IMPLEMENT DEPARTMENT OF THE SOCIETY. 263 



c( r\ 



Give implement makers encouragement," say Messrs. Clayton 

 and Shuttleworth, " by reducing (or abolishing) charges for 

 shedding, paying cartage of implements to and from railway 

 stations, as the cost of carriage of goods, assistance, and men's 

 expenses are very heavy, and must press much upon small 

 makers, and thus limit their exhibits. Implements attract large 

 numbers of people to shows, and firms should therefore have 

 every encouragement in exhibiting their productions. Invention 

 would thereby be stimulated and inventors remunerated." 



Facilities ought also to be afforded to the exhibitors of field 

 implements for showing them at work at specified times, so that 

 farmers attending the shows might have better opportunities for 

 forming a judgment for themselves. 



With regards to trials and awards, it is desirable that no 

 award be made without a thorough trial, and that in the case of 

 every award the grounds on which it rests be distinctly and 

 specifically stated. 



Manufacturers ought to have the option of exhibiting at all 

 shows without being obliged to compete for prizes. The manu- 

 facture of agricultural implements and machines is now carried 

 on on so large a scale that a money prize is of trifiing importance, 

 and manufacturers prefer to rely on the substantial merits of 

 their manufactures in effecting sales rather than on the opinions 

 of judges who may be inexperienced or prejudiced. In order to 

 induce them to submit their implements to trials, it is necessary 

 that these trials be not too frequent, that they be conducted 

 with the greatest care and impartiality, and that they be reported 

 with sufficient detail, and witli positive, and not merely com- 

 parative, results, duly stated. 



In a letter addressed to the writer, Messrs. Eansome, Sims, & 

 Head, the oldest firm connected with the agricultural implement 

 manufacture, write : — " In our opinion the very best thing that 

 the Scottish Agricultural Society could do towards the encour- 

 agement and development of the implement trade would be to 

 give up offering any prizes for im[)lenients, but to afford every 

 facility for the exhibition of implements and machines at their 

 shows ; also, not to tax exhiltitors so highly as at present for the 

 space required for the exhibition of their goods. So far as our 

 experience goes, purchasers at the present day are guided more by 

 the success of machinery that has l)een sold and workiul than by 

 the prizes it has won, and manufacturers are bound for their own 

 credit's sake to see that what they send out is thoroughly adapted 

 for the purpose for which it is intended. Instances have been 

 known where machines have gained the first prize at a show, 

 sales have been made in consequence, and the machines after- 

 wards returned on the maker's hands. There is no doubt in the 

 past the prize system has had a stimulating effect on the manu- 



