THE FARMER'SmAGAZINE, 



79 



ROYAL DUBLIN SOCIETY. 



THE WINTER SHOW. 



For the long period of 130 years the Dublin Society has 

 been a promiueut, and in many respects a useful institution 

 in the sister island. Aided by considerable annual parliamen- 

 tary grants, it has laboured in " promoting husbandry, and 

 the other useful arts" — beiug the objects for which it was first 

 established, and in the furtherance of which it has drawn into 

 the ranks of its members a large number of the lauded pro- 

 prietors in Ireland, although not so many as it ought, perhaps, 

 to have. Still they form the bulk of its members, who believe 

 that they are fulfilling at least part of their duty when they 

 have become coutributors to its funds. 



For many years " the promotion of husbandry " in Ireland 

 formed by far the most important item in the annual accounts 

 of the Society, and large sums were expended in encouraging 

 planting, draining, the introduction of new varieties of plants 

 suitable for the farm and the garden, the improvement of live 

 stock, and in different channels which are now apparently for- 

 gotten — not the least impoitant being the maintenance of a 

 veterinary institution, which is now, by the way, sought to be 

 revived, as it ceased about forty years ago, from some causes 

 which are now apparently rather difficult to trace. Although 

 perhaps, this might have origiuated in a certain indifference to 

 agricultural matters, which has of late increased to a conside- 

 rable extent in the management of the Society, and which even 

 at that period might have begun to exercise its baneful influ- 

 ence. Be that as it may, certainly the Dublin Society of the 

 present day is not the Dublin Society of sixty years ago. Its 

 liberal premium system has dwindled down to a very small 

 sum, and its Agricultural Committee, instead of occupying, 

 as it ought to do, the foremost place, is shoved into a 

 corner, and its naost moderate demands met by a growling 

 non-compliance. 



The truth is, Irish country gentlemen generally do not 

 take an active part in the general management of the 

 Society ; whilst those who do, are unable to fight against 

 the stronger influence of others, not at all connected with 

 rural affairs, who have crept into the membership and into 

 the management, and who do not consider farming matters 

 " genteel" enough to merit the attention of such savans as 

 they fancy themselves to be. They consider, forsooth ! that 

 the Dublin Society, founded for the purpose of promoting 

 husbandry, ought to devote its fostering care to " higher 

 branches" than the rearing of bullocks or the management 

 of muck-heaps. Consequently, they intrude into matters 

 with which they have here no concern, but which form the 

 special x^rovince of other societies ; and to effect this, they 

 first starve, and will ultimately ruin, that department of the 

 Society's operations wliich is its first concern, unless public 

 opinion steps in to save it. 



The spring shows of the Society have for several years 

 been, no doubt, highly successful ; but we deny that such 

 success is attributable to encouragement afforded by the 

 Society. It gives, indeed, a convenient place of meeting, 

 and that is nearly all; for the premiums are laughably 

 low, and would not, of themselves, draw together a parcel 

 of common pif!-jobbers. But then, breeders find the spring 

 shows admirably suited for enabling them to dispose of 

 their young stock ; and hence, at those meetings, there is a 

 tum-out of yearling Shorthorn bulls such as we do not 

 meet with elsewhere. Implement-makers also find the 

 " Leinster Lawn" a first-rate sale-ground ; but all that the 

 Society does is to find the ground, for which they charge 

 largely. 



For several years the Society has held a winter show of 

 roots and other kinds of farm produce ; and, latterly, fat 

 stock have been added. But this department does not 

 thrive; and if it is stifled, the country has the Society to 

 thank for it. The same reasons which lead t-i a full show 

 of breeding stock in spring, do not hold good in the case 

 of a winter exhibition of fat stock ; and the Society has yet 

 to leam that it must offer greater indttoements to 



feeders than the paltry silver medals which it appears to 

 consider amply sufficient to cause men to put themselves to 

 all the trouble and expense attendant on preparing for, and 

 exhibiting at a show of fat stock. We do not blame the 

 Agricultural Committee, the members of which have oaten* 

 sibly the power to regulate such matters. They have no 

 such power; and the sooner those who are permitted to 

 exercise a controlling influence over them are sent to the right- 

 about, and made to know their position, and to feel their real 

 insignificance, it will be all the better for the Society, and for 

 Ireland. 



We would much rather write in an encouraging than in a 

 disparaging strain, but we have been forced to give expres- 

 sion to the foregoing remarks, from looking over the prize- 

 sheet and catalogue of entries of the Royal Dublin Society's 

 winter show held on Tuesday and Wednesday last. The 

 show of farm produce was perhaps not quite so large as we 

 have seen it in Kildare-street on former occasions, but, con- 

 sidering the nature of the past year, we were surprised to 

 find such a display of really good specimens of roots, and 

 samples of grain. But when we came to the lamentably 

 poor turu-out, in point of numbers, in the stock classes, and 

 when we found to our utter disgust that the pinching econo- 

 my of the Society could not afford to have a poultry show at 

 all this year, we saw quite enough to convince us that if ever 

 a society deserved to be spoken of in very plain terras, the 

 Koyal Dublin richly merits a most unsparing use of the 

 whip. If it was the case that the funds of the Society were 

 at a lamentably low ebb, or if its agricultural exhibitions 

 were a losing concern, then there would be some excuse to 

 offer ; but there are plenty of funds — if, indeed, these were 

 not frittered away, or, to speak with greater correctness, 

 lavished on other matters, the beneficial results of which 

 are at best but questionable. Further, the shows are very 

 nearly self-supporting, even without the adventitious aid of 

 balls and " banquets,"which other Royals call to their assist- 

 ance in swelling out the receipts on such occasions, and not- 

 withstanding what is we believe the case, that the numerous 

 members of the Society have, in virtue of their membership, 

 the right of entry to its shows " free, gratis, and for nothing." 

 At present, however, we will not pursue this subject further ; 

 but as we find our Irish contemporary The Fanncr.'i' Gazette 

 complaining of matters which we have glanced at, we are 

 glad to give a helping hand in endeavouring to place the 

 Society iu its true position, and to enable it to become of as 

 great utility to the country as it unquestionably was at an 

 earlier period in its history. 



On comparing the show of this with that of last year, we 

 observed a considerable decrease in numbers, which was no 

 doubt attributable to the Society having curtailed its 

 premium-sheet this year to the extent of seven classes in the 

 fat cattle, three classes of fat sheep, and three classes of fat 

 swine. At this time, however, the Society had a new prize 

 to offer, in the shape of a 50-guinea cup, presented by the 

 Messrs. Ferguson, Dublin, and intended to be given for the 

 best fat animal in the show irrespective of age, sex, or breed. 

 The cup to be challenged every year until won three years in 

 succession by the same individual. 



Mr. Allan Pollok, the energetic proprietor of the Lia- 

 manny Estates, near Ballinasloe, was the owner of two-thirds 

 of the fat cattle exhibited, and carried off the lion's share of 

 the prizes, which was owing not so much to the number of his 

 entries as to their real merit, and infinite superiority to 

 anything else brought forward. Heading the list with a 

 very fair two-and-a-half-year old Shorthorn ox, he followed 

 in the next class with one of the same breed, a son of 

 Towneley'a Valiant, to which was awarded not only his class 

 prize, but also the challenge cup— an honour, however, which 

 we daresay should have been won by " a horse of another 

 colour," one of Mr. Pollok'a lot of two-and-a-half-year-old 

 heifers-^crosses of the Galloway wi(;b the Shorthorn, an^ 



