The Sun.
London, England, 1851-07-15 00:00:00

ROYAL AGRICUL7 URAL SOCIETY.

The annual meeting of this important society takes
place this week in the Horne park of Windsor. Halt
surrounded by ancestral trees, and leoki d dawn upon
by the north terrece of the lieyal Castle, the encamp-
ment of :Agriculture presents an unusually striking and
picture clue appearance. Close at hand is the station of
the Soutn-Western Railway, affording every facility for
the arrival and departure of visitors. Never before has
the society had a site better adapted for its purposes, and
never before has it presen ed itself before the public
under a more favourable and encouraging aspect. By
arrangements early adopted in connexion with the great
Exhibition, the show yard is relieved of the implement
department, the contents of which occupy a conspicuous
place in the Crystal Palace. Yet it appears little,
it at
all, curtailed of its usual proportions, and the space
which has hitherto been devoted to agricultural machines
is now filled with a magnificent display of live stock.
Instead of ploughs, scarifiere, portabie steam-engiee't
and such like, we have an enlarged exhibition of breeds
in all the divisions, and a greatly increased entry of stock
for c mp t.ition. The society have extended the number
of their classes, and have, with becoming spirit, and in
harmony with the year 1851, given a wider scope and
character to their show. Ttie number of besets exhi"
bited is 1,267, an altogether unprecedented anount, the
entries last year being only about 700. Then an im-
proved arrangement of the classes has been adopted,
which gives more distinctness and value to the whole
display. Formerly, in cattle, tor instance, it was cus-
tomary to distribute the animals into four divisions,--
one for short-horns, a second for Herefords, a third for
Devons, and a fourth for mixed breeds. Under this
latter head elm() a confused gathering of every kind of
beast rejected from the three favourite descriptions, and
thus attention was diverted from those peculiar excel-
lences which several kinds of stock possess, and which
entitle them to the regard and consideration of the agri-
culturist. Now tais is changed, and there is no longer
a miscellaneous grouping recognised. Instead thereof,
we have the long-horns, the Sussex, the Channel Islands
breed, the horned and polled Scotch, the Welch and
Irish, all properly classified. Foreigners who visit the
show may collect there with perfect ease a correct
idea of the various kinds of cattle with which the
United Kingdom is supplied. They
may estimate fairly
their various qualities, and the manner in which they,
aro adapted to fulfil their different uses in our agricul-
tural system. For the first time since i:s annual shows
began the society presents the public with on epitome of
British stock. Until this eventful year, they appeared
reluctant to pass beyond the Tweed for illustrations of
Scotch breeds, though these were often the favourites of
the eastern counties' graziers, and in the same way the
peculiar advantages of the Channel Islands' cows for
dairy purposes was almost entirely ignored. Now we
have all sorts represented in the Home Park of Windsor,
and it is to be hoped that our agriculturists will profit
by an occasion which brings prominently before their
notice descriptions of stock the merits of which they
may have previously overlooked or undervalued. Nature,
when in her bounty she supplied our favoured country
with a variety of breeds adapted to its climate and soil,
did so for beneficent and usetul ends. It is, therefore,
our duty to further and fulfil her intentions, by en-
couraging in each class, without favour or preference,
those excellences of shape or size upon which their
merits respectively depend.
Thus in the completeness and in the extent of the
shoo; made by it, the Royal Agricultural Society pre-
sents itself this year to the public under the most fa-
vourable and hopeful aspect. From its organization
politics are rigidly excluded, and in the conduct of its
business no member, however it fluentiel, can enter upon
that debateable territory without being immediately
snubbed for his audacity. Yet to those who stand
without its pale observation and comment are open, and
it certainly is a most remarkable circumstance that while
the landed interest are represented as suffering from an
unexampled and hopeless depression, the Royal Agri-
cultural Society should come forward so buoyant, so
full of increased strength and of future promise. The
force of events i 5 always superior to the influences of
party, and while Protection bemoans the uselessness of
improvements which can never be remunerative, the
Royal Agricultural Society day by day becomes a more
powerful machine for securing to the people the bles-
sings of untaxed food. It revives by its action that
confidence in the land which perverse lamentations over
the repeal of the corn-laws tend to destroy. By its
journal it is constantly supplying fresh streams of
scientific and practical knowledge to the farmer,
and by its annual shows it stimulates to increased excel-
lence and increased production—our only true protec-
tion against competition, whether it comes from home
or from abroad. As an example of what British agri-
culture is capable, and as illustrating the impott mce
which is attexched to superior breeds of stock, we may
mention a fact which came within our cognizance yes-
terday when visiting the show-yard. Mr. Jonas Webb,
who, it will be seen from the list appended, is a winner
of seven prizes for his Southdown sheep, has, at his
usual annual letting this year, received us hire for the
use of a ram, which, though exhibited at Exeter, was
not successful there, the sum of 99 guineas. Our great
breeders now have their flocks eagerly sought after by
foreign purchasers. So much is this the Case' that at
an agricultural show recently held in France all the best
animals exhibited had been imported from England, and
at
peeling an extensive- commission has been
givthe prase nt
en by Prince Deaodoff, the owner of the malachite
ornaments in the Crystal Palace, to have a good breed-
ing stock bought for grim, which he intends sending out
to Russia. such is the estimation in which our breeds
of live stock are held by the foreigners, whose competi-
tion OUZO the fointrimice4 British fanner.