ANNUAL MEETING. 
463 
The opinions which he had formed as to the useful connexion of 
science with practical agriculture were these : — science without 
practice could do but little ; but science joined with practice 
would do a great deal. Science and practice now went hand in 
hand. Science now took its proper and useful position. It did 
not stand forward as an instructor to the practical farmer, but as 
his able assistant. With this union of science and practice, 
joined by the best exertions of tenant farmers and effectively sup- 
ported by liberal landlords, and all engaged in agriculture, such 
general improvement in British agriculture may reasonably be 
expected as to place this country in that most desired situation 
for every country, the not being dependent on foreign nations for 
any part of its supply of food.” 
We have quoted at considerable length the observations of Mr. 
Hillyard. We have done so, because every one who knows him 
highly respects him, and because the honest struggle between 
the old and the new schools was so admirably pourtrayed. 
We pass on to the second dinner, and there we find an ad- 
mirable elucidation of the advantage to be derived from meetings 
like these, and the true connexion between science and agricul- 
ture. Mr. Strutt, after some excellent prefatory observations 
with regard to the connexion between agriculture and manu- 
factures, says “ that there was another advantage of great 
importance which necessarily arose out of these meetings, and 
that was, that they tended to bring together men of science and 
practical farmers — and the labours of the agriculturist were aided 
and assisted by the discoveries and researches of scientific men. 
Until of late years science was considered to be totally uncon- 
nected with and unimportant to agriculture ; but he was happy 
to say a change had taken place in the opinions of practical men 
on this subject. Chemistry, the use of which in bleaching and 
manufactures generally was fully estimated, was now found to be 
not so valueless as had been originally supposed when applied to 
agriculture. No better proof of the connexion between agricul- 
ture and manufactures could be afforded than by the immense 
and magnificent collection of implements which they had seen 
exhibited that day \ a display of which any nation, and espe- 
cially an agricultural country, has just reason to be proud. They 
