EIGHTH SHOW AT EDINBURGH, 1 859. 345 



compared with previous meetings. By this time, indeed, the 

 dinners had come to be regarded as of secondary importance, 

 great interest being attached to the exhibitions of stock. 

 There were only 108 gentlemen at the dinner. The Duke of 

 Athole, President of the Society, was in the chair, and among 

 others present were the Duke of Buccleuch, the Duke of 

 Richmond, Lord Strathallan, Viscount Dalrymple, Lord 

 Justice Clerk Inglis, Lord Curriehill, Lord Binning, Sir 

 George Clerk, Sir Thos. B. Hepburn, Sir James Mackenzie, 

 Sir William Baillie of Polkemmet, Sir John Richardson. 

 The Duke of Buccleuch having proposed the College of 

 Justice, and the band having thereafter played ' Fee him, 

 father, fee him,' the Lord Justice Clerk, in acknowledging, 

 stated that within his own experience there had been a 

 remarkable decay of the litigious spirit amongst the agri- 

 culturists of Scotland, and an equally remarkable falling 

 off in the number of actions raised by them against their 

 landlords, or against each other in the Court of Session. 

 His learned brother and predecessor, Ple}-dell, held that 

 the farmers of Scotland took to litigation only after the 

 union of the two kingdoms had deprived them of their 

 more natural amusement of slaughtering their sovereigns 

 and making war. Now, however, another change had come 

 over the farmers, and what could be the reason of it. He 

 was perfectly convinced that their perfervidinn ingeiiiuvi 

 must get vent somehow, else it would burst its bonds; 

 and he had little doubt the reason it did not find its vent in 

 litigation was that it found sufficient excitement and relief 

 in the honourable and kindly emulation of the show-}-ard. 

 The Duke of Richmond acknowledged the Agricultural 

 Societies of England and Ireland, claiming for the first 

 that it was the elder child of the Highland Society, and 

 remarking that the Irish had followed the example of 

 England in establishing their Society. The Duke also 

 had the honour of returning thanks for the Successful Com- 

 petitors. 



In i860, the Society migrated to the banks of the 

 Nith, paying a visit for the fourth time to Dumfries. 



