56 



THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



serve to sLow that whenever the cjclo again came round foi' 

 the Society to repeat its visit to that part of the country, 

 very great accommodation in the means of transit would 

 have been provided ("Hear, hear). He should be wrong 

 ■were he not to mention the great assistance the Society had 

 received personally from the mayor and the local committee 

 of Canterbury, who, he must saj', were extremely anxious 

 to do everything in their power, worked with extraordinary 

 zeal, and gave hearty and efficient co-operation in carrying 

 out the arrangements for the show fHear). The next 

 meeting, for the year 18G1, would be held at Leeds, where^ 

 owing to the enormous population, they might expect a 

 large number of visitors to the yards, and very considerable 

 pecuniary returns (Cheers), The local committee had 

 taken up the matter wiih great energy. They were deter- 

 mined to provide a very handsome prize list for the local 

 breeds, as well as to supply a large tract of land for prac- 

 tically testing the various implements. The inhabitants of 

 the West Riding, being familiar with the machinery which 

 was employed to such an extent in their manufactures, had 

 consequently very great taste for mechanics, and the com- 

 mittee were extremely desirous that the mechanical portion 

 of the forthcoming show should be developed to the utmost 

 degree. They stated that that was a portion of the show 

 Vfhich was sure to attract great attention, and prove vastly 

 interesting to the people of the West Riding. In order, 

 therefore, to afford the greatest amount of accommodation 

 for the immense numbers whom they might expect to at- 

 tract to the yard, it had been arranged that on the Monday 

 the implement yard should be opened at 5s. each person, 

 and that as soon as the judges had completed their duties, 

 the cattle yard should be thrown open about one or two 

 o'clock on the same day without any additional charge. On 

 Tuesday, Leeds market-day, and on Wednesday, it was 

 intended to open both yards at 2s. 61 ; and Thursday and 

 Friday would be Is. days, Thus it was hoped thatall classes 

 would be accommodated (Hear, hear). 



The Secretaey (Mr. H. Hall Dare) then read the fol- 

 lowing :— 



REPORT OF THE COUNCIL. 



The Council have to report that the Society consists at 

 the present time of 



85 Life Governors, 

 95 Annual „ 

 1,093 Life i\Iembers, 

 3,651 Annual „ and 



18 Houorary „ 

 making a total of 4,942 names on the list. 



The members of the Society will have shared with the 

 Council their sense of the great loss they have sustained by 

 the decease of the Duke of Richmond, one of the trustees of 

 the Society, and wi 1 long cherish the memory of one who 

 had filled three times the office of President, and always 

 evinced a warm interest in the affairs of the Society. 



The Council have elected the Duke of Marlboro'.igh to fill 

 the vacancy among the trustees, and Mr. Owen Wallis, of 

 Overstone Grange, Northampton, to supply the vacancy 

 among the general members of the Council, created by the 

 resignation of Lord Southampton. 



The statement of accounts for the half-year ending 30th 

 June, 1860, has been approved by Messrs. Quilter, Ball, 

 and Co., public accountants. 



The funded capital consists of £12,000 stock ; and it is 

 hoped that a large portion of the arrears of subscription, 

 amounting to £1,472, will be shortly paid up. It is found 

 that many members cease to p<y their subscriptions under 

 the impression that in this way they can terminate their 

 membership ; but the Council desire to remind them that 

 by the bye laws all members are bound to pay their annual 

 Bubscription until they shall withdraw fr<^m the Society by 

 a notice in writing to the Secretary. 



Every claim against the Society has been discharged, a 

 complete system has been introduced into the accounts, and 

 the Council feel confident in stating that the finances are in 

 a favourable condition. It has been decided that a complete 

 list of the members shall be published in 1861. 



Since the last general meeting, Professor Voelcker has 

 delivered a lecture on oilcake, pointing out the composition 

 and feeding value of different descriptions, and the means 

 usually adopted for adulteration. 



The country Meeting at Canterbury, though instructive 

 in the varied character of the implements displayed and the 

 nature of the live stock exhibited, did not prove successful 

 in a financial point of view, and has entailed a considerable 

 charge on the general funds of the Society. 



The Council have to acknowledge the hospitable reception 

 accorded to them at Canterbury by the mayor, as well as the 

 valuable and zealous assistance aflforded by the mayor and 

 corporation, and also by the local committee, in carrying out 

 all necessary arrangements. 



The Council have settled the live stock and implement 

 prize sheets for the country Meeting, to be held next, year 

 at Leeds, and in addition to the usual prizes, classes have 

 been introduced for Sussex cattle and Cleveland horses. 

 The trial of implements in 1861, according to the quadren- 

 nial system in force, will comprise drills, manure distributors, 

 horse hoes, hay machines, mowing machines, reaping ma- 

 chines, horse rakes, carts, and waggons. Prizes, amounting 

 to £200, will be offered for the best application of steam 

 power to the cultivation of the soil. 



The Council have fixed that the Leeds Meeting shall take 

 place in the week commencing Monday, July 15th. The 

 Implement-yard will be open on Monday morning, on the 

 payment of 5s. ; and the Cattle-yard will be opened, with- 

 not any additional charge, as soon after one o'clock as the 

 Judges have concluded their labours. On Tuesday and 

 Wednesday both yards will be open at 2s. 6d. : on Thurs- 

 day and Friday at Is. This arrangement will afford the 

 necessary facilities to all classes of that populous district. 



The Society have, from time to tin^''. !• 'u favoured, Ly 

 order of the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, with 

 copies of despatches received by her Majesty's Govern- 

 ment relating to the agriculture of Denmark, which will 

 appear in the forthcoming number of the Journal, and with 

 others drawing the attention of the Council to the cattle 

 disease, and to a plan for economising seed corn. 

 By Order of the Council, 



H. Hall Dare, 

 Secretary. 



Mr, S. Sidney, on rising to move the adoption of the 

 report, said he would take that opportunity of making a 

 few remarks with regard to the proceedings and position of 

 the society. He could assure the meeting that those re- 

 marks would not be made in a spirit of hostility towards 

 the meeting : quite the contrary. It had always been his 

 desire that the society should flourish; but the question was 

 what it had done, with a list of something like 5,000 sub- 

 scribers, and an income of about ;£ 10,000 a-year? The 

 question was, not whether the society had done a great deal, 

 but whether it might not have done a great deal more ; 

 whether, in short, the time had not arrived when they must 

 not be content with following the precedents established in 

 the first ten or fifteen years of the society's existence 

 (Hear, hear). At present the operations were almost en- 

 tirely confined to the great annual show and the Journal, 

 As regarded those Wednesday meetings, at which agricul- 

 tural papers were read and discussed, no one could deny 

 that for want of reports of what occurred they exercised 

 very little influence over the agricultural world. The great 

 feature, after all, was the show. There could not be a mo- 

 ment's doubt that the collection of stock and implements 

 in a new county did a great deal of good. In such a matter 

 they must not look only to pecuniary results (Hear, hear); 

 they might well be satisfied even with a loss, provided a 

 favourable efi'ect had been produced in an important 



