cxcvi General Meeting of Governors and Members, 
Omitting the prizes for implements 
(as these varied according to the 
circumstances of each year), he found 
that whilst in December, 1869, it 
was announced that at the Oxford 
Meeting of 1870 the total amount of 
prizes offered would be 3,1807., the 
Council reported that day that at the 
Cambridge Meeting next year prizes 
amounting to 5,6607. would be offered, 
or nearly double. Whilst at Oxford 
prizes were offered in only 109 classes 
--24 for horses, 34 for cattle, 32 for 
sheep, and 19 for pigs — at the Cam- 
bridge Meeting next year there would 
be 3 19 classes, including 55 for horses, 
69 for cattle, 59 for sheep, 24 for pigs, 
besides 76 for poultry and 36 for pro- 
duce, which did not appear at all in 
the Oxford prize- sheet. There would, 
moreover, be butter-making and 
horse-shoeing competitions, and a 
working dairy, features which were 
unknown in the earlier showyards. 
The meeting of December 8, 1869, 
to which he had referred, was also of 
some historical importance in the 
annals of the Society, because it was 
then that the Council first announced 
their decision (which had such far- 
reaching results in the repression of 
the adulteration of fertilisers and 
feeding-stuffs) to publish quarterly 
reports of the Chemical Committee, 
giving, for the protection of members 
of the Society, the names of the 
manufacturers and veudors who had 
supplied impure and adulterated 
articles, or who had given to their 
customers inaccurate descriptions of 
goods sold. 
The energy which the Society had 
displayed in putting a stop to the 
adulteration of the articles essential 
for farming operations was only on a 
par with its activity in other direc- 
tions ; and he was sure they must all 
feel that it was bearing a great and 
useful part in the public institutions 
in this country. They might hope 
that, with larger and improved quar- 
ters, it might continue to carry on its 
work m perpetuity for, in the words 
of their charter, “ the general ad- 
vancement of English agriculture.'’ 
(Hear, hear.) 
Report of Council. 
The Report of the Council for the 
past half-year having been taken as 
read, the Secretary gave a brief 
synopsis of its contents (seepage 779). 
Sir John Kennaway, Bart., M.P., 
in moving the adoption of the report, 
said he felt sure that he should be 
expressing the feelings of all the 
members of the Society in heartily 
welcoming his Grace the President on 
the occasion of his occupying the 
chair at that meeting. (Hear, hear.) 
The hereditary interest of his Grace’s 
family and his personal sympathy 
with agriculture were evidenced by 
his presence there that day. The 
report had much of encouragement 
and hope in it. They noticed with 
sympathy and regret the losses of 
those who had done excellent work 
for the Society in the past. Their 
loss would be felt, but it was satisfac- 
tory to find that there were 160 new 
members to be added to their body. 
They must congratulate the Society 
on the permanent home in which it 
would very shortly be settled, and they 
were grateful to those by w r hose 
munificence the Society was able to 
secure its new quarters. It was a 
source of satisfaction to notice the 
success of the Society's Meeting held 
at Chester this year, and it was to be 
hoped that a still better result might 
be obtained at Cambridge next year. 
Various matters were referred to in 
the report as to what legislation had 
attempted to do for agriculture in the 
past few years. He thought they 
might congratulate themselves that 
they had been able to lay their case 
before Parliament, and that they had 
been enabled, very greatly by the 
exertions of Mr. Chaplin and other 
members, to place upon the Statute 
Book measures which would certainly 
be a great help to them. They were 
thankful that the Board of Agriculture 
had been established, and for the 
passing of the Contagious Diseases 
(Animals) Act, under which swine 
fever was now to be dealt with. 
Those were evidences that agriculture 
was able to make its voice heard, and 
he hoped that any other legislation 
which they might reasonably bring 
forward would be met as favourably. 
Agriculturists generally would await 
with interest the report of the Royal 
Commission, as to which it was im- 
possible to make any prophecy at the 
present time. When burdens were 
