Agricultiiral Meeting at Paris of 1856. 399 



Collections. 



1. Messrs. Lawson and Son, Edinburo^b, for an admirable 



assortment of every kind of corn and seed cultivated in 

 the United Kingdom. 



2. The Imperial School of Grignon came next in order of 



merit. They displayed 127 different varieties of wheat, 

 20 specimens of oats, and 14 of barley, all in a growing 

 state: these were particularly interesting. 



3. The Algerian collection of corn was very remarkable ; it 



comprised several samples of the harvest of 1856, and I 

 observed one sample of barley, second crop. 

 These three collections received the great medal of honour. 



After naming tlie awards of the other medals and prizes. Sir 

 A. Macdonald writes, — " I am sorry to say that the agricultural 

 products of England consisted only of a few samples of corn, all 

 more or less indifferent, of three fleeces, one lot of potatoes, a 

 bottle of sheep-dipping stuff, and some coprolites. The cheeses 

 of England were not to be found in the Englisii department, but 

 were represented by a solitary Cheddar among the Scotch pro- 

 ducts. An Austrian gentleman asserted that his countrymen and 

 the Bavarians were the only hop-growers in Europe. We begged 

 liim to examine our English hops, but they, like the cheeses, 

 were not there. Neither was there a single specimen of our 

 celebrated ales or porter in tlie wliole exhibition, tliougli at pre- 

 sent there appears to be a mania for beer-drinking at Paris. It 

 is to be hoped that at the forthcoming Concours Agricole in 

 1857 the English collection of agricultural produce may be more 

 wortliy of the place it holds in the French catalogue, which is 

 the first, the post of honour. The Scotch and Irish collections 

 of produce were as remarkable for their excellence as was the 

 English for its mediocrity." 



To these observations of Sir A. Macdonald's about the absence 

 of English cheeses from the show may be added that 5 gold 

 medals and 22 silver medals were awarded for cheeses, almost 

 all of whicli fell to the share of the Swiss varieties of Gruycre 

 and to a few French cheeses. 



It is hoped tiiat these short notes may be of some service to 

 tliose of our countrymen who intend to exhihit in any of the 

 classes next year, pointing out some things to be observed, and 

 some things to be avoided, by those who desire to attend the 

 show with credit and success. 



J. Evelyn Denison. 



2e2 



