The Sun.
London, England, 1861-08-01 00:00:00

6), and the high and very variable wind blowing at
the time, all three of them missed. After this con-
siderable delay was caused by the large number of
barges and sailing craft on the river coming within
the range of practice, so that it was at last found ne-
cessary to discontinue firing altogether at 800 yards,
and continue the experiments with a 2001 b. solid
shot, fired from an Armstrong at the close range
of 200 yards. It will be remembered from our ac-
count of yesterday that it was the concussion pro-
duced by this ponderous missile that did such mis-
chief to Mr. Fairbairn's target, and before the stroke
of this it seemed almost certain the little target of
Mr. Roberts would go down at once in fragments.
The first shot struck full and fair upon the apex of
the angle of the uppermost plate. Strange to say,
however, it did no damage except to cause an in-
dentationsowf
hlthincsho,oaunreddsttharetiendggesomofe otfhethpeluatpepetor
fastenings
atetnirng get. The second shot of the same weight
struck one of the upper joint ribs between the
plates and broke it in three places, detaching one
piece ; but still the damage done was immaterial to
the plates themselves, though some of the fasten-
ings were then very loose, and the centre angle
plate had slipped, and was almost half detached.
The firing at this, therefore, was considered suffi-
cient as regarded a test of the strength of the plates
and, above all, of their backing up with timber.
The general result of the experiments has shown
that the 5-inch iron plates of Mr. Fairbairn's target
fastened to a 1-inch skin were perfectly able, as
far as the plates were concerned, to withstand
for a very long time what was, in fact, a concen-
trated fire from the heaviest and most power-
ful ordnance in the world. It also showed that the
thinner plates of three inches, rolled into an angu-
lated form, and presenting at all points an inclined
face to the blow of the shot, were equally well able
to withstand a missile that under other circum-
stances would fracture a 41-inch plate, and this was
the object the inventor wished to demonstrate. The
backing of the target, even after all the pounding it
received, was still perfect, though only 18 inches
thick, and had this been the hull of a ship, it would
apparently, even if submerged, have remained quite
watertight. The ribs which formed the backing to
the skin insides of the plates of Mr. Fairbairn's
target were perhaps a little too weak for the enor-
mous resistance they were expected to exert. This,
however, is a very minor fault, and one which it was
only possible to ascertain from actual practice. It
will' be very easy to strengthen the next one con-
structed on this principle. The weak point in Mr.
Roberts' target was the rib joint. This, though a
piece of the best wrought iron, six inches by four,
was never strong enough to resist the blow of a 100,
or even a 68-pounder. Bat for this fault (which
we presume Mr. Roberts will devise some expe-
dient for remedying), and but for the small size of
his target, it would doubtless have held out
much longer than even it did. The weak point
common to both targets, and to every other
description of iron armour plate that has ever been
devised is the mode of fastening, either to the target
or the ship's side. Every bolt hole in a plate is a
source of weakness, as from them all fractures take
their rise. The expedients which have been devised
to remedy this, by having tapped screws at the back
of the plate, are perhaps better for preventing frac-
tures ; but they are certainly not better adapted for
what is the ultimate object of all these fastenings
—viz., securing the plate to the ship's side. This
is the real point to which engineers should now
direct their attention. The shape, thickness, and
angle of plate best adapted for keeping out the shot
will then be very easily ascertained. On the whole,
however, the experiments at Shoeburyness against
these iron targets we have described were regarded
as about the most satisfactory which have yet taken
place there.

MINISTERIAL WHITEBAIT DINNER,

But few persons are acquainted with the origin
of this celebrated tjinner. Indeed, scarcely anything
more is generally known than this, that it takes
place towards the close of each session of Parliament.
Some of our readers have heard, no doubt, of
Dagenham Breach in Essex, a lake formed by the
sudden eruption of the waters of the Thames over
its banks nearly a century ago, covering the adja-
cent lands, from which they have never retired.
