THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



for stock and for implements, the implement department 

 being one of very great importance to agriculturists. 

 Having made these remarks, he now proposed that they 

 should drink. "Success to the Smithfleld Club." 



The toast was received with great enthusiasm. 



Before the reading of the awards of prizes for gold 

 medals in the several departments, 



The Chairman said he was sure the company would 

 be very much pleased if any of the successful compe- 

 titors who might be present, would favour them with 

 the results of iheir experience, and with any hints 

 which m'ght tend to promote the main object of the 

 club. 



JMr. Brandreth Gibbs, the Honorary Secretary, 

 then proceeded to read over the names of the winners of 

 the Gold Medals. Mr. Shirley for the best Ox, Colonel 

 Towneley for the best Cow, Mr. Jordon for the best 

 Long-woolled Sheep, Mr. Rigden for the best Short- 

 wooUed, and His Royal Highness the Prince Consort 

 for the best Pigs. Neither Mr. Shirley nor Colonel 

 Towneley were present, but Mr. Jordan very briefly 

 acknowledged the compliment paid him. 



On the presentation of the Medal to Mr. Rigden, 

 the Chairman congratulated him on having fulfilled 

 his promise that he would^ if possible, beat the Duke of 

 Richmond. 



Mr. Rigden, in responding to the toast of his 

 health, which was very warmly received, assured the 

 company that it had given him great satisfaction to have 

 been enabled to redeem his promise to beat the Duke of 

 Richmond. He regretted that his Grace was not pre- 

 sent on that occasion, as, if he had been there, a few 

 pleasant words might have been interchanged between 

 them in reference to the result of their competition. 

 He really thought that some credit was due to him 

 for beating the Duke of Richmond, though perhaps 

 none would have been due to his Grace for beating 

 him, as he had, he believed, much greater difficulties to 

 contend with than were experienced at Goodwood. 

 It was no uncommon thing for him to find his sheep run- 

 ning about a field with a lady's dog at their heels ; and if he 

 found any fault with the lady on that account, he would 

 probably be regarded as one of the greatest brutes in the 

 world (laughter). Many persons present could have no 

 idea of what he had to endure in consequence of his farm 

 being in the vicinity of Brighton. Although he always 

 endeavoured to bear this with good temper, it was, 

 nevertheless, a great drawback. Hitherto he had gene- 

 rally won the gold medal once in four years. Three 

 years was, however, rather too long a period for him to 

 lie fallow ; and he would therefore, in imitation of his 

 Grace, endeavour to have the credit of taken it three 

 years in succession (cheers). 



Mr. ToRR proposed the health of the president of 

 the Smithfield Club, his Grace the Duke of Richmond. 

 He said words would fail him if he attempted to enlarge 

 on the merits of the noble duke, or the noble simplicity 

 of his character, or the earnestness of purpose which 

 distinguished all his conduct in connection with agricul- 

 ture. It was evident, too, from the cause of his absence 

 on that occasion, that his patriotic anxiety on behalf of 

 his country had undergone no diminution, but had rather 

 increased with the increase of years. He was still as an- 

 xious for the wel fare and efficiency of the army as when, as 

 the Earl of March, he followed the Duke of Wellington 

 to victory. It would be quite superfluous for him to remind 

 that assembly of his Grace's ardeut and tried friendship for 

 the British farmer. He was one of the best friends that the 

 farmers of England ever had, while his reputation as a sheep- 

 breeder stood BO high, that it was a great honour to Mr. Rig- 

 den that he had gained a victory over him. 



The toast was drunk with enthusiasm. 



