THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



347 



sportsmen aud intelligent farmers will say, " Well done, Cor- 

 bet 1 " and confirm every statement with "That's true to the 

 letter." We never remember a more faithful exposure ; we 

 have seen the whole sad farce enacted year by year. The 

 landlord abused, the tenantry discontented, the gamekeeper a 

 spy and a pest, the labourer tempted; and all for what? three 

 or four days' butchery — sport is too noble a name ! 



Is it for this that English gentlemen will stoop and demean 

 themselves ? for this they will sacrifice the respect of their 

 fellow-man, and gratify — at the expense of honour, of honesty, 

 of morality, and progress — a selfish and depraved taste ? Public 

 abuses die out under public contempt, and we know of no 

 evil more pregnant with mischief. We have seen magistrates 

 the receivers of stolen goods — egg buyers; gentlemen the 

 intimate companions of keepers and watchers; tenants with 

 characters traduced, crops consumed, and no redress ; and 

 labourers seduced to evil by the high premium placed upon 

 success in crime — viz , " Pheasants'-eggs bought here at 12s. 

 per dozen." We heartily recommend the perusal of Mr. 

 Corbet's paper to every thinking man •, and as it was received 

 with hearty applause at the Club, so will it be welcomed by 

 the community at large, linglishmen love true sport — they 

 detest the abuse and the abuser ; and whilst we seek a remedy 

 from a crying evil, we desire to respect the rights of the owner, 

 to protect the interests of the tenant, and to promote the 

 general good of the community. 



I am, air, your obedient servant 

 March 10. B. 



EXCESS OF GAME. 



At a meeting of the Vale of Alford Agricultural Associa- 

 tion (county of Aberdeen), the Chairman, Mr. Farquharson, 

 of Haughton, having invited discussion on any topic of in- 

 terest connected with agriculture, 



Mr. Walker, Bithnie, said he would readily respond to 

 the invitation. He wished to take the present opportunity of 

 adverting to the great loss and damage sustained by farmers 

 from the operation of the game laws, more especially that 

 part of them which is applicable to hares and rabbits. Some 

 might deem it out of place to bring this subject forward, but 

 those not acquainted with the matter would be not a little 

 surprised were they called to 'tness the extent of the ravages 

 of hares and rabbits on far^ ta that lay close to protected 

 covers or rabbit warrens. At ^ut a recent date rabbits were 

 unknown in this county. He (Mr. Walker) entered on his 

 present farm in 1851, and his predecessor had told him that 

 only two years before — in 1849— he had seen the first rabbit 

 there, and any person would be surprised to see the extent 

 to which this species of vermin had overrun the place now. 

 JTormerly the idea of sport was connected with shooting — not 

 that of slaughter, which seems to be the case now. The 

 amount of the products of the soil destroyed by rabbits is very 

 great — not speaking of the turnip crop alone, but of every 

 other crop too. The otht r year he had bis crop of oats and 

 here valued by practical men, and their estimate was that the 

 bere crop had suffered to the extent of two quarters per acre 

 on the produce ; and this year he was sure that on a twenty- 

 acre field of turnips he would have been a great gainer to 

 have given off five acres entirely to hares and rabbits, i{ the 

 remaining fifteen had been kept clear of them. 



Mr. Morrison said, Mr. Walker's mistake was in taking 

 a farm, and binding himself to protect the game. 



Mr. Walker : Not at all. 



Mr. VoRKi.' N : Tenants are commonly bound to do so. 



Mr. CiiRiSTii Auchinto'. , 'd he had no reason to com- 

 plain of game for . ? own part, riis landlord had never al- 

 lowed game to inci -se unduly ; he had liberality enough to 

 say to his tenants, ' Go and shoot them." And where such 

 is the case the ten its are not likely to let them get too 

 abundant. But he new for certain that some tenants, now 

 present, had great reason to complain of the operation of the 

 game laws. lie had heard lately of some gentlemen being 

 taken to farms in the locality, and after going over a good 

 many fields, and then making their valuation of the proportion 

 destroyed on many fields, they came to one place where they 



said, " We caunot value here — there are no date." The crop 

 was all destroyed. Now, if the game laws are abused in this 

 way, preserves kept, and tenants' crops destroyed, he &aw no 

 reason why every agricultural society should not take the 

 matter up aa a grievance, and petition Parliament to have the 

 game laws abolished, or at least modified. 



