THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



523 



and better trials, these should not end in the award of 

 a money-pvize quite as reasonably as in a ccrtificato of 

 merit. Will Mr. Pitman and his committee onligliten 

 us ? What is the crime ? Does a prize in money lead 

 to a spirit of gambling ? Should wo look at the 

 matter in a strictly moral point of view, and so only 

 play, as little girls do at cards, for " love," kisses, 

 and comfits? The committee, however, acted, no 

 doubt, on evidence brought before them — without, 

 perhaps, sufficiently regarding the object of those by 

 whom it was supplied. We should hardly think 

 much of this was volunteered, by the general body of 

 their exhibitors, or their own immediate supporters, 

 who enter as freely as ever. Or, to go to a higher 

 authority, it could scarcely have come from the 

 Judges. Such as we had the opportunity of consulting 

 at Cardiff were all for upholding a system that had 

 directly tended to so much good ; while, the very year 

 previous to this, what did one of the best and most 

 energetic of these publicly declare at Newton ? Amongst 

 other things, in responding to the toast of the Judges, 

 Mr. Caldwell said : " This meeting proved there were 

 efHcient men in the West as well as the East. ... It ap- 

 peared to him that the big makers had begun to be 



afraid of the Devonshire men , . . .There were five or six 

 leading manufacturers who would not come into tlie 

 West. He could only put it down to Devon being toogood 

 for them. . ...Such societies as the Bath and West of 

 England .Society has made little men into big men, by 

 giving prizes for the machines they turned out.... 

 These big men then turned on the agricultural societies, 

 defied them, and said ' We will have a show of our 

 own.' But we also could combine — we even here in 

 South Devon might beat them in their own imple- 

 ments.... The South Devon exhibitors had a great 

 deal of energy, and what was at the bottom of most 

 Englishmen, more ' pluck' than there was in any other 

 fellow in tlic world." Our own report of this meeting 

 adds that " Mr. Caldwell was cheered and re-cheered 

 at every sentence, and that his was the speech of the 

 evening." The whole country certainly went with 

 Mr. Caldwell at Newton. But times appear to have 

 terribly changed. And we ask, for the information 

 of the agricultural world generally, on what showing 

 and at whose prompting, has an important society 

 like tlie West of England pronounced the system of 

 money-prizes for implements impolitic and unworthy 

 of further countenance ? 



THE MONMOUTHSHIRE AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES, 



Sir, — At the annual meeting of the Abergavenny Agri- 

 cultural Society, held last week, a proposal was hastily 

 mooted and somewhat plausibly supported, for amalgamating 

 the agricultural societies of Abergavenny, Monmouth, and 

 Chepstow, and the Usk Farmers' Club, into one county 

 association, which should hold its annual meetings alternately 

 in different parts of the county, the places chosen being the 

 most accessible and convenient for the purpose. 



I will, if you will grant me space, attempt briefly to answer 

 the arguments used in favour of the removal, and show why, 

 in my opinion, any attempt to carry out the plan would be 

 unwise, if not impracticable. 



The starter of the project, Mr. Jones, of Clytha, adduced 

 no argument in its favour, but simply said he deemed it ad- 

 visable. No doubt he believed the adoption of his plan would 

 be beneficial to the backward state of agriculture in Mon- 

 mouthshire ; but that belief is not argument. The respected 

 Chairman, Colonel Clifford, took up the hint, and advocated 

 it on the grounds that «/all the subscriptions now contributed 

 to the four societies were thrown into one list, the county 

 association would be able to offer such considerable prizes 

 that men would be willing to use trouble and expense to 

 qualify their stock and farms for competition. This ar- 

 gument is in itself unanswerable ; but the little conjunction 

 " if" ^upsets it all, and for this reason : the men who 

 subscr be to the four societies are in a great many instances 

 the same, and the proof of this is that they are all really 

 well supported by the county gentry. We may find the same 

 names in each list, and they find it expedient to subscribe to 

 each because they have an interest in each locality. But if 

 any person were to suppose that because theie are now four 

 societies in the county, he would be able to obtain all the 

 money subscribed to them to throw into OLe lump, I fear that 

 he would be grievously undeceived when he attempted to 

 collect t'.;e cash. 



But there are other drawbacks to the adoption of the plan. 

 Even if this impossible fund for giving very large prizes could 

 be raised, the expense of sending stock such long distances 

 would, after all, make it unprofitable even to the winners ; and 

 as the successful must bear a small proportion to the unsuc- 

 cessful, the inevitability of this conclusion would keep farmers 

 and their stock away. But even putting this difficulty out of 

 sight, and again supposing that a large amalgamated fund 

 could be accumulated, and that a large and vigorous compe- 

 tition could be secured, the small towns of Monmouthshire 

 have no permanent provision for the accommodation of un- 

 wonted numbers of either men or beasts. Yet the former will of 

 course see that themselves and their stock can be properly pro- 

 vided for before they venture from home ; and to make the 

 scheme practicable, and to obtain a large show, a great portion 

 of the fund would have to be expended in making these tempo 

 rary arrangements, leaving only a residue for distribution in 

 the shape of prizes. So that the plan would fall through in 

 either of these directions. 



There is doubtless sufficient energy in the inhabitants of the 

 Principality to overcome all these obstacles, if there were rea- 

 sonable occasion ; but in this instance no necessity for the 

 change has been shown. Then look at what may be said per 

 contra : 



Each of the agricultural societies proposed to be overthrown 

 —Abergavenny, Monmouth, and Chepstow — has at present 

 a good show of its own, promoting much and rapid improve- 

 ment in the breeding of cattle and sheep, and in the general 

 cultivation of the soil, according to the mode of the present day 

 The Usk Farmers' Club fosters one of the best ploughingmatches 

 in all England, and does material good in encouraging the work- 

 men of its members to excel in some of the most useful of all 

 the branches of agriculture. Why, then, arrest them in their 

 tangible and sure progress, to work a change which would be a 

 very doubtful advantage? why cverthtow the work of much 