On the banks of Dagenham lake once stood, and may
still stand, a cottage occupied by a'princely merchant
of the name of Preston, a baronet of Scotland and
Nova Scotia, and sometime M.P. for Dover. He
called it his " Fishing Cottage," and often in the
spring went thither with a friend or two to escape
the toils of parliamentary and mercantile duties.
His most frequent guest was, as he was familiarly
styled, "Old George Rose," Secretary of the Treasury
and an elder brother of the Trinity House. Sir
Robert also was an active member of that fraternity.
Many a joyous day did these two worthies pass at
Dagenham Breach, undisturbed by the storms that
raged in the political atmosphere of Whitehall and
and St. Stephen's Chapel.
Mr. Rose once intimated. to Sir Robert that Mr.
Pitt, of whose friendship they were both justly
proud, would no doubt much delight in the comfort
of such a retreat. A day was named and the pre-
mier was accordingly invited, and received with
great cordiality at the Fishing Cottage. He was
so well pleased with his visit and the cordiality of
the baronet—they were all considered two if not
three bottle men—that on taking leave Mr. Pitt
readily accepted an invitation for the following year,
Sir Robert engaging to remind him at the proper
time.
For a few years Mr. Pitt was an annual visitor
at Dagenham Breach, and he was always accom-
panied by " Old George Rose." But the distance
was great, railways had not yet started into exist-
ence, and the going and coming was somewhat in-
convenient for the First Minister of the Crown.
SiSr Robert, however, had his remedy, as have all
such jovial souls, and he proposed that they should
in future dine nearer London. Greenwich was
suggeated
its aconvenient salle a manger for the three
ancients as the Trinity House, for Pitt was also 'a
distingniab,a
was
nowzneiter of that august fraternity. The
partyreanged from a trio to a quartett,
Mr. Pitt having
Soon to be permitted to bring
Long, tr this migration a fifth
Lord Camden.
consider
ie afterwards Lord Farn-
guest was invited, Mr.
be released guestsotabl of Sir R. Pres-
tonnotables here ; but one by one other
and at last Lord Camden
yedrefmroamrkthede
at a tavern, it was only
innisnlagould
and he insisted on
the dinner
it.ahiarttahsats theyir wite.r
Pe
raelsl tdo
expense. It was
Sirthen arranged
Robert
should be given as usual by
still contributing a b
that is to say, at his iuncvkitaatnidon,
champagne, but the
and upon this
rest of the charges of mine host ere planthenceforward
defrayed by the several guests,the meetings continued to take place annually till
the death of Mr. Pitt.
Sir Robert was requested
lstfoll of winghom by
to summon the usual guestsi nt,
the
he
iow year
a Tally
fter
this time included most of the Cabinet Ministers.
The time for meeting was usu
Monday, shortly before the end of the session.rini ty
ly
degrees a meeting, which was purely gastronomic,
appears to have assumed, in consequence of the long
reign of the Tories, a political or semi-political
character.
In the year 18— Sir Robert Preston died ; but
the affair had become so consolidated by long cus;
tom that the " Fish Dinner," as it was now called,
survived; and Mr. Long (then Lord Farnborough)
undertook to summon the several guests to the
" Ministerial Fish Dinner," the private secretary
of the late Sir R. Preston furnishing to the private
secretary of Lord Farnborough the names of the
noblemen and gentlemen who had been usually
invited. ‘
Up to the decease of the baronet the invitations
nhad been sent privately. They now go in Cabinet
b 'ee, and the party limited to the members of the
Ca binet. Who finds the buck and champagne now
is la et known.

PERTH, WEDNESDAY.
