THE FARMER'S MAGAZINE. 



277 



latler kaew that such was the case, there would be little trouble 

 iavolved iu securing good piece-work. Adverting to the re- 

 marks of the Chairman with regard to Mr. Pike's stubble, he 

 said he was aware " tlie chair could not err;" but he would 

 excuse him when he said that he lud offered no opinion upon 

 the matter, in fact it was not on the card as the subject for 

 discussion ; but from the worthy Chairman's remarks one would 

 suppose that he was one ot those good old sportsmen we 

 sometimes hear of, who did not like stubbles to be cut, lest 

 their spoit should be spoilt. (Laugliter). 



Mr. W. F. HoBBS moved a vote of thanks to Mr, Howard 

 for his able and valuable paper. That gentleman had touched 

 on almoat every point connected with the relative merits Of 

 piece-work and day-work. He quite agreed with him and 

 others who had spoken, that the subject was one of great 

 importance, and that there was a difference of 20 or 25 per 

 cent, in point of economy on the side of piece-work. Twenty 

 years ago piece-work was the rule and day-work the exception. 

 Now, the case was the reverse. The farmers of England had 

 themselves to blame for this. They were not united, as the 

 labourers were united, through the medium of the beershops ; 

 there was, in many cas^, great jealousy among them with re- 

 gard to the work done ; and he was sorry to be obliged to 

 agree with one or two preceding speakers that many masters 

 and bailiffs had not that practical knowledge of the value of 

 piece-wofk that their predecessors possessed. Under these cir- 

 cumstances bethought the committee' had done their duty by 

 arrauging for the subject to be discussed ; and he hoped the 

 matter would not stop there, but that the question of the com- 

 parative merits of day-work and piece-work would be taken up 

 by farmers generally. He was sure they would all concur 

 with him that Mr. Howard was well entitled to the acknow- 

 ledgment which hi had proposed (cheers). 



Mr. H. Tretiiewy seconded the motion, which was carried 

 unanimously. 



On the motion of Mr. Marsh, seconded by Mr. James 

 Howard, thanks were voted to the chairman, and this 

 terminated the proceedings. 



THE LATE MR ROBERT BAKER, OF WRITTLE. 



— At the committee meeting of the Central Farmers' Club, 

 on Monday, March ), it was resolved, on the motion of Mr. 

 TfL'thewy, that a portrait of the late Mr. Robert Baker, of 

 Writtle, as " the Father of the Club," be painted, and 

 placed in the Club rooms : and further, that the expense of 

 this be defrayed by private subscription amongst the mem- 

 bers, not to exceed ten shillings each, A number of gentle- 

 men at once put down their names, while subscriptions are 

 still being received by Mr. Corbet, the secretary. 



PRESENTATION TO MR. R. DOIG, OP TY-NEWYDD. 

 — The retirement of this gentleman from the management of 

 the Hon. Col. Pennant's farms, an appointment which he has 

 held for the last eleven years, was deemed by his friends and 

 admirers a fitting opportunity to present him with a substan- 

 tial testimonial, not merely of affectionate regard for his private 

 worth and social qualities, but in recognition of the eminent 

 services he has rendered to agriculture iu general, and to 

 Welsh agriculture in particular, by improving the breed of 

 Welsh cattle, which, under his fostering care, have been 

 brought to a state of perfection rivalling even the short-horn 

 breed itself. The number and character of the prizes won at 

 the great national, metropolitan, and provincial shows by 

 Penrhyn stock, sufficiently testifies the judgment and care 

 e-xercised by Mr. Doig in discharging the duties entrusted to 



him by the Hon. Col. Pennant — duties of a most onerous 

 character, and demanding agricultural knowledge and skill of 

 the very highest quality. The testimonial presented to Mr. 

 Doig consists of a large and handsome epergne (convertible 

 also into a candelabrum, with six lights), which, with the 

 plateau, is nearly three feet in height. It is richly chased, 

 and ornameuted with laurel foliage and the Scotch thistle, 

 executed in frosted silver. The base is triangular, odc of the 

 sides being occupied with Mr. Doig'a arm?, the second con- 

 taining portraits of the Welsh ox, which carried off the prize 

 at Smithficld, and the mountain ram, which took the Royal 

 Agricultural Society's Prize at Chester. The other panel con- 

 tained an appropriate inscription. The plate was supplied by 

 Mr. Dismore of Liverpool, at a cost of about 130 guineas. 

 The presentation took place on Wednesday, March 6, at the 

 British Hotel, Bangor, an elegant collation being served up 

 on the occasion, at which R, M. Griffith, Esq., presided; the 

 duties of the vice-chair were ably discharged by Mr. Drew, 

 who acted as honorary secretary to the committee. — Chester 

 Courant. 



BATH AND WEST OF ENGLAND SOCIETY. 



A meeting of the council of the Bath and West of Eng- 

 land Society was held at Waghorn's Railway Hotel, Taunton, 

 on Saturday, March 2nd, R. K. M. King, Esq., in the chair. 

 There were also present, Messrs. C. Bush, G. S. Poole, R. N. 

 Grenville, J. Bailward, J. Lush, J. VV. Walrond, S. Pitman, 

 R. May, J. Hole, J. D. Haucock, H. G. Moysey, W. E. 

 Gillett, F. H. Dickinson, E. S. Drewe, Thomas Hussey, John 

 Fry, Wm, Porter, John Widdicombe, Thomas Newman, C. 

 Gordon, junr., Johu Gray, Jonathan Gray, Wm. Thompson, 

 J. H. Cotterill. 



The Truro Exhibition. — A communication from the 

 Cornwall Horticultural Society was read requesting the use of 

 certain tents for holding its exhibition iu the yard of this 

 Society, at Truro, in June next. The application was granted ; 

 the arrangements to be made under the superintendents of 

 Shedding. A note was read from the mayor of Truro, offer- 

 ing to place the several rooms of the Guildhall at the service 

 of the Society on the occasion of the forthcoming exhibition. 

 The secretary was requested to acknowledge the receipt of the 

 same, thanking the mayor for his courtesy, and stating that 

 the council would not require the rooms. Another letter from 

 Truro was also read having reference to a proposed exhibition 

 of pictures and portraits, having special reference to the 

 notable characters of the West of England, and asking 

 whether such an exhibition would be considered detrimental 

 to the interests of the Society. The secretary was requested 

 to acknowledge the receipt of the communication, and to state 

 that the council saw no objection to such an exhibition. 

 There was a proposal from the Royal Cornwall Agricultural 

 Society, offering a special prize of a silver cup, value not less 

 than £40, to be held by competitors only after they have 

 been successful candidates for two successive years, for colts or 

 fillies in class 46 of the Society's prize sheet. The council 

 acceded to the proposition. 



The Library. — A report of the Library Committee was 

 read, recommending the care of the books to be placed either 

 with the Literary and Scientific Society of Bath, or with the 

 Institution iu Taunton. The council considered that both 

 places were equally advantageous ; but as the Society was 

 originally established at Bath, they decided in favour of that 

 place. 



New Members. — The following gentlemen were elected 

 as new members : — Mr. William Trethewy, Grampound, Cora- 

 wall; and Mr. John Ford, jun,, Ruahton, Blandford. 



