PRESIDENTS OF THE SOCIETY. 503 



opportunity of making many friendships which otherwise 

 he should not probably have made, and it would be with 

 much pleasure and satisfaction that he would look back 

 to the time which he spent among the agriculturists of 

 Scotland. 



\6tJL President, 1862- 1866. 



George Douglas, eighth and present Duke of Argyll, 

 K.T., was elected 15th January 1862. His Grace was born 

 30th April 1823. 



At the General Meeting on 17th January 1866, the 

 Earl of Haddington proposed a vote thanks to his Grace 

 in the following terms : ' That the Duke of Arg^'ll, having 

 for the period of four years discharged the duties of Presi- 

 dent in a manner calculated to sustain the dignity and to 

 promote the interests and objects of this Society, the thanks 

 of the meeting are eminently due to his Grace on retiring 

 from that office.' Lord Haddington added that ' his Grace 

 did not allow his high, his precious gifts to remain unem- 

 ployed ; but even although his mind must be occupied, as a 

 Minister of the State, with many and with weighty matters, 

 yet he found time to make himself fully master of those 

 affairs relating to the agriculture of the country upon which 

 on more than one occasion he so eloquently addressed you. 

 He did think these addresses of themselves, even supposing 

 there were no other reason, fully entitle him to the thanks 

 of this Society.' The motion was carried by acclamation. 



I'] th President, 1866- 1869. 



Walter Francis, fifth and present Duke of Buccleuch, 

 and seventh of Queensberry, K.G., was elected for a second 

 period on 17th Januaiy 1866. 



At the General Meeting on 20th January 1869, Sir 

 William Gibson Craig, in moving a vote of thanks to his 

 Grace for the services he had rendered to the Societ}', said 

 — I believe that there is no man in the kingdom, with the 

 exception of our present Chairman, who has done so much 

 for the agriculture of Scotland as the Duke of Buccleuch 

 has done ; and in one respect I may say that the Duke 



