born Jan. 10, 1890 ; s. Donovan. 1563 III. (£3.) — Sanders Spencer, born Jan. 9, 1890 ; s. Holywell Chief d. Holywell Dot. 1554 R. N. & H. C. — Richard Barter, St. Ann’s Hill, Cork, born Jan. 2, 1890; s. Gipsy King, d. Lady Longside. 1555 H. C. — Richard Boddington, Colebrook Hall. Class 151. — Large White Breeding Sows, farrowed before or in 1889. [17 entries, 3 absent.] 1568 I. (£10.) — C. E. Duckering, The Cliff, Kirton Lindsey, born in 1887 breeder unknown. No Pirst Prize awarded. clviii Award of Live-Stock Prizes at Plymouth. [Unless otherwise stated, each animal named below was “bred by exhibitor.’ ] 1577 II. (£5.)— Sanders Spencer, Holywell Manor, St. Ives, Hunts, for Holywell Dame VII., born Jan. 10, 1887 ; s. Holywell Duke, d. Holywell Dame II. 1579 III. (£3.)— Tom D. Strickland, Carlton Miniott, Thirsk, born Feb. 16, 1888 ; s. Lord Worsley, d. Thirsk Lady. 1 1571 It. N. & H. C. — Denston Gibson, for Worsley Queen, born Aug. 1, 1884. H. C. — A. Hiscock, Jun., for No. 1573; Sanders Spencer for No. 1578; Tom D. Strickland for No. 1580. 1572 Com. — The Guardians, Prescot Union, for Whiston 1342. Class 152. — Pens of Three Large White Sow Pigs, farrowed 1890. [12 entries, 3 absent.] 1591 I. (£10.)— Sanders Spencer, Holywell Manor, St. Ives, Hunts, born Jan. 1, 1890; s. Holywell Dairyman II., d. Holywell Flirt. 1589 II. (£5.) — Joseph Nuttall, Hey wood, Lancashire, born Jan. 2, 1890; s. Billy, d. Niptone. 1586 HI. (£3.) — The Guardians, Prescot Union, born Jan. 5, 1890; s. Prescot Joe, d. Princess IV. 1590 It. N. &. H. C. — Joseph Nuttall, born Jan. 10; s. Billy, d Jumbo. H. C. — Denston Gibson for Nos. 1584, 1585. Com.— Richard Barter for No. 1582; E. W. Harcourt for No. 1587. Middle White Breed. Class 153. — Middle White Boars, farrowed in 1889. [8 entries, 4 absent.] 1598 I. (£10.)— Sanders Spencer, Holywell Manor, St. Ives, Hunts, for Holywell Bruce, born Jan. 3 ; s. Holywell Ponfield, d. Holywell Curly. 1601 II. (£5.) — A. C. Twentyman, Castlecroft, Wolverhampton, for Silver- sand, born June 11, 1889 ; s. Don Juan 835, d. Tiny 912. 1600 III. (£3.) — A. C. Twentyman for Quicksilver, born June 11, 1889 ; s. Don Juan 835, d. Tiny 912. Class 154. — Pens of Three Middle White Boar Pigs, farrowed in 1890. [3 entries, none absent.] 1602 I. (£10.)— Joseph Nuttall, Heywood, Lancashire, born Jan. 16, 1890; s. Hero, d. Snowdrop. 1604 II. (£5.)— Tom D. Strickland, Carlton Miniott, Thirsk, born Jan 5, 1890 ; *. Bosnell II. 1603 R. N. — Sanders Spencer, Holywell Manor, St. Ives, Hunts. Class 155. — Middle White Breeding Sows, farrowed before or in 1889. [11 entries, 1 absent.] 1615 I. (£10.)— Tom D. Strickland, Carlton Miniott, Thirsk, Yorks., breeder and age unknown. 1612 II. (£5.) — Sanders Spencer, Holywell Manor, St. Ives, Hunts, for Holywell Fiz, born Nov. 6, 1888 ; s. German Baron. 1613 III. (£3.)— Sanders Spencer, born Jan. 2, 1889. 1611 R. N. & H. C. — Joseph Nuttall, Heywood, Lancs., for Betty, H. C.— E. T. Chalk for No. 1605; Hon. Mrs. Meynell Ingram for No. 1609; Joseph Nuttall for No. 1610. Berkshire Pigs. clix [Unless otherwise stated, each animal named below was “ bred by exhibitor.”] Class 156. — Pens of Three Middle White Sow Pigs, farrowed in 1890. [5 entries, none absent .] 1619 I. (£10.) — Sandees Spencer, Holywell Manor, St. Ives, Hunts, born Jan. 6, 1890 ; s. Holywell Ponfield. 1618 II. (£5.) — Sanders Spencer, born Jan. 2 ; s. Holywell Silky IV. 1616 III. (£3.) — J. Nuttall, Heywood, Lancs., born Jan. 16; s. Hero, d. Snowdrop. 1617 H. C. — Joseph Nuttall, born Jan. 3, 1890 ; s. Hero, d. Lucy. Small White Breed. Class 157. — Small White Boars, farrowed in 1889. [7 entries, none absent.] 1625 I. (£10.) — The Guardians, Prescot Union, for Cronton, born Jan. 1889, breeder unknown. 1622 II. (£5.) — Hon. D. P. Bouverie, Coleshill House, Highwortb, for Windsor, born Jan. 11, 1889, bred by the late Earl of Radnor; s. Clan- field 863, d. Shaftesbury. 1623 III. (£3.) — Hon. D. P. Bouverie, born July 5, 1889, bred by the late Earl of Radnor ; s. Prince, d. Shrewsbury III. 1472. 1627. R. N. & H. C. — Joseph Saunders, Sutton, Cranborne, for Jim 2nd. 1621 H. C. — Hon. D. P. Bouverie, born Oct. 29, 1889. Class 158. — Pens of Three Small White Boar Pigs, farrowed in 1890. [No entry.] Class 159. — Small White Breeding Soios, farrowed before or in 1889. [6 entries, 2 absent.] 1630 I. (£10.) — Hon. Mrs. Meynell Ingram, Temple Newsam, Leeds, born Sept. 5, 1888. 1632 II. (£5.) — The Countess of Radnor, Longford Castle, Salisbury, for Coleshill Heiress, born Jan. 2, 1889, bred by the late Earl of Radnor ; s. Prince, d. Shrewsbury III. 1472. 1631 R. N. & H. C. — Joseph Nuttall, Heywood, Lancs., for Clara, born about Apr. 1888, bred by P. Ascroft, Rufford, Preston ; s. Worsley Dandy. 1629 H. C. — Hon. Mrs. Meynell Ingram, born Sept. 5, 1888. Class 160. — Pens of Three Small White Soto Pigs, farroived in 1890. [2 entries.] 1635 I. (£10.) — The Countess of Radnor, Longford Castle, Salisbury, born Feb. 7, 1890 ; s. Prince, d. Moreton. 1634 II. (£5.) — Hon. D. P. Bouverie, Coleshill House, Highworth, born Jan. 21, 1890; s. Farmer, d. Shrewsbury III. 1472. Berkshire Breed. Class 161. — Berkshire Boars, farrowed in 1889. [14 entries, 6 absent.] 1646 I. (£10, & Champion, £10L) — T. S. Minton, Montford, Salop, born Jan. 5, 1889; s. Wicket-keeper 860, d. Montford Beauty 1398. 1 Cup, value £10, given by British Berkshire Society for the best Boar in Class 161, clx Award of Live-Stock Prizes at Plymouth. [Unless otherwise stated, each animal named below was “ bred by exhibitor."] 1637 II. (£5.) — Nathaniel Benjafield, Shorts Green Farm, Motcombe, Dorset, born June 29, 1889, bred by G. W. Homer, Dorchester. 1649 III. (£3.) — J. C. Williams, Werrington Park, Launceston, born June 15, 1889, bred at Caerhays Castle, St. Austell ; s. Viscount Moulsford. 1640 R. N. & H. C.— Julius A. Fricker, Burton, Mere, Wilts.; s. Random 1348. Class 162. — Pens of Three Berkshire Boar Pigs, farrowed in 1890. [6 entries, 3 absent.] 1654 I. (£10.) — William Pinnock, Littleworth House, Wantage, born Feb. 14, 1890; s. Longstop, d. Taynton Poetess 2384. 1651 II. (£5.) — Julius A. Fricker, Burton, Mere, Wilts, born .Tan. 3, 1890; s. King of the West 2181, d. Bright II. 2136. 1 650 R. N. — N. Benjafield, Shorts Green Farm, Motcombe, born Jan. 2. Class 163. — Berkshire Breeding Sows, farrowed before or in 1889. [19 entries, 6 absent.] 1661 I. (£10, & Champion.1) — J. A. Fricker, Burton, Mere, Wilts, born Jan. 2, 1666 II. (£5.) — Edney Hayter, West Woodyates Manor, Handley, Wilts. born March 4, 1889 ; s. Lord Curzon 2012, d. Emma 1358. 1671 III. (£3.) — James Lawrence, Stall Pitts Farm, Shrivenham, Berks, for Painted Lady, born January 9, 1889 ; s. Paragon, d. Lady Docia. 1664 R. N. & H. C. — A. S. Gibson, Springhill, Bulwell, Notts, for Naomi. H. C.— N. Benjafield for No. 1657 ; J. P. King for No. 1670; W. Pinnock for No. 1672. Com, — E. Burbidge for Nos. 1658, 1659; R. Fowler for No. 1660; Denston Gibson for No. 1663 ; E. Hayter for No. 1665 ; J. P. King for No. 1668. Class 164. — Pens of Three Berkshire Sow Pigs, farrowed in 1889. [7 entries, 4 absent.] 1675 I. (£10.) — Nathaniel Benjafield, Shorts Green Farm, Motcombe, Dorset, born January 6, 1890. 1680 II. (£5.) — Alfred Napier, Heatherton Grange, Bradford, Taunton, born January 12, 1890; s. Wooton 2253, d. Gipsy. 1676 R. N. — Julius A. Fricker, Burton, Mere, Wilts ; s. King of the West. Any other Black Breed. Class 165. — Boars, farrowed in 1889. [11 entries, none absent.] 1686 I. (£10.) — W. S. Northey, Tinhay, Lifton, Devon, born February 3, 1889; s. Hero 661, d. Queen 3rd 1064. 1685 II. (£5.)— The Duke of Hamilton & Brandon, K.T., Easton Park, for Emperor 1197, born January 17, 1889 ; s. Tommy 455, d. Empress 612. 1690 III. (£3.) — The Earl of Portsmouth, Eggesford House, Wemb- worthy, Devon, born May 22, 1889 ; s. Duke, d. Rose. * Cup value £10 given by British Berkshire Society for the best Sow in Class 163. Tamworth Pigs. clxi [Unless otherwise stated, each animal named below was “ bred by exhibitor.”] 1691 R. N. & H. C. — The Earl op Portsmouth, born January 7, 1889. H. C. — The Duke op Hamilton & Brandon, KT., for No. 1684, The Prince; W. S. Northey for Nos. 1687, 1688; George Pettit for No. 1689, Little Wonder. 1683 Com. — W. F. Collier, Woodtown, Horrabridge, Devon, born Oct. 31. Class 166. — Pens of Three Boar Pigs, farrowed in 1890. [2 entries.] 1693 I. (£10.) — The Duke op Hamilton k Brandon, K.T., Easton Park, Wickham Market, born February 1, 1890; s. Dartmoor, d. Countess III, 1691 R. N. — Geo. Pettit, Friston, Saxmundham; s. Easton, d, Primrose. Class 167. — Breeding Sows, farrowed before or in 1889. [14 entries, 1 absent.] 1701 I. (£10.) — W. S. Northey, Tinhay, Lifton, Devon, born February 3, 1889; s. Hero 661, d. Queen 3rd 1064. 1702 II (£5.)— W. S. Northey, born February 3, 1889; s. Hero 661, d. Queen 3rd 1064. 1703 III. (£3.) — W. S. Northey, born February 3, 1889, s. Hero 661, d. Queen 3rd 1064. 1705 R. N. & H. C. — George Pettit, Friston, Saxmundham ; s. Danger, d. Rose. H. C. — W. F. Collier for Nos. 1695, 1696 ; Lord Dunboynb for Nos. 1697, 1698 ; The Duke of Hamilton k Brandon, K.T., for Nos. 1699,1700; A. A. Partridge for No. 1704; The Earl op Ports- mouth fer Nos. 1707, 1708. Class 168. — Pens of Three Sow Pigs, farroioed in 1890. [3 entries.l 1711 I. (£10.) — The Earl op Portsmouth, Eggesford House, Wemb- wortby, Devon, born January 6, 1890 ; s, Duke, d. Rose. 1710 II. (£5.) — George Pettit, Friston, Saxmundham, born January 24, 1890; s. Easton, d. Patty. 1709 R, N.— The Duke of Hamilton and Brandon, K.T. ; s. Dartmoor. Tamworth Breed- Class 169. — Tamworth Boars, farrowed in 1889. [12 entries, none absent.] 1717 I. (£10.) — J. H. Jordan, Clifford Hill, Stratford-on-Avon, for Argandal, born May 31, 1889 ; s. Nepos, d. Old Sweep. 1713 II. (£5.) — Aylesbury Dairy Co., Lim., Horsham, for Stammerham Jim, born June 8, 1889 ; s. Jumbo 1153, d. Lady Wallace 2028. 1712 III. (£3.) — Aylesbury Dairy Co., Lim., for Dick Praters, born Sep- tember 6, 1889; s. Dickie 635, d. Lady Praters 1514. 1720 R. N. & H. C. — W. Serpbll, G. Kellow, Polperro, Cornwall, for Wclsey. Class 170. — Pens of Three Tamworth Boar Pigs, farrowed in 1890. [8 entries, 2 absent.] 1731 I. (£10.) — R. N. Sutton-Nelthorpe, Scawby Hall, Brigg, born Jan. 8. 1727 II. (£5.) — Richard Barter, St. Ann's Hill, Cork, born Feb. 8, 1890; s. Red Grant, d. Newcastle Queen. 1724 R.N.— Aylesbury Dairy C6., Lim.; s. ftickie 635, d. Lady Wallace; VOL. I. T. S. — 3 l clxii A ward of Poultry Prizes at Plymouth. [Unless otherwise stated, each animal named below was “bred by exhibitor.-’] Class 171, — Tamworth Breeding Sows, farrowed before or in 1889. [23 entries, 3 absent.] 1751 I. (£10.) — John Norman, Jun., Cliff House, Tamworth, & Joseph Norman, Nether Whitacre, Coleshill, bom January 5, 1889 ; s. Newcastle Hero 889, d. Red Queen 2062. 1748 II. (£5.) — W. H. Mitchell, Elmdene, Kenilworth, for Nana, born June 13, 1889 ; s. Nepos 1165, d. Drayton Queen. 1740 III. (£3.) — W. E. Brymer, Ilsington Ho., Dorchester, for Susan, born April 19, 1889, bred by Lord Ashburton ; s. Christian, d. Vain. 1742 R. N. & H. C,— Egbert de Hamel, Middleton Hall, Tamworth, for Middleton Madcap 2864, born February 6, 1889 ; $. Newcastle Hero 889, d. Middleton May 1526. H. C. — W. E. Brymer for No. 1741, Sarah ; R. Ibbotson for Nos. 1744, Rosa, 1745, Knowle Ruby ; G. T. Whitfield for No. 1753. Com, — Aylesbury Dairy Co., Lim., for Nos. 1732, 1734. 1735, 1736; R. Barter, for No. 1737; R. Boddington, for No. 1739; Egbert de Hamel, for No. 1743 ; R. Ibbotson, for No. 1746 ; W. H. Mitchell, for Nos. 1747, 1749; W. Serpell, for No. 1752; G. T. Whitfield, for No. 1754. Class 172. — Pens of Three Tamworth Sow Pigs, farrowed in 1890 [10 entries, none absent.] 1762 I. (£10.) — John Norman, Jun., Cliff House, Tamworth, & Joseph Norman, Nether Whitacre, Coleshill, born January 2, 1890; s. The Swell 1657, d. Sally 564. 1764 II* (£5.) — G. T. Whitfield, Colebridge, Glos., born Feb. 15, 1890, bred by R. Ibbotson, Knowle; s. Royal George 1175, d. Knowle Ruby 2024. 1760 III. (£3)— Robert Ibbotson, Knowle, Birmingham, born Jan. 3, 1890 ; s. Royal George 1175, d. Whitacre Duchess. 1758 R. N. &. H. C. — Richard Barter, St. Ann’s Hill, Cork, born Feb. 8, Com. — Aylesbury Dairy Co., Lim., for Nos. 1755, 1756, 1757; Egbert de Hamel, for No. 1759 ; R. Ibbotson, for No. 1761 ; R. N. Sutton- Nelthorpe, for No. 1763. POULTRY. By “Cock,” “Hen,” “Drake,” “Duck,” “Gander” and “Goose,” are meant birds hatched before January 1st, 1890; and by “Cockerel,” “Pullet,” “ Young Drake,” and “ Duckling,” are meant birds hatched in 1890, pre- viously to June 1st. FOWLS. Dorkings. Class 173. — Coloured Dorking Cocks. [6 entries, 1 absent.] 6 I. (£2.) — W. S. Pinsent, Rose Hill, Newton Abbot, Devon. 1 II. (£1.) — Robert Cheesman, Westwell, Ashford, Kent. 4 III. (10? ) — Arthur C. Major, The Firs, Langley, Bucks, hatched 1888. 3 R. N. — R. B. Curteis, Aslienden, Tenterden, Kent, hatched 1888. Dorking Fowls. clxiii Class 174. — Coloured Dorking liens. [8 entries, none .absent.] 13 I. (£2.) and 14 II. (£1.) — W. S. Pinsent, Rose Hill, Newton Abbot. 7 III. (10a.) — Robert Cheesman, Westwell, Ashford, Kent, 3 years old. 11 R. N. & H. C. — A. C. Major, The Firs, Langley, Bucks, hatched 1887. 8 H. C. — A. K. Crichton, Estates Office, Glamis, N.B., hatched 1888. Class 175. — Coloured Dorking Cockerels. [9 entries, none absent.] 23 I. (£2.) — W. S. Pinsent, Rose Hill, Newton Abbot, Devon. 18 II. (£1.) — R- B. Curteis, Ashenden, Tenterden, Kent, hatched Jan. 21 III. (10s.) and 22 R. N. & H, C. — E. W. Parker, Skirwith Abbey, Carlisle. Class 176. — Coloured Dorking Pullets. [11 entries, none absent.] 32 I. (£2.) — W. S. Pinsent, Rose Hill, Newton Abbot, Devon. 33 II. (£1.) and 34 III. (10s.) — John White, Warlaby, Northallerton. 27 R. N. & H. C. — A. K. Crichton, Estates Office, Glamis, N.B., hatched Jan. 2. H. C. — Mrs. Hind for No. 29; Edward VV. Parker for No. 30. Com. — R. B. Curteis for No. 28 ; Edward W. Parker for No. 31. Class 177. — Silver Grey Dorking Cocks. [9 entries, 3 absent.] 40 I. (£2.) — Joseph Pettipher, Woodway Ho., Banbury, over 1 year old. 38 II. (£1.) — James Hayhurst, Vine Ho., Milnthorpe, Westmoreland. 42 III. (10a.) — G. T. Whitfield, Colebridge, Gloucester, over 1 year old. 39 R. N. & H. C. — Arthur C. Major, The Firs, Langley, Bucks. 37 H. C. — Mrs. Dick, Hund How, Kendal. Class 178. — Silver Grey Dorking Hens. [10 entries, 1 absent.] 49 I. (£2.) — J. Robertson, Gordon Castle, Fochabers,N.B., hatched Feb. 1888. 52 II. (£1.) — G. T. Whitfield, Colebridge, Gloucester, over 1 year old. 47 III. (10a.) — Mrs. Dick, Hund How, near Kendal, hatched 1889. 51 R. N. & H. C. — Mrs. Wacher, Woodnesborough, Sandwich, Kent. 46 H. C. — James Clunas, 74 High Street, Elgin. Class 179. — Silver Grey Dorking Cockerels. [9 entries, 2 absent.] 59 I. (£2.) — J. Robertson, Gordon Castle, Fochabers, N.B., hatched Jan. 62 II. (£1.) — Lady Wilson, Chillingham Barns, Belford, hatched Jan. 58 III. (10a.) — J. Robertson, Gordon Castle, Fochabers, N.B., hatched Jan. 54 R. N. & H. C. — J. Clunas, 74 High Street, Elgin. 61 H. C. — Mrs. Wacher, Woodnesborough, Kent, hatched Jan. 20. Class 180. — Silver Grey Dorking Pullets. [11 entries, 1 absent.] 73 I. (£2.) — Lady Wilson, Chillingham Barns, Belford, hatched Jan. 63 II. (£1.)— James Clunas, 74 High Street, Elgin, hatched Feb. 8. 71 III. (10a.) — Mrs. Wacher, Woodnesborough, Kent, hatched Jan. 20. 70 R. N. & H. C.— James Robertson, Gordon Castle, Fochabers, N.B. H. C.— Arthur C. Major for No. 68 ; James Robertson for No. 69 ; Mrs. Wacher for No. 72. Class 181. — White or any other variety Dorking Cocks. [7 entries, none absent.] 78 I. (£2.) — Joseph Pettipher, Woodway Ho., Banbury, over 1 year old. 74 II. (£1.) — A. E. W. Darby, Little Ness, Shrewsbury, over 1 year old. 79 III. (10a.)— P. Wilson, Colvinston, Annbank, Ayrshire, 2 years old. 75 R. N. & H. C. — A. E. W. Darby, Little Ness, Shrewsbury. 80 H. C. — Rev. R. S. S. Woodgate, Pembury Hall, Tunbridge Wells. I 2 clxiv Award of Poultry Prizes at Plymouth. Class 182. — White or any other variety Dorking liens. [6 entries, none absent.] 81 I. (£2.) — A. E. W. Darby, Little Ness, Shrewsbury, over 1 year old. 83 II. (£1.)— C. A. Gosnell, The Park, Feltham, hatched 1889. 85 III. (10.?.)— Joseph Pettipher, Woodway Ho., Banbury, over 1 year. 82 R. N. & H. C. — A. E. W. Darby, over 1 year old. Class 183. — White or any other variety Dorking Cockerels. [6 entries, none absent.] 87 I. (£2.) and 88 II. (£1) — A. E. W. Darby, Little Ness, Shrewsbury. 92 III. ( lO.s.) and 91 R. N. & H. C.— Rev. E. S. S. Woodgate, Pembury Hall, Tunbridge Wells. Class 184. — White or any other variety Dorking Pullets. [4 entries, none absent.] 93 II.1 (£1.) — Alfred E. W. Darby, Little Ness, Shrewsbury. 95 III. (10s.) — Joseph Pettipher, Woodway House, Banbury. 96 R. N. — Rev. R S. S. Woodgate, Pembury Hall, Tunbridge Wells. Game. Class 185. — Old English Game Cocks. [15 entries, 2 absent.] 109 I. (£2.) — .T. W. Simpson, Abbey Town, Silloth, Cumberland, hatched 1888. 98 II. (£1.) — Edward Barnes, Fern Bank, Godaiming, hatched 1889. 101 III. (10s.) — John Brough, 22, London Road, Carlisle. 105 R. N. & H. C. — Mrs. Jones, Oakley, Claverton Down, Bath. 108 H. C. — William Lobez, Jun., St. Budeaux, near Saltash. Class 186. — Old English Game Hens. [1G entries, 3 absent.] 126 I. (£2.) — Thomas Roper, Wetheral, Carlisle, hatched Mar. 16, 1887. 123 II. (£1.) — Mrs. Jones, Oakley, Claverton Down, Bath, hatched Apr. 1888. 127 III. (10s.) — .T. W. Simpson, Abbey Town, Silloth, hatched Apr. 1888. 1 18 R. N. & H. C. — Brough & Jackson, 22, London Road, Carlisle. 117 H. C. — John Brough, 22, London Road, Carlisle. Class 187. — Old English Game Cockerels. [8 entries, none absent.] 128 I. (£2.) and 1-29 II. (£1.) — John Brough, 22, London Road, Carlisle. 135 III. (10.?.) — J. W. Simpson, Abbey Town, Silloth, Cumberld., hatched Feb. 4. 131 R. N. — Miss May Dolben, Ipsley Rectory, Redditch, hatched Jan 6. Class 188. — Old English Game Pullets. [7 entries, none absent.] 136 I. (£2.) and 137 II. (£1.) — John Brough, 22, London Road, Carlisle. 138 III. (10.?.) — Brough Sc Jackson, 22, London Rd., Carlisle, hatched Feb. 10. 139 R. N. — John Graham, Caldbeck, Wigton, Cumberland, hatched Feb. Class 189. — Indian Game Cocks. [10 entries, none absent.] 145 I. (£2.)— John Frayn, St. Stephens, Launceston, over 6 months old. 144 II. (£1 )— John Cross, 59, Richmond Street, Plymouth, hatched 1888. 149 III. (10a)— C. Radford, Barnstaple Street, Winkleigh, N. Devon. 150 R. N. & H. C. — Ernest Strike, Hawks Tor View, Launceston. H. C.— James Frayne for No. 146; Henry Paynter for No. 147 John Pomroy for 148 ; G. T. Whitfield for No. 151. No F’rst Prize awarded. Brahma Fowls. clxV Class 190 Indian Game Hens. [14 entries, none absent.] 157 I. (£2.) — James Frayne, Pipus Pool, Launceston. 156 II. (£1.) — John Frayn, St. Stephens, Launceston, over 6 months old. 166 III. — G. T. Whitfield, Colebridge, Gloucester, over 1 year old. 161 R. N. & H. C. — John Pomroy, Fore Street, Callington, Cornwall. Ii. C. — John Cross for No. 155 ; Job Pickard for No. 160 ; C. Radford for No. 162. Com. — G. T. Whitfield for No. 165. Class 191. — Indian Game Cockerels. [8 entries, none absent.] 171 I. (£2.) and 172 II. (£1.) — A. H. Hawkey, Wadebridge, Cornwall. 170 III. (10*. ) — James Fbayne, Pipus Pool, Launceston. 173 R. N. — C. Radford, Barnstaple St., Winkleigh, N. Devon, hatched Jan. Class 192. — Indian Game Pullets. [7 entries, none absent.] 179 I. (£2.) — A. H. Hawkey, Wadebridge, Cornwall. 177 II. (£1.) — John Frayn, St. Stephens, Launceston. 178 III. (10s.) — James Frayne, Pipus Pool, Launceston. 180 R. N. & H. C. — C. Radford, Barnstaple St., Winkleigh, N. Devon. 176 H. C. — John Frayn, St. Stephens, Launceston. French. Class 193. — French Cocks. [8 entries, none absent.] 181 I. (£2.) — J. II. Brodrick, Attleboro’ Farm, Water Orton, Warwickshire, over 2 years old. 187 II. (£1.) — S. W. Thomas, Glasfryn, Cockett, Swansea, over 1 year old. 189 III. (10*.) — Francis Valpy, St. Heliers, Jersey, hatched March 1889. 183 R. N. & H. C. — J. Ainsworth, Highbank, Darwen, hatched June 1889. H. C. — S. W. Thomas for No. 186 ; Francis Valpy for No. 188. Class 194. — French Hens. [7 entries, none absent.] 194 I. (£2.) — S. W. Thomas, Glasfryn, Cockett, Swansea, over 1 year old. 192 II. (£1.) — William Cannan, Norwood, Crosshills, near Keighley. 196 III. (10*.) — Francis Valpy, St. Heliers, Jersey, hatched Mar. 1889. 191 R. N. & H. C. — J. Ainsworth, Highbank, Darwen. 195 H. C. — Francis Valpy, St. Heliers, Jersey. Class 195. — French Cockerels. [6 entries, 1 absent.] 202 I. (£2.) and 201 II. (£1.)—F. Valpy, St. Heliers, Jersey, hatched March. 200 III. (10*.) — Christopher Sainty, Old Windsor, hatched Jan. 2. 197 R. N. — J. Ainsworth, Highbank, Darwen, Lancashire, hatched Feb. Class 196. — French Pullets. [5 entries, none absent.] 204 I. (£2.) — Rev. F. Cooke, Chingunford Rectory, Aston-on-Clun, htchd. Jan 203 II. (£1.) — J. Ainsworth, Highbank, Darwen, hatched March. 206 III. (10s.) — Francis Valpy, St. Heliers, Jersey, hatched March. 205 R. N.— Christopher Sainty, Old Windsor, Berks, hatched Jan. 2. Brahmas. Class 197. — Brahma Cocks. [7 entries, none absent.] 214 I. (£2.) — G. H. Wood, The Cottage, Iver Heath, Uxbridge. 212 II. (£1.) — E. Scammell, Hilperton, Trowbridge, hatched April 1887. clxvi Award of Poultry Prizes at Plymouth. 209 III. (10*.) — R. Holland, Brahma Lodge, Buckingham, hatched, 1888. 213 R. N. & H. C. — J. C. Warren, St. Paul’s Schools, Paddington. 211 Com.— W. A. Robinson, Wellclose, Bradford-on- Avon. Class 198. — Brahma Hens. [5 e ntries, 2 absent.] 216 I. (£2.) — R. Holland, Brahma Lodge, Buckingham, hatched 1888. 219 II. (£1.) — G. H. Wood, The Cottage, Ivor Heath, Uxbridge. 217 III. (lOs.) — E. Kendrick, Jun., Weeford Ho., Lichfield, hatched 1888. Class 199. — Brahma Cockerels. [9 entries, none absent.] 224 I. (£2.) and 225 II. (£1.) — Rev. Harold Burton, Fauls Vicarage, Whit- church, Salop, hatched Jan. 2. 227 III. (10s.) — R. Holland, Brahma Lodge, Buckingham. 226 R. N. — Robert Butterfield, Nafferton Hall, Hull, hatched Jan. 3. Class 200. — Brahma Pallets. [10 entries, none absent.] 229 I. (£2.) — J. Brooke, Bingley Rd., Heaton, Bradford, Yorks., hatched Jan 231 II. (£1.) — Rev. H. Burton, Fauls, Whitchurch, Salop, hatched Jan. 2. 234 III. (10s.) — R. Holland, Brahma Lodge, Buckingham. 237 R- N- & H. C. — J. C. Warren, St. Paul’s Schools, Paddington, H. C. — Rev. H. Burton, for No. 232; R Butterfield for No. 233. Com. — John Brooke for No. 230. Cochins. Class 201. — Coch in Cocks. [13 entries, 1 absent.] 244 I. (£2.) — G. H. Procter, Flass House, Durham. 245 II. (£1.) and 246 III. (10s.) — Mrs. Screven, Normandy Villa, Shipley, hatched June 1888. 251 R. N. & H, C. — G. H. Wood, The Cottage, Iver Heath, Uxbridge, H. C. — R. Holland for No. 242 ; Ebenezer Snell for Nos. 247, 248. Com. — Percy Wellington for No. 249. Class 202. — Cochin liens. [3 entries, none absent.] 254 I. (£2.) — G. H. Procter, Flass House, Durham. 253 II. (£1.) — R. Holland, Brahma Lodge, Buckingham, hatched 1888. 252 III. (10s.) — James F. Carter, Rottington Hall, St. Bees, Carnforth. Class 203. — Cochin Cockerels. [7 entries, none absent.] 257 I. (£2.) — Miss Rouse, Lanlivery, Lostwithiel, Cornwall, hatched Jan. 6. 261 II. (PI.) — G. IL. Wood, The Cottage, Iver Heath, Uxbridge, hatched Feb. 258 III. (10s.) — Miss Rouse, Lanlivery, Lostwithiel, hatched Jan. 6. 255 R. N. &. H. C. — R. Holland, Brahma Lodge, Buckingham. 260 Com. — J. A. Smith, Froe, St. Anthony, Portscatlio, Cornwall. Class 204. — Cochin Pullets. [8 entries, 1 absent.] 268 I. (£2.) — Tom Sowerby, Elm Road, Cleetliorpes, Grimsby, hatched Jan. 2. 266 III (£1.) — Mrs. Scriven, Normandy Villa, Shipley, hatched Jan. 265 III. (10*.) — Miss Rouse, Lanlivery, Lostwithiel, Cornwall, hatched Jan 6. 269 R. N. & H. C. — A. J. E. Swindell, Femhill Heath, Worcester. 267 H. C. — J. A. Smith. Com.