Pell, Bart., Mr. Payne, Hon. A. Leslie Melville, and Mr. Lawrence. The usual preliminaries having been gone through,

REPORT.

The Society consists at the present time of

81 Life Governors,

133 Annual Governors,
904 Life Members,
4010 Annual Members, and
18 Honorary Members,

Making a total of 5146 names on the list.

The Council have elected Mr. Thompson, of Kirby Hall, a Trustee of the Society, in the place of the late Earl Spencer; and His Grace the Duke of Rutland a Vice-President, in that of the late Lord Braybrooke. They have also elected the Hon. Colonel Hood, Mr. Humberston (Mayor of Chester), Mr. Huskinson, and Mr. Hutton, General Members of the Council, to supply the vacancies created respectively by the transfer of Viscount Eversley to the class of Vice-Presidents, and Mr. Thompson to the class of Trustees, and by the decease of Mr. Simpson and Mr. Stephen Mills.

The Chairman and Vice-Chairmen of the Journal Committee have announced to the Council that their respective personal engagements will not allow them to devote as large a share of attention as they have hitherto done to the editing of the Journal; but they have subsequently acceded to the request of the Council that they should continue their services until some permanent arrangement shall have been made. The Council, in order to diminish the amount of the mechanical details connected with their labours, have placed at their disposal a grant not to exceed £300 annually, for the purpose of engaging such literary aid as they may find requisite for the more couvenient editorship of the Journal.

The excellent paper on horse-shoeing, by Mr. Miles, of Dixfield, near Exeter, published in the last part of the Journal, has been reprinted in a cheap form for extensive distribution, and already upwards of a thousand copies have been sold.

The Governors of the Royal Veterinary College have presented their annual report of the progress made at that institution in the application of the veterinary art, and the diseases of cattle, sheep, and pigs. They state that the number of pupils qualified to act as practitioners in carrying out the objects of the Society in this point of view, continues to increase; but they regret that the members of the Society do not avail themselves more extensively of their privilege of sending diseased animals in a live or dead state to the college, and thus furnish means for a larger amount of practical experience to the Professor of Cattle Pathology and his pupils.

The Council have appointed Professor Voelcker, of the Royal Agricultural College at Cireucester, as the consulting-chemist to the Society; and he has already delivered before the members his inaugural lecture on Agricultural Chemistry in its Relation to the Cultivation of Root-crops. They have also made arrangements with Professor Henfrey, of King's College, for the delivery of a lecture on Vegetable Physiology, on Wednesday next, the 26th of May. This lecture, as in the case

of Professor Voelcker's, will be taken down in its full extent by

a short-hand writer, and immediately made public. The Council hope that this early publication of the lectures, by at once placing before the agricultural community any facts of an important practical character, will be found to meet the wishes

of the members.

Secretary.

On the motion of Mr. DAVEY, M.P., seconded by Mr. DRUCE, the Report was unanimously adopted.

Mr. R. BARKER rose to nominate the President for the year ensuing the meeting at Chester. He had, he said, the honour to propose for the office of President, at the termination of the current year, his Grace the -a nobleman who had only very Duke of Marlboroughrecently become a member of the Society, but who had already manifested great interest in its proceedings. His Grace had only presented himself once in that room ; and he then appeared as the leader of a deputation from the county of Oxford, which came there to request that that county might be selected as the one in which the Society's show should be held in the year 1859. All who were present on the occasion were struck with the amenity of manner, the zeal in the cause of agriculture, and the aptitude for business evinced by his Grace in addressing the large auditory which was assembled; and if the deputation did not succeed in their object, their disappointment was at all events attended with this advantage, that it tended to convince the agricultural community and the public st large that no amount of influence could deter the members of the Council from exercising their judgment inpartially and deliberately in the decisions which they came to, on matters of deep interest to the Society (Hear, hear). For his own part, he must say he thought the Council had made the best selection; and if they had given the preference to a county which was better enti

tled to it than Oxford, he trusted no unpleasant feeling had been created by that circumstance. Nothing could be more courteous or gratifying than the manner i which his Grace had received the request that he woul

Mr. CAVENDISH, M.P., seconded the motion, which was put by Col. Challoner, and carried by acclamation, The CHAIRMAN siid, when he was elected Presi

been conferred upon him, and he rejoiced that his conduct during his Presidency appeared to have given satisfaction to the members. The meeting then separated,

My last paper chiefly referred to the eradication of weeds from the fallowing lands. This however is but a small part of the subject; and as my aim is to make these papers practically useful, I do not intend to give any detailed description of the weeds of agriculture further than will suffice to bear upon the question as to the best incans to insure their extirpation. A simple enumeration of the names of many of these worst pests to good cultivation will enable every experienced farmer to recognise them. It will however be necessary to my purpose to give some slight notice of each specimen of these weeds, in connection with such suggestions as may be presented to me, in passing, relative to their habits of growth, injurious tendencies, and modes of destroying them. First,

