AGRICULTURAL HELP FOR OUR ALLIES 



had previously ascertained whether or not Bill 

 had any knowledge of the musical capabilities 

 of a concertina, or the best means of eliciting 

 them, the amount of delight his performances 

 have afforded his listeners is only a matter of 

 conjecture. No doubt the idea at the back of 

 the mind of Bill's friends could be expressed in 

 the words of Punch, slightly altered : 



" And when we march up Potsdam Street, an' goosestep through Berlin, 

 Why, Billy's concertina will play the Army in." 



It was a singular conjunction of gifts, but the 

 main point, after all, was the sentiment under- 

 lying the action of his old comrades, and this did 

 credit to their hearts. 



The devastation wrought by the war was 

 forcibly brought home to the meeting of the 

 Council in the show yard by means of an appeal 

 from a committee initiated by the Royal Agri- 

 cultural Society of England for the support of a 

 fund to be raised for the purpose of assisting in 

 the restoration of Agriculture in the countries of 

 our Allies, which had been devastated by the war. 

 Contributions in kind, as well as in money, were 

 asked for, and the Council, having previously 

 made known the want to individual members, 

 with satisfactory results, followed this up by a 

 grant of 100 from the Society to the funds. The 

 subject revived in me some old memories, for in 

 the early 'seventies I had the privilege to be 

 associated with a similar movement, and the 

 ultimate effect of the effort was so remarkable and 

 so fraught with good that it may be worth recalling. 



The end of the year 1870 found the Germans 

 as now, in the occupation of a considerable tract 



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