PRESIDENTS OF THE SOCIETY. 507 



but the Duke of Buccleuch, in giving the toast of the even- 

 ing, ' The Highland and Agricultural Society of Scotland,' 

 coupled it with the name of the INIarquis of Tweeddale as 

 President, saying ' he was delighted to see a man so promi- 

 nent in agriculture — not a mere theorist, but a practical 

 worker of the soil — at the head of the Society. He knew 

 the high estimation in which he was held by the Society 

 for his connection with it, and for his high attainments in 

 the science of agriculture. Not only was he remarkable as 

 a cultivator of the soil, but as a judge of stock there were 

 few better than he.' As President of the Society, the 

 Marquis attended the show at Kelso in 1872. At the 

 dinner held in the Corn Exchange, the Marquis's health 

 was proposed by the Earl of Haddington, who presided. 

 He remarked that ' had it not been for his physical incapa- 

 bilit}-, he was sure that they would that evening have had 

 the presence of their noble President. He was no ordinary 

 man ; he was one of the few Peninsular men left to us, one 

 of our oldest officers, and one of our most eminent agri- 

 culturists. No man had shown greater interest in the suc- 

 cess and promotion of agriculture than he had done. His 

 name was one that must be known everywhere, and it 

 would be handed down to posterity as a household word, 

 not only as a great soldier and eminent agriculturist, but as 

 a nobleman who had discharged to the best of his ability 

 the duties attaching to his high position, and who, more- 

 over, was one of the best of landlords.' 



In connection with Lord Tweeddale's services to the 

 Society, we may further mention that his Lordship received 

 on various occasions the special thanks of the Society. He 

 was on many occasions a successful competitor in various 

 classes of stock. He also contributed reports to the 

 Transactions of the Society. It would be wrong to omit 

 notice of the great stimulus the Marquis gave to deep- 

 ploughing, or of the attention he bestowed on steam 

 cultivation, to which, as we have remarked in the chapter 

 on that subject, he was the first to call the Society's atten- 

 tion. We may also fitly notice here that to the Marquis 

 of Tweeddale Scotland may be said to owe its National 



