understood disease. Utilising knowledge of both agriculture and science, the Society directed its own scientists to find remedies, but despite many trials and experiments both in the Botanic Gardens and in the Society's laboratory in Leinster House, they were unable to find one. The first Spring Show was held in April 1831 on the grounds of Leinster House, Kildare Street, the purpose of which was to encourage best breeding practices in livestock by showcasing the best in the country. By 1848 the judges of the Show were satisfied that English breeders would soon be purchasing Irish stock such was the quality of cattle breeding on display. Their confidence was validated in 1856 at the Paris International Cattle Show where Irish shorthorn cattle took more prizes in proportion to livestock displayed, than their English and Scottish counterparts combined. The Spring Show moved to the RDS grounds of Ballsbridge in 1881 and continued it there until the last Spring Show took place in 1992. The association with agriculture persists to today and it forms an important part of the Society's philanthropic mission. The RDS Forestry and Woodland Awards have been awarded annually since 1988 and in 2017 had a prize fund of €15,000 which is spread across four different categories. In 2016 the RDS, in conjunction with the IIEA, outlined the framework of a 'Climate Smart Agriculture' plan for Ireland. The Society continues to award annual prizes for the best cattle in Ireland, including the Economic Breeding Index (EBI) dairy cow. In 2021 the RDS was the host of the National Dialogues on Ireland's Food System, part of Ireland's engagement with the United Nations Food Systems Summit 2021. Science In the early period of the Society, science was innately linked to agriculture and industry. A link that continued well into the nineteenth century; for instance, the Botanic Gardens had cross-over appeal to both science and agriculture, as did the public lectures in veterinary science. But science began to also carve out its own separate area of interests towards the latter end of the eighteenth century with professorships in chemistry and physics funded by the Society in the 1790s, the employment of an itinerant geologist who toured Ireland collecting specimens for the Society, and the purchase of the Leskean Cabinet of minerals in 1792. The Dublin Society began holding science lectures covering an array of topics in 1797, with lectures on physics and