THE WEEDS MOST COMMONLY INFESTING CORN CROPS. They are principally the following (I give their most common names): The thistle or saw-wort, dock, or curled dock, carlick or ketlock or charlock, red poppy or canker weed, goldens or corn marigold, corn bind weed, daisy weed or gowans, darnel or diauk, cockle, blue-bottle or knap weed, wild carrot, kecks or hemlock, hariff or cleavers, fat-hen or wild spinage, willow weed, hog weed or wire grass, sow thistle, wild oat, field scabious, fox-glove, hemp nettle, fumitory, rag wort, wild parsnip, and many others. These are the most injurious weeds as growing up with, and interfering in, the progress of the crop. There are many others which are denominated under-weeds: they do not greatly interfere with or impede the growth of the crop itself, but prevent the spreading of the roots, and do great injury in its early stages. They are not so exhausting to the soil as those of larger growth, but they prevent that free circulation of air and moisture to the roots so essential to a healthy plant. They consist chiefly of the following sorts: Corn mint, shepherd's or crowneedle, chickweed or stitchwort, dandelion or horse-gowan, colt's-foot or clay weed, toadpipe or mare's-tail, twitch or squitch, black grass or slender fox-tail, groundsel or grunsel, earthnut or pignut, buttercup, ass's mart or biting persicary, persicary or passion dock, spurge, borage, louse-weed, rest harrow or wild liquorice, field madder, &c., &c.

THE THISTLE, OR SAW-WORT.-These are in great variety, and common everywhere. It is almost impossible to effect their destruction in the early stages of growth. In corn crops they must be kept down by hoeing and spudding; but on grass lands it is better to permit them to attain a size sufficiently strong for the nippers to draw them up, or the spud to cut them below their crown. In some cases it may even be de

sirable to let them produce seed; but before it is shed the whole should be mown and carried off the field. Many fields have been in dry seasons thus cleared.

THE DOCK OR CURLED DOCK.-This is a very hardy and injurious weed, to be found everywhere. Its roots are extremely tenacious of life, and it sheds a vast pro luce of seed, which are so hardy that after becoming food for birds they are deposited all over the farm for future growth. Hoeing and spudding may retard their progress, but nothing is effectual but drawing them up and carrying them off the field, or burning—nearly every particle of root will grow.

CHARLOCK, OR KETLOCK.-These are great pests, and ought to be constantly attended to, or the field will soon become yellow with their flower. The weeding and drawing must be continuous, none should be left to ripen their seeds-even where they most abound this must be prevented. With judgment, patience, and perseverance they may be got rid of. No soil will yield two good seed crops. Topping is a very partial palliative: they come as thick as ever next season. It is almost a hopeless task to exterminate them from poor soils, where they so thickly propagate; but it must be done before these can be profitably farmed; they must be resolutely dealt with.

POPPY, RED POPPY, CANKER WEED. - Light soils and lands well pulverized are most subject to this pest of the field. They abound generally in bot seasons, with occasional showers-"poppy years." The rapidity of their growth is surprising, and they often make their appearance when the crop is in an advanced stage, which makes their extermination difficult. Hence poppy extirpators are of only partial service. Hoeing deeply, and very careful hand-weeding, is the best course to pursue in this case.

GOLDENS, OR CORN MARIGOLD. These infest many upland soils and inferior clays very injuriously, and are with great difficulty kept under. Early hoeing and constant weeding is the chief resource to keep dow a weed of this kind, for its growth might be called successional.

CORN BIND WEED.-This is of the class called climbers, and most seriously affects the crop where it is heavy and laid, actually fastening it close to the ground. Its roots penetrate the soil very deeply, and its seed is hardy and yielding. It abounds in clayey loams, and is one of those weeds whose seeds injure the samples of corn. It requires more than ordinary attention to expel it from the farm. Hedgerows abound with it. It creeps almost unseen along the surfacedrains and roadways, and the seeds are carried over the

land by birds, as in the case of docks. Hand-hoeing and weeding are the chief resorts, followed by continuous raking with long-toothed hand-rakes.

DAISY WEED, OR GOWANS.-These, like the corn marigold, infest poor clays greatly, and are of similar habits, and require like means to rid the land of it. It is not so successional in its growth.

DARNEL, OR DRAUK.-This is a kind of brome grass, and grows very like oats as to habit; and as it can scarcely be distinguished from the corn whilst growing, it cannot readily be weeded out. Care should be taken not to sow it, as it is an annual, and generally sown with the seed corn.

