[Veterinary issues in the proceedings of the Amsterdam Agricultural Society, 1776-1832]

The Amsterdam Agricultural Society, founded in 1776, was created by six wealthy gentlemen, well known for the important positions in society held by them. They invested the money earned through trade among others in the acquisition of land, partially newly reclaimed in the surroundings of Amsterdam. As a consequence of the expansion of the population the profitability of agriculture had increased. The merchants and regents knew how to combine business with pleasure. In the second half of the 17th and the first half of the 18th century, they have built about 500 country estates in the surroundings of Amsterdam. Besides the pleasures of country-life, the owners gained a practical interest in agriculture and animal husbandry. Missing practical knowledge in these fields themselves, they felt the moral obligation to contribute to the general welfare of the society by the promotion of new ideas or experiences gained by others. In the first volume of the Proceedings is stated: 'It is beyond question that chemistry, botany, meteorology and the Ars veterinaria are to be considered as the true fundaments of agricultural knowledge'. Inspired by the ideas of the Enlightenment and, quite in conformity with the spirit of the time, the establishment of a society was thought to be the answer in order to bring agricultural and thus economical reform. The method used was copied from the learned societies. The members proposed subjects for prize competitions and judged the answers sent in. The crowned answers were the main, but not the only, contents of the Society's Proceedings. The paper analyses the membership (the number of ordinary members decreased from 70 at the start to 56; that of honorary members was stable at about 20; further there were a few orrespondents), and quantifies the distribution of articles in the Proceedings, devoted respectively to agricultural, veterinary and zootechnical subjects. In addition, a detailed list with commentary, of the veterinary and zootechnical subjects published between 1778 and 1825 is presented.