— R. Holland for 262. Wyandotte Fowls. clxvii Langshans. Class 205. — Langshan Cocks. [15 entries, 2 absent.] 271 I. (£2.) — Rev. G. T. Lay cock, Terwick Rectory, Petersfield. 271 II. (£1.) — G. Fielder, 23, Hill Road, Wimbledon, hatched March 1889. 276 III. (10s.) — F. O. Piercy, The Elms, Lowthorpe, Hall, hatched 1889. 280 R. N. & H. C. — Charles Seabrooke, The Echoes, Grays, Essex. H. C. — G. E. Lockyear for No. 275 ; Phillips & Andrew for No. 277 Rev. R. T. Thornton for No. 283. Class 206. — Langshan Hens. [16 entries, 2 absent.] 299 I. (£2.) — H. Wallis, Northend Warley, Brentwood, hatched 1889. 289 II. (£1.) — Rev. G. T. Laycock, Terwick Rectory, Petersfield, Hants. 285 III. (10s.)— Rev. A. C. Davies, Antingham, N. Walsham, hatched 1888. 294 R. N. & H. C. — J. L. Roby, South View, Chorley, Lancs., hatched 1889. H. C. — F. O. Piercy for No. 291 ; Richard Thompson for No. 298. Com. — Charles Seabrooke for No. 296. Class 207. — Langshan Cockerels. [9 entries, none absent.] 309 I. (£2.) — Williams & Hicks, Dean Lane, Bedminster, hatched Jan. 23. 307 II. (£1.) — J. W. Walker, Oxford Lodge, Henley-on-Thames, htchd. Jan. 20. 305 III (10s.) — F. Tandy, Sandhurst Road, Gloucester, hatched Jan. 2. 301 R. N. & H. C. — Rev. A. C. Davies, Antingham Rectory, North Walsham. 3C8 H. C. — Harry Wallis, Northend Warley, Brentwood, hatched Jan. Class 208. — Langshan Pullets. [9 entries, none absent.] 310 I. (£2.) — Philip L. Benson, M.D., The Elms, Steeple Claydon, Winslow, hatched Jan. 15. 313 II. (£1.) — R. S. Marsden, Bashall Eaves, Clitheroe, hatched Jan. 9. 315 III. (10s.) — F. Tandy', Sandhurst Road, near Gloucester, hatched Jan. 6. 318 R. N. & H. C.— H. Wallis, Northend Warley, Brentwood, Essex. 317 H. C. — J. W. Walker, Oxford Lodge, Henley-on-Thames. Wyandottes. Class 209. — Wyandotte Cocks. [10 entries, 1 absent.] 324 I. (£2.) — J. Hitchman, M.D., The Laurels, Fairford, Glos., hatched 1889. 322 II. (£1.) — Mrs. Franklin, Syston Old Hall, Grantham, hatched 1889. 320 III. (10s.) — Philip L. Benson, M.D., The Elms, Steeple Claydon, Winslow, hatched April 1888. 323 R. N. & H. C. — George Heaman, Jun., Down Farm, Dolton, Devon. H. C. — G. T. Whitfield for No. 327 ; A. E. Wragg for No. 328. Class 210. — Wyandotte Hens. [15 entries, none absent.] 343 I. (£2.) — A. E. Wragg, Edensor, Bakewell, hatched April 1889. 336 II. (£1.) — C. A. E. Perfect, Foston Lodge, York, hatched 1889, 330 III. (10, s.), and 331 R. N. & H. C. — Rev. F. Cooke, Chingunford Rectory, Aston-on-Clun, Salop, hatched 1888 and 1889. H. C. — The Countess of Bective for No. 329 : Mrs. Oliver for Nos. 334, 335; R. Terrott for No. 340; G. T. Whitfield for No. 342. Class 211. — Wyandotte Cockerels. [9 entries, none absent,] 351 I. (£2.) — R. Stacey, Heather lards, Tilford, Farnham, hatched Jan. 2. 314 II. (£1.) — Abbot Brothers, Hingham, Norfolk, hatched Jan. clxviii Award of Poultry Prizes at Plymouth. 347 III. (10s-.) — Mrs. Franklin, System Old Hall, Grantham, hatched Jan. 349 R. N. & H. C. — W. H. Spencer, Primrose Cottage, Lee Mount, Halifax. 346 H. C. — C. H. Bantoft, Whinbergh Park, East Dereham. • Class 212. — Wyandotte Pullets. [10 entries, 1 absent.] 357 I. (£2.) — Mrs. Oliver, Manor Ho.,Fletton, Peterborough, hatched Jan. 21. 355 II. (£1.)— Rev. F. Cooke, Chingunford, Aston-on-Clun, hatched Jan. 354 III. (10s.) — C. H. Bantoft, Whinbergh Park, E. Dereham, hatched Feb. 14. 359 R. N. & H. C. — Mrs. Sandford, Sandford Hall, Prees, Whitchurch, Salop. 356 H. C. — Mrs. Franklin. Com. — Albert E. Wragg for 362. Plymouth Rocks. Class 213. — Plymouth Pock Cocks. [15 entries, 2 absent.] 368 I. (£2.) — Mrs. Cooper, Bulwell Hall, Notts, hatched March 4, 1889. 376 II. (£1.) — R. Stainthorp, Nipe Howe Farm, Hawsker, Whitby, Yorks., hatched May 1888. 363 III. (10s.) — Abbot Bros., Hingham, Norfolk, hatched July 1889. 371 R. N. & H. C. — G. Heaman, Jun., Down Farm, Dolton, N. Devon. H. C. — Mrs. Bayldon for No. 366 ; Sydney Lake for No. 372 ; William Parker for No. 373. Class 214. — Plymouth Rock Hens. [12 entries, none absent.] 379 I. (£2.) — R. Butterfield, Na'fferton Hall, Hull, over 3 years old. 381 II. (£1.) — W. H. Cudlip, Crown Hill, Devon, hatched Mar. 5, 1888. 383 III. (10s.) — John Hartley, Gillroyd, Morley, Yorkshire. 384 R. N. & H. C. — G. Heaman, Jun., Down Farm, Dolton, N. Devon. Class 215. — Plymouth Rock Cockerels. [17 entries, none absent.] 396 I. (£2.) — R. Butterfield, Nafferton Hall, Hull, hatched Jan. 8. 397 II. (£1.) — Mrs. Cooper, Bulwell Hall, Notts, hatched Jan. 14. 399 III. (10s.) — P. A. Farrer, Petygards, Swaffham, hatched Feb. R. N. & H. C. — Mrs. Ainsworth for No. 393, and H. C. for No. 392. Class 216 — Plymouth Rock Pullets. [20 entries, none absent.] 413 I. (£2.) — Mrs. Cooper, Bulwell Hall, Notts, hatched Jan. 14. 410 II. (£1.) — Mrs. Ainsworth, Harwood, Horrabridge, Devon, hatched Feb. 418 III. (10s.) — P. A. Farrer, Petygards, Swaffham, hatched Feb. 419 R. N. & H. C. — Mrs. Forster, Haughton-le-Skerne, Darlington. 417 H. C. — W. Everington. Com.— Abbot Bros, for Nos. 407, 408. Minorcas. Class 217. — Minorca Cocks. [17 entries, none absent.] 431 I. (£2.) — J. Glanfield, The Riffel, Torquay, hatched April 1888. 436 II. (£1.) — A. G. Pitts, The Firs, Highbridge, Som., hatched May 1888. 434 III. (10s.) — T. T. Martin, Ivy Ho., St. Philip’s Marsh, Bristol, hatched 1889. 438 R. N. & H. C. — Proprs. of Hawkhurst Poultry Yards, Bridgwater, hatched 1889. H, C. — W. H. Stoyel for No. 443 ; Com. — Dr. W. B. Paulin for No. 435. Class 218. — Minorca Hens. [17 entries, none absent.] 457 I. (£2.) — J. Pulsford, Brook Hays, Withycombe, Devon, hatched J uly 1 889. 444 II. (£1.) — R. Butterfield, Nafferton Hall, Hull, 1 year 2 months old. Leghorn Foivh. clxix 450 III. (i0.s\) — William Leighton, Bridge Street, I’reston. 460 R. N. & H. C. — W. S. Stevenson, Barnicott, Newton Ferrers, Plymouth. H. C. — Wm. Leighton for No. 449; Albert Lewis for No. 451; A.G. Pitts for No. 455. Class 219. — Minorca Cockerels. [10 entries, 4 absent.] 470 I. (£2.) — Peoprs., Hawkhurst Poultry Yards, Bridgwater, litd. Jan. 1 1 . 468 II. (£1.) — C. Payne, Truchot Street, Guernsey, hatched Feb. 4. 467 III. (10s.) — J. W. Labey, East Lynne, St. Lukes, Jersey, hatched Jan. 13. 465 R. N. & H. C. — 0. Groves, Bridgwater, Soul, hatched Feb. 10. Class 220. — Minorca Pullets. [9 entries, none absent.] 476 I. (£2.) — Dr. W. B. Paulin, Creech St. Michael, Taunton, hatched Jan. 2. 479 II. (£ 1 .) — John Spey, 18, Mount Pleasant, Hartop Road, St. Mary Church, Torquay, hatched Jan. 16. 473 III. (10s.) — R. Butterfield, Nafferton Hall, Hull, hatched Feb. 5. 474 R. N. & H. C. — J. Hutchings, 15, Gandy Street, Exeter, hatched Jan. H. C. — Abbot Bros, for No. 471 ; J. W. Labey for No. 475. Andalusian. Class 221. — Andalusian Cocks. [8 entries, none absent.] 480 I. (£2.) — D. Butterfield, E. Morton, Bingley, Yorks, age 16 months. 485 II. (£1.) — E. Mereall, E. Morton, near Bingley, Yorks, 1 year old. 483 III. (10s.) — W. F. Le Boutillier, St. Heliers, Jersey, hatched June 1888. Class 222. — Andalusian Hens. [14 entries, none absent.] 4S5 I. ( £2.), and 496 II. (£1.) — W.F.Le Boutillier, St. Heliers, htd. MaylS8S. 489 III. (10s.) — D. Butterfield, E. Morton, Bingley, Yorks., age 16 months. 498 R. N. & H. C. — E. Merrall, E. Morton, near Bingley, Yorks., 1 year old. 488 H. C. — Rev. E. R. O. Bridgeman, Blymhill Rectory, Shifnal, Salop. Class 223. — Andalusian Cockerels. [9 entries, 1 absent.] 507 I. (£2.) — E. Merrall, East Morton, near Bingley, Yorks., hatched Jan. 26. 606 II. (£1.) — William Leighton, Bridge Street, Preston. 505 III. (10s.) — W. F. Le Boutillier, St. Heliers, Jersey, hatched Jan. 21. 508 R. N. — E. Merrall, East Morton, near Bingley, hatched Jan. 26. Class 224. — Andalusian Pullets. [9 entries, none absent.] 517 I. (£2.) — E. Merrall, East Morton, near Bingley, Yorks., hatched Jan. 26. 519 II. (£1.) — Rev. R. T. Thornton, Dulcote, Tunbridge Wells, hatched Feb. 518 III. (10s.)— Thomas Paterson, Grey Stone, Carlisle, hatched Jan. 15. 515 R. N. & H. C. — William Leighton, Bridge Street, Preston. Leghorns. Class 225. — Leghorn Cocks. [11 entries, none absent.] 522 I. (£2.) — A. C. Bradbury, Nuthall, Nottingham, hatched April 1889. 624 II. (£1.) — W. Cannan, Norwood, Crosshills, near Keighley, lrorks. 526 III. -(10s.) — John Hurst, South Terrace, Glossop, hatched 1889. 529 R. N. & H. C. — Mrs. Sinkins, Aldermoor, Southampton, hatched 1889 clxs Award of Poultry Prizes at Plymouth. Class 226. — Leghorn Hens. [10 entries, none absent.] 532 I. (£2.) — A. C. Bradbury, Nuthall, Nottingham, hatched April 1889. 536 II. (£1.) — John Hurst, South Terrace, Glossop, hatched 1889. 533 III. (10s.)— W. Cannan, Norwood, Crosshills, near Keighley, Yorks. 638 R. N. & H. C., and 539 H. C.— Joseph Pride, Thorverton, Devon. Class 227. — Leghorn Cockerels. [11 entries, none absent.] 548 I. (£2.) — C. W. Kellock, Jun., Highfields Hall, Audlem, Cheshire. 545 II. (£1.) — C. Heath, Thurgarton Priory, Southwell, Notts, hatched Feb. 547 III. (10s.) — John Hurst, South Terrace, Glossop. 541 R. N. & H. C. — John Berry, 40 Aireview Street, Silsden, near Keighley. H. C. — Robert Butterfield for No. 542 ; Mrs. Sinkins for No. 550. Class 228. — Leghorn Pullets. [15 entries, none absent.] 566 I. (£2.) — R. & J. H. Wade, Silsden, Keighley, Yorks., hatched Jan. 12. 556 II. (£1.) — East Kent Poultry Farm, Pluckley, Ashford, hatched Jan. 561 III. (10s.) — John Hurst, South Terrace, Glossop. 652 R. N. & H. C. — John Bfrry, 40 Aireview Street, Silsden, Keighley. H. C. — East Kent Poultry Farm for No. 555 ; Charles Heath for No. 559; C. W. Kellock, Jun., for No. 562; Mrs. Sinkins for No. 564 ; W. H. Spencer for No. 565. Hamburghs. Class 229. — Hamburgh Cocks, any variety. [10 entries, none absent.] 572 I. (£2.) — Henry Pickles, Kayfield House, Earby, Leeds. 570 II. (£1.) — C. A. Kemball, Earl’s Acre, Plymouth, hatched Mar. 24, 1889. 667 III. (10s.) — William Cannan, Norwood, Crosshills, near Keighley. 574 R. N. & H. C. — T. Ryman, Theale Board School, Weston-super-Mare. H. C — C. G. J. Gilbert for No. 569 ; Rev. G. T. Laycock for No. 571. Class 230. — LLamburgh Hens, any variety. [7 entries, none absent.] 579 I. (£2.) — Rev. G. T. Laycock, Terwick Rectory, Petersfield. 580 II. (£1.)— Henry Pickles, Kayfield House, Earby, Leeds. 582 III. (10s.), and 583 R. N. & H. C.— Lady Wolseley, Wolseley, Stafford, hatched 1888. 0 Class 231. — Hamburgh Cockerels, any variety. [10 entries, 1 absent.] 690 I. (£2.) — T. Ryman, Theale Board School, Weston-super-Mare, htchd Feb. 687 II. (£1) — Samuel Jackson, High Green Farm, Silsden, Keighley, hatched Jan. 15. 585 III. (10s.)— T.'Dow'Son) FroSterTej'. lJaTljngtcrn/hatr.hed Jan. 29. — 692 R. N. & H. C., and 591 H, C. — Spencer & Weatherhead, Red Lion Hotel, Silsden, Keighley, Yorks., hatched Jan. 10. Class 232. — Hamburgh Pullets , any variety. [11 entries, none absent.] 601 I. (£2.) — R. Rimmer, Old Post Office, Churchtown, Southport, htchd Jan. 594 II. (£1.) — Wm. Cannan, Norwood, Crosshills, Keighley, hatched Feb. 7. 604 III. (10s.) — Lady Wolseley, Wolseley, Staffs., hatched Jan 26. 596 R. N. & H. C, — Thomas Dowson, Frosterley, Darlington, hatched Jan. 29. 599 H. C. — Lakin & Welch, 4 Sunrise Villas, North Walsall, Staffs. Duties. clxxi * Table Fowls. Class 233. — Pair of Cockerels of 1890, of any pure breed. [6 entries, 1 absent.] 605 II.1 (£1.) — R. B. Curteis, Ashenden, Tenterden, Kent, hatched Feb. 610 III. (10s.) — E. C. Tucker, Carisbrooke Farm, Linkinhorne, hatched Feb. 606 R. N. — Mrs. Dick, Hund How, near Kendal, hatched Feb. Class 234. — Pair of Pullets of 1890, of any pure breed. [7 entries, none absent.] 611 I. (£2.) — William Brent, Clampit Farm, Callington, Cornwall. 615 II. (£1.) — Mrs. Rattray, Kilmorna, Listowel,Co. Kerry, hatched Feb. 3. 612 III. (10s.) — R. B. Curteis, Ashenden, Tenterden, Kent, hatched Feb. 617 R. N. — E. C. Tucker, Carisbrooke Farm, Linkinhorne, Cornwall. Class 235. — Pair of Cockerels of 1890, cross from Dorking and any other pure breed. [1 entry, absent.] Class 236. — Pair of Pullets of 1890, cross from Dorking and any other pure breed. [1 entry.] 619 III. (10s.) — P. B. Govett, Sideford, St. German’s, Cornwall, hatched Jan. Class 237. — Pair of Cockerels of 1890, cross from Game and any other pure breed. [No entry.] Class 238. — Pair of Pullets of 1890, cross from Game and any other pure breed. [1 entry.] 620 II. (£1.)— Miss May Dolben, Ipsley Rectory, Redditch, hatched Feb. 2. (Indian Game and Dorking.) DUCKS. Aylesbury. Class 239. — Aylesbury Drakes and Ducks. [5 entries, 1 absent.] 622 I. (£2.), and 623 II. (£1.) — Ebenezer Snell, Ketton, Stamford. 625 III. (10.?.) — Wm. Weston, 31 Mount Street, Aylesbury, hatched 1889. 621 R. N. — J. W. Hedges, 40 Castle Street, Aylesbury, hatched 1889. , Class 240. — Aylesbury Young Drakes and Ducklings. [8 entries, none absent.] 633 I. (£2.) — William Weston, 31 Mount Street, Aylesbury. 628 II. (£1.) — R. Butterfield, Nafferton Hall, Hull, hatched Feb. 22. 631 III. (10s.) — J. W. Hedges, 40 Castle Street, Aylesbury. 629 R. N.— W. Bygott, Jun., Rye Hill Farm, Ulceby, Lincolnshire. Rouen. Class 241. — Rouen Drakes and Ducks. [7 entries, none absent.] 634 I. (£2.)— Wm. Bygott, Jun., Rye Hill Farm, Ulceby, hatched Mar. 1889. 637 II. (£1.) — T. G. Houlton, South Killingkolme, Ulceby, 1 year old. 1 No First Prize awarded. clxxii Award of Poultry Prizes at Plymouth. 635 III. (lO.v.) — W. Bygott, Jun., Kye Hill Farm, Ulceby, batched Mar. 1889. 640 R. N. — Lady Wilson, Chillingham Barns, Belford, Northumberland. 636 Com. — David Gakton, Golborne, Newton-le-Willows, Lancashire. Class 242. — Rouen Young Brakes and Ducklings. [5 entries, 1 absent.] 644 I. (£2.)— T. G. Houlton, S. Killingholme, Ulceby, hatched April 1. 641 II. (£1.) and 642 III. (10.?.)— W. Bygott, Jun., Kye Hill Farm, Ulceby, hatched Jan. 2 and Feb. 28. 643 R. N. — David Garton, Golborne, Newton-le-Willows, Lancs. Pekin. Class 243. — Pelcin Drakes and Ducks. [6 entries, 1 absent.] 647 I. (£2.) — Thomas Allen, Crookwood, Devizes, Wilts., 1 year old. 649 II. (£1.) — S. Brown, 52 Kingsland Road, St. Phillips, Bristol, hatched Feb. 27, 1889. 646 III. (10s ) — Thomas Allen, Crookwood, Devizes, Wilts., 1 year old. 651 R. N. — A. W. Round, Stanley Park Farm, Sebsley, Stroud. Class 244. — Pekin Young Drakes and Ducklings. [4 entries, none absent.] 652 I. (£2.) — T. Allen, Crookwood, Devizes, Wilts., hatched Mar. 2. 655 II. (£1.) — T. F. Horsley, South Grove, Highgate, N., hatched Mar. 18. 653 III. (10s.)— S. Brown, 52, Kingsland Road, St. Phillips, Bristol, hatched Mar. 2. 654 R. N. — Fred Davis, Woolashill, Pershore, Worcestershire. Any Other Useful Breeds. Class 245. — Drakes and Ducks. [5 entries, none absent.] 660 I. (£2.) — Lady Wilson, Chillingham Barns, Belford, Northumberland. 658 II. (£1.) — T. H. Stringer, Bunce Ct., Otterden, Faversham, hatched April 1888. 657 III. (10s.)— Fred Davis, Woolashill, Pershore, Worcs., hatched 1889. 669 R. N. — R. Terrot, Woodstone Manor, Peterborough. Class 248. — Young Drakes and Ducklings. [1 entry.] 661 II. (£1.)— Fred Davis, Woolashill, Pershore, Worcestershire. Table Ducks. Class 247. — Pair of Ducklings of 1890, of any pure breed, sent alive. [8 entries, none absent.] 668 I. (£2.) — Miss M. Moore, Bisbury Ct., Leominster, hatched April 16. . 666 II. (£1.) — J. W. Hedges, 40, Castle Street, Aylesbury, hatched April. 662 III. (10s.) — E. Barnes, Fern Bank, Godaiming, Surrey, hatched Feb. 667 R. N. — J. W. Hedges, 40, Castle Street, Aylesbury, hatched April. Class 248. — Pair of Ducklings o/1890, of a first cross from any pure breed. ( Name of breed to be stated.) Sent alive. [5 entries, none absent.] 673 I. (£2.), and 674 II. (£1.)— J. AV. Hedges, 40, Castle Street, Aylesbury, hatched April. (Aylesbury and Pekin.) 672 III. (10s.) — John ‘b L>. Ellis, Dunstone, Yealmpton, Devon, hatched Mar. 23 and 5. (Aylesbury and Pekin.) Cheese. clxxiii Geese. Class 249. — Ganders and Geese. [2 entries.] 676 I. (£2.)— David L. Picken, Milton Farm, Kirkcudbright, N.B. 675 II. (£1.) — Lord Dunboyne, Greendale, Exeter. Turkeys. Class 250. — Turkey Cocks. [13 entries, 2 absent.] 678 I. (£2.) — Mrs. Barnes, Arkleby, Aspatria, Carlisle, hatched May 25, 1888. 687 II. (£1.) — R. Terrot, Woodstone Manor, Peterborough, hatched May 1889. 688 III. (10s.) — Mrs. Williams, Hawkstone Hotel, near Shrewsbury. 689 R. N. — Lady Wilson, Chillingham Barns, Belford, hatched 1888. H. C. — Lord Dunboyne for No. 680 ; W. H. Mitchell for No. 685. Com. — The Marquis of Headfort for No. 683. Class 251. — Turkey Hens. [6 entries, none absent.] 693 I (£2.) — Mrs. Williams, Hawkstone Hotel, Shrewsbury ,r_htchd May 188 690 II. (£1.) — Abbot Bros., Hingbam, Norfolk, over 1 year. 695 III. (10$.), and 691 R. N. — Lady Wilson, Chillingham Barns, Belford, hatched May 1889. FARM AND DAIRY PRODUCE OF THE UNITED KINGDOM. Wool.1 Class 252. — Three Fleeces , Devon Lony Wool. [11 entries.] 7 (£4.) — Alfred C. Skinner, Pound Farm, Bishops Lydeard, Som. H. C.— N. Cook for No. 1 ; Charles Norris for No. 5. Com. — C. Giles Thorne for No. 9. Class 253. — Three Fleeces , South Devon. [4 entries.] 13 (£4.) — John S. Hai.lett, Sherford’Barton, near Plymouth. H. C.— J. S. Hallett for No. 12 ; J. Stooke for Nos. 14, 15. Class 254. — Three JFlceces , Dartmoor. [5 entries.] 16 (£4.) — E. F. Damerell, Colwell Farm, Egg Buckland, Crown Hill, Devon. 20 R. N. & H. C.— T. Smerdon, Bullhornstone Farm, South Brent, Devon. Class 255. — Three Fleeces , Exmoor. [2 entries.] 22 (£4.)— Sir William Williams, Bt., Heanton, Barnstaple, Devon. Cheese. Class 256. — Three Cheddar Cheeses , not less than 50 lb. each, made in 1889. [11 entries.] 33 I. (£15.) — Alfred Reynolds, Milborne Port, near Sherborne. 29 II. (£10.) — J. Hillard, Church Farm, Charlton Musgrove.Wincanton, Som Prizes given by the Plymouth Local Committee. clxxiv Award of Prizes at Plymouth. 27 III. (£5.) — Henry Francis, Little Burton, Sherborne, Dorset. 25 It. N. — Theodore 0. Candy, Woolcombe, Cattistock, Dorset. H. C. — W. J. Hall for No. 28. Com. — Edwin Hiscock for No. 30. Class 257. — Three Cheshire Cheeses, of not less than 40 lb. each, made in 1889. [4 entries.] 37 I. (£15.) — Mrs. Ann Walley, Bulls Green Farm, Stoke, Nantwich. 36 II. (£10.) — Thomas Houlbrooke, Calvely Farm, Tarporley. 34 III. (£5.) — Hugh R. Dutton, Spurstow Lower Hall, Tarporley. Class 258. — Six Stilton Cheeses of 1889 make. [11 entries.] 47 I. (£15.)— Henry Morris, Mano Farm, Saxelby, Melton Mowbray. 43 II. (£10.) — Mrs. Charlotte Fairbrother, Beeby, Leicester 44 III. (£5.) — Charles Goodson, Great Dalby, Melton Mowbray. 38 It. N. & H. C. — J. Baker, Willoughby-on-the- Wolds, Loughborough. Com. — Albert Hull for No. 45 ; James Morley for No. 46. Class 259. — Three Cheeses of any British make, made in 1890. [20 entries.] 53 I. (£15.) — Henry Cannon, Milton Clevedon, Evercreech, Somerset. 57 II. (£10.) — W. J. Hall, Coventry Farm, Wroughton, Swindon. 52 III. (£5.) — Theodore C. Candy, Woolcombe, Cattistock, Dorset. 59 It. N. & H. C. — Thomas Houlbrooke, Calvely Farm, Tarporley. H. C.— Sidney J. Martin for No. 63; Alb'Red Reynolds for No. 66. 62. Com. — Joseph Martin, Soft Cheese. Class 260 .—Three Cream Cheeses. [8 entries.] 70 I. (£3.) — Mrs. Mary Custance, Brook Heath, Breamore, Salisbury. 69 II. (£2.) — Edwin Brough, Wyndyate, near Scarborough. 71 III. (£1.) — John Harris, All Saints Road, Sidmouth, Devon. 75 It. N. & H. C. — Rev. S. H. Williams, Gt. Linford, Newport Pagnell. 72 Com —Hon. Mrs. Cecil Howard, Dutchlands, Great Missenden. Class 261. — Three British Soft Cheeses, other than Cream, made from milk, no extra cream added. [1 entry. No award.] Butter. Classes 262, 263, and 264. Five equal Prizes of £5 each, Five equal Prizes of £3 each. Class 262. — Three pounds fresh Butter, absolutely free from salt, made up in pounds. [63 entries.] 101 (£5.) — Hon. Mrs. Cecil Howard, Dutchlands, Great Missenden. 120 (£5.) — G. F. Snell, Ebdon Farm, Sidbury, Sidmouth, Devon. 129 (£5.)— C. C. Tudway, The Cedars, Wells, Somerset. 82 (£3.)— Mrs. Eliza J. Body, Leigh Hole Farm, Wrington, Somerset. 87 (£3.)— Cathedral Dairy Co., Eaatgate, Exeter. 107 (£3.) — William Leverton, Woolleigh Barton, Beaford, N. Devon. 108 (£3.)— Colonel Alex. C. Macleay, Glasshayes, Lyndhurst. 110 (£3.)— James Morley, Sysonby, Melton Mowbray. Com.— Frank Willan for No. 133 ; John Williams for No. 134. Cider and Perry. cl xxv Class 263. — Three pounds fresh Butter, slightly salted, made up in pounds. [62 entries.] 145 (£5.) — Mbs. Eliza. J. Body, Leigh Hole Farm, Wrington, Somerset. 150 (£5.) — John Channon, Wishford, Broad Clyst, Devon. 152 (£5.) — N. Coad, Pengelly Farm, Callington, Cornwall. 155 (£5.)— Mbs. Maey Custance, Brook Heath, Breamore, Salisbury. 177 (£5.)— Lobd Poltimoee, Poltimore Park, Exeter. 160 (£3.)— Hon. Mbs. Cecil Howaed, Dutchlands, Great Missenden, Bucks. 183 (£3.) — G. F. Snell, Ebdon Farm, Sidbury, Sidmouth. 186 (£3.) — Ross Mooee Tanneb, Woolbeding, Midhurst, Sussex. 190 (£3.) — C. C. Tudway, The Cedars, Wells, Somerset. Com. — Hon. Mbs. Baillie-Hamilton for No. 141 ; John Blackshaw for No. 144; Joseph Beutton for No. 147 ; Wm. Lethbridge for No. 170; James Mobley for No. 173; Richard Peaeson for No. 176; John Williams for No. 197. Class 264. — -Three pounds of Butter, made from Scalded Cream.1 [33 entries.] 203 (£5.)— Mbs. Eliza J. Body, Leigh Hole Farm, Wrington, Somerset. 210 (£5.) — N. Coad, Pengelly Farm, Callington, Cornwall. 213 (£5.) — Tom Emeey, Elm Tree Farm, Portbury, Somerset. 220 (£5.) — Loed Montagu, Palace House, Beaulieu, Hants. 224 (£5.) — Loed Poltimoee, Poltimore Park, Exeter, Devon. 206 (£3.) — Mbs. H. E. Buet, Chew Stoke, Somerset. 208 (£3.)— John Channon, Wishford, Broad Clyst, Devon. 215 (£3.) — J. W. Hallett, Legh, Beer Flerris, Roborough, Devon. 226 (£3.) — Sid Vale Dairy Co., Sidford, Sidmouth, Devon. 232 (£3.) — John Williams, Regilbury Park, Winford, Bristol. Com.— R. M. Tanner for No. 227 ; M. J. Williams for No. 233. Class 265. — Three pounds Whey Butter, without any admixture of Fresh Milk or Cream. [4 entries.] 235 I. (£3.)— John Blackshaw, Marton, Chelford, Cheshire. 237 II. (£2.) — M. J. Williams. North Hill Farm, Chew Stoke, near Bristol. 236 III. (£1.) — Theodore C. Candy, Woolcombe, Cattistock, Dorset. Class 266. — One Keg or other Package of Salt Butter, not less than 14 lb. in weight. [22 entries.] 255 I. (£5.) — Garrett Taylor, Trowse House, Norwich. 250 II. (£3.) — Lord Montagu, Palace House, Beaulieu, Hants. 248 III. (£2.) — Ellis Powell Jones, Plas Llanynys, Denbigh. 249 IV. (£1.) — William Lethbridge, Wood, Okehampton, Devon. 259 R.N. & Com. — John Williams, Regilbury Park, Winford, Bristol. CIDER AND PERRY. Class 267. — Cask of not less than 18, and not more than 30, gallons of Cider made in the Autumn of 1889. [23 entries.] 265 I. (£5.) — Herefordshire Fruit , and 264 II. (£3.) — Somerset Fruit, W. F. Chave, Moor House, Hereford. 260 III. (£2.)— Reynolds Ashfoed, Monkton, Pinhoe, Exeter. 275 R N. & H. C.— Thomas Maye, Mount Elwell, Totnes. 1 Given by the Plymouth Local Committee. clxxvi Award of Prizes at Plymouth. Class 268. — One Dozen Bottles of Cider made in the Autumn o/1889. [20 entries.] 281 II.1 (£3.) — G. L. Bond, Westboro’, Coombeinteignhead, Teignmouth. 292 III. (£2.)— William Gavmer, Banham, Attleborough, Norfolk. Class 269. — One Dozen Bottles of Cider made in any year before 1889. [13 entries.] 308 I. (£5.) — Charles Ham, 78, Fore Street, Exeter. 304 II. (£3.)— H. P. Bulmer & Co., Ryelands, Hereford. 315 III. (£2.)— John L. Winter, Bridgetown, Totnes, Devon. 303 R. N. & Com. — Reynolds Ashford, Monkton, Pinhoe, Exeter. Class 270. — One Dozen Bottles of Perry. [5 entries.] 316 I. (£5.) — Gloucestershire Fruit, and 317 II. (£3.) — Herefordshire Fruit, H. P. Bulmer & Co., Ryelands, Hereford. 320 III. (£2.)— Daniel Phelps, Tibberton, Gloucester. JAMS AND PRESERVED FRUITS. Class 271. — Collection of Jams. [5 entries.] 323. I. (£5.) — Earl of Coventry, Pershore Jam and Pickle Factory. 324 II. (£3.) — Jonas Saville & Sons, 1L Worthington Street, Bradford. 321 III. (£2.)