The Sun.
London, England, 1855-07-21 00:00:00

THE MILITIA.

The removal of the 31 West York Militia from Waterford
to the camp on the Curragh of Kildare, which has been de-
layed in consequence of the incompleteness of the huts pre-
paring for their reception, will take place next week. The
companies will be lodged in huts containing 25 men each,
and they will be divided into squads of 12 men each. The
sick will remain at the present station of the regiment. A
detachment of the regiment, under Captain Bower, remains
at New Ross. Only 69 of the 300 disembodied men have as
yet taken advantage of Lord Panmure's order, and applied
for their discharge. The total strength of the regiment is 42
sergeants, 36 corporals, 15 drummers, and 619 privates.
The different militia regiments in Scotland are being visited
by military officers for the purpose of receiving volunteers
for the regular army.

The Royal Elthorne Light Infantry, stationed at Uxbridge,
Lieutenant-Colonel L. M. Murray Prior Commandant, and
which regiment is upwards of 1,000 strong, has volunteered
for the East, or wherever its services may be required.

THE ROYAL AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY.

The proceedings of the Royal Agricultural Society in the
North of England were commenced at Carlisle on Thursday
by the partial opening of the show ground to the public. The
admission, however, was confined to the trial-yard, where
experiments were made with various steam-engines and other
machinery of large dimensions, to afford the judges the op-
portunity of testing their respective merits.
This enclosure comprises an area of nearly 15 acres. This
space is separated into two divisions, the larger of whi?b !,
appropriated to live stock, implements, and agrieVtuff
seeds ; the other to the steam-engines, stationary anaw',"'_":
motive, and the more complicated pieces of machinery which
require steam power to put them in operation. The former
compartment booths,
compartment contains no less than 36 woodenhs
including
of these sheds are appropriated to live t
implements, and
running across the ground and parallel to eace
eoetkh,er. Twenty
horses, cattle, and sheep, 14 to agricultural Altogether, the total
two to agricultural seeds and poultry.eaTunhootnbae-
amount of shedding and fencing exceeds
na-
ture of the soil upon which t
of the kingdom.
vilion, in which the ban-
excelled, if equalled, in any pa
is erected. Its construe.
quet is to be held nest
Within the show
Thursday.groundthcrtpa
show Altogether,
e two
situatedn i les .
airy, and light, at the same time strong and
2,000/., the whole of
nalgriaekminegugbscribes 1,4001., to this sum the
on is upon the principle of the Crystal Palace—wood and
800 diners.
icraopThna—belhetanoo,f;
conirl
at so far as horses, and
away in
nlisptr
prizes.
ase.lnttorgieetshtehr
societyw hiitchi
stallions, are concerned, the ensuing show is likely
sa
appealgivendcl.s
f6al
nwl . a' t
to any ever held since
te:PbeecisanipYerior
ciety. In this department it will surpass the great show at
Windsor both in number and quality. The Clydesdale horses
in particular are numerous and of the very first-rate quality.
In cattle the entries are, perhaps, an average number, but it
iwsublelpierovvede
ath.sautetehesesfsuhlownoevf
eiGtya.llowlnaytshaendsheoetpherdelopacartl
mstoenctk,
too, which is not numerous, the Cheviots are likely to carry
off the palm.
____

When that portion of the show ground devoted. to . the ex-
position-of the powers of the agricultural locomotive and fixed
machinery was opened to the public the weather was not
favourable.

