Reports oj Committees. 
xli 
ance of the present system would, as 
time went on, fill the Society with a 
number of Life Members, of whom no 
doubt a great many would not be 
connected with agriculture, but who 
would become a heavy charge upon 
the funds of the Society. The 
Council were aware that a resolution 
had been passed by the Education 
Committee, which had the effect of 
reducing these Life Memberships to 
five per annum. This was a step in 
the right direction, seeing that in 1893 
no less than fourteen of these Life 
Memberships were conferred upon 
young men who were successful in the 
Senior Examination. They must 
recollect that the value to the Society 
of the composition money received 
from a young man of twenty-five to 
thirty years of age was considerably 
less than the amount received from 
a man of forty to fifty years of age. 
All these new Life Members would be 
men at the very opening of their 
career, and likely, therefore, to claim 
the advantages of membership for a 
very long time. There was another 
point to which he would like to draw 
the attention of the Council. The 
report made in 1888 by Sir John 
Thorold’s Committee showed that a 
very large proportion of young men 
who attained these distinctions in 
agricultural examinations abandoned 
agriculture as a profession. It might 
therefore be fairly argued that these 
Life Members would, to a considerable 
degree, have nothing to do in after- 
life with the business and science of 
agriculture. 
Sir Nigel Kingscote said he 
seconded the resolution because he 
really thought that the prizes offered 
were quite sufficient to bring about 
the emulation required, and if any 
candidate who won a prize seriously 
meant to carry out agriculture as his 
profestio 1 , he could not do better 
than spend his prize in paying for a 
Life Membership. He really did not 
see why the Society should go to this 
cost, which had become a very heavy 
one. He thought the sum of 551., 
which was at present given annually 
in prizes, was quite sufficient, and he 
therefore hoped that the Council 
would adopt Mr. Pell’s motion. 
The resolution was then put and 
carried nem. dis. 
Rothamsted Jubilee Fund. 
The Duke of Westminster said 
that it would be within the recollec- 
tion of the Council that a Committee 
was appointed some time ago to draw 
up a scheme for the celebration of the 
Jubilee of the Rothamsted Experi- 
ments. That scheme was inaugu- 
rated by the Prince of Wales in a 
speech he made at a meeting which 
was convened by him (the Duke) at 
the time of his Presidency of that 
Society. The large sum of 700 1. had 
been collected, and those present at 
the commemoration meeting on July 
29 last would doubtless agree that 
the arrangements made proved satis- 
factory to Sir John Lawes and Sir 
Henry Gilbert, and to the subscribers 
at large. The Committee desired 
him as their Chairman to express 
thanks to the Council of the Royal 
Agricultural Society for their kind- 
ness in placing the Council Chamber 
and office facilities at the disposal of 
the Committee. He wished also to 
take the opportunity of saying how 
much the Committee were indebted 
to the very valuable — as usual — 
services of Mr. Clarke as Honorary 
Secretary to the fund, and to his staff, 
who gave their services most readily 
and efficiently. He desired to ask 
the permission of the Council for the 
records of the fund to be placed in the 
custody of the Society, in order that 
they might be available for the 
inspection of any subscriber to the 
fund. 
The necessary permission was for- 
mally granted. 
Country Meeting of 1895. 
The Secretary submitted for 
approval the agreement proposed to 
be entered into between the Corpora- 
tion of Darlington and the Society 
for the holding of the Country Meet- 
ing of 1895 at that place, and the 
Society’s Seal was authorised to be 
affixed thereto. 
Date of Next Meeting. 
Various letters and other docu- 
ments having been laid upon the 
table, the Council adjourned till 
Wednesday, April 4th, 1894, at 
noon. 