— Britannia Fruit Preserving Company, Tiptree Heath. Class 272. — Collection of Fruit Jellies. [2 entries. No Award.] Class 273. — Collection of Bottled Fruits. [1 entry .] 328 I. (£5.)— Britannia Fruit Preserving Company, Tiptree Heath. Class 274. — Collection of Preserved Fruits for Dessert Purposes. [1 entry. No Award.] Class 275. — Collection of Dried or Evaporated Fruits for Cooking Purposes. [No entry.] HIVES, HONEY, AND BEE APPLIANCES.2 Class 276. — Collection of Hives and Appliances. [2 entries.] 331 I (£2.)— W. P. Meadows, Syston, Leicester. 330 II (£1 10.s.) — Chas. T. Overton, Lowfield Apiaries, Crawley, Sussex. Class 277. — Observatory Hive stocked with Bees and Queen. [2 entries.] 333 I. (£1.) — C. T. Overton, Lowfield Apiaries, Crawley, Carniolans. 1 No First Prize awarded. Prizes given by the British Bee-keepers’ Association. clxxvii Hives , Honey , and Bee Appliances. Class 278 .—Best and Most complete Frame-ldve for general use unpainted. [4 entries.] 334 I. (£1.)— Chas. Redshaw, South Wigston, Leicester. 336 II. (15s.)— Chas. T. Overton, Lowfield Apiaries, Crawley, Sussex. 337 III. (10s.) — \V. P. Meadows, Syston, Leicester. Class 279. — Most complete and inexpensive Frame-hive for Cottager's use, unpainted.' [6 entries.] 342 II.1 (15s.)— Chas. T. Overton, Lowfield Apiaries, Crawley. Price 8s. G<7. 341 III. (10s.)— Hutchings Bros., St. Mary Gray, Kent. Price 6s. Qd. ■ •.»,><. - •; » .. •• V .'A iV. ] •, . • -v. . •' ' • * . *•*•.*. Class 280 .—Honey Extractor. [4 entries.] 347 I. (15s.) and 346 II. (10s.) — W. P. Meadows, Syston, Leicester. Class 281. — Pair of Section Racks, completely fitted for use and interchangeable. [5 entries.] 351 I. (15s.) — W. P. Meadows, Syston, Leicester. 348 II. (10s.)— Chas. Redshaw, South Wigston, Leicester. 350 III. (5s.) — Chas. T. Overton, Lowfield Apiaries, Crawley, Sussex. Class 282. — Feeder. [7 entries.] 358 I. (10s.) and 359 II. (5s.) — W. P. MEADOWS, Syston, Leicester. Class 283. — Twelve Sections of Comb Honey. [21 entries.] 375 I. (£1.) — W. Woodley, Worlds End, Newbury. 369 II. (10s.)— Wakefield Christie-Miller, Broomfield, Chelmsford. 363 III. (5s.)— Rev. F. T. Scott, Hartlip, Sitting-bourne. Class 284. — Six Sections of Comb Honey. [19 entries.] 393 I. (£1.)— W. Woodley, Worlds End, Newbury. 399 II. (10s.) — J. Gar rati', Meopham, Kent. 392 III. (5s.)— W. G. Preece, Jun., Shrewsbury. Class 285 .-—Section of Comb Honey. [17 entries.] 416 I. (15s.) — J. Garratt, Meopham, Kent. 407 II. (10s,)— Miss M. L. Gatton, Much Hadham, Herts. 402 III. (5s.)— Capt. W. St. G. Ord, Fornham House, Bury St. Edmunds. Class 286. — Exhibit of Run or Extracted Honey, in jars not exceeding 2 lb; each. [20 entries.] 436 I. (£1. 10s.) — J. Garratt, Meopham, Kent. 431 II. (£1.)---Jas. Thorne, Ashwell, Herts. 428 III. (10s.) — Mrs. E. J. Cox, Fyfield, Abingdon, 435 IV. (5s.) — M. Whittle, 5, Lockinge, Wantage. ' Class 287. — Exhibit of Granulated Honey in jars, not exceeding 2 lb. each. [8 entries.] 443 I. (£1.) — W. Sturdy, Thornton, Stony Stratford, 437 II. (10s.) and 438 III. (5s.) — Rev. J. Kempe, St. Vergan, Grampound Rd. 1 First Prize not awarded. VOL. I. T. S. — 3 Ml clxxviii Awan'd of Prizes at Plymouth. Class 288. — Best and most attractive Display of Honey, in any form . [2 entries.] 446 II.* (£2.)— James Thorne, Ashwell, Herts. Class 289. — Useful Inventions introduced since 1888. [6 entries.] ■147 Com. — Thos. Lowth, Riseholme, Lincoln, for Unique Extractor, specially adapted for extracting from 1 and 2 lb. sections of loose combs. Class 290. — Most interesting and instructive Exhibit of any kind connected with Bee-culture not mentioned in foregoing Classes. [4 entries.] 453 I. (£1.) — Rev. J. Kempe, St. Vergan Vicarage, Grampound Road. Bees’ Wax, various colours. 454 III.2 (5s.) — Henry J. Oechaed, Helmingham, Stoneham, Suffolk. Diagrams for teaching bee-keeping in rural schools. IMPLEMENTS. Class 1 . — Light Portable Motors ( steam or other ) up to Five-Brake Horse-Power. [6 entries.] (a) Motobs using Solid Fuel. 3192 1. (£30.)— Simpson, Stbickland, & Co., Dartmouth. 3496 II. (£20.)— E. R. k F. Tubneb, Ipswich. (5) Motobs using Liquid ob Gaseous Fuel. 3513 I. (£30.)— Peiestman Bbothebs, Lim., Holderness Foundry, Hull. [No Second Prize awarded.] Class 2. — Gnst Mills, for use on a Farm, to be worked by an Engine not exceeding Ten-Brake Horse-Power. [26 entities.] 3160 I. (£20.) — Samuel Corbett k Son, Wellington, Salop. 3441 II. (£10.)— Woodroffe k Co., Albion Iron Works, Rugeley. Class 3. — Disintegrators, suitable for zoorking with a Portable or Traction Engine not exceeding Twenty-Brake Horse-Power. [8 entries.] 639 I. (£20.) — Hardy Patent Pick Co., Lim., Heeley, Sheffield. 331 II. (£10.)— W. N. Nicholson k Sons, Trent Iron Works, Newark. Class 4. — Plant for Cider-Making, suitable for use on a Farm. [Trials deferred until the autumn.] Silver Medals. Awarded by the Council on the recommendation of the Judges of Mis- cellaneous Implements, for articles entered as “ New Implements for Agricultural or Estate Purposes.” 381 Thomas Bradford &. Co., Salford, Manchester : for Butter Worker, Patent “ Arch Albany,” with spiral roller and arched table. First and Third Prizes not awarded. a Second Prize not awarded, Butter-making Competition. clxxix 710 Dairy Supply Co., Lim., Museum Street, London, W.C. : for the appli- cation of a Refrigerator between the Separator and Churn in an Instan- taneous Butter Maker. 2539 The Hardy Patent Pick Co., Lim., Sheffield : for Disintegrator, 3333 W. N. Nicholson & Sons, Newark : for Horse Rake “ Snapdragon DAIRY APPLIANCES. Class 5. — Strong Dairy Thermometer. [8 entries.] 905 (£1.) — Pond & Son, Blandford, Dorset. Class 6. — Collection of Non-returnable Parcel-Post Boxes , to carry from 1 lb, to 5 lb. of Butter. [3 entries.] 4142 I. (£2.)— Hugh Stevenson, 31, Bridge Street, Ardwick, Manchester. [Second Prize not awarded.] ■ Class 7. — Collection of Non-returnable Parcel-Post Boxes , to carry from 5 lb. to 10 lb. of Butter. [3 entries.] 4143 I. (£2.) — Hugh Stevenson, 31, Bridge Street, Ardwick, Manchester, [Second Prize not awarded.] Class 8. — Vessel to contain Preserved Butter, closed hermetically, with - out the use of Solder. [2 entries. No Award.] Class 9. — Sieve or Sile,for use in Dairy. [5 entries. No Award.] BUTTER-MAKING COMPETITION. Class 1. — Dairymaids who have won a Prize at any Agricultural or Dairy Show. [8 entries.] 7 I. (£6.) — Miss Ada Williams, Chew Stoke, near Bristol. 5 II. (£4.) — Mrs. Carrie L. Horton, Little Leigh, Cheshire. 8 III. (£3.) — Mrs. M. J. Williams, Winford, Somerset. 3 IV. (£2.) — Miss Martha Brown, Failand, Somerset. 4 V. (£1.) — Mrs. J. Burston, Bridgwater, Somerset Class 2. — Dairymaids who have not before won a Prize at any Agri cultural or Dairy Show. [9 entries.] 1311. (£5 each.)— Miss E. Farrant, Exeter, & Miss Ada Perkins, Holm- 17/ wood, Surrey. 11 III. (£3.) — Miss J. Coad, Callington, Cornwall. [Fourth and Fifth Prizes not awarded.] clxxx Award of Prizes at Plymouth. HORSE-SHOEING COMPETITION. LIMITED TO SHOEING-SMITHS IN THE COUNTIES OF BERKS, CORN- WALL, DEVON, DORSET, HANTS, KENT, SOMERSET, SURREY, SUSSEX, AND WILTS. Class 1 .—Hunters. [22 entries.] 3 I. (£10.') — Samuel Batten, Furnham, Chard, Somerset. I II. (£5.)— John Henry Baker, Sherwill Cross, Barnstaple. 13 III. (£3.): — William Hill, Chagford, Newton Abbot, Devon. 10 IV. (£2.)— Edward Dunstan, 5 Berkeley Vale, Falmouth. 22 V. (£1.) — Edward Wiggins, Wimbledon, Surrey. 7 H. C. — William Denner, Jun., Pound Square, Collumpton, Devon. 8 H. C. — William Denner, Sen., Pound Square, Collumpton, Devon. 4 H. C. — Charles Lodge, 1, Shapter Street, Topsham, Devon. Class 2. — Agricultural Horses. [7 entries.] 29 I. (£10.')— Walter Winslade, North Petherton, Somerset. 28 II. (£5.) — William Streatfield, Wimbledon, Surrey; 23 III. (£3.) — Charles Cowell, 19, Well Street, Plymouth. 27 IV. (£2.) — John Stapleton, 6, Regent Street, Plymouth. 26 V. (£1.) — James GANE, Curry Rival, near Taunton. FARM PRIZE COMPETITION.2 Class 1. — For the best managed Arable and Grass Farm of 200 acres and upwards, not less than one-half being Arable. [5 entries.] 5 I. (£60.) — W. P. Vosper, Merafield, Plympton, Plymouth. 2 II. (£40.) — J. N. Franklin, The Bussels, Husham, Exeter. 3 III. (£20.) — [Special3] Mrs. Hill and her Son, Newtake. Staverton, Totnes. 1 Com. — John Stranger Ford, Sen., Hall Torrs, Yealmpton, Plymouth. 4 Com. — William Lawry, Trevor Gorran, St. Austell, Cornwall. Class 2. — For the best managed Arable and Grass Farm above 100 and not exceeding 200 acres, not less than one-half being Arable. [9 entries.] 7 I. (£60.) — Edward Cornish, East Farm, Charleton, Kingsbridge. 9 II. (£40.) — John S. Ford, Jun., Luson Holbeton, Ivybridge, Plymouth. 12 H. C. — Charles Horn, Blowiscombe, Yelverton, Tavistock. 13 Com. — Henry Quartly, Molland, South Molton. Class 3. — For the best managed Arable and Grass Farm above 40 and not exceeding 100 acres. [3 entries.] 17 I. (£50.)— James W. Lawry, St. Mellion, Saltash. 15 II. (£30.) — Charles Bath, Gear Farm, Camborne. 16 HI. (£20.) — Edm. F. Damerell, Colwell Farm, Egg Buckland, Crown Hill, Plymouth. 1 Given by the Worshipful Company of Farriers, in addition to the Freedom of theib Guild. 3 Prizes given by the Plymouth’ Local Committee. ■’ Awarded for excellence of management in general, and in particular for treatment and production of cider, this being a branch of Devonshire farming which, in the opinion of the Judges, might be more profitably developed, especially if treated in the method followed by these competitors. ( clxxxi ) GRATUITIES TO FARM SERVANTS. The Council have awarded certificates of distinguished merit in the dis- charge of their duties, together with a gratuity of one sovereign in each case, to the following servants on the competing farms. Recommended by Mr. W. P. Vesper: — Geobge Maddock, for 19 years’ service as general foreman, specially mentioned as very skilful at all kinds of work, and as having great confidence placed in him ; and Ann Maddock, his wife, now in charge of the dairy at Saltram, specially mentioned for 30 years’ service, and as being an industrious, reliable woman. James Aveby, for 24 years’ service, specially mentioned as a first-class ploughman, and as being very trustworthy ; and Elizabeth Aveby, his wife, now in charge of the dairy at Merafield, for 21 years’ service. Henby Gabeiel, in charge of the cows at Merafield, for 29 years’ service, specially mentioned as a most attentive and valuable stockman, always on duty by 4 A.M. William Hemphill, for 20 years in charge of the cows at Saltram, specially mentioned as a valuable and trustworthy servant. John Ellis, for 19 years’ service as shepherd ; and Eliza Ellis, his wife, in charge of the poultry at Bickham, specially mentioned as most attentive and successful in rearing all kinds of poultry, &c. John Duckham, for 19 years’ service as his employer’s principal salesman of green forage in Plymouth. Recommended by Mr. TV. Lawry : — William Youlton, for 25 years’ service, specially mentioned as a very good, steady, and handy man. Stephen Speae, for 22 years’ service, specially mentioned as a good ploughman, driller, &c. Recommended by Mr. J. S. Ford, Senior : — Samuel Feeeman, for 35 years’ service as shepherd, specially mentioned as having won 15 prizes for shearing and 16 for thatching. Samuel Hubeell, for 27 years’ service, specially mentioned as a very good workman, and as having won several prizes for “ making ” hedges. Recommended by Mr. J. N. Franklin : — Thomas Cowley, for 55 years’ service as shepherd, &c., specially men- tioned as very conscientious in the discharge of his duties, and as a first-rate man for all descriptions of stock. James Geant, for nearly 27 years’ service, and as foreman of the labourers during the last 21 years. Takes all the taskwork, such as hoeing, harvesting, cleaning water-carriers, &c., and is responsible for its proper performance. Specially mentioned as always willing to forward the work of the farm, and as a very valuable servant. John Geant (brother of the preceding), for 19 years’ service. Takes the entire management of the cider department, under Mr. Franklin’s supervision, and is specially mentioned as being very reliable and , ;j^au£tiious, • , - clxxxii Award of Live-Stock Prizes at Plymouth, PRIZES OFFERED BY PLYMOUTH LOCAL COMMITTEE. Stock and Produce, £481; Farms, £300. Class HORSES. Prizes 1st 2nd 3rd Hunters. 4 Mare or gelding, foaled in the year 1884 or 1885 : — £ £ £ (al Light weight, up to 12 stone 20 10 5 ( h) Weight carrier, up to 15 stone 20 10 5 5 Mare or gelding foaled in 1886 ......... 20 10 5 Hackneys. j Mare or gelding foaled in either 1884 or 1885, not less than 14 hands and 1 | not exceeding 15 hands ) 16 Mare or gelding, above 15 hands ......... 15 10 — Ponies. 19 Mare or gelding above 12 hands 2 inches and not exceeding 14 hands , 15 8 3 20 Mare or gelding, not exceeding 12 hands 2 inches 10 6 3 ( Champion Prize for the best pony (classes 19, 20, 23 and 26) suitable for 1 \ ridiug purposes . . ( Agricultural Horses. 46 Stallion, foaled previously to 1888 15 10 — 47 Mare or gelding, foaled in or after the year 1884 15 10 — ( Pair of draught horses (mare or gelding), suitable for agricultural ) 10 \ purposes in Devon and Cornwall ........ J CATTLE. Kerry. 95 Bull, calved in 1884, 1885, 1886, 1887, 1888, or 1889 15 10 - 9G Cow or heifer, calved previously to or in 1887 ...... 15 10 — 97 Heifer, calved in 1888 or 1889 . 10 5 — Dexter Kerry. 98 Bull, calved in 1884, 1885, 1886, 1887, 1888, or 1889 ..... 15 10 — 99 Cow or heifer, calved previously to or in 1887 15 10 — 100 Heifer, calved in 1888 or 1889 .......... 10 5 — Class 252. 253. Wool. Devon long wool . . . South Devon . . ■ . . (3 fleeces in each class.) Class £4 254. Dartmoor . £4 255. Exmoor £4 £4 Butter. Class 264. Three pounds, made from scalded cream : five of £5 each, five of £3 each. 21 22 23 24 25 26 67 68 69 70 71 72 140 141 lit PRIZES OFFERED BY DEVON COUNTY AGRICULTURAL ASSOCIATION. (£302.) PONIES. ( Not exceeding 13 hands 2 inches.) Dartmoor. Stallion, foaled before January 1, 1888 ........ Mare in foal, or with foal at foot ......... Mare or gelding (to be ridden) Exmoor. Stallion, foaled before January 1, 1888 ........ Mare in foal, or with foal at foot . . Mare or gelding (to be ridden) . . CATTLE. South Devon (Hams). Bull, calved in 1884, 1885, 1886, or 1887 Bull, calved in 1888 . Bull, calved in 1889 Cow or heifer, in-milk or in-calf, calved previously to or in 1887 . Heifer, calved in 1888 Heifer, calved in 1889 . ........ . SHEEP. South Devon. Two-shear ram . , . i i . Shearing ram Pen of three shearling ewes, of the sa»P flock ...... £ £ £ 8 4 8 4 6 4 — 8 4 8 4 — 6 4 ’ 15 10 5 15 10 5 10 5 3 16 10 5 10 5 3 10 6 3 15 10 5 15 10 9 15 10 § clxxxiii Aivard of Live Stock Prizes at Plymouth. CHAMPION PRIZES. Champion and other Prizes offered by various Societies through the Royal Agricultural Society of England, at the Plymouth Meeting. HORSES. Hackney Horse Society : Class 12 —Hackney stallion, foaled in 1888 : 1st, £15 ; 2nd, £10. Shire Horse Society: Best Shire stallion, £25. Best Shire mare or filly, £15. Clydesdale Honss Society : Best Clydesdale horse and mare or filly, £25 e:ich. Suffolk Stud-Book Association : Class 41— Suffolk stallion, foaled in 1889, 1st, £15 : 2nd, £10. Class 45— Suffolk filly, foaled in 1889, 1st, £15 ; 2nd, £10. CATTLE. Shorthorn Society: Best Shorthorn male and female, £25 each. SHEEP. Southdown Breeders : Best Southdown ram, Cup, value £25. PIGS. British Berkshire Society: Best Berkshire boar, farrowed 1889, and breeding sow, farrowed previously to or in 1889, Cups, value £10 each. Horse-shoeing Competition. The Worshipful Company of Farriers : The two first Prizes in both Classes, value £10 each, together with the Freedom of the Guild. INSTRUCTIONS TO THE JUDGES. Tlio following were the Instructions to the Judges contained in the Prize-Sheet : — 1. As the object of the Society in giving Prizes for Cattle, Sheep, and Pigs, is to promote improvement in Breeding Stock, the Judges, in making their awards, are not to take into consideration the present value to the butcher of animals exhibited, but to decide according to their rela- tive merits for the purpose of Breeding. 2. In the Classes for Stallions, Mares, and Fillies, the Judges, in awarding the Prizes, will, in addition to symmetry, take activity and strength into consideration, and pay special attention to freedom from, hereditary disease. 3. In the Classes for Poultry, high condition, quality, purity of race, and weight will be taken into consideration by the Judges in a greater degree than mere beauty of plumage without these distinctions. If the Judges are perfectly satisfied that in any case the age has been incor- rectly stated, they are empowered, with the sanction of the Stewards, to disqualify such entries ; and no appeals from the decision of the Judges will be entertained upon any grounds whatever. 4. Tf, in the opinion of the Judges, there should be equality of merit, they will make a special report to the Stewards. 6. The Judges, with the sanction of the Stewards, will withhold Prizes from any animals entered in a wrong Class. 6. The Judges will withhold any Prize if they are of opinion that sufficient merit in the Stock or Produce exhibited for such Prize does not exist to justify an award. 7. The Judges will give in a “ Reserve Number ” in each Class indicating the animal or exhibit which in their opinion possesses sufficient merit for the Prize, if the animal or exhibit to which the Prize is awarded should become disqualified. 8. The Judges will deliver to the Stewards their awards, signed, stating the numbers to which the Prizes are adjudged, before they leave the Yard, and noting all disqualifications. Immediately after the Show they are to transmit, under cover to the Secretary, their reports on the several classes in which they have adjudicated, in order that the substance of such report may be included in the General Report of the Exhibition at Plymouth, to be published in the Journal of the Society. ( clxxxiv ) MEMORANDA. Address of Letters.— All letters on the general business of the Society should be addressed to the Secretary, at 12 Hanover Square, London, W. Telegrams.— The Society’s registered address for telegrams is “ Practice, London.” Replies by Telegraph cannot be sent unless paid for in advance, and cannot be guaranteed in any case. Telephone Number, 3675. Office Hours. — 10 to 4. On Saturdays 10 to 2. Country Meeting at Doncaster, Monday, June 22, to Friday, June 26, 1881 (both inclusive). General Meeting in London, Thursday, December 11, 1890, at noon, in the large hall of the Boyal Medical and Chirurgical Society, 20 Hanover Square, W. Monthly Council (for transaction of business), at noon on the first Wednesday in every month, excepting January, September, and October: open only to Members of Council and Governors of the Society. Adjournments. — The Council adjourn over Passion and Easter weeks, when those weeks do not include the first Wednesday of the month ; from the first Wednesday in August to the first Wednesday in November ; and from the first Wednesday in December to the first Wednesday in February. Subscriptions.— 1. Annual. — The subscription of a Governor is £5, and that of a Member £1, due in advance on the 1st of January of each year, and becoming in arrear if unpaid by" the 1st of June. 2. For Life. — Governors may compound for their subscriptions for future years by paying on election, or at any time thereafter, the sum of £50, and Members by paying £15. Members elected before 1890 may compound at any time on payment of £10 in one sum ; and Members elected in or subsequently to 1890 may compound for the same amount after the payment of ten annual subscriptions. Governors and Members who have paid their annual subscription for 20 years or upwards, and whose payments are not in arrear, may compound for future annual subscriptions, that of the current year inclusive, by a single payment of £25 for a Governor, and £5 for a Member. No Governor or Member can be allowed to enter into composition for life until all subscriptions due by him at the time shall have been paid. No Governor or Member in arrear of his subscription is entitled to any of the privileges of the Society. All Members belonging to the Society are, under the Bye-laws, bound to pay their annual subscriptions, until they shall withdraw from it by notice in writing to the Secretary. Payments. — Subscriptions may be paid to the Secretary, either at the office of the Society, No. 12 Hanover Square, London, W., or by means of crossed cheques in favour of the Secretary, or by postal orders, to be obtained at any of the principal post-offices throughout the kingdom, and made payable at the Vere Street Office, London, W. When making remittances it should be stated by whom, and on whose account, they are sent. All Cheques and Postal Orders should be crossed “London and Westminster Bank, St. James’s Square Brand).” On application to the Secretary, forms may be obtained for authorising the regular payment, by the bankers of individual members, of each annual subscription as it falls due. Members are particularly invited to avail themselves of these Bankers’ orders, in order to save trouble both to themselves and to the Society. When payment is made to the London and Westminster Bank, as the Bankers of the Society, it will be desirable that the Secretary should be advised by letter of such payment, in order that the entry in the bankers’ book may be at once identified, and the amount posted to the credit of the proper person. No coin can be remitted by post, unless the letter be registered. Journal. — The Parts of the Society’s Journal are (when the subscription is not in arrear) forwarded by post to Members or delivered from the Society’s Office to Members or to the bearer of their written order. The back numbers of the Journal are kept constantly on sale by the publisher, Mr. John Murray, 50a Albemarle Street, W. New Members.