162 



THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



jcct out (Hear, hear, and cheers). If there were persona who 

 thought that the Society should not have support, he should 

 be thankful if such persons would tell them where they were 

 wrong, teach them to do better, and they might depend upon 

 it that every member of that Society would always do his 

 best (Hear, hear, and cheers). He had been a working farmer, 

 he was sorry to say, for a period now getting on for fifty years, 

 and he thought he could say a word or two upon that part of 

 the question. He held that no mau should begin experiments 

 without the necessary capital to carry them out, that he should 

 let hia neif:hboura as well aa himself watch for the results of 

 his experiments, and if they were found to answer he would 

 meet with that encouragement to which he was entitled (Hear, 

 hear). With respect to himself he had reduced his farm to 

 very small dimensions, maintaining only so much as would 

 keep sufficient stock for his own diversion or amusement. He 

 was most firmly of opinion that no landlord thoroughly un- 

 derstood the realities of farming who had not himself been a 

 farmer. How could a landlord know the difficulties which a 

 farmer had to undergo unless he had known something of 

 those difficulties himself? (Hear, hear). He (Lord Portman) 

 did know those difficulties, for he had learned them by expe- 

 rience, and he hoped he understood, and did not undervalue 

 them (Hear, hear). If a landlord always did this he would 

 gain a vast amount of practical information which could not 

 fail to he of the greatest possible service to him, and he (Lord 

 Portman) could add that the acquisition of such practical 

 knowledge was one use to which a landlord could put his capi- 

 tal, and that too, in a way of the utmost benefit to himself and 

 hia tenants (Hear, hear, and cheers). He did not wish to bore 

 them with a long speech (" go on," " go on"), but he would 

 at once conclude by thanking them for the very kind manner 

 iu which they had responded tD the toast, and he hoped to see 

 them all enjoy long life and happiness (cheers). 



" The Railways" having been given, 



Mr. BADH.'iM, of Ipswich, said he thought it right upon the 

 present occasion, after the toast which had just been drunk, to 

 state that the Eastern Counties Railway had not thought fit, 

 although it reaped an abundant harvest upon the last meeting 

 of the society at Chelmsford, to convey the cattle free to the 

 present great meeting at Salisbury. He made no complaint 

 against the company for not doing so, for of course if they had 

 thought it right they would have done so. He deemed it 

 expedient that the fact should be mentioned at that meeting. 



Mr. Stkpiien Mills proposed the health of " The Stew- 

 ards and Judges of the Show" (cheers). 



Mr. Caldwell, in rising to return thanks for the honour 

 done him, remarked that he had been a judge for three or four 

 years past, and they had complimented him irj a very gratify- 

 ing way. He would take that opportunity of alluding to those 

 men who had made implements, and say that they were not 

 present at that meeting. These men had sent circulars to the 

 farmers respecting their machines, and had spoken of their me- 

 dals obtained for prizes at the shows, but not one of them had 

 come to that meeting (disapprobation). Something had been 

 said about the report of the judges, and, as he knew something 

 about it, he would say a word or two more. He perfectly 

 agreed with Lord Portman that it was better to hear the re- 

 port read than to read it six mouths afterwards. He had been 

 a voluntary judge of one description of stock, and he could tell 

 them that the Council of the Royal Agricultural Society dis- 

 tributed those prizes to the best of their ability and knowledge 

 (Hear, hear). He would again revert to the manufacturers of 

 implements. These men, who had made large fortunes by the 

 sale of implements, told tlie farmers that they would produce 

 a certain kind of machine, and no more than they thought 

 might be wanted. He thought that waa not proper language 

 to use ; and if they would allow him to speak his mind, he 

 v/oulJ, aa it waa the last time he should be a judge of the So- 

 ciety, offer some few observations upon the way in which the 

 judges had examined the merits of the stock, aiid what him- 

 self and brother judges had done in their several departments. 



Lord Portman : I must ask you not to say anything be- 

 fore the report comes before the Council. 



