Monthly Council, February 4, 1891. 
for a great length of time — having 
been struck out of the prize sheet by 
the Stock Prizes Committee at their 
December meeting, without any notice 
whatever to those interested in the 
breeds affected. 
Viscount EiiLYX and Mr. Dest 
supported Mr. Parker's protest ; but 
Mr. BowEN-JosES and Sir Sigel 
KiXGSCOTE endorsed the views of the 
Duke of Iliclimond and Gordon. 
Earl Cathcaet said that in signing 
the requisition for the Special Council 
he had acted ministerially only, as 
further discussioji seemed to be called 
for, and he was always in favour of 
the fullest inquiry. 
The Duke of Eichmond and 
GoEDOX haWng replied to some of 
the points raised in the discussion, 
the motion for the confirmation of the 
minutes was put from the Chair and 
carried nem. con. 
Apologies for Non-Attendance. 
The President announced that he 
had received a letter from the Earl of 
Feversham, expressing his regret at 
being unable to be present in conse- 
quence of an important meeting of 
his County Council that day. Lord 
Egerton of Tatton and Mr. Foster 
had also written letters of apology fcr 
non-attendance ; and a communication 
had been received from Mr. Anthony 
Hamond expressing his regret that, 
owing to his absence abroad for 
several months, he would be unable to 
attend the nest few meetings of the 
Council. 
The late Duke of Bedford. 
The President said he had now a 
very painful duty to perform in an- 
nouncing officially to the Council the 
death of the Duke of Bedford, one of 
the Trustees of the Society, and per- 
haps the most munificent patron it 
had ever had. He felt sure that in 
expressing his own personal regrets 
at the heavy loss which the Society 
and agriculture generally had sus- 
tained by his Grace's death, he was 
echoing the feelings of every member 
of the Council, and of every member of 
the Society. He had had for many 
years tlie privilege, the pleasure, the 
advantage of his Grace's personal 
friendship. The Duke was a man — 
unfortunately in these times too rare 
— who was seen, but not heard. He 
was always to be seen in his place ; 
and his place was wherever he thought 
it his duty to be. He was, perhaps, 
one of the most regular and punctual 
attendants in the House of Lords ; 
and whether in the Committee rooms 
of that House, or in the House itself, 
his well-known figure and his keen 
and observant features would long be 
missed in the place he formerly occu- 
pied. But, though sparing in speech, 
he was readily accessible in council ; 
and he ventured to think that few of 
those- and there were many — who 
had consulted him in life had reason 
to regret it. His Grace's great intel- 
lectual powers, his extensive reading, 
his knowledge of men and affairs, his 
great affability, his ready kindness 
and keen wit, rendered his advice 
immensely valuable, and his com- 
panionship most agreeable. But it 
was in his connection with that 
Society that they in that room were 
specially endeared and indebted to 
his Grace. He had described the 
Duke as a munificent patron, and he 
thought that title was well deserved. 
It was now fourteen years since his 
Grace handed over to the Society, for 
the purpose of a model experimental 
farm, a considerable tract of land at 
Woburn. Through the generosity of 
his Grace, the Society had been 
enabled, for a long course of years, 
to conduct most important and valu- 
able experiments, and to give the 
results of them to the country. He 
ventured to think that the knowledge 
so obtained had been of extreme 
interest to the Society itself, and of 
value to agriculture general!)". Very 
important lessons had been learnt 
from those experiments, and he would 
remind them of what the vorld in 
general was hardly aware, that his 
Grace took the deepest interest in 
their conduct and progress. One of 
his last letters was to the effect that 
expense was to be no object, and that 
he would be willing to assist the ex- 
periments in every possible waj'. The 
site of tlie experiments was by no 
means a favoured spot at first, but by 
skilful culture and judicious applica- 
tion of manures scientifically applied 
— operations largely guided by the 
late Dr. Voelcker — it was turned into 