— Every candidate for admission into the Society must be nominated by a Governor or Member, and must duly fill up and sign an application for Membership on the appointed form. Forms of Proposal may be obtained on application to the Secretary. The Secretary will inform new Members of their election by letter. ROYAL AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY OF ENGLAND proceedings of tbe Council, WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 8, 1890. THE EARL OF BAVENSWORTH (PRESIDENT) IN THE CHAIR. Present : — Trustees. — Earl Catlicart, Mr. J. D. Dent, Col. Sir Nigel Kingscote,K.C.B., Sir A. K. Macdonald, Bart. Vice-Presidents. — Earl of Fevers- ham, Lord Moreton, Sir John Thorold, Bart., Mr. C. Whitehead. Other Members of Council. — Mr. G. M. Allender, Mr. J. H. Arkwright, Mr. Alfred Ashworth, Mr. Joseph Beach, Mr. J. Bowen-Jones, Mr. J. A. Caird, Mr. H. Chandos-Pole-Gell, Mr. Charles Clay, Earl of Coventry, Mr. Percy E. Crutchley, Mr. Alfred Darby, Mr. William Frankish, Mr. R. Neville Grenville, Mr. James Hornsby, Mr. C. S. Mainwaring, Mr. Joseph Martin, Mr. T. H. Miller, Hon. Cecil T. Parker, Mr. Albert Pell, Mr. Daniel Pidgeon, Mr. G. H. Sanday, Mr. Alfred J. Smith, Mr. Henry Smith, Marquis of Stafford, Mr. Martin J. Sutton, Mr. Garrett Taylor, Mr. Joseph P. Terry, Mr. John Tremayne, Mr. R. A. Warren, Mr. E. V. V. Wheeler, Mr. C. W. Wilson, Sir Jacob Wilson. Professor Brown, C.B. Officers. — Mr. Ernest Clarke, Secre- tary and Editor; Mr. E. W. Yoelcker, Acting Consulting Chemist ; Mr. Wilson Bennison, Surveyor. The following representatives of the Doncaster Local Committee were also present : The Mayor of Doncaster, Mr. F. Bacon Frank, Mr. G. T. Wood, Mr. G. B. C. Yarborough, and Mr. George Chafer (Secretary). VOL. I. T. S. — 4 Election of New Members. The minutes of the last monthly meeting of the Council, held on July 30, having been read and confirmed, the election of the following 54 Members was proceeded with : — Alabaster, C. C. . . Searchfield, Breamore, Wilts. Anderson, W. H. . . Holbeache, near Bewdiey. Bailey, Ellerton. .Eling, Southampton. Beach, Capt. A. W. Hicks.. Wick House, Downton, Wilts. Beaton, A. C. H...6 Netherhall Gardens, Hampstead. Beresfokd-Hofe, P. B.. .Bedgebury Park, Hawkhurst. Brocklehurst, Major. .Ranksboro’, Oakham. Brown low, Gen. Sir 0., K.C.B. . . Warfield Hall Berks. Buckwell, J. C.. .Boyces, Ewliurst, Sussex. Buller, C. W. . . Donaghadee, Ireland. Caldwell, C. H. B. . .Windlesham, Surrey. Carter, F. W. . . East Hoathly, Sussex. Castle, A. S.. .Charlton, Wantage. Cookson, H. T.. .Sturford Mead, Warminster. Cousins, D. C. . .131 High Street, Oxford. Davis, T. H. N...Orleton, near Tenbury. Dupuis, F. J. . . Sessay Rectory, Thirsk. Eagles, J. G.. .Leamington Spa, Warwick. Gammell, S. J. . .Drumtochty Castle, Fordoun, N.B. Glyn, A. P.. . Arlow Banks, Whorlton, Darling- ton. Harriott, W.. .Raynes Park, Wimbledon. Harvey, Mrs.. .The Cliff, Shanklin, I. W. Haws, E. A. . . Abbot’s Mead, Elstree, Herts. Henderson, A...Buscot Park, Faringdon. Hornsby, R. . .Hovingham, York. Hubbard, W. E. . . Selehurst, Horsham. Jones, T. M. . .Northam, Devon Kirkham, W... Bangley Farm, Fazeley, Tam- worth. Knight, Rev. J. G. B...Middleham Rectory, Yorks. Latham, E. B. . . Blacktoft, Howden. Leatham, A. E...Misarden Park, Cirencester. Loyd-Verney, J. H...Clochfaen, Llangurig, Mont. Macan, R. E. . . Elstow Lodge, Bedford. n clxxxvi Monthly Council , November 5, 1890. Miller, N. H. J., Ph.D...Rothamsted, Herts. “Newman, H. . . Bishoptrow Farm, War- minster. Oliver, T. B. . .Greenoak Hall, Brough, Yorks. “Parkinson, J... The Chalets, St. John's, Wor- cester. Polley, 0. J. . . Kelvedon, Essex. Potter, E. . .Sawrey Knotts, Windermere. Powys, Rev. C. R. . .Rofford, Wallingford. Purves, Peter . . Huntingdon. Roberts, G. C. E. . , Dock House, Billiter Street, E.C. Seymour, R, S.. .Ashburnham Villa, Burry Port, Carmarthen. Somertox, Lord. .Woody ates, Cranborne, Dorset. Spicer, Capt. J. E. P. . . Spye Park, Chippenham. Standidge, Percy. .Fryton, Slingsby, Yorks. Thomas, Owen . . Llanerchymedd, Anglesey. Thomas, R. . . Bo veton Place, Cowbridge, Glam . Tyler, J. . .Crown Farm, Gedney Marsh, Long Sutton. W hitaker, W. . . Thrybergh, Rotherham. Whittell, W. . . Kirkburton, Huddersfield. Williams, C. S.. .Ivy House, Edenbridge. Wynne, Major. .Mellaston, Pembroke. Zacharlas, J. . .Oxford. The reports of the various Standing Committees were then presented and adopted as below : — Finance. Sir Nigel Kingscote (Chairman) reported that the Committee had held a special meeting on the preceding day in order to deal with a number of arrears of subscriptions of mem- bers, and they recommended that a letter be written to each of the members owing 21. and upwards, drawing attention to his agreement with the Society, and requesting prompt payment. A list had been submitted of 251 life members who had not yet sent a receipt for the Journal, and the Secretary had been instructed to send a registered letter to each of these members, drawing his attention to the provisions of By- law 6. The Committee recommended that the names of four foundation life governors, eighteen life and twenty-one annual members, deceased, seven members resigned, two whose addresses could not be found, and twenty-nine who were in arrears, be struck off the register ; also that the names of two members be restored to the list under By-law 12. At the ordinary meeting held that morning the accounts for the period ended October 31, as certified by the Society's accountants, had been laid upon the table and approved. The total receipts for this period were 11,3727 9«. 2d., and the expenditure was 12,8047. 18s. Id. The balance at the bankers on October 31, allowing for cheques outstanding, was 2,5587 7s. Accounts amounting in all to 2,3177 11s. 1 d. had been passed, and were recommended for payment. The quarterly statement of property and arrears had been laid upon the table. Deaths of Foundation Life Governors. Sir Nigel Kingscote said the Council would observe with regret from the Finance Committee’s report that four of the original subscribers to the Society (Mr. W. Aldam, of Frickley Hall, Doncaster; Mr. F. H. Dickinson, of King's Weston, Somer- ton ; Mr. Joseph Druce, of Eynsham, Oxford, a Member of the Council from 1860 to 1888 ; and Mr. Isaac P. Evans, of Griff, Nuneaton) had died in the interval which had elapsed since their last meeting. Premiums to Thoroughbred Stallions. Sir Nigel Kingscote said that he must ask permission to bring before the Council at this stage a matter which had been strongly pressed upon his personal attention by some very influential members of the Royal Commission on Horse Breeding, viz., the continuance by the Society of the three premiums for thoroughbred stallions which they had heretofore given for the district in which their show was held. The Council decided this time last year, after full debate, that they would give the premiums for the present season, but it was at the same time generally understood that a continuance of the grant was not contemplated by the Society. No formal letter on the subject was addressed to the Royal Commission on Horse Breeding, but the feeling of the Council was expressed in the words used by the Commissioners in their third report to Her Majesty, dated May 5, 1890, that “the Royal Agricultural Society consider the time has now arrived when all the districts in the country should be provided for out of the funds of the Commission.” The Commissioners based on this and on the evidence ‘ Re-lnatated under By-law 12. Premiums to Thoroughbred Stallions. clxxxvil taken before them an application to the Treasury for an increase of their grant, so as to provide for an extension of their general operations and for the premiums in the district hereto- fore undertaken by the Society. The application of the Commissioners to the Treasury had not up to the pre- sent been successful, though it was understood that the subject was still “ under consideration.” Meanwhile it was important that the arrange- ments for the selection of stallions for the season of 1891 should be settled, and publicly announced with- out delay ; and in view of the fact that the Royal Commissioners, with the funds at present at their disposal, could not, without dislocation of their arrangements, provide for the service of the thoroughbred stallions throughout the country on the plan which had been adopted for the last three years, pressure had been brought upon him to recommend the Council to continue its grant for another year. The Finance Com- mittee had last year left it to the Council to decide the matter, and they must do the same this year. At the same time, if the Council thought the expenditure a proper one to incur, the Committee would not interpose any financial objection. For himself, speaking not as Chairman of the Finance Committee, but in his private capacity as a member of the Council, he should be glad if the arrangement could be carried out. Mr. Dent said that if such a grant were desired from the Society, due notice ought to be given to members of the Council in the usual way. Sir Jacob Wilson explained the reasons for urgency in the matter, and detailed the negotiations which were going on for an increase in the Government grant to the Commis- sion. The Earl of Coventry hoped the Council would see their way to con- tinue the grant. All those interested in the breeding of horses had reason to be deeply grateful to the Society for the action which it had taken towards placing the services of sound thoroughbred sires within the reach of tenant-farmers at reasonable rates. In order to enable the Council to come to a conclusion on the matter at that meeting, he begged to move the suspension of the Standing Orders with regard to notices of motion for grants of money. Earl Cathcart seconded this motion, which was carried. The Earl of Coventry then moved, and the Earl of Feversham seconded : — That a grant of 600J. be made out of the funds of the Society for the purpose of providing three pre- miums of 200Z. each to thorough- bred stallions for the forthcoming year in District E (Yorkshire), in which the annual show of the Society will be held in 1891, sub- ject to the understanding that all other expenses connected with such stallions are borne by the Royal Commission on Horse Breed- ing. In the course of the discussion on this motion, in which Sir Nigel Kingscote, the President, the Earl of Feversham, Sir Jacob Wilson, Mr. Dent, Mr. Martin, and other members took part, Sir Jacob Wilson said he thought he might venture to say, on behalf of the Royal Commission, that if the Society would provide the premiums, the Commission would undertake all the expenses of judging, printing, and other incidentals. Eventually Lord Coventry’s motion was put to the vote, and carried by thirty-one votes to two. The President said that he was sure he expressed the feeling of the Council when he hoped that if the Society subscribed — and handsomely subscribed — to the fund for provi- ding sound stallions, farmers would meet them by sending sound mares to such stallions. That was a ques- tion of large dimensions, and he hoped it would be discussed at greater length when they had more time. It was of very little use to provide these stallions unless the mares farmers sent to them were sound, well-bred animals. Subsequently, Mr. Bacon Frank, on behalf of the Local Committee, said that in order to continue the gold medals which had in past years been given to the stallions winning the Society’s premiums, the Don- n 2 clxxxviii Monthly Council , November 5, 1890. caster Committee would be happy to provide funds fcr the award of the Gold Medal to each of the three stallions which won the Society’s premiums in the forthcoming year. The President expressed the thanks of the Council to the Local Committee for their action in this matter. House. Sir Nigel Kingscote presented the. report of this Committee, which dealt with various repairs and articles required for the house. Journal. Earl Cathcart (Chairman) re- ported that the third number of the new series of the Journal was pub- lished on September 30, and issued immediately to members. He pre- sented the recommendations of the Committee as to the payment for literary contributions to, and for the printing of, that number. Eleven entries had been received for the farm competition in connection with the Doncaster Meeting, and the Com- mittee recommended that on this occasion two judges only be ap- pointed. A paper which had been forwarded by Mr. Nott, on Foot-rot in Sheep, had been further considered, and it had been decided' that the sub- stance of it should be published in the Journal. The proposed arrange- ments for the next number had been considered and approved. Chemical. Mr. Warren (in the absence of Viscount Emlyn, Chairman) pre- sented the report of this Committee, and stated that letters from Mr. James Snowsell, with reference to the last quarterly report of the Chemical Committee, had been con- sidered, and it had been decided that no further steps should be taken in the matter. Various other matters oonnected’with the Chemical Depart- ment and the Woburn Experimental Farm had been discussed. The Secretary read a letter from Dr. J. Augustus Voelcker, the Society’s Consulting Chemist, thank- ing the Council for the extension of his leave of absence in India. Seeds and Plant Diseases. Mr. Whitehead (Chairman) re- ported that Mr. Carruthers’ inquiry into his examination of pastures had been completed, and the Committee recommended that this report be published in the next number of the Journal. [See p. 751.] Miss Ormerod had presented a report, which the Committee also recommended for publication. [See p. 837.] Veterinary. Sir John Thorold (Chairman) re- ported that, in obedience to the instructions given by the Council at their last meeting, circular letters had been addressed to all the members of the Society asking their co-operation in carrying out the provisions of the P! euro-pneumonia, Act, and also to the Society’s provincial veterinary sur- geons, requesting that immediate notice of any outbreak of the disease coming to their knowledge should be given by telegraph to the Society’s offices. Particulars of every outbreak notified to the Society had been at once forwarded to the Board of Agri- culture. The Committee had discussed the question of Foot-rot in sheep which arose at the last meeting of the Council. Professor Brown having stated that there was great difficulty in getting diseased animals, some of the members of the Committee had offered to obtain two or three sheep virulently affected with the disease, for the purpose of further experiment at the Royal Veterinary College. The Committee recommended that prizes be offered for a horse-shoeing competition at Doncaster, in two classes (Hunters and Agricultural Horses), limited to the county of York. Mr. Vessey, the Society’s provincial veterinary surgeon for Dorset, having removed from that county, the Com- mittee recommended that Mr. C. Hedworth Golledge, of Sherborne, be appointed to the vacancy. Pro- fessor Brown’s pamphlet on “ Denti- tion ” being out of print, the Committee recommended that a new edition be prepared, with any revision which the Professor might think necessary. Professor Brown had presented the following report : — Pleubo-pneumonia. — Between clxxxix Report of Veterinary Committee. the 1st September, when the Pleuro- pneumonia Act of 1890 came into force, and the 1st November, a period of nine weeks, eighty fresh outbreaks of this disease have oc- curred in Great Britain. The coun- ties in which these took place were — Chester, Derby, Essex, Hunts, Lancaster, London, Middlesex, Nor- folk, Salop, Stafford, Surrey, York (North and West Ridings), in Eng- land ; and Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Fife, and Forfar, in Scotland. In addition to the cattle slaughtered in the above counties, a number which had been exposed to the risk of infection were slaughtered in the counties of Lincoln and North- ampton. The total number of cattle slaugh- tered by order of the Board of Agriculture since the Act came into operation has been about 3,250 : this includes not only the diseased cattle and those in contact with them, but also some that were sus- pected, which it was deemed ex- pedient to slaughter. In Ireland there have been twenty-eight out- breaks of pleuro-pneumonia since the beginning of September, two in the neighbourhood of Drogheda, the remainder in the Dublin district. Anthrax. — During the thirteen weeks from the beginning of August to the 25th October, there have been twenty-eight fresh out- breaks of this disease in England, in the counties of Berks, Cornwall, Derby, Dorset, Kent, Lincoln, Nor- folk, Northampton, Notts, Somerset, Stafford, Sussex (East), York (North Riding), and York (West Riding). The number of animals attacked was 177. Of these diseased animals one was killed, 119 died, and twenty- nine recovered. No case of anthrax was reported in either Wales or Scotland. Swine Fever. — There were 1,525 fresh outbreaks of this disease re- ported in Great Britain during the thirteen weeks ended October 25th ; 7,498 swine were attacked, 3,336 diseased pigs were killed, 3,264 died, 1,111 recovered, and 434 remained alive at the date when this return was made up. Earl Cathcart Was exceedingly glad that the Veterinary Committee had taken up the subject of Foot-rot in sheep, with a view of ascertain- ing its contagious character. The Americans took a very serious view of that troublesome disease : it was one of their scheduled diseases. Only the other day Sir James Paget had made the observation that “ the medical practitioner must be a student as long as he lives. He goes on or he goes back.” That observa- tion eminently applied to veterinary science. Mr. Pell, in reference to pleuro- pneumonia, drew attention to a fact which they had lately ascertained in Northamptonshire, and which he considered ought to be made public. A number of beasts which had be- come affected with pleuro-pneumonia were known not to have been in con- tact with the disease since the 8th May last, showing that the disease had been latent in those animals for five months. Stock Prizes. Mr. Sanday (Chairman) reported that the Committee had arranged a preliminary prize sheet for the Don- caster Meeting, which would be printed and sent out to each member of the Council before the December meeting, when the Committee would bring up a formal motion for its adoption. Professor Brown and Mr. Duguid had attended the Committee for the purpose of giving any neces- sary explanations as to the disquali- fication of pigs at Plymouth under the dentition test. After considera- tion of the general question, the Committee resolved unanimously that no alteration in the existing rules or practice should be made. A letter was read from the Shire Horse Society offering Champion Gold Medals for the best Shire stallion and the best Shire mare or filly ex- hibited at Doncaster, and, on the motion of Mr. Sanday, this offer was accepted with thanks. Subsequently the Secretary read a telegram from the Earl of Powis with reference to prizes for Welsh cattle, and Mr. Mainwarincj gave notice that at the next meeting of the Council he cxc Monthly Council, November 5, 1890. should, if necessary, move that classes for Welsh cattle be provided at Don- caster. Implement. Mr. Frankish (Chairman) re- ported that the trials of the cider- making plant entered for competi- tion in connection with the Plymouth Meeting had been duly carried out at Glastonbury, on Wednesday, October 16. The Committee recommended that ' trials of separators be held at Don- caster; also that prizes be offered for a mechanical milking machine. A return of the silver medals awarded by the Society for the last ten years had been laid upon the table, and the general question of the giv- ing of silver medals discussed. The Committee did not recommend any departure from the existing principle with regard to these awards, but had amended the regulations so as to make it necessary, before a medal could be awarded, for a new inven- tion to have been subjected to actual trial. The draft regulations for the exhibition (not for competition) of implements at the Doncaster Meeting had been considered, and with some modifications approved and settled. The Committee had further con- sidered the question of the issue of a single combination catalogue of the Society’s shows, and recommended the Council to incur the necessary increased expenditure in selling at one shilling a single catalogue con- taining particulars of all the exhibits — stock, implements, and produce — in the showyard. General Doncaster. Mr. Dent reported that 11 entries had been received for the Farm-Prize Competition, as follows : — Class I. (5 entries.) Hutchinson', Teasdale H . .Manor House, Catterick. Lodge, Joseph. . Woodfield House, Robin Hood’s Weil, Doncaster. Parkin, Smith Eyre.. Mel ton Brand, Doncaster. Staveley, John Alfred. .Manor House, North Dalton, Hull. Townknd, James.. Newton, Doncaster. Class II. (2 entries.) Merryweather, Andrew . . Whiston, Rotherham. Stanley, JoHX..Campsall, Doncaster. Class III. (4 entries.) Hixchcliff, Joseph and William. .Lady Oak Farm, Emley, Wakefield. Kent, Samuel . .Barmborongh, Doncaster. Strickland, Tom D... Carlton Miniott, Thirsk Walsh, William.. Gilstead, Bingley. The suggestions made by the Stock Prizes Committee with refer- ence to the Prizes proposed to be offered by the Local Committee had been discussed, and referred back to the Local Committee for further con- sideration. The Mayor of Doncaster had reported that the arrangements for regulating the Cab Fares, Local Police, &c., were in hand. Showyard Works. Sir Jacob Wilson (Chairman) re- ported that the whole of the Society’s plant at Plymouth had been cleared away, and stored under cover on a piece of land provided for that purpose at Doncaster. The total cost on account of the various works in the showyard, after deducting the amounts realised by sale of materials and that received from exhibitors and purveyors (3,929 1. 8s. 9c/.), was 6,092/. Four tenders for the supply of timber for the Doncaster Show had been received, and the Com- mittee recommended that Messrs. Richard Wade, Sons and Co.’s tender be accepted. Selection. The recommendations of this Com- mittee having been read, it was unanimously resolved, on the motion of Earl Cathcart, seconded by the Earl of Coventry, that the Honorary Membership of the Society be con- ferred upon the following gentlemen, in recognition of their distinguished services to agriculture : — The Baron Arthur von Hohen- bruck, of the Imperial Ministry of Agriculture, Vienna. Chevalier Emanuel von Prosko- wetz, sen., of the Imperial and Royal Agricultural Society of Mo- ravia and Silesia. The diplomas as Honorary Members of these gentlemen were then signed by the President and the Secretary, and sealed with the Society’s seal. CXC1 Reports of Committees. Vacancy on the Council. The President said that during the autumn he had received from the Earl of Jersey a letter in which he expressed his sorrow at having tem- porarily to part from the Council, in order to take up a post under the Crown of great responsibility and importance. He (Lord Ravensworth) had ventured to reply — and he hoped that he had expressed the feelings of the Council in so doing— that the Society regretted extremely the loss of Lord Jersey’s assistance, but were quite sure, after their long acquain- tance with him, that he was the right man in the right place. Education. Mr. Dent (Chairman) reported that arrangements had been made for the Society’s Junior Examinations, to be held on the 11th and 12th instant, and that forty-two candidates had been entered from fourteen schools. The ten successful candidates at last year’s examination having duly com- plied with the regulations, the Com- mittee recommended that the cheques for the scholarships be now paid to them. Communications had been received from the Charity Commissioners for- warding copies of the West Lavington (Wilts) and Woodbridge (Suffolk) Foundation Schemes, as submitted to the Committee of Council on Educa- tion, and thanking the Council for the criticisms which they had offered in February last. The Commissioners had given effect to all the suggestions of the Council, with the exception of the one referring to the clauses which stipulated that the scholarships should be limited to boys residing within the neighbourhood of the school. The date of the next Senior Examination had been fixed for Tuesday, May 12, to Saturday, May 16, 1891. The Committee had again given careful consideration to the six recom- mendations of the Joint Committee of the Central Chamber of Agriculture and the Farmers’ Club on technical education in agriculture, which were referred back to them by the Council on June 4 last. A report on the sub- ject [see p. 861] had been submitted by him as Chairman, and had been passed in the Committee by his cast- ing vote. Technical Education in Agriculture, Mr. Dent said he must detain the Council for a few moments, because one of the recommendations of the Education Committee yesterday was only carried by his own casting vote, and therefore it would be necessary for him to say a few words on the matter. The Council would recollect that they gave a somewhat hurried examination to the report of the Joint Committee of the Central Chamber of Agriculture and Farmers’ Club, in the month of June last, and they then advised the concurrence of the Council in the recommendations of that Joint Committee. The Duke of Richmond, however, took strong objection to their concurring in the first recom- mendation, and also doubted the ex- pediency of the last one ; and the report was eventually referred back to their Committee. Since then much had happened. The Board of Agri- culture had given attention to the subject. They had made several grants, and they