The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1868-12-12 00:00:00

NFLUENCE OF RAILWAYS ON
AGRICULTURE.

On Monday night, the farmers present in London
had an important subject brought under their notice
at the meeting of the Central Farmers' Club. Mr.
Fowler of the Prebendal Farm, Aylesbury, read
paper on the influence of railways upon agriculture.
Mr. Fowler observed that through the introduction of
railways the whole country had been converted into
one vast mart. By the aid of railways the farmer was
enabled to transport his produce, whether of amble or
pasture districts, his corn and cattle, milk, poultry,
eggs, and vegetables, to the best market, whilst new
centres for fresh breeding herds had been opened in
many and various directions. Cows were bred in the
c.ountry for the supply of London with milk, woich
was brought fresh into town every morning by
rail in fabulous quantities. On the other hand,
the rural districts were supplied, through the
seine means, with coal as a substitute for the
wood m Lich was formerly used, and now was
all but exhausted; and the introduction of coal
had been followed by the threshing machine, and the
steam cultivator, the benefits of which were inestim-
able on the cold heavy lands of the country. True,
the railways had absorbed a quantity of land within
the last thirty-five years which was equal to 700 large
farms ; but the facilities given for the carriage of coal
and the produce of agriculture made up in his judg-
ment for the absorption of what he termed the raw
material of farming. The labour market, too, had
been greatly influenced by railways. It wascalculated
that upwards of 200.000 persons had been taken from
agricultural pursuits and employed in different capa-
cities, such as railway porters, ticket clerks, and arti-
ficers, at enhanced rates of remuneration, and thus a
desire had been awakened on the part of the rural
poor in the neighbourhood of railways to give their
children a better education. Having enumerated
several °Oleg minor points in respect of which railways
had exercised, and were exercising, a beneficial in-
fluence upon the agricultural community, and amongst
them the fact that local peculiarities of speech were
disappearing, and that there was a general ten-
dency. to "a fusion of race" throughout the United
Kingdom, Mr. Fowler, nevertheless admitted
that they were not an unmixed good, that they had
certain drawbacks, and in particular that cattle were
treated with great brutality in the transit, that the
embankments and cuttings were often left in an unsafe
condition, the fences and level crossings insecure, and
that noxious weeds were allowed to grow, and their
seeds to be scattered for miles over the country round.
Ile looked forward with hope, however, to the speedy
arrival of the day when, by the extensive adoption of
tramways, there would not be a district which could
not boast of being in connection with the great railway
system of the country. In the cmrse of the discussion
Which succeeded, Mr. Mechi observed that one ad-
vantage conferred by railways upon the agricultural
interest was that of being instrumental in the removal
if that great obstacle to progress, local prejudice; the
belief that one's own parish was always the best, and
that all others were inferior to it.
Mr. C. S. Read, MY. (who was in the chair), in
summing up the debate, said that railways bad been
the means of spreading all sorts of diseases among
cattle. He was also aware that, owing to the manner
in which the Iran-it of cattle was conducted, it com-
prised within twenty-four hours an amount of loss and
suffering that used to be distributed over a week. But
that was the result of an abuse of the railway, and not
its use ; and he trusted there would soon be a cure for
it. One part of the subject not touched upon that
evening (Mr. Read added) was the advantage of the
railroad to the agricultural labourer. There was no
doubt that if there were an intelligent boy in the night
school he was sure to come and ask for a berth on the
railway; mid he knew that railways had, as they
always would, absorbed the best of the agricultural
labourers; but then there was this compensation, that
where agricultural labour was superabundant, and the
railroad was within easy reach, for a week's pay the
labourer could transport himself to any other part of
England where his services were wanted. In the same
way the master was enabled to ;procure a supply of
agricultural labour from a distance which a few years
ago he would have found to be impossible.

Mr. C. S. Read, M.P., was in the chair at the dinner
of the Central Farmer's Club at the Salisbury Hotel on
Tuesday night. Mr. Read's health having beendrunk,
with congratulation on his being again returned to
Parliament, the hon. gentleman defended his conduct
as a tenant farmer's member. With the exception of
one man, who said he would not vote for him because
he had not abolished the malt tax; and, with another
exception, that of some outrageous fellow, who declared
that because he had not exterminated bares and rabbits
he could not support him, he believed there was not one
fault found with him as an agricultural member. It
was simply said that he had stuck too close
to his party. Well in these days he thought that
was rather creditable than the reverse. If any
man supposed that he could go into the House
of Commons and make a party for himself, to
become a unit in that great assembly, he would not only
defeat the object for which be was sent there, but
would heap ridicule upon himself as well as those who
sent him. Although, then, he might have stuck close
to his ;arty, and meant to do so again, he appealed to
his audience to say whether, when that party failed of
its duty to the agricultural interest, he had not boldly
spoken and boldly moved against the Government and
against the party.