COCKLE. This is a very pernicious weed, as greatly infesting corn samples, and detracts from its value. The seed is numerous, is rough, and almost black; it can readily be dressed out with proper sieves of seven wires to the inch. Millers dislike it much, as the seed breaks fine and discolours the flour. Weeding may do great service. Never sow it with the seed-corn.

BLUE-BOTTLE, OR KNAP-WEED.-A common weed on all sandy soils, and hard to eradicate, as are all those of a similar class. Unwearied attention must be given to rid them.

WILD CARROT, HEMLOCK OR KECKS, FAT-HEN OR WILD SPINAGE, and WILD PARSNIP are all very obnoxious intruders upon our crops, and are of similar growth and habit. Some of them are more seen in hedge rows and ditch banks, &c. They grow rapidly, and occupy large breadths, and are thus very detrimental to the crop. Early hoeing and pulling is the best course with them. The wild spinage is most injurious to the crop, and produces a large quantity of seeds; this seeding must be prevented.

rom roots as well as sceds, and, like darnel, it is not seen till almost too late to weed it out, without great injury to the crop. On rich loams it grows to a great height, towering above the general crop in a most unsightly manner. Never sow a wild oat; weed them out if possible.

THE FIELD SCABIOUS, THE FOX-GLOVE, THE FUMITORY, THE HEMP-NETTLE, THE RAGWORT, and many similar weeds of the like habit of growth.These are all of the class of tall-growing weeds that impede the progress of the growing crop by taking up the required space for it. They are not of such inveterate hardihood as to defy the hoe or spud, but are more readily brought under by its destroying cut. The same constant hoeing and weeding are requisite for all, and the same careful forethought is needed to prevent their increase.

We are apt to think farming would be an easy business if it were not for all the anxiety consequent upon such comparatively trivial matters. Why it is nothing. What is common life itself, amongst common people, but a succession of like trivial things? Seldom more than petty successes; petty troubles, petty trifles every day attending us. What need for circumspection in all our conduct! What necessity for constant weeding.

I now come to those under-weeds which are so injurious to corn crops, i. e. twitch or squich, black grass or slender-foxtail, butter-cup, corn-mint, shepherd's or crow-needle, chickweed or stitchwort, dandelion or horsegowan, coltsfoot or clayweed, toadpipe or marestail, groundsel or grunsell, earthnut or pignut, ass's-mart or biting persicary, persicary or passion-dock, louseweed, rest-harrow or wild liquorice, field-madder, &c. &c. Having especial reference to practical usefulness in these papers, I must necessarily be as concise as possible. TWITCH, OR COUCH-GRASS, &c.—This is a highly injurious weed to a corn crop. It is classed by bota

WILLOW WEED, HOG WEED, KNOT GRASS OR WIRE GRASS (IN VAKIETY), PERSICARY.-These are of extremely hardy growth, and produce an astonishing crop of seed, which grow immediately they are shed, so as to bring forth innumerable plants. They will speedily spread themselves and occupy all the soil, and thus destroy the crop if not quickly looked after. Deep hoeing and constant weeding will alone suffice to keep them under. Their seeds are very hardy, and ought to be dressed out of all seed corn.

SOW THISTLE.-This is one of the most provoking of the weed tribe. It is of such rapid growth when once it takes a good hold of the soil, that it is continually making its unlooked-for appearance after weeding is concluded and the crop is pronounced cleanly weeded. This is a fibrous or creeping-rooted weed, and is best destroyed in fallowing. It is a great pest to an inferior crop of beans or peas. The winged seed fly a long distance. WILD OATS.-This is a woful pest on poor clayey loams, and a very general weed elsewhere.

It grows

different in the growth of its roots, for they are found to run underground in every direction, and it does great damage to every corn crop where it abounds, by its roots running into the soil, in and about the roots of the corn plants, so as to impede their growth exceed ingly. There is no help for this case, but in repeated hoeings, so as to check its growth, The roots will remain till the next fallow. Great care should invariably be given to fork it out before seeding.

BLACK GRASS, OR SLENDER FOXTAIL, commonly called Natural Grass.-This is very detrimental to the progress of the corn crop. It has not a strong creeping root like twitch, but it is almost as difficult to destroy; besides, it sheds a large crop of hardy seeds, which are much relished by birds, so that by roots, and by the diffusion of its seed, it is largely propagated. Constant hoeing is the only resort during the growth of the corn; and immediately after harvest a good harrowing should take place, to cause the seeds to vegetate, when the young plants may be mostly destroyed by ploughing. The old plants must be eradicated in the next fallow.

