NATURE 



461 



THURSDAY, APRIL 15, 1875 



ROYAL AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY'S 



JOURNAL 



yoKrnal of the Royal Agricultural Society of England, 



Nos. 20 and 21 Second Series. 



I. 



THE Royal Agricultural Society of England, the 

 greatest Agricultural Society in the world, has on 

 its roll 5,846 members. It was founded upwards of 

 thirty years ago, by men to whom the agricultural classes 

 are largely indebted. It has issued ever since a h.ilf- 

 yearly volume of Transactions, in which most valuable 

 papers have appeared from time to time. 



We propose to review the two last numbers, 20 and 

 21 : the present notice is confined to No. 20. It 

 contains sixteen papers, which treat of varied and 

 interesting subjects. It begins with a long paper, by 

 Prof. Wrightson, of Cirencester, " On the Agriculture 

 of the Austro-Hungarian Empire," which affords evi- 

 dence that Mr. Wrightson laboured diligently during 

 a tour in that country, to collect facts. The most im- 

 portant conclusion deduced from his inquiries is that 

 " there is little for the Englishman to learn from Hunga- 

 rian farming." If consolidation of farms be ever carried 

 to an extreme limit, " a valuable lesson may, however, be 

 taken from that country, where it is no uncommon thing 

 to see hundreds of thousands of acres under a central 

 management." But it is not likely that farming will ever 

 be practised in England on that gigantic scale. 



The most readable paper in the Journal is a biogra- 

 phical sketch of the late Sir Harry S. M. Thompson, 

 Bart., of Kirby Hall, Yorkshire, whose lamented death, 

 last year, left a blank in the ranks of the Society not 

 easily filled. This notice has been contributed by Earl 

 Cathcart ; and it affords ample evidence that his lordship 

 is a man of ability, a good writer, and a man of fine feel- 

 ings and disposition. The late Sir Harry Thompson, 

 Bart., better known as Mr. Thompson, was one of the 

 most active members of the Society. Speaking from 

 a slender personal acquaintance, v.'e would say that he 

 was a man of great industry and of remarkable capacity 

 for business. He sought to probe every subject to the 

 bottom. He had one quality, which is one of the best a 

 public man could possess — he was true to his convic- 

 tions. It is generally considered that in filling up im- 

 portant offices in the Society he committed grave 

 mistakes ; but believing himself to be right, he urged his 

 views with his usual ability, and with that strong will 

 which enabled him to conquer many difficulties, and won. 

 We commend to the careful perusal of the landed gentry 

 who aspire to take a leading part in agricultural progress. 

 Lord Cathcart's biographical notice, in which they will 

 find the outlines of a splendid career, told with singular 

 truthfulness and felicity. 



The contributors to this Journal may be divided into 

 two classes — amateur and professional. Lord Cathcart 

 belongs to the former class, and so does Mr. J. Dent 

 Dent, of Ribston Hall, Wetherby, who contributes an 

 admirable paper under the modest title of " Agricultural 

 Jottings from the General Report of the last Census of 

 Vol. XI.— Nc, 285 



England and Wales." It is rather behind time, but is 

 throughout a candid and thoughtful paper. " On the 

 whole," concludes Mr. Dent, "the number of small 

 holdings is more considerable than was imagined, the 

 demands of the towns are not beyond the means of 

 supply, and the condition of the agricultural labourer is 

 fast rising to a more equal rank with that of the skilled 

 artisan." According to the returns consolidation would 

 appear to have reached the climax in England. The 

 numbers who are described in the returns for 1851, i86r, 

 and 1 87 1 as farmers and graziers are as follows :— 



1851 249431 



i86j 249,735 



1871 ... ... ... 249,907 



Independently of these, there is a vast number of 

 holders of small pieces of land. The census returns do 

 not furnish the exact figures ; but by another official 

 inquiry, returns of live stock were obtained from 469,444 

 occupiers of land in England and Wales in 1871, a 

 number which was increased to 481,412 in 1873. It may 

 be assumed that the number of farmers and graziers 

 accounted for in the census of 187 1 devote their whole time 

 to these pursuits; and that agricultural labourers, trades- 

 men, artisans, and others, who occupy small holdings,make 

 up the remainder of those who furnished returns of live 

 stock. But until the fact was revealed by these statistics, the 

 public was not prepared for the announcement made by the 

 enumerators that in " England there are about 350,000 

 separate holdings, not one of which exceeds five acres in 

 extent, and that this number is exclusive of the gardens 

 attached to all classes of dwelling-houses, including those 

 of labouring men." 



It is strange that in the face of these facts the leading 

 organ of public opinion has recently laboured to show 

 that small farmers are rapidly dying out. 



Professional writers appear in great force in this 

 number of the Journal. Dr. Voelcker, F.R.S., consulting 

 chemist to the Society, contributes two papers ; Mr. 

 Carruthers, F.R.S., consulting botanist, contributes an 

 original paper and a translation ; Mr. Jenkins, F.G.S., 

 secretary to the Society, contributes a paper on the culti- 

 vation of potatoes, with special reference to the potato 

 disease, which was pretty certain to be eagerly perused 

 by all the members of the Society ; Prof. Simonds, 

 Principal of the Royal Veterinary College, contributes a 

 report on the health of farm animals ; and Prof. Brown, 

 V.S., principal inspector of the Veterinary Department, 

 gives us a paper " On inoculation with the virus of con- 

 tagious pleuropneumonia of the ox." 



It is no light duty to review these papers. With us it is 

 not a voluntary task ; and this must be our apology for 

 any criticism which may appear severe. Prof. Brown 

 treats of a subject which has attracted a good deal of 

 attention. Prof. Simonds, some years ago, condemned the 

 practice of inoculation as a means of preventing pleuro- 

 pneumonia. Prof Gamgee has since often repeated his 

 entire belief in it. Prof. Brown, with that caution which 

 has characterised him, has been regarding it as an open 

 question. He has written much on contagious diseases ; 

 but he has rarely been able to arrive at any settled views. 

 His present contribution is no exception. In one page 

 we are told " science offers no evidence in favour of 

 inoculation as a preventive of pleuro-pneumonia." Then, 



