216 COUNTY OF CORK AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY. 



and lease a piece of ground at the eastern end of the Park for the purpose of 

 converting it into a permanent Show ground. The idea was well received 

 by the Corporation, and a piece of ground containing some twenty acres 

 was leased to the Society at an annual rent of i^20. On this ground, which 

 is within a mile of the city, the Society expended, in 1892, ;£"5,300 in build- 

 ings, cycle and driving tracks, and enclosures. The funds were raised in 

 shares bearing interest at 5 per cent. The Cork, Blackrock and Passage 

 Railway passes by the Showyard, and a special platform has been erected 

 for the use of visitors and others attending the Show. The great drawback 

 to the Showyard is, that it is a portion of land reclaimed from the tide. In 

 wet weather it becomes quite sodden, and as the Society have not been over 

 fortunate in their fixtures in the matter of weather, it frequently happens 

 that the wetness of the ground injuriously affects the attendance. To meet 

 this the Society have entered into arrangements with some companies in 

 Cork to deposit road scrapings and rubbish on the low-lying parts of the 

 grounds, so that in a fev/ years the grounds will be much improved. 



In order to encourage cattle breeding a Spring Show for breeding animals 

 has been tried for the past few years, but it was not well supported, and 

 entailed a financial loss. A special Butter Show was also held in connection 

 with the Irish Dairy Association, a few years since, and it, too, resulted in a 

 loss. The same may be said of experiments tried in the way of Root, Frurt, 

 and Grain Shows. Dog and Poultry Shows are occasionally held in con- 

 junction with the Horse and Cattle Shows. The indebtedness of the 

 Society at present is about ^^350. The Shows of the County Cork Agricul- 

 tural Society were open to exhibitors from all parts of Ireland, and some of 

 the best animals in Ireland stood in its rings. The show of hunters is 

 always a particularly good one. The show of cattle lately, however, has not 

 been up to the mark. We have no breeders in Munster, now, to replace 

 Messrs. Welsted, Campion, Crosbie, Gumbleton, Meade, Smith, or Downing. 



Besides the holding of exhibitions, papers on various subjects have from 

 time to time been read by the members of the Society, and resolutions 

 dealing with the principal agricultural topics of the day have been passed 

 and forwarded to the proper authorities. One of the subjects which engaged 

 the attention of the Society for a number of years was the anomalous con- 

 dition of the Cork Butter Market, under which there were several grievances 

 in respect of the butter industry. Another question which was warmly 

 taken up was a recommendation to the Government of the day to take steps 

 to establish cordons to prevent the spread of infectious disease among 

 farm animals. But the greatest achievement of the Society was its success- 

 ful effort to save the Munster Agricultural and Dairy School from extinction. 

 The Government, at one time, were credited with the intention of discon- 

 tinuing all the agricultural schools in Ireland, Cork among the number, but 

 some public-spirited members of the County Agricultural Society came to 

 the rescue, and by liberally subscribing, the first established dairy school in 

 the United Kingdom was opened. The Cork School was the pioneer one 

 in the undertaking. Its success as a dairy school is proved by the number 

 -of imitators it has in different parts of Great Britain. The Society has 600 

 members on its rolls. 



Though the Society has not been uniformly successful its prospects are 

 now bright. The Cork County Council has allocated to the County Cork 

 Agricultural Society a sum of ;£"56o out of the funds available under the 

 schemes of the Department of Agriculture. Of this sum £2iS4 is set apart 