There were Weil fined ewer 41 40 711.44 1111
with
one

exception, of 8-horse power, exhibited by Messrs. Barr aft
Exall, and Andrewes, of Reading; Clayton, Shuttleworth,
and Co., Lincoln ; Win. Dray and Co., London ; Ransom*
and Sims, Ipswich ; J. Gray and Co., Uddingstone, Glasgow;
Smith and Co., Glasgow ; and Taxford and Sons, Buxton.
The array of portable gteam-engines, both as regards beauty
of appearance and excellence of finish, was perhaps superior
to anything that has yet been exhibited under the auspices of
the society. They were nine in number, and by the follow.
ing makers :—Messrs. Clayton and Shuttleworth, Rename
and Sims, Croskill, of Beverly, Garrett and Scal, Leiston, Tux-
ford and Sous, Lee, of Walsall, Exall and Andrewes, Hornsby,
of Grantham, and Boyden and Gluier, of London, manufac-
turers of the steam-horse or traction engine. With these pieces
of machinery Usher's steam plough may properly be classed.
The trial cf the fixed engines is conducted in a somewhat
imperfect manner. The peculiar quality of coal supplied is
such as to render it impossible to generate steam sufficient
for the satisfactory working of the engines, which were
several times brought to a standstill in consequence. Under
these circumstances the result must necessarily be an im-
perfect one. With both the fixed and portable engines
the usual method observed by the society was adopted in the
trials—that of supplying to each engine 141 b of coal for eaoh
horse-power, with which they were to effect as large an
amount of work as the capacity and the economical arrange-
ment of the machine would permit upon the dinanometor, or
force resister, supplied by the society.
So far as the trials have at present gone, Messrs. Barrett,
Exall, and Andrewes have done the most work, running two
hours one minute and a half with 1 cwt. of coal.
The experiments of the portable engines were attended
with the usual amount of excitement and speculation among
the makers, several of the machines appealing likely to run
very close upon each other. •The • experiments of the day
closed with the performances Of Messrs. Clayton and Shuttle-
worth's engine of an amount of work exceeding any before
effected, namely, three hours and 27 minutes, being an eight-
horse engine, with 1 cwt. of coal.
Boydell's ocomotive or steam traction engine attracted a
good deal of attention. - It is possessed of two six-and-a_half
iuch cylinders, the engine is very readily reversed, and one
peculiarity and excellence ' of its arrangement is that the'
dragging wheels—which are the hinder pair of the ordinary
carriage wheels —are driven, not by gear oft the nave of the
wheel, as in former attempts at locomotive farm engines,
but by gearing it at the circumference of the wheel, thus
rendering available the leverage of the spokes of the wheel.
The great obstacle to the application of steam power to
ordinary farm purposes has hitherto been the difficulty of
moving heavy engines on clayey or -other (stiff soils. This is
obviated by the so-called " portable railway," which the
wheels of Boydell's invention carry with them, consisting
of a series of shoes, or short lengths of rail, on a broad
sole, that by ingenious arrangement revolve with the
wheel outside its circumference; thus literally laying short
lengths of rail by the motion of the wheels themselves, the
rail always being slightly in advance of the wheels laying it,
and of course being pulled up and passed again to the front
by each revolution. The first impression given to the spec-
tator on seeing this engine is by no means favourable, the
most striking feature being its unwieldly and uncouth ap-
pearance, but on a close examination, and more especially
when in motion, there is much to excite admiration as well
as astonishment. By a short projecting pole, with chains
attached to a wheel, in all respects the same as tho
rudder chains and wheel of • a ship, tho engine is
steered and turned completely round both quickly and
in an incredibly small space. ,-Much amusement was
occasioned by the manner in which it plodded through
the yard at the rate of about four miles an hour, going over
two 3-inch planks laid upon each other, without any ap.
parent check to the progress of the engine, which was also
run along the side of a steep embankment, throwing it consi-
derably out of level, without at all deranging its machinery
or in the least decreasing its efficiency. It is well known
that the " portable railway" has for some time past been on
trial at Woolwich, and the principle, we believe, has already
been applied to the wheels of some heavy guns at the seat of
war. At Woolwich the experiment was satisfactory, but
Lord Panmure is awaiting the result of the trial of this en-
gine at the present meeting of the society before deciding
upon any extensive application of the principle. Should it
prove satisfactory, it will be the commencement of a new
era iu military engineering and the transport of ordnance.
It is asserted that the machine, though 6 tons 10 cwt. in weight,
is available upon any soft uneven ground. It was tried upon
ground but recently saturated with rain, and though at the
time working with only 91b. or 101 b. pressure of steam, the
movement was very satisfactory, and the impression upon
the grass scarcely perceptible. It is also asserted that it can
draw 70 tons, or something like a dozen field-pieces, or drag
as many ploughs through the soil at one and the same time.
This, however, remains to be seen. The ordinary speed is
about four miles and three miles and a half an hour, but
that can be increased if necessary. One apparent obstacle
to its service on very heavy ground is that the tank contain-
ing the' water is placed so low that it would be liable to be
damaged by any strong obstruction in uneven or rocky dis-
tricts.

With respect to the general show of implements, there is
nothing very new or extrordinary. The number of combined
thrashing, shaking, and winnowing machines is on the in-
crease, and several of them appear to be much in advance
of previous years. Besides the portable machines, there are
three sets of fixed barn works•for thrashing and fixing and
weighing off cornready for market ; those of Messrs. Clayton
and Shuttleworth, Garrett and Sons, and Ransoms and Sims
appear to be the principal rivals.
The trials of the engines were, as heretofore, conducted
under the immediate inspection of Mr. C. E. Amos, con-
suiting engineer to the society. The judges of the engines
are Mr. J. V. Gouch, civil engineer and engineer to the
Eastern Counties Railway, and Mr. W. Owen, of Rotherham.
The revolving horse-hoe is said to be exciting great interest
among the farmers of the locality, which is a great turnip-
growing district.
Subscriptions have been raised to decorate the town. A
grand floricultural and horticultural exhibition is to be held
during threw days next week in the vicinity of the show
ground, a ball is to be given on Wednesday, concerts during
the week, and many other minor amusements have been de-
vised to keep the multitude in good humour.
The following is the programme of the arrangements at
the dinner on Thursday next :7—
The Cumberland Floral and Horticultural Society intend
holding a grand exhibition of flowers, fruits, and vegetables
(open to the United Kingdom), on the 24th, 25th, and 26th
days of July, in spacious tents and marquees adjoining tho
site fixed upon by the Royal Society. 2401. will be offered
for competition, and iu the list may be noticed prizes
for stove and greenhouse plants, pelargoniums, fuschias, cal-
ceolarias, ericas, orchidaceous plants, exotic ferns, ranuncu-
luses, dr.c. Perhaps the greatest novelty is a first, second,
and thfrd prize for the best collection of wax flowers ; this
art has attained great perfection, the correct and beautiful
imitations being sometimes most striking. 101. is offered for
fruits, including pine-apples, grapes, melons, peaches, dm.;
and 41. 10s. for vegetables, including cucumbers, peas, pota-
toes, mushrooms, &c. In addition to the foregoing there will
be liberal prizes given for the best specimens of flowers, fruits,
and vegetables, grown and shown by amateurs only.

MARKET NEWS.-(THIS DAY.)