No. 2. Meeting of the Royal Agricultural Society of England. 



61, 



ceeding on the plan which the society has 

 adopted, it will assuredly be effected in the 

 space of a very few years." 



But we hasten to lay before our readers the 

 ope7img of the great festival, which was, 

 most appropriately, ushered in by a grand 

 ploughmg-match — that most imjiortan.t of 

 all agricultural operations, which, however, 

 seems to be overlooked in a strange way by 

 our agriculturists generally. The premiums 

 awarded amounted to 51 sovereigns, for which 

 57 ploughs started in all their glory ! 



"Shortly before ten o'clock, the judges 

 gave the signals to start, and a most beautiful 

 sight presented itself! Most of the 114 horses 

 — each farmer having sent his choice cattle 

 with the best plough — decorated with ribbons, 

 in a moment were set in motion, and the trial 

 commenced in right good earnest, and was 

 carried on with vigour throughout. Amongst 

 the most prominent and best work effected, 

 was that which was done by two boys, and a 

 man with a Scotch plough — indeed it was a 

 settled point, after the first half hour's work, 

 that the boys were sure of rewards, if not the 

 frst. The whole field, of .50 acres, was 

 ploughed up, generally in prime style, by a 

 quarter before twelve ; the two boys having 

 finished their work rather earlier than the 

 others; and the judges almost immediately 

 proceeded to their inspection ; and at -^ past 

 two o'clock the President, the Duke of Rich- 

 mond, awarded the premiums, two of which 

 fell to two brothers, by the names of Salmon, 

 one of whom, only 15 years of age, wore a 

 hat, which he had won at a former ploughing- 

 match ! The subscription to make up these 

 prizes, amounted to nearly £100 sterling !" 



It is added, and we can readily believe it, 

 — "This part of the business "of the day 

 passed off very satisfactorily." 



The Reporter now conducts us to the ex- 

 hibition yard. " The cattle-yard is an area 

 of four acres and a half, enclosed by a fence 

 nine feet high, having two gateway entrances 

 for the admission of cattle, agricultural im- 

 plements, &c., and four entrances for visiters 

 on the south side ; the arrangements to pre- 

 vent confusion being admirable. The whole 

 of the interior, sixteen feet firom the outer 

 fence, is surrounded by cattle-sheds, the roofs 

 of which project six feet over and beyond that 

 required for the cattle, for the protection of 

 visiters, should the weather prove so unpro- 

 pitious as to render shelter desirable. An 

 inner quadrangle, enclosed by the cattle- 

 sheds, had been set apart for the exhibition of 

 seeds, vegetables, corn, grain, and agricultu- 

 ral implements, as also for sheep and pigs. 

 The cattle were supplied with water by 

 means of cast iron pipes, laid for the purpose. 

 The public were admitted as early as six I 

 o'clock in the morning, by paying 2 shillings ' 



and 6 pence per ticket, and from that hour 

 until 12 o'clock at noon at the same price, 

 after which, until 7 P. M. at 1 shilling each. 



The Pavilion of Doioning College. 



" When the curiosity of the vast number 

 of persons, who had been drawn together at 

 the yard, had been in some degree satisfied, 

 the next grand object of attraction was the 

 dinner, to be given to the general body of the 

 members of the society. The demand for 

 tickets by non-members was at one time so 

 great, that two and even three pounds was 

 offered as a premium to any one to sell his 

 right of entry to the pavilion. As early as 

 half past two o'clock, tiiere were many per- 

 sons in attendance at the gates, but owing to 

 the arrangements made, ' the first were last, 

 and the last first !' At about twenty minutes 

 to three, the gates were thrown open, and a 

 rush was made to obtain an early entrance, 

 but, as parties reached tlie pavilion, they 

 found that the various doors of entrance were 

 marked with capital letters, and they were 

 compelled to refer to their ticket, to guide 

 them to that part of the pavilion especially 

 set apart to it. On gaining an entrance, we 

 found the pavilion divided into about a dozen 

 compartments, each having an alphabetical 

 direction ; and many hundreds there were, 

 who found themselves first in the pavilion, 

 who were compelled to station themselves at 

 a great distance from the platform, upon 

 1 which the distinguished guests sat — this ar- 

 rangement prevented that scramble for seats, 

 which would else inevitably have taken place, 

 but wofully disappointed those who first en- 

 tered the hall. The gallery was early filled 

 with ladies, whose presence gave a gaiety 

 and brilliancy to the scene. 



The pavilion was erected on the quadran- 

 gle of Downing College; the roof is in seven 

 compartments, supported from beneath by 

 strong pillars of wood. The interior consists 

 of an apartment capable of dining 3000 per- 

 sons, the tables and seats being so arranged 

 as to face the high table, which is elevated 

 four feet above the ground, and will seat sixty 

 persons; this being set apart for ambassadors 

 and foreigners of distinction, honorary mem- 

 bers, professors of geology, chemistry, &c., 

 &c. Upon the ground, immediately in front 

 of the platform, are tables and seats for 300 

 persons in two divisions, intended for the 

 judges of stock, farm produce and implements, 

 tlie reporters for the public press, &c. There 

 are two large windows of stained glass, at 

 each side of the building, the frame-work 

 being of wrought iron : the construction of 

 the roof is novel, the braces and ties being 

 also of wrought iron, which give it a very 

 light and elegant appearance. The dimen- 

 sions are, 200 feet from east to west, and 127 



