528 
Report on the Liverpool Meeting. 
commercial prosperity of the town has largely increased in thirty- 
six years, and the tonnage of the shipping has been trebled, but 
the Society's Show has increased still more rapidly; it then 
occupied about 7 acres, while this year it covered more than 70 
acres. 
Much of the progress in agriculture in this period, both in 
stock and machinery, may be traced to the operations of the 
Royal Agricultural Society, and the local societies which have 
followed in its wake. It may be that they have partly accom- 
plished the first stage of their work ; namely, the general im- 
provement of stock by judicious breeding, and that we cannot 
expect in the next generation to see a proportionate progress on 
these points, though there is still ample room for improvement 
in the stock of many farmers. But much remains for the Society 
to do in the investigation of the application of manures to the 
soil, and testing their effects by experiments in different localities, 
such as are now being conducted at Woburn by the liberality 
of the Duke of Bedford, and under the supervision of Mr. 
Lawes and Dr. Voelcker. The encouragement of a higher 
scientific education among farmers, the diffusion of knowledge 
respecting the diseases of animals, and the state of agriculture 
in foreign countries, also still leave a large field of usefulness 
open to the Society. 
The exhibition of machinery, now so prominent a feature, 
as evinced by the large number of entries, and whose province 
it is to make up for the dearth of labour in the operations 
of agriculture, would hardly by itself attract the general public. 
Hence the shows of stock, which some are inclined to depreciate 
as superfluous in these days, are the means which the Society 
must continue to use in order to popularise its operations, to 
keep up the interest of the general public in so important 
a branch of national industry, and to publish its progress to the 
world. The classes of Shorthorns and horses carry off the palm 
in the estimation of the public. The former were admirably 
represented, as might be expected in Lancashire ; and among 
the latter, the agricultural horses were a "sight" by themselves, 
stimulated as the competition has been by the magnificent prize 
of 100 guineas for the best cart-stallion in the Showyard, given 
by Major Walker, the Mayor of Liverpool, and a silver cup, 
valued at 50 guineas, given bv Lieut.-Colonel Steble, ex-Mayor, 
for the best agricultural cart-mare or gelding. 
How could the value of rearing powerful dray-horses for the 
service of our great commercial centres be better realised by 
breeders than by the exhibition of 333 horses belonging to thirty- 
three employers of labour? It is difficult to select any for 
commendation where all were good. The leading horses, whose 
