160 



HISTORY OP HEREFORD CATTLE 



about a breed of sheep, or of horses, or of cattle, 

 of of pigs. The Society would indeed seem to 

 have been born to "make" such men; and as, 

 no doubt, to a great extent it has done. Yet 

 now it has made them it cannot use them. At 

 this moment the Royal Agricultural Society has 

 nothing more trying to contend with than the 

 appointment of its judges. Exhibitors must 

 not be judges; members of the council have 

 something else to do during this busy week, 

 and so we return to Mr, A and Mr. B., who have 

 very often obliged us before, and will prob- 

 ably be kind enough to oblige us again. 



That a certain sort of exclusiveness has had 

 something to do in creating this difficulty there 



"SEVENTEEN STEER," SOLD AT CINCINNATI, 1841. 

 (From an old print.) 



can be but little question. As with the Smith- 

 field Club, gentlemen have duly gone the round 

 of their duties, and then like Bloomfield on 

 his visit to Vauxhall, 



"Why, then, they go round them again!" 



It has been Mr. A out and Mr. B in, and Mr. 

 C. re-elected, until at last, should we ever get 

 through our A, B, C we are fairly at our wit's 

 end. We don't know what to do. We have 

 been preparing no one else for the place, and 

 now that it is vacant, we have nobody ready to 

 take it. The only thing, of course, is an ad- 

 vertisement in the papers, which we insert here, 

 duly free: "Wanted, a few good judges of 

 stock, etc., etc., for the ensuing meeting of 

 the Royal Agricultural Society of England. 

 Apply by letter or in person, at 12, Hanover- 

 square." 



Once more do we ask, do the members gen- 

 erally of the Society know their own rights 

 and privileges ? Are they aware, that according 

 to the rules and regulations of their own body, 

 they are directly requested to send in the names 

 of any of their acquaintances whom they feel 



are competent to assist in any way in the pro- 

 ceedings? Could they tell us the names of a 

 few gentlemen qualified to act as judges at the 

 great national meetings, but who never yet have 

 acted in such a capacity ? If so, as no doubt very 

 many of them can, let them oblige, not us so 

 much as the Members of Council, and send such 

 names in on their nomination. Never mind if 

 they are yet untried in so large a field. We 

 have been working a little too much by iine 

 and rule as it is, and if we want a precedent 

 of any kind here, it is that every man must 

 have a beginning. So far we appear to have 

 been selecting men as judges and stewards be- 

 fore. Let us now extend the classes a little, 

 as we do with the stock. Let it no longer be 

 all Shorthorn, Hereford, and Devon, but let 

 us have grace enough to name a good man for 

 the office, on the very excellent showing, as 

 we take it, that he never held it before. There 

 is precedent even here, if we must have it. One 

 or two of the very best judges ever enlisted 

 for stock or implements, we will not care which 

 never acted at all until within the last two 

 or three years. 



The selection, of course, must rest with the 

 Council, and it is only right they should have 

 something good to select from. However much 

 or little encouraged, so far, it is a duty the 

 members of the Society generally owe to them- 

 selves to assist in making this list. out. We 

 will not go quite so far as to say that every 

 member reads the "Mark Lane Express." If he 

 does not, however, there is the more necessity 

 for his being directly invited to appreciate a 

 little more demonstratively the privileges he 

 enjoys. Why, there is not a man amongst us 

 who does not meet, every day of his life, some 

 capital judge of a horse, or Down, or an ox. 

 The Council of the Society requires the services 

 of this gentleman. It may be a gratifying and 

 well-merited distinction to him, and it will be 

 an essential advantage to them. Send up his 

 name, then, by all means and if you know of 

 another as good, don't hesitate to send his, too. 

 It is impossible to have too many to pick from. 



We have said that this selection is made by 

 the Council; that is, by as many Members of 

 Council as choose to attend any meeting ap- 

 pointed for that purpose. It is sometimes as- 

 serted that a large meeting cannot get through 

 its business anything like so efficiently as some 

 two or three members of it would. But this, on 

 the contrary, is especially the business, if not 

 of a large, of a full meeting of Council. Depute 

 it to two or three, and you will have the old 

 prejudices and precedents stronger than ever. 

 Go carefully through the list in open Council, 