Perthshire, agricUlturally, is like a little Scotland,
embracing every diversity of surface, from the
Alpine region of the Grampians to the flat rich
came of Gowrie and the wide luxuriant valley of
Strathearn. In two-thirds of this large county not
in cultivation, including some of the finest lakes
and loftiest peaks in North Britain, the pasture-
farming of black-faced sheep utilises the precipitous
hills and green glens, woods clothe the magnificent
' slopes, and the sportsman rejoices in an infinity of
feathered game, in the six thousand head of harts
and hinds, and in the noble salmon that pay some ten
thousand pounds rental for the Tay fisheries alone,
and are exported on a great scale by railway and in
the shipping of Perth. And the lowlands along the
shores of the Frith of Tay, and more inland along
the course of its tributary rivers, have immense
peak moors and mosses, as well as the tracts of allu-
\
vial and diluvial " till," where flax is the main raw
material produced, and where potatoes, turnips,
with wheat on the best lands, contend against the
difficulties of a climate too moist and a winter too
bitter and protracted in these semi-boreal latitudes.
Such a district can be only sparsely peopled ; and
hence the city of Perth, with its 24,000 inhabitants,
and its proximity by excursion trains to Dundee,
Stirling, and Edinburgh, can expect, after all, a
gathering of visitors to the show small in compari-
son with the numbers at former meetings. Then,
as Scotland furnishes but eight divlsions for the
Society's itinerant festivals, the number of large
towns being very limited, each place has welcomed
the exhibition some half-dozen times already, and
the interest necessary to a successful anniversary
can scarcely be inspired without the introduction of
some novel feature—some spirited and attractive
incitement like that we find connected with the Bath
and West of England Society's show. As it is, we
have in this placid city the absence of any symptom
of enthusiasm, of gala-day holy-day-making, and
the influx of fashionable visitors whose presence is
always found to pay. Perhaps all this may accord
with the wish of the Society's managers ; for, judg-
ing by the strict press regulations, which prevent
our doing anything towards directing the public to
the show, it is intended to keep the company in the
yard quite select and free from crowding.
The implements—classified into 78 " sections,"
with a class of extra-machines, and another class of
" general collections," in which exhibitors declining
to compete for prizes can display whole stands of
their own manufactures—are not honoured with the
protection of shedding; but, as at our English pro-
vincial shows, are set out in rows upon the open
sward,—with the aspect, in fact, of an extensive
farm sale by auction. This exposure of house and
farm mechanism, as well as field tools, to all
chances of the weather, this obliging both imple-
ment exhibitors and visitors either to brave the
oppressive heat or blustering wind, or to stand
through entire days upon a footing of poached mud,
under a drenching rain, and in such plight to con-
duct business and book orders, may be penny-wise,
but certainly pound-foolish, as well as unhandsome
on the part of a Society rich in funded and house
property, and enjoying a splendid income. If can-
vass-roofed booths would not stand against Scotch
storms, boarden-roofed sheds, like the comfortable
quarters provided for the cattle, most certainly
would ; exhibitors would gladly pay their 2s.
a-foot for the accommodation here as at the English
show, and what further sum might be needed could
hardly be better spent than in attracting a larger
display of agricultural mechanics.
In a hasty walk through the stands we find that
135 exhibitors contribute 850 articles ; of which 429
are in the classified sections competing for prizes,
117 are in the extra class, and 304 comprised in the
general collections. The plough is evidently the
grand fundamental implement on which the at-
tention of the Scotch farmer is fixed. No less
than 65 of different sorts are shown, Gray, of
Uddingston, near Glasgow, being a prominent
maker ; while Hornsby, of Grantham, Lincoln-
shire ; Page and Co., of Bedford ; and Messrs.
Howard, of Bedford, exhibit their first-class ploughs,
with and without special adaptations to the peculiar
requirements of Scotch husbandry, for in this coun-
try of broadcast sowing the farmer likes deep creases
between high-crested furrow-slices, that will harrow
' down immediately into mould, covering the seed.
To turn such furrows—which is a process requiring
nicety in the implement as well as skill in the
ploughman—the share is hollowed underneath,
cutting an arched furrow-bottom, left highest in the
middle, and the coulter is inclined, instead of per-
pendicular, so that the exposed ridge of the turned
furrow-slice may be formed with an acute angle.
