The Royal Agricultural Society of England. 885 = 619 
m to the precautions which they should take and the 
larantees of quality which they should obtain when they 
irchase various kinds of artificial manures and feeding-stuffs, 
housands of these circulars have also been issued by other 
)cieties ; but still the Consulting Chemist finds ample material 
r his Quarterly Reports, although for a time the actions at 
w just referred to cleared the air of much floating mischief, 
id temporarily denuded those Reports of their most striking 
laracter. 
To defray the cost of the third and fourth heads of the Con- Experiments 
Iting Chemist's duties, the Council make an annual grant of invcsti- 
)0/. ; and every volume of the ' Journal ' contains one or two S" '""^^- 
cords of the results of those investigations made either in 
e field or in the laboratory. Last year, as has been already 
■scribed, the efforts of the Society in this direction received 
great impetus from the passing of the Agricultural Holdings 
ct, and were much facilitated by the liberality and public 
)irit of the Duke of Bedford, to whom the Society is entirely 
debted for the Experimental Station at Woburn. 
It will thus be seen that the Chemical Committee have the 
targe of a most important section of the Society's functions, 
id that their activity is commensurate with their mission. But 
)wever great may be the work which they have done in the 
ist, there can be no doubt that they have a still larger field for 
eir operations in the future. The increasing use of artificial 
anures and feeding-stuffs for the mutual benefit of landlord 
id tenant will lead to a considerable extension of the use which 
is hitherto been made of the facilities for analysis which are 
forded to the members of the Society ; while the establish- 
ent of the Experimental Farm at Woburn seems lo open out 
e prospect that the questions upon which practical and 
ientific men are not yet agreed, will be submitted to careful 
id crucial tests under the supervision of a joint committee 
)mbining " practice with science." 
Natural History. — A separate department to take cogni- Natural 
ince of the application of these sciences to agriculture was History. 
Dt formed until the year 1871, when Mr. Carruthers, F.R.S., 
le Keeper of the Botanical department of the British Museum, 
as appointed " Consulting Botanist " to the Society. More 
;cently the same gentleman has undertaken to supply the Mem- 
ers with advice on Zoological matters. Thus the Members 
the Society can now, at the cost of a few shillings, have 
leir seeds tested and obtain advice on any animal or vege- 
ible pest that may damage their crops. The following ; is 
list of the Natural History Privileges of Members of the 
ociety : — 
■ 
