The Express.
London, England, 1858-09-11 00:00:00

(Stamped H. Additional.) [TWOPENCE.

MANCHESTER AND LIVERPOOL AGRI-
CULTURAL Bocarr.

The proceedings of the eleventh meeting of this
society were brought to • clan at four o'clock yesterday. The
admission on Thursday wee at half-a-crows, sad the viMors
were chiefly of the wealthier classes. The weather was flee,
and a out number of people availed themselves of the op-
portunity. Yesterday, when the ambition was lowered to •
shilling, the weather was wet, and extremely unfavourable.
People from a distance, who had made their preparations,
end taken Sokoto for the railway trips, were not prevented
by the weather, and arrived in great numbers, probably
hoping for a favonsuble change, and willing to run all risks.
The number of visitors from Manchester sad its populous
neighbourhood was, however, na doubt much lees
than it would have been wider brighter auspice'.
Netwithetsading them drawbacks, the exhibition has
bean a greet imam
The anneal dinner took place on Thanday evening, to
the Music Saloon, st the Bells Voe Gardens. Mr. 8.
Bence' presided; sad ameeppt the spears., in connexion
with the Masts were Mr. W. Stenos, M.P., Lad de Tab-
ley, the Rev. Mr. Hem the Rev. C. T. Jaw, Mr. Alder-
men lisold, Mr. J. A. Turner, M.P., Mr. 'J. P. Brows-
Weedieede Wei Mt. 0. 3.01,1.7.
1.42.41:1=mit “ ammo se Ibementiseher end
Society." Be remarked that
this were a mil Es which they were all Intsmeted,
slum es cowmen** men or agrieulturista The misty
was estehlished la 1767 by • small band of mon, at AJ-
triembem. • Tbry then threshed with a flail which cost a
shilling. Pow they bad in the show yard a threads,-
machine which coat 3001. • and there were tenant farmers
who would lime forward :Ind buy such • machine. (Hee,
hear.) They who bed witnessed that day's Mow must have
learned got to despise the day of smell Mime. (Hear, hear.)
He Wheel that the foundation of all good farming was to
take the wester out of the lend by deep draining. (Hear.)
Ids bed bed some experience in the matter. (Laughter.)
Farmers must drain four feet deep, three feet would sot do,
the at that' epth they would not come to the water. But at
four feet, as drainers mealy mid the land began to bleed
a little.' What they were plagued with wee not the
water that came down from the keens., but the water that
wee regularly escalading by capillary attraction, being drawn
upwards by the sun. But at four feet down the sun had no
power, and the water ran down to find its own level in the
ditch. (Hear.) If a gentleman wanted to know whether a
field was drained, he should dig a hole 4 feet deep. Although
he might not find water at ono., if he would return to the
spot the next morning he would be my likely to find the hole
fall of water. Thom who bad come from Crewe by railway
might have noticed ponds full of water in the land adjoining
the Has. The field merounding each pond was as • omen-
qualms kill of watered this was the wont of it—it was
colder ;than what descended in a shower. But when a field
wee drained by pipes four feet deep, the land was reed for
▪ shower, end was hrtilised by it. (Hear, hear.) There
met be a great deal of mosey laid out yet in the im-
provement of land. He maintained that no person
should buy en estate worth 30,0001., unless he bad in hie
pocket 10,0001. ready to lay oat In improving the farms, by
draining the land, pulling down the old backings, end
planting quicktbom hedges is straight lines. The fields
should be from -12 to 14 awes each; end there ought not to
be a ditch upon the premises. ("Hear. hear," and laughter.)
Lend was a luxury, and those gentlemen who indulged Ice it
ought to be content with a return of two ler cent. upon the
(noisy. (" Hear, hear," and laughter.) If a landed Few
*ear bad 10,0001. a year, he was looked upon as a " big
tut.' Bat if a man bad 15,000/. per annum from the kinds
he was not looked upon at all. (Laughter.) One of Poor
Richard's sayings would illiterate his meaning :—" Now
that I have • Wimp and a cow, every body bids em good
reenow." (Hear, hear.) It was not to the landlord's
intim* to get the last shilling la the shape of rest ham his
tenants. (Hear, Mar.) Let the tenant have • good veer or
two; he would then get money in his pocket, end a Mast
sees lensed the meaning of that saying of Lord Bacon's,
"eA Money is like muck—no good unless spread." (Cheer. end
Hr. .)
l.riMeeollll MECHI gave Baccess to the Royal
Society,' He said be need loudly ma&
ITltetluelfaorts of that society had recoiled In very great
good to agriculture. He felt that it might stall meal Us
epw of emfahiels, by showing itself a little hes embl-
ve; aid throwing open its discoaelons to the public
poem Will good would result. (Hear beer.) He
must oomatalate the city of Manchester on the excellent
show of thst day, in which he could mark the progress of the
agriculture of the district. At the same time he was bound
to say that he was not *filled with British agriculture as
it is. Ho admitted that great propose had been made,
and that we stood high in comparison with other nations.
But we were also sadly in sneer in comparison with the
perforation which time must develop, and which he hoped
would be very much hastened. The cultivation of this
country wee at present only as deep as e common wine glaw,
and its return per serene more upon an average than 41.
of actual available predate. This was diegracefal to English
sericul when we retketed what i might be. Why was
it so 1, Iture,t was madam that we had t not dose me duty in
this respect. Fear years ago he ventured to make some re-
marks en the apicaltere of Cheshire, and he had hoped that
