476 



THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



been equally unpleasaut f(jr the members who spoke to 

 this point, and for Mr. I'rere who heard them; but 

 there is no concealing the fact that, so far as tlie country 

 is concerned, the latter comes into office under the 

 most unfavourable auspices. Ilis being so entirely 

 unknown is, of course, against liim ; but " the close 

 borough" way in which his election was conducted is 

 still more so. However, it may turn out the Journal 

 Committee is still quite as much on its trial as their 

 nominee. 



Under any circumstances there can be no doubt of 

 some limit for the future to the aristocratic element. 

 The tone of the Meeting on Tuesday was too deter- 

 mined to be any further disregarded, and the farmers 

 will yet have fair-play. But the present inconvenient 

 mode of election will have to be altered; and, in 

 doing so, the Council must honestly put this question 

 to each other : — " Do we really wish the General Mem- 

 bers of the Society to have any voice or power in the 

 selection?" If such is the desire, or rather say the 

 right of the general body, let such a right be really 

 made available. If the election is still to be by voting 

 papers, let one be sent a week or so previous to every 

 member, with liberty to fill in as he desires; and let 

 the return of this, witli his signature attached, be suffi- 

 cient to register the vote. If the Council is to be a 

 House of Lords, a proxy is all according to pre- 

 cedent. Or, if personal attendnnce be still con- 

 sidered indispensable, let the name of each 

 candidate be put seriatim, and his election made or 

 rejected by a show of bands. Some correspondence in 

 our paper of to-day refers further to this matter ; while 

 Colonel Higgins has suggested any other than the 

 present plan ; and Mr. Torr has promised to bring the 

 question before the Council. Lord Walsingham, as 

 chairman, deprecated anything like combination 

 amongst the general members to seat their own candi- 

 dates ; but without consultation, of course his Lordship 

 must see they are utterly powerless. The remedy is an 

 open court. So far, the " combination" is all on one 

 side. 



It can scarcely be said that any one was bold enough to 

 advocate the state of things as they are. Major Munp, 

 however, undertook to say for the farmers of Kent how 

 thoroughly satisfied that county was with the present 

 conduct of the Society I But be unfortunately got on to 

 the old simile of the cuckoo that turned the parent bird 

 out of its nest, of which the meeting, rather to his dis- 

 may, made its own application. Mr. Barrow and Mr. 

 Slaney were quite willing to give up their places if bet- 

 ter men could be found. There was not much argu- 

 ment, perhaps, in such an offer; and so Mr. Slaney 

 availed himself of the most inappropriate opportunity 

 possible of adding that he was ready to give a ten or 

 twenty pound note for the best plan for a labourer's 

 cottage, Imagine any one in the midst of an import- 



ant debate on the future of an important Society ob- 

 truding in this unaccountable manuer ! Lord Fever- 

 sham chiefly distinguished himself by a definition of a 

 practical farmer — "Any gentleman or nobleman who 

 superintends a farm of his own, whether he makes two 

 ends meet or not." Thus triumphantly armed, his 

 Lordship went on to show that the Council was actually 

 nearly all practical farmer as it was! But the more 

 common acceptation of a practical man is one who has 

 to live by his business. Or, put it a little more defi- 

 nitely as tenant and landlord, and then let his lordship 

 count them up. He will soon see that the disparity 

 has been really underrated, and how, as the gallant 

 Major would illustrate it, one breed of bird has edged 

 out the other. 



After all, the great disappointment, if not the one 

 blaidi place in the proceedings, was that the Implement 

 Makers made no sign. They offered not one word in 

 explanation of the extraordinary coarse of action they 

 have recently decided upon. Indeed, we do not remem- 

 ber seeing one in the room. They appear to have 

 migrated in a body from the Royal Agricultural 

 Society to the Smithfield Club. The Special Meeting 

 of the latter at the Freemason's Tavern on the same 

 day was unusuallyjwell supported by " the Trade" — the 

 Ransomes, Howards, and Garretts. The conference 

 here was rather a stormy one, but it was eventually 

 decided to transport the Club to Islington for a period 

 of one-and-twenty years, and a Company has been 

 started and a Committee has been appointed to carry 

 out this arrangement. We are able to give the several 

 resolutions arrived at or rejected ; but the Smithfield 

 Club appears to have an unwholesome objection to the 

 presence of reporters, and so a very interesting de- 

 bate is lost to us. We may, however, return to the 

 subject. 



The assistance of the Press at the Anti-Malt- tnx 

 Meeting of the Farmers' Club was not so desirable. 

 Seldom has there been so lamentable a failure. The 

 attendance was meagre, while the proceediugs were of 

 the most disorderly and unprofitable character. One 

 or two speakers insisted upon introducing all kinds of 

 irrelevant matter, and completely swamped the good 

 intentions of such men as Mr. Bond and Mr. Fisher 

 Hobbs (here again), who tried to hold them to their 

 point. Others declined any interference at such a 

 time, and wisely brought the business to a finish as 

 soon as possible. Still, properly worked, by circular- 

 letter or some other such a means of individual com- 

 munication, an Anti-Malt-tax movement would be 

 cerain of support from the Central Club. The meeting 

 of Tuesday evening was simply unfortunate. In any 

 public gathering it is not always quite possible to 

 avoid such a scene ; but the Chair and the good sense 

 of the Society must be a little more emphatic in the 

 observance of " Order ." 



ROYAL AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY OF ENGLAND. 



A Weekly Council was held on Wednesday, May 

 16, Lord Walsingham, President, in the chair — pre- 

 sent : Lord Berners, the Hon. Colonel Hood, the Hon. 

 W. G. Cavendish, M.P., Mr, Raymond Barker, Mr, 

 Hodgson Barrow, M,P., Mr. Dent Dent, M.P., Mr. 

 Foley, M.P.,Mr.P.H. Frere, Mr.BrandrethGibbs, Mr, 

 Humberston, M.P., Mr, Know'es, Colonel MacDoual, 

 Major Munn, Mr. Simpson, INl •. T, B. Western, Pro- 

 fessor Wilson, and Mr, G. Wood. 



The names of candidates for election were read. A 

 letter from Mr, Hardy, of Ma'rlon, wesread, on '' Deep 



Cultivation." Mr. Frere laid upon the table specimens 

 of the strata underlying the bed of Whittlesea Mere, 

 now drained, and added some explanatory observations, 

 in anticipation of an article on the draining of the Mere, 

 by Mr, Wells, to appear in the forthcoming number of 

 the Journal, He explained the general aspect of the 

 Mere and adjacent lands, and the old value for Reed, 

 Sedge, and Pasturage, prior to the work of reclama- 

 tion. 



He went on to say tljat the land reclsinjed might be 

 divided into three classes— 