The English farmer prefers a perfectly flat and clean
furrow bottom, with a slice of rectangular section, as
securing the greatest mean depth of cut soil, and
presenting both the largest superficies to the atmos-
phere and most earth for reduction to the tilth of a
seed-bed. The chief interest of yesterday's and
to-day's field trials at South Muirton farm centred
in the competition of ploughs, on a cloverley of deep,
free-cutting loam, moist with the dripping rains.
The first trial with a number of Scotch swing and
several wheel ploughs, and the English ploughs of
Hornsby and Page, resulted in a second trial of five
implements—those of Allan of Dunkeld, Ponton of
Linlithgow, Hornsby of Grantham, Gray of Udding-
ston, and Martin of Balbeggie ; which again left
the first three for a final testing. The wheel ploughs
are again in the ascendant, though the picked
ploughmen of Scotland made splendid work with
their favourite swings; and whether the superb
execution of Hornsby's plough will carry off the
prize from Allan's implement, of somewhat lighter
draught, must be left till the judges publish their
award. Grubbers, and cultivators, and harrows
occupy a considerable space in the yard ; also drills
and broadcast sowing machines, in which our
southern firms—Reeves of Westbury, and Rich-
mond Chandler of Salford, both figure. There are
machines for pulverising and sowing guano ; the
liquid manure distributors of Reeves, and of
the trustees of W. Crosskill, of Beverley ; a
considerable number of horse-hoes, made by
Gray, Law, Kirkwood, Burns, &c.; winnow-
ing machines, weighing machines ; then the chaff-
cutters of Ashby and Co., of Stamford ; Ben-
tall, of Heybridge, Essex ; Page, of Bedford ;
and Richmond and Chandler; turnip cutters of
various makers; Bentall's noted root-pulpers ;
crushers, and mills, and churns. There is a con-
siderable display of harvest carts and light spring
carts ; the trustees of W. Crosskill, with their
machine-made wheels and carts constructed for
lightness, strength, and durability; Mitchell, of
Peterhead, and other makers, showing farmers'
vehicles of splendid workmanship, and in every
way adapted for convenience and usefulness. or
fencing, gates, drain-pipes, tile machines, &c., there
is a good show ; and in the " extra" class we find
the haymakers and horse-rakes of Ashby and Co. ;
Chaplin's steam engine ; Hornsby and Son's new
cheap washing machine; Kirkwood's rakes ; Lin-
colne's (of Glasgow) machine for suckling orphan
calves and lambs ; Page and Co.'s horse-rakes ;
Reeve's tool for destroying thistles ; Shanks and
Son's lawn mower ; Smith's (of Glasgow) dry de-
odorizing closets. In the general collection are
thrashing
machines, and
drills,
Bradford's washing machines ; Clayton and Shut-
tleworth's (of Lincoln) steam-power thrashing
machines
‘;n eg, ;
Garrett
and (of
S a x
horse-hoesm u n d h a m )
eng ;
Howard's (of Bedford)
iron ploughs, steam- cultivat-
ing machinery, harrows, horse-rakes, and their
clever new hav-mak'
ing machines; Morton's (of
Liverpool) fencing, &c• ,
and Morton's (of
Leeds) fencing, hurdles, &e. ; P 1 ieksley,
and Sims, and
Co.'s (of Man chester) portable engines, Chaffcu '
tters
&c.; Pringle's (of Edinburgh) assortment of im ' ' -
plernems
4 machines ; Williamson's (of Kendal)
horse-works and thrashing machines ; Young's (of
Edinburgh) gates, garden chairs, cheese presses,
and so on.
Though the fixture thrashing-mill is so generally
used in Scotland,it appears that our more improved
English machines are being rapidly substituted for
it, seeing that the clean thrashing saves
a consider-
able percentage of grain hitherto left in the straw,
besides more thoroughly shaking out the thrashed
corn. The convenience of a portable steam engine
lis also appreciated in some districts, where fine days