BUTTER-CUP RANUNCULUS. This is very common on some soils, and is of very tenacious growth and

bulbs, and they abstract much virtue from the soil in supporting this determined intruder. These may be dug out, but it is an expensive operation where they greatly abound. Early and continuous hoeing will prevent injury to the growing crop to any extent; but a good fallow can alone destroy them. Care should be taken that they do not shed their seeds.

CORN-MINT, SHEPHERD'S OR CROW-NEEDLE, LOUSE-WEED, TOADPIPE, AND GROUNDSEL, are very similar in their habit of growth, and require much hoeing and hand-weeding to eradicate them. The cornmint has a larger and more hardy root, which will live for three or four years, and can scarcely be got rid of except by fallowing. The shepherd's-needle has a very unsightly appearance in a corn sample, and detracts much from its value. The toad-pipe is very wiry, and a large crop of it is a pretty sure forerunner of mildew in any succeeding crop, owing to the flint it extracts from the soil. Groundsel is a quick-growing plant, and if not speedily overtopped by the corn crop becomes a great bane, particularly on good loams. The Louseweed is chiefly seen in the stubbles on good loams. It comes late into flower, and not being well weeded out, it gives the wheat-stubble a slovenly appearance. I have only to repeat that the same process of hoeing and hand-weeding can alone mitigate the evil; but I would recommend the last hand-hoeing to take place as late as it can possibly be done, without damage to the crop. Late weeds require protracted weeding. Groundsell does great damage to young clover. CHICKWEED, OR STITCHWORT.-This weed is often slightly treated of by our writers, but on fine friable loams it is a very pernicious weed. We have frequently seen crops of turnip-seed all but destroyed by it; and in thin wheat crops it flourishes surprisingly. Its roots are very minute and wiry, and find their way everywhere. Its seeds, too, propagate very early, and are extremely hardy, and are diffused over the land thickly by linnets. The only remark I would make here is, that, as it is lightly thought of, it is often neglected and left to propagate freely, often to become one of the worst banes to the farm.

DANDELION OR HORSEGOWAN, COLTSFOOT OR CLAYWEED, EARTHINUT OR PIGNUT.-These possess very similar roots as respects their tenacious hold upon the soil. The Dandelion and Pignut are less detrimental than the coltsfoot, but they do considerable damage in impeding the growth of the corn plant. The Coltsfoot is one of the most obnoxious weeds we have; it is the earliest of spring flowers, and almost before other weeds are seen, its cotton-looking seeds are flying all over the lands; besides, it has a perennial root, nearly as bad as twitch, which finds its way as freely under ground, and is as hard to destroy. Many ways

WILD

Ass's-MART OR BITING PERSICARY, PERSICARY OR PASSION DOCK, REST-HARROW OR SPINACH.-These are of very similar character in growth and habit. The Rest-harrow has a perennial root, tough, strong, and woody, but is not very abundant, and chiefly in slovenly fields. The Persicaries are a very vile weed on good soils; they are so hardy and prolific, both in seed and plant. On some soils, and when at full growth, it is with difficulty that the hoe can be made to cut through the root, and the crop of seeds is so extraordinarily great, that a few plants would seed a field. These, and all other plants producing great abundance of seeds, ought to be had under especial supervision by every cleanly farmer. They are annuals, and their little thickly-clustering plants almost escape notice in early weeding; but if left uncut they eventually show themselves in great profusion. It is these, and such as these, i. e. red poppy, hariffs, cockle, fat-hen, groundsel, chickweed, and some of like habit and appearance as young plants, that do so much harm in so many ways. In the first wheat hoeing most of them have not made their first shoot above ground, and it is by this very hoeing or culture that some of them are caused to vegetate. Farmers are often perplexed and teased to see these late weeds making such headway in the crop when it is too late to weed them out; for, although these under-weeds do not injure a full crop, they are very troublesome in a thin or light crop, and the expense of keeping them down is often very considerable. The most desirable and judicious course for every farmer to pursue, with reference to the weeds of his farm, is to give them no rest. At all times and seasons he must keep a sharp look out upon them, and wherever found make an effort to destroy them. The higher" he farms, the more care will he require. High cultivation on a rich soil will in a remarkably short time bring many varieties of weeds to perfection, and grow others so strong and vigorous as almost to defy the hoe; or, if he is not on the alert, they grow so fast as to make their extirpation a very expensive matter of business. On all open well-manured soils it is a most difficult thing to pursue cleanly farming: either the crop must be given up for cleanliness, or there is great hazard of a foul one, and the farmer has often such perplexities to contend with. At all events he must keep his weeds under, and if my observations on this subject shall lead to any more strict surveilance of the farm, I shall be abundantly gratified.