had written to dif- ferent educational bodies and to the Council, urging them to pay more attention to technical education in agriculture, and to formulate schemes for that purpose. In consequence of this, he had ventured to lay yesterday before the Committee a report which had been printed, and which was laid upon the table. That report alluded to what had taken place with regard to other educational bodies. Para- graph 3 of the report mentioned that the University of Cambridge and the Yorkshire College at Leeds had both taken up the subject ; and both had done him the honour of asking him to serve upon the Syndicates which were to be appointed to consider the establishment of chairs of agriculture at each of those institutions — he presumed because of his position as Chairman of the Education Commit- tee. The University College of North Wales had already at work an agri- cultural department, and agricultural sides were being established in several county schools. There was also a sum of money allocated to the County Councils, which he believed was avail- CXC1X Monthly Council, November 5, 1890. able for technical education. There- fore, the first portion of that report, down to paragraph 9, he thought he might say gave a short sketch of all that had been done, and suggested what might be done further, and what assistance might be given from County funds, and also from Imperial funds. So far there was no difference of opinion in their Committee. They agreed to endorse the views of Nos. 2, 3, 4, and 5 of the recommendations adopted by the Joint Committee. Then they came to a very important matter, viz., the first recommendation of the Joint Committee : That a Normal School or College of Agricul- ture should be established and main- tained at the expense of the State somewhere in England. The more he considered that subject, the more he individually felt the difficulty at the present moment and the inex- pediency of founding such a college equipped and managed by the State. No one had a great opinion of the State Institution at South Kensing- ton in its work for the diffusion of agricultural knowledge ; and under the supervision and management of Government officers they might have the same sort of thing. Moreover, if a farm were taken in hand, it would certainly be a losing concern. The Royal Agricultural College, Cirences- ter had been obliged to transfer the farm to practical hands. At Barnard Castle and Aspatria neighbouring farmers with diverse systems of man- agement placed their farms at the disposal of the authorities of the schools, that they might take their pupils to the farms and show them what was being done. He could give other reasons, but he would not de- tain the Council. He had a very strong personal opinion that it was unwise to establish a State School of Agriculture, and therefore the recom- mendation of that report which he had laid before the Committee was that they should not concur in Re- commendation 1 suggesting the es- tablishment of a Central Normal School of Agriculture. This was agreed upon by their Committee yes- terday. They did not think either that it was advisable to go further than what was being done at present by recom- mending that agricultural subjects should be taught in rural elementary schools. Generally speaking, the masters of these schools had already quite enough to do in teaching all the subjects now given to them. It would not be wise, and it would be hard upon the teachers, to put upon them the teaching of the additional subject of agriculture. The Committee suggested that the better-informed scholars might be granted bursaries or scholarships to go to the secondary schools for the study of agriculture. They might have better reading-books and diagrams for teaching agricul- tural subjects, but of course he could not now go into details with regard to those matters. The report in effect approved of Recommendations Nos. 2, 3, 4, and 5, and disagreed with the Recommendations Nos. 1 and 6. He begged to move that that report be received and adopted. Mr. Pell, as the member of Council who moved the amendment in Committee, said it would not be out of place if he made a few re- marks upon it, and the reasons which led him to differ from some of his colleagues. It had been stated by Mr. Dent that his motion had been lost only by the casting vote of the Chairman, but he would have sub- mitted to that decision unhesitatingly had it not been that he felt that the question which had been raised was one of extreme importance to that Society : more, perhaps, to that Society than to the cause of agri- cultural education generally. The first resolution of the Joint Com- mittee of the Central Chamber of Agriculture and the Farmers’ Club — he was not upon that Committee — dealt with the scientific teaching, and that it would be best given in one Normal School for Great Britain. He concurred in that view, because he thought the science of agriculture — if there were such a thing — was extremely obscure, extremely difficult to master, somewhat novel, and, as far as his judgment went, there would be but few men in this country, and possibly in Europe, able to deal with the question. Consequently, he thought that they could hardly expect to find those geniuses scattered about in any sporadic Technical Education in Agriculture. cxciii manner throughout the country. If they did, those geniuses would pro- bably be very much impeded by bringing themselves in contact with the rural mind as it would be ex- hibited in county associations and county schools. Therefore he wanted to separate — and he hoped that the Council would join in that view — scientific teaching from what he would call systematic teaching. Scientific teaching must be the same all over the world ; technical teach- ing must vary according to the dis- trict in which it was carried on, the nature of the soil, and the character of the people. Scientific teaching would be as true and good for the county of Middlesex as for the county of York. The University of Cambridge, of which' he was a member, had turned its attention to the subject, and a Council was sit- ting at Cambridge now — in fact, had nearly finished its session — to form a syndicate for the teaching of agri- culture in that University. They were more likely to do good in acting in harmony with such a great and old teaching-establishment as Cam- bridge than by asking the University to put themselves into association with a number of scientific establish- ments in different parts of the King- dom. He did not believe that any sound technical teaching in Great Britain could be acquired out of the shop — the shop in this instance being, of course, the farm. Neither did he believe that under the present cir- cumstances of agriculture they should tempt young men to leave any de- partment— even that of the Church or the study of the law — for anything which was now regarded so unprofit- able and unremunerative as agricul- ture. There would no doubt be much talking and writing on the subject of technical agricultural edu- cation, and it might do some good. Still, the science of agriculture was a much more important thing. Even if he lived another fifty years he would not expect to see a very great development of agricultural science. On the other hand, they could not at once set agriculture aside and say that it could not be benefited by scientific research. He did, indeed, doubt whether it could be benefited by any science that was provided by a provincial institution which pro- mulgated its information as the teachings of science. Perhaps all he could ask for that day was that the judgment of the Council on this report should be suspended, at all events until they heard what the University of Cambridge was doing on this subject, and until he and others had had an opportunity of conferring with men whose opinion would be valuable. The first name he would suggest would be that of Lord Rayleigh, who was a distin- guished (probably the most distin- guished) member of the University to which he (Mr. Pell) belonged. Dr. Gilbert and Sir John Lawes, and per- haps some of the leading minds in the Cambridge University, with whom he was not acquainted, should also be consulted. If the Council came to a decision based upon what might prove to be immature opinions, it might pos- sibly lead to their being scoffed at by what was called the “ practical ” man. For his own part he declared that, having this report only yesterday put into his hands, he felt great diffidence and apprehension that they might be doing wrong if they committed them- selves to it that day. He moved, therefore, that the report be received, but that the adoption of it be deferred for future consideration, and that the Committee be asked specially again to consider the question, and specifically the question of the establishment of a Central Normal School for scientific teaching. As a matter of fact, it was not necessary that the school should have a farm. The crossing of plants could be explained, and biological knowledge given by the minds that had dealt with that subject, without a farm. A lecture-room was the material part. He apologised for having taken up the time of the Council, which he would not have done unless he had thought it to be the most important question which had come before the Council since he had had the honour of being a member of it. He therefore asked for further consideration of the sub- ject, especially in reference to the scientific teaching of agriculture. Mr. Bowen- Jones seconded the CXC1V Monthly Council , November 5, 1890. proposition, although he did not alto- gether agree with Mr. Pell as to the reasons for the establishment of a normal farm. Still, he supported the view which Mr. Pell had put forward, that this subject should be more fully considered. He would have preferred an affirmative vote from the Council that day in favour of a Normal School of Agriculture, but perhaps, consider- ing the magnitude of the subject, it was better that it should be more fully discussed before they arrived at a final decision. He did not for one moment quarrel with the proposition made respecting the establishment of a chair of agriculture at one of the great universities of the country. In fact, he made this suggestion himself when he gave evidence before the Royal Commission on Agriculture, which was so ably presided over by their noble friend and colleague, the Duke of Richmond and Gordon. He did not think that any harm would be done to scientific agriculture in this direction. On the Home Rule prin- ciple, he thought they might say that as Scotland had a chair of agriculture established in connection with its Uni- versity, and that as Ireland had a similar chair, he believed at Glasnevin, and the University of Wales also had a chair of agriculture, it would only be fair to the English section of agri- culturists that a similar institution should be raised at one of the great centres of education in this country. But a chair of agriculture at one of their great institutions would be a medium by which agricultural know- ledge would be communicated to the landed and higher classes of this country alone. What he wanted — havingconsidered the matter from a practical point of view — was a system by which the teachers of the future farmers of the country could be trained, and these teachers, \Vho would probably be drawn from the ranks of the elemen- tary schools, would receive both prac- tical and scientific instruction in agriculture that would enable them to impart information to the general rank and file of the middle-class and smaller agriculturists throughout the country at a moderate cost. And if such a school were established, they would be in a better position to attain that end than would be the case if the teaching were confined to the higher institutions or universities. In that he differed from Mr. Pell. He attached importance to the institution of a farm in connection with this Normal College ; he thought that the theo- retical knowledge of agriculture would be imparted there, and he thought that the practice of agriculture would be shown to the students by such a college also. It was true that there were great diversities in the practice of agriculture throughout England, but still the various systems of culti- vation and the courses of husbandry could be developed at one school, and certainly the different breeds of stock should be concentrated there; and the principles of breeding and the practice of veterinary science also could be gone through by the students at such an institution. Those were the reasons which induced him to attach very great importance to the establishment of this Central Normal School. He saw no reason why they, as Englishmen, should set themselves up as being wiser than other nations of the world. Most foreign countries had these schools. The United States had, he believed, Normal Schools for each State. They made for England the modest request of only one. It should be principally used for the teaching of teachers. Ontario had a school where the practice of agricul- ture was carried out in much the same manner as that which he had de- scribed, and he hoped at some future time that the recommendation of the Joint Committee that a Normal School of Agriculture should be established in this country would be adopted. Earl Cathcart heartily supported the proposition of Mr. Pell, thinking that, in consideration of the late hour and the importance of t he sub- ject, the Council would be inclined to agree with him that postponement was the wisest course. Mr. Dent pointed out that the matter had been hung up since the meeting of the Council last June. The matter would be left in a very unsatisfactory position, and he thought it was very unfortunate that they could not carry the discussion rather further than they had done. Mr. Bo wen- Jones suggested that Technical Education in Agriculture. cxcv the matter need not go back to the Committee, hut that it should be postponed for further consideration by the Council. The President said this was a large question, and affected the whole agricultural community of the country ; but, in his humble judg- ment, it was not yet ripe for solution, and he thought that the proposal to leave it in the hands of the Council was the best suggestion. He did not see any object in sending it back to the Committee, who had taken a great deal of trouble over it, and the thanks of the Council were due for the able report drawn up by Mr. Dent. They were not in a position to assure themselves of what the feeling of the country was with re- gard to this matter. It so happened that on Friday next all the County Councils of England would meet. There was a very large sum of money which the Government, not knowing what to do with it, were going to hand over to the County Councils to be applied to technical education. The consequence of that would be, he ventured to think, that at least eight out of ten County Councils would take up the question of technical education at their next meeting. Of course, the Council would not fold their arms and be in- different to such a thing as technical education in agriculture. On Friday they would see what was the opinion of the County Councils. He felt that the Committee was a pretty faithful reflex of the feeling of the Council, and that there was a considerable diversity of opinion in the Council itself as to how to carry out anything like a great scheme of technical education in the country. Although there was an objection raised by Mr. Dent to postponed action, yet there was always safety in further consideration, and he would suggest that Mr. Pell should put his motion in this form : “ That the report be received and laid upon the table for further consideration by the Council.” He thought that might meet the difficulty. He was not at all satisfied himself upon this great subject of the establishment of a Normal School, and he had voted yesterday in Committee with Mr. Dent. He held a very strong opinion that if there was a real de- mand for technical education on agricultural subjects, before very long that demand would be supplied without Parliamentary aid. He was not a strong believer in the expe- diency or advantage of Government or even Parliamentary sanction. All this was a question of time. They were now wholly in the experimental stage, and he therefore thought a fur- ther postponement might assist them in coming to a decision on the subject. After further discussion, it was re- solved that the report of the Educa- tion Committee be laid upon the table for further consideration by the Council at their meeting in February next, Mr. Pell giving notice that he would then move, “ That the Council approve of a Normal School of Agri- culture for Scientific Instruction.” Dairy. Sir John Thorold presented the recommendations of this Committee as to the prizes for dairy cattle, cheese, soft cheese, butter, and butter-making, to be offered in con- nection with the Doncaster Meeting. Dairy Education. The Secretary read the following letter from the Board of Agriculture, which was ordered to be referred to the Dairy Committee for report : — Board of Agriculture, 3 St. James’s Square, S.W. : October 28, 1890. Sir, — The Board of Agriculture, in taking note of the useful work which various societies and insti- tutions have accomplished by means of schools, classes, demon- strations, and systems for impart- ing dairy instruction, have become aware of the need which exists for some more uniform system of ex- amining the pupils to whom this instruction is given than exists at present. The knowledge acquired by the pupils who have undergone tuition may thus be tested, and an additional means afforded of gauging the comparative value of the very varied, forms of instruction given, whether such instruction be purely practical or extended to theoretical teaching. cxcvi Monthly Council , November 5, 1890. Apart from any assistance which such an uniform system might afford to the Board when called on to distribute grants, or in any way to discriminate between varying forms of dairy teaching, they are disposed to consider that it would be of great use to all those about to engage skilled hands, whether as practical butter and cheese makers for private or other dairies, or as persons to fill more respon- sible positions, such as managers of factories, &c., that some uniform test of ability and information should be secured, giving a regular and trustworthy indication of the knowledge possessed by those who seek engagements. Although the Board have been applied to for aid on behalf of certain existing examinations, they have felt themselves unable to make any grant in aid of such an object, or even to recognise offi- cially the value of any particular examination which may be held, in the absence of some widely repre- sentative and responsible body, under whose direction all examina- tions in dairy work might be held. It would probably be expedient that the members of such a body should be drawn, not from any one society, however good, but from all the leading societies in any way interested in the matter. The expense (other than that met by the institutions undergoing examination) might be defrayed by contributions to a common fund on the part of the societies inter- ested, towards which also, , at the discretion of the Board of Agriculture, a grant in aid might be available (so long as such grants are authorised to be made). The examiners would be em- powered to grant diplomas and also certificates, not only for scien- tific, but for purely practical quali- fications, and their awards would be recognised by the Board, who might also require that any dairy institution seeking Government aid should submit its pupils for examination by the members of the proposed examining body, if called upon to do so. It might be needful to require that the names of those who would be proposed as possible examiners by the different societies should first be submitted to the Board of Agriculture for approval before they become members of the examining body, while the power to add certain nominated members might be also reserved to the Board. Although the Board are aware that the Royal Agricultural Society of England is not one of the societies whose work in the promo- tion of dairy education is assisted by means of Government grants, it has occurred to the Board of Agri- culture that the Society might not be disinclined to lend its co-opera- tion in this matter by the selection, from amongst its members, of ex- aminers qualified by their special acquaintance with this branch of agriculture, so as to secure for the projected examining body the highest qualifications it is possible to obtain. I am desired, therefore, to ask you to bring under the notice of your Council, the suggestions, now offered, and to ask you to be good enough to inform me, at an early date, of their views in the matter, accompanied by such observations as they may see fit to offer. I am, Sir, Your obedient servant, (Signed) Richard Dawson, Assistant Secretary. The Secretary, Royal Agricultural Society of England. Sir John Thoeold observed that the Dairy Committee had already informally discussed this letter, and the members then present were agreed that some such examining body as was suggested was desirable. Country Meeting of 1892. The Secretary read letters from the Corporation of Gloucester,! nvi- ting the Society to hold its Country Meeting of 1892 in that city, and a similar letter from the Corporation of Cheltenham. An invitation from Warwick had already been laid before the Council. On the motion of Mr. Darby, seconded by Mr. Sanday it was re- The International Agricultural Congress at Vienna. cxcvii solved : “ That the following noblemen and gentlemen be appointed a Com- mittee of Inspection to examine and report upon the Sites and other accommodation offered by the various towns from which invitations have been, or may be, received : — The President, the Senior Stewards of Stock, Implements, and Finance, the Honorary Director, Mr. Ashworth, and the Secretary. International Agricultural Congress at Vienna. The President observed that, as the Council were aware, the Society was officially represented at the Inter- national Agricultural Congress, held at Vienna last September, by their Secretary and Editor. The Society had, he thought, every reason for gratification at its determination to send a delegate to this Congress, which was the largest that had ever been held, the number of members being, indeed, double those of the similar Congress held in Paris in- 1878, when the Society was repre- sented by the President of the year — their friend Sir Nigel Kingscote — and many other influential members of the Council, including, at the opening sitting, His Koyal Highness the Prince of Wales. Vienna, how- ever, was not so accessible as Paris, and the Congress was held at a later period of the year, so that those members of the Council who were contemplating accompanying the Se- cretary were unavoidably prevented from carrying out their intention. The Society had always endea- voured, and with success, to cultivate international relations with other organisations for the advancement of agriculture. Their Secretary had re- ported that he was everywhere re- ceived most kindly and hospitably as the representative of their Society and of English agriculture ; and he had brought back with him, not only the most agreeable recollections of his visit, but a great mass of new in- formation about agricultural adminis- tration and practice in the Austro- Hungarian Monarchy, which he would summarise for the Journal, and to which he (Lord Kavens worth) was sure they would all look forward with great interest. Lord Salisbury was good enough to write, both officially and privately, to their Ambassador at Vienna, Sir Augustus Paget, re- questing him to give Mr. Clarke the necessary official introductions to the authorities in Austria and in Hungary. In