man had written to his father describing the agricultural show in Birmingham. The Argentines were advised to avail themselves of the benefits of like organizations, and this led to the organization the following year of the first agricultural show in the country-a very small affair, under the presidency of Gervasio A. Posadas. During the show a meeting of estancieros" was held and a committee named to form a rural society. This committee consisted of Señores Posadas, Sarmiento, Olivera, Favier, and Clark. But civil war came on, and the committee never met. It was not until July, 1866, that fourteen breeders met in Buenos Aires and organized the present Rural Society. The provisional committee was José Martinez de Hoz, Eduardo Olivera, and Ramon Viton. The rules and plan for the society, which had been prepared in 1858 by Señor Olivera, were the basis of the permanent organization, which was perfected a month later (August, 1866) with forty-seven members. The chief objects of the society, as then set forth, were the following: (1) To promote by all possible means the improvement of our stock in a rational way, based upon scientific experience. (2) To study the best means of irrigating our dry camps, as well as to drain swamps. (3) To promote the morality and well-being of our camp population. (4) To study the best breeds of cattle and sheep abroad, with the purpose of improving, by importation of breeding animals, the stock we now possess. (5) To search for and study scientific methods adapted to the conditions of our country and calculated to increase our agricultural output. (6) To secure commercial relations with foreign countries, in order to exchange produce and create a market for ours abroad. To assist in carrying out these purposes, it was deemed necessary to secure rational teaching of agriculture and to establish an agricultural museum to display national products, soils, etc., and also foreign produce of a similar nature, to serve as models. Practical tests of the most improved machinery were provided for. The museum was founded under the presidency of Señor Olivera, and later has been reorganized as the Industrial Club, its scope greatly enlarged, and made a very important factor in the industrial development of the country, maintaining, as it does, a permanent exposition of national products in Buenos Aires. The first pretentious show of the Rural Society was held in Palermo, a suburb of Buenos Aires, in 1875. The officers and their friendsthose personally engaged in the venture-had great difficulty in getting any animals to exhibit. Very few seemed to take much interest in the show. Only 18 cattle, 19 sheep, and 19 horses were exhibited. In fact, it was not until 1895 that the show assumed national and noteworthy importance. Its development since then has been rapid, steady, and sure, except as regards sheep, with which there have been |