Lord W. Lennox said, he rose on behalf of the Duke of 

 Richmond to return thanks for the very handsome manner in 



which the toast had heeu proposed, and for the enthusiastic 

 reception it had met with. It was but justice to his brother 

 to say that his heart was with theai on that occasioii. He 

 had a conversation with him about a month ago, when he came 

 from Scotland, to be present at his daughter's marriage, with 

 regard to that dinner ; and his Grace said that if he could 

 possibly come from Glasgow, where his military duties now 

 detained him, he would certainly do so. He felt sure that 

 nothing ever gave him greater pleasure next to the honours 

 which he had received at the hands of the Sovereigu, aud 

 which he could not help saying he richly deserved, than 

 to enjoy the good opinion of the members of the Smith- 

 field Club, aud mingle with them on occasions like that 

 He hoped he should not be considered uubrotherly if he 

 said he was not sorry that Mr. Rigden had beaten the 

 Duke. He knew his brother wished for a clear stage 

 and no favour, and the fact of his having been beaten this 

 year would make him the more zealous and more energetic 

 in future, in order that he might recover the laurels he had 

 lost. Mr. Rigden had spoken of the pet dogs which ssemed 

 to hover more particularly in the neighbourhood of Brighton, 

 and of the advantage that Goodwood possessed in that 

 respect over Hove. Now, he could tell Mr. Rigden that there 

 were a great many pet dogs to be fouud at Goodwood, 

 spaniels aud other varieties of canine animals being often 

 seen scarins: the flock. Moreover, there was a large assem- 

 blage of persons ouce a year at the Goodwood Races, 

 and he believed that if a fair comparison were entered 

 into, it would be found that the pet dogs of Brighton ladies 

 who visited Hove did not do half so much mischief as the 

 LoBclou rabble who went in such vast numbers to Goodwood 

 (laughter). He knew that his brother had been obliged to 

 sell off many of the deer in his park in order to obtain for his 

 sheep a better refuge against many who came to the races. 

 He repeated that his brother would, he was sure, have felt 

 great pleasure in being present that evening. But Glasgow, 

 where he was staying with his regiment, was a long way off, 

 and the Duke's coming juat then would certainly have inter- 

 fered very much with the discharge of his military duties. A 

 striking illustration of his brother's military zeal was afforded 

 about two years ago. The Duke's militia regiment being on 

 duty at Brighton during the Christmas season, nearly every 

 officer went home for a short period to enjoy the Christmas 

 festivities, and the result was that the colonel of the regiment 

 was seen dining alone with the one junior subaltern officer 

 (cheers). 



Mr. Hudson (of Caatleacre) proposed "The Vice-Presi- 

 dents of the Smithfield Club." In doiug so, he remarked that 

 the usefulness of the club must be admitted by all who bore 

 in mind that but for the exertions of such associations it would 

 have been almost impossible for the butchers to obtain a suffi- 

 cient supply of meat for their consumers. The climate of this 

 country waa such, that the people required a very large quan- 

 tity of meat as compared with the people of many other coun- 

 tries, and hence the necessity of carefully providing for the 

 wants of the community. If he might be allowed to make a 

 digression, he would observe that now that there was more 

 wheat in this country than could be consumed, it might |i^- 

 haps be desirable that producers of stock should give their 

 cattle some of the surplus wheat, and thus convert it into 

 meat. He did not believe that meat could, with the present 

 prices of wheat, be produced in any cheaper manner ; and he 

 threw this suggestion out with the view of benefiting alike the 

 graziers and the consuming millions. 



TiOrd Feversham, in responding to the toast, said he re- 

 gretted that that duty had not devolved upon some one who 

 had been a vice-president of the club for a longer period than 

 he had. He could, however, assure the assembly before him 

 that he aud his colleagues felt a deep interest in the proceed- 

 ings of the Smithfield Club, and that they were delighted to 

 find such marked improvement from year to year in the exhi- 

 bitions of stock and implements. That such improvement 

 had been going on for a long period, and more especially 

 during the last ten or fifteen years, was a fact which no one 

 would venture to controvert. A friend of his, who was pre- 

 sent that day, Mr. Fisher Hobbs, had stated that day that he 

 had attended the anniversary . dinner of the Smithfield Club 

 tor the last thirty-one years. That being the case, Mr Hobbs 

 was wgU fitted to bear testimony with regard to the progress 

 of the club; and he was sure his testimony must be, that 



