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IX. — The Agricultural Features of the Paris Exhibition. By 
William Macdonald, Editor ' North British Agriculturist,' 
and James Macdonald, Agricultural Reporter, ' Scotsman.' 
Introduction. 
The great " World's Fair " which opened in the Champ-de- 
Mars, Paris, in May, and closed in November, has been a credit 
to the French authorities, whether a profit in a financial respect 
or not. It is beyond our province to report on the latter aspect 
of the gigantic undertaking ; but it is our agreeable duty to 
record here the great success of the Exhibition from an agricul- 
tural, or, for that matter, industrial, point of view. In some 
respects the arrangements were admirable, though in others, 
as was to have been expected, they were not quite what an 
Englishman could have wished, or indeed was accustomed to 
see at his own national agricultural gatherings. It must be 
admitted, however, that the arrangements for the live-stock 
displays were, in some of their features, considered supe- 
rior to anything that the ordinary British Show-goer has 
hitherto seen. We refer in particular to the design and work- 
manship of the buildings, which it may be stated had a semi- 
permanent character, and served first for the cattle display and 
afterwards for that of horses. Perhaps it should also be 
stated that expense was no object. The rows of shedding were 
roomy, airy, well-lighted, and very comfortable both for man 
and beast. The stalls were commodious, clean, and tidily 
kept. 
It is not our purpose to dwell on the charms of the gay capital 
of France ; on the extent and beauties of the Exhibition ground 
and buildings ; on the facilities afforded to visitors by the 
various competing routes from England ; nor on the extent to 
which the attractions of the Exhibition affected the revenue of 
railway companies and hotelkeepers in the different parts of 
Britain, more especially Scotland, frequented by tourists. We 
may refer, however, to certain circumstances which prevented a 
larger and better representation of British stock from putting in 
an appearance at Paris. In the first place, the journey was 
long and rough, and the risks of disease were great. These facts 
could not be ignored by the owners of very valuable Short- 
horns, and the fears of this nature entertained at the outset 
proved only too well founded, for the most valuable animal that 
crossed the Channel succumbed to disease before she could 
regain her own pastures. Another thing that operated against 
the exhibition of cattle from the United Kingdom was the period 