The Chairman said he sympathized very much with Mr. 

 Walker, but not having any rabbit warrens, nor any very 

 large amount of game himself, he could not speak to very 

 much practical purpose on the subject. 



LONDON, OR CENTRAL FARMERS' 

 CLUB. 



A meeting of the Committee was held at the Club-house. 

 New Bridge-street, Blackfriars, on Monday, March 5, L. A. 

 Coussmaker, Esq., in the chair. There were also present 

 Messrs. K. Bond, W. Cheffins, T. Congreve, J. Cressiugham, 

 W. Fisher Hobbs, C. W. Johnson, E. Little, J. J. Mechi, T. 

 Owen, B. P. Shearer, S. Skelton, J. B. Spearing, Jamea 

 Thomas, Owen Wallis, and J. A. Williams. 



The minutes of the last meeting were read, and the usual 

 monthly statement of accounts received. 



The following Members were elected : — 



J. Allen, Parsonage Farm, Erith. 



W. M. Anderson, Wooley Park, Wantage. 



R. Burden, Castle Eden, Durham. 



A. Croaskill, Beverley. 



J. Dumbrell, Ditchling, Sussex. 



J. Fuller, Dyson's Lodge, Henley-on-Thames. 



A. M. Lawson, 27, Great George-street, Westminster. 



W. T. Matheson, Barnsbury-street, Islington, 



W. Rosser, Llanelly, Carmarthen. 



W. Baxter Smith, New Farm, Bromley. 



G. H. Verity Sarnfawn, Bridgend, Glamorgan. 



R. Ward, Drayton, Rockingham. 



R. G. Welford, Goff Oak, Cheshunt. 



Seme other names were read for the first time. 



A letter was read from Mr. H. Trethewy, acknowledging 

 the compliment paid him in his election as a Trustee of the 

 Club. 



A letter was read from Mr. S. Sandars, of Hemel Hemp- 

 stead, suggesting that the Committee should " ask Mr. 

 Mechi to give his balance-sheet, showing his profit of £600 

 on the past year." Mr. Mechi said, in answer, that he was 

 about to read a paper at the Society of Arts, when he should 

 furnish some details of his profits and practice. 



The following Members were appointed as " the House 

 Committee" for the year : — L. A. Coussmaker, C. W. John- 

 sou, J. J. Mechi, B. P. Shearer, James Thomas, H. Trethewy, 

 and Owen Wallis. 



The thanks of the Committee were ordered for the following 

 works, regularly presented to the Club : — " The Journal of 

 the Royal Agricultural Society of England" (half-yearly), by 

 the Society; "The Farmer's Magazine" (monthly), by the 

 proprietors ; and "ihe Sporting Magazine" (monthly), by the 

 proprietors ; as well as the subjoined London and local papers, 

 by the several ^proprietors :— " The Mark Lane Express," 

 " The Bankers'" Circular," •' The Civil Service Gazette," 

 "The Mining Review," "The Estates Gazette,"" The 

 Musical Times," " Journal d'Agriculture Pratique," "Aria's 

 Birmingham Gazette," " Banbury Guardian," " Bristol 

 Mercury," " Cambridge Chronicle," " Cambridge Indepen- 

 dent," " Essex Herald," " Essex Standard." " Leicester 

 Journal," " Maidstone Journal," " Midland Counties Herald," 

 " Northampton Herald," " Wiltshire Independent," and 

 " Worcester Journal." 



A stereoscope, with some agricultural slides, has also been 

 presented to the Club by " the London Stereoscopic Com- 

 pany. 



B B 



