THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



287 



made his annual report on the details connected with 

 his department ?" Very good — but where is it ? For 

 lecture or for report we search in vain. Then "the 

 Council have been favoured by Professor Henfrey, of 

 King's College, with a lecture on the Nutrition of 

 Plants." A very proper subject ; but we did not happen 

 to hear the lecture, and wo can find nothing about it 

 here. What shall we do? Ask Professor Henfrey to 

 " say it again" ? or give it up, lilco the lost books of the 

 Roman sybil ? And, further, " Professor Sinionds, fur- 

 nished with a circular letter to the several Consuls of 

 Europe, left England as the veterinary inspector of 

 tlie tlu'ee national societies." Vi'e had the jileasure of 

 hearing what Mr. Simonds had to tell on his return, 

 but we did not like to say too much about it, because 



it was announced u full report should appear in 

 the next number of the Journal. There is no 

 such report in the next number of the Journal, 

 and what " the three national societies" will 

 say to it we do not know. That these three 

 lectures should have been in this number there is no 

 question whatever. It is impossible to imagine why 

 they arc not. We regret this very much, and for many 

 reasons. It is just the kind of information that will not 

 improve by keeping. At the same time it is just what 

 the members generally require to be supplied with. 

 Without full and early reports of what they say, the 

 services of sucli men as Professors Way and Simonds 

 can never be half-appreciated. This delay is as unfair 

 to them as it is to the Society. 



THE SPARKENHOE FARMER'S CLUB. 



MEETING AT NUNEATON. 



Does any one, after the fatigues and anxieties of har- 

 vest are over, feel that he wants a little break? Has 

 he a fancy, not for what the world calls " a change," 

 but for a little amusement, more or less congenial with 

 his own tastes and pursuits ? Would he like to spend 

 a pleasant day amongst his fellows, with just object and 

 purpose enough set forth to sanction the proceedings ? 

 Let us answer, at once, for a strong majority, and say 

 he would ; and, having his consent, let him come along 

 with us. We are bound by the North AVestern for 

 another agricultural meeting down in Warwickshire. 

 It has been duly proclaimed, that "on Thursdiiy, Sep- 

 tember the Seventeenth, the Sparkenhoe Farmers' 

 Club will hold its annual meeting at Nuneaton." 



It has been our duty, again, this year, to be 

 present at all the great fanning festivals of the season. 

 In England, Scotland, and Ireland, from Newton in 

 the West to Ipswich in the East, have we had to chro- 

 nicle the still successful issue of these occasions. And 

 now, with the hard work about over, we look down our 

 list for a few of those autumnal gatherings, more or less 

 local in their influence, though equally good in their 

 intention. Such as are, in a word, the great harvest- 

 homes of their several districts. Day by day we are 

 gradually improving on these orgies. Whether it be 

 the high day of a homestead only, a parish or a coun- 

 ty, the celebration is now everywhere a better one. 

 We honour Ceres more^ and Bacchus less. We lose, 

 too, much of that selfish character so long identified 

 with these thanksgivings. A man may be made to feel 

 happy without being drunk. He may he made to feel 

 comfortable, and be able to enjoy himself in the com- 

 pany of his employers. And, above all, instead of re- 

 turning home to hiccup out to his wife and family how 

 much he has eat and drunk, he brings them with him 

 to share his pleasures, as they most probably have his 

 toils. 



May not we borrow a hint from this? May we not 

 more generally avail ourselves of so refining a me- 



dium ? Shall " the master," who takes the medal for 

 the best beast, usurp all the honours of the day, and 

 not share a little with the good wife who is equally dis- 

 tinguished for her Dorkings and Hamburghs? Shall 

 she have no place by his side, when town and country, 

 the gentry and the tenantry, assemble ia sweet coun- 

 cil together ? So far, at any rate, she has had none. 

 At best, armed with a cup of coffee and a biscuit, she 

 is perched in a gallery above, to catch the sickening 

 scent of the dinner-table, and to note, critically 

 enough, all such as speak the worst English, holloa 

 the loudest, or drink the most. If not even thus pro- 

 vided for, she fidgets away the long hours over the tea- 

 table of some town-cousin, "nursing her wrath to 

 keep it warm," wondering when William ivill come, 

 and whether it will be safe to let him drive ! 



The Sparkenhoe Farmers' Club has set us a better 

 example. It promises, indeed, to open to us a new 

 era in the observance of such annivei'saries. Sparken- 

 hoe is itself, we believe, a hundred in Leicestershire, 

 while the club includes the districts of Ashby-de-la- 

 Zouch, Hinckley, Ather.-tone, Market Bosworth, Nun- 

 eaton, and Tamworth. It is an association, moreover, 

 not merely of the ruder sex. It owes, in fact, its very 

 existence to the ladies ; having originated, some five or 

 six years since, in the union of two or three poultry- 

 shows, of which the ladies of their several districts had 

 been the chief supporters and patronesses. The club 

 retains much of its pristine character. It offers, in 

 shoit, premiums and encouragement for almost every 

 good a rural life, well employed, can conduce to. 

 There are prizes for servants who have merited them 

 by their good conduct ; for shepherds, for ploughmen, 

 for drainers, for hedgers, and so forth. There are 

 prizes for cheese, for wheat^ for roots, and for vege- 

 tables of all sorts— turnips, mangolds, carrots, and 

 cabbage. There are prizes for flowers and fruits, well 

 classified for nurserymen, amateurs, and labourers. 

 There are prizes for every kind of poultry that was 



