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XVIII. — Report on the Exhibition of Implements at the Southamp- 
ton Meeting, in 1844. By Josiah Parkes, Consulting 
Engineer to the Society. 
In submitting to the Council the following Report on the imple- 
ments exhibited at Southampton, the writer feels it necessary to 
premise that the office assigned to him of Mechanical Referee to 
the Judges, in the event of their disagreeing in opinion on the 
merits of any implement, precluded his being present with them 
and the exhibitors during the inspection and trials of the imple- 
ments ; excepting in cases where his attendance was specially 
requested by the judges. This circumstance has naturally re- 
stricted his personal knowledge of the action and merit of the 
greater proportion of the machinery investigated by the judges ; 
and, as their labours were carried on in divisions, it is certain that 
no single individual, officiating for the Society in the show-yard, 
or on the trial-grounds, can presume on possessing the amount of 
knowledge requisite for illustrating that vast collection of imple- 
ments with the detail and exactness which may be desired by the 
Society, the exhibitors, and the judges themselves. Impressed 
with a sentiment of the extreme difficulty of the task of reporting 
on this show — also assigned to him — and of the doubt he had of 
satisfactorily fulfilling it, the author addressed a letter to the 
Council for his guidance and instruction. He was obligingly 
favoured with the following resolution : — 
" It is the opinion of the Council, after considering the letter addressed 
to them by Mr. Parkes, that Mr. Parkes should draw up the Report 
from the reports made by the Judges of Implements, for which tliey are 
solely responsible; but that upon all trials which he has himself viewed 
it will be competent for him to make any remarks he may think neces- 
sary ; as well as upon the mechanical appearance of the show." 
Relying, therefore, on the indulgence of the members of the 
Society, and of the exhibitors, for the imperfections and omissions 
of notice which will be but too evident on this occasion, as com- 
pared with former Reports, the author proceeds, however inade- 
quately, to acquit himself of the duty entrusted to him. 
As regards the show, its magnitude will be best appreciated by 
stating that the number of articles submitted to inspection and 
trial exceeded that at the Derby meeting, which was, it will be 
remembered, by far the largest of its predecessors. The number 
of exhibitors was not quite so great as in 1843, but in point of 
mechanical excellence, and in the number of new or improved 
inventions, it is the opinion of the writer that the Southampton 
is entitled to the credit of being the most brilliant meeting yet 
held under the auspices of the Society. The planning of the 
implement-yard gave great satisfaction, by reason of the space 
