THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



507 



William Fisher Hobbs; C, Wren Hoskyns; II. S. 

 Thompson, M.P. ; and Lieut.-Col. Towneley. These 

 may or may not be the gentlemen who know no more of 

 ploughing or reaping than " Blackbird " or " Bowler." 

 It is, however, remarkable that although three leading 

 manufacturers of machinery sit at the Council table of 

 the Society, the name of one of them was not to be found 

 on the Implement Committee — the place of all others, it 

 would have been imagined, where their aid and advice 

 might have been of service. This omission was reme- 

 died at the Council Meeting on Wednesday following 

 the Club discussion, when all three were added ; and 

 Messrs. Howard, Shuttleworth, and Exall called to 

 act upon the Implement Committee. With them 

 were as properly associated Mr. Amos, the civil 

 engineer; and Professor Wilson, and Mr. Owen 

 Wallis, both of whom have recently acted as Judges 

 of Machinery. The last-named of these, it is gratify- 

 ing to see, has just been elected on the Council. The 

 first duty of this Implement Committee is to pre- 

 pare the Prize Sheet for the Leeds Show. But they 

 have a further duty before them. The three im- 

 plement-makers who sit on this committee are all, 

 at this moment, non-exhibitoi's; or, in other words, 

 opposed to the system sanctioned by the Society. 

 In their presence some explanation is surely impera- 

 tive. Mr. Hobbs, too, is a member of the same com- 

 mittee, and might hand in his paper as something to 

 go on. The public will never be content to let this 

 dispute rest where it does. From either side alike are 

 there calls for its adj ustment. 



It is curious to notice that the Official Report of the 

 Proceedings of the Council does not say a word as to 

 the addition of these new names to the Implement 

 Committee — rather an important point, as we take it. 

 A member of the Council who was present, 'and who 

 forwards his name, designates it as •* a meagre Report, 

 that does not give half of what was done ; and, beyond 

 this, is mistaken on the facts that took place." 



LONDON, OR CENTRAL FARMERS' 

 CLUB, 



THE PUBLIC AND PRIVATE TRIALS OF 

 AGRICULTURAL IMPLEMENTS : CAN 

 THEY BE MADE MORE EFFICIENT? 



The business of the Club was re-opened on Monday, 

 Nov. 5, when at the meeting of tlie committee Mr. Spencee 

 Skelton was elected Chairman for the ensuing year. At 

 the discussion which followed the dinner, Mr. L. A. 

 CoussMAivER, of Westwood, the present chairman, presided ; 

 and there were also present Mr. W. Bennett, Mr. H. 

 Trelhewy, Mr, T. Owen, Mr. W. Fisher Hobbs, Sir James 

 Duke, Mr. J. Bradahaw, Mr. James Wood, Mr. John 

 Thomas, Mr. W. Cheffins, Mr. E. Little, Mr. W. Giay, 

 Mr. T. Congreve, Mr. E, Purser, Mr. Brickwell, Mr. Spencer 

 Skelton, Mr. J. B, Spearing, Mr. J. A. Williams, Mr. Cres- 

 singham, Mr. Allen Eansome, Mr. James Howard, Mr. J. 

 Shuttleworth, Mr, B. Samuelson, Mr. A. Crosskill, Mr. C. 

 E. Ransome, Mr. H. Cameron, Mr. Amos, C.E., Mr. G. 

 Shackel, Mr. T. F. Wilson, Mr. G. Wilsher, Mr. P. J- 

 Page, Mr. H. Shotter, Mr. S. Sidney, Mr. P. H. Frere' 

 Mr. J. Goodwin, Mr. E. B. Waite, Mr. J. Parkinson, jun. 



l\Ir. W. Butcher, Mr. Trehonnais, Mr. Hooker, Mr. Bix, 

 Sic, ibc. 



The suject for consideration standing in the name of 

 Mr. Fisher Hobbs, of Bosted, Esses, was thus put upon the 

 card: "The Pubhc and Private Trials of Agricultural 

 Implements: Can they be made more efficient?" 



ThoCiiAUOiANin opening tlic proceedings said : After the 

 very inclement weather which they had recently experienced 

 he was glad to see so many farmers present to prove tliat 

 agriculturists were not entirely washed away with their 

 crops — (Laughter). Misfortunes sometimes read Ihem a 

 lesson, and Ihey had certainly that year proved to them the 

 value of agricultural macliinery (Hear, liear), Happy was 

 tlie man who had recently possessed good, simple agricul- 

 tural implements, enabling him to take advantage of ihe 

 few fine days wliich had been seen at one or two intervals 

 in the course of the year. Such a man had a great ad- 

 vantage over his neighbours who depended entirely upon 

 manual labour. That the quantity of agricultural imple- 

 ments at the command of farmers was yearly increasing 

 no one who had been in the habit of attending the meet- 

 ings of the Rojal Agricultural Society, the Smithfield Club, 

 and other agricultural societies, could for a moment doubt: 

 in fact, they covered acres of ground. Among the vast 

 number of implements exhibited, many were doubtless very 

 valuable : others were marked'by great cleverness, but owing 

 to this very cleverness some were of scarcely any use to 

 agriculturists, while others were of no use at all ( Hear, 

 hearj. The value of an implement whicli was destined for 

 the cultivation of the land, or for the ingathering of tlie crops, 

 must depend to a great extent on its simplicity : in his 

 opinion such a macliine could not be too simple. In the 

 first place, where there was simplicity the implement would 

 probably not be too expensive; in the second place, it 

 would not be as liable as it othenvise must be to get out of 

 order; while if it did require repair, a village blacksmith with 

 ahead on his shoulders could speedily put it in proper con- 

 dition, and the farmer would thus be saved the expense of 

 sending it back to the implement maker, and the loss of 

 very valuable time at a critical season. Neither must they 

 forget in what kind of hands such implements had to be 

 placed. If an implement were not simple, those who had 

 to attend to it, not understanding its construction, would 

 knock it about and inflict injury. What fanners wanted 

 was a simple, strong, useful implement, and that was the 

 sort of implement which would be found to answer best. 

 Now, at most of the agricultural shows held of late years, 

 certain days had, as they were all aware, been set apart for 

 the trial of the implements exhibited. Tiiat was u very 

 great boon to the farmer, who went there partly to see 

 whether particular implements were likely to answer his 

 purposes. Moreover, it often happened that a spirited far- 

 mer bought an implement which had been a good deal 

 talked about, and, having had it brought to his farm, in- 

 vited his neighbours to come and see it in operation, in 

 order that they might be able to judge for themselves 

 whether it was a good implement or not. Such, then, were 

 the public and private trials of implements. They were 

 advantageous aUke to the agriculturist and to the machine 

 maker, showing as they did what was most lUiely to be 

 useful, and the discussion of that evening would turn on 

 the question whether such trials could be made more effi- 

 cient than they had been hitherto. The subject would be 

 introduced by Mr. Fisher Hobbs — a gentleman who was 

 well known to agriculturists generally; and he thought they 

 would all agree with him, that it could not be in better 

 hands (cheers). 



