Sir H. S. Meijsey Thompson, Bart. 531 



not in the coin of this work-a-day world, but it is most nego- 

 tiable in the universe of science. The eleventh volume of the Jour- 

 nal contains Mr. Thompson's modest account of his discovery ; the 

 paper is a model of lucid exposition ; the guiding idea flashed 

 upon him when observing the escape from manure heaps of 

 quantities of ammonia. In the words, specially addressed to us, 

 of a great living authority, " It is remarkable that this slight 

 experiment contains the germ of what I should consider to 

 be one of the most important, if not the most important of all 

 the scientific investigations connected with the practice of agri- 

 culture." 



Farm-buildings also are reported upon in this eleventh volume. 

 Mr. Thompson was a Judge ; he says, never were so many good 

 papers sent in for one prize. We mention only, Mr. Pusey's 

 Encyclopedic paper, " Agricultural Progress during eight years, to 

 1850," arranged under no less than 28 heads, and especially 

 interesting here as having no doubt suggested Mr. Thompson's 

 paper written in 1867. We find in the Report of the Council he 

 is thanked for his reports on Implements. The twelfth volume 

 of the Journal contains jNlr. Pusey's report on the Implements at 

 the Great Exhibition of 1851. He speaks of scattered rays of 

 realised knowledge, and further he says, the Royal Agricultural 

 Society's trials have, in 10 years, done more for agricultural 

 mechanics than had been attempted anywhere in all former time. 



The exhibition of implements at Lewes is described by Mr. 

 Thompson in the thirteenth volume for the year 1852. He speaks 

 of the average amount of red and blue paint, and goes on to tell of 

 progress — satisfactory progress. Reapers and mowers are of 

 national importance in the difficult state of labour market ; 1400 

 ordered in one year from four leading makers, the value over 

 30,000/. Great difficulties in the way of their use — the master 

 unfamiliar and the men inimical. The demand for implements 

 in three years has increased fourfold ; foreign orders, since the 

 Great Exhibition, have considerably increased. 



This is a valuable paper. The Report to the Council of this 

 jear contains an obvious but important observation : " The 

 Council should represent the varied wants and wishes of the 

 agricultural community." Mr. Pusey, President for the second 

 time, was prevented from taking his place at Lincoln. The 

 sixteenth volume of the Journal for the year 1855 contains the 

 record of his early and lamented death at the age of fifty-four 

 years ; and so ends what we may venture to call the Pusey period 

 of the Royal Agricultural Society. 



The Journal of the Society was now conducted by Mr. 

 Thompson. The new editor added half-yearly valuable statis- 

 tical tables. The Report to the Council contains the suggestive 



2 M 2 