view of the valuable information which their representative, and thus the Society, obtained from the gentle- men to whom he received introduc- tions through their Ambassador, he was sure it would be the wish of the Council that their thanks should be officially recorded, not only to Sir Augustus Paget himself, but to the British Consul-General at Buda-Pesth (Sir Arthur Nicolson) ; to the Aus- trian Minister of Agriculture (Count Julius de Falkenhayn) ; to Chevalier de Blumfeld, of the Austrian Agri- cultural Department; to Baron Fiath, of the Hungarian Agricultural De- partment; to Count Nicholas Ester- hazy; and to Baron de Hohenbruck and Chevalier Max de Proskowetz, the President and Secretary of the Com- mittee of Organisation of the Vienna Congress. These votes of thanks were passed unanimously, and the President un- dertook to communicate them offi- cially to the gentlemen named. Miscellaneous. Letters were read from the Board of Agriculture, stating that the Board much appreciated the steps taken by the Society with the view of assisting the Board in carrying out the Pleuro- pneumonia Act of 1890, and from the Devon County Agricultural Associa- tion, thanking the Council for the facilities afforded to the Association at the Plymouth Meeting. Date of next Meeting. Various other letters and docu- ments having been laid upon the table, the Council adjourned until Wednesday, December 10, at noon. cxcviii Monthly Council, December 10, 1890. WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 10, 1890. SIR MATTHEW WHITE RIDLEY, BART., M.P. (TRUSTEE), IN THE CHAIR. Present : — Trustees. — General Viscount Brid- port, K.C.B., Earl Cathcart, Col. Sir Nigel Kingscote, K.C.B., Sir A. K. Macdonald, Bart. Vice-Presidents. — Mr. Walter Gil- bey, Sir John Thorold, Bart., Mr. C. Whitehead. Other Members of Council. — Mr. J. H. Arkwright, Mr. Joseph Beach, Mr. J. Bowen-Jones, Lord Brougham and Vaux, Mr. J. A. Caird, Mr. Chandos- Pole-Gell, Earl of Coventry, Mr. Percy E. Crutchley, Mr. Alfred Darby, Mr. C. de L. F. De Laune, Viscount Emlyn, Mr. S. P. Foster, Mr. William Frankish. Mr. A. Hamond, Mr. C. S.' Mainwaring, Mr. Joseph Martin, Mr. P. A. Muntz, M. P., Hon. Cecil T. Parker, Mr. Daniel Pidgeon, Mr. James Rawlence, Mr. S. Rowlandson, Mr. G. H. Sanday, Mr. W. T. Scartli, Mr. Alfred J. Smith, Mr. Henry Smith, Sir Joseph Spearman, Bart., Mr. R. Stratton, Mr. Martin J. Sutton, Mr. R. A. Warren, Mr. E. V. V. Wheeler, Mr. C. W. Wilson, Sir Jacob Wilson. Officers. — Mr. Ernest Clarke, Secre- tary and Editor; Mr. E. W. Voelcker, Acting Consulting Chemist ; Mr. Wilson Bennison, Surveyor. The following representatives of the Doncaster Local Committee were also present: — The Mayor of Doncaster, Mr. Joseph Firth Clark, Mr. F. Bacon Frank, Mr. John White, Mr. G. T. Wood, Mr. G. B. C. Yarborough, and Mr. George Chafer (Secretary of the Local Committee). In the absence, through domestic affliction, of the President, Sir Matthew Ridley was, on the mo- tion of Viscount Bridport, called to the Chair. The minutes of the Council held on November 5 having been read and comfirmed, The Chairman said he was sure every member of the Council would join with him in a feeling of the deepest regret at the sad cause which prevented their President from taking his place in the Chair that day. Lord Ravensworth had been afflicted with the heaviest sorrow that could befall a man, and no words and no resolution of theirs could alleviate it. But it might, he hoped, be some sad satis- faction to Lord Ravensworth in his hour of trial to know that he had the sympathy of every one of his col- leagues on that Council. He was confident, therefore, that it would be the wish of every gentleman present that they should pass a resolution of sincere regret at the death of Lady Ravensworth, and of their deepest and most heartfelt sympathy with their President in his affliction. This resolution was carried unani- mously, and the Chairman undertook to communicate it by a personal letter to Lord Ravensworth. The Secretary reported that apologies for non-attendance at the meeting had been received from H.R.H. Prince Christian, His Grace the Duke of Richmond and Gordon, Lord Egerton of Tatton, Mr. Ashworth, and Mr. Dent. Election of Governors and Members. The election of the following two Governors and sixty-one members was proceeded with : — Governors. Henry, Mitchell . . Kylemore Castle, Galway. Willoughby, de Broke, Lord . . Kineton House, Warwick. New Members. B.uxbridge, J. H.. .Beechwood, Flympton, Devon. Barxe, Lt-Col. F. St. John N.. .Sotterley Park, Wangford. Bbachell, W.. .Rawcliffe, Selby, Yorks. Beasley, J. A. L. . .Aylestone, Leicester. Birkix, T. I.. .Ruddiiigton Grange, Notts. Blair, M. . .Haremire House, Weusley, Bedale. Blount, Hugh . . Stildon Manor, Tenbury. Brendo.v, W. H.. .Queen’s Gate, Plymouth. Election of Neiv Governors and Members, cxcix Brigg, T. H.. .Bradford, Yorks. 1 Brown, John S. . . 11 Morningside, Eccles Old Road, Manchester. Butt, F.. .Little Haresfield Farm, Stonehouse, Glos. Cartridge, G... .RylancEs Fann,Elmley Lovett, Droitwich. Chapman, Evan, Llysyn, Llandafyl, Mont. Chessman, J...Southborough, Mass., XJ.S.A. Cholmeley, H. C. F. . . Braudsby Hall, Easing- wold. Cole, A. 0.. .West Woodhay Ho., Newbury. Cooke, Sir W. R. 0., Bart. . . Wheatley Park, Doncaster. Cooke, W. H. C. W. . . Wheatley Park, Doncaster. COURAGE, E. H.. .Kirkby Fleetham, Bedale. Craze, F. . .Trevethoe Barton, Leland, Cornwall. Crosland, W.. .Buscot Park, Faringdon. Darby-Griffith, C. W. . .Padworth Ho., Read- ing. Davies, A. J... tipper Hollings, Pensax, Ten- bury, Worcestershire. Fellowes, J. H... Mortimer Lodge, Berks. Galbraith, J. ..Croy Cunningham, New Kil- learn, Stirling, N.B. Graves, W.. .South Field Ho.,Be!lerby, Bedale. Harris, J. W. B. . .Cam, Dursley, Glos. Humphries, E. T. . .Pershore. Ismay, T. H.. .Dawpool, nr. Birkenhead. Joicey, James, M.P. . .Longhirst, Morpeth. Kirby, W. P... Manor House, Walton, Hull. Leno, M.. .Cox Pond Farm, Hemel Hempstead. Lives ey, Harry. .Rotherfield, Sussex. Lloyd, E. 0. Vaughan.. .Berth, Ruthin. Mabson, Joseph . . Ecclesfield, Sheffield. McMorland, R. E. . .Carisbrooke, Bycullah Park, Enfielil. Meares, T... Clive Hall, nr. Shrewsbury. Michklmobe, A.. .Bridgetown, Totnes.' Peacock, T. . .Hill House, Harmby, Bedale. Pease, W. . .Hutton Hang, Bedale. Perkins, A. F. . . Oakdene, Holmwood, Surrey. Phillips, S. 0.. .Bin field House, Byfleet. Pryce-Jones, Sir Pryce. . . Dolerw, Newtown, Mont. Raw, R... Brook Ho., Middleton Tyas, Rich- mond, Yorks. Riley, T. . .Thornton, Poulton-le-Fylde. Rodney, Lord. .Berrington Hall, Leominster. Rothwell, R. R. . .Sharpies Hall, Bolton. Rudd, Ash, jun.. .East Ruston, Norwich. SlDDALL, V.. .Wadsley Bridge, Sheffield. Smart, Rev. E. H. . . Kirby -in-Cleveland. Smith, Alfred. .Cote House, Catterick. Smith, H. .Thorpe Hall, Howden, Yorks. Stephenson, J. W. . .Metham, Howden, Yorks. Styan, T.. .Mount Park, Wensley, Bedale. Thompson, Major G. . .Field House, Goole. Thompson, T. . . Pond House, Bedale. Trotter, A.. .Dantyre House, Bedale. Turvill, G.. .East Worldham, Alton, Hants. Waddingham, T. J.. .Hafod, nr. Aberystwith. Weaver, J. D.. .Rock Parish, nr. Stourport. Whitfield, W.. .Weston Cotton, Oswestry. The reports of the various Standing Committees were then presented and adopted as below : Finance. Sir Nigel Kingscote (Chairman) reported that the balance sheet for the Plymouth Meeting had been examined and passed by the auditors on November 17, and that the net 1 Re-instated under By-Law 12. excess of expenditure over receipts was 2,1977. 7s. Id., exclusive of the premiums paid to thoroughbred stallions in District D. The Com- mittee recommended that Messrs. Beckett and Co. be appointed the Society’s local bankers for Doncaster. In view of the small sale of season tickets which had of late taken place in consequence of the granting of free tickets to the subscribers to the local fund, the Committee did not advise that any season tickets be placed on sale for the Doncaster Meeting. The Committee recom- mended that the names of one life governor, five life members, and twenty-one annual members who were deceased, nine who had resigned, six whose addresses could not be found, and twenty-three in arrears, or sixty- five in all, be struck off the register. The accounts for the month of No- vember, as certified by the Society’s accountants, had been laid upon the table and approved. The total receipts during the month were 1,856Z. 6s. 6 d., and the expenditure was 2,3177. 12s. 11<7. The balance at the bank at the end of November, allowing for cheques outstanding, was 2,0977. Os. 6d. Accounts amount- ing in all to 2,3297. 13s. had been passed, and were recommended for payment. The Committee had held during the year fourteen meetings (including five special), and had made nine reports to the Council. They did not recommend any change in their constitution for the forth- coming year. Sir Nigel Kingscote observed that the Council would note from the report of the Finance Committee that for various causes the Committee had found it necessary to strike off from the register a further sixty-five members, making altogether a total of 290 members who had been struck off since the General Meeting in May last. Happily the effective strength of the Society had not been materially diminished by these reductions, as a total of 233 subscribers to the Society had been elected during the same period. The Committee deemed it necessary, however, to remind the Council and the members generally, that the maintenance of the Society’s operations upon their present scale cc Monthly Council , December 10, 1890. depended upon a continued flow of new subscribers. At least 500 new members needed to be elected every year to take the place of those who died or retired. The Committee thought it important that particular attention should be drawn to the necessity of each member interesting himself in obtaining new subscribers to the Society, and suggesting the names of any farmers or others interested in agriculture in his district or of his acquaintance who would be likely to become members. They trusted, therefore, that a general effort wonld be made by members of Council and all t hose interested in the welfare of the Society to obtain new subscribers to it during the new year which was just upon them. It was agreed that a paragraph to this effect should be inserted in the report to the General Meeting to be held on the following day. House. Sir Nigel Kingscote (Chairman) presented the recommendations of this Committee as to various matters connected with the House arrange- ments and the Council Chamber. Journal. Earl Cathcakt (Chairman) re- ported that the Committee had passed and referred to the Finance Committee various accounts for printing, &c., in connection with the Journal, and had had under further consideration the question of a renewal of "the present contracts for the various descriptions of the Society’s printing, which expire on the 31st instant, and on which they presented their recommenda- tions. The Committee recommended the acceptance of Messrs. Spottiswoode and Co.’s tender to bind each year's numbers of the Journal for members at the price of 2s. per volume, to in- clude packing in boards for safe transmission, and free delivery of the bound volumes back to the members, and to supply the cover separately, without binding, at the price of Is., delivered free by post. The Editor had submitted his proposals for the contents of the next number of the Journal, to be published on the 31st inst., which were approved. It had been agreed that Professor C rookshank should be asked to write for the first number of the Journal next year an article on tuberculosis in animals and its connection with Dr. Koch’s dis- coveries. The Secretary had been authorised to purchase for the library a German Encyclopedia of Agricul- ture and Stock-breeding, of which specimen parts had been submitted to the Committee. The Committee had met nine times and made nine reports, and they did not recommend any alteration in their constitution for the ensuing year. Chemical. Viscount Emlyn (Chairman) stated that the report of the Woburn Sub-committee had been received and adopted, and that the draft quarterly report had been considered, and with some amendments adopted. The Committee had met eight times and had made eight reports. They recommended that the names of Messrs. Sutton and Terry should be added to the Committee to fill vacancies. On the motion of Viscount Emlyn, it was resolved that the quarterly report of the Chemical Committee be adopted, and published in the usual manner. [See page 847.] Seeds and Plant Diseases. Mr. Charles Whitehead (Chair- man) reported that the annual reports of the Consulting Botanist and Con- sulting Entomologist had been consi- dered, and were recommended for publication in the next number of Journal [see pages 834 and 844]. Of the 100Z. granted by the Council for investigations into the composition of ancient pastures, 48Z. 15s. had been already expended. The Committee had referred to the Education Com- mittee a suggestion by their Chairman that the subject of fruit farming should be added to the syllabus of the Senior Examination. They had had under consideration a proposal to issue diagrams of grasses and of the stages in the growth of wheat, and had requested theConsultingBotanist to bring up at the next meeting a detailed recommendation upon the subject. The Committee had met eight times and made eight reports, and they Report of Veterinary Committee. cci recommended that for the ensuing year they be constituted as before, the name of Mr. Wheeler being added to fill a vacancy. Veterinary. Sir John Thokold (Chairman) stated that Professor Brown had pre- sented the following report : — Pleuro - Pneumonia. — In the four weeks ended November 29th, twenty-seven fresh outbreaks of this disease occurred in Great Britain, in the counties of Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Essex, Lanark, Lan- caster, London, Middlesex, Kenfrew, and York (N.R.). During this period about 1,755 cattle were slaughtered by order of the Board of Agriculture ; this includes the actually diseased animals, and also those which had been in contact with them, or otherwise exposed to the risk of infection. Anthrax. — During the month of November sixteen fresh outbreaks of anthrax were reported in Great Britain, fifteen of them in England, in the counties of Cornwall, Hants, Lancaster, Lincoln (Holland), Nor- folk, Northampton, Nottingham, Sussex (East), Wilts, and York (W.R.). The outbreak in Scotland took place in Wigtownshire. The total number of animals attacked was fifty-five — viz. fifty-one in England and four in Scotland. One diseased animal was killed, fifty- four died, and one recovered. Swine Fever. — The total num- ber of outbreaks of this disease reported in Great Britain during November was 401, or an average of 100 per week. This is a consi- derable decrease as compared with the weekly returns for the third quarter of the year, in which the average was over 130 per week. The number of pigs attacked in the four weeks was 3,255 ; the number of diseased pigs killed was 1,413, while 1,384 diseased swine died, 227 recovered, and 761 remained alive when the last published return was made up. Experiments are now being car- ried on at the Royal Veterinary College to test the alleged conta- VOL. I. T. S. — 4 gious nature of Foot-rot; and a flock of sheep, among which the disease exists, is under observation. Investigations into the life history of the lung-worm in lambs and calves are not yet completed, but a report on the results of the inquiry up to the present time will be in- cluded in the Annual Report of the College for the year 1890. In reference to the treatment of the lung-worm disease, it may be remarked that the well-known remedies, oil of turpentine, carbolic acid, sulphuric ether, and chloroform have been used for some years with a fair degree of success, provided that the medical treatment has in all cases been supplemented by good management, liberal rations, and shelter from cold and wet. A mixture containing ten to fifteen drops of carbolic acid, chloroform fifteen to twenty drops, turpentine twenty to thirty drops, with one to two tablespoonfuls of olive oil, may be given — the smaller doses to a lamb, and the larger to a calf — every day for three or four days in succession with advantage. An application has been made for a sufficient quantity of Dr. Koch’s lymph to test its action on tuberculous cattle, chiefly with a view to the diagnosis of the disease, in which, judging from experiment on small animals and in the human subject, it promises to afford very valuable aid. The Committee had further con- sidered the question of Foot-rot in sheep, and the experiments which had been carried out at the Royal Veterinary College as to its con- tagious or non-contagious character. A discussion had arisen upon Dr. Koch’s recent discoveries in their re- lation to tuberculosis in the lower animals, and it had been agreed to represent to the Journal Committee the desirableness of an article or articles in the Journal, detailing the experiments which had already been carried out in this country, and giv- ing the results of any experiments that might in future be made with Dr. Koch’s lymph, when a supply should have been procured. Pro- fessor Crookshank undertook to pre- Q ccii Monthly Council , December 10, 1890< pare these articles if requested to do so by the Journal Committee. A letter had been received from the Executive Committee of the pro- posed British Institute of Preventive Medicine, appealing to the Society for pecuniary assistance in support of the Institute, which was intended to deal with the prevention and cure of the infectious diseases of the domestic animals as well as those of man. The Committee recommended that the Secretary be instructed to reply that the Society was already engaged in the prosecution of re- searches similar to those proposed to be carried on by the Institute, by means of its annual grant to the Royal Veterinary College, and that while the Council had every sym- pathy with the objects of the Institute, they did not see their way to make further grants of money for the purpose indicated in the appeal. A letter had been received express- ing the willingness of the Farriers’ Company to provide the two first prizes of 6 1. each, together with the Freedom of the Company, in the horse-shoeing competition at Don- caster : and the Master of the Company had verbally reported to the Committee that the General Registration Committee would admit to the Register of Shoeing Smiths, without charge, all the prize-winners and commended competitors in the same competition. The thanks of the Society were ordered to be sent for these offers, of which the Com- mittee recommended the acceptance. A letter had been received from Mr. C. Hedworth Golledge, accepting the appointment of Provincial Vete- rinary Surgeon for the county of Dorset, in succession to Mr. Vessey, resigned. All the 500Z. voted to the Committee for the current year had been granted to the Royal Veterinary College, and the Committee had in- curred additional expenses to the amount of 55 1. Os. 5 cl. They moved for a grant for the year 1891 of 000Z., of which 500 1. should be allocated to the Royal Veterinary College for the study of comparative pathology and bacteriology. The Committee had met eight times and made eight reports, and they recommended that for the en- suing year they be constituted as before, with the addition of Mr. Beach and Mr. Terry to fill vacancies. Stock Prizes. Mr. Sanday (Chairman) reported that the Committee had had before them a voluminous correspondence respecting two of the entries of Jersey cattle, made by Mr. \V. D. Tucker, of Southampton, at Ply- mouth, and the exhibition of such animals at local shows in the Island in the names of other persons, after Mr. Tucker had certified that they were his property. The Committee could not regard as completely satis- factory the explanations which had been given of such exhibition in the Island ; but in face of the statu- tory declarations of Mr. Tucker and the breeders of the two animals in question that they were Mr. Tucker’s property when he entered them for Plymouth, the Committee felt that the matter could not now be carried further. The facts reported showed, however, gross carelessness on the part of certain Jersey exhibitors in the making of entries for shows, and a reprehensible looseness in the fill- ing up of the so-called ‘ breeder’s certificates.’ The Committee recom- mended that in future no entry of an animal of the Channel Island breeds be accepted, unless the Official Herd- book Importation Certificate be pro- duced to the Secretary at the time of entry. Also that the Secretary be empowered to decline without cor- respondence any entry of live stock, the certificate of which does not fully comply with the Society’s regulations when it is sent in. A letter had been received from the President of the Royal Jersey Agricultural Society assuring the Council of their readi- ness to co-operate at once with them in any investigation they might deem it necessary to make in the matter above referred to, and stating that the Committee of the Society viewed favourably the proposed new regulation respecting the entries of animals of the Channel Island breeds. The thanks of the Society were ordered to be sent for this communi- cation. The Second Prize winner, No. 494 in Class 64 (Devon Cows or Heifers Report of Stock Prizes Committee . cciii in-milk or in-calf), Mr. E. J. Stanley’s Moss Rose Wth, having failed to comply with the regulations of the Plymouth Prize Sheet, was disquali- fied from receiving the prize. The following were the animals which, in consequence of this disqualification, succeeded to the prizes, being duly qualified therefor : Class 64. Second Prize of 10Z. to Mr. Alfred C. Skinner for Duchess nth (awarded Third Prize). Third Prize of 5Z. to Sir William Williams for Flame 3rd (Reserve Number). A letter had been read from the English Jersey Society, asking the Committee to receive a deputation on the subject of separate classes for Island-bred and English-bred ani- mals ; and the Secretary had been in- structed to inform the Society of the prizes for Jerseys which this Society proposed to offer at Doncaster, and to state that the Council, being fully in possession of the views of the English Jersey Society, did not see that any advantage would be likely to accrue from an interview with the Stock Prizes Committee. A memorial had been read from the Cleveland Bay Horse Society, asking the Society to provide separate classes for Cleveland Bays and Coach-horses. The question had been discussed by the Local Com- mittee who were giving the prizes for Coach-horses; but that Committee had not seen the necessity for sepa- rate classes. A variety of letters making suggestions as to the Stock Prize Sheet had been considered, and directions given thereon. The Com- mittee, having again gone carefully through the proposed classes and regulations of the Stock Prize Sheet for the Doncaster ^Meeting, recom- mended that the prize sheet, as now settled by them, be approved and issued forthwith, power being re- served to the Chairman and the Secretary to accept champion prizes, which might be offered before the prize sheet was printed, and which com- plied with the(Society’s regulations. The Committee had met eight times, and had made eight reports, and recommended that the Com- mittee for the ensuing year be consti- tuted as before, with the addition of Lord Brougham and Vaux and Mr. Terry. Considerable discussion arose on the proposed omission of the classes for Two-shear Rams, in which Mr. Bowen-Jones, Mr. Sanday, Mr. Muntz, Mr. Stratton, Sir Jacob Wilson, Mr. Gilbey, and Mr. Foster took part, and Mr. Bowen- Jones moved “ that the Two-year-old sheep prizes remain as at present ” ; but eventually the adoption of the Prize Sheet, as revised by the Stock Prizes Committee, was carried by 17 votes to 12.' The Secretary read communica- tions (1) from the Hackney Horse Society offering two of the Society’s Gold Medals, one for the best Hackney stallion and one for the best Hackney mare ; (2) from the Shorthorn Society offering two pieces of plate of the value of 25Z. each for the best male and best female Shorthorns to be exhibited at the Society’s Meeting at Doncaster next year. On the motion of Mr. Sanday, these prizes were accepted with thanks. Implement. Mr. Frankish (Chairman) report- ed that the Committee had settled the regulations for the trials of Cream Separators at the Doncaster Meeting, and recommended that the points representing perfection be fixed as follows, both for power and hand machines : — 1. Price 10 2. Power taken per gallon 20 3. Efficiency of separation 20 4. Means of regulating thickness of cream 10 5. Facility for dismantling and cleaning . 