THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



279 



adopted of lighting from without, or in which the 

 air breathed hy the members is entirely separated 

 from the air which supplies the burners. A simi- 

 lar cliange has, we believe, been made in the mode 

 of lighting the House of Lords ; but the new sys- 

 tem, in its most general aspect, has been admirably 

 carried out in one or more apartments in Bucking- 

 ham Palace, where the light is distributed from tlie 

 roof, as if from the sky above, without any of the 

 sources of light being visible. This method, of 

 course, can be adopted only in halls or apartments 

 with an external roof. In all other cases, con- 

 siderable difficulties must be encountered in 

 houses already built and occupied ; but we have 

 no doubt that the ingenuity of the engineer and the 

 architect will overcome them, whether the system 

 is to be accommodated to old buildings, or applied 

 in its most perfect state to houses erected on pur- 

 pose to receive it. But, however great be these 

 difficulties, it is fortunate, that whether we are to 

 have the advantage of the electric light, or a ptu'er 

 form of carburetted hydrogen gas, the mode of 



distributing it will be, generally speaking, the 

 same, and we therefore need not hesitate to intro- 

 duce the new system, on the ground that it may be 

 superseded by another. 



Having so recently escaped from the inhumanity 

 of a tax which prohibited the light and air of hea- 

 ven from entering our dwellings, we trust that the 

 governments of Europe will freely throw these 

 precious influences into the dark abodes of their 

 over-crowded cities, and that wealthy and philan- 

 thropic individuals will set the examj)le of lighting, 

 heating, and ventilating, according to the princi- 

 ples of science. Dr. Arnott has already taught us 

 how to heat our apartments with coal fires without 

 breathing either the gases or the dust which they 

 diftuse. Why should we delay to light them with- 

 out breathing the noxious gas, and over-laying the 

 organs of respiration with the nameless poisons 

 which are generated in the combustion of the 

 animal and vegetable substances employed in the 

 furnishing of our apartments? — Morth British 

 Review. 



BATH AND WEST OF ENGLAND SOCIETY FOR THE ENCOURAGEMENT 

 OF ARTS, AGRICULTURE, AND COMMERCE. 



A meeting of the Council of this society waa held at Wag- 

 horn's Hotel, Taunton, on Saturday, Sept. 25th, John Sillifant, 

 Esq. (President), in the chair. There v;ere also present 

 Messrs. T. D. Acland, J. Fry, W. Wippell, J. Webb King, 

 R. Badcock, D. Adair, W. E. GiUett, J. E. KnoUjs, T. New- 

 man, J. P. Pitts, G. Bullock, H. G. Andrews, J. Bailward, S. 

 Pitman, H. G. Moysey, J. Tyrrell, T. Hussey, W, Thompson, 

 Jonathan Gray, J. Widdicombe, G. Langdon, M, Farrant, J. 

 H. Cotterell, R. Smith, John Gray, &c. 



The Meeting of 1860. — Mr. H. G, Moysey brought up 

 the report of the deputation appointed by the Council to 

 visit Dorchester, to inspect the sites offered for the society's 

 meeting in 1S60. The Council decided to hold the meeting 

 at Dorchester, and adopted the recommendation of the depu- 

 tation as to the site. 



The Forthcoming Meeting at Barnstaplb. — Mr. 

 Langdon submitted a liberal list of extra prizes for stock, im- 

 plements, &c., which the local committee had signified their 

 intention of offering for competition at the ensuing meeting 

 at Barnstaple in June next. The schedule included the offer 

 of a premium for the best " Essay on the Agriculture of 

 North Devon." 



The Implement Trials Question. — The vexed ques- 

 tion of adapting the trials of implements at the Society's ex- 

 hibitions to the requirements of the age, and the wishes of the 

 implement-makers generally, has been frequently before the 

 Council. At the last meeting, Mr. G. Poole brought up a re- 

 port from the implement prize sheet committee, affirming the 

 expediency of annual trials in the sections of implements to 

 which prizes had hitherto been offered, viz., implements re- 

 lating to the preparation of ground, cultivation of crops, har- 

 vesting crops, and preparing for market, preparation of food, 

 &c. The committee also expressed a desire that certificates 

 should be given for implements in first and second classes of 

 merit in lieu of money prizes, under these conditions : " That 

 the first-class certificate shall designate each implement which 

 has obtained it a firat-class implement ; and that the second- 



class certificate shall state that each implement which has ob- 

 tained it is entitled to commendation. That the judges be 

 empowered to grant a special certificate of merit, embodying 

 the particular grounds of the award, to any implement or in- 

 vention which shall present any novelty of construction, con- 

 trivance, combination, or design worthy thereof." On the motion 

 of Mr.T. D. Acland, this report was ordered to be printed and 

 circulated among the exhibitors of implements of this Society, 

 inviting suggestions thereon. A number of communications 

 were now read from different implement-makers, offering 

 suggestions of a wide and comprehensive character for the 

 guidance of the Council in coming to a decision ; and so im- 

 portant were they as a whole, that the Council were disposed 

 to take further time to give due deliberation to the views of 

 the parties most interested. It was accordingly resolved to 

 refer the report back to the committee, who were empowered 

 to complete the prize sheet, and bring up the whole question 

 for discussion at the next meeting. 



Prize Essays awarded. — The following premiums for 

 essays offered in the Society's schedule for the present year 

 (Cardiff Meeting) were awarded to-day, viz. : 



Personal Eaperience on a Farm in the West of England.— 

 Prize £20, to Mr. Joseph Lush, Brewham Farm, Brutoo, 

 Somerset, motto — "Pedestrian." 



On Irrigation. — Prize £10, to Mr. Henry Tanner, Crediton, 

 Devon; motto — '^ Fortuna Sequatur." 



On Sheep suited to the West of England. — Prize £15, to 

 Mr. H. Tanner, Crediton, Devon ; motto — " Je vis en espoir." 



On Carts and Waggons. — Prize £10, to Mr. Edward Spen- 

 der, Mannamead, Plymouth, and Mr. T. W. Isaac, Bath ; 

 motto — " Festina Lente." 



On Orchards. — Prize £10, to Mr. William Heale, foreman 

 of the Upton Nurseries, Chester; motto—-" Every tree is known 

 by its fruit." 



The essays marked " Semper Fidelis" and " Three trees" 

 were highly commended by the Journal Committee, 



Other business of minor importance occupied the attention 

 of the Council until rather a late hour. 