in four yews a great improvement would have taken plea.
Bat es be pea* through the district by rail on Weisesday,
ha still noticed the old sore—the want of drainage, the went
of proper cultivation, and of more manure, sad aliepther
the want of a higher tone of egricieltare. It was beano speak
the truth, whether it was palatable se sot ; end he had a
right to say a word on the subject. For Main yews his
experiment end his outlay of malty Is agrioulturel ink.
proemial had taught him that there was nothing so
certainly profitable se the judicious lavestment of capital fa
agricultural improvement. (Hear, hear.) It had bees the
Galion to say " Mr. Medd carries out agricultural improve-
ment as • hobby." But he only did that upon the hem
which he would do in his business or house —if he found It
oat of order be would put it In order, and that could not be
done without en expenditure of capital and intelligence.
(Hew, bear.) If Manchester had been satisfied with the
old hand-loom would she have been able to clothe the
world he shoo, end to get large profits? No. Bat by •
large intelligence, and a great &velment of chemical, m-
rirg, and manufacturing .dens, atm was enabled to
s. Precisely the same thing mat be done in awl-
=end by similar means. They mtat not remain
with their present condition ; but, feeling that
they were only moving gradually on the way to perfec-
tion, they must mike more haste than they had
hitherto dose. This was not a matter of way see
complialunsat. Fortunately, however, there were railways
now, end every facility for ipter-oommusicatios. He
did not charge it on agriculture that she wee so back-
ward. It we her misfertune, from the nature of distastes
and the kaposeibility of farmers meeting together as new-
cheats and manufacturers did. Until agriculture had rail-
ways it was almost impossible for her to improve. A
practical farmer seldom went oat of his own county, end
some seldom left their own parish. Every pariah Witted
itself to be the most perfect pariah In England, and that it
had nothing to learn from any other. Bat all that wag now
done away with. The introduction of the locomotive had
brought people to rub their heads together. end the result
was a much greeter amount of prognas. There were now
two rem questions before the agricultural world. Firer, the
'strode:eon of steam to cultivation. He hoped that for ell
general porpoise, as threshing, grinding, and so forth, mow
fannies said the steam segine. Fifteen years ego he was
prosovaind a madmen for having a steam engine on a
farm of 160 acres. Bat the gentlemen who then thought
he (Mr. Meohi) had lost his wits were now following the
same °ours". And his hearers might depend upon it that
they would never develop the full powers of agriculture
mod they brought steam to bear on cultivation. Their
6 ache of =Weida& would be exchanged for 2 feet or
3 feet; be said that very guardedly. They all knew how
mush was raised by market gardener ; and that was
dose by depth of cultivation and great manuring. Per-
haps gentlemen were not aware also that the horses
nowNited in agricutteue commed one-fifth of the whole
produce of the country. When they introduced steam
their hones would eat coal Mead of corn, and coals
were mach chews thee the awn which would be
eaten by the horses neemeary to do the same amount
of work. The next great modes " What is to be
done with the enrage of the teen" P" knew what It
wet to feed the Inhabitants of the country end they could
Madam what would be the vales of the manure If it
were reapplied to the rail. The Chime were our gape
tiers In this respect, for they hasimadiel the moms She
gold, sad sot • particle wee wasted. Bat he hid se hem
that that would be doss. jest yet in this oonatry. It would
take a Mg tines, and require • large maniadty of sentiment
amour the landowners end femme, sal the emend public.
When the public voice should be railed on the sobject, ad
discomfort upon it should be entered into in every
they might hops that the time would come when we
ham the gretiou and profit of seeing the people totter
fed by mem of that which wee now considered positively
Mbytes. to them. He hoped they believe bin when
he mid, that if they would employ • large .1.1.. the
MI, in improvements, la in eel
claim cultivates, Is the see of • hew Tema* of
mentere,—if they would seeks their holds mower, were
Meier shelter foe their stook, end permed. the lawyers that
they
irddiud
„rile betteresumueto enablethay
woutheneld
boto &swam.
wthirLpsiefertesiothee
the net hymned countries In the world. (Hear beer.) He
when minim from all parse of the world, and Its imeiries
' from them had led him to conclude that English taboo;
hides( by the amemet of work dons, was the cheapest la
dr world. (Heat beer.) He had found, upon exszalsbag
some Pollak end ItamWee Meade, that their good crops were
not meek shove half of what was grown on our best farms
la this country. Bat then, they said, their cast was very
little ; they could bsy the fro ample for 31. or V. per wee.
It would be a sorry thing for this country if the cos was so
little. He hoped to em the time when the rent would he
Moat 31. per ewe. It would be a happy thing for the

farmers if the rent were doubled, sop the increased
rent represented the improvements eby the landlord.
Non-improvement was unprofitable. If some one ware
to offer him a farm of • thousand acres of undrained land,
he would not have it ea.& gift to be compelled to farm it
himself. (Applause.)
The toast was duly responded to, and the subsequent toasts
included the healthy of the mayors and corporation' of Man-
chester and Liverpool.