15 6. Mechanical construction 15 7. Freedom from froth, both of skim-milk and cream 10 100 The Committee recommended that the points for mechanical milking machines be determined by the Judges in consultation with the Stewards be- fore the trials, the Council reserving the right to defer the trial of such machines. The Committee had met eight times and made eight reports, and they re- 1 This decision was reversed at a Special Meeting of the Council held on December 18 (see page ccvi). 0 2 cciv Monthly Council , December, 10.1890 commended that the Committee for the ensuing year be the same as before, ■with the addition of Mr. Beach. General Doncaster. Lord Bridport reported that the Committee had further considered the list of prizes proposed to be offered by the Local Committee, and they recom- mended it, with a small modification, for approval. The Surveyor had sub- mitted a plan of the Doncaster show- yard, and the Local Committee had undertaken to lay the road across the racecourse to the entrance for visitors and implements, and would endea- vour to make an additional road across the course by the grand stand. The Committee recommended that a band be provided at the Doncaster Show. Showyard Works. Sir Jacob Wilson (Chairman) re- ported that the Surveyor had submitted a plan for the Doncaster showyard, and also a plan for the erection of the Dairy, which the Committee recom- mended for approval. The Committee had met nine times, and made nine reports. They recommended that the Committee for the ensuing year be constituted as before, except that the name of the Hon. Cecil T. Parker be added to fill a vacancy. Selection. The recommendations of this Com- mittee having been read, Earl Cathcart said that at the last meeting of the Council a general wish was expressed that His Koyal Highness Prince Christian should be requested to accept the post of one of the Vice-Presidents of the Society. Accordingly, the President placed himself in communication with Prince Christian on the subject, and the Committee had the gratification of announcing that His Ro3ral Highness had expressed his willingness to accept office. He, therefore, had great pleasure in proposing for their accept- ance the necessary formal resolution : “ That His Royal Highness Prince Christian of Schleswig-Holstein, K.G., be elected a Vice-President of the Society.” Sir Jacob Wilson seconded the mo- tion, which was carried unanimously. Earl Cathcart reported the recom- mendation of the Committee that Mr, Wheeler be appointed a Steward of Stock, and Mr. Pidgeon a Steward of Implements, and that to fill the places of Mr. Stratton, Mr. Mainwaring, and Sir Jacob Wilson, who retired from the Committee by rotation, Sir John Thorold, Mr. Neville-Grenville, and Mr. Crutchley be appointed. The Committee also presented their re- commendation of a new member of Council in the room of H.R.H. Prince Christian, elected a Vice-President. The Committee had met six times, and made six reports during the year. Education. Mr. Mainwaring reported that of the forty-two candidates from the fourteen schools entered for the Society’s Junior Examinations on the 11th and 12th ult., forty actually pre- sented themselves. Of these, sixteen had obtained the number of marks necessary to qualify them for the Society's scholarships and certificates, in the event of their complying during the forthcoming year with the conditions of the examination. The Committee presented a report upon the results of the examinations, which they recommended should be published in the next number of the Journal [see page 854]. The addition of the subject of fruit-farming to the syllabus of the Senior Examination had been suggested by Mr. Whitehead : and the Committee proposed to givefurther consideration to the desirableness of adding to this syllabus a group of special subjects, to comprise dairying, forestry, fruit-farming, &c. Various letters on the subject of tech- nical agricultural education were sub- mitted, and directions given thereon. Of the 500Z. granted to the Committee for the current year, 355 l. 9s. had been expended — viz. 125 1. 19s. '.)d. for the Senior Examination, and 2241. 14s. 2d. for the Junior Examination. The Committee moved for a renewal of their grant of 50 01. for the year 1891. The Committee had met five times and made five reports, and they recom- mended that they be reconstituted for next year as before, with the addition of the names of Messrs. Arkwright, Pidgeon, and Sutton, and Major Craigie Dairy. The Hon. Cecil T. Parker (Chair- man) reported that the letter from Reports of Committees. ccv the Board of Agriculture [see page cxcv] as to the formation of a general representative Board of Examiners in Practical and Scientific Dairying, which had been referred to the Com- mittee by the Council at their last meeting, had received careful conside- ration. The Committee were entirely agreed that some such examining body was advisable, and they recom- mended that the Council should co- operate with the Board of Agriculture in any steps that might be taken in this direction. The proposed regula- tions in the draft prize sheet relating to poultry, butter, cheese, and butter- making competitions, and the trials of cream separators and milking- machines, had been amended and ap- proved. Of the 100/. granted to them for 1890, the Committee had expended 35/. 13^. \\d. They asked for a renewal of the grant of 100/. for the ensuing year. The Committee had met six times and made six reports, and they re- commended that the Committee for 1891 be, with one exception, consti- tuted the same as last year. Hunter Stallion. The Earl of Coventry, in the un- avoidable absence of the Chairman of the Committee (the Duke of Richmond and Gordon), reported the recommen- dations of the Committee that the three premiums granted by the Society, amounting to G00/., be paid direct ti the owners of the winning horses by the Society, all other arrangements being undertaken by the Royal Com- mission on Horse Breeding ; that the Society’s three premium stallions be exhibited in the Doncaster showyard from 9 a.m. on the Monday of the show to 5 p.m. on the Wednesday; and that the three Gold Medals offered by the Doncaster Local Committee be presented at the general meeting in the Showyard as usual. Standing Committees. The following Standing Committees were appointed for 1891, viz : — Finance. House. Journal. Chemical. Seeds and Plant Dis- eases. Veterinary. Stock Prizes. Implement. General Doncaster. Showyard Works. Selection. Education. Dairy. Committee for Selection of Judges. On the motion of Sir Jacob Wil- son, a Committee was appointed to recommend Judges of Stock, Imple- ments, and Produce at the Doncaster Meeting, such Committee to consist of the members of the Stock Prizes Com- mittee and the Stewards of the several departments, and to sit for the first time in February next. Country Meeting of 1892. The Secretary reported that a letter had been received from the Town Clerk of Cheltenham, stating that the Corporation of that Borough desired to withdraw their application to the Society, and to join the City and County of Gloucester in asking the Society to hold their Country Meeting for the year 1892 in or near the City of Gloucester. This reduced the number of towns who had sent invitations to the Society to two, viz. Warwick and Gloucester, and the In- spection Committee appointed at the last Council meeting were intending to make their visit of inspection in the last week in January, in order to bring up a report to the meeting of Council on February 4. It was resolved that the deputations from Warwick and Gloucester should be received by the Council at 12.15 p.m. on that date. Miscellaneous. A letter from the Marquis of Tavi- stock, expressing his desire to retire from the Council, was read and re f erred to the Committee of Selection. Letters of thanks were read (a) from the Royal Commission on Horse Breeding for the Society’s grant of 600/. for premiums to thoroughbred stallions in 1891 ; ( b ) from Baron von Hohenbruck and Chev. Emanuel von Proskowetz, Sen., for their election as Honorary Members Date of Next Meeting. The report from the Council to the general meeting having been prepared, the Council adjourned over the Christ- mas recess until Wednesday .Februar 4th, 189 r. ( ccvi ) THURSDAY, DECEMBER 18, 1890. THE DUKE OF RICHMOND AND GORDON, K.G. (TRUSTEE), IN THE CHAIR. In pursuance of a requisition signed, in accordance with Bye-law 27, by a Trustee, a Vice-President, and three other Members of Council, a Special Meeting of the Council, convened by circular, was held on Thursday, De- cember 18, 1890, to consider the de- sirability of restoring to the Don- caster Prize Sheet the nine classes for Two-shear Rams, which had been struck out on the recommendation of the Stock Prizes Committee. The following Members of Council were present : — Trustees. — Earl Cathcart, Col. Sir Nigel Kingscote, K.C.B., The Duke of Richmond and Gordon, K.G. Vice-President. — Mr. Walter Gilbey. Other Members of Council. — Mr. Joseph Beach, Lord Brougham and Vaux, Mr. Percy E. Crutchley, Mr. Hugh Gorringe, Mr. Charles Howard, Mr. P. Albert Muntz, M.P., Mr. G. H. Sanday, Mr. A. J. Smith, Mr. Martin J. Sutton, Mr. Joseph P. Terry, Sir Jacob Wilson. In the absence of the President, the Duke of Richmond and Gordon was called to the Chair, on the mo- tion of Sir Nigel Kingscote, se- conded by Mr. Charles Howard. The Secretary read the Bye-law (27) governing the holding of Special Meetings of the Council, and the requisition under authority of which the Meeting had been convened. He also read letters referring to the subject for discussion from the Earl of Ravensworth (President), Sir Matthew Ridley, the Hon. Cecil T. Parker, Mr. Chandos-Pole-Gell, Mr. Frankish, Mr. Mainwaring, Mr. Stratton, Mr. Garrett Taylor and Mr. Christopher Wilson. Mr. Sanday said it might per- haps be convenient that before the general discussion took place, he should explain the reasons which had actuated the Stock Prizes Committee in striking out the prizes for Two- shear Rams. It had been said that they were acting somewhat hastily and inconsistently in doing this ; but he could not himself see that this was the case, as the question had been brought forward at the Stock Prizes Committee meeting so far back as November of last year (1889), when the Plymouth Prize Sheet was being settled. At that meeting a motion had been made that classes for Ram Lambs should be substituted for those for Two-shear Rams, and notice of this was sent to every Member of Council. The subject was discussed again at the meeting of the Stock Prizes Committee held in December 1889 ; but as there was not at that time any great necessity for cutting down the Prize Sheet, the proposal was withdrawn for the time being. This year, however, the Prize Sheet had reached such dimensions that when it came to be looked into it was evident that reductions must be made somewhere ; and the Stock Prizes Committee, when they met last week, were confronted with the necessity of effecting economies by striking out some of the classes. Horses they felt they could not touch, as the great bulk of the prizes were given by the Local Com mittee. Cattle they reduced by some 180/., but this was not suffi- cient. They had, therefore, to consider in what way the Sheep prizes, which amounted in all to a very considerable sum, could be cut down. It was felt that in view of the small number of Two-shear-Ram entries as compared with the other Ram classes, and the necessity for encouraging early ma- turity, the Two-shears rather than the Ram Lambs should be sacrificed, and they arrived, therefore, at the decision to which objection had been taken. Complaint was made of the shortness of the notice given to intending ex- hibitors, who were already preparing their Two-shear sheep for exhibition at Doncaster. But the Society had very often made considerable changes in the classes given in its Prize Sheet without notice to exhibitors. Up to the Derby Show of 1881 prizes were Special Council, December 18, 1890. ccvn given for “ Shearling Rams ” and “ Rams of any other age.” At Reading in 1882, the Council, without any other notice to exhibitors than the issue of its Prize Sheet, reduced the last-named class to Two-shear Rams. At the Preston Show, in 1885, prizes were added on the petition of sheep breeders for Ram Lambs, and he for one thought the time was now come when they should carry the policy of encouraging early maturity a step further by abolishing the Two-shear classes. Mr. 'Gorringe agreed with Mr. Sanday. It had been suggested that instead of the Two-shear classes the classes for the Ram Lambs should be cut out. As a breeder he could never consent to that, as he had done all he could to encourage early maturity. Nearly every breeder would say that, after a sheep which might be exceed- ingly useful in a flock had been fed and exhibited, to put him up again and show him nearly always rendered him infertile, and spoilt his shape and usefulness thereafter. He might win prizes if forced for two years, but was afterwards too fat for use. Sir Jacob Wilson said that the convening of the Special Council at the instance of himself and other Members was no doubt exceptional, but he thought the circumstances were so exceptional as to justify it. He felt that the Council were not in possession of all the facts of the case when they passed their resolution of last week. He had then loyally sup- ported the report of the Stock Prizes Committee, in the belief, which he was sure was shared by the Council gene- rally, that cutting down was insisted upon by the Finance Committee. But as he had since learnt that Sir Nigel Kingscote was strongly in favour of their holding their hand as to the Two- shear classes, he felt that it was only fair to exhibitors that a change of this magnitude should not be made — if made at all — without further consid- eration and full notice. He therefore moved, “ That it is advisable to restore the classes for Two-shear Rams to the Doncaster Prize Sheet.” Mr. Muntz seconded the motion, saying that he felt very strongly that if there was any section of the Prize Sheet which ought not to be attacked it was the Sheep classes. They were the most profitable stock which farmers possessed. They did not get the full growth of a sheep until it was something like Two- shear. Many good sheep did not show themselves such until they became Two-shears. Mr. A. J. Smith said lie should be very sorry to see the Lamb classes struck out. It would be more constitutional to strike out the old sheep, because the whole of the busi- ness of graziers had lately been to get early maturity. No foreigner would look upon an old sheep as a pur- chase. Sir Nigel Kingscote said he took no part in the discussion on that subject last week, because he did not then fully appreciate the serious con- sequences of what was being decided. When he did learn, after the discus- sion was over, what was happening, and that the older sheep were to be struck out of the Prize Sheet, he saw at once that a great injury would be done to the breeders by so little notice being given. He did not then wish to enter into the question as to the Ram Lambs or the older sheep. His own individual opinion was against striking out the Two- shear Rams. He would rather see the Ram Lambs taken out than the Two-shear Rams. No one wished to see early maturity more than himself ; but they gave prizes for breeding animals and not for fat ones. Many breeders kept their sheep with the prospect of showing them again, and he did not think they should now deprive them of the opportunity of competing at Doncaster. He should much regret if that day they had a divided Council, and he hoped that they would come to an unanimous decision upon the subject. Mr. Howard admitted that there was very great force in what Mr. Sanday had stated about the classes for the Two-shear Rams. There was a strong and growing feeling in the country against giving prizes for old animals— a feeling in which he parti- cipated. For his own part he was very strongly in favour of discontinu- ing prizes for old sheep, but keeping on with Ram Lambs. But he felt due and proper notice should be given of ccvm Special Council , December 18, 1890. any changes, and he did not think that sufficient notice had been given. He fully believed that many breeders had already begun to pre- pare animals for the Doncaster Show. Earl Cathcart, without express- ing an opinion one way or the other, said he signed the requisition in order that the matter might be thoroughly discussed, as he was always in favour of the fullest inquiry. Mr. Gilbey thought that a serious step like striking out classes for Two- shear Earns in nine different breeds of sheep should not be taken without previous notice. Mr. Beach, having had considerable experience of the breeding and show- ing of sheep and lambs, thought it would be a great pity if the Society struck out the Two-shear Earns. He disagreed with the view that the farmers took no interest in old sheep, or that they preferred the young sheep to the old. Farmers took a great interest in showing sheep at maturity, and he would point out that at Plymouth a Canadian pur- chased a Two-shear Earn at a cost of 200 guineas. Mr. San day said that after the expression of opinion made by Sir Nigel Kingscote, he should not offer any opposition to Sir Jacob Wilson’s motion, though personally he still thought the Stock Prizes Committee did right. The Chairman said that no one had greater respect for the Stock Prizes Committee than he had, and it was a grief to him to find himself com- pelled to take a course which to a certain extent was opposed to the re- solution which they had come to. His impression was that until they got a sheep to be about Two-shear, they could not tell what he was. They could not tell what ram to put to a certain class of ewe in order to correct some malformation or want of shape. They would, therefore, do a great injury to the country if they did away with the Two-shear sheep and gave prizes only to the One-shear rams. Then, again, he did not at all agree that the foreigners did not care for the old sheep. He found that they did care for them very much. It would be a great injury and grievance to the flock- masters of the country if the Two- shear sheep were expunged from the Prize List by the action of the last Council. He would not go into the question of what might be done in future. That was a matter which would receive ample consideration and discussion. But feeling strongly, and being, he might say, greatly in- terested in the matter, he hoped very much that the Council would see its way to restore these classes to the Doncaster Prize Sheet. After some discussion as to the amount of the prizes to he offered, in which Mr. Sanday, Sir Jacob Wil- son, Sir Nigel Kingscote, Mr. Muntz, Mr. Howard, Mr. Terry, Mr. Crutchley, Mr. Sutton, Earl Cathcart, Mr. Gilbey, Lord Brougham and Vaux, the Chair- man, and others took part, it was agreed that, in the event of Sir Jacob Wilson’s resolution being carried, the prizes originally proposed to be offered for Two-shear Earns would be restored. Sir Jacob Wilson’s resolution was then put to the meeting, and carried Tievi. con. The Secretary was there- upon authorised to insert in the Don- caster Prize Sheet prizes of 15Z., 10Z., and 51. for Two-shear Earns of each of the following breeds of sheep : Leicester, Cotswold, Lincoln, Oxford Down, Shropshire, Southdown, Hamp- shire Down, Suffolk, and Wensleydale. Authority was also given to insert in the Prize Sheet offers which had been received from the Clydesdale Horse Society, of two Champion Prizes of 25 1. each, for the best Clydesdale stallion and for the best Clydesdale mare or filly, and from the Ked- Polled Society of a Champion Prize of 10 guineas for the best Eed-Polled animal in the Doncaster Showyard. The proceedings then terminated, the Council adjourning until Wednes- day, February 4, 1891, ( ccix ) Iproceefcmos at 1balf*\>earl\> flDeetmg of (Bovcrnoi'6 anfc flD embers, HELD IN THE HALL OP THE ROYAL MEDICAL AND CIIIRURGICAL SOCIETY, 20 HANOVER SQUARE. THURSDAY, DECEMBER 11, 1890. EARL CATHCART (TRUSTEE) IN THE CHAIR. Present : — Members of Council. — Messrs. J. H. Arkwright, J. Bowen-Jones, J. A. Caird, Percy E. Crutchley, C. de L. Faunce de Laune, S. P. Foster, W. Frankish, A. Hamond, Col. Sir Nigel Kingscote, K.C.B. (Trustee), C. S. Mainwaring, Albert Pell, S. Row- landson, Martin J. Sutton, Sir Jacob Wilson. Members. — Messrs. A. Arkwright, R. C. Assheton, George Barham, Thomas Bell, H. F. Cox, James Farmer, J. Kersley Fowler, W. W. Glenny, W. Hallifield, C. H. Hooper, Surgeon- Major Ince, M.D., Messrs. J. W. Kimber, E. Powell King, F. King, Charles Laurie, W. Lipscomb, J. R. Markby, R. Jasper More, M.P., J. B. Paynter, Rev. T. B. Paynter, Messrs. F. Proctor, R. Henry Rew, E. Riley, E. S. Rodd, W. Barrow Simonds (Foundation Life Governor), Clement Stephenson, Thomas Stirton, Leonard Sutton, John Thornton, H. J. Tolle- mache, M.P., Howard Thomas, F. Walker-Jones, Dr. H. J. Webb, Messrs. John White, G. D. Yeoman. Officers. — Mr. Ernest Clarke, Secre- tary and Editor ; Mr. E. W. Yoelcker, Acting Consulting Chemist. Earl Cathcart, in taking the chair, said he was there by desire of the Council to take the place of their President, who was unhappily absent owing to a most grievous affliction. He was quite sure that the President would have all their sympathies. The half-yearly report of the Coun- cil [see page 824] having been taken as read, the Chairman said he would simply glance at the salient features of the report, and the Secretary would if desired read in extenso any particular paragraph. First of all they had to re- gret, and deeply regret, the loss by death of a great many members. There were two names especially which he should like to mention, because they were so closely asso- ciated with their sympathies, and lately with the business of the Society, viz. Mr. Joseph Druce, who had an hereditary interest in the Society, and who was a most agreeable col- league ; and another member of their Council to whom they were all great- ly attached, Mr. Robert Leeds. He was sure that every one shared with him in the great regret with which they read the notice of their deaths in the report. These were both old familiar faces, that he had known for years and years. The present state of the Society must be to them all a subject of gratification and satisfaction. The muster-roll, which had certainly never been exceeded, showed a grand total on the register of 10,924 members (cheers). In reference to the Ply- mouth Meeting, they had had fine weather and fine exhibits; all that was required to make the thing per- fect was a fine balance-sheet. But if they had lost money at Plymouth, they had expended that money with great advantage. At Doncaster they looked forward to a “bumper.” It was right that the great liberality of the Doncaster Local Committee should be acknowledged. They had come