90 RECORDS OF OLD TIMES- 



Agricultural Society supplemented it with a second 

 prize of 25/., and as hop- and fruit-growing was 

 essentially a part of the cultivation of the county, Mr. 

 Whitehead was appointed with me. In the course 

 of our expedition we visited the farm of Mr. Charles 

 Randall, one of the most noted agriculturists of the 

 day, who resided near Evesham, and is, alas ! no 

 more. He was a charming, genial gentleman, and 

 was for many years one of the leading members of 

 the Council of the Royal Agricultural Society of 

 England. On visiting his farm we were most 

 hospitably entertained and detained to dinner, some 

 ladies and gentlemen of the neighbourhood being 

 invited to meet us. We were put up for the night. 

 We found the farm the perfection of good culture, 

 the live stock excellent, the most marked being the 

 sheep, for which Mr. Randall had a world-wide 

 reputation, as was evinced by the high prices 

 obtained for his rams at his annual sale. The house 

 stood on an eminence commanding a view of a fine 

 undulating country, and was surrounded with a 

 beautiful well-kept garden blazing with autumnal 

 flowers, everything around being replete with good 

 taste, and showing ample means of keeping the 

 house, grounds, and farm in a high state of cultiva- 

 tion. This farm adjoined the estate and mansion 

 of the Due de Nemours, Mr. Randall being manager. 

 To him we most unhesitatingly awarded the first 

 prize, the second going to a farm on the banks of 

 the river Severn, at or near Upton-on-Severn. I 

 have been rather particular in describing Mr. 



