74 



THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



present show contained several ■which he knew would he 

 praised by the butcliers, wlio were generally deemed good 

 judges. It could not, therefore, be doubled that the club 

 did good by improving the different breeds of sheep. They 

 had increased the amount distributed in prizes and medals 

 by £300, making a total of .£] ,500 (Hear, hear). The noble 

 lord concluded by giving " Success to the Smithfield Club," 

 which was drunk with enthusiasm. 



The HoNOKARY Secretaiiy (Mr. B. Gibbs), then read 

 the awards of gold medals, which were presented by the 

 Chairman to such of the winners as were present. 



Mr. C. Babxett regretted that the toast he was about to 

 propose had not fallen into better hands, though no one in 

 the country could propose it with greater sincerity and 

 pleasure than he could. He had been associated in friend- 

 ship with the chairman, he might say, during nearly tlie 

 whole of his life. Not only Ind they met at college, but 

 also in the hunting-field, where some of the best feelings 

 of nature were created and disseminated (clieers.) Tlie 

 toast which he had risen to propose was, then, " The Health 

 of Lord Berners," who was acting as their president on 

 that occasion (cheers.) And he would add, that his Lord- 

 ship would not appear in that capacity merely on the present 

 occasion, but would also be President for the next year, 

 having just been appointed to discharge the duties which 

 so long devolved on one upon whom he had passed so de- 

 served an eulogium. 



The toast having been drunk with great cordiality. 



Lord Berxers, in responding, said his old college friend 

 was rather mistaken, as it had been arranged at a meeting 

 of the Club that there should be a new president every 

 year. He could promise that he would always heartily and 

 sincerely endeavour to promote, not only the prosperity of this, 

 but of all other societies having for their object the advance- 

 ment of agriculture. He felt most strongly that the in- 

 terests of the landlord were entirelj identical with those of 

 the tenant; and that the interests of both were bound up 

 in the welfare of the labourer ; indeed, the prosperity of the 

 three was essential to the welfare of our social state. 

 Agriculture was the basis of the prosperity of this kingdom, 

 and if agriculture did not prosper all the other classes of 

 the community would proportionably suffer. He could 

 assure them he would avail himself of every opportunity in 

 Parliament to promote the interests of all connected with 

 the laud, and this he would add was a j)eriod when subjects 

 affecting them were likely to be brought prominently before 

 the legislature. On that day, for instance, a meeting had 

 been held with the view to obtain some improvement in 

 the outfal of rivers and streams, which was a subject of 

 very great importance. There was also another question 

 of considerable interest which had been brought before the 

 Council of the Royal Agricultural Society, namely, how the 

 sewage of towns could be best applied to agi-icultural uses. 

 Many other subjects of nearly equal interest were also in 

 agitation, and it was to a society such as this that the mem- 

 bers of both Houses of Parliament looked for information 

 (Hear, hear.) The Noble Lord then pointed out the ad- 

 vantages which the society had conferred on agriculture 

 generally, and, by way of illustration, how some of the 

 epidemics amongst cattle and sheep had been suddenly 

 stopped by Professor Simonds, Veterinary Surgeon to the 

 Eoyal Agricultural Society, who was about to visit Plymouth, 

 in order to ascertain the cause of so much mortality amongst 

 stock in the west country. 



Mr. Fisher Hobbs said the toast which he had to propose 

 included a body of noblemen and .gentlemen, whose inability 

 to attend that day they must all regret. He trusted that 

 the wholesome arrangement lately made, under which a 

 president was to be elected every year, would be attended, 

 at all events, with this good eflfect, that many of the vice- 

 presidents would feel it their duty to be present on all occa- 

 sions like that ; so that in future years the tables would be 

 much better filled, and there then would soon be a recur- 

 rence of the olden times, when that room was hardly large 

 enough to hold the landowners and farmers who assembled 

 at the annual festival ("cheers ). On an occasion like that 

 he rejoiced to hear practical remarks, like some of those 

 which had fallen from the noble lord in the chaii-. He 

 (Mr. Hobbs) had himself received most valuable assist- 

 ance from Professor Simonds, in two instances. In 

 the first instance, having bought 400 lambs early in the 



Autumn, he found that they were dying off very fast. The 

 disease being so serious, he telegraphed at once to Professor 

 Simonds, who came down immediately, and after the Pro- 

 fessor's arrival he lost only two lambs, though previously he 

 lost within two or three days nearly a score. He believed 

 that the advice which he received on that occasion had saved 

 him £100, The otlier case was one in which a number of 

 pigs were dying of, and nobody could tell what was the cause. 

