Report of Stock Prizes Committee. 
lxxix 
Finance Committee in their apprecia- 
tion of the long and valuable services 
which Sir Nigel Kingscote had ren- 
dered to the Society as Chairman. 
Election of New Secretary. 
Sir Nigel Kingscote presented a 
report from the Finance Committee 
upon the applications received for the 
office of Secretary to the Society. The 
Committee submitted the names of 
three candidates for the consideration 
of the Council, and recommended the 
appointment of Mr. Thomas McRow. 
He, therefore, formally moved Mr. 
McRow’ s appointment. 
Mr. Harrison seconded the motion, 
and it was unanimously adopted. 
Mr. McRow, having been called in 
and acquainted by the President 
with the decision arrived at, expressed 
his sense of the honour conferred upon 
him, and stated that it would be his 
sole aim to assist the Council to carry 
out the objects of the Society. 
Stock Prizes Committee. 
Mr. Greaves (Chairman) reported 
that the question of the date from 
which the ages of Aberdeen Angus 
cattle should - be calculated had been 
again considered by the Committee, 
who adhered to their previous recom- 
mendation on the subject. They also 
recommended that the request of the 
Galloway Cattle Society, for the calcu- 
lation of the ages of Galloway cattle 
from December 1, be complied with. 
Date for Calculation of Ages of Aberdeen 
Angus Cattle. 
Mr. Ralph Palmer said that, with 
reference to the question as to the date 
from which the ages of Aberdeen 
Angus cattle should be calculated, he 
did not think the Council had had the 
facts as to the matter before them. If 
the recommendation of the Stock Prizes 
Committee were adopted he thought it 
would entail a very great hardship, 
and he therefore begged to oppose the 
Committee’s recommendation that the 
ages of Aberdeen Angus cattle be 
calculated from December 1 instead 
of January 1 as at present. The words 
of his (Mr. Palmer’s) amendment might 
be taken from the recommendation of 
the Stock Prizes Committee to the 
Council on March 3, 1880, which was 
adopted without discussion. It was in 
the following terms : — “ The Committee 
recommend that after the Show of 1 881 
the cattle classes in the prize sheet 
be arranged according to the years 
in which animals are born, without 
reference to any other date.” This 
was reported to the General Meeting, 
held on May 23, 1881, in the 
undermentioned terms : — “ The Council 
take this opportunity of reminding 
exhibitors of cattle, that, after the 
forthcoming Show at Derby, the new 
rule relating to the ages of animals 
exhibi ted will come into force — namely, 
that the cattle classes in the prize 
sheet will be arranged according to 
the years in which the animals are 
born.” 
He desired briefly to refer to the 
history of this question. Up to the 
year 1874, July 1 in the year before 
the meeting was the date from which 
the ages of, cattle had to be cal- 
culated. He thought it was at the 
Bedford Show of 1874 that reference 
was first made to the subject now 
before them. On March 1, 1876, the 
Society addressed 147 letters to 
breeders, asking their opinion on the 
question of the date of calculating the 
ages of cattle, but from the replies 
received it was clear that there was no 
agreement to be found amongst them. 
Later on, in 1879, there was a repre- 
sentation made to the Society by the 
breeders and exhibitors of Hereford 
cattle on the subject, saying that March 
1 was the most natural date. The 
Council then passed the resolution 
which he had just mentioned. He 
asked what was the reason wdiy one 
date or another date should be put 
forward. He asked the Council now 
to oppose the Committee’s motion. He 
had seen two of the letters lately 
published on this question, which spoke 
of the intrinsic advantages of the 
December date. This was suggested 
so that it might be possible for the fat 
beasts of the Christmas Show to be 
able to appear as breeding animals the 
next June. The question was one for 
the decision of their Council, without 
having regard to pleasing individual 
exhibitors. 
Mr. Thornton seconded, and said 
that as the matter now stood the 
year was stated to be 1902, 1903, or 
1904, and the Aberdeen Angus Society 
