xl Report to the General Meetiuff. 



The Bedford Local Committee are cordiall v co-operating with 

 the Council to promote the success of the ensuing Country 

 Meeting. In conjunction with the Bedfordshire Agricultural 

 Society, they have added to the Society's Prize-sheet offers of 

 prizes for agricultural horses ; for cows and heifers, in-milk or 

 in-calf ; and for long-woolled and short-woolled ewes, lambs, 

 and wethers. The Society's List of Prizes offered for horses 

 has been considerably augmented by the addition of classes for 

 geldings and fillies for agricultural and hunting purposes, as 

 Avell as for hackneys and ponies ; and Mr. Pease, of Darlington, 

 has continued his liberal offer of prizes for asses and mules, 

 on the same terms as were attached to those offered at the 

 Hull meeting. The total amount of the prizes for live stock 

 offered for competition at the Bedford meeting is 3,935Z. 



At the General Meeting, held last December, a suggestion was 

 made by Mr. H. Corbet, on behalf of Mr. C. S. Read, M.P., 

 that the Council should offer a special prize for the most efficient 

 guard to the drum of a threshing machine at work. The 

 Council have carefully considered this suggestion, and have 

 offered for competition at Bedford, the large gold medal of the 

 Society, " for the best guard or appliance to the drum of a 

 threshing machine for preventing accidents to people employed." 



The offers of prizes for the two best managed farms in 

 Bedfordshire, by Lord Charles Russell and the Society, have 

 called forth an entry of twelve. Considering the restricted area 

 of the competition, this must be considered a very satisfactory 

 entry. The judges have already made two inspections of the 

 competing farms ; and they are instructed to pay their final 

 visit in time to report their award at the General Meeting of the 

 Members of the Society, which will be held in the show-yard at 

 Bedford on July 14th. 



The Council are desirous of increasing the usefulness and 

 importance of these farm-prize competitions, especially with 

 a view to the more complete description, in the Journal of the 

 Society, of the best examples of farm-management in the lo- 

 cality in which the Country Meetings are held. They have, 

 therefore, resolved that the prizes to be offered annually for 

 the best-managed farms, with the conditions upon which they 

 are offered, whether by individuals or by the Society, shall be 

 published immediately after the July Council in each year ; 