 The truth was he had been feeding them with cabbages 

 about half-grown, containing 90 per cent, of water; this 

 turned out to be the source of his loss ; and the Professor 

 remarked to him that he mus"; have found, to his cost, that 

 pork and cabbage did not always agree. He concluded by 

 proposing " The Trustees and the Vice-Presidents, coupled 

 with the name of Mr. Charles Barnett," 



Mr. Barnett, in returning thanks, expressed his regret 

 at the absence of his co-trustees, Mr. Grantham and Mr. 

 Druce, with whom, he said, he felt great pleasure in being 

 associated. Having undertaken to remain in office under 

 a new state of things — he might almost say under a new 

 rcgiine — he wished briefly to express his sentiments on 

 that point. When the question was first mooted of 

 changing the place for holding the Smithfieid Show, he had 

 certainly a strong feeling that it would be better to go to the 

 west than to the east, because he thought people in general 

 were more likely to go from the east to the west than from 

 the west to the east. But he was not bigoted in any 

 opinion, and when he found it probable that if they went 

 westward at all it would be to the far west (Hear, hear), and 

 that too at a remote period, he then turned his attention to 

 the question, what was the next best scheme that had been 

 suggested ; and on examination he found that none had 

 been brought forward better than the one which had now 

 raised its head above all suspicion. (Cheers). It was 

 gi'atifying to him, and he believed it was satisfactory also to 

 all who were associated with that scheme, that a fair and 

 honourable opposition was offered, seeing that the result of 

 that opposition was that the whole subject had been fully 

 and fairly ventilated. (Hear, hear). The scheme was pro- 

 moted by gentlemen whose character was above all 

 suspicion (Cheers), and whose object he felt quite certain 

 was no other than that of promoting, not their own pecu- 

 niary interest, but the interest of that club. (Cheers). 



Mr. Jonas Webb proposed " The Health of the Judges," 

 none of whom were present ; and Mr. Hole that of " The 

 Stewards." 



Mr. Qltartly, Jin returning thanks for the stewards, 

 threw out a hint to the breeders and exhibitors of stock that 

 they would do well in future to pay a little more attention 

 to the certificates they signed. (Hear, hear). It was a very 

 unpleasant thing to the exhibitor, no doubt, to have his 

 certificate treated as doubtful, and to be called upon to 

 prove its accuracy ; but he could assure them that it was 

 quite as painful to the stewards to have to summon the 

 breeder on every such occasion (Hear, hear). He hoped, 

 therefore, that a circumstance or two which had recently 

 occurred would never be repeated, and that the breeders of 

 cattle would be so particular in signing certificates as not 

 to bring upon the exhibitors any blame. (Cheers). 



The Chairman then gave the health of Mr. Brandreth 

 Gibbs, the honorary secretary, which was very cordially 

 responded to. 



Mr. Gibbs, after acknowledging the compliment, said, on 

 rising;, his mind turned at once to the past, the present, and 

 the future. As regarded the past, there was one subject to 

 which he could not refrain from alluding. He missed, on that 

 occasion, the noble Duke who had filled the presidential chair 

 for so many years; and he should not do justice to the office 

 which he held now, nor to his own feelings, if he did not 

 pay some little tribute to the noble Duke's memory. Having 

 held the office of secretary previous to, and during the whole 

 of the time of the late Duke of Kichmond'a presidency, he 

 had perhaps greater opportunities than any other member 

 of the Club of observing the deep interest which he took in 

 its prosperity ; and he could not, therefore, but express, as he 

 did most sincerely, his deep sense of the irreparable loss 

 which they had sustained. Words failed him, and a pause of 

 silence was perhaps the most fitting mode of indicating what 

 he really felt. — As regarded the present, he must congratu- 

 late those whom he addressed that they had for their president 

 a nobleman who had for many years taken a lively interest in 