Mr. Caldwell : We have tried to do our duty conscien- 

 tiously, and the judges never tried otherwise (Hear, hear). He 

 would thank them for the honour done him, and conclude by 

 hoping that they would not set the bad example of some ma- 

 chine makers, whose fortuars had been made by them. Those 



men had been well supported, and they ought to behave ia a 

 very different manner (Hear, hear). 



Mr. Dickenson, as one of the judges of horses, also re- 

 sponded. 



The Rev. E. James gave "The President Elect," and the 

 meeting shortly afterwards broke up. 



THE GENERAL MEETING 



was held on Friday, at 10 o'clock. Lord Portman presiding. 



The Chairman opened the proceedings by stating that 

 this was one of the three general meetings held iu the year, 

 when every member was not only at liberty, but waa invited, 

 to make any suggestions which he believed to be for the in- 

 terest of the society. 



Mr, Raymond Barker moved a vote of thanks to the 

 Mayor and Corporation of Salisbury for their great aasistance 

 in carrying out the arrangements for the show. The zeal, 

 courtesy, and energy of the mayor had been beyond all praise, 

 and to him they were greatly indebted for the success which 

 had attended their efforts, 



Mr. C. Barnett seconded the motion, which was carried 

 unanimously. 



The Mayor having acknowledged the compliment, similar 

 votes of thanks were given to the local committee, and to the 

 Right Hon. Sidney Herbert, Mr. Rawlence, Mr. Squarey, and 

 Mr. Mills, for throwing their farms open to the inspection of 

 the members. 



A like vote having been proposed to the railway companies 

 for the facilities afforded, 



Mr. Sidney said that he believed the time h»d arrived 

 when it would be convenient for him to address a few words to 

 the meeting. When their first show was held, the Great 

 Western syatem of railways had only just come into operation, 

 and they might trace all their success to the extension of the 

 railway system ; for, in the first instance, the implement- 

 makers had to send their implements by the road, thereby 

 adding 50 per cent, to their value; whilst now they were 

 readily placed on the ground by the railway. He was gratified 

 at the results of the meeting; but he must warn the council 

 and the members not to be dazzled by the success of the show, 

 as there waa a great deal of dissatisfaction abroad with respect 

 to their proceedings. In the first instance, he would suggest 

 that one of the three meetings of the year should he held at 

 such a time as it would be couvenieut for the members to at- 

 tend — it appearing to him that they were not now held as 

 conveniently as they could be. He spoke aa the exponent of 

 the opinions of others, and he had no hesitation in saying that 

 a great deal of dissatisfaction existed amongst the tenant- 

 farmers at the management of the council. He warned them 

 that they had already met with one failure in the dinner, and 

 others would follow. Instead of the large and magnificent at- 

 tendance they had at the dinner last year, they had but a very 

 poor attendance this year. He did not believe that was wholly 

 owing to the raising the price of the tickets, but to a feeling 

 prevailing amongst the farmera that it waa an attempt to nar- 

 row the management of the society, and make it even still 

 more a family party than it was at present. Again he would 

 tell them they must not be dazzled by the success of one 

 show. What was now the state of their funds? They had 

 been in existence nineteen years, and had had 5,000 members ; 

 yet they ought to have double the number. Why was it that the 

 society was not so well supported as it ought to be ? In the 

 first place it wanted publicity. Their arrangements were kept 

 too quiet. It was true they knew the Society held a meeting 

 on the second Wednesdsy in the month, when perhaps a paper 

 was read of interest, but that was uncertain ; and if they went, 

 they might hear a paper of no interest whatever. They ought 

 to let it be known what would be read, and invite the atten- 

 dance of the members of the press. Then as to the 

 "Journal;" what could be the good of telling them in 1857 

 what took place in 1856 ? Another, though older society — 

 the Society of Arts — found itself in a declining position two 

 years ago, when some gentlemen took it in hand, and es- 

 tablished a weekly journal. It was true some gentlemen 

 might object to what took place at those meetings being re- 

 ported. If the papers brought before them were good, every 

 time a notice of them was published it would bring to them 

 an accession of numbers ; and if they were bad, they might 



