372 
The  late  Earl  Spencer. 
Both  the  late  Earl  and  his  grandfather  held  the  estates  for 
upwards  of  half  a century. 
His  lordship  for  many  years  kept  a herd  of  pedigree 
Shorthorns,  and  he  always  possessed  sound  and  good  Shire, 
Hackney,  and  thoroughbred  stallions,  which  were  available  for 
the  use  of  his  tenants  at  nominal  fees. 
The  services  rendered  by  Lord  Spencer  to  his  country  in 
many  high  offices  of  State  need  not  be  here  mentioned  ; but 
it  is  said  that,  apart  from  work  and  duty,  his  ruling  passion 
was  for  horse  and  foxhound,  and  he  was  on  three  separate 
occasions  Master  of  the  Pytchley  Hunt. 
While  Lord  Lieutenant  he  inaugurated  the  Spencer  Prize 
System  for  the  Small  Farmers  in  Ireland  with  the  object  of 
creating  a taste  for  progress  among  this  class  and  of  ameliorat- 
ing their  condition.  An  account  of  this,  one  of  his  many 
efforts  on  behalf  of  agricultural  progress,  has  been  written  by 
Professor  Baldwin.1 
His  own  personal  association  with  the  Royal  Agricultural 
Society  commenced  in  the  year  I860,  when  he  became  a 
member,  joining  the  Council  in  1874  at  the  end  of  his  first 
term  of  office  as  Lord  Lieutenant  of  Ireland.  He  was  elected 
a Vice-President  in  1883  and  a Trustee  in  1898.  He  also  filled 
the  Presidential  Chair  in  the  later  year,  when  the  Annual 
Country  Meeting  was  held  in  Four  Oaks  Park,  Sutton  Coldfield, 
Birmingham.  In  consequence  of  ill  health  he  had  for  some 
time  been  unable  to  attend  the  meetings  of  the  Council,  and 
in  1908  he  resigned  his  position  as  a Trustee. 
1 “The  Prize  System  as  applied  to  Small  Farmers  in  Ireland,”  R.A.S.E. 
Journal,  Vol.  38,  1877,  page  394. 
