THE ROYAL DUBLIN SOCIETY 23 



1733, when a paper on the destruction of fisheries by 

 trawling was read. It may be remarked here that in 

 February 1738 the Bishop of Down presented the Society 

 with a new Treatise on Fisheries. 



In Pue's Occurrences of the 24th of February 1733, 

 the Society made its first appearance in the public press, 

 with a notice as to its intention of publishing from 

 time to time instructions in Husbandry. As char- 

 acteristic of the methods pursued, and showing the 

 care and thought voluntarily bestowed on the affairs 

 of the Society by its working members, it will be of 

 interest to reproduce the article : 



" The Dublin Society, intending to publish instructions 

 in several branches of Husbandry, desire gentlemen and 

 farmers in the country will be pleased to communicate to 

 the Society any useful improvement they know or practice 

 in any part of Husbandry, by letter directed to Anthony 

 Sheppard, jun., Esq. in Dublin. And whereas it has been 

 found upon frequent trials, that the new invented plow, 

 lately brought from England, plows lay and stubble ground 

 very well with half the number of cattle required for the 

 common plow, when it is managed by a plowman who 

 knows the right way of using it, but has sometimes not 

 answered expectation from want of skill in the person who 

 held it. This is to give notice that if gentlemen who have 

 got the new plow, will send their plowmen to Dublin, and 

 direct them to Mr. Thomas Prior, at Mr. Gunn's, book- 

 seller in Caple St., care shall be taken to have them 

 instructed gratis^ in two or three days at most, the right 

 way of using the said plow, by persons well skilled, who 

 live near Dublin." 



Following up this practice, a further article, (on 

 this occasion), as to the culture of flax, appeared on 

 the loth of April in the same year. 



" The Dublin Society has ordered the following account 

 of extraordinary produce of flax seed to be published, in 



