October 24, 191 2] 



NATURE 



241 



Buchan, the other in East Lothian. The former 

 appears to have been started about 1730 by James 

 Ferguson of Pitfour among his Buchan tenantry. 

 Ferguson was a friend of Thomas Hope's and believed 

 in his methods of "preaching improvements." He 

 supplied the members of the Buchan Society with 

 books, and he himself attended their meetings. In 

 1735 this society published a small volume which had 

 been drawn up by the members at their meetings, 

 entitled "A True Method of Treating Light Hazely 

 Ground ; or, an Exact Relation of the Practice of 

 Farmers in Buchan containing Rules for Infields, 

 Outfields, Haughs, and Laighs." In many respects 

 this is a remarkable little work. It relates exclusively 

 to local farming, and while the inspiration may have 

 come from Edinburgh, the book itself bears no evidence 

 of outside influence. Their independence is indeed a 

 noteworthy characteristic of the members of this 

 Buchan Society. From certain references which 

 appear in their Proceedings it may be surmised that 

 they were well acquainted with agricultural writers. 

 But instead of recounting the opinions of others, and 

 speculating as to their value for Buchan, this society 

 of tenant-farmers adopted the true scientific method, 

 they described their practices in detail, discussed them 

 fully, and, being satisfied that they were applicable 

 to local conditions, they reduced their methods to 

 rules. In matters too deep for them, their philosophy 

 rested on a firm basis. Here, for example, is an 

 explanation of the early fruiting of wild oats. This 

 pestilent weed they urge all farmers to destroy by 

 "cropping the wild oats how soon they come out of 

 the hose, who appear always about eight days -before 

 the tame. Thus is Providence so kind as to tack 

 that to their nature which is the means of their own 

 destruction." 



The second of the local Scottish societies, existing 

 before 1745, was that established by an enlightened 

 landowner, John Cockburn of Ormistown, in East 

 Lothian. Robertson, in his "Rural Recollections," 

 gives July 18, 1736, as the date of its formation. 

 With Cockburn were associated Sir John Dalrymple 

 and other country gentlemen. From a reference made 

 to their meetings by Henry Home, it would appear 

 that in this society we have the origin of the "farmers' 

 dinner." Home counsels landlords to " convene " 

 tenants once a year to a "hearty meal," at which thev 

 were to be instructed in new methods of husbandry. 

 " It was by such means," he adds, "that the late John 

 Cockburn of Ormistown promoted emulation and in- 

 dustry among his people." But Cockburn did not 

 confine himself to an annual dinner. Monthly meet- 

 ings were held for the discussion of agricultural im- 

 provements, and these were much appreciated not only 

 by Cockburn 's tenants, but by neighbouring land- 

 owners like the Earl of Stair and the Duke of Perth, 

 who attended regularly. Even the '45 did not sup- 

 press these monthly meetings, and after Preston Pans 

 the Duke of Perth was mindful enough of Ormistown 

 to send troops to protect the members, so that thev 

 might quietly continue their criticisms of Tull and 

 their appreciations of turnips. 



Maxwell tells us that the Dublin Society (established 

 173 1) was formed in imitation of the Society of Im- 

 provers. It is clear when .Arthur Young wrote that 

 to the Dublin Society "belongs the undisputed merit 

 of being the father of all similar societies now exist- 

 ing in Europe " he meant that it was the oldest of 

 existing agricultural societies, and not the first society 

 of its kind. The Dublin Society soon after its forma- 

 tion received a Govornment grant and could therefore 

 spend much more on its work than its Scottish proto- 

 type. Time will not permit of a reference to the work 

 of this society, but mention may be made of the ex- 

 perimental farm established bv the unfortunate John 

 XO. 2243, VOL. 90] 



VVynn Baker, under its auspices. The farm was 

 started in 1764 and continued until about I770' 

 Schemes were drawn up by Baker in consultation with 

 the society, and an annual grant of 200L was made 

 in support of the experiments ; two volumes giving the 

 results were issued. 



In 1754 the Royal Society of Arts was established, 

 and almost immediately afterwards it began to give 

 attention to agriculture. A record of its valuable 

 work written by Sir Henry Truman Wood has recently 

 been published' in the society's Journal. 



The same year that saw the formation of the Royal 

 Society of Arts brought together in Edinburgh a small 

 group of distinguished men who formed themselves 

 into the Select Society. The purposes were the dis- 

 cussion of philosophical questions and practice in 

 public speaking. The idea came from ."Mian Ramsay, 

 an artist and son of the poet. Ale.xander Wedderburn 

 was elected chairman (as Lord Loughborough, the 

 first Scottish Lord Chancellor of England, he affi.xed 

 the seal that gave Sir John Sinclair his Board of 

 Agriculture), and among the members were Adam 

 Smith, David Hume, Henry Home (later Lord 

 Karnes), and William Robertson (afterwards Principal 

 of Edinburgh University). This society soon attracted 

 all Edinburgh residents who were in any way distin- 

 guished. But in one respect it was a failure ; certain 

 members, we are informed, always talked, and the 

 wisdom of others was in danger of being suppressed 

 and unavailing. It is said, for example, that Adam 

 Smith and David Hume never opened their lips ! It 

 appears, therefore, to have been decided that the 

 society's genius should be turned to practical objects, 

 and within the Select Society a new organisation, the 

 Edinburgh Society, was formed in 1755, "for the 

 encouragement of Arts, Sciences, Manufactures and 

 Agriculture " — i.e. for the same purposes as the Society 

 of Arts had been established in London a few months 

 earlier. 



An account of the Edinburgh Society is given by 

 Ramsay in his " History of the Highland and Agri- 

 cultural Society of Scotland," from which it appears 

 that the methods of this society — the offering of pre- 

 miums for live-stock and implements — were those 

 which have since been everywhere adopted. In 1759, 

 for example, we read that at the show of horses nine 

 stallions were exhibited, "all very good." But the 

 goodness of the stallions and of the objects did not 

 bring prosperity to the Edinburgh Society; talent was 

 more abundant than money in Edinburgh in the 

 middle of the eighteenth century, subscriptions re- 

 mained unpaid, the premium list had to be reduced, 

 and finally the Select and the Edinburgh Societies 

 disappeared together in 1765. 



Before concluding these notes on early associations 

 let me ask your attention very briefly to some of the 

 evidences of their influence on the agriculture of a 

 later period. 



The chief aims of the early societies were to impress 

 upon landowners in the first place the interest afforded 

 by the study of agriculture and in the second the duty 

 of providing an increased supply of food for the 

 nation. Nothing is more marked in the writings of 

 such improvers as Blith, Worlidge, Lisle, Laurence, 

 and Mackintosh than their insistence on the import- 

 ance of agriculture as a subject of study. Until the 

 educated among their fellow-countrymen could be in- 

 terested in the principles of agriculture, it was clear 

 to these far-seeing men that progress could not be 

 made. 



The change in the attitude of the educated classes 

 to agriculture that took place within a century of the 

 formation of the Royal Society is indicated in all the 

 works published after 1750. Hirtzel, of Berne, e.g. in 



