THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



LONDON, OR CENTRAL FARMERS' CLUB. 



THE ANNUAL DINNER. 



* Oa Tuesday, Dec. 11, the annual dinner of the Club took 

 place at Radley's Hotel, Blackfriars, and was attended by 

 about 80 gentlemen. Mr. L. A. Coussmaker concluded his 

 round of duties as Chairman by presiding. He was sup- 

 ported right and left by Lord Berners, Mr. H. Trethewy, Mr. 

 Owen Wallis, ]\[r. B. P. Sliearer, Mr. Fisher Hobbs, Mr. 

 James Wood, Mr. Fiobert Smith, Mr. Jonas Webb, Mr. 

 Cuthbert Johnson, Mr. James Howard, Mr. N. G. Barthropp, 

 Mr. J. Bradshaw, Mr. T. Congreve, Mr. C, Howard, Mr. B. 

 E.Ward, I\rr. J. Druee, Mr.H. Cheffins, Mr. W. Clieffins, Mr. 

 W. iloss, Mr. E. Little, Mr. Bidwell, Mr. Wilsher, Mr. John 

 Bell, Mr. Cressingham, Mr. Bailey Denton, Mr. T. Knight, 

 Mr. E. Cobb, Mr. G. Cobb, Mr. T. Solly, Mr. Scott Burn, 

 Mr. Sidney, Mr. Dumbrell, Mr. E. Edmonds, Mr. W. Tux- 

 ford, Mr. Butcher, Mr. E. B. Waite, Mr. Ibbott Mason, Mr, 

 J. Coleman, Mr. Child, Mr. Child, jun., Mr. Harrison, Mr. 

 H. Eayner, Mr, Braginton, Mr. R. Marsh, Mr. Purser, jun., 

 Mr. Revis, Mr. Brown (Tring), Mr. J. Parkinson, jun., 

 Mr. Eager, Mr. Stronghill, Mr. W. C. Spooner, Mr. Christie, 

 Mr. Cumberland, Mr. Brown (Compton), Mr. Anderson, 

 Mr. Hobson, Mr. Skelton, jun., and Mr. Eaton. Mr. Spencer 

 Skelton, as President-elect, occupied the vice-chair ; and 

 Mr. Corbet, the secretary, that at the companion table. 



After the usual loyal toasts, 



The Chairman- proposed " The Army, the Navy, and the 

 Volunteers," coupling with the toast the name of Mr. James 

 Wood. It had, he said, of(en been remarked that their na- 

 tion was not a military one ; but the rapid spread of the vo- 

 lunteer movement showed that that assertion was not well 

 founded. Upwards of 100,000 men had come forward spon- 

 taneously to defend their country, and the result was that the 

 national defences were in a most satisfactory state, and the 

 nation relieved from all apprehension (cheers). 



Mr. Wood, on rising to respond, did so simultaneously 

 with thirteen other volunteers among the company assem- 

 bled. After speaking of the success of the services of the 

 army and navy, he said he could have wished that some 

 other person had been called upon to respond to the toast 

 on behalf of the volunteers. At his time of life it was not 

 at all probable that he would ever make a first-rate soldier ; 

 but, nevertheless, as an Englishman, he had felt it his duty 

 to come forward and take part in the great mivement in de- 

 fence of his native country (cheers). As regarded those 

 who shrank from the sacrifice of time involved in what they 

 were pleased to call playing at soldiers, and sneered at 

 others for not taking the same view, he must say that he 

 did not envy their feelings (cheers). It was, undoubtedly, 

 a very serious matter to learn one's drill properly (laugh- 

 ter) ; it was no trivial matter to require those who acted 

 merely from a sense of duty, and without any compulsion, to 

 keep their mouths shut, and to stop in their places for a 

 considerable period. But on the^other hand, the volunteers 

 had the proud satisfaction of knowing that they were doing 

 their duty, and he trusted that would be a sufficient motive 

 for them to persevere (cheers). 



The Chairman then proposed the toast of the evening, 

 " Success to the Central Farmers' Club." He said, in 

 rising to pei.oim that duty, he was sustained, under the 



sense of his inability to do it justice, by the knowledge that 

 the Club was then in a prosperous condition. Its prosperity 

 had of late been gradually increasing, and he was proud to 

 say that it was never before in so good a position as it was 

 at that moment (cheers). The funds were in a very satisfac- 

 tory condition ; and there was a greater number of members 

 than ever appeared on the list before (renewed cheers). 

 Still, he must say, ho could not understand how it was that 

 a Club like that had not increased more rapidly than it had 

 done (Hear, hear). The only explanation of it was, that 

 there were local clubs having local interests scattered 

 through the country, and that there was some difficulty in 

 farmers congregating together for common purposes in a 

 central institution like that. Railways had, however, bo 

 changed the face of the whole country, that many a farmer 

 who used to come to London only once in the course of three 

 or four years, if indeed so often, now found himself in the 

 metropolis half-a-dozen times a year. Where could the far- 

 mer, who came here on business, find more congenial or 

 profitable society than at the Central Farmers' Clubhouse ? 

 (Hear, hear). There an agriculturist from the North or 

 the East might meet one from Cornwall ; and the in- 

 terchange of ideas and the relation of experience might lead 

 to mutual advantage (Hear, hear) . For himself, he would re- 

 mark, that having joined that Club a very few months after its 

 formation, he bad in consequence made the acquaintance of 

 many of the leading agriculturists of the day connected with 

 various parts of the country ; and the result was, that by 

 mingling with them in conversation he had gained a great 

 deal of useful information. He took great interest in every- 

 thing connected with the Club ; he valued it more highly 

 than he had ever done ; he trusted that now that railway 

 communication was so rapid and extensive, not only England, 

 but even Scotland and Ireland would supply constant acces- 

 sions of members (cheers). 



Lord Beeners said he had risen, at the request of the 

 committee, to propose the next toast. He must, however, 

 before doing so, express the pleasure which he felt at seeing 

 so many volunteers rise, a short time before, to respond to a 

 toast in which the volunteer force was very properly in- 

 cluded — a force which had raised this nation, he did not 

 hesitate to say, to a higher position in the eyes of other 

 nations than it ever occupied before. (Cheers.) He was 

 delighted to hear the sentiments expressed by Mr. Wood, 

 and he had no doubt that they were shai-ed by farmers 

 generally. He had often observed that there was a general 

 disinclination among farmers as well as others for statistics. 

 It had, however, struck him, in reflecting on the immense 

 losses which farmers had sustained through epidemics 

 among cattle, sheep, and pigs, that they might 

 collect and circulate statistics of the number of animals 

 that had died of different diseases, discriminating between 

 those who had died under medical treatment and those who 

 had died from being left to themselves. He mentioned 

 this, because he felt satisfied that if in the early stages of 

 disease proper remedies were applied an immense deal of 

 loss would be avoided. At the meeting of the Royal Agri 

 cnltnral Society at Can(P!>>nry Vp took the liberty of re' 



