CONTINUITY OF INTEREST 



present dates back to 1786, when it was announced 

 that Sir Thomas Dyke Acland, Bart., had joined 

 the Society. This was the great-grandfather of the 

 present baronet, and so, for more than a century 

 the honoured name of Ac land has been con 

 tinuously found upon the roll of members. In the 

 same year, the eldest son Viscount Wey mouth 

 of the then Marquis of Bath took part in the 

 Society's ploughing competition, and, since that 

 time, both the father and the grandfather of the 

 present Marquis have held office in the Society, 

 whilst he himself has twice occupied the presi- 

 dential chair. Such instances, in which this 

 interest has been handed on from father to son, 

 have long been a happy feature of the Society's 

 history ; I myself have seen, during my tenure 

 of office, three generations of one family succes- 

 sively occupying positions in the Society. 



I soon found that my new post was no sine- 

 cure, and I should have been disappointed had 

 it been so. My predecessor had been for years 

 a confirmed invalid, and, although, with in- 

 domitable courage, he faced and overcame many 

 almost insuperable difficulties arising therefrom, 

 there was bound, under such circumstances, to 

 be a good deal of lee-way in the general manage- 

 ment to make up. The Society's Council, in the 

 practical spirit with which they were accustomed 

 to deal with administrative details, took the 

 opportunity of a change of secretaries to dis- 

 establish three or four other officials, so as to 

 concentrate everything possible in the secretary's 

 office. This was a wise proceeding, as it made one 

 official responsible for the general management, 



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