140 
Supplement to the “ Tropical AgricaltarisL 
[AU(;. 2, 1897. 
widespread connection of the reigning bouse with 
agricuUnre, bad ic not been for tlie advent of the 
Prince Consort and bis entbnsiasni for count) y pui- 
suits. Jt was a striking tribute to l)is good sense, 
and an illustration of bis ready adaptability to bis 
surroundings, that, coming from tbe continent 
wbere tbe State did almost everything for agri- 
culture, to Great Britain when it then did 
next to nothing, I’rince Albert at once adopted 
English methods, and set about organising all kinds 
of self-help institutions, or strengthening those 
already in existence. For twenty-one years, it has 
been well said, he was in the forefront of eveiy 
agricultural enterprise, and this period of wise 
activity was to have been fitly crowned with the 
presidency of the Royal Agricultural Society of 
England, in the year of its first great international 
show, when all the world was startled by the news 
of his sudden death on 14th December, 1861. It 
was part of the tribute which the widowed Queen 
paid to the memory of her Consort that she gave 
orders for the continuance of all his farming 
operations on the lines which he had laid down, 
and thus to understand Her Majesty’s position iji 
the agricultural world we must briefly sketcli the 
agricultural enterj)rises of the Prince Consort. 
The first property which II-R.H. set him.-^elf to 
improve was that of Osborne, in the Isle of Wight, 
which is now under thecharge of Mr. Andrew Slater, 
formerly of Haystoun, Peebles. Incidentally, it 
may be remarked tiiat Scotchmen have playnd an 
important part in t!ic work of the Royal farms, 
the present as well as the past managers or facto)’s 
on all of the estates being of Scottish jraivmage 
and born north of the Tweed. Mr. William Tait 
succeeded his father, the late Mr. Henry Tait, in 
1882, at Windsor, and only recently Mr. James 
Forbes has succeeded the lamented Dr. Profeit at 
Balmoral and Abergeldie. The palace at Osborne 
was built from Prince Albert’s own designs in 
1845-46, and the surrounding estates, extending 
four miles in length and two miles in breadth, were 
laid out and vastly improved by Mr. Andrew To- 
ward, under the supervision of His Royal High- 
ness. He began experiments in sewage farming 
in 1851, and the expenditure on this estate during 
the forties was enormou.s. The horses used here 
from the beginning, and, indeed, still on al! Her 
Majesty’s estates, have always been Clydescbdes. 
Tlie stud at Osborne in the Prince Consort’s time 
numbered from 24 to 30 head. A Clydesdale stal- 
lion was kept, and breeding systematically pro- 
secuted. The other stock in the Isle of Wight are 
Jersey cattle for dairy purposes and Gallow’ays for- 
feeding. Dorset-horned and Southdown sheep have 
also been favoured in this department. The Prince 
was deeply interested in the improvement of the 
social condition of the labourers, and the cottages 
built by him were models. This trait has des- 
cended to his son, the Sandritigham cottages in 
Norfolk being well known as desirable residences 
for a rural population. 
The estate next purchased or leased was that 
now known as Balmoral, in Aberdeenshire, It 
lies near to the village of Crathie, about 52 miles 
W.S.W. from the Granite City. At first the pro- 
perty was leased from the Earl of Aberdet n, but 
in 1852 it was xjurchased. It contains 10,000 im- 
perial acres, but the demesne was further extended 
by the purchase of Birkhall estate and the leasing of 
Abergeldie iMains for forty years (1840-891, with final 
purchase since that dale, so tha.t the v liole now 
extends to iibout 40,000 acres. It is on this estate 
that Her Majesty spends the greater portion of the 
year, and here in recent years has been founded a 
choice herd of Aberdeen-Angu.“ cattle, as well as a 
small Hackney stud. The lierd as made quite a 
name for itself already, and the fame of Eulenberg 
and Gentian is widespread. E'-ery care is being 
taken to extend the usefulness of these cattle, and 
alike at the breeding and the fat stock shows the 
Royal blackskins have given a good account of 
themselves. Even more noteworthy than its agri- 
culture is the forestry of the Queen’s Highland 
property. Under the skilful management of Mr. 
John Michie a large additional area has been 
planted, so that on the estate there are now 5,700 
acres of well-stocked woodland. This enterprise 
was commenced by Prince Albert, and probably on 
none of the Queen’s estates did he leave the impress 
of Ids genius more clearly than on his Highland 
estate on Deeside. Doubtle.-s to this is to be attri- 
buted Her Majesty’s great love for her Aberdeen- 
shire home — for slie does nothing by lialves. The 
roads, fences, and e.specially the cottages on the 
estate, are all so many monuments to Albert the 
Good; and it is impossible not to admire the many- 
sidedness of the German prince who couhl, and 
did, so readily adapt himself to the duties of a 
Highland laird. The traditions of tlie house ha\e 
been thoroughly sustained by those entruded with 
the control of affairs since the Prince Consort’s 
death, and enthusiasm for tlu Brili-h Royal Family 
is at while heat in Deeside and Braemar. 
Windsor is at once the most extensive and the 
most varied of the Royal residences and farms. At 
one time the Queen held five farms in the vicinity 
of Windsor Ca-tle-thehomeorDaiiy farm,thePrince 
Consort's Shaw farm, the Flemish farm, the Norfolk 
farm, and the Bagshot and Rapley farms. The 
last are now farmed by H.R.H. the Duke of 
Connought, who entered on their occupancy in 1880, 
and all of Her Majesty’s sons, it may be said in 
passing, while they resided in England, had farms 
of their own. 
The dairy farm is that which first meets the eye 
of the visitor to the Windsor Great Park. It lies 
contiguous to the castle, and the dairy jiremises are 
well W'oith going a long way to see. Tliey were built 
from designs by the I’rince Consort, and finished in 
1855. Thereis nothingat first sight startling about 
the appointments, but a leisurely examination re- 
veals a wealth of detail in the cmistruction of the 
premise.? which {.uts to shame anything we have 
ever seen in dairies, and well calculated to ensure 
the maximum of cleanliness with the minimum 
of labour. Space does not admit of a detailed 
de.-oiption of these ideal premises hi re, but the 
curious will find an admirable account in Mr. 
Macdonald’s article, entitled “ Queen and Farmer,” 
in the recent issue of the Transactions. Jerseys and 
Shorthorn crosses are the dairy cattle made use of 
at AVindsor, but at Invergekkr, in Aberdeenshire, 
the dairy herd is composed of Ay i shires. Her Majesty 
in this, as in everything ekse, acting with con- 
summate tact, so that no portion of her subjects 
should have ground of complaint. Every breed is 
recognised in its own jiroper sphere, and, if all are 
not alike i)rosperous, the blame cannot be laid at 
the door of the Queen. The principal homestead 
