xxxiv  Annual  General  Meeting,  December  8,  1909, 
were  determined  on  anytliing  it  was  generally  done — to  make  the  Show  a 
success.  Every  effort  was  already  being  made  to  carry  that  Show  to  a suc- 
cessful conclusion. 
It  would  also  be  a matter  of  very  great  gratification  to  Members  of  the 
Koyal  Agricultural  Society  to  hear  that  the  Council  had  determined  to  recom- 
mend Sir  Gilbert  Greenall  for  the  office  of  President  of  that  Show.  It  was 
quite  needless  for  him  again  to  refer  to  the  immense  and  invaluable  services 
which  Sir  Gilbert  had  rendered  to  the  Society.  The  only  suggestion  which  had 
been  made  was  whether  he  could  do  the  work  of  two  men.  All  he  could  say 
was  that  he  himself  had  served  as  President,  and  he  then  found  that  Sir 
Gilbert  had  done  the  work  of  two  men  when  there  were  two  men,  and  his 
Grace  was  sure  he  would  be  able  to  do  it  when  there  was  only  one  man.  The 
whole  of  the  work  was,  and  is,  done  by  Sir  Gilbert  Greenall,  with  the  assist- 
ance of  their  Secretary,  Mr.  McKow,  and  his  admirable  staff,  and  he  felt  quite 
confident  that,  in  having  Sir  Gilbert  Greenall  as  their  President,  they  had 
shown  honour  to  the  man  to  whom  honour  was  due.  They  would  all  rally 
round  him  and  support  him  to  the  best  of  their  ability. 
He  hoped  he  was  not  taking  too  optimistic  a view  in  congratulating  the 
Society  on  the  position  they  occupied.  Their  Membership  had  not  yet 
reached  the  total  of  10,000,  but  they  had  every  reason  to  hope  that  the  in- 
creased and  increasing  interest  taken  in  the  work  of  the  Society,  not  only  in 
connection  with  the  Show,  but  in  connection  with  their  operations  in  various 
other  directions,  would  enable  them  not  only  to  reach  10,000,  but  that  would 
be  only  a minimum  and  an  increasing  figure. 
The  full  financial  position  at  present  could  not  be  placed  before  them, 
but  he  thought  when  the  year’s  work  was  finished  they  would  be  able  to 
submit  an  extremely  satisfactory  balance-sheet. 
Many  Members  would  have  heard  with  the  very  greatest  regret  that  Mr. 
Carruthers,  their  Consulting  Botanist,  had  found  it  necessary  to  retire.  He 
had  rendered,  for  nearly  forty  years,  most  valuable  services  to  the  Society, 
and  not  only  to  Members,  but  to  agriculturists  as  a whole.  He  had  felt  it 
necessary,  owing  to  increasing  age,  to  relinquish  the  post  he  had  so  long  and 
nobly  held,  and  he  was  sure  he  would  take  into  his  retirement  the  best  wishes 
of  all  Members  of  the  Society.  His  Grace  was  glad  to  be  able  to  report  that 
the  Council  had  been  extremely  fortunate  in  being  able  to  avail  themselves  of 
the  services  of  Professor  Biflfen  as  Botanist.  Many  Members  of  the  Society 
would  be  aware  that  during  the  last  few  years  there  had  been  a very 
considerable  development  of  the  agricultural  research  and  teaching  work  at  the 
■University  of  Cambridge.  He  believed  that  the  Society  were  taking  a position 
at  Cambridge  that  had  never  yet  been  occupied  by  any  other  corresponding 
body.  He  had  taken  the  opportunity  during  the  course  of  last  summer  of 
meeting  personally  some  of  those  gentlemen  who  came  over  on  other  matters 
from  South  Africa.  He  was  glad  that  they  were,  in  the  course  of  their  visit  to 
the  mother  country,  able  to  pay  a visit  to  the  University  of  Cambridge  to  see 
the  work  which  was  being  done  there  in  the  way  of  agricultural  development, 
and  he  had  heard  from  their  own  lips  that,  in  their  opinion,  it  was  the  best 
organised  and  best  equipped  institution  of  its  kind  they  had  ever  seen.  He 
felt  sure  there  was  a possibility  of  very  great  development  there,  and  therefore 
he  thought  that  they,  as  Members  of  the  Koyal  Agricultural  Society,  could 
claim  that  they  had  been  fortunate  in  being  able  to  secure  as  their  Botanist 
one  of  those  gentlemen  who  was  closely  connected  with  the  progress  that 
was  being  made  at  that  University.  He  hoped  it  would  be  found  possible 
to  work  in  cordial  co-operation  with  them,  and  to  the  mutual  benefit  of  the 
Society  and  the  University  of  Cambridge.  Upon  that  point  he  wished  to  refer 
to  some  observations  he  had  made  to  that  meeting  last  year,  when  he  had  said 
it  was  not  only  in  connection  with  the  annual  Show  but  with  all  the  other 
work  of  the  Society  that  they  were  hoping  to  extend  their  operations.  The 
Finance  Committee  had,  without  being  unduly  extravagant  and  always  having 