ccx Half-yearly Meeting of Governors and Members , forward with no less a sum than 865 1. to be devoted to horses, and they had also undertaken to provide the Gold Medals for the Society’s premium stallions which were to travel in the neighbourhood. He need not go into the subject of the grant of 600/. which had been made by the Society in aid of the Government enterprise with regard to stallions, because the whole of that 600/. was really not expenditure. No part of that sum would be spent in those unpractical shows which they used to have, when a number of really very inefficient ani- mals were presented to the unadmiring gaze of those who came to lookatthem. He thought the members would ob- serve with satisfaction the paragraph referring to the inauguration of the scheme for the examination and re- gistration of farriers. Some day he hoped they would be able to take up the foot of a valuable horse without finding that the whole of the frog, which Nature intended to be for the preservation of the horse, had been cut away by a blundering black- smith. The paragraph with regard to the Royal Veterinary College and the Veterinary Officers of the Society showed that they were quite alive to what was going on in the world, and to the essential importance of keeping pace with the times. It had been well said that where a medical man did not go forward, he certainly went backward. The paragraph referring to the Chemical Department showed that people still persisted in pur- chasing impure cakes and feeding stuffs. If all customers were wise, there would be no fraudulent manu- facturers and no fraudulent dealing, because if the customer would only do what was suggested by the Society he would have the remedy in his own hands. The Botanical work of the Society was satisfactory, and every member of the Society would admit that great things had been done lately in the way of improving the samples of seeds that had been sent out. The same remark applied to the Entomological work. Great ad- vantage had been derived from many of those leaflets circulated, and from the information not only sent out by the Royal Agricultural Society but also by the Board of Agriculture. No more valuable official than Miss Ormerod, their Consulting Entomo- logist, had ever been attached to a great Society. The members would observe, he hoped with approval, that a very lively interest was being taken by the Council in educational matters. There was to be a great discussion on the subject in February next, opened by a friend of his own, Mr. Albert Pell. Technical education in agriculture was now attracting very great atten- tion in this country, and it was being considered both by that Society and by the Board of Agriculture. In this they were only following in the wake of nations, especially Scandinavian nations, that were long ago alive to the importance of the subject. Only the other day he had travelled across Denmark, and was perfectly astonished that, in apparently so in- fertile a country, the inhabitants could possibly compete, and compete successfully, with England. The only reason for it was that the Danes had the greatest regard for and apprecia- tion of technical education. With regard to the paragraph in the report relating to the Journal, he was perfectly at home, because he had for so many years been associated with it. He appealed to anybody, whether practical, scientific, or literary, who was at all impartial, as to whether this first annual volume of their new Journal would not compare favourably with anything that the Society had ever produced before. It was a publication worthy of that Society. He wished to say this because the matter had been called in question in the press and elsewhere. He himself and his col- leagues had virtually nothing to do with the production of a Quarterly Journal. It had been forced upon them by the general feeling of the Members, and they had with a new series to meet a general demand. As to the idea of competition with anybody else, that was perfectly unworthy of the dignity of that Society : they did the best they could for the agricultural com- munity. He was bound in justice to say that he thought the Secretary and Editor deserved the very greatest credit. He (Lord Cathcart) thought Thursday, December 11, 1890. CCXl more of punctuality than anything else : it had been stated that they could not produce a journal punctu- ally : the Journal had been produced to a day, and in this, as in other respects, great credit was due to the Editor. The adoption of the report was moved by Mr. Thomas Stirton, who referred to its satisfactory nature, though he rather regretted that the number of members had not increased. Still they had had a very great influx during the last few years. Mr. W. Lipscomb seconded the motion with the greatest pleasure, particularly when he saw the interest which was evinced by the Society with regard to technical instruction. Having every possible advantage over other countries in their pastures, in their stock, and he hoped in the intelligence of their agricultural community, not to be instructed in any single branch of that upon which they depended for their living was really a scandal to their country which ought to be removed. This could only be done in the way which the report very admirably set forth. He only wanted to say that — certainly throughout Yorkshire — there was a very extraordinary ignorance of the scholarships which were offered by the Society. He ventured to hint that some steps should be taken to render more public the advantages which youths could have by com- peting for them. He hoped that if their numbers increased those scholarships might be also increased, because he believed the scholarships coming from the Society were most valuable. Surgeon-Major Ince urged the futility of attempts to exterminate by slaughter the disease of pleuro- pneumonia. Mr. S. P. Foster referred to the work of the Aspatria Agricultural College, with which he was closely connected, and which had been very successful, and said .that, owing to the money granted by Government, they had been able to give scholar- ships to poor boys attending their school. The first and second boys in the recent Junior Examinations of the Society would not have been able to attend the College if it had not been for the Government money. Of the two boys referred to, one was the son of a very poor farmer in Cumberland, and the other the son of a miner. Mr. Barham asked whether the Council had resolved to act upon his suggestion made last May, to have a single catalogue of all the exhibits in the showyard. The Chairman replied that it had been so decided, but it had not been considered necessary to mention it in the report, as it was a matter of detail. Mr. J. Kersley Fowler sug- gested that attention should be given to the instruction of agricul- tural children upon various branches of rural knowledge, such, for instance, as an acquaintance with the insects and plants which were valuable or injurious to the agriculture of the district in which they lived. Mr. Charles Laurie urged the importance of prizes being given to agricultural stallions and mares, as well as for agricultural geldings. The report of the Council was then unanimously adopted. Vote of thanks to Auditors. Mr. J. W. Kimber moved, Mr. E. Riley seconded, and it was unani- mously resolved, that a vote of thanks be accorded to the auditors, Messrs. Sherborn, Johnson, and Roberts, for their services during the past year, and that they be re-elected. Suggestions for consideration of Council. In response to the usual inquiry from the Chair, as to whether any of the members present had suggestions to offer for the consideration of the Council, Mr. George Barham wished to refer to one important matter which was agitating the agricultural world to a very considerable extent, and to which he found no reference in the report at all, viz. to railway rates. He did not know whether the gentle- men present were aware of the nature of the Board of Trade proposals. They had heard on many previous occasions that the onerous proposals of the railway companies had been superseded by the proposals of the Board of Trade. Those were so ob- ccxii Half-yearly General Meeting, December 11, 1890. jectionable in their nature that he thought that the Society should use the whole of its influence and do everything that was possible to pre- vent those rates being made the law of the land. As far as dairy farming was concerned, the Board of Trade pro- posals practically meant giving the railway companies the power to in- crease their present rates to the extent of 140 per cent. It seemed to him that this was so serious a matter that it was one which the Society might take in hand, and help the struggling farmer in allpartsof the kingdom. Hesuggested “ That a sum not exceeding 1.000Z. should be expended by the Council, if necessary, for the purpose of pro- tecting the interests of English agri- culturists in reference to the proposed revision of railway rates by the Board of Trade.” Mr. Rowlandson hoped this ques- tion would be taken up. They had already associated themselves with the Mansion House Committee, who were watching the proposals of the Board of Trade very carefully indeed. It would be wise on their part to con- tinue that association and assist the Mansion House Committee. They should look into this question care- fully. It was a very important one, especially with regard to the station terminals. Mr. Fkankish, as one of the Society’s representatives upon the Mansion House Association -and as a Member of the Finance Committee of the Society, said he could not see how the Society could give so large a sum as Mr. Barham mentioned, but he thought they ought to give further support to the Mansion House Association, per- haps to the extent of another 100Z. Mr. Jasper Mobe, M.P., said he was about t o introduce a bill into the House of Commons for the purpose of making the sale of corn by weight compulsory, and doing away with the measure as the first step towards uni- form weight. As that was a sub- ject exciting a great deal of interest, he asked the Council if they would give any aid, advice, or assistance in the matter. Dr. Ince suggested occasional meet- ings for the discussion of subjects of agricultural importance, and the issue of a weekly Journal. Vote of Thanks to Chairman. Mr. John Thornton moved, and Mr. W. W. Glenny seconded, a vote of thanks to the Chairman for so ably presiding over the meeting, which was carried unanimously. The Chairman replied, saying that all the suggestions made should re- ceive the careful consideration of the Council. With regard to Mr. Lips- comb’s observations, advertisements were regularly put in the educational and agricultural papers of the Society’s examinations, and not long ago, when the syllabus was revised, it was posted to the headmaster of every grammar school in the kingdom. He would draw Mr. Laurie’s attention to the fact that the prizes for agricultural horses were being given by the Local Committee, and he thought the Don- caster people would be credited with being about as much alive to the hippie interest as any people on the face of the eart h. The matter referred to by Mr. Fowler was already under the consideration of the Education Committee, and would not be lost sight of by the Council, who were sensible of its importance. With re- gard to Surgeon- Major Ince’s sugges- tion, the weekly reading of papers had been tried in the past, and ab- solutely without success ; in these days busy men had no time to attend such meetings. With regard to Mr. Jasper More’s suggestion, he must re- mind them of clause 4 of the Charter, that no matter referring to bills before Parliament should be taken up by the Society. No doubt Mr. Barham’s sug- gestion with regard to railway rates was very important, and the Council were fully alive to it. They had sub- scribed 100Z. to the funds of the Mansion House Association, and had appointed Lord Moreton, Mr. Frankish, and the Secretary as their representa- tives upon the General Committee. He was much obliged for the vote of thanks which they had given him ; and he had now only to declare the meeting at an end. The proceedings then terminated. (ccxiii) PBIZE LIST FOR DONCASTER MEETING, JUNE 20 to 26, 1891. HORSES (£1,837). Class HUNTERS. Prizes 1 Mare and Foal 5 Mare, foaled in 1887 1 6 Gelding, foaled in 188 7 Filly, foaled in 1888 8 Gelding, foaled in 188 9 Filly', foaled in 1889 10 Colt, foaled in 1890 1 11 Filly', foaled in 1890 PONIES. — * — 1st 2nd 3rd Class 1st 2nd 3rd £ £ £ £ £ £ 20 10 5 29 Stallion, not over 14 lids. 15 10 5 to 30 Brood Mare and Foal, 5 1 40 20 10 not exceeding 14 hands . 15 10 5 to 31 Mare or Gelding, above Gi 30 10 5 13 and not over 14 1 # 40 20 10 hands i ... 10 5 - 30 15 5 32 Mare or GELDiNG,’not 1 # 20 10 5 exceeding 13 hands * 10 5 - 15 10 5 1 . 15 10 5 HARNESS HORSES AND PONIES. 15 10 5 33 Mare or Gelding, of any 15 10 5 age, exceeding 14 hands 1 15 10 5 . 15 10 5 34 Mare or Gelding, not Prizes exceeding 14 hands 1 15 10 5 COACH HORSES. 12 Stallion, foaled in 1880, 1887, or 18881 . . 20 10 5 13 Stallion, foaled in 1889 1 20 10 5 14 Mare and Foal1 . . 20 10 5 15 Gelding, foaled in 1888 1 15 10 5 16 Filly, foaled in 1888 1 .15 10 5 17 Gelding, foaled in 1889 1 10 5 - 18 Filly, foaled in 1889 1 . 10 5 - HACKNEYS 19 Stallion, foaled before 1889, above 15 hands .20 10 5 20 Stallion, foaled before 1889, above 14 hands and not over 15 hands . . 20 10 5 21 Stallion, foaled in 1888 1 15 10 5 22 Stallion, foaled in 1889 1 15 10 5 23 Brood Mare and Foal, above 15 hands . . 15 10 5 24 Brood Mare and Foal, above 14 hands and not over 15 hands . . 15 10 5 25 Mare or Gelding, above 14 hands, up to 15 stones, foaled in 1885, ’80, or ’87 1 20 10 5 26 Mare or Gelding, above 14 hands, up to 12 stones. foaled in 1885, ’86, or ’87i 20 10 5 27 Filly, foaled in 1888 * . 15 10 5 28 Filly, foaled in 1889 i . 15 10 5 SHIRE. 35 Stallion, foaled in 1888 . , 20 10 5 36 Stallion, foaled in 1889 , . 20 10 5 37 Stallion, foaled in 1890 . 20 10 5 38 Mare and Foal , 20 10 5 39 Filly, foaled in 1888 , 15 10 5 40 Filly, foaled in 1889 . 15 10 5 41 Filly', foaled in 1890 , 15 10 5 Two Cold Medals value 15 gs. each are offered by the Shire Horse Society for tin best Shire Stallion and Mare or Filly. CLYDESDALE. 42 Stallion, foaled in 1888 . 20 10 5 43 Stallion, foaled in 1889 . . 20 10 5 44 Stallion, foaled in 1890 . 20 10 5 45 Mare and Foal , 20 10 5 46 Filly, foaled in 1888 . 15 10 5 47 Filly, foaled in 1889 . 15 10 5 48 Filly, foaled in 1890 . 15 10 5 Two Champion Prizes of £25 each, for the best Clydesdale Stallion and Mare or Filly, are offered by the Clydesdale Horse ■Society. SUFFOLK. 49 Stallion, foaled in 1888 . 20 10 5 50 Stallion, foaled in 1889 , . 20 10 5 5l Mare and Foal , 20 10 5 52 Filly, foaled in 1888 . 15 10 5 53 Filly, foaled in 1889 . 15 10 5 AGRICULTURAL HORSES. 54 Gelding of any breed, foaled in 1887 or 18881 .15 10 5 55 Gelding of any breed, foaled in 18891 . 15 10 5 Two Champion Gold Medals are offered by the Hackney Horse Society for the best Stallion and Mare. 1 Offered by the Doncaster Local Committee. CCX1V Prize List for Doncaster Meeting , 1891. CATTLE (£1,500). Prizes Prizes Class SHORTHORN. 1st 2nd 3rd £ £ £ 56 Bull, calved in 1885, 1886, 1887, or 1888 .20 10 5 57 Bull, calved in 1889 . 20 10 5 58 Bull, calved in 1890 . 20 10 5 59 Cow, in-milk or in-calf, calved previously to 1888 15 10 5 CO Heifer, in-milk or in-calf, calved in 1888 . . 15 10 5 61 Heifer, calved in 1889 . 15 10 5 G2 Heifer, calved in 1890 ' . 15 10 5 Two Pieces of Plate of the value of 25/. each are offered by the Shorthorn Society of Great Britain and Ireland as Champion Prizes for the best Male and the best Female Shorthorn. Class ABERDEENANGUS. 83 Bull, calved in 1886, ’7, or’8 15 84 Bull, calved 1889 or 1890 15 85 Cow or Heifer, in-milk or in-calf, calved pre- viously to or in 1888 . 15 86 Heifer, calved 1889 or ’90 15 10 10 GALLOWAY. 87 Bull, calved 1886, ’7, or ’8 15 10 5 88 Bull, calved 1889 or 1890 15 10 5 89 Cow or Heifer, in-milk or in-calf, calved pre- viously to or in 1888 . 15 10 5 90 Heifer, calved 1889 or ’90 15 10 5 AYRSHIRE. HEREFORD. 63 Bull, calved in 1885, 1886, 1887, or 1888 .20 10 5 64 Bull, calved in 1889 . 20 10 5 65 Bull, calved in 1890 . 20 10 5 66 Cow or Heifer, in-milk or in-calf, calved pre- viously to or in 1888 . 15 10 5 67 Heifer, calved in 1889 . 15 10 5 68 Heifer, calved in 1890 . 15 1 0 5 DEVON. 69 Bull, calved 1886, ’7, or ’8 15 10 5 70 Bull, calved 1889 or 1890 15 10 5 71 Cow or Heifer, in-milk or in-calf, calved pre- viously to or in 1888 . 15 10 5 72 Heifer, calved 1889 or '90 15 10 5 SUSSEX. 73 Bull, calved 1886, ’7, or ’8 15 10 5 74 Bull, calved 1889 or 1890 15 10 5 75 Cow or Heifer, in-milk or in-calf, calved pre- viously to or in 1888 . 15 10 5 76 Heifer, calved 1889 or ’90 15 10 5 WELSH. 77 Bull, calved 1888, ’9, or ’90 10 5 - 78 Cow or Heifer, of any age, in-milk or in-calf .10 5 - RED POLLED. 91 Bull, calved in 1888, 1889, or 1890 . . . . 10 5 - 92 Cow or Heifer, of any age, in-milk or in-calf .10 5 - JERSEY. 93 Bull, calved in 1887, 1888, or 1889 . . . 15 10 5 94 Bull, calved in 1890 . 15 10 5 95 Cow, in-milk, calved pre- viously to or in 1887 . 15 10 5 96 Cow, in-milk, calved 1888 15 10 5 97 Heifer, in-milk or in-calf, calved in 1889 . . 15 10 5 98 Heifer, calved in 1890 . 15 10 5 GUERNSEY. 99 Bull, calved in 1887, 1888, or 1889 . . . 15 10 5 100 Bull, calved in 1890 . 15 10 5 101 Cow or Heifer, in-milk, calved previously to or in 1888 . . . . 15 10 5 102 Heifer, calved 1889 or ’90 15 10 5 KERRY. 103 Bull, calved 1888, ’9, or’90 10 5 - 104 Cow or Heifer, of any age, in-milk or in-calf .10 5 - DEXTER KERRY. 105 Bull, calvedin 1888,1889, or 1890 . . . . 10 5 - 106 Cow or Heifer, of any age, in-milk or in-calf .10 5 - 79 Bull, calved 1886, ’7, or ’8 15 10 5 80 Bull, calved 1889 or 1890 15 10 5 81 Cow or Heifer, in-milk or in-calf, calved pre- viously to or in 1888 . 15 10 5 82 Heifer, calved 1889 or ’90 15 10 6 A Champion Prize of Ten Guineas is offered by the Red-Polled Society for the best Red-Polled exhibited. DAIRY CATTLE. Cows, m-milk ( of any breed or cross'), giving the greatest quantity of milk contain- ing not less than 12 per cent, solids and 3 per cent, butter-fat. 107 A. Cow, of 1,100 lbs. or over, live weight . . 15 10 5 107 B. Cow, under 1,100 lbs. live weight . , . 15 10 5 Cl d ib Prize List for Doncaster Meeting , 1891. ccxv SHEEP (£1,170). Classes 108 — 111 Leicester . 112 — 115 Cotswold ... ■a 116 — 119 Lincoln . ■“ 120—123 Oxford Down 124 — 127 Shropshire . 128 — 131 Southdown . 132 — 135 Hampshire Down 136—139 Suffolk 140—143 Wensleydale In each of the above breeds the follow- ing prizes will be given : 1st 2nd 3rd £ £ £ Two-shear Ram . 15 10 5 Shearling Ram . 15 10 5 Pen of Three Ram Lambs, dropped in 1 891 . Pen of Three Shearling Ewes, of the same flock 10 5 __ 15 10 5 Classes 144 — 146 Border Leicester . 147—149 Cheviot 150 — 152 Blackfaced Mountain 153 — 155 Lonk . 156 — 158 Herdwick . r l- In each of the above breeds the follow- ing prizes will be given : 1st 2nd 3rd £ £ £ Ram, Two-shear and upwards 10 5 - Shearling Ram . . . 10 5 - Pen of Three Shearling Ewes, of the same flock 10 5- PIGS (£432). Classes 159 — 162 Large White . 163—166 Middle White . 167 — 170 Small White . 171 — 174 Berkshire . 175 — 178 Any Other Black Breed 179 — 182 Tamworth . . .2 o -Ph In each of the above breeds the follow- ing prizes will be given : — Boar, farrowed in 1890 . Pen of Three Boar Ph farrowed in 1891 . Breeding Sow, farrowed pi viously to or in 1890 Pen of Three Sow Pigs, far- rowed in 1891 POULTRY (£343). FOWLS 1 Prizes are offered for the best Cock. Hen, Cockerel, and Pullet respectively, of each of the following Breeds : — Classes £ 183 — 186 Dorking, Coloured . 2 187 — 190 Dorking, Silver Grey 2 191 — 194 Dorking, White or any other variety . 2 195 — 198 Game, Old English . 2 199 — 202 Game, Indian . . 2 203—206 Houdan . . .2 207—210 Other French . . 2 211 — 214 Brahma . . .2 215 — 218 Cochin . . .2 219 — 222 Langshan . . .2 223 — 226 Wyandotte . . 2 227 — 230 Plymouth Rock . 2 231 — 234 Scotch Grey . . 2 235 — 238 Minorca . . .2 239 — 242 Andalusian , . 2 243—246 Leghorn . . . 2 1 10 247 — 250 Hamburgh . . 2 1 10 251 — 254 Any other variety (Bantams excepted) 2 1 10 Table Fowls. £ ». 1 10 1 10 1 10 1 10 1 10 1 10 1 10 1 10 1 10 1 10 1 10 1 10 1 10 1 10 1 10 255 Pair of Cockerels of 1891, of any pure breed . .21 256 Pair of Pullets, ditto . .21 257 Pair of Cockerels of 1891, first cross from any pure breeds . . . .21 258 Pair of Pullets, ditto . .21 DUCKS. Prizes are offered for the best Drake, Duck, Young Drake, and Ducklingrespec- tively of each of the following Breeds : — 10 10 10 10 259 — 262 Aylesbury 263 — 266 Rouen . 267—270 Pekin 271 — 274 Any other Breed 10 10 10 Useful 2 1 10 Table Ducks. 275 Pair of Ducklings of 1891, of any pure breed . 276 Pair of Ducklings of 1891, of a first cross from any pure breeds . 2 1 10 2 1 10 1st £ 2nd 3rd £ £ GEESE. . 10 5 3 277 Gander • • • . 2 1 10 S, . 10 278 Goose . • • • . 2 1 10 5 3 . 10 5 3 TURKEYS. 279 Cock . • • • . 2 1 10 . 10 5 3 280 Hen • ft . 2 1 10 cexyi Prize List for Doncaster Meeting , 1891 PRODUCE (£376). Prizes CHEESE Class 1st 2nd 3rd 4th (of 1891 make) £ £ £ £ 281 Three Cheddar 15 10 5 - 282 Three Cheshire 15 10 5 - 283 Six Stilton 15 10 5 - 284 Three Cotiierstone 10 5 3 - 285 Three Wensleydale 10 286 Three of any other 5 3 - British make . 15 10 5 3 287 Three Cream . 3 2 l - 288 Three Soft 3 2 1 - BUTTER. 289 Three lbs. Fresh > Five of 5/. each Butter . . I Five of 31. each 290 3 lbs. Fresh But- i Five of 5 l. each ter, slightly sal ted ) Five of 31. each 291 Keg or other Package of Salt Butter, 1st 5/., 2nd 31., 3rd 21., 4th 17. CIDER AND PERRY. 1st 2nd 3rd £ £ £ 292 Cask of Cider, made 1890 5 3 2 293 One Doz. Cider, made 1890 5 3 2 294 One Doz. Cider, made before 1890 5 3 2 295 One Doz. Perry . . .532 JAMS AND PRESERVED FRUITS. 296 Whole-Fruit Jams . .5 3 2' 297 Bottled Fruits . .532 298 Preserved Fruits for Dessert . . . .532 299 Dried or Evaporated Fruits for Cooking . .532 HIVES, HONEY, &c. Offered by British Bee-keepers’ Assocu. Class Prizes 1st 2nd 3rd 4th s. s. s. s. 300 Collection ofHiVEs &C.100 50 - - 301 Observatory Hive 20 15 10 - 302 Frame Hive . 20 15 10 - 303 Frame Hive for Cottager’s use . 20 15 10 - 304 Honey Extractor 15 10 - - 305 Section Racks 15 10 5 - 306 Rapid Feeder 10 5 _ _ 307 12 Sections of Comb Honey, about 121b. 20 10 5 - 308 6 Sections of Comb Honey, about 6 lb. 20 10 5 _ 309 Run or Extracted Honey, about 241b. 30 20 10 5 310 Granulated Honey, weight about 12 lb. 20 10 5 - 311 Display of Honey . 50 30 10 - 312 Useful Inventions Special Prizes introd. since 1889. according to merit. 313 Model of a Tent for Lectures . . 30 - - 314 Exhibit of any other kind connected with Bee-Culture . . 20 10 5 IMPLEMENTS (£285). £ £ £ 1 Threshing and Finish- ing Machine . . 100 50 25 2 Cream Separator. (Power Machine) . . 30 20 — 3 Cream Separator (Hand Machine) . . 20 10 — 4 Milking Machine . 20 10 — FARMS (£300). 1 Arable and Grass Farm of 200 acres and over . 50 30 20 2 Arable and Grass Farm, above 100 and not exceeding 200 acres 50 30 20 3 Arable and Grass Farm, above 40 and not ex- ceeding 100 acres . . 50 30 20 BUTTER-MAKING COMPETITIONS (£64). Class 1. Open to United Kingdom. Class 2. Female Members of a Farmer’s family not in service or working for wages. Class 3. Dairymaids in service who have never won a prize exceeding 1/. Class 4. Dairymaids residing in York- shire. Prizes : 1st 6 (., 2nd 4/., 3rd 31. 4th 21., 5th 1/., in each class. HORSE-SHOEING COMPETITIONS (£32). (Limited to shoeing-smitlis in the count}* of York.) Class 1. Hunters. Class 2. Agricultural Horses. Prizes : 1st 61., 2nd 47, 3rd 3/., 4th 21., 5th XL, in each class. Last Day of Entry for Stock and Farm Produce, FRIDAY, MAY 1, 1891. (Post Entries at Double Fees up to TUESDAY, MAY 12.) 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